Women's Suffrage Centennial

Floor Speech

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the historic vote taken exactly 100 years ago when this body passed the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.

The most powerful tool we have is to share our voice, cast our ballot, and exercise our right to vote. This momentous vote finally allowed women to use that tool and forever have a voice in the future of our beloved Nation.

Adolphine Fletcher Terry, a civic-minded woman from a prominent Little Rock family in the late 1800s and early 20th century, served her State and her country tirelessly to promote the education of women and women's rights. Terry marched for voting rights for women during the ratification process in 1920, saying: ``To me, the vote represents more than just saying how a person feels about an issue or a candidate. It represents human dignity and the fact that a citizen can express his or her opinion on any subject without fear of reprisal. That, I think, is what real human dignity consists of.''

In advance of the final State's ratification vote in Tennessee, both suffragists and antisuffragists began wearing roses to identify their respective sides. Those favoring women's voting rights wore yellow roses; those against wore red roses. I proudly, today, have worn a yellow rose on my lapel throughout today's activities to show my support of women's right to vote.

What a thrill it is and a proud thing to say, thank you, Madam Speaker, for your service. Fentanyl Sanctions

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, across Arkansas, heartbroken families have told me of their stories about the opioid crisis and how it has claimed the lives of their loved ones. We can't allow more families to be destroyed by this truly national nightmare that is killing more than 130 Americans every day.

Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control reported that fentanyl is now considered the number one U.S. opioid killer in 2018. Targeting the source of the world's largest producers and distributors of fentanyl will begin to stop the flow of these drugs coming across our borders and onto our streets.

Madam Speaker, in just one Sweet'N Low packet, about a gram, an equal amount of this as fentanyl has the power to kill 500 of our citizens. That is why I am pleased to support the bipartisan legislation that I recently helped introduce, H.R. 2483, the Fentanyl Sanctions Act. This takes the necessary steps to target the bad actors responsible for illegally trafficking fentanyl into the United States.

I applaud my colleagues Max Rose of New York, Anthony Brindisi of New York, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania for their support in introducing H.R. 2483.

This legislation is the first ever fentanyl sanctions effort by the House of Representatives. It will apply pressure on the Chinese Government to honor their commitment to make all fentanyl illegal in China. This bill will also provide the United States with more tools and resources to go after illicit traffickers in China, Mexico, and other countries.

H.R. 2483 has support from both parties and both Chambers, and we need to act now in order to get this done. We cannot wait any longer.

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak out against the daily atrocities in Syria.

Few would have predicted that 8 years ago peaceful protests would turn into violent conflict that has left more than half a million men, women, and children dead, millions more displaced, and the entire region feeling like a lit fuse ready to explode into further conflict.

Shortly after coming to Congress, I met Mouaz Moustafa, a young Syrian American from Arkansas who has been leading a Syrian pro- democracy group here in Washington called the Syrian Emergency Task Force.

After meeting Mouaz, I studied his efforts and learned more and more about the horrific events happening in Syria over the past few years.

Mouaz led me through the Caesar file photos in a special exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Earlier this year, he introduced me to Omar Alshogre, who was arrested as a teenager and survived the torture, starvation, and other brutalities in Assad's prisons for more than 3 years. Seeing those photos and hearing Omar's personal testimony were powerful experiences.

I believe what is happening in Syria today is a modern-day holocaust, and our obligation to end Assad's reign of terror is something that all Americans must confront.

I am grateful for The New York Times and its recent extensive front- page story, in last Sunday's newspaper, going inside Assad's torture prisons.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a link to this article: www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/middleeast/syria-torture-prisons.html

Madam Speaker, it is the experiences shared by former prisoners like Omar that remind us of the likes of Hitler, Mao, and Stalin. Bashar al- Assad can add his name to this list of barbarous thugs who rule with evil, torture, and mass murder.

We have known about these atrocities for years but have only expressed outrage while we twiddled our thumbs as these modern-day Hitlers annihilate the civilian population in Syria.

I commend Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for passing S. 1, the Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act.

Last week, many of us, including myself, signed the discharge petition for the companion legislation to S. 1 here in the House, H.R. 336 sponsored by Mike McCaul from Texas. This legislation includes the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which has critical provisions to hold Assad accountable for his atrocities.

As Speaker Pelosi well knows, this House, under Republican leadership, has passed the Caesar bill three times over the last three Congresses, only to have it bogged down in the Senate.

Now Leader McConnell has acted, and we, in the House, must now act with expedition and pass H.R. 336 to end this step back into darkness, to stop the torture and the murder of thousands, and to move to convict Assad and his henchmen for war crimes.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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