Thomas Suozzi

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the illustrious public service career of a former Member of this body, Congressman Lester Wolff, who will soon be celebrating his 100th birthday. In recognition of his monumental contributions to the preservation and protection of our environment, especially on Long Island's beautiful North Shore, I am proposing the renaming of the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge to the Congressman Lester Wolff National Wildlife Refuge. These precious wetlands, at Congressman Lester Wolff's urging, were protected in 1968. In 1967, the New York state legislature had, at the insistence of then-Governor Nelson Rockefeller and master planner Robert Moses, authorized a bridge across the Long Island Sound. Lester immediately saw this bridge would spoil the pristine and precious resource of the Long Island Sound, and soon found himself at the center of an enormous political fight. Lester won, and the Oyster Bay Wildlife Refuge was born. Lester's efforts in 1968 are an important part of our Nation's environmental history. I urge my colleagues to support the renaming to the Lester Wolff National Wildlife Refuge, and I wish Lester a happy 100th year and many more.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the United States Merchant Marine Academy, located in Kings Point, in my Congressional district, for 75 years of dedicated service to our country. Acta Non Verba--the school's motto--Acta Non Verba, that's deeds not words, something we all need to strive for. The midshipmen and graduates of the Academy have exemplified this school's motto by faithfully serving the United States in times of war and peace and for that we are eternally grateful. Since its founding in 1943, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy has developed a rich history of military and maritime service. It's the only service academy whose students engage in combat during times of war. In fact, 142 of its students gave their lives on behalf of our country during World War II. In 1974, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy became the first service academy to admit women. After the 9-11 terrorist attacks, staff and midshipmen evacuated civilians from Lower Manhattan and transport first responders and supplies to Ground Zero. Midshipmen are the backbone of our nation's maritime industry and they serve as members of the Armed Services as well. As a member of the Board of Visitors, I am proud of United States Merchant Marine Academy's rich history and the sacrifices its students and graduates have made for our country.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the United States Merchant Marine Academy, located in Kings Point in my congressional district, for 75 years of dedicated service to our country. ``Acta non verba,'' the school's motto, means ``deeds, not words,'' something we all need to strive for. The midshipmen and graduates of the Academy have exemplified the school's motto by faithfully serving the United States in times of war and peace, and for that we are all eternally grateful. Since its founding in 1943, the United States Merchant Marine Academy has developed a rich history of military and maritime service. It is the only service academy whose students engage in combat during times of war. In fact, 142 of its students gave their lives on behalf of our country during World War II. In 1974, the United States Merchant Marine Academy became the first service academy to admit women. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, staff and midshipmen evacuated civilians from lower Manhattan and transported first responders and supplies to Ground Zero. Midshipmen are the backbone of our Nation's maritime industry, and they serve as members of the Armed Services as well. As a member of the Board of Visitors, I am proud of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, their rich history, and the sacrifices its students and graduates have made for our great Nation.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, today marks the 350th anniversary of the founding of my hometown, Glen Cove, New York, on May 24, 1668. Earlier this year, we also celebrated the 100th anniversary of Glen Cove's designation as a city. I love Glen Cove. I served as the city's mayor from 1994 to 2001. My father, Joseph, an Italian immigrant and an American success story, was the first Suozzi to serve as mayor from 1956 to 1960. My uncle, Vincent, also known as Jimmy Suozzi, was the second. He served from 1973 to 1979 and again from 1984 to 1987. The most recent Suozzi to serve as mayor, my cousin Ralph served from 2006 to 2013. In fact, in the 100 years since Glen Cove became a city, a Suozzi has served as mayor for 32 years. We Suozzis have devoted a great deal of our lives to serving the city we love, and we have been repaid with the satisfaction of knowing our friends, neighbors, and family will continue to strive to work to ensure our best days are still yet to come. Glen Cove was the first industrial center of Long Island. The Carpenter, Simkin, and Cole families purchased over 2,000 acres of waterfront property overlooking Hempstead Harbor and the Long Island Sound from the Native American Matinecock Tribe. There they built a lumber mill and a gristmill powered by the fresh water of Glen Cove Creek. Originally named Musketa Cove, which means ``a place of rushes'' in the Matinecock language, Musketa Cove went on to become one of the top four ports for smuggling on Long Island, as no one wanted to pay the English taxes on brandy, rum, and wine. The area grew with professional craftsmen, weavers, carpenters, wool spinners, tailors, millers, and shipbuilders. Corn farming developed in the surrounding area. A second major industry began in the early 1800s when Dr. Thomas Garvie discovered massive clay deposits and began to mine and ship the clay to potteries in New York City and elsewhere on Long Island. Dr. Garvie also began a daily steamship operation between Glen Cove and New York City that began to attract residents looking to escape the city's sweltering summer heat. Tourism-minded residents started to worry that the name Musketa Cove sounded too much like mosquito cove, and, in 1834, they changed the name to Glen Cove. It worked. By the mid-1850s tourism was booming with daily steamship operations, leading to the development of six major hotels, taverns, and boarding houses. A new industry emerged. The Duryea Starch factory took advantage of the fresh water, the gristmills, and the plentiful corn and became one of the world's largest starch factories. In fact, in 1878, Duryea won the Paris Gold Medal for the best starch in the world. Industry flourished, tourism flourished, and Glen Cove began to attract more attention. In the early 1900s, some of the wealthiest families in the world made Glen Cove their home. J. P. Morgan, the wealthy financier, who bailed out the U.S. Government; F. W. Woolworth, the founder of the original five-and-dime department store, whose marketing began the commercialization of Christmas gift giving; and the Pratt family, who amassed their fortune by controlling the kerosene market and, ultimately, merging with John D. Rockefeller to form Standard Oil, all built their massive summer estates in Glen Cove, leading to the moniker of the ``Gold Coast.'' Between the industries that flourished