J. Hill

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for the opportunity to address the House today as we come together as Members of the House and read our U.S. Constitution. Long-time British Prime Minister William Gladstone in 1878 said: ``The most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by brain and purpose of man.'' That is how he described the U.S. Constitution. For 2 centuries the Constitution has dedicated the structure of our remarkable Republic and created the operation of the consent of the governed and the protection of a free people's individual rights. All of us who work here in the people's House marvel at its daily majesty, of James Madison's checks and balances, separation of powers, and the institutional hybrid of Federalism. Today, we gather at the heart of the Capitol, the heart of Article I, the first branch, to read our governing document: ``We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.''

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Little Rock's Arkansas Children's Hospital. They have received the silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and demonstrate effective leadership and communication. Arkansas Children's Hospital is the only hospital and unit in the State to earn this recognition and one of only 497 hospitals that currently hold the award. Its history of excellence in patient care dates back to its founding in 1912. As a former director and supporter of Arkansas Children's Hospital, I congratulate them on their 106-year legacy of leadership in patient- centered care; this recognition of the Beacon award; and their unqualified, wonderful service to the kids of Arkansas.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the choir from Immaculate Conception Church and School in North Little Rock, Arkansas, for being invited to represent our State at the inaugural Dublin Choral Festival in Ireland later this year. More than 240 voices from around the United States will sing together at the festival, and Immaculate Conception is the only group from our State of Arkansas. The group of 48 parishioners, ranging in age from 10 to 87, is led by Music Director Steve Guilmet. While there, the choir will travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where they will attend mass and perform during the service. Along with their performances, the parishioners will be raising money to support local hunger and poverty programs, and the parish there will host them. I congratulate those parishioners on their hard work, and I join all Arkansans in wishing them the very best as they represent our State in Ireland. Arkansas Canoe Club Trash Removal Team

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Cowper Chadbourn and the Arkansas Canoe Club Black Ops Advanced Trash Removal team. Cowper founded the black ops team in 2014 to promote water quality and clean up trash in the watersheds throughout Arkansas. Since the formation of the group, they have retrieved two giant dumpsters, portable toilets, refrigerators, washers, stoves, and countless tires out of our State's streams. In total, over the past 2 years, they have hauled out more than 2,400 tires and 124,000 pounds from Arkansas waterways. Mr. Speaker, I extend a hand of gratitude to Mr. Chadbourn and the entire Arkansas Canoe Club Black Ops Advanced Trash Removal team for their worthwhile commitment to our environment and our natural resources. ASH Hospital of the Year

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize North Little Rock's Arkansas Surgical Hospital for being awarded the Physician Hospital of the Year by the Physician Hospitals of America. This award recognizes a hospital with a long and exceptional record of high-quality community service and leadership. Arkansas Surgical Hospital was one of only 19 hospitals in the United States, and the only one in Arkansas, to receive double five-star status from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, CMS, and obtained the highest rankings for both overall quality and patient satisfaction. The hospital opened in 2005 with 16 beds and 5 operating rooms, but quickly outgrew its space. To meet increasing demand for patient care, in 2006, the hospital broke ground on expansion that brought the facility to 51 beds and 9 operating rooms. The facility continues to grow and helps 15,000 patients on an annual basis. Mr. Speaker, I thank the dedicated workers at the Arkansas Surgical Hospital for their service and leadership in patient-centered care in central Arkansas. Arkansas Children's Beacon Award

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished ranking member, and I, too, add my thanks to Chairman Engel and his predecessor, Chairman Royce, for their intense and passionate work on this important subject. I was an original cosponsor, and I support the passage of H.R. 31, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. This legislation imposes new sanctions on Syrian human rights abusers and those who facilitate the regime's atrocities. It also authorizes the State Department to support entities that are collecting and preserving that chain of evidence for eventual prosecution of those who have committed war crimes in Syria since the war began in 2011. The world has witnessed many examples of butchering and genocide by menaces throughout history: Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. They are joined in the last 8 years by a new name, and that is Assad and his Russian and Iranian collaborators. Until Mr. Trump's strategic airstrikes, for the prior 8 years, the world has blustered and twiddled while these modern menaces murdered the innocent civilian population in Syria. Systematically, they savagely bombed, bludgeoned, gassed, electrocuted, and tortured their people. I have seen this evidence on full display in Washington's Holocaust museum, and I urge all Americans to look at that exhibit. I have heard eyewitness testimony from the Syrian Emergency Task Force. Listen to the horrors, Mr. Speaker: A survivor of a gas attack told The New York Times in 2017: My eyes were burning, my head was throbbing, and my throat was blocked. I was suffocating. I tried to inhale, but all I heard was a horrible rasping sound as my throat closed up. An unbearable pain drummed in my head. The world began to blur. I pounded my chest, but I couldn't breathe. I thought my heart was going to explode. Does this Congress need any more testimony, Mr. Speaker? I commend President Trump for hearing these cries and his leadership to carry out airstrikes to block Assad's mass murder, and I call on him again to strengthen his resolve against Assad's barbarous acts and think of these innocent Syrian people who face these terrible atrocities nearly ever day. Finally, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 31, and I call on the Senate to not twiddle their thumbs any longer and act with expedition and pass this legislation. Let's not waste any more time bringing Assad and his coconspirators to justice.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I would like to include in the Record the following Presidential Proclamation on Religious Freedom Day 2019. Office of the Press Secretary [For Immediate Release--January 15, 2019] Religious Freedom Day, 2019

