Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, I thank the ranking member for the opportunity.

This amendment ensures adequate funding for the purposes of instructing the FAA to continue the remote tower pilot program. Remote towers provide air traffic control services through the use of cameras and/or other instruments that provide information to controllers not in the same location. This is an innovative way to provide ATC services, significantly decreasing the upfront costs of building a control tower, and it reduces the annual operating and maintenance costs, especially where one remote tower provides coverage for several small airports in the vicinity.

A 2007 FAA study found that the technology in a remote tower actually improves surveillance capabilities at night and in inclement weather conditions. With more than 20,000 nontowered U.S. airports missing out on the benefits of an air traffic control tower, including streamlined access, reduced delays, and increased safety margins, remote towers provide a cost-effective way to enhance the safety and performance at these airports.

It is vital that we continue to support the FAA's remote tower pilot program allowing for innovative ways to improve safety and reduce costs. I want to thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for her important amendment, and I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of her amendment.

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

Madam Chair, I thank my good friend from Idaho and my good colleagues from the other side of the aisle for allowing this amendment to receive consideration.

Hydropower is one of the Nation's most affordable and reliable renewable electricity resources. With over 100 gigawatts of installed capacity, hydro makes up nearly 7 percent, on average, of all U.S. annual electricity generation. As a matter of fact, hydro is the single largest source of renewable electricity, representing over one-half of all renewable energy generation in 2018.

This is due to the significant advantage hydropower generation, as a baseload source of energy, has over intermittent sources, like wind and solar. It provides predictable, continuous generation 24-7-365 without the need to hold backup generation in standby to power the lights when the Sun goes down or the wind stops. Because of this important distinction, additional hydropower generation results in increased generation rather than just capacity.

If we want to be serious about increasing renewable energy, we need to focus on what works best. More can and must be done to significantly expand this vital energy resource. Only 3 percent of the 80,000 dams in the U.S. currently generate electricity, leaving substantial potential for additional generation from unpowered dams. As a matter of fact, in my home State of Pennsylvania, there is an estimated 678 megawatts of untapped hydropower.

The recent trend of closures among baseload power generation facilities threatens our Nation's ability to meet our energy needs. Unleashing the full potential of hydropower provides a remedy that is proven, reliable, and renewable.

Critical to realizing this potential is DOE's Water Power Technologies Office. This amendment increases funding for the office by $2 million to continue their important mission.

Madam Chair, I ask the support of my colleagues for this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, with record numbers of people coming across our border illegally, I ask unanimous consent to call up H.R. 3056, an emergency supplemental to provide critically needed funding for the humanitarian crisis at the border, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman from Maryland, and I just wonder about the responsibility of this legislation. To have the government promote these items that are on the schedule, things like MDMA, the pure form of Molly and meth, is that what we want? We want the Federal Government telling our families and our children: ``Take this. It is good for you''?

Maybe it is, but I sure don't think it is. I certainly don't want my kids taking it, and I certainly don't want the government promoting it.

Essentially, my whole life was smoking cessation of tobacco. Now we are finally at a place where we have reduced that dramatically, and now we are going to tell the whole rest of the country, well, let's all start smoking marijuana instead.

I don't think this is what the government should be promoting, and I think we should have a lot more research before we tell our kids that this is what they should be doing.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman from Maryland.

What time is it? 2:30 on the East Coast here. Some little girl on the border of Texas, they don't know where to put her; they don't have a bed for her.

The Department of Homeland Security has made this request. They have said they are out of money. They are out of resources. Some little girl who has probably been brought by some trafficker, who has been told to keep her mouth shut or else, has nowhere to be.

We are in here talking about reports and everything but providing the resources--not that the President has asked for. I mean, I am sure the President has, at the behest of his Secretary who knows, who is operationally on the ground, who sees the problems as they occur.

And because we certainly can't have President Trump have a victory, some poor little girl is crying in a corner somewhere because she has been dragged across the border by some trafficker.

We don't even do the biometric test that is required by law. We don't even know, we can't prove that she is with her family.

The adult says: You tell them that I am your father. You tell them I am your brother or uncle. You tell them, or else.

And what do we do? We just accept it. We accept this trafficker's word for it that this little girl belongs with him.

It is unacceptable.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chairwoman, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Madam Speaker, today I am in support of this resolution on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, and I thank Representative McGovern and Representative Smith for their leadership on this resolution, which serves to remember the victims of the violence and suppression of democracy protest in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and calls on the current Communist Government of China to respect the universally recognized human rights of all people living in China and around the world.

