| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
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Rubio On Denmark Trip
00:02:57
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unidentified
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Rubio going to Denmark today because this is a scam that is just a distraction. | |
| All right. | ||
| And I agree with you. | ||
| We asked directly of the administration to give us an accounting of how much money they spent, what this operation cost, and then going forward, what ongoing operations are going to cost. | ||
| They did not have an answer for us. | ||
| She mentioned Secretary's trip to Denmark regarding Greenland. | ||
|
unidentified
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Your thoughts on that. | |
| You know, I think this look, I think the President, I take him at face value when he says things, because again, as you get older, I think there's less of a filter. | ||
| So I think he wants to take over Greenland. | ||
| Denmark is an ally. | ||
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unidentified
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They're a friend. | |
| If we want to increase our military operations in Denmark, we can do that. | ||
|
unidentified
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All right. | |
| Ami Bera, Democrat of California, thanks so much. | ||
|
unidentified
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Thank you. | |
| And that's it for us. | ||
| We'll take you right over to the House of Representatives. | ||
|
unidentified
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Thanks for watching. | |
| The house will be in order. | ||
| The Chair lays before the House a communication from the Speaker. | ||
| The Speaker's Rooms, Washington, D.C., January 8th, 2026. | ||
| I hereby appoint the Honorable Tony Weed to act as Speaker Pro Tempore on this day. | ||
| Signed, Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives. | ||
| Pursuant to the order of the House of January 6, 2026, the Chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning-hour debate. | ||
| The Chair will alternate recognition between the parties with time equally allocated between the parties and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes. | ||
| But in no event shall debate continue beyond 11.50 a.m. | ||
|
unidentified
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The chair now recognizes the gentleman from California, Mr. McClintock, for five minutes. | |
| Mr. Speaker, there is much to unpack from the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Madero. | ||
| Above all, there is the stark contrast between the American socialists who are bitterly denouncing the ouster of this socialist dictator and the masses of ordinary Venezuelans celebrating their deliverance from him. | ||
| Socialism under Chavez and Maduro utterly destroyed the prosperity and freedom of Venezuela, reducing it from one of the wealthiest nations in the world to one of the poorest. | ||
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A Warning to Americans
00:04:24
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| Like all socialist regimes, the Chavistas depend on brutal intimidation, terrorism, and violence to maintain their grip on power. | ||
| A third of the population has now fled that afflicted nation, and with Maduro's ouster, this diaspora of socialism's victims finally see a cause for hope and they're rejoicing in the streets. | ||
| This should be a warning to our fellow Americans who are today flirting with the same socialist movement in our own country. | ||
| It has long been foretold that when socialism comes to America, it will come as a smile. | ||
| Venezuelans are not the first to be seduced by the siren song of a benevolent, all-powerful government, but like every people who have blundered down that road, they awakened one morning to find the benevolence was gone and the all-powerful government was still there. | ||
| Let that be a lesson to our misguided countrymen. | ||
| This should also be a warning to our adversaries around the world that the Monroe Doctrine has been revived and that America is again willing and capable of defending the new world from the intrigues of the old. | ||
| Every thug and despot around the world has new reason to fear the ancient warning, sic semper tyrannis. | ||
| Has the president acted within his inherent authority as commander-in-chief? | ||
| Well, the federal courts have already answered that question time and again, including the attacks on Libya by Obama and the arrest of Noriega by Bush. | ||
| They've consistently ruled that these nearly identical precedents were within the prerogatives of the President, and that Congress just as consistently has acquiesced. | ||
| As law professor Jonathan Turley put it, if Obama can vaporize an American citizen without even a criminal charge, Trump can capture a foreign citizen with a pending criminal indictment without prior congressional approval. | ||
| This is an important debate that goes to the heart of the separation of powers and one that we ought to have. | ||
| The Constitutional Convention originally considered giving Congress the exclusive power to, quote, make war. | ||
| Elbridge Gehry successfully replaced make war with declare war. | ||
| Madison explained this distinction as leaving to the executive the power to repel sudden attacks. | ||
| That distinction has been widened over the centuries, and perhaps it's time to take a fresh look at that question of what distinguishes declaring war from making war. | ||
| In 1847, Congressman Abraham Lincoln addressed this very point and unsuccessfully argued that once the executive initiates a hostile act against a foreign power, it has in fact declared war by giving that power casus belli. | ||
| Reacting to a military attack is one thing, he said, but initiating an attack quite another. | ||
| Personally, I think he had a point, and I disagree with the current precedents, although I find it hard to fault the President for acting within them. | ||
| Restoring the many guardrails that separate executive, legislative, and judicial powers in our Constitution would be a fitting way for Congress to celebrate our nation's 250th anniversary. | ||
| The Supreme Court's doing its part by restoring the President's exclusive control over executive agencies, and perhaps it will soon restore Congress's exclusive control over tariffs. | ||
| I certainly hope so. | ||
| Reasserting Congress's supremacy and the momentous question of war and peace will require a serious and sober discussion in Congress. | ||
| But when I hear the hyperbolic and hyper-partisan rhetoric of the Democrats in this House, with their hatred of Donald Trump dripping from every word, I fear that discussion must await calmer times, cooler heads, and wiser voices. | ||
| In the meantime, let us rejoice in the fruits of this action. | ||
| The removal of the worst despot in the Western Hemisphere, the revival of the Monroe Doctrine, the ejection of malignant powers insinuating themselves into Latin America, the unmistakable warning to tyrants around the world that America is back, the triumph of American arms, and most of all, setting the stage for the return of liberty, justice, and prosperity to the people of Venezuela. | ||
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Mixed Emotions, Reluctant Conviction
00:15:02
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| I yield back. | ||
| The chair recognizes the distinguished gentleman from Maryland, former leader of the minority party and our dear friend Mr. Hoyer for roughly five minutes. | ||
| Mr. Scalise, where is my one minute when I need it? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, my dear and close friend Steve Womack, Madam Speaker, thank you for being here. | ||
| My colleagues, my dear friends, Mr. Scalise, the majority leader, and Mr. Emmer, the majority whip, thank you for being here. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today with obviously mixed emotions and reluctant conviction. | ||
| There's a true story I've told many times over the past 60 years. | ||
| It's about a young man, myself, who was a student at the University of Maryland College Park just a few miles from this place. | ||
| As a freshman, like many young people, I lacked a vision for my future. | ||
| I nearly flunked out of college and didn't even enroll in the 1958 fall semester. | ||
| Fortunately for me, I re-enrolled the following spring. | ||
| There was a spring convocation, April 27, 1959. | ||
| Classes were canceled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. so that we could all go hear the guest speaker. | ||
| Frankly, I had planned not to attend. | ||
| However, I was walking up the hill near Coldfield House where the event was located and I saw our guest drive up in a 1958 Pontiac convertible. | ||
| That, Mr. Speaker, was a cool car. | ||
| So cool that I decided to go to this convocation. | ||
| That walk was my road to Damascus. | ||
| It changed my life. | ||
| The Speaker was John F. Kennedy. | ||
| In his remarks, he urged us to do our duty in those days of world chaos. | ||
| In particular, he charged us students to become more active in our communities. | ||
| Nancy heard those same words. | ||
| Like many hundreds of thousands of young people, I was deeply inspired by Senator Kennedy and his words. | ||
| Jack Kemp, who was my colleague when I first came here, had a similar story. | ||
| A week later, I changed my major from business to political science. | ||
| Seven years later, in 1966, five months out of Georgetown Law School, I was elected to the Maryland State Senate. | ||
| 15 years after that, in 1981, the voters of the 5th District elected me to the United States House of Representatives. | ||
| I stand here now after some 60 years in public service, including nearly 45 years as a member of this House. | ||
| I won elections and lost a couple. | ||
| Celebrated triumphs and suffered setbacks. | ||
| Enjoyed friendships and endured hardships. | ||
| As the song says, some days are diamonds, some days are stone. | ||
| Happily, I've experienced more diamonds than stone. | ||
| Shakespeare advised us all, this above all else, to thine own self be true. | ||
| And it must follow as night to day, thou canst not be false to any man or to any woman. | ||
| In that vein, Mr. Speaker, I have decided not to seek another term in the People's House. | ||
| I make this decision with sadness, for I love this House, an institution the framers designed to reflect the will of the American people and to serve as the guardian of their liberty and their democracy. | ||
| Through the past 45 years, I have come to know many good, decent, patriotic members chosen by their neighbors to represent them. | ||
| They come from both parties and all parts of the ideological spectrum. | ||
| The Congress I entered in in 1981 was somewhat different. | ||
| Most Republicans and Democrats worked together in a collegial, productive way. | ||
| The leaders of the House, Tip O'Neill and Bob Michael, fostered that environment. | ||
| It was, of course, not a Congress without conflict. | ||
| In the year to come, I will have much more to say about the issues we have grappled with and the ways this House has changed during my time. | ||
| At the outset, I said that I spoke with reluctant conviction. | ||
| That reluctance is because I am deeply concerned that this House is not living up to the Founders' goals. | ||
| I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to examine their conscience, renew their courage, and carry out the responsibilities that the first article of the Constitution demands. | ||
| Only in that way can we ensure that our 250 years will be a preface to a stronger, brighter beacon in a free and principled democracy. | ||
| A nation of laws, not of men. | ||
| A nation respected around the world for its strength, certainly, but even more for the ideals it represents and the justice with which it acts. | ||
| That effort must extend beyond this House. | ||
| I fear that America is heading not toward greatness, but towards smallness, pettiness, divisiveness, lawnness, and disdainfulness. | ||
| We must respect and love one another. | ||
| We must remember that we are not great or unique because we say we are great, but because we are just, generous, and fair. | ||
