U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
The U.S. House debates abortion rights, with Rep. Wilson (SC) praising Trump’s first year while attacking Putin’s Ukraine aggression and ICE’s Chester facility. Massachusetts reps counter with WHPA (H.R. 12), citing 13 states’ total bans and a woman’s lifelong complications from crisis center misinformation, accusing Republicans of diverting TANF funds to anti-choice centers. Georgia’s rep defends Trump’s Arctic pressure, claiming it forces NATO allies like Canada to boost defense spending, while McDowell (NC) supports pro-life bills expanding pregnancy center access and Title IX protections. Bonamici (OR) introduces the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act, exposing deceptive tactics like falsely claiming miscarriages. The clash reveals deep divides over healthcare, funding, and global alliances, with WHPA’s passage hinging on whether Congress prioritizes reproductive rights or ideological restrictions. [Automatically generated summary]
Remind us again that you are with us in times of trouble.
You are our refuge and our strength.
You will rescue us because you love us.
And who can separate us from your love?
In the face of hardship and hatred, famine and fear, with you alongside us, what can stand against us?
Dare we say that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor anything in the present nor in the future can stand in the way of your redeeming love.
May we live this day convinced that trusting in you, we will find safety and security.
In the shadow of your outstretched arms, we need not be afraid.
Guard us then wherever we go.
If we stumble, bear us up.
Keep us from falling.
When we walk into harm's way or when we find ourselves surrounded by that which would hurt us, keep us safe from all evil.
Everyone, including our guests in the gallery, are invited to participate.
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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
I rise today to bid farewell to my floor director, the incomparable Ray Salazar.
If you've had the privilege of serving in this chamber, you know what a gem, what a patriot, and what an indispensable pillar of this institution Ray is.
You also know what a reliable friend and advisor he is.
And you know what a loss his departure will be for the House of Representatives.
From his time with Leader Hoyer to his years on my team, every time he stepped onto this floor, he has strengthened our institution, always leading with values and integrity, bringing a steady hand to his work, along with his encyclopedic knowledge of parliamentary procedure.
Ray, I thank you for 13 years of extraordinary service.
You are the model of what it means to be a public servant, waking up every day to work for the American people.
One year ago, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president.
Taking over a weakened country with a crumbling Biden economy, President Trump and Republicans have delivered lower costs, bigger paychecks, creating jobs.
President Donald Trump signed the Working Families Tax Cut Act, which limits government, expands freedom, and provides for peace through strength.
The law allows Americans to keep their own money, promises made, promises kept.
In conclusion, God bless our troops as the global war on terrorism continues.
Trump is reinstituting peace through strength, revealing War Colonel Putin lies, insulting Trump, and mocking Trump.
On the day that War Camp Putin invited envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow, Putin launched 33 missiles and 339 drones on civilian infrastructure to freeze Ukrainian families to death, repeating the Stalin family famine of mass murder.
Sadly, War Colonel Putin continues aggression, violating all agreements as he tries to resurrect the failed Soviet Union.
Mr. Speaker, I want to go on record standing beside my colleague, Congressman Pat Ryan, opposing plans by ICE to establish a facility in New York's Hudson Valley in the town of Chester, Orange County.
The proposed site, currently an empty warehouse formerly used by the Pep Boys, is opposed by Republicans and Democrats of that area, including Republican County Executive Steve Newhouse, a U.S. Naval Reserve officer, and state and local officials from both sides of the aisle.
The mission to warehouse large numbers of humans is the exact opposite of what the President and DHS Secretary Christy Noam constantly proclaim, to root out the most dangerous thugs and criminals.
In fact, ICE is targeting the least violent people in the greatest number, who pose minimal pushback with the real mission to scare all immigrants, legal or otherwise.
America has existed for 250 years without mass detention centers.
But apparently, Noam and her cohorts planned for a different America to start the next 250 years, one where masked, unmarked agents seize people without judicial warrant, whisk them away to remote detention centers en route to uncertain final destinations.
When such things have been found in other countries, they are called pogroms and ethnic cleansing.
Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 53rd anniversary of Roe versus Wade, when the Supreme Court finally granted women the right to control their own reproductive health care.
Tragically, in 2022, half a century of reproductive freedom was stripped away when the conservative majority in the court overturned Roe.
Since then, we've seen extreme abortion bans enacted across the country, including in North Carolina.
And today, Republicans at all levels of government are waging an all-out war on America's access to care, punishing health care, even pushing health care even further out of reach for millions of women.
First, they took away our right to choose, then they took away our health care coverage.
They came for our freedom, and then they came for our doctors and hospitals.
Women deserve better, and Republicans deserve the blame.
Mr. Speaker, last Friday with my friend Congressman Steve Lynch, I visited Quincy Community Action Programs in Quincy, Massachusetts as part of my statewide End Hunger Now tour.
We kicked off our visit with QCAP CEO Beth Anstrollo and some of the young kids in their Head Star program enjoying healthy breakfasts of yogurt and berries.
They were so enthusiastic.
Later on, we heard from Ted Donnelly, who heads who leads QCAP's food and nutrition programs at their Southwest Community Center.
He spoke about the record-breaking number of people coming to the food pantry every month, especially when USDA let SNAP benefits lapse during the Republican shutdown.
We also heard poignant stories from a few of QCAP's clients, Nisha, Mary Beth, Tanya, and Danielle.
One noted that she would love to work more hours, but if she does, she'll lose all of her food benefits.
Mr. Speaker, my visit to QCAP strengthened my resolve even more to fight back against the Trump administration's vicious attacks against our anti-hunger programs and End Hunger Now.
Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump's threats to invade Greenland have destroyed the world order.
Prime Minister Kearney, quoting Thucydides, has said that America is acting as if might makes right.
He's invoking Voclav Havel's call for resistance not against authoritarian communism, but against the arrogance of America.
Mr. Speaker, I'm ashamed for my country.
I want Prime Minister Kearney to know that there is a new generation in America that believes in a multiracial democracy that recognizes the sovereignty and self-determination of all nations.
I want him to know that there's a new generation that believes in statesmanship, not subjugation.
And I want him to know that there is a new generation that believes in Kant's vision of perpetual peace with free nations bounded by international law.
Prime Minister Kearney, leaders of the world, I ask for your patience and faith that this new generation prevails in the United States of America.
Mr. Speaker, Eastern North Carolina farmers are facing a crisis.
Over the past few years, our farmers have been hit by a perfect storm of drought, soaring input costs, and growing trade uncertainty.
When our farmers don't have a clear backup plan or real support, family farms and rural jobs are put at risk.
Some say, Congressman, why do you talk about farmers so much?
It's this simple.
When farmers struggle, local businesses and entire communities feel the impact.
And our state's agricultural economy faces a potential $1.9 billion hit if things don't improve.
That economic hit would devastate our cotton, sweet potato, peanut, corn, and soybean farmers, tobacco growers, pork, and poultry producers.
We need bold, comprehensive action that lowers costs, expands market access, strengthens disaster recovery, addresses labor concerns, and stands up for our farm families.
Resolve that upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill, H.R. 6945, to amend Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act to clarify the authority of states to use funds for pregnancy centers and for other purposes.
All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived.
An amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 119-17 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 ways and means or the respective designees and two, one motion to recommit.
Section two, upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill H.R. 6359 to require institutions of higher education to disseminate information on the rights of and accommodations and resources for pregnant students 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 and two, one motion to recommit.
Section three, upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the joint resolution, House Joint Resolution 140, providing for congressional disapproval under Chapter 8 of Title V United States Code of the rules submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Public Land Order No. 7917 for withdrawal of federal lands, Cook Lake, and St. Louis counties, Minnesota.
All points of order against consideration of the joint resolution are waived.
The joint resolution shall be considered as read.
All points of order against provisions in the joint resolution are waived.
The previous question shall be considered as order on the joint resolution and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one.
One hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on natural resources or their respective designees, and two, one motion to recommit.
Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. McGovern, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
Mr. Speaker, last night the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1009, providing for consideration of three measures.
H.R. 6945, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act, under a closed rule.
The rule provides one hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective designees and provides one motion to recommit.
H.R. 6359, Pregnant Students' Rights Act, under a closed rule.
The rule provides one hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Education Workforce or their respective designees and provides one motion to recommit.
And HJ Res 140, providing for congressional disapproval under Chapter 8 of Title V, United States Code of the rules submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Public Land Order No. 7917 for withdrawal of federal lands, Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties, Minnesota, under a closed rule.
The rule provides one hour debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their respective designees and provides one motion to recommit.
Mr. Speaker, we're here today to debate a rule on three pieces of legislation, beginning with H.R. 6945, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act.
Mr. Speaker, across the country, pregnancy centers serve as a trusted, community-based nonprofit that will offer a wide range of material assistance and support, including pregnancy testing, prenatal education, parenting classes, ultrasound stiapers, baby clothing, adoption referrals, and connections to housing and other services.
In 2024 alone, these organizations assisted nearly 2 million individuals nationwide.
Mr. Speaker, despite their long-standing role in supporting families and advancing the core purpose of temporary assistance to needy families, a proposed rule under the previous administration raised uncertainty about whether states could continue partnering with pregnancy centers even though these services clearly align with helping children remain in their homes and reducing dependence on government assistance.
H.R. 6945 addresses that uncertainty by making clear that states may not be restricted from choosing to work with pregnancy centers and that temporary assistance to needy family funds may be used for these services consistent with federal law.
This bill does not mandate participation.
Again, Mr. Speaker, this bill does not mandate participation, but instead preserves state flexibility and protects against future administrative overreach.
At a time when families are facing rising costs and difficult choices, ensuring access to proven community resources matters.
This legislation reinforces support for pregnant and parenting women, respects state decision-making, and strengthens efforts to help families thrive.
Additionally, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 6359, the Pregnant Students' Rights Act.
Mr. Speaker, today's student population looks very different than it did decades ago.
Nearly one in five undergraduate students are raising children while enrolled, yet many pregnant students remain unaware of the rights and accommodations already available to them under federal law.
