Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate racing legend Ray Evernham upon his induction into the ninth class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Success followed Ray Evernham during every step of his journey which culminated in one of the most impressive careers in NASCAR history. In 1992, Crew Chief Ray Evernham and a young Jeff Gordon teamed up and would eventually re-write the record books for nearly a decade.

Upon his retirement, Ray Evernham had amassed 46 total wins, 213 starts and 30 pole positions across NASCAR's three national series. His accomplishments also include victories at two Daytona 500s and two Brickyard 400s, along with leading the Number 24 team to three championships in four seasons. A true competitor and a pillar of motorsports for decades, Mr. Evernham will now take his rightful place among the greats in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

This year's class was selected by a comprehensive voting panel that included track owners, retired competitors, industry leaders, members of the media, and a nationwide fan vote. In total, a group of five was chosen to join the ranks of other NASCAR legends in the Hall of Fame. Mr. Evernham is especially deserving of this honor and will now be enshrined forever for his contributions to the sport.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in congratulating Ray Evernham on his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate the broadcasting legend Ken Squier upon his induction into the ninth class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

``Welcome to the Great American Race'', Ken would say as viewers tuned in to watch the race. As one of NASCAR's original broadcasters, Ken was able to make the audience feel not only that they were at the race but that it was the most exciting race they had ever watched. Success followed him during every step of his journey, which culminated in one of the most impressive broadcasting careers in NASCAR history.

Throughout his career, Ken saw the importance of broadcasting and his understanding of the future of the sport led him to become a co-founder of the Motor Racing Network. ``Common men doing uncommon things'', Ken would describe drivers as his voice filled houses with excitement all across the country. His reverberations on the sport can still be felt today. To say Ken Squier is a NASCAR broadcasting legend would be a gross understatement. Ken is the embodiment of racing and will now take his place among the greats in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

This year's class was selected by a comprehensive voting panel that included track owners, retired competitors, industry leaders, members of the media, and a nationwide fan vote. Ken was one of five chosen to join the ranks of other NASCAR legends in the Hall of Fame. Ken Squier is especially deserving of this honor and will now be enshrined forever for his contributions to the sport.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in congratulating Ken Squier on his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate the racing legend Ron Hornaday Jr. upon his induction into the ninth class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Ever since his early days it was clear that Ron Hornaday Jr. was born to race. A second generation racer, he was destined for high speed. Success followed him through every step of his journey which culminated in one of the most impressive careers in NASCAR Truck Series history.

Upon his retirement, Ron Hornaday Jr. had amassed 51 total wins, 360 starts and 27 pole positions. His accomplishments also include holding 158 top fives and 234 top 10s in the Truck Series, both all-time marks. Additionally, Ron Hornaday Jr. won five straight Truck Series races, which has only been achieved three other times in NASCAR national series history. With the heart of a true champion, Ron Hornaday Jr. is the embodiment of racing and will now take his place among the greats in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

This year's class was selected by a comprehensive voting panel that included track owners, retired competitors, industry leaders, members of the media, and a nationwide fan vote. In total, a group of five was chosen to join the ranks of other NASCAR legends in the Hall of Fame. Ron Hornaday Jr. is especially deserving of this honor and will now be enshrined forever for his contributions to the sport.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in congratulating Ron Hornaday Jr. on his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate the racing legend Robert Byron upon his induction into the ninth class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

If it weren't for men like Robert Byron, there is no doubt the racing industry as we know it

would not exist today. Robert played a pivotal role in both the development and expansion of NASCAR since its inception. After winning NASCAR's first season championship, Robert won NASCAR's first Strictly Stock title the following year, driving for car owner and Hall of Fame inductee Raymond Parks. Success followed him during every step of his journey which culminated in one of the most impressive careers in NASCAR history.

