| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
New York's Pledge Leadership
00:12:31
|
||
| What they're referring to when they say Obama's mistake is a Syrian red line that Barack Obama had set, and then Syria crosses that line and the lack of U.S. response. | ||
| Is that your feeling here as well? | ||
|
unidentified
|
There's also talk of another comparison with the Obama administration, which is aboard Air Force One in the same interview where Donald Trump was talking to the press about potentially enforcing that red line, and he said that the Iranians appear to be crossing it. | |
| He also mentioned for the first time that the Iranians had reached out to negotiate with him amidst all of this crackdown. | ||
| And a comparison that actually comes to mind is not just Syria-Obama 2013, but Iran-Obama 2009, when there were protests on the street where protesters were calling for Obama. | ||
| Are you with us or are you with them? | ||
| And because the Obama administration was looking to draw a sharp contrast with the regime change. | ||
| We leave this here to take you live to the U.S. House, where members will begin debate on federal labor standards legislation. | ||
| Live coverage of the House here on C-SPAN. | ||
| By your grace, O Lord, and the example of those who have gone before us as paragons of faith and righteousness, you have shown us what is true, what is noble, what is right, what is pure and lovely, what is worth admiration, what is excellent and praiseworthy. | ||
| You've set a high bar for how we are to live. | ||
| And we are tempted to assume that the paradigms from the past did not face the same challenges we face today. | ||
| That maybe their situations were different, maybe less complex. | ||
| But if we're honest with ourselves, we must admit that our predecessors faced their own trials and yet held fast to their faith in you. | ||
| Lord, be near us this day, in the midst of the adversities and the asperities unique to our present circumstances. | ||
| Show us again how to be gentle so that in us, your gentleness is evident to all. | ||
| Assure us that you hear our prayers and petitions, our thanksgivings and our requests, that we would have no need to be anxious, but could be a source of reassurance for those in need. | ||
| Guard our hearts and minds in all we do, that even when we do not understand why things are the way they are, we may experience your peace, which transcends our comprehension. | ||
| This day, may we put our faith in you and in the peace we have received from you into practice. | ||
| Lord, be with us, we pray. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Amen. | |
| The chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces the House the approval thereof. | ||
| Pursuant to clause one of Rule One, the journal stands approved. | ||
| The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from New York, Ms. Gillen. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I pledge allegiance to allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and as to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. | |
| The chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. | ||
| For what purpose? | ||
| Gentleman from South Carolina seek recognition. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask Jennifer's consent to address such one minute advice to extend my remarks. | ||
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| To cancel tax increases, President Donald Trump signed the Working Families Tax Cut Law into effect on July 4th, coordinating with Speaker Mike Johnson. | ||
| The law limits government, expands freedom, and provides pro-growth policies creating jobs. | ||
| As the April tax deadline approaches, the law allows Americans to keep more money, led by Secretary of Treasury Scott Besant of Charleston, South Carolina. | ||
| Quote, people are going to have massive refund checks, said White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. | ||
| Chief of the IRS, Frank Mansino, said 94% plus of middle-class Americans benefit. | ||
| Working families' tax cut boosts refunds, providing permanency to lower tax rates from the 2017 Trump tax cuts, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. | ||
| In conclusion, God bless our troops. | ||
| As the global war on terrorism continues, Trump is reinstituting peace through strength, revealing war criminal Putin lies, insulting Trump and mocking Trump as Putin supports Khomeini murdering innocent protesters, calling for freedom for Iran, courageously encouraged by President Donald Trump. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| The gentleman yields back. | ||
| The chair will receive a mess. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Mr. Speaker. | |
| Messages from the White House. | ||
| Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Madam Secretary. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I am directed by the President of the United States to deliver to the House of Representatives messages in writing. | |
| For what purpose does the gentleman from New York seek recognition? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. | |
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn Secretary Kennedy's recent assault on children's health. | ||
| Last week, against universally recommended guidelines, the Department of Health and Human Services slashed the childhood immunization schedule from 17 vaccines to 11. | ||
| Among those removed are vaccines to protect against RSV, COVID-19, and hepatitis B. Americans deserve accurate information that is based on established science to make decisions about our children's health. | ||
| I am perplexed by this latest ambush on the lives and futures of our children. | ||
| What is the crisis that requires us to challenge settled science? | ||
| The universally recommended vaccine schedule that families have relied on and trusted for years to protect their children has saved countless lives. | ||
| I shudder to think about the children who could die from preventable diseases at the hands of this administration's so-called guidance. | ||
