Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2795, the DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act. This bill, which I am proud to have introduced with my colleague, the chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability, Representative Correa, has one very specific goal, to combat human trafficking.

According to the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report, every year, around the world tens of thousands of men, women, and children are trafficked, including far too many right here in the United States. Human traffickers use fraud and coercion to compel people into situations of forced labor or sexual exploitation. False promises of well-paying jobs, romantic relationships, and violence are all methods used by human traffickers. Victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality and from any socioeconomic background.

To curb this horrific practice, we must use a multipronged approach, and a critical component to this strategy is ensuring that law enforcement personnel and employees in customer-facing industries are trained to identify a potential victim of human trafficking by recognizing key indicators and taking appropriate action.

DHS started the Blue Campaign in 2010 to do just that; to unify and coordinate Department efforts to address human trafficking. The Blue Campaign enables and empowers the DHS workforce and the industries they work with--including airlines and the public--to recognize the indicators of human trafficking and take steps to alert the appropriate authorities.

My bill, the DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act, bolsters these efforts by creating an advisory board to inform and coordinate training among the DHS components to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the training that DHS provides for its personnel, its industries, and State and local law enforcement partners.

This legislation also increases the online trainings that DHS will provide, enabling the Department to reach a broader audience more quickly.

I would like to thank my good friend from California (Mr. Correa) for joining me in this effort and supporting this important piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to approve this bill and help DHS do its part to combat human trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill today to repeal the outdated and unnecessary 1957 Authorization for Use of Military Force.

We have heard from many on just how this bill originally designed to defend Middle East nations against ``armed aggression from any country controlled by international communism,'' how far it has outstripped its usefulness, no longer serving any purpose, but still retains that potential to be abused by any current or future administration to launch unwarranted military operations in the Middle East and doing an end run around Congress.

The repeal we are discussing today would have no impact on ongoing operations, and is all the more reason to take it off the books immediately, but, Mr. Speaker, a decades-long war on terror and the lack of oversight, the lack of that reaffirming action on behalf of Congress has demonstrated to us the risks when we neglect our constitutional duty to oversee matters of war and peace. It is time that Congress get back in the habit of vigorously debating and voting on these matters because the Constitution and the American people demand it.

I applaud the work of my colleagues to help lead this bipartisan effort to restore Congress' authority. Congresswoman Spanberger's bill to repeal the outdated 1991 AUMF is another critical step in this effort, and I am proud to support her on this matter.

I also thank Congressman Mike Gallagher and Congressman Jared Golden for helping to lead the effort to repeal the 1957 and 1991 AUMFs. And lastly, I thank Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul for helping to bring these bills to the House floor for a vote and for their leadership on reprising Congress' authority in this area.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the great State of Michigan, and I guess, I would thank Paul for all of the service he has given this body, has given our country, has given our State.

The morning when I was supposed to first meet Paul, was the same morning that he announced that he was not running for reelection. He defined that spirit of making decisive moves.

It is no secret that for the freshman class who have entered, the past 6 months have been less than normal. I take the assurances of my colleagues, who have been in this body for many terms, that what we have seen so far has been atypical. But I cannot thank Paul enough for the example that he set, for the wisdom that he shared, and for his perennial, ever-blunt honesty.

All too often people, especially politicians, can walk and dance and do a jig around the truth. And Paul was always incredibly clear about where he stood and what he believed. So I am grateful for the friendship that I have been able to develop with him as a freshman, and I look forward to many more of those moments.

I want Paul and his family to know that he is in our prayers. My wife, Gabrielle, and I will keep him in our prayers. The challenges that he is dealing with are being felt by too many, but I am proud to call him a friend as he continues to fight on.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the dire situation of our interpreters in Afghanistan, where we are over halfway through our planned withdrawal. Meanwhile, almost 20,000 Afghans who worked with U.S. forces are anxiously awaiting special immigrant visa approval, a process that can take years. Making matters worse, our Kabul Embassy suspended visa operations last week due to a surge in COVID cases.

Mr. Speaker, President Biden must immediately start preparations to evacuate those Afghans to Guam to safely await visa approval. My colleagues and I on the Honoring our Promises Working Group urged the administration to do so 2 weeks ago, but we have yet to hear back. This is unacceptable.

President Biden ended the remain in Mexico for economic migrants but insists on a remain in Afghanistan policy

for Afghans who risked their lives to help American forces. While they wait, the Taliban are hunting them down. Dozens have already been killed while bureaucrats dither.

