Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, that was riveting. I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, contained in this rule are two immigration bills, one of which Congress has already passed, another of which directs the administration to do something they already have the power to do.

There is a nonbinding resolution here to condemn rioting. We had an interesting conversation in the Rules Committee last night, and I don't remember Republicans offering a nonbinding resolution to condemn the riots that occurred outside this building on January 6, 2021.

We can't even get the Speaker of the House to hang the plaque expressing gratitude to the law enforcement officers who protected us that day that a law says he has to hang, so please forgive me if I think this one rings a bit hollow.

Then, we have an appropriations bill that continues this trend toward privatizing VA services and blocks women who are veterans from being able to get abortion services at the VA in most cases. Republicans are trying to restrict the freedoms of the people who are willing to fight and die for our freedoms. Republicans are unbelievable.

I am glad that we are here on the floor debating, Mr. Speaker. I just don't think we are debating what 90 percent of Americans want us to be talking about right now, which is the chaos and confusion that this administration has created and the real fear

that Americans have about this country being dragged into another quagmire in the Middle East.

The bottom line is that this administration is acting insane. The President yesterday said there was going to be a cease-fire forever between Israel and Iran. They are back to bombing each other this morning. The cease-fire he bragged about didn't even last a day.

He has inserted us into this war with zero thought to the consequences. We are bombing Iran. Iran is bombing us. The risk of miscalculation is massive, and the entire Republican Party is just going along for the ride.

Stephen Miller, a top administration official, is on TV talking about Donald Trump like he is Kim Jong-un. It is creepy.

The majority says they are not in a cult. Now is their chance to prove it.

Trump is doing literally the exact opposite of what he promised to do in his campaign. Instead of having the courage to say something, 99 percent of these guys suddenly decided they are in favor of endless wars. The mental gymnastics that takes is nuts.

Mr. Speaker, if it looks like a cult, if it acts like a cult, maybe, just maybe, it is a cult.

I thought Republicans said they were going to lower food prices. Food is just as expensive as it was 6 months ago, and now, we are dragged into another war in the Middle East. This isn't America First. This is not even normal. It is nuts.

This is an administration in way over its head that thought ending a war was as easy as ranting on Truth Social. Now, American troops and taxpayers are paying the price for their stupidity and carelessness.

Let's be crystal clear. These strikes were illegal, unauthorized, and unconstitutional. No debate, no vote, no evidence of an imminent threat--that is not how this should work. If we are going to drop bombs and put American lives in danger, Republicans in Congress should be willing to come down here and have the courage to vote ``yes'' or ``no'' so that people know where they stand.

Meanwhile, while families are bracing for gas prices to go up and dealing with food prices that never came down, these guys want Congress to ignore all of that and rubberstamp their big, ugly tax scam, a scam that hands tax breaks to billionaires while ripping food off kids' tables and healthcare out of seniors' hands.

Mr. Speaker, these guys do not know what the hell they are doing, and America is paying the price. Trump said there would be a cease-fire forever, and it lasted 1 day. He said the big, ugly bill won't touch Medicaid and won't screw over middle-class families, but the bill cuts 16 million people off their healthcare and ransacks the food budgets of working people.

Guess what. You can't trust him. You can't trust a word this administration says. We should be debating a War Powers Resolution. We should be talking about their awful, ugly bill that is working its way through the Senate. Instead, Republicans want business as usual, endless wars, and tax cuts for the rich.

Enough is enough. I urge a ``no'' vote.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, let me just remind my colleagues again about what is happening here. Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine on day one. He didn't. Last time I checked, it is still going on.

He said he wouldn't get us into another war. He just did. He said there was a cease-fire that would last forever. There wasn't.

He said his bill won't kick people off of Medicaid, and it will. Sixteen million people are about to lose their healthcare, and it is going to adversely impact rural areas even more so because of what he is doing.

Mr. Speaker, do you know what he has been doing since midnight? He has been on Truth Social. He has posted nearly 30 times since midnight on Truth Social, first of all declaring victory and that everything is beautiful and then retweeting posts calling for him to get the Nobel Peace Prize.

He is more interested in getting an award than he is in protecting people's healthcare and making sure that people in this country have enough to eat and that children don't go hungry.

I mean, these priorities, maybe they are the majority's priorities. They are not my priorities. I think they are all screwed up.

Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 2753, the Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act of 2025, which would block the Republicans from cutting Medicaid or SNAP benefits and kicking people off these lifesaving programs as part of their reconciliation bill.

