Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, this week the President broke his promise to America's seniors that he would not cut Medicare or Social Security benefits.

After Republicans in Congress passed a massive tax giveaway for corporations and the wealthiest 1 percent, the President now wants to balance the budget on the backs of our seniors and students.

This budget cuts $2 trillion from Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security over the next 10 years, programs that our seniors have paid into for decades.

As students face a $1 trillion student loan debt crisis, Trump's budget pushes affordable college further out of reach by cutting $207 billion from student loan programs.

Thankfully, Americans voted overwhelmingly last election to place a check on this President by sending a new Democratic majority to Congress, and they can rest assured knowing that we will not consider the President's cruel budget cuts in this House.

Madam Speaker, this Women's History Month, I rise to recognize Ruth Weakley of Arroyo Grande on her 100th birthday today.

During World War II, with many of America's young men serving overseas, U.S. jobs traditionally held by men began to open their doors to women.

While Ruth's husband, Harry, was away serving in the Army Air Force, Ruth stepped up to serve, and became one of a handful of women driving rural postal routes. She drove a route in Los Angeles County for nearly 2 years during the war, resigning when her husband returned from his military service in December 1945.

Contributions like hers were both critical to our Nation's war effort and to reshaping the role of women in our workforce and society.

Today, over 70 years after Ruth's time with the Postal Service and on her 100th birthday, I recognize and thank her for her service to our Nation and to women everywhere.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to celebrate the prodigious 24-year public service career of supervisor Janet Wolf, and a good friend, in Santa Barbara County of my district.

A southern California native, Janet Wolf earned her bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, my alma mater as well. She then went on to the University of California, Los Angeles, to earn her master's degree and teaching credential.

In 1983, Janet began working in the field of vocational rehabilitation. In 1987, she opened her own business, with offices both in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, California. She continued her work and leadership in that field for over 20 years.

Janet Wolf began her service as an elected official in 1993, when she was first elected to the Goleta School Board, where she served three terms, equaling 12 years. She went on to be elected to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, where she also served three terms.

During her tenure, her accomplishments were numerous, including initiating the Eastern Goleta Valley Planning Advisory Committee, steering completion of the Eastern Goleta Valley Community Plan, expanding library funding, and advocating for the construction of a state-of-the-art emergency operations center.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join my former colleagues in Santa Barbara County in celebrating the exemplary 24-year career of my former colleague, supervisor Janet Wolf, in her public service. Her leadership and commitment to her constituents has been both exceptional and unprecedented. I congratulate and wish Janet and her family the best in her well-deserved retirement and all future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, this week, I visited the Customs and Border Protection facilities where 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonso was held shortly before he fell sick and tragically died on Christmas Eve. This was just 3 weeks after 7-year-old Jakelyn Caal died in custody nearby.

I went to Alamogordo because I wanted to hear directly from CBP agents why these two children died and what changes are being made to ensure that not one more child dies while in United States custody.

CBP agents told us that they needed more personnel, more technological support, better coordination between agencies, and improvements to facilities to accommodate the higher percentage of children and families seeking asylum.

One checkpoint I visited didn't have a shower for migrants. They were transported an hour each way every 2 days for a shower. The other facility didn't even have potable water.

The Border Patrol agents were also understandably frustrated that their online database did not synchronize with DHS systems, creating even more confusion when migrants were being moved or processed. Not once did the agents mention building a wall.

What I confirmed was that this President purposefully created this humanitarian crisis at the border for political reasons by taking the following actions:

Trump cut the Central American Minors refugee program, which had allowed migrants from Central America to apply for humanitarian relief while in their home countries instead of traveling to our border, forcing them to make a dangerous journey with their children to escape life-threatening violence in their countries.

He then separated families at the border, taking toddlers from the arms of parents and losing track of people's children in the process, a stain on the history of our great Nation.

And he blocked asylum-seekers from their legal right to present themselves for screenings through metering at the ports or denying all asylum claims, creating huge backlogs at the legal ports of entry with squalid conditions and pushing more migrants to attempt to cross the border between ports of entry out of desperation.

