Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 375 introduced by my friend Representative Cole from Oklahoma.

H.R. 375 is a simple, straightforward fix to a problem that has caused chaos and uncertainty in Indian Country for a decade.

Ten years ago, the Supreme Court handed down what is now known as the Carcieri decision. In that decision, the Court determined that eligibility for trust land acquisition under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 only applies to Tribes that were federally recognized as of 1934.

The acquisition of trust land for the benefit of Indian Tribes is absolutely essential to Tribal self-determination, economic development, and protection of Tribal homelands. The Carcieri decision created an unfair, impractical, two-tiered system for Tribes that wanted to engage in this essential function of Tribal sovereignty.

H.R. 375 simply amends the IRA to ensure that all federally recognized Tribes are treated equally, regardless of the date of recognition.

The Carcieri decision and its consequences harken back to the Federal Government's shameful history of oppression in Native communities. The decimation of Tribes and their homeland by the Federal Government is well documented. For centuries, we ignored their treaties and systematically stripped them of their land. It has taken almost a century for us to even begin to undo the damage we have inflicted on indigenous peoples.

Mr. Speaker, that work is nowhere near done. To this day, we are still federally recognizing tribes that the government tried to destroy. We are still striving to return merely a small portion of ancestral land back to Tribes so they can have homelands to call their own.

In order to continue to undo the harm we have done, we must end this system of haves and have-nots for trust land acquisition. We must level the playing field and alleviate the catastrophic consequences this decision has had in Indian Country.

We must pass H.R. 375, the clean Carcieri fix. If we do not, this administration will continue to strip trust land from Tribes like the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which is the subject of another bill on the floor today. Tribes will continue to suffer needlessly, once again at the hands of the Federal Government.

Indian Country has been clamoring for this clean, simple fix for a decade, and we cannot make them wait any longer.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today alongside the Phoenix community to usher in a new chapter of spiritual leadership with the installation of Pastor Terry E. Mackey to Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

I stood on this floor last year to honor the life of Bishop Alexis Thomas, who served for eighteen years as the Senior Pastor of Pilgrim Rest until his passing in January 2018. I worked alongside Bishop Thomas as a part of My Brother's Keeper, and I witnessed firsthand Pilgrim Rest's boundless growth under his guidance.

The greatest testament to that leadership is its longevity. Phoenix still feels Bishop Thomas's reach through the ``Word Center'' educational facility he constructed, and other efforts he oversaw: free light rail tickets for the homeless, food packages for low income elders, and free GED courses. I congratulate Pilgrim Rest on upholding the momentum of Bishop Thomas's contributions in his absence this past year.

Today, I have the opportunity to acknowledge the new life Pilgrim Rest will breathe into the Phoenix community in the coming years as we welcome Reverend Terry Eugene Mackey as the church's 11th pastor.

In Houston, Pastor Mackey served as the Minister to Youth and Young Adults at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, one of the nation's largest predominantly African American churches. He then served as the Pastor of Riceville Mount Olive Baptist Church, where he tripled attendance and renewed the community's investment in religious life.

Pastor Mackey has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to community service and leadership, and his ambitions for Pilgrim Rest's future role in the lives of Phoenix residents are promising. He will continue to expand the church's presence by ``striving for higher heights'' in worship and membership, and ``deeper depths'' in discipleship and relationships with God and the community.

Madam Speaker, I believe the greatest reverence we can show our previous leaders--the teachers who built the foundations upon which we carry out our good work--is to build higher, in the spirit of the work that came before, and with an eye towards what the future needs of us. Pastor Mackey is a leader of just such foresight, and the people of Phoenix will be made a more diligent, faithful, and cohesive community because of his place at Pilgrim Rest.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, my amendment to the Violence Against Women Act shines a light on a crisis that has been ignored for too long by this body: the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.

In Indian Country, American Indians and Alaska Native women experience murder rates ten times the national average.

One study found that there were 5,712 reported cases of missing indigenous women in 2016.

In reality, the numbers are even worse than this, because indigenous women are often underrepresented in national and local data.

Just one example of the thousands of heartbreaking cases of missing and murdered women and girls is Ashlynne Mike, an 11-year-old Navajo girl.

In 2016, Ashlynne and her 9-year-old brother, Ian, were tricked into accepting a ride home from a stranger while playing after school on the Navajo Reservation.

When Ashlynne and Ian did not return home, her family contacted the authorities.

Ian was eventually found a few hours later wandering on the side of a road.

Friends and family members then mobilized a search party for Ashlynne and spread the news of her abduction through texts and social media. However, because of the jurisdictional issues, an official AMBER Alert wasn't issued until 12 hours after her disappearance.

According to a study on children abductions by the Washington State Attorney General's Office, 76 percent of kidnapped children are killed within the first 3 hours.

Eventually, Ashlynne's body was found by family members near a dirt road.

