Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 849, the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act.

The Independent Payment Advisory Board, known as the IPAB, was created under the ACA, and consists of a panel of 15 unelected, unaccountable government bureaucrats with the authority to single- handedly cut Medicare spending. By doing this, the IPAB reveals the truth that government, rather than the patient, is at the center of our Nation's healthcare policy.

In repealing the IPAB, we begin to help get rid of the notion of the mentality that Washington knows best when it comes to our healthcare. It is imperative that we act now before nominees are put forward to serve on the board and access to care is greatly decreased or denied.

My constituents in western Pennsylvania rely on these funds for their healthcare needs. I am proud to see Congress working together in a bipartisan manner on this commonsense legislation that will keep patients and doctors in control of healthcare decisions and preserve Medicare for current and future seniors.

Mr. Speaker, today House Republicans introduced H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

This day has been a long time coming. Since Republicans gained the majority in 2011, there have been numerous congressional hearings and briefings, feedback from constituents on

what tax reform might look like, and even the introduction of a comprehensive reform bill introduced in the last Congress. Republicans campaigned on a better way to tax reform in specified areas for reform, and we followed that up earlier this year with a framework document setting forth our principles.

Today is the culmination of more than 6 years of work, but our work is not done. Now Members of Congress and the public will have the opportunity to study the legislation in detail. When all the dust settles, two questions will remain:

Will this put more money in the average American's pocket?

Will this put America in a much better position in the global economy and allow us to finally break through years of stagnation with much healthier growth, more jobs, and higher incomes?

That should be our focus. I encourage everyone to visit fairandsimple.gop, and I look forward to a real debate on how tax reform and tax cuts will relight opportunities for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. Darryl DiOrio for his forty-seven years of service and leadership in the Johnstown community.

Mr. DiOrio holds degrees from Saint Vincent College, the Pennsylvania State University and Saint Francis University.

He has devoted his entire career to working in the steel industry, including twenty years at Bethlehem Steel Corporation, six years as President and CEO of Johnstown Wire Technologies, and nineteen years as President and CEO of Gautier Steel Ltd.

Under Mr. DiOrio's leadership, Gautier Steel recovered from a near shutdown to a multi-million-dollar operation.

Furthermore, Mr. DiOrio saved thousands of family-sustaining jobs by helping keep both Johnstown Wire and Gautier Steel in the Johnstown area.

Mr. DiOrio's leadership and great care for the community will leave an impact on Johnstown for years to come.

I would like to congratulate Mr. DiOrio on his recent retirement and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Neil Capretto, Medical Director of Gateway Rehabilitation, for his 30 years of service to the Beaver County community.

Dr. Capretto graduated from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and went on to serve as chief resident in psychiatry at St. Francis General Hospital before settling in Western Pennsylvania.

As an expert in the study of addiction, he has written scholarly articles and served as a medical commentator and consultant to both local and national media networks.

Today, he serves as an innovator in the field of pain management and a leader in the fight against the opioid epidemic.

Not only is Dr. Capretto incredibly knowledgeable, but he continues to display exemplary patience and kindness, even amidst his battle with cancer.

I'd like to thank him for his 30 years of service and let him and his family know that we are praying for speedy recovery in this difficult time. God bless.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bipartisan legislation sponsored by my friend and colleague, Mr. Barr from Kentucky.

This legislation sends a clear message to the rest of the world: you can either do business with the United States and the free world or you can do business with the brutal dictatorship of Kim Jong-un and the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea. You cannot deal with both.

Mr. Speaker, the gravest threat facing our Nation today is North Korea, the world's worst perpetrator of human rights. Kim's contempt for human life animates both his human rights record and his nuclear ambitions.

Just this past June, we learned how Kim's regime tortured University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier. His parents, Cindy and Fred, went public with the details of their son's suffering in September during an interview with CNN.

These are just a few of the details that Fred and Cindy shared in that interview: ``Halfway up the stairs, we hear this loud, guttural howling, inhuman sound.''

They found him strapped to a stretcher. He has a shaved head. His eyes are darting around. He is blind, he is deaf, he is on a feeding tube. His bottom teeth looked like they had been taken with a pair of pliers and rearranged. His mother, Cindy, described how his hands and legs were totally deformed.

Otto's story serves as a very real and very tangible reminder, and teaches a new generation of Americans of what happens under totalitarian governments and communist dictators.

Now, as the brutal Kim regime continues its nuclear quest, the same barbarism that killed Otto threatens all Americans. This July, the dictatorship claimed they had the capacity to send an intercontinental ballistic missile anywhere in the world. In September, they conducted their sixth nuclear weapons test and claimed to have detonated a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. These actions must not be ignored.

This legislation adds secondary sanctions to those passed in May. It not only prevents persons from trading with, facilitating trade with, investing in or participating in a joint venture with a North Korean entity, but it also targets foreign financial institutions from aiding in such actions. Simply put, this bill forces banks to cut off all participation with North Korea-related business interests, freezing out the capital that funds North Korea.

Mr. Speaker, 56 years ago, at the height of the Cold War, when another godless communist regime threatened the world, President Kennedy reminded us of America's exceptional nature and consequent leadership in the world. His inaugural address included this reflection: ``And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.''

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation not just for Otto and his family, but for all those who might be harmed by North Korea if we do not act now.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentleman from Kentucky for his leadership on this vital issue.

Madam Speaker, buried in today's disaster supplemental spending bill is a $16 billion taxpayer bailout of the National Flood Insurance Program. That is nearly half the cost of this bill. This bailout does not come with a single reform that would put the program on the path to sustainability.

This taxpayer bailout maintains a program that has resulted in taxpayer-subsidized development and reconstruction of homes that repeatedly flood.

Madam Speaker, why are we not reforming this program that puts residents and first responders in harm's way? How much more debt are we willing to let this program pile onto the next generation?

Americans in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands need help, and I would have liked to vote for the relief portion of today's legislation, but the multibillion-dollar taxpayer bailout of an unreformed program made the bill unacceptable.

I urge my colleagues to reconsider the path we are on. We could have had a bill that not only provided relief to hurricane victims, but would have provided relief for taxpayers and the next generation as well, but we did not.

We will get another chance for fiscal sanity in December, when we reconsider the additional disaster funding and funding for the rest of 2018. Let's hope we make better progress at that time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule and the underlying legislation.

The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, or Micah's Law, is of utmost importance. Not only does the bill recognize the common humanity and inherent rights that we share with the most vulnerable members of our society, it offers our Nation an opportunity to prevent excruciating pain for those same members, and it will stop a form of violence that has gone on for too long. This bill is a step forward in reversing a culture of violence and restoring a culture of life.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that passage of this legislation will save 2,750 children per year. That is 2,750 girls and boys who will have a chance to contribute to our society.

If you want to facilitate a culture of life, vote for this bill. If you want to begin to prevent violence in our country, vote for this bill. I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, pre-born babies feel pain. The medical field has found clear evidence that pre-born babies have the capacity to feel intense pain at 20 weeks.

That is what this legislation is about. When a child's body is gruesomely dismembered, they feel pain. When the abortion doctor attempts to use a ``less crunchy technique''--as we learned in last year's abhorrent videos about Planned Parenthood, which was their words--to procure more intact body parts, they feel pain.

Mr. Speaker, I shudder to think of the millions of lives taken from this world in such a gruesome and violent manner. Equally disturbing is the thought of how much pain has been endured by millions of pre-born babies whose lives have been cut short since Roe v. Wade.

We must do more to promote a culture of life in this country. We must do more to lessen a culture of violence. That is why I rise today in strong support of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. By acknowledging that babies feel the pain of abortion at 20 weeks, this legislation affirms the inherent humanity of the most innocent--unborn babies--in our country.

To add to that, this legislation also includes protections for babies that survive an attempted abortion. It ensures that children who do survive and are able to continue to live outside the womb are given the immediate medical attention they deserve so that they have a chance to live.

With growing developments in the medical field, children are able to survive outside the womb at earlier points in pregnancy. Such was the case for Micah Pickering, for whom this legislation is name for. Micah was born at 20 weeks' gestation and is now a healthy 5-year-old.

