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07Paying Tribute to the Honorable Colleen Hanabusa
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Routine Business (13)
01House of Representatives
02Designation of Speaker Pro Tempore
04After Recess
05Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain: Message From the President of the United States (H. Doc. No...
13Deletions of Sponsors From Public Bills and Resolutions
Daily Digest
Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced
41 public bills, H.R. 8735- 8775; and 8 resolutions, H.J. Res. 182-183; H. Con. Res. 97-99; and H. Res. 1276-1278 were introduced.
Pages H3391-93
Reports Filed
Reports were filed today as follows: H.R. 7305, to amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reauthorize the Department of Energy's Energy Sector Operational Support for Cyberresilience Program to provide operational support for energy sector cybersecurity and resilience, with an amendment (H. Rept. 119-646); H. Res. 1274, providing that section 11 of House Resolution 1224 shall have no force or effect (H. Rept. 119-647); and H. Res. 1275, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5625) to direct the Attorney General to make publicly available a list of each State and unit of local government that permits cashless bail, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6260) to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit fraud in connection with posting bail; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8365) to provide for conditions on the appointment of monitors by courts, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res, 96) expressing support for law enforcement officers; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8469) making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027, and for other purposes (H. Rept. 119-648).
Page H3391
Speaker
Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he appointed Representative Taylor to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
Page H3349
Recess
The House recessed at 12:07 p.m. and reconvened at 2 p.m.
Page H3350
Recess
The House recessed at 2:09 p.m. and reconvened at 3:05 p.m.
Page H3351
Recess
The House recessed at 5:30 p.m. and reconvened at 6:30 p.m.
Page H3375
Suspensions
The House agreed to suspend the rules and pass the following measures: Save Our Shrimpers Act: H.R. 2071, amended, to prohibit Federal funds from being made available to international financial institutions for the purposes of financing foreign shrimp farms, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 391 yeas to 18 nays with answering ``present'', Roll No. 156;
Pages H3352-53, H3375-76
Agreed to amend the title so as to read
``To require the United States Executive Directors at the international financial institutions to oppose certain projects involving shrimp production'';
Page H3376
Supervisory Modifications for Appropriate Risk-based Testing Act
H.R. 4437, amended, to reduce the regulatory burden on certain well managed and well capitalized financial institutions;
Pages H3353-56
Advancing the Mentor-Protege Program for Small Financial Institutions Act
H.R. 3709, amended, to amend the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to establish a Financial Agent Mentor-Protege Program within the Department of the Treasury;
Pages H3356-57
Tailored Regulatory Updates for Supervisory Testing Act
H.R. 4478, to amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to permit Federal banking agencies to examine qualifying insured depository institutions with under $6 billion in total assets not less than once during each 18- month period;
Pages H3357-59
Combating Organized Retail Crime Act
H.R. 2853, amended, to combat organized crime involving the illegal acquisition of retail goods and cargo for the purpose of selling those illegally obtained goods through physical and online retail marketplaces, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 348 yeas to 60 nays, Roll No. 157;
Pages H3364-69, H3376
NICS Data Reporting Act
H.R. 2267, amended, to require the Attorney General to submit to the Congress a report that includes the demographic data of persons determined to be ineligible to purchase a firearm based on a background check performed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; and
Pages H3369-70
Criminal History Access Act
H.R. 8352, amended, to authorize peace officer standards and training agencies to access criminal history records.
Pages H3370-72
Suspensions: Proceedings Postponed
The House debated the following measures under suspension of the rules. Further proceedings were postponed. Calling on elected officials and civil society leaders to counter antisemitism and educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish- American community: H. Res. 1251, calling on elected officials and civil society leaders to counter antisemitism and educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish-American community;
Pages H3359-62
Resolution memorializing law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty
H. Res. 1252, resolution memorializing law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty; and
Pages H3362-64
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Jimmy Lai detained by the People's Republic of China during future engagements with Chinese President Xi Jinping: H. Res. 1259, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Jimmy Lai detained by the People's Republic of China during future engagements with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Pages H3372-75
Discharge Petition
Representative Kiley presented to the clerk a motion to discharge the Committee on the Judiciary from the consideration of the bill (H.R. 4889) entitled, a bill to prohibit States from carrying out more than one Congressional redistricting after a decennial census and apportionment (Discharge Petition No. 21). Presidential Message: Read a message from the President transmitting a notification that the national emergency with respect to securing the information and communications technology and services (ICTS) supply chain declared in Executive Order 13873 of May 15, 2019, is to continue in effect beyond May 15, 2026--referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed (H. Doc. 119-156).
Page H3351
Senate Referrals
S. 71 was held at the desk. S. 3199 was held at the desk.
Page H3352
Senate Message
Message received from the Senate appears on pages H3351-52. Quorum Calls Votes: Two yea-and-nay votes developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H3375-76 and H3376. Adjournment: The House met at 12 p.m. and adjourned at 9:35 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: 144 of 224 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 Dennis Nalls, our floor director, who just concluded one decade of service here in the House of Representatives.
A proud alum of Gonzaga High School and Miami of Ohio, Dennis has left the whip team after more than 3 years with us.
Smart, loyal, always thinking two steps ahead, and a diligent problem solver, Dennis is someone whom anyone would want to have on the ice with them. More importantly, he is someone whom anyone would want to have going into the corner with them.
As head of our whip operation for the past 2 years, he played a key role in delivering win after win on this floor despite the naysayers and despite the headwinds. He has gained the trust and confidence of Members from across the Conference, allowing us to lead one of the most successful whip operations in recent memory.
I think back to last year's successful passage of the Working Families Tax Cuts, or the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or as the President now calls it, the one big, beautiful tax cut. For Dennis, the floor team, and our Members, it was a long few days.
Despite being up for more than 40 hours straight--and I think that is light, I think it was over 60 hours straight--in July of 2025, we were able to secure historic tax cuts for the American people, strengthen our border security policies, and make necessary reforms to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.
It is during the ``down by a goal with only 2 minutes to play'' times when you really rely on your teammates the most, and our House Republican team would not have been able to accomplish any of our wins without Dennis Nalls' help.
The job of floor director is often a thankless one, but on behalf of this entire body, we say a big thank you to Dennis Nalls. I thank Dennis for making the sacrifices to be here, nights away from his family and friends, missed trips and holidays, and weekends spent in the Halls of the Capitol. There was no better sendoff for Dennis than a late-night vote series and the passage of FISA, DHS appropriations, the Senate budget resolution, and the farm bill in less than 24 hours during his last week.
Dennis, I know you are here somewhere. Thank you again. We wish you, your wife, Casey, and your son, Dublin, all the best in your next chapter. Thank you for your service to our team, the House, and, most importantly, thank you for your service to our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share an incredible essay written by a student from Utah's Fourth District to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of our country's founding.
Last fall, I invited students from across Utah's Fourth Congressional District to participate in an essay contest as part of America 250. They were asked to answer a simple but profound question: What does America mean to me?
My office received numerous submissions from young people across the district that were heartfelt and profound. The winning essay I picked came from a senior in my district whose name is Katie.
Drawing inspiration from ``The Wizard of Oz,'' Katie reflected on the lesson that took Dorothy an entire journey to learn, that often what we are searching for is right in front of us.
Mr. Speaker, I will read Katie's essay into the Record:
Katie's words touched me, and I am grateful to note that she is not the exception. She is the example, and the example of what makes Utah and this country so special: hope, respect, appreciation, courage, hard work, big dreams, and love for this country.
That is Utah, and I am grateful for the parents who are raising our youth to carry on the torch of liberty and freedom that we have been so blessed with from on high.
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that President Donald Trump has achieved deregulation, created jobs, and strengthened opportunities for American families and new graduates.
In the first 100 days, President Trump achieved his goal by reducing regulations. This goal continues as, last month, House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, passed two bills that refocused on deregulation, improved infrastructure, lowering costs for families, and choosing results over radicalism. Promises made, promises kept.
Superstars of deregulation are: Education Secretary Linda McMahon, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and NRC Commissioner David Wright.
Mr. Speaker, God bless our troops as the global war on terrorism continues. Trump is reinstituting peace through strength through revealing war criminal Putin lies, insulting Trump and mocking Trump, providing satellite targeting information to kill Americans and Israelis.
Courageous Ukrainians provide whistles to children at night to help in recovery efforts as war criminal Putin bombs their homes.
Mr. Speaker, nothing matches the pageantry and excitement of the Kentucky Derby.
For 2 weeks, Louisvillians prepare for the most exciting 2 minutes in sports, and this year's derby was one of the best yet.
As the horses rounded the fourth turn, 23-1 long shot Golden Tempo came from the back of the pack, ridden by Jose Ortiz, to finish first, charging into the record books and the history books in the process because Golden Tempo wasn't the only one to beat the odds this derby.
In fact, when he crossed the finish line, trainer Cherie DeVaux officially became the first woman trainer to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Think about this: 152 derbies; 2,053 horses have made it to the starting gates; only 18 of them have been trained by women; and, now, 1 is in the winner's circle.
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Cherie on behalf of all Louisvillians, Kentuckians, and horse boys and girls the world over. I thank her and wish her the best of luck in this year's Belmont.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Congressional App Challenge winner of Texas' Eighth Congressional District, Srikar Karri.
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting Srikar and learning about the app that he created. I can assure you, it is nothing short of absolutely amazing.
Srikar's app, OncoGAT, is an AI system that can identify types of breast cancer and generate a treatment plan in a matter of seconds. He also built a companion tool that analyzes patient reports and provides Molecular Tumor Board-level recommendations to neurologists.
What is really inspiring is the reason behind the app. He noticed a problem. Harris County reports more new breast cancer cases than any other county in the State of Texas, with over 2,200 each year. It is not often you see someone at Srikar's age who has the unique ability to combine his God-given talent and his desire to help others.
Mr. Speaker, I thank and encourage Srikar Karri to go forward and do great things. On behalf of the Texas Eighth Congressional District, I congratulate Srikar and his family on the outstanding work. I look forward to hearing about his future accomplishments.
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2071) to prohibit Federal funds from being made available to international financial institutions for the purposes of financing foreign shrimp farms, 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 Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) each will control 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my friend, Mr. Nehls', bill, the Save Our Shrimpers Act.
Across our coastlines, our communities believe it is crucial that we protect our domestic shrimping industry and the hardworking men and women who keep it alive every day, day in and day out.
For far too long, U.S. shrimpers along the Gulf and other coastal communities across our country have been put in a serious disadvantage by a wave of cheap, imported shrimp.
As the largest shareholder of multilateral lenders like the World Bank, the United States must ensure that these institutions are not financing competing shrimp producers with our domestic family growers. Representative Nehls' bipartisan bill addresses this issue.
Mr. Speaker, it requires U.S. representatives at the international financial institutions to oppose financing activities related to shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or the export of shrimp from a foreign country.
I thank Mr. Nehls for his leadership on this important issue and for helping ensure that our international financing policy prioritizes a level playing field for our shrimp producers here at home.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the 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. 2071, the Save Our Shrimpers Act. Communities in places like Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Georgia have deep, historic connections to the shrimping industry. They have raised concerns that foreign shrimping projects funded by international financial institutions, that is IFIs, are helping to dramatically increase the farmed shrimp supply, causing a glut that is driving down the price of shrimp and harming American business.
This bill would direct the United States Government to oppose financial assistance by the World Bank and other international financial institutions to projects that support foreign shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or the export of shrimp.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls), who is the chairman of the T&I Subcommittee on Aviation, and who is the author of the bill we have before us this afternoon.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2071, the Save Our Shrimpers Act.
For far too long, hardworking American shrimpers have been devastated by the flood of foreign shrimp imports entering our markets, driving down the prices, undermining fair competition, and forcing generation after generation of fishing families out of business.
For decades, billions of dollars tied to international development financing have helped support foreign shrimp production overseas.
According to publicly available data from the Department of the Treasury, U.S. executive directors at international financial institutions have voted in favor of nearly 89 percent of multilateral shrimp and aquacultural projects over the last 30 years. Think about that--89 percent.
American taxpayer dollars have effectively helped finance foreign shrimp industries while our own shrimpers are being forced to compete against foreign producers benefiting from the subsidies, unfair trade practices, and lower label and environmental standards, allowing imported shrimp to be sold below the cost of production. It is unacceptable.
Meanwhile, the men and women from our Gulf Coast and coastal communities wake up before dawn and work long hours in dangerous conditions to help feed this country. They deserve a level playing field, not a Federal Government helping bankroll their foreign competition.
The Save Our Shrimpers Act directs U.S. representatives at international financial institutions to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose projects that finance foreign shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or shrimp exports overseas.
The Save Our Shrimpers Act stands up for American jobs, American seafood producers, and the coastal communities that depend on the shrimping industry to survive.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up for our shrimpers and protect the American industry, and I ask them to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2071.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.
Mr. Speaker, I am supportive of American workers, including the shrimpers' communities. For that reason, I recommend that my colleagues support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I think Mr. Nehls has done good work on behalf of our hardworking men and women in the shrimping industry, particularly in his native Gulf Coast, who get up at the crack of dawn every day to make a living and serve a delicious product to Americans and neighbors alike.
Mr. Speaker, I witnessed something so similar 25 years ago in the Mississippi Delta when the Federal Government's policy was to subsidize importation of catfish from Vietnam. It literally put hundreds of family farms in Mississippi and Arkansas out of business and bankrupted the industry because we facilitated--through our trade policy, through our international financial institutions policy, through our import policy--a decision that was in contrast to the very policies of USDA, which were to increase family farms and increase farms diversifying their crop from row crop to domestically produced farm-raised catfish. These policies collided, Mr. Speaker.
I think what the gentleman from Texas is arguing is let's have common sense in our policy that supports our producers and our family shrimp growers, support them and put them first in this channel of providing high-quality seafood to the American consumer.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls) for this bill. I urge a ``yes'' vote on both sides of the aisle, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2071, as amended.
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 (H.R. 4437) to reduce the regulatory burden on certain well managed and well capitalized financial institutions, 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 Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) each will control 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in enthusiastic support of my friend from South Carolina (Mr. Timmons) and his SMART Act.
Community banks and credit unions play a vital role in all of our local communities across our Nation, often serving as the primary source of credit, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
These institutions support small businesses and small farms and help hardworking Americans achieve homeownership and long-term financial stability.
Too often, well-managed institutions are burdened by duplicative and outdated regulatory requirements. These unnecessary burdens divert time, staff, and resources away from lending and supporting their local economies and toward a check-the-box compliance process that does not make the financial system any safer or any sounder.
The SMART Act offers a practical, commonsense solution by streamlining and simplifying limited-scope exams for smaller, well- capitalized, and well-managed institutions, while fully preserving the safety and soundness standards.
This targeted supervisory relief reduces unnecessary burden, eliminates duplicative reviews, and frees community banks to focus on lending and those goals of serving their customers.
Regulators should recognize that financial institutions with a strong track record should not be subject to the same regulatory scrutiny as institutions that are under financial stress, poorly managed, or quite large and complex.
Furthermore, the SMART Act makes further improvements to bank and credit union examinations, encouraging Federal regulators to improve examination practices by assigning experienced examiners, minimizing unnecessary onsite disruptions, and ensuring exams are conducted in a more efficient and predictable manner.
Washington should not create unnecessary burdens that make it even harder for small public or privately held community banks and their credit union competitors to try to compete and serve their Main Street customer base.
The SMART Act is a practical, bipartisan step that preserves the strength of community institutions, keeps regulators focused on the areas of greatest risk, and supports a healthier, more balanced financial system for all Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the SMART Act, 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. 4437, the Supervisory Modifications for Appropriate Risk-based Testing Act of 2025, sponsored by Representative Timmons and our Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Ranking Member (Mr. Foster). This is a good bipartisan bill that will support our community banks and our credit unions.
I have heard many community banks and credit unions raise concerns about their bank exams and ask how they might be streamlined. The bill provides these institutions with alternating full-scope and limited- scope opportunities.
In order to qualify for this relief, community banks and credit unions must be well capitalized and well managed. For example, that means that in order to receive this relief, they cannot be subject to an enforcement order.
The bill also clarifies that regulators retain the discretion to do additional exams if something unexpected develops related to safety and soundness and ensure that these institutions are complying with the law.
I also appreciate that Chairman Hill and the sponsors worked with me to include my amendment to require the regulators have examiners with significant experience before they conduct exams of smaller banks and credit unions.
My amendment would also minimize the number of examiners and time at the institution to carry out an onsite exam to reduce the burden on smaller institutions.
Finally, Congress must receive statistics from the regulators every year about these changes so we can understand how they are being implemented. If Members want to do something meaningful to help our community banks and credit unions, then I urge them to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Timmons), my friend and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, and an outstanding, very active member of our House Committee on Financial Services.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 4437, the Supervisory Modifications for Appropriate Risk-based Testing Act, also known as the SMART Act. I am proud to partner with Representative Foster on this bipartisan legislation to provide targeted, risk-based regulatory relief for well-managed and well-capitalized financial institutions with assets under $6 billion.
The SMART Act modernizes the examination process for qualifying institutions by allowing full scope onsite examinations every other cycle, alternating with more limited reviews focused on key risk areas. The bill also allows certain examinations, including safety and soundness, consumer compliance, and cybersecurity reviews to be conducted concurrently, reducing the burden of multiple overlapping examinations.
This is a practical, commonsense approach that improves regulatory efficiency while preserving strong oversight and consumer protections. The SMART Act is built on a principle familiar in other regulated industries, including the restaurant sector, where institutions with a strong track record and demonstrated compliance benefit from a more streamlined oversight process. This legislation applies that same principle to financial supervision by recognizing that not all institutions present the same level of risk, and our regulatory framework should reflect that reality.
At the same time, regulators would retain full authority to conduct additional examinations whenever necessary. Institutions with recent enforcement actions or major changes in control would not qualify for this streamlined process. Smaller financial institutions are essential to local economies, helping finance small businesses, first homes, and community development projects across the country. This bill gives them greater capacity to serve their customers and communities while maintaining the strong safeguards that consumers expect and deserve.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bipartisan legislation that promotes efficiency and smarter regulation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bipartisan Supervisory Modifications for Appropriate Risk-based Testing Act, or SMART Act, which provides thoughtful examination relief to qualifying community banks and credit unions, while maintaining appropriate safeguards.
Specifically, the SMART Act allows community banks and credit unions with fewer than $6 billion in assets to qualify for alternating full- and limited-scope examinations, provided that their prudential regulator gave them a strong review at their last full-scope examination, that they are not subject to an enforcement action, and that they have not recently merged, which often can be a challenging time for recently merged institutions.
If they meet these criteria, qualifying banks and credit unions may also request that regulators combine certain types of exams so they can take place at the same time. Many employees of the smallest firms wear multiple hats and have daily duties outside of the examination process.
This provision allows firms with a strong track record to better coordinate with regulators and spend more time working with the communities that they serve. It will also provide regulatory staff with greater flexibility to focus their limited resources on poorly rated institutions that need greater oversight.
I reemphasize that this bill includes important safeguards that accompany this added flexibility.
As I have mentioned, the relief provided in this bill will only be available to well-managed and well-capitalized community banks and credit unions with fewer than $6 billion in assets that are in good standing with the regulatory agency, and the regulators will always be able to step in if there is a threat to the stability of a covered institution.
Finally, this legislation is a step toward the future of bank regulation which will rely, we hope, less on high-stakes, in-person examinations and more on automated electronically driven inspections that happen on a more continuous basis to deal with the challenges of the coming agentic world in finance.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to co-lead this legislation, and I thank Mr. Timmons for his partnership on this bill. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, there is a lot that Congress can do to help our community financial institutions. This includes taking up deposit insurance reform bills like the ones that I and my committee Republicans have put forward. Increasing deposit insurance would help community banks and credit unions better compete for small businesses' deposits.
