Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 7148) making further consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 7147) making further consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes; and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

First, Mr. Speaker, let me thank the staff on the Rules Committee, both the majority and the minority staff, because they put up with an awful lot. The way this House is being run, the process and procedures, are absolutely awful.

Mr. Speaker, I would say that this is a clown show, but that would be an insult to actual working clowns who probably lost their healthcare in the big, ugly bill that Republicans passed, but whatever. This is not the way this House of Representatives should be run.

Out of the four appropriations bills before us, only one, the Defense bill, was given an amendment process, where the majority issued a call for amendments.

Overall, 9 out of the 12 appropriation bills this cycle did not receive any call for amendments. In other words, nobody was asked to offer amendments to participate in this process. They were told that their views and their opinions didn't matter.

Last week, Republicans made in order 2 out of 78 amendments submitted to the two-bill minibus that we considered. Again, neither of those amendments had a call for amendments prior. The week before, Republicans made zero amendments in order on a three-bill minibus out of 40 submitted. Only one of those bills had an amendment process prior.

Today, they are making 2 amendments in order out of the 164 amendments submitted to the final appropriation bills before us. They were submitted by Democrats and by Republicans, so 99 percent of those amendments that were offered have been blocked.

The Republicans went on last night about regular order, but they only solicited amendment ideas on 3 out of the 12 appropriation bills that fund our government. Give me a break. This is not the way this place is supposed to be run.

Again, I get it. They are worried about pleasing the rebels within the Republican Conference who always threaten to bring down a rule if they don't get what they want, so I assume that is what happened by making two Republican amendments in order today.

Here is another thing that I noticed in this bill. There is this creation of an ethanol domestic energy council, aimed at kind of buying off people from Iowa, I guess. In the rule, it says this council will be appointed by the Speaker of the House to develop legislative solutions to address the crisis facing our Nation's farmers and refiners.

I asked in the Rules Committee whether the Speaker would only appoint Republicans. The answer was that you can submit whatever you want to the Speaker. It is his decision, but we don't know. So, I don't know whether this is a bipartisan council or just a partisan council.

A question was asked in the Rules Committee: Will it only be Members of Congress on this council, or could members of industry or the energy companies be on this council? We were told that they think it is just Members of Congress, but we don't know.

I mean, I don't know. Those are pretty relevant questions, and this is kind of being tossed in here essentially to buy people's votes.

Here is the deal: To those Republicans who are being bought off by this creation of this new council, let me recall back in September when we were having a debate on whether to kind of extend the pause on Trump's terrible tariffs. All of a sudden, we were told that we had to pause the vote. We went on and on and on for a while, waiting and waiting and waiting, and then we were told that there would be a special trade working group established. The press reported that Congressman Adrian Smith, who is the head of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, would be the head of that working group, and they would address the issue of tariffs. They said it would be a thoughtful process.

Mr. Smith was before the Rules Committee the other day, and I asked him about this trade working group that apparently bought off Republican votes, Republicans who were concerned about the tariffs. I asked him who the Members are on this trade working group. He said that he talks to all Members. I asked who the Members are on this trade working group, and he didn't have an answer. Do you know why? They never appointed anybody to be on the trade working group.

I asked him how many hearings, gatherings, and meetings this trade working group has had. He couldn't answer that because they never had any meetings. I asked if there were any publications or reports that have been produced by this trade working group, and he couldn't answer that because there were none.

Now, we are being told--now, Republicans who are kind of concerned about the issue of ethanol are being told that we are going to create this council for you, this new working group for you, and you should be happy.

I am just going to say this, with all due respect to my Republican colleagues: Those of you who are bought off by this in order to vote for this rule, where I come from, we have a name for that, and that is ``cheap date'' because that is what this is. At the end of the day, nothing--nothing--will end up happening.

I am just going to say one other thing before I get into the substance of these bills. When I was the chairman of the Rules Committee, I made nearly half of all amendments in order. This Republican majority has blocked 80 percent. That means Democrats--and, by the way, a lot of Republicans, a majority of Republican amendments have been blocked. Let me say that one more time. A majority of Republican amendments have been blocked.

I don't know what is wrong with Members over there, but come on, a majority of Republican amendments have been blocked, and you continue to go along to get along. They are not just blocking us. They are blocking their own Members. There have been 106 closed rules so far in this Congress, more than Democrats had in the entire Congress the last time we were in charge.

Again, I know you have a slim majority, but here is another fact that you ought to let sink in: We have had the fewest votes on the floor in 35 years. I mean, that is what this Congress is all about.

Again, I would just say, as somebody who loves this institution, who believes in this institution--and I know many of my Republican colleagues feel the same way--I mean, things have to change.

