Ander Crenshaw

Mr. CRENSHAW

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor my Chief of Staff, Erica Striebel, for her service and commitment to the Fourth Congressional District of Florida, and to our country. For the last 15 years, Erica has been one of my closest advisers. She was a sounding board for me on legislative issues as Congress fought through many difficult challenges facing our country. Erica has been my chief strategist during my time on the House Appropriations Committee and my right hand for my work on the Defense Subcommittee. The late management consultant Peter Drucker said, ``Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.'' Fortunately for me, my staff, and the people I have had the privilege to represent, Erica is both an excellent manager and an inspiring leader. She has a special talent for seeing around corners to identify the next challenges and leading others to solutions. Erica's devotion to the servicemen and women who protect our nation at home and around the globe sets an example for all to follow. Erica Striebel is a patriot. She values those who serve today and respects the veterans of yesteryear. Her knowledge was acquired through her Bachelor's degree in International Affairs and Security Policy from The George Washington University and her Master's degree in National Security from the Naval War College. She shares my strong belief that national security is our country's number one priority. Erica fights on the policy front to ensure our military can effectively defend the United States of America. An integral portion of her work--traveling to military bases to meet with commanders--is a vital part of how Erica makes sure that she is prepared to fight for what is needed to keep our military the best trained and best equipped in the world. Military leaders in Northeast Florida at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport remind me often that their confidence in Erica is unique. Her command of the missions and the intricacies of military assets is well respected. She is the staffer who makes things happen. Also, in a spirit of teamwork, Erica unselfishly shares her expertise with other Capitol Hill staffers. She fully appreciates that all Members of Congress need to work together to support our military. Erica is diligent in ensuring that the contributions of our veterans are recognized, and they receive the benefits they have earned and deserve. With her support, more than 2,400 veterans in the 4th Congressional District have attended ceremonies and received my Veterans' Special Recognition Certificate. She also played a key role in ensuring all the necessary steps were accomplished to locate the Jacksonville National Cemetery on Florida's First Coast. I have no doubt that Erica will bring the same drive and determination she has shown in my office to the next chapter in her professional career. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and Members of the House to join me in thanking Erica Striebel for her leadership and for her commitment to public service and wish her continued success in her future endeavors. God bless and Godspeed.

Mr. CRENSHAW

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of The Honorable George R. Grosse. We in Jacksonville, Florida, mourned Mr. Grosse's passing after 86 years of life on June 3, 2016. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1930, George dedicated his life to his faith, his family and his community. He graduated from Baldwin High School and was a lifelong resident of Jacksonville's Westside. George became an accomplished businessman, a successful law enforcement official, and a public servant who enjoyed a reputation for honesty, fair dealings, and a strong Christian faith. He was a member of Westside Baptist Church where he served as a Deacon for more than 25 years. George always held an entrepreneurial spirit, a strong work ethic, and the American Dream in his heart. He started a chicken farm and later became a journeyman carpenter. Then in 1957, George joined the Duval County Road Patrol as a Deputy Sheriff. In 1968, he was elected President of the Duval County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge Number 30. Then, when the city and the county consolidated, he was elected as the first President of the consolidated FOP Lodge Number 5-30 and was selected as Officer of the Year for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. He continued to serve as FOP President until he left JSO in 1970 to devote his full attention to Gateway Concrete Contractors, Inc., a concrete business he founded and which he ultimately grew to be the largest concrete contractor of its day in Northeast Florida. In 1973, George was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for District 15. He represented West Duval County, as well as all of Baker, Nassau and Union counties for three terms. I had the privilege of serving with him in the State House for several years and considered him a valued friend and colleague. George resigned his seat in 1977, when President Jimmy Carter appointed him as the U.S. Marshall for the Middle District of Florida, a role he served in until 1982. Later he was appointed by Mayor Jake Godbold to the Jacksonville Electric Authority Board of Directors and was, subsequently, elected Board Chairman. George was a role model to many and a well-respected leader of our community. He was recognized on several occasions for his active role in the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America's Great Northern District. In addition, he maintained an active role and presence in local politics his entire life. Each year, George and his wife Corene hosted a bar-be-que at their farm in support of my candidacy for Congress. I was never sure if people came out to see me or George. He dedicated his life to the service of others and his generosity of spirit and warm affability endeared him to his family, his friends and his neighbors. I send my heartfelt condolences to his family and join with all of Jacksonville in mourning our loss. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in celebrating the outstanding life of one of Florida's and Jacksonville's most outstanding citizens, The Honorable George R. Grosse.

