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43 public bills, H.R. 6246- 6288; and 6 resolutions, H. Res. 905-910 were introduced.
Pages H4894-96
Report Filed
A report was filed today as follows: H.R. 4305, to direct the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration to establish a Red Tape Hotline to receive notifications of burdensome agency rules, and for other purposes, with an amendment (H. Rept. 119-383).
Page H4894
Speaker
Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he appointed Representative Newhouse to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
Page H4881
Whole Number of the House
The Chair announced to the House that, in light of the resignation of the gentlewoman from New Jersey, Ms. Sherrill, the whole number of the House is 432.
Page H4883
Denouncing the horrors of socialism
The House agreed to H. Con. Res. 58, denouncing the horrors of socialism, by a yea-and-nay vote of 285 yeas to 98 nays with two answering ``present'', Roll No. 305.
Pages H4883-90
H. Res. 879, the rule providing for consideration of the joint resolutions (S.J. Res. 80), (H.J. Res. 130), (H.J. Res. 131), the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 58), and the bills (H.R. 1949), (H.R. 3109), (H.R. 5107), and (H.R. 5214) was agreed to Tuesday, November 18th. Work Period Designation: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he designated the period from Friday, November 21, 2025, through Sunday, November 30, 2025 as a ``district work period'' under clause 13 of rule 1.
Page H4890
Quorum Calls: Votes
One yea-and-nay vote developed during the proceedings of today and appears on page H4890. Adjournment: The House met at 9 a.m. and adjourned at 11:22 a.m.
Every speech and line is the Congressional Record's own text, read from GovInfo. Speakers are matched to members by GPO's own metadata. Referandom places each turn on the Clerk's video by matching its words: 50 of 92 spoken turns were found. Turns without a time are still listed; they just can't seek.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the skyrocketing cost of healthcare. When President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, he promised affordable coverage for all.
Mr. Speaker, 15 years and trillions of dollars later, all we have gotten is higher costs and less coverage.
Basic economics tells us that when government subsidizes the price, demand surges and prices soar. We have seen this movie before. Since Federal student loans began 50 years ago, college tuition has risen four and a half times faster than the rate of inflation.
When Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act and spent $1 trillion on subsidies, inflation hit a 40-year high. It is clear that pouring taxpayer money into our broken healthcare system will only drive prices higher.
As we debate healthcare costs, the solution is not spending more. It is time for real, market-driven reforms that allow for competition and consumer choice.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to proudly honor the Chicago city champs, the members of the Farragut Career Academy 16- inch softball team from my district.
At a time when ICE raids swept through our neighborhoods while DHS carried out Operation Midway Blitz, these remarkable young people brought a ray of hope and something truly worth celebrating to Little Village.
They persevered through these challenges, remained focused, and put in the hard work required to become champions. They have a great underdog story, a testament to determination, discipline, raw talent, and what it can achieve.
The Farragut Career Academy 16-inch softball team is an inspiring example of the pride and resilience that define Little Village.
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate them. They have made us beyond proud.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Kent Hamilton of Norman Park, who has been named Georgia's 2025 Farmer of the Year.
Mr. Hamilton serves as the chief executive officer of Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, a family-owned and family-operated business founded in 1987.
Under his leadership, Southern Valley has expanded to more than 8,500 cultivated acres across Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Mexico.
The company grows a variety of fresh vegetables, including green beans, peppers, squash, corn, and cucumbers, and employs hundreds of hardworking individuals who help bring quality produce to families across the country.
Mr. Hamilton began farming 37 years ago alongside his uncle and late brother, starting with cotton, peanuts, and tobacco before transitioning to vegetables to ensure year-round productivity.
Today, Southern Valley is a fully integrated operation that handles every step, from seed to shelf.
Kent's wife and their children each play vital roles in this thriving family business, carrying forward a proud legacy of faith, integrity, and hard work.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate four Orange County schools named 2025 California Blue Ribbon Schools. The honorees include Oxford Academy, Troy High School, Orange Lutheran High, and Tustin Memorial.
These schools were selected for their exceptional academic performance or progress in closing the opportunity gap.
Mr. Speaker, I thank all the students, teachers, administrators, and staff who have worked very hard to make Orange County schools great places and the best places to learn.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the town of Rico, Colorado, for being named the 2025 Small Community of the Year by the Economic Development Council of Colorado.
Rico, known by its town motto, A Slice of Paradise, is home to just under 300 residents and sits along the beautiful Dolores River, nestled among the San Juan Mountains. The town of Rico was established in 1880.
Originally a mining community, the area has become known throughout Colorado for its gorgeous scenery, its incredible outdoor recreation, and its unique tourist attractions.
This year's award honors Rico for excellence in both leadership and economic development. The town earned this distinction through its commitment to revitalizing critical infrastructure, including a new sewer system and reinvesting in community spaces like their town park. These efforts reflect the vision and determination of a community that takes pride in where they live and works hard to build a stronger future.
Rico exemplifies what it means to be a small-town community in western Colorado. Its commitment to progress and service will continue to enrich the lives of many Coloradans.
I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the town of Rico for this well-deserved recognition.
Mr. Speaker, I pay special tribute to my friend, A.B. Swindell, who peacefully passed on October 23.
A proud son of eastern North Carolina, A.B. was an Army veteran, a 50-year mason, a lifelong outdoorsman, a talented storyteller, and a committed public servant.
He built a distinguished career as a beloved teacher and wrestling coach, served on the Oxford City Council, served as an assistant to Representative Tim Valentine, and served a decade in the North Carolina State Senate.
He was well known for not only his humor and grit but also his practical leadership, deep respect for education, his lapel pin, and unwavering advocacy for eastern North Carolina.
A.B. was devoted to his best friend and wife, Diane; his children, Russ, Walton, William Joseph; and grandchildren, who knew him as Pop.
I extend my heartfelt condolences to Diane. Regardless of all the talk of Ms. Frances, you know who he loved, and he was happy to enjoy life with you.
To his family: I am grateful to have known A.B., and we are fortunate for his remarkable life of service.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the lives that were lost 4 years ago during the devastating attack on the Waukesha Christmas parade.
On November 21, 2021, Waukesha was enjoying its 58th annual Christmas parade, a time where the community joyfully comes together in celebration of the Christmas season.
Tragically, the parade was halted when an individual committed a senseless act of violence that took the lives of six people: Wilhelm Hospel, Virginia Sorenson, LeAnna Owen, Tamara Durand, Jane Kulich, and Jackson Sparks. He also injured over 60 others.
Today, I introduced a resolution honoring the memory of those who lost their lives on that fateful day and recognizing Waukesha's strength after the tragedy. Since the attack, I have been heartened by the resilience demonstrated by the community of Waukesha through a mural, statue, and soon-to-be-unveiled sculpture.
Waukesha has not only preserved the legacy of those who are no longer with us but also given the community hope as they recover.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the lives of Justin Reinarts and Tabitha Trescott, two individuals whose lives were senselessly taken on November 2 in the close-knit community of Hanska, Minnesota.
