Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life, service and legacy of my friend and colleague from North Carolina, Walter B. Jones, Jr.

Congressman Jones served the people of North Carolina's Third District honorably for more than two decades, being elected 13 times, starting in 1994.

He passed away on Sunday in Greenville, on his birthday.

Congressman Jones will be remembered for his courage, conviction, and character. He was a man led by his faith, never wavering in his support for the unborn. He was known as a staunch pro-life advocate.

He was just as tough when it came to his support of the military. His district covered both the Marine Corps' Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and he worked hard to give our servicemen and -women a better quality of life.

Our country is better off when people like Walter Jones are serving in this body. Please join me in praying for his family and loved ones throughout this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the ranking member, for yielding, and I want to start by congratulating him on his new role on the Financial Services Committee. Certainly, he makes our home State, the Old North State, proud.

I also want to congratulate the new chair on her position as chair of our committee, and I look forward to working with her in a bipartisan fashion whenever I can.

I also have to thank my colead on H.R. 56, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch), for his leadership on illicit financing issues, and this bill in particular. I always enjoy teaming up with him, and I value his input and expertise on these issues. I am hopeful we will see some movement on his kleptocracy legislation soon, and I am proud to be coleading that bill with the gentleman.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bipartisan legislation, the Financial Technology Protection Act. I have said this many times before, but I will say it again because it bears repeating: Illicit financing networks are the linchpin of any terrorist group, criminal organization, or rogue state's operations.

As we move into an increasingly digital and virtual world, criminals and terrorists will start to use new technologies that are available to them. This shouldn't shock anyone. Of course, we all recognize the good that comes with innovation and new technology, but there will always be bad actors as well.

The bottom line is that the Federal Government has to be one step ahead of the illicit actors in this new space without threatening technological innovation, and that is what this bill will do. It will do this by giving the private sector additional tools to protect their new technology, hence the name for the bill, the Financial Technology Protection Act.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 56 is a culmination of months of work with outside groups all over the political spectrum, from national security groups that appreciate the task force to trade and industry groups that appreciate the new tools being given to them that will help them better protect their industry and livelihood.

I think that this bill strikes an impressive balance and is an example of some bipartisan areas that we can work together on in the 116th Congress. Specifically, Mr. Speaker, my legislation will do the following things:

First, and perhaps most importantly, H.R. 56 establishes the Fintech Leadership in Innovation and Financial Intelligence Program, which will be used for grants and rewards in the fintech space for ideas and programs to combat terrorist use of digital currencies. These technologies would be open access and open source. Experts in the private sector can track illicit use of these currencies and perhaps do a better job of leveraging their talent to create tools and programs through the Fintech Leadership and Financial Intelligence Program. We need to give them the ability to try, and that is exactly what this bill does.

Secondly, it establishes the Independent Financial Technology Task Force to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing, which will improve coordination and start conversations between the private and public sectors for new ways to combat illicit use. In my view, industry and the Federal Government should be coming together to find best practices and solutions to stop this new terrorist funding threat.

H.R. 56 includes language from H.R. 5227, the Preventing Rogue and Foreign Actors from Evading Sanctions Act, introduced last Congress by my friend, Mark Meadows of North Carolina. This language directs the Treasury Department to develop a strategy that identifies and describes the potential uses of virtual currencies and other related emerging technologies by states and nonstate actors, terrorist organizations to evade sanctions, finance terrorism, or launder monetary instruments and threaten the United States' national security. Again, the development of a national strategy to combat illicit use strikes me as common sense; therefore, we are excited to have it included in the bill and to have Mr. Meadows' support.

Finally, this Budd-Lynch legislation establishes a targeted rewards program for information leading to the capture of terrorists or illicit actors involved with terror digital currency networks. The government should be encouraging individuals with knowledge of illicit use of virtual currencies to come forward through the offerings of rewards for successful convictions.

Here is the bottom line: H.R. 56 is legislation that sparks private- sector innovation to deal with terror and illicit financing when it comes to virtual currencies, which ultimately benefits the underlying technology, the blockchain.

I think that Congress should be promoting programs and technologies that give industry the tools they need to save their technology and industry from illicit use and, hopefully, save them from further negotiation down the road.

I am very excited that this bill is up for a vote in the House today and has such strong bipartisan support.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of my bipartisan legislation and, once again, thank everyone who has had a hand in bringing this to the floor. It is an exciting day when we can focus on fintech, and I am hopeful for the future of this committee and the 116th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on H.R. 433, the Veterans' Entry to Apprenticeship Act, which I introduced 2 weeks ago.

