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Live Coverage of U.S. House
00:09:27
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| Here at home, very soon. | ||
| The United States government has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil in the global marketplace for the benefit of the United States. | ||
| Engage the world's leading commodity marketers, key banks to execute and provide financial support for these crude oil and crude product sales. | ||
| All proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil and products will first settle. | ||
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unidentified
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To leave the White House briefing at this point, as the House is about to gavel in, you can see the rest of the briefing if you go to C-SPAN 3. | |
| And now to our committed live coverage of the U.S. House here on C-SPAN. | ||
| Kibben. | ||
| Would you pray with me? | ||
| Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a new and steadfast spirit within us. | ||
| For you know the human heart, its desires and its demands, its feebleness and its faithlessness, and yet you are quick to show us mercy. | ||
| As we approach you on this day, testify to us of your matchless wisdom. | ||
| That even in the corners of our soul, in our inmost beings, we would know the conviction and the consolation of your eternal truth. | ||
| Restore us to the wholeness that is ours when we entrust everything-heart, mind, and soul-to you. | ||
| Grant us the joy of your salvation, and maintain in each of our spirits the willingness to follow your guidance and to yield to your correction. | ||
| Then open our lips that the words we speak today will reflect the sincerity of a faith shaped by a humble spirit. | ||
| That they will proclaim the hope of a faith that depends on your everlasting promises, and that they will sing the joy of a faith that has received the gift of your redeeming love. | ||
| We stand in the bounty of your mercy and pray in the power of your gracious and loving name. | ||
| Amen. | ||
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unidentified
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The chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the House the approval thereof pursuant to clause one of Rule 1. | |
| The journal stands approved. | ||
| Pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from New York, Mr. Latimer. | ||
| To the flag. | ||
| And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. | ||
| Chair will message. | ||
| Chair will receive a message. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, messages from the Senate. | ||
| Mr. Speaker. | ||
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unidentified
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Mr. Secretary. | |
| I've been directed by the Senate to inform the House that the Senate has passed S-320, an act to reauthorize the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 and for other purposes in which the concurrence of the House is requested. | ||
| For what purpose does the gentleman from California seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged resolution ask for its immediate consideration in the House. | ||
| Clerk will report the resolution. | ||
| House Resolution 978. | ||
| Resolved that the House has heard with profound sorrow of the death of the Honorable Doug Lamaufa, a representative from the state of California. | ||
| Resolved that the clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. | ||
| Resolve that when the House adjourned today, it adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. | ||
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unidentified
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Without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. | |
| 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, we class my hands consent to address the House for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. | ||
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unidentified
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Without objection. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Lycoming County Sheriff Mark Lusk, who retired Monday after 50 years of outstanding community service. | ||
| Mark was elected as Lycoming County Sheriff in 2009 and served in this role for four consecutive terms. | ||
| Over his 50-year career, Mark has held a variety of positions, including patrolman, criminal investigator, corporal, chief of police, and deputy coroner. | ||
| Mark's leadership has been pivotal, and he was responsible for many rescue operations when the county experienced major floods. | ||
| Beyond his role as sheriff, Mark has volunteered for the old Lycoming Township Volunteer Fire Company for 45 years. | ||
| He has also worked alongside the local VFW and American Legions. | ||
| Mark has received various awards for his leadership over his career. | ||
| In 2007, he was recognized by the Lycoming County Department of Public Safety and the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, Mark has dedicated his career to serving the community and answering the call to those in need. | ||
| And I thank him for his service and I wish him the very best. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
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unidentified
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For what purpose, the gentleman from Texas, seek recognition? | |
| Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute. | ||
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unidentified
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Without objection. | |
| Unable to run America, Trump says he will run Venezuela. | ||
| Unwilling to provide help to Americans facing soaring health premiums, he offers new tax subsidies to big oil. | ||
| Long eager to drag America back to the ugly glory days of white nationalism under his hero President William McKinley, Trump now also is apparently going to make imperialism great again also. | ||
| Declaring that he and he alone will dominate the Western Hemisphere, he sends a chilling message to his fellow authoritarians like Putin and Xi and others. | ||
| Might makes right, just stay in your own neighborhood. | ||
| With no interest in democracy, he's made clear that this is a war for oil and that he will work with any pawn that will get it to him, even those who are launching a new wave of repression in Venezuela. | ||
| Colombia, Mexico, Greenland, he's handing Putin a gift by dividing NATO. | ||
| Our allies had to meet yesterday to defend Denmark on Greenland from this bully in chief. | ||
| So many conflicts, no plan to provide security to American families. | ||
| He ignores our needs. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
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unidentified
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For what purposes, the gentleman from New York, seek recognition? | |
| Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to advise and extend my remarks. | ||
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unidentified
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Without objection. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Thanks again, Mr. President. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, in a world where local news services, newspapers, and radio stations are disappearing at a frightening level, it is important to recognize and salute those organizations that are continuing to provide information about our localities, the lives and the times of the individuals of our communities. | ||
| In the Bronx, specifically in Co-op City, we have a public debt of gratitude that we owe to the Co-op City Times, serving the 40,000-plus people who reside there. | ||
| Owned and operated by the River Bay Corporation, the Co-op City Times, led by Roseanne Boone, editor-in-chief, and her team of reporters, cover the work of the Co-op Board of Directors, the many organizations of Co-op City, from the NAACP branch to the American Legion Post, and every other group in between. | ||
| The Times provides weekly, free of charge, news that covers the events and the information of the individual building organizations, local arts and performances, the churches and houses of worship, and all of their events. | ||
| And they spotlight the persons and the personalities that move Co-op City every day. | ||
| Thank you, Co-op City Times, from the floor of the House of Representatives for showing that local news can still be vocal news. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back. | ||
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unidentified
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What purpose does the gentleman from Massachusetts seek recognition? | |
| Without objection. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, after months of delay, the Trump administration finally released an annual food security survey, which confirms what we know to be true. | ||
| Hunger is increasing in this country. | ||
| Nearly 48 million Americans, including 14 million children in the richest country in the history of the world, are food insecure, meaning they lack the money and resources to acquire adequate food to feed their families. | ||
| That's moms and dads and grandparents and kids unable to consistently access the most basic necessity food. | ||
| And it's no wonder the Trump administration has unilaterally canceled all future food security reports. | ||
| They know that their big, ugly bill and Trump's terrible economy is going to cause food insecurity to skyrocket, and they are desperate to hide the data from the American people. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I'm here to say the Democrats and Congress are not going to stand by while Trump tears apart basic needs programs. | ||
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One Hour Of Debate
00:09:26
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| We will continue calling attention to the increase in hunger caused by this administration and their Republican allies in Congress, and we will always fight for a future when we finally end hunger now. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
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unidentified
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What purpose does the gentleman from Indiana seek recognition? | |
| Mr. Speaker, by direction of the House Republican Conference, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. | ||
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unidentified
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Clerk will report the resolution. | |
| House Resolution 979, resolved that the following name member be and is hereby elected to the following standing committee of the House of Representatives. | ||
| Committee on Ethics. | ||
| Mr. Knott. | ||
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unidentified
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Without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. | |
| What purpose does the gentleman from Indiana seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 977 and ask for its immediate consideration. | ||
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unidentified
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Clerk will report the resolution. | |
| House calendar number 52, House Resolution 977. | ||
| Resolve that upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill, H.R. 4593, to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to revise the definition of showerhead. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| The bill shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill and on any 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 energy and commerce or their respective designees in two, one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section two, upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill, H.R. 5184, to prohibit the Secretary of Energy from enforcing energy efficiency standards applicable to manufactured housing 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 Energy and Commerce, now printed in the bill, 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 passes without intervening motion except one. | ||
| One hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on energy and commerce or their respective designees in two, one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section 3. | ||
| Upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill, H.R. 6938, making consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30th, 2026, and for other purposes. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| The bill shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill and on any 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 appropriations or their respective designees. | ||
| Two, proceedings under section four of this resolution and three, one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section four, the proceedings referred to in section three of this resolution are as follows. | ||
| A, after debate pursuant to section three of this resolution, the chair shall, in the order specified by the chair, put the question on one, retaining division A and two, retaining divisions B and C. B, the yeas and nays shall be considered as order on each of the questions under subsection A. | ||
| And C, after disposition of the questions under subsection A, the chair shall put the question on engrossment and third reading of the text comprising those portions of the bill retained pursuant to subsection A. Section 5. | ||
| In the engrossment of H.R. 6938, the clerk shall conform divisions and section numbers and make related corrections to cross-references in the event a portion of the bill is not retained pursuant to section 4 of this resolution. | ||
| Section 6, the chair of the committee on appropriations may insert in the congressional record not later than January 9th, 2026, such material as he may deem explanatory of H.R. 6938. | ||
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unidentified
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Gentleman from Indiana is recognized for one hour. | |
| Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. McGovern, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. | ||
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unidentified
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Gentleman is recognized. | |
| During the consideration for this resolution, all time yielded 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. | ||
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unidentified
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Without objection. | |
| Earlier this morning, the Rules Committee met to produce a rule, HRES 977, providing for the House's consideration on the following three bills. | ||
| First, the rule provides for H.R. 4593, the Shower Act, to be considered under a closed rule. | ||
| It provides one hour of debate. | ||
| Equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee or their respective designees and provides for one motion to recommit. | ||
| Second, the rule provides for H.R. 5184, the Affordable Homes Act. | ||
| H.R. 5184 would be considered under a closed rule. | ||
| It also provides for one hour of debate. | ||
| Equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Energy and Commerce Committee or their respective designees and provides for one motion to recommit. | ||
| Third, the rule provides for H.R. 6938, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act 2026. | ||
| H.R. 6938 would be considered under a closed rule and it also provides one hour of debate. | ||
| Equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their designees and provides for one motion to recommit. | ||
| The rule provides for separate votes on Division A and Divisions B and C. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and in support of the underlying legislation. | ||
| These bills reflect a simple governing philosophy, freedom of choice, fiscal responsibility, regulatory clarity, and a government that focuses on the American people, not bureaucracy. | ||
| Let me begin with the appropriations package. | ||
| Beginning with H.R. 6938, the Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act of 2026, these bills make targeted, disciplined investments to strengthen American energy dominance, reinforce our nuclear deterrent capabilities, support law enforcement, and expand access to critical minerals. | ||
| These policy priorities are shared by President Trump, congressional Republicans, and millions of Americans. | ||
| Importantly, this appropriations package ends Biden-era policies, enacting a more conservative vision, all while cutting fiscal year 2026 spending by nearly $2 billion, delivering significant savings for taxpayers. | ||
| Let me repeat that. | ||
| Passing full-year appropriations ensures we're not defaulting to Biden-era spending levels or radical priorities. | ||
| It allows Congress to reset funding levels in support of the conservative policies aligned with President Trump's agenda. | ||
| The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $78 billion in discretionary funding, including resources to stop the flow of fentanyl, and provides critical funding to support state and local law enforcement. | ||
| It increases funding for the Drug Enforcement Administration to combat the fentanyl crisis, supports the Department of Justice grant programs that target opioids and child exploitation, and facilitates immigration enforcement. | ||
| It protects the Second Amendment by keeping long-standing safeguards in place that prevent federal agencies from restricting lawful firearms, ammunition, and sporting equipment without congressional approval, and decreases funding for the ATF. | ||
| It also maintains pro-life hide protections to ensure taxpayer dollars are not used to fund abortions. | ||
| The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act directs $58 billion toward national security and strengthens America's energy and dependence. | ||
| These investments are essential to restoring American leadership in nuclear energy and achieving the administration's goal of dramatically expanding nuclear capacity by mid-century. | ||
| At the same time, they eliminate wasteful Biden-era offices that prioritized ideology over outcomes. | ||
| The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $38 billion to expand access to public lands, reverse harmful regulatory overreach, and rein in agency budgets. | ||
| It increases funding for responsible onshore and offshore energy development in oil and gas, exempts farmers and ranchers from burdensome greenhouse gas emissions reporting schemes, and reduces funding for the EPA. | ||
| In addition to these wins for the American people, I'm proud that my office was able to secure $8 million in community project funding for Indiana's 9th Congressional District. | ||
| This funding will support projects, including a riverbank stabilization plan for the Ohio River shoreline in Clarksville, Indiana, and support booster pump stations that are needed to increase water capacity to serve constituents in Bloomington, Monroe County, and the home of our Indiana University football student and students at Indiana University. | ||
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Consumer Choice Over Regulation
00:03:58
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| Funding in this package will also provide residents and businesses in Brown County with long and greatly needed sewer services and support for the City of Madison's stormwater mitigation project to reduce flooding and improve water quality. | ||
| These investments will support critical infrastructure and local priorities that communities themselves identified, bringing improvements from shoreline protection to water systems to supporting economic development that will directly benefit residents across the 9th District. | ||
| Together, these bills reflect a disciplined approach to governing by investing in community priorities, cutting unnecessary spending, and reducing good governance. | ||
| Turning next to H.R. 4593, the Shower Act. | ||
| This is a simple bill with a simple goal. | ||
| End the regulatory whiplash and return consumer choice and common sense to a basic household product. | ||
| A showerhead should not require extensive regulation. | ||
| Yet under the Obama and Biden administrations, bureaucrats redefined a clear term to advance an ideological agenda, creating confusion for manufacturers and frustration for consumers. | ||
| But this was the status quo under the leadership of Democrats. | ||
| Regulate everything in our lives, right down to our showerheads. | ||
| It's incredible if you think about it. | ||
| And this may seem like a ridiculous bill to be considering by our Democrat counterparts. | ||
| And believe me, it is ridiculous that their policies would require legislation to prevent this kind of government intrusion, but here we are. | ||
| The Biden administration regulated every nozzle in every American home individually, reducing water pressure and frustrating homeowners, all while increasing costs for compliance. | ||
| Ending this rule will permanently save Americans billions of dollars, reduce regulatory bloat, and restore a workable standard. | ||
| The Department of Energy estimates that eliminating this rule, along with dozens of related inflationary standards, will save consumers $11 billion and will cut more than 125,000 words from the Code of Federal regulations. | ||
| Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to turn to H.R. 5184, the Affordable Homes Act, which I'm proud to author with Congressman Chairman Mike Flood. | ||
| This bill addresses a real problem in the housing market, one that affects our most vulnerable homebuyers. | ||
| It reduces the upfront cost of buying a home, making it easier for Americans to achieve the dream of home ownership. | ||
| The Affordable Homes Act restores clarity by placing manufacturing housing standards back under the Office of Housing and Urban Development where they belong and eliminating duplicative regulatory authority by the Department of Energy. | ||
| It overturns a 2022 Biden administration rule that increased manufactured housing costs, again, without regard for what consumers want or how the market actually works, prioritizing energy efficiency under the Green New Deal and directly contributing to the housing affordability issues we see today. | ||
| The objective here is clarity, so manufacturers can build more homes and families can afford them. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, this rule moves legislation that reflects fiscal discipline, regulatory sanity, consumer choice, and a commitment to affordability and growth. | ||
| I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bills. | ||
| I reserve the balance of my time. | ||
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unidentified
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Councilman Reserves Balance of Reim. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the gentlelady from Indiana for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, it's a new year in America, but judging by the remarks of the gentlelady from Indiana, it's the same old Republican Party. | ||
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Families Are Hurting
00:03:05
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| Because here's where we're at on January 7, 2026. | ||
| We have a Republican president who promised to put America first. | ||
| Instead, in just under a year, he has bailed out Argentina, bombed Venezuela, gave Qatar an Air Force base in Idaho, pardoned the former Honduran drug trafficking president, and cozied up to dictators all around the world. | ||
| We have a Republican majority that promised to bring down prices. | ||
| Guess what? | ||
| Prices are going up. | ||
| Families across this country are hurting. | ||
| People are losing health coverage because you guys chose deliberately, Mr. Speaker, to let the Affordable Care Act tax credits expire. | ||
| Rent keeps going up. | ||
| Grocery prices keep going up. | ||
| Paychecks are not keeping pace. | ||
| Meanwhile, the President of the United States is openly boasting that America is now running a foreign country. | ||
| His own advisors can't even answer basic questions about what the hell comes next, what the plan is, how this ends, or when the Venezuelan people can expect democracy. | ||
| And we have a Speaker of the House who is the weakest and most incompetent Speaker of the House in the history of this body. | ||
| I mean, honest to God, Mr. Speaker, I don't know whether that's a good thing for the country or a bad thing. | ||
| On one hand, he's so incompetent he can't get anything done. | ||
| On the other hand, the things he wants to get done are crazy. | ||
| You know, and don't ask him his opinion on anything. | ||
| He doesn't have one. | ||
| He doesn't watch the news. | ||
| I don't even think he goes outside. | ||
| I don't know what keeps him so busy that he doesn't have an opinion on anything, but he certainly isn't legislating. | ||
| And with all that's going on, conflict, economic strain, and real crises facing the American people, let us turn to the calendar and see what important issue that this Republican majority has us debating on the floor this week, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Do you want to know what it is? | ||
| Not housing, not food prices, not rent, not war and peace or foreign policy or America's future. | ||
| No, no, no, no. | ||
| All of us are here on the floor right now at the behest of this Republican majority to debate showerheads. | ||
| Showerheads. | ||
| You can't make this stuff up. | ||
| And as if that weren't bad enough, they're still trying to pass last year's appropriations bill. | ||
| Let's let that sink in. | ||
| Bills that should have been passed months ago. | ||
| That is the state of governance under this Republican majority. | ||
| Late, unserious, and completely detached from the lives of the people they claim to represent. | ||
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The Speaker Refuses
00:04:19
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| One of these appropriation bills funds the Department of Justice and federal law enforcement. | ||
| And that brings us to something Republicans would rather forget, but what our country must not. | ||
| Yesterday marked the five-year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection. | ||
| Five years since a violent mob, whipped into a frenzy by the lie that Trump won the election, even though he lost, stormed into this building to overturn a free and fair election. | ||
| Five years since law enforcement officers, Capitol Police and others, were beaten, crushed, stabbed, pepper-sprayed, and hunted down by a MAGA mob determined to overturn the election and stop the peaceful transfer of power. | ||
| They hunted members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike. | ||
| And I can still remember them chanting, hang Mike Pence, because I was here that day, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Right where you are sitting now, right in that chair. | ||
| I was one of the last members to leave the House floor. | ||
| And I watched officers barricade the chamber doors behind me, here, with furniture, knowing that they were outnumbered but refusing to surrender. | ||
| I mean, I smelled tear gas. | ||
| I felt the chaos. | ||
| I saw the mob outside of the Speaker's lobby. | ||
| The officers who were here that day saved lives. | ||
| They upheld their oath to the Constitution. | ||
| Many of them were hospitalized. | ||
| Many were permanently injured. | ||
| Some died either from injuries sustained that day or by suicide after the trauma that they endured. | ||
| Nearly 2,000 people were arrested, tried, and found guilty for their crimes that day. | ||
| And what did Donald Trump do? | ||
