Doug LaMalfa

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend President Trump on the early success in getting Mexico to increase its commitment to helping secure our common border. There has been no shortage of doubters, perhaps even some who wished the President would fail because he has taken an approach that hasn't been tried before. But I thank the President for his vision and for his commitment to securing our southern border, which has long been at crisis levels. We are not done, by any means--we must now ensure that Mexico honors their commitments--but this is significant progress that we haven't seen yet to this point. If Mexico is true to their word, that means House Democrats are now the only ones preventing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement from becoming a reality. This agreement would be extraordinarily beneficial for the American economy, and it is time to ratify it here in this House. I thank President Trump for applying pressure on Mexico and forcing them to step up their efforts to secure our border and trade.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, known as D-Day, or Operation Overlord, and to recognize those who sacrificed to begin the liberation from Nazi Germany. On June 6, 1944, over 4,400 Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel and gave many of their lives while storming the beaches code named Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Madam Speaker, 2,501 of those soldiers who died on those beaches were Americans who never got to return home. The impact that this had on our communities back home was great-- take, for example, the Bedford boys from a small town in Bedford, Virginia. Thirty-five men who had grown up together boarded landing craft that day and embarked towards France, and 19 of them didn't make it back. This small Southern town is an example of the sacrifices made by many small towns and families all across this country during that effort that day and during that war. They did it to protect our freedom, our American way of life, and those of our allies around the world to help defeat the grip of the National Socialist German Workers' Party regime. We will always be grateful for those who gave that day, for those who survived, and for those who didn't come back, and that is why it is important to always mark this day, D-Day, June 6.

Mr. LAMALFA

Mr. LAMALFA. Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 235.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, last week I had the incredible privilege to participate in the groundbreaking for the new Redding VA Outpatient Clinic. This will serve veterans all over northern California with the increased size and space as well as the increased capabilities of the new clinic, which include allergy, immunology, rheumatology, and additional telemedicine rooms being available. Also, increased radiology service will include fluoroscopy capabilities. This is a good sign for being able to better care for our veterans in northern California. I would also like to point out one of the driving forces in seeing this clinic happen in the Redding area, and that would be our former State Senator Maurice Johannessen. This has been his vision and his dream for a long time: to help our veterans in northern California. So my hat is off in appreciation to my friend Maurice, and we will attend, together, the ribbon-cutting before too much longer. So, indeed, congratulations for the good work to VA and Senator Johannessen and everybody else who had a hand in it.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the hard work being done by a crowd-funded organization called We Build the Wall. Because Congress has failed to pass legislation that will secure our border and fund the construction of physical barriers where they are needed, these folks have taken the initiative. We Build the Wall, led by Air Force combat veteran and triple amputee Brian Kolfage, has raised over $23 million in private donations to help secure the southern border and began construction in New Mexico over the Memorial Day weekend. Now, rumors were circulated about the group, but they are fulfilling their promise. After first being told their permits were in order, the mayor of Sunland Park and his administration were flip-flopping, and their incompetence has threatened to put the brakes on the whole project--but it only delayed it 36 hours. They now have been cleared to resume the construction. We know there is a crisis at the southern border. Madam Speaker, I thank Brian Kolfage and We Build the Wall for their selfless commitment to our great country. It is too bad it has to come to this, but it is also inspiring, in a way, that citizens came forward to do the job of the U.S. Government and secure our sovereign border themselves. This Congress should do better for our border security and for our American citizens.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and honor the passage of one of my great constituents, Lee Jernigan of Oroville, California. During Lee's lifetime, he had joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 and served as an aerial gunner and airplane mechanic on a B-17 during World War II, where he flew 23 missions in the Asian Pacific. Lee graduated from Chico State in 1950 and received his master's degree in 1959 in education. Lee was known specifically for his passion and commitment to God, his family, and for educating the young people of our community. It should come as no surprise that Lee was a beloved elementary and middle school teacher and then went on to be my principal at Central Middle School in Oroville, California, for 54 years of career. Lee was known to be kind, with a sense of humor, and this was one principal I was never really in trouble with. Lee was devoted to teaching, but also devoted to his loving wife, Hazel, whom he married in 1948 and remained with for 72 years until his passing. Lee was a man of extreme dedication and commitment to his wife, to his country, and to learning for the children of his community. Of course, we can all learn from that, as well. Madam Speaker, God bless Lee Jernigan and his family.