Zoe Lofgren

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I had a number of other Members who had planned to be here but, because of the hour, there is a conflicting event, so they will be adding their voices to the Record. Let me just close by saying that our delegation--really, all the Congress and the public--are going to miss the distinguished service of Sam Farr, Lois Capps, Loretta Sanchez, Mike Honda, and Janice Hahn. Each of them very different, but each of them made their mark in a way that will not be forgotten. We are sad to see them go, but here's the good news: we have fresh faces coming in to replace them who are very distinguished and who will also make their mark because none of us here will be here forever. We are just passing through this people's House in an effort to serve our country as best we can. Certainly, these Members have served that public with tremendous distinction, and we are honored to have served with them. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis), a distinguished Member of the Armed Services Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), who represents north of San Francisco and the north coast.

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I think the comments the gentleman has made show what a difference a Member of Congress can make in the lives of his or her constituents. One of the things I will say as Sam leaves is that we have joint swearing-in sessions around the Fourth of July. Sam was born on the Fourth of July. Some of the most memorable moments I have are in Gilroy, with hundreds of people wanting to become American citizens. The remarkable thing about our country is that we have 200 people walk in from 150 countries, and they walk out the citizens of just one country. Sam has been a leader in immigration, the environment, and so many things, and we honor him and respect him for his service to our country.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I am honored to be here this evening to talk about the remarkable records of five individuals who are retiring from the Congress. I have had the honor of chairing the California Democratic delegation for many years; and these five Members-- Representative Sam Farr, Representative Lois Capps, Representative Loretta Sanchez, Representative Mike Honda, and Representative Janice Hahn--are going home to California after serving distinguished careers here in the House. The Honorable Sam Farr

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I will start with my near neighbor, who has served since 1993. He came in in a special election, and that is Congressman Sam Farr. He has honorably represented the central coast of California for more than 40 years and here in Congress for the last 23. Sam was born and raised in the Monterey County area. Before his service here in the House, he early on served in the Peace Corps in Colombia, and his wonderful fluent Spanish is a product of his Peace Corps service in Colombia. To this day, he has a special soft spot for that country. As the ranking member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, he has championed safe and nutritious food for consumers, farmers, and producers. He has made sure that the need of getting fresh food into school lunches has never been far from our thoughts, and he has had remarkable success there, which has served the health of children across the country. After serving in the Peace Corps, Sam represented his constituents on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors for 6 years. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, he continued to fight for environmental issues and for people who were disadvantaged. After that, he served in the California Legislature. Sam founded the bipartisan House Oceans Caucus and authored the Oceans Act, which created the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. He is the longest serving Democrat on the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. And while he served on that subcommittee, he did something simply remarkable. We all know that bases across the United States were closed under the BRAC system, and one of those bases was the Fort Ord military base. It is the biggest California base, and it left a hole in that county. What Sam did was, he worked with the local community to make sure that that base could be repurposed to good use, and he led the effort to make the Cal State University at Monterey a reality at Fort Ord. Sam is a former chair of the congressional Democratic delegation and did such a great job when he chaired this group. He stands for peace, for diplomacy. Sam is always standing up for the little guy. And one of the things in addition to that is that he has been the photographer for House Democrats. Whenever we go anywhere, Sam is there with his camera, and we really don't know who is going to keep track of our activities when Sam retires. We wish him well. We know he is going to have a great time in the serene beauty of the region where he grew up. He said: It is time to go home and be a grandpa. And we know that he is a wonderful grandpa. The Honorable Lois Capps

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield to Sam Farr.

