Max Miller

Mr. MILLER of Ohio

Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, I believe that kids do better in school and better in life when their parents are involved in their education. Parents have a right to know what their children are being taught. They have a right to be heard by teachers, by administrators, and certainly by their school board members and other policymakers. They have a right to protect their children's privacy and to keep them safe, and they have a right to know how schools are spending their tax dollars. These rights are being threatened because some people believe that the government knows better than parents about what their kids need to succeed. They may be comfortable with bureaucracies standing between students and parents, but I am not. For these reasons and others, I am proud to be a cosponsor of the Parents Bill of Rights Act to enshrine these principles into law. I thank Chairwoman Foxx and Congresswoman Letlow for their leadership in bringing this important legislation forward. Today, I am offering an amendment to further strengthen this bill. My amendment is simple. It includes language to ensure that the rights defined in the Parents Bill of Rights extend to families of students who choose to pursue career and technical education. One of the great challenges facing our economy is meeting the needs of a changing labor market in the United States. Specifically, we must address the skills gap. CTE achieves this goal. In my home State of Ohio, 54 percent of jobs require skills training. During the 2020-2021 school year, Ohio had over 127,000 secondary CTE participants, and the Class of 2021 earned over 51,000 industry- recognized credentials while graduating high school. These are among the hardest working students that you will find, regardless of educational route, and these students matter just as much as those who go to college. My amendment ensures that families of CTE students are protected by the law in the same way that students on the traditional route are protected. A vote in support of this amendment sends the message that career and technical education is not only good for students, but it is great for students. It is great for business, and it is great for our communities. I urge our colleagues to vote ``yes.'' Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Mr. Chair, I fundamentally believe that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle mean well, but I am shocked and appalled that we don't support technical education. This is a solid amendment. What I just heard, Mr. Chair, is that some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't like our union counterparts, who don't like our carpenters, who don't like our pipe fitters, who don't like our welders, and who don't like our steelworkers that we support. That is what I am hearing. I am disturbed by the fact that we cannot support the silent majority within this country, the backbone of our Nation in technical education throughout this country really is tough for me to swallow right now. I am glad that the American people can see this for what it is. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Ohio

Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today in memory of a great Ohioan, Maini Wood, who recently passed away at her York Township homestead. Maini lived an incredible life. She was born in Finland in 1930 and survived the Russo-Finnish War of 1939 and 1940. As a young girl, she actually had to ski to school, wearing white robes to hide from the Russian bombers that flew overhead. Maini immigrated to the United States in her early 20s, but she met her husband, Dee, aboard a ship during a visit to her native Finland. The couple eventually settled in York Township where they raised their children in what they described as--and I happen to agree with them--a beautiful, idyllic rural community. We learned so much from Maini about survival, about taking chances, and about finding joy in life's simple pleasures. Ohio and America are less with her loss. My thoughts and prayers are with Maini's family as they grieve the loss of this amazing woman.

Mr. MILLER of Ohio

Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of John Adams, a man who needs no introduction in Cleveland or Progressive Field, thanks to his passion for baseball and his iconic drum. John passed away last week at 71 years of age. John, a 1969 graduate of Parma High, bought a base drum at a garage sale and first hauled it to an Indians game in 1973. Over the next 46 years, John and his drum would attend more than 3,700 games, including all three All-Star games, 11 playoff series, and three World Series. He missed just 45 games over nearly five decades of fandom. John and his drum were the beating heart of Cleveland baseball, and they have rightfully been immortalized with a statue at the field. I thank John for the memories. May he rest in peace.

