Joseph Heck

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding. As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, I appreciate Chairman Thornberry's efforts to bring this conference report to the floor. His dedication to our Armed Forces, their families, and our veterans is commendable. Supporting the men and women who volunteer to pick up a weapon, stand a post, and guard the freedoms and liberties that make our Nation great is a primary function of the Federal Government. Article I, section 8 of the Constitution, ``to raise and support Armies,'' ``to provide and maintain a Navy,'' today with adoption of this conference report, we achieve that goal. Included in the report are personnel provisions that will allow us to recruit and retain the best and brightest, maintain an agile military force, and ensure our brave men and women in uniform are given the benefits they have earned and deserve. The President has threatened to veto this conference report, even though the report authorizes the amount he requested in his own budget, because he is not happy with the manner in which it is provided. He is using our military men and women as political pawns to get increases in nondefense spending. I understand that he has urged some of my colleagues to vote ``no'' today, and I want to make sure my colleagues know some of the things they would be voting against: A new retirement plan that provides options and portable retirement benefits for individuals who serve less than 20 years, roughly 83 percent of the force; A pay raise for our military men and women, along with many special pays and bonuses, that are critical to maintaining the all-volunteer force; A joint uniform drug formulary between the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs so that transitioning servicemembers get to stay on the drugs that are working for them as they leave active service; and Enhanced protections for sexual assault victims to include expanding access to Special Victims' Counsel, protecting victims from retaliation, and improving the military rules of evidence. If the President follows through with his veto threat, servicemembers and their families will be deprived of these significant improvements to their compensation and quality of life. I urge my colleagues to stand with our military men and women and their families and support this report.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, when President Obama announced that the P5+1 had reached an agreement on Iran's nuclear program, he stated that the deal was not built on trust, that it was built on verification. This was a clear acknowledgement by the administration that the Iran regime is not a trustworthy negotiating partner and that any agreement must contain stringent verification guidelines to ensure that Iran adheres to its obligations. Unfortunately, the verification procedures in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action are impotent at best. While the agreement does allow for 24/7 monitoring of declared sites, it includes a provision that gives Iran up to 24 days to grant inspectors access to suspected undeclared facilities. According to former IAEA officials, this greatly increases the probability that nefarious nuclear activities could escape detection. While this verification scheme is already embarrassingly weak, it gets worse when one considers the secret side deals that prevent inspection of the Parchin military complex and allow Iran to inspect itself. This is not the ``anytime, anywhere'' inspections the administration claimed it was pursuing. The fact is that, in spite of claims of the administration, this agreement is not built on verification. It is built on trust. It requires us to trust a regime that is the largest exporter of terrorism in the world, that has already violated the interim nuclear agreement and whose Supreme Leader just today stated that Israel will not exist in 25 years. Mr. Speaker, as the President himself has said, no deal is better than a bad deal. Mr. Speaker, this is a bad deal, and I urge my colleagues to reject it.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to honor the life of Mr. Duncan E. Shaw, a Korean War veteran and Chairman Emeritus of Devil Pups. For more than 60 years, Duncan Shaw dedicated his time and talents to Devil Pups, a program started by his father in 1953 to provide teenagers with a life-changing opportunity to become better citizens and develop mentally, as well as physically, through Marine-inspired training. Like his father, Duncan Shaw enlisted in the Marine Corps where he was assigned to Aviation and achieved the rank of Captain. He deployed to the combat zone during the Korean War and was proud to be given the opportunity to serve his country. Following his service, Mr. Shaw got into the food business, eventually rising to the position of National Product Manager for the Carnation Company. And while he was certainly successful in the business world, he will long be remembered for the lasting impact he had on the more than 50,000 teenagers who have completed the Devil Pup program to date. As President, Chairman, and Chairman Emeritus of Devil Pups, Duncan Shaw was most known for his endless energy in promoting the program and giving thousands of hours of his own time to ensure the program's continued success. Many Devil Pup graduates relate being recipients of a famous ``Duncan One-on-One,'' a conversation designed to guide and inspire an aspiring Pup. Mr. Shaw's daughter Susan says that one of the most valuable lessons he taught was to be on time and always give 110%. Duncan Shaw lived that lesson throughout his life but most especially through his commitment to the Devil Pups.