Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Mount Union High School baseball team who recently won the PIAA Class 3A state championship with a 9-1 victory over Notre Dame-Green Pond.

The Trojans took an 8-0 lead through the first two innings and held that lead for the rest of the game. Ethan Carbaugh went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Seth Smith, Kobe Hand, and Quinton Posey added six combined RBIs. This is Mount Union's fourth title and their first since 1995.

The Trojans had a strong regular season, winning the District 6 championship with a record of 25-3.

The team was led by Coaches Tim Hicks, Ryan McGanigle, Nick Imperioli, George Goodling, Ron Blair, Jeff Brown, and Kyle Atherton.

The team was comprised of seniors Steve Brumbaugh, Quinnten Fultz, Dylan Gearhart, Matt Harshbarger, Quinton Posey, Seth Smith, and Bryce Stinson. Juniors Ethan Carbaugh, Kobe Hand, and Grayson McClain. Sophomores Clayton Arnold, Colten Benson, Ian Brodbeck, Vince Lear, Tyler Renniger, Casel Walter, Klayton Willaughby, Blake Woodward, and Brock Woodward. As well as freshman Dauvon Wilson and Equipment Managers Braylan Knable and Blaine Hunsinger.

High school athletics is a great way for students to build character and form a lasting bond with teammates.

Please join me in congratulating the Trojans baseball team.

Madam Speaker, today, I rise to advocate for the brave men and women who defend our country.

Recently, I visited Normandy, France, for the 75th anniversary of D- day. While overseas, I met numerous men and women who were critical in the defeat of fascism during World War II, and they all gave me a very simple and direct message: Go home and take care of those who have served our Nation proudly.

The conversations that I had with the heroes from Normandy have inspired me this week to cosponsor numerous legislative events. These will positively affect our veterans.

Congress needs to pass the Agricultural Apprenticeship Act, to allow veterans to receive the training that they need to enhance their employment opportunities.

We need to pass the Get Veterans a Doctor Now Act, which allows the VA to hire top talent so that our veterans can get the best quality of healthcare.

And we need to pass the Veterans Right to Expediency Act, so that the veterans who have sustained injuries in the field of battle cannot be boxed out of filing disability claims.

Madam Speaker, it is time that we take up these measures. Our veterans have given everything for us.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to salute the service of Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey J. Ignatowski, who has served his nation and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania admirably as Commander of the Letterkenny Munitions Center (LEMC) in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania over the last two years. During Lieutenant Colonel Ignatowski's command, LEMC executed six worldwide ammunition rehearsal of concept drills, implemented a tier meeting process that accelerated work flow and communication, and multiplied employee suggestion implementation program participation.

His leadership has strengthened LEMC's reputation as the Army's premier munitions center, orchestrating the distribution, maintenance, and demilitarization of munitions from around the globe. On behalf of Pennsylvania's 13th District, I want to thank Lieutenant Colonel Ignatowski and his family for his selfless service, and moreover highlight the sense of purpose with which he has handled every project managed in his time at Letterkenny Munitions Center.

His leadership and the progressive changes he made will live on, and it is with the utmost appreciation with which I wish him the best as he continues to serve his nation in new capacities. I take great pleasure in congratulating Lieutenant Colonel Ignatowski on his prodigious accomplishments and thank him for his tireless devotion to duty and continued service to the state and to the nation.

Mr. Chair, I apologize for my absence this morning as I was attending the funeral service of my Godmother, Jane Davidson of Altoona, PA.

Had I been present, I would have voted: NAY on rollcall No. 295; NAY on rollcall No. 296; YEA on rollcall No. 297; NAY on rollcall No. 298; YEA on rollcall No. 299; NAY on rollcall No. 300; YEA on rollcall No. 301; YEA on rollcall No. 302; NAY on rollcall No. 303; NAY on rollcall No. 304; YEA on rollcall No. 305; YEA on rollcall No. 306; YEA on rollcall No. 307; YEA on rollcall No. 308; YEA on rollcall No. 309; YEA on rollcall No. 310; YEA on rollcall No. 311; YEA on rollcall No. 312; NAY on rollcall No. 313; NAY on rollcall No. 314; NAY on rollcall No. 315; YEA on rollcall No. 316; YEA on rollcall No. 317; YEA on rollcall No. 318; YEA on rollcall No. 319; and YEA on rollcall No. 320.

Madam Speaker, over the years, the Navy League of the United States has compiled an impressive record of accomplishments and is widely respected by both the private and public sector.

