Floor Statements

Madam President, it is an honor to speak on the

floor of the Senate today for the first time. I really want to say a thank you to my colleagues here in the Senate for the warm welcome, especially Senator Alexander, for the friendship, advice, and counsel he supplies to each and every one of us, especially to me.

I am really humbled to be here as the first female elected from Tennessee to serve in the Senate. I just have to note that a few decades ago, neither the Presiding Officer, who is the first woman from West Virginia, nor I could have been here in this Chamber speaking because women would not have been allowed. Yet our suffragists took care of that with women getting the right to vote.

I love this quote by Susan B. Anthony. I think it is so good and appropriate for us: ``I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.''

Women have always been fierce defenders of freedom and freedom's cause. Many times people will say to me: Why do you choose to serve? For me, it really is more or less a calling to public service. In that calling, I find it important to defeat the narrative that still exists to this day that conservative women should be seen but not heard. Here in this Chamber and in my role, I will continue to fight against a media that chooses to empower women on one side of the political aisle and denigrate those of us on the other side of the aisle. I am going to make certain that conservative women do have a strong voice in the Senate.

I am here because, throughout my history--my family's history, as I have researched our history--there were so many who chose to serve in the military. There are others, like my family, who have chosen to serve our communities and our neighbors in our schools, in our churches, and in community activities. I regard my public service as a civic duty and a way to give back to the country that has given me so many blessings.

What I have found from Tennesseans is that many of them are just like me. They have grown up in a rural area. They have worked hard, and they have built their version of the American dream. I am very typical of that. I grew up on a farm, attended college, married, had children, two grandchildren, and really appreciate the opportunities I have been given to work hard, to build a business, and to share in the benefits of hard work.

Politically, I fought the establishment of both parties in Tennessee when I was in the State senate. There, thousands of Tennesseans joined me in opposing a massive, job-killing State income tax. We won that fight.

Ever since, I have been focused on fighting high taxes and fighting wasteful spending because I know the money we appropriate and that gets spent is not Washington's money; it is the taxpayers' hard-earned money. Government ought not have the first right of refusal on your paycheck, but it does. It is part of our duty as public servants to be responsible stewards of the taxpayers' money and to be aggressive in rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.

I think we should heed the 2010 warning of the then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen, when he said: ``The most significant threat to our national security is our debt.''

Our debt today is a staggering $22 trillion. Now, think about this. When George Bush left office, that debt was at $10.7 trillion. It is $22 trillion today. For our children and for our grandchildren, I think it is immoral to pass on this kind of debt.

I am also here because I am pro-life, and I will protect those who cannot protect themselves. I will tell you it is astounding to me that this body could not pass legislation that would protect babies who are born alive as a result of botched abortions. It is a disgrace. Big Abortion must be held accountable because its actions are a stain on the moral fabric of our country.

Just as I promised Tennesseans, I promise my colleagues that I am going to work hard and will stand strong for what I believe in because I know I am working for freedom, free people, and free markets. As Frederick Douglass said, ``I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.'' I invite all of my colleagues to join me in protecting what I term to be the ``big five''--faith, family, freedom, hope, and opportunity, especially freedom.

Washington needs to be reminded of just how precious the core value of freedom is, not only for Tennesseans but for all Americans. Every community and every church in Tennessee is filled with veterans and families who have sacrificed and who cherish that hard-won gift of freedom. They talk about it regularly. They have parades. When the troops come home, they celebrate our freedom. In Tennessee, we have 470,000 veterans who call Tennessee home, and it is such an honor to come to this body and stand with them because of the work they have done for us.

I serve on the Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs Committees. We know our military has to have the resources it needs to fight our 21st century adversaries. Our veterans deserve not only our thanks but the benefits that have been offered to them. So, last month, I introduced the Gold Star Family Fellowship Program Act. This will establish a fellowship for those Gold Star families in our Senate offices. I have also joined Senator Tester in the Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal Act to honor our women soldiers from World War I.

