Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago, Russian tanks rolled across the border into the independent nation of Georgia. I was there and saw the little green men with my own eyes. After five days of bloody fighting, with thousands of innocent Georgians displaced from their homes, the conflict ended with a pledge by Russia to pull back its forces.

Ten years later, however, Moscow's troops remain on Georgian territory, occupying a third of the country. The Kremlin claims these Russian troops in Georgia are just noble peacekeepers, but this is a bold-faced lie. They are a heavily armed battle-group waiting to provoke tiny Georgia into another fight. They routinely engage in ``creeping occupation,'' slowly taking more and more territory by moving the border line in the dark of night. They have committed horrific human rights abuses against the Georgian people, often harassing civilians and denying Georgians the ability to move about their country freely. The continued presence of Russian troops on Georgian soil presents a major violation of international law, setting a precedent for other rogue regimes to follow.

America's response at the time was condemnation and sanctions but this proved insufficient to fully deter future aggression. Only years later, the Obama administration removed the punishing sanctions against Russia as part of its foolish ``reset'' with the Kremlin. We now know this demonstration of weakness only encouraged further aggression from Russia, with it again invading a neighboring state in 2014. This time, it seized and annexed Crimea from Ukraine, another independent sovereign state that Russia had sworn to respect.

After 10 years of illegal occupation of Georgian territory, we need to do more to help our Georgian friends resist the Russian bear. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia emerged as a beacon of hope in a region full of turmoil and corruption. This is exactly why Russia invaded. Russia hoped to break this beacon of hope 10 years ago, but Georgia has remained defiant. We must be defiant with our friends to prevent further acts of aggression and hopefully begin to reverse Moscow's deadly expansionism.

As co-chair of the Congressional Georgia Caucus, I have long seen that major vulnerabilities remain that Russia could exploit. While military cooperation and training has improved significantly, Georgia still lacks the technology and resources to realistically deter and defend itself from future Russian aggression. Georgia is a small country, with a GDP around $14 billion. It cannot afford to compete with the might of the Russian military alone. That is why I have introduced H.R. 6219, the Georgia Support Act, with my Georgia Caucus co-chair, Rep. Connolly. Through this important bill, we hope to significantly enhance Georgia's ability to combat and deter Moscow's wicked activities.

Putin must be shown that his dream of rebuilding the Soviet Empire is impossible. And we must show our freedom loving friends

around the globe that America is ready and able to stand with them in the face of foreign oppression. The Georgian people have shown they will fight for their freedom, even against overwhelming odds. And while the Kremlin believes that it has prevented Georgia's aspirations of joining NATO by seizing its territory, we can send a signal that their victory is hollow.

The days of conquering your neighbor are over. As cunning as Putin may be, he will never be Napoleon. Georgia is still on the path towards greater integration with the West. Georgia will remain free and prosperous. And Russia will find itself isolated and full of regret for ever following Putin's foolish ambition.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, Iran is continuing its march across the Middle East. At this moment, it is consolidating its gains in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Iraq. Through its network of violent proxies, it is exerting influence to subject millions to the will of the mullahs in Tehran and to launch terrorist attacks against us and our allies. Iran's sectarian proxies are sowing division across the region through their brutal rule, giving Sunni extremists like al- Qaeda and ISIS an opportunity to recruit among the oppressed. Wherever there is weak governance in the Middle East, Iran moves to expand its conquests and challenge the rule of law.

Currently, Iraq is particularly vulnerable to Iran's proxy subversion. The country is attempting to rebuild--with our help--after years of battling ISIS. Hundreds of thousands still remain displaced from their homes and the damage to the country's infrastructure is immense. Yet despite ISIS's defeat on the battlefield and the liberation of all major towns and cities, corruption and Iranian meddling present major obstacles towards allowing Iraq to heal. Iranian-backed militias are not disbanding, but instead are controlling territory, infiltrating government institutions, and attempting to seize political power. They do not respect democracy or care for the interests of average Iraqis. These proxies serve only the goals of their masters in Tehran who want to keep their neighbor weak. Their presence undermines the Iraqi government's authority and ultimately hinders reconciliation amongst the country's religious sects.

After President Obama foolishly withdrew our forces in 2011, it was these thugs and their Iranian patrons who filled the void, creating the sectarian conditions for Iraq to unravel and ISIS to be born. We must not allow this to happen again. By working to restore Iraqi sovereignty and diminish the power of Iran's agents, we can prevent ISIS from returning and another generation of Americans having to go fight in the Middle East.

Unfortunately, Iran's proxies in Iraq are gaining power and despite legislation to target these groups, our own State Department is getting in the way. For too long they have tried diplomatic niceties to urge Iraqis to stand up to their countrymen who are doing Tehran's bidding. But this method is failing as Iranian-backed groups such as Asaib Ahl al-Haq win more seats in Iraq's parliament. Al-Haq is a militia group that has killed dozens of Americans, Iraqis, Kurds, and Syrians, yet no one will stand up to them--not even our foreign service officers. It's time to stop doing a dance with the devils in Iraq and Iran, and send a clear message that these groups should be designated as terrorists and cast out of the halls of power in Baghdad. If we do not, the future of Iraq as a strong independent nation is in jeopardy.

Iranian-controlled militias, like Asaib Ahl al-Haq and their comrades in Harakat Hezbollah Al-Nujaba must be targeted so that those freedom- loving Iraqis who hope to rebuild their country can see that America stands with them. Already we are seeing in the streets of southern Iraq that some Iraqis are demonstrating courage in the face of Iran's proxies. They, like the Iranian people, are demanding that the mullahs' corruption be removed from their country. The era of bending the knee to Tehran is over.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, on Veteran's Day, like every year, I started the morning early and headed out to the first of many ceremonies across our district to honor the men and women who have proudly worn the military uniform of the United States. I just love it. I love seeing our veterans, especially the older heroes who seem to exude a kind of pride in their country and their service that only those of that great generation posses. But I found myself looking for a certain face, a certain hero of mine that I look forward to seeing at these events every year. While I kept reminding myself I wouldn't find him this year, I saw everything he represented in the eyes of every veteran I met.

Longtime Crosby resident, David H. McNerney, was a hero among us. First Sergeant McNerney received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in the Vietnam War. While this is enough to impress most anyone, it's only part of the story. McNerney served not one tour of duty, not even two or three tours of duty--he served four combat tours of duty.

Like some of my other favorite war heroes, McNerney wasn't born in Texas, but got here as fast as he could. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1931, he moved to Houston with his family in high school. After graduating from St. Thomas High School, McNerney enlisted in the Navy. After serving two tours in the Korean War, he was discharged in 1952.

McNerney gave college a try, enrolling at the University of Houston, but quickly realized his education would come from the battlefield rather than the classroom. In 1953, McNerney enlisted in the United States Army. Shortly after arriving at Fort Bliss, he was stationed in Korea and Okinawa. In 1962 he was sent to Vietnam as one of the first 500 military advisors deployed.

In 1966, during his third combat tour of duty, he was stationed in the Central Highlands near the Cambodian border as a first sergeant with Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On the afternoon of March 21, 1967, he and his company were dropped in Polei Doc to recover a missing reconnaissance team. The next morning, they came under heavy attack by the North Vietnamese and were easily outnumber three-to-one. McNerney quickly took the front line and was wounded by a grenade.

The company commander was killed and without hesitation, and despite being wounded, McNerney took command of the unit. Under intense fire, McNerney took out an enemy machine gun position, but the unit took heavy casualties. In the midst of the chaos, he climbed a tree in plain sight of the North Vietnamese to mark his unit's location before calling in an airstrike within 65 feet of their own position.

He continued to move throughout the battlefield, pulling the wounded to safety and securing demolition material to clear the area for the medical evacuation helicopters. Despite his own injuries, McNerney refused evacuation and stayed with his men until the new company commander arrived the next day. His actions not only stopped the enemy from advancing and saved the lives of his men, his valor on the battlefield earned him the Medal of Honor.

Now, this is where I usually say: ``And that's just the way it is.'' But, the story is not over. David McNerney volunteered for a fourth tour in Vietnam before retiring as a first sergeant in December 1969. Let me say that again: David McNerney volunteered for a fourth tour in Vietnam.

The men that served with him have praised his leadership and bravery. They don't mince words when it comes to what he has meant to them: There's a bunch of guys walking around today who wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.

Dennis Thompson Sr., who served in Vietnam with McNerney, said: ``If, in fact, he were not there, everyone would have gotten massacred that day. People have to know that the man was a genuine hero.''

First Sergeant David McNerney died October 12, 2010 at the age of 79. His obituary said that he humbly summarized his prestigious military career by saying, ``I was a professional soldier.''

This Veteran's Day was not the same for me. His absence was noticed, but his service is never forgotten. My friend, First Sergeant David McNerney, was a hero among us.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the day was July 21, 1821. The heat of the Texas summer sun beat down upon San Antonio de Bexar, the future site of the Battle of the Alamo. The flag of Imperial Spain billowed in the wind above the roofs of the mission town. This day, however, would be the final day that this flag would fly over Texas.

For nearly three centuries, the Spanish governed Texas. Conquistadores, missionaries, and adventurers made their way to Texas, drawn in by the bountiful opportunities of the seemingly endless land. However, resistance against Spanish rule began to take root within its overseas colonies. In Texas, filibusters from the United States crossed into Spanish territory attempting to claim land loosely controlled by Spanish royal forces. Mexico caught the fever of revolution, and by the early 1800's, certain individuals, including Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, were promoting resistance to aspects of Spanish rule.

To make matters worse, Spain was forced to cede Louisiana as a result of the Napoleonic Wars at home to France, who then sold it to President Thomas Jefferson and the United States.

Eventually, the pressure became too great from within, and the Mexican war of Independence began in 1810. Revolutionaries, both Hispanic and Anglos, living across Spanish Mexico took up arms in open revolt against the Spanish occupiers. In Texas, Jose Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara and Augustus W. Magee captured Nacodoches, La Bahia, and San Antonio, the capital of Spanish Texas at the time, and proclaimed Texas an independent state in 1813. Despite their early success, the group eventually was defeated decisively by Spanish forces, thus keeping Texas under Spain's control.

However, the days of Spanish rule were numbered, and eventually the independence movement in Mexico under Agustin de lturbide and Vicente Guerrero successfully drove the Spanish from Mexican shores once and for all. Mexico would officially become an independent nation on July 21, 1821. Having provided resistance against Spanish rule, Texas remained a part of an independent Mexico until the Texas Revolution fifteen years later.

Mr. Speaker, we must continue to honor the state's history. The Spanish flag is one of the Six Flags over Texas, part of the rich tapestry of the state's history, and this event represents an important moment in the history of our nation.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, July 27th was National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, marking the day in 1953 when the armistice was signed at Panmunjom.

The Korean War is often referred to as ``the Forgotten War.'' Our boys were largely ignored when they arrived home. There were no tickertape parades like at the end of World War II, and there were no violent protests against the war like with Vietnam. The Administration did not even refer to the conflict as a war but rather as a police action. Well, Mr. Speaker, it was a war. It was a war where Americans went and fought.

In 1950, communist North Korea, backed by brutal dictatorships in China and the Soviet Union, crossed the 38th Parallel in an invasion of free South Korea. The communist forces pushed the South Koreans back, nearly forcing them off of the peninsula entirely. With their heels touching the tide, South Korea called 911.

America was not ready for another war. The Pentagon was in the process of downsizing the military, both in budget and in manpower. But, as history shows, when the world dials 911, America answers. So President Truman ordered troops to land at Pusan to aid the beleaguered South Korean forces.

Over the course of the next three years, the United States fought a grueling conflict but successfully managed to drive the communist forces out of South Korea. The fighting ceased when the armistice agreement was signed at Panmunjom, but to this day, no official peace document has been signed.

Over 35,000 Americans died in this war, and more than 7,000 are still missing. Thousands more came home with the scars of war or suffered in prisoner of war camps. Most in uniform served with great distinction and demonstrated that the American soldier is a rare breed.

One such individual was one of my late constituents, Sergeant Donald Foisie. Sergeant Foisie was pinned down on Hill 303 in August 1950, but he stood his ground. When the communist forces overran the hill, he and a friend hid in a rice paddy, using bamboo sticks to get air. The two survived and rejoined American forces when the hill was retaken.

Mr. Speaker, the sacrifice and bravery of American soldiers in the Korean War should be remembered and honored. Just this week, Vice President Pence accepted the remains of fallen Korean war soldiers, at last making their return home from North Korean soil. After 60 years, these noble ones who gave their lives will be forgotten no more. This is a welcome step following the June 12th meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-Un, however, we must continue to strive towards our goal of complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization by North Korea. These Korean War patriots deserve our utmost respect and admiration, because the worst casualty of war is to be forgotten.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, as the 2017-2018 school year came to a close, the Spring Woods High School Speech and Debate Team concluded another successful year with a strong performance at the National Speech and Debate Association's National Tournament in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Two members of the team logged notable performances in Florida. Anahi Torres, a senior, advanced to the semi-finals of the Prose Interpretation. Coming off of a 3rd place finish at the state tournament, junior Hunter Brown rose above the field to qualify for the finals of the Congressional Debate. In the finals, he rose to speak on proposed legislation addressing the U.S. Navy, oversight of the Justice Department, and other topical issues. He ultimately placed 13th, earning him the right to return to Nationals next year as a senior.

Success at the national and state level has long been a part of Spring Woods Speech and Debate team history. This year marked the 18th time Spring Woods appeared at Nationals, and Brown's performance this past June made it seven consecutive years that Spring Woods has advanced to the final round of the Congressional Debate at this particular tournament. The team has qualified for the University Interscholastic League State (UIL) tournament for the past 11 years, boasting UIL state champions and finalists during this period. Currently, SWHS is ranked 10th in the state of Texas for qualifications at the Texas Forensic Association's State Tournament, and at this year's tournament, SWHS had quarter-finalists, semi-finals, and finalists.

It is often said that a team takes on the personality of the head coach. No statement could be truer for the SWHS debate team. Under the phenomenal leadership of Victoria Beard, director of Forensics at SWHS for the past 13 years, the team has not only put in impressive performances at local, state, and national tournaments, but also provided valuable skills to its members. The students experience gained through the tournaments and the long, arduous hours of practice balanced between studying for AP exams and finals pays off after graduation. Quite literally, as many Spring Woods debaters earn full scholarships to prestigious institutions around the country such as Yale, George Washington, and the University of Texas. This past spring, a SWHS alum and former debater, Christian Rice, gave the commencement address at Yale. The other speaker that day--former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mr. Speaker, as a proud graduate of Springwoods Senior High School and a former member of the debate team myself, it is my honor to recognize the debate teams hard work and achievements. Congratulations to all who took part this year, and may there be many more that follow in your footsteps in the future.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, 100 years ago, in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson declared July 28 as a National Day of Prayer for the Serbian people.

This was during World War I, the war to end all wars. American doughboys and leathernecks had arrived on the western front, holding the line against Germany's last offensive before it collapsed.

Meanwhile, the Serbian people were suffering under occupation by the central powers, who had launched a brutal invasion of Serbia.

Mr. Speaker, during World War I, one in four Serbian people were killed during that war. But the Serbian army had survived the invasion and was fighting alongside our allies to liberate their home. They were reinforced by many Serbian-Americans, who had returned to Europe to help their brothers.

President Wilson wanted America to honor the sacrifices of the Serbian people. In a speech marking the invasion of Serbia by the central powers, he said of the Serbians:

Nobly did they respond. So valiantly and courageous did

they oppose the forces of a country ten times greater in

population and resources. . . . While their territory has

been devastated and their homes despoiled, the spirit of the

Serbian people has not been broken.

As a Texan, I admire such defiance against overwhelming odds.

On that special day, President Wilson ordered a rare recognition to a foreign ally, by having the Serbian flag raised over the White House. That recognition had only occurred one other time in American history.

The spirit of brotherhood between the Americans and the Serbians, fighting shoulder to shoulder against tyranny, did not end there.

One of the most meaningful stories for Americans is the Halyard Mission during the dark days of the Second World War. Despite being under Nazi occupation, the Serbian people demonstrated their remarkable bravery once again, saving the lives of hundreds of Americans in the largest rescue operation of American airmen in history.

In 1944, American bombers were flying frequent missions to strike Germany's vital oil supplies in Romania as a part of the allied advance into Europe. The 15th Air Force led this effort by launching 20,000 sorties into Eastern Europe, with many of the missions flying over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. As many as 1,500 pilots and airmen were shot down during these air raids.

Serbians, who had been resisting Nazi forces since 1941, risked their own lives to rescue American aircrews in Yugoslavia and hide them from patrolling Nazis. These brave and noble Serbians cared for and protected Americans and allied pilots.

