[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 103 (Tuesday, June 13, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2873-H2876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2030
       LAKE TAHOE PIZZA COMPANY CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN BUSINESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the gentleman from California (Mr. Kiley) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer congressional recognition to 
the Lake Tahoe Pizza Company to mark their 50-year anniversary in 
business.
  For over five decades, this family-run restaurant has survived many 
challenges, including the Great Recession, a global pandemic, and the 
recent California winter storms. Despite these challenges, all the hard 
work and dedication the Touryan family has put into this restaurant has 
made it into quite the success story.
  John Touryan, the founder, embodies the spirit of the American Dream. 
Mr. Touryan emigrated to the United States as a child. He began the 
restaurant in the bay area as a recent college graduate with no 
financial support, all while living in his Volkswagen bus.
  After moving from the bay area to South Lake Tahoe in the late 1970s, 
Mr. Touryan's new home became a great location for his restaurant. In 
just 3 years, business was booming. In 1980, he had to move the 
restaurant to another location within South Tahoe to keep up with the 
pressing demand.
  He grew a successful restaurant from the ground up and has kept it in 
the family throughout. Now ownership of the restaurant has been passed 
to his son, Brenon Touryan, and many, many members of the family have 
all played an important role in the day-to-day operations of the 
restaurant.
  It is truly special to witness a family that works so collaboratively 
and effectively together to run a thriving business, and it is 
inspiring to see that business being passed on through the generations.
  The Lake Tahoe Pizza Company serves as a local gathering place in the 
Tahoe area and continues to contribute positively to the community. The 
restaurant has received both local and national recognition, including 
selection as the Best of Tahoe more than a dozen times through popular 
vote, and awarded the Best of Tahoe Pizza by the Tahoe Quarterly 
magazine, a feature on the Travel Channel's ``Best Places I Have Ever 
Been'' in an episode titled Pizza, and it was filmed by Discovery 
Channel's Monster Garage.
  On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored 
to acknowledge the Lake Tahoe Pizza Company for reaching this 
significant milestone, as well as for their invaluable contributions to 
our State and local economies and outstanding dedication to the Tahoe 
community.


         Annastasia Maloney Exhibits Bravery and Winning Spirit

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer congressional recognition to 
Annastasia Maloney, an athlete from Grass Valley, California, who will 
travel to Germany this summer to compete in the 2023 Special Olympics 
World Summer Games.
  Ms. Maloney is a tremendously talented athlete who plays basketball, 
softball, soccer, and flag football. She has also competed in throwing 
the mini javelin, but running is her main event. She has won gold and 
bronze medals in the 400- and 800-meters in track and field 
competitions in both local and national Special Olympics. This will be 
her first World Olympics.
  The Special Olympics World Games offer the opportunity to unite the 
world like no other event can, where people of different nations, 
cultures, political views, and religions are brought together through 
the power of sport.
  Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the Special Olympics in 1968 because 
she believed that everyone, regardless of physical or intellectual 
ability, can realize their potential for growth through sports and 
competition.
  In addition to working full time and adhering to a daily training 
schedule, Maloney is a global messenger for the Special Olympics. This 
summer her message of persistence and excellence will be conveyed from 
the global stage, where she will compete according to the oath sworn by 
every athlete since the Games' inception: ``Let me win; but if I cannot 
win, let me be brave in the attempt.''
  Maloney has undoubtedly already demonstrated her bravery and winning 
spirit. I am confident the crowds in Berlin this summer will cheer for 
Annastasia Maloney and the 7,000 Special Olympics athletes from 170 
countries.
  On behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives, I express admiration 
and best wishes to Annastasia Maloney, Special Olympics USA, and all 
the athletes in the Special Olympics World Summer Games.