This is a real humanitarian crisis that is unfolding because of the President's obsession with an ineffective wall that Mexico was supposedly going to pay for rather than listening to the actual needs of our CBP officers.

The President continues to repeat the lie, as he did last night again, that America faces a crisis in the number of border crossings from Mexico. Surprisingly, there was not one migrant housed at the two CBP facilities I visited this week.

The reality is that overall border crossings are on the decline. There has been an 80 percent reduction in the number of border crossings since the year 2000.

Trump created and welcomed this shutdown, telling the public that he is proud to shut down the government and that he ``will take the mantle of shutting it down.'' The President should, instead, join Congress and immediately sign bipartisan legislation that previously passed both the House and the Senate to reopen the government.

More than 800,000 Federal workers aren't sure of when their next paycheck is coming, airport security and safety is suffering, and the affordable housing programs for our homeless veterans are quickly running out of funding on the central coast that I represent and across the Nation. I urge the President to do the right thing so that we can get to work for the American people.

Mr. President, open our government up.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate the contributions of Dr. Charity Dean to Santa Barbara County's Public Health Office.

Following rigorous medical studies and a master's degree in public health and tropical medicine from Tulane University, Dr. Charity Dean began her distinguished career in Santa Barbara practicing internal medicine at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. She went on to serve in the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department as Physician Health Officer. She also served as a commissioner at the First 5 Santa Barbara County Children and Families Commission and as a fellow at the California Health Care Foundation.

Dr. Dean has been on the front lines of public health, striving to keep our community safe from serious illnesses. She played a crucial role in hospital disaster response in Santa Barbara County, especially after the Thomas Fire and January's mudslide in Montecito. For her dedication to the health and wellbeing of Santa Barbara County, she has been recognized by many organizations, most recently as the Central Coast Medical Association's 2017 Physician of the Year. As a newly appointed Assistant Director at the California Department of Health, she will touch the lives of all Californians.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to congratulate Dr. Dean on her service to Santa Barbara County and her new role at the California Department of Health.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate Deepa Willingham for receiving the 2018 United Nations Association of Santa Barbara Peace Prize.

Mrs. Willingham was born in Kolkata, India and received her primary and secondary education under the stewardship of Mother Teresa. After receiving an undergraduate degree from the University of Calcutta, she moved to the United States to pursue Masters and Ph.D. degrees.

Mrs. Willingham has dedicated her life to empowering girls and women through education. She founded Pace Universal, a non-profit organization that works to end human-trafficking, elevate women and children from poverty, and uplift communities. She opened an environmentally sustainable school for more than 200 girls at the Piyali Learning Center in the rural Indian village of Piyali Junction.

Mrs. Willingham has been a leader in Santa Barbara County through her roles as President of Rotary Club of Santa Ynez Valley as well as Rotary International District Governor. While president, she was named Rotarian of the year and chaired two Rotary Districts Annual Poverty Conferences, during which she helped to initiate its 5-point poverty- eradication plan. Mrs. Willingham has participated in volunteer efforts internationally by attending National Immunization Day in India and traveling to Mexico to construct cement floors.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join with the United Nations Association of Santa Barbara in celebrating the exemplary career of Deepa Willingham as she receives the 2018 Peace Prize.

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

Mr. Chairman, this week President Trump's Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, decided that the agency will no longer collect information on donations to political nonprofits.

This administration will no longer require 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose their donors, including groups like the National Rifle Association, the NRA, that operates as a nonprofit, but also spends millions of dollars each year on lobbying and advertising to influence our elections.

This announcement comes the same week that the Department of Justice arrested and charged a known Russian foreign agent who had infiltrated the NRA, an organization that has received thousands of dollars from Russian nationals since 2015. The Treasury Secretary's decision this week only thickens the swamp by unleashing a new opportunity for dark money and money from foreign powers to continue to flood our upcoming midterm elections.

I believe that we need more transparency in our elections, not less. While super PACs are currently required to disclose donors, now 501(c)(4)s are not. If you were a donor looking to influence elections and wanted to hide your identity, the underlying bill is currently making 501(c)(4) organizations an even more attractive way to conceal contributions.