I appreciate that unlike some of the other bills Republicans have tried to advance this Congress, which were either handouts to our largest banks or rollbacks of vital consumer protections, H.R. 4437 focuses on helping our community banks and credit unions.
Mr. Speaker, I again urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster), who is the ranking member of our Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, working hand in glove with my friend from South Carolina (Mr. Timmons) who addressed the House. Together, they show the best of the Congress. They are focused on where the rubber hits the road for most all the customers in America, and that is our community banks.
I have said many times on this House floor that if you are concerned about housing, you ought to be concerned about our Main Street community banks because they, Mr. Speaker, deliver. Six out of 10 home construction loans are made by those banks under $10 billion.
Today, we are here to talk about providing some examination coordination. Examinations that give very targeted relief to the very best--well-capitalized, well-managed, unblemished, not connected to a merger or acquisition activity--community banks to let them better coordinate their routine exam process.
Mr. Speaker, I have worked at banks of that size, and I know the confusion of multiple exams that are uncoordinated between the agencies and come like waves, one after another, from which there is no relief. The same small compliance group dedicated in that bank under $6 billion is avalanched by these requests from the FDIC, the Federal Reserve, the OCC, the State Bank Department, the NASD, now FINRA for a broker dealer, a trust exam, an IT exam. There is no end to it.
This kind of coordination is so valuable to these often entrepreneurially
Mr. Speaker, I encourage a strong ``yes'' vote on the work by Congressmen Timmons and Foster, and I yield back the balance of my time of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4437, 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. 3709) to amend the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to establish a Financial Agent Mentor-Protege Program within the Department of the Treasury, 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 Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) 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 include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of Congresswoman Joyce Beatty's bill, the Advancing the Mentor-Protege Program for Small Financial Institutions.
Small financial institutions, as we have discussed this afternoon, play a vital role in providing financial services to our families and our small businesses across our communities that often lack robust access to financial products and services, particularly outside our urban areas.
Yet, over the last few decades, we have seen a steady decline in the number of these vital smaller institutions threatening access to mortgages for American families and important capital access for small business development or agricultural loans for our family farmers.
Representative Beatty's bipartisan legislation helps ensure that smaller banks and credit unions remain viable by formally codifying the Financial Agent Mentor-Protege Program within the United States Department of the Treasury.
Since 2018, the Department of the Treasury has launched the program to strengthen partnerships between the Nation's largest banks and some of our smallest financial institutions across our land. This program pairs small and rural financial institutions with larger banks and credit unions, giving them access to resources, training, and technical assistance so that they can better serve their communities and better position themselves to qualify to serve as financial agents to the Treasury.
By codifying this initiative, we strengthen community banks, credit unions, and rural banks, expanding access to responsible financial services and ensuring that more small institutions have the capacity to partner with the Federal Government on crucial financial operations.
I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty), for her leadership on this critical issue. I would encourage Members on both sides of the aisle to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 3709, the Advancing the Mentor-Protege Program for Small Financial Institutions Act sponsored by our colleague and former chair of our Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee, Representative Joyce Beatty.
She has been such a strong leader in supporting our community banks and credit unions across the country, including our Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, and our Minority Depository Institutions, or MDIs.
Now, H.R. 3709 will enhance the Treasury Department's Mentor-Protege Program, which pairs larger banks with smaller ones so they have a mentor they can get advice and support from to grow and thrive.
The House first passed a similar version of Representative Beatty's bill
I am so pleased Chairman Hill agreed to take up Representative Beatty's bill to continue our longstanding bipartisan tradition to support Minority Depository Institutions, or MDIs, alongside other community financial institutions like rural banks.
Let me remind Members that during Trump's first term, Congress, led by Ranking Member Velazquez and myself, we had to set aside $60 billion for MDIs and CDFIs and other community financial institutions because the biggest banks were not providing Paycheck Protection Programs-- remember, the PPP loans to the smallest businesses. MDIs and other community lenders are critical to getting those funds to small businesses quickly so they could keep their lights on during the pandemic.
Later, Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass a historic $12 billion package of capital investments and grants for CDFIs and MDIs, and those funds continue to support $130 billion in lending to underserved communities all across America. But there is more that we can do, like encouraging more partnerships to benefit rural banks and MDIs, as Mrs. Beatty's bill does.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 3709, the Advancing Mentor-Protege Program for Small Financial Institutions Act, which supports small banks, credit unions by codifying the Financial Agent Mentor-Protege Program at the Department of the Treasury.
This program, as you have heard from our chairman and our ranking member, pairs up small rural financial institutions with large banks and credit unions providing resources, training, and technical assistance to help them better serve their communities and become financial agents to Treasury themselves.
Small financial institutions include, as you have heard from both our chair and the ranking member, they include MDIs, Minority Depository Institutions. I am very proud to take this moment and personal privilege to say, like Adelphi Bank in my district in Columbus, Ohio, president and CEO, Jordan Miller, and the founder, Kevin Boyce, every day in this bank they are helping low-income, underserved constituents and the community at large.
These institutions know the financial needs of their communities best, and they provide essential financial services like mortgage credits, small business, and auto loans, investment banking and more. Mr. Speaker, these are all the things that we talk about in this very Chamber when we talk about working folks and jobs.
The chairman mentioned housing. Great point. But if you aren't financially able to do it, and if we could only have our larger banks participate in this program, which this legislation would do, it would help accomplish all of the things that we have heard today.
Mr. Speaker, MDIs, small banks, and credit unions, and rural financial institutions generally have higher expenses and are often forced to merge with other institutions to survive.
Codifying the Mentor-Protege Program at the Department of the Treasury will go a long way toward preserving and strengthening these institutions and ensuring that they can continue to survive and provide the critical banking services that the community needs.
Mr. Speaker, why should we do this? Who supports this? Those are great questions if you were asking that. I am proud that this bill, which has passed on suspension twice before, has the support of the Independent Community Bankers of America, or ICBA; the American Bankers Association, ABA; the America's Credit Unions, ACU; and the National Bankers Association, or NBA.
Mr. Speaker, I have been working on this bill for the entire congressional session because it is so important, and I am so proud that it is a bipartisan piece of legislation.
Let me also just share this: My bill has been endorsed by Ohio regional banks like Huntington Bank, which is headquartered in the capital city of the great State of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio; Fifth Third Bank, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio; and KeyBank, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Speaker, on this, I am sure we can all agree: Supporting small, mission-driven credit unions and community banks directly benefits American consumers and the economy overall.
Mr. Speaker, again, I thank Representative Beatty for her steadfast work on this important bill. This is one of the several bills today that I am glad we are considering to strengthen MDIs, CDFIs, community banks, and credit unions.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members on both sides of the aisle to support Congresswoman Beatty's good bill. It really helps so many of these small institutions that just don't have the capacity building to cope with some of the things that we have talked about on the House floor today in terms of the compliance burden and requirements they have to be successful.
If we really want to help our smallest institutions do that, they have to have a peer network. They have to have expertise in some select areas to enhance their ability to serve not only the Department of the Treasury's needs but just to run a more successful financial institution and to be able to grow it and serve their communities.
This peer mentorship program is one that, since 2018, we have seen support for and seen success with. I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) for urging that it be codified.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage Members on both sides to pass Mrs. Beatty's 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 Arkansas (Mr. Hill) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3709, 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. 4478) to amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to permit Federal banking agencies to examine
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 Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) each will control 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill introduced by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore), H.R. 4478, the TRUST Act.
For many community banks across the country, the challenge is not a lack of demand for loans. It is the growing weight of compliance costs and administrative burden that has steadily increased over time-- dramatically in the years since the global financial crisis.
These institutions play an essential role in our local communities by providing capital to help local farmers expand operations, support entrepreneurs, and allow families to meet their goals of building a house or doing a renovation.
Overly frequent exam schedules for well-performing, low-risk banks take significant time and resources away from the customers and communities they are meant to serve. The TRUST Act recognizes that regulatory oversight should reflect the level of risk that an institution actually presents to its shareholders, its depositors, and the economy, obviously, at large.
This bill raises the threshold for the 18-month exam cycle from $3 billion to $6 billion for those institutions that are well capitalized and well managed under the definitions of Federal regulators.
It is critical that we modernize outdated thresholds to prevent inflation and economic growth from unnecessarily increasing burdens on our community institutions. By expanding access to an extended exam cycle, these well-managed community banks with a strong track record can focus more time and resources on lending and serving their customers rather than just being caught up in an endless cycle of repetitive paperwork.
At the same time, the TRUST Act maintains robust oversight, with Federal regulators retaining their full authority to examine institutions and ensure the safety and soundness of our banking system.
By balancing effective oversight with reduced burden for well-managed institutions, this bill allows community banks to better serve families, farmers, and small businesses that rely on them every single day.
Mr. Moore's TRUST Act is a targeted reform that promotes efficiency without sacrificing accountability and ensures that our regulatory framework keeps pace with the needs of our communities and the financial institutions that serve them.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support Mr. Moore's bill, H.R. 4478, 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. 4478, the Tailored Regulatory Updates for Supervisory Testing Act of 2025, sponsored by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres).
This bill raises the asset threshold from $3 billion to $6 billion for well-capitalized and well-managed banks to qualify for an 18-month examination cycle instead of a 12-month exam.
Like another bill we are considering on the floor today, the SMART Act, this bill incentivizes community banks to manage their businesses well. If they do, they are able to get less frequent exams.
Congress last raised the threshold to $3 billion in 2018, which covered roughly 94 percent of banks. By raising the threshold to $6 billion today, we will update this threshold while covering roughly the same portion of banks.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore), one of our newest members on the House Financial Services Committee and the former speaker of the statehouse of North Carolina. Mr. Moore is the author of this bill and has given great thought to how we advance the ability of our Main Street institutions to serve our customers.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bill, the Tailored Regulatory Updates for Supervisory Testing Act, otherwise known as the TRUST Act.
Back home in western North Carolina, and in so much of rural America, community banks are very often the only financial institution in so many of our small towns. These are the banks that are helping a young couple get approved for their first mortgage or sitting down with someone who wants to open a business to be able to extend that line of credit that they need to do so.
Our community bankers are involved in the community. They give back to charity, as they truly are a part of the community and a key part of our economy.
Right now what is happening is these small-town banks are suffocating under a regulatory system that just does not make sense. It is one- size-fits-all, and it really makes no sense to treat a small, rural community bank to the same exact regulatory and compliance standards as you do with the really super large banks that you have around the country. It is just not fair. They can't keep up with it, and it just causes ridiculous costs that don't make sense.
The central issue that this bill goes to is to address the examination cycle that these banks are required to undergo.
The way it works is Federal regulators routinely examine banks to make sure they are operating safely and responsibly; something that is extremely important. We cannot cut down on oversight.
Under current law, the healthiest community banks can qualify for examinations every 18 months instead of 12 months, but the eligibility for that relief is tied to an outdated asset threshold that was set back in 2018 which has not been updated since then.
At that time, about 94 percent of community banks fell under the $3 billion threshold that allowed them to qualify for the longer examination cycle. Today, because of inflation and economic growth alone, it takes nearly $6 billion in assets to cover that same share of banks.
Let's call this what it is. These banks did not suddenly become reckless overnight or stop serving their communities responsibly. The only thing that changed was the economy grew, and Washington never bothered to modernize the rules.
That means that well-run community banks are now being pushed to more frequent exam cycles simply because of an outdated number on paper that no longer reflects the reality.
Here is what happens. Every hour spent preparing paperwork for regulators is an hour not spent helping small businesses and helping individuals who need to get access to credit. What has to happen is this has to be updated. Congress can do this, and I believe they will do this today.
Passing the TRUST Act would update the threshold from $3 billion to $6 billion. What that would do is allow this law to reflect today's economy, and community banks will continue to qualify for the same regulatory relief that Congress originally intended.
Absolutely just as important, the bill does not weaken the safety and soundness standards one bit. These institutions must still maintain strong ratings, be well-capitalized and operate without enforcement actions.
To someone who is watching at home today or hears about this and wonders, why is this important? Well, it is important because if you cut down on the amount of regulations, the amount of red tape, the amount of money that just goes into the bureaucracy to feed this, if you stop spending that money there, you have that money to put into small businesses and to provide money to working families, folks who need access to capital.
For that reason and so many more--I know this is a great bill, and I appreciate the support--I urge the body's passage.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Community banks, including those that are community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, and minority depository institutions, or MDIs, provide access to loans for families to buy a home and for entrepreneurs to start a small business.
This bill will help ensure more of these institutions can focus on helping their customers.
I, again, urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I want to echo the compliments of the ranking member on this bill as well as the bill that we discussed a few minutes ago by Mr. Timmons of South Carolina and Mr. Foster of Illinois. These bills speak to the heart of how to let a Main Street community bank under $6 billion that is well-managed and well-capitalized and let them do what they do best, which is grow their business, serve their customers, innovate new products, and serve those customers in the best way they know how. Maybe they can even grow their loan pipeline.
I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, having worked in an institution of that size, the number of personnel deviated from the tasks I just outlined about better customer service, growing your business, serving your community, attending the hospital board meeting, sponsoring the local little league, that is all put to the side when you are in one after another bank exam, which are frequently uncoordinated as in the case of Mr. Timmons' and Mr. Foster's bill, or again the benefit of having a predictable cycle, a tailored cycle based on the size of the institution, as the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore) proposes.
These have practical impacts every day for the American economy. A bank under $1 billion in size of assets, Mr. Speaker, probably has 100 to 150 employees. In any exam you are going to pull off, I would say, at least 10 percent of that total employment base with hours focused on exam prep, exam service, and exam follow-up.
These have practical implications, and I want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore) for speaking out on smaller financial institutions across this country to see the practical hands-on benefits of this strong bipartisan bill that he has brought to the House floor today.
I urge all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the TRUST Act. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4478.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
Calling on Elected Officials and Civil Society Leaders to Counter Antisemitism and Educate the Public on the Contributions of the Jewish- American Community
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1251) calling on elected officials and civil society leaders to counter antisemitism and educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish-American community.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Knott) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to submit extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina?
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this month we celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month. First proclaimed by President George W. Bush and by each President since, this month recognizes the contributions of the Jewish community to our country.
We celebrate this month amidst a persistent increase in anti-Semitism in our country and around the world.
Anti-Semitic incidents and attacks against Jews and those who are perceived as Jewish in the United States have reached record highs. According to the American Jewish Committee, 91 percent of American Jews say that they feel less safe in the United States due to violent attacks against American Jews in the past year.
According to Hillel International, 83 percent of Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed some form of anti-Semitism on their campus.
Mr. Speaker, these are not just numbers on a page, but these are a lived experience of all Jewish Americans.
As you may recall, on May 21, 2025, tragically, two Israeli Embassy staff members were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum right here in Washington, D.C.
On June 1, 2025, a man in Boulder, Colorado, approached a crowd of demonstrators, who were calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas, and threw Molotov cocktails, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen in addition.
These and countless other incidents targeting the Jewish people are unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, I will start by thanking the gentleman from Maryland for yielding and for his support of this resolution, along with his decades of leadership in support of the Jewish-American community and as a member of it.
I also thank Chairman Jordan for facilitating consideration of this measure on the floor. I appreciate our work together on issues where we agree.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my resolution, H. Res. 1251, to recognize Jewish American Heritage Month and honor the role of Jewish Americans throughout our country's 250-year history.
I thank Representatives Troy Carter, Miller-Meeks, and Fitzpatrick for joining me to co-lead this resolution.
Jewish American Heritage Month, or JAHM, is an annual opportunity each May to come together and honor the generations of Jewish Americans who help make up an integral part of the rich mosaic of the United States.
While JAHM is a celebratory and educational month, this commemoration takes place amid rising anti-Semitism. As the resolution notes, anti- Jewish bias was identified in two-thirds of 2024 FBI hate crime reports, and American Jews, who are just 2 percent of the population, were targeted in 15 percent of all hate crimes.
Mr. Speaker, 91 percent of Jews feel less safe in America after violent attacks in Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York, and here in Washington, D.C., some of which were deadly.
As these threats surge, more than half of Jewish institutions, like synagogues, preschools, and community centers, lack the resources to protect themselves. The status quo is unacceptable.
That is why this resolution expresses moral clarity. The House must unite to denounce anti-Semitism and protect Jewish Americans from attacks on their religious freedom, dignity, and safety.
The best tool in the toolbox to counter baseless conspiracy theories, ignorance, and bigotry is education. When 38 percent of Americans don't know someone Jewish and 30 percent aren't familiar with the term ``anti-Semitism,'' it is essential to take this opportunity in the month of May to build awareness of the role Jewish Americans have played in our country's success.
This year, as we mark 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, I am proud that our resolution highlights the more than 1 million Jewish-American men and women who have defended our freedom in the U.S. military.
Jewish Americans have served in every branch of the United States Armed Forces, in every major war and conflict. At least 18 Jewish servicemembers have earned the Medal of Honor, our Nation's highest military decoration, for risking their lives above and beyond the call of duty.
Their stories, embedded in this resolution, are the best illustration of how Jewish Americans have contributed to protecting our liberty and our way of life. They are the clearest refutation of false, bigoted accusations that Jewish Americans lack loyalty for this country.
Honoring the sacrifice of these heroes means ensuring their identity isn't erased when they are gone. I am proud to have worked across the aisle to protect their legacy.
My bipartisan Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act, which passed the House last year, would ensure that hundreds of Jewish servicemembers who were wrongfully buried under Latin crosses have their graves marked with the Star of David.
This is just one of countless areas of American life where Jewish Americans made bountiful contributions, and we in Congress have a critical role to play in educating Americans about the Jewish community and preserving our history.
This resolution makes clear that the United States Government stands firmly against anti-Semitism in any form and commits to protecting every American's right to express their religion without interference or persecution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. Speaker, as we mark Jewish American Heritage Month, I urge my colleagues not only to support this measure, but to take this opportunity to engage with their Jewish and non-Jewish constituents during the month of May to educate them about Jewish contributions to the success of the United States of America.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida.
President Washington, in the summer of 1790, penned a letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. In it, he explained the key advantage that would set our new Republic apart from all prior nations.
Here in the United States, he assured the Jewish community: ``All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.'' Not liberty for some, but liberty for all.
To secure equal liberty, the President explained, we would establish and maintain a government that ``gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.'' We would require ``only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.''
That commitment to reciprocal basic decency and responsibility for everyone who lives here is sewn into the fabric of the American political culture.
The United States doesn't always live up to that promise, Mr. Speaker. All too often, there have been efforts to privilege some Americans over others, to create a hierarchy, to bully particular American communities because of their religion, their ethnicity, their skin color, or their national origin, for cynical and political gain.
Certainly, in the Jewish community, we know what it means to be treated sometimes as a scapegoat. We see that incidents of anti- Semitism across America remain at record highs today. We see an alarming rise in physical assaults motivated by anti-Semitism, 203 last year alone.
We know that three people were killed in anti-Semitic attacks last year, including two right here at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
We know from the struggles of our history that we all must work together to counter racism and anti-Semitism which form the gateway to destruction of liberal democracy. We cannot pretend that systematic hatred and discrimination leaves anybody unaffected in the country.
In Congress, we have an obligation to confront bias and discrimination head-on, to foster what President Washington called ``an enlarged and liberal policy,'' one that moves our country from the intolerance of white supremacy to the tolerance and universal liberties that he described in that letter to the congregation in Newport.
