Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 1209, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 901 North Francisco Avenue, Mission, Texas, as the Mission Veterans Post Office Building.

At this time, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar) so that he may tell us more about the honorable veterans from Mission, Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge the passage of H.R. 1209, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 2673, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 514 Broadway Street in Pekin, Illinois, as the Lance Corporal Jordan S. Bastean Post Office.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Bustos) to tell us more about Lance Corporal Jordan S. Bastean.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge the passage of H.R. 2673, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 4406, as amended, to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 99 Macombs Place in New York City as the Tuskegee Airmen Post Office Building.

As we know, the Tuskegee Airmen had an impeccable record of saving American lives during World War II.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat) to tell us the history of the esteemed Tuskegee Airmen.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I urge the passage of this bill.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 4646, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1900 Corporate Drive in Birmingham, Alabama, as the Lance Corporal Thomas E. Rivers, Jr. Post Office Building.

Born in Hoover, Alabama, Lance Corporal Thomas Rivers, Jr., held a deep love and dedication to both his faith and his country. Mr. Rivers dreamed of becoming a marine from a young age and enlisted following his graduation from Briarwood Christian School in 2007.

Tragically, on April 28, 2010, Lance Corporal Rivers was killed by an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan. He was just 22 years old.

In order that they might honor and continue their son's love of country, Lance Corporal Rivers' parents now run a nonprofit organization that sends care packages to soldiers.

Mr. Speaker, we should pass this bill to commemorate Lance Corporal Thomas Rivers, Jr., and the ultimate sacrifice he made for the country he so loved.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 4646, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to urge the passage of this legislation for Lance Corporal Rivers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 4685.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) to tell us about the heroism of First Sergeant Andrew McKenna, Jr.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge passage of H.R. 4685, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to also join my colleagues in consideration of S. 831, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 120 West Pike Street in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, as the Police Officer Scott Bashioum Post Office Building.

Scott Leslie Bashioum was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and joined the U.S. Air Force in June of 1996, as a member of the 911th Airlift Wing's Civil Engineering Squadron. Scott served in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Following 29 years of service in the Air Force, Senior Master Sergeant Bashioum became a full-time police officer in the Canonsburg community.

On November 10, 2016, Officer Bashioum was killed in service to his community while responding to a domestic violence call.

Mr. Speaker, we should pass this bill to commemorate the life of public service lived by Officer Scott Bashioum and honor his memory. I urge the passage of S. 831, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I am pleased to join my friend from the great State of Virginia (Mr. Garrett) in urging passage of H.R. 3183, the U.S. Navy Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby Post Office.

The youngest servicemember killed in the collision on the USS Fitzgerald, Seaman Rigsby is remembered today by his family and friends for his sense of humor and true passion for public service.

Mr. Speaker, we should pass this bill to honor Seaman Rigsby's memory and service to his country.

Mr. Speaker, I want to inform the gentleman from Alabama that I have no further speakers on this bill. I urge its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, the amendment offered makes important changes to our bill, H.R. 2396, which is a straightforward, commonsense measure that seeks to streamline the privacy information consumers get from financial institutions and makes the information available much more frequently via electronic delivery.

We have been working on what I consider to be a simple but necessary fix to a 20-year-old law throughout this year, and I believe the amendment we have presented for your consideration will undoubtedly benefit consumers. We have worked with our colleagues on the Financial Services Committee to modify and strengthen the underlying bill, and I appreciate everyone's efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank the committee's ranking member, Ms. Waters, for her and her staff's efforts to improve our bill. I consider this amendment to be an effort to improve the underlying legislation. While Ms. Waters still has some outstanding concerns, I do appreciate her working with us.

The amendment clarifies the process by which consumers can opt out of having their information shared with unaffiliated third parties. It limits the application of the alternative delivery mechanism to vehicle financial companies--that is simply what the amendment does--rather than all financial institutions, as defined under the Gramm-Leach- Bliley Act and other technical and conforming changes.

Mr. Speaker, we believe these changes make our bill stronger and we urge the adoption of the amendment.

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

Mr. Speaker, just in closing, let me offer some clarification.

In the fall of 2014, the CFPB finalized a rule allowing financial institutions to post their annual privacy notices online instead of delivering them individually if they met a series of conditions, including not sharing the customer's nonpublic information with unaffiliated third parties.

In December of 2015, Congress went further by enacting an outright exemption from the mailing requirement for financial institutions that, one, do not share nonpublic personal information about a consumer with unaffiliated third parties; and, two, have not changed its disclosure policy and practices since the most recent disclosure was sent to consumers.

Institutions that provide financing for vehicle purchases or leases do not meet the criteria set forth by Congress and are, therefore, required to continue issuing paper privacy notices to consumers.

Mr. Speaker, this amendment helps to improve this bill. It modernizes this requirement. I just urge the body to adopt the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with my distinguished colleague from Arkansas, Mr. French Hill, to honor the memory of a great public servant, beloved husband, father, and grandfather;

A distinguished educator, who inspired thousands of students;

A dedicated public servant who served in the Arkansas Department of Human Services for three decades;

A member of the Little Rock, Arkansas City Board and the Pulaski County Quorum Court;

And a former Arkansas State Representative who founded the Democratic Black Caucus in the Arkansas legislature;

My late father-in-law, the Honorable John M. Lewellen, who died last week at the age of 87.

State Representative Lewellen was married to the love of his life, Wilhelmina Epps Lewellen for 61-years. A loving father and grandfather, Mr. Lewellen is also survived by two wonderful daughters, Cornelia Lewellen Biddle of Little Rock, Arkansas; and Ivie Lewellen Clay of St. Louis, Missouri; four grandchildren; and three cherished sisters.

Mr. Speaker, John Lewellen was a champion for minority-owned and women-owned businesses across the State of Arkansas. He was also a passionate defender of the Right to Vote.

He saw the value of saving our history, particularly the historic Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. His entire life was spent serving others, and his legacy will endure. Our family has suffered a great loss, but we are strengthened by our faith which entrusts his spirit to a loving God who promises that we shall see him again.

We give thanks for his remarkable life, and I ask for prayers for his widow, our family, and all his many friends who are mourning the loss of this good and decent man. May God grant him perfect peace, and may he send us courage and healing as we remember John Lewellen's exceptional life.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Massachusetts for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer a special welcome to the President of the United States as he visits my home State of Missouri, which has a great need for brownfield remediation.

I understand that President Trump's visit will focus on the indefensible, reckless Republican tax scam that will raise taxes on millions of middle class families. It will rob seniors, punish students, weaken higher education, strip healthcare coverage away from 13 million Americans, and explode the debt by charging an additional $1.4 trillion on the national credit card.

Mr. Speaker, the majority likes to talk about family values, and there is no doubt that extremely wealthy families, like President Trump's, will reap millions from your GOP tax scam.

But what about real Americans who will pay more and get less?

I would like President Trump to show me why he wants to raise taxes on over 320,000 middle class families in Missouri. I would like President Trump to show me why he wants to bury 255,000 Missouri students, who hold student loans, even deeper in debt by eliminating the deduction for student loan interest. I would like President Trump to show me why he wants to harm 165,000 seriously ill Missouri taxpayers, who will no longer be able to deduct medical expenses. And I would like him to show me why, when asked about the State level impact of the

Trump-GOP tax scam, even the Republican chairman of the Missouri House Budget Committee, State Representative Scott Fitzpatrick of Shell Knob, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on November 9: ``We cannot have a billion-dollar hole blown in the budget. We cannot afford that.''

I would like President Trump to show me why he wants to impose double taxation on every Missouri taxpayer, who will no longer be able to deduct State and local income taxes.

And I would like him to show me why he wants to weaken Medicare by robbing it of over $25 billion over the next 10 years to help pay for tax cuts for billionaires.

And, finally, I would like President Trump to show me how he intends to ever look middle class families in the face again when he promised to lower taxes for every American.

Instead, this shameful GOP tax scam will ensure that the haves will have more, and everyone else will pay for it.

Mr. Speaker, let me see if I can inject some truth into this.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the deficit-exploding Republican tax plan that rewards billionaires first, and then asks hardworking Americans to pay for it.

The Trump Republican tax scam will raise taxes for millions of working families. It will kill jobs in the home construction industry. It will punish student loan borrowers. This reckless plan will repeal the deduction for State and local income and sales tax. I would remind my colleagues in the majority: If you vote ``yes,'' you are voting for a $900 billion tax increase on American families.

This bill is not conservative. It is not pro-family. It is not pro- worker. It will kill jobs and reward the wealthy and corporations at the expense of everyone else.

