[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 11 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SUPPORT THE SOS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Bost) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, as a father and a grandfather, I know 
firsthand how important it is that our Nation's children have a safe 
environment to grow and learn. That is why, this week, I introduced the 
bipartisan SOS Act.
  My bill makes panic buttons available to local school systems. 
Response time is vitally important during emergency situations. The SOS 
Act provides a lifesaving technology to contact first responders 
immediately when an incident takes place in our schools.
  Mr. Speaker, I am looking forward to building support for this 
commonsense bill to protect our children in the days and weeks ahead.


                 Victoria Mueller Is a Brave Young Lady

  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a brave young lady 
from my district. She lives in Johnston City, Illinois. Her name is 
Victoria Mueller. She is class president. She is an A student. She 
plays in three sports, including football. She is a member of countless 
school clubs and activities.
  Two weeks ago, I called Victoria to let her know that she had 
received our nomination, as well as Dick Durbin had called her to let 
her know about his nomination, for the U.S. Naval Academy.
  Unfortunately, her answer was: I am sorry. I can't accept that at 
this time. You see, in October, I had an accident in a car and my arm 
was damaged severely and severed.
  She has gone through a number of surgeries, but here is what she 
promised. She will recover from the accident; she will continue to work 
hard; and she will be receiving that letter and getting that nomination 
next year.
  Her strength, her courage is something that I wanted to make sure 
that I brought up before this House and before this Nation as truly an 
inspiration, and it should be an inspiration to all of us.
  I am truly inspired by Victoria's strength, her grit, and I wish her 
the best in her recovery. We will be praying for her.
  Victoria, southern Illinois is proud of you, and this Nation is proud 
of you.


                             March for Life

  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the fact that tomorrow 
is the March for Life.
  As a Member of this body and as a member of the body in the State of 
Illinois, I have always stood proud to stand up for the rights of the 
unborn.
  We are working on and will vote to eliminate taxpayer-funded abortion 
through the Hyde amendment and everything as well as that goes, but 
also cosponsoring the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, 
which is being voted on this week.
  This is an issue that quite often brings controversy, Mr. Speaker. 
Each one of us on this floor--and no matter what our position is, I am 
sure there are reasons why we hold to those beliefs. Mine are my faith, 
but they are also experiences that I have had in life, especially when 
we start talking about the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection 
Act.
  Fifteen years ago, Mr. Speaker, I was present when my twin 
granddaughters were born. They were 25\1/2\ weeks. We were hoping they 
would make it to 26. We lost Ellianna in the womb. Losing her caused 
labor to start, and then Hallie was born. We held Hallie while Hallie 
passed.
  Now, according to some laws that are in this Nation, you should be 
able to abort a child at that age. Well, I can tell you that you have 
never held one at that age. We can sit and say: Oh, well, I don't agree 
with abortion.
  But let me tell you something else that has taken place. I think we 
have a responsibility to take care of those young women who have 
children who might not be at the best time in their life and issues 
that come up.
  And let me also say this. I want to talk about a group that was 
formed called Tender Mercies that ministers to women who have lost a 
child, have aborted a child, had miscarriages, all of these issues. And 
why do I want to talk about that? Because my daughter runs that not-
for-profit to take care of the mental and physical needs that occur 
after something like that occurs.
  It is important that we as members of the United States Congress 
understand that, when we stand for life, not only do we stand for life, 
but we also stand for those people who are in those situations, to help 
them through those times. We are a nation that cares. We are, as many 
times as we argue back and forth on this floor. Mr. Speaker, I pray 
that everyone on this floor on both sides of the aisle remembers that.
  I thank the people who are walking tomorrow to stand for the right to 
life.

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