While a lot of progress has been made over the past few years in reducing the number of unemployed veterans in America, the latest data shows that around 370,000 remain unemployed as of 2017.

Last year, the House of Representatives passed several bills that improved the lives of our veterans specifically related to healthcare. My bill would keep this momentum going.

Here is the short of it: Right now, veterans are not allowed to use their

GI Bill benefits to cover the cost of Department of Labor-approved pre- apprenticeship programs, such as training in welding or training in carpentry. This bill would change that and allow those who have served our country to learn skills that will better prepare them for apprenticeships and, ultimately, the workforce.

This bill will continue the progress we have made to better the lives of veterans who have served this country honorably, and I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in this effort.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast my vote on the passage of H.J. Res. 31 during the last vote series. I oppose the bill and would have voted ``nay.''

Personal Explanation

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding, and I also thank my friend from Arizona for inviting us to his home State to meet with several Members from Arizona. What an eye-opener. This is something that I have supported--the building of the wall, increasing our border security--standing strong with the President for that. But to see it in person was quite an eye-opener, and I really want to thank my friend for doing that.

After spending several days in Arizona, with Customs and Border Patrol, touring areas of this southern border, I can say with more assurance than ever that we are in desperate need of a wall. In certain areas, all that separates us from another sovereign nation is a barbed wire fence. Living on a cattle farm in North Carolina, if a fence on our farm was in the same condition as that, we would be spending all night to replace it because we would be losing cows left and right. Our ranchers down there in Arizona are losing their cows into Mexico. The cows from the ranches in Mexico are coming down.

You don't realize--we don't think about it much--but there are ranchers on the Mexican side that actually want a wall. They say: Please, build the wall. We don't think about hearing it that much, but we do because they don't want the cartels coming into their ranch and cutting their fences. There are a lot of problems.

While I was there, over and over, I heard, again and again, about the need to have a wall to shrink the amount of mileage that our Border Patrol agents need to cover.

When technology detects an illegal, it takes them about 2 hours by car to get there, give or take, and then about 2 hours on foot, and then from there it is a completely different game. A wall will act as a complement to our brave border agents, and it limits the amount of terrain, which is vast--it will limit the amount that they have to cover.

The situation facing the ranchers is bleak, as I mentioned before. I spoke to one woman, whose brother was killed by an illegal alien during a home invasion. We hear all the time about home

invasions. Many of these Angel Families have been left with lost loved ones. Other families have had property damage or stolen vehicles. A simple F-150 pickup truck, that we would normally just park and take our keys with us, they have got chains wrapped around the whole vehicle to keep it from being stolen by the illegals.

We spoke with two other Angel Families, and their stories are heartbreaking and, unfortunately, not anomalies. Throughout the trip, we heard over and over again how the drug cartels will use illegal immigrants as decoys in order to overwhelm Customs and Border Patrol agents at the checkpoint, leaving the border unmanned so that they can move their drugs across.

Each immigrant, who is caught trying to illegally enter our country, takes about 2 to 4 hours to process. The cartels have done the math. They have sent waves and waves of people to tie up our Border Patrol so that they can, in essence, send their cartel and drug mules across in another area.

This weekend, President Trump put forth a plan that would reopen the government, but the plan was rejected by Democrats before it was even released. I call on my Democratic colleagues to come to the table and negotiate in good faith. In the past, Democrats have been more than open to securing our borders: in some cases, voting for $50 billion and $40 billion, respectively. The $5 billion that Trump is asking for pales in comparison.

Before us is a national security crisis, a drug crisis, and a humanitarian crisis. A wall will help in a much broader effort to get operational control of our border and keep our country safe.

Madam Speaker, I rise today because this month marks 46 years since Roe v. Wade was decided.

Since that decision, there have been over 60 million abortions. I am not sure there is any other way to describe this statistic other than the word ``horrifying.''

With that being said, I also rise today to recognize the thousands of people who travel to Washington every year to fight for the unborn.

Madam Speaker, the pro-life movement in America is growing. Why? Because it is a movement about love and about promoting a culture of life.

By promoting a culture of life, these folks are advocating for more than just saving the unborn babies. Although that is extremely important, Madam Speaker, this is a fight for the dignity of life that says we need to view people as assets to our society and not as liabilities.

When we view people as assets, it means we are giving those who are trapped in a cycle of poverty a real shot to make it in this life; and when we view people as assets, it means we are seeing those with disabilities as contributors--and nothing less.

I want to close by thanking all the people, especially those from North Carolina, who give a voice to the voiceless. They are an inspiration to me and to many others around the country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life, legacy, and ministry of Chaplain G. William Bryan. I just knew him as Chaplain Bill.