| We are simply pandering to skeptics who want to impose ideology in place of intelligent research. | ||
| Since taking office, this administration has made every effort to dismantle public health. | ||
| These unacceptable and baseless challenges reveal only deepen the growing cracks in our health system. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back. | ||
| Gentlemen, yield back. | ||
| For what purpose the gentlewoman from Virgin Islands seek recognition? | ||
| I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. | ||
| Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today to recognize Religious Tolerance Week and celebrate the beautiful tapestry of faith that defines the Virgin Islands of the United States. | ||
| In our home, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Rastafarians, and practitioners of ancestral African tradition don't just coexist, we celebrate one another. | ||
| The support of Ramadan, Yom Kippur, and Good Friday are solemn occasions shared by all. | ||
| We celebrate brothers and sisters as they enjoy Diwali and hold sacred spaces where African traditional religion is practices. | ||
| Our festivals blend the sacred traditions of multiple faiths. | ||
| This is not tolerance, it's love and an embodiment of what America promises, that our differences make us stronger. | ||
| Our faiths can flourish side by side, and unity does not require unanimity. | ||
| As we face growing divisions in our nation, let the Virgin Islands be a model. | ||
| We prove every day that respecting each other's belief enriches us all. | ||
| I ask for strength in that for all of us. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Gentlewoman yields back. | ||
| For what purpose the gentlewoman from New York take recognition? | ||
| Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Michael Howard Kerr, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and extraordinary community leader from Woodmere, New York. | ||
| Michael dedicated his life to serving his community. | ||
| He served as fire commissioner in the village of Woodsburg and later as police commissioner. | ||
| He also devoted time to serving on the boards of various charitable organizations, including the Jewish Community Center of the Greater Five Towns and the UJA Federation of Greater New York. | ||
| He didn't stop there, though. | ||
| Michael was a tireless advocate for medical research, particularly in the fight against Crohn's disease, liver disease, and organ transplantation. | ||
| He supported groundbreaking research at institutes including Mount Sinai, Cornell, Lenox Hill, and Columbia University. | ||
| Above all, Michael is devoted to his family, his wife Susie, and his sons, Joshua and Zachary. | ||
| Michael Kerr leaves behind a legacy of leadership, generosity, and profound humanity. | ||
| May his memory be a blessing and enduring inspiration to all of us. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Yields back. | ||
| For what purpose, gentlemen? | ||
| From Massachusetts. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, at the end of last year, a Massachusetts-based foundation committed to ending hunger, the EOS Foundation, released its annual school breakfast report card. | ||
| We've all heard the old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. | ||
| Well, for kids experiencing hunger, it is especially true. | ||
| The EOS Foundation has put its money where its mouth is, literally, by providing funding and technical assistance to schools to establish robust breakfast-in-the-classroom programs. | ||
| Springfield Public Schools is a shining example of what's possible. | ||
| With support from the EEO's breakfast-in-the-classroom model, 84% of students are now getting breakfasts, up from 44% a few years ago. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we can and we should do more to close the breakfast gap, the difference between the number of students receiving school breakfasts versus lunches. | ||
| And I'm committed to doing my part. | ||
| I have a bill that would increase the federal meal reimbursement rates for school breakfasts and lunches. | ||
| And thanks to incredible partners like the EOS Foundation, we're making progress one school at a time. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Gentleman yields back. | ||
| what purpose does the gentlewoman from New Mexico seek recognition? | ||
| Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Roberto Mondragón, a lieutenant governor and musician. | ||
| Roberto Mondragón was a beloved cultural figure in New Mexico whose voice, music, and lifelong work helped keep our traditions alive. | ||
| He brought his resonant tenor to the cultural renaissance that made sure Nuevo México did not lose its culture, its songs, its language, or its poetry. | ||
| At a time when the Spanish language, music, and tradition were being pushed aside, he lifted them up, insisting that they belong not only in memory, but in classrooms, on the radio, and in the halls of power. | ||
| He showed generations of young people, including my own high school choir that I sang in, the Westside Singers, that tradition is not behind us, but within us. | ||
| Roberto will be remembered every time we sing hacís nuevo México, our state song. | ||
| Así es nuevo Mexico, el negro el Hispano el Anglo el Indio todos sontos yjos todos porigual. | ||
| That's New Mexico. | ||
| The black, the Hispano, the Anglo, the Indigenous, all your children, all equal. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| Gentlewoman yields back. | ||
| For what purpose does the gentlewoman from Minnesota seek recognition? | ||
|
Bills Amended for Consideration
00:09:38
|
||
| Mr. Speaker, by the direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 988 and ask for its immediate consideration. | ||
| The clerk will report the resolution. | ||
| House calendar number 53, House Resolution 988. | ||
