Mark Takano

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment that would preserve parole in place for the loved ones of our Active-Duty servicemembers. Parole in place allows military family members who have come to the United States illegally and are unable to adjust their immigration status to temporarily remain in the country. My amendment would preserve the parole in place program and reaffirm the DHS Secretary's authority to keep families together and to minimize disruption to our servicemembers through this vital program. Now, under parole in place, a servicemember and their prospective spouse, widow, widower, parent, son, or daughter is eligible for temporary protection under the Immigration and Nationality Act. This program is imperative to ensuring our troops are free of the burden that their loved ones will be subjected to deportation while they dutifully serve our Nation. The current administration is interested in scaling back the program, further waging a war against immigrants. Ending parole in place would be detrimental to the troops and the fabric of our Nation. Regardless of military branch, all servicemembers should be granted peace of mind that their families are safe at home while they risk their lives abroad. Deployments are tough enough on our military families to endure, conflated with the looming shadow of deportation, the emotional toll is simply unbearable. Our troops must be consistently prepared and focused on protecting our freedoms. The least we can do is to protect their families. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, let me just say that I believe that I have answered the main concerns of the gentleman from Mississippi. As I said, nothing in this amendment categorically says that eligibility means finality in terms of who is finally adjudicated to actually remain on a temporary basis, under temporary protected status. What this amendment does is what the gentleman has agreed to is the underlying policy, which is a humane policy, which is a policy that furthers the national interests of our country in assuring the peace of mind of our military servicemembers who have family members in our country who are undocumented. I don't think any American would begrudge someone who is putting their life on the line having the peace of mind that their family members are in this country under temporary protected status and that they are judged to have that status by the Secretary of Homeland Security on a case-by-case basis and that the Secretary remains in full control of the final decision. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close as well.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I wish to respond to a couple of points that my colleague has tried to make. I want to stress that eligibility for this program does not mean finality. The Secretary of Homeland Security still retains final authority over whether parole in place will be granted. This is a program that is administered on a case-by-case basis and not categorically. This program has been in place for 9 years. I appreciate that my colleague has said that he agrees with the underlying policy. The underlying policy is that we want to give peace of mind to the men and women of our military who are laying their lives on the line for our country while their undocumented relatives at home may be under threat of deportation. We want to give them the peace of mind that their families could stay, with the final decision, on a case-by-case basis, being made by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Nothing is categorically mandated in my amendment. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 405. Amendment No. 268 Offered by Ms. Jayapal

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Miss Rice), my good friend, who is a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and a member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, and the sponsor of H.R. 2109.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2109) to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in awarding a contract for the procurement of goods or services, to give a preference to offerors that employ veterans.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2109.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2109, the Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act, or BRAVE Act. We know that overall veterans' unemployment rates are below the national average, and that includes a 3.5 percent rate for our younger post-9/11 veterans. However, this hides an alarming statistic: nearly one-third of veteran jobseekers are underemployed at a rate 15.6 percent higher than nonveteran jobseekers. Both parties agree that men and women returning from our most recent conflicts deserve to come home to a reliable, good paying job. We owe them that. We can start right here in the Federal Government. The VA establishes long-term contracts with private companies for medical equipment, construction supplies, services, and more. Currently, the VA gives a preference for these contracts to veteran- owned small businesses. The BRAVE Act would expand this contracting preference to allow the VA Secretary to give a preference to companies that actively employ veterans, a policy that would incentivize companies to hire more veterans, already a smart approach for companies, because veterans bring to a job the skills they earned and learned in their years of invaluable military training. This bipartisan bill would not add any additional costs or burdens to the taxpayers. It allows for the debarment of any company that knowingly misrepresents its proportion of veteran employees in order to receive a contracting preference. The BRAVE Act represents a win-win for the private sector, the Federal Government, and most importantly, veterans themselves. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Rice for her hard work on this excellent bill, and Ranking Member Roe for beginning work on this bill last Congress. I urge my colleagues to support it today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the legislation sponsored by Miss Rice, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I want to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2196, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2196, a bill to reduce the credit hour requirement for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program. H.R. 2196 is a technical correction to the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship, which was codified into law with the passage of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, also known as the Forever GI Bill. This STEM scholarship program, named after the former chairwoman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Edith Nourse Rogers, provides veterans who are enrolled in STEM programs with additional support if their GI benefits are exhausted before they complete an undergraduate degree. Unfortunately, this much needed scholarship program is crippled by the qualification criteria, which necessitates that veterans must be enrolled in STEM programs that require more than 128 semester credit hours to graduate. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, these criteria only allow veterans enrolled in three programs at higher learning institutions to participate in this great scholarship program. Now, this was not the intent of the Congress. H.R. 2196 would correct this oversight by reducing the required semester credit hours of a degree program from 128 to 120, to allow more programs at a wider array of institutions of higher learning to qualify for the program. Now, veterans across the country are enrolling in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math based degree programs at rapid rates, and we should continue to encourage veterans to pursue STEM programs and employment in STEM fields. By continuing to invest in our veterans, we are investing in the American economy and our great Nation. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Barr, Representative Levin, and Ranking Member Roe for their hard work on this excellent bill. I would especially like to thank Chairman Levin and the rest of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee for their bipartisan work to get this bill to the floor in a timely fashion. Mr. Speaker, I urge the rest of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2196.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2196) to amend title 38, United States Code, to reduce the credit hour requirement for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of En Bloc Amendment number eight, which includes my amendment to reaffirm Amtrak's legal obligations under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The WARN Act was created to protect workers and their families by requiring certain employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of mass layoffs. As many of my constituents learned first-hand, having advance notice of a major staffing decision is essential for employees so they can make thoughtful and deliberate decisions about their future and the future of their families. Last year, Amtrak shuttered a reservation call center in my district. Hundreds of my constituents and their families had just 60 days' notice before having to decide whether to uproot their lives and accept another Amtrak job across the country--or accept a meager severance package and keep their families rooted in the community they grew up in and love. It was part of Amtrak's tactic to only meet the statutory requirement of providing 60 days' notice under the WARN Act and force attrition by applying pressure on its employees. Today, we must go further to protect these workers. Congress must reaffirm the legal requirements under the WARN Act, but also strengthen these protections to ensure that workers have more advance notice of executive decisions that will impact their lives. Congress must also ensure that the penalties for violating this law will send a clear message to employers that this anti-worker behavior will not be tolerated. Mr. Chair, I thank Representatives Ken Calvert, Brendan Boyle, and Paul Cook for joining me in putting forth this bipartisan amendment and I look forward to building on these protections for workers all across the United States.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of En Bloc Amendment No. 2, which includes my language that makes clear the intent of Congress to maintain federal protections under the Civil Rights Act. Since 1964, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act has prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in all federally funded programs and activities. It is the law of the land. Unfortunately, there have been widespread efforts by this Administration to roll back protections under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Rollback of any parts of the Civil Rights Act, including Title VI, would have a devastating impact on countless people. It is the intent of Congress to instruct that all federal agencies vigorously enforce and implement the civil rights protections guaranteed under Title VI and Congress will be opposed to any and all efforts to undermine these protections whether intentional or not.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in gratitude for the bravery and sacrifices made by American and Allied Armed Forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944. This week marks the 75th anniversary of that longest day, a moment in history when servicemembers from across the globe stormed the shores of Normandy, France, to defend liberty and fight against the tyranny of Nazi Germany. And as we pause to honor and express our gratitude to the tens of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, and airmen who bore the battle that day and for many days after until victory was achieved, we are reminded again that the cost of freedom can be very high. As chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, it is my duty to ensure the promises we made to veterans and their survivors are kept. To those veterans that remain with us still to those D-Day veterans who perished on that longest day and to those who lived to tell the stories of that day, I say to you that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs is committed to honoring your legacies by improving VA healthcare, providing accountability for the fair and timely delivery of benefits, and to ensure that we honor your memories. Today I ask that all Americans reflect on the sacrifices made by the greatest generation in Europe 75 years ago and to join me in thanking those of this generation who have stepped up and every intervening generation who have answered the call to serve.