Kathy Castor

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Republicans' Midnight Rules Relief Act. The bill is an unnecessary abdication of legislative responsibility by the Republican-led Congress, and it is very poor public policy. The bill short-circuits open debate and public participation. It is also very wasteful because it jettisons carefully and long-crafted policies that protect American families from threats to their economic security, their health, and their safety. Under the U.S. Constitution, after Congress passes a law, agencies craft rules to implement that legislation. If Members of Congress want to clarify or change executive branch regulations, they have a responsibility to address the matter in a transparent way and through open, regular order. Republicans don't want to do that, however, because the public might find out what they are doing. This Republican scheme sets a dangerous precedent by expanding the ability of the Congress to use the Congressional Review Act to disapprove hundreds of carefully crafted policies at one time and with very little notice or debate. Republicans want to reach back to last May and cherry-pick policies that they do not agree with. But how will the public know? That will be difficult; and, in many instances, Republicans do not want the public to know. I urge my colleagues to reject this power grab by the new Republican Congress. It is just like what they tried to do yesterday with the Office of Congressional Ethics. These policies don't just come out of thin air. There is a long, painstaking process with extensive public comment. Public participation doesn't appear to be a priority in this new Congress, so reject this dark bill. Side, instead, with our democratic principles in America, which include open debate, transparency, fiscal responsibility, and the security of our neighbors.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. I am opposed.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Well, according to the Midnight Rules Relief Act, the public really won't know, and that is the point.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. My amendment provides an important safeguard for the economic security of American families by maintaining the consumer-friendly protections in the Affordable Care Act for, one, the cost-saving provisions in Medicare of lower prescription drugs for our parents and our grandparents; and, two, the vital consumer protection that prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage because someone has a preexisting condition like cancer, asthma, or diabetes. The Affordable Care Act, which Republicans say they want to repeal without a replacement bill in sight, provided these very important consumer protections for all Americans not just for the 20 million Americans who gained health insurance through the marketplace or HealthCare.gov, but for the vast majority of Americans who are covered through Medicare, which is about 43 million Americans, and for the folks who have health insurance through their jobs, which is about 155 million Americans. Here is what the Affordable Care Act has done for those folks: One, Medicare is stronger. The Affordable Care Act strengthened the Medicare fund, extending its life by over a decade. In addition, Medicare enrollees have benefited from huge savings in prescription drug costs. They have also saved through preventative screenings for breast and colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes; that when they go to the doctor's office now, there is no cost, there is no charge. That is the Affordable Care Act. So if Republicans aren't careful in their zeal to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they, in essence, will be asking our parents and grandparents to pay more, a whole lot more for their prescription drugs. Let me get a little local here. I represent the State of Florida where about 18 percent of Floridians rely on Medicare for their health care. Because of the Affordable Care Act, it has started to close the doughnut hole. Repeal it now and that stops. That goes away. Just in 2015 alone, 350,000 Florida seniors saved $351 million on their prescription drugs. That is an average of about $1,000 per beneficiary. So my amendment makes the point that Democrats are going to fight for our older neighbors to keep those savings intact, brought to you by the Affordable Care Act. Second, we also want to put everyone on notice that Democrats intend to fight tooth and nail to keep the vital consumer protection, one of the bedrocks of the Affordable Care Act, that bars health insurance companies from refusing to cover you or charge you more because you have a preexisting condition or charge women more than men. Whether you know it or not, all Americans have benefited from the bar on discrimination from preexisting conditions since January 1, 2014. So if you have health insurance through your employer, you have benefited from the Affordable Care Act. If you have gone to healthcare.gov because you are a student, part-time worker, or you don't have it through your job, you have benefited. If you have health insurance for your children through the Children's Health Insurance Program or Medicaid, you are no longer subject to discrimination. Remember a few years ago when insurance companies maintained a long list of conditions where they said, if you have cancer or diabetes or something, you are automatically excluded, that is the way things worked. A congressional investigation into this practice during the healthcare reform debate uncovered more than 400 medical diagnoses or conditions that insurance used to justify coverage denial. At the top of the list were cancer, heart disease, pregnancy, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and muscular dystrophy. You know what? Generally, States with the highest rates of denial were in the South and the Midwest where the overall health status of residents has consistently been worse than in other parts of the country. The incidence of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes is higher in those States. Well, now you cannot be discriminated against for those preexisting conditions. That kind of discrimination wasn't right. It had no place in America, so we outlawed it in the Affordable Care Act. Like one of my neighbors, Christine Roper in Tampa--Christine is 26. She recently aged off her father's insurance and was unsure how to find coverage because she has a heart condition and asthma. Before, she would have been prohibited from getting health insurance, but not today. And we are not going backwards. That is because millions of Americans who can now buy coverage would be forced back into the ranks of the uninsured. We are going to start this Congress off by standing up for our families and rejecting any attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. I urge a ``yes'' vote on my motion, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of an extraordinary Tampa resident and Olympian, Theresa A. Manuel. While Ms. Manuel competed internationally in track and field, her undying commitment to students at home as a teacher and coach may have had an even greater impact on the hearts of my neighbors across the Tampa Bay area. Despite growing up during segregation, Theresa Manuel persevered through adversity to become the first African-American woman from Florida to compete in the Olympic Games. Ms. Manuel was born in 1926 in Port Tampa City, Florida. As a young woman, she was a star basketball player at Middleton High School in Tampa. Ms. Manuel had such a love for basketball that she would often convince neighbors to set up lamps at night so she and her teammates could practice on the outdoor court near Middleton High. She attended the Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University in Alabama, where she was affectionately nicknamed ``Trick Shot'' for her skill in basketball and in addition won multiple championships for the Tuskegee Track and Field team. In the summer before her senior year, Ms. Manuel made history by competing as a member of the U.S. Track and Field team at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. She competed in the Olympics at a time when sports were not widely considered open to women, let alone black women. She represented her country with dignity and grace, and upon returning home she and her team proudly celebrated their success with President Harry Truman at the White House. After graduating from Tuskegee, Ms. Manuel moved back to Tampa to care for her ailing mother and began her 38 year career as a decorated teacher and coach. She was a legendary coach in Tampa. She led her teams to multiple state championships and was named the best coach in the Hillsborough County in 1975, and subsequently the best in the state of Florida in 1976. Ms. Manuel continued to garner countless honors and awards throughout her distinguished lifetime. Some of those honors include being inducted into the Tuskegee Institute Hall of Fame and City of Tampa Hall of Fame and being named one of the ``100 Distinguished Women of Hillsborough County.'' Ms. Manuel's importance to the African-American community in Florida and indeed all Floridians transcends even her many accomplishments in sport. Most importantly, she will always be remembered as a great leader and giant matriarchal figure to the thousands of students whose lives she touched. She was a champion in all facets of life. On November 21st, 2016, Ms. Manuel passed away at the age of 90 in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of the Tampa Bay community, I am proud to honor Ms. Theresa A. Manuel for her lifelong service and inspirational life.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. This is the way legislation is supposed to be developed: in a bipartisan way, through studies, through asking, reaching out, and working with experts all across the country, because all of the answers do not emanate from a congressional committee in Washington. It is very important that we tap the expertise all across the country to get something done.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 21st Century Cures Act legislation and the important investment that it will make in medical research across America. This legislation supports an additional $4.8 billion for the National Institutes of Health, specifically for President Obama's Precision Medicine Initiative and the BRAIN Initiative so we can tackle the challenge of Alzheimer's. It supports Vice President Biden's Cancer Moonshot initiative. Hopefully, it will keep the young scientists on the job at institutions like the Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida's Alzheimer's Research Institute back home in Tampa. While additional support for NIH is vital and this is a move in the right direction, I would have much preferred that we put this in the mandatory category as we voted on in H.R. 6 earlier in the year. I know many of you agree with that, that medical research in America today shouldn't be subject to the whims of congressional budget battles or political fights. I will continue to advocate for mandatory funding for NIH so that we can remain on the cutting edge of medical innovation and boost higher wage jobs back home. These initiatives save lives and provide investments that we need to make sure that we are developing the cures of tomorrow. I am very pleased that legislation I introduced with my colleague Representative Herrera Beutler was included in this package. The Safe Medications for Moms and Babies Act ensures that expectant mothers and doctors have accurate information about medications used during pregnancy and when nursing to facilitate the best health outcomes. Representative Herrera Beutler has been a champion for families, and I am grateful to her for leading this effort to improve the quality of data and information on medication used during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I also applaud the inclusion of language to improve our mental health system, the $1 billion to address the opioid epidemic. This is very positive. I would like to thank Chairman Fred Upton for his devotion to the issue, to Congresswoman DeGette, and to all of my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the lifetime accomplishments of my friend and the trailblazing Floridian, Mrs. Doretha Edgecomb. Her invaluable contribution to the Tampa Bay community is an inspiration