[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 136 (Friday, July 31, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4208-H4210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1300
                   HONORING BUSINESSES AMID COVID-19

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the many individuals, 
businesses, and manufacturers in the First Congressional District of 
Kentucky who have dedicated their time and efforts to helping our 
country fight COVID-19.
  Just months ago, there was a concern that America would face a 
drastic shortage of the medical supplies needed to fight the 
coronavirus. And while we may not be completely out of the woods, the 
efforts of so many caring citizens have been instrumental in providing 
needed supplies.
  I am proud to say that many of the citizens and companies who have 
assisted in this fight call south central and western Kentucky home. 
Garment factories, like Stitches Apparel from my home county in 
Gamaliel, Kentucky, WPT Nonwovens in Ohio County, Jomel Seams 
Reasonable in Cumberland and Russell Counties, and American Shield 
Apparel in Metcalfe County stepped up to manufacture face masks and 
gowns for frontline healthcare workers all across America. This is in 
addition to the countless citizens who have turned their kitchen tables 
into manufacturing centers for the face masks we have all become very 
familiar with.
  I am even more proud to say that some of our Nation's heroes from 
Fort Campbell military base have gone into Boston and New York to 
provide medical support when those areas were in desperate need of 
help. Like others, their contributions to our Nation will not be 
forgotten.
  Corn from Kentucky farmers has even been used to fight the spread 
with facilities like Commonwealth Agri-Energy in Christian County 
providing base ethanol for distilleries to provide hand sanitizer.
  I also honor a young lady from my hometown who went above and beyond. 
Carrie Beth Cropper, a native Monroe Countian and a registered nurse, 
volunteered to go to New York City at the height of the outbreak to 
care for those in need. Her willingness to put her fellow Americans 
first to help fight back against the virus speaks volumes about her 
character.
  All of our nurses, hospitals, and other frontline workers have been 
heroic in working under extremely challenging conditions. Their country 
has never needed them more, and they have certainly met the moment.
  Unfortunately, our country continues to suffer from the outbreak of 
this virus. But in many ways, the pandemic has brought out the best of 
America: Neighbor helping neighbor and communities coming together to 
support one another.


                     Orestus Flowers 100th Birthday

  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Orestus Flowers of 
the First Congressional District of Kentucky, who is turning 100 years 
old on September 7th.
  Mr. Flowers was born in Bow, Kentucky, which is in Cumberland County, 
and continues to reside in the First Congressional District. Mr. 
Flowers served in the Army for 3\1/2\ years and was stationed in the 
Philippines from 1942 to 1945. I stand with all Americans to 
congratulate him on years of bravery and sacrifice to preserve our 
safety and freedoms.
  On February 1, 1946, Mr. Flowers married Geraldine, and together they 
have three daughters. A true entrepreneur, he was responsible for 
bringing Houchens Markets to Burkesville in 1952 and served as manager 
for 32 years. Upon retiring from Houchens, he worked at Norris and New 
Funeral Home for the next 25 years.
  I join with everyone in Burkesville and throughout the Commonwealth 
who has had the privilege of knowing him and to celebrate his fearless 
spirit. I am honored to represent Mr. Flowers and wish him a very happy 
100th birthday.


                       Wanda Blackwell Retirement

  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Wanda Blackwell 
on her retirement from the Webster County Senior Center, where she has 
served as director for the last 4 years. She is beloved by the seniors 
she cares for and their families because her devotion to serving others 
is evident in every effort she undertakes.
  Just a year ago, Webster County opened a new senior center that has 
already enriched the lives of so many and is evidence of the devotion 
Wanda and her team have for their fellow citizens. Whether she was 
serving or delivering meals, decorating and improving the center, or 
raising funds to expand their offerings and programming, she did it all 
with a smile on her face. Wanda lives by the saying, ``grow where God 
planted you,'' and has been a shining example of giving back to the 
local community.
  I join with Wanda's family, friends, and all those she has served 
throughout her time at the center to thank her for her outstanding 
efforts to better the lives of others, and I wish her many happy years 
of retirement.


                        Law and Order in America

  Mr. COMER. In recent weeks, American cities have been plagued by 
irresponsible, reckless violence and rioting. The violence in cities 
from Portland to Chicago has been out of control, requiring a Federal 
response to quell what has turned into full-on mob violence.
  This behavior has severe consequences for American life. Businesses 
destroyed, chaos and disruption, and unacceptable levels of violence.
  And what has the Democratic response been to violent outbreaks? 
Turning a blind eye to vandalism and destruction, along with a fresh 
round of calls to defund the police.
  At a time of rising violence, businesses being vandalized, and the 
lives of everyday citizens being disrupted, prominent Democratic 
politicians have sought to reduce the presence of American law 
enforcement.
  In calling efforts to defund the police a local decision, Speaker 
Pelosi has given a green light to mayors who have eagerly implemented 
that reckless movement. Thankfully, Federal law enforcement has stepped 
in to help out in cities where weak-kneed, incompetent mayors have 
failed to protect their citizens.