I just remember as a young man watching this--as probably many of the people do--whole thing unfold on our television sets. We were rooting for these people yearning to be free, and the man standing in front of the tank. It is just emblazoned in our minds.

Thirty years ago in the spring of 1989, thousands of Chinese students began staging peaceful protests for democratic reforms in China. They were asking their Communist government for rights that are fundamental to any democracy, including: freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and the elimination of official corruption.

They were asking for rights and freedoms that we enjoy in the United States, but the Chinese citizens were being denied then, and believe it or not, are still being denied today. Regardless of what we see on television, regardless of what we might think because it says, ``made in China,'' things are different in China.

When faced with the growing and intensifying peaceful protests, the Communist leaders in 1989 chose a violent and authoritarian response, and then lied about it and acted like it didn't happen. They chose to declare martial

law and to intensify their use of authoritarian tactics to oppress and control the people of China, culminating in the events in Tiananmen Square.

On June 4, 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers in armored columns of tanks outside Tiananmen Square fired directly at Chinese citizens and indiscriminately at crowds in Beijing, inflicting high civilian casualties. These were unarmed crowds, Madam Speaker, fired upon.

To this day, we still don't know how many civilians were killed that day. Estimates range from hundreds to a few thousand and we can say with confidence that thousands more civilians were wounded on June 4 and even a greater number were arrested for taking part in these protests.

We are here today to honor those who were lost and affected by the violent, authoritarian suppression of the Chinese Communist Government in 1989, and to call for an end to China's current, continued authoritarian suppression.

Unfortunately, parallels can be drawn between the Chinese Government that perpetrated the Tiananmen Square massacre and the current regime of President Xi and the Communist Party. In China today, there is official government repression of freedom of speech, religion, movement, association, and assembly.

We know at least 1 million, and some estimate up to 3 million Chinese Muslims are forcibly interned in detention camps designed to erase their religious and ethnic identities. This is something out of the 1930s and the 1940s that the world said would never happen again. It is happening right now.

The Communist government has deployed tens of millions of evasive high-tech surveillance cameras throughout the country to monitor the general public. The cameras and other forms of surveillance are used to intimidate political dissidents, religious leaders and adherents, and minority groups.

In the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas, the Communist government has installed surveillance cameras in monasteries. Tibetans also face the monitoring and disruption of telephone and internet communications.

And this is absolutely just the beginning with the establishment of the system of social credits.

The State Department's 2018 Report on Human Rights Practices in China has a long list of human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Government, to include: Unlawful killings by the government; forced disappearances by the government; torture; arbitrary detention; political imprisonment; arbitrary interference with privacy; physical attacks on and criminal prosecution of journalists, lawyers, writers, bloggers, dissidents, petitioners, and their family members; interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; as well as severe restrictions on religious freedoms.

I hope we can take an opportunity today to honor the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, highlighting that the Chinese people still know very little about what transpired that night.

I also hope we can have a continued conversation about the current Communist Chinese Party's authoritarian and oppressive tactics that are continuing to violate the basic human rights of the Chinese people, and I hope this is just the beginning of the conversation.

China is a clear and present danger. They have been in an economic war, and information war. They have been at war with the West, and particularly the United States, for the last several decades, and it is high time that the American people wake up. This should just be the beginning.

I thank the makers of this resolution for doing so, but I hope it is just the beginning of the conversation, but more than the conversation, the concrete actions that we take against China's aggressive and authoritarian actions, not only to their own people, but to the rest of the world, including the United States.

I hope that we not only support this President and this administration when he does the right thing, taking a hard stance against China, but that this Congress will take the lead on concrete actions regarding China's malevolent behavior around the world, but particularly in China, with their markets, with dumping on American markets, with intellectual property theft, and the list goes on and on.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of H. Res. 106, which condemns female genital mutilation, or cutting, as a violation of the human rights of women and girls and calls for a coordinated response from the United States Government and the international community to end this horrific and abhorrent practice.

I am proud of the bipartisan effort that has gone into this resolution, and I want to thank Representative Lois Frankel from Florida for coleading this resolution with me, which gives us the opportunity to bring renewed attention to the harm that FGM causes innocent girls and highlights the actions needed to eliminate this unspeakable act.

As the House considers this resolution, there are over 200 million women and girls alive today who have been affected by FGM. This year alone, an estimated 3 million girls are at risk of being mutilated. This despicable practice simply must end.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this effort to condemn and end FGM in the United States and across the globe. There is much more work that must be done to combat FGM, and I hope that we continue this bipartisan work.

Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 218 and ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 219.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for hosting this Special Order tonight on China.

I was watching the news today like most other folks are, and part of the news says that the tariffs are the problem and the President is the problem. That is what they are literally saying in the United States of America today.

Ladies and gentlemen, the tariffs aren't the problem and the President isn't the problem. China is the problem. They have been the problem for a long time, but nobody in the United States has been willing to confront it.

For many years, China has pursued industrial policies and unfair trade practices that include dumping, discriminatory nontariff barriers, forced technology transfer, overcapacity, and industrial subsidies, all this to champion Chinese firms and make it literally impossible for American firms to compete. People say: Well, all these jobs went to China. All these jobs went overseas.

How do you think that happened? It happened because China is not a reasonable actor. They are not playing fair. They have not been playing fair, and they have been taking advantage of the United States and other countries for a very, very long time. Finally, there is a President who is willing to confront them.

Let's talk about China as the world's largest principal IP infringer, and their government actually encourages the theft of intellectual property.

People talk about the value of these tariffs. Nobody likes the tariffs in the United States. We don't want to have to do this, but we have limited options.

They said the cost of the tariffs. Well, how about the cost, annually, of IP theft, anywhere from $225 billion to $600 billion, including counterfeit goods, pirated software, and theft of trade secrets. That is every year, regardless of any tariff in the United States. That is just what the Chinese steal, sanctioned by the Chinese Government.

Our IP-intensive industries support at least 45 million U.S. jobs. Are we going to wait until all those head to China as well? For every high-tech job in the United States, five jobs are created indirectly in a local economy.

Actually, China accounts for 87 percent of counterfeit goods seized coming into the United States. It starts making you wonder why we allow any of their goods to come into the United States.

China conducts and supports cyber intrusions into the United States' computer networks to gain access to valuable research and business information so Chinese companies can just literally copy products and processes. What are some examples? Well, just things like a vacuum cleaner to solar panel technology.

Does anybody wonder why we buy so many solar panels from China? They stole them from us, and then they are selling them back to us. Who is the fool here?

And how about the blueprints to the Boeing C-17? Anybody deployed around the world lately in military uniform? It is good to know that China has the plans.

Hackers from China with ties to the government have been accused of breaking into gas companies, steel companies, and chemical companies. A Chinese Government company was indicted for stealing the secret chemical makeup of the color white from DuPont.

China developed its J-20 fighter plane, a plane similar to Lockheed- Martin's F-22 Raptor, shortly after a Chinese national was indicted for stealing technical data from Lockheed-Martin, including plans for the Raptor.

In 2010, Google went public in announcing that it had been hacked by the Chinese Government; and in December of 2018, two Chinese nationals were charged with hacking more than 45 companies in coordination with China's state security service.

These are just a few of the cases.

Just a couple of months ago, in The Wall Street Journal, it was reported that 27 universities located across the United States were targeted by Chinese hackers due to their involvement in research of military-use maritime technology. You heard some of the speakers just recently talk about China's newfound military and naval prowess.

Let's go into some of the CFIUS reports, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. CFIUS ordered a Chinese health data analytics firm backed by Tencent to sell its majority stake in PatientsLikeMe, which helps connect people suffering from the same illness.

Why would China hack that, you wonder? Well, if you can think about any data that you have--your very, very personal data, including sicknesses that you might have--China actually wants that kind of stuff, and they don't have good intentions for it.

CFIUS blocked the $1.2 billion purchase of MoneyGram, a money transfer firm, by Ant Financial, an Alibaba affiliate, on national security grounds.

In 2017, American officials warned that DJI, a leading drone maker, was probably sending data on critical infrastructure back to China's Government. The U.S. Army barred DJI drones from its bases. But if you don't know you have a DJI drone and you are operating on a military base, you can probably be self-assured that China is collecting the information and you are actually helping them.

How about this? In 2018, American Government agencies were banned from using cameras made by Hikvision, the world's biggest manufacturer of closed-circuit TV kits. We actually had to ban them, and the government was buying them. They are spying on us in our own government buildings because we are buying their cameras, and we know it is happening.

It is incredible, ladies and gentlemen. China is the problem. It is not the President and it is not the tariff. It is what China does.

Then there is the race to 5G, which America must win. China is on pace to be the global leader in 5G technology. That is just how it is. They actually beat Ericsson, and now a spy state--a spy state--is on track to be the leader in 5G technology.

