Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the East Central High School football team on winning the 2017 IHSAA Class 4A State Championship.

The Trojans faced off against the undefeated Lowell Red Devils at Lucas Oil Stadium, on Saturday, November 25, 2017. East Central came from behind to win 14-7, securing their second state title in school history.

I am proud of these young men for this remarkable achievement and for the sportsmanship they displayed throughout this exciting season. I want to commend Coach Justin Roden as well as all of the assistant coaches who led these young men to victory.

Congrats, Trojans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his work.

Hoosiers get it. The recent reports of sexual assault and harassment in Congress are reprehensible.

I applaud Representative Comstock for her hard work on this resolution. The House resolution today is an important step in the right direction. It mandates that everyone working in Congress has the proper antiharassment training.

We must do more. The AP recently reported that the Federal Government has spent $17 million in taxpayer money settling harassment claims and other violations. It is astounding that tax dollars have been spent to protect Members of Congress and silence victims.

It is not okay. That is why I am filing legislation to stop taxpayer dollars from being used in this way, to settle sexual harassment claims against Members of Congress. This legislation will empower victims by releasing them from nondisclosure agreements that prevent them from coming forward and telling their story. Let's pass today's resolution and then keep working to do more.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Brady for his leadership.

Today is a huge victory for working Americans. Today, we take a giant step forward to deliver more jobs, fairer taxes, and bigger paychecks for working Hoosiers. This bill will create thousands of jobs in Indiana, and it will give the typical working family a $1,500 tax cut.

The Trump tax plan also includes a provision that I authored to stop $4 billion to $7 billion in refundable child tax credits paid out to illegal immigrants each year. These savings help expand the child tax credit for working American families by $600 per child.

Hoosiers get it: no one should get a tax incentive to violate the law.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this plan. It will give working Hoosiers a pay raise, bring back jobs from overseas, and get our economy moving again.

I also urge the Senate to act and keep their promise to the American people.

Madam Speaker, Hoosier families deserve a pay raise, and that is what President Trump's tax plan is going to give them: more jobs, fairer taxes, and bigger paychecks for working Hoosiers.

Importantly, the plan includes a provision that I have been working on that would stop $4 billion to $7 billion in refundable tax credits paid out each year to illegal immigrants. This is a giant step in the right direction to protect American taxpayers and American families. In the Trump tax plan these savings will help increase child tax credits for American citizens by $600 each child.

Hoosiers get it. It is past time to address an immigration system that rewards people who come here illegally. No one should get a tax incentive to violate the law.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for his hard work on this topic.

Mr. Speaker, Hoosiers continue to suffer under the negative impacts of ObamaCare each and every day. Despite the House keeping its promise to repeal this disastrous law, the Senate has failed to act.

But, fortunately, we have an opportunity today to make a difference, to protect our seniors, and to get rid of one of ObamaCare's worst provisions: the Independent Payment Advisory Board, better known as the

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Kentucky for his leadership and my colleague from Indiana for his leadership on this legislation as well.

Mr. Speaker, from day one, President Trump's message to North Korea has been clear: the U.S. will not tolerate any North Korean actions that threaten American lives.

Hoosiers appreciate President Trump's leadership and understand the crisis we face. North Korea is an erratic and brutal regime. We simply cannot accept a world in which North Korea has nuclear weapons that can reach American shores.

Unfortunately, with each missile test, we are moving closer to that world becoming a reality. That is why I am proud to work with my colleague from Kentucky and other colleagues on the Otto Warmbier North Korean Nuclear Sanctions Act. With this bill, we will give foreign financial institutions a clear choice: you can either do business with Kim Jong-un in North Korea, or you can do business with the United States--but not both.

By imposing the toughest financial sanctions ever on North Korea, this bill cuts off crucial resources that the regime relies on to finance its weapons program.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, help us meet the North Korean threat head-on, and do what is necessary to protect our country.

Mr. Speaker, every year, middle class seniors are forced to pay billions in taxes on their Social Security benefits. This tax is fundamentally not fair and penalizes folks who have paid into the system their entire lives.

