Time of Service Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding. He is one of the great gentlemen of this institution, a man of faith, a man of great intellect, a man whose heart and conscience form his stances on issues. I am so blessed to be his friend.

Mr. Speaker, save for the gentleman from Texas, these seats are empty. The House of Representatives has adjourned for the year. We have adjourned to go home.

Mr. Speaker, I say we have adjourned. We won't adjourn technically until we finish special orders and perhaps 1 minutes. We have no more business, but we have an unfinished agenda, an unfinished agenda to confront the enemies of freedom and democracy.

Mr. Speaker, when President Zelenskyy came to our Nation's Capital back in September, he visited the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution in the National Archives. Standing before our Nation's founding documents, he said, and I quote President Zelenskyy: ``It is not the evil empire but the lack of unity that can bring freedom to its knees.''

He reiterated that message this week as our Members prepare and are currently returning home for the holidays. We get to return home and celebrate with our families in comfort and warmth. Mr. Speaker, the Ukrainians huddled amid snow and mud on the front lines of freedom will not have that luxury. The tens of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Putin's regime do not get that privilege. Neither do their families.

Zelenskyy is right, Mr. Speaker. We do face another evil empire today, a new axis of evil: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un, and the autocrats in Iran and in other parts of the world and its many proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthi rebels, and others who all stand as threats to democracy and freedom.

As these dictators and despots continue their assault on democracy, freedom, and international law, they watch whether the free world, of which we should be and for all intents and purposes are the leader of, waiting for that free world to stand together to oppose them. We will not have that opportunity until 25 days from now.

These past few months, Congress had an opportunity to send them that message of unity and strength. We have not done that.

Over 300 Members of the House, Mr. Speaker, voted to provide Ukraine additional aid all seven times it came to this floor. We are not not united on this issue. We simply have not brought it to the floor to express that unity and message to all the world.

An overwhelming majority of Members also wanted to provide aid to Israel, including myself. Mr. Speaker, Speaker Johnson acknowledged the need to aid our allies, saying in Florida the other day: ``Ukraine is another priority. Of course, we can't allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe, and we understand the necessity of assisting there.''

Mr. Speaker, we have all gone home without undertaking that responsibility. Sadly, we apparently don't understand the urgency of that assistance.

Instead of giving us a clean vote to act on that consensus, Speaker Johnson needlessly complicated the issue by tying it to his Conference's partisan proposal to overhaul our border policy.

That decision, Mr. Speaker, was inconsistent with his cosponsorship of H.R. 395 back in 2017, which said the purpose of that bill was ``to end the practice of including more than one subject in a single bill . . . enacted by Congress.''

Mr. Speaker, the reason we have not acted on Israel, the reason we have not acted on Ukraine, the reason we have not come to the defense of democracy and freedom in Ukraine and to oppose terrorism in Israel, the reason is contrary to that one-purpose bill that Speaker Johnson was the sponsor of. He wants to put multiple issues in that, including border security, which we have been working on for 15 years but haven't been able to come to consensus.

We should be and we are in consensus on Ukraine, but we did not act. Evidently, they think that ethical principles only apply when it is politically convenient.

I agree that we need to fix the broken immigration system and address the situation at the border, but this is not the way to do it, not at the expense of the defense of freedom and democracy.

House Republican leadership spent the last week advancing a sham impeachment inquiry, a bill about whole milk, and legislation about duck stamps while Ukraine twisted in the wind. Our House should have had only one priority this week--ensuring democracy's survival.

By failing to provide this aid, our Congress signaled to our friends and

foes alike that America chooses reluctance over resolve, doubt over determination, and division over decisiveness. That posture of uncertainty puts our national security at risk.

The America First contingent of the Republican Party sends an even more damaging message. Time and time again, leaders of the American far right praise Putin, demonize Ukraine, and spread misinformation about the war.

Tucker Carlson, once one of the most-watched people on American TV, has become one of the most-watched people on Russian state television, where propagandists often play clips of his segments.

President Trump continues to play into Putin's hands, as well. Trump recently said that if reelected in 2024, he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. There is only one way to do that--give up, retreat, turn tail on the defense of democracy and Putin.

