Floor Statements

Madam Chair, I want to begin by thanking the Speaker for bringing this bill to the floor for the importance of serving our national security. This bill will have overwhelming support on this House floor today.

When people ask why we should support Ukraine, I like to remind them of President Xi of China's trip to Russia last year. When President Xi stood next to Vladimir Putin, he had an open mike, and he said: ``Change is coming that hasn't happened in 100 years. And we are driving this change together.''

The ``we'' is Vladimir Putin and President Xi, and the ``100 years,'' we know what that is. That is World War I and World War II. They themselves stood together and articulated that this is a battle between authoritarianism and democracy, and we must stand for democracy and against authoritarianism.

Also, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, our European allies have committed to giving more than $60 billion in military aid since Russia's unjustified invasion, while the U.S. has given roughly $42 billion. We are at less than half.

Madam Chair, I include in the Record the link to the Kiel Institute report. https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine- support-tracker/

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition of H.R. 4639. Vote ``no'' on H.R. 4639.

The bill bans law enforcement from paying for information available to any willing buyer in all contexts. There is no exception, zero. There is no exception to even allow law enforcement to pay for stolen information to investigate and solve identity theft, data theft, data breaches, ransomware attacks.

The bill will not make people safer. The bill puts police officers' lives at risk. It bans the police from data used to understand the danger they face when executing a search warrant or an arrest warrant.

If this bill becomes law, police will be going in blind when executing a warrant, and this could cost lives.

This bill is bad for law enforcement, bad for the intelligence community, and bad for national security.

That is why, yesterday, The Wall Street Journal wrote an editorial opposing this bill. It is also why this bill is uniformly opposed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, the National Association of Police Organizations, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Major County Sheriffs of America, the National District Attorneys Association, the National Fusion Center Association, and the National Narcotic Officers Association Coalition.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues: Do not digitally defund the police.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 7888.

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

This bill is about the extension of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. That is the act under which we are able to spy on our adversaries, those individuals who intend to do our Nation harm.

There has been great debate and great discussion among the Members in this body. Everyone is in agreement that there have been unbelievable abuses by the FBI of access to foreign intelligence. The underlying bill, for which there is broad support, punishes the FBI. It criminalizes the FBI's abuses, limits and restricts the FBI's access to foreign intelligence, and further puts guardrails to punish the FBI.

What is also in agreement here on this House floor is the protection of Americans' civil liberties. You have to have a warrant, and there is absolute constitutional protection of Americans' data. There is no place in this statute where Americans' data becomes at risk.

Debate today, though, is not about FISA. It is not about spying on our adversaries. The debate today is about a warrant requirement in an amendment that has been offered by Representatives Biggs and Jayapal.

This amendment, largely drafted by Senator Wyden and cosponsored by Senator Warren, would for the first time in history provide constitutional rights to our adversaries. It would provide constitutional rights to our enemies. No law has ever come out of this body that would provide constitutional rights to our adversaries.

We spy on Hezbollah. We spy on Hamas. We spy on the Ayatollah. We spy on the Communist Party of China. This bill provides them constitutional protections to communicate with people in the United States to recruit them for the purposes of being terrorists, for being spies, and for doing espionage.

The 9/11 perpetrators were in the United States, and they were communicating with al-Qaida. At that time, we made a grave mistake in that we were not spying on al-Qaida and didn't see who they were communicating with in the United States. We changed that and began to spy on al-Qaida and got to see the extent to which they were recruiting people in the United States to do us harm.

If this amendment passes, al-Qaida will have full constitutional protections to recruit in the United States; the Communist Party will have full constitutional protection to recruit in the United States; and there will be no increased protection of constitutional protections for Americans and their data. The only data that would become protected is data that is located in al-Qaida's inbox and the Communist Chinese's inbox.

