Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the fiscal year 2020 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act.

The legislation before the House today is vitally important to ensuring the Federal Government and the U.S. economy can work for the American people. This bill safeguards our financial system and provides a fair playing field for our taxpayers. It funds those agencies that cultivate a vibrant and competitive telecommunications system that support new businesses and that make sure our consumers are safe from dangerous and defective products.

Perhaps more importantly, this bill helps protect the integrity of our elections. As has been illustrated over the last few years, it is imperative that we provide the States with the resources to ensure the sanctity of our democratic institution. This bill includes $600 million in grant funding for election security grants and, additionally, $16.2 million is included for the Election Assistance Commission operating expenses, an increase of $7 million above the 2019 enacted level.

I am also pleased that this legislation includes a total of $2.6 billion for Taxpayer Services, which provides assistance to the elderly and low-income taxpayers to help navigate our complex Tax Code, as well as increases in funding to address the growing tax gap.

Further, the legislation rejects the administration's elimination of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, a successful program that leverages public-private investment to revitalize and provide jobs to distressed rural and urban communities.

This bill also further embodies our democratic mode of government by supporting home rule for the District of Columbia.

Finally, I thank Chairman Quigley for rejecting the administration's misguided plan to merge the GSA and OPM. The GSA manages our Federal properties, while OPM acts as the chief human resources agency for our Federal workforce.

The administration's unilateral proposal to merge these two agencies without any analysis of cost, rationale, or risk would disrupt both agencies without contributing to their mission. It would potentially politicize our Federal career employees and create confusion and bureaucracy for no discernable reason.

To close, I would like to thank full Committee Chairwoman Lowey, Ranking Member Granger, Subcommittee Chairman Quigley, and Ranking Member Graves for their work on this bill.

As a member of the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation.

Mr. Chair, I can tell my colleagues with great confidence that USDA's proposal to move the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) outside the National Capital Region is a bad idea.

We held a hearing on the issue last March, at which four former senior USDA officials with 70 years of combined experience at the two agencies, from both parties, expressed their deep opposition to this proposal.

Numerous stakeholders have expressed strong opposition, including the National Farmers Union, the Association of American Veterinary Colleges and nearly 1700 other organizations, university officials, and individuals from 47 states.

We have not received a single letter in support of this proposal.

USDA violated the Appropriations Committee's statutorily-required 30- day waiting period for such proposals when it took action to implement the proposal six days after notifying the Committee.

It failed utterly to comply with the requirements of the conferees in the 2019 omnibus appropriations report to submit all cost benefits for the move and a detailed analysis of any research benefits of a relocation when it submitted the 2020 budget.

USDA has also refused numerous requests from members of the House and Senate that it provide the original cost-benefit analysis developed before the proposal was announced.

It finally gave us a so-called ``cost-benefit analysis'' after the final site was selected.

But an independent analysis of this supposed analysis found that ``USDA leadership failed to follow federal guidelines for the benefit cost analysis'' and that ``the move to Kansas City will cost taxpayers between $83 and $182 million dollars, rather than saving them $300 million dollars.''

Large numbers of ERS and NIFA employees have left as a result of this proposal.

I fear that ultimately, these agencies will become mere shadows of their former selves, with the loss of hundreds of years of expertise.

These agencies' mission is to achieve the best science through research that advances U.S. agriculture and our understanding of the agricultural economy.

I believe that the Department's proposal puts that mission at great risk.

I urge a yes vote on the Norton amendment.

Madam Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 445, I offer amendments en bloc.

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

The amendments included in the en bloc were made in order by the rule, and they have been agreed to by both sides. They improve the bill. I support the amendment, and I urge its adoption.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Trone).

Madam Chair, at this time, I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this amendment.

Madam Chair, we have no more speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I rise in strong opposition to the amendment.

Madam Chair, I understand the gentleman's intention, but I could not disagree more.

The agriculture bill funds a variety of national priorities from food safety, to agriculture research, to drug approval, to rural development, to nutrition programs for our children.

Reducing spending by 14 percent would hurt our farmers, who are already suffering terribly from retaliatory tariffs, and it would hurt small communities who are still in need of adequate broadband. It would hurt those who are waiting for cures to rare cancers. It would jeopardize America's status as a leader of global agricultural science. It would slow our response to foodborne illness outbreaks. It would harm children and families who rely on these programs to put food on their tables.

The bill already rejected the administration's draconian cuts to programs that assist our rural communities and vulnerable populations.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I urge that this amendment be rejected.

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

Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I do not oppose the amendment.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment.

The Distance Learning and Telemedicine program offers grants to rural areas to provide access to education, to training, and to healthcare. These resources are critical in providing funding to acquire audio, video, and other advanced technology equipment to extend educational and medical services, including those seeking opioid treatment.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Madam Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry).

Madam Chair, the amendment would bring the total funding for the program to $75 million in our bill. This program provides grants to encourage and improve telemedicine and distance learning services in rural areas through telecommunications and other technologies, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I thank the gentleman for offering it. It enhances the bill.

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

Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of this amendment.

There is wide support and recognition as to the need for investing in broadband infrastructure. As a necessity for modern life, we must continue our efforts to bridge the broadband divide to ensure that as many rural Americans as possible receive fast and reliable broadband service and the multitude of benefits that are associated with it.

Madam Chair, the gentlewoman's amendment, if adopted, would bring broadband funding to the highest level since 2009, with the Recovery Act. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. It will certainly enhance this bill.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. As I have said before, Congress' oversight role is one of the most important functions. That function extends to preserving the integrity of science.

The academics, economists, and researchers at USDA produce top-notch scientific reports characterizing the state of the farm economy, the agricultural industry at large, and analyzing future impacts. It is clear that one of the most important stressors on agriculture today and in the coming years will be the effects of climate change.

We cannot prevent the effects of climate change by simply removing any reference to it in the Department's scientific publications. We must allow the science community to do its work, free from political influence.

Madam Chair, I have no objection to the proposed amendment, and I urge its adoption.

Madam Chair, I rise as the designee of Chairwoman Lowey, and I move to strike the last word.

Madam Chair, I yield to my colleague from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).

Madam Chair, I appreciate my colleague's longtime support for fair trade practices for our livestock and for our poultry farmers.

I have worked on this issue over the years with the gentlewoman, and I, too, share her concerns regarding the GIPSA rules and the administration's past history in such rulemakings.

I look forward to working with my colleague from Ohio as the administration takes steps toward complying with the farm bill requirements from 2008.

Madam Chair, as the designee of Chair Lowey, I move to strike the last word.

Madam Chair, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from New York, our appropriations chairman, for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 3055. As the chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, I am pleased to highlight the national priorities that are funded in this bill.

First, I would like to thank our ranking member, Mr. Fortenberry. He shares a deep passion for rural and farm communities that he so eloquently communicates often through stories of his childhood and his family. It has been a true pleasure to get to know Mr. Fortenberry better during this process. We have had many frank discussions about the priorities in our bill, and he has made it very easy to continue the bipartisan spirit of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

I also want to thank the members of the subcommittee, both majority and minority, for a thoughtful and collaborative effort. None of this, of course, would be possible without the outstanding work of the subcommittee and full committee staffs, and our personal staffs, so I give accolades to all of them.

Few people may recognize the far-reaching jurisdiction of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, from food safety and agriculture research to rural development and nutrition assistance. The programs in this division touch the lives of every citizen on a daily basis.

We rejected the administration's draconian cuts to programs that assist our rural communities and our vulnerable populations. The FY 2020 allocation for the agriculture bill is 4 percent above the FY 2019 enacted level and more than $5.1 billion above the budget request, totaling $24.3 billion.

There is over $38 billion in loans and grants for rural housing, community facilities, and water and wastewater infrastructure, including $680 million for broadband programs to continue bridging the digital divide between urban and rural America.

Additionally, during a time of great uncertainty due to tariffs, low commodity prices, and natural disasters, this bill provides $1.8 billion for farm programs, including $30 million to assist the implementation of the 2018 farm bill. It also prohibits the closure of county-level Farm Service Agency offices to ensure that our farmers, ranchers, and producers receive high quality customer service.

The bill includes $829 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service to maintain its core conservation mission. There is almost $167 million for infrastructure, for watershed and flood prevention, and watershed rehabilitation projects.

The bill provides $3.3 billion for agriculture research to ensure America retains its role as the leader of global agriculture science.

In addition, to protect the integrity of two of USDA's premier research agencies, the bill prohibits the use of funds for any relocation costs associated with USDA's proposal to move the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture outside of the national capital region.

