Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart in honor of Florida's Highway Patrol Master Sergeant William Bishop, who lost his life in the line of duty on June 17 in Alachua, Florida.

Throughout three decades of public service, Master Sergeant Bishop demonstrated a clear and noble commitment to others. His tragic passing reminds us all of the real dangers that law enforcement officers face on a daily basis.

So many are quick to criticize the police, yet they are the first ones they call when they need help.

I join my colleagues and friends in thanking all law enforcement personnel around the Nation standing ready to risk their lives to safeguard our communities.

Master Sergeant Bishop's memory will live on through his fellow officers, family, and members of the public whose lives were positively impacted through a selfless dedication. I ask that you keep his wife and son in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Recognizing Dr. Martha Roberts

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Dr. Martha Roberts, a championed member of the Florida agricultural community and the latest recipient of the Florida's Woman of the Year in Agriculture award.

Dr. Roberts' esteemed career includes 35 years at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. She is also a member of many Federal advisory groups, committees, and associations where her expertise has not only benefited the State of Florida but also the Nation.

More specifically, Dr. Roberts served as the director of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Science program, a Federal-State-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture and natural resources located in my home district.

Through her work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Roberts has helped shape policy that will advance Florida's agricultural industry and trades for years to come.

I would like to congratulate Dr. Roberts on her accomplishment and thank her for her dedication to agriculture and food safety. Her positive, meaningful contributions to Florida's Third Congressional District and the Nation will not be overlooked.

Congratulating the Florida Gators

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Florida Gators for winning their first ever College Baseball World Series.

Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan never doubted that his Gators would win a national championship. It was just a matter of time. He has done a tremendous job coaching a talented roster of student athletes.

With this victory, UF becomes the first university in the SEC and only the fourth in the Nation to win a national championship in football, men's basketball, and now baseball. No one can ever take that away from this team or the Gator nation.

I stand with all UF alumni, the Rowdy Reptiles, and the entire Gator nation when I say I could not be more proud of this team and the finest academic and athletic institution in the State of Florida. Go Gators.

Thanking Secretary Perdue and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Secretary Purdue and the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service for implementing a suspension of all imports of fresh beef from Brazil.

I would also like to thank my colleagues from across the aisle for joining together to back this crucial step to ensure the health and safety of American families.

Since March, the USDA has blocked 11 percent of fresh beef from Brazil due to safety concerns. As one of the world's leaders in beef production, the United States has the responsibility to set the highest possible standards for what we allow in our Nation's kitchens, grocery stores, and restaurants.

Brazil is an important trading partner, and we value our mutually beneficial relationships, but we cannot allow this substandard with potential health hazards of beef to enter our food supply.

I am encouraged by the Brazilian Government's commitment to fixing these issues, and I look forward to reestablishing relationships with the Brazilian beef market as soon as we can be assured that its qualities meet the high standards of the USDA.

Mr. Chairman, you will hear, and you have already heard, in favor of the Nadler amendment, such as GTMO is contrary to American values; detainees can be held safely at less cost in the U.S. prisons, and GTMO is a recruiting tool for terrorists.

Points against the Nadler amendment: the number one task of the Federal Government is to provide for the common defense and security of the United States of America and American citizens.

Americans are safer with detainees in Guantanamo versus the homeland.

GTMO is the safest and most appropriate location to hold detainees. It is appropriate and lawful to hold detainees until all al-Qaida and associate forces are defeated.

The law for war detainees, including GTMO detainees, states that they cannot be commingled with Federal prisoners, thus requiring separate facilities costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Evidence of the use of Guantanamo as a recruiting or propaganda tool is conjecture, subjective, and inconclusive.

Terrorists will continue to attack whether GTMO exists or not. Terrorists will invent any excuse to attract new recruits.

I will not support this.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to rise to welcome Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea to the United States on the occasion of his first visit as President.

The United States and the Republic of Korea share a longstanding pivotal defense alliance, and we are bound together as fellow democracies who share common values.

The U.S.-Korea relationship has been a growing partnership, and now they are the United State's sixth largest trading partner. It is Florida's third largest export market, and we have over 1,700 Korean Americans in my district.

Korea is one of only five U.S. mutual defense allies in Asia, one of only three nations in the region to have completed a bilateral trade agreement with the United States, and hosts a U.S. military presence of nearly 38,000 Americans.

The Republic of Korea is our foundational partner in facing the gravest threats to the world's peace and security, and that is the rogue nuclear regime of Kim Jong-un. We will continue to stand together to address this grave threat and maintain our close bilateral relationship.

I give my most sincere congratulations to President Moon Jae-in on his first electoral victory, and I welcome him warmly to Washington during such an important time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to honor our country's fallen servicemen and -women. This weekend, we will observe Memorial Day, a day dedicated to those who have fought and died selflessly to protect our country.

Since 1868, Americans have celebrated what was once called Decoration Day to honor the fallen. Every year since then, we have honored those who have fallen at Gettysburg, at San Juan Hill, in the Argonne Forest, on the shores of Normandy and Guadalcanal, at Inchon, at la Drang, in the desert at Objective Norfolk, on the streets of Fallujah, and in Zabul Province.

This important day is not only meant to commemorate those who lost their lives fighting for our country but also to highlight why they were called upon to serve our country in battle. They fought to preserve the great privilege of freedom that we must never take for granted.

America's promise of liberty would not be possible without the courage and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. We owe these patriots a debt that can never be repaid but that must be remembered always, not just on Memorial Day.

This day of remembrance is a solemn occasion, and, therefore, let us not only say prayers for the fallen, let's also celebrate their lives and give heartfelt thanks to God and their families for their sacrifices in protecting our Nation, the world's bastion of liberty and freedom.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague for yielding me just a moment to speak on the absolute necessity of passing the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. The Sixth Circuit Court blatantly overstepped its authority in directing the EPA to establish a

duplicative permitting process for pesticide use. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, known as FIFRA, already requires the EPA to review the data and evaluate risks and exposures associated with the use of certain insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and rodenticides.

After the EPA evaluates the risk associated with the use of a given pesticide, FIFRA prohibits its use for any purpose not already approved by the EPA. Approved uses are clearly labeled. Requiring additional reviews under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System is simply unnecessary and burdensome.

Furthermore, unless the body sets the record straight and overturns the Sixth Circuit decision, we will be opening a tried-and-true permitting process to numerous citizen lawsuits that will be bad for agriculture and, as all such bad decisions, result in increased costs paid for by the American consumers.

I urge my colleagues to stand behind Mr. Gibbs and this bill, stand behind the science, and help him pass this. When he came, he started to work on this in 2010, his hair was brown. Now it is gray. So let's help him get this bill passed.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Judge Poe for his tireless work on this issue. And I appreciate the leadership, and Lloyd Smucker. And as he has talked about, this is a bipartisan issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to modern-day slavery, because that is what this is, in the form of human trafficking.

Most people believe human trafficking only occurs at home. It is a foreign crime that would never happen in our community, let alone their own backyard. To that I say: Let me tell you about human trafficking in rural America.

I come from a district that is very rural. We had several summits on this issue. We talked to the local sheriffs and to the local police departments, and they said: Do you know what, we don't have that problem here. We are okay.

We invoked the help of the Department of Homeland Security, and they have got a great campaign called the Blue Campaign. We encouraged these officers to show up. And I am happy to say that most of the people that we talked to--the counties and the sheriffs--showed up.

And it wasn't more than about 2 weeks that I started getting calls from the sheriffs. And they said: Do you know what, that is happening right here.

It is an awareness campaign. And Ms. Gabbard from Hawaii mentioned how underreported it is. Of course, it is, if

people aren't aware of it. But when you bring awareness through campaigns like the Department of Homeland Security's Blue Campaign, people wake up to this issue. And I love their motto: If you see something, say something. Let people know this is going on.

So let me tell you about our home community. In March of this year, a special needs student in Jacksonville, Florida, was kidnapped. Her captors placed her under house arrest, basically. They incarcerated her for human trafficking. They placed an advertisement online offering her sexual services, which is quite possibly the only reason the police were able to find her. These people were advertising on the internet.

Also, in March of this year, 15 men were arrested in my hometown of Gainesville, Florida, on child solicitation charges. These men were discovered as part of an undercover operation that led them to believe they were communicating with young girls. The men believed the girls' guardians were allowing them to commit sexual acts with underage girls.

Only 2 months prior to this arrest, a Gainesville man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sex trafficking an adult.

A month prior to that, Polk County--another rural county--detectives arrested 114 suspects in a human trafficking and prostitution ring. At least four of them were immediately identified as human trafficking victims. And merely 3 months later, an additional 104 were picked up in a second sting for human trafficking, including those soliciting sex from minors.

These are but a few examples of human trafficking-related crimes that have occurred in my community in the last 6 months. Florida is estimated to have the third highest rate of human trafficking in the country, following only behind California and New York--third in the Nation. That is not something any State wants a designation for. All three of these States are ideal because of their access to ports and interstate highways, allowing victims to be transported across State lines easily.

And it is estimated today--and I, again, sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee with Judge Poe, and we have seen these numbers too often. It is estimated that 21 million people are trafficked around the world, resulting in an estimated $150 billion in profits--profits from the sale of a human individual that goes to the traffickers who are often drug smugglers or terrorist organizations.

The 13th Amendment to our Constitution abolished slavery in this country. However, it still exists, and it is right in our own backyard. Because of this, we need to do all that we can to eradicate this.

The runaway child is picked up within 48 hours and forced within the sex trade. This is something that, if you believe in the 13th Amendment, we all need to stand up, take an active role in this, and we do this by the legislation that is up.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Judge for being a strong advocate and always being there for this.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for organizing this very important Special Order. This is something that she has been a champion on. This is my third term, and we have been talking about this for 4 years. Enough is enough. It is time to end this.

I rise today in support of Congress reclaiming its authority under Article I, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution. The United States must have a clear strategy with well-defined goals to counter nonstate actors like ISIS that threaten the United States. They threaten our national security interests. We must also develop clear legal authority for our military to take action against these groups. Ending the 2001 AUMF is a crucial part of that effort.

According to scholars at Brown University's Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs, our government, our taxpayers, have spent $4.8 trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, paid for almost entirely by borrowing.

As of today, 6,925 American soldiers have given their lives serving our country in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Inherent Resolve, and Operation Freedom's Sentinel, according to the Department of Defense. But what about the costs to take care of these young men and women for the next 60, 70, and 80 years in our country?

While our brave men and women in uniform continue to fight in the sands of Iraq and Syria and the mountains of Afghanistan, we have gone through three Presidential administrations without a statement articulating what victory is, except that ``terrorism must be defeated.''

No one disagrees with that goal, but it is an uncertain way to order our Nation's military posture and to commit our young men and women in the military serving this Nation without a clear, defined goal. We have been at war in Afghanistan for 16 years, yet the Taliban controls or contests 40 percent of Afghan districts, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

The U.S. intelligence community's worldwide threat assessment states that ``the overall situation in Afghanistan will very likely continue to deteriorate, even if international support is sustained,'' and that ``endemic state weaknesses, the government's political fragility, deficiencies of the Afghan National Security Forces, Taliban persistence, and regional interference will remain key impediments to improvement.''

In addition to Afghanistan, the United States has also been involved in Iraq, on and off, since 2003.

Dr. James Zogby of the Arab American Institute conducted a poll of Iraqi public opinion in 2016, which found that 94 percent of Iraqis had an unfavorable attitude about the United States. Ninety-four percent of Iraqis polled say they do not think the U.S. contributes to peace and stability in the Arab world.

We need a much clearer strategy for our men and women in uniform than to tell them just to keep doing the same thing over and over again. We all know what the definition of insanity is, and we need to do better for them and for our partners around the world.

Our Nation has arrived at a historic and constitutional moment. Prior to President Trump's inauguration, President Obama released a framework outlining his administration's formal legal view on the use of military force against Islamic terror groups around the globe. That report relied heavily on the 2001 AUMF, which has been used to justify numerous American military operations against an ever-expanding number of terror groups, many of which have only slight links to the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

In reality, our loose interpretation of the 2001 AUMF to have a perpetual war against terror might as well be using the authorization that Thomas Jefferson used to go after the Barbary pirates on the shores of Tripoli the way this has been stretched over and over again. It is unconscionable.

I hope that President Trump's administration will not continue to rely

on that same legal framework but, rather, that he will formally ask Congress to pass a new authorization with a clear directive of what success is for the use of force that will not perpetually operate in constitutional gray areas.

Strikes against groups like al-Shabaab in Somalia take place in constitutional twilight zones where the Constitution's distribution of authority to use force is uncertain, as Justice Jackson wrote in Youngstown v. Sawyer.

To better preserve our Constitution's separation of powers structure, Congress must make it a priority to develop clear legal authority for American military action against Islamist terror organizations. Further, such authorization should be structured so it will not turn into the expanding grant of power like the 2001 AUMF has done.

If we fail to pass a new AUMF, it would do our servicemen and -women, as well as the American public, a fundamental disservice. It would prolong authorization of an endless war.

It is time to end the Middle East conflict. Let's end the authorization of the 2001 AUMF. Right now, I fear that many of our military operations do not have congressional authorization and do not comply with the clear statement of Article I, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to declare war.

To show our servicemen and -women we support them, to uphold the Constitution, and for the good of our Nation, I hope we can work on the passage of a new AUMF with deliberate speed.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman. Her commitment to this cause is commendable.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of H.R. 115, the Thin Blue Line Act, which will act as a deterrent against criminals who seek to harm first responders. Increasing the Federal penalties that can be imposed against those who would kill or attempt to kill policemen, firemen, or first responders is a just response to such heinous crimes.

This week is National Police Week, and I am reminded of the words etched on the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C., which states: ``The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion.'' This is from the Book of Proverbs.

It takes a special kind of person to willingly run toward danger and to shield the innocent from the wicked. That is what our law enforcement and first responders do every day.

I am very grateful for the men and women who serve and protect our communities; and I was honored to be present for Police Week in a small town in our district, Green Cove Springs, in Clay County, Florida, where they had the Police Memorial; and on that was a verse from John 15:13: ``Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.''

I hope that God watches over our first responders and keeps them safe to bring them home to their families.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Small Business Week. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. This week is dedicated to celebrating and recognizing them and their contributions to our Nation. Because of this, I wanted to take a moment to recognize a few stellar small businesses in north central Florida.

Archer Automotive and Tire, founded in 2004, came about after a fleet mechanic of over 20 years decided he wanted to open his own shop. Thirteen years later, they have expanded into a state-of-the-art facility employing over eight families, allowing them to serve even more of their community.

Eat the 80, winner of the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce's 2016 Leading Women's Enterprise Award, is a meal delivery service specializing in health food that doesn't lack flavor or quality. They believe that everyone should have access to a healthy diet, and they built a business that could provide meals for working families.

Finally, I would like to recognize Endoscopy Replacement Parts, an aftermarket manufacturer established in 1997. Their 18 years of manufacturing experience, great customer service, and giving back to the community has led them to be recognized as the 2015 Manufacturers Association of Florida's Manufacturer of the Year, and the 2015 Small Business Administration's Small Business Exporter of the Year.

Mr. Speaker, it is businesses like that that keep our communities vital and growing.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Korea Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act, H.R. 1644, the KIMS Act.

I thank Chairman Royce for his leadership in guiding this bill through the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the original cosponsors of this bill, Ranking Member Engel and Congressman Sherman, who serves alongside me as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. I also thank the chairman and ranking member for accepting my amendment to this bill that targets the ability of leaders like those of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that have been buying North Korean arms for years with impunity, supplying a means of income for the North Korean regime to fund their nuclear program and the regime of terror and provocations.

Mr. Speaker, North Korea's nuclear program has never been a bigger threat, and we need to respond with all the tools at our disposal. After all, the world community is against nuclear proliferation from any country, so the world community should support the United States preventing North Korea's nuclear program. If anything, Pyongyang has dramatically accelerated its belligerent behavior, conducting two nuclear tests and two dozen missile launches last year.

Speaking before the U.N. Security Council, Secretary Tillerson was right when he said that the threat of a North Korea nuclear attack on Seoul or Tokyo is very real. That is why it is so important that Congress, as we are doing here today, continue to apply pressure on Pyongyang, providing the administration with the tools it needs to deprive the Kim regime of the hard currency it depends on to feed its illicit weapons program.

Importantly, this measure will advance the national security interests of not just the United States and the Korean Peninsula but of the whole Asia-Pacific region and will contribute to regional security by targeting North Korea's abhorrent overseas slave labor, which is estimated at bringing in as much as $230 million each year. There are precious few nonmilitary tools left for managing the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. Financial sanctions are the most important and effective of these tools.

By advancing this legislation, the House will continue its critical work to ensure our country has the necessary authorities and mandates in place to ensure our financial measures are effective. A peaceful outcome on the peninsula depends on inflicting enough pressure on Kim to force him to make the hard but smart choices. This bill will affect him where it hurts--in his bank accounts.

Again, I commend Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for their contributions and leadership on this important legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to highlight H.R. 758, the GI Internship Program Act. I am a cosponsor of this important legislation with my colleague from Illinois, Brad Schneider. If implemented, this bill would expand the use of the existing post-9/ 11 GI Bill benefits to include internships as an option in place of a traditional degree program.

The GI Internship Program Act would allow veterans to gain practical skills and work experience to help ease

their transition back into the civilian workforce. Under current law, the post-9/11 GI Bill only allocates money to veterans for traditional postsecondary education in the classroom, but for many veterans this is a path not meant for them.

For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were over 300,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs at the end of 2016. This gap could be filled by the veterans who use their post-9/11 GI benefits as a stipend to support them while receiving on-the-job training as high- skilled technical workers.

Further, these jobs can be filled at no additional cost to the employer because the cost would be covered by the preexisting GI Bill. This bill would allow businesses all over the U.S., both large and small, to meet their employment needs and help our skilled veterans to enter the civilian workforce.

As long as employers comply with the program and intend to hire the veterans after the internship is over, the veterans will continue to receive funding. This bill is a win for American job growth and, most importantly, a win for our veterans.

I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense measure.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to recognize the Sid Martin Biotechnology Institute, a leading biotechnology incubator headquartered in Alachua, Florida, in conjunction with the University of Florida, in my home district. The Sid Martin Biotechnology Institute focuses on promoting the growth of innovative, early-stage bioscience and biotechnology companies and technology-based economic development in and around my district.

Over the past 20 years, this institute has worked with more than 100 startup companies in biotechnology, biomedicine, and bioagriculture, and it has created over 200 high-tech jobs. The survival rate of the companies in this program have a 93 percent survival rate, creating a successful business community in north central Florida area.

Their dedication to these causes has not gone unnoticed. Recently, Sid Martin Biotechnology Institute was awarded the Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year award for 2017, the highest award given by the International Business Innovation Association. This institute was named Incubator of the Year among more than 7,500 incubators worldwide. This is the second time the Sid Martin Biotechnology Institute has received this award, and, additionally, they have also been awarded Technology/ Science Incubator of the Year.

I would like to congratulate them on their accomplishment and thank them for their positive and meaningful contributions to Florida's Third Congressional District.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the loss of a Floridian, a patriot, and one of the Air Force's finest.

Two weeks ago, three servicemembers were lost in a crash of a reconnaissance and surveillance plane in New Mexico. These young men were not just servicemembers serving in our United States Air Force; they were sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers.

In particular, Florida's own Lieutenant Frederick Dellecker, a dedicated first lieutenant, had a long and promising career ahead of him. Lieutenant Dellecker was 26 and known amongst his friends for his legendary humor.

As a veterinarian, I was particularly touched by Lieutenant Dellecker's love of animals. His friends and family recently revealed that, while in pilot training, Lieutenant Dellecker once shared a hotdog with a flea-bitten stray who had just delivered a litter of puppies and was starving. He ended up taking her in and giving her a second chance at a new life.

I would like to take a moment on behalf of all Americans and all of the Members here today to thank him and his family for their service.

Lieutenant Frederick Dellecker, your name will not be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 186.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my concern about how crucial it is that we repeal and replace the poorly named Affordable Care Act.

We are working towards a better healthcare plan and doing it in a better fashion than the other side did 8 years ago. We are actually going through regular order, allowing the committees of jurisdiction to do their work in public, and have the text for all to see and debate.

Mr. Speaker, ObamaCare is failing and will collapse on its own. Many more will lose their insurance, and the healthcare system will get drastically worse if we simply leave it in place. The worst thing we can do is nothing.

4.7 million Americans were kicked off their healthcare plans by the ACA. I was one of them. Under the ACA, there has been a 25 percent average increase in premiums for the midlevel plans in 2017 for millions of Americans trapped in the healthcare.gov exchanges. Nearly one-third of U.S. counties have only one insurer offering an exchange plan.

ObamaCare is unsustainable. Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to do its job and replace the failed ObamaCare. We guarantee we will read this bill before we pass it.