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congress. the house will debate more than two dozen bills including those to re-authorize the peace corps, increase penalties for human trafficking and bills regarding historic parks. you're watching live coverage here on c-span. the prayer will be offered by chaplain kibben. chaplain kibben: will you pray with me. sovereign god as the world turns its attention to the final tributes of a great queen, we pray your blessing over the leaders of this country. each day as we renew our oath to support and defend its constitution signed 235 years ago, renew in us our most sacred duty to maintain a viable respect for sustaining energy of a free government. while this document serves as the framework for the vital principles of liberty and security, it is you who laid the foundations of the earth and our nation. uphold us in our governance by the favor of your grace. likewise as we acknowledge the cornerstone george washington laid 239 years ago for this mag knife ent capitol building we ask that you lay the foundation that takes place in these walls. you the master builder have laid the footing and virtue that you have tasked us the american people to build upon. may we be worthy of the legacy and faithful to the privilege to serve in this house and in this country and care for each you call us to steward with wisdom. upheld by the strength of your name, we pray, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announcees to the house the approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1, rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge after allegiance will be led by the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. boyle. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. . the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> as the chaplain just previously mentioned, we recently celebrated the 235th anniversary of the signing of the united states constitution in philadelphia. as the member of congress who represents the independence hall where it was drafted and adopted, it is a great honor for all of us in my district to know that our city played an important role in the history and founding of our country. it is now up to all of us to read our constitution and bring it close to not only our minds but our hearts every single day, we must work to uphold it and uphold our democracy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. a message from the senate. the secretary: request the house of representatives to return official papers to the senate on s.1198 and ask to amend title 38 united statescode to improve the solid start program of the department of veteran affairs and for other purposes in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. last year, over 100,000 americans lost their lives to drug overdoses and 70% of those deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl. they have continued to pour across our southern border. that is not secure and into communities that remain overwhelmed by this terrible onslaught. unless we in congress act, possessing fentanyl will become completely legal, completely legal in just over three months unless we work now to permanently make fentanyl a schedule one narcotic. americans will wake up on new year's day in a country where a drug responsible for tens of thousands of deaths can freely be sold on our streets. our communities are counting on us. we need to pass legislation that permanently labels fentanyl as the deadly drug that we all know that it is. no more short-term bans. none. no more playing politics while lives are at stake. thank you. and i yield. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa seek recognition? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to address the crisis on our southern border. the administration's inaction and removal of title 42 has caused massive influx of immigrants. 1, 433 mig grants attempted to cross the border. in this group, four gaining members and one sex offender. we need to have commonsense legislation. it is disturbing to hear stories who lost loved ones from fentanyl overdoses and other illegal drugs. i would like to reiterate my calls for president biden to visit the border. i have visited the southern border three times to listen to the stories from our agents about the pieden's administration ineffective poll situation. he is not interested in or keeping america safe. i would like to wish my husband a happy birthday. i'm stipedding my sympathies to my sister-in-law she and her husband on the sudden passing of their mother when she passed. may god's gays go with you as you cross this journey. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: thank you, mr. speaker, inflation has outpaced workers' wages for 17 months in a row under biden. this has cost the average america of $300,000 in lost income due to gas, utility bills and food reducing pocketbooks of families. foods costs are up 11%, largest increase in prices in 43 years. more specifically, a trip to the grocery store will see cost increases of flour and coffee 19%. milk up 17%. according to a new fox poll, the inflation is the largest issue facing american voters along with crime. we are preferring republicans to handle these issues. bide yen. god bless our troops who protect america on the global war of terrorism continues to moving from a safe haven in afghanistan. hame birthday senator tim scott of south carolina. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a message. the clerk: resolved, that the secretary of the senate be directed to request the house of representatives to return to the senate the bill senate 1198 entitled an act to amend title 38 united statescode to improve and expand the solid start program of the department of veterans affairs and for other purposes. signed sincerely da march just barry. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the request is requested. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, madam, this is to notify you you pursuant to rule 8 of the rules of the house of representatives that i, have been served with a subpoena for testimony should by the superior court of california, county of napa. after consultation with the office of general counsel i have determined that the compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the privileges of the house. myra caldorn, district representative. the speaker pro tempore: pursuan t to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the the yeas and nays are ordered or votes objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. the house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i move that the house suspend the rules and pass 1456 peace corps re-authorization act as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1456 a bill to amend the peace corps act to re-authorize the peace corps, better support and returned volunteers and for other purposes. pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski and the gentlewoman from missouri, mrs. wagner each will control 20 minutes. mr. malinowski: i ask that members may have five legislative days to include extraneous material on h.r. 1456 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection mr. malinowski: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized mr. malinowski: i rise in strong support of the peace corps re-authorization act and i thank mr. garamendi for offering this important bill. this week marks 671 years in which president kennedy signed the bill creating the peace corps into law with a mission of promoting world peace and friendship. the peace corps has fulfilled this vision and has evolved into a vital diplomatic tool for u.s. foreign policy. more than 240,000 americans have served as peace corps volunteers in 143 countries conducting people-to-people diplomacy and conducting themselves in the poorest sectors of the world. environment, health and community and economic development, from incorporating forever try in saddam yeah and -- zambia. there is no doubt the impact that the peace corps has had. in addition to changing the lives of people all over the world, the peace corps has shaped the next generation of american and foreign leaders by fostering cross-culture collaboration. after 61 years of success, we think it's time to further strengthen the global mission by providing additional resources to better the agency and support its volunteers. congress last authorized the peace corps in 1991. for this reason, the bill is timely and update to benefits for volunteers that is re-enrollment priority and health insurance, noncompetitive ell bibility for federal employment and updated workers' compensation. i want to thank chairman meeks and ranking member mccaul for moving this legislation forward in a bipartisan way. the bill will enhance the ability of the peace corps to make strong and strategic investments to meet the challenges of today and continue to be a transformative force for years to come. vote in support of this critical legislation and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentlelady from missouri is recognized. mrs. wagner: i rise in support of this bill and i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i want to thank mrr their bipartisan work on the peace corps re-authorization act. last year, the peace corps celebrated its 60th anniversary. the peace corps has played an important role in america's foreign assistance efforts. and i want to thank the volunteers who have given their time to work abroad. the peace corps faced many challenges during the pandemic but i am pleased that volunteers are finally returning to their important tasks overseas. as they return, volunteer safety must continue to be the agency's top priority. tragically, the null of volunteers reporting sexual assault during their service has risen. this is devastating and we must continue to hold the peace corps accountable for maximizing the safety and welfare of our volunteers. this bill reenforces and builds on key reforms made by congress in 2011, including extending the mandate of the sexual assault advisory council and expedites the re-enrollment rose for volunteers whose service was cut short by the pandemic and directs the peace corps to establish a zero tolerance policy on volunteer drug use. this bill is an important step toward exercising our oversight responsibilities and driving reforms that will protect the peace corps volunteers that we all represent. i reserve the balance of my i reserve the balance of my time. and yield back. the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker a. message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: mr. secretary. the secretary: i'm directed by the president of the united states to deliver r deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: i yield five minutes to the representative from california, representative garamendi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. garamendi: i thank you. mr. speaker, today i'm excited to join my colleagues as we consider the first re-authorization of the meas corps -- peace corps in two decades and celebrate the 61st anniversary of the establishment of this extraordinary american invention. this week we celebrate the anniversary of president john f. kennedy's signing of the peace corps act into law september 22, 1961. my wife and i began our careers in public service when we joined the peace corps. as young married graduates, fresh out of u.c. berkley. our post was to a remote village in western ethiopia. we taught the is eof seventh and eighth grades. make many americans of every age and background, we answered j.f.k.'s call to service. over the 60 years since the first volunteers arrived in liberia, more than 240,000 americans have served in 143 countries. their tasks were to assist in the economic and social development in those countries. j.f.k. gave the call to service, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. by 1962 the peace corps volunteers were in-country. they were bringing advanced agricultural production techniques. they were teaching, providing medical education and health care services. they were creating cooperatives. they were building roads. they were bringing every conceivable skill that every nation needed. when the soviet union collapsed, peace corps volunteers were asked by 13 newly independent states to come and bring the best of america with them. americans, young an old, with every skill arrived. since 1992, 3,552 american peace corps volunteers have served in ukraine. prior to the global covid-19 pandemic, peace corps volunteers served in 61 countries. for 60 years the benefits of these peace corps volunteers worked at home and abroad were undeniable. over the decades many members and form volunteers have had the honor of co-chairing the congressional peace corps caucus. i thank my co-chair, garret graves, as we lead congressional understanding and support for this essential element of america's international engagement. and also the indelible impact that the peace corps service has had on the lives of so many around the world and in our own country. the covid-19 pandemic shut down peace corps programs around the world. today the peace corps is diligently returning its volunteers to its essential work. the agency has set an ambitious goal of surpassing 10,000, 10,000 volunteers annually serving abroad. volunteers are now presently in 27 countries, and every month another country is restarting its program. my bill, the bipartisan peace corps re-authorization act of 2021, h.r. 1456, builds upon the sam farr, nick cass sell peace corps reform act of 2018 and the katie peuzy peace corps volunteer protection act of 2011. it does make many important reforms which have already been discussed here on the floor. i would only add that it does guarantee additional health insurance coverage for return volunteers immediately following their service and requires the peace corps to facilitate long-term public and private health insurance coverage opportunities for returned volunteers. as mentioned the workers' compensation rate is increased. in total this bill strengthens the protection of volunteers against reprisals or retaliation for reporting wrongdoing within the agency. and overseas. in total this bill would provide the necessary federal resources to support international programs, current and returning for former peace corps volunteers, by authorizing an annual appropriation of $430,500,0,000. this will inkrig rate the peace corps and ensure the work will continue and inspire people around the world for years to come. in 1961 president kennedy understood that the peace corps would quote, permit our people to exercise more fully their responsibilities in the great common cause of world peace. he set out three goals to paraphrase, first, unpack your bag. live and help meet the needs in your community. secondly, in your new community work to create a better understanding of america by being the real face of america. and thirdly, bring an understanding of the world back home. i can think of no matter way to honor -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. garamendi: can i think no better way -- mr. malinowski: i yield additional 30 seconds. mr. garamendi: can i think of no better way to honor j.f.k.'s vision than for this congress to pass the bipartisan peace corps re-authorization act. and advance the peace corps into the 21st century. i urge my colleagues to pass this important bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from new jersey roifts -- reserves. the in just a moment missouri is recognized. mrs. wagner: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: i'm prepared to close, no further requests for time. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. wagner: i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this bill in the more than two decades since the peace corps was last authorized. the agency and volunteers have done great work around the world on behalf of the american people. but the agency still has work to do. by building on key reforms as volunteers go back into the field, this legislation will ensure that the peace corps is prepared to meet the challenges of tomorrow. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. for the purpose of closing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. malinowski: h.r. 1456, the peace corps authorization act as amended would significantly upgrade the peace corps and bert support americans who are ready to serve their nation and make the world a better place. i also want to thank mr. garamendi for his service to the peace corps in ethiopia and for this bill. it's clear from mr. garamendi and from many other americans we all know how their peace corps service has transformed their lives and the lives of those with whom they volunteered. all of this has contributed to a stronger american image abroad, reaffirming our conviction in the ensuring value of the peace corps. i hope my colleagues will join me and support this bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1456. as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. rosendale: i request the yeas and nays, pleads. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. malinowski: i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 8453. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 8453, a bill to provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to foreign personses undermining the peace agreement or threatening the security of boz knea herzegovina, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski, the gentlewoman from missouri, mrs. wagner, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. malinowski: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 8453 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. malinowski: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. malinowski: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 845 3-rbgs upholding the dayton peace agreement through sanctions act. i would like to thank representatives wild and wagner for their dedicated efforts to introduce and move this important bill. memories and horrific consequences of the balkan wars of the 1990's are with us all. those of us who experienced that war in the reasonableon. those of us who worked on the ending of that war. i was one of those people. i was at the dayton peace conference in 1995 as a young state department staffer. and remember close we came to failure and the extraordinarily positive consequences of success. ending a war that claimed 200,000 lives. reaffirming the sentallity and importance -- centrality and keeping the peace in the trans-atlantic community. the fragile peace that we ushered in with the dayton accords was meant to leave the threats of ethnic nationalism. and demagoguery in the past. and to create a framework as imperfect as it was for a cooperation and ultimately the integration of those countries into european institutions. some of those young countries have done as we hoped. they successfully moved towards an integrated into the european union and dateo -- nato. some have struggled on that path but are still striving for a democratic and prosperous future. some of the problems that they still experience are internal, of their own making. others are coming from outside actors, particularly russia and china. who see an interest and an opportunity to keep these countries in chaos and limbo. in two weeks the people of bosnia will head to the polls in decisive election that is will determine their country's fate. however in the leadup and following the elections, there will be temptations to break away from the dayton accords and spirit of peace and partnership that they represent. the citizens of bosnia deserve better from their leadership. so this legislation, which the house committee on foreign affairs marked up in july, is designed to hold the bad actors holding bosnia back accountable and prevent others from hurting that country's chances to enjoy a free and democratic future. as we are learning from putin's cruel and unjustified war on the people and very idea of ukraine, peace and democracy are not guaranteed, but must be fostered and protected always. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentlelady from missouri is recognized. mrs. wagner: i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 8453, the upholding the dayton peace agreement through sanctions act. my bipartisan bill codifying key sanctions authorities that will help the united states stave off a serious crisis in bosnia and herzegovina. the country is headed into important general elections in just a few short weeks, on october 2. and time is running out to send a strong deterrent message to bad actors intent on destabilizing the country. bosnia's democratic institutions, its territorial integrity, even the office of the high representative, the independent body tasked with implementing the dayton accords, are all at risk. peace in bosnia came at a very steep price. those who would threaten the very foundations of the country must be held accountable. the wreck heless -- reckless cessationism and destabilizing actors of politicians like the serb member of the apartheid residency are extremely dangerous. the october elections could be a critical flash point. it worries me tremendously to see sesh and -- serb and could he yacht authorities and the putin regime working to roll back the progress bosnia has made. we have a we have a strong boss anyian community in my hometown, st. louis, most. they fled to the city during the 1992 and 1995 bosnian war and 100,000, 200,000 lost their lives. my constituents want to see their homeland prosper as a unified, sovereign and multi-ethnic state. i cannot imagine the heartache when dodic has the genocide committed by troops by or when he threatened to leave boss any a. these are offensive and profoundly dangerous. it is imperative that the unions wield our economic tool kit to deter to boss anyian sovereignty as the country navigates these challenges. this codifies and mandates key sanctions authorities to address the political crisis and corruption. ahead of the october general election, this bill sends a critical signal to local official to destabilizing and anti-democratic behavior and to russia for its destructive influence that the united states will hold them accountable. at this volatile moment, they need the united states house of representatives to stand in support of their peaceful democratic future. i appreciate the chair and ranking member's swift attention to this urgently needed bill that i have the great honor of putting forward. i would like to thank representative wild for working with me on this legislation. i want to urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 43 to uphold the date o'act. mr. malinowski: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mrs. wagner: i'm prepared to close and i yield myself as much time as i may consume. in closing, i would like to thank representative wild for working with me on this important legislation and as guarantor of the dayton peace agreement, the united states cannot stand by while they are threatened by destabilizing forces and russia's destructive influence. this legislation sends an unmistakable message to any actor that threatens the peace, security and stability or territorial integrity of bosnia. it is not ceased, he or she will be sanctioned. these sanctions will not be deliberated over but mandated. with the october elections less than a month away, the time for the u.s. house of representatives to act is now. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: i yield myself such time for the purpose of closing. h.r. 8453 upholding the dayton peace agreement through sanctions act to protect bosnia's free and democratic future from efforts to unravel the dayton accords. the progress made since the ball can wars of the 1990's must be preserved. efforts to provoke tensions will not be tolerated by the united states. russia's war of choice in ukraine has showed us the consequences of a land war in europe in the 21st century. we cannot allow anything remotely something to happen in the balkans. i thank my colleagues representatives wild and wagner for introducing h.r. 8453 and join us in supporting this bill. i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is will the house pass the bill h.r. 8453 as amended. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- the gentleman from montana. mr. rosendale: i request the yeas and nays, please. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. malinowski: i move the house suspend the rules and pass corruption overthrowing rule of law and ruining putin's trifecta or corrupt act. the clerk: h.r. 6846 a bill to require sanctions with human rights abusers pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski and the gentlewoman from missouri, mrs. wagner, each will control 20 minutes. mr. malinowski: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 6846. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized mr. malinowski: i rise today in support of 6846 corruption overthrowing rule of law and ruining and putin's trifecta act. we worked hard on that. i want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. this was a bipartisan effort, representatives curtis, kinzinger, salazar and joe wilson, you led this bill with me when putin's invasion kicked off. i have seen tremendous bipartisan unity over the last six months to ensure ukraine's brave people have all of the military hardware and economic support that they need. i would like to remind us why we are advancing the corrupt act today. we are passing this bill today because of the death and destruction in ukraine. right here you see a picture from the village of butra. ukranians found mass graves of hundreds including many civilians with hands tied behind their backs. the associated press said 1, 300 bodies have been found in this one location and as the ukranian military and retakes more of its territory from the russians, more such evidence of massacres is coming to light. we are here because this is a moral outrage, because this is evil and we are here because we understand the people of ukraine are not just fighting for their country but fighting for ours. not just fighting for their freedom and security, but fighting for ours. but fighting for the idea that in the 21st century no country can change borders with tanks, no leader can seek power through murder. these are principles that protect everybody in the world, including the people of the united states. and with this bill, we are sending another clear bipartisan signal that congress supports president biden's unprecedented sanctions against putin's regime and continue to push against key enablers of putin's oppression until ukraine is free. we have a list of nearly 200 key cronies of putin identified by brave russian democracy activists. these are the people that keep people putin in power and must not continue to invest from condos, properties, planes, yachts held in the west. i want to use this opportunity, putin's senseless invasion started with his cruel repression inside russia. the first victims were inside russia, brave russians who stood up for democracy. right here you see a picture of a dear friend of mine, a brave russian hero. putin tried to poison him twice. and he survives. he openly calls for democracy and freedom in russia. so, you don't get to the war crimes in butra without this. so this is why the u.s. congress is going to continue to push targeted sanctions against cronies of putin and fueling the horrific war in ukraine because it's the same people responsible for both of these crimes. because we believe it's what's best for the ukranian people and the russian people and for the united states. i would like to use his own words to make that point. he said that the bill we passed years ago to facilitate the sanctions against corrupt and repressive cronies of the putin regime is the most pro-russian law. nothing can send a chill down the backs of putin's enablers that not even the kremlin with its oil money will be able to guarantee their ill gotten gains. as we continue to freeze the assets of corrupt officials and leaders, we must face the fact that many of their con dos and villas and investment accounts and trusts remain hidden right here in the united states because of loopholes in our own laws. i'm going to continue to push with the same congressional leaders who have supported the corrupt act, the bill we are passing today. representatives salazar, joe wilson, steve cohen, spanberger and richard hudson to include the house enablers' act in this year's ndaa and will ensure putin's cronies as well as ven waila and chinese communist party officials that these dictators can no longer hide their money and earn interest here in new jersey, in florida and across america. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from missouri is now recognized. mrs. wagner: i rise in support of this bill and i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, without question, the horrific and illegal war russia is waging against the people of ukraine is putin's war. putin's regime and by extension, his barbaric behavior in ukraine are shamelessly supported by too many russian military officials, lawmakers, oligarchs and propose begannists who have yet to face u.s. sanctions. these supporters of putin's war of aggression should not be able to step foot in the united states of america. they should not be able to enjoy their ill-gotten wealth here or buy expensive homes here and not be able to send their children to school here. failing to act would be a great disservice to the victims of putin's depravity not just in ukraine but in the kremlin as well. at the outset of the invasion, putin signed a ludicrous law mandating sentences of up to 15 years for telling the truth about his war in ukraine. in russia, calling it a war and not a special operation is illegal. questioning the wisdom of his unjustifiable war is illegal. vladimir still sits behind bars in russia as political prisoner. this bill calls on the administration to make a sanctions determination for nearly 200 russians linked to the regime pervasive violations. these names were compiled by a team of investigators organized by jailed politician alexinevalny. and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill to send a strong signal to putin's regime and all his cronies that they will be held accountable for backing the regime's crimes at home and abroad. i reserve the balance of my time. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from missouri is recognized. mrs. wagner: i'm prepared to close, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: so recognized. mrs. wagner: mr. speaker, in the months leading up to february 24 many of us called for the biden administration to impose severe sanctions before, let me underscore, before the russian troops amassing on ukraine's border invaded. these sanctions, we argued, would make crystal clear to putin and his cronies they would be held accountable for launching this renewed invasion. up fortunately, the administration chose not to heed this warning, sacrificing a final opportunity to deter the war raging today. while the administration has since worked with allies and partners to cut off funding to putin's war machine, it can cannot rest in its efforts to target all those in russia complicit in the kremlin's crimes at home and abroad. thus, i urge all my colleagues to support this bill to ensure putin's enablers face real consequences. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: i yield myself such time as i may consume. for the purpose of closing. the speaker pro tempore: so recognized. mr. malinowski: h.r. 6846, the -- with this bill with the corrupt act we stand in bipartisan solidarity with the ukrainian people and with the many people in russia who oppose this war, who believe that putin's regime is as destructive to their country as it is to the rest of the world. we are saying with passing this bill, the united states is absolutely committed to tracking down the dirty money that props up putin's repression, his brutal criminal war in ukraine, and hopefully as we scour the world to seize the yachts and properties and bank accounts of these people we will be able to put the proceeds of that wealth to good use to help rebuild the country that putin is destroying. i hope my colleagues will join me in supporting the bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6846, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. rosendale: thank you, mr. speaker. i request the yeas and nays, please. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski, seek recognition? mr. malinowski: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass s.3895, the united states commission on international roodges freedom re-authorization act of 2022. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3895, an act to extend and authorize annual appropriations for the united states commission on international religious freedom through fiscal year 2024. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski, and the other the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski. mr. malinowski: who decides who the other gentleman is? i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on s.3895. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. malinowski: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. malinowski: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of united states commission on international religious freedom re-authorization act of 2022. i thank our senate colleagues and mr. smith and ms. eshoo for their leadership in advancing this important measure. in mr. smith's case his leadership over many, many years in advancing the cause of religious freedom across the world. since 1998, uscirf has served as the leading advisory panel to the u.s. government on matters related to religious freedom. it's responsible for monitoring the right to freedom of religion or belief abroad and making policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state, and to us. the past several uscirf have been bipartisan, fateful to the original mandate established by congress. mr. speaker, the right to practice a religion or practice no religion is a fundamental human right. principle of religious liberty should extend to all people. not only one who is come from a specific set of religious beliefs. as respect for democracy and human rights continuings -- continues to be under stress in many parts of the world, the work of eu serve and other human rights groups to shine a light on restrictions of religious freedom is more important. i thank chairman meeks and ranking member mccaul for moving this legislation forward in a bipartisan way. the bill will enhance the commission's ability to continue its important work promoting religious freedom and highlight those countries around the world that have to do better. i strongly urge all members to vote in support of the bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the bill s.3895. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i lost my good friend and colleague, anna eshoo, we have worked together on many religious freedom issues over the many years, have introduced the house companion bill to the senate bill before us to re-authorize the u.s. commission on international religious freedom. it is both timely and essential that we pass this legislation. timely because the authorization runs out at the end of this month. and essential because the cause of religious freedom is under sustained and escalating threat around the globe. particularly in the world's remaining communistic dictatorships from cuba, vietnam, north korea, iran, and the large he pressure of religious freedom in the world today, the people's republic of china under xi ping. just today we see the great defender of religious lynnert, 90-year-old cardinal joseph zen, has been put on trial in hong kong, a city state which once was a bastion of freedom but which now has buckled to the dictates of jing ping and the chinese communist party. all of us here in congress anti-white house need to raise our voices in defefns cardinal zen. we also need to add to that also of oppressors nicaragua where commandant ortega has rear established his an da kneesa dictatorship and wage ago war against the catholic church, the one institution which consistently stood up for freedom throughout ortega's tenure of abuse. i met with ortega in 1984 on a human rights trip with tony hall and frank wolf. the man is back. he's been back for a number of years. and his proclivity towards dictatorial rule, imprisoning the very people who run against him. i held a hearing earlier this year with the wives of two, two of the opponents for him in the general election. what does he do? it was with their wives. they were very articulate, very passionate. very courageous in speaking out for their husbands. ortega says i don't like what you're doing. i don't like you're running against me so he throws them in prison. they are still there. his repression of the church has reached new lows as we speak. uscirif, mr. speaker, also calls attention to other issues around the world. including whether are you a christian or muslim, you happen to be jewish or happen to be a member of a lesser known faith such as the baha'i. uscir236789's reports, read them, they are fakd filled. persuasive. they are based on all kinds of investigations. the n.g.o.'s, human rights n.g.o.'s feed into them information about what's going on. they talk to the state department. they are a good check on the state department in terms of getting it right. that is particularly true when it comes to designating certain countries to be c.p.c. countries. countries of particular concern. unfortunately the state department has a less than stellar record of picking and choosing and giving passing grades artificially to some countries that ought to be on the c.p.c. designation which is the worst violator and therefore susceptible to sanctioning by the united states government. this just happened with regards to nigeria where uscirf laiblgd them a top tier violator of religious freedom while the state department gave it an unwarranted upgrade right before the secretary of state went to meet with the president there. we should have said, mr. president, this is the president of nigeria, you've got to clean up your act. the killing of christians, of churches, houses of worship, has to come to an end. some of it he can't stop. much of it -- response could be far better. unfortunately there is serious allegations of aiding and abetting, particularly with the killing of christians. i also point out to my colleagues that the -- the chairman, the president of the uscirf he spent time -- he was born of all places in a chinese detention center. during the culture revolution. he's been a leader on behalf of the uighurs who as we all know as my colleagues on both sides of the aisle know, we all know it, they are creating genocide. now we have walking point of uscirf, a man born in a detention center and he has been articulate, strong, and just last week when the china commission, which i serve as ranking member, when he testified he just hit it out of the park in terms of good factual information, persuasive what next to do with regards to that genocide and other concerns of all religious faiths that are being oppressed by the chinese communist party. i would end by saying that it is the -- this great commission that keeps speaking out so boldly about the all religions in china, that means they comport with the ideology, whether you are catholic, protestant, buddhists, uighurs, there they are breathing down your neck and putting people into prisons if they do not adhere and support with the mandates. frank wolf is now a member of the commission. i congratulate him on that. here's the guy that wrote the law in 1998, the international relation freedom act of 1998. we had real opposition to it. i was one of his co-sponsors. i put together a number of hearings in my committee where the bill first originated. it was frank who was absolute champion. we named the 2016 act after him to honor the champion work that -- the life changing work across the globe. thank you, frank, for your tenacious defense of religious freedom of all people. uscirf needs re-authorized. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield or reserves? the gentleman reserves. the other the gentleman from new jersey now recognized. mr. malinowski: the other gentleman reserves. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. smith: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman from new jersey yields. the gentleman from prepared to close? mr. malinowski: yes. i yield myself such time as i may consume. for the purpose of closing. mr. speaker, s.3895, the uscirf re-authorization act is critically needed to ensure that our country maintains the tools we need to stand up for human rights and in particular religious freedom around the world. i want to thank my friend from new jersey, once again, for encouraging us to move on this and really for being the conscious of the house on these issues for so many years. i remember many times testifying before you back in the day. and i'm glad that you are still reminding us that this is some of the most important work that we can do. i hope my colleagues will join me and support the bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 3895. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair -- for what purpose does the gentleman from montana rise? mr. rosendale: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. yeas and nays are ordered pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. malinowski: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 7238, the read act as amended. the clerk: h.r. 7240, a bill to re-authorize the read act pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. mr. malinowski: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 7240 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection mr. malinowski: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in support of h.r. 7240, the re-authorization of the re-enforcing accountability, the read act. i thank representative bass and representative smith for their leadership on this legislation and i want to acknowledge former appropriations chairwoman lowey for championing basic education programs in the house. the read act is one piece of her great legacy. this re-authorizes the read act for another five years continuing our country's leadership in expanding basic education for kids around the world. as chairwoman lowey would say, education is one of the debatest force multipliers. every dollar we spend is an investment in their future and in a more peaceful and prosperous world. since the read act was signed into law in 2017, we have made significant progress in responding to the needs of our partner countries to improve to strengthen education systems and expand access to safe learning and promote education. despite this progress, the read act and our basic education programs remain critical. in the face of profound learning loss everywhere due to the covid-19 poon. an estimated of 70% of 10-year-olds unable to understand a simple written text up from 56%. according to the world bank, this generation of students now risks losing $21 trillion in potential lifetime earnings with the equivalent of 17% of the world's g.d.p. millions of kids around the world remain out of school. children need a quality education, whether in bethesda or nairobi. investing taxpayer dollars is not just charity but in our collective interest. we authorize in the read act, a step towards maintaining u.s. leadership in accord cheffing this goal and i urge my colleagues to support its passage through the house. and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr.smith: i rise in support of the read act and yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i want to thank karen bass for championing this effort. i am proud to be the republican lead on this bill. there are 50-plus co-sponsors on it and it's a bipartisan bill that seeks to encourage and strengthen our efforts at education overseas. investment in basic education, mr. speaker, is an investment in prosperity and security and the communities and that applies at home and abroad. without the opportunity to attend school to learn to read and write, children around the world are falling behind and more vulnerable to extremism and to violence and to exploitation. when i was chairman of the committee, a number of hearings about this challenge of helping these children so they can have good lives, and care for their families and is well read and well positioned in their communities as humanly possible. and the united states is a leader in this sector. the united states provides 950 million to partner countries to support basic education around the world and making investments in improving access, quality and teacher training. while important gains have been made, covid-19 had a devastating impact on learners both in the united states and around the world. we know that from our own work within our own constituencies. u.s. basic education programs in 2021, 24 million additional students were at risk of dropping out of school and 22 million more girls and young women were at risk of forced marriages as a result of this and that's according to the most data. and nine million children were at risk of child labor all because of the impacts of covid. we need to do a hurry-up offense to get back to a better regimen of training and teaching. despite these challenges, the u.s. government efforts to support basic education programs did reach 33.4 learners in 73 countries around the world and i am proud of the united states' efforts to invest in future generations and it was a credit to our taxpayers that they are supportive of this as well as this congress on both sides of the aisle. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: i reserve. mr.smith: we have no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentleman from new jersey yields. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: this gentleman yields himself as much time as he may consume. h.r. 7240, re-authorization of the reenforcing, read act comes at a critical time. despite the progress we have made towards expanding access to education around the world, covid-19 has set us back in low and middle-income countries. the bill will ensure every child has access to education and confident that every dollar invested in this cause returns dividends by way of global economic growth and stability. once again, i thank my colleagues representatives bass for introducing this bill and smith, both for their leadership in advancing this critical re-authorization and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 7240 as amended. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- for what purpose the gentleman from montana rise? mr. rosendale: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. seeing a sufficient number having risen, yeas and nays are ordered pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, further questions on this will be postponed. mr. malinowski: i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 8503 the securing global telecommunications act as amended. the clerk: h.r. 8503, a bill to require the development of a strategy to promote the use of secure telecommunications infrastructure worldwide and for other purposes pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. mall innow ky and the gentleman from new jersey mr. smith each quill control 20 minutes. mr. malinowski: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 8503. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise today in support of h.r. 850 # the securing grope telecommunications a.m. introduced by representatives manning and kim. the international telecommunications and the union organization that overseas telecom issues will have it four times. among the elections to be held during this time, there will be an election to decide who will lead the agency as secretary general. the current secretary general is a chinese national who used his position to bolster the p.r.c.'s interest. the election is between an american and a russian national. the russians and chinese have consistently staked out positions on internet governance that would make the communications sector more friendly for authoritarian governments such as them, governments that want to crack down on human rights, freedom of speech and expression. this bill is an answer that stakes out a better telecommunications future and calls on a strategy to promote american and economic interests in 5g and lower orbit and bill positions the united states to lead on global telecommunications issues and requires the administration to increase reporting and transparency on russian and p.r.c. activities. this information will help us better coordinate it with like-minded democracies on digital and internet freedom. i urge my colleagues to join us in supporting the bill. with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr.smith: i rise in strong support of h.r. 8503 and i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i am pleased to support this bill introduced by two of our colleagues congresswoman kathy manning and congresswoman young kim. the chinese communist party does not hide the fact that its end call is to replace democracy with communist and dictatorship and to spread their influence. it seeks to spread that influence by dominating the international standard setting body that set the rules for the road for emerging technologies. to skew those standard agencies towards their industries. this bill seeks to bolster u.s. efforts that are underway but i think it takes it further to promote secure telecommunications infrastructure around the world and requires that the u.s. department of state submit a report on the chinese and russian efforts to advance their interests at international standard-setting bodies as my colleague pointed out like the international telecommunications union and to identify dunts for multi lateral collaboration to most secure telecom providers. it codifies the international digital, economic advisory committee with the state department created to provide expert advice on the policy bureau on matters. it is a good bill and i urge its support and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: i yield five minutes to the representative from north carolina, ms. m ms. manning. >> i thank my congresswoman young kim for partnering with me. i rise today in support of my securing global telecommunications act, a bipartisan bill i introduced to help combat china's attempts to dominate the next generation of critical technology. mr. speaker, many of the products we use every day are connected to telecommunications networks and rely on invisible set of agreed-upon standards. our competitors russia and china want to gain unfair advantage over these areas. they are determined to set the rules of the road for the next generation of critical technologies like 5g and ai. and they are relentless to have an unfair advantage while shutting out all competitors. this is not just about helping their businesses win but to on control, which poses consequences for the u.s. and global security. that is because the p.r.c. has demonstrated its willingness to abuse technology to steal data and conduct surveillance and evade policy to their political agenda and bolster a model of an authoritarian system of governance. the united states and its allies must counter this threat. we need to develop more secure and better trusted telecommunications infrastructure. my bipartisan bill will help do just first, the bill will require a comprehensive strategy for securing telecommunications worldwide, incorporating mobile networks, data centers and emerging technologies like leo satellites and 6-g. we can't afford to be complacent about this challenge. we must have a cohesive strategy to address this issue. this bill will also help crack down on russia and china's influence at the i.t.u., a little known but incredibly important u.n. organization that could determine the standards behind the future of the digital world. it is vital that america and allied countries are in the room , at the table and leading the charge to set the next generation technology standards. finally, the bill would encourage the u.s. to work closely with our allies and partner to promote and finance secure networks and trusted vendors without having to rely on chinese state-owned companies that threaten our security. taken together, these important measures will help us shore up key gaps and vulnerabilities while countering the strategic ambitions. mr. speaker, our adversaries hope and believe they can achieve undo influence and dominance over international telecom infrastructure and technological standards. this bill is a step towards stopping their unfettered aggression in an area that is a vital strategic importance. it will help preserve our global leadership in tech and telecom, keep our companies competitive, and protect the safety and integrity of the networks we rely on every day. once again, i thank chairman meeks for his leadership in this area. i urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the gentleman still reserves? mr. malinowski: i reserve, yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has the only time -- only amount of time remaining. mr. malinowski: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. malinowski: mr. speaker, h.r. 8503, the securing global telecommunications act is important legislation that will position our country to be a leader in the telecommunications future. it will ensure the u.s. government is taking steps to shore up our digital infrastructure here at home and coordinate with like-minded democracies as we work to thwart russia and the p.r.c.'s malign efforts to crack down on dissent and freedom of expression. i again thank my colleagues, representatives manning and kim for introducing it. i hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill and yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 8503, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. rosendale: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. malinowski: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 8520, the countering untrusted telecommunications acupuncture, as amend -- act, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 8520, a bill to establish certain reporting and other requirements relating to the telecommunications equipment and services produced or provided by certain entities, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski. mr. malinowski: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 8520. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. malinowski: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. malinowski: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 8520, the countering untrusted telecommunications act. imagine the following -- senior official for a nato ally of the united states transmits a vital national security matter to his country's em-bassey here in washington. but before the call even reaches the em-bassey, it's -- em-bassey, it's intercepted -- embassey, it's intercepted to beijing even before we hear the message. threats like this are very real and on the rise. even here in the united states, intelligence and defense officials are concerned that telecommunications equipped made by the company huawei, could capture information. many of our partners and allies have all of their major cell phone network backed by unsecure equipment giving them back door access to our communications. many countries have mutual defense treaties with the united states. the countering untrusted telecommunications act would be a trushl tool to address the security -- crucial tool to address the security issues. it would require the state department is making sure we don't have unsafe equipment in embassies around the world. and it would look at all the telecommunications with which we have a treaty. it offers our state department to offer support for telecommunications projects and pushes our u.s. trade and development agency to finance important projects in this area. finally, it requires mobile network operators listed on american stock exchanges to disclose whether they have huawei, z.t.e. or other unsafe equipment in their networks. many fail to disclose this information despite existing sanctions against huawei. this provision will be beneficial for our national security but also crucial for investors and shareholders in these companies. i want to thank representatives wild and wagner for their important work on this bill and urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting it. with that i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i rise in support of this bill and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, the countering untrusted telecommunications abroad act requires the state department to conduct a report on the presence and risks posed by any chinese telecommunications vendors like huawei or z.t.e. in the networks of defense allied countries. and it requires the government accountability office or g.a.o. to report on chinese or russian telecom suppliers. it tasks the state department to strengthen u.s. national security and help those countries who are being serviced by chinese vendors to have capacity to replacing those vendors. i would hope by now most u.s. officials understand the threats to u.s. national security posed by tech companies controlled by the chinese communist party like huawei. but we must also ensure that our allies and partners are not duped by the seemingly low cost of telecom services provided by state-backed countries. while seemingly cheap, the real cost lies in giving the c.c.p. control overall of their telecommunications data, which they will use to spread further their malign influence globally. so i support the bill strongly and yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from new jersey reserves -- rather -- is now recognized. mr. malinowski: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has the only one with time remaining. mr. malinowski: well, then i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. malinowski: mr. speaker, h.r. 8520, the countering untrusted telecommunications act is an important initiative in finding and addressing american vulnerabilities to cyber, spying, andess peenage, particularly in our communications with our partners and allies whose unsecured networks may provide back door access to these increasing threats. i once again thank representatives wild and wagner for their tremendous work in advancing the bill and their commitment to protecting our national security from cyber and security threats. i hope my colleagues will join us in supporting this bill and yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 8520, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- for what purpose does the gentleman from montana rise? mr. rosendale: thank you, mr. speaker. i request the yeas and nays, please. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. malinowski: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 8339 -- 7338, the russia cryptocurrency transparency act, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 7338, a bill to require congressional notification prior to payments of department of state rewards using cryptocurrencies, authorize the appointment of a director of digital currency security in the office of economic sanctions policy and implementation of the department of state, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski. mr. malinowski: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 7338, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. malinowski: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. malinowski: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 7338, the russia cryptocurrency transparency act, introduced by the chairman and ranking member of the house foreign affairs committee, representatives meeks and mccaul. also want to acknowledge chairwoman waters of the financial services committee who's been deeply engaged on cryptocurrency issues for years and has shown such tremendous leadership on the topic. russia's illegal, immoral, indefensible envision of ukraine has placed renewed focus on how the putin regime evades sanctions and continues to fund itself. one answer is cryptocurrency. virtually unregulated globally, cryptocurrency technology has increasingly become a tool for people seeking to avoid financial sanctions. while there are legitimate and responsible companies that police their platforms and products, there are also products like cryptocurrency tumblers that have little or no value to society other than helping people evade sanctions and launder money. at the same time, the people of ukraine have demonstrated the potential value of cryptocurrency. some refugees, for example, have found it's a particularly useful way to conduct cross-border transactions and the sale of nonfundable token has been used to support ukraine and its people. balancing these tradeoffs are not easy but chairman meeks' bill, i believe, strikes the right balance. it will provide necessary transparency and information about these practices to ensure that our foreign policy is up to the challenge of adapting to this new technology. i strongly support the measure, urge all of my colleagues to do the same, and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentleman also have new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. chair. i rise in support of the russia cryptocurrency transparency act, h.r. 7338, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. this bipartisan legislation authored by chairman meeks and ranking member mccaul would exercise oversight of the state department's use of cryptocurrency as part of its rewards program as well as measures to improve the efficacy and enforcement of u.s. sanctions against russia. emerging technologies like block chain, the foundation for many cryptocurrencies, offer immense opportunities. for example, people around the world sent aid using cryptocurrency to those fleeing russia's full-scale, barbaric invasion of ukraine. however, this bill will ensure the u.s. is taking the necessary steps to prevent these emerging technologies from undermining sanctions, including those currently aimed at bankrupting putin's war machine. while the rise of digital assets like cryptocurrency promise innovative financial opportunity, digital assets could be ripe for abuse as russia seeks to evade the unprecedented sanctions the united states and europe have imposed for vladimir putin's brutal war of choice on ukraine. . mr. malinowski: i thank the bipartisan group of members, including you and encourage my colleagues to support it. mr.smith: mr. hill is author of this legislation and he served under george herbert walker bush as deputy assistant secretary of treasury and special assistant for economic policy and he brings a wealth of knowledge and information that we are blessed to have here in this house and i yield to him such time as he may consume. mr. hill: i thank my two friends for managing the floor and thank mr. boyle for working with me on this important legislation and i do rise in support of h.r. 6265, captagon act and i appreciate chairman meeks and ranking member mccaul getting this legislation through the committee and to the house floor and congressman boyle and i worked collectively on this over the past year and i appreciate his leadership on our friends of syria caucus. the decade of destruction and deteriorating human rights in syria is well known. but just look at the poster next to me for the headlines coming out of the region as it relates to this poisonous drug. in committing war crimes, the assad regime is now becoming a narco state. narcotic production and production in syria has become more expansive and more widespread. the current epicenter of the drug trade is intertower controlled by assad's regime and this has been well known for two years. last week, the state department and white house failed to include syria in their required determinations of major drug transits and major drug-producing countries. i ask unanimous consent to insert in the record a letter from this july from senator robert marshall and representative brendan boyle and myself to secretary blinken asked that syria be added. the speaker pro tempore: without objection mr. hill: this tracks what the administration diplomacy disconnect from our american values. first earlier this year staterred and did not include nigeria leaving them off as a country of particular concern for religious freedom and now syria is left as a major drug-producing country. this bill is so crit and important. we need government approach. and captagon has reached europe and only a matter of time that it reaches our shores. if we do not work with our like-minded partners to hinder the narcotics' trade and replace it with a working system of institutions that serve the syrian people, then assad will add drug kingpin as a leading mass murderer. i urge my colleagues to support this important bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman yields back the balance of his time mr.smith: i yield myself such time as i may consume. and i thank french hill for authoring this important piece of legislation and mandates an interagency strategy to respond to the captagon drug trade. captagon is a highly addicted drug that is becoming the most widely used drug in the middle east. captagon poses to the stability in the region and to individual human lives, the lack of resources to address its proliferation is alarming. in addition to this drug trade creating a crisis along jordan's border, the murderous assad regime is involve in captagon trafficking. these funds that fuels assad's war on the sir yarn people. and the administration is clearly not doing enough as was pointed out by french hill to focus on this threat, which is why we need this bill to admonish the administration, to force the administration, the executive branch, to acknowledge this problem and to respond to it. the captagon act will ensure we are stabilizing this drug trade that is bank rolling one of our greatest tyrants of all time. i yield back. >> i'm prepared to close. i thank my colleagues representatives french hill and boyle for introducing this critical legislation and i hope all of our colleagues will join us and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6265. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. malinowski: i move that the house suspend the rules and urge the european union to designate hezbollah as a terrorist organization as amended. the clerk: house resolution 558, resolution urging the european union to designate hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. malinowski and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes mr. malinowski. mr. malinowski: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to include extraneous material. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise today in support of h.r. 558, urging the european union to designate hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. i would like to thank my dear friend, ted deutch, the chairman of our subcommittee on the middle east, north africa and global counterterrorism for re-introducing this important legislation which previously did pass the house in the 115th congress. when ted departs our foreign affairs committee in october, we are all going to miss his voice, particularly on issues regarding the middle east and his tireless advocacy and defense of american interests and those of our allies around the world. now despite all we know about hezbollah, a murderous terrorist organization that also serves as iranian proxy in the region, our friends and partners in the european union only includes its military branch not its political branch. the government in the united states makes no distinction and includes hezbollah in its entirety on the u.s. foreign terrorist organization list because we know they are one and the same. the european union is long overdue in coming to the same realization. congress is pleased that many individual european countries have acted. the arab league and gulf cooperation council have designated hezbollah in its entirety. so it remains troubling that the i.u., the organization that shares so many of our values and interests and policy goals continues hezbollah's political wing to operate freely. i urge all my colleagues to support this important resolution and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr.smith: i rise in support of the resolution and i yield myself such time as i may consume. i would like to thank my good friend and colleague, ted deutch, for not only introducing this important resolution but tremendous work during his tenure in the house particularly combatting anti-semitism. no better friend to the jewish community that is here under siege here in the united states and around the world than ted deutch. he co-chaired the anti-semitism task force. and he is leaving on october 1 to head up the american jewish committee, a.j.c. what is their gain is our loss because he has brought character and leadership to this congress and he will be deeply missed and i thank you for his very strong voice. . this can only take place once hezbollah as a terrorist organization in its entirety and hezbollah political and military wings against providing lead coe financing terrorism through its political branch. there is no distinction between hezbollah's political and military wings. both serve the same ugly, maligned agenda that steeks undermine the stability of the lebanese state, prop up the murderous dictatorship of bashir al-assad, and threaten israel's security. i welcome the recent steps taken by germany and others to designate hezbollah in full as a terrorist organization and all of the european union needs to do likewise. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the representative from north carolina, ms. manning. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. manning: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my friend, representative malinowski, for yielding. i also want to thank my dear friend and colleague, congressman ted deutch, for his tremendous leadership on this and so many issues as the chairman of the subcommittee on middle east, north africa and global counterterrorism. it is a privilege to serve with him. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.res. 558, a bipartisan resolution i was proud to help introduce with chairman deutch, urging the european union to designate hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. the iranianbacked -- iranian-backed terrorist group, hezbollah, is guilty of thousands of death. hezbollah had killed more americans than any other terrorist group before 9/11 and today it maintains an arsenal of 150,000 rockets aimed at israel. just this past week, hezbollah's leader issued a series of grave threats and provocations against israel, claiming its missiles are locked on an israeli offshore gas field, which israel seeks to develop to export much-needed energy supplies to europe. this is another reminder of why it is inexre henceble that any e. -- incomprehensible that any e.u. member can assert a distinction between hezbollah's so-called military and political wings. the truth is there is one unified hezbollah, it is dedicated to carrying out terrorist activities around the world. that is why this bipartisan resolution calls on our partners in the e.u. to take a stronger stand against worldwide terrorism by designating hezbollah as a whole as a terrorist organization. we must continue to keep pressure on hezbollah and to all other terrorist groups that threaten the united states and our ally israel and undermine peace, security and stability throughout the region. i urge support for this bipartisan measure. i thank chairman deutch for his steadfast leadership on this important issue, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized, mr. smith. mr. smith: we have no further requests. i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: i yield six minutes to the representative from florida, mr. deutch. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from, my friend from florida, is now recognized. mr. deutch: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my good friend, mr. malinowski, for yielding. and for his friendship and leadership and kind words. i thank my friend -- my other friend from new jersey, so many friends from new jersey, for your leadership, mr. smith, and for your kind words, i thank ms. both her leadership and kind words. i rise today in support of house resolution 558, which urges the european union to designate hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. mr. speaker, this is hezbollah. hezbollah that bombed the u.s. embassy in beirut, the u.s. and french marine barracks in beirut, the israeli embassy in buenos aires, the jewish center of buenos aires, bombed towers in saudi arabia and has, as ms. manning pointed out, over 150,000 rockets pointed at israeli civilians. first, i'd like to thank chairman meeks and ranking memberman call for their leadership -- member mccaul for their leadership on the committee and for bringing this resolution to the floor today. i also want to extend my gratitude to my good friend from florida, mr. bilirakis, for partnering with me on this resolution. and to ranking member joe wilson for his leadership on the subcommittee, for his commitment to working with me on this and a host of so many other critical issues. issues critical to america's security. i would also like to take this moment on the house floor to thank my foreign affairs staff, sophie, professional staff member, jack, and of course casey, our former staff director. mr. speaker, 10 years ago a hezbollah suicide bomber blew up a bus in bulgaria. on that bus were 42 israeli tourists, mostly young people. on that day hezbollah ended five lives, injured 32 others. in 2013, almost exactly one year later, the european union took action to designate hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization. but the inadvertent result of this designation was that a false distinction was made. a false distinction between hezbollah's military and political wings. let me be clear. there are no different branches of hezbollah. it is in its entirety a terrorist organization. you don't need to take my word for this. the united states government makes no distinction between the organization's branches and includes hezbollah in its entirety on the u.s. foreign terrorist organization list. but you also don't need to take our government's word for it or the word of germany or israel or guatemala, argentina, the united kingdom or the many other countries who have designated all of hezbollah, rightfully, as a terrorist organization. take hezbollah's word for it. one of their own representatives in the lebanese parliament ex priftly said and i -- explicitly said, and i quote, the military wing of hezbollah is inseparable from its political wing. closed quote. it is a fact that hezbollah is one unified terrorist organization, an organization that with support from the iranian regime has carried out horrific terror attacks around the globe and has continued to spread violence and terror throughout the middle east. it is an iranian terror proximatey, the same iranian regime whose president last night on american television deemed the reality of the holocaust -- denied it -- deemed it false. denied the reality of the holocaust and denied israel's very right to exist. iran-backed hezbollah consistently threatens israel and its citizens with drones, missile, threats of invasion and undermines stability and economic opportunity in lebanon. what's more, the organization supports the brutal assad regime and is complicit in its murder of more than half a million people from the ongoing conflict in syria. the facts are clear. around the world hezbollah should be designated as a terrorist organization. in its entirety. that's why i stand in support of this resolution. as global partners of the united states and key players in the international rules-based order, the e.u. must designate all of hezbollah a terrorist organization so we can increase global cooperation to isolate and dismantle the group. now, i recognize there are legal concerns from our european friends that designate all of hezbollah as a terrorist organization, could prevent support for the lebanese people. as hezbollah has infiltrated the country's political system. but the e.u. rightfully recognizes hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organization, despite the fact that hamas operates as a political party in gaza. this is not impacting the e.u.'s ability to support gaza's reconstruction, just as designating hezbollah as a whole would not prevent the e.u. from supporting the needs of the people of lebanon. and the refugees inside lebanon. it's time for the e.u. to fix this false distinction once and for all and the global momentum is on our side. in 2016 the gulf corporation council and the arab league both designated hezbollah as a terrorist organization with no distinction between its political and military wings. despite lebanon being a member of the arab league, the e.u. should take note of that, a full e.u. designation now would demonstrate europe's commitment to cracking down on iran's use of proxy terrorist groups, destable iegz the region and attacking -- destabilizing the region and attacking our shared priorities this. resolution sends an important meang to our european allies -- message to our european allies. more must and can be done to call hezbollah a terrorist organization in its entirety that's committed to the destruction of our ally, israel, continues to undermine the values and interests of both the united states and europe, it's time for the e.u. to join us in designating hezbollah in its entirety. a nearly identical measure passed this house in 2017 by a voice vote. and as i conclude, if i may have an additional 90 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional 90 seconds. mr. deutch: thank you, mr. speaker. i came to congress in april, 2010, committed to standing up to iran's malign activities and support for hezbollah is a prime example and as i prepare to conclude my time in this chamber, i urge my colleagues to continue to unite the world against iran's terror proxies, to boldly tax action to ensure iran never has nuclear weapons, never forgets that the u.s. will always stand against its human rights violations, against its support for terror, against its anti-semitism, against its calls for israel's destruction, against its unilateral -- its unlawful detention of americans, and refuses to bring closure to the family of bob levinson, my colleagues, we must continue to stand up to iran's aggression. today's vote is a vote to urge our european allies to designate all of hezbollah what it is, an iran-backed terror proxy. i thank my colleagues for their cooperation on this bill. i thank them for their friendship all these many years and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. malinowski: i'm ready to close, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognize. mr. malinowski: thank you, mr. speaker. i strongly, strongly agree with representative deutch. i've always believed the first principle of foreign policy is to call things by their proper name. sometimes we have to be pragmatic in our dealings around the world. but always start by being honest. hezbollah is a terrorist organization. say it. the european union should do so as well. today we are being heard again on a bipartisan basis loud and clear and i hope the european union hears our message. hope my colleagues will join us in supporting this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 558, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, -- for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> thank you, mr. speaker. i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. scott: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 1433, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1433. a bill to re-authorize the helen keller national center for youth and adults who are deaf-blind. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from new york, mr. accept sempo, will both control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, i ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, is recognized. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 1433, the helen keller national center re-authorization act, which would re-authorize the helen keller national center for five years. the helen keller national center for deaf-blind youth and adults was first authorized in congress in 1967 to assist deaf-blind -- the deaf-blind community in america. to this day it is the only comprehensive national program that provides information, referrals, support and training exclusively to americans with combined vision and hearing loss, while also supporting families and professionals who work with the deaf-blind community. moreover, the helen keller national center is the only comprehensive national program that provides for information referral, support and training exclusively to youths and adults who have combined vision and hearing loss. the center also supports families and professionals who work with the deaf-blind community. and thankfully through our actions today, we'll be one step closer to re-authorizing the center's important work through 2027. the helen keller center performs life-changing work. this work and the population it serves deserves all of our support. lastly, i'd like to thank the sponsor of the legislation, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. pocan, co-sponsors, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. cole, the gentleman from new york, mr. suozzi, and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mrr leadership on this legislation. mr. speaker, i urge all my colleagues to support the american deaf-blind community and support this bipartisan legislation before us. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. sempolinski: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sempolinski: i rise today in support of h.r. 1433, bipartisan legislation to re-authorize the helen keller national center act. this center is unique. in fact, it's the only one of its kind. since 1967, the center has helped individuals with combined vision and hearing loss, by providing them, as well as their families and suh service providers, with services to help them lead independent and successful lives. this is includes career and technical education. simply put, the center offers hope and dignity to those it serves. the center is on the forefront of research in developing new and innovative ways for those who are -- that are deaf-blind to live a full and independent life. the end goal is allowing those with combined vision and hearing loss to work and thrive in communities of their choice. the helen keller national center is living up to the legacy of its namesake, helen keller is the epitome of perseverance. she overcame every obstacle to lead a successful life that impacted the lives of so many. she once wrote, a happy life consists not in the absence but in the mastery of hardships. there is so much we can learn from helen keller's commitment to serving others, despite her own trials. this bipartisan bill will ensure that the helen keller national center continues to help deaf-blind youth and adults triumph over adversity just as helen keller did more than 50 years ago. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and in doing, empower those who are deaf-blind to live full, successful and independent lives. this bill will ensure -- help ensure these students and adults have all the resources they need to research their fullest potential. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from virginia, mr. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i yield such time as he may consume, the gentleman from new york, mr. suozzi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. suozzi: thank you, mr. speaker. and chairman, thank you so much forgiving me the opportunity to speak -- for giving me the opportunity to speak in support of h.r. 1433, the re-authorization of the helen keller national center for the deaf-blind youth and adults here in our country. let me start by thanking not only the chairman but congressman pocan and all of my colleagues who on a bipartisan basis have shown overwhelming support for this legislation and the national center. the national center for the deaf-blind, the helen keller center, located in my district, is the only center of its type anywhere in the nation. people from all over the country travel to this center for help and they have regional support centers as well. in my first two weeks in office, back in 2017, i visited the helen keller national center for the first time. and the stories that i heard from people whose lives were changed, whose family's lives were changed because of the miracles that were brought into their lives by the exceptional national treasure, people's lives have been changed dramatically because of the work of this center, supported by this congress, for 55 years, since 1967. we need to continue to support this center. i thank my colleagues for the great work that they've done in supporting it, continuing to increase its funding year after year. and let us keep working together on a bipartisan basis to serve the people of our country, especially this vulnerable population. imagine what it would be like to be deaf and blind. this is truly a national treasure and i thank my colleagues for their support. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york. the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from new york, mr. certain certain we're prepare -- mr. sempolinski: we're prepared to close if the gentleman is. mr. scott: i'm prepared to close, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. sempolinski: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of re-authorizing the helen keller national center act. helen keller's story is an example of hard work. she work tirelessly to better the lives of others. she showed the world there were no boundaries. that's how this center looks at its work and those it terve serfs. as a parent of a child with disability, this issue is near and dear to my heart. i know firsthand the importance of each child with a disability having every possible opportunity to succeed and thrive. any parent of a child with any disability can tell you that their top priority is to provide the very best for their children's education and growth. i will work tirelessly in and out of congress for the disability community. this is one of many reasons why i support this bill. today's bipartisan legislation will allow the center to continue its invaluable research and developmental programs in central areas, including -- several areas, including communications techniques and teaching methods. this leads to better lives for deaf-blind americans and their families. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 1433. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back. the gentleman from virginia, mr. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: mr. speaker in closing, this legislation will help members of the deaf-blind community across the country. i want to thank the gentleman from new york for his leadership, along with the sponsors and co-sponsors of the legislation. i'm proud that the shouse considering this legislation -- house is considering this legislation today. i urge a yes vote and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. members, the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 1433, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, -- the gentleman. the gentleman from georgia. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia has called for the yeas and nays. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. scott: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, s. 3157. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3157. an act to require the secretary of labor to conduct a study of the factors affecting employment opportunities for immigrants and refugees with professional credentials obtained in foreign countries. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from new york, mr. sempolinki, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on s. 3157, bridging the gap for new americans act. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, each year millions of immigrants and refugees come to the united states to find a better life and achieve the american dream. many of these new americans arrive with valuable experiences in specialized fields and international degrees that could help strengthen our communities and our economy. regrettably we know these americans face barriers that prevent them from utilizing their skills and credentials to contribute to our country and pursue their careers. in fact, nearly two million highly skilled immigrants are underemployed or working in low-skilled jobs instead of their expert fields. these barriers directly affect our economy, costing tens of billions of dollars in for gone wages and billions -- foregone wages and billions in lost federal, state and local tax payments each year. in response, the bridging the gap for new americans act will help us better understand not only the employment barriers facing immigrants and jeffries -- refugee, but also steps we can take to ensure that new americans can join our economic growth and pursue careers in which they can succeed to their fullest potential. i urge a yes vote on this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. sempolinski: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sempolinski: mr. speaker, i rise in support of the bridging the gap for new americans act. i applaud our colleagues in the senate for approving this bill this summer by unanimous consent. i also want to acknowledge our colleague, mr. john katko, for his work on a companion bill in the house. s. 3157 directs the secretary of labor to conduct a study on barriers to employment for legal immigrants and refugees who earned their professional credentials somewhere other than the united states. the study will also include policy recommendations for better helping these immigrants and refugees obtain skill-appropriate employment in the united states. obstacles for foreign educated immigrants and refugees who are legally in the united states but are unemployed or underemployed include language barriers, credential recognition difficulties, regulatory hurdles and a lack of professional networks to offer assistance. this underutilization of skills or brain waste is costing the united states billions of dollars per year in lost individual earnings, economic output and tax revenue. the health care sector is especially impacted by this challenge. two million immigrants with college degrees in the united states have been relegated to low-wage jobs or unable to find work. often because of licensing, credential recognition and other barriers. this leads immigrants and refugees unable to contribute fully to the economy, reach their full potential or secure the american dream. in addition to providing recommendations for addressing these challenges for individual immigrants and their families, s. 3157 will benefit all americans and our economy. with too many jobs still going unfilled and rapidly evolving labor market, it is vital we address this issue now. i urge my colleagues to support s. 3157 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield two minutes to the chair of the subcommittee on innovation, entrepreneurship and work force development, on the small business committee, the gentleman from colorado, mr. crow. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for two minutes. mr. crow: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of s. 3157. a bill to help eliminate barriers to employment facing immigrants and refugees across the country. i represent one of the most diverse districts in colorado and we know in colorado and in my community that diversity is our strength. many of our immigrant and refugee neighbors have skills and professional credentials they can't use because of regulatory hurdles. these hurdles, whether language barriers, difficulty in recognizing credentials or lack of professional networks prevent many from making good living for their families or contributing fully to our economy, and reaching their full potential. the unemployment and underemployment of these folks is a missed opportunity for our businesses, for our community and for our country. in 2016, across the u.s. nearly two million immigrants with college degrees were unable to find work or were employed in low-wage jobs. this includes more than 1/3 of the 11,000 immigrants in the state of colorado with health-related undergraduate degrees in 2020. identifying these barriers to full employment for these immigrants and refugees is an essential first step to overcoming them. this bill would direct the department of labor to conduct a collaborative interagency study of the barriers that hold back refugees and immigrants from their full potential. i thank senator klobuchar and congressman katko for their diligence in this effort and i urge my colleagues to join us in supporting passage of this bill today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado, mr. crow, yields back. the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. sempolinski: mr. speaker, i yield four minutes to the gentleman from new york, my friend, mr. katko. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york, mr. katko, is recognized for four minutes. mr. katko: i thank the gentleman for yielding. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today? in strong support of s. 3157 -- in strong support of s. 3157. this legislation's journey to the house floor began in my office three years ago and was born out of a conversation with interfaith works of central new york, a nonprofit in my district. interfaith works serves the central new york community by working to resettle individuals and families that have fled unimaginable hardship. seeking opportunity and prosperity legally, legally, in the united states. as advocates from the organization with firsthand experience described, interfaith's resettlement efforts consistently encounter a troubling trend. underemployment or unemployment among individuals who come to america with professional degrees and certifications from other countries. this phenomenon, >> this phenomena, known as brain waste, is common and is not limited to new york. a study estimated that two million immigrants and refugees with college degrees have been relegated to low-wage jobs or left unemployed in the u.s. with 60% of these individuals holding credentials in the health care sector. on an annual bay this untapped talent is estimated to cost nearly $40 billion in uncollected wages and over $0 billion in unrealized tax reseats. -- tax receipts. these are individuals who came to our countries through proper channels, and i can't stress that 234u6, who want to -- that enough, who want to contribute to our economy and have difficulties seeking employment through no fault of their own. and the underutilization of their skills comes in the midst of a work force crisis when we need their contributions more than any point in my lifetime. i'm proud to say the bridging the gap for new americans act takes a significant first step in addressing brain waste and helping victims who are already legally present in the united states to participate fully in our economy. this would seek to identify the underlying factors that contribute to brain waste by directing the department of labor to study the issue and issue rules to combat them. critically, this legislation has already received strong bipartisan support with the legislation passing the senate by unanimous consent earlier this year. the bridging the gap for new americans act also has significant nationwide and -- significant support nationwide and has been endorsed by over00 work force development groups and community organizations. i want to thank representatives crow, fitzpatrick and gottheimer for joining me in introducing the house version of this bill in a bipartisan manner as well as senators klobuchar and cornyn for their work to move this legislation through the senator. i also want to thank the havens national advocates who have worked tirelessly to raise awareness surrounding brain waste and to build support for the commonsense legislation. this bill is not up-- is about upholding the american dream and unlocking opportunities for millions of workers and i urge all my colleagues to join me in voting to send it to the president's desk. thank you, mr. chairman, and mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: mr. katko yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from vinch is recognized. -- from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. >> i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sempolinski: this bill will help us understand how to give legal immigrants with professional credentials more access to opportunities in our country. immigrants and refugees spent years earning college degrees and professional credentials should not be relegated to low-wage jobs because they're educated outside the united states. those pursuing a better life and respecting our laws should be commended, not punished. s. 3157 will shed light on the bureaucratic hurdles and unnecessary red tape these workers face and how we might remove these obstacles. it would be foolish of us to let good talent go to waste especially as the country continues to face a labor shortage, particularly in the health care sector. this legislation is commonsense. it will help immigrants and refugees who are in our country legally fulfill their potential, bet brother vied for their families and become even more of an asset to our economy. i urge a yes vote on this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia, mr. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: the bridging the gap for new americans act is marly critical as we continue to recover from the economic consequences of the covid-19 pandemic. now more than ever, we must draw from the skills of our nation's immigrants and refugees to accelerate our recovery and strengthen our communities. in other words, this bill will ensure that the new americans can reestablish their careers, succeed to their full potential and join the effort to build back a brighter future for all americans. i want to thank the gentleman from new york, mr. sempolinski, the gentleman from new york, mrm colorado, mr. crow, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mre gentleman from new jersey mr. gottheimer, as well as senator klobuchar of minnesota, senator cornyn of texas, senator koontz of maryland, senator murkowski of alaska for their leadership on this legislative priority. i urge my colleagues to support the legislation and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. member, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 3157. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion they have -- in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- the gentleman from georgia. >> i request the yeas and nays, please. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in support of the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 7566. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk will report the title of the bill as amended. the clerk: union calendar number 369, h.r. 7566, to increase the punishment for human trafficking in a school zone and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. fitzgerald, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 7566. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: this bill was introduced as an important response to stoping trafficking, sex trafficking, at schools. in fact, its name was stop human trafficking in school zones. i introduced that bill to stop human trafficking in school zones. we're glad to be here on the floor of the house to continue this journey in protecting our children. i want to start with the words from the major cities chiefs, one of the major supporters of this legislation. child sex trafficking is one of the most despicable crimes an individual can commit. sadly, there are far too many children victimized by this scourge. for example, the national center for missing and exploited children received more than 17,200 reports of child sex trafficking in 2021. it's especially troubling that these crimes sometimes occur at schools. which should be a safe haven for america's children. besides gun violence, human trafficking, sex trafficking, is a scourge that takes and destroys the lives of our children. h.r. 7566 will play an important part in addressing child sex trafficking by establishing additional penalties for offenders who commit these offenses in a school zone within 1,000 feet of a school-sponsored activity. we want to be heard on stopping human trafficking and sex trafficking at our schools. and so the no trafficking zones act, which is formerly the human trafficking -- stop human trafficking in schools act, would ensure that schools across the country, including institutions of higher learning, are safe spaces for learning and academic exploration, free from the me nays of sex trafficking. h.r. 7566 would establish a sentencing enhancement of up to five years in several instances. first, in the case of any person who commits the offense of sex trafficking within a primary or secondary school zone or on -- or within 1,000 feet of the premises of a school-sponsoredded activity or premises owned by an institution of higher learning. second, for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor enrolled in a primary or secondary -- secondary school to travel in interstate or foreign commerce while the minor is in a school zone or on or within 1,000 feet of prems where a school-sponsored activity is takes place or while the person is on or within 1,000 feet of the premises owned by the institution of higher learns. and third for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor using the mail or facile toifs interstate or foreign commerce, such as the texts, ince tats meaging, social media platforms which have been used extensively while the minor who is enrolled in school or an institution of higher education is in a school zone or on or within 1,000 feet of premises where school-sponsored act sievety -- activity is taking place or premises owned by the institution of higher education. human trafficking is one of the greatest threats to human rights in the united states. it destroys a human beings life and it destroys forever a child's life. in 2020, 11,193 instances of human trafficking were reported to the human trafficking hotline with at least 70% of those involving second trafficking while an estimated 25% of all trafficking victims in the country are in my home state of texas at any given time, many of whom are minor. mr. speaker, i gave and held the first human trafficking hearing, field hearing, in houston, texas. with my co-sponsor of this legislation, the honorable mike mccaul. i want to at this time express my appreciation for his collaboration on this legislation, his enthusiastic collaboration, as he did join me when we held the first hearing on human trafficking in houston through the homeland security committee. what i would say is that houston had been the epicenter of human trafficking. it was a powerful hearing. and i'm glad that we've joined together now to stop human trafficking in schools. let me also offer by sympathy to him and his family for their loss. at least 5,359 trafficking victims and survivors identify through the hotline in 2019 were under the age of 1 and in 021, the national center for missing and exploited children received more than 17,200 reported of suspected child sex trafficking. many of these young victims of sex trafficking are students in school systems, colleges, trade schools and universities across the country. in 2018 -- a 2018 survey reported that in texas, where no trafficking zone legislation passed to bipartisan support earlier this year, 55% of young sex trafficking survivors were trafficked bill at school or school activities and 60% of trafficked adults said they were first grammed and solicited for trafficking while on school campuses. that has been a hotbed of opportunity for the scourge of sex traffickers. who want to prey upon our innocent children. i'm grateful that the legislation in texas general rated out of an effort chaired by bishop dixon, james dixon, chair of the sports authority at the n.r.g. arena and began to develop a policy where there would be no trafficking zones around major stadiums and events. members of this body know all too well that children are sexually exploited in many ways. some young people are trafficked by their schoolmates or people they once considered friends and while the traffickers seek out young people who have noticeable vulnerabilities including problems at school, conflicts at home or even need to fill in a tuition gap caused by the loss of a scholarship, no child or young person is truly safe from the schemes of charismatic traffickers bent on exploiting and destroying young lives. with the proliferation of social media thend myriad ways we communicate with one another, traffic verse put the same magnuson-stevens communication to their own use to find, target, lure, groom, victimize and exert control over their victims. while buyers are using technology to find and purchase sex anonymously. traffickers have infiltrated every known form of communication, especially the sites, messaging apps and social media platform ours children use most frequently, leaving young people more vulnerable to manipulation. access to the internet, cell phones access to the internet makes it easier for traffickers to communicate with youth. there are no barriers, no walls, no brick walls, cement walls, steel walls that can keep a trafficker from getting a precious child. as a result, trafficking has reached the halls, lunch rooms, gyms and classrooms of schools, colleges and universities in every corner of the united states of america. these staggering facts and statistics led me to introduce this bipartisan legislation, the no trafficking zone, along with chairman nadler and representative mccaul, who i wish to thank for working with me as i've said previously, as well as representative johnson of louisiana for his amendment that included the protection for young people at institutions of higher education. we came together in a bipartisan manner to exert the influence necessary to protect america's children. collectively i again want to thank chairman nadler, representative mccaul, representative johnson of louisiana, representative mccaul of texas. i'm delighted to work with them. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: human trafficking, especially the sex trafficking of children, is an abhorrent crime. this bill would provide increased criminal penalties for human trafficking or coercing a minor to engage in illegal sex acts in school zones or near school sponsored activities, as my colleague from texas stated. texas recently enacted a similar law. according to the texas state senate bill, 55% of young sex trafficking survivors in texas were trafficked while at school or during school activities. the justice department office of justice programs reports that the average age of entry into prostitution is unbelievably 12 to 14 years old. and the traffickers are known to recruit at schools and in after-school programs. however, this legislation doesn't address a root cause of this serious problem, our unsecure southwest border. tragically, we know the human smuggling and trafficking occurs daily at the southwest border. under democrat leadership, this congress has failed to fix the completely broken immigration system or to address the biden border crisis, which cartels and other organized criminal organizations have exploited to smuggle and traffic children into our country. cartels and criminal organizations continue to take advantage of the biden administration's complete failure to secure the southwest border. we should focus congress' efforts on securing our southwest border to prevent the type of human trafficking this legislation seeks to address and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin reserves. the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: you know, the issue of stopping human trafficking in school zones is such a crucial issue that i would hope that the focus of our debate today, mr. speaker, would be on saving the lives of children. and i'll just simply make the point, being on homeland security and chairing the subcommittee on judiciary that deals with homeland security crime and terrorism, that we all can work together for comprehensive immigration reform. but here we are today, specifically focused and pointed on ensuring that there are no trafficking zones in our country and specifically around our school zones. where children cannot be harmed. so i am grateful that i will introduce into the record letters from the major cities, chiefs association, texas state ron reynolds, hope over hurt, break the cycle u.s.a., valerie winborn, mother of trafficking victim, and courtney litvak, surviving, a summary of her experience, where she was trafficked. and i would just simply like to suggest that we can find trafficking in many other places. i ask unanimous consent to include in the record the article, epstein's ground zero, how the financier reportedly wreaked havoc on royal palm beach high school community. i ask unanimous consent, along with, mr. speaker, the letters that i just asked to be submitted into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i ask to submit into the record open secret at royal palm high school, at least 15 students were lured to jeffrey epstein's palm beach mansion, right out of the school. i ask unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: police recruited other trafficking victims in schools. and my good friend had spoken about the southern border. i want to submit into the record recruitment and entrapment of minors into sex trafficking in khan and the united states. northern -- canada and the united states. northern border, by the way, i would offer to say. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. jackson lee: let me offer this point of importance. the victims are not here on this floor. but we must carry their story. to this floor. to ensure that we do not see another victim. so i will offer these words from courtney. courtney has made it her mission to tell her story and speak out, to to spread awareness about thanksgiving -- human trafficking and shape policies to help prevent other young people falling victim to the scheme of human traffickers and to hold traffickers accountable. she became entangled in sex trafficking while still in school. despite what some believe about victims of human trafficking, she grew up in a loving, church going family in a safe neighborhood, and attended an upscale suburban high school in texas. she was being advertised for illicit sex on websites like backpage. someone at her high school offered her friendship and support where she felt she had none. meanwhile, drawing her gradually and deeper into the life. she was groomed by two networks simultaneously. and each chatted with her through social media. one groomed her for almost an entire year. her first trafficker picked her up from school. she was unenrolled from her school and had her entire life underrooted in an a desperate attempt to intervene in exploitation. she returned back to her hometown where days after turning 18 she was taken from her home by the other trafficker. she soon realized she was in this world and over and over again she was used and transported from texas to california to las vegas, passing from one hand to the next. what a vile life. but she's willing to share this life. it is extremely important that we pass this legislation and that we address the question of what could happen to our innocent children. with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: mr. speaker, at this time i would inform you and the member from texas that we have no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: we have no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. fitzgerald, is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: thank you, mr. speaker. i would just once again like to emphasize the idea that although human trafficking is at the forefront of what we're discussing here today, we must continue to focus on the south border and making sure that we secure that. and i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin yields back. the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: let me express my appreciation to those who sacrificed to share with us their stories and those who worked on this very important effort. bishop james dickson ii -- dixon ii and the no trafficking zone co-founder and senior pastor of the community of faith church, branch president, naacp, houston branch. jacklin alihootoo, founder of real beauty, real women. and courtney litvak, a member of the u.s. advisory council on human trafficking who will participate in unveiling their annual report later this week. and so many others who have really helped. jacklin was someone who inspirationally wanted to lead us in this direction and worked very hard. so each of us has a duty to protect young people, whether it be from drugs, gun violence or sex traffickers. our children deserve to be safe and parents should know their children will be safe when they put them on the school bus or move them into their new dorms. to be sure, h.r. 7566, the no trafficking zones act, provides increased accountability for anyone who would dare interrupt or interfere with a young person's ability to obtain an education and lay the foundation for a productive future for the purpose of sexual exploitation. in drafting this legislation, i'm grateful for the contributions of the no trafficking zone initiative and all of those whose names i've called, including those names not called, those victims silenced or lives lost or destroyed. i urge all my colleagues to support h.r. 7566. this is a great day for helping to stop sex trafficking, human trafficking, our children should be the most safe and that is at our schools. thank you and i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas yields back. members, the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 7566, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: i have -- i have a bill at the desk. h.r. 7181. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlewoman move to suspend the rules, to pass that particular bill? ms. jackson lee: i do. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. ms. jackson lee: as amended. the speaker pro tempore: and call the bill, as amended. ms. jackson lee: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 7181, the human trafficking prevention act of 2021, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 371. h.r. 7181. a bill to amend the trafficking victims protection act of 2000, to direct the secretary of transportation to seek to provide for the posting of content, contact information of the national human trafficking hotline in the restrooms of each aircraft, airport, over the road bus, bus station, passenger train and passenger railroad station operating within the united states and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. fitzgerald, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent, mr. speaker, that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 7181. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, h.r. 7181, the human trafficking prevention act of 2022, would provide for the posting of the contact information at the national human trafficking hotline in the restrooms of our country's transportation centers, where we know many trafficking victims pass through, as well as all federal buildings, ports of entry, to inform victims and those who witness or suspect trafficking situations that help is available. as i have said, many times before, smuggling people across international boarders are an equally troubling crime but distinct from human trafficking. smugglers must be prosecuted and the exploitation of their victims must not go unpunished. and while many believe human trafficking happens only in other countries, the victimization of adults, youth and children for the purposes of performing labor, commercial, sex acts and other services happens on an enormous scale in rural, urban and suburban communities across the united states. we can document that by many organizations who are fighting the scourge of human trafficking. h.r. 7181 would require the posting of national human trafficking hotlines, contact information, in all federal buildings, require the department of transportation and department of health and human services to coordinate with owners and operators of transportation hubs such as airports, bus stations and train stations, to post the contact information for the hotline in their restrooms. and, three, require the department of health and human services and other appropriate federal agencies to post the hotline's contact information at every port of entry. in 2020, more than 11,193 instances of potential human trafficking were reported to the united states national human trafficking hotline. and in texas there are approximately or reportedly 313,000 victims of human trafficking at any given time, including 79,000 children and youth who are victims of sex trafficking, 234,000 adults who are victims of labor trafficking. the victims of human trafficking tend to be concealed, living in fear and isolated, in some cases physically and emotionally. they might remain under the control of their traffickers for a variety of reasons, including a lack of the basic necessities to escape like transportation or a safe place to go. some may be afraid for even after they'res recued or escaped there's always a possibility victims will be revictimmized. the national trafficking hotline is an essential component of the fight against human trafficking. offering toll-free phone lines and s.m.s. hotlines available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, the hotline provides help, safety and hope to victims and survivors by connecting them to the support and services they need. they must know they are not alone. that's the most important message that we want to give on the floor of the house today. victims of sex traffic, human trafficking, the children of the adult victims are not alone. victims in crisis can receive assistance with safety planning, emotional support, and/or immediate connection can get help in rebuilding their lives. this is an important aspect of the legislation we're putting forth today. it also plays a high vie tall role in combating human trafficking by helping identify and rescue victims and receiving tips about a potential situation of human traffic and providing reports of tips to the appropriate authorities. we must make every effort to identify victims and ensure victims and survivors of human trafficking are connected to services that could lead them to safety and help them begin to restore their lives. that begins with rereaching them where they are and letting them know who they can call on for help without risking their safety. traffickers rely on our nation's transportation infrastructure to transport their victims from city to stay and state-to-state. in the brief moments that allow victims to have a moment alone in the restroom of a bus station or airport, they may be able to call or even text for help as they are left alone for a moment by those traffickers. victims, survivors and concerned citizens need to know that help is just a phone call away because one call could mean the difference between life and death. despite the clan december tine nature of human -- clandestine nature of human trafficking we have learned from victims and we should make the most of that. this bill does act exily that. i'm grate to feel representatives jeffries, bass, issa and mace for introducing this strategic and practical measure. i ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: human trafficking is a terrible evil, we should do all we can in congress to help victims. this law would allow the secretary -- to post information to help victims in area wra victim mace see it and be able to seek help. the committee directed the secretary of homeland security to post the hotline at ports of entry. it's well documented that human traffickers often use the transportation industry for both recruiting and operations. in 2020, the latest year for which data is available, 10,583 incidents of human trafficking were reported to the u.s. national human trafficking hotline. and 16,658 victims of trafficking were identified. we hope this legislation will raise awareness about human trafficking and assist victims in seeking help by posting hotline information in places where they may see it. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i thank the chairman, speaker, very much and as i close i want to term whether the gentleman has any further speakers. mr. fitzgerald: i have no other speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin. ms. jackson lee: before i close -- yield to the gentleman for his close, i want to offer into the record, katy sex trafficking survivors works with white house to curb growing threat. 31 human trafficking victims rescued in kansas. texas authorities rescue seven missing childrenning afterred by sex trafficking and a report dated november 20, 2020, on human trafficking spikes in texas amid the pandemic. with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, is recognized. ms. jackson lee: as we have heard, the idea of human trafficking is not going away. this legislation, i believe, will provide us with the important instruction to give to those victims where they may find some relief. human trafficking is a multibillion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to nearly 25 million people around the world. it is as an ever-present threat to the health and safety of victims, many of whom are children. but also poses grave danger to public health and safety and national security. although statistickics -- statistics we recite daily are breath take, they represent only a fraction of the incidents that occur as human trafficking is a highly underreported crime. h.r. 7181, the human trafficking prevention act of 022 would help identity -- identify, protect and provider is us -- services to voisms human trafficking who are often unseen by requiring the posting the information for the national human trafficking hotline so victims or anyone who sees someone who may be a victim knows who to call or text for help. this is commonsense, bipartisan legislation, i urge all my colleagues to support. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. i seek the support of my colleagues. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: i move to suspend the rules and pass s. 169, the artistic recognition for talented students act or arts act. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: s. 196, an act to amend the united states code to require register of copyrights to waive fees for registration of a cop cry right claim in certain circumstances and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. fitzgerald, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on s. 169. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: s. 169, the artistic recognition for tall inned students act, or arts act, would help introduce promising state of the union who was won the congressional art competition or app challenge to the copy -- copyright system by allowing them to apply for a copyright for their work. i applaud mr. expwref reese for introducing this legislation along with ms. mace and other colleagues on the judiciary committee including subcommittee chair johnson and ranking member issa, mr. cicilline and mrs. spartz. we are pleased today to take up passage of the senate version of the bill, championed by senators leahy and tillis, so the bill will pass both chambers and become law. we in this chamber know how important intellectual property rights are to our country and our economy. studies show that awareness of intellectual property is lacking among the country's students even if they pursue fields that are i.p. intensive. the arts act helps close this gap early on and allows state of the unions to participate in the intellectual property system without a financial burden. what it also does is help build the farm team for all those who will be protecting intellectual property in the future. it gives them a sense of ownership and ties them to the constitution because intellectual property certainly is part of the constitutional privilege and constitutional rights and protections. property rights are very important and that is what intellectual property is. it builds on congress' work to encourage the creativity of our nation's youth with the establishment of the congressional art competition and congressional app challenge more. year after year the talent displayed in these competitions is remarkable. i know it well in the candidates i have seen and the choices our arts committee in houston in the 18th congressional district have made. they are brilliant. and the apps are equally so. year after year in both of these competitions we see outstanding work. through both, we continue to see our youth encouraged to develop their artistic and technical talents as congress intend. the arts act makes the competitions even more impact. under the bill students may apply to register a copyright for their winning work or winning app for free. this introduces these students to the intellectual property system and the benefits of copyright protection. again, a constitutional right. under current law, the register of copyrights cannot waive these fees on her own. the arts act amends the copyright act to allow such a waiver for these specific circumstances. building the farm team again is so very important. once again i applaud the sponsors for bringing this legislation forward which will aid the next generation of innovators. i urge passage and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: i rise in support of senate 169, the artistic recognition of -- for talented students act. the constitution authorizes congress to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing the limited times to authors and inventors of the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. of copyright system is designed to help fulfill that mandate by promoting the work of author, musicians, authors and other creators. creative industries contribute hundreds of billions to the u.s. economy every year. this makes it easier for some of our brightest young creators to obtain copy rights on their award-winning work. s the sensually the same bill pa mass -- that passed the house under suspension of the rule last year. promoting and encouraging the next generation of creative innovators ensures our economy will remain strong for years to come. i urge support and reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers and so i'm prepared to close. does the gentleman have any? mr. gites jerald: -- mr. fitzgerald: i have no further weekers on this. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. fitzgerald, yields back. the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, is recognized. ms. jackson lee: thank you, mr. speaker. again, s. 169 is a short but important bill that promotes education and awareness of intellectual property to the next generation of creators. what an outstanding way to build the farm team, to create a buy-in by the young geniuses of our time. both in terms of the app and arts and many other aspects. again, we recognize the constitutional connection to the idea of property, copyright, intellectual property and it is important for young people to learn early on and to be protected of the genius of america. i urge my colleagues to support the bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. members, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 169. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4330, the protect reporters from exploitive state spying act, or the press act, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 268, h.r. 4330, a bill to maintain the free flow of information to the public by establishing limits on the federally compelled disclosure of information obtained as part of journalism and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. fitzgerald, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and inclute extraneous material on h.r. 4330. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i rise today in support of h.r. 4330, the this a privilege that would compel. and compelling an electronic service provider to disclose that information as well as information relating to the journalist's personal account or technology device unless a court determines there is a reasonable threat of imminent violence after the disclosure and subject to other requirements and certain specified exceptions. this is necessary and long overdue legislation. over the past several decades presidential of both parties have attempted to crack down on leaks of classified information to media outlets and they have included efforts to obtain journalist. "the new yorktimes" and cnn reported that the department of justice sought the information of records of their reporters. the most sacred part of your freedom includes the protection and freedom of the press. that is embedded in the constitution and our first amendment and bill of rights. to hear and see that glaring infraction shows us the necessity of this legislation before us. during the obama administration, the department reportedly searched fox news reporters' jeff rosen and listed him as a co-conspirator. these and other recent episodes illustrate the need for stronger federal protections for journalists. the truth is cleansing and the truth is democracy. 40 states and the district of columbia and other states have similar privileges through their their state common law. there is longstanding support for federal protections. in 2005, former vice president first introduced the free-flow of information act which was similar in concept to h.r. 4330 that legislation passed the house twice in the 110th and 111th congresses and second time by voice vote. unfortunate, the senate never took action on these bills but i'm pleased that efforts continue in the house today. again, we must stand for liberty. it is my hope that the senate will take up this important issue. i thank jamie raskin and ted lieu on the press act and the judiciary committee member jim jordan. the need for this legislation is as great, if not greater than it was first introduced in an earlier form. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this important bipartisan legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. fitzgerald, is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: i yield myself such time as i may consume. there is a reason that the founders chose the freedom of the press and important part of an informed democracy. versions of this bill have received widespread support. the first version of this bill was introduced by vice president pence when he was a member of this body. good reporters are committed to holding our government accountable. a critical aspect is the pursuit of truth without intimidation or coercion from the government. the administrations of both parties have unjustly targeted journalists but none than the obama administration. the obama administration's control on the flow of information has been described as the most aggressive since the nixon administration. and the biden administration isn't proving to be much better. in a free country we need to make sure that the government cannot unmask journalists and their sources without good cause. this bill provides those protections and recognizes the importance of independent journalism to our country. thank you, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin reserves. the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: it is my pleasure to now yield to the author of the press act who has been persistent in his commitment to civil liberties as an important member of the judiciary committee, and that is to congressman raskin, and that would be five minutes. thank you for your leadership. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. raskin: thank you, mr. speaker and i thank the gentlelady for yielding and for her advocacy for civil liberties and civil rights. and i thank also the floor leader on the minority side for his excellent words on the legislation as well. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of my bill h.r. 4330 protect reporters or the press act which i introduced with congressman lieu and yarmuth. then congressman mike pence got it passed in the house in 110th congress of 398 to 21 given the bill has passed unanimously in the judiciary committee earlier this year. i hope we can get it done. our founders insisted the american people needs the truth about their own government, their society and their world. those who are their own governors must arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives. newspapers were critical, a form of continuing public education about government and about society. jefferson said if it were left for me to decide whether to have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, i would choose the latter. the great tom payne demonstrated the power of the pen as the people's weapon against political tyranny and his pamphlet "common sense" to the survive of political democracy. the command in the first amendment that congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press because press was subsumed but the they protected the structural role that the press plays as a watchdog institution in a republictive democratic society. not everyone can go to congressional hearings or county council hearings. not all of us can travel to ukraine to uncover russian war crimes or go to afghanistan to see what it means to have theocratic tyranny oppressing the people are or get the pentagon papers or break the watergate scandal or penetrate crime and drug trafficking rings or how climate change is ravaging. but as citizens of the united states we are implicated and affected by these developments and equally invested in obtaining the truth about them and we need professional journalists and newspapers. they face violence, threats just for doing their jobs providing news and information. the committee to protect journalists reported that journalists in the u.s. faced unprecedented attacks in 2020. 110 qur arrested and around 300 were assaulted in 2020 alone. many families in my state are reeling from the mass shooting at the capital gazette which took the lives of five journalists and injured several others. lots of reporters face legal consequences for maintaining the confidentiality of sources. one journalist who faced repercussions, brian kerham. in 1990, he went to jail four different types to protect confidential sources while working as a tv reporter. last time he went to jail for two weeks while the supreme court considered his case and spared a long sentence when his source moved from texas to california and no longer fearing for her life came forward. we need to make good of a free press by establishing a federal shield law to protect journalists against government overreach and prosecutorial abuses. the press act is updating the act that i introduced with mr. jim jordan in the 115th congress. and prevent federal law enforcement to being able to obtain information from journalists as well as their personal devices and accounts and prevent government officials from conducting an end run by precluding them from seeking third-party communications held by third-party services. and america favors shield laws to protect the media because our people know that the press is not the enemy of the people. the press is the people's best friend. 49 states and washington d.c. have passed state shield laws. what better evidence could we have that the american people want a free and egress ifer press to expose corruption and safeguard democracy. could i ask 20 seconds? ms. jackson lee: gentleman is yielded another minute. mr. raskin: i hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and every member of the house of representatives will rise to support this bill. the successor to our 2017 bipartisan bill and the successor to the bill that then congressman, now vice president mike pence navigated the victory in the house on a vote of 398-21, 15 years ago. i thank the gentlelady for her indulgence and i thank the speaker. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: we have no further speakers and we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: let me just comment as i determine whether we have any further speakers. this protection of the first amendment rights about journalists are so crucial and this legislation enjoys bipartisan support. we have already made the point that we have found some offense of this in bipartisan office holders, governments. so i think it is important in the spirit of harmony that we choose no president to suggest that one was more so than the others and i can't think of any comparison to the previous administration but today, we are standing here and wanting to bring people together around the importance of ensuring that the press are protected and shielded and that the truth is cleansing and that the truth is heard. clearly in the trump administration, truth was challenged and grateful that the press stood tall. i believe that this legislation is extremely important to cleanse all persons in public life. so that public officials can serve in the spirit of transparency and that journalists can provide the facts to all of the people of america. with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: i urge my colleagues to support the bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: thank you, mr. speaker. as i indicated, h.r. 4330 is a bipartisan effort similar to legislation passed or worked on by vice president pence. the judiciary committee reported the bill on a bipartisan basis by voice vote. and h.r. 4330 is supported by civil liebts and the american civil liberties union, the society of professional journalists and national association of broadcasters and national process photographers. the news leader association, n.p.a., the association of mag he zen and accountability project the first and the reporters committee for freedom of the press. given the broad support of the bill and pressing the need for federal protections for journalists and their sources, i urge the house to pass h.r. 4330 and i yield back. . 5:30. 5:30 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3034, to amend title 28 united states code to provide an additional place for holding court for the western district of washington, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 370, h.r. 3034, a bill to amend title 28 united states code to provide an additional place for holding court for the western district of washington, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. fitzgerald, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from -- the gentlewoman from texas ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 3034. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i yield, myself, mr. speaker, such time i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i rise in support of h.r. 3034 which would amend title 28 of the u.s. code to provide an additional place for holding court in the western district of washington. this one sentence bill would allow the residents that have district which comprises half of washington state from the cascade mountains to the pacific ocean to attend federal court in mount vernon washington. currently residents of the surrounding counties, including the third most populace county in the state, have to travel signature distances to access the federal justice system leading to increased travel time and administrative costs. adding mount vernon as an additional court location would alleviate those burdens. it would also be a cost-free change because there is an existing facility availability for the court to use and no court personnel would be permanently stationed there. making use of this existing facility would ensure that litigants, attorneys, witness, and other court users would have greater access to the justice that our federal courts provide. mr. speaker, the judiciary committee is the holder, protector, and nurturer of the constitution. there is probably nothing as important among other elements but for the right to a trial by jury or right to be heard as a litigant in the court. and this important legislation is suggesting that those who may have difficulty or even deprived because of distance or other issues dealing with the far reaches of where this court is away from them can now have an unfettered access to court in their region, in their area. this move will benefit the many individuals who live, work, and do business in northwest washington which is very far from the present site of the federal court. and this legislation is broadly supported by the judges, attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders, and law enforcement in the western district of washington. i thank representative suzan delbeney and rick larsen for calling attention to this issue and introducing this legislation to improve the lives of the residents of the state. chairman nad nadler and all the members of the judiciary committee were pleased to work with this legislation and congresswoman delbene and larsen to provide additional pathway to justice and the protection of the constitutional rights of individuals to have their access to courts and to trials by jury. at this point i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. fitzgerald, is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: mr. speaker, it appears that this move has wide support amongst members of congress. with that i would also inform you i have no further speakers. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i have no further speakers. i'm prepared to close. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. fitzgerald: mr. speaker, i would just say once again that this seems to have bipartisan support across congress. and i would urge my colleagues to support the bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin yields back. the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, is recognized. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i use such time i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: good music and good sounds to hear of my colleague indicating that this legislation has widespread support. he's absolutely right. the only point i want to family size is whenever this body and this judiciary committee can expand the rights to the protection of americans and their rights to access justice, we should stand tall. and today this legislation with a small fix of providing an additional sites for the people -- site for the people of western washington to access their constitutional and judicial and legal rights i think this is a celebration. because of the broad spread support for this, we are delighted, mr. speaker, to ask that h.r. 3034 and to make known that it is a straightforward bill, that it will improve the administration of justice in washington state, reinforce our duty and responsibility to the american people for justice. i urge my colleagues to support t i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. members, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3034. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? eethank you, mr. speaker. mr. grijalva: i move the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4009, as amend the. so the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4009, a bill to authorize the georgetown african-american historic landmark project and tour to establish a commemorative work in the district of columbia and its environs, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from arizona , mr. grijalva, and the gentleman from alabama, mr. karl, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from arizona. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. grijalva: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: thank you. i rise in strong support of h.r. 4009, the enslaved voyages memorial act introduced by my colleague representative eleanor holmes norton. it would authorize the establishment of a memorial on federal land in the district of columbia and its surroundings commemorating the enslaved individuals who disembarked here after forced migration by way of the transatlantaic slave trade. this memorial will honor the lives of all enslaved individuals, celebrate their contributions to our history, and recognize their remarkable resilience and fortitude throughout centuries of slavery. during this time period enslavers forced the transport of 12.5 million captive africans to sell in the meshes -- americas. the georgetown water front had an extensive and long neglected history of involvement in the slave trade. in fact, 1475 ebb slaved individuals disembarked at the georgetown waterfront while the institution of slavery grew on this continent. establishing a memorial to honor those enslaved will create a powerful site for truth telling and remembrance. aid like to thank my colleague, representative norton, for introducing this important and significant piece of legislation. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on the bill. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona reserves. the gentleman from alabama, mr. carl, is recognized. mr. carl: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. carl: thank you. i rise in support of h.r. 4009, offered by delegate eleanor holmes norton which authorizes the georgetown african-american historical landmark project and tour to establish a work of federal land in washington, d.c., to commemorate the enslaved individuals whose identities we may know and unknown, who endured the forced voyage across the atlantic ocean to the united states during the middle passage. this effort is being championed by the georgetown african-american historical landmark project, a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the enslaved and the free african-americans who work in, live in, and built georgetown. in 2019 the united national education scientific and cultural organization designed -- designated the georgetown waterfront as a site of memory for historical places associated with slavery. the bill requires that georgetown african-american historical landmark projects and tour to follow the standards legal framework established by the working committee act. this is a great effort and i applaud the delegate holmes norton for her leadership and i urge adoption of this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i yield as much time she may consume to the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, congresswoman eleanor holmes norton, the principal sponsor of the legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the district of columbia is recognized. ms. norton: i thank my good friend, chairman grijalva, for yielding. and i thank him and chairman neguse for bringing this bill to the floor. this bill would authorize the georgetown african-american historic landmark project and tour to establish a memorial on federal land and the district of columbia commemorating the enslaved individuals who endured forced migration to the united states by way of the trans-atlantic slave trade. the national capital memorial advisory commission unanimously supported this bill and it passed out of committee by unanimous consent. we must not hide this history. enslaved individuals known and unknown rest at the core of our nation's history. the atrocities of the system of cattle slavery shed light on our nation's central struggle between slavery and freedom. a freedom under which some could be owned, beaten, separate interested their families, and -- separated from their families and denied any rights. this bill provides for the creation of a powerful marker of truth telling and remembrance. let us honor the personhood of these individuals who were repeatedly assumed to have none. so that they will never be forgotten. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from yields back. the gentleman from arizona reserves. the gentleman from alabama, mr. carl, is recognized. mr. carl: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from arkansas, mr. westerman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas is recognized for three minutes. mr. westerman: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in support of this bill along with the other suspension bills that we have worked with chairman grijalva to get on the floor today. mr. speaker, i'd also like to recognize the dedicated service of one of my staff members, terry camp, who will be leaving us next month. nobody affectionately as turbo by his colleagues, he's certainly lived up to that nickname. since starting on the house committee on natural resources in 2015, terry has had a hand in nearly 60 bills that have been signed into law. this total doesn't even account for the countless bills he's been a part of that have been enacted as part of various legislative packages. while this is an impressive total, it doesn't even come close to the number of now famous capitol tours he's given which he offers in both english and spanish. as our national park staffer, he's visited numerous national park units throughout his tenure. frequently stopping by any nearby units on family vacations. that dedication has led to the creation of many new bills, including the save our liberty theater act which was signed into law earlier this year. terry's passion for public service is perhaps surpassed only by his passion for the utah state utah aggies. terry exemplifies the guiding principles of my office by always abiding in love, competing to win, and succeeding through service. while we will miss him in the halls of congress, we wish him, his wife, and their son all the best as they start the next chapter of their lives back in their home the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: we are prepared to close and no other speakers and i reserve the balance. carl carl i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama yields back. the gentleman from arkansas. mr. grijalva: yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the house is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 -- the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? mr. grijalva: i move the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6353 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: a bill to annual the establish a commemorative work in the district of columbia and for other purposes pursuant to the rule, mr. grijalva and the gentleman from alabama, mr. carl, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona. mr. grijalva: i ask that members may have five legislative days to include material on the measure under consideration today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. grijalva: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: i rise in strong support h.r. 6353 national service memorials act introduced by susan wild. the bill would authorize the national monument corporation to have a federal land and surroundings to commemorate heroic and deeds of service animals in the united states. the bill recognizes the national servicemon you mission to honor and recognize the broad scope through a memorial to educate the public by service animals and human animal bond between service animals and their handlers. the memorial will ensure that the contributions by working animals are understood and their history is not forgotten. in doing so, the bill recognizes the life sustaining these services are provided to our communities. i thank representative wild for introducing this legislation and championing this bill. i urge support for h.r. 6353 and yes vote and reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. carl carl i yield caller: i to honor the historic acts and sacrifices of service animals and handlers. the work would feature the contribution of animals such as heroic service dogs that have assisted humans for generations by serving those with disabilities and supporting law enforcement, search, rescue and military personnel. well-known examples include careo, who was part of the navy seal team that killed osama bin laden. h.r. 6353 prohibits the use of federal funds to create or maintain this work. i thank representative wild for her work on this legislation. i urge adoption of this bill and reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama reserves and the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: i have no further requests for time and prepared to close and i reserve the balance. mr. carl: i urge adoption and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6353 as amended. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and bill is passed and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? mr. grijalva: i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6734 as amend the. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: a bill to amend the fish and wildlife act of 1956 to re-authorize the volunteer services community partnership and refuge education programs of the national wildlife refuge system and for other purposes pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva and the gentleman from alabama, mr. carl, each will control 20 minutes. mr. grijalva: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. tivment the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: i rise in support of h.r. 6734, keep america's refugees operational act introduced by mr. jeffries. this will recognize community partnerships and refuge education programs of the national wildlife refuge system. it spreads itself across 568 national wildlife refuge and protects land, water and wetlands. these important lands serve as important homes for over an array of species 700 birds and 220 mammals and reptile and a.m. fibbian species. this is crucial to encourage millions of tourists and generating and creating jobs. re-authorizing these volunteer service allows the service to provide transportation, uniforms, lodging, subject cyst tans and training for those who choose to volunteer on these projects. during the march hearing on the bill, we heard from mrs. browner from the national wild live refuge association and friends and advocates about the outside roles that volunteers that keep it running as well as serving with local communities. the fish and wildlife service testified in support of the and the national resources reported the bill to the house by unanimous consent. i thank the bill sponsor and my colleagues for bipartisan for this legislation. i urge its adoption and reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. carl: i yield as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized mr. carl: i rise in support of h.r. 6734. this bill introduced by my colleagues, mr. jeffries, mr. whitman and mr. graves re-authorizes volunteer programs at our national wildlife refuges. specifically, this bill would re-authorize the five physical -- excuse me, the five physical years several u.s. fish and wildlife services programs included those related to services and partnerships donations and gifts and education projects. the fish and wildlife services utilize services restoring habitat, plant and animal survival, staffing refuge stores and all other activities. i believe more work needs to be done to improve our management of our national wildlife refuge, the activity that this will bill re-authorizes in performing needed work. solutions such as this legislation are especially welcomed during times like these when our national debt continues to balloon and inflation comes to soaring because of reckless spending because of the majority and current administration. i urge adoption of this bill and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama reserves and the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: i yield to the gentleman from new york, congressman jeffries. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. jeffries: i thank the distinguished chair for yielding and his leadership on this all important committee in connection with this legislation. i rise in favor of the keep america's refugees operational act. i thank representative thompson and cab blain and whitman for his leadership on the other side of the aisle. this commonsense and bipartisan legislation re-authorizes the system volunteer community partnership and education program. because of this program, they continue to benefit from volunteer support which has saved taxpayer dollars and promoted jobs and communities throughout america. the national wildlife refuge system is comprised over 560 refuges located in every united states territory and state. they make up over 800 million acres dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife. each year, the national wildlife refuges host more than 60 million businesses and generating money and supporting 40,000 jobs. visitors come from all over to explore, hunt, fish and enjoy america's natural beauty. refuges help to mold the next generation of conservationist by providing learning experiences and cherished memories. this wouldn't be possible without the dedicated refuge volunteers and community partners who donate their time and energy. to keep refuges open and operational, during fiscal year 2021, 11, 700 volunteers gave close to 649,000 hours of their time which is the equivalent of 318 full-time employees or contribution of more than $18 million. volunteers provide critical support to full-time staff. they operate visitor centers, conduct fish and wildlife population surveys, maintain visiting structures, fight invasive species and protect native plants and animals and help raise money for key infrastructure projects. vol untires are of all ages and come from diverse walks of life and work in different capacities and represent the gorgeous mosaic of the american people. they have a commitment to preserving america's natural beauty so we can all enjoy it for years to come. in 115th congress the house passed an identical re-authorization bill which was signed into law by president trump in april of 2018. since that time, the program has continued to leveraging volunteer hours involving wildlife refuges to be accessible. it is my hope to work across the aisle to support our national wildlife refuge system. i want to acknowledge the co-sponsors of this legislation, chairman grijalva and representatives graves, sablan and special thanks to representative whitman for partnering with me to advance this legislation. i appreciate your leadership and longstanding support for the national wildlife refuge system. supporting this bill in this chamber means supporting the economics for being good stewards that god has given to this great country. vote yes on h.r. 6734. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from arizona reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. carl: i urge adoption and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from arizona is recognized. no. in the opinion of the chair, the 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? mr. grijalva: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 7618. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: house calendar number 366, h.r. 7618, a bill to designate the kol israel foundation holocaust memorial in bedford heights, ohio, as a national memorial. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva, and the gentleman from arizona, mr. carl, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. grijalva: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona virginia tech. mr. grijalva: thank you. i rise in strong support of h.r. 7618, introduced by my colleague, representative brown. this bill would designate the kol israel foundation holocaust memorial in bedford heights, ohio, as a national memorial. this bill recognizes the significance of the kol israel foundation holocaust memorial hi helps preserve the memory of the six million jews murdered by the nazi regime and honors the life and legacy of the holocaust survivors who built this memorial. completed in 1961 by survivors of the holocaust residing in northeast ohio, the kol israel memorial is likely the first and oldest holocaust memorial in the united states. for more than 60 years the kol israel foundation has looked over the memorial which has the ashes of jewish victims and other tokens of remembrance buried at its base. the bill ensures -- ensures national historic recognition for the kol israel holocaust memorial and preserves the memories and resiliency of the victims and the survivors of the holocaust. i would like to thank my colleague, representative shontel brown for introducing this important legislation, for introducing this important acknowledgement and memorial, and championing the bill to the floor. i urge my colleagues to vote yes. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona reserves. the gentleman from alabama, mr. carl, is recognized. mr. carl: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. carl: mr. speaker, h.r. 7618 offered by representative brown would designate the kol israel foundation holocaust museum in zion memorial park in bedford heights, ohio, a national memorial. this memorial was dedicated in may of 1961 and honors the six million jews murdered during the holocaust. it is one of the first holocaust commemorative works in the united states. and it is surrounded by walls with the names of those who died in the holocaust, along with the survivors who later passed away. the memorial also includes the ashes of jewish martyrs killed by nazis from three concentration camps buried at its base. i hope all of the kol israel foundation holocaust memorial would continue to bring peace and comfort to the families anti-community who lost loved one -- and the community who lost loved ones during this holocaust. i urge my colleagues to support this measure. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: mr. speaker, i yield as much time as she may consume to the the gentlewoman from ohio, congresswoman shontel brown, the sponsor of the legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized. ms. brown: thank you, chairman grijalva, for your leadership and yielding to me. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 7618, a bipartisan bill to recognize the kol israel foundation holocaust memorial as a national memorial. h.r. 7618 was unanimously voted out of the house natural resources committee on july 20, 2022. and it's bipartisan senate companion, s.4121, led by senators sherrod brown and rob portman, favorably passed out of senate energy and natural resources committee on july 21, 2022. mr. speaker, this bill recognizes and honors a memorial in my district with a remarkable history. in 1961, surviving victims of the holocaust erected the kol israel memorial dedicating it to the six million jewish victims of the nazi regime, its allies, and collaborators. from 1939 to 1945 the holocaust touched all cornerrers of jewish life from east to west, from africa to northern europe. thriving jewish life in the mainland europe was disseminated. the genocide wiped out entire jewish communities, village, and towns in a campaign that nazis carried out with ruthless precision. they did so with mass shootings, concentration camps, and death camps like none the world had ever seen. the trauma, pain, and suffering inflicted on the jewish community was not confined to their side of the atlantic. many members of our american jewish community were touched by profound loss and survivors found refuge in many communities across the united states. one such group of survivors made its way to northeast ohio, putting down roots in bedford heights, a thriving part of ohio's 11th congressional district. they never forgot the honors of the past and began plan ago memorial to the six million as early as 1959, only 14 years after the end of the second world war. since the memorial's dedication on may 28, 1961, survivors and their families have continuously cared for what is likely the oldest memorial of its kind in the united states. on the memorial's exterior walls, the survivors engrave the names of their family members and loved ones. at the foot of the monument, the survivors also buried firsthand artifacts and keep sakes and ashes of victims from the three concentration camps. giving its historical significance, the kol israel memorial deserves to be recognized by congress. designating the site as a national memorial ensures that future generations understand the true legacy of a very dark chapter in history. this legislation comes at no cost to taxpayers. and does not establish the memorial as a unit of the national park service. the kol israel foundation will retain oversight and responsibility for the memorial as it has for six decades. members of the ohio community, including ohio governor mike dewine, the ohio general assembly, and prominent local and national stakeholders have all supported efforts to recognize the kol israel memorial. the bill also enjoys wide support from a coalition of organizations such as the jewish federation of cleveland, the anti-defamation league, and the american jewish community. i want to thank all the co-sponsors of this legislation, including our seven co-leads from both sides of the aisle, representatives kaptur, ryan, beatty, joyce, balderson, gonzalez, and carey. they, too, have a deep understanding of the importance of the kol israel memorial and this legislation, particularly at a time of rising anti-semitism in the united states and around the world. let me take one moment, mr. speaker, to speak about the dangers of holocaust denial and distortion. last night on imtion 60 minutes" we watched in shock and disgust as the president of iran denied the existence of the holocaust and pretended to seek more information on its veracity. today let us all speak in a loud and clear voice, the holocaust happened. it was devastating. and we must work every day to remember so that we may honestly say, never again. i am honored to represent one of the country's most celebrated jewish communities which happens to reside in ohio state's 11th congressional district. now is our opportunity to honor the victims of the holocaust who call this country home and remember their bravery, dedication, and everlasting legacy. i thank my house colleagues for taking swift action on h.r. 7618 so we may send a strong signal of support for our jewish community. i urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from ohio yields back. the gentleman from arizona reserves. the gentleman from alabama, mr. carl, is recognized. mr. carl: i urge adoption of this bill. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva, is recognized. mr. grijalva: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. members, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 7618. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rule is suspended, the bill is passed, without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? mr. grijalva: thank you, mr. speaker. once again i move that the house perhaps the bill s.2490. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 2490, an act to establish the blackwell school national historic site, in martha, texas, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from arizona , mr. grijalva, and the gentleman from alabama, mr. carl, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure that is before us under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. grijalva: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: thank you. i rise in support of s.2490, the blackwell national historic site act. this legislation, if the house recalls, was sponsored primarily by representative tony gonzales from texas. s. 2490 is a companion to that legislation from the senate. senator corn yirn -- cornyn. and this legislation direct the secretary of interior to establish the blackwell school national historic site to preserve, protect, and interpret the role of the blackwell school as an academic and cultural cornerstone in texas. the blackwell school was the sole public education institution for mexican american children in marfa from 1909 until 1965. when local schools were finally integrated. the building is a tangible reminder of a time in american history where separate but equal remain prevalent in our culture. it is a symbol of community solidarity, pride, identity, and remains to this day. approximately 4,000 students attended the blackwell school over the course of more than 50 years. despite the inherent unfairness of segregation, the school became a meeting place, a source of pride for the local mexican american community in the region. today all that remains of the once sprawling campus is a three-room adobe schoolhouse or the last of schools remaining in texas. designating the blackwell school as a national historic site ensures that the story of the blackwell school is maintained so future americans can learn from and understand its rich, complex, and troubling history. representative tony gonzales should be applauded for his efforts on this. i urge my colleagues to join me today in supporting the bill and sending it to president biden for his signature. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. p carl: madam speaker, i i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. carl: madam speaker, i rise in support of s. 2490, the blackwell school national historical site act. this legislation championed in the house by my friend, tony gonzales of
ArkansasUnited-statesMontanaLouisianaAfghanistanAlabamaAlaskaInterstateGeorgiaMinnesotaChinaBedford-heights >> that look on donald trump's face is worth a million gold plated midtown office towers. that's worth the price of whatever empathetic impulse you have toward your fellow human being donald trump. whatever price you pay in empathetic shame just for the pleasure of seeing his actual shame at having that issue resolved that way on national tv. you do not have to dislike donald trump as a person to be satisfied with seeing this lie of this unraveled. right? i mean because it is a kind of lie implicitly to make it seem in one moment like you're the guy who would be super tough on china, in business terms and economic terms. you're the guy who would stop china from ripping america's heart out while you're the guy who is making his self-branded neckwear in china. that is a kind of lie. in some circles you might refer to that sort of moral pretzeling as hypocrisy. if you want to speak more bluntly and spare more syllables it is a kind of lie to portray yourself as bravely standing up for some particular thing, when you don't particularly stand for that thing at all. the same thing happened last month when republican presidential nominee mitt romney held a business roundtable in bedford heights, ohio. he did it a at a plant called american spring wire. american spring wire bills itself as north america's largest manufacturer of valve and commercial quality sprint wire. they also make pc strand. which is prestressed concrete strand. at his visit to american spring wire, mr. romney hammered away at president obama for not being tough on china. not the way that he mitt romney would be tough on china. but the company mr. romney chose for his backdrop that day, the company that he chose to implicitly help make that case so happened to be a poster child for success by president obama in getting tough on china. in 2009 in the first months of mr. obama's presidency, american spring wire joined with two other makers of steel wire to ask for help. they said china was unfairly dumping steel wire in the united states market at artificially low prices. they asked for help. under president obama the commerce department said they would investigate and then the commerce department did move to protect american spring wire. they did crack down on china for dumping their underpriced product. thus benefiting american spring wire in exactly the way they had asked to be benefited. they got the help they wanted. a company that was then used as a backdrop for mitt romney saying president obama had not been tough on china. today mr. romney gave a major address on economic policy. this is part of his closing argument for the presidency. he delivered the speech at a company called kinsler construction services. in his speech mr. romney argued that president obama's stimulus had failed to help private companies. >> a new stimulus three years after the recession officially ended, that may spare government, but it won't stimulate the private sector than it did four years ago. >> that's what mitt romney said today at kinsler construction services in ames, iowa. you know that blissful moment waiting for the other shoe to drop? you can see david letterman scrutinizing the ties. to look for the tag to see where it's made. you know you're in that moment right now? as noted at think progress today, kinsler construction services benefitted from almost $700,000 from the stimulus that mr. romney says did no good for any companies in the private sector. you can try to make the argument that the stimulus program did not help private businesses even though the evidence shows the opposite is true. but he you're trying to make that false argument, that the stimulus program didn't help any private businesses, as you are standing at a private business that the stimulus helped, that is a particular kind of implicit lie. and the rest of us can see that lie as it is unraveled in realtime by reporting. even if you the teller of that particular lie do not seem chastened by the experience of being called out. here's another one. mr. romney spoke yesterday in the town of defiance, ohio. part of why ohio's economy has bounced back is we did not let detroit go bankrupt. as it were. the obama administration bailed out the automobile industry. saved the industry and it has roared back to life and the big three are hiring again. yesterday in defiance, ohio, mitt romney gave that obama administration success story a little mitt romney esque tickle. >> i saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state, now owned by the italians, is thinking of moving all production to china. >> wow. mr. romney saying, hey, don't get too comfy there, ohio, with the obama rescue of the automotive industry. i know it's been better. he saved everything here and that's why you have jobs and everything, but don't get too comfy, ohio, i read that they're moving all the jobs working for jeep. they're moving all the jeep jobs to china. he said that in ohio on the campaign trail 12 days before the election. and it is not true at all. the real jeep news that day was actually that chrysler announced it was adding 1100 new jobs in the u.s. here. making jeeps in detroit. jeep grand cherokees. and chrysler says it could hire almost as many people at another plant in warren, michigan. in ohio crisler is investing half a billion dollars in its toledo plant and hiring 1100 workers. but mitt romney got up that said defiance, ohio, and said he read somewhere that jeep is moving all of its production jobs to china. all of them. that's ridiculous. what is he talking about? it's embarrassing for mr. romney, right? why on god's great campaign trail would mitt romney get up in front of 12,000 people in ohio and tell them the auto bailout actually hasn't helped you at all. your jobs making jeeps are going to china. i read it somewhere. where's this story he said he read somewhere? we found it. here it is. he was apparently trolling the nether regions of the right-wing press. he found it on a washington examiner blog post, which reported, quote, jeep, an obama favorite, looks to shift production to china. a move that would crash the economy in toledo. is this true? this is not true. this is a conservative blogger's misreading of a bloomberg report that actually was reporting this news for jeep. the bloomberg report was that global demand for jeep has risen to the point where the company can sell more of them in china and it wants to build jeeps for china in china. this is good news for an american company, not bad news. they are not shipping american jobs overseas. this doesn't mean less work for americans. this means they are adding, they are expanding overseas. thanks to the auto bailout, that mitt romney opposed, chrysler stuck around long enough to win again. yay! or as mitt romney put it -- >> jeep now owned by the italians, is thinking of moving all production to china. >> i cover campaigns for a living. right? i understand that politicians inflate and conflate and duck and dodge and weave and even dissemble sometimes. that is not what mitt romney is up to here. mitt romney is just flat-out lying to the voters of ohio. and by extension the voters all across america on the basis of something he happened to read in the right-wing blogosphere. his lie is embarrassing, frankly, and it should be unsettling for the rest of the world. imagine him waking up in the lincoln bedroom, checking his twitter feed, and running with whatever he finds there. hey, i read somewhere that russia did a thing. mr. romney is not wising up. he made the same mistake when he tried to say that president obama had not said the word terror when he talked about the benghazi attack in the rose garden a day after the attack. the president had, in fact, used that word. but if you read the conservative blogosphere, and the conservative blogosphere only, that never happened. and that apparently was enough of a fact check for mitt romney. that's what he read, so that's what he believes, that's what he tried to use, and what turned out to be a humiliating gotcha attempt that failed before the largest possible audience. right? between 50-something million people watching him fail in a presidential debate. >> i'm the president. and i'm always responsible. and that's why nobody is more interested in finding out exactly what happened than i do. the day after the attack, governor, i stood in the rose garden and i told the american people and the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened. that this was an act of terror. >> it's interesting the president just said something which is that on the day after the attack he went in the rose garden and said that this was an act of terror. you said in the rose garden the day after the attack it was an act of terror? it was not a spontaneous demonstration. >> please proceed, governor. >> is that what you're saying? i want to make sure we get that for the record. because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in benghazi an act of terror. >> get the transcript. >> he did, in fact, sir. let me call it an act of terror. >> can you say that a little louder, candy? >> they never took back the rose garden thing. they never corrected that. after mitt romney said in front of 50 million people, you never said terror. they never took it back when he was proven wrong. they haven't taken back saying jeep is planning on shipping all of its production to china. it's not at all true. said it on the campaign trail, he has not taken it back. they never took it back about the american spring wire factory where he was making the case that president obama hasn't been tough on china. when he's speaking at the company that asks the obama administration to get tough on china and they did and that's, in part, why the company is still there. they never took back on the stimulus company. the company that benefited from the stimulus while mr. romney was there talking about how no company benefited from the stimulus. they never take these things back. right? it's okay for your uncle who watches fox news all day, and yells at the tv, to say, i saw that story somewhere. right? but when you want to be president of the united states, you can't keep proving that your first line of intelligence is the suffocating, oxygen-free, right-wing blogosphere and something that you read on a right-wing blog that isn't true ends up going directly into a presidential candidate's speech. stuff is not true just because you read it somewhere. yet twice now in the closing weeks of the campaign we have seen mitt romney operate that way. democrats and the obama campaign believe they see an end game here, connecting these different kinds of romney campaign problems that the romney campaign never corrects itself. the democrats now, you can tell, believe that they can sell the voting public on barack obama as the candidate you can trust to tell you the truth and believe what he says against mitt romney as the candidate you cannot trust. integrity has become the democrat's issue now. integrity and trust. after the republican primary the obama campaign was reportedly divided on strategy. they were divided over whether they were going to try to hold mitt romney to the severely conservative positions he had to take in order to win the primary. whether they should try to make him seem like the extreme conservative he declared himself to be in order to get the nomination. the obama campaign was divided between that strategy and whether they were instead going to try to make mitt romney seem like a flip-flopper. human weather vane who would say anything he needed to to get by at that moment. they chose the former. they chose to try to hold him to the conservative positions he took in the primary. now as it comes down to the final vote, mitt romney is abandoning all those positions. from repreductive rights to health reform to his own policies. he's abandoning his own policies in a way that makes all of those policies less relevant. those positions themselves have become less relevant. and what has become relevant is his willingness to abandon them. his willingness to walk away from anything, to never mind the record, don't bother correcting it, don't bother being consistent, hope nobody checks, say anything. his integrity is essentially the democrats' closing argument. >> the presidency is all about who's going to fight for the american people every single day, even when you've got to make tough decisions that are unpopular, because you have some compass about what this can be. and during the course of these four years, there are all kinds of mistakes that i have made every single day. but my compass has been true. and i've focused on what's going to be best for the american people. >> my compass has been true. the democrats now in the last 11 days integrity has become the closing argument. integrity and trust. joining us is co-host of "the cycle" and senior writer for salon.com. steve, thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> can you close an election on this kind of sell line about trust worthiness and integrity? it is no longer an ideological argument from the democrats. they're essentially saying, judge mitt romney for his character. >> i think it's an experiment. i don't think we know the answer. obviously we will on election day. because what mitt romney is attempting to pull off here is something i don't think we have really seen before in modern politics. this is a move to the middle on the cheap. it's coming late in the campaign. it's rhetorical in nature. it's not substantive in nature. for comparison, think back to 2000. the republicans made a calculation after eight years of clinton that they were too far to the right, and needed to be in the middle for the national election, they needed compassionate conservativeism, to bush they sort of saw their bill clinton. but bush spent 1999 developing a real program. later called it big government conservatism. but he had a real plan there to create a greater federal role in education. he had a real plan there for a federal role on prescription drugs. they developed a vision. the republican vision -- >> hence the immigration bill. >> exactly. this is what he ran on in 2000. so there was some real substance there. what mitt romney is doing right here, he was far to the right in the primary. gave the conservative base everything they wanted. in the republican platform. this is one of the most conservative republican platforms we have seen. he did nothing at the convention from a policy standpoint to move away from that. he waited until october 3rd to start in a debate to articulate moderate-sounding outcomes. not policy, but outcomes. things that sound pleasing to moderates that are not backed up. but he's not changed his position on anything that i can really see. i'm struggling to think of a precedent. the idea of you can't trust this guy. the idea you don't want a weather vane being president. if it's ever going to work against the candidate it would have to work now because i've never seen one this cheap. >> have you ever seen that particular attack work on another candidate though? the idea that this guy is morally flimsy, substantively useless. he was a chameleon, i'll do whatever needs to be said, and that you can't take him at his word? has that ever been stuck on a candidate in a way that they couldn't slough off? >> it can be stuck on a candidate in the sense it raises their personal negative rating. that's what's happening to romney all year until october 3rd. that was for a variety of reasons. some were gaffes and missteps. he was the first candidate through september of a major party nominee who had a negative personal favorable rating. and i think that clearly was dragging down his support in national polls. why he didn't lead until october 3rd. the wild card here, the change that took place in october, when people -- the biggest statistic that jumps out is people started judging swing voters really started judging romney winner on the economy. he's opened up a high lead over obama on the economy. if that overrides their concerns about his personality and character, then there's not much obama can do. but they had luck, you know, with romney's personal negatives before that. so there's potential there. >> i wonder if the -- i was thinking about this with the appearances in ohio. looking at the economic numbers in ohio. of course it's been funny at the personality level to see ohio republican governor john kasich try to talk to ohio about how much things have gotten better under his leadership and have the romney campaign think, shhh, we'd really prefer to say things here are going very badly. as the campaign shrinks down to a small number of swing states and they do have that improving economic numbers, problem as it were, on the republican side, in places like florida and especially in places like ohio, does that change the type of argument they need to make about change? about why mitt romney is the guy who should be trusted to do things differently than barack obama? since under barack obama things are getting better? >> they are hitting a dead end there. kasich basically said things are on the upswing in ohio. to keep it going you need to change leadership in washington. that's a strange, kind of incoherent message. it's true if you look at the numbers in ohio and to an extent in wisconsin. certainly in ohio. if you look nationally at where obama has been bleeding support, with whites, especially white guys, not as much in ohio. not nearly as dramatic. you can definitely link that to the economy there, to the bailout there, and i can think it's a small example, the 1988 election. bush versus dukakis, a sea of red on the electoral map. bush won coast to coast. there were three states in the upper midwest, an ocean of red that went democratic. iowa, minnesota and wisconsin. it was because the farm economy collapsed in the mid 1980s. the economy was so much worse there than the rest of the country that they wanted to take it out on the reagan administration. they turned on bush and voted for dukakis. everybody else was going for bush. so i see there's a potential there for kind of a flip of that. the economy is strong in ohio. i can definitely see it would probably explain why obama is doing better in ohio than he is nationally. >> steve, thank you for joining us here tonight. do you feel like between now and the election it's essentially just one sprint? do you plan to sleep or take any time off at all? >> i haven't been so far. so why change now? >> thank you. it's a good bet you have not seen the most moving speech by a politician in the last 24 hours. actually it's probably the most moving speech by an american politician in awhile. we have the video tonight. i don't think it's been anywhere else at all. we're going to play it here for you tonight. it's a pretty good chunk of tape. going to play it at length. it's truly emotional stuff. that's coming up on the show tonight. stay with us. 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[ coughs ] [ buzz! ] [ screams ] ...and you could find yourself... honey? ...on the couch. nyquil. 50% longer cough relief. as long as longtime indiana senator dick lugar lost his seat in a republican primary to a tea party guy named richard mourdock, as soon as that happened, everybody knew that the democrats had been given an opening to potentially take that indiana senate seat from red to blue. that was before richard mourdock cited god's will to help him explain why he would force a rape victim to give birth against her will. >> even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> later clarified that god didn't intend for you to be raped, he just intended that once you were being raped, it would result in your pregnancy. that's the god's will part. since those comments mr. mourdock's democratic opponent joe donnelly has been telling the papers that his internal polling in indiana shows mourdock trailing joe donnelly by seven points. since that polling was given to "the washington post" this morning we know it doesn't account for any effect on the electorate that we might expect from these further comments on rape and what richard mourdock wants to do to rape victims. these further comments made by richard mourdock today in an interview with the local nbc affiliate in terre haute. watch. >> if a woman were to be raped would you vote for a law that would make them have that baby because that baby is a gift from god? >> my point of view all along, i've had this position for many years, the only exception i have for abortion is the life of the mother. >> what if it were a 13-year-old girl who were raped and impregnated. would you vote to make sure that in those situations you would make the girl have the baby? >> you can start throwing all kinds of hypotheticals out there. i've made my statement. >> wow. he's made his statement. and he's one of at least 12 republican senate candidates this year who would make that same statement. which it turns out has political consequences. more on that coming up. arian! yeah, i might have ears like a rabbit... but i want to eat meat! 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[ vibrating continues ] our giant store and your little phone. that's progressive mobile. but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. with snapshot, i ew what i could save before i switched to progressive. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. you're not filming this, are you? aw! camera shy. snapshot from progressive. test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. there's something that's hiding in plain sight right now on the campaign trail. let me show you. these are the seven of the swingiest swing states. over the last few days mitt romney has been in nevada and in iowa and in ohio and then ohio three more times and then iowa and then, yes, ohio again. that's mitt romney's travel itinerary for the last few days. but his running mate paul ryan out alone on the campaign trail, is doing something very different than that. this hasn't been getting much attention but the difference is stark. yesterday paul ryan was in midland, texas. then he left texas only to be beamed back to texas by satellite that evening for this event. for an event with former vice president dick cheney, and glenn beck. a man who is apparently a sensation on the internet now. where he sells pants. he sells glenn beck pants now. paul ryan has this week also been in georgia at two separate fundraisers in south carolina and today he was in huntsville, alabama. i think we have photos of him arriving in huntsville, alabama. today for a fund-raiser. tickets were up to $5,000 a pop. but that's in alabama. i mean, the election is a week from tuesday and you're in alabama? is alabama swinging this year? this is not swing state travel. all that unswing state travel and it's not preaching to the choir, it's like preaching to the mirror at this point. on the democratic ticket, the vice president has a different role to play than the president does. it is underappreciated what joe biden is doing for the democratic ticket right now, but we have some incredible footage for you that has not been seen anywhere else, which i think may help to clear up some confusion on this subject. that's our exclusive that we have got for you tonight. and that's ahead. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. 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northeast. kind of ruined trick-or-treating and it turned out to be the only real snow we got all year. basically it sucked. this year we're anticipating another big weather event right before halloween and it's actually looking like it might be a big enough weather event it might not just mess with halloween, it might mess with another big national thing that comes up less than a week after halloween this year and that's a little something you might have heard of called election day. halloween is wednesday and election day is the tuesday after that. forecasters at the national weather service have taken to calling what is upon us a frankenstorm. apparently a combination of a few different things. first and most importantly it's a hurricane. hurricane sandy. . but hurricane sandy combines with a winter storm coming out of the west and that combines further with what they describe as a blast of arctic air. a storm or a storm system or combination of storm systems that's potentially this significant is always of national significance. but in this case the frankenstorm could also be of political significance if its effect was both big enough and its damage long-lasting enough that it complicates not just early voting next week, but also potentially voting on election day itself on november 6th. there's no reason to be alarmist about this, right? but there is reason to pay attention to this storm. reason to pay attention to the storm no matter where you live. even if it's not going to direct you as weather it might directly affect you as politics. in the swing state of virginia, governor bob mcdonnell has already declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the frankenstorm and mitt romney has already canceled a rally set for sunday in virginia beach because of the threat of the storm. so thanks to the weather, there's even more uncertainty about what the next ten days hold in this particular swing state of virginia. there's more uncertainty there. than there is in the rest of the country and in the rest of the battleground map. that is remarkable to the point of irony. because there was already so much uncertainty about virginia. when president obama won virginia in 2008, it was more than just a big political deal. it was historic. this was the first time a democrat had won virginia in a race for the presidency since 1964. virginia had been red for more than four decades. president obama's victory in virginia in the last election reflects just a historic change. virginia is a state that's in flux. the political history of virginia does not tell you much about what's going to happen next in virginia, because frankly what just happened in virginia in the last election was totally unprecedented in modern history. virginia is in new territory. and then what happened after the 2008 election was still further new territory. still more change. which makes the state all the more unknowable right now. in 2009 the year after it went blue in the presidential election for the first time in 44 years, in 2009, the state decided to elect this guy, republican governor bob mcdonnell. a fairly radical conservative guy who went to pell he will advantage list pat robertson's university where he wrote his graduate thesis saying the government should use public policy to punish cohabitaters, homosexuals and fornicators. oh, my. govern mcdonnell took office in 2010 and pulled the legislature into republican territory with him. early this year that republican legislature came up with a fertilized egg as person bill. a bill that would ban all abortion, it would likely also ban hormonal contraception in virginia and it would ban in vitro fertilization. governor mcdonnell said he would take a look at that bill if it did end up coming to his desk. the day the bill was passed through a committee, this is what the lobby of the hearing room looked like. the area around the personhood bill was full of protesters. that was a standing-room only type of gig. there were protesters outside as well. virginia republicans also came out with their forced vaginal probe ultrasound bill this year which governor mcdonnell initially through his full support behind. hundreds of protesters turned up at the capital on the day the house was supposed to vote to take part in a silent protest. protesters lined the sidewalks so legislators would just have to see them as they walked to work. they just stood there being quiet. it was a very powerful, very large protest. they are making their case on two levels. first, there were a lot of people. lots of women, also some men too. and they were all willing to show up and stand there and demonstrate that they were against that forced ultrasound bill. but these were often seen and not heard on an issue where their complaint was that their voices were being ignored. their choices were being taken away. governor mcdonnell, under really heavy pressure, ultimately called for an amended version of the forced ultrasound bill that did not require that the up extra sound be the vaginal probe kind. but he did sign the final forced ultrasound bill. and from that conflict and that outcome he earned himself the national nickname "he will never shed as long as i'm alive" and that of course is governor up extra sound. this was the scene at a board of health meeting in september after govern ultrasound's administration and ken cuccinelli aggressively engineered that board that could have the effect of shutting down almost all the abortion clinics in virginia. virginia has been in a state of political unrest and upheaval since the 2008 elections. the political landscape is changing there. we talked about this kind of political phenomenon last night. in terms of has going on in ohio. and the same is true of a number of swing states. i think it's an underappreciated phenomenon in the way that these states are being talked about and appreciated now in these final days of the presidential race. but it's not true of every battleground state. but in some of the really important ones. in ohio, in wisconsin, in virginia, we have seen very, very, very potent partisan political conflict in the last couple of years leading up to this year's presidential race. presidential elections do not just happen in a presidential partisan vacuum. the way the parties comport themselves in each individual state has an effect on the way voters in that state think about those parties even at the national level. if you are a national candidate, one sure-fire way to tether yourself to a controversial state party is to make sure that you embody the positions from your party that caused all the controversy in that state in the first place. so for example when you're a guy who said you would have absolutely supported a personhood-style, fertilized egg as a person measure to ban all abortion, when you say that, you are speaking to an electorate in virginia that is frankly very fired up about that exact issue. that has been fighting against that position in their state all year. and you know maybe you could still maybe get away with holding a mitt romney position against abortion, against funding for planned parenthood, against access to contraception, maybe you could hold that position and still pitch yourself successfully to virginia voters if you carefully tack to the center in the general election, if, say, you picked a moderate running mate who is not going to reflect all the crazy rollbacks to women's health that have been proposed in that state. maybe you could get away with that. if on the other hand you picked a guy who sponsored a personhood bill for the nation, a guy whose abortion position is he would have the government force rape victims to bear their rapist's child against their will. a guy who co-sponsored a bill to narrow the deaf nation of rape for women seeking access to abortion. if you picked that guy to be on your ticket, a guy who doubled down on all of the things that have been so shocking to virginia in 9 past year, and you announce him as your running mate in virginia you probably going to remind virginia voters of all of the stuff they have been taking from the republicans in their state lately that has made the whole state so mad. that's why virginia is a swing state this year. i mean nobody expected virginia to be a contested race in this election. the democrats were hoping for it, but they are hoping for it and realistic democrats were not expecting it. everybody assumed it was going to revert back to its 44-year legacy as a red state after this anomalous experience in 2008. but right now, virginia is neck and neck. the last three polls in virginia show the race either tied or mitt romney up by just one or two points. and this is part of why. president obama is winning in virginia among women. winning in those polls between 5 and 16 points. the gender gap in the persistent problem that republicans have in appealing to women because of the way republicans have governed there is having a powerful and potentially historical effect on the presidential race this year. a v! yeah, i might have ears like a rabbit... but i want to eat meat! 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[ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has more of 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. i think we have seen again this week, i don't think any male politician should be making health care decisions for women. >> president obama speaking in richmond, virginia, yesterday. joining us is melissa harris perry. professor of political science at tulane university. she's a columnist for the nation and host of the melissa harris perry show here on msnbc. thank you for being here. >> absolutely. >> is there a hermetically sealed bubble around presidential elections or does what happens in these swing states reflect not just the presidential election but what has happened politically in those states since '08? >> i think the story you told about virginia going blue, and a story we didn't tell quite enough on election night in 2008. in part, because like ten minutes later we called the west coast and it was over. >> then the election was over. >> so no one really paused it to take note of it. but that transition is indicative of sort of how much virginia has changed as a place. it's always been a border state. it's always quite different in northern virginia than somewhere else. but the fact is that the fights that we have seen there over the course of the past four years is a shifting back and forth of the republican control and then the republican control going too far, particularly on women's questions is microcosm of what's happening in the broader country. and look, it is between states at this point. it may come to ohio but it may also come to virginia. >> does governor bob mcdonnell, before he became governor, he was being talked about as potential vice presidential pick. but just as governor in that state, does his existence and his record in that state make it more or less likely that president obama will take the state? >> it's a little hard to tell. we look at the gender gap and we start sort of taking all women and putting them in the same category and saying there's a uterus uprising occurring here. but when you pull the numbers apart, the fact is there's really different sorts of women who support president obama versus other sorts of women. women of color are driving that gender gap. so yes, there's a gender gap, but a lot is driven by african-american women. latino women. southeast asian women who haven't forgotten george allen, who is also on the senate ticket. that suggests to me that the real question of whether or not it's going to have an impact on the presidential race is whether or not those parts of the obama for america 2012 machine are prepared to turn out those communities, and not just sort of thinking about like women as an interest group. you know, relative to these reproductive rights policies. >> what do you know about how good they are? the logistics of running a get out the vote operation don't work the same for all types of voters, right? >> right. now the virginia campaign to get out women of color and to get out voters in northern virginia is extremely good. and then there's a hurricane. and the question of whether or not those few days of the president showing up in virginia and having something to say and indicating how important that state is to him is kind of hard to tell from this distance. but they have been very good at exactly the communities where the women who are obama supporting women. the one place that's the challenge are college campuses. the other group of women who helped to drive this gender gap are women who have never lived in a world without access to birth control, without access to abortion services. living on the campus of the university of virginia in charlottesville and william and mary and whether or not those women show up to vote depends a lot on whether or not the young vote feels enthusiastic rather than the women vote. >> and whether campuses will be shut down because of the storm. the host of the show. melissa harris-perry. going to be a very exciting next ten days. i'm glad i'll spend it with you. thank you for being here. we'll be right back with the exclusive footage. i've been teasing you about all hour. 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[ male announcer ] try new alka-seltzer plus severe allergy to treat allergy symptoms plus sinus congestion and pain. that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. >> thank you mr. president. brad, i'm going to give you one more minute. >> earlier however on air force one, right when our time was up and the interview was supposed to end, the president asked to keep going. he ran through what's become his pitch. his list of principles in the current campaign ad that's airing. but then he also wanted to address how this all must look from the outside. >> it's funny. one of the things about being on the campaign trail, you're in air force one, you're in marine one, these big motorcades. michelle jokes that i've got everything but a caboose and a dog sled. behind me wherever i'm going. none of that is the presidency. the presidency is all about who's going to fight for the american people every single day, even when you've got to make tough decisions that are unpopular, because you have some compass about what this country is be. and -- and, you know, during the course of these four years, there are all kinds of mistakes that i've made every single day. but my compass has been true. and i've focused on what's going to bbest for the american people. >> that was how brian williams's "rock center" interview with president obama yesterday. after spending two days with brian williams, the president asked for one more minute with his interviewer. which he never does. said he wanted to say one more thing. it was that compass idea. this compass idea that president obama went out of his way to make sure he said there. the idea of the president having a compass that is true. that is basically the idea of character, of integrity. it's the idea of personal authenticity to an extent. that you know what a person stands for. that you know that person will stand for those things even when it's hard. because it is who they truly are. this is more than just being likable. this is the idea of personal substance that you can be counted on to do the right thing because you are who you say you are. you are not acting. this is a sort of intangible currency that campaigns are always competing for at every level. but it's particularly so at the end of big races where the people who haven't been persuaded by the more overt arguments and policy differences are the ones who are going to make the final decision. at the end of the day people who have no reason to vote one way or the other will vote for who the person they trust not to pull one over on them. that's what the birtherism is on the right. they keep with that stupid thing because it translates to the president being secretly not what he seems. right? at the end of this campaign, the trust issue is also what the obama campaign is pressing about mitt romney. not in some sort of creepy, pseudo racist birther way but more directly asking people the question whether you really believe this guy stands for anything. whether he seems authentic to you. whether you really trust that he believes what he says. they don't get much credit for it but the obama/biden ticket's secret weapon on the issue of authenticity and being who you purport to be, their secret weapon has always been vice president joe biden. the right has tried to make him into a caricature and a joke but it's instructive that he was able to defuse that totally at the vice presidential debate where he said yeah, sure, make fun of me all you want but i always say what i mean. which nobody can dispute. joe biden always does say what he means. and when joe biden really says what he means, when he really lets loose, it can be a very powerful thing. watch. >> people say to me now, and i wonder now, whatever gave you the courage as a 29-year-old kid to announce to the united states senate against a man who had an 82% favorable rating, in a year when we knew it was going to be tough. what gave you the courage to run? or some thought, what made you so foolhardy? the answer, you girls should know this, was your father. your father. i didn't know him when i announced for the senate. but i honest to god believed that i could maybe go help him end this war. i honest to god believed that. what people don't realize, had your father not been there, had your father never been in the senate, so much more blood, so much more treasure would have been wasted. the war would have never ended when it did. it would have never ended how it did. your father gave courage to people who didn't have the courage to speak up, to finally stand up. your father stood there and took all of that beating. your father, who was characterized by these right-wing guys as a coward and unwilling to fight, your father was a genuine hero. the irony used to make me so angry, so angry, that your father would never speak up and talk about. his heroism. your father had more physical courage in his little finger than 95% of those guys who continued to fight, to fight a war we shouldn't have fought in the first place. but because he took such a miserable beating, he actually, even though he didn't win that election, he won the end of the war. it would have never happened. >> that was vice president joe biden offering the eulogy last night for senator george mcgovern who was a war hero and anti-war stalwart and was the democratic party's presidential nominee in 1972. he died this weekend by the age of 90. vice president biden not only doing right by the memory of senator mcgovern but showing what has been central to his political career. which is being able to tell powerful and accessible stories that connect human beings to values and to big political ideas. that is what joe biden has always done as a politician. and it is what he does now on this campaign, as this campaign becomes more and more every day about that challenge, that compass. that issue of authenticity and values. "weekends with alex witt" starts now. breaking news on sandy, everyone
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