We held a hearing at which four former senior officials from both parties with 70 years of combined experience at the two agencies expressed their deep opposition to this proposal. Countless other stakeholders wrote, called, and emailed their opposition, including the National Farmers Union, the Association of American Veterinary Colleges, the American Statistical Association, the National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research, 104 agriculture science and food- related organizations, 24 university departments of agriculture and/or economics, 37 deans and provosts of university ag departments, and more than 1,500 individual scientists from 47 States.

The bill also rejects the proposed elimination of the Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole programs, and it provides increases for both of these programs. These programs send American commodities all over the world to address global hunger and are an essential tool for diplomacy.

The bill fully funds the SNAP and the WIC programs to meet expected participation in FY 2020. The bill provides $10 million for school breakfast expansion grants--the first time this program has been funded since 2012--and it funds the Summer EBT program at $50 million--a $22 million increase.

For the Food and Drug Administration, the bill provides $3.26 billion in discretionary funding, which is $185 million above FY 19. Increased funding is dedicated to fighting rare cancers, laying the foundation for more efficient generic drug reviews, improving our response to foodborne illness outbreaks, and the continued implementation of the Food Safety and Modernization Act.

The bill funds the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at $315 million, a historic, necessary, and long overdue increase.

I am pleased that this bill provides funding for several new programs that were authorized in the 2018 farm bill, such as the 1890s scholarship program, the Local Agriculture Market Program, and the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Program, to name a few.

I am pleased to say the bill makes significant investments in both Tribal communities and the U.S. territories.

In developing the bill, we tried to be responsive to as many Member requests as possible, and I am proud of the bipartisan bill we have produced.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues in this House to support it. It is a good bill.

Mr. Chair, I rise as a cosponsor of this amendment, which would prohibit closure of the U.S. Forest Service Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers.

Closing the Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers makes absolutely no sense. These 25 centers are among the highest-performing centers in the country. Despite claims to the contrary, they contribute directly to the missions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service by training thousands of students each year in conservation work and firefighting.

At a time when the Forest Service has been struggling to hire dispatchers and firefighters to prepare for the upcoming fire season, it is irresponsible, to say the least, to close these centers and lay off 1,100 Job Corps employees.

Mr. Chair, as the co-chair of the bipartisan Job Corps Congressional Caucus with Congressman Phil Roe, I applaud Representatives DeFazio and Newhouse for their outstanding efforts to stop the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Agriculture from going forward with this reckless and ill-advised decision.

Mr. Chair, I urge support for this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I rise to support this bill.

On October 10, 2018, my district took a direct hit from Hurricane Michael, one of the most powerful storms to make landfall in U.S. history. It slammed into the Florida Panhandle, drove through much of the Southeast leaving

a path of destruction all the way up to Virginia. In Georgia, many producers suffered nearly 100 percent crop losses. Hurricane Michael killed more than 2 million chickens and devastated the Georgia cotton crop, which was nearing peak harvest, and was on track to be the best crop in years. This was the third straight year hurricane damage has caused significant losses to the pecan, peanut, cotton, vegetable, landscaping, and agritourism industries.

The Carolinas also suffered billions in damages a month earlier, from Hurricane Florence. Californians had another devastating fire season, including both the largest and deadliest fires on record. In Hawaii, volcanic activity caused pineapple farmers nearly $30M in damages. Americans in the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa were also hit by violent cyclones.

To meet these needs, this House passed and sent to the Senate an emergency supplemental appropriations bill on January 16, 2019 that allocated $14.17 billion in emergency spending to help families and communities recover from these hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters. For agriculture, it provided $3 billion for crop losses, $150 million for the Rural Community Facilities Program; $480 million for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program; $125 million for the Emergency Watershed Program. It provided $600 million in desperately needed funds to help with Puerto Rico's continued recovery from Hurricane Maria in 2017. Thanks to my fellow Georgian, Austin Scott, and the House leadership on a bi-partisan basis for quickly getting this bill passed.

But as we passed it, the Trump Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Statement of Administration Policy, saying ``The FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund (DRF)--a significant mechanism through which the Federal Government conducts response efforts for major disasters and emergencies--has sufficient balances to address all immediate threats to life and property resulting from these recent disasters.''

Meaning: no additional funds were required for disasters.

I strongly disagree, farmers and communities in all the impacted States and territories disagree, and even the USDA disagrees.

The emergency supplemental appropriations bill was stalled in the Senate for 4 long months with no action and no relief for Americans who are suffering. When it finally passed in the Senate on May 23, 2019, I returned to Washington during recess to ask for unanimous consent for the House to pass the updated disaster bill. Unfortunately, it was blocked.

