A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Highway Administration relating to "Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers".

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana for yielding me the time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, it is good to be back on the House floor with the gentlewoman from Indiana. It is great to be with her, and so far, she is allowing me to actually speak and hasn't called for me to be silenced.

The last time we debated, I stated an uncomfortable fact about he who shall not be named and the gentlewoman had me silenced, had my words stricken from the Congressional Record.

You just have to love that, Mr. Speaker. The party of free speech that rails against woke this and cancel culture that, and calls us snowflakes, can't handle it when someone comes down here and tells the truth. They try to silence the people they disagree with. It is really quite stunning.

Here is more of the truth, and let's see if I am allowed to talk this time.

Mr. Speaker, under Republican control, the House of Representatives has become a place where trivial issues get debated passionately and important ones not at all. What we are dealing with today is a bunch of weird, whacky, poorly drafted culture war nonsense.

This is all just a waste of time. These bills aren't going anywhere. It is not even political theater. It is theater of the absurd.

The government shuts down in a few days, and instead of actually working with Democrats to keep the lights on, instead of actually doing something to fix the problems that the American people want us to fix, my Republican friends are doing nothing.

The roof is on fire, and instead of calling 911, they are sweeping the floors. I mean, it is beyond nuts.

Last night in the Rules Committee, during our hearing on this rule, I had some Republican Members telling me they didn't like my tone. They didn't like the fact that I said we don't share the same values.

I am sorry I hurt people's feelings, Mr. Speaker, but the truth is the truth. We don't all believe in the same things. When it comes to my friends on the other side of the aisle in this Chamber, we really don't share the same values. I know many of my friends on the Republican side are nice and good people, but their ideas are not nice and are not good.

Let me just give you a couple of examples.

Democrats want to make sure that our kids go to college and get a good education that prepares them for the workforce, and instead of working with us, Republicans go on and on about woke this and woke that in our schools.

Apparently, anyone who wants to teach facts is woke nowadays. They want colleges to stop being ``woke,'' even though they can't quite define what that even means. It is all political BS, Mr. Speaker.

Here is another example. Democrats actually want an economy that works for everyone, and thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, we are fighting to grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, but not Republicans. They are talking about woke economic policies.

I don't even know what they are talking about or what they mean, but do you want to know what people back home talk to me about? They are asking me: Why are Republicans trying to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires? Why are Republicans trying to go after Social Security and Medicare?

Another example, Mr. Speaker, is that Democrats actually care about strengthening and protecting the Violence Against Women Act, but not Republicans. A majority of their Conference voted against extending the Violence Against Women Act. Let me say that again: A majority of their Conference voted against extending the Violence Against Women Act.

Now, they have the nerve to come down here and talk about violence against women and use it as part of their sick ploy to go after immigrants. Give me a break. Their bill is so poorly written that it could hurt survivors of domestic violence.

I could go right down the list. It is obvious to me that, at some point, the RNC talking points went out to everybody, and those talking points said woke, woke, woke. Now, we have to waste time on this trash.

It is just another week of the GOP circus. As I have said before, calling this a clown show is an insult to actual working clowns.

Most of all, it is an insult to the American people for Republicans to use these hallowed Halls and to spend hours and hours of time this week on these absurd, awful bills. Again, none of them are going anywhere.

The reason to be in Congress is to help people. That means putting people over politics. It means not caving in to the most extreme members of your party. It means getting stuff done, which is a radical idea.

None of these bills, as I said, are going anywhere. Yet, here we are, playing these absurd, ridiculous games.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed listening to the chairman of the Rules Committee, but let me just state for the record that nothing he talked about will be at all impacted by any of the stuff that we are talking about here today. None of these bills are going anywhere.

If you want to pass legislation to address some of the issues that were raised, maybe we ought to work in a bipartisan way. Maybe it ought not to be ``my way or the highway.''

These aren't serious pieces of legislation. These are press releases. Let's all be honest with the American people about that. This is not serious legislating. We haven't done serious legislating here in a long time.

Mr. Speaker, I will zoom in a little bit on this Congress in general. I just mentioned that this is the most dysfunctional Congress in history. If anyone wants proof, look no further than this resolution: five more closed rules that allow zero amendments to come to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, for folks who don't know, a closed rule means no amendments. It means: Take it or leave it. If you have a good idea and want to improve a bill, too bad.

This is how they govern in Russia and China, and that is what the Republicans are turning this place into.

With these five closed rules they are bringing to the floor today, Republicans are breaking their own record for shutting down debate. With today's vote, there will be 106 closed rules in this Congress-- 106. This is now officially the most closed Congress in the history of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, what gets me is that my friends on the other side have been totally fooled. They were tricked by their own leadership, first by Speaker McCarthy and now Speaker Johnson.

The gentlewoman from Indiana and her colleagues on the Rules Committee were promised a more open process. They were told the Rules Committee was going to be different, more open, would have more regular order and more amendments, and more debate.

Speaker McCarthy was even blackmailed into putting members of the Freedom Caucus on the Rules Committee to guarantee a more open process, but apparently, it didn't matter because he totally broke his promise, and now Speaker Johnson is shredding it.

During the first 9 months under Speaker Johnson, we saw 64 closed rules, even more than the 42 closed rules we saw under Speaker McCarthy. They traded a bad Speaker for an even worse one. Republican leaders have blocked 5,799 amendments from even coming to the floor. Mr. Speaker, 5,799 amendments have been blocked from coming to the floor by the Republican majority.

By the way, they are not just Democratic amendments. They blocked Republican, bipartisan, and Democratic amendments. They blocked an amendment to disrupt the smuggling of U.S. firearms across the Mexican border. They blocked an amendment to combat fentanyl trafficking at ports of entry.

Holy hell, Mr. Speaker, they even blocked my amendment to protect food for seniors who participate in the Meals on Wheels program. They have even blocked over half of their own Republican Members' amendments.

Let me say that again. Most Republican amendments have been blocked by this Congress. These amendments have been prevented from even seeing the light of day or getting a debate on the House floor. There have been 98 amendments that Rules Committee Republicans had either authored or supported that have been blocked by their own majority.