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Roe and Chairman Takano for including my legislation, H.R. 1126, within H.R. 1947. It is greatly appreciated. This is an oversight that was pointed out by northern California veterans to me a while back, the choice of being able to have a family member, a spouse, inscribed on a grave marker, simply the difference being that it is in a Federal cemetery or one that is private. That is really the bottom line on this. This bill changes that oversight so that the choice can be at any recognized cemetery. That is simply what we are after: to have our veterans who have served us honorably know that, when they are at their final resting place, that this oversight cannot happen for their family member that they held so dear to share that gravestone with them. So, whether it is a private cemetery or a VA, or whatever other type you might have as your choice, veterans need to have this choice as well. Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Roe and Chairman Takano for including this so we can take care of this oversight quickly and have our veterans have the choices that they feel they deserve and, indeed, do deserve. I appreciate it.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a great woman and a doctor who is from my district in northern California, who earned an incredible honor over the weekend. Dr. Debbie Lupeika has been named as the 2019 National Clinician of the year by the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved. She teaches residents at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California, and Shasta Community Health Center, which serves mostly underserved or uninsured patients. Dr. Lupeika has helped treat many families that were displaced from their homes in Shasta County by the Carr fire last year--everyone from children to adults. In rural communities like ours, it is even more important to have great doctors who truly care about their patients and their craft when also faced with these rural issues that are so difficult for retaining doctors in rural areas. Dr. Debbie Lupeika fully embodies that in every way. Madam Speaker, I thank her for her commitment to improving healthcare in our rural communities, and I congratulate her on receiving this prestigious award.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a great man and a great patriot from Redding, California, in my district. His commitment to his fellow veterans is certainly unparalleled. Major John Cleckner, Sr. passed away on May 11, but he leaves behind a tremendous legacy of service. During a 22-year military career that began in 1957 in the 82nd Airborne Division and later the U.S. Army Special Forces, John received far too many awards and honors to list in this time. During his time as a veteran of the Vietnam war, he was wounded multiple times and received three Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars. In 1969, he was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group. Upon arriving, he initiated a massive rebuilding of their camp's defenses and intelligence gathering when he heard of increased activity by North Vietnamese units in the area. Not long afterward, a North Vietnamese heavy weapons regiment laid siege to their camp for 5 months, but, thanks to John's efforts, the camp held. After receiving his third Purple Heart, John was medically retired in 1979. As impressive as his military service record is, it might even pale in comparison to his 35 years of dedicated service to his fellow veterans, both in northern California and across the United States. Much like his military career, his accomplishments as an advocate for veterans are too numerous to properly list in this format. He has worked closely with me and my office and others previous to me over the years as an adviser on all things veterans related and as a tireless partner and champion of programs and legislation that can make a real impact to help our veterans thrive. He was a leader in every sense of the word. John was instrumental in getting a new VA clinic in Redding, whose groundbreaking will be very soon, and started the quest for a veterans' cemetery in Shasta County, both of which have now come to fruition, thanks to his relentless efforts. John even collaborated with country music legend Merle Haggard, who is a Redding resident, to coordinate a national fishing tournament for combat-disabled veterans to have a chance to get out and relax and enjoy the outdoors with people who they can relate to. For him, it was all part of making the lives of veterans better in any way that he could. When John discovered that many veterans struggled to obtain legal help, he went back to college at the age of 62 to get a degree that would allow him to serve as a legal assistant to in-need veterans at no charge to the veteran. That is amazing service. That is the kind of person John Cleckner was. For his impressive track record, both on the battlefield and in civilian life, the Special Operations Center of Excellence at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School inducted John into the Distinguished Members of Special Operations Regiment in 2010. I know this: Major John Cleckner was an American hero, on and off the battlefield. He devoted his life to his country, and when he could no longer serve his country, he devoted himself to improving the lives of his fellow veterans. I have seen it firsthand. I consider myself fortunate to have known him as a friend, and I am grateful for the things he helped us--in my office and others--do to accomplish things for veterans in northern California. John was tough, even a little scary, especially if he thought you weren't being true to what you were saying you would do. But if you were, you wouldn't have a stronger ally than Major John Cleckner in what we pursue to help our veterans, to help our Nation be strong, to be true. His commitment has only strengthened my own resolve to further some of the initiatives he started and we have helped with and to never stop fighting for our veterans who deserve it. I thank John for his service, his sacrifice, his dedication. We will miss him in northern California but will ensure his legacy lives on through our efforts--all of us--to help our veterans, to help our Nation remain strong. God bless Major John Cleckner, his faithful wife, Doris, his amazing family, and all that he has ever had touch with during his life of service to his nation and to his brothers.