Garret Graves

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, since the Biden administration took office, in just the first 2 years, they implemented or imposed costs on the American public exceeding $300 billion. Mr. Chairman, when I was in school, I learned there were three branches of government. There was the judicial branch, executive branch, and legislative branch. Apparently, there is a fourth branch of government, and it is the bureaucrats. It is this entity out there that is writing rules, writing regulations, and imposing costs on American families--I will say it again--to the tune of over $300 billion in just the first 2 years of this administration. What does that look like at home? It looks like regulations that are killing small businesses. The U.S. Census Bureau has quantified that one in every four households in America has had to choose among costs like groceries, utility bills, gasoline for their cars, or medical costs. These are false choices, Mr. Chairman. American families shouldn't have to choose among costs like that. These are necessities. Again, we shouldn't have to choose between groceries, utility costs, and things like rent and a mortgage. The average American family is paying 40 percent more right now for energy costs like gasoline and utility bills because of the policies of this administration. What our amendment does is it simply restores the role of Congress, the role of Representatives. It says that any new regulation that is estimated or quantified to cost in excess of $100 billion cannot move forward without actual action by the Congress. Mr. Chairman, I think that this is a commonsense amendment. I think it is consistent with what the Founders intended the role of their Representatives to be. It is consistent with what the Founders intended as the role of the legislative branch of Congress, that we have a role in ensuring that regulations being carried out are consistent with congressional intent and that we are not going to go out there and impose taxes, fees, or bureaucratic red tape on American families when they can afford it the least right now. The Ways and Means Committee has estimated that 17.4 percent is the percent that inflation has gone up under this administration, the additional cost being placed on American families. We cannot allow this mysterious fourth branch of government that has no accountability to continue to impose costs on American families. Again, this restores the role of the branch of government that we all are here to represent. It restores the functionality of Congress. Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Fleischmann and Ranking Member Kaptur for their cooperation here. Mr. Chair, dating back to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, there was funding that provided important advancement of projects known as the Comite project, which is north of my hometown of Baton Rouge, as well as the West Shore project in the River Parishes. Mr. Chairman, these projects date back, in the case of Comite, date back all the way to the early 1980s, one of these awful Army Corps of Engineer projects that has been stalled for so long. We had a record flood in 2016, by some measure a 1,000-year flood that would have been tempered or mitigated if this project had been constructed, and thankfully in BBA 2018, the project was fully funded. The folks were excited and believed that we were going to be moving forward on this project. Similarly, Mr. Chairman, the West Shore project actually started before I was born, literally, 1970, 1971. That project had been stalled and had not advanced at all until we were able to get the authorization passed through Congress in 2016 and we were able to get the project what we believed was also fully funded in BBA 2018. Mr. Chairman, what we found today is that these project costs have skyrocketed. In the case of the West Shore project, it is approximately $1.3 billion short now and in the case of the Comite project, it is about $447 million short. What this amendment does, this is an increase/decrease amendment of approximately $1.75 billion and it is designed to complete these projects. Mr. Chairman, it is kind of like being a little bit pregnant. The project just doesn't work. It is either completed and it is functional, or it is not. We have got to finish these projects. We have to ensure the resiliency of these communities. I know that my two colleagues here being the chair and the ranking member of this committee, the subcommittee, with the Corps of Engineers knows the importance of investment in resiliency or mitigation efforts and certainly know the importance that they share. I thank them again for accepting our amendment and look forward to continuing to work with you.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, we need to stand behind this majority. We need to stand behind the greatest Speaker in modern history that has delivered the best conservative wins for this country.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I have heard people talk about bad faith here. I have heard them make reference to this January agreement--my friends from Arizona, Virginia, and Florida. Let me be crystal clear: Not a single one of them was in the room. You know what? The Speaker didn't meet the targets of that January agreement, he exceeded them. The greatest savings in American history. The greatest savings in American history. Mr. Speaker, this isn't about fundraising. This is about our country. It is about our children and our grandchildren.