Navy League programs are welcomed in communities throughout the nation and its members are recognized for their integrity and patriotism.

In the words of President Theodore Roosevelt, ``It seems to me that all good Americans interested in the growth of their country and sensitive to its honor should give hearty support to the policies which the Navy League is founded. For the building and maintaining in proper shape of the American Navy, we must rely on nothing but the broad and farsighted patriotism of our people as a whole.''

In keeping with the wisdom and principles of President Theodore Roosevelt, it is my honor and privilege before the 116th Congress to recognize the 50,000 members and over 250 Councils of the Navy League of the United States at its National Convention June 19 to 22, 2019.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to address the latest action my colleagues from across the aisle have taken to blow up what was a perfectly good piece of legislation for the sake of scoring political points.

The SECURE Act was a great piece of legislation that would have allowed Americans to expand the benefits of 529 education savings plans.

It would have also allowed students with disabilities to be able to use their 529 savings accounts to pay for critical therapy options outside of the traditional classroom. But Democrats struck this commonsense provision down before bringing the bill to the floor today.

How can my colleagues across the aisle justify limiting the resources that children with disabilities have at their disposal to grow and to thrive?

As a father of a child with disabilities, I know how difficult it is to allow disabled children to receive the services that they deserve and that they need. Having flexible payment mechanisms to enhance these opportunities to access therapies opens doors that are otherwise closed.

Mr. Speaker, I condemn my colleagues across the aisle for their attack on children with disabilities.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1594, the First Responder Access to Innovative Technologies Act.

With threats to our communities constantly evolving, it is reassuring to see the emergence of new technologies ready to meet the new challenges. However, emerging technology is frequently developed faster than voluntary consensus standards can be implemented.

Recipients of grants under FEMA's State Homeland Security Grant Program and Urban Area Security Initiative must procure equipment that meets these standards. This can be problematic when first responders seek to use grant funds to acquire new and innovative technology that does not meet or exceed any applicable national voluntary consensus standard.

Unfortunately, if a grant recipient would like to use grant funds to purchase such equipment, FEMA does not maintain a uniform process for reviewing these applications. H.R. 1594 requires FEMA to develop such a process for reviewing these requests.

This legislation also directs FEMA to implement a uniform process for reviewing applications to purchase equipment not included on the authorized equipment list maintained by FEMA.

It is imperative that we listen to those in the emergency services sector and help enable them to acquire the tools that they need to save American lives and keep us safe. We must empower them to acquire the equipment they need for their jobs and provide them with a uniform process to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill and I support our first responders. These brave men and women run into danger as everyone else runs away from it. We owe it to them to create processes that make their jobs and their lives easier. They have our backs on our worst days. We should have their backs on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1313, the Transit Security Grant Program Flexibility Act.

The Transit Security Grant Program directly supports transportation infrastructure security activities by providing funds to owners and operators of transit systems. Whether they be bus systems, ferries, or passenger rail, this grant program aims to protect and increase the resilience of critical surface transportation infrastructure and the traveling public from acts of terrorism.

H.R. 1313 codifies the performance period for use of grant funds and allows additional time for large-scale capital security projects. This bill also allows grant recipients to use their awards to pay for the cost of backfilling personnel attending necessary security training.

This important legislation, introduced by my colleague on the Homeland Security Committee, Congressman Pete King, will further assist in keeping our communities safe against the threat of terrorism.

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in doing so.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. King).

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1437, the Securing DHS Firearms Act of 2019. This bill makes some much-needed improvements to address the security of firearms at the Department of Homeland Security.

A DHS Office of Inspector General report from October of 2017 found that the DHS and component personnel misplaced over 2,100 highly sensitive assets, including 228 firearms, and 1,889 badges between the fiscal years of 2014 and 2016.

The statistics from the OIG report and the lack of accountability for DHS personnel that fail to safeguard sensitive assets is startling. DHS performs a critical national security mission. It is unacceptable that DHS has deficiencies in the training personnel receive on how to properly safeguard and track sensitive assets like firearms.

H.R. 1437 follows the recommendations made by the OIG in its report and requires the under secretary of management at DHS to issue a directive to ensure the Department and its components adequately safeguard sensitive assets.

H.R. 1437 also mandates DHS to revise its Personal Property Asset Management Program Manual to require recurrent training and appropriate procedures to secure assets in accordance with the DHS directive.

