DIAZ-BALART, MARIO (a Representative from Florida)

Addresses

Taiwan Relations Act Affirmation and Naval Vessel Transfer Act: Ma Ying-Jeou, President of Taiwan, E561•–E563• [9AP]

Bills and resolutions cosponsored

Abortion: prohibit taxpayer funded abortions (see H.R. 7), H473 [15JA]

Africa: assist sub-Saharan African countries develop mix of power solutions for more broadly distributed electricity access to support poverty alleviation and drive economic growth (see H.R. 2548), H2611 [24MR]

AID: expand the number of scholarships available to Pakistani women under the Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship Program (see H.R. 3583), H2696 [26MR]

American Infrastructure Fund: establish to provide loans or guarantees to State or local governments for qualified infrastructure projects (see H.R. 2084), H2914 [3AP]

American Revolution: award a Congressional Gold Medal to the First Rhode Island Regiment in recognition of their dedicated service during the Revolutionary War (see H.R. 4045), H2435 [13MR]

Black Ribbon Day: designate to recognize victims of Soviet Communist and Nazi regimes (see H. Res. 509), H2915 [3AP]

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: improve operations of recovery auditors under the Medicare Integrity Program to increase transparency and accuracy in audits conducted by contractors (see H.R. 1250), H3940 [7MY]

Children and youth: bolster U.S. diplomacy and assistance aimed at ensuring children have permanent, safe, nurturing, and loving families and strengthen intercountry adoption to the U.S. and around the world (see H.R. 4143), H2147 [4MR]

——— prevent and address sex trafficking of youth in foster care (see H.R. 4058), H3941 [7MY]

Corporal Christian A. Guzman Rivera Post Office Building, Princeton, FL: designate (see H.R. 5030), H5876 [8JY]

Crime: provide a penalty for knowingly selling advertising that offers certain commercial sex acts (see H.R. 4225), H3941 [7MY]

——— provide justice for victims of human trafficking (see H.R. 3530), H3941 [7MY]

——— stop exploitation through human trafficking (see H.R. 3610), H3941 [7MY]

Dept. of Defense: develop a plan to move U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) back to the continental U.S. (see H.R. 4434), H3142 [9AP]

Dept. of Education: establish an awards program recognizing excellence exhibited by public school system employees providing services to students in pre-kindergarten through higher education (see H.R. 1763), H183 [13JA]

Dept. of Transportation: establish a pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure credit assistance pilot program (see H.R. 3978), H1511 [29JA]

Dept. of Veterans Affairs: clarify qualifications of hearing aid specialists (see H.R. 3508), H2260 [10MR]

——— enter into contracts for provision of medical care at non-departmental facilities for certain patients, assess health care delivery system, and limit employee awards and bonuses (see H.R. 4810), H5250 [10JN]

——— include the cost of applying to an institution of higher learning as part of the benefits provided under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Program (see H.R. 4793), H6860 [25JY]

——— provide for removal of Senior Executive Service employees based on performance (see H.R. 4031), H2915 [3AP]

EPA: eliminate certain requirements under the renewable fuel program and prohibit approval of gasoline that contains greater than a certain percentage of ethanol (see H.R. 1462), H4017 [8MY]

Father Richard Marquess-Barry Post Office Building, Miami, FL: designate (see H.R. 4030), H1718 [10FE]

FDA: provide an alternative process for review of safety and effectiveness of nonprescription sunscreen active ingredients (see H.R. 4250), H5069 [2JN]

Federal agencies and departments: ensure functionality and security of new Federal websites that collect personally identifiable information (see H.R. 3635), H224 [14JA]

Financial institutions: clarify application of certain leverage and risk-based capital requirements (see H.R. 4510), H5877 [8JY]

——— specify when bank holding companies may be subject to certain enhanced supervision (see H.R. 4060), H3242 [28AP]

Firearms: establish national standard to allow State concealed handgun carrying licenses to be valid in other States (see H.R. 2959), H1243 [16JA]

Forests: provide for wildfire suppression and prevention operations (see H.R. 3992), H5073 [5JN]

Galvez y Madrid, Bernardo de: confer honorary citizenship (see H.J. Res. 105), H134 [9JA]

Government: restore the 10-year statute of limitations applicable to collection of debt by administrative offset (see H.R. 4491), H4017 [8MY]

