H.Res. 1398

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1398 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 yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, last night the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1398, providing for consideration of four measures:

H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, 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 Armed Services or their respective designees, provides for one motion to recommit, and makes 312 amendments in order.

H.R. 8595, the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027, 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 29 amendments in order.

H.R. 8884, Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act, 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 Ways and Means or their respective designees and provides for one motion to recommit.

H. Res. 1383, Commemorating the One-Year Anniversary of the Enactment of the Working Families Tax Cuts.

The rule provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective designees.

Additionally, the rule provides that H. Res. 1377 is laid on the table and, once the NDAA is passed, the Clerk shall add the text of S. 1383, the SAVE America Act, to the bill and transmit it, once again, to the United States Senate.

Mr. Speaker, we are here today to debate a rule on four measures.

First, H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027.

Under the leadership of Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith, one of the top priorities of the bipartisan fiscal year 2027 NDAA is to rebuild our arsenal of freedom.

As President Reagan reminded the Nation more than four decades ago: ``It is not just immoral but unforgivable to ask the sons and daughters of America to protect this country with aging equipment and bargain- basement weapons.'' That conviction remains as true now as it was then.

This year's NDAA continues our commitment to ensuring the United States maintains the most capable, lethal, and ready fighting force in the world. This is made possible through a top-line that supports an investment consistent with rebuilding the American arsenal and revitalizing our defense industrial base.

Since the 1990s, we have seen a lack of competition in the defense sector that has reduced resiliency in supply chains, stifled innovation, and, ultimately, has increased costs for the taxpayers while decreasing readiness. This bill aims to change that.

The fiscal year 2027 NDAA strengthens America's security by expanding domestic production capacity, mobilizing private-sector investment, accelerating innovative defense entrants, cutting unnecessary regulatory barriers, and creating thousands of high-skill American jobs.

To reduce costs, this bill expands the multiyear procurement authority for critical platforms such as the F-35, F-15EX, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and many other weapon systems.

This enables the defense industrial base to expand and accelerate domestic production, leading to decreased costs, increased capacity, and increased jobs.

A country that cannot make its own ammunition and weapons cannot deter a war, Mr. Speaker.

In addition, the fiscal year 2027 NDAA makes another major stride in strengthening servicemembers' quality of life and revitalizing our recruitment efforts. It authorizes a 5 to 7 percent pay raise; improves military housing, education, and childcare options for military families; and invests in support systems that keep our force resilient.

The bill also tackles the Nation's pilot shortage head-on by issuing targeted aviation bonuses, expanding the training pipeline capacity, and accelerating pathways to produce and retain the next generation of military aviators.

Implementing the Peace Through Strength agenda, the fiscal year 2027 NDAA rebuilds depleted stockpiles and accelerates game-changing technologies, like quantum computing, hypersonics, and autonomous systems, while sustaining legacy platforms until future replacements become operational.

Platforms such as the F-22, F-18, A-10, and MQ-9 have been instrumental in the operations against Venezuela and the Iranian regime. Sustaining these platforms will eliminate the capability gaps created by prematurely divesting legacy platforms without a replacement platform being operational.

Peace Through Strength starts with a factory floor at Scranton, a shipyard in Newport News, a welder in Pascagoula, and our skilled workforce at Robins Air Force Base.

A stronger, more resilient defense industrial base is what turns American manufacturing capacity into credible military power. This credible military power is what convinces our adversaries that today is not the day to test the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues and the House Armed Services Committee staff for all of the work that went into creating this strong, bipartisan legislation that should pass with overwhelming support.

Second, Mr. Speaker, the rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 8595, the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027.

H.R. 8595 advances the America First policy agenda and restores accountability to how taxpayer dollars are spent abroad.

This year's legislation provides $47.32 billion, 6 percent below the fiscal year 2026 enacted level, while still supporting a foreign policy agenda that supports our allies and counters our adversaries.

This bill restores fiscal sanity by reducing duplication, streamlining operations, and prioritizing core diplomatic functions.

Additionally it codifies President Trump's executive orders to eliminate wasteful programs in spending, strengthen oversight of foreign assistance, and ensure no funds flow to organizations that refuse to cooperate with the United States.

Further, this legislation funds efforts to counter malign influence from the People's Republic of China, denying the CCP access to U.S. factory sources and prohibiting countries from using U.S. aid to repay debts owed to Communist China. It deserves bipartisan support, and I look forward to its passage.