  Even though Federal agents have been shamelessly treated as enemies 
by far-left mayors, Federal reinforcements were necessary in the face 
of local failures.
  I am 100 percent in favor of peaceful assembly and protest. It is an 
American tradition for our citizens to speak out and to use our sacred 
First Amendment rights for good. And when there is legitimate police 
misconduct, like what we saw in Minneapolis, nonviolent protest is 
absolutely justified.
  However, the violence in our streets has been anything but peaceful. 
And when protestors start vandalizing and destroying property, 
including Federal courthouses, a line is crossed. We must have law and 
order and respect for the rule of law.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope my Democratic colleagues will join me in calling 
for just that. Stop pushing to defund the police. Stop condoning mob 
violence. Support peaceful protest, not out-of-control rioting. We can 
and we must have free expression in this country, but we also must have 
law and order when protest turns into rioting and threatens the safety 
of our communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus).

[[Page H4209]]

  



              Recognition of Former Legislative Directors

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and next-door neighbor 
from Kentucky for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislative director, together with the legislative 
staff, advises congressmen on legislative issues. This position assists 
in the development of policy positions and legislative initiatives and 
assists in managing the office's legislative staff.
  Restated in my language, the nuts and bolts of everything legislative 
goes through the legislative director.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been blessed with seven legislative directors. 
All of them are truly professional. All of them I would like to thank 
today. Many of them spent many years with me. A couple held the job 
long enough for a cup of coffee. All have moved on to bigger and better 
things.
  Cheryl Crate, originally from Oklahoma, was my first legislative 
director. She helped set up my office and got it running smoothly.
  Dan Blankenburg is from Downers Grove, Illinois. He has a starring 
role in ``Mr. Shimkus Goes to Washington,'' as we were talking about 
U.S. military involvement in the Balkans.
  Morna Willens is from St. Charles, Illinois. She moved up to 
legislative director from her telecom legislative assistant position. 
With that move, she was enticed to work downtown, and is still a D.C. 
operative.
  Ray Fitzgerald moved to my office from the Science Committee. Ray was 
from Chicago and a rabid White Sox fan. Ray was with me for many years, 
which we both considered successful, but Ray got married and wanted to 
go back home. Unfortunately, Ray was struck with cancer and died at the 
young age of 37. He left behind his wife, Kristin, and daughters, Nora, 
Maggie, and Lucy. They will always be part of Team Shimkus.
  What could be another one for the record books is two legislative 
directors who served in the same office getting married. No one would 
ever guess me to be a cupid, but the proof is in the pudding. Their 
friendship and courting were never really news to me, but over the 
years, their strong marriage has become a sense of pride.
  Mo Zilly-Tracy is from Aurora, Illinois--and how do you say this 
tactfully--was the boss to Ryan, my then legislative assistant for 
Agriculture and Energy. Once she left the legislative director 
position, Ryan accepted it. Then they got married, and moved to Ryan's 
hometown in Monticello, Illinois, and are raising their two daughters, 
Vivian and Alice.
  Greta Joynes is from Sugar Grove, Illinois. A tough, no-nonsense 
legislative director. I once called her my kraken that I would unleash. 
How did I ever come up with that? Now a D.C. operative, she is still a 
tough public policy operative.
  All but one of my LDs were from Illinois. What a great credit to the 
State, but I am from southern Illinois, so it has been with great pride 
to have a local boy from my neck of the woods as my legislative 
director the last couple of years.
  Brian Looser is from an area between Staunton and Mount Olive. He 
came from the office of Senator Kirk and specializes in healthcare. He 
has also recently taken over the telecom portfolio. He has decided to 
go down with the ship and stay with me until the end. That loyalty 
should be applauded and is emblematic of all my staff in D.C.
  Mr. Speaker, in the hustle and bustle of D.C. activity, people come 
and go all the time. The individuals who work with and for us should be 
thanked. We are only as good as the people around us, and I have been 
blessed with great staff.
  Again, I thank my colleague from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, my 
neighbor from Paducah, for allowing me a chance to speak.
  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Shimkus). I thank him for his service to this body, and I thank him for 
his friendship. He has been an institution here in Congress. He has 
been a good neighbor.
  He has made a difference not just in southern Illinois, but in the 
United States of America, and I want him to know how much I appreciate 
his mentoring, his friendship, the work we have done together to help 
benefit the Ohio River-Mississippi River region of America.
  Mr. Speaker, I will say that he has left big shoes to fill. I 
congratulate him on his upcoming retirement, and I appreciate 
everything that he has done for me, for our colleagues, and for the 
United States of America.