When you are on the Rules Committee, you like to have a little juice, but 98 of your amendments, Republican amendments, have been blocked by your own party. That is almost 100 amendments, and that is just Rules Republicans.

I am sure they would have loved to have had the opportunity to debate their amendments on the floor. If Rules Committee Republicans can't get amendments, how the hell do you think the rest of us are doing?

Republicans said they wanted an open process in this Congress. They want an open process, my foot, Mr. Speaker.

Under this majority, the Rules Committee has become a place where democracy goes to die. Their Members should be outraged with the Speaker and this leadership just as much as Democrats should be. Again, 106 completely closed rules blocked all amendments--a shameful statistic, an all-time authoritarian high set under this Republican majority.

Let's look at the results. Look at what they have to show for it. Republicans had the most unproductive Congress in the history of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, 26 days we went without a Speaker because they were fighting with each other. Weeks were wasted with failed rule votes while they argued among themselves instead of negotiating with Democrats.

There were broken promises on the appropriation process where they kicked the can down the road with another failed CR, bringing us to the brink of catastrophic debt default and then asking Democrats to bail them out. Mr. Speaker, 10 months of passing no legislation through the Rules Committee that ever became law.

I congratulate my friends. In addition to being the most incompetent, dysfunctional, unproductive Congress in American history, they now have also presided over the most closed Congress in American history. Well done, well done, and they are not done yet. We have to live through 3 more months of this. God help us.

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

Mr. Speaker, again, I reiterate what the gentleman from South Carolina just said. We have different viewpoints and different values.

I am sorry that he feels he lives in a wrecked country. I don't believe that. I think the United States of America is the greatest country on this planet, and I am proud to serve in Congress to try to help the people of this country. I would never refer to this country as a ``wrecked country.''

Again, the gentleman who just spoke, I thought when he was appointed to the Rules Committee, he was appointed to make sure that we had a more open process.

I regret to inform the gentleman that 106 closed rules slipped by him this Congress. I appreciate him standing in the breach.

By the way, when he refers to all the amendments that were rejected as being dumb, 50 percent of them were Republican amendments.

I think 27 of your amendments were denied. I wouldn't classify them as dumb, even though I may disagree with the intent.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a list of the 106 closed rules issued by the Republican majority in the 118th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, beneath all these statistics about closed rules are actual ideas that are being blocked from being debated on the House floor.

These are thoughtful proposals that Members have worked hard to develop, ideas to help actual people, and they deserved a debate in an up-or-down vote.

They are proposals like this: An amendment to disrupt the smuggling of U.S. guns across the Mexico border to help cartels, an amendment authorizing funding for DHS to combat fentanyl trafficking at our ports of entry, and an amendment to prevent cuts to Meals on Wheels.

Those are home-delivered meals to seniors, Mr. Speaker, and that was my amendment, by the way, so I can assure you that it was a very, very good idea.

They even blocked an amendment to provide postpartum mental health information to pregnant students, and that was a Republican amendment.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans haven't just blocked amendments by reporting out closed rules. Their structured rules, the rules that allowed a few amendments, have also continually blocked thoughtful, rule-complied amendments.

They seem especially focused on blocking Democratic ideas from a debate in an up-or-down vote on the floor. A quarter of their structured rules--get this--blocked all Democratic amendments.

Now, let me quickly just list a few ideas that Republicans were either too afraid to debate or couldn't spare 10 minutes for consideration on the House floor: An amendment to protect children from getting asthma; amendments to ensure the regulation of dark money in politics, and to prevent corrupt pay-to-play political donation deals with Federal contractors; and an amendment to provide cancer screenings to Federal firefighters as part of their DOD annual physicals, when we know they are exposed to cancer-causing chemicals as part of their jobs. There is simply no excuse for this, Mr. Speaker.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, after listening to the gentlewoman from Minnesota, I was confused when she said, you don't offer alternatives. That is what amendments are. They are alternative ideas.

I just went through a list of some of the alternatives we wanted to offer dealing with firefighters and cancer screening, dealing with children with asthma, and dealing with making sure senior citizens have adequate access to nutrition. Those are alternatives. Those are ideas.

My friends, unfortunately, are in control of this place, so they get to bring the bills to the Rules Committee.

We try to present alternatives through the amendment process, but here is another alternative. If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 16, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2023.

Mr. Speaker, the bigoted hatred that we are seeing directed at immigrants in Ohio and across the country is sickening. According to research done by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, there has been a rise in conspiracy theories that stigmatize minorities and promote hatred of ethnically diverse communities.

Get this. Politicians' use of bigoted rhetoric can also play a role in hate crime incidents. It is sad, but to be frank, we didn't need researchers to tell us this.

We can see and we can hear it from the Republican Party every single day, and it does a grave disservice to the Dreamers, to TPS holders, and to DACA recipients in this country who only know America as their home.

These are taxpayers, small business owners, educators, and critical parts of our communities. Dreamers were brought to the United States as children through no fault of their own, and it is past time to grant them the pathway to citizenship that they rightly deserve.

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to fix our broken immigration system and secure our border, but unlike the messaging bills before us this week, this is a bill that actually does something, and it is actually bipartisan. It sends the message that we are sick of the vitriol and hate crimes against this community and that we value their many contributions that make this country a better place.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Escobar), a great leader, to discuss our proposal.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Garcia), who will also speak on the importance of defeating the previous question.

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

You have got to love when Republicans try to talk tough about immigration reform. I just want to remind my colleagues that one of the most conservative Senators in the United States Senate is from Oklahoma. He wrote a comprehensive immigration reform bill that has some very tough provisions in it. Their standard-bearer, the man who I cannot name on the floor for fear that my words will be taken down, told Republicans to not allow it to come to the floor for debate or a vote.

They would rather have a campaign issue than to solve a problem. I mean, let that sink in. Let that sink in.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from the National Institute of Justice titled: ``Undocumented Immigrant Offending Rate Lower Than U.S.-born Citizen Rate.''