Third, Mr. Speaker, the rule also provides for the consideration of H.R. 8884, the Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act.

This is a simple bill with an important goal: to make sure Americans with disabilities are not punished for wanting to go to work.

For too long our disability policies have been built around outdated assumptions, assumptions that treat work as a risk rather than an opportunity.

H.R. 8884 gives the Social Security Administration the tools it needs to test new approaches, gather real data, and design policies that support work instead of discouraging it.

This bill extends the Social Security Administration demonstration authority through 2030. Participation is voluntary and will not result in a decreased overall income for any member that elects to participate in the program.

This demonstration authority will be a gateway for the Social Security Administration to run scoped test programs which could help disabled Americans work, earn, and maintain stability without risking harm to beneficiaries.

This is commonsense legislation that everyone should support. I look forward to passing it in the House and sending it over to the Senate.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the rule provides for consideration of H. Res. 1383, Commemorating the One-Year Anniversary of the Enactment of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

Nearly 1 year ago today, House and Senate Republicans delivered on President Trump's promise to cut taxes, deliver affordability, and strengthen our economy for everyday hardworking Americans.

The Working Families Tax Cuts Act is the largest tax reform passed by Congress in decades, making permanent the tax cuts passed under the first Trump administration and ensuring a tax cut for over 140 million Americans.

We saw over $324 billion in tax refunds for both individuals and families in 2025 and approximately 96 percent of the filers receiving a refund earn less than $200,000 in annual income.

Further, crucial provisions in this legislation provided numerous deductions for overtime pay, service industry workers who rely on tips, as well as deductions for car loan interest and expansion of the enhanced child tax credit.

American families and workers overwhelmingly benefited from the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, and President Trump and congressional Republicans delivered for the American people by making these tax cuts permanent.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to consideration of these measures and urge passage of this rule. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, no doubt the Democrat socialists of America believe everything that the gentleman from Massachusetts just said, but the majority of Americans are smart enough to know that those things are simply not true.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, one of the key provisions of this rule is the National Defense Authorization Act. This is a bipartisan piece of legislation that has passed every year for the last several decades and passed out of committee with a strong bipartisan vote.

I encourage the American citizens to understand this with regard to our national security and our national defense and how important this piece of legislation is. Up until 2022, in order to launch a satellite, the United States was buying rockets from Russia.

Mr. Speaker, 2022 is the last time we purchased rockets from Russia to launch satellites, and 2024 is the last time we actually used a Russian rocket to launch a satellite.

We have to invest in our defense industrial base so that we are not dependent on the enemies of the United States of America to provide for the security of the American citizens. The National Defense Authorization Act, in a very bipartisan manner, does exactly that.

Mr. Speaker, this rule needs to pass. We need to ensure that we are not dependent on our adversaries for our national security, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

A couple of things, Mr. Speaker: One is that Federal tax revenues are actually up this fiscal year over last fiscal year, and that is because the economy is doing pretty good under President Donald Trump. Again, tax revenues are up 5 percent over the last year.

I want to mention one other thing. People under the age of 18 were exempt from the changes we made in the SNAP benefits. Under 18, they were exempt. Yet, they still stand up and say we kicked children off of SNAP. Read the law. If you are under 18, you are exempt from the changes we made.

I will speak, Mr. Speaker, about one thing that is in this piece of legislation, in this rule, that is wrong that I have tried to correct for many years. If we get the chance to vote on it, I hope we will get it corrected.

I will tell you, several years ago, I went to Bethesda, and a young man I represented had stepped on a pressure plate and lost both legs in Afghanistan. I stayed in touch with the young man. A couple of years later, I was taking him hunting. I remember exactly where I was on 475 in central Georgia. He told me: I work at O'Reilly Auto Parts, but I have to be careful--at the time, it was $1,100 a month--to make sure that I don't make more than $1,100 a month or my family loses the Social Security benefits.

We talked a little while about this. I told him: When I get back to DC, I am going to meet with the lawyers because that just doesn't sound right.

When I came to D.C., I scheduled a meeting with the attorneys up here who deal with Social Security. I met with them, and I had the discussion with them. They told me that that is actually the law, that that is correct.