In August of 1944, the allied forces, including the 15th Air Force and the Office of Strategic Services, devised a daring operation to evacuate hundreds of allied pilots being sheltered by the Serbian resistance in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. American aircraft flew into enemy territory and evacuated 500 airmen from the airfield built and protected by local Serbians near the village of Pranjani.

For over 60 years, this operation was kept secret from the American people. But now we can remember the courage of our Serbian friends and their stand against the Nazis.

Here, Mr. Speaker, is a photograph taken by the Serbian resistance, taking Americans who had been shot down in Serbia and taking them to the airfield, where they would be returned back to the American lines.

George Dudich, the father of my chief of staff, Elaine Dudich Stolze, when I was a judge in Texas, rescued many Americans who had been shot down in occupied Yugoslavia.

All these years later, we remain committed to the cause of freedom for both nations. We should work together to preserve each other's security.

The United States is now working with Serbia to improve its democracy, an independent judiciary, and fight corruption. A democratic Serbia with a strong rule of law is in America's interests and Serbia's.

We are united in keeping the hungry Russian bear from interfering in domestic affairs in Serbia. Russian disinformation efforts are designed to keep Serbia in its sphere of influence and poison our relationship. Nevertheless, Serbia's integration to the west has continued to move forward.

In 2006, Serbia joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program and, in 2015, signed an Individual Partnership Action Plan with the alliance to strengthen cooperation. And recently, the European Union has announced that Serbia would join the EU as early as 2025.

The prime minister and foreign minister of Serbia and numerous Serbs are in the Capitol today to promote U.S. Serbian relations.

So on this 100th anniversary of President Wilson's speech about the courageous Serbs of World War I, we reaffirm our joint partnership and friendship and a quest for liberty.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I want to express my appreciation to Bishop Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church for coming to lead the opening prayer on this special day.

Mr. Speaker, 100 years ago, July 28, President Wilson declared a national day of prayer for the Serbian people and their fight during World War I.

Bishop Irinej has a long career of service, both to God and the church, as well as the Serbian American community. His work has taken him around the world. Formerly, he was a bishop of Australia and New Zealand, and before that, he spent years serving the church in Serbia.

For most of his career, he has been a dedicated educator, teaching at Loyola University in Chicago and as a member of the orthodox church's theological faculty in Belgrade.

Perhaps most notably today is his work to improve the ties between the Serbian diaspora and the Serbian state.

Bishop Irinej plays an important role in bringing us all together with God's love. It was my honor to invite him to share his faith with us today.

Thank you, Bishop Irinej, for that prayer, and may God bless Serbia and the United States of America.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, history tells us that President Thomas Jefferson had a love hate relationship with the press. At times Jefferson detested them, but he truly believed a free people required a free press. ``The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right,'' words spoken by Jefferson to Edward Carrington in 1787. ``And were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.'' Patriots, like Jefferson, secured these rights that folks enjoy today. Just because we may not like what we read, does not mean that it should be silenced.

It's no big surprise to me that the folks over at Facebook don't know the first thing about freedom and rights. Their latest attack, using digital censorship, has stirred up a firestorm. Just in case you haven't heard, the Liberty County Vindicator, a newspaper that publishes news for the City of Liberty, Texas and Liberty County, Texas posted the Declaration of Independence in twelve installments leading up to the Fourth of July. Casey Stinnett, managing editor, said that the first nine parts posted as schedule, but part ten, of the historic document did not appear. The Liberty County Vindicator received a notice from Facebook saying that the post ``goes against our standards on hate speech.'' I'm a fierce advocate of the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech and press. This is, without a doubt, a flippant disregard and assault on the First Amendment by Facebook.

For over 131 years, the Liberty County Vindicator newspaper, has told the story of everyday America. It has documented community history in a way that will forever be available to future generations. Since the newspaper began operations in 1887, it has covered local events, business happenings, politics, tragedies, civic improvements, and so much more. The paper recently followed and covered Liberty High School's Lady Panthers Softball Team who won the Texas UIL State Class 4A Softball Champions. It has also followed wars and has told stories about our young freedom fighters from the area who returned home and some who did not return. It is everything a community newspaper should be. The Vindicator has always had its finger on the pulse of folks in Liberty, Texas.

Liberty's rich history of rugged Texas pioneers who settled near the Trinity River spans more than 180 years. Today, Liberty continues to live up to its rich legacy and community spirit of patriotism. One such family epitomizes the spirit of Liberty County--the patriotic Ripkowski brothers. Twelve brothers from Liberty County, Texas served in our military in various branches spanning from World War II to the Korean War. And they all survived the wars and returned to Liberty County, Texas. According to a pentagon spokesperson, there has never been another family with that many sons from the same parents to join the service in American history.

The Ripkowski brothers believed their service in the military was their duty as an American citizen. To them it was not performed for heroics or to gain medals, but to answer the honorable call of duty for their beloved country. Reality is that freedom doesn't come free. It is the United States military that has always been on the front lines to defend the liberties of all Americans, even the folks over at Facebook.

It is an honor to have represented the citizens of Liberty County in the United States House of Representatives. I commend the Vindicator for challenging its readers to read the Declaration of Independence. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press must ever be protected. Thomas Jefferson, who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, said, ``our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.'' The Founding Father and the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, undoubtedly believed deeply in the freedom of speech and of the press.

Jefferson must have turned over in his grave when he heard that the Declaration of Independence was censored in America. America's defense of freedom and liberties is a struggle that never ends, and the Vindicator should continue to exercise the right to free speech and press, whether those that hate the First Amendment like it or not.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, our friends in Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia are facing major threats to their sovereignty from the Russian bear. These young democracies are striving to build peaceful, civil societies and effective governing institutions after decades of Soviet tyranny. Yet Vladimir Putin, the Napoleon of Siberia, refuses to accept their independence and sovereign rights as free nations.

For years, Russian troops have occupied each of these nations and incited violence within the borders. Moscow has used corruption and coercion to undermine the rule of law in democratic institutions of each of these nations. Putin continues to use cyber warfare against each of these nations.

We, as leaders of the free world and guarantors of the international, rules-based order, have a duty to stand by these sovereign states. In some cases, Mr. Speaker, we have signed pledges to do so.

Their struggle for freedom is not some distant battle that does not concern our well-being. Their fight for self-determination is a battle for the global order and the survival of democracy in the face of foreign tyranny, specifically Putin's tyranny.

Nations and the people they represent have the sole right to determine their own fates. Foreign bullies like Putin should not threaten or dictate their way of life or the futures of those children.

If we allow Russia to so blatantly break international law, particularly the fundamentals of sovereignty and territorial integrity, where will it end? When will the Russian bear march in the streets of some other friend, a NATO ally, perhaps?

We must recognize their courage in the face of such a daunting challenge and send a message to the Kremlin that we stand with our Eastern European friends on their quest to be a free nation and more integrated into the West. That is why I have introduced H. Res. 955, to affirm U.S. support to the nations of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova in their effort to retain political sovereignty and territorial integrity.

I am joined in sponsoring this important bipartisan resolution by Georgia Caucus co-chair, Representative Connolly from Virginia; as well as the co-chairs of the Moldova Caucus, Representative Olson from Texas and Representative Price from North Carolina; and the co-chairs of the congressional Ukrainian Caucus, Representatives Kaptur of Ohio, Harris of Maryland, Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Levin of Michigan.

Our resolution reaffirms the commitment of the United States to support the democratically elected governments of these three nations. It condemns Russia's violation of the Budapest Memorandum, a commitment it made in 1994 to ensure the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Putin has lied. He lied in his commitment. Our legislation calls for the immediate and complete withdrawal of all Russian military and security personnel and equipment from the nations of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova. It calls for Moscow to end its destabilizing activities in all regions of these three countries. It commends the ongoing trilateral cooperation between the Governments of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova to confront Russia's destabilizing activity, and it voices our support for U.S. assistance to these three nations, assistance that strengthens their capacity to resist Russia's aggression.

The resolution calls on all free nations of Europe, the United Nations,

and international partners to continue to apply pressure on the totalitarian state of Russia to uphold its obligations, and it reaffirms U.S. support for these three nations integrating into the European Union.

This implies that Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova must also meet their obligations under EU association agreements to commit first and foremost to meaningful progress on economic reforms, strengthening democratic institutions, combating corruption, building independent judicial systems, and holding to the rule of law.

This resolution marks our shared commitment to democracy in these great countries to be united to stand against Putin's aggression.

Freedom-loving countries must stop the Russian bear and Putin's desire to be czar of a new Putinland. As John F. Kennedy said many years ago: ``Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.''

