Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, 48 years this week, on July 20, 1974, the Turkish military invaded the Republic of Cyprus in direct violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.

To this day, there has been no accountability for the deaths, displacements, and destruction caused by this illegal invasion and occupation.

I urge the President, Secretary Blinken, and this body to join calls for the immediate removal of Turkish troops, the return of property to rightful owners, and the reunification of Cyprus.

Today Cyprus, Greece, and other nations in the eastern Mediterranean face more aggression and continued threats from Turkey under President Erdogan, who has threatened exclusive economic zones, ordered repeated military flyovers over the Greek islands, and undermined NATO sanctions on Russia and U.S. operations in Syria.

Despite Turkey's aggression, President Biden plans to sell U.S. fighter jets to Turkey. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting our amendment last week to prevent this sale and our efforts to deliver justice for Cyprus once and for all.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize veterans of the Korean war as this month marks the 72nd anniversary of the war's beginning.

Sadly, the Korean war is too often referred to as the forgotten war. I am here today to recognize the 5.7 million American men and women who served in that war, along with seven Korean war veterans our community lost in the past year: Albert A. Fowler, Ralph M. Lanza, Thomas H. O'Rourke, Nicholas J. Matranga, Walter H. Zipf, Robert Klose, and Hermando J. Folla.

These veterans put their lives on the line to defend our Nation and to fight

communism, and we are forever grateful for their service.

This past weekend, I joined the Corporal Allan Kivlehan Chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association and local members of the Korean- American community to honor them.

Last year, I also honored the life and legacy of Private First Class Raymond Andrew Smith as his remains returned to Brooklyn 71 years after he was reported missing in action.

While the return of Raymond's remains is something to be celebrated, our Nation must not forget that more than 81,600 Americans remain missing from World War II, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Cold War, the Gulf war, and other conflicts.

On Monday, the anniversary of D-day, I was honored to receive a POW/ MIA Chair of Honor from our local Rolling Thunder chapter to display in my office as a permanent tribute to the brave men and women who honorably served our Nation overseas, but sadly never made it home.

I urge my colleagues to consider doing the same because we all must do more as a grateful Nation to raise attention to this issue and diligently work to return all prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action back to our homeland.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to oppose the previous question so that we can immediately consider my bill, H.R. 7967, the Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act.

My legislation will hold prosecutors accountable and create transparency by letting the public know how many cases prosecutors are declining to prosecute, the number of offenses committed by career criminals, and the number of criminals released.

Over the past 2 years, we have seen a disturbing trend in progressive district attorneys in cities across the country who are refusing to prosecute violent criminal offenders.

Look no further than my city of New York, where Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg released a ``Day One'' memo initially directing his staff not to prosecute certain crimes, including: drug possession, trespassing, driving with a suspended license, sex trading, resisting arrest, and public obscenity.

He even directed his staff to downgrade felony charges filed by our police, including armed robbery, weapons charges, and drug dealing. Worst of all, his office will no longer seek life sentences without parole, which means the most heinous murderers, including terrorists, serial killers, cop killers, and perps who kill young children in connection with sex crimes will be released back on to our streets in 20 years or less.

These policies have sent a clear message to criminals, and that message is: Go ahead, commit crime, break the law, because we will not enforce it. What is the point of creating laws if the ones currently on the books are not enforced?

With prosecutors that refuse to prosecute, it is no surprise that crime is surging in cities across America. In Boston and Los Angeles, if you want a designer purse, toiletries, or food, you can break into any store and take it. No questions asked.

This week, LA's District Attorney George Gascon doubled down on the light sentence given to a teen driver who mowed down a mother and her newborn baby last summer. The teen only received juvenile probation, which authorities say is less than military school and a little bit tougher than summer camp.

In 2020, defund the police rioters and looters created chaos in my city of New York, destroying storefronts; they assaulted police officers, and they even put police cars on fire. While police made hundreds of arrests, New York City district attorneys dismissed the majority of those charges filed.

In the Bronx, more than 60 percent of arrestees had their charges dropped, and of the 485 rioters arrested in Manhattan, 222 individuals had their charges dropped entirely, while 73 received lesser counts.

