Michael McCaul

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I stand in strong support of this bill, the TSA Loose Change Act, sponsored by my friend and chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Congressman Jeff Miller, and 42 bipartisan cosponsors. The Committee on Homeland Security ordered this legislation reported during the 112th Congress and again this Congress, but this is the first time it is being considered by the full House. I am pleased to be here today to express my strong support for the measure, and I urge its adoption. Mr. Speaker, in the hustle and bustle of our Nation's airports, with millions of people traveling every day, it is no surprise that some travelers will inadvertently leave behind loose change at TSA screening checkpoints. That pocket change may not add up to much at one airport, but when you total it across 450 airports, it amounts to half a million dollars every year. TSA is currently authorized to keep the money for its own use, but the agency has been slow to spend it, and already receives $7 billion towards its operations ever year. I believe this bill is a unique opportunity to put that loose change to better use by spending it on airport centers that provide our military heroes with a more relaxing and comfortable experience while they travel. What better time to make this change than during this busy holiday season when servicemembers are traveling to spend time with their loved ones? According to the CBO, this bill will not have a significant impact on the budget in any given year, given the modest amount of money involved. Supporting our military servicemembers and their families is a goal we can all get behind, and this bill represents a commonsense step toward that objective. Earlier this year, we passed the Helping Heroes Fly Act, sponsored by the Congresswoman from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard. That bill is already making a difference for wounded warriors traveling through our airports, and H.R. 1095 is another chance to further our commitment to our U.S. soldiers. I commend Chairman Miller for sponsoring this legislation, as well as my colleagues on the committee and across the aisle for their support. With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1095) to amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration) to transfer unclaimed money recovered at airport security checkpoints to nonprofit organizations that provide places of rest and recuperation at airports for members of the Armed Forces and their families, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson), chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, the Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2013, sponsored by the ranking member of the full Committee on Homeland Security, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Speaker, the American people know that the TSA is charged with protecting our aviation systems against another horrific terrorist attack like we experienced on September 11, 2001. However, the role of industry stakeholders--from pilots and flight attendants to private screening companies and airport operators--is equally as critical, albeit less visible. TSA is in the spotlight, for better or for worse; but many of TSA's private sector partners are also responsible for implementing effective security programs and keeping travelers safe. This shared responsibility is precisely why TSA cannot make decisions in a vacuum, as it has been known to do. The bill before us sends a necessary message to TSA leadership, and frankly to all DHS leadership, that the Congress values stakeholder input, private sector collaboration, and thoughtful planning prior to rolling out new policies and procedures that affect millions of travelers. The Aviation Security Advisory Committee that is authorized in this legislation serves as a valuable sounding board for TSA decisionmakers. By codifying the committee in statute, we will prevent a needless expiration of its charter and disbandment, which has already happened once under TSA. As chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, I am proud of the manner in which this bill was thoughtfully considered and amended in committee by Members on both sides of the aisle, and I thank the ranking member for his work on this important issue. I think the more recent example we have with the knives being allowed on the airplanes without input and participation by the flight attendants and the pilots is a classic example of this Department not talking to the private sector about what can better protect them and passengers on airplanes. Of course, that decision was reversed by the Director of TSA, eventually, after he consulted with the stakeholders in the community. This bill will provide that they consult with those stakeholders before such decisions are made. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the Affordable Care Act. As the American people know, Members of Congress now are covered by this law. And, rightly so, we should engage in the D.C. exchange. I want to tell you about my personal experience with the D.C. exchange. The President said you can keep your health care plan and that your premiums will go down. Mr. Speaker, I lost my health care plan. I have five children. My premiums have gone up significantly. I don't know if I can keep all the same doctors that treat my children. If this is such a great law, why isn't the President of the United States covered by this law? On day one, why didn't the President of the United States have a Rose Garden ceremony as customer number one under his law, ObamaCare, and sign up for this? The answer is that he hasn't signed up for it because maybe he doesn't think it is good enough for his family, but yet it is good enough for the American people. That is the height of hypocrisy and arrogance in Washington, and it needs to stop.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. I want to thank my colleague and good friend from Texas, the chairman, who knows the border, perhaps, better than any other Member in this body. We are all here, Mr. Speaker, to try and work through our differences over government funding. I hope that no one in this Chamber truly believes that we should play politics with the security of our borders, our last line of defense. Yet right now, as we debate this important funding bill, our agents at the Department of Homeland Security--the Border Patrol, CBP, and ICE--are not fully funded, which diminishes their ability to secure our Nation's borders and puts American security and lives at risk. What kind of message would it send to our constituents all over this great country if we threw up our hands and said that providing for the common defense under the Constitution is no longer a priority? Yet that is exactly the debate we are having today. As the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, I will not stand by and let politics get the best of us. Our brave men and women on the border in my home State risk their lives daily. Just a few weeks ago, I visited with Border Patrol agents, border sheriffs, and ranchers in the Rio Grande sector in south Texas, which has seen a 55 percent increase in illegal border crossings. This is not just an immigration issue, Mr. Speaker; it is a national security issue. Our border agents on the front line must be fully funded. I urge my colleagues to support the Border Safety and Security Act.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Continuing Resolution to delay the individual mandate for a year and undue the ObamaCare exemption for Members of Congress. This is about fairness to the American people, who are sick and tired of the hypocrisy of the political class. We are a nation of laws and when the ruling elite are given a free pass while millions of our constituents are forced into a new health care regime that drives up premiums, erodes the quality of care and puts the government between them and their doctors, we lose the trust of the American people. As Teddy Roosevelt once said, ``No man is above the law and no man is below it.'' Yet, through administrative ruling the Obama Administration has exempted Members of Congress and their staff from the very health care law that bears the President's name. Meanwhile, the President, Vice President and their political employees are not even required to be part of the new health exchanges. If this law is so great, Mr. President, then why won't you and your political appointees be subject to it? The answer is simple: ObamaCare is not working and the doctor doesn't want a taste of his own medicine. Karen, from Cypress, Texas in my district wrote to me this week that ``as a benefits department employee of an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, I have major issues with ObamaCare. I abhor the waste of my department's time and expense in documenting our policies just to show Congress that we already comply with the mandates, despite the lack of guidance we get. Seems to me Congress is punishing employers who offer good coverage. How is this going to help anyone? And don't even get me started on the administration exempting themselves all from it. That rankles more than almost anything else.'' Another one of my constituents, an insurance agent who also happens to be the Mayor of Tomball, Texas, called my office this week and told me that her clients--which include businesses in and around my district--have no idea what is required of them under the law. The Obama Administration has given thousands of waivers to businesses, delayed implementation of dozens of provisions of the law and no one know what to expect next. What we do know if that ObamaCare is not ready for prime time. We must give our constituents the certainty of a full year delay of the individual mandate. Anything short will only result in more chaos and confusion, not to mention skyrocketing premiums, billions in new taxes and the erosion of the doctor-patient relationship. Most importantly, elected officials must be treated the same as the people they represent. No exemption for Members of Congress!