I am here to make certain our Nation is a nation of legal immigrants, not of illegal immigrants. The chaos at the border should embarrass each and every one of us as it has been decades in the making. This crisis is something we ought to work together on solving--drug trafficking, sex trafficking, human trafficking, and gangs. We must solve it rather than allow it to be a political issue for a campaign.

I am here to work to protect your right to privacy--the physical and the virtual space. Yesterday Senator Klobuchar and I sent a letter to the FTC that focuses on how we protect Americans from what I call the data pirates at Google and Facebook. Your privacy is important, and I believe you and I have the right to send notes to our friends without having the entire stories of our lives sold to the highest online bidder.

We are finishing our work on the BROWSER Act. I introduced this when I was in the House, and we are going to introduce it here because I believe it is imperative to give you the tools to protect yourselves online. I believe we need one set of privacy rules for the entire internet ecosystem. This is what you call fairness.

Our family has always believed we have a responsibility to leave a place in better shape than we found it. It is, more or less, our family mantra.

I will say that changing the rules of the Senate to allow for the confirmations of judges and to proceed on the Executive Calendar are exactly the right moves. You can call it the nuclear option or whatever you want to call it. In the press, I have heard it called many things in the last few days, but obstruction tactics do absolutely nothing to leave this Chamber or the country in better shape. Maybe it makes for good political rhetoric, but our country deserves better.

I agree with Leader McConnell. This is a key way to help our Nation and our Chamber function fully and better. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I am going to work to confirm those qualified judges who will respect and uphold the Constitution.

In January, it was an honor to be sworn in by Justice Brett Kavanaugh and to join Senator Ernst as being the first Republican women on the Judiciary Committee. Being the first woman ever elected to the Senate from Tennessee and being a conservative woman are things that are not lost on me. Indeed, conservative women have quite a track record in leading the fight for freedom in our Nation's history.

At the top of that record is fighting and winning the right for women to vote. Next year, we are going to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. You may not be aware, but Tennessee was the 36th and the decisive State to ratify this amendment. It was the suffragists who fought and led that charge, and I am honored to join so many of our female colleagues in this Chamber in drafting legislation to honor that anniversary. Indeed, I am going to provide all of our colleagues the opportunity to cosponsor and participate in one of those bills that will have a commemorative coin for the event.

Howard Baker--a great Tennessean and the former majority leader of this body--once remarked about the nature of the Senate: ``[And] if we cannot be civil to one another, and if we stop dealing with those with whom we disagree, or that we don't like, we would soon stop functioning altogether.''

With that in mind, my time in the Senate is going to be focused on action and accomplishment--things that will lead to positive change.

Many times, people have asked me: What is one of your strengths? What do you think helps you in the political process?

I have repeatedly said: I am a pretty good change agent.

That is something we need to do to fully function and to serve our Nation.

Tennessee has constituencies across every sector of our Nation's economy, and they are wanting change. They want fair and free markets, less regulation, less taxation, and less litigation. Our industries are in agriculture, energy production, financial services, national security installations, veterans hospitals, world-class universities, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, entertainment, and communications.

In Tennessee, we are a logistics hub, with great networks and intermodal facilities. As a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, I am going to work with them to make certain that when the Federal Government shows up, it is there to be a help and not a hindrance.

Tennessee is a cultural leader and is the Nation's center for music, songwriting, and religion. The people want protection of the works they create and of the sermons they preach.

Tennesseans also tell me that as their Senator, they want me to be aware they are concerned about the future of the Nation. It is unimaginable to Tennesseans that nearly three decades after the end of the Cold War, there is a debate in Washington about, are you for socialism or are you for freedom? They cannot believe this is happening. They want to make certain we are going to continue to push forward and protect this Nation and protect our freedoms that we have. We will continue to do that and to push back.

We have a lot of challenges we are going to face. Tennesseans want to make certain that we are going to be there to focus on prosperity and leadership for future generations. This is going to require our paying attention to technology. My colleagues will find that I am going to work to push for 5G and next-generation technologies for both our commercial and military space.