The same goes for Federal prosecutors in Portland, Oregon, who dismissed roughly half the cases charged in connection with violence and anti-police protests.

In Philadelphia, 23-year-old Police Corporal James O'Connor was gunned down and killed in 2020 by a career felon and wanted gangbanger because the DA's office allowed him to freely roam the streets. Perhaps if the DA's office had done its job, Corporal O'Connor would be alive today. We had a similar story in my city of New York as well.

In Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco, on New Year's Eve 2020, a man slammed a stolen car into two women crossing the street, killing them both. The man, who had a lengthy criminal rap sheet, was out on parole, thanks to San Francisco's soft-on-crime DA Chesa Boudin, the son of a domestic terrorist cop-killer associated with the far-left militant group, Weather Underground.

Well, you know what? Voters have had enough of the violence and crime plaguing our communities and endangering their families. In fact, just last night, when San Francisco voters recalled Boudin, they sent a clear message that prosecutors who fail to do their job will be removed from office.

Madam Speaker, our Nation is under attack by criminals with no regard for property and life, and rogue district attorneys who allow them to wreak havoc on our streets.

Madam Speaker, I close with the words of the late Democrat Senator Robert Kennedy: ``Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.''

Let's stop siding with the criminals preying on our cities. Let's stop emboldening the district attorneys to lay idly by as crime plagues our streets.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support my legislation today. It is time to support our citizens, not criminals.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support this legislation that includes my language to secure additional funds for the Staten Island seawall to protect my constituents from a future hurricane.

In October, it will be 10 years since Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York City. Particularly hard-hit was my borough of Staten Island, where 24 lives were lost, hundreds of families were displaced, and thousands of homes were damaged.

Since the project's approval in 2013, bureaucratic red tape resulted in costly redesigns and repeated delays. This vital flood mitigation project is long overdue, and I made a commitment that when I came to Congress I would get it back on track.

In February, the city and Federal Governments came to an agreement on the radiation clean-up in Great Kills Park, which will allow for construction on the project's levee, floodwall, and tide gate.

This fall, the contract for the first phase is expected to be issued so we can break ground on the drainage portion in South Beach and finally begin this long-awaited project that is critical to the livelihoods of my constituents, and will help reduce flood insurance costs.

Today, we will ensure that the project will be fully funded through this bill. I thank my colleagues for their support of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise to oppose the previous question so we can immediately consider H.R. 7809, the Communities Deserve Cops Act, to get police back on the force and criminals off our streets.

Police departments across the country are struggling to hire and retain new recruits to keep up with the pace of retirements and resignations.

Officer morale has been decimated by antipolice rhetoric coming from politicians and procrime policies that tie the hands of our police, like the disastrous bail law of my State where a perp arrested in the morning gets out of jail before the police officer even finishes his shift.

Crime in America's cities is skyrocketing. It is skyrocketing as a result of these policies.

An increase in ambush-style attacks against our police has put our officers in harm's way both on and off duty. In 2021, America saw the most law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty since 1995.

An NYPD officer puts their life on the line for $46,000 a year. My hometown department, the NYPD, has seen more than 5,700 retirements over the last 3 years because politicians have made it impossible for them to do their job.

Nationally, retirements are up 45 percent, and resignations are up 18 percent, creating a dangerous situation in cities like mine that finished 2021 with the highest homicide rate in a decade.

The Communities Deserve Cops Act would allow law enforcement agencies to use Federal grant dollars to offer hiring and retention bonuses to our police officers. It would increase resources for our police at a time when too many politicians, including those in this Chamber, are looking to strip away resources.

It is unfortunate that legislation like this even needs to be considered. The endemic problems surrounding our police are a direct result of a systematic targeting of those who protect us by progressive politicians.

Madam Speaker, earlier this Congress, I offered a resolution condemning calls to defund, abolish, or dismantle our police, and guess what? Every one of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle voted against it. This is the problem.

When our police departments are understaffed and overworked, Congress must step up to provide them with the tools they need to effectively do their job.

In this year's Federal budget, I fought to get millions of dollars for the NYPD's K9 unit, forensic equipment, and protective gear.