There is a provision in today's appropriations package that prohibits the IRS--prohibits the IRS--from issuing guidance on whether an organization is operating exclusively for the promotion of social welfare purposes, as written in the IRS code for 501(c)(4) nonprofits, to ensure that no one is abusing our Tax Code to influence our elections.

My amendment simply strikes out that provision so that the IRS may issue guidance differentiating which groups are truly social welfare organizations with a charitable mission from political organizations abusing our nonprofit tax laws to hide their political donors from the public.

More and more, our elections are being driven by organizations that are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in unreported, secret donations. Dark money is strangling our democracy and silencing the will of the American people.

In the 2012 presidential election, dark-money groups such as these spent over a quarter of a billion dollars on partisan political advertising and other campaign activities. In 2014, we saw the greatest wave of secret, special-interest money ever raised in a congressional election.

Moreover, in 2016, dark-money groups spent nearly 10 times what they did the previous cycle, totaling over $1.1 billion, and that pattern of undisclosed political spending continues to grow this year. These political nonprofit organizations are receiving tax-exempt treatment and are being allowed to corrupt Federal tax law meant to help social welfare organizations like volunteer firefighters, rotary clubs, and other community service groups.

Our current election laws make it impossible to know where this money is coming from or if it is coming from foreign adversaries, like we saw recently with the NRA. This amendment is not partisan and will only continue to allow the IRS to identify nonprofits that are spending significant amounts of their money to influence our elections, regardless of their party affiliation.

Mr. Chairman, at this pivotal moment in our democracy, I urge my colleagues who are serious about draining the swamp to take this small step towards increased transparency in our political process.

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

Mr. Chair, I appreciate the feedback from my colleague.

Mr. Chair, this will not detour or take away from the efficiency of the focus of work and spending of resources by the IRS. This only does a fundamental thing, and that is provide for more disclosure and transparency to ensure that the American public has sunshine on who is spending what resources through which organizations. This amendment merely provides that transparency.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise as the designee for the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Capuano), and I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment strikes section 628 of the underlying bill prohibiting the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, from issuing rules on disclosures for corporations spending money to influence our elections, primarily through paid advertising.

The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision means that corporations, even foreign-controlled corporations, are now allowed to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence American elections.

Publicly traded corporations can buy millions of dollars' worth of TV, social media, and radio ads without disclosing their political expenditures to their shareholders. This outside spending in our elections has created a greater need for Members to raise more money for their campaigns and less time legislating.

This has eroded the public's faith in our institutions and is damaging to our democracy. Families in my district and across the country are concerned about paying their children's tuition or medical bills, not spending thousands of dollars to influence Federal elections. Their voices shouldn't be drowned out by millions of dollars of secret special-interest advertising from corporations.

A corporation's main goal is to make a profit, not to improve the quality of life for all Americans. They shouldn't have a say in our elections without their shareholders and the public knowing about it.

That is why we cannot muzzle the SEC's ability to issue rules regarding disclosures for publicly traded corporations on all their political expenditures. Stockholders and voters have been clear: They want to know the details of the political donations of the companies they own and give their business to. In fact, more than 1.2 million comments have been submitted to the SEC requesting that they require political disclosure by publicly traded companies. That is the largest number of comments on a rule in the history of the agency.

Congress should stop standing in the way of the SEC's mission, which is to provide transparency to the markets and the public. This amendment does not infringe on a corporation's right to spend money on political activity. It would just allow the SEC to disclose what money is being spent.

This is yet another opportunity for my Republican colleagues to prevent special interests from gaining even more pull in Washington and begin draining that swamp. This should not be a Democrat or a Republican issue, and it goes to the heart of our democracy and maintaining a government that is of, by, and for the American people.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, this is not about shaming anyone. This does not restrict free speech or the ability of corporations to engage in political activity. It only allows the SEC to require disclosure of corporate political spending, a little bit of transparency providing disclosure to the public, so that they clearly know the companies that they are investing their money in.

Moreover, more than 150 large companies, including more than half of the companies in the S&P 100, are disclosing their political spending already. Investors have filed over 300 shareholder proposals since 2011 asking companies to disclose political spending. This is all about transparency and protecting our democracy. We should not be scared of giving the public more information.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I rise as the designee for Mr. Polis of Colorado, and I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer amendment No. 37 on behalf of my colleague from Colorado, Representative Polis.

