Ted Yoho

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.

Mr. YOHO. I thank the chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO. I thank the chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Chairman, since August 8, 2014, in Iraq----

Mr. YOHO. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Chairman Conaway for his leadership in bringing the repeal of the COOL amendments to the House floor so quickly. I would like to thank my fellow Ag Committee colleagues for their bipartisan support in passing the repeal of the COOL amendments out of the committee. The COOL amendments, or country or origin labeling, has nothing to do with food safety. It is a mandatory marketing program. The USDA stamp of inspection ensures consumers the meat we eat is safe and wholesome, not COOL. Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. The U.S. has lost its last three appeals in the WTO to Canada and Mexico regarding COOL. Both countries are ready to retaliate against us, as we have heard, to the tune of billions of dollars, thus hurting our ag sector and American jobs. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack has said that only a legislative fix of COOL would bring the U.S. back into compliance. Again, I thank and congratulate Chairman Conaway and urge all of my fellow colleagues to vote in favor of this amendment.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Congressman Amash be removed as a cosponsor of H. Res. 198.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Madam Chair, to the ranking member, I would love to have that discussion down the road about responsible immigration reform, and I think we need to have that. The American people expect it. They deserve it, and I look forward to having that. In the meantime, this is just a commonsense amendment that strictly puts the emphasis on following the rule of law, and I think all Americans, regardless of what side of the aisle, would stand supporting the Constitution, the very document that we all took an oath to. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO. Madam Chair, this amendment is strictly about the rule of law and following the rule of law. I agree we shouldn't have to debate immigration here. This is not about this. This is about following the rule of law. At this point, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Mr. YOHO. Madam Chair, my amendment simply ensures that no funds can be used to circumvent current law which prevents illegal immigrants from obtaining housing assistance. Spending should be prioritized based on the needs of American taxpaying citizens, not those who are residing in our country illegally. Constituents back in my district and throughout the country work hard every day, and their needs should not play second fiddle to those of immigrants who broke our laws and came into this country illegally. With the continued efforts by some in this country to disregard the rule of law, much to the detriment of taxpaying Americans, I truly believe this amendment is necessary to clarify and reinforce the intent of Congress as it pertains to housing assistance providing via HUD. This is a simple, commonsense amendment that shows the hard-working American citizens that we are serious when it comes to spending their tax dollars and that we will not use their hard-earned money to prioritize and reward those who break our laws. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and support the rule of law. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the University of Florida, in Gainesville, Florida, the Lady Gators softball team. The Lady Gators won the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City last night, defeating Michigan 4-1. This is the Lady Gators' second national championship in 2 years. It is a back-to-back national championship. Again, congratulations to the Lady Gators' awesome softball team and their coach, Tim Walton, for his great coaching and leadership. I would just like to end by saying it is great to be a Florida Gator.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 240 I missed the vote because of flight delay and bad weather. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I want to look around this body. What are we asking to do? We are asking to fund DHS 100 percent. We are asking to put safeguards in there so that we don't move with an executive order that has been deemed illegal by a Federal judge. That is all we are asking. And we need to have that language in this bill. I don't know anybody in here who doesn't want to fund DHS. Mr. Speaker, for us to vote for this without that funding or without that language in there blocking what this President wants to do, and if we vote for that, we are voting against our Constitution. Article I, section 8 is very clear that we have the authority for naturalization, and I say we vote against funding without that safeguard.