    Celebrating 75 Years of Auburn Area Recreation and Park District

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark and celebrate the 75-year 
anniversary of the Auburn Area Recreation and Park District.
  When the district was originally formed on July 1, 1948, it had one 
park aptly named Recreation Park and the use of the Gold Country 
Fairgrounds. Today, the district proudly maintains and operates many 
exceptional parks as well as open space and trail systems, recreation 
programs, community events and facilities, such as community centers, 
pools, and courts for sports, to name a few.
  I had the pleasure of visiting last month and was very impressed with 
their award-winning Auburn Bike Park and the ever-popular preschool 
program. I even ended up planting a tree at Recreation Park and managed 
to fit in a quick game of pickleball.
  Such a bounty of recreational opportunities promotes the health and 
quality of life of residents in the Auburn and Meadow Vista 
communities. For over seven decades, the Auburn Area Recreation and 
Park District has exhibited a strong commitment to providing safe, 
quality, and accessible parks and recreational activities that are 
enjoyed by all.
  I wish to express gratitude and thanks on behalf of the Third 
Congressional District of California for the Auburn Area Recreation and 
Park District's service and dedication to enriching the greater Auburn 
area with comprehensive recreational opportunities.


         Andrea Seastrand's Legacy will Endure for Generations

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer congressional 
recognition to a remarkable public servant, former Congresswoman Andrea 
Seastrand, whose unwavering dedication to her constituents and tireless 
commitment to public service have left an indelible mark on our 
Nation's history.
  Andrea Seastrand was born on August 5, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois. 
She graduated from DePaul University with a BA in education, and moved 
to Salinas, California, to find work as an elementary schoolteacher. 
Before serving one term as a Member of the United States House of 
Representatives, she served as a member of the California State 
Assembly for 4 years, where she was part of the Assembly Education 
Committee and served as assistant minority leader.
  After her time in public service, she founded the California Space 
Technology Alliance, a private nonprofit organization focused on 
promoting California's participation in space ventures. She has also 
served in leadership positions on local boards and civic groups focused 
on fiscal responsibility and citizen involvement.
  The career of former Congresswoman Andrea Seastrand is a testament to 
the power of visionary leadership, dedicated public service, and a 
profound commitment to serving with dedication and responsibility to 
our fellow citizens.
  Her contributions have shaped the aerospace industry in California, 
protected taxpayers, and improved the

[[Page H2874]]

lives of countless Americans. The impact of her legacy will endure for 
generations to come.
  It is with the utmost respect and admiration that I commend her 
exceptional service and numerous contributions to our State and Nation.


                Casa Diablo IV Groundbreaking Investment

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a groundbreaking 
investment in renewable energy development in my district, the Casa 
Diablo IV geothermal plant.
  The Mammoth Geothermal Complex, located just outside of Mammoth 
Lakes, California, has been powering Inyo and Mono Counties since 1984. 
A new geothermal facility has recently been added to the existing three 
facilities of the complex.
  With the addition of the Casa Diablo IV plant, the total generation 
for the complex will double and produce enough energy to power 45,000 
homes.
  Geothermal energy harnesses the power contained in the fluids and 
heat from the Earth's core to produce clean energy for our communities 
while producing zero nitrogen oxide emissions, virtually no carbon 
dioxide emissions, and presenting low visual and noise impacts.
  I commend the owners and operators of the complex, Mammoth Pacific 
Geothermal and Ormat Technologies for their leadership in this 
industry, their dedication to promoting clean, renewable energy 
resources, and their meaningful contributions to the Mammoth community 
through their support of local projects, scholarship programs, and 
housing assistance.
  I also applaud the Inyo National Forest for their close partnership 
and collaboration on this important project.
  On behalf of the United States House of Representatives and the Third 
Congressional District of California, I am pleased to celebrate today 
on the House floor this valuable addition to the Mammoth Geothermal 
Complex.


