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ISSUES OF THE DAY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I am delighted to be able to speak on the House floor today and talk about what we are witnessing, all Americans, as we turn on our televisions and see the horrors in Europe.
For the first time in eight decades, we are witnessing a mass, unprovoked ground and air invasion in continental Europe. Not since World War II have we seen this sort of aggressive, evil action by one European nation against another, let alone such action by a global power and member of the United Nations Security Council.
The tragedy unfolding today has no precedent in recent history, not even the terrible civil war and ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia.
{time} 2015
Let's be clear, Madam Speaker, Putin feels emboldened and believes that he can wield his power anywhere in the world, including in his own backyard in a pitiful but ruthless attempt to restore his idea of some 18th century Russian kingdom with himself as czar.
Putin is emboldened by the fact that he has personally, and Russia as a nation, not paid any significant economic or diplomatic price for his previous violations of international law, the U.N. Charter, or common decency and norms.
One only has to recall the poisoning in a London park of an opposition voice in 2006, forging a partnership in 2015 with the butcher Assad in mass destruction, murder, and mayhem in Syria, waltzing into Crimea without firing a shot in 2014, and his border incursions into Georgia in 2008.
Putin has simply marched on, trampling international law and sovereign borders, all the while thumbing his nose, Madam Speaker, at international norms and the negligible reaction of his neighbors.
In fact, his neighbors, dependent on the European drug of choice--
Russian natural gas--for so long they just stared glassy-eyed at their enabler, unable to stand up for themselves and fight back. Now, these neighbors have rejected the dominance of Putin's pushing and are fighting back.
That is why America once more steps into the breach as the essential, indispensable nation. Our resolve encourages a stronger European Union and a stronger NATO.
During the 20th century, our freedom-loving people consistently stepped up to push back against the disposition and destruction of individual rights, international norms, and sovereign nations.
Europe doesn't want to go back to their ancient, feudal fights, and Ukrainians don't want to return to vassal state status under the boot of Russia.
Ukrainians want to go forward. They don't want to go backward. They don't want to go back to the Berlin Airlift, Checkpoint Charlie, the Fulda Gap, and Churchill's Iron Curtain.
At the height of the Cold War, Madam Speaker, I traveled through Checkpoint Charlie to the other side of the Iron Curtain. I have witnessed what life is like in communism, socialism. I have laid a wreath at Auschwitz. I have laid a wreath on Decoration Day at the American Cemetery in Normandy. And, Madam Speaker, Americans don't want to go back to those days either.
Our boys sacrificed their lives in the forests of Germany, the beaches of France, the hills of Italy, and the sands of North Africa to prevent this very thing from happening again.
That is why American leadership is critical. Partnering with our transatlantic allies, we must muster the military, economic, and diplomatic clout and might to hit this bully in the nose. Bullies only respect clout and might.
While Europe and the United States were timid in the Obama-Merkel days, our collective leadership must fill the void now and push back once and for all against the assault on sovereignty and freedom we are witnessing in Europe.
If not now, when? If not in Ukraine, on the borders of Ukraine, where, Madam Speaker?
If we fail here, despots will race to trample borders around the world, and democracy and freedom everywhere will be in peril.
Russia's Special Drawing Rights
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to how the International Monetary Fund fuels Russia's war on Ukraine by providing them a blank check in the form of special drawing rights, or SDRs.
Last week, I with 40 of my Republican colleagues in the House and the Senate, we wrote Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging that all IMF member countries not bail out Russia by facilitating the exchange of Russian SDRs with their own hard currency.
Russia was handed a blank check of nearly $17 billion equivalent in SDRs by the IMF just last year and has an estimated total of $24 billion in SDR reserves. This should have never happened, Madam Speaker, and that is why I have been so adamant for years about limiting the issue of IMF special drawing rights.
Earlier last week, the United States and other countries expanded economic sanctions against the Russian Central Bank, and while this is a late but welcome development, we must do more.
For decades, Russia has been accumulating a war chest that includes gold, international reserves, and importantly, special drawing rights. And with the ruble tanking in open markets, the Kremlin's access to foreign currency reserves being cut off, these SDRs are one of the only remaining ways that Russia can access financial resources for its warmongering in the Ukraine.
That is why now is the time for the U.S. to lead at the IMF for calling on all member countries, including China, Madam Speaker, to formally agree not to facilitate any exchange of their currencies with Russia's SDRs.
