To direct the United States Postal Service to designate single, unique ZIP Codes for certain communities, and for other purposes.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert), my friend, for bringing forward H.R. 8753.

This bill would require the U.S. Postal Service to designate unique ZIP Codes for more than 50 different communities across America. The legislation actually combines multiple bills that have been introduced in this Congress by both Republicans and Democrats that aim to address specific community concerns expressed over a long period of time about disrupted mail delivery, undeliverable and lost mail, and geographic confusion.

I commend Representative Boebert for her very creative and undaunted work on this issue, which has been a chronic headache for residents of dozens of small communities across the land.

For example, Scotland, Connecticut, is a municipality with only 600 addresses, and it is broken up into six different ZIP Codes. The town has reported multiple instances of disruptions in mail delivery, including absentee ballots in recent elections. The town has already sought the assistance of the Postal Service, which operates a ZIP Code Boundary Review Process, and even sent an appeal after their initial petition was denied.

The process has been protracted and a tough task for them, as well as for other communities covered by Ms. Boebert's legislation. The distinguished gentlewoman's bill operates as a last resort for towns to get the resources and the attention that they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to support this legislation. Congress has designated new ZIP Codes via legislation in the past. I found the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, enacted in 2006, required the designation of unique ZIP Codes for four different towns. This one is far more comprehensive.

Mr. Speaker, we are delighted to endorse the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves) for his very thoughtful and insightful remarks on this. We had the Postmaster General with us yesterday in the Oversight Committee, and we are facing a crisis in lots of parts of the country in terms of undelivered mail, late mail, and inefficient delivery taking place. In the meantime, the costs are going up and up.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the post office. The post office is really the only Federal department that is defined by the Constitution itself. It is in Article I of the Constitution. The post office created the national transportation network, the postal roads. It created the national information network. Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General.

We have got to bring the post office back to a point where we can rely on it to do the basic things that are so essential to our economy and to our society, and one of them is lining up the ZIP Codes properly.

Again, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman from Colorado for her initiative, which is truly bipartisan, to loop together all of the communities that have been very frustrated and disappointed in this process to say that Congress will, indeed, act.

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

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing.

Madam Speaker, I understand we have a few moments before our friends arrive for the next discussion.

I, again, commend the distinguished and passionate gentlewoman from Colorado for her really creative work on this legislation.

I know it means a lot to thousands and thousands of people across the country. It is going to make people's lives a lot simpler. The post office should be something that facilitates our work in small business, our work sending out bills or checks and receiving them, and the post office should not be something that gets in the way.

This legislation will definitely ameliorate a problem that exists, and we hope it will facilitate life, commerce, and social action taking place in lots of parts of the country.

This also gives me the opportunity to thank my colleague for engaging in this legislative endeavor in a totally bipartisan way. We live in a time where partisan feelings are intense and ferocious and, of course, that is not historically novel.

There have been partisan tempers flaring basically since the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans went at it in the election of the 1800s. I suppose George Washington was the last President who actually won a unanimous verdict in the electoral college. He got all the electoral college votes. Everybody loved Washington.

After that, we formed political parties. There is nothing evil about political parties. The alternative of having political parties, I suppose, is a one-party system something like is developed in China with the Communist Party there or in Russia under Vladimir Putin or what Orban is working on with illiberal democracy in Hungary.

There is an easy way to get rid of partisanship if partisanship is the problem and that is you get rid of political parties. We can't do that because political parties are a sign of health in a society because people have different views about things and political parties are a great way to articulate different agendas and programs, bring them to the electorate, bring them to the voters, and to express conflict in a civil and nonviolent way.

The problem, of course, is when we elevate our devotion to party above our devotion to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the country as a whole. All of us who aspire and attained a public office are nothing but the servants of the people, all the people.

We might get elected with a little ``R'' next to our name or a ``D'' next to our name or an ``I'' next to our name, but once we swear our oath of office, we are there to uphold the Constitution for everyone and we are there to serve all of the people. That is our job.

If you say that sounds romantic or that sounds idealistic, actually, that is how we conduct most of our lives as politicians. If you come to my district office out in beautiful Rockville, Maryland, in the beautiful Eighth Congressional District, and you have a problem, let's say, with Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid or the post office or PPP loans, whatever it is, we will go to bat for you. We will go to work for you to help you navigate the twists and turns of the public system and Federal bureaucracy.

We never ask, are you a Democrat? Are you a Republican? Are you an Independent? If you are my constituent, we will go to bat for you. I know that is true of my friend from Colorado, too. She is there to serve everybody: Republicans, Democrats, Independents, others, and people who hate all the political parties.

