Jerrold Nadler

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader. (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains on each side.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I would simply comment that this is a restoration of the previously authorized Voting Rights Act before the Supreme Court did its dastardly deed. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Richmond).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time each side has left.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Frankel).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, we have only one remaining speaker, who will be our closing speaker, so the gentleman from Georgia may wish to close for his side. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the House.

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

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4803) to facilitate the automatic acquisition of citizenship for lawful permanent resident children of military and Federal Government personnel residing abroad, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 4803, the Citizenship for Children of Military Members and Civil Servants Act. This bipartisan legislation provides a simple solution to ease the burdens imposed by our current citizenship laws on those who have chosen to serve our Nation abroad, and their children. Most children who are born outside the United States to U.S. citizen parents are deemed U.S. citizens at birth. But under our current citizenship laws, this process can be more complicated for children whose parents don't meet certain bureaucratic requirements related to residency, a concept that is generally defined according to where one physically resides. This often affects military families and certain other Federal employees serving abroad. As a result, when establishing U.S. residency is not possible because of a parent's overseas service to the Nation, these families, who make great sacrifices for our country, are at a disadvantage. Without access to a streamlined citizenship process, parents must either guide their children through a lengthy and expensive naturalization process or find some alternative way to establish U.S. residency, which may even require them to cut short their overseas service commitment to the armed services. In August, Members on both sides of the aisle were taken aback by the administration's reversal of a 15-year-old policy that allowed families of military servicemembers and Federal Government employees to meet the residency requirement for acquisition of citizenship purposes while serving abroad. H.R. 4803 will implement a small but important fix to our citizenship laws by restoring and codifying the previous policy and bringing consistency to what were once differing policy provisions between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State. H.R. 4803 will provide greater flexibility to individuals who have dedicated their lives and careers to serving our Nation by treating their children like other children of U.S. citizens who were born overseas, allowing them to be automatically recognized as U.S. citizens once certain conditions are met. H.R. 4803 will thus eliminate the inconvenience, expense, and delays of the naturalization process that such children are required to undergo under current law and allow their parents to continue serving our Nation in the military without interruption. I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), my friend and colleague, for partnering with me on this commonsense, bipartisan fix, as well as Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Thornberry, Subcommittee Chair Lofgren, Subcommittee Ranking Member Buck, along with Mr. Gallego and Mr. Lieu. I appreciate their willingness to work across the aisle and to demonstrate that it is possible to find common ground on some immigration and nationality issues. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I reserve balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This bipartisan legislation would provide greater flexibility and support to those who have dedicated their careers to serving our Nation when they have children born abroad. I again thank my colleagues for the bipartisan nature of the work and support of this bill. I urge all my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I support this resolution because it is the solemn duty of the Congress to investigate the serious allegations against the President. I support this resolution because it is indefensible for any official to demand an ally--one depending on our support in an existential struggle with Russia--investigate his or her political adversaries. I support this resolution because no person, Republican or Democrat, should be permitted to jeopardize America's security and reputation for self-serving political purposes. I support this resolution because if, after a fair and thorough inquiry, the allegations against President Trump are found to be true, they would represent a profound offense against the Constitution and the people of this country. I support this resolution because I believe it is the duty of this House to vindicate the Constitution and to make it crystal clear to future Presidents that such conduct, if proven, is an affront to the great public trust placed in him or her. I support this resolution, not because I want the allegations to be true--they sadden me deeply--but because, if they are true, the Constitution demands that we take action. I support this resolution because it lays the groundwork for open hearings. The House and the American public must see all of the evidence for themselves. I support this resolution because I know we must overcome this difficult moment for the Nation. This resolution is necessary to ensure that our constitutional order remains intact for future generations. I support this resolution because we have no choice.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 777) to reauthorize programs authorized under the Debbie Smith Act of 2004.

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

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 777, the Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2019. The Debbie Smith Act, named for a courageous woman who has fought for the rights of survivors of sexual assault, is critical to helping States process DNA evidence and reduce the Nation's large backlog of untested DNA samples. The law, which I helped author and enact in its original form in 2004, was developed in response to a crisis of untested DNA samples, a problem that we have helped to reduce but which, unfortunately, still requires our urgent attention today. Over the past several decades, evidence from DNA samples has helped us solve an increasing number of criminal cases and has been particularly valuable in identifying the perpetrators of the horrible and all-too-common crime of sexual assault. The use of DNA evidence kits in sexual assault cases is critical, and it is imperative that the evidence that is collected is analyzed as soon as possible. When the evidence is collected and processed, the DNA profile is added to the Combined DNA Index System so that matches against other DNA profiles can be sought, increasing the scope of the database. By testing the DNA evidence left at the scene of a rape or sexual assault, we can increase the likelihood of identifying the perpetrators, making it more likely that they will be captured, punished, and prevented from doing it again. This, in turn, allows victims to obtain some measure of justice and society to take violent criminals off the streets. DNA evidence also allows us, definitively, to exonerate the falsely accused. Over time, however, crime labs across the country, regrettably, developed a large backlog of DNA samples that they had not tested, an intolerable situation calling out for Federal action. In response, in 2000, I cosponsored the passage of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act, which provided $40 million to help States analyze DNA evidence; and in 2002, I introduced the Rape Kit DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act. This legislation authorized funding to help police departments finance the testing of rape kits to reduce the backlog. Working with my colleagues and with advocates, we maintained the pressure to address this problem. Then, in 2004, I was the original cosponsor of the Justice for All Act, introduced by our colleague Jim Sensenbrenner. That bill included many of the provisions of my 2002 bill. Title II of that bill, named the Debbie Smith Act by Congresswoman Maloney, authorized substantial funding for DNA testing and strengthened the ability of State and local law enforcement specifically to test rape kits. We subsequently reauthorized the Debbie Smith Act in 2008 and again in 2014. In recent years, the grants we have reauthorized under the Debbie Smith Act have supported the work of crime labs to build capacity and process DNA evidence, including evidence collected in rape kits, with greater percentages of funding allocated to testing these kits provided in subsequent amendments. The act also supports audits of evidence awaiting analysis at law enforcement agencies and charges the Department of Justice with the task of maintaining national testing guidelines. Despite these efforts, the rape kit backlog continues to be a major concern, with a large volume of kits still untested in this country, harming the survivors of sexual assault and jeopardizing public safety. Therefore, we must continue the valuable programs authorized by this important law. That is why we included the reauthorization of this program in the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA reauthorization bill, developed by the Judiciary Committee and passed by the House earlier this year. Unfortunately, VAWA is languishing in the Senate. While we take steps to separately pass the reauthorization of the Debbie Smith program today, I again call on the Senate to fulfill their responsibility to pass the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization without needless additional delay. Therefore, I support H.R. 777. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I remind my colleagues that the reauthorization of this bill has been sitting in the VAWA reauthorization bill passed by this House many months ago, it has been sitting in the Senate since then. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney).