Kevin Kiley

Mr. KILEY

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I will also say a few words about someone who is a model for all of these interns working at our offices here in D.C. and back home in Rocklin, someone who is a former intern himself and a constituent, having grown up in our district and graduated from high school at Woodcreek in Roseville. He has been the communications director for my office, a role that he will continue up until tomorrow, when he is starting his first year at Harvard Law School. That is Tyler Tate. I first met Tyler in my 2016 campaign for the State assembly. I think I actually met him in 2015 because we got started pretty early. That was a true underdog campaign. There were 11 candidates, and Tyler was really one of the very first people to join and help lead what was truly a grassroots undertaking. He went on to go to Georgetown for college and actually interned in my State assembly office and quickly gained a reputation as everyone's favorite intern. That is why I say he is a model on National Intern Day. After college, Tyler got some experience in D.C. He did a stint at the White House. When I was running for Congress last year, I was in need of a campaign manager, and I couldn't think of anyone better for the job. I was continually impressed by his mastery of the nuts and bolts of running a campaign, such as delivering the yard signs or designing precinct blocks, but also more intangible qualities of leadership, like his ability to inspire a very dedicated team of volunteers. Just as one indication of the caliber of people he got involved, two of the interns he attracted to join the campaign will actually be joining him at Harvard next year where they will be starting themselves, respectively at the college and the law school. After I was elected and took office, Tyler became our communications director. I would wager there is not a better or more dedicated communications director on Capitol Hill. Shortly after I was sworn in, my district was hit by a series of truly devastating storms that wreaked havoc on many communities, and without having had more than perhaps a week or so in the office, Tyler threw himself into the very complicated but vitally important task of getting important information to all of our constituents on how they could deal with the storm and the resources that were available. That quality of service has continued throughout his time with us. He does everything from dealing with the media and setting up press appearances to writing and editing our weekly newsletter and other releases that go out, and advising me on important matters of policy. Through it all, he has truly demonstrated a remarkable ability to understand the nuances of politics and policy in a way that is really hard to believe knowing he is only a few years out of college. You would think he was a seasoned veteran of Capitol Hill. When I wrote a letter of recommendation for him for law school, I was halfway tempted to sabotage the whole thing so that I could selfishly keep him with our office. I was not surprised at all when he got accepted. I know he is going to excel in law school. He will be a great lawyer, but I think there are also great things ahead of him in public service, as well. For those who are watching at home, I would advise them to remember the name Tyler Tate. I thank Tyler for everything he has done to help me serve the people of the Third District. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I will take a moment in the spirit of National Intern Day to recognize several truly exemplary individuals currently interning in my Washington, D.C., and district offices. Over the course of their internships, these students and recent graduates have embodied the essence of public service. They have made the government accessible to their neighbors by leading guided tours of the Capitol, ensured that people's voices are heard by taking down their concerns and sharing them with me, and even helping people renew their passports and access the services and benefits they are entitled to from the Federal Government. In my D.C. office, I am proud to have Alex McDonald, Khori Cranford, and Giavanna Chopra. Alex grew up in Willows, California, just outside our congressional district. He has long had a passion for politics and public service. He even remembers watching the Obama-Romney debates from over a decade ago. Impressively, he is going into his sophomore year at Yale University, studying political science. Khori graduated this past May from CSU Fresno with a degree in political science. She has also embraced her Armenian heritage and was selected to participate in the highly competitive Armenian Assembly of America as part of the Terjenian-Thomas internship this summer. After her summer here, she will work toward earning a master's degree in communications at San Diego State University. Giavanna has been incredibly active in public service since a young age. She previously served as an intern in my State assembly office and as a deputy campaign manager on my race last year. During the same time period, she also won a national debate title and created a program to mentor young debaters. She will be entering college this fall at Northwestern University and, not surprisingly, was recruited to join Northwestern's debate team. In my district office in Rocklin, I am proud to have Jaime Robles, Emma Worden, and Raghava Kodavatikanti, who are serving there as interns. Jaime recently graduated from Sierra College in Rocklin and will be attending UC Berkeley in the spring to major in economics. He served as vice president and student senator of the Sierra College Student Senate, vice president of student engagement for the social science club, and is a Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society member. Jaime is also bilingual, and I have recently been impressed with his ability to utilize that skill to serve our Spanish-speaking residents. Emma is originally from the district, graduating recently from Whitney High School, and is pursuing a degree in economics and politics. Our Rocklin team and I have especially appreciated her leadership, teamwork, and collaborative approach in our office. Raghava recently graduated from the rigorous IB program at Mira Loma High School and will be attending UCLA this fall, majoring in political science. Similar to Giavanna, he also had an early interest in public service. Raghava previously interned in my State assembly office, as well as for the California State treasurer and Sacramento district attorney's offices. He also serves as a youth advisory executive board member and moderator for the California Coalition for Youth. Mr. Speaker, every single one of these six individuals has been a tremendous help to me and our team in serving the people of the Third Congressional District of California, and I am incredibly grateful that they have chosen to invest their time and talents with us. On behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives, I thank them for their commitment to public service. Recognizing Tyler Tate

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of National Zookeeper Appreciation Week, I wish to take a moment to recognize an outstanding zookeeper in my district, Helen Chu. Ms. Chu serves locally at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary. The zoo is home to many rescued wild and domestic animals, including bears, wolf hybrids, monkeys, birds, cougars, insects, and more. Ms. Chu has worked for the Folsom Zoo since 2019, but her service to wildlife has been lifelong. She graduated from the University of California Davis with a degree in wildlife, fish, and conservation biology and also earned a degree in exotic animal training and management from Moorpark College. Prior to bringing this knowledge to the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary, Ms. Chu worked with animals as a zookeeper for the Fresno Chaffee Zoo and the Sacramento Zoo. In Folsom, Ms. Chu has contributed significantly to the zoo's positive reinforcement animal training and behavioral enrichment programs, improving the quality of life of the animals. Her diligent efforts and unique ability to problem solve have helped animals with health challenges participate in veterinary care without undue stress or danger to the animals and staff. Throughout her tenure, she has exhibited the core values of a zookeeper through teamwork, excellence, and patience. Her leadership and dedication to the care and well-being of the animals and the experience of Folsom residents is truly admirable. On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored to recognize Helen Chu and thank her for her service to the Folsom community. Recognizing California's Third Congressional District Interns

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 2023 EMS Provider of the Year for Inyo County, Judd Symons, for his remarkable accomplishments and contributions in the southern portions of the Third Congressional District. Mr. Symons' career in the Bishop area began when he was only in high school, during which he became certified as an emergency medical technician. For 3 years of his high school career, and a few summers following, he also served on the local search and rescue team. He went on to earn his certification as a paramedic from the Stanford-Foothill Paramedic Program. Shortly thereafter, in 1989, at just 21 years old, he and his father began their local family business, an ambulance service named Symons Emergency Services. With over three decades of offering superior emergency medical services, this establishment has become a leading provider in our region. Relied upon by many, his ambulance service provides care to those across many different types of geographic landscapes, from urban cities to the rural High Sierras to the remote wilderness. Even in the face of obstacles, Mr. Symons' continued dedication to his community and commitment to the well-being of Inyo County residents and the surrounding area is inspiring. As a longtime owner and operator of this service, Mr. Symons is regarded by others as an individual with professionalism, care, hands- on involvement, and a unique ability to remain calm under pressure. On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored to join the Inyo County community in thanking Judd Symons for his many years of distinguished service and leadership in both emergency medical services and search and rescue operations. Recognizing Helen Chu