on the waterfront and the Town & Country magazine rated Gold Coast estates, Glen Cove with its vibrant downtown of merchants was booming. Immigrants from all over the world and America flocked to the area to work at the starch factory, or the Ladew Leatherworks that tanned hides to be used for industrial belts. Immigrants like my grandfather and father from Italy, and others from Ireland, Poland, Germany, and elsewhere, worked not only in the factories, but in the gardens, kitchens, pantries, and garages of the Gold Coast estates. African Americans from the South migrated to the area and found work, many as experts training and caring for thoroughbreds and polo ponies. Around 1917, Glen Cove residents, who saw the economic vibrancy from the estates, the factories, and the vibrant downtown, populated by Jewish, Italian, and English merchants, no longer wished to share their plentiful property and sales tax dollars with the town of Oyster Bay, under whose jurisdiction Glen Cove existed as a village. Community leaders worked with the State legislature and the Governor to break off and become Long Island's first city. Glen Cove has traveled a long journey. Its population exploded, as did much of Long Island, with veterans returning from World War II. Its industrial vibrancy, which went on to include Li Tungsten, a munitions factory; Mattiace Petrochemical; Columbia Ribbon and Carbon; Powers Chemco; Konica; and Photocircuits, a circuit board manufacturer, all left behind a negative environmental legacy that the City has now cleaned up as it moves forward to a new age of development and waterfront revitalization. With hundreds of acres of publically-owned nature preserves, three public beaches, golf courses, a fishing pier, and multiple ballfields and parks, Glen Cove has been restored to a waterfront community with a short commute to Manhattan that once attracted some of the wealthiest families in the world. Unlike much of Long Island, that is either all rich or all poor, or all Black or all White, or all this or all that, Glen Cove remains a diverse community with the wealthiest of the wealthy and a large supply of low-income housing that is anchored by a solid middle class. It is home to over 60 ethnicities: two Catholic churches, two Baptist churches, two Jewish synagogues. It also has houses of worship for African Methodist Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, and Evangelicals. The Presbyterian church is one of the most beautiful architectural marvels of the City. Glen Cove is also home to a Russian Orthodox church, a Sikh gurdwara, Jehovah's Witnesses, and several Latino churches. Many movies, television shows, and commercials have been filmed in Glen Cove, including Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint; and Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, and Humphrey Bogart. In fact, as mayor, I met Harrison Ford while filming the remake of Sabrina with Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear. I met Michael Douglas while filming A Perfect Murder, and told him how his dad, Kirk Douglas, had filmed A Lovely Way to Die in the 1960s in Glen Cove. A former Pratt estate, now the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture, was stately Wayne Manor in Batman Forever. A host of other movies, such as Annie Hall, Hair, Eyes Wide Shut, and one obscure favorite, A New Leaf, were all filmed in Glen Cove as well. Famous historical figures called Glen Cove home. Bobby Kennedy resided in Glen Cove when he ran for United States Senator of New York. Jackie Kennedy called West Island home after the President had been shot. The first female congresswoman from New York was Ruth Baker Pratt. Baseball legends, including Roy Campanella, Whitey Ford and, more recently, Yoenis Cespedes of the New York Mets. Billy Joel spent a short time in Glen Cove. And Ashanti grew up in Glen Cove--I attended her sweet 16 birthday party--while many other artists record here regularly at Cove City Sound Studios. And Sergeant Major Dan Daly, a marine, is one of only 19 men in U.S. history, in our entire Nation, to have received the Medal of Honor, twice. Many of the old estates have been repurposed, including Killenworth, a former Pratt estate that served as the home of the Soviet Ambassador of the United Nations, and still serves the Russian Ambassador. Nikita Khrushchev visited the estate after pounding his shoe on the lectern at the United Nations back in the 1960s. Welwyn, another former Pratt estate, is a 200-acre nature preserve and serves as the Nassau County Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center. Not every Glen Cover has a boldface name, but every Glen Cove resident contributes in their own unique way to the community: the first responders, the business owners, and the volunteers; the elected officials, city employees, the coaches, and the moms and dads; the teachers, preachers, and the gadflies that show up at the city council meetings; the world-class restauranteurs and bakers, the multigenerational shop owners, and the too many to mention fraternal and service organizations. Glen Cove is alive and will continue long after these words are forgotten. As I said, I love Glen Cove and Glen Cove is why I love America. It has diversity. It has history. And it has wonderful people. Glen Cove has offered opportunity to so many families, including mine. It is what makes America great. E pluribus unum, ``out of many one.'' Glen Cove has every type of ethnicity, religion, and income group. It enjoys low crime, low unemployment, and a robust community life. It works and it will continue to work. Happy anniversary and congratulations to my friends and neighbors. God bless our warm city with the cool sound, and God bless the United States of America. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, last year, I welcomed three welders-- Christopher Donahue, Andrew Labeck and Moises Fernandez--into my Washington, D.C. office. They were smart, articulate, and passionate about their work. These welders had access to job training and critical tools to give them a chance to earn and thrive. And our nation needs more of them. Sixty percent of Americans do not attend college. We need more post- secondary school education, such as apprenticeship programs and vocational schools for the next generation that chooses not to attend college but is willing to work hard to have the skills to live the American Dream. The collective story of Christopher, Andrew and Moises tells us a great deal about what can work in the American economy. Their story also shines a bright light on how to build an economy that gives everyone a chance to earn a share of the American Dream. Christopher, Andrew and Moises' story inspired me to write in the Wall Street Journal about their success and about how to put people to work in America. Therefore, I include in the Record, those words, that inspiration. [The Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2017] When the Welders Came to Capitol Hill (By Tom Suozzi) I'm sitting in my Capitol Hill office a few weeks ago, meeting with three well-dressed, well-spoken young men who earn salaries in the high five and low six figures. You see the type a lot in Washington, but these guys are different. They're not lobbyists. They don't represent Wall Street or any Fortune 500 companies. They're welders. America needs more of them and