To extend the authority to collect Shasta-Trinity Marina fees through fiscal year 2029.

Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk of the House, reported and found truly enrolled bills of the House of the following titles, which were thereupon signed by the Speaker pro tempore, Mr. McHenry, on Friday, December 20, 2024:

H.R. 663. An act to amend the Indian Child Protection and

Family Violence Prevention Act.

H.R. 1607. An act to clarify jurisdiction with respect to

certain Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage development, and

for other purposes.

H.R. 1727. An act to amend the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Development Act to extend the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

National Historical Park Commission.

H.R. 2468. An act to require the Secretary of the Interior

to convey to the State of Utah certain Federal land under the

administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management

within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, and for other

purposes.

H.R. 3324. An act to extend the authority to collect

Shasta-Trinity Marina fees through fiscal year 2029.

H.R. 4094. An act to amend the Central Utah Project

Completion Act to authorize expenditures for the conduct of

certain water conservation measures in the Great Salt Lake

basin, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4385. An act to extend authorization of the

Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991.

H.R. 4467. An act to direct the Under Secretary for

Management of the Department of Homeland Security to assess

contracts for covered services performed by contractor

personnel along the United States land border with Mexico,

and for other purposes.

H.R. 5646. An act to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965

to require institutions of higher education to disclose

hazing incidents, and for other purposes.

H.R. 5770. An act to reauthorize certain United States

Geological Survey water data enhancement programs.

H.R. 6826. An act to designate the visitor and education

center at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

as the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center.

H.R. 6843. An act to expand the boundaries of the

Atchafalaya National Heritage Area to include Lafourche

Parish, Louisiana.

H.R. 7177. An act to amend title 28, United States Code, to

consolidate certain divisions in the Northern District of

Alabama.

H.R. 7213. An act to amend the Public Health Service Act to

enhance and reauthorize activities and programs relating to

autism spectrum disorder, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7332. An Act to require the Secretary of the Interior

and the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Federal

land to the State of Utah for inclusion in certain State

parks, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7524. An act to amend title 40, United States Code, to

require the submission of reports on certain information

technology services funds to Congress before expenditures may

be made, and for other purposes.

H.R. 8219. An act to require the Secretary of the Interior

to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility

of designating certain land as the Lahaina National Heritage

Area, and for other purposes.

H.R. 8413. An act to provide for the conveyance of certain

Federal land at Swanson Reservoir and Hugh Butler Reservoir

in the State of Nebraska, and for other purposes.

H.R. 8663. An act to require the Science and Technology

Directorate in the Department of Homeland Security to develop

greater capacity to detect and identify illicit substances in

very low concentrations.

H.R. 9566. An act to require governmentwide source code

sharing, and for other purposes.

Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk of the House, further reported and found truly an enrolled bill of the House of the following title, which was thereupon signed by the Speaker on Saturday, December 21, 2024:

H.R. 10545. An act making further continuing appropriations

for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other

purposes.

Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk of the House, further reported and found truly enrolled bills of the House of the following titles, which were thereupon signed by the Speaker pro tempore, Mr. McHENRY:

H.R. 82. An act to amend title II of the Social Security

Act to repeal the Government pension offset and windfall

elimination provisions.

H.R. 670. An act to direct the Secretary of Health and

Human Services to establish a website to promote awareness of

available resources for individuals with disabilities, and

for other purposes.

H.R. 1318. An act to authorize the location of a monument

on the National Mall to commemorate and honor the women's

suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to

the Constitution, and for other purposes.

H.R. 1555. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 2300 Sylvan Avenue in

Modesto, California, as the ``Corporal Michael D. Anderson

Jr. Post Office Building''.

H.R. 1823. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 207 East Fort Dade Avenue in

Brooksville, Florida, as the ``Specialist Justin Dean Coleman

Memorial Post Office Building''.

H.R. 2997. An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior

to convey to Mesa County, Colorado, certain Federal land in

Colorado, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3354. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 220 North Hatcher Avenue in

Purcellville, Virginia, as the ``Secretary of State Madeleine

Albright Post Office Building''.