Here we have this young man who is combat wounded, totally and permanently disabled, who wants to go back to work. I am a firm believer that the number one thing we can do for our veterans, especially when it comes to veteran suicide and their mental health, is to get them back to work as soon as possible.

So, I wrote a piece of legislation that has had multiple cosponsors from both parties, from all spectrums of the political divide, conservative, liberal, Democrat, Republican, moderate. We haven't been able to get it through because of some of the budget rules that plague this place on good ideas.

Now, we have H.R. 8884. If it is passed, I am confident that the concept of the Purple Heart Freedom to Work Act will be put in place as a pilot project. What it would allow people to do is, for people who are combat wounded, totally and permanently disabled, it will allow them to go back to work and keep their Social Security benefits.

It shouldn't take as long as it has taken to do this and to get this passed. If this rule passes, I am confident that H.R. 8884 will pass. If we can get it through the Senate--and that is a big ``if'' with getting anything through the Senate--then, hopefully, our combat- wounded, totally and permanently disabled veterans can go back to work and not be afraid of going back to work because they would lose their Social Security benefits.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I don't have any additional speakers, am prepared to close.

I have listened a lot today, and I want to get back to the heart of this matter, which is the National Defense Authorization Act. That is what this rule is about. It is about H.R. 8884 and allowing--in the case of the legislation that I had--Purple Heart recipients, people who are wounded in combat totally and permanently having the ability to go back to work and not worrying about losing their Social Security benefits, at least for a period of time. It is about the appropriations act for our State Department and things that we do around the world.

There is a lot in this rule, Mr. Speaker, and this rule needs to pass. Yes, the SAVE America Act will be attached to the legislation when it goes across because, yes, we do think you all are letting noncitizens vote in elections. We know you are doing it at the local level, and we think that places like California ought to get their ballots counted before the end of the night, not before the end of the week.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time until the gentleman is prepared to close.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to address a couple of issues. One is he said healthcare providers can't afford their benefits. Well, that is because you turned the whole system over to a select few extremely large health insurance companies that are accountable to nobody, and they are not paying their claims. They are not.

My father was a surgeon. A lot of my friends are in the healthcare business. Let me tell you something: When you gave UnitedHealthcare and the other multibillion dollar corporations control over all aspects of our lives, you did a lot of damage, and you did that in your so-called Affordable Care Act.

If the Affordable Care Act had worked, we wouldn't be having this discussion. You want to talk about the problems in the healthcare system, you need to look in the mirror because you all wrote the bill, and now those big insurance companies aren't accountable to anybody. They own the PBMs. They own the pharmacies. They own the doctors' offices. They own the hospitals. They are huge, huge oligopolies that cater to nobody other than their shareholders.

Look at the share price of the large health insurance companies. Look who you made rich with the Affordable Care Act. It was the shareholders and the executives of all of those major health insurance companies.

When I talk about the economy, yes, I realize that the American citizens are

paying more. Inflation, which started because of the so-called American Rescue Plan--I think that is what you all called it--and your so-called Inflation Reduction Act--why did you name a bill the Inflation Reduction Act? It was because you started the inflation with the American Rescue Plan, and then you turned around and passed the so- called Inflation Reduction Act that just exponentially escalated the amount of inflation that the American citizens were having to deal with on a regular basis.

My point with the economy is this: Real GDP grew. Real GDP grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate for the full year of 2025. That beat the baseline expectations.

Yes, American citizens are having challenges. One of the reasons they are having challenges is the cost of energy.

Do you know what? I will admit, after Donald Trump tried to end the Iranian jihadist control over what was happening around the world--and he has done a pretty good job with it--and let me tell you this: Donald Trump, the President of the United States, knows exactly what he is doing with Iran. He knows exactly what he is doing with Iran, and if you would get the briefings, you would understand why.

In fact, I would point out that a U.S. Senator who doesn't like the President had a few things to say, and as soon as he went and got the briefing, he turned around and reversed his position. Instead of blaming everything on Donald Trump, you should get the facts.

However, the cost of energy is embedded in every single thing that we do and that we buy. When the Democratic Party does things like canceling the Keystone pipeline, like stopping the development of nuclear power plants, like stopping oil and gas developments inside the United States of America, it hurts the American citizens. It hurts the American citizens, and it leads to inflation.