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jake's Journey Home, a local nonprofit in my district. In September 2019, Jake Shuman, a Seabee veteran and small business owner, passed away unexpectedly. He left behind not just his loving friends and family but also a legacy of empathy, generosity, and humility. In an effort to continue Jake's powerful legacy, his mother, Jean Shuman, founded Jake's Journey Home. This nonprofit has taken up the mission of assisting unhoused veterans and community members experiencing a life path change. Jake's Journey Home provides the necessary wraparound support services and resources to those in need to fight against the growing problem of poverty and to help someone's tomorrow be better than today. With the strong support of the community, the organization obtained a mobile day center last year to help connect people with VA benefits, mental health aid, drug and alcohol abuse support, job skills, medical assistance, and life coaching. Their mission is ongoing, with goals to expand their services into a permanent building. Jake's Journey Home is a pillar in our community, and it is a true honor to represent in Congress exceptional organizations such as this one. On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored to recognize Jake's Journey Home for outstanding service and contributions to the Folsom community and greater Sacramento region. Recognizing Judd Symons

Mr. KILEY

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4368, which directly benefits my constituents in Plumas County by funding a critical high-speed broadband project in the A-15 corridor and Valley Ranch communities in eastern Plumas County. In the 21st century, access to the internet is essential. It is essential for students to participate in online learning and access educational resources, for patients to receive needed telemedicine services, for workers to find job opportunities and engage in remote work, and for citizens to engage in open dialogue and participate in our representative democracy. Too often, our rural communities are neglected and lack the basic telecom services necessary in today's economy and society. That is why I prioritized funding rural broadband for my constituents in the Federal budget, and I am proud to report that a project I submitted to provide $4.2 million in funding to the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative is included in the funding bill that will be voted on by the House this week. This funding will enable the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative to construct middle- and last-mile fiber-optic networks to provide high-speed internet to rural residents in the Valley Ranch and A-15 corridor communities in eastern Plumas County. Rural households will finally be able to participate in online education, telemedicine, and remote employment opportunities that are out of reach for too many today. Emergency personnel who are dependent upon internet-based communications will be able to communicate with one another to strengthen emergency response services. Perhaps most importantly, high-speed broadband service will attract new residents, homeowners, and businesses to the region to continue to ensure the vitality of Plumas County for many years to come. Ensuring our households are equipped with high-speed internet is imperative for an increasingly technological society. Leaving behind those in rural communities is a detriment not just to our local economies but it is also a disservice to our youth and the vitality of their education. Today's bill is an important step forward in addressing the existing gap in broadband services for my Plumas County constituents, and it will have direct, tangible benefits on their lives. For that reason, I support H.R. 4368.

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of prioritizing veterans in our Federal budget by fully funding VA programs, fully funding healthcare for veterans, and fully funding veterans benefits. The veterans funding bill before us this week accomplishes each of these three objectives. First, the bill fully funds VA programs. It actually increases the VA budget by $18 billion over last year's funding level. In concrete terms, this means more tax dollars spent on critical care for veterans, including fully funding care for vets exposed to Agent Orange, burn pits, and other environmental toxins while serving our Nation. The bill also provides the necessary funds to revamp and enhance the effectiveness of the suicide hotline for veterans and provides funds for the electronic health modernization initiative, which will ensure a seamless transition between receiving care at a DOD facility while on Active Duty and receiving care at a VA facility after discharge from the military. Second, the bill fully funds healthcare for veterans, and $138 billion is allocated to address the healthcare needs of our retired servicemen and -women, including over $20 billion for veterans to receive quality care at non-VA facilities. Finally, the bill fully funds veterans benefits. Mr. Speaker, $181 billion is allocated to ensure that every benefit that was promised, every commitment that was made, is fulfilled by the Federal Government. Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to ensure our veterans receive the care they need and the benefits they have earned. Today's bill achieves exactly that by prioritizing veterans in the budget, and as a result, it has my support. Plumas Broadband Project

Mr. KILEY

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly 5 months since President Biden nominated Julie Su to be Secretary of Labor. That nomination remains stalled. The Senate has declined to confirm her. She now faces bipartisan opposition, yet the President has not withdrawn her nomination. Worse yet, Su is continuing to serve as Secretary of Labor in an acting capacity, despite the Senate declining to put her in that position. It appears that this is now the plan, to simply cancel the vote and carry on as if she had been confirmed. Su's leading supporter in the Senate, Bernie Sanders, said as much. He said: I hope she has the votes to become the Secretary. If not, of course, she should stay where she is. She is doing a great job, Sanders continued. Why would you not? Well, why would you not? One simple reason is the Constitution. This is blatantly an end run around the Constitution's advice and consent requirement of Article II, section 2, clause 2. As further evidence of the Biden administration's plan to simply keep Su on indefinitely, with or without a vote, after months of Department of Labor rulemaking being put on pause to spare Su negative press during the confirmation process, the wheels are now back in motion. The administration seems to be acknowledging that Su does not have the votes for confirmation but, again, plans to keep her at the helm of the Labor Department anyway. Now, this administration has a disturbing pattern of seeking to do by undemocratic means that which it cannot do by democratic means. For example, on the topic of student loan forgiveness, President Biden had said: I don't think I have the authority to do that, and then he went ahead and did it anyway by executive order. On the issue of independent contracting, Congress has declined to adopt the destructive ABC test via the PRO Act, so the Labor Department is seeking to enact a functionally equivalent legal standard by rulemaking. This is the most brazen example yet. Having made the worst possible pick for Secretary of Labor, which the United States Senate is rightly rejecting, the President is trying to install his nominee as the permanent Secretary anyway. Now, the student loan executive order, of course, was just struck down by the Supreme Court, but what the administration is attempting here is much more potentially disruptive. What is at issue is not just one policy, rather, it is every action the Department of Labor takes under Acting Secretary Su that will be put under a legal cloud. Now, Su's allies have tried to make a legal argument relating to the interplay of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of the statute that created the position of Deputy Secretary of Labor. This argument is without merit. There is no statutory authority to have an Acting Secretary who has been nominated for permanent Secretary continue serving indefinitely, with or without confirmation; nor could there be because any such statute would violate the Constitution. Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Virginia Foxx and I have sent a letter to Gene Dodaro, U.S. Comptroller General at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, requesting an opinion on the legality of keeping Su as the head of Labor indefinitely. None of this should be necessary. The White House and Julie Su have had every opportunity to persuade the Senate. They have had a nightly war room and daily arm twisting for months. It is well past time to withdraw the nomination and for the President to nominate a Secretary of Labor who will be on the side of American workers. The Fentanyl Crisis

