[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                           MEMBER DAY HEARING

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                       COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                        FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-43

                               __________

         Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
         
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


               Available via: http://judiciary.house.gov
               
                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
48-225                     WASHINGTON : 2022                     
          
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                       COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

                    JERROLD NADLER, New York, Chair
                MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania, Vice-Chair

ZOE LOFGREN, California              JIM JORDAN, Ohio, Ranking Member
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas            STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
STEVE COHEN, Tennessee               LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas
HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr.,      DARRELL ISSA, California
    Georgia                          KEN BUCK, Colorado
THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida          MATT GAETZ, Florida
KAREN BASS, California               MIKE JOHNSON, Louisiana
HAKEEM S. JEFFRIES, New York         ANDY BIGGS, Arizona
DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island     TOM McCLINTOCK, California
ERIC SWALWELL, California            W. GREG STEUBE, Florida
TED LIEU, California                 TOM TIFFANY, Wisconsin
JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland               THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky
PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington          CHIP ROY, Texas
VAL BUTLER DEMINGS, Florida          DAN BISHOP, North Carolina
J. LUIS CORREA, California           MICHELLE FISCHBACH, Minnesota
MARY GAY SCANLON, Pennsylvania       VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
SYLVIA R. GARCIA, Texas              SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
JOE NEGUSE, Colorado                 CLIFF BENTZ, Oregon
LUCY McBATH, Georgia                 BURGESS OWENS, Utah
GREG STANTON, Arizona
VERONICA ESCOBAR, Texas
MONDAIRE JONES, New York
DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina
CORI BUSH, Missouri

       PERRY APELBAUM, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
              CHRISTOPHER HIXON, Minority Staff Director 
                               ------                                
                               
                            C O N T E N T S

                        Friday, October 22, 2021

                                                                   Page

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

The Honorable Jerrold Nadler, Chair of the Committee on the 
  Judiciary from the State of New York, for the record...........     4

                               WITNESSES

The Honorable Matt Rosendale, a Member of Congress from the State 
  of Montana
  Oral Testimony.................................................     7
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    10
The Honorable Theodore E. Deutch, a Member of Congress from the 
  State of Florida
  Oral Testimony.................................................    12
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    14
The Honorable Ann Wagner, a Member of Congress from the State of 
  Missouri
  Oral Testimony.................................................    17
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    24
The Honorable Kim Schrier, a Member of Congress from the State of 
  Washington
  Oral Testimony.................................................    25
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    27
The Honorable Gus M. Bilirakis, a Member of Congress from the 
  State of Florida
  Oral Testimony.................................................    29
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    31
The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Member of Congress from the 
  State of Texas
  Oral Testimony.................................................    33
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    35
The Honorable Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Member of Congress from 
  the State of Georgia
  Oral Testimony.................................................    44
The Honorable Madeleine Dean, a Member of Congress from the State 
  of Pennsylvania
  Oral Testimony.................................................    45
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    48
The Honorable Peter Meijer, a Member of Congress from the State 
  of Michigan
  Oral Testimony.................................................    51
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    53
The Honorable Carolyn Bourdeaux, a Member of Congress from the 
  State of Georgia
  Oral Testimony.................................................    56
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    58
The Honorable Tracey Mann, a Member of Congress from the State of 
  Kansas
  Oral Testimony.................................................    62
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    64
The Honorable Tim Burchett, a Member of Congress from the State 
  of Tennessee
  Oral Testimony.................................................    69
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    71
The Honorable Mary E. Miller, a Member of Congress from the State 
  of Illinois
  Oral Testimony.................................................    72
  Prepared Testimony.............................................    88
The Honorable Tom Rice, a Member of Congress from the State of 
  South Carolina
  Oral Testimony.................................................    89
  Prepared Testimony.............................................   116
The Honorable Earl L. ``Buddy'' Carter, a Member of Congress from 
  the State of Georgia
  Oral Testimony.................................................   118
  Prepared Testimony.............................................   120
The Honorable Fred Keller, a Member of Congress from the State of 
  Pennsylvania
  Oral Testimony.................................................   122
  Prepared Testimony.............................................   124

          LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING

A letter submitted by the Honorable Ann Wagner, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Missouri, for the record............    20
Materials submitted by the Honorable Mary E. Miller, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Illinois, for the record
  An article entitled, ``Letter to WH suggests dad of `sexually 
    assaulted' girl a `domestic terrorist,' '' New York Post.....    74
  A letter from the National School Boards Association...........    77
  A memorandum from the Honorable Merrick Garland, Attorney 
    General, United States Department of Justice.................    83
  An article entitled, ``125,000 children have shown up alone at 
    border on Biden's watch,'' Washington Examiner...............    84
Order and opinion of Sanders v. United States of America, 
  submitted by the Honorable Tom Rice, a Member of Congress from 
  the State of South Carolina, for the record....................    92

                                APPENDIX

A statement from the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Member of 
  the Committee on the Judiciary from the State of Texas, for the 
  record.........................................................   130
A statement from the Honorable Sylvia Garcia, a Member of the 
  Committee on the Judiciary from the State of Texas, for the 
  record.........................................................   136
A statement from the Honorable Ted Budd, a Member of the 
  Committee on the Judiciary from the State of North Carolina, 
  for the record.................................................   141
A statement from the Honorable Michael C. Burgess, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Texas, for the record...............   144
A statement from the Honorable Salud Carbajal, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of California, for the record..........   149
A statement from the Honorable Andrew S. Clyde, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Georgia, for the record.............   151
A statement from the Honorable Rick Crawford, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Arkansas, for the record............   155
A statement from the Honorable Ashley Hinson, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Iowa, for the record................   157
A statement from the Honorable Dusty Johnson, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of South Dakota, for the record........   159
A statement from the Honorable Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Missouri, for the record............   161
A statement from the Honorable Grace Meng, a Member of Congress 
  from the State of New York, for the record.....................   164
A statement from the Honorable Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Member 
  of Congress from the State of New York, the Honorable Adriano 
  Espaillat, a Member of Congress from the State of New York, and 
  the Honorable Grace Meng, a Member of Congress from the State 
  of New York, for the record....................................   166
A statement from the Honorable Scott Perry, a Member of Congress 
  from the State of Pennsylvania, for the record.................   179
A statement from the Honorable David Schweikert, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Arizona, for the record.............   173
A statement from the Honorable Norma J. Torres, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of California, for the record..........   174
A statement from the Honorable Claudia Tenney, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of New York, for the record............   176
A statement from the Honorable Michael Waltz, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Florida, for the record.............   177
A statement from the Honorable Randy Weber, a Member of Congress 
  from the State of Texas, for the record........................   179
A statement from the Honorable Bruce Westerman, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Arkansas, for the record............   181
A statement from the Honorable Nikema Williams, a Member of 
  Congress from the State of Georgia, for the record.............   182

 
                           MEMBER DAY HEARING

                              ----------                              


                        Friday, October 22, 2021

                        House of Representatives

                       Committee on the Judiciary

                             Washington, DC

    The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:07 a.m., in Room 
2141 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Jerrold Nadler [Chair 
of the Committee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Nadler, Jackson Lee, Scanlon, 
Dean, Jordan, Gohmert, Buck, Johnson of Louisiana, Fischbach, 
and Bentz.
    Staff Present: Aaron Hiller, Deputy Chief Counsel; David 
Greengrass, Senior Counsel; John Doty, Senior Advisor; Moh 
Sharma, Director of Member Services & Outreach and Policy 
Advisor; Jordan Dashow, Professional Staff Member; Cierra 
Fontenot, Chief Clerk; John Williams, Parliamentarian and 
Senior Counsel; Gabriel Barnett, Staff Assistant; Atarah McCoy, 
Staff Assistant; Merrick Nelson, Digital Director; Katy Rother, 
Minority Deputy General Counsel and Parliamentarian; Ella 
Yates, Minority Member Services Director; Andrea Woodard, 
Minority Professional Staff Member; and Kiley Bidelman, 
Minority Clerk.
    Chair Nadler. The House Committee on the Judiciary will 
come to order.
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare 
recesses of the Committee at any time.
    We welcome everyone to this morning's Member Day hearing, 
which we are holding pursuant to section 3(a) of House Resolu-
tion 8.
    Before we begin, I would like to remind Members that we 
have established an email address and distribution list 
dedicated to circulating exhibits, motions, or other written 
materials that Members might want to offer as part of our 
hearing today. If you would like to submit written materials, 
please send them to the email address that has been previously 
distributed to your offices, and we will circulate the 
materials to Members and staff as quickly as we can.
    I would also like to remind all Members that guidance from 
the Office of Attending Physician states that face coverings 
are required at all meetings in an enclosed space, such as 
Committee hearings, except when you are recognized to speak. 
This includes all Members waiting to testify.
    In the interest of time, I have a very eloquent opening 
statement which I will put in the record.
    [The statement of Chair Nadler follows:]

                      CHAIR NADLER FOR THE RECORD

=======================================================================

[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Chair Nadler. Mr. Gohmert, do you have an interesting--
eloquent opening statement?
    Mr. Gohmert. Yes. I would just ask it to be entered into 
the record.
    Chair Nadler. Which will be entered into the record.
    [Not provided]
    Chair Nadler. Our first Witness is the Honorable Matt 
Rosendale.