We cannot abandon our Afghan allies to die. We must get them to Guam.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strongest support for H.R. 3233, a bill to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the disgraceful January 6 attack on this institution.

Let us be clear, the imperative to have a public, objective, fact- based investigation of the Capitol attack is not a partisan issue and it should never be treated as such. A violent mob breached this building to disrupt the lawful Presidential transition and threaten the lives of Vice President Pence and Members of Congress. That this mob attacked the Capitol with the encouragement of prominent elected officials is a chilling reminder of President Reagan's warning that ``freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.''

Unfortunately, many who rightly criticized and condemned the attack that day have walked back their words or softened their speech. But even more troubling, there has been an active effort to whitewash and rewrite the shameful events of that day to avoid accountability and turn away from difficult truths.

If we avoid confronting what happened here just a few short months ago, we can be sure that intimidation, coercion, and violence will become a defining feature of our politics.

On the evening of January 6, as I was walking back to the Capitol after it was cleared of rioters, I received a text from a constituent who asserted that those who stormed the Capitol today were the true American heroes, that the election was a fraud, and that I must know that that was true. He then warned: ``You can bet that there will be more blood on Congress' hands if you let that stand.''

I refuse to accept that possibility, this abrogation of our sacred obligation to the Republic. There is no replacement for an independent, bipartisan commission with a mandate to produce a definitive report to the public to clear away myths and fictions and get right on the facts.

This is not picking at a scab. In order to scab over, a cut has to first heal. Rather than start to mend, the wound from January 6 was hastily bandaged and continues to fester. Only by airing it out and addressing what occurred can we hope to move past and heal. I applaud my friend, Congressman John Katko, for his good-faith, bipartisan leadership to put this commission in place.

Mr. Speaker, I supported this effort in January, I support it today, and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 210, the Rural STEM Education Research Act.

More than 9 million students in the U.S., nearly 20 percent of the K- 12 population, attend rural schools. For reasons ranging from teacher quality to shortages of resources, these students often have fewer opportunities for high-quality STEM learning than their peers in urban and suburban schools.

Rural areas, including those in the Third District of Michigan, represent one of the greatest, yet underutilized, chances for STEM education to impact the workforce. It is especially important that we correct this in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic when we are facing serious research and development labor market shortages.

H.R. 210 would increase STEM education opportunities for rural communities, ensuring the option to learn is not dependent on your ZIP Code. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for the bill on the floor this evening that will make substantial improvements in American research and development during a time when it is so badly needed. The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruptions to our research enterprise and Congress must respond before our research community is irreparably harmed.

H.R. 144, the Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act, will address this crisis by providing funding to enable researchers to stay on their chosen research career track. This will help prevent further loss of critical talent from the U.S. STEM workforce and strengthen our Nation as we compete with China to invest in the future.

Within my district in West Michigan and across the State are some of the top-tier universities and research institutions our world has to offer. This bill will play a vital role in helping to restart any research they had to delay or postpone during the pandemic.

The pandemic has created these challenges, and our research and development fields have felt them. We must make a serious effort to increase productivity across STEM disciplines in order to remain globally competitive.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support H.R. 144, and I encourage my colleagues to vote with me in support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 130, a resolution condemning the violations of the basic rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. As part of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China made a series of commitments: that Hong Kong would retain a high degree of autonomy; that its social and economic systems would remain unchanged until at least 2047; and that the personal rights and liberties of the people of Hong Kong would be protected by the law.

Yet we continue to see the PRC infringe on Hong Kong's sovereignty and its people's freedoms. It has been made abundantly clear that the People's Republic of China has no intention of keeping its promises.

Most recently, the PRC forced through the draconian but mundane- sounding Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This law casts an authoritarian net over Hong Kong and has empowered a crackdown on vaguely worded political crimes like subversion and collusion with foreign powers. From day one, that law has been abused, with the people of Hong Kong arrested for such crimes as wearing stickers or T-shirts with disagreeable slogans.

The rapid erosion of Hong Kongers' rights and freedoms is absolutely unacceptable, and it is past time that the PRC and its puppet government that it installed in Hong Kong be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to send a clear message that we in the United States will not stand by as the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong are stripped away.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 124, a resolution to support the people of Belarus in their efforts against corruption and kleptocracy.