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on National Religious Freedom Day to announce that I am reintroducing my resolution in the House in support of the Coptic Christians in Egypt. I sponsored a nearly identical resolution last Congress, and I truly appreciate the support I received from more than 50 of my House colleagues who cosponsored that resolution. Egypt and the United States are important partners in the fight against terrorism in the region. Egypt's role at Camp David has led to some of the closest ties between the United States, Egypt, and Israel in their history. I am reintroducing this resolution because the Egyptian Government can do more to protect its Christian citizens. I have great respect for President el-Sisi, someone I have had the opportunity to meet with on two occasions, and I applaud the changes and message that el-Sisi has made in the areas of religious tolerance and plurality. He continues to say and do the right things at the top level of government: having a good relationship with the Coptic Pope, attending mass on multiple occasions, getting some churches reconstructed while constructing the largest Christian cathedral in the Middle East in the new administrative center outside Cairo, and holding terrorists accountable for their atrocities. But, Mr. Speaker, there is more to do. I stress to the Egyptian foreign affairs officials when I meet with them that this is not an attack on President el-Sisi. To the contrary, I acknowledge the support and partnership and friendship that we have with Egypt. But there is more that can be done in the area of protecting religious freedom and human rights, especially in the rural parts of the country. The State Department's 2018 religious freedom report on Egypt names Minya province as a particular area for concern. The Egyptians routinely claim that they have no minorities in Egypt. ``We are all Egyptians, and we all take our water from the Nile,'' is something that is frequently said. But from my studies and in my view, there is a population in Egypt that does not have the same protections of rule of law as others. The country must do better in places like Minya province. Following Secretary Pompeo's recent visit to Egypt, Hamza Hendawi of the Associated Press wrote: ``El-Sisi's widely publicized policy to staunch sectarianism, however, has done little to protect Christians in rural Egypt, where Muslim extremists frequently attack their homes and businesses or force them to leave their homes after violent disputes. ``Critics and activists say discrimination against Christians there is often tolerated by local authorities and branches of the security agencies.'' Mr. Speaker, my resolution calls on the Egyptian Government to end this culture of impunity for attacks on Christians and to undertake the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of individuals who carry out attacks on Copts and other Christians in Egypt. It calls on the government to hold accountable these local government officials who fail to enforce the law. I stand with Secretary of State Pompeo and support his message that: ``More work certainly needs to be done to maximize the potential of the Egyptian nation and its people. I'm glad that America will be a partner in those efforts.'' However, as the second highest recipient of American military aid in the world, the United States Government must use the tools that it has to hold our allies to a higher standard, if they are to continue to receive our aid. I encourage Egypt to live up to the legacy of Camp David at home, working to achieve what former President Anwar Sadat called ``permanent peace based on justice.'' Today in America, we commemorate Virginia's 1786 adoption of Thomas Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom. In his proclamation today, President Trump urged all Americans to help ``secure this blessing both at home and around the world.'' All people around the world, regardless of their religious affiliation, deserve the same freedom to practice their chosen religion like we have enjoyed here in the United States of America for more than 200 years. Permanent peace based on justice for the Coptic Christians of Egypt, that is my goal with this resolution. As President Reagan said: ``Respect for human rights is not social work; it is not merely an act of compassion. It is the first obligation of government and the source of its legitimacy.'' Mr. Speaker, the respect for human rights and religious freedom is fundamental to the American position, and I will continue to promote this issue for Coptic Christians and all Egyptians who take their water from the Nile.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Tommy May and his inspirational example of leadership throughout his life and courage in battling ALS. May served in Vietnam in the United States Marine Corps before returning home to the University of Arkansas and the Walton College to earn his degree in business. He would go on to establish a remarkable banking career, eventually becoming president and CEO of Simmons First National Bank in 1987. In 2005, May was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, becoming one of about 20,000 people living with that disease in the United States. Although statistics show that the average survival time is only 3 years, May has survived far longer, continuing his leadership for more than a decade at Simmons First National Bank and at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Since his diagnosis, he has helped spearhead a new effort at UAMS to speed up research on the disease. He has been recognized for those efforts by the university. My friend's example of perseverance and courage in continuing to live his life on his own terms is one that all Americans and Arkansans can admire.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. I thank my friend from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler) for her leadership on this issue. Thanks for letting us gather together on the people's House floor tonight and talk about this issue and try to lay out for the American people who are watching some of the facts associated with this situation. I am not sure they always get the full story. When I came to Congress, I knew the only way to really understand this border security issue was to go to the border. Since I was elected in 2014, I have been down on the southwest border four times and am getting ready to go back in just a few days. On those trips, I meet with Border Patrol agents, local law enforcement, county judges, citizens, and community leaders. We all talk about the issue of what is the definition of border security: the physical barrier aspect? the technology? the observation? the manpower? the coordination with local law enforcement? We always talk about drugs and drug cartels. You have heard from