He was a fellow alum of Dallas Theological Seminary and was most widely known as DTS' beloved chaplain. To many, he was a friend and encourager. To Shirley, he was a devoted husband. He was the father of three, grandfather to nine, and a spiritual mentor to many, including me and my wife, Amy Kate.

I will never forget, when tragedy struck my family a few decades ago, that Chaplain Bryan was one of the first to reach out with comforting words, prayer, and follow-up. His role as chaplain served thousands every year, but when you saw him, you felt as if you were connecting with a best friend.

Chaplain Bill was also known to play his trumpet with full vigor. As a student at DTS, I avoided the front row in chapel for fear he might actually explode during the hymn, ``All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name.''

Chaplain Bill, we will miss you down here, but we look forward to joining you in the everlasting song, with your trumpet at full tilt, as we crown Him Lord of all.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about Khalil Maatouk, who is the executive director of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and

Research, and the head of the Syrian Center for the Defense of Detainees.

On October 2 of 2012, 6 years ago, Mr. Maatouk was being driven to work by a friend, and that was the last time anyone was able to reach him. It is very possible that he was illegally detained at a security checkpoint by the Syrian Government. Even though a released detainee at the State Security detention facility in Damascus said he saw Khalil there, the Syrian general prosecutor has still denied his whereabouts.

Six years is long enough, Madam Speaker. It is time for the Syrian Government to release Khalil. He has dedicated his life to the defense of human rights, and it is past time that he gets to return to his family.

Thank you, as a friend and Congresswoman from Missouri, for yielding and holding such an important and timely Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, President Trump went to the American people and rightfully made the case for the border security proposal he has submitted to Congress, and it is a proposal that I fully support.

This plan, which was developed by border security and law enforcement professionals, takes necessary steps to secure our border, protect our communities, and it ends the plague of crimes that were committed by illegal aliens against American citizens.

The truth is America is at a decision point. It is time to decide what kind of country, exactly, we want to be: a country founded on the rule of law or on lawlessness.

We have seen States across the country declare themselves a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, willing to put the lives of U.S. citizens at risk for political purposes. We have lawmakers here in this Chamber who are intent on eliminating our Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ICE, which is tasked with enforcing our immigration laws.

We know that the vast majority of immigrants are great people, and it would be foolish to even think otherwise. In fact, legal immigration-- that is legal, with an L--historically has been beneficial economically, socially, and culturally to the United States, and I have no doubt that we are going to continue to invite and welcome legal immigrants with open arms to our country every day. We do that for about 1 million a year. We are a very welcoming and generous country. But to ignore the crisis at our southern border is also dangerous.

Throughout 2018, Customs and Border Patrol seized 1.7 million pounds of narcotics. We have seen a 38 percent increase in methamphetamines and a 73 percent increase in fentanyl coming across our borders. These drugs are taking the lives of tens of thousands of our people every year--I think we heard the number 72,000 last year, including many of those from my home State of North Carolina. For those who are living with addiction, these drugs steal their dignity, and they steal their self-worth.

The trafficking of women and children across our southern border is equally as egregious. In his address to the Nation the other night, the President called this a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul.

The Department of Homeland Security has also been very clear regarding the national security implications that come with having a border that can be easily accessed by those who want to cause us harm.

To conclude, I will say that, right now, the government is in a shutdown because President Trump requested funding for a border wall that Democrats once supported when there was a different President.

To be frank, the current shutdown isn't due to policy difference; it is due to politics. So let's put politics aside, and let's do what is right for our constituents and for our country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for recognizing me tonight.

Mr. Speaker, we know our immigration system is broken and desperately in need of reform. No sovereign country in the world is scrutinized the way America is just for simply wanting to secure our borders.

For decades, the United States has taken in millions of immigrants. In fact, that number is about a million per year, and that is something we are going to continue to do.

Immigrants, historically, have been a major asset to the growth and prosperity of our country. However, the issue before America is not legal immigration but illegal immigration.

It is interesting to me that, throughout the years, Democrats have supported securing our borders. In 2006, the Secure Fence Act was signed into law by President Bush authorizing 700 miles of border fence and $50 billion in total maintenance. That is a far stretch from the small $5 billion, in comparison, that President Trump is asking for today.

We should remember that the Secure Fence Act passed through Congress with bold and broad Democrat support.

So in 2013, we should also remember that Senator Schumer himself sponsored a bill that invested $46 billion in border security improvements that added 700 miles of border fencing. That is $41 billion more than what President Trump is currently asking for.

So what changed, Mr. Speaker, between now and then? Simply, politics. Politics is the only thing that has changed. But, to me, securing our country's borders and making sure people feel safe should be above politics.

