Curt Clawson

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to start tonight by saying that my mother is gravely ill in Florida this evening, and I can't be with her, but I want her to know that I am with her right now, and I am always with her. We all want to end U.S. involvement in conflicts where there is no long-term strategy, no vision of success in the end, and the disproportional sacrifice of our brave military forces, Mr. Chairman. U.S. involvement against ISIS in Syria fits this characterization. The administration even admits that there is no comprehensive strategy in place. Therefore, by amendment, we are proposing to defund U.S. support for the Syrian rebels and move the funds to the spending reduction account. Last September, Congress allocated $500 million to train and arm Syrian rebels. This program, however, is fraught with uncertainties and doubts, and the launch of the program has been less than impressive. Of the 15,000 Syrian rebels we planned to train and equip over a 3-year period, so far, only about 400 have been vetted and deemed ready. Meanwhile, other Syrian rebels have either disappeared from the battlefield or have defected to extremist factions, and ISIS has expanded its ground forces, its operations, and its territories. Other jihadist factions in Syria are also gaining strength, and the Assad regime continues its atrocities. The civil war in Syria has now resulted in 220,000 Syrian deaths and in 11.5 million people--over half the population--displaced within Syria. The U.S. continues to provide, by far, the bulk of the military might, most of it air power. It is hard to imagine defeating ISIS without substantial ground forces to combat it at this point. The Defense Appropriations bill includes $600 million to train and arm Syrian rebels as part of this needed boots-on-the-ground. But whatever the number of Syrian rebels we ultimately introduce into the battlefield, they alone, I believe, are unlikely to turn the tide. Nor are these rebels expected to end the Assad government, even though that, too, is one of our stated goals. History has shown that when we arm untested and difficult-to-vet rebel forces, the weapons we provide too often wind up being aimed at our U.S. troops. I am told that the last time our country funded a foreign war through vicarious fighters was the Taliban fighting against the Russians in the 1970s. Please join us in saying ``no'' to additional funding for these untested Syrian rebels unless and until Congress receives clear answers to the following questions: Where is the accounting for the first $500 million? I don't have it. Why isn't the second $600 million, if appropriate, funded by other folks in the coalition? What is the objective? What does success look like in the Syrian civil war? Does victory require the end of the Assad government? What is the comprehensive strategy for defeating ISIS in Iraq and beyond? In our view, without the answers to these questions, it makes no sense to proceed. It is our job to review and assess. I ask that defunding of the Syrian train and equip fund be accomplished by this amendment to H.R. 2685. I acknowledge my deep admiration for the chairman and ranking member and what they have accomplished in this bill and acknowledge so many good things in the bill, but it is hard for me to accept this war that is going nowhere. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Nolan).