I am sorry that we are having to deal with the inflation that the Democrats started with the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act and the pain that has come from that, and I am sorry the American citizens are dealing with the pain of the Affordable Care Act. I wish we could repeal that horrible bill, but we didn't get it done. We didn't get it done.

Healthcare providers who can't afford their benefits, they can't afford their benefits because the insurance companies that you turned the system over to aren't paying the claims.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the Affordable Care Act created a system where the major insurance carriers are not answerable to anybody. You did this to the American citizens. It is your responsibility. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I know that you were talking about the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, who has done something that will probably never be done again in the history of the country.

He has been elected in 2016 and 2024.

I want to say this as we talk about healthcare and health insurance and the other things.

This side of the aisle recognizes there are problems, and this side of the aisle recognizes that the only way to fix those problems is to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Now, the other side of the aisle thinks that they did a perfect job.

Now, let me tell you something, Mr. Speaker. Before the Affordable Care Act went into place, UnitedHealth Group was trending at $28 a share. Today it is $415 a share, and that is after about a $140-a-share drop.

The only thing the Affordable Care Act did was make a bunch of health insurance executives rich. They are not paying their claims today.

One thing we could do, and I wish we would do, is to give the State insurance commissioners the authority to step in and make them pay their claims.

I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, my local hospital has about $15 million outstanding with the UnitedHealth Group. It is a small hospital, $15 million; a big company, a small hospital. I don't know if my hospital will ever get paid.

That is not what this one is about, Mr. Speaker. This week the House can advance four pieces of legislation under this rule. It is about H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027. It authorizes a historic $1.15 trillion to rebuild the American defense industrial base and arsenal.

This act implements the Peace Through Strength agenda and restores lethality to our armed forces by investing in modernization and multiyear procurement for weapons systems production to deter our adversaries.

It also makes a significant investment in the quality of life of our servicemembers and retention opportunities.

The fiscal year 2027 NDAA reforms key programs and saves taxpayer dollars resulting in a ready, capable, and lethal fighting force.

This legislation will deter China and counter Russia, North Korea, Iran, and foreign terrorist organizations while leveraging our alliances across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Finally, this act strengthens our nuclear deterrence, prioritizes the Golden Dome, and grows our Nation's strategic space capabilities.

This is bipartisan, must-pass legislation that every one of my colleagues should support.

Additionally, H.R. 8595, the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027 delivers on an America First foreign policy agenda.

This protects our allies, confronts our adversaries, cuts waste, and puts American national interests first. It strengthens embassy security, fights fentanyl, defunds radical programs, and ensures every dollar advances American security and prosperity.

Further, H.R. 8884, the Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled American Act, allows the Social Security Administration to test new approaches on a voluntary basis and without impacting the participants' overall income to ensure Americans with disabilities are not punished for returning to the workforce.

Finally, H. Res. 1383, Commemorating the One-Year Anniversary of the Enactment of the Working Families Tax Cuts, highlights the largest tax reform passed by Congress in decades, making permanent the tax cuts passed under the first Trump administration, and ensuring a tax cut for over 140 million Americans.

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 thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me the customary time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by asking: Do Republicans even have the votes to pass this rule? Because, if not, what on Earth are we doing here? Wasting more time?

Even your own Members are fed up, Mr. Speaker--every week wondering if someone is going to throw a fit; if Donald Trump is going to post something crazy and blow everything up; if Mike Johnson is going to bring something to the floor when he doesn't have the votes. The chaos and the dysfunction around here is unhinged.

We wasted hours and hours at the Rules Committee last week debating

and voting on a rule that never came to the floor. And for what? Because Congress passed a bipartisan housing affordability bill, and the President had a temper tantrum, refused to sign it, and derailed everything? I mean, really? And why? Because he is still busy trying to fraudulently claim that the 2020 election was stolen, and now he wants to use that as an excuse to try to rig the midterms.

Let me remind my colleagues: This is the United States of America. It is still the United States of America. We are not China, or Russia, or some two-bit dictatorship.

This is insane what is going on here. Families cannot afford rent. Folks are priced out of buying a house. Donald Trump is asked about the bipartisan housing bill yesterday, and he says: `` . . . it's so unimportant . . . `' he says: `` . . . it's so unimportant . . . `' then he says: ``I made a lot of money with housing.''

