Blake Farenthold

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Chairman, the Constitution vests all legislative powers in Congress. Unfortunately, past Members of this institution have given away a lot of that power to government agencies like the EPA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and an alphabet soup of agencies. President Obama is using his pen and telephone to talk to the ideologues who work in and run these agencies to change laws, to make laws without coming to Congress. Unelected, faceless Federal bureaucrats are making regulations that have the force of law, not elected representatives of the people. There are reams of rules. There are so many rules out there, I bet the average person can't go a couple of hours without violating a rule or regulation they probably don't even know about. The REINS Act is a great first step in reining in these job-killing regulations. The legislation before us is important to America. The REINS Act brings accountability back to the system. When a regulation with an economic impact of more than $100 million comes out of one of these agencies, it has got to be approved by Congress. That is our job; the Constitution says so, the people who elected us to make laws. And the people will hold us accountable for those laws if they are bad laws. How do you hold a faceless Federal bureaucrat accountable? We have seen through the VA that it is practically impossible to fire one of these bureaucrats. But every 2 years you have got the opportunity to fire somebody in this House, and every 6 years you have the opportunity to fire somebody on the other side. Let Congress do the job the Founding Fathers intended. Put the people's representatives back in charge. Follow the Constitution. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) made a great point when he was reading through the Supreme Court decision talking about the constitutional responsibility of this branch of government to make the laws. That is what the REINS Act does. It gives us back the power. Another gentleman on the other side spoke about the taxicab standard, how it came up in a taxicab and how this random regulation has been law for years. If the REINS Act had been in effect, that would have come before Congress, and we could have asked the question: Where is the science behind that? It would have worked then, and it will work when we pass it now.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act because we have got to stop the madness of not enforcing our laws. In the last weeks, we have seen coverage of two terrible murders that occurred because our laws went unenforced. My thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to the families of the victims. Sadly, these tragedies are but a representation of a larger, deeper, and more troubling problem. While I wish today we were also considering legislation by Mr. Gowdy to address the administration's abysmal lack of respect for our immigration laws, Chairman McCaul's bill to secure the borders, or Chairman Lamar Smith's bill to implement E-Verify to stop businesses from exploiting undocumented workers, this bill is a step in the right direction. It will stop the American people from subsidizing local law enforcement departments that refuse to do their jobs and enforce the law. Let's take the emotion out of this. Let's take it out of the immigration and border security issue, which are emotionally charged. This is a fiscally responsible bill. If we were spending money for a defense contractor to develop a new weapons system and they weren't developing that weapons system, we would take the money back. Well, here we are, giving money to law enforcement to work with ICE to deal with criminal aliens, and they are not doing it. Of course, we have got to take the money back. It would be foolish to do anything else. Mr. Speaker, this horrible loss of life that we have seen is a result of the negligence and complete lack of respect for the rule of law that this administration and the mayors of sanctuary cities took an oath to uphold. It is appalling. Today, we are going to be able to deal with one part of that problem, and I am going to encourage all of my colleagues to vote with me to support H.R. 3009 and put our Nation back on the path to sanity.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to insist Congress stop the immoral and monstrous action being taken by Planned Parenthood in any way possible, and that includes making sure no more Federal dollars go to this organization. Today, we learned about a second video from yet another Planned Parenthood senior official who was recorded haggling over the price of body parts from murdered children and bumping up the price while joking she needed a new Lamborghini. It is disgusting. The first video, leaked on July 14, showed Planned Parenthood's practice of aborting babies and selling their organs. This behavior violates every moral and ethical code that I can think of. I was disgusted by the video showing a senior official enjoy lunch while discussing how easy it is to kill a child by crushing their heads in order to harvest the fetal organs. We must do more to create a culture that embraces life. If you are pregnant and seeking family planning services from Planned Parenthood, you are 42 times more likely to receive an abortion than prenatal care or an adoption referral. This isn't about women's health. It is about feeding an abortion mill. To me, it is unbelievable that taxpayer dollars continue to support this evil organization. Planned Parenthood's entire business model is centered around providing abortions, not giving quality medical care to women who need it. According to the Susan B. Anthony List, Planned Parenthood Clinic Director Abby Johnson has written that she was given an ``abortion quota'' and was even told by her superiors to double the number of abortions to bring in more revenue. It is not just abortions that are offensive about this organization. Planned Parenthood has also fought against mandatory reporting when they discover children are being sexually abused. Employees have acknowledged aiding and abetting human sex trafficking of young girls under the age of 14. It is time we give those who need it better access to real women's health care. We must defund Planned Parenthood now and use that funding to assist women who need real health care. Mr. Speaker, we have been talking about this too long. It is time to stop supporting a group who callously murders innocent and helpless children and sells their organs and calls it reproductive health care.