Our ICE agents and Border Patrol need the necessary resources to do their jobs effectively and with confidence. It is hard to plug a leak when you are working with the wrong tools. The solution is simply to shut off the water at the source.

In closing, I would pose these questions to my friends across the aisle: If now is not the time to secure our border, then when is? If not today, then when? And where do we go from here?

If we can't come together to solve a problem that both Republicans and Democrats know exists, I worry that our tribal political environment will hold the security of American citizens hostage for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my Democrat colleagues to turn back the clock and remember a time when putting the country first was more important than putting the party first.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his friendship and for his time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to yet another short-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Program, or the NFIP. This is our eighth one--our eighth one since fiscal year 2017 began.

I think we owe it to the taxpayers and I owe it to the residents of North Carolina's 13th District to fight for reform. We cannot support another short-term renewal, especially considering the program is $20 billion--and I have even heard that it is even upwards of that--$20 billion in the hole. It is hemorrhaging money, Mr. Speaker. And it is concerning that folks cannot even agree to or even support modest reforms to one of the most flawed government programs we have ever seen.

Mr. Speaker, I urge opposition of this extension and believe this continuous kicking of the can down the road cannot go on forever. There is still time to adopt even modest reforms, and I sure hope that we do so.

I think Senator Mike Lee of Utah said it best when he gave his description of a ``yes'' vote to extend the NFIP yet again with no reforms back in the summer. He said: ``This is terribly discouraging. It's not just this program; it's all that it represents. If we aren't willing to adopt even modest reforms to a minor program like NFIP, how will we ever address any of the far more vexing problems facing our government?''

This Senator from Utah gets it, and, Mr. Speaker, I wish others would as well.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Hensarling, and after those kind words, maybe we all should just yield back. But I am going to hang on for a few minutes and talk about some of the great things that we have done on Chairman Hensarling's committee that I have been honored to be a part of for these last 2 years and look forward to continuing on. One of the things to mention in the 115th Congress is to highlight the need to bring JOBS 3.0 across the finish line.

But before I do that, I have to say, Mr. Speaker, that I don't think there

has been a harder working committee in Washington, D.C., over the past 2 years, from our leadership all the way down to the committee's staff level, and it shows in our accomplishments. I am proud to have played a small role in some of these victories.

One simply cannot start a speech like this without talking about the tremendous work that went into the Financial CHOICE Act, which ultimately became known as S. 2155.

As we all know, Dodd-Frank was enacted in 2010 in an effort to end the so-called too-big-to-fail financial institutions. However, Dodd- Frank and Congress inadvertently created too-small-to-succeed financial institutions, which punished our regional and community banks and credit unions. It was unfortunate, but in the end, community financial institutions were shut down, while the consumer and small business owner were starved of the access to credit at a time when they needed it the most.

However, with the passage and ultimate enactment of S. 2155, the status quo that I just highlighted has changed, instead, for good. Dodd-Frank reform was a win for North Carolina's community financial institutions, small businesses, innovators, and the economy as a whole. Under this bill, the consumer and small business will get access to the credit they need, whether it be used to buy a home or finally start and expand their businesses.

I think this bill, Mr. Speaker, is, arguably, the most important legislative win this Congress has seen in a long time. It will benefit all sectors of the economy, and I am so excited that we got this done.

On a more personal note, outside of Dodd-Frank reform, I have really enjoyed the work that has gone on at the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee. Under the leadership of our chairman, Steve Pearce, my bipartisan bill, H.R. 3321, the National Strategy for Combating Terrorist, Underground, and Other Illicit Financing Act, is just one example of this work. I was able to get this bipartisan bill signed by the President and passed into law as part of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

My bill directs the Department of the Treasury to develop a national strategy to combat the financing of terrorism and related forms of illicit finance involving all levels of government. H.R. 3321 will get us closer to a coordinated strategy on disrupting these illicit financial networks in the hopes that we are able to starve terrorist groups like ISIS of the resources they need to carry out their radical agendas.

I also want to highlight and think that we should be proud of the balance we have been trying to strike with regard to fintech. I have my own legislation on this front, for example, H.R. 6849, the Bank Secrecy Innovation Act, which directs the Secretary of the Treasury to encourage the use of technological innovations that improve financial institutions' anti-money laundering programs.

Financial institutions currently have little incentive to invest in innovative technology solutions to BSA compliance because of the regulatory inflexibility. The Bank Secrecy Innovation Act will provide financial institutions with greater incentive and certainty when experimenting with technology to aid in BSA compliance by providing a safe harbor against having the use of such technology be the basis for regulatory penalty.