| I hope that spirit can guide us the rest of this Congress, because I still have much I want to do in the coming year, not least of which is keeping the government open. | ||
| To do that, we must send all our appropriations bills to the President in a bipartisan, timely fashion. | ||
| There are many people I intend to thank in the coming months, but there are a few I will recognize now. | ||
| First, to my family, which has borne much of the burden of my service. | ||
| Stand up, family. | ||
| Thank you so much. | ||
| My late wife, Judy, who died too young and gave so much. | ||
| My beloved daughters, Susan, Stephanie, and Ann, who paid a price for dad's absences. | ||
| To my grandchildren and great-grandchildren for giving me great joy. | ||
| My mother, who thankfully lived to see her son become the president of the Maryland State Senate. | ||
| To my staff for serving me and their nation with great loyalty and ability. | ||
| To my colleagues for trusting me with leadership. | ||
| To the people of Prince George's County, particularly the African American community, without whom I would not have won my elections. | ||
| To the people of the 5th District who gave me a majority of their votes 23 times. | ||
| And to my wife, Dr. Elaine Kmark, who has made my life whole and happy. | ||
| Thank you, babe, and to God for sending me down this road so many years ago that I call the road to Damascus. | ||
| I want to thank all of my colleagues, extraordinary people, decent people, people whom their neighbors respect and sent them here. | ||
| The only way you got here was your neighbors said they wanted you to represent them. | ||
| Thank you all. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, with tremendous gratitude, I yield back. | ||
| and the institution wishes you God's. | ||
| The chair recognizes a gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Thompson, for five minutes. | ||
| Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Before I get into my primary remarks, I was going to rise for, I just want to reflect 18 years ago when I came into the House of Representatives, my staff who had been on the Hill for actually a couple decades at that point, my chief of staff said, if there was ever a Democrat member of Congress that literally represents the term statesman, it's Stenny Hoyer. | ||
|
Walmart's McMillan Retires
00:10:37
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| And it truly is. | ||
| He has not failed at that task. | ||
| And so I just offer my congratulations to his announced retirement and my thanks for his service as a statesman, especially at a time of what we've been living through of growing divisiveness. | ||
| So Mr. Speaker, today I rise to highlight some of the great work my office delivered in 2025 that was reflected in my year-end report. | ||
| Last year was full of legislative victories from ensuring more milk options in public schools to making certain our rural schools receive the funding they need. | ||
| We continue to deliver for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district. | ||
| I was proud to lead the charge to bring whole milk back into our schools, push for the largest investment in American agriculture in a generation, advocate for career and techno education, and establish a federal regulatory framework for digital assets like cryptocurrency. | ||
| On the policy front, I helped ensure the passage of Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act. | ||
| I secured numerous provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act that benefit American agriculture as well as a provision authorizing workforce Pell Grants. | ||
| The Who Milk for Healthy Kids Act will soon be signed into law. | ||
| And the House approved both my Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 and the U.S. Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2025. | ||
| At home, I was honored to nominate seven exceptional students to our nation's service academies, celebrated a talented young artist, and deliver more than $6.1 million in federal funding for nine excellent community projects. | ||
| My office responded to more than 81,000 constituent letters, answered nearly 8,000 phone calls, and closed nearly 1,600 constituent cases, helping folks navigate the federal agencies and federal bureaucracy. | ||
| The most rewarding part of a representative is helping individuals and families get the assistance they need. | ||
| Throughout the year, my staff hosts office hours across the 18 counties of the 15th Congressional District to assist constituents with the issues related to Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, IRS, and other federal agencies. | ||
| Appointments are not necessary, and I'm pleased that we're available to help those in need. | ||
| Personally, I hosted over 1,200 meetings in 2025 and sponsored and co-sponsored 183 bills. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, as many around the Capitol complex know, I often come to this floor to share good news from Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District. | ||
| I spoke 91 days on the House floor in 2025, delivering 120 speeches. | ||
| I'm glad to have had the ability to communicate with my constituents in this way and to recognize their achievements. | ||
| I thank the people of the 15th Congressional District for allowing me the privilege to be their voice in Congress, and I firmly believe that our best days lie ahead. | ||
| I look forward to working hard in 2026 to continue to earn their support. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
| The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Pelosi, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, today is a day of joy, but also a day of some sadness that our great leader, Steny Hoyer, has announced his retirement from the Congress. | ||
| You still have another year, Stenney. | ||
| You still have another year, and I know a lot will come. | ||
| I join you in saluting Elaine and Stephanie and Susan and Judy. | ||
| Judy, Judy. | ||
| We loved Judy when she was here, and now we rejoice in your happiness with Elaine. | ||
| My colleagues, we all know that Steny Hoyer has been a pillar of strength for the House of Representatives and a champion for the people of Maryland for more than four decades. | ||
| His patriotism, mastery of the legislative process, and steadfast commitment to America's working families have left an indelible positive mark on our nation. | ||
| Stenney has been a steady presence in our caucus and the Democratic leadership and a valued colleague. | ||
| He has been a great leader and bipartisanship in this body. | ||
| He spoke of it in his remarks, how it was when he came here. | ||
| And it was at that time when many of us were here at that time when we didn't get along because we always agreed. | ||
| We got along because we respected the differences that we brought representing our districts. | ||
| And it was a very positive time which he hearkened us back to and challenged us to return to. | ||
| Thank you, Stenney. | ||
| His deep knowledge of the institution, respect for its traditions, and commitment to public service have earned him the admiration of colleagues on both sides of the aisle. | ||
| Personally, Stenney has been not only a trusted partner in leadership, but a true dear friend. | ||
| He mentioned the presidency of John F. Kennedy when President Kennedy was president. | ||
| Stenney and I worked in the office of Danny Brewster of Maryland. | ||
| That's when I got to know him. | ||
| I was just out of school. | ||
| He was in law school, and sadly, sadly, we saw the assassination of the president, and that was a horrible thing. | ||
| As he concludes his extraordinary leadership and service in the Congress, we celebrate his legacy of decency and devotion to our country. | ||
| He has been just so remarkable. | ||
| Our gratitude to him and his family is boundless, and we're with them with every wish them every happiness in the years ahead. | ||
| Stanney, you have been a leader to us. | ||
| You have been a mentor to many. | ||
| You have been really an example of leadership and perhaps can be viewed as one of the most substantial respected members of Congress in the history of this body. | ||
| Thank you for your leadership. | ||
| I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
| The chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas, Mr. Womack, for five minutes. | ||
| I too want to offer my personal thanks and congratulations to my dear friend, Stenny Hoyer, on the announcement that he has made today, and we wish him the very best. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great friend and a fellow Northwest Arkansan, Doug McMillan, who at the end of this month steps away from a 12-year run as chief executive officer of Fortune One, Walmart, in Bentonville, Arkansas. | ||
| His is a story of incredible American success. | ||
| Much like the company he has led, his journey started with humble beginnings. | ||
| At 16, Doug's family moved from Jonesboro, Arkansas to Bentonville. | ||
| The eldest of three children, Doug was a guard on the Bentonville High School Tiger basketball team. | ||
| I had the privilege of watching him play high school sports. | ||
| No way of knowing where his dreams and ambitions would take him. | ||
| He began his career at Walmart as an hourly associate in 1984, picking orders and unloading trailers in the warehouse. | ||
| He attended the University of Arkansas and worked part-time at the Bank of Bentonville. | ||
| Later, he enrolled in the MBA program at the University of Tulsa. | ||
| He later became an assistant manager at Walmart Store 894 in Tulsa, and that launched a career with the nation's leading retailer with promotions to CEO of Sam's Club in 05, Walmart International in 09, and finally, CEO of the entire enterprise in 2014. | ||
| With a market cap of $195 billion under his tenure, Walmart's value has increased by more than 350% and current market cap of around $900 billion. | ||
| His leadership in the company's digitization and strong e-commerce platforms was a major shift for the company from a brick-and-mortar company to an omnichannel retailer. | ||
| Supply chain automation and warehouses, major pay increases for hourly associates, all instrumental in his visionary leadership and success. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I could speak volumes about Doug McMillan's legacy, but suffice it to say his quiet and patient demeanor, his bold and innovative leadership, and his commitment to the shareholders and associates of Walmart make him one of America's true success stories. | ||
| And not only that, but his spirit of charity and funding opportunities for young entrepreneurs and in health care for fellow citizens. | ||
| I'm proud of what he's accomplished and the inspiration he's given to thousands of people who have had the privilege of serving under his leadership. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I know Doug McMillan well enough to know that he'd be embarrassed by all this fuss that we're making about him. | ||
| That's who he is. | ||
| But this tribute is well deserved. | ||
| Few among us have lived the American dream like he has, and what a difference he's made. | ||
| So Doug and Shelley, well done. | ||
| I know I speak for a lot of people. | ||
|
Gabby Giffords' Legacy
00:09:24
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| Thank you for your example of selfless service and your commitment to helping your fellow man. | ||
| Godspeed and enjoy a well-earned retirement. | ||
| And with that, Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time. | ||
| The chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Stanton, for five minutes. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark a solemn anniversary. | ||
| 15 years ago today, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was doing her job, holding a Congress on your corner event at a grocery store in Tucson, standing outside in the January sunshine, listening to her constituents, figuring out how she could help them. | ||
| Then the unthinkable happened. | ||
| In an instant, this moment of democracy turned into a tragedy. | ||
| A gunman targeting Congresswoman Giffords killed six of our fellow Arizonans. | ||
