Ted Yoho

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and show my support for our Nation's first responders and law enforcement officials. On September 14, we witnessed the assassination attempt of two Los Angeles County sheriff deputies in Compton, California. Just yesterday, we saw two more attacked in Louisville. As I speak on this floor, the 31-year-old female and 24-year-old male deputies who were brutally ambushed, thankfully, have been released from the hospital. The officers attacked yesterday, hopefully, will survive also. The support from across the country for these heroes is inspiring, even as the leftwing radicals shouted obscenities outside the hospital and yelled they hoped the officers would die. While the President pursues noble action through peace accords in the Middle East, the Democratic Party cannot find its voice in admonishing domestic terrorists targeting our brave law enforcement officers across the country. I stand with the President, with our law enforcement, and with the foundation of this country--respect for life, defense of liberty, and the protection of property.

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud Florida Gator. In the last ``Best Colleges'' edition of the U.S. News & World Report, the University of Florida was named the number 6 public university in the country. That ranking marks the fourth--I want to repeat that, that ranking marks the fourth--consecutive year the University of Florida has risen in the rankings for public universities, jumping from number 14 in 2017 to number 6 today. UF is one of the finest research universities in the United States, attracting the best and brightest from around the great State of Florida, America, and the world. I want to congratulate President Kent Fuchs, his staff, the faculty, student body, and the board of trustees for their collective efforts in continuing to elevate the University of Florida to higher and higher rankings. And I can't end without saying: Go Gators. Supporting First Responders and Law Enforcement

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the critical work being done by our VA health centers in Florida's Third Congressional District, and specifically to congratulate the opening of the new Middleburg VA Clinic. On September 15, the Middleburg VA Clinic opened to patients. The clinic is vital for the health and well-being of so many veterans who call Clay County home. Before the state-of-the-art facility opened, I introduced a bill with the entire Florida delegation that would name this clinic after Naval Chief Petty Officer Andrew Baker, a former Clay County resident and American hero who lost his life while serving our country. During these turbulent times, we must never forget to honor those who serve and protect our fellow citizens and the Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic. Congratulating University of Florida on Number 6 Ranking for Public Universities

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Clay County Sheriff Sergeant Eric Twisdale who passed away due to complications from COVID-19. Anyone who knew Sergeant Twisdale said he was committed to serving the community. Throughout his 28 years of active service, he showed that commitment and was rewarded, receiving several awards, including the Lifesaving Award in 2014 for saving a person from drowning. He was honored as the 2015 Deputy of the Year for displaying exceptional valor while helping stop two murder suspects during a high- speed chase through several counties. There is a common thread that runs through our Nation's law enforcement community: courage, and selfless service to others. Sergeant Twisdale most certainly possessed both in abundance. He is survived by his children, many grandchildren, and family members. I thank Sergeant Twisdale for his service and for keeping our community safe. He will be missed. Celebrating the Opening of Middleburg VA Clinic

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Sheriff Sandeep Dhaliwal who was tragically and senselessly killed in the line of duty last year, September 27, 2019. Deputy Dhaliwal was the first observant Sikh to serve in Harris County Sheriff's Office and was the first Sikh American in Texas to receive a policy accommodation to wear articles of faith, including his turban and beard, while serving. His story is an American story. Born in India, he moved to Houston, Texas, at an early age with his parents. He started a successful business but felt called to serve and build better relations and understanding between the Sikh and all greater-Houston communities. He was a beloved husband, father, and son who selflessly served others and was a role model to all who knew him. Like many of the brave men and women in law enforcement who put on the uniform to protect and serve communities across our great Nation, Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal is a hero. Honoring the Life of Sergeant Eric Twisdale

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I would like to commend Chairmen McCaul, Engel, and my colleague Mr. Castro for bringing up this strong bipartisan bill. Human trafficking is an issue which is still alive and well today, unfortunately. It is modern-day slavery. The International Labour Organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking worldwide today. The global human trafficking market is estimated to be a $150 billion per year industry, and I hate to call it an industry. The profits from these nefarious and heinous acts only go to fund corrupt governments and organizations to rain more terror, pain, organ harvesting, and suffering on the world's most vulnerable populations. As of 2020, the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative shows globally 108,613 individual cases of human trafficking; 164 countries of exploitation; and 175 nationalities. The LIFT Act will ensure adequate time for preparation of the State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report. It will also require timely provisions on information to the State Department on the number and location of visa denials based wholly or partially on grounds related to human trafficking. One of the greatest challenges in developing targeted counter-traffic responses and measuring their impact is the lack of reliable, high- quality data related to the scale of human trafficking and the profile of the victims. The LIFT Act will help to provide this global data on human trafficking through its insurance of thorough preparation of the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report. In these times of hyper- partisanship, combating human trafficking is a worldwide scourge on societies that we should, we can, and we do tackle in a bipartisan fashion here. In order to combat human trafficking, we must all continue to work together. I will, and I encourage all others to support the LIFT Act.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman and the leaders on the Democrat side. Since 2017, the CCP has systemically targeted and rounded up over a million people comprised of Uyghurs and other East Turkic minorities and put them in concentration camps where they were subject to inhumane living conditions, forced cultural brainwashing, rape, and torture. Just this week, the CCP released a white paper regarding its detention of Uyghurs. They admitted to incarcerating up to 1.3 million Uyghurs per year from 2014 to 2019. That is up to 8 million innocent people in prison, brainwashed, tortured, raped, in their so-called reeducation, which are really concentration camps. If they will admit to that, how many more are there really that have been interned? The Chinese State is not only complicit but responsible for activity supporting the genocidal campaign targeting vulnerable populations based on everything from religious beliefs, their language, their hairstyle and even their diet. This is not even to mention the horrific practices of forced sterilization and ``marriages'' to Han Chinese men. Many of these people have now been forced into manufacturing jobs under harsh conditions, which we have heard--Mr. Smith and Chairman McCaul have pointed out--these products benefitting from forced labor have found their ways into our supply chains through major brands and corporations as it becomes increasingly difficult for companies to conduct due diligence investigations in China. Further, we must recognize that the Chinese diplomatic presence globally is also engaged in this effort. A wealth of evidence is available to suggest that Chinese embassies and consulates around the world are actively seeking to force Chinese Uyghurs to return to mainland China, often to renew their passports, only to be abducted immediately and sent to one of the camps. As Members of Congress, we have a moral obligation to ensure that the state-sponsored campaign of ethnic cleansing and forced labor-- reminiscent of the concentration camps of the Nazi regime, when we swore as a world community, ``never again''--are shut down and punished to the full extent of U.S. and international law. The business community of America also has a moral obligation, from manufacturing to Hollywood, to not appease China in the name of profit. Madam Speaker, as an original cosponsor of this bill, I support its passage in the House and encourage its timely consideration in the Senate.