I urge my colleagues to support this critically important piece of legislation to give our brave men and women in blue the respect and the support they need to do their jobs and keep our communities safe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life and legacy of Nicholas Troianiello, a true American hero from Staten Island, New York.

After graduating Port Richmond High School in 1944, Nicholas joined the New York Guard where he served for 1 year before enlisting in the Marine Corps during World War II.

On February 19, 1945, Nicholas was one of 30,000 brave marines to land on the island of Iwo Jima for a battle that lasted 5 weeks and was one of the bloodiest battles during World War II. Nicholas was awarded the Purple Heart and the Conspicuous Service Award for his service to our great Nation.

Following his service, Nicolas returned to Staten Island to serve once again, this time as a member of the New York City Fire Department. He served for four decades until he retired with the esteemed title of lieutenant.

Sadly, Nicholas passed away last year at the age of 94. This weekend, I was honored to join local colleagues and Nicholas' family at a street naming ceremony last week to remember his life, legacy, and dedication to our community.

Nicholas was a true American hero who loved our country and our city, and I am proud to recognize his service today.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to call up H.R. 471, the PAUSE Act, to protect all Americans from Biden's border crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I hereby remove my name as cosponsor of

Mr. Speaker, I rise to tell the Nation about the service of a World War II veteran, someone who became a friend of mine, Isidore Bertone, who on Staten Island we know as Teddy.

He was born on September 13, 1925, in Castiglione, a small village in Sicily. Teddy came to the United States with his mother in 1937 to escape the fascist regime of Mussolini, who was recruiting teenagers into service.

In October 1943, at the age of 18, Bertone volunteered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. He served with distinction for 2\1/2\ years aboard the USS Zircon as part of the crew that rescued American sailors in the accidental sinking of an ammo ship off Boston Harbor during the D-day invasion of Normandy.

I first met Teddy after he wrote a letter to the editor on August 21, 2020, pleading for assistance after his request for help with proving his U.S. citizenship went unanswered. Having his citizenship paper was the most important thing to him because he loved this country so much.

I called President Trump's office, and within 4 days, on August 25, 2020, the citizenship office was in his backyard, swearing him in just weeks shy of his 95th birthday. To me, seeing this World War II veteran at the age of 95 being sworn in as an American citizen, was the most beautiful thing I ever witnessed.

Sadly, Teddy passed away on March 19, 2022, at the age of 96.

We miss you, Teddy. We all remember your service, and you are a hero to so many of us on Staten Island and across the United States.

Madam Speaker, my district is home to Coast Guard Station New York and is the largest Coast Guard station on the East Coast. This legislation authorizes $1.2 million in needed repairs to ensure their mission and day-to-day operations continue. I thank everyone for this bipartisan effort.

Madam Speaker, to say that Don Young was an amazing man would be an understatement. He was one of the first Members I met as a freshman. He advocated to help me to get on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. I know how much he loved the Coast Guard. I know how much he loved Alaska. And it is so fitting that we are naming this legislation after him.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Danny Ng, a detective with the Department of the Interior, United States Park Police, who is retiring on February 26, 2022, after twenty-seven years of federal service. Mr. Ng is the first Asian American to serve as a detective investigator within the New York Field Office of the U.S. Park Police.

In July 1994, Detective Danny Ng began his federal law enforcement career in the United States Customs, New York Field Office, and was assigned to JFK Int'l Airport. On January 26, 1997, Danny Ng was sworn in as a U.S. Park Police Officer assigned to Rock Creek Park Station, Washington, DC.

In 1998, Detective Ng transferred to the New York Regional office of the United States Park Police and patrolled the National Park Service lands within the confines of Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens as well as Manhattan iconic sites: the Statue of Liberty and Federal Hall. In November 2009, Mr. Ng was promoted to detective and was assigned to the New York Field Office, Criminal Investigations Branch where he investigated felony and violent crimes in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens. As the senior detective, Detective Ng, trained and mentored new officers and detectives.

Detective Ng participated and earned recognition in the following high-profile investigations: The September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks; Flight 587 plane crash in Rockaway, Queens as well as other unit citation awards. Detective Ng also was detailed to Washington D.C. on occasions where he served as a protection officer for several Presidential Inaugurations including the Inauguration of former President Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Danny Ng is also a 25-year member and former NYS Trustee of the Fraternal Order of Police, USPP Lodge.

