citizens, even the elite black people. we have had enough. host: that is william from jacksonville, florida. the house of representatives is about to come in for its session. stay close. you can follow and monitor along on our website at c-span.org. we now take you to the house. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., june 29, 2021. i hereby appoint the honorable thomas r. suozzi to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro temproe: pursuant to the order of the

house of january 4, 2021, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties. with time equally allocated between parties and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes. but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. kelly, for five minutes. ms. kelly: thank you, mr. chair. my husband was shot in the stomach during a robbery attempt in front of our house. gun violence ruined his life. he was left with grievous residual injuries that have put a huge dent in my family's finances, emotions, sense of security, and our well-being. my family has suffered a lot, but most especially my husband, who has suffered both impaired emotional and physical bodily

function. he has so many medical issues as a result of his shooting. we have suffered pain and suffering. there is horrible residual pain left behind because of gun violence. we have become prisoners in my own home. my younger brother took his own life. he had a long history of mental illness and i disagreed with his ability to purchase a firearm for this very reason. if there had been better background checks in place, he may not have been able to purchase a firearm. i wish these restrictions were in place. i want you to know that real stakes are involved in the simple issue like background checks. if universal background checks were in place, my little brother might still be alive. my fiance's son james was shot and killed in 2018 after attending a get-together. he was not the intended target. he was a straight a student in his senior year of high school trying to decide if he was on his way to college or to the navy. but he didn't get a chance to

make his choice. there were nearly 100 witnesses, but no arrests have been made. i'm a trauma therapist working with young people who have been exposed to violence. these children are under the age of 5. through play they have demonstrated their experience with the sounds of gunfire. some have even seen deceased people outside their front door. there is even less funding provided to address the trauma that gun violence produces for the most vulnerable, our children, who are living in the most violent areas. these are just a handful of more than 700 stories about the devastating impacts of gun violence that my constituents have recently shared with me. each of these stories is heartbreaking, and they highlight both the complexity and the far-reaching consequences of the gun violence epidemic. every single day in my district and communities across the country, children are traumatized by the sundays of unpre -- by the sounds of

unpredictable gunfire, more ambulance in their neighborhoods. families are becoming financially ruined with the cost of continued surgeries and therapy after being shot. grandparents write to tell me their elementary school-age children are scared to go play outside for fear of being gunned down like their classmates and neighbors. when will enough be enough? america's gun violence epidemic is a slow motion massacre that's rapidly gaining speed. just this weekend, 77 people were shot in chicago. 77 people in just one city in just one weekend. we must act now to stop the steady drip of daily gun violence. 2020 was one of the deadliest gun violence years on record, and we are already on track to outpace this grim statistics. more than 21,000 people are dead in just the first six months of this year. we need to step up to the plate and do something to protect our constituents. we need to make straw purchasing

and gun trafficking federal crimes. we need to expand background checks. we need to support more evidence-based community violence prevention programs. we need to build opportunity for youth to get a good education and good jobs. we cannot go on letting mothers bury their children. this week we marked the end of gun violence awareness month, but for far too many families, there's no end to this month of awareness and advocacy. these families are painfully aware of the impacts of gun violence because they carry the weight of this epidemic with them every single day. i rise to implore my colleagues to exercise some courage and responsibility by advancing gun violence prevention legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, for five minutes. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. a quick web search on the meaning of independence day will give you the dictionary

definition, a day celebrating the anniversary of national independence. for a nation built upon the foundations of freedom, such as the united states of america, there's much more to the meaning of independence day than can be described in a dictionary. for americans, independence day is about the people who have lived and died in the defense of freedom. one killed by british troops has long been honored as an american hero and the first casualty in the revolutionary war. mr. addox is the first in the long list of legacy of american heroes. each generation of heroes have had their men and women of the perfect realization of the most basic rights, freedom. freedom of tyranny was the primary reason for going to war for our first president, george washington, alongside fighters

who designed the government for our new nation and the troops who fought for its right to exist. the great efforts of president abraham lincoln during the most trying time in our nation's history, the civil war, led army of brave soldiers who fought not only for the reunification of the country but the freedom for people held in slavery. the noble fight was taken up not only by soldiers but by civilians who worked in support of those in combat such as claire barton, army nurse, and founder of the american national red cross. hundreds of thousands of young men lost their lives during the second world war fighting fascism in europe and around the world. presidents franklin delano rosevelt and truman, along with patton and mcarthur provided leadership and strategy necessary to allow our soldiers to gain victory and preserve freedom. as a nation, we have believed in and fought for freedom for so long that it can be easily taken

