John Garamendi

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, it is my honor to congratulate and commend the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) on the celebration of its 150th Anniversary and for the many years of advocacy and responsible stewardship of the insurance industry. Since its founding in 1871, NAIC has worked to diligently regulate the national insurance industry and market and protect hundreds of millions of American consumers. As the first elected State Insurance Commissioner of California and former member of the NAIC. I know how invaluable state regulators' frontline role can be in holding insurance companies accountable. I am proud to continue to work closely with the NAIC here in Congress. including through the introduction of my bill the Primary Regulators of Insurance Vote Act. This important piece of legislation would support the work of the NAIC by ensuring that the expertise of our nation's primary insurance regulators, state commissioners, has equal weight in the monitoring of our financial stability at the national level. Were it not for the work of the NAIC and its members. Americans would all too often be left unprotected from predatory practices of insurance companies. On behalf of the people of California's 3rd Congressional District. please accept my sincere congratulations and gratitude for the work you have done and continue to do and my best wishes for the years ahead.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, it is my honor to congratulate Gary Cohen of Oakland, California, on occasion of his retirement from Blue Shield of California following a distinguished career as an attorney, public servant, advocate, mentor and leader committed to improving the health and well-being of millions of Americans. Gary served the House honorably as my Chief of Staff in 2010 before helping lead the Obama Administration's implementation of the Affordable Care Act as the Director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) where he oversaw implementation of regulations that established critical consumer protections that directly impacted the lives of millions of Americans. As General Counsel to Covered California, California's health benefit marketplace--and Deputy Commissioner General Counsel during my tenure as California's Insurance Commissioner--Gary served as a passionate voice for consumers and worked tirelessly to improve Californians' access to affordable and comprehensive insurance coverage. As General Counsel for California's Public Utilities Commission, Gary developed a legal strategy that put consumers first amidst the state's unprecedented energy crisis. In private practice, and following his government service, Gary pushed major California companies, including Blue Shield, to act instead of stand on the sidelines on making health coverage more affordable for members, empowering patients with better access to health data, and addressing the Bay Area's homelessness crisis. Gary's experiences as a patient led him to push for a delivery system that is simplified, affordable and more patient friendly. He served as a trusted, experienced advisor to the California delegation on health care issues, and I have no doubt he will continue to do so following his retirement on the issues that matter. In government and the private sector, Gary led with compassion and empathy. Gary inspired his staff to be passionate, fearless and to act consistent with their values in standing for what is right, no matter how challenging the politics or environment. Gary is also a loving husband to his lifetime love Liz, and an attentive father and grandfather. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our appreciation and best wishes to Gary and his family following an outstanding and meaningful career.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I rise in recognition of my constituent and friend Nicole Montna Van Vleck. Nicole was recently awarded the Rice Farmer of the Year award by Horizon Ag, Rice Farming, and USA Rice. The Montna Family began their rice operation in the late 1930s in Sutter County, California. By the 1970s Nicole's father, Al Montna, took over the ranch from his parents Dutch and Emma. Eventually, Al sold much of the land to his daughters Nicole and Michelle. Nicole currently serves as president and CEO of Montna Farms. Montna Farms produces predominately short-grain rice, that is milled in Williams, California and then distributed throughout the United States and internationally. Nicole makes conservation a priority at Montna Farms, In 2000, a working lands easement was implemented on the ranch to preserve the Pacific Flyway. Nicole and Montna Farms has also worked in partnership with numerous environmental organizations, such as Nature Conservancy, California Waterfowl Association, the National Audubon Society, California Trout and Point Blue, to ensure lands and wildlife are protected in and around their operation. Nicole has also dedicated herself to the rice industry by serving on numerous boards and committees, including: chair of the California Rice Industry Association, immediate past chair of California Producers Group and USA Rice Farmers, California Rice Commission, USA Rice Federation, the Rice Foundation, past chair of USA Rice Communication Committee, past co-chair Rice Sustainability and Competitiveness Task Force, past chair of state Farm Service Agency and State Fair ag advisory board, Northern California Water Association, UC Davis Dean's advisory board, and River Valley Community Bank board. I congratulate Nicole on her achievement of Rice Farmer of the Year and I look forward to continue to work with her to support the California rice industry.