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06Adjusting Imports of Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Ingredients Into the United States: Message From the President of the United States (H. Doc. No. 119-150)
15Oath of Office Members, Resident Commissioner, and Delegates
16Deletions of Sponsors From Public Bills and Resolutions
Daily Digest
Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced
32 public bills, H.R. 8363- 8394; and 15 resolutions, H.J. Res. 157; H. Con. Res. 86; and H. Res. 1188-1200, were introduced.
Pages H2994-95
Reports Filed
Reports were filed today as follows: H.R. 6955, to make improvements to the Federal banking laws, and for other purposes, with an amendment (H. Rept. 119-617); and H. Res. 1189, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4690) to amend the Energy Conservation and Production Act to repeal certain Federal building energy efficiency performance standards, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 1182) expressing support for rural communities across the United States as stewards of the environment, major suppliers of United States energy resources, critical providers of food production and manufacturing capacity, and drivers of national economic stability, and recognizing the work of the House of Representatives in the 119th Congress in support of those vital communities; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1897) to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to optimize conservation through resource prioritization, incentivize wildlife conservation on private lands, provide for greater incentives to recover listed species, create greater transparency and accountability in recovering listed species, streamline the permitting process, eliminate barriers to conservation, and restore congressional intent; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5587) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes (H. Rept. 119-618).
Pages H2993-94
Speaker
Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he appointed Representative Weber to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
Page H2963
Recess
The House recessed at 12:23 p.m. and reconvened at 2 p.m.
Page H2965
Guest Chaplain
The prayer was offered by the Guest Chaplain, Pastor Chad Weeks, Russell Baptist Church, Green Cove Springs, Florida.
Pages H2965-66
Recess
The House recessed at 2:11 p.m. and reconvened at 4 p.m.
Page H2967
Recess
The House recessed at 5:01 p.m. and reconvened at 6:30 p.m.
Page H2978
Suspensions
The House agreed to suspend the rules and pass the following measures: First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act of 2026: H.R. 7386, amended, to amend the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority;
Pages H2967-70
Mystic Alerts Act
H.R. 7022, amended, to provide for the transmission of emergency alerts by satellite;
Pages H2970-71
Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act
H.R. 1681, to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to establish an interagency strike force to ensure that certain Federal land management agencies, including the organizational units of such agencies, prioritize the review of requests for communications use authorizations, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 384 yeas to 9 nays, Roll No. 125;
Pages H2971-73, H2978-79
Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act
H.R. 1343, to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit to Congress a plan for the Assistant Secretary to track the acceptance, processing, and disposal of certain Form 299s;
Pages H2973-74
Emergency Reporting Act
H.R. 5200, to direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 386 yeas to 7 nays, Roll No. 126; and
Pages H2974-76, H2980-81
Rural Broadband Protection Act
S. 98, to require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a vetting process for prospective applicants for high-cost universal service program funding.
Pages H2976-78
Oath of Office: Eleventh Congressional District of New Jersey
Representative-elect Analilia Mejia presented herself in the well of the House and was administered the Oath of Office by the Speaker. Earlier, the Clerk of the House transmitted a copy of a letter received from Ms. Donna Barber, Executive Director, with the New Jersey Division of Elections indicating that, according to the unofficial results for the Special General Election held on April 16, 2026, the Honorable Analilia Mejia was elected Representative to Congress for the Eleventh Congressional District of New Jersey.
Page H2993
Whole Number of the House
The Speaker announced to the House that, in light of the administration of the oath to the gentlewoman from New Jersey, the whole number of the House is 432.
Page H2980
Order of Business
Agreed by unanimous consent that, it may be in order at any time on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, for the Speaker to declare a recess, subject to the call of the Chair, for the purpose of receiving in joint meeting His Majesty Charles the Third.
Page H2981
Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha I
The House agreed by unanimous consent to discharge from committee and agree to S. Con. Res. 29, authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha I.
Page H2982
Suspension: Proceedings Postponed
The House debated the following measure under suspension of the rules. Further proceedings were postponed. Kari's Law Reporting Act: H.R. 5201, to direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a report on implementation of the Kari's Law Act of 2017.
Page H2976
Discharge Petition
Representative Norcross presented to the clerk a motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from the consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 1140) entitled, a resolution providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5408) to accelerate workplace time-to- contract under the National Labor Relations Act (Discharge Petition No. 19). Presidential Message: Read a message from the President transmitting a written statement of the reasons why he has decided to take action to adjust imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients so that such imports will not threaten to impair the national security of the United States--referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered to be printed (H. Doc. 119-150).
Page H2978
Senate Message
Message from the Senate received by the Clerk and subsequently presented to the House today appears on page H2979. Quorum Calls--Votes: Two yea-and-nay votes developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H2978-79 and H2980-81. Adjournment: The House met at 12 p.m. and adjourned at 9:15 p.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: 116 of 164 spoken turns were found. Turns without a time are still listed; they just can't seek.
Morning-Hour Debate
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of January 6, 2026, the Chair will now recognize Members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning-hour debate.
The Chair will alternate recognition between the parties, with time equally allocated between the parties and each Member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to 5 minutes, but in no event shall debate continue beyond 1:50 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor longtime Adams County, Pennsylvania, Volunteer First Responder Kevin Brehm. Kevin passed away while on duty as an emergency medical technician on April 9 of 2026.
From his teenage years, Kevin devoted his life to public service.
A lifelong resident of East Berlin, Pennsylvania, he was a life member of the Northeast Adams Fire & EMS, where he had served as a deputy chief and mentor to so many aspiring first responders.
Throughout 42 years of being a first responder, Kevin amassed thousands of hours of training through his fire, rescue, and EMS disciplines.
Most certainly, Kevin impacted the lives of countless individuals with his professional expertise and his kind and thoughtful nature.
On behalf of the entire 13th Congressional District, I offer prayers and condolences to Kevin's family and to his fellow first responders throughout Adams and York Counties, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the career of my friend, Coach John Franco, an educator and a football coach, who positively impacted the lives of high school students at four schools over the last 39 years.
A native of Blair County, Pennsylvania, John Franco recently announced his retirement from coaching. Most recently, he was head coach of the Tyrone Area High School football team.
During his two stints at Tyrone, which spanned over 25 years, Coach Franco led the football team to a combined record of 230-71 and three-- yes, three--appearances in the State title game. His 1999 team won the PIAA Class 2A championship.
With an overall career record of 291-154-2, Coach Franco ranks 25th in PIAA victories.
Coach Franco has stated that the highlight of his entire career was coaching his two sons, Johnny and Steve. Both sons earned all-State recognition.
Coach Franco was a standout football star in his own right at Bishop Guilfoyle High School where he later served on that coaching staff.
On behalf of everyone in the 13th Congressional District, I express my gratitude to Coach Franco for his commitment to the development of young people and offer best wishes for success in all of his future endeavors.
Mr. Speaker, with great pride, I rise today to acknowledge the successful and effective implementation of the behavioral health pod in the emergency department at UPMC Altoona.
Supported in part with Federal funding that I was honored to facilitate, this innovative space provides patients seeking emergency treatment for behavioral health conditions with a dedicated, safe, and therapeutic environment separated from the traditional emergency department.
As the first anniversary of the pod's opening at UPMC Altoona approaches, approximately 500 patients have already benefited from this novel treatment approach. Across Pennsylvania, fewer than five behavioral health pods are operational.
Within the health pod, trained professionals focus on recovery- centered care support, offering individuals who need that mental health or substance use expertise in times of crisis.
Clinicians have emphasized that this approach provides patients with a better experience in a private and less stimulating environment to begin their healing process.
On behalf of all the constituents in the 13th Congressional District, I congratulate UPMC on this successful implementation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of National Library Week and the critical role that libraries play in communities across Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District.
Libraries are so much more than just a place to borrow books. They offer lifelong opportunities in learning through reading.
Through my work in Washington, I have had the privilege of bringing books from the Library of Congress to many libraries across Pennsylvania's 13th District.
But many libraries are facing real challenges in simply keeping their lights on. That is exactly why I introduced the Community Passport Services Access Act.
This legislation takes a practical, commonsense step to help libraries remain viable community hubs by allowing the libraries to continue offering passport services, bringing in needed revenue, expanding services for residents, and reinforcing their role as a one- stop resource for the public.
If you recognize those words, which most Americans would, they are the words of ``The Gambler.'' ``The Gambler'' was performed successfully by Kenny Rogers, but it was written by Don Schlitz.
Don Schlitz was 23 years old when he wrote that song. He was one of the greatest songwriters of our time. He passed away last Thursday night in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 73.
He was a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he won two Grammy Awards. He had three Country Music Association Awards for Song of the Year and was ASCAP's Country Songwriter of the Year for 4 consecutive years.
What a career he had.
Among his 25 hits that hit number one were, of course, ``The Gambler'' by Kenny Rogers; ``Forever and Ever, Amen'' by Randy Travis; ``When You Say Nothing At All'' performed by both Keith Whitley, who made a hit out of it, and so did Alison Krauss; ``Forty Hour Week'' by Alabama; ``One Promise Too Late'' by Reba McEntire; ``He Thinks He'll Keep Her'' by Mary Chapin Carpenter, who cowrote the song with Don; ``Strong Enough to Bend'' by Tanya Tucker; and ``On the Other Hand'' by Randy Travis.
He had his first major hit with ``The Gambler'' in 1978. He was 23, and he had come to Nashville after going to Duke for a while. He wanted to be a songwriter, and he came to Nashville with $80 in his pocket. That was the first song he wrote that ever got recorded. Bobby Bare did it first. It didn't sell enough or well, and then finally Kenny Rogers got it, and it has become one of the greatest songs we know in history.
That song would win him both the Song of the Year at the Country Music Awards and the Country Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards.
He was also a friend of mine. He was a wonderful human being with a big heart. He used to call me his Congressman even though he lived in Nashville, and I was in Memphis.
I was honored by that appellation, and I will take it for the rest of my life as a great honor.
He served at the Room in the Inn helping people who were homeless. He just had a big heart.
He leaves his wife, Stacey, who is a sweetheart; his daughter, Cory; his son, Pete, and a brother and a sister. He leaves behind a great legacy and a great history of country music and songs that move the spirit.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the extraordinary work of the Arkansas Mission of Mercy dental clinic and its executive director, my good friend, Dr. Terry Fiddler of Conway, Arkansas.
For more than 20 years, including just last weekend, Arkansas Mission of Mercy has provided free, high-quality dental care for families who would otherwise go without.
Each year in Conway, hundreds of Arkansans line up in the early morning hours, some arriving before 3 a.m., for the chance to receive care.
Throughout these annual clinics, Mission of Mercy has served more than 28,000 patients and delivered over $23 million in free dental services across our State.
This effort is powered by more than 800 volunteers, including dozens of dentists, hygienists, and medical professionals who give their time to serve their neighbors.
Dr. Fiddler and the Arkansas Mission of Mercy are not just restoring smiles. They are restoring dignity, health, and quality of life for thousands of Arkansans.
I thank Dr. Fiddler and his team for their years of service to our State.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the importance of financial literacy. April is National Financial Literacy Month, and it is worth pausing to recognize why it matters so much to our families.
Every day, Americans make decisions that shape their financial future: how to save, how to budget, how to plan for the unexpected. These choices have lasting consequences, and yet, too many people navigate them without the right tools or knowledge.
As a former community banker and investment adviser, helping Arkansans understand their finances and plan for a secure future was one of the most rewarding chapters in my career.
The basics are simple but powerful. Live within your means. Save for that rainy day. Take advantage of compound interest. Plan ahead.
It is never too early or too late to learn about financial literacy. If you don't know where to start, reach out to your local bank, financial adviser, or financial planner in your community.
When Americans have the confidence and knowledge to manage their money well, they are better positioned for long-term success.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and extraordinary legacy of a true Arkansas leader, John Purifoy Gill, who passed away last month at the age of 89.
John was a decorated marine, retiring as a lieutenant colonel, and a distinguished attorney who helped shape Arkansas law for decades.
From serving as a delegate to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention to leading the Arkansas Bar Association, his impact on our legal community is lasting and profound.
But John's leadership extended well beyond the law. He was a historian, a preservationist, and a storyteller, who dedicated his life to capturing the spirit of the Natural State.
His books, his work with our State Parks Commission, and his deep involvement in historic preservation ensured that Arkansas' story would be told and long remembered.
I had the privilege of working closely with him to honor Scipio A. Jones where John's research and advocacy were instrumental in placing this foundational and incredibly important attorney's portrait in the Little Rock post office that now bears his name.
John was a dear friend and a trusted voice. I loved our collaboration in historic preservation, outdoor recreation, and public service.
He leaves behind not just an extraordinary professional legacy but a loving family, a stronger Arkansas, and a standard of service that will continue to guide us.
Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize that last month on March 6, Alan Greenspan celebrated his centennial, 100 years old.
Most Americans know him well as the man who ran the Federal Reserve for nearly 20 years, through four Presidents, historic prosperity, and he was witness to more than a few financial crises on his watch.
Often called the Maestro, he was confirmed as Fed Chairman on August 11, 1987, just 2 months before Black Monday, the largest single-day percentage decline in market history.
The next morning, the Fed issued a one-sentence statement: ``The Federal Reserve, consistent with its responsibilities as the Nation's central bank,
It was short, calm, and unambiguous. Markets stabilized, and the crash did not become a depression.
That was Greenspan: precise under pressure and deliberate when others were panicking.
He went on to navigate the savings and loan crisis, the Gulf war recession, and the dot-com boom and bust.
My best wishes for his centennial, and my best wishes to his family.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to draw the attention of the House to another milestone in the extraordinary history of the Submarine Capital of the World, Groton, Connecticut, where this Saturday, USS Idaho (SSN-799) will be commissioned. Idaho is the 26th Virginia-class attack submarine delivered to the U.S. Navy, and the seventh such vessel built by the U.S. submarine industrial base in the last 4 years.
It is a technological marvel, weighing 7,800 tons, and the product of a workforce at the Electric Boat shipyard that has 26,000 hardworking, talented people.
Building a submarine is an extremely complex enterprise. Submarines operate in an environment that does not support human life, with a crew of 135 sailors. The boat is powered by a nuclear reactor and is armed with an arsenal to carry out its mission of deterrence. This is so important to our national security. Needless to say, there is no margin of error in its construction.