our leader tonight that they outman and outgun American law enforcement, Federal and State. Just last week, I got a note from my good friend that we lost another young person from my high school due to heroin and fentanyl overdose. I carry a little packet of Sweet'N Low in my pocket, Mr. Speaker, because a gram of fentanyl, which is the size of a Sweet'N Low packet, has enough fentanyl in it to kill 500 Americans. So it is killing our kids, Mr. Speaker, and it is coming across the border with Mexico. Physical barriers shape the strategic deployment of our force. That is why county judges support it, mayors support it, and our Border Patrol supports it. This is why, over the past 20 years, when President Bush proposed it, President Clinton proposed it, Bush 43 proposed it, and Obama supported it, we built fence, starting in San Diego. We see, where there is fencing, 90 percent reductions in people crossing illegally. Fences work. Physical barriers work. Physical barriers shape our force deployment and allow us to better use our manpower and coordinate our very understaffed and undergunned forces. Secondly, it is increasingly frustrating to me that this is a crisis of politics in this House Chamber and in the United States Senate. It is utterly hypocritical on the part of our leaders in the House and our minority in the Senate to not see this need for humanitarian assistance on the border and physical security on the border. Republicans have proposed this time and time again last year. We got no Democratic votes for it last year. I want my friends on the other side of the aisle to be able to make the moral distinction between those who come to our country legally and those who come here illegally. It seems to me that is a straightforward promise. America is a nation of immigrants. We are the most generous and welcoming country in the world. One other point I want to make before I close, my friend from Missouri, is to talk about people seeking asylum here, people coming to our border with no papers, no documentation. There was a news story this week about the Bangladeshi pair of men trying to come in and cross the border, interviewed on national television. We see, time and time again, people come from Bangladesh and from all over the world. They come to Mexico; they come to our border; and they have no passport. How do they come into the United States? They have no documents. They claim asylum, credible fear, and yet here, Mr. Speaker, is a driver's license handed to me by a Border Patrol agent in Chula Vista, California, of a Saudi Arabian born in the early 1990s, and yet we have no record of someone from Saudi Arabia crossing at Chula Vista in the time frame that this driver's license was found in the Chula Vista station outside San Diego. We have a crisis on this border, and when people tell you there isn't one, they are not telling you the truth. That should terrify us that we don't know who is coming across our border, Mr. Speaker. Therefore, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri for holding this hour. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to the American people about the drugs and the impact on our youth and the impact on our national security by not having a secure southern border.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I was delighted to read that President Trump has reflected on his initial instinct to pull our 2,000 soldiers out of eastern Syria based on his conclusion that ISIS is defeated, and, instead, he is ordering a withdrawal at a proper pace consistent with American objectives. To meet our goals of a safe American homeland and progress towards regional stability, America must first develop a strategy to eliminate ISIS from northeast Syria along the lower Euphrates valley at the border of Syria and Iraq. This plan must include a productive role for our partner and ally, the Kurds. It is not in America's interest to abandon our long friends, the Kurds, to Turkish treachery and annihilation. Recent open-source data suggests there are 30,000 ISIS-related fighters in the lower Euphrates valley. With our allies, we must press this villainous band to its inglorious end. Our leaving with no plan will squander our immense success in cutting off funding and winning back hard-fought territorial gains from the occupation of ISIS. Second, America must block Iran. A key here is a small base and deconfliction zone at al-Tanf, a small force of 200 anchors that base along the key highway between Damascus and Baghdad. Not only is this a strategic imperative, Mr. Speaker, but 50,000 refugees are tenuously housed in this deconfliction zone at Rukban. Withdraw, and death awaits them. Neighboring Jordan can take no more. We must ensure that an allied force remains at al-Tanf, blocking the Iranian-planned autobahn being considered from Tehran to Damascus. Withdraw, Mr. President, and you will leave Israel fully encircled by its greatest enemy, the Ayatollah in Tehran. Finally, Mr. Speaker, America must achieve peace and stability in Syria. Our small elite presence, our supply lines, and our air superiority offer pressure on the murderous regime in Damascus to reach a settlement to return Syria to peace and return millions of refugees to their towns and ancestral homes. Leave, Mr. President, and you will squander the great moral victory of your strategic strikes against Assad from his illegal use of chemical weapons and barrel bombs. Your early decisive actions made our friends, villagers huddling in fear and from the Euphrates to Idlib, shout with joy. ``America is back,'' they shouted. Leave, Mr. President, with no plan and no strategy, and they will hang their heads as they did during President Obama's shameful abandonment. Mr. Speaker, this unfortunate chapter unfolding in the tragedy known as Syria foreshadows an unflattering flashback to a time long ago when Great Britain abandoned a role of stability in the Holy Land and India. In 1948, Churchill rose in the House to oppose Prime Minister Atlee's own unplanned precipitous withdrawal from the Holy Land, saying: A time limit imposed--a kind of guillotine--will certainly prevent the full, fair, and reasonable discussion of the great, complicated issues that are involved. Indeed, as Churchill foresaw, mayhem, terror, and destruction were the result of Britain's precipitous withdrawal. It is said that history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Mr. President, let's not repeat this historical mistake nor let our actions even result in a rhyme.