We are already seeing China and Russia deepening their ties, forming the latest and newest axis of evil. We cannot allow Moscow to turn to Beijing for an SDR bailout. As the largest shareholder of the IMF, the United States has a responsibility to ensure that these resources are not hijacked to fuel Russian bombs and tanks.
Small LENDER Act
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the latest Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFBP, proposed small business data collection regulation. It is called section 1071.
Access to capital for small businesses is the lifeblood of each of our local economies, and for many, the community bank lender is often leading the way in supporting our entrepreneurs in small businesses across our districts.
And yet, the CFPB's new regulation, if finalized, would actually hurt small business by making the cost of credit more expensive and imposing significant compliance costs that would fall the hardest on the smallest lenders across our Nation.
That is why I, along with Congressmen Williams of Texas and Luetkemeyer of Missouri have introduced the Small LENDER Act, a new bill that would provide regulatory relief to small business lenders by exempting them from this proposed CFPB 1071 rule and providing an additional year to comply, plus a 2-year safe harbor.
Specifically, my bill would expand the definition of a small lender as one that originates at least 500 small business loans per year, instead of the 25-loan limit proposed by the CFPB.
It would also codify a ``small business'' as one with gross revenues of $1 million or less instead of the $5 million threshold that the rule proposed.
Finally, the bill extends the effective compliance date with the final rule to be 3 years plus that 2-year grace period instead of only 18 months as proposed by the CFPB.
In the absence of Congress repealing section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, this bill would prevent some of the most harmful aspects of the rule from going into effect. I urge my colleagues to support the Small LENDER Act.
Economic Crisis of Inflation
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the economic crisis that has been fueled by the Biden administration's out-
of-control spending and the very accommodative monetary policies of our Federal Reserve.
2021 was the worst year, Madam Speaker for consumer inflation since 1981.
Last year, inflation cost the average worker roughly two paychecks and the average family $3,500.
And inflation doesn't just impact major corporations, but also our small businesses, 61 percent of which have had to raise prices in the last month in order just to try to keep up with inflation.
Of course, getting people back to work will greatly aid supply chains, thus we need to encourage work. But President Biden's policies of vaccine mandates, higher regulations on employers and policies to cut the supply of energy hurt the cause of getting our citizens back to work.
The President has called this inflation ``transitory'' and caused only by ``supply chain'' disruptions and greedy corporations. Madam Speaker, in my view, this is just pure political theater.
Yet, instead of addressing these concerns, working to get spending under control and our Nation's economy fully back on track, President Biden spent the bulk of his State of the Union speech doubling down on those policies that got us into this inflationary situation in the first place.
Central Arkansans' pockets are hurting.
The President should stop proposing to spend trillions more. The President should cut regulatory burdens hindering hiring employers like truck drivers, general contractors, and health service employees.
The President should unleash American energy to help bring down prices for U.S. consumers and help our struggling allies in Europe.
I urge the Biden administration and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to reach across the aisle to help bring relief to the American people and get back to our prepandemic spending priorities and alleviate the burdens that many face across our country, particularly the burden of inflation.
Crisis at the Southern Border
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the crisis at our southwest border.
In January, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reported over 153,941 migrant encounters at our southwest border, which represented a 320 percent increase over January of 2020.
Of the over 150,000 migrants who were encountered, the Biden administration opened the door and said come in, releasing about 60,000 migrants into the United States.
Deportations are down 70 percent when compared to 2020, averaging about 100 a day, and that was in the face of 7,000 migrants appearing at our border each day.
Officials at our southern border have estimated that nearly 400,000 illegal immigrants have successfully crossed the border without being caught. So not being interdicted, not being processed, not being turned back.
Those numbers, like the inflation that we are experiencing, are out of control.
These numbers are unacceptable, and we need to get back on track. I have encouraged the Biden administration for over a year now, return to those Trump-era policies that were controlling the flow across the border, resume construction on the wall, resume support of our personnel on the border, resume the efforts to control and secure our southwest border.
America's Energy Independence
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, today I rise to bring awareness to an issue that concerns all Americans, and that is America's energy independence.
Every day the U.S. is importing nearly 600,000 barrels of oil from Russia. As we continue to increase sanctions against Russia, we must also keep the American people in mind, who are already feeling the effects of inflation each day when they visit the pump.