what they represent: good jobs at good wages. Last month I held a roundtable with suppliers in the aeronautic and defense industries, who told me they cannot find enough computer machinists. It sounds like an intimidating job, but according to these companies, trade schools and community colleges teach the specific skills needed. Census data show that in 2015 there were 105 million full- time jobs in the U.S., about 59 million of which paid less than $50,000 a year. That's not enough to raise a family and achieve the American dream. Most people who work these jobs responded to President Trump's message of antiglobalization and ``America First.'' Many workers without college degrees have played by the rules but still feel left behind. Globalization and technology rendered their stable, good- paying jobs obsolete. Policy experts, economists and politicians (including me) have pushed college education as the solution. We've argued the more you learn, the more you earn. Yet minting more college graduates in the STEM subjects--science, technology, engineering and math--is only half the story. The other half ought to be creating jobs that can be filled by graduates of high schools, trade schools, community colleges and union apprenticeships. The welders in my office seemed almost sheepish when I asked how they came to the trade. The common theme was that they didn't do well in school. I'll tell you what I told them: They're amazing. At 22, 29 and 32 they are making more than many graduates of college or even law school. They take the work that's offered, even if it means leaving home at 4:30 a.m. and driving an hour and half. They like their jobs and are good at them. The policy debates in Washington--over the corporate tax, the income tax, regulatory reform, infrastructure spending-- should be centered on creating positions like these. Republicans and Democrats should pledge to work together to create and fill, by 2020, five million new jobs that pay at least $80,000 a year. Americans don't need corporate-tax reform simply because companies need more money to buy back stock or increase dividends. They don't need income-tax ``simplification'' only because the wealthy want bigger paychecks. They don't need regulatory reform because workers and consumers have too many protections. And they don't need a massive infrastructure plan only because America's roads, bridges, sewers, water lines and mass transit systems are in disrepair. Americans need these things because they will create jobs at home and rebuild the middle class. My welder buddies are losing faith. So are those computer machinists, and millions more like them. You can meet them at any church, bar or ball field. They have a lot to teach Washington, if only it will listen.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased that my bipartisan amendment has been included in this en bloc package. There is a major problem in our country that Americans want us to address. It is a bipartisan issue related to contamination related from defense-related activities, and I want to thank the chairman of the committee for his assistance in working on this, as well as my colleagues, Congressman Cook and Congresswoman Hanabusa, for their work in helping to get this done. Military bases and munitions storage depots and armament manufacturing facilities have left behind a multibillion-dollar legacy of required environmental cleanup. Under my amendment, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and the Environment will be required to brief the Committee on Armed Services on initiatives being pursued to accelerate environmental restoration efforts. In my district alone, there is a site that was contaminated by a Grumman in conjunction with the United States Navy. It was discovered over 40 years ago. It has contaminated groundwater, which is the sole source of drinking water on Long Island. There are people that are trying to get these things cleaned up, but there is so much bureaucracy, so much red tape, so much finger- pointing, that we need to send a clear message from Congress that we need the executive branch to work together with us to accelerate this cleanup. Mr. Chairman, this amendment will help get that done.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, Russia has been working to undermine our democracy, as well as democracies throughout Europe, including Central and Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, too many Americans and elected officials have been distracted from Russia's secret operations because of the pitched, partisan battle regarding Putin's involvement in the 2016 Presidential race. The bottom line is this: Democrats and Republicans can't lose focus on Russia's worldwide treachery due to our hyperpartisanship here at home. Instead, Democrats and Republicans in Congress must work together to expose Russia's worldwide plan to subvert democracy. We must face the reality that Russia is a strategic competitor of the United States that is using nontraditional, nonmilitary weapons in a hybrid warfare to undermine democracies in countries that are ill-equipped to combat their malign efforts. Instead of focusing on Russia's activities during the 2016 election, I have introduced a bipartisan bill, the Russia Anti-Corruption Act, with 13 Republicans and 10 Democratic cosponsors, to expose and thwart Putin and his cronies' illicit activities in Eastern Europe and Europe as a whole. Whether bribing politicians, cyber attacks, manipulating social media networks, buying media outlets to promote propaganda, or purchasing power plants to control energy supplies to gain leverage over unstable governments, we must define, document, and disrupt the corruption flowing from Moscow, which imperils the democratic foundations of our U.S. allies. Our legislation would establish within the State Department an office of anticorruption relating to illicit Russian financial activities in Europe which would analyze Russia's financial meddling in strategic European sectors, including real estate, energy, media, and infrastructure. The office will collaborate with the Treasury Department to train U.S. diplomats to work with foreign partners to uncover and prosecute illegal Russian financial activity. This office will also work with our NATO allies to elevate anticorruption operations as part of NATO's readiness action plan. Oligarchs connected to Vladimir Putin are malevolent allies in the Russian President's hybrid warfare scheme. They flood Europe with dirty money, bribing politicians and purchasing key assets to subvert democracy. The Panama Papers found a trail of $2 billion that leads back to the Russian President. Such money has gone to support fringe political parties in France, Germany, Austria, and elsewhere. Well-funded Russian media outlets also play a key role in this hybrid warfare. They spread lies and weaken faith in European governments. Our allies in Central and Eastern Europe have accused Russia of a campaign of bribery meant to undermine the transatlantic alliance. All of this, of course, complements Russia's more overt tactics, from its military aggression in the Ukraine to its campaign of assassinations on European soil. As Putin and his cronies work to discredit open societies, the dark and dangerous sphere of Moscow's influence grows and grows and grows. That is how democracies can die. Mr. Speaker, this is not about President Trump, and it is not about Democrats versus Republicans. Members of Congress must work together to find solutions to the very serious threats posed by Russia the world over. I now yield to my friend and colleague, Mr. French Hill, the original cosponsor of the Russia Anti-Corruption Act and a real leader on this critical issue.