vary from crime to crime? that would apply in every case and that would have been moral blame worthyness in every case, not just where their lack of blame worthyness is attributable to a mental disorder however that is defined? intent always contained this moral component. >> it would all apply across the board. >> it would, with the exception -- i assassinated this political leader because he is an evil person and going to do evil things. >> no. the only people that this had een applied to are the insane. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org the house coming back in and

resuming legislative week break. . for what purpose does the seek man from california recognition? > mr. smith: : mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the house bilateral ong kong's relationship with the united states, condemning the people's violating china for their great lakes to -- hongation to the people of kong and freedom of assembly and peacefully protest as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the of k will report the title the resolution. the clerk: house resolution recognizing hong kong's bilateral relationship with the united states, the people's republic affairs and hong kong's and supporting hong kong's right to protest. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the entleman from california, mr. sherman, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. sherman. mr. sherman: i ask unanimous

consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. and include extraneous material on house resolution 543. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sherman: yumdz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. sherman: the world is watching hong kong and hong kong is watching the floor of the house of representatives. people by the tens of thousands in hong kong have demonstrated bills we are considering here today. so, they have taken great risk to themselves and tremendous courage. the least we can do is pass these bills. speak in favor of these bills on hong kong. of proud to co-sponsor all the legislation under consideration dealing with hong kong. first focus on a bill introduced with our

colleagues, mrs. wagner, mr. yoho, the mr. ranking member of the asia subcommittee, my partner on the asia subcommittee. this resolution demonstrates extradition alled bill is an infringement on the rights of the people of hong including their right to a igh degree of autonomy, autonomy that was granted to hong kong when that city was returned to the control of beijing. establishesion also that the house of representatives stands with hong kong protesters and supports demands.e major these demands are -- complete extradition the law, universal suffrage and election of the chief executive of the members legislative council, the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the olice's excessive use of force against the protesters. the changing of the protestsation so these

are not classified as riots. not he participants are classified as rie out -- rioters. having all the charges of dropped.ticipating many have been inspired by the people of hong kong, standing up for their fundamental rights few months.t one of the protests brought entire 5% of the population of hong kong in the streets. unprecedented. beijing to give in demands. adly, in recognizing their own ole in protesting the protestings -- protests, the government says it's part of the united states. reject these. this is in reaction to the republic the people's of china and the chinese interfering ty for

in the you a taun my that was -- autonomy that was promised to of hong kong. these protests were motivated by the olicies of beijing and hong kong government that's increasingly reduced the city's degree of autonomy. the state-run media has gone so accuse a particular state department official by name for orchestrating the protest. an insult to the people of hong kong who speak for themselves and act for themselves. it's put that diplomat and her family in danger. simply unacceptable behavior, and the stand with criticizes solution this egregious action by the government. my support to e the other implementry bills that elementary -- complementary bills that was introduced by mr. smith, who will be managing time on the other side.

this legislation will amend the hong kong policy act of 1992 to changes that e have taken place over the last 25 years. human rights and democracy act also conveys to undermineat it cannot the city's freedom while xpecting america to still give that city preferential trade arrangements. supporter of ong congressman jim mcgovern's protect hong kong act, which u.s. firms' t ability to sell the hong kong weapons to use against protesters. reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. very much, thank you mr. speaker. it's my privilege to yield to mr. yoho such time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. yoho: thank you, mr. speaker. my colleagues,nk mr. smith and mr. sherman, who i on the pleasure of serving

the asia-pacific subcommittee on foreign affairs, about this important topic. today to bring attention to the three very important and house measures that the will consider this afternoon. these bipartisan measures passed affairshe house foreign committee unanimously and nclude h.r. 543 by representative sherman, h.r. 3289 by representative smith, h.r. 4270 by representative mcgovern. i'm proud to say that i'm a co-sponsor of all three. months, past five massive civilian protests in hong kong have begun to shed on the deterioration of the chinese communist party's of mainland side china. rising resentment in hong kong s not simply the result of ill-fated -- of the ill-fated extradition law championed by executive kerry lamb, but the continued encroachment on liberties by

the chinese g and communist party. 1997 agreement, leaders in beijing continued heir high intensity political pressure campaign to subdue dissent within hong kong which people of ned the hong kong to stand up against beijing, but more for freedom. this is illustrated by the people of hong kong raising and american flag while burning the chinese party's flag. protesters now maintain five demands that mr. sherman already talked about. withdrawal of the extradition bill, drop charges against protesters, launch an police ation into the force and universal suffrage to pick ld allow them their leaders instead of hand pick leaders of their chief beijing. by

as the ranking member of the subcommittee on asia and the and nonproliferation, i am being extremely outspoken bout the continued deterioration of the rights and freedoms in hong kong. the passage of these important pieces of legislation will send strong message to president ping and the chinese communist that these abuses will not be tolerated by the international community. that china and great britain signed this agreeme international agreement in 1997. hong kong would be an autonomous region, self-ruled, and have an judiciary system. only 22 years into it, the president has said as far as that agreement is null and void. people of see the in protesttanding up because they've experienced freedom and liberty.

they are willing to risk their life. i just had a group of hong kong students come in. are are the ones that right in the face -- right in protests int of the hong kong, and they came to our office. begging for help by the american people, by the american government. we granted, hong kong, as all know, is a province of china, but we also know there it an agreement for 50 years was to be autonomously ruled judiciary ependent that the president and the government canceled. i think is a message of all what of the intent of china is doing. we as members of congress, ave so much more that we represent. it's not a political body where we fight back and forth and different things. what we represent here in america is what people around he world are willing to risk

their life for and stand up in front of the face of adversity one of the emerging superpowers of the world and say your communist authority rule. we want you to honor liberty and freedom. see, the people of hong kong, hey've experienced freedom and liberties. jinping and the communist party, they don't understand it ecause they've neither experienced freedom nor liberty. so we, supposedly, the greatest body on the planet, his transcends way beyond what we do here. for our tanding up ideals that people around the die for andlling to it's this body that can send a chinese ssage to the jinping t party, to xi

that will say we will not let liberties and freedom be taken have rom people that claimed that, that have known that all their life, and that should be honored by those that to take it apart. before they want to take it xi jinping and the communist party try freedom try democracy for a while. you might like it. with that, i think these are very important bills that should pass through this house unanimously as it passes through senate to show that we stand in solidarity with our folks, in hong kong, and if ot, if we don't send a strong message, it will embolden china. and i hope our manufacturers and all of our businesses around the do business in hong kong are paying attention to ones because they are the that are creating a business environment that feeds china, continue these terrible acts of suppression on liberties

freedoms. so i hope the business community will say, you know what, we people.th the american it pains me when i see people ike the nba or other organizations, corporations that will bow down to china, and they profit, it's time we stand up, not just as americans, that are the bearer of liberty and freedom around the world that the rest of the world looks to. and with that, i yield back my time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the yields n from florida back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. we have no additional speakers on this side, so i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california of his the balance time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. no further we have requests for speakers so we give time.ur the speaker pro tempore: the yields.n mr. smith: i take that back, that french and ask

hill be yielded such time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman from arkansas is recognized. mr. hill: i thank the speaker. new nk my friend from jersey very much to come and speak on the subject of hong kong today. i rise in support of all these bills today especially from my friend and i stand in solid dart. for more than four months we witnessed hong kong citizens peacefully protest. over my years i traveled to hong kong and witnessed their innovative spirit and work ethic. hong kong was the model for the asian tigers in their prosperity and innovation. in the 1980's when a pro opponent of welfare statism, how

many hong kongs can the world have sfl the doctor replied as many as the world will allow itself. freedom lovers should rally to that wisdom. this summer, i had the opportunity to hear directly from leaders in hong kong dedicated to religious tolerance and democracy as promised in the agreement. he people continue to wave the fleems they desire. and rather than receiving support from all over our great land in the country, they witnessed the blatant hypocrisy including the nabble national baseball association. worried about a bottom line in retribution from the p.r.c. rather than standing up for the basic human rights that we are so blessed with and we advocated