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to celebrate the centennial of the House passing an amendment granting women the right to vote in all States in this country. One hundred years ago, the unrelenting efforts of women suffragists over the course of a 72-year campaign paid off in the passage of the 19th Amendment. For example, the first woman to hold Federal office, Republican Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, was actually elected 3 years before women were allowed to vote at the Federal level in all the States at the time. She went on to introduce legislation similar to what would eventually become the 19th Amendment. My home State Republican Senator, Aaron Sargent from California, introduced the first legislation to amend the Constitution and grant women the right to vote. It failed on the Senate floor, but it represented the beginning of an unstoppable movement that culminated in the ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 1920. This Chamber is where it all began. I am proud to be standing here today and joining my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this great victory for women and the values of our Republic.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise to commend the Federal Railroad Administration and the Trump administration for putting a stop to the wasteful Federal spending on California's high-speed rail boondoggle. This will save nearly $1 billion that can be used for anything else to help Americans' transportation system. At a time when tax increases on every mile you drive are being contemplated ostensibly for our highway needs, how can we keep wasting dollars on a project that ``has repeatedly failed to comply with the terms of the 2010 agreement and has failed to make reasonable progress''? It is no longer even a high-speed train project nor does it even connect San Francisco to L.A. but, instead, terminates in an almond orchard somewhere north of Bakersfield. It has tripled in price since 2008, when put in front of the California voters, and is still at least $70 billion short of the $100 billion tripled price or more. That $70 billion will not be coming from this Congress. Let's channel these hard-earned tax dollars into highways people need, want, and can actually use, or water storage, or just about anything else.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Police Week. Thousands of police officers from around the country are in Washington, D.C., this week, and I want to welcome them with the recognition and appreciation they deserve and that they don't always receive these days. I thank the Capitol Police officers, Officers David Bailey and Crystal Griner, who saved many of my colleagues' lives less than 2 years ago when they took down an armed gunman at that baseball practice that we so famously heard about. I am very thankful for our officers that we have in northern California, many who have had to work around the clock with some of the disasters we have had in recent years with the dam and the fires, who really helped make an orderly situation out of a lot of chaos. Nationally, I hate to have to relate these statistics, but 163 police officers died in the line of duty last year, 52 from gunfire. Any number greater than zero is unacceptable. In California, we lost 11 officers in 2018. This year, we tragically lost 22-year-old Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona, one of the most heartbreaking ones you might ever see. She was following in her father's footsteps, who was an officer for a long time in Colusa County. Indeed, these men and women know it is a higher calling, a higher, 24-hour duty that they answer to for all of our safety. We appreciate them. We love them, and let's always be sure we remember to show them that.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the recent violence taking place in Israel and the Gaza Strip. It all started when snipers from the Gaza Strip, unprovoked, fired over the border upon Israeli soldiers. This was an unprovoked attack by Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization. Israel has every right to defend itself, so they did, as they should. Following a responsive Israeli airstrike, hundreds of rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel. People died on both sides of this bloody conflict. Hamas fired these rockets from schoolyards, hospitals, and everywhere else they could use human shields that they thought would keep them safe from retaliation. While some in the media and even in this Chamber attempt to blame our allies in Israel and downplay the actions of Hamas, most of us have a firmer grip on reality. Israel is not the bad guy here. This is yet another example of peace being interrupted by Hamas terrorists. If any other country in the world were on the receiving end, no one would dare question the right to respond accordingly. I can assure you that I join President Trump in standing 100 percent with our friends in Israel. They have every right to defend themselves from terrorist attacks.