Justin served 17 years with the Hanska Fire Department. He took great pride as a first responder, never giving a second thought to doing anything he could to help others.
At his funeral last week, seven area fire departments paid tribute to Justin, and scores of community members lined the streets to say good- bye.
Tabitha was a warm light in the lives of those who knew her. She is remembered by many for her steadfast belief in God's unconditional love, the driving force behind the love that she showed to others.
Hanska, a town of just a few hundred residents, has been shaken by this tragedy that has left our community heartbroken for the families of Justin and Tabitha, especially their children who are left to carry on without them.
I am honored here today to pay tribute to Justin and Tabitha, and may their lives and their contributions to southern Minnesota never be forgotten.
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 879, I call up the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 58) denouncing the horrors of socialism, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 879, the concurrent resolution is considered read.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The concurrent resolution shall be debatable for 1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services or their respective designees.
The gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) each will control 30 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the concurrent resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, a ``yes'' vote on this resolution should be a relatively straightforward, easy decision.
It simply states that Congress denounces socialism in all its forms and opposes the implementations of socialist policies in the United States of America.
It is a statement that I would hope all of our elected leaders in the United States up and down our system of government could support.
Socialism ignores the side of a man and woman that is the spirit. It dulls the human capacity for self-initiative, entrepreneurship, and risk-taking. For those who have concerns about the resolution, I just invite them to read it.
It outlines the pain and hardship experienced by millions around the world who have suffered under socialist regimes. This is something that the sponsor of the resolution, Congresswoman Salazar of Florida, has focused on combating for her entire career.
Congresswoman Salazar is the daughter of Cuban exiles and was born in Miami's Little Havana. Representative Salazar has led the charge against socialist policies.
This resolution today is just one example of her commitment to her constituents and our entire Nation. The contrast between the successful policies under market capitalism and the freedoms associated with, particularly, our robust democracy here in America and socialism across the world and in history could not be starker.
I cannot express this enough: This resolution is not just a messaging bill or, as some from across the aisle have called it, a waste of time. It is not that to the people and the families who have experienced the horrors and atrocities associated with socialist regimes.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Salazar for her work on this. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote a vigorous ``yes'' on this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I wish we were here on the House floor this morning debating solutions that would reduce grocery bills, lower housing costs, end Trump's tariffs that are strangling American small businesses and manufacturers, solve the Republican healthcare crisis, or any legislation that allows Americans to afford to live through the catastrophic economic policies of Trump and the Republicans.
Mr. Speaker, instead of doing the work that our constituents desperately want us to do, Republicans in the House have chosen once again to advance a resolution under the guise of denouncing ``socialism.''
Let me be clear. This resolution is an embarrassing distraction from the complete and total failure of the Trump administration to deliver actual results for the American people, and the American people see right through it. Sixty-one percent of Americans say that Trump's policies have worsened economic conditions in this country, and 64 percent of Americans say Trump's policies are raising the prices of food and groceries.
What is worse is that this very resolution goes further by using the specter of socialism to undermine some of the most important government programs in our country like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and ObamaCare. These are programs that help everyday Americans put food on their plate and care for their children.
Republicans absurdly think they can convince Americans these programs that are decades old are leading America toward a Stalinist Russia, even though it is blatantly obvious that the policies of Donald Trump are straight out of a dictator's playbook.
Mr. Speaker, the House returned this week from the Trump-Republican shutdown, the longest government shutdown in American history. While House Republicans gave themselves a paid, 2-month vacation, hundreds of thousands of Federal employees were left wondering how they were going to pay their rent or mortgage, and 42 million Americans nearly lost their food assistance.
What was the Trump administration doing? Instead of working with Congress to end the shutdown or with local communities to blunt the impacts of the shutdown, it decided to use the full force of the United States Government to make sure these American families
Twenty-two million Americans will see their monthly health insurance premiums double, and up to 5 million Americans will likely lose their insurance altogether.
Where is the Republican plan? Where is the plan? Where is the plan to deal with all of this? They don't have one because they think keeping healthcare costs low is socialist.
If Republicans truly cared about denouncing authoritarian socialism, they would start with the Trump administration. In less than 1 year, the Trump administration has demanded U.S. companies like Intel, U.S. Steel, MP Materials, Lithium Americas, and Trilogy Metals to hand over stock to the U.S. Government. These are capitalist companies who are doing business that they claim this government supports. Trump is also considering forcing Lockheed Martin to do the same.
Why are my colleagues, who are so quick to tout their capitalist leans, silent when Trump follows China's communist tactics? The double standard is astounding.
This resolution also seeks to condemn atrocities committed by despotic regimes such as Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong, which everyone in this Chamber agrees should be condemned.
Somehow, once again, this resolution fails to condemn some of our history's most terrible dictators, like Adolph Hitler and modern-day dictators like Vladimir Putin, who is responsible for killing countless people in Ukraine, or President Xi who basically runs actual concentration camps for ethnic minorities.
Why aren't House Republicans denouncing these dictators when we, as Congress, can actually do something to stop it? It is probably because President Trump has said he thinks Putin has done ``a great job,'' and is ``a genius,'' or maybe because he thinks President Xi ``is really a friend of mine.''
In line with these other authoritarian regimes, just this week, Trump said Democrats in the House and Senate had committed ``seditious behavior, punishable by death'' and reposted a post saying: ``hang them.''
We should be working as Congress to denounce these horrific words, not beloved government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
Just as those authoritarian regimes are often rife with corruption, the Trump family is also doing everything possible to enrich itself. Since taking office, they have issued their own stablecoins and meme coins and various crypto products, even as Congress was in the middle of considering legislation and regulators were drafting rules. In fact, the Trump family is more than $1 billion richer from crypto alone since Trump took office, and Trump's billionaire buddies have also made fistfuls of money as the rest of America struggles just to put food on the table.
The excess is so great that Trump is literally tearing down the White House to build a golden ballroom. He is sending $40 billion to bail out Argentina and his billionaire buddies and has even hosted Great Gatsby- themed parties at Mar-a-Lago.
This resolution is a huge waste of time and does absolutely nothing to lower costs or solve any of the problems that our country faces.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this resolution. If they keep it up, I am going to name all of the Republicans who took PPP money. Is that socialism? I am going to name them who are taking advantage of other programs that they call socialist. I am going do it if they keep this up.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I always enjoy my good friend from California's long lectures to this House on her views about current events. I am always grateful for her point of view.
Mr. Speaker, I would share from my perspective that the shutdown was borne fully and irresponsibly by the United States Senate, by just a handful of Democratic Senators with their leader, Mr. Schumer, that refused to keep the government open while we continue debates about something we do every day here, which is, what are the ways and means to fund the American Government.
This House body under Speaker Mike Johnson with bipartisan vote, I might add, had a clean continuing resolution to keep the government open for those 42 days. Yet, 14 times, Senate Democrats denied funding to air traffic controllers, denied funding to farm assistance, and denied funding for all the Federal programs, inconveniencing States, hurting families, and hurting Federal workers.