                 Mysterious Seeds in the United States

  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I have been concerned as a farmer and former 
commissioner of agriculture to learn in recent days that mysterious 
seeds have been sent from China to people in all 50 States encouraging 
them to plant these mysterious seeds.
  I say publicly what we are hearing from leaders in the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture and from my former colleagues in the State 
ranks, the commissioners, and directors of agriculture in all 50 
States: If you get these seeds, do not--and I repeat--do not, plant 
these seeds. We have no idea what these seeds are. And these seeds 
could be potentially deadly to our ecosystem.

                              {time}  1315

  We have seen so many shenanigans coming out of the China region. We 
don't know exactly who it is, who they are. But we have seen concerns 
in cybersecurity, and we have seen concerns in trade with currency 
manipulation, with stealing our patents, with stealing our intellectual 
property. This is one more concern.
  So, I have written a letter and asked the Secretary of Agriculture, 
who is investigating this, Sonny Perdue, to give me a briefing and give 
the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on Agriculture 
a briefing as to what is going on with this.
  We do know that there are some people, unknowing of the damages, who 
have planted these seeds.
  Again, I encourage people--and it is not just people in the 
agriculture community. It is just common citizens, random people, in 
all 50 States who have gotten these seeds.
  This is something that I am concerned with as a leader in 
agriculture, someone who has spent my whole life involved in the 
agriculture industry, and I hope that I can utilize my position in the 
agriculture community and as the ranking Republican on the Committee on 
Oversight and Reform to be able to determine the genesis of these 
seeds, who sent these seeds, what their purpose was. If we need to hold 
those people accountable for trying to create mischief and disruption 
in our agriculture industry, then I hope that we can work hard to hold 
them accountable.
  I want to conclude my time today, Mr. Speaker, thanking my colleagues 
in Congress for their confidence to name me as ranking Republican of 
the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. I take this position with 
a great amount of honor and humility.
  I understand the role of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. The 
Committee on Oversight and Reform was created to provide oversight. It 
was created to ensure the Federal Government is transparent and 
accountable to the taxpayers.
  We have seen an unprecedented amount of deficit spending in this 
body, too much spending. It is immoral what Congress has done over the 
last decade, with respect to the deficit and the national debt, to our 
children and grandchildren.
  Somebody in Congress needs to get the back of the taxpayers, and I 
pledge today that that somebody is going to be the House Oversight and 
Reform Committee, at least from the minority standpoint. My colleagues, 
my Republican colleagues on the committee, we are committed to 
defending the taxpayer, committed to rooting out waste, fraud, and 
abuse.
  Unfortunately, for the past year-and-a-half, the Committee on 
Oversight and Reform has been focused on one thing, not oversight, not 
having the backs of the taxpayer. They have been focused on one thing, 
and that has been trying to embarrass the President of the United 
States, trying to use that committee as a political tool, as a 
subsidiary of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to try 
to find something, anything, on Donald Trump. And I can say with 
confidence, after a year-and-a-half, they have failed.
  What we need to do, what I challenge my colleague, Chairwoman 
Maloney, to do is focus on the real purpose of the Committee on 
Oversight and Reform.

[[Page H4210]]

There is no shortage of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal 
Government. There is no shortage of opportunities to find a lack of 
transparency and accountability in the massive bureaucracies that have 
been created by this body in the Federal Government.
  I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. I couldn't ask 
for a better committee than what we have, a committee roster. We have 
people on our side and the Democrat side who are committed to the real 
purpose of oversight and reform. I am looking forward to that.
  I, again, thank this body for the honor to serve in that capacity. I 
look forward to making a difference and getting the back of the 
forgotten Americans, the Americans who work hard, who go to work.
  They never stopped going to work because of the coronavirus. They go 
to work. They pay their taxes. They abide by the law. They don't 
destroy property. They go to church on Sundays.
  They do everything right, yet they are always forgotten in this body. 
Whether it is a government program, whether it is tax policy, whether 
it is the use of their hard-earned tax dollars, they are always 
forgotten. We are going to put them on the forefront, and we are going 
to get the backs of the taxpayers.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________