Andy Harris

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I urge the Speaker to immediately schedule this important bill to save the lives of these babies who are born alive after an abortion attempt. This bill is exceedingly important and should be brought to the floor.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Madam Speaker, it is a shame that the new House majority, instead of fully funding border security, a few minutes ago actually passed H.J. Res. 46, which would reverse the President's emergency declaration that he signed 2 weeks ago that secures our border. Now, in Maryland, we have a real problem. We are the second most active State for MS-13, which just walks across our border now because we don't have barriers. We have a huge problem, like every State in the Union, with drugs, with opioids that are just walked across our border, which isn't secured. And, Madam Speaker, we have a huge problem with human trafficking. If this resolution is passed by the Senate, I hope that the President vetoes the resolution, we sustain that veto, and we finally secure our border.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding time. I thank the two gentlemen from Texas for introducing the topic to the American people. This is something every American should be aware of. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Every American should look at a few pictures about our national debt. This first picture is a 110-year period going from 1930, before World War II, to 2050, just 30 years away. It shows what our national debt has looked like as a percent of our economy, and it is pretty striking. For the first 90 years of it, there is one huge peak: World War II, a world at war. At that time, our debt exceeded the size of our gross domestic product, the size of everything produced in the United States. Our debt rose to that amount after World War II. The Greatest Generation spent the next 30 years paying down our debt and growing our economy, so that we had an affordable debt. We had a little bit of rise in the 1980s and 1990s, as we defeated communism--again, a war situation. Then, following 2008 and following the last administration, we have skyrocketing debt once again to the point where, within 5 years, we will approach the debt we had during World War II, fighting the largest war this world has fought. Then, by 2048, 30 years from now, actually having a debt that is 150 percent of everything we make in this country, that is the level we see with failing economies, some of the economies like Greece, Italy, the ones that have unsustainable debts. We are on a clear path to that. Now, let's talk about the size of our national debt. This chart goes from 2010. This is just 18 years, starting from 2010 and going to 2028. This is the interest payment on our national debt because, Madam Speaker, like every American knows, if you borrow money, you have to pay interest on it. The fact of the matter is that right now, our interest, total interest payment, is about $200 billion. But, Madam Speaker, every American family knows, every senior who has saved for retirement knows that interest rates right now are very low. If you go and get a CD, what are you getting, a 1 percent, 2 percent return. Those interest rates will return to normal. And as the gentleman from Texas mentioned, we are accruing debt at $1 trillion a year, so that by the time we reach 2028, the interest payment on our debt alone, due to the increased size of our debt and the increased interest rate is going to approach $1 trillion a year. Now, what does that mean? Well, Madam Speaker, there are a lot of things that the government funds. Those of you who are interested in the safety of Social Security, of Medicare and Medicaid, of Federal pensions, they know that we are approaching a zero sum game. We can't keep this debt going forever. In fact, this final chart I am going to show is 10 years, starting now, it shows the percent spending of GDP, so relative to our economy, what our net interest on our debt is; and then other things, like Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, things that we think are important, defense. The yellow line, the defense budget, nondefense, discretionary spending, all these are relatively constant. All of them are going to be crowded out by net interest on the debt. Madam Speaker, Americans understand, you can't borrow forever. You can't do it on your cars; you can't do it on your houses; you can't do it on your credit cards; and we can't do it here in Congress anymore. This threatens our security, when, in 5 years, we will pay more interest on our national debt than we pay defending this country. We can't do it. Congress has to get its act together, clean up its act, and get our budget in balance.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Madam Speaker, in the next few days, we are going to be asked to take another step on our journey to securing our border. The Congress has to take this very seriously because we have tens of thousands of people dying every year from drug overdoses with a lot of those drugs crossing our southern border. Just a few weeks ago we seized hundreds of pounds of fentanyl, a drug that can kill millions of people and, in fact, has taken tens of thousands of lives. We know our border is unsecured. We have to do whatever we can to give the President and the Department of Homeland Security the ability to protect our southern border.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Will the gentleman yield for a question?

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, my reading of the bill is not furloughed employees. It is anyone affected. It has a very broad definition. Without putting any guardrails on it, one could argue that every American was probably affected in some way. Is that true? Is my reading of the bill that this extends way beyond furloughed employees? It affects any consumer affected. Is that correct?

