Floor Statements

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

As chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee, I have focused our efforts on ensuring the Department of Defense is ready to fight around the world, especially in the Pacific, by improving its maintenance, improving its logistics, and the availability of our defense assets.

This bill moves us in the right direction. As Representative Gallagher and others have said, we are witnessing the largest military buildup in China since we saw in Germany in the 1930s, particularly with their Navy, as they head toward 500 ships and we shrink to under 300.

This bill instills accountability for the Navy, especially for its lagging availabilities in its amphibious warships and attack submarine fleets. Mr. Chairman, 18 of the Navy's 49 attack submarines are in maintenance right now as we speak. This is the lowest number of ready attack submarines since 2008, and it is unacceptable.

Believe it or not, Mr. Chair, our bases in Europe have been reliant on Russian energy. This bill mandates the Department eliminate that reliance on Russian energy for all our installations in the European Command, and this bill directs a report on foreign control and influence over the supply chain for critical minerals and metals used for defense technologies.

Mr. Chairman, importantly, this bill moves our military back toward being a meritocracy focused on lethality and winning our Nation's wars. Our enemies' bullets do not care about race, religion, or socioeconomic background, and neither should we.

I am proud that this bill includes my provisions to combat divisive ideologies in the Department. This defense bill contains my language requiring the Department to report to Congress on the total cost of this extremism training, and it also includes my amendment to prohibit critical race theory.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I thank my friend, Ranking Member Garamendi, for his partnership.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's Independence Day.

America and Jordan have a long history of friendship and cooperation after establishing diplomatic relations in 1949. Jordan plays a vital role in advancing peace, stability, and moderation in the Middle East.

I recently visited Jordan. In fact, I had the honor of being flown by Jordan's first-ever female helicopter pilot. On that same visit, King Abdullah graciously hosted our delegation and took us to the holy site where Jesus was baptized on the east bank of the Jordan River.

Jordan is a shining example of tolerance, with traditions of hospitality between all religions. This visit was especially moving, and it was an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

It is especially meaningful to me personally as I married into a Jordanian-American family, the Nesheiwats, who immigrated to America from their ancestral home of Salt through Ellis Island.

We look forward to returning to Jordan soon to baptize our newborn son, Arman.

I wish King Abdullah and the Jordanian people a happy Independence Day, and I remain committed to supporting the friendship and partnership between our two countries.

Mr. Speaker, we know the activities of the Chinese Communist Party under the leadership of Xi, the worst genocide since World War II, not just according to the United States--multiple administrations of the United States, but also according to the U.N.-- Hong Kong, South China Sea, threats to India, and threats to Taiwan. Xi is telling his country to prepare for war.

Here at home, we have the cornering of critical supply chains and dependencies on China that is being done deliberately as they steal their way to the top through our intellectual property, spying on the Federal Reserve, flooding our key institutions, including academia, with money, buying up farmland.

Mr. Speaker, this is a whole-of-government, whole-of-society challenge that we have never before faced in American history. That is why we need a committee like this. That is why we need a committee that spans all of these jurisdictions, and we certainly need the leadership of my good friend and colleague, Representative Mike Gallagher.

Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 524.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Auchincloss (Beyer)

Axne (Pappas)

Beatty (Neguse)

Boebert (Gaetz)

Brooks (Moore (AL))

Brown (MD) (Evans)

Carter (LA) (Horsford)

Cawthorn (Gaetz)

Cherfilus-McCormick (Brown (OH))

Cicilline (Jayapal)

Clyburn (Butterfield)

DeFazio (Pallone)

DelBene (Schneider)

Dingell (Pappas)

Doyle, Michael F. (Evans)

Dunn (Salazar)

Escobar (Garcia (TX))

Espaillat (Correa)

Ferguson (Gonzales, Tony (TX))

Gibbs (Smucker)

Gosar (Weber (TX))

Herrera Beutler (Owens)

Houlahan (Slotkin)

Hudson (Murphy (NC))

Jacobs (NY) (Sempolinski)

Johnson (TX) (Pallone)

Kelly (IL) (Horsford)

Kim (NJ) (Pallone)