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding. Mr. Speaker, we have been here for 8 months with one of the tightest majorities in modern history. Yet, look at the accomplishments of this majority, this conservative majority, with the majority of Republicans voting for: The strongest border security in my lifetime. Fighting against this incomprehensible energy policy that is driving up energy costs 40 percent, utility and gasoline payments, pushing Americans into energy poverty. We passed legislation to unleash America's energy resources, pushing back this administration's brainless policies on energy. We passed legislation to pull back, to stop spending, $4.8 trillion, that--I want to make note--my friends that are carrying this motion to vacate opposed. We passed legislation to streamline regulations permitting environmental laws for the first time in 40 years. Again, my friends here opposed. We strengthened work requirements for welfare to get people back into the workforce. Again, my friends over here opposed. I keep wondering, what is going on? Are we redefining what conservative is? What is going on in this country today? What is going on in this body? We have FreedomWorks, Heritage, Chip Roy and Jim Jordan say something is conservative and these folks say it is not, and they are right. All of a sudden, my phone keeps sending text messages, saying: Hey, give me money. Look at that. Oh, look: Give me money. I filed a motion to vacate. Using official actions, official actions to raise money; it is disgusting. It is what is disgusting about Washington. Mr. Speaker, we have watched as these folks right here that have brought up this motion to vacate have refused to pay our military servicemembers, refused to pay them. I would quote my delegation member, my Senator from Louisiana, John Kennedy. If we are not going to pay our servicemembers, if they are not going to be there to protect us, the next time someone invades America, ``call a crackhead.'' Let me know how that works out.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, I start by thanking my friend, Chairman Diaz-Balart for his hard work on State and Foreign Operations appropriations legislation. I know he and his staff have worked tirelessly over the last several months to get this bill in the position it is in now, and I thank them for their hard work on this. Mr. Chairman, earlier this year, May 24, my constituent, Cameron Robbins-- along with probably hundreds of other high school graduates from the Baton Rouge area--went on a trip to The Bahamas to celebrate his high school graduation. Tragically, Cameron went overboard on a sunset cruise a few hours after arriving. Mr. Chair, I think we got the first call around midnight. We were on the phone until 4 a.m., working, literally overnight, waking up admirals and captains and all kinds of folks from the United States Coast Guard, and working with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to ensure there were appropriate search-and-rescue efforts to find Cameron. Regrettably, Mr. Chairman, despite the efforts of the United States Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Cameron's body was never found. You can imagine the tragic impact on the family, on the students, and on the entire community. Mr. Chairman, the Bahamian Government is our friend. We are allies. We are obviously very close, and we have close economic relationships. The police in The Bahamas conducted a very extensive investigation. They interviewed students who were nearby to find out what happened. They interviewed the captain of the vessel; interviewed everyone who was involved. Mr. Chairman, you can imagine the family at this point. We simply asked: Could you please just share your investigation report? That is it. Just share the investigation report. The family just wants to learn as much as they can about this tragedy. I am going to say it again, Mr. Chairman: Cameron's body was never recovered. Unfortunately, the Bahamian Government and the Royal Bahamas Police Force have not provided anything, have not provided any answers. We sent our Coast Guard over to do search-and-rescue missions. We had surface ships, we had helos, we had aircraft over there. The Bahamian Government has provided nothing. They have been totally unresponsive. They haven't responded to me, and they haven't responded to the State Department. Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record a letter to Prime Minister Davis of The Bahamas. Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, September 4, 2023. Hon. Philip E.B. Davis, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Harold DeGregory Complex, Freeport, Grand Bahama. Dear Mr. Prime Minister: Your direct help is needed to acquire the police report on Cameron Crossley Robbins (DOB 1/ 11/2004), a United States citizen who went missing off Paradise Island on 24/5/2023. Mr. Robbins and his family are constituents who I represent. While on a boating excursion aboard the Pirates Revenge an accident ensued that caused Cameron Robbins to go missing. We are aware that the Royal Bahamas Police Force interviewed most of the passengers and crew of the Pirates Revenge, among others. We believe the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force have comprehensive, helpful information regarding the incident. As you may know, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force initiated search and rescue efforts, then quickly requested the support of the United States Coast Guard to lead the search and rescue, which they did for three days until The Royal Bahamas Defence Force called off the search. The United States Coast Guard has provided us all the information they have gathered regarding the incident and search. We believe the Royal Bahamas Police Force has the authority to share their report with the Robbins family, and we therefore respectfully request that you do everything in your power to help provide the family with the police report. I am sure you agree that it is inconceivable how any of this information should remain inaccessible to the family. Thank you in advance for your courtesy and cooperation. It is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Garret Graves, Member of Congress.