Will Hurd

Mr. HURD

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I know the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Virginia has a few more speakers, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the distinguished majority leader.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we have some young folks in the Chamber right now, and I hope they recognize that this is how their government is supposed to work: people working together, putting their differences past them for the betterment of our great Nation. It is an honor for me to have this opportunity to do this with so many of my friends that I have grown to love and respect over these last 2 years. And we get to save government money, protect our digital infrastructure, and make sure that our government is providing the kind of services we should and that the American people demand. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, the veteran unemployment rate is currently 5 percent in Texas, higher than the national average of 3.7. While the national average has steadily declined in recent years, the unemployment rate for young veterans ages 18 to 24 has skyrocketed to 13 percent, more than double the rate it was at this time last year. We need to do more for the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom and our safety. That is why I introduced the American Law Enforcement Heroes Act: to provide an outlet for these heroes to continue their service right here at home. My district is home to more than 4,600 Active Duty and 45,000 military veterans who have served or supported Joint Base San Antonio, Laughlin Air Force Base, and Fort Bliss, among others. They often tell me about their struggles to find good jobs once they leave the military. This bill incentivizes State and local governments to hire veterans as new law enforcement officers by giving preference when applying for grants through DOJ's COPS Office which fund academy and field training along with promoting community collaboration. It is modeled after an expired program called Troops to COPS, which helped about 1,000 veterans in the late 1990s. We owe our freedom to these men and women and must do a better job facilitating their transition into meaningful civilian careers. Ultimately, we should be doing everything we can to help those who have served our Nation in one uniform continue to do so in another one right here at home. In commemoration of both National Police Week and Military Appreciation Month, this bill will better serve our veterans and be a win for communities nationwide. I want to thank Senator John Cornyn, my colleague from Texas, for his leadership on this issue, and I ask my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 1428.

Mr. HURD

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 100th Anniversary of Sul Ross State University, a premiere public institution dedicated to higher education- nestled in the foothills of West Texas. On April 4, 1917, Governor James E. Ferguson signed a bill, passed by the 35th Texas Legislature, establishing Sul Ross Normal College. Over the past century, Sul Ross has developed into the cultural and educational epicenter for Alpine and the surrounding areas, offering 25 undergraduate and 22 graduate degree programs administered by a tremendous faculty. Situated in a unique geographic location, Sul Ross offers unparalleled learning experiences in some of Texas' most scenic regions, including Big Bend National Park, Fort Davis State Park, the Rio Grande, and the Guadalupe Mountains. Today I applaud the 29,000 graduates and countless faculty and staff members who have helped shape Sul Ross State University into the institution it is today. The positive impact of this university resonates across Texas' 23rd Congressional District.