Mr. CRENSHAW

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Captain Wesley R. McCall, the Commanding Officer of Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, on a job well done. Captain McCall has served the Navy and our Jacksonville community with dedication and distinction for the last three years and will continue his military service in Washington with the Naval Installations Command. Capt. McCall served at NS Mayport during a time of numerous construction projects and increases in the number of ships and sailors at the station, all of which added to the challenges of providing superb quality support to the Fleet, families and warfighters. In order to accomplish these tasks, he managed the Naval Station Mayport Shore Installation Planning Board that solicited tenant command inputs in a comprehensive review of facilities requirements for planning and prioritization of MILCON and Special Project Program successes. A few of the events and projects that were authorized by Congress and completed during Captain McCall's tenure include the opening of the $26.5 million Fitness Center project in October 2013, and the completion of the Littoral Support Facility, which is the first of several facilities constructed in support of the new Littoral Combat Ship Program, which is headquartered on the East Coast at Mayport. Additionally, $26.5 million in repairs and upgrades to Charlie Wharf has resulted in the station's first double-decker wharf. Capt. McCall and his staff welcomed 2000 sailors and their families as the Amphibious Readiness Group, that includes the USS Iwo Jima, USS Fort McHenry, and USS New York, was homeported in Mayport in August 2014. He also successfully hosted the highly visible first East Coast visit of the People's Liberation Army Navy's visit to NS Mayport from China. Within the community, Capt. McCall was a champion for the Navy and of the Beaches area. He was the lead representative from five military services and 15 municipalities in the 2015 Jacksonville Sea and Sky Spectacular Air Show. The event, highlighting 26 aircraft, afforded more than half a million local residents of the Navy's third largest fleet concentration area a unique view of naval aviation highlighted by the Blue Angels. His unwavering support of three Porsche Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance events generated for the first time more than $100,000 in donations to the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society. Wes also served on the Beaches Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and he and his wife Reyna were very active with the USO. They both attended every No Dough Dinner in order to help serve meals to sailors and their families. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and Members of the House to join me in thanking Captain McCall for his leadership and his service at Naval Station Mayport and wish him and his wife fair winds and following seas as they transition to Washington, DC.

Mr. CRENSHAW

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise to announce the results of a competition that takes place every year. Every year, the House Republicans play against the House Democrats in a golf match that is patterned after the Ryder Cup. This is called the Congressional Cup. This takes place once each year, and I have been privileged to serve as the captain of the Republican team for 4 years. I am pleased to announce with all the humility I can muster that the Republicans have won again for the fourth straight year. The good news is that it is a fundraising event that has raised nearly $2 million for an organization called First Tee, which introduces young people to the game of golf. The event this year raised a little less than $100,000. As I said, over a 15-year period, we have raised over $2 million. This introduces young people to the game of golf; the principles of golf, like discipline, hard work, and commitment; and life skills to help those individuals. So I want to congratulate the members of the team for another great win. There was a lot of hard work, dedication, et cetera. I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth), my counterpart, the captain of the Democratic team.

Mr. CRENSHAW

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

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I would really like to thank the gentleman for bringing this motion to recommit to increase funding for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence by $5 million because it makes an excellent point as to why this bill is such a good bill, because this bill already funds the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence higher than it has ever been funded in the history of that office. I don't think we need to give them another $5 million. They have got more than they can deal with right now. They are happy we did that. What this bill does is deal with the big problems we face here in Washington. Number one, we spend money that we don't have, and up here in Washington, we exercise power that nobody gave us, and we deal with that right here. We lower the spending under this bill by 5.6 percent. We are getting a handle on the out-of-control spending. But we spend money where we ought to spend it, like the SBA. They help small businesses get the loans and make the next big deal. They grow the economy. They create jobs. The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence enforces sanctions. They get extra money. That is great. But guess what? The way we reduce spending overall is we take money away from those agencies that waste money. In fact, we cut spending on 12 different agencies. We lower spending and we eliminate 6 agencies altogether. So we are dealing with that part of it. And, by the way, one of the big problems in Washington is exercising all this regulatory overreach. We kind of rein that in here. We say to some of these agencies: Stop, stop, stop. Pause. The Federal Communications Commission, they oversee one of the most creative, innovative aspects of our economy; and yet they are more active than ever before. So we say: Stop making these politically charged rules and get back to your core mission. So at the end of the day, it is a good bill. Let me just tell you I have got four good reasons, but let me tell you two quick good reasons. This is the fourth time I have brought this bill before the House. Every year, the bill gets better and better. I am going tell you right now, this is the best bill that I have ever brought before the House. That ought to be one good reason. The other reason is, since I am leaving this year, this is the last time I will ever bring the bill. Finally, just let me say to everybody here, if everybody is willing to rein in this wasteful spending, then you will like this bill; if you are ready to exercise a little courage and say to those nameless, faceless bureaucrats, We are going to put an end to regulatory rampage, then vote ``no.'' I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the majority leader.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. CRENSHAW