Ms. LOFGREN. That is all right.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, Lois Capps is also retiring. Lois was sworn in on March 17, 1998. But I remember the day that her late husband, Walter Capps, passed away unexpectedly. She and Walter were on their way to the Capitol, and Walter passed away. We had an unplanned Special Order here. We were all so shocked that that had happened. And Lois was here with us. She later went on to run for the seat that her husband had represented really for a short time: Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and parts of Ventura County. She has represented that area with tremendous distinction. You know, she will be the first to tell you, she never expected to be a Member of Congress. She is a former nurse, a public health advocate. She was a school nurse and still talks about the work she did as a school nurse with children. And when she got elected to Congress, she was committed to improving schools, to quality health care, and a cleaner environment. She built a legacy of commonsense solutions that have helped make her district, her State, and our country cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable. And here is something not everyone knows; but when they hear it, it makes so much sense. She has been voted the nicest Member of Congress over and over again, and so she is. She serves on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee and sits on the Health Subcommittee, the Energy and Power Subcommittee, as well as the Environment and the Economy Subcommittee. She has focused on Medicare reform, the nursing shortage, mental health, the protection of our air and water. She also serves on the House Natural Resources Committee. Lois is someone who not only serves with distinction but who is a warm friend. We will miss her greatly next Congress, but we know that she deserves the retirement that she has earned, and she will be going home to her beautiful district. The Honorable Loretta Sanchez

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, our colleague Loretta Sanchez is a true trailblazer. Beginning with her election in 1996, where in then- Republican Orange County, she had an upset victory against former Representative Bob Dornan. She defeated Representative Dornan by less than 1,000 votes. When she got here, she immediately tried to do what she could for the defense of this Nation. She has served honorably as a senior member on the House Committee on Armed Services and the House Committee on Homeland Security and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces. She is considered a leader on military and national security issues. She is also the co-chair of the Congressional Women in the Military Caucus, where she advocated for female servicemembers to serve in combat roles, and she fought to end sexual assault in the Armed Forces. She served on the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, where she made sure our Nation is prepared for anything, any missile or nuclear attack. Another thing that I know so well about Loretta is how much she cares about human rights, and specifically her advocacy for human rights in Vietnam. She and I have co-chaired the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam. She has gone to Vietnam, and she is a reliable, vocal, smart, and dedicated advocate for human rights, for religious freedom and labor rights for people in Vietnam. Obviously a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, she served in the past as co-chair of the Immigration Task Force. She is a spectacular person. I will miss her a great deal, and I am thinking about who do I go to on the committee to talk about the nerdy but important things like the National Ignition Facility and big science projects that are also part of the armed services. She has served her country so well. The Honorable Mike Honda

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, Mike Honda will also be going home. I have had the honor of knowing Mike Honda for many decades. As a matter of fact, I think I first met Mike when he was serving on the planning commission of the city of San Jose, appointed by then-Mayor Norm Mineta, who later became a Member of Congress. He was later elected to the San Jose Unified School Board, and then to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. In fact, Mike and I served together on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Many of us know his history. During World War II, Mike Honda and his family spent 3 years imprisoned in an internment camp for Japanese Americans. That experience, I think, was the beginning of the fuel for his zeal in his fight for civil rights, for public service, and against discrimination. We will miss him because, although we have a very distinguished member in Doris Matsui, who was actually born in an internment camp, I believe that Mike Honda is the last of our Members who actually was old enough to remember being in that internment camp. We have discussions in our country today about locking up people based on their ethnicity or their religious beliefs. It is important that people like Mike Honda can stand up and say America made a mistake. America apologized for that mistake. Let's never make that mistake again. Mike serves on the House Committee on Appropriations and is serving now as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. In that position, he played a key role with me and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo in helping to locate the Patent Office in San Jose and to make sure that the Department of Justice has the resources to address the backlog in rape kits. He also serves on the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies. He is chair emeritus of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the founding chair of the Congressional Caucus to End Bullying, the vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. In fact, he spent many years fighting anti-Muslim bigotry and discrimination against the LGBT community. The Honorable Janice Hahn