| He pardoned every single one of them. | ||
| He pardoned the criminals who beat officers bloody, desecrated this building, and tried to tear American democracy apart. | ||
| In my book, those pardons were unforgivable. | ||
| Unforgivable. | ||
| And you know what he did yesterday? | ||
| He put up a disgusting, disgraceful statement on the official White House website lying about what happened that day, blaming the police, blaming the police, and calling everyone who was here that day innocent. | ||
| Not a single mention, not a single mention of the 140 officers who were assaulted that day with weapons like bear spray, stun guns, hockey sticks, broken pieces of furniture, and flagpoles. | ||
| Not a single mention. | ||
| In fact, the White House even put up a statement that, quote, zero law enforcement officers lost their lives, end quote, which is a disgusting lie. | ||
| It is a disgusting lie and a disgrace to the memory of Officer Brian Sicknick, who laid in honor in the rotunda of this Capitol building after he died in the aftermath of January 6th. | ||
| And after all of that, after all of that, Speaker Johnson still refuses to display a plaque in the Capitol building to honor the officers who stood up to the mob that day, a memorial he is required by law to put up. | ||
| I mean, you know, here it is, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Here it is, right here. | ||
| That is what the Speaker refuses to put up. | ||
| This is what it looks like. | ||
| It's not the real one, because the real one is downstairs in storage somewhere. | ||
| Speaker Johnson refuses to hang it up. | ||
| And why? | ||
| And why? | ||
| We all know why. | ||
| We all know why. | ||
| He won't hang it up because he's Donald Trump's puppet. | ||
| That's all this is. | ||
| If he hangs up the plaque, Trump might get mad at him. | ||
| What a pathetic, shameful abdication of duty. | ||
| And I'm sure the gentlelady won't address a single point I made here about January 6th. | ||
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Opening Arguments on Housing
00:06:12
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| You know, I don't know whether she's afraid of the repercussions, but the bottom line is I just want to say for the record, shame on Republicans for trying to cover up their complicity in what happened that day. | ||
| And shame on them for wasting the people's time on showerheads while ignoring the economic, democratic, and moral crises staring this country in the face. | ||
| With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time. | ||
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unidentified
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Gentlemen Reserves Balance of his time. | |
| Gentlewoman from Indiana, all members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure if the gentleman from Massachusetts heard my opening, but this is about housing. | ||
| We literally have a bill called the Affordable Homes Act that addresses the cost of housing. | ||
| And he also commented that we are only appropriating and considering our appropriations bills yet today. | ||
| But we weren't the ones that shut down the government for 41 days, preventing us from doing our appropriations work. | ||
| And they did this. | ||
| The Democrats shut down the government to fight for taxpayer-funded health care subsidies that would go to the wealthiest Obamacare enrollees across the nation. | ||
| Think about that. | ||
| They shut down the functioning of the government, preventing us from appropriating on the very good things that we talked about in the opening comments, meaning millionaires would be eligible to receive tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer-funded subsidies for their Obamacare plans. | ||
| This would give $350 billion in taxpayer bailouts not to the American people, but to big health insurance companies, all while they're receiving record profits. | ||
| This incentivizes bad actors to manipulate individuals to sign up for coverage through the ACA marketplace, oftentimes without people even realizing that they had been enrolled. | ||
| This is government waste, fraud, and abuse at its worst, and I'm proud that House Republicans stood up against that. | ||
| Mr. The gentleman from Massachusetts also referenced the Shower Act that we have here today. | ||
| And I would just like to say that I'll stand up here every week, every day, to restore freedom of choice and freedom of movement back to the American people. | ||
| You have to start somewhere, from electric vehicle mandates to prohibitions on gas, stoves, and heaters, showerhead efficiency, efficiency standards in affordable homes, in manufactured housing that cause the cost of homeownership to go up, avoiding the American dream opportunities for millions of Americans. | ||
| But that's business as usual with Democrats in Congress. | ||
| Closing businesses and demanding quarantine. | ||
| This is Big Brother knows best, and that's what the Democrats are best at. | ||
| But House Republicans are going to fight back to restore that personal choice all while ensuring fiscal responsibility. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Weber. | ||
|
unidentified
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Gentleman from Texas, recognized for two minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I thank the gentlelady. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R.A.S. 6938, the combined rule for the consideration of H.R. 4593, H.R. 5184, and 6983. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, it gets fun listening to the fairy tales from the other side from time to time. | ||
| I have to give them that. | ||
| This rule advances a combined appropriations package that includes critical investments for Texas's 14th congressional district, which I'm proud to represent. | ||
| My district is home to some of the largest refineries in the United States, three LNG gas export terminals, numerous petrochemical facilities, and vital energy infrastructure that keeps our nation running. | ||
| The energy produced in Southeast Texas, Mr. Speaker, moves across America and to our allies through pipelines, trains, trucks, and even cargo ships. | ||
| Several provisions in this bill ensure that that energy continues to flow reliably and securely. | ||
| Funding for the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Project, more locally known as the Coastal Spine Project, is included in this underlying bill. | ||
| This critical project focuses on flood damage reduction, environmental enhancement, as well as economic resiliency. | ||
| It could save $2.3 billion with the B dollars annually by reducing flood damage and improving over 6,000 acres of coastal marsh and land to help mitigate storm searches. | ||
| Marco Ruvio, thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Just as importantly, it protects 30% of the nation's refining capacity, 42% of specialty chemical feedstock, and 80% of our military-grade fuel supply. | ||
| The bill also provides over $9 million to upgrade the Sabine Nations Waterway, which moves more than 194 million tons of cargo each year and is projected to exceed 210 million tons in the near future. | ||
| This waterway supports approximately 375,000 jobs and is in indispensable to America's economy and energy security. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, this appropriations package delivers real results, not just for Southeast Texas, but for the nation. | ||
| I urge my colleague to support the rule and this critical legislation. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman Reserves balance her time. | |
| Gentleman from Massachusetts. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, let me just respond to the gentlelady. | ||
| A lot of words, ton of words, but as I predicted, not a single word about the brave officers who defended this chamber and defended every member of Congress on January 6th who were attacked by a violent mob. | ||
|
I Hear About High Costs
00:05:03
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| Not a single word. | ||
| Not a single word. | ||
| And I just also want to remind the gentlelady, because maybe she forgot, regrettably, Republicans are in charge. | ||
| You're in charge of the House. | ||
| You're in charge of the Senate. | ||
| You're in charge of the White House. | ||
| You know, I mean, so you can complain about Joe Biden. | ||
| You can complain about Democrats, but you're running the show. | ||
| And I was really fascinated to hear the gentlelady talk about the shutdown. | ||
| Again, the Republicans are in charge of everything. | ||
| I mean, they have the votes to do whatever they want to do. | ||
| But when the government shut down, it was a Republican shutdown, by the way, when it shut down, you could have worked on the appropriations bills, by the way, which were already late by definition by the time of the shutdown. | ||
| They were already late. | ||
| But you could have worked on getting the appropriations work done. | ||
| And what did my Republican friends do? | ||
| They decided to go home and take a vacation. | ||
| They just left. | ||
| They walked away. | ||
| They did not a thing. | ||
| They went on an extended vacation rather than doing the people's business. | ||
| And I got to say to the gentlelady, with all due respect, I mean, I do town halls all the time. | ||
| And I don't know whether the gentlelady does. | ||
