Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking Chairman Thornberry for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor.

I strongly support H.R. 5515, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, the 58th consecutive NDAA passed by Congress.

I also want to thank our leadership--Speaker Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, and Patrick McHenry--for their contribution to this bill being a contribution to readiness. This is about increasing the top line, increasing national defense spending, and increasing support for our men and women in uniform. I want to thank them for their leadership in accomplishing that.

I have the privilege of serving as the chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, and I would like to recognize our subcommittee ranking member, Ms. Niki Tsongas. I want to thank Niki for her support on the subcommittee and as co-chair of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus.

Throughout her tenure in Congress, Niki has worked in a solidly bipartisan fashion to support our warfighters, improve the readiness of our military, and help our servicemembers eliminate sexual assault in uniform. She is leaving behind a strong legacy of accomplishments.

Within our subcommittee's jurisdiction, this bill recommends authorization for over $97 billion in modernization funding that is necessary to regain our advantage against peer competitors.

This bill recognizes the importance of the fifth-generation strike fighter and supports the President's budget request for 77 Joint Strike Fighters. It also authorizes the Department to procure an additional F- 35 aircraft if funds become available through cost savings and program efficiencies.

The bill includes several oversight provisions to combat the physiological episodes occurring in military aircraft. We now require the Department to certify that all new aircraft will have the latest technology to keep our pilots healthy and safe.

In the bill, Congress reiterates the importance of the Air Force's JSTARS program. For more than 25 years, the aircraft has provided our warfighters command, control, and surveillance of ground battle. JSTARS have flown over 130,000 combat hours and will be an integral piece of the Air Force's arsenal for years to come.

For the seventh consecutive year, this bill addresses sexual assault.

I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, due to inclement weather, I was unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 366, and YEA on Roll Call No. 367.

Mr. Speaker, on June 20, I was unable to vote on Roll Call votes 272, 273, and 274. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

Roll Call 272--Yes.

Roll Call 273--Yes.

Roll Call 274--Yes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the City of Miamisburg, Ohio as it celebrates its bicentennial anniversary.

There is only one community on Earth named Miamisburg--and that community is located in my congressional district.

Miamisburg is affectionately known as Ohio's ``Star City.'' The city drew its name from the Native American tribe that inhabited the valley between the Great and Little Miami Rivers.

The area was originally settled by a minister named Zachariah Hole, who came with his family from Virginia in 1797, and built a stockade on the east bank of the river as protection from the Indians. The Indians proved to be friendly, and the stockade attracted additional settlers, mostly from Pennsylvania. The settlers called their community ``Hole's Station.''

Miamisburg was founded on February 20, 1818, fifteen years after Ohio was admitted into the Union as the 17th State. The community was organized as a village in 1832, and achieved city status one hundred years later, in 1932.

Today, Miamisburg is home to over 20,000 residents, in a community that is known to be one of the best places in the United States to live and raise a family. The entire downtown district is listed on the National Historic Register. In 2008, Ohio Magazine named Miamisburg as one of the state's five ``Best Hometowns.''

Miamisburg is home to notable citizens including the McGuire Sisters, America's most popular singing trio, who recorded dozens of hit songs during the 1950s and 1960s; George Kinderdine of the Dayton Triangles, who kicked the first-ever extra point in NFL history in the first game played between two professional football teams in 1920; and David Bruton, Jr., a defensive back who helped the Denver Broncos win their third Super Bowl championship in 2016.

Theodore Roosevelt is the only President of the United States known to have visited Miamisburg during his time in office.

The Miamisburg Mound is the city's most visible historic landmark. The Mound is an ancient burial site constructed by the prehistoric Adena Indians approximately 2,500 years ago. It is one of the two largest conical mounds in eastern North America. The site is still intact and serves as a popular picnic destination and tourist attraction for area visitors.

The Mound Laboratory was the first permanent atomic energy facility to be constructed after World War II in the United States. Its work was essential to U.S. national security during the Cold War. The laboratory operated from 1948 to 2003 and served as a facility that conducted research, development initiatives and production for U.S. nuclear weapons and space programs. Mound scientists and employees worked on a number of NASA missions and projects, including the creation of the nuclear battery (radioisotope thermoelectric generator).

