Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Carter, who is a colleague, a friend, and a neighbor, and who also has genuine expertise on this subject.

The administration recently published two rules that tackle the issues faced by both our Medicare beneficiaries and the pharmacies that serve them.

One rule in particular, the ``Modernizing Part D and Medicare Advantage to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenses'' rule, addresses pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration fee reform by instituting that DIR fees will be negotiated at the point of sale instead of the underhanded and retroactive fashion by which the plans and PBMs currently operate.

Currently, pharmacies can face these clawback fees after they have already filled and sold a prescription for Medicare part D and Medicare Advantage patients.

DIR fees have become a catchall category for pharmacy benefit managers to collect more overhead after prescriptions are sold.

Pharmacies are often unaware of what they will owe, and the standards for these fees can be impossible to meet. As a result, many independent pharmacies in my district are forced to provide the drugs at below cost.

Imagine that for just a moment. DIR fees are causing pharmacies to operate in the red, all while they are providing lifesaving medication to America's seniors.

DIR fees have also led to drastic increases in out-of-pocket costs for our patients, which, in turn, forces seniors into the doughnut hole of Medicare part D even sooner.

To protect seniors and pharmacists in my district, and as a medical professional, I urge CMS to finalize the language included in the rule that reflects the negotiated price at the point of sale.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because we have failed our military and all the victims of 2018 disasters across the country.

On October 10, Tyndall Air Force Base took a direct hit from a category 5 hurricane. Over 6 months later, no disaster funding has been provided. Air Force Secretary Wilson warned us that if she did not receive supplemental funding by May 1, all new work on Tyndall Air Force Base would stop. This delays the return of base operations, impacts flight operations throughout the Air Force, and forces our airmen to work in degraded facilities.

Mr. Speaker, May 1 has come, and I stand before you today because we have failed to deliver funding, and now our military readiness is suffering. We only have until May 15 to provide funding to the Air Force before they start cutting airplane repairs.

I urge the leadership of the House and the Senate to pass a clean disaster supplemental immediately. It is necessary, and it is the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to demand that critical natural disaster relief be voted upon.

Tomorrow will be the 6-month anniversary of Hurricane Michael, 6 months with absolutely no disaster supplemental funding, no serious action on the part of Congress except the political farce in the House and two failed cloture votes in the Senate.

Both Chambers have refused to extend even routine tax relief to ensure that people have access to their money when they need it most. With tax day just around the corner, this is unacceptable.

Floridians are tough, but they need help and deserve help.

Six months ago, Hurricane Michael devastated the South, damaging more than 90 percent of the structures on Tyndall Air Force Base, decimating our agricultural industry, and destroying entire communities. Yet, here we are with only 1 day left in the legislative calendar before Easter and no tax relief in sight.

If the previous question is defeated, it will be a first step in making some meaningful progress for victims of all the 2018 disasters. It will bring the Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 to the floor. I am a proud cosponsor of that bill with Tom Rice and Austin Scott.

This bill includes a set of common, routine tax breaks victims of virtually every disaster over the last decade have been entitled to, things like access to retirement savings without penalty, a tax credit for employers who continue to pay employees while shut down, suspending tax limitations on charitable contributions for relief efforts, and allowing hardworking families to use earned income from the previous year to calculate their earned income tax credits and child tax credits.

It is a shame that we have to resort to a procedural trick to ask for a vote on this very bipartisan, commonsense legislation that we have passed many times before.

Mr. Speaker, it is time we take action to help those suffering from the 2018 disasters. For this reason, I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question.

Madam Speaker, today, I join my colleagues in calling for an immediate vote on disaster funding.

In 2018 and so far in 2019, we have witnessed devastating disasters with hurricanes hitting Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas; wildfires in California; flooding in the Midwest; an earthquake in Alaska; and several other widespread weather events that have harmed communities across our country and our territories.

The people in our districts and States need our help, and it is our duty to fight for them.

I thank my colleagues for joining me today, and I yield to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby), whose district adjoins my district.

