Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor tonight because I know that in a short period of time it appears that the President of the United States will issue an executive order related to immigration that could very well be outside the constitutional limits of his authority.

And I believe that is going to create a great reaction in this country, Mr. Speaker. As important as it may be, it is also going to coincide with the date of November 24, when the interim agreement that this President signed with the nation of Iran will essentially expire. Then it will either be renewed or some type of agreement will be reached--or the effort will be abandoned.

I am deeply concerned that the importance of this event could be obscured by the media frenzy that potentially will follow this President's executive order on immigration.

So I come to the floor tonight to speak to that issue, Mr. Speaker, because the pursuit of nuclear weapons by the nation of Iran is an issue of the most profound significance to the national security of this country and to the peace and security of the entire world.

It seems very important to me that we do not let that issue be obscured by others, as important as they may be.

Mr. Speaker, those of us in this body are all too familiar with the endless parade of terror groups that have seemingly come onto the world stage in recent years.

But if we are startled by the rapid rise of ISIS and its subsequent march across the Middle East, during which it has beheaded, raped, crucified, and sold into sex slavery scores of men, women, and children alike; if we are concerned about the crushing video of the innocent woman whose hands and feet were tied to two cars that subsequently drove in opposite directions and ripped her in half, or the Christians who were beheaded and whose decapitated heads were used as soccer balls;

If we are outraged at the activities of Boko Haram and its brutal displays of violence against any group that doesn't stand alongside its inhuman ideology, including its raids and its bombings across Nigeria, its systematic abduction of young schoolgirls, as young as 12, who are said to be raped every day in their months of captivity;

If we are shocked at the activities of al Shabaab, whose attacks have killed hundreds upon hundreds of civilians, including teenage girls lined up before firing squads as well as the numerous suicide bombings and other such horrific methods;

If we recoil at the thought of groups such as the Taliban, whose atrocious violations of basic human rights, roadside bombings, and suicide attacks marked so much of the United States' early struggle in Afghanistan;

If we recall, as so many of us do, precisely where we were when we learned of al Qaeda's attack on September 11 that claimed thousands of innocent American lives, just one of those senseless attacks by that group;

Mr. Speaker, if we are stunned and outraged at this rise of militant Islam in the world, then, sir, how will we feel if we allow President Barack Obama to stand idly by and watch the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism, this deranged Islamist regime in Iran, lay hold upon nuclear weapons?

Mr. Speaker, shortly before the midterm elections earlier this month, President Obama penned a so-called letter of collaboration to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

This is the same Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who just a couple of days ago released his detailed, nine-step plan on how to wipe Israel off of the map.

Mr. Obama's incredibly naive attempt at collaboration is with a man whose sermons have included such edifying lines as ``The Zionist cancer is gnawing into the lives of Islamic nations.''

This is just one of the recent very telling glimpses at just how out of touch with reality this President truly is as Iran continues its sprint toward a nuclear weapons capability.

The Obama State Department was recently confronted by the somehow shocking revelation that Iran was now defying the interim agreement by feeding uranium into the IR5, the most technologically advanced centrifuge currently available in the world.

Inexplicably, Mr. Speaker, the administration responded with the sort of naivete that has become so characteristic of Obama foreign policy, stating: ``We raised that issue with Iran as soon as the International Atomic Energy Agency reported it. The Iranians have confirmed that they will not continue that activity as cited in the IAEA report, so it's been resolved.''

To rephrase that, upon learning that the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism had defied an agreement on

which the safety of the free world ostensibly rests and that indeed Iran was still conducting activities that could help it obtain nuclear weapons with which to carry out its threats to destroy the United States, the Obama Administration, so sophisticated is their ``understanding'' of what is presumably a tragically misunderstood Iranian regime, was assured by a pinky promise that the Iranians won't do it again.

Mr. Speaker, such naivete would be heartwarming on an elementary school playground, but on the world stage, when this President seems poised to personally usher in an age of nuclear terrorism, it becomes a very grave thing indeed.

Mr. Speaker, this administration's attempted punitive measures have been so halfhearted and demonstrably ineffective that they have at times actually benefited the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism.

For instance, last week, the organization United Against Nuclear Iran released its updated analysis of the joint plan of action. That is the plan agreed upon by this administration and the Iranian regime. The Iranian government reported a 4.6 percent increase in their gross domestic product for the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year compared to that same period last year.

According to the Central Bank of Iran, this is the first time the Iranian economy has experienced positive growth in more than 2 years.

Meanwhile, Iran's inflation is down 24 percent since July 2013, from an estimated 45 percent to 21.1 percent at the end of September. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the entire Iranian Stock Exchange has seen a 57 percent increase since roughly this time last year.

Mr. Speaker, how bitterly ironic that this President has done more to benefit the Tehran Stock Exchange than he has done to benefit the New York Stock Exchange.

These statistics directly controvert assertions made by administration officials that, despite the sanctions relief provided under the joint plan of action, Iran would still find itself even deeper in the economic hole. That is what they told us, Mr. Speaker.

Let us not forget that Iran's economic bounce, which is occurring in the midst of what are supposedly sanctions designed to punish its economy, follows an agreement, the meaning of which neither party can even agree upon.

The Iranian regime has publicly stated its belief that the agreement--which specifically references an ``inalienable right'' to use nuclear energy--guarantees Iran's right to continue enriching uranium. That is contrary to all of the U.N. Council resolutions saying that they had to dismantle such capability. The White House, meanwhile, has stated that it doesn't understand the agreement to mean that.

From Iran's perspective, Mr. Speaker, they have signed on to an agreement that gives them a guaranteed right to ongoing uranium enrichment, giving them a breakout capability that--for a nuclear weapons capability not within years but rather within months, and then, as a reward for signing that agreement, which gives them nearly everything they have ever wanted, the Obama administration has also agreed to lift sanctions, providing a further boon to the Iranian economy.

Mr. Speaker, what part of this approach is supposed to convince the jihadist Iranian leadership that they should reconsider their current course? Is it our concession to their nuclear rights? Is it our help in facilitating an economic windfall for them?

Just last week, a Wall Street Journal op-ed revealed that an upcoming London forum will bring together Iranian firms with a range of international counterparts--ranging from law offices, telecom operations, business consultancies, and even art auction houses--to explore how capital might be moved into Iran as the country transitions into a ``post-sanctions'' environment.

This is hardly the face of an Iran that fears the effect Mr. Obama's sanctions will have on what looks to be a very lucrative future.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps we could see some method to this madness if, for example, the President had managed to secure other concessions from the Iranian Government, a commitment perhaps to address its atrocious human rights record; instead, the election of Hassan Rouhani--again, a man heralded by many on the left as a harbinger of a more reasonable era in Iran--what has transpired has been described by some as an ``execution binge,'' with nearly two executions occurring every day, often performed as a public spectacle as a punishment for such times as refusing to convert to Islam.

In fact, since Rouhani's election last year, over 900 such executions have taken place. Meanwhile, Mr. Rouhani's promise to ease Internet restrictions remains unfulfilled. An American pastor and a citizen of the United States of America remains in prison in Iran, where he has been tortured for his Christian faith.

Mr. Speaker, no matter how one may try to give this President the benefit of the doubt, there is simply no way to make the Obama approach make any reasonable sense.

If the goal has been to keep Iran from being able to obtain a nuclear weapon, then Mr. Obama has failed. If the goal has been to punish the Iranian economy for the regime's radical pursuit of nuclear weapons, then Mr. Obama has failed.

If the goal has been to have an impact on Iran's human rights record, then Mr. Obama has failed. If the goal was to reduce the chances of the world's children stepping into the shadow of nuclear terrorism, then Mr. Obama has failed.

This President's only conceivable victory lies in his hope that, like a would-be modern Richard Nixon opening the doors to China, history will somehow consider Mr. Obama a hero for blazing new trails into Iran and for his mindless refusal to take the Iranian regime at its word, no matter how many times they have expressed that their real goal is the destruction of America and Israel.

Mr. Speaker, very simply, the Obama foreign policy is a gutless political correctness on the global stage. It is the cynical pursuit of legacy without regard for the cause of human freedom. It is the belief that tepid appeals to some hollow concept of tolerance are all that are necessary to tame the most savage of beasts.

The entire Obama legacy, Mr. Speaker, rests on the desperate hope that history will hand out an award for blind trust in the promises of jihadists.

Mr. Speaker, former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton once said:

Diplomacy is not an end in itself if it does not advance

U.S. interests.

This President's take on that principle seems to be:

U.S. interests be damned, so long as everyone considers me

diplomatic.

It is for all of the above reasons that I am pleased to join my colleague in the Senate, Senator Ted Cruz, in introducing H.R. 5709, the Sanction Iran, Safeguard America Act of 2014.

The bill would eliminate many of Mr. Obama's waiver authorities over sanctions and would oppose severe sanctions on Iran once again. Included in the legislation are sanctions on Iranian crude oil, oil transportation, financial institutions, petroleum--including sanctions on the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, and marketing of petroleum products--and the Iranian automotive sector, among others.

The bill also includes a prohibition on funding for any additional negotiations with Iran until a joint resolution of approval by Congress is passed, certifying that all Iranian-held American prisoners of conscience are released; the IAEA has determined Iran has dismantled its nuclear program, ceased enrichment activities, and released all stockpiles of enriched uranium; the Central Bank of Iran is no longer considered a primary money laundering concern under the PATRIOT Act; and Iran has renounced their state sponsorship of terrorism designation by admitting to participation in terrorist acts.

Mr. Speaker, I would adjure this body that we must legislatively fill, insofar as it is possible, this vacuum of leadership left by a President who is asleep at the wheel while radical terrorists move toward placing their fingers on the nuclear trigger under his paralyzed stare.

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

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in support of his amendment.

Mr. Speaker, last January, ISIS retook Fallujah. Eight months later, President Barack Obama told Americans, ``We don't have a strategy yet.''

It was 7 years ago, Mr. Speaker, that George Bush warned:

To begin withdrawing before our commanders tell us we are

ready would mean surrendering the future of Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, he could not have been more right.

If you delete all the things Mr. Obama so very unwisely said he would not do, most of what remains of his plan is in keeping with the Bush doctrine.

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely believe President Obama owes George Bush an apology, along with the men and women who freed Iraq and then watched their blood-bought gains evaporate while this administration stood by as women and children were beheaded, crucified, raped, and sold into slavery.

We must make no mistake about it, Mr. Speaker. It was the vacillation and the tepid and inept leadership of President Obama that brought us where we are today, and, now, even though this administration is still inexplicably unwilling to admit it, we do, indeed, face a jihadist enemy that is more dangerous than ever, and it is now more vital than ever that this Congress, the President of the United States, and the American people commit ourselves to doing whatever is necessary to destroy this enemy before its insidious hand reaches into the heartland of America.

Mr. Speaker, last month, 55 of my colleagues and I sent a priority letter to President Obama urging him to actively prioritize security and humanitarian support for the Christian community in Iraq. We specifically warned him of the dangers and brutality of the terrorist group ISIS in Iraq who are now rampaging across Iraq and terrorizing the vulnerable Christian population.

In the letter, we specifically pointed out to Mr. Obama that QUOTE, ``Parts of Syria and Iraq that have previously fallen under the rule of ISIS have witnessed summary execution, beheadings and even crucifixions.'' And that QUOTE, ``Absent immediate action, we will most certainly witness the annihilation of an ancient faith community from the lands they've inhabited for centuries.'' UNQUOTE

Tragically, Mr. Speaker, President Obama--who once likened ISIS to a junior varsity basketball team--simply ignored us again, as he has done so many times before. And now ISIS, this ``junior varsity basketball team'', is beheading their way across Iraq and has declared that there would be QUOTE ``nothing for [the Christians] but the sword'' if they do not convert.'' Last week, ISIS torched a 1,800-year-old church in Mosul and ruthlessly destroyed the historic tomb of Jonah. Images of ISIS beheadings, crucifixions, rapes, torture and mass execution are all over the Internet and social media. Just this morning, I met with

a group of NGOs based in Iraq who told me ISIS beheaded six Christians--then proceeded to play soccer with their decapitated heads.

This past Sunday, for the first time in 1,600 years, there was no Mass in Mosul. The head of Iraq's largest Christian community said, ``For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians.''

Mr. Speaker, ISIS has systematically and insidiously targeted Iraq's ancient Christians, and they are now nearly extinct. It can rightly be called targeted religious cleansing, and it is a crime against humanity.''

And yet, we hear not a word from the President of the United States when a Christian genocide is taking place at this very moment. And we have not heard one syllable about what his administration is doing or planning to do to relieve or protect persecuted Christians in Iraq.

So, on the floor of this house, I repeat the words we wrote in a letter to President Obama a month ago, QUOTE, ``we urge you and your administration to urgently and actively engage with the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to prioritize additional security support for these particularly vulnerable populations and provide emergency humanitarian assistance to those affected communities. Absent immediate action, we will most certainly witness the annihilation of an ancient faith community from the lands they've inhabited for centuries.'' UNQUOTE

Mr. Speaker, if President Obama continues to ignore this Christian Genocide in Iraq, history will record that it was Barack Obama who idly stood around and let it happen.

Mr. Speaker, on July 28, I made remarks on S. 1799, the Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act. I want to clarify that the bill makes funds available to the Department of Justice, including the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys' Offices for victims' services under the Crime Victims Fund. S. 1799 clarifies that funds available may only be used to benefit victims, through the work of Victim Witness Coordinators, Advocates, and Specialists, and for the administrative support of these employees to help them in their service to crime victims. For example, these Coordinators, Advocates, and Specialists may not be used to do witness travel services but instead should be exclusively providing services for the benefit of crime victims as the statute says. This provision was contained in a House bill, the Justice for Crime Victims Act of 2014, which I introduced in March of this year.

Mr. Speaker, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and I recently introduced H. Res. 622 to defund the Palestinian Authority. We have now 27 bipartisan cosponsors in the House of Representatives, and just today we received nearly 28,000 signatures supporting this policy.

Mr. Speaker, may we all remember that Yasser Arafat, the founder of the Palestinian Authority, proclaimed early on: ``We plan to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian state. We will make life unbearable for the Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion. We Palestinians will take over everything, including all of Jerusalem.''

Mr. Speaker, Mahmoud Abbas, the current head of the Palestinian Authority, has taken this mantra to its insidious end by publicly uniting with the terrorist group Hamas, which is really the Muslim Brotherhood.

Let me make this very clear, Mr. Speaker. The Hamas and Palestinian Authority have now become one and the same. Yet, even as Hamas has continued to launch cowardly attacks from neighborhoods in Gaza, hiding behind innocent women and children and making civilian casualties a deliberate strategy, this President has responded by heralding President Mahmoud Abbas as a man of peace.

Mr. Speaker, in spite of the President's astonishing failure to do so, Congress must continue its steadfast

commitment of supporting Israel to protect against Hamas' thirst for death, and the first step in doing that is to defund the Palestinian Authority.

Mr. Speaker, I would now yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

I thank the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, I just would suggest to you that, in the time that I have been in Congress--nearly 12 years now, about 12 years--I do not know of a greater defender of humanity and truth and just the kind of principle that made America what we are than one Congressman Chris Smith, and I just consider it a privilege for the time that I have been able to serve with him.

Mr. Speaker, 30 years ago, Soviet Marshal Ogarkov announced that Flight 007 of Korean Airlines had been terminated, that the Soviets had shot down a civilian airliner killing all 269 passengers aboard.

President Reagan immediately addressed the entire Nation about the tragedy and resolutely called for justice and for action. He then proceeded to accelerate work on America's missile defense system. He worked with Congress on the Reagan defense buildup, he built relationships with European allies and enforced strong sanctions that ultimately bankrupt and brought down the once-unshakeable Soviet Union.

Mr. Speaker, last week, another civilian airliner, flight MH17, with 298 innocent people aboard, was also shot down and this time by Russian-backed separatists.

On that same day in which the conflict in Israel also escalated to new heights, The New York Times reported President Obama's schedule as, ``a cheeseburger with fries at the Charcoal Pit in Delaware, a speech about infrastructure, and two splashy fundraisers in New York City.''

Mr. Speaker, where would America be today if we had elected Barack Obama in 1980? Where will this President's leadership take us tomorrow?

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 105) conferring honorary citizenship of the United States on Bernardo de Galvez y Madrid, Viscount of Galveston and Count of Galvez.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.J. Res. 105, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank the gentleman for his support.

Mr. Speaker, H.J. Res. 105 confers honorary United States citizenship upon Bernardo de Galvez y Madrid in recognition of his many contributions to and sacrifices for the cause of American independence. I want to commend again our colleague, Jeff Miller, for introducing this legislation, and I certainly urge my colleagues to support it.

American citizenship, Mr. Speaker, is the highest honor that our country can confer upon a person who is a citizen of another land. The granting of honorary citizenship is a symbolic gesture that welcomes the recipient into our national family.

Honorary citizenship is and should always be an extraordinary honor not lightly conferred. Congress has granted honorary citizens on only six occasions in the past to seven individuals. The seven recipients have been Casimir Pulaski, the Marquis de Lafayette, Mother Teresa, William and Hannah Penn, Raoul Wallenberg, and Winston Churchill. The last two recipients, Casimir Pulaski and the Marquis de Lafayette, both played crucial roles in the United States' victory in the Revolutionary War.

General Galvez's contributions to the war effort compare very favorably with those of Casimir Pulaski and the Marquis de Lafayette. H.J. Res. 105 states that Galvez ``provided supplies, intelligence, and strong military support to the war effort.''

Indeed, the historical record indicates that, due to the British blockade of seaports on the eastern seaboard, Galvez's secretly- coordinated smuggling operation and efforts to clear the Mississippi River of British influence helped to ensure that George Washington's Continental Army received necessary weapons and other provisions.

H.J. Res. 105 states that:

Galvez recruited an army of 7,500 men . . . and led the

effort of Spain to aid the United States' colonists . . . he

and his troops seized the Port of New Orleans and

successfully defeated the British at battles in Baton Rouge,

Louisiana; Natchez, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama.

Commentators and historians have uniformly lauded General Galvez's bravery, tenacity, and tactical military skill in rapidly assembling and leading a diverse, multiethnic regiment. Galvez's forces were victorious in every battle into which he led them.

H.J. Res. 105 states that Galvez ``led the successful 2-month siege of Pensacola, Florida, where his troops captured the capital of British West Florida and left the British with no naval bases in the Gulf of Mexico.''

The historical narrative surrounding Galvez's actions leading up to and throughout the 2-month-long Battle of Pensacola underscores his heroism and leadership in pursuit of the objective of pinning down the British forces and driving them from the Gulf of Mexico.

There is no question that keeping the British occupied on a second front during the war was crucial and critical to the success of General Washington's campaign.

Mr. Speaker, some historians have noted that the length and timing of the Battle of Pensacola, in particular, impacted the number of forces and ships the British could commit to the Battle of Yorktown, which was the final campaign of the Revolutionary War.

Finally, H.J. Res. 105 states that Galvez' victories against the British were recognized by George Washington as a deciding factor in the outcome of the Revolutionary War.

I believe that Bernardo de Galvez y Madrid deeply deserves honorary citizenship, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1799) to reauthorize subtitle A of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on S. 1799, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to speak in favor of S. 1799, the Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act of 2013.

This bill, introduced by Senators Coons and Blunt, reauthorizes the funding streams for child advocacy centers, which are often the first line of service providers for the young victims of child abuse, sexual assault, and other crimes.

There are over 750 child advocacy centers located in all 50 States and in the District of Columbia and four regional centers that provide training and technical assistance to the local centers. The child advocacy centers are designed to limit additional trauma to victimized children by bringing all of the necessary law enforcement agencies and service providers to a single safe place. Depending on the case, they can include forensic interview teams, child protection and social services, medical care, and mental health services. In addition to limiting the trauma for the children, this is an efficient and effective approach to investigating child abuse cases.

In 2013 alone, Mr. Speaker, over 294,000 children were served at child advocacy centers, and over 200,000 of those children were victims of sexual abuse. More than one-third of the victims seen by the centers are under the age of 6 years old, and two-thirds are under the age of 13. Despite being unauthorized since 2005, the child advocacy center programs have received appropriations every year. S. 1799 reauthorizes the funding at its current authorization level and provides additional accountability measures to ensure that Federal funds are spent appropriately. A House companion to this legislation, H.R. 3706, was introduced by Representative Ted Poe and was included in the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which passed the Judiciary Committee and the House floor unanimously earlier this year.

In addition to reauthorizing the child advocacy centers, S. 1799 clarifies that funds available to the FBI for victims' services under the Justice Department's Crime Victims Fund may only be used to directly benefit victims and not for administrative purposes. This provision was contained in a House bill, the Justice for Crime Victims Act of 2014, which I introduced in March of this year.

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of section 3 of this bipartisan legislation is simple: to reassert Congress' control over the use of the Crime Victims Fund, which is so critical for crime victims. Victim specialists, also referred to as victim advocates, along with their supervisors, victim witness coordinators, should be improving services for the benefit of crime victims and not be diverted to other purposes.

To quote Joan Ganz Cooney: ``Cherishing children is the mark of a civilized society.''

S. 1799 will reauthorize an important tool in our ongoing fight against child abuse.

I commend all of my colleagues who dedicated their efforts to this legislation. I urge its passage and quick signature into law.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would just join with the gentleman in urging its passage.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, 30 years ago, Soviet Marshal Ogarkov announced that Korean Airlines Flight 7 had been ``terminated.'' The Soviets had shot down a civilian airliner, killing all 269 passengers aboard.

President Reagan immediately addressed the entire Nation about the tragedy and resolutely called for justice and for action. He then proceeded to accelerate work on America's missile defense system, worked with Congress on the Reagan defense buildup, building relationships with European allies, and enforced strong sanctions that ultimately bankrupted and brought down the once unshakable Soviet Union.

Last week, Mr. Speaker, another civilian airliner, Flight MH17, with 298 innocent people aboard, was shot down by Russian-backed separatists. On that same day, in which the conflict in Israel also escalated to new heights, The New York Times reported President Barack Obama's schedule as: ``a cheeseburger with fries at the Charcoal Pit in Delaware, a speech about infrastructure, and two splashy fundraisers in New York City.''

Mr. Speaker, where would America be today if we had elected Barack Obama in 1980? Where will this President's leadership take us tomorrow?

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

Mr. Speaker, last month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas openly united with the evil terrorist group Hamas, and at this very moment they are raining down rockets upon the innocent citizens of Israel. Half of all Israelis have sought cover in bomb shelters across their tiny country. And the Obama administration has had the reprehensible gall to praise Abbas as someone who is ``committed to nonviolence and cooperation with Israel,'' and to further proclaim in an Israeli newspaper that ``finally, peace is possible.''

Mr. Speaker, I thought nothing this President could ever say or do would surprise me anymore, but this flushed and breathless rush to embrace terrorists launching rockets at Israeli children is an unprecedented act of cowardice and betrayal.

America's fleet should, this minute, be off the coast of Israel, and the world, including Abbas, Hamas, and Hezbollah, should know that America's arsenal of freedom stands ready to defend our most precious ally on Earth.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, my amendment would not allow funds to be used to transfer or divest the mission at the Electronic Proving Grounds, or EPG, at Fort Huachuca in Arizona.

EPG is the U.S. Army's primary Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber and Intelligence--or C5I--Developmental Tester. EPG plans, conducts, and analyzes the results of technical tests for C5I systems, signal intelligence, and electronic combat and electronic warfare equipment. EPG has an available area of operation that includes more than 9,000 square miles of public and private lands in and around Fort Huachuca, and its unique interference-free electromagnetic environment makes it the prime location for electronic testing.

Madam Chair, EPG, the Electronic Proving Ground at Fort Huachuca, is a national strategic asset. It can accomplish, in a real open-air environment, what others can only simulate in a closed laboratory environment. EPG gives our C5I systems a place to be tested and simulated in real-world environments, leaving our warfighters with the best tested and the most advanced functioning systems available. Further, this amendment saves money in this fiscally constrained environment as the Department would have to spend millions of dollars to transfer such a mission. There is no reason, therefore, that we should even consider moving such an asset into a closed laboratory.

Madam Chair, I believe this is a commonsense amendment and that it preserves the strategic asset, and it is, ultimately, in the best interests of the national security of the United States of America.

I thank the committee for its time and support of this amendment, and I thank the chairman especially for his indulgence.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I appreciate the comments of both the ranking member and the chairman.

I suppose, Madam Chair, it is important for me just to point out that the underlying predicate of this amendment is the need, in my mind, to protect this country against the potential use of the electromagnetic pulse as an offensive weapon against this country, and this facility in Fort Huachuca is one of our best ways to ascertain the dangers that are involved and to try to find ways to protect this country against that danger.

It is very possible, Madam Chair, that the electromagnetic pulse has become one of the more significant short-term national security threats to this Nation. Enemies across the world are now starting to develop this capability, and I think it is very important for us to make sure that we understand it and that we have the kinds of facilities that can test our vulnerability to the electromagnetic pulse in real-world situations; and even though there are a few others, the Fort Huachuca facility is one of the few that can do that. I believe, in terms of the long-term costs, a major electromagnetic pulse attack on this country could prove astronomically expensive. For that reason, I would encourage a ``yes'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Rogers. I believe he has exhibited the best of the House of Representatives and has rendered this country magnificent service, both to our national security and to the stability of this Nation. I thank him deeply for it, and also for the time to speak on this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2015 is a critical milestone toward protecting Americans at home and those who serve our interests and Nation overseas.

However, it does not currently address one of the critical concerns, and that is the threat of a manmade nuclear or electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, weapon.

My amendment would task the Director of National Intelligence to report to the Congress on the threat posed by manmade electromagnetic pulse weapons to the United States interests through 2025, including those threats from foreign countries and foreign nonstate actors.

Mr. Chairman, it is important to note that my amendment does not task another Federal agency with the responsibility of determining our vulnerabilities to EMP and GMD and the potential dangers these threats represent to our civilization.

These studies have already been finalized, and their conclusions provide our Nation's leaders and industry officials with the clarity they need to move forward toward protecting our grid.

In fact, Mr. Chairman, there have now been nearly a dozen Federal Government reports and studies on the dangers, threats, and vulnerabilities the U.S. electric grid faces from EMP and GMD, including reports from the EMP Commission, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. national laboratories. All of them come to similar conclusions. The U.S. electric grid is dangerously vulnerable to EMP and GMD.

Further, many warn that, given the Nation's current lack of preparedness, a nuclear or natural EMP event is potentially a cataclysmic threat that would be a top national priority for our national security and homeland security.