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of the committee, Mr. DeFazio. Congressman Dusty Johnson and I announced our intention to pursue this bipartisan legislation, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, just this past June. In late August, we introduced H.R. 4996 and have since earned the support of more than 90 bipartisan cosponsors. On November 17, the Biden administration put out a public statement endorsing our bipartisan bill. Now, less than 4 months since we first began to develop this legislation, I am thrilled--in fact, I am awed, and I am amazed but very happy--that the House is taking up our comprehensive reform. The amendment in the nature of a substitute reflects relatively minor changes and a reorganization of H.R. 4996 as introduced. In other words, it is not important to the substance of the bill. I am thrilled with the compromise legislative text reached by the committee's majority and minority staff and the members. This is what the voters sent us here to do, to identify problems, develop practical solutions, and then work together across the aisle to reach a compromise to achieve a result. That is exactly what the House, both Democrats and Republicans, are now doing in taking up this bipartisan Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 on this date. I want to thank the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio); the gentleman from California (Mr. Carbajal); the ranking member, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves); and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs) for working with me and my Republican counterpart, the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) to get this result. I will very, very briefly go through what the bill attempts to do. We are all aware that the pandemic highlighted the longstanding issues of the ocean shipping industry and also the staggering vulnerabilities in the integral supply chain that drives global commerce. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act would be the first overhaul of Federal regulations for the international ocean shipping industry since 1998. For decades, the United States has run a significant trade imbalance, due in large part to export-driven, nonmarket economies like mainland China. In 2001, the People's Republic of China was granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States, the so-called most favored nation status, following that country's admission to the World Trade Organization. There has since been considerable consolidation among the foreign-based ocean carriers, coinciding with the continued decline of the U.S.-flagged international fleet in favor of foreign flags of convenience. A handful of foreign-flagged ocean carriers now dominate the global ocean shipping industry, three of which are from China, another from Korea, and a fifth from Europe, several of which are effectively controlled by these foreign governments. Foreign business access to the American market and our consumers is a privilege; it is not a right. In 2001, the United States' trade imbalance with the People's Republic of China was approximately $83 billion in nominal dollars. In 2020, our trade imbalance with mainland China was $310 billion, having increased year over year most every year. This legislation would ensure reciprocal trade to help reduce the United States' longstanding trade imbalance with export-driven countries like China. California agricultural exporters and other businesses are willing to pay to ensure that their products reach markets in Asia, but they can't pay a fortune to do it. One example, Jelly Belly, the candy company in my district, last spring would pay $3,000 for a container full of candy to ship to the Western Pacific. Today it is $31,900. That is the problem. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act does make critical reforms requested by major U.S. importers, like the National Retail Federation's member companies. There are many, many examples. I will let those go for now. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa) who alerted me to this problem early last summer.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Occasionally, we toss words back and forth across the aisle here, and I would like to toss a word back across the aisle to Mr. Johnson. He said compliments my way. The actual compliments go his way. It is not often that we spend time, and we spend a good deal of time working together on these bills, and we ought to do more across the aisle. Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure working with Mr. Johnson and his team, and I thank him. I thank him for stepping forward, as have other Members on your side and my side of the aisle, stepping forward and saying, Hey, there is a problem. It is a problem out there. There are problems of retention and demurrage charges that are, Well, how could that be. An importer of plastic Christmas trees and wreaths and other ornaments from China could not get his containers off of the port. Yet, he was being charged $4 million, which pretty much puts him out of business. He is not the biggest company in the world, but he would like to be. And given the unfair situation that he was facing, he may never become a major company in the United States. So we need to set up rules of the road, words that Mr. Johnson laid out so clearly. Rules of the road; the guardrails. Within these rules, operations, free enterprise, market competition can take place, but right now, it is a wide-open system in which there is a gunfight on the street, and that is leading to companies not being able to get their goods on the ships to export. And comments that you have already heard from Mr. Costa, California is a big agricultural export, and so is South Dakota, and so is the Midwest, and so is the Southeast. All of America wants to export, but when you cannot get a container, you are not going to export and you are likely to be out of business, and you are going to incur a very, very significant charge. So we set up a system in which these charges and the availability are regulated in a mechanism that will be conducted by the Federal Maritime Commission. We can go on and on here, and we probably ought to, but I won't take my full 10 minutes. I will say, as Mr. Johnson said earlier, this isn't the silver bullet, this isn't going to solve all the problems, but when you consider what has already occurred in legislation here--specifically, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, that piece of legislation will provide $2.5 billion to the ports so that they can upgrade their facilities, so that they can, the next time around, be able to avoid the kind of congestion that is plaguing all of the commerce in this Nation. We also look to the Build Back Better legislation, which has another $2.5 billion in it to deal with additional infrastructure that is necessary to connect the ports to the rest of the transportation system in this Nation. Mr. Speaker, we need this bill. We, the American farmer, needs this bill. We, the American export industry--whether it is heavy, light--and the import community, all need this bill. So I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and in that process, we will, I believe, have a much better market system here in the United States, one that has guardrails, one that provides an equitable and balanced system for the importers and the exporters. Mr. Speaker, I want to take an opportunity here to thank some very important people. The staff that put this together, on our side of the aisle, Matt Dwyer, the lead person on the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; CheriAnn Thompson on that committee; Cheryl Dickson; and Iain Hart from my own staff. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) if he would like to thank his staff.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining?

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4996) to amend title 46, United States Code, with respect to prohibited acts by ocean common carriers or marine terminal operators, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4996, as amended.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington State (Ms. Schrier).

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Carbajal).

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act is a bipartisan project of enormous work both by members and staff. As always, I start by thanking Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Rogers and the House Committee on Armed Services' staff that worked long hours and many, many nights putting this year's NDAA together. I also thank the Subcommittee on Readiness Ranking Member Lamborn, for his partnership on the subcommittee, as well as all the members of the subcommittee who contributed to the base bill or submitted amendments in the process. In addition, I thank the committee's staff for their many hours of work in preparing this mark or this legislation. In particular, the staff of the Subcommittee on Readiness: Jeanine Womble, Ian Bennitt, Melanie Harris, David Sienicki, Jay Vallario, Wendell White, Whitney Verrett, and Naajidah Khan. I am particularly proud of the many priority issues for the Subcommittee on Readiness that are reflected in this final bill. Of note, this bill represents a continuation of the work to address the vulnerabilities of installations, as well as energy resiliency and response to climate change. We also are prioritizing efforts to address the contested logistics involving near-peer competitors. This bill strengthens the operation energy program by requiring the Department of Defense to create a working group to enhance integration of military department energy initiatives into operational planning and platform development to combat the many challenges associated with contested and congested logistics. It also represents a step forward in our work to ensure the safety of our military and civilian personnel is a top priority for the Department. The FY22 NDAA establishes the Joint Safety Council and requires the Department of Defense to develop a plan.