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. I thank the gentleman from California, my fellow chairman. I rise in opposition to this amendment. As the terrorist attacks in Benghazi and Boston demonstrate, our fight against those who mean us harm and those they inspire is far from over. This amendment is of questionable constitutional standing as it seeks to deprive any President of lawful options that he needs to protect America; it hinders our ability to gather information; and it actually provides an incentive for terrorists to come here to attack us. It prohibits the President from ever detaining anyone in the United States, including a foreign terrorist, under the authority of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. This amendment requires that foreign terrorists could only be prosecuted in civilian courts. But what if they could not be successfully prosecuted? Currently, there are detainees in Guantanamo who are too dangerous to release but who are not prosecutable. Under this amendment, if similarly situated terrorists were captured here at home, they would have to be released. Our experience in trying to deport illegal aliens whose native lands refuse to accept their return demonstrates the untenable position this amendment would leave us in. If we can't use the AUMF to hold detainees and if we can't successfully prosecute them in a civilian court, then what can we do? The amendment ignores the reality of the threats that we face every day. Consistent with the laws of war, we have long recognized the authority to detain enemy combatants for the duration of hostilities. In the 2004 Hamdi decision, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the authority to detain a U.S. citizen captured fighting with the Taliban and who was later detained in the United States, and that such detainees have the right to challenge their detentions. Then the 2012 NDAA reaffirmed the detention authority provided by the 2001 AUMF as well as the right to habeas corpus determinations. The amendment overturns established legal precedent as well as undermines the statutory support for the AUMF. It does not make us safer, and it increases our peril. I urge my colleagues to vote against it.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, let me thank my dear friend and colleague from Texas, the great State, Judge Carter, and commend him for a fine job on this legislation. The recent Boston attacks serve as a stark reminder that the terrorist threat to America remains constant. Despite the President's dangerous narrative downplaying the radical jihadist threat to America, al Qaeda and its affiliates and those they inspire have not given up their quest to attack us. In today's challenging fiscal climate, it is more important than ever that every dollar spent on national security be linked to results. Our safety depends on the strategic funding of programs and technologies that provide us with valuable defenses and measurable outcomes. This bill demands that those criteria be met. As chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, I'm pleased to see that this bill provides appropriate funding for our frontline efforts, reins in wasteful spending, and ensures that tax dollars are accounted for by enacting important reporting requirements for the Department. I will soon introduce a cybersecurity bill defining the Department's role in ensuring the real-time flow of information to protect our Nation's critical infrastructure, data, intelligence, and financial systems. This bill provides the necessary funding needed for DHS to fulfill its important cybersecurity mission. I recently introduced H.R. 1417, the Border Security Results Act, requiring DHS to implement a strategy to gain operational control of our borders. The appropriations bill presented here today supports a strong commitment to secure our borders by providing over $350 million to the Border Technology account and supports the refinement and adaptation of proven technology needed to monitor the border and support our boots on the ground. The bill provides for an additional 800 CBP officers, $387 million for ICE operations, and funding for ICE's 34,000 detention beds, despite the administration's plan to reduce that number and release hundreds of dangerous criminals into our communities. It also restores cuts to our Coast Guard, which will strengthen our interdiction efforts in the Western Hemisphere. And, finally, the bill applies lessons learned from the recent Boston attacks. For example, the bill rejects the President's proposed 39 percent cut to Bombing Prevention programs, and increases funding for visa security and overstay enforcement programs by $10 million. This bill reflects the right priorities and insists on accountability from DHS. It will help to ensure that America is safe, secure, and protected; and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I support passage of H.R. 258, the Stolen Valor Act of 2013 and H.R. 1073, the Nuclear Terrorism Conventions Implementation and Safety of Maritime Navigation Act of 2013. I was not present during votes in the House of Representatives on May 20, 2013 at the time these two bills came to the floor for a vote but would have voted in favor of their passage.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Mr. McCAUL. We have no more speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Let me just say this: when it comes to this issue, particularly, which we know is one of the greatest threats that the United States faces right now, and that's the threat of cyber attacks, this is not a Republican-Democrat issue. It's really an American issue. And with all due respect, this does provide, I think, the balance between security and civil liberties; and it provides the civilian interface to the private sector to protect our critical infrastructures that are already under attack by countries like Iran, China, and Russia. So I think that, if anything, the recent events in Boston demonstrate that we have to come together as Republicans and Democrats to get this done in the name of national security. In the case in Boston, they were real bombs, explosive devices. In this case, they're digital bombs, and these digital bombs are on their way. That's why this legislation is so important. That's why it's so urgent that we pass this today. For if we don't, and those digital bombs land and attack the United States of America, and Congress fails to act, then Congress has that on its hands. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I want to first thank Mr. Rogers, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Thompson, and all the staff for their real-time collaboration over the last several days, very late night hours, to get this amendment to perfection, and let me just say thanks again for that. Mr. Chairman, I strongly encourage support of this amendment. Cyber threats that the United States faces are real and immediate, and the key to addressing these cracks in our cyber defenses lies with bridging the gap between government and industry. My amendment helps do just that. This amendment would direct the Federal Government to conduct cybersecurity activities in a real-time, coordinated, and integrated way so that there is shared situational awareness across agencies to protect the Nation from cyber attack. This amendment would designate an entity within the Department of Homeland Security as the civilian Federal entity interface to receive cyber threat information from the private sector. This is an important improvement and provides an additional layer of review for information sharing procedures by a robust civilian privacy office in order to ensure Americans' civil liberties are protected. Additionally, another important improvement to the underlying bill by way of this amendment is designating an entity within the Department of Justice as the civilian Federal entity to receive cyber threat information from the private sector related to cyber crime. This bipartisan amendment improves the underlying bill and addresses concerns raised by privacy groups. These changes ensure that DHS and DOJ will serve as points of entry for those seeking to share cyber threat information with the Federal Government. With that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my fellow Texan and friend, Chairman Smith, for his support, Ranking Member Johnson, and Dan Lipinski, my cohort on this bill. We passed this in two prior Congresses, and this is our third attempt. Let's hope the third time will be a charm. For most of us around the country, it is hard to think of anything else other than the terrorist attack in Boston yesterday. It is a solemn reminder of the threats that we face. While the attention of the American people is focused on the physical attack that occurred during the Boston Marathon, I think it is important that we as leader in this Chamber be frank with the American people about the virtual threat of a cyber attack against our national and economic security interests. We must be vigilant against both. The United States faces several daunting challenges at this moment in history, including emerging threats that we must as a Nation be prepared to face head on. Congress is often blamed for not rising to the occasion by being too reactive to events or failing to act at all. I'm determined, as my colleagues are, that this Congress tackle head on the problem of our vulnerable cyber defenses and bolster our security in cyberspace. Last month our country's top intelligence officials told Congress that the U.S. is vulnerable to cyber espionage, cyber crime, and outright destruction of computer networks, both from sophisticated government-sponsored assaults from countries like China and Iran, as well as criminal hacker groups and cyber terrorists. We know that foreign nations are conducting reconnaissance on our critical infrastructures and utilities, including our gas lines and water systems and energy grids. If the ability to send a silent attack through our digital networks falls into our enemies' hands, this country could be the victim of a devastating attack. Last December, Iran attacked the state-owned Saudi Aramco with the goal of stopping Saudi Arabia's oil production. Additionally, this year Iran conducted multiple denial of service attacks on major U.S. banks. And just last year, an al Qaeda operative issued a call for electronic jihad against the United States, comparing our technological vulnerabilities to that of our security before 9/11. Yet while these threats are imminent, no major cybersecurity legislation that would help protect us has been enacted since 2002. Quite simply, we are not prepared to meet the threats of the 21st century. This act improves coordination in government, providing for a strategic plan to assess the cybersecurity risk and guide the overall direction of Federal cyber R&D. It updates the National Institutes of Standards and Technology's responsibilities to develop security standards for Federal computer systems to ensure computer hygiene and processes for agencies to follow. Our bill also establishes a Federal-university-private-sector task force to coordinate research and development, improves training of cyber professionals, and continues the much-needed cybersecurity research and development programs at the National Science Foundation and NIST. This bill has been endorsed, as the chairman stated, by leading industry groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Tech America. Most importantly, this bill is fiscally responsible. It is not being paid for with any new money since it is intended to work within the boundaries of funds authorized and appropriated to NSF and NIST. I'm confident that this legislation will advance the work these agencies are doing to bolster our domestic cybersecurity, as much as I'm confident that this Congress will finally address in a meaningful way the urgent need to pass this bipartisan cybersecurity legislation at that time. So I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 34th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act. Since the end of World War II, the United States and Taiwan have fostered a close relationship that has been of enormous strategic and economic benefit to both countries. When the United States shifted diplomatic relations from Taiwan to the People's Republic of China in January 1979, Congress moved quickly to pass the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to ensure that the United States would continue its robust engagement with Taiwan in the areas of commerce, culture, and security cooperation. With President Carter's signature on April 10, 1979, this important and lasting piece of legislation became the law of the land and served as the statutory basis for U.S.