Kirkpatrick (Pallone)

Krishnamoorthi (Pappas)

LaHood (Wenstrup)

Larson (CT) (Pappas)

Lawson (FL) (Evans)

Levin (CA) (Huffman)

Malliotakis (Armstrong)

Maloney, Sean P. (Beyer)

McHenry (Salazar)

Meeks (Horsford)

Moore (WI) (Beyer)

Moulton (Trone)

Newman (Correa)

Norcross (Pallone)

O'Halleran (Pappas)

Ocasio-Cortez (Tlaib)

Palazzo (Fleischmann)

Pascrell (Pallone)

Payne (Pallone)

Porter (Beyer)

Pressley (Neguse)

Rice (SC) (Weber (TX))

Rush (Beyer)

Schrader (Correa)

Sewell (Schneider)

Sherrill (Beyer)

Simpson (Fulcher)

Sires (Pallone)

Stevens (Craig)

Stewart (Owens)

Strickland (Correa)

Tiffany (Fitzgerald)

Titus (Pallone)

Trahan (Lynch)

Welch (Pallone)

Yarmuth (Beyer)

Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 438.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the grand opening of B. Braun Medical Inc.'s new pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Daytona Beach, Florida.

B. Braun has long been a leader in manufacturing medical devices and IV solutions. The company has been able to emerge as a leader while also maintaining its staunch commitment to protecting patients from exposure to harmful chemicals--ensuring their devices and products are made with the highest quality materials. Their new facility in Daytona Beach is no different as it will manufacture Sodium Chloride for Injection in B. Braun's Excel Plus IV Bags, which are free from PVC, DEHP, and natural rubber latex.

As our healthcare providers know, Sodium Chloride for injection is a solution used to administer lifesaving and life-sustaining therapies. These IV solutions are often used for adult and pediatric patients as sources of electrolytes and water for hydration--commonly used to treat COVID-19 and Flu patients. Not only is Sodium Chloride included on the FDA's list of Essential Medicines, but there have also been several shortages of Sodium Chloride in the last 5 years.

With an investment of more than 300 million dollars, B. Braun's impressive 218,000 square foot facility will play a critical role in alleviating IV fluid shortages across the country. We learned the hard way during the COVID-19 pandemic that we can no longer rely on importing medical products from overseas and that reliance can be a matter of life and death. This new Daytona Beach facility will bring healthcare manufacturing back to where it belongs--right here in the United States.

This past August, I had the privilege of attending the ribbon cutting ceremony of B.

Braun's new facility in Daytona Beach. During this ceremony, I was excited to learn about the economic and educational impact B. Braun will have on our local community. In addition to their plans to expand beyond the 500 employees currently on site, B. Braun has also collaborated with local educational institutions, including Daytona State College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, to establish a workforce development initiative to train employees for high-skilled jobs.

There is no doubt that B. Braun's new pharmaceutical manufacturing site in Daytona Beach will provide much needed relief to our healthcare industry and bring us one step closer to a self-sustaining medical manufacturing industry here in the United States. As the Representative of Florida's 6th Congressional District, I am proud to have this B. Braun facility in our community and I look forward to the positive impacts it will have on my constituents, Floridians, and every American.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Rogers for their strong bipartisan product that is worthy of our servicemembers. I also thank the chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee, Representative Garamendi, for his thoughtful and collaborative work on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, the threats are growing: Russia, Iran, North Korea, and, most significantly, China's most rapid military buildup that we have seen in modern history.

The bipartisan top-line increase above inflation is a positive step, but our defense investments still fail to keep pace with the Chinese Communist Party and their rapid military buildup.

Mr. Speaker, I don't want to keep pace. Our servicemembers deserve better. We need to have overmatch over that military buildup. That is how we then keep the peace and maintain deterrence.

As the ranking member of the Readiness Subcommittee, I know we cannot continue to afford to use our operations and maintenance accounts to pay for other priorities. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a teachable moment for all of us. The entire world is witnessing that logistics, training, and maintenance win or lose wars.