          STATEMENT OF THE HON. MATTHEW M. ROSENDALE,

   AN AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF 
                            MONTANA

    Mr. Rosendale. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.
    I want to thank Chair Nadler, Ranking Member Jordan, and 
Members of the Judiciary Committee for allowing me to testify 
about my legislative priorities within the Committee's 
jurisdiction.
    Our Nation is currently dealing with multiple crises that 
your Committee is uniquely qualified to address. First, I would 
like to speak about the humanitarian, public health, and 
national security emergency taking place at our southern 
border.
    On his very first day in office, President Biden began to 
systematically dismantle the successful immigration policies of 
the Trump Administration. He stopped construction of the border 
wall system, brought back Obama-era catch-and-release policies, 
undermined Interior enforcement, and attempted to end migrant 
protection protocols commonly known as the ``Remain in Mexico'' 
policy.
    That is why I have introduced H.R. 1259, the REMAIN in 
Mexico Act, which would codify the Trump Administration's 
``Remain in Mexico'' policy.
    Under this successful policy, illegal aliens who arrived at 
our southern border and claimed asylum were returned to Mexico 
while they wait for asylum claims to be adjudicated if they did 
not meet the``credible fear'' test.
    This effectively ended the Obama Administration's catch-
and-release policy, led many who made frivolous claims to 
return to their country of origin, and acted as a strong 
disincentive for foreign nationals to make the treacherous 
journey to our country.
    The Biden Administration's attempts to end this policy and 
gut other Trump-era border policies have led to record-breaking 
numbers of illegal aliens flooding our country, putting 
American citizens at risk. That is why I believe it is critical 
the Committee take up the REMAIN in Mexico Act and put a stop 
to this unfortunate and avoidable calamity.
    Next, I would like to speak to the refugee crisis created 
by President Biden's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, which 
led to the Administration evacuating over 100,000 Afghan 
nationals, who they have begun to resettle across our Nation.
    These Afghans have not gone through the traditional 14-
step, 18-month vetting process required to get a Special 
Immigrant Visa. In fact, most evacuees did not help our Nation 
and are not eligible for an SIV. Most do not have refugee 
status. They were simply paroled into the interior of our 
country by Secretary Mayorkas and resettled across our Nation.
    This is why I have introduced H.R. 5572, the SECURE America 
Act. The SECURE America Act would ensure thorough refugee 
vetting prior to admission, end the authority of the Secretary 
of Homeland Security to parole aliens into our country, and 
reclaim and expand the authority of Governors--
    Chair Nadler. Can I ask you a question here? Would you 
yield for a question?
    Mr. Rosendale. Sure.
    Chair Nadler. Just very quickly. With respect to the 
100,000 or so Afghans who are now already in the country, what 
would you do with them?
    Mr. Rosendale. I am on my way to that, Mr. Chair. I think 
that they have not been vetted and they should be returned.
    Chair Nadler. To Afghanistan?
    Mr. Rosendale. I do think that they should be returned to 
Afghanistan or neighboring countries that share their 
cultures--Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and other areas that they 
could assimilate much easier and, also, return to their native 
country once there is stability there. It would be better for 
all involved, Mr. Chair.
    Chair Nadler. Thank you.
    Mr. Rosendale. Thank you.
    The SECURE America Act would ensure thorough refugee 
vetting prior to admission, end the authority of the Secretary 
of Homeland Security to parole aliens into the country, and 
reclaim and expand the authority of Governors and Congress over 
the process of admission and resettlement of these refugees.
    We cannot compromise the security of our Nation in the name 
of empathy, or we will continue to see instances of violence by 
Afghan evacuees like we have already seen at Fort McCoy, Fort 
Bliss, and most recently in Missoula, Montana.
    I believe the SECURE America Act must be immediately taken 
up to ensure our immigration system preserves and protects our 
national security and our American way of life.
    Finally, I would like to address the surge of violent crime 
throughout the Nation.
    According to a report released by the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation several weeks ago entitled, ``Crime in the United 
States 2020,'' last year the number of homicides and non-
negligent manslaughter nationwide increased by 29.4 percent and 
aggravated assault offenses rose by 12.1 percent. Reports 
indicate the widespread violence and bloodshed has sadly 
continued into this year.
    This violence is clearly enabled by jurisdictions 
throughout the country considering, and in many cases adopting, 
measures to defund or disempower law enforcement.
    The failure of American cities to enforce the rule of law 
is why I introduced H.R. 3217, the Lawless Cities 
Accountability Act. My bill would defund cities and other 
municipalities that disempower or defund law enforcement, 
enabling anarchy and lawlessness.
    It is the responsibility of government to protect the lives 
and property of all American citizens from unlawful acts of 
violence and destruction. The Federal Government should not 
allow taxpayers' dollars--
    Chair Nadler. Yeah.
    Mr. Rosendale. --to fund jurisdictions that fail to enforce 
the rule of law and protect their citizens.
    Chair Nadler. The time of the gentleman has--
    Mr. Rosendale. I urge the Committee to take up these 
important pieces of legislation, and I would yield back. Thank 
you so much for your time.
    [The statement of Mr. Rosendale follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Chair Nadler. Thank you.
    The gentleman yields back.
    I forgot to read the obvious, which is that all Witnesses 
should note that their written statements will be entered into 
the record in their entirety, and, accordingly, they should 
summarize their testimony in 5 minutes.
    We will now hear from the gentleman from Florida, Mr. 
Deutch.

       STATEMENT OF THE HON. THEODORE E. DEUTCH, A REPRE-

        SENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA

    Mr. Deutch. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Thanks for the opportunity to speak about the American 
Music Fairness Act, a bill that I introduced with Congressman 
Issa from California. This bill will make a long-overdue change 
to pay performing artists a small piece of the massive profits 
made by big radio stations that play their songs.
    Frankly, it is ridiculous that this isn't already 
happening. We expect every other business to pay for their raw 
materials. Restaurants pay for produce. Builders pay for 
lumber. Corporate radio stations should pay for the music that 
they play.
    AM-FM radio makes a profit by selling advertising around 
music and other content. When you tune in to sing along with 
your favorite song or catch up on local sports, you also hear 
ads. You hear ads for local car dealerships; you hear ads for 
local furniture stores.
    Talk radio stations pay their hosts, and sports radio 
stations pay for play-by-play. DJs are paid to entertain, 
inform, introduce songs that bring in listeners. Songwriters 
are paid for the music and the lyrics. The artists singing and 
the musicians playing those songs, they are not paid at all.
    The excuse that we often hear from radio broadcasters is 
that exposure is enough, that that is the payment. This isn't 
the 1960s. Every creator knows that exposure isn't how they pay 
the bills.
    Technology has changed a lot since the start of AM-FM 
radio, and we all know that publicity from radio airplay isn't 
how an artist breaks out into the mainstream. Most mainstream 
radio plays a small rotation of hits, rather than breaking a 
wide range of new or independent artists.
    I would caution anyone who might suggest to legendary 
artists like Dionne Warwick that promotion is fair compensation 
when her songs, like ``I'll Never Fall in Love Again,'' are 
played on radio. She has over half a million Twitter followers. 
She doesn't need exposure. She needs to be paid fairly for her 
artistry.
    Congress fixed one injustice for pre-1972 recordings 3 
years ago with the Music Modernization Act, but those rights 
still don't apply when the songs are played on radio. Dionne 
Warwick should have been paid in 1969 and she should be paid 
today when her songs are played on the radio.
    Here is the thing: It is only in America that we have this 
problem. Countries around the globe collect royalties for 
American artists, but even those royalties never make it--they 
never make it to our artists because we refuse to reciprocate. 
This costs American artists $200 million every year in 
royalties outside the U.S.
    My bill would ensure that U.S. artists get paid for 
domestic radio play and allow U.S. artists to finally collect 
their international royalties.
    As we sit in this hybrid remote hearing, we should all be 
reminded of the hardship that artists have faced through the 
pandemic as tours were postponed, venues were shuttered. Even 
as we stayed closer to home, we still got to enjoy the music on 
the radio--internet, satellite, and AM-FM. Now, satellite and 
digital music services are required to pay both performers and 
songwriters. It is only AM-FM radio that does not pay 
performing artists.
    Sometimes I hear that my bill is a threat to local radio. 
Small local radio stations pay only a nominal annual fee under 
the American Music Fairness Act, and the smallest stations 
would pay 2 cents per day to have access to this content.
    I value my local broadcasters. I want to ensure that they 
thrive in communities across the country. I refuse to accept a 
corporate giveaway that hurts artists as necessary to protect 
small, local, and independent broadcasters.
    The American Music Fairness Act will finally ensure that 
artists are justly paid. It will help the thousands of 
musicians who are struggling to make ends meet, whether their 
songs were hits many years ago or they are just starting out 
today. Fixing this deeply unfair system is the least we can do 
for the recording artists, for those musicians who have 
enriched our lives with their music.
    This has been an extraordinarily difficult time in our 
country throughout this pandemic. I think for so many of us, it 
is music that helped get us through this. It is only 
appropriate that we finally bring some fairness to the issue of 
the music business and make sure that these artists are paid 
for the incredible work that they provide to all of us.
    I thank the Chair, Ranking Member, and yield back.
    [The statement of Mr. Deutch follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Chair Nadler. Thank you, Mr. Deutch.
    I would be remiss if I didn't point out that this bill is 
identical to the Fair Pay Fair Play Act introduced over a dozen 
years ago by then-Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn and me, and 
the nominal fee a local broadcaster would pay is limited to $10 
a year.
    So, we will give this--I would like to see this pass as 
fast as possible. I have wanted to see it pass as fast as 
possible for at least a dozen years. So, thank you very much.
    Ms. Wagner, you are next.

