Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the life and legacy of long-time resident of Door County, Mr. Jim Sarkis.

Mr. Sarkis was a businessman, philanthropist, and, most importantly, a beloved husband, father, son and friend. Jim fought cancer for 4 years, never letting it prevent him from having a positive attitude and showing kindness for others. Jim will leave a lasting legacy on Northeastern Wisconsin.

When reflecting on Jim's time with us, the verses read at his memorial, Hebrews 12:1-2a are most certainly fitting, ``Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.''

A realtor by trade, Jim pursued many passions in life including golfing, reading, story-telling, and naturally the Green Bay Packers. In addition to these, Jim's deepest passions were to family, community, and hard work that brought him wonderful success in life. Men like Jim, who are so passionate about their family and community, are rare to find and extremely difficult to lose.

Jim's extraordinary memory will be cherished by many of the lives he touched in Wisconsin and across the United States. It is not often that everyone in a community will think of a common theme or description of a giant from their corner of the world. But ``if you don't know Jim Sarkis, you don't know Door County'' truly captures Jim and his legacy. May his passion, dedication, and loving spirit be remembered and carried on by all who knew him.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all members of this body to join me in honoring the legacy of Jim Sarkis and his lifelong dedication to his family, community, and the great state of Wisconsin.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Green Bay Elks Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elk. Since March 15, 1893, members of the Elk Lodge have worked tirelessly to spread their core values of charity, justice, patriotism, and brotherly love in their communities through philanthropic and social engagement.

As the largest non-governmental scholarship provider in the United States, members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elk provide the leaders of tomorrow with the resources they need to succeed. The Green Bay Elk Lodge awards the Most Valuable Student scholarship, Legacy scholarship, and State scholarship to deserving Wisconsin students every year to help them achieve their academic pursuits. The Green Bay Elk Lodge also champions many educational initiatives for Wisconsin youth including drug awareness campaigns and anti-bullying campaigns.

For 125 years, the Green Bay Elks Lodge has honored and supported the brave men and women serving our country. Today, the Green Bay Elk Lodge continues this legacy of helping veterans with events such as Soup for Vets, Heroes Closet, and Welcome Home Kits to provide Veterans with the services and support they need upon their return home. These events demonstrate the organization's commitment to spreading patriotism and respect to those who have sacrificed so much for our country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all members of this body to join me in applauding the Green Bay Elks Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elk and the organization's commitment to serving and empowering veterans and youth in the community of Green Bay.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Statewide Founders Day Celebration in Green Bay, Wisconsin. With over 700 members committed to public service, the Wisconsin chapters of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority are a significant part of our community and I am proud to honor them.

For over 100 years, the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has created programs and initiatives that focus on academic excellence, community service, economic development, and health and fitness, with a focus on the African-American community. ``The Healthy Lifestyle Initiative--The Total Woman: Mind, Body, and Spirit'' is one of the national programs led by Delta Sigma Theta that focuses on improving physical and mental health for its members and their communities. This program is just one example of how the women in the Sorority work to empower and support their communities.

From Friday, March 23, 2018 to Sunday, March 25, 2018, Green Bay, Wisconsin is proud to host the statewide Delta Sigma Theta Founders Day Celebration. This event will bring hundreds of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority members together to celebrate the organization's history and its numerous contributions since its founding on January 13, 1913.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all members of this body to join me in applauding the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the organization's commitment to support communities across the country and the world.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of the life and legacy of Kewaunee County native, Mr. John Pagel.

Mr. Pagel was a successful businessman, a revered community leader, and, most importantly, a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. He was taken too soon, but John leaves behind a proud and enduring legacy that lesser men could not hope to forge in a dozen lifetimes.

While reflecting on John's time with us, I turned to scripture and was reminded of him in one of my favorite verses. ``And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.'' (1 Thessalonians 4: 11-12)

A dairy farmer by trade, John's passion for his family and community, entrepreneurial spirit, and respect for nature brought him tremendous success in life. A towering figure in Wisconsin industry and a renowned public servant, John never shed the humble hometown qualities that earned him respect and happiness from the start. Beloved by his family, community, and employees, good and honest men like John are hard to find and even harder to lose.

