Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2427) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002, to direct the Assistant Secretary for State and Local Law Enforcement to produce and disseminate an annual catalog on Department of Homeland Security training, publications, programs, and services for State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the Pathways to Improving Homeland Security at the Local Level Act, sponsored by the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings), ensures that State and local law enforcement will continue to receive valuable information on DHS resources and programs available to law enforcement.

The bill requires the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement to produce and disseminate an annual catalog that summarizes opportunities for training, publications, programs, and services available to non- Federal law enforcement agencies from the Department of Homeland Security, and to disseminate the catalog to State and local law enforcement entities within 30 days of production.

This also requires DHS to share the catalog through the Homeland Security Information Network. By requiring the Office to share this catalog through this existing information sharing platform, it will expand the number of State and local law enforcement partners who receive it.

This bill is a commonsense measure focused on increasing transparency on DHS tools and resources available to State and local law enforcement.

I commend the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings) for her work on this measure. She is unable to be present today because of Hurricane Irma. Our thoughts and prayers are with her, her district, and the State of Florida as recovery efforts continue.

On behalf of the Committee on Homeland Security, I want to express our appreciation to the Judiciary Committee for working with us to move this measure.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, September 5, 2017.

Hon. Michael T. McCaul,

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McCaul: I write with respect to H.R. 2427,

the ``Pathways to Improving Homeland Security at the Local

Level Act.'' As a result of your having consulted with us on

provisions within H.R. 2427 that fall within the Rule X

jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary, I forego any

further consideration of this bill so that it may proceed

expeditiously to the House floor for consideration.

The Judiciary Committee takes this action with our mutual

understanding that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 2427 at

this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over subject

matter contained in this or similar legislation and that our

committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as

this bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may

address any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. Our

committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of an

appropriate number of conferees to any (House-Senate

conference involving this or similar legislation and asks

that you support any such request.

I would appreciate a response to this letter confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 2427 and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Congressional Record during floor

consideration of this bill.

Sincerely,

Bob Goodlatte,

Chairman.

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

Once again, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2427 to ensure that State and local law enforcement continue to receive valuable information on the Department of Homeland Security's services and resources.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2470) to require an annual homeland threat assessment, and for other purposes.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in favor of this bill on behalf of Congressman Mike Rogers. He is dealing with the aftereffects of Hurricane Irma, which is the tropical storm affecting his district.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2470 received bipartisan support during consideration by the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence in May, and was included in the Department of Homeland Security authorization bill, which passed the floor in July.

H.R. 2470 requires the Department of Homeland Security to release an annual comprehensive homeland security threat assessment. This will provide a common threat picture across the Department and for Federal, State, and local partners.

This week, we are recognizing 16 years after the horrific events of 9/11. Sixteen years later, our ability to accurately identify and evaluate threats to the homeland remains stunted, in many ways.

Though talented professionals across Federal agencies and at the State and local level are hard at work gathering and analyzing threat information, there is still not a formalized process that evaluates homeland threats in a meaningful and comprehensive way.

The assessment in this bill requires DHS to incorporate and analyze Departmental data in a strategic picture. By relying on information provided by the on-the-ground professionals, including State and local police and the Department's operational component, this threat assessment will be a unique contribution to the intelligence community, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

By requiring the Department to consider specific cyber, transportation, and border security threats, in addition to traditional terrorism threats, H.R. 2470 ensures that DHS will focus on critical mission areas where it can provide real value.

Additionally, the threat assessment required by H.R. 2470 can inform the Department's budgeting and planning by clarifying the nature and scale of the threats DHS was created to counter.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 2470, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I once again urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2470, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 70th Anniversary of the Optimist Club of Green Bay. Since its founding in 1947, this community service organization has made a profound impact across the Greater Green Bay Area by bringing many activities, improvements, and educational opportunities to the youth of Green Bay.