Mr. GARAMENDI. The bill also takes important steps to improve the quality of family life dealing with housing and child development centers. Notably, $517 million in this bill for PFAS in an effort to increase transparency and provide information. Finally, the bill takes key steps to control the cost of expensive programs.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I reintroduce the Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act with Congressman Don Young (R- AK), the Dean of House. I wish to thank Congressman Young for his support as my co-lead on this bill, the bipartisan group of 85 other Members who cosponsored this bill in the 116th Congress, and our former colleague Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU) for sponsoring this legislation in the 115th Congress. Transnational organized crime can take many forms, including poaching, wildlife trafficking, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. These activities often go hand-in-hand with even more heinous crimes like human trafficking and forced labor, and weapons and drug trafficking. Our bill would recognize this reality and allow serious wildlife trafficking violations to qualify as predicate offenses under federal racketeering and anti-organized crime laws (RICO and Travel Acts). To help bring down these global wildlife trafficking rings, our bill provides monetary incentives for whistleblowers who provide actionable intelligence on these crimes, as well authorizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to station law enforcement officials and agents, embedded in American embassies and consulates, in countries designated as high-intensity wildlife trafficking areas. The funding for these rewards and law enforcement activities would be provided at no cost to taxpayers and instead come out of the penalties, fines, forfeitures, and restitution paid to the U.S. government. The rest of the money from these penalties and forfeitures would be redirected back into wildlife conservation efforts. These changes will allow the United States to provide dedicated funding to stamp out wildlife trafficking in the areas where it most prevalent. Madam Speaker, our fishermen deserve to compete in a fair seafood market, uncompromised by fraudulent seafood harvested with slave labor. Our wildlife conservation efforts deserve a dedicated funding source at cost to U.S. taxpayers. Our law enforcement officers deserve the fiscal support and access to every available tool to fight against transnational criminal organizations. This bill introduced today would accomplish all of those goals, and I want to thank my bipartisan group of cosponsors again for their support on this important legislation. I urge all Members to join us in cosponsoring the Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the ``Biomass and Biogas for Electric Vehicles Act.'' In passing the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140), Congress made electricity from renewable biomass-- including biogas and waste-to-energy from feedstocks such as separated yard or food waste--eligible under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Despite years of Congressional urging, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has yet to approve a single biomass facility under the program. Some applications for biomass electricity--known as ``pathway petitions'' under the RFS program--have been pending now for more than 7 years. I have long supported a utility-scale subsidy for biomass electricity to create a market for byproducts of proper forest management and hazardous fuels reduction in fire-prone states like California. This legislation fulfills that objective by working within the framework of the existing Renewable Fuel Standard, which already includes electricity generated from eligible feedstocks used as a transportation fuel. Under current law and USEPA regulations, ``renewable biomass'' is already defined to include biogas, namely methane captured from livestock and agricultural byproducts, food waste, or residential yard waste. As such, my ``Biomass and Biogas for Electric Vehicles Act'' would complement the significant investments California is making under the State's successful Dairy Digester Research and Development Program. Currently, the USEPA requires facilities to prove with near-perfect traceability that the electricity generated is used as a transportation fuel to participate in the RFS program. Most renewable biomass facilities are selling electricity into the grid and, therefore, cannot prove definitively that each electron generated is used exclusively by electric vehicles. The ``Biomass and Biogas for Electric Vehicles Act'' would enable biomass facilities generating renewable electricity to finally participate in the RFS program. Instead of requiring that biomass facilities meet the impossible task of proving that the electricity generated and sold into the grid is used directly as a transportation fuel, my legislation directs the USEPA to extrapolate the percentage of total U.S. electricity generation used for charging electric vehicles. The USEPA would then set a quarterly quota for each biomass facility registered under the RFS program, limited by each facility's maximum design capacity and the amount of electricity generated. I recognize that some biomass and biogas facilities, specifically those with on-site electric