The good news is as the output of the Virginia-class program has grown, the proficiency of a new generation of shipyard workers has accelerated over the last 10 years, and the submarine quality scores by the Navy during submarine sea trials have steadily improved. In the case of USS Idaho, the Navy recorded the highest test scores in the history of the Virginia program.
Mr. Speaker, this successful commissioning is happening at a time when the volume of production is also hitting historic highs and hiring has been growing over the last 10 years.
This poster, produced by the U.S. Navy, depicts the volume of submarine construction tonnage in the U.S. starting in 1952, to my far right, through the present and into the future of 2054.
The orange bar represents tonnage in 2026, which is on par with the peak of high-rate production in the midst of the Cold War. There is no question, Mr. Speaker, that Groton, Connecticut, is the Submarine Capital of the World, full stop, period. It is not, as some are trying to say, trying to reclaim its title.
Indeed, after Idaho's commissioning on Saturday, EB and its teaming partner, Huntington Ingalls Industries, are hard at work delivering USS Arkansas (SSN-800), which is now in the water performing sea trials, and USS Utah (SSN-801), which I visited in Groton with Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle a few days ago, and soon to be floated off to join Arkansas for at-sea testing. They will be the 27th and the 28th Virginia-class submarines to be delivered to the fleet as soon as the end of this calendar year.
At the same time, Mr. Speaker, Groton is the yard where the first Columbia-class SSBNs, the USS District of Columbia, is in the final stage of production and assembly. Columbia submarines weigh 21,000 tons, 2\1/2\ times the size of a Virginia. Once again, the EB workforce defied the skeptics and naysayers when the Navy announced that delivery of that boat is being moved up to calendar year 2028 from 2029, which was the Navy's prior plan.
As ranking member of the Seapower Subcommittee on the House Committee on House Armed Services, I cannot overstate how extraordinary it is to have a first-in-class of a program's delivery date moved forward rather than back.
The strong momentum at the Groton yard and its sister shipyard at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, received another round of good news when EB recently announced its hiring goal for 2026. The overall goal is 8,000 new workers in 2026: 3,400 in Rhode Island and 4,600 in Groton. The plan will take the workforce from 26,000 to over 30,000 for the first time since the 1980s.
Once again, the skeptics and naysayers are scoffing at this goal, but as someone who has been directly involved in the adult job training programs and helping equip career and technical schools, as well as regular comprehensive high schools, with apparatus to run metal trades curricula, I have no doubt that Groton will meet its goal.
Indeed, 1 week ago, EB held a job fair in Waterford, Connecticut, expecting perhaps a few hundred visits. Instead, 1,800 people showed up. They had to cut off the line a few hours into the event because the H.R. staff was so overwhelmed.
Mr. Speaker, on Saturday at the USS Idaho commissioning, the head of Naval Reactors Admiral Bill Houston, the successor to the Father of the Nuclear Navy, Hyman Rickover, will deliver keynote remarks, and it will be a proud moment for the ship's commanding officer, Commander Chad Guillerault, his crew, and their families.
It will also be a strong reaffirmation at the Groton Submarine Base, America's oldest submarine base, that the men and women who work at Electric Boat have, once again, demonstrated to our Nation and the world that Groton is still and always will be the Submarine Capital of the World.
Mr. Speaker, we all know why a bicycle can't stand up by itself. It is because it is two tired. We also go through life being too tired sometimes, but for two married veterans in northeast Florida, they are overcoming being too tired because they, Mr. Speaker, are on a mission.
Ashton and Casey Kroner are undertaking an amazing journey. This June, they will leave Green Cove Springs, Florida, and travel all 737 miles here to Washington, D.C., to advocate for change on bicycles.
They call it Pedal for Impact. Casey is currently battling cancer. His journey reflects what too many veterans experience: a health system that should work better. His story is not about blame but about awareness, urgency, and getting this right for the next veteran.
Mr. Speaker, veterans face higher cancer risks due to toxic exposures, yet screenings still rely largely on age rather than exposure history. That gap leads to delays, difficult treatments, and outcomes we can and must improve.
Ashton and Casey are seeking solutions. As they ride through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia, they carry a simple message: Screen earlier, detect sooner, and save lives.
In a town where we talk about moving the needle and where we all talk about leadership, they show us that moving the needle is sometimes accomplished by moving the pedals and shifting into high gear.
Mr. Speaker, sometimes we are all too tired, but Ashton and Casey show us that this is no moment to squeeze the brakes. We must keep moving forward for our veterans and in the fight against cancer.
Mr. Speaker, in a world that often feels out of control, marked by anxiety and fear, how do we respond to this chaos?
Pastor Chad Weeks reminds us of a simple but powerful answer: faith.
Today, I rise to honor Pastor Chad Weeks of Russell Baptist Church in Green Cove Springs, Florida, and to thank him for serving as the House's guest chaplain.
As lead pastor of a historic church founded by his great-grandparents in 1916, Pastor Weeks carries a legacy of service. Under his leadership, Russell Baptist has become a place to find strength in adversity and hope in times of hardship.
In a season of rapid growth, he has remained steadfast in holding firm to biblical truths while investing in the next generation through thriving youth ministries and community outreach.
It is a true honor to welcome Pastor Weeks to our Nation's Capital, along with his parents, Jimmy and Joan Weeks; his wife, Ashley; and their four children: Ava, Eden, Ella, and John.
I am grateful for his friendship, Mr. Speaker, and his ministry in Clay County, Florida, and particularly for his boldness in sharing the Gospel.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and ultimate sacrifice of Deputy Michael Leroy Jimerson of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, who was tragically killed in the line of duty on April 2, 2026.
Deputy Jimerson made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his community. He put others before himself, living out the oath he took with courage, selflessness, and an unwavering commitment to protect those around him.
Mike served his community for 16 years with the Sheriff's Department, beginning as a volunteer before becoming a deputy. He answered the call to serve not because he had to, but because he believed in it.
He was a devoted husband to his high school sweetheart, Sheila, a proud father, and a loving grandfather. To his family, he was a protector and a steady presence. To his community, he was someone people could depend on.
This loss of the deputy is deeply felt across south Mississippi. As a former sheriff of this same organization, I know the risks that come with the badge and the kind of character it takes to wear it every day.
We honor his memory, we pray for his family, and we stand with the men and women who have come to serve.
Mike, you will not be forgotten. Rest in peace, brother.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish former Senator Pat Roberts a very happy 90th birthday.
For decades, Senator Roberts showed up for Kansas, first as a marine, and then for our rural communities as chairman of both the Senate and House Agriculture Committees. When he was elected to the Senate in 1996, he promised that ``when Kansas spoke, Washington would listen.''
Mr. Speaker, no matter your political party, that kind of commitment is something that we should all respect and emulate.
Personally, I have appreciated the guidance he has shared with me over the years, especially on the farm bill. He understands still today that agriculture isn't just part of our State's economy, it is in our blood.
His mentorship is a reminder that even in a place like D.C., we can still come together, share stories, and learn from one another.
Today, we celebrate a Kansan who spent a lifetime working on our behalf.
Happy 90th birthday, Senator Roberts, and I thank you for all of your service.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday morning, Shreveport lost eight precious children in a senseless act of violence. Eight children, the youngest just 3 years of age, are gone way too soon. There are simply no words.
Our hearts break for the families and everyone in the Cedar Grove neighborhood who are dealing with this unimaginable grief. We extend our deepest condolences to each of the families who lost loved ones and will continue lifting up the two women who were injured.
I encourage Louisiana and the Nation to join me in praying for these families and for this community.
I would also like to commend the officers and first responders who had to witness this tragedy firsthand for their bravery and dedication.
Shreveport is hurting now, but we have seen tough times before, and I know we will get through it again.
To the people of Cedar Grove, you are not alone. The Nation stands with you, and we will work through this together.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Artemis II crew on their successful mission around the Moon.
On this historic journey, Christina Koch made history as the first woman to travel this far into space. I am especially excited to celebrate Christina's achievement because she is a proud graduate of NC State University in my district.
Go Pack.
She is an inspiration to women and girls everywhere who want to pursue a career in a field that has been dominated by men.
Artemis II reminds us of the power of investing in space, science, and innovation, and, as Christina shared, the power of a crew. These four extraordinary astronauts set the stage for the future of the space program and for future generations of scientists.
Let's continue to make robust investments in science that will propel us to new heights.
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7386) to amend the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 7386, the First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act, led by Representative Dunn. The First Responder Network Authority, FirstNet, was born to solve the problems first responders faced during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In 2012, Congress established FirstNet as the dedicated network for first responders so they would never again suffer the severe communication failures that undermined their ability to coordinate and respond to the attacks. Nearly 15 years later, FirstNet has become a vital tool for first responders nationwide, and it is time for Congress to reauthorize this program so they can continue to do their lifesaving work.
Plain and simple, this legislation reauthorizes this important tool for first responders and makes improvements to ensure long-term success of the network, while increasing transparency and accountability within the program.
This legislation has strong bipartisan support. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7386, the First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act, and I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.
On 9/11, first responders faced tremendous challenges in trying to communicate with each other and coordinate their response to the terrorist attacks. There was no dedicated network for public safety communications.
In 2012, Congress fixed that problem by authorizing the creation of the First Responder Network Authority, or FirstNet. FirstNet has become a cornerstone of our Nation's public safety communications. It ensures that first responders, no matter where they serve, have access to a reliable, interoperable, and resilient broadband network that prioritizes public safety when it matters most.
Today, that mission is more critical than ever. As natural disasters, extreme weather events, and emergencies grow more frequent and more complex, our first responders need communication capabilities supported by infrastructure they can depend on without fail.
This bill takes an important step forward, on a bipartisan basis, toward that goal. It reauthorizes FirstNet for 10 years, providing certainty for the public safety community for the foreseeable future. At the same time, it strengthens oversight, transparency, and the accountability of the FirstNet Authority, ensuring that this vital network remains responsive, effective, and worthy of the trust placed in it by first responders.
The bill also provides important clarity about the relationship between the board and the FirstNet Authority, ensuring that public safety officials remain at the core of decisionmaking.
Importantly, it strikes the right balance: preserving speed and operational continuity while ensuring that governance keeps pace with the scale and importance of the network. Oversight and stability are not competing goals. They complement one another for the benefit of public safety.
I thank Ranking Members Pallone and Matsui, Chairmen Guthrie and Hudson, and my colleague Mr. Dunn of Florida for their leadership and partnership on advancing this bill.
This is a strong, bipartisan product, shaped through regular order in the Committee on Energy and Commerce with input from stakeholders. Ultimately, this legislation is grounded in a shared commitment to support those who put their lives on the line every single day.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7386, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to be here in support of this bipartisan, commonsense bill to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority.
I thank Chairman Guthrie and Chairman Hudson for their work throughout this process, along with my colleague on the other side of the aisle, my friend Representative Jennifer McClellan of Virginia, for co-leading this legislation with me.
The First Responder Network Authority, known as FirstNet, was established by Congress with a clear objective in mind: to build a preemptive network for the first responders that they can rely on in any emergency.
The brave men and women who risk their lives day in and out for our communities deserve nothing less than a resilient and dependable communication system.
FirstNet has delivered on this promise, and today, it is the backbone of public safety communication in the United States.
The authority governing FirstNet is set to expire in February 2027. Without proper action, we are putting the safety of our first responders and our communities at risk.
This crucial legislation would extend that authority through September 2037, giving FirstNet the long-term certainty it needs to continue investing in our Nation's safety.
In the wake of some of the most destructive natural disasters in recent memory, the importance of this network could not be more clear.
My home State of Florida understands all too well how devastating these natural disasters can be. My district has endured literally dozens of hurricanes and tropical storms in the last 10 years, most notably Hurricane Michael in 2018.
In those moments when every second counts, when innocent lives are on the line, the question of whether or not first responders can communicate with one another should never be in doubt.
At this time, I would like to take a moment to recognize the brave men and women who step forward when others step back.
I give a special thank-you to Walton County's very own Sheriff Michael Adkinson for his leadership in underscoring the imperative nature of FirstNet.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today as chairman of the Fire Services Caucus and as a former firefighter myself to speak in support of the reauthorization of FirstNet.
This bill is about making sure that the people are on the front lines and can do their jobs safely and effectively.
This year, we mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, one of the darkest days in American history. After September 11, we learned what happens when communications fail. Firefighters, police, and EMS could not talk to each other across agencies. That breakdown made an already dangerous situation even worse.
Congress created FirstNet to fix that by building a dedicated nationwide network just for public safety. The legislation keeps the network in place and makes it stronger. It extends FirstNet for another 10 years so departments aren't left guessing about whether the system will still be there. It increases public safety representation on the board of FirstNet from three to five members, which means more firefighters and first responders helping guide how the network is built and improved.
It also allows the network to invest in newer technology, not just what was defined over a decade ago.
Anyone who is in the fire service knows the tools change. Communications systems have to keep up, or they fall behind very quickly.
There are also real accountability measures here such as annual reports on cybersecurity, independent evaluations of the contractors, and requiring plans to restore service after disasters.
If there is an outage, departments have to be notified within 30 minutes. That is the kind of standard first responders expect.
When I first joined the fire service, we did not always have dedicated networks like this. You were dealing with radios that did not always connect across jurisdictions. You were relaying messages instead of getting them directly. A system like this would have cut through that and made the response more coordinated.
This is not complicated. Better communications lead to better coordination, and that saves lives.
This passed out of committee 51-0. This agreement shows how important it is. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this effort.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 7386, the First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act.
Again, this not only implements the lessons learned from 9/11, but this bill strengthens the FirstNet Authority so that ultimately a network that could not have been imagined in 2001 now will be always available, dedicated, and interoperable for our first responders so that they know they can do their job and not worry about their communication system going down.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Virginia for her support of this important legislation.
Like I said, this is a bipartisan bill, and I urge support of this bill and ask for immediate passage.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7386, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7022) to provide for the transmission of emergency alerts by satellite, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) each will control 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 7022, the Mystic Alerts Act, led by Representative Pfluger.
While we work to increase cell phone connectivity across the country, there are and may always be certain areas of this country that do not have access to that connectivity.
That can be a problem in times of natural disasters or other emergencies. If you don't have a connection, you may not be able to receive a wireless emergency alert or other emergency notifications. Satellite technology is beginning to bridge that gap with our
This legislation would kick-start the process for mobile service providers to utilize satellite connectivity to send alert messages in areas that may not have access to terrestrial cell network coverage.