as part of our foreign policy all over this globe. the free world is looking to us for leadership and i thank mr. mcgovern and mr. sherman for supporting these efforts on a bipartisan basis, but more importantly supporting the people in hong kong that they have the right to freedom of expression and governance guaranteed under that 50-year arrangement by both, by both, mr. speaker, the united kingdom and peoples republic of china. i urge my colleagues to support these measures today. i thank their sponsors and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas yields back. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: we do have no further requests for time and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. engel: i yield --

mr. sherman: i joined the foreign affairs committee in visiting hong kong and we had a chance to spend a lot of time with leaders fighting for democracy and autonomy for hong kong. and this is in fact been the policy of the united states since the 1992 hong kong policy act, which establishes our support for democracy as a fundamental principle of u.s. foreign policy. in recent days, we have seen demonstrators in hong kong asking the u.s. congress to pass the three pieces of legislation that are before us. the protestors want to know if our support for democracy is merely rhetorical or willing to take action to defend our principles. by spassing these three bills today, we will affirm that the u.s. supports democracy, human

rights and appropriate autonomy for hong kong. as to all three bills, i want to thank speaker pelosi and chairman engel and many other colleagues for their leadership on the issue. turning to the specifics, h.res. 543, the specific matter before us at this moment, i want to thank my foreign affairs committee colleagues for helping to introduce this measure, ms. wagner, mr. connolly and mr. yoho who spoke a few minutes ago. h.res. 543 recognizes our country's special relationship with the people of hong kong and important measure of solidarity and china is trying to take away the autonomy that it promised. i urge my colleagues to support this measure. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to

house resolution 543 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. sherman: i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3289, hong kong human rights and democracy act as amended. the clerk: h.r. 3289 a bill to amend the hong kong policy act of 1992 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. sherman and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. sherman. mr. sherman: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and stepped their remarks

and include extraneous material on h.r. 3289. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sherman: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sherman: mr. speaker, i would like to submit to the congressional record an exchange of letters between chairman engel and the chairs of the committees on financial services d judiciary regarding h.r. 3289. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sherman: i want to start by thanking mr. smith for authorizing the measure before us. the hong kong human rights and democracy act is a bill to advance our support for the people of hong kong. this bill updates the long standing u.s. policy on hong kong so as to reflect what is happening on the ground today. the foundation of our relationship with hong kong was laid back in 1992 when congress passed the hong kong policy act.

that's where we got the one country-two systems approach that paved the way for our strong partnership with hong kong. the chinese communist party is trying to break down that system and trying to strip hong kong's autonomy and bring it under full control of the mainland. hong kongers have taken to the streets and to support them we need to make sure our policy is brought up to date so it can match the challenges of the relationship today. the act does just that. it makes clear that the united states will stand up for hong kong's autonomy and democratic as pierations. it beefs up reporting so we can track efforts for china to interfere in hong kong's affairs. and slap sanctions on anyone

responsible for undermining hong kong's autonomy. this bill sends a strong message to china that the united states stands with the people of hong kong. i urge my colleagues to support this measure and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i want to thank so many people for working so hard on this piece of legislation. my good friend, jim mcgovern, principal co-sponsor and fighting tyranny in china. previously, i have chaired the commission and we have go back and forth. so i want to thank him especially for that. and chairman engel and ranking member mccaul, chairman sherman and yoho for their strong support for this bipartisan legislation and number of staffers who i will speak to in a moment. scott for his great work on this

bill, landmark work going back to five years ago. the speaker's office who has been tenacious on this legislation. janice.n, doug, pier, sabrina, just so many good people who have all pulled together in a bipartisan way to make sure this legislation comes to the floor and becomes law. r. speaker, since the 1989 tee and men square massacre 30 years ago, i have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on human rights, the rule of law and democracy for the peoples republic of china. i thank kevin mccarthy, the

republican leader, who has put me on his selection of the china commission and his strong support for this legislation as well. we have always believed, mr. speaker, that every person in china deserves better than the brutality so many endured every single day and the system attic violations of their universally recognized human rights. tragically under president xi, human rights throughout china has significantly worsened including the pervasive use of torture, religious persecution and human trafficking. solemn promises made by beijing are rarely kept and far too many leaders of the free world are far too eager to blindly accept fiction over fact. broken promises are the rule, not the exception and the people of hong kong are suffering because of it.

during the 2014 umbrellas movement, the world saw the courageous people of hong kong demanding that beijing not reneg on promises made to ensure basic ights and authentic elections. despite the president's brutal crackdown on protestors triggered by an outrageous policy to facilitate ex tradition, the resolve, the courage, the tenacity and clarity of purpose of the people of hong kong shines through the darkness like the sun. two days ago, reuters reported that president xi said anyone attempting to split china in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones. president xi's government excels

in crushing bodies, shattering bones, torturing dissidents and filling concentration camps, massive crimes against humanity which there has been little or no accountability or sanctions. but today, mr. speaker, we are simply urging the chinese president and the hong kong chief executive -- and we have that obligation under our own laws to faithfully honor the government's promises. honor the promises made in the 1984 joint declaration that facilitated the conveyance of hong kong from the united kingdom to china beginning on july 1, 1997, that autonomy, human rights, including press, assembly, association and religion would be exactly the same as before the handover for at least 50 years.

honor the promises made in the basic law of hong kong. adopted by china's national peoples' congress in 1990 before the giveback of hong kong that autonomy and rights would be protected. even before the latest round of protests, mr. speaker, u.s. state department has noted that rights and liberties in hong kong have diminished and not living up to their solemn promises made in order for the hong kong conveyance to occur. you know, the great young leader joshua one said a fourth of the population of hong kong, two million people, turned out for one of the peaceful protests. mr. speaker, where has that ever happened? five years ago, mr. speaker, in 2014, joined by mrs. pelosi, i introduced the bipartisan hong

kong human rights act. we did it in 2015, 2017 and again this year again with my good friend from massachusetts. our new bill, the hong kong human rights and democracy act is a blueprint for meaningful action. specifically the act directs the secretary of state to certify to congress annually whether hong kong continues to deserve special treatment under u.s. law different from mainland china in such matters as trade, customs, sanctions enforcement, law enforcement protection and protection of human rights and the rule of law. and encourages the state department not to deny based on an arrest or participation in nonviolent activities. it requires a report from the commerce department on whether the hong kong government

enforces u.s. export control and sanctions laws including on those goods and services transshipped to north korea, iran or other countries relating to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, violations of human rights and narcotics trafficking and more. requires an assessment of whether u.s.-origin items including software, technology and services have been transferred from hong kong to china in violation of u.s. law and have been used by china for mass surveillance, predicttive policing or for social some of you might ask, what is social credit system? it's a totalitarian brave new world system scheduled for implementation by 2020 that will use public records, online activity and other tools of surveillance to aggregate data on every single solitary

chinese citizen and business, and use that data to monitor, shape and rate financial, social, religious or political behaviors. it requires the secretary of state to submit a strategy to congress to protect u.s. citizens and businesses in hong kong from the erosion of autonomy and the rule of law, because of actions taken by the chinese communist governments. it requires the president to identify and sanction persons in hong kong or in mainland china responsible for the erosion of hong kong's autonomy and serious abuses of human rights. it tracks the magazine nitschke act which mr. mcgovern and i worked so hard to enact into law so that we deny visas and also deny the ability to do business here for those people who are responsible for these egregious abuses. and it contains a waiver provision that helps ensure that our actions protect the great people of hong kong and enhance the autonomy, rather