This place has become an institution where trivial issues get debated passionately and important ones not at all. All the issues that I hear about in my townhalls--the high cost of healthcare, rising food prices, the high cost of utilities--we don't talk about those things here.

We are dealing with messaging bills. When it comes to anything of substance, like these appropriations bills, we are basically told to take it or leave it, that our views don't matter. Again, this is not just Democrats, but Republicans, as well.

Mr. Speaker, again, I am grateful for the hard work of the appropriators and their staffs. These bills are complicated, and the hours are brutal. In this political climate, getting anything done, let alone in a bipartisan way, is no small thing.

While no bill is perfect, I agree with the chairwoman that there are provisions in this package that would make a difference in people's lives, and I think, in some cases, in a positive way. The three-bill minibus--Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, and Transportation-HUD--rejects President Trump's proposed $163 billion in cuts. It continues funding for priorities like medical research, NIH, opioid response grants, childcare, and Head Start. It includes badly needed funding to hire more than 2,500 air traffic controllers.

Democrats blocked more than 40 poison-pill riders that Republicans tried to jam in on reproductive care, vaccines, sanctuary cities, and more. I thank Ranking Member DeLauro for holding the line and keeping that garbage out.

I want to talk about something bigger than the line items because, in my view, these bills are being written as if we are still operating under rules that, let's be honest, this current administration does not recognize. The President has shown over and over again that he won't follow the rules. He treats the law like a suggestion. He treats Congress like an obstacle. He treats the Constitution like it is optional.

When we respond with business as usual, that isn't responsible. It is naive. If we don't build in real guardrails, strong, enforceable guardrails, then we are not just funding programs, but we are handing over power. We are writing checks and crossing our fingers that an administration that is proud of breaking the rules will suddenly decide to behave.

Here is the perfect example: This three-bill minibus increases defense spending by more than $8 billion above the President's own budget request, yet it does nothing to rein in this administration's recent illegal military actions around the world, nothing that makes clear that Congress and not the President decides when America goes to war.

The same kind of blank-check governing is also present in the Homeland Security bill. Let's not mince words: ICE is out of control. We are watching Federal agents roll through communities like they are above the law: stopping people, harassing people, intimidating them, and, yes, shooting them.

That is not America. That is not freedom. It sure as hell is not what our parents and our grandparents fought for.

We have history in this country. We know exactly where ``show me your papers'' leads. We know what it looks like when a government decides that certain people don't belong and then builds an enforcement machine to terrorize them into submission.

Yet, here we are, being asked to hand DHS more money with nowhere near the due diligence or the ironclad accountability that this moment demands. Hell, Republicans already supercharged DHS with $75 billion in their big, ugly bill last year. Now, we are supposed to keep feeding the beast? I say hell no. I don't think ICE deserves a single cent more, which is why I am voting ``no.''

I will acknowledge the work that went into these bills. I will acknowledge some provisions that could help people, but I do not trust this President. I do not trust Trump's OMB. I do not trust this administration, which has made lawlessness a habit, to follow the intent of Congress just because we typed it into statutory language.

Call it Trump derangement syndrome, as some of my Republican friends have labeled it. I call it learning from experience. I call it paying attention. This is our last real leverage point. Once we fund it, once we sign the checks, the power shifts. With this President, that is terrifying because he is erratic and lawless.

We tried to put up guardrails. We offered amendments to rein him in. The Republicans all voted them down, every single one of them. They voted against accountability, and they voted against constraints. It is crazy. It tells you everything you need to know, Mr. Speaker. They would rather give him a blank check than do their job as a coequal branch.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' on this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Fletcher).

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman just listing off a bunch of criminals, and we don't take issue with arresting violent criminals. Violent criminals should not be on our streets no matter where they are born, and they should face justice. But the issue is that ICE is terrorizing communities and attacking people, including U.S. citizens.

In Minnesota, a U.S. citizen said ICE took him at gunpoint in his underwear, without a warrant, in front of his 4-year-old grandchild.

In another instance, a U.S. citizen went on his lunch break, and masked Federal agents detained him in a choke hold.

In Miami, Federal agents ripped a woman from her car as she screamed that she was a U.S. citizen.

ICE agents in Minnesota ate lunch in a small-town Mexican restaurant. When they were done enjoying their meal, they detained two workers who served them.

In California, a U.S. citizen on his way to work at a food bank pulled over to warn Federal agents that they should wrap up their stop of another individual before school-age children gathered for the bus. Moments later, an ICE officer shot him in the back.

In Chicago, ICE agents stormed an apartment complex by helicopter as families slept and deployed chemical agents near a public school.

Mr. Speaker, ICE is wreaking havoc on people all over this country, trampling over the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens at every turn. U.S. citizens across the country are carrying their passports out of fear of being detained without cause.