Mr. HURD

Mr. HURD. I would like to thank the Speaker, and I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. One of my favorite quotes is from Teddy Roosevelt. He says: ``Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.'' The gentleman from Texas and I had a great 31 hours--I guess, 36 hours, 31 of it being in a vehicle. It was fun, and it was like going on a road trip with my buddy having a good time, but it was more impactful for that. Actually, I think I am going through separation anxiety. I want to know what Sarah is doing right now, or Carol. They were with us late last night in those last 3 hours of our trip when we were tired and hungry and ready to go to sleep. But these are folks that we didn't know--and I didn't even know what part of the country they were in-- that kept us going, and it was because of their excitement about what we were doing that kept us going. We talked many times about how this was an opportunity. In the press, in the media, we focus on the things that divide us, not the things that unite us; and it was a great opportunity to show that there is a lot between Republicans and Democrats that brings us together. It was great. We didn't always agree, and we show that we could disagree without being disagreeable. My heart was warmed. At the beginning of the trip, some of the responses to our trip were mean-spirited. By the end of it, I think people understood and recognized what we were trying to do, and they valued that. I hope that this trip--and the response that the American people across these great States--showed, as an example to our colleagues, that bipartisanship is a real thing; that people care and want to see folks working together and to stop retreating to their tired corners and instead try to talk about what we need to do to do the work of the American people. I got to learn a lot about the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke), a person I would like to be able to call my friend, a battle buddy now, having spent so much time in a Chevy Impala with him. I still question why he positions himself so close to the steering wheel when he drives, but I think that is one of the things that another trip may have to help figure out. Really, to all of those who watched, listened, shared, enjoyed, and made comments, thank you. Thank you because this was a truly wonderful experience and it made the entire trip worth it. We made it on time. We actually got here early, which we weren't expecting, and that is because of my good friend from the great State of Texas' (Mr. O'Rourke) discipline and tenacity going from point A to point B. We were able to do our job today, and we just want to say thank you to those who helped us do that.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke) and I have spent the last 2 years working on a number of projects together. We have worked on the bilateral relationship between the United States and Mexico. We have worked on border security together. We have worked on trade. We have worked on support to veterans and those in our military. In the last 36 hours, I learned that there is a broader set of issues that we can work together. He got me to a point where I recognize that something like a hiring freeze may not be the most efficient way. I think one of the folks that were watching the live feeds over the last 36 hours said: Let's use a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer. I think that is pretty good advice. He recognized that having the ability to get someone out of the government who is not performing to the level that we need them to perform needs to be done in an efficient and quick manner. This is one example of how, in our positions, we realized we agreed on more than we probably thought from the outset. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke) prides himself and has been really a champion of veterans in the great State of Texas as well as the rest of the country. The only time I saw him get a more passionate look or a bigger smile on his face was when he was talking about doughnuts or his wife, actually. Seeing him talk to his lovely wife and his children and see his face light up was really amazing and heartwarming. So I hope that our colleagues learn that what we found out in the last 36 hours is that working together is not a dirty phrase. Bipartisanship is not a dirty word; that people are going to actually reward you for thinking and reaching beyond your perceived limits. That is one of my takeaways from the last 36 hours. So if you all live in the State of New York, instead of taking a plane back, rent a car--Dollar Rent A Car has some pretty good Chevy Impalas--and drive back to New York City together and talk about these conversations. If you take a train, sit next to each other and have that conversation. Include the folks that are sitting in the chairs around you, if you feel so inclined. These are the first steps we can do in order to take on these big issues and these big challenges. When the 435 people in the House of Representatives raised their hand and got sworn in and the 100 Members of the Senate raised their hands and got sworn in, they took on this task of coming to this august body in order to do big things to help this country. I don't doubt that the 535 people who make up this Congress believe that this is truly the greatest Nation in the world, and they want to do everything they can to advance its cause. So we have to, if we are going to solve these big problems, we have to do it together, plain and simple. The American people want us to do it together. And I think we got a taste of that over the last 36 hours, and it is something that will stick with me, and it is something that I am looking forward to working with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke) from the great city of El Paso in the next days and weeks. One of the things that I learned from the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke) was he is very good at thanking people. He is very good at thanking his team. He is very good at thanking people that have helped us, and I want to thank our teams. The folks that make up the gentleman's staff and my team, they stayed up longer than we did. They had to deal probably with more pressures than we did. Rachel Holland in my office, Nancy Pack, Stoney Burke, Matthew Haskins, these are some members of my team. Callie Strock, I know, in her new position, worked really hard to get things done. Chris Malen is one of the new members of my team. Austin Agrella did so much. They were excited to be a part of this. Eliezer Flores is someone who was so excited, and I think the first person who we saw when we got back. These were the people who enabled us to take away these lessons over the last 36 hours. To those who watched, shared, asked a question, who responded or answered a question for us because the feed was going too fast, thank you. Thank you for an amazing experience. I am looking forward to the next trip. Hopefully there is one before the Congress Cannonball Run of 2018. I think that it is incumbent upon the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke) and I to be a team again and see if there are others who can beat us in a race from San Antonio, Texas, to Washington, D.C. Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to hold this Special Order session. This is my first time participating in a Special Order session, but I think it was justified for such a special occasion that means so much to me. I would like to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke) for his firm grasp on the steering wheel, his willingness to go and do things that hadn't been done before, and for his friendship.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I want to just thank a couple more people. I would like to thank my girlfriend, Lynlie Wallace, for being supportive of many of my shenanigans. She supports me in these efforts, and I am grateful for that. I would like to thank Tyler Lowe, Jon Arnold, and my district staff. If it wasn't for them, we never would have kicked off at 0700 from Mi Tierra Restaurant. They got us on the right path. So it truly has been a good time. I think the gentleman from Texas and I are ready for some shuteye. I do not know how many times a Special Order has been done between a Republican and a Democrat. We will have to ask the Parliamentarian after this, but hopefully this is the first of many.

Mr. HURD

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. HURD

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 107th birthday of Luz Gamboa Rangel of Crystal City, Texas. Luz was born on the Texas-Mexico Border on February 8, 1910 and moved to Texas with her mother and brother in 1914. She has lived in South Texas for the past 103 years. Most of those years have been spent on the same piece of land in Crystal City, Texas--a gift from her husband after they married. Today Luz loves spending time with family and making use of her good sense of humor. Luz has seen more in her lifetime than many of us likely ever will and I have no doubt that we could all learn a thing or two from her. Luz's family and community are blessed to have her as part of their lives. On behalf of the Twenty-third Congressional District of Texas, congratulations to Mrs. Luz Gamboa Rangel on turning 107 years old, and may she celebrate many more.