Senator Baldwin and I are introducing bipartisan legislation to advance rural broadband, and I have joined Senators Gardner and Cortez Masto on the ACCESS BROADBAND Act to make resources available to rural communities. Technology is not only enabled by freedom, it enhances freedom.

Make no mistake, our technology and our power are being challenged by all of our adversaries. Primary among them is Communist China, which is a threat to our country because it steals our technology, our innovations, and in its unfair trading practices and monetary policy. We should all be united in taking on the Chinese. Our Tennesseans talk to me regularly about their concerns about some of the theft that takes place by China. We have other enemies as well--from Maduro in Venezuela to the Ayatollahs in Iran, to Kim Jong Un in North Korea. We must stand together as Americans if we are to advance the cause of freedom.

Tennesseans have been clear in what they want and in what they expect from their U.S. Senator. They want somebody who is going to listen to them and be concerned about the stories of their lives, not the DC story of the day. Tennesseans are ready for bold ideas on how the Federal Government should spend their taxpayer dollars.

They don't want tweaks around the edges of bills; they want something bold. They are concerned about how we are going to fund the military. They are concerned about what we are going to do to further our presence in this land.

Tennesseans want a Senator who will respect freedom and the rule of law. It is a beautiful and diverse State. It represents the best of what this Nation has to offer. Our history reflects a common set of values that are based on faith, family freedom, hope, and opportunity, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to preserve these values and to fight back against those who would attempt to undermine them.

I yield the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 1898, a bill originally introduced by Representative Meehan of Pennsylvania, for the purposes of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5752) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the importation of certain drugs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on this bill.

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

I rise in support of this important piece of legislation. This bill will get FDA the tools the agency needs to intercept illicit substances coming through our country's international mail facilities. Illicit and unapproved drugs entering the U.S. supply chain through these facilities pose serious public health threats.

Hundreds of millions of parcels go through the IMF facilities each year, and it has been reported that the number of packages processed by the Nation's nine IMFs nearly doubled from 2013 to 2015. These facilities now receive more than 275 million packages annually.

Although the FDA has increased the number of investigators it has in the facilities, it is estimated that the FDA can only physically inspect less than 0.06 percent of the packages that might contain drugs or drug products.

In conjunction with H.R. 5228, led by Representative Pallone and passed by the House yesterday, this bill will give the FDA the flexibility and the tools the agency needs to effectively and efficiently seize illicit or unapproved drugs, and to prohibit bad actors from continuing to ship these deadly products into the country.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill and to help stop the entrance of illegal opioids and other drugs that might harm Americans.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, you have heard the mention of bipartisan work and bipartisan support on these issues, and Chairman Walden is exactly right.

Not only have Members worked in a bipartisan way, but also our staffs have to answer the questions: How do we help to get the resources to our local and our State officials? How do we help to remove barriers so we can end this epidemic in our country?

Last year, 63,632 Americans lost their lives to drug abuse and drug overdose, and 1,600 of those were Tennesseans. We can all tell you these stories, and I tell you as a mom and as a friend, so many times when you talk to families and talk to people who have been so affected and so impacted by this, they talk about family members and coworkers and individuals that they are in contact with every single day and how we need to work on this issue with opioids, with fentanyl, with heroin, with cocaine, these illicit drugs that are flooding our streets, as well as the pills.

Now, last October, during a hearing when Dr. Gottlieb was before us and we were conducting oversight with the FDA, one of the things that he mentioned was there were some changes that they needed to see in Federal law. The number one change they needed was permission to work some changes in Federal statute for how they would work in these international mail facilities.

As we have said, there are hundreds of millions of packages. As Congressman Green said, they cannot get ahead of the work. So we have come together. The Stop Illicit Drug Importation Act is something that will be helpful to getting the job done and getting these drugs off the streets. Indeed, they will never get to the streets. They will never get to the streets because there will be the ability to stop them and dispose of these drugs before they ever get to the streets.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for the amendment.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is something that is important to us and to the nearly 10 million Tennessee Valley ratepayers that they serve each and every single day. As the gentleman said, something is not broken, so it does not need the Federal Government to come in and try to fix it.