The citizens of Miamisburg will celebrate their city's rich history and vibrant future during a festive week of activities from June 16-23, 2018. Riverfront Park will serve as the city's center stage for its bicentennial celebrations. The festivities include a bicentennial parade, fireworks, performances by the Dayton Philharmonic, the Ohio State University Alumni Band, the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight, and a concert by Country Music Hall of Fame musician Ricky Skaggs.

The week of celebration coincides with the annual Miamisburg Alumni Dinner Dance. The Miamisburg High School Alumni Association is the oldest continuously active high school alumni association in the United States, and has held a reunion each year since its inception in 1888.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the citizens of Miamisburg, Ohio, as they celebrate this important milestone in their city's history. I want to thank the Miamisburg Bicentennial Committee, Mayor Dick Church, and the many volunteers for all the hard work they have done in preparation for this special event.

May Ohio's ``Star City'' continue to shine bright for another 200 years.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to a respected community leader, and a dear friend from my congressional district, for his lifetime of service to our country and to the people of Southwest Ohio.

Dr. Lynn E. Wolaver, age 94 of Fairborn, passed away Monday May 7, 2018 at the Hospice of Dayton. He was born March 10, 1924 in Springfield, IL, the son of the late Lindle and Esther (Skoog) Wolaver.

Lynn is the former Mayor of the City of Fairborn, Ohio and Dean for Research Emeritus at the Air Force Institute of Technology located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He is a charter member of the Federal Senior Executive Service and was first appointed to super grade status in 1967 at the age of 43 at the USAF Aerospace Research Laboratories where he was one of the Directors. His civilian protocol status was DV-5 equivalent to a Major General.

His academic life includes time with the University of Illinois, (BSEE 1949, MSEE 1950), The Ohio State University extension at Wright Field (1951-1956) and the University of Michigan where he obtained the Ph.D. degree (1964) in a program called Computers, Information and Control Engineering.

Lynn was a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and flew in C-47 aircraft in the European Theater of Operations with the IX Troop Carrier Command Pathfinder Group.

The former Mayor started employment at Wright-Patterson in 1950 and retired in 1988. He did research in the areas of navigation, guidance and control, systems analysis, astrodynamics and bioengineering. In addition to his job as Dean, he also served as Chairman of the System Engineering Program and as a research Professor of Engineering Science. Prior to joining AFIT in 1970, he was one of the directors of the Aerospace Research Laboratories. He was a Project Engineer on the Navigation System for the B-58, helped develop the release envelopes for the Sidewinder Missile, and was a pioneer in precision trajectory analysis. Lynn also served as Adjunct Professor in mathematics at Wright State University for seven years starting with the first day it opened its doors, and taught at the Ohio State Extension at Wright Field, and at the Engineering and Science Institute of Dayton. He also lectured at a number of management workshops including the Brookings Institute, Federal Executive Institute, American Management Association and the American Society for Engineering Education.

Lynn belongs to the standard set of honoraria including Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical Engineering Honorary), Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honorary), and Sigma Xi (Research Honorary). Among his honors and awards are Senior Executive Bonus Awards, Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, Exceptional Service Medal, University of Illinois Distinguished Alumnus Award, Fairborn Chamber of Commerce Ed Duncan Distinguished Citizen Award, Fairborn Chamber of Commerce Presidents Award, Fairborn Ministerial Association Peace Maker Award, and induction into his Springfield (Illinois) High School Hall of Fame and in 2006 he was selected as Grand Marshal of the Fairborn Fourth of July Parade. Lynn was selected as the Outstanding Senior Citizen in Greene County for 2009 by the Agency on Aging PSA2. He also received the prestigious E. J. Nutter Award as outstanding Greene County Citizen for 2010. He was inducted into the Ohio Seniors Hall of Fame in 2010 and a the Ohio Veteran Hall of Fame in 2015. Lynn and his wife Arah-Dean were selected as King and Queen of the Fairborn Sweet Corn Festival. He is a member of the New York Academy of Science, the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Biofeedback Society, Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, Midwestern Simulation Council, charter member of the Astrodynamics Committee of the American Rocket Society, member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Engineering Education. The former Mayor was listed in American Men and Women of Science, Who's Who in Midwest (12th-16th edition), Who's Who in Government, Directory of International Biography, Leaders in American Science, World Space Directory, Outstanding Leaders in Education and the Dayton, Ohio telephone directory.

