Floor Statements

Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word in order to engage in a colloquy.

Mr. Chairman, we are all aware of the tragic backlog that deeply affects so many of our Nation's heroes all across this country, and particularly in my district back home in North Carolina. Fixing this issue needs to be one of the highest priorities of Congress and this administration. We owe it to our veterans, and I know that many of my colleagues agree that we owe them to do this.

However, the solution is not necessarily to continually throw money at the problem. We have done that for years without the results we are looking for. The reality is the fiscal situation we find ourselves in today means that we can no longer afford to be so shortsighted in our approach.

In order to reform the VA--or any other department, for that matter-- we need to have a clear understanding of what costs are associated with running their programs so we can evaluate their effectiveness and root out those that are wasteful, duplicitous, and are underperforming.

Mr. Chairman, I know you have been a leader on this issue and have tried for years to get from the VA a clear breakdown of what their administrative costs are. Is that correct?

I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for his hard work and commitment, and I share his frustration. I have had a very difficult time, as well, trying to understand how the VA deals with its overhead. In fact, I have got a story I just heard from a veteran in my district that is probably not unique.

This gentleman went to the VA center in Winston-Salem for an appeals hearing. A veterans service officer, one of the very hardworking veterans service officers around the country, accompanied him to this meeting. He sat down with the VA employee, and he asked the employee: Do you have my file? I don't see it sitting on your desk. The employee said: Well, we computerized all the files, so I have got it all here in the computer. The veteran said: Well, just so I know where you are, which page are you looking at? Somewhat sheepishly, the VA employee said: Well, actually, I don't know how to access the files in the computer.

It is outrageous. It got worse from there.

They went forward with the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the employee turned off a tape recorder and popped out the cassette. The veteran said: Well, what do you do with that cassette? He said: Well, we send that to San Diego so they can transcribe it. In about 6 weeks, we will get the transcription back and then we can start processing your claim.

Mr. Chairman, this is not what we intended when we asked that we go to a computerized VA system, and it is outrageous that our veterans are having to see these kind of delays. I would just ask that you work with us to try to resolve this problem.

It is absurd.

I appreciate your commitment to this, the time you put into it. Our veterans deserve the best we can give them. They deserve to be treated with the highest respect, and they deserve to not have to wait these extraordinary amounts of time just to be heard.

Mr. Chairman, I commit to working with you to continue to deal with this issue, to take care of our veterans not just in North Carolina's Eighth District, but around the country.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to remember and honor Kilah Davenport, a young girl from my district in North Carolina who was taken from this world much too soon.

Kilah was a young girl full of joy, laughter and love. Two years ago, when Kilah was just three-years-old, she was a victim of felony child abuse and suffered severe mental and physical damage. All of the doctors told Kilah's family that she would not survive, but she pulled through and overcame the odds stacked against her.

I had the pleasure of meeting young Kilah and her wonderful, loving family, and I was moved by their incredible strength and faith. Kilah's recovery was slow and she faced extensive physical therapy and rehab. When most people would have given up, Kilah and her family endured, becoming advocates for legislation to protect our children. Kilah inspired the state of North Carolina to pass legislation that increases sentencing punishments for five child abuse-related felonies. Tragically, on March 12, just three weeks before her 5th birthday, Kilah Davenport passed away.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of the Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act of 2013 (H.R. 3627), which guarantees that our states can address the serious problem of felony child abuse and makes certain that those who choose to harm a child suffer real and meaningful consequences. I am committed to ensuring the safety of the most innocent in our society. I support this bill that passed the House, and I encourage the Senate to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to pray for Kilah's family. I hope they can find the peace and comfort that only comes from our loving God as they go through this troubling time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor U.S. Park Police Officer Carl Hiott and thank him for his heroic actions during the tragic Navy Yard shooting.

Officer Hiott grew up in North Carolina's Eighth Congressional District. He attended Southwestern Randolph High School where he excelled in football and wrestling. After graduating from North Carolina State University with a degree in criminal justice, Officer Hiott followed the call of duty and currently serves as a U.S. Park Police officer in Washington, D.C.

On September 16, 2013, a lone gunman entered the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command with malicious intentions. Within minutes, law enforcement officials responded and took immediate action to quell the gunman. On this morning, Officer Hiott responded to the Navy Yard and, without hesitation, entered into building 197.