While Title IX clearly prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy and requires reasonable accommodations, those protections are only meaningful if students know they exist and understand how to access them.
Too often, that information is buried, inconsistently shared, or not communicated at all.
H.R. 6359 takes a straightforward approach by requiring colleges and universities that receive federal student aid to clearly disseminate information regarding pregnant students' rights, available accommodations, as well as both on-campus and community resources.
This bill also ensures students know how to file a Title IX complaint if those rights are violated.
This legislation does not expand federal authority or create new rights.
Instead, it promotes transparency, consistency, and accountability so that pregnant students can remain enrolled, complete their education, and plan for their futures.
By reinforcing access to information and respecting existing law, H.R. 6359 supports students, families, and institutions alike.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, the rule provides for the consideration of HJ Res 140, providing for congressional disapproval under Chapter 8 of Title V, United States Code, of the rules submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Public Land Order No. 7917 for withdrawal of federal lands, Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties, Minnesota.
The Duluth complex is home to one of the largest undeveloped mineral reserves in the world.
It contains roughly 8 billion tons, Mr. Speaker, 8 billion tons of copper and nickel, in addition to cobalt and platinum.
It is the world's second largest copper deposit and the world's third largest nickel deposit.
Currently, China controls approximately 60 percent of global critical mineral production, and we've seen them use their control over the industry as a bargaining chip.
It is clear, Mr. Speaker, that increasing domestic production of critical minerals is vital for America's economic and national security.
However, in 2023, the Biden administration issued PLO 7917, which withdrew 225,504 acres from mineral development in the Superior National Forest.
This PLO locked these reserves for 20 years and prematurely ended the permitting process.
HJ Res 140 is simple.
It permanently ends this irresponsible withdrawal and allows a transparent process to potentially develop minerals in the Duluth complex to move forward.
As my friend and colleague from Minnesota, Mr. Stahlber, the sponsor of this bill, stated in the Rules Committee last night, this legislation doesn't greenlight mining in the Duluth complex.
It reverses the Biden administration's mineral ban in the area and allows companies to continue to compete while following federal permitting and environmental processes.
Again, they will continue to follow federal permitting and environmental processes.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to consideration of these pieces of legislation.
I urge passage of this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we had plenty of time last night in the Rules Committee to debate these awful, lousy bills.
H.R. 6945, H.R. 6359, and H.J. Res 140.
I encourage everyone to look them up.
Don't take my word for it.
Two of these bills are about misleading pregnant women to stop them from making decisions about their own bodies.
This is all part of the Republicans' war on women, and these bills are aimed to please anti-choice protesters who are flying into Washington this week.
The third is about making it easier for a foreign mining company to dump pollution into a pristine wilderness recreation area in Minnesota.
And all of these bills are being brought to the floor under completely closed rules.
No amendments, limited debate, no nothing.
I won't waste more time on these terrible bills.
They are just more of the same stupid garbage that this majority has brought to the floor time and time again.
But what I do want to highlight, Mr. Speaker, is that this week marks one year since Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States.
Republicans have had total control of the entire federal government, the House, the Senate, and the White House for over a year.
Yet still, after an entire year in charge, Republicans continue to point the finger at Democrats rather than take responsibility for their own embarrassing failures and broken promises.
Republicans and Trump ran on fighting for working people, but every single day they have governed on behalf of billionaires and corporate donors.
Now let's take a look at some of these broken promises.
Donald Trump said he would put America first.
He has not.
What he has done is given a $40 billion loan to Argentina.
He stabbed American ranchers in the back proposing that we import beef from South America.
He threw a fancy party at the White House for a Saudi prince that murdered an American journalist, but he has not put America first.
He also promised no more endless wars.
Give me a break.
He renamed the Pentagon the Department of War.
Last year, he bombed Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.
He bombed Venezuela and now says that we are running the country, whatever the hell that means.
And he's threatening to take an autonomous territory from Denmark, a NATO ally.
Well, let's go over another failure.
Donald Trump promised ICE would only deport the worst of the worst.
Guess what?
Not true.
ICE agents are terrorizing not just immigrants, but U.S. citizens, sowing chaos, murdering an unarmed American mom in broad daylight, and deporting veterans and asylum seekers who are here legally.
Another campaign promise.
Donald Trump said he would lower prices on day one.
Oh my God, Mr. Speaker, has anyone in this administration gone shopping?
Now let me say this as someone who buys his own groceries in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Prices are not only high, they're going up even more because of Trump's reckless tariffs.
And gas?
Remember when Trump bragged about how he would get gas down to $2 a gallon?
It's $3 a gallon down the street from my house.
Now let's keep going down the list.
Trump said he would get drugs off our streets and put criminals in jail.
Give me a break.
He pardoned the guy who created the dark web market that smuggled in tons of fentanyl.
Then he pardoned the Honduran ex-president convicted of trafficking tons and tons of cocaine into the United States.
And let's not forget, he pardoned all of the January 6th rioters, many of whom have since gone on to reoffend with illegal gun possession and committing child sex crimes after Donald Trump let them out of jail.
Then, of course, we have the promise that Trump would, quote, replace Obamacare with something better.
Instead of something better, Republicans let the enhanced ACA tax credits expire at the end of 2025, which means now people are paying more.
Tens of thousands of people in Massachusetts alone have now dropped coverage, meaning they have no insurance at all.
Republicans don't have a plan to replace Obamacare.
They never have.
And 15 years later, I'm starting to think that they never will.
Now, another thing that Donald Trump promised, no corruption and full transparency.
Remember that promise?
Seriously, how much money does one family need to make off the presidency before Republicans admit it's corruption?
The Trump family has gotten nearly $4 billion richer since he took office last year.
How much can one family treat the presidency like a piggy bank before Republicans finally step up and do something about it?
Why is his ballroom being funded by billionaire donors?
What are they looking for?
And what about the Epstein files?
There's been no transparency there.
We had to force a vote in Congress, and he reluctantly signed the bill, and he still hasn't released all the files.
Less than 1% of the files have been released.
What the hell is taking so long?
What is he so afraid of?
What is he hiding?
And it's been clear to me since day one that one of Donald Trump's been clear to me from day one what Donald Trump's disgraceful presidency has been all about.
Look at who was in the front row of his inauguration.
All billionaires.
His Treasury Secretary, a billionaire.
His education secretary, a billionaire.
His entire cabinet, health and human services, energy, interior, all led by billionaires.
These people don't shop for themselves, or they don't worry about paying rent.
They don't care about us.
Trump said he would drain the swamp.
What a bunch of BS.
He moved the swamp into the Lincoln bedroom, for God's sake.
So the bottom line is simple.
Republicans have not done a single, he has not done a single damn thing that he promised to do.
And not only have they failed, they have failed catastrophically.
And look no further than the bills on the floor today.
Nothing for workers, nothing to lower grocery prices, nothing to take on price gouging, nothing to bring down rent, nothing to help people buy a home, nothing to lower prescription drug costs, nothing to raise wages, nothing to strengthen workplace protections, nothing to create jobs.
Just culture, war, garbage, and corporate giveaways.
That's all the GOP knows how to do.
And after one year of total power, there is nobody else to blame.
This is the Republican record, and it is awful.
This is Donald Trump's economy, and it sucks.
And the people back home see it.
They feel it.
They're living it.
They see who keeps getting help and who keeps getting hurt.
They see the billionaires cashing out while working families get squeezed.
The Republican Party has had a year, and the American people have had enough.
I urge a no vote on the rule, and I reserve my time.
And before I yield two and a half minutes to Mr. Boss, I would like to say that by my count, I think my colleague blamed Donald Trump 14 times for the things that the Democratic Party did before he got elected.
Gas is very close to $2 a gallon in Tifton, Georgia.
And I think it costs a lot less for gasoline in most Republican states than it does Democrat states right now because of the Democrats charging more and more taxes on their citizens.
As for The Affordable Character Obamacare that y'all take so much credit for and are so proud of the way you wrote it.
The benefactors of that legislation, the large insurance company CEOs, are actually going to be on the Hill this week and will get to be questioned.
I hope you'll question them fairly hard, but I did bring one of my bills because I expected you to say that.
Charge is $546.53.
The insurance carrier discount, $509.93.
Insurance paid zero.
Nothing.
Not one dime.
I paid $36.60.
Now, if you wanted to fix it for the American citizens, the question is, why was it even a $500 charge if the fair value is $36?
Republicans are trying to work to fix that.
Unfortunately, we can't get a single Democratic vote for a piece of health care legislation that will actually work for all of the American citizens.
And with that, Mr. Speaker, I now yield two and a half minutes to my friend from Illinois, Mr. Bost, the chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, Friday is the March for Life.
It's a moment for compassion, common sense, and a commitment to our most vulnerable.
That's why I rise today in strong support of the pro-life bills included in this rule, including Safeguarding Funding for Pregnancy Resource Centers Act and the Pregnant Students Act Rights Act.
These bills are about something very simple, protecting the dignity of the unborn and meeting very real needs of mothers and families.
Pregnancy resource centers offer counseling, medical services, parenting resources, and support systems through some of the most difficult moments that a mother can face.
They should never be targeted to be defunded because they protect life.
At the same time, no woman should be forced to choose between continuing her education or continuing her pregnancy.
Women who choose life should be supported, encouraged, and empowered, not pushed aside or told that their dreams for the future don't matter.
I've always been proud to stand for life, and that commitment has guided my work, not only here in Congress, but my work as a state legislator and my wife and I's work in making sure that we put our money where our mouth is and supporting young women who find themselves in a situation with a pregnancy out of wedlock.
Being pro-life is about doing things more than just talking about it.
It means standing up for life at every stage and backing it up with actions.
This Friday, this mall out here will be packed with powerful demonstrations of the sanctity of life.
It's important that People's House meets that moment.
We should be unafraid to say that every life has value and that mothers deserve our support, not our silence.
I urge my colleagues to support this rule and these pro-life, pro-family priorities.
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to correct the record on something.
Donald Trump promised he'd lower gas prices to $2 a gallon.
