Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of Ohio's 15th Congressional District to recognize the 175th Anniversary of the Logan Daily News. Nearly as old as the City of Logan itself, the Logan Daily News has been dutifully and continuously informing its readership since June of 1842.

Under the leadership of S.W. Tucker and Robert Wright, the Hocking Sentinel was born. The paper saw success that its controversial predecessor had not experienced, and continued to grow. In 1960, 30 paperboys dispersed the news of the day; today, 12 delivery routes are still covered as the publication successfully adapts to the digital age of media. While its name, publishers, and mediums have changed over the years, the Logan Daily News' commitment to producing timely and factual reports for the people of Logan and Hocking Valley has been steadfast.

The Logan Daily News influence extends well past its pages. It is a true partner in the community, sponsoring events like Backyard BBQ and Rib Ruckus, the Washboard Music Festival, and the Hocking Valley Community Hospital Golf Tournament. Additionally, the Logan Daily News encourages youth through partnerships with 4-H and the County Fair Board. It supports the local economy through involvement with the Hocking Hills Chamber of Commerce, Hocking Hills Tourism Association,

Logan Town Center, and the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce.

I am honored to recognize the Logan Daily News, its reporters, editors, and publishers on this momentous occasion, and I wish them many more successful years and editions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of Ohio's 15th Congressional District to recognize the 100th anniversary of the 37th Infantry Brigade of the Ohio Army National Guard. Since July 18, 1917, the Buckeye Brigade has had elements stationed in 126 different communities across Ohio, and has served in major conflicts from the First World War to the modern War on Terrorism.

In 1968, then-Governor of Ohio, James Rhodes, astutely described the Buckeye Brigade: ``It was a superb outfit, and such units are made by superb men.'' The bravery and courage displayed by these soldiers causes pride to resonate in the hearts of Americans, and has earned eight of its members the Medal of Honor.

Individually, they are superb; as a unit, they are all but unstoppable. Seen as heavyweights of our military, the 37th was regarded as the best American division the Germany Army faced in World War I, and was among the first formations called upon following the attacks of September 11th.

Today, the Buckeye Brigade is made up of approximately 3,500 soldiers in the Ohio and Michigan Army National Guards, and is regarded as the top IBCT in the Army National Guard--which reflects the readiness and abilities of its soldiers.

As a Brigadier General in the Ohio Army National Guard, I am supremely thankful for the sacrifices made over the years by the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and am honored to recognize the unit on this tremendous occasion. I also extend my thoughts to the Brigade as it is deployed in support of Operation Joint Guard-Kosovo Force, and pray that they return safely to their loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of Ohio's 15th Congressional District to recognize the 100th Annual Franklin County Fair. Since 1917, the Franklin County Agricultural Society has given our Central Ohio community countless memories of summertime fun had at the County Fair.

Central Ohio has a rich agricultural heritage, and that heritage is on full display at the Franklin County Fair. Its craft marketplace allows patrons to purchase the exquisite and well-made products of local vendors, and its Junior Fair provides young student farmers with the chance to showcase their hard work and skill in agriculture.

But most importantly, the County Fair provides friends and families from Obetz to Hilliard time to reconnect with one another. They can forget their hectic lives and enjoy traditions that have been appreciated by generations for 100 years.

I am grateful to the Franklin County Agricultural Society and the Franklin County Fair Board for ensuring the success of this year's event, and I am proud to recognize all who have been a part of its storied history.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H. Res. 399.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of Ohio's 15th Congressional District to recognize the bicentennial of McConnelsville, Ohio. Since the earliest settlers first made their homes in the village of Old Town, along the Muskingum River, McConnelsville has been the hub of Morgan County and serves as a reminder of much of our nation's early history.

As early as 1817, many recognized the advantages of the area, including the town's namesake, Roger McConnel. One of the community's earliest residents, he saw its potential and gifted four lots to the fledgling town. A tribute to his memory and the strength of this community, the town's Court House still stands resolute on two of those lots.

Fueled by Mr. McConnel's gift and its strategic location on the riverfront, the area grew rapidly in its earliest years--five churches, fifteen stores, two newspaper offices, and four factories had sprung up by 1846.

Today, it remains the county seat of Morgan County, and a wonderful place to work, live, and raise a family. I am grateful for the leadership of Mayor John Finley, the Members of the Village Council, and all of the neighbors and friends who have maintained McConnelsville's strong connection to tradition and history.