| I know a lot of Republicans do not. | ||
| But when I do my town halls, what I hear from people is about the high cost of living. | ||
| I hear about the high cost of groceries. | ||
| I hear about the high cost of health care. | ||
| I hear about the high cost of housing. | ||
| You know what I don't hear people talk about? | ||
| Showerheads. | ||
| I mean, you know, and when they talk about freedom and liberty, they don't talk about showerheads. | ||
| So I don't know what planet my Republican friends are living on, but I got news for you. | ||
| The number one issue in America is not showerheads. | ||
| It's health care. | ||
| It's affordability. | ||
| It's housing. | ||
| It's making sure that they can support their families. | ||
| People look at life through their kitchen window. | ||
| And they have to pay bills. | ||
| They have to make sure that they make ends meet. | ||
| And right now, under this Republican economy, life is too damn expensive. | ||
| People can't afford basic needs. | ||
| I just gave a one-minute speech before we got into this debate about the increase in hunger in this country. | ||
| And you know what the Republican response to that is? | ||
| What the Trump administration is doing to combat hunger? | ||
| Is they are now banning the monthly report, which gives us the data on how many people are hungry in this country. | ||
| No, we're not investing in programs to help combat hunger. | ||
| We're not fighting for higher wages. | ||
| We're not trying to lower health care costs. | ||
| We're just going to hide the information from people so that people don't know how bad the situation is. | ||
| So again, appreciate the gentlelady's, you know, all of her words, but quite frankly, they ring hollow. | ||
| What people want us to do is fight to make life more affordable and more reasonable for them. | ||
| And with that, I reserve my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman Reserve, gentlewoman from Indiana. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I'd like to remind my colleague on the other side of the aisle that House Republicans did pass funding, a funding mechanism out of the House of Representatives to the Senate. | ||
| And because of the 60-vote rule in the Senate, we did need the help of Democrats in the Senate to fund the government. | ||
| And they held out. | ||
| And again, for the purpose of funding taxpayer-funded health care subsidies to benefit the wealthiest Obamacare enrollees in the nation and fat cat insurance companies. | ||
| I'd also like to note that much of what the gentleman has been referring to is the deflection is like a magic trick. | ||
| You can say words. | ||
| just like he accused me of saying many words. | ||
| But the facts outweigh the deflection, which is it took much of 2025 to rid ourselves of Sleepy Joe America last Biden economic hangover. | ||
| But Republicans in Congress and President Trump have delivered. | ||
| America is now reaching new milestones under Republican leadership, turning the tide back to American greatness. | ||
| Let's just look at the economy. | ||
| Quarter three GDP growth was a roaring 4.3 percent, the fastest growth in years. | ||
| The deficit is being addressed. | ||
| The federal government's cumulative deficit for fiscal year 2026 at the end of November was 19 percent lower than the same time last year. | ||
|
Arizona's Water Security Initiative
00:03:38
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| Core inflation at 2.6 percent, the lowest we saw in four years. | ||
| Rents are falling month after month, and shelter inflation is at a four-year low. | ||
| Gas prices are down to their lowest levels in four years. | ||
| Stocks are at near highs by the end of the year, with the S ⁇ P climbing by 17 percent in 2025. | ||
| All of this before the gains of the working families tax cut legislation are realized, and we're just getting started. | ||
| So it will take us a while to recover from the years of inflationary policies of the Biden administration, but the facts show that House Republicans under President Trump's leadership are delivering on promises to reduce costs for American families. | ||
| With that, I'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Siscomani. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Arizona is recognized for two minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today in support of this bipartisan conference agreement covering the Commerce, Justice and Science, and Energy and Water and the Interior and Environment Appropriations Bills. | ||
| This package shows that when Congress works together, we can deliver full-year funding that meets the needs of our communities. | ||
| And this package makes smart, responsible investments in public safety, energy reliability, our public lands, and for those of us in the West, water conservation and infrastructure. | ||
| As the only member of the Arizona delegation in both the Senate and the House serving on the Appropriations Committee, I have worked to make sure this bill delivers real results back home in Arizona's sixth congressional district. | ||
| That includes specific community project funding requests developed directly with local leaders who know their communities best and targeted at their issues that matter in our communities the most. | ||
| This bill supports, for example, community safety vehicle fleet modernization for Tucson's first responders so that they have reliable vehicles when every second counts in their line of work. | ||
| It also includes funding for the Sao Rita Police Department radio replacement so officers can communicate clearly and safely in the field. | ||
| And as the Colorado River continues to face a worsening drought, water security is more important than ever. | ||
| This package helps fund water reclamation facility upgrades in Tombstone that will improve efficiency and replace aging infrastructure. | ||
| It supports the multi-municipality sewer treatment project that modernizes systems and projects public health across multiple communities in Graham County. | ||
| It also invests in source water system improvements at Marana Regional Airport and the Pioneer Well PFAS Treatment Project to help ensure safe and reliable water for families and businesses. | ||
| These are practical, locally requested projects that are transparent, accountable, and focused on results. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, this conference agreement reflects a responsible use of taxpayer dollars while strengthening public safety, water security, and critical infrastructure. | ||
| I am proud of the work we have accomplished, and I strongly urge my colleagues who support this package. | ||
| And, sir, I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman Reserves balance for a time. | |
| Gentleman from Massachusetts. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Again, again, the gentlelady said nothing about January 6th or nothing about the brave men and women who protected this chamber and all of us on that terrible, terrible day. | ||
|
ACA Tax Credits Extension
00:15:18
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| But I have to say that I was more than amused by listening to the gentlelady spout about how great everything is right now. | ||
| The Trump economy is perfect. | ||
| Everybody's doing great. | ||
| Everything is wonderful. | ||
| Everything is terrific. | ||
| I don't know whether the gentlelady holds town halls or not, but I wonder whether the voters of Indiana actually share that point of view. | ||
| I got to tell you, I don't think so, because I don't think the voters in general in this country, the people, the citizens of this country, share that view. | ||
| Because every poll that I have seen, every town hall that I have been at, by the way, not only in my district but in other states, people have complained about how expensive things are. | ||
| They say Trump's economy is making life more expensive, more difficult. | ||
| The price of health insurance is going through the roof because this chamber won't extend the ACA tax credits. | ||
| Groceries are going up. | ||
| I don't know whether the gentlelady goes to the supermarket or not, but the price of groceries are going up. | ||
| And, you know, I want to, Mr. Speaker, ask unanimous consent to insert into the record an article from Politico entitled, Poll. | ||
| Trump's Own Voters Begin Blaming Him for the Affordability Crisis. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection. | |
| And I don't want to be lectured about wealthy people in this country because the Republicans have done everything they can to help those who are well off get more and those who are struggling get less. | ||
| We saw the big, beautiful bill, tax cuts that included tax cuts for multi-millionaires and multi-billionaires. | ||
| I mean, your giveaways to billionaires, giveaways to big ag, to big tech, big oil. | ||
| And we see cuts to programs that help average people in this country to get by. | ||
| By the way, in their big, ugly bill, a trillion-dollar cut to Medicaid, to Medicaid. | ||
| They're cutting monies for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. | ||
| That's basically to help people put food on the table. | ||
| And by the way, increasingly, a majority of the people who are on SNAP are working families, and they're cutting that at the same time that groceries are going up. | ||