than inadvertently harming it. so it gives real flexibility to the president and to the state department to make the right call. finally, mr. speaker, i've heard it says that -- said that the business of hong kong is business. it is that. but it's also clear to me now that the business of hong kong is freedom and democracy. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. sherman: i join with the gentleman from new jersey in praising the staff members who helped create these bills. not only the one under consideration, but the other two that deal with hong kong. and i yield four minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, a great champion for human rights, mr. mcgovern. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for four minutes. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 329, the hong kong human rights and democracy act. i want to say thank you to congressman chris smith for his

incredible leadership in introducing this bipartisan legislation, and for all of his work on human rights. i also want to thank chairman engel and ranking member mccaul, as well as chairman sherman, for their leadership and their support of this bill. and bringing it before the house today for consideration. behind me is a photograph taken on monday night in hong kong's charter garden. it is estimated that 130,000 people took part in this rally, calling on the united states congress to pass the hong kong human rights and democracy act. the hong kong people need international support and i'm proud that the united states house of representatives is standing in solidarity with hong kong and their struggle. while the protests were sparked by the extradition bill, the heart of the discontent is that many of hong kong's political leaders do not represent the people. instead, hong kong's leaders are beholden to the chinese government. millions of hong kongers would not have to protest in the

streets if they could freely choose their political leaders. since the 2014 umbrella movement protest, the one country-two systems framework has been rapidly eroding as free expression has been stifled and the space for democratic participation has been restricted. we have seen the prosecution and sentencing of pro-democracy leaders, the disqualification and removal of pro-democracy legislators, the abduction and arbitrary detention of book sellers, and the expelling of a financial times journalist. hong kong's high degree of autonomy is enshrined in the joint binding 1984 declaration in hong kong's basic law. the joint declaration is an international treaty signed by the chinese government and guarantees the protection of rights and a separate economic system from mainland china. i believe it is time for the united states to reconsider its policies toward hong kong. u.s.-hong kong relations are overned by the u.s.-conch --

u.s.-hong kong policy act that commits the united states to treating hong kong as a separate customs territory from the rest of china, as long as hong kong remains sufficiently atown -- autonomous. it would require the secretary of state to certify on an annual basis whether hong kong continues to warrant special treatment different from mainland china under u.s. law. it is time we put the chinese government on annual notice that further erosion of autonomy or a crackdown will cause the city, which serves an important financial haven for wealthy chinese elites, to lose its special economic, financial and trade arrangement with the united states. further, the legislation authorizes sanctions against individuals who violate human rights and states that hong kong visa applicants should not be denied entry to the united states based on politically motivated arrests, based on their protest activities. and to be clear, we stand

together with the people of hong kong and indeed all the people of china when we express our concerns about the human rights violations of the hong kong and chinese governments. over the years, hong kong has prospered and become the financial center of asia because of its strong commitment to the rule of law, good governance, human rights and open economic system. we must use our levin raj to help the people of -- leverage to help the people of hong kong in their struggle to secure a democratic future that -- democratic future that protects hong kong's autonomy and way of life. i'm proud to support this legislation and i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, we yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. sherman: we have no additional speakers on this side. so i yield myself so much time

as i may consume for the purpose of closing. i want to thank mr. smith for introducing this legislation. 30 years since tiananmen square. chinese authorities are still turning to violence and intimidation to crush and attack basic freedoms. with this important legislation, we send a clear signal that the united states stands with the people of hong kong. i hope all members will join me in supporting the passage of this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 3289, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the

gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. sherman: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4270, a bill to prohibit commercial exports of certain nonlethal crowd control items and defense articles in services to the hong kong police and for other purposes. as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4270, a bill to prohibit commercial exports of certain nonlethal crowd control items and defense articles and services to the hong kong disciplined services and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. sherman, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. sherman: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 4270. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection. mr. sherman: at this point i would yield one minute to the speaker of this house, a woman who has dedicated decades of her life to the fight for human rights, the gentlelady from california, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is ecognized. the speaker: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and i thank him for his support of democracy and democratic freedom in hong kong. i want to salute my colleague, representative smith from new jersey, with whom i have worked for decades on this subject. whether it's religious freedom, freedom of expression, and in china, and i thank mr. mcgovern for his important leadership as chair of the china commission and as chair of the lantos human rights commission. thank you. thank you very much, mr. sherman, for your leadership, and for yielding. so right now we're on the

protect hong kong act as amended, by mr. mcgovern. and i rise in support of that legislation. and indeed the bills that are on the floor to support democratic freedom in hong kong. mr. speaker, for four months the people of hong kong have sent a stirring message to the world that the dreams of freedom, justice and democracy can never be extinguished by injustice and intimidation. the extraordinary outpouring of courage from the people of hong kong stands in stark contrast to a cowardly government that refuses to respect the rule of law or live up to the one country-two systems framework which was guaranteed more than two decades ago. in 1984, before the united kingdom transferred hong kong to china, the chinese government promised a high degree of autonomy for the territory in the joint declaration of the question of hong kong. providing for an independent executive legislature and

judiciary. independent. ensuring the freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion, prohibiting the central government, the chinese government in beijing from interfering in the affairs that hong kong administers on its own according to the basic law. and pledging a pact to universal suffrage. in 1997, that's when we were here doing this, when the handover occurred, america was hopeful that the people of hong kong would achieve this high degree of autonomy that they were promised. and this was a promise that was participated in by the u.k. government. today we must sadly conclude that china has broken that promise. for years the people of hong kong have faced a barrage of unjust andujar, restrictions on hard reedoms -- and restrictions on their freedoms. we stand united with the people

of hong kong. if america does not speak out for human rights in china because of commercial interests , then we lose all moral authority to speak out for human rights anyplace in the world. since tiananmen square 30 years ago, many of us in a bipartisan way have been fighting this fight and we have seen that commercial interest always wins. it's always about the money. i lost my innocence on human rights in america and china all those years ago, when i saw that while we talked a good talk, when it came right down to it, right, mr. smith, it was always about the money. again, to those who want to take the repressive government's side in this discussion, i say to you, what does it profit a person if he gains the whole world and suffers the loss of his soul? and we do not want to lose the soul of our country for

commercial interests. whatever those commercial interests may be. it's interesting hear people saying, we have to know both sides of the story. you want to know both sides? one side is a very repressive regime that is crushing democratic freedoms in hong kong, at the same time that they have tried to destroy the culture, the language and religion in tibet. at the same time as they incarcerate in education camps more than a million, could be three million, uighur muslims in china, while they repress religious freedom there. the list goes on and on. and the other side, young people speaking out for freedom, democratic freedoms, in hong kong. they are so impressive. mr. smith and i have worked, as mr. mcgovern has, with like three generations. starting after tiananmen, tanks rolling over young people who spoke out for democratic freedoms in china. the next generation, a couple,

15 years later. and now this generation of young people. so impressive are they that even the more senior freedom fighters in hong kong are impressed by their courage and their sticking to it. today the house is proud to pass a bicameral, bipartisan hong kong human rights and democracy act to reaffirm america's commitment to democracy. and that doesn't mean a democracy -- it means democratic freedoms, human rights and the rule of law in the face of beijing's crackdown. and beijing thinks that they can rule because of money. it always comes down to that. thank you, chairman mcgovern, thank you, congressman smith, for your work to ensure an honest accounting of the situation in hong kong, and to ensure accountability for those responsible for the crackdown. we are grateful to chairman mcgovern for his leadership on the protect hong kong act, which suspends sales of crowd

control and other equipment to the hong kong police force, as mr. sherman pointed out earlier. thank you, mr. sherman, for your role in all of this. and thank you for your resolution calling for the hong kong government to address protesters' demands and condemning police brutality, in addition to china's efforts to falsely accuse u.s. diplomats of fueling unrest. thank you, mr. sherman. last week martin lee, the grandfather of hong kong democracy, we started working with him decked -- decades ago, he said, we fear hong kong will become just another chinese city. that means one without any of the freedoms that they were guaranteed. the future of hong kong, the future of autonomy, freedom and justice for millions is at stake. it's interesting in the first weeks of the demonstration, first months of the demonstration, two million people, two million people,