I cannot understand why anyone would play politics when communities coast to coast and the territories remain in catastrophic hard times. America's farmers are living through the worst economic crisis in almost 30 years, driven by low commodity prices, trade war pressures, and natural disasters. Those impacted have had their patience stretched thin, and cannot wait any longer for the disaster assistance they were promised. Right now due to disaster losses, they cannot pay federal operational loans from last year; nor can they get new loans to plant and operate this year.

Planting season is now. We are already in the growing season, when conditions permit normal plant growth. If we miss this window, it will have long lasting effects on agricultural production including food, fiber, building materials, and fuel that will increase costs for American consumers all over this country.

We have entered the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially began on June 1, 2019.

Today I am once again supporting an emergency supplemental bill as more disasters have hit since the last bill passed, the latest being the terrible floods in the Midwest and the tornadoes that ripped through Georgia and Alabama. This expanded supplemental bill will provide for the needs of those who suffered in those disasters.

I will add an additional $5 billion and brings the appropriations total to $19.1 billion, which would cover all disasters, and get the much needed funds to those who were so severely devastated by Hurricane Michael. It will help communities rebuild, assist farmers and rural communities, provide critical health care, nutritional assistance, and social services for disaster victims, and repair damaged federal facilities.

I urge my House and Senate colleagues to support this bill to finally bring relief to our long-suffering communities.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 2157) making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 2157) making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (S. 1693) to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an outstanding Man of God, a devoted spiritual leader, and dear friend of longstanding, Rev. Dr. Emmett S. Aniton, Jr., who will be celebrating his 40th anniversary as the distinguished pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia on Friday, May 24, 2019, at 6:30pm.

Emmett Scott Aniton, Jr. was born on March 8, 1940, in Oneonta, Alabama to the union of Mr. Emmett Scott Aniton, Sr. and Mrs. Estella Aniton Woods. He attended Southside High School in Etowah County, Alabama, where he graduated in 1959, before earning his Bachelor of Theology degree from Selma University in 1964. He entered the United States Army and completed a tour of duty in Qui Nho'n, Vietnam, and returned home to Alabama where he matriculated at Alabama A&M University, earning Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in 1971.

After responding to God's call to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Rev. Aniton pastored the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Alabama from 1966 to March of 1979. For more than 12 years, Rev. Aniton was the shepherd at First Baptist where he ministered to the needs of his flock christening babies, baptizing believers, performing marriages, and consoling bereaved families, while developing and honing his skills as a church administrator and inspiring preacher.

Then in November of 1978, the congregation of Friendship Baptist Church called and the Holy Spirit sent Rev. Aniton to Columbus, Georgia. His pastoral duties began in April of 1979 and he has faithfully and effectively served for over 40 years. Under Reverend Aniton's dynamic and spirit-filled leadership, the Friendship Baptist Church has experienced tremendous growth--spiritually, numerically, and in its physical facilities. But most importantly, under his leadership, Friendship has

been a beacon of hope and salvation for the congregation through its many ministries which share the good news of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Yet, Madam Speaker, the outstanding servant leadership demonstrated by Rev. Aniton did not stop at Friendship Baptist Church. His impact has been felt in the larger community and beyond. He has served on the boards of the Pastoral Institute, the Liberty Theatre, the Metro Columbus Urban League, and the Fourth Street Towers. He has been President of the Mount Calvary Congress of Christian Education and the Muscogee County Clergy Association; instructor for the General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia Congress of Christian Education and the American Baptist Theological Seminary (off-campus). He received the NAACP Religious Affairs Award, Rainbow PUSH Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award, the PUHL (Peace, Unity, Honesty, and Leadership) Award; and in May of 2011, received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity Degree from St. Thomas Christian College in Jacksonville, Florida.

Reverend Aniton has achieved much in his life, but none of it would have been possible without the Grace of God and the love and the support of his late wife, Mrs. Dorothy Rigby Aniton; his children, Minister Rhonda Aniton Bell, Emmett Scott Aniton Ill, and Keisha Aniton Simmons; his grandchildren and other family members. He is an outstanding mentor, a strong leader, and a faithful servant of God.