Ms. LOFGREN. Finally, I want to mention our friend Janice Hahn, who took office just, I think, this week as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Janice was elected to Congress in 2011 and immediately made strong contributions to her district in a short time. But the story of Janice doesn't begin with her election to Congress. It begins long before that. Her father, Supervisor Kenny Hahn, served longer as a member of the board of supervisors than anyone in the history of the United States; and Janice tells stories of growing up with her father and understanding that public service means getting down and actually talking with your constituents, providing direct services to them. He had a tremendous influence on her, and she served on the Los Angeles City Council before she ran for Congress successfully. Here, Janice served on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where she did important things like helping to pass the National Freight Network Trust Fund Act to increase investments in port and freight network infrastructure. As a result of her efforts, the harbor maintenance trust fund provided over $1 billion in resources to operate more efficiently and remain globally competitive. The Port of Long Beach, which she represented in Congress and now as a Los Angeles County supervisor, moves more than $180 billion of goods each year and is the second busiest seaport in the United States. She has always made sure that that port got the resources necessary to be efficient not only for the need for business in her district, but recognizing that the goods that come through that port help support the economy across the United States. She served also on the Committee on Small Business, where she worked to improve access to loans for small businesses to improve job creation. She cofounded the bipartisan Congressional Ports Opportunity, Renewal, Trade, and Security Caucus, the PORTS Caucus, and she also served with Jim Costa and me on the California High-Speed Rail Caucus, where she championed the California high-speed rail project, which will improve transportation in California and reduce traffic congestion and airport wait times. Janice Hahn is someone who really cared about her district in Congress, but her district in Congress is tiny compared to the district she represents on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. We know that she will do a terrific job there. Many also know her as someone who was very involved in the prayer breakfast movement here in Congress. She made many friends across the aisle as she did that, and we will miss her. We know that we will see all of these fine individuals when we go home, as we do every week to California. Now before calling on my colleague Mr. Farr, I would also like to note that the timing of this was a little bit different than we had expected, and a lot of Members have statements. General Leave

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday December 1, 2016 I had to return home to my district for a dental emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted: ROLL CALL 594: Nay; ROLL CALL 595: Nay; ROLL CALL 596: Nay; ROLL CALL 597: Nay; ROLL CALL 598: Yea; ROLL CALL 599: Nay; ROLL CALL 600: Nay.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the life of John Monty ``Jack'' Allen, who passed away on September 11, 2016. Jack was a wonderful friend and beloved member of our community whose passing is deeply felt. I have known Jack for all his life, and he will be greatly missed. John Monty ``Jack'' Allen was born in 1946, the eldest of two children. Although an avid traveler, Jack lived his entire life in San Jose, California. Jack's family, the Aiellos, settled in Santa Clara Valley in Delight, Contadina Canning Company. Jack's father, Pete, owned a furniture store in Downtown San Jose for more than 50 years, was one of the founders of the Century Club, and was a mentor to me. His uncle, Jack, owned Paolo's Restaurant, a popular destination for local celebrities, including Joe DiMaggio and many elected officials. In fact, my husband, John, proposed to me at Paolo's. Jack attended Trace Elementary, Hoover Junior High, and Lincoln High Schools, all within walking distance of his family home. He was indoctrinated into local politics from a very young age through his parents' involvement with the Democratic Party, and he volunteered for Democratic candidates and causes throughout his life. Jack graduated from San Jose State University and became a Certified Public Accountant, a role that he held for the last forty years of his life. At any time, he served more than 400 clients, from small businesses to family members to corporations and trusts. He was known by all as a generous, efficient, and dedicated accountant, as evidenced by the loyalty of his clients. Jack married Janice Paul in 1974, and they settled in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose in 1976, raising three boys--all of whom attended local schools and shared Jack's passion for politics and history. Jack was a curious and well-traveled soul, having crisscrossed Europe on a number of occasions, not to mention extensive domestic travels that took him to nearly all 50 states. His wife, Janice, was his favorite travel companion, even after their divorce. (Indeed, they had trips in the works at the time of his sudden passing.) Jack was also dedicated to serving others and volunteered his time as treasurer and board member for local clubs and charities, from the San Jose Library Foundation to the Democratic Century Club and many more. He could always be counted on to be there for a friend--or a total stranger--in need and would never hesitate to help those who could not help themselves. For all of this, Jack never sought fanfare, nor acclaim. His reward was the action itself and the knowledge that he made his corner of the world a little brighter for having been there. He is survived by sons Peter, Chris, and Danny; their mother, Janice; sister, Judy; nieces Corinne and Tina; cousins Carolyn, Jenny, and John; dog, Cooper; and countless friends. Mr. Speaker, our San Jose community mourns the passing of Jack Allen, but we are grateful for his life, his generosity, and his contributions.