Last month, House Republicans jammed through their multitrillion- dollar tax scam by a one-vote margin. As a reminder, this bill includes the largest ever cut to food assistance and will strip healthcare from 16 million Americans, all while adding $3.3 trillion to the debt.

Mr. Speaker, some Republicans didn't even know what was in the bill when they voted for it. Yet when they had the chance for a revote 2 weeks ago, because they screwed it up the first time, they voted to cut Medicaid and SNAP again.

As we stand here, debating unrelated immigration measures, Senate Republicans are moving forward with their version of the big, ugly bill. Because House Republicans broke so many rules when they passed their bill the second time, they are going to have to vote on it a third time when it comes back from the Senate.

Miraculously, due to their own ineptitude, Republicans have given themselves yet another opportunity to protect healthcare and SNAP for millions of Americans. Let's see if they vote this time to bring up the Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act.

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, to discuss our proposal, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Figures).

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

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that everybody is going to be adversely impacted by the big, ugly bill. Senior citizens, children, and everybody in between will be impacted.

In the gentleman's district in Georgia, it is estimated that a total of 41,718 people will lose their insurance. It is estimated that 33,400 will lose Affordable Care Act coverage. Mr. Speaker, 8,318 will lose Medicaid coverage.

Mr. Speaker, I don't know how Republicans go back to their districts and meet with their constituents. I guess they don't meet with their constituents anymore. I know the Speaker of the House said Republicans shouldn't do townhalls.

At some point my Republican colleagues will have to face them. How do they tell their constituents they voted for a bill that will adversely impact them?

The cuts in SNAP alone will increase hunger in this country substantially. We should talk about how we end hunger and, instead, Republicans are moving legislation to increase hunger.

We should have a country where everybody has healthcare coverage. Instead, they are pushing a bill that will throw people off of health insurance. I don't know how people do that. I don't know how they go home and talk to constituents about the fact that they are here fighting on their behalf.

I thought our job, no matter whether Democrat or Republican, was to fight for things to improve the quality of life for everybody in this country. That is not what this big, ugly bill is about.

Mr. Speaker, I have to say the Senate has actually made the Medicaid provisions worse, if that was possible. Even more people will lose it. That is not me saying it. It is the CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, saying that. It is not Jim McGovern or Democrats. The Congressional Budget Office is saying it.

It talks about not only how many people will lose their healthcare coverage and how many people will lose their SNAP benefits, but it talks about how much this is going to add to the debt. It will add trillions.

The people who are deficit hawks, they all talk a good game. They are going to be tough on the budget. They are going to make cuts to make sure we can balance the budget, except they don't. They add another $3.3 trillion, basically to give tax breaks to billionaires.

Who does that? Who thinks that is a good idea? I don't think I know any billionaires. I am hard-pressed to find somebody out there who is a billionaire who says he really needs another tax cut.

We ought to reject this big, ugly bill that they pushed through the House and that is on its way back from the Senate.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, my question to the gentleman is: If he doesn't represent any billionaires, why is he for tax cuts for billionaires?

Why are Republicans for tax cuts for billionaires? Maybe it is because they write out big campaign contributions. That is really a cynical thing. That is what is at the heart of all of this.

The gentleman said that taxes will go up for middle-class families in Massachusetts. We actually gave them a chance in the Rules Committee. We are for middle-class tax cuts. We are for extending them. In the Rules Committee, I offered a number of amendments to exempt billionaires from the tax cut. Every Republican, the gentleman included, voted ``no.'' They wanted to make sure that the billionaires got the tax cuts.

Then we said: What about millionaires? Let's exempt millionaires. Let's keep the tax cuts for the middle class and exempt millionaires. Everyone on the Rules Committee, including the gentleman, voted ``no.''

By the way, if people want to know what is going on here, the cuts to SNAP alone are $300 billion. The cuts to Medicaid in the Affordable Care Act are $1 trillion. The tax cuts for people with incomes in the top 5 percent are $1.6 trillion.

The numbers don't lie, but it kind of shows what this debate is all about. This is about a transfer of wealth from those in the middle to those at the top. It is about rewarding and enriching those who are well-off and well-connected. It is about punishing those in the middle and those fighting to be able to just get by, to put food on the table, and to make sure they go to the doctor if they or their kids get sick.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Simon).