The application of innovative technology by financial institutions in their BSA compliance programs will likely improve the detection of illicit activity, leading to more efficient and higher quality reporting of suspicious activity by financial institutions. Better, more targeted reports likely will aid law enforcement in focusing their limited resources on real criminal activities, while also reducing the time that law enforcement must spend weeding out reports that are just irrelevant.

As I said earlier, Mr. Speaker, there is still one more package of bills that passed out of our committee and this body with strong bipartisan backing that still needs to be pushed across the finish line. I am talking, of course, about JOBS 3.0 and the capital formation package that would further improve our economy and make it easier for companies to go public.

This package included bills like mine, H.R. 3903, the Encouraging Public Offerings Act, that I introduced with my friend on the other side of the aisle from New York, Gregory Meeks. It passed the House, if you can imagine, 417-0.

It allows issuers to submit to the SEC for confidential review, before publicly filing, draft registrations for IPOs. H.R. 3903 will reduce the risk to companies that are just thinking about going public, in order to make listing on exchanges even more attractive, which, in the end, will only strengthen our financial markets.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation found under JOBS will make it easier for startups and small businesses in North Carolina to attract the investments they need to go public, grow, and create more jobs.

I also want to highlight, briefly, title 14 of JOBS, which protects the American insurance standards. This strong, bipartisan language found under title 14 will give U.S. negotiators the strong legislative backing they need when they negotiate with international bodies like the IAIS.

Now, as we try to bring JOBS over the finish line, I am hopeful that we can keep this strong, bipartisan language in the bill. We must keep it in whatever version of JOBS that we pass. The American insuranc consumer needs it and also deserves it. So let's get JOBS done.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, like my colleagues have said before, I want to thank our chairman, Jeb Hensarling, for his principled leadership of this committee and for seeing us through some great wins in the 115th Congress. He has been a friend, a mentor, and somebody I respect in the way he leads, and leads his family greatly, and I know that he will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Colorado, Doug Lamborn, for yielding. He is one of the buckles of the Bible Belt in Colorado and in our country, and I thank him for this time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the 77th annual National Bible Week, as so many of my colleagues are doing this evening.

The late Reverend Billy Graham from my home State of North Carolina was put to rest just down this hallway earlier this year. We are grateful for his life and for what he meant to our home State in North Carolina. He said: ``Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion. It is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.''

Well, what does the daily process that Reverend Graham is referring to here look like? And how do we obtain a life that looks more and more like Christ daily?

I believe the answer is found, in part, by daily thought and meditation on the Word of God, and I wholeheartedly believe 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17, that says: ``All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.''

We also know that the Word of God is alive, so my colleagues have referred to this verse in Hebrews 4:12, which says: ``For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and the spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart.''

I could go on and on. But, again, I want to say how important this book is to me. For those who are in need of strength and direction, if they went to the middle, they will find the Psalms. If they go just to the right, they will find the Proverbs.

Proverbs 3:5-6: ``Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.''

Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Colorado for this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, this is American Education Week, and I rise to honor and thank the teachers and school administrators who have dedicated their lives to ensure our future generations are stronger than ever.

There are over 50 million kids in our public schools today. Back in 2015, before the Every Student Succeeds Act was signed into law, the Federal approach to education relied heavily on standardized testing to measure academic achievement. While I understand the importance of testing to measure academic growth from year to year, there should be a number of indicators for evaluating academic success and improvement for both schools and students.

After that bill passed in 2015, the goal shifted from teaching children more efficiently to inspiring lifelong learning in students. I applaud educators for embracing this goal, and I am hopeful that this approach will better prepare millions of students for the challenges that await them in life and in the workforce.

While on the subject of Federal education, we cannot avoid the debate over the amount of taxpayer money we send to schools throughout the country. There is and always will be bipartisan agreement that we should make sure schools have the resources they need in order to be successful. But in the coming appropriations cycle, and in future ones, we must also remember that additional spending does not necessarily improve student performance. This has been proven time and time again, Mr. Speaker.

One data point I would refer folks to is high school graduation rates, which have remained stagnant since the 1970s. What we have seen is very unfortunate: the system continues to grind forward, with costs going up each year and our efficiency going in the opposite direction.

I will continue to fight for education reforms aimed at improving resource allocation and boosting student performance. Recognizing the shortfalls within our K-12 education may not be a popular talking point, but I think it is worth emphasizing the need to act responsibly and address the problems students, parents, and educators face.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to close by saying two things. The first is a simple thank you to the teachers, including those teachers in my own family, who have dedicated their life to serving students. Your hard work does not go unnoticed. The second thing is that I will work hard to improve our education system for students in my district and around the country.