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the silver anniversary of the Downieville Classic, a world-renowned annual bike race staged in Downieville, California. Before becoming a cherished destination for mountain bikers, this historic gold rush town in the Sierra Nevada was known mainly for its past notoriety of vigilante justice, claim jumping, and boom and bust fortunes. Downieville's famous--or inglorious--days, such as they were, were in the past until a pioneer of backcountry mountain biking named Greg Williams realized that the true treasure of the Sierra Nevada was not the gold in the rivers but in the recreational challenges of the mountains themselves. Greg's vision was to combine world-class ultra biking with spectacular mountain landscapes to revitalize the economy of his hometown. Letting the mountains dictate the course, Greg and his team designed the premier classic point-to-point route as a 26.5-mile black diamond lung-busting endurance run from Sierra City to Downieville. Riders climb to the 7,469-foot crest of the Sierra Nevada, then plunge 5,700 vertical feet along a route of flowing turns, rolling jumps, boulder staircases, and river crossings. This ordeal on wheels tests both the sturdiness of riders and their bikes. Recognizing the challenge of the race and beauty of the course, Outside magazine named the Downieville Classic one of the 10 best bike races in North America. The combination of sustainable recreation, job creation, and world- famous athletic events has made Downieville a model for the economic recovery of struggling mountain communities throughout the Lost Sierra. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of the Downieville Classic in recognition of the profound impact the race has had on Sierra County and the broader region. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, last month, the district attorney of Placer County in my district secured the first-ever murder conviction in California for dealing fentanyl. This is a very important moment in the battle against the fentanyl epidemic that is taking such a tragic toll on every community across the country. As The New York Times reported: The novel prosecution in Placer, northeast of Sacramento, is being closely watched in law enforcement and legislative circles in California, which lost about 6,000 people to fentanyl and other opioids in 2021, the last year for which complete data is available. Prosecutors have been looking for ways to hold people distributing the drug accountable for the staggering death toll. Now, I would like to share the details about this case and the successful legal strategy of the district attorney, but first a word about the scale of the fentanyl crisis in the United States. Fentanyl has become the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45, surpassing car accidents, surpassing suicides, surpassing everything. It is now the leading cause of death for young people in our country. It is affecting every community, including my own. It has been reported that 73,102 Americans died from fentanyl in the past year. That amounts to 200 deaths every day, one every 7 minutes. The reason is largely because of the lethality of fentanyl, which is unlike any other drug; 100 times more potent than morphine. Two milligrams, or the amount that fits on the end of a pencil, is a deadly dose. Fentanyl is being added to street pills. Mr. Speaker, 98 percent of the pills sold on the street are fakes, and 60 percent have the potential to be lethal. Many victims are teenagers, people with no prior drug use who perhaps were stressed out from isolation during the COVID shutdowns. They purchase what turns out to be fake pills, such as Xanax, over social media or the internet. Dealers often deliver these pills straight to the victims' homes. A huge part of this problem is to prevent fentanyl from coming into the United States. The southern border is by far the primary source. In fact, in 2022 alone, the DEA seized 379 million lethal doses of fentanyl. Securing the border would diminish the availability and ability to traffic into the United States, and it would save many lives. That is the most important part of this equation. There are other ways that we can tackle the problem, and that is where Placer County is leading the way. Like other communities across the country, our county experienced an astronomical 450 percent increase in fentanyl deaths from 2019 to 2021. Almost half of those were among residents 25 years of age or younger. The case that was recently prosecuted involved the tragic death of a 15-year-old Roseville girl who passed away on June 21, 2022. The dealer was a Placer County area drug dealer named Nathaniel, who was involved in selling fentanyl to minors. He possessed and transported fentanyl in the form of M30 Percocet pills. The fentanyl was pressed into the pill. One of his customers was a 15-year-old girl who overdosed on one of those pills and, as a result, passed away in June. Nathaniel witnessed this OD, and after his customer died, he continued to sell pills from the same batch to other individuals. This is why he was charged with murder. It is the first murder charge and conviction of a fentanyl dealer in California. Specifically, he was charged by Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire and convicted of second-degree murder in Placer County Superior Court. In order to establish his case, District Attorney Gire had to prove the following elements: first, that Nathaniel did in fact deal the deadly fentanyl pills to his victim; second, that the defendant knew that the pills he provided to his victim contained fentanyl; and, third, that he knew how deadly the fentanyl he provided was. In other words, he had to know his actions could lead to the death of the customer and then choose to deal anyway. That is the basic predicate of the murder charges and conviction. Other factors in play in this case involved callousness. District Attorney Gire indicated that he would only pursue murder charges if a degree of callousness is present, if a dealer continues to deal after he or she knows someone died of the pills and is pursuing profit. Gire said charges would be less likely in cases where addicts were simply sharing pills with one another. A second additional factor in play here was deception, where the dealer deceptively markets fentanyl as something else. Gire said that that changes the legal landscape. In an era of skyrocketing and tragic fentanyl deaths and the increasing prevalence of it in our communities, a multipronged approach of education, accountability, and stopping the supply is needed. The prevailing prosecutorial approach and many of the criminal laws on the books in California are failing to achieve an adequate level of this occurrence. The strategy that is being pursued in Placer County is that by raising the cost of dealing fentanyl for dealers--we are talking about a 15-years-to-life sentence here for second-degree murder--we can keep these predators away from our communities. Mr. Speaker, I want to add a quote from District Attorney Gire, which I think is a very important one. ``I have heard the criticism that this is a retread of the war on drugs,'' he said. ``It isn't. Fentanyl is something different.'' That is an argument that we really need to understand. Whatever arguments we might make in terms of prosecution strategies, when it comes to other forms of drug use, there is simply no comparison to the damage that this drug is doing across our country. We must take action in every way possible. This murder conviction, the first of its kind in Placer County, sends a loud and clear message to those who would victimize young people and Americans with this lethal substance. It says: Stay out of our community. Mr. Speaker, I encourage prosecutors across California and across the country to look at the model District Attorney Gire has provided in California because it will save lives. Pay Raise for Military

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate an exceptional small business in my district, Rocklin Donuts & Cinnamon, for their recent recognition on Yelp as the top doughnut shop in the Nation. Let me say that again: the top doughnut shop in the Nation. This distinguished, family-owned establishment is operated by Ky and Anna Pho, a couple whose story embodies the American Dream. Over 40 years ago, Ky and Anna emigrated from Cambodia to the United States of America. After overcoming the many obstacles they faced in immigrating to a new country, they committed themselves to this enterprise and are now recipients of a well-deserved reward for their diligent efforts. Their commitment to their business and strong work ethic is truly inspiring. They rise every morning between 2 and 3 a.m. to prepare fresh doughnuts for the many patrons who frequent their shop. They serve a wide array of delicious treats, ranging from an assortment of doughnuts to breakfast croissants, and, of course, the traditional cinnamon roll. It was not long ago when they opened their doors, just in May of 2022, and they quickly rose to high regard in our communities, earning a five-star Yelp rating and national attention in this short period of time. I have gone by there a few times recently, and I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, the line is out the door. Therefore, on behalf of California's Third Congressional District and the United States House of Representatives, I am pleased to recognize Rocklin Donuts & Cinnamon for this outstanding achievement. Recognizing the Downieville Classic

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of Israel's 75th year as a nation. For these last 75 years, Israel has stood as a sanctuary for the Jewish people; as a beacon of freedom, democracy, and human rights in the region; and as a steadfast ally to our Nation. The United States has been among Israel's closest allies from its very inception. In fact, President Harry Truman officially recognized Israel merely 11 minutes after its formation. Since that moment, the bond between our two nations--one based upon shared values, common interests, and a united vision for the future--has only grown stronger. Our Nation's welcoming of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to speak before a joint session of Congress this Wednesday is just the latest reflection of this special relationship. I look forward to continuing to advance this partnership in every way I can in Congress. Mr. Speaker, I will take a moment to remark upon the unique place Israel holds not only in the heart of its citizens but in people across the globe. In 2018, I had the chance to visit, as part of a bipartisan delegation, and spend a week meeting with leaders from business, academia, government, the media, the IDF, and other facets of Israeli society. We also visited the West Bank, a kibbutz outside of Gaza, the Holocaust memorial, a hospital caring for the wounded from Syria, the Lebanon border, and much more. Mr. Speaker, I came away with a sense of deep admiration for the tremendous dynamism and diversity of Israeli society, for the way such a deep connection to history coexists with a drive toward innovation and modernization, for the spirit of self-reliance and national service, and for the deeply felt sense of Israeli identity and pride in the nation's achievements. The United States and the global community is enriched by the presence of Israel on the world stage. As a Member of Congress, I take great pride in supporting Israel, and wherever possible, advocating for Israel in the global arena. Today, I am honored to recognize and commemorate that fact by celebrating Israel's 75th anniversary as a nation. Recognizing Rocklin Donuts & Cinnamon