mostly young people were in the streets and people were saying, oh my heavens, two million people turning out. two million is 25% of the population of hong kong of eight million people. 25% of the population in the streets and the beat goes on. and hopefully they will hear from this congress our support for their human rights. and that we will not sell our souls for money at the expense of our values. i also want to thank the distinguished chairman of the committee, mr. engel, for his leadership on this over time. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. and i urge an aye vote on all of the above to join bipartisan, bicameral support for the people of hong kong. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california yields back. the gentleman from california

reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker, i'm directed by the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: i reserve the balance of our time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. sherman: i yield five minutes to the gentleman from of massachusetts, mr. mcgovern. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for five minutes. mr. mcgovern: i thank my colleague from california and i rise in support of h.r. 4270 placing restriction on tear gas exports to hong kong act, the

protect hong kong act. i introduced this bipartisan legislation along with chris . ith and roe khanna i want to thank the chairman and ranking member of the foreign affairs committee for bringing this bill so quickly for consideration. the protect hong kong act prohibits u.s. exports of munitions and police equipment to hong kong. it stops u.s. exports of tear gas, pepper spray, grenades, bber bullets, semi-automatic rifles. let's be clear what is happening in hong kong. millions of people from all walks of life, young people, students, women, seniors, entrepreneurs, teachers, civil servants and workers are standing up to the most powerful authoritarian government in the world. the protestors have inspired the world as they risk their health,

lives to fight for the future of hong kong. they are using technology to mobilize and organize. they are capturing and extinguishing tear gas containers. they have taken apart and shown the world surveillance cameras that use them. they are using music, art and messages on buildings to highlight their struggle and highlighted a human chain spanning 37 miles. residential buildings organized the shouting of slogans from their windows with calls and responses he can cowing throughout the city. the people have made their voices loud and clear. the chinese and hong kong governments have mishandled this situation at every turn. the world has now seen

eyewitness evidence compiled by journalists and the media showing police have used excessive force and used equipment against guidelines and international standards. we have seen the police firing rubber bullets at protestors and seen them launching tear gas cannisters from high buildings in crowded and enclosed areas. we have seen them failing to give protestors warning before firing and use batons to beat and subdue demonstrators and disburse generalists. in june, the government and crowd control equipment until concern of human rights abuses are addressed. on august 13, the u.n. high commission for human rights called tore an investigation for the use of crowd control tactics in hong kong. it is time for u.s. companies to

stop selling weapons. instead of heeding calls to stop the crackdown, the hong kong government makes matters worse. on october 1, 269 arrests of rotestors of ages 12-71. two teenagers have been shot with live ammunition and the uptick against journalists is to spur public anger. instead of having an inquiry, the hong kong government has ordinance. emergency this is a draconian step that martiale city closer to law. they should refrain and making ad hoc regulations and

intensified crackdown will provoke violence and tarnish the reputation of hong kong and its police force. it is beyond time for congress to send a clear message that the people of the united states supports the people of hong kong and will not provide assistance to crack down on protestors. i urge support for the protect hong kong act. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: i yield myself such time as i may consume. let me say i appreciate and respect the eloquent remarks of the speaker a few moments ago. we are united on hong kong and that is very clear and we have been working together along with other members including like frank wolf of virginia, united in believing that freedom and democracy and respect for human rights is everybody's business

and everybody is entitled to it. these are god-given rights and i thank the speaker for her wonderful remarks. i rise in support of the protect hong kong act sponsored by jim mcgovern and i'm proud to be the co-sponsor act. it will mandate export restrictions on defense articles to the hong kong police. as the largest protest movement hong kong has ever seen continues into its fifth month, major concerns have risen about the police's independence and professionalism. people are furious about well documented cases of excessive force, brutal tactics and the tolerance of violence against protestors and journalists by the government. the hong kong police's actions are a cause in and of themselves a protest. there has been widespread [captioning made possible by msnbc] use of crowd control equipment

and weaponry including incidents of seriously injured journalists. they have used water cannon, pepper spray and batons against demonstrators some of which is american-made equipment. and recent weeks, two protestors have been shot with live rounds. meanwhile, while we discuss a the o ban the equipment, hong kong government has at the same time moved to ban the use by demonstrators of defensive equipment used to protect themselves against police attacks, namely gas masks and face masks. the protect hong kong act will prohibit the issuing of licenses for the export of muneishons to the hong kong police. the secretary of secretary of state with the secretary of commerce and other relevant

federal agencies will be required to issue a report on what has been sold to the hong kong police over the past several years. these prohibitions will remain in effect until these incidents are examined and the hong kong police have demonstrated truly professional conduct. the u.s. should not be complicit in violence being used to squash the legitimate demands guaranteed to the hong kong people by international treaty. that is unacceptable and is contrary to u.s. interests and it is contrary to u.s. law. i firmly support for this measure and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. sherman: i yield five minutes to the chair of the full foreign affairs committee, mr. engel of new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: i thank my friend for

yielding to me and valued member of the house foreign affairs committee and i thank mr. mcgovern for his hard work on this legislation. the relationship between the united states and hong kong is rooted in our shared values. among them are fierce belief in the freedom of speech and right to assemble. the american people are troubled by the images coming out of hong kong. hundreds of thousands of protestors who have taken to the streets have been met by violence. these pro-democracy activists face tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets while the police force is sworn to protect them. i remember when china took over hong kong from the u.k. and said that they would adhere to a systems in china and that the people of hong kong

would have freedom like they had before, to speak their mind and here it is probably about 20 years later and that's already being eroded and taken away and the people of hong kong see they were promised something which isn't brought forth from the beijing regime. mr. mcgovern's measure would ensure that american companies are not contributing equipment for the hong kong police to use against protestors. this bill also calls on the police to take the steps needed to address those issues from within. when there are instances of police brutality, there must be prompt and independent investigations and proper accountability. the protect hong kong act shows the people of hong kong that the united states stands with them in their fight for their freedoms and make sure that american companies are not facilitating violence against brave democratic protestors. it is a shame it has come to

this but it is uplifting to watch people possess enormous courage in the wake of having their lives threatened and having their society destroyed, they stood up and are standing up to the beijing regime and to the people who would try to strip them of their basic freedoms. no matter where we are on this planet have to admire the brave people of hong kong. we have the good fortune of meeting a number of the protestors when speaker pelosi called a press conference a few weeks ago and we talked about this bill. it was really heartening to be able to sme to these young people, young people who have shown enormous amounts of courage and should know that the united states will continue to support them and we won't stop until the people of hong kong have the democracy and freedom

they deserve. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 4270 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back. the gentleman from california, mr. sherman, is recognized. mr. sherman: i yield myself such time as i may consume for the purpose of closing. the people of hong kong have the right to assemble without fear of violence. they need to know their friends in the united states are not providing tools of the violent repression being used against them. i'm pleased to support h.r. 4270 and i urge all members of the house to do likewise. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house

spend the rules h.r. 4270 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? mr. engel: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 521, commending the

government of canada for their upholding the rule of law and expressing concern over actions by the government of the people's republic of china in response to a request from the united states government of canada for the extradition of huawei technologies company executive. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 521. resolution commending the government of canada for upholding the rule of law and expressing concerns over actions of the government of the people's republic of china in response to a request from the united states government to the government of canada for the extradition of a huawei technologies company limited executive. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, and the gentleman from texas, mr. mccaul, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. engel. mr. engel: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their

remarks and include extraneous material on house resolution 521. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. engel: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. engel. mr. engel: thank you, mr. speaker. this is a good, bipartisan resolution and i was glad to join ranking member mccaul as a co-sponsor of this bill. this measure deals with something that we've all seen lately, how china responds to those who go against the chinese communist party's agenda. whether we're talking about individuals, private companies or countries, china doesn't hesitate to extort, coerce and punish those who challenge it. and right now our neighbor to the north, canada, is experiencing this firsthand. back in december, canada arrested and extradited the chief financial officer of chinese company huawei for her role in violating sanctions law. the canadians were completely in the right here, they were