| Resolved that upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill, H.R. 2988, to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to specify requirements concerning the consideration of pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors and for other purposes. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Education and Workforce now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. | ||
| The bill as amended shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one. | ||
| One hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on education and workforce or their respective designees. | ||
| Two, the further amendment printed in part A of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, if offered by the member designated in the report, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order, shall be considered as read, shall be separately debatable for the time specified in the report, equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question, and three, one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section two, upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill, H.R. 2262, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exclude certain activities from hours worked and for other purposes. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Education and Workforce now printed in the bill, modified by the amendment printed in Part B of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted. | ||
| The bill as amended shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one. | ||
| One hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on education and workforce or their respective designees and two, one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section three, upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the house any bills specified in section four of this resolution. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of each such bill are waived. | ||
| The respective amendments in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Education and Workforce now printed in each such bill shall be considered as adopted. | ||
| Each such bill as amended shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in each such bill as amended are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as ordered on each such bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one. | ||
| One hour debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on education and workforce or their respective designees and two one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section four the bills referred to in section three of this resolution are as follows A. | ||
| The bill H.R. 2270 to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exclude child independent care services and payments from the rate used to compute overtime compensation. | ||
| B, the bill H.R. 2312 to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to revise the definition of the term tipped employee and for other purposes. | ||
| C, the bill H.R. 4366 to clarify the treatment of two or more employers as joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized for one hour. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. | ||
| During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. | ||
| I ask for unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. | ||
| Without objection. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, we're here today to debate the rule providing for consideration for H.R. 2262, the Flexibility for Workers Education Act, H.R. 2270, the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Health Care Solutions Act, H.R. 2312, the Tipped Employee Protection Act, and H.R. 4366, the Save Local Business Act, under a closed rule, | ||
| and consideration for H.R. 2988, the Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act, under a structured rule. | ||
| One hour of debate each for H.R. 2262, H.R. 2270, H.R. 2312, H.R. 2988, and H.R. 4366 shall be equally divided and controlled by the Chair and the ranking members of the Education Workforce Committee. | ||
| The rule provides for a motion to recommit for all five bills. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, the bills before us today are about one thing: getting the federal government out of the way of the American worker. | ||
| For too long, outdated definitions and woke regulatory overreach have stifled opportunities and created a paperwork trap for the job creators on our main streets. | ||
| Today, we take a stand for common sense and economic growth. | ||
| We begin with H.R. 2262, the Flexibility for Workers Education Act. | ||
| Under current law, many non-exempt workers, the very people who could benefit most from upskilling, are often excluded from voluntary training because the Fair Labor Standards Act treats those sessions as hours worked. | ||
| This creates massive inconveniences for employers who ultimately chose not to offer the training at all. | ||
| This bill levels the playing field, allowing workers to pursue voluntary professional development outside of regular hours without triggering burdensome overtime costs to their employers. | ||
| In the same spirit of support, H.R. 2270, the Empowering Employer, Child and Elder Care Solutions Act, addresses the child care crunch facing so many families. | ||
| By excluding child care and elder care benefits from the regular rate calculation for overtime, we remove a major financial barrier for some small business owners who want to help their employees balance work and family life. | ||
| This is a pro-family, pro-worker solution that requires no new federal spending. | ||
| We must also protect the flexibility that makes the service industry so vital. | ||
| H.R. 2312, the Tipped Employee Protection Act, clears the regulatory fog that has long surrounded tipped workers. | ||
| The Biden administration attempted to micromanage every minute of the server's day through the unworkable 80-20 rule, a standard that is virtually impossible to monitor or enforce. | ||
| This bill provides a clear and simple definition for tipped employees, an employee who receives tips plus other cash wages that meet or exceed the federal minimum wage for a work period. | ||