While on the third floor, Officer Hiott, Park Police Officer Andrew Wong, and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Dorian DeSantis encountered the gunman and engaged in a gunfight. Officer Hiott provided cover and engaged the shooter in the final gun battle, for which he received a Medal of Honor and a Combat Medal from the U.S. Park Service, and a Medal of Merit from the Metropolitan Police Department. Though all of the details of that morning are yet to be uncovered, one thing is certain: Officer Hiott and his colleagues are true American heroes.

That fateful morning, 170 law enforcement officers responded to the call. The swift actions of these brave men and women and the courageousness they displayed saved many lives. Despite the imminent danger, Officer Hiott remained committed to his duty to protect the national parks, monuments and the White House and keep our citizens safe.

Mr. Speaker, Officer Hiott is an outstanding citizen and a proven leader in our community. We are fortunate to have brave men and women like Officer Hiott who dedicate and risk their lives as police officers for our well-being and security. I applaud Officer Hiott for his bravery, and I thank him for his heroic and selfless actions.

Mr. Speaker, I have grave concerns about the proposed deactivation of the 440th Airlift Wing located at Pope Army Airfield contained in the President's budget. The 440th is absolutely critical to conducting the kind of training that both airborne and special operations forces located at the epicenter of the universe in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, rely on to conduct the high-risk missions they are charged with in combat.

Beyond the immediate hit on readiness, the retirement will have an impact on over 1,200 servicemembers and their families directly associated with the unit.

While I understand we face challenging fiscal times, I expect the Department to take a broad approach when it comes to finding savings. While retiring a particular airframe may make sense on paper, it is incredibly important that we take into account the value of a joint force structure. I find it hard to believe that out-of-State units can provide the same quality of training and operations as the local units that have the long-term relationship with the commanders on the ground.

Additionally, cutting Fort Bragg's airborne operations by an estimated 23 percent could further erode our readiness at a time when the United States simply cannot afford it, eliminating the ability to rapidly mobilize, train, and deploy our most in-demand forces, namely the airborne and special operators.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to prevent these devastating cuts to our forces.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Master Trooper Robert M. Hunt of North Carolina's State Highway Patrol and thank him for his heroic actions during the snow storm that hit the Southeast.

On February 12, 2014 North Carolina was hit by a dangerous winter storm that obstructed our roadways and threatened the safety of commuters and all North Carolinians. Despite the dangerous conditions, Trooper Hunt remained committed to his duty to keep our highways and our travelers safe.

As a state trooper, Trooper Hunt heroically stands in harm's way and commits his life to the safety of others every single day. We are fortunate to have brave men and women like Trooper Hunt who dedicate and risk their lives for our well-being and security.

Mr. Speaker, Trooper Hunt is a proven leader in our community. I applaud him for his bravery during this hazardous snow storm, and I thank him for his heroic and selfless actions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of Chairman Lucas and his determination to get the Farm Bill across the finish line. The Chairman and his staff have put tremendous work into this bipartisan, bicameral bill.

This bill is not perfect. There are several areas we could have done more on. I wish we could have implemented more reforms in the food stamp program.

I am also very disappointed that this farm bill does not address important issues for livestock and poultry producers--my constituents back in North Carolina. As you know, the House-passed Farm Bill did include language on the Country of Origin Labeling law and on USDA's ability to write regulations related to the buying and selling of livestock and poultry.

Yet, neither is included in this conference report.

More importantly, as my constituents have pointed out they now face retaliation from our trading partners. Also, USDA's livestock regulations now threaten to dictate the terms of their private contracts.

Both can cause severe economic harm to North Carolina's farmers and ranchers and to the U.S. economy and both must be addressed. I look forward to continuing our work on these important issues and getting a resolution quickly.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the community service of Richmond Community College President, Dr. Dale McInnis, who was recently named Citizen of the Year by the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. McInnis was raised in Richmond County and has served the region admirably for decades. He has worked at three community colleges in North Carolina's 8th Congressional District, which cover five of the twelve counties in my district. Dr. McInnis started as a business instructor at Montgomery Community College in 1992 before being named Vice President of Administrative Services the following year. He then worked at South Piedmont Community College before accepting a position at Richmond Community College in 2002. Dr. McInnis became Richmond Community College's seventh President in 2010, where he still serves today.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. McInnis has had a direct impact on the lives of thousands of hard-working folks across the 8th District. He has developed and implemented programs at these community colleges that helped people transition to new careers at a time of unprecedented textile and manufacturing job losses in the region.

Community colleges will continue to play a pivotal role in helping improve our economy in the coming years. Thanks to the strong leadership of Dr. McInnis, Richmond Community College is leading the charge in getting the workforce of Richmond and Scotland Counties the skills they need to thrive in a 21st century economy. I'm proud to have worked with Dr. McInnis over the years, and I know I speak for countless people across the 8th District when I congratulate him on being named Citizen of the Year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the establishment of Gay's Chapel United Methodist Church in Salisbury, North Carolina.

The commitment and reverence that the congregation of Gay's Chapel United Methodist church has shown is a great accolade to their shared faith, and I commend them on this milestone.

Gay's Chapel, established on January 17, 1839, has withstood as a beacon of God's love and blessings in our community for 175 years. It provides community members fellowship and a place to gather together to worship and grow closer to God. The congregation has continually upheld Gay's Chapel mission statement: ``Follow Jesus, make disciples, and lovingly serve others through our gifts and talents.'' The church has been an essential, devoted piece of the community for many years.

Mr. Speaker, as I work here in Washington serving my constituents, I rely on my faith and my relationship with God to help me make the right decisions and to guide my daily undertakings. I wish to honor and commemorate the 175 years of fellowship Gay's Chapel United Methodist Church has offered to the citizens of Salisbury and Rowan County.

I thank the gentlelady.

Mr. Speaker, I will tell you that my colleague from Missouri has been a true leader in Congress.

It is a real honor to serve with you, and I thank you for your leadership, particularly on this important issue.

ObamaCare is an absolute disaster. We have seen disastrous impacts back home in North Carolina with the loss of jobs. I talk to folks every day when I go home. I go home every weekend. I travel the district. I talk to businesses, and folks tell me that they have never sat on more capital. The reason they are doing that is that they don't know what the costs of health care are going to be. So we have got businesses out there that could be expanding, that could be hiring people, but because of this health care law--because of the uncertainty created by it, because of the rising costs--we have got businesspeople who are not hiring. That is why we are not seeing job growth like we ought to see. That is why this is the flattest, longest recession we have seen in our country's history.

This awful health care law is also destroying the greatest health care system in the world. We are seeing premiums increase. I get letters and emails every day from my constituents who tell me their premiums have gone up. I talked to a woman the other day who is working three jobs. Her husband is working part-time because he can't find full-time work, but she is working three jobs just so she can pay for health care. That was before the premium increase.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen so many folks who have had their plans canceled. It has been said that the lie of the century is that, if you like your health care, you can keep it. People are seeing their health care plans canceled, and it is going to get worse because, when businesses have to start looking at whether they can afford to keep folks on their health care or not--whether the math adds up for them, whether they can afford to do that given all the new, excessive mandates--we are going to see more people lose their insurance. It is an absolute disaster.

I am committed to doing everything I can to repeal this law and replace it because, at the end of the day, this is about people, and in this country--the greatest country in the history of the world--we can do better than this. We can offer health care that is the world's best quality health care at a price that people can afford, and we can put people in charge of their health care decisions, not bureaucrats in Washington like this awful law does, so I am committed to repealing this law.

In the meantime, I urge my colleagues to support the bill that is coming to the floor tomorrow, a bill that deals with one of the disastrous aspects of this law that I haven't mentioned yet, and that is the risk to millions of Americans that their personal information can be divulged--can be stolen--because of the lack of security on the ObamaCare Web site. This is a horrendous problem. Million of Americans are at risk, and there is no accountability. So what we are asking for is to put that accountability in place, that if people's personal information is lost, those folks have to be notified.

The Federal Government thinks that businesses should live by that standard. The Federal Government says that States that have set up their exchanges should live by that standard. I say that the Federal Government ought to live by the same standard. If that personal information is compromised, then the individual should be notified, and the government should take responsibility and rectify the situation.

This is simple, commonsense legislation that I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I hope our colleagues in the other body, and I hope our President will support. We owe it to the American people to do the right thing--to make sure their information is secure. If something happens, God forbid, we must do the right thing and notify those individuals. We rectify the situation. We take responsibility for it.

So I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. It is the right thing to do by the American people. I urge them to vote ``yes'' tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 1, I was unavoidably detained off of the House floor. Therefore, I was unable to cast my vote on rollcall No. 1.