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the accomplishments of Colonel Erica Ingram, who recently became the first African-American female colonel in Arkansas National Guard history. Colonel Ingram is a native of Wilmar, Arkansas, and a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She began her military career as a second lieutenant on Active Duty with the United States Army in 1995. Throughout her two decades in the Army, Colonel Ingram has earned the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Arkansas Emergency Service Ribbon, and the Arkansas Service Ribbon. She has served as the president of the National Guard Association of Arkansas, and she is a graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock. My congratulations and best wishes to Colonel Ingram and her family, and I thank her for her service to our citizens and her bright future as a defender of our great Nation.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I want to again add my congratulations to the incoming chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee. I look forward to working with her and our committee in the 116th Congress. But like my friend from Georgia and my friend from North Carolina, this bill is not a constructive effort today, Mr. Speaker. We voted on this bill last week. The McConnell Senate is not going to take it up. It is not going to produce our government reopening. It is not helping the government get reopened to put people back to work doing the people's work. So this is really a waste of our time to be on the floor today. We should be putting that emphasis on a bipartisan effort to get Democratic leadership in the House and Senate working with the President on a solution to a comprehensive border security plan and reopen this government. I want to also thank my friend for letting me talk about the insufficiency of the Senate bill, as it does not contain our bipartisan provisions, 20 provisions this House approved, that we worked on on a bipartisan basis, that will improve access to capital across this country for small businesses, for our capital markets, and will lower the cost and make more transparent home buying. Two things in particular I worked on with my friend, Bill Foster, from Illinois. The Volcker Rule Regulatory Harmonization Act, which we passed in this House, was not included in the Senate provision; and a provision to make insurance disclosures more transparent and more accurate for consumers for home mortgages, which was also passed, strongly bipartisan, by our committee and by this House was originally in our proposal, and it is not in the Senate bill, Mr. Speaker. Therefore, let's say to the American people, the bill we have on the floor today is not going to result in the government reopening; it is not going to be voted on in the Senate; it is not going to be approved by President Trump; and it is deficient. It does not include the bipartisan priorities in financial services ably included in the House version by Mr. Graves. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Graves for his leadership.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, first, let me associate myself with the gentleman from Texas and his fine remarks about the strengths of this country and how this country has led the world in every way and is the envy of the world. I thank the gentleman from Texas for his inspirational remarks on this House floor. Madam Speaker, I look forward, too, with optimism to the 116th Congress. I refuse to be pulled down by the vortex of negativism and profanity that is engulfing social media and cable television programming. Instead, I am grateful for the opportunity to work to pursue policies that improve our Nation. Madam Speaker, I spent my first two terms in Congress building relationships with my colleagues, in both the House and the Senate and in both political parties. I have done this based on my experiences that I had in the 1980s as a staffer on the Senate Banking Committee, as well as my 4 years of service in the executive branch in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. I value political leaders reasoning together to find common ground to tackle our Nation's policy challenges, large and small. In this context, I host periodic, bipartisan dinners. I call these the ``Longworth-Garner Dinners,'' so named for Nick Longworth from Cincinnati, Ohio, Speaker of the House from 1925 to his untimely death in 1931, and his great friend, Congressman Jack Garner from Uvalde, Texas, minority leader much of the time when his friend Nick was Speaker. These two men could not have been more different. Longworth was from a patrician family who settled in Cincinnati in the early 19th century, and he was married to Teddy Roosevelt's oldest daughter, Alice. ``Cactus Jack'' Garner was a rough-and-tumble small-town lawyer from Uvalde who rose to be a successful county judge and then became a terrifically successful Member of the U.S. House. As Garner put it, ``I was the heathen, and Nick was the aristocrat.'' Longworth and Garner came to Congress at the same time in 1902. Both served with distinction; both rose to the top of their political parties; and both were terrific friends. When Longworth was sworn into speakership for the last time in April of 1929, he paid tribute to his friend, the minority leader and future Speaker, by saying: ``The gentleman from Texas and I entered Congress together 26 years ago. That he is a better man than I, in the estimation of his constituents, is made clear by the fact that his service has been continuous, whereas mine was interrupted by a vacation of 2 years, by no means of my own motion. During all these years, our friendship has been continuously abiding, and our affection, esteem, and respect, the one for the other, is and has been, I am proud to say, mutual.'' For his part, on the untimely death of Longworth in 1931, Garner, who did become Speaker, said: ``He was an aristocrat; I am a plebeian. Perhaps . . . our different rearing intensified our interest in each other. I have lost one of the best friends of a lifetime, the country a good citizen, and the Congress a most valued legislator.'' It was ``Cactus Jack'' and Nick who cooked up the tradition in room H-128 of the U.S. Capitol. Each afternoon, no matter how much fighting took place on the floor of the U.S. House, they retreated to H-128, which they nicknamed the ``Bureau of Education,'' to have a drink and ``strike a blow for liberty.'' Room H-128 went on to even greater fame, as longtime Speaker Sam Rayburn from Texas continued this tradition that he had witnessed as a young Member. The purpose of my Longworth-Garner Dinners is to get to know each other, to understand what our goals and objectives are for our constituents and how we can work effectively together on the House Financial Services Committee. Madam Speaker, I will continue the tradition of Longworth and Garner in the 116th Congress. I look forward to working hand-in-hand and shoulder-to-shoulder with my colleagues in both parties and on both sides of the U.S. Capitol to move this country forward and seek a better Nation through our partnership.

Mr. HILL

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise on the House floor to object to President Trump's decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria. I encourage the President to remember the poor decision of the Obama administration in 2011, when the United States announced its withdrawal from a ``stable Iraq.'' ISIS is not defeated and may have as many as 30,000 fighters remaining in Syria. Atrocities being committed by the brutal dictator, Assad, and his henchmen, including Russia and Iran, will now continue with impunity. This opens the door for Iran to consolidate gains. I am especially concerned with the tragic consequences this will have months and years down the road. The United States policy in Syria must ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS, roll back Iranian influence, and achieve a political solution to the crisis. I echo the late John McCain and his message from 2011, as it applies today. This decision is a ``sad case of political expediency supplanting military necessity.''

Mr. HILL

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas for coordinating this opportunity to stand in solidarity on the House floor and memorialize a dear family friend and my former boss, George Herbert Walker Bush, our 41st President. President Bush was a great sportsman, a man of warm and goofy humor, and a man who in every instance put himself in the position of serving others. He was willing to enlist and became the Navy's youngest aviator. A brave aviator, indeed, he was, flying some 58 combat missions. But at every stage of his life until he passed on to be with Barbara and Robin on November 30 at the age of 94, Bush 41 continued to put himself in the position of serving others. That is his legacy, helping spread a thousand points of light--American helping American, Americans helping the less fortunate, Americans reaching out across the ocean to help those in time of need. As I noted, he was a great sportsman. He loved speed, fast boats like the Fidelity, fast planes like his Avenger Barbara III. He was said to be Grumman's best customer after losing three planes as a naval aviator. Even in sports that were known for being relaxing, Mr. Speaker, he made them fast: 18 holes of ready golf, or cart polo, as it was referred to, in minutes, not hours; supercompetitive doubles tennis and fishing. He always loved fishing--that is, when he wasn't skydiving. But this sportsman, gentleman, servant leader accomplished an extraordinary portfolio of successes in his single term of 4 years as our President. Called upon by the media and many to dance atop the crumbled Berlin Wall, President Bush did not dance. Instead, he put his shoulder down and produced an agreement that, in turn, has produced extraordinary growth and prosperity among the peoples of Europe. There is no greater memorial to this success than to walk down the streets today of Warsaw, Prague, or Budapest and see the economic vitality of free-market capitalism at work. But there were other exceptional moments in the international portfolio, including the completion of the North American Free Trade Agreement; the reinforcement of the Monroe Doctrine by ejecting the threatening thug Manuel Noriega from Panama; the delicate punishment of China while balancing our relationship during the regime's horrible, murderous actions in Tiananmen Square; and ending the years of tension between the United States and our ally Japan by creating the Structural Impediments Initiative that opened Japanese markets by removing nontariff barriers to American exports and services. On the domestic front, this man of the House, Bush 41, developed an outstanding creative agenda, starting first with cleaning up the failure of the S&L crisis of the 1980s. He proposed the Americans with Disabilities Act that was accepted by Congress and has provided millions of Americans with more opportunities for work and access. His Clean Air Act amendments set the standard in the world for cleaning up acid rain challenges using market mechanisms, benefiting not only America but our neighbor to the north, Canada. He left office with a reputation of constraining government spending and responsible budgeting. But, of course, along the way, there were heartbreaks, beginning with the failure to have his close friend, Senator John Tower, confirmed as Secretary of Defense for ridiculous and spurious partisan reasons. On Capitol Hill, President Bush 41 struggled with incredible partisanship from Senate Leader George Mitchell and House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, but he treasured his friendships of cooperation and success with Members like John Murtha, Dan