Rodney Davis

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I thank, again, my good friend from the great State of Michigan for offering this amendment. The only thing that I wish could have happened is I wish we could have had some hearings on this bill so that we could have brought experts in on shell corporations that are making straw donor donations to Federal campaigns that are already prohibited so we could find out the best way to ensure that doesn't happen in the future, especially from nefarious foreign actors. Madam Chair, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to this amendment.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, as much as I would like to have some fun with my good friend and colleague from South Carolina and oppose this amendment and have great debate back and forth, it is a pretty darn good amendment. I think we need to do everything we can in a bipartisan way to make sure that our Nation's heroes have the right to vote not only here at home, but abroad. I look forward to working with you--after this bill that will pass today on a partisan roll call but will go nowhere--to make sure that our Nation's heroes are not adversely affected by any propaganda or any attempts to stop them from exercising that right. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chair, I thank my colleague, Mr. Langevin, for offering this amendment. As good a friend as he is, it somewhat pains me to have to stand up and be opposed to it. Again, the FEC, the Federal Election Commission, is the independent regulatory agency charged with administering and enforcing the Federal campaign finance law. They have jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for us here in the House, our colleagues in the Senate, the President, and the Vice President. They are not the fake news police, much to the chagrin of the current FEC Chair. This amendment requires an independent report from the FEC, and I am not convinced that the FEC Chair is capable of issuing any independent report, any independent guidance, or any independent legal interpretations; and, frankly, I don't think she is capable of offering any independent tweets. I think it is worth noting that every single House Democrat voted to make the FEC a partisan agency earlier this Congress in H.R. 1 and has lamented how dysfunctional they believe the FEC is. If the FEC were a partisan agency, would we want them determining which news was fake news and which news was legitimate? I agree we need to understand and improve media literacy with respect to political content in this country, but the FEC is not the entity to lead that endeavor. Let's take a look at the danger of overregulating online ads and misinterpreting political content. The ad I have behind me and the ones behind it are already being labeled as political ads on Facebook. These came straight from the Facebook ad library. First off, we have my favorite. As the proud dad of two Yorkies at home in Taylorville, Illinois, this political ad for hotdogcollars.com would allow me to get my two Yorkies some new dog collars. I don't know--except maybe the American flag dog collar--how political that is. Next up is the very political ad Facebook is now categorizing under current law and under their current regulations as a political ad-- Pizza Crave. Hey, it is Halloween season, it is almost upon us, $10 pizza pies. I don't know why that is categorized as political, but it is. Do we really want the FEC to figure out that they are the agency to correct that? No. Facebook ought to correct it. Lastly, Stone Bridge Pizza & Salad: We always crave the classic-- obviously a political ad. I don't know anybody who would eat pizza like that, but clearly this is not a political ad. I think we need to take a step back. We need to realize that the current FEC that is dysfunctional is the last place for independent review of anything. We need to make sure that the FEC does its job in a nonpartisan way. Madam Chair, we need to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I agree with my colleague from California. We will be judged on how we actually impact foreign interference in our elections. We will be judged on the chilling effect to free speech that this legislation, if put into law, would have on our system that is so much different from those nefarious countries and leaders who want to meddle in our election process. But my point earlier still stands. I agree that somebody who would fall under FARA, the Foreign Agent Registration Act, would be the ones that we would have a duty to report, if they came to our campaign. But at the same time, how do we know? Are they going to wear a badge that says, Hey, I am a FARA-registered individual from another country, and I am coming to talk to you since you are a Member of Congress in a political campaign? I mean, am I going to have my kids who are in college, am I going to have to have them ask everyone they come into contact with, ``Are you registered under the Foreign Agent Registration Act in Washington, D.C., because I have a duty to report.'' How are we going to know? That is why we have to take a step back. We have to sit down. We have to work this together. There are too many unintended consequences that, yes, Madam Chair, we will be judged by in this country. We will be judged by the freedoms and the freedom of speech that many in this country take for granted, that we should stand together, Republicans and Democrats, to protect, or we will be judged by bad legislation that could be turned into law that could have a chilling effect on these freedoms, on these liberties that our adversaries that meddle in our elections want to use to take them away from every single American. Vote ``no'' on this amendment. Vote to protect free speech and vote to take a step back to clarify how we work to ensure that no foreign entity can interfere with our elections again. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I have had the opportunity to travel the country with my friend and colleague Congresswoman Marcia Fudge on the subject of the Voting Rights Act. We have heard testimony that minority turnout across the board was higher than ever: Hispanic and Asian communities jumped 13 points above the turnout levels in 2014 when compared to the 2018 election cycle; this last midterm, in 2018, African American turnout jumped 11 points. I hope this trend continues, and I hope we see increased minority turnout in our upcoming elections. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to it.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, this is a tough one today. I rise to remember Sheriff Wes Barr, who passed away on October 1. Wes was a beloved member of the Springfield community, who impacted many through his law enforcement career and charity work. Wes' story is one of true American spirit. He lived in the former John Jay housing project in Springfield until he was 13. After graduating from Southeast High School, Wes enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Afterwards, he served as a correctional officer before he began his career in law enforcement. He served as an officer in Loami, Illiopolis, and Chatham before joining the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office in 1991, eventually serving his one term, where I got to serve with him, as sheriff from 2014 to 2018. Wes and his wife, Sherry, are well known for their generous hearts and extensive charity work with several organizations. For years, and where I first met Wes, Wes led the local Toys for Tots drive, collecting thousands of toys for children in need. In every aspect of his life, Wes put others before himself. He lived to serve others and, for so many, he was a role model and a mentor. Wes had a compassion for people and a determination to give back to his community. Words cannot describe how much he will be missed. The thoughts and prayers of Shannon and me are with the entire central Illinois community and especially his wife, Sherry, during this difficult time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to say thank you to everybody standing up here. They came to practices in the mornings, they braved serious injuries. Mr. Speaker, a special shout-out to our colleague, Rick Crawford, who is not here, who broke a fibula trying to play for this game. We missed him. Mr. Speaker, another shout-out goes to Bob Dole and Jeff Denham, former Members who have played, but certainly our pros that helped coach us, John Booty and Ken Harvey. All of them deserve thanks. Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members, whenever they see these great Capitol Police officers, thank them for what they do each and every day for us and for the millions of visitors that come to this institution. But remind them that the charities are the winners, and make sure they know that the Members are the victors.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank Kathleen G. Ott for her years of dedicated service to Congress in her role as the Director of Congressional Relations for the Library of Congress. In 2008, Dr. James Billington, former Librarian of Congress, recognized Kathy's talents and appointed her to her esteemed position as Director of Congressional Relations. Kathy devoted more than a decade of her career to building strong relationships between the Library of Congress and Members of Congress and their staffs. Throughout her tenure with the library, she built bipartisan support with the Committee on House Administration for many library initiatives. In 2009, she fostered the forming of the Library of Congress Caucus and a few years later assisted in creating the library's Congressional Dialogue Dinner Series. Kathy has played an integral role in developing the congressional relations office at the library and ensuring Member involvement in numerous library events. I am grateful for her efforts to promote the work of the library and ensure that the work of Congress remains at the forefront of their mission.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mrs. Lesko, for doing a great job representing her constituents in Arizona. This is an issue that has got to be addressed. As my friend said, though, if we defeat the previous question, we will offer my bill, H.R. 4261. When the majority of Democrats proposed public financing of campaigns in H.R. 1 at the start of this Congress, I thought it was one of the worst ideas in campaign finance ever. Public financing of campaigns will fill the swamp and any Member that voted for it was voting to fill their own pockets and the pockets of political operatives nationwide. At first, Democrats tried to use the tax dollars of hardworking Americans to fund their public financing sections of H.R. 1. Remember, H.R. 1 was a 622-page behemoth of a bill that was supposed to get money out of politics that initially had provisions to put public taxpayer dollars into Members of Congress' own campaign coffers. Imagine, if more people watched C-SPAN, they would have been able to see so many Members of Congress vote to line their own pockets with public tax dollars for their own personal political campaigns. That is not what my constituents asked us to do when cleaning up Washington. That is not what we should be doing. We need to work together now to make sure that it doesn't ever happen again. This matching program would have created a six-to-one match of public financing. Well, once the public caught some sense that this was happening, the majority decided to change the way they do this. What they did instead was, they were going to use corporate fines. Well, that criticism forced them to change it, but also not be able to get funding at the levels that are needed for every Member of Congress to be able to run this new publicly