Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the 10 year anniversary of the Christian Life Center at First Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. This 13,000 square foot center was built in 2007 to serve as a community service outreach to residents in the Fort Walton Beach area. Any member of the community is welcomed to hold membership at the Christian Life Center and take full advantage of the multitude of resources they offer.

With approximately 200 members thus far, the center is able to host a wide array of sporting options and programs including Upwards Sporting Program for children and the Special Olympics. In addition to sporting leagues the Christian Life Center offers over 15 exercise classes and programs to members of the community. CLC also offers physical training equipment to assist less mobile individuals with health and wellness. The community has access to the CLC as it serves as the meeting place for the Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce in addition to holding various seminars, drives and job fairs.

I would like to personally extend my gratitude to the Christian Life Center and the congregation at First Baptist Church of Fort Walton Beach for their sincere love for the community and the resources they offer to provide a higher quality of life.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to congratulate the Christian Life Center on their 10th Anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank him for

his leadership on this issue on behalf of the terminally ill. I would also like to thank Senator Johnson for marshaling together the resources of the Senate to bring this legislation to a head.

I ran for public office because I was tired of the government playing too large a role in the decisions people make in their private lives, in their homes, and in their businesses. We live in a world today where the government wants to tell you where you have got to send your kids to school, what kind of healthcare plan you have got to buy, what regulations you have to comply with, and how much money they are going to take out of your paycheck each and every month.

I certainly don't think the government ought to play a role in deciding how someone deals with treatment at the end of life. That is why I am a proud cosponsor of the Right to Try Act with Representative Biggs, Representative Fitzpatrick, and so many others. My frustration lies with any regime, regulatory or otherwise, that would impair a patient's decision to use any medication to be able to alleviate their symptoms or improve their quality of life in their final days.

It is absolutely ludicrous to me that, in today's world, we don't allow terminally ill people in every corner of this great country to be able to use medical cannabis to alleviate their pain and suffering, particularly at the end of life.

It is so frustrating to me that the Federal Government has lied to this country for a generation about medical cannabis, saying that it has no medical value. Well, I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely not true. I have met with patients in my district who have received terminal diagnoses, who have been told by their doctors not to buy green bananas, and yet those folks courageously move forward trying to be a part of their own treatment and to be a part of their own clinical plan moving forward.

Too often, doctors, whether it is at the VA or in private practice, aren't able to counsel their patients and give them advice and comfort that there is a substance in medical cannabis which has proven in some circumstances to have medical value.

Stage IV of terminal cancer includes symptoms like loss of appetite, which can be helped by cannabis, chronic pain, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chemotherapy-induced nausea. All of these things can be helped by medical cannabis.

Those who are in stage III of AIDS have sleeplessness and weight loss that can be helped by medical cannabis.

Cannabis has shown great promise in the treatment of Alzheimer's, Crohn's Disease, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy, where there are refractory seizures, at times, 30 or 40 seizures a day.

Mr. Speaker, in this great country, we will have people who will receive terminal diagnoses each and every day. I say let's get the government out of their way. Let's let the decisions that impact the healthcare of patients be made by those patients and their family members and their doctors, not a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats in Washington.

As people fall ill, it is my position that this Right to Try Act can help them, and certainly the inclusion of medical cannabis into this legislation would make it a great deal more useful and a great deal better for those in pain.

I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the twentieth anniversary of the Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers. This organization is celebrating 20 years of partnering with the community and local law enforcement.

Twenty years ago, a small group of community leaders and citizens attended and formed the nonprofit organization known as Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers.

Launched in 1997, the concept has developed into a combination of efforts by local media, businesses, civic and social clubs, law enforcement agencies, and the public. Donations of airtime, newspaper space, and reward monies have established Crime Stoppers as an effective tool to fight crime in our area. Crime Stoppers provides a method for local law enforcement to receive information on crimes. These efforts increase tips, which in turn increase arrests in our community.