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act. What this measure does is very simple. It requires that Federal agencies, when issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking, simply include a link to a plain language summary of the proposal in 100 words or less. This is a basic, commonsense measure to make our government more accessible to Americans. I think right now that is something that is very important. After we went through a few years where many people felt like their ability to participate in government was foreclosed altogether, and where we have had a trend that has been decades in the making where more and more power is consolidated in Washington, D.C., and in Federal bureaucracies, ordinary citizens have less and less of an opportunity to participate. When there is some opportunity, such as a notice of public rulemaking up for public comment, oftentimes they are confronted by a blizzard of legalese that makes it very difficult to make heads or tails of what is going on. What this measure does is it says, in 100 words or less, let's put it right there in plain English so everyone is on the same page, so we as a country can have a debate about whether this is good or bad policy. It is a simple step, a modest step, but it is a step in the right direction. Mr. Speaker, for that reason, I am proud to support this measure. Commemorating Israel's 75th Anniversary

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of offering reinstatement to the over 8,000 servicemembers who were discharged from the military for merely declining to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. As we speak, our Nation's military is in the midst of a severe recruitment shortage. The Army fell short of its recruitment goal by 15,000 recruits last year. This year, it is on track to fall short by 20,000. The Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps are facing similar challenges. The consequences of failing to recruit enough volunteers are severe-- reduced combat readiness and a reduced ability to keep us safe. This is all the more notable given that our military, of course, is all volunteer. We rely on citizens willingly stepping up and joining to serve our country. These severe shortages have been exacerbated by our Secretary of Defense taking the same approach to COVID as, unfortunately, many civilian leaders did, an approach characterized by heavyhanded overreactions and a complete disregard for scientific evidence and informed policymaking. Members of our Armed Forces, young, physically fit men and women, are the least at-risk population for COVID. Moreover, over 95 percent of the military has already been vaccinated against COVID before the discharges occurred. Like students, small business owners, and many other groups of individuals, servicemembers were harmed and had their lives upended by wholly unnecessary actions pursued by politicians and political leaders who simply were not looking at data and evidence, and had no regard for personal freedoms. The National Defense Authorization Act offers a corrective course to these mistakes. The act provides a pathway to reinstatement for any servicemember discharged for declining a COVID vaccine and requires the Secretary of Defense to fully inform discharged individuals of the steps they can take. Further, it assures that veterans, for the time spent discharged, will be classified as a ``career intermission'' to prevent any negative impact on future promotions. It will also prohibit the Department of Defense from forcing cadets discharged from military service academies to repay tuition. While the damage done by the original discharge decisions can never be undone, I am very proud to support legislation that at least allows Congress to do everything in its power to mitigate the harm that was done. Providing Transparent Accountability

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 5.2 percent pay raise for our servicemen and women provided for in the National Defense Authorization Act, or the NDAA. Americans have been left struggling under the weight of runaway inflation and an ever-increasing cost of living--perhaps none more so than those in uniform. Skyrocketing inflation has contributed to pay for servicemembers falling behind that of their civilian counterparts in terms of purchasing power. The much-needed pay increase that we are providing with this legislation is the largest in 22 years, and it will ensure that compensation for military service is at least commensurate with the rise in civilian wages. In concrete terms, this means more income to cover housing, food, providing for a family, and other basic necessities that those in uniform serving our country shouldn't have to lose sleep over. In addition to this across-the-board pay increase, the NDAA contains numerous provisions designed to make life more affordable for junior enlistees. Pay for our military's most junior enlistees, E-1s, is currently a paltry $22,000 a year. The NDAA increases that base pay rate to $31,000 a year so that the starting wage for junior enlistees isn't lower than that of a fast-food cashier in California. The calculation of basic allowance for housing is also improved to provide a more accurate and higher level of aid for housing, and the basic needs allowance, which enables low-income servicemembers to support a family, is expanded, as well. Finally, the Secretary of Defense is authorized to provide monthly bonuses to junior enlisted members to mitigate the impacts of inflation. Mr. Speaker, we owe members of our military a debt that can never be repaid for their service and sacrifice to our country. Americans undoubtedly have an obligation to provide a level of compensation that matches at least that of their civilian counterparts and enables servicemembers to meet basic housing costs and provide for their families. Mr. Speaker, this legislation fulfills that basic foundational commitment, and I am proud to support the pay increase for our military. Vaccine Discharge Reinstatements

Mr. KILEY

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Music in the Mountains, a unique organization in Nevada County, California, that combines world-class orchestral, choral, and musical theater performances with a deep commitment to music education. The Music in the Mountains season features live concerts and events showcasing the orchestra and chorus performing with world-renowned classical musicians and soloists. Performances are staged in several venues located in historic gold rush communities of Grass Valley and Nevada City. At the heart of Music in the Mountains is the SummerFest Classical Festival, now in its 42nd year. Audiences are enthralled by powerful classical masterworks, modern favorites, and innovative pieces from brand new composers staged in an outdoor theater. In the days leading up to July Fourth, the festival celebrates music, community, and our country's birth. In addition to presenting inspiring concerts, Music in the Mountains offers innovative educational programs touching the lives of about 5,000 students each year. To fulfill the goal of empowering children to perform, compose, and listen to music, Music in the Mountains offers a variety of activities, including Take 5 for Music, Carnegie Lineup, Full Circle Music Program, and Peer Performing 4 Peers. The youth orchestra is a symphony orchestra program for string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players ages 8 to 21. Students in the Young Composers project study composition, notation software, conducting, melodic and rhythmic dictation, music theory, and music history. The Side By Side program offers student musicians the opportunity to sit in with the orchestra at rehearsals and perform with their mentors in live performances. Through its performance and educational endeavors, Music in the Mountains recognizes the power of music to heal and transform the individual and the community. On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored to recognize Music in the Mountains for the empowering programs and profound impact the organization has had on Nevada County and the broader region.

Mr. KILEY

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a groundbreaking investment in renewable energy development in my district, the Casa Diablo IV geothermal plant. The Mammoth Geothermal Complex, located just outside of Mammoth Lakes, California, has been powering Inyo and Mono Counties since 1984. A new geothermal facility has recently been added to the existing three facilities of the complex. With the addition of the Casa Diablo IV plant, the total generation for the complex will double and produce enough energy to power 45,000 homes. Geothermal energy harnesses the power contained in the fluids and heat from the Earth's core to produce clean energy for our communities while producing zero nitrogen oxide emissions, virtually no carbon dioxide emissions, and presenting low visual and noise impacts. I commend the owners and operators of the complex, Mammoth Pacific Geothermal and Ormat Technologies for their leadership in this industry, their dedication to promoting clean, renewable energy resources, and their meaningful contributions to the Mammoth community through their support of local projects, scholarship programs, and housing assistance. I also applaud the Inyo National Forest for their close partnership and collaboration on this important project. On behalf of the United States House of Representatives and the Third Congressional District of California, I am pleased to celebrate today on the House floor this valuable addition to the Mammoth Geothermal Complex. Honoring the Service of Dr. John A. Ungersma