Mr. LaMALFA

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

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

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Small Business Week. There are over 30 million small businesses across the country, and over half of the American workforce is either employed by a small business or operates one. With April's strong jobs report and the unemployment rate reaching the lowest in 50 years--a truly unprecedented level of 3.6 percent--it is clear American small businesses are thriving. There is no bigger job creator. Small businesses are the mainstay of our economy, a big reason why it is booming. Two out of three jobs created in the U.S. are within a small business. Last month, there were 263,000 nonfarm jobs created, surpassing most predictions. Indeed, our economy is doing quite well and, as a result, so are our small business owners. I believe the progrowth policies of the last Congress and this administration, such as tax reform and regulatory reform, have quite a lot to do with it. I will always be a strong supporter of small business, and I hope this body will as well and continue to support the policies that will help them succeed. I thank those who are hanging in there in the small business community--keep going, and keep creating.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, sadly, I rise today to honor a fallen U.S. marine from my district in northern California. Staff Sergeant Joshua Braica from Auburn, California, tragically died on Sunday, April 14, when his vehicle rolled over during a training accident at Camp Pendleton in California. We, like many in Placer County in northern California, are mourning the loss of one of our own, one of our best and brightest. Joshua had been in the Marine Corps for more than 8 years, deploying twice and serving as a critical skills operator with the 1st Raider Battalion. By all accounts, Joshua was an all-American guy who was greatly admired by his friends, neighbors, and his fellow Marines. At such a young age, he is a decorated and highly trained soldier, with many awards and many medals to his name. He is the oldest of five siblings and is survived by his wife and his son. I am praying for all of them, and I hope that all Members will join me in doing so as well at this difficult time. One thing is for sure: Joshua has certainly made his community and his country proud. God bless Joshua and his family again at this time of need and tragedy.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join our friends in Israel and in the Jewish communities around the world in recognizing Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day. President Trump took the unprecedented step of proclaiming this week Holocaust Remembrance Week, and solidarity is one of our strongest allies in the entire Jewish community. With the recent rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric amongst some, even in this House, it is important that we remember just how horrific and dangerous these ideas truly are. More than 6 million Jewish people died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Many who survived will never be able to escape the horrors of their experience. They emerged into a world that has changed them forever. But the world has changed since then, too. No longer is that sort of hatred and bigotry to be accepted, and that is what we must affirm on this National Day of Prayer, via prayer, via our actions, for Jewish people as well as Christians being massacred around the world. I thank the President for once again reaffirming America's commitment to supporting Israel and the Jewish people. This week, today, and always, we are with you.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Arizona, Mr. Gosar, for hosting this Special Order on this important topic and for his very good work on the Congressional Western Caucus. As we know, this week, the House will vote on H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act. In light of the United States' incredible efforts and achievements in becoming more energy independent and a global leader in energy development and production, we should call it the U.S. Energy Disadvantage Act. This shortsighted legislation would seek to prevent President Trump from withdrawing from the misguided 2016 Paris Agreement enacted by President Obama. Of course, this agreement was passed without consent from Congress and no economic impact or cost-benefit analysis. The American people deserve to know what a plan like this is going to cost them. According to several reports, the Paris Agreement could cost the U.S. $250 billion and 2.7 million jobs by just 2025 and many more jobs over a longer period, and even as much as $3 trillion by 2040. Furthermore, this bill is completely one-sided. It received no congressional hearings or feedback from the administration, stakeholders, or outside experts. Bottom line, this bill would result in an unfair economic playing field against the United States and in favor of all the other countries. We have already seen the results of this agreement in the city of Paris itself, where