In 2008, the congressionally authorized EMP Commission stated that Russian scientists had proliferated knowledge of a specifically designed EMP weapon to North Korea. There may also exist a form of mobile EMP devices that can take out our electric substations.

As The Wall Street Journal reported recently, taking out just a few of these substations simultaneously could potentially cause a nationwide blackout.

Our military understands this threat very well, Mr. Chairman, and has protected many of our critical defense assets. We, as a Nation, have spent billions of dollars, in fact, over the years, hardening our nuclear triad, our missile defense capabilities and numerous other critical elements of our national security apparatus against the effects of electromagnetic pulse, particularly the type of electromagnetic pulse that might be generated against us by an enemy.

However, our civilian grid, which the Defense Department relies upon for nearly 99 percent of its electricity needs, is completely vulnerable to the same kind of danger.

This constitutes, in my opinion, Mr. Chairman, an invitation on the part of certain of our enemies to use the asymmetric capability of an EMP weapon against us, and there is now evidence that such strategy is being considered by certain of those enemies.

Mr. Chairman, the time is right for this action, and our efforts today may gain us no note in the annals of history, but my hope is that they will ultimately lead to a time when this country mitigates this threat and disinvites our enemies to try to exploit it against us. I pray it happens just that way.

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

Mr. Speaker, last night, the House passed an amendment encouraging our regional partners and allies to develop an interagency strategy to counter the vicious terror attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram.

Boko Haram is the terrorist group that recently kidnapped over 300 innocent young Nigerian girls.

Mr. Speaker, it is impossible for any of us to imagine the fear and heartbreak these children and their families are experiencing.

For some time, it has been known that these groups have extensive links between Boko Haram and al Qaeda affiliates; yet, despite my multiple pleas 2 years ago to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she would not even consider acknowledging Boko Haram's religious ideology and list them as a foreign terrorist organization.

Consequently, Boko Haram is stronger today than ever before. This Islamist group continues their rampage of terror because the administration--this administration--as they have so many times before, refused to look at the facts as they were.

I hope now we will face Boko Haram for the terrorist group that it is and defeat it and, somehow, bring these innocent young girls home.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Huizenga for yielding, and I also gratefully express my appreciation to Mr. Kennedy for his work on this. It is always wonderful when Republicans and Democrats can actually get together.

Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to rise today in favor of H.R. 2939 to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Israel's President, Shimon Peres. This award to Shimon Peres is our highest expression of national appreciation.

Indeed, President Peres' lifetime of dedicated service to the State of Israel is unparalleled. No countryman has ever served Israel for so many years, in so many different capacities, as both a key figure in its foundation and its continued survival and rise in the world.

In his 70 years of state service, Mr. Peres has served in high-level cabinet positions, including head of the navy, Minister of Defense, Foreign Minister, Prime Minister, and most recently as President of Israel.

Throughout his political tenure, he has worked diligently to promote diplomacy, democracy, and freedom in Israel, across the Middle East, and across the world in so very many different ways.

Mr. Peres has also been a powerful and dedicated friend to the United States of America, and he has been instrumental in forming this unbreakable bond that we have spoken of so often here that exists between our two nations.

So, Mr. Speaker, not only does this award acknowledge the merit and noble endurance of President Shimon Peres, it is also an expression of the American people's continued commitment to the nation of Israel and its place as a beacon of democracy in the Middle East.

This award reaffirms the important of Israel as the Holy Land, close to the hearts of millions of committed Jews and Christians in America and around the world. Moreover, it is an expression of America's unwavering resolve to our greatest ally in the world.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my esteemed colleagues on both sides of the aisle for cosponsoring this worthy piece of legislation, and may I also gratefully acknowledge the Shimon Peres Congressional Gold Medal Commemoration Committee for their gallant dedication to the ideals that gave rise to this heartfelt award to Israeli President Shimon Peres.

God bless him, and God bless the friendship between Israel and the United States of America forever.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 132 on H.R. 3189, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 129 on H.R. 3973, and I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 135 on H.R. 4015.