Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, Israelis commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day. Carrying out what they called their ``final solution'' to the ``Jewish problem,'' the Nazis gassed millions of Jews at Auschwitz, and then collected their corpses like waste to be burned in the camp.

Mr. Speaker, this happened just 72 years ago, though many seem to forget. From the ashes of Auschwitz the Jewish people returned to their ancient homeland and established the sole democracy in the Middle East.

Unfortunately, the Jewish people of Israel are again targets of elimination. Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and a growing list of others have openly called to ``eliminate'' the Jewish state and ``wipe it off the map.''

We must honor the memories of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis by vowing that Jews will never again stand alone before those seeking their extermination. The American people stand with Israel and with Jews everywhere remembering those that perished.

We remember. And we vow: never again.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked the anniversary of the ANZAC Day. On this day, 102 years ago, while horrific trench warfare was taking place in Europe, half a continent away, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, came together for a noble cause. Together they set out to capture the Dardanelles and Gallipoli to open a route for the allied navies.

The combined forces were met by fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turks. What was originally intended to quickly eliminate Turkey from the war turned into a bloody, 8-month battle. More than 8,000 Australians and 2,400 New Zealanders died in that campaign.

The tragic losses of so many brave soldiers caused Australians and New Zealanders to remember the sacrifice of all those who died on ANZAC Day. On this national day of remembrance I am humbly inspired by how Australians show gratitude to their fallen warriors.

Today I ask my colleagues to join our friends and allies, the Aussies and the Kiwis, across the sea, as they honor their fallen and reflect on the many different meanings of war.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, when our forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the goal was simple: remove the Taliban government that sheltered the plotters of the 9/11 attacks on America, and destroy al-Qaida.

Nearly 16 years later, Afghanistan is still a haven for terrorists who seek to attack and kill Americans. Since then, the Taliban has waged an insurgency in Afghanistan, destabilizing the country, creating perfect conditions for terrorists to exploit.

The Taliban and al-Qaida have launched many of their attacks in Afghanistan from Pakistan. Taliban insurgency is stronger today than at any other point since 2001. Just last week, a Taliban sneak attack killed more than 160 Afghan soldiers, prompting the defense minister and army chief of staff to resign.

But the Taliban don't just stage attacks, they seize territory. The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction said in January that 172 Afghan districts are controlled, influenced, or contested by the Taliban. Al-Qaida has a long history of loyalty to the Taliban. Osama bin Laden swore his allegiance to the Taliban's leader, Mullah Omar, even before 9/11. When bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, Ayman al-Zawahiri renewed that oath and cemented ties between al-Qaida and the Taliban. Wherever the Taliban has influence, we can be sure that al-Qaida is not far behind.

Since 2010, U.S. officials have incorrectly claimed that al-Qaida had a small presence in the country limited only to 50 to 100 fighters. Then, in 2015, a shocking U.S. raid in Afghanistan uncovered a massive al-Qaida training camp, rounding up over 150 al-Qaida terrorists. This was more fighters found in one raid than the U.S. officials claimed existed in the entire country. And by the end of last year, U.S. officials announced that 250 al-Qaida terrorists were killed or captured in 2016 alone.

Along with al-Qaida in Afghanistan, we have the other terrorist group, the Haqqani Network. This group is directly linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban. The Haqqani Network is responsible for more American deaths in the region than any other terrorist group. The Haqqani Network attacks inside Afghanistan have been directly traced back to-- you guessed it--Pakistan.

In fact, in 2011, Admiral Mike Mullen, then-chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate: ``The Haqqani Network acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency.''

The truth is that Pakistan has ties to about every terrorist group in Afghanistan. And we know that the Taliban is still based in Pakistan today. It came as no surprise that when the U.S. drone strike killed the leader of the Taliban in 2016, he was--that is right--in Pakistan.

The laundry list of evidence of Pakistan support for terrorists goes on an on. We all remember where al-Qaida leader and America's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, was found and killed: in Pakistan.

Afghanistan's representative to the U.N. recently told the Security Council that Pakistan maintains ties with more than 20 different terrorist groups.

Mr. Speaker, Pakistan is playing us. Pakistan turns a blind eye to the terrorist allies, the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network fighters in the area. The Pakistan Taliban fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan, known as ISIS Khorasan province. ISIS announced their Afghan affiliate in January 2015, and now has entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country.