We simply must work with our allies to stop the introduction of Huawei equipment--that is who is making it--into foreign networks. It threatens the integrity of personal data, government secrets, military operations, and democratic principles.

When the United States military operates around the world, we use the backbone architecture oftentimes to communicate. If that backbone communications architecture has been made by Huawei, we might as well just be telling China exactly what we are doing. Our tactic, technique, procedures are all given up immediately to China.

Social media, medical services, gaming, location services, payment, and banking information, every single thing that happens over the internet, if it is happening over a Huawei 5G network, they are knowing about it.

The Pentagon, just last month, warned of ``near persistent data transfer back to China.'' Near persistent, so just continuous data transfer. And they use this information to coerce and punish not only their own citizens, but people in countries around the world.

And again, the 2017 intelligence law in China requires any organization or citizen to support, assist, and cooperate with the security services of China's communist government.

Now, let's be clear here. We are not talking about the Chinese people, but we are talking about the Communist Party in China. We are talking about their leadership, and we are talking about their government. That is who we are talking about there.

Again, the Chinese dominance in 5G threatens future U.S. military operations. We will not be able to operate. We will have to set up our own network everywhere we go where Huawei is responsible for 5G networking. These are just national security risks that happen in Europe and across Africa.

You need to know, as well, that Huawei's equipment does not interoperate with any other vendor. So if you are using Huawei equipment, even if it is 4G, it doesn't interoperate with anything, so you are forced to buy Huawei for 5G if you want to advance.

Other people have talked about China's global influence--unrestricted warfare--in every single paradigm.

Ladies and gentlemen, the tariffs are not the problem. Unfortunately, China has been in an economic war with us for about four decades.

The President is not the problem. China and this malign behavior to us and democracies around the globe are the problem.

I am glad we are finally talking about it. I hope that the rest of our colleagues here in the House of Representatives will join us in researching and becoming aware and informed about China's activities and then supporting policies that deal with China's malign activities in our universities, technology transfer, and--you name it.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and could not get to the floor. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 172, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 173, and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 174.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize VFIS, a division of Glatfelter Insurance Group, as it celebrates 50 years of dedicated service to our Nation's fire and emergency services.

Formerly known as Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services, VFIS was established by the late Arthur J. Glatfelter of York, Pennsylvania. A Veteran of World War II, Mr. Glatfelter was a U.S. Marine who served in the Pacific. The values the Corps instilled in him to serve our Country guided Mr. Glatfelter throughout his professional career in supporting the men and women of our Nation's fire and emergency service.

In 1969, Mr. Glatfelter, a well-established insurance agent, recognized a need for specialized insurance coverage for firefighters-- a coverage based on their motivations, their aspirations, their needs and the risks they were willing to assume to protect others. He designed a portfolio of comprehensive insurance coverages that took all of these factors into account. Fifty years later, these specialized coverages remain the cornerstone on which VFIS has based its insurance program for the fire service.

VFIS is now the leading insurance provider for emergency services organizations in the Nation. These organizations include fire departments, ambulance services, rescue squads, 911 dispatch centers and more. VFIS also provides an array of consulting services and training programs focused on the operations of these organizations. Aligned with the VFIS insurance program, they are designed to safeguard our firefighters in their duties.

The values that defined Mr. Glatfelter remain embedded in the VFIS culture. Current VFIS staff and key agents have over 1,000 years of emergency services experiences, representing a significant level of giving back to their communities. Many VFIS senior executives are involved in organizations that support first responders--organizations such as the Congressional Fire Services Institute, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, National Volunteer Fire Council, the National EMS Management Foundation and the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Foundation.

On April 27, 2019, VFIS will conduct a 50th Anniversary gathering to celebrate this significant milestone. The high standard of protection and service that VFIS has provided in supporting our Nation's fire and emergency services for 50 years is a milestone worthy of national recognition. In 1969, Mr. Glatfelter pursued an idea to develop the best insurance program possible to protect our nation's fire and emergency service providers. Fifty years later, VFIS is the number one provider of insurance and risk management services to fire and emergency service organizations in the U.S. I hereby recognize VFIS for its 50 years of dedication and commitment to serving those who serve and protect our communities and thank Arthur J. Glatfelter for his vision and leadership in developing the VFIS Program.

Congratulations to VFIS on celebrating 50 years of dedicated service.