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, yesterday at a Judiciary Committee hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson didn't know who Kate Steinle was. I hope he sure remembers his own Border Patrol agent Javier Vega, Jr., a father, husband, and south Texan. Both of these fine Americans were gunned down by illegal aliens who had been deported multiple times, but were back in our country. Mr. Johnson couldn't tell me what percentage of the border was secure. Last month I visited the border and talked to some hard-working Border Patrol agents who are very frustrated. They keep apprehending the same people again and again. They are frustrated with our so-called catch-and-release program, where human smugglers called coyotes and drug smugglers with small loads or less than four or five people are simply let go. We have got to secure our border to avoid tragedies like Kate Steinle and Javier Vega, Jr. For that matter, we need to secure the borders to keep us safe.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, over the Memorial Day weekend, the communities of central Texas suffered a terrible tragedy after heavy rains and powerful storms hit the Lone Star State, resulting in the deaths of 24 people, including a number from Corpus Christi and the district that I represent. Though I don't represent Hays County, where some of the major flooding happened and one of the hardest hit parts of the State, nearby Caldwell and Bastrop Counties are in the 27th District of Texas, and I have pledged my help to the entire area in every way possible. Immediately after the floods, I visited the Bastrop County Emergency Operations Center and have been in contact with leaders throughout the district to help in the recovery and aid efforts and to make sure that the resources are available and that we are looking for ways to improve our response and readiness in the future. But, you know, it wasn't just tragedy that I saw during this. It was not just devastation. I also saw the hope and spirit of a community that came together in aid and rescue efforts. I was moved, touched, and inspired by what I saw. Hundreds of volunteers, including my wife Debbie, joined emergency personnel and law enforcement folks to help however possible. Debbie came home with stories of hundreds of people who drove over 3 hours from Corpus Christi to search for some of the victims who were from Corpus Christi, including my daughter's elementary and middle school tutor, who perished in the flood. Despite this tragedy, it is amazing how people came together in the spirit of America and how it showed through. This gives me hope for the entire country, and it makes me proud to be an American. At the request of a constituent, I will also be working with local officials to investigate how we can make our emergency notification systems better and how it can make sure people have access to accurate and timely disaster information so we can prevent tragedies like this in the future. Obviously, we can't stop Mother Nature, but we can be prepared. We can make sure the public has the information they need to keep themselves safe, and we can help those devastated by these sorts of tragedies. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and everyone join me in continuing to pray for the victims of these floods and these tragedies, their friends, their families, and the volunteers who gave so selflessly of their time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Madam Chair, I rise in support of our amendment today that I am working on with Mr. Issa. Madam Chair, the Associated Press reported yesterday that they confirmed reports that the FBI is flying surveillance cameras in aircraft over the U.S. with these devices. They are operated sometimes through shell companies that use video and StingRay technology to capture data on Americans in bulk both visually and from our cell phones. This flies in the face of every concept of liberty and privacy that we cherish in this country. Our Founding Fathers would be sickened if they found out how far we have slipped. As much as I have been encouraged by the fact that both Houses of Congress have passed the USA FREEDOM Act to end bulk surveillance under section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, reports like this show me we still have a long way to go. This secretive FBI program to hack into our cellphones seems far from appropriate and constitutional, and it must be curtailed. This amendment would ensure that any usage of this program would only happen through a court order targeting a specific individual and never as a dragnet for bulk surveillance. I am happy to hear that there is very little opposition to this, and I look forward to working to continue to regain our liberty from mass and unconstitutional surveillance.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 267, 266, 265, and 264, I missed votes due to severe weather in Washington, DC, causing my flight to be diverted to Norfolk, Virginia. Had I been present, I would have voted yes on 267 and no on 266, 265, and 264.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment and thank my colleague from Texas for agreeing to accept it. This has been a great victory this week in our ability to work with the Senate to rein in what I believe to be the unconstitutional bulk data collection by the NSA. Just because we stopped the NSA doesn't mean we shouldn't be ever vigilant. With the reports of the DEA engaging in similar activities, it is absolutely appropriate that we use the power of the purse to ensure that this type of spying on American citizens--this bulk data collection--is stopped. This is no different from the general warrants that were complained about when the King of England would send troops to rifle through people's desks just looking for stuff. It is the exact same thing in the digital age. I encourage my colleagues to support it and look forward to working with my colleague, Mr. Culberson, in making sure it does become part of this bill.