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I object.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding to me, obviously, on the eve of the March for Life. Madam Speaker, let me follow up with what my cochairman has said. It has been 46 years since Roe v. Wade, a generation and a half. There is no question that there have been incredibly significant scientific advances in that time, advances that make the humanity of the in utero child clear and that we have to revisit. The fact is that science has now put to shame the idea that life developing within the womb is merely a ``clump of cells.'' Well, I could describe any of us as a clump of cells, too. I mean, I guess, technically, that is what we are. But science now has gone deeper and allows us to show exactly what is happening and when a human being exists. So let's ask ourselves: Who exactly is human? It is an important question, because if you are human, you are entitled to human rights, and those rights are guaranteed under our Constitution. It is a critically important question: When is someone human? Now, science has answered that pretty clearly. At the moment of conception, when a sperm cell from a human joins together with an egg cell from a human, a new human life begins. Absolutely unique. How do we know that? Well, in those 46 years since Roe v. Wade has been promulgated, we actually have Nobel Prizes for DNA describing DNA and genetics. We know that, at that moment, a unique human being has been formed with unique DNA. My gosh, anybody who watches NCIS knows that. Anybody who opens a high school textbook knows that. When are we going to figure it out? Because, at conception, a new member of the homo sapiens species--that is what it is; let's talk scientific--is verifiable by uniquely human DNA. From the moment of conception, any test on that life will show it is uniquely human, nothing else. It is not a little chicken. It is not a little frog. It is not a little cat. It is not a little dog. It is a small human being. Because of that, exactly at this point, we have to insist on that human being's protection under the law. This fact is not radical. It is not religious. It is bluntly, clearly, unarguably scientific, because over the course of a human's development in the womb, there is now what we call ontological change, that is, no change in the nature of that human being. The only change is the change in the size. That is the only difference. Despite being further along in development, adults are certainly no more human than adolescents, adolescents no more human than middle schoolers, middle schoolers no more human than kindergartners, kindergartners no more human than toddlers, toddlers no more human than babies, and babies no more human than that in utero human being. We can't allow the convenience and politics of abortion to obscure science. Humans in the womb deserve rights because they are uniquely human. They deserve human rights. The science empowers us, and may the Lord, who is the author of all creation, encourage us today on the eve of the March for Life. In the words of the prophet Isaiah: ``But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.'' Tomorrow, let us march and not lose heart for the sake of all the little hearts that are beginning to beat at 22 days after conception who require our advocacy. We must advocate for a reconsideration of Roe v. Wade as soon as possible to allow us to protect all these human lives.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, today the House will pass H.R. 4913, renaming the Salisbury, Maryland Post Office, the ``Sgt. Maj. Wardell B. Turner Post Office Building'' In honor of Sgt. Maj. Wardell Turner who was killed in action in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, this legislation honors the memory of a fellow serviceman, devoted husband, loving father and valorous soldier. It is my sincere hope that the designation of this post office in Sergeant Turner's name will help our community on the Eastern Shore, and our country, celebrate and remember the legacy of service and sacrifice left behind by this true American hero. Sergeant Turner was a local legend on Maryland's Eastern Shore. He graduated from Bennett High School in Salisbury, Maryland in 1984 where he was a standout fullback and middle linebacker. He helped lead the Bennett High School Clippers to back-to-back undefeated seasons and state titles in 1982 and 1983. His leadership and ability earned him an athletic scholarship from Towson University. He was a four-year letter winner and in 1989, graduated with a bachelor's degree in management. Years later, in 2011, he would earn his master's degree in criminal justice from Central Missouri State University. In 1991 he married his wife, Katherine, whom he met at a New Year's Eve dance on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. In 1993, looking for an opportunity to serve, he enlisted in the Army. According to those closest to him, the Army was more than just a career, it was a calling. His military career took him across the United States and to bases in Germany and South Korea. While in Germany, Wardell Turner was recognized for saving a young woman's life as she attempted to jump off a bridge. He was later deployed to Bosnia in the 1990's and then to Iraq in 2003. He served in military police units beginning in 1993, most recently with the 720th Police Battalion based at Fort Hood, Texas. Earning the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and other Meritorious Service Medals along the way, he steadily climbed the enlisted ranks and was promoted to Sgt. Maj. in 2013. Sgt. Maj. Turner was assigned to the headquarters of the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Drum in New York when he was sent to Afghanistan in July of 2014 during Operation Enduring Freedom. There he served as the senior enlisted advisor for the Combined Security Transition Command- Afghanistan in Kabul whose primary mission was the training of Afghan security forces. Sgt. Maj. Turner had planned for this to be his last deployment, hoping to retire in a year or so and spend more time with his family. Those that knew him described him as highly organized and a devoted family man. Prior to his death, just before Thanksgiving, he had found time to gather and ship Christmas gifts to his family back home. According to his wife, Katherine, despite his being unable to be home for the holidays, these gifts, and the effort he made to make sure they arrived on time, highlighted just how much his family meant to him, and him to them. Sergeant Turner was killed on November, 24, 2014, when his convoy was hit by an IED while on patrol in Eastern Kabul. Sergeant Turner's son, Devin Turner, who was also enlisted in the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan at the time, planned to share Thanksgiving with his father. Tragically, he was informed a few days before the holiday that his father had been killed. Specialist Turner escorted his father's casket home. After his father's funeral, Specialist Turner, despite his loss, returned to Afghanistan to finish his tour. According to Devin, his father would have supported his decision to return to duty and didn't believe in leaving your business unfinished. Sgt. Maj. Turner was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in January of 2015. Members of his family say that they found peace in his sacrifice knowing he died doing what he loved . . . serving his country. Sgt. Maj. Wardell Turner has left a lasting legacy in our community. In 2016 Towson University created the ``Wardell Turner Scholarship'' to be awarded annually to a defensive back on the football team that is in good academic standing and demonstrates the qualities and attributes exemplified by Mr. Turner. Those enumerated qualities include leadership, selfless service, and commitment. Last year, friends, family and high school teammates gathered at the Wicomico Presbyterian Church to retire his Bennett High School jersey and to celebrate his life and his military service. During the ceremony, Mayor Jake Day of Salisbury, Maryland proclaimed October 28, 2017, as ``Sgt. Maj, Wardell Turner Day''. His legacy survives and continues with his five children, Shayla, Quinton, Devin, Wardell II, Xavier, several grandchildren, and his devoted wife, Katherine. Mr. Speaker, Sgt. Maj. Wardell Turner is a true American hero. His life of courage and service provides an example for us all. It is my pleasure to offer this bill to rename the Salisbury post office the Sgt. Maj. Wardell B. Turner Post Office building. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation that honors one of the Eastern Shore's favorite sons. The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the age 8 to 10 Chesapeake City Little League Girls Softball Team on the tremendous victory they achieved last week. On July 19th, these talented young ladies won the Maryland State Little League Softball Championship, in a 4 to 3 extra inning nail-biter. I commend this team of talented young athletes for their hard work and good sportsmanship. The Little League pledge states ``I trust in God, I love my country, and will respect its laws. I will play fair and strive to win, but win or lose, I will always do my best.'' The young ladies on this team embody the American work ethic, and their positive attitude made them unstoppable this season. I wish these young athletes and their coaches the best of luck in the future, and I again congratulate them on their impressive victory as Maryland State Champions.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Easton/ Newnam Field Airport on its 75th anniversary. Easton Airport on Maryland's Eastern Shore is a fixture in the Talbot County community and celebrates a rich and patriotic history. Originally constructed by the military during World War II, the Easton Airport was used as one of the hundreds of bases for military planes patrolling the East Coast for Nazi submarines. After the war, the Federal Government sold the Easton Airport, and others like it, to the local jurisdictions in which they were located for just $1. Since the end of World War II, the Easton Airport has grown to be one of the busiest general aviation facilities in Maryland, serving local businesses, the military, corporate pilots, and aviation enthusiasts. Congratulations to the Easton Airport on this tremendous anniversary, and cheers to another 75 years of serving Talbot County, the State of Maryland, and the United States of America.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5788. Mr. Speaker, there are many facets of opioid abuse and overdoses. We are going to need many pieces of legislation to deal with all of them. This is a particularly important piece of legislation. It deals with the use of the U.S. mail service to import synthetic opioids. As an anesthesiologist, I have used synthetic opioids for over 30 years, especially the synthetic opioid fentanyl. After it was discovered, it was widely used in a very important drug, especially to treat our sickest patients; but now it is a killer drug, frequently used illegally, mixed with heroin. Because of its very specific pharmacologic action, it is highly lethal when misused. To add to that, Mr. Speaker, now there is a derivative called carfentanil that is 100 times more potent. Why is it so important that we secure our mail system? A grain of rice is 29 milligrams. That is the weight of a grain of rice. Fentanyl the size of a grain of rice will kill 29 people. That is how lethal it is. If it is carfentanil, it is 100 hundred times more potent. That grain of rice-sized piece of carfentanil will kill 2,900 people. Obviously, the mail system can be used to transport these drugs. Because these are so highly lethal, in Maryland, half our overdose deaths now involve fentanyl or a derivative. Because these are so small, so concealable, so highly lethal, we have to secure all mechanisms by which these drugs can be transmitted to be used illegally. The mail system right now, because of loopholes that exist that we have heard about today, can be used to transport those drugs to kill our youth. They are imported from foreign countries, where, without any remorse, these drugs are shipped to the United States and result in overdose deaths here. Mr. Speaker, we have to pass H.R. 5788. We have to secure our mail system and take the scourge of these fentanyl, carfentanil, and other synthetic opioids off our streets where they are killing young Americans.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Mr Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to recognize April as national lawn care month. The landscape industry employs nearly 1 million workers and contributes annual revenue of $78 billion to our nation's economy. From the National Mall to an opening day outfield and even in our own front and back yards, images of beautiful lawns are iconic depictions of American culture and the American dream. As we recognize these images, we must also recognize the work that goes into the upkeep of such lawns. Landscape and lawn care professionals play a vital role in ensuring that lawns are not only maintained but also healthy. Healthy grass and turf deliver essential benefits to families, communities, and the environment. Healthy lawns offer protection against disease carrying insects. They provide oxygen, protect our waterways, and clean the air. They are the backdrop for important life memories such as first steps, athletic accomplishments, and gatherings for friends and families. Healthy lawns are important parts of our communities.

Mr. HARRIS

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, before I begin, 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 the topic of my Special Order.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, next Tuesday, March 20, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for the case NIFLA v. Becerra. At issue is a California law that requires medically licensed pro-life pregnancy centers to advertise for and to promote the abortion industry by posting notices alerting clients that the State of California provides free or low-cost abortions. This law blatantly violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. The government may never compel anyone, including pregnancy centers, to make statements with which they disagree. This is clearly and blatantly unconstitutional, and courts across the Nation agree. When abortionists sought to compel the speech of pregnancy centers in other jurisdictions, their laws were not allowed to stand. In fact, in 2009, in my home State of Maryland, a Baltimore city ordinance required pregnancy centers to post signs in their waiting rooms stating that they do not refer for abortions. This January, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that this law is unconstitutional. Judge Wilkinson said that the ordinance compels ``a politically and religiously motivated group to convey a message fundamentally at odds with its core belief and its mission.'' Similar laws have been tried in Austin, Texas; Montgomery County, Maryland; and New York City. These laws, too, have been partially or fully invalidated. Even the California law in question has already been found to violate freedom of speech. While the Federal case was advancing to the Supreme Court, a parallel track was being pursued at the State level. In October of last year, Judge Gloria Trask found that the law violated article I, section 2 of the California Constitution. In fact, she granted an injunction that prevents California from enforcing the law. She said the ``speech required by the FACT Act is unquestionably compelled and content based.'' It forces the clinic to point the way to the abortion clinic and can leave patients with the belief that they were referred to an abortion clinic provider by that pro-life pregnancy center. Now, instead of seeking to silence pro-life pregnancy centers, people in every community should celebrate and support their work. They provide vital free or low-cost care to vulnerable women and children. So today we are here to talk about how pro-life pregnancy centers help mothers in our communities, giving them real choice. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), who organized this Special Order with me, for comments he might make.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for his comments. Mr. Speaker, we need to remind people that these pro-life pregnancy centers are private entities. They run on private donations. They provide services at no charge to these mothers. In some pregnancy centers--a lot of them, for instance--they will have a room that is just full of supplies, supplies to help a mother, to help a mother in a crisis pregnancy get through the pregnancy, take care of that child, and to give that child the very precious gift of life. Mr. Speaker, I would next yield to the gentleman from Michigan for comments he might make on the importance of pregnancy centers. While he is getting to the microphone, let me just tell you a story that one of the pregnancy crisis centers told me. Again, these are centers that frequently now provide ultrasound exams. And they tell me the story of a woman who called the helpline seeking an abortion, actually. She called the pregnancy center helpline. She knew very little about the emotional, physical, or spiritual repercussions of the choice she was considering. She felt alone, told by her boyfriend to ``get rid of it'' or he was gone. But the pregnancy center gave her a choice. They scheduled an appointment. She came for the appointment. And after seeing her 9-week- old baby's heartbeat and it move about playfully in her womb, she decided to give this child the gift of life. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga).