That is why, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution which observes ``one of the most effective ways to combat anti-Semitism and hate is through education and awareness of the contributions Jewish Americans have made to the United States through the arts, entertainment, science and technology, military, government, business, culinary traditions, and other fields.''
I thank the gentlewoman from Florida, again, for her leadership on this project. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I thank the gentleman from Maryland for his remarks. I am continuing on in the same spirit that was referenced by my colleague: ``To bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.''
Mr. Speaker, all of us as elected leaders and the leaders around this country, we do have a solemn responsibility to confront anti-Semitism wherever it is.
Jewish Americans, as has been discussed on the floor today, have contributed immeasurably to the United States throughout our history, some by serving in the Armed Forces and laying down their lives, as recounted in this resolution. I hope that we may honor their service and sacrifice for their fellow Americans.
I urge support of this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, President Washington closed that letter to the congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, this way. He said: ``May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabits; while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.''
I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for her resolution. I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his
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 North Carolina (Mr. Knott) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1251.
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 agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1252) resolution memorializing law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Knott) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 1252 introduced by my colleagues, Representative Guest, Representative Letlow, and Representative Pappas.
It is National Police Week, and countless men and women who serve in law enforcement at every level of government have come here to our Nation's Capital, Washington, D.C. While we gather to recognize their courage, we must also confront a very troubling reality: Every day, law enforcement officers across this country are facing increased threats to their safety and well-being.
We know that law enforcement officers answer every call for help regardless of who the person is, what they believe, and regardless of the threat to their own lives.
Tragically, many of those brave men and women who answer the call of duty do not return home. As of April 26, there are nearly 25,000 names of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial here in Washington. Each name represents a life lost in the line of duty, a family forever changed, and a sacrifice that can never be fully repaid.
According to the Fraternal Order of Police, 347 officers were shot in the line
Mr. Speaker, words alone cannot capture the depth of our gratitude for the service and the sacrifice offered by these brave men and women.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today also in strong support of this resolution, which recognizes the sacrifices made by law enforcement officers across America every day and honors the bravery of those who have fallen in the line of duty and given the rest of us the last full measure of their devotion. These too often unsung heroes have our eternal gratitude, and we must offer our unwavering support to their families and loved ones.
Mr. Speaker, 111 officers died in the line of duty last year, and 30 more have fallen already in 2026. They leave behind wives and husbands, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and partners and colleagues to remember them, and we must remember them too.
This year 363 names will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial here in D.C., including two officers from Maryland. I would like to mention Sergeant Brenda J. Lowery of the Cecil County Sheriff's Office died suddenly on June 4, 2024, after working the night shift at the Cecil County Detention Center. Those who knew her recalled how, throughout her nearly two decades of service, she managed to make a positive impact in the lives of not only her fellow deputies, but all those whom she interacted with each day. A dedicated servant to her community and country, Sergeant Lowery, like many officers, was also a military veteran, a veteran of the United States Air Force. She never stopped serving her country and her community.
Former Chief Edward E. Ivey, Jr., of the Fairmount Heights Police Department in Prince George's County has been described by colleagues as a natural leader and a pillar of his community that he served for 28 years. Chief Ivey passed away after an occupational illness on June 14, 2022. He was posthumously honored by the Chiefs of Police Association of Prince George's County with their Hall of Fame Award.
America's law enforcement officers set out every single day to protect our people. They protect our neighborhoods, our loved ones, our businesses, our schools, our property, and even this building and the people who work within it when called upon to do so.
We recognize that our sworn officers do not make these sacrifices alone. Every day, their families live with the knowledge that their loved one may not return home after the shift. These families, too, bear the heavy burdens of their profession, and we honor them today, as well.
Today, I ask all of our colleagues to join us in honoring all the men and women who took the oath, dedicating their lives to our communities with honor, duty, and courage and who have fallen in the line of duty. We remain committed to remembering them and honoring them. They will not be forgotten.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I will close with this.
The observance of National Police Week and Peace Officers Memorial Day marks a time of solemn remembrance when our Nation comes together to honor the courage, the sacrifice, and the dedication of the noble law enforcement officers and personnel all across the country and right here in Washington, D.C., and on the Capitol itself who promote our safety and our security.
Let us rededicate ourselves to awareness of their service to our communities and our country.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the sponsors of this resolution for upholding and honoring the spirit of this moment. I thank my friend from North Carolina for his remarks. I ask all colleagues to support H. Res. 1252, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) for his thoughtful remarks.
In the same spirit that he just articulated, we, as elected officials, must take a stand against these attacks and honor our fallen law enforcement officers.
This resolution takes an important first step, and we collectively will never forget those who made such high levels of sacrifice in the line of duty. It is up to us in Congress to honor their memory and to stand up to protect those who do so much each and every day to protect each of us here.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Knott) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1252.
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 (H.R. 2853) to combat organized crime involving the illegal acquisition of retail goods and cargo for the purpose of selling those illegally obtained goods through physical and online retail marketplaces, 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 North Carolina (Mr. Knott) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I first would like to begin by commending my good friend and colleague from Ohio (Mr. Joyce), for the hard work that he has put into not only drafting but ushering this legislation to where we are today.
The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, colloquially known as CORCA, was the biproduct of collaboration of Members on both sides of the aisle, law enforcement, industry leaders, shipping and transportation companies, and small business owners throughout this country. I was proud to be an original cosponsor of this effort.
H.R. 2853 is an answer to the significant and persistent increase in organized retail crime that we have seen ballooning in recent years across the United States.
Often misunderstood, organized retail crime is a broad category, including everything from theft offenses such as stealing items from convenience stores to cargo theft, gift card theft, and stolen or cloned credit cards. While this may seem isolated or even miniscule when looked at alone, this problem has been escalating across the country at a vast scale.
While precise data on the losses to businesses from organized retail crime is hard to specify and difficult to quantify, it is estimated conservatively that up to $100 billion annually is the direct cost to businesses across the country.
Organized crime is forcing businesses to close. It is endangering the public. It contributes to the rise in prices for consumers wherever it is. Many organized retail crime rings operate across State and, of course, international lines.
While preventing local retail crime is properly left to the State and local governments, the cross-border nature of organized retail crime makes it difficult for State and local law enforcement agencies to fight these crimes, even if just on a resource level alone.
To be clear, this bill is not about going after the occasional shoplifter who steals an item of food or some small item that is of little consequence. Rather, this bill is going after the professional thieves, those who are repeat offenders who steal for profit and do so on a large scale.
H.R. 2853 provides Federal prosecutors with additional tools to prosecute these and other instances of organized retail crime.
For example, the bill amends title 18 to allow Federal prosecutors to charge receipt of stolen goods or transportation of stolen goods when the stolen property reaches an aggregate value of $5,000 or more over a 12-month period. It also expands the definition of monetary instrument in the Federal money laundering statute to include general-use prepaid cards, gift certificates, and store gift cards.
Over the past several years, organized retail crime groups have been increasingly utilizing gift card schemes to defraud stores and consumers. These groups record the gift card data in the store, receive notifications when the funds are loaded onto the same card, and then drain the balance before the consumer has the opportunity to use those funds.
This bill further expands the ability of Federal judges to order criminal forfeiture of assets from convictions related to the interstate shipment, transportation, or sale of stolen goods.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, it establishes a center to combat organized retail and supply chain crime within the Department of Homeland Security Investigations. The center will be tasked with coordinating Federal law enforcement activities related to organized retail and supply chain crime, including investigations of transnational criminal organizations.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2853, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act. This bipartisan legislation will address the crisis of organized interstate criminal theft schemes that are costing the retail sector and consumers tens of billions of dollars a year but are often too complex for State law enforcement and prosecutors to address on their own.
In recent years, retailers have sounded the alarm about this crisis, expressing urgent concern that organized retail crime has become a significant threat both to public safety and to the viability of a retail sector already hard-hit by online commerce--threatening the viability of businesses of all sizes, from cargo brokers, shippers, big box stores, and online marketplaces to small, family-owned ma-and-pa retailers.
This is a problem that Members of Congress are hearing about all the time from our constituents. When we talk about the problem, we are talking
This legislation is not aimed at petty shoplifters or small, one-off episodes of theft. We are talking about a multibillion-dollar criminal industry that grows, evolves, and adapts rapidly to the latest technology, security improvements, and modified business practices. These kinds of operations are centrally coordinated, enabled by technology, and very difficult to stop by local police forces.
While organized retail theft endangers the physical safety of retail workers in every sector, this kind of crime hits small businesses especially hard. Family-owned businesses simply cannot afford to replace lost inventory, increase security, make unplanned repairs, and pay the higher insurance premiums that are associated with this criminal epidemic. Small businesses do not have the funds set aside to recruit new employees to replace those who quit because they fear for their safety.
Organized retail crime is centralized and sophisticated. Combating it requires a coordinated Federal law enforcement response. This legislation is a targeted, bipartisan effort to address organized, multi-State criminal networks. It is designed to improve coordination among existing partners, not to expand Federal authority beyond its current legislative scope.
To be clear, let's go through exactly what CORCA does. It creates an organized retail and supply chain coordination center to help local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies across America better analyze the problem and formulate more targeted and effective solutions. The information-sharing provisions are intended to help police forces work together, along with private-sector entities, to prosecute and disrupt the large criminal enterprises that are perpetrating networks of organized retail crime.
The law also authorizes prosecutors to aggregate thefts over a 12- month period to meet the $5,000 minimum threshold for Federal jurisdiction over certain crimes. It fixes some loopholes in money laundering statutes so that those using gift cards to launder the proceeds of their organized retail crime can no longer dodge money laundering charges.
Finally, the bill directs DHS and DOJ to review and make recommendations to Congress for strengthening grant programs for training and technical assistance.
Importantly, this legislation, which sunsets after 7 years unless it is extended, gives the Federal Government no new authorities. These new activities will take place entirely within existing legal frameworks. It leverages the strengths of local, State, and Federal law enforcement to foster a coordinated response across State lines and, indeed, international borders.
In an era in which the Department of Homeland Security often seems to have lost its way completely, this bill is intended to focus its agents on a staggeringly serious problem that demands their focused attention and expertise.
Some of my colleagues have raised concerns that the $5,000 threshold in this bill would trigger the involvement of the DOJ in what could be a local shoplifting case. In practice, however, longstanding DOJ policy advises Federal prosecutors to prioritize cases with much higher dollar amounts, leaving most retail theft cases to be charged by State authorities, which cannot effectively pursue cases across State lines. This policy disparity creates an enforcement gap that organized retail theft rings have learned to exploit. It is precisely this reason that gives rise to this legislation.
H.R. 2853 is focused on organized criminal enterprises engaged in cargo theft, gift card fraud, and other large-scale retail theft. These are not isolated incidents or opportunistic low-level offenses. They involve structured networks that move goods and money across jurisdictions, operating with a level of coordination that makes them difficult to detect and prosecute.
H.R. 2853 is a bipartisan effort to address a nationwide problem that indeed requires coordination across agencies, different levels of government, and private industry sectors. By strengthening information- sharing and aligning existing resources, this bill will help law enforcement agencies at every level of government more effectively identify, disrupt, and prosecute coordinated criminal enterprises.
Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in strong support of my legislation, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act.
Organized retail crime is far beyond isolated shoplifting. It is a highly coordinated criminal enterprise that harms businesses, workers, and families in every corner of our country.
Whether you are a truck driver, a small business owner, or an everyday consumer, this issue affects you.
These criminal organizations are engaging in large-scale theft operations involving violence and intimidation, putting the lives of retail workers, small business owners, and everyday shoppers at risk. They disrupt supply chains, drive up costs, and create economic shock waves that reach far beyond the retail sector.
Cargo theft and supply chain fraud are surging nationwide, and the consequences are serious.
First, it puts hardworking Americans in danger. Our truck drivers and rail workers play an essential role in keeping this country running, and they should not have to fear for their safety on the job.
Second, these crimes disrupt supply chains and raise consumer prices. As we have seen in recent years, when supply chains break down, it is hardworking families who are ultimately paying the price.
The goods stolen by these criminal organizations are not simply resold for profit. In many cases, the proceeds are used to finance broader criminal activity, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, and weapons trafficking.
The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act gives law enforcement the tools they need to combat this growing epidemic. By establishing an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security, this legislation will improve coordination among Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies.
This bill also strengthens prosecutors' ability to pursue those criminal investigations and hold those threatening our businesses and our communities accountable.
From small businesses on Main Street to retailers operating nationwide, organized retail crime threatens a key pillar of the American economy. We can't allow criminal organizations to intimidate hardworking Americans, threaten jobs, or destabilize communities across our country.
That is why I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, especially this Police Week, and demonstrate that Congress will always stand with law enforcement, protect small businesses, and fight organized crime.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Lee), who represents the Third District of Nevada and has been such a great champion for this legislation and has educated a lot of the Congress about it, along with her colleague (Ms. Titus), who represents the First District.
Mr. Speaker, during Police Week, I am proud to stand in support of the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act.
Organized retail crime puts all of us in danger. This isn't typical shoplifting. It involves integrated organized networks, often transnational, who are very sophisticated in planning and reselling their items.
Quite simply, it is a coordinated criminal enterprise that hurts consumers, taxpayers, and businesses of all sizes. In fact, it is especially small businesses that often lack security teams, can't absorb large losses, and face higher insurance costs that are hurt the most.
These crimes have more widespread consequences for public safety because these organized groups often resell their stolen goods to finance other illicit activities, including drug and human trafficking operations.
My hometown of Las Vegas is ranked sixth in the Nation for cities affected
This isn't just a financial issue, however. It is a public safety one. Shoppers and retail employees face intimidation, threats, and real physical danger.
We need to work to dismantle these criminal networks. Our local and State law enforcement agencies are doing incredible work, but this shouldn't be left up to local police alone. We need coordination at the Federal level to investigate and prosecute these crimes and link activity across State and transnational lines.
CORCA would update the law to designate organized retail crime as a Federal offense and give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on criminal operations.
I am grateful that over 200 of my colleagues cosponsored this legislation, and I ask both Democrats and Republicans to join me in passing it to support our local businesses, equip our law enforcement with the resources they need, and keep our retail workers and customers safe.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2853, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act legislation, which I am proud to co-lead and have been working on since 2021 with then-Representative Buck.
Organized retail crime is one of the most pressing concerns I hear about from businesses, workers, law enforcement, and community leaders, not just in Nevada, but across the country.
As we have heard, these sophisticated operations go far beyond just a kid stealing a candy bar. They require a strong Federal response to protect consumers, local businesses, and transportation networks.
As we have heard from our ranking member in detail about how this bill will work, I ask my colleagues to just think about it in personal terms. When a customer gets ready to go to a store, whether it is to buy razor blades from Target or an electric saw from Home Depot, what do they find? They find all of these things locked behind glass doors. They then have to call an assistant. The customer has to wait. They can't play with whatever it is or read the description or the specs because this is all locked away protecting it from organized retail crime.
Now, what has that done? That has made it more expensive and more inconvenient. It leads to people staying at home because they are reluctant to go shopping, and they will just do it online. This hurts local businesses, and also it cuts down tax revenue for local governments.
At the same time, it is putting people in danger from these people who engage in this type of crime. They use this money to fund trafficking of all types: humans, drugs, and guns.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in supporting this legislation that will protect workers and customers, support our businesses, and strengthen public safety.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Again, Mr. Speaker, I commend my friend and colleague (Mr. Raskin) from Maryland for his considerable scholarship and efforts in getting this bill to the floor. We certainly wouldn't be here without his assistance, and I am grateful for it.
Mr. Speaker, as a Federal prosecutor in my previous career, I worked many years in the organized crime space. I investigated crimes like these. I spoke with the criminals. There is, as we have already discussed, a very deep need for this bill that the general public does not often see. I am not talking about shoplifters. I am not talking about the individual acts of random crime. I am talking about the more proficient domestic and international actors that have a real effect on every business and every customer in this country.
This bill is highly targeted in its scope. It addresses an important issue that is ongoing within our country, and it does not usurp local authority.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill. It is an important measure that will protect consumers. It will protect businesses, and it will protect employees all over the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO cost estimate for H.R. 2853.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, let the word go out to all of the organized retail criminal conspiracies, outfits, operations, and racketeering enterprises across America and the world that we are going to have an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center. We are going to be working between the Federal Government and the State and local governments in order to crack down on this very serious threat to our small businesses, some bigger businesses, and to all of the consumers and the people of the country.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished former prosecutor and Congressman from North Carolina (Mr. Knott) for his leadership on this.
We are not powerless. There is definitely something that we can do to stop this. This is a clear and effective bipartisan solution before us.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of our colleagues to support H.R. 2853, and I am happy to yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Knott) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2853, as amended.
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 (H.R. 2267) to require the Attorney General to submit to the Congress a report that includes the demographic data of persons determined to be ineligible to purchase a firearm based on a background check performed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, 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 Kentucky (Mr. Massie) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross) 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 include extraneous material on H.R. 2267.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Kentucky?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today we are bringing to the floor the NICS Data Reporting Act. It was inspired in the Judiciary Committee by a conversation that I had with the late Sheila Jackson Lee.
I became aware of a problem with the NICS background check system because John Lott, who is an author of many books, an economist, and a statistician, worked at the Department of Justice and has been privy to some of this data and has discovered that the NICS background check system doesn't work like we think it does, or may actually, in fact, have a racial prejudice built into it.
That is a problem because the right to keep and bear arms, like all fundamental rights protected in the Constitution and given to us by God, should not be based on race, sex, or religion.
The NICS system--that stands for National Instant Criminal Background Check System--is a program that was instituted many years ago that you have to go through when you want to purchase a firearm. You fill out a Form 4473 at the gun store, and you record some affirmations on there that you are not a felon, that you don't use drugs, and you also put on there some demographic data.
The DOJ collects this data, but they have never let us see it. I think we could learn some things and improve their system if we could see this data.
As soon as you fill out the form, they send it in to the central database, and they check to see if you are a prohibited person. In other words, have you been convicted of a crime for which you could serve a year or more, or have you been mentally adjudicated as defective according to this system.
What happens when it does this check is the computers will look for phonetically similar names, and if you share a name, unfortunately, with somebody who is a criminal, even if you are not a convicted criminal yourself, you could be denied the purchase of a firearm. In fact, there have been 2 million denials since this system was put into place in the 1980s. In any given year, we have seen over 100,000 denials, but we know these are mostly false denials because there have only been 12 Federal convictions in a year where there were 100,000 denials.
The problem is, you can appeal this, and if it is your first appeal, you don't get it overridden, you have to employ lawyers. When you have to spend a lot of money to exercise a constitutional right, you are effectively being deprived of that right.
Here is what we believe. If you looked at the data, what you will find is that Black Americans are three times more likely to get a false denial in the NICS background check system and that Hispanic Americans are twice as likely to get a false denial from the NICS background check system as a White American might be.
Why is this? Because they share similar names, surnames and first names, within racial and ethnic groups. If you are in one of these groups and share one of these names with somebody who has been convicted, you can be deprived of the ability to purchase a gun.
This is a problem. We want to see the data, and that is the purpose of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2267, the NICS Data Reporting Act, which would require the Attorney General to submit an annual report to Congress providing demographic data about the individuals who receive denials from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, NICS, as part of an attempted firearm purchase in the preceding year.
The NICS background system has processed more than 300 million checks since the FBI launched the system in 1998. NICS checks are critical to enforcing our laws that keep certain disqualified individuals from possessing a firearm.
The overwhelming majority of NICS checks determine that a prospective purchaser may legally purchase a firearm, and these checks are typically completed in just a few minutes. But in some instances, a NICS search determines that a person may not legally purchase a firearm because the person is matched to a serious criminal conviction, a domestic violence restraining order, a dishonorable discharge from the armed services, a wanted person's list, or other disqualifying record.
Since its inception, NICS has denied sales to more than 1.5 million transactions, keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people who should not have them.
The sponsor of this legislation, Congressman Massie, has cited evidence suggesting that Black and Hispanic men may be more likely to experience false denials since, due to over-incarceration, they are disproportionately likely to share a name with other Black or Hispanic men who are incarcerated.
Mr. Massie has also expressed concern that erroneous NICS denials may disproportionately affect people based not just on race, ethnicity, and national origin, but also on sex, gender, age, disability, income, and English language proficiency.
This is why his legislation asks for the demographic data of individuals denied firearms through NICS for each of the categories I just listed. There is absolutely no harm in seeking this information. We need data and facts to understand our complex world, to craft responsive legislation, and to determine how to allocate government funding.
In fact, when I was in North Carolina representing people who had been wrongly stopped by law enforcement officials, we instituted a data collection system that looks into whether or not people have been detained based on their race or their gender, and it has been very effective.
NICS is an essential tool that keeps guns out of dangerous people's hands. We should seek to learn more about how NICS is working and make improvements, if any are necessary. We need a universal violent criminal background check to close loopholes in current laws, like the internet loophole and the gun show loophole.
I support this legislation, and I urge my Republican colleagues to stand with us in supporting public access to all information, including demographic data, so that we can be certain that our laws and our government are working for every American.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear about the purpose of the bill. It is not to collect more information on prospective gun buyers. It is to know the information we have, what has been collected, what can we infer from those things.
For instance, on the form, we already collect race and ethnicity. The purpose of this bill is not to tell us individual details about the people who purchase the guns. We want to know these numbers in the aggregate so that nobody's particular traits or names will be disclosed as gun owners. We just need to know what it looks like statistically.
There has been a question from some of my conservative colleagues as to why the bill asks for both gender and sex. The reason for that is, before 2016, the form 4473 used to ask what your gender was. After 2016, it asks what your sex is.
The language of the law doesn't suggest that those two things are different things. It just acknowledges that the data that has been collected over the years has been collected under two different terms, and we want to know all the data.
Mr. Speaker, banks also do background checks on prospective tellers and employees of the banks. Imagine if a bank had an error in their system that caused Black tellers or Hispanic tellers to fail the background check more than White tellers or other bank employees. The bank would be sued out of existence. Yet, we have a government system that we believe probably does this, so that is why we need to know the data.
My goal with this is that we improve the system and that we make it not sloppy. What will the improvement yield? It will take out the racial bias in the system that exists right now. It will also mean that all races, whether you are White, Black, Hispanic, or Asian, and whether you are male or female, there will be no bias because we will check for your actual name and your actual birthday and clean this system up.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.
Mr. Speaker, this bill would require the Attorney General to provide demographic information about NICS denials. I support collecting data to better understand and evaluate the effectiveness of NICS and determine whether it needs to be strengthened in any way.
Mr. Speaker, in memory of Sheila Jackson Lee, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson), who is also a member of the Judiciary Committee and who, in fact, improved this bill before it came to the floor. We marked it up in the Committee on the Judiciary. He had a suggestion. In order not to delay the bill or the passage of it through committee, I assured the gentleman that I would work with him before it came to the floor.
A lot of times, that is a euphemism, and it never happens, but we did, in fact, insert the language from Hank Johnson's office directly into this bill. It was not because I wanted to cut a deal but because it actually made the bill better. We will find out not just the demographics of the denials but also the demographics of the people who overturned their denials. This is important, too, for improving the system.
Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of 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 Kentucky (Mr. Massie) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2267, 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. 8352) to authorize peace officer standards and training agencies to access criminal history records, 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 Kansas (Mr. Schmidt) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross) 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 include extraneous material on H.R. 8352.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Kansas?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 8352 is a commonsense and bipartisan bill that fixes a critical flaw in the Federal statute.
State peace officer standards and training agencies, or POSTs, are responsible for certifying, licensing, and overseeing law enforcement officers in their respective jurisdictions. All 50 States have some form of a POST agency, although they go by different names.
More than 50,000 individuals apply each year for law enforcement positions across the United States, and local, county, State, and Tribal agencies submit these applicants to their respective State POST agencies for certification.
It is our expectation that each of those men and women would be a person of integrity and capable of upholding the position of public trust, but we shouldn't just take an applicant's word for it. As President Reagan might have said: ``Trust, but verify.''
Applicants voluntarily consent in writing to these background checks when applying for employment to perform the duties of a law enforcement officer, but current Federal law does not give POST agencies full access to criminal history records contained within the FBI's CJIS system. This can result in POST agencies having incomplete records when deciding whether to certify a candidate for employment as law enforcement.
This unnecessary barrier has resulted in candidates with disqualifying convictions slipping through the cracks.
My own State of Kansas is currently dealing with an issue of an officer with a disqualifying conviction who was hired by an agency without performing the mandatory background criminal history check. Since Kansas C-POST does not have the authority to run its own criminal histories, it has to rely on the hiring agency's verification that the applicant has met all the minimum requirements. That officer has been working for more than 18 months with a disqualifying conviction.
Giving POST agencies this access is a commonsense step that strengthens accountability and helps keep communities safe by preventing individuals with disqualifying criminal history records from entering or remaining in the profession.
I thank Chairman Jordan and my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee for unanimously supporting this bill during our committee markup last month. I thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross), for her leadership in making this a bipartisan partnership and effort, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8352, the bipartisan Criminal History Access Act of 2026. I applaud my colleague, Mr. Schmidt, for introducing this important bill and for working together to get it through the Judiciary Committee.
Every State has its own standards for determining who may serve as a State or local law enforcement officer. Those standards are set and administered by a State board or agency. These peace officer standards and training agencies, or POST agencies, are often also empowered to certify individuals who may be hired as law enforcement officers, train the potential officers, or assist with vetting other local law enforcement personnel.
This bill would authorize State POST agencies to directly access Federal criminal history records when vetting and certifying law enforcement trainees and officers.
POST agencies are essentially the gatekeepers to the law enforcement profession. Their job is to keep bad actors out. Over 50,000 people apply for law enforcement positions across the country every year, and applicants already sign off on disclosure of their criminal history records as part of that process.
The problem is that current Federal law blocks most POST agencies from accessing those records, so they end up relying on whatever the hiring department shares with them. When disqualifying information gets left out, POST agencies never see it, and someone who shouldn't be certified may get certified.
This bill fixes this by amending 28 U.S.C. 534 to add POST agencies to the list of entities authorized to receive Federal criminal history records, the same access that law enforcement agencies already have. This is a simple, no-cost fix to close this gap.
Again, I thank Congressman Schmidt for working with me in a bipartisan manner to bring this issue to the committee's attention and to propose a commonsense solution.
I thank the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training for their technical expertise and assistance with this legislation, which is also supported by the Major County Sheriffs of America, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
This bill would provide a limited and logical extension of the authority to share criminal history records so that those who help screen law enforcement officers have the information they need to maintain hiring standards.
As we observe National Police Week, I am pleased to support this legislation that strengthens our law enforcement agencies and improves public safety by ensuring that applicants are appropriately screened.
I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan legislation, and I congratulate Congressman Schmidt on a fine bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, this week across America we honor the brave men and women in law enforcement who work every day to protect and serve the American public. In particular, we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, whom we recognized in a resolution on this floor just a few minutes ago.
A few weeks ago, I was honored to speak to the 355th Basic Training Class of the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center which provides basic training and continuation education for most of the law enforcement officers in our State.
The auditorium at the training center where the graduation ceremony is held is appropriately named Integrity Auditorium. Each graduate is presented with a challenge coin that bears the phrase: ``Integrity is the basis for community trust.''
This bill is about ensuring that all law enforcement officers across our country are held to that standard of integrity and that disqualifying prior criminal convictions are properly disclosed to the appropriate State licensing agencies.
I want to thank the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training for bringing this issue to our attention. I want to thank my colleague and friend Ms. Ross of North Carolina for joining me in introducing this important bipartisan bill.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Schmidt) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8352, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
Expressing the Sense of the House of Representatives That the President Should Prioritize Securing the Release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor GAO Quanfu and His Wife Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, And...
Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1259) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Jimmy Lai detained by the People's Republic of China during future engagements with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Olszewski) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New Jersey?
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I, like many in the House and the Senate, want to thank President Trump for requesting on numerous occasions that Xi Jinping release Jimmy Lai and other women and men who are gravely sick and unjustly incarcerated.
It is not largely known, but hundreds of innocent Americans languish in Chinese prisons today, including Nelson Wells of New Orleans and Dawn Michelle Hunt from Chicago. At a hearing that I chaired in September of 2024, Bringing Home Americans Detained in China, we heard heartbreaking stories from their families and their loved ones.
According to the Foley Foundation, more United States nationals are wrongfully detained in China than in any other country. I have introduced legislation to create a comprehensive strategy to try to obtain their release.
H. Res. 1259 speaks to this issue of unjustly detained individuals. It is about Pastor Ezra Jin, founder of the Zion Church, detained and denied needed medical care. It is about Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, Pang Yu, detained for peaceful religious leadership. It is about Gulshan Abbas, serving a 20-year sentence because her sister, Rushan Abbas, dared to tell Congress the truth about the CCP's genocide against the Uyghurs. I alone, and she has testified before other committees, have had Rushan Abbas testify three different times. She is eloquent. She is nonviolent and just wants her sister returned home to be safe.
The CCP has imprisoned one sister in this case in order to silence another, and that is hostage taking plain and simple.
Of course, this resolution is about Jimmy Lai, the courageous founder of Apple Daily imprisoned because he defended freedom of the press, democracy, and the rule of law in Hong Kong.
His son, Sebastien Lai, testified in 2023 at a hearing that I chaired of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. When he was done I said: You know, you are a chip off the old block. You are so persuasive and so full of goodness just like your father.
He did tell us that his father was refusing to be silenced and still speaking truth to power and that he may die in prison. That testimony, Madam Speaker, should haunt us and move us to action.
I would remind my colleagues that some years ago, working with Speaker
Jimmy Lai should not spend one more night in a Hong Kong prison. He is a man of total nonviolence. He used the power of the pen to try to persuade and to admonish.
Like Sebastien, Jimmy Lai's daughter, Claire, has bravely, tenaciously, and prayerfully advocated for her father's release. Claire told the Associated Press last December that her dad just wants to reunite with his family. He wants to dedicate his life, what is left of it, to serving our Lord, and he wants to dedicate the rest of his days to his family.
Claire has met with many, many House and Senate Members. She sat right up there during the State of the Union Address. She has met with Members. I was with her for much of that time. She was with the Speaker, and she was just so gracious. She exudes compassion, and she radiates kindness. All that she and Sebastien are asking for is that their father be released. We know President Trump is going to raise that face-to-face with Xi Jinping.
I would remind my colleagues that I have been in this body for 46 years and have worked on the release of political prisoners all over the world starting in the Soviet Union. We have always found out that when the United States names prisoners, it works. Reagan did it all the time. Secretary of State Shultz said specific names, and many of those people were released when they were advocated for.
It can also help secure access to lawyers, family, and medical care, and it can save lives. Again, it can lead to releases.
I note, parenthetically, because I work on Belarus all the time, about 500 prisoners have been released due to the advocacy and intervention of the President. That is amazing. It does work, and he is trying to do it now as he heads over to China.
It matters. It matters to their families. It matters to every prisoner languishing in a cell because he or she dare to pray, publish, speak, worship, or advocate for fundamental human rights and freedoms.
It matters to the Chinese Communist Party because autocrats listen when the President of the United States names names.
Silence is not an option. Silence tells the jailer no one is watching. Silence tells the prisoner the world has moved on, turned the page. Silence tells Beijing that hostage diplomacy, coercive exit bans, and transnational repression can be normalized.
It can't be normalized. We will not be silent, and we pray and hope that the President is successful.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1259, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Ezra Jin; Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, Pang Yu; as well as Dr. Gulshan Abbas; and Jimmy Lai, all of whom, Madam Speaker, have been detained by the People's Republic of China. We encourage him to take this approach during his upcoming talks with President Xi Jinping.
I also thank my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his longstanding leadership on this important issue.
President Trump's trip, Madam Speaker, is an opportunity for him to confront Beijing not only on economic issues but also on its deeply troubling human rights record, including its suppression of free speech and its ongoing persecution of religious and ethnic minorities.
Whether it is prodemocracy advocates in Hong Kong, Uyghurs, or members of the Christian Zion Church, Beijing has imprisoned far too many individuals simply for practicing their faith or exercising their fundamental right of free speech.
Across China, underground churches are raided; pastors, like Pastor Jin, are surveilled; congregations are harassed; and believers are detained simply for worshipping outside state control.
Pastor Jin's wife, despite having no direct role in the church, has also been arrested without cause and denied access to all necessary medical care.
Uyghurs, like Dr. Abbas, face mass internment, forced labor, and egregious human rights abuses that our own government has declared a genocide.
Journalists, like Jimmy Lai, who have shown fearless activism and extraordinary courage in defense of a free press, are imprisoned for speaking the truth, including reporting on Beijing's democracy crackdown in Hong Kong.
Mr. Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison. This is the most excessive sentence that China has ever given for this so-called offense. Yet, unlike prior U.S. administrations that recognize the clear link between human rights and our own security and prosperity, the Trump administration has not meaningfully engaged on China's troubling human rights abuses and too often has failed to forcefully raise these issues in high-level bilateral engagements with Beijing. That must change.
I call on President Trump to reverse this trend and to make securing the release of all the individuals named a central objective in his upcoming meeting with President Xi.
This resolution reflects a strong bipartisan consensus in Congress on the importance of securing the release of these brave individuals.
President Xi is hoping the war in Iran and our trade objectives with Beijing will distract our focus away from China's human rights abuses, but we need to be clear that the U.S. cannot take the pressure off of Beijing on these critical issues. China cannot be allowed to continue its repression of religious communities, ethnic minorities, Hong Kongers, or the press with impunity.
Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific.
Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for yielding.
I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1259. This resolution sends a very clear message: The United States will not be silent while the Chinese Communist Party continues to detain, torture, and disappear innocent people, including family members of American citizens.
These individuals are not criminals. They are pastors, doctors, publishers, and brave voices who have been targeted simply because they threaten the CCP's fabricated narrative and grip on power.
Under the CCP's rule, there has been ample evidence of modern-day concentration camps in Xinjiang, where Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities face genocide because of their language, culture, and beliefs.
In Hong Kong, the National Security Law and Article 23 have crushed basic freedoms. Jimmy Lai, the courageous founder of Apple Daily, has now spent over 5 years imprisoned. In February of this year, he was sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison, which is essentially a life sentence. At 78 years old, his health is deteriorating, and his case is a symbol of Beijing's assault on the rule of law and basic human rights.
The CCP's unrelenting persecution campaign and coercion do not stop at Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Around the world, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, and prodemocracy voices are under threat.
As President Trump prepares to engage directly with Xi Jinping this week, we urge for the prioritization of the immediate and unconditional release of Pastor Jin Mingri; Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, Pang Yu; Dr. Gulshan Abbas; Jimmy Lai; and all others justly detained.
Several of these individuals have family members who are U.S. citizens. Their loved ones here at home deserve answers and action.
I commend President Trump for always putting America first and demonstrating strength and resolve on the world stage.
We reject the CCP's reign of terror. We stand with every freedom- loving people in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, and across China who dreams of a day when faith is not a crime and truth is not censored.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, Mr. Olszewski-- Johnny O. as we call him--for his leadership and his beautiful statement on what we are challenged with right now and how this legislation addresses that.
I always want to praise Mr. Smith for his leadership on human rights throughout the world. We have been working on these things for 30 years probably--he is not paying attention--but 30 years with Frank Wolf going and visiting people in prison and trying to make sure people knew.
They say that these autocrats--the President of China for one--the most horrible form of torture that they can put on a prisoner is to tell them nobody even remembers them or cares about them or even knows why they are in prison. That is why I thank you both for bringing this legislation to the floor so that we on the floor of the House of Representatives can make sure that they know they are not forgotten.
I rise today in strong support of this resolution calling on the President to prioritize the release of these courageous individuals who have been unjustly detained by the government of the People's Republic of China simply for exercising their fundamental human rights.
Jimmy Lai sits in prison because he dared to defend democracy and a free press in Hong Kong. Mr. Smith talked about Jimmy and his son, Sebastien, and his daughter, Claire. Now they have a grandbaby in the family, and Jimmy, of course, is not able to see the baby while they torture him in prison.
Then Dr. Gulshan Abbas has disappeared because of Beijing's repression of Uyghurs. She is there because of what her sister has testified to us, Mr. Smith mentioned, and that is engaging in transnational human rights suppression.
In addition to that, Christian pastors and their families are persecuted simply for worshiping freely.
Jin Mingri, we heard about him; Pastors Gao Quanfu and Pang Yu, we have heard about them. Pastor Gao Quanfu and Pang Yu, and Dr. Abbas--I talked about Dr. Gulshan Abbas.
I want to just say that this has always been bipartisan and bicameral, House and Senate. Democrats and Republicans always come together on these pieces of legislation. I want to call special attention to what our Speaker Johnson did a few months ago. He was invited to address the House of Commons in this our bicentennial year of our country. I asked him if he would mention Jimmy Lai in his speech, and he did. He told me it got a good response. We thank the Speaker for making that appeal to the House of Commons.
Here, this resolution makes sure that human rights cannot be separated from America's engagement with China. The release of these individuals must remain a priority at the highest level of diplomacy. While the President is on his visit there, he is bringing with him a long list of business leaders. I have to say if we do not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interests, then we lose all moral authority to speak out for human rights anywhere in the world.
With this resolution, the House reaffirms that America will continue to stand for freedom, human rights, and the principles that no person should be imprisoned simply for what they believe. Let's make this a strong, as always, bipartisan vote. I thank the chairman, Mr. Smith. I thank Johnny O, and I urge a strong bipartisan vote in support of the resolution.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of my friend Chris Smith's resolution to encourage our President while in China to push for the release of political prisoners of the Chinese Communist Party.
First is Dr. Gulshan Abbas. Dr. Gulshan is a minority Muslim in the Xinjiang region of China, a Uyghur who has been imprisoned for 8 years for the crime of being a practicing Muslim and as retribution for her sister's human rights advocacy. Even before I started the Congressional Uyghur Caucus in 2021, I have been fighting alongside Gulshan's U.S. citizen sister, Rushan Abbas, and U.S. citizen daughter, Ziba, and other family members to free this innocent woman.
Second, Pastor Jin Mingri, a man of tremendous faith, who was imprisoned for the crime of leading a powerful Christian movement in Beijing. He and other Christian leaders in China are the victims of the Chinese Communist Party's war on faith.
In anticipation of the summit, we cosponsored a bipartisan and bicameral letter with over 30 Members of the House and Senate calling for the release of Pastor Jin and other leaders of his church. Pastor Jin's U.S. citizen daughter, Grace, has been an inspiration, as have been the messages coming from Pastor Jin.
Jimmy Lai is a remarkable man imprisoned for the crime of journalism. I met Jimmy Lai here in our Nation's Capital in 2019 as he fought against the corruption and human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party. As he fought with peaceful protest in favor of democracy in the face of brutal repression in Hong Kong, he wanted me to encourage student protesters in Hong Kong to remain peaceful and practice nonviolence. Instead of me advocating for the students to remain peaceful in their protest, I enlisted the help of one of America's great civil rights icons, John Lewis.
Congressman Lewis joined me in a video message that was viewed by millions of people throughout the world. John Lewis reminded us all to practice ``peace, love, and nonviolence to change things.'' He told us to respect the dignity and worth of every human being.
Now Jimmy Lai, 78 years old and in failing health, has been wrongfully imprisoned since 2020 and is sentenced to 20 years more. His daughter, Claire, and son, Sebastien, have done heroic work to have their ailing father released.
Now we need the Chinese Communist Party to heed the message of John Lewis and so many others to respect the dignity and worth of every human being and release Dr. Gulshan Abbas, Pastor Jin Mingri, Jimmy Lai, and every other person who has been wrongfully imprisoned and to change the dynamic between our two countries. This resolution encourages our President to make this release a priority on this trip.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
We urge the Chinese Communist Party to stop defending the indefensible and enhance China's standing in the world by working with President Trump to finally get this done.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing.
Madam Speaker, there is broad, bipartisan consensus as we heard today in this body that the U.S. must, once again, apply pressure and use leverage to hold China accountable for its human rights abuses, persecution of minorities, journalists, and Hong Kongers, and force it to release those whom they have been wrongfully imprisoned.
This week is an opportunity for President Trump to press President Xi on these issues during their summit.
This resolution calls on President Trump to make central in his negotiations the release of Pastor Jin; Pastor Gao Quanfu, and his wife, Pang Yu; Dr. Gulshan Abbas; and Jimmy Lei.
Madam Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 1259, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I thank my friends on the other side of the aisle. I thank Mr. Olszewksi for his kind words on behalf of this important resolution and Speaker Pelosi and Tom Suozzi. We worked together very, very closely on the Uyghurs, and I thank him for his strong statement, and of course, Young Kim, as eloquent as she always is.
As we all know, he is 78. He got a 20-year prison sentence on top of the 5 he has already served. It is a death sentence. He is not well. He has a number of maladies that are affecting his health. We know, and the Speaker will remember, when Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, when he was gravely sick, the Chinese Communist Party would not even let him get the medical attention that he required. We don't want a deja vu on that ever.
He needs to be released to his family so he can get the very necessary healthcare and to, in these final years, enjoy his amazing family and to be celebrated, frankly, for the great man that he is.
Senator Rick Scott and I did a letter last week which kind of summed it all up. One hundred of our colleagues signed on to it.
In part it said:
We are hoping that the appeal will be heard by Xi Jinping himself: Search deep in your heart.
Why continue to repress this absolutely amazing man who should be getting the Nobel Peace Prize, not a prison sentence?
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to finally get this done, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1259.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
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. 2071) to prohibit Federal funds from being made available to international financial institutions for the purposes of financing foreign shrimp farms, and for other purposes, as amended, 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 Arkansas (Mr. Hill) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 391, nays 18, answered ``present'' 1, not voting 19, as follows:
Mses. ESCOBAR, MOORE of Wisconsin, and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Ms. SANCHEZ, Messrs. PALLONE, DAVIS of Illinois, and Ms. PINGREE changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to require the United States Executive Directors at the international financial institutions to oppose certain projects involving shrimp production.''.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
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. 2853) to combat organized crime involving the illegal acquisition of retail goods and cargo for the purpose of selling those illegally obtained goods through physical and online retail marketplaces, as amended, 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 North Carolina (Mr. Knott) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 348, nays 60, not voting 21, as follows:
Mr. LYNCH changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Mr. Speaker and colleagues, as many of you know, this National Police Week is dedicated to the brave men and women of law enforcement who have fallen in the line of duty.
As a lifelong law enforcement officer and a former sheriff, this day is both reflective and somber for me, my colleagues, and our law enforcement communities nationwide.
Every day, our officers put on a gun and a badge and say good-bye to their loved ones, not knowing if they will return home again. They stand as a shield between the vulnerable, who they vow to protect, and those intent on doing harm.
Last year alone, 111 officers sacrificed their lives in service to their communities. For this, we owe them a debt of gratitude, and I call on all of us
I have here with me and am proud to yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer), my good friend and co-chair of the House bipartisan Law Enforcement Caucus.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman and Sheriff Rutherford for yielding.
This week, law enforcement officers from across our country are gathering here in Washington for National Police Week. It is a time when we honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our communities and our great country--the greatest country the world has ever known--and to commit ourselves to supporting those who serve us day in and day out.
Every day, these men and women put on a vest and a badge, kiss their loved ones good-bye, and head out the door, not knowing whether they will be coming home. Their courage, selflessness, and commitment to safety will never be forgotten.
To the families who carry the weight of this loss every day, we stand with them. We pray for them and remain forever grateful for their loved one's service.
We must redouble our commitment to investing in law enforcement to make sure we protect our great country.
I am very honored to be here with the co-chair of the bipartisan Law Enforcement Caucus, Sheriff Rutherford, and with all of these Members who stand united in making sure we protect our great country.
Please join me in a moment of silence to honor the fallen heroes of law enforcement.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Colleen Hanabusa, a proud daughter of Wai'anae, a tita at heart, and a former Member of the House who represented Hawaii's First Congressional District.
When I was first elected to the Hawaii State Senate, Colleen made history as the first AANHPI woman in the Nation to lead a legislative body. She understood something important about being the first: Your job is to hold the door open so you are not the last.
That is who Colleen was.
At her memorial last week, I looked around the Hawaii Senate floor and saw her legacy everywhere--in the leaders she mentored, the people she believed in, and the confidence she gave so many of us before we saw it in ourselves. It was hard to feel like she was gone because so much of her remains in all of us.
When I think of strength, I think of Colleen. She always had the answers, but she never needed the spotlight. She pushed others forward while making it clear that she had our backs. As a young mother in public office, she never once made me feel like I had to choose between leading and loving my family.
To her husband, John, who was her rock, and to her beloved fur babies, Frannie and Puppers, and Little, who is up there with her now, they were her soul.
I thank them for sharing Colleen with all of us. They definitely broke the mold when they made her, and I dearly miss my friend.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me now in a moment of silence in her memory and her honor.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the officers of the law, the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our communities.
During National Police Week, police officers, detectives, State troopers, police chiefs, and sheriffs are traveling to Washington to acknowledge the contributions of their fellow men and women in uniform.
As the son of a police officer, I do know firsthand the experiences that law enforcement and their families face every day and the dangers.
Just this year in Pennsylvania, 4 officers were killed and 14 were wounded. In 2022, Lieutenant William Lebo of the Lebanon City Police Department right in the middle of my district was shot and killed in the line of duty.
These tragedies underscore the need to always back the blue and why I advocated renaming a Lebanon County post office with the House's support in Lieutenant Lebo's honor.
To commemorate all the fallen heroes, last Police Week the House passed my resolution, the Gold Shield Families Resolution. It recognizes the families of and supports nonprofits for fallen first responders.
I call on all Americans to join me in thanking law enforcement by never failing in our duty to back the blue.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an organization in my district that is turning asphalt into opportunity.
Sustainable Westchester, a pioneering regional nonprofit serving the Hudson Valley, has launched a bold new initiative called Black Gold. The concept is innovative: install solar canopies over the vast parking lots that dot our region, transforming the pavement into clean power and energy savings at a time when we are all feeling the squeeze.
Parking lots are some of the most underutilized spaces in America. Black Gold changes that. It generates renewable energy, reduces grid strain, shades vehicles, and creates good-paying jobs with critical help from Sustainable Westchester.
This is exactly the kind of homegrown innovation that drives economic development and fights climate change at the same time.
Mr. Speaker, Black Gold isn't just good energy policy. It is smart economic policy, and it is happening in my district in the Hudson Valley. I urge those interested to visit sustainablewestchester.org for more information on this vital initiative.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Cohen and Collins Trolio, who helped the Ole Miss Rebels win the SEC Men's Golf Championship in Sea Island, Georgia.
Cohen finished third in the stroke play championships, and Collins won all matches, beating the number one amateur in the world, Jackson Koivun of Auburn University.
The outstanding performance from these young men helped Ole Miss secure a semifinal victory over the Tigers and defeating the Florida Gators 4-1.
Cohen, a senior, and Collins, a junior, have distinguished themselves on the course as high school and college players with solid scoring averages. I would like to congratulate them on their outstanding performance in their SEC championship match.
Mr. Speaker, gas prices are out of control. The average price for a gallon of gas in Oregon is $5.30--$5.30.
Before the start of this Iran war, it was under $4 a gallon, which was high enough already.
Americans can't afford the gas to drive to work, pick up their kids from daycare, or make it to doctor's appointments with these kinds of prices.
Now, the President wants to suspend the Federal gas tax to fix it. He is trying to put a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Suspending the 18 cents a gallon gas tax is a fine step, but it falls far short of what Oregonians need.
Mr. Speaker, we need to put Americans first. Right now that starts at the gas pump.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service and its brave law enforcement officers for their essential role in protecting Federal facilities and the homeland.
FPS law enforcement officers are on the front lines, defending Federal properties and the people who work in and visit them.
I appreciate the sacrifices our FPS law enforcement officers make every day to protect Federal facilities and ensure the safety of Federal employees and visitors.
Their dedication and commitment to safeguarding our Nation's critical infrastructure often go unnoticed, and their professionalism, courage, and selflessness are crucial to our homeland security.
In my home State of Colorado, the fentanyl epidemic has devastated communities and stolen thousands of lives. FPS officers serve as a critical shield that is essential to intercepting fentanyl trafficking networks and stopping this weapon of mass destruction from reaching our families and neighborhoods.
During National Police Week especially I am proud to introduce this resolution to honor the FPS, to recognize their service, to promote greater awareness for their important work, and to show our unwavering support for their vital mission.
This resolution recognizes and appreciates the dedication of FPS law enforcement officers and extends gratitude to them and their families for their sacrifice and service, honors the memories of those who have fallen in the line of duty, and encourages continued collaboration.
Mr. Speaker, at the Oval Office yesterday, Dr. Oz said that one in three Americans are under-babied.
First of all, that is not a thing. What are you even talking about, Dr. Oz?
If Americans are having fewer kids, maybe it is because people don't think they can afford to have a family right now. They are working longer hours for flat wages while the cost of housing is crushing them.
Maybe it is because millions of Americans can't afford healthcare for themselves, let alone their kids.
Maybe it is because people are drowning in student debt, paying outrageous rents, and can't imagine adding childcare to their list of expenses.
Dr. Oz, Americans are overworked. They are underpaid. They are struggling to get by while you, among the rich and powerful, stand and lecture them in a gold-plated room among other people who are clearly and totally out of touch with the American people.
You can't serve in an administration that cuts healthcare, attacks Medicaid, drives up costs for working people and then act shocked because people say they can't afford to have kids.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, for the eighth consecutive year, the DuBois Area School District has received a national music education honor. The district was once again recognized as one of the Best Communities for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants.
The NAMM Foundation, the world's largest not-for-profit music trade organization, honored more than 1,000 school districts this year for their outstanding efforts to provide music access to all students.
The DuBois Area School District provides music classes for all elementary school students, and by fourth grade, students are offered the opportunity to start a band instrument. In middle school, students begin performing in music ensembles.
Over the years, many of these students have qualified for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association all-State ensembles, while others have furthered their education at universities while performing with performing arts programs.
Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, I commend the DuBois Area School District for this fantastic achievement and for providing students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in music.
Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to celebrate Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School for making history once again with their 12th consecutive first-place win at the 44th Annual Tucson International Mariachi Conference student showcase, the longest running continually held mariachi festival in the world.
For 12 straight years, these talented young musicians have carried the spirit of Pueblo Warriors and Tucson onto the stage with excellence, talent, and pride.
Under the outstanding leadership of Director John Contreras, Mariachi Aztlan continues to set the standard for high school mariachi programs across our Nation.
This moment is especially meaningful to me as a proud Pueblo alumna and mom of a recent grad of this amazing mariachi.
Driving these students and their instruments all across Tucson as a mariachi mama, I witnessed firsthand the dedication and ``heart,'' ``corazon'' that make this group so extraordinary.
To the students, families, fans, and Director Contreras of Mariachi Aztlan, your community could not be prouder of you.
(English translation of the statement made in Spanish is as follows:)
``I am so proud of all of you and send my congratulations on this historic victory.''
``Estoy muy orgullosa de todos ustedes, y muchas felicidades por esta victoria historica.''
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the thousands of runners who took to the streets of Toledo this spring for the Glass City Marathon.
Seasoned competitors and first-time participants alike demonstrated grit, discipline, and indeed courage to complete all 26.2 miles.
Today, we especially celebrate 25-year-old Ohio native Vincent ``Vinny'' Mauri. His extraordinary performance quite literally redefines what is possible. In his very first marathon, he shattered the course record with his breathtaking time of 2:05:54. This earned him the title of fourth fastest American marathoner ever.
We also honor Andie Cozzarelli, who posted the top female time of 2:36:57.
Vinny's and Andie's times qualify them for the U.S. Olympic trials and a
Congratulations also to Kevin Kirk, Matt Carter, Ashton Swinford, and Andrea Klima who took home second-and third-place medals.
Every runner, volunteer, and supporter shows the very best of America. We are so proud of them. Bravo.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solidarity with the hardworking men and women of the United Steelworkers who have been locked out of their jobs for almost 2 months at the British Petroleum facility in Whiting, Indiana.
Since day one under the administration's Project 2025, we have seen attacks against organized labor, the gutting of the Department of Labor, and a National Labor Relations Board that only sides with corporate interests.
At the same time, an estimated $8 billion hydrogen project at the same British Petroleum facility was canceled after the administration demanded that the tax credits be removed in the Republican reconciliation bill to offset tax cuts for the corporations and the most wealthy.
This project would have created new energy, put these union men and women on the job today, creating new economic activity and jobs for a generation. Instead, they are locked out.
Union workers also undergo specialized training to operate in this high-risk environment at a refinery. Today, the replacement workers not only put their lives at risk but everyone in my community.
I continue to call on British Petroleum to lift the lockout, to realize negotiation is not accepting the terms that created the lockout, and be able to return to good-faith negotiations and put skilled workers back on the job before a preventable tragedy occurs simply due to corporate greed.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the brave law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving and protecting our communities.
Dedicated officers put their lives on the line every single day. Their selflessness and determination to keep us safe serve as a powerful reminder of the risk they face in the line of duty.
We remember their names and the legacy they leave behind, and their memories will forever be etched in our hearts and minds.
Let us stand united in gratitude ensuring that their sacrifices are never forgotten.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any 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 on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus to address another blight on American history.
Mr. Speaker, 250 years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence ``that all men were created equal and endowed by their creator with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'' Yet, Mr. Jefferson did not include the nearly half a million enslaved men, women, and children in the Thirteen Colonies, including at his beloved Monticello.
Eleven years later, the Constitution of the United States created a government by, of, and for we the people in order to form a more perfect Union, yet it considered the enslaved people three-fifths of a person for purposes of House of Representatives apportionment and taxation and excluded indigenous people altogether.
Since 1789, the history of our country has been one of each generation attempting to make true for all Americans the promise of American democracy embedded in our founding documents by expanding suffrage beyond White, landowning men. It is a story of cyclical trauma.
As the Civil War tore this country apart, Reconstruction sought to bind its wounds, and a violent backlash of white supremacy erased gains made by formerly enslaved men.
In the wake of the Civil War, Congress passed the Reconstruction amendments to end slavery, guarantee equal civil, legal, and voting rights to formerly enslaved Americans, and all three granted Congress the power to enforce their provisions.
Even with these amendments, southern States resisted, resorting to organizations like the Ku Klux Klan to terrorize Black citizens for seeking to vote, run for office, and serve on juries.
Congress passed the Enforcement Acts to allow the Federal Government to intervene. As a result, Black men gained political power across the South for the first time.
In 1870, Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi and Representative Joseph Rainey of South Carolina became the first Black Members of Congress. A total of 22 Black men served in Congress between 1870 and 1901, including John Mercer Langston, who served in Virginia's Fourth Congressional District, a seat that I now proudly serve as the first Black woman elected from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The political, social, and economic power gained by Blacks across the South during Reconstruction faced a violent backlash as the KKK and other similar organizations began a reign of terror across the South. The Compromise of 1877 ended a deadlock in the Presidential election of 1876 and brought Reconstruction to an end. As a result, widespread violence, fraud, corruption, gerrymandering, malapportionment, and legislation intended to disenfranchise Black voters went unchecked for 50 years.
Then the Supreme Court issued two decisions gutting the Enforcement Acts, one which arose from the tense aftermath of a Louisiana gubernatorial election and the Colfax massacre, one of the bloodiest racial confrontations of the Reconstruction era. States wasted no time adopting measures that technically applied to all voters but were designed and enforced to disenfranchise Black voters: literacy tests like the one my great-grandfather took in 1902 in Alabama to be able to vote, poll taxes like the ones my father and my grandfather paid in Tennessee, and more restrictive residency requirements. Yet, we marched on.
Then in August of 1965, nearly 100 years after passage of the 15th Amendment, Congress passed the most effective piece of legislation to enforce its provisions: the Voting Rights Act.
As Justice Kagan wrote in her dissent in the Callais decision that put the death knell in the coffin of the Voting Rights Act by gutting what is left of it. She wrote that the Voting Rights Act was one of the most consequential and amply justified exercises of Federal legislative power in our Nation's history.
Born of the literal blood of the Union soldiers and civil rights marchers, it ushered in awe-inspiring change bringing this Nation closer to fulfilling its ideals of democracy and racial equality.
It has been repeatedly and overwhelmingly reauthorized by the people's Representatives in Congress, and only we have the right to say when it is no longer needed.
Yet just as the backlash came in response to Reconstruction beginning with Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, the Roberts Court has systematically, from its ivory tower in Washington, gutted the Voting Rights Act.
Essentially the Court has said that the medicine for racism in our political system has worked so let's end the treatment. However, the cancer of racism has not gone away. It has been biding its time in remission, waiting for a chance to spread. Now we see in these same States that race to pass race-neutral poll taxes, literacy tests, character tests, and gerrymander maps to pack or crack Black voters to dilute their power are now moving with all deliberate speed to do the same thing again in Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, and South Carolina.
The Congressional Black Caucus will not stand idly by. As our colleague, John Lewis, said, democracy is not a state. It is an act that requires each generation to do its part to build the beloved community.
Our parents, our grandparents, our great-grandparents, and some of our members themselves did their part to fight the obstacles put in our way of participation in this government by, of, and for the people, and we will fight tooth and nail to do the same so that our children and our grandchildren don't have to fight these fights.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke). Chairwoman Yvette Clarke is our fearless leader.
Mr. Speaker, I am Representative Yvette D. Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, proudly representing New York's Ninth Congressional District in central and southwest Brooklyn.
I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, for anchoring this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.
It has been 13 days since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, opening the door to a coordinated attack on Black political power and fair representation across the South.
Since the Callais decision came down, Republicans across the country have wasted no time in their zealous pursuit of power. They have moved with lighting speed to enact new congressional maps in Florida, Tennessee, and Missouri, and are taking aggressive action in Louisiana, Alabama, and South Carolina.
Let's be clear: This is an outright power grab, downright theft, snatching fair representation from Black voters across the South of the United States. It is about silencing Black voices, dismantling majority Black districts, and rigging the map in their favor as elections are already underway.
For years, we have sounded the alarm as the Voting Rights Act was chipped away piece by piece. Today, the consequences are here, and they are dangerous. Not since Jim Crow have we witnessed such a sweeping and deliberate effort to disenfranchise Black voters, but we are not powerless, and we are not backing down. Every inch of progress in this country has been fought for, won through struggle, through resistance, and through the courage of people this Nation tried to leave behind.
The Voting Rights Act was not handed over freely. It was fought for, organized for, litigated for, and ultimately won through the blood and sacrifices of Black Americans and allies who demanded better from their country. As a nation, we are being called to that same courageous fight today. We owe that to the generations who came before us, the freedom fighters who faced dogs, batons, firehoses, and jail cells so that we could have a voice here in the Halls of Congress.
We owe it to the generations coming after us who deserve a country where their vote is protected, their voice is heard, and their future is not predetermined by those who fear their power.
This fight is for nothing short of the future of American democracy itself, and the CBC will meet this challenge head-on, as we have time and time again, on behalf of the communities we serve.
To anyone who thinks we will be discouraged, to anyone who believes that we will be silenced, to anyone who hopes we will sit this moment out, they are mistaken. A setback is just an opportunity for a comeback, and we have no intention of allowing Republicans to drag us backward. When November comes, we will show up in numbers too big to ignore and too powerful to suppress. That is because our history has taught us that progress is never given, it is won. It is won by ordinary people with extraordinary courage and by communities that refuse to be erased.
That is the legacy we have inherited, and that is the legacy we intend to protect. We are still here. We are still fighting, and together we will win.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus to sound the alarm about the crisis unfolding before our eyes: the systemic dismantling of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Let me begin by thanking the gentlewoman from Virginia for leading this Special Order hour and my colleagues of the CBC for their steadfast leadership in this fight.
The Congressional Black Caucus has always stood on the front lines in defense of democracy. Tonight's Special Order hour comes at a time when that leadership is urgently needed.
For me this fight is personal. I grew up in Selma in the shadow of the civil rights movement. I represent the historic cities of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Marion, and the Black belt. Our communities carry the scars of Bloody Sunday, the Birmingham church bombings, firehoses, police dogs, and violent resistance to the simple idea that Black Americans deserve the full promise of citizenship.
People in my district bled for the right to vote. Some died for it. Now, six decades later, extremists are trying to drag this country backward. They are trying to erase our hard-fought progress and silence the voices of the very communities that marched, that sacrificed, and that organized to make American democracy real for everyone.
The Voting Rights Act is one of the greatest achievements in American history. It transformed this Nation. It broke the back of Jim Crow voter suppression, and it opened the doors of political participation for millions of Americans who had been locked out of democracy because of the color of their skin.
Over the last decade, we have watched that landmark law be chipped away, piece by piece by piece.
In 2013, the Supreme Court's disastrous decision in Shelby v. Holder gutted the heart of the Voting Rights Act by striking down the preclearance formula that protected communities with a long history of racial discrimination in voting.
What happened next? Exactly what voting rights advocates warned would happen. States across the South rushed to impose restrictive voting laws. They closed polling stations, purged voter rolls, and redrew maps designed to dilute Black political power.
Now, with the Court's recent decision in Callais, we are witnessing yet another dangerous step backward--another attack on the principle of fair representation and equal justice under the law.
Within hours of that decision, Republican State lawmakers rushed to eliminate majority Black districts across the South, including in my home State of Alabama, where voters will now be forced to live under a map that was previously struck down for intentional discrimination against Black voters.
You guessed it: The Supreme Court just ruled that the State of Alabama can go back to a map that intentionally discriminated against Black voters.
These decisions send a dangerous message: that protections won during the civil rights movement are somehow negotiable, that the rights secured on the Edmund Pettus Bridge can be weakened, narrowed, or ignored.
I reject that. The people I represent reject that. History rejects that. We cannot allow a handful of extremists, whether on the bench or in State legislatures, to rewrite history and reverse generations of progress.
The right to vote is precious, John Lewis told us, almost sacred. Without the vote, communities lose their voice. Without the vote, power becomes concentrated in the hands of a few. Without the vote, democracy itself is in danger.
That is why we must reform and reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting
Our bill would rebuild the preclearance system that was destroyed by Shelby. It would once again require jurisdictions with repeated voting rights violations to prove that changes to election laws are not discriminatory. It would be reformed to do away with partisan gerrymandering that was unleashed in the Callais case.
Let us be clear: The legislation bears the name of John Lewis because he understood better than anyone else that democracy is not self- executing. It requires courage. Democracy requires vigilance. It requires action.
Only Congress can rewrite the law so that partisan gerrymandering is no longer the law of the land. Only Congress can act to overturn what the Supreme Court did, and we must act now. If we fail to meet this moment, future generations will ask how we allowed the gains of the civil rights movement to be dismantled on our watch.
After all of this, I still believe in the promise of America. I believe in the legacy of those foot soldiers in Selma. I believe in the courage of ordinary people who refused to be pushed backward. I believe that if we stand together, organize together, and fight together, we can protect the sacred right to vote for generations to come.
I submit to you this: If your vote didn't matter, they wouldn't be working so hard to take it away.
We have to vote like our lives depend upon it because they do. We are not going back--not today, not tomorrow, not ever.
We don't want just some representation or no representation. We want fair representation. In the State of Alabama, African Americans are 28 percent of the vote. There are seven seats, and we deserve two. We want nothing less.
We will march. We will fight. We will organize. We will vote until victory is won.
Join me in Montgomery, Alabama, for the All Roads Lead to the South National Day of Action this Saturday, May 16, at 1 p.m. in Montgomery, Alabama, at the foot of the State capitol. We will stand up, stand tall, and we will fight back because, guess what. We are not--not-- going back.
Mr. Speaker, tonight, you see members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the floor of the House of Representatives. If you think what you see tonight is a strong voice against an attempt to disrupt, undermine, and destroy the Voting Rights Act, you ain't seen nothing yet.
This is just the beginning of what we must do, of what we have to do. Donald Trump's war on democracy did not start with redistricting, and it certainly will not end there.
From day one, he has worked to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion and programs all across corporate America and throughout the Federal Government, fueling layoffs, shrinking opportunity, and pushing Black and Brown Americans further out of positions of power and economic mobility.
After targeting diversity in jobs and opportunities and voices in the workplace, with the help of Republicans, this administration is now trying to eliminate representation in Congress itself.
Let's call this exactly what it is: a coordinated and deliberate attempt to erase the political power of Black, Brown, low-income communities, and every other underserved and underrepresented group in America.
Throughout racist redistricting schemes, backed by Republican legislatures and enabled by the Supreme Court, which recently voted to gut the Voting Rights Act, they are attempting to eliminate or weaken districts represented by Black lawmakers and potentially wipe out nearly a third of the Congressional Black Caucus.
They know they cannot defend Donald Trump's failed economic agenda, rising costs, or assaults on working families, so instead, they are trying to rig the system and silence the very communities most harmed by their reckless policies.
This is the same playbook we have seen over and over again from Donald Trump and his destructive administration. First, they attack DEI and celebrate the rollback of programs that helped open the doors for Black and Brown Americans in business, banking, and government. Then, they turn around and act surprised when unemployment skyrockets, opportunities disappear, and entire communities are pushed further behind.
Now, they are taking the same dangerous agenda one step further by trying to erase Black representation from the Halls of Congress.
Let me be very clear: This is bigger than politics. This is about whether America will continue moving forward as a democracy where every voice matters, or whether extremists will drag us backward into a time when power was reserved for only a select few.
Generations of Americans marched, bled, and died for the right to vote and the right to fair representation. Donald Trump and his allies are dishonoring that sacrifice with one of the most aggressive attacks on voting rights and Black political representation we have seen in decades.
Rest assured, I will not be silent. The Black caucus will not be silent. People of good will will not be silent while extremists attempt to dismantle the hard-fought progress that Black Americans built in this country. I will continue fighting to protect our democracy, defend the Voting Rights Act, and ensure Black communities and all underserved communities are heard, represented, and respected in the United States Congress.
Mr. Speaker, yes, as I started this presentation this evening, I talked about the fact that the Black caucus is on the floor, but let me make sure you understand. It is not only on the floor. We will be everywhere. We will be in our churches. We will be in our universities. We will be in the Halls of Congress. We will go to the White House. We will do everything that we need to do to show not only Trump, but America in general, that we are not about to be intimidated by someone who disrespects our history and disrespects the sacrifices that have been made by our forefathers and foremothers.
We know how to fight, and we are going to fight. We are going to fight like you have never seen us fight before. We will be in the hills. We will be on the streets. We will be in the hallways. We will be in the suites everywhere. Get ready for the struggle. Get ready for the fight.
I am not afraid of the Supreme Court, not afraid of the opposite side of the aisle, not intimidated by anything or anybody. Black Americans will fight for what is right. We have made this country stronger. We have fought to make this democracy what it is today, and we are not going back. Get that right.
And still I rise, Mr. Speaker. I must applaud the gentlewoman from California and associate myself with her remarks.
As I do so, I will remind us that, yes, the Voting Rights Act was signed by Lyndon Johnson. He did sign it in ink; but the truth be told, it was written in blood. It was written in the blood of those who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday, the blood of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney. It was signed in ink but written in blood.
This is bigger than that. Yes, this is of paramount importance. It is also about something else that is taking place at the very same time that we are losing our voting rights and many of our Members of Congress. That other thing is seniority. Seniority is under assault in the Congress of the United States of America. It was the Congressional Black Caucus that fought to maintain seniority. If we lose seniority on our watch after the suffering that they went through and all that they did to protect it, what can we say about ourselves?
Seniority, the means by which many of the people who hold committee chairmanships right now who are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, they had those chairpersonships because of seniority.
Seniority has made a difference because seniority has the power. This is a power grab in the sense that it is a power grab to take seats away, but it is also a power grab to take seniority away. When seniority is no longer the means by which we have upward mobility--some things bear repeating. When
Maxine Waters became chair, the only woman ever of any hue to chair the Committee on Financial Services, because of seniority. Bennie Thompson was the chair of the Committee on Homeland Security because of seniority, and the list goes on and on.
My closing words are these: I want my record to show that when seniority was at risk, I did everything that I could to protect it. I am going to fight to protect the seniority system because that is the system that allows us to deliver more goods and services to our communities.
Yes, there are exceptions, Barbara Jordan being one; but exceptions don't make the rule, they prove the rule. Seniority must stand, and I stand with seniority.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for yielding. I do have to note that she comes from the heart of the Confederacy originally, and I was really proud when Virginia voters voted to redistrict to align their votes with the current detriment of votes that the Republican Party seeks.
Ms. McClellan, I was just recently reading the book by Jim Clyburn, our colleague. What that book tells us is this is just not new. People have talked about it. It has been 13 days since the Supreme Court acted in the Callais decision, but it is a long history since the 19th century of trying to disenfranchise formerly enslaved people. This is just another day. This is part of American history to try to deny African Americans not only the vote, but their humanity.
Now, Ms. McClellan, you are from the heart of the Confederacy, but I want you to know that this is not just a southern thing. I am from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was called the Selma of the North because of the discriminatory practices that our voters face. As a matter of fact, when I was in the State legislature, I fought our then-Governor over seemingly innocent requirements for voter ID because I knew that that was the camel's nose under the tent to disenfranchise people. In fact, when that law went into place in 2016, that is when Donald Trump won the Presidency in Wisconsin.
You have heard from many speakers today, and I won't consume all the time by talking and going on and on. I am just going to say this: I am encouraged. And while I am heartbroken by what the Supreme Court did 13 days ago, this ain't new. We have been here before, and we have the script of how to fix it because we have went through this. We saw the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. We saw Supreme Court decisions. We saw Presidencies. Guess what: Black people and Americans have always risen to the occasion.
We stand on the shoulders of giants like Ezekiel Gillespie from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who sued the State of Wisconsin in 1865 for the right to vote. We stand on the shoulders of giants like John Lewis, John Robert Lewis. We know, Mr. Speaker, that a new day will surface again, and this will not be the end. Why? Because we are undeterred.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for yielding, and I thank her for anchoring this CBC Special Order hour. I also shout out to the leadership of CBC's chair, Yvette Clarke, for the work that she is doing.
Mr. Speaker, I can't breathe. I am not saying those words to talk about what George Floyd said about 6 years ago before he was choked to death. Those words are not from him. Those are the words that democracy is uttering, is crying: I can't breathe. I can't breathe because MAGA controls the Presidency. MAGA controls the House, the Senate, and MAGA controls the United States Supreme Court. MAGA has a trifecta.
I can't breathe. Democracy can't breathe. For years, there has been a steady effort by the United States Supreme Court to overrule and get rid of the Voting Rights Act. They started with Shelby County, where they paralyzed the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act. Then they went to Brnovich several years later and made it more difficult to sue for relief under the Voting Rights Act. Then April 29, I think it was, of this year, they nailed the final nail in the coffin of the Voting Rights Act by gutting section 2. They did it and said that it was a denial of equal protection to White folks for racist legislators and legislatures to have to draw districts that offered or enabled Black people and communities of interest to have an opportunity to elect a Representative of their choice.
They said that that was the denial of equal protection to White folks. In other words, political gerrymandering trumps the ability of Black people to be able to elect the Representative of their choice.
And they did that premised on the conclusion--the false conclusion that we are now living in a post-racial society, so there is no longer a need for the Voting Rights Act. So it was a fit of judicial activism, a predictable fit of judicial activism.
We have got to do something about this United States Supreme Court. We have got to do something about this MAGA legislature. We have got to do something about the head MAGA at the White House. We do that through exercising our right to vote.
We shall do so in November. We shall do so in 2026, and we will be prepared for 2030 redistricting. We will be prepared for what happens. We are going to take your foot off of the neck of democracy, and it is not going to be just us. It is going to be right-thinking people around this country who are going to join us.
That is why I appreciate us leading the way, and I look forward to better days ahead. We shall not stop. We won't slow down. You are not going to drive us off. You are not going to kick us out. We are going to be here. This is our country. And we are going to live in it together, like it or not.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman McClellan for organizing this Special Order hour.
Mr. Speaker, I rise because the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, dealing a devastating blow to our democracy. Their decision will allow States, particularly in the South, to dilute and try to silence Black voters.
For decades, Black Americans and activists fought and bled for our right to vote. Once again, we have to organize, mobilize, and fight for our right to vote. When I say we, I mean a collective we. Dems won't win if all Dems don't participate to revert this very, very racist action. We need everybody involved.
It doesn't matter what State you come from, what the color of your skin is, or what your religion is. Now is the time to fight back. Make no mistake, Republicans are trying to steal this election because they know they cannot win it fair and square.
They have gutted our healthcare, raised prices for everyday necessities, turned their backs on hardworking people, and now they want to stay in power.
Democrats, now is not the time to grow weary, to shutter the windows, to close the door. Now is the time to show up, to stand up, and to speak up for democracy.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to the Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais and what this moment means for the future of our democracy.
For generations, Americans have fought to make this Nation live up to its promise. Our democracy did not become more inclusive by accident. It became stronger because people of color organized, marched, sacrificed, and demanded equal access to the ballot box. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was one of the greatest achievements of that struggle, opening doors that had been locked to so many people of color for far too long.
This decision weakens protections that helped ensure Black voters and communities of color could fully participate in our democracy and have fair
We have prepared for moments like this by rallying and building coalitions all across this Nation, and we will continue doing exactly that, because even in difficult moments, I still believe in the power of the people and the power of my people. I still believe in the strength of our communities, and I still believe that when Americans come together to protect our democracy, we will prevail.
That is why we will keep pushing forward. We will continue expanding access to the ballot box, protecting fair representation and ensuring that every single voice in this country is heard.
When we reclaim the majority--and, yes, that is coming, too--we will work to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and continue the work of building a democracy that truly reflects all of America.
This is not the moment to retreat. It is the moment to organize, to vote, and to remind the American people that democracy is strongest when everyone has a seat at the table. The fight for voting rights did not begin with this court, and it will not end with this decision.
We have overcome far too much, sacrificed far too much, and achieved far too much progress to turn back now.
I look forward to working alongside my CBC colleagues as we move forward together. We will move forward together, united, and committed to building a democracy that is more just and Representative for all of our future generations.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative McClellan for leading tonight's Special Order hour.
Mr. Speaker, I am honored to stand with my CBC colleagues in this fight as we stand up for the people we represent.
Mr. Speaker, for decades, the far right has sold this country a lie, a lie that racism ended in 1965, a lie that discrimination is ancient history. For years, that rhetoric lived in chat rooms in the ugliest corners of American life. Well, today it lives in the highest courts in the land, cloaked in robes.
This conservative Supreme Court has taken a wrecking ball to the Voting Rights Act, one of the greatest achievements of the civil rights movement. Now, after the Louisiana v. Callais ruling, there is barely any of the law left.
Before this ruling, Black voters in the South had at least some defense against intentional political extinction. Now that is gone. Mr. Speaker, what happens next tells you everything you need to know. The ink was barely dry before Republican States rushed to redraw maps and move election dates--Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, State after State after State.
Let's be honest about what this is. This is a coordinated effort to engineer electorates so that Trump has all the White majority districts he needs, and the tragedy, the disgrace is that this rush to redraw proves exactly why the Voting Rights Act was needed in the first place.
If they are successful, some of the States with the largest Black populations in the country will be represented by all-White delegations and majority White districts.
We cannot and will not take this sitting down. We will organize, mobilize, and use our voices. We will fight this in Congress. We don't have a voting rights majority in this body right now, but we soon will, and we will restore the Voting Rights Act.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, we must confront the center of this crisis: an unacceptable Supreme Court.
The Voting Rights Act was not some historical footnote. It was the law of the land for decades. It was one of the crowning achievements of American democracy, and this Court has systematically hollowed it out.
No institution in this country is above scrutiny, and no court should have the power to erase protections won through blood, sacrifice, and struggle without the American people demanding reform. Our constitutional system was never designed to crown nine people as permanent and untouchable rulers of our democracy.
Mr. Speaker, our brothers and sisters are being silenced across the South, but this Congress will make sure that those voices are heard loudly, clearly, and unapologetically.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for anchoring this Special Order hour.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today alongside my colleagues in opposition to the all-out assault on Black Americans' right to vote in the wake of Trump's Supreme Court's choice to gut the Voting Rights Act.
The Voting Rights Act was a piece of legislation that was won in blood. Though we can see the racism and hatred still present in our Nation, the passage of the Voting Rights Act was a line in the sand: that we would protect and include Black voices in our democracy.
In the nearly 200 years between the establishment of this country and the passage of the Voting Rights Act, millions of Black Americans died fighting for this right.
It wasn't a right that we achieved just through a protest in Selma, where they attacked hundreds of our brothers and sisters. It wasn't a right that we achieved just through a march to the Capitol alongside hundreds of thousands of people across our communities. It was a right that we achieved also through the struggle of the millions of Black Americans whose stories were never told and whose voices were never heard by our government.
The millions of Black Americans throughout our history organized and fought, without the recognition that they deserved, to lay the groundwork for people like me to have the opportunity to represent the very congressional districts where we once attended segregated elementary schools.
The passage of the Voting Rights Act was that hope that, finally, we would no longer go without our voices being heard and that none of us would have to die for that right ever again.
Now, as if we needed any confirmation of the rationale behind the senseless Supreme Court ruling, Republican statehouses nationwide are now mobilizing in an effort to target Black Members of Congress and Black majority districts.
In Tennessee, they ignored Black representatives locked in arms on the floor of the State legislature as they dismantled the only Black majority district in a State where the Clinton 12 once marched for their right to attend integrated schools.