Now, how is it that they become protected? This amendment would require that we have to have a warrant to look into Chinese Communist Party data for the recruitment efforts that they are doing within the United States. We would have to have evidence of a crime that is occurring in order to get that warrant, which means we will be blind.

If this becomes law, we will be blind, and we will be unable to look at what Hezbollah is doing in the United States, what Hamas is doing in the United States, and what the Communist Party is doing in the United States. There are no additional protections for Americans in this amendment. Americans still have full constitutional protection of their own data.

Mr. Chair, let me give you an example of how this works under their amendment. We are spying on Hamas. Two people in the United States send emails to Hamas. One says happy birthday, and one says thank you for the bomb-making classes. When those two emails go to Hamas, right now, we see them.

If you send a happy birthday to Hamas and we see it, that doesn't matter. It is not a threat to the United States.

If you send an email that says thank you for the bomb-making classes, we intercept that email, read it, and find out who it is. Then, when we come here to go find that person to arrest them and to make certain that they don't harm Americans, we have to go to court and get a warrant.

There already is a warrant requirement for the protection of Americans and people who are here in the United States. If you have to have a warrant to look at the two emails that are sent to Hamas, happy birthday and thank you for the bomb-making classes, then you have no evidence of a crime. You have no ability to read these two emails. We will go dark. We will go blind.

The FBI abuses have been extraordinary in their searching of foreign data. We need to punish them. This underlying bill punishes the FBI. We should not punish Americans. We should not make our Nation less safe by giving constitutional protections to Hamas and by giving constitutional protections to the Chinese Communist Party.

I have been talking to Members on the floor, and they say this amendment is about protecting Americans' data in the United States. It is not. Americans' data in the United States is already protected by the Constitution. There is nobody on this House floor who would argue that you don't need a warrant to look at Americans' data in the United States.

I encourage everyone to pick this amendment up and read it. It applies to the data that we collect in spying on Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Chinese Communist Party. To give them a warrant and to give them constitutional protections means that they are open for business.

The day after this passes and we go blind, the Chinese Communist Party has a complete pass to recruit in the United States students to spy on our industry and on our universities. Hamas and Hezbollah have a complete pass. We will be blind as they try to recruit people for terrorist attacks in the United States.

Currently, we keep America safe by spying on our adversaries. Do not give our adversaries constitutional protection.

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

Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup).

Mr. Chairman, how much time is remaining on Dr. Wenstrup's 3 minutes?

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford).

Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Crenshaw).

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford), who opposes giving constitutional rights to our foreign adversaries.

Mr. Chair, I claim time in opposition.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment by Mr. Biggs.

First of all, I thank Mr. Biggs. He participated in the working group that we had that was joint between the Intelligence Committee and the Judiciary Committee that drafted and put together this underlying bill, including working directly with the Speaker's Office in the second working group that drafted the specific bill, this underlying bill.

We disagree about his amendment though, which is why we are here on the debate.

This amendment is not about Americans' inboxes and outboxes. This is not about Americans' data. This amendment is about Hezbollah's data, Hamas' data, and the Communist Chinese Party's data.

You don't have to take my word for it. Just pick up this amendment. Read the front of the amendment. This amendment says that you need to get a warrant to go into data collected by 702. The 702 data which we all agree--everybody on this floor agrees that 702 data is the collection of foreigners abroad. That is Hamas, Hezbollah, the Chinese Communist Party, al-Qaida.

What they want is a warrant to search the inbox and outbox of Hezbollah, al-Qaida, and the Chinese Communist Party when they are communicating with people in the United States.

This is dangerous, it will make us go blind, and it will absolutely increase their recruitment of people inside the United States--not even American citizens--to do terrorist attacks, recruit for espionage, and to harm Americans.

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

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes), the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee.

What Mr. Biggs just said is a great description. If this amendment passes, the Chinese Communist Party, Hezbollah, and Hamas get to fully recruit in the United States free because we would have to get a warrant to monitor them--not to monitor Americans. Already the Constitution requires that you have to have a warrant and you have to go to court for a warrant because their constitutional rights have been protected since the birth of this Nation.

