| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
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To You Belongs All Strength
00:03:05
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unidentified
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Sure, that America does live up to its commitments. | |
| How can you force the executive branch to restore our credibility? | ||
| Change who you elect. | ||
| You know, I mean, we've spoken out about that. | ||
| I think it's outrageous. | ||
| I've particularly worked on Afghan refugees and on SIVs since I got to the Senate. | ||
| John McCain and I worked every year to increase the number of SIVs. | ||
|
unidentified
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The House is coming in now to start work on two bills, the 2026 defense programs and policy legislation, also a measure to increase criminal penalties on those who illegally re-enter the United States after being deported. | |
| This is live coverage of the U.S. House on C-SPAN. | ||
| Would you pray with me? | ||
| Sovereign God, to you belongs all wisdom and insight. | ||
| On this day, may we open ourselves to the truths creation itself professes. | ||
| The array of animals on the earth, the birds in the sky, the seasons and their turning, the tides of the great oceans, all these proclaim your divine plan for this world. | ||
| The rhythms of life and the perfection of their design testify to the depth of your knowledge and the breadth of your authority. | ||
| To you belongs all strength and power. | ||
| When you hold back the waters, there is drought. | ||
| When you let them loose, they devastate the land. | ||
| Such might is too great for us to comprehend, too awesome to grasp. | ||
| Our own noble attempts and our best intentions fall short of your glory. | ||
| But like the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, the creatures of the land, may we submit ourselves to your grand design for this day. | ||
| For you have called us your beloved children. | ||
| As such, may we rejoice in the knowledge that your everlasting arms uphold us in the living of each day. | ||
| May we give testimony to our desire to serve you, Almighty God, and that we would do so faithfully. | ||
| It is in your eternal name we pray. | ||
| Amen. | ||
| The chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announced to the House the approval thereof. | ||
| Pursuant to clause one of Rule One, the journal stands approved. | ||
| The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson. | ||
| Everyone, including our guests in the gallery, are invited to participate. | ||
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unidentified
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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. | |
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Request for Recognition
00:10:45
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| The chair will receive a message. | ||
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unidentified
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Mr. Speaker, messages from the President of the United States. | |
| Mr. Speaker, Mr. Secretary. | ||
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unidentified
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I'm directed by the President of the United States to deliver to the House of Representatives messages in writing. | |
| The Chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. | ||
| For what purpose does the gentleman from Pennsylvania seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, request panelists consent to address the House for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. | ||
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today to recognize Countersport, Pennsylvania as the 2025 Heritage Community of the Year through the Pennsylvania Route 6 Alliance. | ||
| This award is presented each year to one designated heritage community that has embraced their heritage tourism work plan and has implemented worthwhile projects that show impact and results in their community. | ||
| Countersport will be officially recognized during a ceremony on Wednesday evening at the Wild Sunshine Factory in Kane. | ||
| The Pennsylvania Route 6 Alliance will also present awards in the categories of Heritage Partnership, Heritage Tourism, Heritage Leadership, Lifetime Achievement, and the Artisan of the Year Award. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Countersport on this recognition. | ||
| Located in the heart of Potter County, Countersport is often referred to as God's Country. | ||
| The scenic countryside and nearby Allegheny River create an outdoor paradise with recreational opportunities like fishing and hunting, camping, kayaking, hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, and more. | ||
| Countersport's historical downtown and charming shops make it a small-town community that has it all. | ||
| Thank you to the PA Route 6 Alliance for its effort to preserve and promote our treasured communities like Countersport. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
| The gentleman yields back. | ||
| For what purpose does the woman from Virgin Island seek recognition? | ||
| I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. | ||
| Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. | ||
| Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today to recognize Virgin Islands-Puerto Rico friendship, which is celebrated throughout the month of October, but I just want to get everybody geared up for it now, in which we recognize the bond between our territories united by history, culture, and shared values. | ||
| For generations, our islands have been connected by more than just Caribbean waters. | ||
| We share a history of oppression and colonialism, linguistic heritage, cultural traditions, and Caribbean resilience. | ||
| Our families have deep ties, our businesses have collaborated, and we have supported each other through hurricanes and celebrations alike. | ||
| From culinary traditions, music, literature, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico continue to enrich each other's cultural landscape. | ||
| Today, we recommit to strengthening these ties through the greater collaboration in education, economic development, and cultural exchange. | ||
| And we will work together to fully include ourselves in the American experience. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| For what purpose do the gentleman from South Carolina seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask the government's consent to address the House for one minute, revise, and extend my remarks. | ||
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Speaker, President Donald Trump is creating jobs, allowing families to keep more of the money they earn. | ||
| Under President Trump, over half a million jobs have been created. | ||
| Job-destroying regulations are being slashed, eliminating 10 regulations for every new regulation created, led by Administrator Lee Zeldon and with the appointment of Chairman David Wright to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. | ||
| The Trump America trade policy has recruited $8 trillion in new manufacturing, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. | ||
| The Trump tax cuts will benefit families by over $10,000 a year. | ||
| President Trump and Republicans in the House and Senate are committed to cutting taxes, increasing wages, and increasing jobs. | ||
| In conclusion, God bless our troops as the global war on terrorism continues. | ||
| We know that President Trump is standing firm for families, revealing war criminal putin lies, insulting Trump with mocking Trump, with increased mass murder of Ukrainian civilians while subverting Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova for a new USSR. | ||
| South Carolina is grateful for the success of our shared community, Charlotte. | ||
| Sadly, it is clear that Mayor Lyle should resign for shamelessly concealing the murder of Irina Zaritskaya. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| The gentleman yields back. | ||
| For what purpose does gentlemen from Massachusetts seek recognition? | ||
| Unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and revise an exemption. | ||
| Without objection, the gentleman recognized for one minute. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently joined together to address the terrible problem of food insecurity on their campus. | ||
| After witnessing and in some and some even experiencing difficulty affording nutritious food, these remarkable students worked with Chancellor Reyes and his team, the Amherst Survival Center, and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts to establish the UMass Amherst Campus Pantry. | ||