upholding the rule of law. china launched an outrageous response, arresting two innocent canadian citizens on trumped up charge. these men are still languishing in china's detention and legal process limbo. deprived of their freedom and denied basic rights. rights that all countries should honor. solely because china wanted to use them in a political bullying tactic, their rights went out the window. this is an outrageous affront to the rule of law and we must condemn it. h.res. 521 denounces this practice by china and sends a clear signal that the united states congress stands with china in demanding the immediate -- stands with within -- with canada, excuse me in demanding the immediate releets of -- release of their innocent citizens. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this good measure and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas, mr. mccaul, is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in strong support of this resolution, condemning the government of canada for upholding the -- commending, i'm sorry, the government of canada for upholding the rule of law and expressing concern about china's use of hostage diplomacy. and i want to thank chairman engel for co-sponsoring this bill with me. as always, we work in a very bipartisan way on this committee. this resolution recognizes canada's help with the extradition of huawei's technology's chief financial officer. it also expresses concern with china's retaliatory and hostile actions against canadian citizens detained in china. china's hostage diplomacy is abhorrent. as retaliation for canada's have canada's citizens

been detained in china since last year. they've been denied due process and have been subjected to harsh conditions such as limited cons lar access, no attorney representation, and lengthy interrogations. meanwhile, the huawei employee has received proper treatment in canadian custody and is currently released on bail. these cases show the stark contrast between canada's commitment to the rule of law and china's. i commend canada and regret the canadian citizens are paying the price of china's malfeasance. canadian citizens must be released immediately. so i urge my colleagues to support this measure and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm prepared to close and yield myself as much time as i may

consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mccaul: in closing i'd like to thank the people of canada for standing up with us to uphold the rule of law and assist in the extradition of huawei's c.f.o. who is accused of willfully violating united states sanctions to proliferate technology to iran. it is unacceptable the chinese communist party is punishing innocent canadian citizens to interfere in this criminal process. i urge my colleagues to support this and stand in solidarity with canada. huawei is creeping around the world with 5-g technology and everywhere we see one belt, one road we see 5-g being planted down in these countries, and they literally steal data from these countries, now covering half of the globe. we are in a race with china and we need to combat their espionage and intellectual property theft. and with that, mr. speaker, i urge support, and i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume for the purpose of closing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. engel: i want to again thank ranking member mccaul for his leadership in introducing this measure and his hard work in seeing its passage. china is flouting the international rule of law, targeting anyone who goes against them. and now they have our ally, canada, in their crosshairs. this is a commonsense resolution that shows that the united states condemns this behavior and stands with our ally and with the families of those unjustly detained. i am proud to support it and i urge my colleagues to do the same and i thank mr. mccaul for introducing it. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 521. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and, without objection, the motion to reer -- reconsider is laid n the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2385, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2385, a bill to permit the secretary of veterans affairs to establish a grand program to conduct cemetery research and produce educational materials for the veterans legacy program. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on h.r. 2385, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i rise

in support of h.r. 2385, as amended. this bill was introduced by representative conor lamb, vice chair of the committee on veterans' affairs. it would permit the secretary of v.a. to use grants, rather than federal contracts, to fund cemetery research programs, and produce educational materials as part of the veterans legacy program. switching to a grant program grant program would ease many administrative burdens associated with federal contracts, allow for more timely payment, and broaden the reach of the program to smaller organizations. the veterans legacy program was launched by v.a.'s national cemetery administration in order to resurrect the stories of veterans interred at national cemeteries, to educate future generations, and to honor the legacy of our nation's heroes. this program is a broad collection of public history materials that tell the story of america's veterans buried in

national cemeteries. it supports the national cemetery administration's mission to honor and memize our veterans by creating educational materials that local educators can use to teach their students and others about the veterans buried in local cemeteries. currently, the national cemetery administration awards federal contracts to colleges, universities and other institutions to support the veterans legacy prap. these contract -- program. these contract awards are developed to use circumstance -- used to develop circumstance curriculum. they include institutions of higher learning, local education agencies, nonprofit entities, the secretary determines have a demonstrated history of community engagement or any other recipient the secretary deems appropriate. contract funds can also be used to conduct research related to national, state or tribal veteran cemeteries and produce educational materials about or promote community engagement

with the history of the veterans intered in those cemeteries. the maximum contract amount is $500,000. presently, 16 separate contracts have been awarded, which have produced an impressive array of digital and nondigital resources. cemetery directors say they're pleased to see students visiting the cemeteries as part of their studies. this renewed interest by the young and old alike revives the lives and stories of american veterans. however, the national cemetery administration and the institutions of higher education who most often receive and utilize these contracts tell us that working with grants is much more efficient and easier for them to administer than contracts. for instance, grants allow an award cycle more closely -- for instance, grants allow an award cycle that more closely aligns with the academic calendar of

schools and colleges. administrators of the veterans legacy program said grant programs would help increase the reach of the program beyond large universities to smaller groups that want to become involved. a grant program also allows for faster funding. contracts involve a one-time payment for work at the end of the project. a grant configuration, however, would allow for fluid and regular payments throughout the course of the work. memorializing veterans is a primary responsibility of this committee and we need to support innovative ideas for bringing energy and interest into national veteran cemeteries. the veterans legacy program is just that. those currently working with the program at national cemetery administration at institutions of higher learning and community groups tell us that a grant program as opposed to a federal contract program would solve most, if not all, of the administrative problems related to accessing funds in a

consistent and flexible way. h.r. 2385 does that by simply allowing v.a. to provide grants -- grant funding to the veterans legacy program. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 238, as amended. this bill -- 2385, as amended. this bill would authorize the department of veterans affairs to award grant instead of contracts to educational organizations that research the lives of those who are intered in our nation's cemeteries. i would like to thank chairman takano for the amendment he offered during the committee markup of this bill to include report language to ensure that congress has the information needed to determine whether this grant program is financially sound. i urge my colleagues to support

h.r. 2385, as amended. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to my good friend, the vice chairman of the house committee on veterans' affairs, a veteran himself, and author of 2385, mr. conor lamb of pennsylvania. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. . mr. lamb: i thank the chairman and ranking member roe for getting this bill through committee and brian fitzpatrick for co-sponsoring with me. i rise in support of h.r. 2385. we are here in the 75th anniversary of d-day and struck me and an american germ that said if anyone needed proof that the united states of america fought for cause and not for concxds con questions, is that when we invaded, the only soil

we asked to maintain was to bury our own dead. veterans ask very little recognition or thanks for their service. i have it on good authority when they built themon youments to world war inch i in washington, d.c.,, throughout the whole year, there were a number of veterans who approached the construction site after hours and handed their dog tags and asked them to throw at the them down in the pit underneath those ston pillars and everyone who has served, understands that total commitment and lack of desire for recognition. but we do programs like the veterans' legacy proper squect because we need to communicate that same sack cry ties to the next generation and that's what this project can do. the graves and the memorials they cause young people to slow

down in a world that is speeding up and express a confidence in the thing that it is they memorialized and tell young people that are permanent in this world and there is nothing more permanent than the sacrifices that these men and women made. the freedom that we all live under every single day, it has to be refreshed and renewed with the sacrifices of people in each generation. by expanding this program and making it accessible to schools and community groups, we can spread that of total commitment to the cause of freedom throughout the next generation and can't think of any time when that has been more needed. i thank my colleagues for supporting this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i have no further speakers and am prepared to close.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: i once again encourage all members to support h.r. 2385 as amended and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee yields back. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, in closing, i do want to mention a couple of important stories related to the veterans' legacy program. earlier this year, approvesor from the university of california, riverside presented testimony. for research on the veterans buried at the national veterans' cemetery, the largest national cemetery in terms of its gee oggra if i in my district and developed teaching curriculum. and she has remarkable energy. her students to revitalize the