There are reports of Native Americans who are U.S. citizens being detained by ICE. Thirty-two people have died in ICE custody in 2025-- 32. It was ICE's deadliest year in over two decades.

In just the first 9 months of Trump's second term, over 170 U.S. citizens were detained by ICE, and nearly 20 were children. Two dozen were held without being able to call lawyers or their family. These citizens have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased, and shot by immigration agents.

Mr. Speaker, I can go on and on and on. Let me be clear. This is an out-of-control agency at war with communities around the country. They don't give a damn if you are a U.S. citizen. The silence on the other side of the aisle is outrageous, as if this is no big deal. Wait until it happens to you or a loved one.

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

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

I urge we defeat the previous question. If we do, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up S.J. Res. 88, which would allow for an up-or-down vote on whether to terminate President Trump's global tariffs.

Mr. Speaker, on April 2 of last year, President Trump announced he was opposing tariffs on virtually all countries, including our closest allies like the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Norway, and Taiwan--the list goes on--based on a bogus national emergency.

He called it ``liberation day.'' Let me tell you that the only liberation my constituents have felt is money being liberated from their hard-earned paychecks because the price of basically everything has gone up since Donald Trump took office.

The price of beef has risen 16.4 percent over the last year. The price of coffee is up a whopping 19.8 percent. The price of lettuce is up 7.3 percent. Frozen fish is up 8.6 percent. In total, families paid $310 more for groceries during President Trump's first year in office compared to 2024.

It is now abundantly clear that President Trump broke his promise to lower costs on day one, in large part due to his cost-increasing tariffs. Although the President and his cronies claim that these tariffs are paid by foreign governments, in reality, it is the American people who pay the tariffs.

According to a newly published study, which analyzed $4 trillion in shipments over the past year, American consumers and importers paid 96 percent of the cost of tariffs, while foreign companies shouldered a measly 4 percent of the cost.

Last October, more than 2\1/2\ months ago, the Senate sent to the House on a bipartisan basis this joint resolution to terminate the global tariffs. In this House, our Republican majority has continued to block a simple up-or-down vote. They have basically endorsed the increase in the cost of living for average people.

Speaker Johnson promised his Members that he would create a working group to address the tariffs. We now know this tariff policy working group is a mirage. It doesn't exist. You got taken.

When I ask the Republican chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade about the working group, which he was supposedly in charge of, he said he didn't know who was on it or whether or not it had ever met.

Are you serious? Are you serious? Most Republicans, even the ones who oppose the tariffs in private, are continuing to go along to get along with this.

When are Republicans who know better going to stand up against this crazy tariff policy that is raising costs at home and destroying our alliances? It is never too late to do the right thing. By voting to defeat the previous question, we can finally have an up-or-down vote in this body on whether to terminate President Trump's disastrous global tariffs.

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

Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for raising an issue that he got a working group on--a working group that may meet or not meet, may have members or may not have members, and may do something or may not. Boy, wow, that is something.

Mr. Speaker, today, I recognize someone who has quietly made this place work day after day and vote after vote. Ray Salazar is leaving the House after more than 11 years of service to this institution and to the Democratic Caucus. I want to say plainly and on the record that we are thankful for his service.

Ray started here the way that a lot of great public servants start: by showing up, doing the work, and earning trust. From an internship with Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, to Whip Hoyer's AmeriPAC, to becoming a special assistant to the Office of the Democratic Whip, Ray learned this place from the ground up.

Ray then served as floor assistant for Whip Hoyer, floor director for Leader Hoyer, and deputy floor director and senior adviser. Most recently, he has been floor director for the Democratic Whip, Katherine Clark, helping Members to navigate the toughest moments, the longest days, and the most important votes.

For the Rules Committee specifically, Members and staff relied on Ray for many, many years. Whether it was getting information about the floor at 1 o'clock in the morning or helping to solve tricky procedural problems, he has been a reliable and valued part of the Rules family.

He is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University with a background in international relations, national security, and advanced military education focused on joint warfare. He understands the world. He understands the institutions. He understands that democracy runs on people who do the hard work, the unglamorous work.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ray for his professionalism, his steadiness, and his service. We will miss him on the floor, and we wish him nothing but success as he begins his next chapter.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, after all the time that we spend together, the gentlewoman can just call me Jim.

Mr. Speaker, let me close with this: Republicans are running this place like a clown show. Over and over again, House Republican leadership shuts down the amendment process. Over and over again, they limit debate. Over and over again, they tell Members to take it or leave it.

Mr. Speaker, 80 percent of all amendments were blocked. We had to have the Speaker up in the Rules Committee this morning because, apparently, the only way Republicans can get their amendments made in order around here is by blackmailing the Speaker and threatening to take down the rule.

