F. Sensenbrenner

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, due to severe illness, I missed today's vote series. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 676, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 677, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 678, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 679, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 680.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that H.R. 38, as amended, includes the Fix NICS Act. I have long supported the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. NICS is about saving lives and protecting people from harm by preventing guns from falling into the wrong hands. It does this without interfering in the timely transfer of firearms to eligible gun buyers. I was the original cosponsor of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 and worked diligently for its passage. I strongly supported this bill because it makes sense to prevent convicted felons and individuals judged to be mentally ill from obtaining guns. At the time of negotiations, I insisted on the inclusion of the NICS program. Under this system, firearms dealers use the FBI's NICS system to cross-reference with a list of known convicted felons, drug users, illegal aliens, and those convicted of domestic violence. As I have stated many times, the NICS system is only as good as the records that are put into it. Too often, people who otherwise would not pass a background check can slip through the cracks and buy guns. After the recent shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, the U.S. Air Force disclosed that it had failed to report the gunman's history of domestic assault to the database, which should have prevented him from purchasing a firearm in the first place. This legislation will provide a much-needed push to speed implementation of the NICS system used in conducting instant background checks prior to gun purchases. At the Federal level, it would require Federal agency cooperation and provide relevant records to the Attorney General for inclusion into the NICS. It holds Federal agencies accountable if they fail to upload relevant records to the background check system through public reporting and prohibiting bonus pay for political appointees. At the State level, it will incentivize them to make sure that their reporting is up to date by giving Federal grant preferences to States which comply. Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. This bill is not about expanding background checks. This is about ensuring that the existing law is working. There is strong bipartisan support for improving what has become the systemic problem of missing information in the database. Accurate reporting is essential to ensuring that the system works as intended. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Bart Forsyth, who recently left Capitol Hill after serving in many capacities over the past 13 years. After graduating from Hofstra University and receiving his law degree from Washington and Lee School of Law, Bart began his career on Capitol Hill as a staff member on the Foreign Affairs Committee. He then went on to serve on the House Science Committee as investigative counsel, as my chief of staff on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, a staff member of the House Judiciary Committee, and as my chief of staff in my personal office. In the more than 10 years I have known Bart, he has never lost sight of what brought him here--to solve problems and make a positive difference in peoples' lives. Bart's extensive knowledge, foresight, and drive made him a force on Capitol Hill. He has championed a number of causes related to government surveillance, law enforcement, privacy and civil liberties, and European relations. In June, 2013 when it was revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) had overstepped its authorities, he immediately began work on a legislative response that would eventually be known as USA Freedom Act. He also spearheaded work on the Judicial Redress Act of 2016, which ensures data is protected in the strongest possible way with our privacy laws. His achievements have not gone unnoticed. Twice, Bart has been recognized by European leaders as one of the Hill's top policy influencers. Additionally, he was admitted into the prestigious U.S. Supreme Court bar in 2014. Too often, working long hours can take its toll on one's personal life. Not so with Bart. Whether it was running marathons, competing in an Ironman competition, including qualifying for the world championship in Kona, Hawaii, or more importantly taking on the role of devoted husband and father, Bart continuously sought out new challenges and did so with strength and determination. Bart has been a true asset as a trusted advisor, effective facilitator, and respected leader. I'm thankful for his distinguished service and wish him, his wife Mindy, and daughter Triana, all the best as Bart begins this new chapter.