On a personal note, I have been blessed by Rev. Aniton's sage counsel and enduring friendship over the four decades I have known him and I am proud to call him my friend.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with the 730,000 residents of Georgia's Second Congressional District, in congratulating Rev. Dr. Emmett S. Aniton, Jr. for 40 outstanding years of leadership at Friendship Baptist Church, for over 50 remarkable years of ministry, and for a lifetime of selfless service to God, the church, and to humankind. To God be the glory for the things He has done through His humble servant, Rev. Dr. Emmett S. Aniton, Jr.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor and pleasure to extend my sincere congratulations to the congregation of Nelson Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Bainbridge, Georgia as the church's membership and leadership celebrate a remarkable 150 years. The congregation will celebrate this very significant anniversary on Sunday, May 19, 2019, at the church located at 640 Hall Street.

Tracing its roots back to the post-Civil War era, the church was founded in 1869 when a group of slaves set off from their landowners' church and boldly founded their own place of worship. The original church was located on Academy Street and was operated under the leadership of Rev. A. Monroe. During Rev. Monroe's tenure as pastor, the church grew not only in size and in faith, but also in membership, having included several founding members who were instrumental to the development of the church.

Since its founding, Nelson Chapel AME Church has endured several additions and renovations, all of which help tell the story of the church. In 1902, the church relocated to its current location on Hall Street to a property donated by the late Mr. Adam Nelson. The foundation of the church was laid under the esteemed leadership of the late Rev. N.L. Holmes and the building was constructed during the pastorship of the late Rev. George Smith. In the 1970s, under the tutelage of Rev. C. E. Shepherd, the congregation was motivated to construct a child development center to educate preschoolers about Christian principles and academic excellence. The center, which consisted of a fellowship hall, full kitchen, and a baptismal pool, was named for the late Dr. J.H. Griffin, M.D. and was managed for many years as the Dr. J.H. Griffin Educational Complex. In addition to the construction of the church and child development center, a parsonage was built at 818 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for the comfort and living of the pastoral family.

This ardent community of believers has extended its circle to include more and more members as the years have gone by, though it has never lost its essential character. Today, the spirit and faith of its people are manifested through the current sanctuary, which includes an organ, carpeting, pulpit furniture, a modern sound system, the Carillon Tower Chimes, a paved parking lot, office space, and many other structural improvements. That same faith and spirit extend beyond the church doors, in the presence of members who give fully of themselves wherever they go.

Throughout the years, a number of pastors, deacons, and clerks have contributed to its legacy, which boasts more than 300 members, eight choirs, a 70-member Young People's Division (YPD), and many ministries to support the surrounding community and congregation. Because of their dedicated efforts, Nelson Chapel AME Church is the lead church in the Thomasville/Bainbridge District of the South Georgia Annual Conference, Sixth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The story of Nelson Chapel AME Church, which recounts a long history of a group of believers coming together through the good and difficult times to praise and worship the Lord, is truly an inspiring one of the dedication and perseverance of a faithful congregation of people who put all their love and trust in God.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with the 730,000 residents of Georgia's Second Congressional District, in paying tribute to Nelson Chapel AME Church in Bainbridge, Georgia for its congregation's enduring commitment to each other and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May their actions continue to inspire the community in courage, in dedication, and in faith.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019.

During the Vietnam War, the United States Military sprayed approximately 20 million gallons of Agent Orange, across the southern half of Vietnam to destroy jungle foliage that concealed enemy personnel and supply routes. The Agent Orange was carried into rivers by soil and plant run-off. The hydraulic plumes from where the rivers met the coast mixed hundreds of miles of coastal water with contaminated river water. To make matters worse, rivers and harbors were also sprayed, contaminating the ocean water even further.

Due to the constant churning of the seabed from U.S. Navy Vessels moving up and down the coast, the Agent Orange would rise to the surface where it would be picked up every time Navy ships converted the salt water into potable water. A University of Queensland study on the Australian distillation system, which is the identical system used in U.S. ships, determined that the conversion process enriched the toxic chemical ingredient Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD) in Agent Orange to an even higher concentration in the filtered water. The contaminated water was then used by a ship's crew for cooking, cleaning, showering, laundry, and drinking, effectively giving our sailors a heavy exposure to Agent Orange during their deployment.

Medical research concluded that exposure to the dioxin found in Agent Orange causes numerous health issues including respiratory and blood cancers, prostate cancer, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. According to a report from the Institute of Medicine, individuals with exposure to Agent Orange at an increased risk of developing serious heart problems and Parkinson's disease.