Madam Speaker, I wish to express my gratitude to Martha Roby for her speech and for her sentiments on her people in Alabama.

Next, Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott), who is my good friend and who has been one of the champions for the disaster supplemental. He has worked tirelessly for the last 7 months to advance this effort.

Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, Austin Scott, for his words. He has truly been at the forefront on the fight for this disaster supplemental since day one.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Omaha, Nebraska, (Mr. Bacon). General Don Bacon is my good friend and classmate.

Madam Speaker, I thank General Bacon for his words.

Madam Speaker, from Nebraska we have a true leader of the House and a good friend.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry).

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Fortenberry for his compelling description of the damages that were suffered in Nebraska and also of the response of those brave people.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Riggleman). Representative Denver Riggleman is my good friend and one of the most outstanding members of the new class here in Congress.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Riggleman for his words, and I know that his constituents are fortunate to have a man of his rare abilities serving them at all times.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson). Representative Dusty Johnson is another outstanding member of the freshman class.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Johnson for his description, his words, and also for his granular knowledge of his district. I know that that is a benefit to everybody there.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford). Sheriff John Rutherford is my good friend whose district of Jacksonville, Florida, abuts mine on the east side.

Madam Speaker, I thank Sheriff Rutherford for his words. He has been a stalwart ally and a great friend ever since we arrived here on day one. He is a true friend to all of Florida.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), one of the true leaders of our Conference.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Representative LaMalfa for his sincere words and his seasoned judgment and insights. Let us hope that those words fall on fertile ground.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida's First District (Mr. Gaetz), one of my dearest friends in the House. We were friends for many years before we came to this House, and his talents are known to all of us. He is an Olympian among his class.

Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to introduce Representative Gaetz and hear his oratory. I thank him for his brilliant words.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Rouzer). Representative Rouzer is a friend. He has visited my home. I have visited his district. He truly knows what it is like to see other districts and empathize with them and to reach out; and I am deeply gratified to have him here speaking today.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative David Rouzer for those words. It is a sad story that the gentleman told, but it is a story that needed to be heard and is one that is being lived out through many of our districts; the end of generations of farming in some families. It is a very sad story.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), a good friend of mine from our class. He is a great Congressman. We have visited in his district. And let me say that it has been a pleasure to work with him and his wife.

Madam Speaker, I wish to thank Representative Allen for his words and his support.

Next, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), one of the most senior and experienced representatives in the delegation from Florida, a man who has been a personal mentor to me and a great model.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Bilirakis for his leadership and for the personal generosity of his time spent with me tonight.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Madam Speaker, next, I would like to introduce the third and final Representative from Nebraska, a good friend and a good friend of Nebraska. Thank you so much very much for being here.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith).

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Smith for his words. It speaks to the disaster, what happened in Nebraska, that all three Representatives showed up.

Madam Speaker, next, I would like to introduce and yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), my good friend.

We share more in common than most Representatives. Because of the vagaries of redistricting, we ran in 2016 in the same 12 counties. He was a great support, a great example, and cleared the way for me. I want to say that I am deeply grateful for having Dr. Ted Yoho here tonight.

Madam Speaker, let me say that I am deeply indebted to Dr. Yoho. Our channel of communications went down after the storm in a way that America has never seen. We lost cellphones, landlines. We lost police radios. We were talking to each other by ham radios and runners.

When Dr. Yoho could not raise me or my office staff, he mounted a rescue operation complete with food and supplies and took care of the east end of my district. I will always be grateful to Dr. Yoho for that, and I thank him so much.

Madam Speaker, for my final guest, I would like to introduce the Representative from south Georgia, another good friend and a neighbor. We don't quite abut districts, but we come pretty close. I spend a lot of time in his neighborhood. He needs to spend more time down on my beaches.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, Representative Carter, for his impassioned words. Obviously, he is echoing thoughts that we have heard from the other speakers.

Seldom has a Special Order been so well subscribed. So many people came to speak, so many people moved and hurt by the disaster.

It leaves me with very little time, but I want to say a couple things.