vehicle charging stations, can meet the USEPA's current traceability requirement. That is why my legislation would grandfather any facilities with a written contract or affidavit accepted by USEPA demonstrating that the electricity generated is used as transportation fuel. My legislation would also authorize USEPA to collect a reasonable fee from industry to cover the costs of reviewing any applications (pathway petitions or facility registration requests) for renewable electricity submitted under the RFS program. In a 2016 ``advance notice of proposed rulemaking,'' the USEPA cited inadequate agency resources as a major impediment to approval of renewable electricity under the RFS program. The USEPA could waive these application fees for municipally owned biomass or biogas facilities under my bill. This fee-for-service model is based on the USEPA's regulatory regime under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 (title V of Public Law 108-199), which is widely regarded as successful and enjoys broad-based support in Congress. Lastly, my legislation would make biomass removed from federal forestlands eligible under the RFS. Current law only allows biomass collected from non-federal lands, including privately owned land, state or locally owned public lands, and tribal land held in trust by the federal government, to qualify as renewable biomass under the RFS. This restriction is arbitrary and hampers market-driven incentives to reduce the overload of hazardous fuels for wildfires on our National Forests and other federal forestlands. However, I want to be clear that my legislation would not open federal forestland to timber harvests or commercial hazardous fuels removal where such activities are prohibited currently. Madam Speaker, I urge all members to cosponsor the ``Biomass and Biogas for Electric Vehicles Act.'' As California and other western states face increasingly severe and year-round fire seasons due to global climate change, we simply must create a market for forest byproducts to incentivize much-needed hazardous fuels reduction. Renewable electricity from biomass and biogas also helps to reduce our nation's greenhouse gas emissions and to transition to a clean energy economy. While these measures alone will not solve the climate crisis or prevent all catastrophic wildfires, they are undoubtedly part of the solution.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the ``End Palm Oil Deforestation Act,'' which would incentivize all palm oil products imported into the United States to be certified by credible third-party standards for lawful, ethical, and sustainable sourcing of palm oil like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. My bill would also prohibit American taxpayer dollars from funding destructive practices or forced labor for palm oil cultivation. As President Biden stated this week in his address at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference--known as ``COP26''--tropical forests worldwide are a significant carbon sink increasingly lost to deforestation. The United States and all countries must act as responsible stewards of this resource. Unsustainably cultivated palm oil--used in a variety of food products, cosmetics, and biofuels--is one of the primary drivers of tropical deforestation worldwide. Remarkably, imported palm oil has virtually no requirements under federal law to demonstrate that it is cultivated and harvested sustainably or even legally in the country of origin. At the 40th Session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in 2019, the global aviation sector committed to transition towards the use of advanced biofuels. As the commercialize airline industry makes this transition to purportedly ``sustainable aviation fuels,'' the global demand for palm oil is only set to increase. That is why we must act immediately to ensure that only sustainably and ethically sourced palm oil is be sold in the United States. My ``End Palm Oil Deforestation Act'' would establish a preference under federal law for imports of certified sustainable palm oil and palm oil products. It would also require that all palm oil products, whether food, cosmetics, or fuel, bear a label stating their country of origin, allowing American consumers to make informed decisions. In addition, my bill would remove palm oil from eligibility under the grandfathered facility clause of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) under which unsustainable, foreign-sourced palm oil is allowed into the RFS program. Congress always intended for the RFS to support domestic biofuel production, not imports. I appreciate that oil palm trees have the potential to provide efficient, low-carbon oil, but the United States must take a stand against human rights abuses and destructive cultivation practices that set us back in our efforts to combat climate change and global deforestation. American foreign relief, including financing provided under the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, cannot support unsustainable practices, enable foreign corruption, or contribute to forced labor, child labor, or the displacement of indigenous peoples. Madam Speaker, the United States must ensure that palm oil imports are grown in a lawful, sustainable, ethical, and responsible manner. I urge all Members to join me in cosponsoring the ``End Palm Oil Deforestation Act.''