John's extraordinary memory will be cherished by countless people across Wisconsin and America. May his humility, decency, and uncompromising integrity be remembered and emulated by all who knew him.

Mr. Speaker, this is a great day for children, for vulnerable populations, and caregivers in my home State of Wisconsin and across this country.

H. Res. 443 recognizes the importance of trauma-informed care to individual wellness, the efficacy of care, and improved quality of life for those who have experienced trauma. Passage of this resolution demonstrates that this body believes in the power that trauma-informed care can have in helping children, families, and adults overcome trauma and lead healthy lives.

From veterans reintegrating into society to survivors of childhood abuse, individuals from across the population can benefit from the simple but effective principles of trauma-informed care. By recognizing and sensitively addressing the impacts of traumatic experiences, we can build stronger and more resilient communities.

We all want to address major public health issues like addiction, mental health issues, and obesity, and this resolution moves the ball forward by raising awareness and building momentum behind evidence- based best practices and solutions.

Rigorous study and academic review have shown benefits for organizations, communities, and governments that implement trauma- informed care.

I am proud to announce that my home State of Wisconsin, under the leadership of our first lady, Tonette Walker, is on track to becoming the first fully trauma-informed State in the Nation. In Illinois, home to our colleague and the colead of this resolution, Congressman Danny Davis, experts have come together to make this material more accessible to policymakers and the public.

Exciting innovation in mental healthcare is happening across this country, and this resolution recognizes that hard work.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I express my sincere thanks to my colleague, Congressman Davis, for his commitment to this resolution. I also thank Tonette Walker, first lady of Wisconsin, for her dedication and service and leadership in this important cause.

Mr. Speaker, additionally, I thank the chairman and the ranking member of the committee for their hard work on this issue as well.

H. Res. 443 is an important step in breaking down the stigma surrounding mental healthcare and building more inclusive communities, more resilient communities, more strong communities that take care of each other. I encourage all of my colleagues to support its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I don't often make these 1-minute speeches, but I am concerned about where we might we headed next week in terms of the budget.

Last week, the House took another weeklong break instead of staying here in order to talk about fulfilling our fundamental duty of passing a budget and funding the government. Yet here we are once again, for the third time in 2 months, just 10 days away from government funding running out, and once again we are scheduled to leave town.

Mr. Speaker, Congress is paid to do a job, and so we shouldn't leave town until that job is done. This constant cycle of careening from one budgetary deadline to the next is irresponsible and embarrassing. Only in Washington is doing a basic task like keeping the lights on considered such a difficult achievement.

It doesn't have to be this way. The solution is simple: No more breaks. Lock us on the House floor until we reach a budget deal that does right by our constituents, does right by the military, does right by all these different programs.

Passing a budget is not just our job, it is the law, and no one, including this body, is above the law. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to end the partisan stall tactics. Let's work together and do the job we were elected to do.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4569) to require counterterrorism information sharing coordination, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

As we destroy the caliphate in the Middle East, foreign fighters and terrorist sympathizers have fled the battlefield and are looking for new ways to spread their hatred, recruit new followers, instill fear, kill innocent people, and disrupt our way of life.

The December 11 bombing at the New York City Port Authority Bus Terminal was the second terror attack in New York in less than 2 months and a grave reminder of the reality of this threat.

Given this current environment, at the direction of Chairman McCaul, I led a task force to identify specific national security challenges and examine how terrorists might infiltrate our homeland and bring harm to our people. Subsequently, we produced a report with a series of solutions to fix any identified weaknesses that may be exploited by our enemies.

This report resulted in several pieces of legislation that have come before the House today. To that end, my bill, the Counterterrorism Information Sharing Improvement Act, seeks to enhance the current information-sharing environment that exists within the Federal and military communities. Throughout the task force, we heard time and time again about the incredible amount of biometric and biographic data being pulled off battlefields in Syria and Iraq, as U.S. forces and our allies continue to roll back the territories once held by ISIS.

It is often DOD personnel that encounter ISIS fighters on the battlefield, which often leads to the collection of valuable data. However, if these fighters and their associates move back to the West or try to enter the U.S., the DHS becomes the primary entity that will engage them. Therefore, it is critical that the data recovered by the DOD in the battlefield is able to reach the DHS and its systems for effective frontline screening and vetting of known or suspected terrorists.