I want to reiterate that this is an unprecedented event for timber. Nobody has ever seen this much timber on the ground, 3 million acres of timber. Think about what that does to the foresters, the loggers, and the sawmills.

The military, we have lost an Air Force base, probably $4 billion to $6 billion worth of damage to that. We will rebuild it. We will rebuild it, and it will be great, but we need help from Congress to do that.

I have a Navy base in my district, $288 million in damage.

I have a Coast Guard base in my district that is particularly sad. They have a single building standing. They were victims of the storm; they were first responders to the storm. They were not paid, because they are with the Department of Homeland Security, for a month. It is shameful. These are fine people in the Coast Guard.

We have housing problems right now. Thirty percent of the homes in my home county is uninhabitable. Fifty percent of the commercial real estate is not usable.

We have special geography. We are 100 miles away from the next place where there is multifamily housing. We need housing on the ground in the affected areas.

Madam Speaker, I thank all the people who took time to come and tell our story, which is a sad story, and I urge the Congress to come to our rescue.

That picture, by the way, is not 6 months old. It is 2 weeks old.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to demand a vote on disaster supplemental funding.

Next Wednesday will be the 6-month anniversary of Hurricane Michael and 6

months with absolutely no supplemental disaster funding, no serious action on the part of Congress to help the victims of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, and even the California wildfires.

Every time I am in Florida, I discover new destruction. That debris has become firewood and is leading to massive wildfires. One just took out 700 acres. That debris is also clogging our stormwater system, and flooding will be our next disaster.

One of the strongest hurricanes in the history of the United States ravaged Florida and left a path of destruction across the South, and yet, here we are with only 3 legislative days before Easter and no relief in sight.

The Senate again failed to pass a disaster bill this week, and the House appears to have given up. This is shameful. The lack of action is a disgrace to the American people.

Madam Speaker, American citizens are hurting. We must pass a disaster relief bill and do it now.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Leon Arthur Bellot, Jr. who passed away on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at the age of 67. Mr. Bellot was born and raised in Dixie County, Florida and has held a multitude of roles in Dixie County throughout his lifetime--each of them with the main purpose of serving others.

His love for education and investing in children was one of the many passions that Mr. Bellot dedicated his life to. A graduate of Dixie County High School, Mr. Bellot would return to this same school to not only teach, but also to hold the title of Assistant Principal and Dean of Students.

He protected the citizens of Dixie County through his service as a volunteer fireman, Assistant Fire Chief for the Cross City Fire Department, and through his role with Dixie County Emergency Services. He would even go on to become the first Emergency Services Director for Dixie County in 1975. Mr. Bellot served in the capacity of Emergency Services Director for 24 years before also becoming the first County Administrator for Dixie County.

Throughout his career and community involvement, there was always one aspect of Mr. Bellot's life that would remain constant--his love and commitment to the Lord God our Savior. Mr. Bellot was a member of the Faith Baptist Church where he dedicated his time to the church as a Deacon.

Madam Speaker, please join me in honoring the life of a courageous educator, protector, and leader who will be missed by many, Mr. Leon Arthur Bellot.

Madam Speaker, I regret that due to the funeral services for Seaman First Class Earl Paul Baum. I was forced to travel back to my district and miss the vote on amendments and final passage of H.R. 1.

Had I been present, I would have voted nay on Roll Call No. 115; nay on Roll Call No. 116; yea on Roll Call No. 117; and nay on Roll Call No. 118.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mayor Betty Walker of Chiefland, Florida, who passed away on Monday, February 25.

Mayor Walker served the citizens of Chiefland as an elected city commissioner for over 15 years and as mayor and vice mayor for 11 of those years.

Betty Walker was the first African American female elected official for the city of Chiefland. She was a great leader. She loved her community immensely. She advocated for the police and fire departments and the maintenance departments as well.

Mayor Walker had recently retired after spending almost 40 years helping adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

She truly loved the people of Chiefland. She was passionate about parks and recreation and always had a vision for her city.