The American people are not asking whether Donald Trump made a lot of money in housing. They are asking why they cannot afford it. They are asking why his economy sucks, why their prices are going up, and nobody in this Republican administration seems to give a damn.

So, now, we are back with another rule. Maybe it passes. Maybe it doesn't. Who knows anymore. This rule includes a National Defense Authorization bill with a trillion--that is with a t--dollar price tag.

I should tell my colleagues that we already spend more on our military than the next six countries combined. It is an astronomical amount. Over another trillion dollars on our military budget? Boy, that is so wild and extravagant, even Dr. Strangelove would be impressed.

Now, Mr. Speaker, let me get this straight: Republicans want to give Donald Trump over a trillion dollars for the Pentagon? Donald Trump who started an illegal war? Donald Trump who got 13 American servicemembers killed because he started a war to distract from the Epstein files? That is who they want to give a trillion dollars to? I mean, get real.

The State and Foreign Operations bill is a mess, too. It guts all the programs that actually prevent crises before they explode. When the next war, famine, pandemic, or global breakdown knocks on our door, just remember it was Republicans who set the stage, just like they did when they cut funding for screwworm protection.

There is the Social Security disability bill that hands more authority to an administration already targeting programs that working people rely on.

Then, we get to this Republican self-esteem exercise, yet another nonbinding resolution, praising Republicans for the big, ugly bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have a secret for you. I checked with my staff. Not a single person has called my office saying: Congressman, I think Republicans should spend time congratulating themselves on a bill they passed last year that took away my healthcare and is directly responsible for raising my bills. I haven't got a single call about that.

What exactly is it that my Republican friends are congratulating themselves for anyway? You passed the big, ugly bill a year ago. Since then, gas prices have gone up. Grocery prices have gone up. There is a new war in the Middle East. Healthcare is more expensive, and fewer people have it. Child hunger has gone up. The tariffs are crushing farmers and driving up costs.

That is what you guys are doing a victory lap over? Really? I mean, really? Never have we seen so much inequality between the rich and the poor in this country. Regular people are getting screwed while the top 0.001 percent saw their incomes go up by--get this--$20 million last year.

You guys could not be more out of touch if you tried, Mr. Speaker.

There might be hours of floor debate on these crummy bills this week, but right now we are here to talk about the Republicans' agenda, their plan for the week. The truth is that their bills are just more of the same old status quo nonsense that people back home are sick and tired of.

The Republican agenda is a nightmare for this country. The American people are in an economic crisis right now. They are getting screwed by the policies of this administration. Their wallets and their pocketbooks are getting cleaned out by this President and this majority's billionaire-forced agenda.

Then, they turn on C-SPAN today--and God help them if they do--and what do they see Republicans bringing to the floor? Not a bill to help deal with rising inflation and economic uncertainty--no, no, no. Their focus this week is a resolution to congratulate themselves on a bill that they already passed last year. In case they haven't noticed, for most people, things have gotten worse since then, not better.

People are looking to this place and wondering whether anybody at all on the Republican side has any idea what their life is actually like. They believe that this Republican majority is just out of touch, out of sync with where regular people are. If people look at these awful, lousy bills, the answer is obviously no.

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

Boy, that was a good retort.

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

Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to strike the section adding the SAVE America Act to the NDAA during engrossment.

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. I think the SAVE Act is an awful bill. It is not about election security. It is about relitigating Donald Trump's loss in 2020--and he did lose. He lost big. It will make it harder for American citizens to vote if this SAVE Act ever becomes law.

Here is another thing that is clear to everyone, or should be. This little maneuver by the Speaker is a nothing burger. It is a shell game. It is the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain pretending to do magic. Here is the truth: The SAVE Act will not become law. Even if this rule manages to pass, the Senate will not pass an NDAA with the SAVE Act included. They have already said that, and Leader Thune, 5 days ago, already filed cloture on the Senate's own version of the NDAA without the SAVE Act.

At the end of the day, it is very simple. Republicans are using procedural tricks to try to make it harder for people to vote because they can't win elections the old-fashioned way. They can't win them fair and square. It is offensive. In the case of this MIRV scheme, it is downright stupid.

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 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), the sponsor of this amendment.

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

Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentleman and others that we already spend more than six of our nearest competitors in terms of military spending combined. We are talking about $1.5 trillion--trillion with a t--going to the defense budget this year.