H.R. 3391. An act to extend the Gabriella Miller Kids First

Pediatric Research Program at the National Institutes of

Health, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4136. An act to name the Department of Veterans

Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Plano, Texas, as

the ``U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson Memorial VA Clinic''.

H.R. 4955. An act to name the community-based outpatient

clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Monroeville,

Pennsylvania, as the ``Henry Parham VA Clinic''.

H.R. 4984. An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior

to transfer administrative jurisdiction over the Robert F.

Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus to the District of Columbia

so that the District may use the Campus for purposes

including residential and commercial development, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 5103. An act to require the Director of the Office of

Management and Budget to approve or deny spend plans within a

certain amount of time, and for other purposes.

H.R. 5443. An act to establish a policy regarding appraisal

and valuation services for real property for a transaction

over which the Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction,

and for other purposes.

H.R. 5867. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 109 Live Oaks Boulevard in

Casselberry, Florida, as the ``Colonel Joseph William

Kittinger II Post Office Building''.

H.R. 5887. An act to amend chapter 3 of title 5, United

States Code, to improve Government service delivery, and

build related capacity for the Federal Government, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 6062. An act to restore the ability of the people of

American Samoa to approve amendments to the territorial

constitution based on majority rule in a democratic act of

self-determination, as authorized pursuant to an Act of

Congress delegating administration of Federal territorial law

in the territory to the President, and to the Secretary of

the Interior under Executive Order 10264, dated June 29,

1951, under which the Constitution of American Samoa was

approved and may be amended without requirement for further

congressional action, subject to the authority of Congress

under the Territorial Clause in article IV, section 3, clause

2 of the United States Constitution.

H.R. 6116. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 14280 South Military Trail

in Delray Beach, Florida, as the ``Benjamin Berell Ferencz

Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6162. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 379 North Oates Street in

Dothan, Alabama, as the ``LaBruce `Bruce' Tidwell Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 6188. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 420 Highway 17 North in

Surfside Beach, South Carolina, as the ``Nancy Yount Childs

Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6244. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 1535 East Los Ebanos

Boulevard in Brownsville, Texas, as the ``1st Lieutenant

Andres Zermeno Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6395. An act to amend the Energy Act of 2020 to

require the Secretary of the Interior to include the

Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultations

regarding designations of critical minerals, elements,

substances, and materials.

H.R. 6492. An act to improve recreation opportunities on,

and facilitate greater access to, Federal public land, and

for other purposes.

H.R. 6633. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 9355 113th Street in

Seminole, Florida, as the ``Army SSG Ryan Christian Knauss

Memorial Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6750. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 501 Mercer Street Southwest

in Wilson, North Carolina, as the ``Milton F. Fitch, Sr. Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 6810. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 518 North Ridgewood Drive in

Sebring, Florida, as the ``U.S. Army Air Corps Major Thomas

B. McGuire Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6852. An act to designate Holcombe Rucker Park, in

Harlem, New York, as a National Commemorative Site, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 6983. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 15 South Valdosta Road in

Lakeland, Georgia, as the ``Nell Patten Roquemore Post

Office''.

H.R. 7158. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 201 East Battles Road in

Santa Maria, California, as the ``Larry Lavagnino Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7180. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 80 1st Street in Kingsland,

Arkansas, as the Kingsland `Johnny Cash' Post Office''.

H.R. 7365. To provide PreCheck to certain severely injured

or disabled veterans, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7385. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 29 Franklin Street in

Petersburg, Virginia, as the ``John Mercer Langston Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 74l7. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 135 West Spring Street in

Titusville, Pennsylvania, as the ``Edwin L. Drake Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7507. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 203 East 6th Street in

Lexington, Nebraska, as the ``William E. and Elsie L. Barrett

Post Office Building''.

H.R. 7508. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 1285 Emancipation Highway in

Fredericksburg, Virginia, as the ``Gladys P. Todd Post

Office''.