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, I do have an amendment that would restrict funds for the Bahamian Government contingent upon their cooperation of simply sharing information and discussing this with the chairman and the ranking member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee. Mr. Chair, I will not offer that amendment right now, but I would ask the chairman and the ranking member to please work with us on this matter. I will say it again. The Bahamian Government is our friend. They are our allies. However, this is a tragic situation. I would ask the chairman to put himself in the place of the parents, and work with us to help us get the information that the family is looking for.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, in 1996 this Congress came together to work on a bipartisan basis and enact work requirements for welfare programs. Mr. Chairman, let me be very clear. The United States needs a social safety net. We need a social welfare program--let me say it again--as a safety net, as a program that is there to help those on a temporary basis at a time of need to offer a handout. Under President Clinton, under Republicans and Democrats working together in 1996, and I make note, Mr. Chairman, then-Senator Joe Biden voted in support of installing work requirements for welfare programs such as for the SNAP program, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. Under the program or under the law change, the work requirements simply meant that you needed to go to a job assistance center, a job training center, somewhere to gain the skills to connect you with available jobs. More recently, Mr. Chair, just months ago, Republicans and Democrats--and I want to make note the majority of Democrats in this Chamber, the majority of Republicans in this Chamber and our President Joe Biden signed into law strengthening those work requirements; for example, raising the requirement up to age 55 that work capable individuals without dependents would be responsible for 20 hours of work in order to be eligible after an extended period for programs like food stamps. This body came together and established a hard cap on the percentage of individuals that a State may be able to exempt. What has happened is we have watched as the States have abused a loophole, a loophole that simply says if there are insufficient jobs, you don't have to comply with the work requirement. Eighteen States today--18 States--have said that they have insufficient jobs. Mr. Chair, that is ridiculous. We have one of the lowest workforce participation rates in modern history. We have 8.8 million jobs available according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are available. Let's be clear. For those who are going to come out and say that this is mean, this is mean-spirited, this is cruel--let's be clear, Mr. Chair, the objective of work requirements--I am certain that Bill Clinton had as President, that then-Senator Joe Biden supported, that more recently President Joe Biden signed into law--the objective here is following models that have shown getting people to job assistance centers, job training centers, volunteering in their community, volunteering in their church, going to school helps improve employability. It helps get people back in the workforce, taking them off of government dependence and becoming members of our society that determine their own future. Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I will respond to my friend's comments. I actually agree with what he said, and, fortunately, he is not making any reference to my amendment. Let's be clear on what happens here. These are Federal funds; so, yes, absolutely, the Federal Government should be determining it. This has nothing to do with State's rights. We don't let the States cut the check for the Federal Government. That is inappropriate. Number two, no one is taking these benefits away. Let's keep in mind, taxpayers are funding these programs, and all we are doing is we are simply asking for 20 hours a week of volunteer time in return for receiving these very generous taxpayer-funded benefits. Lastly, Mr. Chair, the outcomes show, study after study shows this results in getting people back in the workforce. This should be our objective. Why in the world would we want to force people to stay on social welfare programs? That is cruel. We shouldn't be doing that to anyone. It is entirely inappropriate. Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is related, as you heard, to the duck stamp. In 1932, President Roosevelt signed into law legislation that authorized the duck stamp that allowed for hunters to get this stamp in order to go hunt waterfowl. This program has been incredibly successful over the 90-year period, selling today approximately 1.6 million stamps every single year. This has generated approximately $1.1 billion, and all of these proceeds have been invested back into conservation, into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. This has benefited over 600,000 acres of our National Wildlife Refuge System and benefited conservation. I will say it again, this program has been wildly successful.