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida

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

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chairman, this afternoon I am introducing an amendment which would take $2 million from the Department of Justice's legal activities, salaries and expenses, general legal activities current budget of $885 million, which has been flat over the last several years, and I would put this $2 million, instead, to NOAA in their operations, research, and facilities fund--specifically directed to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Habitat Conservation and Restoration initiative. This nationwide initiative includes hundreds of community-based habitat restoration projects that conserve or restore America's precious native species and critical water quality restoration. This amendment is consistent with the focus of my office to cut government spending and motivate our civil servant management teams to achieve higher cost efficiencies throughout the Federal Government and to focus more on critical environmental priorities. In short, less administration expense; more money for water, fish, and atmosphere. Back in April, I introduced an amendment to H.R. 2028, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, with Representative Patrick Murphy of Florida that would move $1 million of the Army Corps of Engineers' salary and expense budget to construction projects in the Corps, like the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration and the Herbert Hoover Dike. This amendment today likewise will help fund critical habitat projects across America, including important work in my district, like the Galt Preserve Restoration Project in St. James City; the Clam Bayou Oyster Reef Restoration and Evaluation of Seagrass and Water Quality on Sanibel Island; the Ding Darling Mangrove Restoration Project on Sanibel Island; Florida's Bay Scallop Metapopulation Stabilization at Pine Island Center; the Mangrove Conservation Initiative in Naples; and the Sam Williams Island Mangrove Restoration and Tarpon Bay Hydrologic Restoration on Marco Island. Habitat restoration plays an important role in all of our communities and in the lives and welfare of our constituents, especially mine. America's ecosystem is the lifeblood of so many of our American communities, economies, and culture. Let's do everything we can to preserve it. Fisheries contribute more than $70 billion to the gross domestic product. Nationwide, commercial and recreational fishing, boating, tourism, and other industries provide more than $28 million jobs. Together, coastal watershed counties contribute more than $4.5 trillion to the GDP. An estimated 53 percent of the current population live in coastal communities. More than 60 percent of our coastal rivers and bays are moderately or severely degraded by nutrient runoff. This was my original reason for getting into politics. We live with this nutrient runoff in my district, in my backyard, every day. It looks bad. It smells bad. It is a pitiful situation. One added fact: according to NOAA's studies, 17 to 33 jobs are created for every $1 million invested in habitat restoration. I say today, let's save a little bit of money, save a lot of jobs. It is good economics. It is good policy. It is good conservation. And I urge both sides to support it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. I would like to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their leadership on this. This is a big deal in the Gulf. My appreciation is heartfelt for them making this move and showing this symbol of importance. So in the name of all of my constituents, I thank both of them for their leadership and support on this. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. Thank you to Representative Murphy for his great leadership on this issue, and particularly thank you to the chairman, Mr. Simpson, for his leadership and success in this endeavor. Mr. Chairman, my first steps towards Congress began one summer day 2 years ago while I was wading in the Gulf of Mexico with my father, who is in the autumn of his lifetime. Walking beside my dad in knee-deep depth, the old vet and I couldn't see our own toes because of the dirty water. Dad looked at me, and he said, ``Son, do something about this.'' The Gulf had been contaminated by the discharge from Lake Okeechobee. The algae was in full bloom--toxic algae in our Gulf. Two years later, I humbly stand here and ask you: Please join me. Let's do something about this. Clean water is both an environmental issue and a business issue. The dirty discharges damage our tourism, our economy, our drinking water, our beaches, our businesses, and our national treasure, the Everglades. The Federal Government and the State of Florida are already working to restore the Everglades with a larger freshwater supply, but we can do more. I am asking you to help here by voting ``yes'' on this Murphy-Clawson amendment in order to help expedite projects like the critical South Florida Ecosystem Restoration and the Herbert Hoover Dike.

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this is America. Everybody matters in America. I grew up with somebody who seemed to have bad luck from day one. Where I seemed to catch breaks, he could get none. And recently, mid-last year, because of a move, he needed to find a job. He went months without finding full-time employment, never got benefits, never got the stability that he looked for for him and his wife. And I love him very much. When the President made his edict, he called me on the phone. He said: Curt, I don't understand what y'all are doing in Washington. I want to know if what is going on right now is going to help me get a job or not. And I said: Unfortunately, you have got a lot of new competitors in the labor force. I say, this is America, and everybody matters. I say, the unemployed folks, the 18 million underemployed and unemployed, they haven't been a part of this conversation like they needed to be. I say that unilateral actions by a leader who doesn't take all stakeholders into account makes those that aren't taken into account not matter. I say we need to have this conversation again. This is America. Everybody matters, not just those that came over the border legally but those that have been here looking for jobs for long periods of time. I say we can do better. I say we can have a broader conversation. I say everybody matters. You all know these people that are unemployed. They are in your family. They are your close friends. They are the people you see every day doing the jobs that some of us wouldn't want to do. I say, those people matter. I say, Mr. President, before you do a cram-down of the law for the benefit of one group of our society, I say all the other groups in this society, particularly the unemployed, also matter.