For the first time ever, the military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb, the Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, earlier this month on ISIS targets in Afghanistan. It is no surprise that Afghanistan is a hotbed for terrorist mischief groups, all related to Pakistan. That is what Pakistan has always wanted: a weak and divided Afghanistan that threatens the United States.

Mr. Speaker, it is time we reassess our Pakistan policy so that it matches

Pakistan's behavior in Afghanistan. We need to call Pakistan out. We must reduce aid to the two-faced Pakistan Government. We don't need to pay them to betray us. We must designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism, and we must remove their major non-NATO ally status. In the war on terror, it is crystal clear Pakistan is not on America's side.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, 40-year-old Mexican national Oscar Perez Rangel had already been deported twice. He left the United States with a host of felony convictions, including attempted robbery by firearms and illegal reentry. But holes in the U.S. border allowed the outlaw to sneak back into the U.S. a third time.

Here in the U.S., Rangel's girlfriend ran a daycare center. It was there that he set his sights on a next victim--an unsuspecting 12-year- old girl. For 3 months, he molested and raped her.

Finally, he was caught and charged. Eventually, he will be turned over to ICE and deported again.

Mr. Speaker, we must have the moral will to secure the border. Criminals who violently assault, rape, and pillage America are slipping back into the country under the radar. We must prevent criminal aliens like Rangel from reentering our country after they are legally deported.

Secure the southern border. Do it now, or there will be more 12-year- old victims.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, for years, cries for help coming from those on the front lines of the Rio Grande have fallen on deaf ears in Washington.

I have traveled to the southern border many times in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Law enforcement and citizens do the best they can with what they have got, but they are outmanned, outgunned, and outfinanced by the drug cartels and other devious actors trying to enter the United States.

The Federal Government has been negligent for too long, but there is a new sheriff in town, and President Trump has promised that help is on the way. He wants to build a wall.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that effective border security requires a comprehensive strategy that includes not only physical barriers in places but also increased use of technology, more boots on the ground, and more boats in the Rio Grande.

The United States has amazing capabilities like aerial drones, aerostats, and seismic technology to detect crossers. Let's use and do everything to secure the Nation.

The Commander in Chief is right when he indicates border security is a matter of national security.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, it is with heavy heart that I rise today to honor the life and memory of my friend, Dr. Buddy Hicks of Kingwood, Texas, who passed away Sunday while delivering a sermon at Pipeline Church in Humble, Texas.

This is a photograph of Buddy and his wife, Carolyn, and their grandson, Cole.

Buddy was doing what he loved to do until the very moment that the good Lord called him home. The Lord called him home right in the middle of his sermon.

For nearly 30 years, Buddy has faithfully and tenaciously ministered to congregations throughout the great State of Texas. He was a man of God, always had a smile, never met a stranger. He spent his life spreading the gospel to communities throughout Texas and bringing other followers to fellowship with each other.

Buddy was a member of my pastors' roundtable, an organization that he organized that had religious leaders from all faiths come together to work together in our community.

I leaned on him for prayer and guidance. I have a great deal of appreciation for Buddy and his dedication to church and the Humble-area community. He will be sorely missed.

My prayers are with his wife, Carolyn; their three children, Angela, Shari, and Trey--Trey worked for me here in Congress--and our prayers also go to his two grandchildren, Cole and Zoe, for they will miss their Pops.

2 Timothy 4:7 recites Buddy's life to a tee:

``I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.''

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and the ranking member, Mr. Sherman, for his cosponsorship of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, North Korea was on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list for 20 years. It was taken off in 2008 for purely diplomatic reasons.

North Korea agreed to freeze and disable its nuclear program as the result of international efforts known as the Six-Party Talks. In exchange, the United States decided to remove North Korea from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

Fast forward 9 years later, North Korea remains off the list while it races toward the capability to send a nuclear warhead to American shores. There has been no secret about this. Little Kim has said he wants to send intercontinental ballistic missiles to the United States.

North Korea has conducted four nuclear tests since 2008. Recent satellite images suggest that it is preparing for yet another nuclear test.

North Korea is also doing all the things that got it placed on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list in the first place. North Korea harbored Japanese Red Army terrorists who participated in the hijacking of a jet in 1970. These terrorists are still living happily in North Korea today. Press reports suggests that little Kim is even arming and training Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists.

