Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for including my two amendments in this en bloc. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of two of my amendments that are included in this en bloc. The first authorizes Federal funds for two grant programs under the Maritime Administration. My amendment focuses on the often overlooked but critical maritime industry. It is especially important to my district, which includes the Maritime Center of Excellence campus and the Port of Houston. My amendment authorizes $30 million for a grant program to colleges which offer high-quality maritime workforce education and training programs. It also authorizes $30 million for the small shipyard grant program which supports training programs for shipbuilding and ship repair workers. Congress must support the next generation of maritime workers, and Congress must support our supply chain workers. This amendment does that. It is just that simple. The second amendment I led supports a pilot program on the sharing of suspicious financial activity. This pilot program allows financial institutions to share any suspicious information with their foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates. Put simply, this program is designed to promote transparency and prevent illegal financial activity. It became law as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 included in the NDAA. Currently this pilot program is authorized for 3 years with a start date of January of 2021. Regrettably, the program is yet to begin.…”