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, a country as ours, a constitutional republic, requires a citizenry that is well-educated and are responsible. I questioned a colleague of mine from New York about her policies calling for defunding of the police. The city of New York cut funding to the city police department by $1.5 billion, but my colleague from New York said that is not sufficient, we need 100 percent defunding of the police, while at the same time advocating for people to shoplift if you are hungry. My question is: Do you suppose that is okay for the shop owner? Do you suppose it is okay for our children watching those police? Who does the shop owner call and how do the police respond with those kinds of ideas out there? Do you call Antifa? I don't know. I wouldn't. A civil society needs rule of law. We need policemen who uphold those laws and are willing to serve to protect the citizens. Our lawmakers need to preserve the rule of law, not weaken it. The dangerous policies of the left espouse no police, free this, free that, free healthcare, it is not your fault. This does not lead to the utopia they promise. In reality, this leads to the Hugo Chavez/Nicholas Maduro's Venezuela, and that is a short period of time. People don't think it can happen here, but we need our policemen.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, in this time of great chaos, uncertainty, and fear, today's Abraham Accords provide us with a clear path to the normalization of relations between the State of Israel and her regional neighbors, Bahrain and the UAE. Not only was this peace achieved without abandoning or weakening our Israeli ally, but it is a peace that recognizes the ever-present and growing threat posed by militant extremists, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, to all regional neighbors. No longer will Iran take advantage of a region divided against itself. Instead, an increasing number of Arab nations are choosing to join a united front against terror led by the United States and Israel. I was honored to be present for this historic signing ceremony at the White House, and I pray that we can use this unifying moment to recognize that no matter the danger before us, peace will prevail. It is a good illustration of why President Trump is being recognized and considered for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dr. Jose Arce. He is poised to make history for being the first person from Puerto Rico to be elected to the post of the American Veterinary Medical Association as president. Dr. Arce was born and raised in Puerto Rico. He is a 1997 graduate of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Arce returned to Puerto Rico and now is president and co-owner of Miramar Animal Hospital in San Juan, where he practices with his wife, Dr. Anik Puig, who also is a veterinarian. Jose has been an active member in the field of veterinary medicine, holding many positions in its leadership, from adviser to the board of directors of the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. The AVMA is fortunate to have such a passionate advocate representative of the profession. His election to the president of the AVMA will inspire people from all backgrounds and heritage and show that if you are willing to dream and dream big, and you are willing to work, those dreams come true. That, and he, are the essence of the American Dream.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you this morning to address the strife I injected into the already-contentious Congress. I have worked with many Members in this Chamber over the past four terms, Members on both sides of the aisle,--and each of you know that I am a man of my word. So let me take a moment to address this body. Mr. Speaker, I rise to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York. It is true that we disagree on policies and visions for America, but that does not mean we should be disrespectful. Having been married for 45 years, with two daughters, I am very cognizant of my language. The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues, and if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding. As my colleagues know, I am passionate about those affected by poverty. My wife, Carolyn, and I started out together at the age of 19 with nothing. We did odd jobs, and we were on food stamps. I know the face of poverty, and for a time, it was mine. That is why I know people in this country can still, with all its faults, rise up and succeed and not be encouraged to break the law. I will commit to each of you that I will conduct myself from a place of passion and understanding that policy and political disagreement be vigorously debated with the knowledge that we approach the problems facing our Nation with the betterment of the country in mind and the people we serve. Mr. Speaker, I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family, and my country.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the University of Florida and its outstanding faculty and staff on their receipt of the George W. Bush Institute of Innovation Award. A team of economists and business development experts ranked the University of Florida number 1 nationally in innovation impact, compared to all other universities in the Nation. By itself, the University of Florida was ranked sixth in the Nation when compared to the whole combined California or Texas education systems. The University of Florida is the most productive large university in the country at leveraging its research funding into new companies, new jobs, and new ideas. In the study conducted by the George W. Bush Institute and the Opus Faveo Innovation Development Consulting firm, the University of Florida proved it moves more technologies to the point of impact than anyone else in the country. The University has an average of 123 patents and generated 15 startups per year between 2013 and 2017. UF was an even stronger performer and license outcome, earning an average of $36 million per year, equal to 6.4 percent of its research dollars. Additionally, the University of Florida also ranked fourth overall in teaching impact and it produced one-third as many STEM Ph.D. graduates each year as the entire University of California system, despite having a research budget of only one-tenth as large. The University of Florida has created an entire innovation ecosystem, including tech transfer, business incubators, a venture fund, corporate engagement, and more to support the transitional research generated by the University of Florida faculty. The George W. Bush Institute and Opus Faveo Innovation Development's report highlights UF's operation as one of the most respected technology transfer offices in the country with the best tech transfer team in the world. The University has spun off more than 60 companies in biotech alone. Major pharmaceuticals, food, agriculture, biotech, and the energy sectors have acquired more than 20 percent of these companies. The faculty, staff, and students at the University of Florida are as intelligent as they are ambitious, and demonstrate the breadth of diversity, thought, and creativity in the State of Florida. It is because of accomplishments such as this that Florida is counted among the most successful and influential States in the Nation. I am proud, as I see the positive impacts of the University of Florida's continual research for knowledge, innovation, and discovery. The students and faculty at the University of Florida are determined, hardworking, and I am glad to see that the University is getting the recognition that it deserves. Congratulations again to my alma mater, the University, its faculty, and staff on this exceptional award and for your continued dedication to knowledge and education. The University of Florida's leadership is invaluable as it leads the way IN innovation for generations to come. As a double Gator, I am honored to be able to represent the University of Florida and the Gator Nation in Florida's Third Congressional District, and I look forward to witnessing your continued success. Go Gators.