On August 9, 2020, Belarus held a presidential election marred by credible reports of widespread election manipulation. Not surprisingly, the Belarusian dictator, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has ruled with an iron fist for nearly three decades, commanded an authoritarian 80 percent of the vote.

Since August, Belarusians have taken to the streets peacefully to express their desire for self-determination. Instead of heeding their calls, the regime has responded with extreme violence, arbitrary detention, torture, and other systematic violations of human rights.

This resolution sends a clear message that we in Congress support the Belarusian people and their aspirations for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote from all of my colleagues. Passage of this resolution will send a message that we in Congress stand against the violent crackdown of the Lukashenka regime and stand with the people of Belarus.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1392, the Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act. Saudi Arabia is one of our strongest partners in the Middle East. That does not mean, however, that we should cast a blind eye to the Kingdom's most brutal human rights violations, including the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident.

This bill, which passed out of the Foreign Affairs Committee with unanimous support, would prohibit arms sales to Saudi Arabia's security services until the President certifies the Saudi government is not conducting flagrant human rights violations such as torture, the intimidation and assassination of dissidents, and the unjust imprisonment of U.S. citizens.

America is a beacon throughout the world because of our commitment to democratic values and our commitment to human rights. Our actions must match our convictions. We can and should leverage our close relationship to promote human rights in Saudi Arabia. This bill would do exactly that--sending a message to our ally that if it continues to engage in such actions, there will be consequences. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2430 to extend the DEA's temporary authority to schedule fentanyl-related substances for 1 year.

Fentanyl is a deadly opioid that kills thousands of Americans annually. When the chemical formula of fentanyl is even slightly modified, creating a fentanyl analogue, these substances can become exponentially more lethal. These analogues have been a driving force behind the opioid epidemic that continues to plague our local communities.

The authority for the DEA to classify these analogues as schedule I substances is critical to law enforcement's ability to keep these drugs off our streets.

As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I recently joined my colleagues on a trip to assess the ongoing crisis on our southern border.

Fentanyl has continued to move into our country through our ports of entry, mainly through our border with Mexico. On the trip, we spoke with law enforcement officials who detailed the challenges posed by transnational criminal organizations, including drug traffickers, who are attempting to take advantage of the current crisis.

With already limited border security resources being diverted to deal with the humanitarian crisis, drug smugglers are continuing their attempts to push dangerous substances, including fentanyl, into the United States. In the first quarter of 2021, the seizure of fentanyl at our southwestern border by CBP has increased by a staggering 233 percent from the first quarter of 2020.

At a time when our country is experiencing a border crisis and an opioid crisis, we need to be enacting policies that strengthen law enforcement and enhance public safety instead of empowering bad actors who are continuing to put our communities at risk.

If we fail to act on this commonsense extension before the upcoming May 6 deadline, we will be taking away a major tool that law enforcement needs to keep our communities safe.

With fentanyl analogues no longer properly scheduled, drug smugglers will continue and remain emboldened and even expand their attempts to move fentanyl into the United States. This would exacerbate two already unsustainable crises: the ongoing surge at our southern border and the opioid epidemic that has devastated lives of Americans across the country.

Madam Speaker, for that reason, I urge defeat of the previous question.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the career and service of long-time Michigan resident, Mrs. Karen McCarthy.

After 37 years, Mrs. McCarthy begins a well-deserved retirement after decades of public service to our local communities, and she will certainly be missed by the countless West Michiganders that she has helped and worked alongside over these many years. Mrs. McCarthy worked in community affairs for Consumers Energy and she most recently served as Community Affairs Manager in Kent County, based in Grand Rapids. In that role, she was responsible for local government and community relations, charitable giving, and economic development throughout Kent County.

It is difficult to overstate Mrs. McCarthy's connection to our community. Along with her work at Consumers Energy, she has served on numerous local committees and spent her personal time volunteering with organizations dedicated to combatting poverty and empowering women and girls. Her compassionate spirit, service to the public, and strong work ethic have made her an essential piece of West Michigan society.

Mrs. McCarthy's passion for serving others and dedication to her community have left a lasting impact, and we hope that her example will inspire younger generations to feel a similar call to public service. We wish her a joyful and peaceful retirement with her family and friends, and we remain grateful for her contributions that have improved the lives of so many of her fellow West Michiganders.

Madam Speaker, I urge all members of this body to join me in commending Mrs. McCarthy for her service and her long career helping the people of the great state of Michigan.