Dhs Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this package to fund government operations in fiscal year 2020. I extend my congratulations to this dynamic duo, the first time we have ever had females occupy the chair and ranking member of this committee and, for that matter, I guess, any other committee in the House.

This dynamic duo has produced a very good document, a very good exercise of the power of the purse of the Congress granted by the Constitution. I salute these two and wish them well as the day progresses.

As a former chair of the full committee, I know of the extreme patience that is required in this job that they are occupying and the difficulty of getting 435 Members in this body, as well as the other body, the White House, and the world, together under any stretch of the imagination, but they have done that. It is difficult to do, and we salute them for it. I especially, having been there, thank them for the great patience that they have shown in putting this bill together.

This first package before us reflects our commitment to our Nation's security and our military leadership across the world. The Department of Defense receives additional resources to support our warfighters with the best available technology. We also provide these brave men and women with a hard-earned and well-deserved pay raise.

Within the committee, I have been particularly focused on keeping the DOD's electronic health records on track, meshing DOD's medical records with that of the VA. This bill takes bold steps in the right direction to ensure our servicemembers continue to receive the best medical care when they transition out of Active Duty and into the hands of the VA.

Second, President Trump is rightly focused on addressing the crisis at our southern border. This legislation will support his efforts to end the seemingly unending flow of drugs that found their way into every American community and, practically, every American home, as well as the violence of the brutal cartels that profit immensely from this trade. Nearly $1.4 billion is included for the border wall, along with additional resources for the Department of Homeland Security to hire more personnel and deploy advanced technology in this region.

We were also able to eliminate dangerous riders that would have limited the President's ability to enforce our immigration laws while still ensuring a strong humanitarian response that reflects our values as Americans.

This package also continues our momentum in the fight against opioid abuse and addiction. With targeted resources for the Department of Justice and other Federal agencies, the diverse programs funded in this bill reflect the holistic strategy that Congress has embraced against this problem: enforcement, treatment, education, and prevention, all working in concert, in a holistic fashion. Drug courts, veterans treatment courts, and prescription drug monitoring programs receive robust support in this first package.

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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman.

Included as well are antiheroin and antimeth task forces that bring law enforcement agents from multiple jurisdictions together to end this scourge.

Finally, the bill allocates $30 million within the Economic Development Administration for assistance to coal mining communities that continue to struggle with the downturn in that industry. And it maintains all pro-life and Second Amendment protections that exist under current law.

Madam Speaker, this bill is worthy of our strong support, and I urge the adoption of this masterful package.

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