| Last Friday, I was proud to stand with them to officially open the pantry, which is a welcoming space that will provide anyone in the UMass community with a little extra help when they need it. | ||
| The shelves are stocked with nutritious food, including food grown locally by the incredible farmers in Western Massachusetts. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, times are tough, food costs are high, and people are struggling. | ||
| No community and no college campus in our country are immune from food insecurity. | ||
| I am so proud of the students at UMass Amherst and the administration for working toward a food-secure campus. | ||
| I encourage students across the country to work with their colleges and universities to address campus food insecurity and finally end hunger now. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| The gentleman yields back. | ||
| For what purpose does the gentlewoman from Washington seek recognition? | ||
| Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Willie Adams, former president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, who recently retired. | |
| For more than 40 years, Willie focused on supporting working families, workers' rights, and civil rights. | ||
| Born in Kansas City, he first came to Tacoma, Washington as a longshore worker at the port in 1978 and worked his way up, including to secretary-treasurer of the executive board. | ||
| And in 2018, he broke barriers as the first black international president of the ILWU. | ||
| He fought for increased wages and benefits for his longshore brothers and sisters, navigated the safety and supply challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||
| As the former mayor of Tacoma and now a member of Congress, I have witnessed Willie's leadership firsthand for working people everywhere. | ||
| In Tacoma, he highlighted notable black figures and entrepreneurs with celebrations of black history, which led to his being a recipient of the City of Tacoma Destiny Award. | ||
| I thank Willie for his contributions to the international labor movement, and I congratulate him on his well-earned retirement. | ||
| I yield back, Mr. Chair. | ||
| The gentlewoman yields back. | ||
| For what purpose does the gentlewoman from Texas seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. | ||
| Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise to honor George Harris, a giant in the Dallas community and someone who dedicated his entire life for fighting for LGBTQ equality. | ||
| Last month, George passed away at the age of 92, leaving behind a legacy of courage, service, and sacrifice. | ||
| After serving in the Army and working at the CIA, he was discharged simply because he was gay. | ||
| But he built a life of love alongside his partner of more than 50 years, Jack Evans. | ||
| In 2015, George and Jack made history as the first same-sex couple legally married in Dallas County, a moment that inspired Americans from across the country. | ||
| He helped create institutions that still serve our community, like the Resource Center, the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, the Dallas Way, one of our nation's largest LGBTQ archives. | ||
| Preserving our history was one of George's last labors of love, ensuring future generations know the struggles and triumphs of those who came before him. | ||
| Dallas and our nation is better because of George Harris. | ||
| And on behalf of this entire House and our Dallas community, I want to extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends, and neighbors. | ||
| May we honor his legacy by continuing his fight for equality and dignity for all. | ||
| And I yield back. | ||
| The gentlewoman yields back. | ||
| For what purpose gentlemen from North Carolina seek recognition? | ||
| Supervisor, unanimous consent to address the House for one minute to revise and extend. | ||
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise to address a pressing issue that has affected countless families in our nation, an issue that hits close to home. | ||
| It is the heartbreaking reality faced by those who lived at Camp Legern. | ||
| where for decades service members and their families suffered exposure to toxic chemicals in their drinking water. | ||
| From the 1950s to the mid-80s, the water at Camp Lejourne was contaminated with harmful substances. | ||
| This we know. | ||
| For many of the brave men and women who served our country, this was a home, a place where they were supposed to feel safe and protected. | ||
| Instead, they served our nation while annoyingly putting their health and the health of their loved ones at risk. | ||
| Families have suffered in silence for far too long, often for years, as they battle illnesses without understanding the root cause. | ||
| Many have died. | ||
| It's time to raise our voices for these families, these veterans, these spouses, these children who've endured for far too long. | ||
| Congress must act to assist those affected by the water contamination at Camp Lejourn. | ||
| Morally, it's the right thing to do. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I yield back. | ||
| Gentleman yields back. | ||
|
House Resolution 682 Considered
00:15:43
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| What purpose does gentleman from Georgia seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, by the direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 682 and ask for its immediate consideration. | ||
| Clerk will report the resolution. | ||
| House Calendar Number 43, House Resolution 682. | ||
| Resolve that at any time after adoption of this resolution, the Speaker may, pursuant to Clause 2B of Rule 18, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for consideration of the bill, H.R. 3838, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense of activities of the Department of Energy to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year and for other purposes. | ||
| The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| General debate shall be confined to the bill and amendments specified in this section and shall not exceed one hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on armed services or their respective designees. | ||
| After general debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. | ||
| In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Armed Services now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 119-8 shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. | ||
| The bill as amended shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the five-minute rule and shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. | ||
| Section 2, A, no further amendment to H.R. 3838 as amended shall be in order except those printed in Part A of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution and amendments on block described in Section 3 of this resolution. | ||
| B. Each further amendment printed in Part A of the report of the Committee on Rules shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report, equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. | ||
| C, all points of order against further amendments printed in Part A of the report of the Committee on Rules or against amendments on block described in Section 3 of this resolution are waived. | ||
| Section 3. | ||
| It shall be in order at any time for the chair of the committee on armed services or his designee to offer amendments on block consisting of further amendments printed in part 8 of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution, not earlier disposed of. | ||
| Amendments on block offered pursuant to this section shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for 40 minutes, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on armed services or their respective designees, shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. | ||
| Section 4. | ||
| At the conclusion of consideration of H.R. 3838 for amendment, the committee shall rise and report the bill as amended to the House with such further amendments as may have been adopted. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section five Upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill H.R. 3486 to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase penalties for individuals who illegally enter and re-enter the United States after being removed and for other purposes. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary now printed in the bill, modified by the amendment printed in Part B of the report of the committee accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted. | ||
| The bill as amended shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage, without intervening motion, except one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees, and two. | ||