Mr. CLAWSON

Mr. CLAWSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Gohmert for yielding to me. Already a grave and growing existential threat to Israel, a nuclear armed Iran would be a colossal, horrific game changer. It would launch a nuclear arms race in what is already the world's most dangerous neighborhood. We all know that this must not be allowed to happen. The Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear ambitions are made more dire when considering that they are the world's most dangerous state supporter of Islamic extremist terrorism, with a destabilizing presence in Lebanon, in Syria, and in Iraq. And Iran's financial and military support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen has led to the collapse of the Hadi government. Thus, Iran today exerts major influence, not just in rebel territories, but in four Middle East capitals--Beirut, Baghdad, Damascus and Sana'a. The crisis in Yemen threatens to launch yet another civil war in the region, and this severely handcuffs U.S. counterterrorism operations against AQAP. Islamists in Iran and elsewhere repeatedly threaten to slaughter all standing in their way--with their ultimate targets being Israel and the United States--us, their great Satan. They must never be allowed nuclear weapons capabilities. Does anyone really doubt whether they would use these capabilities someday? Well, there must be some reason why Iran is developing ICBMs. Last week, Iran's Channel 2 broadcast satellite imagery showing recently constructed missile-related sites. Those sites included a launch pad capable of firing an ICBM, and on that launch pad was a never-seen-before missile measuring 27 meters in length. While we negotiate, the Iran story gets worse. We have been extending deadlines and softening sanctions on Iran, while they fail to meet their end of the bargain. It is bizarre to me that we are debating with the Iranians the numbers of their centrifuges but leaving off the table their support for terrorism, their ICBMs, and their continued human rights violations. Is it the right thing to do to sit across the table, remain silent about the costs we and our allies have paid and are paying because of their financial and military support of our enemies? Does this make sense? Shouldn't we insist on adding to the agenda Iran's destabilizing actions in the region and also their ICBM program that puts us all at risk? Merely delaying some of the potential horror for a decade or so is not a good option in my view. A bad deal where we declare victory by kicking this can down the road is far worse than no deal at all. Iran now threatens to end nuclear talks if Congress increases sanctions against their regime. I say we must never yield to threats from Iran or any other nation. We must stand strong, continue sanctions, and even strengthen them until Iran gets the message. I believe that strengthening sanctions will get us a better deal. Leverage produces a better deal. We must remain unwavering in our support for Israel. We must listen carefully to the concerns of Prime Minister Netanyahu on this subject. I hope we unite with our Arab partners and do all that is possible to prevent Iran from going nuclear. We must lead the civilized world in this crucial mission. I think this is our destiny. We urge President Obama to join with Congress in this resolve.

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, I am here in support of H. Res. 754, and I wholeheartedly support this resolution, and I commend Chairman Royce for his important work and leadership on this issue. Any successful negotiation must be based on mutual trust and respect. Trusting and respecting the Iranian regime as an equal member of the world's community of nuclear power producers would be a tragic mistake, in my view. Iran has not earned our trust or Israel's trust or the world's trust. For 35 years, Iran has done anything but earn our trust. It is time for Iran to free Christian pastor Saeed Abedini. Iran's horrific human rights violations, their state sponsorship of terrorism, their public condemnations of our own country, and their repeated denials of Israel's right to exist spell potential disaster here, I am afraid. Let's not trust the untrustworthy. This dilemma reminds me of a scorpion and the frog fable that my friend from Arkansas, Tom Cotton, recently used. A frog is about to cross a river when he is asked for a ride by a scorpion. Now, the frog knew that scorpions are poisonous and untrustworthy. He knew that, if the scorpion stung him on the way across the river, they would both drown. When the frog asked for assurance from the scorpion, the scorpion replied, ``Of course, I won't sting you. If I do, we will both drown.'' Halfway across the river, of course, the scorpion struck, and as they were both headed for their demise, the frog asked, ``Why did you sting me?'' The scorpion responded, ``Because it is my nature.'' Even though the frog knew that the safe way to go was to say ``no'' to the scorpion, he caved in, dismissed better judgment, and the result was tragic. Let us not repeat the mistake of the frog. We cannot give Iran a free ride across the Rubicon to nuclear weapons. We must not hand the keys of nuclear proliferation to a scorpionlike regime that cannot be trusted. So what do we do? We can't do a bad deal. We can't walk away, but we also can't trust Iran. What must Iran do to gain our trust? Treat its people right. Treat its neighbors right. Treat Israel right, with dignity and respect. I think we have many rivers to cross before we get to that state. As we work on this Iranian nuclear dilemma, which will take years, we need to see concrete progress toward the civil liberties that have been mentioned today. They must stop the crimes against humanity exposed in Chairman Royce's resolution. To gain our trust, Iran must acknowledge the right of Israel to exist.