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for his comments. He brings up a good point. These pregnancy centers don't only help mothers and give them choices; they actually help the fathers as well. A lot of times these fathers just don't know what fatherhood will be like, and they mentor these fathers and, again, begin to give that couple the ability to create a loving household for that child. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) to also speak on this topic.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas for those words in support of these pro-life pregnancy centers. Tonight we are going to hear, during this hour, from some of the real leaders of the pro-life movement; but, in this case, we should really call this the pro-choice movement because that is what these pregnancy centers actually do: they give women a real choice. A lot of women who come to these pregnancy centers, of course, are pressured or expect that they can't bring these pregnancies to fulfillment, to the birth of a new life. And these pregnancy centers give them the choice to do that. They provide the resources, the support, the mentoring, the prayers that these difficult pregnancies need. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King), a pro- life leader, to speak about these crisis pregnancy centers.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Iowa for those touching comments. Again, this is about giving mothers choices. You know, one has to ask the question: Why in the world don't abortion clinics show ultrasounds? What are they afraid of? Are they afraid of giving a woman a real choice, of actually seeing that baby, of denying the fact that it is not a blob of tissue, it is actually a baby with a heartbeat? It is a baby that moves. It is your child. But they don't get that choice in an abortion clinic. They get it at a crisis pregnancy center. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington) for his remarks.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for those comments. He is absolutely right. No matter where you stand on the issue of abortion, you should stand with the First Amendment on the right of an individual not to have their speech compelled by the government; and that is what at stake in this court case. I want to just thank God that we have a President who understands the importance of these constitutional bases, and one who, I believe, will nominate Justices to the Supreme Court who will continue to uphold the First Amendment and the other amendments to the Constitution. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler), a pro-life leader in the House of Representatives.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler) for her comments. Just to remind people, you know, there are things you find in a crisis pregnancy center you just don't find in your local Planned Parenthood. Almost all of them will have a room where donated clothing--clothing that, you know, most of it used. Yeah, that is the way it is. People who have had children, their children are grown. They will donate their clothing to a pregnancy center to help those mothers who need help, mothers who perhaps feel they can't financially afford to have a child because they have to buy clothing for a child, they have to buy diapers. These pregnancy centers give them a real choice. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), another pro-life leader in the House of Representatives.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for comments. Again, just reminding, as the gentlewoman said, these are centers that provide true resources to women at a time when they are very, very vulnerable. I can't imagine why a city council or a State legislature, or any jurisdiction, or any legislature would want to--what amounts to--close these centers down, because these are people who believe abortion is wrong. They are not going to refer people for abortions. That is the bottom line. They will close their doors before they will send someone to something that they think is morally reprehensible, and the last thing the State should do is compel them to ever do that. Why we would want to close these centers down that are so vital to our communities is a puzzle to me. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse) for his comments.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Washington for those comments. He points out that each of our districts have numerous pregnancy centers, usually. In fact, crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics three to one. These are valuable resources in anyone's district, in any town, any county. What is at issue here is, if you had a nonprofit running a recreation center in your neighborhood and it provided resources to troubled teenagers after school, this would be like the State telling that recreation center, ``Do you know what? You have got to promote a certain religion in your recreation center,'' or, ``Do you know what? You have got to put out certain political pamphlets of one political party on your desk when people come in the door.'' We would be incensed with that. This is exactly what California is attempting to do with this law to these pro-life crisis pregnancy centers. With that, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams) for his comments.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas and, again, remind everyone that these are such valuable resources in their towns and their neighborhoods. I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson). One thing about Congress is we have people with all different areas of expertise, but on this particular issue, the gentleman from Louisiana brings particular expertise because of his background as a lawyer and one who has defended religious liberty in courtrooms here in the United States, protecting that very important right given to us in the First Amendment that is at issue, at issue in this California case.

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana not only for those excellent remarks, but for bringing this kind of expertise to the House of Representatives. Now I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). Mr. Smith is a leader in protecting human rights around the world, from the U.S. House of Representatives, a leader in protecting life and, in this case, giving his remarks about how important pro-life pregnancy centers are to our Nation and our communities and how damaging this law would be.