S3470 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 13, 2019 to discharge Senate Joint Resolutions human rights challenges, particularly Unfortunately, these new require- 20 and 26, which sought to block the with respect to its labor practices. ments were inconsistent with Ginnie sales of certain weapons to That said, I have not seen any evidence Mae loan seasoning requirements. With and Qatar respectively. of the Qatari Government using arms implementation of reform, the new As many of you know, I have long against its people. Moreover, Qatar’s rules left approximately 2,500 VA-guar- been a champion of a U.S. foreign pol- involvement in the Yemeni war was anteed loans ineligible for Ginnie Mae icy driven by our values and respect for limited to primarily defending the pooling, a move which seriously con- human rights. This applies to our for- Saudi border from the Houthis, not strained lending. eign military support and arms sales. conducting airstrikes in . The The unintended consequence of this We must ensure that our military Qataris left the Saudi-led coalition en- measure put VA home loans out of might and weapons only go to support tirely 2 years ago. Qatar has proven reach and threatened to drive up future partners and allies who uphold our val- itself an important and responsible borrowing costs. The Protecting Af- ues. We have both a moral and a na- partner for the . The fordable Mortgages for Veterans Act tional security obligation to ensure Qatar flew strikes, alongside would correct this issue and maintain that U.S. weapons, equipment, and the U.S. and other partners, against liquidity in the veteran home loan training are never used to harm civil- the Islamic State in Syria in 2014 and market so that veterans and their fam- ians, abuse human rights, or end up in 2015. It also flew strikes against Qa- ilies can secure the safe, affordable the hands of enemies who seek to do us dhafi in Libya in 2011, but again, this housing they deserve. harm. was in concert with international part- When they return home, veterans With that in mind, I was pleased to ners including the United States. In who defend our freedom with dignity lead the Enhancing Human Rights in light of these factors, I voted against and honor should receive the thanks of Arms Sales Act of 2019 with my col- discharging S.J. Res. 26. a grateful nation and opportunities to leagues from both sides of the aisle. While both discharge motions failed, succeed as they transition to civilian This bipartisan legislation would put this issue will not go away because one life. That means delivering quality into place strict vetting criteria and thing that we all can agree on is that care at the VA, improving job and edu- end use monitoring for certain weapons no U.S. arms should ever be linked to cation opportunities, and ensuring af- sales to prevent U.S.-provided weapons the deaths of innocent civilians. No fordable housing is within reach for from going to governments who com- U.S. arms should ever be used to in- Americans who made the ultimate sac- mit human rights abuses and war timidate and destroy the defenseless. rifice for our country. Acclimating to crimes. I urge all of my colleagues to No U.S. arms should ever end up in the civilian life is challenging enough support this important and necessary hands a child soldier or a terrorist. We without the threat of being scammed legislation. may disagree on policy, but our values Until my bill is enacted into law and by predatory lenders. will always bridge the partisan divide. I want to thank my colleague from its critical safeguards are in place, it is That is why Congress and the adminis- North Carolina, Senator TILLIS, for incumbent upon Congress to evaluate tration must take a more holistic look each arms sale with important consid- working with me over the last several at this issue. My bipartisan bill, the weeks to craft this bill. I also want to erations for civilian security and Enhancing Human Rights in Arms thank Chairman CRAPO, Ranking Mem- human rights. Sales Act of 2019, offers a comprehen- ber BROWN, Chairman ISAKSON, and I have carefully examined both of the sive approach, and I urge my col- Ranking Member TESTER for their sales before us today, and applied the leagues to support its passage. same criteria outlined in the Enhanc- steadfast support in moving this fix ex- f ing Human Rights in Arms Sales Act. peditiously. Even in an era of divided Through this lens, I was compelled to S. 1749 government and historic gridlock, we vote in favor of discharging S.J. Res. Ms. SINEMA. Mr. President, I rise are getting things done for Arizona. 20, so the Senate could debate the today regarding the U.S. Senate’s pas- Now that this legislation has passed pending sale of various bombs and pre- sage of S. 1749, the Protecting Afford- the U.S. Senate, I urge my colleagues cision-guided munitions to Bahrain. able Mortgages for Veterans Act, by in the House to quickly pass S. 1749 so Domestically, Bahrain’s Ministry of In- unanimous consent. The Protecting Af- it can be signed into law. Let’s keep terior police forces were responsible for fordable Mortgages for Veterans Act working together, Democrats and Re- the repression of the 2011 uprising, and aims to preserve access to affordable publicans, to stand up for our veterans. well over 100 Bahrainis have been VA mortgages for the millions of vet- Thank you. killed in the course of repressing the erans and brave men and women in uni- Shia-led unrest. In the Yemen conflict, form in Arizona and around the coun- f the Bahrain Air Force is participating