After being injured during WWII in service to his country, Robert used a modified clutch that attached to his leg. Robert continued to race and his injuries magnified his impressive skills. Even though he passed away in 1960, his legacy lives on and will now be preserved forever in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. A fierce competitor and true gentleman, he is the embodiment of racing and will now take his place among the greats in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

This year's class was selected by a comprehensive voting panel that included track owners, retired competitors, industry leaders, members of the media, and a nationwide fan vote. In total, a group of five was chosen to join the ranks of other NASCAR legends in the Hall of Fame. Robert Byron is especially deserving of this honor and will now be enshrined forever for his contributions to the sport.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in congratulating Robert Byron on his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and missed a vote. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 690.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and missed a vote. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 686 and YEA on Roll Call No. 687

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize City Councilman Alfred M. Brown Jr. on nearly two decades of service to the City of Concord, North Carolina.

I've known Councilman Brown for many years, and throughout this time I have considered him a good friend. A lifelong Concord resident, Councilman Brown attended Concord High School and went on to attend the Citadel. After his time at the Citadel Councilman Brown worked at the Concord Telephone Company and Windstream for over forty years in the OSP Engineering Department where he gained valuable experience that enabled him as Councilman to help shape the City of Concord into the wonderful place it is today.

Over the years, Councilman Brown has been very active in our community as an active member of St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, delegate to the Cabarrus-Rowan MPO Transportation Advisory Committee and a board member of the Concord-Kannapolis Transit System Authority. As you can tell, Councilman Brown lives to serve his community.

Residing in Concord, he has two children and has shown himself to be a consummate family man. I am extremely grateful for Councilman Brown's service to our community and I wish him continued success.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in honoring City Councilman Alfred M. Brown Jr. for his service to the City of Concord.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize City Councilman Lamar Barrier on over two decades of service to the City of Concord, North Carolina.

I've known Councilman Barrier for many years and I consider him to be a good friend. Growing up in Concord, Councilman Barrier attended Concord High School. He went on to graduate from the Kentucky College of Mortuary Science and has been a Funeral Service Practitioner at Wilkinson Funeral Home for over thirty years. Councilman Barrier stood ready to answer the call by proudly serving his country during the Vietnam Era.

Over the years, Councilman Barrier has been very active in our community by supporting the Cabarrus County Boys and Girls Club, Concord High School Athletic Boosters Club, CVAN, and Cabarrus 4-H. In addition, he has served on the boards of Hospice and Palliative Care of Cabarrus County, and Community Health Centers at McGill and Logan. As you can tell, Councilman Barrier's servant heart never stops, no matter the day or time.

Residing in Concord, he and his wife, Christine, have two daughters and two grandchildren. I am extremely grateful for Councilman Barrier's service to our community and I wish him continued success.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in honoring City Councilman Lamar Barrier for his service to the City of Concord.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mayor J. Scott Padgett for his more than two decades of service to the City of Concord, North Carolina.

I've known and worked with Mayor Padgett more than 20 years, and he's someone I've always considered a friend and partner when it came to helping the citizens of Concord. A longtime resident of Concord, Mayor Padgett received his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University, a Master of Education Degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and an Advanced Degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mayor Padgett has spent most of his life as a public servant. Before he was elected to public office he served as the principal at Beverly Hills Elementary School in Concord and as a member of the Concord Planning and Zoning Commission. As part of the Planning and Zoning Commission, he gained valuable experience that helped him shape the City of Concord into the wonderful place it is today when he was elected to the Concord City Council and eventually elected as Mayor.

Over the years, Mayor Padgett has been very active in our community, receiving multiple awards for his service. He has served on the boards of North Carolina League of Municipalities, N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, Cabarrus Boys & Girls Club, Cabarrus Bank & Trust, and the Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, while also being an active member of the Concord Rotary Club, and participant in the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Mayor Padgett received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce, and has been honored with the Order of The Long Leaf Pine, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a North Carolinian. As you can tell, Mayor Padgett's servant heart never stops, no matter the day or time.