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to discuss a hearing that was held last week by the House Education and the Workforce Committee where Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su testified as a witness. Now, as background, Ms. Su, of course, has been nominated by President Biden to be Secretary of Labor. She has been in that role in only an acting capacity now for several months, and the nomination has been stalled for those months. In fact, the Biden administration, as being reported by Bloomberg, has now set up a nightly war room to try to advance Su's nomination, but there is a reason that the nomination has remained stalled, and that is because she is exactly the wrong person for the job. The testimony she gave at last week's hearing before the Education and the Workforce Committee was evasive, nonresponsive, and in some cases outright dishonest in a way that provided further confirmation that she should not be the next Secretary of Labor of the United States. For starters, the hearing almost didn't happen because Acting Secretary Su tried to cancel at the last moment. Chair Virginia Foxx began the hearing as follows: She said to Ms. Su: `` . . . you have been a hard witness to schedule. The committee began working with the Department to secure your in-person testimony beginning in March. When you would not appear in May, we honored your request to appear in June, using a date, June 7, that was offered by your staff and to which you agreed.'' Chair Foxx continued: ``So why is it that on a late Friday evening, following the committee's public posting of the hearing a week ago, your staff told us that you were `no longer able to make June 7th work?' '' The only reason Acting Secretary Su did appear before the committee is that the committee was going to resort to a subpoena to get her there otherwise. That was the first major issue with Ms. Su's performance at this hearing, but there were several others. First, was her response on the topic of Proposition 22, which was a major labor initiative passed by California voters less than 3 years ago, in 2020. Now, Ms. Su was California's secretary of labor at the time. She would have been substantially affected by whether this initiative passed or failed. It ended up passing. California voters overwhelmingly chose to allow companies like Uber and Lyft and Door Dash to continue to use independent contractors, and thereby allowing them to stay in California. When I asked Ms. Su how she, herself, voted as a California voter on Prop 22, she answered as follows: ``How did I vote on Prop 22? I don't remember how I voted on that.'' Now, Mr. Speaker, this utterly exceeds all bounds of plausibility, that the secretary of labor for our State would not remember how she voted on this major labor initiative less than 3 years ago. I think it is fairly safe to conclude that this was a false statement that Ms. Su made to our committee. Just to be fair, I gave her several opportunities to correct her statement on that later in the hearing, and she still did not retract it. That is her testimony on the record, that she does not remember how she voted on this major labor initiative while she was California's secretary of labor. Second, was her testimony with respect to AB5. Now, AB5 is a law that has made it virtually impossible for countless professionals in California to continue their careers. It has essentially abolished independent contracting in hundreds of professions and has been widely condemned across the partisan spectrum. Now, Ms. Su has been called an architect of that law, AB5. As California's secretary of labor, she was the one who enforced it, and she did so in the most aggressive, ruthless, broadest way possible to ensnare as many people as possible. After the law passed, she was on the record celebrating its passage, so you would think she would have a pretty good answer when I asked her whether she thought AB5 was a good law. However, after I asked that, here is what she said: ``I don't know what--I mean, I don't know. I don't know. Tell me what--give me a little bit more on what you mean by that.'' I took several other opportunities to ask her whether she thought AB5 was a good law. Each and every time she refused to answer. I also asked Ms. Su whether she was involved in the drafting of AB5, and she responded simply no. However, she then contradicted herself later in the hearing when my colleague, Mr. Burlison, asked her about her involvement. She said that, oh, yes, she did, in fact, provide technical assistance. When I asked Ms. Su whether she was aware that people have lost their livelihoods in California because of this law AB5, she said: I have heard from people who have said that. She reiterated that exact language again: I have heard from people who said that. I have heard people who said something different too. I have had people tell me that. She responded, refusing each time to recognize the legitimacy of these claims, refusing to recognize that we have had countless people who have lost their livelihoods in California. Also, it was no less than 2 days after that hearing that we got yet another example of this when the city of Los Angeles announced that it was having to terminate a contract with almost 100 truckers for a road repair program that had been around for about 130 years and the Department of Public Works in the city of Los Angeles specifically cited AB5 as the reason it was canceling that contract. There are countless examples like this, and yet the most that Ms. Su is willing to say is: I have heard from people who have said that. Next, I asked Ms. Su about her role with the massive $32 billion, at a minimum, unemployment fraud that occurred in California on her watch. I asked her several times: Do you take any responsibility for that fraud? She evaded the question several times before finally saying: Yes. I do take responsibility to the fact the system did not deliver in ways that we would have hoped that it delivered. I then asked her several times what she would have done differently, what she has learned if she could do it all over again, and she could not name a single thing that she would have done differently to prevent this $32 billion unemployment fraud, even though the independent State auditor and the leading Democrat lawmakers in California have blamed her specifically for the fraud. I also asked Ms. Su about the migrant child labor crisis that has been uncovered by The New York Times, and I asked her whether she had communicated the scale of this problem to the White House prior to this year. Her response was: I don't know. I don't know that. I, along with several other members of the committee, asked Ms. Su if she would commit to not changing the joint-employer rule or bringing a new joint-employer rule that would threaten the entire franchise business model. She was evasive each and every time and would give no such commitment. She made comments such as: We do not have a plan to do that. It is not on our agenda. She also said: I commit to following all of the rules of rulemaking, everything that we are required to do, I pledge to you that we will do under my leadership, under my tenure at the Department of Labor. I can't sit here at this moment and tell you with certainty everything that is going to happen. Again, we tried several times, myself and several members of the committee. She would not commit to not bring a new joint-employer rule. Finally, I asked Ms. Su about the economic performance of her home State, California, where she was the Secretary of Labor for Governor Gavin Newsom and was the labor commissioner for several years before that. I asked Ms. Su if she knew where California ranks among the States when it comes to its unemployment rank. She did not know. The answer is that California has the second highest unemployment rate in the Nation. I asked Acting Secretary Su if she happened to know which State has the highest poverty rate in the country. She didn't know. The answer, once again, is California. I asked Acting Secretary Su if she knew which State has the lowest rate of net earnings growth of any of the 50 States. She didn't know that either and, once again, the answer is her home State of California where she was the Secretary of Labor. Mr. Speaker, I think it is clear, based on Acting Secretary Su's record, that she is not the right person for this role. She is not the right person for the highest labor position in the land, in our country, at this moment of such great importance for the American economy and American workforce. I will, once again, encourage President Biden to withdraw her nomination and to nominate a secretary who will be on the side of American workers. Mr. Speaker, I will take a moment to offer a little bit of background on the individual that President Biden is planning to appoint as the new director of the CDC. It is being widely reported that he will name Dr. Mandy Cohen of North Carolina to this post. Now, interestingly, the position of CDC director will soon be a Senate-confirmed position starting in 2025, based upon legislation passed last year. It was recognized that this is a position of such great importance that during the COVID era was so relevant to the lives of so many people that it should be a Senate-confirmed position. However, that provision has not taken effect yet, so if President Biden does, in fact, move forward with this appointment, as has been reported, then there will be no opportunity for her to be vetted. With the appointment not yet official, this really is the one opportunity that Americans have to weigh in on whether this is the right person for the job. We need to recognize that there is a huge gap in the level of trust that Americans have in our entire public health establishment, based on many of the things that have happened in the last few years. I will actually point to a comment from the CEO of Facebook, or Meta, as it is now called, Mark Zuckerberg, just a couple weeks ago. Mr. Zuckerberg said this: ``Just take some of the stuff around COVID earlier on in the pandemic, where there were real health implications, but there hadn't been time to fully vet a bunch of the scientific assumptions and, unfortunately, I think a lot of the establishment on that kind of waffled on a bunch of facts and asked for a bunch of things to be censored that, in retrospect, ended up being more debatable or true. And that stuff,'' Mr. Zuckerberg continued, ``is really tough, right? It really undermines trust.'' We are learning more and more about the role that the CDC and government authorities played in those efforts to censor certain facts or opinions related to COVID-19, many of which, in the words of Mr. Zuckerberg, ``ended up being more debatable or true.'' We also saw in the CDC, throughout the COVID era, take truly radical positions, such as recommending masks for children as young as 2 years old. This defied the international consensus. It was not what the WHO recommended. It was not what the European counterpart of the CDC recommended, yet it was the CDC's position. We also saw how the CDC apparently changed its school reopening guidance in February 2021 after pressure from teachers' unions. Texts between the outgoing director of the CDC, Ms. Walensky, and Randi Weingarten have been uncovered showing this level of coordination and how the guidance was, apparently, revised based on input or pressure from the unions. This, of course, is not a role, head of a teachers' union, that is selected for based upon one's scientific credentials, yet apparently played an important role in guidance that was then used to keep many, many schools across our country closed and to deprive millions of kids of the education that they deserve. We also had time and again the CDC make statements on issues like the transmissibility of COVID for vaccinated individuals that turned out to be incorrect. We saw vaccine mandates struck down by the courts as unconstitutional. With all that as background, let's turn to the question of whether Dr. Mandy Cohen of North Carolina is the right person to restore trust in our public health system, and I would say, based upon her record, she absolutely is not the right person. Indeed, she manifested the very worst tendencies of the COVID era. Let's start with the method she used for shutting down the economy in her own State. Now, I will first give you her words when she described it. She said: Our scientific team, in coordination with looking at recommendations for the Centers for Disease Control and others, and really understanding, again, what we have learned this year about how this virus spreads. We know that there are settings and activities that are lower risk. It doesn't mean that they are no risk, but lower risks. We know there are things that are medium risk, things that are higher risks, and so forth. So you would think this is a very considered process that she went through. However, feedback from others in her State suggested the opposite. Dale Folwell, who was the North Carolina State treasurer, said: I tried for months during COVID to get the council of State to convene with Dr. Cohen to explain the lack of transparency in the data used to shut down our economy and our schools. These decisions disproportionately hurt lower- and fixed-income adults and kids. By closing schools and the economy, it closed opportunity and upward mobility for students and citizens. The damage, he said, is generational. That is how another Statewide elected official in North Carolina described the level of transparency and the implications during the COVID era, but what is even more revealing is comments that Dr. Cohen recently made herself. In contrast to the more methodological approach that she claimed to have followed, she made these comments in a 2022 interview with the Duke Health Sector Management. When asked how she decided what to lock down, what could remain open, what wouldn't, she said: So I would call probably the person I called most was the Secretary of Health and Human Services in Massachusetts. Dr. Cohen went on: When she was, like, are you gonna let them have professional football? And I was, like, nope. And she's, like, okay, neither are we. Neither are we. At this point, Dr. Cohen laughs at this. She goes on: So it was, you know, conversations like that, so or I'd be, like, when are you gonna think about lightening up on masks? They're, like, next Monday, and I'm, like, okay, next Monday. See, this is what we all suspected was happening in many of these States that seemed to have no rhyme or reason to the way they went about these lockdown and reopening policies. Here, you have President Biden's own presumptive nominee to be the CDC director saying, yes, that is exactly what she did. In a flippant and arbitrary manner, she decided what industries would be shut down and which would remain open, as well as what would be mandated and what wouldn't. In addition to that, Dr. Cohen adopted many policies that were on the extreme end of the spectrum when it came to COVID mandates. For example, on July 26, 2021, she said: Schools with students in K-8 should require all children and staff to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Now, we have already seen this was a position that is at odds with the international norm. She also repeated claims that turned out to be false with regard to transmissibility. She said in a 2021 interview with the Carolina Business review: What we heard from the CDC last week was even better than what we heard before, right. We had heard that vaccines protect you from getting COVID. I think the new piece of information for us was that we now have more definitive data to show that it prevents you from giving COVID to others. And that is really where masks come in, right, a mask is about protecting you from giving COVID to others even if you don't know you have it. She also promoted masks for vaccinated individuals 7 months after the CDC dropped its mask requirement for vaccinated individuals. She said: We still need to mask--everyone. This was during a December 20 news briefing. Even if you are vaccinated, she said, you should wear a mask in public, indoor spaces, and if possible, wear a medical grade mask for more protection. This was in December 2021. In addition to that, Ms. Cohen threatened to sue a school district, Union County School Board, for their decision to drop contact tracing and quarantine processes in September 2021. The dispute came after Union County Health Department officials would not work with the district on reducing quarantine times if students presented a negative test or other mitigation measures were used. In other words, they were trying to get their kids back to school. School officials made this request to minimize the impact a quarantine has on students and their families; the Union County Public School's statement reads: Local health officials would not consider this request despite the fact that health officials around the State have implemented similar measures. The district also refuted Cohen's claims about infections in their district using her own agency's data. Dr. Cohen also strongly supported vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. In July 2021, she said: Thank you to the North Carolina Healthcare Association and the health systems that are leading the way requiring vaccination for employees, for taking action to protect the healthcare workforce, their parents, our communities and the State. Vaccinations are our way out of this pandemic, she concluded. Dr. Cohen also wore a double mask at an event in January 2021, and even posted a photo of herself wearing a mask with Dr. Fauci's picture on it. Mr. Speaker, while this is not an appointment that will be subject to a vote in either House, I would simply encourage President Biden to acknowledge the lack of trust that exists right now in many parts of this country, with even Mark Zuckerberg saying that we had public health decisions that undermined public trust, and to instead appoint a CDC Director who will actually adhere to science, who will adhere to norms, and who will not take us down this road ever again. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer congressional recognition to the Lake Tahoe Pizza Company to mark their 50-year anniversary in business. For over five decades, this family-run restaurant has survived many challenges, including the Great Recession, a global pandemic, and the recent California winter storms. Despite these challenges, all the hard work and dedication the Touryan family has put into this restaurant has made it into quite the success story. John Touryan, the founder, embodies the spirit of the American Dream. Mr. Touryan emigrated to the United States as a child. He began the restaurant in the bay area as a recent college graduate with no financial support, all while living in his Volkswagen bus. After moving from the bay area to South Lake Tahoe in the late 1970s, Mr. Touryan's new home became a great location for his restaurant. In just 3 years, business was booming. In 1980, he had to move the restaurant to another location within South Tahoe to keep up with the pressing demand. He grew a successful restaurant from the ground up and has kept it in the family throughout. Now ownership of the restaurant has been passed to his son, Brenon Touryan, and many, many members of the family have all played an important role in the day-to-day operations of the restaurant. It is truly special to witness a family that works so collaboratively and effectively together to run a thriving business, and it is inspiring to see that business being passed on through the generations. The Lake Tahoe Pizza Company serves as a local gathering place in the Tahoe area and continues to contribute positively to the community. The restaurant has received both local and national recognition, including selection as the Best of Tahoe more than a dozen times through popular vote, and awarded the Best of Tahoe Pizza by the Tahoe Quarterly magazine, a feature on the Travel Channel's ``Best Places I Have Ever Been'' in an episode titled Pizza, and it was filmed by Discovery Channel's Monster Garage. On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored to acknowledge the Lake Tahoe Pizza Company for reaching this significant milestone, as well as for their invaluable contributions to our State and local economies and outstanding dedication to the Tahoe community. Annastasia Maloney Exhibits Bravery and Winning Spirit