Until 2002, presumptive coverage for accessing health care for these side effects was provided to our Blue Water Navy Veterans. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs, failed to recognize the territorial seas as a part of the sovereign territory of Vietnam. The VA unilaterally decided that it would only provide presumptive coverage to those Veterans who served on land or on inland waterways.

Veterans that were exposed to these toxic chemicals, while serving their country have been neglected for too long. Congress must act on this pressing issue by passing this important piece of legislation that is supported by 333 co-sponsors. H.R. 299 extends the presumption of exposure for service connection for diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange to U.S. Navy Veterans who served offshore during wartime missions and also lengthens eligibility for VA benefits to certain children with spina bifida who were born to Veterans who served in Thailand and were exposed to Agent Orange.

I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill. Those Veterans who sacrificed their lives on behalf of America's freedom truly deserve better.

Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to it.

Madam Chair, on October 10, 2018, my district took a direct hit from Hurricane Michael, one of the most powerful storms to make landfall in U.S. history. It slammed into the Florida panhandle and drove through much of the Southeast, leaving a path of destruction all the way up to Virginia.

In Georgia, many producers suffered nearly 100 percent crop losses. Hurricane Michael killed more than 2 million chickens and devastated the Georgia cotton crop, which was nearing peak harvest and was on track to be the best crop in years. This is the third straight year hurricane damage caused significant losses to peanut, pecan, cotton, vegetable, landscaping, and the agri-tourism industries.

The Carolinas also suffered billions in damages a month earlier from Hurricane Florence. Californians had another devastating fire season, including both the largest and deadliest fires on record. In Hawaii, volcanic activity cost pineapple farmers nearly $30 million in damages. Americans in the Mariana Islands and American Samoa were also hit by cyclones.

To meet these needs, this House passed and sent to the Senate an emergency supplemental appropriations bill on January 16 that allocated $14 billion in emergency spending to help families and communities recover from these hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters.

Agriculture provided $3 billion for crop losses, $150 million for the Rural Community Facilities Program, $480 million for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program, and $125 million for the Emergency Watershed Program. They provided $600 million in desperately needed funds to help with Puerto Rico's continued recovery from Hurricane Diane in 2017.

Madam Chair, I thank my fellow Georgian, Austin Scott, and the bipartisan leadership, the House leadership, our committees for quickly getting this bill passed. But as we passed it and sent it to the Senate, the Trump Office of Management and Budget issued a Statement of Administration Policy saying that FEMA had enough money and that this money was not needed. That could not be further from the truth. I disagree. Farmers and communities in all of the impacted States disagree, and even the USDA disagrees.

The emergency supplemental appropriations bill has been stalled in the Senate for 4 long months, with no action and no relief for Americans who are suffering. American farmers are living through the worst economic crisis in 30 years, driven by low commodity prices, trade war pressures, and natural disasters. Those impacted have had their patience stretched thin and cannot wait any longer for disaster assistance that they were promised.

Right now, due to the disaster losses, farmers can't pay their operational loans from last year, nor can they get new loans to plant and operate this year. Planting season is now. We already are in the growing season, with conditions permitting normal growth. If we miss this window, it will have lasting effects on agriculture production, including food, fiber, building materials, and fuel, that will increase costs for American consumers all over this country.

We are about to enter the 2019 hurricane season, which starts June 1. So today I am once again supporting this emergency supplemental bill, as more disasters have hit since the last bill passed, the latest being terrible floods in the Midwest and tornadoes that ripped through Georgia and Alabama.

This expanded supplemental bill will provide for the needs of those who suffered in those disasters and will add $3 billion, bringing the appropriations total to $17.2 billion, which will cover all disasters and get much-needed funds to those who were devastated and affected by Hurricane Michael.

From coast to coast throughout the territories, there is an urgent need for this disaster bill. As I said last October, after touring the damage from Hurricane Michael with the President, Vice President, and the Secretary of Agriculture, responding to natural disasters and helping our communities recover is a responsibility that we all share, regardless of ideology or political affiliation. Failure to respond now will result in failures later and suffering later throughout this country.

Madam Chair, I urge my House and Senate colleagues to support this bill to finally bring relief to our long-suffering communities.

Madam Chair, I support the gentlewoman's amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition, although I support the amendment.

Madam Chair, I understand that this sudden reversal in the program was disconcerting for many of the universities and researchers that have received funding in the past and hope to do so in the future. Based on that, I have no objection to this amendment, and I fully support it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition, although I support the amendment.