Last night, we had Members showing up with serious amendments, amendments aimed at basic accountability, basic guardrails, basic limits on a lawless administration. The leadership's answer is no, one structured rule for the minibus making in order two Republican amendments. Homeland is a closed rule entirely--no accountability, no guardrails, no nothing.

That is not how the people's House is supposed to work, and it is especially dangerous right now because this is not a normal administration. This President has shown he will say one thing and then do another. He will assure Congress and then ignore Congress.

Now, we are supposed to pass funding bills without ironclad guardrails on what this administration can do with that money, whether it is foreign adventurism, whether it is some half-baked scheme about Greenland, or whether it is building out a domestic secret police force that treats human beings like trash.

Let's be honest. If you cannot trust an administration to follow the law, then you don't give them a blank check. That is exactly what this process risks doing.

I want to see this House do its job. I want Members on both sides to be able to offer amendments, to debate them, and to vote on them. I want to see real constraints to prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to violate rights, to trample the Constitution, or to fuel an agency like ICE that is behaving like it answers to nobody.

I urge my colleagues: Do not rubberstamp a process that shuns accountability. Don't enable an administration that ignores Congress. Don't

pretend that normal rules can contain abnormal lawlessness.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this rule, and 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 1014 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, I rise in support of the rule and of the underlying legislation.

This morning, the Rules Committee met and produced a rule, House Resolution 1014, providing for consideration of H.R. 7147 and H.R. 7148.

The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, under a structured rule with two amendments made in order.

The rule further provides that H.R. 7147, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026, will be considered under a closed rule.

The rule provides each bill 1 hour of general debate divided equally between the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees and one motion to recommit.

Additionally, in the engrossment of H.R. 7148 after final passage in the House, the text of H.R. 7006, the Financial Services and General Government and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026, and H.R. 7147 will

be added to the bill. The Clerk will redesignate the sections and be authorized to make technical and conforming changes.

Mr. Speaker, with consideration of this rule and its two underlying measures, the House stands firmly upon the 1-yard line. We are, indeed, ready to move forward and complete the appropriations process. We are ready to lock in the final components of our 12 fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills.

Additionally, we are ready to further cement our long-overdue return to regular order in this legislative body. It will be a welcome return, indeed, Mr. Speaker.

Here is the simplest of truths that all of us here understand and need to be reminded of regularly: There will never be such a thing as a perfect piece of legislation or a perfect package of bills.

Perfection is a phantom. Many may seek it with the best of intentions, but in the end, it is unattainable. That is just a fact of life that we must understand.

I can imagine that there are Members who want to see more within these measures, and there are some who want to see less. Both positions are to be expected, but here is the bottom line: We should never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

The two appropriations measures under consideration here today, as well as the ones this body has passed previously, all bear the hallmarks of the America First agenda. They meet the priorities of the President and the priorities of the American people. They make sizeable contributions to America's strong posture of defense, our Nation's systems of infrastructure, national security, and research and innovation within health.

As Chairman Cole has noted multiple times over, this process has been Member-driven and deliberate, and I wholeheartedly agree with that. I will also add that this process and the monumental victories that we have achieved thus far signal a fundamental, positive change within this legislative body, a change we should take note of and celebrate.

Let's finish out this process and deliver this final tranche of appropriations bills across the finish line.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is the most targeted process in two decades. We got the Senate to do its job. I will stack this process up against that of the Democrats when they controlled the process and let the public decide.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Webster).

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

Mr. Speaker, Democrats continue to attack ICE agents in their operations.

Instead of debating the complexities of arrest or the nuances of reasonable suspicion, Democrats are instead attacking their authority, their dignity, and their work at large. That is beyond unfortunate as ICE agents are arresting some of the worst criminals imaginable.

During the first year of the Trump administration, ICE arrested 7,000 gang members from America's streets. This includes a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela, an active gang member. The perpetrator's rap sheet includes arrests for homicide, assault, cruelty toward children, domestic violence, and damaged property. He entered the U.S. in 2022 and was released by the Biden administration. ICE arrested him on February 28, 2025, and the Trump administration removed him on September 12, 2025.

ICE arrested a criminal illegal alien from Cambodia, a Crips gang member, who was convicted of homicide, robbery, and battery. He was released into the U.S. by the Biden administration. ICE arrested him on March 4, 2025, and removed him on April 2, 2025.

ICE also arrested a criminal illegal alien from Cuba and Bloods gang member, who was convicted for multiple homicides and burglary. ICE arrested him on October 27, 2025, and removed him on January 6, 2026.

Beyond gang members, ICE has arrested some of the worst perps imaginable, including a 20-year-old citizen of Guatemala who was filming a child being raped.