In response--and this is instructive--Putin said, ``We cannot help but feel happy about it,'' meaning Trump's claim that he would end the war in 24 hours. Giving up is the only way to do that.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen this kowtowing just recently on Capitol Hill. This week, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted: ``Zelenskyy is here in D.C. today begging for your money, and warmongering Washington wants to give him limitless American dollars.''

That, of course, is not true, but it warms the heart of Vladimir Putin. She went on to say: ``How much money will Washington spend to slaughter an entire generation of young Ukrainian men as Washington fights its proxy war with Russia?''

I can remember, because I have been here a long time, when Republican friends accused the Democratic side of the aisle of too often blaming America first. Of course, that is what Marjorie Taylor Greene said.

It is disgusting to say that we are slaughtering Ukrainians when Putin's forces are doing just that every day.

We are doing everything possible to keep Ukrainians alive. Ukrainians courageously give their lives, as so many of our American forebearers have done, in defense of their country, in defense of their sovereignty, and in defense of their people's lives. Ukrainians courageously give their lives to defend their democracy, their country, and their families.

They will continue to do so with or without our support. Our aid, however, may well determine whether their sacrifice leads to victory or defeat. Yet, Mr. Speaker, the chairs are empty.

In another tweet, Congresswoman Greene asked: ``Why doesn't anyone in Washington talk about a peace treaty with Russia, a deal with Putin promising he will not continue any further invasions?'' Putin's promises have no credibility.

``Washington wants war,'' she said, ``not peace.''

That is a lie. Washington wants peace, but it is not prepared to pay for peace with being dominated by a dictator.

Believe me, we want peace, but we want a peace that lasts. A promise of peace from Putin is worthless. He is a former KGB officer turned dictator who has built his career one lie, one deception, and one betrayal at a time.

He already broke one peace agreement, the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Putin, on behalf of Russia, agreed to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and borders in exchange for Ukraine's nuclear arsenal.

He has the nuclear arsenal. Ukraine was either the third or fourth largest holder of nuclear weapons in the world, and they gave them up in return for Putin's promise that their borders would be secured and unviolated.

Then it went into Crimea, and the West's response was weak. He is in Crimea today, notwithstanding the fact that that is under Ukrainian sovereignty.

Putin went back on that pledge when he took Crimea. He didn't stop with Crimea, however. He went into eastern Ukraine, and there is no reason to expect that he will stop with Ukraine.

Winston Churchill once said, an appeaser is one who hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last, but surely the crocodile will eat him.

John F. Kennedy shared the same wisdom in his book, ``Why England Slept.'' He wrote, ``Any person will awaken when the house is burning down. What we need is an armed guard that will wake up when the fire first starts or, better yet, one that will not permit a fire to start at all.''

The seats in this House are empty today while the fire threatens democracy and freedom in Ukraine, which is the front line of democracy and freedom today.

Mr. Speaker, the fire rages. Our inaction only stokes the flames. If you don't believe me, listen to what Russian State TV is saying. Allow me to quote from the transcript of a broadcast earlier this week: What is happening in the U.S. is beneficial for us. That is a quote from Russian TV, controlled by Putin.

The seats are empty, and Putin is happy.

They went on to say: ``Ukraine is losing. Russia is winning. This is it. Their funding and weapons came to an end.''

They were relying on the United States of America, that shining city on the hill that stands for freedom, individual rights, democracy, religious freedom. That beacon on the hill is less bright today because these seats are empty.

Putin said: As of now, well done, Republicans--his words, not mine-- well done, Republicans, for standing firm. That is good for us.

``Us'' is Russia. ``Us'' is the dictator. ``Us'' is the aggressor. ``Us'' is the international lawbreaker, criminal, and murderer.

Just a few hours ago, at an end-of-the-year press conference, Vladmir Putin said of Ukraine: ``Everything is coming from the West, but the free things will run out some day, and it seems it is already happening.''

In other words, Putin is saying the West is retreating from the defense of freedom, and the seats in this body are empty.