Further, perhaps, unlike some, I certainly gave up my pay for those 42 days by direction of this House. I was not going to be paid personally as a Member of Congress while we see this kind of lack of responsibility out of the Senate.
Today, what we are talking about here in the most vigorous democracy in the land in our 250th year, we are talking about rejecting socialism that punishes freedom, punishes individual action, and tears families apart. That is what we are here to talk about. We are not here to rattle down about current events.
Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman from Florida, Congresswoman Salazar, leads our Western Hemisphere Subcommittee in the House Foreign Affairs Committee and what better person, Mr. Speaker, to have this responsibility.
Born in Little Havana in Miami, daughter of Cuban exiles, let her tell you how cushy life was under Castro's Communist socialist dictatorship.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Salazar).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the honorable gentleman from Arkansas, the distinguished French Hill, chairman of the Committee on Financial Services. It is a pleasure for me to be serving with him on this committee.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to say before I start, before I explain to this body why I am introducing this resolution, when I was a journalist covering stories for Univision Network, I interviewed many people who had lost their legs or lost their brothers or sisters in the middle of the ocean, trying to get to Miami, and the sharks ate them up. Some of them were eaten up alive. Others lost legs.
When they made it to Florida, I was able to interview them as a journalist and see the horrors of what they had to go through because they were escaping the paradise called socialism. I am going to start with that and maybe finish with another anecdote.
The reason we are introducing this resolution is to condemn the horrors of socialism, and I am presenting just the facts. I invite my colleagues on the other side to vote to condemn this nefarious ideology.
This has nothing to do with political parties. This is not a Democratic issue. This is not a Republican issue. This is a moral vote against an ideology that has destroyed millions and millions of families--many of those families I serve in District 27, the heart of the city of Miami, the heart of the Cuban exile community and now the Venezuelan community--and murdered more than 100 million lives besides crushing hundreds of thousands of other families and individuals.
Unfortunately, socialism and Marxism crush the human soul. It is not just in my community in Miami. Millions of Cubans had to flee. It is the rest of the hemisphere and the rest of the world. Just look at Russia, look at North Korea, and look at Iran.
What a coincidence that, today, President Trump is receiving in the White House the mayor-elect, Mr. Mamdani, from New York City. I salute the President for receiving Mr. Mamdani because he won fair and square, and that is the way democracy works.
Let me just tell you something. Knowing very well how Fidel worked, how Hugo Chavez works, and how socialism works, I want to put this in
How do I know that? Because I know exactly how they operate. Democracy is just a tool to get to power, period. People who love freedom, we are just useful fools to be used in order to get to the business of power, which is all socialist, communist, whatever you want to call it. If it is not democracy, freedom, and a free-market economy, it is just a bad ideology. Unfortunately, that is what they do to achieve power. They use us.
Just look at Venezuela. Oh, my God, Venezuela is in the news. Everyone is talking about Venezuela, my God, the Caribbean.
Let me just give you the facts. Maria Corina Machado, who is the legitimate President of Venezuela, who won 80-20 after President Biden gave the opportunity to Maduro to do fair and square elections and transparent elections, 2 years ago Maduro signs a document by the name of the Barbados Agreement, and he agrees to the Biden administration and to Juan Gonzalez, who used to be the National Security Advisor for Latin America, that he was going to leave if he did not win the elections. He signed that document with the Biden administration.
What did he do? He just spit on Biden's face because we believed that, oh, my God, Biden, look what he is doing. It is good. It is a good idea to give the opportunity to Maduro to just create and conduct free, fair, and transparent elections with international observers, and he was going to go. Look at where he is at now.
Maduro is not only the head of the Suns Cartel, one of the most important drug trafficking cartels in the world, but he was also indicted in 2020 by a Federal grand jury in this country for being one of the major drug traffickers in the world. Not only that, he is now on the transnational criminal organization list. Not only that, he is the head of the Suns Cartel.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
As you can see, I can speak until tomorrow about socialism.
The problem is that Venezuela is the perfect example, and the Venezuelans would make fun of the Cubans 25 years ago, saying that it was impossible for that to happen in Venezuela. They had the largest reserves of oil in the world. They were a brave and strong democracy. They were not an island. It was impossible. They have such a strong economy.
Look, right now, the average Venezuelan weighs 15 pounds less because of a lack of food, and the Trump administration has to come to rescue them from what they have turned that country into.
We are at a crossroads in this country. Young Americans, 70 percent believe that socialism is good. One in three believes that government should control major industries. One in four says that we should abolish private property.
It is my duty as a Representative of District 27, the heart of the Cuban exile community, to tell this body it is time to denounce socialism in this country because, just like it happened to the Venezuelans, it could happen to the Americans.
Mr. Speaker, for those who are expecting their Social Security checks this month, turn them down if you think that is socialism.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes), who is also the ranking member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Waters for the time, although I must say that I am a little bit confused. I am not going to frame this as a parliamentary inquiry, but I am very confused.
We have just gotten back from a 2-month paid vacation in which Federal employees didn't get paid, in which we started a war without congressional approval, in which electricity prices went up for 70 million Americans, and in which inflation is rocking along at 3\1/2\ percent.
I thought we were going to be in this Chamber talking about affordability.
By the way, my friends on the Republican side just got shellacked in an election, from sea to shining sea, where the word is affordability. They got shellacked on affordability.
What did we do this week? Congressman Norman, a guy who put a .38 Smith & Wesson on the table when he met with Moms Demand Action on Gun Safety and who called for martial law to stop the peaceful transfer of power to stop Joe Biden from becoming President, decided that Stacey Plaskett should no longer be on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. We spent half a day on that.
Congresswoman Mace decided that Cory Mills should no longer be on committees. Apparently, we may do another one.
I prepared a speech on affordability with lots of good ideas on how to make stuff cheaper. It says it right there: Lots of good ideas on how to make stuff cheaper.
Good idea number one: Get rid of tariffs, which are a tax on bananas, coffee, vegetables, pasta sauce, pasta, televisions, automobiles, and burgundy, a fine French claret for my Republican friends over there.
Number two: Stop canceling generation projects, which will make electricity cheaper.
That was my speech. Instead, we are here to denounce the horrors of socialism. That is not what I was prepared to talk about. If I were prepared to talk about it, I would point out two things.
Number one, if you have ever cracked a book or talked to somebody, you would know that socialism is different than communism. The chairman and I both come out of a highly capitalist industry, banking. There are socialist countries that have exhibited horrors, like Denmark, like Finland, any other number of socialist countries. Communism, in fact, if this resolution said communism, I suspect we wouldn't even have to debate it because who likes communism.
Anyway, I would make that point if I were interested in having this debate, or I might point out--and I welcome the Republican majority in finally catching on--the fact that we are living in the most socialist administration in two and a half centuries.
