Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, my vote was recorded as Yea on Roll Call No. 350. My intention was to vote Nay on Roll Call No. 350.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to provide relief to the people of Cairo, Illinois, and other communities across the country who have fallen victim to corruption in their local housing authorities.

Last year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development took control of Alexander County Housing Authority in my district after decades of fraud and mismanagement. Many of Cairo's public housing units were falling apart, rating somewhere between dangerous and unlivable. All the while, the housing authority's senior staff continued to cash in: excessive pay, great benefits, large pension payouts, and big consulting contracts for former executive directors. All of this was paid for with taxpayers' money.

An investigation by The Southern Illinoisan newspaper found local residents coping with leaking roofs, moldy living facilities, broken heating and air conditioning, rats, and cockroaches--unbelievable living conditions.

This didn't happen overnight. It happened after many years of neglect. The situation is so bad that the worst housing units in Cairo are being destroyed, and families are being required to move.

Sadly, Cairo's story is not unique. Similar stories of mismanagement and fraud have occurred in housing authorities across the country. While I continue to fight for families in Cairo, we must work to help those who have been relocated at no fault of their own.

My amendment would require the State applications include plans to help these families transition to their new communities and find work. This will be an important step forward for Americans already fighting to stay on their feet.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I want to say to everyone, if they can, to support this amendment.

I want everyone to know also that it is my hope that both State and Federal authorities pursue, in this particular case, those who have abused the system, that they prosecute them, and that they are put in situations where they are in prison, because there they will receive better housing conditions than what they left these people with.

Now, this amendment deals with the fact of allowing them the opportunity to work and to step them up into a better life. But I hope and I pray that the people who are responsible for Cairo and all these other facilities will be prosecuted to the full extent.

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

Mr. Speaker, prescription opioids and heroin addiction are ravaging our Nation, causing heartache and pain for millions of American families, and destroying our communities. This is no secret.

In my own home State of Illinois, opioids contribute to nearly 1,200 overdose deaths in 2016. Heroin played a role in those deaths of another 1,000 people, many of whom started with prescription drugs.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, more people die from opioid drug overdose than from homicide and motor vehicle accidents.

These aren't just numbers or statistics. The people battling addiction are moms and dads and neighbors and students. Addiction doesn't care about your race, your gender, your income, your political leanings. It is an issue that affects everyone because it impacts every community and every person we love.

Congress took an important step last year in passing the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. This bipartisan legislation, which was signed into law, created a coordinated and balanced strategy for communities to tackle issues regarding prescription and opioid abuse in their communities.

Just last month, Congress voted to fund programs designed to prevent and treat opioid and heroin use. But the real leaders of this effort will be citizens in our local community. Many local police departments now offer drug drop boxes. Parents, especially, are on the front line of this issue and are responsible to educate our children about the dangers of prescription medication.

If you see someone struggling with addiction, please encourage them to speak to their local drug and alcohol commissioners.

Completely ending addiction nationwide may not be possible, but together we can save lives and begin to put hope back in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor U.S. Navy Seaman Bobby Temple, a 19-year-old who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He was one of 400 sailors who lost their lives aboard the USS Oklahoma and whose remains were buried in a mass grave.

In 2015, the Navy started a project to identify each of the remains and bring closure to the families after 75 years. Bobby's bravery was honored during a memorial service in O'Fallon, Illinois, last week before his remains were laid to rest in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

As a veteran myself, it is with heavy heart that I honor Bobby's heroic service and pray God's blessing for his peaceful rest.

Mr. Speaker, June is Alzheimer's Awareness Month. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that leads to memory loss and other challenges in brain and physical function. Ultimately, it is fatal.

More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's, including over 220,000 residents of Illinois. Every 66 seconds, another American is diagnosed with this disease, and the rate of new cases are increasing. It has become our Nation's sixth leading cause of death.

Last year, Congress and the White House worked in a bipartisan manner to enact the 21st Century Cures Act. The legislation transforms our health research system to speed up the fight against Alzheimer's and other diseases, but that is just the start. Let's keep working together to end this devastating disease.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bipartisan legislation, H.R. 2288, the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, as amended. The legislation is a product of hard work between the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans service organizations, committee staff, and committee members.

This bill gives veterans more options when pursuing the appeals claim by creating three pathways or lanes: Lane one allows for the veteran to request that a new individual review their case without a hearing, which will allow a faster response time from the VA on their appeal; lane two allows a veteran to request a hearing; and lane three sends the appeal directly to the Board of Veterans Appeals. These three lanes, working together, will speed up the process for our Nation's veterans and ensure that the appeals system works for them.

An important compromise in this legislation also allows for veterans to keep the original effective date of their claim as long as they filed the necessary paperwork within 1 year of a VA's decision. This is another way to ensure that the appeals system is working for the veterans. It is important that we do not leave any veteran behind.

My colleagues and I have worked to ensure that some of the more than 470,000 veterans with a current appeal in the system will have the opportunity at certain points to opt into the new system. This will help the veterans who have been waiting for years to hear from the VA.

This bill also ensures transparency in the VA implementation. This new system, by requiring rigorous reports from the Department, ensures that all veterans are treated fairly.

In closing, I especially want to recognize and thank the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs ranking member, Ms. Esty, for her hard work and help in crafting this legislation.

I encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 2288, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1329, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2017. This bill should be a top priority for all of us this year. H.R. 1329 should ensure that the veterans receive a cost-of-living increase next year if Social Security recipients get one.

We all know that the price keeps going up and that if veterans' benefits don't keep pace, veterans and their families may have a hard time paying for basic necessities like food, shelter, and clothing. This bill is extremely important to our Nation's veterans. I ask all Members to support it.

I want to thank the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Ms. Esty, for her support of this legislation. I urge my colleagues, all, also to support H.R. 1329.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Harold Wesbecher's honorable service to our nation during the Korean War.

Born February 16, 1929, in Evansville, Illinois, Harold graduated from Red Bud High School in 1947 and was drafted into the U.S. Army on June 19, 1952.

Faithfully serving our country over a two year deployment in the Southwest Pacific, Harold toured Mt. Fuji and Sendi, Japan alongside Pusan and the Chun Chon Valley of Korea. Guarding the Neutral Nations Inspection Team in Korea until May of 1954, Harold returned home to continue farming beef cattle and row crops for 60 years upon being discharged from the service.

The husband to Gerry Wesbecher and father of two children, Harold is known to his family as ``The Boss'' because of his hard work, integrity, and honesty. Today, he continues to be a lifelong member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, where he serves on the parish board.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the service that Harold dutifully gave to our nation during the Korean War. We are forever grateful for his service.

Mr. Speaker, every day law enforcement officers around this country protect our families from harm and keep peace and promote the cause of justice. As a former first responder myself, I am proud to support these heroes, especially those who have paid the ultimate price to keep our families safe.

National Police Week is a good reminder that we need to show support and appreciation to those who serve and protect us. We set aside this week each year to honor the call to service and profound commitment to duty embodied in our law enforcement officers--both in southern Illinois and across this Nation.

I join with the grateful communities around the Nation to thank our officers and honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. We pray for them and we pray for their families as they watch over us.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding.

As we speak, communities in southern Illinois are contending with rising flood waters.

While we may not be able to prevent the water rising, there is a lot that we can do to help our communities rebuild following a disaster. Unfortunately, too many rural areas find that the help that they need is not there for them because of arbitrary Federal rules.

In my district, rural communities suffered significant damage from the 2015 holiday floods, but did not qualify for assistance because of these rigid rules. This legislation addresses these problems and ends the unfair treatment of rural areas.

It is better to ensure that FEMA gives greater weight to localized disasters when determining assistance.

I support the legislation authorized by my friend and Illinois colleague, Rodney Davis, and cosponsored by Cheri Bustos, because the victims shouldn't be punished for living in a small town in a rural area.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 236.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, I had the honor of welcoming to Washington, D.C., more than 50 of our Southern Illinois veterans. The visit was put together by the Honor Flight of Southern Illinois, a nonprofit organization that transports veterans to Washington to visit the memorials honoring their service and sacrifice.

According to the VA, an estimated 640 World War II veterans leave us each day. It is time to express our thanks, and that time is running short.

We owe a debt of gratitude to those heroes and those who serve in defense of freedom and liberty. I will never forget the opportunity to welcome them to this Nation's Capital and thank them for all they have done for this country.

Recognizing McKendree University Women's Bowling Team

Mr. Speaker, today I proudly also recognize the McKendree University women's bowling team for winning the 2017 NCAA Women's Bowling Championship. These young women made history by becoming the first NCAA Division II program to win that championship.

The Bearcats' 4-0 triumph was also the first sweep in the 14-year history of the event. I extend a heartfelt congratulations to the team members, coaching staff, school officials, and family and friends on this incredible journey. Southern Illinois is proud of you.

Go Bearcats.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a southern Illinois native who flew planes in Southeast Asia more than 75 years ago. This hero finally returned home this week for burial.

Second Lieutenant Maax Curtis Hammer, Jr., died when his plane crashed in what was then Burma in 1941. Hammer was part of the Flying Tigers, a group of volunteer pilots who helped the British and Chinese defend against Imperial Japan.

His remains returned to Carbondale, Illinois, this week, via dignified transport from Hawaii, where he had been buried for 67 years in a grave marked ``Unknown.''

Maax, it has been a long time. With heavy heart, we welcome you home to southern Illinois, and we thank you for your service.

Mr. Speaker, you can learn a lot when you listen. During times like these, when political infighting makes it difficult to hear everyone's voice, we need to try even harder.

Today I would like to encourage all of my constituents in the Illinois 12th District to visit bost.house.gov/yourstory to share your personal perspective on the Affordable Care Act. Again, that is bost.house.gov/yourstory.

If the law has helped you and your family receive care you needed, I want to hear about it. If the law has put you in a situation where you don't have insurance or have higher premiums, I want to hear about that, too.

It is important that we deal with this healthcare issue and reform it so that it works for all people. And for the people of southern Illinois, I want to hear your story.

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

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to H.R. 1367.

My simple and straightforward amendment would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a plan to hire permanent directors for each medical center of the VA. It also specifies that the Secretary should prioritize the hiring of directors for locations that have spent the longest amount of time without one.

Mr. Chairman, last Congress it was brought to my attention that the VA medical center that many of my constituents utilize had not had a permanent director in almost 3 years. This is simply unacceptable when we have veterans needing quality care and are demanding reform to the current healthcare system.

After reaching out to the Department, I came to realize that this is a common problem around the country, which led to my introduction of the amendment.

Under the current VA system, the Secretary is allowed to appoint an interim director at facilities, but those individuals can only serve a maximum of 240 days. This is simply far too short

a period of time to properly get to know the staff at the centers and the needs of the location, let alone implement new reforms.

This commonsense bipartisan amendment is identical to a bill I introduced earlier in this Congress with Members of both parties supporting the legislation. It is also identical to legislation that this body passed last Congress with strong bipartisan support.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup).

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