China's own growing aggression in the vast Indo-Pacific requires more operations and maintenance funding for our partners and allies. We have to keep our forces forward, again, in order to maintain deterrence, and I will oppose amendments that thoughtlessly take from those accounts. We cannot, as a body, continue to rob Peter to pay Paul.

Overall, I believe this is a strong bill. It does hold our military accountable but also makes significant steps toward deterrence.

Some key priorities: We authorize interoperable military exercises with Taiwan. We permanently prohibit purchases of goods by the Defense Department from the Xinjiang province. We require universities in China that support the CCP and the military to be identified and listed. We allocate funding for incredibly important new construction projects at Florida's military bases. We set gender-neutral fitness standards for our combat military occupational specialties in the U.S. Army. Perhaps most importantly, we passed a wounded warrior bill of rights.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, as we continue to aid Ukraine, we must be accountable for those taxpayer dollars, and this bill would appoint an inspector general to oversee the aid that we are providing.

Mr. Speaker, the number one job of the Federal Government is to keep the country safe. I urge my colleagues' support for this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, this amendment requires local preferences and State construction licenses for all facility sustainment and military construction projects.

Mr. Speaker, it is notable the opposition to this amendment includes the Chamber of Commerce, the National Defense Industrial Association, the Associated General Contractors of America, the Association of Building Contractors, and the American Council of Engineering Companies. All of them oppose this, and notably, this provision last year was strongly opposed by the Biden Administration.

Mr. Speaker, this provision would increase time and money to an already difficult, lengthy, and often slow military construction process. These are facilities that our fighting men and women desperately need.

Mr. Speaker, it also impacts the skilled workforce. The local hiring preferences would significantly impact a military construction contractor's workforce by creating scenarios where long-term, highly skilled workers may have to be released and may have to be laid off in order to meet the local hire mandate. Then in order to comply with the requirements, employers would have to bring in unnecessary and unskilled workers to fill these now vacant positions, creating additional costs and creating additional safety concerns.

Local preference requirements falsely assume--and here is the fundamental issue. It is a false assumption that there is this automatic pool of qualified military contractors and workers wherever this military construction project may take place. Often, there is, in some locations. But often, in our most rural locations, there is not. There is an assumption that they are capable of performing this work.

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is the provision would increase costs. Again, it would expand an already bloated military construction timeline, and it will reduce skilled employment and decrease the quality of construction in these vital projects.

Mr. Speaker, I urge opposition to this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman).

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

Military construction and sustainment is bureaucratic; it is cumbersome; it is slow; and it is not providing our servicemembers what they need. That needs to be the focus, period.

This provision would represent a momentous shift, a sea change in the way the Department of Defense and defense contractors perform work, with unknown costs to both the government and the contractors, especially small business contractors.

We have to get these projects done timely and on budget and get the facilities that we need to our servicemembers.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to take a moment.

I have no issue in principle with more Joint Strike Fighters. We need more Joint Strike Fighters, and we need to continue to modernize our aviation fleet.

My issue here is where the money for it comes from. As I was just saying in my previous comments, we have to as a body, we have to as a Congress, and as a military to stop robbing Peter to pay Paul, to stop robbing operations and maintenance to buy new things.

Just as a few examples of the many accounts that would be decremented to pay for these F-35s: we have got $50 million from Army operations and maintenance from their maneuver units, $100 million from Navy military manpower and personnel, $56 million from Air Force maintenance, $62 million from base support, and the list continues.

Colleagues, we have to build in the operations and maintenance for new things we want to buy rather than taking from the things we have already bought that literally cannot sail or fly.

Madam Speaker, I missed the passage vote on concurring in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 7018--Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act. Had I been present, I would have voted Yea on Roll Call No. 124.

Madam Speaker, on December 25, Volusia County, Florida, lost a great businessman and valued community leader, Mike Jiloty. Through Mike's hard work and personal approach to business, he received hundreds of industry awards. Serving as the president of United Way of Volusia and Flagler Counties, Mike fought for the health, education, and stability of every person in his community. He dedicated his time to the FUTURES Foundation for Volusia County Schools to better prepare students for their careers.