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. E.B. Hines, who recently celebrated her 91st birthday. Ms. Hines was raised in the gem of northeast Florida in the town of Palatka, on the beautiful St. Johns River. She attended and graduated from Central Academy in May of 1946. She went on to become a prolific educator, dedicating 40 years of her life to the teaching profession. Over the past few decades, Ms. Hines has made the historic preservation of Central Academy her primary focus. Originally established in 1892, Central Academy became the first accredited African American high school in the State of Florida in 1924. Due to its historic significance, Central Academy was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service in 1998. Ms. Hines' mission is to turn this site into a museum and community center. Her effort is supported by many in the Putnam County community, and I stand here today to tell Ms. Hines that I will do all that is in my power to ensure her dream becomes a reality. Ms. Hines, God bless you and the important work that you do. University of Florida Wins the George W. Bush Institute of Innovation Award

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I thank my good colleague from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) for putting this on. I really do appreciate it because it is so timely. Growing pains, I think that is what we can say we are going through is growing pains again as a nation, a nation birthed over 200 years ago. And for anybody who watched yesterday's debate, Madam Speaker, on the House floor, I think it was interesting to see the amount of, I guess, race-baiting that was coming from the other side, from my colleagues, which I found very unreasonable that, for some reason, if you are a Black man, you have to tell your children how to act with the police. My mom and dad had that talk with me, probably for good reason, too, and they said: If you get pulled over, ``Yes, sir,'' ``No, sir,'' and then when you get home we want to know what happened and why you got pulled over. I had to have that talk with my children. So that is nothing new, and I think that we sometimes overplay that. Does it happen maybe more with minority communities? Yes, I think it does, but nobody is immune to that. When I came into Congress, I got stopped multiple times to see if I had the right credentials. That has happened to me. Since we have been up here, the divide in this country has gotten so much worse, and it has been since Donald Trump has gotten elected. And people will blame the President for doing this, but we can go back to other Presidents where we have seen this happen. We are Americans. We need to come together as a nation. I have had the great fortune of being in Congress. This is my last term. I will have served 8 years. I was the chairman of the Asia- Pacific Subcommittee last year, last Congress; I am the ranking member this year. I have bean able to travel the world. I have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Africa is a continent of 1.2 billion, yet today, in the 21st century, 650 million people do not have electricity. I suppose they have a reason to protest. I suppose they have a reason to complain. But do they have the right to protest? Being on the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee we got to travel to a lot of the Asian countries. We all know what is going on in Hong Kong today. Hong Kong is a province of China. There was an agreement of one country, two systems, where Hong Kong was supposed to be a semi- or a self-ruling area with an independent judiciary committee. Yet, 23 years into that agreement, Xi Jinping, the leader of the Communist Party, said that is null and void, and they have put the heavy hand of the Communist Party in there. These young students are out there holding up that flag behind you, Madam Speaker, holding up that flag for liberty and freedom because they have tasted that. That is all they have ever known. Yet the Chinese Communist Party wants to take that away because it scares them. Free thought, independent thinking, freedom, they know the Communist Party cannot survive, so they are going in there to squash that. These students are holding those signs up. Our flag is up. They have been in my office here in the Washington Capitol. They have a reason to protest, but they do not have the right. You talk about Venezuela, somebody talked about it. Go down to Cuba and talk against the Castro regime. You don't have the right. Talk about religion in those countries. You do not have the right. But then I look at this country, and I am as guilty as anybody else in this country. We have the right to protest, the First Amendment, but sometimes I think--and this is where I feel like I am guilty, like a lot of us. I think we take it for granted what we have in this country. It was interesting because I was with the Ambassadors of both Malaysia and Indonesia, and they talked about the founding of their country. When they got their independence, when they broke away and they formed those countries, they told me that their founding fathers could have picked any system in the world. They could have taken Great Britain's system of government. They could have taken Germany's, Russia's, China's. But you know who they took? They took the principles of America because they had read our history, they had read those documents and what those documents meant. And I heard people over and over here today, since I have been in Congress, America is not a perfect country because people are in it, and people are not perfect, but the ideals laid out there were the best ideals that have ever been laid out. If not, why are other countries adopting them? Why do people in Cuba come across the ocean, a 90-mile stretch, on inner tubes, on rafts, on surfboards to get to this country? It is called freedom. It is called justice. But do you know what? We are not going to fix it if this side is accusing this side, and this side over here is accusing that side of pandering to our audience. So what that meant to me when I was with those Ambassadors from Indonesia and Malaysia, what it meant to me was: Do you know what? America is bigger than a Presidency. It is bigger than the Democratic Party. It is bigger than the Republican Party. It is those ideals that this country stands for that we all need to fight to hold on to. I want to read something that one of my constituents sent me. It says: ``The lesson taught at this point by human experience is simply this, that the man who will get up will be helped up, and the man who will not get up will be allowed to stay down. . . . Personal independence is a virtue and it is the soul of which comes the sturdiest manhood. But there can be no independence without a large share of self-dependence, and this virtue cannot be bestowed. It must be developed from within.'' I had an African-American man, a conservative Republican who is afraid to tell people he is a conservative Republican because he gets labeled Uncle Tom. You have been put on the plantation. These are not my words. These are words coming from him. But that quote came from somebody I wish we could go back and meet, Mr. Frederick Douglass, a person born into slavery who picked himself up by the bootstraps, who educated himself. He stood beside President Lincoln when they dedicated the Emancipation statue. And I have got these people out here who loathe, despise, disdain this country, and it is being flamed by people--and I can't blame just people, the Democrats. There are people out there who just hate this country, but they are using that to tear this country apart instead of remembering the ideals that this country is built on. And those are American ideologies--not conservative, not liberal, not Republican or Democrat, American--and I think it is time that we all come together and realize we are Americans and we are on the same team.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sid Martin Biotech at the University of Florida for winning the Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year Award, the top award given by the International Business Innovation Association. This marks the third time in the last 10 years that Sid Martin Biotech has been recognized as the top incubator in the world. Even more, Sid Martin Biotech is the only program in the world to win more than one Randall M. Whaley award. This is a tremendous feat, and I am proud that this program is located in North Central Florida in Florida's Third Congressional District. Sid Martin Biotech has incubated 106 startups since its first opening. These companies have raised over $8.8 billion in funding and created over 8,000 high-tech jobs. Madam Speaker, I congratulate the entire team at Sid Martin Biotech for this great accomplishment, and I am confident that this success will continue in the future. Go Gators.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the kind gentleman from Texas for yielding. And it was easier dealing with the south end than the north end of the horse, and the stuff that comes out was easier to wash off. I am sure I am like you. I get a lot of people who call me, especially in the last week. Here is a message a good friend of mine sent. My 85-year old mother, who is always very calm and nice, last night looked at me and said: You need to call your Congressman. You need to call him and ask him what we can do. We have to do something to stop these ``idiots'' for tearing down statues and burning the flag. Patty, his wife, jumped and said: Yeah, what can we do? I was at a loss for words. What can we do? Just spinning a little bit. My response to him was these people will be arrested. They will be charged, and they will have to pay the fines for damaging that property. And being a Christian, as I know you are, Louie, this, too, shall pass. We have to have the faith that this country will live beyond us. And, I have had the privilege of being chairman of the Asia Pacific Subcommittee last Congress, and I am the ranking member this Congress, which means you are the lead Republican. And we have dealt with the Asia Pacific theater. We have dealt with Hong Kong, and we all know Hong Kong is a province of China. There was an agreement in 1997, for 50 years Hong Kong was supposed to be ruled as a semiautonomous region and an independent judiciary. Well, 23 years into that, Xi Jinping has said, as far as he is concerned, that is null and void. So they are basically putting Chinese Communist Party rules in Hong Kong, and so the students are rioting--not just the students, 25 