Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this bill.

This bill should be a balefire, a warning to America that there are those

across the aisle who wish to attempt to federalize State and local law enforcement. I would like to focus specifically, though, on this move to eliminate qualified immunity. This is a betrayal of law enforcement. This alone is enough reason to vote against this bill.

There is a myth, a lie, perpetrated by those who want to do away with qualified immunity, that qualified immunity gives officers free rein on the job. This is not true. This is not sovereign immunity; it is qualified immunity.

The way that an officer qualifies for that immunity and for it to apply in an action that he has taken, he must follow the law, he must follow his agency's policies, and he has to act as he has been appropriately trained. If he violates any one of those three, he is on his own; qualified immunity does not apply.

Madam Speaker, law enforcement is a dangerous profession that deals in split-second decisions. Most people in this room have no idea what it is like to determine, in a high-stress, life-threatening----

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate an invaluable member of my staff on her well-deserved retirement. Jacquelyn Smith, ``Jackie'' to those of us who love her, retires this week, Mr. Speaker, after two decades of service to the Fourth Congressional District and more than a half century of work in government, education, and politics.

Her contributions to the State of Florida and to her colleagues are immeasurable, and our Nation is truly better off thanks to her efforts.

Jackie began her life of service as a teacher, moving often because of her husband's assignment as a United States Air Force pilot.

She eventually found herself in politics, working on a Presidential campaign before eventually becoming district director to my predecessor, former Congressman Ander Crenshaw. When I took office in 2017, I was fortunate that Jackie stayed on as the director of special operations in my Jacksonville office.

Mr. Speaker, for over 20 years, Jackie has served northeast Florida. She has helped countless families with casework, served as my representative throughout the district, and made a significant impact on thousands of young people and students in our community.

Jackie has truly helped shape the next generation of Americans, especially those who will be going into military leadership. Each year, Jackie runs the military academy nomination program. She works tirelessly with students who apply, coaching them through the process and vouching for their selection.

Mr. Speaker, I can tell you no one knows nor works that system harder and better than Jackie Smith. And she does it simply for the benefit of her students. Thanks to her efforts, District Four historically has one of the highest selection rates in the country.

Jackie also runs our congressional arts program and the congressional medal program, both recognizing the many talented students in our community of northeast Florida.

Jackie often serves as my liaison to community groups, many of which she is already a part of, including the Rotary Club, the USO, and the local Chamber of Commerce. It often seems she knows everyone in northeast Florida, and unsurprisingly, they all consider her a friend. She loves them, and they love her.

Every day, Jackie comes to work with a servant's heart, a sharp wit, and a contagious optimistic attitude. No job is too big; no job is too small. Most importantly, she embodies the virtues of integrity, hard work, and selflessness that Americans expect from their government.

Jackie leaves big shoes to fill in my office. However, as she is known to do, she leaves it better than when she found it.

On behalf of the Fourth Congressional District of Florida, congratulations, Jackie. May your retirement be filled with warm, sandy beaches and continued memories with your husband, David, and your many friends and loved ones. We are so proud of your many achievements, and we thank you, Jackie, for your service to this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I want to tell you, I look forward to hearing all about her next career as a used shoe salesman for Ocean Sole Africa, as they improve the lives of citizens of Kenya and boost the economy here at home.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory and to honor the millions of babies killed since the Roe v. Wade decision almost 50 years ago.

There is nothing more precious than the gift of life, given to us by God, who knew us before He formed us in our mother's womb.

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more precious than the gift of life given to us by God, who knew us before He formed us in the womb.

Mr. Speaker, life is sacred, and it is heartbreaking that there are those across this country and in Congress who reject that truth and view abortion as nothing more than a medical procedure.

Sadly, a professed Catholic who knows better has already taken steps to increase the killing of babies across the world and make innocent taxpayers foot the bill.

He has revoked the Mexico City policy, which means American taxpayers will now be sending dollars overseas to support the killing of unborn babies in foreign countries. And he is actively working to eliminate the Hyde amendment, which is a longstanding, bipartisan doctrine that prevents taxpayer funds from paying for the killing of babies in the United States.

Let's be clear, abortion is murder, not healthcare.

Abortion is not the answer to a child's mental or physical challenges. I am reminded today of the words of Frank Stephens, a Special Olympian. Many of you heard him speak here at Congress. He is now living with Down syndrome. He said this: ``About abortion, I don't want to make it illegal, I want to make it unthinkable. Politicians change laws. I want to change people's hearts.''