Residing in Concord with his wife, Teresa, he has one son and three grandchildren. Mayor Padgett has shown immense dedication to his career and his family over the years. I am extremely grateful for Mayor Padgett's service to our community and I wish him continued success in his well-deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in honoring Mayor J. Scott Padgett for his service to the City of Concord.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate Martin Truex, Jr. on winning the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship in historic fashion.

The journey to Martin Truex Jr's success came with a lot of adversity, both on the track and in Martin's personal life. On the personal side, Martin and his partner, Sherry Pollex, faced one of life's toughest challenges when Sherry was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer three years ago. Sherry has faced this challenge with the heart of a champion. She's continued to fight this dreaded disease even when it returned earlier this year, and Sherry has used her personal battle as an opportunity to advocate for cancer patients everywhere through her work with the Martin Truex, Jr. Foundation and SherryStrong.org. She has inspired millions through her work, and as Martin will tell you, Sherry is the true champion in their family.

On the track, Martin has faced his own adversity. In 2013, through no fault of his own, Martin ended up losing his ride. Instead of giving up, Martin turned this setback into an opportunity--he landed on his feet at Furniture Row Racing and became a champion four short years later.

Martin is a champion on the track and in life. Today I have the honor of congratulating Martin Truex, Jr. on winning of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship, and I can't think of anyone who deserves this victory more than him.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in honoring a true champion in every sense of the word, Martin Truex, Jr.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you a story. It is a story about an African-American single mother, two kids, living in south Philly. After twice being the victim of muggings, she decides to go out and legally purchase a firearm to protect herself, gets trained with her weapon, and applies for a concealed carry permit.

Sometime thereafter, she crossed the State line into New Jersey and, at a routine traffic stop, did exactly as she was trained; handed her driver's license and her concealed carry permit to the police officer and let him know that she had a pistol in her purse.

What she didn't know is that the State of New Jersey doesn't recognize the concealed carry permits of their neighbor in Pennsylvania. And so this poor single mother, who has never had a brush with the law, spent almost 50 days in jail and was looking at 10 years in prison.

Are you serious? We have to make sure that never happens again.

The other side today is going to argue that we are violating States' rights with this legislation; but Article IV, section 1, the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution, says very clearly that every State should give the full faith and credit to the judicial proceedings and documents of every other State, and that Congress has a responsibility to determine how those documents will be recognized.

That is why a driver's license is recognized in every State. That is why, if I get married in North Carolina but I move to Arizona, I am not a single man again. They recognize that marriage. That is why divorce decrees are recognized in every State. The concealed carry permit should be recognized the same way.

But this is not trampling States' rights, because States can still determine what can be carried, where it can be carried. They can set any kind of limits they want about how weapons are carried in their municipalities or their States.

For example, if you visit the State of New York, they have a limit on the size of a magazine on a pistol. You have got to follow that law. If they want to set restrictions about places where you can't carry, even with this legislation, that law would have to be followed. The States retain this right, just like a driver's license.

The other side is also going to stand up and claim all kinds of doomsday scenarios about how we are going to increase crime; we are going to increase the number of weapons out there; we are going to turn the cities into the Wild West.

I find it ironic that we are being lectured to by people from big cities with a lot of gun control measures but have some of the worst crime in the Nation. They are worried about people coming from other places where we don't have crime. I think that is ironic.

But the truth is, over half the States already recognize permits from every other State; 19 States, in fact, already do this. States and municipalities, as I mentioned, retain the right to restrict where guns are carried in their communities, even under this legislation.

And if you look at the empirical evidence, places where you have concealed carry, even constitutional carry, when you instituted this right, violent crime went down. Gun crime went down. You have seen less crime, not more crime.

There was actually a study done in Florida and Texas, and it showed that off-duty police officers commit crimes more than concealed carry permit holders. Think about that. Police officers don't commit crimes very often, but even they commit crimes more than concealed carry permit holders. These are not the people we are worried about. These are not the violent criminals that we are worried about in our cities.

This is a commonsense measure that upholds our constitutional right. It makes sure that a law-abiding citizen, trying to do the right thing, doesn't become a criminal simply because they cross that line.

So for every freedom-loving American who exercises their Second Amendment right, today is your day. To the 73 percent of Americans who support concealed carry, today is your day. To the 15 million concealed carry permit holders out there, today is your day. And finally, to the single mothers out there who just want to protect themselves and their families, today is your day.

I thank the chairman for his leadership on this. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and missed a vote.

Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 636.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3369, a bill recognizing the life and legacy of Howard B. Pate, Jr., by naming the Spring Lake, North Carolina, Post Office in his honor.

Born in Bladen County, North Carolina, in 1925, Mr. Pate first moved to Spring Lake, a town in the Eighth Congressional District I am proud to represent, where his father was stationed at Fort Bragg.

Being from a military family, when the United States entered World War II, Mr. Pate answered the call to serve his country and continued his service as a member of the North Carolina National Guard until 1952.

After finishing his military service, Mr. Pate assumed the position of Spring Lake's postmaster. He served in this position for 30 years, until his retirement in 1982.

After retiring, Mr. Pate remained active in the community as a member of many civic organizations, including being named town historian in 1994, a post he held for more than two decades. For all his efforts, the local Chamber of Commerce named their Volunteer of the Year award after Mr. Pate.

The town of Spring Lake unanimously adopted a resolution to dedicate their post office in honor of Mr.

Howard Pate, Jr., because there was never a person who embodied the spirit of the community more than he.

Sadly, Mr. Pate passed away 1 year ago yesterday, on November 14, 2016. On the first anniversary of his passing, I can think of no better way to honor his respected life than to name the post office after him in a town he loved and where he lived and served most of his life.

As any Spring Lake resident will tell you, Mr. Pate was not only a pillar of our community, but also a cherished friend. He worked tirelessly to ensure we kept a strong grip on our past while making Spring Lake a better place for future generations.

It is my honor to make sure he will always be a part of our legacy in the future by naming the Spring Lake Post Office in his honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the career of Lieutenant Colonel

Kirk Windmueller. LTC Windmueller's work ethic took him to the highest ranks of the military, serving as Deputy Chief for Combat Developments, G8, at U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and his current assignment as a Strategic Planner, J5, Joint Special Operations Command where he deployed in support of Operation Uprise Giant.

LTC Windmueller received a Bachelors of Science in Biology from The Citadel and a Masters of Science in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School. In addition, he trained at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, where he served as the Chief of Special Forces Doctrine in the Directorate of Training and Doctrine.

Deployed on numerous operational assignments around the globe and through some of our nation's toughest times, LTC Windmueller stood ready to answer the call to serve our great nation. Some of his most notable engagements took place during his assignment to 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group. During this assignment he served as the Commanding Officer of a Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha, with deployments to Kosovo and Iraq in support of Operations Joint Guardian and Iraqi Freedom, and commanded the Group Mountain Operations Training Detachment. Throughout these operations, he delivered on the promise to keep America safe and confront our enemies head on under the most difficult conditions.

During these deployments, LTC Windmueller received numerous medals, including the Bronze Star with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Meritorious Service, Army Commendation, Joint Service Achievement, Army Achievement, Armed Forces Expeditionary, Kosovo Campaign, Iraq Campaign, Afghanistan Campaign, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary, the Overseas Service Ribbon and the NATO Medal. These medals are a testimony to his monumental success in safe-guarding America.

While fighting our nation's battles overseas, LTC Windmueller had a full family at home. His wife, Laura, and he have three wonderful children. This country cannot repay the debt we owe to LTC Windmueller and his family. The Windmuellers are true American heroes.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in commemorating the career of Lieutenant Colonel Kirk Windmueller.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on this day because I was attending the memorial service for the 3rd Special Forces Group soldiers who were recently killed in action while serving in Niger.

Had I been present, I would have voted yea on Roll Call No. 610, 611; nay on Roll Call No. 612, 613; yea on Roll Call No. 614, and 615.