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to pay tribute to our veterans and to the men and women of our Armed Forces who wake up every day, put on our Nation's uniform, and don't know if they are going to be home that evening safely with their families. Last weekend, volunteers came together in Port O'Connor, Texas, to honor more than 900 veterans and current members of the Armed Forces for the ninth annual Warriors Weekend. Warriors Weekend brings together military members who have been wounded during combat in the global war on terror--and not just those who are wounded physically, but also those with invisible scars, like PTSD and depression. Mr. Speaker, many of these current and former military members are still in recovery and physical rehabilitation, but the weekend event gives them the chance to build a support network and have a great time enjoying the Texas outdoors. Warriors Weekend was created in part by veterans who served during Vietnam. They knew all too well how it felt to return home from war and be looked down on. They wanted to make sure every member of the military is welcomed home properly, and they knew that our wounded veterans oftentimes have needs that are overlooked. I urge Members to support Warriors Weekend again next year.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, on roll call nos. 240 through 242 I missed these votes due to irregular flight operations on Sunday and a delayed flight on Monday. Had I been present, I would have voted Yes.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak in favor of my amendment encouraging the Department of Defense to provide free WiFi access to our military members deployed overseas. Communications with family members back home is critical not only for the mental health and well-being of our servicemembers but also for their families who support them while they defend our great Nation. Our military members sacrifice time with their spouses and children and their loved ones they leave behind when they proudly serve our Nation. Giving them the ability to stay in touch with their family through Skype and FaceTime so they can watch those important moments, birthdays or children's first steps, makes it easier for servicemembers to cope with the physical and emotional distance deployment brings. Family members play a crucial role in helping our servicemembers persevere through tough times and manage through long deployments. Right now military members have to pay $60, sometimes $100 a month just to stay in touch with their families. I am encouraging the Department of Defense to strongly consider working internally and with third-party vendors to remove this burden from servicemembers and urge support of this entire en bloc amendment.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to honor a friend who recently died in a motorcycle accident. On May 3, in my hometown of Corpus Christi, our police chief, Floyd Simpson, died. Originally from Chicago, Chief Simpson felt drawn to Texas. As a 25- year veteran of the Dallas Police Department before moving to Corpus Christi, Chief Simpson established a reputation as a ``legend in the department,'' and according to his peers, he was an outstanding ``human being, husband, and father.'' He was a great communicator, regularly appearing on the radio and at community events throughout the Coastal Bend. In his interview for the job of chief of police, Corpus Christi City Manager Ron Olson asked him to describe his values. Chief Simpson replied that faith comes first, family second, and everything else comes after that. In the wake of Chief Simpson's passing, State and local officials are coming together to make State Highway 361 safer. Even in death, he will continue to help keep others safe. My heart and prayers go out to Tanya, Chief Simpson's wife of 27 years, and his children.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Chair, I understand the concerns that the chairman of the subcommittee has. The breadth was necessary in order to get by the requirement to not be legislating within an appropriations bill. If the chairman is willing to work with me on finding a scalpel rather than an ax to prune these bad apples out of the tree, I am willing to withdraw the amendment.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Chairman, my amendment is very straightforward. If an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs has received a work performance review rated as unsatisfactory in the last fiscal year, he will not be able to receive a salary for this fiscal year 2016. Mr. Chairman, there have been all sorts of media reports about how Secretary McDonald has been trying to reform the VA but has been having trouble getting rid of the bad apples. This is one way we could help him do that. For instance, the VA employees in the 27th Congressional District of Texas that I represent and across the Nation continue to provide vital care to our veterans. In the 27th District, our local medical center is well below the national standards for both customer service and phone standards. Mr. Chairman, an official report from the VA inspector general found that about 1,700 veterans were in need of care and were at risk of being lost or forgotten after being kept off official waiting lists. Schedulers for the Veterans Affairs were instructed to change the dates for which veterans had requested an appointment in order to hide delays. At the Phoenix VA, official data showed that veterans waited an average of 24 days for an appointment when in reality the average wait was 115 days. That is absolutely unacceptable. The