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer congressional recognition to Annastasia Maloney, an athlete from Grass Valley, California, who will travel to Germany this summer to compete in the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games. Ms. Maloney is a tremendously talented athlete who plays basketball, softball, soccer, and flag football. She has also competed in throwing the mini javelin, but running is her main event. She has won gold and bronze medals in the 400- and 800-meters in track and field competitions in both local and national Special Olympics. This will be her first World Olympics. The Special Olympics World Games offer the opportunity to unite the world like no other event can, where people of different nations, cultures, political views, and religions are brought together through the power of sport. Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the Special Olympics in 1968 because she believed that everyone, regardless of physical or intellectual ability, can realize their potential for growth through sports and competition. In addition to working full time and adhering to a daily training schedule, Maloney is a global messenger for the Special Olympics. This summer her message of persistence and excellence will be conveyed from the global stage, where she will compete according to the oath sworn by every athlete since the Games' inception: ``Let me win; but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.'' Maloney has undoubtedly already demonstrated her bravery and winning spirit. I am confident the crowds in Berlin this summer will cheer for Annastasia Maloney and the 7,000 Special Olympics athletes from 170 countries. On behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives, I express admiration and best wishes to Annastasia Maloney, Special Olympics USA, and all the athletes in the Special Olympics World Summer Games. Celebrating 75 Years of Auburn Area Recreation and Park District