H.R. 7606. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 1087 Route 47 South in Rio

Grande, New Jersey, as the ``Carlton H. Hand Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7607. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at Block 1025, Lots 18 & 19,

Northeast Corner of US Route 9 South and Main Street in the

Township of Middle County of Cape May, New Jersey, as the

``George Henry White Post Office Building''.

H.R. 7893. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 306 Pickens Street in

Marion, Alabama, as the ``Albert Turner, Sr. Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7938. An act to amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply

Enhancement Act of 2000 to provide the Secretary of the

Interior with certain authorities with respect to projects

affecting the Klamath Basin watershed, and for other

purposes.

H.R. 8012. An act to establish the Jackie Robinson Ballpark

National Commemorative Site in the State of Florida, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 8057. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 9317 Bolsa Avenue in

Westminster, California, as the ``Little Saigon Vietnam War

Veterans Memorial Post Office''.

H.R. 8641. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 401 Main Street in Brawley,

California, as the ``Walter Francis Ulloa Memorial Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 8666. An act to amend title 28, United States Code, to

authorize holding court for the Central Division of Utah in

Moab and Monticello.

H.R. 8667. An act to rename the community-based outpatient

clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Cadillac,

Michigan, as the ``Duane E. Dewey VA Clinic''.

H.R. 8717. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 20 West Main Street in

SantaQuin, Utah, as the ``SGT Bill Hooser Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 8841. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 114 Center Street East in

Roseau, Minnesota, as the ``Floyd B. Olson Post Office''.

H.R. 8868. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located 609 Portsmouth Avenue in

Greenland, New Hampshire, as the ``Chief Michael Maloney Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 8909. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 82-6110 Mamalahoa Highway in

Captain Cook, Hawaii, as the ``Army 1st Lt. John Kuulei

Kauhaihao Post Office Building''.

H.R. 8919. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 151 Highway 74 South in

Peachtree City, Georgia, as the ``SFC Shawn McCloskey Post

Office''.

H.R. 8976. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 20 West White Street in

Millstadt, Illinois, as the ``Corporal Matthew A. Wyatt Post

Office''.

H.R. 9076. An act to reauthorize child welfare programs

under part B of title IV of the Social Security Act and

strengthen the State and tribal child support enforcement

program under part D of such title, and for other purposes.

H.R. 9124. An act to name the Department of Veterans

Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Auburn,

California, as the ``Louis A. Conter VA Clinic''.

H.R. 9285. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 39l3 Leland Avenue Northwest

in Comstock Park, Michigan, as the ``Captain Miguel Justin

Nava Post Office''.

H.R. 9322. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 675 Wolf Ledges Parkway in

Akron, Ohio, as the ``Judge James R. Williams Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 9421. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 108 North Main Street in

Bucoda, Washington, as the ``Mayor Rob Gordon Post Office''.

H.R. 9487. An act to amend the Legislative Reorganization

Act of 1970 to authorize the Legislative Counsel of the House

of Representatives to designate more than one of the

attorneys of the Office of the Legislative Counsel as a

Deputy Legislative Counsel, and for other purposes.

H.R. 9544. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 340 South Loudon Avenue in

Baltimore, Maryland, as the ``United States Representative

Elijah E. Cummings Post Office Building''.

H.R. 9549. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 125 South 1st Avenue in

Hillsboro, Oregon, as the ``Elizabeth Furse Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 9580. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 2777 Brentwood Road in

Raleigh, North Carolina, as the ``Millie Dunn Veasey Post

Office''.

H.R. 9592. An act to amend title 44, United States Code, to

modernize the Federal Register, and for other purposes.

H.R. 9600. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 119 Main Street in Plains,

Georgia, as the ``Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Post Office''.

H.R. 9775. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 119 North Anderson Street in

Elwood, Indiana, as the ``Officer Noah Jacob Shahnavaz Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 10065. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 802 North Tancahua Street in

Corpus Christi, Texas, as the ``Captain Robert E. `Bob'

Batterson Post Office''.

