Mark Green

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko).

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3675, the Trusted Traveler Reconsideration and Restoration Act of 2019. This bill, sponsored by my colleague, Representative John Katko, seeks to ensure the rights of travelers who have erroneously had their trusted traveler status revoked. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Katko for his leadership on this bipartisan bill, and for Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Rogers' commitment to bringing this bill to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers for this, and I am prepared to close. Mr. Speaker, I am fully in support of this bill. Again, I want to just give accolades to the gentlewoman who put it together and recognize that this is fantastic, and we need to get it done. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3691, the TRANSLATE Act. TSA has an important mission to protect air travel and is responsible for the security of nearly 440 Federalized airports. Across these airports, TSA screens more than 2 million passengers a day. To accomplish this mission, TSA relies on materials like signs, websites, and videos to communicate screening information to passengers and airport employees prior to their arrival at TSA checkpoints. H.R. 3691 requires TSA to develop and implement a plan to identify languages other than English that are primary languages of travelers at major airports and determine steps to improve communication in those languages at those same airports. Also included in the plan will be steps for TSA to improve communication with individuals that are hearing and vision impaired or may experience other barriers to understanding TSA's communication. Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Titus for her work supporting TSA's mission to secure air travel. I urge support of the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, there is bipartisan support for a professional, coordinated Department of Homeland Security intelligence architecture. I want to thank Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Rogers for supporting this legislation and bringing it to the floor. It is time for DHS to be able to function with the same precision in the handling of intelligence information as our warriors in the Department of Defense, and I am honored to have the opportunity to help them do so. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2589, the Unifying DHS Intelligence Enterprise Act. In December of 2003, I had the unbelievable opportunity to fly with our Nation's elite special operations aviation unit, the Night Stalkers, in conjunction with our Army's tier I counterterrorism unit in the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. It was the highlight of my Army career. Whether it was on missions in Iraq or hunting Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, I realized that having a systematic way to gather, process, analyze, and disseminate intelligence information was critical to our success on the battlefield. That experience encouraged me to introduce this bill back in May so that DHS can best fulfill its very important mission to keep America safe. This bill requires the Department's chief intelligence officer, or CINT, to establish a homeland intelligence doctrine for the Department, and it requires the CINT to maintain a dedicated staff. In the years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Department was established to consolidate 22 existing Federal agencies and reshape the domestic intelligence and counterterrorism structure of the U.S. Over the years, DHS has matured and refined its intelligence enterprise. Significant improvements have been made, but there is not yet complete unity among the various intelligence offices within all the component agencies. In 2016, the House Committee on Homeland Security released a comprehensive review of the Department's use of intelligence to counter terrorist attacks. They recognized that DHS, ``has improved its ability to protect the homeland against terrorist threats over time, but major gaps remain.'' They prescribed over 30 recommendations to the Department for improved intelligence sharing. The goal of H.R. 2589 is to ensure all of the component entities at DHS are speaking the same language, using the same trade craft, and disseminating their products to the appropriate stakeholders, which include both intelligence communities and State and local partners. This legislation will help professionalize the DHS intelligence enterprise by establishing a shared intelligence doctrine. Across DHS, dedicated border and immigration agents are gathering information on individuals seeking to enter the United States. Threats to transportation systems and critical infrastructure are gathered and assessed, and real-time cyber threats to the government and private networks are analyzed. The incredible differences in the agencies of the Department create natural barriers to information flow. Given this diversity of missions, it is vital that component intelligence offices are working together, sharing information, and vetting that information against intelligence community holdings. As a former member of the Army special operations task forces, I know the value of synchronized intelligence processes in order to connect the dots and successfully carry out a mission. This bill also authorizes the continued dedication to providing staff to the chief intelligence officer ensuring that this distinct mission continues to provide the value necessary to support the intelligence enterprise. I support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in doing so. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption to the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 3710, the Cybersecurity Vulnerability Remediation Act. This bill enables CISA to develop important mitigation protocols for vulnerabilities existing in outdated software and hardware through collaboration with public- and private-sector entities. This important legislation, introduced by Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, helps ensure that we maintain security in our networks. I support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in doing so. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Taylor).