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark and celebrate the 75-year anniversary of the Auburn Area Recreation and Park District. When the district was originally formed on July 1, 1948, it had one park aptly named Recreation Park and the use of the Gold Country Fairgrounds. Today, the district proudly maintains and operates many exceptional parks as well as open space and trail systems, recreation programs, community events and facilities, such as community centers, pools, and courts for sports, to name a few. I had the pleasure of visiting last month and was very impressed with their award-winning Auburn Bike Park and the ever-popular preschool program. I even ended up planting a tree at Recreation Park and managed to fit in a quick game of pickleball. Such a bounty of recreational opportunities promotes the health and quality of life of residents in the Auburn and Meadow Vista communities. For over seven decades, the Auburn Area Recreation and Park District has exhibited a strong commitment to providing safe, quality, and accessible parks and recreational activities that are enjoyed by all. I wish to express gratitude and thanks on behalf of the Third Congressional District of California for the Auburn Area Recreation and Park District's service and dedication to enriching the greater Auburn area with comprehensive recreational opportunities. Andrea Seastrand's Legacy will Endure for Generations

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer congressional recognition to a remarkable public servant, former Congresswoman Andrea Seastrand, whose unwavering dedication to her constituents and tireless commitment to public service have left an indelible mark on our Nation's history. Andrea Seastrand was born on August 5, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from DePaul University with a BA in education, and moved to Salinas, California, to find work as an elementary schoolteacher. Before serving one term as a Member of the United States House of Representatives, she served as a member of the California State Assembly for 4 years, where she was part of the Assembly Education Committee and served as assistant minority leader. After her time in public service, she founded the California Space Technology Alliance, a private nonprofit organization focused on promoting California's participation in space ventures. She has also served in leadership positions on local boards and civic groups focused on fiscal responsibility and citizen involvement. The career of former Congresswoman Andrea Seastrand is a testament to the power of visionary leadership, dedicated public service, and a profound commitment to serving with dedication and responsibility to our fellow citizens. Her contributions have shaped the aerospace industry in California, protected taxpayers, and improved the lives of countless Americans. The impact of her legacy will endure for generations to come. It is with the utmost respect and admiration that I commend her exceptional service and numerous contributions to our State and Nation. Casa Diablo IV Groundbreaking Investment

Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a truly outstanding individual in my district, Dr. John A. Ungersma for his heroic and invaluable service to our Nation and community. Dr. Ungersma earned his bachelor of arts degree from Stanford University and his medical degree from the University of Southern California. He used his education and experience to serve our Nation in the United States military as a naval flight surgeon and senior surgeon in the 1st Marine Division. He also served with honor in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm and ended his 48 years of service as a captain of the Medical Corps in the United States Navy. Dr. Ungersma established the first orthopedic surgery practice in Bishop, California, in 1966. He was the only orthopedic surgeon on the Highway 395 corridor between Los Angeles and Reno for almost a decade. Dr. Ungersma additionally served for 18 years on the Northern Inyo Hospital Board of Directors as president, vice president, and director at large. During his tenure, he was active in the planning, financing, and construction of a new 25-bed critical access hospital, which became one of only 28 critical access hospitals in California. He also served as vice president and treasurer of the Association of California Healthcare Districts and was named the Association's trustee of the year in 2015. Dr. Ungersma has touched countless lives, and his contributions have made a meaningful and lasting impact on the healthcare industry. On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored to recognize Dr. John A. Ungersma for his leadership and the years of service he has provided to the people of Inyo County, the State of California, and the United States of America. Julie Su Nomination Stalled