Mr. President, we are on the floor here in the U.S. Senate debating and discussing the National Defense Authorization Act-- the NDAA, as we call it--one of the most important bills of the year because it sets our defense policy, defense spending numbers; it lays out the things that Congress wants to do, hopefully, to focus on modality for our troops; and it is about taking care of our military men and women and their families. So it is a very important bill.

We are here at the end of the year, unfortunately, and I am going to complain a little bit. We got this bill done in June in the Senate and never brought it to the Senate floor. I am just going to be a little blunt. It is the majority leader. Senator Schumer doesn't prioritize national defense. He doesn't. Every year, the NDAA, under his leadership, has come to the floor at the very end of the year--no chance to amend it; no Senate floor vote. It is wrong that we don't prioritize it. He doesn't prioritize national defense.

We are looking at one of the most dangerous periods that we have seen since World War II. Dictators are on the march around the world-- Russia, China, Iran, North Korea. They are all working together. And look at what we are doing with regard to defense spending. We are hitting, with President Biden--look at that--3 percent of GDP. We have been at 3 percent of GDP or lower only three or four times since the end of World War II. That is not a number you should aspire to if you want a strong American defense, especially during a dangerous time, but we are going down--3 percent. The Biden budget would bring us to below 3 percent next year.

Again, this is being jammed through at the end of the year. We never debated it on the Senate floor.

We did a lot of good work in the U.S. Senate. I want to particularly do a shout-out to Senator Wicker, the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. He will be the chairman of the Armed Services Committee starting in January. That will be really great for our military, for our country.

In our bill, we got an additional $25 billion added to the Biden budget to make our military stronger. One of the disappointments of the NDAA that we are debating now--that was a bipartisan addition to the budget. Remember, it is a Democratic-controlled Senate, a Democratic- controlled Armed Services Committee.

I do want to do a shout-out to Senator Jack Reed, the chairman, as well.

Senator Wicker's leadership got us an additional $25 billion, which we need--our military needs, our troops need, their families need--and this final bill just leaves that on the cutting room floor. Hey, it is one of the reasons I was thinking about voting against the bill, but there are a lot of good things in the bill.

So we don't want to be at this level, but we all have to come together here, Democrats and Republicans, recognizing the dangerous world in which we are now living.

Now to some of the good things in the NDAA. I do want to do a shout- out to the work that was done, particularly as it relates to pay raises for our most junior enlisted servicemembers. These are the pay grades E-1 to E-4. They are going to get a 14.5-percent pay increase. That is very significant. As a matter of fact, I have been doing this for almost 10 years now. That is the biggest pay raise I have seen ever. And they needed it. Our troops need that money. Their families need that money. Inflation has been really, really undermining their ability to live on bases in Alaska or Georgia or other places.

There has been a recruiting crisis in our military. I think it has a lot to do with the leadership of the Biden administration. In 2024, Army, Air Force, and Navy all once again failed to meet the recruiting goals.

So this pay raise is needed. This pay raise will help. So that is a big positive about this bill.

Some other things.

It improves the support for Israel and its capabilities against Iran during this very existential-threat time Israel is facing.

We are starting finally in this bill to reverse the shrinking U.S. Air Force, and we are starting to finally attack the issue of Navy shipbuilding. We are in the worst crisis in almost 50 years in terms of building ships for our country. That is a bipartisan assessment by the Congressional Research Service saying that manning, maintaining, and building ships hasn't been this bad in almost half a century. We have to get on this.

The Chinese are building ships at a rapid rate, and we can't build anything. So we are starting to turn that around. This bill should start turning that around. President Trump and his team, I am really hopeful, are going to turn that around. I have talked to President Trump about this very topic, our very weak industrial base, and how we are getting outbuilt by the Chinese. We need to turn that around.

Of course, Mr. President, I was honored to work hard on some really important things for the great State of Alaska. The father of the Air Force, Billy Mitchell, Gen. Billy Mitchell, called Alaska the most strategic place in the world. It is. Our enemies know that, and Americans should know that. So we are building up our military in Alaska.