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, recently, I was contacted by a constituent, Colonel Paul Dudley, United States Air Force, Retired. He wrote to express his patriotic feelings for our country and the treatment of our flag. Attached to his letter was a poem he wrote titled, ``Our Shredded Flag.'' Since this Sunday, June 14th, is Flag Day, I thought it appropriate to submit his poem. I am a United States of America shredded flag. I fly from the roof of many typical American homes. Some time ago, I was new and radiant when they placed me there, But the wind and rain have reduced me to strings of red, white, and blue. Sometimes I fly from vehicles until I am torn to shreds; Though I still wave proudly, and can be recognized, I need replaced, And here's why: Brave military have carried me into battles in many wars To save and preserve our nation, and restore peace. I fly proudly above our military bases and naval vessels To show that we are, yet today, a nation of strength and honor. Our Veterans, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guard Still honor me, care for me, protect me, and rescue me when torn; With them, I am in good hands. When they see that I am weathering from the elements, They take me down and honorably, ceremonially give me final rest, And as a service to those citizens who do not seem to know, or do the same, They do it for them, with great respect and understanding. I am called ``Old Glory'', ``The Star Spangled Banner'', and other respected names, Which make me flow and flutter proudly in the wind, For I am the true vision of our great nation. I represent a people who have achieved their freedom; I remind a people of the sacrifices that we have made to keep it; I go off to war with the greatest warriors, many who die defending it; And I grieve when draped over their coffins when they are returned. I am placed into the hands of their greatest loved ones To honor them and remember them forevermore. Those who dishonor me, stomp on me, and burn me, only destroy my cloth. My meaning, my purpose, my honor and representation still live on; These cannot be taken away so long as there remains a United States of America. So, fellow citizens, protect what I stand for, not for me, but for you; For I am merely dye on cloth with a God blessed meaning. Honor me; respect me for what I represent, And I will fly over you wherever, and forever. I am the ``Stars and Stripes Forever''. Written by Paul Frederick Dudley, Colonel, USAF (Ret) USMC (WWII) USAF (Vietnam) March 6, 2011.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Thank you both, Mr. Chairman and ranking member, for your offer to work with me to try to rectify the situation where we have an important National Guard unit that is dealing with and working with Desert Storm-era Bradley Fighting Vehicles and, yet, expected to be ready to deploy on to the newer materiel in theater should they ever be called. With your assurance to work with me on this effort, I appreciate that. I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Chairman, my amendment would direct the Army to prioritize the modernization of the oldest Bradley Fighting Vehicles in the fleet. The Army maintains a program to modify and standardize its Bradley Fleet to two digital configurations, the M2A3 and the M2A2 ODS-SA. These two variants are the most advanced versions of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and provide our soldiers significant improvements in survivability and force protection. These upgrades feature advanced digitized electronics to provide troops with optimal situational awareness, network connectivity, and enhanced communication hardware within the heavy brigade combat team. Almost all units within the Active Army components and prepositioned stocks are fielded with these digital configurations. Unfortunately, there are still National Guard units that have not yet received these upgrades and are fielded with obsolete, nonstandard, nondigital M2A2 Operation Desert Storm variants. Maintaining these outdated vehicles within the National Guard will severely restrict our servicemembers' ability to maintain proficiency in the technical requirements necessary to operate the advanced digital Bradleys utilized in combat operations. This will result in significant degradation of combat effectiveness of these units and poses a significant risk to units who deploy with the older Bradley variant, or train on the older variant but fall in on the newer models in theater. Furthermore, servicemembers within these units will face significant and unnecessary challenges in maintaining their Military Occupational Specialty qualifications. Mr. Chairman, the Army has an existing program of record for the remanufacturing of Bradley vehicles to attain updated digital configurations. It exists within the President's budget under Procurement of Weapons and Tracked Vehicles: Bradley Modifications. This year's budget request includes $225 million for Bradley modifications. Unfortunately, none of these funds were designated for the Bradley Fighting Vehicles digital upgrades. In fact, the President's budget does not provide funding for these upgrades over the entire FYDP. So it is unclear whether or not these Operation Desert Storm-era Bradley vehicles will ever receive the upgrades necessary to make them combat effective or adequate training platforms. It is for this reason I am offering this amendment. My amendment would designate and fence off $100 million of the $1.8 billion under the Army's procurement of weapons and tracked combat vehicles accounts to prioritize and upgrade the oldest Bradley Fighting Vehicles in the fleet. This is 0.005 percent of the total appropriation. The $100 million is less than half of what is necessary to upgrade the remaining nondigital, nonstandard variants, but it is an important step to ensuring that the combat formations within our National Guard maintain the combat effectiveness and readiness they have attained over the last decade. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Missouri and the gentlewoman from New York for their support. I rise today to encourage my colleagues to support the bipartisan H.R. 1816, the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2015. This bill would remove an unnecessary barrier that prevents our disabled wartime veterans from receiving the housing assistance they so critically need. This body recognized the importance of this issue when it unanimously passed substantially similar bills, H.R. 6361 and H.R. 1742, during the 112th and 113th Congresses. Unfortunately, these bills were not considered by the Senate. I am hoping the third time is the charm. Quite simply, H.R. 1816 prevents the Department of Housing and Urban Development from considering a veteran's aid and attendance benefits as income when calculating their eligibility for housing assistance. The aid and attendance benefit is an enhanced pension provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to our Nation's wartime veterans who are severely disabled and have little or no income. Veterans eligible for this benefit are those requiring the aid of another person in order to perform their activities of daily living, such as bathing, eating, adjusting prosthetic devices, or protecting themselves from the hazards of their daily environment. In order to receive this benefit, our severely disabled veterans must first establish their eligibility for a low-income pension, which requires an annual adjusted gross income of less than $12,868 for a single veteran with no dependents. Once eligibility is determined, low- income disabled vets can receive roughly an additional $8,600 in aid and attendance benefits annually to help defray the cost of their medical care. This is an important point. This aid and attendance benefit is for medical care. It is not discretionary income; it is not for groceries; it is not for transportation, utilities, or anything else. As you can imagine, these low-income veterans struggle daily to keep the lights on, put food on the table, and keep a roof over their heads. Add to that the exorbitant cost of paying for a personal care attendant, and it becomes increasingly difficult for them to stay in their homes. The Department of Housing and Urban Development operates a number of programs that can assist these veterans. However, current regulations require that the aid and attendance benefit be counted as income when determining eligibility for housing assistance. Mr. Speaker, this makes no sense. The VA provides this benefit to ensure that our low-income disabled wartime vets have the necessary resources to receive the medical care they need and have earned. Now, while $8600 per year may seem like a substantial amount of money, it doesn't fully cover the cost of a full- time aide but is much more cost effective than a nursing home or assisted living facility. The median annual cost for a licensed home health aide in 2014 was about $19,000. The cost of an assisted living facility was $42,000, and the median cost of a room in a nursing home is about $80,000 annually. So continuing to count the aid and attendance benefit as income does nothing more than to reduce the housing assistance available to our low-income disabled vets and jeopardizes their ability to live independently. Mr. Speaker, it is the stated goal of both this House and this administration to reduce homelessness in our veterans population. The need for this legislative fix is just as strong today as it was last Congress and the Congress before that. Most recent statistics from the Department of Housing and Urban Development indicate that approximately 50,000 veterans are homeless, and we certainly don't want to add to that number. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1816 will go a long way towards preventing additional homelessness for our Nation's veterans. I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to recognize and commend my constituent Favil West on being named Nevada Senior Citizen of the Year for 2015. Favil is a resident of Henderson, Nevada, where he has lived with Pat, his wife of 54 years, since 2000. A tireless advocate for southern Nevada's senior community, Favil co- founded The Foundation Assisting Seniors to improve the lives of seniors in his own community through programs designed to assist seniors in times of illness, recovery, confinement at home, and coping with loss of a loved one. Among the most pressing challenges facing our senior communities are the health and safety risks that come with living alone. Favil worked with the Foundation Assisting Seniors to develop a solution to this challenge. Last fall, Favil developed the HowRU Program, an effort specifically designed to minimize risks of living alone by maintaining daily contact with their senior clients. The program calls the subscriber daily at a designated time to see if they are doing okay. Think of the peace of mind that daily contact brings not only the seniors who participate, but also their family members. That peace of mind is the result of Favil's devotion to serving fellow senior citizens in his community. I congratulate Favil West on being named Nevada Senior Citizen of the Year for 2015.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Chairman, the military personnel provisions of H.R. 1735 are the product of an open, bipartisan process. The mark provides our warfighters, retirees, and their families the care and support they need, deserve, and earned. Some highlights from this year's proposal include continued emphasis on the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program by addressing shortfalls in the program identified in the Judicial Proceedings Panel initial report. There is also rigorous oversight and consideration of the recommendations made by the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission. Specifically, the mark would require the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a joint formulary that includes medications critical for the transition of an individual undergoing treatment related to sleep disorders, pain control, and behavioral health conditions. It requires the Secretary of Defense to establish a unified medical command to oversee medical services to the Armed Forces and other DOD health care beneficiaries. And it modernizes the current military retirement system by blending the current 20-year defined benefit plan with a defined contribution plan allowing servicemembers to contribute to a portable account that includes a government automatic contribution and matching program. It also requires the Secretary of Defense and the military service chiefs to strengthen and increase the frequency of financial literacy and preparedness training, establishing a more robust training and education program for servicemembers and their families. I want to thank Ranking Member Davis and her staff for their contributions to this process. We were joined by an active, informed, and dedicated group of subcommittee members, and their recommendations and priorities are clearly reflected in the NDAA for fiscal year 2016. Mr. Chairman, I have always said that I felt myself lucky to serve on the Armed Services Committee because I thought it was the most bipartisan committee in Congress. We, over at least the past 4 years, have been unified in making sure that our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to keep themselves and our Nation safe. That is why today I find myself very confused and disappointed by the comments made on the floor. This is the National Defense Authorization Act, whose sole purpose is to provide for the common defense, not education, not transportation, not any other government function. To vote against this bill is to breach the faith that we have with our men and women in uniform and is unconscionable. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Madam Chair, my amendment builds on the committee's work to support scientific research and development within the Department of Energy. More than 30 years have elapsed since Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, and over that time, technology and scientific knowledge have evolved significantly. However, Congress still clings to outdated technology and policy prescriptions to address today's nuclear waste issues. The fact is that dumping our country's highly radioactive nuclear waste in a hole and hoping for the best is a 20th century solution. Instead, we must encourage the use of 21st century technology to address this issue. My amendment eliminates the money earmarked for the Yucca Mountain High-Level Waste Geological Repository and increases funding for the Nuclear Energy University Program within DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy so that we can better support our scientists and universities as they work to develop a 21st century solution to this problem. According to CBO, this amendment decreases budget authority by $75 million and has no net impact on budget outlays. The Nuclear Energy University Program is authorized by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Pursuant to these authorities, DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy allocates up to 20 percent of its R&D to university-based programs and mission-supporting R&D and related infrastructure improvements each year. The funds provided by my amendment will be used by the Office of Nuclear Energy to support the Nuclear Energy University Program and the efforts by our universities to research and develop ways to reduce the radiotoxicity of nuclear waste, better recycle and reuse spent nuclear fuel, and ultimately provide a 21st century solution to our nuclear waste problem. For instance, grants provided through the Nuclear Energy University Program to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas College of Sciences help support and maintain a world-class radiochemistry program at UNLV that is currently working to reduce the radiotoxicity of nuclear waste. In fact, the technology available to students at UNLV is so advanced that scientists working at the national laboratories often use the facilities at UNLV to conduct experiments in the field of radiochemistry. Strengthening and supporting the research and innovations already taking place at UNLV and other universities throughout the country to solve our Nation's nuclear waste problem is a much wiser investment of Federal resources than the flawed Yucca Mountain proposal. Instead of continuing the outdated, unworkable, one-State-must-lose-for-49-States- to-win approach to this problem, why don't we invest in the development of research and technology that will allow every State to win? For Nevada and other States throughout the country, the 21st century solution proposed by this amendment has the potential to create countless new high-paying R&D jobs by utilizing existing regional technological capabilities. It is time we stopped subscribing to 20th century ideas that waste taxpayer resources by trying to sweep our nuclear waste problems under a very expensive rug and instead invest in American innovation and ingenuity to develop solutions that will make our country a leader in the field of nuclear energy once again. I urge my colleagues to embrace the future of nuclear waste disposal, support my amendment to help create jobs, and restore the United States role as a leader in science and technology development. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee for working with me in a bipartisan manner to bring H.R. 373, the Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act, to the floor. H.R. 373 tears down bureaucratic roadblocks that are preventing families from achieving closure when their loved ones go missing on Federal land. This issue was first brought to my attention by the separate but similarly tragic cases of Las Vegas taxi driver Keith Goldberg and Air Force Staff Sergeant Antonio Tucker. Mr. Goldberg and Staff Sergeant Tucker were presumed dead, and their remains were believed to be missing somewhere within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. In both cases, local, experienced search and recovery groups volunteered their time and resources to help locate the remains of these missing individuals. Unfortunately, due to unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles from the Federal Government, the group volunteering to help locate and recover Mr. Goldberg's remains was denied access to Park Service land to conduct its search for 15 months. The group volunteering to help locate the remains of Staff Sergeant Tucker was denied access for 10 months, needlessly delaying the closure these families sought. This is unacceptable and must change. My bill does just that. Once these bureaucratic hurdles were finally cleared and these Good Samaritan search and recovery groups were allowed access to Park Service land, Mr. Goldberg's remains were recovered in less than 2 hours and the remains of Staff Sergeant Tucker's were recovered in less than 2 days. As a former member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's search and rescue team, I introduced this bill because unnecessary red tape simply must not continue to get in the way of providing closure for families faced with similar tragic circumstances. A similar bill, H.R. 2166, passed the House in the 113th Congress with a unanimous vote of 394-0, showing real bipartisan support. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to take action on the measure. We must pass this bill so that future families won't have to suffer the mental anguish that the families of Keith Goldberg and Antonio Tucker did. Again, I thank the chairman and the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee for diligently working with me on H.R. 373. I urge its adoption.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly 3 years since Las Vegas taxi driver Keith Goldberg was abducted, killed, and his body dumped in the Lake Mead Recreation Area. When law enforcement searches for Keith's body were ended due to limited resources, the Goldberg family turned to Red Rock Search and Rescue, a nonprofit group of trained professionals, to continue the search. They immediately hit a Federal regulatory roadblock. The team from Red Rock was told they needed to obtain a $1 million insurance policy for a special use permit to gain access to Federal lands. It took 9 months for the group to raise the funds necessary to obtain the insurance. When they finally entered the park almost 1 year after Keith first went missing, it took the team all of 2 hours to locate Keith's remains. Mr. Speaker, last Congress, I introduced legislation to allow Good Samaritan search groups to waive Federal liability and access public lands to conduct missing persons searches. It passed this House by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 394-0. Unfortunately, time expired on the session before the Senate could take action. I come to the floor today to announce that tomorrow I will, once again, introduce the Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act. I urge the House to take swift action on this legislation because unnecessary red tape must not continue to get in the way of providing closure for families like the Goldbergs.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I rise to thank the chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon), for his years of service to the Nation and this body. He is a great leader, a great friend, and a great mentor. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors, and he should know he will truly be missed. I also rise to urge my colleagues to support the Carl Levin and Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. Passing this bill is critical to our national security and for ensuring that our men and women in uniform have the necessary resources to maintain a high state of readiness. There are many important personnel-related provisions in this bill, including combating and preventing sexual assault in the military, decreasing the suicide rate within our ranks, and finally recognizing the victims of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting with the Purple Heart. While I appreciate the continued efforts to prioritize the health and welfare of our servicemembers, I do want to express my frustration with the Senate's insistence on including administration proposals to increase pharmaceutical copays, decrease the housing allowance, and shortchange our troops on their pay increase. Although fiscal realities and constrained resources force us to make difficult decisions, now is not the time to make changes to personnel compensation and benefits. In last year's NDAA, Congress established the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission to evaluate and analyze potential reforms to pay and benefits and then report back to Congress. The House bill did not include the administration's proposals because we reject piecemeal reforms that undermine the work of the Commission. Any attempts to change pay and benefits before we receive its report, expected in February of next year, are premature and ill-advised. I applaud the chairman's successful efforts to prevent even larger benefit cuts. We can't continue to balance the budget on the backs of our servicemembers and their families. My concerns notwithstanding, on the whole, passing the bill is critical to our national security and providing the authorizations needed for the Department of Defense to carry out its critical functions; therefore, I intend to support the bill, urge my colleagues to do the same, and look forward to addressing the personnel compensation issues in the next NDAA.