We need to boost domestic production now. That should be our priority, boosting American production. Prior to the pandemic we were producing 13 million barrels a day. Today, we are producing about 11 million barrels per day. That would more than make up for this Russian oil that for some reason we are still importing.
This week, I received a call from a constituent. This constituent is on a fixed income, and she shared with me her concerns about filling up at the gas station. She shared with me her concerns about Ukraine and asked if she should expect her gas bill to increase even more as tensions rise. And the answer to that question, Madam Speaker is I believe that is right, that is what is going to happen.
And that is why we can benefit Europe and benefit American consumers by unleashing American energy production and get back to those 13 million barrels a day. That way we can offset what we have been importing from Russia and benefit our American consumers.
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Great American Outdoors Act
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise to highlight the important work being accomplished through the success of the Great American Outdoors Act, the bipartisan conservation legislation signed into law by President Trump.
In Arkansas, I recently had the opportunity to visit one of those sites and visit with leaders at the National Forest System spearheading this effort at Blanchard Springs Caverns in the Ozark National Forest.
These incredible caverns not only attract thousands each year to Arkansas, but they have a robust economic impact on the surrounding areas as they are enjoyed by all Americans each year.
Thanks to funding by the Great American Outdoors Act, the cabins are able to undergo much-needed renovations to improve the existing trail system and lighting system throughout the caverns and invest in preventative measures to enhance the safety and resiliency of the underground system. This allows the caverns to be enjoyed by American families for years to come.
Madam Speaker, these improvements that are underway as a result of this bipartisan achievement are the first major capital expenditures spent on this beautiful cavern since it was opened during the Nixon administration. So, I look forward to these funds continuing to support various projects in the Natural State and look forward to their enhancement in the years to come.
Opioid Crisis
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the opioid crisis in Arkansas and across our Nation.
Each day, over 250 individuals lose their lives to an opioid-related overdose. According to the CDC, we lost a record number of 99,106 people between March 2020 and March 2021. What a milestone. What a grim milestone.
My home State of Arkansas has one of the highest opioid-prescribing rates in our Nation. In Arkansas alone, we lost at least 225 of our neighbors in this crisis.
Opioid misuse and addiction begin at home, coming from a familiar medicine cabinet. More Americans lose their lives to addiction than from car accidents, guns, or HIV.
This is a crisis, a growing crisis, and one that is reaching new highs. These deaths are preventable, and it is up to each of us to do our part to save lives and combat the disease that is addiction.
That is why, last September, I introduced the bipartisan Preventing Overdoses and Saving Lives Act with my colleague from Michigan, Representative Debbie Dingell. My bipartisan bill will create a grant program allowing States and localities to conduct research on the opioid crisis, create a strategic plan on how to respond to the crisis, and implement co-prescribing under certain circumstances. Increasing access to naloxone reduces opioid fatalities. If this bill passes, it will save lives.
Madam Speaker, we have seen that in Arkansas, one of 14 States that offers co-prescriptions for opioid prescription recipients. I would like to see that broader across our Nation. Lives will be saved.
In this bill, I urge all of my colleagues to join Congresswoman Dingell and I in this fight.
Be Pro Be Proud
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about Be Pro Be Proud, an initiative launched in 2016 as a response to the workforce shortage experienced in my home State of Arkansas.
Be Pro Be Proud is a technical program that introduces students and young adults to skilled trade jobs and the well-paid opportunities that these jobs unlock.
In the past 5 years, Be Pro Be Proud's mobile workshop has completed over 500 stops in the State of Arkansas and recruited over 20,000 individuals who have joined the movement to learn more about key trades, new opportunities, and finding that career that is right for them.
After seeing the tremendous success in Arkansas, the initiative has expanded to surrounding States. We have traveled around the country exposing young adults to this kind of opportunity--in middle school and high school--a career that starts immediately after high school graduation.
In January, I had the pleasure of joining Governor Asa Hutchinson and State and local leaders to announce that Be Pro Be Proud was awarded
$1.45 million in a grant to support the launch of a second mobile workshop to bring this story to schools all over Arkansas.
This expansion will see additional communities visited by Be Pro Be Proud sooner and better, and that means faster opportunities to be witnessed by our young people when they graduate from high school.
Recognizing the Life and Legacy of Sam Chaffin
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and legacy of a dear friend and a great Rotary International colleague, my friend Sam Chaffin. I was sad to share the news with my friends that Sam passed away in November.
