Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers, so I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Madam Speaker, the Supreme Court's extreme and dangerous decision in Dobbs turns back the clock and jeopardizes the health, well-being, and autonomy of women across the Nation. Access to comprehensive healthcare must include access to abortion, and the ability to access care should not depend on where you live. The bill before us, the Women's Health Protection Act, restores a right to an abortion nationwide, ensuring that all Americans, regardless of where they live, can make their own decisions about their lives and their futures. I urge my colleagues across the aisle to support this bill. While Republicans seek to punish and control women by criminalizing abortion nationwide, House Democrats will continue our fight to restore the right to abortion as the law of the land. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material on H.R. 8297, the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8297, the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, introduced by Representative Fletcher, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Last month, when the Supreme Court overturned a woman's constitutional right to abortion, it also gave license to extreme Republican politicians to pass dangerous laws across the Nation. These State laws criminalize healthcare and create an environment of fear for healthcare providers or anyone else assisting someone who needs an abortion. Already, abortion bans are in effect in 9 States, and more are expected soon. Republican politicians and anti-abortion extremists are also actively considering even more actions. They want to prevent private citizens from legally crossing State lines to obtain an abortion. They also want to deputize private citizens to track down anyone who might help a woman legally obtain an abortion in another State. These actions clearly violate the Constitution and the right to travel freely, and this legislation will put those States on notice that their actions to limit their citizens from obtaining the healthcare they need cannot be enforced. H.R. 8297 reaffirms the right to travel across State lines to obtain a lawful abortion. It protects healthcare providers who provide lawful abortion care to out-of-State residents, and it protects anyone who may assist a woman in crossing State lines to obtain a lawful abortion, such as a friend, partner, or volunteer. Madam Speaker, the bill also prohibits individuals acting under State law from restricting or impeding access to medication abortions, which States are rushing to restrict despite the clear authority of the Federal Government. Madam Speaker, while we need the Women's Health Protection Act to become law to restore access to abortion in all 50 States, we must also mitigate some of the extreme and dangerous laws Republicans are enacting now to prevent women from making their own healthcare decisions. This legislation does that, which is why I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Fletcher), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), the chairwoman of our Subcommittee on Health.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), who chairs our Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Schrier).

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the House.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Strickland), who is the chief cosponsor of this bill.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I would ask how much time is remaining on both sides.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Peters), who is a member of our committee.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), who co-chairs the Pro-Choice Caucus.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel).

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my opposition to Amendment No. 554 to H.R. 7900 Offered by Mr. Langevin of Rhode Island. I think we can all agree that increasing cybersecurity coordination across different sectors is an important goal. However, I have concerns with the functions of the Interagency Council for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Coordination. I am concerned that this amendment is assigning the Council tasks that it does not have the qualifications to complete. The Council is charged with reviewing existing regulatory authorities that could be used to strengthen cybersecurity for critical infrastructure. It is also supposed to identify regulatory gaps that could invite cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure and develop legislative proposals to resolve such regulatory gaps. I am worried the Council does not have the expertise to review regulations and propose legislation for our critical infrastructure. While I appreciate that the Council will include representatives from Sector Risk Management Agencies and potentially other federal departments and agencies as determined by the Secretary of National Cyber Security, I am concerned that each councilmember's expertise within a given sector or within cybersecurity generally is not adequate to perform this regulatory assessment or potential legislative proposals required by this bill. For example, I do not agree that a councilmember whose expertise is in the financial sector should be reviewing regulations of the dams sector. Nor should the councilmember for the dams sector be proposing legislation for the health and public health sector. While I understand that there are commonalities to cybersecurity risks posed to different sectors, the regulatory and statutory regimes--including those related to cybersecurity--must account for the unique operations of each sector, the type of actors in each sector, and technical feasibility within each sector. Therefore, I oppose the creation of the Interagency Council for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Coordination as structured by this amendment. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer amendment No. 399 as the designee of Mr. Pappas.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for yielding. I would like to speak on the Jackie Speier amendment No. 337, part of en bloc No. 3, which directs the Secretary of Defense in coordination with the Secretary of State to document details of the consideration of the waiver requirements to section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act and report on whether security assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan undermines a peaceful settlement to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Let me just say that those of us in the Armenian Caucus have been very concerned over the years about the constant waiver of requirements under section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act because the bottom line is that Azerbaijan has continued its aggression against Armenia and started a war against Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh a couple of years ago. We don't believe there is any justification for waiving this because of the constant threat that Azerbaijan opposes not only to Nagorno- Karabakh but also to Armenia itself, which has continued ever since that war. The bottom line is we would like to see some action, if you will, to show whether this security assistance to Azerbaijan should continue with these constant waivers. It is really a simple request, and I would ask our Members on both sides of the aisle to support this as part of the en bloc No. 3.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, a special thanks to Chairman Smith and his team for their tireless work on this bill and for including several important amendments that seek justice for the thousands of Armenians killed in Azerbaijan's deadly, unprovoked war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss an important bipartisan amendment that would prohibit the President from selling or exporting next-generation F-16 fighter Jets and F-16 modernization kits to Turkey unless he goes through a rigorous certification process with Congress. It is necessary, because the administration has ignored strong and consistent congressional opposition to the sale since it was first proposed last fall by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan continues to prioritize short-term personal gain above the collective good of his NATO allies, and allowing the sale to go through would be a major mistake. He has done the bare minimum to bolster NATO's strategic posture since Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered the largest crisis the NATO alliance has faced in decades. This destabilizing behavior is evident in his recent efforts to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO until he received absurd and unrelated concessions. The Turkish military also has conducted dangerous and provocative violations of Greek and Cypriot sovereign territory and reportedly is planning a major offensive in Syria that could endanger countless innocent lives. Turkey also continues to utilize S-400 missile defense systems, which potentially expose important tactical information about U.S. weaponry and military operations to Russia. Finally, we can't ignore the Erdogan regime's human rights abuses and anti-democratic actions at home that he uses to maintain his grip on power. The sale of American advanced fighter jets to Turkey will not incentivize Erdogan to suddenly transform into a good ally. More likely, these weapons will lead to further death and destruction in the region. For far too long, the United States has allowed Erdogan to dictate his terms and hide behind Turkey's status as a NATO ally. He has avoided facing real-life consequences greater than a slap on the wrist for his flagrant violations of international law at home and abroad, and it is time we finally say enough is enough. This amendment will do just that and help take the leveraging power out of Erdogan's dangerous, autocratic hands. I will close by thanking my friend Chris Pappas and my many other colleagues who have been supportive in the fight to hold the Erdogan regime accountable and prevent the sale from moving forward. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of you to vote ``yes'' on this important amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.