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

I, and I think everybody on the Democratic side, oppose violence and criminality, and people who commit violence ought to be held to account.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman if he would join with me in publicly condemning the pardon of all those who committed such heinous crimes and so much violence here on the Capitol on January 6.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to gentleman if he wants to condemn the pardons. I can tell you one thing, Mr. Speaker, Governor Newsom is not going to pardon those who looted stores or committed violence or attacked law enforcement, but Donald Trump pardoned the people who attacked the men and women who were protecting all of us here, our staff, and all of the people who work here.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman if he wants to condemn the pardons that Trump gave to all those who committed these terrible crimes on that horrific day.

Silence.

We can't even get the Speaker of the House to hang a plaque honoring the men and women in law enforcement who defended us.

What is wrong with this place?

Violence is wrong no matter whom it is committed by. The difference here is that Governor Newsom will not pardon people who committed violent crimes.

Again, Mr. Speaker, as we are gathered here today, we have a President who all he seems to want to do is tweet. As I said before, he has posted nearly 30 times since midnight. He took credit for a cease- fire which, by this morning, was broken. He attacked Federal Reserve Chair Powell. He attacked Representative Ocasio-Cortez, and he attacked Representative Thomas Massie. Again, I think attacking Massie may replace golf as the President's favorite pastime.

Of course, while talking about Representative Massie, Trump had to pat himself on the back for winning elections in Kentucky. He also posted multiple times about the Nobel Peace Prize. That is what he cares about, getting an award. It is all about him, not saving healthcare, not ending hunger, but getting an award.

We need serious people working to solve real problems, and what we have is a reality TV show White House with a stream of consciousness press operation, and it is supported by a Republican Congress that thinks it is a debate club rather than an equal branch of government.

This Congress doesn't even debate real things. The President sent our troops to bomb another country this week, and that is not what we are here debating this week. We are debating a meaningless resolution and bills to further demonize immigrants.

Enough, Mr. Speaker. Let's try work on something, anything, that will help real people. This is not the way government is supposed to operate. It is not working. People are being hurt.

While we are having this discussion here today, this big, ugly bill is winding its way through the Senate to come back here to the House.

I predict that my Republican friends, as always, will say: Oh, I am really concerned about the cuts in Medicaid. I am really worried about people who will lose their healthcare. Yeah, I know, I wish they weren't cutting SNAP so deeply. Oh, yeah, I really care about this and care about that.

Do you know what they will do, Mr. Speaker?

They will come here, and they will cave. They get in line because they are afraid of even asking a question about what this President is doing and what this administration is advocating. We need to do so much better around here.

I have to tell you, Mr. Speaker, this is ridiculous that this is what we are doing this week when there is so much happening in the world. By the way, again, let's make sure everybody understands this: This big, ugly bill that is coming here is about a tax break for billionaires. I just showed you the figures, Mr. Speaker. There is more money going to billionaires than anybody else in the tax bill, and they are cutting programs like SNAP and Medicaid. It really is shameful.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, a couple of things. The gentleman has had 30 minutes, and he couldn't spend 30 seconds to condemn the Trump pardons of those who viciously attacked our law enforcement on that terrible day on January 6. We have a Speaker of the House who won't hang a plaque that he is supposed to do under law honoring the law enforcement who were here protecting all of us and who were beaten right outside that door.

It is crickets on the other side. They can't bring themselves to condemn that. They can't say that the pardons were wrong. I don't get it.

I have spent my entire life fighting for peace, and when Trump says that he wants peace, where is the peace?

He said that he was going to bring peace to Ukraine on day one. Instead,

what he has done is he is constantly giving comfort to the Russian leader. He has lambasted Zelenskyy in the Oval Office and can't say enough nice things about Vladimir Putin.

That is not my idea of peace. That is capitulation. That is giving in to a vicious aggressor. I am sorry, if the gentleman thinks that that is peace, then we have a very different opinion of that.

Again, we all hope and pray that things de-escalate in the Middle East. Here is what we know: We don't know whether Iran still has nuclear material, and we also know that they have been lobbing bombs at each other still. We know there is tremendous unrest in the Middle East, and we don't really know what the endgame is. That is why we should have a debate, and that is why Congress has a role to play.

Again, Mr. Speaker, you may think that all that Donald Trump is doing is fabulous, and that is great, but do you know what, Mr. Speaker?

You should also, as a Member of Congress, want to defend the powers of the legislative branch and understand that we have a role in this too, and that sometimes through debate, if people decide they want to support the President's policies, well, that just strengthens his hand. If people have real questions, then maybe we have to take a different course.