Born in 1936, in Magnolia, Arkansas, he was a proud graduate of the University of Arkansas, where he earned a master's degree in industrial engineering. Shortly after graduation, Sam opened his own business, Eagle Material Handling of Arkansas, which specialized in material and manufacturing management.
In 1975, Sam joined the Rotary Club of Little Rock, Club 99. During his time in Rotary, Sam served in many leadership positions, including foundation chair, president of our club, and district governor. Through our work together in Rotary, we had the opportunity to go to Lacombe, Louisiana, following Katrina and help many, many families rebuild their homes.
Madam Speaker, we couldn't have done that at our club, the Rotary Club of Little Rock, without Sam's instrumental leadership. He was a friend to all who were blessed to know him. My thoughts are with his wife, Charlie; children, Cole and Marty; and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Sam, thank you for your impact on our community, our Rotary Club, Rotary International, and our State.
Recognizing Scipio Africanus Jones
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize an exemplary Arkansan, Scipio Africanus Jones.
Scipio Jones was born into slavery in Arkansas in 1863. Throughout his life, he attended Black schools near his hometown, eventually earning his bachelor's degree from Arkansas' own Shorter College.
Although there were no schools for African Americans to study law in Arkansas, Scipio took on the challenge himself and began studying independently and, in 1889, passed the Arkansas Bar. He began his career in Pulaski County and, in 1900, was admitted to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
In 1919, 12 Black sharecroppers had been sentenced to death for their alleged role in the Elaine Massacre, while 87 other defendants also awaited trial. Scipio Jones' primary goal was to secure a fair trial for the 87 defendants. After his partner's unexpected passing, he became the lead attorney in the appeals process for the 12 defendants who had been sentenced to death.
Of the 12 original sharecroppers who had been sentenced to death, charges were dismissed against six, while the other six had their sentences commuted. The remaining 87 defendants received pardons from the Governor of Arkansas.
Following these immense legal victories, Scipio Jones remained an advocate for the Black community across Arkansas. In recognition of his advocacy, the United States Post Office in downtown Little Rock was named in his honor in 2007.
In 2020, President Trump signed into law my bill, which facilitated a large, full-sized portrait of Scipio Jones to be displayed in that post office. Last week, I had the honor, with all of our citizens, to gather and unveil this beautiful portrait of Scipio Jones at the post office named for him.
Special thanks are owed to John Gill, Garbo Hearne, artist Wade Hampton, and the Central Arkansas Library System for all of their collaboration in making this wonderful portrait a reality. It will serve as a reminder of the legal skill, persistence, bravery, and diplomacy of Scipio Jones, permanently honoring him as the amazing legal leader and citizen that he was.
Honoring Daisy Bates
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Daisy Bates and her brave actions that shaped American history and Arkansas history.
When Daisy Bates moved to Little Rock in the early 1940s, she immediately joined the NAACP and became a leader in our African-
American community. As a civil rights activist in Little Rock, Daisy Bates played a leading role in the integration of Little Rock's schools and served as a mentor to the Little Rock Nine.
Her bravery and leadership led her to achieve the unimaginable--
sparking change across our whole Nation. Just last month, I had the opportunity to visit with students and speak about her impact and her legacy at the Daisy Bates Elementary School in Little Rock.
Daisy's accomplishments deserve to be recognized, and I am proud that Daisy Bates and her legacy will be memorialized here in the United States Capitol. Soon, her statue will become part of the collection in the National Statuary Hall, commemorating her bravery, strength, and leadership.
Madam Speaker, I look forward to honoring that memory and continuing her fight for equality every time I pass that statue in our Capitol.
Recognizing Army Colonel Mike Ross
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Retired Army Colonel Mike Ross and his selfless leadership with Veterans Villages of America.
Colonel Ross is a combat veteran with 37 years of military service. He has received numerous awards, including the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Currently, Colonel Ross serves on the board of directors for Veterans Villages of America, where he operates a food pantry for veterans, military personnel, and their immediate family members. They also network in our communities to meet the needs of our veterans--and I mean all the needs of our veterans. Colonel Ross is indeed tireless.
Although he is retired, he continues to give back to others, serve others, and work tirelessly for American military families and our veterans to ensure they are well cared for.
Madam Speaker, I thank Colonel Ross for his outstanding service and dedication to our community and central Arkansas veterans.