Dr. Wolaver is the author of over 60 technical papers in the fields of navigation, astrodynamics and nonlinear systems analysis and physiological systems modeling. He has a textbook in Astrodynamics and is a reviewer of technical articles for a number of journals, an editor of the Brazilian Engenharia International Journal and served as reviewer and consultant to the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, National Science Foundation, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

He is also active in civic affairs being a member of the Fairborn Chamber of Commerce, Fairborn Rotary Club and the American Legion. He served six years on the City Planning Board, two years on the Zoning Board of Appeals, eight years on City Council, two of those years as Deputy Mayor and four years as Mayor. He was one of ten Dayton corporate leaders on the Dayton Development Council's Science and Technology Task Force that inventoried the area's technological assets and made recommendations for strategies to expand jobs in technology. He served on the Steering Committee of Challenge '95 and as representative on the Miami Valley Research Park and on the Board of Directors of the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, member of the Miami Valley Military Affairs Association and was a former Chairman of the Board of Toward Independence.

He was a charter member of the Board of Trustees of the 2003 Committee, served as a Commissioner of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park, Commissioner of the Ohio Wright-Dunbar State Park, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fairborn Senior Citizens Center, and a member of the Board of Greene County Career Center Adult Education Scholarship Endowment Fund. He helped start Kids Voting in Greene County, was Co-Chairman of the Senior Citizens Levy Campaign, served as Fairborn Rep on the Greene County Combined Health District Board including a term as Chairman of the Board and served as a volunteer for SAYUS Walkathon.

He was a member of the City of Fairborn Tax Incentive Review Council, member of the Greene County Bar Association Ethics and Grievance Committee, Vice-President of the Greene County Library Board of Trustees, Vice-President of the Greene County Library Board of Trustees, Congressman Hobson's Military Advisory Committee, and his Academy Selection Advisory Committee. He was active with the Fairborn Area Chamber of Commerce where he served on the Ambassadors Club. He was a Presiding Precinct Judge with the Greene County Board of Elections and was on the Board of Directors of the Fairborn Rotary Club and is a Paul Harris Fellow. Wolaver represented Fairborn on the County Advisory Board of the Greene County Council on Aging, and was then appointed to the Board of the Greene County Council on Aging.

He was a member of the AFIT Foundation Board and was a member of the Wright State University College of Liberal Arts Community Advisory Board. He was also a charter member of the Fairborn Education Foundation.

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a brother and sister-in-law, Donald and Donna Wolaver. Survivors include his wife of 69 years, Arah-Dean; two sons, Judge Stephen (Gayla Sue) Wolaver, Rick Wolaver; two grandchildren, Scott (Kerri) Wolaver, Lindy Wolaver; and two great-grandsons, Carter and Connor.

Mr. Speaker, due to my mother's health, I was unable to vote on Roll Call votes 207, 208, and 209. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 207; YEA on Roll Call No. 208; and YEA on Roll Call No. 209.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019.

I thank Chairman Thornberry and all of the members of the committee and certainly the group known as the

defense hawks in this body, who fought so diligently on increasing the top line so that this number will make a difference and change the direction of our national security.

I also thank our subcommittee ranking member, Ms. Niki Tsongas, for her support and contribution to this bill. The bipartisan partnership she and her staff demonstrated in helping to craft this bill is much appreciated.

Niki has also served with me for the last 7 years as the co-chair of the Military Sexual Assault and Prevention Caucus. Although this will be her last National Defense Authorization Act, her work on the subcommittee and the caucus on sexual assault prevention will be a strong legacy.