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I want to thank her for bringing this before the body tonight, and urge its adoption. This underlying bill talks about the CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We have talked about it a lot tonight. One of the things the underlying bill does is it puts it under the appropriations process, and this is a pretty good example of why they ought to be under the appropriations process. Most other agencies in the Federal Government are. They come to Congress, and they say: This is what we plan our spending on and here is how much we would like. But they are not accountable to anybody. So we are just trying to bring some transparency. But this is the classic example of why they ought to be under the appropriations process. If they would walk in and say, ``We just want to spend $15 million of hard-earned taxpayer dollars on advertising,'' we might ask them questions about that. So it is a good amendment, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I hope the FCC got the urge. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I have been looking at this amendment and what it says is that none of the funds made available by this act may be used in contravention of section 317 of the Communications Act. This says that you can't do anything against what the law says. I guess that is another way of saying you have got to do what the law says. We call that a double negative. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I guess it is a good opportunity for my good friend to stand up and talk about Citizens United and make his points, which I find interesting, and I am willing to listen some more. I want to urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this somewhat superfluous amendment that maybe would prevent the FCC from actually doing its job. That is my observation. And I respect my good friend a great deal. I am just curious as to why he filed this amendment, other than to talk a little bit about what he has been talking about. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I rise to support this amendment. It is common sense. We all believe in regulation, but we believe in reasonable regulation. What the gentleman is trying to do is just kind of curtail some of this regulatory overreach. When this agency was set up, it was outside the appropriations process. They get a check from the Federal Reserve for $600 million with no strings attached. Nobody asks anything. In our underlying bill, we put them under the appropriations process. We say: You ought not just have a single director. Have a five-member commission like a lot of these regulatory agencies. So it is a good amendment. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), the chairman of the Committee on Small Business.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez).

Mr. CRENSHAW

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to House Resolution 794, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the further consideration of H.R. 5485, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of this, and thank the gentleman for bringing this before the House. We have an administration that just loves to regulate. They love to regulate. They have rules for everything. They have no regard for the cost of the regulations. Small businesses, governments, and States are all hard pressed to do all this stuff. The administration tries to sidestep us by going through executive orders and Presidential memorandums. All this amendment does is force the administration to seek congressional approval on the most significant of the new regulations. It is a great amendment, and I urge all the Members to support it.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, the majority and the minority have agreed to these amendments en bloc. They are noncontroversial amendments that affect a variety of topics, such as whistleblower protection, property disposal, and reducing drug trafficking. Additionally, the sponsors of the amendments have agreed to the consideration of these amendments en bloc. I urge adoption of the amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CRENSHAW. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for bringing the amendment before us. This is a very good amendment. It keeps the SEC on track, it gets them focused on their core dual mission--investor protection and capital formation. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. CRENSHAW. I thank the gentleman for bringing this amendment before us, and I urge everyone to support it. Mr. Chair, FSOC is there to mitigate risk, not to just go around looking for people to designate. In our underlying bill, we say that, before you can designate a nonbank, you have to give it the right to cure whatever the problem is. This takes it one step further in asking: Why do we designate nonbanks as significantly important financial institutions? We ought to focus on where the focus ought to be and just leave the nonbanks out of this. I urge the support of this amendment.

Mr. CRENSHAW. I thank the gentleman for yielding and thank him for bringing this before the body. Here is another example of the CFPB overregulating, trying to find a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I support this amendment, and I urge a ``yes'' vote.