percent of the population, from babies with their mothers and dads to grandparents. Twenty-five percent, 2 million people are out in the streets. Do you know why? Because they have had liberty and freedom. That is the only thing they have ever known. The Chinese Communist Party cannot tolerate liberty and freedom because it scares them. And so these people have a very strong need to protest, but they don't have the ability to protest because, if you protest over there, you are going to prison, you are being picked up. I mean, we are going to have a hearing next week, and we are hearing how the police picked these people up and the things that they do to them, and some of those people never will be heard from again. Yet, in our country, we are so blessed with the liberties and freedoms that I wonder sometimes, and I know, myself, I am guilty of this, sometimes I take those liberties and freedoms for granted. But I tell you what, at times like this, this is not a time to take these for granted. We need to thank every servicemember currently serving, our law enforcement, first responders for the liberties and freedoms that we can experience every day. And that posterity of past generations has passed that on to us. And I was going to go down to the statue today, but unfortunately votes got in, and we didn't get out of here until almost 8:30. The Emancipation Statue, when you know the story of that, it is unconscionable that anybody would want to tear that down, regardless of your political beliefs. I want to read something, and I want to put this in perspective, and I want the people that are out there protesting--and absolutely, you have a right to protest, and what happened to George Floyd should not happen to any American, I don't care what the color of your skin is. That should not happen to anybody. But this quote that I want to read, I think, puts things very much in perspective. It says: ``The lesson taught at this point by human experience is simply this, that the man who will get up will be helped up; and the man who will not get up will be allowed to stay down . . . Personal independence is a virtue and it is the soul out of which comes the sturdiest manhood. But there can be no independence without a large share of self-dependence, and this virtue cannot be bestowed. It must be developed from within.'' And I am going to add, in a country that honors liberties and freedoms and your constitutional rights. That was spoken by this gentleman right here, Mr. Frederick Douglass, in the 1800s. Frederick Douglass, born into slavery, rose himself out of that, educated himself to read, went through slavery, the Civil War, and he said this when he was there with President Lincoln, or at the dedication of the Emancipation Statue. I think there is a lot to be learned from these people who are out there. And I don't want to say they are ignorant in a dumb way, but they are ignorant in either not recognizing their history or ignoring it. There is not a big difference. They should learn from the past. They should learn from a man who was there. I thank the gentleman for allowing me to be here, and I truly will miss you as one of the Members of Congress. God bless you.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, the United States, along with the rest of the world, currently finds itself in the midst sofa global emergency of epic proportions. Never in the modern era has every nation on Earth been brought to their knees so quickly by a pandemic that threatens our security, our economy, and the social fabric of our lives. The United States, and the rest of the world, were woefully unprepared for the arrival of COVID-19. Our underestimation of infectious diseases goes back multiple administrations, when we had ample opportunity to secure our essential supply chains, ensure stockpiles of PPE, and dedicate the necessary resources to research and study emerging diseases. If there is one bright side of our current crisis, it is that our nation will never again take for granted our health security. President George W. Bush and industry leaders like Bill Gates forewarned us that our country would need to take proactive measures to prepare for the next pandemic. We clearly failed in heeding their warnings. COVID-19 will not be the last health crisis we face, and we must use the lessons we have learned to aggressively build up our capacity to prevent future pandemics. As a veterinarian, it's no secret that I have been vocal on the threat of zoonotic diseases and the dangers of animal to human transmission. Just recently, I introduced the Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2019, which would improve public health preparedness by helping federal agencies implement a ``One Health'' approach, recognizing that the health of people is linked to the health of animals and the environment. Multiple studies by the CDC have found that 6 out of 10 infectious diseases were seen in animals before humans, including the virus we face now. Coordination between government agencies is essential in addressing and eliminating zoonotic outbreaks, which is why the One Health model would improve synchronization between veterinarians and doctors by requiring the Department of Homeland Security and United States Department of Agriculture to work together. Historically, the United States has applied its health expertise to the global stage as well, in the form of direct support and contributions to multilateral health organizations. The U.S. has historically been one of the largest donors to organizations like the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), which utilizes market forces and private sector partnerships to drive down medical costs and develop and deliver new and underused vaccines to developing nations. Similarly, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), established by President George W. Bush in 2003, has saved millions worldwide by providing essential resources for prevention, treatment, and vaccine research. It is through smart investments like these that the United States demonstrates leadership on global health security. But we can, and must, do more. As we have seen, our current efforts were not enough to stop the spread of coronavirus from infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. We must prepare for the next pandemic by partnering with initiatives like the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an alliance aimed at coordinating the development of new vaccines to prevent and contain new infectious disease epidemics. CEPI works directly with industry, universities, and private research and development organizations to leverage a dedicated approach to advancing vaccine research. Currently, CEPI has reoriented its entire organizational structure to address COVID-19 and is advancing eight vaccine candidates at a rapid pace. However, despite multiple multimillion-dollar contributions from Norway, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the Gates Foundation, the United States has yet to donate a cent. CEPI represents the next frontier in health security preparedness, and the United States must take the initiative if we are to continue leading international efforts on health security. If we abdicate our place as a leader in global health, there is another country eager to take the reins. China has not been subtle in asserting itself on global health issues, and often not for the benefit of other nations. China's recent coronavirus debacle should be evidence enough that their communist regime cannot be trusted to lead with accountability, transparency, or pragmatism, traits that are essential when fighting widespread disease. As for how China would fare as a global health leader, look no further than the disastrous initial response by the WHO to coronavirus, one that was clearly influenced by Beijing. Information was slow- walked, warnings from nations like Taiwan were ignored at crucial turning points, and cooperation with outside health experts was spurned until it was too late. And it has resulted in the largest public health disaster the world has seen in over a century. The United States and the rest of the world cannot afford to relinquish authority over global health security, or to isolate ourselves from protecting the wellbeing of other nations. We must continue to think aggressively and plan for the long term while supporting international public-private partnerships like GAVI and CEPI. Let this be a watershed moment for our nation as a mistake to never repeat. With countless human lives and livelihoods at stake, the time for gambling with global health security is done.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, what I would like to do for the next few minutes is talk about an awareness campaign, and that is to make people aware of China and what China is doing. We all know about China, a big country, wealthy country, a country that has come out of poverty and has become an industrial powerhouse. They have become a world power. Yet a lot of people don't understand what China really is doing. When one really studies the history of China and sees where they are going, it is pretty remarkable that many of our countries around the world and our companies around the world do business with China. The Communist Party took over in 1949, and that is when Mao Zedong came to power. He laid out a vision that I think any world leader would be proud of. He laid out a 100-year plan. In fact, they call it the 100-year marathon. We have seen a remarkable advancement of China, but, unfortunately, it was at the expense of many along the roadways. We look at what they have done; and their goal, if you listen to what Xi Jinping has said when he came to power, was he wanted to remove any Western influence from China. This was not too long after Tiananmen Square, where people in China were promoting liberties and democracies, and then the Tiananmen Square massacre happened where thousands of people were run over by tanks in the streets as the world watched. Yet China has taken that history and swept it under the rug and pretends it didn't happen. But we know. We have seen the videos. Since that time, Xi Jinping has come out with a very strong statement. In fact, in 2017, in the Sixteenth Chinese Communist Party Congress, he made a statement, and it is a warning, and it should be a wake-up call for all people who are buying products from China. In that statement, he said: The era of China has arrived. No longer will China be made to swallow their interests around the world. It is time for China to take the world center stage. As we looked into that--and we have talked to people from Hong Kong and from China--their intent is very real, it is very true, and it is very out front. They are not trying to hide anything. Their goal is to be a world dominant power, or the world dominant power. What we are seeing today in the world is a tectonic shift in world powers that we haven't seen since World War II. China has made very clear what their intent is. Then they have marched on a campaign since 1949. Deng Xiaoping, in the eighties, said that it could not compete with American or Japanese technology and manufacturing, but what they could do is they could corner the market on rare earth metals. As China came into the modern world, America and other countries helped China in technology, science, research, in advancement of weaponry, thinking that China would come along and become more Western democracy in their thinking. That is the furthest from the truth. As China moved on, Deng Xiaoping's vision came to realization. They talked about cornering the market on rare earth metals. Well, today, they control virtually 100 percent of the rare earth metals that are needed in our electronics, in our cell phones, in our missile guidance systems and our satellites. China has gone on to corner the market in the APIs in our pharmaceuticals. The APIs are the active pharmaceutical ingredients. They control approximately 85 to 90 percent of that. They control the majority of the minerals and vitamins that go into our livestock feed. So their intent is very clear, yet they hide behind policies that favor China. In the WTO, when they became a member of that in the nineties, they entered with a developing nation status. Today, they are the second largest economy in the world. They are building five aircraft carriers. They have got a space program. They have expanded around the world through their One Belt, One Road initiative. Yet, today, in the WTO, they claim developing nation status. It is time that we let everybody know these things and wake up the American people and our manufacturers. China has risen, yet it has been at the expense of other nations. It is been through coercion, intimidation, not honoring contracts, and not honoring laws that are world norms. A good example of that is what is going on in the South China Sea. They have reclaimed landmasses, and they went ahead and built facilities on these to the point where they have military installations, runway strips, military barracks, offensive and defensive weapons on there, military radar systems. Xi Jinping, when he was here visiting President Obama in 2015, said they have no intention of militarizing those structures; yet, today, they are militarized. China has encroached on the ASEAN nations in the East China Sea, in the South China Sea, and they have gone into the exclusive economic zones in those areas, not honoring the world norms or the laws of the sea. In fact, the Philippines took them to court. At the court arbitration, China lost the case. They said they had no claims to the nine-dash lines that China claims that the Philippines challenged them on. The Philippines won, yet China ignored that ruling and kept doing the dredging of the landmasses, destroying thousands of acres of coral reefs and laying claim to that area. China has used their heavy hands with our corporations when somebody does something unfavorable to what China wants. An example is the Marriott Hotel employee who had mentioned something favorable about Taiwan. That person got fired. We have seen that over and over again with different industries. Just recently, the manager of the Houston Rockets tweeted in favor of the protestors in Hong Kong to stay strong for liberties and freedoms, and we all know what China did. The NBA backed down to placate China. We have seen this with corporation after corporation. We have seen Nike do this. We have seen other corporations do this. I think today, in the modern world today and what we are going through with the coronavirus--another gift from China--is the supply chain that they control of so many products that the world is dependent on, and I think this is a wake-up call that we need to remove manufacturing from China. We can't do it as a government, but our manufacturers can. We have drafted a policy. It is called ``Manufacture the ABC Method,'' and that is manufacturing anywhere but China. When we make a product in China, China benefits from it. China introduces their Chinese Communist Party members within their corporation. Many times, our corporations have to give up their intellectual property. So China benefits from this by the theft of that property plus the production of that property. They counterfeit so many of our manufacturers' products, and our manufacturers go out of business. We have met with many manufacturers that went over there initially for cheaper labor. Within 5 years, China has copied that product. That product is competing against the original manufacturer. It is being sold cheaper, and it is of an inferior quality, so it ruins the reputation of the manufacturer and they wind up going out of business. Then China just keeps producing. We see it over and over again, that they keep doing that. We see constant abuses of human rights that we have seen over and over again, and these have been reported in the news. So many times we stand up for human rights around the world, and if we really, truly believe that as a nation, we believe in those values of liberty and freedom, that all people are created equal, that they have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they have the right of due process, they have the right to a court of law, if we believe in those things, we have to look at our trade policies. Why are we trading with a country that blatantly ignores those? I think I want to just pivot to Hong Kong. I think everybody in the world agrees that Hong Kong is a province of China. In 1997, Great Britain and China came to an agreement that they would allow Hong Kong to go back to China over a 50-year process, and that was going to be from 1997 to 2047. Hong Kong had the ability and the guarantee that they would be a semiautonomous region, a portion of China, that they would have an independent judiciary system, they would have their own election process. Yet 22 years into that process, we see the heavy hand of Xi Jinping and the heavy hand of the Chinese Communist Party. 22 years into that agreement, Xi Jinping came out publicly and said, as far as he was concerned, that agreement is null and void. We saw the extradition bill that was brought up by their chief executive officer, Carrie Lam, and we know that she didn't bring that up by herself. That was at the direction of Beijing. What that law did is it was robbing liberty and freedom from the people of Hong Kong. And it is sad, because the people of Hong Kong have always known liberty and freedom in today's modern world. But, unfortunately, the people of China--Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party--they, unfortunately, have never experienced liberty and freedom because they have lived under a communist, repressive regime that we have seen only grow stronger. We did a floor speech down here on Tiananmen Square on the anniversary last summer, and shortly after that, within weeks, there were the protests in Hong Kong about the extradition bill. And when you have 2 million people coming out in the streets in a province of China that has less than 8 million people, you have got a quarter of your population, and it was young people, it was old people, it was educated people, it was business people, mothers, fathers, children, and they are all protesting against the heavy-hand of China, because what they saw was freedom and liberty being taken away from them. If that was an isolated case, that would be one thing, but what we have seen with China is the intimidation, the erasing of cultures, as they have done with the Tibetans, as they have tried to do with other ethnic minorities in their country, whether it is the Uighurs, the East Turkistan region, the Kyrgyz. And we see this over and over again, yet they make no apologies for it. China is One Belt One Road. Or the Belt and Road Initiative is often referred to as One Belt One Road, and it goes one way, and that goes to the Chinese Communist Party. They do predatory lending practices that put other countries in debt where they can't pay it back, and China winds up taking strategic ports. They have strategically done this around the world. They are in the Western Hemisphere and they are marching on. The purpose of this Special Order tonight is to get people to pay attention to what China is doing. Who are we going to do business with in the future? We have got a country that their goal is to take over the world. Xi Jinping says, and their philosophy is, you cannot have two suns in the sky at the same time, meaning one has to come down; and in their philosophy that would be us. Again, those are very confrontational points of view that they are pursuing, and they are pursuing them rapidly. We have seen the intimidation of corporations with them. We have seen the intimidation of China and their heavy-hand with other countries. The Czech Republic was going to have their Speaker of the House go to Taiwan to do some business there. China told them if they went there, the Czech Republic, their auto company, could no longer do business in China. We have seen them do this with Mercedes Benz. If they don't buy Chinese batteries, they can no longer market in China, even though the majority of the Mercedes Benz Corporation is controlled by a Chinese individual. We have seen the race for the 5G phone network with Huawei, with ZTE, in 2012, in this country. In this body here, in the House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, both ZTE and Huawei, in 2012, were deemed a national security risk. Yet, they keep going on and claim to be private enterprises. Yet, we know that the Chinese Communist Party and Government have invested heavily in those companies. And what they are doing is, they are using their technology that will be able to be invaded through the backdoor by the Chinese Communist Party to be able to spy on people. Today, China has the most CCT cameras, closed-circuit television cameras, to where today in modern China they are using these television cameras to grade their citizens. They have good citizen scores. If you don't do what the Chinese Communist Party tells you, you can't travel, you can't bank, you can't go to the restaurants. It is 1984, George Orwell's story is happening right now. And what they are doing is they are doing that to suppress people. They have offered that technology around the world. They are using it in Hong Kong. They have offered that to Maduro in Venezuela to control his people. The Iranian ayatollahs want to use that technology. Vladimir Putin wants to use it. And what we are finding is any authoritarian or despotic government wants that technology so that they can control their citizens. If you look in the Xinjiang region, which is East Turkistan. East Turkistan has been an Asian area of China for over 100 years. Yet, when the Communist Party came in they took it over, recently they renamed it Xinjiang, which means New Territory. And I bring that up because it is home to a Muslim population, the Uighurs, the Kyrgyzstans, the Kyrgyz, that are being suppressed by China. I think we have all heard of the concentration camps that are going up all over China. We have done hearings--I sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee, I chaired the Asia Pacific Subcommittee last year, the ranking member this year, and we have had hearing after hearing on the human rights suppression, just the terrible things that they are doing over there. When we looked into it, we have enough reports to feel this is true. What they are doing is, China has interned over a million Uighurs, and other ethnic groups, the Kyrgyz, the Turkistans, they have put them into these so-called re-education camps, but they are not re-education camps, they are concentration camps. They have armed crematoriums around the country associated with these camps. And my question when we were in the Foreign Affairs Committee doing this hearing: Why do you need an armed crematorium? You know, the people that are supposed to be there are supposed to have passed away. But we recently met with some people that--I found it very interesting. The people we met with were from East Turkistan. They had a Cossack person with them who had just won an award from Mike Pompeo and First Lady Melania Trump, for her courage, Women of Courage Award. And what we found as we were listening to the story is, this family, an educated family, the husband was a schoolteacher, the wife was a practicing medical doctor. I mean, they were model citizens. Well, the husband saw what was happening to his relatives, what was happening in the Xinjiang area, so he got passports, took himself and his kids out. The wife, the doctor, applied for a passport, China would not allow her to go. They felt she needed to go to the re-education camp. This is a lady that is a doctor that was practicing. China puts them in there, saying it was a threat to our country, she was a terrorist, they need to be re-educated. What China is trying to do is erase other cultures. We have just seen this over and over again. And so when we spoke to these people that were in our office this week, I asked them, I said: Do you have reports of abuses? And they went on and on about the abuses. How they strap people in chairs, they electrocute them, they torture them, pull out their fingernails. The women were being raped, people were being--I can't say murdered, because they said they would disappear and never be seen again. These are things--you know, it is not just hearsay. We have reports from all kinds of magazines, all kinds of researchers. Here is one from Radio Free Asia, ``China Secretly Transferring Uyghur Detainees from Xinjiang to Shaanxi, Gansu Province Prisons.'' And it goes on talking about ethic Uighurs held in political ``re- education camps.'' I am going to put quotes around that because they are not re-education camps, they are concentration camps, because the Chinese Communist Party is the highest of the hierarchy, there can be nothing higher than that. And if you have a religion, and you have a deity above that, that puts the Chinese Communist Party and people like Xi Jinping in fear because they don't know how to control free thought. These people are being sent to prisons in those provinces. ``China to address an overflow in overcrowded camps, where up to 1.1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities accused of harboring strong religious views and politically incorrect ideas have been held since April of 2017.'' This is something that has been going on not just 3 years, but longer than that, but it is coming to light. We have asked their ambassadors, have they had the Western Press in there, free and open presses? And they said: Oh, no, there is no need. These aren't going on. But we know they are going on. This is just one report. I have another one here, Madam Speaker, information concerning China killing prisoners to harvest organs. This is something we have heard over and over again. We have had hearings on this. This is a multi- billion-dollar industry in China. It happens to anybody that doesn't agree with the Communist Party. They get picked up, they get imprisoned. Health checks are done. In fact, this person that was in our office is a medical doctor, she would do the health checks on these young Muslim men, and they would get a red check if they were healthy. And in the darkness of night, they would disappear, never to be seen again. The China Tribunal, which was a tribunal put together to look into this, has published its final judgment. ``The China Tribunal concluded `that forced organ harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a significant scale, and the tribunal has had no evidence that the significant infrastructure associated with China's transplantation industry has been dismantled and absent a satisfactory explanation as to the source of readily available organs concludes that forced organ harvesting continues till today.' '' I don't know how a civilized world can tolerate such atrocities. And when I see the armed crematoriums or the Uighurs being taken from their homes, forced from their homes, forced into a concentration camp, and then being rented out or sold as chattel to manufacturers, and this is well-documented, I don't know how we can tolerate that or how we can look at our trade policies to do those kind of deals with a country that works like that. If they treat their own people that way, how do we expect they are going to treat any of us? We have talked about Tibet. We have talked about Xinjiang, East Turkistan, the purging of individuals, the social credit scores, the coercion and intimidations. I haven't touched on the theft of intellectual property. There is over $600 billion of intellectual property theft that goes on and erodes economies all over the world. I want to read an article here just briefly. ``China Compels Uighurs to Work in Shoe Factory That Supplies Nike.'' And I don't bring Nike's name out to put a ding on Nike. It says: ``The workers in standard- issue blue jackets stitch and glue and press together about 8 million pairs of Nikes each year at the Qingdao Taekwang Shoes Company, a Nike supplier for more than 30 years and one of the American brand's largest factories. ``They churn out pair after pair of Shox, with their springy shock absorbers in the heels, and the signature Air Max, plus seven other lines of sport shoes. ``But hundreds of these workers did not choose to be here: They are ethnic Uighurs from China's western Xinjiang region''--which again means New Territory, they renamed from East Turkistan--``sent here by local authorities in groups of 50 to toil far from home. ``After intense international criticism of the Communist Party's campaign to forcibly assimilate the mostly Muslim Uighur minority by detaining more than a million people in re-education camps, party officials said last year that most have `graduated' ''--graduated from a work camp. And, again, if you talk to these people--I have talked to pharmacists, I have talked to lawyers, I have talked to engineers, I have talked to doctors, they didn't need to be re-educated. What China wanted to do was intimidate them, and basically brainwash them from their habits of a religion, of practicing their religion, and become good model Chinese citizens that bow down to the Communist Party. ``But there is new evidence to show that the Chinese authorities are moving Uighurs into government-directed labor around the country as part of the central government's `Xinjiang Aid' initiative. ``For the party, this would help meet its poverty-alleviation goals''--and, again, this is a doctor. They are saying, we need to alleviate their poverty goals--``but also allow it to further control the Uighur population and break familial''-- The Uighur workers, they are afraid or unable to interact--the Uighur workers at these facilities are afraid or unable to interact with anyone in this town where they went to north of Qingdao, beyond the most superficial of transactions at the stalls or in the local stores where they go. They won't talk to anybody. They won't talk to anybody. The people at these towns say: ``Everyone knows the Uighurs did not come here on their own free will. They were brought here,'' said one of the fruit sellers at her stall. ``The Uighurs had to come because they didn't have an option. The government sent them here,'' another vendor told the reporters. They were sent forcibly. The report that we read did not ask their names out of concern for their safety, so they could not discuss the issues. Like I said, we met with Mrs. Sayragul Sauytbay, an ethnic Kazakh from East Turkistan that, today, is now called, as I said, Xinjiang. She is the one who shared this. She is a true freedom fighter. As we move on and we look at what China is doing, they have controlled so much of the supply chain. Then we see what happened with the coronavirus. The coronavirus came out. It started off in Hubei province in Wuhan. The epicenter was supposedly a fish market or a fresh market. With my science background, if you have an epicenter, you want to do your forensics and study it from an epidemiological standpoint. China didn't do that. We had a hearing where we had two epidemiologists there. They did not do the proper epidemiological studies, yet they destroyed any evidence that was there. Then the doctors that tried to report this wound up being put in prison, in jail. They came down with the virus, and then they died. China has done this over and over again. Then that virus spread around the world. This will be reported, I am sure, in history as the Chinese plague that they tried to hide and conceal like they did SARS and MERS. As we look at this as a nation and we make trade agreements and we work with these countries