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Chair, last year was the safest on record for commercial air travel, and the United States has one of the safest systems in the world. However, last Tuesday's emergency landing by Southwest Airlines Flight 1380--and the tragic death of a passenger--Jennifer Riordan--is a call to action when it comes to assuring airline and passenger safety. Tuesday's incident on Southwest Flight 1380 was caused when the aircraft's left engine suddenly exploded mid-flight. Metal weakness or ``metal fatigue'' was found in the left jet engine that failed during the flight of Southwest 1380. This issue is one of the reasons I have introduced an amendment to H.R. 4, the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act. The FAA needs to understand the full scope of any and all dangers connected to metal fatigue. My amendment instructs the FAA Administrator to produce a report on airline and passenger safety within 180 days of House passage. More specifically, my amendment instructs the FAA to study the issue of metal fatigue as well as the age and over-all use of U.S. commercial aircraft. Additionally, Mr. Chairman, I imagine many in this room have seen the 60 Minutes report on Allegiant Air. The report exposed numerous safety problems at Allegiant Air, a low- cost carrier that is more than three times as likely to have in-flight mechanical emergencies than any other major airline. I'm deeply concerned about the issues at Allegiant. I also worry about reports that the FAA has shied away from punishing airlines that cut corners with regards to passenger safety. That's just flat-out unacceptable. Finally, Congress needs to be concerned about the practice of offshoring U.S. aircraft maintenance to foreign repair stations. Today, approximately 24 percent of total heavy aircraft maintenance is offshored to repair facilities in other countries, more than triple the share offshored in 2003. This offshoring has cost hardworking Americans thousands of aircraft maintenance jobs. This practice has also raised real concerns regarding the level of U.S. oversight on offshored maintenance work. Safety and security regulatory gaps persist, creating a double standard for domestic maintenance workers and workers overseas. A dangerous double standard that could result in an airline-- passenger tragedy. That's why my amendment also instructs the FAA to review policies regarding maintenance performed by contractors. Overall, our mission is simple, clear and all-important: To empower the FAA to root out any problems in the hopes of preventing any further tragedies.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I am here to welcome Father Elias to the Chamber. He is from my hometown of the city of Glen Cove. Father Elias, as was mentioned, is a canon regular of St. Augustine from Klosterneuburg, Austria, and he and three of his colleagues from Klosterneuburg have been assigned to my parish, St. Rocco's, and our neighboring parish of St. Patrick's since 2011. He is joined here today by his parents as well as his brother, who is also a priest, Father Richard from Annandale, Virginia. I just wanted to say that we are so honored to have him here today. He has made such a dramatic difference in our community, along with his colleagues, Father Daniel, Father Ambrose, and Father Gabriel; and a great difference in my family's life as well. We are so grateful to you for your service to our community and to your faith, and to our faith, and for making such a difference in our lives.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much for having us here tonight. Based upon what he was just talking about, I am going to talk about my father first. I am a first-generation American. My father was brought to the United States by his mother when he was 4 years old. His father was already here. He came from Italy. His father was already here working. He had joined the U.S. Army during World War I and got his citizenship because of that, and my father was naturalized as a citizen because of that. He was the first one in the neighborhood to go to college, and he then fought in World War II and got the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters as a navigator on a B-24. He came back after the war, and he went to Harvard Law School on the GI Bill. Imagine that, an Italian immigrant going to Harvard Law School on the GI Bill in the 1940s. He was discriminated against as an Italian American at the time--the gentleman was just talking about that--and he couldn't get a job at a big law firm. So he went back to our hometown of Glen Cove, Long Island. He teamed up with another Italian guy. He started a law practice. He ended up running for city court judge, and he became the youngest judge in the history of New York State, at 28 years old. My father really lived a great American success story. He was a man who would proudly say ``what a country'' all the time. My father died 2 weeks before my election in 2016. As I went through his papers, I saw his yearbook from St. Dominic High School, when he was 18 years old. They asked all the students: What's your goal in life? Most people would talk about I want to become a lawyer or a doctor or an engineer, or I want to do some sort of exotic travel. My father wrote: ``My goal is to be a real American.'' Now, I had seen that when I was a kid, and I thought: Boy, I can't believe how patriotic my father was as an 18-year-old. But he died in 2016, in the middle of the Presidential campaign. A lot of the rhetoric that we are hearing now was really hot then as well. I realize that my father was 18 years old in 1939 and Mussolini had teamed up with Hitler, and Italian Americans here in the United States of America were viewed as fascists or mafioso, and that discrimination was rife. But the good people of this country and people in this body and people like my father held on to the basic, fundamental concepts of what makes America work. What makes America great are these basic, fundamental ideas. So, in dealing with the question of DACA and with immigration, we have to look at some basic, fundamental American concepts. Let's first remember that all immigrants, whether they are documented or undocumented, are human beings and are entitled to be treated with human respect and dignity. The most fundamental concept in America is that all men and women are created equal--not all men and women with a green card are created equal, not all men and women who are citizens are created equal, not all men and women from a particular country are created equal. All human beings are equal and should be treated with human respect and dignity. I am concerned that the rhetoric that we are facing right now, that the negativity that we are facing right now, that the uncertainty that we are facing right now, that the outright assaults that we are facing in some cases right now are causing so much anxiety in our country, and it is diminishing our status as a beacon of hope to the world. That is the great thing about America. That