Indigenous communities are demanding action on this crisis and justice for Native women and girls like Ashlynne.

That is why last month, I was proud to hold the first ever hearing on missing and murdered indigenous women in the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.

That is why today, I am proud to introduce this amendment as a first step towards solutions.

We know the factors exacerbating this crisis are many. They include lack of resources, lack of coordination between law enforcement agencies, and jurisdictional challenges within our criminal justice system.

My amendment would drill down on the nature and scope of these issues, so that we can take direct legislative action to fix them. It will give us the tools to give Tribes the resources and support they need to combat horrific violence directed at their communities.

This amendment is identical to the bipartisan Studying the Missing and Murdered Indian Crisis Act that I introduced earlier this week and that Senator Tester has introduced in the Senate.

After hearing Ashlynne's story and knowing that there are thousands of women and girls who have suffered and died as a result of this crisis, I am sure that my colleagues will agree: Silence is not an option. Inaction is not an option.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I missed two votes on 3/11/2019. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 119, and ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 120.

Mr. Speaker, let's be clear. Donald Trump's Presidency is the real national emergency.

President Trump fired the FBI director to protect his national security adviser. He tried to rip healthcare from millions of Americans and destroy protections for people with preexisting

conditions. He orchestrated the largest transfer of wealth from middle class families to rich families.

And Trump has done nothing in the face of epidemic levels of gun violence and devastating impacts of climate change.

Why is Trump lying about a national emergency at the border? He is doing it to distract the American people from the fact that he has no plan to improve healthcare, improve our schools, or do one damn thing for working people in this country.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of millions of our Nation's teachers who fight for our children's future every single day.

Last year, tens of thousands of educators from Arizona helped lead the Nation, walking out of their classrooms to protest cuts to schools and funding. They told me about outdated textbooks, overcrowded classrooms, and school supplies so limited that kids were taking tests with crayons.

They succeeded in securing much-needed pay raises for teachers. But the Arizona Legislature refused to provide sufficient money for support staff, classroom supplies, and other resources they need to effectively do their jobs. So, today, Arizona teachers and I are wearing red, because the fight to ensure that every child receives a quality education is not over.

Our students deserve better. They deserve fully funded schools with state-of-the-art classrooms to ensure our kids have the skills they need to succeed in a quickly changing world. They deserve the challenges and opportunities that come from taking advanced placement classes that promote academic achievement and extracurricular activities to stimulate creativity and a passion for lifelong learning. They deserve teachers, aides, administrative staff, and bus drivers who are paid a fair and living wage.

Instead, the State continues to shortchange our children by asking educators to do more with less.

Madam Speaker, I know firsthand the importance of properly funding the public school system. I am a product of it. I would not have the honor to stand here today and advocate for teachers on the floor of the House of Representatives if it wasn't for the help and advice and mentorship of one of my own high school teachers, Mr. Gustafson--or Mr. G, as I called him--of Evergreen Park Community High School. He is just one example of the many passionate, selfless educators who inspire students every day.

That is why I stand today, tomorrow, and every day in solidarity with America's teachers demanding more resources for educators and the young people that they have dedicated their lives to.

Our Nation's future depends on it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5513. This bill authorizes an equal value land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and San Bernardino County.

The exchange would allow the county to build a resource conservation and recovery facility adjacent to the current transfer station. The Forest Service would receive an undeveloped parcel currently surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest.

H.R. 5513 is supported by the nearby city of Big Bear, by the Friends of Big

Bear Valley, and by the local chapter of the Sierra Club.

I thank my colleague, Representative Cook, for working to address some of our concerns with earlier drafts of this bill. Thanks to his efforts, we have ensured this exchange will be subject to existing law, that it will preserve critical and occupied habitat for endangered species, and that the exchange will have minimal impacts on the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.

H.R. 5513 demonstrates how a collaborative process can meet the interests of local stakeholders, while protecting the integrity of our environment and public lands.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6108, which authorizes additional funding for the Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program.

This program has a long track record of efficiently and cost- effectively preserving battlefield sites from the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the War of 1812.

By utilizing public-private funding matches, through which Federal contributions are leveraged with private sector funds, the program maximizes the preservation impact of every dollar spent. It is critical that we extend this grant matching program because many of these historic battlefield sites lack permanent protection and are under threat from encroaching development. If we don't act swiftly, we could soon lose access to sites of significant historical importance.

By extending additional funding to this program, and by allowing a portion of this new funding to go towards educational and interpretive upgrades at these sites, we ensure that future generations of Americans will always remember the sacrifices made to preserve our Nation.

Unfortunately, I worry that this legislation, as important as it is for preserving our Nation's history, rings somewhat hollow.

We need to recognize that the grant program H.R. 6108 extends is funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which expired in September for the second time this Congress.