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, in 2013, legislation was signed into law that created an electronic duck stamp. The thought there was that with the internet and with the ability to improve access to compliance, we would allow for a digital duck stamp to provide 45 days of authorization to go hunt. The problem was that the physical paper stamp often missed that 45- day window. Someone would pay to get a duck stamp, and they had a 45- day authorization window, but the physical stamp didn't come in until after the end of that period. So, the hunter would be out of compliance, yet they did everything right. Mr. Speaker, this bill is very simple. It just allows for the digital authorization, the electronic authorization, to be extended throughout the season. Importantly, Mr. Speaker, it still preserves the physical stamp that so many people treasure and collect annually, so it does require the stamp be physically mailed later on. Mr. Speaker, I give a huge shout-out to the cosponsor of this legislation, Congressman Mike Thompson, a fellow sportsman from California. I thank Senator Boozman and Senator Manchin, who have cosponsored the Senate companion bill, and I thank Bruce Westerman, the chair of the committee, and Ranking Member Grijalva, for working with us to clear this legislation. It is really important that this move forward. Mr. Speaker, before I close, I will share how this came about. I love it whenever you are out there in the field, meeting with constituents back home, and people bring up ideas. In this case, it was actually a sportsman in our office, Taylor Playforth. We call him ``Bailer'' because he sunk his boat, but that is a whole other story. Taylor Playforth, who is an avid sportsman, actually came up with this idea. We were able to get this turned into legislative text, worked with Senators to introduce it, and worked with the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus and others, which ultimately yielded this legislation. I am hopeful that my friend from Arizona is going to ensure that we pass this legislation unanimously today. Mr. Speaker, I thank all the folks who worked on this. I thank Vivian, Sandra, and the staff of the Committee on Natural Resources, and I urge adoption of this legislation.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I thank my friend, Congressman Rick Larsen, for yielding. Mr. Chair, yesterday, I had a chance to talk about this legislation and talk about the fact that there has been an input process that has gone on for well over a year. This legislation is in excess of 840 pages and has achieved numerous bipartisan wins on things that are advancing aviation safety and the aviation industry in the United States. There are a number of people behind the scenes who have put tremendous hours of blood, sweat, and tears into this bill. I will take a minute to thank the following folks: Hunter Presti, Laney Copeland, Julie Devine, Chris Senn, Andrew Giacini, Will Moore, Jack Ruddy, Corey Cooke, Abby Wenk, Leslie Parker, Brian Bell, Alex Menardy, Liz Forro, Adam Weiss, Kathy Dedrick, and Stanton Johnson, as well as our own deputy chief of staff, Maggie Ayrea, for all the work that they did to put this legislation together. I remind this body, Mr. Chairman, that this bill passed out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on a unanimous vote. I will be the first to admit that, certainly, there are some imperfections--and my friend from Pennsylvania believes he has identified one--but this legislation is really just a tremendous step forward for the aviation industry in the United States. I, again, thank Mr. Larsen. Sam Graves did an amazing job, as well as Congressman Cohen for their partnership on this bill.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, this legislation reflects the input of Members of Congress, of the flying public, and stakeholders to the tune of over 2,000 unique submissions that we processed, that we put together. Ultimately, it yields a bill that is in excess of 840 pages. This legislation is the result of hundreds of meetings and dozens of hearings dating back years. Most importantly, Mr. Chairman, this legislation passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with unanimous bipartisan support. This legislation takes important steps in ensuring that we have continuity and consistency within the FAA. It makes fundamental organizational changes, taking a 1970s organization and updating it for today. It establishes a deputy administrator for safety and operations, and an assistant administrator for rulemaking and regulatory improvement. It establishes an Office of Innovation, an FAA ombudsman, and many other important changes in the organizational structure of this antiquated and slow-moving agency. Mr. Chairman, this legislation is focused on the passenger experience. You can imagine these families traveling and going to satellite parking lots, taking shuttles to airports, trying to check in bags, trying to go through security, dealing with concessionaires at the airport, getting on the airplane, and on the back side, effectively doing it all over again at your destination airport. We have to have someone who looks at this entire process to ensure that it is consistent, that it is complementary, that it is streamlined. This bill does just that: improving upon that passenger experience; ensuring that we are deploying the best technology, the most updated technology, as quickly as possible; pulling back the veil on air traffic control and other operations that often result in a negative or adverse passenger experience. Mr. Chairman, this legislation addresses many of the very concerns that we hear from the flying public. We have areas where we have