Americans' inboxes and outboxes are protected by a constitutional right for a warrant.

The inbox and outbox of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Chinese Communist Party are not. If they are recruiting into the United States and people are communicating back with them, that is not protected speech. If you send a thanks for the bomb-making classes email to the head of Hamas, that shouldn't take a warrant for us to see because we need to protect Americans.

Now, inside the United States, everybody's communications are protected. The Constitution is sound, and since the birth of this Nation, we have fought to ensure that. I would say it is the definition of a swamp when you stand on this floor and say you are going to give the American people something they already have; they have protections of their communications. They don't have the protection to be able to talk to Hamas and Hezbollah and the Chinese Communist Party and say that they are going to be recruited to be a terrorist to do espionage or to be a spy. That is what we are talking about.

There should not be a warrant for those types of communications. We wouldn't be able to see them. We would go blind. Our Nation would be unsafe.

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

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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

Mr. Chair, the gentleman is correct, the Intelligence Committee does oppose this amendment. We oppose this. There was a working group that was put together by the Speaker which had two Representatives of the Judiciary Committee, two Representatives of the Intelligence Committee, two Representatives appointed by the leadership and the chair, Mario Diaz-Balart. Every person in that working group opposed this amendment.

Now, the underlying bill already includes a provision of a requirement that the FISA court now create transcripts and that those transcripts be transmitted to the Congressional committees of jurisdiction, which includes Judiciary and Intelligence.

We will already know what is happening. The difference is whether or not you pull up a seat and you eat popcorn while you are watching the court.

I want to go back to the Biggs amendment here for a second because the Biggs/Jayapal amendment is really what is dominating this whole debate.

This amendment, if you just read the front page of it, clearly says that it is about the intelligence that is gathered from foreigners abroad. This is not about Americans' data. Americans' data is safe, constitutionally protected. They are inboxed and outboxed. No amendment on this floor can change the Constitution. No statute on this floor can change the Constitution.

The statute that we are talking about is 702, which is the spying on foreigners abroad.

Now, everybody in this House is pissed at the FBI and is pissed about the abuses that occurred. Punish the FBI. Pass this underlying bill. Do not pass the Biggs amendment and cause us to go blind and make America less safe.

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

Mr. Chair, in conclusion, as we look at this debate and this bill, which is about spying on foreigners abroad, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Chinese Communist Party, giving them constitutional protections is unprecedented. There is no court that has ever done it. There has been no bill that has passed this House that gives constitutional protections to foreigners abroad.

Americans' constitutional rights are preserved in the Constitution. This amendment undermines our security by giving Americans' constitutional rights here in the United States to foreign adversaries.

Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on the Biggs amendment, and a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

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

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition because the National Security Agency stopped ``abouts'' collection in 2017 because it was fraught with peril. This amendment is not necessary because the intelligence community is not doing this and hasn't been doing it since 2017.

I do want to go back and assist somewhat in the debate of some of the terms that are occurring with respect to the Biggs-Jayapal amendment.

The Biggs-Jayapal amendment, as I indicated, would make us go blind. It would make it so that we can't read the inboxes and outboxes of foreigners abroad who are al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Chinese Communist Party.

The reason I say that is because 702, which is the underlying bill here that is being reauthorized, is tailored only to the adversaries and those who want to do us harm. It is for national security threats. It is for our adversaries. Their inbox and their outbox are not protected. If you are a terrorist or if you are committing espionage or you are a spy and you are communicating with the Chinese Communist Party or Hezbollah, Hamas, or al-Qaida, right now, because we are spying on them, we can read those communications. America wants us to read those communications because it is how we keep America safe.

On 9/11, we had terrorists inside the United States. For all intents and purposes, as people were saying in this debate, they were Americans. They weren't American citizens, but under this law, they were Americans and they had protection under the Constitution. Their communications to al-Qaida were not protected. At that time, we weren't looking. We were not looking. We were blind and we were not listening.