Mr. Speaker, despite all of this, ICE law enforcement is facing a 1,300 percent increase in assaults against them, a 3,200 percent increase in vehicle attacks, and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats.

If Democrats want to debate the new Supreme Court interpretations of reasonable suspicion, let's do it. If they want to debate the very authorities of ICE stretching back decades over both Republican and Democrat administrations, let's do that. If they want to have concrete debates about the authorities or changes of laws, let's do that. But we should not attack the operational decisions that are directed to one goal and one goal only: keeping Americans safe and upholding our immigration laws.

We enforce our immigration laws, or they are meaningless. We either grant ICE the mission of fulfilling its mandate, or we don't. We either give them the support they need to confront, stand face-to-face, and arrest the world's worst criminals, or we don't.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Edwards).

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

Mr. Speaker, President Trump has reset our standing in the global market after decades of failed and unfair trade deals put the American economy last.

Swift and decisive action has brought scores of countries to the negotiating table and numerous new trade deals including with the U.K., the EU, Japan, Australia, Korea, El Salvador, Vietnam, Guatemala, and Malaysia, just to name a few. These trade deals will help grow the economy, protect the American workers, and reassert our global standing.

Our friends have selective memory. Let's remember: When President Biden took office about 5 years ago, he left President Trump's tariffs from his first term largely in place. We didn't hear a peep from our colleagues then. In fact, many of them advocated for keeping those tariffs and embraced the Biden decision.

President Trump is simply doubling down on that successful approach. It seems the deciding factor for Democrats' newfound opposition is grounded in Trump derangement syndrome.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nunn).

Mr. Speaker, I also thank Mr. Salazar for his work and, actually, all the staff who work so hard around this Capitol. We are very blessed.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that Mr.--I am going to say this in a second--Mr. McGovern is ready to close, and I am ready to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and I thank the gentleman from Worcester.

Mr. Speaker, for months, bipartisan, bicameral negotiations and collaboration have been underway. They have yielded consistent, consecutive appropriations products that deliver upon the Nation's highest priorities.

I applaud Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro, as well as other appropriators, and especially their staff, for the time they have invested in these 12 appropriations bills. It is time to get them across the finish line and stamp our seal of approval on them.

In a moment, I will offer an amendment to the rule that would repeal the Senate's Arctic Frost payout provision.

The House has previously considered this under suspension by a vote of 427-0. This vote reflects a bipartisan consensus.

I cannot overstate how wholly inappropriate it was that the Senate included this provision in the continuing resolution to reopen the government late last year. We must strike down this provision immediately. American taxpayers should not be on the hook for this inappropriate payout.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to bring this process to a close. It is time that we return this legislative body to regular order and move forward with our work. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the previous question and ``yes'' on the rule.

Amendment Offered by Ms. Foxx

Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment to the resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I begin by thanking Ranking Member Cuellar for his work on this bill. He is a tough negotiator, and this bill is better for his efforts.

I also thank the committee staff. In particular, Shannon McCully, Jamie Wise, and Jim Ellsworth. They spent many long hours and a lot of sleepless nights fighting to make this bill as good as it could be.

The Homeland Security funding bill before us today has gotten a lot of attention over the past few days, and rightfully so. It deals with funding ICE, an agency that has shown itself to be lawless, vindictive, aggressive, cruel, and, thus far, unaccountable both to Congress and the American people.

That is not all that the Homeland Security bill deals with, however. Before I return to the topic of ICE and its funding, I will share some of what else is contained in this bill.

This bill rejects President Trump and Secretary Noem's attempts to eliminate FEMA, increasing funding for the agency by over $870 million, in addition to providing more than $26 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund. It increases funding for TSA by $149 million and provides a pay raise for air traffic controllers and uniformed members of the United States Coast Guard.

This is important funding, and I am glad that these provisions which we fought for were included in the bill. The final product, though far from perfect, is better because of it.

Despite these inclusions and others, it is impossible to ignore the impact that ICE's conduct had on completing this bill. ICE has operated with brutality, terrorizing our constituents, abducting our neighbors, and violently assaulting lawful residents who have done nothing but had the misfortune of crossing ICE's path on their way home from work.

Unfortunately, this month, we saw how this unchecked lawlessness can have fatal consequences with the killing of Renee Nicole Good.

This is a rogue agency. Substantial constraints must be placed on it. During negotiations, we proposed such constraints, but our Republican colleagues refused to include almost all of them.

We sought to prevent any funds from being used to detain or deport U.S. citizens, a commonsense measure. They refused to commit to that.

We proposed prohibiting interior enforcement by non-ICE personnel, like the Border Patrol. That was rejected, as well.

We put forward a provision to ensure that Members of Congress can continue to conduct our lawful oversight of all ICE facilities, uninhibited. That, too, was deemed unacceptable.