This legislation has strong bipartisan support. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7022, the Mystic Alerts Act.
Emergency alerting capabilities have come a long way in recent decades as a direct byproduct of innovation and breakthroughs in wireless technology.
Not long ago, 911 calls predominantly were made from landline phones, and emergency alerts were received primarily over broadcast television and radio channels.
Both capabilities still exist and have an important role in emergency communications, but I expect for most Americans, they make their 911 calls and receive their emergency alerts on their cell phone, a smartphone.
The creation of the Wireless Emergency Alert, or WEA, in 2012 marked a significant leap forward in our ability to disseminate warning and alert messages to the public.
Prior to 2012, Americans needed to already be tuned into broadcast programming to receive an alert being distributed for any number of important situations. In the case of a hurricane or a winter storm that was forecasted in advance, for instance, the Emergency Alert System was critical for broadly distributing public safety updates and instructions to viewers. But we know that not all emergencies announce themselves days in advance.
All across the country, natural disasters like tornadoes, wildfires, and flash floods show up with little or no advance warning. One tragedy after another has demonstrated that when a wildfire spreads or floodwaters rise rapidly without warning, being able to push emergency warning information out directly to cell phones in a danger zone is one of the most powerful tools we have to save lives.
The WEA system allows alerting authorities at nearly every level of government the ability to reach Americans where they are. Cell phones are ubiquitous today, and if we avoid falling into the traps of unclear and overalerting, it will only continue to be more effective as wireless providers and alerting authorities take steps forward to improve geotargeting and location accuracy.
H.R. 7022 directs the FCC to take steps that will open up the WEA system so that satellite communication providers can leverage direct- to-cell capabilities to deliver wireless emergency alerts to cell phones in terrestrial dead zones where mobile carriers don't have coverage.
This is incredibly important for Americans who enjoy spending time in our beautiful national parks and forests, skiing in the mountains, and exploring other natural areas where connectivity is limited but where being without emergency information can be deadly, as we saw with Mystic this summer.
I thank Representatives Fletcher and Pfluger for their leadership on this effort to not only expand the reach of lifesaving emergency alerts but to turn tragedy into a victory to ensure more families don't suffer the same tragedy.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7022, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the bipartisan H.R. 7022, the Mystic Alerts Act introduced by Congressman Pfluger.
Public safety is one of Congress' most serious responsibilities, and this bill addresses a clear and urgent gap in our emergency communication system. Recent disasters have reminded us that when lives are on the line, emergency alerts must work immediately, reliably, and everywhere.
But too often, that is not guaranteed. In moments of crisis, terrestrial communication networks can be damaged, overloaded, or simply unavailable. When that happens, families may not receive the warnings they need until it is too late.
Like Congressman Pfluger, my family was directly impacted by the Camp Mystic flooding in Texas. As we all know, I had two granddaughters who were there. They lost one of their cousins, Janie Hunt.
That tragedy showed in the clearest possible terms how fast conditions can deteriorate and how devastating the consequences can be when warnings do not reach people in time.
The Mystic Alerts Act takes an important step forward by directing the FCC to establish standards and requirements for delivering emergency alerts through satellite connectivity. That means building redundancy into the system so that when traditional networks fail, alerts can still get through.
That matters for rural communities. It matters for disaster zones. It matters for places where geography, infrastructure damage, or network congestion can leave people isolated at the worst possible moment. It matters for every American who expects that, in an emergency, the government will do everything it can to get critical warnings into their hands.
This legislation will help modernize our emergency alerting framework, strengthen resilience, and improve our ability to save lives during floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and other disasters. It also honors the victims of the Camp Mystic flood by ensuring that we will not simply mourn tragedy but learn from it and act.
I commend Congressman Pfluger for his leadership and for bringing forward a practical, bipartisan solution. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7022, the Mystic Alerts Act.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for her support of this bill. I, too, encourage all Members to vote for H.R. 7022 for immediate passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7022, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1681) to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to establish an interagency strike force to ensure that certain Federal land management agencies, including the organizational units of such agencies, prioritize the review of requests for communications use authorizations, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) each will control 20 minutes.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1681, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, sponsored by Representatives Evans and Craig.
This legislation establishes an interagency strike force to help prioritize permitting reviews for deploying broadband on Federal lands.
Broadband has become an essential part of everyday life. We need broadband for work, to stay connected with loved ones, and even for healthcare and education. However, too many Americans still lack access to broadband. Thus, Congress has provided billions of dollars to ensure that every American gets connected.
Deploying on Federal lands is a critical part of closing the digital divide. Many unserved communities are near Federal lands, and thus broadband providers must transverse these lands to reach these unserved homes and businesses.
Unfortunately, deploying broadband on Federal lands can be burdensome, particularly when it comes to the permitting process. Providers have testified that this complicated process moves slowly, and they are often left in the dark on the status of their applications. As a result, unserved communities are left without the broadband they need as providers wait for agencies to approve their permits.
We need to reform the broadband permitting process. Not only do we need to streamline how we review permits, we need to ensure the agencies that manage Federal lands prioritize these reviews. H.R. 1681, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, will help ensure this happens.
H.R. 1681 directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to create an interagency strike force that includes the head of each Federal land management agency to ensure that they are prioritizing the review of broadband-permitting applications. In addition to holding periodic calls, the strike force will establish goals for the review of the requests, and monitor and hold each agency accountable for these goals.
This strike force is necessary to expedite the permitting process so that every American has access to broadband.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, I thank the sponsors, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1681, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, which was introduced by Representatives Craig and Evans.
When communications providers deploy broadband infrastructure, efficiency is critical to stretching their capital investments as far and to as many homes and businesses as possible. In the course of developing and comparing different ways to carry out a project, providers may determine that the most direct route to lay broadband infrastructure requires traversing lands owned and managed by the Federal Government.
At the Energy and Commerce Committee, we have heard testimony from witnesses and hearings about delays and inefficiencies handling permit applications that are pending at the various agencies overseeing Federal lands. While environmental and historic preservation protections will always be of paramount importance to me, we should always strive to ensure that our agencies operate as efficiently as possible.
With H.R. 1681, Congress can ensure agencies dispense with applications to deploy communications infrastructure more quickly, where no additional environmental or historic preservation due diligence is required.
This bill requires the administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, to establish an interagency strike force that will improve collaboration between NTIA and the agencies and departments responsible for reviewing and approving communications use applications.
Our intent is for NTIA to bring relevant parties together to identify obstacles and inefficiencies that have slowed progress in the past and collaborate on solutions to address these barriers going forward. This will ultimately expedite the deployment of
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, today I rise in strong support of my bipartisan bill, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act. This legislation, which I am proud to lead with my colleague from Minnesota, will help streamline broadband permitting to help deliver fast, reliable internet to the communities that need it most by creating a new system for prioritizing broadband deployment requests on or across Federal land.
It is a commonsense piece of legislation that, as we have heard, directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to establish a strike force to support Federal land management agencies' review of requests to deploy broadband across and through Federal land.
My home State of Colorado is the heart of the Rocky Mountain West with more than 24 million acres of Federal land, which is about the size of Indiana. Roughly 36 percent of the total acreage of Colorado is Federal land, and it serves countless roles, from conservation and recreation to other activities. These diverse uses also mean that multiple agencies have jurisdiction over these 24 million acres from the National Park Service to the United States Forest Service to the Bureau of Land Management. These agencies often have duplicative or redundant permitting processes which can delay what should be a simple permit.
In all parts of Colorado, from the Front Range to the Western Slope, rural communities are often surrounded by Federal lands which means they face greater difficulty building out infrastructure, including broadband. These are the communities that are often left behind when it comes to critical service such as internet access and easy communication.
It is 2026. Reliable, high-speed internet should not be considered a luxury. It is a necessity. Families, students, and small businesses need to be able to easily access this important service.
As a cop for 10 years, I also know that law enforcement and public safety rely on broadband access to promptly identify and interdict threats in our communities and respond to natural disasters. Without these reliable services, public safety operations are going to be less coordinated, which causes first responders to face delays and disorganization.
By law, Federal agencies are required to grant or deny broadband applications within 270 days, but these deadlines are often missed. The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently reported that roughly half of the communications use applications submitted to BLM and the United States Forest Service from 2018 to 2022 either exceeded the 270- day deadline or didn't have enough information to reveal whether the deadline had even been met.
As a result, broadband developers report that deploying fiber in rural areas can take an average of 5 to 10 years to complete. This is completely unacceptable, and it is a complete slap in the face to rural communities that are already underserved.
I am proud to serve as a leading voice for permitting reform in this Congress, not just for broadband but for many other types of permits, such as energy generation and distribution, that rely on broadband.
Madam Speaker, this legislation is key to fixing our broken permitting process. I am proud that it is bipartisan. I am proud that it is common sense. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 1681, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) for her support of this important legislation. I, too, urge a ``yes'' vote on this important bill, H.R. 1681, for immediate approval.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1681.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1343) to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit to Congress a plan for the Assistant Secretary to track the acceptance, processing, and disposal of certain Form 299s, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) each will control 20 minutes.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1343, the Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act, sponsored by Representatives Pfluger and Soto.
This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to develop a plan for tracking the broadband permitting application on Federal lands.
Broadband is essential to participate in everyday activities. Most Americans rely on their broadband connection for their work, healthcare, education, and more.
Congress has provided billions of dollars to close the digital divide. Indeed, NTIA is in the process of administering the BEAD Program to connect every unserved and underserved American.
Too often, broadband deployment is delayed or prevented due to unnecessary red tape in the form of burdensome permitting requirements. Federal agencies are some of the biggest culprits behind this red tape, delaying the deployment of broadband to the communities that most need it.
The process of application and approval for some of these permits has, unfortunately, become duplicative, ineffective, and time- consuming. Worse, there is no transparency in this process.
Opaque Federal permitting review processes leave applicants in the dark on whether their application is complete, where it is in the review process, and when they can expect a final decision. This uncertainty is not good for the planning of projects.
The Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act addresses these concerns by requiring NTIA to develop a plan to improve the tracking of Federal broadband permit applications. This plan would include a process to give applicants transparency into the status of their reviews, which would improve the speed and disposition of applications. This is essential to provide clarity into the Federal permitting process.
This is an important moment in time, and we must do all that we can to ensure that every American can access reliable broadband.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I thank the sponsors for their work on this bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1343, the Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act.
It should come as no surprise that many of the communities lacking internet access are rural, remote, and in sparsely populated areas. Bringing this critical infrastructure to them will, in many cases, require crossing large geographic areas. This is especially true in many of our Western States, where significant amounts of territory are owned and managed by the Federal Government.
In recent years, the Energy and Commerce Committee has heard testimony about inefficiencies in Federal permitting. Specifically, witnesses acknowledge difficulty accessing information about the status and progress of applications to deploy communications infrastructure on publicly owned and managed lands.
To help address these issues, H.R. 1343 requires NTIA, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to develop and implement a plan to assist communication providers in navigating the burdens of deploying communications infrastructure on public lands.
Ultimately, this bill should lead to more robust collaboration between those responsible for reviewing permit applications for Federal lands and the communication providers that are trying to bring high- speed internet to all of our constituents.
I thank Representatives Soto and Pfluger for their leadership on this issue. This bipartisan legislation is a product of regular order, and I am pleased to see it taken up by the full House today.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, H.R. 1343, the Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for her support for H.R. 1343, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1343.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5200) to direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) each will control 20 minutes.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 5200, the Emergency Reporting Act, led by Representative Matsui.
The reliability and resiliency of our emergency communications infrastructure are paramount. This legislation would direct the FCC to hold hearings and issue reports related to 911 outages after natural disasters and to make recommendations to improve outage reporting, bolster resiliency, and enhance coordination with State and local emergency officials. This will help make our communications systems stronger in the face of natural disasters.
Madam Speaker, this legislation has strong bipartisan support. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5200, the Emergency Reporting Act. This important bill would improve the way we assess communication failures that keep Americans in the dark with no access to 911 or emergency information during and after natural disasters.
When disaster strikes, the ability to dial 911 for help or to receive an emergency alert with potentially lifesaving information depends on networks being up and running during that event. The network staying up, in turn, depends on the strength and resiliency of our communications infrastructure and whether networks are being built and maintained to withstand increasingly powerful elements.
Every Member of this body represents a district that is susceptible to natural disasters. Hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, flash floods, earthquakes, and many more have destroyed whole communities and decimated infrastructure serving entire regions.
Madam Speaker, because we know they will continue to wreak havoc on the places we represent, it is critical that we put systems in place to gather the best information in the aftermath of natural disasters about what went wrong and why.
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to more closely examine communications failures in the aftermath of disaster periods so that we, as policymakers, can use information about recurring trends to help make networks more hardened and resilient in the face of future disasters. It is essential for Congress and Federal agencies to prioritize efforts to make networks more reliable so they work for all Americans when they need them most.
I thank Ranking Member Matsui and Representative Bilirakis for their leadership on this important bill. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5200, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5200, the Emergency Reporting Act, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
Emergencies can happen anywhere at any time, and in those moments every second counts. When a family calls 911, they should never be met with silence.
During major disasters, we have seen communications fail, and too often we are left without clear answers about what went wrong or how to prevent it from happening again.
That is why I am proud to lead the Emergency Reporting Act, a bipartisan bill, with Congressman Bilirakis that helps fix this. My bill directs the FCC to report after natural disasters on the extent to which people couldn't reach 911 and to recommend ways to improve outage reporting, resiliency, and coordination with State and local officials.
It also addresses unreported outages, so 911 call centers and first responders aren't left in the dark when services are disrupted.
I am really glad that we are advancing this bill today alongside other bipartisan efforts to strengthen our emergency communications systems and save lives.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.
Madam Speaker, I thank Ms. Matsui and my colleague from Virginia for their support of this bill. In closing, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5200.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5201) to direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a report on implementation of the Kari's Law Act of 2017, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) each will control 20 minutes.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 5201, Kari's Law Reporting Act, led by Representative Matsui.
Kari's Law, enacted in 2018, was named in honor of Kari Hunt, who was killed in a motel room in Marshall, Texas, in 2013. Ms. Hunt's 9-year- old daughter tried to call 911 for help four times from the motel room phone, but the call did not go through because the phone system required dialing 9 for an outbound call before dialing 911.