Mr. MILLER of Ohio

Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Mississippi for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs has broad jurisdiction over national security and foreign policy, peacekeeping and peace enforcement, international law, and the promotion of democracy, and many other critical issues that require its members to be both objective and credible. Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs represent the United States abroad and are regarded as credible emissaries of American foreign policy. Their words have significant weight in guiding our relations with other countries and are relied upon by world leaders, most importantly, our allies such as Israel, the forever home of the Jewish people. But what happens when a committee member is no longer viewed as a credible emissary of our foreign policy? What if a Member is barred from visiting one of our allies because of their prejudiced comments? How can Members who are unable to engage with our allies in a constructive manner be considered credible members of the committee? Well, the gentlewoman's discriminatory comments disqualified her from traveling to Israel in 2019. Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu would not allow Representative Omar to enter, saying, ``We respect all political parties in the United States equally; however, we also respect ourselves. Whoever comes to impose boycotts on us and to deny the legitimacy of the State of Israel, we will not allow them entry.'' Yes, the gentlewoman disqualified herself from entry into one of the most important countries allied with the United States. Over the past 75 years, Israel has been a steadfast ally of the United States. Israel has stood by us through the volatility in the Middle East, and this alliance has been critical to our own national security. How can someone not welcomed by one of our most important allies serve as an emissary of American foreign policy on the Foreign Affairs Committee? Given her biased comments against Israel and against the Jewish people, how can she serve as an objective decisionmaker on the committee? Let's take a look at some of the gentlewoman's comments. In February of 2019, barely more than a month after becoming a Member of this body, Representative Omar suggested that the Jewish people and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee were buying political support, writing on Twitter, ``It's all about the Benjamins baby,'' clearly amplifying an anti-Semitic stereotype about the Jewish people and money. In response, Congressional Democratic leadership, her own party, immediately released a statement by saying, ``Anti-Semitism must be called out, confronted, and condemned whenever it is encountered, without exception.'' Not long after Representative Omar trivialized the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, by describing that day of infamy as ``some people did something.'' That is horrific. ``Some people did something.'' Yes, Mr. Speaker, some people did do something. Some people committed evil acts of terrorism and killed nearly 3,000 Americans, and, in response, some thousands of our fellow citizens, myself included, enlisted in our Armed Forces to defend the gentlewoman's right to make her prejudiced remarks. Many went off to combat and even died to defend that right. But they did not die fighting to have their bravery and love of country undermined by a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee. Mr. Speaker, I have no words to describe just how utterly unacceptable these comments are. But that is not all. In 2021, the gentlewoman referred to Israel, which has the absolute right to defend itself against terrorism and attacks on its very existence, as an ``apartheid state.'' She even equated the United States and Israel, countries that have stood as beacons of democracy, to the Taliban and Hamas, organizations that impose terror on their regions and the world. Once again, even her Democrat colleagues swiftly condemned her comment. Twelve Democrat Members of this body released a statement which noted, ``Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided. Ignoring the differences between democracies governed by the rule of law and contemptible organizations that engage in terrorism at best discredits one's intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated prejudice.'' That is from her own party. Some have decried this effort as a political game. Mr. Speaker, I assure you this is no political game. This resolution is not about engaging in a tit for tat with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. This is about keeping someone with a long record of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel bias off the Foreign Affairs Committee, which needs objective emissaries for our foreign policy. Even the Democrat former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel, said that Representative Omar's anti-Semitic comments have ``no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee or the House of Representatives.'' That was in addition to the previously mentioned joint statement from 12 of the gentlewoman's Democrat colleagues. The facts are clear: Representative Omar has espoused anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric time and time again. She cannot be an objective contributor to the work of the committee, and she has brought dishonor to the House of Representatives. This body's committee, which is viewed by nations around the world as speaking for Congress on matters of international importance and national security, should not have a seat for a Member who would bring such dishonor to that committee. I encourage all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this resolution to say with one voice that the United States House of Representatives does not condone hate and to reaffirm that we will always condemn anti-Semitism. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Ohio

Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize one of the many leaders of industry in Ohio's Seventh Congressional District, Momentive Technologies. Headquartered in Strongsville, Ohio, Momentive Technologies is a global leader in quartz and ceramic materials for semiconductors and one of the largest producers of boron nitride in the world. Momentive Technologies' products are indispensable components in a broad range of goods, from semiconductors, aerospace, water purification, and pharmaceuticals to consumer electronics and telecommunications. I had the privilege of visiting their headquarters while I was back home for last week's district work period. Momentive Technologies has invested heavily in its Ohio operations. Its year-over-year capital spend has increased 35 percent each year since 2020, and it hopes to continue that strong record of investment for the benefit not only of Ohio but of America's economic security. I look forward to working together with Momentive Technologies and others across different industries to ensure American economic and industrial security for generations to come.

Mr. MILLER of Ohio

Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend and colleague, Ms. Tenney, for yielding and for her leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 7. Today, the United States House of Representatives stands up for human rights, for the same freedoms that we as Americans hold so near and dear in our own country and against the brutal regime in Iran. The Iranian Government has a long track record of vile human rights abuses. Notably, they are the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, not just against the United States, but also against countries such as our own democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel. In September, the senseless murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the so-called morality police for wearing her hijab improperly once again put the regime's human rights record front and center for the world to see. Now, as the Iranian people protest in the streets of more than 133 cities across the country, demanding basic human rights, the regime's response is to crack down even harder. Since the protests broke out in September, more than 450 have been killed, including 58 children. At least another 18,000 were arrested. This is reprehensible, unacceptable, and inexcusable. No government should ever treat its people this way. The United States must continue to support the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom. The Biden administration should take a strong stand and end its quest for a new Iran nuclear deal. Great American companies, like Starlink, should help bring much-needed internet access to those protesting in the streets, which will significantly increase their communication and information sharing. That is why I am proud to stand here on the floor of the House of Representatives today and support H. Con. Res. 7.