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on the bill. I renew my support. I recommend my colleagues support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3246, the Traveling Parent Screening Consistency Act, introduced by Representative Van Taylor. As many of us can attest, the life of a parent with young or infant children can be quite stressful, particularly while traveling. Screening by the Transportation Security Administration at airports can make this even more stressful with inconsistent screening requirements for the essentials like formula, breast milk, deionized water, and juice. This bill seeks to address any potential inconsistency in screening requirements by requiring the Government Accountability Office to conduct a review to determine if TSA needs to update or revise its protocols for screening and information sharing. In addition to this determination, the GAO will also assess how passengers' complaints are monitored for trends and will include recommendations for how TSA can improve its practices for screening these items. I would like commend Representative Taylor for his work on this legislation that addresses an issue brought to him by one of his constituents and is, likely, experienced by many new parents. H.R. 3246 will be a tremendous benefit to the passenger experience for new families, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, many of us made the trip this summer to Normandy to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. It was an amazing opportunity. Standing among the rows of crosses and Stars of David in the U.S. cemetery, I was reminded of the sacrifices of our incredible American warriors. Standing there ignited my memory of 24 years of wearing the uniform. I was reminded of my driver when I was a young second lieutenant. He was 4 foot 11 and had a heart the size of his home State of New York. I recalled my radio telephone operators, both from California. When I was a commander in the 82nd Airborne Division, they stuck to me like glue and would try so often to sneak food in so that we could eat while we were all rigged up in our airborne gear before an airborne operation. Of course, my friends from the war flashed into my mind. I will never forget watching the flag-draped coffin of a fellow Army Ranger carried into the back of a C-17 in Bagram, Afghanistan for his last trip home. Our veterans deserve everything that we can give them. However, in the past few years, despite improvements in the VA electronic health records system, problems and delays still remain. For example, the very benefits that Congresswoman Underwood in this bill advances for illegal aliens flooding across our southern border, our veterans don't have those benefits. Let me say that again: This bill, without the amendment I am asking this body to consider, advances healthcare services to illegal aliens before it does to our American heroes. The VA Secretary testified before Congress that it will take his department 10 years to fully deploy this new system. Mr. Speaker, I have the deployment schedule for the VA from their website, and I will include this in the Record at a later date. Mr. Speaker, this timeline states that our veterans will not get an interoperable electronic health record at all VA healthcare facilities until September 20 of 2027. VA medical facilities serving veterans in Virginia won't get it until 2024. Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and New England won't be fully operational until 2026. It won't be until 2027 that VA medical facilities in Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois are fully operational. Veterans in my home State of Tennessee won't benefit from interoperable electronic health records until 2023. Yet, without this amendment, without my amendment, we are going to give it to illegal aliens within 90 days. Mr. Speaker, these are the same men and women who, when they raised their right hand and took that oath, wrote a blank check for America, for every person in this room, that was cashable, redeemable, all the way up until their life, their very life. I think our constituents across this great country would find it appalling that we are about to give this health record system to illegal immigrants before our veterans receive it. All this amendment does is ensure that our veterans get this service first. If you vote against this motion to recommit, you are giving an electronic health medical record to illegal aliens before our veterans. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. I am in its present form.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I reiterate my support for the bill. I ask my colleagues to support it, and I thank, again, the chairman and the ranking member for great collaboration that made this an excellent bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 3106, the Domestic and International Terrorism DATA Act, introduced by the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson). I almost got up, Mr. Speaker, when you said, ``the gentleman from Mississippi,'' because I happen to be in a small town just a few miles away from where the chairman lives. H.R. 3106, as amended, passed with bipartisan support during the Committee on Homeland Security markup in July. I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) for developing the amendment in the nature of a substitute, which passed unanimously, and broadened the scope of the bill to cover all forms of terrorism. A central lesson from the September 11, 2001, terror attacks is that