I was around here when we rushed to war in Iraq. We did have a debate, but we were given faulty information by the administration at the time. We were lied to. There were no weapons of mass destruction, and look at what that cost us in terms of life, treasure, and credibility around the world.

Mr. Speaker, again, I think there are things that we should be focused on here right now that are much more pressing than the items that are before us here today.

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

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me just say to the gentleman: You say that you support and respect the men and women who protect us here, the law enforcement who protect us here, yet you can't bring yourself to condemn the action that pardoned those individuals who viciously attacked law enforcement. Also, nobody on the Republican side will demand of the Republican Speaker of the House to hang the plaque that, by law, he is supposed to hang honoring the law enforcement who defended us on that day.

I think that is a lack of respect. That is a lack of respect to law enforcement. The Republicans can't even condemn the rioters who were here on January 6.

So what the hell is wrong with this place?

Mr. Speaker, I will close with this: Congress alone has the power to declare war, not Donald Trump, not his Truth Social account, and not his campaign donors. This administration cannot be trusted with that power. They have no plan, they have no strategy and no clue. Just follow him on Truth Social. Every day they stoke chaos abroad to distract from the misery that they are causing at home.

Mr. Speaker, does anyone remember the last time a Republican President misled the Nation about WMDs, using vague evidence to drag us into a war in the Middle East? He stood under a mission accomplished banner, and then we were at war for nearly a decade, and it cost trillions of dollars and thousands of lives.

I guess the 2025 version of a mission accomplished banner is a Truth Social post telling everyone that this was a spectacular military success.

Give me a break. Mr. Speaker, 2003 called. They want their foreign policy back.

Republicans want to keep everyone divided and distracted. They went to distract us from their big, ugly bill, a tax scam so cruel and corrupt that it actually makes working families poorer just to make billionaires richer.

They want to distract us from the fact that under Trump's watch, grocery bills are sky-high, farmers will suffocate under tariffs, and now families are bracing for a spike at the pump because this President started a war, and he has no clue how to end it.

Well, I won't be distracted. We see this chaos for what it is: reckless, stupid, and dangerous. We see this tax bill for what it is: greedy, immoral, and bad for working people.

Mr. Speaker, I urge this House to stop rubber-stamping chaos and to stop rubber-stamping corruption. Let's do our constitutional duty: Stop this illegal war, end this rotten tax scam, and stand up for the people we work for.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 530 and ask for its immediate consideration.

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 reported a rule, House Resolution 530, providing for consideration of four measures, including H.R. 3944, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026, under a structured rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees, provides for one motion to recommit, and makes 32 amendments in order.

Additionally, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 275, the Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2025, under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security or their respective designees and provides for one motion to recommit.

Further, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 875, the Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act of 2025, under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees and provides for one motion to recommit.

Lastly, the rule provides for consideration of H. Res. 516, Condemning the Violent June 2025 Riots in Los Angeles, California, under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees.

Mr. Speaker, we are here today to debate the rule on four pieces of legislation, beginning with H.R. 3944, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2026.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3944 supports those who have sacrificed for our country and maintains our commitment to the well-being of both servicemembers and veterans.

It provides a total of $453 billion in overall funding, including a discretionary allocation of more than $152 billion, which is nearly $5 billion above the previous year's enacted level.

It fully funds veterans' healthcare programs, including medical care for toxic exposure. It fully funds veterans' benefits and VA programs and supports President Trump's effort to combat veteran homelessness by investing in the new bridging rental assistance for the veteran empowerment program.

It protects the Second Amendment rights of veterans by preventing the VA from sending information on veterans to the FBI without a judge's consent.

Further, it syncs with President Trump's executive order on no funds for DEI or gender-affirming care and protects the Hyde-like language at the VA.

Additionally, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3944 continues support for the Guard and Reserve, providing more than $1.2 billion for Guard and Reserve facility construction.

It includes $2 billion for military family housing, with a focus on child development centers to improve the quality of life of our military families.

It provides robust funding for military construction, which enables continued investment in the Indo-Pacific region and the infrastructure necessary to support U.S. advanced weapon systems.

Furthermore, it prohibits the VA from purchasing resources directly or indirectly from the People's Republic of China.

Mr. Speaker, this bill provides significant investments and support for our veterans, servicemembers, and their families, and it should pass in a bipartisan manner.

Moving on, Mr. Speaker, the rule also provides for the consideration of H.R. 275, the Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2025.

