Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman from Georgia and, likewise, congratulate him for his leadership on the Transportation Committee…”

“I thank the gentleman from Georgia and, likewise, congratulate him for his leadership on the Transportation Committee, along with his chairman. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, which committee has had special emphasis on protecting and responding to our first responders, and so I am excited about the fact of moving this bill forward. I thank the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and I thank my Homeland Security Committee for moving this forward through an amendment process and now, ultimately, onto the floor of the House. I rise, Mr. Speaker, enthusiastically, in support of H.R. 58, the First Responder Identification of Emergency Needs in Disaster Situations, or FRIENDS, Act. I thank my chairman, Mr. McCaul, and Ranking Member Thompson for the valuable assistance and support in bringing this important bill before the House for consideration during the 114th Congress. We are now in the 115th Congress. I appreciate Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio for allowing the FRIENDS Act now to come forward, which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to be considered on today's suspensions. The FRIENDS Act reflects what America is all about. The FRIENDS Act reflects what we, as Members of Congress, are all about.…”