|
unidentified
|
One motion to recommit the gentleman from Georgia is recognized for one hour. | |
| Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlelady from Pennsylvania, Ms. Scanlon, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume during consideration of this resolution. | ||
| All-time yield is for the purpose of debate only. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks without objection. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, this morning the rules committee met and reported a rule House Resolution 682 providing for consideration of two measures, H.R. 3838, the Streamlining Procurement For Effective Execution Delivery And National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026, under a structured rule. | ||
| The rule provides one hour debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on Armed Services or their respective designees, provides one motion to recommit and made 298 amendments in order. | ||
| Additionally, the rule provides for consideration of Hr 3486, the Stop illegal Entry act of 2025 under a closed rule. | ||
| The rule provides one hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on the Judiciary, or their respective designes, and provides one motion to recommit. | ||
| Mr speaker, we're here today to debate a rule on two pieces of legislation. | ||
| First, hr 3838, the Streamlining Procurement for effective execution and delivery, and National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, under the leadership of Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith, one of the top priorities of the bipartisan fiscal year 26 National Defense Authorization Act was to reform the defense acquisition system and equip our armed services with the technology they need to deter national security threats. | ||
| As anyone who follows this process knows, it can take more than a decade before new capabilities are finally deployed, yet by then the threat has changed, the technology is outdated, and the programs are over budget. | ||
| This bill cuts red tape and shifts the focus of the defense acquisition system from compliance to quickly and costly and cost-effectively fielding new capabilities to ensure that our armed forces are the most lethal and effective fighting force in the world. | ||
| Implementing the Peace Through Strength Agenda, the fiscal year 26 NDAA codifies over 45 executive orders and legislative proposals from President Trump. | ||
| It fully funds top defense priorities, revitalizes the defense industrial base, and grows manufacturing jobs in America, all who are pressing our NATO and other allies to pay more for their own defense. | ||
| Building upon last year's NDAA, which focused on service member quality of life, this bill supports a 3.8 percent pay raise for all service members, improved housing in DOD schools, and expands access to health care and child care. | ||
| To deter our adversaries, the fiscal year 26 NDAA focuses on countering the threat from China, bolstering Taiwan's defense, and supports Indo-Pacific allies and partners. | ||
| Additionally, this bill continues to focus on countering threats to our national security from Russia, North Korea, Iran, and other foreign terrorist organizations. | ||
| To counter emerging threats, the bill focuses on rapidly deploying new innovative technologies to our warfighters while strengthening nuclear deterrence and missile defense. | ||
| To further secure our border and fight drug trafficking, the fiscal year 26 NDAA fully funds the establishment and enforcement of national defense areas along the southwest border of the United States, authorizes DOD to provide additional support to customs and border protection, and authorizes President Trump's budget request of nearly $1 billion to combat drug traffickers. | ||
| Finally, the fiscal year 26 NDAA reforms programs and saves taxpayers' dollars. | ||
| It saves over $20 billion from doge cuts and DOD workforce reforms, limits funds available for senior leader travel until DOD makes progress towards fully passing an audit, and overhauls military construction to reduce costs and expedite project delivery. | ||
| I'd like to thank my colleagues and House Armed Services Committee staff for all the work that went into creating this strong bipartisan legislation that should pass with overwhelming support. | ||
| Moving on, Mr. Speaker, the rule also provides for the consideration of H.R. 3486, the Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025. | ||
| While existing law criminalizes both illegal entry and illegal reentry to our country, often the punishments are not sufficient to defer aliens from illegally re-entering the country after committing crimes or being removed from the United States. | ||
| In fact, of all the aliens charged with illegal reentry in 2023, more than 70 percent had criminal records, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| H.R. 3486, if enacted, gives federal officials more tools to prosecute aliens who illegally enter the United States, requiring between five years imprisonment to life imprisonment for an alien who illegally enters the U.S. and is later convicted of a felony. | ||
| It requires between 10 years imprisonment to life imprisonment for an alien who illegally re-enters the United States after being removed following a felony conviction. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I look forward to consideration of these pieces of legislation and urge pass of this rule. | ||
| I reserve the balance for my time. | ||
| Gentlemen from Georgia Reserves, a gentlewoman from Pennsylvania, is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise in strong opposition to the rule. | ||
| The fiscal year 2026 National Defense Act presented to us without amendment is, against all odds, a strong bipartisan compromise between Republicans and Democrats on the Armed Services Committee. | ||
| I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised to see this year's NDAA come to the floor untouched by some of the right-wing extremist policy writers that in recent years have been attached to important bills like the NDAA. | ||
| However, this morning in the Rules Committee, Republicans greenlighted dozens of amendments containing controversial poison pills that may very well make their way into the bill. | ||
| I hope that my Republican colleagues are able to demonstrate some restraint this week and vote down these bad policies. | ||
| We cannot afford to politicize our national defense. | ||
| A good NDAA, like a good budget, is one that's probably perfect for no one. | ||
| It's the result of compromise and negotiation, and in the case of the NDAA, oriented around the shared goal of making sure that our armed forces continue to be the best in the world. | ||
| However, while the FY26 NDAA is strong in many ways, it also falls short in some crucial areas, above all in its lack of meaningful policy to rein in the Trump administration's reckless and illegal actions. | ||
| Out of fealty to their dear leader, House Republicans have refused at every turn to perform meaningful oversight of this administration, to push back on the President's worst impulses, and to exert Congress's Article I powers against the executive's repeated overreach. | ||
| And in the context of the NDAA, there hasn't been a single oversight hearing scheduled in the House or Senate to address the ongoing misuse of our military forces. | ||
| Of all Trump's abuses, his worst have been in the domain of national defense. | ||
| Empowered by a partisan Supreme Court and aided by complicit national security staff, Trump has repeatedly used the U.S. military to commit reckless and even illegal acts that imperil our security, weaken our status in the world, and hurt our relationship with our closest allies and endanger our own citizens. | ||
| The President claims to have broad, undefined, and unchecked executive power. | ||
| He's installed corrupt and incompetent appointees who jeopardize our national security and economic stability. | ||
| He's imposed federal troops and the National Guard on civilians across America, despite fierce opposition from local residents and political leaders. | ||
| He's sent armed and masked federal law enforcement agents to terrorize immigrant communities, and those agents have harassed and detained U.S. citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. | ||
| The President has initiated multiple politically targeted criminal investigations against his opponents and unilaterally defunded programs that are important to our national defense and our security. | ||
| While Republicans gleefully cheer on military deployments in American cities, I'll bet they'd lose their goddamn minds if those troops were sent to their home states, which have substantially higher crime rates. | ||
| If the real rationale for these deployments is to address high crime rates, states like Arkansas, Missouri, and Louisiana would be at the top of the list. | ||
| But we all know this isn't really why the National Guard has been deployed to D.C. or LA or Chicago. | ||
| As with so many acts by this White House, it's just pretext, pretext for an agenda based on fear, intimidation, performative violence, and retribution. | ||
| This agenda is about power and self-dealing, not problem solving. | ||
| That's all it is. | ||
| There are no solutions. | ||
| There are no plans. | ||
| Time and time again, we've seen this White House reject and defund proven solutions in favor of no tolerance policies and flashy shows of force. | ||
| And in the process, this administration has wasted millions in taxpayer dollars with stunts like sending Dr. Phil on an ice raid with a camera crew, sending hundreds of people, many of whom had no criminal record, to a violent, inhumane prison in El Salvador and producing a video of their abuse and humiliation, sending uniformed military troops to the streets of American cities, | ||
| damaging the relationship between our citizens and our armed forces. | ||
| But this past week may have seen the most egregious and violent misuse of military force yet, that we know of. | ||
| Last week, President Trump ordered the extrajudicial execution by the U.S. military of 11 men on a speedboat in international waters, thousands of miles away from the U.S. | ||
| He then posted a snuff video of that act on social media. | ||
| We still have not seen credible evidence or legal justification for that strike. | ||
| That killing represents a sinister choice. | ||
| The Navy and Coast Guard interdict drug smugglers on the high seas all the time. | ||
| If we knew that these men were smugglers and we knew where they were, then an intentional decision was made not to stop the ship and instead to kill the people on it. | ||
| There is no congressional authorization for a president to kill drug dealers at home or abroad. | ||
| And this killing on the high seas is not authorized by international law. | ||
| The president cannot declare anyone he wants to be a criminal or an enemy combatant and then summarily kill them. | ||
|
Unconstitutional Acts and Assassinations
00:01:53
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| This is the logic used by dictators and despots to disappear and kill dissenters and political opponents. | ||
| A president who acts as judge, jury, and executioner is flat-out un-American. | ||
| If we allow such conduct, then we are no better than the terrorists and criminals we claim to fight. | ||
| Additionally, earlier this year, the president approved airstrikes against Iran, doing so without congressional authorization and in contravention of the Constitution. | ||
| No matter what one thinks about the merits of that attack, this was a flagrantly unconstitutional act. | ||
| Taken together with last week's assassinations on the high seas, we now have a president who claims to be able to kill whoever he wants, whenever he wants, for whatever reason he wants, all without accountability under the law, to Congress, or to the American people. | ||
| And as we speak of the separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution, over the weekend the President unilaterally decided to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War in what can only be described as a PR stunt. | ||
| It's a decision he doesn't have the authority to make. | ||
| Whether or not this gimmick will distract from the Epstein files or this administration's economic failures, it will certainly cost taxpayers a fortune, with estimates ranging over a billion dollars. | ||
| And experts predict that our enemies will use the move to portray the United States not as a guarantor of peace, but as a threat to international stability. | ||
| The NDAA is one of Congress's best opportunities to rein in these kinds of abuses of military power, specifically abuses by this president in his role as commander-in-chief. | ||
|
Distraction From White House Scandals
00:08:01
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| But unfortunately, this bill misses that mark. | ||
| It lets the president get away with starting illegal wars and committing illegal killings. | ||
| Further, Pete Hegset still hasn't faced any consequences for leaking classified information to journalists and wasting taxpayer dollars on makeup mirrors. | ||
| Tulsi Gabbard hasn't faced consequences for manipulating intelligence reports that contradicted the president's claims about Venezuelan gangs. | ||
| And no one's been held accountable for firing intelligence officials who contradicted the president when he claimed falsely that his strikes on Iran had obliterated its nuclear capabilities. | ||
| I know that my Democratic colleagues on the Armed Services Committee fought hard for oversight in the NDAA. | ||
| And unfortunately, the price of a bipartisan bill to support our troops was that Republicans will continue to enable this administration and many of its worst actions. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, House Republicans' efforts to turn a blind eye to the President's apparent misconduct are not limited only to matters of national security. | ||
| For months, the President and most House Republicans have blocked the release of the Epstein files. | ||
| During the 2024 campaign, the President and his inner circle, particularly Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino, all repeatedly promised that they would release the Epstein files. | ||
| But once they came into office and found the President to be frequently mentioned in those files, they changed their tune. | ||
| In the past few months, the President has gone to extraordinary lengths to prevent the release of the Epstein files. | ||
| His DOJ approved the highly unusual transfer of Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Jelaine Maxwell, to a cushy minimum security prison, apparently in exchange for her agreement to distance the president from Epstein's sex trafficking activities. | ||
| The president has even threatened members of his own party with retribution if they vote to release those files. | ||
| These threats appear to be working because House Republicans continue to provide cover for the administration, repeatedly voting down amendments in the Rules Committee that would force the release of the Epstein files. | ||
| In fact, just this morning, Rules Committee Republicans once again blocked the release of those files. | ||
| And we have not seen our Republican colleagues stepping up to sign the discharge petition, which could lay this issue to rest once and for all. | ||
| The longer this goes on, the more it seems appropriate to ask, what are they trying to hide and who are they trying to protect? | ||
| What is the wonderful secret that Trump and Epstein shared? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I bring this all up because the other bill in this act, H.R. 3486, the Stop Illegal Entry Act, is another distraction to divert attention from this White House's ongoing issues and the Epstein files. | ||
| It's a messaging bill that's light on substance, bad on policy, and just something shiny for House Republicans to talk about other than the Epstein files. | ||
| The bill purports to be tough on undocumented immigrants, but doesn't do a single thing to improve our broken immigration system. | ||
| But what it will do is siphon even more taxpayer dollars into the hands of for-profit prison companies. | ||
| Instead of deporting undocumented immigrants, this bill would require convicted migrants to serve lengthy prison sentences here in the United States. | ||
| And guess who would benefit from that? | ||
| GEO and other private prison companies that have invested millions in the President's political campaigns. | ||
| It's already a crime to enter the country illegally. | ||
| Despite the propaganda from the other side, prosecutions against unlawful entry are regularly the most prosecuted cases in the United States under presidents from both parties. | ||
| Those found in violation of these statutes are already subject to prison sentences and to mandatory removal. | ||
| However, Republicans are proposing to jail undocumented immigrants for up to 10 or 20 years, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars in limited federal prison space. | ||
| American taxpayers are certainly justified in asking our Republican colleagues, why should we imprison someone who's subject to deportation here in the U.S. and at that cost to the American taxpayer? | ||
| Every day, we're seeing a new atrocity committed by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. | ||