Within the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Force's jurisdiction, this bill recommends authorization of over $97 billion in needed modernization funding that is necessary for our comparative and competitive advantage against strategic peer competitors.

The bill again recognizes the importance of fifth-generation strike fighter capability and supports the President's budget request for 77 Joint Strike Fighters. This bill also authorizes the Department to procure additional F-35 aircraft if funds become available through cost savings and program efficiencies.

I also want to take this opportunity to highlight the many foreign partners that compromise the F-35 program, which often gets overlooked by many. These foreign partnerships strengthen our ability to better operate with our allies in future conflicts.

The bill includes several oversight provisions to facilitate mitigation efforts for physiological episodes occurring in military aircraft, to include requiring the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Air Force to certify that any new aircraft procured will have the most current technological advancements available to mitigate future physiological episodes.

However, much work remains to be done to improve overall aviation readiness and safety. Going forward, our subcommittee will conduct a more detailed review of the investigative and governance processes related to aviation safety mishaps.

The bill provides an additional $623 million for the JSTARS recap program. Based on our analysis resulting from extensive committee oversight activity, we have concluded that completely walking away from this program imposes an unacceptable level of risk to our warfighters.

The bill recommends funding to modernize 1.5 armored brigade combat teams, which is absolutely necessary for our Army.

For the seventh consecutive year, this bill addresses sexual assault in the military. The bill requires the Department to create a single office responsible for sexual offender registration; expands expedited transfer rights for victims of sexual assault; and further empowers the Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces.

This bill also protects our servicemembers and their families by closing a gap in the way the Department prescribes controlled substances. The bill requires the Department to share more information with State prescription drug monitoring programs to combat the opioid epidemic.

Finally, I would like to recognize the role small businesses plays. The Small Business Innovation Research Program is highlighted and is bolstered in this.

Mr. Chairman, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in favor of my amendment to the farm bill.

Mr. Chairman, I had a great conversation today with Secretary of Agriculture Perdue in which he spoke very highly of the students, faculty, and the president of Central State University during his visit to the university. Central State University is in my congressional district, and I want to thank Secretary Perdue for his leadership.

I am committed to working with the Secretary's office and all of the Historically Black Colleges to find a solution during the appropriations process to stop the disparate funding treatment currently in place. All 1890 land-grant institutions should be treated equally.

My commonsense and revenue-neutral amendment evens the playing field of Federal funding qualifications for all 1890 land-grant Historically Black Colleges, as it is currently written now.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chairman for his support for my work on this amendment. I specifically want to thank Joyce Beatty, who supports the amendment and who is the only alumnus from Central State University.

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

Mr. Speaker, on February 9, I was unable to vote on Roll Call votes 67 and 68. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

Roll Call 67--Yes.

Roll Call 68--Yes.

Mr. Speaker, on January 29, I was unable to vote on Roll Call votes 45 and 46. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: Roll Call 45--Yes, and Roll Call 46--Yes.

Mr. Speaker, on January 10, I was unable to vote on Roll Call votes 005 through 013. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: Roll Call 005--No; Roll Call 006--No; Roll Call 007--No; Roll Call 008--Yes; Roll Call 009--Yes; Roll Call 010--Yes; Roll Call 011-- Yes; Roll Call 012--Yes; and Roll Call 013--Yes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate two pieces of history from Dayton, Ohio.

Firstly, last week marked the 22nd anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords. The Dayton Peace Accords brought an end to years of bloodshed and created a framework for lasting peace in Bosnia and Herzegovnia. I served as mayor of Dayton during those Accords and witnessed firsthand American diplomacy bring adversaries to the negotiating table.

Recently, however, I fear the peace found in Dayton is threatened. Now is a critical time for the region. I wrote this week to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson encouraging him to host a Dayton Peace Accords II. The United States has an obligation to lead and support the peace we helped create in 1995.

The second piece of history I proudly recognize today is the anniversary of flight. This Sunday marked Wright Brothers Day, the 114th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' invention of flight.