| But if you're a billionaire, don't worry about it. | ||
| We're fighting a war over oil right now because we want to make sure big oil that invested so heavily in the last campaign gets their payback. | ||
| But the bottom line is, when it comes to people who are well-off, well-connected, and have lots of money, they're doing fine. | ||
| Everybody else is getting screwed. | ||
| And if you ask the average person on the street about what they think of Donald Trump's economy, I'll tell you what they'll say. | ||
| They'll say it sucks. | ||
| And with that, I reserve my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman Reserves' Time. | |
| Gentleman from Indiana. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, let's just review some of the wins in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act because taxpayers are expected to take home an additional $91 billion in refunds and keep an additional $30 billion in their paychecks from reduced withholdings. | ||
| Taxpayers are set to continue to receive continued support in tax years to come through. | ||
| A doubled standard deduction and lower tax rates from 20 making the 2017 tax cuts permanent. | ||
| An increase in the standard deduction by up to $1,500 per family in 2025. | ||
| No tax on tips. | ||
| No tax on overtime. | ||
| No tax on Social Security. | ||
| A boost to the child tax credit of $2,200 while indexing its value to inflation. | ||
| Expanding access to child care and paid leave tax credit permanently. | ||
| Expanding the 529 savings accounts to help families choose educations that best fits their needs and expanded health savings accounts so American families can control their own health care. | ||
| That doesn't sound like benefits to millionaires and billionaires. | ||
| It sounds like benefits to hardworking American families. | ||
| Also, I'd like to note that the subsidies that the gentleman from Massachusetts so wants to support would not see the American people would not see a dime of that. | ||
| It would go directly to insurance companies who, again, are seeing record profits. | ||
| The one thing we can do is continue to support health savings accounts and continue the Trump-era tax cuts from 2017, making them permanent and continuing to promote these tax provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act that received no Democrat support, by the way, that really will help American families. | ||
| And I'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Taylor. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentlemen from Ohio is recognized for two minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the gentleman from Indiana for yielding me the time. | ||
| Ohio families are working harder than ever day in and day out just to make ends meet. | ||
| They're frustrated that they have to stretch their dollar as far as can go just to keep a roof over their heads, afford to buy the basics and deal with higher utility bills to keep their water and power on. | ||
| Buckeye families have worked too hard to struggle this much, and I'm standing here today ready to do something about it. | ||
| House Republicans have listened to hurting families and we're bringing forward legislation to help them get ahead. | ||
| The Affordable Homes Act will cut through unnecessary and complicated red tape that has been driving up the cost of manufactured housing for far too long. | ||
| Who has ultimately shoulder the burden of these soaring costs? | ||
| It's not the manufacturers. | ||
| It's the hardworking families who are simply trying to buy a home and live in the once-attainable American dream. | ||
| Owning a home shouldn't be this much of a challenge. | ||
| This bill will help Ohio families check homeownership off the list, knowing they were able to achieve exactly what they worked for. | ||
| House Republicans are also reining in the Biden administration's overregulation of everyday household water fixtures and bringing down costs for all Americans with the Shower Act. | ||
| And I applaud Representative Fry for leading on this legislation. | ||
| Americans don't need the government to tell them which showerhead to use. | ||
| They need the government to get out of the way so they can afford their necessities and have money to spend on other things in their lives. | ||
| This bill will claw back ridiculous Biden-era red tape and put American families first. | ||
| Lastly, I'm working alongside my fellow Republicans to pass full-year funding for several critical programs. | ||
| In my district, several water and police projects will be funded, which will benefit some of the poorest and most rural areas in this country. | ||
| These projects will help to fund long-overdue water infrastructure projects and make local improvements, ultimately driving down costs for communities throughout the nation. | ||
| I would like to recognize Representatives Halchin and Russell Fry, as well as our Republican leadership and the Appropriations Committee led by Chairman Cole for leadership on these critical pieces of legislation being considered. | ||
| And I urge Congress to pass these common sense bills to lower the cost of living not only for Buckeye families, but for families across America. | ||
| Thank you, Speaker. | ||
| Yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman Reserves Balance for Time. | |
| Gentleman from Massachusetts. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I want to tell everybody a little secret here. | ||
| The Republicans are really clever, but not really as clever as they think they are. | ||
| The big, beautiful bill that they passed, you know, the one that includes tax cuts for multi-millionaires and multi-billionaires, and the one that guts Medicaid by a trillion dollars, is incredibly unpopular. | ||
| It is incredibly unpopular. | ||
| In fact, the Kaiser Family Foundation said that 64% of Americans oppose it, 64%. | ||
| And get this, even Fox News, even Fox News say that 59% of the American people oppose it. | ||
| And why do they oppose it and why is it so unpopular? | ||
| It's because what's contained in it. | ||
| And rather than fix that, and we just heard the gentlelady do this, but rather than fix it, they renamed the bill the Working Families Tax Cut Act. | ||
| That never passed the House. | ||
| That's a new title they made up. | ||
| And they think all they need to do is change the title of a bill, and then the American people won't realize all the garbage that's tucked into the bill. | ||
| Lipstick on a pig. | ||
| Yeah, it's like lipstick on a pig. | ||
| This is ridiculous. | ||
| This is insane. | ||
| The American people are hurting because of the Republican policies. | ||
| The American people are hurting because they won't extend the ACA tax credits. | ||
| By the way, people will see their health insurance costs go down if the ACA tax credits are extended. | ||
| And the gentlelady is like all upset about it, but I would urge her to talk to some of her Republican colleagues, by the way, who have signed on to a discharge petition to force a vote on extending the ACA tax credits, which we will begin that debate today and vote on it tomorrow. | ||
| So it's not just Democrats. | ||
| There are some Republicans who are like, I'm hearing from my constituents that they're getting screwed over on their health care and they want us to do something. | ||
| So, I mean, the bottom line is, you know, you can change the titles of bills and all that kind of stuff, but if you don't change the substance, if you don't get Donald Trump to back off on his tariffs, by the way, which are responsible for rising housing costs in this country, if you don't get him to change his views on that, things are going to continue to get worse. | ||
| So you can change the titles of bills all you want, but you're not changing the reality for millions of Americans. | ||
| So this is just, I mean, it's hard to believe that in the House of Representatives, which is supposed to be a serious body, that this is what we are talking about. | ||
| We are changing titles of bills so that maybe the American people won't know what we're talking about. | ||
| And with that, I reserve my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman Reserves, the balance of his time, gentleman from Indiana. | |
| Woman Reserves, gentleman from Massachusetts. | ||
| Still nothing on day or two. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I'm going to offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H. Con Res 33, which calls for the plaque honoring the brave police officers that defended this Capitol and our democracy on January 6th to be put up in the Capitol as required by law, as required by law. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I am sick and tired of Republicans standing up and proclaiming their unwavering support for law enforcement when they won't even honor the law enforcement that saved them, that saved us and our democracy here on January 6th. | ||
| Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the January 6th attack on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump. | ||
| Over 140 officers were injured. | ||
| An officer was killed. | ||
| Others died by suicide following the trauma of that day. | ||
| And do you know how the White House marked this anniversary? | ||
| Do you know how the White House marked this anniversary? | ||