What is the definition of socialism? Again, if you crack a book, you will see that it is state control over the means of production. This President has taken a 10 percent stake in Intel, a 15 percent stake in MP Materials, a 10 percent stake in Lithium Americas, and a 10 percent stake in Trilogy Metals, and we have a golden share in U.S. Steel-- state control of the means of production.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
If the definition of socialism is political control over the means of production, welcome to the great socialist state of the United States of America.
The other definition, by the way, has to do with command and control. Those are words we remember from the Communist era, command and control. Well, holy smokes, there is not a media company, a law firm, or a university that has not been subject to the command and control of the Oval Office.
The President has demanded money. It looks a little like extortion to me, but in order to avoid making a personality, let's just call it dividends. The President has demanded dividends from any number of companies. This is command and control.
I am not actually interested in having that debate because I think we would all agree on much of this stuff, including the fact that we are now living in one of the most socialist countries on the planet.
What I really want to do is talk about affordability, which is what the American people care about.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim), who grew up in Korea, and as a young girl immigrated here to the United States of America. She knows the truth of postwar Korea and how challenging it was.
Mr. Speaker, it is such an honor to stand here to strongly support H. Con. Res. 58.
As a Korean American who grew up in the aftermath of the Korean war, I have witnessed the horrors of socialism firsthand. I always say, if you want to see the difference between socialism and freedom, just look at the Korean Peninsula at night. South Korea shines with opportunity. North Korea is trapped in darkness.
Time and time again throughout history, socialism has led to disaster, starvation, imprisonment, and the death of over 100 million people worldwide.
My own family lived those horrors. My mother-in-law risked her life crossing the DMZ lines multiple times to rescue loved ones from the North Korean regime. To this day, tens of thousands of Korean families remain separated by a system that tears apart communities and crushes basic human dignity.
Now more than ever, as socialist ideas gain traction here at home-- and as our Nation's largest city and financial capital has elected not just a socialist, but a communist as mayor--we must firmly demand our capitalist free market system, which empowers Americans of all backgrounds to achieve freedom, opportunity, and prosperity.
I know what America represents because I remember my first glimpse of freedom as a young girl, looking up, wide-eyed, as U.S. soldiers tossed candy from their trucks in the community where I lived. Today, as one of the first Korean-American women to serve in Congress, that freedom tastes just as sweet.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. Speaker, stories like these can only happen in America. As a Member of Congress, I will always fight for the American Dream and for our free market system that keeps it within reach for everyday Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, House Republicans just passed a resolution that gives Senators the right to sue their own government for up to $500,000. Trump is suing the government also. The President of the United States, who controls the Department of Justice, is suing the Department of Justice. He wants to personally get $230 million because he didn't like being investigated, and he wants to get revenge on his enemies. Give me a break.
I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer).
Democrats just had a huge win across the country because we focused on what hardworking families care about: lowering food and healthcare prices, cutting childcare costs, and lowering utility bills.
What do socialists stand for? Tax-raising, job-killing policies like defunding the police, shuttering prisons, massive unfunded spending increases, and even government-run grocery stores.
In New York, job-killing comptroller, socialist, and reckless spender Brad Lander refuses to condemn anti-Semitic language like globalize the intifada, which calls for the death of the Jewish people. Many of Mayor-elect Mamdani's policies are radically at odds with both the Democratic Party and American values.
After all, socialists aren't Democrats. They are socialists. Democrats are about common sense, problem-solving ideas that promote public safety, opportunity for all, and lower costs for all Americans.
I urge all Republicans to work with us on those pressing issues.
America is the land of opportunity. Capitalism, American innovation, and the American worker are what built our great country. We cannot let socialism tear it down.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose), my good friend, a prominent member of the House Financial Services Committee, and very active on financial policy in this House.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 58, titled: ``Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism.'' It is a shame that I have to defend the obvious, but it is necessary because, unfortunately, across the Nation, progressive Democrats are increasingly cozy with the failed, discredited ideology.
Socialism has time and again led to economic ruin, human deprivation, and mass suffering. From the breadlines of Eastern Europe to the failed Communist regimes of Cuba and Venezuela, socialism promises equality but delivers it selectively. It promises security but delivers surveillance. It promises fairness but delivers oppression and democide.
Yet, shockingly, socialism is making a comeback here in America, even in the world's greatest city. The newly elected, self-proclaimed democratic socialist mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, offers socialism. He is a mayor who champions radical economic overreach, a progressive ideology that can easily turn once-prosperous countries into wastelands.
Americans built New York City as a gateway for immigrants seeking a better life. We built it on freedom, self-reliance, and open markets, not on forced redistribution or centralized planning.
The situation now extends to Seattle, where the mayor-elect has chosen to boycott Starbucks, a company founded in her own city.
Is this what we want, a country where those who run our cities turn their backs on the very entrepreneurial spirit that made them thrive?
Meanwhile, I believe that we are still that shining city on the hill. We welcome more legal immigrants than any nation on Earth, more than the next four countries combined. They don't come because they crave government control, but because they flee it. They come for liberty. They come for freedom.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Listen, instead of debating this pointless resolution, Congress should be focused on how we can reverse the catastrophic economic policies of the Trump administration that have raised costs for everyone.
It is estimated that the illegal disastrous tariffs Trump has imposed will amount to an average tax increase of $1,200 in 2025 and $1,600 in 2026 per household and represent the largest U.S. tax increase as a percent of GDP since 1993.
Mr. Speaker, not only are Trump's policies raising prices for everyone, they are killing American jobs. Although he campaigned on bringing back manufacturing to the United States, President Trump's tariff policies have killed 42,000 manufacturing jobs.
Since the beginning of this year, U.S. employers have eliminated nearly 1.1 million jobs. This past October saw the highest number of layoffs for any October since 2003.
Additionally, during the Trump Republican shutdown, Trump fired an entire office at the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund that was dedicated to helping rural and struggling communities.
Instead of debating this useless resolution, we should be working to reverse the Trump administration's reckless economic policies that are hurting the American people.
Does anyone want to know why Republicans are so scared of the mayor of New York? It is because he wants to lower grocery bills, transportation costs, and housing costs. Republicans know that Trump's policies are the reason costs are so high.
Mr. Speaker, the evidence and the facts are right before us about what is happening with this economy. The President of the United States refuses to accept the facts, and he keeps supporting these tariffs. He does not understand how it all works.
We are in danger of him because they and him--the President and the Republican Party--simply want to be in control. They love power. The President loves Putin. The President likes Kim Jong Un. He likes having a parade with
Mr. Speaker, I say to all the Members: It is not only about the harm that is coming to urban communities. Those rural communities that are losing their hospitals, that don't have healthcare, and have hungry families who have voted for him are now understanding and are demonstrating that it has been buyer's remorse. When the next election comes, we are going to see what happens.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, regarding the policies that are perhaps being considered in New York, the voices of the people of New York have been heard. They have spoken.