| This provides stability for restaurant owners and protects the high earning potential of our servers and bartenders. | ||
| Similarly, H.R. 23, excuse me, 4366, the Save Local Businesses Act, restores the joint employer standard that served our economy for decades. | ||
| The Obama and Biden administrations weaponized the National Labor Relations Board to target the franchise model, creating a scheme that costs the franchising sector an estimated $33 billion annually. | ||
| By codifying that an employer must exercise direct, actual, and immediate control over workers, we restore the certainty that small business owners, contractors, and franchisees need to grow and hire more. | ||
| Finally, we must protect the hard-earned savings of the American people. | ||
| H.R. 2988, the Protect Prudent Investment and Retirement Savings Act, ensures that Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, fiduciaries are focused on one thing, the financial bottom line. | ||
| We cannot allow woke fiduciaries to gamble with the workers' pension to satisfy a political agenda. | ||
| This bill reinforces the duties of loyalty and ensures that investment decisions are based solely on maximizing returns for the benefit of the retiree and not a social experiment. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, the American people are tired of the regulatory noise coming out of Washington. | ||
|
The One Big Beautiful Bill
00:14:44
|
||
| They want a government that works for them, not against them. | ||
| These five bills deliver our promise to cut red tape, empower families, and protect the American dream. | ||
| I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I reserve. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota Reserves, the gentlewoman from New Mexico, is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, America is suffering. | ||
| Americans don't recognize the country we live in. | ||
| Trump's tariffs have caused prices to soar. | ||
| We have the highest unemployment in four years, so fewer people have jobs. | ||
| Those out of work can't even afford those expensive groceries and housing and appliances. | ||
| Republicans refuse to extend the health insurance tax cuts in time, so now millions of Americans have health insurance premiums that are double and sometimes even triple what they were a year ago. | ||
| In their big, beautiful bill, Republicans took a sledgehammer to our fragile health care system to give permanent tax breaks to their political donors, the billionaires, and the biggest corporations. | ||
| Our president bombed boats and then the capital of a foreign country for oil. | ||
| And now he says he is acting president of that country. | ||
| He wants our military to invade a NATO ally. | ||
| Remember, America and our NATO allies fought fascism together in World War II. | ||
| Republicans claim we don't have money to keep health care costs down, yet they're going to keep spending billions of taxpayer dollars for Trump's reckless military action in Venezuela and everywhere else he decides to invade or bomb. | ||
| Trump and Christy Noam have militarized our streets. | ||
| Masked men in full military gear roam the streets of our cities. | ||
| These masked men invade church property and schools, knock down doors without warrants, ram cars and assault pastors and people of faith. | ||
| These masked armed men have arrested hundreds of citizens just for looking Latino. | ||
| And last week, they killed a citizen, shot a mother of three in the face three times. | ||
| Her last words were, I'm not mad at you. | ||
| His words, after shooting her to death, are too obscene to say on this floor. | ||
| Christy Noam and the President have now demonized this dead mother. | ||
| Trump wants Americans to deny what we can see with our own eyes, the killing of the mother, Renee Nicole Good. | ||
| In the face of all this pain and chaos and economic hardship, the American people expect Congress to do something, to ask hard questions of the administration, to be the check and balance that we were taught about in school, conduct oversight, lower prices, protect our health care. | ||
| So what are Republicans doing? | ||
| Last week, following the invasion of Venezuela and the expiration of the health care tax credits, their priority was a bill about showerheads. | ||
| This week, it's worse. | ||
| They are actively putting their thumb on the scale of big corporations and against workers, lowering what parents get paid in overtime, reclassifying workers so they can pay them less, or make it easy for corporations like those big meatpacking plants to get away with hiring child labor or wage theft. | ||
| They want to block financial managers from even considering environmental risks like flooding and wildfires. | ||
| Yes, Americans want Congress to do something. | ||
| The problem is, Republicans control the House and the bills we consider in the Rules Committee and vote on. | ||
| But Democrats can force votes like we did on the health care tax credits, like we will soon do on the war powers resolution. | ||
| On the floor of the People's House, we will call out Republicans who always seem to stand with the biggest corporations and against workers, despite what the titles of their bills say. | ||
| They do the opposite. | ||
| We will force Republicans to face the consequences of ignoring the economic struggles of everyday Americans. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I reserve. | ||
| The gentlewoman from New Mexico Reserves, a gentlewoman from Minnesota, is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I just wanted to clarify a few things, one in particular about the One Big Beautiful bill. | ||
| The narrative that the One Big Beautiful bill only gives tax cuts to billionaires is just false. | ||
| The bill cuts taxes for working-class families who need it most. | ||
| As a result of the One Big Beautiful bill, the top 1% will pay more in federal taxes than they did before the Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017. | ||