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, in the 1930s, the world trusted a scorpion, thinking that we had achieved peace in our time, and millions paid the price for that mistake with their lives. Let's not stand here someday and admit that we messed up because we trusted an Iranian scorpion.

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, I would like to start by commending the Congressman from Nebraska. Having invested across borders in many different countries around the world, I believe that good-paying American jobs come mostly from competitiveness. In order for our companies to be competitive and produce good-paying American jobs, we need competitive energy prices. Therefore, I support this bill and think that it can produce lots of great jobs in America. I, for one, drive an automobile made by Americans in America. Yesterday, I voted ``no'' on the proposal to train and arm Syrian rebels. I did so because I am convinced that we and our allies need to come together and unite behind a much broader and very long-term plan with the goal of ending militant Islamism across the globe once and for all. In my opinion, anything less, such as reacting crisis by crisis, like playing Whac-A-Mole, is doomed to failure. To begin, we must accept the realities of the challenges we face and the generational nature of the threat. We can easily agree that ISIS today is the most visible and immediate threat of militant Islamic extremism. It is a clear and present danger to the Middle East region and, yes, beyond. We can all agree, ISIS must be eliminated. But moving forward, it would be a mistake and, I think, a missed opportunity to focus solely on ISIS. ISIS is only one part of a widespread metastasizing cancer of hatred, intolerance, and violence. We are facing a cancer of militant Islamism, with cells under various names in dozens of countries. In planning the elimination of ISIS, we, with a coalition of the willing, must do so, recognizing it as part of an overall global disease. Success requires a broad, diverse, and longstanding international coalition committed to defeating the cancer of militant Islamism once and for all. Now America is uniquely qualified to provide the leadership, including the airpower and mission command structure; but this time, the funding, military equipment, and ground forces must be provided by others. Too many times in the past, the United States has borne an extremely disproportionate part of these burdens. This time it must be understood that U.S. forces are not going to be the combat boots on the ground, nor will the American taxpayer be paying the bill. It is time for our allies, especially the Arab and Muslim nations, those most significantly and most immediately threatened, to step up. They need to provide the resources, especially the ground forces that are needed in this conflict. And coalition plans and action plans going forward must be guided by an overarching strategic vision of a world someday, somehow free of militant Islamism. That must be our cause. Success will begin but not end with the containment, isolation, and, over time, elimination of ISIS and other militant cells, wherever and whenever they arise. One by one, Islamic militant organizations must be eradicated around the world. They must be eliminated from the Middle East, from the Near East, sub-Saharan and north Africa, and south Asia. Any additional cancer cells or seeds of cancer in Europe, the U.S., or elsewhere must be also be eliminated. The coalition must also follow the money and take actions to halt all financing for militant jihadists from banks, oil revenues, and states sponsoring terrorism. The coalition must be united long term behind a goal of a world where today's oppression, intolerance, violence, brainwashing, and genocide give way to liberty, religious and ethnic tolerance, and opportunity for all, regardless of one's sex, faith, or ethnicity. The coalition must also address the root causes of the cancer, something we have been avoiding up until now, something that presents an additional challenge of monumental proportions. This means correcting conditions that become recruitment tools for jihadist organizations. Impoverished areas, especially those with disadvantaged Muslim populations, must evolve to where they can provide information, education, skills training, and economic opportunities for their young people to counter environmental conditions that are so ripe for radicalization by radical jihadists. These challenges are huge, even generational. Handouts are not the answer, in my view. The coalition must address these issues with the nations involved and with moderate Muslim leaders, providing assistance wherever possible. Ultimately, the battle for the hearts and minds must be won by voices of moderation and opportunity in rejection of extremist voices who offer only hatred and bloodshed.