Mr. Speaker, all day long, Republicans spout hateful rhetoric about undocumented immigration and crime because they want us to be scared and they want to divide us, but their claims are simply not rooted in truth. In fact, undocumented immigrants are less likely, not more, than U.S.-born citizens to commit crimes, including violent crime.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article by the CATO Institute titled: ``Sanctuary Jurisdictions in Florida Do Not Have Higher Crime Rates.''

Mr. Speaker, there is no evidence, none, either in Florida or in the rest of the country that sanctuary cities result in more crime. There is none, zero. However, that won't matter to Republicans because they are unmoved by the facts.

Mr. Speaker, earlier I listed some examples of ideas that Republicans blocked from even being considered on the floor. Here are a few more. I just want people to appreciate this.

An amendment that would protect access to IVF for Federal employees, they blocked it.

They blocked an amendment to require a study for Tribal consultations before enactment of an oil and gas bill that could affect their subsistence resources.

An amendment to make critical targeted investments in small-town police departments for the recruitment, retention, mental health support, and training they need to protect themselves and their communities, they blocked that, too.

They blocked an amendment to ensure continued access to emergency care for pregnant servicewomen at military treatment facilities.

Maybe Republicans don't believe in IVF or any of these other ideas, but they can just vote ``no.'' Why block these ideas from even being debated unless they are afraid they would pass?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not prepared to close yet. There may be someone else.

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

I want to get back to this extraordinary closed House. I just want everybody to appreciate how awful this process is.

Here are yet more examples of ideas that were too scary, too revolutionary, too controversial to even be debated on the House floor, according to this Republican majority:

An amendment to provide grants to organizations that are helping to transition servicemembers to civilian life, including job recruitment training, they blocked that. I mean, what are they thinking? Who does that?

They blocked an amendment to ensure that students with dietary restrictions like lactose intolerance can have an alternative to whole milk at lunch. Is lactose intolerance now woke? I mean, I don't get it. That was blocked.

They blocked an amendment to ensure that a bill wouldn't cause our domestic energy prices to increase.

I ask, again, what is the majority afraid of? I mean, we have our differences. We ought to have substantive debate on the floor and then have votes. I am willing to bet there are some thoughtful Republicans who would support some of these amendments that I mentioned here.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

We have heard a lot about wokeness here today, but I want to focus on the woke Democratic ideas that Republicans have blocked in this record- breaking closed Congress. I mean, ideas like protecting IVF, fighting fentanyl trafficking, and making sure lactose-intolerant students have something nutritious to drink at lunch. Wow. I mean, that those ideas are woke is crazy.

There have been 106 closed rules. That is a big number, a record- breaking number, but much more important is what that number represents. These ideas and all the other blocked amendments I highlighted would have helped everyday Americans. Is that woke? Is it woke to try and keep kids from getting asthma, to provide job training to veterans? To provide cancer screenings to firefighters, is that woke?

Mr. Speaker, I don't know what my Republican colleagues are afraid of. Maybe they are afraid to vote ``no.'' Maybe they are afraid to vote ``yes.'' This is Congress, Mr. Speaker. We are here to take hard votes. This record-breaking number of closed rules is a disservice to the people the Republicans represent.

Mr. Speaker, while Republicans want to talk about being woke, I wish instead that they would wake the hell up and do the people's business. For example, I don't know, maybe pass a bill to prevent a government shutdown. What we are doing today is merely a political exercise. Their obsession with trying to inject politics and culture wars into everything is getting really old, almost as old as the Presidential nominee.

Let me just say I love this place, and I love all the different things that we have been called on to do. I will just say this, Mr. Speaker: I want everybody to join with me and let's end this. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, on October 7, Hamas terrorists crossed the border of Israel and committed atrocities, the full extent of which we are only just now coming to understand.

Thousands of innocent Israelis have lost their lives. Israeli babies were beheaded--literally beheaded--put into ovens, according to news reports. Innocent civilians were shot in their homes when they answered their front doors. Soldiers who were asleep in their beds were executed. And the terrorist attacks have continued.

Amazingly, in the United States--even as this terrible attack was unfolding in Israel--in the United States, hundreds and thousands of students and others took to America's campuses to express solidarity, not with innocent Israelis who had lost their lives but with Hamas, and to voice support for the genocidal campaign that Hamas has sought to carry out and continues to advance and advocate even as we stand here today.

Take a look at just some of the things that have been said by students on America's college campuses. Students at Harvard University said they held the Israeli regime ``entirely responsible''--entirely responsible--``for all the unfolding violence.'' You had students at the University of North Carolina who said they believed it was their ``moral obligation to be in solidarity with the dispossessed, no matter the pathway to liberation they choose to take. This includes violence.''

Oh, and Hamas is violent. There is no doubt we have seen extraordinary violence, unbelievable violence, in the most brutal attack on Israel and the Jewish people in 50 years.

Students at New York University School of Law wrote that they expressed first and foremost their unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians and their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination. ``Israel,'' they said, ``bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life.''

I could go on. And I am happy to say that this body has unanimously condemned these statements--this progenocidal rhetoric--by students in this country.

I wish that it had stopped at rhetoric, but it hasn't. We have seen the assaults

on Jewish students right on our campuses. We have seen Jews barricaded in university libraries, unable to leave, as pro-Hamas demonstrators shout and scream outside calling for the destruction of Israel. We have seen Jewish students physically assaulted--if you don't believe me, just go look on the internet--physically assaulted on American campuses by pro-Hamas demonstrators.

We have even seen it in high schools, where students are chanting:

From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free.

What does that mean? It is a call for the destruction of the State of Israel. It is a call for the execution of Jews in the Middle East, in this country, everywhere. That is the Hamas agenda.

And so many Americans, including me, have been absolutely stunned to see so many students and others echoing these claims. And it has raised the question: Where is this coming from? Where are these students and young people--teenagers--where are they hearing this? Where are they seeing it? Where are they being fed this propaganda? Because propaganda, it is.