financed campaign. They would have had to subsidize the corporate fines with tax dollars. When the Federal Government fines a corporation that has broken a Federal law, it does so with specific intentions. Remember, for every dollar that a donor gives to a campaign under the Democrats' plan, you would have gotten six times that in first-tax dollars and then so-called corporate-fine dollars. Imagine a scenario where a pharmaceutical company is fined for corporate malfeasance associated with the opioid epidemic and the resulting funds go not to those actually affected by this horrible epidemic, but, instead, they go to line the pockets and campaign coffers of Members of Congress, politicians. Not to mention, this form of public financing would bring into question judges' partiality. If they knew a corporation's fine could end up helping their preferred political party, help them win elected office, what is to stop them from determining who specifically then receives the money? Using taxpayers' dollars or money from corporate fines to publicly support a candidate and start yet another mandatory program, is irresponsible. There are better uses that would be more beneficial to our constituents than putting it back into Congress' own campaign coffers. Call it what you want to call it, but we are now subsidizing private money with funds from corporate fines through campaign subsidies, and this is simply a money grab for politicians. Imagine, if every Member of Congress, not counting all candidates in each of the congressional races--just the 435 of us who serve here-- receives just $1 million in matched funds from the Federal Government. That is close to half a billion dollars going to just the incumbent politician's campaigns. In districts like mine, where the investment every campaign season is substantially higher, it would be even more. Welcome to campaign finance socialism. If the goal is to get money and corruption out of politics, public financing of campaigns is the wrong way to do that. I thank my colleague from Arizona, and I thank my colleagues who are going to vote to make sure that we don't publicly finance campaigns of anyone in this institution.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Neal Gipson, a WWII veteran in my district who will turn 100 on August 15th. After his college graduation, Neal entered the Naval Academy, and in January of 1943, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Naval Reserve. He spent three years doing coastal minesweeping and submarine patrol until he was called to Naval Flight training. When the war came to an end in 1945, Neal took the opportunity to go to medical school. He graduated with his M.D. in 1950 and jumped right back into military service, joining the Air Force. Over the next ten years, Neal took various assignments all over the country: in Florida, Louisiana, and Alaska until he enrolled in Rochester University in New York to complete a Master's degree in Nuclear Science. Upon his retirement in 1973, Neal's military career spanned more than thirty years. He practiced radiology in the private sector until his retirement in 1993. In August, Neal will celebrate his 100th birthday. His selfless service to our country is beyond admirable, and I am thankful to have the opportunity to honor him today. I thank Neal, and wish him a happy birthday.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the sesquicentennial celebration of the founding of the Village of Brighton, Illinois. In 1826, Brighton's first settlers came to the area and built a cabin, with the first post office opening up nine years later. One hundred and fifty years ago, in 1869, the Village of Brighton was incorporated. Today, Brighton boasts a population of more than 2,300 residents and spans both Macoupin and Jersey Counties. I am proud to represent Brighton and the many people who make it a wonderful place to live. Congratulations to Mayor Roberts and the people of Brighton on celebrating 150 years.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mt. Joy Missionary Baptist Church in Edwardsville, which is celebrating 150 years as a church congregation this year. Mt. Joy was founded in Edwardsville in 1869 by ex-slaves who conducted church services in their homes. Early members and founders dedicated their efforts and time into selling barbeque and wild game dinners to fund the construction of a log cabin in 1871 to hold church services for their community. After overcoming many obstacles over the years, including a fire that destroyed the original cabin in 1909, the church still stands strong on its mission to spread God's word in the Metro East. There have been countless leaders in the church's 150-year history, but I want to congratulate Pastor Steve Jackson and Chairman Donnie Howard for leading this church at this historic time. Mt. Joy Missionary Baptist Church is an important piece of Edwardsville's history, and I'm proud to honor the church and its legacy.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman DeFazio for helping make this bill a bipartisan success, and I rise in support of H.R. 3245. I really want to thank my colleague, the ranking member of the committee, Mr. Graves, and also our other colleague, my former boss, Congressman John Shimkus, who allowed me to work on this project as one of his staff members back in the early 2000s. To be able to stand on the House floor and see this solution be put forth by my other colleague from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), with the support of Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Graves, and the Illinois and Indiana delegations in a very bipartisan way, it is a privilege for me to be able to manage this bill today. Who would have thought that two kids from Christian County, Illinois, would one day stand here on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and have a bipartisan bill