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will recognize that, in a time of record corporate profits, they can afford to pay a decent wage. I am hopeful that this bill will receive bipartisan support, because it is the very premise of this country that if you work hard, if you play by the rules, you should be able to be part of the middle class. f
CIVILITY The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. BACON) for 5 minutes. Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues and fellow citizens to elevate our political discourse in which we participate for the good of our country. Some of what I see in America grieves me. The partisan divide grows more volatile, and decency shrinking in our political dialogue. Many on the left continue to say, Mr. Trump is ‘‘not my President.’’ And in the past, some on the right have said, Mr. Obama is ‘‘not my President.’’ Now we have people who think it is comical to be photographed with the depiction of the President’s bloodied head. I can only think of real-life intelligence photos I have viewed of innocent men and women shortly after their decapitation at the hands of a terrorist. Escalating America’s political discussion to actions like what Ms. Griffin is guilty of undermines our Nation’s discourse and weakens the unity of our citizens, and I don’t know where it stops. I fear we are pulling apart. The left and right should not hate each other. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., asserted: ‘‘Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.’’ We must be able to disagree, debate, and then strive together for America. When we pull apart, our Nation weakens and our citizens become more vulnerable. I fear that if we continue down this path, the political wedge will be so ugly it will not be so easily repaired. b 1045 It is this pulling apart that caused us not to pass a defense spending bill on time for almost a decade. Our military leaders have stated we are back to the hollow force of the 1970s due to this congressional malpractice. Our Navy is unable to fly half of their aircraft; the Army only has 3 of their 58 combat brigades fully ready to deploy; and our Air Force pilots fly less hours today than they did during the hollow force years. In other words, the partisan rancor has undermined our Nation’s defense, and our servicemen and -women are paying for this price in readiness. If North Korea, Russia, or another threat tries to take advantage of our weaknesses, our great warriors will pay for it with their blood. I love our country and our representative democracy. We have had our times of extreme divide. At the begin-
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ning of our Nation’s history, there were very aggressive debates between the followers of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, for example. We saw strife during Andrew Jackson’s Presidency, when many of his opponents feared he was going to be America’s Napoleon, and we survived those times. But let us not forget the bitter acrimony leading up to the 1860s, when we saw physical assaults on the floor of Congress. That divide was only solved after over 600,000 Americans died in the Civil War. Let us debate the issues. I have already held five townhalls myself to engage in the essential debates to improve our country, and I will hold more. But when it comes to the vitriol and verbal assaults, let us all take a knee and reflect. Are we taking our Nation to a potential precipice of a disaster if we keep turning up the volume of this partisanship? Earlier this year, the congressional freshman class signed a civility pledge. I again pledge civility, but I also implore our Nation to include our media and entertainment to reflect on the tone and ugliness that we are seeing. Let us rein in the anger and disrespect. I implore our President, our Senate, all of us in the people’s House, all of our citizens, let us raise the bar of our debate and treat each other with respect. Let us not cross the line between criticizing the issues to criticizing the person. I have served in the military next to many great Americans for nearly 30 years, and we all swore to protect and defend every American with our lives, regardless of our party affiliations. In fact, I rarely knew if a person was a Republican or a Democrat during my time in the Air Force. Let us not forget, too, that, during our history, 1.2 million Americans gave their lives in the defense of this country. They were Democrats, Republicans, Independents. Some had no party at all. Some were Federalists. Some were Whigs. They paid the ultimate price so we could have the privilege of a free and open debate that we enjoy today. They fought and died so our citizens could be the sovereigns of our Nation. Let us turn away from the anger, outrage upon outrage, away from the character assassinations. Let us turn toward civil debate and contend for our ideas and values in a manner pursuant to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When we lose an election, regardless of the party, let us do so gracefully, and respect the will of the voters and the Constitution. Let us agree when we agree, and respectfully disagree when we disagree. But to resist at all costs, on every issue, is damaging to our country. Today, some are calling for impeachment of our President. With the facts that we have, it is wrong and it is putting politics over the well-being of our country, and we are better than this. Let us turn down the volume.
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CONGRATULATING NORTH HALL HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL TEAM The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. COLLINS) for 5 minutes. Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is a joy today that I rise to congratulate North Hall High School on winning the State baseball championship in Georgia in their class. This is especially happy for me because I am a Trojan. I graduated from North Hall High School in 1984. It is amazing that it seems that long ago, but it is also looking back as one of the first sports championships in baseball that they have received, and it is a truly exciting time in our community. I have watched these young men grow up, many with my own son playing ball, and it is exciting to see that fulfillment. At the start of the season, the team rallied around the promise of ‘‘Leave No Doubt.’’ It reminded North Hall players and coaches to offer the best effort without exception and to prove wrong anyone who doubted their potential for success. Persevering in the 2017 season was no small task. The team opened the first round of the State playoffs, in fact, with a 6–1 loss. Few people expected the Trojans to recover after that game, but they followed it with 10 straight wins. Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that North Hall earned the title of State Champion. This victory serves as a testament to the team’s determination and a reminder to us all that dedication, even in the most unlikely circumstances, does pay off. Whenever we give up, we surrender our dreams. To the young men that I have watched grow up, the young men in our community who now hold the title of State Champion, I say congratulations. HONORING ARMY LIEUTENANT COLONEL TERRY BARRON
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Terry Barron, Georgia’s first female Blackhawk helicopter pilot. My neighbors in the city of Gainesville recently declared May 25 to be Terry Barron Day in honor of this outstanding servicemember. Lieutenant Colonel Barron served in the Georgia National Guard for 30 years and, in 2011, was deployed to Iraq. In addition to her military service, Lieutenant Colonel Barron served as a math professor and the former chair of Brenau University’s math and science department. In this role, she equipped students with the knowledge and skills that allowed them to pursue careers in math and science. As both a soldier and a professor, Lieutenant Colonel Barron has lived a life dedicated to serving and empowering others, making them more confident as they approach the challenges of each new day. I would like to commend Lieutenant Colonel Barron for her service to
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