Mr. KILEY

Mr. KILEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the latest disturbing revelations relating to President Biden's nominee for U.S. Labor Secretary, Julie Su. The nomination remains stalled, and for good reason. Ms. Su's record of gross mismanagement, historic, unmatched mismanagement as California's labor secretary under Governor Gavin Newsom is now well understood. For example, under Ms. Su's tenure, $32.6 billion in taxpayer funds were fraudulently paid to death row inmates, international criminal syndicates, and other fraudsters. This fraud was possible because Su waived fraud prevention protections, actually removed guardrails despite repeated warnings, and she failed to follow the commonsense practices of other States, and then failed to take corrective actions as billions were lost to fraud. At the same time that this fraud was occurring, by the way, Su improperly denied or delayed for weeks, months, sometimes indefinitely, legitimate unemployment claims for millions of Americans. Madam Speaker, I have now spoken on this floor several times to make sure that Americans are aware of that track record and understand the risk that elevating Ms. Su poses. It is a reasonable inference that a nominee who failed in her role as State labor secretary would likewise fail in the role as U.S. Labor Secretary, and certainly has failed to earn such a promotion. Well, now that is no longer merely an inference. It is the reality because as her nomination has stalled, Ms. Su has all the while been serving as the Acting Secretary at the Department of Labor, and unsurprisingly, she has brought her record of mismanagement from California to the Department of Labor as Acting Secretary, with terrible consequences. A recent report from The New York Times has uncovered evidence of a major spike in unaccompanied migrant minors, children, being funneled to work in dangerous jobs in violation of Federal labor law. The article is titled, ``As Migrant Children Were Put to Work, U.S. Ignored Warnings.'' The Times reports the White House and Federal agencies were repeatedly alerted to signs of children at risk. The warnings were ignored or missed. To take one example from The Times article: ``. . . a boy working construction said he felt ashamed about not knowing how to read. He, too, was released in 2021--at age 12--and was immediately put to work by a man who had sponsored at least five children.'' In another case: ``At a day-labor pickup site, a 13-year-old released last year to a man he had never met, said he wished he could enroll in middle school and start learning English.'' The problem is much broader than a handful of cases. Signs of migrant child labor have been uncovered inside industrial workplaces, including several auto part factories. Additionally, over 100 children were found working the overnight shift scouring meatpacking plants across the country, according to The Times. Now, I should note, monitoring workplaces to prevent child labor is the job of the Department of Labor. Julie Su was Deputy Labor Secretary and is now Acting Labor Secretary. She held those roles as children were exploited to work in grueling conditions in violation of Federal labor law. This pattern of conduct almost exactly mirrors Su's tenure in California: repeated warnings of a serious problem, little to no preventative action, followed by a refusal to accept responsibility or change course when her failures are brought to light. Unfortunately, this isn't the only major concern that has emerged during Julie Su's short time as U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor. At the same time that children have been exploited in workplaces, Ms. Su has failed to properly manage the H-2A program for bringing in temporary agricultural workers on a legal basis. Just this morning, House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx and I sent an oversight letter to Acting Secretary Su regarding serious delays in the processing of H-2A applications. In the letter we write: ``It has come to the attention of the Committee on Education and the Workforce that employers applying for labor certifications at the Department of Labor for H-2A agricultural workers are facing substantial delays. These delays can be tremendously harmful for American agriculture. The arrival of workers can be delayed by weeks, causing inefficiencies and supply chain disruptions. . . . The planting and harvesting windows offer only a short amount of time to meet the season's needs. Our understanding is that this worsening problem is caused by unnecessary and avoidable delays at the Department of Labor.'' Incredibly, a Department of Labor official, Mike Rios, who serves as regional agricultural enforcement director at the Wage and Hour Division, is quoted as saying this: ``You can see that the H-2A program literally is the purchase of humans to perform difficult work under terrible conditions, sometimes including subhuman living conditions.'' This is a bipartisan program that has been created and has existed for a long time. But that is what he had to say about it. He is also quoted as saying: ``You can throw a rock and hit a violation in the agricultural industry.'' That is a strange thing for him to say considering that it is his department and Julie Su's department, the Department of Labor, that is responsible for preventing those sorts of violations, for enforcing our labor laws. Under Julie Su's leadership, the Department of Labor is failing to protect workers, including children, is unfairly attacking America's farmers, and is failing to support our agriculture sector's workforce needs under a program authorized by Federal law. She has been Acting Secretary for only a matter of months and was Deputy Secretary for 2 years. In that time, she has directly transferred her record of mismanagement from California to the rest of the Nation. I should say, in California right now, we have the Nation's largest budget deficit. We have the Nation's second highest unemployment rate. We have the Nation's lowest rate of income growth. We have the highest rate of poverty. This is the direct result of the mismanagement and the antiworker, antibusiness, antiopportunity policies from the likes of Julie Su and Gavin Newsom. With everything we now know, to elevate Ms. Su would be to take our country down the failed path of California with eyes wide open. I urge President Biden to choose a different course. It is past time to withdraw this nomination. Fentanyl Trafficking Must Be Stopped

Mr. KILEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the situation surrounding the senior Senator from California, Dianne Feinstein. The latest news is that our Governor, Gavin Newsom, is now talking about appointing Oprah to the U.S. Senate as a replacement. Now, Gavin Newsom has been talking about replacing Senator Feinstein for over 2 years. He started publicly speculating in 2021 about who he would replace, and at that point, Senator Feinstein was barely a third of the way through her term. California's other senator, Alex Padilla, himself first got his office through appointment by Governor Newsom, so if there was, in fact, an appointment for Senator Feinstein, then both of our U.S. Senators would have been handpicked not by millions of voters but by a single person to initially get their jobs. At this moment, pressure is coming from all directions when it comes to this situation and with a race for 2024 already underway. A number of sitting Members of the House have actually overtly called on Senator Feinstein to resign. Ro Khanna said: ``It is time for Senator Feinstein to resign. We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty. While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people.'' That is what he said. We also had Congresswoman Tlaib, as well as Congresswoman Kamlager- Dove, make similar comments, urging the Senator to vacate her office. The individual who is being supported by Congressman Khanna, Barbara Lee, told KQED that she would accept an appointment to the job if Governor Gavin Newsom offered it to her. Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who, of course, herself is from California, is supporting another candidate, Congressman Schiff, and there have been a number of recent headlines related to this. This comes from Politico, which says that Feinstein's primary caregiver is Pelosi's daughter. The subheading says: ``A quiet caretaking arrangement has raised questions about whether Nancy Pelosi has the ailing Senator's personal interests at heart.'' Another headline from Washington Examiner: ``Pelosi's secret campaign to aid Feinstein and get Schiff into the Senate.'' From FOX News: ``Pelosi's office denies her daughter is aiding Feinstein to help Adam Schiff win a Senate seat.'' This is just a mess. None of it right now is about what is in the interest of Senator Feinstein, the interest of our State, or the interest of our country. It is all about politics. I believe the solution is to do away with the possibility of a gubernatorial appointment altogether. That way, Senator Feinstein can make a decision on her own terms. She will know that whether she finishes her term or whether she steps down before the end of her term, it is California voters who will decide who her successor will be. That is what will allow her to make a decision without all the distractions of politics at the moment. To that end, I have introduced a constitutional amendment doing away with appointed Senators. Now, this would make it so the Senate is the same as the House. You don't have any appointed Members of the House who step onto this floor. Yet, you have had a lot of appointed Senators. I want to make it the same way, that if you want to represent your State as a United States Senator, you need to be elected to do so. Indeed, this is really an anachronism, this process of appointing Senators in the case of a vacancy, and it has been subject to rampant abuse. We had Governor Rob Blagojevich go to prison after he essentially auctioned off Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat. We have had Governors who have appointed their family members, who have appointed their spouses. Several Governors have even appointed themselves. I am calling on Members of the House and Senate to join me in passing that to do away with this anachronistic, antidemocratic process of appointing Senators. In the meantime, this almost certainly will not take effect prior to the current situation with Senator Feinstein being resolved, so I am calling on the California State Legislature, which has oversight over election laws and itself is responsible for creating the procedure for gubernatorial appointment, to address the situation. There is actually a little bit of a backstory here. When Senator Padilla was appointed to the Senate following the election of Kamala Harris as Vice President, I raised an issue at the time with the legality of that appointment. Actually, the California State Legislative Analyst's Office, the legislative counsel's office in California, agreed with me that it would not be constitutional for the Governor to appoint a Senator who would then serve out the remainder of Kamala Harris' term, which was set to expire in 2022. The reason for that is that the Constitution, the 17th Amendment, only allows temporary appointments. So, if you appoint someone who serves the rest of the term, that is not temporary. That is permanent. What the legislature did in response to the legal issue I raised, and that the legislative counsel's office agreed with me on, is they passed a bill to say that they will have a special election to determine who the new Senator is going to be and who is going to finish the term, but we are not going to have that special election until the next election. That actually happened in November 2022 at the exact same time we held the election for who would serve the new 6-year term. It was an absurdity. We literally had the same election on the ballot twice. One was for the new 6-year term, and the other was just for the last couple of months, the lame duck portion of the existing term. That was the way our legislature figured out to give basically as much advantage to the Governor's chosen appointed Senator as possible while still abiding by the letter, if not the spirit, of the 17th Amendment. What I have been in conversations with some members of the legislature about is that they should change this law or, at the very least, make an exception to it for the current situation with Senator Feinstein, to say that if there is a vacancy, then there will not be an appointment, that there will be an immediate special election, and that is how the successor will be chosen for the remainder of Senator Feinstein's term, which is set to expire in 2024. I think that this is what will allow for fairness in the process of choosing our next Senator. It will give millions of Californians a say, rather than just one individual, and it will give Senator Feinstein the ability to make a decision that is best for her, best for the State, and best for the country. I urge that action on the part of the California Legislature and Governor. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.