protests have erupted over their own gas price increases. Just like the Green New Deal boondoggle, enacting this legislation would have an almost insignificant effect on decreasing global emissions. Indeed, the United States is already by far the leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and has lowered our levels of emissions by 18 percent between 2000 and 2014, leading other major countries and producers. Why do we need to be in the Paris accord when we are already leading the way? We need to drag the others along in this process and have them do more about their own emissions, such as China, which emits more carbon dioxide than the U.S. and the European Union combined. Why are they let off the hook in this until the year 2030? Why is India let off the hook until 2030? I guess American consumers and the higher prices they are paying at the pump, especially Californians at over $4, would like to know the answer to that question. It is another attack by the left to undermine the responsible production of energy in America. We don't need to be in the accord to achieve these reductions, as we have already seen these results. If forced to stay in the Paris climate agreement, the U.S. economy will suffer while achieving no meaningful benefits or reduction in global emissions. This is like many climate change schemes that are focused on transferring power via taxation and regulation to the government away from the producers of this country. Are we going to have the power in the hands of elected officials and bureaucrats or the people that innovate better ways of doing things, better forms of energy, and more efficient forms of energy, and have them produced right here in the U.S., including California, which is a leading producer of energy? Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to reject this measure and any other climate change scheme that hurts our economy and our energy production when we are the innovators of doing things better around the world.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Bishop and Mr. Van Drew for their work on this effort here tonight. I am very excited about the support for this bill, and of course, I rise tonight in support of H.R. 317, which is the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Land Affirmation Act. It has always been a bipartisan effort to affirm the Department of the Interior to take land into trust for the benefit of the Chumash Tribe, codifying agreements reached between the Tribe and the county of Santa Barbara after much work. I am very proud of the good faith, bipartisan effort that has gone into this bill both in Congress and in the local community. For the several years I have been involved with this legislation, I have seen the Chumash Indians and the local government work together to build trust and act as good neighbors to forge an agreement that works for everyone. There is nothing controversial about this bill. It simply ensures the Tribe has the ability to provide housing for its members. I can't think of anyone who really should take issue with that effort. In fact, last Congress, this bill was passed both out of the Natural Resources Committee and on this House floor with unanimous consent. Mr. Speaker, I thank, in the committee, Chairman Grijalva and Ranking Member Bishop for their hard work in support of this legislation through the whole way. Mr. Speaker, I also thank my colleague Congressman Salud Carbajal from the Chumash homeland area who has been the region's representative and an original cosponsor of this bill. He has played a key role in facilitating these discussions at the local level, and I appreciate it. Located in Santa Barbara, the recorded history of the Chumash reaches back to the earliest arrival of Europeans in California when the Spanish explorer Cabrillo recorded his encounters with the Chumash in 1542. The Chumash have a strong and unbroken connection to the Camp 4 parcel, which is what this is known as, Camp 4, which is located close to their current reservation. Starting in the early 1800s, the Chumash became wards of the Spanish mission in Santa Ynez, which included Camp 4. Later, lands were granted to them that included Camp 4 as well. A commission recognized that the Tribe continued to reside in the Camp 4 area, though only 99 acres were ultimately taken into trust at that time. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Van Drew for pointing out that the Chumash face a significant housing crisis. Fewer than 17 percent of the Chumash members and lineal descendants are able to reside on the Tribe's existing reservations, which consists largely of hillsides, wetlands, and streambeds unsuitable for housing, and areas that they want to preserve. To address this shortage, the Chumash used their own resources to purchase the Camp 4 parcel, the 1,400 acres, with the intent of construction of homes on a small part of it. The Tribe applied to take Camp 4 into trust administratively. After the formal BIA process, the Department of the Interior completed the fee-to-trust process in January 2017. That same year, the county ratified an agreement with