Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, Wednesday, January 29, has been recognized as Honda Talon Day in South Carolina.

Governor McMaster declared this day of official celebration in response to the Honda Talon being named ``Coolest Thing Made in South Carolina'' by the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance.

The Honda product stood out against 166 other nominated products with class-leading technology and numerous victories in racing competitions.

Since 1998, Timmonsville has been the exclusive home of Honda side- by-side vehicle manufacturing, where it has produced nearly 4 million units and currently employs over 1,000 South Carolinians--I'm looking forward to the future of Honda manufacturing here in South Carolina's Seventh District.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a dear friend and dedicated public servant, Gerri McDaniel.

Gerri had a fierce determination to better her community not just with her words but with her actions, as well.

She was a resident of North Myrtle Beach for nearly 22 years, where she was active in her community, including the Horry County Republican Women's Club. She was a true pillar of the South Carolina conservative movement.

In 2016, Gerri worked for President Donald Trump, helping to secure a historic victory.

In 2020, she served as an elector to our electoral college, helping to assign our States' nine votes to President Donald Trump.

Gerri's personality was infectious. She was an incredibly hard worker, and she had the unique ability to inspire others to work diligently for the conservative cause.

Mr. Speaker, through all that she accomplished, one thing remained constant: her passion for improving the lives of South Carolina and our great country. Her conviction, her fearless leadership, and willingness to serve will no doubt leave a lasting legacy for all who knew her.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4610) to amend title 36, United States Code, to designate the bald eagle as the national bird.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on S. 4610.

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

Mr. Speaker, the bald eagle has long been associated with and a symbol of the United States. It was first adopted in the Great Seal of the United States in 1782.

Versions of the Great Seal are used in the Seal of the President of the United States, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and by countless Federal agencies and departments.

The bald eagle appears on the flags and insignia of our military, on our passports, and on our currency. It appears on the flags and the seals of several States as well.

The bald eagle is also important to Native American Tribes across the United States. It plays a key role in sacred belief systems and traditions, stories, ceremonies, and insignias.

Despite this long and intertwined history of the United States, the bald eagle has not been officially designated as our national bird. S. 4610 would change that. This bill would amend title 36 to enshrine the bald eagle as the national bird along with our national anthem, national motto, and other symbols of our country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my House colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I echo the sentiments of my colleague from across the aisle and I urge my colleagues to support S. 4610.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3998) to provide for the permanent appointment of certain temporary district judgeships.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on S. 3998.

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

Mr. Speaker, this Congress has already taken the most important step to stabilizing our overworked Federal courts.

Last week, the House joined the Senate in decisively passing the JUDGES Act of 2024. Dozens of Democrats joined Republicans to finally add much-needed judgeships for the first time in 20 years. We urge the President to set aside partisan politics and sign the bill into law.

The bill before us today, S. 3998, is another piece of critical legislation aimed at relieving the backlog of our Federal courts. The Federal Judiciary Stabilization Act of 2024 further aids the Federal judiciary by converting 10 temporary judgeships into permanent ones.

Importantly, this bill does not create any new vacancies. Instead, this bill ensures that districts don't lose a judgeship if a judge retires or takes senior status after a temporary judgeship expires in the future.

This bill makes permanent judgeships in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas. Passing this bill will provide stability

to the regions of those States that have come to rely on these temporary judgeships since their creation, in some cases more than 30 years ago.

This bill takes into account the recommendations of the Judicial Conference of the United States, and it is sorely needed.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the House to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I echo the comments of my colleague from across the aisle, and I urge my colleagues in the House to support this bipartisan, bicameral piece of legislation, S. 3998, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5536) to require transparency in notices of funding opportunity, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

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

Madam Speaker, before serving in Congress, I served in the South Carolina State legislature. Now, here in Washington, I am passionate about ensuring that State, local, and Federal Governments all work together and work together well.

During my time in office, I have heard from many of our local governments, and particularly in my district in those rural communities, that applying for Federal grant money can be a complicated and often confusing process.

In big cities, you often have professional staff that do this. In a small town, it is the mayor or his spouse that is doing this.

After putting time and effort into filling out a competitive grant application, applicants are left wondering why

they were not chosen to be awarded Federal grant money, especially if they met all of the criteria listed when applying. This leads to grant applicants feeling as though the decisions are made behind closed doors. I think we can all agree that navigating the bureaucratic labyrinth known as Washington, D.C., can be complicated for local governments and for organizations.

Grant writers and applicant staff may even be unaware of which selection criteria are weighted more heavily when filling out applications.

The Grant Transparency Act requires Federal Government agencies to shine a light on their decisionmaking process when awarding competitive Federal grant money. With this legislation, Federal Government agencies would be required to disclose their selection methods when awarding competitive grants.

Specifically, the bill requires that notice of funding opportunities for all Federal competitive grants to have: one, a description of any rating system, evaluation, and selection criteria the agency uses to assess the grant application; two, a statement on whether the agency uses a weighted scoring method and a description of that method; and, three, any other qualitative or quantitative merit-based approach the agency may use to evaluate applications.

State and local governments across South Carolina's Seventh Congressional District and nationwide compete for Federal grant money on a continual basis. Federal grant money allows investment to come to our communities and improve the daily lives of our constituents, ranging from sewer and wastewater systems to airports, fire stations, and recreational facilities.

These are all things that Americans rely on and utilize in their daily lives. The Grant Transparency Act would help out our local governments and organizations when they fill out applications to compete for that funding. They deserve this transparency from their Federal Government.

Today, let's empower grant applicants to put their best foot forward and bring those Federal dollars home. I thank my Oversight Committee colleague Jasmine Crockett for co-leading on this bill. This simple bill has the potential to make a very meaningful impact in countless communities and nonprofits nationwide.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this straightforward, bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to support this commonsense and bipartisan bill to make the application process for competitive grants much more transparent on our local governments and nonprofits.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5658) to amend title 39, United States Code, to require mail-in ballots to use the Postal Service barcode service, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5658, the Vote by Mail Tracking Act.

Every American citizen who votes deserves to know that their vote has been counted and their voice has been heard.

This bill, the Vote by Mail Tracking Act, would ensure that this is the case. H.R. 5658 requires that all ballots for Federal election mailed within the United States to or from a voter contain a Postal Service barcode. This barcode would allow voters to track the status of their ballot in the United States Postal Service system, allowing voters to know in real time when their

ballot is received by the Postal Service, when it is in transit, and when it has arrived at their election authority.

Beyond a Postal Service barcode, under the bill, a ballot must meet other requirements, including utilizing the Postal Service's envelope design standards. Additionally, the ballot must include the official election mail logo or any future logo the Postal Service establishes for ballots.

While I encourage every citizen who wishes to vote in person on election day to do so, many States have adopted vote-by-mail policies. We must take the integrity of our elections serious and account for the fact that a significant number of Americans choose to cast their ballots by mail.

This bill is a commonsense, bipartisan response to a rising level of mail-in voting nationwide and will put in place requirements to ensure that the U.S. Postal Service can more efficiently handle and more transparently track the mailed ballots of every American citizen.

I thank my colleagues, Representatives Porter, Donalds, and Mace, for their work on this important legislation. I encourage all my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues to support this bipartisan, commonsense bill that will help further build trust in American Federal elections in the future, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 825) to prohibit contracting with persons that have business operations with the Maduro regime, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

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

Madam Speaker, the people of Venezuela have faced years of repression. Political persecution, human rights abuses, and press censorship are all commonplace under the brutal, illegitimate, and anti-American regime of Nicolas Maduro, a regime closely allied with Russia, Iran, Cuba, and the People's Republic of China.

The American Government should always stand in solidarity with the long-suffering people of Venezuela and against the Maduro dictatorship. Part of that solidarity should be to ensure that the Maduro regime is denied any resources that will allow it to continue the oppression of its own citizenry.

This past July, Maduro and his representatives falsely claimed victory in Venezuela's Presidential election. Maduro has since been accused of intimidating and repressing his opposition in order to cling to power.

A couple of months ago, on September 12, the United States sanctioned 16 of Nicolas Maduro's allies in response to accusations that they engaged in human rights abuses and election obstruction. While not all of Maduro's allies will be subject to sanctions, the money of hardworking U.S. taxpayers should not ultimately find its way to those who support the regime of a ruthless dictator.

H.R. 825 is straightforward. It requires Federal agencies to ensure that they are not contracting with any entity that conducts significant business operations with Maduro and his allies.

That said, it also includes appropriate exceptions, such as situations of national security, for the purposes of providing humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and other urgent lifesaving measures or to carry out noncombatant evacuations.

This is not a new concept to the U.S. Congress. The fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act contained a provision in section 890 that prohibited the Pentagon from entering into contracts with companies that also have contracts with any Venezuelan Government entity under Maduro's control. As with H.R. 825, there are waivers for contracts related to providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, among other exceptions.