Democrats did win some battles in this bill, however. Under this bill, we reduce ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations budget by $115 million. We reduce their detention capacity, providing funding that could only be used for body-worn cameras. We increase funding for the Office of Inspector General, specifically for oversight of ICE detention facilities.

These are good provisions. I am glad they are in this bill, but it is clear that more must be done. ICE believes it can act with impunity, and it is behaving accordingly.

I trust that my colleagues have taken the time to review what is contained in this bill and have determined for themselves what is best for their constituents and communities. I have made my own determination, and that determination leads me to a ``no'' vote on this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), the distinguished ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark), the distinguished Democratic whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the distinguished ranking member of the Defense Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Minnesota.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), the distinguished ranking member of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Escobar), who is a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), who is the distinguished ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner).

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my opening, this is a bill that has gotten so much attention over the past few days, and I think that that is the reality of where we are.

I have watched this bill over the years, and it has always been a struggle to deal with the Homeland Security bill. I thought that we were really on track to be able, this time around, to make some significant progress in the Homeland Security bill, and we were on track to do that.

However, then we watched unfold an unspeakable tragedy in Minnesota: the unspeakable loss of a young woman who was killed.

We have heard from my colleagues from Minnesota not just about the killing of Renee Nicole Good, but of the other unspeakable transgressions by an agency that has made a determination that they are not accountable to anyone, to no law, no rule of law, and even no higher calling of understanding how you treat human beings.

They have run roughshod over United States citizens. No one here believes that criminals in this Nation shouldn't be deported or that they shouldn't face the legal system that we have because the strength of the United States is that we are a nation of laws; that we abide by the rule of law. This agency is defying this at every step of the way, every day, with the sanctioning of the President of the United States saying that we are going to work to increase the pain, that we are going to detain and potentially deport United States citizens.

We asked for some simple reforms: Don't deport United States citizens. Require the training and hiring of personnel that are competent and capable for this job.

Do you know that training has gone from 5 to 8 months to 6 to 8 weeks? The sensitivity around this issue has been broken, and the trust of the American people and the people of Minnesota has been broken. Children are frightened. Families are frightened. There is no need for that in this country.

We need to have the rule of law reinstated. We can't have masked, armed people on the street pulling over anyone that they choose to based on the color of their skin or how they look.

I said this in the Rules Committee when I testified. I actually have two grandsons who are adopted. I have one from Guatemala. Yes, he is brown-skinned, but he is a citizen. He lives in Los Angeles. I find myself telling him, ``Make sure you carry your passport,'' because it scares me that, because of his brown skin, he can be pulled aside, detained, and deported. He is a United States citizen.

My other grandson's parentage is Uzbekistan, but he is a United States citizen. He is a youngster, and he could be snatched up and separated from us.

This is the United States of America. We have watched and focused on Iran. We watched the SAVAK in Iran take people off the street, detain them, kill them, and never heard from them again. We are not going down that road. We cannot go down that road. The Congress cannot take us down that road.

I was hopeful, as the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee--and my colleague and the chair knows this--to get what we need to get done, and we were on the road. We were on a good track, but we have to face the circumstances.

We have to deal with the environment. We have to deal with what has happened in this country. We cannot turn a blind eye. We cannot say let's overlook it because if we overlook it, it will not get better. It is our responsibility now to make it better so that we can turn this around and make this agency work.

I am not for abolishing ICE. There will be a lot of people who are going to be unhappy with my saying that, but so be it. We need to reform it. We need to turn it around. We need to make it work on behalf of the American people, not make it the fear that a KGB, a SAVAK, or other agencies have had in other countries that we oppose. We can't go down the road of making that who we are. It is our responsibility. It is our responsibility.

I have said to my colleagues over and over again: Make the decision based on where your heart is and what you believe in. This is a moment and a vote that says you have to determine what you believe is the right thing to do, and that is the basis on which to do it. I have made that decision, and the right thing for me to do is to vote ``no'' on this bill.

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

Madam Chair, I yield myself 5 minutes.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of the measure before us today, which includes the Labor-HHS-Education, Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Defense appropriations bills.

I will begin by thanking Ranking Member Betty McCollum and Ranking Member Jim Clyburn for their fine work on the Defense and Transportation bills, respectively. Both bills are remarkably strong agreements that serve as testaments to their tenacity as negotiators. I also thank Chairman Calvert and Chairman Womack and my counterpart on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Chairman Aderholt, for his partnership in reaching a strong agreement on our bill, as well.

None of this would have been possible without the incredible work of the committee staff. In particular, Stephen Steigleder, Jennifer Chartrand, Christina Monroe, Jackie Kilroy, Laurie Mignone, Philip Tizzani, Nora Faye, Ed Etzkorn, and Jason Gray.