Madam Speaker, I proudly rise today in support of this bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act.

Our postal workers are the reliable chain that links Americans and businesses, from coast to coast.

This bill improves the efficiency of the Postal Service by streamlining the transportation network, optimizing the workforce to avoid costly overtime, and requiring reporting accountability.

Additionally, it eliminates the requirement that the USPS prepays 75 years' worth of retiree health benefits, saving $27 billion over the next 10 years. It also improves customer service by requiring 6-day delivery.

It is time for us to pave a better path for our neighbors who rely on and work for the U.S. Postal Service, like John Byers, who recently retired after 40 years of dedicated service to my district.

I strongly encourage my colleagues to stand alongside our postal workers and vote for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss an issue that is an unprecedented issue, the border crisis that we are facing in this Nation that is fueling other crises: national security, public safety, health, and fentanyl, all a burden on the hardworking taxpayers and the American people.

On October 3, following court orders, the Biden administration said that it would reinstate the remain in Mexico policy by mid-November. I rise today to point out that we are now in December, and no such action has been taken.

Since President Biden has taken office, CBP has encountered more illegal immigrants than in 2018, 2019, and 2020 combined. In October, 164,303 illegal immigrants crossed the border, the highest number in recorded history and 80 percent higher than the previous record for the month of October, which is from October 1999.

Mr. Speaker, 1.7 million people have crossed the border in the past year, which is roughly the same as the population of President Biden's home State of Delaware and Vice President Harris' home city of San Francisco combined.

These border crossings are creating many issues throughout our country. First, let's talk about safety and security.

In the first month of this fiscal year, October, CBP arrested over 680 individuals with criminal convictions and dozens of known gang members, including 23 members of MS-13. That is in just 1 month. Multiple individuals on the FBI terrorist watch list have also been encountered over the last year.

As a native New Yorker who was just blocks away from Ground Zero on 9/11, I can tell you that I was shaken to my core by reports that Panama was in the position of having to deny over 52 al-Qaida affiliates at their border who were coming to the United States.

Last month, a 24-year-old man, who posed as an unaccompanied minor while illegally crossing our border, entered this country and then murdered his foster parents in their Florida home.

When is enough going to be enough for this administration and for my colleagues in the House?

Let's talk about fentanyl. Every Member of this Chamber knows the widespread pain plaguing our communities. We all have constituents who are suffering from the loss of life caused by an abundance of drugs being smuggled into our country. Counterfeit narcotics laced with fentanyl are being mass-produced in Mexico with chemicals from China and are streaming over our open borders. The DEA is telling us so. They say that 80 percent of fentanyl in the United States has come over our borders, smuggled by the cartels.

In the first month of this fiscal year, 2022, October, CBP seized over 1,000 pounds of fentanyl. That means that in just 1 month, CBP seized enough fentanyl to kill 236,775,024 people, American citizens. The U.S. recently recorded its highest number of drug overdose deaths in a 12-month period, surpassing 100,000 for the first time.

Over 170 people overdosed on drugs during the first 9 months of 2021 in my community of Staten Island, and I know other Members have similar stories, too. Fentanyl was present in about 80 percent of the completed toxicology reports for the 2020 fatal overdoses in Staten Island.

So I ask my colleagues, whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the drug cartels, or are you on the side of the American people?

I visited the border. I met with the CBP agents. I rode with the Texas Department of Public Safety. I can't say the same for our President, can't say the same for our Vice President, can't say the same for the Speaker.

Despite all this, the Biden administration has halted the construction of barriers while American taxpayers still foot the bill for a contract that has been in place. We are paying every month, yet the barriers aren't going up.

Instead, they want to further incentivize illegal border crossings by giving illegal immigrants $450,000 of taxpayer money, a total slap in the face to the taxpayers who bust their butts and pay taxes and expect this government to perform properly.

The Biden administration now, in its misguided Build Back Better--or, I should say, build back broke--bill, wants to reward illegal immigration by granting mass amnesty, free college tuition, and childcare to those who unlawfully crossed.