Hamas (terrorist organization): condemn use of civilians as human shields, recognize breaches of international law, support Israel’s right of self-defense, and support Palestinians who reject terrorism (see H. Con. Res. 107), H6400 [17JY]

Health: support role of the U.S. in ensuring children in poor countries have access to vaccines and immunization through the GAVI Alliance (organization) (see H. Res. 688), H6859 [25JY]

Iran: condemn persecution of Baha’is and continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights, impose sanctions for such violations, and call for release of religious prisoners (see H. Res. 109), H5830 [7JY]

Iraq: authorize direct provision of defense articles, defense services, and related training to Kurdish Regional Government (see H.R. 5747), H8169 [20NO]

IRS: implement security measures in the electronic tax return filing process to prevent tax refund fraud from being perpetrated with electronic identity theft (see H.R. 5670), H7887 [18SE]

Israel: reaffirm support for right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas (terrorist organization) and condemn and call for an end to such attacks (see H. Res. 657), H6108 [10JY]

Levinson, Robert: urge intensified cooperation by Iran on the case of the disappearance of former FBI agent while on business trip in Iran (see H. Res. 435), H5399 [17JN]

Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act: provide a definition of recreational vessel (see H.R. 3896), H1240 [16JA]

Medicare: ensure appropriate coverage of ventricular assist devices (see H.R. 3320), H4434 [15MY]

Mental health: make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals diagnosed with mental illness and families in mental health crisis (see H.R. 3717), H3144 [9AP]

Mexico: call for release of Andrew P. Tahmooressi (see H. Res. 620), H5725 [24JN]

Middle East: prevent Hezbollah and associated entities from gaining access to international financial and other institutions (see H.R. 4411), H3448 [6MY]

Moldova: support sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, call for removal of Russian forces, and resolve conflict in Transnistria territory (see H. Res. 562), H4017 [8MY]

Muslim Brotherhood (organization): designate as terrorist organization and impose sanctions against persons who knowingly provide material support or resources (see H.R. 5194), H7129 [30JY]

National Commission on the Structure of the Army: establish (see H.R. 3930), H1881 [21FE]

National Teacher Day: observance (see H. Res. 571), H3446 [6MY]

NATO: encourage continued enlargement (see H.R. 4346), H2744 [27MR]

Nazi Party—World War II: terminate Social Security benefits for individuals who participated in Nazi persecution (see H.R. 5739), H8132 [19NO]

Nicklaus, Jack: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 2203), H2696 [26MR]

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: repeal provisions relative to annual period for disenrollment from Medicare Advantage plans to elect to receive original Medicare fee-for-service benefits (see H.R. 2453), H6400 [17JY]

Peres, Shimon: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 2939), H3413 [2MY]

Poland: anniversary of Warsaw Uprising (see H. Res. 690), H6859 [25JY]

Religion: condemn anti-Semitism and comparison of Israel to Nazis perpetrating the Holocaust and reject attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred as an acceptable disapproval of political events in the Middle East (see H. Res. 707), H7297 [8SE]

Ros-Lehtinen, Representative: Miami-Dade County, FL, Public Schools Hall of Fame inductee (see H. Res. 764), H8170 [20NO]

Securities: determine a customer’s net equity based on the customer’s last statement, prohibit certain recoveries, and change how trustees are appointed (see H.R. 3482), H7529 [15SE]

Sergeant First Class Daniel M. Ferguson Post Office, Mulberry, FL: designate (see H.R. 5089), H6353 [16JY]

Social Security: repeal Government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions (see H.R. 1795), H20 [7JA]

States: ensure methods of collecting taxes and fees by private citizens on behalf of States are fair and effective and do not discriminate against interstate commerce (see H.R. 5252), H7676 [17SE]

Taiwan Relations Act: affirm importance (see H. Res. 494), H2303 [11MR]

Taxation: allow individuals a deduction for amounts contributed to disaster savings accounts to help defray costs of preparing their homes to withstand a disaster and repair or replace damaged property (see H.R. 3989), H2803 [1AP]

——— exclude from gross income any prizes or awards received by Olympic medal winners (see H.R. 3987), H1720 [10FE]

——— exempt certain stock of real estate investment trusts from the tax on foreign investment in U.S. real property interests (see H.R. 2870), H3058 [8AP]

