Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for the conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019.

This bipartisan piece of legislation is crucial for our Nation's armed services, and it is an honor and privilege to be selected again to serve as a conferee.

We have over 15 major military installations in Texas, and NDAA funds key defense and scientific research industries throughout the State, and especially for the constituents that I serve in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. This bill ensures our military is supported with the research they need to complete their missions and face the national security challenges at home and abroad.

This is a crucial time for Democrats and Republicans to find ways to work together for solutions that will ensure the safety of the United States and our allies--now, really, more so today than ever before.

This bill will make great strides in achieving that mission. This bill provides the highest pay increase for our troops in a decade, funds innovation in emerging technologies that will increase aviation readiness, and requires the DOD establish a pilot program to maximize opioid safety in the military health system by monitoring controlled substances for servicemembers.

It is also a great point of pride in Texas that we supply some of the best military and defense readiness equipment for our armed services. Many of the Nation's F-35 Joint Strike Fighters are built in Fort Worth, and Lockheed Martin is one of the metroplex's largest employers. I will continue to fight tirelessly for additional funding for F-35s to ensure that our Armed Forces have the most advanced jet fighters in the world.

Democrats have also succeeded in taking out funding for the wall, which I think was very important in this bill. I was disappointed about taxpayer dollars being spent to fund a very extravagant military parade that I don't think that we need. I think it shows authoritarianism. However, this bill funding makes great progress in improving our military readiness and continues to demonstrate America's resilience and strength.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule in order that the Quigley amendment restore funds to prevent Russian interference in our elections.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my fellow Texans in honoring Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks for a tremendous year of leadership as president of the National Association of Counties.

For over 30 years, Commissioner Brooks has fought for underserved communities across Tarrant County. As a community volunteer, a city elected official, and county commissioner, his integrity, innovation, and fervor to help others has touched generations of Texans.

He has taken on issues such as healthcare for the homeless, infant mortality, obesity, criminal justice reform, mental health, and AIDS education; and this past year, he worked tirelessly to bring awareness to his presidential initiative Serving the Underserved: Counties Addressing Poverty.

The project has pushed over 3,000 counties to look at the role they play in alleviating poverty and to develop best practices to address vital societal needs, especially as pertain to early childhood development.

Through his work, he has created a community family that supports and lifts each other up, building hope and faith across Tarrant County. I honor his lifetime of work and his dedication to advocating for the toughest issues that our communities face.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my fellow Texans in congratulating Tarrant County Commissioner, Roy Charles Brooks, for his tremendous leadership as the President of the National Association of Counties.

This month, Commissioner Brooks is completing a very successful year representing the 3,069 counties in America as the President of the National Association of Counties.

He has worked tirelessly this year to bring his Presidential Initiative: ``Serving the Underserved: Counties Addressing Poverty,'' to light. His proposal pushed counties to look at the role they played in alleviating generational poverty with a focus on early childhood development. Under his leadership, counties now have some best practice solutions at their fingertips that can be used to address important societal needs.

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

Mr. Speaker, I support a robust and innovative space industry. I also believe that it is very important that we leverage the investment taxpayers have allowed the Nation to make in its facilities and workforce.

The bill before us today that is known as H.R. 5345, also known as the American Leadership in Space Technology and Advanced Rocketry Act, recognizes the rocket propulsion work of the Marshall Space Flight Center and that center's role in helping to develop the next generation of rocket propulsion capabilities. The Marshall Space Flight Center has a long and storied history in rocket development dating back to the huge Saturn V rockets that powered our astronauts to the Moon. That tradition continues to this day.

Mr. Speaker, I support moving this bill out of the House floor, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support a robust and successful commercial space industry. In that regard, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on policies that facilitate the Nation's continued growth and leadership in space.

The bill before us today, H.R. 5346, known as the Commercial Space Support Vehicle Act, will amend the statute to provide the Secretary of Transportation with authority to license or permit space support vehicles for space support flights such as crew training or research and development that are related to space launch or reentry.

While I am not aware of any pressing need for this amendment at this time, it may provide the industry with some additional flexibility.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, it is very important to point out, too, that the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation is sufficiently resourced to accommodate any additional work so that the office can continue to focus on its core responsibilities of licensing and permitting commercial space launch and reentry vehicles.