The Optimist Club of Green Bay has been a sponsor of youth baseball and softball, in addition to being a strong advocate of the ``Just Say No'' anti-drug campaign and the ``Winners Wear Helmets'' bicycle initiative. The Optimist Club of Green Bay also hosts an annual oratorical contest for high school students designed to encourage them to gain experience in public speaking as a means of providing information to others. The two winners from each year's contest are generously awarded with a college scholarship.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all members of this body to join me in applauding the Optimist Club of Green Bay and the 2,500 other local optimist clubs across world for their commitment to brightening the future of the youth in their respective communities.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to once again emphasize the urgent imperative of growing our Navy to 355 ships. This body is now on record in support of a 355-ship Navy, and the recent tragedies at sea only serve to reinforce the inadequate capacity of our current fleet.

While the size of our Navy has shrunk from over 500 ships at the end of the Cold War to less than 280 ships today, the demand for deployed ships has remained relatively constant between 85 and 100.

This steady demand on the fleet, coupled with tight budgets and habitually underfunded maintenance counts, has taken a serious toll on our sailors.

Growing the fleet is no easy task. It will take constant leadership and attention. In his confirmation hearing, Secretary Spencer rightly spoke about creative levers the Navy could pull to get to 355, including bringing ships out of the ready reserve, yet we need more urgency, we need that sense of urgency that Secretary Spencer talked about in his mission, vision, and priorities document. This must extend to growing the fleet as quickly as is practical. Every day, month, and budget year that goes by without significant progress towards 355 makes this urgent requirement that much less likely to materialize.

Mr. Speaker, there is not a moment to lose. We must make growing the fleet our number one priority.

Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to quickly add my thanks to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moulton), who started this effort in the last Congress with another colleague of ours, and I was fortunate enough to join that team when I arrived here. Without his dedication from the start, we would not be at this moment today.

I would also thank him for his example of leadership in the Marine Corps and in Congress, which has inspired a generation of marines like myself. And while we don't agree on everything, we always look for ways to work together.

It is my belief in just listening to these speeches, particularly from the veterans who serve in Congress, that there is so much that we can work together on; and there are forces that are trying to divide us, but there is still so much that we can agree upon.

So while this may seem like a small step, I would submit that this is big. And I hope this is the beginning of more work that we can do on behalf of the country, and that is what it should be about at the end of the day.

So I just thank all of my colleagues. I thank the chairman for his help. I couldn't be more proud that, in a divided time, we came together to do something good on behalf of past generations of veterans and on behalf of the next generation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of veterans across the State of Wisconsin who have put themselves in harm's way to defend this Nation.

As citizens, we have a clear moral obligation to ensure that they are able to receive the quality care that they need, deserve, and earned. The Department of Veterans Affairs is predicated on this very idea.

Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, in my district, is a facility for homeless and at-risk veterans in northeast Wisconsin. Just last week, veterans housed there were notified the VA would no longer renew grants for housing programs, an action that will result in the closing of this facility by the end of the calendar year.

This unfortunate news has caused significant stress, uncertainty, and anxiety among the veterans community in northeast Wisconsin, and specifically among the veterans at King, who now face the possibility of homelessness.

We cannot let this happen. We would be abandoning our duty if we let this happen. That is why I was proud to coauthor a letter with the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, requesting answers from Secretary Shulkin on this vital matter.

While we await answers, we must continue to bring attention to the concerns of our veterans and remain committed to working together across the aisle to ensure that our veterans receive the housing and care they vitally need and care that they have earned.

Global War on Terrorism Memorial

Mr. Speaker, I had the honor last week of welcoming a group of American heroes who journeyed from northeast Wisconsin to Washington, D.C., aboard the Old Glory Honor Flight.

Generations of veterans, representing every major conflict since World War II, visited the very monuments that honor their courage and commitment.

Just as these vets visited their respective memorials, so, too, should the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve in the ongoing war on terrorism in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war that I was fighting 8 years ago. They, too, should have something to honor their sacrifice.

Under current law, a war must be over for at least 10 years before a memorial can be built in its honor. That is why Representative Moulton and I have introduced legislation that would allow for a global war on terrorism memorial.

This war is unlike any preceding it. It has no end date. There will be no victory date, no V-J Day. Threats continue to rise, and so the longest ongoing conflict continues. After 15 years, and over 6,800 American lives lost, there is still no end in sight.