| Federal Judge John Roll, a dedicated public servant. | ||
| Dorothy Morris, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwin Stoddard, beloved members of the community. | ||
| Nine-year-old Christina Taylor Greene, born on September 11, 2001, a budding public servant who had just been elected to her middle school student council. | ||
| And Gabe Zimmerman, Gabby's director of community outreach, who died doing the work that he loved. | ||
| 13 others were wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. | ||
| She survived a gunshot wound to her head through sheer force of her will, exceptional medical care, and the unwavering support of her husband, Captain Mark Kelly. | ||
| I worked closely with Gabby when she was in the state legislature and I served on the Phoenix City Council. | ||
| She was a singularly talented leader, brilliant and tough as nails, with a rare gift for bringing people together. | ||
| There is no doubt in my mind that if it were not for that day, Gabby Giffords would be sitting in the United States Senate right now or the governor's office, maybe even the White House. | ||
| We have seen the consequences when political disagreements metastasize into something darker. | ||
| In the last few years, political violence has increased in frequency and intensity, and this violence has been directed at both Republicans and Democrats. | ||
| Gabby Giffords herself has shown us the path forward. | ||
| Despite a long and difficult recovery that continues to this very day, she has transformed unimaginable tragedy into courageous action. | ||
| Through Giffords, the organization she co-founded with Mark Kelly, she leads the fight for a future free from gun violence. | ||
| Not with bitterness, but with courage, determination, with hope. | ||
| Her example stands as a rebuke to the cynicism that too often characterizes our politics. | ||
| Gabby reminds us that we can disagree and disagree strongly while still recognizing the fundamental humanity in one another. | ||
| We can fight for our principles without demonizing our opponents. | ||
| On this 15th anniversary, we honor those who lost, we lost, by recommitting ourselves to the work that they believed in. | ||
| A democracy where disagreement is not just tolerated, but celebrated, where robust debate strengthens rather than threatens our institutions, and where every American can engage in civic life without fear. | ||
| That is the America Gabby Giffords fought for then. | ||
| That is the America she fights for now, and that is the America we must build together. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| The chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Siskimani, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
|
unidentified
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I rise today to honor Brigadier General Keith Connolly, who sadly passed away on Christmas Eve. | |
| Keith lived a life defined by service, by family, and by purpose. | ||
| He was married to his wife, Pat, for 65 years, and together they raised four children and were blessed with nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, with another expected this spring. | ||
| A devoted husband, father, and the friend, Keith chose a life of service to this country. | ||
| He served with distinction for 33 years in the United States Air Force as a general officer and a fighter pilot, flying more than 4,800 hours in serving across the United States and overseas, including in Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. | ||
| He was awarded two Legions of Merit and seven Air Medals for combat missions primarily in the Pacific theater. | ||
| After retiring to Tucson in 1990, Keith continued serving veterans at Davis-Montan Air Force Base, volunteering more than 23,000 hours over 26 years, helping veterans navigate VA claims. | ||
| He also recruited and mentored volunteers, assisting thousands through tax assistance programs and shared with passion for aviation through the Pima Air and Space Museum. | ||
| In 2016, Keith was inducted into the Arizona State Veterans Hall of Fame in recognition of his many years of volunteer service. | ||
| It was an honor to recognize General Connolly as part of the initial Veteran Servant Leader Award that I have the pleasure and the honor of conducting every year. | ||
| General Keith Connolly's life reflected deep love for his family, his community, and his country. | ||
| His legacy of service will endure. | ||
| Thank you for your service, sir. | ||
| Rest in peace. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Micah Mountain High School's football team on winning the championship for the second year in a row. | ||
| Number seven, Micah Mountain Thunderbolts defeated number one undefeated Arcadia High School with a score of 42-17. | ||
| Micah Mountain started the season 2-2 and ultimately finished 12-2. | ||
| And it was the first time a Southern Arizona school repeated its champions among the big school ranks since 1976 and 1977. | ||
| Head coach and Micah Mountain Assistant Principal Jay Campos led the Thunderbolts to their second consecutive state championship and his first of this is head coaching the team. | ||
| Evan Wheeler finished with 194 yards and three touchdowns which earned him both offensive and overall MVP. | ||
| Sergio Regata had an 18-yard pick six and was named a defensive player, the most valuable player. | ||
| You've made your school and your community very proud. | ||
| Thunderbolts, this is your victory. | ||
| You earned it. | ||
| Congratulations on yet another successful season. | ||
| Congrats, champs. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, thank you. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
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The chair recognizes the gentleman from California, Mr. Correa, for five minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Today, I rise to celebrate the memory of one of my constituents, Dolores Owens. | ||
| She came to Santana 60 years ago when she married Dewey Flournoy. | ||
| And together, they raised five boys. | ||
| After Dewey's passing, Dolores later married Nettie Owens and continued to build a life rooted in love, family, and faith in Santa Ana. | ||
| Dolores was a strong and active woman, always cooking for her family, even at the age of 92. | ||
| And she had a deep love for the Word of God and a heart for the giving, donating to community. | ||
| And whenever she found anybody in need, she would give no questions asked. | ||
| She was a true example of a strong woman and a loving mother who took care of everybody in her community. | ||
| My prayers are with her family. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in my district, Xiong Yi. | ||
| Xiong's app, Math Fluent, helps students understand math by transforming complicated equations into helpful, visualized stories. | ||
|
Honoring Layla, Jim, and Anthony
00:13:23
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| Users can input an equation or a problem, and MathFluent will generate a story or art piece that helps explain the solution. | ||
| Jeong is a student at Fairmont Primp Academy in my home city of Anaheim, and he is a perfect example of the 21st century students incorporating technology into their education experience. | ||
| Today I say, congrats, Jong. | ||
| Congratulations. | ||
| Well-deserved. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, five years ago, I was on this floor when insurrectionists stormed the Capitol to interfere with a peaceful transition of power. | ||
| On this anniversary, I remember the brave Capitol police officers who put their lives on the line to protect not only members of Congress, but America's democracy. | ||
| And today, in 2026, political violence continues to threaten the fabric of our society and of our country. | ||
| I hope that as we reflect back on January 6th, we look at those memories as a lesson that we have to stand together and we have to fight, not with violence, but with debate, looking at each other with understanding the way we have done in this great democratic country for over 250 years. | ||
| That night of January 6th, it was both Republicans and Democrats that came together after that insurrection that night to make sure we completed the peaceful process of power and make sure that democracy continued to reign in America. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield. | ||
| The chair recognizes the gentleman from New York, Mr. Lawler, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today to recognize the incredible career of Jim Monaghan, a dedicated public servant who has spent a lifetime serving the people of Stony Point. | ||
| Jim's public service began with a 29-year career in the New York City Police Department, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant. | ||
| And from January 2016 through this past December, he served as the town supervisor of Stony Point, focusing on affordability for families and seniors and ensuring public safety. | ||
| Before becoming town supervisor, Jim served for two years on the town board. | ||
| A lifelong Rockland County resident, Jim and his wife Jackie, have lived in Stony Point for 30 years with their two children and now their grandchildren. | ||
| Community and family remain central to his life. | ||
| Jim and his wife are active parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church and have volunteered in community sports programs and nonprofits throughout the county. | ||
| As Jim retires after a long career serving the people of Stony Point, Rockland County, and New York, I'm proud to recognize my good friend Jim Monaghan for his many contributions to our community. | ||
| May this next chapter be just as fulfilling as the last. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Anthony Adama, Southern Region President of the Civil Service Employees Association, who passed away this week at the age of 46. | ||
| Born in Flushing, Queens, Anthony graduated from New Paul's High School and began his career at SUNY New Pauls in 1999. | ||
| Not long after, he stepped up as a union activist in CSEA's SUNY New Paul's Local, working as a shop steward and grievance representative, driven by his belief in standing up for the working people. | ||
| In 2009, Anthony was elected as the local president, a position he held for 10 years, during which he also served as the chair of the Union Statewide Political Action Committee. | ||
| In 2019, he became Southern Region President and was re-elected by his peers again in 2024. | ||
| Additionally, Anthony served as an AFSME delegate and vice president of the New York State AFL-CIO. | ||
| Anthony embodied the very spirit of union leadership, passionate, hardworking, and unwavering in his commitment to others. | ||
| His legacy will live on through the countless lives he touched and the workers he proudly fought for. | ||
| He was a great friend, an honest broker, and a true New Yorker. | ||
| I will miss my friend dearly, and may he be at peace. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of John Spo Esposito, a remarkable young man from my district. | ||
| John passed away peacefully on December 28th at just 25 years old. | ||
| John grew up in Somers, New York, where he graduated from Somers High School in 2018. | ||
| A proud student athlete, he was a member of the 2016 New York State Championship varsity football team, as well as the track and baseball teams, basketball teams forming lifelong friendships. | ||
| John went on to attend Manhattanville University, earning his business degree in 2023. | ||
| He pursued his entrepreneurial spirit by working at BE Sports Collectibles and starting his own business, Eye on the Ball Sports Collectibles, alongside his brother Joey, combining his love of sports with his ambition and his family. | ||
| Beyond his accomplishments, John was defined by his heart. | ||
| An avid Yankees fan, he remained deeply connected to his community as a member of the New York Bombers, a blind beat baseball team, and showed us all what it means to persevere with humor, courage, and grace. | ||
| My deepest condolences go out to John's parents, Joe and Patty, his brothers Joey and Michael, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. | ||