At least one of the answers is, they are finding it on TikTok. Yes, TikTok, that Chinese-based, Chinese-owned social media app that is a back door for the Chinese Communist Party to track the movements, the key strokes, the whereabouts, the information of every American who has the app on their phone.

What we know now is that for many, many younger Americans--the so- called Generation Z; those in their teens and early twenties--so many of them--74 percent of them, in fact--use TikTok as a search engine. And, in fact, a majority of them prefer TikTok to Google as a principle search engine. So where are Americans and Generation Z increasingly getting their news? What are they using to search for information? They are using TikTok. They are getting their news from TikTok.

At the same time, this same cohort of young Americans, more than 50 percent of them--this is young Americans between the ages of 18 and 24--more than 50 percent of them say they believe Hamas's murder of civilians was justified. Let me repeat that. More than 50 percent of young Americans--Gen Z, between the ages of 18 and 24--believe Hamas's murder of civilians was justified.

These are the same people who are going on TikTok to get their news, to get their information, to be influenced. And they certainly are being influenced. Media reports have analyzed the prevalence of anti- Israel, anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas content on TikTok. It is really quite astounding.

Just take a look at the trending hashtags: ``Stand with Palestine,'' 285 million views, impressions, according to the news site Axios and their recent analysis. By contrast, ``Stand With Israel'' has far, far less--64 million. This doesn't actually begin to tell the story because the truth is, there are other hashtags, other pro-Hamas, pro- Palestinian sources of information where the views are even larger. Take, for instance ``Free Palestine.'' That has received actually 917 million views, far outpacing even ``Stand with Palestine'' and dramatically outpacing the content that is actually supportive of the State of Israel.

Here is my point. TikTok has become a haven for anti-Semitic content, a haven for propaganda for genocide. Of course, TikTok denies this, as they deny any responsibility for anything they actually do.

They have tried to say, in fact, these numbers are skewed. But you can't change the facts. You can't deny the reality that their site is absolutely awash with this content. And we know that part of the problem, the danger of TikTok, is it gives the Chinese Communist Party enormous influence--enormous influence--to shape the news, the content of the information of the folks who look at it.

They have done this before. Back in 2019, the Chinese Communist Party used TikTok to suppress content that criticized the Chinese Government over their oppression and enslavement of the Uighurs in that country. They have a pattern of using this application to try and shape the narrative in the way they want it shaped. How they are shaping it now is pumping out the most virulent, toxic pro-Hamas propaganda.

Madam President, the time has come to take another look at TikTok. I will say this: As virulent and offensive as this content is, that is not a reason to ban them. The real reason to ban TikTok is that it is a spy app for the Chinese Communist government. Let's just look at what we have learned since I was last on this floor trying to pass legislation that would hold TikTok accountable and ban it from American phones.

On the 24th of this year, the New York Times reported that driver's licenses, addresses and photos--just to be clear, Americans' driver's licenses, addresses, and photos--were accessed by TikTok engineers based in China. What is extraordinary about this is TikTok has told us over and over and over again that this was impossible. They have come to this Congress, they testified before us and said this never happens. American data is absolutely sequestered. You can't access it in China. It is completely safe.

Yet we learned this year what, really, we already knew: That simply is not true. Let's not forget, the law of China--the People's Republic of China, a dictatorship--their law requires all major corporations, including, especially, data corporations, to make information available upon request to the Chinese Communist Party. That means your data. That means our personal information.

On May 30, Forbes magazine reported that TikTok creators'--that means American users'--financial information, Social Security numbers were, in fact, being stored in China. We had also been told this wasn't true. We have been told by TikTok: No, no, no, Americans' data is always stored in America. It can't be accessed anywhere but in America. There is a firewall between America and China.

Not true. Not true.

Americans don't realize that their data is being tracked. They are just on there to make their videos and put out their content. And what is happening? The Chinese Government is able to access it. Their personal information is being stored, not in this country, but in China, with full availability to the Chinese Communist Party.

On November 1, just a few days ago, Forbes further reported that a platform storing TikTok corporate secrets was inspected by the Chinese Government. Of course, it was. Chinese law requires it. It requires TikTok and its parent company ByteDance to make available all of this information to the Chinese Government.

We have confronted dangers like this before from China. Huawei is a prime example. Huawei, another Chinese-based corporation also subject to the laws of China requiring the sharing of personal information and data. And what did we do? We stood up a sanctions regime that sanctioned Huawei and prevented its use here in the United States. And we went further than that. We actually went to our allies and partners and said that we would not cooperate with them and offer them security assistance. We are talking about other countries right now. We would not cooperate with them or offer security assistance unless they took Huawei out of their 5G networks.

We should do the same with TikTok. We should protect the people of this Nation. We should be honest with them about what TikTok actually does. And we should protect them from the relentless spying and surveillance by a foreign government.

I want to be clear. I don't like a lot of what American Big Tech does. I doubt you will find a harsher critic of Big Tech than I am in this Chamber. But there is a big difference between an American company looking at Americans' data--accessing Americans' data--and a foreign government tracking Americans, building dossiers on Americans, and using it as a back door into the life of every American citizen who has that app on his or her phone.

It is time to put an end to this. We have already voted to do it. We voted to strip TikTok off of every government device just 10 months ago. States are doing it all across the country. It is time we took the step to protect the American people, to protect the integrity of Americans' personal information and their personal privacy.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of

S. 85 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Madam President, let's just be clear about one thing. The Chinese Communist Government is not covered by the U.S. Bill of Rights.

The Chinese Communist Government does not have free speech rights, and we are not talking about free speech. We are not talking about speech at all. The sanctions that I am proposing have nothing to do with speech; they have everything to do with spying, for the same reasons that we have banned Huawei in this country.

If the Senator would like to have a debate about whether or not Huawei and its affiliates ought to be banned, whether it ought to be a sanctions regime for those that engage in espionage, I welcome it. That is the same debate we are having here.

I just say this. If all of those teenagers and other creators from around the world who are putting all of the pro-genocidal Hamas content onto TikTok want to go do it on other platforms, be my guest. I will be right here to criticize them and call them out for their moral atrocities wherever they do it.