is what makes America great is that we are a beacon of hope to the world. That beacon is being diminished by the rhetoric and by our failure to address this immigration crisis. This is not a new phenomenon. This started in the 1980s when death squads and civil wars and abject poverty forced people to flee from El Salvador over the border into the United States by the tens of thousands. Starting with President Reagan, through President Bush and President Clinton and on, we haven't enforced our borders for that entire time, and now 11 million people in this country are suffering with this uncertainty because we failed to enforce our borders. I am all for securing our borders, but let's return to being a beacon of hope to the rest of the world, and let's stop the suffering and the anxiety as we push people underground and we treat them as nonhuman beings, entitled to human respect and human dignity. I believe that this is the greatest country on Earth, and I believe that my dad knew that. He also knew that a central part of our being the greatest country on Earth is being that beacon of hope to so many people, that said to the tired and the poor yearning to breathe free: Come to our shores. If we really want to make America great again, we have to reclaim that mantle of being that beacon of hope. I agree with all the wise comments that have been made by my colleagues here today that the votes do exist in this House to resolve this issue if we could get a bill put on the floor. There are so many groups, so many Democrats, so many Republicans meeting throughout this town on a regular basis to try to find a compromise to solve this problem--Democrats and Republicans--but because there is nothing on the floor, we can't get the votes presented in a public way. If it was put on the floor, it would pass. We would have DACA. We would have the Dream Act. We would have solutions to border security. We need to recognize that we are all in this together, and we need to rise up to the challenge to be the beacon of hope that we once were and still should be to the world. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Castro for giving me the opportunity to speak.

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I want bring up one thing I forgot to mention. I was the young mayor of the city of Glen Cove in 1994, and we had day workers from Central and South America gathering on the street corners seeking work. The community was divided. This was 1994. Just think how long ago this is now, 23 years ago. One group saying: Get those people out of here. And other people saying: These poor guys are trying to live the American Dream the same as your family did. I ended up setting up the first day-worker gathering spot anywhere on the East Coast of the United States of America in 1994. It was one of the first things I did as mayor. We ended up bringing them indoors. If you didn't get hired for the day, you could learn a skill, you could learn to speak English, you could learn about the cultural norms of our community. We said: If you play by the rules, we are going to help you. If you break the rules, you are going to get in trouble. The same guys that were on the street corners now have their own businesses, they own their own homes, and their children go to school with my children. That is the American Dream. We have so much potential in this country if we could unleash it for people who want to work 6 days a week and go to church on Sunday, if only we could remove this anxiety and this threat that we are pushing people underground and forcing them into an underground economy and underground communities. If only we could lift this back up again, we could accomplish so much.

Mr. SUOZZI. Think about it. You are a kid going to school, you are worried about taking tests. You are working every day, you are worried about your job. You are worried somebody is sick in your family. You are worried you don't have enough money to pay your bills. The normal concerns of life. Heap on top of that a national debate that is treating you as a pariah and creating such anxiety to rip families apart. Think about how challenging that must be for those individuals, those families that are facing that type of threat.

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, the people live like paupers while the mullahs live like gods. For weeks, tens of thousands of brave Iranians have courageously stood up in over 70 cities and chanted: ``The people live like paupers while the mullahs live like gods.'' They challenge their failed government. They have done so in the face of violent repression, imprisonment, torture, and even death. Why? They are fed up. They are fed up with poverty and unemployment; fed up with economic depravation and rampant corruption; fed up with an oppressive theocratic regime that mismanages their own country, mistreats its own people, and spends billions of dollars sowing the seeds of war and funding terrorists while its people suffer. Ayatollahs recklessly pursued nuclear weapons instead of creating jobs and building infrastructure for their own people. The regime's apologists have long argued that these policies are popular and they give Iranians a national sense of pride, restoring their place as a regional power. A regional power? It is more like regional thugs. In Iraq, Iranian-backed militias have executed and beat civilians, looted homes, and destroyed people's lives. In Lebanon, Iranian-backed Hezbollah aims tens of thousands of rockets at Israeli citizens. Syria backs Bashar al-Assad's vicious regime. Iran sends weapons and money to militants in Yemen, Bahrain, and Gaza. It has become the biggest purveyor of mayhem in the Middle East, pouring billions of dollars into nefarious activities while their own people are impoverished. Today, I rise with my colleagues to support the Iranian protesters and the bipartisan H. Res. 676. The United States and our allies should use the menu of sanctions available to us to target human rights violators and the Ayatollah's thugs who forcefully repress their fellow citizens. We must ensure the protesters have access to social media, and we must let them know that we support them. Ayatollahs must know that the free world is watching. The people live like paupers while the mullahs live like gods. The time has come for the people to rise up and change it.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present today, December 21, 2017. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yes'' on rollcall votes No. 706 and No. 707, and ``No'' on rollcall votes No. 704 and No. 705.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present today, December 21, 2017. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yes'' on rollcall votes No. 709 and No. 710, and ``No'' on rollcall vote No. 708. Personal Explanation