Lastly, I express my appreciation for my friend and counterpart on the full committee, Chairman Cole, and the majority staff.

This package is a strong, bipartisan, bicameral agreement that rejects the Trump administration's efforts to eviscerate public services and reasserts Congress' power of the purse.

It rejects efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, instead providing $79 billion in funding for K-12 education programs, financial aid, support for students with disabilities, and much more.

It redoubles our efforts in investments in biomedical research, increasing NIH funding by $415 million, and supporting efforts to develop treatments and cures for cancer, Alzheimer's, ALS, and other deadly diseases.

It provides more than $9 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect and promote our Nation's public health. It increases funding for SAMHSA to provide mental health support and to advance our battle against addiction.

This bill supports families feeling the squeeze from the cost-of- living crisis by investing in affordable housing and protecting funding for rental assistance as the cost of housing continues to climb. These and other efforts will prevent more than 4 million American households from being evicted.

Additionally, this package provides funding for a 3.8 percent pay raise for the brave men and women who serve our country in uniform. It increases funding for medical research by $1.7 billion, supporting research to develop treatment for diseases and service-related injuries. At a time of international uncertainty, this bill shores up support for our European allies and does not include any additional funding for operations in Venezuela or the Caribbean.

You can measure the success of these negotiations by the distance between what was initially proposed and what was ultimately agreed to. When you look at the numbers, it is astonishing.

In the Labor-HHS bill alone, we rejected more than $50 billion in proposed cuts. The Transportation-Housing bill provides $46 billion more than the White House had proposed. There are over 50 programs across these two bills that Republicans proposed to outright eliminate but are ultimately funded in this package. I consider that a success.

In addition, this package contains important provisions to rein in the Trump administration. It provides funding levels, removing ambiguity that the White House has sought to exploit in the past. It establishes deadlines for required spending, provides minimum staffing thresholds to prevent agencies from being hollowed out, and increases notification requirements to ensure the administration is

complying with the laws that Congress makes.

I am proud of the work that was done on these bills, and I encourage my colleagues to support this package.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the distinguished ranking member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Madam Chair, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from South Carolina.

Madam Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from South Carolina.

Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, before I introduce my next speaker, I will say that it is an honor to serve in this institution with Chair Womack, and he understands why we are here and what we are about. He has demonstrated that at great personal cost.

The gentleman said something about friendship. In this body, friendship needs to transcend whatever political difficulties or differences that we have, and he is an extraordinary individual, someone who I call my friend, and I am pleased to do that.

We all are in support of whatever his needs are now and for the future. He is an incredible human being, and I am proud to know him.

Madam Chair, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the distinguished ranking member of the Defense Subcommittee.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), the distinguished ranking member of the Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Mrvan), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the distinguished ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Chair I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Craig), the distinguished ranking member of the Agriculture Committee.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda).

Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I am proud, really, to support this funding package because I think it reasserts Congress' power of the purse. I think the process of the Appropriations Committee over the last several weeks has indicated that power of the purse resides in the Congress, and the appropriations process is the implementation of that power of the purse.

I commend the chair of the committee. It has been an honor to work with him on reinstating the fact that the Constitution says that that power of the purse resides in the Congress and that, again, we are the implementers of that power. It rejects the Trump administration's attempts to eviscerate public services. It establishes guardrails to prevent executive overreach, and it protects important priorities that make our communities safer, healthier, and more prosperous.

As the affordability crisis continues to strain family budgets, this package provides $8.8 billion for childcare and development for that block grant, an $85 million increase. Despite efforts by the Trump administration to defund and dismantle health research, this bill boosts funding for the Office of Research on Women's Health by $30 million, a roughly 40 percent increase.

While the cost of housing climbs and rent prices reach untenable heights, this bill invests more than $66 billion in rental assistance programs, a forceful rejection of efforts by the Trump administration to slash this funding by 50 percent.

As we work to provide stable and affordable housing for all those who need it, this bill increases funding for homeless assistance grants by $366 million and protects important housing programs like the Continuum of Care program from being unilaterally dismantled by this administration.

This bill increases funding for medical research programs at the Department of Defense, including $1.3 billion for Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. These are research initiatives that help develop effective treatments for service-related injuries or conditions, as well as diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.

There are $1.2 trillion in Federal spending accounted for in these bills, and through lengthy, diligent, and worthwhile negotiations, Democrats and Republicans forged an agreement that both sides can proudly stand behind. In an era of polarization, this is no mean feat.

I am proud of my colleagues for their work on both sides of the aisle to craft this agreement. These are good bills, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support them.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 7148, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act.

The legislation before us is part of the final chapter of the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process. This is where months of hard work turn into results.