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Kenneth K. Lee, a combat-injured Operation Iraqi Freedom and Army veteran, who has been named by Disabled American Veterans (DAV) as its 2017 Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year. Dr. Lee, who deployed as the commander of the Army's Company B, 118th Area Support Medical Battalion, was injured in November 2004 by a suicide car bomber in Iraq. The explosion resulted in an open head traumatic brain injury and severe shrapnel wounds to his legs, leading to his evacuation back to the states, where he would later be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. While recovering from his injuries, Dr. Lee, a rehabilitation specialist, saw how long and difficult recovery could be, often leaving lasting changes. Dr. Lee, who resides in Brookfield, Wisconsin, is a volunteer physician at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, which the Department of Veterans Affairs and DAV co-host, so he was no stranger to using adaptive sports as therapy. Through his own recovery, Dr. Lee propelled himself into the world of adaptive sports to help him deal with the psychological and physiological effects that can often times cause an individual to hit bottom. Within a year of Dr. Lee's retirement in 2013, he formed the Milwaukee Wheelchair Lacrosse team and is now the president of the Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association, which runs numerous adaptive sports programs. On July 29, 2017, DAV National Commander David W. Riley presented Dr. Lee with the Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year award at the organization's 96th National Convention. In his statement, Riley praised Dr. Lee as a shining example of everything that is good about our nation and its veterans. He noted that the compassion Dr. Lee shows for other veterans and his work to help them find success is truly the hallmark of the award, and DAV is very proud of what he's doing for this community. Given the importance and therapeutic effectiveness of adaptive sports, it is vital to have experienced leaders like Dr. Lee involved and carving out a path forward. Despite his injuries and the constant pain in his lower extremities, Dr. Lee speaks with gratitude about his time in the Army. He will tell you that he got a lot more from the Guard than he put into it, and that he joined the military with his eyes wide open and has no regrets. Dr. Lee and his wife Kate currently live in Brookfield with their two children. In 2014, his daughter Leah earned a $10,000 scholarship by volunteering for the DAV at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. On the same day that Dr. Lee was honored as DAV's Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year, his son Jonathan earned the charity's largest scholarship of $20,000, and was honored the same morning. They both hope ultimately to serve veterans as physicians through the VA.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the 27th Anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Congress passed the ADA to break down the physical and societal barriers that kept disabled Americans from fully participating in the American Dream. From creating standards for wheelchair accessibility in places open to the public, to requiring 911 phone lines to be equipped to respond to hearing-impaired callers, the ADA has transformed the lives of millions of Americans. The progress we've made is remarkable, and I'm proud to have been part of these efforts. Throughout my career, I have seen few pieces of legislation that bring all people together as much as the ADA. Not only did this historic legislation pass both chambers with large bipartisan majorities, but the ADA Amendments Act passed unanimously in 2008. This legislation shows that Congress can come together to solve problems for the betterment of the American people. I proudly stand with the thousands of advocates who come to Washington, D.C. this week to continue the fight for the rights of all Americans.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I am making my financial net worth as of March 31, 2017, a matter of public record. I have filed similar statements for each of the thirty-eight preceding years I have served in the Congress. Assets real property Single family residence at 609 Ft. Williams Parkway, City of Alexandria, Virginia, at assessed valuation. (Assessed at $1,441,186). Ratio of assessed to market value: 100 percent (Unencumbered): $1,441,186.00 Condominium at N76 W14726 North Point Drive, Village of Menomonee Falls, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, at assessor's estimated market value. (Unencumbered): $138,000.00 Undivided 25/44ths interest in single family residence at N52 W32654 Maple Lane, Village of Chenequa, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, at 25/44ths of assessor's estimated market value of $1,528,600: $868,522.73 Total Real Property: $2,447,708.73 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common & preferred stock # of shares $ per share Value ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abbott Laboratories, Inc..................................... 12200 44.41 $541,802.00 AbbVie Inc................................................... 8129 65.16 529,685.64 Allstate Corporation......................................... 370 81.49 30,151.30 AT & T....................................................... 7275 41.55 302,276.25 JP Morgan Chase.............................................. 4539 87.84 398,705.76 Benton County Mining Company................................. 333 0.00 0.00 BP PLC....................................................... 3604 34.52 124,410.08 Centerpoint Energy........................................... 300 27.57 8,271.00 Chemours Company............................................. 240 38.50 9,240.00 Chenequa Country Club Realty Co.............................. 1 0.00 0.00 Comcast...................................................... 