But the reason to ban TikTok in this country is that it is a spying apparatus of the Chinese Communist Party. The facts simply cannot be disputed. ByteDance is subject to the laws of China, which make American data available to, accessible to, upon request for Chinese corporations and the Chinese Government.

I just lament that we cannot seem to move forward with a step that we have already taken with regard to Huawei, with sensible protection of Americans' privacy and their personal data.

But let me just close with this. With regard to the speech itself, while the content of the speech on TikTok is no reason to ban them, I just want to say, since we are here in this moment of great dispute, apparently, in some quarters of this country over whether it is right or wrong to call for the genocide of Jewish people, I want to say, clearly, it is wrong. And I want to say to those creators who are pumping out this content on TikTok: You may have a First Amendment right to do so, but you don't really have moral standing.

We need to be clear. There is a right. There is a wrong. There is good. There is evil. And calling for the genocide of Jewish people, whether it is in the Middle East, the State of Israel, or in this country is wrong. Whether you do it on TikTok or Meta or YouTube or just on the streets and plazas of your college campus, it is wrong.

And at this time, above all times, I think, we need to stand and make that clear.

I yield the floor.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, last night, the Rules Committee met and produced a rule, H. Res. 1455, providing for the House's consideration of seven pieces of legislation.

First, the rule provides for H.R. 3724, the End Woke Higher Education Act, to be considered under a structured rule.

Second, the rule provides for H.R. 4790, the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act, under a closed rule.

Third, the rule provides for H.R. 5339, the Protecting Americans' Investments from Woke Policies Act, under a closed rule.

Fourth, the rule provides for H.R. 5179, the Anti-BDS Labeling Act, under a closed rule.

The rule provides for H.R. 7909, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, and H.R. 5717, the No Bailouts for Sanctuary Cities Act.

Mr. Speaker, I support this rule and the underlying legislation, beginning with H.R. 3724, the End Woke Higher Education Act.

As a Member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, we have spent countless hours addressing the serious issues within higher education under the Biden administration, where activism is often prioritized and differing viewpoints are silenced.

These conversations have become increasingly necessary, as we have seen waves of anti-Semitic protests where students are supporting terrorist organizations, and these protests are sweeping the Nation.

Too many institutions of higher education have cowered to the mob of protesters, often compromising the safety and well-being of their students. Freedom of speech is under attack on our campuses nationwide, and it is our students who are paying the price.

This mindset weakens what has historically been the strength of America: free-flowing and open debate at our institutions of learning. We must not let campus activists, woke faculty, and partisan administrators turn post-secondary education into DEI indoctrination camps. Denying speech undermines the very fabric of the Nation and is against everything our Founders intended.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad this legislation includes my Students Bill of Rights Act of 2024, which aims to address the erosion of First Amendment rights faced by students, and provides protections for academic freedom and expression.

Our students should never feel afraid to express their point of view or fear retribution or negative consequences for their future.

This woke mind virus doesn't stop there, which brings me to H.R. 5339, the Protecting American Investments from Woke Policies Act. It protects the retirement savings of workers, retirees, and their families by rolling back woke ESG requirements that have nothing to do with the bottom line.

The bill ensures that financial institutions are focused on maximizing returns in retirement plans rather than advancing the Biden- Harris administration's radical agenda at the expense of American workers. Forcing often underperforming and relatively high-risk investments on our seniors is not what they are asking us to do in this Chamber.

In this spirit, I am glad the bill includes one of my pieces of legislation, the Retirement Proxy Protection Act. The bill ensures that fiduciaries prioritize economic interests of plan beneficiaries when voting on shareholder proposals.

Finally, the rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 4790, a comprehensive bill package targeting unelected bureaucrats.

Time and time again, this administration has prioritized, again, an ESG agenda and initiatives that are against the well-being of workers and American businesses.

Democrat-appointed bureaucrats are attempting to use regulation to create climate and social policy in our financial markets, ultimately raising costs and limiting growth.

This legislation aims to stop unnecessary political reporting requirements for companies, make Federal regulators more transparent, and reduce the SEC's power over shareholders.

I am proud that another one of my bills, the No Expensive, Stifling Governance Act, or No ESG Act, is included as part of this package.

I will also touch on a bill brought forward by the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaLota), my friend, H.R. 5717, the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill. Despite the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 clearly stating that no restrictions can be placed on communication between local or State authorities and Federal immigration officials about someone's immigration status, many cities still choose not to comply.

We have known for years that sanctuary cities create incredible challenges for Federal law enforcement, and in doing so, public safety is endangered.

Let's take Aurora, Colorado, for example. They are experiencing unprecedented gang violence due to a neighboring sanctuary city.

We also know that the Biden-Harris administration has been a master class in how to not handle border security. This administration has totally failed, alongside the sanctuary cities, in enforcing our immigration laws because the crime that finds a home in a sanctuary city spreads to other jurisdictions.

If sanctuary cities choose to operate this way and endanger their own communities, neighboring communities, and, ultimately, the entire Nation, then they must be forced to balance their irresponsible choices with the loss of other Federal support. It is pretty simple: If you fail to comply with the law, you should not expect support.

Our constituents understand and also demand that their tax dollars not support sanctuary cities that actively undermine their public safety and our immigration law.

The rule also provides for consideration of H.J. Res. 136 to push back on EPA overregulation, H.R. 5179 to end anti-Israel boycotts, and H.R. 7909, the Violence Against Women Act, which would crack down on crime caused by the Biden-Harris administration's open-border policies.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to consideration of these important bills, and I urge the passage of this rule.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), my colleague and the chair of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I note that what my colleague, the ranking member, does not note is that this House has passed under Republican leadership more than 300 bills out of the House of Representatives with 92 percent bipartisan support. Many of these bills go to the Democrat- controlled Senate where they die.

The ranking member also likes to criticize this majority when he knows full well just last Congress when he was chair, the Rules Committee was no bastion of an open process.

For the record, here are some statistics that might help paint a better picture and provide context for the cherry-picked numbers the Member rattled off.