I consider Alaska contributing--our great State contributes many things to our Nation's defense. I like to say there are three pillars of the strength of Alaska for America.

We are the cornerstone of missile defense. All the missiles that would intercept anything shot at New York or Miami or Chicago, they are all based in Alaska, with the exception of four at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

All the radar systems that track these missiles, again, are all based in Alaska.

We are the hub of air combat power for the Arctic and Asia-Pacific. We have over 100 fifth-generation fighters--F-22s, F-35s--in Alaska. No other place on the planet Earth has that kind of fifth-gen combat capability.

We are the place where expeditionary forces--now the 11th Airborne Division for the U.S. Army--can deploy in a moment's notice anywhere in the world because we are so strategic.

Those are the three pillars. We are going to build on those pillars in this bill.

I was able to get close to $750 million in military construction for the great State of Alaska. That is good for Alaska, it is good for our economy, and it is good for our workers. But most importantly, when we are talking about national defense and the NDAA, it is really good for the national security of America.

Mr. President, overall, I am going to be supporting this bill. It is important. It should have gotten here way earlier. We should have been able to have amendments for it. Again, I don't know why Senator Schumer, whenever he was in leadership, always brought this at the end of the year. He never prioritized the NDAA--never.

But I will say, I am disappointed about a couple of things in this bill. This is just an area where the Congress of the United States has to start getting a lot more serious.

I have this chart here. It says ``Xi's Appeasers in Congress.'' That is tough language. That is Xi Jinping, the dictator of China.

I and others had some provisions. I am going to mention three of mine that were focused on going after the Chinese Communist Party--very bipartisan provisions in the NDAA. Yet somebody, in the middle of the night--I don't know who; an appeaser for Xi--strips these measures out of the bill, and the final bill doesn't have them. The final bill doesn't have them. These are the most bipartisan things. Yet we have Members of Congress that don't realize this guy is a dictator that we need to be ready to defeat. When we have anti-China stuff--anti-Chinese Communist Party stuff, Members of Congress, somewhere, somehow, stripped this. Who the heck is appeasing Xi?

Let me just give you a couple of examples. It is a mystery, and it is frustrating. Come on--what are we doing?

No. 1. See down here? This is the New York Times from last week: ``China Bans Rare Mineral Exports to the U.S.'' Well, we knew that was coming. China dominates critical minerals, rare earth elements. So we are very vulnerable to the Chinese.

(Mr. KELLY assumed the Chair.)

Here is the good news: We have critical minerals in America. We have great critical minerals in Alaska. We have them in Arizona. I see Captain Kelly on the floor. We have minerals that can make our country less dependent on China when they blackmail us like this.

So I had a provision, Mr. President. We have a road in Alaska to go to what is called the Ambler Mining District. It has critical minerals. It is one of the biggest sources of critical minerals in America. We have a road. The previous administrations--starting with President Obama, President Trump--certified this road, right-of-way. Of course, President Biden, who will listen to the radical environmental groups no matter what--even when it makes us weaker to China--he killed the road.

In the markup of the Senate NDAA bill, I said to my colleagues: Colleagues, we need this road because it is going to make us less dependent on China.

Guess what. That provision in the Senate NDAA passed 20 to 5. I believe the Presiding Officer voted for it. Bipartisan. Everybody agreed.

We need to do more to have our own critical minerals so we are not dependent on China. That was good. It was good for our country, good for our military, good for Alaska. Yet somebody stripped it out. I heard it was Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader. I don't know. Maybe he is pro-Xi Jinping. But he stripped out the provision that was going to make us stronger in terms of critical minerals, the week that the Chinese said they were going they ban exports of critical minerals to America.

Good job over there, Minority Leader Jeffries. Way to go. I am sure Xi Jinping was applauding your actions.

Second, Mr. President--now, this one might seem a little bit small- ball, but it was important to me, and I think it was important to America. Somehow, someway, the Chinese have dominated global fishing. OK. They are the largest seafood producer and consumer and exporter of fish, rising to almost $93 billion in 2023.

