Abigail Spanberger

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Madam Speaker, I got my deployment declassified. It is.

Ms. SPANBERGER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much for the opportunity to stand here in solidarity with our colleagues across the aisle in honor of Police Week and in honor of our police officers and peace officers across this country. I rise today to remember the remarkable lives of two Virginia State police officers, one from our district in Midlothian and one from nearby New Kent County. They were both killed in the line of duty. On August 12, 2017, Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates were not responding to an ordinary call. Instead, they were flying via helicopter to an event that became infamous as one of the darkest days in modern Virginia history. Cullen and Bates were en route to Charlottesville to monitor the events transpiring around the Unite the Right white nationalist rally. Forces of hate had gathered, and law enforcement was called in to help end the chaos. After police had canceled the event as an unlawful assembly, Cullen and Bates were instructed to assist their fellow officers. They were to circle over Charlottesville, and their mission was to provide surveillance of the violence, restore order, and help the community end the nightmare that had transpired. However, mid-flight, their helicopter crashed on the outskirts of Charlottesville, and both Cullen and Bates were killed in action. In the wake of the tragedy and the stress of the Charlottesville protests, Executive Director Wayne Huggins of the Virginia State Police Association said: ``I don't know if State police, in its 85 years, has had a more excruciating time.'' The pain of the families of Lieutenant Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Bates is unimaginable, and the loss experienced by the Virginia State Police and their fellow brothers and sisters in the law enforcement community is still felt to this day. This is National Police Week. We remember the brave and dedicated service of Lieutenant Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Bates. They died in an effort to protect their fellow Virginians, and their sacrifice will always be remembered. As a former Federal agent, the daughter of a career law enforcement officer, and, most respectfully, as a grateful American and Virginian, I thank the law enforcement officers and peace officers who dedicate their lives to keeping us safe. This week and every week we stand with our law enforcement officers, and we will never forget those who laid down their lives for their neighbors.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act. Back in 2003, 16 years ago, the Pentagon commissioned a report on how climate change would impact our ability to keep our country safe. Its conclusion? That we should move beyond scientific debate and treat ongoing ecological damage as a serious national security threat. Our military and intelligence communities agree that climate change exacerbates conflict and instability. It weakens fragile governments, contributes to food and water insecurity, and perpetuates poverty. These are threat multipliers, and they present real risk to U.S. interests around the globe, especially in areas vulnerable to extreme weather, such as the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. As a former CIA officer, I recognize that combating climate change is a national security imperative, and the first step in this fight is to keep our word to cooperate with our allies and partners in this battle. By staying in the Paris Agreement, we demonstrate that the United States takes our planet's fate seriously, keeps its word, and can be a steady partner in future agreements. Going forward, we must use our country's tremendous diplomatic, military, and economic strength as assets in this global fight. Today, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation because our country cannot afford to abdicate its role of leadership.