| May God bless his memory. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Layla Elizabeth So, a remarkable young lady from Pearl River, New York, whose kindness and creativity touched everyone who knew her. | ||
| Layla passed away on August 7, 2024, after a heroic two-year battle with cancer. | ||
| Layla grew up in Pearl River, New York. | ||
| She attended Lincoln Avenue Elementary, Pearl River Middle School, and was a rising sophomore at Pearl River High School, where she earned a high honor roll. | ||
| Layla excelled on the varsity bowling team, earning the Most Improved Player Award. | ||
| She also participated in the Marine Science Club, enjoyed baking, and volunteered at the Pearl River Library. | ||
| One of Layla's proudest accomplishments was being a founding member of Eagle Scout Troop 97G in New City. | ||
| Her Eagle project, completed posthumously by Troop 97, transformed 10 55-gallon steel drums into decorative trash cans for the town of Orangetown and earned her the title of Eagle Scout after her final board of review, in which she also became a Life Scout. | ||
| Layla's legacy reminds us that life isn't always numbered in years, but in the impact we leave behind. | ||
| Though her time with us and in our community was far too short, Layla's ambition and kindness will endure. | ||
| May her memory always be a blessing. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life of an extraordinary Orangeburg resident, Peter Grossbeck, who passed away at the beginning of December due to 9-11-related illness. | ||
| A proud Eagle Scout, a graduate of Tappanzee High School and of Rockland Community College, Peter dedicated his life to serving others. | ||
| After working as a technician for ITT in Antarctica, Peter began his career in public safety with the NYPD in 1984, serving as a patrolman in the 44th Precinct in the South Bronx. | ||
| In 1990, Peter continued his career by joining the FDNY, where he was later assigned to Engine Company 3 in Chelsea and later transferred to Battalion 7, serving with distinction until his retirement in 2018. | ||
| Peter devoted 45 years of volunteer service to the Blovelt Volunteer Fire Company, serving as president-chief on three occasions and an active board member, being awarded life membership in 2019. | ||
| He was a loving husband to his wife Lisa for 32 years, a devoted friend, and a man who consistently put others before himself. | ||
| I extend my deepest condolences to his family, his fellow firefighters, and all those who had the privilege of knowing him. | ||
| May his memory be a blessing. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The chair recognizes the gentleman from New York, Mr. Espaya, for five minutes. | |
| Mr. Latimer, for five minutes. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Blood Donor Month, which takes place each January, and to thank our fellow Americans who voluntarily donate blood. | ||
| As a proud blood donor myself, I want to commend the New York Blood Center and all the community blood centers across the United States that provide a lifeline to people and patients in our hospitals. | ||
| This week, the center declared a blood emergency. | ||
| A single blood donation can save up to three lives, making the work of our community blood centers and the generosity of the employees and the volunteer blood donors who contribute their work extremely important. | ||
| NYBC has been serving New Yorkers with life-saving blood products since 1964. | ||
| Today, as part of the New York Blood Center Enterprises, that mission extends far beyond New York. | ||
| Together, they serve 75 million people and provide 1 million blood products annually to over 400 hospitals. | ||
| From newborns and their mothers to cancer patients and trauma victims, community blood centers provide patients with the blood that keeps them alive. | ||
| This month, and always, I thank them. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, let me salute the work of those who are leaders and members of the Porchester Historical Society. | ||
| Their volunteer efforts have kept alive the memories and stories of the years past that represents the foundation of the Village of Porchester today. | ||
| Led by President Jordan Allen, the Society has maintained the historic Bush Lion Homestead and has been able to follow through with a host of different items for this building that was built in 1760, involving the community and activities at that site. | ||
| Celebration of historic dates, fairs and festivals, and important seminars. | ||
| This month, in concert with the village of Port Chester and Westchester's Revolution 250, the Society co-sponsors an evening with Benjamin Franklin. | ||
| The Society co-sponsors that evening, and he will visit us from the 18th century to tell us a little bit for us in the 21st century. | ||
| Also, this month, the Historical Society hosts a workshop on research and genealogy for interested adults who want to do their own family research. | ||
| The energy and resources activated by those in the society, Kiki Short, Tony Sacco, Carolyn Breakwood, Mike DeVittorio, Lou Russo, Joanne Balantoni, and others, is one more example of everyday Americans doing their part to advance the story of America. | ||
| From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute the Port Chester Historical Society. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today because this week I'm proud to introduce new legislation to protect drivers from dangerous electric vehicle battery fires with my colleague Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. | ||
| This bill, called the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Battery Safety Act of 2026, H.R. 6948, comes in response to several fatal EV accidents which occurred in my district. | ||
| The accidents involved extremely hot and difficult-to-fight chemical battery blazes and have led to loss of multiple lives. | ||
| I became aware of the lack of standards governing EV battery design and heightened risks to passengers in EV accidents, including electrical door releases becoming disabled and lack of information on EV firefighting techniques and exposure to chemical toxins from those fires. | ||
| This bipartisan bill addresses all of those issues, requiring the U.S. Department of Transportation standards for battery safety, mandates for mechanical door releases, disseminating best practices for firefighters to tackle these runaway blazes, and requiring a study by HHS on the health risks to firefighters. | ||
| These new standards will help assure Americans that they are not taking unnecessary risks every time they get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle and ensure our firefighters have the most current knowledge and protection to handle the latest in automotive technology. | ||
|
Commitment to Security
00:04:23
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| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back. | ||
| The chair recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Norman, for five minutes. | ||
|
unidentified
|
All right, thanks. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today to recognize an exceptional public servant, David McMahon, whose career reflects unwavering leadership, unwavering patriotism, and a true commitment to the security of America. | ||
| Dave has spent much of his life in service to the state of South Carolina. | ||
| He grew up in Charleston and today oversees the TSA operations at the Charleston International Airport, along with five other airports all across South Carolina. | ||
| He has served as a federal security director since January 2020, managing operations and directing security efforts all across our great state. | ||
| Dave's record of service is both extensive and it's remarkable. | ||
| He has served as an honorary commander with the Coast Guard-based Charleston through the Joint Base Charleston program and has made equally significant contributions to national security policy through service and on working on various groups. | ||
| Dave has had an distinguished record of service. | ||
| And prior to his time with the Coast Guard, Dave served as the Deputy Federal Security Director for Minnesota at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. | ||
| He also played a pivotal role as a primary field leader for Super Bowl 52. | ||
| From assistant federal security director roles to active director positions, Dave has consistently delivered strong leadership and results wherever he was placed. | ||
| Notably, in the early days of the TSA, Dave helped federalize six airports while serving as a crisis management coordinator. | ||
| His lengthy service record goes on. | ||
| Prior to joining the TSA, Dave served more than four years as a deputy sheriff with the Dane County Sheriff's Office in Wisconsin. | ||
| He also served our country for 12 years in the United States Army, a tenure which included a combat tour in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and with the 101st Airborne Division. | ||
| His military roles included criminal investigator, patrol supervisor, SWAT sniper team lead, SWAT police sniper instructor, and military police officer basic instructor. | ||
| Dave also taught criminal justice for Central Texas College while stationed in Okinawa in Japan. | ||
| Dave's life is one of truly defined by his service. | ||
| His commitment to our community, to our great state, and to our nation has been unlimited. | ||
| But above all, Dave's family has always been his greatest source of strength. | ||
| Dave has been married to his wife, Jeanette, for over 39 years, and together they have raised two sons who continue to their father's proud tradition of service as members of the United States Air Force. | ||
| Apart from his public service, Dave enjoys being with family and spending time outdoors. | ||
| Dave McMahon is truly a man of strong character. | ||
| At every moment, he is continually shown up with integrity, with professionalism, and with a commitment to making his community safer. | ||
| He represents the very best of public service. | ||
| On behalf of the people of South Carolina, I am proud to acknowledge that Dave McMahon, for his decades of service, his steadfast leadership, and the example he sets for all of those who follow in his path. | ||
| As a father, as a soldier, as a public servant, and steadfast South Carolinian, his story is a reminder of the impact one individual can have when they devote their life to the security and well-being of others. | ||
|
Policies for the People
00:15:17
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| On behalf of our great state of South Carolina's 5th Congressional District, thank you, Dave McMahon, and Godspeed in your well-deserved retirement years. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I yield back. | ||
| The chair recognizes the gentleman from New York, Mr. Espayat, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Let us make two things clear today. | ||
| The things that I think are eminently important and perhaps could find consensus in this chamber, both sides of the aisle. | ||
| In fact, I believe even most countries across the world would agree with those two things. | ||
| Maybe even the United Nations and the Organization of American State could agree with that. | ||
| And I'm confident even the Vatican could agree with that. | ||
| And that is that Nicolas Maduro was not the legitimate president of Venezuela. | ||
| And the Venezuelan people were not free nor prosperous during his corrupt regime. | ||
| Here is another truth, Mr. Speaker, that in no way conflicts with this first one. | ||
| The President of the United States must come to Congress before ordering a military engagement against any country. | ||
| You cannot uphold the rule of law by breaking it. | ||
| You cannot protect or abide by the Constitution by assaulting it. | ||
| Again, there is no confusion between these two positions. | ||
| Nicolas Maduro was not a legitimate president, and unauthorized military action is illegal without the consent of Congress. | ||
| With Nicolas Maduro now in the rearview mirror, we must look forward and craft policies that support a free and democratic future for Venezuela and policies that return war powers to the United States Congress as enshrined in the United States Constitution. | ||
| That is why I and the Executive Board of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will propose the Congressional Hispanic Caucus membership, a forward-looking framework for a democratic and stable Venezuela. | ||