And I just did Google Maps and looked at the price of gas in the gentleman's district.
It's like $280.
That's a far cry from $2.
But in any event, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to urge that we defeat the previous question.
I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 12, the Women's Health Protection Act, to restore the rights of women to an abortion nationwide and undo extremist abortion bans in states across the country.
Mr. Speaker, since the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, 13 states have imposed complete, complete abortion bans, and many more have imposed extremely short timeframes to get an abortion, endangering women, threatening doctors with criminal prosecution, and giving politicians in state capitol buildings extreme power over personal medical decisions and fundamental freedoms.
And the bills in this rule are part of that dangerous trend.
One bill actually diverts federal TANF funds meant for low-income families to funds so-called crisis pregnancy centers, which provide pregnant women oftentimes with fake medical advice with the goal of dissuading them from accessing contraception or abortion care.
Republicans aren't providing more funding for TANF.
God forbid they do that.
Giving this money away to these fake medical clinics is stealing money from low-income families who need real help.
And the damage these fake pregnancy centers do isn't theoretical.
In my district, a woman was told by one of these centers that she had a viable pregnancy.
But as time went on and she continued to feel sharp pains, she went to a real doctor and was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy that threatened her life and resulted in an emergency surgery.
She will have lifelong complications.
If she had gotten actual medical care earlier, she could have gotten the treatment she needed before it was too late.
I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we could bring up a bill that will actually protect women and allow them to access the full suite of reproductive care options.
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.
Mr. Speaker, right now, millions of Americans are struggling to afford health care.
Millions of new and expecting mothers are seeing their premiums skyrocket, and they are being forced to go without health insurance.
And across this country, countless women are being forced to flee their states for life-saving abortion care, while too many others have suffered or died waiting for care that should never have been denied.
But the legislation this body is considering today does nothing to address these real crises.
Instead, it diverts scarce federal anti-poverty dollars, TANF dollars, away from struggling families and towards so-called crisis pregnancy centers that exist to shame, mislead, and delay women from accessing abortion care.
This bill does nothing to lower health care costs.
It does nothing to help families afford prenatal care, childbirth, or postpartum care.
It does nothing to address the deadly consequences of extreme Republican abortion bans that are forcing women to delay care and risk their lives.
If we defeat the previous question on this rule, my Democratic colleagues and I will offer my bill, the Women's Health Protection Act, or WIPA.
WIPA is the federal solution to the extremist Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe versus Wade.
It would restore the right for everyone, no matter what state you live in, no matter what your zip code, to receive abortion care.
And in a world where doctors are being threatened with prison time for doing their jobs, it will protect providers who are simply trying to save lives.
This is the legislation this body should be considering today.
I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can bring up this important legislation, and I yield back.
And I can't help but notice as some of my colleagues talk about whether or not someone's a real doctor.
I don't understand why showing a patient an ultrasound, that they're somehow not a real doctor, giving them all of the information and letting a woman make a decision, somehow that's not celebrated here.
If we were really for life, wouldn't we be excited that a woman looked at that ultrasound and said, you know what, I've decided I want to have that baby.
But that's not a choice everyone in this body wants that woman to make.
They want them to make a different choice for some reason.
And I'm here today to support the pregnancy centers across America, including Life Network in my home of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Pregnancy centers offer hope and they offer opportunity, promote life, and giving necessary and life-saving resources to struggling mothers and fathers.
And it's these very pregnancy centers whose only focus is for the enrichment and support of these often unexpected parents who are the target of a punitive and distasteful action by the previous administration.
And in Colorado's fifth congressional district alone, Life Network has served almost 3,900 patients, providing high-quality pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, early pregnancy care, and more for free to anyone who walks through their door.
This is just the impact in my district, and I know that the presence of similar pregnancy centers across the country is providing hope and support to thousands of parents each day.
Funding for these mothers and fathers, many of whom are underserved, should never be politically taken away.
I want to thank Congresswoman Fishbach for introducing the Support Pregnancy and Parenting Act, Women and Families Act, which I strongly support to provide a statutory protection for pregnancy centers under the temporary assistance for DNE family programs.
I would just say to the gentleman who just spoke, some of us had different experiences.
In my district, a woman almost died from one of these crisis pregnancy centers because she got bad advice from a quack.
And so don't lecture us about our dedication to making sure that women are not only presented to all options, but treated by people that actually are qualified.
At this time, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico, a distinguished member of the Rules Committee, Ms. Ledger Fernandez.
Gentleman's recognized Mr. Speaker, you know, this week marks the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a decision that allowed women to make their own decisions about what to do with their bodies without the interference of politicians, allowed women to make those decisions in consultation with their own faith, their own doctor, and the people that they love.
And Roe v. Wade proved that when women have that freedom to make our own health care decisions, we live healthier, fuller lives.
Sadly, after Roe was overturned, 22 states implemented full or partial abortion bans, and we've seen women bleed to death or become infertile after the onset of sepsis because they couldn't get care for miscarriages or other pregnancy-related complications.
House Republicans today are joining the effort to limit women's access to full reproductive health care and information.