Madam Chair, until the Midwest floods struck, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was fairly confident that the Emergency Watershed Protection Program needs were fully met with the $125 million that was in the bill. However, on April 25, the USDA advised us that the estimate had increased to $435 million with large funding needs in Iowa and in Nebraska, in particular. This amendment would bring the bill to that level. So I am therefore happy to support the amendment.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry), who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies of the Appropriations Committee.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis).

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an outstanding Man of God, a dedicated public servant, and dear friend of longstanding, Rev. Dr. C. Medley Hayes, who celebrated his 30th anniversary as the distinguished pastor of Greater Beulah Missionary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia on Sunday, May 5, 2019 at 3 p.m.

Rev. Dr. Chester Medley Hayes was born in Miami, Florida and grew up in Alabama graduating from Warren Smith High School in New Brocton, Alabama. He earned his Bachelor of Ministry degree in 1984, his Master of Ministry degree in 1987, and his Doctorate of Ministry degree in 1989. He was trained in Ground Surveillance and Ground Control Approach Radar through the U.S. Army and has 21 years experience in telecommunications. He founded and managed Companion Medical Equipment Company in 1994 and has been involved in Network Marketing with some of the strongest companies in the industry since he was 22 years of age.

At the age of twenty-six, Rev. Hayes accepted his call to preach the Gospel of Christ beginning his pastoral ministry at Big Creek Baptist Church in Clio, Alabama, a rather small church that consisted of about seventy members. From there, he pastored Morning Star Baptist Church in Troy, Alabama, Saint Paul Baptist Church in Pinckard, Alabama,

and Morning Star Baptist Church in Enterprise, Alabama. In 1989, Rev. Hayes was called to be the pastor and spiritual leader of Greater Beulah Missionary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia and he and his family moved to the Fountain City.

For the past 30 years, he has served as a guiding light and beacon of hope for the congregation of Greater Beulah Missionary Baptist Church and the Columbus community. Rev. Hayes believes that you enter the church to worship, but you leave to serve. Therefore, his ministry has been to take the church and the teachings of Christ beyond the church building into the community and throughout the world.

Outside of the church, Rev. Hayes has also proved himself a true servant of the communities in which he has lived. At the age of 26, he became the Chairman of the Coffee County, Alabama branch of the Alabama Democratic Conference, a post that he held for eight years. Years later, he was appointed by then Georgia Governor Zell Miller and later Governor Roy Barnes to serve on Georgia's Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission. Having seen issues arise with human trafficking, he was moved to open two group homes for girls. Because of his love for young people, he opened a counseling center called ``Mentoring Youth.'' As a result of his tremendous advocacy and support for the Columbus community, on August 8, 2017, the Council of the Columbus Consolidated Government named the intersection of 6th Street and 6th Avenue as ``C. Medley Hayes Way.''

Always seeking to improve his craft in discipleship and Christian ministry, he has been a longtime member of the National Baptist Convention, USA; General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia (G.M.B.C.); Fourth District of G.M.B.C.; Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Association; along with many other faith-based organizations.

The great agricultural chemist, Dr. George Washington Carver once said that, ``How far you go in life depends on your being tender with young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.'' Reverend Hayes has gone far in his ministry and in life because of his love for all people in the same vein as his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

On a personal note, Rev. Hayes has been a great friend and supporter over the many years I have known him. I value his wise counsel and sage advice. He never told me only what I wanted to hear, but always told me what I needed to hear. And for that, I am grateful.

Reverend Hayes has achieved much in his life, but none of it would be possible but for the Grace of God and the love and the support of his wife, Stephanie, and their children, Leon, Lester, Tonya, Alyssa, Tiffany, and Sophia. Rev. Hayes is man of great accomplishment, an outstanding mentor, and a strong leader, but above all, he is a faithful servant of God.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with the congregation of Greater Beulah Missionary Baptist Church and the 730,000 residents of Georgia's Second Congressional District, in congratulating Rev. Dr. C. Medley Hayes on the joyous occasion of his 30th pastoral anniversary.

Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and solemn remembrance that I rise today, to pay tribute to a man of God, respected public servant, and dear friend of longstanding, Reverend Jasper R. Brown, Sr. Sadly, Reverend Brown transitioned from labor to reward on Wednesday, April 24, 2019. His funeral service will be held at 3 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2019, at Live Oak A.M.E. Church in Donalsonville, Georgia.