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Garamendi for bringing this Special Order to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I am here to point out the unfairness of the Republican- led bill for tax reform, as they claim, that would be devastating to New York's middle class families. I want the people at home to know that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have said: ``This proposal appears to be the first Federal income tax modification in American history that will raise income taxes on the working poor while simultaneously providing a large tax cut to the wealthy.'' Mr. Speaker, this bill is flawed and unfair on many levels. One thing I have learned since taking office back in January, here in this Congress, is how very different the regions of this country are. It is different from State to State and it is different from place to place. The amount of money that people make in different regions is different. Their cost of living is different, their property tax bills are different, and their State income taxes are as different as night and day. There are now 105 million full-time jobs in the United States of America. Fifty-nine million of those jobs pay less than $50,000 a year. Eighty-six million of those 105 million full-time jobs pay less than $75,000 per year. In my district, the average salary is actually higher than that, but so are their property taxes, so are their income taxes, and so is there cost of living. While this bill could be a net positive for some Americans in many regions--in my region and in many other regions, and in my State and my district specifically--this bill is a huge net negative for middle class families. One particularly devastating element of this proposal is the elimination of the State and local tax deduction that would be patently unfair to the over 250,000 hardworking families in my district that rely on that important deduction. New Yorkers claim the State tax deduction more than just about any other State. In my district, we have more people in the State than any other place that claim the State and local tax deduction. It is the top 10 of the Nation. Let's look at the some of the specifics of what actually happens in my district: People making between $50,000 and $75,000 in my hometown of Glen Cove will see a 39 percent tax increase. In my hometown of Glen Cove, a family that makes between $100,000 and $200,000 will pay, roughly, $2,100 more in taxes under this plan. In Huntington, every single family making over $50,000 a year will see a tax increase. Every family in Huntington making between $50,000 and $75,000 a year will see--get this--a 135 percent increase on what they currently pay. Every family making between $100,000 and $200,000 a year will see a $3,000 tax increase. In Whitestone, every individual tax filer making $50,000 or more will see a tax increase, regardless of their income. Mr. Speaker, the evidence is crystal clear for people in my district and in many places throughout this country. This tax reform plan, as it is called, is a punch in the gut to middle class taxpayers. These are hardworking people who deserve to be lifted up, not slapped down, by draconian tax increases that offset tax cuts going to the superrich. How could anyone support a bill that targets our middle class in such a way is unfathomable. When I was elected to Congress, I came here ready and willing to work--and I still stand ready and willing to work--across party lines to get things done, even tax reform. I want to see tax reform in this country, but I can't compromise my values. I can't let down the families in my district who are going to be hurt by this plan. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to try to do what is right: protect the hardworking Americans--the hardworking New Yorkers--who play by the rules and ask for very little in return by voting against this ill-conceived legislation, and protect the State and local tax deduction for our middle class.

Mr. SUOZZI. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I just want to point out that in the State of New York, there are many Republicans who have come out against this tax bill because of the fact that it will hurt so many middle class families. Eliminating the State and local tax deduction is completely and patently unfair. This State and local tax deduction has been in place for over 100 years. Why should someone pay taxes on taxes they have already paid to their State and local governments?

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to point out, in the State of New York, we send $48 billion a year more to the Federal Government than we get back from the Federal Government. We are the largest net donor in America to the Federal Government. We are contributing this money to subsidize many programs that our colleagues don't want to support, but we are also supporting their States. Many of the blue States in America, quite frankly, are huge net donors to the Federal Government, and many of the red States are huge net takers from the Federal Government. This is just another slap in the face to States like ours.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleague, Mr. Lipinski, for pulling this effort together this evening. Mr. Speaker, climate change is real, and I applaud my colleagues on the Climate Solutions Caucus for working together in a bipartisan effort to try and find common ground and to seek to work together to pass legislation to address this very real threat. I believe the greatest opportunity we have here is to include efforts to move our Nation toward a greener economy as part of a comprehensive infrastructure bill. We must address climate change for three reasons: first, the Earth is part of the divine creation, and we have an obligation to preserve and protect our precious gift; second, moving toward a green economy that retrofits homes and buildings and installs solar and wind farms will create good jobs at good wages that simply cannot be exported; and, third, the main topic I wish to address this evening, is moving toward a green economy, reducing our dependency on foreign oil, and addressing climate change is essential to our national security. Americans rarely talk about it and sometimes forget, but we supported Osama bin Laden against the Russians in Afghanistan. We supported Saddam Hussein in Iraq after we lost the Shah after the Iranian Revolution. We supported the Assads in Syria. And we still maintain a close relationship with the Saudis, despite their support for Wahhabism. Why? Because our national economic strategy and security has relied for decades on access to foreign oil. Our meddling in local affairs to ensure the oil spigot flowed freely has sowed distrust across generations throughout the Middle East. By moving towards a green economy and eliminating our dependence on foreign oil, we can clearly say to the Middle East: We never wanted your land, we never wanted your money, and now we don't need your oil. All we want is for people of the region to stop trying to kill each other. It will take some time, but moving towards an economy independent of foreign oil is the best way to get there. In addition to eliminating our dependence on foreign oil, we must try to stall the rapid rise in extreme weather events, droughts, and desertification that is destabilizing huge swaths of the Middle East and Africa. The number of refugees in the world has grown from 35 million only 10 years ago to 65 million today. War and violence are exacerbated by the instability caused by climate change. One of the most violent regions in the world today is Syria. The instability in Syria began with droughts that destroyed the livelihoods of the Syrian people that rely upon an economy which is 85 percent agrarian. When people lost their farms, they fled to the cities looking for work, but, of course, they could not find it. Then they looked to the Assad