I have to tell you that I really think we ought to have a debate in this Congress about the definition of national security, and I think it ought to include things like healthcare. My Republican friends cut $1 trillion from healthcare. People are losing their healthcare left and right, but if you don't have healthcare, you don't feel very secure.

The definition of national security also ought to include the quality of education we provide our young people.

It ought to include things like ending hunger in this country. We are the richest country in the history of the world, and we have 48 million Americans who don't know where their next meal is going to come from.

It ought to include housing and whether people can afford housing. We have an affordability crisis right now that we tried to address in a bipartisan way, but Donald Trump had a meltdown.

It ought to include supporting our veterans and cleaning up our environment.

It ought to include things like investing in our workforce.

All of those things are sources of our national strength that are getting shortchanged here, so forgive us if we are not getting excited about this massive increase in military spending at a time when the average American is getting screwed.

Enough. Enough.

When you go back to your districts and you talk to people in coffee shops, they are not worried about whether we are spending $900 billion or $1.5 trillion on our military spending, most of which goes to defense contractors. What they are worried about is whether they can afford their groceries, whether they can afford their rent, and whether they can afford the gas for their car.

Those are things that are real. Whether they can send their kids to college, all of those things matter.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I have to admit I was taken a little bit aback by the gentleman's statement earlier when he said the economy is doing ``pretty good.'' I think those are his exact words.

I am kind of stunned by that because inflation is up. The price of groceries is up. The price of gas is up. The price of housing is up. The price of everything is up. People, by every poll that has been conducted, whether it is on the left, on the right, or in the center, say the same thing: People are not satisfied with this economy. They do not think it is pretty good, no matter what their party affiliation is. They do not think it is good.

Now, maybe if you are Republican in the House of Representatives and you hang around with the Mar-a-Lago class, maybe they think it is pretty good. I mean, Elon Musk is now the first trillionaire. I guess he thinks it is pretty good.

If you are the average worker, whether it is in Massachusetts or Georgia or California or South Dakota, you don't share that view because it isn't. Things are actually pretty bad. Things are pretty bad.

The gentleman said that poor kids are not losing their SNAP benefits. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article titled: ``Over 700,000 Poor Kids Across 12 States Have Lost Food Aid Under Trump-GOP Budget Law.''

Mr. Speaker, this article appeared in May 2026. That number is now estimated not at 700,000 but at 800,000 in this country.

Think about it. The economy is doing pretty good, and in this country that we live in right now, the United States of America, we have close to 50 million Americans who don't know where their next meal is going to come from, who are hungry. I don't think they think the economy is pretty good. In fact, the majority of these people are working families. They are working harder than ever, but because everything is going up, they can't afford groceries.

Go to any grocery store in this country, and you will see people actually putting groceries back on the shelves because their paychecks don't stretch as far as they used to because prices are going up.

By the way, it is not just the big, ugly bill. It is the President's stupid tariff policy, which is raising prices all across this country, and the war in Iran that--I don't even know if he knows what the hell he is doing. It just goes on and on and on. Again, we are spending countless dollars on this war, again, which is resulting in energy prices going through the roof.

No, people do not think the economy is pretty good. They do not. I suspect that that is what is behind this effort by Republicans to try to rig the midterm elections, because they know that the American people are not happy with where things are.

It is not just Democrats, not just independents, but a whole bunch of Republicans. A whole bunch of Republicans are also dissatisfied.

I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to go to coffee shops, to go to diners, to go to grocery stores, and to go to VFW halls in their districts and listen to what people are saying. They are not happy. They are very concerned about the state of the economy. They are not confident that things are going to get better.

They do not think that the person running this country right now has any clue about what the reality is for working families. He lives in a different sphere altogether. He is worried about reflecting pools, building monuments in his honor, and redoing the East Wing that he said would cost nothing but is going to cost us billions when it is all said and done--cost the taxpayers billions. That is what he is consumed about.

They want a Congress and a government that cares about them.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not yet prepared to close, but I do want to remind the gentleman that it was the Republicans that put into this rule a bill to congratulate yourselves on the big, ugly bill, and it was the gentleman who said that people think this economy is doing pretty good, and I take issue with that.

There are people who are losing their healthcare. Republicans like to pretend that their big, ugly bill, which cut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by more than $1 trillion, didn't actually hurt anyone. I mean, there are lots of real stories of people being hurt.