It goes without saying, Mr. Speaker, that the situation at our southern border has improved significantly under the Trump administration. However, under the previous administration, illegal aliens from over 170 different countries, including Iran, the People's Republic of China, and Russia, came across our borders.

H.R. 275 would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to publish a monthly report on the number of special interest aliens--people who pose a significant threat to our national security based on analysis of travel patterns--who have been encountered while attempting to illegally enter the United States.

This bill is common sense, and the American people have a right to know.

Additionally, Mr. Speaker, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 875, the Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act of 2025.

This bill is simple and necessary. It closes a loophole in U.S. immigration law and ensures that aliens who endanger communities by driving while intoxicated are inadmissible to and deportable from the United States.

All three of the individuals included in the title lost their lives in automobile crashes caused by illegal aliens who were driving under the influence. We should honor their memory and work to keep the American people safe by passing this bill in a bipartisan manner.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the rule provides for consideration of H. Res. 516, Condemning the Violent June 2025 Riots in Los Angeles, California.

The First Amendment to the Constitution protects the right to peacefully protest. However, it does not protect against riots and violence. This resolution recognizes the right to assemble and protest peacefully while condemning the riots and violence against law enforcement.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to consideration of these pieces of legislation. I urge passage of this rule.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump--I know it pains my colleagues to say that, ``President of the United States Donald J. Trump''--for his decisive action. I thank him for calling both sides out on the cease- fire.

I point out to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that, as of right now, the cease-fire is holding, and most of the world wants that cease-fire to hold.

Mr. Speaker, when you talk about a cult, the cult would be the people who hate Donald Trump so bad that they want the cease-fire to fail.

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

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time each side has remaining.

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

Mr. Speaker, I don't think that the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act is ridiculous. I think it is necessary. I think our veterans have earned it. I think it is a good piece of legislation. Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, I expect it will probably pass in a bipartisan manner.

I will say this: President Trump wants peace between Israel and Iran. He took decisive action, and without that decisive action, that peace would not have been possible. He wanted peace with India and Pakistan, and he wants peace with Ukraine and Russia. He wants peace.

Now, Mr. Speaker, you may disagree with the way he goes about it, but to attack him and say that he doesn't want a resolution that ends the killing, you just don't know the man if you think that about him. He wants peace.

Sometimes peace requires strength, and it requires a leader who has the mental capacity to make the decisions to carry out the actions necessary to bring about that peace. I am thankful that we have a President who has the ability to make those decisions.

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

Mr. Speaker, I certainly have thanked before, and I will thank again, all of the law enforcement and the men and women who keep us safe in this Capitol. I appreciate what they do for us.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close if the gentleman is prepared to close. I don't have any additional speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, this week, the House has the ability to advance four pieces of legislation under this rule.

H.R. 3944 is the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2026, which provides significant investments and support for our veterans, servicemembers, and their families, as well as military construction. I expect and hope that it will pass in a bipartisan manner.

H.R. 275 is the Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2025 which provides transparency by publishing a monthly report on the number of special interest aliens attempting to enter the U.S. and includes the encounter location and their country of origin. This is information that the public has a right to know.

H.R. 875 is the Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act of 2025, which works to keep the American people safe by closing a loophole in U.S. immigration law to ensure that aliens who drive intoxicated are inadmissible to, and deportable from, the United States.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I hope and expect it will pass in a bipartisan manner.

H. Res. 516 condemns the violent June 2025 riots in Los Angeles, California, which recognizes the right to assemble and protest peacefully while condemning the riots and violence against law enforcement.

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

Mr. Speaker, this bill is not good for national security. That is plain and simple.

This bill would require Customs and Border Protection to publish sensitive detailed national security information on a monthly basis. This information would give the bad guys around the world real-time updates on DHS operations and targeting.

Let's be clear. A special interest alien, an SIA, does not mean someone who is a terrorist. It just means that someone's travel patterns indicate a need for further scrutiny. It means they need more detailed questioning to determine what is going on.

During markup and during the Rules Committee meeting, we heard from my Republican colleagues how the Department already publishes information about known and suspected terrorists. That is true. However, this bill demands that DHS post far more detailed information about special interest aliens than DHS publishes about known suspected terrorists.

Today, DHS publishes suspected terrorist information on a monthly basis, broken down by Border Patrol and ports of entry. No other data is published.

Here, my colleague from Georgia wants DHS to publish more information about special interest aliens than they publish about suspected terrorists. For special interest aliens, she also wants information published in real time about where they are from and where they are encountered.