634 37.59 23,832.06 Darden Restaurants, Inc...................................... 2160 83.67 180,727.20 Discover Financial Services.................................. 156 68.39 10,668.84 Dun & Bradstreet, Inc........................................ 1250 107.94 134,925.00 E.I. DuPont de Nemours Corp.................................. 1200 80.33 96,396.00 Eastman Chemical Co.......................................... 540 80.80 43,632.00 Exxon Mobil Corp............................................. 9728 82.01 797,793.28 Four Corners Property Trust Inc.............................. 983 22.83 22,441.89 Frontier Comm................................................ 591 2.14 1,264.74 Gartner Inc.................................................. 651 107.99 70,301.49 General Electric Co.......................................... 15600 29.80 464,880.00 General Mills, Inc........................................... 5760 59.01 339,897.60 NRG Energy................................................... 28 18.70 523.60 GlassBridge Ent.............................................. 9 4.82 43.38 Kellogg Corp................................................. 3200 72.61 232,352.00 3M Company................................................... 2000 191.33 382,660.00 Express Scripts.............................................. 6656 65.91 438,696.96 Monsanto Company............................................. 2852.315 113.20 322,882.06 Moody's...................................................... 5000 112.04 560,200.00 Morgan Stanley............................................... 312 42.84 13,366.08 NCR Corp..................................................... 68 45.68 3,106.24 Newell Rubbermaid............................................ 1676 47.17 79,056.92 Nokia........................................................ 74 5.42 401.08 PG & E Corp.................................................. 175 66.36 11,613.00 Pfizer....................................................... 30415 34.21 1,040,497.15 Century Link................................................. 95 23.57 2,239.15 Tenneco Inc.................................................. 182 62.42 11,360.44 Unisys Corp.................................................. 16 13.95 223.20 US Bancorp................................................... 3081 51.50 158,671.50 Verizon...................................................... 1918 48.75 93,502.50 Vodafone Group PLC........................................... 323 26.43 8,536.89 WEC Energy Group............................................. 2044 60.63 123,927.72

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, as the chief sponsor of this legislation, as well as the chief sponsor of the original Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, I rise in support of this legislation and hope that it is swiftly enacted. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, enacted in 2006, is landmark legislation intended to keep our communities, and, most importantly, our children safe from sex offenders and other dangerous predators. This bipartisan bill strengthened the sex offender registry requirements and enforcement, extended Federal registry requirements to Indian Tribes, and authorized funding for Federal programs intended to address and deter child exploitation. The centerpiece of the Adam Walsh Act is the national Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, or SORNA for short. SORNA's goal is to create a seamless national sex offender registry to assist law enforcement efforts to detect and track offenders. SORNA provides minimum standards for State sex offender registries and created the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, which allows law enforcement officials and the general public to search for sex offenders nationwide from just one website. H.R. 1188, the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2017, reauthorizes two key programs from the original Adam Walsh Act: grants to the States and other jurisdictions to implement the Adam Walsh Act's sex offender registry requirements and funding for the U.S. marshals to locate and apprehend sex offenders who violate registration requirements. These programs are crucial to efforts to complete and enforce the national network of sex offender registries, particularly in light of the already passed deadline for States to come into compliance with SORNA. Based on feedback from the States, H.R. 1188 makes targeted changes to the SORNA sex offender registry requirements. The bill changes the period of time after which juveniles adjudicated delinquent can petition to be removed from the sex offender registry for a clean record from 25 to 15 years, and provides that juveniles do not need to be included on publicly viewed sex offender registries. Instead, it is sufficient for juveniles to be included on registries that are only viewed by law enforcement entities. I believe these provisions strike an appropriate balance between being tough on juveniles who commit serious sex crimes and understanding that there can be differences between adult and juvenile offenders. The bill also recognizes the unique challenges that tribes face in implementing SORNA. H.R. 1188 provides technical assistance to tribes so they can access, and enter information into, the Federal criminal information databases. Finally, H.R. 1188 amends the statute of limitations to allow individuals who were victims of exploitation or trafficking as juveniles to have 10 years after becoming an adult to file suit for a civil remedy. It is my hope that, with these commonsense changes, more States will come into compliance. With the passage of this legislation, Congress can send a strong message to all Americans about our continued commitment to keeping our Nation's children safe. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) for yielding me this time. Rapid DNA is a promising new technology that allows for the almost immediate DNA analysis of an arrestee. Unlike standard DNA practices, which require sending DNA samples from arrestees out to labs with a result taking weeks to ascertain, Rapid DNA results take only a few hours and can be done right at the booking station. Like fingerprinting, photographing, and other booking procedures which at the time were novel but now have become routine, Rapid DNA will soon be standard procedure in police stations throughout the country. There is only one problem with Rapid DNA technology: Federal law. Our law, written in 1994 when DNA technology was still in its infancy, prohibits the use of Rapid DNA technology in booking stations. This is not because of any limitation in Rapid DNA technology, but simply because at that time Rapid DNA technology was not even contemplated. Similar to the transformation of musical devices--records leading to cassette tapes, cassette tapes leading to CDs, CDs leading to MP3, and now iPods and online music hosting services--technology moves quicker than we can legislate. Now is the time to change the law to permit Rapid DNA technology. Rapid DNA machines are compact, approximately the size of copy machines, and can provide a DNA analysis from a cheek swab sample of an arrestee within 2 hours. This has two profound implications. First, arrestees may be exonerated of crimes in 2 hours rather than waiting for up to 72 hours for release, or months for more standard DNA testing. Second, those arrested for a crime can quickly be matched to other unsolved crimes where there was forensic evidence left at the crime scene but for which there was no identified suspect. The Rapid DNA Act updates the current law to allow DNA samples to be processed using Rapid DNA instruments located in booking stations and other approved locations. The bill will require the FBI to issue standards and procedures for the use of such instruments and their resulting DNA analyses to ensure the integrity of such instruments and the accuracy of the results. It will permit those results to be included in the DNA index if criminal justice agencies taking the samples comply with the standards and procedures that the FBI approves. In this way, the bill would permit this new category of DNA samples to be uploaded into the index with the same protections and quality standards as current DNA samples. Not only does Rapid DNA have the potential to reduce crime, help expeditiously exonerate the innocent, but also to positively impact the current backlogs for rape kits and other DNA sample analysis. This committee has spent a great deal of time and significant work to try to reduce the forensic DNA backlog, especially in rape kits. Rapid DNA could not at this time be used for rape kits, but the implementation of Rapid DNA will allow forensic labs to focus on forensic samples, not on identification samples which can easily be handled by Rapid DNA machines. I hope this will reduce the rape kit backlog, which will also prevent future rapes from happening. I am pleased that the House is taking a significant step in furthering the use of this technology. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise along with my colleague, Rep. Gwen Moore, to celebrate the 90th Birthday of Wisconsin State Senator Fred Risser on May 5, 2017. Born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1927, Mr. Risser was elected to Wisconsin's Assembly in 1956 and the Senate in 1962. He is currently the nation's longest-serving state legislator, and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Born and raised in Madison, Senator Risser is the fourth generation of his family to serve in the Wisconsin Legislature. His father, Fred E. Risser, grandfather, Ernest Warner, and great-grandfather Clement Warner, were all dedicated public servants. Mr. Risser joined the Navy just prior to his 18th birthday. Trained as a medic, Mr. Risser spent time in Newport, R.I., then in Panama before he returned to the United States. Mr. Risser was educated in the Madison public schools, and then used the GI Bill to attend Carleton College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (where he earned a B.A.), and the law school of the University of Oregon. He then practiced law with his father before entering public service. Wisconsin is fortunate to have a great leader like Fred Risser. Throughout his extraordinary career, he has served his constituents and his community diligently. It is our great honor to join Fred's wife Nancy, children and grandchildren, his many friends, and our colleagues in the House of Representatives, in wishing Fred a happy 90th birthday--and many more years.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise to recognize the March for Life on Friday January 27th, 2017 here in Washington D.C. This is a gathering of thousands of Americans from across our great country, all who are standing up for the protection of unborn children. Ever since the abysmal ruling by the Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade, the barbaric practice of abortion on demand has been rampant in our country. All too often we fall into the trap of conflating women's health with abortion, assuming that if one supports protecting life, then we're failing to care for women's health. Nothing could be further from the truth. I stand here today with the millions of Americans across our country who believe that the lives of innocent children must be protected. I have long been a staunch advocate for pro-life issues despite vocal opposition. As Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, I shepherded the partial-birth abortion ban through Congress. It was one of my greatest honors to watch President George W. Bush sign it into law, and I was relieved that the Supreme Court upheld it. I have fully supported every effort in Congress to stop federally funded abortions, both in the United States and abroad, and will continue to fight efforts to federally fund these horrific practices.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, unless the Congress acts affirmatively by the end of next week, the Obama administration will turn over the core functions of the Internet to an international body. We cannot allow this to happen. Look at the consequences. Using domain names, we have control over the protection of free speech on the Internet. One of the real positive things of the development of this type of technology over the last 45 or 50 years has been that people have been able to express themselves the way they want to on the Internet and be able to get a huge worldwide audience. Now, I recognize that there is no truth meter on the Internet, but people who make ridiculous statements on the Internet end up getting denigrated in the court of public opinion anyhow. Free speech is at stake here, but also the national security of our country is at stake. The core functions of the Internet, including control over domain names, should not be turned over to countries that do not have America's best interests or values at heart, like China or Russia or Iran. They have no protections for free speech, they have no value for free speech, and they will do what they want to to put censorship on the Internet, particularly as a way of controlling their own population within their country. If we don't act, that is going to be something that happens, and I think we can guarantee it. Stopping this move by the Obama administration will also ensure that the United States Government would maintain ownership and control over the dot-gov and dot-mil domain names. That is necessary to protect our national security. Just think of what would happen if a hostile power like Iran would be able to get control of both the dot-gov and dot-mil domain names. They would be easier able to hack, they would be easier able to spread around propaganda and disinformation, and unwitting people would think that this is coming from the United States Government. How denigrating will that be? It will be huge, and I think we all know the answer to that. Now, who is best able to protect a free and open Internet? It is the United States of America, with the protections that we have in our Bill of Rights. Those are protections that have made the Internet grow and flourish. I tell the administration, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Internet ain't broke, but it will become broken if we have countries that do not have our values and stick their nose into the governance of the core functions of the Internet. It is kind of like a termite. You don't see the danger right when the termite starts eating away, but if you allow it to start eating away and don't send the exterminator out, sooner or later there is going to be a big-time problem. Let's keep the termite of hostile powers who don't share our values out of getting into the Internet. Congress must act affirmatively. We have to stop this from happening, and we don't have much time to do it.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, through the following statement, I am making my financial net worth as of March 31, 2016, a matter of public record. I have filed similar statements for each of the thirty-seven preceding years I have served in the Congress. Assets

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I went to Puerto Rico in March. I have been involved in negotiating this, at the request of the Speaker, literally since the first of this year. This is difficult. This is something that nobody is happy with. This is something where everybody is going to take a haircut because the depth of the problem is so bad. What we heard right after this Congress began its session this year was: Why don't we just give them a super chapter 9 bankruptcy? That would have been bad for the future of Puerto Rico, because super chapter 9 would have dumped the $72 billion of debt and had it wiped out. And there is no way that Puerto Rico, having stiffed $72 billion worth of bondholders, would ever have been able to access the bond market again. Bond market access is essential to any type of State or municipal financing. So what do we have? A choice of doing nothing, and we have heard about the severe consequences if we do nothing, or going with something that worked in the District of Columbia, which is the oversight board. Now, sure, they are unelected. One of them has to be from Puerto Rico. But the Puerto Rican Government, which has been elected, is the one that caused this problem to begin with. They have increased just about every function of spending on the Island except debt service, and they have borrowed more and more and more and more, and they don't have the money, or wouldn't appropriate the money to service the debt. That is why we are here today, and that is what has got to be fixed. It should be fixed with an oversight board working in conjunction with the Puerto Rican Government, not by a court, or simply by not doing anything. It can be fixed, and Puerto Rico can have a renaissance because this is about the only practical way out of the mess.