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. I appreciate you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of H.R. 596. The ACA was passed not in open, transparent government; it was passed with not one Republican's support behind it. We hear on the other side how we are repealing it again. I think you ought to take heed to that notice that the American people sent the largest majority of Republicans back to Congress primarily to repeal this bill. Mr. Speaker, I have seen my own story. My family's policy--my wife's, our kids', and mine--got canceled because of ObamaCare, and through the House exchange as a Member of Congress, my premium went up $870 extra a month. That is almost $11,000 extra it is costing me with decreased coverage and increased deductibility, and the price went up. It was a fabrication that the prices would go down. If this is happening to me, it is happening to everybody around America, which leads to the quality of our lifestyle decreasing, and health care is not improving because the majority of the people getting care through this are on the Medicaid system. If you look out at the outcome around the world, our Medicaid health system is at the bottom, and that is why we need to repeal this bill and replace it with reforms we have.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague from the great State of South Dakota. I rise in solidarity with the growing coalition that is united in the global fight against human trafficking. The numbers are overwhelming. We have all heard the estimates of over 22 million people being trafficked worldwide; sometimes, though, they seem far away. People often say: That kind of stuff doesn't happen here. It happens overseas. It doesn't happen right here. No, Mr. Speaker, this is happening in our own backyards. There is an estimate of over 1 million teenagers running away every year in the United States. Runaways are most at risk and vulnerable to trafficking. In fact, runaways are typically picked up and pimped out or trafficked within the first 48 hours. Just 5 days ago in my home State of Florida, a 15-year-old girl was discovered by police in a motel being sexually abused and trafficked several times a day. Her parents had been handing out missing child flyers in the neighborhood. Luckily, someone recognized her picture from an online ad and contacted authorities. That young girl went from being a runaway to a trafficking victim in less than a month. That precious 15-year-old child could have been anybody's child. It could have been yours or mine. However, it is not just runaways that become victims of trafficking. Traffickers don't discriminate based on economic class, race, gender, or age. Traffickers are motivated by profit, solely profit. The average cost of a slave worldwide is roughly $90. Human trafficking is a $30-plus billion industry, and it is the second largest source of revenue for terrorists around the world. As the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise, it is shocking how little people know about this horrendous practice. Furthermore, it is appalling how little is put forward in effort to stop it. This week, the House of Representatives will pass a series of bills designed to streamline law enforcement resources, toughen penalties for offenders, and provide resources to victims. I commend the sponsors of these bills as well as all Members up here today who are willing to stand up and say enough is enough. Human trafficking is not a Republican or Democrat issue. Taking a stand against trafficking is something we all must do, remembering that, while January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we must all be vigilant and active in our fight. No, Mr. Speaker, your neighborhood and my neighborhood are not immune. No city is exempt, and these victims are part of our daily lives, quietly suffering with almost nowhere to turn. We cannot in good conscience continue our daily routines without making every effort to stamp out the practice of forced labor, domestic servitude, and sex trafficking. I encourage all Americans to go to the Department of Homeland Security's Web site and watch the Blue Campaign video to become familiar with the common signs of human trafficking. Let's all work to stomp out this scourge of activity on humanity.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my dear colleague, Mr. Smith, for holding this important pro-life Special Order that gives a life to the unborn. I stand here today in defense of the thousands of unborn children whose lives were ended through no fault of their own. These children are precious gifts and cannot defend themselves. They do not have the luxury to debate whether or not society should recognize them as living beings. As a Christian and the proud father also of three children, I strongly believe in the sanctity of life and that it begins at conception. My heart aches for the thousands of unborn children who will never have that chance to experience the wonder of life. Life is truly a miracle granted through the grace of nature's God, and I am here today to say every life is a gift and every life does matter. It has been 42 years since the Supreme Court made their ruling in Roe v. Wade. Since that ruling, an estimated--and I want to repeat this, an estimated--55 million lives have been lost. That is more than the total population of the northeast States. That is more than the population of the State of California. Future generations will look back and judge us. They will judge us on our failure to protect the most innocent among us. They will judge us for allowing infanticide, human genocide of our next generation yet to come. This week, the defenders of life in the thousands have and will come to Washington, D.C., to support the sanctity of life. This has grown into the largest pro-life event in the world. I want them to know we will keep fighting to defend the silent, unborn child. How can we as a nation--how can we as a nation--have laws that protect the embryo of a sea turtle or bald eagle but yet refuse to protect the same of our own species? Shouldn't the lives of the unborn children matter as much as these in the eyes of the law? These lives, these gifts, these human beings deserve to be protected and defended.