The law requires multiline telephone systems, such as those in offices, campuses, and hotels, to allow direct 911 dialing without extra digits when a 911 call is made. This legislation would require the FCC to issue a report within 180 days to determine the extent to which multiline telephone system manufacturers are complying with Kari's Law Act of 2017. Requiring these systems in large buildings or campuses will help save lives in case of an emergency.
This legislation has strong bipartisan support. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5201, the Kari's Law Reporting Act. This is an important bill that follows up on legislation signed into law in 2018.
The original Kari's Law was prompted by the tragic story of a young child unable to reach 911 when it mattered most. During what became a fatal domestic dispute in a hotel room, she repeatedly dialed 911 to call for help, but the call was never connected because the hotel system required guests to dial a prefix to make an external call. The young daughter of the victim did exactly as she was taught and correctly dialed 911, but that one digit ultimately stood between Kari Hunt and the help that she needed that day.
Kari's Law requires providers of multiline telephone systems, which serve entities like office buildings and hotels, to reconfigure their systems to enable callers to simply dial 911 without a prefix to reach emergency assistance.
Today, however, it is evident that providers have yet to fully comply with Kari's Law, and so this legislation will provide Congress and the FCC with the tools necessary to track down delinquent providers and ensure they comply with the law. This is critically important so that tragedies like that of Kari Hunt do not happen again.
I thank Ranking Member Matsui and Representative Bilirakis for their leadership on this important bill, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5201.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), the ranking member.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise in support of H.R. 5201, Kari's Law Reporting Act.
In an emergency, there is no room for confusion or delay. Every second counts, and every American should have confidence that when they dial 911, help is on the way.
This is why Congressman Bilirakis and I partnered in this bipartisan bill. It builds upon Kari's Law, which Congress passed in 2018, to require multiline telephone systems to allow direct dialing of 911 without needing to dial an extra digit.
That law came from the tragic murder of Kari Hunt when her daughter couldn't reach emergency services from a hotel phone because she didn't know she needed to dial an extra 9 first.
Our bill helps ensure the law is working as intended by directing the FCC to report on compliance in hotels, offices, and facilities nationwide.
That kind of accountability matters, and we need to make sure these lifesaving protections are being followed and practiced.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the Kari's Law Reporting Act.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their support of this bill and Ms. Matsui for her work on this bill.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5201.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) each will control 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 98, the Rural Broadband Protection Act. The House version of this bill, led by Representative Houchin, passed the House by voice vote last year.
The Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund provides funding to support the deployment and operation of broadband networks in our rural communities. Although most recipients of this support fulfill their deployment obligations, there have been cases in the past where commitments were unmet.
The Rural Broadband Protection Act requires the FCC to establish a process for upfront vetting of broadband providers seeking USF funds to ensure they are qualified to uphold their obligations. It also directs the FCC to set penalties for those providers that do not build out where they promised.
These new steps will ensure that USF support only goes to qualified providers and that those providers follow through on their commitments to serve rural Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Houchin for her leadership on this bill and encourage my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 98, the Senate companion to H.R. 2399, or the Rural Broadband Protection Act, which passed the House in 2025.
This legislation would direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a process to more thoroughly vet internet service providers participating in the Universal Service Fund's High Cost program.
For years, it has been clear that Congress must step in to enact reforms to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the High Cost program. Following an investigation by Energy and Commerce Democrats in 2017, the Government Accountability Office opened its own inquiry into reports of abuse of High Cost support.
In a scathing report, the GAO identified a remarkable lack of oversight by the FCC and recommended greater accountability to ensure precious USF dollars are spent on the mission of deploying high-speed broadband to unserved and underserved communities.
Since then, we have seen modest progress to curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the High Cost program, but more accountability is needed.
I commend Representatives Kelly and Houchin for their work on this legislation to bring greater oversight and accountability to the High Cost program and protect the integrity of USF funds, every dime of which must go to help unserved and underserved communities still lacking high-speed internet.
I believe this legislation will help address critical gaps in the vetting process for High Cost recipients and curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the program, so I urge my colleagues to support S. 98.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 98, the Rural Broadband Protection Act, a bill I authored and passed out of the House as H.R. 2399 and an issue I have long championed.
In April, we passed the House version of this bill. In June, the Senate passed the identical text, sponsored by my friend Senator Capito also by voice vote. Today, we have a chance to finish the job and send this legislation to the President's desk.
Across Indiana and rural America, families, farmers, students, and small business owners still struggle with slow and unreliable internet access, and it is more than an inconvenience. It is a barrier to opportunity, to education, to healthcare, and to economic growth.
When Congress invests in rural broadband, we have an obligation to make sure those dollars reach the communities they are meant to serve and that the providers that are receiving them are capable of getting the job done.
That is exactly what the Rural Broadband Protection Act does.
It directs the Federal Communications Commission to vet applicants for broadband funding based on their experience, their technical capability, and their demonstrated ability to deploy. It brings accountability and transparency to the grant review process, ensuring taxpayer dollars go to real, shovel-ready projects, not phantom providers or empty promises.
This is smart, bipartisan, commonsense legislation. It passed the Energy and Commerce Committee 51-1. It passed the House by a voice vote last April. It passed the Senate by voice in June.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Senator Capito for her leadership on the Senate side
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on S. 98. Let's get this bill to the President's desk where it can finally become law.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their support. In closing, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 98.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, the unfinished business is the vote on the motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1681) to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to establish an interagency strike force to ensure that certain Federal land management agencies, including the organizational units of such agencies, prioritize the review of requests for communications use authorizations, and for other purposes on which the yeas and nays were ordered.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 384, nays 9, not voting 37, as follows:
Messrs. BURLISON and SELF changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Ms. STEVENS changed her vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from New Jersey, the Honorable Analilia Mejia, be permitted to take the oath of office today.
Her certificate of election has not arrived, but there is no contest and no question has been raised with regard to her election.
The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER. Will the Representative-elect and the members of the New Jersey delegation present themselves in the well.
All Members will rise and the Representative-elect will please raise her right hand.
Ms. MEJIA appeared at the bar of the House and took the oath of office, as follows:
The SPEAKER. Congratulations, you are now a Member of the 119th Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot overemphasize the level of enthusiasm that I and the New Jersey delegation express today on the swearing in of Congresswoman Mejia. I cannot. We are so enthusiastic, and I think you can tell from her own constituents who came here today.
I just want you to understand that her leadership was so important, her reaching out to the grassroots, her reaching out and standing up for working families, but even more so for young people. Young people were so enthused by her.
Many of us are concerned about the future of our democracy and whether younger people are going to vote, whether they are going to participate. Analilia made it clear that that was so important to her, and so we had--She got so many people who were younger to come out to vote, to actually participate in the election, to knock on doors, and all the things that are so important to our democracy.
She talked about solutions. She didn't just say: We want you to come out. She talked about solutions for working people that would actually make a difference. This is what is really important.
The reason that we are so enthused is that we see someone who reaches out to young people, who is a grassroots organizer, and who understands the problems of working families.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the new member of our New Jersey delegation, the gentlewoman, Congresswoman Mejia.
Ms. MEJIA. Mr. Speaker, good evening. It is a privilege and an honor to stand before this Chamber. We, the privileged few, are honored with the responsibility to represent the interests of our fellow Americans at home and across the world.
I thank my new colleagues for their warm welcome and the great people of New Jersey's 11th Congressional District for their trust. I thank, of course, my husband, Robert, and my two children, Langston and August, for being my best supporters. The three of them mean the world to me. I also thank my sister, Anaisa, and my two mothers, Luz and Michele, and my dearly departed father, Francisco, for always standing alongside me.
My presence in this Chamber is, in many ways, an unlikely reality. I am the daughter of a Dominican factory worker and a Colombian seamstress who knew struggle. Yet, I stand before you, representing the great 11th Congressional District of New Jersey, a place rich in history and eager to make more.
I bring greetings from Morristown, where George Washington led through the harsh winters of the Revolutionary War.
I bring greetings from Bloomfield, New Jersey, as well, which led the way on access to public education for all. In fact, I send greetings from every corner of my district. My constituents are eager to hear how we shall work together to improve the lives of the many I am honored to represent.
Mr. Speaker, there is an African proverb that says: If you wish to know the end, you must strive to understand the beginning. This proverb feels timely as I begin my tenure in this lauded space, at the precipice of our Nation's 250th anniversary. As I address this body, I am ever present to the fact that it was conceived and designed as the people's House, a counterweight at critical moments, where people may have the fullest say.
I stand before you on this day, the 20th of April. I want to remind you that on this date in 1871, an ``Act to enforce the Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other Purposes,'' otherwise known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, was signed as an attempt by we the people to make true the promise of freedom and equity hard earned through conflict and peacemaking.
The third in a series of Enforcement Acts, it was designed to protect the civil and political rights of individuals, under threat by the violence of vigilante groups intent to deny the protections of the Constitution for those who earned it through blood, sweat, and tears.
The 14th Amendment defined citizenship and guaranteed due process and equal protection of the law to all Americans. Vigilante groups like the Klan, however, threatened by the idea of expansive freedom, used violence to undermine the Republican Party's plan for Reconstruction.
The Ku Klux Klan Act made it a Federal crime to deny any group or individual ``any of the rights, privileges, or immunities or protections named in the Constitution.''
In a moment in which a State-sanctioned vigilante group threatens due process and equal protection, and our highest Court questions citizenship, clearly defined in the Constitution, it is important for us to strive to understand the beginning so that we may protect what we hold most dear all the way through to the end.
I join you today with a message delivered by the people of New Jersey's 11th Congressional District but echoed nationally: Stand up, defend, restore not only our democracy, but also a just economy that actually works for working people.
Stand up for folks like Bob, a retired fire captain who served at Ground Zero, struggling to access healthcare because of staffing cuts and hiring freezes.
Stand up for Mary, who alongside her husband, dropped her own health coverage just to afford their child's college tuition.
Think about and stand up for Larry and Joe, who work hard every day and deserve a just retirement in their golden years.
These are not just abstract policies or debates. These are real consequences of the decisions made in this Chamber. At a time when our Constitution and our rights are under strain, we are called not just to serve, but to stand up, to protect, and to deliver on the promise of equal protection and justice under our great laws. That is the work ahead of us. That is the work that we must take on.
The SPEAKER. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, the unfinished business is the vote on the motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5200) to direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, and for other purposes, on which the yeas and nays were ordered.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill.
This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 386, nays 7, not voting 38, as follows:
So (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote today, due to a commitment in my Congressional district. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 125 and YEA on Roll Call No. 126.
Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today, alongside my colleagues in the New York delegation, to mourn the loss of our dear friend and former colleague, Eliot Engel.
Over the course of a lifetime in public service, including more than three decades in Congress, Eliot was a tireless champion for the people of the Bronx, Westchester, and Rockland County.
Throughout his career, his hard work and fierce advocacy improved the lives of countless people in the United States and across the world.
As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, he was a leader on such issues as healthcare, energy, and consumer protection. Yet, Eliot had perhaps his greatest impact as chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which he led with integrity and experience, lending strength and credibility to America's role in the world.
Among his many accomplishments, he played a crucial role in protecting the people of Kosovo and combating child labor.
Most of all, he will be remembered as an unwavering friend to Israel. As the Congressional Jewish Caucus noted upon his passing, Eliot Engel ``is among the pantheon of champions of our people who have served with distinction in the Halls of Congress.''
His legacy of service to New York, to the Nation, and to the world lives on through the issues he fought for and the lives he touched.
Our thoughts are with his wife, Pat, and all of his loved ones. May his memory be a blessing.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members and staff rise for a moment of silence in remembrance of Chairman Eliot Engel.
Mr. Speaker and colleagues, our hearts are broken tonight, as they have been since Sunday morning. Everyone has seen the stories in the news out of my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, a city that is represented in part by Congressman Cleo Fields, who is here with me now.
We stand here with one voice as members of the Louisiana delegation to express our deep sorrow for the lives that were taken too soon. There were eight young, innocent children, all between the ages of 3 and 11, lost in a tragedy that can only be described as senseless, unspeakable evil.
Jayla Elkins was 3 years old; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.
As the details of their killing unfold, it is difficult for us to put our emotions into words. This tragedy confounds the minds and hearts of every parent in America, and we have been thinking a lot about this. We encourage mothers and fathers to go home tonight and hold your loved ones extra close. I think all of us are doing that.
Life is a sacred gift from God. As this horrific event reminds us, it can be too short.
The entire community of Shreveport needs our prayers right now: the first responders and law enforcement who descended swiftly on the scene, the classrooms with empty seats and missing friends at school today, and, most of all, the families whose lives have been forever changed by this tragedy.
Hold all of them close in your hearts and your prayers, if you will, and we trust that God is close to the brokenhearted, as promised to us in Scripture.
If we could all please join in a moment of silence in honor of the eight young and precious lives who were lost far too soon.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that the House now observe a moment of silence.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 7380, a bill originally introduced by Representative Swalwell of California, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from New York?
Authorizing the Speaker to Declare a Recess on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, for the Purpose of Receiving in Joint Meeting His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain And...
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it may be in order at any time on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, for the Speaker to declare a recess, subject to the call of the Chair, for the purpose of receiving in joint meeting His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from New York?
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table S. Con. Res. 29, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
On April 20, 2026, page H2982, in the first column, the following appeared: Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on House Administration be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 29, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The online version has been corrected to read: Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table S. Con. Res. 29, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from New York?
There was no objection.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Borough of State College for its recent recognition as the Nation's Best Small College Town by USA Today.
For the first time in this decades-long poll, State College secured the top spot, a reflection of the borough's commitment to making this an area people love to live in.
Commonly known to Pennsylvanians as Happy Valley, State College is home to more than 40,000 residents. The borough shares a deep-rooted partnership with Penn State, where residents and visitors gather to celebrate the community's school spirit.
Beyond the Penn State campus, Centre County provides the perfect backdrop for people who want to explore the surrounding trails and parks.
Mr. Speaker, State College has grown significantly since the borough's founding more than 120 years ago. The downtown area is home to many thriving local businesses and restaurants that help make State College a welcoming town.
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate State College on this fantastic achievement.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my sincerest congratulations to an esteemed champion, Rory McIlroy, on his remarkable victory at the 2026 Masters Golf Tournament.