The Securing DHS Firearms Act of 2019 puts into place important steps to ensure that DHS is appropriately safeguarding sensitive assets while conducting its critical mission. This much-needed bill is identical to legislation passed in the 115th Congress by a voice vote.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Correa for introducing this legislation, and I urge all Members to join me in supporting this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1912, the DHS Acquisition Documentation Integrity Act of 2019. This legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security to better document its major acquisition programs that are essential to keeping America safe.

While every Member of Congress will agree that protecting our Nation and its citizens is vitally important, we must also agree that protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring accountability for the government agencies is also essential.

The Government Accountability Office assists Congress in its efforts to ensure accountability by producing a report every 2 years that identifies areas in the Federal Government that are at high risk of waste, fraud, and abuse. Major acquisitions by DHS have consistently been identified by the GAO as high risk.

This legislation requires DHS to improve management of its major purchases of systems to secure the border, provide screening for travelers, and protect our shores, and for our other vital missions.

Too often, DHS has failed to document what these programs will cost, when they will be completed, and what they will deliver. It is unacceptable to spend billions of taxpayer dollars and not document this important information.

To address these issues, DHS has updated its acquisition policy to follow corporate best practices. However, it must take additional steps to ensure its components adhere to these policies.

H.R. 1912 provides important tools to ensure that these policies are being followed. It will improve visibility into DHS major acquisition programs and promote better management of DHS acquisitions of items that are expected to cost more than $300 million.

Under the bill, the Undersecretary for Management must require the relevant component or office to maintain documentation that provides validated operational requirements, a complete lifecycle cost estimate, an independent verification of that cost estimate, a cost-benefit analysis of the program, and a complete schedule for the acquisition program.

With this documentation, Congress and other government watchdogs will be able to conduct necessary oversight to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively.

This bill passed the House of Representatives by voice vote in both the 114th and 115th Congresses.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Torres Small for reintroducing this language, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1892, the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Technical Corrections Act of 2019.

In the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, Congress required the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a security review every 4 years. As the threats to the United States change and evolve, it is more important than ever for DHS to produce a robust strategy to protect the American public.

The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, or QHSR, is intended to outline DHS' strategic outlook in its plan to successfully carry out its mission to protect our homeland. Thus far, DHS has produced two QHSRs since the requirement was established: one in 2010 and its most recent one in 2014. We are currently awaiting the release of the 2018 QHSR, which is quite a bit behind schedule.

The Government Accountability Office has reviewed both reports and made recommendations on how DHS could improve its efforts for future quadrennial reviews. In its 2016 review of the most recent QHSR, the

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2066, the DHS Intelligence Rotational Assignment Program Act of 2019.

I want to commend the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Gallagher) for introducing this legislation.

The goal of H.R. 2066 is to establish a robust rotation program for intelligence analysts across the Department of Homeland Security. As a former intelligence officer, Representative Gallagher certainly understands the value of robust, interagency intelligence cooperation.

This legislation addresses specific shortfalls within the Department of Homeland Security where the different component intelligence offices do not reliably coordinate and analysts from one agency are rarely detailed to another.

This bill was originally introduced last Congress and received overwhelming bipartisan support. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, establishing a rotation program for intelligence analysts from individual DHS component intelligence offices is essential for building a robust DHS intelligence enterprise.

I applaud Congressman Gallagher for his work on this issue, and I want to thank Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Mike Rogers for bringing this bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Bellwood-Antis High School girls' basketball team who secured their second consecutive PIAA Class 2A state championship with a 66-57 victory over West Middlesex.

Madam Speaker,

Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to address the dangerous proposal being put forth by Democrats in the ongoing negotiations to secure our border and fund the government.

Talks on this issue are now stalled because Democrats are demanding a cap in the number of beds allocated to detain illegal criminals. But this new initiative blatantly contradicts what our leaders on the ground are asking us to do on this issue.

Just this weekend, the National Sheriffs' Association and the Major County Sheriffs of America both stated: ``Any legislation that reduces ICE's detention capacity would hinder its ability to perform its national security and public safety missions. . . . In order to meet the cap being tentatively proposed by Congress, ICE would be compelled to release thousands of aliens from custody.''

The sheriffs went on to say that if the Democrats' plans were approved, then 9,000 illegal immigrants would have to be released by the end of the fiscal year. That is 9,000 criminals.

We need to focus on securing our border, funding the wall, and making our country safer, not protecting criminals and sending them back onto the streets to endanger our citizens.

We need to listen to these recommendations.