| It ends $500 billion in Biden-era tax breaks and special interest giveaways to wealthy individuals and large corporations, and it stops a Biden-era $1,700 tax increase. | ||
| Working families making between $15,000 and $30,000 will have their taxes cut by 21% under the One Big Beautiful bill. | ||
| 66% of the One Big Beautiful Bill's tax cuts families, benefits families making less than $500,000. | ||
| Just because you keep saying it doesn't make it true. | ||
| The One Big Beautiful bill does help working families. | ||
| And I do have to address, because my colleague has decided to bring ICE into this debate or this discussion regarding small businesses and help that we may be able to give small businesses. | ||
| I just want to give a few examples of what ICE is actually doing in Minnesota, because I am the one here from Minnesota. | ||
| They have arrested a registered sex offender from Somalia with 17 prior convictions, including domestic violence and threatening terroristic acts. | ||
| They have arrested an illegal El Salvadorian alien convicted of sexual assault on a child. | ||
| They have arrested an illegal alien from Mexico convicted of selling cocaine and methamphetamines. | ||
| Multiple illegal aliens from Laos convicted of rape, assault, kidnap, sodomy of children under the age of 13 and domestic violence. | ||
| They have arrested convicted murderers from Mexico, Sudan, Burma, Laos, Sierra Leone, Guatemala, Somalia, and El Salvador. | ||
| That's what ICE is doing in Minnesota. | ||
| They are making it safer for everyday people. | ||
| And I ask my colleague to simply allow the investigation to take place over what happened last week and to stop the inflammatory rhetoric that is unnecessary at this point. | ||
| With that, I reserve. | ||
| Gentlewoman from Minnesota Reserves, the gentlewoman from New Mexico is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, what is amazing is on the floor of this House, we heard my colleague talk about the One Big Beautiful Bill, and I guess they're going back to calling it that. | ||
| They were trying to change its name because they know that the American people know it is not beautiful and it is only beautiful if you're a billionaire and you benefited from those tax cuts for the millionaires and the billionaires and the biggest corporations. | ||
| Now remember, remember that Democrats wanted to make permanent and offered amendments so that we could continue tax cuts for middle-class Americans. | ||
| We wanted to do something than what they did on tipped workers. | ||
| Are you kidding me? | ||
| You made tipped worker tax credits temporary, but you gave permanent tax cuts to the billionaires. | ||
| And the predominant benefit of that big beautiful bill went to the richest Americans. | ||
| And there is no denying that. | ||
| There is no denying that, that $1.4 trillion went to the wealthiest Americans. | ||
| There is no denying the fact that they keep talking about deficits. | ||
| $4 trillion. | ||
| $4 trillion that they are forcing on our children and grandchildren to pay because they wanted to give those tax credits to the biggest corporations and millionaires. | ||
| Now, the other thing that is interesting that got raised is Minnesota. | ||
| She talked about a couple of immigrants who've been arrested. | ||
| And we don't have any problem about enforcement and arresting people who commit crimes. | ||
| In fact, we've had Democrat presidents do that. | ||
| Obama deported more people than Trump has, but he went after people with criminal records. | ||
| 80% of the people in ICE custody have committed no crime. | ||
| Hundreds of citizens have been arrested for no crime by ICE, who has no jurisdiction. | ||
| Why? | ||
| Just because you look Latino? | ||
| Just because you speak Spanish? | ||
| That is not okay. | ||
| And talk about criminal activity. | ||
| Trump pardoned the January 6 insurrectionists who beat law enforcement right outside these doors, violently beat the law enforcement officers that were protecting us. | ||
| And what has happened since then? | ||
| You want to talk about people who've been arrested? | ||
| Talk about all of those violent offenders who were arrested. | ||
| And did they get? | ||
| A pardon from this president. | ||
| A pardon from this president. | ||
| And we have dozens, dozens who've gone on to reoffend, who've gone on to assault, who've been engaged in child pornography in egregious crimes because this president pardoned them. | ||
| So when you want to talk about going after criminals, let's look at what this president has failed to do. | ||
| And with that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve. | ||
| Gentleman from New Mexico Reserves, a gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, not to belabor the point, but I feel like I need to remind and repeat myself about what ICE is actually doing in Minnesota. | ||
| A registered sex offender from Somalia with 17 prior convictions, including domestic violence and threatening terrorist acts. | ||
| Convicted murderers from Mexico, Sudan, Burma, Laos, Guatemala, Somalia. | ||
| I wish I didn't have to continue to repeat myself about what ICE is really doing and what ICE is about, and that is making sure that our streets are safer. | ||
| And as for the claim about the One Big Beautiful bill not doing what it's supposed to and only giving tax cuts to billionaires, I had mentioned, I had explained what actually happened in the One Big Beautiful Bill, and I would ask the other side, I would just ponder or wonder out loud why they didn't do it in their Inflation Reduction Act. | ||
| If it was that important when they were in control and they passed the Inflation Reduction Act, why didn't they do all of these things that they talk about being so important right now? | ||
| But it's a little confusing when they continue. | ||
| They believe that if they just continue to say the same thing over and over and over and over, it makes it true. | ||
| And it does not if you take a look at the One Big Beautiful bill and what ICE is doing in Minnesota. | ||