If Ms. Greene's bill mirrored what we report on known and suspected terrorists, I would be happy to support it. However, that is simply not the case here. By publishing this information in real time, bad actors would be able to tell who is getting advanced screening from CBP. They will also be able to tell which locations have been the most successful in interdicting those migrants that need enhanced screening.

Bad actors will adjust their operations in response and try to avoid extra screening, which will only hurt our national security.

Please note, Mr. Speaker, DHS has never publicly released these numbers on a real-time basis because this information, these numbers, are essentially sensitive data we don't want to be made public. As the chair just stated, DHS already has the ability to publish these numbers if they were to choose to make these numbers public.

Mr. Speaker, if it is safe to do, then why isn't DHS already doing it?

I would say, Mr. Speaker, let the security professionals decide what to publish and when. That is their job, not ours. Ours is to legislate. They have the ability to make decisions now. Let them make these decisions.

I ask my colleagues to let the Secretary, again, make the decisions and publish the information they deem safe and correct.

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

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

This legislation simply puts our national security at risk by forcing DHS to hand over parts of its playbook on how it stops potential actors from entering the United States. It is all going to make us less safe.

This bill would require Customs and Border Protection to publish sensitive national security information on a monthly real-time basis. We are not talking about personal identifiable information, despite the author's claim. We are talking about releasing who CBP is looking for, targeting, and where those advance interviews are actually happening in real time.

This essentially gives the bad people the opportunity to coordinate, triangulate, and take advantage of the situation, essentially to know what our playbook is.

We all support transparency and accountability at DHS--that is our job here in Congress--but not at the expense of tipping off terrorists or criminal organizations as to what our playbook is.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), the ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security.

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

I am listening to this debate, and we are not debating. We are just talking. Again, for the third time I am going to say: We support transparency. We support this information being made public if the Secretary so deems it to be made public in the interest of our national security. That is all we are saying.

We are Members of Congress. We believe in transparency, accountability, and oversight. That is why folks on this side of the aisle are writing countless letters right now to the Secretary of Homeland Security demanding information so that we can do our job. That is transparency.

I don't know when the last time was that my colleagues were at the border. I was just in San Ysidro a couple weeks ago. I can tell you I went to the secondary inspection. Fentanyl is still coming through that border. People were still breaking through that border. The fact is that border is not secure. That is why you have 2,000 U.S.

border agents and 20,000 Mexican border agents trying to work on this issue.

This opposition to this legislation is based on national security. We are saying if this is information that the author thinks is not sensitive, let the Secretary of Homeland Security make that decision to present it. This legislation isn't necessary. You don't want to mandate it. You want to let the anti-terrorist experts make that decision.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Ramirez), a leading member of the Committee on Homeland Security.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will make it clear to my colleagues and those who are watching this that the Secretary already has the power to disclose this information. All we are saying is to let the Secretary and the terrorist expert decide what should be disclosed in real time. What goes on at the border in real time is the key here.

We support full transparency and accountability of the Department of Homeland Security. That is why a lot of us, including yours truly, were going to those ICE detention centers in my district for the last 2 weeks. I could

walk in, and I had a good relationship with those individuals. Then, about a week ago, I was told: You can't come in anymore. You need a 7- day notice.

According to the law, there is no notice that Members of Congress need to give to do an inspection of an ICE holding facility.

They are not doing anything wrong? Okay, so then what is wrong with me coming in and looking at the ICE facility? Transparency, Mr. Speaker, all we are asking for is transparency.

The chairman talked about those cases and due process. I can't speak to those specific ones, but I can speak to what is going on in my district right now. The reason we want more transparency is because I want to make sure that the President of the United States knows what is going on. He promised to go after criminals, those visa overstays, those individuals with orders of deportation, and those individuals who came in, in the last 2 years.

That is the minority, the smallest number, of the people who are actually being apprehended. I say that because the President came out last week and said that we don't want to go after farmworkers, dairy farm workers, and hospitality workers. The President said that we don't want to go after these individuals. We want to go after those three categories.

Mr. Speaker, I will tell you that, back home right now, most of the people who are being rounded up are workers in factories and workers in farms who are picking our crops.

That is part of the American economic strength. The President needs to know that his immigration policies, as being implemented right now, are not what he is saying and not what he deems is good for this country.

That is what transparency and accountability is about, oversight, making sure what they are saying up top is what actually is happening at the ground level.