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, last week I was joined in the House gallery by five incredible young women. Each of them has their own story of survival. Each was sexually assaulted while in college. They call themselves the 12th Woman.

Mr. Speaker, one in five women will be sexually assaulted while in college in the United States. Sexual assault is a crime that tries to steal the dignity, self-respect, and humanity of the victim.

Mr. Speaker, the 12th Woman has something to say about that. They came to Congress and publicly told their heartbreaking stories on the steps of our Capitol, demanding change not only at their own school, Texas A&M, but nationwide. These ladies are determined not only to be survivors, but victors over their assault.

Mr. Speaker, my grandmother taught me that there is no stopping a bold, tenacious, Texas woman who has made up her mind.

Abbie, Meghan, Sydney, Kirsten, and Nikki have made up their minds with unwavering resolve that sexual assault on campus will stop.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to address the House, Members of Congress, and the Chair about what I consider one of our most serious things that is happening in our country, and it has to do with sexual assault on our campuses, our universities, our colleges, and what is taking place there while students, our children, our grandchildren, go to these universities.

I want to recognize a group of individuals who have started a program, a cause is really the right word, that they call the 12th Woman. They are all members, students, former students of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

The 12th Woman is a phrase that is a takeoff on another phrase that that university uses, calling the 12th Man. I look at the 12th Woman as a team, 11 on a team, and there is one more. It makes it 12, all 12 supporting each other in their cause to eliminate sexual assault on campuses, not just Texas A&M, but all the universities and colleges through the United States.

So these remarkable ladies started using social media to see if other people, students, former students, had encountered sexual assault on campus and what happened and what didn't happen after that was reported. Then they formed this organization called the 12th Woman.

Several of those members of the 12th Woman are here today watching Congress, and later today, they are going to go to their respective Members of Congress and talk about some of the things that are on their heart.

Constituents in the State of Texas, the reason for this request of time is that there are bad things that are happening on our university campuses. It happens because of a lot of reasons. We are talking about a lot of people, a lot of kids, in my opinion, going away from home and spending time trying to get an education at one of our universities.

I believe wholeheartedly that our universities in this country are the finest educational institutions anywhere in the world. That is why we have people from all over the world coming to our universities.

So I am going to start by telling some of their stories, things that happened to them, things that they have made public. They have been bold to talk about the bad things that happened to them while they were in school.

Mr. Speaker, it takes a lot for a crime victim, especially a sexual assault victim, to come forward and publicly talk about these things. For the last, I guess, 30 years before I came to Congress, I was a prosecutor in Houston, Texas, and then I spent 22 years on the criminal bench hearing only criminal cases. And I have met, unfortunately, a lot of sexual assault victims who have come my way either when I was prosecuting their cases or as a judge.

It is tough, really, it is tough to make those statements public and come forward. But I want to read a few of these statements and these stories that happened to some of our ladies that they call the 12th Woman.

Abbie's family was based around the values of Texas A&M that it instills in its students. She was raised by two Aggie alumni, and there was never a doubt about where she would ultimately attend college: it was always Texas A&M. But like so many others, what should have been an outstanding experience, just turned sour.

One night, while hosting a Christmas party at her own apartment, she was raped. That is correct, Mr. Speaker, she was sexually assaulted.

So when she woke up the next morning, she didn't remember how a portion of that night ended. Bruises, scratches covered her arms, her legs, and her clothing was ripped and torn.

So doing everything that I think a rape victim should do, she had a rape kit conducted just a few hours later. The hospital nurse ended Abbie's SANE exam--SANE stands for sexual assault nurse examiner--and she told her, ``I will see you in court,'' describing it as the most evidence that she had ever seen.

Abbie thought that she had a good case against her assailant. She was advised by the College Station Police Department to seek justice through the school and proceed to file her report through them.

So she filed a report. The university called a hearing.

The hearing began with what Abbie and her mom thought would be a fair playing field, until it became evident that she faced a series of well prepared attorneys at this hearing and she had no legal representation of her own. Not a single person at the university, the police department, or the hospital advised her that she had the right to retain legal representation.

During the hearing, she was, in her opinion, ambushed by her assailant's attorney, who peppered her with a lot of questions. The fact that she had created a Facebook event for the party and offered accommodation to those who were drinking to crash at her apartment was called into question. It was if the university panel thought that Abbie's rape was her fault.

Let's get one thing straight, Mr. Speaker. Let's make this perfectly clear. Sexual assault is never the fault of the victim. It is the fault of the perpetrator, and that is the way it should be, because it is the perpetrator who caused this. The victim shouldn't feel like they did something wrong, but in our culture, sometimes they are put on trial.

Following the hearing, she was referred to a student counseling service, where she met an individual who had no training in working with sexual assault victims. So what was the point of talking to the school counseling if there was no training to handle these types of cases?

After a lengthy process and dealing with an investigative panel that she thought and believed was cold and uncaring, her assailant ultimately faced no consequences. Abbie felt betrayed by the university that she highly regarded. Her assailant just went back to class. Abbie was forced to see the man who raped her walking freely around the campus, a campus where she should have felt safe.

Ultimately, she made the decision to graduate early, ending her time at Texas A&M prematurely.

She feels like the university that she highly spoke of failed her. She says:

The university I speak so highly of has failed. Who knows

if it failed before me. There just wasn't anyone to speak out

about it.

Abbie joins the 12th Woman to demand change, not at just Texas A&M, but colleges across the country.

Abbie says:

It is time for Texas A&M to follow the Aggie code of honor.

They should follow it themselves and unite with the sexual

assault survivors to be an example of fearless change among

the very best American universities.

Mr. Speaker, the Texas A&M code of honor says, ``An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.''

That is Abbie's story, and I think we should thank her for making her story available for all of us.

Meghan was a fourth generation Texas A&M Aggie. Her decision to attend this prestigious school was never a question in her mind. It was an amazing experience until things went bad.

One morning, while serving as a tutor in the athletic department, a member of the Aggie football team, twice her size, exposed himself to her not 2 feet away. He made sexual advances toward her, becoming aggressive.

Terrified and shocked, she abruptly walked out of the room, trying to remain calm as he followed her.

Despite reporting the assault to her supervisor, something just went wrong.

The remainder of her assailant's tutoring sessions were not canceled. And get this: the very next morning, Meghan's assailant exposed himself to another tutor, becoming aggressive.

Mr. Speaker, Meghan feels she did not get justice against her attacker. She feels and tells me she was failed by a university that was not really committed to helping victims. She was scared in the process, scared to go back to work, terrified she might run into this individual again.

Before the hearing, the university claims she did not need a lawyer, she was not facing charges. She received no notice that her assailant, however, had hired legal representation, which he has the right to do.

Months later, Meghan's assailant was found not responsible for exposing himself to both tutors. The panel stated that it appeared he had a skin condition and just couldn't control himself. A skin condition, Mr. Speaker?

The response she received was nothing short of appalling. The school said:

Sorry, Meghan, that you were offended, but there is nothing

else we can do.

Meghan has appealed that case, and did appeal that case. She still believed the university would come to provide justice for her.

At the appeals hearing, she was informed that the charge against her attacker had been downgraded from sexual exploitation to sexual harassment. What that meant was, in the university's eyes, she was removed from the remainder of the hearing and couldn't be considered as a victim.

The university supposedly has several systems in place to aid victims. Texas A&M employs a victim advocate, but no one from the Title IX office contacted Meghan. She didn't receive any information regarding what sanctions her assailant received, if any, and of course her assailant was allowed to be back on the athletic team.

Mr. Speaker, he stayed on the team until she told the media about all of this, and then he was later removed from the team and two misdemeanor charges were filed against him after she went to the media.

Meghan felt abandoned by the university. She thought the accused was protected due to his status. Texas A&M spends a lot of money on teal ribbons, according to her, for athletes to wear for sexual assault, and she says that the ribbon is not enough. Universities must put the safety and care of sexual assault victims first. I agree with her.

She says:

A&M has a chance to be fearless on every front and to be

fearless in the face of such horrible things that are

happening to our victims.

She wants A&M to take the lead on this that is taking place on our university campuses.

I applaud Meghan for having the courage to come forward and tell her story to the world.

Kirsten, she loved being at Texas A&M University. She considered it one of the friendliest campuses, and enjoyed her time at one of the country's finest educational institutions.

After she returned from the winter break in the second semester of her freshman year, her happy-go-lucky bubble of college was shattered.