All of those people are Americans and deserve the programs and the services of the government at the very least and certainly all of the rights and the freedoms that they are entitled to as Americans under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We have the honor and the privilege to serve the people, to serve all America, and to serve the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

We are not the masters of the people. Anybody who occupies public office, no matter how high or how low, is nothing but a servant of the people. That is

why the Founders created a system where if people begin to act like kings and queens and lords over the people, that is when we throw them out through elections or we evict, we eject, we reject, we impeach, we convict if we have to do that, but the Constitution has an electoral system to keep the process moving.

All of us are just servants of the people. Just like we are there to serve the people, the Federal departments we set up, like the post office, which I think still, even with all of the problems, is our most popular Federal function. With hundreds of thousands of hardworking, devoted people working in the post office, all of them work for the government, work for the Congress, which works for the people.

The three most important words in our Constitution are the three most important words in our country, we the people, and we reject every form of despotism and dictatorship and anybody who would try to overthrow rule by the people.

In this bill, which may be deceptively simple and may apply only to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people in the country, what we see is a democratic representative government in action. When we are trying to live up to our oaths, we can act in a bipartisan way. We can remember where the word ``party'' comes from. It comes from the French word ``partie'', which means a part. Each of our parties is nothing but a part of the whole.

When we are doing our jobs right, as Ms. Boebert is today, then we are acting in the interest of the whole without regard to political party or sect. I am proud to be a part of this legislation, I am proud to support it, and I am very hopeful that our friends in the Senate will pick it up quickly and we can move it through this Congress.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill

(H.R. 8753) to direct the United States Postal Service to designate single, unique ZIP Codes for certain communities, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 8753, to direct the United States Postal Service to designate single, unique ZIP Codes within their system for certain communities throughout the country.

While all the communities in this bill typically utilize some sort of ZIP Code already, the ones we are discussing today do not have a ZIP Code that is unique to their city or town in the Postal Service system, and this does have some very serious consequences.

Communities that do not have a unique ZIP Code within the Postal Service system often experience associated problems that include loss of economic development, loss of sales tax, unjustifiably high insurance rates, tax remittance and commercial licensing issues, diminished public safety and reduced emergency response times, identity issues, and efficiency issues.

For example, first responders often go to the wrong streets of people needing help. They are experiencing delays due to these ZIP Code issues that would be addressed by my legislation.

It is estimated that the city of Lone Tree, in my new district in Colorado, is losing about $5 million in sales tax revenue each year because of this ZIP Code issue.

H.R. 8753 requires the Postal Service to formally establish unique ZIP Codes for these communities across the Nation within their system. This bill is a product of various House Members' advocacy for their districts and requires the Postal Service to formally recognize 51 communities within their system.

As a sponsor of this bill, I am proud that this bill would help communities in my home State of Colorado, including the communities of Silver Cliff, which really got me passionate about this issue to begin with, Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Centennial, Severance, Greenwood Village, Superior, and Sterling Ranch.

The current process allows small towns and cities to petition the Postal Service for a unique ZIP Code, but it is rarely approved. If it is denied, they cannot appeal this decision for up to 10 years.

Congress has intervened on these matters in the past and passed laws enacting four unique ZIP Codes through the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, so there is a precedent for this type of legislation.

My bipartisan bill has support from communities and Members throughout our great country. While this may seem like a niche issue to some, it is very and extremely important to these cities and towns that asked for this bill to be put forward on their behalf.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bipartisan bill to support small cities and towns throughout America, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lopez), who represents the Fourth Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy).

Mr. Speaker, we have many colleagues who are excited about this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).

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

Mr. Speaker, I associate my remarks with the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves). This is a very frustrating thing that we have to be in Congress debating and issuing legislation on.

I am so proud to be here and have a part in that, but this is something that should have been done. Many of these

cities, many of these communities have requested the United States Postal Service to give them a unique ZIP Code, and they have been denied.

This started for me with the town of Silver Cliff in Colorado. It is one of the most beautiful towns right next to Westcliffe, Colorado in Custer County. In my first term, I represented Custer County before redistricting. They were taken away from me, but this was one of the very first issues that I learned of as their Representative.

It was not the first time this issue was brought to a Member of Congress. Two Members of Congress prior to me had heard about this issue, had legislation on this issue, and the legislation did not go forward.