As a graduate of the Leadership Florida Class XIV, Mike used his skills as a leader to serve his community and was honored by several organizations, including the Volusia Association of School Administrators, the Daytona Beach Community College Foundation, the Conklin Center for the Blind, and the Lodging and Hospitality Association of Volusia County.

Madam Speaker, Mike Jiloty is a true example of a servant leader. He sought to inspire others, to make his community a better place, and he is missed dearly. It is my honor to recognize him on the floor of the House of Representatives today.

Honoring the 75th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson Integrating Baseball

Madam Speaker, Jackie Robinson once said, ``A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.'' On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson created a lasting impact on the lives of generations of Americans when he stepped out of the dugout at Ebbets Field before a crowd of more than 26,000 spectators. This moment would change the course of history and have a lasting impact for generations as he broke the color barrier as the first African-American player in professional baseball history.

Jackie Robinson is a true servant leader, and his life and legacy has had a major impact across the country, including in my own congressional district, where I am honored to have a piece of his legacy at the Daytona City Island Ballpark where, in 1946, Jackie Robinson played in the very first integrated major league baseball spring training game. In 1990, in honor of the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson, the Daytona City Island Ballpark would be renamed the Jackie Robinson Memorial Ballpark.

Jackie Robinson's impact was felt across the Nation. It was the first time a Black player competed with a minor league team against a major league team since the color line was implemented in baseball in the 1880s. As we observe the 75th anniversary of his courageous act, it is clear the impact and legacy of Jackie Robinson on the advancement of human rights will be everlasting.

A1A Designated an All-American Road

Madam Speaker, of the approximately 4 million miles of byways and highways that stretch in all directions across the United States, there are very few that come close to the beauty, history, and serenity that encompasses the 72-mile stretch of A1A that runs from St. Johns County, Florida, to Flagler County. Flanked by the Atlantic Ocean and crisscrossing the St. Johns River and Intracoastal Waterway, for more than 75 years the A1A

has provided motorists with breathtaking views as it seamlessly intertwines Florida's most remarkable coastal landscapes and deep- rooted history.

As a kid growing up in northeast Florida, any drive along the A1A scenic and historic coastal byway was a reminder of how lucky we were to live in such a beautiful place.

Now, as the Representative of Florida's north central region, home to beautiful segments of A1A, I was proud to cast one of my very first votes in support of the Reviving America's Scenic Byways Act in February of 2019. This act requires the Department of Transportation to issue a request for nominations to be designated under the National Scenic Byways Program and make publicly available a list specifying the roads designated. President Trump signed the bill into law in September of 2019.

I am pleased to announce in the Congressional Record that on March 29 of 2022, the ribbon-cutting ceremony occurred for the Federal Highway Administration's designation of this beautiful stretch of A1A as an All-American Road.

Madam Speaker, I missed a Previous Question vote on February 8. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 35.

Madam Speaker, I missed a Previous Question vote on January 11.

Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 2.

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

Mr. Speaker, we are here today to discuss what House Democrats are now calling the America COMPETES Act, and frankly, it is a shame. It is a shame that they are framing this as a bill about competitiveness. While it may have started as just that, it has now morphed into another attempt to impose the Democrats' out-of-touch agenda on America.

Mr. Speaker, the sad reality is that we are in desperate need of a competitiveness bill. The Chinese Communist Party is trying to overtake us and intends to overtake us as the global leader in science and technology because they know that leadership in science directly equates to a stronger economy, a more secure homeland, and greater influence in ethical standards that underpin all of our emerging technologies.

It is no wonder that the Chinese Communist Party is doing everything in its power to take every possible advantage in this global competition. The Chinese Communist Party is outspending us on research and development. They are graduating more STEM students and building their high-tech workforce faster than we are, and they are acquiring valuable research and intellectual property through any means necessary, absolutely including forced acquisition and theft.

Mr. Speaker, they are stealing their way to the top, and it is not an exaggeration to say that countering China's global influence must be one of our highest priorities in Congress.

The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee with Chairwoman Johnson's and Ranking Member Lucas' leadership took on this responsibility--and rightly so--and did what the American people expect us to do. We spent more than 1 year meeting with stakeholders, gathering feedback, finding consensus policies, and passing bipartisan legislation. In total, with their leadership and with the great work of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, we passed a dozen bills to double down on our investment and transformative basic research, build our STEM workforce, and strategically support the most important emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum sciences, and advanced manufacturing.