Mayor Walker leaves behind a rich legacy that not many can match.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring a life well lived and a community leader who will be missed by many, Mayor Betty Walker of Chiefland.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of former Panama City Fire Chief and United States Navy veteran Robert Richardson. Chief Richardson passed away at the age of 79 on January 5.

Chief Richardson proudly served our Nation as a submariner in the Navy, and he went on to serve his community in Bay County for 33 years--first as a firefighter and then as the Panama City Fire Chief.

He was honored by the State of Florida for his work, earning the distinction of Florida's Firefighter of the Year and Florida's Fire Chief of the Year.

Chief Richardson was appointed by Governor Bob Graham to serve on the Florida State Fire Board and used that position to fight for stricter building codes. He dedicated his entire life to protecting others.

Madam Speaker, I can attest that Panama City is a better place because of the lifelong service of Chief Richardson. Please join me in honoring the life of Chief Richardson.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Oklahoma, Mr. Lucas, for yielding to me.

H.R. 425, the Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act, is about helping expand veterans' job and education opportunities in the sciences. The bill directs the National Science Foundation to develop a veterans outreach plan and publish data on veterans' participation in mathematics, science, and technology in its annual ``Science and Engineering Indicators'' report.

The bill also updates the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, its fellowship programs, and the cyber grant programs to include outreach to veterans.

Additionally, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is tasked with overseeing an interagency working group to examine how to increase veteran participation in the STEM career fields, including addressing any barriers for both servicemembers and their spouses.

In the next 5 years, between 1 million and 1.5 million members of the Armed Forces will separate from the military, according to the Department of Defense. Many of these veterans will be seeking new careers, and by a great margin, veterans cite finding employment as their number-one need when separating from Active-Duty service.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupations in STEM fields are projected to grow to more than 9 million jobs by 2022. Research shows that many military veterans already have skills and training that align with STEM careers, particularly in the area of information technology.

However, it also shows that veterans face many barriers as they reenter the workforce, including a lack of formal certified STEM education, career guidance, and the difficult task of transferring military credits to civilian college credits.

Our Nation's veterans deserve every opportunity to transition to a rewarding and successful civilian life. This bill will help all servicemembers continue to serve our Nation in new ways by fulfilling 21st century jobs and keeping America on the cutting edge of innovation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Lamb, a fellow member of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and a Marine Corps veteran, for cosponsoring this bipartisan legislation. And I salute my fellow veterans on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee who joined me in introducing this bill.

Last year, the House passed this legislation by an overwhelming margin, but we did not make it across the finish line in the Senate. This year, we have a bipartisan companion bill in the Senate, introduced by my home State Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that now is the time to get this done to help our Nation's veterans. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill and the Senate to act on it and send H.R. 425 to the President's desk.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas for yielding and also for the opportunity to bring up an important issue to my district and State.

As you all know, Hurricane Michael had a devastating effect on my district. One of the most important areas in my district that was destroyed was Tyndall Air Force Base.

The underlying bill before the House today contains $700 million for planning, design, and construction related to the consequences of Hurricane Michael at Tyndall Air Force Base. This funding would support the relocation of the F-22s, the beddown of the F-35s, and the planning of facility construction so that the base can continue to recover.

This is a down payment for the Air Force, and it signals that Congress is committed to rebuilding Tyndall Air Force Base because Tyndall will need additional funds.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida.

Mr. Chair, I thank Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz for agreeing to work with me going forward to address appropriate funding levels and types of facilities that will be necessary to bring Tyndall back to life.

Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Yes, in its current form.

Madam Speaker, this motion to recommit strikes title 12 from the bill, H.R. 268. This was inserted by Democratic leadership at the eleventh hour today. Title 12 is a continuing resolution, meaning it will never be taken up or passed by the Senate; it will never be signed by the President.

Three months ago, Hurricane Michael devastated north Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Five months ago, Hurricane Florence caused severe damage in all of the Carolinas. Wildfires in California, all fall long, caused billions of dollars in damage and took almost 100 lives. Typhoons and volcanos in Hawaii and the American trust territories also caused savage destruction. Disaster victims across the Nation are in dire need of our help right now.