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my commonsense broadband mapping amendment to H.R. 1644, the Save the Internet Act of 2019. The digital gap between our rural and urban communities is real, and I hear about it from the people I serve every day. According to the FCC's 2018 Broadband Deployment Report, more than 30 percent of rural Americans lack access to high-speed fixed broadband, compared to only 2 percent of urban Americans. This disparity has long- term implications for the economic strength and security of our country. In rural America, a lack of reliable broadband internet makes it harder for businesses to find customers and attract new employees. Without reliable broadband internet, communities across this country face challenges attracting new businesses and investment. In rural America, farmers have a tougher time using the latest precision agriculture technology, and in places without reliable broadband internet, kids find it difficult to complete their homework assignments. In our district in central Virginia, farmers and producers are disadvantaged because the lack of broadband makes doing business harder. In our district, constituents drive their kids to McDonald's or to neighboring counties so that they can complete their research projects for school. And what is happening in our district is happening nationwide. Today, we are considering a critical piece of legislation to champion the idea of a free and open internet. There is no question that rural broadband internet access should be a part of this conversation, as this bill would also include a provision to restore the FCC's authority to fund the expansion of broadband access across our rural communities. But right now, there are many questions surrounding the accuracy of the FCC's broadband internet maps, which detail which areas in the United States have high-speed internet coverage and which do not. These maps have important implications for our rural communities, schools, and businesses. These maps are used to award funding and subsidies to expand broadband coverage to areas that don't have it, and, in many cases, these efforts have led to great success. However, these maps have been found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unreliable. Often a map will claim an entire area is covered by high- speed broadband when, in reality, only a small portion of that area has reliable coverage. This trend should not be the status quo in our digital age because it leaves so many rural families underserved. Areas where the FCC's maps incorrectly say there is high-speed rural broadband connectivity are often ineligible for funding to expand broadband, and these inaccuracies greatly disadvantage our rural communities. Erroneous information in these maps could be the difference between a senior citizen being able to access lifesaving telemedicine services or not; it could be the difference between a farmer who can keep up with market fluctuations halfway across the world or not; and it could control the ability of a young, aspiring student to access online information, college applications, and research materials. My amendment to the Save the Internet Act would address a lack of reliable broadband internet connectivity in our rural communities, and it would begin to fix the errors in our current broadband maps. My amendment would require the Government Accountability Office to produce a full report that examines the accuracy and quality of the FCC's broadband mapping. This report would also identify what the FCC should do to produce more accurate, reliable, and high-quality maps. Additionally, the GAO report required by my amendment would help identify the scope of the broadband mapping problem and actually suggest solutions. With this new information, the FCC would be better able to update its maps so that we can properly target our broadband expansion efforts to the rural towns, townships, and communities across our district. Better maps of broadband coverage are a critical first step toward getting high-speed internet to every household, something we should aim to do in our globalized, digitally-focused economy. As we are having important discussions about protecting and expanding reliable access to the internet, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to H.R. 1644. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Michael F. Doyle).