| As members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, we come from different nations in Latin America and the Caribbean. | ||
| We are immigrants like myself, and many of the members also are ancestors that settled in places in these United States before the United States even existed and everything in between. | ||
| But we share, like most Americans with roots from all over the world, a special connection to Latin America and the Caribbean. | ||
| Hence, we have crafted a series of recommendations, a roadmap, if you may, to democracy and prosperity for the people of Venezuela. | ||
| Our first priority is to support a free and democratic Venezuela. | ||
| That means rejecting authoritarian governance, whether the orders come from the Mila Flores Palace or the White House. | ||
| The Venezuelan people deserve institutions that are accountable, transparent, responsive to their will, and a restoration of democracy through timely and legitimate elections that reflect the voices of the Venezuelan people themselves. | ||
| But this is not just about the Venezuelan people. | ||
| This is ultimately also about the American people. | ||
| And the American people deserve a government that preserves, protects, even respects our own rule of law, our own Constitution. | ||
| That is why we reject any further U.S. military intervention without congressional authorization. | ||
| If we are together as a nation to put our men and women in uniform at risk, our Constitution wisely demands that the decisions be made by the representative of those people. | ||
| It may well be that Congress will have voted for or against an intervention, but ultimately it is Congress that should do it. | ||
| Now that we are so deeply involved with Venezuela, we must act according to our principles. | ||
| That means ensuring humanitarian protections at home and abroad for the Venezuelan people, victims of tyranny for so long. | ||
| At home, that includes extending TPS. | ||
| We cannot deport people to a nation where our actions have set off a new wave of repression. | ||
| In Venezuela, that means pushing an end to that repression. | ||
| It means the release of political prisoners, including journalists and civil society leaders. | ||
| It means freedom of expression, freedom of the press. | ||
| We must also ensure that Venezuela's future is decided by Venezuelans. | ||
| Our future is also in balance. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we're not a kneeless nation. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we're a nation of values, principles, and laws. | ||
| We must act as one. | ||
| And I yield back. | ||
| Gentleman Yields. | ||
| The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kansas, Mr. Mann, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, as we begin the second session of the 119th Congress, we should take a moment to reset our focus and remember why we are here. | ||
| A new year and a new session brings new opportunities, but the mission remains the same. | ||
| Kansans sent me to Washington, D.C. to deliver results for the people of the Big First District, and that is what I will continue to do. | ||
| The Big First is home to farmers and ranchers who get up before the sun and work until the job is done. | ||
| It's home to small business owners and families who balance budgets, meet payroll, and expect the same discipline from the federal government. | ||
| Kansans are practical people. | ||
| We believe in hard work, common sense, and accountability. | ||
| We don't want excuses. | ||
| We expect results. | ||
| After President Trump's first term, the Biden administration inherited near-record lows in inflation and an ag trade surplus of $6 billion. | ||
| After four years of failed Democrat policies, we were left with a 21.5 percent increase in prices and an ag trade deficit of $40 billion. | ||
| When a ship runs into an iceberg, it takes time to turn the ship around. | ||
| You need to bail the water, repair the planks, and restart the engine before you can fully correct course. | ||
| Fortunately, thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Congressional Republicans, we are back on track and moving away from the iceberg that was the President Biden's administration. | ||
| Over the course of the first session of this Congress, we made important progress for Kansas. | ||
| We pushed back against burdensome regulations that drive up costs for Main Street. | ||
| We work to strengthen American energy production so families can afford to heat their homes and fuel their vehicles. | ||
| We advanced policies that support agriculture producers in rural communities and restored the rule of law at our border. | ||
| And most importantly, we cut taxes for working families, giving the average Kansan $2,200 more per year in take-home pay beginning this month. | ||
| That work matters, and I'm proud of the progress that we have made, but after the damage done by the previous administration, there's much more work to do. | ||
| That is what this second session must be about. | ||
| For Kansans, this starts with agriculture. | ||
| Farmers have been facing higher input costs, tighter margins, and growing uncertainty since 2021. | ||
| They need predictability, risk management tools, and a strong farm safety net. | ||
| Completing a farm bill that reflects the realities on the ground is vitally important, and I will be continuing to push for a physically conservative five-year farm bill that reflects the priorities of our producers or feed, fuel, and clothe the world. | ||
| And while real wages are rising and inflation is nearing a five-year low, there's more to be done to lower costs for families and small businesses. | ||
| Washington regulations often hit Americans hardest in rural communities like the ones I represent. | ||
| Common sense regulatory relief is not about cutting corners. | ||
| It is about letting people work, grow, and innovate without unnecessary government interference. | ||
| Energy is another area where House Republicans are working hard for the good of our nation. | ||
| Kansans support an all-the-above energy strategy that prioritizes American oil, gas, biofuels, and renewables. | ||
| This approach supports good-paying jobs, strengthens our economy, and keeps prices affordable. | ||
| Green New Deal policies that pick winners and losers or ignore rural realities do not work in places like the Big First of Kansas, and this Congress has a responsibility to pursue solutions grounded in reality, not ideology. | ||
| Finally, Congress needs to ensure that we continue good stewardship of hard-earned taxpayer dollars. | ||
| Families in Kansas make tough choices every day, and they expect their government to do the same. | ||
| Last year, we rescinded $9.4 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse found in federal programs, such as funding for Iraqi Sesame Street, electric buses in Rwanda, and LGBTQ programs in Uganda. | ||
| Fiscal responsibility is not optional. | ||
| It is a basic obligation that House Republicans are focused on each and every day in the 119th Congress. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, the second session of this Congress is not about starting over. | ||
| It is about following through. | ||
| Kansas sent me here to stay focused on results, not political noise. | ||
| I will continue working to make sure this body delivers real outcomes for the Big First District of Kansas and keeps its promises to the people that we serve. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back. | ||
| The gentleman yields. | ||
| The chair recognizes the gentleman from California for five minutes, Mr. Costa. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Send the chair of the trust house for five minutes to extend and replace my remarks. | |
| Without objection. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Mr. Speaker, first I would like to say thank you to Stenny Hoyer for an incredible career, for being a role model, and being my friend. | |
| Always, always a class act. | ||
| I also rise today to speak for the families who are forced to choose between groceries, rent, and health care because prices keep climbing. | ||
| Affordability is equal to economic stability. | ||
| Let me repeat that. | ||
| Affordability is equal to economic stability. | ||
| And Americans are wondering, they're struggling to pay for groceries, rent, gas, and health care. | ||
| And so, therefore, they are drowning under the cost while promises to lower the cost of living have remained unfulfilled by this administration. | ||
| On day one, President Trump said he would put America first and lower costs. | ||
| But instead, he pardoned violent insurrectionists, a mob who attacked this Capitol to overthrow a fair and free election. | ||
| An attack that resulted in the deaths of five law enforcement officers. | ||
| We were promised America first, but we're seeing as a majority of Americans who have been polled on whether we are headed in the right track or the wrong track believe that we are on the wrong track. | ||
| This administration has prioritized costly foreign entanglements without transparency of congressional approval, while working families pay the price at home. | ||
| Instead of protecting the economic well-being of Americans, we are seeing the following: tariff policies that are increasing the cost of essential goods. | ||
| My farmers are struggling as well as American consumers. | ||
| Health care costs skyrocketing for millions. | ||
| Critical programs that help families stay afloat under attack, and the cuts in Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, as well as staff and other programs, are taking its toll. | ||
| Take health care as an example. | ||
| The enhanced premium tax credits that help millions afford coverage are now expired. | ||
| In California, new enrollments are down 31 percent last year. | ||
| Nearly 190,000 families have canceled coverage because they are no longer affordable. | ||
| Middle-class Americans are earning more than $62,000 are no longer eligible for the federal premium tax credits, doubling cancellations from 8 to 16 percent. | ||
| Californians are switching to bronze plans to save premiums, but these plans carry higher deductibles. | ||
| From pregnancy care or cancer care treatment, costs can more than double compared to silver plans. | ||
| In my district, over 65,000 families risk losing Medicaid, and another 22,000 families will face higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs. | ||
| Nationwide, nearly 100,000 American families could lose their coverage each year if Congress fails to act. | ||
| And last year, the Republicans passed a partisan bill that failed to renew the essential premium tax credits, forcing millions of Americans to pay higher costs this year, even though a bipartisan solution is at hand, and families therefore unfortunately are left waiting. | ||
| Americans are also struggling with the rising cost of energy, transportation, and other critical services. | ||
| What we need are bipartisan solutions that create jobs, lower costs, and increase enhanced premium tax credits so millions of American families can afford their health care. | ||
| What we need is bipartisan legislation that will help rural homeownership to continue to act that I'm carrying legislation that will reduce financing costs, passing bipartisan legislation on permitting reform to get infrastructure like energy, transportation, and housing projects more quickly approved for working families. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we need bipartisan solutions, and they are clear. | ||
| Congress must act now to ease the costs, expand access to health care, and to invest in the future of our communities throughout the country. | ||
| The cost of living is not a partisan issue. | ||
| It's not. | ||
| It's a matter of fairness, security, and justice. | ||
| From groceries to gas, from rent to health care, Americans cannot afford to wait any longer. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, it's time that we get together. | ||
| It's time for Congress to act in a bipartisan effort to renew the sense of Congress as the people's house that we can work together. | ||
|
Honoring Carl Stewart Jr.