for granted. this is a trap that we must be extra vigilant not to fall into. as president reagan aptly stated, quote, freedom isn't something passed to our children in the bloodstream, end quotes. pursuing freedom for over 200 years has been the result of a conscious choice. in each era by every generation. we must continue to make that choice in this era and in this generation. madam speaker, you may have noticed that in my examples from the revolutionary war, civil war, and second world war, i named politicians who served our soldiers and citizens. make no mistake, it is the soldiers and citizens of our nation who do the work to preserve freedom. therefore, it is the solemn duty of those of us who work in government to lead and represent the people so that they can continue to live in freedom. i urge each and every government

official and especially my fellow members of congress to make the choice to pursue freedom as so many generations before -- have before us. in this way, we honor the lives of past heroes such as crispas addox. thank you, madam speaker. and in the meaning of independence day that could never fit in a dictionary, thank you so much. i yield back the remaining balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado, mr. perlmutter, for five minutes. mr. perlmutter: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. perlmutter: on june 21, 2021, the community of arvada, colorado, experienced a tragedy. in a the matter of minutes, our community lost two heroes with dozens of arvada residents left

stunned and horrified. police officer gordon beasley was responding to a report of suspicious activity in old town arvada when he was ambushed and shot by a man who had immense hatred toward the police. a good samaritan, johnny, intervened and shot the suspect, undoubtedly saving countless other lives. in a tragedy upon a tragedy, hurley was then mistaken has the shooter and he was killed. officer gordon beasley joined the arvada police department in 2002 and served in a number of roles for the department. he spent most of the year working as a school resource officer at local schools in our community, including lincoln academy and excel academy charter school and during the summers he often returned to patrol work as he was doing last monday in old town arvada. officer beasley was a well-known and well-liked member of our

community. his calm, gentle, and patient demeanor made a big difference in his day-to-day interactions with students. especially those students who needed it most. in 2015, he was named employee of the year by the city of arvada after the city learned officer beasley was riding his back to school multiple times a week with a student who suffered from developmental delays and was not able to ride by himself. countless other stories have surfaced from students, his colleagues, and community members in the days following his death about the impact he had on their lives, big and small. he was an accomplished drummer and singer who played in local arvada bands. we will remember officer beasley's kindness and bravery and the approach he brought to life each and every day to, quote, make someone feel special today. hearing gunshots, another hero stepped up to protect and defend the community. 40-year-old denver resident

johnny hurley. according to arvada's chief of police, he was decisive, courageous, effective, in stopping further loss of life. johnny's friends and family remembered him as an idealist and an icon alcs and was not surprised to learn that johnny stepped up to his community in the time of need. i join the arvada police department and those at large in honoring his actions that day that undoubtedly saved lives. though we don't know all the facts our hearts go out to the officer who mistook hurley as the shooter. this is hard for our community, including members of the police department. our heroes in uniform are charged with protecting our communities, and last week's shooting is a reminder of the dangers our police officers face each and every day across the country. old town arvada is a close-knit community at the heart of arvada. on a typical day it's busy,

vibrant. june 21, 2021 was a dark day for our community and the difficult for many to process it. my heart-felt condolences goes out to officer beasley and johnly hurley and -- johnny hurley and together we'll get through this. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. kline, for five minutes. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, there's no denying that congress must take action to improve our nation's crumbling infrastructure, but sadly, bipartisan negotiations have hit a roadblock and the infrastructure legislation on the floor this week is a go at it alone, my way or the highway bill. mr. cline: instead of focusing on traditional infrastructure, democrats is prioritizing the left's green new deal agenda. it's estimated $286 billion for green new deal related mandates,

requirements, and programs. to put that into perspective, one out of every $2 spent by this legislation is tied up in green new deal goals. further, this bill reduces flexibility for states to meet their own unique infrastructure needs and fails to streamline major project reviews which typically face a six-year delay. and to make matters worse, the spending increases proposed in this bill rely heavily on more deficit spending. there are no pay-fors, which will only further fuel inflation and increase the cost of goods like gas and food. we need commonsense solutions that truly work to improve our roads, bridges, railways, and rural broadband, and i'm pleased to hear there are bipartisan negotiations under way to achieve these goals. but this bill, this bill this week veers off the road and into a partisan ditch. so i urge my colleagues to vote no later this week on h.r. 3684.

mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize the life and legacy of anne seton who went to be with the lord on april 23, 2021. anne was a pillar of the sixth district of virginia, but her light shined well beyond the valley. shartable at heart -- charitable at heart, anne and her family served as missionaries in jamaica and hosted refugees from new orleans after hurricane katrina to help provide comfort and aid to those afflicted. in the valley, anne was a passionate supporter of grace christian school and wilson high school as well as one who helped fundraise for the waynesboro symphony orchestra. she was involved in local politics, including a successful campaign to her husband, scott, to the augusta county board of supervisors and was founder of the republican women of greater

augusta and inspired many to get involved in the dmunt. . -- in the community. bheffr abo all it was her family and faith. loving wife to scott, mother to her sons, friend and daughter anne was a devoted follower of jesus christ and a member of tabernacle presbyterian church. she has a grandchild due in december. anne not only believed in her faith but she lived it. as exemplified through her life's work. living through our faith is a lesson we can all learn from the late great anne seton. she is greatly missed and will not soon be forgotten. mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize the amherst county high school girl's softball team for winning this year's class 4 state championship. it was a defensive game all

around and amherst county's pitcher kept the lancers in it with an incredible performance. striking out 10 batters. with the game tied at 0-0 at the end of regulation, it took extra innings for the lancers to pull off a victory against the hanover hawks. before the final inning began, head coach told the team, this is our time. this is our inning. we've got to stay settled and be patient. and they did just that. in the top of the eighth, two errors by the hawks put runners on base for amherst county with one out. with kalely stepped off to bat, put the ball in play, allowing the third base runner to come home. soon after a wild pitch brought megan lloyd home adding another run. with a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, the lancers were able to keep the hawks scoreless securing the team's first ever state softball title.

congratulations to the players and coaches on a great season. you earned it. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes mr. mann from kansas for five minutes. mr. mann: i rise today to discuss the importance of waters and my concerns with the biden administration's unnecessary overreach. we use water to sustain ourselves, industrial manufacturing, to bathe, and produce the most affordable, abundant, and safe food supply in the world. agriculture is the largest industry in kansas' big first district and acrime scene the state. water conditions show good or bad crop years. in western and south central kansas, the aquifer is the main

source of water represents the supply of one third of the state of kansas. it covers about 175,000 square miles across eight states from south dakota to texas making it the largest aquifer in the country and one of the largest in the world. at the beginning of the 20th century states began pumping water to irrigate their land for agricultural production use. in western kansas, irrigation transformed the dust bowl ridden region into the incredibly productive land we see today. on average kansas has about three million irrigated acres with nearly 2.6 million acres irrigated with water from the aquifer. the ground water is essential to our food supply that supports nearly 1/5 of all the wheat, corn, cotton, and cattle produced in the united states. in 2018 when i was lieutenant governor of kansas, we worked with the coordinated agricultural product to hold the first ever aquifer summit and

eight states to sustain the agricultural productivity. adapting new technologies and voluntarily reducing water waste. since then producers like lynn have made changes to their operations to reduce the amount of water they pump and protect. the farms has shifted from irrigated cosh to a wheat rotation, adapted conservation practice when is applying fertilizer, and change from flood to sprinkler irrigation. understand completion caused mr. goosian to take on leadership within his management district and work with other producers to voluntarily use their water wisely. efforts at the state level in kansas through ground water management kiss tricts supported the aquifer with districts working with communities to set their conservation goals. developing plans to reduce water withdrawals in a designated area and use water in a manner that's

viable. the technology college water farm has helped producers. the fange lynn family farm was early to enroll. they tested at northwest tech to help meet their water reduction goals. these voluntary, locally led efforts to safeguard our water were supported during the trump administration when they published a reasonable and clear definition of waters of the united states in the navigable waters protection rule. this rule provided certainty for farmers and ranchers and designated authority back to states to regulate their own waters. after years of federal overreach. unfortunately president biden has once again determined that the federal government knows best and announced his intent to review the rule likely signaling a return to the obama administration's wotus rule which thought to regulate every stream, ditch, or puddle of water. this is especially frustrating as many western states face extreme drought leading to severe water shortage.