STATEMENT OF THE HON. ANN WAGNER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS 
                   FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI

    Ms. Wagner. I thank the Chair and I thank the Committee for 
having this hearing today.
    Protecting children from exploitation is one of the most 
important responsibilities we all share as public officials. It 
is our job to ensure that the communities we represent are 
aware of the potential dangers facing children, that laws are 
properly enforced against those facilitating trafficking and 
abuse, and that survivors are given the support necessary to 
help them break free from exploitation.
    In July of 2020, President Joe Biden stated that he would 
prevent human trafficking across the globe by strengthening the 
rule of law. However, through the first 7 months of the Biden 
Administration, over 112,000 unaccompanied children crossed our 
southern border, more than in all 2019 and 2020 combined.
    These minors are at the highest risk of being trafficked 
and exploited, and the criminal networks facilitating their 
abuse are making tens of millions of dollars. The 
Administration's open-border policies caused this humanitarian 
disaster, and the lawlessness must be stopped.
    The prevalence of human trafficking and sexual exploitation 
is not only increasing at the border but in communities across 
our country as well. The pandemic has forced our children into 
isolation, where they are seeking out social interaction 
through the internet. Traffickers know this, and they have 
ramped up their grooming activity online, tricking oftentimes 
vulnerable children into trusting them and sending explicit 
photos and videos, then using that sensitive material to extort 
the minors into engaging in sexual acts, both online and in 
person.
    Among the worst facilitators of this exploitation is the 
website OnlyFans.com. In just this year alone, OnlyFans has 
been connected to human trafficking, selling child sexual abuse 
material, kidnapping, sexual battery, sexual servitude, 
extortion, and child rape.
    I would like to submit for the record this letter outlining 
these crimes in detail.
    Chair Nadler. Without objection.
    [The information follows:]

                   THE HON. ANN WAGNER FOR THE RECORD

=======================================================================

[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Ms. Wagner. My office has been in contact with Federal 
agents, local detectives, and victim advocacy groups that are 
all sounding the alarm about the website and others like it.
    Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Austin 
Berrier told us he sees up to 50 files of child sexual abuse 
material per day, Mr. Chair, that have originated on OnlyFans. 
This is absolutely unconscionable.
    On August 10, I led a very bipartisan letter with over 100 
Members of Congress calling on the Department of Justice to 
investigate this website, and after 73 days I have yet to 
receive a response. In that time, the media has reported 
multiple crimes related to OnlyFans, including human 
trafficking of a minor and aggravated child abuse. The 
Department of Justice must Act and stop this from happening to 
our children.
    With these horrific crimes on the rise, we must give law 
enforcement the tools to support survivors. That is why I have 
also introduced H.R. 1527, the Homeland Security Investigations 
Victim Assistance Act, a bipartisan bill that would expand 
HSI's Victim Assistance Program. This vital program provides 
trained specialists who work alongside law enforcement to help 
trafficking survivors assist investigators in apprehending 
their abuser.
    I strongly urge this Committee to pass this legislation and 
to help survivors get the justice that they deserve. It is my 
sincere hope that this Committee will join me in the fight 
against trafficking and force the Administration to take 
substantive and immediate action to protect children at the 
border and across the United States.
    I thank you, and I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    [The statement of Ms. Wagner follows:]
    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Chair Nadler. Thank you very much.
    For Members who were not here when I made this 
announcement, I would remind all Members that guidance from the 
Office of Attending Physician states that face coverings are 
required for all meetings in an enclosed space, such as 
Committee hearings, except when you are recognized to speak. 
This includes all Members waiting to testify.
    Ms. Schrier?

STATEMENT OF THE HON. KIM SCHRIER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS 
                  FROM THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

    Ms. Schrier. Thank you, Chair Nadler, and thank you, 
Ranking Member Jordan, for hosting this Member Day today. I 
appreciate the opportunity to testify about my priorities as 
Representative of Washington State's Eighth Congressional 
District.
    I want to start by thanking the Members of the Judiciary 
Committee for your work on many of the issues that are most 
important to me and to my constituents, including voting 
rights, farmworker visa reform, and addressing the backlog of 
green card applicants, among others.
    I am joining you today to speak specifically about my 
priorities around public safety and policing reforms.
    In the last year, our country has had even more painful 
reminders of racial bias present in all our institutions that 
carries particularly deadly consequences in law enforcement. 
Meanwhile, there has been an increase in violent crime and 
homicide. This year, King County, Washington, has already seen 
more gun violence than in all 2020.
    I do not believe in defunding the police and have never 
supported any effort to do so. It is wrongheaded and 
counterproductive to public safety. As we continue to discuss 
policing reform, it is really important to support police 
departments with the resources they need to do their jobs well 
and safely.
    Over the past year, I have had the privilege to ride with 
local police officers and hear their perspectives on how to 
keep our communities safe and build trust with communities of 
color. I believe that if people and other elected officials 
would just pause to listen, we could make policing work really 
well for everyone.
    I ask this Committee to continue work to address the 
following priorities for my constituents in the Eighth District 
and addressed in previous legislation passed by this body.
    My proposed amendment to the Commerce, Justice, and Science 
government funding bill would help police departments pay for 
body-worn cameras, an expensive instrument that both law 
enforcement and community Members strongly support. There would 
be a special emphasis on smaller departments, which seldom can 
afford the thousands of dollars needed to purchase body cameras 
or the resources and personnel to manage the footage.
    The second amendment I put forward in that bill would 
increase funding that police departments can use to hire mental 
health professionals. During ride-alongs and conversations with 
police departments throughout my district, I constantly hear 
from officers that their jobs would be so much easier if there 
were more mental health services in our communities. Pairing an 
officer with a social worker or other trained mental health 
professional can provide better service to all community 
Members--victims, perpetrators, and people who just need help 
that haven't committed any crime.
    In addition to these two issues, I want to highlight 
several other commonsense reforms that remain priorities in my 
district.
    Programs that build community relationships with police 
departments renew trust in these institutions, keeping both 
officers and community Members safer. In Auburn, Washington, 
the police department has created a diverse Police Advisory 
Committee to provide feedback and recommendations to the chief. 
Community-based programs like this help build trust and 
understanding and empower community Members to engage with 
police in ensuring public safety.
    While the vast majority of police officers work hard to 
serve the community equitably and with compassion, there must 
be accountability for those who don't, whether by gratuitous 
violence, corruption, or other inappropriate behavior. A 
national database that tracks these bad actors will help ensure 
that they are not rehired elsewhere after demonstrating that 
they are clearly unfit to serve.
    Finally, as I mentioned, my priority is to ensure that all 
law enforcement have the resources they need to do their jobs 
well, and one critical component of that is access to training. 
All departments should have access to the training they need in 
de-escalation, in the proper use of nonlethal tactics, and best 
practices for engaging with specific populations and more.
    These commonsense reforms will make our communities safer 
and support our law enforcement professionals to do their best 
work and serve their communities.
    Thank you for your leadership and your attention to the 
needs of my district, and I yield back the balance of my time.
    [The statement of Ms. Schrier follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. The gentlelady yields back, and we thank her 
for her testimony.
    Mr. Bilirakis?