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate John Corona who will be retiring after serving the Riverside Unified School District for 40 years. Mr. Corona's tenure in education has left a lasting impact on the Riverside community. He received numerous awards throughout the duration of his career, which demonstrate the admiration his colleagues and students have for him. One of Mr. Corona's proudest achievements was the creation of ``King High School Remembers.'' This annual project sparked continuous outreach to the veteran community and began an important dialogue between veterans and students. Since 2001, more than 300 veterans have been interviewed by high school students. Above all, Mr. Corona touched the lives of hundreds of students through his teaching, coaching, and mentorship. I send him best wishes on his well-deserved retirement and thank him for his service to our community.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1500, a bill that will ensure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has the necessary tools to defend American consumers. The CFPB was created in the wake of the financial crisis as consumers fell victim to unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices. My Republican colleagues have tried to undermine it for nearly a decade since its arrival. The Trump administration has worked to kneecap the CFPB, using a strategy that prioritizes big businesses over individual consumers. As can be seen, enforcement has decreased by 75 percent at the CFPB. H.R. 1500 will fortify the CFPB's core mission to protect consumers and remedy the Trump administration's harmful anticonsumer tactics. My home district lies in California's Inland Empire, and the constituents I serve understand the importance of CFPB's mission all too well. At the height of the housing crisis, one in five local households were behind on their mortgages. In 2008 alone, over 30,000 families from Riverside County lost their homes to foreclosure. This was, however, by Wall Street's design. In no other area of the country did subprime loans aggressively pushed by lenders claim a bigger proportion of the overall mortgage market. This bill ensures the CFPB is equipped and empowered to fight this type of predatory lending and much more. Simply put, the Consumers First Act ensures that CFPB maintains the authority and resources to do its job and proactively protect consumers from unfair, misleading, and abusive practices. Let's pass this bill to make crystal clear that the CFPB truly does have the back of every single American consumer. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 1500.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1947) to amend title 38, United States Code, to exempt transfers of funds from Federal agencies to the Department of Veterans Affairs for nonprofit corporations established under subchapter IV of chapter 73 of such title from certain provisions of the Economy Act, as amended.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1947, as amended.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to file a supplemental report on the bill, H.R. 1947, as amended.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, this comprehensive legislation addresses funding for VA research and gives the VA authority to work with grieving families to memorialize their loved ones. It also closes a loophole that has allowed contracted flight schools to charge public schools unlimited tuition and fees to train veterans using the GI Bill. The first section of the measure addresses VA research. VA's Office of Research and Development improves the lives of veterans, contributes to the national public health, and develops lifesaving biomedical breakthroughs that change the world. In its 90-year history, the VA's medical and prosthetic research has produced some of the world's greatest advances. The VA developed the pacemaker in 1960 and the shingles vaccine in 2005. It created an effective smoking cessation program and increased life expectancy for people with spinal cord injuries. VA researchers were responsible for beginning the first international antiretroviral drug therapy trial to find the optimal treatment for patients with AIDS, for whom all therapy had failed. These research efforts usually aren't performed alone. They are often in collaboration with nonprofits, universities, other Federal agencies, and international bodies. When research is funded from non-VA grants, it is managed by a for- profit corporation, otherwise known as an NPC, established at a VA Medical Center, which allows flexible research funding. Last year, the VA's Office of General Counsel uncovered an appropriations law limitation that prevents funding transfers to these nonprofit research corporations for longer than 1 fiscal year. This has negatively affected several ongoing multiyear projects across the country. Dr. Roe's legislation, H.R. 1947, as amended, would provide explicit authority for NPCs to administer research funding without regard to fiscal year limitations. To ensure this legislation does not raise spending, section 2 addresses a loophole in GI Bill flight school benefits. This loophole had been exploited by flight schools that had contracted with public institutions of higher learning to offer flight- related degrees. In some cases, bad actors were exploiting GI benefits that resulted in the VA paying out over $500,000 in tuition and flight payments to one student. H.R. 1947 fixes this loophole by marrying the cap on tuition at private institutions with a cap on flight school tuition at public institutions. In addition, to ensure that the fewest possible students are impacted, the legislation also includes a provision to allow flight school students to accelerate their GI Bill benefits. This will allow them to be better used for flight school, which is regularly more expensive but takes fewer months to complete. Finally, section 3 of H.R. 1947, as amended, authorizes VA to replace a veteran's headstone or marker in a private cemetery so that an inscription may be added to remember a deceased spouse or a child following their deaths. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative LaMalfa for introducing the original legislation and Ranking Member Roe for offering the legislation as an amendment during markup. This bill is another example of our committee working on a bipartisan basis to get it right for all veterans. This legislation allows veterans to memorialize their loved ones in the way they want and where they want. Every veteran deserves to know that their wish to be remembered in perpetuity alongside spouses and their children will be granted. The same is true for surviving spouses and children who want reassurance that they, too, will be memorialized with their veteran spouse or parent. Madam Speaker, I thank Dr. Roe for his tireless efforts to care for veterans, and I commend him on this bill. I look forward to joining him in voting ``yes'' on this legislation. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.