try. in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes that Last year, Congress passed S. 2155, REMEMBERING PRIVATE WILLIAM have led to civilian casualties. This the Economic Growth, Regulatory Re- TULLY BROWN pending sale would in fact provide mu- lief, and Consumer Protection Act, a nitions for Bahrain’s F–16 aircraft, bipartisan regulatory relief package Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, Today I which would almost certainly be used for community financial institutions. wish to honor Private William Tully in Yemen. We know this because Air Among other issues, this package Brown, a Navajo code talker who never Vice Marshall Hamad bin Abdullah al sought to crack down on ‘‘mortgage considered himself an American hero Khalifah, head of the Royal Bahraini churning,’’ a predatory practice where- but who was. Air Force—RBAF—stated in February in lenders push veterans over and over Private Brown enlisted in the Ma- 2019 that Royal Bahraini Air Force F– to repeatedly refinance their home, rines in 1944 and was trained as a code 16s had conducted over 3,500 sorties, or even when there is no clear benefit to talker at Camp Pendleton. Training combat aircraft flights, since the be- doing so. With each refinance, the lend- was intense. The code talkers under- ginning of the campaign in March 2015. ers take a fee. Veterans, on the other went extensive training in communica- With 3,500 sorties in Yemen, we have to hand, enter into a cycle of debt where tions and in memorizing the complex assume that Bahrain is responsible for fees and interest rates cost more than code that included Navajo words used some of the civilian deaths caused by the initial mortgage payments. for 450 military terms that didn’t exist the coalition airstrikes in Yemen. I To stop these predatory lenders and in the Navajo or Dine language. have repeatedly voiced my opposition the practice of churning, S. 2155 put Private Brown was part of the Sec- to U.S. support for the war in Yemen, into place new requirements that must ond Marine Division. In July 1945, he and we cannot risk our weapons lead- be met in order for a refinanced loan to shipped out of San Diego to Pearl Har- ing to further repression in Bahrain obtain VA guaranty and securitization bor, then to Saipan in the Mariana Is- itself. I cannot support the sale of U.S. from Ginnie Mae, the U.S. Government lands, and finally to Nagasaki and weapons to Bahrain at this time. corporation that helps lenders make Sasebo on the island of Kyushu, Ja- The case of the pending sales to more affordable mortgages to veterans, pan’s most southern main island. They Qatar is quite different. There is no first-time home buyers, and low-in- landed in Nagasaki’s harbor on Sep- doubt that Qatar has significant come borrowers. tember

VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:20 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JN6.005 S13JNPT1 dlhill on DSKFW84QD2PROD with SENATE June 13, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3471 23 with the mission of occupying the is- based on the unwritten Navajo or Dine´ planting, growing, and harvest pota- land. They were armed in full combat language, was never broken by the Jap- toes on the reservation. kit with fixed bayonets and full maga- anese. John was ready for deployment He is not only the longest serving zines. They didn’t know what to expect when the war ended. He received the Native American in the New Mexico from the defeated Japanese. Nagasaki Congressional Silver Medal in 2001 for Senate, he is one of the longest serving had been bombed on August 9 and was his service as a code talker. He was one Native legislators in the county. devastated. Private Brown’s division, of the last remaining surviving code On May 17 of this year, Senator Pinto along with other troops, successfully talkers. was awarded the first honorary doc- and peacefully secured the area in After discharge from the service, he torate of public service to be issued by short order. met the love of his life, Joann Navajo Technical University in Our Nation owes a great debt to the Dennison Pinto, to whom he was mar- Crownpoint, NM. He was immensely Navajo code talkers. They transmitted ried for 65 years until her death in 2017. proud of that honor. thousands and thousands of strategic Together they had two daughters, I have traveled all over the Navajo military messages during World War II, Flora and Karen, and two sons, Cecil Nation with Senator Pinto. He would but their code was never broken. Their and Galen. call me often to talk about ways to skill, bravery, and commitment to After the war, he held odd jobs and help. He cared deeply for his people country were integral to winning the then, on the advice of a BIA worker, he and, in return, was loved by them. war. moved to Albuquerque to attend the Senator Pinto said, ‘‘My philosophy Private Brown, like so many of our University of New Mexico. He failed is to be happy, to meet people, to love code talkers, was humble and modest the English exam twice and was in people, all the races . . . they all need about the courage he showed during tears that he wouldn’t graduate and good water to drink, good food to eat, the war. While Private Brown did not would be sent home. He hired a tutor, a good warm place to stay, and they consider himself a hero, I do, and so studied for 10 weeks, and passed. He need good jobs—that’s the basic does our country, which is why he and was 39 when he received his college de- needs.’’ Senator Pinto understood what his fellow code talkers were awarded gree. He went on to earn a master’s de- it is like not to have the basics in life, the Congressional Silver Medal in 2001 gree in elementary education and spent and he worked decades to make sure for defending the freedoms and lib- his career in the Gallup-McKinley his people and all New Mexicans had erties we enjoy today. County school system. those basics. Private Brown lived a long and pro- Senator Pinto was first elected to the Senator John Pinto: educator, states- ductive life. After the war, he married Senate in 1976, representing District 3, man, Navajo code talker, brave Dine´ Sarah Francis and fathered five chil- comprised of parts of San Juan and warrior, loving husband and father. He dren. He has 3 surviving children—Ro- McKinley Counties in northwest New is a New Mexico legend and an Amer- mero Brown, Vee Browne-Yellowhair, Mexico. The Navajo Nation makes up ican hero. I am proud to have known and Julie Brown—and 44 grandchildren much of the district. him and to have called him my friend. In order to get to the State legisla- an 2 great-great-grandchildren. f Private Brown served his country, ture, in January 1997, he took a bus his community, and his family. We can from Gallup to Albuquerque and then ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS ask no more of anyone. He is part of an began hitchhiking to the State capitol American legacy. in Santa Fe. As he waited on a snowy TRIBUTE TO JO MCDOUGALL f street corner, up pulled another State senator, Manny Aragon, in his old Cad- ∑ Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, today REMEMBERING JOHN PINTO illac. Senator Aragon assumed the I wish to recognize and congratulate Jo Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, today I hitchhiker was a transient and picked McDougall for receiving the Porter wish to pay tribute to New Mexico Sen- him up. Senator Aragon asked his pas- Fund’s Lifetime Achievement Award. ator John Pinto—the longest serving senger why he was going to Santa Fe, The Porter Fund’s Lifetime Achieve- member in the New Mexico Senate, and the hitchhiker replied, ‘‘I’m a state ment Award is presented every 5 years who passed away May 24 of this year at senator.’’ And off they went to the be- to an Arkansas writer with a substan- the age of 94. ginning of the legislative session to- tial and recognized body of work. Jo is John Pinto was born December 15, gether. just the fourth person to receive this 1924, in Lupton, AZ, near the New Mex- During his 42 years in office, Senator honor. ico border, on the Navajo Nation res- Pinto worked tirelessly for the people Raised on her family’s rice farm near ervation to a family of sheepherders. of New Mexico and his district. He DeWitt, Jo discovered her love for writ- He was Black Sheep born for the Red went into politics because he saw the ing and language at a young age when Running into the Water Clan. He was overwhelming needs of his people and her mother would read to her each the oldest of seven children and had a wanted to make a difference. He was night. She wrote her first poem at just tough upbringing. He was raised by rel- instrumental in establishing the New 12 years old, and her father proudly dis- atives in Lupton until he was 12 years Mexico Department of Indian Affairs played it on his desk. This inspired her old, when his parents took him to their and setting up a Tribal infrastructure to continue writing. Jo received an un- home in Gallup, NM. They lived in a fund for much needed projects for dergraduate degree in home economics small wooden shack. They sometimes Tribes. Over the years, he pushed for from the University of Arkansas at went hungry. To eat, at times John dozens of projects for roads, power Fayetteville before returning in 1980 to hunted rabbits with a sharp stick. lines, water systems, and public build- pursue her master of fine arts in cre- At that time, the Bureau of Indian ings. He was responsible for widening ative writing. Affairs picked him up and sent him to U.S. Highway 491 from two to four After earning her MFA, Jo taught at boarding school at Fort Defiance, AZ. lanes to increase public safety and Pittsburg State University in Kansas Fort Defiance was the first boarding commerce. During his last session in for over a decade, codirecting the uni- school on the Navajo reservation. John the senate, this year, he was successful versity’s creative writing department entered school at age 12. He spoke no in securing a $1 million appropriation and guiding the writing center and dis- English. They placed him in the begin- to begin a Navajo code talkers’ mu- tinguished visiting writers program. ner class, made up of 5-, 6- and 7-year- seum. He had fought for this project for She has taught in Arkansas at Hendrix olds. A person of small stature, he years to honor this group of brave and College in Conway, AR, and at the Uni- would joke that was the last time he skillful men who were so instrumental versity of Arkansas at Little Rock. was the biggest one in the room. to U.S. success in World War II. Jo’s success stretches beyond the John joined the Marines in 1941 and Senator Pinto was a beloved and re- classroom. In April of 2018, Governor was trained as a Navajo code talker. It spected figure in the State senate. He Asa Hutchinson appointed her Poet was intense training. Approximately loved to sing, and every year he sang Laureate of Arkansas. She has pub- 400 Navajos trained as code talkers dur- the ‘‘Potato Song’’ to the chamber in lished six poetry collections and a ing the war. Famously, their code, his Native language—a song about memoir, ‘‘Daddy’s Money: A Memoir of

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