In the Oversight Committee, we do have jurisdiction over the United States Postal Service, and I am so grateful for Chairman Comer and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, who have worked so diligently alongside of me to get this legislation through committee with complete and full support of every Member, and now I am looking forward to this bipartisan legislation passing the House, going to the Senate, and hopefully being signed into law.

I thank Senator Bennet for also being passionate about the cities who need unique ZIP Codes in Colorado, but hopefully we don't need legislation in the future to designate these ZIP Codes, to get the people what they deserve. Hopefully, this sets a precedent for the United States Postal Service to approve these communities' requests, and it won't take an act of Congress to do the right thing.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman).

Madam Speaker, I thank everyone, once again, all of the cosponsors, all of my colleagues who have supported this legislation, Ranking Member Raskin, and Chairman Comer.

This has been an amazing effort that we have come together to designate these unique ZIP Codes to recognize these cities.

I want the people to understand we know there are more cities and towns throughout each and every State that are facing this issue and, hopefully, the United States Postal Service will do the right thing in the future once they see what we can do by passing a bill like H.R. 8753 and providing these cities and towns with the identity that they deserve.

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

Madam Speaker, for far too long, my constituents who live in Flanders, Riverside, and Northampton have faced unnecessary challenges caused by shared ZIP Codes. Misdelivered mail, delays in receiving essential medications, and confusion over geographic identity have disrupted their daily lives for decades.

Last week, we took meaningful steps to address these persistent issues by ensuring that each of these communities has access to reliable mail delivery and U.S. postal services.

H.R. 8753, which I proudly supported, directs the United States Postal Service to designate single, unique ZIP Codes for these communities. This simple, commonsense fix will go a long way in improving the quality of life for my constituents in Flanders, Riverside, and Northampton.

By taking this step, we sent a clear message that every community, no matter how large or small, deserves accurate and dependable services from their government.

I thank the residents of Northampton, Riverside, and Flanders for their unwavering determination to bring this issue to our attention. This is a battle these communities have been fighting for more than a decade. I am proud to see it finally coming to fruition here in the House.

Importance of Strong Federal Investment in Research and Education

Madam Speaker, I rise today to underscore the importance of strong Federal investments in research and education, which are critical to maintaining America's position as a global leader in innovation and progress.

Stony Brook University, located in my district, is a prime example of the extraordinary advancements that come from such support. As one of the Nation's leading public research institutions, Stony Brook excels in quantum physics, artificial intelligence, and healthcare. Their groundbreaking work drives economic growth on Long Island, throughout New York State, and across the Nation while pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery.

Stony Brook's role as a quantum internet testbed and its status as a hub of transformative research demonstrates the immense potential of continued Federal investment in higher education.

Institutions like Stony Brook don't just shape our present. They are laying the groundwork to become the next premier research institution, setting the standard for excellence in education, research, and innovation. I am committed to ensuring that institutions like Stony Brook have the resources needed to thrive, securing our Nation's leadership in education, research, and innovation. Let's go.

Governor Hochul's Commuter Tax

Madam Speaker, Governor Hochul's so-called congestion pricing is just a commuter tax that unfairly targets hardworking Long Islanders. With families already struggling under New York's crushing tax burden, this plan adds insult to injury, forcing suburban communities to subsidize the wasteful and mismanaged MTA.

The MTA loses nearly $700 million annually to fare evasion--over $300 million on buses alone--and doles out six-figure overtime to hundreds of employees.

Instead of addressing these failures, Hochul and her New York City allies want suburban New Yorkers like my constituents to fill a $15 billion budget funding gap without any reforms or accountability.

Hochul suspended this ill-conceived commuter tax before the election but shamelessly brought it back afterward, breaking the trust of so many New Yorkers.

Long Island deserves better--real accountability, fairness, and policies that reflect our priorities, not another slap in the face from Albany's one-party, antisuburban agenda.

Welcoming Kai Li Home

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate an extraordinary moment of triumph and resilience.

After 8 long years of wrongful detention in China, my constituent and Huntington resident Kai Li is finally back on American soil and has been reunited with his family. This long-awaited news brings immense relief and joy to his family and every Long Islander who has followed his adversity.

Kai's release ends an unimaginable ordeal and highlights the unwavering strength of his family, especially his son, Harrison, who tirelessly advocated for his father's return. I was honored to bring Harrison as my guest to this year's State of the Union to amplify his family's story. Kai's release is not only a victory for the Li family but for all of America.

The United States must remain steadfast in our commitment to bring home every wrongfully detained American. Kai Li's return reminds us of the power of persistence and the importance of standing firm against injustice.