Madam Speaker, today I recognize and celebrate Mr. D. Scott Karns, a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, mentor, business owner and community leader from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

After graduating from Messiah College with a B.S. in Business Administration, Mr. Karns joined his father, David, at the family grocery business, Karns Quality Foods, in 1977. Upon joining the company, Scott began learning every facet of the business, and in 1989, he succeeded his father as Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Karns takes great pride in operating Karns Quality Foods with his family, which has grown to eight stores in Central Pennsylvania that total over 370,000 square feet, employs over 1,200 associates, and serves 100,000 customers each week. Mr. Karns and his team have capitalized on the advantages of a locally-owned and -operated business by catering directly to their customers' needs and requests. Their hard work and dedication has resulted in Karns Quality Foods recognition as the premier meat and seafood store in the greater Harrisburg area.

In addition to his business leadership, Mr. Karns recently was honored by the Boy Scouts of America New Birth of Freedom

Council for his generous contributions to one of our prized, American institutions. In addition, he's served on the board of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association and the advisory board of Channels Food Rescue. In his spare time, Scott enjoys traveling with Marleen, his wife of 37 years, supporting his church and community, cooking up new recipes, hitting the links, and spending time with his grandchildren.

On behalf of Pennsylvania's Tenth Congressional District, I'm honored to recognize the leadership and community involvement of Mr. D. Scott Karns. I thank and commend him for his tireless service, commitment and leadership to the Central Pennsylvania region.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 140 and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 141.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the United States' recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Now is a critical and appropriate time for the United States to formally recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel. At a time when Iran and terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, are using the turmoil created by the civil war in Syria to expand their presence in the region, it is clear they hope to seize the Golan Heights to then launch attacks against Israel.

Recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights is vital to the security interest of the United States and Israel.

I co-led a letter last December to Secretary Pompeo outlining the critical nature of recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan and encouraging the administration to do so. This recognition should have occurred under several previous administrations, but the strong leadership needed was not present.

I am glad that we finally have a President that is taking the necessary steps to foster stability and peace in the Middle East. I applaud President Trump and his administration for issuing the proclamation recognizing the Golan Heights as part of the State of Israel.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, this rule is about what is called the For the People Act, but, to me, it should be called the ``For the Swamp Act.''

Now, we are going to have plenty of time later to debate the particulars of the bill, but right now we are talking about the rule and what brings this to the floor.

I just want to remind everybody that this bill was given jurisdiction in 10 committees--10 committees--but 1 committee marked it up; one committee took a look at it and said: Well, this is wrong. Let's fix this. Let's change that.

One committee with nine people--2 percent of Congress--has been involved in this bill.

Now, we understand we are in the minority here. We get that. We get that we are not going to get our way, but we are asking to have a say. That is all we are asking for here.

This bill is about shutting down the open process and honest debate-- this rule resolution, which actually makes sense, because the underlying bill does the same thing for the American people.

Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Loudermilk for the time, and I, too, thank the majority leader for his comments. But I don't think it should be removed from history that the Governor of Alabama at that time ran on segregation; multiple times, ran on segregation. It was the Republicans in this House, the majority percentage of Republicans, that carried the day for the Voting Rights Act.

Mr. Chair, this bill, among other things, forces States to count votes cast outside of voters' assigned precincts. Just think about that. I am going to vote for you over here even though I don't live there. That is going to be great. That is what we all want, people who don't live in our neighborhoods voting for the people who decide our fates and our policies.

Mr. Chair, the For the People Act, that is what it is called, but I wonder: Which people? Is it the people here or the people out there?

It seems like it is for the people here when powerful voices on the left and the right oppose this bill, voices like the ACLU, voices like the NRA and Planned Parenthood, because, Mr. Chair, while you might want to contribute to one of those organizations because you believe in their cause, you don't want the protest to show up on your doorstep. It is bad enough that it shows up, the protest, at Planned Parenthood or the NRA or the gun show or whatever, but now the protest is going to show up at your door--at your door--because the people who are opposed to the things you believe in are going to find out you sent your 5 bucks in. They are going to come to your door and say: Well, I don't agree with you. I don't like you. And I don't think you should be spending your money on those things.

Is that what we want in America? That is what this bill does, Mr. Chair. Essentially, it is going to empower the Federal Election Commission to carry out the actions of Lois Lerner and the IRS during the last administration in an attempt to silence opposition to the politicians in the swamp, in this place, regardless of which side you are on.

I urge a ``no'' vote for this bill, Mr. Chair.