A unique quality of this organization is that it is not a branch of any law enforcement agency or local government, but is run by community members who graciously volunteer to serve on the Board of Directors.

I would like to extend my gratitude to all who have served in any capacity with this very successful organization. The work that has been done by this group has proved to be invaluable to our communities.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to congratulate Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers on their 20th Anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the fiftieth anniversary of WSRE. WSRE-TV is viewer supported Public Broadcasting Station for the Gulf Coast. On September II, 1967, WSRE began its over- the-air broadcast television station on UHF Channel l23 and today broadcasts four digital channels.

WSRE was an early pioneer producing national, quality programing beginning with Earl Peyroux's Gourmet Cooking to its most recent documentary They Were Our Fathers.

WSRE is licensed to the District Board of Trustees of Pensacola State College. Its 43,000 square foot facility includes three studios that are used to produce local programming. The facility houses a full-time staff, as well as volunteers who contribute thousands of hours of service on a regular basis.

The mission of WSRE is to open doors to a larger world with quality programming and educational outreach services for every person on the Gulf Coast who desires to be more educated, informed and entertained. WSRE helps people make informed decisions with a better understanding of the community and world in which they live. As a community- supported, outreach service of Pensacola State College, WSRE brings forth culture and ideas that enhance the quality of life and promote the joy of discovery and learning.

The vision of WSRE is to positively influence the daily lives of all on the Gulf Coast through broadcast programming and educational outreach services that encourage us to engage more deeply in the world around us.

WSRE has always and continues to demonstrate an exceptional dedication to education and learning.

From the very start, WSRE has partnered with local school districts to provide educational resources that enhance learning in the classroom. Through community partnerships WSRE enriches the efforts of Pensacola in becoming ``America's First Early Learning City'' and launched the 24/7 WSRE PBS KIDS channel and mobile app. By utilizing the latest digital technology, the Imagination Station at Wahoo Stadium, provides exposure for thousands of children and guardians each year to the resources and value of early learning.

Television reaches a large number of persons from all walks of life and WSRE keeps the community connected through its various local and national programs. WSRE's commitment to the surrounding communities has proven to be deeply valuable and has endured throughout the decades.

By operating as a public television station, WSRE also encourages an informed electorate by producing RALLY candidate forums and Legislative Review to connect the community with lawmakers since the 1970s while also broadcasting The Florida Channel.

I would like to extend my gratitude to all who have served in any capacity with WSRE throughout its 50 years. WSRE has been and will continue to be a steadfast and invaluable contributor to the enhancement and growth of our community and to all who have benefited from its services.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to congratulate WSRE on 50 years of providing quality programming and educational outreach services to Northwest Florida.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to pay tribute to Staff Sergeant Richard B. Hunter upon being awarded the Air Force Cross, the second highest military decoration that may be awarded to a member of the United States Air Force.

While deployed as a combat controller in November 2016, Staff Sergeant Hunter heroically and without regard for his personal safety, maximized effects on the battlefield by integrating air assets, employing precision fires, and protecting the wounded with his own body, saving the lives of his teammates.

As friendly forces entered the village, they were ambushed by heavy machine gun fire from insurgents. Staff Sergeant Hunter immediately identified the enemy locations and directed multiple ``danger-close'' strikes so close the team was blasted by dirt.

While under enemy fire, Staff Sergeant Hunter shielded the wounded with his body and provided suppressing fire with his rifle. Simultaneously, he coordinated close air support missions, deconflicted airspace, and maximized fire support from the overhead gunships.

While attempting to maneuver out of the kill zone, Staff Sergeant Hunter continued to accurately direct ``danger-close'' engagements on the massing enemy forces. Due to the smoke being so thick the team couldn't see, Sergeant Hunter used the overhead aircraft to direct them through the village.

At great risk to his life, Staff Sergeant Hunter acted to protect and recover his wounded teammates. While under heavy fire, he was able to direct air strikes via a radio in one hand, and use the other to drag the wounded to safety.