Mr. Speaker, I support moving the bill out of the House, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, 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. 5905, the Department of Energy Science and Innovation Act of 2018. This bill provides important statutory direction to the Department of Energy's Office of Science, which is our Nation's largest supporter of research in the physical sciences. So it is impossible to overstate its importance to our energy future and to our overall innovation enterprise.

This agency also operates more than 30 world-class scientific user facilities, whose applications range from developing new materials for next generation batteries, to new pharmaceuticals that will better treat diseases, to even examining the fundamental building blocks of the universe.

Much of this bill is derived from previous bipartisan, bicameral agreements that were included in H.R. 589, the House-passed Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act of 2017.

As we await Senate action on that legislation, I support moving forward with additional language included in this bill that would authorize upgrades to several important user facilities, direct DOE to provide sufficient support to maintain our commitments to the ITER international fusion project, and provide statutory authority to fund low-dose radiation research as well as a promising computational materials initiative at our national labs.

I also note that I am happy to see robust funding levels included in this bipartisan bill, particularly for the Biological and Environmental Research program, which supports critical research to reduce uncertainties and better understand the impacts of climate change. I strongly support this bill and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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

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 today in support of H.R. 5906, the ARPA-E Act of 2018.

After years of successes and several independent assessments praising ARPA-E's work, this bill is a welcomed development. It preserves the mission and flexibility of the Agency while enabling it to consider funding projects or technologies that can address DOE's monumental and longstanding challenge of environmental cleanup at the legacy sites of the Manhattan Project.

It also includes language from a bipartisan ARPA-E Reauthorization Act that our committee's ranking member, Ms. Johnson, introduced last year, which would ensure that sensitive business information collected by the Agency remains protected. This will enable even greater private sector engagement in its programs.

The ARPA-E projects have attracted more than $2.6 billion in private sector follow-on funding. Mr. Speaker, 71 projects have formed new companies, and 109 have gone on to partner with other government agencies to further their research.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Lucas and Chairman Smith for embracing ARPA-E's innovative model and joining our Members in supporting its reauthorization. I support this bill and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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

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 today in support of H.R. 5907, the National Innovation Modernization by Laboratory Empowerment Act.

This bill would provide our national laboratories with the authority to directly enter into certain research agreements with the private sector, as long as those activities align with the laboratories' strategic plans approved by the Department of Energy. This bill also includes appropriate safeguards to prevent waste, fraud, or abuse of this provision.

This language previously passed the House as part of bipartisan legislation that we considered in the last Congress. I am happy to see this important policy change is moving forward once again.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill. I encourage my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, due to an unavoidable conflict I was unable to attend the vote series noted below on June 22, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 288.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring awareness to the Trump administration's effort to gut the Affordable Care Act.

Last Friday, the Justice Department failed to defend a key provision of the ACA that protects people with preexisting conditions. The decision jeopardizes millions of people's healthcare in Texas.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has one of the highest uninsured rates in the entire country. The congressional district that I represent, alone, has the highest uninsured rate in the entire country.

Right now, Republicans are complicit in allowing insurance companies to discriminate against over 10 million Texans with preexisting conditions.

Mr. Speaker, this is bad, and we are asking for basic empathy. We want to make sure that people don't have to live in a constant state of panic and praying for the day that their health is in jeopardy and know that their insurance won't be there for them.

Let's save the Affordable Care Act. Let's make it stronger. These insurance plans that support hardworking families were put in place for a reason. We need to protect our loved ones with preexisting conditions, and that is what we demand.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the incredible life and legacy of Pauline Valenciano.

Pauline was raised in Fort Worth and was able to observe the diversity and vast culture and traditions that are embraced in our community.

I knew Pauline when I first got started in politics in the late 1990s, working at Town Center Mall, which is now La Gran Plaza. But Pauline was one of the very first people that I met, and I am just very saddened to hear about her loss.

From an early age, Pauline looked up to leaders in the community who gave voice to injustices and fought for equal representation. From observing local Tarrant County School Board races to statewide campaigns, Pauline knew her calling was activism, and she became a fierce leader for the Latino community and for women.

When Pauline got told to dial it down, that meant, for Pauline, that she needed to dial it up. She won the respect of minority groups across Texas as she fought for civil rights and gender equality. As a precinct chair and election judge, she became an icon in the Latino community for giving voice to those who felt silenced.