We think about having government-controlled grocery stores, instead of relying on entrepreneurial immigrant families or Korean families with the beautiful bodegas and flower shops around the city. They are now somehow doing an inadequate job. The mayor proposes that the government step into those businesses or run those grocery stores, for example.
Mr. Speaker, he proposes even more difficult rent controls that have already driven down the number of units available in the city of New York, which is already suffering from a huge housing shortage and a huge price disadvantage for the thousands of people who want to work in the city.
This is contrary to economic choice, and that is another reason why we are here on this House floor. We are here to note that an open and democratic market capitalist system offers choice. The freedom to choose is of critical value. That is limited under socialism, in addition to the atrocities.
One of my favorite economists, Nobel Prize Winner Friedrich Hayek, authored books I read as a young man such as, ``The Road to Serfdom'' and ``Constitution of Liberty.'' This is a man who lived under socialism. He lived through the Communist regimes of Stalin and Eastern Europe and of Nazi Germany. He talked about the road to serfdom. Mr. Speaker, we think of some of these policies potentially as the scenic route to socialism.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), who chairs the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement for House Judiciary. He is someone who understands market capitalism and a constitutional Republic like no other Member.
Mr. Speaker, it is often said that capitalism is selfishness and socialism is sharing. That is exactly backwards. The only way to succeed in a capitalist society is to figure out what somebody else needs and how to get it for them better than they can get it for themselves. It might be mowing their lawn. It might be doing brain surgery on their child. We have to help our neighbor somehow.
It is true if I take $1 from Peter and give it to Paul, Paul is $1 richer and Peter is $1 poorer. What I have really done is to take from both of them $1 worth of incentive to help each other. Peter no longer has a reason to help Paul because he no longer benefits, and Paul has no reason to help Peter because he no longer needs to.
Socialism, thus, dissolves the natural bonds that hold a society together and lead each of us to help one another. Capitalism is voluntary. Peter and Paul help each other because it is in their mutual interest to do so. Socialism is compulsion. We have got to take what one has earned from helping others and give it to someone who has none.
As Lincoln said: ``It is the same spirit that says, You toil and work and earn bread, and I'll eat it.''
Slavery and socialism both spring from that same rotten principle. Many societies have succumbed to the siren's song of a benevolent and all-powerful government, only to awaken one morning to find that benevolence is gone and the all-powerful government is still there.
Let that not be the epitaph of the United States of American. The history of human society can be summed up in just four words: Freedom works; socialism sucks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman said something about what was happening in New York with the mayor, and he mentioned government-owned grocery stores. First of all, my colleague won't admit that groceries are too high and that families cannot afford the cost of eggs and basic good foods to have great nutrition for their families.
By the way, let me remind my colleagues of something. My then-husband was stationed at Camp Carson in Colorado. Mr. Speaker, guess where we got our food? We got our food from government-owned commissaries. They had the best prices, and we had great nutrition. They absolutely supported the families. Who ran them? They were run by the government.
I would love the idea of seeing what we can do to reduce the cost of groceries. We already have them in the commissaries. They have price control, and they are heavily subsidized.
Let me ask the question: Does this mean we should eliminate them because that is socialism or because the commissaries provide food that is affordable at the bases all over America and the world?
Are the fire departments, police departments, schools, and hospitals socialism? I raise the question.
Instead of my colleagues taking this time to talk about how we were the cause of the shutdown, when my colleagues know they were, don't deflect it. Come on. Let's talk about socialism. Let's talk about the commissaries. Let's talk about our Social Security. Let's talk about the PPP program and how some of my colleagues got money from their government to put into their businesses.
Let's talk about socialism. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are trying to deflect from what is wrong with this administration and what is wrong with the economic policies of this administration. Let's talk about it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), who is a distinguished senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution denouncing the horrors of socialism, and there are horrors.
Socialism has no place in our country. Unfortunately, so-called woke liberals in New York City don't seem to understand that socialism is nothing more than mutually assured poverty and recently voted to bring these failed policies to their own once-great city.
While I am saddened that New Yorkers will be willing victims of Zohran Mamdani's destined-to-fail socialist policies, I have filed legislation ensuring not one dime goes to fund his un-American agenda. The rest of the country should not be forced to subsidize one mayor's destructive actions.
Today's resolution builds on those efforts, making it clear that the United States does not stand for, does not support, and does not condone a system of government that makes people poorer, less free, and less safe.
With this resolution, we reiterate our Nation's commitment to remaining a free and prosperous society.
Mr. Speaker, as I am challenging my Republicans on the opposite side of the aisle, let's talk about socialism. Let's not try to deflect from what you know and understand that you want to hide.
Before I go into much more, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin), who is the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, to tell them what socialism is really all about.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this cynical and silly resolution. I am not a socialist myself, but a Tom Payne Democrat, a champion of strong democracy, universal freedom, and equal rights for everybody, but this resolution is ridiculous.
From its first paragraph, it promotes the fallacy that socialist ideology leads
The resolution even tries to conscript to these ideological deceptions the words of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, enlightenment liberals who lived long before socialist ideology even existed and would detest the fanatical, theocratic politics of the MAGA movement and the plutocratic billionaires and plundering CEOs who are running these things behind the curtains.
Thomas Jefferson is quoted embarrassingly in this resolution for the proposition that to take property from one to give to another is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association. This is a bizarre argument, not only because Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, a decade before the word ``socialism'' even existed and was in common use, but it is also bizarre because Jefferson shamefully owned more than 600 enslaved people over the course of his lifetime. Whatever his many other virtues, and he had many, his entire livelihood was based on appropriating the labor of other people against their will and stealing their property that they should have had in their own bodies and in their own lives.
The resolution is completely disoriented. It plainly feeds into the decades-long Republican obsession with labeling the great programmatic achievements of American democracy as socialism, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, public education, and public health measures in the Affordable Care Act.
By defining essential, democratic public programs as socialist, and in claiming that socialism inevitably leads to Stalinist communism and social collapse, these plutocrat Republicans are plainly working to undermine the living standards of the working-class majority of America and rip up the social fabric of the country.
Meantime, President Trump's heroes and best friends in the world are Communist dictators.
If House Republicans really want to oppose the promotion of socialist ideology, why don't they write a letter to President Trump and condemn his worship and admiration of Stalinist dictator Kim Jong-un of North Korea? He said they have a ``unique'' relationship and a very ``special friendship.''
Former KGB officer Vladimir Putin thinks that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest catastrophe of the 21st century. Of him, Trump said, ``Putin, very smart,'' and, ``Will he become my new best friend?''
What about the chief of the Chinese Communist Party, President Xi? Trump described him as a ``brilliant man,'' and that he has ``the look, the brain, the whole thing.'' President Trump has no problem with the actual horrors of communism today, like the Chinese Government's massive human rights violations against the Uyghurs, Tibetans, and political dissenters in their country. ``He's a brilliant guy,'' and, ``He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist.''
How about Vladimir Putin's persecution and poisoning of human rights and anticorruption activists like Alexei Navalny? Of him, Trump said: ``I don't know exactly what happened. . . . We haven't had any proof yet, but I will take a look.''