Now, we are looking. If somebody is in this country and they are a terrorist or they are a spy for the Chinese Communist Party, we are looking at the Chinese Communist Party and al-Qaida. In reading those, we can take those to a court and get a warrant and then keep America safe from people who are here who intend to do us harm. This would shut that off. It would

make us be blind with respect to those communications.

Mr. Chair, vote ``no'' on the Biggs-Jayapal amendment, and vote ``no'' on this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, we had Members stand and say that they are for vetting foreigners who want to come into the United States. I assume we should vet them for whether or not they have ties to terrorist groups and organizations. Perhaps we should just ask them because I am sure they will tell us the truth, but they won't, which is why we have 702. Section 702 collects information on foreigners abroad and terrorist groups and organizations.

What this amendment does is it allows us to search Hamas on these individuals who want to come into the United States, to find out if they are affiliated with Hamas because they are not just going to tell us.

If my colleagues are for vetting, my colleagues are for vetting, looking at terrorist groups and organizations to see if they have ties to people who are trying to come into the United States.

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

Mr. Chair, there is a SCIF off of the House floor to provide additional information to Members that I am not able to present here.

This amendment is to correct a technical issue that was found by the FISA court with respect to critical intelligence and a technological issue in which there was a gap.

Again, 702 is about collecting data and information on foreigners abroad. You have to be both. You have to be a foreigner, and you have to be abroad. You can't be a foreigner in the United States, and you can't be an American abroad. It is about foreigners abroad.

There have been people who have been saying on this amendment that this is about collecting at your local Starbucks, this is about collecting at your local McDonald's. It is not. It is about foreigners abroad.

I end with this: With respect to the Biggs-Jayapal amendment, this important surveillance tool of foreigners abroad is limited to just foreigners abroad and individuals who are in the United States who are being recruited by terrorist groups and organizations and the Chinese Communist Party when they communicate with them and their communications end up in the inboxes of the Chinese Communist Party, Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaida.

If we are reading the inbox of al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Chinese Communist Party, and there is an email in there from somebody located in the United States because they are being recruited, either to do espionage, or because they are being recruited for terrorism, my colleagues want the government to read that.

Now, our constitutional protections, which we dearly uphold here and everybody is committed to, is that no American shall have their inbox, their outbox, their electronic communications, and their data spied on by their government. Our constitutional protections require that there be a warrant, and no one should stand in this well and pretend that they do not.

There are constitutional protections for American communications within their data. However, if a person located in the United States is communicating with al-Qaida, Hamas, and the Chinese Communist Party, in this limited group of people that we collect under 702, they can pose a threat to this country.

Additionally, if the Biggs-Jayapal amendment passes, we will go dark. We will no longer see solicitations from the Chinese Communist Party to students in the United States to go and spy for them.

We will no longer see al-Qaida recruiting people in the United States to undertake terrorist attacks.

We will no longer see people who are sympathetic with Hamas, who contact Hamas and say: How can I perpetrate a terrorist attack in the United States?

It is imperative that the Biggs-Jayapal amendment fail and that this underlying bill, which punishes the FBI but protects the American people, pass.

Mr. Chair, I urge passage of this bill and a ``no'' vote on the Biggs-Jayapal amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I am standing here in favor of this rule. This is an important rule that allows to come to this House floor the reauthorization of FISA and 56 significant reforms to this bill to curb what have been just devastating abuses by the intelligence community and by the FBI.

These reforms are essential to make certain that we can protect our most important national security tool, at the same time protecting American citizens and their civil liberties.

I am in favor of this rule. I ask all my fellow Members to support the rule, and I specifically thank Chip Roy for his support for the rule as it came out of the Rules Committee. I appreciate him standing here today as we try to bring this rule to passage.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mrs. Mary Jane Berghoff Whalen, a resident of my Congressional District in Kettering, Ohio, who will celebrate her 100th birthday on June 1, 2024.

