Andrew Garbarino

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 473, the Trusted Traveler Reconsideration and Restoration Act of 2021. This bill, sponsored by Ranking Member John Katko and cosponsored by Chairwomen Watson Coleman and Slotkin, seeks to ensure the rights of travelers who have erroneously had their trusted traveler status revoked. From the CBP's Global Entry and NEXUS to TSA's PreCheck programs, the Department of Homeland Security's trusted traveler programs are critical to the safe and secure free movement of people. However, there are instances in which individuals are mistaken for people with the same or similar name or who otherwise find themselves in a position where they lose their trusted traveler status based on a database error. For those unfortunate persons, the process of getting their trusted traveler status reinstated by DHS involves timely, cumbersome, and confusing bureaucratic hurdles, often among several Federal agencies. In these instances, travelers lose valuable time off of their trusted traveler enrollment period, even though they spent hard-earned money to apply. H.R. 473 seeks to bring relief to the traveling public who are in need of having their trusted traveler status reinstated. The bill requires a comprehensive review by the Government Accountability Office on the existing DHS processes related to trusted traveler programs and how the Department can improve individuals' access to having their trusted traveler status reinstated when it has been revoked in error. Additionally, H.R. 473 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to extend an individual's enrollment in a trusted traveler program by a period commensurate with the amount of time they lost in their enrollment due to an error. I thank Ranking Member Katko for his leadership on this bipartisan bill, and I thank Chairman Thompson for his commitment to bringing it to the floor today. Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 370, the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Technical Corrections Act. This legislation makes important improvements to the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. This bill has strong bipartisan support from the committee. Madam Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 367, the Homeland Security Acquisition Professional Career Program Act. This legislation will help create a pipeline for the Department of Homeland Security to better recruit talented acquisition professionals. This critical program is an important step to making DHS more agile and efficient in its role of protecting our Nation. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 367. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 408, the Department of Homeland Security Mentor-Protege Program Act of 2021. This legislation will help the department better improve its contracting with small and disadvantaged firms. In doing so, the department will become stronger and more diverse. I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 408. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 397, the CBRN Intelligence and Information Sharing Act of 2021. We all know that terrorist groups have long sought to develop the capability to attack our Nation with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials. H.R. 397 would address this threat by requiring the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, within the Department of Homeland Security, to support the homeland security- focused analysis of terrorist capabilities related to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials, as well as threats to the homeland from global infectious diseases. To improve coordination with local law enforcement, H.R. 397 requires the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to share threat information not only with Federal entities but also State, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies. I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gimenez), for introducing this important legislation. Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of my bill, H.R. 396, the Transit Security Grant Program Flexibility Act. Whether it is bus systems, ferries, or passenger rail, the Transit Security Grant Program provides needed funds to transit agencies to protect critical surface transportation infrastructure and the traveling public from acts of terrorism. Unfortunately, we have already witnessed multiple attacks across the globe: the 2005 bombing of the Tube in London, the 2016 metro station bombing in Brussels, and the 2017 New York Port Authority bombing. With billions of riders using surface transportation annually, and limited security screening, it should come as no surprise that surface transportation has been and continues to be a terror target. As such, we must ensure that first responders and transit agencies have the tools needed to secure our transit system. The Transit Security Grant Program Flexibility Act seeks to address challenges associated with fluctuating periods of performance by codifying the period of performance at 36 months for the majority of eligible projects and extending it to 55 months for vital large-scale capital security projects. This ensures that these major projects can be successfully completed in the allotted time. Additionally, while Transit Security Grant Program awards can be used to provide personnel with essential security training, recipients of awards are not currently permitted to use the grant program funds to pay for backfilling personnel attending such training. This may, in turn, inhibit some transit agencies from sending their staff to vital security training. H.R. 396 will permit Transit Security Grant Program funds to be used for this purpose, consistent with other Homeland Security grant programs. Given the evolving threat landscape, and the continued calls from extremist groups for lone-wolf attacks to target crowded areas, it is imperative that the Transit Security Grant Program provide flexible solutions for grant recipients in order to protect these soft targets and keep everyday commuters safe. I am proud to continue the great work of former New York Members Dan Donovan and Peter King in introducing this important piece of legislation. Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting H.R. 396, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 112. Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress Allred (Wexton) Babin (Fallon) Cole (Lucas) Crenshaw (Fallon) Graves (MO) (Wagner) Greene (GA) (Gosar) Grijalva (Garcia (IL)) Jayapal (Pocan) Johnson (TX) (Jeffries) Keating (Clark (MA)) Lawson (FL) (Evans) Lieu (Beyer) Lowenthal (Beyer) McHenry (Banks) Meng (Clark (MA)) Mfume (Raskin) Moore (WI) (Beyer) Moulton (Underwood) Napolitano (Correa) Neal (Lynch) Nehls (Fallon) Norcross (Pallone) Omar (Pressley) Payne (Pallone) Porter (Wexton) Rodgers (WA) (Joyce (PA)) Rush (Underwood) Sewell (DelBene) Stefanik (Tenney) Steube (Timmons) Trahan (Lynch) Wasserman Schultz (Soto) Watson Coleman (Pallone) Wilson (FL) (Hayes) Wilson (SC) (Timmons)

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the incredible life and legacy of former New York State Senator and former U.S. Ambassador, H. Douglas ``Doug'' Barclay. Ambassador Barclay dedicated his life to private and public service to New Yorkers, Americans, and citizens of the world. Born and raised in the Empire State, Ambassador Barclay attended St. Paul's School and Yale University before serving in the U.S. Army. Following his honorable discharge from the armed services, Ambassador Barclay graduated from Syracuse University College of Law, and practiced law at a Syracuse law firm before pursuing a life of public service. First elected to the New York State Senate in 1964, Ambassador Barclay honorably served for twenty years, championing efforts in criminal justice, court reform and economic development. In 2003, President George W. Bush nominated, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of El Salvador. I will always cherish the times I spent with Ambassador Barclay and his son Will, a dear friend of mine. Whether meeting up at political functions in New York City or having lunch with Will at our favorite Thai restaurant in Albany, I always enjoyed hearing Ambassador Barclay share his inspiring stories from a lifetime of service. Whether serving in uniform, in the New York State Senate, or as an Ambassador, Ambassador Barclay always put the interest of New Yorkers and Americans first. Ambassador Barclay was a true statesman and a once-in-a-generation example of what it means to be a public servant. I join the State of New York in mourning the loss and celebrating the immense legacy of one of our state's greatest.

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 84.

Mr. GARBARINO

Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, we are facing a growing public mistrust of our electoral process. In my district alone, over 800 ballots in Nassau County were sent out in the wrong names and wrong addresses. In the school board election this year, I received three ballots at my house, one for me and two for the people who moved out 10 years ago. On election day, all over my district, in Ronkonkoma, Seaford, and Babylon, machines went down. Voters had to hand in their ballots, and then they were misplaced. I think all of us can agree that legislative fixes are needed. But today, we are debating a bill, a partisan bill, whose sole aim is to secure a Democratic majority. This bill doubles down on problems that we saw during the 2020 election. Expanding mail-in voting--part of the problem. Legalizing ballot harvesting--part of the problem. Eliminating State ID--now you are just asking for a problem. Funding elections--I can think of a million things that can be done before we fund elections.