[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 46 (Friday, March 10, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H1272-H1274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                  WAR IN UKRAINE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. 
Hill) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, one year into Russia's illegal invasion of 
Ukraine, the Ukrainians' valiant defense has resulted in tens of 
thousands of casualties for the Russians. What the Russians believed 
would be a victory in a matter of days or weeks has turned into now 
just over a year bloody slog. The Russian bear has turned out to be a 
paper tiger on the fields of Ukraine.
  The United States must remain committed as a partner with Ukraine to 
achieve victory. Victory, Mr. Speaker, or Putin and his allied nations 
will attack the Baltic states or take Moldova or try to control the 
Black Sea. Turkiye, devastated by Erdogan's economics and the recent 
earthquake, will now face a stark choice of remaining in NATO or 
becoming a Putin puppet were Putin successful in Ukraine.
  Victory in Ukraine, Mr. Speaker, or China will be green-lighted to a 
fully nuclear madman in North Korea and attempt a blockade of Taiwan. 
In order to achieve that victory, President Biden must get the rest of 
the world even more engaged.
  In December, Members of this body were briefed by the Departments of 
State and Treasury. I recently wrote Secretary Blinken and Secretary 
Yellen in follow-up regarding the funding strategy for supporting 
Ukraine with humanitarian, defense, and military means, and in their 
monthly costs.
  I raised two principal points. First, in my view, Congress does not 
have the full financial picture of the contributions being made by the 
United States and our allies and partners on behalf of Ukraine in a 
straightforward and simple manner available to all Members. They don't 
paint a complete picture.
  As a new member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I look 
forward to hearing from the State Department, USAID, and the Defense 
Department in the near future on what they have been doing to track our 
funding in Ukraine and explain it in thorough detail to the Congress.
  Secondly, I raised with the two Secretaries the successful 1990-1991 
partnership between Secretary of State James Baker and Secretary of the 
Treasury Nicholas Brady in developing an active solicitation of major 
countries from around the world to fund the U.S. enforcement of the 
United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing use of force to 
liberate Kuwait from Iraq's illegal invasion of their sovereign 
territory.
  The result was the United States received contributions from around 
the world of some $53 billion against an estimated total cost to eject 
Saddam Hussein from Kuwait of $60 billion. Now, while some of those 
contributions were in the form of in-kind material support, more than 
90 percent was paid in cash.
  The United States must be more strongly engaged with our allies to 
share a greater financial burden for the military, humanitarian, and 
budget support for the Government of Ukraine.
  Just a few days ago, on February 20, Japan pledged $5.5 billion in 
additional aid to Ukraine. This is on top of the $1.3 billion in 
financial humanitarian assistance it had already pledged. This is a 
recent example of precisely what I think the United States Government 
should be achieving and achieving in a more aggressive and effective 
manner.
  The worldwide response in support of Ukraine has been remarkable, but 
I believe that significantly more can be done to help Ukraine if 
additional countries provide more material and financial support in 
Europe and beyond.
  The U.S. military has a unique role, an important role as the lead 
NATO partner in equipping, training, and providing related military 
materials. That mission suits us more than any other country. However, 
as demonstrated in my example of Kuwait, obtaining broad financial 
support from more sources is essential, in my view, to maintaining 
popular political support in Europe and in the United States for 
victory in Ukraine.
  This also demonstrates how peoples from around the globe benefit from 
a prompt success of preservation of Ukraine's sovereignty. Cost of 
goods, access to food, fuel, and financing are all impeded by the 
Russian Federation's illegal action. That makes the case that all 
nations are hurt by Russia's aggression. All nations can support 
Ukraine.
  President Biden must craft an active and effective campaign to bring 
forward the financial and material resources from around the world to 
fully support victory in Ukraine.


                   Forced Organ Harvesting by the CCP

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the practice of 
forced organ harvesting in China.
  I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 1154, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting 
Act introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), my friend. 
Congressman Smith is also chair of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on 
Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. I 
am proud to serve as his vice chair for that subcommittee.
  Forced organ harvesting is a disgusting and appalling practice 
carried out against minority groups in China by the Chinese Communist 
Party. They prey on the Uyghur people and Falun Gong practitioners. As 
the world knows full well about their genocide against the Uyghurs, we 
should not be surprised with China's lack of medical ethics.
  Nury Turkel, the chair of the U.S. Commission on International 
Religious Freedom and my recent State of the Union guest has documented 
forced blood sampling and organ screening of Uyghur detainees in their 
reeducation camps. Nury, a Uyghur who emigrated to the United States at 
age 24, is an eyewitness to this barbaric culture.
  Just last year, the United Nations was even ``extremely alarmed'' on 
credible information that forced organ harvesting continues in 
Communist China. What is disappointing is that, despite years of 
evidence of this practice, the United States currently has no law on 
the books to address this issue.