I am voting ``no'' on this pathetic, disorienting resolution, which is divorced from reality and drenched in rightwing ideology. It will only serve to accelerate MAGA's attempts to defund the essential social programs that are central to American democracy and that were built by the American people, like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, which they call socialism but which serve our people.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis), who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and who is firmly opposed to socialism.
Mr. Speaker, let me educate our colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
Socialism is communism-lite. Socialism is the first step to communism. Socialism is the antithesis of the American Dream because, in this country, we believe that, regardless of where you come from or how you started, Mr. Speaker, if you work hard, if you sacrifice, and if you play by the rules, then you can succeed.
That only happens in a country where you have freedom, where you have liberty, where you have self-determination, and where you have the free market.
In contrast, Mr. Speaker, socialism is the belief that you work hard, you sacrifice, you do everything right, and the government can take what you earn from you to keep it for themselves or to redistribute it to whomever they choose.
Millions of immigrants in this country fled their homelands to come to the United States to escape socialism and communism. Mr. Speaker, just ask your constituents from Russia, Poland, Albania, China, Korea, Vietnam, Venezuela, or Cuba, where my mother fled in 1959 to escape the very things that our new socialist mayor in New York City says he wants.
He is a socialist who says he wants to seize the means of production. He wants to abolish private property rights. He wants government-run supermarkets. Yes, he says he is a socialist.
Guess what, Mr. Speaker. Those are policies straight out of the Communist playbook of Karl Marx, so there is no difference between socialism and communism.
Where these policies were tried, yes, they failed.
Mr. Speaker, look at Venezuela, a nearby country where self- proclaimed socialists destroyed the richest country in South America. They implemented these government-run supermarkets, and they have empty shelves. Venezuelans lost an average of 20 pounds due to starvation. They promised free universal healthcare, and now they have a severe shortage of medical supplies, medicine, and doctors.
It is a horrible system. They seized the means of production, and it led to hyperinflation and complete economic collapse, which is why you have all these Venezuelans trying to come over our border illegally, Mr. Speaker.
Sadly, New York City chose to learn the hard way what socialism is, and we, those of us who did not vote for this guy, are going to pay the price. It is up to all of us to fight back, to educate our youth, and to contain this ugly monster so it does not spread and destroy our country.
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say that the Republicans are confusing socialism with despotism or authoritarianism.
Again, Republicans are confusing socialism with despotism or authoritarianism. Despots try to control the press, education, and the system of justice. Despots send the military against their own citizens. Despots try to control the economy. Despots arrest their own citizens, including children, in the middle of the night.
Let me just say that the young lady talked about working hard, and socialism, you know, robs families of what they have worked hard for and what they have earned. Well, I want to ask you: What is this administration doing when it takes a 10 percent equity stake in Intel, 15 percent equity stake in MP Materials, a 10 percent equity stake in Lithium America, a 10 percent equity stake in Trilogy Metals, and a ``golden share'' in U.S. Steel Corporation? What is that?
Now, the Republicans have tried to confuse you on what socialism is and even called it communism-lite. That is an absolute distraction from what we are discussing here today.
Communism is communism. Socialism is socialism. This is a government run by someone who is not taking into consideration the facts and the harm and the threat that they are doing to education, the attempt to take over law firms, the attempt to tell some of the finest universities in this country what they can teach and what they cannot teach, and I repeat, giving away our money to a country, $40 billion, at a time when that money is so desperately needed in this government.
We can talk about this all day, but, absolutely, you are looking silly when
So I am saying that I denounce this administration, Trump's family, and all that is going on that is undermining our democracy.
We are about a democracy that must be protected, that must be fought for. We on this side of the aisle are fighting every day to make sure there is justice and there is equality and that our government is not undermining democracy and calling it socialism, calling it communism, calling it whatever you think you can use to deflect from what is going on.
We are in a terrible time in this government with a President of the United States and a family who is enriching themselves on our backs.
Yes, I fought hard to keep the President of the United States, the Cabinet, and the Members of Congress from owning cryptocurrency, but unfortunately, they are enriching themselves every day. I think the President has enriched himself by maybe $1 trillion already in the limited time that he has been the President of the United States.
So don't come here talking about the dangers of socialism. You better come here and talk about what you are going to do to strengthen our democracy, how you are going to make sure that we have an education system for all the children, rather than an education system that is being torn apart by the President of the United States. Let's talk about how people are sleeping on the street, homeless, when we are cutting Section 8 programs in housing.
We can go on about this all day. I will reserve the balance of my time so I can rest a bit. Let them say what they want to say, so I can come back and tell them what they need to hear.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford), the chair of the Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations and a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.
Mr. Speaker, my blood pressure is up right now. I cannot believe what I just heard on the House floor, the ranking member of this distinguished committee denouncing Trump but will not denounce socialism on the House floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
History is clear. Socialism kills people. It leads to the deaths of tens of millions. It crushes religious liberty and destroys free markets.
Our Founders built this Nation on a revolutionary idea that individual liberty and not government control is a source of human achievement. They understood that when the government owns the economy, they soon seek to own the people.
I hope people who are watching right now on C-SPAN or on the news get what is going on in this body today. This side is against socialism. That side is for socialism. I am disgusted with what is going on in this body, and I hope the American people see through the charade, the gaslighting, and the lies that are being told.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Salazar), my friend from south Florida who is also a child of Cuban exiles from the Castro takeover of Cuba.
Mr. Speaker, if there is someone who has seen the horrors of socialism up close within the Democratic Party, and is in the House, it is the Honorable Congresswoman Maxine Waters. And I would love for you to support this resolution specifically because, Madam Waters, for decades, you traveled to Cuba dozens of times to visit Fidel Castro personally, whom you considered your friend.
Congresswoman Waters was in Havana, and she saw the destruction of Biblical proportions that Castro caused on that island, who, at the time, in 1960, had the highest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere.
* * *
The SPEAKER pro tempore. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from California seek recognition?
Mr. Speaker, I am asking for unanimous consent to withdraw the violations of the rules and continue with my speech, which is that there are many people on this floor that have--
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the words are withdrawn.
Mr. Speaker, there are many people on this floor who have seen the horrors of communism. They have been to Cuba. They have been friends with Fidel Castro. They have seen the jails full of Cuban prisoners. They have seen people preparing rafts to die in the middle of the ocean, eaten by sharks.
There are many people in the Democratic Party who have witnessed that and have not said anything.
For this reason, Mr. Speaker, I am asking some of my colleagues on that side of the aisle, many of them who are very good friends of mine, to understand that denouncing communism and socialism is the right thing to do for the Democratic Party.
If some of the highest, most important Members of the Democratic Party on that side of the aisle want to vote with us, they would be doing a favor to their Republic. Not only that, the Democratic Party will become the new champions for freedom in the Western Hemisphere.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Salazar for withdrawing her words, and let's get on with this discussion about socialism.