| I reserve, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota Reserves, a gentlewoman from New Mexico, is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that in response to this litany and this long list of criminal activity and the criminals who were pardoned by Trump, we heard the same thing. | ||
| There was a sex offender. | ||
| What about all those sex offenders that have now been pardoned? | ||
| What about all of the egregious action that ICE is conducting in your very own state? | ||
| You won't stand up for the law enforcement officers who you walk by every day and the attacks that they faced, but you will stand up in favor of ICE activity that has killed one of your own citizens and a president who seems let me read one of his latest posts. | ||
| Do the people of Minnesota really want to live in a community? | ||
| Like there's his last sentence. | ||
| Fear not, great people of Minnesota. | ||
| The day of reckoning and retribution is coming. | ||
| Retribution? | ||
| We should not live in a society where we have a president who goes after cities and states because they have Democratic leadership. | ||
|
Workers Rights Under Attack
00:15:32
|
||
| There are Republicans who live in that city. | ||
| There are Democrats who live in that city. | ||
| Independents, it should not matter. | ||
| But this president and Republicans who support him and refuse to condemn him seem to think it's okay to beat up law enforcement officers in our own capital, but it's not okay to question excessive, egregious abuses by ICE, not only in Minnesota, but across this country. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I would like to now yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon, Ms. Hoyle. | ||
| The gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
We don't start talking until you have to speak right Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | |
| I rise today in opposition to the rule in H.R. 2312, the Tipped Employees Act. | ||
| When I was a waitress in 1983, the tipped wage is exactly the same as it is now. | ||
| It is $2.13 an hour. | ||
| And your ability to budget and to cover rent and to buy groceries and to pay for gas depends on how much strangers leave on the table. | ||
| What makes me angry is how much, how little has changed since the tipped wage was frozen. | ||
| Rent, food, gas, childcare have all exploded, but tipped workers are still stuck with a base wage from decades ago. | ||
| That's wrong. | ||
| But the bigger problem is the system was never built to work. | ||
| The law says that your employer has to make up the difference if your tips don't reach minimum wage. | ||
| But in most states, there's no real enforcement unless you catch it, document it, and risk retaliation by demanding the pay that you've earned. | ||
| To put it another way, the law puts the burden of enforcement on the people with the least power. | ||
| H.R. 2312 makes this even worse. | ||
| It would massively expand employers' power to treat far more workers and far more hours as tipped wages. | ||
| Oregon does this differently. | ||
| Tipped workers' wages are higher. | ||
| Poverty rates are lower, and the restaurant industry still thrives. | ||
| For workers, that means a slow night doesn't mean that you can't pay your rent. | ||
| My colleagues on the other side of the aisle rejected my amendment to ensure these workers have the bare minimum wage protections. | ||
| And again, I will remind people that the minimum wage in this country has not changed in decades. | ||
| I urge my colleagues to vote no on this rule to protect workers and no on this bill. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Gentlewoman from New Mexico Reserves, Minnesota's reserves. | ||
| So the gentlewoman from New Mexico is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 20, the Richard L. Trumpa Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill that would expand workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace, hold employers accountable for violating workers' rights, and allow for free, | ||
| fair and safe union elections. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, in addition to the slate of partisan bills that Republicans want us to vote on this week, which lower overtime pay for workers, cut workers' wages, give corporations more loopholes to mistreat workers without consequence, and mess with workers' retirement savings plan to combat supposed wokeness, whatever that is. | ||
| Democrats simply want to add another bill for consideration, one that actually helps workers and is co-sponsored by 214 members of Congress, including several Republicans. | ||
| The PRO Act was one of the first bills I got to co-sponsor in committee and in Congress when I joined in 2021. | ||
| That was back when the committee was called the Education and Labor Committee, because Democrats are not afraid of saying labor, and we will always protect workers' rights. | ||
| That's why when we held a majority, we passed the PRO Act to support workers. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. | ||
| Without objection. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield three minutes to the gentleman from Virginia, the ranking member of the Committee on Education and Workforce, Mr. Scott. | ||
| The gentleman from Virginia is recognized for three minutes. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, as we stand here, workers' rights are under attack, and working families are struggling to decide between paying rent and paying for groceries. | ||
| But instead of lowering costs, this week the Republicans are considering proposals that will reduce workers' wages, effect that adversely affect their retirement savings, and give corporations and bosses loopholes to take money out of their pockets. | ||
| This is untenable, and these are the proposals that Americans can least afford. | ||
| That's why we must defeat the previous question so we can bring up and pass H.R. 20, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, the PRO Act to help workers organize. | ||