around the world, we should look at whom we are trading with. We have a standard that is known around the world. We have a rule of law honoring our contracts, and when we look to do business with people, we should do business with people we know, like, and trust, and I don't think those apply to China. When you see the heavy hand of what China is doing, I just think, as a nation, with our trade agreements and with our businesses going over there, we all need to relook at what we are doing. If they will treat Hong Kong that way with those students over there and then the threat of taking over Taiwan and their goal of taking over the world, I think that is something we all need to look at and say: Do you know what? We need to diversify. That is why we are kind of proud to talk about the manufacturing policy, the ABC method, anywhere but China. Go to Vietnam. Go to Indonesia. Go to anywhere but a country that wants to take us over. I want to close on two things here. One is we had the students of Hong Kong who led the protests. They came to our office and they brought me this plaque. It says: ``Democracy Now. Stand With Hong Kong.'' They brought this plaque up, and as I have been able to travel around the world and I have seen how other countries look at America and they look at the ideals and the principles of this country, that is what they want. It made me think that America is bigger than a Presidency. It is bigger than a Republican or a Democratic Party. It is those ideals, and it is those ideals that these students in Hong Kong who brought us this plaque are willing to take a chance and protest the Chinese Communist Party. They burned their flag and held up the American flag because that represents liberties and freedoms. Taiwan is a different subject. Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party, nor will they ever be. They have their own borders. They have their own military, their own economy, their Western democracy, yet China wants to claim them as their own. I think this is a wake-up call for China. If you have got a quarter of a population in a province who knows they are part of China, you can't do that to Taiwan because, when you look at the agreement we have with Taiwan, we have an agreement to make sure they have the equipment to protect themselves in a defensive manner. I want to end with what we started with. When we looked at the students from Hong Kong, it made me think. I think we have all seen pictures of grass. It is green, tender, new shoots. They are very tender. If we were to compare that with pavement, this is hard road. This is asphalt. If I were to ask you which one is tougher, which one is stronger, I think we would all say the asphalt is; right? But if we say this is freedom and liberty and this is repression from communism, which one is more powerful, liberties and freedoms will break through that force that is trying to suppress them. That is what is going on in the world, and that is why China will never succeed long-term in what they are doing. That is why the people of Xinjiang, the Uighurs, will win, because they have the strength of a blade of grass that can grow through the asphalt. I think I shared that the other day. These are the people who are standing up strong through that suppression. These are the people who have been there. My heart goes out to those people because I can look back at our country when it was formed. We were under the suppression of another power, and we decided that we weren't going to live there because we are not designed that way as people. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to be here, and I want people to think when they go to buy something and it says ``Made in China,'' find a different source. Buy it somewhere else. Encourage your manufacturers, your Nikes, your basketball teams to go somewhere else. Don't go to a country that is doing virtually genocide today. If we look back to World War II when Eisenhower went to Auschwitz and the concentration camps and they saw the death and destruction and he said, ``Never again,'' we as a nation have a responsibility to move everything that we can so that the Chinese Communist Party has to change their way. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Divided Families Reunification Act introduced by Representative Meng. The sad legacy of the Korean war is with us even today, almost 70 years after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The Korean Peninsula remains divided between a nation of free people and a nation that subjects its people to tyranny. The Kim regime continues to threaten the peace and security of the region and of the world. Families remain broken, from those still fighting to bring their loved ones' remains home, to those with family members trapped in North Korea. Our vibrant Korean-American community feels this legacy strongly, so I commend Congresswoman Meng for her bill, which directs the State Department to consult with South Korea and Korean Americans on opportunities to reunite families separated by the DMZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of the Eastern European Security Act, introduced by the lead Republican of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Michael McCaul. This bipartisan bill supports our NATO allies and American jobs and is the best way to secure the NATO alliance. The NATO alliance is essential to our national security, but it is only as strong as its most vulnerable members. Some newer member countries with smaller economies want to purchase American military hardware, but such purchases are often out of reach. As a result, these partner nations are forced to purchase less expensive and, often, less reliable military equipment from other allies or even our strategic competitors, Russia and China. Such purchases threaten America's security as well as the security of the alliance. This bill would give the executive branch the flexibility it needs to help secure the sale of American military equipment to our NATO allies, which will not only promote our national security interests but, also, promote American jobs and bring in revenue to the treasury over the life of the loan. This legislation is long overdue, and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this very important bipartisan bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge my colleagues to support Representative Bass' resolution to stand with Korean Americans seeking to reunite with family members stranded inside North Korea. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Representative Bass' resolution, and I want to congratulate her for doing this. This resolution reaffirms the House's commitment to support our Korean-American families seeking to reunite with relatives who are trapped in North Korea. This resolution rightly observes that family reunification is a humanitarian priority. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H. Res. 754, expressing the support of the people of Nicaragua in their peaceful effort to promote democracy and human rights, authored by the chairman of the Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, and Trade Subcommittee, Mr. Sires. Daniel Ortega and his socialist Sandinista government continue to hold onto power through corruption, intimidation, and violence against the people of Nicaragua. Since his return to power in 2007, Ortega, an ally of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and the Castro regime in Cuba, has dismantled Nicaragua's democratic institutions and enriched himself and his family at the expense of the people of one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 2018, Nicaraguan security forces directed by Ortega violently suppressed peaceful protests that led to at least 325 deaths, 2,000 injuries, and the arbitrary detention of more than 800 Nicaraguans. Since then, Ortega has resisted calls by the international community to restore respect for human rights in the country and pass reforms to allow for free and fair elections. In response, the United States imposed individual sanctions on Nicaragua's First Lady and two of Ortega's sons. The Treasury Department also sanctioned one of Nicaragua's main banks and, most recently, Nicaragua's National Police for continuing to facilitate corruption and carry out human rights violations on behalf of the Ortega regime. This resolution condemns the actions of the Ortega regime and expresses full support for the freedom-loving people of Nicaragua in their struggle for democracy and freedom from Ortega's tyranny. This resolution also recognizes the administration's effort to promote democracy in Nicaragua and the actions it has taken to hold corrupt officials and human rights abusers accountable. The United States remains committed to democracy and respect for human rights in the Western Hemisphere, and this resolution urges the international community in joining us in these efforts. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I want to talk about immigration, more importantly, a guest worker program for agriculture that will solve this dilemma. The reason we have an immigration issue in this country is because this body has failed to act in the last 30 years. It is something that the American population shouldn't have to go through and the immigrants shouldn't have to go through because there are simple solutions out there. But, unfortunately, in this body, politics gets played and prevents that from happening. E-Verify is the solution to illegal immigration. E-Verify stands for an electronic verification system that verifies one's legal identification. The ID number most commonly used for employment is a person's Social Security number. This ID number is used at an employee's place of employment, and the employer uses this number to validate the identification number of the employee. There are some major concerns and shortfalls with relying on a Social Security number for identification, as we will explain below. Using a Social Security number sets the system up for fraud and does nothing to verify the legal status of an individual. Other numbers can be used for identification purposes for employment, but there does not yet exist a universally accepted ID number or an adequate program for a non-U.S. citizen to use or to enroll into a national E-Verify system. The problem with using a Social Security number is often they are used by multiple persons fraudulently at the same time and do not provide positive identification of the person using that specific number. For instance, in my discussions with DHS E-Verify