It is true there have been more closed rules, but this majority has reported nearly twice the amount of bills in the last Congress. Considered as a percentage, this majority has reported fewer closed rules than when he had the gavel.

Even more, over a third of the closed rules were because no amendments

were offered, making the rule closed by definition.

Not considering those closed rules brings us still at roughly the same rate as a percentage of closed rules from the last Congress but with significantly more bills offered.

I also remind this body that the previous Congress saw the use and abuse of partisan en bloc amendment votes, which created omnibus-style amendments designed to defeat Republican, or tough amendments, and had the practical effect of stifling the Republican minority.

Even with this procedural atrocity, the ranking member still can't claim a higher ground on making minority amendments in order.

We also needed to keep up with the onslaught of regulations from the Biden-Harris administration that they have unleashed on the American people from unelected bureaucrats.

We have considered numerous disapproval resolutions, which traditionally are carried closed because of how they are written. The ranking member carried on this tradition when he had the gavel.

While the ranking member wants to talk about how we are stifling Democrat amendments, this majority has actually made more minority amendments in order as a percentage than the previous Congress when he was calling the shots.

While the ranking member shakes his finger at the majority for the way this Congress has gone, I point out that he understands the unique difficulties and the tough decisions the Rules Committee is tasked with in moving the majority's agenda.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my colleague from South Carolina (Mr. Norman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach).

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

The other side of the aisle won't even deport violent criminals. That is against the very safety of American citizens. In New York City, under Bill de Blasio, they passed a series of sanctuary city policies between 2014 and 2018 that prohibit the New York Police Department and correction and probation departments from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents except under very limited circumstances.

However, now, more than 100,000 migrants have passed through New York City since the spring of 2022, and 58,000 still remain in the city's care. Current Mayor Eric Adams and the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, have said: ``We don't have capacity.''

For years, ICE has warned that sanctuary cities create a public safety threat, and they are one of the biggest impediments to public safety efforts. However, under the Biden and Harris administration, the crisis at the southern border has only worsened the consequences of sanctuary policies and made enforcing current immigration laws even more difficult.

H.R. 5717, despite mischaracterizations from my friends on the other side of the aisle, creates an incentive for local jurisdictions to cooperate with Federal immigration officials by prohibiting Federal funds from being used to provide sanctuary for illegal aliens going to sanctuary jurisdictions. Under current law, it creates a perverse incentive for sanctuary cities to willingly flout the law.

H.R. 5717 holds sanctuary cities accountable for exacerbating the Biden-Harris border crisis and flouting Federal immigration law by prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars to fund housing, healthcare costs, and other benefits for illegal immigrants in such municipalities.

Taxpayers who are at risk due to the border crisis should not be funding local governments not interested in upholding the rule of law. No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities corrects these perverse incentives and ensures that taxpayers are not on the hook for this lawlessness.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire if the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) is prepared to close.

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

Despite what my colleagues on the left have to say, the American people know that the Biden-Harris administration has been a relentless, woke assault on the American economy, the education system, and even Americans' retirement accounts.

The American people know the Biden-Harris administration has resulted in crippling inflation, a wide-open border, decreasing public safety, and increasing drug overdose deaths.

With the bills before us today, we continue to deliver for the American people. House Republicans are fighting at every turn to secure our borders, restore our economy, and protect free speech and free markets.

The Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act and the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act are commonsense bills that would immediately make our communities safer, something the Biden-Harris administration has repeatedly failed to do. I would hope that our colleagues on both sides of the aisle would support these important bills.

I look forward to moving these bills out of the House this week, and I ask my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on the previous question and ``yes'' on the rule.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

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 the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, before I yield time to my colleague from Utah, I want to quickly highlight and reiterate the importance of what we are doing here as the House GOP.

House Republicans, during the holiday break, took the time, over 60 of us, to go down to the border to be able to share what is truly going on. We get to hear, hopefully, today a little bit more about this.

At no point in our Nation's history has the situation on the southern border reached the levels of policy failure, humanitarian disaster, and security threat that it has under the Biden administration.

Many of my House Republican colleagues witnessed firsthand the tragedy at our border last week. It is out of control, and the Biden administration has completely dropped the ball on this issue and threatened the safety of every American community in the process. The issue is, it is more simple than this.

To President Biden, the gig is up. You took office and thought: Let's just reverse everything that the Trump administration had been doing. Let's not necessarily evaluate whether it was successful, whether it was the right policy. Let's just kind of use our executive pen to reverse everything.

It is very simple to consider Migrant Protection Protocols, the remain in Mexico policy, catch and release. These are simple policy changes that would have an immediate positive impact.

Many of my colleagues were able to see this, to witness this, again, firsthand this past week, and I look forward to hearing from Representative Burgess Owens from the great State of Utah for more on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Owens for his firsthand look.

I spent time at the border--I believe it was in the late spring--and the same situation continues on. The solutions are right in front of us, and we just need the Biden administration to recognize that.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for speaking very plainly and very simply. These solutions are right in front of us.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Murphy and I sit on the same committee, Health in the Ways and Means Committee, and if his remarks seem personal, it is because they are. He has had such a close experience with this, and no one makes the point better that all of our providers' costs continue to go up because of bad the monetary policy that we have seen, particularly in the last few years. When we constantly tell these providers, You are going to have to do more with less, they have to make decisions, and this is ultimately the worst possible thing for our patients.

The crowding-out effect that we have going on in our economy right now, particularly with things related to government funding, there is no situation where it is worse than this. The inability for us to get after our true debt and deficit drivers will continue to crowd out, so these types of cuts are forced on providers, and we have to be willing and adult enough to be able to figure that out.

So thank you for that, Dr. Murphy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, Dr. Bucshon, for another incredible perspective on this looming issue that seems to just be year over year over year, and we cannot continue to put our medical providers in this situation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for his remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I echo the gentleman's sentiments, and I will continue to speak on it today. The solutions at the border are simple. We have got actual data that can just be reimplemented and we can get rid of the politics involved and just do something right by our Nation. We look forward to an opportunity to leverage this moment to get this border policy through. The things in H.R. 2 make absolute sense.

