[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12501-12502]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 NOMINATIONS FOR U.S. SERVICE ACADEMIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. Mooney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, one of the most meaningful 
things a Member of Congress does is nominate some of the best and 
brightest students from our congressional district to serve our 
Nation's service academies.
  U.S. service academy graduates receive a first-rate undergraduate 
education with options to pursue advanced degrees. They spend a minimum 
of 5 years serving their country on Active Duty as a military officer 
and are provided with an education and experience that will provide a 
world of career opportunities.
  The full 4-year scholarship is valued at more than $350,000, which 
includes tuition, room and board, medical and dental care, and also a 
monthly salary. Students learn discipline, moral ethics, and teamwork 
in a structured environment that fosters leadership and character 
development.
  Last year, I had the privilege of nominating 20 high school seniors 
for admission to one or more academies. Half of the young men and women 
that I nominated received admission to at least one service academy.

[[Page 12502]]

  Calling each nominee in my district, as I am doing here, to tell them 
that they have been selected to these prestigious institutions was one 
of the most special moments of my freshman year in Congress. I hope to 
make many more phone calls this year. This is a picture of me calling 
Drew Polczynski last year to tell him he had been accepted to West 
Point.
  If you are highly motivated, looking for a challenge in your life, 
and want to serve your country, I hope you will consider attending a 
U.S. Service Academy.
  I will be hosing information sessions throughout my district this 
year. These sessions are a great opportunity for students to explore 
the possibility of attending one of several prominent academic 
institutions and meet with admissions representatives. I hope students 
and their family will attend these events throughout the Second 
Congressional District.
  If you are interested in a congressional nomination, please contact 
my office in Charleston at (304) 925-5964, or my office in Martinsburg 
at (304) 264-8810, and ask for the individual who oversees academy 
applications.


                      Humanitarian Crisis in Syria

  Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I met 
with members of the Syrian community in Charleston, West Virginia, to 
discuss ways that the Federal Government can help the ongoing 
humanitarian crisis in Syria. This is us meeting.
  In particular, we discussed H.R. 5732, the Caesar Syria Civilian 
Protection Act of 2016. The bill would hold Syrian human rights abusers 
accountable for their crimes. The bill would impose sanctions on 
individuals who do business with dictator al-Assad's brutal regime and 
would require the President to publish a list of people who are 
complicit in the grave human rights violations that have occurred and 
continue to unfold in Syria.
  Despite promises and agreements to the contrary, chemical weapons are 
still being used regularly by the Assad regime in Syria. We cannot look 
the other way while innocent children are murdered.
  I am a proud cosponsor of this critical bill, and I thank my 
colleagues, Congressman Eliot Engel and Chairman Ed Royce, for 
introducing it. I encourage the leadership here in the House to bring 
the bill to the floor for a vote immediately.
  The innocent Syrian people have suffered enough. The current civil 
war has resulted in 4 million refugees and nearly 500,000 killed.
  My mother fled Fidel Castro's Communist Cuba after being unjustly 
thrown in jail by Fidel Castro's tyrannical Communist regime. We must 
protect persecuted individuals who have no one to stand up for them.

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