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. I thank the chairman for the time. Mr. Speaker, over the course of the debate for the past 2 days, I think one thing that most will agree on is that ISIL poses a clear and grave danger to our Nation, our interests abroad, and our allies. And I agree with the President when he stated that we must degrade and destroy ISIL no matter where they exist. And I support many of the provisions that he outlined in the speech he gave just last week: arming the Peshmerga, bolstering the Iraqi security forces, expanding airstrikes, and disrupting the flow of finances and foreign fighters to ISIL. But the one thing I cannot support, the one thing I will not support is arming the so-called moderate opposition force, the Free Syrian Army. It is a ragtag collection of 100 disparate groups, and, just a little more than a month ago, the President stated that the notion that arming the rebels comprised of former pharmacists, doctors, and farmers would make a difference has ``always been a fantasy.'' The Free Syrian Army has no cogent leadership, no organization, no command and control. And without U.S. military advisers embedded with the forces that we train and send back into Syria, we will have no visibility on their effectiveness, their defections, or whether or not our weapons are falling into the hands of our enemies. This is a plan that is destined to fail for the sake of saying we did something, and that I cannot support.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5076) to amend the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to increase knowledge concerning, and improve services for, runaway and homeless youth who are victims of trafficking.

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5076.

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 5076, the Enhancing Services for Runaway And Homeless Victims of Youth Trafficking Act, legislation I introduced to help better serve our most vulnerable youth who are the victims of extreme trafficking. Mr. Speaker, trafficking is an issue that hits close to home for me. I represent parts of the city of Las Vegas and the surrounding suburbs. When people think of Las Vegas, they think of the lights, the magnificent hotels, shopping, fine dining, and nightlife. But the city's reputation as a national and international tourist destination, combined with the transient nature of the population, has made Las Vegas a prime target for human traffickers. In fact, between 1994 and 2014, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department recovered 2,229 victims of sex trafficking. Just last year, Metro recovered 107 children victims of human trafficking. All of us, Federal and State officials, law enforcement, the courts, all of us have a moral obligation to eradicate trafficking and support its victims. And it will take close coordination between all stakeholders to achieve the dual goals of ending the human trafficking epidemic and assisting the victims. To help facilitate that coordination, I hosted representatives from Nevada's State government, law enforcement, the judiciary, and victims' rights groups for a roundtable discussion on ways to combat trafficking, and also offer more support to victims or potential victims. At that roundtable I met Annie. She came to Las Vegas to make a better life for herself, and was, instead, ensnared in the sex industry. Thankfully, Annie got out. This is how she described her life as a victim of human trafficking: ``I felt like a dirty, cheated, disrespected, violated, and worthless individual to society. I didn't know who Annie was anymore. I often wanted to end my own life.'' Now she is an advocate devoted to helping other victims of trafficking. One of the things that she and others at the roundtable talked about was the need for improved resources for victims' advocacy and support, especially for youth victims and at-risk youth. To that end, I introduced H.R. 5076, the Enhancing Services for Runaway and Homeless Victims of Youth Trafficking Act. My bill amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to enable the Secretary of Health and Human Services to apply existing grant resources to train staff on the effects of human trafficking on runaway and homeless youth victims, and for developing statewide strategies to reach such youth. It also allows the Secretary to utilize the Street Outreach Program to provide street-based services for runaway and homeless youth who are victims of trafficking. Our Nation's runaway and homeless youth deserve access to services that will help them escape a life of crime, abuse, and neglect. By passing this simple fix to the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, we can help ensure that those suffering from the trauma of these deplorable acts will have access to the care and support they need. I would like to thank Chairman Kline of the Education and the Workforce Committee, as well as my colleague from Virginia (Mr. Scott) for working with me on this important piece of legislation. With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Enhancing Services for Runaway and Homeless Victims of Youth Trafficking Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline), the chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Mr. HECK of Nevada. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HECK of Nevada

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5081) to amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to enable State child protective services systems to improve the identification and assessment of child victims of sex trafficking, and for other purposes.

Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5081.