[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 141 (Wednesday, September 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H5160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CHINA IS A SIGNIFICANT THREAT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Alford) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the most 
pressing national security threat to our Nation right now: the Chinese 
Communist Party.
  The CCP is engaged in a full-scale influence and espionage operation 
right here in the United States of America.
  From Confucius Institutes to TikTok, and from spy balloons to 
intellectual property theft, the CCP's mission is quite clear: to 
collect our data, to infiltrate our country from within, and to become 
the world's sole superpower.
  Mr. Speaker, plain and simple, we need to make a change.
  We must recognize the significant threat that Communist China poses. 
We must decouple ourselves from our dependence on China. We must 
restore strong American leadership around the globe. We must ban our 
adversaries like China from buying U.S. farmland. We must put an end to 
their data collection schemes.
  Mr. Speaker, we must stand behind our ally Taiwan. The path forward 
is clear: peace through strength and a resolute leader in the White 
House.


                           Gold Star Ceremony

  Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak from my heart right now on a 
subject matter that we dealt with yesterday in the rotunda not too many 
feet from this House floor.
  I was honored to be at the ceremony yesterday for the 13 Gold Star 
families, the 13 servicemembers who bravely gave their lives 3 years 
ago on the wall at Abbey Gate due to a decision made by a failed 
administration to get all American troops out of Afghanistan, to leave 
them there--our allies--clinging to the wheels of aircraft as they 
tried to escape the grip of the Taliban. It was a flawed decision.
  This administration never apologized to those 13 families for that 
critical mistake in our world history. Yesterday, someone finally had 
the guts to apologize to those families: our Speaker,   Mike Johnson. I 
applaud him for that.
  The highest honor that Congress can bestow, the Congressional Gold 
Medal, was given posthumously to those 13 brave individuals, including 
Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz from Missouri.
  I realize that that apology and that acknowledgment and those 
Congressional Gold Medals will never completely heal those families, 
but I do think it was a step in the right direction.
  I was honored to have dinner with some of those families last night 
along with Darrell Issa,   Ken Calvert, and Brian Mast, sitting down 
with those families and just hearing their stories and how much it 
meant to be in that rotunda yesterday, and for our Nation to finally 
acknowledge that it was a mistake. This administration has never done 
that, and I think they will have to live with that.
  I am glad that our Speaker awarded those Gold Star medals, and I am 
glad we came together. It was bipartisan yesterday in that rotunda, 
make no mistake. I think we all felt the pain of those family members.
  I just left the rotunda and came back over here. I love going to the 
rotunda every morning when I can and seeing people come in for the very 
first time. They look up, and they see the pictures painted by people, 
like Trumbull and others, who have painted representations of our 
heroes. To have those 13 heroes with their pictures in that rotunda 
yesterday was very fitting.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want those families to know that we stand with 
them. We will never forget them. We have their backs. I hope someday we 
can regain their respect.
  Life is precious, but those willing to give the ultimate sacrifice to 
our Nation deserve our complete respect. I thank the families and their 
servicemembers for giving it all for our great Nation.


                          A Day of Remembrance

  Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, lastly, I want to reflect on today, 9/11, as 
a day of remembrance. This is now the 23rd anniversary of the fateful 
date in U.S. history when Islamic terrorists on planes loaded with 
people crashed into the World Trade Center.
  Let's keep that memory alive.

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