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce legislation to make permanent and expand the U.S. Department of Defense's authority to use funds from the counterterrorism and drug interdiction budgetary account for federal interagency Joint Task Forces. These DOD Joint Task Forces coordinate the military and federal agencies on counternarcotics, counterterrorism, or counter- transnational organized crime activities. United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service use this Joint Task Forces funding authority to conduct anti-trafficking and poaching activities in Sub-Saharan Africa. As the former Deputy Secretary of the Interior during the Clinton Administration, I strongly support USFWS's International Affairs Program and wildlife conservation work globally, particularly by that agency's law enforcement officers. Since first authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108-136), Congress has renewed the authority for these Joint Task Forces several times on a temporary basis. Without Congressional action in the NOAA, this authority will sunset at the end of fiscal year 2022. As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, I plan to make permanently reauthorizing this critical authority a priority during the FY2022 NOAA conference negotiations. In the House-passed FY2020 NOAA (Public Law 116-92), I secured directive report language on the military's support for combating illicit trafficking, including wildlife and wildlife products. Making the authority for these Joint Task Forces permanent builds upon that work. Madam Speaker, I look forward to continue working with my colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee to support AFRICOM's efforts with other federal agencies to combat wildlife trafficking and poaching.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I reintroduced the ``Stop the Spread of Invasive Mussels Act,'' along with my colleague, Congressman Mark Amodei (R-NV). Our bipartisan bill would authorize federal land management agencies to take proven, commonsense measures to prevent the proliferation of invasive species in our nation's waterways and surface water infrastructure like reservoirs. Specifically, our bipartisan bill targets the inadvertent introduction by recreational boating of invasive species from one federal reservoir to another. I thank former Congressman Ben McAdams (D-UT) for sponsoring this bill last Congress, which I have now taken over and improved. I also want to thank the following organizations for endorsing our bill: Western Governors' Association, National Wildlife Federation, National Marine Manufacturers Association, American Sportfishing Association, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Invasive species not only crowd out native wildlife but also cause billions of dollars in avoidable damage to our nation's critical water infrastructure, particularly in western states like California. In the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, I have seen the damage caused by invasive water hyacinth so dense you can literally walk on water. Proliferate quagga and zebra mussels clog water pipelines, reduce the capacity of canals, and damage dam operations for hydropower, water storage, and flood control. In 2007, California's Department of Water Resources detected invasive quagga mussels in the State Water Project and the Colorado River Aqueduct, which supply water for communities in southern California. All it takes for these mussels to invade a new lake or waterway is a cup of contaminated water containing their microscopic larvae carried inadvertently by a motorboat or recreational watercraft that has not been decontaminated properly. The best defense against spreading invasive aquatic species is simple: inspection and dry-docking or similarly effective treatment of contaminated watercraft for a few days until they are no longer a threat. Mandatory inspections by state wildlife agencies have proven effective at keeping these invasive mussels out of Lake Tahoe, one of the most popular recreational areas in the American West. Under current law, federal agencies lack a similar inspection authority to state wildlife agencies, which cannot conduct inspections on federal land such as National Parks and National Forests. Our bipartisan ``Stop the Spread of Invasive Mussels Act'' would ensure that federal land management agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service have the authority to conduct these inspections. In addition, our bill would establish a new U.S. Bureau of Reclamation grant program for inspection stations at federally managed reservoirs. Madam Speaker, Congress can help to limit the spread of aquatic invasive species, protect our native wildlife, and reduce the need for more expensive remediation efforts. I urge all Members of the House to join us in cosponsoring the ``Stop the Spread of Invasive Mussels Act.''

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the ``Military Support for Fighting Wildfires Act'' with Representative Sara Jacobs (D-CA53) as the original cosponsor. This comprehensive bill would improve the military's support for civilian emergency response and provide Congressional authorization for the California Air National Guard's ``FireGuard'' program in partnership with the U.S. Air Force and the National Geospatial-lntelligence Agency. The American military has incredible capabilities for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, I believe that these capabilities can and should be used to support civilian emergency response to wildfires and other natural disasters with the appropriate safeguards for privacy and classified collection means. I also believe that excess military aircraft--including the seven Coast Guard HC-130H aircraft directed by Congress for transfer to the U.S. Forest Service and the State of California for wildfire response, following reconfiguration by the Air Force--should be made available for civilian wildland firefighting efforts. As western states like California face increasingly severe and frequent wildfires due to man- made climate change, we need all the help we can get from our federal government including the military. That is exactly what my ``Military Support for Fighting Wildfires Act'' would accomplish. This comprehensive legislation builds upon the work of many members of California's Congressional delegation, including Representatives Adam B. Schiff (D-CA28), Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA24), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA19) and