VA OIG reported in May of 2014 that 17 veterans deaths had occurred while waiting for VA treatment in the Phoenix VA, and on June 5 of that same year, the VA reported they had identified an additional 18 deaths. People are dying because of unsatisfactory performance at the VA. Earlier this month it was reported that out of 280,000 employees working for the VA, only eight had been ``punished'' for any of the offenses. In fact, the only person who has actually been fired is Sharon Helman. She wasn't fired immediately for unsatisfactory work performance. Instead, she was on paid administrative leave for over 7 months before they finally got around to firing her. She was that former VA person in Phoenix and was only fired after it was discovered she was accepting gifts from a lobbyist. We have no way of dealing with the problems, and we are looking for a solution to this. Mr. Chairman, the VA OIG found that, under Ms. Helman's leadership, 35 veterans had died, and it took us 7 months to fire her for an unrelated offense. The VA still is struggling with this. Clearly, Congress needs to find a better approach to help root out the bad apples in the VA. My amendment is one way we can do this. If you are receiving the worst possible performance review, you ought not to be getting paid with taxpayer money for your unsatisfactory work. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Calhoun High School Girls Powerlifting Team. On Friday, March 20, 2015, the team, led by Head Coach Jason Bagwell and Assistant Coach Kellie Whitaker, won their 10th consecutive Texas High School Women's Powerlifting Association's (THSWPA) Texas State Championship at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. This is the first time this feat has been accomplished in the history of THSWPA, and I am sure this record breaking accomplishment will stand the test of time. I congratulate the coaches and these amazing young women on their hard work and dedication and I wish them the best of luck in all of their future endeavors. Calhoun High School Sandies Team Members: Kassidy Colianni, Miranda Smith, Danielle Bacon, Marissa Martinez, Belinda Perez, Perla Resendiz, Brooke Downs, Abby McFall, Zoey Dierlam and Jeanette Olachia.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 80th anniversary of the CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery. Since 1935, CITGO has been a dedicated leader to the City of Corpus Christi and to the people of Texas. Driven by commitment to its core values of integrity, respect, and fairness, CITGO has been a shining steward and model example of the community. As a good corporate neighbor who has provided thousands of jobs and innumerable charitable contributions and volunteer work to the people of Corpus Christi, I am very proud to have CITGO here in the 27th District of Texas. As a company rightly focused on people and opportunity, I encourage us all to take time today on April 15, 2015 to celebrate eight decades of CITGO's commitment to our community and to wish the Corpus Christi Refinery nothing but the best in the upcoming century.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I appreciate the chairman yielding time to me, even though I am in support of this amendment. Madam Chair, we need this legislation because our companies, our industries, our government, and even our individual citizens are under attack by foreign cyber hackers, under attack from criminals. We need the cooperation between the government and the private sector, but unfortunately we have seen that well-meaning folks in the government sometimes get a little overzealous in their data collection we don't always see. For instance, section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, we saw in the Snowden revelations that every bit of metadata on phones was being collected. We didn't know that when we passed the PATRIOT Act. Now we have an opportunity to put a backstop in place where we can take a look a few years down the road and make sure this isn't being misinterpreted, not in line with congressional intent, and not in line with the Constitution. This backstop, this sunset, is a critical piece of the bill. The bill is not perfect, but this makes it a whole lot better and gives us a second bite at the apple should things be going wrong. I appreciate your yielding.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, it has been 70 years since the end of World War II. Seventy years since, as allies, the R.O.C. (Taiwan) and the United States stood shoulder to shoulder against the forces that threatened the destiny of our two peoples. In commemoration of another event of the combined interests of our two peoples, the 36th anniversary of the passage of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), we rededicate ourselves to enhance the critical relationship between the people of Taiwan and the United States of America. The economic and strategic security of Taiwan is of highest importance to our well-being. In these times of worldwide political chaos, we must have dependable allies; Taiwan has proven itself time and time again. In addition to being a dependable ally, Taiwan is one of our strongest trading partners; contributing greatly to our economic stability. To ensure the viability of Taiwan, which is in our self-interest, we must enable Taiwan under the mandate of the TRA the ability to purchase defensive arms necessary to help them defend themselves.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, today is national fairytale day, and my office has been having some fun with it on Twitter. I got together with the staff, and we came up with some hashtag liberal fairytales: ``If you like your health insurance, you can keep it.'' ``Benghazi was caused by a YouTube video.'' But the biggest one seems to be happening right now. It is a liberal fairytale that House Republicans want to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Weeks ago, we passed a bill fully funding it. It is the Democrats in the Senate who have refused to take up that bill and debate it and vote for closure that are going to close the Department of Homeland Security. So on national fairytale day, we have got a whopper of a fairytale from the liberals. The fact that the Republicans want to shut down DHS is nothing but a hashtag liberal fairytale.