| All over America, masked ICE agents, often in unmarked cars, are taking parents from their children, arresting the elderly, arresting law-abiding immigrants, and even detaining citizens. | ||
| Trump says he's going after the worst of the worst, but over 70 percent of the immigrants his government has rounded up have no criminal record. | ||
| In fact, the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security are reallocating resources away from investigating major crimes so they can terrorize undocumented immigrants who are just trying to work a job and provide for themselves and their families, including some who were legally present here, had legal status until this administration suddenly reversed it. | ||
| For all its bluster, this administration is not doing anything to combat gangs or serious criminals. | ||
| They are not arresting the worst of the worst or gangs like MS-13 or Trendaragua. | ||
| It's not doing anything about the smugglers and human traffickers at the border. | ||
| Instead, ICE agents are scrambling to meet Stephen Miller's quotas by arresting people at work or when they attend court hearings on their legal cases for asylum or citizenship, as they're required to do. | ||
| And the hell with the impact on the local community, or in the case of the disastrous raid on the Georgia battery plant last week, the hell with our allies and foreign investment in our country, in the latest example of how this administration's disastrous immigration agenda is at odds with reality. | ||
| Last week, ICE was directed to make a flashy, high-profile raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia, arresting over 400 South Korean nationals who we had explicitly invited to invest in manufacturing here to bring jobs to the United States. | ||
| This stunt has been a complete disaster. | ||
| It's caused a major diplomatic rift with one of our closest allies and biggest economic partners, and it's given the whole world reason to believe that it's a mistake to move manufacturing to the U.S. In truth, the Stop Illegal Entry Act is just another shiny object supposed to divert attention from the Epstein files and the failures of this administration. | ||
| Republicans don't actually care about reforming the immigration system. | ||
| They've repeatedly rejected all attempts to do so. | ||
| They just want to campaign on telling horror stories about immigrants regardless of the truth. | ||
| All we see from this House majority is distraction after distraction after distraction, all to divert attention from the President's failure to deliver on promises to the American people. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. | ||
| The gentlewoman reserves. | ||
| Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities towards the president, and also members are reminded to refrain from using profanity in debate. | ||
|
Amendments for Military Airspace Safety
00:15:21
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||
| The gentleman from Georgia is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, if you don't like President Trump, that's fine. | ||
| If you don't like the legislation, that's fine. | ||
| But for a member of the House to walk down here and to intentionally take the name of the Lord in vain on the floor of the House of Representatives of the United States of America, he's just It's a new love for this institution, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And I think it's a sad day for our country, and it says a lot about how far society has fallen. | ||
| And while I know, and I actually read the book of James yesterday, the tongue's hard to tame. | ||
| But that was an intentional use of language taking the name of our Lord in vain on the floor of this House. | ||
| I'm going to leave it at that and yield three minutes to my friend from California, Mr. Obernalty. | ||
| The gentleman from California is recognized for three minutes. | ||
| I thank the gentleman from yielding. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, as we debate the rule providing for consideration of amendments to this year's National Defense Authorization Act, I rise to highlight a critically important issue for my district and to offer an amendment that would solve the problem. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I represent a vast district in Southern California, and among the five military bases that I represent is the Marine Air Ground Combat Center in 29 Palms. | ||
| This is a critically important national asset where large-scale training operations are conducted that are available nowhere else in the world. | ||
| Recently, the Marine Corps has proposed to expand the scale of operations and training at that base, which I fully support. | ||
| And to accomplish that expansion would require an expansion of the restricted airspace that is above those training operations. | ||
| We want to make sure the Marine Corps has access to all of the airspace they need to conduct their operations. | ||
| But, Mr. Speaker, they are going about it in an extremely troubling way. | ||
| They are proposing to create a new restricted air area over this airspace, which would restrict the public's access to that effectively full-time, despite the fact that the Marine Corps only proposes to make use of this airspace 60 or fewer days every year. | ||
| That's less than 20 percent of the time, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| The problem with this is it's going to have a devastating impact on four local area airports, as well as operations in the adjacent Johnson Valley, which is home to the King of the Hammers, Mr. Speaker, one of the largest off-roading races in the world and one in which over 80,000 spectators enjoy every year in my district. | ||
| These operations will be in jeopardy if the public is restricted from accessing that airspace. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, the Marine Corps has other options for getting use of this airspace. | ||
| For example, they could declare a temporary flight restriction on the days that they propose to use it, which would be communicated to all of the local users of the airspace. | ||
| Or, Mr. Speaker, they could better and more effectively communicate when they are using that airspace to other airspace units so the public would be aware of when the military needed the airspace and when the public had access to that. | ||
| And in fact, we have already directed them to do exactly that. | ||
| In the National Defense Authorization Act in 2021, we directed the Department of Defense and the FAA to work together to develop a system to digitally inform the public when restricted airspace was activated and when the public was welcome to use deactivated airspace. | ||
| And they were given six months to do that. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, this is not reinventing the wheel. | ||
| This delivery already exists for temporary flight restrictions. | ||
| This would just be extending it to the restricted areas. | ||
| But Mr. Speaker, four years later now, the DOD and the FAA have still not acted on this. | ||
| My amendment simply conditions the Marine Corps' issuance of a new restricted area on compliance with the direction of Congress that we have already given them four years ago to create this new information. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of my amendment and that they made in order to solve this problem. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| The gentleman yields back. | ||
| Gentleman from Georgia Reserves. | ||
| Gentlewoman from Pennsylvania is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona, Ms. Ansari. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| This week I offered four common sense amendments, several with bipartisan support, that would have made the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act stronger and more responsible. | ||
| I want to specifically highlight two of these important amendments for you all in the limited time that I have. | ||
| The first amendment would have included a penalty in law for using artificial intelligence to impersonate federal officials. | ||
| This provision is identical to a bipartisan bill I introduced earlier this year titled the AI Impersonation Prevention Act. | ||
| I introduced this bill to safeguard national security from the clear danger of the misuse of AI to impersonate federal officials. | ||
| There have been multiple recent incidents of AI being used to falsely impersonate federal officials, posing a very serious threat to our national security. | ||
| Recently, an imposter using AI attempted to contact high-level U.S. security personnel pretending to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio. | ||
| AI will only continue to become more powerful and accessible, so we must act now to establish strict guardrails and accountability. | ||