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today together with my colleagues, Congress members Anna Eshoo and Mike Honda to acknowledge the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits (SVCN). As is widely known, Santa Clara County, particularly Silicon Valley, receives worldwide attention for its technological innovation, but Silicon Valley's innovative spirit is not limited to technology, it also extends to public/private partnerships and the nonprofit sector. The Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits (SVCN) was founded in 1996 to represent the local community interests of nonprofits in Santa Clara County. Its mission is to continue to foster and magnify the influence and contribution of nonprofit agencies and businesses in Santa Clara County. SVCN achieves this mission with a broadly diverse approach, which includes policy work and advocacy, community partnerships and alliances, and budget and leadership development. This approach is second to none, when compared to other common Organizational Development groups, namely because it participates in the public and private sectors to leverage the effectiveness and impact of nonprofits. SVCN has a network of 200 member agencies which serve as a vital catalyst for building and maintaining nonprofit leaders, partners and collaborators. Furthermore, it is an integral and unifying voice for health and human service agencies in Santa Clara County. SVCN focuses on building alliances and partnerships to increase the effectiveness of nonprofits. It increases the capacity of nonprofits through trainings, summits and skill building programs that make nonprofits more effective and it encourages nonprofit leaders to be better advocates for their system of care and serve as spokespersons at public forums; hearings, and developing meaningful relationships by participating with local elected and government officials at key decision making tables. When SVCN achieves its goals, it benefits the entire nonprofit sector and ultimately our community, particularly those individuals and families who are disenfranchised and find themselves struggling to meet even their most basic needs of housing, healthcare, food and education. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, for its 20 years of extraordinary leadership and advocacy in the nonprofit sector.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the life and untimely passing of Mr. Henry Huong Le. Mr. Le passed away on October 6, 2016, leaving behind a wife, three children, a large extended family and a community mourning the loss of a generous soul. Mr. Le arrived in the City of San Jose in the late 70s, seeking refuge from the Communists in Vietnam. Though he and his family had little upon arrival, their business flourished into the largest industrial catering company in Northern California and the world's largest chain of banh mi sandwich shops. Mr. Le shared his success with the community in San Jose. He was a community leader, human rights advocate, and philanthropist. Mr. Le served as president of the Vietnamese Heritage Society to preserve, promote, and celebrate the history and heritage of Vietnamese Americans. He was also a founding member of the Vietnamese American National Gala, an annual event to celebrate Vietnamese heritage and which honors the achievements and contributions of Asian Pacific Americans. Mr. Le put the needs of others before his own when Hurricane Katrina displaced people who had nowhere to go. They were welcomed into his office in Mississippi for shelter. Mr. Le inspired me personally and I was able to see his kindness when meeting with him. He expressed his deep commitment to advance the cause of religious freedom in Vietnam as well as advocating for Hoa Hao Buddhism. Mr. Le's life serves as inspiration on how to live life generously and with kindness. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Mr. Henry Huong Le for a life of extraordinary leadership and advocacy in the community of San Jose and for Vietnamese people globally.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, so much has been said about Mark today, I can't repeat it all. But as I have been looking at this picture, I just find it hard to accept that he is gone. You know, we meet each other here in the House. There are 435 people. We don't know each person who is here. We tend to meet each other best when we serve on committees. I actually first met Mark on the airplane, of course, because each Member of the California delegation flies home to California every week. It is to be forgiven if Members from Hawaii or Samoa don't go every week because, by the time you get there, it is time to come back to Washington, but Mark went home every week. And I would get on that plane, and there he would be, because he was so devoted not only to his constituents, but to his wife and to his children. He needed to be with them every week. Much has been said about this trip to Asia. I was on that trip. And on these congressional delegations, spouses are invited to come to keep company with the Members. My husband was not able to come, and Mark's wife was not able to come either, so we sat next to each other for that entire trip. I heard all about his wonderful wife and his wonderful children throughout that trip in Asia. I have such precise memories of Mark, as Doris Matsui has said. He was a freshman Member but someone who was on the Armed Services Committee, who had served in Iraq, who was Active Duty Hawaii National Guard, and who spoke with such clarity and poise not only with our American military, but, as we met with foreign leaders, was able to hold his own. I have vivid memories of us meeting with the communists in Vietnam and facing off with those communist leaders to advocate for human rights. Mark did that for freedom. He believed in freedom. He believed in this country. He loved his family. He loved this institution. We will miss him greatly. But I actually think, in a way that is very profound, his short time here has changed this institution for the better. We thank Mark for that, and we thank his family for letting him serve here with us.