Floor Statements

Section 4:

``The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

``The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be [on the first Monday in December,] unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.''

Section 5:

``Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

``Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

``Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.''

Madam Speaker, as a father and a grandfather, I know the love that a family feels for their children, and it doesn't begin on the day they are born. It starts when you first learn that the prayers have been answered and that a new life is being brought into the world.

As we talk today on this particular subject, a lot of people don't realize that there have been many things that have occurred in my life and my family's life that make this a very personal issue.

Thirty-eight years ago, my wife was a junior in high school. I had just left for Marine Corps boot camp. We weren't married. She discovered that we were going to have our first child.

She had five teachers who thought that it would be a good idea, because she was such a great student, to not ruin her life by having a child. Those five teachers encouraged her to go and receive an abortion. I thank God that she understood the importance of life. That child, who would have been aborted, now serves in the United States Marine Corps and is a major and will probably be a light colonel before long.

He also has a law practice in our hometown. He has raised four children. He is an outstanding citizen. He serves on the county board. He is a respected member of society. He is even studying to go into the ministry. I am so glad of the choice that she made. Her life wasn't ruined. She might jokingly say: Well, I have still been with you for 38 years.

But she went on and she used her time when we were in Twentynine Palms, California, in the Marine Corps, she actually took credit hours and sent that back to our home high school where she graduated in the top 10 of her class. As a mother, and as a youth minister, and as a business owner, she has shown others by example.

Really, as we move forward and we talk about this debate, there are other concerns that I have, and that is that we in this body and in this Nation need to realize that there are certain questions that come up; such as, When does life begin?

Let me fast forward in our lives. Our oldest daughter, on July 26, 2002, discovered that her twins were in trouble in the womb. Well, actually it was before that. We took her to a hospital in St. Louis. It was just after my son's wedding, and she and her husband, who had an older child at the time, they discovered that these two twins had what was known as a joint communication, and they were trying desperately to get those babies from 25 weeks to 26 weeks.

But on July 26, we lost Hallie in the womb, which then drove my daughter Kasey into labor, and then we held

Ellianna for 1 hour and 35 minutes as she passed. Now, we have had legislation that quite often says at that point, that abortion should go ahead and occur. Well, I have seen what a child looks like at 24 and 25 weeks, and that is not the time that we need to say that that is not a life. I do believe that life begins at conception.

It is my sincere belief that America is only as strong as the willingness to protect the weakest and most vulnerable among us. My family participates in those opportunities to help young women who maybe have an unwanted pregnancy, also to help people who have chosen not to choose life, and also ministers to those who have lost children. My daughter is in that ministry as well through a group called Tender Mercies Foundation of Southern Illinois.

But that is why I fought in Congress to eliminate taxpayer funding of abortions, and to preserve pro-life healthcare providers the right of conscience.

Tomorrow, we are once again going to have the March for Life, which is a pro-life movement that is growing stronger all the time, as it should, as science is proving when life begins. I hope that you listen and I hope that you get involved, and I hope that you understand that there is a need.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas, Congressman Chip Roy.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Waltz).

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for coming to speak.

Madam Speaker, tomorrow, we are going to welcome to this city once again the people who believe in the sanctity of life. They will walk down Pennsylvania Avenue from The Mall and they will be well-behaved. They will be kind. But they will be rising up and letting the people of this United States know that we are concerned about the children in the womb that can't speak for themselves.

Madam Speaker, over the years of my time in elected office, I have been asked by many people from both parties: Well, what do you know? You are not a woman, and it is a woman's choice. Well, I am telling you that I hope that no women that I know--and I wish that would never be the case--that they would be in a situation where they are so scared of an unwanted pregnancy that they think that it would hurt their lives.

But my wife, my 2 daughters, my 7 granddaughters--and my hope is that with my 11 grandchildren, I have many, many more great-grandchildren-- that they will grow up in a United States that understands the importance of life at its conception, that science, which I believe is now beginning to show what we have known all along, as one speaker spoke earlier, that when that cell is formed and it starts coming together, and then in just a few short hours or a few short days, a heartbeat starts, and then in a few weeks we understand that that baby grows to the point that they can feel pain.

Each one of these items are things that are brought up in legislation of why it is that we need to explain and understand and put into law what truly is life and where life begins.

I don't blame the courts. I blame this body over the years. I believe God has the opportunity to say when life begins. But I think science has taught us certain clear factors about what life is and when life begins. My hope is that the American people will not only think about this tomorrow during that march, but they will think about it every day of the year; that they will think about all of the great wisdom that we may have lost in the abortions that have been committed over the last 45 years.

Madam Speaker, I want to say a special thank you to everyone that spoke here today and to the people I represent in Illinois' 12th Congressional District. I want the people to know and remember what tomorrow is about, and how important these young lives are, and why it is important for us to do our job as laid out in the Constitution, which is allowing life to be protected.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri for yielding and for putting this on tonight.

Mr. Speaker, if you have listened to this debate tonight, the colleagues that I serve with are explaining that there truly is a crisis. Unfortunately, there are those who claim that it is a manufactured crisis. Despite what the colleagues from the other side of the aisle say, it is not a manufactured crisis. It is not a new crisis, but it is an ever-growing crisis.

Let me tell you that I have had experience and understand the border from many years ago. While stationed in the United States Marine Corps in Yuma, Arizona, I actually worked at a site called P111 that was 3 miles off the Mexican border in Arizona. Every night, people would come across. Thinking they were seeing a border fence, they would climb into the compound. Every night, we would have to call border security, and they would pick them up and take them back.

We talked about the crisis of drugs coming across. Let me tell you about the crisis that occurred at that time. Some very evil people would watch the desert, and they would kill these people trying to come across the border, who would then just be left because there was no ID for them.

But we can secure our border. It is an argument that has been going on in this House and in this Nation for some time.

Many of you who are older will remember that Ronald Reagan actually argued and put forth the idea with Tip O'Neill, the idea that they would do immigration reform, which Tip wanted, as long as they could secure the border, which the President wanted. Tip O'Neill got what he wanted. The President didn't get what he wanted, because the House didn't pass the funding.

Mr. Speaker, it is time we passed the funding. We have to end this shutdown, and we have to secure our border. But it takes a good-faith effort on both sides to negotiate. When Speaker Pelosi says she offered $1 toward the physical barrier, she is not negotiating in good faith.

It is very sad, because I am concerned about those people who work for us in this government who are not receiving a paycheck. Everybody who is speaking on this floor tonight is. But they are also concerned about the pictures that we see here and the problems that we see.

In this House last year, we worked on legislation dealing with the opioid crisis, but our largest supplier of opioids is at that southern border. Over 90 percent of the opioids and heroin that comes in and that kills the people of the United States is coming across because we don't have the ability to secure that border with a physical barrier.

There is one difference right now between when Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer supported a barrier along that border. The only difference is who is sitting in the White House. You can like him; you can hate him; but the reality is this issue is not about him. It is about the citizens of this United States. It is about what is doing right by the citizens that send us here. To watch political football being played in this House and watch what occurs is simply mind-boggling.

I had a town hall meeting the other night, and we let both those for and those against speak and ask questions. By the time it was said and done, over 66 percent of the people I was talking to believed that we must secure this border with a physical barrier.

Plain and simple, let's stop playing politics, and let's fund the government and our border. We can do both. The people of America need to know and understand that, because I know my

colleagues who are speaking here tonight do understand it.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sam Wheeler, the tenth State Historian of Illinois and an alumnus of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

During his time at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Sam became an expert on the poetry of Abraham Lincoln, and completed an incredible dissertation on this unique historical literature. During this time he was also a teaching assistant and lecturer, focusing on Illinois history, the Civil War era, and President Lincoln.

Prior to his appointment as State Historian, he was a research historian at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and museum. I thank Sam for his contributions to preserving and celebrating Illinois history.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 378 and YEA on Roll Call No. 379.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Thanet Natisri of Marion, Illinois, for his role in rescuing 12 young soccer players and their coach from a flooded cave in Thailand earlier this month.