| That's why we need this amendment. | ||
| As AI continues to become more widely adopted and more sophisticated, measures such as this amendment will ensure that we have critical trust in the messages and content we all receive on a daily basis and that there are penalties for the abuse of this very powerful technology. | ||
| The second amendment I want to highlight speaks to a deeply disturbing issue that we all, both Republicans and Democrats, should be horrified by. | ||
| This is about the Trump administration's deportation of veterans and service members, including an Iraq war veteran detained by ICE in my district, Arizona's third. | ||
| Veterans are the best of us, our most patriotic Americans. | ||
| This amendment to the NDAA would have required a study by the Defense Department and other relevant agencies on the procedures in place to assist non-citizen service members with their citizenship applications. | ||
| Ultimately, this disregard for the welfare of veterans and service members stems from the top. | ||
| I am disappointed but not surprised that none of my important amendments were allowed to be considered on the floor by House Republicans. | ||
| Thank you, and I yield back. | ||
| Gentleman yields back. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Pennsylvania Reserves. | ||
| The gentleman from Georgia is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I now yield two minutes to my friend from Kansas, Mr. Smith. | ||
| The gentleman from Kansas is recognized for two minutes. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank the gentleman for yielding. | |
| I rise in support of the rule and urge this body to adopt it. | ||
| It is the next necessary step for us to proceed to consideration and ultimately adoption of the National Defense Authorization Act for the 65th year in a row. | ||
| And while this Congress has done this 65 years in a row, this is the first year I've had the privilege of being part of this debate and discussion. | ||
| I'm honored to be here. | ||
| I'm honored to be a representative of the 2nd District of Kansas, where I represent, among others, those associated with Fort Leavenworth, with Fort Riley, with Forbesfield, the 190th Air Refueling Wing, and other important military assets. | ||
| And I want to just highlight a couple of provisions in this bill that are so critically important to the people that I represent. | ||
| Obviously, the continued focus on service member and family quality of life, the 3.8 percent pay raise, vitally important to these folks who are serving our country. | ||
| The $350 million this bill authorizes for expanded child care facilities for military families, the $35 million that it authorizes for impact aid in support of the communities that support our fighting men and women. | ||
| The provision that restricts, precludes the downsizing of certain military health care installations so we can continue to provide for the health and well-being of our service members and their families. | ||
| This bill focuses on acquisition reform, includes a provision to make it easier for small businesses to access what can be the complicated and sometimes frustrating process of being in the queue to provide support for our military men and women in our armed services. | ||
| It provides for a focus on additional training space and support for unmanned systems, vitally important to us in Kansas, where we have a lot of assets clustered together to provide that type of next-generation support, both in the physical world and in the simulation world, in terms of the National Simulation Center at Fort Leavenworth. | ||
| And of course, it provides some top-line, critical important provisions that are important to the defense of our country, and that includes authorizing funding and support for our counter-drug efforts, vitally important to our communities. | ||
| So, Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity. | ||
| I encourage adoption of the rule. | ||
| The gentleman yields back. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I reserve. | ||
| The gentleman from Georgia Reserves, the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania, is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I yield two minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Conaway. | ||
| It is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on my amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act. | ||
| This administration has made their military plan clear: weaponize our troops against the people and use our military installations to advance their immigration agenda. | ||
| As plans to house undocumented immigrants and military bases continue, base leadership must be informed about everyone that is coming onto the base and if their treatment and detention meets well-established federal standards. | ||
| My amendments would require the Department of Homeland Security to create a registry of all undocumented immigrants held at DOD facilities and require a joint DOD-DHS report to the Congress on the use of force and compliance with federal detention standards, standards designed to ensure humane treatment. | ||
| Unfortunately, these amendments aren't just needed, but necessary, given the reports of DHS violating the rights of undocumented immigrants and those with legal status at detention facilities all across our country. | ||
| We must have accountability, and if this administration plans to use our military installations as detention facilities, then DOD must play a role in curbing DHS inhumane tactics. | ||
| I ask all my colleagues to support these amendments, and I yield back. | ||
| The gentleman yields back. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Pennsylvania Reserves, the gentleman from Georgia, is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I reserve. | ||
| Gentleman from Georgia Reserves, the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from Delaware, Ms. McBride. | ||
| The member from Delaware is recognized. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Two minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I know a few members of this chamber can't seem to muster any maturity when they have a transgender colleague, but members of the U.S. Armed Forces can and have. | ||
| For years, transgender people have been serving in our military. | ||
| There was no problem until Donald Trump decided to fire thousands of qualified, capable service members simply because of their gender identity. | ||
| These service members were proudly serving arm in arm with their peers, deploying, training, leading, and sacrificing. | ||
| They met the same standards, passed the same tests, earned the same promotions, and they were praised by their commanding officers. | ||
| There was no problem until the Trump administration created a problem, removing thousands of loyal patriots from service, squandering investments made in their training and careers, and disrupting lives and units. | ||
| That's why I introduced an amendment to repeal this ban. | ||
| Because this ban doesn't strengthen our military, it weakens it. | ||
| It doesn't uphold our values. | ||
| It betrays them. | ||
| And it sends the cruelest message to some of our most devoted patriots that one identity they hold matters more than their service. | ||
| My second amendment restores retirement benefits to transgender veterans who are forced out of the armed forces just shy of 20 years of service. | ||
| Under the law, they should qualify for early retirement benefits just like everyone else. | ||
| Many received approval only to have it revoked simply because of their gender identity. | ||
| They wore the uniform, they kept their promises to us. | ||
| It's time we keep our promises to them. | ||
| It's one thing for some of my colleagues to disrespect me, but it's another thing entirely to disrespect the people who lay down their lives for this country. | ||
| Unfortunately, the majority in this body refuses to let us vote on these amendments. | ||
| But I will not stop standing up for every patriot that serves our country, which until now I thought was a non-controversial and bipartisan idea. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Member yields back. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Pennsylvania reserves. | ||
| I just want to thank my colleague for her remarks, and I would reserve. | ||
| The gentleman from Georgia is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I now yield two minutes to my friend from North Carolina and the chairwoman of the Rules Committee, the toughest lady in Congress, Dr. Fox. | ||
| The gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. | ||
| I thank my colleague for yielding. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, Congress is charged with upholding the solemn constitutional mandate of providing for the common defense of the nation. | ||
| We must guarantee that the men and women of the Armed Forces are equipped with the capabilities and resources to remain the most resilient and lethal fighting force on the planet. | ||
| If we do not make good upon that guarantee, our nation's warfighters and defense apparatus will be ill-equipped to confront all manner of threats to the homeland. | ||
| The bipartisan FY26 NDAA is our answer, and it contains the necessary provisions needed to ensure that the Armed Forces could carry out their mission unimpeded. | ||
| From pay raises for service members to furthering innovation, slashing bureaucratic red tape, to doubling down on President Trump's America First posture by authorizing the collection of funds to offset the cost of U.S. forces in Eastern Europe. | ||
| This legislation meets the mark and then some. | ||
| It also makes ironclad commitments to deter aggression from foreign adversaries that pose a serious threat to America's national security and our way of life. | ||
|
Protecting Health Care Amid Tax Credits Threats
00:13:08
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| Ensuring the safety and security of the homeland will always be the top priority of Republicans in Congress. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I support the rule, the underlying legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. | ||
| I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
| The gentlewoman yields back. | ||
| The gentleman from Georgia Reserve. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Pennsylvania is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of H.R. 4849, the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act of 2025, introduced by Congressman Gray. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, in July, Republicans jammed through their big, ugly bill. | ||
| This 870-page monstrosity includes the largest cuts to health care in American history. | ||
| It takes health care coverage away from more than 15 million Americans, American citizens, including 10 million who would lose their care due to the $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and another $5 million because Republicans failed to extend the tax credits that help make ACA plans more affordable. | ||
| These cuts will throw millions of Americans off coverage entirely, bury families in medical debt, and result in hospitals and nursing homes closing, especially in rural America. | ||
| In my district, 21,000 people are likely to lose their health care. | ||
| And in the gentleman from Georgia's district, 36,000 people are estimated to lose their health care. | ||
| Mr. Gray's bill would reverse those disastrous cuts as well as permanently extend the tax credits that help make ACA plans more affordable for millions of Americans. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection. | |
| Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal further, I yield behind to the gentlewoman from Michigan, Ms. McDonald Rivet. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Michigan is recognized for a minute and a half. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | |
| I rise today on behalf of the hardworking men and women, not just in Michigan, but across the country. | ||
| Working families in mid-Michigan and across the country are really struggling. | ||
| 200,000 people in my district alone rely on Medicaid. | ||
| While the Republican tax screen, that scheme that gives huge giveaways to billionaires, threatens and breaks to the ultra-wealthy, it neglects the ACA tax credits working families in my district depend on to cover their insurance premiums and cuts Medicaid by $1.1 trillion, kicking tens of thousands of my constituents off their health care and raising costs for everybody. | ||
| Our Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act reverses all of that, and we should pass it today. | ||
| We aren't just making a point. | ||
| We're fighting for the retired teacher from Mount Morris who needs Medicaid because her insurance isn't cutting it. | ||
| We're standing up for the pregnant women whose rural hospital is at risk of closure of being shut down because of the Republican tax giveaway. | ||
| We're raising our voices for the family from Bay City who will have to sit down at the kitchen table to figure out if they should pay for rent or their child's visit to the doctor. | ||
| We know that as a result of the billionaire tax giveaway, we are going to see premiums rise for working people across our country. | ||
| The ACA tax credits need to be re-established now. | ||
| Thank you, and I yield back. | ||
| The gentleman yields back. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Pennsylvania Reserves. | ||
| The gentleman from Georgia is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, there is absolutely nothing that can make Affordable Care Act plans affordable. | ||
| It was a gift to the insurance industry from the Democratic Party and without a reserve. | ||
| Gentleman from Georgia Reserves, the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I would yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico, a distinguished member of the Rules Committee, Ms. Ledger Fernandez. | ||
| The gentlewoman from New Mexico is recognized for two minutes. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Once again, Republicans on the Rules Committee blocked a vote on the bipartisan Massacana bail to release the Epstein files. | ||
| Covering up the files just protects the criminal activity of pedophiles and the people who participated in those heinous acts. | ||
| Epstein told the young girls and women, I have the banks and I have the government. | ||
| You have no power. | ||
| Let's prove him wrong. | ||
| I'm asking that just two more of my Republican colleagues sign the petition to expose the rich and powerful monsters that were part of the Epstein sex circle. | ||
| Trump is engaged in a cover-up. | ||
| He's forcing Republicans to ignore their own moral conscience when he blocks the Massey Connor Bill. | ||
| What's he hiding? | ||
| Well, just in the last 24 hours, the card that Trump said didn't exist was released. | ||
| It's a disgusting, degrading birthday card that Trump sent to Epstein, calling him a pal and stating that they shared a wonderful secret. | ||
| And if that's not enough, Trump had the audacity to imply that domestic violence is not a crime. | ||
| He said, if a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime. | ||
| Consistent with that, he's cut federal funds that support victims of sexual crimes, including domestic violence. | ||
| Trump was found liable in court for sexually abusing Eugene Carroll. | ||
| And yesterday, a court upheld an 83.3 million defamation jury award against President Trump. | ||
| Women are not safe in Trump's America. | ||
| So yes, Americans deserve a vote on the Massey Connor Bill to know what else is Trump hiding. | ||
| The survivors' painful stories brought many to tears last week. | ||
| Their pain made us cry, but we cannot stop back tears. | ||
| We owe them the justice they asked us for. | ||
| Release the damn files. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman yields back. | |
| The gentlewoman from PA Pennsylvania Reserves members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities towards the president. | ||
| Members are also reminded that profanity is not part of the debate. | ||
| The gentleman from Georgia is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And I want to commend Chairman Comer for the work that's being done in the Oversight Committee. | ||
| I want to commend the courage of the victims that came forward. | ||
| I should have commended the courage of the victims that came forward to Congress last week and met with members, including the Speaker of the House, before I even commended Chairman Comer for his work on the Epstein files. | ||
| The key to the Epstein files is the flight logs and the tax records, neither of which is mentioned in the Conomasy language. | ||
| So we are pushing forward. | ||
| Chairman Comer is doing a good job. | ||
| I commend him and the bipartisan work that's being done on the Oversight Committee. | ||
| I commend the victims for coming to Washington and doing this. | ||
| I want to apologize to the victims for the gamesmanship that is being played at their expense by the other side of the aisle in the Democratic Party. | ||
| I think they support, from what I understand, what is being done in a bipartisan manner in the Oversight Committee. | ||
| So we're going to continue to push forward that way. | ||
| And, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance for my time. | ||