She was invited to hang out at her guy friend's apartment, and was led to believe that several of their mutual friends would be there.

When she arrived at the apartment, she realized that they were alone. Her so-called friend proceeded to sexually assault her.

The next day, her friends and sister pushed her to report the assault, but she didn't want to. She was made to feel like the crime was her fault. She told her resident assistant, who warned her that as an RA, she was required to report it. So a few days later, she received an email from the Division of Student Affairs inviting her to tell her story.

Time and time again, she had to relive the story in graphic detail almost directly after it happened.

One thing about sexual assault victims that unfortunately seems to happen, when they first tell the first person about what happened to them, it is not going to be the last time. Generally they tell people who are strangers, people they don't know, and they have to tell that story over and over again, and because of that, they have to relive that experience. That is what happens when sexual assault victims have to come forward. They go through that, but we should be understanding of that process.

She says:

If I hadn't already been traumatized by this, the

university officials re-victimized me, certainly cementing

the damage to my mental health.

It is true that any investigative panel must understand what happened before drawing conclusions, but there is a way of doing that and getting that information without being insensitive.

Kirsten says she felt as if the investigators were cold and devoid of empathy. During the disciplinary appeals panel after the deadline to submit new evidence had passed, she was informed that the assailant's fiancee, who wasn't even present the night he attacked her, was permitted to serve as a witness. This witness served only the purpose to disparage Kirsten's character.

Right before the panel began, she discovered that her assailant had, like some of the others, obtained legal counsel. Unable to have representation of her own, she ran to the Student Legal Services. They refused to help her. They wouldn't offer her legal advice. They had no victim advocate there to speak to her or on her behalf.

Kirsten, like many other victims, was alone, and she felt alone.

There was no other choice. The investigation continued.

At one point, the officials at the university asked her why didn't she scream, as if it is Kirsten's fault she was assaulted and raped.

Kirsten says the university official in the investigation became increasingly irritated, and it was abundantly clear to her that that person viewed this as a waste of the university's time.

Ultimately, the university concluded that Kirsten had likely been sexually harassed, but it was not up to the university to sanction her offender, because there was no impediment to her educational opportunity.

Let me repeat that. Nothing happened because, according to them, there was no impediment to her educational opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, Kirsten fully believes, in the end, the panel turned her words, her desire to complete her education, and her commitment to her family against her. And they used her resilience and her loyalty to the university as a weapon against her to absolve themselves from any responsibility.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to tell Nikki's story, as she recounts it. I have a total of six. For Nikki, a semester's worth of studying was about to pay off. Finals week was here. One week was all that stood between Nikki and a short break before the next semester began--that is, until she was sexually assaulted.

Following her assault, she reported to the Texas A&M clinic, creating even more stress on her. Before she left the clinic, Nikki recalls the head physician came over to her and told her: Things happen for a reason.

It was shocking to her, and it was traumatic.

Following this traumatic experience at the clinic, she decided against engaging in the reporting process, feeling that the university was not sensitive enough. She was aware of the process, because she sat on the university disciplinary appeals panel, listening to the appeals of cases similar to hers.

She did return to a private hospital for a SANE examination--once again, sexual assault nurse examination--by someone who is qualified to examine, on a medical basis, sexual assault victims. She returned home for a short break, where she says she had time to process everything.

Mr. Speaker, deciding to come forward and report the sexual assault, as I have said, is overwhelming to these victims.

After some serious soul-searching, she began the reporting process. She told the story to the university officials, like so many others, over, and over, and over again. After her shocking experience with her visit to the Texas A&M clinic, she says it felt like the reporting was getting nowhere.

After weeks of attempting to report the behavior of the school clinic, she finally received a call back, but she was dissatisfied.

The school apologized, but no change ever occurred that she knows of. She says that: ``After encountering three different women's clinic physicians

with such poor manners in a sexual assault case, it is clear to me that something is wrong at the institutional level.''

It felt like she was the bad guy, forced to justify over and over again her reasons for reporting. Feeling attacked, she tried to withdraw her case.

Mr. Speaker, no victim should be forced into a situation where they feel more discouraged by reporting a rape than they do by staying silent.

But it was too much. Her grades started dropping. She started receiving Ds and Cs on tests. She had never gotten Cs and Ds. Her professors questioned her excused absences, asking if she was in trouble, only forcing her to explain the situation more and more.

Upon finding out her assailant had hired legal counsel, she asked the university if she could obtain her own legal counsel. The university discouraged her from doing so and set a quick panel date.

Ultimately, her attacker was found guilty of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, dating violence, and sexual harassment. He was suspended for the remaining three semesters of Nikki's time at Texas A&M. She felt lucky because many survivors never receive, in her opinion, justice.

Just in my opinion, if a person is guilty of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, dating violence, and sexual harassment, a three-semester suspension doesn't seem to be much punishment, if any.

She says: ``If I felt lucky my rapist, who was found guilty, was suspended for three semesters, one of which was already halfway over, then, clearly, something was wrong procedurally,'' if that happened.

Many times, so many other victims never receive any justice, and the question remains: Why is a three-semester suspension unheard of as severe punishment?

Mr. Speaker, something here is wrong. The reporting process for sexual assault should never continue to traumatize the victim at every turn.

Nikki says: ``The trials of the reporting process at A&M served to exacerbate an already traumatizing experience, leaving me feeling punished, trapped, and deceived.''

She called on the university's support program for survivors of sexual assault. It is an interesting note that, during this process, she received a cease and desist letter from a lawyer wanting her to tell the university it never happened, and to pay $10,000--I presume legal fees--to the attorney. I think that is just outrageous that that happened.

Sydney was at Texas A&M, the school she loved, a school she always wanted to go to and did go to. It was her dream school. She was in the second semester at Texas A&M and, over a welcome weekend break, she was sexually assaulted. Her assailant took advantage of her as she was unconscious, intoxicated, and unable to fend for herself.

In accordance with title IX rights, she reported the rape. Ninety-six days after reporting, she was granted an 8-hour hearing. She was told that any individual can serve as her support during the hearing, but was never advised to seek legal counsel. Here are a few lines from her victim impact statement: ``Over the spring break, I decided that I didn't want to live anymore.''

Let me read that again: ``Over spring break, I decided that I didn't want to live anymore. I consciously decided that this was too much for me to take. The waiting. . . . The constant paranoia. The fact that this boy did something to me that made me want to take my own life should speak for itself. I am an optimistic person. I excel at creating my own happiness. But no matter what I tried, I could not find the silver lining in this situation.''

Mr. Speaker, Sydney did seek help. She was diagnosed with PTSD.

Her impact statement continues: ``What happened to me 4 months ago has impacted me in the most tremendous way--academically, spiritually, mentally, physically, in how I handle my relationships. What happened to me has ultimately changed my life and my perspective of life forever.''

Mr. Speaker, this is one of the rare cases, in my opinion, where there is some hope. Sydney did receive justice after going through all this physical and mental anguish and pain that she is going through.

Her assailant was expelled, given a no-contact order, and restricted from A&M property indefinitely. Is it the outcome that we would expect? I would hope so.

To put it into words she said: ``The weight lifted off my shoulders when I heard that A&M chose to expel him . . . a weight that nearly smothered me for over 96 days. The fear of running into him on campus, the fear of seeing him around town, the fear that haunted and controlled my every move on campus, it was finally gone.''

That, to me, is justice. It means being free from the fear of constantly being attacked. The rapist has given Sydney a life sentence of mental pain. When defendants--I will call them perpetrators, predators, whatever you want to call them--commit an act of sexual assault, whether they are punished, suspended, go to prison or not, whenever that consequence under society is over, they go on with their lives. The victims don't get to go on with their lives. This is the type of offense where they think about it almost on a daily basis.

That is why I say that it gives them a life sentence of pain and anguish and turmoil. Sydney stands with her fellow Aggies, demanding justice for the victims of sexual assault.

She says: ``I wouldn't be the Aggie that Texas A&M taught me to be if I remained silent after receiving justice for myself. I wouldn't be the Aggie that Texas A&M taught me to be if I didn't have the backs of these other Aggies, other survivors,'' these other members of the 12th Woman. ``Texas A&M taught me to be, if I was afraid, to stand here and be counted as another one of its one-in-five victims on college campuses'' of sexual assault.

Because of the time, Mr. Speaker, I am going to just relate one more story and make some comments about what we are going to do about these cases.

Kendra was a proud member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. Holding an executive officer title, she could not be prouder to attend the school and be part of this outstanding university that prides itself on respect for men and women in our military service.

She was on track to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army--that was, until the repercussions of her sexual assault at the hands of a fellow cadet sent her world, like the others that I have talked about, into an uproar.

Texas A&M has an age-old tradition called the Aggie Ring Dunk. She and her fellow cadets, one by one, dropped their new class rings into pitchers of beer. Then they started drinking until they surfaced with the gold rings appearing in the foam.

What should have been a fun night ended in tragedy. One of her fellow cadets, who happened to be engaged to someone else, her friend, walked her and her friend to the dorm room. However, he followed her into her room, locked the door, and began assaulting her.

Despite being weakened from the alcohol, she told him ``no,'' pushed him away, did everything that a lady, a victim in this case, should do to get him away from her. At one point during the attack, he began suffocating her. She feared for her life.

Since her assault occurred in a campus dorm room, she was told that there would be a crime alert email sent out to the entire campus. That alert never went out. No one was warned that a violent sexual assault on campus had been reported. Not a single A&M woman was any wiser.

Kendra says: ``I believe Texas A&M endangered the lives of every single A&M student that came into contact with my rapist from the time the university knew'' what he had done.

She was then told that she would meet with the commandant of the corps, along with both of her parents, to address the safety and her lack of safety. Suddenly, her parents were barred from the room, not allowed to provide any support for her.

Rest assured, the general would have two assistants in the room with him. Three against one, the 20-year-old cadet versus three high-ranking military officials, to discuss rape, rape against her.

After much debate, the meeting never occurred. Instead, the dean of student life met with Kendra and her parents. She described that meeting as that individual ``implied that my report of the assault was causing her

trouble, and I wasn't helping anyone by coming forward. . . . And then there were several ways that I was requesting not to see my assailant, because we lived in very close quarters and had common classes and common activities.''

Every single one of those requests by her was denied to keep him away from her. They offered to move Kendra's parking spot; not the assailant's. They offered to change Kendra's schedule; not the assailant's. They offered to move Kendra's dorm to another dorm, but not the assailant's. A no-contact order was issued, but, you guessed it, it was up to Kendra to leave if the individual showed up in a classroom or the building.

Throughout the entire process, she said the university said that lawyers slow things down and aren't necessary. But Kendra obtained a lawyer that night. Shortly afterward, she received justice against her assailant.

As soon as her attorney met with school officials, the school quickly found a way to suspend the assailant until the hearing. Kendra's case was decided by the university's student conduct panel composed of three faculty members, and they found him responsible for 21 charges, including sexual abuse and sexual contact. And he was expelled.

It seems to me that because she hired her own private attorney she got the justice that she wanted and she deserved.

To this day, Kendra hopes university police will pursue a criminal case against her attacker. With the current backlog of DNA testing, it would take a year for her sexual assault kit to be analyzed. Until then she will continue to speak up, be part of the 12th Woman, and ask for change for her beloved university and all universities to make them safer for all students.

Those are six cases, individuals, young women, who went to college and bad things happened to them. Their statements speak for themselves. In some cases they felt like the university helped them; some cases they don't feel like the university helped them. But to a person--I was starting to say to a man--but to a woman, they all want improvements on college campuses about what has taken place on our campuses.

After all of these things came out in the public domain, the 12th Woman group met with university officials. They presented a 12th Woman report outlining specifically what happened and what they want changed on their university, and really what should be changed on other universities.

Mr. Speaker, I include the report in the Record.

12th Woman Report

This report outlines the information shared between the

12th Woman and the administration of Texas A&M including

Chancellor John Sharp and President Michael Young on Monday,

June 25, 2018.

About 12th Woman--The 12th Woman is a group of survivors

and advocates dedicated to transforming Texas A&M University

policies for providing justice in cases of sexual assault

that are reported.

Introduction to Meeting with Texas A&M Administration

My name is Abbie Hillis, and I want to welcome everyone

here tonight. Thank you to the victims for being brave enough

to share your story and thank you to the administration and

President Young for making this meeting a priority.

It is fair to say that we all know this meeting shouldn't

even be a meeting we are forced to have. As survivors, we

know the administration has had meetings like this before,

recently in fact, where you were forced to listen to stories

about how the policies and procedures at Texas A&M need to

change. We are here tonight because there has been complete

and utter failure by the leadership at Texas A&M. You all

have declined to make sexual assault advocacy, policy, and

procedure a priority. Instead, you continue to issue what are

titled ``messages to the community,'' in the hopes that a

carefully-worded statement will keep current and future

students satisfied. Well, we are saying no more. The constant

gaslighting and victim blaming must end.

We come to you today with huge hearts for Texas A&M, but we

also come to you with broken hearts, because you have chosen

to prioritize the university's brand over justice for

victims. For a university that portrays itself to the public

as unique by priding itself on its core values, it is

unconscionable to hear the never-ending stories over and over

and over from survivors. These stories are all the same and

demonstrate in each and every case that the university

prioritizes athletes, money, and perceptions of safety over

providing advocates and support for victims who have been

sexually assaulted. Victims are silenced, shamed, and

encouraged not to hire an attorney. Victims go to the Student

Counseling Center only to be told not to report their story

or that the issues are far greater than the SCC can handle.

Victims are forced to walk on campus next to their assailant,

or worse, to watch their assailant compete and represent the

university on a global stage.

Our stories today will illustrate the inconsistencies in

Texas A&M's reporting procedures for sexual assault crimes.

There is no uniform reporting process and no one is held

accountable. Current policies encourage those in charge, like

some of you sitting in this room today, to brush stories

aside and sweep victims under a rug. Texas A&M is spending

money on ribbons for athletes to wear for sexual assault

awareness but can't provide a qualified trauma counselor to

support sexual assault victims. The university also spends

money duplicating services that are already provided for free

through the government. But this isn't new information to any

of you.

Beyond hearing our stories today, I hope you all also know

that we are investigating your Clery Act alerts with reports

of sexual assault, as we believe there are discrepancies. We

are aware that the university has hired Husch Blackwell LLP

to do a ``thorough'' review of your sexual assault

investigations related to Title IX. But we also know that

this is the exact same firm that found Michigan State

University compliant with Title IX prior to Larry Nassar

being convicted of over 200 counts of sexual assault. Maybe

if MSU actually hired a team of attorneys that genuinely had

the university's best interest at heart, they wouldn't find

themselves in a $500 million settlement. We are curious, is

this the same outcome you all want for Texas A&M? As I

mentioned before, none of this information is new, yet these

issues still come up and we get the same response from the

administration with no results. There is no doubt that the

university is proficient in providing a statement in attempt

to address an issue, but we all know that words only go so

far and actions speak so much louder, actions that you all,

to date, have not had the decency and respect to make a

priority.

Our goal is not to spread awareness to this administration;

you know very well these issues exist. Instead, our goal is

to invoke action with the leadership of the university. Texas

A&M has the ability to be a leader among universities across

the nation. You have an opportunity to address these issues

and create a system that actually works to protect and

advocate for victims of sexual assault. We can either choose

to work together and create change or we will have to work

against each other and force change. Ultimately, it is up to

you, the leadership of Texas A&M, to decide which route we

will take. What we are asking for is simple: a commitment to

integrity, to ensure that all Aggies are safe to attend Texas

A&M University.

Also, the school, Texas A&M, has responded. The president met with the 12th Woman, the ladies in this group, and had a meeting with them and has issued a comprehensive statement, as they call it, comprehensive reviews and actions and next steps by the president of the university.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record what Texas A&M's response to all of this is.

Comprehensive Reviews, Actions and Next Steps

(July 2, 2018)

Dear Aggie Community, I would like to provide you with an

update regarding review plans recently announced that seek

ways to improve how the university addresses sexual assault

investigations. Since the last update, below are some of the

efforts underway now and in the near future:

Robin Means-Coleman is, as reported earlier, leading the

internal review. She has begun the following initiatives, to

which she and those involved will add additional actions

throughout the review:

Assemble the internal review committee. The committee is

comprised of a team of experts, to include: students

including sexual assault survivors; faculty whose scholarship

focuses on sexual assault; staff including student assistance

services; a representative from the community Sexual Assault

Resource Center (SARC); and others;

Analyze related university rules and Standard

Administrative Procedures (SAPs);

Examine Student Affairs Title IX processes, from intake to

post-process;

Identify ways to improve communications with students

regarding available resources, advocates, and advisors; and

Understand staffing allocations and needs.

EVP and Provost Dr. Carol Fierke is, as reported, the lead

liaison to the third-party review firm, Husch Blackwell (HB).