I am honored to represent this village, where the core values of our nation are exemplified. This is a place where community, faith, and freedom are celebrated not just in recognition of the 200th anniversary of its founding, but each and every day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of Ohio's 15th Congressional District and the citizens of Wilmington, Ohio to honor the life and memory of Robert Lee Hendee. A pioneer of Southwest Ohio's radio, in his 50 years as a behind-the-scenes support and an on-air personality, Lee became a familiar name and voice in his Wilmington community.

Lee embodied the American Dream. Following his education at the International School of Broadcasting in Dayton, Ohio, he went on to work at WKFI in Wilmington, WSRW in Hillsboro, and WBZI in Xenia, before ultimately fulfilling his dream of owning his own radio station in 2015.

As the owner and founder of the nonprofit WALH in Wilmington, Lee brought the power of radio to his community; he interviewed residents and celebrities alike, and unified his neighbors by bringing them information and giving them a voice. I always appreciated the opportunity to stop by the station and catch up with him. His devotion to Wilmington was undeniable.

Aside from being the man with the voice, he was an avid sports fan and was fiercely dedicated to creating positive change in the lives of young people. He was the proud owner of Ultimate Impact Wrestling, a longtime boys' baseball and girls' softball coach, and a talented bowler.

Lee touched the lives of countless people with his infectious spirit and memorable voice, He will be fondly remembered by those who loved him, especially his mother, his brother and sister, his wife, his four children and his six grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Nolan Henderson, a true American hero and pillar of our community, who passed away earlier this month.

Henderson was born and raised in Glenford, Ohio in Perry County. Soon after his graduation from Glenford High School, where he was part of the 1941 State Championship basketball team, he made the decision to join the Army.

In the Army, Henderson served with the 101st Airborne ``Screaming Eagles'' Division as a paratrooper in the 907th Field Glider Artillery Battalion. He fought in the Normandy invasion on D-Day, and was awarded the Bronze Star, Distinguished Unit badge with 4 bronze stars, and the WWII Victory Medal. His Battalion would go on to become the most decorated Army division of WWII.

After returning home, Henderson began a long career of serving the Glenford community. He served nearly 40 years as the Mayor of Glenford and 35 years as a rural carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. He was an active member of multiple community organizations, touching nearly every aspect of the community. This included time on the Northern Local School Board, the Glenford Lions Club, and the Shelly Park Board. He even served with the Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department.

Throughout his life, there is no doubt of the impact he has had on our community and our nation. Thank you Nolan Henderson.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my alma mater, the Ohio State University, on being the first team to win the college football playoff. Go, Bucks.

After beating the number one-ranked University of Alabama team in the Sugar Bowl, the Ohio State University beat the number two-ranked team, the University of Oregon, last night 42-20 to become the first undisputed national champion. Go, Bucks.

This Buckeye team has heart, talent, and teamwork on their side. In fact, they are the first team in history to be ranked outside the top 10 in November and go on to win a national championship. Go, Bucks.

This championship is a result of coaches like Urban Meyer, Luke Fickell, and Chris Ash, and impressive scholar-athletes like Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliott, Tyvis Powell, Darron Lee, Joey Bosa, as well as the entire Buckeye squad. Go, Buckeyes.

Mr. Speaker, before I yield back the balance of my time, I want to leave you with this: O-H.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman for yielding me this time. I appreciate his work on this very important bill, as well as the work of the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Neugebauer, for this 6-year reauthorization of the terrorism risk insurance bill.

This bill protects taxpayers by reforming the program to reduce potential taxpayer costs associated with the terrorism risk reinsurance program. It builds capacity in the private insurance market, and it ensures access to terrorism insurance for communities like mine in Columbus, Ohio, and southern Ohio, as well as all around America.

The bill provides meaningful reforms by reducing the government's share of losses over time, by increasing the triggering amount over time, and ensuring that the Federal recoupment is increased over time. It also provides important transparency on data collection that will in the future let us know how much money insurance companies are billing for terrorism coverage and what the potential exposure is for terrorism losses. Those are all good things. The other thing that is good is it will build capacity in the private marketplace. When we increase the trigger, we build capacity in the private marketplace.

But the most important thing is the certainty this bill creates. A multiyear reauthorization ensures that businesses across Ohio and across the entire country get access to terrorism insurance for multiple years. It creates certainty. It is good for jobs, and it is good for commercial development and construction. I think this bill is a very important reform and a great move forward.

I again want to applaud the chairman for all of his work on it, and I applaud the bipartisan support this bill is getting today. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Missouri for yielding me time.