This memorial is for the brave men and women who have died fighting, who continue to fight, and are still joining the fight against terrorism. If we are going to continue passing the torch from one generation to the next, we need to build this memorial so that future generations never forget their duty to do the same and to pass that torch.

Farm Technology Days

Mr. Speaker, agriculture is a driving force behind our economy and a way of life in northeast

Wisconsin, which is why I was honored that Farm Technology Days decided to hold their annual event in Kewaunee County at Ebert Dairy Enterprises, an impressive sixth-generation family farm in Algoma.

Farm Technology Days is the largest agricultural show in Wisconsin, and one of the largest in the Nation. The 3-day event showcases the latest improvements in production agriculture, recent research findings, and technological developments.

Mr. Speaker, 15,000 hamburgers and 11,000 bowls of ice cream later, the event was a huge success for our local ag economy. The first day alone saw an attendance of over 10,000 people.

Because of the hard work of the Ebert family and the nearly 2,000 volunteers who pitched in, northeast Wisconsin was able to demonstrate the powerful role we play in Wisconsin's agriculture industry.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge and thank Chairman McCaul for his leadership in undertaking this effort as we take the next step in advancing the 2017 Department of Homeland Security authorization bill.

As part of this broader legislative effort, I sponsored the Intelligence Rotational Assignment Program Act because I believe we need to make sure that our Intelligence Committee has the best and most robust training in the world in order to keep our Nation safe.

In 2015, the Department's Chief Intelligence Officer identified the need to strengthen the workforce at the agency by giving intelligence analysts the tools they need to succeed. I served as an intelligence officer for 7 years in the Marine Corps and worked in the Intelligence Committee, including at the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, so I know firsthand the value of intelligence analysts gaining experience in different mission areas in order to broaden their ability to do their jobs more effectively for the American people.

This program does that. It encourages analysts to gain experience in all of the various agencies that are part of the larger DHS community.

With authorization, this bill will ensure that we are building and strengthening the expertise among employees

at the DHS in order to keep the country safe.

Mr. Speaker, the liberation of Mosul from the Islamic State the other week was a major victory for the Iraqi people and for the United States, which supported the operation.

But to achieve victory in our broader mission of destroying radical Islamic terrorism and keeping the American people safe, we must confront some tough questions about the road ahead.

As chairman of the Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry into the United States, I am concerned about the degree to which jihadists and foreign fighters threaten our homeland and our ability to meet these threats.

We know that Iraqi fighters are concealing their identities and fleeing with groups of refugees, many to Europe. These returning fighters have learned to make dangerous weapons, have gotten battlefield experience, and are successfully training young people susceptible to radicalization. We know our visa waiver program, which allows many European citizens to travel to the U.S. without a visa, provides a window of opportunity for these determined terrorists to exploit.

Confronting these threats lies in our ability to quickly and effectively vet and screen travelers, share sufficient intelligence with our allies, and act on credible threats when identified. And the threats are real.

Between 100 and 250 ideologically driven foreigners are thought to have been smuggled into Europe between 2014 and 2016. These foreign fighters pose a greater threat to the West than ever before; and for the sake of our national security, it is a threat we cannot overlook, and it is a threat we must work together to confront. Nothing can be put ahead of the safety and security of the homeland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Role of Congress in Pushing Back Against Russia

Mr. Speaker, I rise today not as a Republican or a Democrat, but as an American. If we can really find a way to cut through the media circus surrounding the debate about Russia in the past few weeks, I think it would reinforce for all of us that whatever our political differences, our country must always come first.

Those who would destroy our way of life do not wear the jersey of one political party or another. The only laundry

they wear is the flag of their nation, whose interests they will advance regardless of domestic American politics.

And make no mistake, Mr. Speaker: Russia, under Vladimir Putin, is not our friend. He is on no one's team but his own.

There are concrete steps that we in Congress can take to push back against Russian aggression both here at home and overseas. To start with, we must pass sanctions on Russia and Iran. The Senate passed a sanctions bill 98-2 just 1 month ago. We need to do the same. No more excuses. We need to vote immediately.