Each year, during the first full week of April, golf fans, professionals, and patrons from across the world travel to Georgia's 12th District and the Augusta National Golf Club for a tradition unlike any other.
Once again, this year's historic tournament reminded the world why Augusta stands as the true pinnacle of championship golf. With determination and grit, Rory McIlroy secured his second straight green jacket, a feat only three of golf's all-time greats have accomplished.
The story behind Rory's historic victory is not one of usual stature. Last year, overcoming an 11-year major championship drought, Rory completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta, only to go with back-to- back championships this year. His resilience provides a powerful message to the next generation: Success belongs to those who persevere.
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate and thank Chairman Fred Ridley, members and staff of Augusta National, and volunteers for presenting another outstanding competition where the greats like Rory McIlroy can make history.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of William O'Neill McCurdy, Sr., affectionately known to many simply as Billy.
Billy was a prominent figure in Las Vegas, a long-time pastor, entrepreneur, and community activist, among so much more.
A true Las Vegas icon, he was an influential community figure with decades of civic and political ties across the State. Although he never held public office himself, he had an immense influence in the community and in Nevada politics.
The McCurdy family has been a fixture on the historic Westside and the entire State of Nevada for seven decades. Nevada is so honored to have felt his impact throughout the years, and we will continue to feel that impact through his family and his son, William McCurdy II, the Clark County Commissioner.
Billy McCurdy will forever be remembered and greatly missed by the entire Las Vegas community.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Mike Stepp and his family on 70 years of sweetening Casper's history with Donells Candies.
The Stepp family opened their candy shop in 1956 on a busy strip in northeast Casper. Success followed, with the business moving to downtown 40 years later.
A family tradition started by Don and Elma Stepp with chocolates in the fifties has since expanded to selling ice cream and espresso in the 21st century.
While Elma passed before her beloved shop's first relocation, her family has continued the candy-making legacy to the delight of everybody in the community. Every Casper resident has indulged in the Stepp family's candies,
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Mike Stepp and his entire family for reaching 70 years in business.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my outrage over the conditions that are in place at the growing number of immigrant detention centers established by ICE and the Trump administration nationwide.
Aside from holding individuals without judicial warrants, oftentimes detaining American citizens illegally, the centers clearly have not prioritized incarcerating just rapists and violent criminals as advertised. Reports from coast to coast reference centers where Members of Congress have visited and found insufficient bathroom access, inadequate sleeping accommodations, and general overcrowding, all dismissed by the management of ICE.
In a month where this President has picked a fight with the Pope, the leader of the Catholic Church worldwide, and put himself on the social media meme as if he were a divine figure, these policies are far from divine, Christian, or humane.
Obsessed by putting one's own name on buildings to assure everlasting fame, I assure you this name will never be forgotten as the architect and advocate of a system of inhumanity. The world is watching.
Mr. Speaker, today we honor Gary Sides, pictured here beside me, a man who gave over a decade of public service to Union County, North Carolina. As a former Union County commissioner, he spent years not only serving, but truly changing lives.
Gary was a constant champion for students, especially those with special needs. He stood beside families of every kind. He showed up again and again for his community.
In December of 2024, Gary Sides was sworn in as a Union County commissioner, a role that reflected the trust our community had in him and his dedication he had already proven.
Just 4 months after he was sworn in, Gary received a devastating diagnosis, stage IV glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Yet, even in the face of an unimaginable heartbreak, Gary's life remains a testament not to hardship, but to service.
He lived a life that put others first. Every single day, he served the people of Union County with humility, compassion, and purpose. He focused on what mattered most: education, public safety, and the well- being of Union County. If something needed to be done, Gary was there to do it.
Beyond his work, Gary was a man of deep faith, a man who walked with God, was led by faith, and who found strength in something greater than himself. In that, we find peace in knowing that he is now in heaven with our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Today, let us remember Gary Sides and not only remember him, but let us learn from him. Let us live in a way that when our time comes, we too will be remembered as someone who gave back more than they took.
Above all, let us keep our faith at the center of all we do just as Gary did every day.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today with pride to honor an extraordinary group of women from Arizona's Seventh Congressional District, the Pima Community College women's basketball team, NJCAA Division II National Champions.
Last month, they made history, defeating Kirkwood 64-58 to secure the program's first ever national title representing southern Arizona and Tucson with excellence.
This team faced adversity all season but stayed resilient, united, and found a way to win and are now champions.
Tournament MVP, Melicia Nelson, led the charge with 20 points and 11 rebounds. From Window Rock, she carries the pride of the Navajo Nation and now stands as the best player in the tournament.
To Coach Todd and the entire team, ``congratulations''; ``felicidades.'' I thank you so much for inspiring us all. Southern Arizona is proud.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate Julie and Juergen Grieb of Treveri Cellars for their recognition as ``influencers'' and ``trailblazers'' in Sip Magazine.
It all began in 2008 when Juergen first suspected that central Washington and Yakima Valley grapes might make a delicious sparkling wine.
Well, he put that theory to the test, and the wine was so good that when Julie tried it, she was blown away. That led them to working together to open Treveri Cellars, Washington's first sparkling winehouse.
Today, Treveri is a highly respected, multigenerational, family-owned business that produces over 50,000 cases of sparkling wine a year.
I congratulate Julie and Juergen again for this well-deserved outstanding recognition. Cheers to you both.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 100th anniversary of the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center in Pomona, California.
Founded in 1925 by Will Keith Kellogg, this remarkable institution began as one man's bold vision to pair education with purpose and inspire lives through the beauty of Arabian horses.
That vision grew far beyond the ranch, helping lay the foundation for Cal Poly Pomona, a university rooted in access, equity, and hands-on learning.
For a century, the Kellogg Arabian Horse Center has been a gateway to opportunity. Through programs like Sunday Shows, Foal Watch, and Horses for Heroes, students truly learned by doing, developing skills in leadership and service that carry them far beyond the classroom.
As we celebrate this milestone, we honor not just the historic institution but the transformative power of education and philanthropy.
I congratulate the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center on a century of excellence and impact, and cheers to the next 100 years.
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, I sadly received this message from a courageous friend in Ukraine: ``Dear brother Joe, today our hearts are heavy. Just a few hours ago, Russian troops struck a Baptist church in Zaporizhzhia. This was not just a building. It was a beautiful house of prayer that believers built over many years, sacrificing their own finances and strength. For more than 300 people, it became a spiritual home, a place of worship, fellowship, and family.
``Now it lies in ruins.
``We already know of at least five victims, including one minister Ruslan Utyuzh who was inside the church at the moment of the strike. . . .
``Please stand with us in prayer and action. This must be stopped.''
In conclusion, God bless our troops as the global war on terrorism continues. Trump is continuing to reinstitute peace through strength, revealing war criminal Putin lies, insulting and mocking Trump with war criminal Putin bombing churches to intimidate Ukrainians, but war criminal Putin is a loser as Ukrainians will achieve victory.
I congratulate Congressman Neal Dunn on the birth of a granddaughter an hour ago, Nora Amelia Dunn. Grateful parents are David and Isabel Dunn of Phoenix, Arizona.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the victory in the fight for liberty on the continent of Europe, our closest tested allies.
Earlier this month, the people of Hungary voted in record numbers to end the repressive rule of its former Russia-leaning Prime Minister.
As co-chair of the Congressional Hungarian Caucus, I cheered with Hungarian Americans and just was thrilled at the victory of liberty in Hungary in the person of its new Prime Minister Peter Magyar.
For 16 years, Hungarians endured a cadre of kleptocrats that plundered their country and sold it out to the interests of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Shocking tapes reveal how Orban's top officials plotted with Russia to undermine neighboring Ukraine and the rest of Europe and even help the Ayatollah in Iran.
The former Prime Minister's betrayal of the Hungarian people and the NATO Alliance is why Congressman Don Bacon and I introduced the BLOCK PUTIN Act to hold these corrupt officials accountable.
Thank God the people of good will won in Hungary.
When Soviet Russia invaded the beautiful country in 1956, it took decades before they got a victory for democracy.
You have friends in America, our dear, dear friends in Hungary. We love liberty, too. Bravo. Onward.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Thomas Elred Bradford, a man who truly embodied servant leadership.
A Birmingham native and graduate of Ramsay High School, Tom served in the United States Air Force after college before joining his family business.
After a successful career in business, instead of retiring, Tom founded the National Christian Foundation of Alabama.
Tom was deeply committed to his faith and community, serving as an elder at Briarwood Presbyterian Church and in leadership roles in numerous civic, charitable, and Christ-centered organizations across Birmingham.
Most importantly, he was a devoted husband to Mary Anne and a loving father.
Tom was always searching for ways to invest in those around him, and I was fortunate enough to benefit from his mentorship. Tom gave me my first job in Birmingham, and years later when I came to him with the idea to start a profamily think tank, he agreed to serve as the founding board chairman of the Alabama Family Alliance, which later became the Alabama Policy Institute.
Tom was always a tremendous source of advice and godly counsel and became like a second father to me. Tom was truly a force for good. He will be missed.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Patricia Guerra-Frazier for her appointment as mayor of Union Township in New Jersey's 10th Congressional District.
Mayor Frazier has made history, becoming the first Latina to hold this role. She has displayed her dedication to serving her community by focusing on improving the quality of life for Union residents.
Since being sworn in, she has focused on cultural investment, community parks, public safety, and development.
Mayor Frazier has also brought something very special to this role: her experience serving her community as a teacher for 23 years.
On behalf of New Jersey's 10th Congressional District, I congratulate our new mayor of Union Township, and I wish her all the best as she continues to serve Union.
Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to honor the life and legacy of Berks County Fire Chiefs Jeff Buck and Robert Shick who tragically lost their lives in the line of duty.
On April 4, Walnuttown Fire Chief Jeff Buck and Assistant Chief Robert Shick were participating in a missing person search when they were struck and killed by a man driving under the influence.
Chief Buck and Assistant Chief Shick served the Berks County community with distinction for many years. The outpouring of sorrow and support from the entire community reflects the respect and admiration held by all. Beyond their outstanding service to the community, Chief Buck and Assistant Chief Shick were also both dedicated family men.
I want to extend my deepest condolences and prayers to their surviving wives, children, and grandchildren.
Mr. Speaker, this unspeakable tragedy highlights the dangers our first responders face every day. I know the entire Berks County community will never waver in their commitment to honor the legacy of these brave heroes, and I urge Congress to follow their example by never failing to support our first responders, firefighters, and police.
Mr. Speaker, at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, I have seen firsthand what makes eastern North Carolina strong: our marines, our civilian workers, and our community and their commitment to being mission ready.
As the Air Station of the Year, with a 24/7 airfield operation, Cherry Point isn't just about national defense. It is about jobs, families, and the future of Havelock and our region.
The STARBASE program provides students with hands-on STEM experiences and real opportunities to learn and succeed. I am so proud to support $40 million for the F-35 Aircraft Sustainment Center, strengthening our national security.
I thank our marines, their families, the Allies for Cherry Point's Tomorrow, and Mayor Will Lewis for an incredible visit. When we stand with our marines, we are also standing for eastern North Carolina.
Mr. Speaker, I intended to address the House last Friday, on April 17, but our legislative calendar shifted, and the House was not the session.
As a result, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 102nd birthday of someone very special to me, my grandmother, whom my family affectionately refers to as Gacks.
My grandmother was born on April 17, 1924, in Des Moines, Iowa, and today she resides in Georgia, blessed with incredible health. At the early age of 102,
I am my grandmother's only grandchild, which is notable because she will forever have a perfect record of having her grandchildren elected to Congress.
Since her 95th birthday, we have celebrated her birthday in very special ways. This year, my grandmother is watching at home with family as we wish her, from the floor of the United States House of Representatives, a very happy 102nd birthday.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solemn remembrance of something that happened 31 years ago in Oklahoma City at the Federal building that we refer to as the Murrah Building when an act of unimaginable horror took place and the lives of 168 of our fellow Americans were taken in almost an instant.
That was one of those experiences that forever reshaped my community and my neighbors. It reshaped the country at the time, and that is what I and my colleagues rise this evening to discuss those 31 years ago and how our communities responded and where we went from there.
I was an 11-month Member of Congress at the time. My district office was 1\1/2\ blocks away from the Murrah Building, and the force and the magnitude of the explosion that day were so incredible that not only did it blow the interior out of the Murrah Building, leaving just a shell, but it also damaged buildings blocks away, literally creating chaos and confusion all over central Oklahoma City.
Sometimes, in the chaos of the modern world, we forget that we are Americans, we are Oklahomans, we are fellow human beings, and we rise to the occasion. That response, beginning almost instantly and covering hours, days, and weeks, reflected that Oklahoma standard, that Oklahoma way of doing things--but not just Oklahoma, our great Nation.
This evening for a little bit, we together will discuss the things that we have dealt with since then, things we observed in those moments, and how it made a real difference in the lives of the survivors and those who were so critically injured.
My friend, Congressman Cole, was Secretary of State in the State of Oklahoma, a central member of Governor Keating's cabinet. When the emergency response programs were activated, he was a part of the State's response to help local government in interacting with FEMA.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).
Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Oklahoma, my distinguished colleague and extraordinary leader in that moment, Mr. Lucas, for yielding.
Like my friend, we don't need a lot of notes to talk about that day 31 years ago to the day yesterday. We remember what was the darkest day in Oklahoma history, the worst act of domestic terrorism ever performed on American soil.
My friend, Mr. Lucas, as he said, was only 11 months in as a new Congressman representing that area, that district, and we are very lucky there was not a loss of life in his office, as close as they were to the disaster site. I had been in office less than 100 days working for our friend, Frank Keating.
I will never forget that day. I was walking into my office, and I could feel a little shudder. The capitol is about 2\1/2\ miles away from the disaster site. I sat down in my chair, and my secretary immediately walked into my office.
She said: Something terrible has happened in downtown Oklahoma City. Your wife--who was three blocks away working as a paralegal at the time--has just called and said that something terrible has happened. She is on the phone.
I got on the phone, and she described to me what she could see from the 18th floor of an office tower at a law firm three blocks away.
She said: I don't know what has occurred, but there has been a horrific explosion. There are hundreds of people in the street. People are screaming, and something awful has happened.
