Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a quick moment again to thank my colleague, Representative Sinema, for the invitation to speak today on the very important issue of veteran suicide prevention. She has been a true champion of improving access to quality care for our Nation's veterans and has been a leader in Congress pushing for the real reforms to combat veteran suicide.

By shining a light on veteran suicide rates of approximately 22 per day, we as a nation can start to understand the urgency with which we need to solve and prevent this epidemic that our veterans, their families, and their friends struggle with daily. Not coping with the stress and anxiety early enough all too often leads to the veterans taking their own life.

I want to be clear: this is not an issue that affects veterans alone; it affects all of us.

Our government asked these soldiers to place themselves in harm's way, and if when a veteran returns home they are struggling to cope, we as a nation must come together to ensure a strong support system is in place. This means we must remove the stigma associated with seeking help. This means we must hire more mental health professionals and more who have served in combat zones themselves. This means the VA must provide after-hours services. The VA must review its group therapy model. There must be a review of discharges that resulted from mental health conditions, and the Department of Defense and VA must better coordinate the transition from DOD care to VA care.

I have spoken with veterans throughout my district and a common theme that emerges is that they have lost faith in the VA. They feel abandoned by the very system, the very country which they fought for to preserve and to protect the liberties and freedoms we have the privileges of experiencing daily.

I had a young man send me a letter directly to my house, and I want to share some of it. He said he had been seeking care. He had served in the gulf war. He was in his mid-forties, and he had been seeking care over the course of the last 10 years. Time and time again his appointments had either been canceled or rescheduled, and he had gotten to a point where he tried to get care and over the last 13 appointments they were canceled or rescheduled. He ended the letter pleading for help, and he said that if I do not get the help and care that I need, because I have nowhere else to turn, that I am afraid I am either going to hurt somebody or myself.

We reached out to this young man, we had him come into our office, and I could see a troubled individual that had given up on life and had no hope for the future. We intervened for this young man, we called the VA system, and they got him in that night. Since then, I am happy to report that the man has called us and said it was a life-changing experience for him and he could only imagine what would have happened had he not gotten interdiction.

Congress and the VA are working to solve these deficiencies so that our soldiers have the care they need. But it should not take an act of Congress, or a Congressman or -women, to intercede on behalf of a veteran to get the care they earned, need, and deserve. I know myself and my colleagues will do what is needed to fix the shortcomings of the DOD and the VA system.

America and Americans cannot sit idly by and bear witness to the path of devastation and destruction left in the wake of a veteran suicide for their family and friends to deal with.

I thank my colleague for bringing this very important subject to light. We all need to work in a bipartisan fashion to solve this. I thank my colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the innocent victims who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Thirteen years ago today, our homeland was attacked. Evil manifested itself in the form of extremists who murdered 3,000 Americans. Our world and America was forever changed by the tragedy that unfolded in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Pennsylvania.

The evil that came out of the shadows in 2001 still exists today in 2014. If left unchecked, it will continue to grow for the foreseeable future and threaten us once more. Now, more than ever, we must remain vigilant in the defense of our great country and against those who wish America harm. We can no longer afford to be divided into Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals. We must come together today, from this point forward, as Americans.

Today, let us pause and pray in remembrance of those who fell on 9/11 and for all who continue to stand in harm's way at home and abroad.

Mr. Speaker, today I was unavoidably detained and missed rollcall votes Nos. 490 and 491. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

On rollcall No. 490--Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 717, the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3522--I would have voted ``yea.''

On rollcall No. 491--Adoption of H. Res. 717, the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3522--I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate my friend and colleague, Steve Southerland, for crafting the Waters of the United States bill, this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I have heard from farmers, ranchers, contractors and even homeowners across my district and across this country. They have had enough of regulatory overreach by the administration and the EPA.

As many of my colleagues have already stated, this bill will stop this administration from using a pen and a phone to unfairly target those who are our greatest stewards of our land, the farming and ranching families of this country.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. Government should facilitate businesses, not hinder them.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 107.

This resolution denounces the cowardly act of using civilians--women and children--as human shields by Hamas and any other terrorist organization, which is in violation of international humanitarian law.

As a member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, I was proud to have worked with Congresswoman Ros- Lehtinen, Chairman Royce, and Ranking Member Engel. It is my hope that this resolution sends a very clear message to Hamas that their abhorrent practice of using civilians as human shields must stop.

Hamas has continued to fire rockets indiscriminately into Israel from residential areas within Gaza, as well as having continued to store munitions near schools and hospitals.

Mr. Speaker, what kind of human does this kind of thing? It is a coward. It is a person who does not value human life.

Since June of 2014, over 2,000 rockets have been fired at Israel. In response to the repeated rocket attacks, the United States and Israel have worked together on missile defense projects, such as the Iron Dome. The Iron Dome is an effective missile defense system. It has proven its worth time after time, intercepting dozens of Hamas rockets bound for densely-populated areas within Israel.

This resolution must pass in order to assure our Israeli allies of our commitment to them, as well as to send a very clear message to Hamas that their use of human shields must stop.

I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation. This evening, we are, once again, considering H.R. 935, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. Many of you will remember that the House voted in support of this legislation 3 years ago. That bill, H.R. 872, passed the House floor on suspension with a vote of 292-130.

This same language was included in the 2012 farm bill that was reported out of the Agricultural Committee, as well as the 2013 farm bill, which the House sent to the farm bill conference. It was included in the committee-reported text of the fiscal year 2012 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. Unfortunately, due to the opposition from a couple of our friends in the Senate, we have been unable to get this bill to the President's desk, which we know, once done, will guarantee his signature.

As many of you may recall, this language was drafted at our request for technical assistance by the EPA general counsel. The problem we asked the EPA to help resolve stems from an uninformed court decision in the Sixth Circuit. This decision nullified a 2006 EPA regulation that exempted certain pesticides from having to comply with a costly and duplicative permitting process under the Clean Water Act.

My colleague, the gentlewoman from Maryland, gave a very nice speech. And she mentioned several times the potential problem of contaminating creeks, the potential problems of this pesticide causing all of these problems that we haven't seen. We don't have the facts on that, and to regulate something that is already regulated--and I must caution everybody how these drugs and how these pesticides come out. They go through extensive testing. Millions of dollars are spent by these industries. And the intent by those pressing to have federally registered pesticides regulated through the Clean Water Act is unnecessary, it is costly, and it ultimately undermines public health. It amounts to a duplication of compliance costs for a variety of public agencies, adding to their legal jeopardy and threatening pesticide applicators, including mosquito control districts, with fines set at $37,500 per day per violation. All I can say is, welcome to going out of business if you are in the private sector.

Across the country, several mosquito control districts may have to cease operations due to these costs. If this occurs, it would expose large portions of the population to mosquitoes carrying a number of dangerous and exotic diseases, such as West Nile virus. Hospitalization and rehab costs ranging from the tens of thousands into the millions of dollars, lost productivity, a decrease in tourism, and negative impacts on horses and livestock production are but a few of the costs that will further strain public health resources.

Being a veterinarian for the last 30 years, I have seen effects of mosquito-borne diseases. In addition, the West Nile virus causes deaths, from alligators to humans. Also, diseases such as Eastern encephalitis are transmittable to people, along with dengue fever, which is moving its way up from the Caribbean through the peninsula of Florida, and it will, no doubt, get up further to the mainland of the United States of America, in addition to the heartworm disease in our pets.

This unnecessary mandate applies not only to local and State interests but also to Federal agency lands located in States directly regulated by the EPA. For example, Federal agencies, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, authorize the use of some of their lands for many purposes, including recreation and agriculture. These uses often require pesticide applications to prevent mosquito-borne transmitted diseases and for other purposes.

Although the local mosquito control district may be the entity actually applying the pesticide, the Army Corps District is required to obtain the permit and sign off on related reports, thereby pointlessly driving up costs to

the Federal Government. We have agencies suing government agencies.

Further, experience has shown that the Corps is unwilling to assume permit responsibility for activities that it is not actually performing. This is a regulatory burden that Congress never intended, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, in 2010, this body passed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, the HIRE Act. Included in that measure was the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA.

FATCA requires U.S. citizens living abroad to prepare tax returns that include both non-U.S. income and non-U.S. financial accounts. Additionally, FATCA requires financial institutions in other countries to report on assets held by American clients to the IRS.

If those institutions do not supply that information, they would be subject to a 30 percent withholding tax. In a recent report, nearly 77,000 institutions have agreed to hand over that information to the

Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chairman, I want to begin by congratulating my colleagues, Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur, for crafting a strong bipartisan bill that enhances our Nation's energy infrastructure, strengthens our nuclear weapon security programs, and ensures investments are made to grow jobs here in America.

Furthermore, I would like to thank the chairman and ranking member and the hardworking committee staff for accepting language into the base bill regarding navigable waters. This past April, 28 of my colleagues joined me in a letter to the Appropriations Committee suggesting language be included. I am pleased that it ended up in the final product, and I thank you, Chairman Simpson, as do our Nation's farmers and ranchers.

The amendment I bring to the floor today would limit the administration's ability to create and enforce rules through the Department of Energy, rules that would increase our cost of electricity and decrease the reliability of our electric grid.

This administration has made unprecedented rules and regulations when it comes to the sources of our electric generation. This President's ideological stance against fossil fuels, which supplies 80 percent of our domestic electricity, is crippling industry and increasing costs for all Americans.

These policies injure low-income Americans the most. Those with the least amount of disposable income in my north central Florida region and district will have to choose between feeding their families or possibly turning on their air conditioner.

This is America, and we have the means to produce inexpensive, reliable energy sources, and we need to do just that. We do it responsibly, and we have become great stewards of the environment.

We, as the people of government, in government, should do what is best for the American people, for the American economy, increasing our security, energy security, and our competitiveness.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson) for any remarks that he may have.

Madam Chair, I understand that, and I appreciate that the chairman's concern is the broad nature of the amendment.

Still, my hope is to work with Chairman Simpson and Chairman Upton to find a solution to this problem. I cannot and shall not sit idly while this administration singlehandedly destroys the most reliable and affordable energy source in the world.

And with that, Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Point of Order

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, at a time of deep deficits and a mounting national debt, we cannot allow our taxpayers' dollars to be squandered away in order to upgrade cities in China and India.

In 2012, a program was issued by the Department of Energy with the purpose of ``conducting international collaborative efforts that accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technologies'' at the expense of the American taxpayer.

While this appropriation bill does not explicitly include funding for these projects, I believe this amendment is essential to ensure the administration cannot misuse hard-earned taxpayer money.

All in this Chamber have seen what the President is capable of, given the opportunity to invoke his ideological agenda. It is not America's job to help foreign nations upgrade their cities. Countries like China and India have their own taxpayers and are among the largest economic engines in the world.

Our country was founded on the principle of self-determination. Enticing economic change in foreign countries with money borrowed from future generations is a gross departure of that principle, especially in these hard economic times.

And with that, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the State of Georgia (Mr. Collins), my colleague and good friend.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. Chairman, we, again, as people in government that represent our constituents, we should do everything in our power to make America stronger, more economically sound, and more competitive across the world, not less.

Again, this amendment will prevent future actions from the administration causing hardworking American taxpayers' money to be spent to subsidize clean energy in countries like China and India.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of H.R. 1528, the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act.

I want to thank my colleagues--Chairman Upton, Chairman Goodlatte, and Mr. Pitts--for helping to bring this important measure to the floor, and a special thank you to my friend and fellow vet, Kurt Schrader. I also want to thank the Senate for unanimously passing this important piece of legislation out of that Chamber.

I spent over 30 years in the veterinary profession, and the passage of this bill will allow for the continued use of drugs necessary to perform the work we do for our four-legged patients. The animals I have helped on ranches and in the field have no voice of their own, and they require a certain degree of service that only veterinarians can provide.

Vets must have the ability to treat animals on-site and in the field. Limit that ability and you hurt a profession, you cripple ranchers across the country, and, most of all, you unfairly restrict lifesaving treatments for the animals, the patients, who need them the most. Imagine what it would be if the cattle ranchers were required to bring their cattle in or the horse owners to bring their horse to the vet every time they needed services. It directly affects their patient and their livelihood.

My friends, take it from me, I have practiced veterinary medicine in the field. If anything, we need more vets in the field, not less. This bill simply allows those in our profession to continue to do the lifesaving work that we were trained to do on the animals that so badly require it.

Join me in voting for this commonsense measure.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank my colleague for yielding.

I rise today in support of the gentleman from Arkansas, Tom Cotton's amendment, which would prohibit any funds from being used to transfer or release any of the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay.

We are a Nation of laws, and we need to make sure we follow those laws. I support this amendment for a litany of reasons, chief among them is that it sends a clear message to the President that he cannot circumvent Congress and that he, the President, cannot override the law of the land.

He should have notified Congress 30 days prior to releasing the five prisoners in exchange for Sergeant Bergdahl. The implications of this release will have a far-reaching impact on the national security of the United States.

Just recently, as the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton) pointed out, Spanish authorities arrested a former

Guantanamo Bay detainee on suspicions of running a terrorist recruitment network.

The Director of National Intelligence has said that, by January of 2014, about 29 percent of the 614 detainees released from the prison at Guantanamo Bay had returned to violence.

Our brave men and women in uniform have fought too hard and have sacrificed too much to have the President release these detainees who will likely return straight to the battlefield. We understand this, and our constituents understand this. I support this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support this strongly, too.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.

I thank the chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.

My amendment would prohibit any funds made available under this act to be used to implement any Administration mandate for GPS or event data recording devices in ``light-duty, non-commercial'' passenger motor vehicles.

In the recent past, the Department of Transportation and the President have both indicated their support of a mandate, a mandate which would require every car to have a recording device installed. These recording devices are more commonly referred to as ``black boxes.'' Within the past year, our nation has been rocked by evidence of surveillance techniques that have been used, unconstitutionally, by government agencies to collect information on law-abiding Americans. It is understandable then, that the revelation that a black box installed in a vehicle, often times without consumer knowledge, is concerning.

Additionally, there is a need to provide clarity to the confusion surrounding who is the owner of the data collected by these event data recorders. I believe that ownerships resides with the owner of the vehicle. However, until such time as this issue is resolved, I must defer to my constituents back home who are adamantly opposed to these black boxes. I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting my amendment to protect the personal liberties of a public that is increasingly weary of government surveillance and privacy intrusions.

I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Miller.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4031, the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014.

For far too long, problems of patient neglect have persisted at the VA. These problems will continue to persist until the employees there can be held accountable for their poor performances. In recent weeks, the full extent of staff incompetence has begun to be made clear.

Serious allegations have arisen that lengthy wait times and secret waiting lists at the three Phoenix VA medical centers have led to the deaths of 40 or more of our Nation's veterans. This is unacceptable. There are stories of secret waiting lists and of employee negligence at the VA that are popping up all over the news.

As these reports are investigated, it is necessary that we give the Secretary of the VA the power to not only reprimand, but to remove the negligent employees. If we do not, then the problem will persist.

For these reasons and more, I have cosponsored Chairman Miller's bill, which will authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to remove or demote any senior executive employee whose performance has been found lacking.

Mr. Speaker, caring for our veterans is of paramount importance. I urge my colleagues to stand up for our veterans and vote to pass the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014.

I would like to thank Mr. Goodlatte.

Madam Speaker, I rise in complete support of erasing human trafficking from the face of the Earth. I am a proud cosponsor of all the bipartisan bills before us today, bills that will give us, the courts, and law enforcement the tools and resources we need to combat the plague that is human trafficking.

It is unacceptable that today, in 2014, the 21st century, human beings are being sold, owned, and held against their will living a life that is, for lack of a better term, hell on Earth. Human trafficking is defined by the Department of Homeland Security as ``a modern-day form of slavery involving the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial gain.''

The victims of human trafficking are the most vulnerable among us: the poor, immigrants in search of a better life--a better life for their families--women, and even children. These exploited persons are victimized by the traffickers who lure them in with false promises of a better life and then are coerced into unspeakable acts, domestic servitude, or other types of forced labor.

The traffickers only see the victims as a means to make a profit, no different from a commodity or livestock on a farm, and certainly not as the human beings that they are. Too often in our communities, there is a lack of pushback or even awareness that this terrible practice of modern-day servitude exists. It does, and it happens within our own neighborhoods, towns, and counties.

Even when the problem of trafficking is realized, law enforcement does not have the tools it needs to go after the criminals or take care of the victims.

Americans need to take a hard stance, lead on the issue, and let it be known that there is zero tolerance for this horrendous practice. The first step is educating entire communities, since a lack of awareness is our foremost threat. Second, we must provide the resources to law enforcement and make this a priority among the legal community. Finally, we need to recognize and treat the victims of trafficking not as criminals but as victims.

My office in Florida's Third District has been taking steps and will continue to do so to make north central Florida a zero tolerance zone for human trafficking. We have brought together representatives from the Department of Homeland Security. I just want to say that we stand in support of all of these

bills, and we urge all of our Members to.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Challenge Enterprises of north Florida and the AbilityOne program.

Challenge Enterprises employs more than 300 citizens in my district alone, 179 of whom are disabled persons employed on projects acquired directly as a result of the AbilityOne program. This program has been of great assistance in helping our disabled citizens achieve meaningful employment.

Challenge Enterprises' motto is ``The power of people and possibilities.'' I have visited their facilities to meet their staff, workers, and the wounded warriors to learn what they do and saw firsthand how the AbilityOne program enhances the quality of their lives.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I thank the staff, the workers, and the volunteers of Challenge Enterprises and the AbilityOne program for helping disabled citizens of my district and of north central Florida become productive, self-reliant citizens of their community and of the Third Congressional District.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 8 o'clock and 51 minutes p.m.), the House adjourned until tomorrow, Friday, May 9, 2014, at 9 a.m.