Instead of acting to lower health care costs, we are in a health care crisis.
Instead of addressing the affordability crisis, they're trying to pass laws to siphon funds away from needy families and offer a skewed vision of what a pregnant student should hear from her university.
Republicans are using this moment to remind us just how little they respect women's lives, our health, or our choices.
As chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, I know that pregnancy can be joyful.
As a woman who almost died on an operating table when I was pregnant, I also know how complicated pregnancies can be, and that's why I am so mad about these bills.
Republican so-called Pregnant Students' Rights Act pretends to help pregnant students, but it provides no child care, no diapers, no formula, no housing, nothing pregnant students actually need.
What it does do is control.
Republicans seem to be always about controlling women, controlling people in their doctors' offices.
It is about control, requiring schools to tell students about carrying a pregnancy to term, but not about what resources might be available for miscarriage, not about abortion, not about the full range of medical care that they might need to access.
If a doctor only tells you about one treatment option, which might not be the best for you, that would be malpractice.
Here on the House floor, it's called Republicans' Priorities.
Then we get the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act, another nice name, another ugly attack on women.
This bill allows red states to siphon cash assistance meant for food, rent, and child care into unregulated crisis pregnancy centers, places that masquerade as medical clinics, spread information, delay care, and shame women who may have an abortion.
What's worse, their bill blocks the federal government from monitoring state use of TANF dollars for those anti-abortion clinics.
They don't want accountability on those clinics.
So let me tell you, don't lecture us about race, fraud, and abuse when you refuse to monitor anti-abortion clinics and when you stay silent when Trump pardons over 44 people convicted of fraud.
That's a conviction of fraud, not just a suggestion.
Mr. Speaker, I did take, while the gentlelady was speaking, just a second to pull up a couple of things on gas prices since they're blaming President Trump for it.
And you are correct.
In Worcester, the gas price is $2.91 a gallon on average.
Oklahoma, it's $2.21.
Wyoming, it's $2.22.
Texas, it's $2.23.
In Georgia, it's about the same thing.
You know what the difference is?
We all have Republican governors, and so our Republican governors are working to lower the cost of energy.
The Democrat governors are obviously keeping energy prices high and blaming the president for that.
So now the gentleman is blaming the governors and not Biden.
But I don't even know where the hell Worcester is.
I never heard of that place, and certainly not Massachusetts.
So in any event, Mr. Speaker, while this chamber is wasting more time on yet more messaging bills, a real crisis is unfolding in plain sight.
Our allies are preparing for a possible military conflict with the United States.
Let me repeat that again.
Our closest allies, our partners in freedom and peace for decades, are reinforcing their territory because the President of the United States has plunged us into the greatest transatlantic crisis in a generation.
Now, are we supposed to be relieved by the fact that finally, after a week of chaos, he said he won't use force?
Is that supposed to somehow comfort us?
I don't really feel very comforted because these are the same people who told us they wouldn't invade Venezuela the week before they invaded Venezuela.
And let me remind everyone how this started.
Last weekend, Donald Trump sent a message to Norway's prime minister.
And I want the president's words in the record because the American people deserve to hear them.
Quote, Dear Jonas, considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars plus, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace, end quote.
Now let's listen to that again, because he didn't get the prize, the president of the United States says he no longer feels obligated to think of peace.
And then he pivots from grievance to threat, saying that he wants, quote, total and complete control of Greenland, end quote.
That's nuts.
Again, this is truly crazy.
This is the President of the United States talking about a NATO ally the way that Putin talked about Crimea before he invaded Ukraine.
Quote, if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way, end quote.
Again, that's not a Putin quote.
It's a Trump quote.
You can hardly tell the damn difference anymore.
Wake up, America.
Are any of my friends on the other side of the aisle going to step up and put an end to this insanity?
Or are we all just going to shrug it off and move on?
The President's own words show he is living in a different reality.
He told the New York Times that acquiring Greenland is psychologically important to him.
Not to the United States, but to him personally.
And by the way, just so we are all on the same page, the U.S. does not need to invade Greenland to protect America.
We already have a U.S. military presence there, and Denmark has basically said that they're happy to partner with us even further because our militaries already work very closely to make sure that Russia or China doesn't gain a foothold in the Arctic.
So his own justification is total BS.
Threatening to annex Greenland actually makes us less safe.
And if we wanted to stand up to Russia, I can think of a really easy way to do that so that doesn't involve invading a NATO ally.
No, no, no.
In no way is this about national security or defending the Arctic.
That's a cover story.
This is about a thin-skinned petty man throwing a global tantrum because he didn't get the prize he thinks he deserves.
And through all of this, barely a peep from most Republicans, not a whisper.
Imagine if this were a Democratic president.
They'd be up in arms.
We'd have investigations and subpoenas, and it would be a national scandal.
But we're hearing nothing from Republicans because they're in a cult.
So I'll say what they won't.
None of this is normal.
This is not a joke.
This is not something Republicans can shrug off or turn away from.
This president is threatening a NATO ally in writing, and the world is responding.
European allies have begun sending troops to Greenland to protect it from an American invasion.