Welcome home to Kai, whose courage and determination inspire us all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of a bill that the House will be voting on this week, H.R. 8753, which directs the U.S. Postal Service to designate a single, unique ZIP Code for certain communities.

H.R. 8753 will provide long overdue relief to 45 mostly small towns in 13 States from Connecticut to California by fixing a chaotic situation where the residents' ZIP Codes are hopelessly carved up in a hodgepodge that results in lost mail, delayed mail, and wrong deliveries.

One of the towns included in H.R. 8753's list is the small town of Scotland, Connecticut, located in the heart of eastern Connecticut, which I have the great privilege to represent.

Scotland is the quintessential historic New England small town with a population of 1,576 people. It may be small, but its history is rich.

One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Huntington, was born in his family's home located in Scotland, and today it is the significant part of the Rochambeau National History Trail which was the route that the American Continental Army under the leadership of George Washington and John Baptiste Rochambeau marched in 1781 from Newport, Rhode Island, to Yorktown, Virginia, where the Battle of Yorktown took place and the small army of colonists defeated the greatest military power of the British Empire.

Today, in 2024, it is a town that the U.S. Postal Service has assigned five, that is right, five ZIP Codes that caused endless aggravation and harm to the towns' residents. Delivery of Social Security notices, checks, Medicare information, prescription medication, notices from banks, employers, absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications are all disrupted day in and day out.

Town leaders in my office have tried, along with Senator Chris Murphy, to get this ridiculous almost Monty Pythonesque absurdity resolved for many years with the Postal Service, to know avail.

This week's action by the House will mandate that USPS address this problem once and for all by designating a single, unique ZIP Code for these 45 small towns.

Mr. Speaker, this vote has been a long time in coming. I recognize the town's first selectman, Mr. Dana Barrow, and his predecessor, Mr. Gary Greenberg, who have diligently raised this issue, along with the town postmasters, with the Postal Service for many years laying out the real-life consequences of fragmenting this small community and essentially disconnecting it to the vital services that the residents require.

This week the House can help Scotland, as well as 44 other similarly situated towns, by passing H.R. 8753. The bill was reported out of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee unanimously and has strong, bipartisan support.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleague to support this measure, send it to the Senate for swift passage and to the President's desk. The hardworking, taxpaying citizens of these towns deserve to get the same level of postal service as every other community.

Mr. Speaker, currently in the United States, some municipalities have ZIP Codes that don't match the municipal boundaries, and it is a real problem.

Communities across southeast Wisconsin, including Somers, Mount Pleasant, Caledonia, and Franklin have dealt with this unnecessary difficulty as a result, so I rise in support of H.R. 8753 to fix this problem.

H.R. 8753 will direct the United States Postal Service to designate single, unique ZIP Codes for certain communities.

When physical mailing addresses differ because multiple ZIP Codes converge within one municipality, it causes real confusion.

Besides mail delivery issues, inaccurate address listings can cause delays in service response times, higher

insurance rates, problems with tax rebates, confusion over polling places, and incorrect jury summonses.

ZIP Codes play an important role in community identity. The consequences of inaccurate address listings have been a constant frustration for many local officials and the people they serve. In fact, Dave DeGroot is the one who brought this to my attention.

This bill directs USPS to create ZIP Codes that align with municipal boundaries. It is a commonsense solution, and I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.

ActBlue Investigation

Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree foreign funding has no place in American elections.

Over the past year, my Committee on House Administration has investigated multiple situations, and in particular the Democratic online fundraising platform of ActBlue, identifying and showing the vulnerabilities that exist that could be exploited by foreign actors.

We have uncovered that the platform previously wasn't requiring the use of a CVV code. That is the three or four digit number on the back of your credit card. It is a simple financial safeguard most online companies use to deter bad actors.

The Committee on House Administration has recently subpoenaed ActBlue for documents related to potential foreign influence in campaign funding. As chairman, I have introduced legislation to require the CVV number and prohibit prepaid cards from being used to make contributions, a pathway for foreign entities, including drug cartels, to launder money.

The SHIELD Act would prohibit political committees from accepting online contributions unless the contributor provides the CVV number and the billing address associated with the card and also prohibit them from accepting online contributions from prepaid cards.

It is imperative that we are increasing trust and transparency in our elections. All parties should be complying with Federal election law, including campaign finance laws.

Foreign actors have no place contributing in American elections. They have no place in contributing to American political campaigns. I will continue working to prevent foreign funding in our elections.