| Gentleman from Georgia Reserves, the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania is recognized. | ||
| You know, if we're going to discuss what should be disclosed with these Epstein files, all the more reason to bring this bill forward. | ||
| We can amend it in rules and carry on from there. | ||
| But that's not what we're seeing from our colleagues across the aisle. | ||
| They're trying to bury it, and I assume they'll continue to do so. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I'm prepared to close if the gentleman has no further speakers. | ||
| Gentlewoman is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, this House and this Congress cannot afford to continue allowing an unrestrained and reckless president to trample on the Constitution and Congress's powers and our responsibilities. | ||
| Every day brings a new crisis with this White House, and they're all of its own making. | ||
| Since Trump announced his tariffs, the U.S. has lost 42,000 manufacturing jobs. | ||
| Tourism is tanking, and unemployment is on the rise. | ||
| Costs for everything from electricity to groceries to health insurance are up, not down. | ||
| In fact, we're facing the biggest increase in health insurance costs in 15 years, even as the cuts in this big bad bill threaten to bring more hospital closures. | ||
| Trump's attacks on the Federal Reserve could cause another financial crisis. | ||
| Masked agents are roaming our streets, and reports of human rights abuses at ICE detention facilities are growing. | ||
| Far from ending the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Trump has amassed naval forces off the coast of Venezuela and could provoke another unauthorized war. | ||
| This administration is out of control, and Congress, Congress, must act. | ||
| Republicans can't keep their heads in the sand. | ||
| They've already failed to protect core Article I spending authorities, the power to make appropriations, and the power to declare war. | ||
| Continued inaction will only allow more power grabs by this White House to occur. | ||
| At every turn, Republicans have fought Democratic efforts to place oversight and enforcement riders in legislation that we're passing. | ||
| With this NDAA, our Republican colleagues are again blocking policies to restrain this president and prevent him from using the armed forces as political weapons. | ||
| This cannot be allowed to continue. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we must reject this rule and the Republicans' failed agenda. | ||
| I urge my colleagues to vote no on the PQ and the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
| The gentleman yields back for the third time. | ||
| Members are reminded to not engage in personalities with the President. | ||
| Representative from Georgia is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. | ||
| Gentlemen, recognized. | ||
| First of all, Mr. Speaker, it wasn't a speedboat. | ||
| It was a panga full of drugs, and I'd rather that speedboat, so-called speedboat, as they call it, I call it a panga full of drugs, be at the bottom of the ocean than another American be at the bottom of the six-foot hole because of the drug overdoses. | ||
| I personally think the President and the Secretary of Defense made the right choice, and I hope they'll do it again. | ||
| In fact, I challenge them to do it again. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, this week can advance two pieces of legislation under this rule. | ||
| H.R. 3838, the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026, significantly improves the defense acquisition system. | ||
| The act implements the Peace Three Strength Agenda and restores lethality to our armed forces. | ||
| It secures America's borders and improves the quality of life of our service members. | ||
| The fiscal year 26 NDAA reforms key programs and saves taxpayers' dollars, resulting in a ready, capable, and lethal fighting force. | ||
| This legislature will deter China, defend Israel, and counter Russia, North Korea, Iran, and other foreign terrorist organizations, including the drug dealers, riding around the ocean with pangas full of dope. | ||
| Finally, this act strengthens our nuclear deterrence, builds the Golden Dome, and grows our nation's strategic space capabilities. | ||
| This is bipartisan, must-pass legislation that every one of my colleagues should support. | ||
| Additionally, H.R. 3486, the Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025, simply strengthens current law to deter criminal aliens from entering and re-entering again and again the United States and gives Federal officials more tools to prosecute aliens who have illegally entered the country and are convicted of a felony or try to re-enter the country after removal following a felony conviction. | ||
|
National Emergency Continues
00:04:54
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| I urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes on the previous question and yes on the rule. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution. | ||
| The question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. | ||
| Those in favor say aye. | ||
| Those opposed, no. | ||
| The Impending Chair, the ayes have it. | ||
| We would request the yays and nays. | ||
| The yays and nays are requested. | ||
| Those favoring a vote for the yays and nays will rise. | ||
| A sufficient number having risen, yeas and nays are ordered. | ||
| Pursuant to clause 8 of Rule 20. | ||
| Further proceedings on this question will be postponed. | ||
| The chair lays before the house a message. | ||
| To the Congress of the United States. | ||
| Section 202D of the National Emergencies Act, 50 United States Code 1622D, provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. | ||
| In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism declared in Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 as amended, is to continue in effect beyond September 23rd, 2025. | ||
| The crisis constituted by the grave acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism committed by foreign terrorists, including the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in New York and in Pennsylvania and against the Pentagon, and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on United States nationals or the United States that led to the declaration of a national emergency on September 23, 2001 has not yet been resolved. | ||
| This crisis continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. | ||
| Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency, declare in Executive Order 13224 as amended with respect to persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism. | ||
| Signed sincerely, Donald J. Trump, the White House, September 8, 2025. | ||
| Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered printed. | ||
| The Chair lays before the House a message. | ||
| To the Congress of the United States, Section 202D of the National Emergencies Act, 50 United States Code 1622D, provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. | ||
| In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the National Emergency with respect to Ethiopia declared in Executive Order 14046 of September 17, 2021, is to continue in effect beyond September 17, 2025. | ||
| The situation in and in relation to northern Ethiopia, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Ethiopia and the Greater Horn of Africa region, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. | ||
| Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency. | ||
| Declare an Executive Order 14046 with respect to Ethiopia. | ||
| Signed sincerely, Donald J. Trump. | ||
| The White House, September 8th, 2025. | ||
| Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered printed. | ||
| Pursuant to Clause 12A and Rule 1. | ||
| The Chair declares the House in recess until it is subject to the call of the Chair. | ||
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Well, today, the U.S. House is starting work on two bills, the 2026 Defense Programs and Policy Legislation called the National Defense Authorization Act, or referred to as the NDAA, and a measure to increase criminal penalties on those who illegally re-enter the United States after being deported. | |
| Debate on the over 300 amendments to the defense bill will continue until tomorrow. | ||
| Also on the radar, funding for the federal government expires at the end of this month. | ||
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MediaCom's Mission: Bigger Democracy
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Live coverage when the House gavels back in here on C-SPAN. | |
| C-SPAN, Democracy Unfiltered. | ||
| We're funded by these television companies and more, including Mediacom. | ||
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