Mr. Chair, I stand with the gentleman supporting the PMA's, the TVA, and those that are utilizers of this service.

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

Mr. Chairman, this is an amendment that I propose each and every year because I think this is something that is worthy of discussion.

We are facing $21 trillion in debt in this Nation. We have annual deficits that continue to climb. We have to look at how you are going to grow your way and cut your way out of this Nation's debt.

Now, we know that this appropriations bill is something that is at $44.75 billion. A lot of hard work by the members of the Appropriations Committee has gone into this. We appreciate that they have made an effort to keep the spending down, even some years they have been below the level that was actually enacted the previous year. This year that is not the case. They are a little bit above, but they are working diligently, and I am grateful for that.

I think we need to work a little bit harder, and that is why I bring this, a penny out of a dollar, one penny, making that type rescission in what we are spending, making certain that we are engaging rank-and- file Federal employees after they receive their appropriated funds, saying: ``Let's go back to the drawing board. Let's take one penny out of every dollar we spend.'' We are doing it for our children and our grandchildren, facing the fact that our Nation has a climbing debt.

Now, Admiral Mullen said July 6, 2010: ``The greatest threat to our Nation's security is our Nation's debt.''

This is an issue that deserves a better effort. We have given it good efforts. Let's give it a better effort and give it our best effort to get this spending under control.

The reason, with these discretionary funds, we say let's do it with across-the-board cuts is because across-the-board spending reductions work. It has been proven by many of our States, where Democratic and Republican Governors have made across-the-board reductions in order to get budgets in balance. It is done by cities; it is done by counties; it is done by the private sector; it is done by families.

It is time for us to engage the bureaucracy and say to them: ``Find one penny out of a dollar and help us preserve our freedom for future generations.''

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

Mr. Chairman, when you talk about where you are looking for money, it is coming out of the hardworking taxpayers' pocket. And what they say is, ``Do something about the debt,'' because they are the ones who are footing the bill.

Now, it is easy for us to say, yes, the mandatory spending eats up most of the budget. That is very true. The chairman is correct on that. But is that a reason to not do something about discretionary? Absolutely not.

Should we continue to exercise the ability to find efficiencies, to try to do more with less? Absolutely, we should.

Should we make government more effective, more efficient, and more responsive? Should we utilize new technologies? Absolutely, we should, because every penny that we appropriate in this Chamber comes from the taxpayers of this Nation, who are working hard. They know government never runs out of an appetite for their money. They know that government is always going to ask for more. They are looking at the $21 trillion in debt.

Let's take these steps. Let's cut a penny out of a dollar and do it because we know this debt is going to land on the heads of our children and our grandchildren.

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

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, what an honor it is to stand here today and to celebrate the bipartisan work that has been done on this legislation and to bring it to this point.

Indeed, this is something on which we can all agree: that the creative community, these wonderful creators, have that constitutional protection to what they create, the right to be compensated for their creation. And I am so appreciative that that has already been mentioned in this debate.

Chairman Goodlatte said I come from music-loving Tennessee, and indeed I do. And we are so pleased that we are known as Music City and that, whether it is classical music or country or gospel, that you are going to hear music from every hill and every valley. And we treasure that creative community and protecting that product that they do create.

Now, one of the things that has happened through time: With the change of delivery systems, it has become more difficult for these artists and these creators and the support network around them, the engineers, those who work on producing this product, to be appropriately compensated. This bill, as Doug Collins mentioned, has been in the works for years; and the CLASSICS Act, to take care of those who are now no longer able to tour and to make certain that they and their heirs are able to be compensated for that music that they have created.

One thing to bear in mind: Songwriters and musicians are truly small- business people. They work for themselves. Their stock and trade is their idea. And they have the right to commercialize that idea and to be compensated. The Music Modernization Act and the different bills that it brings together to update this system, to protect those copyrights, and to make certain that the creators are compensated, has been a collaborative effort.

