Congressional Record, House, September 17, 2020, Page H4494

Summary

A page of the Congressional Record, House, dated September 17, 2020, at page H4494, with one-minute speeches. A Member pays tribute to Mark Sertich, a Duluth hockey legend, community leader and World War II veteran, and another urges continued searching for POW/MIA servicemembers and describes the flag displayed in the Capitol rotunda. Ms. Eshoo describes the CZU Lightning Complex fire in her district as the 10th most destructive wildfire in California's history. Speakers praise the Abraham Accords as a foundation for peace in the Middle East, Mr. Ruiz says nearly 200,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, and Mr. Cicilline says the House passed the HEROES Act more than 4 months ago.

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“Congressional Record, House, September 17, 2020, Page H4494.” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-09-17-crec-2020-09-17-pt1-pgh4494-3-f7cc42e720/, SHA-256 5446e1fe9f9a7cbae1eb0d2530203a2e807abec1ae9b5a5be5935fd7c11c3e86.

Full text

H4494 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 17, 2020
with Mark during some of those games, Many return home. Far too many do Thanks to President Trump’s bold vi-
and I am thankful to everyone at the not. We owe it to those individuals and sion for American foreign policy, we
Fire Department who made those to the families of those individuals to have rebuilt trust with our regional
games possible. continue the search. The pain that partners and show a united front
Mr. Speaker, I know that Mark these families endure due to uncer- against the oppressive regime in
Sertich is already missed by his family, tainty is unfathomable. Tehran.
friends, and all of the Duluth commu- To ensure that these men and women After decades of division in the Mid-
nity, but I hope they are comforted in are never forgotten, a flag, that I am dle East, the Abraham Accords will lay
knowing that his life as a hockey leg- sure all of us recognize, was designed in the foundation for peace and prosperity
end, community leader, World War II consultation with Evelyn Grubb, wife in the region for decades to come. Nor-
veteran and a member of the greatest of an Air Force POW, and Mary Helen malized relations across the region will
generation will be long remembered Hoff, wife of a Navy man deemed miss- accelerate growth by expanding diplo-
and celebrated. ing in action. matic, economic, and financial ties.
f Today, that flag is displayed in the Mr. Speaker, there is much to be op-
U.S. Capitol rotunda, serving as a re- timistic about, these recent historic
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES minder that we must continue our Abraham Accords will bring a new
(Ms. ESHOO asked and was given per- work on behalf of military families and wave of peace and prosperity in the
mission to address the House for 1 continue the search for our POW/MIA Middle East.
minute and to revise and extend her re- servicemembers. f
marks.) f
Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, it is won- HEROES ACT AND THE PEOPLE
derful to see the gentleman in the HEROES ACT FOR THE PEOPLE (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given
Chair. (Mr. RUIZ asked and was given per- permission to address the House for 1
Mr. Speaker and colleagues, a month mission to address the House for 1 minute.)
ago yesterday, a siege of lightning minute and to revise and extend his re- Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, more
strikes ignited the CZU Lightning marks.) than 4 months ago, the House passed
Complex fire in my congressional dis- Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, nearly 200,000 the HEROES Act, legislation that pro-
trict, and it is now the 10th most de- Americans have tragically died from tects our HEROES on the front line of
structive wildlife in California’s his- COVID–19 in the United States. In Riv- this pandemic, our police officers, fire-
tory. erside County, California, 1,136 have fighters, healthcare workers, sanita-
Over the past month, the fire has de- died and 56,201 people have been in- tion workers, it provides stimulus pay-
stroyed nearly a thousand homes in my fected. ments for up to $6,000 per family, ex-
district and forced 77,000 of my con- We have record-breaking unemploy- tends unemployment benefits of $600
stituents to evacuate. Thanks to the ment in our Nation, with 13.7 percent per week through January, and gets
extraordinary—and I mean, extraor- unemployment in Riverside County. hazard pay and much-needed resources
dinary work—of thousands of first re- They are our family, our neighbors, to frontline workers.
sponders, the fire is now over 90 per- our friends. My constituents are strug- This bill has sat on my MITCH
cent contained. gling, and they urgently need relief. MCCONNELL’s desk since then.
As we work toward recovery, much of The Senate must get their act to- In the meantime, tens of millions of
the Bay Area and the entire western gether. Their delay in stalling is a Americans are out of work with unem-
United States is still breathing the shame, and to make matters worse, ployment levels four times higher than
toxic smoke from these fires, which their skinny-aid excuse of a proposal is they were before this pandemic. More
can have lasting effects and worsen much worse than a day late and a dol- than a million layoffs and State and
chronic heart and lung diseases and lar short. local budget cuts that are crippling
have a terrible impact on children In fact, it has been 125 days since the services for those who need them the
whose lungs are still developing. House passed the HEROES Act. They most. A total of 6.3 million Americans
Congress should immediately pass must meet the HEROES Act at least have been infected and nearly 200,000
my legislation, the Smoke Planning halfway to provide another round of have died.
and Research Act to help local govern- stimulus checks, extend unemploy- Mr. Speaker, instead of voting on the
ments address this public health crisis. ment benefits, small business support, HEROES Act, the Senate Republicans
I am also calling on Congress to pass and money for local and State govern- put forward their own bill that didn’t
the WIRED Act to allow States to re- ments to pay for essential services, come close to addressing the problems
quire wireless companies to deploy in- like for police, firefighters, and teach- we face: The economic catastrophe and
frastructure that is resilient enough to ers. the public health crisis.
support cell phone networks during dis- The Senate must act. The Senate The American people deserve better.
asters. must step up and bring this legislation They need help. They deserve a Senate
f for a vote. Meet us halfway to slow the and Republicans in the Senate that
spread and save lives as quickly and work for them, and a President who
NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION
safely as possible. We need the HE- tells them the truth.
DAY
ROES Act for the people. Rest assured, Democrats are going to
(Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania f continue fighting for all those that our
asked and was given permission to ad- Republican colleagues in the Senate
dress the House for 1 minute and to re- ABRAHAM ACCORDS
and that President Trump have left be-
vise and extend his remarks.) (Mr. LAMALFA asked and was given hind.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. permission to address the House for 1 f
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize minute and to revise and extend his re-
tomorrow, September 18, as National marks.) WE THE PEOPLE
POW/MIA Recognition Day. Mr. LAMALFA. Mr. Speaker, for our (Mr. NORMAN asked and was given
This important day of respect, reflec- friends and allies in Israel, the Abra- permission to address the House for 1
tion, and recognition was established ham Accords are the first agreement minute and to revise and extend his re-
through a 1979 proclamation by Presi- with a neighboring Arab country since marks.)

SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with HOUSE
dent Jimmy Carter. To date, more than 1994. Peace agreements between Israel, Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, today is
83,000 Americans are still missing from Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates a special day in which we pause to
World War II, the Korean war, the bring a significant shift in the balance cherish the bedrock of our union that
Vietnam war, and more. of power in the Middle East, and is the Constitution.
The brave Americans who rose to the strengthens the American position The great experiment that is this Na-
occasion to protect and defend our against Iran, which is a leading sponsor tion rests upon the spirit that Madison
country are the bravest among us. of terror in the world. enshrined in this document. It is the

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