But here is the deal: They use ghost fleets. They have a horrible environmental record. They use slave labor on their ships. They are about as bad as it gets in global fishing.

Well, a constituent of mine back home said: Hey, Senator, why are we selling Chinese communist fish to our military members, to our commissaries, to our chow halls? Soldiers, sailors, marines eating this fish. It is horrible fish, by the way.

Why are we selling this to them? Why is our military buying communist fish from the Chinese when they can buy great Alaskan seafood, freedom fish? Why?

I don't know. It is a great question.

So I had a provision saying: Hey, you think the Chinese are letting their military eat great Alaskan freedom fish? Do you think the Chinese buy Alaskan fish? They don't. So why the heck are we buying Chinese fish?

So I had a provision in the NDAA in the Senate that says our military, our commissaries, our chow halls, our soldiers, our sailors-- we are not going to buy Chinese communist fish. Why should we help those guys? They don't buy our fish. Let's eat American fish, Alaskan fish, Mississippi fish, Maine lobsters.

That vote in the Armed Services Committee, on which the Presiding Officer sits with me, passed unanimously--unanimously. Everybody agreed. Heck, why are we buying Chinese communist fish? Let's buy Alaskan fish for our troops.

Guess what? Somebody--I think it was Hakeem Jeffries again, in the middle of the night, said: Nope, we are going to strip that out. We are going to strip that out. Let's undermine Alaska and American fishermen, and let's promote Chinese slave labor, fishermen, and continue to export and have our military members eat that fish.

What a dumb idea. Who is doing this? Who is the Xi Jinping appeaser in the Congress? I don't know. Hakeem Jeffries, I heard it was you. Maybe you want to come and talk to us. But why would you get rid of that provision? It helps Alaskans. It helps fishermen. It helps American fishermen. It helps our troops. It helps the military.

Nope, we are going to rip that out, and we are going to make sure Chinese fish exports, which use slave labor, can still go onto our military bases.

I can't believe it, but that is what happened.

Then, finally, this outbound investment provision. We have been working on this issue. Senator Cornyn, in particular, has done a great job--and so has Senator Casey--on this. This is an amendment of ours that we got in the NDAA. All it says is--unfortunately, we have some finance firms in America--I have sat down with a couple of these guys. I still can't believe it. I am like: Hey, where is your patriotism? We have American hedge funds, private equity groups, and even some investment banks, who invest big-time in Chinese military capabilities--in quantum computing, AI, advanced chip manufacturing--in China.

And all this provision says is: Hey, we want to know who is doing that. We want to know who is doing that.

That passed in the U.S. Senate with over 90 Senate votes--over 90 Senate votes. We finally got it in the NDAA, and it got stripped out. That got stripped out. Again, I think it was Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did that one that time, too.

So, again, these are all things--every one of these--Ambler Access for critical minerals in Alaska to compete against China, banning Chinese communist fish on U.S. bases for our military and commissaries so we get fish from Alaskans and other great American fishermen, outbound investment. Hey, who is investing in quantum computing? We want to know. We want to know. American investors using, you know, Iowa teacher pension funds to help the Chinese get stronger? Are you kidding me?

All these were in the Senate bill, and all these got stripped out by the House. Come on, guys. Whose side are you on? Really?

So here is what I want to say. I want to end with this: We all know it is a dangerous world, and this is what we have to get back to: Peace through strength. Peace through strength.

You can do that in many ways--getting stronger from a military perspective, stronger from a natural resources perspective, stronger from an energy perspective. This is what President Trump ran on. This is what Republican Senators ran on. This is what Republican House Members ran on. This is what was in our platform in Milwaukee, the Republican Party platform--very similar to the Reagan 1984 platform. It is what the American people want.

So, Mr. President, I am going to vote yes for the NDAA tomorrow when we vote on it. I want to commend Senator Reed and Senator Wicker for their hard work on this bill. It should have been brought up way earlier--way earlier. But we need to do better. We need to do better. And I sure hope, when we work on this bill again next year, that whoever is doing the appeasing in China is no longer going to do that-- no longer going to do that.