Mr. Speaker, I agree with Frank Stephens, but I believe we can do both. We can change lives and we can change people's hearts.

Madam Speaker, I was unavailable and missed Roll Call Vote 465. Had I been present, I would have voted Nay on Roll Call No. 465.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle announced they will soon bring to the floor the Raise the Wage Act, a bill to increase the Federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour.

While supporters of this legislation have good intentions, the repercussions would spell disaster for our economy, for small businesses, and the very same low-wage workers who they intend to help. Nonpartisan estimates of the Raise the Wage Act expect it could cause up to 3.7 million people across the country to lose their jobs.

Mr. Speaker, that is almost as many people as in the entire State of Oklahoma, the entire State of Oklahoma unemployed.

Cities that have already imposed a $15 minimum wage have been the first to see the negative effects of this initiative. Recently, the University of Washington conducted a study on the efficacy of Seattle's newly mandated $15 minimum wage, and the results were very clear. Costs to low-wage workers in Seattle outweighed the benefits by 3-to-1, and the average low-wage worker lost $125 a month.

While most of the discussion regarding the Federal minimum wage is focused on major metropolitan cities, what about the rural areas across the country where the cost of living is much lower? This bill would effectively eliminate small, rural businesses and skyrocket costs for goods and services.

Finally, let's look at who is currently making minimum wage in the U.S. Half are under the age of 25, and almost a quarter of them are teenagers. A $15 minimum wage would threaten the job prospects of young folks who are looking to enter the workforce for the first time, hoping to gain the skills needed to move ahead in a real career.

Over 80 percent of economists agree that a $15 minimum wage would have a negative impact on youth employment.

Look, I cannot support a bill that is guaranteed to shutter business and lay off workers around the country. I hope that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will reconsider this attempt to backtrack on the economic success of recent years and, instead, support bipartisan policies that will help all workers get ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Clarence Hollowell from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, for his service to our country and to our Jacksonville community.

Mr. Hollowell is a veteran of the United States Army, who now spends his weekdays serving his community as a U.S. postal worker and his weekends at local cemeteries cleaning the headstones of our fallen veterans. From start to finish, each headstone takes about 2 to 3 weeks to clean and, incredibly, Mr. Hollowell has cleaned over 600 of them. He does so selflessly, purchasing his own materials, and meticulously scrubbing each headstone with a toothbrush until the stone glistens white.

In his own words, Mr. Hollowell says that ``Everybody's got to have a project, and I think if you can help the community, even better.''

On behalf of the Fourth District of Florida, I thank Mr. Hollowell for his service and his inspiration to his community.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table H.R. 3401, with the Senate amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment. This bipartisan bill passed the Senate with 84 votes and could be sent to the President's desk for his signature today.

Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I am truly saddened this evening to rise in opposition to what should be a humanitarian assistance bill for those who are suffering at our southern border.

For over 50 days, my Republican colleagues have been begging the House majority, begging them to deliver badly needed relief to our agencies on the southern border that are overwhelmed by a record number of migrants.

For over 50 days, the majority has remained silent while our agencies ran out of resources and migrant children suffered from a lack of sufficient resources to properly care for them.

The Speaker talked about keeping America safe. Hardly. She said that this is a vote for the children, the children, the children. At the same time, she is asking us to vote for a bill that withholds resources from the very agencies that are responsible for the care, custody, and control of those who are suffering at the border.

I am really glad, Madam Speaker, that, finally, my colleagues across the aisle have recognized this is a crisis at the southern border. It is not a manufactured crisis, as they claimed it was for over 2 months. But this bill does nothing to solve that crisis.

It is nothing more than a political messaging bill for a large-scale disinformation campaign about that humanitarian crisis, which my colleagues across the aisle, again, once called a manufactured crisis.

Specifically, this bill restricts DHS from sending additional employees to the southern border. Congress is now going to tell DHS how to deploy their staffing. That is amazing.

It withholds overtime funds for exhausted officers. It provides money to inspect DHS but provides nothing--can't use a dime--to investigate human trafficking. When we know that these children who are suffering are being trafficked across that southern border, there is not a dime to go after those traffickers.

ICE has asked for 54,000 beds to handle this surge and alleviate the overcrowding, but the majority only gives them, in the previous underlying bill in appropriations, 34,000 beds, not the 54,000 that they asked for, 34,000 with another 7,000 contingent.