government, but, of course, were ignored. Fomented by the Arab Spring, they began to revolt. The result? The Syrian Government has killed almost a half million of its own people and millions more refugees. This story is being repeated throughout the region. Although the people suffering are thousands of miles away from the United States, our national security is threatened by these failing states. The rise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq is a prime example of the impact of failed states on Western security. Mass migrations by those seeking to alleviate suffering, millions seeking political and economic reforms place pressure on corrupt and incompetent governments that are unable to respond to the needs of a population seeking opportunity and hope. Our enemies who wish to foment instability--Russia, Iran, North Korea, and violent terrorist factions--are aided by the effects of climate change and the instability it causes. We must do everything we can to stall the growth of this nefarious trend. The good news is that there is a growing bipartisan consensus in the Climate Solutions Caucus and the armed services community that we must act. The Armed Services Committee in the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act acknowledged that ``climate change is a direct threat to the national security of the United States,'' and that ``the Department of Defense must ensure that it is prepared to conduct operations both today and in the future, and that it is prepared to address the effects of changing climate on threat assessments, resources, and readiness.'' Secretary of Defense Mattis has said, ``Climate change can be a driver of instability, and the Department of Defense must pay attention to the potential adverse impacts generated by this phenomenon.'' Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford has said that climate change and rising sea levels pose serious long-term threats to the country. The number of natural disasters will increase in the coming years, along with ``the requirement for humanitarian assistance'' and the response required for the military for civilian disasters. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank again my colleagues for the work that they have done to try and bring the issue of climate change to the American people, and to try and find solutions to this very real problem that is not only affecting us here at home, but our national security throughout the world.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for their bipartisan leadership and the model that they show all of us on this committee in the work that they do together, and for their mentorship as well. I would also like to thank and applaud my colleague and friend, Mike Gallagher, for his leadership on this bill, and for working so closely to get this done. We are very grateful to him for his work here. The Shields Act that I rise in support of right now will sanction Hezbollah members and their supporters for the use of human shields. It also seeks to punish the governments that enable such war crimes, including their primary supporter, Iran. This summer, I visited Israel and I stood near Lebanon's southern border, not far from where Hezbollah threatens Israel's security. In the over 30 years since Hezbollah in 1983 killed hundreds of Americans when it bombed the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, they have become one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations, not only in Lebanon, but across the entire Middle East. In 2006, it provoked a war with Israel by killing and kidnapping soldiers in cross-border raids, and then for nearly a month rained rockets down on Israel cities, killing dozens of civilians. Journalists and human rights groups found that it fired many of these rockets from populated areas, even from inside private homes and other civilian buildings. That war ended more than a decade ago, but Hezbollah remains committed to Israel's destruction. It has spent millions to replenish its arsenal, which now includes up to 150,000 missiles scattered across southern Lebanon, much of it concealed in mosques, hospitals, schools, and homes where civilians are used as human shields. Hezbollah has continued its provocative actions on the border between Lebanon and Israel. It has killed and wounded Israeli soldiers. It has threatened bombings of gas fields and chemical plants. It has tried to smuggle advanced weapons into Lebanon. It has built an expansive network of tunnels through civilian neighborhoods. The civilians caught in its destructive web of terror would have no safe haven if Hezbollah started a war. Hezbollah has also expanded its nefarious activities regionally, most notably playing a major role in the Syrian civil war, deploying thousands of its own men to prop up Bashar al-Assad's vicious regime. Hezbollah members are fighting alongside a Syrian army that has killed almost half a million of its own people and driven millions more into exile. In the process, it has trained for its next war with Israel. The Israeli intelligence official have said that the group has learned frightening skills in urban warfare from its years on the ground in Syria. It did all of this, of course, at the behest of its Iran patrons who continue threatening to rain warheads down into Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. From Iraq to Gaza, from Yemen to Bahrain, Iran's proxies have been at the center of the chaos consuming the Middle East. But Hezbollah remains Iran's oldest and deadliest proxy, and its actions in Syria deserve particular attention. In town after town, Hezbollah's militants prevented civilians from fleeing the Assad regime artillery. Activists have accused the group of carrying out mass killings and torturing refugees and other civilians. Hezbollah is one of the main reasons Assad's murderous regime continues to stay in power in 2017. Hezbollah is not only a threat to the people beyond Lebanon's border, it is a threat to the Lebanese people. The U.N. has implicated Hezbollah in the assassination of a Lebanese Prime Minister. Its use of civilians as human shields endangers the Lebanese people every moment of every day. I applaud the leadership and the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee for continuing to find ways to crack down on Hezbollah and Iran. Today there are four suspension bills on the calendar: H.R. 1698, the Iran Ballistic Missiles and International Sanctions Enforcement Act, which prevents Iran from undertaking any activity related to advancing their ballistic missiles program; H.R. 3329, Hizballah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2017, which restricts Hezbollah's ability to raise money and recruit for their nefarious activities; H. Res. 359, which urges our European allies to drop their false distinction between Hezbollah's political wing and its military wing, and designate them in their entirety as a terrorist organization; and, finally, my and Mr. Gallagher's legislation, H.R. 3342, the Shields Act. We must pass these four bills to continue to reduce the influence of a group and its primary backer, Iran, that have menaced their neighbors and their own people for far too long. By passing H.R. 3342, the bipartisan Shields Act, we will send a strong message that the United States of America will not stand for the use of innocent civilians as pawns in the destructive chess game of Iran's and Hezbollah's effort to destabilize the region and the West. Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleague, Congressman Gallagher, for his leadership. I am proud to join him in this effort. I ask my colleagues for their support.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking Congresswoman Sinema and Congressman Murphy and all of my Democratic and Republican colleagues for trying to bring attention to this very important issue. I also want to thank Secretary Shulkin, who has announced his Get to Zero initiative to try and address this problem of 20 veterans every day committing suicide in our country. Just today, as on many days, I saw a veteran who had lost both of his legs. It is common here in Washington, D.C., but it is common throughout every city and every town throughout our country that we see more and more veterans who have injuries. After 16 years at war, there are more and more veterans in our country who have been disabled. With 20 veterans committing suicide every day, we know, however, that there are many injuries that we cannot see, injuries that veterans carry around by themselves at home, alone, in the dark of night, with nothing but their pain. As Congressman Murphy pointed out, 70 percent of the veterans of the 20 per day that commit suicide in our Nation--70 percent, 14 of the 20--do not have access to veterans benefits at the current time and do not utilize those services. In fact, in our Nation today, there are 21 million veterans, approximately, and of those 21 million veterans, only 7 million have access to veterans benefits. I have introduced a bipartisan bill, H.R. 2736, to suggest that what we need to do in our Nation is provide mental health benefits to every single veteran in our country, regardless of whether they were Active Duty, whether they were in the National Guard or in the Reserves, whether they were honorably discharged or less than honorably discharged. It is estimated that, since 2009, there have been 22,000 veterans with mental illnesses that have received other than honorable discharges. Arguably, most of those discharges were because of the same mental illness that they now carry around with them today. Think of a veteran who is in crisis, a veteran who is contemplating suicide, a veteran who, as Congressman Murphy described, is at the end of their rope and feels that there is no help and the only way to escape their pain is to commit suicide. Think of that veteran who reaches out for help at the VA. Could you imagine going through the bureaucracy to figure out whether or not you were even eligible for services if you weren't currently enrolled? You are seeking help, you are in the middle of a crisis, and you have got to fill out a form. You have got to determine whether or not you meet the criteria. I am an attorney and a certified public accountant and a Member of the United States Congress. I read the requirements, and I couldn't figure them out. We need to make it much easier for anyone who has ever worn a uniform in any capacity whatsoever: in battles that we won, in battles that we lost, whether they were in combat or whether they worked on a truck, whether they were Active Duty, whether they were Reserve, whether they were in the National Guard. Every veteran should have access to mental health services during a crisis. We have to make it much simpler. We heard a story tonight from Congressman Johnson, who talked about a veteran who was trying to get an appointment to get mental health services in the midst of a crisis, and the time was put off and put off and put off, and he finally got the appointment. And the Congressman was informed when he called the VA: Oh, we have good news; the appointment has been scheduled. The Congressman advised the VA that the veteran had already committed suicide. So we have got a couple obligations, I believe. Number one is for those veterans who are currently utilizing VA services. We have to, as has been suggested by some of my colleagues, make sure we have the resources in place so that those veterans receive the services that they need on a timely basis, especially when they are in crisis, to make it as easy as possible for them to navigate the bureaucracy and get the help that they need. Additionally, we need to make sure that those veterans who are not currently enrolled for veterans services and veterans benefits are made eligible for mental health services, certainly in crisis conditions, so that when someone reaches out to them, they are embraced with the loving arms of their country, as manifest in the VA, and they are brought in and cared for and helped to navigate through that crisis in their life. There will be talk about how much it is going to cost. There will be a challenge as to whether or not we can afford to take care of these men and women who have served our country and are now facing this crisis in their life. But I would guarantee you that any American in this country would say that we have to expend any cost for every veteran because there is no higher obligation in this Nation than taking care of the men and women who have worn our uniform, no greater obligation in this country. We can never forget the vet. I want to thank Congresswoman Sinema for inviting me here tonight to talk about my bipartisan bill, H.R. 2736, and for helping to bring attention to this very serious crisis in our country.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the passage of the Dream Act, and I request my Democratic and Republican colleagues to stand together to try and address this very important issue in our country. The issue of undocumented immigrants has been plaguing this country for almost 30 years now, going back to the 1980s, when people flowed over in the thousands from El Salvador during the death squads and the civil wars during that time. As the mayor of the city of Glen Cove back in the 1990s, we dealt with this issue in my city, on one side people saying, ``Get those people out of here,'' on the other side people saying, ``They are just trying to live the American Dream like your father did.'' My father emigrated from Italy. I am a first-generation American. ``They are just trying to live the American Dream like your family did, trying to work hard and live a better life here in this country.'' When dealing with these difficult questions, we have to rely on the fundamental principles of this country, namely, that all men and women are created equal--not all men and women with a green card or all men and women with a passport, but all men and women are created equal and are entitled to be treated with human respect and dignity. When looking at the DREAMers, we are talking about people who came to this country under 17 years of age, who have lived a productive life, who have either graduated from high school or received a GED and have now either gone to college or are serving in the military or have been working for the past 3 years and have no criminal background. Let's try and make this country fairer. Let's try and make ourselves the model for the rest of the world to follow and lift up these people who are productive members of our community.

Mr. SUOZZI

Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present due to the funeral of my mother. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yea'' on rollcall vote No. 441.