Mr. Chairman, as we continue to see global temperatures rise and extreme weather events like wildfires become more prevalent, it is imperative that Congress take action to help reduce these threats.

This amendment would increase funds for hazardous fuels management activities by an additional $10 million in order to mitigate the threats of wildfires and help save lives.

This program reduces dangerously high fuel loads and helps restore and improve the health and resiliency of our forests.

Managing hazardous fuel loads is critical to protecting the American public from wildfires, providing for fire safety and preserving our Nation's natural resources. Fuel treatments provide safer conditions and more strategic options for firefighters.

In the 2016 fiscal year, the Forest Service funded and helped conduct fuels treatment on more than 3.2 million high-priority acres nationwide. This included 2.1 million acres on areas with populated communities, high fire areas where the Forest Service could alleviate the risk more effectively.

Assessments of fuels treatment effectiveness show that 91 percent of treatments were effective in changing fire behavior and/or helping to control wildfire.

Despite this progress, the Forest Service estimates that there are millions of acres at high risk of wildfires, including some that are adjacent to communities.

We must make investments in hazardous fuels programs that have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing wildfire risk and continue to prioritize treatments in the highest priority areas to protect lives, property, and watersheds.

As the Representative for the central coast in California, I can tell you that we are no strangers to wildfires. This year alone, my district witnessed the devastating impacts of the Thomas and Holiday fires.

The Thomas fire became the largest fire in California history, burning nearly 282,000 acres in Ventura County and Santa Barbara County, and later triggering mudslides that tragically claimed the lives of 23 individuals in my district.

If we can take action to prevent wildfires, we should. We know it pays to be prepared. And we know that for every dollar spent on mitigation activities, we save $6 in return.

Mr. Polis' amendment is a commonsense measure that would help provide sufficient funds to ensure that we are protecting lives and property from the threats of wildfires.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, this amendment offsets the $10 million increase for fuels management by reducing from the forest products.

Unlike the forest products line item, which funds timber sales, the hazardous fuels program is focused exclusively on reducing wildfire risks and employs a wide range of tools, including prescribed fire, mechanical fuels reduction, and thinning activities.

Increasing funding for hazardous fuels management can save lives. And when we consider the priority of forest products versus the opportunity to thin these fuels, I think the priority is clear, for saving lives, for saving property, and saving our environment.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for yielding me time to voice my opposition to the rule which provides for consideration of H.R. 200.

As it is currently written, H.R. 200 would undermine the conservation gains we have made over the last 2 decades under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, MSA, to prevent overfishing and encourage sustainable fisheries management.

Before reforms were made to the MSA in 1996 and 2006, many fisheries lacked the sustainable quotas and requirements to rebuild depleted stocks. As a result, countless fisheries and fishermen around the country suffered the consequences.

Since Congress changed the law to ensure science-based quotas applied, 44 fisheries around the country have now been restored to healthy levels. The number of stocks that remain overfished is at an all-time low.

H.R. 200 would weaken core sustainability provisions of the MSA. This is a misguided attempt to provide recreational fishermen short-term access at the needless expense of both commercial fishermen and the long-term health of our fisheries. This hurts our coastal communities and businesses that depend on a robust fishing industry and its products.

Additionally, H.R. 200 fails to sufficiently fund stock assessments to ensure effective and efficient management of our Nation's fisheries.

I offered an amendment to authorize an additional $25 million for stock assessments. These funds would allow NOAA to conduct more fishery surveys, which would yield better data and can help reduce the buffers on fishing quotas.

With this funding and research, fishermen can increase their catch rate, while decreasing the uncertainty in the sustainability of a fishery. Unfortunately, the majority at the Rules Committee decided not to make my amendment in order--let me repeat that--decided not to make my amendment in order, which would have allowed the House to debate this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, as a Representative serving the vibrant Central Coast commercial fishing industry in California.

I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this rule.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, am an immigrant to this country.

What has become evident is the cruel, self-imposed crisis that this administration has created. It has created a chaotic process for detaining and separating children from their families.