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I visited Puerto Rico, and believe me when I say the fiscal crisis the island is facing is, in every way, a crisis. Hospitals can't pay their bills. They have closed wings of the hospital. One hospital is $4 million in debt because they haven't paid an electric bill. Some people will point out that this is largely a crisis of Puerto Rico's own making. They are right; the gentleman from Illinois is wrong. Puerto Rico has had internal self-government for over 50 years. It wasn't the Congress that forced Puerto Rico to pile up debt after debt after debt after debt; and it wasn't the Congress that tapped Puerto Rico on the shoulder until now and said: You can't sustain this debt. There already have been two defaults. There is a $2 billion default coming on the 1st of July because they don't have the money to even do their debt service; and despite this dire situation, the Puerto Rican Government has increased its spending on everything except, ironically, debt service. I see what is happening in Puerto Rico as a cautionary tale for us here in Washington and here in the Congress of the United States. Now, PROMESA is not rewarding bad behavior. If we wanted to reward bad behavior, we would pay billions of dollars in a taxpayer-financed bailout to finance all of this irresponsible borrowing that has been going on in Puerto Rico. Significantly, this bill does not commit one penny of taxpayer funds to bail out Puerto Rico. The fiscal oversight board is designed to help Puerto Ricans set their finances in order when they have failed to do so by themselves. Now, let me say something. I heard the gentleman from Illinois talk about us treating Puerto Rico as a colony. That has not been the case since Mr. Munoz Marin, the legendary Governor of Puerto Rico, persuaded this Congress to give Puerto Rico internal self-government. What has happened here is internal self-government has failed, and that is why we are talking about this today. I don't think many of my constituents in Wisconsin or Mr. Duffy's constituents or Chairman Bishop's constituents really were concerned about Puerto Rico, but we were; and we stepped up to the plate and offered a solution that has attracted bipartisan support and the support of the administration. What do we hear from the opponents of this piece of legislation, one of whom just spoke very eloquently? It is wrong. It is bad. We shouldn't do that. We are ignoring the people of Puerto Rico. Well, we are not doing that. We are making sure in this bill that the pain is shared. If this bill doesn't pass, there is no plan B, and Puerto Rico is going to collapse into an economic morass. There is no plan B. I haven't heard anything from those who are opposed to this bill on what their alternative is. They have had a year to come up with their alternative, and all they do is make fiery speeches against what has been a very long and patient negotiated process. They are not a part of the solution. They are trying to engender more opposition, and they are a part of the problem. Pass this rule. Pass this bill. Let's get Puerto Rico back on track, and this is a way to do it with some help from the oversight board. Puerto Ricans are going to have to do this themselves. They haven't been able to do it without a tap on the shoulder. Too bad there is an oversight board, but that is the only game in town.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to offer a statement of my support for the region of Tibet. I have, during my tenure in the House of Representatives, been a strong supporter of the region of Tibet. There should be no divisiveness between political parties on the issue of Tibet and protecting their citizens from the repressions that they face around the world. Tibet is a unique region, and I hope that future actions in the House of Representatives will continue to support the Tibetan community in finding sustainable peaceful solutions. The repression of Tibetans around the world has prompted the United States to take action to protect Tibetan citizens in their constant struggle for religious and cultural freedom. That is why in June of last year, Representative Lofgren and I introduced the Tibetan Refugee Assistance Act, which would provide visas to Tibetan refugees. Our bill would address the plight of Tibetan citizens who have been displaced from their homes for a multitude of reasons, and would be an incredibly useful step in the right direction for future relations between Tibet and the United States. The bill would provide 3,000 immigrant visas over a three-year period to Tibetan citizens who have been displaced. I first traveled to India and met His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2008, and it is an experience that I surely will never forget. The unique privilege of meeting with the head of state and spiritual leader of Tibet was one that led me to an even greater appreciation of Tibet, and brought me to first introduce legislation in 2008 supporting Tibetan refugees. Eight years later we look at the same issue. This is not a new problem, as the epidemic has been occurring for years. We hope to make significant progress to aid many of these displaced Tibetans who have yet to free themselves from the rule of the Chinese government. On behalf of the 5th District of Wisconsin, I welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the United States and ask for continued perseverance from my colleagues on this issue. I hope to find a peaceful and manageable solution for the region of Tibet.