The Congressional Budget Office recently reported that approximately 2,750 lives per year will be saved through this bill. That is 2,750 girls and boys; daughters and sons; brothers and sisters; and not medical waste, like opponents of this legislation would like you to believe.

The United States is only one of seven countries, including North Korea and China, that allow abortion after 20 weeks.

Are we really that kind of Nation? Does our Constitution not grant all Americans the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant they are?

Mr. Speaker, this is commonsense legislation. I urge every single Member of this body to take a deep look inside themselves and ask if they support not only inflicting pain on unborn babies, but also denying these innocent babies their constitutional right to life.

I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Arizona, for his leadership on this important issue.

If you want to stand for a culture of life, vote for this bill. If you want to take a stand against a culture of violence, vote for this bill.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this coming Sunday is new year's day, the start of the Federal Government's 2018 fiscal year.

Several weeks ago, Congress passed and the President signed a temporary spending bill to carry the government through December 8. This temporary bill was necessary because, although the House passed its spending bills, the Senate did not.

One of the more glaring problems with the CR is that it continues the years' long practice of shortchanging

our defenses and the men and women in our military. Defense spending and defense policy are frozen, and the changes this House has insisted on in both the Defense Authorization Act and the Defense Appropriations bill are stalled, to the detriment of our defenses and our men and women in uniform.

Secretary Mattis has written, ``Long-term CRs impact the readiness of our forces and their equipment at a time when security threats are extraordinarily high. The longer the CR, the greater the consequences for our force.''

The risks are real, Mr. Speaker. We see threats growing daily from North Korea and Iran. The fight continues against ISIS and against terror in Afghanistan, and now we need to deploy urgently needed resources to Puerto Rico. There is no need to wait until December 8 to get a full-year Defense Appropriations bill. I call on the Senate to act promptly next week even and get our troops funded.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an Army veteran and University of Pittsburgh engineer, Dr. Rory Cooper, for his achievements and impact on society.

While serving as a soldier, Rory was injured in an accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Despite the challenges presented by his disability, Dr. Cooper earned his Ph.D. in electrical and computer science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His education and passion for helping others with disabilities led him to found the Human Engineering Research Laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh.

Along with his team of researchers, Dr. Cooper is credited with 25 patents that have significantly advanced wheelchair technology and benefited tens of thousands of veterans.

Mr. Speaker, this week, Dr. Cooper will be presented with the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal. I

thank Dr. Cooper for his work and congratulate him on this achievement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Corporal Daniel Francis Kelly, who, after being listed as missing in action in Korea for 67 years, is finally home.

Danny was the youngest of nine boys of Irene and John Kelly from Pittsburgh's north side. Seven of his eight brothers served in World War II, one of whom was Medal of Honor recipient Chuck ``Commando'' Kelly. Danny idolized Chuck and wanted to be a war hero just like him.

With Chuck's help, Danny enlisted in the Army in 1950, at the age of 17. By November of that year, as part of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, he found himself at the Battle of Ch'ongch'on River, where he was captured on November 26. It is believed he died at the POW camp known as ``Death Valley'' in March 1951.

Corporal Kelly, this week, your country gives you the funeral with military honors you have long deserved. Like your brother Chuck, you are a hero. A grateful nation says ``thank you.''

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

Mr. Chairman, I, too, rise in opposition of this amendment. The proponent suggests that his amendment is basically necessary for the functioning of the CFPB. It is not. The CFPB is going to continue to function but with the accountability of the American people.

This amendment is inconsistent--inconsistent with the fundamental principle of American Government: of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. This amendment is inconsistent with the fundamental American principle of self-rule. That happens in this Congress.

Congress needs to have authority over every part of the Federal Government, including the CFPB, so we can make the determination of what harm it may be bringing to consumers. We do know that consumers have been harmed with loss of free checking and losing their local community institutions because of the overregulation coming from this town.