  STATEMENT OF THE HON. GUS M. BILIRAKIS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
               CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA

    Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate it. I 
want to thank Ranking Member Jordan, distinguished Members of 
the Committee, and, of course, specifically my good friend 
Louie Gohmert. It is an honor to speak before the Committee 
this morning.
    One of my longstanding commitments as a Member of Congress 
has been to promote the culture of life. I have cosponsored and 
voted for measures that respect the sanctity of human life and 
encourage alternatives to abortion. I have also voted against 
legislation that would have allowed public funds to be used for 
abortions and will continue to do so.
    I am proud to join my good friend from Missouri, Ann 
Wagner, as well as 200 of my colleagues in supporting H.R. 619, 
the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
    H.R. 619 requires that healthcare practitioners who are 
present at the live birth exercise skill, care, and diligence 
to preserve the life and health of a child who survived an 
attempted abortion with the same degree of care that would be 
offered to any other child born prematurely at the same 
gestational age.
    After those efforts, the healthcare worker must transport--
    Chair Nadler. Would the gentleman yield for a question?
    Mr. Bilirakis. Yes.
    Chair Nadler. Isn't that already the law in every State? If 
a baby is born alive and you don't take proper care, that is 
murder under the laws of every State, I think.
    Mr. Bilirakis. Well, this is what the bill states, and--
    Chair Nadler. What I am saying, isn't that already the law?
    Mr. Bilirakis. Yeah, it is--at this particular time, there 
can be birth--abortions after birth. This is what is my 
understanding. We want to prevent that from happening anywhere 
in the United States.
    This bill also gives the mother a civil cause of action and 
protection from prosecution, recognizing that women are the 
second victims of abortion and promoting the dignity of 
motherhood.
    I also want to say that, again, if it is already going on, 
why not put it in law and codify it?
    I urge the Committee to advance this important, lifesaving 
bill through a vote of the full House, because I would hope we 
can all agree that a child born alive has a right to live.
    Another top priority of mine is supporting our law 
enforcement officers. During my time in Congress, I have worked 
with local law enforcement agencies to ensure they have the 
support they need to properly protect and serve our 
communities. I routinely meet with Pasco and Pinellas County 
and Hillsborough County sheriff's offices and local police 
agencies to hear how they are working to keep our communities 
safe and how the Federal Government can be of assistance to 
them.
    Through these meetings, I have brought community leaders 
together with local law enforcement. It is critical that law 
enforcement and local residents have an open line of 
communication to understand the issues that each face and how 
they can best work together. This is something that is vitally 
important, and I am proud to be able to facilitate these types 
of discussions.
    I am committed to ensuring the safety and security of all 
communities by opposing efforts to defund the police, 
increasing funding for better police training, community 
policing, and equipment, including body cameras. Let me be 
clear for the record: I have never and will never support 
defunding the police.
    Unfortunately, our Nation has seen an uptick in attacks on 
law enforcement officers. In fact, the National Fraternal Order 
of Police--that 51 law enforcement officers--they have said 
that 51 law enforcement officers were shot, 13 of whom died, 
and 40 ambush-style attacks as of June 30, a 91-percent jump 
from the same time last year. It is really awful. In all of 
2020, there were 48 ambush-style attacks, which left 60 
officers wounded, 12 fatally, according to the group's 2020 
summary.
    I am a cosponsor of two pieces of legislation that address 
the safety of our law enforcement officers: H.R. 3080, the Back 
the Blue Act; and H.R. 3079, the Protect and Serve Act.
    The Back the Blue Act establishes new criminal offenses for 
killing, assaulting, and fleeing to avoid prosecution for 
killing a judge, law enforcement officer, or public safety 
officer.
    The Protect and Serve Act, which was introduced by my good 
friend, fellow Floridian, and former Duval County sheriff, John 
Rutherford, establishes a new criminal offense for knowingly 
assaulting a law enforcement officer and causing serious bodily 
injury, or attempting to do so, in circumstances that affect 
interstate commerce.
    My colleagues on the other side of the aisle say they are 
capable of supporting the police and the safety of their 
communities. Let's come together and do that. If there are no 
objections, let's get on this bill, and let's pass this bill on 
the floor of the House and send it to the United States Senate 
so we can save lives.
    I urge this Committee to protect law enforcement officers 
and advance these critical pieces of legislation to the floor 
for a vote.
    I would like to thank the Chair--thank you so much--the 
Ranking Member, Members of the Committee, again, for inviting 
me to testify today. I yield back the balance of my time.
    [The statement of Mr. Bilirakis follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. The gentleman yields back.
    Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you.
    Chair Nadler. Ms. Jackson Lee?

 STATEMENT OF THE HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
                CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS

    Ms. Jackson Lee. Good morning, Chair, and to the Ranking 
Member. Thank you so very much for this opportunity to present 
at the Members Day.
    Let me, because of my good friend who is here, simply 
acknowledge a tragedy in my congressional district area and to 
offer sympathy to the family of Deputy Kareem Atkins, who was 
killed, Deputy Barthen, and Deputy Garrett, both of whom were 
shot.
    I say this in sincere sympathy to those family Members and 
to emphasize, in the time that I have been here in the United 
States Congress, on this Committee, I have never seen anything 
but support and advocacy for the men and women of the law 
enforcement community. We will continue to do so, and I will 
continue to join you, Mr. Chair and Ranking Member, to do that, 
because they are our protectors and they do protect and serve.
    We have certainly tried to work on a number of issues, 
which I will highlight as well. I think we have been, over the 
years, concerned about victims, crime, and the way to ensure 
that justice in this Nation is fairly distributed and that, as 
Dr. King has said, it would roll down like righteous waters, as 
I paraphrase.
    So, let me offer issues that we have actually moved forward 
on, and I will be brief in that, and then hope that we can move 
forward again as well.
    We were successful in marking up H.R. 40, the Commission to 
Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans 
Act, which I am so delighted to see the enormity of support, 
including over 300 organizations from all backgrounds in our 
community, in particular, the understanding that this is a 
historical framework that studies the trajectory of slavery, 
which lasted longer than the country is old, and to be able to 
discuss the way forward, which I think is extremely important.
    Just about a week ago, I spent time at a Jewish synagogue 
in Illinois, and the enthusiasm of understanding was 
overwhelming. I know that that will be the case as we move 
forward on that legislation to the floor.
    H.R. 1280 was the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that 
has been worked on extensively by all Members of this 
Committee, including my colleague and friend Congresswoman 
Karen Bass. My point on this legislation is that there are many 
elements in this legislation that I think we can work together 
on.
    I hope, as we continue to discuss with our colleague and 
others that we will look at, in particular, the George Floyd 
Justice in Policing Act that was introduced. It was called the 
George Floyd Law Enforcement Integrity Act that Jason Crow 
joined me on to end racial profiling, which should be 
particularly important to focus on. We can come together on 
ensuring that our law enforcement has all the tools that they 
need, particularly in the backdrop of Police Week last week.
    We did a stupendous job working on the Violence Against 
Women Act. We put the most profound legislation forward, 
starting back in 2017-2018. It was a hard-fought battle, but we 
worked to make sure that we balanced all the legislation that 
others were interested in, including the money for--at that 
time, $291 million--for DNA kits to help backlog in law 
enforcement. We had outreach to community-based organizations 
that were effective in dealing with bringing down violence.
    This month is Domestic Violence Month, and I am wearing the 
purple colors to emphasize that. The Violence Against Women Act 
was a vital and is a vital part of this effort. According to 
the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 20 
people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner.
    So, working with the Senate, I am looking forward to this 
Committee helping to push forward the Violence Against Women 
Act to final passage.
    We are working and did work on the John Robert Lewis Voting 
Rights Act. I thought I would emphasize that, simply because 
our work was stupendous, and we, frankly, need to look to the 
aspects of the other body to be able to help move that. I would 
put on this record, though this is not something that we could 
enact, but I do think a rolling filibuster would be appropriate 
for all the voting-rights laws that we would have.
    Let me also emphasize the spike in murders and gun 
violence. It should be evident that we are seeing a spike in 
violence and the device of purpose is a gun. So, I hope the 
storage bill can be passed.
    Chair Nadler. The time of the gentlelady has expired.
    [The statement of Ms. Jackson Lee follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. Ms. Greene?

      STATEMENT OF THE HON. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, A RE-

       PRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA

    Ms. Greene. Thank you for having me today. I really 
appreciate you hearing my request.
    I have introduced House Res. 57. These are articles of 
impeachment on President Biden for abuse of power in regard to 
his willingness to use his position of power to aid his son, 
Hunter Biden, in their business dealings.
    I have also introduced another article of impeachment on 
President Biden, which is H. Res. 597. This has to do with the 
national security crisis that President Biden has created with 
regards to the extreme threat at the southern border.
    I have introduced House Res. 598, articles of impeachment 
on President Biden in regard to the failure in Afghanistan.
    I have introduced House Res. 596, articles of impeachment 
on President Biden for the COVID eviction moratorium and his 
willingness to use his position to try to do what he shouldn't 
be doing. We have three branches of power.
    Now, this is not an issue that is just important to me; 
this is an issue that is important to the American people. You 
see, the American people, in polling just recently--there is a 
range, between 60 percent of Americans that say that Joe Biden 
should be impeached, but it goes as high as 83 percent of 
Republicans think President Biden deserves to be impeached, 58 
percent of independents and 40 percent of Democrats agreeing 
that President Biden should be impeached for his failures to 
the American people as President.
    Let's talk about some of those failures. We can talk about 
the border alone. You see, here we have--and let's just talk 
about criminals coming across the border. U.S. Border Patrol 
has apprehended 9,728 illegal aliens with criminal records just 
in fiscal year 2021, in comparison to only 2,438 in 2020. This 
is a 325.8-percent increase in migrant encounters. It is up to 
1.7 million migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 
2021, which ended in September. This is a massive increase in 
President Biden's failures to provide security for the American 
people.
    Also, Border Patrol agents arrested 353 illegal aliens with 
sex-related criminal convictions, and many of them had prior 
convictions for crimes involving a minor. In the same period in 
2020, agents apprehended 58. In 2019, they apprehended 58 in 
total--I am sorry--55 in 2020, 58 in 2019, but 353 in 2021. 
That is a massive increase.
    Let's talk about these types of convictions. These 
convictions include forcible sexual assault, sexual assault of 
a child under 14, sexual conduct with a person under 13, 
statutory rape, second-degree sexual assault of a child, and 
lewd acts with a minor.
    Del Rio Sector in Texas, they have seen a 3,166-percent 
increase in arrests of convicted sex offenders compared to the 
same timeframe last year.
    This is a threat to the American people, and Joe Biden is 
failing on his job.
    We could go on and on with the statistics and the numbers, 
but I think plenty of people have done that already, so let's 
talk about, what is the Presidential oath of office?
    Joe Biden swore an oath. He said, ``I do solemnly swear 
that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the 
United States, and I will, to the best of my ability, preserve, 
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.'' He 
is failing to uphold his oath.
    Article IV, section 4, says that the U.S. guarantees each 
State against invasion. Joe Biden is failing the American 
people by refusing to uphold the law and the Constitution.
    Afghanistan is where it really hurt. article III, section 
3, Joe Biden could be guilty of treason. Our law says that 
levying war against the U.S., adhering to the enemies of the 
U.S., and giving aid and comfort is treason. President Biden 
did that by arming the Taliban with our taxpayer-funded U.S. 
equipment and weapons. He abandoned Americans in Afghanistan 
and seems to have no interest in getting them back. Only worse, 
he failed to ignore the intel that there was going to be an 
ISIS bomber, and 13 of our soldiers were killed.
    I ask this Committee to bring my articles of impeachment 
forward in hearings and markup.
    I thank you very much for your time.
    Chair Nadler. The gentlelady yields back.
    Ms. Dean?