  The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act will do just that by adding 
penalties to those that violate the National Organ Transplant Act, and 
it will sanction those that fund, sponsor, or facilitate forced organ 
harvesting or human trafficking that leads to forced organ harvesting.
  This bill passed unanimously out of the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee last week, and I look forward to seeing a strong vote in the 
full House in the future. We will pass it here, and I expect the Senate 
to pass this legislation and send it to President Biden.
  It is long past time for the American Government to address this 
challenge through legislation and put a stop to this inhumanity. I 
appreciate Chairman Smith for his leadership in introducing this 
legislation. It is another sign to the American people of how depraved 
the Chinese Communist Party is in their march to violate every norm of 
international society.


               National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate National Hostage 
and Wrongful Detainee Day.
  I, along with my Democratic colleague, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, 
reintroduced our legislation yesterday that establishes March 9 as the 
National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day. On March 9, 2007, Robert 
Levinson disappeared in Iran. He never returned home.

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  The commemoration of this national day brings attention to Americans 
that are being unjustly held as wrongful detainees and hostages in a 
foreign land.
  Since the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking 
Accountability Act was signed into law 2 years ago, we have heard from 
families and organizations that are dedicated to helping bring wrongful 
detainees and hostages home and how that law is working.
  We are learning more about how the Levinson act is being used since 
it has become law. It is time for the House Foreign Affairs Committee 
to conduct oversight and see what potential changes should be made.
  I helped create in the last Congress the Congressional Task Force on 
American Hostages and Americans Wrongly Detained Abroad because one of 
my constituents disappeared on a visit to Syria. Majd Kamalmaz is still 
being held by the Assad regime in Syria. Majd and his wonderful family 
lived for a time in my hometown of Little Rock.
  Every Member of Congress is dedicated to the more than 50 Americans 
who right now are held against their will wrongfully in a country 
around the world. We all want to bring home Majd and every other 
American that is being held wrongfully.
  I am proud to be a part of this task force and work alongside my 
friend, Congresswoman Stevens. I thank all those who are involved for 
their efforts to bring awareness to wrongful detainees and hostages 
around the world and for working tirelessly to bring them home to their 
families in our great country.


                        Recognizing Origami Sake

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the entrepreneurial 
creativity of Ben Bell and Matt Bell, who recently founded Origami Sake 
in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Although they are unrelated, these two Bells 
share the same last name and the same passion for sake.
  The pair met in 2016 after Ben returned to Arkansas from a trip to 
Japan where he became interested in the art of making sake after living 
in that country for 2 years.
  After years of collaboration, Ben and Matt joined forces to begin 
brewing sake in Arkansas, which led to the opening of their business. 
Arkansas is the largest grower of rice in the United States and Isbell 
Farms has spent decades perfecting the proper rice to be used for sushi 
and now the proper rice that is needed for making high-quality sake.
  Additionally, the magnificent water from the famous Hot Springs 
National Park has the perfect quality for sake brewing. Ben and Matt 
are taking advantage of these resources in Arkansas to make sake even 
more popular and distribute it homegrown in Arkansas across the United 
States.
  I recently led a delegation to meet with leaders in Japan where our 
members had the opportunity to present Arkansas-brewed sake to former 
Prime Minister Suga and Deputy Cabinet Secretary Kihara. Along with key 
members of the Japanese Diet, we also entertained our great Ambassador 
Rahm Emanuel with his own taste of a new Thousand Crane Sake brewed in 
Arkansas.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud Ben and Matt for their originality and 
entrepreneurship. I commend them for leading America in the brewing of 
sake.


                         Victory Over Violence

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the important 
partnership between the Arkansas Martin Luther King Commission and FOX 
16 and KARK Television.
  In 2017, following the horrible shootings at the Power Ultra Lounge 
nightclub in Little Rock, FOX 16 and KARK kicked off an important 
initiative to build grassroots support to reduce violence in central 
Arkansas. They called it Victory Over Violence.
  The goal of the campaign is to unite leaders and groups throughout 
our local communities to be a resource for reducing violent crime and 
changing lives through community improvements.
  In January, the Arkansas Martin Luther King Commission presented FOX 
16 anchors Donna Terrell and Kevin Kelly with their 2023 Drum Major for 
Community Leadership award.
  The persistence and successful leadership of Donna, Kevin, and all 
those involved at the Arkansas MLK Commission, FOX 16, and KARK, they 
are making an impact on improving the lives and safety in central 
Arkansas.
  I am grateful for their efforts, their persistent efforts over all 
these past years to keep that at the forefront of community activism. 
Victory Over Violence is something that we need, and I am grateful for 
their leadership.