that is going to help both the constituents of Indiana and Illinois, but that is exactly where we are today with my good friend Mr. Bucshon, who grew up about 8 miles from where I grew up. This bill is a long time coming. It is going to convey the Harmony Way Bridge from the Federal Government to the designated entities within the States of Illinois and Indiana. This is what the States of Illinois and Indiana have asked us for. The bridge is currently managed by the White County Bridge Commission, which was created by Federal legislation in 1941. In 2012, this bridge was closed because of the inability of that commission to support its safety measures and to support the improvements that were necessary. By conveying this bridge and repealing the 1941 legislation, the two States are going to work together for a new vision, which serves as a very important link between Illinois and Indiana as it crosses the Wabash River. A companion bill has already been introduced by the four Senators from Illinois and Indiana. Last week, that bill, S. 1833, was approved by unanimous consent. Additionally, the House passed a similar bill last Congress by unanimous consent. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3245, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, again, I am proud to stand here next to my good friend Dr. Bucshon, who was born in my hometown of Taylorville, Illinois, raised in Kincaid, Illinois, and went on to become a heart surgeon. I don't know if I would trust him operating on me, but, hey, I know a lot of patients in Indiana did. This is a guy who promised to get things done. This project, I can tell you firsthand, was not moving anywhere until Mr. Bucshon took the lead. This is why I am proud to be able to recognize him now and thank him very much for his support of this bill. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon).

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, again, this bill is a bipartisan success story and a bistate success story. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, again, this is a bipartisan success story. This is an issue so many of us have worked hard on together. To see it pass today with the support of Republicans and Democrats is something that I can tell you a few years ago I didn't think would happen. This is an opportunity, too, for me, again, to thank the hardworking people in Congressman Shimkus' office. I remember learning about this project from my fellow staffer who lived right near the New Harmony Way Bridge, Holly Healy, who gave me the lowdown on why it was important to pass this legislation. That was back in 2003. I am proud to thank Holly today for her dedication and the hard work that she has done on behalf of Congressman Shimkus over the years. Today is the day we finally get to make this happen so that bridge can be repaired and that bridge can be reopened. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves), my good friend and the ranking member.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the chair, Mr. Takano, and also Dr. Roe, the ranking member and former chair of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, for all the work they do for our veterans. It was at a meeting with Dr. Roe in Springfield, Illinois, last summer that he heard from my constituents who represented the 13 colleges that I am blessed to represent in central Illinois. They got together, and they talked about the GI Bill Work Study Improvement Act language that is included in this bill right now. Section 5 of this bill contains our improvement language, and I really want to thank Susie Lee, my colleague. I want to thank Dr. Roe again and my colleague, Mike Bost, from Illinois because this legislation creates a block grant program to disburse the funding that would normally be used by the VA to administer their workstudy program. We heard from the college administrators. It wasn't going well as is; they were leaving veterans behind. They didn't know if the students were going to be able to enroll, and the colleges didn't know when they were going to get the money. This is a fix that came directly from listening to the people who are serving our veterans at our educational institutions. This is what bipartisanship looks like. It is an idea that comes from people who are affected, and those who are affected are our heroes who protect our great Nation. This change is necessary, this change is bipartisan, and this change is long overdue. I want to thank everybody again for working on this bill. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a truly special hero for our country, Zechariah Cartledge, a 10-year-old boy from Florida, who has decided he will run a mile for each time a law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty. Earlier this year, Zechariah went to New York City to run the ``Tunnel to Towers 5K'' with police officers, firefighters and military personnel to honor our nation's heroes. He has continued to raise money for police officers and military personnel with every single mile he has run. This weekend, Zechariah will be in Springfield, Illinois to participate in a 1-Mile Honorary Run for all Illinois Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty that is being put on by The Peacekeepers, a local organization who have raised an impressive amount of money for our military members and police officers. This year, in Springfield, Zechariah will be helping The Peacekeepers honor fallen Illinois State Police Trooper Brian McMillen and Petty Officer 2nd Class Logan Palmer. Zechariah is a wonderful hero who is an example of what we all should strive to be: men and women with appreciation and respect for our first responders. Thank you, Zechariah for everything you have done to honor our heroes. The money you have raised will go a long way for families of our fallen. God bless you and the work you have done.