              Honoring the Service of Dr. John A. Ungersma

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a truly outstanding 
individual in my district, Dr. John A. Ungersma for his heroic and 
invaluable service to our Nation and community.
  Dr. Ungersma earned his bachelor of arts degree from Stanford 
University and his medical degree from the University of Southern 
California. He used his education and experience to serve our Nation in 
the United States military as a naval flight surgeon and senior surgeon 
in the 1st Marine Division. He also served with honor in both Desert 
Shield and Desert Storm and ended his 48 years of service as a captain 
of the Medical Corps in the United States Navy.
  Dr. Ungersma established the first orthopedic surgery practice in 
Bishop, California, in 1966. He was the only orthopedic surgeon on the 
Highway 395 corridor between Los Angeles and Reno for almost a decade.
  Dr. Ungersma additionally served for 18 years on the Northern Inyo 
Hospital Board of Directors as president, vice president, and director 
at large. During his tenure, he was active in the planning, financing, 
and construction of a new 25-bed critical access hospital, which became 
one of only 28 critical access hospitals in California. He also served 
as vice president and treasurer of the Association of California 
Healthcare Districts and was named the Association's trustee of the 
year in 2015.
  Dr. Ungersma has touched countless lives, and his contributions have 
made a meaningful and lasting impact on the healthcare industry.
  On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored 
to recognize Dr. John A. Ungersma for his leadership and the years of 
service he has provided to the people of Inyo County, the State of 
California, and the United States of America.


                      Julie Su Nomination Stalled

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to discuss a 
hearing that was held last week by the House Education and the 
Workforce Committee where Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su testified 
as a witness.
  Now, as background, Ms. Su, of course, has been nominated by 
President Biden to be Secretary of Labor. She has been in that role in 
only an acting capacity now for several months, and the nomination has 
been stalled for those months.
  In fact, the Biden administration, as being reported by Bloomberg, 
has now set up a nightly war room to try to advance Su's nomination, 
but there is a reason that the nomination has remained stalled, and 
that is because she is exactly the wrong person for the job.

  The testimony she gave at last week's hearing before the Education 
and the Workforce Committee was evasive, nonresponsive, and in some 
cases outright dishonest in a way that provided further confirmation 
that she should not be the next Secretary of Labor of the United 
States.
  For starters, the hearing almost didn't happen because Acting 
Secretary Su tried to cancel at the last moment. Chair Virginia Foxx 
began the hearing as follows: She said to Ms. Su: `` . . . you have 
been a hard witness to schedule. The committee began working with the 
Department to secure your in-person testimony beginning in March. When 
you would not appear in May, we honored your request to appear in June, 
using a date, June 7, that was offered by your staff and to which you 
agreed.''
  Chair Foxx continued: ``So why is it that on a late Friday evening, 
following the committee's public posting of the hearing a week ago, 
your staff told us that you were `no longer able to make June 7th 
work?' ''
  The only reason Acting Secretary Su did appear before the committee 
is that the committee was going to resort to a subpoena to get her 
there otherwise.
  That was the first major issue with Ms. Su's performance at this 
hearing, but there were several others.
  First, was her response on the topic of Proposition 22, which was a 
major labor initiative passed by California voters less than 3 years 
ago, in 2020. Now, Ms. Su was California's secretary of labor at the 
time. She would have been substantially affected by whether this 
initiative passed or failed. It ended up passing. California voters 
overwhelmingly chose to allow companies like Uber and Lyft and Door 
Dash to continue to use independent contractors, and thereby allowing 
them to stay in California.
  When I asked Ms. Su how she, herself, voted as a California voter on 
Prop 22, she answered as follows: ``How did I vote on Prop 22? I don't 
remember how I voted on that.''
  Now, Mr. Speaker, this utterly exceeds all bounds of plausibility, 
that the secretary of labor for our State would not remember how she 
voted on this major labor initiative less than 3 years ago. I think it 
is fairly safe to conclude that this was a false statement that Ms. Su 
made to our committee.
  Just to be fair, I gave her several opportunities to correct her 
statement on that later in the hearing, and she still did not retract 
it. That is her testimony on the record, that she does not remember how 
she voted on this major labor initiative while she was California's 
secretary of labor.
  Second, was her testimony with respect to AB5. Now, AB5 is a law that 
has made it virtually impossible for countless professionals in 
California to continue their careers. It has essentially abolished 
independent contracting in hundreds of professions and has been widely 
condemned across the partisan spectrum.
  Now, Ms. Su has been called an architect of that law, AB5. As 
California's secretary of labor, she was the one who enforced it, and 
she did so in the most aggressive, ruthless, broadest way possible to 
ensnare as many people as possible.
  After the law passed, she was on the record celebrating its passage, 
so you would think she would have a pretty good answer when I asked her 
whether she thought AB5 was a good law. However, after I asked that, 
here is what she said: ``I don't know what--I mean, I don't know. I 
don't know. Tell me what--give me a little bit more on what you mean by 
that.''