The Wright Brothers did the bulk of their research in Dayton, Ohio, eventually leading to their creation of flight. Dayton continues to maintain the Wright Brothers' spirit of innovation.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for working diligently to create the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that will give a tax break to the middle class.

After speaking to both Speaker Paul Ryan and Ways and Means Committee member Tom Reed, I believe that an unintended consequence of this bill would hinder middle class Americans pursuing a higher education degree in an attempt to better their lives. These consequences will affect the education of employees of universities, graduate students, and employees receiving employer-provided education benefits.

Madam Speaker, under current law, higher education institutions can provide tax-free tuition waivers or reimbursement to employees, spouses, and dependents.

Secondly, many universities provide graduate students, including Ph.D. candidates, with tuition relief and stipends, which they can utilize while pursuing their degree. Several of my constituents, including my niece, Sarah Schiavone, who is a Ph.D. student, would be impacted by this.

Thirdly, employer-provided education incentives are currently not taxed. I offered two amendments, amendments 20 and 21, to H.R. 1 that would have kept these qualified tuition reduction benefits and currently would have provided for them to continue.

I know the Senate is working on their version of the tax reform package, and, as of today, the Senate bill does not include the repeal of these vital education permits.

Mr. Chairman, I would like your assurances that the current status of these education benefits will be protected during conference debate. I am requesting you continue to work with my office as we, together, address this issue.

I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.

I yield to the gentleman.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to thank and honor an integral member of my community, Director Glenn Costie of the Dayton VA Medical Center, and congratulate him on his retirement.

Director Costie turned the Dayton VA into one of the top medical facilities for our veterans in the country. Director Costie's success as a director of the VA Medical Center in Dayton has gained him national recognition. He has been sent throughout the country to save multiple VA medical facilities plagued with issues, particularly including veteran patient backlogs.

Furthermore, Director Costie has worked tirelessly to integrate the Dayton VA into our community to serve our veterans in a way that it hadn't in several decades. Director Costie's time at the VA has been dedicated to bettering the lives of our veterans.

I was very honored to work with Director Costie on the issue of bringing creative housing options for Dayton's veterans, a place known as Lyons Place II. We also worked together on the successful campaign to bring the VA National Archives to Dayton.

Director Costie's leadership and expertise will be deeply missed at the Dayton VA. I wish to thank him, give him all the best, and look forward to what he will be doing in his leadership in the future in our community, and I thank him again for everything he has done for Dayton veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2810, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018.

I strongly support this bill, and I want to personally thank our chairman, Mac Thornberry, for his work in trying to get a higher top line for defense. This bill comes in higher than the President's budget request, but it is in line with both the appropriations and the budget document that came out of the House.

This bill authorizes $634.2 billion in the base budget, a much-needed increase over the original budget request, and fully supports many of the unfunded requirements identified by the Department that totaled more than $30 billion. The $634.2 billion authorization is essential. Anything less dramatically handicaps our ability to restore military readiness over nearly a decade of neglect.

This increased base budget funding for fiscal year 2018 begins the long process to rebuild our military's full spectrum readiness from years of deferred modernization brought on by the failed assumptions from the previous administrations's Budget Control Act and sequestration.

Within the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee's jurisdiction, this bill authorizes over $12 billion in additional funds to address unfunded modernization requirements and critical capabilities gaps.

If we do not begin, with this budget, to set favorable conditions to start to reverse the high-risk defense posture we currently have, we will significantly jeopardize our military's advantage that we have taken for granted in past conflicts and steady-state operations.

As such, the bill recognizes the importance of land forces in current and future operations and authorizes over $2 billion to accelerate armored brigade combat team modernization, to include additional Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

The bill authorizes strike fighter capability and capacity shortfalls and authorizes over $3 billion in additional funding to procure new fifth-generation aircraft and modernize our fourth-generation fleet. These projects address unfunded requirements for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.

The bill also continues to address the needs of the National Guard and Reserve components by authorizing an additional $250 million for their equipment and modernization.

This bill prevents the Air Force from reducing critical ISR capabilities.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.