Instead of legislating and doing the work to tackle real problems-- Americans face the skyrocketing cost of groceries, rising rents, and mortgage payments.
Republicans have always opposed Medicaid and Medicare. They have been undermining it since day one, and they do not want to fix the catastrophic economic policies of this administration.
Mr. Speaker, I want you to know that this administration is responsible for the situation that we find ourselves in with this failing economy. The Trump administration must take the credit for what is happening with the loss of food for our children, for a limited period of time, before we fought to get it back.
Mr. Speaker, I haven't finished, but I vote ``no,'' and I want you to vote ``no'' because this is absolutely unnecessary.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, in the short time we have remaining this morning on this important resolution, let's cut to the chase.
America stands as a beacon of freedom. America stands as a place of choice. America stands as a place of initiative and opportunity. What the gentlewoman from Florida brings to the House today is a resolution that says that we condemn the horrors of socialism not just the atrocities associated with mass murder in Ukraine or Cuba or Venezuela or imprisonment but the capture of the spirit that ends individual freedom and ends individual opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, I will say that I have been shocked at some of the debate today that we hear from a daughter of
In my young life, I worked to bring freedom to Eastern Europe. I saw East Germany's empty shelves, empty eyes, empty spirits, no choice, and in West Germany, vibrancy. Yet, today, we would even have to debate that socialism has some value to the human spirit across the land, it is amazing to me.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this resolution whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, old, young, no matter what your political philosophy is, let's unite on this floor and reject the evils of socialism.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired. Pursuant to House Resolution 879, the previous question is ordered on the concurrent resolution and the preamble.
The question is on adoption of the concurrent resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank my constituent, Potter County Commissioner Paul Heimel, for recently testifying before the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.
His testimony highlighted how the U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and services are vital to rural America and how USDA Rural Development is uniquely positioned to serve our rural communities.
As a county commissioner for 18 years, Paul has prioritized criminal justice reform, arts and culture, community development, rural advocacy, veterans services, and environmental stewardship.
Just this year he received the Public Leadership in the Arts Award at the 2025 National Association of Counties' Annual Conference, recognizing his community-driven approach to addressing rural population decline through strategic arts and culture investment.
The national award, presented by NACo and Americans for the Arts, celebrates county-elected officials who utilize the creative economy for community development.
Before serving as county commissioner, he worked as a newspaper reporter, an editor, corporate public relations manager, and as a freelance writer and historian.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Commissioner Heimel for his dedication to Potter County and rural America.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to highlight the Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Pioneers began constructing the temple in 1853. What they created over the course of 40 years is one of the most remarkable feats of engineering for its time. They had no cranes or modern-day machinery. Instead, they relied on grit, community, and a collective vision to make a building that would stand the test of time.
They accomplished this goal. The temple has foundation walls that are 16 feet thick and 16 feet deep and a spire of 210 feet topped by the famous 12-foot famous Angel Moroni statue. When it was dedicated in 1893, journalists were impressed with its infrastructure and facilities, including its impressive design, plumbing, heating, cooling systems, and electricity.
Beyond the temple's state-of-the-art infrastructure, the pioneers who built it showed exemplary sacrifice. For instance, a stonemason, John Moyle, walked 20 miles every morning from his farm in my hometown of Alpine to Salt Lake City to work on the temple. Even after his leg was amputated, he made himself a wooden leg so he could continue his long journey to work on the temple.
Mr. Speaker, the beginning of this month marked the start of open enrollment for healthcare. As Oregonians have started to select their plans, constituents of mine have been writing in. They are seeing plans that are hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars more.
Without subsidies, David from Bend's monthly health insurance costs will go from $50 to $600 or $700 a month, which would put healthcare out of reach for him. Annie, also from Bend, shared with me her costs could jump to almost $1,700 per month.
There are countless more stories like these, Mr. Speaker, and that is unacceptable. No family should have to choose between getting the care they need and putting food on the table.
Mr. Speaker, I will keep fighting to protect healthcare, lower costs, and make life easier for my constituents.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Nightingale College, headquartered in Utah, for the remarkable work they are doing to meet one of America's greatest needs: More nurses.
Nightingale isn't just teaching skills. They are shaping our Nation and our future. They are preparing men and women to serve with compassion, integrity, and resilience. The graduates are answering the call in Utah and across our country.
Their leadership could not come at a more urgent time. America is facing a shortage of more than 350,000 nurses by 2026. Last year, 65,000 qualified nursing applications were turned away simply because schools didn't have the space. This storage is creating a true public health emergency. It is hitting rural communities and urban healthcare deserts the hardest.
Nightingale shows us what is possible. With innovation, collaboration, and a commitment to serve, we can rebuild the clinical workforce and ensure every American has access to high-quality care.
Mr. Speaker, we thank our nurses. We encourage Nightingale to keep leading, and I ask my colleagues to follow that example.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today with deep concerns about the Trump administration's policies that will increase homelessness in America.
Last week, in the middle of the funding cycle, HUD changed their Continuum of Care grant criteria, cutting funding for permanent support of housing by over 50 percent.
Local housing organizations will owe landlords rent checks on January 1 with no guarantee they will have the funds. Mr. Speaker, 170,000 of our fellow Americans will risk falling back into homelessness.
Before I served as mayor of Phoenix, I chaired Maricopa County's Continuum of Care. We put our funding
That model provides stability and access to support services while people get back on their feet. It helps some of our most vulnerable Americans, those with debilitating disabilities, keep a roof over their heads.
Mr. Speaker, behind every grant line item is a human being who has overcome great adversity to achieve stability. Trump's cuts will undo years of hard-won progress. These Americans deserve better from our government.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and the heroism of paramedic Mary Jolly of Gaston County, North Carolina, who tragically passed away at just 27 years old.
On November 15, Mary stopped along Interstate 95 in Florida to help a driver who had been struck by a vehicle. While rendering aid, she herself was hit by another car and critically injured. Mary, sadly, died exactly the same way she lived, which is serving others.
Since joining the Gaston County EMS in 2021, Mary distinguished herself as a highly-skilled and deeply compassionate paramedic and a member of the Swift Water and Surface Water Rescue team. She was named B-Shift Outstanding Paramedic in 2023, which is a reflection of her dedication and her professionalism.
Her colleagues described her as courageous and kindhearted to every patient she encountered. It is clear that her loss is felt across Gaston County and our greater region.
Mr. Speaker, we extend our deepest condolences and our prayers to her family, her friends, and her fellow first responders.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay my respects to the late Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick was a trailblazing figure who inspired many in Detroit. She represented Michigan's 13th Congressional District like I do.
She broke a glass ceiling, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where she brought critical Federal dollars back to Detroit and its surrounding communities. She also blazed trails as the second Black woman to ever serve in the House of Representatives from Michigan.
Mr. Speaker, she broke countless barriers to public service, helping to create a U.S. Congress that better reflects our Nation's great diversity. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick improved the lives of all she served. May she rest in peace.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my disappointment. Last night, the House voted to task the oil and gas industry to report on the state of fossil fuel refining in the United States.