Rostenkowski, and Speaker Tip O'Neill. Mr. Speaker, George Bush 41 treasured God, faith, and family. He prided himself in the Army mantra of duty, honor, and country. In his memorial service at Washington National Cathedral, historian Jon Meacham stated that he believed Bush 41 was striving every day to justify why he had been saved on that day off Chichi Jima. Thus, his focus on service as well as his commandments: Don't blame others and always share the credit--warm admonitions from his beloved mom. So, Mr. Speaker, I stand today with my friends from Texas to salute George Bush, a good and faithful servant who ran a full and fast life. I was lucky to know him, work for him, and recognize him for being the exceptional man of character that he was. Our country is blessed to have him as our Commander in Chief and our 41st President of the United States. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas for yielding.

Mr. HILL

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand here today acknowledging the great work of the Financial Services Committee during the 115th Congress. I would like to highlight two of my bills that originated in the Committee and have now become law. First, H.R. 910, the Fair Access to Investment Research Act, allows ETF research to be issued like stock research. Prior to the passage of this bill, if ETF research was provided from a financial services firm to a client, it would be considered an ``offer'' under Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933. This legislation now gives safe harbor for these reports allowing investors access to useful information in this rapidly growing market. Since starting an investment firm in the late 1990s, I have seen ETFs grow from about 100 funds with $100 billion in assets to over 1,900 funds with over $3 trillion in assets today. ETFs average 30 percent of trading volumes (by value) on any given day. Yet, despite their growing popularity and increasing importance to retail investors, most broker-dealers did not publish research on ETFs due to anomalies in the securities laws and regulations. But with the passage of my bill, nearly 6 million U.S. households holding ETFs will have access to this important research. With this new law, I've personally seen the amazing research produced by financial services firms and am thrilled that retail investors both in Arkansas and across the country now have access to it. I would like to thank my friends, Mr. Foster from Illinois, who helped me push this through the House, and Senator Heller of Nevada, for leading the charge in the Senate and working with me on this bipartisan, common-sense legislation. Second, I would like to highlight the Volcker Rule Regulatory Harmonization Act, which had a provision become law as part of the S. 2155 regulatory relief package. The provision exempts community banks under $10 billion in assets from the Volcker Rule, which was consistent with recommendations made by the U.S. Treasury last year. The Volcker Rule has been one of the most indecipherable regulations; complete with 930 pages of language and overseen by five different regulatory authorities. Evidence of the Volcker Rule's ill effects and profound unintended consequences were widely reported. A bank in my home state, which at the time had less than $8 billion in assets, was forced to divest a $2 million investment in a bank fund because of regulatory interpretation as it related to the Volcker Rule. This resulted in an $80,000 loss for that year. Community banks are spending too much time trying to comply with unnecessary regulations taking away from their main mission of serving their customers. By exempting banks under $10 billion, the law allows for a tailored and more appropriate regulatory regime. Again, I would like to thank Mr. Foster for his co-sponsorship on this legislation as well as the many Senators involved in helping create a sensible and tailored regulatory relief package with S. 2155. Having worked in the banking and investment industry for the past three decades, I appreciate Chairman Hensarling's, Senator Crapo's and the Congress' efforts to promote capital formation, reduce unnecessary burdens, and grow jobs and the economy. I'm proud of the exceptional, productive bipartisan record of accomplishment with 142 bills marked up, 126 bills passed the House and 50 enacted into law--more than any other House Committee. None of this would have been possible without the skilled leadership of Chairman Hensarling who has been a dedicated and fearless leader of the House Financial Services Committee. It has been an honor to serve with him over the last four years and I wish him well in his next chapter.