She also canvassed for John Kennedy and marched alongside Cesar Chavez. Inspired by leaders who were great orators, she spoke about raising the level of discourse in the country. And naturally, in 2016, when the first female candidate for President was on the ballot, she teamed up with local groups to get out the vote. The city of Fort Worth grieves her loss.

The last time I saw her was at a Cinco de Mayo event, and she came up and gave me a big hug. That is the type of person she was in the community, just so inspiring, so encouraging, and a good person. We are going to miss her very much. Her work and legacy will live in Fort Worth for decades and years and years to come.

Everyone is thinking about you, my friend, Pauline. I know that you are looking down, and a lot of people are sad about your loss, but know that you helped make Fort Worth a better place to live for all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate our immigrants' heritage. Over one-third of north Texans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were born outside of the United States. They live and work in my district: Hondurans in South Irving, Somalians in Stop Six, Mexican nationals in Oak Cliff.

Whether they are from Jalisco to Tijuana, El Salvador to Nigeria, they are our fellow Texans.

Across the metroplex, they fulfill their own version of the American Dream as teachers in classrooms, engineers who design defense equipment, doctors who care for our families, and soldiers who protect our Nation. Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, they are fulfilling a lot of jobs in agriculture and construction and other areas that are simply hard to fill and cannot be filled at home by native-born Americans.

This administration is attempting to abolish their patriotism and demoralize their American spirit, but we can't let them win.

We need to heal the distrust and fear that comes from talks of border walls, and instead, build community ties that can withstand. Let's start with the protection of our Active Duty servicemembers and veterans. Let's celebrate our immigrants' heritage this month by honoring our country's legacy as a Nation of immigrants.

Let's pass a clean Dream Act now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush.

As our nation mourns the loss of a true patriot, an advocate for families, a treasured First Lady, a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother, we also take the time to remember the legacy Barbara Bush left behind.

Barbara Bush was born in New York City in 1925 to Pauline and Marvin Pierce.

She went on to marry her beloved husband, George H.W. Bush in 1945. The two recently celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary early this year. Mrs. Bush devotedly stood by her husband's side though his military service and later supported him as he entered public service and ascended the presidency.

As First Lady, moved to action by her own experience as a mother to a child with dyslexia, she used her influence to highlight the importance of family literacy. She championed this cause across our nation, helping to raise over $110 million to support family literacy programs through the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

Dedicated to her mission to end the generational cycle of illiteracy, she advocated for the passage of the National Literacy Act of 1991, which established the National Institute for Literacy and allowed libraries to serve as educational literacy center for adults.

Among her big achievements was to set an example of humility and hard work for her family.

In her own words, Mrs. Bush wrote, ``I want to be known as a wife, a mother, a grandmother . . . that's what I am. And I'd like to be known as someone who really cared about people . . .''

Our nation grieves with President George H.W. Bush and the entire Bush family. Our hearts are heavy, but we are grateful that we were privileged enough to bear witness to her message of grace, civility, and patriotism. She was a true gift to our nation.

I honor the incredible life and legacy of First Lady Barbara Bush.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Pastor B.R. Daniels, Jr.'s 25th Pastoral Anniversary at the First Greater New Hope Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

A native of Fort Worth, Pastor Daniels attended and graduated from O.D. Wyatt High School. After completing high school, he answered the call of duty and enlisted in the

United States Army where he faithfully served his country for 8 years. Pastor Daniels was honorably discharged in 1992, at the rank of Sergeant E-5.

In early 1993, when the First Greater New Hope Baptist Church often referred to as ``The Hope,'' was in search of a new pastor and leader, Reverend Daniels was called upon to occupy the pulpit. The congregation knew right away that they had the right man for the job.

On May 2, 1993, Pastor Daniels became the second pastor of the First Greater New Hope Baptist Church, and he continues to lead his congregation today.

Under his leadership, the First Greater New Hope Baptist Church established multiple ministries and grew to over 600 active members.

If that is not enough, Pastor Daniels is also currently pursuing a master's degree in Theology at the Trinity Theological Seminary.

Most importantly, he is the proud father of Brittany and Brianna Daniels, and the proud grandfather of Britton Ray Daniels.

After 25 years, Pastor Daniels has certainly left his mark not only on his church but also in the City of Fort Worth. His passion and love for the ministry explain why so many follow his vision of hope.

Therefore, I include in the Record this statement in recognition of Pastor B.R. Daniels, Jr.'s 25 years of dedicated service to the First Greater New Hope Baptist Church.