Ginny was an only child, born and raised on a farm in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was homeschooled through eighth grade, before graduating from Central Catholic High School in Fort Wayne, and attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Ginny met a native Daytonian, Herbert E. Whalen, Jr., and they were married on June 29, 1946. They established a home in Kettering, and raised four children. She is currently the proud grandmother of nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. During their sixty years of marriage, Ginny and Herb served as role models and civic leaders in their community.

As dedicated parishioners of St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Kettering, Ginny and Herb worked together to renovate and expand their spiritual home. They served on the committee that enlarged the church from a one-room building in the 1940s, to the thriving community that currently serves over two thousand families. Ginny has remained a faithful member of the church for over 70 years.

In the 1970s and 80s, Ginny and her husband worked diligently to save the Oregon District, one of Dayton's oldest historic neighborhoods, from demolition. She worked with the city to facilitate the renovation of two houses and four apartments, and continues to support the historic preservation efforts of the Oregon Historic District Society.

From an early age, Ginny adopted the motto: ``To give back to others.'' The generous amounts of time and energy she has contributed to a variety of volunteer and civic organizations serve as an example for all of us.

Ginny remained active and involved in her community throughout her nineties, and has indulged in a variety of hobbies and personal interests that include: reading, playing the drums (which she still loves to do), harmonica, tennis, horseback riding, and participating in her local theater group ``Hamlets.''

I am proud to join Ginny's family and friends in celebrating her long and extraordinary life. I wish her a very happy birthday, and in the years to come may God bless her with continued good health and happiness.

Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my sincere and best wishes to U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Marcia Fudge, as she concludes her public service to our great Nation.

Before Secretary Fudge joined the Biden Administration, we served together as part of the Ohio Congressional Delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives for twelve years. I was proud to work alongside her to meet our shared goals on a number of issues, including housing opportunities for low and moderate-income families, as well as combating the opioid epidemic in Ohio.

As Secretary, we continued our strong rejationship, and her leadership has benefitted HUD projects across the country, including in my district.

Secretary Fudge's steadfast career in public service, beginning as Mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, is an example for all of us who work to serve our communities and our Nation.

I thank Marcia for her friendship and her long and distinguished public service to the people of Ohio, and the United States of America. I wish her a happy, healthy, and productive retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 109th birthday of Mrs. Reva Starrett, who lives in my Congressional district in Bellbrook, Ohio. Reva's loved ones recently gathered around her to honor this special occasion to celebrate a life well-lived.

Reva was born on February 11, 1915 in Darke County, Ohio and was the oldest of six children. Longevity runs in her family. She has a brother who is 95 and a sister who is 85. One of her sisters lived to the age of 100, and another sister lived to 93.

Her husband Bill, a World War II veteran, passed away in 1998. They had one son, Bill, Jr. During the war, Reva worked and lived with her sister while her husband served overseas.

Hard work is the key to a long life. Reva grew up working on her family farm and began milking cows at the age of 5. Reva was the head cook at an elementary school in the Bellbrook school system, specializing in baking rolls and bread--and she still bakes bread today.

Reva has lived independently all her life and still lives in her own home. Her indomitable spirit and zest for life has certainly guided her to this day.

I am honored to congratulate Reva Starrett on reaching this remarkable milestone birthday, and I wish her many more joyful years of peace, good health, and happiness.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to honor the career of Michael Berning, a dedicated member of my community in Dayton, Ohio, and a close personal friend. Michael will retire this month after 44 years of service at HEAPY, an engineering firm that has its fingerprints all over Ohio and throughout the country. Michael started at HEAPY when he was still a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Dayton, but he will end his tenure as its Chief Innovation Officer.