stories of men and women buried there. and the professor said the program just does president bring students and community groups but takes the history back to the classrooms. graduate students and recent alum nye go to kindergarten to high school to foster this program. a good third of the students have significant ties to the cemetery they didn't know anything about. this allows neighborhood ties and cultural development. to date, her program has produced dozens of lesson plans and worked with over 2,700 students in local public schools including the sherman indian high school. i also want to say one of the heroes that is buried at that villegas who iley charged enemy fox holes in world

war ii, killed one day short of his 21 birthday. his neighborhood is a small neighborhood of about 225 families. yet, this neighborhood of 225 families sent 254 troops to serve in world war inch inch. mr. speaker, the veterans' legacy program memorializes veterans like smilely and communities like casa planka. the program created an app that includes grave stone tribute stories from local students along with information about the cemetery construction and notes of interest such as fate i have american buried there. and the professor's words, the program delivers a terrific meeting of story and culture to the university, k-12 students

and cultures that make up our region. i wholeheartedly encourage all of my colleagues to support -- to join me in passing h.r. 2385 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2385 as amended. those in favor say aye. . those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed. mr. takano: i demand the yeas and nays on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek

recognition? mr. takano: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1199. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1199 a bill to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to conduct a study to the individuals with disabilities. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. takano and the gentleman from california, mr. roe, esm will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. takano: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to insert extraneous material on h.r. 1199 the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. takano: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 1199 the v.a. accountability act introduced by

chair of our subcommittee on disability assistance and memorial affairs. this bill directs the v.a. to conduct a study regarding the accessibility of v.a. web sits to individuals with disabilities. since 1998, federal law has required v.a. to make electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. unimpeded access to v.a. resources including web sites and mobile apps are crucial because they serve as a gateway to services and benefits. however v.a. has a long history of stating that it is, quote, working towards compliance, unquote while failing to ensure that it is accessible to the blind. in fact, v.a. has had more than 20 years to comply with the law. mr. speaker, this was especially concerning last year when the veteran crisis line was updated and because the chat feature was

no longer accessible, leaving blind veterans unable to access this lifesaving resource. other barriers they face when accessing v.a. web sites include forms that are incompatible with the software, small buttons that are hidden among other items making them very difficult to find. elements like check boxes and buttons that are not properly labeled and tables that cannot be navigated cell by cell so magnification programs cannot read them. h.r. 1199 does not propose any changes to federal law but requires v.a. to examine all of its web sites to determine whether or not they are accessible to individuals so it can comply. h.r. 1199 requires v.a. to

compile a complete list of noncompliant web sites and submit a plan to congress detailing how it plans to bring those web sites into legal compliance. mr. speaker, the blinded veterans association estimates there are currently over 130,000 legally blind veterans living in this country and another 1.5 million veterans with low vision. but last year, over 42,000 of these veterans had cases open with a visual impavement services team coordinator at v.a. because they could not access web sites and mobile apps. the number of visually impaired veterans is expected to grow as the u.s. population ages in the next 20 years. we cannot wait another 20 years for v.a. to comply with the law. this growing population will need to access v.a.'s web sites,

apps, telehealth tools, disability benefits and other programs and services administered by the v.a. both now and the foreseeable future. since many veterans are comfortable accessing information, scheduling appointments and using information technology, visually impaired veterans want the same access to these tools that v.a. offers it to other veterans. and equipment and media are minimized or ignored, some of our nation's most vulnerable are left behind. so, mr. speaker, when these veterans are denied access to services, they are at risk for further aggravation and even suicide. the longer we wait, the greater the risk. i urge members to support h.r. 1199 and i reserve.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: i rise in support of h.r. 1199 v.a. website accessibility act as amended. this bill would require the department of veterans affairs examine all web sites, apps attachments to determine what are inaccessible and develop a plan to make them accessible. vishly impaired veterans off nays barriers because they are directed to forms or pages that are incompatible with screen readers. this bill would require v.a. to make action to address these issues ensuring that all veterans are able to access needed v.a. information. i encourage my colleagues to support h.r. 1199 as amended and i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. . the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: i would like to yield two minutes to my good friend and chairwoman of the subcommittee and the sponsor of herself, and a veteran mrs. luria from virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. luria: i rise today in support of this commonsense and bipartisan bill to make v.a. web sites accessible and understandable or all veterans. they put themselves in harm's way, it's only right that congress gives them the care that they earned. one of my top rirets priorities in congress is eliminating barriers preventing our brave men and women receiving quality care as well as disbuilt and vocational benefits. i met with a group of blinded veterans and explained that the

structure of the v.a. web sites makes it difficult for them to learn about treatment and schedule their doctors' a pointments. i introduced this act which requires the secretary of veteran affairs to conduct a study of the accessibility of v.a. web sites for veterans with disabilities. the secretary will be required to report to congress on the study's results and approve a plan. this bill will ensure the ailments and trauma will not prevent them from using the resources that v.a. web sites have to offer. veterans affected by blindness or hearing loss have sacrificed for our nation and deserve equal access and i'm honored to champion their cause. our heroes should not have to wait one day longer. today we could help thousands of veterans to receive better

access to health care resources. i urge support of h.r. 1199 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. . . what i do to myself when the sight-impaired constituents and office, it come to my go back to my small apartment that i have and i put a lindfold on and i try to get around and just do simple tasks of the day and you find out how is. difficult it i could not be more supportive of your legislation and thank it up because g when you r computer can see. you have to have someone to help you. we have the technology available today if it's -- that's used at

the v.a. so these men and women this country can also have access that every other whose other impairments have. strongly support this bill, h.r. 1199, as amended. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, yields back the balance of time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. to close.ed the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. i, takano: mr. speaker, again, want to urge all of my colleagues to support -- to join in passing h.r. 1199, ms. luria's legislation. the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. he question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1199. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

thehe opinion of the chair, rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and 2334, to designate the department of veterans affairs community-based patient clinic odessa, texas, as the wilson nd young medal of honor v.a. clinic. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. ae clerk: h.r. 2334, veterans affairs community-based outpatient clinic in odessa, texas, as the wilson and young medal of honor v.a. clinic. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. takano, and the gentleman from mr. roe, each will control 20 minutes. the hair now recognizes gentleman from california. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and

and to heir remarks extraneous material on h.r. 2334. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. tempore: the o gentleman is recognized, mr. takano. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i rise to honor the lives of army staff "rex" young, and class corps private first alfred mac wilson. mr. conway riend, from texas, for bringing this pay before us so we may all tribute to two of our nation's nation's heroes. allowed, bothe law men signed up to serve our country during the height of the vietnam war. this war that both staff sergeant young and private would lass wilson ultimately give their lives in defense of our country. was te first class wilson

born on january 13, 1948, in illinois. family moved to odessa, texas, in 1950 where he attended local schools before graduating from odessa senior high school in 1967. enlisted in the united states marine corps reserve at abilene, 1, 1967, and mber was discharged to enlist in the corps on january 14, 1968. t the time of his death, private first class wilson was a ifleman with company m, third battalion, ninth marines, third marine division. sergeant young was born on alpine, texas.in the youngest of three children clinton and millerin young. he joined the -- marilyn young. 1966.ned the army in by august 21, 1968, was serving sergeant in company

c, first battalion, fifth regiment, 25th infantry division. at two different points of the war, these two brave men gave their lives to support the ission of their respective units and were both posthumously awarded the medal of honor. class wilson, st it was march 3, 1969, when the platoon of company m was vietnamese the north army after returning from patrol. intense automatic weapons fire attacks wounded the platoon's gunner and assistant gunner. squad leader, private wilson put himself in between to y fire and his men retrieve the machine gun from the wounded marines so that his could maintain a heavy volume of fire against the enemy. reached the m-60 machine vietnamese soldier