personnel, the people who run that program say they can verify a Social Security number as legitimate within seconds. This is something that is free to the employer. So they can run a Social Security number and verify it within seconds, but they cannot verify if the person using that number is, in fact, the actual person that the unique Social Security number was assigned to. DHS has said that, in many instances, a Social Security number will be verified as real, yet it will show up in 10 different locations around the country at the same time. Therefore, all E-Verify is doing is verifying a legitimate Social Security number, not whether an individual is permitted to work here legally or if that person is the legitimate holder of that Social Security number. Another issue with using a Social Security number for non-U.S. citizens is that somehow it denotes citizenship, and so people think, if they have a Social Security number, that the person using it is a U.S. citizen. A Social Security number, in what we are promoting and advocating for, should be reserved for and used only by U.S. citizens. All others should receive a different form of identification. There is a solution. What I propose is to create a standardized E- Verify system used universally around the country so all employers can verify the legal status and identity of an employee. This protects the employer from hiring illegal individuals, as well as providing the migrant employee legal documentation, identification, and permission to be in the country to work. The solution is a guest worker identification card. This card can be referred to as the GWIC. The GWIC will have a unique 15-digit identification number issued to each unique individual. The GWIC, or guest worker identification card, will also have a photo of the individual on the front and a smart chip embedded in it. The smart chip will have embedded within it biosecurity information belonging to that cardholder. The recommended biosecurity information would be facial recognition, fingerprints, retinal scans, possibly blood type and DNA. Other things that have been proposed are personal questions only the cardholder would know, and they could customize their individual, unique card to have this information included in the encrypted technology. This information would only be available to DHS or government agencies. An employer could not get into this because they would be locked out of that information. The current sectors being proposed in the U.S. Congress to be able to use this program are agriculture, hospitality, and construction. These designations would be at the end of the unique 15-digit identification card. So, for instance, there would be the 15-digit number, and at the end of that would be the initials AG for agriculture, HP for hospitality, or CS for construction. The way this program is set up would allow a person to apply, prior to coming into the United States, to work in a specific sector. For example, if the person applies to the agricultural sector, they don't come into the country until there is a job. So, at the beginning of the process, they are what we would call an applicant. When the person applies and goes through the process and gets accepted into the guest worker program for agriculture, that individual also agrees that they will work only in the agriculture sector. Or if they want to work construction, they are agreeing to work only in the construction sector. Therefore, they get accepted into a program based on a need for that job, and they get issued a GWIC card, a guest worker identification card, that the individual's personal information is embedded in. The GWIC card, again, would have a unique 15-digit number with the initials AG for agriculture. This worker has agreed only to work in the agriculture sector. So, when the agriculture producer enters the individual's number into a GWIC reading machine, into the E-Verify system, it is promptly verified by the Department of Homeland Security as an approved worker in the agriculture sector. This would also apply for the construction industry and also for the hospitality industry. The producer and the worker have the assurance that they are in compliance with the law. If a producer or worker hires or works outside of the permitted sector according to the GWIC designation, they are doing so fraudulently and subject to fines and being blocked from the E-Verify system in the future for a period of time. This will limit the producer's availability for labor and also prevent that worker from employment opportunities in the United States. This proposed solution has already been created in legislation for the agriculture sector. It is called the Agriculture Guest Worker Program. This legislation has been created in a bipartisan fashion in the House and shared with both parties in the Senate. It has also been shared with the White House and with the USDA. It will solve the incentive that we have for the individuals willing to come to the United States illegally to find work. Most of the individuals who come here are looking to work in the less-skilled fields that exist in the agriculture, hospitality, and construction fields. They will not be able to work legally without the proper permit as designated by the guest worker identification card, nor will employers be able to hire individuals without the proper guest worker identification permit. In my home State of Florida, Governor DeSantis is pushing to have mandatory E-Verify implemented soon. I commend him for this initiative. In fact, I had a phone call with him today. However, legislators in the State body are objecting to this program. Even members in his own party are resisting this requirement. Oftentimes, this is what creates the inaction known too well in Washington, D.C., and also at the State level. Therefore, nothing gets solved. This resistance comes from not having a sensible working program for people to apply to the E-Verify system and also having the identification that a worker can get, and so what happens is a stagnation of ideas for things moving forward. What we are proposing is this program that people can apply to work. Say, if they want to work in the agriculture sector, they can apply before they come into the country. It stops that need for people having to cross the desert to get into this country illegally because now they can do that before they come into the country. They come into the country when a job is available. They are already automatically enrolled into the E-Verify system, so our producers in the agriculture sector have a readily predictable, legal workforce that is there that they can pull from and they can verify and be in compliance with the law. Like I said, what is needed is a workable guest worker program that allows for the worker to enter the E-Verify system prior to entering into the United States as well as allowing workers into the country to enter this program. Right now in this country, we have between 12 to 15 million people who are in this country illegally. Some of them came legally on a work visa, but then they just kind of drifted off and stayed in this country and did not leave when they were supposed to. With this program that we are proposing with this legislation, workers could enter into this program and they could become legally accepted into the United States. It is not a pathway to citizenship, but it doesn't prevent somebody from applying for citizenship. This agriculture guest worker program is incorporating the guest worker identification number in the E-Verify system as I propose. It is a workable solution for our producers that want to be compliant with a workable E-Verify system and have access to a reliable, predictable, and legal labor pool. This program also gives the migrant worker who desires the opportunity to work in this country a legal way to accomplish that. In the agriculture sector, which I know very well, as we went around the State of Florida and we talked to the migrant workers, they say they can come and work 5 months in this country and make the equivalent of 5 years of income in their country. And I had one of my producers say, if we don't fix our labor issue in America, we are either going to import our labor or we are going to import our food. If we get to a situation in America where we are importing our food, it is a national security risk. This is something that Congress can come together and fix. It shouldn't be a partisan issue. This is a solution to a problem that is good for America; and if a solution is good for America, everybody benefits from it. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOHO

Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul and Mr. Phillips for their leadership on this. Also, Mr. McGovern has been a strong leader on this, and I appreciate it. This is the way Congress should work. We come together on a common goal; we get things passed; and it makes a significant difference. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4331, the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2019. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative McGovern for his work on this important and timely legislation, which would reauthorize the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 and reaffirm our commitment to the Tibetan people. Since the 1950 invasion of the Chinese PLA forces, Tibet has been a land of occupation and oppression. For too long, the Chinese Government has utilized campaigns of aggression and intimidation in trying to silence and bully its neighbor and territories. In that regard, the people of Tibet have not been spared. The number of displaced Tibetans number in the hundreds of thousands, with 110,000 taking refuge just in India alone. I join my colleagues in Congress in reiterating our support for Tibet, the Tibetan people, and the protection of their distinct cultural identity. I also believe that as one of Tibet's strongest partners, the U.S. Congress should hear from Tibet's political and spiritual leaders, which is why I introduced legislation last year to invite the Dalai Lama to address a Joint Meeting of Congress via teleconference to discuss the peaceful solutions to international conflicts. Madam Speaker, this legislation has wide bipartisan support in the House. To the people of Tibet, know that we support your fight against adversity and for religious freedom. This legislation makes it clear that the U.S. Congress will not sit on the sidelines and watch as a spectator but, rather, advocate strongly for increased protections for the Tibetan people.