further regulations add insult to injury. producers and water users at the local level know their community best which is why i joined several of my house colleagues on legislation that would codify the rule an on a letter to president biden stating our strong opposition top return to the expanded federal jurisdiction over waters around the country. i have also led legislation that would push back on executive overreach in our agricultural, energy, and natural resources sectors. our farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists and continually update practices to reduce water use and inputs so they can continue to produce safe, affordable food while maintaining their water supply for generations to come. we must provide certainty regarding their local water rights and continue to stand in opposition to any overreaching regulations that threaten the livelihoods of kansas farmers and ranchers. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from nebraska, mr. bacon, for

five minutes. mr. bacon: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to recognize charles jackson french, a world war ii hero with ties to omaha who made one of the most underappreciated sacrifices in american history. his story is an american story. one of courage, sacrifice, and hope. charles, a black man, was born in racially segregated arkansas on september 15, 1919. in 1937, charles enlisted in the united states navy. after completing his enlistment he moved to omaha, nebraska, to be with family. after the attack at pearl harbor, he re-enlisted. according to accounts, on september 5, 1942, petty officer first class french was serving as a mess attendant on the racially segregated u.s.s. gregory.

as a black man growing up in the 1930's arkansas, charles lived in a time when segregation laws prohibited black people from swimming alongside white people in public pools and beaches. yet when the u.s.s. gregory was attacked and sank by japanese gunfire, it was petty officer french who dove into theuaries of the pacific to save his fell sailors who had been wounded. he lifted 15 of his fellow sailors into a lifeboat and saved his comrades from drowning. however, charles knew they could not simply float to shores controlled by the japanese. they would meet a fate worse than death. prisoners were often tortured and executed. military.com recounted how charles tied a rope around his waist with the help of shipmates and toed his fellow sailors through shark infested waters for eight long hours until they were finally identified and saved by an american landing

craft. in his book, black men in blue water, chester recounted his conversation with petty officer french who told him that when he and the raft full of survivors are rescued, a person onboard the ship were told where the colored boys stay while the crew attended to the white survivors. charles further shared the sailors rescued by him told the crew he ain't going nowhere. he's a member of the gregory crew and he damned well will stay right here with the rest of us. just like the sailors who set their time for french, our time to recognize the sacrifice and service of french whose story has been underappreciated by the navy and history. a real life hero like charles must be recognized by the military in a country he devoted his life to. in world war ii the navy gave french a commendation letter. i have now asked the navy to review, consider upgrading to a medal. the navy is reviewing this now.

full recognition of u.s. navy petty officer first class charles jackson french is long overdue. we owe it to charles, his family, and the millions of americans who learn the charles story. last friday i introduced legislation to rename one of the post offices after charles. and pleased that representatives jeff for then berry and adrian smith are joining me in this effort to recognize a nebraska hero. today i call on the navy, congress, and the white house to recognize the service and sacrifice of petty officer first class french so that all americans, especially our nation's future leaders and service members, can be inspired by charles' display of patriotism and sacrifice. but also so that family of charles can be comforted by the eternal gratitude of the nation that petty officer first class french so dutifully served. the three decade veteran salutes him. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina, mr. rouzer,

for five minutes. mr. rouzer: mr. speaker, i rise today in recognition of the north carolina sweet potato commission's 60th anniversary. in 1961, six sweet potato producers chartered the commission to support growers and to maintain north carolina standing as a leading sweet potato producing state. there are n.o.w. now more than 400 sweet potato growers strong, as well as packers, processors, and business associates who remain dedicated to supporting our state's prosperous sweet potato industry. since 1971, north carolina has ranked as the number one sweet potato producing state in the u.s. with 65% of the nation's sweet potato production. north carolina's sweet potato producers are family farmers who have been cultivating their land for generations growing many different crops. they workday and night, year after year, to ship high quality, nutritious north carolina sweet potatoes all

across the country and the world. agriculture is the backbone of north carolina's economy. in the sweet potato industry it is critical to our flood supply in north carolina and in the country. it is not an understatement to say that north carolina sweet potato commission has more than fulfilled its founding mission to strengthen our state's sweet potato production. i congratulate them on their 60th anniversary. may they have many more years of providing every american with one of our nation's safest, nutritious, and might i add, delicious vegetables grown. mr. speaker, our national debt exceeds $28.1 trillion. in congress, year after year, continues spending money with seemingly no regard for the debts we are pushing on to future generations. while it was necessary to spend a significant amount of money to