Rev. Jasper Ross Brown, Sr. was born in Malone, Florida on September 17, 1925, to the union of Reverend David Rufus Brown and Mrs. Torah Bowers Brown. The values of Christian discipleship and hard work were instilled in Jasper at a young age. After completing primary school in the Jackson County, Florida Public School System, he began working under his father and developed the discipline, work ethic, and joy that came with farming and being exposed to the Gospel. Because manhood was thrust upon him at an early age, he only finished eighth grade, but was an avid reader, highly intelligent, and had a love for learning. Hence, as an adult, while working full-time at Great Southern Plywood Mill in Cedar Springs, Georgia, and supporting his family, he went back to school taking high school classes in Tallahassee, Florida and earned his GED.

Jasper Brown answered the call to serve his nation at the age of 18, becoming the first African-American from Seminole County, Georgia to be inducted into the United State Marine Corps. He was trained as a member of the historic Montford Point Marines and fought in the gruesome Battle of Peleliu in Japan during World War II. More than 50 years later, he and all of the Montford Point Marines, the first African- Americans allowed to serve in the Marine Corps, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Barack Obama recognizing their personal sacrifice and service to their country during World War II.

When Jasper Brown returned home from World War II, within a few days of his return, he met and shortly thereafter married Ruby Moore Brown, a union which lasted for 53 years until Ruby's death in May, 2001. Japser and Ruby had 10 children, seven of whom predeceased them.

A man of many trades, he explored the realm of real estate in the Donalsonville area before taking classes to obtain his GED. During this time, he used his voice to help improve the working conditions for the employees at the Great Southern Plywoood Mill in Cedar Springs, Georgia, where he helped organize and form a union to protect employees' rights to a fair wage, fair pensions, insurance, and overall fair treatment. He mentored others and was often a voice for the voiceless and was never reluctant to challenge injustice in the workplace or anywhere people sought his help for unfair treatment. He was elected and served honorably as the first Black City Councilman in the City of Donalsonville, Georgia.

In October 1977, Jasper Brown accepted his calling into the ministry to preach the word of God, and for 30 years, he pastored in the African Methodist Episcopal Church under the jurisdiction of the South and Southwest Georgia Conferences.

His pastoral ministry included Whigham Circuit & Little Bethel A.M.E. Church, South Georgia Conference; Hilton Circuit, Southwest Georgia Conference; Newberry A.M.E. Church, Southwest Georgia Conference; Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church, Southwest Georgia Conference; Aimwell A.M.E. Church, Southwest Georgia Conference; and Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, Southwest Georgia Conference. After briefly retiring to rediscover his love of farming, Rev. Brown was called back to the church and assigned to Ebenezer A.M.E. Church, Hilton, where he pastored for another four years before completely retiring in December, 2011.

On a personal note, I am proud to have considered Rev. Jasper Brown, his late wife, Ruby Moore Brown, and the entire Brown and Moore Families as friends of longstanding. Their daughter, Alice, interned at the Georgia General Assembly while I was serving in the State House and she was a student at the University of Georgia. Through her, I eventually met the family, as attorney for her mother, the sister of the renowned Dr. Dallas Moore. Mrs. Ruby Brown had been seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash in Seminole County. My relationship with the Brown and Moore families has endured for over 3 decades and has been pivotal in my career and political success. I will be forever grateful for their friendship and support.

Rev. Brown accomplished much in his life, but none of it would have been possible without the Grace of God and the love and support of his family as well as the countless others who impacted his life. His passing leaves a tremendous void in the lives of his children: Jasper, Jr., Derrell, Alice, Kendra, Deborah, Angela, Annette, and Anthony; brother, Virgil; sixteen grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews, cousins; personal assistant, Ms. France Land; friend and companion, Ms. Petronia ``Sweet'' Mike; and countless other family and friends; all of whom will miss him deeply.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with the more than 730,000 people of Georgia's Second Congressional District, in honoring the life and legacy of the Reverend Jasper R. Brown, Sr. for his outstanding accomplishments in the ministry and his service to humankind. Moreover, we extend our deepest sympathies to Reverend Brown's family, friends, loved ones, and all who grieve during this difficult time of bereavement. We pray that they will be consoled and comforted by an abiding faith and the Holy Spirit in the weeks, months, and years ahead.