Today, we will be voting on a bill that we had been told would be a stand-alone emergency funding bill, addressing only the 2018 disasters, unencumbered by hot button, divisive issues. Unfortunately, we are voting on a very different bill. House Democrat leadership pulled a bait-and-switch at the last minute and made this otherwise good bill into an attack on President Trump.

Madam Speaker, my people at home are hurting. I worked hard on this bill. I truly believed that we were having a good faith conversation on how to help suffering victims all across our Nation.

Instead, House Democrats chose to play political games rather than help our victims. They knew full well, when they inserted this poison pill continuing resolution at the eleventh hour, that they doomed any chance of this bill passing the Senate, and yet they did just that. It is now dead on arrival in the Senate.

I have people back home, in my district, sleeping in tents, in the cold, in the rain, because FEMA housing has not yet arrived.

I lost two hospitals. One was a level two trauma center. That has never happened in the history of the country.

I have sheriff's deputies who are homeless, but they are still working. They are still performing their duties. They are still protecting and serving the people. You would like to think that Congress could follow their example.

Madam Speaker, the people of America have lost a great deal of faith in their government over the years. But the one thing that they still believe in is that when a disaster strikes, their government will come to their aid. And now we are letting them down on even that simple promise.

I won't allow the people of north Florida, suffering after Hurricane Michael, to be used as political pawns against the President. That is why I urge all Members of this House to support the motion to recommit. We can remove the bitterly divisive part of this bill and pass a truly bipartisan, compassionate bill that provides urgently needed relief to millions of people across all of our Nation and our territories, who are desperate for that relief. After we address this disaster, we can work on a compromise to address border security and reopen the rest of the government.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the motion to recommit, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of Florida's Second Congressional District who stand in strong support of the Trump administration's efforts to secure our southern border. Unfortunately, obstructionist leadership on the other side of the aisle is unwilling to even consider a commonsense solution to the problem that hurts the security of our Nation.

This has become a needlessly divisive issue. We simply must secure our borders. Despite the steadfast efforts of law enforcement, human traffickers, drug dealers, and other violent criminals continue to enter our country from the southern border daily. Furthermore, the majority of heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in America are smuggled into America from Mexico.

With the opioid epidemic and drug addiction costing our economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually, and taking countless lives, we must take action.

I stand with my colleagues and President Trump in our commitment to secure our Nation and protect our people.

Mr. Speaker, just over 2 months ago, Hurricane Michael ravaged the panhandle of Florida. It was a devastating Category 4.9 storm, which damaged more than 90 percent of Tyndall Air Force Base, decimated our agriculture industry, and destroyed entire communities.

Mr. Speaker, the folks back home in my district, the Second District of Florida, are hurting. This supplemental disaster relief funding is a downpayment on getting the hardworking folks in my district back on their feet. This funding, by no means, is even close to what we will need to completely rebuild, but it is a start.

I commend President Trump for remaining steadfast in his commitment to our Nation. After Hurricane Michael, President Trump and Vice President Pence came down to the Second District and made it clear that we have their support and we will rebuild.

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to fight for the disaster relief funding in the coming months and years because the survivors of Hurricane Michael across the South deserve nothing less.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the airmen of Tyndall Air Force Base on a special date. Today marks exactly 2 months since Tyndall took a direct hit from Hurricane Michael, a devastating category 4.9 storm that damaged more than 90 percent of the structures on the air base.

I salute the tremendous efforts of the Tyndall Air Force community and the surrounding civilian community for their recovery efforts. It is the remarkable work of the base leadership and all of the airmen of Tyndall that enabled this base and its elementary school to reopen ahead of schedule today.

The men and women of Tyndall have shown great courage and determination in a time of extreme adversity. It is my great honor and pleasure to represent Tyndall Air Force Base, and I commend the work that they are doing day in and day out to rebuild this base stronger and better than ever.