A U.S. district court actually found in 2014 that North Korea materially supported terrorist attacks by Hezbollah against Israel.

North Korea has also moved toward a new form of terrorism: cyber warfare. We all remember the 2014 North Korea cyber attack against Sony Pictures that included direct threats against its employees and a warning to ``Remember the 11th of September 2001.'' In March of 2015, North Korea launched a cyber attack against nuclear power plants in South Korea.

North Korea is not just active over cyber. It has a long history of actually killing folks, dissidents in particular, all over the world. In February, North Korean agents killed little Kim's half brother in Malaysia using a chemical VX nerve agent.

North Korea has helped Assad develop chemical weapons. Thankfully, Israel took out those chemical weapons some time ago.

Mr. Speaker, North Korea's actions have not gotten any better. They have only become more dangerous and more treacherous. In addition, North Korea is working with Iran, the world's number one state sponsor of terror, on developing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

It is clear that North Korea is a state sponsor of terrorism. At the very least, the State Department should go back to the drawing board and assess whether or not North Korea meets the criteria for designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. And that is what this bill does, H.R. 479, the North Korea State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act.

It is high time we call out little Kim, the loose cannon of East Asia, for what he is: a terrorist in a terrorist state.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, early this morning, Precinct 3 Assistant Chief Clint Greenwood put on his uniform, secured his badge over his heart, and he headed off to work.

As he arrived at the courthouse at 7 a.m., shots suddenly rang out. After the smoke cleared, Chief Greenwood was shot in the neck. His fellow officers rushed to his aid, and he was airlifted to a nearby Houston hospital, but it was too late. Texas lost another one of its finest men in blue.

The suspect is still at large, but not for long. As the investigation develops, it is still unclear if Deputy Chief Greenwood was specifically targeted or if he was ambushed because he wore the uniform. Law enforcement will do everything in their power to find and apprehend the murderous outlaw.

Chief Greenwood dedicated 30 years of his life to the law. I knew Clint when I worked as a judge in Houston, Texas. He was a prosecutor. He was a defense lawyer. He worked for the sheriff's department, and now more recently as a member of the constable's office. He was of strong character and a proud Texas lawman.

Texas prays for Chief Greenwood's family and the Harris County, Texas, constable's office. Our men and women who wear the badge are the best we have. They protect and serve our communities. Chief Greenwood's life may be gone, but his memory serves as a reminder of all those who give their lives for the thin blue line. Back the blue, Mr. Speaker. Back the blue.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, North Korea spent 20 years on the State Sponsor of Terrorism list for acts of international terrorism and its dangerous proliferation activities. But in 2008, North Korea was taken off the state sponsors of terrorism list in exchange for its commitment to dismantle its nuclear program.

Nine years later, we've lived up to our end of the bargain while North Korea has carried out four nuclear tests. Not only that--but little Kim has escalated his support for international terrorism.

In 2009 alone, three North Korean arms shipments bound for terrorist groups were interdicted. North Korean experts have advised both Hezbollah and Hamas in the construction of their terrorist tunnel networks.

North Korea has directly menaced the U.S. using new-age digital terrorism, launching cyber-attacks against U.S. government agencies and Sony Pictures.

Last month Kim Jon-un's half-brother was brutally assassinated in Malaysia by suspected North Korean operatives using the chemical weapon VX nerve agent.

North Korea's actions have only grown more flagrant since being removed from the terrorism list. Kim's actions threaten our infrastructure, our economy, and ultimately our national security.

That's why I introduced H.R. 479 The North Korea State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act. My bill requires the Secretary of State to determine whether or not North Korea meets the criteria for a State Sponsor of Terrorism. It also expresses the sense of Congress that North Korea likely meets the criteria for designation as an SST. North Korea is a State Sponsor of terrorism.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the evil group, ISIS, intentionally targeted Christians worldwide because of their religious belief. But ISIS did not only target Christians. They targeted any religious group, including some Muslims who disagree with them.

These sick folks are proud of the fact that they commit genocide. ISIS fighters posted videos and pictures online of their barbaric beheadings of Christians and others who refused to bow to their ideology.

Thanks to these horrendous crimes against humanity, for the first time since Jesus there are almost no Christians left in this part of the world. There were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq in 2003. Since that time, terrorists have either killed or forced Christians to run for their lives.