Thanet, a groundwater expert educated at SIU Carbondale, began doing charity work in his native country of Thailand 3 years ago. He was in Thailand assisting rural residents in fixing their water problems when he got the call from the Thai military. Within 3 hours, he was on a plane to go help divert rising water levels in the cave.

The rescue operation used his expertise to divert water and allow divers to reach the soccer team. After 18 grueling days, which captivated the world, the boys and their soccer coach were safely rescued.

Thanet, you played a vitally important role in saving 13 lives. Southern Illinois is proud.

Recognizing Officer James Holder

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Officer James Holder of Pinckneyville Police Department for receiving the Illinois State Bar Association's Law Enforcement Award. The Law Enforcement Award recognizes officer conduct that promotes justice and brings honor and respect to the entire criminal justice system.

Officer Holder was acknowledged for his involvement in a search and rescue operation during a major fire in an apartment building next to the Perry County Jail. He forcibly entered the building, notifying residents to immediately evacuate and clearing housing units to ensure no one was present.

He proceeded to identify the source of the fire and work with other first responders as traffic and crowd control.

Thank you, Officer Holder, for your brave service, and thank you to all of our first responders who are out there risking their lives every day to keep our communities safe.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. As all of us here know today, the mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs is the care for those who have borne the battle.

When our heroes transition from the military, they deserve to have access to quality healthcare and services. Unfortunately, the VA continues to fall short on the promises, due, in part, to failures in human resource offices. This issue hit close to home for me after the VA National Center for Patient Safety surveyed the Marion VA Medical Center in my district.

The Marion survey showed a decline in key factors, such as communication between management and staff, and reporting problems to management. The Veterans Affairs' Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations staff then visited Marion in order to get a firsthand look at the issues at the facility.

During that site visit, multiple employees raised concerns about poor management, poor communication, distrust between leadership and management, and the lack of accountability. Despite several efforts to encourage the VA headquarters leadership to address these problems, limited actions have been taken, and my office continues to receive complaints.

The common thread throughout has been the issue in the human resource department. HR management is a critical part of delivering quality healthcare. HR is responsible for recruiting and retaining highly qualified professionals, and the current status quo within the VHA's HR offices cannot continue.

That is why I introduced H.R. 5854, the VA HELP Act, with Representative Sinema. This bipartisan, straightforward legislation instructs the VA Secretary to establish qualifications for HR positions within the VHA, and to set performance metrics for these positions.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members of the House to support H.R. 5864 to ensure that our Nation's veterans are being provided the best possible care from VA employees. I thank the chairman of the committee, Chairman Roe, and Ranking Member Takano for supporting this.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, 100 years ago today, a young marine from Murphysboro, Illinois, gave his life on the front lines during World War I.

Paul Stout graduated in 1916 from Murphysboro High School and then enlisted in the Marine Corps in February of 1918. In June of 1918, he was deployed to the front lines. At age 20, he was killed in action in France in July of 1918. For his heroic actions, he was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with a V device for valor.

The Paul Stout American Legion Post 127 is my hometown American Legion Post in Murphysboro. It is named after Private Stout. I had the opportunity this last year to visit the battleground at Belleau Wood, where he fought just a month and a half before passing in a battle later on farther into France. I can tell you it was a truly moving experience.

Although memories may fade over time, we must never forget those who served and gave their lives in defense of freedom and liberty in every war across this great globe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Tommy Fulford of O'Fallon, Illinois, for winning the National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award for the central region.

This project was a year in the making. Tommy took a dirt-filled storage room dating back to 1904 in the basement of the O'Fallon, Illinois, History Museum and created an exhibit illustrating the long history of coal mining in southern Illinois. The room was designed to give visitors the feel of being in an actual mine.

I visited the exhibit last month. Mr. Speaker, coming from mining roots myself, I can tell you Tommy's project hit very close to home.

To put things in perspective, Eagle Scouts around the country and their volunteers completed almost 8.5 million hours of service toward their Eagle projects last year. This works out to 150 hours per project. Tommy and his 18 volunteers dedicated 934 hours of service to complete his coal mining exhibit.

Tommy, I applaud you, and I appreciate your dedication and hard work. I know you have a bright future ahead of you.

