[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4515-H4516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MAKING EVERY AMERICAN TOWN A BORDER TOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Rose) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROSE. Madam Speaker, reports of clandestine flights taking 
thousands of illegal immigrants across the country on behalf of U.S. 
taxpayers are extremely concerning.
  In his 45 years as a United States Senator, and Vice President, and 
now President, Joe Biden has sworn to defend the U.S. Constitution from 
all enemies, foreign and domestic, on eight separate occasions, 
presumably including invasions of our border. Nowhere in the 
Constitution does it describe using taxpayer dollars to transport 
illegal immigrants to every corner of this country.
  Employees of the airline in question are fearful that they may be 
participating in human trafficking as unaccompanied minors are on many 
of these flights.
  Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas must answer 
whether American taxpayers are paying for these secret flights and, if 
so, why. All parties involved should be held accountable, including 
President Biden.
  None of this would be an issue if we had just followed through on 
President Trump's plan to build a wall at our southern border and 
secure our borders. Instead, President Biden seems determined to make 
every town in America a border town.


         Honoring the Life and Legacy of Millard Vaughn Oakley

  Mr. ROSE. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the late Millard Vaughn 
Oakley, one of the greatest Tennesseeans I have every known. His legacy 
will live on in our State's history for generations to come.
  He started life as a shoeshine on the Livingston, Tennessee, square, 
and checked out as a multimillionaire, chasing the excitement of the 
next great business deal or opportunity or challenge. He was a faithful 
husband, a loving father, and grandfather, an exemplary public servant, 
and a passionate believer in his small town and the surrounding region.
  If you took a trip to Overton County, Tennessee, you wouldn't have to 
look far to find someone directly blessed by Millard Vaughn Oakley. 
That is certainly true for me.
  We come from opposing political parties. I am a conservative 
Republican. He was a southern Democrat, having served as a State 
Representative and State Insurance Commissioner under a Democratic 
Governor. But that never impeded his willingness to encourage me or 
hear me out. Our debates and disagreements were always cordial. There 
was never a time when I did not glean something valuable from a 
conversation I had with him. He cared and believed in me, and that 
meant the world.
  Countless Tennesseeans would say the same about this mighty man. 
There was not a person in the town who Mr. Oakley did not endeavor to 
know. Whether you were the gas station clerk, a sheriff's deputy, or a 
student, you mattered to Millard Vaughn Oakley.
  What I will always miss is his most sincere compassion. He gave life 
to the dreams of many. His generosity will live on through the numerous 
funds and scholarships to multiple schools and foundations.
  As you venture down Interstate 40 in Cookeville and exit to State 
Route 111, you will find yourself on Millard Vaughn Oakley Parkway. 
That is the main thoroughfare into the town so dearly loved by this 
treasure of a Tennesseean. Up that State Route, you will find an 
impressive public library giving children and adults access to 
thousands of books and a new magnificent county building, each made 
possible by the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Oakley.
  There is no replacing Millard Vaughn Oakley, only honoring him by 
being better, doing better, and leaving this world a little better in 
memory of a great Tennesseean who did it better

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than anyone I have ever known. I pray that we will all take up the 
mantle and leave our communities a little better than we found them.

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