In order to verify we are utilizing this information to support our counterterrorism efforts, we must ensure that the Department of Homeland Security gets access to that data in a timely manner, particularly so that it can be used for screening and vetting purposes. My bill directs the President, acting through the Secretary of Homeland Security, to ensure that the DHS has access to biographic and biometric data collected by the U.S. Government on individuals associated with a terrorist organization. The bill also directs the Secretary to report to Congress on these efforts.

The U.S. must prioritize any opportunity to identify bad actors outside the country and expand our ability to identify and deter threats before they reach the homeland. Unfortunately, information- sharing challenges among U.S. agencies can prevent valuable information from becoming available for frontline screening and vetting. Not only is this a bureaucratic challenge, given the number of separate government agencies and components involved, but legal capacity and technical issues exist as well.

This bill will address these challenges and create improved collaborations between the Department of Homeland Security and its other Federal and military partners.

Mr. Speaker, I therefore urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I thank my colleagues for their hard work in generating the task force report and all of the ideas that led to the variety of bills we are doing here today.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3359, of which I am a proud cosponsor.

This bill provides an updated framework to reorganize and grant additional authorities to the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity and infrastructure protection missions.

Currently, the National Protection and Programs Directorate has responsibility for overseeing the Department's cyber roles; and while DHS has come a long way since inception in 2002, the rapid adaptation of threats in cyberspace demands that we continue to look for ways to evolve and demands that we who oversee this are more nimble and that we can adapt accordingly and keep outpacing our adversaries.

As we have seen, Russia, China, Iran, and various nonstate actors have all demonstrated a willingness to penetrate American networks. We have had high-ranking military officials in our military claim that we are already outgunned in cyberspace right now, and it is up to us to sound the alarm and make sure that we are staying ahead of our adversaries.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be part of that effort. I salute the chairman; and, given the Department of Homeland Security's central role in protecting the Federal Government's civilian networks, it is imperative that Congress, through its oversight role, ensures that the men and women at DHS have all the legal authorities they need to carry out this mission.

Mr. Speaker, this bill has been a priority of the Homeland Security Committee for several years, and I want to acknowledge the chairman for his continued leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues in the House to support the 2018 NDAA conference report.

This body has no higher or more urgent priority than providing for the common defense and restoring our military readiness. I am proud of the final text that my colleagues in the House and Senate worked together on so diligently.

Not only does this legislation authorize a total of nearly $700 billion in defense spending, a $26 billion increase above the President's budget request, but it also provides the largest pay raise for our troops in 8 years.

This NDAA also gets us closer to the critical goal of a 355-ship Navy and includes funding for three littoral combat ships, helping to meet the Navy's urgent and enduring requirement for more small surface combatants.

I want to thank Chairman Thornberry for his leadership and my colleagues in the House and Senate who fought tooth and nail to give our warfighters the resources they need to deter threats, support our allies, and, above all, keep the American people safe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize LTC Joseph McGrath for his induction into the Wisconsin Military Academy Hall of Fame. LTC McGrath's long and distinguished career is highlighted by the numerous accolades and successes he achieved during his service in the United States Army and Wisconsin Army National Guard.

LTC McGrath has been an integral factor in protecting America's security interests here at home, while also spreading peace around the world. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, LTC McGrath deployed to Nicaragua to help ensure the security of the Nicaraguan President and establish the future success of the joint Wisconsin- Nicaragua partnership.

In 2004, LTC McGrath was deployed to Afghanistan to direct operations in support of the Kandak ETT comprised of American and Coalition partners. LTC McGrath was also instrumental in providing direct liaison with the UN Ballot Counting teams, while also coordinating physical security for the provincial ballot collection compound during the Afghan Presidential election.

Upon his return to the United States, LTC McGrath's leadership led to the creation of the Warrant Officer Candidate School at the 426th Regiment, a fiscally responsible move that brought greater strength and security to Wisconsin.