We need to return to peace through strength. It is a dangerous world.

I yield the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding time, and I thank the chairman and the ranking member for supporting this bill.

I appreciate the chance to just take a moment to talk a little more about the importance of this bill to my district.

The Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area is in northern California, part of it in my district and part of it in Mr. LaMalfa's district. It spans 246,000 acres and includes the Shasta, Trinity, Lewiston, and Whiskeytown lakes.

It is a recreation paradise. Every year, more than 3\1/2\ million people visit this area for all manner of outdoor activities, such as fishing, camping, horseback riding, swimming, paddling, backpacking, and more.

The area is a fundamental part of our regions' identity and our economy. It is one of our most popular tourist attractions, and it is obviously a very vital economic driver.

The U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service manage the Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area and support a large variety of these recreation opportunities and improvement projects, such as boat ramp upgrades, public service announcements about boating and water safety, enhancing accessibility to the lakes for those with disabilities, floating restrooms, and interpretive and educational programs.

The marina fees that they use to complete this work also support fire prevention patrols and fund 15 permanent staff members and 9 seasonal employees who make it possible for everyone to enjoy the recreation area.

It is clear how important these fees are to the continued operation of this regional treasure. My bipartisan bill on the floor today will extend the Department of Agriculture's ability to collect and hold these marina fees through the year 2029, allowing them to continue enhancing recreation and improving access.

This fee retention authority was initially granted back in 2008, and we have been fortunate enough to extend it through annual appropriations. That is pretty tenuous funding, and it is not a good basis on which to plan and implement important, longer-term projects.

The authority we are providing in this bill will provide that long- term stability. It will go a long way toward ensuring certainty and consistent funding for future projects.

Most of Trinity County is made up of Federally owned public lands, and its local economy is heavily reliant on the success of this national recreation area. It is essential that we extend this authority to collect marina fees and carry out the significant services that they support.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, especially Mr. LaMalfa, who has partnered with me on this legislation several years in a row now. I am grateful to colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working with us to support outdoor recreation in northern California.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3324) to extend the authority to collect Shasta-Trinity Marina fees through fiscal year 2029.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 3324, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3324. This is a good bipartisan effort being led by Representatives Huffman and LaMalfa and will help to improve recreation opportunities to their constituents in northern California.

This bill extends the authority of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest to collect and retain existing marina fees for the purpose of enhancing recreation opportunities and improving access at the Whiskeytown- Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area, which is located within Congressmen LaMalfa and Huffman's districts.

The Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area encompasses large reservoirs and abundant mountain terrain. This area is very popular with hunters, anglers, and outdoor recreationists.

The authority to collect and retain marina fees expired in 2019 but has been temporarily extended through appropriations legislation. The marina fees retained by the Forest Service are spent on recreation enhancement projects such as boat ramp improvements, lake cleanup efforts, maintaining recreational facilities, and improving access for visitors with disabilities. The Forest Service also provides educational programs with these funds.

This bill would not increase or otherwise affect the price of the current marina fees. H.R. 3324 simply continues a current authority that has yielded positive results for families who enjoy visiting this idyllic destination. I commend Representatives Huffman and LaMalfa for their collaborative work on this effort.

Mr. Speaker, I support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Mr. Huffman and Mr. LaMalfa for bringing this legislation forward. I think this could actually be a model that could be expanded on across the country so that recreation fees collected in a certain area could be retained and used to reinvest back into that area to provide Americans more access to our public lands.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3324, introduced by my friend from California, Representative Huffman, would extend the Forest Service's existing authority to collect and retain marina fees in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

The chairman has outlined the content of the legislation, and I won't repeat that again. It is a good bill and it is essential to the operation and the management of the recreation area. It is a critical tool that needs to be extended.

The continuation of this authority has been an ongoing priority for the Forest Service and the surrounding communities. I thank and congratulate Mr. Huffman for his leadership on the issue.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.