Most of all, Congress must reclaim its long-neglected role in foreign policy. Russia is not and will never be a partner in Syria. It has supported and enabled the Assad regime's genocidal war while focusing much of its military campaign against U.S.-supported rebels.

At the same time, the growth of Iranian power has deepened the sectarian atmosphere off which ISIS thrives. ISIS and Iran are two sides of the same coin of religious fundamentalism.

To advance our long-term interests in Syria and in the Middle East, we must cease outsourcing our foreign policy to our adversaries, and we can no longer cede a sphere of influence to the Russians and the Iranians.

We here in Congress have a constitutionally mandated role to play. True, we have been derelict in this duty for decades, but we now have an opportunity to reclaim our authority.

As part of a congressionally led campaign to push back against our adversaries, we should revisit the underlying authorities that are allowing us to conduct lethal activities around the world. We need to pass a new Authorization for Use of Military Force to put our efforts against ISIS, against al-Qaida, against all of their affiliates and anyone else who would seek to challenge our interests on the strongest legal footing possible. We can't just sit on the sidelines. The part of passive spectator is unworthy of this great body.

We must lead when it comes to both enhancing our defenses against attacks and pushing back against Russian or Iranian aggression abroad. To do otherwise would be to abdicate our responsibility to our constituents, to our Nation, and to the oath we all took to protect this country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership on this critical issue.

As was laid out, communities across this country, communities like mine in northeast Wisconsin, are in the midst of a public health crisis. It is not a Republican or a Democratic issue. It is an American issue, one that should bring us all together.

Opioid abuse is wreaking havoc on our homes, our schools, our churches. Its devastating effects are destroying our families and the lives of our loved ones.

As was pointed out, more Americans will have died from drug overdoses in 2017 than there are names on the Vietnam War Memorial. That is alarming. That should put it into sharp relief.

As a Marine veteran, I am acutely aware that servicemembers are more susceptible than the average person to addiction. In fact, veterans die from accidental drug overdoses at a 33 percent higher rate than the rest of the population, and something must be done to reverse this awful trend.

I commend our State lawmakers in Wisconsin who are doing aggressive work on this front, and I commend the gentleman and everyone who has spoken out for doing the same thing at the national level, and I look forward to working with him.

Because headline after headline reminds us of the tragic loss of life that has resulted from our Nation's opioid and addictions risk, we have to step up. We have to take action.

Mr. Speaker, I stood before you in this very spot not long ago urging this Congress to do the work of the American people that the American people sent us here to do. Yet, 2 months later, not much has changed. Distrust in government is still at an all-time high, and it is not hard to see why. Our Federal debt continues to approach $20 trillion. Our Tax Code remains broken and burdensome. Threats continue to rise abroad. And here at home, by the way, our veterans are still not getting the care they deserve despite the progress that we have made this week on that issue. From my perspective, this is unacceptable.

Despite the fact that Congress, by any metric we devise, is not doing the basic job the American people sent us here to do, in 7 weeks, we are going to adjourn on a month-long vacation without reforming the Tax Code or getting our appropriations done. And just 30 days after returning from the August recess, if we don't make some hard choices, the government may shut down, cutting our constituents from access to the programs they depend on for their livelihoods.

My message is simple: let's work through the August recess because in what other job would you grant yourself a month off if you hadn't gotten your work done?

I know we need to get back home to meet with our constituents, but more than anything else, I believe our constituents sent us here to do our job, to work together to fix problems, rather than punt them to the next generation.

So, please, let's stay here and let's do the work for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act.

Not only is this bill critical to giving American workers the skills they need to lead in an increasingly competitive world, but also to making sure that our

career and technical education is in stride with the major advancements that have been made over the last decade.

As I travel across northeast Wisconsin, businessowners routinely tell me they are hiring, but can't find workers with the knowledge and skills necessary to do the jobs they are hiring for.

Passage of this bill helps close the skills gap and boost economic growth by equipping students with the skills they need to fill the in- demand and high-skilled jobs in our local economies.

Schools in Wisconsin's Eighth District are prepared to lead the way when it comes to closing our country's growing skills gap, and it is time that we give them the tools that they desperately need to do exactly that.