My colleagues may have seen this story just last week. A gardener at Home Depot gets picked up. He has been in the United States for 25 years. He didn't even have a traffic ticket.

Do you know what the sad part is, Mr. Speaker? Three of his sons are marines in the U.S. Marine Corps.

The President needs to know that he is deporting individuals of mixed households whose children are in the U.S. military.

I am not quite sure--actually, I am certain that is not what the President wanted to happen. That is what our oversight is, to let him know and the public know exactly what is going on in our districts.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 530, I call up the bill (H.R. 275) to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to publish on a monthly basis the number of special interest aliens encountered attempting to unlawfully enter the United States, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 275.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 257, the Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2025.

This legislation is a critical step toward enhancing transparency and ensuring the Department of Homeland Security provides accurate and timely reporting to the American people regarding encounters with special interest aliens attempting to illegally enter the United States.

As chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, I fully support this effort to strengthen oversight and accountability within DHS and safeguard our national security.

Under the Biden-Harris administration's dangerous open-borders policies, droves of special interest aliens, nearly 2 million, and many of them leveraging illicit smuggling networks and irregular migration patterns, flocked to our borders and exploited catch and release policies to access the interior of our country.

The American people deserve to know not just how many entered our country and when, but where they came from.

Fundamentally, this bill simply requires DHS to publicly report on how many special interest aliens were encountered, their countries of origin, and their last country of residence before trying to enter the United States illegally.

The genius of this bill is that DHS can simply add it to the statistics it already reports on a monthly basis. This

avoids any burdensome or duplicative reporting requirements for the department.

Also, by simply reporting the number and nationality of SIA encounters at our borders, it has no impact on the integrity of ongoing anti-terrorism investigations and efforts of Federal law enforcement.

Moreover, access to accurate information is critical for Congress to effectively conduct proper oversight, promote national security measures, and protect our American communities from the threats that special interest aliens pose.

I simply cannot overstate the importance of passing this legislation, especially given the recent activity in the Middle East.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill, and I am grateful to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Greene) for bringing forth this important piece of legislation and for the support of the following cosponsors: Mr. Higgins, Mr. Guest, Mr. Pfluger, Mr. Crane, and Mr. Brecheen.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Greene), who is the author of this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).

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

Mr. Speaker, I will address some of the comments that I have heard from my colleagues and shine a little bit of light of truth on some of this.

My colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa), mentioned that this would serve as an incentive or intelligence to the bad guys. This reports where they are from and the country they came in from. There are no methodologies discussed on how we are apprehending people. We are not giving away national security information about how our agencies operate.

Reporting that an SIA is coming from a particular country or has a particular nation of origin that they started from is not an incentive to anyone. In fact, it is a disincentive to those individuals. For those governments to know that we have an eye on it is a good thing, not a bad thing.

As far as a playbook, it was mentioned earlier, I think, Mr. Speaker, that we were giving away our playbook. Again, not a single method is reported. Not a single process is reported. None of that information is out there. We are not talking about releasing how we do business. We are talking about whom we have apprehended.

It is ridiculous to suggest that this is somehow a threat to national security. I spent 24 years of my life as an infantry officer, a physician, and a special operations physician with our Nation's highest tier-one level assets. I can tell my colleagues that I now sit on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and have for years. I have served on HASC. No one cares more. I was prepared to give my life. My son currently serves defending this country.

This is not a threat to national security, and I suggest that people take the word of people like me over that of some activist.

This incredible mantra about starving people at detention facilities, well, I have been to these detention facilities. I have seen the stacks of snacks and crackers, the meals, and the healthcare that they get, and this after subjecting themselves willfully to, in many cases, an arduous trek, while wearing the same clothing, I will add. The travesty of that was pointed out earlier. Mr. Speaker, I can't tell you how many days I sat in the same set of BDUs downrange for the country.

Let's look at what is really happening at these ICE detention centers. It is absolutely a liberal, Democratic mantra to just throw that out there as somehow a reason not to support a piece of legislation like this. It is absurd.

Do you know what? The American people are waking up to this, and that is a beautiful thing. I agree with my colleague Mr. Higgins. I hope my Democratic colleagues do call for a vote.

I don't know how many times we can correct the record on this kidnapping of a mother and children with cancer. The mother elected on two occasions when offered the opportunity--she had a court order saying that she had to go. Yes, she had been here a while. The process is long. It takes a while to get the court to do it.