-Taiwan relations going forward. After 34 years, the TRA still stands as a model of congressional leadership in the history of our foreign relations, and, together with the 1982 ``Six Assurances,'' it remains the cornerstone of a very mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and Taiwan. Through three decades marked by momentous social, economic, and political transformations, Taiwan has remained a trusted ally of the United States that now shares with us the ideals of freedom, democracy and self-determination. The foresight of the TRA's drafters in providing that ``the United States will make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services . . . to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,'' and affirming ``the preservation and enhancement of the human rights of all the people on Taiwan'' as explicit objectives of the United States, has contributed in large measure to make Taiwan what it is today--a vibrant, open society governed by democratic institutions. Though the people of Taiwan now enjoy fundamental human rights and civil liberties, they continue to live day after day under the ominous shadow cast by over 1400 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles that the People's Republic of China (PRC) has aimed at them. The PRC persists in claiming Taiwan as a `renegade province,' refusing to renounce the use of force to prevent formal de jure independence, even codifying its right to military action via passage of the so-called ``Anti-Secession Law'' on March 14, 2005. The United States Congress strongly condemned the ``Anti-Secession Law'' in House Concurrent Resolution 98, passed on March 16, 2005. The TRA affirmed that the United States' decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China was based on the expectation that the future of Taiwan would be determined by peaceful means. Furthermore, it stipulates that it is the policy of the United States ``to consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means . . . a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States.'' The unambiguous and principled stance contained in these provisions has been instrumental to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for more than thirty years, in spite of the growing military threat posed by the PRC. I therefore invite my colleagues to join me in commemorating the 34th anniversary of the TRA, to further underline our unwavering commitment to the TRA and our support for the strong and deepening relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend and great leader in this body: Science Committee Chairman Ralph Hall, who just became the oldest known House member to cast a recorded floor vote. I am honored to serve on the Science Committee with the Chairman, and I have seen first hand his dedication not only to America's scientific endeavors, but also to our country and the great state of Texas. Chairman Hall was born in Rockwall County, Texas, a place he has represented in Congress since he was elected in 1980. He was an aircraft carrier pilot in the Navy from 1942-1945 and received his law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1951. In the 1950s, he served as Rockwall County judge and in the 1960s he served in the Texas state senate. During this time he was also a successful business leader in Rockwall County. He brought his strong sense of leadership and service to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he has faithfully served since Ronald Reagan was elected president. As House Science Committee chairman, he has been a leader promoting science, technology, engineering, and math education. He has worked to ensure that sound scientific principles are the bedrock of any related public policy decisions being made. He has put a priority on research and development to ensure that America remains competitive. And he has been a leading proponent of America's space exploration program. In addition to all of his professional achievements, Chairman Hall has a great sense of humor. Congress can be a place of intense political maneuvering and infighting, and he always brings levity to tense situations with his wit and charm. He endears his colleagues to him on both sides of the aisle. It is with great pride today that I congratulate my friend and colleague, Ralph Hall, on his distinguished career; his service to our country; and his leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives. This body is better because of his service, and I wish him many more years of success and happiness.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 915) to establish a Border Enforcement Security Task Force program to enhance border security by fostering coordinated efforts among Federal, State, and local border and law enforcement officials to protect United States border cities and communities from transnational crime, including violence associated with drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal alien trafficking and smuggling, violence, and kidnapping along and across the international borders of the United States, and for other purposes.

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