Staff Sergeant Hunter controlled 31 ``danger-close'' missions resulting in an estimated 27 enemies eliminated and 3 vehicles destroyed, with the closest precision strike 9 feet away.

The courage shown by this dedicated Special Tactics Combat Controller is a true testament of his character. Staff Sergeant Hunter has displayed selfless commitment to service and sacrifice.

The exceptional skill that Staff Sergeant Hunter demonstrated resulted in 57 total lives saved. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Staff Sergeant Hunter reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

The entire Northwest Florida community is immensely proud of our District's tradition of military service and support for all those who bravely serve our Nation.

On behalf of the United States Congress, it is a true honor to recognize Staff Sergeant Richard B. Hunter upon this most notable distinction.

He is truly a remarkable man, and I thank him for his selfless service to his country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to support our friend and ally, Israel, and to stand for the obvious proposition that the people of Israel and the Jewish people have an ancient connection to the city of Jerusalem.

This connection has been forged through millennia of shared faith and shared history, yet the U.N. is actually trying to rewrite history:

They condemn Israel and call it an occupying power in Jerusalem;

They prevent Israeli scientists from excavating, even though past findings have been significant to Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike;

They have been silent when Israel's culture has been attacked, including the desecration and burning of holy sites.

Each year brings new horrors from the U.N. Their cruelty and attempts to erase history and their anti-Semitism cannot be tolerated any longer.

Today I am introducing a resolution reaffirming the connection of the Jewish people to the city of Jerusalem and condemning UNESCO's attempts to punish and delegitimize Israel.

I encourage my colleagues to show solidarity with Israel, to support the President's removal of the United States from UNESCO, and to support this resolution I have proposed.

Mr. Speaker, it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every day, nearly 1,000 women in this country receive a life-changing diagnosis that they will be affected by breast cancer. Nearly 200,000 of these diagnoses occur each year. One in eight women in our country will face breast cancer.

Breast cancer has a devastating effect on our families, taking away wives, mothers, aunts, uncles, sisters, and daughters.

I wish I was a brilliant scientist and could develop a cure. I wish I was a magician and could wave a magic wand and cure breast cancer, but I am just a Member of Congress. Actually, there are things this Congress could do to make breast cancer less likely, less deadly, and less painful.

Cannabis has shown promise in cancer research for over 2 decades. This research finally came to fruition in 2007, when Dr. Sean McAllister showed that cannabis-related compounds helped fight malignant forms of breast cancer. In the decade since, other research has confirmed and built on Dr. McAllister's findings, and there is now conclusive research that shows that cannabis-related compounds have antitumor properties.

Yet, despite these findings, scientists are going too slow. It is time for cannabis research to begin, and we should declassify it as a schedule I drug.

Mr. Chairman, as one of the youngest Members of Congress, I feel an obligation not only to my district but to my generation. Right now in America, we are midway through the greatest wave of generational theft in all of human history.

The budget offered by the Congressional Black Caucus takes the problems of Washington and makes all of them worse by doubling down on deficit spending and irresponsible financial decisions.

Mr. Chairman, I tell my constituents I am on two of the scariest committees in Congress--Armed Services and Budget--because on the Armed Services Committee, I see every day that our adversaries are closing the capability gap. They are able to do more while, after 8 years of the Obama administration, our military has been left in shambles. This budget does nothing to rebuild the military. It leaves our troops on the battlefield without the tools they need to win, and it is absolutely shameful.

Mr. Chairman, when we look at the budget today, we absolutely have to get back on a path of fiscal discipline. This budget, however, doesn't do that. It punishes American workers and American businesses with new taxes and more taxes.

It pours billions into the failed experiment of ObamaCare. To take things a step further, it would promote a healthcare system that is a single-payer system. Not only will this bankrupt our Nation, it will bankrupt hardworking Americans.