The BOLIVAR Act would extend prohibitions under section 890 to the rest of the Federal Government.

I support the BOLIVAR Act and thank my colleagues on the committee, Representative Mike Waltz and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, for leading this bill.

Madam Speaker, I ask that all of my colleagues support H.R. 825, a measured response and most timely piece of legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues to support this bill to ensure that Federal agencies not contract with any entity that conducts business with the Maduro dictatorship and his allies, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3126) to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish or replace a headstone, marker, or medallion for the grave of an eligible Medal of Honor recipient, regardless of the recipient's dates of service in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, Constitution Day is a time set aside to commemorate the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America--the most important document in our Nation's history.

In 1787, the thirty-nine men that convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, forever altered history when they formed the supreme law of our land--written by the people, for the people.

Through times of prosperity and times of hardship, our constitution has never wavered.

Let this Constitution Day remind us of the liberty, justice, and freedom for all--and the never-ending pursuit of a more perfect union.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the inaugural Myrtle Beach

Classic Golf Tournament, which was held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this past May.

The Grand Strand's first-ever PGA tour event was a monumental success, drawing more than 40,000 spectators, over a thousand volunteers, and 132 players.

On Saturday, May 11, the tournament broke the PGA attendance record for a first-year event, serving as a reminder that Myrtle Beach is, indeed, the golf capital of the world.

I congratulate Chris Gotterup for taking the title of the first-ever winner of the Myrtle Beach Classic, which was also his first-ever PGA title.

I am excited to see the continued success of the Myrtle Beach Classic for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the resolution to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in inherent contempt of Congress.

This is not a decision that I take lightly but one that is rooted in the fundamental principle and appreciation of our separation of powers.

Merrick Garland claims that he will ``not back down from defending democracy,'' but he has gone to great lengths to ignore and discredit our legislative oversight.

Merrick Garland claims that there have been ``unprecedented'' and ``unfounded'' attacks on the justice system, but all the while his Department of Justice has weaponized our government in unprecedented and unfounded ways. Merrick Garland claims, again, that he will continue to do the right thing.

The right thing here, Mr. Speaker, would be to comply with a lawfully issued subpoena. We have the transcripts. You cannot now claim executive privilege over the tapes themselves.

The Supreme Court case of McGrain v. Daugherty put it best: ``A legislative body cannot legislate wisely or effectively in the absence of information . . . and where the legislative body does not itself possess the requisite information . . . recourse must be had to others who do possess it.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. Fred Allen Smalls on receiving an honorary high school diploma from Georgetown High School.

Mr. Smalls was born in Georgetown County and later lived in Mullins before moving to Washington, D.C., with his family.

His graduation ceremony was attended by more than 100 people voicing their support, a testament to the respect and esteem Mr. Smalls has garnered.

His determination is an inspiration to all of us in South Carolina. If you ask him, though, Mr. Smalls will credit many of his accomplishments to his grandmother and his aunt, who raised him and instilled in him the value of perseverance.

I congratulate Mr. Smalls on his inspiring achievement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the legendary Coastal Carolina University head baseball coach, Gary Gilmore, for an illustrious career and to wish him a happy retirement.

Coach Gilmore began his baseball career in the Grand Strand as a center fielder for the Chanticleers in 1979 before returning to serve as the head baseball coach in 1996.

Under his direction, the Chanticleers climbed to new heights. His career is a story of unprecedented success, including over a thousand wins, countless conference tournament titles, and numerous NCAA tournament appearances.

The 2016 season was particularly special, as Coach Gilmore, who was honored as the National Coach of the Year, led the Chanticleers to a victory at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. This was Coastal Carolina's first-ever national championship in any sport.

Coach Gilmore has left a mark on Coastal Carolina University that will not soon be forgotten. I thank him for his dedication to his players, his alma mater, and the Chanticleer faithful. His success will leave a lasting legacy not only in the history books and the trophy cases of Coastal Carolina University but in the hearts of so many across South Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the retirement of Judge Timothy Pogue and his dedication to serving the people of Florence and Marion Counties in South Carolina.

Judge Pogue led a career as a distinguished and well-respected attorney, public defender, civil servant judge, husband, and father. His commitment to serving juveniles and those experiencing abuse and neglect soon earned him a reputation as one of the finest jurists in South Carolina.

His public service was felt throughout the community and his leadership made him a role model to many practicing law.

Mr. Speaker, I thank him for his devout service to South Carolina and to the bench. We wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.