While you will hear about all of those bills that are in this package, Mr. Speaker, it is inaccurate to say this is a China bill or a competitiveness bill. I want to be crystal clear: This is not bipartisan legislation, and it is not focused on the problems at hand.

If the Speaker and our colleagues, the House Democrats, were serious about addressing the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, then they would have moved our science bill--those dozen bills--into conference months ago. We have been ready to go since June, and everyone who has worked on it on both sides of the aisle knows it. That is when the two core elements of our package passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Instead, this body wasted all summer and fall on massive spending bills like Build Back Better, and now we have little to show for it. So here we are, on Groundhog Day, fittingly and sadly, going through the same exercise we have already done multiple times.

Let's be candid. Democrats are trying to cram through a massive bill filled with unnecessary spending that dramatically alters what has passed through this House instead of focusing on the issues at hand. What started as a bipartisan effort to keep the U.S. globally competitive somehow, in the last few weeks, went through the black box of Speaker Pelosi's office and emerged as the Build Back Better backup plan filled with failed initiatives and progressive demands.

Instead of addressing competition and the threat from the Communist leadership in China, this bill now corrupts good, solid bipartisan work I was personally very proud of, and it corrupts it with thousands of pages of irrelevant policies.

What kind of China bill mentions coral reefs more than China?

There are very real consequences to this bad faith effort. As much as 85 percent of America's long-term economic growth is due to advances in science and technology. We cannot take that continued growth for granted.

I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, when the Chinese Communist Party considers how to outpace us in the technologies of the future, they aren't wasting their time and money on U.N. climate funds, which, by the way, send money right back over to Beijing. We should be taking this every bit as seriously as they are.

I expect my Republican colleagues will share the countless poison pills that have been inserted into this bill, so I won't elaborate on them here. Instead, I will simply urge my colleagues, with a heavy heart, to oppose this bill and urge Democratic leadership to get serious about the threat from China.

Let's stay focused on that threat. Let's go to conference with a clean bipartisan competitiveness bill and set our country up for the continued economic success that Americans deserve.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), who is the Republican leader of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers), the Republican leader of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the Republican leader.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), the Republican leader of the Education and Labor Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Texas (Mr. Weber).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Kentucky an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), the Republican leader of the Committee on Natural Resources.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Greene).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller).

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin) to control the remaining time.

Madam Speaker, on December 25th Volusia County lost a great businessman and valued community leader, Mike Jiloty. Through Mike's hard work and personal approach to business, he received hundreds of industry awards. Serving as the President of United Way of Volusia and Flagler, Mike fought for the health, education, and stability of every person in his community. He dedicated his time to the FUTURES Foundation for Volusia County Schools to better prepare students for their careers.

As a graduate of the Leadership Florida Class XIV, Mike used his skills as a leader to serve his community and was honored by several organizations, including the Volusia Association of School Administrators, the Daytona Beach Community College Foundation, and the Conklin Center for the Blind Lodging.

Madam Speaker, Mike Jiloty was a true example of a servant leader. He sought to inspire others, to make his community a better place, and he is missed dearly. It is my honor to recognize him today.

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague, Mr. Meeks, eloquently mentioned, it is worth repeating again that Peng Shuai on November 2 posted on her social media account a detailed allegation of sexual abuse against a former Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China, a very senior official.

In her post, she said: ``I couldn't describe how disgusted I was and how many times I asked myself, am I still a human? I feel like a walking corpse.''

It shouldn't surprise anybody that the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, immediately censored her post and any mention of these allegations and basically wiped it off the face of the Earth. She has since been absent and unresponsive to friends except for a clearly fabricated statement and video in a clearly coerced session, shamefully with International Olympic Committee officials.

This would be like if a U.S. tennis star made an accusation, a credible one, of sexual abuse against a Vice President of the United States, and then she disappeared. That is what essentially has happened.