The massacres committed by this terrorist group in the name of a perverted jihad religion are the worst crimes we have seen in our lifetime. H.R. 390 will help those groups that have suffered unimaginable atrocities at the hands of ISIS get the assistance they need. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill. This legislation demands ISIS be held accountable for what it does. By identifying these perpetrators of genocide we will be able to hold criminal trials and bring them to justice. After all, isn't justice what we do in the United States?

And that is just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, foreign national Tommy Alvarado- Ventura has a string of arrests to his name, including assault, impersonation, drunk driving, and contempt of court. Not to mention that he has been deported four times. And, oh, yes, Madam Speaker, he is an MS-13 gang member.

Despite being deported four times, he made his way back to America. This time, he stabbed a woman in a parking lot. Then he went to a house only to sexually assault a 2-year-old. When his girlfriend saw the bruises on the child, he stabbed her as well. Eventually, NYPD arrested him.

Madam Speaker, our porous border is not secure. Foreign criminals who violently assault and rape women and children in the United States keep coming back to America. Border officials are doing the best they can do with what they have.

But the message is clear: they need more to secure our border. Washington must send more resources, boots on the ground, aerostats, and military equipment, if necessary, to establish a virtual border wall against outlaws like Alvarado-Ventura.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, for the last 8 years, the world turned its cheek while Vladimir Putin--the Napoleon of Siberia--stomped on human rights and broke international law.

I was there right after the Russians invaded Georgia and took one- third of the country. Then Putin went on to annex Crimea and invade Ukraine. Just this month, Denis Voronenkov, a Russian lawmaker who opposed Putin and defected to Ukraine, was gunned down in broad daylight. His assassination is the latest incident in an ongoing pattern of Putin critics who have been killed mysteriously. In the last 15 years, at least 11 other well-known critics of Putin have been killed mysteriously.

The message is clear: cross Putin, and you will face the lethal wrath of the Russian bear. Putin thinks he can continue killing those who oppose him and no one is watching. But I am here to tell him today that America is watching, and America will never stop defending the defenseless and protecting the human rights of people who speak against tyranny--even Russians who speak against tyranny.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, recently, U.S. officials stated that Russia deployed a fully operational cruise missile. This is a violation of the arms control treaty between the United States and Russia.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty bans the U.S. and Russia from possessing, producing, or testing a ground-launched cruise missile with a range capability of 500 to 5,000 kilometers.

We have suspected Russia of violating the treaty in the past--for at least the last 10 years--but the last administration didn't pay much attention to it. He asked the State Department to gently ask the Russians to please come back into compliance, but that did not work. So last year, in the NDAA bill, Representative Mike Rogers and I sanctioned Russia for INF violations for the first time.

Now we have introduced H.R. 1182, preparing the United States to develop its own missiles. It is not in the United States' national security interest to abide by a treaty when we are the only ones abiding by it.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was World Water Day.

When we are thirsty, we walk 3 feet to the nearest faucet or grab a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. Sadly, there are almost 800 million people who lack access to clean drinking water.

It is unacceptable that in the year 2017 there are women who are still forced to walk miles to obtain water from polluted rivers. These rivers are not clear springs. Instead, they are rivers infected with waste, parasites, and other insects.

That is why my friend Representative Blumenauer and I filed and Congress passed the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act. It helps USAID focus on safe drinking water, better sanitation, hygiene in schools, and clinics in villages for poor people throughout the world.

USAID's goal is to give 10 million people sustainable access to clean water by next year. They are well on their way to achieving this.

Clean water saves lives, and Americans should be proud of what they are doing in helping people worldwide to have that clean water.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, Florida Police Officer Andrew Widman was murdered, shot in the face while trying to resolve a dispute. His death was preventable, however. The murderer of Officer Widman was an illegal immigrant and convicted felon. He did not belong here. He should have been sent back home to his native country, Cuba, after he served his sentence, but Cuba would not take him back.

Cuba is one of about 30 countries that refuse to take back their convicted citizens after they are legally ordered deported. Then, unfortunately, they are released back on our streets to commit more crimes. These days need to end. No more get-out-of-jail-free cards. There must be consequences to these nations that flaunt our laws.

My bill, the Timely Repatriation Act, restricts diplomatic visas to countries that deny or delay the repatriation of a foreign national whose removal has been legally ordered.

Take your criminals back or lose diplomatic visas.

And that is just the way it is.