There is nothing that Putin and the rest of the axis of evil likes to see more than our Congress divided, our country divided, and our coalition divided. We must not give them that satisfaction.

If we neglect to send these resources without condition and without delay, we fail not only the people of Ukraine, but the people of Israel and the people in Palestine, to whom we want to give relief and humanitarian aid.

We fail the America envisioned by our Founding Fathers, a Nation with the courage to stand up to forces of empire and despotism. We fall short of the principles they enshrined in our founding documents, the very same documents that President Zelenskyy made his pilgrimage to a few months ago.

Mr. Speaker, when we return to the Capitol on January 9, each Member of this Congress will face a choice. Will we, as Zelenskyy said, allow freedom to be brought to its knees or, Mr. Speaker, will we be standing strong, standing united against the evil empire.

Regrettably, the seats are empty today.

Every week, every day, every hour we fail to act, we risk allowing the enemies of freedom to make that decision for us. We must not let that happen.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Still I rise, Mr. Speaker, always proud to have this preeminent privilege of standing here in the House of Representatives, honored to have the opportunity to serve the people of the Ninth Congressional District who elected me, but also the people of this country, this entire country, because when they elected me, they elected me to become a United States Representative. As such, when I vote, I am voting for them, but I am also voting for the country.

Today I rise to be grateful and to express my gratitude and my appreciation to the people of the Ninth Congressional District for allowing me this opportunity, this singular opportunity of serving in the Congress of the United States of America. I have been blessed.

I thank the people who happen to live in Brazoria County for allowing me to serve them. It has been an honor, and it continues to be my honor. I, in no way, am indicating that I am about to leave the Congress. I think that this is an opportunity to express my gratitude. I plan to be here next year and until the people of the Ninth Congressional District decide otherwise.

I thank the people who live in Brazoria County. I thank the people who live in Fort Bend County--these counties adjoin each other--and Harris County.

I didn't get here because I was so smart. I am here because there were people who thought that I might make a difference in their lives, and I have tried my best to do so, so I thank them for affording me this opportunity.

I thank my staff. Members of Congress get things done only when they have a good staff. I have an excellent staff, and I thank them for what they do to make it possible for me to do things that I ordinarily would not be able to do.

I had a friend, Mickey Leland, who served in this Congress, and he reminded me on many occasions that a great person will always rise to the occasion, but the greater people make the occasion, so I thank these occasion makers, the people who make it possible for me to come here and stand and speak in the House of Representatives in this Capitol Building.

I thank my chief of staff here in Washington, D.C., who does an outstanding job. I won't go through his credentials in the entirety, but he is a lawyer, Scott Bell. I thank Scott for the fine job he has done to lead the D.C. team.

That team consists of Aaron, who is my legislative director; Raphael, who is a senior in the office; Jalaina, who is a legislative assistant in the office; Madison, who is my office administrator; and then there are other persons who are coming on board. I believe that Izzah will be on board with me. I have extended an offer to her. We will see if she accepts.

My D.C. team has done an outstanding job. I am very proud of the job that all of the members of this team have afforded the people of the Ninth Congressional District of Texas.

However, I do want to mention one standout, and that is Claudia. Claudia and I happened to bump into each other when she was working in another capacity here on the Hill. I take great pride in selecting people who don't apply for the job, people that I just happen to bump into along life's way. Such was the case with Claudia. I just bumped into her. We had some casual conversation, and something said to me, this is the person who can represent you when people first enter your office. I thank Claudia very much for the job that she does.

Jalaina and I met when I was at a speaking engagement. She didn't apply for the job. I spoke to her for some small length of time, found out that she was looking for a job on the Hill. She applied, and Jalaina now works in the office. I mentioned her earlier. She is a legislative assistant in the office.

I am proud of this D.C. team, but in Houston I have a team that has been with me for a very long time, and I am proud of them, as well. I am proud of Rachael Rodriguez, who came to me from labor. She is a labor-oriented person, as am I. I am a dues-checkoff member of a local labor union, 1550 AFSCME. As such, I am proud to say that Rachael Rodriguez has done an outstanding job leading the Houston team. She is more than capable, competent, and qualified. She has a great personality. She is the kind of person who respects others with her smiles. Rachael Rodriguez.