to us all. Today, I am grateful to recognize her selfless dedication and honorable service to our community. Mrs. Edgecomb is a proud graduate of Middleton High School in Tampa, Florida and later Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama. She began her esteemed career as a junior high school English teacher with Hillsborough County Public Schools. She later earned a Masters of Arts degree in Reading Education and received certification in Educational Leadership from the University of South Florida. Her 52 year career as an educator encompasses numerous positions throughout the field of education, to include Reading Teacher, Learning Specialist, Title I Parent Involvement Coordinator, and Elementary Principal. In 1996, after retiring from the Hillsborough County School District, Mrs. Edgecomb joined Educational Testing Service, serving as a trainer, program developer, and technical assistance advisor for schools in the state departments of Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, she has taught in the College of Education at the University of South Florida. Mrs. Edgecomb was elected to the Hillsborough County School Board in 2004 and re-elected in 2008, where she served as Vice Chair in 2010 and Chair in 2011. She is actively involved in several professional, civil, and social, and community organizations. She represents the School Board on the Hillsborough County Children's Board, serving her second term as Chair. She serves as a member of the Florida School Boards Association Board of Directors as a legislative liaison, board of directors for the Regional Educational Lab-Southeast, Florida State University, advisory committee of Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, and the executive board of the Council of Great City Schools. Mrs. Edgecomb is a 55-year member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Athena Society, Inc., where she is the President-Elect of the Robert Saunders Friends of the Library, and a faithful member of Hyde Park United Methodist Church. Mrs. Edgecomb shared a strong partnership with her distinguished late husband the Honorable Judge George E. Edgecomb. Judge Edgecomb an activist in his own right, blazed the trail for African-Americans in the Tampa Bay. He was the first African-American to serve as Assistant County Solicitor, Assistant State Attorney, and to be appointed as County Judge for Hillsborough County. They share one daughter, Allison who is an Administrator in Hillsborough County Public Schools. Mrs. Edgecomb has selflessly dedicated her life to our community and the children of the Tampa Bay. Countless students and young professionals have benefited from her immeasurable efforts and unabashed enthusiasm. Her commitment will always be remembered and appreciated. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful Tampa Bay community, I am proud to recognize Doretha W. Edgecomb for her lifelong exemplary service to the State of Florida.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today the U.S. House Representatives voted on an override of the President's veto of S. 2040. This bill narrows the scope of sovereign immunity by allowing U.S. Courts to hear cases against a foreign state involving injury, death and damages as a result of a tort. Very recently my husband's law firm has undertaken legal representation of a client who seeks to recover from a foreign state the value of claims previously paid. I believe that Rule III in conjunction with Rule XIII, clause 2, leads me to abstain from the vote on this subject to avoid even the impression of a conflict and to adhere to both the spirit and letter of the Rules.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, with Breast Cancer Awareness Month right around the corner, the time is now to show American families that we are working to end breast cancer. In fact, we have a bill, H.R. 1197, the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act, which has 273 bipartisan cosponsors. It should be brought to the floor immediately for debate and a vote. Why? Because even with so much advancement in medical research, a woman's chance of developing breast cancer has increased from one in eleven in 1975 to one in eight today. This year, over 40,000 women and over 400 men will die of breast cancer in this country alone. H.R. 1197 will focus on identifying strategies for the primary prevention of breast cancer and identifying methods to prevent breast cancer metastasis, thereby saving lives. With such broad bipartisan support, there is no reason why the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act should not be brought up for a vote as quickly as possible. I want to thank the large majority of my colleagues for cosponsoring the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act, and I encourage the Republican leadership to bring H.R. 1197 to the floor right away.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome my friend and fellow Floridian, Reverend Clarence A. Williams to the House floor as our guest chaplain. Pastor Williams is a lifelong public servant and trailblazing leader in the Tampa Bay community. He serves as the senior pastor of the Greater Mt. Zion AME Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, which I have the honor to represent here in the Congress. Pastor Williams is a man of great wisdom and he is a man of action. In 2013, Pastor Williams formed Cross and Anvil Human Services, Inc., a nonprofit organization which works to close the educational, digital, and wealth gap for our neighbors in Tampa Bay. He is a founding member of Men in the Making, a youth mentoring organization; Life member of the NAACP; and board member of the Community Health Centers of Pinellas County. His unwavering commitment to the St. Petersburg community is displayed daily in his advocacy for education, civil rights, and equal opportunity for all of our neighbors. He is a native of Bartow, Florida, where he attended Bartow High School, and later Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is married to Mrs. Andrea P. Williams, and they have two lovely daughters. Mr. Speaker, I ask everyone to join me in thanking Pastor Williams for leading today's opening prayer, and I thank him for his outstanding service to the St. Petersburg community.