00:03:20
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|
unidentified
|
It's time, Mr. Speaker, for Congress to act, and America's people, our American citizens, our constituents, must come first. | |
| I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
| Gentleman from California yields. | ||
| The chair now recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Moore, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today to honor the life and service of Carl J. Stewart Jr., a proud son of Gaston County, North Carolina, and a former Speaker of the House for the North Carolina House of Representatives, who passed away on December 23rd at the age of 89. | ||
| Carl grew up in a working-class family as the son of two Firestone Mill employees. | ||
| He earned a scholarship that helped him attend Duke University and Duke University Law School. | ||
| He then went on to serve in the North Carolina House for 13 years and made history as the first elected Speaker serving two consecutive terms. | ||
| Throughout his life, Carl combined a legal work and had an absolutely great law practice, a very well-respected attorney in our area, along with a lot of public service even outside of serving in the legislature. | ||
| He held leadership roles on the North Carolina Board of Transportation, the North Carolina Economic Development Board, the North Carolina Ports Authority, as well as the North Carolina Ethics Commission. | ||
| His legacy lives on in the infrastructure and educational access that he helped build, especially at Gaston College. | ||
| For six decades, Carl Stewart served the community college, first as a business law instructor, then as legal counsel, forming a partnership with college presidents and board members rooted in innovation, integrity, and unwavering commitment to student success. | ||
| In every role, he focused on building a stronger North Carolina, and he really put in so much time to improve the lives of folks in Gaston County, whether it was education or other things, you name it, he was always there. | ||
| And I'll tell you one thing about Carl. | ||
| He never lost sight of where he came from, and he spent his life helping. | ||
| I got to know Carl when I was, even before I was Speaker of our state house, and I can tell you he was a great mentor, and he's somebody who loved nurturing folks who were coming up in public service and getting involved, and folks who really wanted to try to make our state a better place. | ||
| And I'm going to tell you, North Carolina is a better place because of Carl Stewart's work and his example. | ||
| I join our community in mourning this tremendous loss. | ||
| I ask that you keep his family in your thoughts, in your prayers, in appreciation for all that he has done for so many in our great state. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life and service of Officer Michael Miles, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this week. | ||
| He was a proud Marine, a loving father, and a dedicated police officer, serving the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for more than 13 years. | ||
|
Deborah's Crisis
00:04:41
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| He spent much of that time protecting and mentoring others in the Freedom Division. | ||
| Before wearing the badge, he wore the uniform of the United States Marine Corps and served his country with honor. | ||
| That same spirit of service guided him every day on the job and at home. | ||
| His sudden passing is a heartbreaking loss for his loved ones, for his fellow officers, and for our entire community. | ||
| Officer Miles leaves behind his partner Hannah and four children. | ||
| I ask my colleagues to join me in lifting up this family in prayer. | ||
| With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back. | ||
| Gentleman from North Carolina yields. | ||
| The chair now recognizes the lady from Massachusetts, Ms. Presley, for five minutes. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today carrying the voices in the lives of the people of the Massachusetts 7th whose survival depends on the Affordable Care Act tax credits. | ||
| The grandmother skipping meals to pay for her prescriptions. | ||
| The young mom lying awake at night wondering how she'll afford her baby's asthma inhaler if premiums go up. | ||
| Families like Deborah's in Boston staring down premiums that will double while they care for loved ones, serve their community, and do everything right. | ||
| These are not abstract numbers. | ||
| These are real people with real lives and real fears about whether they will be able to see a doctor, fill a prescription, or keep their families healthy. | ||
| In my district alone, 29,000 people will be forced to pay more for health care if Congress fails to act. | ||
| And up to 35,000 could lose their coverage entirely. | ||
| This is a shameful policy choice. | ||
| And it is a choice, a choice by my colleagues across the aisle, and it is a violent one at that. | ||
| Let me tell you more about Deborah. | ||
| Her family buys insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector. | ||
| Right now, for a family of five, they pay just over $1,000 a month. | ||
| If these ACA tax credits expire, they'll pay nearly $2,000 a month for an even worse plan. | ||
| And that doesn't even include their daughter, who has aged out of the plan, is underpaid at her job, and whose premiums they will have to help cover. | ||
| Deborah told me they are fortunate they can afford it, but that affordability does come at a cost. | ||
| Between paying for their premiums, their son's college tuition, and caring for her disabled sister, Deborah's husband, a dedicated public offender, now works weekends just to keep up. | ||
| As Deborah told me, even work you love shouldn't require you to give up every day of your life just to survive. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, Deborah's story is no anomaly. | ||
| It is the reality for millions of families across this country. | ||
| And this crisis did not happen by accident. | ||
| No, this is manufactured, man-made. | ||
| It was manufactured by an occupant of the Oval Office and a Republican Party that is hell-bent on making families poorer, sicker, hungrier, and less safe. | ||
| The same party that was content to let these life-saving tax credits expire until Democrats had to force them to vote on a clean three-year extension, the shame and the sham of it all. | ||
| Dr. King once profoundly said, and his words still ring true today, of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane because it often results in physical death. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, healthcare isn't a nice to have. | ||
| It is a fundamental human right. | ||
| It is a matter of life and death. | ||
| I urge my colleagues to do right by the people who sent you here and join us in passing this extension before it is too late. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Massachusetts Sevens' very own Super Bowl champions, the Randolph High School Blue Devils. | ||
| Showcasing electric offense and stifling defense, the Blue Devils shut out West Boylston at Gillette Stadium, capping off an undefeated season with another championship. | ||
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Honoring Alice's Legacy
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| These student athletes have made their school and families proud and proven to themselves in the Commonwealth that the town of Randolph has the talent, commitment, and the tenacity to succeed on and off the field. | ||
| To Superintendent Stoble Herndon, to Principal Licorice, to head coach John Marshall, the players and the entire team, thank you for putting T-Work on display at the highest level. | ||
| And congratulations on earning the Division 8th Super Bowl title. | ||
| Go Blue Devils! | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life and legacy of Alice Wong. | ||
| Alice was a civil rights and disability justice activist who called the question that changed the conversation. | ||
| She stoked our consciousness, built community, and saved lives. | ||
| She was a published author, community organizer, and a beloved friend. | ||
| Alice was unapologetic in her pursuit of building a more just world and shining a light on issues society hesitated to address. | ||
| She saw the humanity of everyone and spoke about intersectionality from her hometown to Capitol Hill to Gaza to the border. | ||
| She affirmed that mutual aid was not a nice to have, but a lifeline. | ||
| She loved science fiction as it gave her the ability to think of a world where choices weren't limited because of a person's disability. | ||
| And she gave us all permission and fortitude to dream of what is possible. | ||
| Alice, you are already deeply missed, and your legacy carries on. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| The lady from Massachusetts yields. | ||
| The chair now recognizes a gentleman from Florida, Mr. Bean, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, some achievements don't just earn applause. | ||
| They open the door for others. | ||
| Today, we honor someone who's done just exactly that. | ||
| Miley Meredith, the first female Eagle Scout in Nassau County, Florida. | ||
| From Troop 9152 of Scouting America in Yulee, Miley has shown outstanding dedication, creativity, and a genuine commitment to serving others. | ||
| Qualities that earned her the rank of Eagle Scout. | ||
| The accomplishment, Mr. Speaker, as you know, is impressive for any scout. | ||
| But for Miley's achievement, it also marks an historic moment for our community, expanding what's possible for young women in Northeast Florida. | ||
| As part of her service project, Miley devoted more than 155 hours installing a 25-foot flagpole and creating a six-foot mural for the Yulee Lions Club, strengthening a valued community organization. | ||
| On behalf of Florida's 4th Congressional District, I proudly congratulate Miley Meredith, an Eagle Scout whose achievements earn and deserve applause and whose example will continue opening doors for others. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I yield back. | ||
| Gentleman from Florida yields. | ||
| The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Frost, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Americans are in a state of total desperation. | ||
| For weeks, Floridians have been calling my office in tears. | ||
| They are looking at their budgets with panic while President Trump rips away their health care, sends ICE to neighborhoods, deploys soldiers to new global conflicts, and floods billionaire and mega-corporations with free money. | ||
| People cannot pay their bills. | ||
| And Republicans here in Washington, D.C. are totally unfocused, busy defending the latest cruelty done by the administration. | ||
| Health care open enrollment ends next week. | ||
| Enrollment is down. | ||
| Americans can no longer afford their coverage. | ||
| We are in a health care crisis. | ||
| Democrats don't control the House. | ||
| We don't control the Senate. | ||
| We don't control the White House. | ||
| But we still manage to get this bill to the floor to extend the Affordable Care Act tax subsidies. | ||
| We are fighting with every tool, with every option we have, to save health care for our people. | ||
| I'm voting yes to get this bill passed this week. | ||
| I encourage every single member of Congress, whether you're a Democrat or Republican, to do the same. | ||
| And I say this as someone who represents a community in the state of Florida, the largest Affordable Care Act marketplace in the entire country. | ||
| Almost, we have millions of people in the state of Florida that will be impacted by this. | ||
| And I encourage everyone to vote yes. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today deeply disturbed and distraught and angered by the shooting and the killing of Renee Nicole Goode by an ICE agent that happened just yesterday in Minneapolis. | ||
| This is a direct result of Trump's dangerous weaponization of our immigration system and federal law enforcement. | ||
| This is the direct result of an agency that is so emboldened by the president that they truly feel like they can do anything with zero impunity and with zero accountability. | ||
| It shows up in small ways, like when I showed up to tour an ICE facility in my own community and was asked by a federal agent in a very condescending way, How old are you, anyways? | ||
| To what we saw yesterday, which was the killing and shooting of a U.S. citizen in her own damn community. | ||
| And then yesterday, on the Oversight Committee, my Republican colleagues voted no on a simple subpoena so we can get information documents relating to the murder of a U.S. citizen by a federal agent. | ||
| And then my colleagues broke into this righteous debate. | ||
| Let the process play out. | ||
| Let DHS do their investigation. | ||
| The agent gets due process. | ||
| And yes, all persons in the United States are entitled to due process. | ||
| You know who didn't get that due process? | ||
| Renee Nicole Goode. | ||
| Because the agent was the judge, the jury, and the executioner in the middle of a residential neighborhood. | ||
| You know, there was no process or due process before the administration that runs our nation labeled her as a domestic terrorist just minutes after this happened. | ||
| We won't allow this president to gaslight us, and we won't allow this administration to lie to us about what we've seen before our very eyes. | ||
| Not only am I going to vote no on any funding bills that gives this agency more resources to do this type of thing and terrorize our communities from the state of Florida to across this entire nation, but I'm going to continue to show up physically at bases of operation, field offices, detention centers, and the so-called Alligator Alcatraz to conduct oversight and work with our communities to keep our people safe. | ||