   STATEMENT OF THE HON. MADELEINE DEAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
            CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA

    Ms. Dean. Thank you, Chair Nadler, and Ranking Member, for 
hosting today's Member Day hearing.
    I have had the pleasure of serving on this Judiciary 
Committee for the last 3 years, where we have done important 
work on behalf of our constituents, our rule of law, and our 
Nation. In these last 3 years, I can confidently say this 
Committee and its staff have met the moment. How?
    Well, in our first hearing, Mr. Chair, as you well know, in 
the 116th Congress, we talked about the issue, the urgent 
issue, of gun violence. It was the first hearing on gun 
violence in decades. We listened to victims and passed 
universal background checks to protect communities from 
senseless gun violence.
    We worked to change the conversation around addiction, to 
treat it as the disease that it is, to save lives by passing 
legislation to end the criminalization of addiction and to 
tackle the issue of opioid overdose.
    We advanced legislation to protect the sanctity of the 
right to vote, as 17 Republican-led States across this country 
implemented restrictive voting laws.
    We crafted and passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing 
Act.
    This Committee has had tough conversations, yet we didn't 
descend into the cult-like chaos of fealty to one man who 
disregarded our rule of law and could not grasp that the 
Constitution did not give him unlimited power to pressure 
foreign leaders to support his election, to openly violate the 
Emoluments Clause, and to incite a deadly insurrection because 
his ego could not accept the defeat.
    Through the chaos, this Committee has fought to protect our 
precious Constitution and honor our rule of law. So, yes, 
because of his blatant disregard for our democracy, he joined a 
short list of Presidents who were impeached by this body, and 
he found a way to historically distinguish himself and be 
impeached twice.
    Impeachment is a tool to uphold and defend the 
Constitution, not a toy to be taken lightly. Contrary to what 
my colleagues on the other side of the aisle may say, there is 
no comparison to former President Trump's behavior and 
President Biden.
    Leading up to the first impeachment proceedings, we saw a 
repeated attempt by the former President to discredit our 
democracy and a clear abuse of power. To quote impeachment 
manager Representative Schiff, ``President Trump compromised 
our elections. He will do so again. Truth matters little to 
him. Decency matters not at all.''
    He obstructed our ability to conduct oversight and abused 
the power of his office. The President threatened the American 
people's right to a fair election, the very foundation of our 
democracy. That is why we were called to impeach.
    I am alarmed but not surprised by the laissez-faire 
attitude around congressional subpoenas demonstrated this week 
by former Trump Administration officials. A select few of my 
Republican colleagues displayed their courage and actually 
spoke out against the actions of President Trump. However, 
there is an appalling silence from far too many across the 
aisle, as they scream over masks but are silent over treason.
    For those of you who still doubt the validity of 
impeachment, ask yourself this: Who called upon the mob? Who 
continually spread the ``big lie'' declaring the election was 
stolen? Who urged his supporters to ``stop the steal''? The 
repeated talking points of the former President and his allies 
threatened our democracy, and when we survived, he turned to an 
actual assault on the buildings we sit in today.
    January 6th will forever be a stain on our Nation's 
history. As a violent mob descended on this Capitol, I sat in 
the Gallery with no idea what would happen next. He desecrated 
his office, and he invested in a big lie, enticed his 
supporters with it, and ultimately incited them to the violence 
that we witnessed on January the 6th.
    That is why we were tasked again with impeaching the former 
President: To uphold the sacred oath we took and to present the 
facts to the American people. Again, the facts revealed a 
distinct pattern of behavior.
    As Republican President Teddy Roosevelt said, patriotism 
means stand by country; it does not mean stand by a President 
or any other public official. So, my colleagues and I will 
continue the patriotic fight to protect our democracy by 
uncovering the truth.
    My Congressional Subpoena Compliance and Enforcement Act 
was included in the Protecting Our Democracy Act to apply civil 
action to Congress against any person who receives but ignores 
a congressional subpoena. We cannot allow individuals to lift 
themselves above the rule of law.
    When we reflect on our work these last 3 years, I think of 
the words of our late dear colleague Elijah Cummings: ``When we 
are dancing with the angels, the question will be asked, what 
did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact?'' We spent 
the last 3 years trying to keep our democracy intact. I urge 
our colleagues across the aisle to join us. That is our solemn 
oath.
    I yield back.
    [The statement of Ms. Dean follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. The gentlelady yields back.
    Mr. Meijer?

    STATEMENT OF THE HON. PETER MEIJER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
              CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN

    Mr. Meijer. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Mr. Ranking Member, for 
calling this hearing today and giving Members the opportunity 
to highlight issues that are important to our constituents and 
potential solutions that we are working towards to address 
them.
    There is widespread agreement across the political spectrum 
that our current immigration system is not working the way it 
should. What we need now is a more thoughtful, deliberate, and 
bipartisan approach to fixing the many problems currently 
plaguing that system. Securing our border and reforming a 
broken legal immigration system should not be mutually 
exclusive.
    It is frustrating that the Biden Administration's failed 
border policies have made any other immigration-related 
conversations that much more difficult. We have all Witnessed 
the unprecedented crisis on our southern border since President 
Biden took office, and I have joined my colleagues on the 
Homeland Security Committee in demanding the Administration 
take the necessary steps to address it.
    Earlier this year, we traveled to the border to see the 
situation firsthand and talked to law enforcement officers on 
the front lines who are dealing with this overwhelming 
circumstance on a daily basis.
    Border security is simply not an issue for southern border 
States alone. It is one of the most consistent issues I hear 
from directly from my constituents. They have serious concerns 
about what they are seeing from this Administration. It is a 
major concern for Americans across the country, as the impacts 
of inadequate border policies are felt widely.
    Earlier this year, when the Administration was overwhelmed 
by the number of migrants coming across the border, they were 
forced to open several emergency intake sites across the 
country, including in my district in Michigan. Now, we were 
proud to be able to step up, but, again, this is not an issue 
for southern border States alone.
    Frankly, it is embarrassing that some Members of this body 
dismiss commonsense border security improvements because of the 
State of political rhetoric.
    Back in April, I was proud to join my colleagues in 
introducing H.R. 2321, the Border Surge Response and Resilience 
Act. This bipartisan bill would require DHS and Federal 
partners to establish a comprehensive plan to manage a border 
surge before it becomes unsustainable.
    The bill would also establish a fund designated solely for 
implementation of this plan, allowing DHS immediate access to 
needed resources to address these challenges without waiting 
months for supplemental appropriations from Congress.
    We cannot allow these types of crises to continue, 
Administration after Administration. Congress needs to take 
charge and provide clear directives and adequate resources for 
planning and surge response. This will reduce the risk of 
future humanitarian emergencies like the one we are seeing 
today.
    Because, frankly, it should not be difficult to both cares 
deeply about the root causes of migration and advocate for 
logical and humane policies that would ensure surges of 
individuals coming across the border does not reach a point 
where it is out of control and end up having an adverse effect 
on both local border communities and those vulnerable migrant 
populations.
    The Administration has failed to take responsibility for 
this crisis or any of the actions necessary to address it. That 
is why I also join my colleagues in introducing H.R. 4828, the 
Border Security for America Act, to require DHS to resume 
construction of the border wall system, deploy effective 
technology to support Border Patrol operations, and provide 
more resources to CBP officers and agents on the ground at all 
U.S. ports of entry.
    Maintaining operational control and awareness across the 
border should not be a partisan issue. Frankly, it is a 
practical homeland security imperative.
    As I have stated before, this Administration's failure to 
secure the border has made it far more difficult for Congress 
to advance needed reforms of our legal immigration system. I am 
proud to have joined my colleagues in several pieces of 
legislation to address some of these challenges, and I would 
encourage this Committee to consider these efforts as well.
    H.R. 3215, the Temporary Family Visitation Act, would 
establish a new nonimmigrant visa classification for 
individuals seeking to temporarily enter the U.S. to visit a 
relative who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. 
This would ease the current obstacles that prevent families 
from being able to gather for occasions like holidays, 
birthdays, graduations, and weddings.
    H.R. 3897, the H-2B Returning Worker Exception Act of 2021, 
would make key reforms to the existing H-2B program by 
exempting those returning workers from the numerical count, 
while supporting American employers who are dependent on the 
seasonal guest worker program and protecting American workers 
by enhancing anti-fraud and compliance measures.
    In Michigan, this is acutely felt in many of our seasonal 
industries, who are suffering deeply because of the pandemic 
and suffering doubly because of failures of the H-2B program.
    I was also proud to join my friend from Colorado, Mr. Crow, 
in introducing H.R. 5134, the SAVE Afghan Partners Act of 2021. 
This bipartisan bill would raise the Afghan Special Immigrant 
Visa cap and clarify eligibility requirements for those who 
worked alongside U.S. military and on behalf of the U.S. 
mission in Afghanistan.
    As we continue our efforts to resettle those vulnerable 
Afghans who have been brought to the U.S. and work to get out 
those of our allies who were left behind, this bill will be 
critical to ensure that those who risked their lives for the 
United States receive the status and benefits they deserve.
    There is a lot of room for us to work together on 
incremental but substantive immigration reform. The current 
system is riddled with illogical bureaucratic obstacles--
    Chair Nadler. The time of the gentleman has expired.
    Mr. Meijer. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    [The statement of Mr. Meijer follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. Ms. Bourdeaux?