School Violence Prevention Program

Mr. Speaker, in January, I came to this well to urge support for bipartisan legislation I introduced with my Illinois colleague, Mr. Schneider. Our bill proposed a Federal grant program to improve security at our schools and protect our children.

Since then, our legislation passed the House and the Senate and was signed into law by President Trump. Because of Members' bipartisan support, I am proud to say these grants are now available to local communities.

Please urge local officials in our districts to visit cops.usdoj.gov for more information on how to apply for up to $500,000 in grants through the school violence prevention program. However, the application deadline for this fiscal year is July 30, so time is of the essence.

We have advanced safety technology in banks, office buildings, and retail locations. There is no reason we shouldn't have that same technology in our schools to protect our children.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jim Shrader from Madison County, Illinois upon his retirement from a long news and publishing career in Southern Illinois.

After attending Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Jim began building an impressive career. He started in advertising at the then- Granite City Journal and eventually became advertising director and publisher for the Alton Telegraph. Jim was also vice president of sales for Alton radio station WBGZ.

Jim saw first-hand how the delivery of daily news evolved in the Information Age. Through it all, he succeeded in his industry and served as a great example of leadership in the newsroom. For these reasons, I am proud to honor Jim Shrader for a great career with well- wishes for an enjoyable retirement

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome Dr. Ron Bracy as our guest chaplain.

Dr. Bracy has served our Nation in uniform and through his faith. He entered the Air Force Academy after high school and served in the U.S. Air Force for 42 years.

Dr. Bracy is a veteran of the Vietnam war, where he flew 183 combat missions and was on duty in the Pentagon during the 9/11 terrorist attack.

He is a retired minister and author of ``Walk On: From the Valley of Despair to the Mountaintop of Praise.''

He has taught at all levels of education, and currently teaches at the Geneva Classical Christian School in Texas.

Dr. Bracy was my family pastor for many years. He and his wife, Judith, are truly loved.

We are incredibly blessed to have Dr. Bracy here with us today.

Mr. Speaker, Chaz Karidis of Madison County, Illinois, had dreams of being a husband and a father. His family said he wanted to be a good role model for his younger brother.

Sadly, those dreams came to an end in November of 2013 when Chaz's mom, Kari, received a phone call that no parent wants to receive. Kari learned that Chaz had lost his battle with heroin addiction just after his 23rd birthday.

As a parent and a grandparent, I can't imagine the agony in receiving that call.

This painful loss of a child led Kari to launch a nonprofit that provides support and assistance to the companions of people suffering from addiction. Sadly, organizations like Kari's are needed now more than ever.

In 2016, there were almost 2,000 opioid overdose fatalities in Illinois alone. That is nearly twice the number of fatalities that occur in motor vehicle accidents.

Opioid overdose deaths have increased 82 percent between 2013 and 2016 in Illinois; not counting how much it has increased around this Nation.

These aren't just numbers, and they aren't just statistics. These are moms and dads and sons and daughters and neighbors and friends.

Addiction doesn't care about your race, your income, your gender, or your politics. That is why I am proud to join my Republican and Democrat friends this week in the passing of legislation that focuses on treatment and recovery, prevention, protecting our communities, and fighting against synthetic drugs. If we work together, we can save lives and continue to restore hope in our communities.

To the folks at home, if you see someone struggling with addiction, please encourage them to seek help through the local drug and alcohol treatment centers. Don't wait for a phone call, the one you want never to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of this year's marking of the 100th anniversary of movie icon William Holden's birth.

William Holden was born William Franklin Beedle, Jr., in O'Fallon, Illinois in 1918. He and his family had a remarkable American story, with roots that could be traced all the way back to Mary Ball, mother of George Washington.

William was one of the most popular actors in America in the 1950s and 1960s, starring in Sunset Boulevard, Sabrina, The Wild Bunch, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and 1953's Stalag 17, a movie for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor for his performance in the 1973 television film The Blue Knight.

William Holden is also recognized for his leadership and service to his country in the United States Air Force during World War II. For these reasons, I join many Illinoisans in honoring William Holden, one of O'Fallon, Illinois' most famous sons.