I also would like to thank the gentlelady from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) for all her work on this bill. She has been dedicated and engaged and hardworking and willing to compromise to move this effort forward to help a lot of Main Street businesses that are in my district, her district, and that dot the map of America.

I also want to thank Ms. Fudge and Mr. Gibson for their collaborative efforts and their work through the Agriculture Committee on this bill as well.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is the culmination of over 2\1/2\ years' work. In 2012, Ms. Moore, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Gibson, and I joined together to introduce legislation that clarified rules under the Dodd-Frank Act with regard to margin clearing and reporting requirements of interaffiliate transactions. What that means is a lot of Main Street businesses in various industries, from agriculture to consumer products, that work across international boundaries use this central treasury unit structure to offset competing or offsetting risks, and that way they can decide what their total aggregate risk is and then make it much more affordable for a corporation.

Unfortunately, under the Dodd-Frank Act and the way the rules were interpreted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, these companies were being charged double or triple the cost by imposing these central clearing unit ways of managing risk. It just didn't make sense, and it actually cost them more money. These companies did not add systemic risk, and that is what the rules on swaps were all about is to make sure we reduce systemic risk. These companies are using these swaps to offset risk to their company and their operating risks, and so this is a commonsense piece of legislation. In fact, Barney Frank, the author of the Dodd-Frank legislation, spoke in favor of this when he was the ranking member in the last Congress.

Unfortunately, there was no activity on the bill in the last Congress, and over the last 2 years both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the CFTC have worked with us--with Ms. Moore and me--on these rules. They have done a pretty good job in that regard, but there is more to be done because their rules left out the folks that use these centralized treasury units as a specific business model. Just last month, in fact, the CFTC published a no-action letter that Ms. Moore referred to; but a no-action letter means that it is still part of the law, we are just not going to enforce the law.

What we need to do is fix the law. It is really common sense. So this bill that Ms. Moore introduced fixes the law for that centralized treasury unit way of doing business. It makes sense. It does not add any risk to the system, and it allows these companies that are all over America to manage their risk in a smarter way without being charged two or three times as much and without risking that they are violating the law, even though it is not going to be enforced.

So I applaud the gentlelady from Wisconsin for changing the law, fixing the law, and making it work for a lot of small, medium, and even large businesses across America so they can use their cash to hire Americans in this tough time, and hire more Americans and not waste it on unneeded cost that does not provide any safety to anyone.

I want to thank the gentlelady from Wisconsin as well as the gentleman from New York and the gentlelady from Ohio for all their work, and I was proud to be a small part of this.

I would urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, on October 10th Taiwan celebrates its National Day, commonly referred to as ``Double Ten Day'' because of its occurrence on the tenth day of the tenth month. On Double Ten Day, Taiwanese citizens pause and honor its first glimpse of becoming an independent and self-governing country.

Exactly six months ago, on April 10th, the United States and Taiwan celebrated a special anniversary--the 35th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act. This bill passed Congress and was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. The Taiwan Relations Act was crucial in establishing a legal relationship between our country and that of Taiwan.

The Taiwan Relations Act has been mutually beneficial to both the United States and Taiwan--boosting our economies and establishing a confidence of protection to the newly-established democracy of Taiwan.

The people of Taiwan have contributed to our thriving economy in many ways--and for that, we are grateful. In fact, just last year, Taiwan imported nearly $26 billion worth of American goods. In Ohio alone we have reached over $450 million from exports to Taiwan--making the country Ohio's 5th largest Asian export market.

We are grateful for Taiwan's friendship and look forward to many more years of this successful partnership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Major General Deborah A. Ashenhurst for being elected Chair of the National Guard Association of the United States Board of Directors. General Ashenhurst has the distinguished honor of being the first woman to serve in this position.

Since enlisting in the Ohio Army National Guard in 1978, General Ashenhurst's military career has been nothing short of outstanding. General Ashenhurst was commissioned as an Engineer Officer through the Ohio Army National Guard Officer Candidate School in 1980. After completing the Engineer Basic Course, she served as a reconnaissance officer with the 54th Support Center. Throughout her service, General Ashenhurst has commanded and held staff officer assignments located at all levels of the Guard.

General Ashenhurst's most recent assignments include: the Commanding General of the 73rd Troop Command; the Commander of the 237th Personnel Services Battalion; the Director of the Property and Fiscal Operations for the United States Property and Fiscal Office for Ohio. She has also formally served as the Central Ohio Chapter President of the Association of the United States Army and President of the Ohio National Guard Association.