HB will be on campus beginning this month to interview

students, faculty, staff, community advocates and others. HB

was selected because of their expertise and deep level of

scrutiny as it pertains to assessments of policies and,

importantly, challenges in implementing those policies.

Primary interview input, process analysis, training review

and benchmarking to other universities will be some of their

work. We will make available

to HB the information and resources that they require.

Significantly, as is essential to any meaningful results in a

third-party review, we will also stay out of their way so

that they may do their work independently and unfettered.

During the course of these reviews, as opportunities for

improvement are identified, we will take action. We will not

wait until conclusion of reviews to implement what we are

able to improve as we move along.

Since my last message, an Aggie-led sexual assault

survivors group agreed to meet with our leadership team last

week. The Chancellor, Provost and I along with other campus

leaders listened carefully as individuals bravely shared

their experiences. We are deeply grateful for their input. We

will not comment on any individual case or publicly share

details of that private discussion, but I want to sincerely

thank them for their testimonies and willingness to share

with us directly. I reiterate our commitment to addressing

concerns brought forth.

We are committed to keeping our Aggie community informed as

these important reviews and resulting actions progress. It is

important to remind you of the standing invitation for all

Aggies to send suggestions to [email protected], which we are

reading.

I want to thank you again for your input, caring and

support as leaders inside and outside of the university

advance this important work.

Sincerely,

Michael K. Young,

President.

Mr. Speaker, Texas A&M is not alone in the fight to provide victims a voice. As stated in one of the victim's statements that I read into the Record, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that each year one in five women will be assaulted while in college. One in five, 20 percent, in those 4 or 5 years. To me that is a staggering statistic.

According to End Rape on Campus, an American woman who attends college is more likely to be a victim of sexual assault than a woman who does not go to college. That means whatever you think it means--one in five.

Mr. Speaker, most of us in the House are parents. I am blessed to have three daughters and a son, and I have 12 grandkids, eight of which are girls. Parents need to be aware of these statistics. One in five will be assaulted while in college as a student.

So what we want to do and what the 12th Woman wants to do is to stop these statistics and bring them down. I understand that at Texas A&M, the statistics--and I may be wrong--the statistics show that 1 in 14 are assaulted. At the same time, institutions of higher education across the country, to me, do not have an incentive to acknowledge the problem publicly, to address it.

We can understand why universities don't really talk a lot about what is happening with crimes on campus. They just don't. It is about the image of the university and other things. But it is not being talked about, I think, enough so that people are on notice that there is a problem.

Here are some solutions to the chances of having an assault committed on campus and what we can do about it as public, Members of Congress, and what universities can do about it. Some of those solutions are presented in the president's report at Texas A&M. Many of the solutions are presented in what these victims, the 12th Woman, tell us about.

The current oversight--because there are Federal laws that talk about reporting all crimes, including assault--seems to affect encouraging colleges to underreport sexual assaults.

I certainly applaud these young women for having the courage to come forward and tell their stories to the world. This 12th Woman group, as I said, are here today, and they are advocating for change on the national level. It has nothing to do with Texas A&M. It has everything to with changing all of our universities. It is a call to action. The 12th Woman is dedicated to bringing change to the way universities address sexual assault, not just at A&M, but across the country.

I will stand with the 12th Woman, Mr. Speaker, for their coming forward and telling their stories. These stories that you heard are not unique to one university. They happen all over the country.

So what are we doing about it?

Hopefully, I have shown part of the problem. Now it is up to us. I am talking about Congress. Victims of crime on college campuses--or really any other place--sexual assault victims don't have high-dollar lawyers from New York City to represent them. Whether it is in a university setting or whether it is in a courtroom, they don't. Some of them do, but most of them don't. As stated in these cases, most of them are alone when they are trying to resolve this problem before officials at the school.

The United States Congress must be their voice.

How do we become their voice? We make sure there is the right legislation filed to protect our daughters and our sons when they go to our universities. We have some legislation. The Clery Act is one of these. We are going to try to improve it.

So I am talking about three pieces of legislation. These are pieces of legislation that are bipartisan. I will repeat that. It is bipartisan. So it may not get a whole lot of notoriety because we are not fussing, fighting, and feuding with each other. Both sides agree. I want to thank Carolyn Maloney from New York and Jackie Speier from California--bipartisan--for working on these pieces of legislation.

They will help combat sexual assault on campus, provide victims with a clear path to reporting to the universities, make sure victim advocates are ready and available to all students nationwide, and make sure that victims are able to access a qualified nurse examiner, a forensic examiner.

Let me mention the first one. It is called the Megan Act. It is bipartisan. Megan Rondini lived in Austin, Texas. She went to school at the University of Alabama. While she was a sophomore there, she was at a local hangout, a bar, and came in contact with a former student. She was taken to his place. She was sexually assaulted, jumped out of the second story window at his place, and then the whole system seemed to fall apart.

She went to the hospital, but the person at the hospital didn't really understand what the responsibility was of that medical test. The rape kit was taken, but nobody knows where it is. It is gone. The police interrogated her, I think, because they knew who the accused was. The parents were important people at the university. They didn't have anything to do with the case and even talked about filing charges on her.

Then she went to the university and talked to a counselor. The counselor said:

Well, I know the accused, and I am not qualified to talk to

you about it.

But they didn't furnish her with somebody else.

So she didn't get help from the university, didn't get help at the hospital, and didn't get help from the police department. She had a lot of emotional problems and decided to transfer. So she transferred from the University of Alabama to SMU in Dallas, Texas.

Shortly after she transferred, Mr. Speaker, she committed suicide. She couldn't handle it, all of these things going on in her mind. So she paid; she got the death penalty for what happened to her. Megan Rondini could have been anybody's daughter.

So we have filed the Megan Rondini Act. What does it do? It does one thing specifically. It says universities and colleges must provide a SANE or a SAFE, sexual assault forensic examiner, to victims of sexual assault, or have one available for them nearby so that when they go to report this trauma medically they get treatment from an expert. It is bipartisan legislation. We ought to pass this legislation, get it on the House floor and pass it to make our universities better.

I will say this about the University of Alabama, because of this thing that happened at their school, they changed a lot of things. Good for them that they changed a lot of their procedures.

I would ask the Speaker how much time I have remaining.

Okay. I will talk a little faster. I am from Texas. We talk slower. I would like to get more than 17 minutes, but I understand.

Jackie Speier and I have filed a bill called the HALT Act, HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act. I will give as many details as I can, Mr. Speaker.

The National Institute of Justice estimates that 63 percent of universities shirk their already legal responsibility when reporting sexual assault violent crimes. They are already supposed to report it; they don't. This bill will make sure that they do report it.

It allows the Department of Education to issue financial penalties to people who don't comply with Title IX. It increases the penalties up to $100,000. It allows a private right of action by the victim on campus, and it requires public disclosure of a list of colleges and universities under investigation in violation of Title IX and the Clery Act. It increases funding so that universities can do this. The HALT Act is a good piece of legislation.

The third piece of legislation by Carolyn Maloney of New York and me--it is pretty bipartisan. Carolyn Maloney from New York is a progressive, liberal Democrat. Ted Poe is kind of a conservative guy from Texas. We are joining together to sponsor the Campus Accountability and Safety Act.

What does it do? It provides, specifically, victim advocates in sexual assault cases to victims of sexual assault on campus. It does a lot of other things, too. I hope we can get both of these on the House floor soon. It also requires that there is one reporting mechanism.

In other words, if you are complaining of sexual assault by a student, there is one avenue on campuses. Other campuses, such as the ones that have the Corps of Cadets, you go through the Corps of Cadets. If it is against a faculty member, for example, you go that route. If it is against an athlete, you go a different route. So we need to combine all of those in all of our reporting systems so that students know and are put on notice that they can go through one specific route. These legislations do a lot of other specific things, too.

Recently I was at Rice University. I had Members of Congress down there. We did a sexual assault forum on campus. What happened? Rice University is doing a lot of good things. One of the things they do is just make it real obvious that there are things that students can do.

Mr. Speaker, I include this poster in the Record.

You Are Not Alone

Rice University has supportive and caring faculty, staff,

and students who are here to help you.

If you have experienced any kind of sexual assault, sexual

harassment, relationship violence and/or stalking, it is not

your fault and you have options.

Rice University's Sexual Misconduct Policy prohibits

relationship violence, stalking, and sexual misconduct. These

behaviors include physical and verbal abuse, sexual assault,

unwanted sexual contact, and sexual harassment.