             Recognizing 2022 Miss Arkansas Ebony Mitchell

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 2022 Miss 
Arkansas winner, Ebony Mitchell.
  Ebony was the 84th Miss Arkansas Scholarship Pageant winner, where 
she was awarded $30,000 in scholarship funds provided by the Ted and 
Shannon Skokos Foundation and $75,000 in other areas.

                              {time}  1230

  Last December, she represented our great State at Miss America in 
Connecticut.
  Becoming Miss Arkansas was a lifetime dream for Ebony. Her journey 
started when she won the Miss University of Arkansas Princess pageant 
in 2007, which entered her into the Diamond State Princess mentorship 
program.
  She had five appearances as Miss Arkansas before finally winning that 
title last year. Aside from her accomplishments as Miss Arkansas, she 
graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in 2019 with her 
bachelor's degree in business administration.
  As Miss Arkansas, she will continue her social impact by leading the 
A Responsible Digital You initiative which seeks to keep children of 
Arkansas safe online.
  Ebony is a native of Harrison, Arkansas, where she has been a leader 
in civil rights and community spirit in her hometown.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Ebony for her accomplishments, and I look 
forward to continuing to watch her proudly represent our great State of 
Arkansas.


                            Cleburne County

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the addition of 
Cleburne County to the Second District of Arkansas.
  Last year, during redistricting, the Arkansas State legislature added 
Cleburne County to the Second Congressional District. The addition of 
Cleburne County brings beautiful nature, economic development, and many 
other recreational ideas and opportunities to my district.
  An active business and civic community, excellent healthcare and 
educational facilities and opportunities, along with Greers Ferry 
National Fish Hatchery, Greers Ferry Dam, Rotary Clubs, the Sugarloaf 
Mountain Trail, and world-class fly fishing on the Little Red River all 
are amazing examples of what the county has to offer.
  I am proud to now serve those who live in Cleburne County, and I look 
forward to representing them in Washington at their U.S. Capitol.


              Congratulating Debby Meece on Her Retirement

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my friend, 
Executive Assistant to the Medical Director at Central Arkansas 
Veterans Healthcare System, Debby Meece.
  Debby is retiring after 40 years of service to Central Arkansas 
Veterans Affairs.
  Debby is an Arkansas native, and she always has exhibited kindness 
and consideration on a daily basis to coworkers, patients, and visitors 
alike. She is a role model for everyone in public service because of 
the positive impact she had in her daily work at Central Arkansas VA.
  The standard of care she has established will continue for 
generations to come in our VA hospital in central Arkansas.
  Mr. Speaker, we thank Debby for her dedication and service to 
veterans. Without her time and effort, many voices would have gone 
unheard. Every day she was at work, she put others first.
  I congratulate Debby, and I wish her a very happy retirement.


               Supreme Court Chief Justice Jack Holt, Jr.

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Arkansas Supreme 
Court Chief Justice Jack Holt, Jr., who passed away on March 5, 2023.
  Former Chief Justice Holt began his career in the United States Air 
Force

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where he achieved the rank of colonel. He then went on to work in 
Arkansas as a deputy prosecutor, chief assistant attorney general, and 
ultimately served as the Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court 
for 10 years from 1985 to 1995.
  Jack Holt will be remembered for his significant contributions to the 
modern justice system that exists in Arkansas, including the creation 
of our juvenile courts.
  Justice Holt is credited with setting up the essential parts of our 
court systems in Arkansas. His advancement of the education requirement 
for attorneys and the creation of more staff positions to help circuit 
court judges has greatly improved the effectiveness of justice in my 
State.
  I thank former Chief Justice Holt for his many years of service and 
contributions to the State of Arkansas. His legacy truly lives on.
  My prayers for comfort are with his wife Jane, their family, and 
their friends.


                              Rescue Road

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Rescue Road on 
rescuing 8,000 dogs.
  Rescue Road is a dog fostering organization based in Little Rock. 
Their mission is to place adoptable dogs in high-kill shelters into 
other networks in order to find a permanent home and a loving family. 
The organization works with their team of volunteers and foster 
families throughout our State of Arkansas.
  In January they placed their 8,000th dog in a home--a great 
milestone.
  I thank all those volunteers involved with Rescue Road for their hard 
work and for their dedication to helping dogs find their forever homes.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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