At our committee's hearing on H.R. 6108, our distinguished witness from the American Battlefield Trust recognized that this proposal doesn't hold water unless LWCF is reauthorized.

Mr. Speaker, while I rise in support of H.R. 6108, I also urge my colleagues to support the permanent reauthorization of LWCF.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill authorizes a special resource study of the George W. Bush Childhood Home to determine the significance of the site and the feasibility of designating it as a unit of the National Park Service. The home in Midland, Texas, is where George W. Bush lived for 4 years between the ages of 5 and 9, and not coincidentally, it is also where George H.W. Bush lived at the beginning of his political career.

The structure is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and currently operates as a museum. I support the proposed study to consider designating this site a unit of the National Park Service and determine the appropriate management to ensure its preservation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to honor the contributions and war efforts made by American cities during World War II, including the work by these cities to preserve this history.

This bill honors the history of our Nation and enshrines the efforts made by American cities that were integral to our success in World War

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill provides a number of benefits for the territories of the United States: Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It adds them to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, allowing them to begin developing offshore wind in their waters, a potentially crucial source of new clean energy for their residents. It sets up a system by which the territories receive a share of the revenue generated by any new offshore wind development.

Currently, our territories rely primarily on imported diesel for generating electricity, putting them at high risk of supply disruptions and forcing

residents there to pay some of the highest electricity rates anywhere in the country, particularly when oil prices spike.

As hurricanes and extreme weather events continue to challenge the energy security of these territories, developing offshore wind will make for more resilient communities, decrease dependency on fossil fuels, and potentially bring electricity prices down significantly.

However, because the territories are currently not covered by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, there is no legal mechanism for putting wind turbines in the waters off their coastlines. This bill fixes this longstanding unfairness, offers them a share of any revenues generated by offshore wind, and also protects their coastlines by leaving them off of the offshore oil and gas leasing process.

Additionally, some of the revenues generated by this bill are allocated to the Coral Reef Conservation Program, preserving, sustaining, and restoring the condition of coral reef ecosystems that, in many cases, are crucial for the environment and tourism economy of these same territories.

H.R. 6665 is a commonsense bill for the growth and success of U.S. territories and the environment, while also providing new sources of clean, carbon-free energy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we talk a lot about leveling the playing field when it comes to economic development on Tribal lands. Passage of S. 245, the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act Amendments of 2017, will help achieve that goal in the area of energy development.

Tribes have stated for years that the many Federal laws governing the development of Tribal energy resources are complex and often lead to significant costs, delays, and uncertainties for all parties. This tends to discourage development of Tribal trust energy resources and drive development investments to private or non-Tribal lands, resulting in Tribes losing out on much-needed revenue and jobs.

S. 245 will provide Tribes with greater control and flexibility in developing and managing both their traditional and renewable energy resources, so I am happy to support this bill today. But this is just a start.

In the next Congress, I hope we can work together to pass legislation that addresses the other disparities that hinder Tribal economic development as well as incentivize renewable energy development on Tribal lands.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, based on recent conversations with the Committee on Energy and Commerce Democratic staff, I would also like to note that the Senate has included an amendment to the Federal Power Act in this bill that contains the definition of the term ``Indian Tribe'' for the purposes of section 7(a) of the act. The intent of the Senate seems to be to ensure that Alaska Natives are included within that term.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, currently and historically has interpreted the term ``Indian Tribe'' in the Federal Power Act to include Alaska Native villages or regional or village corporations. Explicitly including this reference in the amended section 7(a) should in no way be interpreted to exclude Alaska Native villages or regional or village corporations within the meaning of the term ``Indian Tribe'' elsewhere in this act.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, composed of 18 Native communities, is one of the oldest and largest Native-run health organizations in the Nation. The consortium operates the Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka, Alaska, which serves as a regional hospital for people throughout southeast Alaska.

At 67 years old, the Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital is the oldest facility in Alaska and one of the oldest in the Nation. As such, it is in dire need of updates and repairs.

However, the title to the hospital is currently held by the Indian Health Service. In order to obtain the financing necessary to facilitate the renovations, it is necessary for the consortium to hold unencumbered warranty title to the land. S. 825 will convey the land to the consortium by warranty title to ensure that the process moves forward.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 2511 directs NOAA to coordinate the use and data collection of unmanned maritime systems, including with the Navy. In addition, this bill directs NOAA to regularly assess how these technologies can be used to support NOAA's missions.

Unmanned maritime systems are exciting new technologies that are remotely operated or autonomous vehicles used to collect data for seafloor mapping, atmospheric conditions, wave heights, water temperature, salinity, and carbon dioxide content. They can even be used to study marine mammals and help with fishery management.

This is an important bill that embraces 21st century technology to address the increasing challenges and needs facing our oceans today.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. I commend Senators Wicker and Schatz and Congressmen Palazzo and Panetta for their work on this bipartisan bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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