The Speaker and the majority want to listen to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but they do not want to listen to our own DHS agencies that are on that border and responsible for care, custody, and control of those individuals.

Finally, there is no funding for extra judges to help process more than 100,000 migrants per month.

What we need is proper assistance, not political messaging. I spent my entire adult career in law enforcement, and I know that giving money with burdensome strings is not leadership. It is not the way to get things done. We have to allow the folks on the ground the flexibility to do their jobs, or we are simply wasting taxpayers' hard-earned money and, more importantly, wasting precious time. We have wasted 2 months as the situation at the southern border has only worsened.

I can assure my colleagues that the agents on the ground have a better idea of what is needed to be done than Washington bureaucrats or the U.N. commissioner. Unfortunately, there are many in this legislative body who despise our President so much that they are willing to suffocate our agencies with inadequate funding and regulations that endanger the safety of both migrants and our surrounding communities. Yet, they are not just poking the President in the eye.

With this bill, they are impairing our DHS men and women on the ground who are trying desperately to manage this humanitarian crisis at the border. They are poking them in the eye, also.

ICE, DHS, and HHS employees provide care for every single man, woman, and child who crosses into our country. They deserve our support. What they need are the resources to do their job effectively, and this bill does not provide that.

It is frustrating to listen to.

Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

I am in its current form.

Madam Speaker, my motion is very simple. I propose to add $64 million to the operations and support account for Immigration and Customs Enforcement for basic pay and overtime, bringing the total for pay up to the President's request.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a law enforcement organization with a legislative mandate to uphold the laws of this country. Officers at the border are tasked with transporting families from the intake facilities and moving kids out of DHS custody and into HHS children's care sites.

Further, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is working to combat human trafficking at our border. Over the past 2 months, enforcement officers uncovered 735 fraudulent documented fake families.

These traffickers are exploiting our laws and forcing our children to make this dangerous journey north in hopes that they will be released into our country.

ICE plays a vital role in stopping trafficking and punishing those who traffic in innocent children. I suggest if the majority truly cares about these children, vote ``yes'' on this amendment to give ICE the resources and the pay to stop human traffickers.

Madam Speaker, I have been to the border and I have seen the hard work that these officers do. Officers are working overtime to process the record number of migrants trying to enter through our southern border. However, Madam Speaker, this bill does not fairly compensate ICE officers for their additional hard work going after human traffickers, and I ask Members to vote ``yes'' for the children, for the children, for the children.

As a lifetime law enforcement officer, not paying these officers for their work is unacceptable. We would never treat our local law enforcement officers like this back home. These hardworking men and women should not be punished by the partisan politics in Washington.

Madam Speaker, we are asking those on the ground to do a job, and this Congress has a responsibility to compensate them. I urge my colleagues to support this motion and vote ``yes'' to pay our Federal law enforcement officers for the work they do each and every day keeping this country safe.

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

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from south Florida for, as was mentioned earlier, having the courage to stand up for our State and protect it from the scourge of drilling.

I have to tell you, just last November, Mr. Chair, 69 percent of Florida voters supported banning drilling in the State waters off of Florida's coast.

It is no secret that our Florida beaches and our oceans drive our economy. Drilling could affect not only our beautiful beaches and thriving tourism but, also, our national security.

I have met with Department of Defense officials multiple times, and they have continued to share serious concerns about how offshore drilling activities could impact their operations.

The eastern Gulf is a vital training ground for our military, and on Florida's Atlantic Coast that I share with my colleague, we are home to Mayport, NAS Jax, and Kings Bay, just to name a few.

Mr. Chair, this important amendment will protect our coast, our economies, and our national defense. For all these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Madam Chair, I would like to speak in favor of the amendment.

Madam Chair, I thank the ranking member for this opportunity.

Madam Chair, I represent three coastal counties along northeast Florida's Atlantic Coast, and one of the biggest grievances that I hear in our coastal fishing communities is that there are simply not enough days to fish for red snapper.

Anglers tell me time and time again that they can't fish without catching red snapper. One diver even relayed to me that the red snapper were so thick over the reefs, that you could literally walk across their backs.

Even so, Federal regulators only gave recreational anglers 5 days to fish for red snapper in the South Atlantic this year, down from 6 days the previous year, all of this because NOAA simply does not have accurate data.

