Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, this week commences the Lunar New Year, a time of thankfulness and new beginnings for the United States and many of our Asian partners.

Reflecting upon last year's Year of the Rooster, we have enjoyed tremendous political, social, and economic achievements. Filled with enthusiasm for diplomacy and cooperation, we continue to look to our partners in Asia to promote peaceful international relations.

During the Year of the Dog, I believe that our friends will continue to embody loyalty, honesty, and integrity, working with us to craft mutually beneficial international policies. In turn, the United States will encourage effective diplomatic behaviors among all of our Asian counterparts.

As lawmakers, we have an obligation to protect the interests of the United States, as well as those of our strong allies around the globe, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to continue to work toward policies that will positively shape strong, multinational Asian foreign relations in 2018.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my good colleague from Virginia (Mr. Garrett) and everybody else who has participated in this important topic.

For far too long, Washington has allowed our broken immigration system to fester. Since 1986, when safeguards were put in place to protect our Nation from illegal immigration, we have seen the rule of law not followed, and it has led to the situation we have today. This is not an overnight sensation that just has happened.

If you look at the number one role of government, it is to provide for the common defense of our Nation and the security of our Nation. Madam Speaker, you cannot have a secure nation if you don't have secure borders. That is one of the reasons we lock our car doors. That is one of the reasons we lock our house doors is to secure our family.

Well, the government's role is to secure their Nation and the people within it so that we can have a secure nation, the peace of mind that our families are protected from people that shouldn't be here in the first place. We need to reform our system so that we have legal immigration that is not burdensome to the point where it doesn't work, and that is what Washington has been well known for. We need to seek real reforms that cut down on illegal immigration while protecting and bolstering the legal immigration system.

Our Nation is a nation of immigrants, and Theodore Roosevelt addressed this, I think, very succinctly in 1907 in a speech when he talked about our land being a land of immigrants, how we have come over from other countries from around the world. But he also went on to say and talk about the values of America, that we, being a land of immigrants, understand this: There is but room for one flag. It is the American flag. You need to honor it. There is room but for one language. It is English. You need to learn it.

Immigration without assimilation is an invasion, and that is really what we have, an invasion, because we don't know who is here. We don't know where they came from.

And Dreamers who were brought here to this country, I think we are all sympathetic. They were brought here to this country at no fault of their own and registered with DHS under DACA. There is a program where they could have registered. They are a different class, but they can be handled in a systematic manner, whether it starts off with probationary periods, running background checks, ensuring all fines are paid for outstanding traffic tickets or other, among other things. And I stand with and I am a cosponsor of the Goodlatte-Labrador bill. I think it is a great start. As immigration policies or as policies up here in Washington, we know they change over time, and so I think this is a good start.

We need to strengthen our border--that needs to be paramount--and tighten our borders through what the Customs and Border Patrol tell us to do.

You know, there are people who want to build a wall from sea to shining sea. I think we should build a wall where the experts say we need to build a wall and do other forms of security, but the bottom line is we have to have a secure border. And it is not just our southwest border; it is all of our borders. And I think every American should be concerned about this, and you would think they would want this.

We also should allow Customs and Border Patrol to survey and make recommendations for how they think best we can increase the security of, again, not just our southern border but, again, all the borders.

Sanctuary cities who openly defy Federal immigration law place American citizens at risk, and I would hope the people in those cities, the citizens of those cities, would rise up and hold their elected officials accountable so that it is not a political platform that a party wants to promote. All you have to do is look at the many people who have been killed by people here illegally, and they rush for the protection of a sanctuary city.

And these are cities, again, that are breaking the Federal law. They defy Federal law without consequence. Congress does have the power to hold these people accountable, these States. And, again, it will be the citizens of those cities, hopefully, who will rise up and say enough is enough.

The Goodlatte-Labrador bill, H.R. 4760, the Securing America's Future Act, I cosponsored because it lays out a plan to address many of the immigration reform priorities: It eliminates the diversity visa, which is just a happenstance. If you are the lucky one

who pulls the right number, you get the lottery ticket, and the lottery ticket is coming here to America. It eliminates the diversity visa to increase the number of skilled worker visas. It creates a new agriculture guest worker program.

And I am proud because some of the recommendations we have are in that bill, and so we want to see that pass. This is one of the things that has to happen.

But before we can go forward, we have to make sure that the borders are secured, that the rule of law is enforced, and that we have a good guest worker program. It also requires employers to utilize the E- Verify system to ensure their employees are legally able to work in this country.

The good thing about the E-Verify system, it also gives protection to the employer, knowing that they went through the process that the government says they must go through and they have hired people that the government says are okay. So it gives protection not just to our employers, but it gives protection to the people here, who come here for the privilege of coming to America to work.

It invests in a new security measure for our borders, gives registered DACA recipients a renewable 3-year legal status, while ensuring individuals who could cause harm are not eligible for it. It withholds grants and Federal funding from sanctuary cities and gets rid of the chain migration.

So this, I think, is a very strong bill. I think it is a very good bill, that it accomplishes the goal. It could always be better. It is not comprehensive immigration reform, but it is a great start.

You know, working in the agricultural sector for 35 years of my life as a veterinarian working on the farms, I talked to a lot of the immigrants, and a lot of the immigrants that I talked to were here illegally. And I asked them: Do you want to be a citizen of the United States?

They said: No. The majority of them didn't. They wanted the opportunity--the opportunity--to come here to make some money to go back home, and I think we should accommodate that.

And then if you talk to other immigrants who are here and they migrated here legally, I asked them: Why did you come here? Why did your parents come here?

And do you know what it always comes down to? They wanted opportunity, and they wanted security, and they wanted a better life for their family.

So our broken system does not accomplish that, and it is time to fix the broken system, and this is the time to do it.

With that, I thank the gentleman for bringing up this great topic, this passionate topic, and with your work, your help, we can accomplish this.

Mr. Speaker, on February 9, the Winter Olympics began in South Korea.

As we celebrate the world coming together to achieve the very best in sports, I am extremely proud and excited to announce that Florida's Third District has three young speed skaters, Brittany Bowe, Erin Jackson, and Joey Mantia, who are competing in the Olympics.

Brittany, Erin, and Joey are from the town of Ocala, a city in my district with no ice rink. Yet, under the tutelage of Renee Hildebrand, these athletes have perfected their skills through regular training on roller blades. In fact, Erin had only spent 4 months total training on ice before earning her spot, making her position as the first African- American woman to qualify for the U.S. long track team even more remarkable.

Brittany, Erin, and Joey, all of Florida's Third District is rooting for you, and I know you will make our community and the Nation proud.

Good luck, and go Team USA.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 67 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 68.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 38 ordering Call of House, ``pres'' on rollcall No. 39 Call of House, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 40 Tableing appeal.

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 chair the Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs. I have been in Congress for 5 years, and what I have noticed over the last, probably, 30 years is a growing China. China is a culture that has been around for thousands of years. What we have seen is a growing China, but, more recently, in the last 25 years, a more aggressive China, in the policies and the different things that they do around the world.

Twenty-eight years ago, Deng Xiaoping announced that China's strategy to accrue global power would be to ``hide one's strength and bide one's time.'' As I rise, today, in the House, this evening, it is clear that China is done biding its time.

I can remember seeing a documentary several years ago from 1986, where that leader, Deng Xiaoping, talked about that he could not compete with the U.S. or the Japanese in the intellectual property, computer manufacturing, or in IT.

What they said at that time was that they will compete by taking over the rare earth metals that are required in all of that. So, from that point forward, they led that charge to strategically set out a 100-year plan.

At China's 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last October 2017, Xi Jinping announced a new era, in which China has started to overcome the humiliations of colonialism and that it has stood up, grown rich, and is becoming strong.

We talked about this. It came out in a meeting. Somebody brought up that, through their whole adult life, China was just kind of this big, stumbling child. But they had reached a point and grown through puberty, where the hormones had kicked in, and they found out how strong they were. Then they discovered how rich they were, and they started to flex both of those.

He explicitly offered the Chinese model as an alternative to liberal democracy. Liberal democracy, that is what the Western world and the United States rests on: allowing people to be self-determining, allowing people to be free-thinking, allowing people to be empowered. This is something that is to the antithesis of the Chinese doctrine, stating that ``the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics is now flying high and proud for all to see,'' offering ``a new option for other countries and nations.''

Mr. Speaker, as the new year begins, we must decide how we want to craft policy and legislation that will address not just Xi Jinping's so-called new era, and China's. I say that we should welcome China's effort to assume its rightful place on the world stage. But we must also reject China's efforts to undermine the values, institutions, and rules that generations of Americans have died for, along with other countries, to establish and uphold. We must never allow a socialist, authoritarian model of government, to supplant the primacy of democracy, no matter how rich and how strong the authoritarians become.

China is not choosing to rise through the global order that the United States and our allies have built with our blood and our sweat--a global order made up of the international institutions that have held the peace since World War II; of the competitive and rules-based economic playing field; and of a free marketplace of ideas where people, not governments, decide what they will think.

Instead, China has grown to become a revisionist power--not rising within the current order, but seeking to change, subvert, or coerce it to suit China's end--not playing by the rules, but rewriting the rules to suit the needs of China.

China's foreign policy is rewriting the rules in three key areas:

First, China is replacing traditional soft power, which is based on a nation's attractiveness, with ``sharp power,'' which leverages coerciveness. The scale is astounding. China has used sharp power to buy political influence in Australia, academic influence on American campuses, and even bought off Panama's diplomatic alliance with Taiwan. The National Endowment for Democracy, which coined the term ``sharp power,'' has exhaustively documented China's efforts to turn Latin America elites into ``de facto ambassadors of the Chinese cause''-- right in our own backyard.

The world will not tolerate these coercive influence operations. Last month, Prime Minister Turnbull of Australia captured this indignation best when he used Mandarin to play on a classic Mao Zedong quote, ``the Chinese people have stood up.'' Turnbull said that ``the Australian people stand up.'' Congress must, likewise, ensure that the American people stand up to coercion in our politics, academia, and culture.

Second, China is rewriting the rules of engagement by using gray zone tactics that erode the distinction between peace and conflict. In the South China Sea, China has used what it has referred to as ``salami slicing'' to gradually attain its military objectives without provoking a confrontation, undermining the international mechanisms that are supposed to decide territorial disputes. It goes back to the saying of Deng Xiaoping: ``Hide one's strength and bide one's time.''

As I said, I chair the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and at one of our hearings last year, one witness testified that ``by slowly changing the situation on the ground, China hopes to transform `Asia Mediterranean' into a Chinese lake.''

We can't keep standing idly by while China does these things. Xi Jinping once stood next to President Obama at the White House and pledged that he would not militarize the South China Sea.

As an aside, I was at a hearing. We were there with one of the representatives of the Chinese Government. They were talking about how everything they have done in the South China Sea was for peaceful navigational purposes. I brought up that I wish I could feel the love, or I wish I could feel the sincerity

of that, because our military satellites showed a 10,000-foot runway, our military satellites showed military barracks, our satellites showed both offensive and defensive weapons, radar systems. Yes, there was a lighthouse, but I didn't see a resort on there that showed peaceful navigational purposes.

Then he built a network of air bases, missile emplacements, radars, and ports that we had seen. Four thousand acres of the South China Sea that were dredged, destroying the environment--coral reefs--and they put in this today, which is militarized, and they don't hide it. We should look to India's example rather than accept further lies. A little resistance to China's encroachment along their disputed border has prevented the same ``salami slicing'' from happening on land.

And, thirdly, China is rewriting the rules of trade and economics. At a hearing before my subcommittee last year, one witness warned that ``China has doubled down on its unfair, mercantilist strategies, and is now seeking global dominance in a wide array of advanced industries that are key to U.S. economic and national security interests.'' These zero-sum policies benefit China's domestic champions at the expense of fairness and competition in global trade.

At home, China wields its massive market as a blunt instrument, forcing foreign companies to divulge what it wants without giving them a chance to compete. Abroad, China is acquiring or stealing the industries of tomorrow, unfairly boosting its domestic innovation and hollowing out our competitors. Throughout the developing world, China has undertaken a massive infrastructure program that exports surplus industrial capacity and aligns closely with military interests.

In 2018, the United States must stand up to China's revisionism in these three key areas: sharp power influence operations, gray zone warfare, and mercantilist economics.

Some important policy steps have already begun. For example, Congressman Pittenger has introduced legislation in the House to improve CFIUS, which is a review, and the Treasury Department has undertaken a section number, called 301 investigation into China's innovation of mercantilism.

These actions will help protect the future of the U.S. economy. This is a warning sign that we have seen that we must rise up to and counteract, but more must be done.

We have to blunt China's sharp power in the United States by countering Confucius institutes at schools and propaganda outlets in our cities that spread communist propaganda. We have to respond to the malicious state-sponsored activity in shared domains like the cyber realm. We have to modernize our international development work to compete with China in the developing world.

This year I will be introducing legislation to accomplish these goals, and I hope my colleagues will join me in this important work.

We must also remember that standing up for American interests means standing up for our values. Xi Jinping's leadership has turned to creeping totalitarianism. He is building an unprecedented surveillance state, increasing the communist party's ideological control of society and the reconciliation of the party's authority over every aspect of life. Human rights and civil liberties in China is worsening, and Xi Jinping must be held accountable.

In the year ahead, I hope all of my colleagues would join me in standing up for America's interests and values, and resisting China's revisionism.

After the 19th Congress, the Communist Party Congress, Xi Jinping stood up and said the era of China has arrived. No longer would China be made or forced to swallow their interests around the world, nor should they, but he also said the era of China has arrived and it is time to take the center stage.

That is a threat, and not acceptable, I don't think, to the American people. It sounds like it is a warning that they are going to throw us off the stage. However, talking to people in the administration and the rest of the world, I think we would be willing to share the stage, but to think that they are going to supplant every other country is not acceptable.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), who used to be the chair of the Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee, and who has brought up some important legislation on this topic that we are talking about tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the kind words, and I look to follow in his footsteps.

I want to also give a shout-out that the first version of the six assurances, Mr. Chabot introduced to Congress on October 28, 2015, what the six assurances were proposed to be, and we will read those later on.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe). Judge Poe has been a strong supporter of the whole Asia-Pacific region and he has got some wise words that I think we all can learn from.

Mr. Speaker, the whole purpose of this Special Order is to draw attention to what China is doing, and I think, as Mr. Chabot brought up, we are not against China. It is the practices that they are doing that we need to make sure that the American people know, the American people know what is going on, the amount of theft that we see, intellectual property, that costs the American taxpayers between $300 billion and $600 billion.

I have been at expos held by the Department of Homeland Security where they have counterfeit products that come from American manufacturers that are in China on goodwill, good faith efforts to create a good product, to create jobs in China, but yet that product winds up being counterfeited by Chinese companies that we think the Chinese Government--and we have evidence that they are complicit in it. They are selling products against our own competition, our own manufacturers in this country, and it is eroding the American economy, and China gains from this. This is a practice that has to be stopped, and we have to stop allowing this to happen.

One of the other things, if we look back over history, in the 1840s, there were the opium wars between the United Kingdom and China. A lot of opium and drugs flowed into China, and it hurt the Chinese population. At one

point, 90 percent of the males in China were hooked on opium.

Yet today, in the 21st century, we are seeing the reverse of that, and we are seeing narcotics flow from China, or precursors of synthetic opioids flow into Central America, to Mexico, to come into our borders. There is no medicinal use for fentanyl other than pain control, or heroin. Heroin has no medicinal use, very limited.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Donovan), who, in the last Congress, introduced the Comprehensive Fentanyl Control Act to combat illegal fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, coming from China.

Not only do they send the precursors, they send the presses to create the pills into these other countries. Again, it does not serve us or the American people or our economy at all.

If you are a trading partner and you want to go by the rule of law and you want to, hopefully, in trade, do what is best for your country, but you also want to have a benefit for your trading partner, this is a one-way street, and it is going to have to end.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the work that the gentleman from New York (Mr. Donovan) has done with the Comprehensive Fentanyl Control Act to combat illegal fentanyl. I thank him for his participation, being on the committee, and his passion for what he is doing.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren), a good friend of mine and a good Member of Congress, to add to this discussion.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the remarks by Mr. Hultgren. He did a great job, and I hope that guy gets released.

The gentleman brought up a very good point, and this is something I have noticed. I am so blessed, and I know we are so blessed to live in this great country of ours. Our Founders got it right. I don't know how they did other than divine intervention, that our rights come from a Creator, not from government. Government is instituted by we the people to protect our God-given rights and our core values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Our government is a government that empowers the people. Empowered people do great things. In the 19th Congress, it was said--the Chinese Government has set up a Chinese United Front, which is to show soft power in the world instead of doing the things they have done, where they go into a country, put up infrastructure, suck out the resources, and leave and don't care. So they have changed their tactics. They have gotten smart, and they started the Chinese United Front.

But in that communique that they said, it said that the role of the citizens of China is to serve the Government of China. It is the antithesis of what we stand for, and that is why I feel confident in our form of government because we believe in the people. We believe in the greatness of people.

The greatest resource a country has is not their gold, their timber, or any of that other stuff; it is the people. And our country values that.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Garrett), a good friend of mine, a passionate speaker on China who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia, and if he wants to participate in a colloquy back and forth, we have a few more minutes. But I want to touch on some issues that I think we need to draw out again. I want the American people to understand what is going on.

When you buy something that says ``made in China,'' I want you to understand what is happening. China has gone from where they were in the 1970s and the 1960s. Richard Nixon went over there, kind of normalized relationships in 1972.

We had a relationship with Taiwan prior to that. I don't want to go into the history of the war between the KMT and Chiang Kai-shek back in the 1940s, but there was a relationship we had with Taiwan. We had a relationship with Great Britain on Hong Kong, and here we are in the 21st century.

Things have changed. Now we have got North Korea on the stage. It is a different world than what it was. We had some longstanding traditions that we stood by as a nation, and people respected that, and then I look at the trade imbalance that we have with China.

Here is a country that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in 1971 and 1972 opened up the trade that we have today, that has led to what we have today. And China has done great, and they ought to be applauded for what they have done. They have raised a lot of people out of poverty. But at what expense?

When I look at what is going on in the South China Sea, taking islands that were just coral reefs right under the top of the sea, and they have reclaimed over 4,000 acres--probably the largest ecological disaster and insult to the environment that the world has ever seen-- the world stood idly by.

One country, Vietnam, stood up, took them to the court in The Hague, the tribunals. The tribunal ruled against China, and again, the world stood by, did nothing.

The previous administration had a policy of strategic patience. The profession I come from, the veterinary profession, we call that benign neglect. That is where you have a disease that is not life-threatening and you hope it goes away if you ignore it.

But what was going on in the South China Sea could not be handled with benign neglect. What happened is China militarized the islands that they built, even though they said they wouldn't.

And if we look at the other things they said they would help us on with North Korea, China has the biggest influence with North Korea of anybody else. Ninety percent of the trade of North Korea goes through China. China says they are there with us, but yet we know fuel is going in there, coal is going in there. They are trading with them.

In addition, they are complicit in allowing other companies to have shell companies that keep the Kim Jong-un regime afloat developing nuclear weapons. They have a hand in bringing this to a close.

I look at the trade deficit we have with China. It is over $350 billion. Add to that the intellectual property theft, over $350 billion, some people say up to $600 billion. And China says: We are going to get it under control. But just last month they had a trade deficit of over $60 billion.

I want to pose a question to the American people: Do you want a trading partner that is doing these things?

They flood our borders with illegal drugs, as you heard Mr. Donovan talk about. They erode our culture. They kill our citizens. They break down our culture. Do you want a trading partner that steals the intellectual property at the cost of American entrepreneurship, American intellectual property, and American jobs?

Do you want a partner that does not honor their word when they said they are going to do something? You talk to other countries around the world and they say: We like doing business with America because you have a rule of law and you will follow it. China does not.

They have halfheartedly agreed to help us with North Korea. And so when you go into a department store and you buy cheap as far as cost and it says ``China'' on it, ``made in China,'' I want people to think: What are you selling? What are you buying, and what are you giving away for your future generation--not just of your kids, but for the posterity of this Nation?

And I would like to get Mr. Garrett's response on that or anything else he wants to add as an afterthought here.

Mr. Speaker, I need to make a correction. I said it was Vietnam that took China to court. It was the Philippines.

But along these lines that you were just talking about, when you look at the word of a nation, the integrity of a nation, I think of Hong Kong. Great Britain and China came to an agreement in 1996, 1997 that Hong Kong would revert back to China.

There was a 50-year agreement that China was to allow them to have self-rule, the rule of law, self-determining, their own government, the right to choose that. Twenty years into this, China has got a strong influence. The freedom in Hong Kong is going backwards.

If we look at the Tibetan people, the Tibetan are probably one of the most peaceful populations on Earth, but yet I can't travel there as a U.S. dignitary or as a U.S. Member of Congress. They can't come here and be recognized. The Dalai Lama can't come here and be recognized because China gets mad. Beijing gets mad.

The Tibetan people have a way to pass on the Dalai Lama to the next generation. China kidnapped the Panchen child and said: We will replace it with who we think should be the next leader, and it is somebody they are going to groom.

And I look at our country, being a Christian. That would be like one of the kings of the Old Testament going in and stealing the baby Jesus and saying: Well, we will put in who we think should be the leader of Christianity.

It is ludicrous what is going on.

And then I think of Taiwan. Taiwan is our 10th largest trading partner, and we have had an agreement since before Richard Nixon. But during Richard Nixon's time, there have been three communiques that talked about how we were going to deal with Taiwan.

And I just want to reiterate the six assurances that Ronald Reagan and Steve Chabot talked about, and they are:

Number one, we did not agree to set a date certain for ending arms sales to Taiwan. Robert Gates talked about this in his book, ``Duty.'' We had had this agreement for years, and during that time, about 2012, we were having our arms sales agreement with Taiwan. China raised holy heck about this, and our negotiators said: What is your problem? We have been doing this since the 1970s?

China's response was this, and I think this sets the tone for the future: Back then, we were weak. We are strong now.

I think that speaks loudly of China's intention.

Number two, we see no mediation role of the United States between Taiwan and the PRC.

Number three, nor will we attempt to exert pressure on Taiwan to enter into negotiations with the PRC.

Number four, there has been no change in our longstanding position on the issue of sovereignty over Taiwan.

Number five, we have no plans to seek revision of the Taiwan Relations Act.

And number six, the August 17 communique should not be read to imply that we have agreed to engage prior consultations with Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan. And we tend to stay with that in this administration.

So with that, does the gentleman from Virginia have any closing remarks?

Mr. Speaker, I am ready to close.

I thank everybody for their participation, and I want the American people, again, when you look at something that says ``made in China,'' how is that affecting the future of America?

And nothing against China. If they play fair, they play by the rules, we wish them the best of luck, but we will not be supplanted from our role in the free world.

And again, I feel confident about where America will be 100 years from now because we believe in our people, we empower our people, and we have a government that will stand and protect our constitutional rights that come from a creator.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of one of Alachua County, Florida's, true trailblazers--Alachua County, Florida, is my home county in northeast central Florida--Mr. Thomas Coward, who passed away on December 23, 2017.

Mr. Coward was drafted into the Navy in 1942 and served during World War II. After his honorable discharge, he went on to pursue higher education, graduated with his bachelor of science in social studies from Lincoln University in Missouri, and followed it with a master of science from Tuskegee University in Alabama.

Upon completion of his master's, he returned to his alma mater, Lincoln High School in Gainesville, to teach civics and history. His interactive style of teaching that included mock government scenarios encouraged students to get involved in government affairs.

He later went on to serve as the dean of students for Lincoln High School, then transferred as the dean of students to the newly opened Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Florida, in 1971.

He ended his career in the school system in the county administrator's office, having served in the Alachua County school system for over 31 years.

While his students remember him for his dedication to shaping young minds, Mr. Coward is known in the community at large for being the first African American elected to serve on the Alachua County Commission in 1974. It is a seat he held for over 18 years. Incidentally, it was the first time since the Reconstruction Era that an African American had been elected to the Alachua County Commission.

During his tenure, he helped to establish the first Office of Equal Opportunity and focused on economic development through the community, in particular east Gainesville.

In fact, his document ``Plan East Gainesville'' is still frequently referred to as a planned vision for that community.

His time on the county commission inspired him to help found the National Forum for Black Public Administrators and the National Association of Black County Commissioners.

Additionally, he owned and operated Thomas Coward Realty for 25 years, he was the first African American to receive his brokerage license in Alachua County, and he was a member of the National Association of Realtors.

Throughout his life, he continued to lead and inspire his community through positions such as the president of the State Regional Planning Board and as a board member for the East Gainesville Task Force and the Chamber of Commerce.

Additionally, he was involved in organizations such as the Gainesville Cotton Club, the Elks, the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, all of which focused on serving the community and, in the case of the Cotton Club, helping to preserve history while revitalizing the building to reopen as a museum and cultural center.

His leadership and dedication to our community led to the Alachua County Commission dedicating their Community Support Services Auditorium to him in 2016.

Once quoted as saying ``My idea is if you are going to change things, then you have got to be involved,'' Mr. Coward embodied this idea and held the title of many firsts throughout his life. I have no doubt his legacy of leadership and service will go on to better our community through future generations.

Mr. Speaker, his legacy has and will inspire the future of our county, our State, and yes, our Nation. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Coward for his service to all. He will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Mr. Jerry Ruelf, an American hero from Ocala, Florida, who passed away this year on January 7.

At the age of 17, Mr. Ruelf joined the 101st Airborne Division during World War II and received many decorations for his courageous actions overseas, among which are the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. I had the distinct honor several years ago to present him with a collection of medals, which required him to get a larger jacket.

Following the end of the war, Mr. Ruelf continued to serve the American people as a teacher at Dixie Hollins High School in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he led the school's swim team through an undefeated season in 1971. Mr. Ruelf is honored in the Swimming Hall of Fame for his accomplishments at both Boca Ciega High School and Dixie Hollins High School in Florida.

Mr. Ruelf was an outstanding patriot, and he will be dearly missed by all in his community. His example of leadership through service is one we can all learn from.

To Mr. Ruelf, along with the others from that Greatest Generation era, I thank you, my family thanks you, and our Nation thanks you for the life you lived, for your service to your country, community, and for making this world a better place.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, Mr. Royce, for offering this bill, or the opportunity to offer this bill. I would also like to say I, too, support H.R. 535, the Taiwan Travel Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3320, a bill that directs the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization. I would like to give particular thanks to Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and Ranking Member Sherman for supporting this bill and working with me to advance it through the committee process.

Mr. Speaker, over the last few years, the People's Republic of China has stepped up its campaign to marginalize Taiwan. Last year, Beijing poached one of Taiwan's few remaining diplomatic partners, the Republic of Panama. Beijing also successfully blocked Taiwan from participating in a number of international organizations, including the World Health Organization.

Taiwan's exclusion from the World Health Organization's annual summit, the World Health Assembly, serves no purpose other than to placate Beijing. The WHO exists to address shared transnational health challenges, and Taiwan has proven, time and time again, that it is a model contributor to world health.

Since 1996, Taiwan has invested over $6 billion in international medical and humanitarian aid efforts impacting over 80 countries. It has made significant financial contributions to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. And as this bill finds, in 2014, Taiwan responded to the Ebola crisis by donating $1 million and providing over 100,000 sets of personal protective equipment.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman again for yielding more time. I also recognize Congressmen Chabot and Connolly for being cosponsors of this bill.

While Taiwan's contributions to global health deserves praise, its isolation from international organizations and exclusion from the WHO has proven dangerous, if not hazardous. During the 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS, official WHO notifications and technical assistance were either blocked or delayed, all while patients in Taiwan died and the virus continued to spread. These diseases know no boundaries and, with extensive transit and trade links, Taiwan's participation at the WHO is essential.

Congress has long supported Taiwan's participation in international organizations that do not require statehood, and this legislation will continue this important work. My bill will ensure that the U.S. diplomatic strategy to advocate for Taiwan's presence at the WHA, the World Health Assembly, adapts to Beijing's increased efforts to box out Taiwan.

Mr. Speaker, Taiwan is a benevolent actor on the international stage. It deserves to keep that place it has earned. The next World Health Assembly meeting will take place in May of this year. Passage of my bill will be a timely opportunity for the House to recommit to longstanding U.S. policies and to take a firm stand in the face of Beijing's increasingly oppressive tactics.

I urge my colleagues to support Taiwan's participation in the WHO as an observer by supporting this legislation. Again, I thank Chairman Royce for the opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Garrett, for organizing this on this important topic.

Today, we passed several bills about Iran. One was H. Res. 676, calling out the Iranian regime to stop suppressing and oppressing their citizens who just want those things that are innate to all human beings on this planet, that we believe in as Americans, and that are those inalienable rights that come from our Creator: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Iranian people are staging legitimate protests to condemn the Iranian regime for corruption of the economy and funding of terrorist organizations while neglecting the basic needs of the Iranian citizens, only to have their protests in opposition of the corruption by the Iranian regime be shut down and crushed through unwarranted bloodshedding and arrests.

If you look at the Iranian regime over the last 30 years since they took control of Iran, it has been nothing but bloodshed and mayhem. And if you look at the conflicts that we have been involved in in the Middle East since the entry of Afghanistan and the Iraqi wars, if you look at our servicemen and -women who have been harmed in those battles or injured or died, 70 percent of those were caused by IEDs. Ninety percent of those IEDs were supported and produced by the Iranian regime.

The people of Iran stood up in 2009. The administration of the United States at that time refused to back the Iranian people who wanted those basic rights that we just talked about: freedoms and liberties.

Our Nation was founded on the idea that every individual is granted three basic rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And again, we, as Americans, believe in these inalienable rights. I find it appalling that the Iranian regime is using deadly force in order to deny the Iranian people their basic freedoms.

We are in the 21st century in the world, and you see a clear divide: the Western ideologies that believe in these God-given rights that we have, and then you see the regimes and dictatorships around the world that are suppressing the very innate abilities that we are all born with. They are trying to suppress these innate abilities. By doing that, they do it through intimidation, coercion, torture, death.

The leader of the IRGC came out in a statement, and it is in Ed Royce's resolution that we voted on today, H. Res. 676, that said they will investigate it, they will bring it to an end, and they will quash these protests and it will be done with. So that is the intent of the Iranian regime, to bring this to an end through force because they fear free-thinking people.

We are so blessed in our country of having the ability to speak out, to be able to protest peacefully, to assemble peacefully; and that is something I think sometimes we, as Americans, take for granted. This is something that all you have to do is look at what is going on around the world to see a despotic regime that is afraid of empowering its people.

The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, must be recognized for what he is: the dictator of an oppressive regime which once again showed the world its true colors by its horrific response to the peaceful and legitimate protests that began on December 28, that saw thousands in prisons, with the leaders being threatened with death, and over two dozen having been killed.

I want to send the message that we, the United States, support the rights of those brave Iranians who are peacefully protesting the oppressive Iranian regime; and they are peacefully protesting, again, for the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.

Again, I want to thank Mr. Garrett for putting this on and thank him for allowing me to participate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a lifelong public servant, Mr. Thomas Perseo, who will be retiring on January 10, 2018, after 43 years of faithful service to north-central Florida's community in law enforcement.

Mr. Perseo began his career in Green Cove Springs, Florida, in the police department in September 1974. He served his hometown community until 1982, and then moved to Gainesville, Florida.

Upon his move, Officer Perseo started working for the Alachua County Sheriff's Office. He is currently a warrant investigator, and, after 35 years of dedicated law enforcement service with an exemplary record, Tom will be starting the next chapter of his life.

Tom is a shining example of what it means to be an American. He has dedicated his life to serving our community, and I have no doubt he will continue to do so in retirement. I am proud to represent such a hardworking individual and also to have the honor of being his friend.

For myself, and all of Florida's Third District, I wish him the very best in his well-deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Ms. Andrea Sanchez--and I am excited about this--from Gainesville, Florida, for winning our district's 2017 Congressional App Challenge. Her app, IVolunteer, solves a problem she saw in her school and helps students log their volunteer hours, as well as incentivizing community service by letting students compete against their peers to see who can log the most hours.

Other submissions we received included an app that teaches students how to code and one designed to give people realtime information in natural disasters.

These apps came from young students who recognized a problem they were facing and employed various

skills and creativity in designing and building their apps.

Because of STEM education, students are not only learning critical technological skills that will serve them in the future, but they are creating the next generation of apps, software programs, and more-- possibly, the next IT company.

Supporting STEM education gives our students an opportunity to become leaders in the field that positively impacts America and the world alike.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the discovery of Hernando de Soto's 1539 Encampment and the lost Native American town of Potano, by the University of Florida professors, Dr. Fred White and Dr. Michele White, and University of Florida Anderson Scholar Ethan White. This newly discovered archaeological site is the oldest confirmed New World contact site in the United States.

In one of the most important events in U.S. history, de Soto was the first European to discover the Mississippi River and explore an area that today would hold 10 States. Until this incredible archaeological discovery, there was no physical evidence of de Soto's 4,000-mile journey. The collection of artifacts recovered near Orange Lake, Florida, includes very rare King Ferdinand Queen Isabella coins, and a King Enrique IV of Castile coin that is the oldest dated European artifact ever unearthed in the United States.

Other rare items include Murano glass beads and Spanish weapons and armor dated from the early 1500s. The artifacts were excavated in the lost ancient Native American town of Potano. Also discovered in the town of Potano were the remains of the first location of the San Buenaventura Franciscan mission built there in the 1580s. Within the floors of the 16th century mission, the team discovered the largest cache of medieval coins found in the American mainland so far.

Acknowledgment for confirmation and identification of the artifacts goes to a large and diverse group of scholars throughout the country, including these distinguished University of Florida researchers: Dr. Jerald T. Milanich, Curator Emeritus in Archaeology of the Florida Museum of Natural History, Dr. Gifford Waters, Historical Archaeology Collections Manager of the Florida Museum of Natural History, Dr. Kathleen Deagan, Distinguished Research Curator of Archaeology for the University of Florida and Dr. Michael Gannon, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of History, University of Florida.

The recent scientific findings were published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Archaeology and with the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, Bureau of Archaeological Research in Tallahassee, Florida. The collection of artifacts is at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the campus of my alma mater, the University of Florida.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of my bill, H.R. 3893, which renames the post office in Interlachen, Florida, to honor a great American hero, Robert H. Jenkins, Jr.

Robert H. Jenkins, Jr., enlisted in the Marines in February of 1968. In July of that year, as a Private First Class, he was transferred to the Republic of Vietnam.

Serving as a machine gunner with Company C, south of the demilitarized zone, he was killed in action.

On March 5, 1969, his reconnaissance team was assaulted by a North Vietnamese Army platoon. During the firefight, a hand grenade was thrown at him and a comrade. Realizing the consequences of his actions, Private First Class Jenkins, Jr., pushed his comrade to the ground and leapt on the hand grenade to shield him from the explosion. Absorbing the full impact of the blast, he was seriously injured and succumbed to his wounds.

John 15:13 states:

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life

for one's friend.

On April 20, 1970, the Medal of Honor was presented to his family at the White House by Vice President Agnew.

Private First Class Jenkins, Jr., is buried at Sister Spring Baptist Cemetery in Interlachen, Florida.

The sacrifice Private First Class Jenkins, Jr., made cannot be understated. Naming his hometown post office after him is just one small way we as a nation can continue to honor this American hero.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Biggs for putting this very important hearing together. I am going to cut mine a little bit shorter.

After the previous election, a lot of people were angry. They came to our office demanding special investigations into the Trump campaign and the Russia probe. I forewarned them then, and I will make this prediction now: that if it goes there and it leads to the previous administration or Hillary Clinton, are you willing to go down that rabbit hole?

Here we are today. I think we need to follow this because it has led to that.

Without going too much into all the stuff that has already been said, we can talk about how the Obama administration approved the sale of the Canadian mining company with significant U.S. uranium reserves to a firm owned by a Russian Government. The NRC, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, assured Congress and the public the new owners could not export any raw nuclear material from the American shores. No uranium produced at either facility may be exported, the NRC declared November 2010 in a press release. We found out that is not true.

As has been brought up, over 20 percent of our uranium is going into the hands of Russia. Beyond the mines in Kazakhstan, which are among the most lucrative in the world, the sale gave Russia control of one- fifth of all uranium production capacity in the U.S.

Since uranium is considered a strategic asset with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States Government agencies. Among those agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mrs. Clinton. Frank Giustra, a mining financier, has donated $31.3 million to the foundation run by former President Bill Clinton.

As the Russians gradually assumed control of the Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show how a flow of cash made its way into the Clinton Foundation. We could go on and on about this.

Shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire the majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 from a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock. Very interesting. I remember when President Clinton was asked about his high speaking fees. He kind of brushed it off with a laugh and said: Well, there are people who like to hear me speak.

Fordham University professor Zephyr Teachout, a highly regarded law professor who has written extensively about political corruption--and she is a Democrat--said:

As a Democrat, I am concerned about Hillary Clinton as a

general election candidate. These questions aren't going

away. There is a pattern of foreign donations and speaking

fees that the Clinton Foundation and her husband have found

their ways to the Clinton Foundation.

Bill Clinton made 13 speeches between 2001 and 2012 in

which he was paid $500,000 or more. The interesting part is

11 of those speeches were made after Hillary Clinton became

Secretary of State--pay to play.

Why did the Clinton Foundation change its name to the Bill,

Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation?

It is surmised that it was because the public and large

corporation donors backed away from the questionable, if not

unethical, and possibly illegal activities.

I just want to speak as an American. We come up here from different backgrounds. I see people who are here tonight who spoke tonight all from different backgrounds. The thing we hear about over and over again is that we want transparency and accountability. We demand that, but we never see it. So as these investigations go forward, my hope is that there is a conclusion to an investigation and that the people who broke the law are held accountable so that we don't have to talk about another investigation that spends the American taxpayers' money without somebody paying the price for misrepresenting the American people and turning over strategic products of this country--uranium in this case-- to a foreign entity that doesn't want the best for America.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Arizona for putting this on and leading this.