I am proud to cosponsor this important piece of bipartisan legislation. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the 125th Anniversary of Bay Beach Amusement Park. Bay Beach is an amusement park owned and operated by the City of Green Bay. Bay Beach is the ninth oldest amusement park in the United States. It offers affordable entertainment to visitors across the state of Wisconsin and plays a big role in the city's tourism industry.

Bay Beach was initially established by Mitchell Nejedlo. Mr. Nejedlo purchased the land and began developing the land for a private beach resort. In 1920, the park's owners donated the entire park and its building to the City of Green Bay with the intent that the land was used for park, playground, and entertainment purposes.

The City of Green Bay expanded and developed Bay Beach in a family- focused destination with an emphasis on affordability for all. Today, it offers 22 distinct attractions, including the Zippin Pippin roller coaster.

On June 10, 2017, Bay Beach will celebrate its 125th Birthday. This park is an asset to the community with a unique history and role in the city for five generations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Northeast District Elks Lodges in Wisconsin's 8th Congressional district for their strong support of patriotism in their communities. In 1907, the Grand Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks designated Flag Day as June 14th. The Elks have paired their traditions and culture with that of our Country and made the American Flag a symbol of self-dedication to God, to Country, and to Fellowmen.

I would like to call attention to their dedication and passion to this nation and the flag that represents it. This year, members of Green Bay Elks Lodge 259 will be celebrating Flag Day for the 108th consecutive year. Members of Appleton Elks Lodge 337 are celebrating their chapter founding the oldest Flag Day parade since 1950.

Citizens from Oconto, Kaukauna, and Marinette are also given the chance to celebrate this important day. Oconto Elks Lodge 887, Kaukauna Elks Lodge 962, and Marinette Elks Lodge 1313 give Americans this opportunity.

Flag Day is a day honoring the symbolism the flag provides to all American citizens. It is my honor to report this type of patriotism displayed by constituents in northeastern Wisconsin.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of Dr. Jeremy Green of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and his more than five decades of service to the people of Northeast Wisconsin.

When he graduated from at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, he couldn't have known how far his journey as a physician would take him or how many thousands of lives he would touch. From Johannesburg, Dr. Green began his remarkable personal and professional journey by heading to postgraduate work in Belfast and London, then at Boston City Hospital, Jersey City Medical Center, Cincinnati General Hospital and in the City of Melbourne, Australia.

But it was when he reached Green Bay in 1964 that he knew he had found his real home. He and his wife, Elizabeth, a British nurse, raised their family in Green Bay and then joined them as American citizens in 1995.

Over the years, he helped launch the Green Bay Area Free Clinic, UW- Green Bay's student health services and health services for the university's athletic teams.

Beyond his medical service, his contributions to community organizations in Northeast Wisconsin are simply too many to recount here.

Dr. Green has been honored by groups ranging from the Northeastern Wisconsin African-American Association to the State Medical Society of Wisconsin, from the Neville Public Museum to Scholarships, Inc. In 1987, he received the Chancellor's Award for Lifetime Service from UW- Green Bay and in 2000, he received the NFL Community Quarterback Award from the Green Bay Packers.

In coming days, Dr. Green will step down from active practice in Green Bay. However, just as he always has, he will continue to serve his community and pursue his many interests. We would expect nothing less from that young South African physician who somehow found his way to Northeast Wisconsin, raising a proud family and lifting the lives of countless Americans along the way.

Mr. Speaker, in just a few hours, Members of this body are leaving for a 2-week recess without having resolved the significant question of funding the government.

Funding expires only 3 days after we return--3 days--yet we are leaving. We are skipping town, but just yesterday, the chiefs of all of the military branches testified before this body about the damage another continuing resolution would do to our military.

The leaders of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force all testified that a continuing resolution would put our warfighters in greater danger, our Nation at greater risk, and the world less secure; yet we are leaving with our work unfinished. Our troops continue to serve, but we are leaving.

In what other profession would you take a 2-week pause without actually finishing the job?

Now, I know I am new to the House, but someone please tell me how this makes sense. We should stay in session and do what the American people sent us here to do: our jobs.