U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA). I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues as our state confronts the harsh realities of a new, year-round fire season due to manmade climate change. The California National Guard has used remotely piloted and unmanned aircraft systems, such as the MQ-9, for life-saving emergency operations in the past. However, these joint missions have only been completed a handful of times due to the lengthy approval process requiring the Secretary of Defense to sign off on each of these requests in advance. To address this hurdle, I secured a provision (Section 519C) in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283) directing the U.S. Department of Defense to review its approval proves for the use of unmanned aircraft systems by the National Guard in support of civilian emergency responders. The House Armed Services Committee received these recommendations under my Congressionally directed report in April 2021, and I expect the DOD to implement these changes fully. Madam Speaker, I look forward to working with you and other members of the California delegation to advance these key reforms in my ``Military Support for Fighting Wildfires Act.'' I encourage all members to join me in cosponsoring this commonsense bill.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act, which would direct the State Department to automatically issue a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) for every Afghan who lived in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar and their legal spouse and children, so they can escape persecution by the Taliban and relocate safely to the United States. My legislation also provides for Afghan nationals selected by the State Department for similar educational or cultural exchange programs, which included living, working, or studying in the United States after the start of the U.S. strikes against the Talban and the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks. In 2009, Congress passed the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (Title VI of Public Law 111-8) making a special class of American visas--known as ``Special lmmigrant,Visas''--available to individual Afghan allies who supported the United States' mission in Afghanistan. An SIV entitles a foreign national to relocate with their immediate family and live lawfully in the United States on a temporary basis with the option to settle permanently. During the U.S. military drawdown from Afghanistan and the region this past summer, my Congressional office helped to evacuate over a dozen Afghan Fulbright Scholars who studied at the University of California, Davis in my district. That critical work revealed red tape preventing current and former Afghan Fulbright Scholars from obtaining the SIV needed to escape persecution by the Taliban, underscoring the need for this legislation. As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, I was impressed by the United States Air Force and Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) executing the single largest airlift since the Berlin Airlift during the onset of the Cold War to evacuate our Afghan allies. With American military operations in Afghanistan now ended, I am committed to bringing all our Afghan allies safely to the United States. Madam Speaker, I encourage all members of the House to join me in cosponsoring the Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor General Gary L. Thomas, United States Marine Corps, for his service to our great nation and his family's faithful service, as well. The theme of his distinguished career is one of achievement with highest honors throughout his 37 years of unconditional service to the United States of America. General Thomas was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1984 after graduating from the University of Texas-Austin. In his 37 years as a Marine, General Thomas has deployed in support of military operations in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Notably, his bravery and skillful command of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 in the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom helped ensure the success of follow-on combat operations in the skies and on the ground. Additionally, his masterful leadership in combat while in command of Second Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) in Afghanistan enabled coalition air forces to effectively provide fires, transport, and reconnaissance to ground forces. In various higher headquarters staff positions, including his time as the Marine Corps' Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources. General Thomas significantly impacted the Nation's military readiness to face challenges around the globe. We are all safer due to his selflessness and dedication. General Thomas's final tour in the Marine Corps is as the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. During a tremendously challenging period for the Marine Corps, the Department of Defense, and the Nation as a whole, General Thomas provided guidance and leadership with exceptional skill and drive. His broad knowledge base and expertise, his ability to foresee the impact of policy changes on the current readiness and future health of the Marine Corps, and his camaraderie and goodwill with senior leadership throughout the Department of Defense and U.S. Congress proved to be supremely valuable in his role as the service vice chief. His sound judgment and recommendations reached the highest levels of leadership in the Legislative and Executive branches of the U.S. Government. General Thomas's leadership during these challenging times is just one more example of the type of Marine that he is, one of the very best. Over his years of faithful service, General Thomas has earned the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star, among other awards. General Thomas has served 37 outstanding years in support of our beloved Nation and will retire on October 15, 2021. His unmatched professionalism has had a profound and lasting influence on generations of Marines and our entire institution. I am delighted to have this opportunity to recognize not only General Thomas, but his entire family for their undeniably incredible service to the U.S. Marine Corps and our great Nation. Their sacrifice and dedication is truly remarkable. I wish him and his beloved wife, Catherine, well as they embark on a new chapter in their lives. God bless the Thomases, God bless the United States of America, and Semper Fidelis.