So I urge my fellow Members to defeat this amendment and to vote for accountability over the CFPB.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Here we go again: another amendment defending another one-size-fits- all Washington solution, and a solution that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals would say is going to be promulgated by the single most powerful official, other than the President, in the United States Government, an official that could effect the lives of countless Americans who are in need of short-term credit.

This amendment is a solution in search of a problem. There is no regulation going on in payday lending. The fact is these transactions are being regulated. They are being regulated at the State level by legislators who know their States and their constituents.

This CFPB action, if they act here, may very well remove the option to utilize a small-dollar short-term loan, and that is likely to have a very real and very harmful impact on the consumer, forcing them to miss bill payments, shift to alternative--potentially illegal--options, or exacerbating any number of other conceivable financial emergencies that could arise.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment.

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

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

My submitted amendment, No. 91 to division G, the State and Foreign Ops Appropriations bill, transfers $30 million to the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement account, or INCLE. The proposed $30 million transfer would allow INCLE funding to remain consistent with 2017 levels.

One notable program that INCLE assists is the Merida Initiative. As we all here know, our Nation is reeling from an out-of-control opioid epidemic. My district in western Pennsylvania, like so many throughout the United States, has been particularly hard hit. According to the DEA, overdoses in Pennsylvania rose by 37 percent last year. Attorney General Sessions recently said that drug overdoses are the top lethal issue in the country today.

Across the border in Mexico, our neighbor is suffering from massive levels of violence and murder, mostly fueled by drug trafficking organizations, and the violence levels are increasing. Mexico's monthly murder rate has now reached a 20-year high.

Mr. Chairman, the Merida Initiative is a partnership between the United States and the Mexican Government that combats drug cartels and organized crime in Mexico. It also helps to strengthen the Mexican justice system by fostering the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Mr. Chairman, the majority of heroin and other narcotics, including fentanyl, smuggled into the U.S. come through Mexico or pass through it. Preventing drugs from ever crossing the border is a crucial step to healing our Nation.

In order to reduce the flow of narcotics coming over the border, we need to do everything we can to help our international law enforcement partners fight drug traffickers in their own country. The United States had previous successes with these types of drug interdiction programs, particularly in Colombia in the 1990s. We can replicate that success in Mexico if we invest in the INCLE and in our foreign law enforcement allies.

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

Mr. Chairman, this amendment should not be viewed as any criticism of the merits of the Fulbright Program. I don't have any. But we are talking about prioritization. The INCLE program has been cut by $36 million.

We are in the throes of a catastrophic opioid epidemic in this country, and Mexico is suffering from untold violence. The headlines tell the story:

``Mexico's bloody drug war is killing more people than ever.'' LA Times, July 22, 2017.

``26 people killed in northern Mexico gunfight as drug cartel violence continues to rise.'' LA Times, July 5, 2017.

``Mexico City has mostly been spared from grisly drug violence. Now that may be changing.'' The Washington Post, July 26, 2017.

``U.S. warns of rise in drug cartel violence in Chihuahua.'' El Paso Times, July 7, 2017.

``Acapulco is now Mexico's Murder Capital.'' The Washington Post, August 24, 2017.

``The Deadliest Assignment: Reporting in Mexico.'' CBS News, August 21, 2017.

``Gunmen Kill Prominent Mexican Journalist Who Covered Drug Cartel.'' The New York Times, May 15, 2017.

``Another journalist has been gunned down in Mexico--the eighth killed this year.'' LA Times, July 31, 2017.

``A Mexican reporter was in a program to protect journalists. He was still killed.'' LA Times, August 23, 2017. He was the 10th journalist killed this year.

Then, there are the headlines in my district:

``Cambria County coroner again `sounding the alarm' as OD deaths accelerate.'' Johnstown Tribune Democrat, February 14, 2017.

``A young couple died of overdose, police say. Their baby died of starvation days later.'' The Washington Post, December 25, 2016.

``Beaver County overdose deaths still on the rise in 2017.'' Beaver County Times, May 25, 2017.

``Allegheny County drug overdose deaths surge to 613 in 2016, breaking record.'' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 6, 2017.