How much would premiums go up under a State-run single-payer system? $1,000 a month? $2,000? Of course, taxes would increase, too. The same families in this system would see enormous challenges meeting their needs because they would be funding irresponsible spending in Washington.

So beyond making our citizens sick and poor, this budget would gut our defense, weaken our military, and put more Americans in danger. Everyone here knows that the threats we face are serious: ISIS, Hezbollah, North Korea, and regional instability and volatility across the Middle East. Yet, bizarrely, this budget cuts funding for the global war on terror.

Under President Obama, readiness fell to the lowest levels in a century, GDP growth sputtered, the quality of healthcare for the middle class got worse, and our debt skyrocketed. These are not policies we should repeat, and certainly not policies we should expand.

Instead, let's vote for the Republican budget that has the greatest reduction in entitlement spending since Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House and can actually restore the great promise of the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe what I just heard on this floor.

Kneeling as a sign of respect?

I don't recall my Democratic colleagues kneeling when former President Obama would come to address this body. They stood as a sign of respect. That is what we do in this country, Republicans and Democrats, for our flag, for our anthem.

That is why I joined so many Americans in anger and disgust when I saw NFL players, multimillionaires, kneeling during the national anthem, and it is such an overgeneralized indictment. If people have a problem with police brutality or the criminal justice system, there are venues for discussion, even for protest that highlight and isolate those issues for an adult in a responsible discussion.

When people kneel during our national anthem, they don't simply indict the issue with which they take some particular grievance. They indict our country, our servicemembers, our first responders, our Founding Fathers, and the principles that made this country great.

But, see, this freedom that we enjoy also includes the freedom of speech, the right of our citizens to express themselves even when we find that expression offensive. It is a fundamental constitutional right, yet nowhere in the Constitution does it say that hardworking Americans have to subsidize or create special carve-outs and exemptions for conduct that they find unpatriotic.

Unfortunately, today, the Tax Code gives special breaks to sports leagues. Some swamp creature of yesteryear cleverly defined sports leagues as tax-exempt trade organizations.

The public pays 70 percent of the cost of NFL stadiums. Tax-exempt sports leagues generate $2 billion in revenue, yet the Tax Code gives them special treatment, gives them a special break that small businesses in my district don't get. That is unfair.

It is outrageous that we take money away from hardworking Americans to subsidize professional sports at all. The return on investment is negative. I have heard these arguments in my home State of Florida: Oh, these sports clubs create jobs and revenue and economic activity.

Look, every economic analysis showed that this is a negative return on investment, a loser for taxpayers, and corporate welfare at its worst.

The Internal Revenue Code must be amended to remove the tax-exempt status for professional sports leagues permanently. I am glad that the NFL voluntarily gave up their status, but we should make this change permanent and we should make it the law.

In the coming days and weeks, we will be discussing tax relief to lift up the middle class. I support whole-scale, bold, conservative tax reform; but we have an opportunity in this tax bill to send an even more profound message: In America, if you want to play sports, you are free to do so. You are also free to protest. You are welcome to do both, but you should do it on your own time and on your own dime.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 296, a bill originally introduced by Representative Chaffetz of Utah, for the purposes of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Mr. Chairman, as the designee of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch), I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I offer this amendment on behalf of several of my colleagues from the Sunshine State who are still responding to the devastation from Hurricane Irma that made landfall earlier this week. The sponsor of this amendment, Congressman Deutch, and the cosponsors, Congressman Curbelo, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, Congressman Hastings, and Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz, all represent districts that received significant damage from Hurricane Irma. Due to the damage in their districts, these Members--with strong interest in this amendment--were unable to return to D.C. in time to debate this issue on the House floor, so I am here pinch-hitting for them.

Recently there have been reports that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries headquarters, located on Virginia Key in south Florida, may move to another location. This amendment would prohibit that move. Such a move would be devastating to the longstanding research relationships that the NOAA facility on Virginia Key has with local universities, the local business community, and the marine industries of south Florida.

The NOAA research facility on Virginia Key has maintained a partnership with the University of Miami and the south Florida community since 1943. Over the years, the NOAA facility and their research teams have worked closely and collaborated on critical research projects and scientific breakthroughs with the University of Miami, Florida Atlantic University, NOVA Southeastern University, Florida International University, the Palm Beach County Business Development Board, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the Beacon Council, the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, and other south Florida universities and business coalitions.

In fact, the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science is located across the street from the NOAA facility on Virginia Key. These south Florida universities and business councils recently signed a formal memorandum of understanding that encourages collaboration among research, education, business, and economic development organizations.

Some research projects that the NOAA facility on Virginia Key has worked on with south Florida universities and business councils include the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, creating a storm surge database for Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and something near and dear to my heart, Everglades restoration projects.

Moving the NOAA facility from Virginia Key would sever the bonds between the facility and the research universities in the south Florida community that create so much progress and so many jobs.

Again, I am grateful, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to introduce this amendment on behalf of my colleagues, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to introduce amendment No. 113.

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

Mr. Chairman, it does not advance the interests of the United States to fund schools that incite terror and hate throughout the world. Thirty-four of those such schools exist in Judea and Samaria, the area currently controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and this amendment would defund 34 schools that are named after terrorists, killers, and Nazi collaborators. I will provide a few examples.

Dalal Mughrabi led the coastal road massacre by hijacking a bus. She killed 37 people, including 12 children, and injured another 70. Three schools are named after her. Two students attending one of these schools were interviewed on March 27, 2014. They said: ``Dalal Mughrabi is a great leader. She walks among us, and I'm personally proud to attend the Dalal Mughrabi School.''

A second little girl who attended that school said: ``My life's ambition is to reach the level of the martyr fighter Dalal Mughrabi.''

Khalil al-Wazir headed the PLO terrorist organization's military wing. He planned attacks that killed over 125 Israelis. Five schools are named after him.

Salah Khalaf led the Black September terrorist organization. He planned the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics and the murder of two American diplomats in the Sudan. Four schools are named after him.

Abdullah Azzam was cofounder of al-Qaida, the mentor of Osama bin Laden, known as the ``Father of Modern Jihad.''

Abu Ali Iyad was the head of the Fatah military in the 1960s. A high school for girls carries his name.

Amin al-Husseini was a Nazi collaborator during World War II. He moved to Berlin where he served as a Hitler associate. In Yugoslavia, he was designated a war criminal. When the Nazi offered to free some Jewish children, Al-Husseini prohibited their release, resulting in 5,000 Jewish children being sent to the gas chambers. An elementary school is named after him.

Hassan Salameh was also a Nazi operative. He was sent by the Nazis during World War II to poison the water supply in British-controlled areas near Tel Aviv. Two schools are named after him.

Mr. Chairman, I care deeply for the education of our youth, but we have to demand that curriculums be reformed so that the schools that American taxpayers fund do not promote hate.

Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).

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

Madam Speaker, I take to the floor of the House today to support President Trump's decision as it relates to DACA.

America must be a nation of laws, and those laws must be passed by the Congress. This is the promise made in our Constitution and ensured by our enduring liberty. President Obama was incorrect to unilaterally act in this program; President Trump is correct to put the power back in the hands of the people's representatives.

America must also be a nation of borders, and we erode the virtue and value of those borders when we draw people across those borders illegally. There is nothing compassionate about telling the rest of the world that, so long as a child arrives here, that child will be treated as if they have the same virtues and values of American citizens, if they committed the criminal offense of unlawful entry into the country.

Challenges we have seen with undocumented minors being sent has created humanitarian crises, and I believe that DACA and other programs that draw those across our borders illegally have contributed to those crises. I support the President. We should end DACA.

