Hal Rogers

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend of southern and eastern Kentucky, Mr. Bill Schweri, upon his retirement as the director of Federal Relations at the University of Kentucky. During his 42 years at the university, Bill has been a champion for progress in education, health care, and energy research across the State. Behind the scenes of Kentucky's highly esteemed flagship university, Bill has been a driving force, seeking out partnerships, programs, and funding to help the most distressed region of the Commonwealth. I am certain there is not a single resource that Bill hasn't researched for the benefit of southern and eastern Kentucky. No one knows the value and power of creating and sustaining longtime partnerships like Bill. If the University of Kentucky needed a partner to improve education or access to health care, Bill ensured the connection was secured with his genuine, kind, and humble approach. Most leaders seek recognition or credit for their own efforts, but that has never been the case with Bill Schweri. His work has led to exponential growth of UK's research enterprise and jump-started new research initiatives that have enabled the university to be successful in competing for Federal grants and contracts. This riveting scientific research on cancer, fossil energy, transportation, and agriculture is blazing new trails in every aspect of our everyday life in our country, to say nothing of how our State is better off for it. He has fought for legislation that is important to UK and student financial aid. Bill has been a leader in the Science Coalition and actively involved in the Council on Governmental Affairs and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities. Over the years, he has deservedly gained the utmost respect of his peers in Federal relations. As he departs his post, Mr. Speaker, at the University of Kentucky, it is my intention to ensure Bill Schweri receives the recognition that is due him for his tireless efforts on behalf of students and families all across Kentucky, and specifically living in Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District. We hope he knows he always has the thanks of a grateful Big Blue Nation. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me as we honor my friend Bill Schweri as we bid him a joy-filled retirement.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend of southern and eastern Kentucky, Mr. Bill Schweri, upon his retirement as the Director of Federal Relations at the University of Kentucky. During his 42 years at the University of Kentucky, Bill has been a champion for progress in education, healthcare, and energy research across the state. Behind the scenes of Kentucky's highly esteemed flagship university, Bill has been a driving force, seeking out partnerships, programs and funding to help the most distressed region of the Commonwealth. I'm certain there is not a single resource that Bill hasn't researched for the benefit of southern and eastern Kentucky. No one knows the value and power of creating and sustaining long- time partnerships quite like Bill. If the University of Kentucky needed a partner to improve education or access to healthcare, Bill ensured the connection was secured with his genuine, kind and humble approach. Most leaders seek recognition or credit for their efforts, but that has never been the case with Bill. His work has lead to exponential growth of UK's research enterprise and jumpstarted new research initiatives that have enabled the university to be successful in competing for federal grants and contracts. This riveting scientific research on cancer, fossil energy, transportation and agriculture is blazing new trails in every aspect of our everyday life, and our country--to say nothing of our state--is better off for it. He has fought for legislation that is important to UK and student financial aid. Bill has also been a leader in The Science Coalition, and actively involved in the Council on Governmental Affairs, and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities. Over the years, he has deservedly gained the utmost respect of his peers in federal relations. As he departs his post at the University of Kentucky, it is my intention to ensure Bill Schweri receives the recognition that is due him, for his tireless efforts on behalf of students and families across Kentucky, and specifically people living in Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District. We hope he knows he always has the thanks of a grateful Big Blue Nation. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring my friend Bill Schweri as we bid him a joy-filled retirement.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of today, I call up H.J. Res. 76, with the Senate amendments thereto.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), the chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the newly elected majority whip of the U.S. House.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King).

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson), the distinguished chairman of the Military Construction-VA Appropriations Subcommittee.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Marino).

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume to say at least the House is putting a bill on the floor and passing it, which solves the problem. If we had the Senate here to work with us, we might be able to get a bill the President could sign. But the Senate is gone. They have left. So I would hope that the leader of the Senate would recognize that his body is getting severely criticized for leaving town without offering a solution to this crisis on our border. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter), who chairs the Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. 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 the further consideration of H.R. 5230, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to continue the debate on H.R. 5230, with further amendments added by the rule the House just adopted. The need to pass this bill before Congress leaves for the August break is just as critical today as it was yesterday. This bill, Mr. Speaker, provides funding to meet immediate border security and humanitarian needs in response to the recent surge of illegal immigrants crossing our southern border. In terms of funding, this bill is essentially the same as the legislation the House considered yesterday. It emphasizes securing our borders, providing humanitarian assistance for unaccompanied children in U.S. custody, and preventing further influxes of illegal immigration, both by funding vital programs and by implementing important policy provisions. This is also a fiscally responsible bill. All funding is offset, so it won't add a penny to our deficit. However, the bill differs from the version yesterday by adding an additional $35 million for the National Guard to allow States, including Texas, to be reimbursed for National Guard activities related to border security and the current influx of illegal immigrants. This brings the new total of the bill to $694 million, and, again, it is fully offset. In addition, the bill includes new tweaks to various policy provisions which will help to further tighten our borders and provide solutions that help solve our immigration challenges for the future. Mr. Speaker, we have a crisis on our hands, and we can't simply get up and walk away. It is our moral responsibility to protect our homeland and to properly care for and process the thousands of unaccompanied children who put their lives in the hands of criminals to cross our borders. We simply can't turn our backs on this. We must pass this bill today, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH01AU14.001 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH01AU14.002

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, we are here with this crisis because the President announced a policy that no one would be deported unless they were a criminal. That word spread through our Central American countries, and families said: hey, the gates are open; while this President is in office, if you go there and you get in, then you won't be deported. The administration knew this 2 years ago. The word came out that we were being flooded, increasingly so, from Central American countries. So we are here trying to fix the problem that is an emergency caused by this administration, and the administration's control of the other body, rather than help us solve the problem, left town at noon today without doing anything. So we are trying to clean up their mess and the administration's mess, and this bill will do that. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Granger), the chair of the Speaker's task force on border security and the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, this is a fair bill. It solves a crisis on our border. It does so in a financially safe and responsible way. It strengthens the border. It humanely treats those who are in our custody now and arranges for them to be humanely returned to their home families, where the Presidents of the three countries told us, We want these children back; and so this bill will do that. I urge an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Stutzman).

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

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

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent), a member of our committee.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger), the chairman of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee on Appropriations, but more importantly, she has accepted the responsibility of the Speaker to put together a task force to investigate the problem on the border and to recommend solutions--and she has, with great success.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I don't know where the gentleman gets his information, but this bill was filed Tuesday. You have had since Tuesday morning to study this bill, and that is the appropriate--under our rules, that is the appropriate time.