 STATEMENT OF THE HON. CAROLYN BOURDEAUX, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
               CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA

    Ms. Bourdeaux. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Today, I would like to speak about the importance of voting 
rights.
    Georgia has a long history of undermining the right to 
vote, from the Jim Crow-era tactics of poll taxes, grandfather 
clauses, literacy tests, to more recent tactics of voter-roll 
purges, exact-match policies, and partisan gerrymandering. As 
we know, these policies disproportionately affect voters of 
color.
    My district, Georgia's Seventh, one of the most diverse 
districts in the country, has been ground zero for many 
disputes about these tactics, which repeatedly led to 
litigation. Some of the most longstanding disputes are around 
voter registration processes, including exact-match policies, 
purges of voter registration rolls, and Georgia's no-excuse 
absentee ballot voting process.
    In 2016, voting rights organizations sued then-Secretary of 
State, now-Governor Brian Kemp over the exact-match policy for 
voter registration, a version of which had been struck down by 
the Department of Justice in 2009 under their preclearance 
review process.
    The exact-match policy required the information on a 
voter's registration application to exactly match records kept 
by the Georgia Department of Driver Services or the Federal 
Social Security Administration, which meant that typos, data 
entry errors, or nicknames, such as, someone who used the name 
``Bill'' as a nickname for ``William,'' could jeopardize 
someone's voter registration.
    Georgia has also become one of the Nation's most aggressive 
voter purge States. In 2017, over half a million voters were 
purged in one night, many due to Georgia's use-it-or-lose-it 
policy, which purges voters for not voting in prior elections. 
These purges continue to this present day.
    Gwinnett County, the largest county in my district, has 
been ground zero for litigation over absentee ballot problems, 
with ballots rejected for signature mismatch or other 
technical, administrative issues. In 2019, during early vote, 
Gwinnett County election officials rejected 1 in 10 vote-by-
mail ballots.
    After litigation, a Federal judge stepped in to ensure that 
ballots that were thrown out for signature mismatch were marked 
as provisional, and voters were given a chance to appeal the 
decision or confirm their identity.
    Even with this intervention, there were several serious 
problems of absentee ballot processing and inconsistent 
interpretation of ballot requirements between counties, which 
led to litigation in the following months and, ultimately, to 
significant changes in how Georgia administered absentee 
ballots.
    Most notably, in my district, there are two counties. In 
the more diverse county, small errors, such as filling in 
today's date next to your signature on the absentee ballot, 
would cause the ballot to be thrown out. Voters were supposed 
to put in their birth date. A similar ballot in the less 
diverse county in my district would be counted and the error 
treated as an innocent mistake. This county was much more 
aggressive about notifying voters when there was an error on 
their ballot and giving them time to correct it. All this 
formed the basis of successful litigation.
    Georgia dealt with many problems during the Presidential 
preference, general election, and early-voting period in the 
2020 election cycle, leading to significant wait times of up to 
12 hours for some voters. These problems made national news, 
with some of the longest waits occurring in the most diverse 
Seventh District Gwinnett precincts.
    Despite the odds, Georgia had a record-breaking turnout 
during the general election. This was, in part, due to 
significant increases in turnout for minority communities, most 
notably Asian and Hispanic Americans.
    However, then Georgia was one of the first States in the 
country to pass a voter suppression bill, SB 202, after the 
2020 general election. In particular, this legislation targets 
Georgia's no-excuse absentee ballot voting.
    SB 202 includes provisions that require voter ID for 
absentee ballots, limits the use of absentee ballot dropboxes 
that were critically important to people voting in times of 
COVID. It bans nonpartisan groups from mailing out absentee 
ballot applications. This bill also forbids the distribution of 
food or drink to persons waiting in line, sometimes for many 
hours, to vote.
    Perhaps most alarmingly, the bill allows the State Board of 
Elections to remove a county election board after a performance 
review, audit, or investigation and install a temporary 
superintendent--in effect, creating the potential for a 
partisan takeover of local boards of elections. The State Board 
has already targeted Fulton County, the largest and one of the 
most diverse counties in the State, for takeover.
    This bill is one of many efforts by the leadership in 
Georgia to set election policies that limit voting in ways that 
disproportionately negatively affect voters of color.
    I would like to commend the Judiciary Committee on your 
hard work in crafting H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights 
Advancement Act. I look forward to supporting other meaningful 
reforms, such as the Freedom to Vote Act.
    Thank you, and I yield back.
    [The statement of Ms. Bourdeaux follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. The gentlelady yields back.
    Mr. Mann?

STATEMENT OF THE HON. TRACEY MANN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS 
                    FROM THE STATE OF KANSAS

    Mr. Mann. Chair Nadler, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members 
of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to speak with 
you today about the judicial priorities for the First District 
of Kansas, including the U.S. Department of Justice 
investigation into cattle markets, immigration, and the Second 
Amendment.
    Kansans are good people who carry a pioneering spirit with 
them, the same way those who settled my State did over 160 
years ago. The people of the First District, aptly named the 
Big First, know each other, look out for each other, and 
sacrifice for each other.
    As Congress becomes increasingly more urban, rural 
districts like the Big First depend on strong voices in 
Congress, especially on some of the most significant issues 
facing our Nation that are situated in the jurisdictional 
purview of this committee.
    The Big First's backbone is agriculture. It is home to more 
than 60,000 farms and is made up of farmers, ranchers, feed lot 
managers, nutritionists, ethanol producers, ag lenders, and 
agribusiness owners who feed, fuel, and clothe the world. It 
ranks number one in the country for the value of cattle and 
calf sales, at more than $9 billion sold annually, and is home 
to more than 4.4 million cattle and calves.
    Cattle producers all over the country are facing 
challenging market dynamics, and Kansas cattle producers are 
especially concerned with the historically wide gap between 
wholesale beef prices and fed cattle prices.
    After several disruptive events in the meatpacking industry 
and the allegations of malfeasance, the U.S. Department of 
Justice began an investigation into potentially anti-
competitive practices. As of today, however, we have not seen 
any results from this investigation--no real response to our 
concerns, no real outcomes for ranchers across the country.
    U.S. Department of Justice needs to complete the 
investigation and release these results immediately. Producers 
in Kansas and across the country deserve to know if the 
investigation uncovered any issues.
    Seven hundred miles south of Kansas is our Nation's 
southern border and a full-scale crisis created by President 
Biden and this Administration. President Biden promised 
citizenship to up to 11 million immigrants, placed a 
shortsighted moratorium on deportations, rescinded policies 
that organized and controlled the flow of legal migrants, and 
halted the construction of the border wall system even though 
Congress approved all the funds necessary for its completion.
    Predictably, the daily average of unaccompanied minors 
crossing the border has nearly doubled since 2019. Texas 
migrant facilities are well over 700 percent capacity. The 
number of migrants testing positive for COVID-19 after being 
released has nearly doubled. Communities on the border are at 
risk.
    This is a human tragedy, and to stop it, President Biden 
and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security need to end these 
disastrous policies, secure our borders, refuse to grant broad 
amnesty, and develop a legal immigration system that works.
    Over the last 9 months, Americans have become used to 
President Biden's homegrown crises. We are rightfully 
concerned, especially when it comes to our constitutional 
rights like the right to bear arms. Our Founding Fathers 
believed this right to be so integral to freedom that they 
recorded it as the Second amendment to the Constitution, 
immediately after the right of free speech. It is a load-
bearing wall and cannot be destroyed or diminished.
    President Biden recently penned six anti-Second amendment 
executive actions in one day, banning homemade guns; defining a 
pistol as a short-barreled rifle, allowing for more regulation; 
and mandating a report on gun gifting and trading.
    In interviews following the announcement, the White House 
stated, ``The President will not wait for Congress to Act 
before the Administration takes our own steps, fully within the 
Administration's authority and the Second Amendment.''
    We can no longer sit idle and watch dozens of Executive 
Orders from a single Administration attempt to dictate the 
direction of our country with no input from this Congress. 
Congress was created to legislate. Governing by Executive Order 
is not legislating.
    Earlier this year, I introduced H.R. 716, the More 
Accountability is Necessary Now Act, requiring the executive 
branch to notify the American public and Congress of its intent 
to issue any new executive order pertaining to the rights of 
law-abiding Americans to own, carry, and use firearms 
guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Congress should swiftly 
pass this legislation.
    As your Committee continues to work on legislation like 
this and other legislation within your circle of control, I ask 
that you ensure Americans in rural communities are part of the 
conversation. Their livelihoods are impacted by the decisions 
that you make in this very room, and when I see others playing 
fast and loose with their rights, I will always speak up on 
their behalf.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to speak on the issues 
impacting the First District of Kansas, and I yield back the 
remainder of my time.
    [The statement of Mr. Mann follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. The gentleman yields back.
    Mr. Burchett?

    STATEMENT OF THE HON. TIM BURCHETT, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
              CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE

    Mr. Burchett. Thank you, Mr. Chair; Ranking Member Gohmert, 
thank you, sir; other Members.
    Mr. Chair, before I read from my prepared remarks, the Lord 
speaks to me sometimes. Not in an audible voice, but he does 
speak to me. When COVID broke out, I heard about folks 
committing suicide, and I prayed and asked God what could we 
do. I just think suicide is just the worst despair you could 
have. I have had buddies kill themselves.
    So, I woke up in the middle of the night, and I thought, 
dad-gummit, I am going to give my cell phone out, my cell phone 
number out to folks. People called me from all over the 
country. I had people calling me from out of the country that 
were locked in. Some people were just calling to see if there 
was an actual Congressman that would answer the dadgum phone, 
and I did. It got so hectic that I called in a buddy of mine 
who helped me on the campaign to help me, and we referred folks 
to suicide prevention.
    There was a lady was being abused in another State, and it 
was just all over the country. It was unbelievable, the amount 
of people. Of course, with the time change, my wife said, baby, 
``you are going to have to figure out what we are going to do 
about this, because they were calling in the middle of the 
night.'' We took care of that.
    God spoke to me again, because I was on the Internet, and I 
was looking, and I was seeing that we are seeing a lot of kids 
disappear. A lot of them are Black kids. Nobody seems to be 
paying a dadgum bit of attention to them, Mr. Chair. That is 
what I am here to talk to you about. I am going to read you 
from my remarks now. Just give you that little heads-up to what 
I was going at.
    I want to thank you for giving non-Committee Members the 
opportunity to testify, Mr. Chair. I come before the Judiciary 
Committee today to share with you an issue that the Federal 
Government and, frankly, American society does not give enough 
attention.
    Congress's missing and exploited children program, overseen 
by the U.S. Department of Justice, makes America a safer place 
for our children. In the late 1970s, nearly 1.8 million 
children were reported missing annually. In 2020, that number 
had fallen to 540,000, according to the Congressional Research 
Service. This data shows, thanks to this program's improved 
policing tactics, recovery rates for missing children have 
exponentially increased.
    Unfortunately, this program falls short of serving people 
of color and primarily Black folks. Existing data indicates 
minority children are reported missing at a disproportionately 
higher rate than White children and stay missing longer. In 
fact, a longitudinal study found that racial differences 
significantly affect rates of recovery for missing minority 
children, with Black children remaining missing the longest.
    These disparities are largely attributed to socioeconomic 
background, police resources, and media attention. In areas 
with low community engagement and limited police resources, 
children are more vulnerable and less likely to be recovered. 
It is a fact. It is why movements like ``defund the police'' 
are so dangerous.
    Quality media attention on missing-person cases is a proven 
key to recovery. According to the Department of Justice, 
intense early media coverage ensures that people will be 
looking for your child. It is concerning to me that missing 
White girls receive disproportionately more media attention 
than Black counterparts.
    Look no further than the Gabby Petito case--can't pronounce 
her name, but everybody knows who I am talking about--which 
continues to captivate a national audience. Over the last 2 
months or so, you couldn't turn on the news or scroll through 
Twitter without hearing about her.
    It continues to feel like she is the only missing person in 
America, but it is very serious that she is missing--and that 
is so far from the truth. There is no shortage of tragic 
stories about missing Black folks that people have never heard 
about. I will use an example from my district in east 
Tennessee.
    A 26-year-old Black female from Knoxville was reported 
missing on June 28, 2021, and the last time her family heard 
from her was June 18. This was weeks before Gabby Petito was 
reported missing on September 11. Thanks to national media 
coverage, though, Ms. Petito's remains were found just 8 days 
after she was reported missing. Compare that to when the 
remains of the 26-year-old Black female from Knoxville were 
recovered. She was not found until September 28, 3 months--3 
months, Mr. Chair--after she was reported missing. I bet not 
once over these 3 months you ever heard about her on MSNBC, 
CNN, FOX News, or the other national media outlets.
    The sad reality is that there are thousands of other 
stories like this one I just described that go completely 
unnoticed. There is an epidemic of missing Black children, 
missing Black girls.
    I have a little girl. She is 14.
    This is unreported by the mainstream news media. The news 
media is an echo chamber solely focused on news that sells and 
the ratings from its target audience. Real news, unbiased news, 
important news has been pushed aside and replaced by--
    Chair Nadler. The time of the gentleman has expired.
    Mr. Burchett. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    [The statement of Mr. Burchett follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. Ms. Miller?

   STATEMENT OF THE HON. MARY E. MILLER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
              CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

    Ms. Miller of Illinois. Thank you, Chair Nadler.
    I am appearing today because I am gravely concerned about 
Attorney General Merrick Garland's recent memo to the FBI 
directing them to intimidate and harass parents who show up at 
school board meetings.
    Sadly, one example cited by the National School Board 
Association was a father who showed up to the school board 
meeting because his 14-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted 
in a school bathroom by a boy who was allowed in the girls' 
room because of the school's transgender policies and activism.
    The father was trying to warn board Members and other 
parents about the real-world implications of the left's radical 
agenda and the danger posed to teenaged girls, but, tragically, 
he was arrested and then labeled a domestic terrorist.
    This is a chilling and anti-democratic action by the Biden 
DOJ to use fear, harassment, and intimidation to keep parents 
from showing up at school board meetings and speaking out 
against the radical left-wing agenda.
    Parents are in charge of their child's education, period--
not the experts from the left-wing organizations, not the 
teachers' unions, and not the Biden Administration--parents.
    If the Department of Justice is looking for congressional 
direction on how they should be using their taxpayer-funded 
resources, they should start by investigating and prosecuting 
the human trafficking cartels that have smuggled, unbelievably, 
125,000 children across our southern border under this 
Administration. The children face horrific sexual assaults from 
cartel predators and coyotes.
    The DOJ seems to have a strong preoccupation with 
prosecuting and persecuting American citizens for engaging in 
constitutionally protected activities. I would strongly 
recommend the DOJ focus on keeping Americans safe and 
prosecuting child traffickers.
    Mr. Chair, I seek unanimous consent to enter articles for 
the record on this topic.
    Chair Nadler. Without objection.
    [The information follows:]

                 THE HON. MARY E. MILLER FOR THE RECORD

=======================================================================

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    Ms. Miller of Illinois. Thank you, and I yield back.
    [The statement of Ms. Miller of Illinois follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. The gentlelady yields back.
    Mr. Rice?