the Chumash, ensuring that any impacts of Camp 4 housing on local infrastructure and other resources would be addressed. The Department of the Interior approved this agreement that same day. In order to enable the Chumash to address their housing crisis and ensure any impacts to local governments are addressed, H.R. 317 affirms and ratifies the action of the Department of the Interior to take the land into trust and codifies the agreement ratified between the county and the Tribe addressing local impacts. At the request of the Tribe, it also prohibits the operation of gaming facilities on this parcel, which is a key element the people would have been concerned about, and it protects and respects the rights-of-way held by local stakeholders. The bill represents, again, the culmination of years of good faith negotiations by all parties and should be considered a model for maintaining positive working relationships between Tribal governments and local governments. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the measure. I thank everybody who has helped with this in a bipartisan effort.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, as Members have all heard, this weekend our Nation experienced another horrific attack on the Jewish people during Passover, this time in a shooting at a San Diego-area synagogue. This is something that I am afraid is becoming too commonplace, and we are becoming comfortable with this type of violence against Jewish people around our country and even around the world. Multiple people were injured. One person even lost her life, Lori Gilbert-Kaye. Eyewitnesses claimed she died while shielding the Rabbi from gunfire, her friend of more than 30 years. Almog Peretz shepherded many children away from the gunfire and toward safety. While most people, understandably, were fleeing this violence, Army veteran, Oscar Stewart, instinctively ran towards the gunfire, which froze the shooter. He was shouting and intimidating the shooter which eventually chased him off. From there, off-duty U.S. Border Patrol Officer Jonathan Morales joined him in the parking lot with a handgun and shot several rounds at the shooter's car which made him continue to flee. There is no telling how bad this could have gotten without the heroics of these folks. And as Oscar Stewart alluded, a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun, and it happened in this case. Join me in praying for Lori Gilbert-Kaye and her family, and for all those who were injured. God bless those who stepped up and saved the lives of others.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Dunn from Florida, for leading us in this Special Order tonight and providing this opportunity to talk about a very important aspect of our job together as it affects our different regions and our States across the country. This is an important opportunity to highlight, in my own district, our critical need for disaster funding in California, as well as the success stories we have had in the past, but, also, the needs of my colleagues in the Southern States and now, unfortunately, too, in the Midwest, my colleagues from Nebraska. Unfortunately, it appears that we will head into a 2-week recess now without the Senate doing their half of the job in this Congress and sending a relief package to the House that is so desperately needed--a real shame. This comes after the Senate Democrats rejected the latest attempts by Republicans to reach a compromise. It highlights one common trend I have seen so far in this Congress that Democrats are not interested in good faith negotiations with Republicans. They say all or nothing; take it or leave it. We have got two different Houses. One has a majority of one and the other has a majority of the other. We are going to have to come together a lot if we are going to get anything done in this Congress. What we have right now is no way to govern. Disasters take a substantial toll on many areas of the country. In my own district, 2 years ago was the spillway disaster at Oroville on the Oroville Dam. Now, with 2 years of good work, that spillway is now back functioning once again, rebuilt with a heck of a lot of money and a lot of people coordinating to get it done quickly. We just saw, in the last few days, 25,000 cfs of water is coming over that spillway in order for the lake to be regulated safely and accurately for flood control as well as storing water that we need through the year. Unfortunately, that isn't the last disaster in northern California. We had two more on top of that: near Redding, California, what is known as the Carr fire--a firenado, they labeled it--doing so much devastation on the west side there; then, ultimately, in November, 2 days after the election, in Paradise, California--we have all heard about that--a whole town basically has disappeared in that fire, in that conflagration, destroying, again, thousands of homes and buildings, and dozens of people were lost in that. The Camp fire and the areas around it--Concow, Magalia--they will be recovering for quite some time. Thankfully, we have had help, and we are thankful for that. We are