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the work that you have done on this, and I appreciate the attention that this has brought. Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of consternation about this bill. I stand here today, obviously, in support of my bill, H.R. 5759, the Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act of 2014. It is a simple bill. It is four pages, but yet, it has caused a lot of debate. It just simply states that the President, Mr. Obama, does not have the constitutional authority to grant amnesty by issuing work visas to 5 million people here illegally. I have got a list of scholars too that back up the claim that this is unconstitutional. This bill doesn't talk about deporting anybody, as you might hear later on today that it is going to deport 9 million people. It doesn't talk about that. It doesn't talk about granting amnesty. It just stops an unconstitutional action by our President, who has taken an oath to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States, just like the rest of us in this body have. To vote ``no'' against this bill is to vote ``no'' against the Constitution. Harry Reid has already said he will not bring up this bill for a vote. The President says he will veto this if it makes it to his desk. My question is, to not bring up this bill, or to not sign it, is that not a vote against our Constitution? It is important that we address the true debate here, and that is the separation of powers. This bill is not about border security, work visas, E-Verify, or immigration reform. This is about the administration overstepping its bounds and unilaterally challenging the laws of this great Nation of ours. Article II, section 3 of our Constitution makes very clear that the duty of the President is to ``take care that the laws be faithfully executed.'' Despite this straightforward charge, the administration is refusing to enforce our existing immigration laws for millions of unlawful aliens. Article I, section 8 of the Constitution clearly states, ``Only Congress has the power to write immigration laws.'' And our Founding Fathers established this separation of powers to prevent an overreaching executive. Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court found in Galvan v. Press ``that the formulation of policies pertaining to the entry of aliens and their right to remain here is entrusted exclusively to Congress, and it has become about as firmly embedded in the legislative and judicial tissues of our body politic as any aspect of our government.'' Preserving article I, the legislative powers, this is not a partisan issue. It is not Republican or Democrat. Allowing executive action like this to slide simply because we are frustrated with a system establishes a dangerous precedent that could be abused by Presidents of both parties for any area of law they disagree with. I would like to point out to my colleagues on the other side that if we continue to surrender, from this body, our legislative powers to the executive branch, then we could easily be standing here in 2, 5, or 10 years discussing a Republican President who refuses to enforce the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act or uphold portions of the Voting Rights Act, and it can go on and on, and it has opened up a dangerous precedent. Just because one might agree with the outcome does not justify overlooking or violating the process to get to that outcome. Congress has the constitutional powers to create and write laws, and the President has a duty to faithfully execute those laws, not to pick and choose, like he does or doesn't like them. And that is according, again, to article II, section 3. I urge Members to support H.R. 5759, restore constitutional powers to Congress, and stand on the side of the Constitution to protect this great Nation of ours.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a quick moment again to thank my colleague, Representative Sinema, for the invitation to speak today on the very important issue of veteran suicide prevention. She has been a true champion of improving access to quality care for our Nation's veterans and has been a leader in Congress pushing for the real reforms to combat veteran suicide. By shining a light on veteran suicide rates of approximately 22 per day, we as a nation can start to understand the urgency with which we need to solve and prevent this epidemic that our veterans, their families, and their friends struggle with daily. Not coping with the stress and anxiety early enough all too often leads to the veterans taking their own life. I want to be clear: this is not an issue that affects veterans alone; it affects all of us. Our government asked these soldiers to place themselves in harm's way, and if when a veteran returns home they are struggling to cope, we as a nation must come together to ensure a strong support system is in place. This means we must remove the stigma associated with seeking help. This means we must hire more mental health professionals and more who have served in combat zones themselves. This means the VA must provide after-hours services. The VA must review its group therapy model. There must be a review of discharges that resulted from mental health conditions, and the Department of Defense and VA must better coordinate the transition from DOD care to VA care. I have spoken with veterans throughout my district and a