Had I been there, I would have voted ``present.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Marcus Kauffman, a young man who tragically lost his life after being shot by home intruders on December 2nd of last year. He fought courageously to survive for three weeks before succumbing to his injuries.

Marcus Kauffman, often called Marco by friends and loved ones, was an outstanding citizen. He selflessly served as a volunteer firefighter with the Scotch Irish Fire Department in Woodleaf, North Carolina. As a firefighter, Marco heroically put himself in harm's way and displayed immense dedication to the safety of others. We are fortunate to have brave men and women like Marco who dedicate and risk their lives as firemen for our well-being and security.

Marco's life was taken much too soon. He will be remembered for his extraordinary heroism and devotion to his family in the face of danger. I applaud Marco for his bravery, and I thank him for his heroic and selfless actions.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kauffman was a proven leader in our community, but he was also a loving husband, a soon to be father, and a faithful friend to many. My wife Renee and I will continue to pray for the family and loved ones of Marco, including his wife Maryann and their unborn child. I hope that they find peace in this troubling time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a bill we are debating today, H.R. 3627, The Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act of 2013.

This commonsense bill will create an important study to examine the penalties that apply to child abusers across the country so that we can ensure we are doing everything possible to keep our children safe.

The motivation behind this significant legislation comes from one of my own constituents, Kilah Davenport. Kilah was abused when she was just three years old and suffers from severe mental and physical damage. I have had the pleasure of meeting young Kilah several times, and each time I'm moved by her strength and conviction. Not even old enough for kindergarten, Kilah is faced with an uphill battle of physical therapy and rehab. I will continue to pray that this innocent young girl makes a full recovery.

Mr. Speaker, child abuse and the safety of our children are not partisan issues. We must equip our states with the necessary tools to punish abusers to the fullest extent of the law. I am committed to ensuring that the federal government empowers the states to strengthen child abuse laws and ensure the safety of the most innocent in our society.

This bill guarantees that our states can address the serious problem of child abuse and makes certain that those who choose to harm a child are dealt with in a swift and severe manner. I support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 612, I was unavoidably detained off of the House floor due to unforeseen travel circumstances. Therefore, I was unable to cast my vote for H.R. 3547, the Space Launch Liability Indemnification Extension Act.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call upon my colleagues currently negotiating the Farm Bill through the Conference process to get the job done on behalf of our nation's farmers and agribusiness community.

I understand and respect the challenges facing the House and Senate in these final steps to getting a bill across the finish line. I also understand the significant differences between the two bills before us. But, it's time to get a deal done. We have waited long enough.

I have the privilege to serve on the Agriculture Committee and I join my colleagues in supporting the House-passed bill that equips our farmers with the tools and certainty they need to produce an affordable and stable food supply while making significant reforms and cutting wasteful spending. I am proud of the bill the House passed and support many of the provisions contained therein.

I join with my farmers back in the Eighth District of North Carolina in encouraging our negotiators to finish this work so we can get a Five Year Authorization complete. It's time to get this bill to the President's desk. Our farmers and agribusiness community have waited long enough and our local economies depend on it.

Mr. Speaker, the nuclear deal agreed upon with Iran is shameful. There is no better example of this than Iran's announcement just days after the agreement was reached to open a new nuclear weapon plant that is not even subject to IAEA inspection.

Any nuclear deal must include swift and decisive action that forces Iran to completely abandon its crusade to acquire a nuclear weapons capability. We must not give a dangerous regime with a penchant for terrorism and extremism the capability to build a weapon before the world can react.

A nuclear-equipped Iran is the most dangerous threat to Israel, the world, and to the stability of the Middle East. Indeed, with a nuclear weapons capability, Iran is a direct threat to the United States.

Mr. Speaker, negotiations like this require serious discussions about our foreign policy in the Middle East, not a reckless decision by President Obama that weakens our national security, threatens our allies, and lacks the support of this Congress and, frankly, the American people.

Reducing sanctions now merely rewards bad behavior and fundamentally halts the progress we have already made. Indeed, instead of reducing our influence and taking steps backward, we must pursue every avenue to ensure that Iran does not engage in nuclear weapons proliferation and, most importantly, does not develop a nuclear weapon.

The only suitable agreement is one that starts with Iran ending their uranium enrichment program; otherwise, we should not loosen sanctions on this bad actor.