threw a grenade at him, landed first class te wilson and another marine. private first class wilson first his m-16 rst from enemy and ng the on sitatingly threw himself the grenade. absorbing the full force of the explosion with his body. of his selfless act of valor, his platoon members were maximum effort to aggressively and successfully enemy.the on august 21, 1968, a regimental force of the north vietname vietnamese unit attacked staff young's platoon. he organized and deployed his enemy force.the while wave after wave of the enemy attacked, he courageously to position,sition

encouraging and directing fire at the north vietnamese army exposing himself to enemy bullets. when staff sergeant young were d parts of his squad unable to retreat, he fought his way to him, despite sustaining a so they head injury could safely withdraw. while fighting with his -- while fighting with his squad as they fought his way to the rear, staff sergeant young was wounded the arm and leg was badly shattered. refused assistance and rdered withdrawal while provided protective cover while he enemy engulfed their position. they both sacrificed their lives for their fellow service members and our freedom. colleagues and i and a grateful nation oa debt of o we -- owe a debt of gratitude to both of these men to their families and to their legacies. of pport fully the naming

the department of veterans affairs community-based clinic in odessa, texas, as the wilson and young clinic, so or v.a. we never forget their sacrifices. i urge my colleagues to vote yes this bill and urge our senate colleagues to take this bill up without delay. thank you, mr. speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 2334, a bill sponsored by congressman michael conway of texas. the bill would name department of veterans affairs community-based outpatient texas, the essa, wilson and young medal of honor v.a. clinic, after two texas who received the medal of honor for their heroic actions in the vietnam war. first class alfred "mac" wilson was a marine killed in 3, 1969, when he

threw himself on a grenade to platoonmate during an enemy ambush. "rex" ergeant marvin young was a soldier killed in action on august 21, 1968, when fatally wounded while fellow several of his soldiers who was pinned down by enemy fire. posthumously the medal of honor. even theen many years after deaths, their memories live on as examples of true ourage, selflessness, and love of country. i commend congressman conway for introducing this bill in their honor. supported by the ntire texas delegation in both the house and senate as well as by several veterans' service organizations throughout texas. this is something very near and dear and personal to me. vietnam-era veteran myself. often here ll too

seeing these american heroes their ver got to see families, they never got to see their children, their because of the sacrifice that they gave for country, their life, the greatest sacrifice they could. in this great re country free because of what these men did. hope that people in texas and odessa, texas, take as much i do -- tennessee and texas have a great connection, the speaker knows -- and i take great pride in tennessee of today to berivilege on this floor debating this bill and bestowing this honor on two two heroes. and with that, i will -- i will reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves the balance of his time. the gentlem the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, at moment, i'd like to ask

unanimous consent to enter a letters from the american legion, department of d.a.v., disabled american veterans department of the v.f.w., the veterans of foreign wars, in of mr. conaway's bill, clinic in texas the rex -- after these gentlemen. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. i. takano: and at this time, have no further speakers, and i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the the balance erves of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. privileged it's my to yield five minutes to my good friend, mike conaway, texas 11, the former chairman of the agriculture committee and ur ranking member, bes also serves on the intelligence -- intelligence the

committee, to recognize these two people. the peaker pro tempore: gentleman is recognized. mr. conaway: i want to thank you for allowing this much-deserved of two young heroes from odessa, texas. i would also ask unanimous to enter into the record the official citations from each medal of rds of the "mac" wilson ie young. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. described the ey two men. on the football rex was a er and -- really good baseball player. did not have the privilege of mac.ng he went to our cross-town rival. wonderful young man. i want to specifically thank all of those men and women in texas, who for years

now, have attempted and worked really hard at maintaining the of mac and rex in our communities. they've done great work. support and heir efforts on this behalf, i don't know if we would have gotten this done. texas, at that point in time in the late 1960's was a 80,000 folks. medal of honor recipients are really rare, and to have two of from one west texas town is a high honor. west hese men embody the texas values of selflessness and courage, devotion to one's -- and and the gallant their gallant sacrifices serve as a somber reminder to all of that some have paid to secure our freedoms. memorial day every year, we honor all of our and women who have given that ultimate sacrifice, we should. when i give speeches and talk to folks back home during that time make it ask people to

personal. we talk about them as a group and it loses some of the punch, impact.the and so when i ask my folks back ome to do is to find somebody specifically that gave that sacrifice, that made that sacrifice and think about them for me every nd rex. it's the v.a. krinic there in odessa, their will now bear both all those future vets who will walk through those oors and receive the care that they've earned from their service to our nation, they will that door -- walk through that door, see those two of s, and know that two their own were honored appropriately by having that -- named that v.a. clinic after them. i want to thank the hospital in odessa, texas, which actually building, for allowing

us to do that. i want to thank the v.a. system itself for working so hard to and looking forward to the ceremony that we when we name those two. i want to thank senators rubio nd cornyn and the senate for introducing the companion legislation in the senate so we done over there, and then move to appropriately america's finest, two young men who woke up one their last day on earth, and then went out and did heroic thatunningly i don't know they necessarily new that day they were going to deep lasting gratitude for the sacrifices. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back. the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: let me just say how much i appreciate this legislation from the gentleman

from texas reading through medal citations and i found myself finding my voice very halting as i read through it with my staff. see that you still today remember your friend with great memories. he was a great ball player and it's poignant to take note of young service members who give their lives for our country and we certainly want to join together in a bipartisan basis to express our gratitude. so thank you so much. i urge my colleagues to join me 34 -- i h.r. 2 reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized.

mr. roe: i associate my remarks with mr. conaway and i know he misses his friend and truly an honor to memorialize this clinic and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee yields back. the gentleman from california, mr. takano is recognized. mr. takano: i urge my colleagues to honor marvin rex young and mack wilson and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2334. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass

h.r. 95. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 95, a bill to amend title 38 united states code to ensure children of homeless vermont rans are including in the calculation of certain per diem grants. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. takano and the gentleman from tennessee each will control 20 minutes. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert xtraneous material on h.r. 95. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. . mr. takano: i rise in support of h.r. 95, the homeless veteran families act. h.r. 95 was introduced by representative julia brownley chair of the subcommittee on health and a tireless advocate

for women veterans and their children. they are included in per diem grants to organizations supporting homeless veterans. by including children in this calculation, homeless children will receive supportive services mr. williams: reduce the rate of homeless population. v.a.'s grant and per diem program has provided homeless veterans with housing and supportive services. the program offers funding to community agencies that provide services to homeless veterans and promotes development of supportive housing and supportive services with the goal of homeless veterans achieve residential stability and increasing their skill levels and income and greater self-determination. however, many homeless veterans

with children are unable to obtain transitional housing and support assistance because providers only receive payments for the veteran and not the dependent children. many housing providers have been unable to house homeless veterans who are accompanied by their dependant children without financial support. mr. speaker, current law limits v.a.'s authority to reimburse the costs for sheltering the children, which resulted in many grant providers not accepting veterans with demept children. and this services with veterans for children as the veterans are forced to choose between housing services and caring for their children. this is especially true for many women veterans who have children and who are also homeless.