common theme that emerges is that they have lost faith in the VA. They feel abandoned by the very system, the very country which they fought for to preserve and to protect the liberties and freedoms we have the privileges of experiencing daily. I had a young man send me a letter directly to my house, and I want to share some of it. He said he had been seeking care. He had served in the gulf war. He was in his mid-forties, and he had been seeking care over the course of the last 10 years. Time and time again his appointments had either been canceled or rescheduled, and he had gotten to a point where he tried to get care and over the last 13 appointments they were canceled or rescheduled. He ended the letter pleading for help, and he said that if I do not get the help and care that I need, because I have nowhere else to turn, that I am afraid I am either going to hurt somebody or myself. We reached out to this young man, we had him come into our office, and I could see a troubled individual that had given up on life and had no hope for the future. We intervened for this young man, we called the VA system, and they got him in that night. Since then, I am happy to report that the man has called us and said it was a life-changing experience for him and he could only imagine what would have happened had he not gotten interdiction. Congress and the VA are working to solve these deficiencies so that our soldiers have the care they need. But it should not take an act of Congress, or a Congressman or -women, to intercede on behalf of a veteran to get the care they earned, need, and deserve. I know myself and my colleagues will do what is needed to fix the shortcomings of the DOD and the VA system. America and Americans cannot sit idly by and bear witness to the path of devastation and destruction left in the wake of a veteran suicide for their family and friends to deal with. I thank my colleague for bringing this very important subject to light. We all need to work in a bipartisan fashion to solve this. I thank my colleague.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, today we commemorate the 227th birthday of the Constitutional Convention and the creation of America's most cherished document--our Constitution. Today is Constitution Day. On September 17, 1787, our Founding Fathers, 39 brave Americans, created a document that to this day is the foundation of our country and is admired by people around the world. The British statesman William Gladstone said of our Constitution: The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. The Framers established a new form of government that for the first time respected the rights of the individual. No longer would a king or dictator rule over their citizens. The power of the government would derive from the consent of the governed. Responsibility of good governance is not just placed on the political leaders but on the participation of those citizens who have voted for them. Benjamin Franklin, when asked outside of Independence Hall by a curious woman as to what sort of government was created: A republic, ma'am, if you dare keep it.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the innocent victims who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Thirteen years ago today, our homeland was attacked. Evil manifested itself in the form of extremists who murdered 3,000 Americans. Our world and America was forever changed by the tragedy that unfolded in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Pennsylvania. The evil that came out of the shadows in 2001 still exists today in 2014. If left unchecked, it will continue to grow for the foreseeable future and threaten us once more. Now, more than ever, we must remain vigilant in the defense of our great country and against those who wish America harm. We can no longer afford to be divided into Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals. We must come together today, from this point forward, as Americans. Today, let us pause and pray in remembrance of those who fell on 9/11 and for all who continue to stand in harm's way at home and abroad.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, today I was unavoidably detained and missed rollcall votes Nos. 490 and 491. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: On rollcall No. 490--Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 717, the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3522--I would have voted ``yea.'' On rollcall No. 491--Adoption of H. Res. 717, the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3522--I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate my friend and colleague, Steve Southerland, for crafting the Waters of the United States bill, this important piece of legislation. Mr. Chairman, I have heard from farmers, ranchers, contractors and even homeowners across my district and across this country. They have had enough of regulatory overreach by the administration and the EPA. As many of my colleagues have already stated, this bill will stop this administration from using a pen and a phone to unfairly target those who are our greatest stewards of our land, the farming and ranching families of this country. I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. Government should facilitate businesses, not hinder them.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate it. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 107. This resolution denounces the cowardly act of using civilians--women and children--as human shields by Hamas and any other terrorist organization, which is in violation of international humanitarian law. As a member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, I was proud to have worked with Congresswoman Ros- Lehtinen, Chairman Royce, and Ranking Member Engel. It is my hope that this resolution sends a very clear message to Hamas that their abhorrent practice of using civilians as human shields must stop. Hamas has continued to fire rockets indiscriminately into Israel from residential areas within Gaza, as well as having continued to store munitions near schools and hospitals. Mr. Speaker, what kind of human does this kind of thing? It is a coward. It is a person who does not value human life. Since June of 2014, over 2,000 rockets have been fired at Israel. In response to the repeated rocket attacks, the United States and Israel have worked together on missile defense projects, such as the Iron Dome. The Iron Dome is an effective missile defense system. It has proven its worth time after time, intercepting dozens of Hamas rockets bound for densely-populated areas within Israel. This resolution must pass in order to assure our Israeli allies of our commitment to them, as well as to send a very clear message to Hamas that their use of human shields must stop.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation. This evening, we are, once again, considering H.R. 935, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. Many of you will remember that the House voted in support of this legislation 3 years ago. That bill, H.R. 872, passed the House floor on suspension with a vote of 292-130. This same language was included in the 2012 farm bill that was reported out of the Agricultural Committee, as well as the 2013 farm bill, which the House sent to the farm bill conference. It was included in the committee-reported text of the fiscal year 2012 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. Unfortunately, due to the opposition from a couple of our friends in the Senate, we have been unable to get this bill to the President's desk, which we know, once done, will guarantee his signature. As many of you may recall, this language was drafted at our request for technical assistance by the EPA general counsel. The problem we asked the EPA to help resolve stems from an uninformed court decision in the Sixth Circuit. This decision nullified a 2006 EPA regulation that exempted certain pesticides from having to comply with a costly and duplicative permitting process under the Clean Water Act. My colleague, the gentlewoman from Maryland, gave a very nice speech. And she mentioned several times the potential problem of contaminating creeks, the potential problems of this pesticide causing all of these problems that we haven't seen. We don't have the facts on that, and to regulate something that is already regulated--and I must caution everybody how these drugs and how these pesticides come out. They go through extensive testing. Millions of dollars are spent by these industries. And the intent by those pressing to have federally registered pesticides regulated through the Clean Water Act is unnecessary, it is costly, and it ultimately undermines public health. It amounts to a duplication of compliance costs for a variety of public agencies, adding to their legal jeopardy and threatening pesticide applicators, including mosquito control districts, with fines set at $37,500 per day per violation. All I can say is, welcome to going out of business if you are in the private sector. Across the country, several mosquito control districts may have to cease operations due to these costs. If this occurs, it would expose large portions of the population to mosquitoes carrying a number of dangerous and exotic diseases, such as West Nile virus. Hospitalization and rehab costs ranging from the tens of thousands into the millions of dollars, lost productivity, a decrease in tourism, and negative impacts on horses and livestock production are but a few of the costs that will further strain public health resources. Being a veterinarian for the last 30 years, I have seen effects of mosquito-borne diseases. In addition, the West Nile virus causes deaths, from alligators to humans. Also, diseases such as Eastern encephalitis are transmittable to people, along with dengue fever, which is moving its way up from the Caribbean through the peninsula of Florida, and it will, no doubt, get up further to the mainland of the United States of America, in addition to the heartworm disease in our pets. This unnecessary mandate applies not only to local and State interests but also to Federal agency lands located in States directly regulated by the EPA. For example, Federal agencies, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, authorize the use of some of their lands for many purposes, including recreation and agriculture. These uses often require pesticide applications to prevent mosquito-borne transmitted diseases and for other purposes. Although the local mosquito control district may be the entity actually applying the pesticide, the Army Corps District is required to obtain the permit and sign off on related reports, thereby pointlessly driving up costs to the Federal Government. We have agencies suing government agencies. Further, experience has shown that the Corps is unwilling to assume permit responsibility for activities that it is not actually performing. This is a regulatory burden that Congress never intended, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.