Canada has signaled that such an invasion would activate Article 5, meaning our allies would be obligated to take military action against us.
Record-setting protests are taking place in Greenland and in Denmark because they have no interest in being taken over by Trump.
And instead of de-escalating, Trump is ramping up tariffs, threats, blackmail, trying to bully our allies into letting him grab territory.
And you know what the kicker is to all of this?
Working people will pay the price for Trump's little temper tantrum.
When you blow up alliances, you don't just blow up diplomacy.
Maybe that's why 91% of Americans think taking over Greenland is a stupid idea.
But here's the bottom line.
China benefits when America alienates Europe.
Russia benefits when NATO is weakened and distracted.
Every authoritarian on earth benefits when the President of the United States starts acting like a two-bit tyrant.
And let me just end on this.
The world where America invades Greenland is a horrible, horrible world.
It is a world with no moral compass, a world with no North Star towards liberty and justice, a world where China, Russia, and America conspire together to subvert freedom, democracy, and peace.
It's a world I don't want to live in, but it's the world that will come to be if we allow this president to do what he says he wants to do.
So my message to our allies is simple.
Do not mistake this president for the American people.
Stand up to him.
Do not appease him.
And know that there are Americans and there are members of Congress who will stand with you in defense of democracy, alliances, and the rule of law.
And my message to House Republicans is even more simple.
It's time to take the car keys from Grandpa.
Stop worshiping this president.
Stop acting like you're in a cult, grow a spine, and for once in your lives cut the BS and do something to stop him.
And I want everybody to take a deep breath, and I want you to know Donald Trump nor the United States is going to invade Greenland.
It's not going to happen.
It's just not.
Now, Russia might invade it, and China might invade it.
And as far as Canada and the NATO alliance goes, I just got to tell you, you know, Canada committed to buy something like 90 F-35s.
You know how many they actually purchased?
Less than 20.
unidentified
Canada's national security strategy is pick up the phone and call Donald Trump to protect us.
Donald Trump has done the right thing by making NATO and our partners stand up and acknowledge that they don't have the defenses in place that they need.
And while some people might not want to believe it, I'll tell you one that does.
Mark Rudy, NATO chief, praises Trump at Davos, says he forced Europe to step up on defense.
Now, this is the head of NATO.
Head of NATO.
A couple of comments about President Trump.
I'm not popular with you now because I'm defending Donald Trump, but I really believe you can be happy that he is there because he has forced us in Europe to step up to face the consequences that we have to take care of more of our own defense.
Rudy said Wednesday in remarks at Davos, Switzerland.
No way without Donald Trump, this would never have happened.
We're all on 2 percent now.
We went on during a panel at the World Economic Forum.
I'm absolutely convinced without Donald Trump, you would not have taken those decisions, and they are crucial, particularly for the European and Canadian side of NATO, to really grow up.
Grow up.
This is the head of NATO saying this about NATO in the post-Cold World era.
The Americans still have over 80,000 soldiers in Europe, including in Poland and Germany, so they are still heavily invested in European defense.
And yes, they have to pivot more towards Asia, so it is only logical for them to expect us, Europe, to step up over time.
Well, let me tell you, Donald Trump doesn't have any plans to invade Greenland, but the Russians do.
The Russians do.
And if NATO is not willing to do what it takes to defend Greenland, then the United States should.
And with that, Mr. Speaker, I yield two minutes to my friend from North Carolina, Mr. McDowell.
This week, as thousands gather in Washington for the March for Life, we are reminded that being pro-life means standing with mothers, children, and families.
The Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act allows states to better partner with pregnancy centers who are providing real help to new mothers taking the journey that is parenthood.
These centers are a pillar for nearly 2 million families every year, making it easier to provide and foster a loving bond throughout communities just like mine in North Carolina.
No longer will political discrimination keep compassion at the doorway.
No longer will bureaucrats in Washington prevent pregnant mothers from accessing services and assistance from faith-based pregnancy centers which help their families grow and thrive.
Mr. Speaker, we need to be a country that affirms life.
In tandem, the Pregnant Students' Rights Act communicates a simple truth to young women.
The birth of your child is not an ultimatum of choosing to grow your family or continuing your education.
If you're a young woman who gets pregnant and is getting your education, this bill strengthens Title IX protections to make sure your school clearly informs you of your rights and ensures accountability if those rights are violated.
For too long, young women have felt isolated, pressured, and unsupported.
That's unacceptable and it needs to stop.
Mr. Speaker, these bills reflect what the pro-life movement has always stood for, dignity, opportunity, and hope.
I urge my colleagues to support the rule and support these families and stand on the side of life.
Mr. Speaker, it's incredible to be lectured by people who claim they're pro-life but who vote to take food away from hungry kids in this country, who vote to cut SNAP by $200 billion in the big, ugly bill, who vote to cut Medicaid by a trillion dollars in the big, ugly bill.
It really is incredible.
It takes my breath away.
Mr. Speaker, I want to yield two minutes to the gentleman from Oregon, Ms. Bonamici.