LTC McGrath received the Bronze Star, among many other awards, for his honorable service and dedication to our country. LTC McGrath's commitment and courage have left a profound impact on the men and women he led and served with across the world, as well as continued security of our great nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all members of this body to join me in commending LTC Joseph McGrath for his dedicated military service and congratulate his induction into the Wisconsin Military Academy Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 3342, the Sanctioning Hizballah's Illicit Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for their steadfast support of this effort and their broader leadership, not only in the Middle East and as it pertains to rolling back Iran's influence in their terrorist proxies, foremost among them Hezbollah, but also as it pertains to making the case

for American leadership in the world, making the case for why American leadership, buttressed by its strong alliances, is a sound investment in our safety here at home.

I would also like to thank my friend and colleague, Tom Suozzi, for his tireless work to make this bill a reality. He and his staff have been a pleasure to work with every step along the way, and I think he is a perfect example of someone who is here and unafraid to reach across the aisle when it comes to doing what is right for the country.

Mr. Speaker, this bill comes at an extremely important time, when Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, are making a concerted push on the ground in the Middle East against the United States, our allies, and our interests.

This isn't a new phenomenon, of course. Since its founding in the early 1980s, Hezbollah has been one of the most dangerous and destructive forces throughout the greater Middle East. With the exception of al-Qaida, no foreign terrorist organization has killed more Americans than Hezbollah.

With the support of the Iranian Government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah has engaged in a sustained campaign of terrorism and violence, including against the United States and Israel.

Congress, along with the United Nations, has repeatedly documented Hezbollah's numerous violations of international law, including employing human shields throughout the 2006 conflict; concealing an arsenal that has grown to over 150,000 missiles and other destabilizing weapons provided by the Syrian and Iranian Governments in southern Lebanon, often beneath civilian infrastructure; and maintaining an armed military force within Lebanon's sovereign territory in direct violation of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions, thus preventing Lebanon from exerting its lawful control over its internationally recognized borders.

The State Department designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997, leading to the creation of a sanctions regime against the group. Despite these sanctions, Hezbollah has continued to expand its military capabilities due in large part to extensive Iranian financial support. The State Department has continually expressed alarm at Hezbollah's capabilities and influence, describing the group in 2010 as ``the most technically capable terrorist group in the world.'' In 2013, State Department noted the increasing tempo of Hezbollah's terrorist activities.

Despite its extensive track record of terror, Hezbollah has yet to be specifically sanctioned by the United States for its barbaric practice of using defenseless civilians as human shields. The Shields Act finally changes that and finally punishes Hezbollah for these atrocities.

Just a few of the measures included in the Shields Act include: identifying and sanctioning Hezbollah members and those acting on behalf of Hezbollah who are complicit in or responsible for ordering or directing the use of human shields; identifying and sanctioning foreign persons, agencies, or instrumentalities of foreign states who have provided, attempted to provide, or facilitated provision of material support to identified individuals; and invoking financial penalties blocking real estate transactions, and leveraging powers ascribed by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

In short and in sum, the Shields Act is a vital and bipartisan bill that advances American interest, punishes those who support and enable the barbaric practice of using human shields, and protects our allies in the region.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this critical legislation, and I thank the chairman again for his help and leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the volunteer service of the Bay Oral Surgery & Implant Center and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons-BayCare Clinic. Since September 2014, these two groups have taken turns each week volunteering their professional services at the N.E.W. Community Clinic, a federally qualified health center in northeastern Wisconsin.

Over the last three years, these groups have provided expert care on a volunteer basis to over 1,200 patients and completed more than 3,300 surgical procedures. The patients these oral surgeons continue to serve are among the most vulnerable members of society, including those who are disabled, in wheelchairs, are cognitively delayed, have Alzheimer's or other severe forms of mental illness.

Without this volunteer service at the N.E.W. Community Clinic, many of these patients would not have access to the necessary oral procedures they need and deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all members of this body to join me in commending the humanitarian work of the Bay Oral Surgery & Implant Center and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons-BayCare Clinic, and thank them for their ongoing commitment to serving those in need across northeastern Wisconsin.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mrs. Sharon Resch of Green Bay for her ongoing commitment to community philanthropy, worldwide humanitarian efforts, and the fine arts. Mrs. Resch has achieved this by being a dedicated supporter of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's mission and a vital resource and partner to its students.