thankful for the funding for the Oroville Dam spillway. We are thankful for the help initially here for the Carr fire in Redding and for the Camp fire in Paradise. But, for all the combined diasters we are looking at--Mr. Scott in Georgia, who still needs help, and my other colleagues--we have to have a stable flow into the coffers for our disaster relief that is so desperately needed all over the country. Why isn't the Senate doing its job? With all that has happened in our home State of California, why is the junior Senator from California more worried about, 2 years ahead of the election, spending all the time in the other 49 States campaigning instead of showing up to vote on the relief measure when the Senate considered it last week and the House passed a version of it back in December? It appears that Senator has more important things to do. I hope Californians will remember that for a lot of reasons. The Camp fire in Paradise was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history, the deadliest in our country for over 100 years. It is time for the Senate Democrats to quit fooling around with political games and get this disaster assistance in place, not just for me but for all my colleagues around the country who have people they are responsible for and need to get the work done. We have done our job in the House. D.C. must do its job overall, the Senate included.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to shed some light on the total hypocrisy of the Democrats' Save the Internet Act under the guise of net neutrality. This bill is nothing short of a Federal Government takeover of the internet, and the end result would be catastrophic. Democrats want a panel of unelected bureaucrats to have nearly limitless control over the internet, including decisions over content moderation and imposing new taxes and fees for internet services by the FCC. To be clear, they would like the Federal Government to have nearly unchecked authority to regulate your internet. That should terrify those of you sitting at home. This goes against everything that made the internet such a transformative engine of the American economy in the first place. In fact, this type of regulatory approach would cripple smaller ISPs that can't afford the burdensome regulations, especially in rural communities. I believe in a free and open internet that fosters innovation and takes our economy to new heights, like we have reached already. This legislation will do the opposite of that. This isn't ``Save the Internet.'' We must vote ``no'' to save the internet process and the freedom to access it from legislation like this.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to speak about our recent trip, on Friday, to Calexico, California, on the southern border between California and Mexico, with President Trump and several of my colleagues here from the House. What really stood out the most to me on this visit was the dedicated men and women who do this important work along the border from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Border Patrol. They did make it very clear to us in the group that they don't currently have the personnel, the funding, the infrastructure, and even the commitment by Congress to do everything they need to do to get their job done well. This includes the continued need for a physical barrier along the border, which they have seen and have demonstrated works very well. They reinforced that fences do, indeed, work. They serve as chokepoints for those who are trying to come across the border illegally. We have much to do in this department if we are going to have a secure border. For this time, my hat is off to them for the great work they do and for being honest with us about what needs to be done so they can do their jobs well instead of watching them go right on by into our country.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to highlight some pretty disturbing numbers released by Customs and Border Protection that help put our border crisis into perspective. In 2018, Customs and Border Patrol agents and officers seized more than 1.7 million pounds of narcotics, including 1 million pounds of marijuana; 280,000 pounds of cocaine; 248,000 pounds of methamphetamine; 6,500 pounds of heroin; 2,400 pounds of fentanyl, which is enough doses to kill everyone in the United States; and 139,000 pounds of other illicit drugs. It is also a humanitarian crisis. Border Patrol agents rescued from trafficking 4,300 men and women near the border last year. There is no telling how many more have been caught up in human trafficking that slipped through the cracks. Border Patrol says nearly every sector across the Southwest border has exceeded their capacity. Each day, nearly half the agents on the Southwest border are diverted away from border security missions to instead care for, transport, and process family units and unaccompanied children. Even former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson of the Obama administration said that we have a crisis with these huge numbers. Madam Speaker, we need to do our job and get this border crisis solved.