government cannot have a siloed approach to homeland security threats. The importance of a broad ideological focus was stressed again during a Committee on Homeland Security hearing on global terror threats held on September 10, 2019. There is bipartisan agreement on the need for more reliable public reporting on both domestic and international terror threats to the homeland. The report mandated in the legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice to produce an annual report for 6 years on a number of investigative aspects of domestic and international terrorism. Access to reliable data will help policymakers and the public assess trends, emerging threats, and available resources. The threat from international terrorism also remains high. Hundreds of U.S. citizens were radicalized by ISIS and sought to travel to the battlefield to carry out attacks in the homeland. Mr. Speaker, 18 years after the horrific 9/11 terror attacks, both al-Qaida and ISIS remain intent on targeting the United States. We were also recently reminded by the direct threat posed by Iran when a Hezbollah operative was arrested last week in New Jersey for allegedly plotting attacks against the United States. The broad range of ideologically based hatred and societal obsession with violence has left scars across the country. Obtaining a comprehensive threat picture and reliable data is essential for developing legislation and determining what additional resources may be necessary. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) for his willingness to work with us to ensure that the reporting requirements in the bill track all forms of terrorism. I strongly recommend that my colleagues support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers on this bill. I renew my recommendation that my colleagues support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3526. The men and women in uniform at U.S. Customs and Border Protection are tasked with an incredibly important mission. Every day they protect our Nation from transnational criminal organizations, human traffickers, and terrorists who wish to exploit vulnerabilities at our Nation's borders. To execute this critical mission, CBP has developed a cadre of subject matter experts who are well-versed in counter criminal network operations. These experts work tirelessly at our seaports, airports, and land border crossings honing their skills, stopping the flow of illicit goods and people, and creating actionable intelligence. Given that CBP is uniquely positioned on our Nation's front line, it is alarming that the CBP does not have the authority to participate in counterterrorist network activities both domestically and internationally. CBP lacks the statutory authority to assign personnel to such specialized details and liaison assignments with a national security force. H.R. 3526 corrects this deficiency by giving the commissioner of CBP the statutory authority to assign personnel to these specialized task forces and collaborate with appropriate Federal, State, local, and Tribal entities to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations and foreign terrorist networks. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3526 will lead to enhanced information sharing and an increase in intelligence-driven enforcement operations. I encourage my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers for the bill. I renew my support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3722. The opioid epidemic continues to devastate communities across this Nation. Approximately 115 Americans die every single day from an opioid overdose. Opioid abuse doesn't discriminate. It touches people from every age group, race, class, gender, background, and economic status. Some Americans become addicted after taking doctor-prescribed doses for an injury or a surgery, while others try them in illicit forms and become dependent. Another disturbing trend we are seeing is illicit drugs being laced with fentanyl, which is 100 times more powerful than morphine, frequently leading to accidental overdose. We have seen estimates concluding that more than 2 million of our fellow Americans are addicted to opioids, and, as a physician, I have seen lives devastated, families disrupted and often destroyed as the addict's behavior drives them to horrific acts. As we work to confront this epidemic, we must prevent overprescription, stop the illicit flow into the United States, and treat those Americans who have become addicted. This bill would authorize a joint task force within the Department of Homeland Security to organize opioid interdiction efforts across multiple components and agencies in a unity-of-effort campaign. It would also leverage domestic and international partners to provide a multifaceted approach to tackling the issue. Most illicit opioids are produced in China and smuggled by mail, where vulnerabilities in the postal system are exploited. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is also seeing increased traffic from Mexico with opioids hidden in vehicles and cargo entering through the U.S. ports. The joint task force approach to the opioid epidemic is effective because it fosters information sharing and exchange between all relevant stakeholders to combat the opioid epidemic. While there are no quick or easy solutions to this epidemic, H.R. 3722 is a step in the right direction. I support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on the bill. I renew my support for the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.