As a daughter of immigrants, I think it is incredibly important that we enforce our laws and give people opportunity, but let's make sure they are doing it the right way.

Madam Speaker, I never thought in the United States Congress--the home of the free, of the brave, of those taxpayers who work hard every day and entrust us to spend their money wisely--that we would see a spending bill of this magnitude that would saddle our future children with debt.

The intrusion in this bill, the government control, the debt, the taxes, the mandates and the disincentivizing of work and production will continue to lead to more labor shortages, more supply chain issues, and make things worse.

And what is even worse than all of that is the name of the bill, that the people in this Congress are trying to fool the American people by calling it a Build Back Better bill. It is a disaster.

When we talk about putting Americans first, what does this bill do at a time when we have the worst crisis at the border? There is $100 billion going to amnesty and benefits for those who are entering the country illegally, and this at a time when we are seeing a rise in fentanyl deaths due to what's crossing over our border, child trafficking, sex trafficking.

And then look at Big Brother, the government intrusion part of this bill: doubling the number of IRS agents to go after Americans to spy on their bank accounts.

This bill has crushing energy implications at a time when we are seeing record increases on gas prices, on electricity, on heat, and we are about to face the most expensive holiday season as a result.

Madam Speaker, in addition to that, there are the taxes and the mandates.

Where are my moderate friends on the other side of the aisle who committed to vote against this bill unless there was a CBO score?

They have been untruthful, and the American people will not forget what is occurring here today.

Do not destroy the very country that my parents came to in order to pursue the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an extraordinary sacrifice by a resident of Brooklyn, New York.

Private First Class Raymond Andrew Smith was 18 years old when he made the ultimate sacrifice for our country during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, in the Korean war.

Growing up, Raymond and his sister Helen experienced a difficult childhood in foster care, forcing them to take on responsibilities far beyond their years. And despite the challenges he faced, at the age of 14 Raymond joined the Navy.

Once Raymond's age was discovered by his superiors, the Navy granted him an honorable discharge, but that wouldn't stop Raymond's drive for service. Four years later, Raymond enlisted in the United States Army, and after 6 months, he was shipped off to fight in the Korean war.

The Korean war began in June of 1950 when General Douglas MacArthur, alongside South Korean and U.N. forces made significant progress into the north with hopes of uniting the two countries again.

However, Communist China under Mao Zedong had other plans, and sent roughly 100,000 troops to the Chosin Reservoir to counter progress made by America and our allies, leading to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

With the 7th Infantry Division, Raymond fought in this battle, a battle many military experts and scholars consider to be one of the most brutal conflicts in modern history due to the sheer fierceness of our opponents and severe weather elements.

For 17 days, the Battle of Chosin Reservoir raged on. In that timeframe, it is estimated that the United States suffered 18,000 casualties, while the Chinese suffered upward of 50,000 casualties, 30,000 just from the freezing cold alone. During the battle, temperatures were said to have dropped to a chilling negative 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Medical supplies froze solid, rendering them useless, weapons seized and failed to function, and digging foxholes was nearly impossible without the use of machinery. At negative 35 degrees Fahrenheit, the human body sets into hypothermic shock in only 5 to 7 minutes.

Private First Class Raymond Smith was one of the first to make contact with the enemy. Raymond and his peers were vastly outnumbered, and while they fought valiantly, he was sadly reported missing on December 2, 1950, presumed to be dead.

On July 27, 2018, following a summit between then-President Donald Trump and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea returned 55 boxes that contained the remains of American servicemembers killed during the Korean war.

And on March 25, 2021, Raymond's family received closure when his remains were finally identified and accounted for after 71 unbearable years for his family. Raymond's remains

were returned to New York City, where his sister Helen, her children, a full U.S. military honor guard, and the Port Authority Police were there to welcome him home.

I am taking this time today to ensure Raymond's memory lives on and his sacrifices will not be forgotten. Currently, there are more than 81,600 Americans that remain missing from World War II, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Cold War, the Gulf wars, and other conflicts. Let this give us hope that we can return them all home.

I urge the administration and my colleagues to work toward the return of all prisoners of war and a full accounting and the repatriation of our fallen servicemembers' remains.