get us through the covid-19 crisis, we must now move aggressively to address the national debt. in my opinion the most significant domestic threat that our country faces. the sooper we take action, the bet -- sooner we take action, the better. unfortunately, the current administration doesn't seem to feel the need to pursue fiscal restraint. president biden's spending agenda is hurting families and small businesses across the country. meanwhile, he has sent congress a $6 trillion budget request. this additional spending will lead even more inflation. the excessive spending congress recently approved has already resulted in inflation. we see it every day in the skyrocketing prices of goods. and if the president and democrats in congress get their way, all major tax hikes, the economy and working families will be hurt even more. today the american dollar is still king, which is how we can print and borrow money with

seemingly little consequence. but huge debt to g.d.p. ratio threatens that standing and could easily cause a significant decline in our standard of living. rampant inflation, which is really just a hidden tax, and significantly devalued dollar, could cripple our economy and easily lead future generations right back to the days of centuries before us. . now, in contrast, the budget proposed by the republican study committee for fiscal year 2022 balances the annual budget by five years by reducing spending and maintaining pro-growth policies. it is the most pro-life bill ever written. with 17 pro-life provisions in it, secured our border and offers real solutions to return our country to fiscal responsibility.

mr. speaker, the republican study committee budget combats washington's out-of-control spending and puts american taxpayers first. we should all be able to agree, it's long past time to bring fiscal sanity to washington. mr. speaker, i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. crenshaw, for five minutes. mr. crenshaw: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of legislation called the hope and allies act, to support our interpreters in afghanistan. i can't tell you how important this is on a personal level to me. in 2012, i was hit by an i.e.d. blast. that i.e.d. blast went off because one of our interpreters stepped on a pressure plate. his name was -- rachman.

he was responding to do his job day in and day out. they never get a break. he stepped on that i.e.d. about 10 to 15 pounds of explosives and it ripped off all four of his limbs right away. i couldn't see him because i was blinded by the blast. but i could hear him. when someone gets hit by an i.e.d., you've probably seen in the movies, you think they scream. but they don't scream. they don't have the energy to scream. it's more like a groan. it's the deepest kind of pain you can imagine, and i'll never forget that sound. before he was hit, he expressed to us that one of his dreams . . that was the kind of patriotism that he had. wasn't even a citizen. imagine if our own citizens loved their country the way

these guys did. and that story is not unique. rachman later died but that legacy lived on. these interpreters -- these interpreters showed such dedication to the cause. it's unimaginable, really. as military units rotate, go in and out, we get to see our families, interpreters stay out there. it's another day for them. their families are under threat. they're receiving anonymous phone calls threatening their lives, calling them infidels all because they supported the united states and now we're about to leave them. this administration is not doing enough to make sure they don't get left to die. i am confident this body will do what it can, but it takes this administration to actually do something now before this hasty retreat occurs and before thousands and thousands and thousands of interpreters and

contractors are killed. and they will be killed. they absolutely will be killed. their families will be killed. the threats have already come. and it will happen if we don't do something about it. so i call on this administration to do something about it. i call on the secretary of state and the secretary of homeland security to get this process going, to expedite this process as quickly as possible. these people are heroes and they need to come to their new home here in the united states. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house >> the u.s. house will gavel in at noon eastern today to start legislative work. members will vote on replacing confederate statues in the u.s. capitol and providing more protections to federal inspector generals. the house today will also set up debate for wednesday and thursday on creating a temporary

committee to investigate the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. and a five-year authorization for transportation and water projects across the country. live coverage when the house meets again at noon eastern here on c-span. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. provided by these television companies and more, including mediacome. >> world changed in an instant. media com was ready. internet task soared and we never slowed down. schools and businesses went virtual and we powered a new reality. because in media, we are built to keep you ahead. >> mediacom supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democratcy. -- democracy. >> we take you live to hearing on ways to improve wildfire response. the house science, space, and technology committee is looking

into cross agency coordination. >> tools to help prevent and fight future wild land fires. they currently provide research and tools such as fire weather predictions, satellite imagery, resurgence in building codes, and studies of major catastrophic fires and their afterwards. greater federal research into satellites, climate technology can revolutionize preparedness and response. as we adapt new technology like unmanned aircraft systems, we can provide a host of new tools, most importantly we can develop an integrated picture. this will allow us to effectively save lives and property of the growing wild land fire problem. as federal research is focused on the problem, i'd like to highlight emerging technology for them to consider. ground-based, airborne, and satellite remote sensin