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as the chairman has indicated, this bill makes technical amendments to title 2 of the U.S. Code in order to update statutory references and was crafted by the House Office of Law Revision Counsel, which is charged with developing and keeping current the United States Code. This is really an enormous task. On average, Congress passes into law more than 6,900 pages of new public law each year. As that happens, some areas of the law get jammed into the code and become difficult to navigate. So this bill, along with the two that follow, just make it easier to read. It doesn't make any substantive changes whatsoever, and I support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers for the work they put in to accomplish this fix. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as with the preceding bill, this was drafted by the Office of Law Revision Counsel, and as the chairman has said, it is intended to make the statutes clearer. It doesn't make any change in substantive law. It creates a new chapter 44, entitled, ``National Security,'' which consists primarily of the National Security Act of 1947; a new chapter 45, entitled, ``Miscellaneous Intelligence Authorities,'' consisting primarily of related provisions from 16 different statutes; a new chapter 46, entitled, ``Central Intelligence Agency,'' primarily made up of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949; and a new chapter 47, entitled, ``National Security Agency,'' which consists of the National Security Agency Act of 1959. It makes some technical amendments, but, as I said earlier, it makes no substantive change whatsoever. This will make it easier for the public, for lawyers, and for researchers to know what the law is. I urge its passage. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As with the prior bills, the Office of Law Revision Counsel has drafted this. The chairman has certainly explained what it does. It makes no change to the law, but it does do this. It highlights the value of voting rights laws by creating a title 52. I think that is going to make it easier for the public to understand what the rules are. It is an important measure, even though it doesn't change the existing law, by making the law more accessible. I am going to diverge a little bit from the substance of this because when my plane landed from California this afternoon, I was saddened to find on my email the news that Alan A. Parker, who was general counsel for the Judiciary Committee and general counsel for the Civil Rights Subcommittee when my predecessor, Don Edwards, had chaired the Civil Rights Subcommittee, had passed away last Friday after a very long illness. Alan Parker served in World War II in the South Pacific. He went to Santa Clara University School of Law. He loved the Congress and he loved the Judiciary Committee. He had a distinguished career teaching law. He would be, I think, actually pleased to be remembered on the occasion of reorganizing these civil rights measures that he cared so much about and that he worked for when he was here in the House. I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill today and to join me in mourning the passage of Alan A. Parker, the former general counsel of the Committee on the Judiciary. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, passing the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act is an important step in enacting protections and ensuring access to justice for many Americans who are survivors of sexual assault. In May, just this last May, I found myself meeting with Amanda Nguyen, Lara McLeod, and Marisa Ferri and their friends in my office as part of Assault Awareness Month. They had asked to meet with me, as the senior woman on the Judiciary Committee, and then they told me I was the first actual Member of Congress whom they had been able to meet with. When I did listen to them, this is what I heard: Amanda Nguyen told me about her rape, that every 6 months she was faced with the choice of reliving her past trauma or having the State of Massachusetts destroy essential evidence that would assist in the prosecution of her rapist: her medical forensic examination, or rape kit. When Amanda sought information on how to prevent her rape kit from being destroyed, police provided conflicting information. She was even told at one point that the kit would be stored indefinitely, which was not correct. She then had to go back and forth between police and State lab techs trying to locate her kit. And even when she found it and got the extension on storing it, the technicians moved her kit without telling her, and she now has to file an extension every 6 months just to preserve the evidence. I listened to Marisa Ferri tell me that she thought her rape would be the most traumatic experience of her life, but what she found out was that even more traumatic, according to her, was the way she was further victimized by the system after being raped. When Marisa went to the hospital to seek medical treatment and requested a forensic exam, she was prevented from doing so until after she spoke with the detective. She asked if the interview could wait until the volunteer from the Rape Crisis Center arrived, but was told that she had to be interviewed then if she wanted to press charges. Alone and confused, Marisa underwent nearly hours of questioning by a detective who tried to discourage her from filing a report and blamed her, according to Marisa, for her own rape. Marisa is, unfortunately, not alone in being misinformed about