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for her offer of working together. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment. The amendment directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report on Justice Department programs and research relative to substance abuse and substance use disorders among adolescents and young adults. I share the gentlewoman's desire for additional information on the programs available to combat the opioid epidemic. This is an appropriate piece of the legislative package. Having said that, I am concerned that, as drafted, the amendment requires the GAO to study things DOJ might not be doing and does not have the expertise to do so effectively. Specifically, the amendment directs the GAO to study and report on DOJ programs relative to substance abuse and substance use disorders by adolescents with no nexus to the criminal justice system. I do not oppose the amendment, but I would like to work with the gentlewoman going forward to ensure the provisions of the amendment are appropriately tailored to the responsibilities and programs within the Justice Department's jurisdiction. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus) for yielding and for offering this amendment. The amendment adds a purpose area to the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program established under H.R. 5046, which would allow grantees to use funds awarded under the program to develop, implement, or expand the program to prevent and address opioid abuse by veterans. I strongly support programs to provide services to our Nation's veterans, who have done so much to protect our freedom and our way of life. As the gentleman is no doubt aware, the underlying bill recognizes that many veterans, particularly those who have been wounded in defense of our Nation, in a tragic irony, have become addicted to the medications they were prescribed to deal with pain from their wounds of war. And the bill includes provisions supporting Veterans Treatment Courts and other mechanisms to provide services to veterans. I would like to work with the gentleman going forward as we move to conference with the Senate to streamline the provisions in my bill with the gentleman's amendment and to ensure that the bill contains appropriate, non-redundant provisions to protect our Nation's veterans. I support the amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for offering this amendment. As the gentleman knows, addiction treatment and recovery in a noncriminal justice context are not within the Judiciary Committee's jurisdiction and, therefore, were not included in H.R. 5046, as reported by the committee, since this bill establishes a grant program in the Department of Justice. I do not oppose the amendment since I recognize that treatment and recovery are important functions in addressing this epidemic. However, I would like to work with the gentleman in going forward to ensure that treatment and recovery are appropriately tailored to DOJ functions or are otherwise addressed through appropriate grant programs, such as those administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. We must ensure that the grant programs to address the opioid epidemic are appropriately tailored to and administered by the Federal agencies with expertise in the areas for which they will be awarding funding. Otherwise, we are not fulfilling our duty to use taxpayer dollars efficiently. With that caveat, I support the amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from Washington for offering this amendment, and I support it. This amendment clarifies that grant monies authorized by H.R. 5046 can be used to fund community-based substance abuse diversion programs sponsored by law enforcement agencies. There are a variety of programs across the country administered by State and local law enforcement and prosecuting agencies that offer diversion to drug treatment and other services as an alternative to incarceration. In my home State of Wisconsin, Treatment Alternatives and Diversion, or TAD, programs ``offer offenders the opportunity to enter and do voluntary substance abuse treatment, case management, and other risk reduction services as a safe alternative to jail or prison confinement. Diverting nonviolent offenders into substance abuse treatment keeps them out of jail and correctional facilities, thereby saving bed space and taxpayer dollars, as well as treating the underlying addiction that may have influenced the commission of a crime or may contribute to future criminal behavior.'' These are precisely the types of treatment alternatives to incarceration programs that I believe should be eligible for funding through this new Department of Justice grant. I thank the gentlewoman from Washington for working with us on drafting the amendment. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Young).