Michael was an early pioneer for the development of `green design' and sustainable building practices, and his efforts culminated in 2015 when he was named a LEED Fellow. This prestigious recognition is much- deserved because of Michael's leadership in HEAPY's regional sustainability conferences, assisting Montgomery County in establishing the Dayton Regional Green Initiative, and for his contributions to Environmental Design+Construction Magazine as both a writer and member of the magazine's Editorial Advisory Board.

Outside of Michael's work, he has served his community through multiple Boards, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Wright State ARTSGala, and the U.S. Green Building Council Ohio Chapter. Michael served as chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party in the early 1980s, and he managed my first campaign for public office when I ran for mayor of Dayton in 1993. He put together a great team for my election victory that year, in a predominantly Democratic city, and led my successful reelection effort four years later.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Michael Berning for his years of service to our community. Although retirement signals the end of his 44-year career with HEAPY, his legacy of success and leadership certainly serves as a model for others to follow. I congratulate Michael and wish him all the best in a well-deserved retirement, and look forward to many more years of continued friendship.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the 75th anniversary of WHIO-TV, a leader in local news in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio.

WHIO was the first television station to begin broadcasting in Dayton, and has remained a CBS affiliate since that first broadcast. For nearly their entire history, WHIO has aired on Channel 7 in the Miami Valley and residents have routinely tuned in to the `coverage they can count on.'

For three quarters of a century, WHIO has provided their audience with vital weather updates, local and national news coverage, and in- depth reports from their investigative unit, the I-Team. Our community also relies on Channel 7 for their sports coverage, faithfully airing both Bengals and Browns CBS games on Sundays.

The WHIO news team plays a vital role in keeping the Miami Valley informed and up to date on affairs that affect our everyday life. The Storm Center 7 weather team prepares viewers for their day, but also provides lifesaving information when severe weather strikes. The news team holds business and government accountable to the citizens they serve, as well as informing viewers of local and national news stories.

Local journalism is a critical part of our community and is instrumental to our democratic experiment. WHIO embraces that responsibility and has established itself as a trusted news source for the Dayton area. I join the Miami Valley in saying thank you for a steadfast 75 years, looking forward to tuning in for many more.

Mr. Speaker, I want to honor and pay tribute to the life and accomplishments of Clay Mathile, a philanthropist, community leader, and businessman from my Congressional district, who passed away on August 26, 2023.

Clay Mathile was a pillar of the Dayton community. He moved to Dayton in 1970 to begin work with Iams Food Company, a producer of premier pet food products. Clay played an influential role in growing the Iams brand and company, became part-owner in 1975, and fully took over ownership when Paul Iams retired in 1982.

Throughout the next 17 years, Clay led lams to be a world leader in dog and cat nutrition. Equally important as enriching the lives of pets was his intention to enrich the lives of the individuals who worked at Iams. Clay deeply believed that when people were fulfilled at work, it sparked a ripple effect that uplifted not just those individuals, but their families and communities. He was a man who empowered people to do their best work, created opportunities for their learning and growth, and ultimately helped people experience personal fulfillment.

Clay shepherded Iams to become a leader in the pet food industry, and eventually sold the company to Proctor & Gamble. When the sale was finalized, Clay distributed $100 million to the company's employees, giving back to those who made Iams' success possible. He also committed $100 million to fund community projects in the Dayton area, investing in Dayton's future generations.

Clay Mathile's philanthropic efforts were widespread across the Miami Valley and his generous legacy echoes still today, carried on by his family. The Mathile Family Foundation has invested more than $500 million in grants to local organizations that focus on children, families, and education. Clay also founded Aileron, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing small business leaders across the county, which hosts more than 15,000 business leaders every year on their campus just north of Dayton in Tipp City, Ohio.