They would like to see how the United States Government can do more for their industry--drill, baby, drill--the claim being that our government needs this report to increase fossil fuel production with an implied promise, but no guarantee, of lower energy prices.
That would be like asking for a 1905 report from the Federation of Blacksmiths on how to better change the horseshoes on a horse instead of focusing on the rising future of transportation: the automobile.
So I wonder: When will Congress use its time to call for a report on the state of the future for renewable energy?
When will we be asking clean energy producers how the government can make it easier to bring renewables online and reduce greenhouse gases?
We know renewable energy can lower energy costs.
I will be waiting for Godot if I expect this majority to take that up. We can look to the future, or we can continue to reject the future and pander to the past.
Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, Howard County lost a giant: former county executive, Dr. Ed Cochran. A chemist by trade, he was a pioneer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he contributed to our national security, but he was also a pioneer of our community.
As a member of the Howard County Board of Education, he worked to help end segregation in our schools. A scholar at heart, Dr. Cochran was instrumental in the founding of Howard Community College. As county executive, he took our county from rural to modern and laid the foundation for many parts of Howard County's government that we now take for granted.
His life and legacy will be felt deeply from the scientific innovation he laid the groundwork for at APL to the next generation of young minds and leaders at Howard County public schools and Howard County Community College. We are all better off because of Dr. Cochran's unwavering spirit of innovation and inquiry.
My thoughts are with his six children, his 23 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren during this difficult time.
Mr. Speaker, this week, I introduced a bill called the ESSENTIAL Act, H.R. 6200, that removes the requirement to have those annoying devices in your car that shuts the engine off every time you come up to the stoplight for more than a few seconds. Now, it is supposed to be something that saves fuel, but at the end of the day, statistics show that on over 100,000 miles of the life of a car, you save two or three gallons of gas.
On the other side of that coin is the amount of maintenance that would potentially be required.
Around my farm we change a lot of starters, batteries, alternators, and cables. All of these are high-wear items, especially when we are stopping and starting the car.
I have taken Uber to get to events here, and at every stoplight the engine shuts off, turns back on, then hesitates. You can get rear-ended or one of those things might have glitches. There is nothing very good about it other than that EPA and others are trying to offer incentives if they put that stuff on there. They will be giving credits to auto manufacturers.
When will we appreciate the effort of Director Zeldin saying that we are not going to force this anymore?
So we need to back it up here in Congress so we don't have obnoxious requirements to make drivers worse and make maintenance worse on automobiles.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Michael Mucchetti, my chief of staff, for concluding 25 years of devoted service. Prior to coming to Congress, he worked with me at the Texas Supreme Court as a briefing attorney. Thereafter, he practiced law and then took his Texas know-how to the United Nations in Geneva before returning here to lead my congressional team.
Through shutdowns, wars, and so much history, including a record differently numbered congressional districts, Michael has been there as a
He embodies the best of public service: wisdom, integrity, and compassion. He has been less an employee and more a brother-in-arms.
Thanks to his remarkable family, Kiki, Anna, Austin, Connor, and Torben. It has been a privilege and an honor.
Mr. Speaker, I am so happy to be back. This is our first week back in a long time, and it is great to see all my colleagues since the House was closed during this entire shutdown.
I was so excited when I started hearing from the President and the other side of the aisle that we are going to start working on lowering costs and that we are going to address affordability in America. Finally, after 10 months in this administration, and, yes, one of the first bills that we voted on, H.R. 1949, actually increases Americans' utility bills by even more, by hundreds of dollars, in fact.
So, once again, we are back here, and we are doing things that actually raise costs on the American people. So with tariff policies that promote monopolies or policies that simply raise costs directly on the American people, this Congress, this leadership continues to raise costs and not actually address affordability.
We have tons of legislation that are stuck in committees that have not gotten a fair hearing or gotten to this floor that will address the cost of utility bills, healthcare, and so many other things head-on. Instead, the leadership on the Republican side continues to raise costs on the American people.
So we have the ideas. If the President wants to work with us or anyone else on the other side wants to work with us, then we are ready to do that to lower costs for the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of Susan Olsen Murray, a beloved daughter of Sandusky, Ohio, and a shining star of the very kind and generous heart of northwest Ohio's people.
Susan was a woman whose generosity was limitless. She carried within her a rare and radiant gift, the ability to make every person she met feel valued, uplifted, and truly seen.
During her decades in Sandusky, she poured her energy into service, education, and community building. Whether teaching young readers at Saints Peter and Paul School, helping found the Boys and Girls Club of Erie County, or simply offering a kind word at precisely the right moment, Susan made humanity her vocation.
Always prioritizing positivity, she always put others before herself. What a great world it would be if everybody was that way.
Susan and her husband John walked through life with devotion and joy. They raised a caring, wise family rooted in love, learning, and compassion.
Her children, Leslie, John Jr., and Tim, and grandchildren Heather, William, Hugh, and Ella, carry forward her spirit of warmth and boundless generosity.
To all who mourn her, may her memory be a blessing, and may her life be a reminder that a life lived generously can brighten an entire community.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Coach John Beam and to give condolences to the Beam family.
Beam left an imprint on Oakland, California, that will never fade. For more than 40 years he built champions at Frick, at Skyline, and at Laney College, where he led the Eagles to titles and became one of the most respected coaches in junior college football in this Nation.
But the greatest victories were not measured on scoreboards. His victories were measured in the thousands and thousands of young people who walked into their futures because he insisted that they could.
He took young men with dreams they barely knew to name and pushed them to become scholars, to become leaders, to become fathers, to become champions.
Coach Beam never chased the spotlight. In fact, he chased the transformation of young people who needed one adult who would never walk away. His death is a deep wound, a profound wound for the city of Oakland, and we honor him by carrying forward his unwavering commitment to the futures that he spent decades building and molding with his own hands.
Coach Beam, we love you. You were a giant in our city, and your name will move through generations and generations and generations. Two claps. Ready, ready.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to denounce the terror campaign this administration has launched against our immigrant neighbors.
At the direction of the Trump White House, masked Federal agents are ripping children away from their parents' arms. They are pepper spraying moms in parking lots. They are pulling childcare workers from classrooms in front of desperate toddlers.
This is unacceptable.
The world is watching as the United States Government violates the rights and due process of our neighbors. Families are frantically trying to locate their loved ones who have been hauled away to detention centers, for-profit makeshift prisons, prisons where meals are inedible and medical care is denied, prisons where women are denied cancer treatment and endure miscarriages while their screams are ignored.
Mr. Speaker, this situation is desperate and it is not the result of a natural disaster or an act of God. Instead, it is the direct action of a narcissistic, cruel dictator who occupies the Oval Office who has contempt for every person that calls this country home.
None of us is free until all of us are free. No one is truly safe in Donald Trump's America.
For our immigrant families, they belong here, and I will not stop fighting for them, their rights, and their dignity.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President.