| Renee Nicole Good was a mother of three, had a daughter and a son aged 15 and 12, and a six-year-old with her husband, who tragically died in 2023. | ||
| She was a devout Christian who participated in youth mission trips to Northern Ireland when she was younger. | ||
| And according to multiple reports, she was a poet, a writer, a wife. | ||
| She was a mother. | ||
| She had lived most of her life in Colorado, briefly moved to Kansas to stay with her parents after her second husband, a military veteran who suffered from PTSD, died in 2023. | ||
| And we'll honor her life with action. | ||
| Of course, fighting to end gun violence because what happened yesterday was gun violence, but also to fight to end ISIS campaign of terror on our communities and on our people. | ||
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Governor Hunt's Legacy
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| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Gentleman yields. | ||
| Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities towards the president. | ||
| The chair now recognizes a gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Davis, for five minutes. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, Governor James Baxter Hunt Jr.'s story is inseparable from North Carolina's. | ||
| From humble beginnings growing up in Wilson County, North Carolina, to his historic service as our lieutenant governor and first election as governor at 38 years old. | ||
| He served four terms as our 69th and 71st governor. | ||
| North Carolina's longest serving governor was a farmer, and he loved North Carolina State University diehard, although he later completed law school at UNC Chapel Hill. | ||
| Governor Hunt believed that public service should lift up people and create opportunities for everyone. | ||
| His unwavering dedication to education changed the lives of countless children and families. | ||
| Through heartfelt initiatives such as Smart Start, Early Childhood Education, Teacher Support, and School Accountability, he helped generations of children have a stronger foundation and a brighter future. | ||
| Beyond policy and politics, Governor Hunt led with honesty, with humility, gentleness, and genuine care for others. | ||
| He believed that the government, guided by fairness and compassion, could be a force of good. | ||
| His leadership modernized North Carolina's economy, strengthened its institutions, and elevated the state as a national leader in education and innovation. | ||
| Throughout decades, bridging party lines and his unmatched energy, his influence defined an era. | ||
| Governor Hunt was not only a dedicated public servant, but also a mentor, inspiring many elected and appointed officials. | ||
| He was my constituent who didn't mind sharing his thoughts and above all, sharing his support and encouragement. | ||
| He was devoted to his family. | ||
| His legacy of love and service lives on through his family that he cherished and those he inspired. | ||
| Governor Hunt was admired, respected, and loved deeply by the people of North Carolina. | ||
| His reach went beyond our state and made America stronger. | ||
| And through his leadership, our nation saw the best of eastern North Carolina. | ||
| His vision, humble leadership, and faith that came from his days at Marsh Swamp Baptist Church and later at First Presbyterian Church of Wilson drove him. | ||
| He passed away at 88 years old on December the 18th on his farm in Rockridge, where he grew up and lived with his beloved wife, Carolyn Joyce Leonard Hunt, for 67 years. | ||
| Our governor and First Lady shared a deep, deep partnership built on love and friendship. | ||
| He took great pride in his children's accomplishments and especially seeing his daughter Rachel follow in his footsteps as our lieutenant governor. | ||
| Carolyn, Rebecca, Baxter, Rachel, and Elizabeth, our hearts are with you. | ||
| North Carolina will miss one of its greatest public servants. | ||
| His family will miss a beloved husband, brother, Robert, father, and grandfather. | ||
| And I will personally miss a dear friend. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Gentleman from North Carolina yields. | ||
| The chair now recognizes the lady from Michigan, Ms. Talib, for five minutes. | ||
| I want to take a moment to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Mother Peggy Noble. | ||
|
Champion For Economic Justice
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| She was an inspirational leader and a champion for economic justice and for working families. | ||
| Mother Pegg Peggy has dedicated her life to College Park neighborhood where she lived. | ||
| She was a community organizer supporting her neighbors, advocating for children, and bringing people together. | ||
| She believed deeply that real change is built through relationships and advocacy and showing up for our communities. | ||
| And year after year, that's what she did. | ||
| Peggy was a fierce advocate for our families, from standing up for her neighbourhood to fighting for fairness in our broken auto insurance system. | ||
| Detroit is stronger because of her voice, her leadership, and her unwavering belief in people. | ||
| We carry her spirit forward and how we organize, how we protect one another and show up for our neighbours. | ||
| My thoughts are with her loved ones, Rochelle, Eugene, Kimberly, Jamie, Asante, and Peggy, all of Peggy's loved ones during this difficult time. | ||
| May she rest in power and in love. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we always seem to have money for war to bomb countries, but we never have money for health care for our families. | ||
| So here on January 1st, Republicans ended the Affordable Care Act tax credits and raised health care premiums for millions of Americans, our neighbours, throughout the nation. | ||
| This comes, of course, after Trump's big budget betrayal ripped health care away from 17 million Americans and cut Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion. | ||
| But last year, though, Congress did approve a $1 trillion, nearly a $1 trillion for the Pentagon budget, which just failed its eighth audit in a row. | ||
| I want folks to think about that. | ||
| They're cutting money for health care and spending it on bombs and death. | ||
| The ACA tax credits are what help keep insurance affordable for many of our neighbours across the country. | ||
| They are the difference between my neighbors having insurance or going without health care. | ||
| It is heartbreaking to read the emails, get the messages from so many families that are putting off seeing a doctor and filling their prescriptions and now rationing their medication. | ||
| No parent, Mr. Speaker, should have to choose whether to take their child to the doctor because health care is too expensive. | ||
| Our health care system is already broken and it's inhumane. | ||
| My residents always tell me, don't call it health care, call it sick care. | ||
| Because we know right now the for-profit schemes within our health care system is making it completely so unaffordable for our families. | ||
| So why have we not passed the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Again, we are so grateful for the leadership of Hakeem Jeffery and leader Hakeem Jeffries as we push forward a forced vote for a three-year ACA tax credit extension today. | ||
| Again, instead of extreme cuts, we should be expanding access to care and guaranteeing health care as a fundamental human right in our country. | ||
| We must pass this tax credit extension today and put pressure on the Senate to take it up immediately. | ||
| I urge my Republican colleagues to help fix this mess they've made by restoring again the extreme Medicaid cuts and joining us in extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, housing is a human right. | ||
| But as everyone knows, we're facing a housing crisis right now. | ||
| On any given night right now, more than three-quarters of a million people are housed nationwide. | ||
| The last time the federal minimum wage increase was $7.25 an hour was in 2009. | ||
| Since then, average rental costs have increased 76%. | ||
| That's just completely wild. | ||
| So we need action at every level of government. | ||
| And I know that many of our local elected officials are desperate to reducing housing costs and need the federal government's partnership. | ||
| But we know often here in this chamber there are officials that, again, will not promote affordable housing or address the unique barriers that our communities are facing. | ||
| That's why I introduced the Housing Our Communities Act, and it's meant to address it immediately. | ||
| This is part of a legislative package that passed out of the Financial Services Committee this past year. | ||
| My bill directs HUD Secretary to establish a competitive grant program to support a wide array of affordable housing planning and implementation activities. | ||
| For example, grants, Mr. Speaker, can be supported, can support officials in crafting their own housing plans, updating zoning codes, and increasing the capacity to conduct housing inspections so that developments are completed faster and reducing project cost. | ||
| I urge my colleagues to please support the Housing for the 21st Century package and provide policymakers and our local governments with the resources they need for affordable, real affordable housing and making it a reality. | ||
| Thank you so much, and I yield. | ||
|
unidentified
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The lady from Massachusetts, or Michigan, yields. | |
| Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Hizinga, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
|
unidentified
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And I rise today with a heavy heart. | |
| I have some prepared remarks, but I will also be speaking from my heart as well. | ||
|
unidentified
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Because unfortunately today, I am here to come and honor the life and legacy of my friend, former Sheriff and Fire Chief, Dave Hoverdink. | |
| Dave was a staple in Allegheny County, who dedicated his life to serving his community until the moment tragedy struck in the line of duty on December 23. | ||
| Dave passed away on December 25, Christmas Day. | ||
| He was there serving others as there had been an incident on a roadway, and unfortunately, he was struck and killed. | ||
| I first got to know Dave while he was serving as a county commissioner and was running for sheriff of Alleghen County. | ||
| And while Dave excelled in both of those roles, in fact, he did eight years, two terms as the sheriff, his service didn't stop there. | ||
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Perhaps what Dave will be most remembered for was his astounding 51 years of service with the Hamilton Fire Department, including 40 of those years where he served as chief of the department. | |
| Prior to coming out to Washington, D.C., I had a chance to go and be with his family at a visitation. | ||
| And I was touched and moved when his wife said to me, you know that I pray for you and Dave prayed for you and everybody in Washington every single day. | ||
| And it just speaks to the character of this family. | ||
| As it's a time to be focused on them and supporting them, they still were thinking of others, including me and all of our colleagues here. | ||
| Well, Dave undoubtedly had a tremendous impact on the Hamilton and all of Allegan County. | ||
| His legacy, though, is going to be one as a husband and a father and a grandfather who loved his family deeply. | ||
| My heart and prayers go out to his wife Judy, his sons Jeff and Tim, and the entire Hoverdink family during this tragic time. | ||
| This is a true loss. | ||
| It's a loss not just for a particular community. | ||
| It really is a loss for humanity. | ||
| He is one of the good guys. | ||
| He is one of those that put service to others above self. | ||
| He is someone that focused on making sure that others were okay at every turn and didn't think about himself. | ||
| So Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in honoring the memory, life, and legacy of Hamilton Fire Chief Dave Hoverdank with a moment of silence. | ||
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unidentified
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Thank you. | |
| And rest well, my friend. | ||
| Job well done. | ||
| Rest well. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Gentleman from Michigan Yields. | ||
| The chair now recognizes the lady from Arizona, Ms. Nsari, for five minutes. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today with outrage and with grief. | ||
| Yesterday, not even a full week into the new year, ICE murdered a U.S. citizen, Renee Nicole Goode, after shooting her multiple times as she was seemingly attempting to drive away, blocking her from medical care and letting her die while a doctor stood by offering to help. | ||
| The video of this tragedy is damning. | ||
| I encourage every American to watch it and make their own judgment. | ||
| A woman is dead. | ||
| A child has been left without a parent. | ||
| A community is shattered. | ||
| And the American people are left once again demanding answers from an agency that has shown time and time again that it operates without accountability. | ||
| What happened to Renee Goode in Minneapolis demands a full, independent, and immediate investigation. | ||
| I represent Arizona's third congressional district, a diverse and rich community of immigrants. | ||
| For over a year now, ICE has been terrorizing my constituents. | ||
| No agency is above the law, yet ICE is now the most well-funded law enforcement agency in the United States, receiving more funding than most militaries around the world, while operating with virtually no meaningful checks and balances. | ||
| In the immediate aftermath of Renee Goode's death, the Trump administration did what it does best. | ||
| It lied. | ||