| They marked it by putting up an Orwellian webpage, rewriting history and claiming it is the officers who were to blame for the violence. | ||
| How disgusting. | ||
| How despicable. | ||
| How disgraceful. | ||
| You know, and I ask my Republican colleagues, do you really believe that crap? | ||
| When you look in the eyes of the Capitol Police that guard this building, do you accuse them of being responsible for the violence of that day? | ||
| How dare the President of the United States say such a thing? | ||
| And how shameful of this Republican majority to stay silent in the face of this depravity and rewriting of history. | ||
| Republicans found the time to illegally slap Donald Trump's name onto the Kennedy Center, defacing a memorial to a great president in a single day. | ||
| 24 hours. | ||
| 24 hours. | ||
| But illegally required honor for the officers who defended this democracy. | ||
| I mean, five years of excuses. | ||
| Five years of delay. | ||
| Five years of cowardice and disrespect to law enforcement by Republicans. | ||
| When all is said and done, history will not look kindly on these Trump Republicans and this Republican majority. | ||
| And they all know it. | ||
| They all know it. | ||
| And at this point, let me say to my Republican friends, it is always the right time to do the decent thing, the thing the law requires, which is to hang the plaque honoring these brave men and women who put their lives on the line to defend us, to defend this building, and to defend this democracy. | ||
| 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 in the previous question. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection. | |
| And I reserve the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentlemen of Reserves, gentlewoman from Indiana. | |
| Mr. Speaker, I yield two minutes to the gentlelady from Utah, Ms. Malloy. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman from Utah is recognized for two minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise in support of this rule that moves appropriations bills, bills that reflect the leadership of Chairman Cole and the priorities of this Congress, avoiding another shutdown and spending taxpayer dollars responsibly and in a way that directly benefits Americans. | ||
| These bills lower the cost of living and boost the economy. | ||
| They support domestic energy production, result in lower costs for American families and businesses, invest in water infrastructure to address drought and protect supplies for communities across this country. | ||
| These appropriations bills that are included in the rule spend hard-earned tax dollars responsibly, reduce spending below current levels, putting money back in Americans' pockets, and reducing our deficit. | ||
| They ensure that government funding works efficiently to deliver services that make life better for Americans. | ||
| And the American people are watching us. | ||
| They want to see Congress do our most basic, essential function, which is spending government dollars and controlling the power of the purse. | ||
| Through bipartisan, bicameral negotiations led by appropriators, we're turning priorities into action and putting American first. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, this package demonstrates the value of Congress by delivering results for Utah, for America, and across the country. | ||
| And I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back. | ||
| Gentlemen of Reserves, balance of a time. | ||
| Gentleman from Massachusetts. | ||
| How many more speakers does the gentlelady have? | ||
| We have two speakers, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, let me just yield myself a brief amount of time here. | ||
| Again, No discussion, no comments on what happened on January 6th or about what the White House put on its webpage yesterday, blaming police officers for the violence on January 6th. | ||
| Saying that no police officer died when we know that's a lie. | ||
|
Gentleman Missouri's Vote
00:13:49
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| And no explanation as to why we're having such a difficult time hanging a plaque that, quite frankly, the law requires us to hang. | ||
| The gentlelady voted against an amendment to, again, force the Speaker to once again hang the plaque. | ||
| I'm happy to yield to the gentlelady if she wants to explain why she voted that way or does she have any reaction to the White House's horrific and disgraceful statement yesterday, basically smearing the brave men and women who are in law enforcement and the Capitol police officers. | ||
| I'm happy to yield to the gentlelady, and nothing. | ||
| And nothing. | ||
| I mean, really? | ||
| I mean, that's what things have come to, that we can't even come together and stand in defense of the Capitol Police who defended us that day, that we can't honor them, that somehow that's a no-no because Donald Trump doesn't like it. | ||
| I mean, that really is shameful, and I reserve my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentlemen and reserves, gentlewoman from Indiana. | |
| Mr. Speaker, I yield two minutes to the gentleman from Missouri. | ||
| Oh, sorry, from the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Herodopoulos. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Florida is recognized for two minutes. | |
| Thank you very much. | ||
| The Homes Act is common sense legislation that cuts red tape and lowers housing costs for hardworking American families. | ||
| We all recognize between 21 and 2024 that interest rates went from 3% to 7%. | ||
| And in my home community, that meant that we spent $1,200 more a month for an average home in my community. | ||
| $1,200. | ||
| So we need to think of common sense ways to turn this around and make housing more affordable. | ||
| President Reagan said once, if it moves, tax it. | ||
| If it keeps moving, regulate it. | ||
| If it stops moving, subsidize it. | ||
| Today, Washington is regulating the same thing twice. | ||
| Manufactured homes are being hit with overlapping energy mandates from HUD and the Department of Energy. | ||
| The Affordable Homes Act fixes this by repealing DOE's separate energy rules, restoring clear authority to HUD, which already oversees construction and safety standards. | ||
| Lower costs mean more homes built, greater supply, and more families able to build equity and secure their future. | ||
| This is conservative policies at its best, less government, more opportunity, and more relief for American families. | ||
| And let's also remember that home prices went up also because 10 million people came to this country in a four-year time period. | ||
| And simple supply and demand laws tell me that causes prices to rise radically, much like radical policies from 21 through 24. | ||
| I'm proud to support the Affordable Homes Act to cut the red tape, help more Americans achieve the dream of home ownership. | ||
| And with that, I thank the chairwoman for leading this charge very much, and I yield back my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman Reserves balance for her time. | |
| Gentleman from Massachusetts, I reserve my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentlemen of Reserves Balance for this time, gentlewoman from Indiana. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I yield two minutes to the gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Alford. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman from Missouri is recognized for two minutes. | |
| Well, thank you so much for this time. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, you know, for too many American families, the American dream seems further out of reach each and every year, especially when it comes to owning a home. | ||
| Did you know that housing is the number one monthly expense for most families? | ||
| And when Washington piles on blue tape mandates and bureaucratic nonsense, working families pay the price. | ||
| Under the Biden administration, their so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which is really nothing of the sort, homebuilders were buried under costly Green New scam mandates and over-regulation, driving up construction costs and pushing home ownership even further out of reach. | ||
| Also known as the Green New Scam in action, but House Republicans, we are changing that. | ||
| We're cutting the blue tape. | ||
| We are lowering costs, and we're making home ownership more affordable in 2026 and beyond. | ||
| One great example is the Affordable Homes Act, led by my colleague Congresswoman Erin Houchin. | ||
| This common sense bill removes unnecessary federal interference and eliminates costly energy mandates to drive out the price of manufactured housing. | ||
| One of the most affordable pathways to home ownership for the first-time buyers, young families, and seniors. | ||
| This is just one example, Mr. Speaker, of how House Republicans are working to lower housing prices. | ||
| As co-chair of the Real Estate Caucus, I work with Trump administration to reverse these disastrous policies because the government should get out of the way and not stand in the way of the American dream. | ||
| Back home in Missouri, I've seen exactly what these mandates do. | ||
| A Kansas City builder showed that so-called green energy codes save homeowners only about $125 a year, but add more than $1,200 a year to families' mortgages. | ||
| It's simple, folks. | ||
| If a policy costs families more than it saves them, it is not a smart policy. | ||
| House Republicans are fighting to make housing affordable again, putting families first, and the first step is this bill. | ||
| I urge passage of the rule. | ||
| I urge passage of this act. | ||
| Let's make homes affordable in America again and save the American dream. | ||
| Thank you, and I yield back. | ||
| Gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. | ||
| Gentleman from Massachusetts? | ||
| May I ask the gentleman how many more speakers she has? | ||
| I'm prepared to close. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have left? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman from Massachusetts has nine minutes remaining. | |
| Gentlewoman from Indiana has four minutes remaining. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| I yield myself the remaining time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman's recognized. | |
| Mr. Speaker, let's be honest about what we've seen from this Republican majority. | ||
| Republicans can't govern. | ||
| They can't lead. | ||
| They won't, and they don't fight for the people who sent them here. | ||
| They rush, rush, rush to the floor to redefine what a showerhead is. | ||
| That's the big issue. | ||
| They move at lightning speed on tax breaks for billionaires. | ||
| They bend over backward to enrich Trump and his inner circle, going so far as to invade another country to grease the skids for big oil. | ||
| It's not about democracy. | ||
| It's not about human rights. | ||
| It's not even about drugs. | ||
| It's about big oil. | ||
| Big tech, big oil, big pharma, big banks, their priorities move at lightning speed. | ||
| Tax cuts for the wealthy pass overnight. | ||
| Corporate giveaways face no obstacles. | ||
| But when it comes to protecting health care for millions of Americans, suddenly there's hesitation. | ||
| Suddenly there's delays. | ||
| Suddenly there's no money. | ||
| Suddenly they move in slow motion. | ||
| Suddenly we can't do anything. | ||
| Well, it may be 2026, but it's the status quo for this Republican majority. | ||
| You know, new year, same BS for them. | ||
| Except when it comes to what's happening in Venezuela, then they're dragging us back to 2003. | ||
| But other than that, it's always the same. | ||
| The same funding from elite donors with phony talk about helping regular people. | ||
| The same contempt for their own voters, the same recklessness abroad, the same incompetence at home. | ||
| And here is what Republicans always underestimate. | ||
| The American people are paying attention. | ||
| They're not stupid. | ||
| They know when billionaires get everything and everyone else gets excuses. | ||
| They know when governance is replaced by stunts, distractions, and culture war nonsense. | ||
| You know, there's always a reckoning for that kind of failure, always. | ||
| And this year will be no exception. | ||
| You know, they know all the gimmicks. | ||
| So, I mean, we passed this monstrosity of a bill called the One Big Beautiful Bill. | ||
| Again, the American people are horrified by what's in it. | ||
| Again, excessive giveaways to those wealthiest in this country, cutbacks in health care, cutbacks in everything that matters to working families. | ||
| I mean, every poll that is done says it is incredibly unpopular. | ||
| So what do they do? | ||
| Rather than fix the problem, they come up with a counterfeit name for the bill. | ||
| It's no longer the one big, beautiful bill. | ||
| You know, now it's the Working Families Tax Cut Act. | ||
| I don't know what the hell that is. | ||
| I don't know who came up with that idea. | ||
| Maybe some pollster gave it to you. | ||
| As if just changing the name of what you call this big, ugly bill will make a difference. | ||
| And so, Mr. Speaker, all I can say is that with all that is going on in this country right now, I mean, with all of the concerns that the American people have, with people desperately pleading with this Republican president and this Republican majority in the House and Senate to do something to make their life better, we have an opportunity to maybe legislate and help people, and instead, | ||
| we're talking about showerheads. | ||
| Showerheads. | ||
| I mean, really? | ||
| You know, again, I urge my colleagues to vote no on this bill. | ||
| I'm going to also, again, remind people about the vote on the previous question. | ||
| You know, we have a chance to actually do something positive today, and that is to honor the men and women who protected us on January 6th. | ||
| Unfortunately, the Republicans on the Rules Committee all voted no to require the Speaker again to hang the plaque. | ||
| They all voted no, not a word, no explanation as to why. | ||
| And not a word about what happened on January 6th has been spoken on this floor by the Republicans today. | ||
| I don't know how that can be. | ||
| I don't know how that can be. | ||
| I was there that day. | ||
| I was in the Speaker's chair. | ||
| I saw what happened. | ||
| I saw what happened when I walked out to the Speaker's lobby. | ||
| I saw the people who protect us being beaten by this angry mob and not a word and not a word. | ||
| And we can't get this Speaker of the House to hang up this plaque. | ||
| That can change with the previous question vote. | ||
| And with that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman yields back the balance of his time. | |
| Gentleman from Indiana. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I'm prepared to close and yield myself the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman's recognized. | |
| Mr. Speaker, this rule is very straightforward. | ||
| We're here to cut burdensome red tape and regulatory overreach that leads to higher energy costs for Americans. | ||
| Common sense reforms like these are simple and long overdue. | ||
| We're also here to move an appropriations package that provides critical funding that returns us to more responsible spending levels while delivering for the American people. | ||
| One thing we've noted, there's fraud in government programs, including in Medicaid and SNAP. | ||
| Republicans have sounded the clarion call to try to eliminate waste fraud and abuse, while Democrats want to minimize it. | ||
| We've known about it for decades, even when we went after some of the waste fraud and abuse in Obamacare. | ||
| And guess what? | ||
| The CBO stated after we passed the One Big Beautiful bill, The CBO stated premiums would go down as a result of our work, health care premiums. | ||
| We went after Medicaid fraud, especially involving illegal immigrants. | ||
| And by the way, a federal court recently ordered officials to turn over Medicaid information to ICE enforcement. | ||
| If illegal immigrants weren't accessing Medicaid on Democrats' watch, as they tirelessly asserted, then why would a federal court provide such an order? | ||
| We went after waste fraud and abuse through our rescissions package. | ||
| And once again, Democrats refused to acknowledge that that premise ever existed. | ||
| So we're cutting out waste fraud and abuse. | ||
| We're becoming fiscally responsible. | ||
| We are putting the American family first by reducing burdensome regulations that increase costs. | ||
| I look forward to moving these bills out of the House this week. | ||
| I ask 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. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentlemen yield back to the House for a time. | |
| The question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. | ||
| Those in favor say aye. | ||
| Those opposed, no. | ||
| The chair of the ayes have it. | ||
| Speaker. | ||
| Gentlemen from Massachusetts. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yays and nays are requested. | |
| Those favoring a vote by the A's and Nays will arise, sufficient number having arisen. | ||
| The A's and Nays are ordered pursuant to clause 8 of Rule 20. | ||
| Further proceedings on this question will be postponed. | ||
| Pursuant to clause 12A of Rule 1, the Chair declares the House in recess. | ||
| Subject to the call of the Chair. | ||
| The House is now in recess. | ||
| Members will return later today to vote on debate rules for three pieces of legislation, including a bill to fund the Commerce, Justice, Energy, and Interior Departments and other related agencies. | ||
| Lawmakers may also consider whether to advance a Democratic bill that aims to extend certain expired health care subsidies for three years. | ||
|
C-SPAN: Bridging America
00:00:49
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unidentified
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Off the floor, members are reacting to classified briefings from Trump administration officials earlier on recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela. | |
| You can watch our coverage of their remarks, along with live House floor proceedings, here on our C-SPAN networks and online at c-span.org. | ||
| In a divided media world, one place brings Americans together. | ||
| According to a new MAGIT research report, nearly 90 million Americans turn to C-SPAN, and they're almost perfectly balanced. | ||
| 28% conservative, 27% liberal or progressive, 41% moderate. | ||
| Republicans watching Democrats, Democrats watching Republicans, moderates watching all sides. | ||