Then, of course, there is Crystal Webster. Crystal is the deputy district director, and she does a little bit of everything. In that office we all take pride in getting the job done. Everybody will pitch in to do whatever has to be done. Crystal Webster has done an outstanding job. I am grateful that she has been with me for many years.

The persons that I have just spoken of, Crystal and Rachael, have both been with me for more than a decade.

Of course, I am honored to have in that office Clarence Holliday. We call him Doc. He has done outstanding work in the outreach area, also as a caseworker. He is just a fine man, former NAACP president out in Fort Bend County. He does outstanding work. I am proud to have him.

I am also proud to have Catherine. Catherine is polyglot. She speaks four different languages; quite well, I might add. She connects me to communities that but for her I wouldn't connect with. These people are making a difference in the lives of the people in the Ninth Congressional District.

I also am honored to have with me Sam, Sam Merchant. Sam Merchant is a person of Indian heritage; not Native American, Indian heritage. He has been with me for a number of years as an outreach person. I regret to say to you that Sam will be leaving the office. He has served us well. He is moving on to a sunset of retirement. I greatly appreciate the work that Sam has done for the people of the Ninth Congressional District.

Of course, we have Robertine, Robertine Jefferson. Her father was my pastor. He passed away some time ago. I never intended to hire Robertine. I just happened to be at an event and found out that she was interested in work, and she came on board with me. She helps us with our events. She is an event coordinator; par excellence, I might add. She does an outstanding job. I could not but for her do the many different things that we do in the district.

Of course, there is Teque'lia. Teque'lia is the coms director in the office. She came on board not so very long ago and has been very talented. She picks up on things very quickly, and she produces a great work product, so I am proud to claim Teque'lia as a member of the team in Houston, Texas.

There are other persons who are not on the team by virtue of working in the office. I want to make sure that I acknowledge them as well because they

are in and out of the office, so thank you. Of course, there is Colbe who works in the office, Colbe is a receptionist out front. She drives when necessary, does a little bit of everything, as well. I am proud to have this team of workers in the Houston office, all of whom serve us well.

Today, I will do two additional things, and I will depart. The first thing I would like to do is to thank the people that I work with here, people that I disagree with, people that I agree with. I think this is a time to put aside differences, as I heard Mr. Hoyer so eloquently express earlier in a presentation; put aside differences and just be grateful, just be grateful that you have the opportunity to serve and be grateful for the people that you serve with regardless of their political persuasions. Just be grateful. So I am grateful to all of the people that I serve with here, and I thank them for the work that we do together.

In closing with this work, I am going to say a prayer for all of us, if I may, after which I will present someone else who will take the microphone and continue for the rest of the time that remains.

Today, this is my prayer that I have written. I say this prayer before I consume any food. It is accidental if I consume food and I don't say this prayer because I am grateful to have the gift of life.

I tell people that I am better than I deserve because I have been blessed to have the most unique gift in all of the universe, the gift of life. I don't know why I have it. I didn't earn it, so I have to be grateful for it. I try to use it in the most efficacious and the most beneficial way possible. I make mistakes. I am not a perfect person. I am a sinner, but I do try my best to treat people right. I ask for forgiveness; and I do ask for forgiveness more often than I probably should, but I do ask.

This is my prayer, and I don't ask anybody to join me in my prayer, you do whatever you would ordinarily do. This is my prayer for my country and for the people that I serve with:

Most gracious Creator, we know You by many names, but we also know that by any name, You are the Creator of all that was, is, and ever shall be; and I, as one of Your creations, want to take the time to now thank You, and I do so on behalf of the many others who may believe as I do.

I thank You for Your love, Your grace, and the gift of life. I thank You for Your mercy and Your forgiveness throughout life. I thank You for Your angels to protect life. I thank You for Your creation to sustain life: Your air, the breath of life; Your water, the elixir of life; Your star that we know as Sun, the light and warmth of life; Your terra firma that we call Earth, the foundation and home of life.