Kathy and Jeffrey Many, who live in Brandon, Vermont, are owners of a garage door installation repair business. They said that their premium was jumping up from $625 a month to nearly $2,670 per month, and the cheapest alternative they could find was still nearly $2,000. Kathy and Jeffrey ended up dropping their coverage. The economy is not working good for them.

Eric and Lisa Frankenfeld, a chiropractor and his wife, who live in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, said their premium was set to skyrocket to $1,928 per month, up from $340 per month, so they decided to go without coverage this year. Lisa said: We are healthcare providers who cannot afford benefits. Oh, the irony.

Katelin Provost, a 37-year-old single mom and social worker from Henderson, Nevada, saw her premium jump from $85 to $750 a month. She said she would likely drop her own coverage in order to keep insurance for her 4-year-old daughter.

I mean, these are real-life stories. I can go on and on and on and read them here. The economy is not pretty good for them. The economy is lousy for them, and there is nothing that is in this rule that we will consider that will help any of them.

In fact, there is nothing that this Republican Congress has done to help any of them. Instead, you have made their lives worse. The economy is not doing pretty good. The idea that you are going to congratulate yourselves on the passage of the big, ugly bill, well, I just have a difference of opinion.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, it is rich to be lectured about healthcare from my Republican friends. Let me tell you what Democrats did with the Affordable Care Act. By passing it, it stopped health insurance companies from charging sick people more premiums than healthy people. It kept health insurance companies from denying coverage to pregnant women and people with preexisting conditions. It demanded insurance companies cover more preventive services. It allows young adults to stay on their parents' insurance until they are age 26. I could go on and on and on.

What did my Republican friends do? They cut $1 trillion from healthcare. By the way, I should remind the gentleman that Republicans control the House, Republicans control the Senate, Republicans control the White House, and healthcare prices are going through the roof under your watch.

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

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

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

Mr. Speaker, I could go on and on about healthcare all day. I just urge those who are in the gallery and those who are watching, I mean, look at your own healthcare bills, look at your own healthcare coverage now after nearly 2 years of Republican control of the government. The bottom line is: People are losing their healthcare benefits. In this country, that is unconscionable.

Mr. Speaker, I have served here a long time, and I have seen majorities struggle before. I have seen close votes. I have seen disagreements. This is something else entirely. This is a majority that cannot function unless Donald Trump is lucid and in a good mood, and even then it is a coin flip.

I mean, Americans need cheaper housing. They need a raise. They need healthcare that doesn't break the bank. They need a government that lowers prices and brings down inflation and protects them. Instead, what they are getting is a Republican administration that raises prices, increases inflation, and protects the Epstein pedophiles.

Republicans promised they would lower prices on day one. It is now year two. They have been in complete and total control for almost 18 months. They run Washington.

If you go home and ask people in small towns, in big cities, in suburbs, in rural communities, and in States across this country how things are going with Trump and Republicans in charge, they will tell you the truth, which is that things are getting worse because Trump's economy sucks.

He swore he would end inflation--end it. Those are his words, not mine. He said he would end wars. He is starting them. He promised gas would be cheap. The national average is nearly $4 a gallon.

The only people who are doing great right now are the billionaires, and now a trillionaire, and the greedy corporations that helped Republicans get elected because that is whom they work for.

I think people are sick and tired of it. They are sick of watching Congress lurch from crisis to crisis. They are sick of Republicans spending more time managing their own egos than lowering anybody's bills.

Let me just end with this. As we celebrate our country's 250th birthday this weekend, we have so, so much to be proud of as Americans. We have so much to celebrate and be thankful for. Each new generation that has fought to expand the circle of our democracy and make real the promise of our founding has brought us closer to the dream of a more perfect Union. That is what makes America great.

I am looking forward to spending this Fourth of July with families and friends back up in Massachusetts, the birthplace of America, where our citizens came together to overthrow the most powerful army in the world and establish a government of, by, and for the people.

However, the truth is that right now too many people feel as if this country is run by, of, and for the powerful, the wealthy, and the well- connected.

Do you know what, Mr. Speaker?

They are right. People see the corruption, the greed, the self- dealing, and the self-enrichment of this President's family and his crooked administration, and they are fed up with it. I believe that patriotism means calling your country to a higher standard. Patriotism means telling the truth, Mr. