Ralph Abraham

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the incredible work performed by those running the Alexandria Mega Shelter in my district during the Hurricane Harvey evacuation. In Louisiana, we know too well how devastating hurricanes and flooding can be. When our neighbors in Texas needed help, Louisiana answered the call. At its peak, the Alexandria Mega Shelter housed 1,800 people displaced by Hurricane Harvey. I visited with some of the victims and the workers, and I want to share with you some of the amazing work that went on there. The shelter provided a roof and a bed for people whose homes were flooded and destroyed; but as a physician, I was most impressed with the medical response that I saw at the shelter. On short notice, local healthcare providers banded together to set up a clinic to meet the health needs of these displaced people, including dialysis patients who could not miss treatments; if they did, they could die. The clinic allowed most patients to be treated in-house right there in the Mega Shelter, making their stay in the shelter easier than it might have been otherwise. Additionally, the shelter was able to send 1,800 pounds of donated medications and medical supplies to patients in Beaumont, Texas, whose people were struggling in the aftermath of the storm just to get the medicines they needed to survive themselves. Local pilots and aviators donated air time and resources to fly these medicines and these badly needed supplies to Beaumont where they could help these good people. I want to specifically mention the efforts of the Louisiana National Guard; the Louisiana State Police, including Superintendant Kevin Reeves and his troopers; Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton and his deputies; and Azar Kayal and his staff at the Louisiana Department of Public Safety for their role in assisting the people at the shelter. I also want to mention Dr. Spencer Tucker, Dr. Emily Smith Grezaffi, Laura Pickett, Melinda Sanders, Nici English, Dr. David Holcombe, and all those with the Louisiana Department of Health, and emergency and local pharmacies who helped meet the medical needs of all these people displaced at this one shelter. Recovery from Harvey will be difficult, and now our prayers and thoughts are also with our friends in Florida who are dealing with the effects of Hurricane Irma that just passed. As tragic as these storms can be, they also tend to bring out the best in us as Americans, who always answer the call to serve and help those who are suffering. We are all one big family when these disasters hit. Thank you to all those at the Alexandria Mega Shelter who welcomed these displaced people in their time of need and hopefully made their ordeal a little better.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to a very critical issue that has occurred concerning our skies and the control thereof. Our U.S. airspace is the busiest airspace in the world and, alone, is the safest and most successful. We have over 87,000 flights per day in the United States airspace. Our wonderful friends from Canada, just to the north, have only a mere fraction of that. For decades, our air traffic control has been successfully managed under the FAA with the oversight of Congress and the American taxpayer. Like any system, there is always room for improvement and modernization. However, there are some who think that the only way to get to modernization is through privatization. This could not be further from the truth. Congress will soon begin debating an FAA reauthorization bill. Chairman Shuster and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure have done a commendable job and worked tirelessly to craft a bill that brings much-needed reforms to the FAA. However, I strongly disagree with the idea to give control of air traffic services to a private corporation governed by a board made up of special interests. There are just too many reasons why this is a bad idea. Under the plan, the corporation would operate air traffic control by charging flyers user fees. A private corporation concerned with raising money from user fees will be heavily incentivized to prioritize air traffic services where it can raise the most money. This incentive would be very harmful to constituents like mine in rural areas who could very well see a reduction in air traffic services. Further, a private user fee model would undoubtedly reduce revenues to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, as the administration's own budget predicts. This fund is critical for upgrades and maintenance in small- and medium-sized airports across the country. Reliable air traffic services and airport infrastructure are essential for rural areas to attract business, for economic growth, and for Americans to have access to safe and efficient travel. This plan is bad for rural America. Spinning off air traffic control to a private corporation is also a major liability for the American taxpayer. The administration's budget predicts that privatization of air traffic control would cost almost $46 billion over 10 years. These costs would be compounded by the fact that the private corporation will be required to hire all current Federal air traffic employees, continue to contribute to their Federal benefits and healthcare, and continue to collectively bargain with their union representatives. This is hardly privatization and hardly modernization. Even more concerning, the taxpayers would likely be on the hook if the corporation took on more debt than it can pay for and is unable to safely operate our skies. Yes, the bill says there is no Federal guarantee for the corporation, but this hasn't stopped the Federal Government from being forced to bail out other so-called private corporations to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Our airspace is a public resource and a great national treasure. Control over it should not be handed over to a private board with no oversight from Congress and, therefore, no obligation to represent the best interests of the citizens of the United States. Modernization should continue to be our goal, and Congress can get there without jeopardizing control and safety of our national airspace. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the President to modernize our airspace while making sure that it remains the safest and most accessible in the world.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I am here to talk for a few minutes about the FAA reauthorization act, better known as the AIRR Act. Now, this particular bill has two components: modernization and privatization. President Trump, being a great businessman, the very astute businessman that he is, has told us that we need to modernize our airspace, our air traffic control facilities, everything that allows us to continue to have the safest and busiest airspace, literally, in the world, and I agree wholeheartedly with our great President that we do need to modernize. The issue that I have is with the privatization part. As mentioned, our airspace is the busiest it has ever been. On a daily basis, somewhere between 87,000 and 88,000 flights take place in the airspace of the United States of America. We have been asked to compare our air traffic control system with that of our great neighbor to the north, Canada, but the issue with that, Mr. Speaker, is that Canada only has a small, small fraction of the air traffic that we have here in the great United States. The U.S. airspace is unique because it is a public resource that is accessible to all users, and it is protected by the fact that the air traffic organization, under the FAA, is directly accountable to Congress, but more importantly, to the American people. Handing over that control of air traffic services to a private corporation, as this AIRR Act wants to do, will put the interests that right now are under the tutelage of air traffic control to a board of directors that may not have the interests of the American taxpayer and the consumer as its foremost priority. Under the plan that is in the AIRR Act, this corporation will not be answerable to Congress. The only thing they will have to do is to provide reports on its operations every now and then. Under this plan, Congress has ceded its oversight over a major component of interstate commerce and, might I add--very important--national defense. There is also very little oversight from our executive branch, the President. Decisions by the corporation to change safety standards or to reduce air traffic services will be subject to minimal scrutiny from the Department of Transportation. Also, as stated, the President will have limited authority to take command of the airspace unless there is a declaration of war. On the cost and the funding uncertainties, I have an issue with this AIRR Act. The CBO predicts that this plan will cost the Federal Government--which, by the way, is us, taxpayers--$21 billion over the 10-year budget window, but this doesn't take into account any other factors that will probably exceed that cost by many, many billions, and that is with a B. The administration's fiscal 2018 budget paints a fuller picture of the costs, and it estimates a $46 billion cost over the same 10-year period. Mr. Speaker, we have got enough budget problems without adding more gasoline to the fire. The problem is that this revenue is critical for filling the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which pays for popular programs like the Airport Improvement Program that communities all across the country rely on for their airport improvements, to pay for infrastructure upgrades, runway overlays, lighting, taxiways, those types of things that are essential for an airport to work. The FAA bill before us authorizes more funding for the Airport Improvement Fund program, which is great, but it is still uncertain where these funds will come from. What makes up for the shortfall? I don't see it in this bill. Mr. Speaker, I represent a great swath of the great State of Louisiana, good, good people, a lot of them in a rural community that are far away from any major metropolitan areas. My concern with this AIRR Act is that a private corporation concerned with raising money from user fees will be heavily incentivized to go to where the users are: the East Coast and the West Coast. My question and my very much concern is: What happens to all of us in between that East Coast and West Coast? I worry that we will be left out of the mix and be left out of the equation because we will not be as able to contribute to user fees because of the population. Decisions to change air traffic services can too easily be justified by this corporation, this private corporation that is talked about in this AIRR Act, and will face minimal scrutiny from the Department of Transportation. A reduction in air traffic control services means a reduction in enplanements and a reduction in revenue at small, regional airports, just as I alluded to, and this makes it even harder to access the funding from the Airport Improvement Program. All of these factors taken together will exacerbate the problem with access to air travel for 95-plus percent of the people in America, and this is hard for rural areas. They have a hard enough time making ends meet. They don't need the extra costs and the extra burden of traveling to a large city, maybe spending the night at a hotel to catch an early flight, the cost of transportation just so they can catch a flight to some other part of the United States. The taxpayer seems to be on the hook here, too, under this AIRR Act. Under the plan, the Federal Government would simply hand over all the air traffic control assets to the private corporation free of charge, and this will negate decades and hundreds of billions--again, that is with a B--of dollars in taxpayer investments that the corporation will be able to dispose of and sell as it sees fit. The plan will also create a potential multibillion-dollar unfunded liability for the Departmen of Defense to upgrade its systems to be interoperable with the new ATC corporation. What if the private corporation has one set of systems, our Department of Defense doesn't have that, but they have got to be talking to each other? This is a national security issue. And again, who pays for that? Well, again, the taxpayers would certainly be on the hook to bring the Department of Defense up to speed. Again, this is something that we need to look very, very closely at in this bill. The board of the corporation is not restricted in how much debt it can take on, and this sets up a very dangerous potential for a taxpayer bailout that, although this bill says it won't happen, I again question because these are the same types of promises that we got with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and we know what happened then and how much the taxpayer had to dole out to bail them out. I have alluded to the safety and national security issue, and I want to hit that a little bit harder. Under the plan, the oversight from the air traffic safety organization--it is called ATSOS, Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service--sunsets after 2 years. My question with this AIRR Act is: What happens after the 2-year window? Who watches the gate? And I do worry about that. What happens if there are major safety breaches? And certainly we don't want any accidents, but what happens if there is a major accident after 2 years? When it comes to the operation of our skies--safety, safety, safety. It trumps everything because we have lives at risk every day. I go back to my opening remarks. We have the safest system, airspace in the world, and I am concerned that this safety could be jeopardized if our airspace is controlled by a private entity that is primarily motivated by raising revenue. Control of our airspace is a critical function of national security. As Federal agencies, the FAA and the Department of Defense currently share airspace, training systems, assets, equipment, and information. Divorcing ATC, air traffic control, functions from the Federal Government and inserting an unaccountable third-party private contractor into the coordination of our airspace will make us more vulnerable to attack. The private ATC corporation that the AIRR Act is touting will have access to highly sensitive information regarding strategic operations in our airspace without the same standards of protection that are required of Federal agencies, so I worry about leaks, those types of issues. There is also a labor issue that, really, nobody is looking at, I am afraid, in this AIRR Act. I know many air traffic controllers personally. I fly in the United States airspace personally a lot. These are good, dedicated people, and I admire the work that they do every day to safely operate our skies; however, the major labor unions successfully negotiated to get every carve-out they wanted under this plan. Mr. Speaker, I am a small government guy. I am the guy that stands up on the curb and says we need less government. There are limited areas where I personally believe government, our Federal Government, should be involved, but those are national defense, national security, major infrastructure projects like interstates, maintenance of large river systems, and aerospace and airspace. Everything else, let's let the States and the local governments handle it. I think they can do a better job. But in this case, in our national airspace where we have both civilian and military operating, again, tens of thousands of times a day, then we need to take a step back and look at our safety record. It has been impeccable for the last several years, and these air traffic controllers are doing a phenomenal job. My concern, again, is that this private corporation that is in this AIRR Act that we will be asked to vote on will be required to hire all Federal air traffic organization employees, but they will continue to contribute to their Federal benefits and healthcare and continue to collectively bargain with their union representatives. So, for me, trying to argue that this model of ``privatization''--and I will use that in quotation marks--will increase efficiency and keep operational costs down, these labor provisions that we are giving them in this bill are not a very good ringing endorsement. So if we are going to talk privatization, let's not have a hybrid here. We need to keep it the way it is. The airspace in America, no one can compare the size, the traffic, the complexity. It is just a phenomenal work of art that happens every day and, again, in a very safe manner. Try to compare us in America with any other system, whether it be the United Kingdom, whether it be Canada. It is like comparing apples to oranges. Again, our volume is so massive compared to any other country that you really can't compare them at all. I want to give you an example. I wrote this down so I would get it right. It says, in 2016, the FAA handled over 16 million flights in the U.S.--16 million, think about that--while NAV CANADA, which is the private corporation that handles Canada's airspace, only handled 5 million, 5.5 million, in the same year. It is impossible to say whether a system similar to Canada's could be adopted in the United States. Mr. Speaker, I have flown in Canadian airspace. I have lost radar contact; I have lost communications; and that is, again, not any shun on Canada. They are a vast, large country with large swaths that are uncovered with radar, I am sure. But again, when I am up there talking to them, the times I have been up there, there may be only one other aircraft in the system or in that area with me. Back in the United States, I have been in many situations in large areas like Dallas, Houston, or Chicago where it is so busy that you have to wait to get a word in edgewise. But when you do, you get very succinct instruction. You get vectored properly the right way, and you get separation of the small guys like myself from the large guys like the big airline carriers. Again, this routine happens thousands and thousands of times a day, and it happens without incident or accident. So again, we have got a system that is working. Again, I am all for modernization. We need new equipment. We need better equipment for our airports and for our air traffic controllers. Again, if it makes the system work more efficiently, I am all for that. But again, why take the air traffic controllers that have done such a great job for so many years out of