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217, the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation, to honor the memory of Martavious Carn, age 3, a Florida victim of gun violence who never received a moment of action on the House floor.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, 17 babies in the United States have been born with birth defects tied to the Zika virus. Currently, over 80 pregnant women in my home State of Florida and over 1,600 women in the United States have the Zika virus. I urge the Speaker and my GOP colleagues who control the agenda here in the House to act immediately and bring an emergency Zika package to the floor of this House. They can do it quickly. They can do it today. They can do it this week. But, unfortunately, there is no plan to do so. This is unconscionable. My neighbors back home and all across the country need the tools to prevent this public health crisis from growing. The Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health need the tools to prevent this public health crisis. To do otherwise would be unconscionable. We need action now.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable that Republicans are adjourning the House early rather than staying to work on issues to keep Americans safe, whether that is giving us a vote to prevent dangerous people like terrorists from obtaining a machine gun or keeping toxic water from flowing in Flint, Michigan, or addressing the Zika public health crisis. Zika really hits home for me because I represent the Tampa Bay area in the State of Florida. It was January when we had the first cases of Zika announced in Florida. It was February when public health experts, including the CDC and the President, said we need an emergency bill to develop vaccines to prevent birth defects and diagnose cases. It was March when we had hearings where public health experts expressed a sense of urgency of the Congress to act. But here we are in July, 6 months later, with almost 300 cases in Florida, and 43 are pregnant women. We had the first case in Florida of a baby born with microcephaly. It is very serious. Those babies can't see, they can't hear, they can't walk. I am proud of my Democratic colleagues who have remained in the Capitol to work. I am asking: Where are the Republicans? Why did you adjourn early rather than stay here to work to keep the American people safe?

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to S. 304 because this Republican bill discriminates against women. In fact, it promotes discrimination by sanctioning interference with a woman's ability to make her own personal health decisions. This bill, which was brought to the floor without any hearing in the Congress, is being done as the Republicans rush for the exits for summer recess tomorrow. It highlights the unfortunate inability of the Republican majority to focus on the issues that are affecting American families, like things to keep us safe, like keeping military-style weapons out of the hands of terrorists or dangerous people. They won't allow a debate or vote on that. Addressing the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, we haven't had a vote, a debate, or help for those families. The emerging public health crisis of Zika. In my home State of Florida, we now are approaching 300 cases of Zika, including 43 pregnant women. What we know is birth defects and microcephaly are directly tied to the Zika virus. I hope that will weigh on everyone's conscience as the Republicans move toward adjournment without taking any action on the Zika virus. There was a report yesterday: Infectious-disease experts are shocked that Congress is about to leave town for the summer without doing anything to combat the Zika virus. ``In the almost 40 years I've been in this business, I've never seen anything like what's happening with Zika,'' said an adviser to four administrations. Some infectious-disease experts said they're stunned by what's happened with Zika--months of waiting while the virus' reach, and its potential to cause widespread birth defects, in the U.S. has grown. So, colleagues, I urge you to defeat this discriminatory bill and get back to the business of the American people, keeping them safe, like addressing the Zika virus, not attacking the constitutional rights of women and their ability to make their own healthcare decisions.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Chairman, if you support the tourism industry, if you support the jobs in the fishing industry, if you support just saving lives, and being able to prevent disasters like the BP Deepwater Horizon from ever happening again, it is important that you stand up for these very basic, industry supported safety standards. The well rule was developed after months and years of investigations and study with stakeholder help. The bottom line is we have to do everything we can to prevent this from ever happening again in order to protect our economy, to protect our jobs, to protect our natural environment; so I urge the adoption of the Castor amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Chairman, my amendment ensures that we keep the appropriate safety regulations in place for offshore oil drilling to reduce the risk of an offshore oil disaster and the devastating impacts on our economy and environment. The Deepwater Horizon blowout of 2010 is still very fresh in our minds. I represent a Gulf Coast district in Florida, in Tampa Bay, and I remember very well the 87 days that oil spewed out of that Deepwater well, the 11 lives lost, and the huge economic losses. One study said that, in Florida, we lost 50,000 jobs because of that blowout, not to mention the environmental catastrophe that it was, that we are still trying to determine the long-term impacts. For 87 days, the well continued to pump 134 million gallons of toxic oil before it could be stopped. This tarred fisheries, wildlife, and fragile ecosystems. I will always remember the motel owner from Pinellas County who cried because all of her business had evaporated. We didn't even have oil on the Gulf Coast beaches around Tampa Bay, but all of the tourists