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. Thank you very much for this time. Mr. Speaker, we are living in a time of significant crisis at home and worldwide. We have a humanitarian and a national security crisis on our own border, and all Americans are deeply concerned and are looking for solutions. Simultaneously, we see a border crisis in the Middle East that makes our own border crisis pale by comparison. We see our friend and ally Israel attacked physically but also, sadly enough, attacked in the media. It is our solemn duty, I believe, to address this crisis as well as our own crisis on our own border. Israel's borders have been attacked by over 2,000 rockets, launched by Hamas, with a total disregard for innocent lives. Within Gaza, Hamas sets up their rocket launchers in the midst of apartment buildings, mosques, and U.N.-sponsored schools--using civilians as human shields. Hamas is not seeking to minimize collateral damage but, rather, to maximize it. Meanwhile, elements of the media fuel anti-Israeli propaganda with scenes of innocent dead and wounded Palestinians, adding to Israel's dilemma--falsely asserting that the Israel Defense Forces are committing war crimes. The fact is that Israel is responding with careful precision, taking extraordinary steps that few nations would take to protect lives on both sides of this fight. Israel's Iron Dome is shooting down rockets that would otherwise kill Israelis. Israel is warning civilians in Gaza in advance of attacking terrorist infrastructure there. Israel takes extraordinary steps to minimize collateral damage. Israel wants peace. Hamas seeks the destruction of Israel. This cannot happen. The United States must stand firmly with Israel and against Hamas and take a leadership role in convincing the world to do likewise. We must remember the threats extend beyond Gaza and Hamas. Hezbollah, the Islamist militant group and Iranian surrogate based in Lebanon, possesses thousands of rockets on another part of Israel's border. ISIS--evolved from al Qaeda in Iraq--has declared an Islamic caliphate in major areas of Syria and Iraq, threatening the entire region, but especially Israel. Iran, the world's exporter of terrorism--committed to the destruction of Israel--continues to hold nuclear ambitions, raising security issues not only for Israel but for the entire world. We cannot waver in leading the international community towards a long-term, verifiable solution. The Middle East is arguably a more dangerous place than at any time in history, with Israel threatened on several fronts by well-armed and well-funded terrorists who are distressingly close to possessing weapons of mass destruction. This cannot happen. This is not a time for partisan bickering between Democrats and Republicans or between the Congress and the administration. It is a time for a national discourse to educate the public about the dangers out there, with the goal of national unity and resolve to stand behind Israel--the only democratic state in the world's most dangerous neighborhood. Speaking as a freshman Congressman--the newest Congressman--I pledge to work with my colleagues to seek better ways of working together in support of the State of Israel and its right to exist. In these times of peril, I believe it is our duty to work as a team and to stand with Israel. Together, we can seek a path to lasting solutions in the Middle East. The alternative cannot happen. America must come together to support Israel.

Mr. CLAWSON

Mr. CLAWSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 1810, a bill originally introduced by Representative Radel of Florida, for the purposes of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Mr. CLAWSON

Mr. CLAWSON. Mr. Speaker, it appears that there are too many point guards in this Hall. I start by bowing in humility to my God, hoping for wisdom and inspiration on a responsibility so big on my shoulders that we all share of course. My second point today is that I am committed to represent those in my district, and not only those that voted for me, but those that did not: the young and old, male and female, White, African American, or those that speak Spanish, too--los que hablan espanol, tambien. I am committed to representing all of my constituents in a fair way. My grandfather was a gardener in his spare time, and he had a long, dark closet. At the end of that closet was a picture of a judge in long, flowing robes. At the bottom of that picture was written the following words: ``We call him `Your Honor' to remember our own.'' I have always felt that my father and grandfather didn't need that reminder very often, but I come to you today hoping to bring just a small measure of honor to this Chamber and hoping that we can honor our constituents and honor each other by the way we treat each other. I am so humbled and grateful to be here and ask for your support. Thank you.