Mr. HURD

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 25 year anniversary of Project Vida in El Paso, Texas. Project Vida was founded in 1991 with the support of residents of El Paso's Chamizal neighborhood and the Presbyterian Church. The institution's first goal was to support the community's self-determined needs to help improve lives. Over the years, Project Vida has expanded its services to provide dental and behavioral health care; early childhood education and child care; affordable housing as well as gang and homelessness prevention. The contributions of Project Vida have been invaluable to the residents of El Paso's Chamizal neighborhood over the past 25 years. There is no question that the program will continue to set the precedent for community care. I am proud to represent such a dedicated program and to congratulate its dedicated staff and supporters on 25 years of service to others.

Mr. HURD

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the majority leader.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 39) to amend title 5, United States Code, to codify the Presidential Innovation Fellows Program, and for other purposes.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Today, I am urging my colleagues to support H.R. 39, the TALENT Act, introduced by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California. This bill passed the House on a strong bipartisan vote in the 114th Congress, and I am glad to be part of the team working to enact this important legislation into law. The TALENT Act makes permanent the Presidential Innovation Fellows program that was created in 2012. This highly competitive program recruits talented, private sector innovators and technologists from across the United States. Presidential Innovation Fellows serve in the Washington, D.C., area for 12 months at an executive agency. These agencies include the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Fellows bring with them their experience in the private sector to help government turn ideas into tangible results that ultimately benefit the American people. Since 2012, at least 96 top innovators have participated in the program. Past and current fellows have come from companies large and small and hold degrees from top universities across the country. They have won a variety of awards, including Fulbright scholarships, Silicon Valley Business Journal's 40 Under 40 recognition, and Truman National Security Project fellowships. These fellows truly are the best and the brightest the United States has to offer, and they seek to utilize their skills for the American people. Presidential Innovation Fellows are giving the Federal Government the tools it needs to successfully operate in the 21st century. Previous projects completed by fellows include Uncle Sam's List. Fellows created a database to offer a centralized information center in which agencies can forgo buying new commodity IT and support services in favor of existing services provided by the Federal agencies. This program has saved an estimated $2.5 billion, and it is helping government become more effective and efficient. I commend Majority Leader McCarthy for the work to bring this innovation to the government. Again, I urge support for this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make the gentleman from California aware that I have no further speakers and I am prepared to close. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity to thank for their years of service on such an important issue Mr. DeSaulnier and Leader Hoyer and Leader McCarthy. I would like to urge the adoption of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD

Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, it is way past time that our government reconsiders the way that it views technology. Adherence to decades-old policy regarding technology costs our taxpayers billions of dollars, stifles creativity, and needlessly prevents our government from utilizing private sector technologies. This bill, the Modernizing Government Travel Act, is simple. It will allow Federal employees to utilize the services of innovative companies while on official travel. Last Congress, as the chairman alluded to, this bill passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support, 415-0. Private sector companies have had a tremendous impact on the way that people travel, and we should allow our government to recognize these changes. By widening the scope of reimbursable forms of transportation, we are encouraging the adoption of innovative technologies and promoting competition. The bill also requires agencies to report what type of transportation their employees are taking while on official travel, and this data will be publicly available, thus increasing transparency and accountability in how taxpayer dollars are being spent. H.R. 274, as amended, is a sensible piece of legislation that can help modernize our government and ensure that the United States is moving seamlessly into the 21st century. I want to thank my colleague, Representative Moulton, for his leadership on this important issue, as well as Representatives Meadows, Bustos, and Swalwell for their support for this bill. I ask my colleagues to join me in the support of H.R. 274.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 875, the Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act. This bipartisan bill is the product of significant work throughout the course of the 114th Congress across both Chambers and across committee jurisdiction to ensure that a program that many border communities rely upon continues to return dividends. I am proud to represent over 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, including the communities and the businesses that thrive on cross- border trade. Over the past two decades, our Nation's trade with Mexico has grown by leaps and bounds, much of it through our land ports of entry. In 2015 alone, Texas businesses exported $92 billion in goods and services to Mexico--that is $92 billion with a ``B''--more than the next four largest markets combined. However, border infrastructure has not kept up with the growth. The lack of infrastructure and staffing that is necessary to support increased levels of trade crossing into this country has a very real impact on those we serve and work with daily. This legislation fixes the problem by empowering local leaders and increasing flexibility, with little to no cost to the Federal Government and taxpayers. By allowing local communities and organizations to form public-private partnerships with the Federal Government and to make improvements to our ports of entry, we are investing in the infrastructure that supports our economy. Similar legislation passed the House in a bipartisan manner earlier this year and passed out of the Senate unanimously. The failure to capitalize on this momentum merely leaves this critical program adrift right when its benefits are about to be realized. Decreasing the time it takes to move goods and services safely across the border will have a tremendous economic impact on not only the region, but on our Nation. I thank the leadership of fellow Texans and my friends, Senator Cornyn, Mr. Cuellar, and Mr. O'Rourke; and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 6004, the Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2016. At the beginning of this month, we released an extensive report detailing how the Office of Personnel Management allowed the sensitive and personal information of over 22 million Americans to be stolen, thereby jeopardizing our national security for more than a generation of people. The yearlong investigation produced many findings, including the identification of a pressing need for Federal agencies to modernize legacy IT in order to mitigate the cybersecurity threat inherent in unsupported end-of-life IT systems and application. We had too many old things on our network. In other words, a reliance on legacy IT can result in security vulnerabilities where old software or operating systems are no longer supported by vendors, and aging IT infrastructure becomes difficult and expensive to secure. We saw this firsthand with the OPM data breach where sensitive information was stored on technology so old it was difficult, and in some cases impossible, to implement security best practices like data encryption. OPM is not alone. It is common throughout the Federal Government for agencies to struggle with legacy IT. For example, the Department of Labor had to buy spare parts on eBay because they were no longer available from the original vendor. Consider another example that our committee learned about during a hearing that highlighted a GAO report on legacy IT. We learned DOD's Strategic Automated Command and Control System is 50 years ago old and runs on a 1970s IBM Series One computer that uses an 8-inch floppy disk. By comparison, it would take 3.2 million floppy disks to equal the memory of one flash drive. Numerous other agencies still use Windows 3.0, which was last supported by the vendor in 2001; Windows NT, which last supported in 2004; and Windows 95, which was last supported by the vendor in 2001. The recently issued OPM report demonstrates the security risk of such legacy IT and recommends Congress consider new tools to incentivize the transition from legacy to modernized IT solutions across the Federal Government. I am happy to say this bipartisan bill follows up on that recommendation. The MGT Act builds on bills introduced by myself and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and ideas from Federal CIO Tony Scott based on his experience in the private sector. Mr. Speaker, the MGT Act is a key first step in beginning to modernize the Federal Government's outdated and insecure IT infrastructure. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6004. I would like to thank a number of folks that worked hard for the past few months to bring the best ideas forward in this one bill. I want to thank Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings for their leadership on this issue. I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Connolly, who was the lead Democratic cosponsor. As I said before, key portions of Mr. Hoyer's bill on the ITMF legislation were included into the MGT Act. Of course, I would like to thank my dear friend and ranking member of my subcommittee, Ms. Robin Kelly of Illinois, along with Mr. Ted Lieu of California, and especially Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. His Innovation Initiative is a key reason that we are able to talk about this significant piece of legislation today. Again, I would like to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6004. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6004) to modernize Government information technology, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. HURD of Texas. 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 the bill under consideration.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly), my friend, pointed out, the GAO has identified that millions of taxpayer dollars can be saved through consolidating data centers and modernizing IT systems. To date, agencies have closed over 3,000 data centers out of over 10,000, resulting in a savings of $2.8 billion. This bill authorizes agency-level working capital funds, as well as a centralized IT modernization fund within Treasury and overseen by OMB. These funds will accelerate our transition to modernize IT systems and will save American taxpayers millions of dollars. In other words, welcome to the 21st century, Federal Government. It is about time you got here. The Modernizing Government Technology Act does not appropriate any new money, but, instead, builds on the successes of FITARA, which Mr. Connolly was instrumental in making happen. It also invests savings in retiring these data systems and accelerating our transition to the cloud. Folks recognize that sometimes up here in Washington, D.C., it can be a circus, but there are times when folks working together can actually solve major problems. This is one example of being in a partisan part of our election cycle where people working together can solve a big problem and do it to make sure that we are using American taxpayer dollars wisely and eventually, hopefully, making sure they keep some of that at home. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the order of the House of July 25, 2016, I ask unanimous consent that further consideration of the veto message and the bill, H.R. 1777, be postponed until the legislative day of December 9, 2016.