| Now, we know when they organize, they will have higher pay, better benefits, and safer prices. | ||
| The PRO Act will be the most significant upgrade in U.S. labor law in over 80 years. | ||
| For too long, workers have suffered from anti-union attacks and toothless labor laws that have undermined their right to work safely and be paid fairly. | ||
| The PRO Act will help hold law-breaking employers accountable by imposing meaningful penalties for violating workers' rights. | ||
| It will secure free and fair and safe union elections by preventing employer interference and crackdown on corporations and misclassify employees this time of their right to organize. | ||
| This is a critical moment for working families, and we cannot abandon our workers, the backbone of the American economy, when they are under attack from anti-worker politicians and law-breaking corporations. | ||
| So I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in defeating the previous question so that instead of reducing workers' wages, we can support this bicameral bipartisan legislation to ensure that workers can earn the pay and benefits they are owed for their hard work. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, thank you and I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
| The gentleman yields back the gentlewoman from New Mexico. | ||
| Reserves. | ||
| The gentleman reserves, the gentlewoman from New Mexico is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I want to address something in one of the bills, and that's about child care and the care economy. | ||
| We all know that the care economy is what makes all other work possible. | ||
| Women can go to work when they know their babies will be well taken care of. | ||
| And when a parent or a grandparent gets ill, we know that it is women who step in to fill in the gap. | ||
| In fact, because it is so expensive to get care, we have seen a record number of women fall out of the workforce. | ||
| It is up to about 350,000 women, I think, have left. | ||
| And this is a problem because we need women to be able to participate in our workforce, to be able to contribute to their own household income. | ||
| And we know that this is something that can be fixed with governmental action. | ||
| In New Mexico, we now have universal child care. | ||
| It's something we can get done. | ||
| And the reason why we do this is because it is important to both allow women and parents to work. | ||
| There's often men who stay home as the father. | ||
| But it's also important for the child, because when you get good early child care, you grow up to have more opportunities in life. | ||
| And on average, though, parents spend between $6,500 to $15,000 per child for one year of childcare. | ||
| That's eating up more and more families' budgets. | ||
| People can't afford this. | ||
| So what we know that people have done is negotiate, talk to their employers, and those employers have often provided child care as one of the elements of compensation. | ||
| It's something unions, and this is why we have the importance of unions, they have negotiated this and fought for this as part of the compensation. | ||
| And so for decades, for decades, when you get paid overtime, you include all of your compensation, including if you are getting assistance for care expenses. | ||
| Now, they have named their bill and added child care to it, and they say, oh, this is to increase the availability of child care. | ||
| What it actually is, it's going to decrease people's overtime pay. | ||
| You are no longer going to get paid overtime based on your full compensation. | ||
| And this is overturning decades of precedence. | ||
| So once again, they are acting in a way that makes life more expensive, that makes sure that parents who receive this benefit will get paid less if they're forced to work overtime. | ||
| And guess what? | ||
| If you are forced to work overtime and you have to keep your kids in child care, it's going to cost you more. | ||
| So their spiral of increased costs for American families is always looking out for the big guy, always looking out for those big corporations. | ||
| And that's why Democrats oppose this bill. | ||
| And with that, I yield back. | ||
| The gentlewoman from New Mexico Reserves. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And I just want to maybe clear up some of the rhetoric on H.R. 2270. | ||
| And it is called the Empowering Employer, Child, and Elder Care Solutions Act. | ||
| But just to make it clear, this bill makes it easier for employers to provide child care benefits for its employees. | ||
| It excludes child care and elder care benefits from the regular rate calculation for overtime. | ||
| And so we remove a major financial barrier for some small business owners who want to help their employees actually balance work and family life. | ||
| So it would be a helpful thing for those employers and employees to help provide child care. | ||
| With that, I reserve. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota Reserves, gentlewoman from New Mexico is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that Americans know that Trump has been horrible, horrible on the handling of their economy because he has done nothing to lower the cost of living. | ||
| In fact, everything he's done has done the opposite. | ||
| His tariffs have increased prices. | ||
| Their failure to address the health care crisis and extend the tax credits for their health insurance premiums has increased the cost of health care for Americans. | ||
| In fact, Americans know this. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I'd like to enter into the record the article titled, Americans Are More Dissatisfied with Trump's Handling of the Economy Than Ever poll shows from policy dated December 17, 2025. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection. | |
| With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve. | ||
| The gentlewoman from New Mexico Reserves, the gentlewoman from Minnesota. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I'm prepared to close. | ||