I thought maybe I was in the wrong place when I heard the debate when I walked in today, but I do want to add, thank you, Ranking Member McGovern, for yielding that I agree it is not pro-life to cut services to families to make childcare more expensive.
It is anti-choice, these bills.
I rise today in opposition to these two deceptively titled bills, H.R. 6945, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act, which allows health and human services funds to be sent to crisis pregnancy centers, and H.R. 6359, the Pregnant Students' Rights Act, which unfairly limits the information it requires colleges to provide to students and the students it chooses to support.
Most crisis pregnancy centers are sham organizations.
They have a sole purpose of advancing an anti-choice agenda.
They routinely engage in deceptive advertising to get people in the doors, hold themselves out as medical clinics, and then use blatant misinformation about the services they provide.
For example, a pregnancy resource center in Pennsylvania told a pregnant woman that she had a miscarriage.
So she left and then later was still experiencing pregnancy symptoms, so she went to a real doctor who told her she still had a viable pregnancy.
This deception is wrong on so many levels, and these centers should be held accountable, not receiving government funds.
I introduced the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act to prohibit that unfair or deceptive advertising about abortion services and services that crisis pregnancy centers do and do not offer.
Also, pregnant students deserve access to medically accurate, comprehensive family planning resources and a full range of reproductive health care options.
Yet the Pregnant Students' Rights Act only requires colleges to provide information about carrying a child to term.
I offered an amendment to this bill that would have colleges also provide comprehensive, medically accurate information to students, but my Republican colleagues rejected it.
Deciding whether and when to have a child is a deeply personal, if I could have another question.
Deciding whether and when to have a child is a deeply personal decision.
It should not be made by politicians, and it certainly should not be made by anti-choice extremists.
The biased anti-choice efforts underpinning these two bills will make it harder for students to make informed decisions about what is best for them.
And again, they are the ones who should be making these decisions.
Promoting partisan legislation that fails to address the full health care needs of students does not lead to academic success.
I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing these bills and reject H.R. 6359 and H.R. 6945 and instead stand up for those who are making that personal decision themselves.
Mr. Speaker, I know a lot of people that work in these centers are honest, dedicated, hardworking people who care about the pregnant mothers and the unborn children, and I think that the attacks on them are unfounded, unwarranted, and unprofessional.
I have no further speakers on the rule.
I might inquire if the gentleman from Worcestershire is ready to close.
Mr. Speaker, you know, after listening to that, I just can't help but go back to when 99 percent of Republicans voted to keep the government open just a couple of months ago and 100 percent of Democrats voted to shut it down.
How the Democrats were running around saying, see, look what the Republicans did.
I mean, it's a totally false narrative.
It's a totally false narrative.
Mr. Speaker, this week, the House can advance three simple pieces of legislation under this rule.
H.R. 6945, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act, which addresses uncertainty and makes clear that states may not be restricted from choosing to work with pregnancy centers, that TANA funds and that TANA funds may be used for these services consistent with federal law.
This is not a mandate.
unidentified
Speaker, we're not saying the states have to do this.
H.R. 6359, the Pregnant Students' Rights Act, which requires colleges and universities that receive federal student aid to clearly disseminate information regarding pregnant students' rights, available accommodations, and both on campus and community resources.
An HJ Res 140, which rescinds the Biden administration's mineral ban on almost a quarter of a million acres in the Superior National Forest and allows a transparent process to develop the minerals in the Duluth complex to move forward.
Mr. Speaker, all three of these measures are worthy of support, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes on the previous question and yes on the rule.
I yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution.
unidentified
The gentleman yields.
The question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution.
Those favoring a vote by 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 proceedings on this question will be postponed.
First one to the clause 12A of Rule 1.
The chair declares the House in recess, subject to the call of the chair.
On the agenda in the U.S. House today, members are considering several bills, including codifying states' ability to use federal funds to support pregnancy resource centers.
Lawmakers are also considering a resolution that would allow mining in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota.
Later this week, House members will work on the four remaining spending bills funding parts of the federal government through September 30th, the end of the fiscal year, in order to avert a shutdown on January 30th.
Those include funding for the Departments of Defense, Education, Health, and Human Services, Homeland Security, and housing, as well as labor and transportation.
The House is also expected to vote on legislation to block further U.S. military action in Venezuela.
Senators failed to advance a similar measure last week.
Watch live coverage of the U.S. House when lawmakers return here on C-SPAN.
Friday, on C-SPAN's Ceasefire, at a time when finding common ground matters most in Washington, Republican Nebraska Congressman Mike Flood and Democratic Missouri Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver come together for a conversation on the top issues facing Congress, including their bipartisan push on housing affordability.
Watch C-SPIRE, Friday at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only on C-SPAN.
Twelve Satirical Books00:00:49
unidentified
Watch America's Book Club, C-SPAN's bold, original series.
Sunday with our guest, Christopher Buckley, best-selling satirical author and son of conservative writer William F. Buckley.
He has written more than a dozen books, including The White House Mess, Thank You for Not Smoking, Florence of Arabia, and The Deeply Personal, Losing Mum and Pup.
He joins our host, renowned author and civic leader David Rubinstein.