| Christy Noam and Stephen Miller rushed to smear a dead woman as a, quote, domestic terrorist, while Donald Trump took to Truth Social to gaslight the American people, asking them to deny their own eyes and accept his version of events instead. | ||
| This is what authoritarianism looks like. | ||
| This is what happens when the leader of a nation turns a federal agency into his personal paramilitary force against the civilian population of the United States. | ||
| Donald Trump has weaponized ICE not to keep communities safe, but to terrorize them. | ||
| Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has called for ICE to vacate his city, and I echo that call. | ||
| People in our communities don't feel safe because they are not safe. | ||
| In my district on Christmas Eve, a woman named Flor, a Docker recipient, was detained while Christmas shopping. | ||
| Why is ICE spending resources to detain a DACA recipient on Christmas Eve? | ||
| They claim they are going after, quote, real criminals, and that too is a lie. | ||
| Just days ago, ICE agents detained two day laborers outside a Home Depot in Phoenix, briefly detaining a U.S. citizen in the process. | ||
| These people are not criminals. | ||
| This isn't law enforcement. | ||
| This is a federal agency operating outside of its mandate, using fear as a tactic to spread fear and chaos in our neighborhoods. | ||
| And it's no coincidence because Stephen Miller is rapidly hiring tens of thousands of new ICE agents. | ||
| Many are poorly trained. | ||
| Many have troubling backgrounds, all to meet this reckless mass deportation agenda that he has set out. | ||
| We've been sounding the alarm for well over a year, and now the worst has happened. | ||
| An American woman has died. | ||
| That is why I'm introducing legislation to rein in ICE, demand transparency, and stop the unchecked funding that enables these abuses. | ||
| I'm also joining as an original co-sponsor in an effort led by my colleague, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, to introduce articles of impeachment against Christine Noam, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. | ||
| I urge my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans alike, to join us. | ||
| A woman has been murdered. | ||
| Silence is no longer neutrality. | ||
| It is complicity. | ||
| We must rein in ICE. | ||
| We must demand accountability. | ||
| And we must protect our communities from this abuse of power. | ||
| Thank you, and I yield back. | ||
| The lady yields back. | ||
| Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. | ||
| The chair now recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Menendez, for two and one-half minutes. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our nation witnessed the killing of a fellow American in broad daylight in Minneapolis, Minnesota. | ||
| Her name was Renee Nicole Goode. | ||
| She was a concerned citizen, a mother, and the loss of her life was entirely preventable. | ||
| This tragic loss of life comes the same week that we remember what occurred here five years ago on January 6th. | ||
| On that day, violent insurrectionists attacked police officers, many of whom sustained serious injuries and five of whom have passed away since the attack, including Brian Sicknick, a New Jersey native and a proud Capitol police officer. | ||
| Instead of remembering and healing from the events of that day, President Trump pardoned close to 1,600 seditious, violent insurrectionists who were convicted of criminal charges. | ||
| The President and House Republicans have tried to vanish the events of that day from our collective memory, but we will not let them. | ||
| And last year, I, alongside my colleagues, Congresswoman Watson Coleman and MacGyver, witnessed firsthand how far this administration will go to silent dissent and opposition when outside Delaney Hall, more than 20 armed ICE and HSI officers physically confronted us to prevent us from doing our jobs. | ||
| What I said then and what I would say today is that all of this should be completely unacceptable to all Americans and should shake every American to their core. | ||
| I have said time and time again that no one is safe in Trump's America. | ||
| Mothers, Capitol police officers, our neighbors, members of Congress, no one, not a single person should feel safe with him as our president. | ||
| This administration's extreme agenda does not reflect the best of who we are as a country, but instead seeks to turn us against each other. | ||
| We cannot allow that to happen. | ||
| And in this moment, we must once again remember, but it bends towards justice. | ||
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Expanding Access to Healthy Foods
00:10:17
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unidentified
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And the House considering legislation today to fund parts of the federal government through September 30th, including the Justice and Commerce Departments and related agencies. | |
| Members will also vote to override two of President Trump's vetoes, which will require a two-thirds majority. | ||
| And a final passage vote expected on extending enhanced health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act for three years. | ||
| The House expected back in about 10 minutes. | ||
| You can follow our live coverage here on C-SPAN when members return. | ||
| As we continue our live coverage, take you to remarks by HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaking now. | ||
| And the blessing of a lifetime to be a part of this effort to fight for our great American farmers and ranchers. | ||
| And again, like I say, to put them back in the middle of the policymaking to get real food out to America. | ||
| And listen, you know, I talk about me and my four teenagers and the struggles to ensure that that happens and the beautiful families behind me, including my sister Riley Gaines. | ||
| I see you back there, Riley. | ||
| Amazing Riley Gaines and her beautiful new baby girl. | ||
| But that's a struggle, and there's no doubt. | ||
| But listen, when you think about the vulnerable communities around this country, those who are living on the margins of their community, those who are just hoping that they can have heat for the winter and air for the summer and that they can potentially get a healthy meal or two on the table, it is now within dietary course of American health in the course of American history. | ||
| But the next step is making sure that these foods are accessible to all Americans, not just Americans with a certain bank account. | ||
| And I think I think in closing, I'll say this: it's really important as we prioritize this to note that these foods are affordable, that you can have a meal with pork or chicken or fish, and ground beef is coming down, ground beef, everybody, with a vegetable, with a whole grain piece of bread, with a corn tortilla. | ||
| You can have all of that on average for $3 a meal, which is much less than what a fast food meal could be or a certain amount of packaged foods. | ||
| But what we have to fix is how we make these foods accessible. | ||
| And one big announcement coming from USDA for every retailer in America that takes a snap dollar, our food stamp money, which is 250,000 of them, everyone. | ||
| So while we do have food deserts, there is opportunity amongst these 250,000 retailers across America. | ||
| Starting almost immediately, we are doubling what's called the stocking standard, making sure that if they're going to take a tax dollar on behalf of those with the least among us, that they will have twice as many healthy alternatives to choose from wherever those SNAP dollars are accepted off of this dietary guideline. | ||
| So again, I want to thank my incredible partner, Secretary Bobby Kennedy. | ||
| I want to thank the incredible HHS team, Callie and Stephanie, and the whole team, Dr. Marty McCary, Dr. Buddhichara, all of the incredible teams that have worked so hard to get to this day and know that while we are moving forward, this is really just the beginning for a new day in America. | ||
| The best is yet to come. | ||
| God bless you. | ||
| Thank you all. | ||
| What a joy to be here. | ||
|
unidentified
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I'm so excited I forgot to introduce the next speaker. | |
| So here she is, y'all. | ||
| There's just no one better in the cabinet. | ||
| Administrator Kelly Loeffler, who herself is a farm girl, the 28th administrator of the SBA, grew up on a farm in Illinois. | ||
| everybody. | ||
| Thank you, Secretary Rollins, for your kind introduction. | ||
| You're such a dear friend. | ||
| And of course, to Secretary Kennedy for the tremendous work you're doing on behalf of the Trump administration and Maha. | ||
| Long live Maha. | ||
| Thank you so much, Bobby. | ||
| It's an honor to serve. | ||
| We're fighting every day to make America great and a sense of urgency. | ||
| Health care was more expensive than ever. | ||
| Americans were sicker than ever. | ||
| For decades, politicians responded by doing the same thing over and over but demanding more money to do it. | ||
| Spending more, subsidizing more, funding the same entrenched interests while outcomes got worse. | ||
| That is why it's a new day under President Trump and under Secretary Kennedy's leadership. | ||
| We are pursuing an all-of-the-above America First, all-hands-on-deck approach to make our nation stronger and healthier. | ||
| On day one, President Trump delivered on his promise to lower drug prices. | ||
| He struck dozens of deals with pharmaceutical manufacturers that have already brought drug prices down in this country and they're going to continue to fall. | ||
| And then, through the Working Families Tax Cut, he expanded health savings accounts, which puts families, not bureaucrats, in control of your health care. | ||
| He's ending a broken welfare system that hands health care dollars to illegal aliens and fraudsters that protect programs instead to protect programs for those who need it and deserve it. | ||
| President Trump has made historic commitments to innovation, including AI, which is going to improve diagnostics, reduce waste in the health care system, and deliver better health outcomes for all Americans. | ||
| And with the leadership of Secretary Kennedy, our public health priorities are now focused on prevention and science, no longer politics, and delivering healthier, longer lives. | ||
| So whether through revised, thank you. | ||
| So whether through revised vaccine schedules, better autism research, or much needed new dietary guidelines, this administration is focusing on standing with Americans, not big pharma or with big food. | ||
| The new food pyramid is common sense. | ||
| It's science-based. | ||
| It prioritizes whole, minimally processed foods, that's pretty common sense, and confronts the role that highly processed foods have in making our families, our children, and everyone sicker, not healthier. | ||
| So at the SBA, we're excited to support the small businesses that help deliver on Maha to help consumers make healthier choices and more affordable. | ||
| Small generational family farms, like the one I grew up on, make up roughly 97% of all farms in America. | ||
| So I want to thank our farmers and ranchers because you are the best of America. | ||
| These producers, along with America's small food producers, distributors, grocers, restaurants, are essential to delivering healthy choices for Americans. | ||
| So when we align health care policy, when we align dietary guidance and economic policy, we're redefining wellness for the future of this country. | ||
| And the SBA is ensuring that small businesses at every turn have a chance to support a healthier nation. | ||
| So we're expanding access to capital, strengthening local food supply chains, removing regulations, that's a big part of the SBA's remit, is to support deregulation that prevents healthy food from getting into the hands of our families, and removing regulations that have favored big food for far too long. | ||
| Because making America healthy again is not a single policy. | ||
| It's a movement committed to accountability, transparency, data, facts, and freedom. | ||
| And we're also confronting a system that profits from making America sick. | ||
| At SBA, we're proud to empower the entrepreneurs, farmers, and small businesses who will make America healthy again. | ||
| We're proud to invest in those who grow affordable, nutritious food for this country, and we're so proud to join Secretaries Kennedy and Rollins and President Trump in making our country healthy again. | ||
| It is now my distinct honor to introduce my friend, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. | ||
| He is the director of the National Institute for Health. | ||
| Thank you, and God bless you. | ||
| I don't think I've ever had walkout music before. | ||
| It's amazing. | ||
| This is a huge day. | ||
| And let me just start with a very quick story about a research paper I wrote 15 years ago with the most obvious thing, the result ever, which is that if you take sugar-sweetened beverages out of SNAP, kids get healthier. | ||
| Okay, I wrote the paper 15 years ago and I forgot about it because no one did anything about it. | ||
| This administration, for the first time, under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Kennedy, is doing something about it, and not just on sugar, sweet, and beverages, but on the whole food pyramid, fundamentally changing the direction of this country with the new dietary guidelines. | ||
| It is one of the most significant resets of new federal nutrition policy I have ever seen. | ||
| And I'll tell you, those 15 years were frustrating because the data were there and no one was acting. | ||
| The difference in this administration is that we are now acting on the information that's there and changing it because we care deeply. | ||
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We were to leave this to take you live to the House with a busy day of work ahead. | |