On November 21, the IOC said in a statement that its president, Thomas Bach, had a 30-minute video call but yet wouldn't release the video afterward. The IOC's participation in this charade is a disgrace.

After the call, IOC official Dick Pound said it is the IOC's unanimous conclusion by IOC officials that Peng is fine.

This is the definition of perpetuating CCP propaganda. It is exactly the opposite of what we should expect in the world.

The Women's Tennis Association has demanded accountability, demanded that her whereabouts be disclosed, that she be able to talk to colleagues and friends, and that her sexual assault allegation be taken seriously and fully investigated.

Importantly, unlike the National Basketball Association, the Olympics, and so many others, the WTA has said they are going to forgo any future tournaments in China, which is a significant, significant portion of their revenue. In short, they are putting their money where their mouth is. They are walking the walk, not just talking the talk.

This is exactly why we cannot send our athletes to the Beijing Olympics. We cannot guarantee their safety. We cannot turn a blind eye to the ongoing genocide. We cannot allow American companies that want to preach social justice here in the United States because it helps their balance sheet to then ignore basic human rights when it comes to China to also pad their balance sheet.

I would ask any of my colleagues, when it comes to the Winter Olympics, did they agree with the IOC stepping into politics when it comes to apartheid? The IOC not only banned the Olympics from happening in South Africa under apartheid, but they banned the South African Olympic Committee from participating in the Olympics for 30 years.

Yet when it comes to China, when it comes to the abuses of the Chinese Communist Party, we have a whole heck of a lot of silence. If we won't take a stand now, what will we take a stand for?

I support the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton) in this important effort.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service and career of combat veteran and public servant Dr. Julia Nesheiwat, who has devoted her entire life in service to this country and by every metric, exemplifies duty, honor, and the American Dream.

Born to Ben and Hayat Nesheiwat, Jordanian immigrant parents who worked tirelessly to provide for her and her four siblings, Dr. Nesheiwat graduated from Stetson University. She then went on to earn her M.A. in security studies from Georgetown University, Washington D.C. and a Ph.D. from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan. Dr. Nesheiwat is a lifelong member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served on the Governing Advisory Council for the World Economic Forum.

After the September 11 attacks, Dr. Nesheiwat was immediately deployed in the U.S. Army military intelligence corps. She served multiple tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq for which she was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Dr. Nesheiwat subsequently was selected to serve on the U.S. Presidential Commission on Intelligence Capabilities Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, leading the North Korea and Iran policy steering committee.

She went on to help establish the newly formed office of the Director of National Intelligence as the Chief of Staff for policy and planning, where she managed the integration and collaboration of analysis and reporting with all intelligence agencies.

During her time at the Department of State, Dr. Nesheiwat served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy where she built a new bureau that addressed the nexus of energy, climate, technology, development, international programs, and public-private partnerships. She then collaborated with the Department of Defense to create a new curriculum on energy security as a visiting professor at the Naval Post Graduate School.

Dr. Nesheiwat continued her call to service as the first U.S. Deputy Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs focused on the release of U.S. citizens legally detained or held hostage abroad. Dr. Nesheiwat's diplomatic work was instrumental in the release of dozens of Americans illegally held overseas as well as her work with the families of those detained.

Returning to her home state of Florida, Dr. Nesheiwat was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to serve as Florida's first Chief Resilience Officer, a cabinet-level position tasked with preparing Florida for the environmental, physical, and economic impacts of sea level rise.

In 2020, Dr. Nesheiwat once again answered the call to serve, this time in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Resilience. At such a perilous time in our nation's history, she brought her extensive expertise on national security and resilience to develop strategies to help protect America against the COVID pandemic, natural disasters, critical infrastructure protection, foreign election interference, civil unrest, counter- narcotics, and wildlife and trafficking crimes.

Dr. Nesheiwat was later appointed to serve a four-year term as a Commissioner on the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. The Commission is an independent federal agency that advises the President and Congress on domestic and international Arctic research. She is also a Distinguished Fellow with the Atlantic Council with the Global Energy Center.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the lifelong servant leadership of Dr. Julia Nesheiwat and her career spanning the Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations. She has brought great credit to her country and we thank her as she continues to serve the American people.