There is a better way. We should give these seniors a tax cut, let them keep more of their benefits, and create a better, fairer system for all Americans.

In 1984, when Congress passed this tax on seniors, it was designed to only impact high-income seniors, about 14 percent. But the tax was never adjusted for inflation, and today, fully half of seniors are paying this onerous tax. In fact, there are over 280,000 Hoosiers making less than $75,000 per year who are subject to this tax.

I introduced the Social Security Tax Fairness Act to give these seniors the tax break they deserve. This bill cuts taxes for seniors, single and married seniors, and ends the marriage penalty on Social Security benefits, too.

Under this bill, a retired married couple with $70,000 in income will see $2,000 in tax cuts. It is time to deliver tax cuts for every American, and this legislation would ensure Hoosier seniors aren't left behind either.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge President Trump to decertify the disastrous Iran nuclear deal. There are reports that decertification may come as early as tomorrow, and I certainly hope so.

The Iran nuclear deal was a giant mistake. It has been bad for America's national security, bad for our ally Israel's national security, and bad for the world.

By decertifying the flawed Iran nuclear deal before October 15, the administration has a chance to send a strong message that the United States will not sit idly by while the Iranian threat continues to grow.

The deal was premised on a naive notion that Iran would somehow evolve into a peaceful global partner, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. Make no mistake about it: Iran is not our friend, does not share our values, and should not have been trusted.

For decades, Iran has called the United States the Great Satan, and their leadership continues to call for the total annihilation of our ally Israel. Iran remains the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world and is actively working towards obtaining a nuclear bomb.

This much is clear: Iran has not upheld the spirit of this deal. Now is the time to reassert our authority on the world stage and hold Iran accountable.

I look forward to working with President Trump to keep America, our allies, and the rest of the world safe from Iranian aggression.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a dear friend of mine, Dave Davis, who passed away recently. Dave was a giant Purdue fan, but we first met at a UCLA basketball game over 20 years ago.

We immediately struck up a friendship, and in 2000, when I announced I was running for Congress, Dave was all in and, despite the long odds, took vacation time to drive me all around Madison County. We didn't win that one, but that is the kind of guy Dave Davis was. He put others first, sharing in your successes and your struggles as if they were his own.

Dave had a great smile and a rare quality: he saw everyone for who they could be, not just what they were.

Dave spent his career in public service for our State and our Nation, but his most important priority was his family. He never passed up an opportunity to talk about his wife, Robyn; or his kids, Alex, Amy, and Eric.

Dave Davis was a good man and my friend. Congratulations on a life well lived. Godspeed.

Mr. Speaker, we have an incredible opportunity to pass tax cuts for the American people. I appreciate President Trump's leadership on this issue as well as the leadership of Chairman Brady in working to pass the President's tax plan.

While we are working on tax cuts, I rise today to urge the chairman and the Ways and Means Committee to also eliminate tax credits for illegal immigrants. Most Hoosiers get it: we can't continue to reward people who come to our country illegally while those who work hard and play by the rules struggle to get ahead.

I have authored legislation to close the loophole that allows $7 billion in refundable child tax credits to be paid out to illegal immigrants every year. This money should be used to increase the child tax credit for law-abiding American families. President Trump included this proposal in his budget request to Congress, and I believe it should be included in the President's broader tax plan.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 106th National Day of Taiwan on October 10, 2017.

For decades, the United States and Taiwan have enjoyed a fruitful partnership that continues to this day. Taiwan is the United States' 10th largest trading partner and 8th largest export market for U.S. agricultural products, which has direct ties to Hoosier. Recently, Taiwan's Agriculture Goodwill Trade Mission to Washington, D.C. and my home state of Indiana culminated in a $2.8 billion procurement agreement between Taiwan and U.S. grain producers. I applaud the mission's success and look forward to continued collaboration with Taiwan.

