[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 92 (Tuesday, June 5, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H4743-H4744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  A COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION SOLUTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Marshall) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to be 
responsible, to be accountable to the American public, and to deliver a 
comprehensive immigration solution. Beyond safeguarding our borders and 
addressing DACA, it is the responsibility of Congress to pass an 
immigration bill that provides a workable visa system for our farmers 
and all agriculture producers back home.
  No one has worked harder or understands this more than my colleague 
and former chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Mr. 
Goodlatte. His comprehensive immigration bill, Securing America's 
Future Act, addresses this by reforming the current H-2A visa program. 
The bill replaces the outdated H-2A program with a new H-2C visa 
placing jurisdiction within the United States Department of Agriculture 
and the Department of Homeland Security.
  It also allows our farmers to access a stable supply of workers year-
round, an important change for our farmers that work 365 days a year. I 
have worked hard on this provision with Chairman Goodlatte, and I am 
thankful for the time he took to listen to our farmers back home and 
incorporate many of their ideas and solutions into his bill.
  In Kansas, immigrants make the dairy industry run, they strengthen 
the farms that provide food on kitchen tables across the country and 
across the world, and it helped the Kansas agriculture industry become 
the international powerhouse that it is today. Our farms, our local 
economy, and all the groceries you buy depend on immigrant labor. To 
address our current farm labor crisis, we need to create a process that 
is easier to navigate and allows our farmers to access the labor pool 
they need.
  This Congress has focused on keeping our promises to be accountable, 
and now is as good a time as any, and is actually a great time, to 
bring immigration to the forefront and deliver for our constituents. 
Leaving this to the chance of a slipshod petition with zero chance of 
being signed by the President is simply not a solution.
  I am all in on finding solutions, and while I certainly understand 
the complexity of this issue, this Congress has proved it can move 
mountains when, just a few months ago, we passed historic tax reform. 
And we can tackle our Nation's immigration policy by working together.


          Honoring the Service of Major General Joseph Martin

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Major General Joseph 
Martin, who serves as the Commanding General of the 1st Infantry 
Division back at Fort Riley, Kansas. I have had the pleasure of working 
with General Martin and his wife, Leann, over the past year and have 
found them to be exceptional assets to Fort Riley, as well as the 
entire community. Although I am proud of their new journey, I was sad 
to hear they will soon be departing for a new post.
  General Martin graduated from the United States Military Academy in 
1986, alongside another fellow Kansan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
  General Martin was commissioned as an armor officer and, after 
graduation, served in a variety of troop assignments, including 
leadership within the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command in 
Iraq, where he partnered with Iraqi and Allied Forces to liberate 
Mosul. Most recently, he served as the Commanding General for

[[Page H4744]]

the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.
  As Commanding General of the 1st Infantry Division, General Martin 
has worked to build readiness among his troops, and continues the 
partnerships with area communities and organizations to support his 
soldiers and their families during their time at Fort Riley.
  General Martin has excelled at each post he has served in, and will 
continue to do so at his next assignment at the Pentagon this June. My 
wife, Laina, and I would like to be the first to welcome General 
Martin, his wife, Leann, and family to the East Coast. We commend them 
for their service to our Nation and wish them and their family the very 
best of luck at their next post.

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