Mr. Speaker, this is a love story. In 1965 a young man from Texas--his name was Howard--graduated from the Air Force Academy. While he was in pilot training at Eglin Air Force Base near Niceville, Florida, he won the heart of a girl named Elizabeth. And, as happens in many love stories, Howard and Libby became Lieutenant and Mrs. Hill on August 15, 1967. Fifty years ago.

Howard said he and Libby had ``fourteen beautiful days together.'' And then, called by his country, he was flying combat missions over Vietnam. Within two months, his bravery, valor and achievement in battle had earned him the first of two Silver Stars he would be awarded. But four months and one day after their marriage, Howard was shot down and became a prisoner of war in the infamous Hanoi Hilton.

Lots of marriages have stress. Lots of love stories have drama. But the young marriage of Howard and Libby Hill was tested in a way few of us will ever experience--by torture and cruelty for Howard, never knowing and always fearing the worst for Libby, and by lonely waiting for five years for them both. But theirs was a love that only grew stronger under pressure--love for each other and love for their country. During Howard's time as a POW, Libby even helped other POW wives and organized support for POW/MIA families.

If the World War II generation was the greatest generation, Howard and Libby Hill and the Vietnam soldiers and their families were the toughest generation. Vietnam veterans were too often unappreciated, often shunned, sometimes spat upon by the country they gave themselves to defend. But nothing could break Howard and Libby Hill's devotion to America and to each other.

When Howard was free and home, he and Libby made a commitment to stay in the Air Force, to continue to serve their country. They stayed in uniform for 18 more years. They reared three exceptional children-- their daughter BethAnn and their sons John and David.

And when they retired from active service in 1990 after his singular service as the Principal Advisor to the Secretary of Defense on POW/MIA issues, Howard was a colonel with a chestful of proof that he is one of America's best: two Silver Stars, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit, eight Air Medals, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, the Defense Superior Service Medal and many more.

They came home to my hometown of Niceville, Florida. They served their community like they served their country. From nothing, Howard started a youth soccer program. Every year he recruits 200 volunteers, organizes and manages 100 teams, gives thousands of kids a chance to compete and grow, and Howard and Libby make sure that many, many boys and girls who have no money, no family support always have uniforms and shoes and a ride home. Today, our town calls our youth soccer fields ``The Hill,'' officially named the Howard Hill Community Soccer Complex in honor of a hero of our country and a hero of our community.

In fourteen years of serving as a county-wide elected member of our School Board, never once in any campaign material did Howard Hill ever brag about his military service, his and Libby's sacrifices. But we knew.

Libby volunteered to help with everything, including founding and leading the Silver Sands Republican Women. When I asked the community leaders who had meant the most to me in my growing up to serve on the Academy Selection Board to choose the best young women and young men to be appointed to our military academies, I chose Libby Hill, a mentor and model to a generation of young people.

Mr. Speaker, I told you this is a love story. Two young people who love their country and gave themselves to it for their whole lives. A woman and a man who love each other and have given themselves to their children and to their community and to each other for fifty years.

Happy anniversary, Howard and Libby. We love you.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank our colleagues in the House for their agreement.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the brave men and women of the greatest military on Earth and to ensure that they are properly equipped for any and all challenges on the horizon. I support increased investments in our military test and training ranges with help from our Armed Forces to deal with the world's challenges.

In my district, the Gulf Test Range provides approximately 120,000 square miles of overwater airspace. It is used for high-altitude, supersonic air combat training, air-to-air missile testing, drone targeting, hypersonic weapons testing, space launches, and much more. It is critical training space for our Armed Forces, including the Air Force Special Operations Command, the 96th Test Wing, the 33rd Fighter Wing, and others. This is why I ask my colleagues to support the amendment to increase funding for the test range program.

I thank the Congressman from Florida, Dr. Dunn, for his leadership, for the men and women in the military. I thank Chair Granger for her agreement to this amendment. I thank the minority party.