Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I unintentionally missed an amendment vote due to conversation with other members. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 191.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 962, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I urge the Speaker to immediately schedule this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, each year in the month of March, our Nation takes time to celebrate Women's History Month and to recognize the important role women have played in our personal, local, national, and world history.

We have made progress elevating women throughout our society, but it is not enough. There is still more work to be done here at home and around the world.

Women play a critical role in the history of every American.

As the son of a single mother who worked multiple jobs while putting herself through night school, I owe everything I am to this strong, independent, American woman. She and millions of other women like her blazed the trail for me, for today's young women, and, particularly, for my 15-year-old daughter, Anderson.

I am proud to be raising a young woman at a time where we have seen tremendous gains for women in our Nation.

I am proud to serve alongside a historic 102 women here in this Congress, the 116th Congress, including trailblazers like Martha McSally, the first female fighter pilot in Congress, and numerous other Republican colleagues in the House who were the first women to represent their districts: Representatives like Liz Cheney and Elise Stefanik, who are working diligently to ensure more female candidates have the resources they need to compete in our election system, and countless others who inspire me.

As these national role models continue to be important, it is also critical to recognize the important role local heroes and local women have in our communities and our Nation, including many from my own district in Florida. That is why each week this month I will be honoring local women who have had or are having an important impact in our community, women like:

Alice Scott Abbott, a Flagler County resident of the early 1900s who worked with the national women's suffrage movement and, following the ratification of the 19th Amendment, fervently employed her fellow Flagler County women to register and participate in the 1920 November election;

Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, who founded the Volusia County School that would later become Bethune-Cookman University. She was a national leader on issues related to civil rights, to education, to women and young people until her death in 1955.

Mr. Speaker, as these local heroes exemplify, women and their contributions are critical to our success as a nation, but I also believe their strength is an essential part of our national security.

As a Green Beret who operated all over the world, I know firsthand where women thrive in business, where they thrive in civil society, in politics, and in government, extremism does not. Where women thrive, extremism fails.

As an Afghan elder once told me during one of my combat tours, he shared with me his secret weapon in defeating the Taliban. It wasn't a weapon or a missile or some type of other secret device. It was his teenage daughters, whom he had sent to India to be educated. He looked at me and said: This is our secret weapon to defeat extremism.

And I will quote for you, Mr. Speaker, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning young girl who was shot in the face for attending school, Malala Yousafzai. She said: ``Extremists have shown what frightens them most: a girl with a book.''

So this Women's History Month must serve as a reminder that as a nation we have a responsibility to empower women who participate in every aspect of our society--not only for the betterment of America, but also as an example for the world.

So thank you to the women of my district, our Nation, and the world who worked to make their communities a better place for us all.

Daytona Bike Week

Mr. Speaker, This week is Daytona Bike Week, where my district welcomes nearly 300,000 avid motorcyclists for our community's 78th annual celebration of liberty, freedom, and two-wheeled, motorized muscle. No other event comes close to matching our combination of bikes, Florida beaches, sun, and fun.

It all started in January 1937, on a 3.2-mile race course running along the world's most famous beach--Daytona Beach. Riders first headed south on the paved roadway of Route A1A, turned left onto the beach, then raced north on the sand until turning back onto the pavement at a spot now marked by a favorite local restaurant named Racing's North Turn. Then, the riders did it again and again and again for 200 miles.

This was the birth of the famed Daytona 200 motorcycle race and the Bike Week that now surrounds it. Since then, only World War II has interrupted these annual festivities. Today, the Daytona 200 headlines Bike Week as a spectacular finale in the famed Daytona International Speedway.

Don't miss the week's other high-adrenaline racing, too. The American Flat Track series opens its season this week, and the Daytona Supercross is back again, bigger and better than ever.

If you are unsure of where to start, try the brand-new official Bike Week Welcome Center, located in One Daytona.

So to everyone visiting Daytona this week, thank you for supporting our local businesses. Have fun and ride safe.

Madam Speaker, due to logistical challenges, I unintentionally missed a roll call vote on H.R. 502. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 53.

Madam Speaker, I stand before you today as we approach the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade to speak on behalf of Americans who cannot speak for themselves.

Our Nation was founded on the notion that every American has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As legislators, we are bound to protect these rights, especially as they relate to our most vulnerable population, which is why we cannot ignore the fundamental right of an unborn child to live.

While Roe v. Wade may be the law of the land, I am here today because I, along with many of my fellow Floridians, disagree with it. I believe it is incumbent on this institution to debate the definition of life as well as our authority and responsibility to protect it.

As a father, I have the privilege and have had the privilege of watching my daughter grow from a tiny blip on a monitor, to a beautiful baby girl, and now to a strong, courageous young woman, the young woman that she is today; and when I look at her my heart breaks. It breaks for the children whose lives have been and continue to be taken from them just as they are beginning.

These children could have been future doctors, lawyers, Members of Congress, teachers, military servicemembers, anything they wanted. But, unfortunately, because of a court decision made nearly 46 years ago, we will never know who those children would have become.

Madam Speaker, as a veteran, I have seen horrible things. And, yet, I believe abortion is one of the greater tragedies of our generation. I believe, in time, future generations will look back on this era in American history and condemn us for the millions of children that we have allowed to be taken. Because the truth is, each life, from the moment it begins to exist, is a precious person, and therefore, has a fundamental God-given right to live.

So on this anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I stand with my colleagues in solidarity for the lives lost, and I pray for the mothers and fathers that face very difficult circumstances surrounding new life.