Chairman Goodlatte and Congressman Collins have been to Nashville several times to meet with stakeholders and to hear their stories firsthand. We are grateful for that, we are grateful for the bipartisanship, and we are very grateful for the passage of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the excellent work that he has done on the BRICK Act, and also Mr. Johnson, who brought this legislation forward and who has worked so closely with individuals, with companies in his district to address their concerns on this.

Now, what brings us here today is the fact that, once before, the brick industry faced an EPA rule that went on the books, hadn't gone through judicial review. This happened in 2003.

Over a period of 5 years, they began ramping up to make these changes. This is expensive because most of the brick manufacturers in our country are small businesses. They have two kilns, and they are working very, very hard to keep the jobs and keep people employed. When they look at having to change to this new equipment, the investment is going to be $3 million, $4 million, $5 million, depending on the size of their business.

Now, previously, a rule went through the process of judicial review, and then it was withdrawn. What this legislation does is to say, look, let's finish this entire process before we move that expense to the industry, because when you put it to the industry and they are incurring this cost that could end up being an unnecessary cost, what happens? Brick costs more. Building materials cost more.

Who ends up paying for that? Consumers, purchasers, individuals who are buying homes, individuals who are remodeling homes, individuals who are building commercial buildings.

So what we are saying is let's exercise some wisdom. Let's exercise a little bit of experience that comes from having been here before, and let's delay until this entire process is finished.

As we have talked about bricks, we are also addressing the wood heater industry, which is a primary source of heat for many of our homes, and just saying let's be mindful, let's be careful, let's put consumers and taxpayers in front of the bureaucrats who are looking to implement these rules and regulations.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the recognition, and I thank him for his efforts on this.

Mr. Speaker, it really is a pleasure to come here today to talk about the RAY BAUM'S Act. We have, for so long, talked about the need to push this through to completion, and Ray served as our staff director and really helped the committee and our subcommittee push this forward to the point that we could say: Yes, we have the FCC reauthorization done.

As Mr. Pallone said, it has been 28 years since this agency has been reauthorized. It is certainly an honor to say we have done this in Ray's name, and we have done it in a bipartisan way.

There are so many things that are included in this bill, and one of the provisions that is in here is Chairman Walden's FCC reform. Many times you will hear us talk about needing to bring sunlight to these agencies, bringing order, and the ability for constituents and citizens to know what is happening. We have that included in this bill.

We also have provisions that our whip, Steve Scalise--the Consolidated Reporting Act--has included in this bill. We have provisions from Ms. Eshoo and from Representative Engel. These are all bipartisan provisions that you will see included in this legislation. Mr. Johnson has a provision that is included that will change the way the inspector general works in this agency so that he truly is an inspector general who is independent.

So we have worked together in a bipartisan way to do our repack which deals with our broadcasters and our spectrum to handle MobileNOW, which has been a priority of the Senate. They could not get it finished. We have finished that process, and then also the FCC reauthorization.

So I express my gratitude to the committee members, both Democrats and Republicans, and the staff members from both sides of the dais to say thank you for the work that is done to bring this bipartisan effort together to reauthorize this agency to deal with our spectrum repack and to address the MobileNOW concerns.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the vice chairman, Mr. Lance, for the work that he has done on this issue and the ranking member, Mr. Doyle, for his work on this.

As Mr. Doyle mentioned, many of these issues are complex, and they are things that we do approach on a bipartisan basis.

The bill that we have before us on rural call completion is something that Mr. Young and Mr. Welch have put time and effort into. They fully understand that while so many of us who work here in an area where a call going through is something that you just take for granted that it is going to happen, that in many parts of our districts, like my district in Tennessee with rural counties, many times you will have those dropped calls or they are degraded calls, or you cannot get the call to go through at all.

In times of emergency and in times of trauma for families, when they are trying desperately to get in touch with elderly parents or with home healthcare providers, to get that constant busy signal just adds to that stress of life and that concern for the wellbeing of those who are on the other end of that phone.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Mr. Welch and Mr. Young for the job that they have done to push forward with this legislation.