This is an administration that has now missed the court's order to start reuniting children, something that is unacceptable. We are talking about more than 2,000 children, kids that remain separated from their families.

About a week ago, I visited the El Tornillo detention center in Texas. I saw firsthand the conditions in which these children are being detained. I spoke to the children firsthand to get their own personal thoughts on what was going on.

They talked to me in detail about how they were woken up at 5 a.m. in a regimented fashion. They were rushed through showers and made to take showers in less than 5 minutes. They were given only 10 to 15 minutes once or twice a day for recreation, because they are out in the middle of the desert where it is extremely, extremely hot.

This administration has said that they are on track to reunite children with their families, but there is no clear plan. There are no details. There is a Department of Homeland Security four-point plan to nowhere that has been put forth. In this plan, there are no details. There is really an absence of a coherent process that will reunite these children with their families. This is unacceptable.

This is a self-imposed crisis and a cruel crisis that has been created by this administration. This is why we need a congressional hearing and oversight to get to the bottom of this and to really show the American people how misguided this policy has been and the inhumane conditions that have resulted from this policy.

America was once that beacon on the hill other countries looked to, in terms of how we treated our immigrants and those seeking shelter and asylum. We have lost that moral ground, because this administration has sought to destroy the values and ideals that our country has held up high for decades and centuries.

We also need legislation because, clearly, this administration reminded us that their zero-tolerance policy could be put in effect and implemented any other day again.

What this administration has done is un-American. This President has chosen to divide us again as a country, to go after the most vulnerable, and to go after immigrants in the most inhumane way. This is not the United States that we all love and care for.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to instruct conferees at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the motion to instruct.

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

Mr. Speaker, this motion would bring TRICARE contraception on par with the Affordable Care Act by prohibiting cost sharing for any method of contraception provided in the TRICARE retail pharmacy network or mail order.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation's servicemembers should be provided the same access to preventive healthcare as those insured under the Affordable Care Act.

Currently, TRICARE beneficiaries, including non-Active servicemembers and their dependents, and certain Active military members, do not have the same access to cost-free preventive care as civilians do.

By requiring coverage for contraceptives with no out-of-pocket costs, the ACA increases women's access to contraceptives and saves women $255 per year, on average. This is a benefit we currently deny our female servicemembers. One-third of our U.S. military are women. Currently, about 15 percent of Active Duty servicemembers and 19 percent of the Reserve forces are comprised of women.

Women are bravely serving in all parts of the military, including infantry and other combat units. Servicewomen are continuing to break barriers across the military, proving again and again that they are indispensable when it comes to defending this Nation.

Unfortunately, this House continues to refuse these brave servicemembers access to the same healthcare that all civilian females have access to.

Preventive healthcare services, including contraception, should be provided to all TRICARE beneficiaries without any copays. Access to preventive healthcare is vital for the health and quality of life of all women serving this Nation, but it is also critical to the readiness of our military.

In 2008, researchers found that the rate of unintended pregnancy was roughly 50 percent higher among servicemembers compared to the general population. This problem is made worse by the fact that it is often difficult for female servicemembers to access this preventive medication in the field.

Another recent study found that, among servicemembers who use contraceptives, only 24 percent brought enough medication to last their entire deployment. Forty-one percent of those needing refills found them difficult to obtain while deployed on Active Duty.

We should not make it more difficult for these women to access contraception by asking them to pay for medication that the civilian population already receives at no cost. We are doing an absolute disservice to those who are willing to sacrifice their lives to defend our Nation every day by denying them preventive healthcare that is critical to treat certain health conditions and for family planning.

The Senate has included this TRICARE provision in their bill for the past 2 years because they understand this issue goes beyond political parties and personal views. This is about the health and well-being of those who are sacrificing their lives every day to defend our Nation. This is about providing the resources and delivering policies to the military that will increase readiness.

This motion would provide all servicemembers access to preventive healthcare, which they not only deserve, but are entitled to, and I would say earned.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues, today, to put politics aside and follow in the Senate's footsteps and support this motion.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate those comments from my good friend and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, but the fact of the matter is that, for 2 years, we have not been able, in conference, to address this very important issue. There is always one excuse or a barrier raised at one time or another. And, in fact, what ends up resulting is our servicewomen, who are putting their lives on the line for our country, are being treated as second-class citizens. They are not afforded the same equality as their male counterparts and those in the civilian world.

Mr. Speaker, what this motion does is simply achieve parity with prevailing law. I want to point out that TRICARE beneficiaries want this parity, and it is time we finally deliver.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this motion. Let us finally provide all servicemembers with the same access to preventive healthcare that we all have access to.

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, on June 25, 2018, I missed votes in the House in order to visit a migrant children detention facility in Texas.

Had I been present, I would have voted: AYE on Roll Call No. 289--the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, H.R. 299, and AYE on Roll Call No. 290--the Cooperate with Law Enforcement Agencies and Watch Act of 2018, H.R. 578.

Mr. Speaker, this July, our Nation will come together to celebrate American Grown Flower Month and the contributions of the cut flower industry to our country.

The cut-flower industry generates thousands of jobs across our State and produces $1.13 billion in economic activity each year through flower farmers, distributors, and florists.

Whether it is celebrating Mother's Day, an anniversary, or a graduation, flowers have been used to mark special occasions for thousands of years.

California, alone, produces a staggering three-quarters of all cut flowers grown in the United States. During my visits to flower growers and artistic florists on the central coast of California, I have seen firsthand the value of the flower industry as an economic engine in our region.

By designating July as American Grown Flower Month, we celebrate the incomparable beauty of flowers and what they bring to our homes and our celebrations year-round.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate the completion of a prodigious thirty-six-year federal career of Dr. Robert C. Gaines of the VA Santa Barbara Community-Based Outpatient Clinic.

Following his rigorous medical studies and Residency at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Dr. Robert Gaines joined staff of the

Santa Barbara VA on July 1, 1982. In 1995, as the youngest primary care physician on staff, Dr. Gaines was promoted to Chief Medical Officer by the VA Greater Los Angeles System, and remained the clinic's leader and advocate for twenty-three years.

During his decades with the VA, Dr. Gaines has remained unsinkable, despite relentless and conflicting demands, perpetual resource shortages, and high leader turnover within the Los Angeles VA system, and the VA Central Office.

Despite the persistent challenges of his career, in the last decade Dr. Gaines became a volunteer with the Doctors without Walls and provided weekly ``street medicine'' to the homeless in our community. He also volunteered to be trained for the Federal Employee Response Team, serving victims of disasters in our country. In 2005, along with his VA team, the Santa Barbara Independent honored Dr. Gaines as a ``Local Hero''.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join with the VA Santa Barbara and the VA Greater Los Angeles in celebrating the exemplary thirty-six-year career of Dr. Robert Gaines as he retires. His leadership and commitment to our Veterans has been both exceptional and unprecedented.

Mr. Speaker, in order to attend my son's graduation on Thursday, June 7, 2018, I was unable to cast my votes on roll call numbers 240 through 252.

Had I been present, I would have voted:

NAY on Roll Call No. 240--On ordering the previous question;

NAY on Roll Call No. 241--On agreeing to the resolution;

NAY on Roll Call No. 242--On approving the Journal;

NAY on Roll Call No. 243--On passage of H.R. 3, a rescissions bill, which eliminates Children's Health Insurance Program funding;

AYE on Roll Call No. 244--On agreeing to the Tsongas amendment to increase funding for the purposes of offshore wind job training grants;

AYE on Roll Call No. 245--On agreeing to the Beyer amendment to restore funding for clean energy research;

NAY on Roll Call No. 246--On agreeing to the Gosar amendment to eliminate funding for clean energy;

AYE on Roll Call No. 247--On agreeing to the Lee amendment;

AYE on Roll Call No. 248--On agreeing to the Connolly amendment;

NAY on Roll Call No. 249--On agreeing to the Gosar amendment;

AYE on Roll Call No. 250--On agreeing to the Lowenthal amendment to support clean oceans;

NAY on Roll Call No. 251--On agreeing to the Blackburn amendment; and

NAY on Roll Call No. 252--On agreeing to the Norman amendment.