Today, General Ashenhurst continues to serve our country with great commitment and enthusiasm. She serves as the Adjutant General of the Joint Force Headquarters--Ohio. She is also a member of the Ohio Governor's cabinet where she is responsible for commanding the Ohio National Guard and maintaining the military readiness of the Ohio Militia.

General Ashenhurst has been unwavering in her service to both Ohio and to the United States. I offer my sincere congratulations to Major General Deborah Ashenhurst for being elected to this position. On behalf of Ohio and the country, I thank her for her service and wish her the best in her new role.

Madam Speaker, I was first made aware of the practice of rehoming earlier this year when it was

discovered that a girl who had been adopted from Haiti was transferred back and forth from an abusive environment in central Iowa, where I live, to Idaho via a Yahoo Internet forum.

Rehoming is the transfer of children into the custody of unvetted strangers without the use of the child welfare system, and currently there is no Federal law prohibiting it. That means there is nothing stopping dangerous and unfit individuals from using online mediums like Craigslist to seek custody and then abuse, neglect, or exploit children.

As a father of two young children, the idea of children being treated as goods or property is reprehensible. Our Nation must address rehoming. That is why I am introducing legislation to establish Federal guidelines and reporting requirements for custodial transfers. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help me solve this problem of rehoming.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5106) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 100 Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo, California, as the ``Philmore Graham Post Office Building''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 5106, introduced by Representative Mike Thompson of California. H.R. 5106 would designate the post office located at 100 Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo, California, as the Philmore Graham Post Office Building.

Philmore Graham was a naval veteran, engineer, and founder of the Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club in California in 1966. Over the next several decades, the Boys and Girls Club helped boys and girls graduate from high school and college and go on to become accomplished athletes, doctors, judges, attorneys, and teachers.

Born in North Carolina, Mr. Graham graduated from Tennessee State University, served our country in the Air Force, and built a career at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. He was the first and, to this day, remains the only African American to hold the position of supervisor at Mare Island's department of nuclear energy, but it was his passion for bettering the lives of young people that led him to establish the Boys and Girls Club in Vallejo, California.

Beginning with only six young men meeting in his garage, Mr. Graham grew the Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club to over 300 young people. Mr. Graham mentored them and encouraged them to apply themselves to their academics and get involved with sports and other extracurricular activities and instilled in them the value of hard work, self-respect, and perseverance. He truly made a difference in the lives of hundreds of young people and was beloved by all who had the privilege to know him.

Philmore Graham passed away in June of 2014. He had received numerous honors and awards for his work, including the NAACP's Outstanding Citizen of the Year, the Salute to America Lifetime Merit Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Humanitarian Award, and the Omega Man of the Year and Citizen of the Year.

I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to the many accomplishments and contributions of Philmore Graham by passing H.R. 5106.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Having no further requests for time, I urge all Members to join me in support of this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4189) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4000 Leap Road in Hilliard, Ohio, as the ``Sergeant Shawn T. Hannon and Master Sergeant Jeffrey J. Rieck and Veterans Memorial Post Office Building'', as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

I rise today to ask support for H.R. 4189, a bill to rename the U.S. post office located at 4000 Leap Road in Hilliard, Ohio, as the Master Sergeant Shawn T. Hannon, Master Sergeant Jeffrey T. Rieck and Veterans Memorial Post Office.

Master Sergeants Hannon and Rieck were killed in Afghanistan in April 4, 2012, while serving their country as members of the Ohio Army National Guard. The House recently passed a bill to rename a post office after a third soldier, Captain Nicholas Rozanski, who died in that same attack, and that post office will be in Dublin, Ohio.

Master Sergeant Hannon was a native of Grove City, Ohio, and served as the chief legal counsel at the Ohio Department of Veterans Services. I knew him personally as both a soldier and as one of the best advocates for the Ohio veterans community. He is survived by his wife Jamie and his son Evan.

Master Sergeant Rieck lived in Columbus and worked in the Guard's Family Readiness office, where he helped families prepare for deployment and helped loved ones deal with deployments. His son, Joel, was 15 when his father made the ultimate sacrifice.

These men dedicated their lives to helping other people and died while protecting our freedoms. This bill will help ensure that their sacrifices and service are always remembered. We also included the Veterans Memorial Post Office on this to make sure that all veterans' sacrifices and service are remembered when people enter this post office.

I want to thank Chairman Issa for advancing this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 4189.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.