As was mentioned earlier, we have previously passed this in the House, and we are pleased that the Senate has moved forward, has taken this up; and we are seeking to finish this up and move it to the President's desk.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, and I encourage everyone to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the vice chairman and the ranking member for their persistence on this measure. I also commend Mr. Gohmert, who has worked with Kari's dad and has seen this through.

We are pleased to get this on its way to the President's desk. Indeed, we are going to continue to work on the enhanced 911 requirements because we do think that that is important. Technology allows more precise indications of exactly, precisely where phone calls are coming from. But solving this problem is one we need to do today.

All of us who are moms and dads and have children and grandchildren, you train them to dial 911. I am certain that that is what Kari did with her daughter: If there is ever an emergency, dial 911.

And the fact is that this required the preceding digit, an extra number, to be dialed in order to access that outside line that would have delivered that 911 call.

So as we look at 50 years of 911 service and Kari's 36th birthday, which is coming up tomorrow, it is so appropriate that we take this action. So I thank Mr. Gohmert and the members of the committee who have continued the diligence on this.

Mr. Speaker, it is so interesting to listen to this debate. I just want to make three points.

First, on the military funding, I represent Fort Campbell. When you walk on that post and talk to the men and women in uniform and talk to them about their readiness training, their redeployment training, do you know what they tell us?

They say: Give us certainty in funding.

That is exactly what we are doing, is providing that certainty that they need to defend us, to protect us. They deserve it and they deserve our best efforts. So I find it so curious that there would be opposition to funding our military.

The second point is the community health centers. Many of my colleagues may come from urban areas. I have a rural district. Community health centers are vitally important to my constituents, to Tennesseans who want the access to care and seek the education to know how to take better care of themselves and their families. Let's give them this funding for the 2 years of certainty that is necessary.

Third, legislation that I have authored and worked on is included in the Medicare therapy cap provisions.

Have you ever talked to a senior, as I have, who had a stroke, who is seeking speech therapy or physical therapy from a hip replacement or a fall?

There is an arbitrary cap that runs out and they can no longer seek that medical attention that is necessary for a full and complete recovery and the quality of life that they desire and that they deserve. This is something that our committee has worked on to provide for seniors.

This is something that allows them to have that quality of life.

Why would you vote against lifting these caps and giving seniors what they deserve?

They have paid for Medicare through their working life. What they are seeking is to be able to have a full recovery. It is not only the appropriate thing to do, this is something that adds to the quality of life, just as keeping these community health centers funded enriches our communities. It enriches rural America.

I close with reiterating the point that, out of fairness, out of respect, out of loyalty to those who put on the uniform to defend us, let us join together and vote to fund the military and to support their efforts to defend this Nation.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Alabama for her leadership on this issue.

To my friends across the aisle, I want to say I would be hopeful that you all would take a few minutes and actually read this legislation. It is not a lengthy bill. It doesn't take that long to read. Quite precisely, it does a few simple things that need to be done, that need to be done to build on the 2002 law that this body chose to pass and put on the books.

Now, the reason that we chose to do this is because of what we have learned since 2002. If you go in and look at the Kermit Gosnell trial and that house of horrors, and if you take the time to listen to some of this testimony, there was a healthcare worker who said, during the years of working in that facility, that there could have been as many as 100 babies who survived a botched abortion. And what happened? They lost their life.

So this bill is about protecting women and babies. It is not about Roe v. Wade. It is all about protecting women and babies. It gives that mother who has that abortion, and it is botched, and that baby survives--it gives her that civil right of action that she ought to have. It does set that standard that you have got to have medical care provided to these precious, precious babies who survive that. You do that immediately. They deserve that standard of care.

It says if a healthcare professional does not make the choice to provide that care, they are going to face those criminal penalties.

So, yes, the bill is there to protect women and these babies.

I just had a great conversation with a young lady who survived an abortion. She is an adult now. She stands for life. I encourage this body to support the bill and to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act.

Mr. Speaker, I will tell you it is an honor to come to the floor and talk about one of these protected rights: life.