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Speaker, last week the administration asserted that the Affordable Care Act should be invalidated in Federal court. If this effort succeeds, protections for those with preexisting conditions would vanish. Approximately 51 percent of central Virginians under the age of 65 have a preexisting condition. If this effort succeeds, we would see the return of caps on lifetime coverage, and those over 65 could be forced to pay higher Medicare premiums. If this effort succeeds, we would lose the ability to keep our children on our insurance plan until age 26. In Virginia, where we just saw Medicaid expansion become law, this would be upended as well. If efforts to scrap our healthcare system succeed, Medicaid expansion would be completely gutted, and with it, our efforts and ability to deal with the opioid epidemic across our State. Right now, we need a bipartisan effort to stabilize and fix our healthcare system, not a hyperpartisan lawsuit focused on settling old scores. Central Virginians deserve better. We are here to solve problems, and if there is a problem with our healthcare system, we should fix it, not upend our system, not hurt those with preexisting conditions, not get rid of the prohibition on lifetime caps, not eliminate a provision that allows young people to stay on their parents' insurance. This is why, among the other efforts we are making in this body, I am proud to cosponsor the Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions and Making Healthcare More Affordable Act of 2019.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the Girl Scouts of the United States. On this day in 1912, the Girl Scouts of America was officially launched in Savannah, Georgia, with a meeting of just 18 girls. Now, 107 years later, the Girl Scouts have engaged and inspired generations of young women and empowered millions to serve their communities. More than 50 million women are alumni of the Girl Scouts: 58 percent of the women who serve in Congress were Girl Scouts, and 72 percent of the women who serve in the Senate were Girl Scouts as young women. My daughters and I have been lucky enough to be a small part of this rich history, and, for the past 5 years, I have served as a Girl Scout leader for my daughter's troop. Two-and-a-half million girls and adults nationwide participate in this tremendous program. In my time as a Girl Scout leader, I have gotten to know so many bright and talented young women, to learn from them and with them, and to use the tools and lessons of the Girl Scouts to instill within these future leaders a fundamental belief in the power of service, the value of character, and the importance in our community. As storied as this organization's past is, it will always be focused on the future. That is the purpose of Girl Scouts.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 1. This week, we are focused on fighting for the public interest, fighting for transparency, and fighting for accountability. We have a rare opportunity to restore faith and trust in our system of government. Mr. Chair, I thank all those who have fought to bring us to this point and for our upcoming major historic vote on H.R. 1. As we speak, I am working under a mandate from the people of central Virginia. They expect me to fight back against a broken Washington and to work to protect our democracy, whether from special interests, barriers to voting, or foreign influence. Right now, we are seeing an uptick in hostile attacks against election systems across the globe, with the rise of the internet, anonymous hackers, non-state actors, and foreign intelligence operatives, as they rise as formidable and dangerous adversaries. Our elections are the bedrock of our democracy. If our voting infrastructure is compromised or attacked, the entire integrity of our electoral system could come into question. This was especially clear following Russia's interference in the 2016 election, and it is almost certain that nefarious actors will continue their deliberate attempts to attack our elections or put in doubt the outcome of those elections. During this time, it is critical that the U.S. election officials have accurate and up-to-date information about where our election security systems are most vulnerable. This amendment pushes back against foreign attempts to interfere in our electoral process and helps identify any potential threats that may exist. This amendment would use the invaluable expertise of public servants in the intelligence community and Department of Homeland Security to strengthen the security of Federal and State election systems. My amendment would require a Federal assessment of the scope of potential threats to the security of America's election system, including cyber, terror, and state actor threats. This assessment would happen 180 days prior to every general election to allow the States the opportunity to respond and strengthen their voting system. Additionally, this legislation would direct the Director of National Intelligence and DHS to update Federal and State officials on possible vulnerabilities and to provide assessments on how best to stop these threats. As a former CIA case officer, I greatly appreciate the objective and nonpartisan work of the national security and intelligence communities. With their help, we can fight back against foreign interference, we can safeguard our elections. The dedicated men and women of our national security agencies and of our intelligence agencies have demonstrated their ability to collect information on foreign actors' intentions and provide election security assessments that are intellectually rigorous, objective, timely, and useful to the States they would provide them to. As we are having an important discussion about safeguarding the integrity of the vote, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to H.R. 1. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) for his comments and for his support of this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), my colleague.

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I am ready to close, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPANBERGER. May I reclaim my time, Mr. Chair?

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes).

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I am ready to close, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in support of this amendment to H.R. 1. I speak today as someone who has spent my career in public service identifying foreign threats to the safety and security of the American people. As a former CIA officer, I worked to identify threats to our country, our fellow Americans, and threats that would leave our Nation vulnerable to attack, espionage, or foreign influence. As Congress acts this week to restore transparency to our government and regain trust from the people we serve, we must take steps to prevent foreign influence in our democratic process. I support efforts to push back against the very real threat of foreign financial influence. I know nefarious actors are out there. I know they are tireless in their commitment to target our foundational institutions, including our voting process. The American people shouldn't have to worry about the ability of foreign governments or entities to influence our elections and our citizens, but senseless loopholes in our campaign finance system have left our electoral process vulnerable to spending by foreign governments, corporations, and foreign nationals. These foreign entities should not have the ability to exert influence over the issues that impact Americans most, including the national defense, healthcare, and our financial services sector. That is why I am proud to cosponsor this much-needed, bipartisan amendment. This amendment would strengthen the integrity of our elections by encouraging our government to ensure that our campaign finance system is not falling prey to signs of foreign money in our politics. It would require the FEC to conduct an audit to look for foreign money in our elections and then require the FEC to report its findings.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Madam Speaker, today I rise to celebrate the life of Dr. James Harold Bowles. Dr. Bowles was born in June 1921, and raised on the Pea Ridge in Goochland County, Virginia. Dr. Bowles served in the U.S. Army and graduated from Virginia Union University before attending medical school and returning home to Goochland to open his medical practice. As he began his career serving his patients, Dr. Bowles continued his service as the first African American to serve on the Goochland County Board of Supervisors where he worked to strengthen our community for 32 years. He was a lifetime member of the NAACP, a trustee of Emmaus Baptist Church, and an active member of community organizations across central Virginia. Above all, he was a beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He left an indelible mark on our community. Madam Speaker, I leave you with the advice Dr. Bowles frequently gave. May it guide our work here in this Chamber. SMILE. S, seek to understand before being understood; M, make others feel important; I, it is not about me; L, listen twice as much as you speak; E, emphatically, enthusiastically, and quickly admit it when you are wrong. When you do this, dialogue can be easily achieved.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Madam Speaker, over the past 34 days, we have heard that this shutdown is about security. Well, I am a former undercover CIA officer, so let's talk about security. There is nothing secure about FBI agents working without pay. There is nothing secure about them closing down investigations and losing their informants, their counterterrorism informants. There is nothing secure about TSA employees who keep us safe in the airspace working without pay. There is nothing secure about our Customs and Border Patrol agents, who work along the very border we are discussing, working without pay. There is nothing secure about our air traffic controllers working 10 hours a day to keep our airplanes safe in the air. There is nothing secure about our diplomats, who work in war zones and around the world to keep this country safe, working without pay. There is nothing secure about the 42,000 dedicated members of the U.S. Coast Guard working without pay as they defend our shores. The public servants who work every single day to protect the lives of their fellow American citizens deserve better. I know this because I used to be one of them. This shutdown is a disgrace. It is hurting our national security. We must end it now so that Americans can sleep safely at night; Federal workers can receive the paychecks they have earned; and our country's military, economic, and diplomatic strength can be preserved before it is too late.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to share another story of how this reckless shutdown is hurting real people in real communities, including in central Virginia. Chesterfield, Virginia, resident Donna Ingram has worked for the U.S. Department of the Treasury for 15 years. She is a mother of two, and because of the shutdown, she is worried about her ability to make ends meet. Earlier this month, Donna's pay stub showed the word ``furloughed,'' and her paycheck showed the number zero. Donna is currently in the middle of medical treatment, but because of the shutdown's financial harm, she has been forced to discontinue her treatment. Donna said her livelihood is at stake and that she could lose everything she has worked so hard for over the past 15 years. Donna said that Federal employees like her want to work; they want to serve our government and our communities; and they want to continue their service. Yet this is how we treat our public servants here in the United States? Are they bargaining chips? I will continue to push for an immediate end to the shutdown, because I do not think they should ever be used as bargaining chips. There are hundreds of thousands of hardworking Federal employees like Donna who are depending on us, their elected officials, to do our jobs, to open this government, and to restore the function of our government.

Ms. SPANBERGER

Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise the alarm and sound the alarm about the shutdown and how it is harming the people of central Virginia. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of Federal employees are working without pay or are furloughed, including critical law enforcement personnel. The best way to illustrate the destructive effects of this shutdown is to share a story from one of my constituents in Virginia's Seventh District. She said to us: My husband is a Federal employee and the sole provider for our family, and right now, we don't know when he'll get paid. Because I got sick last year, we now have less money in the bank, and we're not sure how we can hold on. While he could make more money in the private sector, my husband believes that working in a Federal job is his way of making a difference through public service--and every day, he is proud to go into the office at 5 a.m. to do what he can to serve his country. One of the hardest days of his life was when he came home and said that earlier that day, he had told those under him that they were furloughed--just days before Christmas. We are begging you to reopen the government. This story demonstrates the importance of fixing this mess and reopening the government. I encourage my colleagues and leadership to act now in a bipartisan way to protect the livelihoods of these hardworking families.