her rights, and being interrogated instead of being allowed the opportunity to undergo a rape kit procedure in an expedient manner and to ensure the maximum effectiveness that the evidence has been collected. Marisa endured 6 weeks of repeated questioning by the detective about her behavior on the night of the rape. At times, she said she felt like she was the one under investigation. Initially, her case was closed without the rape kit being tested. It was only after she filed a formal complaint that the case was reopened more than a year later and the rape kit was tested. Many survivors would have given up on a system that had failed them as much as the system failed her and would not have pursued reopening their closed case. Lara McLeod suffered through further victimization after sexual assault. She reports that, at 19 years of age, she was raped by her sister's fiance, but she did not want to report the crime. Instead, her family, who she told about her sexual assault, informed the police, and she was told to go to the station for a formal interview. After a cursory investigation, she reports that the police accused her of lying about the rape and arrested her. Her sister was charged with obstructing justice for aiding Lara's alleged deceit. The false charge against Lara and her sister were eventually expunged, but not before damage to reputation and her sister's savings being spent on dismissing the charges and, worse yet, her sister being denied full custody of her infant son because of the charge against her, which ultimately resulted in this son dying while in the custody of Lara's rapist. I mention these terrifying stories because that is what this bill is all about. It is also about the power of individuals to change the law. After I heard their stories, within 2 hours, I talked to Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte on the House floor and told him about these stories. To his credit, Chairman Goodlatte immediately contacted his staff to make sure that we could work together on this bill. Only 2 short months later, the Judiciary Committee unanimously approved this legislation. The House version includes a small improvement on the text passed by the Senate; and it is my hope that, after passage in the House, the Senate will also approve this version so it can be sent to President Obama for his signature. I want to thank all the members of the Judiciary Committee for their action. But even more, I want to thank the courageous victims of rape who formed the group RISE, who did rise and who exerted their power to take control of this situation, who would not accept being victimized but, instead, decided to take their trauma and change the law so that other victims will have more power than they had. The congratulations go to them. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I want to celebrate our action today. I know that Lara McLeod and Marisa Ferri are watching this on C-SPAN. Amanda Nguyen is here in the Chamber. I just want to say to them: You are not weak victims. You are strong and powerful actors who turned tragedy into a triumph, and I commend you and honor you for your work. I thank the gentleman, and I urge all Members to vote for this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, here in the House, the majority decides the schedule. Right now, that is the Republicans. We have met for 74 days, and now we are leaving until after Labor Day. It is unbelievable. What haven't we done? We have not closed the loophole to prevent gun violence or passed a bill to keep from selling assault weapons to people on the terrorist watch list. That is incredible. Maybe some people aren't surprised because of our suspicion that the NRA owns the Republican Party. What is even more astounding is the lack of funding for Zika. We passed a measure that was half of what was requested not by the President, but by the Centers for Disease Control, the scientists. We turned our backs on their request and, incredibly, put into the measure a requirement that you can't provide birth control. Don't you think that women who are facing the Zika virus and who want to postpone pregnancy because they don't want to have a child who is disabled should be able to get birth control?

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Chairman, warrantless bulk collection of U.S. person communications and information was not ended with the USA FREEDOM Act. Twice in the last 2 years the House voted overwhelmingly to close two loopholes, but House leadership blocked us. The first back door will be shut by prohibiting search of government databases for information pertaining to U.S. citizens without a warrant. You can get the information, but you have to get a warrant. In October of 2011, in a declassified FISA court decision, we learned that tens of thousands of wholly domestic communications--which are not even allowed to be collected under 702--have been collected. We need to make sure that, when you look for an American in that database, you get a warrant as the Fourth Amendment requires. The second door to be shut prohibits the government from coercing companies into weakening security protections by creating back doors in products to make surveillance easier. What is encryption? It is sophisticated computer code that is the most powerful tool we have for preventing outsiders from gaining entry into digital systems. Encryption protects the power grid, the air traffic control system, and your smartphone. Even if a weakness in encryption is promoted and created with good intentions, it is only a matter of time until a hacker finds and exploits it. Such flaws put data security of every person and business--and really, the security of the United States--at risk. Our government should strengthen the technology that protects our privacy, our businesses, and our country--not take advantage of it. The Massie-Lofgren amendment will make America safer, and it will defend the Fourth Amendment. Mr. Chairman, I urge its adoption.