I am looking forward now to the remarks of my colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Joyce for coming down over the holiday break.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his remarks emphasizing the need for good healthcare.

I hear this from several of my friends, family, and constituents back home. I think one of the most alarming things that we are seeing right now in the healthcare provider world is that--when I grew up, a lot of my friends' parents were physicians. They would always encourage their child to go into medical school and pursue a career that they loved so much. This may just be an anecdote, but I am literally seeing that next generation of current providers saying: Try something different.

Again, that may just be my experience. I don't think it is because I have heard a lot of it from other colleagues of mine. We can't look back at this time and say we didn't address this issue of not doing right by our providers, by our rural healthcare and making sure that they have what they need to be able to navigate the costs that are continually increasing and being able to provide for their patients.

As Dr. Murphy also talked about, we have to have private practices being able to stay nimble and focused on their specific community and not just build big conglomerates. Small business is the backbone of our Nation, and that needs to exist also in our healthcare market.

As I close here, let me just turn to the other topic that we talked heavily about today which is the border. I spent some time at home the last few weeks, and as I met with and had different forums back home with constituents, I explained to them that one of the biggest problems is the way that policy works in Washington, D.C.

It is in a very partisan and difficult circumstance back here. I don't think anybody on either side of the aisle would disagree with me that it becomes very difficult. When we factor in the Senate that requires a 60-vote threshold--every bill needs to be bipartisan in the Senate--that requirement isn't here in the majoritarian rule House, but that is what we live with. Particularly when there is split government, then we have difficult decisions and difficult things to navigate.

The point that I made to them was that with my Democratic colleagues, we often can find the first three or four provisions of a particular issue that we agree with, but then that is when it becomes difficult because if Democrats want the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh item, then they will say, no, we are not going to vote on any of the things we agree on until we get some of these things we want, even though we agree on the baseline.

We do it too. We have certain things that we want to make sure we get so we are going to leverage that so we don't get the basics done.

I can't think of a scenario where this applies more than our border crisis right now. I don't want to make this political. I remember a little while ago when there were 34-odd migrants that suffocated in the back of a truck. It was like a blip on the news feed. It was so quick. It came out as a news cycle. That is the danger of what is going on right now. We have empowered the cartel networks that we should be united against. We have empowered the cartel networks to own the border.

I heard a staggering statistic--I don't have the number in front of me--on what we have calculated on how much money those cartels are making on a weekly to monthly basis. It is terrifying because that number is going directly into the drug trade.

The fentanyl crisis is one of the biggest impacts this has on our community. I held this huge roundtable back in Utah with the caretakers, law enforcement, and advocacy groups. It was a very nonpartisan conversation, and it was so, so concerning on what was going on.

This is what I want to tell the American people: We actually agree that we should do a lot of the elements in H.R. 2. We should shore up that protection and border security. However, then we need to make sure we streamline the visa process, and we need to make sure we get a stronger workforce here.

I am here to tell you, Mr. Speaker, we actually largely will agree on that aspect of a comprehensive immigration reform.

My biggest criticism of President Biden and his administration has been that he immediately removed or reversed the Migrant Protection Protocols, the remain in Mexico policy that the Trump-Pence administration had done. ``Well, we are a new administration. We have to reverse all those things.''

A lot of the energy things were done by executive order. It was also this border policy. I think we are seeing now it is okay to have made a mistake if you are willing to be the adult and say: ``Look, we actually should reimplement some of this stuff.''

It is what the American people need. It is what the polling will tell us. It is what we largely agree, that there are some basic things that we can get done.

I think not telling the cartels: ``Hey, if you just get folks to the border and get them across, they are going to get lost in the system. You are going to be in there, and you are going to be fine.'' That is what they are telling them. The immigrants who are coming here, it is not the experience they are having because they get lost in the system and then are forced to go into the drug trade or forced to be part of the workforce of the Sinaloa cartel once they rush the product through the borders however they get it, whether it is a port or nonport. I don't care how it comes through.

Once that product gets here, then these individuals get leveraged to do that because they have no other options because they were lied to by the cartels.

If we can agree on some basic stuff, let's implement it. If we shore up and get back to times that we saw in previous Presidencies, we can then go and actually work on some of the other immigration policies that also need reform.

I am committed to doing that, and I hope that we can address that. If we leave the border with this type of policy that we have seen create a beacon for these cartels, then we will not be able to accomplish anything.

If it has to be done all in one bill, that is unrealistic because it is just a bigger beacon. It is just more opportunity for the cartels to try to get more people through, and it is nonsensical.

I hope for every opportunity to tell the Biden administration that this is actually better for you politically. I hate to say it, but this is what the American people need.

That is what my colleagues are trying to emphasize. That is why over 64 of my colleagues last week spent time down there. The same things that I saw months ago when I visited Eagle Pass are continuing. They are not getting better. There has to be policy change.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleagues for attending today's Special

Order and sharing their thoughts on these very important issues, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, you would think that for the very first week back of the new year, House Republicans would try to correct course and fix their failing majority.

You would think that after presiding over one of the most unproductive, ineffective, incompetent sessions of Congress in history, certainly since I have been here, that Republicans would use the new year as a fresh start to reset their priorities and to actually work with Democrats to get stuff done.

You would think that they would bring to the floor some big, important piece of legislation to follow through on their promises, or, I don't know, a bill to stop the government shutdown that is right around the corner.

You would think all of that, but you would be wrong.

Today, we are here for the first meeting of 2024 to consider more junk, more filler, more nonsense messaging bills that do nothing to help everyday people--bills that seek to help their billionaire friends and corporate sponsors.

First is H.R. 788, the so-called Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act. This bill stems from a fruitless Republican-led investigation based on meritless allegations of political bias when the Obama administration's Justice Department held big banks accountable for their predatory lending practices.

After a full year in the majority, Republicans still have no new ideas or real agenda to help the American public, so they want to pass off this solution in search of a problem from 10 years ago as some big, important new bill.

It is not big, it is not new, and it is definitely not important. It is a waste of our time.