left. Our lifeblood in Florida is the tourism industry and the fishing industry. This is really inexplicable after years of working with industry, after congressional hearings to determine the causes of that disaster, after numerous investigative reports, including the bipartisan National Oil Spill Commission, led by former Florida Governor and Senator Bob Graham, and Republican and former EPA Administrator William Riley, where they zeroed in on the fact that it was the well casing and the blow-out preventer that was the source of the problem. Based upon all of those findings and investigations, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement developed its final Well Control Rule, which focuses on the blow-out preventer and well control requirements, because this is America, and we can develop state-of-the-art technology for risky oil drilling no matter where it is occurring. The final rule was developed after unprecedented outreach and consultation with industry and other stakeholders. It addresses the full range of systems and equipment that are related to well control operations, with a focus on blow-out preventer requirements, well design, well control casings, cementing, real-time monitoring, and subsea containment. These measures are designed to improve equipment reliability, especially for blow-out preventers. The most important thing is they protect our communities. They protect us from a disaster like the BP Deepwater Horizon from ever happening again. It is really inexplicable that the Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee zeroed in on this safety rule in this appropriations bill and said we are not going to support it, that we are not going to fund it for this year. What is that going to do? Industry already supports most of these things. They don't want to be on the hook for billions and billions of dollars. It is just, clearly, inexplicable to put our communities at risk again for another disaster like that. The Castor amendment eliminates this harmful provision, and it maintains the Department of the Interior's critical safety standards to prevent offshore oil disasters. The Gulf Coast is still reeling from the disaster of 2010, and local economies across the country cannot afford another catastrophe like BP's. I urge the adoption of the Castor amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the ranking member.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Chairman, my amendment increases the law enforcement budget for America's national wildlife refuges by $2.4 million to match the President's budget request. The plus-up would be fully offset from the account relating to the Office of the Secretary. Mr. Chairman, America's national wildlife refuges encompass millions and millions of acres of public conservation lands and waters that provide endless opportunities for families to fish and enjoy the great outdoors. Our wildlife refuges are extremely popular, with over 48 million visitors annually, but many folks do not know they are suffering from a serious shortfall in law enforcement protection. In May of 2015, the International Association of Chiefs of Police recommended substantial increases to law enforcement resources for our national wildlife refuges. The report detailed the urgent need for officers to counter nefarious activities like drug production and smuggling, wildlife poaching, illegal border activity, assaults, and a variety of natural resource violations. This is consistent with what I hear at home in the Tampa Bay area. I represent the Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge. It is part of a massive 30,000-acre national wildlife refuge complex, the Chassahowitzka on the west coast of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. That 30,000 acres has two law enforcement officers assigned to it, and this is a busy, busy tourist area. People really enjoy the wildlife refuges, but they are really suffering from a lot of nefarious activities. We need these additional funds, and with the additional funds, the Service should prioritize hiring additional Federal wildlife officers to serve the urban refuges and obtain equipment that is necessary to protect the resources and protect the visitors. In 2014, Service Federal wildlife officers managed over 42,000 service-related incidents, crimes, and request for services. That was a 20 percent increase from 2013, which included rapes, robberies, kidnappings, assaults, burglaries, larcenies, motor vehicle thefts, natural resource violations, timber thefts, arsons, trespassing, poaching, hunting and fishing violations, undocumented person apprehensions. In 2015, there were over 306 serious incidents reported, a 6 percent increase over the previous year. My home State of Florida is blessed with beautiful bays and rivers and coastline. We have the most wildlife refuges in the country, with 29, including the three in Tampa Bay: The beautiful Egmont Key Wildlife Refuge, Pinellas, and Passage Key. These are areas we have to protect, and we have to protect the visitors that enjoy our wildlife refuges. The number of visitors is increasing every year, and we can't ignore the shortage of law enforcement officers anymore. This is an ongoing shortage that must be addressed. I urge my colleagues to address this important public safety issue and adopt the Castor amendment. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate Chairman Calvert's comments, but I can speak from personal experience. Our local law enforcement officers are overworked and often not equipped to handle the concerns on our national wildlife refuges. This is a Federal responsibility, to protect these conservation lands, to protect the visitors who are hunting and fishing who are sometimes disturbing natural resource areas. I mean, look at that list. It is really surprising: rapes and robberies and kidnappings and assaults. We can do better than this. We have to do everything we can to keep our neighbors safe at home and to protect our natural lands. I urge adoption of the Castor amendment so that we can address this important public safety issue. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. CASTOR

Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.