                              {time}  2045

  I took several other opportunities to ask her whether she thought AB5 
was a good law. Each and every time she refused to answer.
  I also asked Ms. Su whether she was involved in the drafting of AB5, 
and she responded simply no. However, she then contradicted herself 
later in the hearing when my colleague, Mr. Burlison, asked her about 
her involvement. She said that, oh, yes, she did, in fact, provide 
technical assistance.

[[Page H2875]]

  When I asked Ms. Su whether she was aware that people have lost their 
livelihoods in California because of this law AB5, she said: I have 
heard from people who have said that.
  She reiterated that exact language again: I have heard from people 
who said that. I have heard people who said something different too. I 
have had people tell me that. She responded, refusing each time to 
recognize the legitimacy of these claims, refusing to recognize that we 
have had countless people who have lost their livelihoods in 
California.
  Also, it was no less than 2 days after that hearing that we got yet 
another example of this when the city of Los Angeles announced that it 
was having to terminate a contract with almost 100 truckers for a road 
repair program that had been around for about 130 years and the 
Department of Public Works in the city of Los Angeles specifically 
cited AB5 as the reason it was canceling that contract.
  There are countless examples like this, and yet the most that Ms. Su 
is willing to say is: I have heard from people who have said that.
  Next, I asked Ms. Su about her role with the massive $32 billion, at 
a minimum, unemployment fraud that occurred in California on her watch. 
I asked her several times: Do you take any responsibility for that 
fraud?
  She evaded the question several times before finally saying: Yes. I 
do take responsibility to the fact the system did not deliver in ways 
that we would have hoped that it delivered.
  I then asked her several times what she would have done differently, 
what she has learned if she could do it all over again, and she could 
not name a single thing that she would have done differently to prevent 
this $32 billion unemployment fraud, even though the independent State 
auditor and the leading Democrat lawmakers in California have blamed 
her specifically for the fraud.
  I also asked Ms. Su about the migrant child labor crisis that has 
been uncovered by The New York Times, and I asked her whether she had 
communicated the scale of this problem to the White House prior to this 
year. Her response was: I don't know. I don't know that.
  I, along with several other members of the committee, asked Ms. Su if 
she would commit to not changing the joint-employer rule or bringing a 
new joint-employer rule that would threaten the entire franchise 
business model.
  She was evasive each and every time and would give no such 
commitment. She made comments such as: We do not have a plan to do 
that. It is not on our agenda.
  She also said: I commit to following all of the rules of rulemaking, 
everything that we are required to do, I pledge to you that we will do 
under my leadership, under my tenure at the Department of Labor. I 
can't sit here at this moment and tell you with certainty everything 
that is going to happen.
  Again, we tried several times, myself and several members of the 
committee. She would not commit to not bring a new joint-employer rule.
  Finally, I asked Ms. Su about the economic performance of her home 
State, California, where she was the Secretary of Labor for Governor 
Gavin Newsom and was the labor commissioner for several years before 
that. I asked Ms. Su if she knew where California ranks among the 
States when it comes to its unemployment rank. She did not know.
  The answer is that California has the second highest unemployment 
rate in the Nation. I asked Acting Secretary Su if she happened to know 
which State has the highest poverty rate in the country. She didn't 
know. The answer, once again, is California.
  I asked Acting Secretary Su if she knew which State has the lowest 
rate of net earnings growth of any of the 50 States. She didn't know 
that either and, once again, the answer is her home State of California 
where she was the Secretary of Labor.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is clear, based on Acting Secretary Su's 
record, that she is not the right person for this role. She is not the 
right person for the highest labor position in the land, in our 
country, at this moment of such great importance for the American 
economy and American workforce.
  I will, once again, encourage President Biden to withdraw her 
nomination and to nominate a secretary who will be on the side of 
American workers.
  Mr. Speaker, I will take a moment to offer a little bit of background 
on the individual that President Biden is planning to appoint as the 
new director of the CDC. It is being widely reported that he will name 
Dr. Mandy Cohen of North Carolina to this post.
  Now, interestingly, the position of CDC director will soon be a 
Senate-confirmed position starting in 2025, based upon legislation 
passed last year. It was recognized that this is a position of such 
great importance that during the COVID era was so relevant to the lives 
of so many people that it should be a Senate-confirmed position. 
However, that provision has not taken effect yet, so if President Biden 
does, in fact, move forward with this appointment, as has been 
reported, then there will be no opportunity for her to be vetted.
  With the appointment not yet official, this really is the one 
opportunity that Americans have to weigh in on whether this is the 
right person for the job.
  We need to recognize that there is a huge gap in the level of trust 
that Americans have in our entire public health establishment, based on 
many of the things that have happened in the last few years.
  I will actually point to a comment from the CEO of Facebook, or Meta, 
as it is now called, Mark Zuckerberg, just a couple weeks ago. Mr. 
Zuckerberg said this: ``Just take some of the stuff around COVID 
earlier on in the pandemic, where there were real health implications, 
but there hadn't been time to fully vet a bunch of the scientific 
assumptions and, unfortunately, I think a lot of the establishment on 
that kind of waffled on a bunch of facts and asked for a bunch of 
things to be censored that, in retrospect, ended up being more 
debatable or true. And that stuff,'' Mr. Zuckerberg continued, ``is 
really tough, right? It really undermines trust.''