the loop. Modernization should be a goal of any system, and it doesn't just mean our airspace. Anything we can do in government to make it better and more efficient, I am all for it. Again, I am your less government guy. But in this instance, privatization of air traffic controllers is not the answer, especially when it means handing over the control of our airspace, the taxpayers' airspace, to a private board unaccountable to the Federal Government. And I don't know, Mr. Speaker, but history tells me that they may come running back to Congress for a bailout when times get tough. I hope that doesn't happen if this bill should pass. Again, I am opposed to the bill. But we know it has happened so many times in the past when we have allowed situations like this to develop. Can the Federal Government do a better job in implementing NextGen technology? NextGen technology is the next generation. Again, we live in a phenomenal world of technology. I am living proof of a pilot that used to fly with what we called steam gauges, where we had to look at things much differently. Now I fly in a cockpit that is completely digital. I am in awe of what I am flying in my little airplane as compared to what I was flying in just a few years ago. But we want that technology to be handled in the proper way. The FAA management issue can be fixed by this Congress. Again, I go back. We have invested billions of dollars in this next generation technology. I simply don't want to take that pile of money and that technology and hand it to this private corporation and say: ``Here, guys, it is yours now.'' This is not what we are paid to do up here in Congress. We are paid to watch the taxpayers' money. Hopefully, part of our job is to watch where this money goes and to make sure it is spent wisely. The uncertainty and the lost time of transferring this air traffic control to a private board will only cause delays. Again, I go back to what we have done in the past with other entities where we have tried to move from a Federal or a government agency to a private agency or vice versa. The transition time is usually lengthy. It is usually inefficient, and mistakes are made. Here, Mr. Speaker, we are not talking just about civilian travel. We are talking about our Department of Defense, so it becomes a safety issue and a national security issue. Modernization and privatization are not synonymous. They are actually two diverse courses that really have no business in the same bill. We should continue to take steps to provide adequate funding for the FAA and remove barriers for modernization while maintaining U.S. airspace as the safest and most accessible in the world. Again, Mr. Speaker, I want to commend everyone who has worked on this bill. There have been, I am sure, countless hours. There are some good things in this bill that we need to do. I have addressed the modernization issue. But again, it is the privatization of our air traffic control that gives me pause and that gives me great concern on some of the issues that I have mentioned here in this short period of time. So I want to take a step back from this AIRR Act. I want to work with my colleagues, see what we can do to get it right and keep our skies safe. Once again I will say: I am the guy that wants less government. This is one of the few areas where government has done a good job, will continue to do a good job, and of those 87,000 flights a day, keep them safe. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Lauren Emerson from Rapides High School for being recognized as one of the top 20 ag teachers in the Nation by the National Association of Agricultural Educators. Lauren's students come into her classroom with a strong background in agriculture, and she provides hands-on lessons that provoke meaningful connections between the curriculum and their work at home to help take their learning to the next level. Her students can earn industry certifications and dual credit by enrolling in her agricultural courses. She helps develop her students' leadership skills through the National FFA Organization, skills they need to move forward with higher levels of education, postgraduate education, and just for life. To borrow from the FFA creed, I, too, believe in the future of agriculture because of educators like Lauren Emerson who are leading the next generation of agriculturalists. The Fifth District is proud to recognize Ms. Emerson for all she is doing for her ag students.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 60.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today alongside my good friend, Congressman Mike Johnson, to recognize Dr. David Raines, a Louisiana legend in the field of gastroenterology. Dr. Raines has worked with patients across the United States, including a gastroenterology fellowship serving our Nation's veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here in Washington. Dr. Raines is a pioneer in the field of gastroenterology, and is almost single-handedly responsible for bringing free-standing endoscopy centers to Louisiana. Because of him, patients can get these important lifesaving procedures in cost-efficient and convenient outpatient facilities. Dr. Raines is admired among his peers, me being one of those and Congressman Johnson being another, not only for his professional accomplishments, but also for the way he has cared for others, including mentoring new doctors attending and entering his field. Congressman Johnson and I wanted to take a moment today to thank Dr. Raines for his career of service to patients throughout Louisiana. He has saved many lives, and our State is a better place because of him.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, April 3, 2017 I was unavoidably detained on Roll Call Vote No. 209 and No. 210. Had I been present to vote I would have voted ``AYE'' on Roll Call No. 209, and ``AYE'' on Roll Call No. 210.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, as a practicing physician in the Louisiana and Mississippi delta, I have some of the best patients, but some of the poorest. They can't afford to see me because they can't afford ObamaCare, increased costs, skyrocketing premiums, high deductibles. I can't cure a disease if I can't see the patient. The cost is just too high for ObamaCare. We have heard about Medicaid expansion here today. That is a second- class insurance for first-class people. I can't get my patients to see a specialist. They have to go to the hospital. They have to go to the emergency room. Prices go through the roof. I have heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle reference the Hippocratic Oath. With all due respect, I don't think they would know what the Hippocratic Oath says if their life depended on it. Guess what? It does. Google it. Let me educate you. Let me educate our colleagues. It says I will always seek a path to a cure for all diseases. ObamaCare will not let me do that. We have got to do better. We cannot cram people into a healthcare system that has failed just so politicians can thump their chest and have some type of mysterious victory that is hollow and very, very small. We need to pass this American Health Care Act. ObamaCare has failed. It is a sham of an insurance. Americans deserve better. We deserve better as Americans. My patients deserve better.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a practicing physician who believes that we must repeal the disaster that ObamaCare has brought us and return to a patient-centered system. My patients have dealt with skyrocketing premiums, unaffordable deductibles, and a formulary so restrictive it is an insult to call it a real treatment. Medicaid expansion is no better and gives only the illusion of sound coverage. These patients can't find doctors. They can't find specialists who will see them, which results in more hospital admissions, more unnecessary hospital referrals, more expensive trips to the emergency room, and higher costs to the program and to the taxpayers. There is nothing compassionate about cramming more people into a failed system just so politicians can score political points. All they have done is force a second-class insurance onto first-class people. All Americans deserve better than ObamaCare. We can provide a better healthcare delivery system for them where everyone has access to affordable care, and it starts with the passage of the American Health Care Act.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize two of my constituents, Ray Young of Wisner and Charles ``Buck'' Vandersteen of Alexandria, for their recent induction into the Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction. Since growing up on his family farm, Ray Young has dedicated his life and career to farming. After earning a degree in agriculture from Louisiana Tech and a master's in entomology from LSU, Ray went on to pioneer the stale seedbed conservation tillage system, known today as no-till, used across the South to enhance crop production. In 1989, Ray presented to Congress an application to charter the Federal Land Bank of North Louisiana. He has served on the board of directors for the Federal Land Bank, as a board chairman of the Louisiana Land Bank, and as a leader of numerous State and Federal agricultural organizations. Ray and his family still farm cotton, soybeans, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, corn, vegetables, cattle, hay, wheat, and pine trees. He is a tremendous example of a Louisiana farmer making his life and a living off his land. His insight is always valuable to me when I am working on agricultural policy for our Nation. Buck Vandersteen has spent 34 years presiding over the 4,000-plus members of the Louisiana Forestry Association, is a past president of the Southern Forest Heritage Museum and a past president of the National Council of Forestry executives. During that time, Buck has helped pass the Forest Productivity Program to get part of the State's severance taxes distributed to forest landowners as cost share for replanting. It is recognized as one of the top programs in the Nation. He has been instrumental in advocating forestry education at the technical school and university levels so that we can have sustainable and productive working forests. Buck continues to serve the forest industry today, and I look forward to working with him in my role on the Working Forest Caucus on behalf of foresters across the country. Mr. Speaker, Louisiana is one of the top agricultural States in the Nation, and I am proud to serve on the Agriculture Committee here in Washington to represent our State's farmers, foresters, and ranchers. But the real contributions to our State agricultural prowess can be traced back to folks like Ray Young and Buck Vandersteen, men who have spent their lives enhancing the industry that is so vital to Louisiana. Congratulations once again for being inducted into the Louisiana Agricultural Hall of Distinction. It is an honor that is well deserved.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to introduce this resolution with my good friend, Representative Sam Johnson of Texas, one of the greatest patriots I have had the honor to come in contact with and a lifelong defender of our freedoms in America. This resolution can be boiled down to one point: no bureaucrat should be able to deny an American his or her constitutional rights just because someone else handles their finances. In the midnight hour of President Obama's last days in office, the Social Security Administration finalized a rule that would allow it to send the name of any beneficiary to the FBI's criminal background check system if they are assigned a representative payee due to mental impairment. Allowing bureaucrats at the Social Security Administration to determine whether or not a beneficiary is fit to exercise their Second Amendment rights is a clear violation of due process that every American is afforded. When this awful rule was proposed in 2015, both Representative Sam Johnson of Texas and I introduced legislation to prevent the Social Security Administration from carrying it out. With the introduction of this joint resolution, I am pleased that Congress and the President will now have the opportunity to review and to reverse this terrible rule. That is why I strongly urge my colleagues, in both the House and the Senate, to pass this resolution and keep the government bureaucracies from putting themselves before the Constitution.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Scott Graves, the outgoing Staff Director of the House Committee on Agriculture. You have heard a lot of fine things about Scott today, and all of them are deserved. Instead of talking about what Scott has done for the members of the Ag Committee, or the greater agricultural sector, which would keep me here into next week, I would like to recognize Scott for what he has meant to my staff and to me. When I arrived here some two years ago I knew a fair bit about farming. I've been growing rice, corn and soybeans in the fertile lands of Northeast Louisiana most of my life. Scott has helped me take that experience and apply it to crafting our Nation's agriculture policies. Policies that help farmers and producers grow the finest commodities in the world and deliver them to dinner tables across the planet. Scott and his staff have been instrumental in helping my staff and I understand the finer intricacies of these policies and practices. They have gone to great lengths to help me, and all the members of the Committee, work to make sure the American farmer can not only endure, but prosper. Scott has spent 12 years working on Ag policy on the Hill, and his absence over at 1301 Longworth will be profoundly felt by many, myself included.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, in honor of our Nation's and the State of Louisiana's Vietnam veterans, I introduce Louisiana House Concurrent Resolution 43. This resolution recognizes November 13, 2013 through November 11, 2025, as the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. It is important that we recognize our Nation's heroes who served with valor and honor through this long war, which in many ways defined an entire generation of Americans. By the end of the Vietnam War, nearly 3 million American servicemen and servicewomen had served within the borders of Vietnam in some capacity. We would like to take this time to honor all Vietnam veterans and, especially, the more than 58,000 patriots who paid the ultimate sacrifice during this difficult and painful period of war. Of the millions of Vietnam veterans who served our country, over 106,000 reside in my home State of Louisiana. Though we remain thankful for all of those who have served our great Nation, we would like to take this time to remember the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. It is important that we honor our veterans while they are still alive so that they can take honor for the sacrifices and know that they do not go unnoticed.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a true servant of the people. Many knew him as a former schoolbus driver, the chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, or a successful nursery owner in Forest Hill, Louisiana. Some of you here today knew him as former Congressman Clyde Holloway. Mr. Holloway was one of the first Republicans in Louisiana to be elected to Congress since Reconstruction. Serving from 1986 to 1993, Mr. Holloway was a trailblazer for other Republican lawmakers in our great State. On August 16, 2016, I, along with many Louisianans, were saddened to hear of the news of Mr. Holloway's passing. Clyde left a legacy among his constituents of always looking out and representing their best interests. I stand before you today to pay tribute to Mr. Holloway and the life he lived. He fought the good fight. He finished his course. I urge you today to join me and my constituents in honoring the life of Clyde Holloway by charting our course to lead and represent the best interests of the people who entrusted their leadership to us today. Honoring the Life of Bobby Smith

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man whose life was a living definition of courage. In 1986, working as a Louisiana State trooper, Bobby Smith, from Buckeye, Louisiana, was shot in the face and blinded in the line of duty. He not only lost his sight, but also lost the career that he deeply loved. Never one to succumb to adversity, Bobby earned a Ph.D., authored books, and set out on a path of helping others. In 2001, he organized the Foundation for Officers Recovering from Traumatic Events. This foundation helped provide training and counseling to law enforcement individuals, firefighters, emergency services personnel, and their families going through tough times from various traumatic events. Bobby's will to help others would carry him through his personal challenges as he traveled across the United States and throughout the world literally sharing his story and lifting up others. Before his death in October of this year, Mr. Smith had addressed and touched the lives of over 1 million people. Many who knew Bobby would often hear him say, ``I see. I see.'' Today, as we remember Bobby Smith, let us not be blinded by our own tragedies, adversities, and obstacles in our lives, but let us also have the courage that Bobby had to look beyond and see the beauty of life and see the good in others.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a faithful public servant of Louisiana, Mr. Edward Gordon Randolph, Jr., better known as Ned, who passed away October 4, 2016, at the age of 74. Ned was a political force in Louisiana. He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives, the Louisiana Senate, and served as mayor of his hometown, the great city of Alexandria, Louisiana. Ned served in that capacity for over 20 years, and he had many, many accomplishments in that job. Among those was the opening of the Alexandria Riverfront Center, and advocating for the transition from England Air Force Base to England Airpark, which is still in existence. He revitalized that entire city and left behind a legacy of great, great success. So, again, just a tribute to Ned Randolph. He will be missed.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, in honor of Veterans Day last month, I introduce Louisiana House Concurrent Resolution 43 into the United States Congressional Record. This resolution recognizes November 13, 2013, through November 11, 2025, as the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. It is important that we recognize our Nation's heroes who served with valor and honor through this long war, which in many ways defined an entire generation of Americans. By the end of the Vietnam war, nearly 3 million American servicemen and servicewomen had served within the borders of Vietnam in some capacity in that conflict. We would like to take this time to honor all Vietnam veterans and, especially, the more than 58,000 patriots who paid the ultimate sacrifice during this difficult and painful period of war. Of the millions of Vietnam veterans who served our country, over 106,000 reside in my home State of Louisiana. Though we remain thankful for all of those who served our great Nation, we would like to take this time to remember the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. It is important that we honor our veterans while they are still alive so that they can take honor for the sacrifices and know that they do not go unnoticed.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, the month of September is National Rice Month, a time when we honor the more than 100,000 Americans involved in the rice industry, from the thousands of family farms spread mostly across eight States, to the men and women working in the mills and food processing plants across the country. The reason September is National Rice Month is because, traditionally, this is when we harvest our rice. Right now, American family rice farmers are harvesting what will end up being about 18 billion pounds of rice off 3 million acres spread across sustainably managed farmland. My district alone, in Louisiana, produces an annual crop worth over $119 million from over 110,000 planted acres across 11 parishes. Much of the United States' annual rice production will be exported to more than 120 countries around the globe, and much of that will be distributed as humanitarian aid. This complex carbohydrate of rice is an excellent source of protein, fiber, energy, and antioxidants. Here in the U.S., white rice is enriched with more than 15 vitamins and minerals and is fortified with folic acid which, by the way, has been proven to dramatically reduce birth defects. The U.S. rice industry, while it may seem small, provides 125,000 jobs and a whopping $34 billion impact on the U.S. economy.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, early on Sunday, July 3, while most of us were resting up for our Independence Day weekends, Sergeant David Elahi was conducting highway safety patrol measures in Sterlington, Louisiana, a city which I represent. That morning, a drunk driver struck and killed David while he was conducting a traffic stop. The driver injured two other officers as well. David was only 28 years old. Communities in Ouachita Parish and the surrounding areas are still reeling from David's death because, according to all accounts, he was just a great guy. He was a family man who left behind a 2-year-old daughter and his fiancee, who is expecting a child in January. That shift was supposed to be David's last full-time shift for the Sterlington Police Department. He was planning to retire to take care of home, go back to a business that he had started, wanted to improve it, but he didn't get there. I rise today because our Nation needs to know about David. They need to know that he was a model citizen pursuing the American Dream. He was proud of his family. He was proud of his church. He was proud of his home, and he was proud of the service he provided. Last week was a dark week in our Nation. The deaths in my home State of Louisiana as well as those in Texas and Minnesota have once again thrust into the forefront a debate on the role our law enforcement officers play in policing our communities. There have been calls to harm our police, and one man in Dallas did just that. For the first time in history, graphic scenes from our streets are being live-streamed on the Internet. People are reacting sometimes in violent ways. All loss of life is tragic. More violence is not the answer. When tragedies occur, we must fully investigate them and hold accountable any who acted wrongfully. But even when bad things happen, we cannot let these events define who we are and react in ways that divide us. Most of us want the same things: to provide for our families, to better our communities, and to serve our God. The Bible tells us that patience is a virtue, and we must use that wisdom today as we seek answers to questions everyone in society is asking. For me, personally, I believe the overwhelming majority of our police officers are just like David. They serve because they want to make a difference, they want to make their communities a better place. They are there and they serve simply because they care. I would encourage everyone listening to take a deep breath and reflect on the services of David Elahi. I want you to think about how he served his community. I want you to think about his fiancee, his daughter, and the child who will never know him from this point on. I want to remember that family members of all our law enforcement officers share intimately in the cause of public safety that they want to provide. I also want to think about those five officers in Dallas who lost their lives in the line of duty and how their fellow officers ran toward the gunfire while others ran away. That is what our officers do. That is why they keep us safe. No institution is perfect. People like David do not deserve to be vilified because they chose to serve and protect. People like those officers in Dallas didn't deserve to be marked for death because they were simply police officers. They did their duty, and they were killed because of it. So thank a law enforcement officer today for what they do for you and for me. Thank their families for sharing in their sacrifice. Say a prayer for David, his family, and the Sterlington community, and say a prayer for all of those who wear the badge.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5588) to increase, effective as of December 1, 2016, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, and for other purposes.

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous materials on H.R. 5588.

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have introduced H.R. 5588, the Veterans' Compensation COLA Act of 2016. This bill would provide a cost-of-living increase for wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, clothing allowance, dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving spouses, and dependency and indemnity compensation to children paid to our wounded warriors and their families for injuries they suffered while serving in uniform for our Nation. Many of these veterans are suffering from serious conditions, such as traumatic brain injury, that may make it difficult for them to find gainful employment and provide for their families, and this clean cost- of-living increase will help them keep pace with inflation. Benefits are also paid to the spouses and children of those who have tragically made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this great Nation. H.R. 5588 would give veterans and their families the same cost-of- living increase that Social Security recipients receive. The men and women who were disabled as a result of their military service should not have to struggle to put food on the table and pay for housing and other necessities. Members on both sides of the aisle have historically supported legislation that provides an annual COLA for disabled veterans because we know it is the right thing to do. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5588. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) for his kind words and his support. I have no speakers, so once again, I just encourage all Members to support H.R. 5588. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ABRAHAM

Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank our chairman, Mr. Austin Scott, and ranking member, Mr. David Scott, for their leadership in bringing this vital topic to the floor. Farm Credit System is not only part of our economic security of this great Nation, but I would argue it is also part of our national security with what they provide. We are here just to commend the cooperative owners, the employees of the Farm Credit System, as they celebrate this 100th anniversary. The Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 was passed by Congress and President Wilson in 1916. It was a permanent means to support the well- being and prosperity of the Nation's rural communities and agricultural producers of all types and sizes, a mission it has been accomplishing every day for a century. It plays a vital role, as you have heard my colleague say, in the success of United States agriculture and our rural communities. It has provided more than $237 billion in loans to more than 500,000 customers. I am one of those customers, Mr. Speaker. In fact, I am still paying on one of their loans. The Farm Credit System helped me get started in farming back when I was 25 years old. It helped me buy the land I needed. I still farm that land today. It has helped my family buy land that it has needed to farm. We are just a small part of a community of 1,349 borrower-customers from the Fifth District of Louisiana. We customers account for $354 million in credit and investments in rural Louisiana. In my State, Farm Credit serves more than 3,600 Louisianans, with a total loan volume of $645 million. What I and other farmers like about Farm Credit System is that they just seem to get it. In an age where we are losing this person-to- person contact and we are losing the sincerity, I think, sometimes of the people we come in contact with, Farm Credit System remains homegrown people who give out hometown loans. We know these people. We go to church with them. We eat supper with them in the South. They are the DNA of our rural communities. That is why we trust them. We trust them to give honest and forthright advice. They are going to do the right thing every time for you as a borrower, as a cooperative owner, and just as a friend. As you have heard from Mr. Austin Scott and Mr. David Scott, they are supporting the next generation of farmers by annually providing billions of dollars of loans to young and beginning farmers, again, the future of this country--just like me once upon a time--through organizations like 4-H and the Future Farmers of America. It helps communities moving forward by financing vital infrastructure to bring clean water, reliable energy, and high-speed Internet to places that normally would not have this available. I am proud to cosponsor House Resolution 591 that commends the cooperative owners and employees of Farm Credit System for their 100 years of service to our rural communities. I thank Chairman Mike Conaway, Ranking Member Collin Peterson, Representative Austin Scott, and Representative David Scott for introducing this resolution. Congratulations to the Farm Service Agency on its 100 years of service. May it continue to help farmers and rural America for another 100 years.