In Alabama, they stared on as my colleague, Congressman Figures, pleaded with them to stop redrawing the court-mandated congressional map that gave Alabama, the State at the epicenter of the modern civil rights movement, two Black Members of Congress for the first time in its history.
In Virginia, they overthrew a referendum that would help balance the power in Congress, the same State that once approved a referendum by white supremacists to rewrite the State constitution in order to disenfranchise Black voters.
In my State, North Carolina, we have seen this playbook carried out with the redrawing of congressional maps to eliminate the seats of three Democrats and the redrawing of that congressional map just a few years later in a concerted effort to attack Black lawmakers.
I consider myself incredibly lucky to still be here in the Halls of Congress while many of our fellow Black lawmakers have not been as fortunate.
As one of the few Members of Congress left who experienced the systemic segregation put in place across the South firsthand as a young girl in an all-Black elementary school, I stand here with this message: We will not go back.
We deserve more than to have our government stomp on our voices, our representation, and our votes. Just as I deserved access to the same elementary school as the White boys and girls, our ancestors fought, bled, and died for the right to vote and the right to have our voices heard by Congress.
As we feel their pain with every step back that this government forces upon us, rest assured that we will always come back stronger.
Your cheating of our electoral systems through gerrymandering and voter disenfranchisement is an admission that your leadership has failed the American people. We see through you. We will not rest, and we will continue to honor the work of our ancestors with action.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Virginia for leading this Special Order tonight and my colleagues who have spoken on the floor in shock and dismay with respect to what the Supreme Court did in the Voting Rights Act ruling just a few days ago, and also what the Virginia Supreme Court did in the ruling that it passed down.
I will say this: Many of my neighbors, friends, and the students I have had a chance to speak to recently were also surprised, shocked, disappointed, and dismayed by what happened.
They have also been surprised by President Trump sending the FBI in to seize ballots in Atlanta to try to prove that he won an election 4 years ago that he obviously lost.
They have been surprised, dismayed, and disheartened by what they saw with respect to ICE in Minneapolis and the recognition that there is a strong possibility that ICE and the National Guard may be showing up in polling places in November.
They have also been shocked and surprised that icons like Jim Clyburn and Emanuel Cleaver, who served this body and this Nation honorably for decades, are at the risk of being forced out of office based on these unfair rulings.
I will say this: I have been really heartened by what I saw from those young people when I was speaking to them over the past 2 weeks. They were concerned that they couldn't live up to the moment, that there was nothing that they could do, and that they were too young to have an impact.
Yet, I reminded them of people like John Lewis, who was 18 or 19 when he began his work in the civil rights movement that culminated in the Voting Rights Act, which was gutted just a few weeks ago. I reminded them that Dr. Martin Luther King was only 25 when he led the Montgomery bus boycott and was still working on his dissertation and raising a family, all at the same time.
I reminded them that there were many leaders who came before us-- young people, men and women--who saw the need for service and a call to have an impact, and they stepped into that void.
I reminded them that the Freedom Riders had people on at 18, 19, and 20 years old who they forced to write and sign wills before they got on those buses because they knew that they would be violently attacked, and they were.
We can meet this moment, just as those ancestors met those moments, just as our predecessors met those moments. All we need to do is go to the voting booth.
We have to make sure we get out there and do that work, push in the streets, campaign, stand up, make sure we fight, speak, have our voices heard, and bring everybody out who we can because it is critical for us to win in November in order to turn this around and show them that, despite all the efforts that they have made--the Trump Supreme Court, the seizure of the ballots, all the things that they have been doing with the executive orders and the like--we can defeat all of those in November. But we have to show up, and we will.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) for hosting this Special Order hour.
The House is on fire, and our democracy is under attack. This time, instead of storming the Capitol, they are changing the maps to silence the voices of millions of Americans.
The Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais has given States a green light to weaken Black political power under the false cover of race neutrality.
In Memphis, Tennessee, a historic, organic majority-Black district has been carved up to dilute its voice.
In Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, and Mississippi, similar efforts are under way.
It is ironic that the States where the power stealing is happening right now are Confederate States where the tension of race remains unresolved.
Let's be clear. This virus is contagious. Wake up, people. This is not coincidence. This is coordination. The attacks are dangerous, but so is the silence. Silence in this moment is complicity, and history will document who spoke up and who stayed quiet.
Let's not forget, the Black vote has never just elected Black leaders. It has been the backbone of coalitions that lifted others into power.
In 2020, Black voters in Georgia not only elected Reverend Warnock to the Senate, they also elected Jon Ossoff, flipping two red seats blue and giving Democrats the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.
They have consistently shown up for and elected Presidents like Joe Biden, proving once again that not only Black leaders benefit from Black political engagement and trust.
Let me be clear about something else. Black Members of Congress do not only represent Black communities. We represent everyone. Many of us serve diverse, even majority White districts, delivering results for all of our constituents.
When these maps are redrawn to eliminate Black representation, it is not about fairness. It is about fear and real talk. If race is truly not a factor, then why are Black districts always the ones being dismantled?
Let's say it plainly. If some of our colleagues were not afraid of Black voters, then they would not be working so hard to silence us.
We have to meet this moment with urgency. Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, organize, mobilize, turn out, and hold receipts. This is bigger than any one district. It is about whether democracy works for all of us.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the right to vote is under grave attack. The Supreme Court opened the door, and Republican officials throughout the South are running straight through it.
Republican State legislatures are racing to redraw congressional maps across the South, and they have one clear goal: to make sure that Black communities cannot elect a candidate of their choice.
Look at Tennessee. Memphis is a majority-Black city, and instead of keeping it whole in one district, Republicans sliced it into three separate districts and imported White voters from hundreds of miles away. That is not an accident. That is a blueprint.
In Texas, a Trump-appointed Federal judge found that Republicans used race to dismantle minority districts, like in my hometown of Houston.
I have seen so many Republican officials argue that this is not about race. But look at North Carolina where Republican legislators requested data on voting patterns broken down by race. They then changed the voting rules based on that data, and a Federal court said that they targeted African Americans with ``almost surgical precision.''
This is about race. These maps are a pattern, and after Callais, it is spreading like wildfire.
Cracking Black communities apart district by district is not politics. It is a declaration that Black voices do not belong in this democracy.
Our Nation is better than this. Racist cheating has no place in the greatest democracy on Earth.
This Congress must fight back.
The right to choose our own Representatives is sacred and something our ancestors have fought and bled for, and we will not let it be stripped from us community by community or ZIP code by ZIP code.
Mr. Speaker, I took my oath of office 3 years ago on the Bible that my father kept his poll tax receipt in that he paid when he turned old enough to vote in Tennessee.
In my office is a book written by my great-grandfather. He tells a story. My great-grandfather was born on the plantation where his parents were enslaved. He went to register to vote in 1902 in Alabama. He was given a literacy test. He got all the questions right. The registrar turned to his assistant and said: ``I need more questions because this nigger got them all right.'' He was on a list of people not to register to vote because he organized Blacks in the community. Then he was told he had to find three White men to vouch for his character, and he did it.
Today, just like my great-grandfather, just like my father, I and the Congressional Black Caucus will fight any obstacle put in our way to ensure that we participate in this government by, of, and for the people.
We won't take this sitting down.
The Supreme Court may have dealt us a devastating blow, but we are going to get up, just like John Lewis got up after he was beaten in the head from marching across the bridge in Selma for the right to vote.
This is not the end of the war. This is only the beginning where we will ensure that liberty and justice for all means all; that a government by, of, and for the people includes all the people.
Mr. Speaker, on May 17 in a few days it will be declared a National Day of Jubilee, Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving. President Donald Trump announced this Day of Jubilee at the National Prayer Breakfast when he invited ``Americans from all across the country to come together on our National Mall to pray, to give thanks.'' And he went on to say: ``We're going to rededicate America as one Nation under God.''
It is historically significant that President Donald Trump would say this. It is historically important that leaders of our Nation are gathered behind me to begin to recognize the importance of calling our Nation back to God and rededicating America as a Nation devoted and dependent upon God.
In doing so, it is not only right, it is historically backed up by the 150 different calls to prayer, humiliation, fasting, and thanksgiving that have been issued in our country's history by our Nation's leaders.
Of these 150-plus calls to prayer, 74 of them have been issued by U.S. Presidential proclamations with 36 of our 47 United States Presidents signing proclamations for national prayer.
Between 1775 and 1784 alone, at least 15 official proclamations for prayer, fasting, and humiliation--yes, humiliation. Someone asked me: Why are you using that word? That word is in the historic record. I think some don't realize you don't get humility unless you are humiliated. But times of prayer, fasting, and humiliation were issued by Congress.
Records also show that there have been over 1,500 State and Federal calls for national prayer since 1775. That is a truly remarkable number.
This coming Jubilee Day of Prayer was first established by the Continental Congress 250 years ago. This coming Sunday it will be exactly 250 years ago when on May 17, 1776, they set aside a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer.
This original proclamation stated that: In times of impending calamity and distress, it becomes the indispensable duty with true penitence, publicly to acknowledge the overruling providence of God; to confess and deplore our offenses against Him; and to supplicate His interposition for averting the threatened danger and prospering our strenuous efforts in the cause of freedom, virtue, and posterity.
This congressional dialogue continues that: The Congress, therefore, do earnestly recommend, that the 17th day of May next, be observed as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that we may confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and, by a sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease His righteous displeasure, and, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain His pardon and forgiveness; humbly imploring His assistance to frustrate the cruel purposes of our unnatural enemies; and by inclining their hearts to justice and benevolence, prevent the further effusion of kindred blood.
These were the words of our Continental Congress almost exactly a few days away from now, 250 years ago this coming Sunday. They wrote that, declared that, only 7 weeks ahead of when the Declaration of Independence would come forth.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson), the Speaker of the House, for his commentary.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear brother, Congressman Josh Brecheen, for leading this Special Order. It is an important occasion and one that a number of my colleagues will be here to help mark tonight. It is appropriate for us to do that.
I want to reiterate what my friend here has explained. It is this weekend, on May 17th, that our country is going to mark the National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving. As he noted, that date marks exactly two and a half centuries since our Founders met in the Second Continental Congress and declared a day of, yes, humiliation, fasting, and prayer to ask for God's guidance in the cause of freedom.
I think it is an appropriate way to say it. We ought to begin with repentance, and they recognized it back then.
This Sunday, Americans across the country are going to gather once again to do that very same thing, and what an important time it is for us to do so.
Here, on The National Mall, we are going to have tens of thousands of Americans join in prayer to rededicate our lives and our Nation back to God.
For Americans of faith, this is an opportunity to help our Nation recommit to the foundations upon which this country was built, as every previous generation in our history has done before.
Since the very beginning, prayer is how this grand experiment in self-governance has endured and prospered for 250 years.
Indeed, when 56 patriots gathered in Philadelphia to pledge their lives and their fortunes and their sacred honor for the birth of this new Nation, they began in prayer.
To this day, we open every single legislative session in this House and in the Senate, the other Chamber, in prayer. That is an acknowledgment, in some small way, of the famous admonition that is inscribed prominently right there above the head of the Speaker. It says there above the rostrum: ``In God We Trust.''
If you look, by the way, in the visitor's guide to the House Chamber--I think it is somewhere about on page 14--it says that Congress voted in 1962 to put that motto there, to add it to the marble, it says in the guide, as a rebuke to the Soviets because of their philosophy. That was during the Cold War. The Soviet's philosophy is Marxism, communism, and socialism. They all begin with one common premise: that there is no God.
Our predecessors in this body wanted every single one of us to look right there and understand and acknowledge, every single day that we are here to work, that our Nation is built on the opposite idea. We are built on the self-evident truth that it is God who gives us our rights and not the government.
At this pivotal moment in our Nation's history, we have to remember all of that. We have to acknowledge that the miracle of our founding and the countless miracles that have followed have been the work of Almighty God, and it is indeed in Him whom we trust.
So as we approach the 250th anniversary, it is right that we gather formally, just as our Founders did, to beseech the firm protection of divine providence once again.
I hope Americans from all across this country will take part in this historic day of Scripture and worship and fellowship as we recommit to our faith and our foundations as one nation under God.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana, our Speaker, for taking time from his very busy schedule to do this.
I am going to further delay my remarks. I know that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin) has got an appointment. I am going to ask him to share some remarks also.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Josh Brecheen, from Oklahoma for having this Special Order tonight.
As we prepare to celebrate 250 years of the greatest Nation in the history of the world--and by great, I think we can mean good--it is fitting that we pause to remember something that our Founders understood clearly. America's strength has never come from government. It has come from Almighty God, from faithful people, and from a nation willing to humble itself in prayer and Thanksgiving.
God loves mercy more than he loves sacrifice. He tells us in Micah 6:8: What does the Lord require of you, O man, but to seek justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
In 1776, as the Continental Congress fought for the survival of this young Nation, they established what they called a National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving.
I want you to think about that just a moment. In the middle of war, uncertainty, and sacrifice, our Founders did not place their hope in military might or political power alone. They turned first to the Almighty God.
John Adams once wrote: It is ``the duty of all men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God.''
George Washington repeatedly reminded the Nation that freedom itself depends on morality, faith, and virtue.
From the very beginning, America understood that liberty is not self- sustaining. Freedom requires a moral people, and a moral people must remain grounded in the truth.
Today, 250 years later, we gather not only to celebrate our history but to recommit ourselves to those timeless principles.
Our country has endured wars, economic hardship, division, and tragedy. Yet, generation after generation, Americans have continued to seek God's guidance through it all.
That spirit is woven into the very fabric of our Nation, and that is why ``In God We Trust'' remains our national motto right above your head, Mr. Speaker.
It is why our Presidents place their hands on the Bible when taking the oath of office. It is why Americans still bow their heads in prayer during moments of both triumph and of trial.
As a veteran, a father, a grandfather, and now chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, I have had the very great privilege of seeing the very best of America.
I represent Houston, Space City, the hardworking men and women of Johnson Space Center, who continue pushing the boundaries of human achievement, as we saw a couple weeks ago with Artemis II pushing four astronauts farther from Earth than anybody has ever gone before.
Even as we reach farther into the heavens, we are reminded of just how small we are compared to the greatness of God's creation.
As we celebrate America 250, may we never take for granted the freedoms that we have inherited from our forefathers, and may we always remain one nation under God for generations to come.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to have had the gentleman from Texas take his time to be here, along with the Speaker.
Given the rest of their schedules and the delay of my commentary, I am going to continue on with my commentary.
Some will ask: Show us in history. If you claim that our Founders were of this mindset, prove that to us.
In his 1796 farewell address, our very first President, George Washington, stated: ``Of all of the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness.''
He goes to say: ``Both reason and experience forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles.
Most people don't realize that wasn't just George Washington who wrote that. That was prepared for him by James Madison and later Alexander Hamilton because he was going to release that in 1792 farewell address, and he decided the country needed him another 4 years. He waited until Alexander Hamilton could polish off the final copy in 1796.
Our second President, John Adams, also expressing devotion to Biblical principle, stated: ``We have no government armed with power capable of continuing with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice''--which means extreme greed--``ambition, and revenge will break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through our net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate'' to the government of any other.
He understood it is a linchpin, that in order to maintain the blessing of liberty, it is in tandem with virtue that this undergirding we are discussing today would provide.
Our third President, Thomas Jefferson, used to ride horses every Sunday to attend church service in this very Capitol building yards from where we are now. Thomas Jefferson, the one that people claim so much about, every Sunday he was in service in a public building bringing praise and honor.
Our fourth President, the father of the Constitution, James Madison, signed into law a resolution declaring a day of public humiliation and prayer to be set apart for the devout purpose of rendering to the sovereign of the universe the public homage of acknowledging the transgressions which might justly provoke the manifestation of His divine displeasure seeking His merciful forgiveness.
Yet, our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, followed those before him, their footsteps, and also declared a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer.
Abraham Lincoln acknowledged in his address in 1863 that: ``It is the duty of nations as well as men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.''
Lincoln would go on to say: ``But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us. . . . we have become too self- sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.
``It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins and pray for clemency and forgiveness.''
When pondering Lincoln's words, I was personally reminded of Deuteronomy 8:11, I will paraphrase, where Moses warns the people of God not to turn away from the Lord.
For those of us who are sitting in this Chamber, as a staff member reminded me and pointed out, Moses is the only image in this room that is looking directly at ``In God We Trust'' which presides above the Speaker's rostrum.
It is Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 8 who said: ``Do not forget the Lord your God.'' He admonished them to keep His commandments and His ordinances. He goes on to say: ``Which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud, and you will forget your God.''
It sounds like Abraham Lincoln's 1863 address.
He goes on to say, in Deuteronomy chapter 8: ``But you shall remember
Standing in this Chamber today, we have the opportunity to humble ourselves before God, seek His pardon individually for our Nation, His forgiveness. This mandate is not only a part of our biblical heritage, as we will continue to point out in this special hour, it is part of our congressional and our Nation's heritage.
As Moses from the back of this Chamber looks down over that doorway, His admonishment rings true today. If America continues down a path of immorality, pride, and turning to idolatry, we will see the demise of our Nation.
I will conclude with this. John Adams, the second President of the United States, said: ``Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited . . . what a utopia, what a paradise would this region be.'' For our country to survive the 250 years ahead so that peace and prosperity are passed down to our posterity. We must turn to the guiding hand of the Almighty, seek His forgiveness, and follow suit with that which He has asked of us.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Harris).
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and the gentleman from Oklahoma, Representative Brecheen, for this Special Order.
Mr. Speaker, the foundation of this Nation was not laid in silence, but in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
As we approach the 250th birthday of America, we reflect on the courageous actions of 56 men who came together in Philadelphia in 1776 to declare independence and to set in motion the birth of a new Nation grounded in liberty, justice, and faith in God.
These signers, as we already heard tonight, pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of freedom. And as we remember their sacrifice, we are also called to reflect on the enduring principles they set forth and the responsibility we carry to preserve and strengthen them even today.
They knew their strength alone was not enough. Only God's guidance could actually sustain a nation and make our freedom possible. Psalm 33:12 declares: ``Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord.''
We express our gratitude to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for His providence over the United States and all nations. We are, indeed, one nation under God.
We must pray for our Nation. Praying for our Nation is part of a longstanding American tradition. During the Revolutionary War, when the future of our Nation was far from guaranteed, the Continental Congress paused to designate a national day of thanksgiving and prayer to give thanks to the Lord, to seek His wisdom and His protection and to ask for the strengthening of the people's unity.
In 1777, the Continental Congress called Americans to come together ``with one heart and one voice'' in solemn thanksgiving and praise. You see, Mr. Speaker, that same spirit is reflected in today's National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving, a time to unite in gratitude, seek God's guidance, and renew our commitment to the values that strengthen this Nation.
George Washington prayed that God would hold this Nation in His holy protection and incline the hearts of its citizens toward brotherly affection and love for one another.
You see, Mr. Speaker, that prayer remains just as relevant today. I have the privilege of serving both as a Member of Congress for the Eighth District of North Carolina and as a pastor. I have witnessed firsthand the power of prayer, in my church, in families, and in moments when our Nation needed healing, wisdom, and revival.
Today, let us pray for an end to political violence in our Nation. No American should be targeted for their beliefs, their service, or their convictions. Let us pray for peace in the Middle East. Let us pray for our President and for my colleagues in the House and Senate regardless of political party. Let us pray for revival of prayer, thanksgiving, and praise across this Nation.
May the Lord continue to do His good work through this Nation, for without His guidance we are lost.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and my colleague for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, it is a humbling moment for us to acknowledge that we are failed and fallen humans in the presence of God in service to our fellow man standing in the Chamber of the people's House. We have been reminded that there are 23 marble busts in relief that surround the walls of this Chamber above the gallery, one of which is facing you, Mr. Speaker, and that is Moses.