  We are learning more and more about the role that the CDC and 
government authorities played in those efforts to censor certain facts 
or opinions related to COVID-19, many of which, in the words of Mr. 
Zuckerberg, ``ended up being more debatable or true.''
  We also saw in the CDC, throughout the COVID era, take truly radical 
positions, such as recommending masks for children as young as 2 years 
old. This defied the international consensus. It was not what the WHO 
recommended. It was not what the European counterpart of the CDC 
recommended, yet it was the CDC's position.
  We also saw how the CDC apparently changed its school reopening 
guidance in February 2021 after pressure from teachers' unions. Texts 
between the outgoing director of the CDC, Ms. Walensky, and Randi 
Weingarten have been uncovered showing this level of coordination and 
how the guidance was, apparently, revised based on input or pressure 
from the unions.
  This, of course, is not a role, head of a teachers' union, that is 
selected for based upon one's scientific credentials, yet apparently 
played an important role in guidance that was then used to keep many, 
many schools across our country closed and to deprive millions of kids 
of the education that they deserve.
  We also had time and again the CDC make statements on issues like the 
transmissibility of COVID for vaccinated individuals that turned out to 
be incorrect. We saw vaccine mandates struck down by the courts as 
unconstitutional.
  With all that as background, let's turn to the question of whether 
Dr. Mandy Cohen of North Carolina is the right person to restore trust 
in our public health system, and I would say, based upon her record, 
she absolutely is not the right person. Indeed, she manifested the very 
worst tendencies of the COVID era.
  Let's start with the method she used for shutting down the economy in 
her own State. Now, I will first give you her words when she described 
it. She said: Our scientific team, in coordination with looking at 
recommendations for the Centers for Disease Control and others, and 
really understanding, again, what we have learned this year about how 
this virus spreads. We know that there are settings and activities