Immediately I walked upstairs to the Governor's office. Frank Keating was our new Governor at the time. He obviously had been in office less than 100 days, as well. If you walked into the Governor's office, Mr. Speaker, there is a press office immediately to your right. I looked to the right. I saw the Governor and his chief of staff, my good friend, Clinton Key.
They were watching the disaster as it unfolded because there were already helicopters flying over the disaster site, and one of the news commentators was speculating: Well, this was a natural gas explosion.
Frank Keating had been an FBI agent in the early part of his career as a law enforcement official and later an Associate Attorney General of the United States under President Reagan. He was looking at this. One of his first jobs as a young FBI officer in the 1960s had been to investigate acts of terrorism associated with the Vietnam war on the West Coast.
I will never ever forget him watching this. He said that is not a natural gas explosion. That is a car bomb, and it is probably some act of terrorism.
He knew immediately what we were dealing with. As we watched that horrific day unfold where we lost 168 lives, I marveled every single day at the extraordinary leadership that Frank Keating and our first lady, Cathy Keating, showed for the State of Oklahoma. He not only knew what had happened, he knew instinctively what he needed to do.
We had an emergency meeting in the Governor's office. We decided there is always a debate in one of those things: Do you go to the site? Do you lead from the capitol?
Frank Keating said: You go to where the action is. I am going downtown and assign various tasks to the rest of us. Then he headed down.
I joined him later that day. He saw this horrific explosion that had taken 168 lives and injured hundreds and hundreds more people. We watched the unfolding relief effort.
As bad as the day was for Oklahoma, I don't think I ever was more proud of the State and, quite frankly, the country as it dealt with the tragedy unfolding in front of us in those opening hours on April 19, 1995.
Our first responders in Oklahoma City--police officers and the fire department--immediately sprang into action, immediately trying to get people out of the building, trying to contain the disaster. Over 300 buildings around the site had been heavily damaged.
They performed heroically and magnificently because, frankly, we thought at the time that there might be other bombs there and that there might be other explosions coming.
By about 11 o'clock that morning, we had the Governor back, and we convened at the capitol complex in Oklahoma City.
About 1 o'clock, we got a call from the President of the United States, Bill Clinton. Most people don't know this, but President Clinton and Governor Keating had gone to Georgetown University together. When the Governor was president of the senior class, then- sophomore class member Bill Clinton was president of the sophomore class. They knew one another extraordinarily well.
There was already lots of speculation that it might be terrorist activity directed from overseas. The President asked the Governor: Governor, do we have any earthly idea who did this? He said: No, Mr. President, we don't. You will hear a lot of speculation, but obviously, we don't know at this point who did this deed.
I will never forget the response of President Clinton, who said immediately: Well, I hope it is not a foreigner who did something like this.
I remember thinking: Well, gosh, how could you want it to be an American? The President said something very insightful. It actually came back to me when we as a country went through 9/11. He said: If this was done by somebody overseas, we will be at war someplace in the world in the next 6 months. He, too, knew immediately
In the days ahead, again, our firefighters, our National Guard, our police, and all the surrounding police officers and fire departments did an extraordinary job as we struggled to find out who had done this, what we could do to save lives, and whether there were still survivors left in there.
At every point, Governor Keating showed leadership, but he was not alone. The mayor of Oklahoma City, Ron Norick, a good friend of Congressman Lucas and mine, also performed magnificently, directing the response effort.
Much more importantly than that for us, the people of Oklahoma responded instinctively and heroically, not only in sending the relief efforts that we initially needed, but also in rallying around the victims, giving blood, and trying to see that whatever was needed would be done.
I then recall all the other Americans from all over the country who were immediately moving in our direction to help. We had relief units. I met the captain of the New York Fire Department, who later lost his life responding to 9/11. I met relief and rescue workers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. People came from all over America because it is what Americans do when they face a tragedy: You help other Americans.
Finally, I will tell you that the Clinton administration responded spectacularly. President Clinton sent every bit of aid that we requested and then some. When our First Lady decided that we needed to grieve while we were dealing with disaster, she came up with the idea of the prayer service, which was attended immediately by Billy Graham, by the President of the United States, obviously by our local dignitaries, and by our neighbor, the newly elected Governor of the State of Texas, George Bush. You saw all Americans coming and working together.
Over the course of that, something called the Oklahoma Standard was developed and is still very famous amongst first responders. This is how our community, a State, and, frankly, a country is supposed to respond when confronted with an unspeakable act of evil. So as terrible as it was, it became a rallying point for the people of Oklahoma, and it became an incident where you could see the goodness and decency of the American people overcoming a terrible act of evil.
We got help from all over the world. I still have prayer beads sent to us from Germany that the nuns had made. People just responded and stepped up.
We will never forget in Oklahoma the horror of those days, the worst days I ever lived through. We will never forget the decency of both the people of Oklahoma, certainly of Oklahoma City, decent people from all across the country who helped us, and a great and compassionate government that was immediately available. Sometimes, the government is a pretty controversial thing these days. You will never know how lucky you are as an American as when something terrible like this happens and all the resources and all the compassion of a great and good people are immediately at your disposal to help you get through a disaster: FBI, FEMA, law enforcement personnel, more rescue teams. That went on for day after day after day.
Out of that came a thought that the Governor had: What can we do to help the survivors? What can we do for all the children who are now orphans? He set up with the First Lady, Cathy Keating, a foundation which, frankly, raised the money and provided for the education of every child who lost a parent. College, technical education, whatever they needed, we would be there to fulfill the role of the parents who were taken from very young children at an age and in a way that they couldn't possibly comprehend. Frankly, none of us could ever understand what happened behind it and what the reasons for it were.
I think about that day quite often, and I think about it particularly on the anniversary dates. There was an enormous celebration yesterday in Oklahoma City, prayer services, a memorial marathon that we run every year connected with this event, and the Day to Remember. Again, out of that terrible thing, many good things have happened.
Mr. Speaker, I particularly commend my friend. I was assigned the job, as secretary of state, of being the liaison with the Federal Government. That meant I was working through my congressman and friend Frank Lucas to try to make sure that the Federal Government played its appropriate role, not only in the response--and, believe me, they did. I could not have, again, asked any more from President Clinton. I have expressed that to him on many occasions and on this floor on multiple occasions. Anything we asked for, he made sure that we had.
I also think of all the decent people who rallied around and helped us. We saw superb leadership at the public level. My friend was at the heart of making sure that Oklahoma City got all the help that it needed.
We were trying to struggle with what it would take to rebuild Oklahoma City. I remember talking to my counterparts in the Federal Government at the time whom President Clinton had dispatched. The normal relief in a situation like that, a disaster, is a 75/25 split. I remember telling one of them that this isn't a natural disaster. This is an attack on a Federal facility in the middle of Oklahoma City.
They thought about it. They said: You know, you are right, this is really a Federal responsibility. The generosity of the people of the United States of America helped rebuild Oklahoma City, and that very same concept was used when our friends in New York, who had been so quick to send us help, went through an even more horrific ordeal on 9/ 11.
These disasters were meant to hurt the State of Oklahoma. They were meant to hurt our faith and our system, and they were meant to damage the American people profoundly. They did exactly the opposite. They reminded us that whatever our differences politically, whatever differences we have in different parts of the country, in the end we are all Americans, and in the end Americans stick together and look after their own.
Frankly, as I said, we got help from all over the world. We got help from every point on the political spectrum. We got the assistance of folks who decided they would not give in to horror, they would not give in to terrorism, they would not allow evil to overcome the innate decency of the people.
As I pause and reflect, I do remember it as the worst day of my life. I do remember it as the worst day in the history of my State. But I remember it also as an example of the compassion, decency, and the enormous capability of the American people to look after their own in a terrible situation.
I thank my friend for organizing this memorial to this horrific event because it is really something we should never forget, but it is something we should always be proud of. We should be proud of the response of those very first police officers and firemen, just as at 9/ 11, not knowing exactly what had happened, but throwing themselves in harm's way.
We should be proud of the political leadership that we had at the time. We were very fortunate to have the Governor we had, the First Lady that we had, Frank and Cathy Keating, the mayor we had in Oklahoma City, the Congressmen we had that represented that area and worked with us not just in those days and weeks but, frankly, in the months and years that followed to make sure that Oklahoma City recovered.
We should be proud of a people that never ever will forget what occurred that day and never ever will let the forces of evil overcome the forces of good and the decency of the American people.
I have seen enough in my lifetime to know when good overcomes evil and that in the end it always does because I saw it in Oklahoma City. I saw it with friends and colleagues. I saw it from strangers all across the country. I saw it from political leaders at every point in the political spectrum. What was our worst day as a State was probably our best day in terms of showing what we were capable of when we were challenged and reminding the world that all of America stands together against terrorism and all of America works together to help people not only deal with the immediate tragedy but to overcome, to heal, and to move on.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for setting up this fitting memorial discussion this evening.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman who represents the Second District of Oklahoma, Congressman Brecheen. Clearly, he, too, cares about all Oklahomans and all of our fellow citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I find myself in an unfortunate status. I was a Coalgate High School young adult. A Member of Congress was dealing with this at the time that I was in high school, and the Secretary of State was dealing with this at the time I was in high school. I, of course, had friends who lost a loved one. I would later have a college roommate that I would discover--people I went to church with for years--his father was an APHIS, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, veterinarian for USDA. We would room together at Oklahoma State University. I never learned this story while we were going to church together; it took going to college.
I heard the story of how his wife accidentally put the notice of him being called to the headquarters office, she covered it up accidentally, and he didn't show up for one of the sides of the building that would be most impacted. There are some very famous photos.
A few years later, I would be State FFA president, and we would start the 168 Pennies campaign on behalf of career tech. While these men were serving in State leadership roles, the youth were responding to try to find ways to assist and be a part of the good will that was spoken of just a minute ago.
I will close just by saying that it reminds us, this incident, of the need to fulfill what George Washington in a 1789 statement talked about: That it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.
That incident was a first for a Nation that had enjoyed quietness on the home front, and it shattered us. Years later, we would have 9/11, but it reminds us today, as we pause and remember what happened in Oklahoma 31 years ago, taking the lives of 168 innocent people, the need for us to have bended knees and pray Psalms 91-type protection over this Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Lucas for setting this up. I truly appreciate it.
Mr. Speaker, my grandparents' generation could tell you where they were when they heard the news that Wiley Post and Will Rogers had been lost in that plane crash in Alaska in 1935. They could also tell you exactly what they were doing when the news came of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941.
My parents, who were young men, kids at the time, could tell you exactly where they were when that same news about Pearl Harbor came. They could tell you exactly what they were doing when they discovered that President Kennedy had been assassinated.
For my generation, there have been many things that imprint the mind that will mark the memory forever, but that day 31 years ago that took the lives of 168 of our fellow citizens is my equivalent to those earlier tragedies.
I and the Oklahoma delegation were all together in Dallas-Fort Worth for a meeting of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, BRAC, when the tragedy occurred at 9:02 a.m. I will never forget having a reporter from one of the Oklahoma City news radio stations tap me on the shoulder, and he said: Congressman, don't you have an office in the Federal Building?
I said: Chris, I do, but there are three Federal buildings. Are you talking about Murrah, the Federal Courthouse, or the United States Post Office?
He said: We have a report that there has been some kind of an explosion at the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and it is gone.
Now, at that moment, I jumped up and charged out of the auditorium, and in the lobby were the television screens even in that day with the live coverage. I immediately recognized the Murrah Building. My people were a block and a half away in the U.S. Post Office Building, but I immediately recognized the building. The core of this building had been blown out. It had been designed in the 1960s during the antiwar period to withstand an attack, but not the magnitude of this attack.
Senator Nickles, who led the delegation that day to the BRAC hearing, hurriedly went down and discussed with the leadership of the BRAC Commission and the two State delegations ahead of us, and they were able to accelerate our abbreviated testimony. We left Dallas and came back to Oklahoma City as fast as we could.
I will never forget walking up the street from the south, I believe Harvey, coming by what was then our old Sixth District office in the U.S. Post Office Building. This is a block and a half away on the opposite side of the blast, down the street. The shock wave was big enough that it blew all of our windows in and took down our ceilings.
Now, I had people buried under rubble, I had people thrown across rooms, but everyone was okay. We were lucky. In the delegation, we proceeded, J.C. and I and several staffers, on up the street and around the corner to behold what we saw, it was just the most amazing thing.
My colleagues are right, the response from almost the first instant was amazing. A lot of times people think that when you have a tragedy, a natural disaster, that the Federal Government is going to come in and save you. That is not the system.
The system is for local government to function and for local government to call upon county and State government to support them. If the need is great enough, they then turn to the Federal Government and FEMA to back them up. That is exactly the way it worked in Oklahoma City. The mayor, the police chief, and fire chief triaged the situation, knew they had more than they could handle, called upon county government, State government, the Governor, Secretary Cole, who then turned to FEMA and the President of the United States. It was a textbook example of how things were supposed to work in the most hideous and horrible of circumstances.
I don't ever want anyone to go through something of that nature or magnitude ever again. It took 5 years of the Federal delegation working with those Federal employees who had survived, many of whom had been physically or emotionally injured, and their families to sort out what were they going to do next, what did they want to do, and what were they capable of doing.
Mr. Speaker, call it compassionate work if you want, call it treating your fellow citizens in a decent way, but we worked for 5 years to work our way through that.
I will also say that Congressman Cole referenced the outflowing of love and support from across the country. The emergency management teams and all of the entities that came pouring in to help. It was amazing. However, about 3 or 4 months after the immediate tragedy was over, I got a call from one of our colleagues, a congressman in New Jersey by the name of Jim Saxton. Jim told me that his community had been raising money and they wanted to give it to Oklahoma City to help. Would I come to New Jersey with him and see his folks and accept their gift.
I didn't know what to expect, but I thought the world of Congressman Saxton, and if his people were trying to help my people, absolutely. We went up to New Jersey. In a high school auditorium near a military base, the bands and the cheerleaders and the school kids and the adults in the community--it was quite an event--they had done car washes and bake sales. They donated money. They raised cash, and they presented me with a huge check--now, this is 31 years ago--for $100,000.
That is a lot of money now, but that was an incredible amount of money in 1995 to give to people you had never met and that you didn't know but you knew you cared about. That is another one of those moments I will never forget, $100,000.
Bottom line is this: From that great tragedy came the foundation to educate people about these issues, from that tragedy came the memorial memorializing, honoring, and remembering those 168 lost people.
If you are ever even remotely close to Oklahoma City, you should go and walk through that somber memorial. You should go through all of the educational exhibits at the foundation. It is just the most amazing thing.
Am I different today still after all this time than I was before the moment the tragedy struck? I will always be different. I will always be different. When you have seen the worst of what humanity can do to itself, followed by the best of what humanity can do for itself, you can't help but be a changed person.
Mr. Speaker, again, to my friends, I thank them for everything that they did. I thank them for working so diligently for all those good folks in Oklahoma City and everybody across the country.
My grandparents could tell you when Wiley and Will had their tragedy. My father could quote you where he was standing in Elk City when they saw on the TV screen that President Kennedy has been assassinated. I will forever have burned in my memory that reporter tapping me on the shoulder, ``We have a report. There has been an explosion. The Federal building is gone. Where is your office?'' I will never forget that.
Mr. Speaker, one last time, I thank everyone who helped us in Oklahoma City. I express my sympathy for everyone who lost someone in Oklahoma City, but thank goodness, we are Oklahomans. Most importantly, we are Americans.
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 subject of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Virginia?
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to anchor this Special Order hour on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus in honor of Black Maternal Health Week.
For the 10th year in a row, the Black Mamas Matter Alliance led Black Maternal Health Week last week to address the high rates of preventable maternal mortality among Black women who are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women.
Black Maternal Health Week focuses on advocacy, community building, and policy change. This year's theme, Rooted in Justice & Joy, highlights the need for both systemic change to address racial disparities and the celebration of Black motherhood and strength.
This Special Order hour is an opportunity for the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss the ongoing crisis facing our Nation's Black mothers and to explore solutions to protecting our communities' Black women.
Tonight, I start this Special Order hour with identifying the state of Black maternal health in our Nation. In a nutshell, we are in crisis, and the Black maternal health crisis is not just statistics.
Eleven years ago next week, I nearly became one of those statistics when my daughter and I both nearly died when my placenta ruptured 9 weeks before my due date. I needed an emergency C-section. I had placenta previa, and because I had health insurance and access to pre- and postnatal care, I was one of the lucky ones, but too many Black women in America aren't so lucky. Compared to other high income countries, the U.S. still has the highest rate of maternal deaths.
In 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, the national maternal mortality rate actually declined, but Black women were still more than three times as likely as White women to experience a pregnancy-related death and 87 percent of these deaths were preventable.
In my own State of Virginia, after significant improvements from peak deaths in 2021, Virginia's maternal mortality rate got worse in 2023.
We face a complex road ahead as we seek solutions to protect Black women and families against this loss. The maternal health crisis connects healthcare with insurance policy, reproductive freedom, environmental policy, and so much more. These issues don't exist in a vacuum, and many of them are rooted in decades, I would say, centuries of inequity.
These issues require a holistic approach to bring down the mortality rate and save lives, but recent rollbacks at the Federal level risk deepening this maternal health crisis. Medicaid cuts and the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits over the Affordable Care Act have driven up the cost of maternal care for millions, making this vital care inaccessible for those unable to pay for it out of pocket.
The Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade caused one in three women of childbearing years to live in States with abortion bans or extreme restrictions, and in those States, States with bans, women are two times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes.
Again, it is not just statistics. We have seen tragic stories of women like Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, who died suffering miscarriages awaiting simple procedures that could have saved their life, but the hospitals weren't sure if they fit within the exceptions to the ban.
On top of this, the Trump administration has doubled down on making it harder to secure justice for Black families and address the maternal health crisis in Black communities with President Trump's executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, limiting the Federal Government's ability to enforce hospital accountability for treatment of Black mothers weeks after the Biden administration reached a historic settlement agreement to uphold these guidelines and provide training for hospital staff to address bias.
Under the Trump administration, funding cuts and mass layoffs have left agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services without the resources or staff needed to conduct research and implement policies that save lives. Thousands of datasets that have helped to identify the maternal mortality factors and track how we are doing with policies to address them can no longer be accessed.
Now, President Trump wants to go even further, as his proposed budget for 2027 calls for over $800 million in cuts to maternal and child health programs at HHS.
The proposal would eliminate many essential programs entirely, including the Healthy Start program, which serves mothers and infants in high-risk communities; the maternal mortality review committees; the Perinatal Quality Collaboratives; and other programs that track maternal mortality and share solutions for reducing it. This is not acceptable, and the Congressional Black Caucus will do everything within our power to oppose this proposed budget.
Mr. Speaker, in the face of these setbacks at the Federal level, we will continue to push for change. As a member of not only the Congressional Black Caucus but the Black Maternal Health Caucus, and especially as a mom who faced that crisis personally, I am fighting back as we continue to push forward because we cannot afford to wait. We certainly can't afford to sit back and do nothing.
That is why I am cosponsoring the momnibus, a package of 14 bills that aims to address the root causes of maternal health challenges, provide support to mothers, and study how we can build a better system for every American family in need of care.
The Black Maternal Health Caucus has fought for this legislation for years. We will not stop until it becomes law. It must become law now.
Our fight remains far from over, but legislators and advocates alike continue to work toward tangible change to eradicate this Black maternal health crisis. I am proud to stand and work alongside Members, like the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Representative Yvette Clarke.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia, my esteemed colleague Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan,
Good evening. I am Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and proudly representing New York's Ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York.
I rise tonight with my colleagues of the CBC because the state of Black maternal health in America is not just a public health issue. It is a moral crisis.
In the wealthiest Nation in the world, American women suffer the highest rates of maternal mortality. This crisis falls hardest on Black women. We know the facts. In the United States, Black women are still three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. The vast majority of complications are preventable with timely, high-quality care.
Too many families are left grieving. Too many warnings have gone unheard. Behind every statistic is a name, a story, and a family forever changed. These stories demand more than sympathy. They demand action.
These disparities are the outcome of deep inequities in access to healthcare, structural racism, and a system that too often fails Black women at every stage of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery.
These deaths are preventable. Yet, instead of preventing them and improving maternal health, Republicans are stripping coverage that mothers rely on, worsening an already deadly crisis. Efforts to dismantle healthcare, undermine reproductive health services, and strip away critical protections will continue to disproportionately harm Black women around our Nation.
Now is the time when we should be building on progress, not continuing the pattern of neglect and disregard for our health and our lives. We must continue to invest in community-based care; diversify the maternal health workforce; address implicit bias in our healthcare system; and ensure that every woman, no matter her ZIP Code, has access to quality, affordable care.
The Congressional Black Caucus will continue to fight for policies that center equity, protect access, and save lives.
Black maternal health is about more than healthcare. It is about justice. It is about dignity. It is about whether this country is willing to value Black women the way that we deserve to be valued.
We will not stop until Black mothers are safe, supported, and able to thrive before, during, and after giving birth.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for anchoring this on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I thank her so much for her passionate words and her lived experience. Unfortunately, her story is not a rare story. It is all too common, especially for women of color.
As a mother, grandmother of three women, and great-grandmother of three great-grandbabies, this is really personal to me. I have a real stake in this fight, which is one of the reasons why I really want to implore my colleagues to pass the momnibus.
Mr. Speaker, this crisis demands immediate action. Black women, as you have heard, are three times more likely to die from pregnancy- related causes than White women. Over 80 percent of these deaths are preventable.
These are not just data. There is stuff behind there. This is not done in a vacuum. This is because of the systemic failure of our healthcare system and its structural failures.
The thing is that the part that irks me so much is the fact that I said 80 percent. The gentlewoman said that 87 percent of these deaths are preventable in the wealthiest country in the world.
Mr. Speaker, this is one of the reasons, when I look at our momnibus and think of all the bills that are in the bill, I think of women being served at every single phase of their pregnancy. You could look at one of the initiatives that I have, expanding the perinatal workforce, really wanting to provide doulas and people to help guide vulnerable women with vulnerable pregnancies through their pregnancies.
In our momnibus, we are dealing with things like Mrs. Lucy McBath's Extending WIC for New Moms Act, which would provide WIC support for postpartum and breastfeeding mothers.
We even have initiatives to intervene in pregnancies that occur with incarcerated women.
I have an initiative with Senator Baldwin over in the other Chamber to provide, with no cost-sharing, for women's mental health not only during the 9 months of pregnancy but for 1 year postpartum. We are finding that so many of these deaths are occurring because of poor mental health among Black women without the appropriate interventions and healthcare.
Obviously, Mr. Speaker, we can't cut Medicaid at the tune of $1.2 trillion and propose $1.4 billion cuts in WIC for fruits and vegetables because we know that this is science-backed data that tells us you just really can't starve a woman during pregnancy and expect good health outcomes.
So what is missing? What is missing, Mr. Speaker and Madam Convener of us tonight, is that we just don't have the sense of urgency about taking care of our children.
As a founding member of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, we have come up with some commonsense and science- and evidence-based legislation, like the momnibus, that would truly make America healthier.
We have a roadmap. The Congressional Black Caucus and the Black Maternal Health Caucus, we have a roadmap for change. The time for action, Mr. Speaker, is yesterday, and we must pass the momnibus. Black mamas can't wait. We know what the solutions are, and we just have to get to work.
Mr. Speaker, last week, we marked the 10th Annual Black Maternal Health Week, a week of action, engagement, and advocacy with the goal of ending our Nation's maternal health crisis and the disparities that disproportionately impact Black women.
Moms across America are demanding a comprehensive solution to this crisis. While it affects moms from every community, of every demographic, we know that there are significant inequities across racial and ethnic lines.
Black women die from pregnancy-related complications at three to four times the rate of their White counterparts, a disparity that exists across income brackets and education levels.
Personal losses and staggering statistics like these are why 7 years ago, I cofounded the Black Maternal Health Caucus with my sister and colleague, Congresswoman Alma Adams.
Today, the Black Maternal Health Caucus is one of the largest bipartisan caucuses on Capitol Hill. Our flagship legislation, which I am proud to lead along with Congresswoman Adams, is the momnibus, a comprehensive package of 14 evidence-based bills designed to address every clinical and nonclinical factor leading to preventable maternal mortality, morbidity, and disparities in the United States.
This legislation is designed to solve America's maternal health crisis and end the disproportionate risks faced by Black women. This is not a Band-Aid. This is the solution, and Congress must pass it now.
Over the last 7 years, we have made incredible progress on maternal health and moving the priorities in the momnibus forward. We have gotten hundreds of millions of dollars signed into law to fund lifesaving research on maternal health and to support the organizations nationwide who are putting that knowledge to use on the front lines of the crisis.
We have even passed the first momnibus bill into law, the Protecting Moms Who Served Act, which helps our veterans receive the quality maternal care that they deserve. Yes, these are meaningful steps forward, but our work is not done.
Moms are dying every single day, and it is time for us to come together and deliver a comprehensive solution because our moms deserve better:
Moms like Dr. Janell Green Smith, a nurse-midwife, a DNP, a professor, and maternal health advocate who we tragically lost in January to childbirth complications days after delivering her daughter, Eden. She deserved better.
Moms like Mercedes Wells, who survived giving birth by the side of the road minutes after being turned away from a hospital while in active labor in December. She deserved better.
Moms like Kiara Jones, who was ignored while she sat in active labor, crying out and doubled over in pain in a hospital waiting room. She deserved better.
To end this crisis once and for all and to ensure that all moms have access to the respectful and competent care they deserve, we must pass the whole momnibus: the comprehensive solution to address maternal mortality in America. This is a fight that we cannot lose.
Black Maternal Health Week is a reminder that every mom of every background has a right to a safe pregnancy and postpartum period. Bringing new life into the world should be a time of celebration, not fear, not grief.
This year's Black Maternal Healthcare Week theme, Rooted in Justice & Joy, reflects the incredible resilience of the moms, families, and advocates who are working every day to make that vision a reality for women across the country.
As we have the Congressional Black Caucus recognizing Black Maternal Health Week through this Special Order hour, I am so pleased that we have the opportunity as a Congress to celebrate the progress we have made together. However, we also must rededicate ourselves to doing the work.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Black Maternal Health Week.
A moment to reflect on a reality that should alarm every one of us in this Chamber: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause in this country than White women. That is not a small disparity. It is a systemic failure.
In my home State of Ohio, the data tells us an even more painful story. While maternal mortality has risen for all women over time, the rate for Black mothers has more than doubled from 29.3 to 59.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.
These are not just numbers on a page. These are mothers who should be here today. These are families that should not be grieving. These are children growing up without the care, stability, and the love of the person who brought them into this world.
Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, enough is enough. Black mothers deserve to feel safe and supported throughout their pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum period. Every mother deserves high-quality, affordable healthcare. Addressing maternal mortality is not a partisan issue. It is a human issue.
That is why, long before I came to Congress, I worked on this issue at the State level. As the minority leader of the Ohio House, I helped cofound the first Ohio Black Maternal Health Caucus. It was the first of its kind in the country, because we could not ignore this crisis unfolding in our communities.
Now, in Congress, I continue that work as a member of the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus and as chair of the Reproductive Justice Task Force.
However, leadership is not just about titles and task forces. It is about action. That is why I am an original sponsor of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act--legislation that will save lives by investing in community care, strengthening the workforce, improving data, and addressing the root causes of maternal mortality.
It is why I have introduced and supported legislation to protect access to emergency and labor care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, better known as EMTALA, ensuring that no woman is turned away during childbirth and labor.
It is why I fought against the spread of dangerous disinformation through the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act, because misleading women during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives has no place in a healthcare system built on trust and safety.
We must also confront the role that access, or lack thereof, plays in these healthcare outcomes. In Ohio, Black mothers are more likely to rely on Medicaid to cover their births. That means decisions, including the $1 trillion cut to the Medicaid program that Republicans in this Chamber made as part of the one big, ugly bill, are not abstract budget choices. These are risks imposed upon real people.
They are decisions about whether these women can see a doctor, whether they can receive prenatal care, whether complications will be caught in time, and whether or not they live or die.
In my home State of Ohio, 13 out of 88 counties are considered maternity care deserts, leaving tens of thousands of women without reasonable access to obstetric services. Imagine being told you are bringing a life into this world and then discovering that the nearest hospital that can safely deliver your baby is hours away. That is a reality that far too many families face today.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot accept this as normal.
Black maternal health is not just what happens inside of the doctor's office, because if it were so, we would have figured this out and solved this crisis decades ago. It is what happens outside of the hospital: the social determinants of health, the things that are going on in our communities, education, clean air, clean water, and access to upward mobility.