 STATEMENT OF THE HON. TOM RICE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS 
                FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

    Mr. Rice. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for allowing me to speak to 
the Committee today.
    I come to you to speak about a background-check bill.
    After the killings of the nine people in the Emanuel AME 
Church in Charleston, South Carolina, by a deranged individual, 
the families of the deceased sued the Federal Government for 
failure to catch his issues before they issued him a permit to 
buy the gun.
    The case was dismissed on sovereign immunity, but the 
Federal judge, an Obama appointee, by the way, Gergel, wrote a 
20-page opinion about the failure of the background-check 
system in that case.
    I have a copy of that opinion here, and I would like to 
have it entered in the record.
    Chair Nadler. Without objection.
    [The information follows:]

                    THE HON. TOM RICE FOR THE RECORD

=======================================================================

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    Mr. Rice. What glares at you when you read this opinion is 
about a big omission in the background-check procedure. You 
see, the FBI maintains three criminal databases, and when they 
do a background check, for some reason, they only search two of 
those databases. And the third one is far more thorough and 
detailed, and it is called the N-DEx system.
    I think the reason that they only search two is because, 
when we did the background-check law in the mid-1990s, the N-
DEx system did not exist, and the inertia of the Federal 
bureaucracy does not allow for changes.
    So, if they actually had searched the N-DEx system, they 
would have discovered that Dylann Roof, who ended up massacring 
these people in this church, should not have been able to buy a 
gun.
    Now, the FBI will not give me information on other 
individual cases, but I also suspect that Mr. Cruz, who 
massacred the people in the Marjory Stoneman High School, would 
not have been able to buy a gun. In fact, the police had been 
to his house over 20 times, and I suspect, had they been able 
to search the N-DEx system, they would have found this, and he 
would not have been given a background permit.
    Also, the individual who went into the church in Texas, who 
had had issues with domestic violence before, I suspect that if 
they had looked at the N-DEx system, he would not have been 
able to buy a gun.
    The individual in Ohio who went into Dayton and started 
shooting downtown, he had had mental issues before. If they had 
looked at the N-DEx system, I suspect he would not have gotten 
a permit to buy a gun.
    Now, I have a bill here that simply says that, when the FBI 
does a background check, that they may check the N-DEx system.
    Too often when we see tragedies like this, in our immediate 
reaction, we try to go too far, and we can't find a solution 
that we can get across the line. There have been numbers of 
bills that have been put forth by folks on other side of the 
aisle that go too far. Therefore, nothing has happened; no 
bills have passed that would solve this problem.
    The response by the folks on the left is, well, you know, 
Republicans don't want to do anything. I can tell you that 
pretty much everybody agrees that we need to do everything we 
can to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. This is 
a very, very straightforward and simple solution.
    This bill has 34 cosponsors, including 4 Democrats and 30 
Republicans. In fact, Mr. Cohen on this Committee has 
cosponsored this bill.
    This is a very commonsense solution that would have 
prevented most of these massacres. In fact, if we could prevent 
one, we could prevent copycats, right? I mean, people read 
about these things, and they want the notoriety.
    So, let's stop pointing fingers. We have to realize we have 
to get a majority, right? We have to reach consensus. Let's do 
something we can get across the line.
    This would be a real solution that would lift this 
Congress, that would lift the Federal Government, that would 
lift our constituents back home and make this country a safer 
place. This is a bill on which we can find consensus, and it is 
real. It would solve a lot of these problems, these terrible 
tragedies that unfortunately unfold far too often.
    With that, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    [The statement of Mr. Rice follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. The gentleman yields back.
    Mr. Carter?

       STATEMENT OF THE HON. EARL L. ``BUDDY'' CARTER, A 
      REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA

    Mr. Carter of Georgia. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate 
the opportunity to be here today and to share my priorities 
before the Judiciary Committee.
    The work that you do on this Committee is incredibly 
important, especially now. It is no secret that we have a 
crisis currently on our southern border, and many Members of 
this body, including myself, have been down to see it 
firsthand. It is essential that we act.
    That is why I have come to speak in support of two bills 
that would go towards addressing this disaster. It is a 
disaster. I have introduced two of these bills, and they were 
referred to this committee.
    The first is H.R. 3848, the Illegal Immigrant Assistance 
Prohibition Act. As its name suggests, this bill would prohibit 
discretionary program funds from going to States that provide 
assistance to illegal immigrants.
    While there are a number of carrots that draw people to 
come to the United States, it is uncontainable to incentivize 
people to come into the country illegally by providing 
taxpayer-funded assistance.
    Illegal immigrants are already generally prohibited from 
Federal assistance programs by the Personal Responsibility and 
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. However, States can still 
provide assistance through their own programs funded by State 
taxes. This allows for the possibility of a State to use its 
own tax revenues on programs to assist illegal immigrants while 
simultaneously leaning on Federal funding for other programs in 
their budgets.
    Recent examples of this kind of spending include 
California's initiative to provide cash benefits to 
undocumented Californian's and New York's Excluded Worker 
Relief Fund that will allow for nearly 300,000 undocumented 
workers in the State to be eligible for lump-sum payments up to 
$15,600.
    Programs like this can be an attractive draw for someone to 
enter the United States illegally, which is contrary to Federal 
immigration policy. States should not be permitted to lean on 
Federal funding to subsidize parts of its budget while 
undermining the Federal immigration system. This is especially 
worrisome as we face a crisis along our southern border.
    The second piece of legislation that I would like to 
discuss is H.R. 4796, the Empowering Law Enforcement Act. While 
my first bill addresses one of the carrots that attract illegal 
immigrants, this bill addresses the stick side of things by 
providing backup to Federal immigration enforcement officials 
who have been hamstrung by the Biden Administration.
    Specifically, this bill would grant State and local law 
enforcement inherent immigration enforcement authority to 
investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer a 
migrant that has entered the U.S. illegally.
    There were 208,887 border apprehensions in August, a 317-
percent increase--317-percent increase--from last year. August 
was the second straight month with over 200,000 apprehensions. 
The Department of Homeland Security has warned officials to be 
prepared for the possibility of 350,000-400,000 illegal border 
apprehensions in October.
    This is a national security threat, and we must be willing 
to use every policy option to stem the tide, including 
completing the border wall, reinstituting the ``Remain in 
Mexico'' policy, fully reinstituting title 42 health expulsions 
to protect public health. Passing both H.R. 3848 and H.R. 4796 
would go a long way toward stemming this problem, this 
disaster, that exists at our southern border.
    Again, Mr. Chair, thank you for the work that is done on 
this Committee. Thank you all for your attention on this. These 
are two important bills to address a disaster at our southern 
border.
    People are concerned about this. This is a health issue. 
This is a national security issue. It is a humanitarian issue. 
I appeal to you to please consider these bills. They are 
important, they are applicable, and they are appropriate for 
this time.
    Thank you, and I yield back.
    [The statement of Mr. Carter of Georgia follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. The gentleman yields back.
    Mr. Keller?

STATEMENT OF THE HON. FRED KELLER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS 
                 FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA

    Mr. Keller. Thank you, Chair Nadler, Congressman Gohmert, 
and Members of the Committee. I thank you for the opportunity 
to speak with you about an important issue for the people of 
Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District and correctional 
officers across the Nation. It is about reforming the Federal 
Bureau of Prisons, as I will refer to as the ``BOP.''
    The BOP faces many challenges, some that existed prior to 
COVID-19 and others that were underscored or made worse by the 
pandemic. That is why we formed the BOP Caucus, a bipartisan, 
bicameral group whose mission is to ensure the safety and 
security of our Federal prisons and improve the conditions for 
correctional officers, inmates, and the communities in which 
these facilities are located.
    A recent GAO report found that the Bureau of Prisons did 
not capture or share Bureau-wide the lessons and practices 
discussed at its teleconferences or have an approach for 
ensuring facilities apply these lessons in the aftermath of 
COVID-19.
    It is critical that Congress works to bring accountability 
and transparency within the BOP and holds BOP leadership 
accountable for their decisions.
    Additionally, Congress must enact reform that improves the 
conditions inside Federal prisons. The BOP's security and radio 
systems remain obsolete, leading to an influx of contraband and 
violence.
    In 2016, the Office of Inspector General at the Department 
of Justice published a report identifying major deficiencies 
and needed upgrades, including blind spots and broken cameras. 
This is unacceptable. That is why I support the Prison Camera 
Reform Act of 2021. Senator Ossoff is leading this effort in 
the Senate, and I look forward to working on similar 
legislation in the House.
    Lastly, BOP's staffing levels continue to plummet while 
hiring freezes are occurring nationwide. BOP Reform Caucus 
Members, both Democrats and Republicans, worked to include 
appropriations language to increase staffing levels.
    Despite language from the Appropriations Committee to 
provide adequate levels, the BOP has remained understaffed and 
has relied on augmentation and reassignment to make up for its 
shortfalls. These methods only add to the burdens placed on our 
correctional officers, the inmates they secure, and the 
surrounding communities. It is still unknown how excessive 
overtime hours and dangerous conditions for inmates contribute 
to officer fatigue.
    What is clear from each of these efforts is the fact that 
we are here to work on these challenges together. I look 
forward to continuing to work on important issues such as 
ensuring adequate BOP staffing and improving benefits, ensuring 
strong implementation of the FIRST STEP Act, and streamlining 
the BOP's future response to emergencies.
    I really appreciate the time that I have had here today. 
Our team is committed to bringing Republicans and Democrats 
together to work on meaningful, lasting reform.
    With that, I thank you very much and yield back.
    [The statement of Mr. Keller follows:]
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    Chair Nadler. The gentleman yields back.
    This concludes today's hearing. We thank all our Witnesses 
for participating.
    Without objection, all Members will have 5 legislative days 
to submit additional materials for the record.
    Chair Nadler. Without objection, the hearing is adjourned--
just in time, because there are votes on the floor.
    Adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 10:30 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

                               APPENDIX

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