When the court decides, that is due process. Due process has occurred. The court has ordered her removal. They were offered: Do you want your child to have healthcare here, or do you want to take them? We will take them with.

It is false to suggest, in this image that is being painted by the left, that ICE burst down the door, grabbed a child with cancer, and deported them.

Again, the American people are a lot smarter; hence, the results of the last election.

I just wanted to make a few comments, Mr. Speaker, about the stuff I have heard today that just infuriates me and infuriates the American people.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I will close with this. The American people deserve to know where the special interest aliens entering the United States are coming from and where CBP is encountering them.

This legislation proposes transparency that is vital to the public's awareness while maintaining the confidentiality of the individuals encountered and the strategies used by CBP.

My colleague mentioned the term ``real time.'' Wouldn't it have been nice to know in real time about the Iranians who are now in this country?

The administration has, I think, successfully removed well over 100 in just the past 7 days, 1 of whom turned out to be a sniper from the Iranian special guard, the Quds Force. Just open the door and let everybody in.

Wouldn't that have been great to know? That would have been nice to have some real-time information for the American people.

What is interesting is--it is almost laughable--I actually saw a Democratic pundit on television talking about how President Trump shouldn't bomb or shouldn't have bombed Iran because the terror cells that are here might get activated. Well, Democrats let them in.

Those are the same folks who say that Americans shouldn't have guns to defend themselves, but I digress.

This legislation is especially prevalent following the Biden administration's failure to secure the border and protect the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this effort to defend the American people and maintain transparency, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of my bill, the Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2025, an essential piece of border security transparency legislation.

A special interest alien, or SIA, is a non-U.S. person who, based on a DHS analysis of travel patterns, may pose a national security risk to the United States or its interests. My bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to publicly release monthly reports on the number of special interest aliens encountered at our borders, their countries of origin, and where they were encountered. This bill would be retroactive to January 20, 2021, so that we can get a better sense of the catastrophic national security impacts of the Biden-Harris administration's open-borders policies.

I will say that is likely why Democrats are fighting this bill so hard.

DHS publicly reports detailed information on encounters and seizures, including CBP encounters of individuals on the terrorist screening dataset, better known as the terrorist watch list, which is an even more targeted and specific number than the number of SIAs. However, missing from DHS reporting is information on SIA encounters. Instead, Congress and the American people have been left only with random, incomplete announcements periodically released by DHS officials, or through leaks to the media.

Similar to the information released on the terrorist screening dataset, my bill would require DHS to report general encounter information on special interest aliens and would not include any personally identifiable information.

No matter how many times my Democrat colleagues say it, there is no personal information released.

In fact, senior DHS officials, like the former Border Patrol chief, have occasionally put out some of these numbers on social media and elsewhere.

Public reporting of SIAs will increase the transparency and accountability that are critical to the health of our constitutional Republic. Congress has the authority and responsibility to provide transparency to the American people, which is exactly what my bill does.

I would argue the American people pay our paychecks, so they deserve to know the truth.

The Biden-Harris administration's disastrous policies placed the United States in an extremely vulnerable national security position. Under Biden and Harris, our sovereign borders became revolving doors for illegal aliens, including an untold number of murderers, rapists, and potential terrorists who hate our country and want to cause harm to our people.

Over the past 4 years, CBP faced an unprecedented number of special interest aliens from the 26 countries that the Department of Homeland Security has determined pose the greatest national security and counterintelligence threat. Those encountered included individuals from adversarial nations, including the People's Republic of China, Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria.

The Biden-Harris administration's intentional disregard for our laws and breakdown of national security resulted in U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountering over 1.7 million special interest aliens. Many of these individuals were swiftly processed and released into the interior under the Biden-Harris administration's catch and release policies. The American people deserve to know who our government is encountering at the border and where they came from while they are attempting to invade our country illegally.

Given the ongoing events in the Middle East, this legislation is essential for Congress to conduct congressional oversight over the special interest aliens encountered invading our borders. During the Biden-Harris administration, the Border Patrol apprehended over 1,500 Iranian nationals illegally crossing the Southwest border between ports of entry.

Of those, Biden and Harris admitted 729, almost one-half. We don't know where they are now, and we don't know what they may do.

With Iran threatening Americans with retaliatory strikes on our homeland, President Biden and border czar Kamala Harris created an opportunity for our adversaries to gain access to our Nation and wreak havoc when called upon.

I am proud that the Trump administration supports this important piece of legislation, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to please support this increase in transparency and accountability within our government.