There are many men are up there, George Mason, William Blackstone, Thomas Jefferson, Solomon, but only Moses faces you, Mr. Speaker.
Only Moses faces the podium of the Chamber of the people's House in the land of the free. Our Founders were men anointed by God, and we are called upon to acknowledge that spiritual foundation, once again, in our country.
This is an acknowledgment that crosses the barriers of politics, Mr. Speaker, and joins us as one people. Regardless of where we stand upon economic strata, regardless of our color, creed, or heritage, and despite political affiliation or party, we are bonded as one man, under God, in service to our fellow man.
Yet, we struggle. We struggle to know what is right. We seek that as children of God, as men and women attempting to serve we the people. We struggle to know what is right, do we not, Mr. Speaker? Our Founders struggled, as well.
America was founded by imperfect men with a perfect vision. The preamble of our Constitution says: We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union--in order to form a more perfect Union.
There is an old saying in the horse business: The way a horse leaves the gate is the way he is going to run.
The preamble, the document that established our laws, stated that they were humble men, imperfect men. They acknowledged the fact that we are human. We have failed and fallen since Adam. We seek to understand what Paul meant when he told us in Corinthians to place not your faith in the wisdom of man but in the spirit and power of God. This is the Chamber where we carry the responsibility to merge the wisdom of man within and beneath the spirit and power of God.
We all have a story, do we not, Mr. Speaker, of how our families came to be here? Many years ago, 200 years ago, a young Irishman born into indentured servitude far away heard whispers of a Nation born where a man could own the land that he worked. This was unheard of for a common Irish lad.
He risked everything, all he had, left the land of his heritage, and boarded a boat that was converted from carrying commercial goods to carrying human beings. According to a letter unearthed by my mother and my aunt many, many generations later, his sleeping berth measured 2 by 2 by 5.
Literally, by the way the winds blew, Mr. Speaker, that boat landed in the Port of New Orleans. That young Irishman was the beginning of my family. He came here seeking freedom. He knew that he would deliver work, ethics, principles, Christian faith, determination, and courage, but he knew he stood beneath God.
He landed in a Nation that was going to give him the opportunity to build something for the next generation, and indeed he did.
I ask, Mr. Speaker, are we worthy of the things that we have described tonight? All of us, on both sides of the aisle, the citizenry we serve that sit in the gallery, are we worthy of what it is to be an American citizen and a child of God?
We seek to prove that worth every day, yet we fall short of the glory of God. We arise again from bended knee
Mr. Speaker, let me close by saying that we shan't be judged by how we fall. A man's character should not be measured by how he falls, but it should be measured by how he stands back up. As a nation, this is where we are.
Our children's children will not measure us by the fact that our Nation has stumbled to the extent that it has, but this generation will be measured by how we stand back up.
Let me humbly deliver this message to the American people: Stand back up in the glory of God. Remember the words of Paul, place not your faith in the wisdom of man but in the spirit and power of God. Let us stand as a Nation, as brothers and sisters, as children of God, beneath the glory of the flag that waves above us.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana for his words. It is great to transition from the accent of Louisiana to the accent of Tennessee. I yield to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger).
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in recognizing this year's national jubilee of prayer and praise and thanksgiving. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on something that is near and dear to my heart.
I come from east Tennessee. It is a place where faith isn't just something you practice on Sunday morning. It is woven into the fabric of who we are. It shapes how we raise our children, how we care for our neighbors, and, yes, how we govern.
If you look at the history of this great Nation, that is exactly how our Founders intended it to be. From the very beginning, America's leaders understood something that too many in Washington have forgotten: that we are not self-sufficient, that the blessings of liberty--the prosperity, the freedom, the strength of this Nation--do not come from us. They come from God.
When English settlers first landed at Cape Henry in 1607, they planted a cross and offered prayers, dedicating their endeavor to God. That spirit of faith was part of America's foundation.
When the First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in 1774--facing a crisis, facing uncertainty, facing the very real possibility of war--one of the very first things those delegates did was bow their heads in prayer. By all accounts, that prayer changed the room, and it brought divided men together. It gave them clarity, and it gave them courage.
When our Constitution was hanging by a thread at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when tempers had flared, and delegates were walking out, Benjamin Franklin urged the delegates to seek divine guidance with humility and prayer before continuing their work on what would become the greatest governing document in the history of the world.
I am proud to say that Tennessee has been part of this tradition. Three of this Nation's Presidents called Tennessee home, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson. Each one of them understood the weight of the Presidency and that it demands more than human wisdom alone.
Andrew Jackson, in his inaugural address, called it the most fervent prayer that almighty God, the same God who had kept this Republic from its infancy, would overrule his intentions and actions for the good of the American people.
James K. Polk, in his own inaugural address in 1845, fervently invoked the aid of the almighty ruler of the universe to guard this Heaven-favored land against the mischiefs that arise from unwise policy.
Andrew Johnson, who assumed the Presidency under some of the most painful circumstances in American history following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, called the Nation to a special day of humiliation and prayer and later issued a Thanksgiving proclamation, calling Americans to give thanks to God for the perseverance of the United States.
Three Tennesseans, three Presidents. All of them, in their highest moments of responsibility, all turned to prayer.
George Washington, in his Circular Letter to the States, asked God to ``incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another.''
Abraham Lincoln, in the darkest days of the Civil War, called on the Nation to humble itself before God, not out of weakness, but out of wisdom. He recognized that we had forgotten God.
On June 6, 1944, as Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, President Franklin Roosevelt didn't give a victory speech. He led the Nation in prayer.
Mr. Speaker, the evidence is overwhelming. This Nation was built on prayer. It has been sustained by prayer. If we want to see it restored, it will be through prayer.
I know it is not a popular thing to say in some circles in Washington these days, but faith has been pushed out of the public square. Prayer has been treated like something to be embarrassed about or hidden away. We are told to keep our beliefs private.
I refuse to accept that. As a matter of fact, I rebuke that. I don't think the American public accepts it either.
I have been a pharmacist for almost 40 years, and I have stood behind the counter when people were at the lowest points in their lives, when they were diagnosed with cancer or certain other ailments. The ones who leaned on their faith and the ones who prayed, they had something to hold onto--something that no government program, no prescription, no piece of legislation could ever replace.
That is why I believe deeply that this National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving isn't just about a nice tradition. It is a necessity.
As we celebrate 250 years of American freedom this year, we have an extraordinary opportunity to do what our Founders did--to stop, to humble ourselves, to give thanks, and to ask for guidance, not because we are weak, but because we are wise enough to know that the blessings we enjoy are not of our own making.
Psalm 33:12 reminds us--and I think Mark said it a minute ago-- ``Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.'' May that always be true of America.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for leading this great Special Order this evening, very timely.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate this year's National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving.
Since the founding of our Nation, the people in the spirit of this great country have been rooted in a firm belief in God--evidence that as Americans we are ``One nation under God.''
In 1607, when English settlers landed at Cape Henry before traveling inward to establish what would later become Jamestown, their first act was not to build a fort, but to kneel in prayer. This early act of worship on American soil confirmed that our country's original intent was not bound by political and economic construction, but in our dedication to faith.
Acts of worship continued to shape our Nation's early history and were central in the observance of Thanksgiving. This time unites all Americans to give thanks to God for his protection and wellness, cementing faith as a central pillar of our history.
Our Nation was forged upon the belief in absolute, God-given rights-- a truth that reminds us that there is a higher authority than any government or any political figure.
In 1775, our Founding Fathers issued proclamations to recognize national days of fasting, humiliation, and prayer.
From 1777 to 1784, more than 10 of these proclamations were observed, encouraging all Americans to express gratitude and reflect through worship.
Our Founders knew that liberty requires a spiritual anchor, and as Benjamin Franklin famously told the Constitutional Convention: ``God governs in the affairs of men.''
While our country has changed over the last 250 years, our steadfast reliance on faith remains constant.
Faith and prayer have played a central role in my life and as a foundation of my work in Congress.
For many Americans, our faith is what compels us to care for the vulnerable, to serve our communities with humility, and to see one another not as adversaries but brothers and sisters.
I hope that on this National Day of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving, Americans across our country can unite in our steadfast belief in God.
As a Nation, let's look ahead to the next 250 years with the same conviction in uniting under prayer, worship, and thanksgiving.
Mr. Speaker, I once again thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for hosting this.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for hosting this Special Order hour and for his leadership on this very important time for our country.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today as our Nation prepares to celebrate 250 years of American independence. For nearly two-and-a-half centuries, America has been a nation not like any other, not because of the size of our economy, the strength of our military, or the power of our government, but because our founding was rooted in the simple and revolutionary truth that our rights are derived from God, not from government.
The Declaration of Independence says that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. That belief has guided our country through war, hardship, division, and uncertainty. It has reminded generations that freedom is a gift, and with that gift comes responsibility.
Kansas understands this well. Our State was born in the struggle over freedom. From the days of Bleeding Kansas to the farmers, ranchers, teachers, pastors, and families who built our communities, Kansans have always known that liberty must be defended and faith has an important place in public life.
Growing up as a western Kansas farm kid, I was taught the value of faith, family, hard work, and personal responsibility. Those values shaped my life. My faith is my foundation. It shaped how I serve and how I approach the work before us in this Chamber.
Throughout our Nation's history, leaders have turned to God in moments of hardship. Benjamin Franklin, as mentioned before, called for prayer during the Constitutional Convention.
President Lincoln called the Nation to prayer during the Civil War.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., prayed for justice, courage, and freedom as he led a movement that helped America live up to its founding promise.
Today, we face challenges of our own. We see the breakdown of the family, adrift from faith and personal responsibility, deep divisions in our politics, and confusion about right and wrong. Washington cannot solve these problems through legislation alone. A free country depends on the character of its people.
This is why this 250th anniversary should be more than a celebration. It should be a moment of reflection, humility, prayer, and renewal. We should thank God for the blessings of liberty, repent where we have fallen short, and ask for the courage to preserve this country for the next and future generations.
Like Solomon, I pray for a discerning heart to govern and to distinguish between right and wrong. I pray that our leaders seek wisdom, that our families be strengthened, that our communities be restored, and that our Nation turn back toward the values that have sustained America from its beginning.
May God bless our families, our communities, the great State of Kansas, and the United States of America.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and brother in Christ, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, as a little boy from Baytown, Texas, I never thought I would be here on the House floor talking about God Almighty. Yet, he has put me here today to do just that, and I am extremely humbled to do that.
Humiliation and humbleness are not common words you hear today, not a common concept, but in James 4:10, it says: ``Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.'' Above your head, Mr. Speaker, are the words: ``In God We Trust.''
This Sunday, Mr. Speaker, Americans across our great land will observe the National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving. I believe that it is fitting that we pause to remember this is not new to America.
From the very beginning, in times of war and uncertainty, division, and hardship, our leaders have called this Nation to its knees before God.
In 1775, as the fires of the Revolution were kindled, Massachusetts called her people to repentance, unity, and God's mercy.
In 1776, the Continental Congress summoned Americans to prayer and fasting, seeking divine wisdom and strength.
Through the Revolution, through epidemics, through the trials of the Civil War, generation after generation, Americans have humbled themselves before their creator and prayed for the future of this blessed land.
Mr. Speaker, even Abraham Lincoln in the crucible of that terrible war warned that America had grown too proud to pray for the God that made us.
My friends, I am here to tell you today that whether we are religious or not, there is timeless wisdom in gratitude, humility, and moral reflection, especially in times like these.
Missouri carries this tradition proudly. Last week, our Governor, Governor Mike Kehoe, proclaimed May 7, 2026, as a day of prayer in our State under the theme ``Glorify God among the nations.''
This year also marks the 75th annual observance of The National Day of Prayer in Missouri, a tradition that has united Missourians of every background for generations.
Across our State, our churches, and our communities, we are coming together in a ``Jubilee of Hope,'' with pilgrimages, gatherings, and acts of service, living proof that prayer is still alive and still a force in America.
America has never been perfect, but one thing has carried this Nation through every dark valley: the willingness of her people to stop, to reflect, to seek forgiveness where it is needed, to give thanks for our countless blessings, and to ask for wisdom as we move forward.
As President Reagan reminded us: ``Prayer has sustained our people in crisis, strengthened us in times of challenge, and guided us through our daily lives since the first settlers came to this continent.''
He also declared with conviction: ``God doesn't need America but America needs God. If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, we will be a nation gone under.''
Mr. Speaker, that spirit, that spirit of a people who place their trust in Providence, is worth preserving with all of our hearts.
So as this National Jubilee is observed, I urge every American, everyone in this room, in the gallery watching today, watching tonight, I urge every American to take a moment to thank God Almighty for the blessings that we have received, the sacred responsibilities that we all carry no matter if you are Democrat or Republican, and the kind of country, that shining city upon that hill, we want to pass on to our children and our grandchildren.
Some 40 years ago, President Reagan said something to this effect: The time has come for us to reassert our trust in God. The time has come for us to realize that we need Him more than He needs us. The time has come for us to turn to God for the healing of America.
Mr. Speaker, as I close tonight, I will tell everyone in this room, our Nation needs healing. This body needs healing. Let each of us here tonight and in this body pledge today to be a part of that healing, healing through prayer to God Almighty.
And with faith in God, confidence in our principles, and that unbreakable American optimism, I believe with all my heart that our greatest days are still ahead of us as a nation.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri for his comments.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), a good friend and chairman of the Values Action Team to provide comments.
Before I do that, I will extend that I am truly grateful that he and I in talking about doing this said to me, I think this is bigger than even that. I know many will rarely see the Speaker of the House come on the floor, which he did tonight, and I thank the chairman for setting this up and for letting the Membership know about this.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to add my support for this Special Order that commemorates the 250th anniversary of what I like to refer to as the ``semiquincentennial'' of the founding of our Nation and the underpinning of faith and religious commitment that has sustained our Nation from those very first days.
I do appreciate Congressman Brecheen for organizing this and including me in this. Indeed, this is bigger than any issue that we face in Congress. This is the bedrock, and so taking a few minutes here this evening to recognize that is so important.
Mr. Speaker, the Founding Fathers who preceded us in the Continental Congress back in May 1776 made it a priority to acknowledge God. They passed a resolution calling for penitence, prayer, and thanksgiving, and they called it our indispensable duty to: publicly acknowledge God, confess our offensives against him, and to beg for his intervention.
I believe God answered those prayers in ways that would go far beyond what they even dreamed of. God has, indeed, prospered the United States of America over these past 250 years. But as a nation, we have sadly strayed, as has been mentioned here tonight, from the gratitude that we owe to that provision.
Today, as Members of Congress, we come together standing in front just under you, Mr. Speaker, the motto, ``In God We Trust,'' and we feel the great privilege of blessing that we have inherited from the spiritual inheritance that we were given.
As we celebrate America's 250th anniversary and look toward the future, if we are to extend that heritage and see our country flourish in the future, we must rededicate ourselves to shoring up the foundation of faith has sustained us.
Obviously, it is a very good thing that we have the opportunity this Sunday to come together on The National Mall to spend a day of thanksgiving and prayer just as they did 250 years ago.
I know everyone can't come to The National Mall this Sunday, but you can take a moment and the opportunity to spend some time in prayer and reflect on this Nation, remembering that there are so many people in the world that don't have that privilege to meet together in prayer.
As a Member of Congress, I am reminded there are so many people in the world that don't have that privilege. As a young man who grew up in rural Alabama and as a young boy who decided to accept Christ as my Savior, I never imagined that there were people in the world that would be punished for expressing their faith, but it happened then and it is happening now.
We pray for them as well as we pray for our own Nation. May this Nation be one that we always are able to express our faith with confidence and without any fear of the government.
Mr. Speaker, I add my prayers to those of my colleagues here tonight. May God guide us and may God sustain us and our work here in the House, and may He continue to bless these United States of America.
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank Josh Brecheen for arranging this Special Order. We are speaking now on the 250th anniversary of the United States, the anniversary of this blessed Nation. We should thank God for all He has given to this country.
On this anniversary, we can't help but take stock of the condition of this country. While people back home are concerned about material concerns, that is true, but if I asked them what the real problems are in the country, they almost uniformly are concerned about a moral breakdown. This is not surprising.
John Adams warned that our country was made for a moral and religious nation and totally unfit for any other kind.
This is our problem. No one can doubt that in the last 50, 60, or 80 years in this country, our country has become less moral and less religious. This has become a particularly greater trend over the last couple of decades.
Our forefathers routinely prayed to a Christian God. All the way up through Abraham Lincoln, our Presidents called upon our Nation to fast as they prayed to God.
Today, by the way, you can't even get the clergy themselves to ask for a day of fasting.
Our forefathers, the most popular book they read in the Bible was the book of Deuteronomy, the book that has the Ten Commandments in it and a book that dealt a lot with the laws that Israel was founded in.
In any event, I should also point out that behind me here, we have the reliefs here in the U.S. Congress. The most prominent position is given to a relief of Moses, which is an indication that our forefathers wanted a very religious Nation.
Mr. Speaker, let us one more time pray to God to rededicate this country to Him. We must pray for faith to bring this country back to its God-fearing roots, and one more time not only call on prayer and fasting as we try to work our way back to what this country once was and what we must be again if we are going to continue to survive, because no matter what laws we pass in this body, if we are not a moral and religious nation, we are through.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his words. I thank all of our speakers for their comments.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I don't take it lightly to stand on the floor of the United States Congress and talk about this subject. Most people who do not have a Biblical undergirding would watch this and wonder why I would take the time to do this on the floor of the House of Representatives.
It is because of the things that I pointed out in my commentary and many Members have pointed out, whether it be George Washington, who said in his farewell address that you can't even claim to be a patriot if you should seek to undermine the pillars of religion and morality.
It is the bended-knee Washington that is to my left here who we know not only believed that a nation was to call itself unto a place of a posture of humility but as individuals.
History is ripe with all the different things that Washington did and said. He even banned cursing in his Army because of his observance to his code of virtue, as derived from the reading of his Bible.
You have a man who claimed to be an enemy of vice and a friend of virtue, Benjamin Franklin. He was imperfect. History recounts that, but we see all through history imperfect people being used for great purposes.
It is Benjamin Franklin, you heard tonight, who stood in front of the confederacy at the time as they were trying to figure out what they were going to do about the tyranny of one of the States, and they had locked the doors and studied different things.
Before he utters to Elizabeth Powell that it is a republic if you can keep it, he said these words in front of the people as they were struggling. He was calling them to pray, trying to figure out what this form of government was going to look like.
He said: ``The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth--that . . . if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?''
He then called them to give a chaplaincy of sorts, and that is what history recounts, change in a hopeless situation to where our Constitution came into fruition weeks later.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to land the plane with this. We have talked about the past. In the Pledge of Allegiance, ``one Nation under God,'' Supreme Allied Commander Eisenhower--most people don't realize that as a young
History recounts that the doctor stood at the door and said that it is murder, basically, if you don't amputate. They did an all-night prayer vigil. By that all-night prayer vigil, the Supreme Allied Commander, who would later become a commissioned officer to lead not only our country but the nations to overcome Hitler and the threat to a world that it was, what would have happened if he and his family did not believe in the power of prayer?
It is what led a young Eisenhower to become President Eisenhower, to do all the things that he did in terms of making sure that we had added ``one Nation under God'' as a part of our history, recent history. He believed that prayer was not just job preparation. It was the job, not only as President but as Supreme Allied Commander.
Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.
The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 9 o'clock and 35 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.
