Brian Mast

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7319) to amend the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 to provide flexibility with respect to the leaseback of certain Federal real property, and for other purposes.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7329) to make technical corrections to provisions of law enacted by the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018, and for other purposes.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 7329.

Mr. MAST

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

Mr. MAST. 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. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1063) designating room H-226 of the United States Capitol as the ``Lincoln Room''.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 1063.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 1036 designates the room H-226 of the U.S. Capitol as the Lincoln Room. I appreciate my colleagues' work on this and find it an appropriate honor for such a distinguished leader of our country. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7318) to amend the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 to ensure that the Public Buildings Reform Board has adequate time to carry out the responsibilities of the Board, and for other purposes.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 7318.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 7318 amends the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 to align the timeline for the sale of unneeded properties with the appointment of the Public Buildings Reform Board. This bill will result in more savings for the taxpayer by providing the Board with sufficient time to identify properties to be sold or redeveloped. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, this is not a debate on education, but I am worried about the ability of my colleagues to add. As we talk about tax and rates and terms thrown out about things like ``irresponsible'' and ``giveaways,'' I think it is incumbent that we reflect on those terms and what that actually means. When we think about the rates that were passed, you think about somebody's rate going from 15 percent down to 12 percent, or from 25 percent down to 22 percent, or from 28 percent down to 24 percent, and you think about that as an overall of a 10 percentage point move. Or you think about the top three brackets coming down from 39.6 percent down to 37 percent. Or going down another point below that, maybe a 3.6 percent decrease, total, on the top three brackets, and 10 percent on the bottom four brackets. That is not an inequitable distribution of those tax cuts. You think about the term being thrown around when somebody says it is a giveaway. When somebody says that it is a giveaway to allow somebody to keep more of their earnings, what they are saying, fundamentally, is that a person's earnings don't belong to them; they belong to the Federal Government, and the Federal Government can give those earnings back to them. That is not the truth. All of the earnings, the work of somebody's hands, the fruits of somebody's labor, those are the earnings of the individual, and they are good enough to give the Federal Government some of those dollars to go out there and function. When you think about that term ``irresponsible,'' what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are saying is that it is irresponsible to allow somebody to keep more of the fruits of their labor. I rise in support of this bill. I encourage my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to reflect about the things that they are saying, the lies that they are literally out there saying. I hope that they can go to work for the American people instead of going to work online.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce for yielding me the time and for his continued leadership on this critical issue. It has been an honor to serve with him and to learn from him. Absolutely, I couldn't say that more seriously. It has been an honor. Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of H. Res. 1165. It is a resolution condemning the Assad regime and its backers, including Iran and Russia, for their continued support of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria. Now, after 7 years of war, as was already mentioned, the deaths of more than half a million people have occurred. Now, let's do a little bit of math on that. That would be over 70,000 people each year. When you think of the march of killing each and every day, that is a government march by the Assad regime of killing over 200 people every single day of the year. The atrocities of the Assad regime are still ongoing with the help of Russia and Iran. And what do these atrocities look like: burning individuals to death, having them buried under rubble, having an adult put a 7.62 Kalashnikov round into a child, the use of chemical devices. The United States must push for an end to this and must push to hold these perpetrators accountable. Currently, Iran is estimated to have deployed over 3,000 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers into the area. Iran is also responsible for directing Hezbollah and other militia fighters to battle on behalf of the regime. Should Iran be allowed to maintain a permanent military presence in Syria, it will pose an even greater threat to Israel, to Jordan, and to all United States interests in the region. This resolution calls upon the President and the Secretary of State to work towards a sustainable political transition in Syria and a strategy to stop a permanent Iranian presence in the region. The resolution also condemns the Russian Federation, which has deployed more than 68,000 Russian personnel, for their continued support of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria. H. Res. 1165 reiterates Congress' opposition to U.S. assistance to government-controlled areas in Syria. Mr. Speaker, the United States must continue to work with our partners to condemn the Assad regime's horrific abuses against the Syrian people and counter Iran and Russia's malign influence in the region. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical resolution.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 6793) to transfer a bridge over the Wabash River to the States of Illinois and Indiana, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 6622) to designate the Federal building located at 2110 First Street in Fort Myers, Florida, as the ``George W. Whitehurst Federal Building'', and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time to speak in support of this act named after our friend, Frank LoBiondo. I thank the gentleman also for his time as chairman of the full committee. As a Representative of Florida, the State with the second largest coastline in the country, I do have a profound respect for the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard, and as a veteran as well. It has been an honor to work on such a bipartisan committee, which likewise has been filled with members who support the Coast Guard across a diverse set of evolving mission sets. Every hour of every day the Coast Guard protects America's waterways. They promote a healthy environment, they ensure the safety of mariners, they enforce our laws, they keep us safe from piracy, and they keep us safe from smugglers. Day in and day out I have had the opportunity to see some of their work firsthand. Recently I met with a search and rescue team in Pollocksville, North Carolina, as they worked tirelessly on behalf of communities impacted by Hurricane Florence. I see my local Coasties in places like Fort Pierce. I see them saving mariners young and old, those lost at sea. There is no doubt that their selfless heroism and their decisive work saved many lives in the Carolinas, just as it did in Florida's Panhandle after Michael and across the Nation, wherever disaster befalls us. I am proud to support this bill, which also authorizes $10.6 billion to strengthen and support the U.S. Coast Guard in its invaluable defense of our waterways and of our homeland. I am especially glad to see the inclusion of my bill, the Jupiter Island Land Transfer Act. This provision will finally resolve a decades-old conservation issue in my district and transfer four critical acres of unused Coast Guard property to the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge to ensure the endangered turtles will continue to thrive. By protecting this land, we are doing our part to help ensure that the natural beauty of the Treasure Coast is maintained and continues to be the driver of our economy for many decades to come. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the brave and hardworking men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard and their indispensable work by supporting the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 51) to correct the enrollment of S. 140, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6742, the Secure Border Communications Act. Every single day the brave law enforcement officers of the United States Customs and Border Protection put themselves in harm's way in order to secure our borders and ports of entry. This bill will strengthen interagency border security communication and communication within U.S. Customs and Border Protection by improving communication technologies for all CBP officers and agents. When agents or officers are in the field, secure communications with other CBP personnel and law enforcement agencies is imperative to mission success and officer safety. Currently, communication devices and radios used by officers and agents are outdated and hinder interagency communication. I never want there to be a circumstance where a CBP officer or agent is operating in a remote area along our border and is not able to call for backup or whose location is intercepted by the cartels due to defective devices. We must not accept that as a possibility; we must ensure that our agents and officers are fully equipped with the proper technology. H.R. 6742 will require the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that CBP personnel are equipped with secure radios or other two-way communication devices. These devices will allow officers and agents to communicate between ports of entry and inspection stations, and with other law enforcement entities operating in the same area of responsibility. I want to thank my friend and colleague, Chairman McCaul, for his cosponsorship and leadership on this important bill. Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of a war on terror and continue to be the target of radicals who want to do our country harm. Ensuring our law enforcement officers operating along the borders and at our ports of entry are fully equipped is essential to national security. Beyond the threat of terrorism, securing our border is vitally important to preventing drug and human trafficking. Improving communication is a critical component of this mission. Mr. Speaker, let's take some decisive action to secure our border. Let's pass this bill.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I guess I found in my time that suicide is an epidemic of purpose, and worth, and value. I come to this line of thought because I have had countless veterans call me; reach out to my office; find me on Facebook; find me on some other form of social media; had a member of their family call my office or reach out, a mother, or a spouse, and talk about the fact that their veteran wants to take their life. And in seeing that play out time and time again, I realize each and every time that somebody is out there searching for their value in their life. They are searching for where is their value? Where is their worth to the rest of the world? And for me, that helps me to recognize that this can be prevented. I think veterans face this challenge in a unique way and in an elevated way, not because the challenge of war or recovering from injury is something that cannot be overcome. I think most of us end up finding in our lives that when we have overcome something incredibly difficult, those are the most memorable and purposeful moments of our life. No person, veteran included, should have to believe that their greatest contribution to the world, or to their Nation, or to their family, or their community is something that is behind them. That is something that is especially difficult for a veteran to overcome because their worth, and their value, and their work every single day was tied directly to serving all of those things at the highest possible level, serving their brothers and their sisters to their left and right, knowing that on any given day, they might have the opportunity to save a life, to save the life of one of their closest friends that they could ever have in life, a friend that would be willing to do absolutely everything for them, to include sacrificing their own life for that friend of them. It is hard to replicate, maybe impossible to replicate, that purpose, and that worth, and that value. And I believe that it is in that that we find such a challenge to overcome suicide with our veterans because of everything that they have already given this country, and the drive, and the determination, and the will, and the intestinal fortitude inside of our veterans to want to go out there and find the next greatest thing in life, the next greatest way to serve. That is the difficult challenge that we find ourselves trying to overcome. In having so many veterans reach out to me, I have learned this about veteran suicide. Each of them who were prevented from taking their life have said that there was nothing I could do, if somebody else didn't reach out to them. Because I could have not known anybody else that they could have told, that they didn't tell, they wouldn't have known. It is in that that I believe it is important that we as veterans make a commitment to one another about being there for one another; about the fact that we had an oath that we never leave a fallen comrade. We always used to say, we always place the mission first, and that mission doesn't end when we take off that uniform. That mission, that commitment to one another, has to continue. As veterans, we make it a point to put the most important things that we care about in word, in verse, things that we memorize. Whether it is the Soldier's Creed, or the Ranger Creed, or the Special Forces Creed, or some other ethos that we recognize as part of our service. We put it in words and we speak about it, and we say it time, and time, and time again. And that is why I believe that it is important that we as veterans make known in word our commitment to one another; that we are never going to let one of our brothers or sisters be left behind; that our commitment to one another never ends; that we are never going to allow one of them to bring harm to themselves; that our love for each other never ends. That willingness of what we would go out there and do for one another on the battlefield has no time limit on it, has no fuse. It will never be a wick that burns down. That has to be our commitment to one another, to demonstrate that kind of love and caring for each other as veterans. It is the only solution that I have been able to find in my life toward helping with this one veteran, one person at a time, one commitment at a time, a commitment that never ends, and a commitment that has no limits to it. I believe all of our veterans want that and are capable of that, and I am proud of every one of them for that commitment that I know they have inside of them. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) for holding this Special Order.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because it has been 6 years since the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi and ask that we reflect on the four patriotic Americans who lost their lives: Petty Officer First Class Glen Doherty and Senior Chief Petty Officer Tyrone Woods were Navy SEALs, doing what they loved, serving as security personnel in Libya and working to protect United States diplomats. Ambassador Chris Stevens and Staff Sergeant Sean Smith served for a combined 31 years with the U.S. State Department. In honor of their memory, I am asking that our colleagues cosponsor the Gold Medal Act, H.R. 2315, to formally recognize these four men with the Congressional Gold Medal for their heroism and dedication to our country. I am asking that every Member of the House think about their 12 grueling hours of close-quarters combat, the crack of those AK-47s firing at them and next to each one of them, the indirect fire that their compound was taking, the fires that burned their bodies, the unanswered calls for help. Think about their lifesaving actions on behalf of others and the fact that it cost them their own lives.