Lack of data leads to short seasons or, even worse, no seasons, which devastates both recreational and commercial fishing and significantly impacts Florida's economy.

To fix this problem, my amendment will increase the funding in this bill for data collection of reef fish in the South Atlantic by $3.5 million, which will bring the total to $5 million, which is the same amount that has been used for the last few years in the Gulf of Mexico, where it has been incredibly effective.

The funding made available there to improve data collection in the Gulf over the last few years has made significant improvement in Gulf red snapper management. For example, in 2014, the Gulf red snapper season was only 9 days. This year, it is 62 days.

So by providing NOAA with an increase for reef fish data collection in the South Atlantic, we could ensure commercial and recreational fishermen have stable access to this crucial fishery and enough fishing days to maintain their businesses.

We have seen our neighbors along the Gulf use this funding very successfully. The South Atlantic is in dire need of the same success.

Madam Chair, I urge all my colleagues to support this simple amendment, which will greatly benefit the fishermen and the economies all along the South Atlantic.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize City Councilman William Gulliford of Jacksonville, Florida, who is retiring after serving as Atlantic Beach Mayor, Atlantic Beach Commissioner, and President of the Jacksonville City Council. Today we honor Bill's outstanding public service to our community.

Aside from his role in local government, Bill is also a longtime business owner who is sincere in his desire to do good for the citizens of our community. He is a respected as an honorable, collegial leader who is known for bringing people in government and the private sector together to solve problems. Most recently, Bill worked to focus the City's attention on the opioid crisis and worked with numerous partners on solutions. This is just one example of his leadership and value to our community.

Besides his electoral contributions, Bill is a founding Board Member of Habitat for Humanity of the Jacksonville Beaches, and past president of the Beaches Boys Club, the Beaches Quarterback Club and the Rotary Club of Mandarin. He presently is a member of the Oceanside Rotary Club and has received numerous awards, including the Charles D. Webb for Extraordinary Commitment to Public Service and the Mary L. Singleton for his work on City Council. Bill has also served in both President Carter's and President Reagan's Small Business Councils.

Bill has been a resident of Jacksonville since 1954 and of Atlantic Beach since 1972. He graduated from Bishop Kenny High School and the University of Florida. Bill and his wife Harriet have four children, Trip, Thad, Katherine and Elizabeth, and nine grandchildren. His dedication to his community, his strong work ethic, and his generosity of spirit are reasons to celebrate Bill Gulliford's public life and to honor his service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Second Lieutenant Matthew Chaires on his graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Lieutenant Chaires, or Gunner, as his family and friends call him, is from Hilliard, a small town in northeast Florida with a population of just over 3,000.

At Hilliard Middle-Senior High School, he was a student athlete and all-State football player, and he received numerous athletic and academic honors. In fact, Lieutenant Chaires is the only Hilliard resident to ever attend and graduate from one of our Nation's prestigious service academies.

At West Point, he was assigned to Bravo Company B2 Bulldogs in the second regiment and was a member of the cannon crew for the Black Knights during football season. With his time at West Point complete, he now heads to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to begin field artillery training.

On behalf of the Hilliard community and all of northeast Florida, thank you to Lieutenant Chaires for his commitment to both service and academic excellence. We are all very proud of him.

Madam Speaker, l rise today to recognize the St. Augustine Art Association (STAAA) on the 95th anniversary of its founding in 1924.

Founded by Spanish explorers in 1565, St. Augustine, Florida, is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the continental United States, making it our nation's first city. The STAAA plays an integral role in preserving and promoting the artistic heritage of St. Augustine, and has been described as the epicenter of the local art community. The STAAA Art Center is open year-round and is free to the public, welcoming roughly 10,000 visitors annually. Its gallery hosts exhibitions, concerts, workshops, classes, lectures, and other art-related events. More than 1,000 artists of all backgrounds display their artwork during the gallery's season of juried exhibitions. These contemporary artists make up St. Augustine's present-day art colony.

The STAAA outreach programs serve many, including the blind, local public school students, and patients and caregivers at Flagler Hospital. Additionally, elder groups, community businesses, and others all benefit from STAAA's user-friendly gallery in the heart of St. Augustine. I am pleased to recognize STAAA for its contributions to our unique local culture, history, and community.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained during the second vote series on May 15, 2019. Had I been present, I would have voted Yea on Roll Call No. 209.