I ask my colleagues to join me in support the U.S.-Taiwan relationship, and in wishing Taiwan a Happy Double Ten Day.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my coauthor on this bill, Congresswoman Maloney, for her great leadership on this legislation, as well as Chairman Huizenga, Chairman Hensarling, Ranking Member Waters, and the entire Financial Services Committee team for their hard work on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, it is a rare occasion in Washington when Republicans and Democrats can come together and get behind a change to the banking regulations, but we stand here today behind H.R. 1624 because the banking regulators, frankly, well, they messed it up. They created a rule that gives foreign municipalities a competitive advantage over our American cities and towns, and this advantage is hurting our communities.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is really quite simple. It will help cities and towns in my State and across the United States save money on roads and bridges and schools. President Trump has made rebuilding our infrastructure a priority for our Nation, and this bipartisan bill paves the way for this type of investment by lowering the price tag for roads and bridges.

H.R. 1624 reverses a backwards banking regulation that makes it more expensive for U.S. municipalities to finance infrastructure projects. Specifically, the bill will amend the regulation to enable more banks to hold municipal bonds to cover their liquidity requirements. This change should reduce the cost of borrowing for cities and towns across the country. Ultimately, this bill helps taxpayers by making it cheaper to finance infrastructure projects.

H.R. 1624 will help blue States and red States alike, and that is why you have seen such overwhelming bipartisan support for this in the Halls of Congress. The bill passed the Financial

Services Committee unanimously this summer, and very similar legislation passed the Chamber by a voice vote last year.

Still we have got more work to do, and there is now momentum in the Senate to get H.R. 1624 across the finish line.

The bill is also supported by numerous outside advocacy groups, including the National Governors Association, the Government Finance Officers Association, the National League of Cities, the National Association of State Treasurers, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and even the State treasurer from my home State of Indiana, my good friend, Kelly Mitchell.

Mr. Speaker, today we take the first step in this process in the House toward reversing this backwards regulation, and I urge all my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

Our Nation has long recognized that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, chief among them is the right to life. I am unapologetically pro-life because all human life has dignity and should be protected, especially the lives of defenseless unborn children.

Today the House is taking a critical but seemingly uncontroversial step forward in protecting life by prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, or put another way, when unborn children can feel pain.

Currently, the United States is one of only seven countries worldwide, including North Korea, that still allow late-term abortions. This bill would end these horrific procedures.

I pray that one day our Nation will protect all unborn children, but this important bill is a big step forward towards that goal.

Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government's first duty is to protect its citizens. For too long, dangerous gangs like MS-13 have exploited our Nation's immigration laws and made our communities less safe. Hoosiers are tired of it, and it is well past time to crack down on this illegal activity and restore the rule of law in America.

Today, the House passed a commonsense reform that does just that, ensuring violent gangs are kept off our streets. The Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act would allow law enforcement to detain and deport criminal alien gang members who pose a serious threat to our safety.

Instead of waiting on another tragedy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could remove these criminals before they have a chance to harm innocent Americans.

The bill would also prevent these criminals from ever entering the United States again. It is really just common sense. This bill will make America safer, and it is worthy of our support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of U.S. Army Sergeant Jonathon Michael Hunter, who was killed in the line of duty on Wednesday, August 2, 2017, in Afghanistan.

Jonathon graduated from Columbus East High School in 2011 and went on to study music at Indiana State University on an ROTC scholarship. After a year at Indiana State, Jonathon returned home to work and decided to follow his family's military tradition by joining the U.S. Army on April 8, 2014. Jonathon was in the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was deployed to Afghanistan on July I, 2017. He earned his Expert Infantryman Badge and was recently promoted to sergeant.

Jonathon is survived by his wife, Whitney Michelle Hunter, and parents, Mark Hunter, Kimberly Thompson and step-father Brian Thompson, to whom I extend my deepest sympathies.

On behalf of all Hoosiers, I thank Sergeant Hunter for his service and sacrifice to our nation. He represented his community, state, and country, with honor and dignity. We continue to pray for his family, friends, and all who knew Jonathon. Our hearts are with you. His service and sacrifice will always be remembered.