When we talk about our founding documents and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it is life that we are protecting.

I find it unfortunate that we have some who would say this is a radical talking point. I would offer that the right to life is a fundamental right, not a talking point.

Now, what brings us to this point in time?

We all remember the stories of Kermit Gosnell, the abortionist, the house of horrors, and what happened there, where individuals--moms-- lost their lives, where one of the workers in that clinic estimated that there had been as many as 100 babies through the years that had survived an abortion and had been killed.

What we are seeking to do is expand these protections. Today, what we are doing with H.R. 4712 is to build on that legislation from 2002. This body had passed that legislation to protect infants that were born alive and had survived abortions.

This bill before us today is going to do four very important things.

First, it requires appropriate care be given to any child who is born alive following a failed abortion. It requires any health providers present to administer the same life-preserving care that would be given to babies born under any other circumstances and to ensure

that the child is transported immediately to a hospital.

Second, the bill establishes criminal penalties that providers will face if they violate providing that care.

Third, it establishes a civil right of action to enforce the law.

Finally, the bill provides crucial protections that will prevent mothers of these babies from being subject to criminal prosecution and penalties.

Mr. Speaker, these are the right steps to protect the most vulnerable among us. I encourage support for the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to talk about an issue that women are talking about every single day, and as I am home and out and about in my district, I hear this repeatedly. They will come up to me and they will say: Marsha, I am becoming a security mom. I fear for the security of my children. I am concerned about what is happening on our streets and in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I will tell you, last week, after the verdict came down in the Kate Steinle trial, the fact that a criminal illegal alien was not found guilty, I received so many comments and calls from people saying something needs to be done about this because justice was not delivered for the life of Kate Steinle.

That brings us to the issue of sanctuary cities and those policies, the very idea that some elected officials or some cities could choose to say: We will become a haven for those who are outside of Federal law--but not all Federal law, just this particular Federal law.

That defies common sense. It defies reason because we are a nation of laws, a nation that abides by the rule of law, a nation of law and order--not of anarchy.

Sanctuary city policies are making America less safe. On this, there should be no doubt. We have to think: What does this example set for our country? What does it say to people who abide by the law, who feel that their lives are endangered, that their security is endangered? What kind of message do sanctuary policies send to the thin blue line, people who stand to protect us every single day?

I would suggest that sanctuary city policies are cracking the foundation of our democracy. It is why it is important that this body take action. I would suggest it is why it is important that we pass the CLEAR Act, legislation I have authored that would strip sanctuary cities of funding, that would require that criminal illegal aliens be deported from this country.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 608 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 607.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for his work that has just been so consistent on how we meet the needs of our health centers, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and also on the repeal for IPAB.

When we talk about IPAB, it is so important that we mention our colleague and my fellow Tennesseean, Dr. Phil Roe, who is a Member of this Chamber. I applaud him for his consistent work on keeping that in front of us.

I think it is fair to say, as Chairman Burgess has said, that we have worked diligently on the CHIP issue. I know that the gentleman from New Jersey is not pleased with how that is going to be paid and how we address the payments.

But I have to say, our goal, Madam Speaker, is to make certain that the States have the funding that is necessary for them to meet the needs of children who are needing these health services. This is something that we have been diligent in our work to meet those needs and to work with our States and to see how best to do this so that needs are being met right there where those children have them and that the States have the resources they need.

When it comes to the Independent Payment Advisory Board, we ought not have to be discussing this today because this is something that should never have been passed in the first place. It is something that was completely unnecessary. We are looking at going in and changing this, and for good reason.

There is a bipartisan agreement that you have to get down the costs that are

in Medicare, and I know that is not going to be an easy task.

Madam Speaker, I think one of the things that we know, when you are looking at IPAB, you don't want to give those decisions of how you are going to adjust healthcare for Medicare enrollees to 15 unelected, appointed bureaucrats that really have no responsibility to anyone in this process.

This is our responsibility. It is appropriate that Congress recoup that responsibility, that we make these decisions. I support the legislation that is in front of us.