All of these things impact the ability for a woman to conceive and deliver a baby successfully.
One thing that most people don't seem to know, or maybe they do know and just don't like to talk about it, is that the leading cause of death for pregnant women is violence.
A Harvard study said that homicide deaths among pregnant women are more prevalent than deaths from hypertension, hemorrhage, and sepsis. And gun violence has been called a health emergency for pregnant women.
So, Mr. Speaker, we can and must do more to protect pregnant women, not just inside the hospital, not just outside the hospital, but also within the intimate relationships that oftentimes women find themselves in creating deadly circumstances in which mothers and babies cannot live.
Mr. Speaker, we stand on this floor often. We fight about a lot, but one thing should be very easy: protecting women, protecting babies, encouraging life and prosperity should not be something that is challenging or hard for us all to do together.
For that reason, we are here to celebrate Black mothers, honor Black Maternal Health Week, and ensure that all of our colleagues across the aisle are supporting the Momnibus Act.
I thank my colleague from the Commonwealth of Virginia for holding and hosting this Special Order.
Mr. Speaker, the threat to our hospital OB/GYNs is not theoretical. Centra Southside in Farmville, Virginia, announced the closure of its labor and delivery unit, and it ended OB/GYN services at their Centra Southside Community Hospital on December 19, 2025, citing a combination of significant financial and operational challenges, including the recently enacted reductions in healthcare funding and the Medicaid cuts.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. McIver).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for yielding.
I rise today to stand alongside my colleagues in honor of Black Maternal Health Week.
This time is about confronting inequities and downright racism in maternal care and ending our Nation's maternal health crisis.
Pregnancy should never cause a mother to fear for her life, but this is a reality for Black women.
We know the statistics far too well. In the United States, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women, and in New Jersey, Black women are seven times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women.
The greatest tragedy lies in the fact that 80 percent of these deaths are preventable. These deaths are rooted in racism.
Many of the Black women in our lives can speak to hospital experiences where their pain was not taken seriously or their care was delayed.
For too long, the experiences and concerns about Black women have been cast to the side in our healthcare system. Today, they are being flat-out ignored.
This administration has directed programs to erase words like ``Black'' from funding applications. The question that my colleague Representative Summer Lee asked the Health and Human Services Secretary last week demands an answer: How can we solve the Black maternal mortality crisis, if we can't say the word ``Black''?
The silence is loud and intentional.
With every statistic, there are real human costs behind them, and when the concerns of Black women are written off, our voices are erased.
Behind every number is a family impacted forever. We don't want to be valued with words without that rhetoric being followed up with action.
Black women have been witnessing a coordinated and vicious assault on the foundations of our freedom and history. And there are moments when the weight of these disparities feels overwhelming, when the statistics feel relentless, and the stories feel too familiar.
But I think about the women who came before us, who fought for dignity in healthcare they were never meant to receive and who insisted that their lives were worth protecting even when the system said otherwise.
So along with my CBC colleagues, I will continue to bring attention to this crisis until our Nation starts to treat it like one. We will continue to demand action to close the health gap for Black mothers, expand access to prenatal and postpartum care, and confront the bias that exists in our hospitals today.
The time for intervention is now. We refuse to wait until another tragedy is added to the list.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Commonwealth of Virginia for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I speak today because Congress must do all it can to end the disparities in Black maternal health outcomes in this country.
Moriah Ballard was 22 years old, a Houston woman, who was 7 months pregnant. She was ready. She and her husband had just bought a four- bedroom house. The nursery was set. The baby shower was planned. They had clothes, the onesies, and the books, until she went to the hospital with a headache one day and had some dizziness.
Doctors found her blood pressure was dangerously high. She had preeclampsia. They transferred her to a larger hospital, one of the most celebrated medical institutions in the entire country.
Over the next 3 days, her pain became unbearable. Her vision started to fail. Her blood pressure climbed to an untenable level. She kept pressing the call light in her room and kept pressing it, but nobody came. She lost her son in that experience--delivered stillborn. She woke up from surgery blind in one eye. Doctors later told her they wished that they had acted sooner.
That Houston woman's story is not a tragedy. It is a pattern.
Across this country, Black women die from pregnancy-related causes at three times the rate of White women. The CDC tells us that more than 80 percent of those deaths are preventable--not inevitable, but preventable.
In Texas it is even worse. In my district, it is the worst in the Nation. Harris County leads this Nation right now in Black maternal deaths.
From 2016 to 2020, the maternal mortality rate for Black women in Harris County was 83.4 per 100,000 live births, the highest in the Nation.
And it is only getting worse.
Harris County's maternal morbidity rate climbed nearly 35 percent between 2019 and 2024, outpacing the Texas statewide increase every single year.
This is happening in the shadow of the largest medical complex in the entire world.
So what do we do about this?
We as a body must act. We pass legislation like the Momnibus Act, which invests in the full spectrum of solutions that this crisis demands.
We address the social determinants of health: stable housing, nutritious food, mental health care. You cannot have a healthy pregnancy in an unstable life.
We grow the perinatal workforce, so every woman giving birth has access to a midwife, a doula, a community health worker who looks like them, who understands their culture, and we extend postpartum coverage through Medicaid and WIC because a mother's health does not stop mattering the moment she leaves the delivery room.
Too many Black women walk into a hospital wondering if they will walk out with an ailment or if they will walk out at all. My wife wondered that when she was giving birth to our youngest son and her blood pressure dropped to a dangerous level. I looked her in the eye and saw not just tears flowing but fear and the question of whether she would leave that hospital alive at all.
Moriah Ballard wondered that when she pressed the call light, and she prayed and she prepared herself to die.
No woman should ever have to do that--not in Houston, not in America, not ever.
This body has the power to change that.
There have been Black women who have been leading this Special Order hour today, and I wanted to be here to make sure that they knew that the Black men in this body have their back.
We are going to do every single thing we can to pass the momnibus act to end these disparities in maternal health outcomes, and I intend to make sure that we do so.
Mr. Speaker, when I began, I said that the Black maternal health crisis was not just about statistics. That is because behind every statistic is a mom who didn't make it to raise her child.
I want to tell one such story now of Kira Johnson. Kira was already a mom, a mom to Langston and Charles Jr., and wife to Charles. She was a Ph.D. student at Pepperdine. On April 12, 2016, she was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital at about 12:30 p.m. for a routine C-section delivery. At 2:33 she gave birth to her son Langston. At 3 p.m. Kira was out of the operating room and was taken to a post-anesthesia care unit. Shortly before 5 p.m., blood-tinged urine was seen in Kira's Foley catheter. By 5:24 p.m. Kira's Foley catheter was draining bright, red blood.
Her doctor was made aware of Kira's situation, but it wasn't until 6:44 p.m. that a surgical emergency CT scan was ordered, but it was ultimately not performed.
At 11:42 p.m., two physicians were at Kira's bedside and one performed an ultrasound that found an expanding hematoma and now free fluid. They recommended taking Kira to surgery to identify the source of the bleeding, but her physician, Dr. Naim, who was also at the bedside at this time, wished to continue expectant management at this time.
By 12:30 a.m., as Kira's condition began to rapidly decline, her husband, Charles, pleaded for help. Kira was finally taken to surgery about 12:30 a.m. on April 13, 2016, 10 hours from the time when the family initially realized that something was wrong.
At 2:22 a.m., during surgery, Kira was found to have three liters of blood in her abdomen and did not survive the blood loss. She was pronounced dead at 2:22 a.m. on April 13, 2026. The autopsy stated that the cause of death was due to hemorrhagic shock due to acute hemoperitoneum, or massive internal bleeding, post C-section.
Now, Cedars-Sinai Hospital signed an agreement and reached a historic settlement agreement with the Biden administration's HHS Office for Civil Rights. It entered into a resolution agreement on January 6, 2025, to take significant steps toward ensuring that no other family has to go through what Kira's did.
The agreement required Cedars-Sinai to provide training on the hospital's obstetric hemorrhage management policy, create a pain management protocol for assessing and managing acute pain for birthing patients, update guidelines for trial of labor after C-section delivery and continue to track the vaginal birth after C-section success rate, administer an online bias reporting tool to document incidents of bias or suspected bias experienced by patients and the public, require staff to
A week later, President Trump signed his executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. Because the settlement agreement promotes diversity and equity efforts and is grounded in healthcare nondiscrimination protections, it is under risk.
That is just one example of how the actions of the Trump administration last year is making the maternal health crisis, particularly for Black women, worse.
I spent a lot of time as a member of the senate in Virginia working on addressing Black maternal health as a member of the Joint Commission on Healthcare. Through our maternal mortality review teams, we were able to track and identify the differences between rates of death of White women, Black women, and indigenous women, and we found the reasons were different.
Using national datasets through the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, or PRAMS, which is an entire CDC team that monitors risks associated with pregnancy, we were able to determine that, at least in Virginia, Black women were more likely to die due to cardiovascular issues, an underlying health issue, before they got pregnant; whereas, White women were more likely to die from suicide or drug overdose related to mental health issues.
With those different datasets and understanding these differences, we were able to focus on policies that addressed the underlying root causes to eliminate Black maternal deaths for both Black and White women.
We began to see some progress, but, again, the very team managing PRAMS and the datasets we were using to identify the root causes and the differences is now gone. The staff that oversaw the HHS Health Resources & Services Administration, which is a national maternal mental health hotline that can help field calls from new moms seeking mental health support was cut. DOGE canceled funding for several Black maternal health projects. The Trump administration defunded research at Morehouse School of Medicine on how to improve the health of Black pregnant and postpartum women, it cut research on how stress influences racial and ethnic differences in maternal health outcomes for women with hypertensive disorders, and it cut studies on uterine fibroids which disproportionately impact Black women.
It wasn't just HHS and CDC that removed datasets. There was data from the Census Bureau and the EPA as well as the CDC that were detailing racial and ethnic data broken out by other factors that helped show some of the risk factors that led to differences in these underlying health outcomes and maternal health outcomes.
Without these datasets, how are we going to track the causes which change over time, put policies in place to address the causes, and then track to see if those policies are working?
It is very frustrating, again, as someone who nearly bled to death giving birth to my daughter, that we are not able to address this and there doesn't seem to be an urgency, as Congresswoman Moore said, to address these underlying causes.
The Medicaid cuts are going to make it worse. Medicaid finances about 65 percent of births from Black mothers, and these cuts are only going to increase the disparity in maternal mortality rates and lead to more deaths as millions of Americans lose their health insurance.
This health insurance is relied upon by pregnant women across the country for prenatal visits, ultrasounds, screenings for conditions such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and postpartum depression. It also helps them get annual physicals that will identify cardiovascular issues.
The President's DEI executive order also makes it more difficult to address bias in medicine. We have seen medical schools that taught students for decades that Black people can tolerate more pain, which led to tragic outcomes. We have heard story after story after story of women in the hospital who said, after giving birth, that something is wrong. They were ignored, and something was wrong.
This disparity also occurs in other health areas, but, again, I want to connect the correlation between heart health and maternal health.
I remember being in a conference discussing the disparity in heart health where a woman said that she had her first heart attack after she became a mother. After giving birth, she went home, and she felt odd. The more she thought about it, she said: I think I am having a heart attack.
She went to the emergency room, and the doctor said: No, you are not having a heart attack. You don't meet the risk factors. You are only 36 years old. You have never had a history of heart disease. Come back later. You are not having a heart attack.
She went home. She was having a heart attack. Fortunately, she was able to get back to the hospital before she died.
That is just one example. We have heard many, whether you are Serena Williams or Kira Johnson, where you know something's wrong, yet the hospital and the doctors don't listen. That happens more and more to Black women. We have to do something about it.
You heard today that the Black Maternal Health Caucus has put forward, under Representative Underwood and Representative Adams' leadership, the momnibus act.
What is that? It is a comprehensive package of 14 individual bills that will make critical investments in the social determinants of health that influence maternal health outcomes, like housing, transportation, nutrition, and pollution. It will extend WIC eligibility in the postpartum and breastfeeding periods. It will provide funding to community-based organizations working to improve maternal health outcomes and promote equity. It will increase funding for programs to improve maternal healthcare for veterans; to grow and diversify the prenatal workforce to ensure that every mom in America receives maternal healthcare and support from people they trust; to improve data collection processes and quality measures to better understand the causes of the maternal health crisis in the United States and to form solutions to address it; to support moms with maternal mental health conditions and substance abuse disorders; to improve maternal healthcare and support for incarcerated moms; to invest in digital tools to improve maternal health outcomes in underserved areas, particularly rural areas; to promote innovative payment models to incentivize high-quality maternal health and nonclinical support during and after pregnancy; to invest in Federal programs to address maternal and infant health risk during public health emergencies; to invest in community-based initiatives to reduce levels and exposure to climate change-related risks for moms and babies; to promote maternal vaccinations to protect the health of moms and babies; and to make critical investments in research to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths and improve healthcare for women, before, during, and after pregnancy.
This bill has 205 House cosponsors and has been endorsed by 313 national organizations across a variety of issues.
We hope that this will be the year, that this 10th anniversary of Black Maternal Health Month will be the year we make progress. We have already regressed and can't afford to wait a moment longer.
I would be remiss if I didn't reiterate yet again the importance of reproductive freedom. When a woman is told, as I was, that if you get pregnant again, you could die, the decision from that point on--well, really, the decision at any point of when, whether, and how to get pregnant should be with her and her partner and whom she wants to have part of the decision, and not her government.
The decision of what type of contraception to get access to should be hers and her doctor's. When you reach a certain age, some contraception is more risky, yet the forms that are best for you, some politicians-- not doctors, politicians--don't think you should have access to them.
These abortion bans that have exceptions for the life of the mother, we have seen, particularly in Texas and Georgia, that has led to tragedies,
These are things that we had been warning about before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Unfortunately, our warnings have come true.
We have to think through the impact of when politicians make decisions about healthcare, and not physicians and patients. It can have tragic results.
Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Black Maternal Health Caucus will continue to fight for Black moms everywhere. We will continue to fight so that we don't need Black Maternal Health Week anymore. We will continue to fight, Rooted in Justice & Joy, so that no other mother has to worry, when they get the best news, that it is going to end tragically. We are here to make sure that it doesn't.
Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.
The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 9 o'clock and 15 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.