The life and service of Clay Mathile have not gone unnoticed by his fellow Daytonians. Clay was a prominent businessman and philanthropist, recognized as the Citizen Legion of Honor award winner by the Presidents Club of Dayton in 2014, and the Maureen Patterson Regional Leader Award in 2019 by the Dayton Development Coalition. However, these titles meant little in comparison to Clay's role within his family as a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

I join the entire Miami Valley in mourning the loss of a remarkable man who uplifted countless others through his career and philanthropy. Dayton, the state of Ohio, and our country has lost an icon, and I have lost a friend. My heartfelt condolences are with Clay's wife Mary Ann, his children Cate and Don Laden, Tim and Lynn Mathile, Mike and Michelle Mathile, Tina Mathile, Jennifer and Pat Prikkel, his 15 grandchildren and their families; and his one great-grandchild.

Mr. Speaker, November 10, marked the 5-year anniversary of the passing of a beloved friend and colleague, former House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Staff Director, Damon Nelson.

Damon Nelson served his country nearly his entire life. Before working for Rep. Devin Nunes and the people of California's 22nd Congressional District, Damon was proud to have served in the United States Air Force, where he met the love of his life and future wife, Brigadier General Dana Nelson. He was a decorated veteran of the Persian gulf war, earning an Air Medal and three Air Achievement Medals.

Damon was known to be an immensely loyal colleague. He worked in the office of former Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes for over 10 years. Five years after his passing, Members and staff alike remember Damon for his hard work, boundless sense of humor, selfless commitment to mentoring others and service to the intelligence community and his country.

Mr. Chair, when Ronald Reagan stood in front of the Berlin Wall and said, ``Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,'' he did so not because we were in opposition to just the Soviet Union and Russians. He did so because we were in opposition to authoritarianism. We were in opposition to communism.

Now, that wall fell, but it didn't fall because the Soviet Union took it down. It fell because they merely didn't shoot the people who were doing so. When it fell as a result of Ronald Reagan's words and a call to the world, the line between authoritarianism and democracy marched all the way to the border of Russia.

Right now today, Putin has told us straight up he wants to move the line of authoritarianism back. He wants to reclaim that land, not just Ukraine, but Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, eastern Europe, and the Baltics.

We must support democracy or freedom. If we don't, ours is at risk. Ronald Reagan's words are meaningless if we allow Russia to reestablish authoritarianism and move that line of democracy back to where the Soviet Union had claimed eastern Europe and had imposed authoritarianism on people's lives.

This is not just an American mission. The world is with us. Democracies are with us. This chart shows the amount of contribution of the total aggregate of all aid. This is up on my official website, by the way. If you click on ``Ukraine,'' you will see these, along with a report that verifies this information. The United States is not the major contributor of total aid.

What is more important, when you get to military aid, the United States is less than half of all military aid. The world's democracies are standing against Russia for democracy, against authoritarianism, and the United States, the light of the world for democracy, needs to be there and needs to support the Ukrainian people against these atrocities.

If you go to my website, you will see the documentation that supports this. We are $42 billion. Our democracy allies are over $50 billion. We need to stay in the fight by supplying Ukrainians the weapons that they need for

them to be in the fight, the fight for democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Dr. Christopher Colliver, a recipient of the coveted Presidential Rank Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the Federal career civil service.

Dr. Colliver is one of a small percentage of career members of the Senior Executive Service to be chosen by the President for exceptional performance in their field over an extended period of time. He began his career at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) in 1988, where he helped revolutionize digital intelligence analysis, production, and modeling and simulation architectures.

Since 2012, Dr. Colliver has served as Technical Advisor for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and Acquisition Intelligence at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base. He advises the AFLCMC Commander, Engineering Director, Intelligence Director, and Program Executive Officers, to deliver superior war-winning capabilities on time and on cost.

Dr. Colliver has distinguished himself through sustained extraordinary service to the Department of Defense and the United States of America. His visionary threat predictions and engineering solutions drove the acceleration of a $10 billion modernization program to defend all Department weapon systems.

Dr. Colliver led a multi-agency team responding to new terrorist tactics and provided solutions for warfighting operations, which drove enemy effectiveness to zero. He conceived and led novel experimentation resulting in a reprioritization of $1 billion to implement enhanced flight security and safety.