shortages in personnel on the government side or on the private sector side, as the ranking member noted. We ensure that we incentivize new entrants into this growing workforce, to make sure that we have the pilots, the air traffic controllers, the A&P mechanics, those that are operating new entrants into the market, to ensure that that customer experience is positive. Mr. Chairman, this legislation also takes significant advances in an area I care a lot about--new entrants into the market. The FAA was really established or set up for a scenario when we had a few airplanes per week that were coming off assembly lines. Now, we are facing a scenario where you are going to have thousands and thousands of unmanned systems that are coming out on a weekly basis. We have to make sure that our regulatory and our statutory environment is one that actually facilitates these new entrants in the market. Title 7 facilitates these new technologies, everything from allowing for drones to be used for delivery, making decisions on beyond visual line-of-sight, ensuring that we are operating a risk-based framework for safety. It codifies the part 107 waiver process to ensure that we are standardizing the waiver process and provides transparency. It ensures the designation of critical infrastructure related to drones--something that should have been done, I want to remind my FAA friends, in 2016-- and establishes a mandate for that action. It helps to streamline the environmental process. It clarifies and eliminates burdensome rules regarding the delivery of certain products. It allows for unmanned systems to be used for wildfires, and it includes the DIIG Act for infrastructure inspections. In the advanced air mobility space, it creates certainty for eVTOL, electric vertical takeoff and landing equipment. It ensures that the process, the notice of the proposed rulemaking that is going through, is completed and provides certainty moving forward. Mr. Chairman, I am not going to go through everything in this 841- page bill, but I do want to make note that the leader of this bill, the leader of this committee, Sam Graves, is the most knowledgeable aviation expert that has ever led this committee. His hand was involved in every page of this legislation. We would not have this great bill without his leadership, without the leadership of our ranking member, Rick Larsen, who represents a large manufacturing and innovation community, and our ranking member, Steve Cohen, who represents one of the largest cargo logistics hubs in the world. I have flown before, so I thank all of the leaders of the committee. I also want to give a shout-out to all the staff. I will go through and name them in a little while. Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of this bill.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark Building Safety Month 2023 and to recognize the more than 63,000 members of the International Code Council (ICC) who have dedicated their careers to ensuring public safety throughout the built environment--whether in our homes, offices, schools, or houses of worship. One of those members is International Code Council President Michael Wich, the Director of Building Code Administration and Chief Building Official for the South Central Planning and Development Commission--who just happens to be my constituent from Houma, Louisiana. The Code Council brings together local, state, and federal government stakeholders, as well as those from the private sector, to develop model codes and standards that protect the occupants of the buildings in which we live, work, and play. Those standards are then implemented year-round by building safety officials, the fire service, architects, engineers, builders, and other skilled tradespeople to ensure the safe construction and maintenance of buildings. Building Safety Month was created by the International Code Council and its partners to remind the public about the professionals who ensure buildings are safe, resilient, efficient, and livable. This year's Building Safety Month theme is ``It Starts with You,'' which encourages the public to recognize the critical role of our local code officials who work around the clock to keep our communities safe and mitigate the risks posed by natural disasters. Building codes and standards include important safeguards to protect the public from hurricanes, tornadoes, snow and ice storms, and earthquakes. As Americans rebuild following these events, we recognize and thank those who implement and enforce building codes for protecting lives, property, and businesses, and ultimately ensuring our communities are resilient to future events. Development, adoption, and implementation of up-to-date codes and standards has enabled Louisiana to rebuild stronger following the devastation stemming from Katrina and Rita in 2005; Gustav and Ike in 2008; Lee in 2011; Isaac in 2012; the Baton Rouge flooding of 2016; Harvey in 2017; Laura, Delta, and Zeta in 2020; and Ida in 2021. Mr. Speaker, please join me in thanking ICC Board President Michael Wich, as well as ICC's Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, the International Code Council leadership, and ICC's Members and staff as they recognize Building Safety Month 2023.