I today ask that You would recognize our weaknesses, our strengths, and give us the opportunity to serve You and Your creation so that it may continue as You would will it.

I ask all of these things in the name of the Creator of all of creation, and I thank You.

At this time, I am honored to introduce someone I have the utmost respect for. Elected from Maryland's Fifth Congressional District, he is one of Maryland's finest and a Georgetown University lawyer. He served as majority leader twice, from 2007 to 2011 and then again from 2019 to 2023. He is a person who has made a difference in my life and, in so doing, has made a difference in the lives of the people of the Ninth Congressional District, which I represent.

I am so honored to have this opportunity to yield to the honorable gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), a lawyer, a former State senator, and still a Member of Congress. I respect and love my dear brother.

God bless you. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the former majority leader for the outstanding presentation. I think it is an appropriate way to bring this to closure today. May God continue to bless him and keep him.

Mr. Speaker, as I shake Mr. Hoyer's hand as he passes me by, I am blessed to know that sometimes fortuitous circumstances can benefit you.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss not to mention the newest staff member on my team, Eric Goodwine.

Eric does an outstanding job for us in Houston. He not only assists me in the office, but he also is the principal person that gets me from point A to point B. Eric does an outstanding job of ensuring that things are arranged when I arrive at various venues, and I am proud to have him on the team.

Eric, thank you again. Please forgive me for not mentioning you initially. All of this was from memory so charge it to being 25 three times and now working on my fourth 25th birthday, but there is a God that rules above and a fortuitous circumstance has made a difference.

Mr. Speaker, may God bless this House, and may God bless the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we have less than 10 hours left until we go home for the holidays, less than 10 hours when we leave the field, and less than 10 hours before we act responsibly.

The men and women of Ukraine will not go home for the holidays. They will not leave the lines in eastern Ukraine. They will not have a Christmas dinner without the fear that they will be bombed in Kyiv or assaulted in eastern Ukraine.

Why is that?

I ask that to both Chambers: Why are we going home and leaving our Ukrainian allies unarmed?

Why do we shrink from our responsibility to confront those who would undermine democracy, freedom, and international law?

Why, Mr. Speaker, do we retreat from the field while our Ukrainian allies are at risk?

Mr. Speaker, we have 1 day left. We can accomplish the goal of passing Ukrainian dollars.

We can achieve the goal of giving aid to our ally, Israel.

We can achieve the goal of making Taiwan a little bit stronger.

Or we can send a message to Mr. Putin, to Mr. Xi, to Iran, and to Hamas that America is unable to stay the course.

I am told that the reason we can't do that is because it is absolutely essential to have border security addressed. It is. I am for doing that.

Nevertheless, I want to call to the Speaker's attention, so that he can remember that in the 115th Congress, as a Member of Congress, he cosponsored a bill, H.R. 395. Some others cosponsored that bill who may be at least hearing me, Mr. Speaker, or maybe even on the floor. That bill said that it was incumbent that we ``end the practice of including more than one subject in a single bill by requiring that each bill enacted by Congress be limited to only one subject.''

Was that situational ethics, situational principles, or just temporary principles to be thrown away when they are not convenient, perhaps?

That bill was sponsored by Speaker Johnson; by Mr. Meadows who became Chief of Staff of Donald Trump; by Mr. Emmer, the majority whip; and by Mr. DeSantis, candidate for President. It was a temporary, perhaps just political, piece of rhetoric.

Mr. Speaker, America is better than that. America needs to be a more reliable ally than that. America needs to create confidence, not undermine confidence. America needs to be reliable. America needs to confront the criminality, the venality, and the murderous acts of Vladimir Putin.

Yet we are scheduled to go home in just a few hours.

John Kennedy wrote a book, ``Why England Slept.'' It was about why they thought that Hitler was going to stop. It just involved, after all, the mainland, not England, and they paid a terrible price for that negligence, and the free world paid a terrible price for that negligence.

Mr. Speaker, let us not go home, let us do our duty, and let us be the kind of America that we say we are.