For emergency assistance, call:

They post these posters throughout the university and restrooms telling them basically you are not alone and here is what you can do to educate and what you can do if a crime is committed against you.

It is a good idea. They have a protocol that I think many universities ought to look at. They have designed a student-based-- really?--a program that all students are required to take when they are an incoming freshman. It is not just a 1-hour course. It is several weeks long. They educate students on how to deal with other people-- relationships--that a lot of them have never been trained in doing.

Mr. Speaker, I have been talking about, I think, a very serious thing that happens. Here in Congress, we spend a lot of time talking. Right before I talked, you heard a lot of talking on both sides. But we spend a lot of time talking about our national defense, and we spend a lot of money on airplanes, aircraft carriers, and our military. I'm not saying that we shouldn't. But it is defense spending to make us safe from foreign countries.

Should we not be as concerned about the safety of Americans in America and maybe refocus on their safety?

I think we can and we should. We need to make sure we get our priorities straight.

I have known a lot of sexual assault victims in my career at the courthouse for 30-plus years. I still keep in contact with them on a periodic basis. Sometimes they just call me to check in. I have known sexual assault victims who, even after the trial and the person went off to the Texas penitentiary, committed suicide.

Mr. Speaker, rape, sexual assault is a different type of crime than your car being stolen or your house being burglarized. It affects the individual in the deepest part of their soul. Sometimes the offender tries to steal the identity, the soul, the self-worth of the victim. Many of them feel that way for a long time.

We in the House of Representatives have the responsibility to be the voice of sexual assault victims in our country and do what we can to make sure that they have due process, that the same Constitution that protects the rights of offenders--and I totally believe in those rights--protects the rights of people who are victims of crime.

Due process and justice must balance both of those so that we get the right decision for the right reason when these things happen to, primarily, our female athletes or female students throughout our universities.

I admire these women who have come forward, being bold to make public what happened to them--bad things--and our response should be: We are on your side. We are in it together. We are going to do what we can to make our great universities even greater and protect our young men and women on college campuses.

The 12th Woman. I would say, Mr. Speaker, don't mess with the 12th Woman. These are relentless, tenacious young women who want to take what happened to them and turn it around and make it something that we can prevent, make it a positive thing.

My grandmother, who was the most influential person in my life--and I will close with this, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the time--lived to a ripe old age of 99. She was the most influential person in my life, even more than both my parents, who are both alive. They are 93 now. She told me that there is nothing more powerful than a woman who has made up her mind.

I think these women have made up their mind, and we need to join them and be together in our calls to stop sexual assault on campuses and tell our universities and help our universities make those places safer because our American children and children from other countries that go to our universities are worth fighting for. It is our job to do so, Mr. Speaker.

And that is just the way it is.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of my Special Order.

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

Madam Chair, I would like to thank Chairman Calvert for his great work on this bill, and my colleague Mr. Olson for his support of this amendment.

My amendment would simply reduce the National Recreation and Preservation account by $20 million, and then increase it by the same amount with the intent of using these funds to increase the budget of the National Maritime Heritage grant program.

This program provides federal funding for local and state operated maritime educational exhibits and preservation projects.

The United States has a rich history of maritime excellence that has played an important role in the U.S. becoming the powerful nation that it is today.

It is important that we preserve these great ships rather than let them fall into disrepair.

It is an insult to their legacy to let them sink rather than help them stay afloat.

For example, right outside my district back in Texas floats the Battleship Texas, the last great dreadnought.

But maybe not for long.

Growing up, I always looked forward to visiting the Battleship.

My best friend and I would climb from top to bottom, firing every gun and squeezing down every port hole.

When commissioned in 1914 she was the most powerful war ship the world had ever seen.

She was the first of her kind to mount anti-aircraft guns, use commercial radar, and launch an aircraft.

As the flagship of the U.S. fleet, she battered the Nazi defenses during the D-Day invasion at Normandy and also helped the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Then, at the end of the war, she made three trips to bring American servicemen back home.

Today, she serves as a museum and a reminder of wars long past.

Nearly 70 years after school children used nickels and dimes to pay for her move to her namesake state, here she still floats, but maybe not for long.

The Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife has jurisdiction of the battle wagon, but state funding has been sporadic and federal funding non-existent.

That is where this amendment comes into play.

We owe it to the Texans who served to save the Battleship Texas.

This battleship, like so many battlefields and sacred, historical landmarks across our country, is consecrated with the blood of Americans.

Without the Texas, things might have gone a little bit differently for us at D-Day or in the Pacific Theater.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago this August, Russian tanks rolled across the border into the independent nation of Georgia. After 5 days of bloody fighting, with thousands of innocent Georgians displaced from their homes, the conflict ended with the Russians promising to pull back its forces.

I happened to be in Georgia 1 week after the Russian invasion and saw the tanks on the high ground and the destruction that the Russians made of Tbilisi. It is 10 years since that invasion and Moscow and its troops still occupy one-third of sovereign territory of the Republic of Georgia.

The Kremlin claims these Russian troops are in Georgia as peacekeepers. Are you kidding me? It is an invasion. They are a heavily armed battle group waiting to provoke Georgia into another fight. They have committed horrific human rights abuses against the Georgian people, often harassing civilians and denying Georgians the ability to move about their country freely.

The continued presence of Russian troops on Georgian soil presents a major violation of international law. America's response at the time was to condemn and issue sanctions against the Russians, but the Obama administration removed the punishing sanctions against Russia as part of its foolish reset with the Kremlin.

We now know this demonstration of weakness only encouraged further aggression from Russia, and it invaded a neighbor state in 2014. This time it seized and annexed Crimea from Ukraine, another independent sovereign state that Russia had sworn to respect. Then Russian tanks moved on and invaded eastern Ukraine and occupied part of that territory.

After 10 years of illegal occupation of Georgian territory, we need to do more to help our Georgian friends resist the Russian bear. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia emerged as the beacon of hope in the region and hope for democracy. Georgia's faithful commitment to a strong democracy with free and fair elections serves as a shining example for other countries in Eastern Europe. Russia hoped to break this beacon of hope 10 years ago, but Georgia has remained defiant.

As co-chair of the Congressional Georgia Caucus, I have long seen that major vulnerabilities remain that Russia could exploit. Georgia is a small country. It cannot afford to compete with the might of the Russian bear. That is why I have introduced the Georgia Support Act along with my caucus co-chair, Representative Connolly from Virginia.

Through this important bill, we hope to significantly enhance Georgia's ability to combat and deter Putin's wicked activities. With our assistance, America can provide Georgia specific advantages that can make any new attempt by Russia a costly endeavor.

Also, with modern warfare extending to cyberspace, we can improve coordination to identify Russia's cyber attacks and build safeguards within. This means building up Georgia's ability to combat disinformation and propaganda from Russia.

As we have seen, Moscow is all over the world trying to undermine democracies by invading their elections, including our own. Working with Georgian partners, we can show Russia has been caught.

Additionally, this bill calls on President Trump to impose sanctions for serious human rights abuses in that occupied territory of Georgia. Not only will it help our Georgian friends on the front line of Russian aggression, but it sends a message to the Kremlin that America will and must stand up against that bad behavior and defend the international rule of law.

Czar Putin must be shown that his dream of rebuilding the Russian empire is not going to happen. We must show our freedom-loving friends around the globe that America will stand with them. The Georgian people have shown they will fight for freedom, even against overwhelming odds.

While the Kremlin believes that it has prevented Georgia's aspirations of joining the important organization of NATO by seizing territory, we can send a signal that that victory is hollow. Georgia is still on the path to greater integration with the West. Georgia must remain, with our help, free and prosperous. Russia will find itself isolated and full of regret for ever following Putin's foolish ambition of aggression in the region.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, Lowyal was just like any other teenager across America. When she was 13 years of age and in school, daily bullying started. Then her relationship with her mother became worse. So she dropped out of school, took drugs, and eventually joined a gang.

Eventually, her newfound ``friends'' introduced her to a ``game'' where she walked up and down the streets, under the constant watch of her owners. She was the victim of human trafficking, modern-day slavery. These older men manipulated her youth and stole her innocence on the marketplace of sex slavery.

My legislation, the Abolish Human Trafficking Act, will increase prosecutions for perpetrators like the slave traders who trafficked Lowyal and hold them accountable for their crimes of sex slavery.

America must support victims of human traffickers and put their predators where they belong: in the jailhouse. We as a community must rescue victims from this scourge of slavery that is taking place in our country.

And that is just the way it is.