Mr. HILL

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, this week Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi welcomed members of the Churchill family and the distinguished Ambassador from the United Kingdom to the United States Capitol in honor of the 144th anniversary of the birthday of the Right Honorable Winston Churchill. It is always a touching and fitting ceremony here in the people's Capitol. I recall well one of the most fateful assignments of our predecessor body, the Continental Congress, when a special committee was formed, something Congress is great at. That special committee included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, and Jefferson was assigned this great task of drafting the Declaration of Independence. Well, Mr. Speaker, he completes his work, and he comes back to the committee and he outlines his 27 grievances against the King. He has worked on it for days. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams review that work, and they make 80 changes--80 changes. It just shows that, no matter how good the author is, once it is turned over to a committee, there will be change. Of those 80 changes, about 25 percent of the Declaration of Independence that we know today, one of those changes speaks to the heart of the friendship, the underlying friendship, between the British and American people, for one of their changes was Jefferson's poignant lament, which reads as this: ``We might have been a free and great people together.'' So that was taken out of the document, even though Jefferson outlined the 27 grievances why America should separate itself from Great Britain. I like to reflect on that when we fast-forward to Winston Churchill coming to America in 1946 and speaking at Westminster College in Missouri, when he toasted what he called the fraternal association of the English-speaking peoples. He said in that talk: ``But we must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the habeas corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.'' So, on this 144th anniversary of the birth of Winston Churchill, someone who was of both, American and British, I salute his birth. I salute that special relationship between the United Kingdom and this great country. Recognizing Alice Andrews

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Alice Andrews, a good friend who was recently awarded the 2018 Neil Compton Award for her tireless work in conservation in Arkansas. Born and raised in El Dorado, Alice received her undergraduate degree in fine arts from Henderson State University, where she fell in love with arts and the environment. She is more than a 40-year member of the Ozark Society and has served extended terms as Ozark Society president and conservation chair. Alice has worked for decades to preserve water, air quality, and wilderness areas throughout Arkansas. Her lifetime of service to the State of Arkansas and environmental conservation will not be forgotten. I join all Arkansans in congratulating Alice on this achievement and wish her much continued success. Farm Bureau Patriot Project

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Arkansas Farm Bureau for participating in the American Farm Bureau Federation's Patriot Project. Arkansas is one of only four States currently participating in this project. The Patriot Project is a program that connects military veteran beginning farmers and ranchers who are starting their careers with experienced Farm Bureau farmers, who act as mentors. The Arkansas Farm Bureau works to identify military veterans and Farm Bureau mentors and facilitate long-term educational and professional mentorship relationships. The military veterans should be actively farming and using their own resources while their mentor guides them towards success. I thank Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, for his leadership in bringing this program to Arkansas, and I extend a warm hand of gratitude to the Arkansas Farm Bureau for its worthwhile commitment to our veterans.

Mr. HILL

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, and I thank the ranking member of the committee as well for her work on this issue over the years. I appreciate Mr. Duffy's leadership, and I appreciate Mr. MacArthur, Mr. Graves, and their work on this issue because the House has done its job, Mr. Speaker. We painfully passed this bill over a year ago. We have done our work. We have a bill that represents a compromise of coastal States and not coastal States. We have taken into account all these issues about climate change and floods and hurricanes. We have taken all that into account, but we have had no action from the Senate. What we are here for today is because the Senate has not taken one step to constructive reform of the National Flood Insurance Program. That is why we are here. So I think we should be working together. We need the ranking member and the chairman down the hall in the Senate asking them, why can't they get their act together? Where is Senator Crapo, where is Senator Kennedy to read this bill and take into account the incredible work that we have done on a bipartisan basis here? So it is very hard for me, Mr. Speaker, to support a 7-day reauthorization status quo for the eighth time. It is just very hard to do that because it is not right. We need the reforms that are in this bill. We need the pressure on the Senate to come up with their own reforms if they don't like our reforms. I happen to like our reforms. I like the fact that I see more of what is happening in Arkansas where we have two private insurers now, Mr. Speaker, for floods. They cover $2 million instead of $250,000. They cover replacement cost instead of actual cost. That is the kind of reforms and progress we can make if we take account of the hard work of this House and get the Senate to join us in significant flood reform. So, it is with a lot of regret, Mr. Speaker, I cannot support the reauthorization of this program for 7 days. We need the Senate to wake up and take action.

Mr. HILL

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Scott McLean, the founder and executive director of Pathway to Freedom, for being awarded the 2018 Marie Interfaith Civic Leadership Award. This award is given annually to recognize citizens whose work addresses important community issues in Arkansas. Scott created the Pathway to Freedom program in 2011 with the goal of changing prison culture and breaking the cycle of recidivism in our State. The program provides educational, values-based prerelease services to prisoners, while also preparing inmates to reintegrate into society and return to being a productive citizen. Pathway to Freedom seeks to transform prisoners' lives with an 18- month prerelease residential program through a contract with the Arkansas Department of Corrections. It also provides, importantly, 12 months of mentoring and support once our prisoners shift back to society. I extend a hand of gratitude and congratulations to my good friend Scott and the entire Pathway to Freedom program for their selfless and worthwhile investment in our citizens and our State's future.

Mr. HILL

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Colorado for the time, and I appreciate the opportunity today to be on the House floor to talk about H.R. 5636, the Flatside Wilderness Enhancement Act, to preserve the wilderness areas for future generations of Arkansans. On October 19, 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Arkansas Wilderness Act, which set aside the first wilderness areas in the State of Arkansas. One of those wilderness areas created by this act was Flatside, which is located in both Perry County and Saline County, both of which are in my district. In 2005, the U.S. Forest Service recommended that these 640 acres be included in the national wilderness program, stating that adding these lands to the wilderness program would establish a more logical and manageable boundary for these areas and is consistent with the forest management plan. This measure is a first step in enhancing Flatside. Additional measures are being considered to study other U.S. forest lands that are suitable for addition to the area adjacent to Flatside. We are also working to restore certain adjacent areas that were in former private ownership to native species. Perry County offers something very special for Arkansans, visitors young and old alike, seeking a unique, authentic outdoor recreation experience. This tourism has had a positive effect on Arkansas' economy, especially in these largely rural counties. By increasing the wilderness area and promoting it, Arkansas, especially in Perry County, can attract more people to enjoy these natural resources and continue the trend of tourism's positive impact on Arkansas' economy. It is important to note that this bill is narrowly tailored to only place lands carefully selected by the U.S. Forest Service into the wilderness area. It will not affect any private property. On a personal note, Mr. Speaker, this bill is of particular importance to me because, as a young Senate staffer working on the Hill in 1984, I was able to work with then-Senator Dale Bumpers' office from Arkansas and Representative Ed Bethune's office and helped to secure the passage of the Arkansas Wilderness Act in the Senate. What a treat, three decades later, for me now to represent the Second District of Arkansas and see this good work continue, while also being able to recognize my predecessor, former Congressman of Arkansas' Second District, Ed Bethune. I believe naming this tract for Congressman Bethune is a proper way to recognize him for his dedicated service for conservation causes important to The Natural State. This enthusiasm is shared by the entire Arkansas delegation. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friends, Chairman Bishop and Representative Westerman, for their help in advocating for this bill that is so important to my district, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. HILL

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Fulbright Program, enacted in 1946 and sponsored by then-Senator J. William Fulbright, who represented my home State of Arkansas. This exceptionally American contribution to the world has educated over 360,000 students from 165 countries, including 52 Nobel laureates and 31 heads of state. Every year, Fulbright scholarships are given to more than 2,500 Americans, from all backgrounds and in all stages of life, the chance to spend time abroad and gain a global perspective on today's most important issues. Two years ago, I had the opportunity to plant a tree on the Capitol Grounds in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Fulbright Program and its Arkansas roots. This program has funded the academic pursuits of countless American and international scholars while building economic prosperity and promoting America's respect for freedom, the rule of law, and our democratic values. The Fulbright Program has my support, and all of our citizens should encourage this uniquely American mission of friendship.

Mr. HILL

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 413.