You see, we aren't here for just another stopgap, temporary fix. We are here to finish the job by providing full-year funding. Specifically, this package addresses core areas of national consequence: Defense, Labor-Health-Education, and Transportation- Housing and Urban Development.

These aren't abstract concepts on a page. They affect how Americans live, work, learn, and travel every day. That matters because behind every line is an impact: a military family with more certainty in their budget, a senior depending on a rural hospital, a student pursuing technical training for a good-paying job, and a traveler trusting that the plane they board will land safely. These bills were written with those priorities in mind.

Our Defense bill sends a clear message: America's military will remain the strongest in the world. It restores deterrence by strengthening readiness, modernizing capabilities, and reinforcing the defense industrial base. The bill also supports our servicemembers with a well-earned pay raise. Together, these investments ensure our forces can deter conflict and win decisively if deterrence fails.

The Labor-HHS title invests in the long-term strength of the country. We support lifesaving biomedical research, strengthen workforce training, and expand access to care, particularly in rural communities. These investments help students gain skills, workers find opportunities, and communities stay healthy.

Through Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, we keep America moving. From roads and bridges to ports and skies, the bill strengthens the safety and reliability of vital transit systems. It modernizes air traffic control, supports the hiring of needed controllers, and accelerates the deployment of new technologies. It also empowers local communities through programs that promote economic development and provide housing assistance to vulnerable Americans.

This package reflects a nation that is strong, prepared, and ready for the future. These are real deliverables and real wins.

This process has underscored a very important point: Congress can make tough decisions that are necessary to govern this country and chart a bold course with President Donald Trump.

Our objectives were clear, and we followed through. Republicans set out to spend less, and the total FY26 funding does just that. We committed to codifying DOGE cuts, and these bills cut waste and rein in government bloat. We promised to deliver America's agenda, which is why we put President Trump's priorities in place and end the Biden-era mandates. This is what responsible governance looks like.

I commend the detailed work of our chairmen--Representatives Robert Aderholt, Ken Calvert, and Steve Womack--whose stewardship ensured this package was both thoughtful in substance and built to deliver results.

I thank their accompanying ranking members--Representatives Rosa DeLauro, Betty McCollum, and James Clyburn--for their support and hard work.

I also want to recognize the dedicated staff whose work made this possible, particularly our chief clerk, Susan Ross.

This measure is the product of sustained engagement and serious legislating. It advances reforms, delivers full-year funding, and reflects a Congress doing its job.

I thank each Member for their time, and I urge all Members to support this bipartisan measure.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), my very good friend and distinguished chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.

Madam Chair, I thank my friend from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn) for his gracious remarks.

Madam Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack), my very good and distinguished friend, the chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, and a person who is here at an extraordinarily difficult time to discharge his responsibilities to the United States.

Madam Chair, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas.

Madam Chair, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), my very good

friend and distinguished chairman of the Defense Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations.

Madam Chair, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice), my very good friend, my fellow Oklahoman, and the distinguished vice chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Scott Franklin), my very good friend and the vice chair of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ellzey), my very good friend and vice-chairman of the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Chairman, I want to begin by thanking the gentlewoman, the distinguished ranking member of the full committee. There are a lot of things we disagree on, but we do not disagree on the importance of the power of the purse and the Article I responsibilities of this Chamber.

My friend has worked tirelessly and with great distinction and great effort to find common ground and to reassert the power of Congress and the appropriations process. We would not be at the point we are today without all of her hard work, all of her cooperation, and all of her toughness in negotiation as well, and the distinguished staff that she leads. Again, I just want to thank my friend for working with us to get to this point.

Mr. Chairman, I think these are excellent bills, and I think they have been written in a cooperative way between distinguished chairs and ranking members of each of these subcommittees. They know their subjects, and they work hard and well together.

My friend, the ranking member, and I have a common philosophy. We try to push decisionmaking as far down as we can, because I can assure you, Mr. Chairman, in each of the areas we have discussed today: Defense, Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, and, of course, our third bill, Labor-HHS, in all those areas, our subject experts are in the subcommittees. They make the best decisions. Every step up you go from there, Mr. Chair, the less informed the decisionmaker is and the more political the decision becomes.

I thank my friend for working with me to make sure that most of these decisions were made by the members at the subcommittee level. Only very rarely did we have to intervene to solve issues between us.

Again, it is good work, it is important work, it is bipartisan work, and it is bicameral work.

I would also be remiss not to thank our cooperating partners in the other Chamber, Susan Collins of Maine, the distinguished chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and her working partner, the distinguished ranking member, Patty Murray, of Washington. All four of us worked well together, and that is why we are at this particular point.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. It is a good bill. It is a combination of three good bills.

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