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Absolutely. You have got to be out at the events. You have got to say ``yes'' to the folks that come in and say: Could you give us a public service announcement for our cancer walk? Could you give us a public service announcement for our whatever event? The community bulletin boards that you used to hear on the radio all the time are coming back, and that is something XM or satellite providers just can't do. Sure, they are getting the technology to localize some of the ads by downloading them into your devices. But it is not like the local broadcaster who is a part of the community.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you very much. It is an honor and a privilege to be here to speak about the value our local broadcasters bring to our communities. I am a long-time radio guy. At 15 years old, I started hanging around the radio station and ended up getting a job there through high school and college and have worked on and off in radio ever since. I can tell you, our local broadcasters are such a value to our community. We have got a market now with all sorts of new technology for people to get music and entertainment--there is satellite radio; there is the Internet; there is Pandora--but nothing compares to what the local broadcasters can bring. Actually, all this competition, I think, is bringing a resurgence to local broadcasters. You are going away from lots of syndicated programs to more locally created programs that are more in tune to the needs of the community than something coming out from a central location piped over a satellite. You have got great opportunities. Local businesses now have more opportunities to advertise, targeting local audiences. You have got news departments that are beginning a resurgence in local radio and television stations as people realize they need local news in addition to the national news. And in times of an emergency, nobody comes to the aid of a community like the broadcast facilities. Typically, they will suspend programming in the event of a hurricane or some other disaster. It is your first source for information, where you can go to get fresh water, other disaster and emergency aid. It really brings out the best. Local broadcasters are committed to their community. Much like people who run for elected office, in order to get people to know you, to like you, to listen to you, and to watch you on a TV station, they have got to be out in the community, too. They have got to be at the local events, the chamber of commerce events. They have got to sponsor the charitable events. Broadcasters I know spend and donate millions of dollars in airtime just to support local charities and community activities. It is the backbone of America. We have got to be careful up here in Washington. We have got lots of stuff on our agenda here that could potentially adversely affect broadcasters. We have got to strike the right balance. We have got copyright reform on the agenda. We have got to find the right balance, where content creators are properly compensated for their creative works but broadcasters aren't penalized such that they have got to shut down news departments or lay off employees in order to meet those demands. We have got to make sure that we have got licensing and the Communications Act reformed. Our Communications Act is very old. We have got to take a look at it and bring it into the 21st century. But we have got to be careful that we don't cripple our local broadcasters, many of whom live in the communities and are valuable parts of the community and are basically, in some cases, the heartbeat of the community. I do want to reiterate that I think we are at a time where we really can see a resurgence in local broadcasting, local content, the return of more full service. It is not just wall-to-wall hits on the radio now. In order to garner a market competing with XM, our local folks have to be out in the community. They have to be out with live remotes. They have got to be at community events. They have got to be bringing local news and local content and stuff that is relevant to people's lives. They have done it for decades, and it is really great to see that resurgence and to be a part of it. It is a great time for broadcasters in America right now.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. You need somebody that has a local news presence. You don't need somebody that has to bring a satellite truck in from a few hundred miles away and can't get there immediately. Sure, The Weather Channel will send Jim Cantore down. I think they want to kill him because they send him to all the dangerous locations. But he doesn't know the community like the local weathercaster. We have got Dale Nelson in Corpus Christi. He has been doing the weather on our NBC affiliate. We jokingly call him ``Dead Wrong Dale.'' What other profession can you be in besides being a TV meteorologist and get it wrong half the time and still keep a job? But Dale knows the community, and he gets it right a whole lot more than he gets it wrong. We just like to rib him. But he knows the places that are going to flood. He knows the areas in the neighborhoods that are most susceptible to damage. Those out-of-town reporters don't. The members of the media in local broadcasting are citizens of the community, and what they do improves the lives of everybody in the community. They know the people. They shop at the grocery store with the folks. Their children are in school in the community. They know what is going on, and they can reflect what is going on and can react to what is going on in the community and really be a valuable asset for good.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I appreciate your yielding the time and organizing this wonderful Special Order.