Recognizing Montine McNulty
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the career of Montine McNulty.
After serving 25 years as the head of the Arkansas Hospitality Association, Montine has announced her well-deserved retirement. Early in 2020, Montine thought about retirement, but when COVID-19 hit, she made a decision to stay and guide her organization through the pandemic in the midst of such great uncertainty.
Montine, I commend your embodying of the motto, ``Service Above Self,'' and I hope you enjoy every moment of your retirement.
Madam Speaker, it is also important that we take a moment and recognize Katie Beck, the new head of the Arkansas Hospitality Association. Katie has had a distinguished career in serving Governor Hutchinson's communication department, and I know she will bring that drive, that spirit, as the new head of the AHA.
The Arkansas Hospitality Association is very valuable for our State, and I look forward to seeing where Katie takes the organization while continuing Montine's legacy.
Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 31 minutes remaining.
Shift Back to Society
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, the United States currently has one of the highest prison populations in the world. Every year, we spend about
$34,000 per inmate in our State. In Arkansas, the current rate of reentry after re-offending is about 57 percent, one of the highest in the Nation.
We can do better, which is why I introduced the bipartisan Shift Back to Society Act. This bill would enact policies that avert individuals from re-offending, keeping people out of prison. This is accomplished by providing funding for our historically Black colleges and universities for educational programming that they design for offenders who have or who have almost completed serving their time, so engaging to better prepare people we know that are going to be released.
By developing this pathway to education, we directly decrease the rate of recidivism. The more education an individual has, the less likely they are to re-offend. This legislation will save millions in current spending while creating an opportunity that will keep individuals out of prison and transition them back into being productive members of society.
As we currently face an uptick in crime, both in Arkansas and across our Nation, I am proud to bring forward a bill that will save taxpayer dollars as well as improve paths for successful reentry shifting back to society.
Congratulating Mike Poore on His Retirement
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my good friend, our superintendent of Little Rock Public Schools, Mike Poore.
Mike has decided to retire, and I wish him a happy and healthy retirement. In 2016, Mike made the move from northwest Arkansas to Little Rock with the goal of transforming the district, which at the time was under the control of the State.
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In March 2020, when the world turned upside down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike did not skip a beat. He worked to make sure every teacher and every student had the technology needed to continue learning with as little disruption as possible.
He worked mightily with the district teachers and staff to make sure students were back in the classroom. Madam Speaker, that was a great accomplishments of our State to have over 80 percent of our kids in the classroom during the midst of the pandemic. Mike led that way.
His other accomplishment included raising money for students in the community, increasing teachers' salaries, and being named Arkansas' Superintendent of the Year.
Madam Speaker, I thank Mike for his service and dedication to the Little Rock School District, his long-lasting impact in our community is appreciated.
Congratulations and our best wishes for his retirement.
Recognizing Eagle Scout Marcal Young
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize fellow Eagle Scout Marcal Young of Little Rock. I am congratulating him on his career with the Boy Scouts of America having been active with that organization for over 40 years.
Since its founding, the Boy Scouts of America have remained committed to the idea that educating our youth in citizenship, service, and leadership is best for their development, and an amazing opportunity of service for our Nation.
Marcal has embraced these principles, and in 2018 was named Scout Executive of the Qupaw Area Council. Throughout his career, he has had a positive impact on thousands of young people and their families, and as a result, their communities.
With their character development and value-based leadership programs, over 2.5 million young men have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
In 1972, I earned the rank of Eagle Scout at Troop 27 at Holy Souls Catholic Church in Little Rock. To this day, it is one of my proudest accomplishments.
I am grateful for Marcal and his commitment to Scouting and making those achievements possible for youth across the communities of our State. His leadership and influence will be remembered, and I wish him the very best in his well-earned retirement.
Recognizing the Retirement of Margaret Ellibee
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the retirement of Margaret Ellibee and commemorate her service of 11 years as chancellor at the University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College.
UA Pulaski Tech, a 2-year community college in the heart of my district, has moved mountains for its students and faculty under her leadership.
Margaret Ellibee's critical decision to raise admission standards not only led to increased graduation rates but also reduced student loan default rates, positively impacting the school's performance and trustworthiness.
Madam Speaker, I thank Margaret for making these achievements possible for our students and faculty, and I am grateful for her bold and robust leadership. Her legacy will be remembered for years, and I wish her the very best of a well-earned retirement.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 40
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
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