Dr. Colliver's guidance mitigated critical technology threats to an advanced program, enabling an early $2 billion decision with 20-year risk and threat reductions. He assured accurate global threat warning for ballistic missile launches by improving data fidelity and timeliness by 75 percent with $10 million in savings.

Throughout his career, Dr. Colliver has been awarded numerous honors for his outstanding contributions to the Department of Defense and our Nation, including the Director of Central Intelligence Exceptional Analyst of the Year Award (2000); the Air Force Civilian Achievement Award (2002, 2003, 2005); and the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award (2012, 2021).

I want to personally thank Dr. Colliver for his 35 years of service at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the significant contributions he has made in a life and career dedicated to our national security. His accomplishments bring great credit upon himself, the United States Air Force, and the Department of Defense. I wish him continued success in his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, I was not present to vote due to a minor medical procedure. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: YEA on Roll Call No. 249, On Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 495; YEA on Roll Call No. 250, On Agreeing to H. Res. 495; YEA on Roll Call No. 251, On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3099: NAY on Roll Call No. 252, On Passage of H.J. Res. Res. 44; YEA on Roll Call No. 253, On Passage Objections of the President To The Contrary Notwithstanding, H.J. Res. 42; YEA on Roll Call No. 254, On Agreeing to Amendment No. 1 to H.R. 1615; YEA on Roll Call No. 255, On Passage of H.R. 1615; and YEA on Roll Call No. 256, On The Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 377.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Merle Wilberding, a close friend from my Congressional district, who is celebrating 50 years as an attorney and partner at the law firm Coolidge Wall in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1853, Coolidge Wall is one of the oldest and most respected law firms in Ohio. Merle moved to Dayton after his discharge from the military, and officially joined the firm on June 25, 1973.

The values of hard work, integrity, and service to others have guided Merle throughout his long and distinguished career in the legal profession. Merle earned his law degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1969. After practicing law for 54 years, he remains at the very top of his profession, having earned the distinction of being named the 2023 ``Lawyer of the Year'' in Corporate Law for all of Dayton by the publication Best Lawyers. He is an active community leader and volunteer, a prolific free-lance writer, the author of seven books and numerous articles published in national law reviews, and has worked on multiple high-profile cases that gained national attention.

During the Vietnam War, Merle served four years as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in Washington, D.C. As a 27-year-old U.S. Army lawyer, he represented the government in briefing and arguing the appeal of Lt. William Calley's court martial for his role in the My Lai Massacre and the Presidio Mutiny case, a non-violent anti-war demonstration at the Presidio Army Base in San Francisco. He represented the Army in 800 appeals and argued 100 cases. For his honorable service, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

In 2008, a servicemember from our community, Maria Lauterbach, was murdered by a fellow marine after she reported a sexual assault. Merle offered to represent the Lauterbach family on a pro bono basis, and began his advocacy for victims of sexual assault in the military. Merle's work on this case resulted in multiple appearances on national news programs and testimony before the U.S. Congress. I teamed with Merle to seek justice for the Lauterbach family by pushing for changes in the Uniform Code of Military Justice and enacting new laws to combat sexual assault in the military, empower sexual assault victims, and establish a safer environment for all who serve in our Armed Forces.

Merle's wisdom, compassion, and knowledge of the law has repeatedly earned him the respect of his peers. His name is routinely included in the annual lists of the Top 5 percent of Lawyers in the State of Ohio, and the Best Lawyers in America. He was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, for his commitment to the values of service and ethical leadership that the University seeks to instill in its students.

In both his personal and professional life, Merle Wilberding has set an excellent example for all of us who work to serve our communities and our nation. I have had the privilege of knowing Merle for many years, and I am proud to call him my friend.

I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Merle Wilberding as he celebrates this significant milestone in his legal career.