| Gentlemanwoman Reserves, the gentlewoman from New Mexico is recognized. | ||
| I'm prepared to close. | ||
| The gentlewoman from New Mexico is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, as we mentioned earlier, Trump's economy is a mess. | ||
| And Republicans have failed to step up and do anything. | ||
| They failed to step up and challenge him on any of the issues. | ||
| They refuse to allow a vote on the tariffs on the floor of this House. | ||
| They stopped the clock so that we wouldn't vote on the tariffs in this House. | ||
| And today's bills are another step in Republican efforts to chip away at workers' rights, their retirement, and their pay, while costs are sky high. | ||
| House Republicans continue to uphold Trump's failing economy and broken promises. | ||
| As one of his campaign promises, Trump said that on day one of his term, he would lower the prices of all goods and make America affordable again. | ||
| Yet, nearly a year into his presidency, life for Americans is more expensive than ever. | ||
| For the first time in nearly four years, more Americans reported that their families' current financial situation was bad rather than good. | ||
| And this was in December, before the craziness of just what, just 12 days in? | ||
| Consumers are worried about prices, inflation, and tariffs. | ||
| Those were the concerns of working Americans. | ||
| But none of these bills before us do anything to address that. | ||
| The wallets of Americans are emptier today than they were a year ago. | ||
| And my colleagues refuse to call out Trump's broken promises or stand up against his tariffs or all of his policies. | ||
| Any of his policies, they're just afraid of him, I guess. | ||
| As working-class Americans live paycheck to paycheck to paycheck, millionaires and billionaires get richer and richer. | ||
| And what is the response? | ||
| Bills about showerheads and bills that tip the scales against workers. | ||
|
Yays and Nays Count
00:04:07
|
||
| They want workers to get less money for more work. | ||
| That's a lousy deal. | ||
| So I urge my colleagues to reject these bills and to vote against the rule. | ||
| And with that, Mr. Speaker, I do yield back. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I am so happy to get back to the actual, actually addressing the rule and the bills that are before us instead of listening to Democrat talking points over and over and over. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I've listened to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle during this debate, and it seems that they are once again choosing to prioritize federal bureaucracy and woke social agenda over the actual needs of the American worker. | ||
| They claim to be the party of the worker, yet they oppose H.R. 2262, which simply increases opportunities for hourly employees to voluntarily take training classes to better their careers. | ||
| They claim to support families, yet they oppose H.R. 2270, a bill that makes it easier for small businesses to offer child care benefits. | ||
| The American people are tired of a government that treats every voluntary interaction between an employer and employee as a potential crime. | ||
| They are tired of the 80-20 rules that make it harder for small businesses. | ||
| And they are tired of joint employer standards that were designated by union lawyers in Washington to destroy the franchise model that has provided a path for the American dream for millions. | ||
| With H.R. 4366, the Save Local Businesses Act, we are finally bringing stability back to our main streets. | ||
| We are telling the small business owners in my district and across the country that if you do not have a direct actual control over the worker, the federal government is not going to pretend you do just to satisfy a political agenda. | ||
| And we cannot ignore the retirement security of our constituents. | ||
| H.R. 2988 is a common sense safeguard. | ||
| When an American worker hands over their hard-earned paycheck to a fiduciary, they expect that money to be invested to maximize their return, not to fund a political experiment or a green energy fantasy. | ||
| This bill ensures that factors are the only things driving retirement investments. | ||
| This legislation in this package represents a fundamental shift back to the principles that made our country and our economy strong: clarity, flexibility, and individual opportunity. | ||
| We are removing regulatory hurdles that have stifled upward mobility for far too long. | ||
| It is time to put the interests of the American worker, the small business owner, and the retiree ahead of the interests of Washington bureaucrats. | ||
| I am proud to support this rule, and I am glad that I was able to speak about the rule, about the bills, instead of talking points. | ||
| And I urge my colleagues to do the same. | ||
| Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I yelled the balance of my time. | ||
| Oh, and I moved the previous question on the resolution. | ||
| The question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. | ||
| Those in favor say aye. | ||
| Aye. | ||
| Those opposed, no. | ||
| In the opinion chair, the ayes have it. | ||
|
unidentified
|
For what purpose? | |
| Nays, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Yays and nays are requested. | ||
| Those favoring a vote in the yays and nays will rise. | ||
| A sufficient number having risen, the yays and nays are ordered. | ||
| Pursuant to clause 8 of Rule 20, further will be postponed. | ||
| Pursuant to clause 12A of Rule 1, the chair declares the House in recess subject to the call of the chair. | ||
|
Avoiding Government Shutdown
00:00:38
|
||
|
unidentified
|
The U.S. House today considering debate rules covering legislation on labor standards and investment savings. | |
| Off the floor, talks continue between both sides of the aisle on how to fund the federal government beyond the January 30th deadline to avoid a shutdown. | ||
| When the House returns, you can follow our live coverage here on C-SPAN. | ||
| C-SPAN is as unbiased as you can get. | ||