``Heroin overdose of 11-year-old Pittsburgh girl not a sign of childhood epidemic, experts says.'' TribLive, May 5, 2017.

``Mother grieves for son, asks God to `damn heroin.''' Johnstown Tribune Democrat, March 5, 2016.

Mr. Chairman, we have budget constraints. We need to be putting the resources where the problem is. We have an opioid epidemic in this country. We have violence in Latin America. The funds that I seek to move into INCLE will help to stem these crises.

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

Mr. Chairman, again, this amendment is not meant to bring a detraction to the Fulbright Program. Even with the amendment, the Fulbright Program will be funded at more than $200 million to support the initiatives that the opponents to the amendment would cite.

Again, I talk about priorities. I talk about the grips of the crisis that we are seeing in this country and our neighbor to the south, Mexico. We need to be working together to address this problem. Programs like the Merida Initiative are key to solving both the crisis in Mexico and the crisis here in the United States.

Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on August 28, 2017, Concurrent Technologies Corporation will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. I rise to acknowledge this notable milestone and to pay recognition to the company's history and dedicated employees.

Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC), originally known as Metalworking Technology Inc., was formed in 1987 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to operate the National Center for Excellence in Metalworking Technology for the U.S. Navy.

In 1992, Metalworking Technology Inc. changed its name to Concurrent Technologies Corporation to convey more accurately the organization's expanded mission: to provide cutting-edge scientific, applied research and development solutions to its clients.

Over its 30 years, CTC, in partnership with its clients, has created numerous breakthrough technologies and innovative solutions, especially for the benefit of U.S. Warfighters. CTC takes a collaborative approach to its work, sharing credit and celebrating achievements with everyone who plays a role in its success.

Today, CTC is an independent, nonprofit, applied scientific research and development professional services organization providing innovative management and technology-based solutions to each branch of the U.S. military, various U.S. Government agencies, and industry.

Together with its affiliates, Enterprise Ventures Corporation and CTC Foundation, CTC leverages research, development, test and evaluation work to provide transformative, full lifecycle solutions that best serves its clients' needs.

CTC has been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies four times by Ethisphere Institute. As such, CTC joins an elite group of businesses that are recognized for defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

At CTC, 32 percent of all new employees are veterans, and veterans comprise 15 percent of the workforce. The company has received multiple honors as a military-friendly organization, including the Soaring Eagle Award, Extraordinary Employer Support Award, Above and Beyond Award, Liberty Bell, Pro-Patria and Seven Seals Awards. Military Times has named Concurrent Technologies Corporation a Best for Vets Employer seven times in recent years.

The company is also a good corporate citizen whose employees volunteer thousands of hours to worthwhile local, regional, and national causes. Individually and through CTC Foundation, they actively support schools, healthcare and human service providers, economic development programs, the arts, and recreation.

Mr. Speaker, I offer my congratulations to Concurrent Technologies Corporation on completing thirty years of vital collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense and other U.S. agencies to improve the security of our nation. Because of their efforts, the United States Warfighter is better equipped to serve our great nation and the United States is a safer place to live for all of us. I know I speak for many when I wish CTC and its affiliates, EVC and the CTC Foundation and their employees continued success in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the strongest support possible for this bill to begin the process of establishing a memorial to honor the servicemembers of our longest war.

5,799 days ago, on a crystal blue September morning, we came face to face with an evil as old as time. Within days, our military was engaged, and within weeks, we sustained our first

casualties. Our latest loss happened this very month.

They came from every walk of American life, from the North, the South, the East, the West, every race, color, and creed, men and women.

The memorial authorized in this bill will allow the Nation to remember not only those who did not come home, but also those with life-changing injuries, visible and invisible, the incomprehensible and too often unnoticed stress on the spouses and children of those deployed, and the sacrifices of those who put their stateside lives on hold to serve.

Mr. Speaker, amidst the divisions in our country today, we need this memorial now more than ever, yes, to remember our fallen, but also to bind us together as we reflect upon their sacrifice for the transcendent ideals upon which this country was founded.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin, the gentleman from Arizona, and the gentleman from Massachusetts for their work on this legislation and for their service to our country.