——— extend and expand the deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers (see H.R. 3490), H21 [7JA]

——— extend exclusion from gross income of discharges of qualified principal residence indebtedness (see H.R. 2994), H7128 [30JY]

——— modify substantiation rules for donation of vehicles of a certain value (see H.R. 4960), H8171 [20NO]

——— permanently extend the new markets tax credit (see H.R. 4365), H4435 [15MY]

Telephones: restrict any State or local jurisdiction from imposing a new discriminatory tax on cell phone services, providers, or property (see H.R. 2309), H224 [14JA]

Transportation: empower States with authority for most taxing and spending for highway and mass transit programs (see H.R. 3486), H7893 [18SE]

Travel Promotion Act: extend (see H.R. 4450), H3195 [10AP]

U.N.: promote transparency, accountability, and reform (see H.R. 3155), H1687 [6FE]

Venezuela: impose sanctions on foreign persons responsible for, or complicit in ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the commission of serious human rights abuses against nationals (see H.R. 4229), H2432 [13MR]

——— impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for carrying out or ordering human rights abuses against the citizens of Venezuela (see H.R. 4587), H3939 [7MY]

——— support freedom of expression and assembly, condemn violence and intimidation of country’s political opposition, and call for international support for democratic reform (see H. Res. 488), H1937 [25FE]

Water: prevent finalization by the EPA or Corps of Engineers of proposed guidance on identification of waters protected by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (see H.R. 5078), H6977 [28JY]

Wilson, Representative Frederica S.: Miami-Dade County, FL, Public Schools Hall of Fame inductee (see H. Res. 764), H8170 [20NO]

World War I: mint coins in commemoration of centennial (see H.R. 2366), H6217 [14JY]

World War II: award Congressional Gold Medal to Monuments Men in recognition of their role in preservation, protection, and restitution of monuments, works of art, and articles of cultural importance (see H.R. 3658), H2746 [27MR]

——— ensure that U.S. courts provide a forum for claims brought against any railroad arising from the deportation of individuals to Nazi concentration camps (see H.R. 1505), H6137 [11JY]

Remarks

Appropriations: making continuing (H.J. Res. 124), H7555, H7565 [16SE]

Brain Awareness Week: observance, E366• [12MR]

Doral, FL: Doral Performing Arts and Entertainment Academy recipient of Dept. of Education Blue Ribbon Schools award, E1556• [13NO]

Hialeah, FL: Mater Gardens Academy recipient of Dept. of Education Blue Ribbon Schools award, E1556• [13NO]

Miami, FL: tribute to Miami Brain Fair, E366• [12MR]

Orban, Victor: tribute to Hungarian Prime Minister for efforts to combat anti-semitism, E183• [10FE]

Padrón Cigars (company): anniversary, E1255• [29JY]

Russia: condemn political, military, and economic aggression against neighboring countries and call for international response opposing such actions (H. Res. 758), H8349 [3DE]

Ships and vessels: provide for the transfer of naval vessels to certain foreign recipients (H.R. 3470), E561• [9AP]

Syria: authorize assistance, including training, equipment, supplies, and sustainment to appropriately vetted Syrian groups to combat threat of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) (terrorist organization), H7565 [16SE]

Venezuela: impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for carrying out or ordering human rights abuses against the citizens of Venezuela (H.R. 4587), H4849 [28MY]

——— support free and peaceful exercise of representative democracy and condemn violence and intimidation of country’s political opposition, H2013 [27FE]

——— support freedom of expression and assembly, condemn violence and intimidation of country’s political opposition, and call for international support for democratic reform (H. Res. 488), H2107 [4MR]

Votes: position on missed, H5576• [20JN]

Women’s History Month: observance, E462•, E463•, E464• [27MR]

Tributes

Aguilera, Yris Tamara Perez, E459• [27MR]

Kerskie, Carrie, E463• [27MR]

Kimball, Dan B., E364• [12MR]

Machado, Mária C., E464• [27MR]

Murgado, Mario, E61• [14JA]

Passidomo, Kathleen C., E461• [27MR]

Patton, Kamela, E462• [27MR]

Payá Acevedo, Rosa María, E457• [27MR]

Sauls, Steve, E1769• [10DE]