this legislation would authorize v.a. to pay a partial per diem and provide support. for each child accompanying, the service provider would receive per diem at a 50% rate for each child. this committee is committed to addressing and ending homelessness and this legislation is one step towards this end. mr. speaker, earlier this year, subcommittee chairman levin and ranking member bilirakis held two field hearings in san diego, california and tampa, florida to learn more how v.a. can coordinate to end veteran homelessness. this bill is the first of many solutions, some of which have been identified from these bipartisan hearings of the economic opportunities subcommittee. this -- the full committee will continue to work together to find bipartisan solutions to end

veteran homelessness. h.r. 95 has 301 co-sponsors which demonstrates our commitment to end veteran homelessness and improve the lives of the veterans we represent. i reserve the ball aps of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california resevers the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, is recognized. mr. roe: i yield myself. i rise in support of h.r. 95 homeless veterans families act. this bill would amend the grant and per diem grant to provide payments to gpd providers to the service they provide to the children of homeless veterans. while the v.a. has been successful in decreasing the number of homeless veterans by almost 50% since 2010, we still have an unacceptable number of veterans on the streets every

night. the g.p.d. program is a tool in v.a.'s arsenal to help community organizations to provide services to homeless veterans by reimbursing by providing temporary housing that promote housing and efficiency. community partners are not authorized funding for providing services and shelter to the dependents of the homeless veterans that they serve. this forces these organizes to make a difficult choice of turning away homeless veterans with children or finding another source of funding to provide services for them. h.r. 95 would address this issue by amending current law to authorize granted per diem payments to the children of homeless veterans. while i have some concerns about using medical care dollars to provide these services they may have gotten from the limited resources vale for providing

services to homeless veterans, i'm not going to oppose this approach today. i want what is best for our veterans and if change provides services, then it's worthy of our support. i thank my friend julia brownley for sponsoring this bill which has my full support and i resevere the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the chairwoman of the health subcommittee, the author of this bill, representative brownley of california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california, ms. brownley, is recognized for three minutes. ms. brownley: thank you, mr. chairman and i thank the chairman for yielding this afternoon and i thank the ranking member of the committee for your support of a very, very important bill for our veterans, the homeless veteran families

act. as a member of the veteran affairs committee, i believe that it's critical, absolutely critical that veterans and families receive the housing support to simply get back on their feet. since 1994, the program has provided homeless veterans with community-based transitional housing and supportive services. agencies provide such services to homeless veterans. in fiscal year 2017 alone the sites nded 600 community which provided housing to 23 housing veterans through the use of 12,000 transitional housing beds nationwide. unfortunately, many homeless veterans with children are unable to obtain transitional housing and the support assistance they need because

housing providers only repeat payments from the v.a. for the veteran but not for any minor dependents with their families. because housing a family requires more resources and beds, many providers have been unable to house homeless families without additional financial support. this problem has resulted in the lack of access to very needed supportive housing and services for veterans with children because the veteran is forced to choose between getting their own housing assistance and services or caring for their minor dependent child or children. the v.a. has previously stathed hat 8% of veterans who entered grant per diem programs and had a full assessment completed within 0 days prior to admission had either full or partial legal custody of their children.

this was estimated to be 2,500 children in fiscal year 2017. no veteran should be forced to choose between housing and much needed services or caring for their children. however current law prohibits to provide for additional costs associated with sheltering the dependent children of homeless veterans. my bill would provide for a partial per diem for each minor child who is receiving services through this program. this would be an amount equal to 50% of the daily cost of care but this would ensure veterans and their children are able to obtain the housing and services needed to help them achieve residential stability and give them the opportunity to increase their skill level and income and ultimately to obtain greater

self-determination and self-worth. mr. takano: i yield an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. brownley: providing housing is an essential first step and so critical to everything in a veteran's life including getting the health care they have earned, taking advantage of health education benefits, getting a job and having the quality of life they have earned and deserved and what our country has promised. passage of this legislation will benefit veterans of all air asand minor children who are struggling and suffering with homelessness. my bill has over 300 co-sponsors which is addressing this important and time-sensitive issue. i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and i thank you again, mr. chairman,

for bringing my bill to the floor. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, is recognized. mr. roe: it's my privilege to yield five minutes to my good friend, the gentlelady from puerto rico, miss gonzalez-colon. she was a member of the veterans committee and supporter of our veterans and after the hurricanes in puerto rico, she was kind enough to invite me. i saw her passion and we went to the v.a. hospital together and outpatient clinics and i don't believe anyone in this congress has more care for our veterans than her and i yield five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from puerto rico is ecognized.

miss gonzalez-colon: this is the first time that the v.a. committee has a hearing in puerto rico more than 100 years. we have two chairmen in puerto rico the last two years and i'm happy to say that mr. roe and mr. takano. and we got the money assigned for the mayo clinic after that visit. those are real good news. and we just received the v.a. deputy last week and talking about funding the services of the hospital, which is good. . . today i rise in support of this bill, introduced by my friend california, julia brownley. homelessness is one of the our veteransany of face upon separating from the armed forces. the department of

veterans affairs has made ending of -- ending art homelessness part of their core mission. initiatives like this and like the homeless providers grant and per diem which funds community agencies that provide services o homeless veterans, facilitates tackling these problems head-on. builds upon this program by authorizing the department of to pay per diem are under the o care of homeless veterans. impact not only veterans' lives but lives of children. 82 e are close to homelessness veterans in puerto rico. state.t move to another living on an island, we have to

served. community and programs like homeless provider grants and per diem this number lower to zero and will counter the providers of these services to turndown helping a he or she hase of children under their care. i think that's the most bill.ant thing about this it's not just only the veteran itself. that suffers y with him or with her, and that's he reason i am a proud co-sponsor of the bill and i commend congresswoman brownley issuer leadership on this and, of course, i support my vote in favor of this bill. i think it's important to to gnize that we all need take care of this kind of issue. and thankou, mr. roe, you, chairman takano, as well, visiting the island during this year. it's the first time ever puerto of twove received visits

chairmen. and that means something for the 105,000 veterans registered on island. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from puerto rico yields back the balance of her time. he gentleman from tennessee reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. i haveano: mr. speaker, no further speakers, and i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california his ves the balance of time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you. further speakers, and i'm also prepared to close. i think this is a great bill. homelessness is a huge problem in this country, and keeping our families together is a huge this country. this, i think, will be some of spend, ifmoney we ever we can keep these families together, and if a veteran is their spouse and they're trying the best they can and they need these resources so family unit that together, this bill should go and senate house unanimous. i think it will. with over 300 co-sponsors, i will.ike it

i want to thank congresswoman rownley, who satireless support -- who is a tireless supporter for veterans. bringing this up. i encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, h.r. 95, and i yield back the balance of time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, yields back the balance of time. the gentleman from california, mr. takano, is recognized. r. takano: mr. speaker, i certainly also want to congratulate and thank congresswoman brownley, the of our health subcommittee, for bringing this and i also forward, ant to also express my gratitude to ranking member roe, roe.r chairman we both made a commitment to the rico, and we puerto want the people of puerto rico o know that on a bipartisan basis, the veterans' committee about the service and

benefits that are owed to the rico.ns of puerto so with that i urge all my colleagues to pass h.r. 45 which a critical need for children and have who are in need of housing to prevent them from being homeless. yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. he question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 95. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- speaker.no: mr. the speaker pro tempore: the rules are suspended -- yeas kano: i ask for the and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. of taking n favor this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.

the chair lays before the house the following message. congress of o the the united states, section 202-d of the national emergencies act automatic r the termination of a national emergency unless within 90 days anniversary date of its declaration the president publishes in the federal and transmits to the congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in the anniversary date. in accordance with this provision, i have sent to the publicationster for the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with narcotics significant traffickers centered in colombia eclared in executive order 12978 of october 21, 1995, is to beyond in effect october 21, 2019. the circumstances that led to declaration on october 21, 1995, of a national emergency

exist.e to the actions of significant arcotics traffickers centered in colombia continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat o the national security, foreign policy and economy of the united states, and to cause an extreme level of violence, harm in the nd united states and abroad. for this reason, i have determined that it is necessary continue the national emergency declared in executive with respect to significant narcotics traffickers centered in colombia. signed, donald j. trump, the white house, october 15, 2019. the speaker pro tempore: to the committee on foreign affairs and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house until approximately"washington.

host: patrick eddington at our table, gulf war whistleblower and currently a research fellow institute. thank you for being here, let's talk about your story. why did you become a whistleblower? guest: those of us who have been through this experience, when you look at whistleblower cases, a lot of commonalities come out aner