Then we have S.J. Res. 38. This joint resolution is House Republicans' attempt to weaken President Biden's Buy America requirements, allowing Federal dollars to be spent on chargers made in competitor countries like the People's Republic of China. While Democrats and President Biden work to bring jobs back from China, Republicans are eager to do the bidding of billionaire corporations and ship jobs overseas to China.

Now let that sink in.

Finally, is H.J. Res. 98, a resolution that blatantly attacks workers. This bill would weaken their ability to organize and collectively bargain. These three bills have one thing in common, Mr. Speaker: They will not become law. They are going nowhere, and they are a waste of our time.

The way this place is being run is just so absurd. It is pathetic.

We are facing a partial government shutdown by the end of next week. The extreme MAGA Freedom Caucus is once again eager to shut it down.

Now maybe they think a shutdown will help crash the economy, like Donald Trump has said he wants. The leader of the Republican Party spent the week praying for the economy to collapse because he thinks it will help him win the election in November. Imagine that.

Mr. Speaker, that really illustrates the difference between Democrats and Republicans.

We want America to succeed, no matter who is in charge, because we love this country and we put people over politics. Republicans led by Trump are cheering for America to fail and for everyone to suffer because they think it will help them politically.

What a sick, twisted, messed up ideology. They are literally cheering for America to fail. I guess they think that maybe if they shut down the government that that will help.

I heard that the current Speaker was on the telephone with Donald Trump basically begging him to support the deal to fund the government, because let's be honest, that is who run this place: Donald Trump and the MAGA extremists who worship him.

That is the guy, by the way, whose lawyers argued in court yesterday that he can legally assassinate any of us and he can't be held accountable because the President is above the law.

I mean, what the hell is wrong with these people? Not a peep, not a whisper from any of my Republican colleagues. Not a single one of them who is willing to stand up and display some courage and say that the former President should not be above the rule of law.

We may be back, Mr. Speaker, and it may be a new year, but it is clear it is the same old Republican majority trying to distract from their own disarray and division and doing the bidding of Donald Trump instead of working for the American people.

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

Mr. Speaker, we can talk about these filler bills all day, but the fact of the matter is they are going nowhere. We are wasting our time doing this.

We should be focused on making sure that Republicans don't shut the government down beginning at the end of next week.

Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of a measure that unambiguously states that the people's House will keep its promise to the American workers and senior citizens. We will protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare for future generations, two important programs that my Republican friends are constantly attacking.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Wild), to discuss our proposal.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would just respond to the gentlewoman that one of the differences between Democrats and Republicans is the Democrats have historically been and continue to be on the side of workers and on behalf of small businesses in trying to bring as

many jobs back from places like China as possible, and we would be doing that no matter who is in charge in the White House because we put people above politics.

I contrast that with my friends on the other side of the aisle who seem to be cheering for America to fail and who work overtime to try to demean our workers.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article that appeared in The New York Times titled: ``Trump says he hopes any economic crash happens in 2024 so he isn't blamed.''

Mr. Speaker, let that sink in. The leader of the Republican Party, the person whom they are all falling over each other to try to support, is cheering for our economy to crash because it might help him politically.

It is not about the American people, it is not about workers, and it is not about businesses. It is about him.

What happened to the Republican Party?

The obsession with Trump and all of this is not only disappointing, but it is scary. Again, I will go back to the way I began this debate. The legislation we are considering today is three nothing burgers. None of these bills are going to become law. They are just filler. They are an excuse for us to be able to meet when what we should be doing is making sure that the government remains open and that it doesn't shut down at the end of next week.

Quite frankly, that business should have been done last year, but Republicans continue to fight amongst themselves and can't seem to be able to get anything done. Again, this is the most unproductive and useless Congress, I think, in history.

So, again, I would just simply say that we all need to figure out a way to pass legislation that will not adversely impact our economy and to find areas of common ground where we can actually get stuff done, but this is not what we are doing today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), who is a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, again, this has been the most incompetent, ineffective, and unproductive Congress in the history of the United States of America. The fact that we are here considering these nonsense, do- nothing bills is just the latest example.

This Republican majority has been a failure and a total embarrassment. I could spend all day comparing our record with theirs. Republicans have had pathetically few bills of substance enacted into law, and on must-pass legislation, every single time it has been Democrats who have had to step up to give Republicans the votes that they needed to get things across the finish line. The gentlewoman can't rebut that because there is nothing to rebut. Republicans have done nothing of importance. I don't even know why they want to be in charge, quite frankly, since they have wasted away their time in the majority.

It is not just me saying that. It is them. Congressman Chip Roy who sits on the Rules Committee said: ``I want

my Republican colleagues to give me one thing, one thing, that I can go campaign on and say we did. One. Anybody sitting in the complex, if you want to come down to the floor and come explain to me one material, meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done. . . . ''

More recently, Congressman Andy Biggs said: ``We have nothing to go out there and campaign on. . . . It is embarrassing.''

Congresswoman Debbie Lesko said: ``We can't get anything done around here. It is very frustrating.''

What do Republicans say when they go home and voters ask: What have you done? What have you done?

What do you tell them?

What do you say to somebody who asks: Why are you more concerned about Hunter Biden than about our constituents?

You people need to touch the grass, get a grip, and get some help. Republicans have turned this place into one big SNL skit, except this isn't funny. We have serious business to get done around here, and they are just openly admitting that they cannot govern.

They have no new ideas or problems that they want to solve. Their whole platform is built around using division and anger to distract from the unmitigated disaster that is this Republican majority. The only hope around this place is that it is an election year and their gross incompetence will probably lose them the House come November.

Mr. Speaker, we have to do better, and there needs to be more urgency in this Chamber about making sure that the government doesn't shut down next week.

The one job, that no matter who is in charge has, is to make sure that the lights stay on here, that we don't stop the functioning of Government, and that we don't turn our backs on the American people.

Yet, we are getting perilously close to that moment when there could be a shutdown. It is disgraceful that we are here debating these filler bills that are going nowhere and that we are not working on real business that will help real people in this country and help pave the way for a better future.

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

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