Vote ``no'' on the GOP tax scam, and let's pass a real tax reform bill that puts middle class families first.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2370, introduced by Representative Gaetz, settles a longstanding land management issue in his Florida district. Specifically, the bill transfers land associated with the former Santa Rosa Island National Monument to Escambia County. Once it is transferred to Escambia County, the bill authorizes a second transfer to Santa Rosa County, without any conditions or further restrictions.

The land in question was provided to the county by the Federal Government in 1947 under the condition it remain in use for a public purpose. In 1956, the county decided a 100-year lease to neighboring Santa Rosa County was in the public interest. In the 61 years since, the counties have grown and prospered, but due to the terms of the original conveyance and subsequent lease, there is some confusion about Santa Rosa County's power to tax.

This bill will clear up some administrative challenges that have arisen out of this unusual arrangement, a goal that we support. However, it will also allow for developments that conflict with the terms of the original conveyance.

As drafted, this bill authorizes activities that will do significant environmental damage to a fragile coastal barrier island and potentially lead to the privatization of land on Santa Rosa Island. Neither of these results is in the public interest or consistent with congressional intent.

Congress granted Escambia County this land with one condition, which this bill completely ignores. We understand how important this bill is for Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, but honoring the original intent of this land grant is as important as well.

It is our hope that we can work with our colleagues in the Senate to make improvements to this legislation that will continue to protect the interests of the American taxpayers in this land deal.

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

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I appreciate my friend from California for that explanation. Hopefully, my colleague, Representative Gaetz, will try to strike a balance between protecting our environment, protecting the pristine nature of that island, as well as looking out for the best interests of his constituents when this bill gets to the Senate. So, therefore, we will not oppose it.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2017, updated and bipartisan legislation that I was proud to introduce along with my distinguished colleague from Missouri's Eighth Congressional District, Congressman Jason Smith. I appreciate his leadership and true friendship as well.

Our legislation, which has already earned 72 cosponsors, would authorize the National Park Service to establish a program to preserve and protect the memory of the people and places that were significant in the struggle to securing equal rights for African Americans during the 20th century's civil rights era between 1939 and 1968.

The purpose of this legislation is to recognize, protect, and share the remarkable American story of the modern struggle for civil rights, a unique national experience that touches every American regardless of their age, region, or heritage, and yet this very American story is often left untold, without the level of honesty and accuracy that it surely deserves.

In fact, the generation now coming of age has only scant knowledge of the history of the civil rights struggle. Young Americans find it difficult to believe that racial segregation was once considered normal and necessary in the United States.

I truly believe that the healing potential for this legislation is essential to bringing our Nation together. The historic network that H.R. 1927 would create would offer tremendous educational opportunities by recognizing those brave souls from all walks of life who fought to make the promises enshrined in our Constitution finally ring true for every American regardless of the color of their skin.

Across this great country, precious historic waypoints along the routes of that still largely untold story are at risk of being lost forever.

My hope is that the historic civil rights trails and the programs that will grow from this act will honestly tell the truth, the full and sometimes painful story of the struggle for civil rights, not just for African Americans, but to foster healing, tolerance, and understanding among all Americans.

This bill is similar to legislation that created the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998, which is currently administered by the National Park Service. It directs the Secretary of the Interior to identify and create a national network of historic sites, stories, research facilities, and educational programs connected to the modern African-American civil rights movement.

This legislation has also earned the strong support of the National Urban League, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the NAACP.

Mr. Speaker, let me also commend the gentleman from California for his support of this legislation that came out of his subcommittee. I appreciate his help and strong support of it.

I look at this opportunity as something that we should all want to embrace the transformative power of the real American story. We should seize it. This bill advances that worthy goal for our Nation, and I urge my colleagues to support this important act.

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

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to commend my colleague, Mrs. Love from Utah. And it goes to show you that we can reach across the aisle and find common ground. I appreciate her support of this legislation, as well as I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas for yielding.

I rise today as an original cosponsor of H.R. 2480, the Empowering Law Enforcement to Fight Sex Trafficking Demand Act, along with my friend and distinguished colleague from Missouri, Congresswoman Hartzler, and other colleagues.

This bipartisan act aims to provide local law enforcement with additional tools to fight the heinous epidemic of sex trafficking by expanding the authority of the vital Byrne Justice Assistance Grant act to enable law enforcement agencies to compete for Federal funding, specifically to develop and implement sex trafficking demand reduction programs.

Our legislation would also add an additional provision for Byrne JAG funding to allow State and local agencies more flexibility in prioritizing precious resources to combat domestic sex trafficking. The trafficking of mostly

young people for the purposes of sexual exploitation is a form of 21st century slavery that is pervasive around the world, around this country, and even in my home State of Missouri, as we heard earlier.

Sadly, because of my district's central location and easy access to cross-country interstates and modes of transportation, the St. Louis area is one of the top 20 markets for the horrific and inhuman crime. Most of the victims are minor children, and some of them have been kidnapped, beaten, and deceived by organized criminal enterprises who are exploiting their bodies for profit.

But the sick and the inhuman practice could not continue without steady demand, and reducing that market is exactly the purpose of this important bill.

According to a recent report by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, this multibillion dollar slavery system victimizes over 20 million young people worldwide, with at least 1\1/2\ million of those victims in North America. Yet, last year in the United States, only about 5,000 cases were actually reported, leaving tens of thousands of other victims in the shadows with no protection, no help, and no hope.

As reported in the February 23, 2016 edition of The Atlantic magazine:

According to the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime,

sexual exploitation is the most commonly identified form of

forced labor worldwide. And as a whole, human trafficking is

a lucrative industry that, around the globe, rakes in at

least $150 billion.

But it is unclear whether the numbers are an accurate

representation of the problem, because many cases are not

reported, according to Monique Villa, the CEO of the Thomson

Reuters Foundation, which works to combat human trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, the article continues on:

The problem with human trafficking is that, of course, the

victims are silenced. We don't have good data about it. You

don't know how many slaves there are around the world.

Traffickers also play into the narrative by telling victims

who are exploited for sex that they are offenders,

threatening to call the police and report them for

prostitution if they push back. This makes sex trafficking

particularly challenging because victims might be fearful of

going to law enforcement and being charged with a crime.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the death of my former constituent, Philando Castile, whose shocking and completely unnecessary death has now been seen by millions around the world via video.

I mourn not only his death but also the complete failure of local law enforcement and the criminal justice system to protect his most precious right, the right to life.

Philando, like so many other young African Americans before him,

interacted with local law enforcement, responded peacefully, did exactly what he was supposed to do, yet he wound up dead, shot six times at pointblank range by an officer who saw him as something less than human.

He is dead for no good reason except for the color of his skin and the fact that his ethnicity fed into an implicit, sick, and deadly bias held by some police officers that Black people present an imminent threat simply by virtue of who we are. That bias is pervasive, not just among some police officers, but also throughout our criminal justice system.

Anyone who views the video of Philando's police shooting can see that he should not be dead and that the officer who killed him should have been held accountable. But as in far too many other cases, the justice system failed Philando and his family in the most outrageous way. The sad truth is that, in 2017, we continue to suffer under a justice system that provides justice for some but not for all.

As I join with Philando's family and millions of other Americans who were outraged by the complete lack of accountability for his death, I cannot but help remember another tragic case, the death of my 18-year- old constituent, Mike Brown, almost 3 years ago in Ferguson, Missouri. As I watched Philando's family screaming out for justice, they reminded me of something that Mike Brown's mother, Lezley McSpadden, told me. She said: Congressman, I want them to know that he mattered to me.

Well, he mattered to me, too, as well as Philando. So did Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, and so many others who have died at the hands of local police for no good reason and without any consequences.

Mr. Speaker, I have supported local law enforcement for over 30 years, and I continue to have no doubt that the vast majority of police officers perform a difficult, dangerous, and essential job with honor, bravery, and integrity. But I also know that too many other officers clearly lack the temperament and training to deescalate interactions before they become deadly, and that continues to cost many innocent lives.

That is why I have introduced, along with my good friends, Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, the Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2017. This legislation has already earned almost 100 cosponsors.

My bill would protect both police officers and the citizens they serve. It would require sensitivity training in the areas of race, ethnic bias, disabilities, and interactions with new immigrants. It would also establish incentives to encourage States to adopt new laws to require an independent prosecutor in all cases when police use deadly force. This legislation deserves a fair hearing and an up-or- down vote in this House.

I will close with this: a brief teaching from the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the occasion of another needless tragedy, the police killing of civil rights worker Jimmie Lee Jackson by an Alabama State trooper in 1965. In his eulogy, King said: ``A State trooper pointed the gun, but he did not act alone. He was murdered by the brutality of every sheriff who practices lawlessness in the name of the law.''