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I want to give a quick shout- out and recognition to our guest chaplain today, Deacon Dan Borne. Not to take anything away from the Almighty Father, but I think Deacon Borne's voice is often confused with the Almighty in Tiger Stadium in ``Death Valley'', as over and over again fans hear, ``First Down, Tigers,'' ``Chance of Rain? Never,'' and ``Touchdown, Tigers,'' to the frustration of our guest teams. Borne has been a longtime friend, along with his wife, a Catholic schoolteacher. His son, Jason, was one of my best friends in high school. David and Elizabeth are the other kids in the family. Deacon Borne has been leading them in a life of faith and is now leading our entire community as deacon in the East Baton Rouge Catholic Church. I appreciate him being here. I welcome him and certainly welcome his prayer, as we need much more of that here today.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, it is the intent of Congress that nothing in section 321 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA) should be construed to alter, abridge, or abrogate the existing principles of law articulated by the Supreme Court of the United States in Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen, 541 U.S. 752 (2004). Namely, that any National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis must serve the informational purposes of that Act, which remain unchanged by section 321 of the FRA. Nor does section 321 of the FRA impact the Court's broader holding in Public Citizen that ``where an agency has no ability to prevent a certain effect due to its limited statutory authority over the relevant actions, the agency cannot be considered a legally relevant `cause' of the effect.'' Public Citizen, 541 U.S. at 770. It is therefore Congress's intent that an agency need not consider these effects in its environmental review under NEPA. Additionally, and consistent with the text of section 321 of the FRA that limits review under NEPA to ``reasonably foreseeable environmental effects of the proposed agency action,'' unavoidable and ``reasonably foreseeable adverse environmental effects,'' and a ``reasonable range of alternatives,'' nothing in section 321 changes, alters, or abrogates the informational purpose of NEPA, as informed by the rule of reason articulated by the Court in Public Citizen.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 228 (H.R. 1076) and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 229 (H.R. 1156).

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and thank our law enforcement officials who everyday put their lives on the line for the protection of our communities. I also want to remember those who have been injured or have lost their lives in the line of duty. There are 562 Louisiana law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in service, and just this past week in my district, Cpl. Shawn Kelly was shot and critically wounded in Denham Springs after he responded to a call for help. Cpl. Kelly was not required to respond to the call for help. He was serving as a traffic officer but showed up to help his officers in need because of his strong call to service. Cpl. Kelly is currently in the hospital fighting for his life. Law enforcement officers aren't in it for the money. Officers are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. Every day, when they head into work, they kiss loved ones because it may be the last time they are home. Law enforcement officers risk their lives to serve as the line between chaos and civil order in our community, and for this, we must thank our law enforcement officers and recognize them as the heroes they are.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, from congressional intern with Congressman Jerry Lewis, to senior staff member with Congressman Lamar Smith on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and now Deputy Staff Director of the Science Committee, Ms. Jennifer Wickre has led an impressive career on Capitol Hill. Even though she mistakenly tried to sneak away to the private sector for a brief lapse in judgement, Jennifer quickly realized that nothing could be as fulfilling as working at the United States Capitol. This career choice to come back to the Hill is a clear indication of the superior nature of her character: she is a true public servant who leads with a servant's heart. The Capitol Hill community was shocked to learn of Jennifer's cancer diagnosis. When we speak of the staffers who have metaphorically ``given their life to the job,'' it becomes a sobering moment to witness a woman who has quite literally laid down her life in the service of others. She has been an inspiration to our staff, a dear friend and mentor to Ms. Sarah Jorgenson, and a shining example of what it means to give of oneself. Let us all pray for a much-deserved miracle so that Ms. Jennifer Wickre's time here can last a bit longer. If a miracle is not in the works, let us all admire the miracle that has already occurred: Congress was honored by Ms. Jennifer Wickre's presence in the first place.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize April as Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month. Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive neurological disease and is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the United States. Over one million people in the United States live with Parkinson's disease without a cure or treatment to slow or halt the progression of the disease. April is when we come together to not only bring awareness to the patients living with Parkinson's disease but support the volunteers, researchers, caregivers, and medical professionals working to improve the quality of life of individuals living with Parkinson's disease and their families. I am proud to support the folks from all over Louisiana who will gather in Baton Rouge this Saturday, April 15th, to raise awareness at Moving Day: A Walk for Parkinson's. Together, we can find a cure to end Parkinson's disease.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.