Mrs. Resch has helped transform the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay through her leadership in bringing the American International Czech and Slovak Voice Competition to campus on a semi-annual basis. Mrs. Resch has also founded the Sharon J. Resch Endowed Scholarship for Fine Arts, which is reserved for students who graduate from the non-profit Fine Arts Institute and continue their music studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Mrs. Resch's efforts are not limited to the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay. Her generosity can be seen all across northeastern Wisconsin, with contributions to the Resch Center, Miracle League of Green Bay, and Resch Aquatic Center at Fisk Park.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all members of this body to join me in commending Mrs. Resch for her continued commitment to the betterment of our communities both at home and abroad.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise as a cosponsor of the Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act the House will be voting on later today.

Dr. Kirkpatrick was a promising young clinical psychologist assigned to the Tomah VA in Wisconsin. Committed to finding innovative treatments for PTSD, he expressed alarm that patients of the VA were being overmedicated, preventing him from providing the treatment they so desperately needed.

Rather than listen to his concerns, the VA retaliated against him and, ultimately, Chris was fired; and that very day, he took his own life. The VA investigation later found that Chris' concerns about overmedication were entirely founded.

Chris' story is a tragedy, but can also serve as a turning point. Just as our veterans have earned world-class care, their allies such as Chris deserve full protection should they bravely decide to document VA wrongdoing or abuse. By increasing these protections today, we are honoring Chris' memory, serving as a fitting memorial to a life that was tragically cut short.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2453) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Intelligence Rotational Assignment Program in the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Homeland Security currently has nine designated component intelligence programs with trained analysts who could benefit from an authorized, better organized rotation program. In order to truly develop homeland security intelligence expertise, the DHS has to develop and expand programs to cross-train their broad cadre of analysts.

One of the major lessons we learned from the September 11 terror attacks was the vital need to connect the dots by sharing information across analytical silos and across agencies. The bill we are considering today builds upon this foundation by authorizing a rotation program for intelligence analysts across the Department.

Having served as an intelligence analyst in the Marine Corps and in the intelligence community, including at the National Counterterrorism Center and the Drug Enforcement Agency, I know firsthand the value of analysts gaining experience in different mission areas and broadening their analytical skills.

H.R. 2453, the DHS Intelligence Rotational Assignment Program Act of 2017, supports the effort to develop an integrated workforce of analysts that will ultimately develop a homeland security intelligence expertise. The bill authorizes the Intelligence Rotational Assignment Program, or IRAP, and directs the Department to promote and reward participation.

There is an existing IRAP, but based on oversight efforts over the past year, it is clear the DHS needs a more integrated, coordinated, and transparent rotation program. For example, numerous intelligence components are not aware of the IRAP's existence, and it is not being coordinated with other rotational programs offered by the Department or the intelligence community at large.

Moreover, a recent joint inspector general review involving IGs from the intelligence community, the DHS, and the Department of Justice specifically referenced the creation of the IRAP as an important step to help unify the DHS intelligence enterprise, but noted the lack of incentives to encourage participation in this initiative. So this legislation seeks to address these shortcomings by authorizing the IRAP and providing the program with a management structure and participation incentives.

Having a robust analyst rotation program is important for a number of reasons. First, it offers key professional development opportunities to analysts by exposing them to the legal authorities, collection capabilities, and data sets associated with different intelligence offices across the DHS. It also is an important building block in the development of homeland security intelligence as a core competency above and beyond individual mission areas at the Department.

Finally, the IRAP enhances the cohesion of the DHS intelligence enterprise by exposing intelligence analysts to their counterparts in one of the eight other intelligence components, thus encouraging them to see themselves as part of the larger DHS intelligence enterprise.

In short, this bill promotes a more robust intelligence analyst rotation program to ensure the Department is building a network of employees with a true homeland security intelligence expertise.

Mr. Speaker, this bill will make the country more safe. I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives, Permanent Select Committee on

Intelligence,

Washington, DC, September 8, 2017.

Hon. Michael McCaul,

Chairman, House Committee on Homeland Security, Washington,

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for her hard work, and I, once again, urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2453, to bolster the Department of Homeland Security's Intelligence Analyst Program and, thereby, strengthen the DHS intelligence enterprise.

Additionally, I want to thank Chairman Nunes and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for working with the Committee on Homeland Security to bring my bill, as well as H.R. 2468, offered by Representative Perry, and H.R. 2470, offered by Representative Rogers, to the floor.

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