[[Page H2876]]

that are lower risk. It doesn't mean that they are no risk, but lower 
risks. We know there are things that are medium risk, things that are 
higher risks, and so forth.
  So you would think this is a very considered process that she went 
through. However, feedback from others in her State suggested the 
opposite.
  Dale Folwell, who was the North Carolina State treasurer, said: I 
tried for months during COVID to get the council of State to convene 
with Dr. Cohen to explain the lack of transparency in the data used to 
shut down our economy and our schools. These decisions 
disproportionately hurt lower- and fixed-income adults and kids. By 
closing schools and the economy, it closed opportunity and upward 
mobility for students and citizens. The damage, he said, is 
generational.
  That is how another Statewide elected official in North Carolina 
described the level of transparency and the implications during the 
COVID era, but what is even more revealing is comments that Dr. Cohen 
recently made herself.
  In contrast to the more methodological approach that she claimed to 
have followed, she made these comments in a 2022 interview with the 
Duke Health Sector Management. When asked how she decided what to lock 
down, what could remain open, what wouldn't, she said: So I would call 
probably the person I called most was the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services in Massachusetts.
  Dr. Cohen went on: When she was, like, are you gonna let them have 
professional football? And I was, like, nope. And she's, like, okay, 
neither are we. Neither are we.
  At this point, Dr. Cohen laughs at this.
  She goes on: So it was, you know, conversations like that, so or I'd 
be, like, when are you gonna think about lightening up on masks? 
They're, like, next Monday, and I'm, like, okay, next Monday.
  See, this is what we all suspected was happening in many of these 
States that seemed to have no rhyme or reason to the way they went 
about these lockdown and reopening policies.
  Here, you have President Biden's own presumptive nominee to be the 
CDC director saying, yes, that is exactly what she did. In a flippant 
and arbitrary manner, she decided what industries would be shut down 
and which would remain open, as well as what would be mandated and what 
wouldn't.
  In addition to that, Dr. Cohen adopted many policies that were on the 
extreme end of the spectrum when it came to COVID mandates. For 
example, on July 26, 2021, she said: Schools with students in K-8 
should require all children and staff to wear masks indoors, regardless 
of vaccination status.
  Now, we have already seen this was a position that is at odds with 
the international norm. She also repeated claims that turned out to be 
false with regard to transmissibility. She said in a 2021 interview 
with the Carolina Business review: What we heard from the CDC last week 
was even better than what we heard before, right. We had heard that 
vaccines protect you from getting COVID. I think the new piece of 
information for us was that we now have more definitive data to show 
that it prevents you from giving COVID to others. And that is really 
where masks come in, right, a mask is about protecting you from giving 
COVID to others even if you don't know you have it.
  She also promoted masks for vaccinated individuals 7 months after the 
CDC dropped its mask requirement for vaccinated individuals. She said: 
We still need to mask--everyone. This was during a December 20 news 
briefing. Even if you are vaccinated, she said, you should wear a mask 
in public, indoor spaces, and if possible, wear a medical grade mask 
for more protection. This was in December 2021.

  In addition to that, Ms. Cohen threatened to sue a school district, 
Union County School Board, for their decision to drop contact tracing 
and quarantine processes in September 2021. The dispute came after 
Union County Health Department officials would not work with the 
district on reducing quarantine times if students presented a negative 
test or other mitigation measures were used.
  In other words, they were trying to get their kids back to school. 
School officials made this request to minimize the impact a quarantine 
has on students and their families; the Union County Public School's 
statement reads: Local health officials would not consider this request 
despite the fact that health officials around the State have 
implemented similar measures. The district also refuted Cohen's claims 
about infections in their district using her own agency's data.
  Dr. Cohen also strongly supported vaccine mandates for healthcare 
workers. In July 2021, she said: Thank you to the North Carolina 
Healthcare Association and the health systems that are leading the way 
requiring vaccination for employees, for taking action to protect the 
healthcare workforce, their parents, our communities and the State. 
Vaccinations are our way out of this pandemic, she concluded.
  Dr. Cohen also wore a double mask at an event in January 2021, and 
even posted a photo of herself wearing a mask with Dr. Fauci's picture 
on it.
  Mr. Speaker, while this is not an appointment that will be subject to 
a vote in either House, I would simply encourage President Biden to 
acknowledge the lack of trust that exists right now in many parts of 
this country, with even Mark Zuckerberg saying that we had public 
health decisions that undermined public trust, and to instead appoint a 
CDC Director who will actually adhere to science, who will adhere to 
norms, and who will not take us down this road ever again.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________