[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 102 (Thursday, June 15, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4931-H4932]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1345
                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, before I yield to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McCarthy) for the purpose of asking the majority leader 
the schedule for the week to come, I want to just make a comment.
  Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, this House and, indeed, the Nation was shaken 
by the horrific shooting in Alexandria. We just, unanimously, passed 
the majority leader's resolution. All of us are praying for the safe 
recovery of our friend and colleague Majority Whip Steve Scalise and 
others who were injured yesterday.
  Steve is the majority whip and I am the minority whip, and we are, 
therefore, in some respects, adversaries, but we are also friends. I am 
keeping him, his wife, Jennifer, and their children in my thoughts 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, as you probably know, Steve loves baseball. All of us 
have seen the broad smile on his face as he has taken to the field as a 
pinch runner in games past, wearing his University of Louisiana Ragin' 
Cajun jersey and scoring runs for his Republican team.
  I am saddened--and I know all of us are--that we won't be able to see 
him on the field today running, hitting, and scoring; but, Mr. Speaker, 
we know that Steve is a fighter, and I am sure we will be seeing him 
running the bases again in next year's Congressional Baseball Game.
  Mr. Speaker, tonight, I am going to wear a T-shirt that says ``Team 
Scalise.'' His staff gave it to me yesterday. We took some pizza by 
their office and talked to each one of them. We have had good relations 
between our two offices. We have worked together on a lot of things 
and, yes, we have opposed from time to time, but we are friends.
  I am also keeping in my thoughts the members of the Capitol Police, 
who keep us all safe. I am one of those who is blessed to have a detail 
because I am one of the leaders. Members of the Capitol Police are 
assigned specifically to try to make sure that I am safe--and, yes, 
those around me--as Steve's detail did yesterday, courageously and 
heroically.
  I know the majority leader shares my view that every day that a 
member of the Capitol Police gets out of bed, puts

[[Page H4932]]

a badge in their wallet or on their chest, a gun on their hip, and 
leaves their home, they do so with a commitment to protect this 
institution, its Members, and, yes, the public who visit their House, 
their Senate, their Congress. We cannot say enough about our Capitol 
Police. They are extraordinarily well trained, but, also, they are 
extraordinarily courageous and committed to serving this institution, 
its Members, and our country.
  We are, of course, thankful for the courage and quick response of 
those officers who were at the ball field yesterday, and we pray for 
their full and speedy recovery. And we do the same for the staffer and 
the former staffer who were also injured in that attack.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
McCarthy), my friend, with whom I also have worked in a constructive 
way on so many occasions for the country.
  (Mr. McCARTHY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
thank him for his comments.
  Yesterday was a long and emotional day for the people in this House. 
A cowardly act of violence was directed at our friends, our colleagues, 
and our democracy.
  We are currently praying for all those injured and their families--
Matt Mika, Zack Barth, Special Agent Crystal Griner, Special Agent 
David Bailey, and Majority Whip Steve Scalise. These individuals are 
strong and, as you said, they are fighters, and they should know that 
they have the full love and support of this House.
  But, Mr. Speaker, even in the face of this great evil, we saw amazing 
bravery yesterday. Special Agents Griner and Bailey put their lives on 
the line. They saved countless others. There is no other way to put it, 
but they are heroes. Yesterday could have ended with many deaths. They 
ran out in order to draw the fire away from the Members.
  This attacker moved down the third baseline to home base, where the 
majority of the players had been sitting in the dugout of first base, 
lying on the ground, and even a 10-year-old son, whom they would hover 
over on top of. He tried to make his movement there. Crystal had 
already been wounded.
  But as I talked to the agents yesterday in the hospital, they said 
that they wished they could have even done more, having drawn the fire 
away and saving so many lives. We will be forever grateful for their 
courageous actions and those of all of our Capitol Police, who are 
truly the best in the business. As we end this week, I do want to take 
the time to thank our men and women in uniform and keep them all in our 
prayers for their recovery.
  Yesterday I spent a large portion of the day at the hospital, yes, 
seeing the agents and seeing and praying for our majority whip. I have 
known Steve Scalise for more than 20 years. Before either of us were 
ever elected to any office, we got involved in politics in Young 
Republicans. I was the national chairman, and he was the State chair of 
Louisiana. We developed a friendship, a camaraderie, and a passion for 
making the country better.
  I know what Jennifer and the kids are going through, but our prayers 
are with them, and he will definitely come back and play in that 
baseball game.
  So, Mr. Speaker, before I move on with the schedule for next week, 
because of everything that happened yesterday, I missed doing something 
important as well. I want to wish my friend, Mr. Hoyer, a belated happy 
birthday. I hope my friend enjoyed a nice slice of his favorite desert: 
pineapple upside-down cake. I do want it noted that, even on his 
birthday, he took the time to make sure the staff of Steve Scalise had 
something to eat, and they appreciated that greatly. They appreciated 
his visit.
  Mr. Speaker, on Monday, no votes are expected in the House. On 
Tuesday, the House will meet at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for 
legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30.

                              {time}  1400

  On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning 
hour and noon for legislative business.
  On Friday, the House will meet at 9 a.m. for legislative business. 
Last votes of the week are expected no later than 3 p.m.
  Mr. Speaker, the House will consider a number of suspensions next 
week, a complete list of which will be announced by close of business 
tomorrow.
  One suspension worth highlighting is H.R. 2353, the Strengthening 
Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, sponsored by 
our own Representative Glenn Thompson. You may know him, Mr. Speaker.
  This bill would expand experience-based learning opportunities and 
support greater collaboration between schools and employers.
  Mr. Speaker, 65 percent of today's grade school kids will work in a 
job that is yet to be invented. It is vital we provide our students 
with the skills necessary to succeed in an ever-evolving workplace, and 
that is exactly what this bill aims to do.
  Along those same lines, the House will consider H.R. 2842, the 
Accelerating Individuals into the Workforce Act, sponsored by 
Representative Carlos Curbelo. Under this bill, employers would partner 
with State and local agencies in an effort to hire TANF recipients and 
provide them with on-the-job training.
  There is no substitute for a good job, and, by passing this bill, the 
House will take a positive step toward getting more Americans back to 
work.
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, the House will consider two bills from the 
Natural Resources Committee. First, H.R. 1873, the Electricity 
Reliability and Forest Protection Act, sponsored by Doug LaMalfa. This 
bipartisan legislation would streamline the process for removing 
hazardous trees, helping to lower the risk of forest fires, while 
ensuring a reliable electrical infrastructure.
  And second, H.R. 1654, the Water Supply Permitting Coordination Act, 
sponsored by Representative Tom McClintock. This bill provides the 
framework for creating a one-stop-shop permitting agency, ensuring the 
vital water storage projects that are so badly needed are not delayed 
by red tape.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his information.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a time for us to be together, to be united as 
Americans, not as Republicans or Democrats, Liberals or Conservatives, 
and I thank the majority leader for his leadership in that effort and 
in remembering Officers Griner and Bailey and Cabrera, and all of their 
colleagues in the Capitol Police, and with our prayers for Steve 
Scalise and the others who have been injured. I thank the majority 
leader, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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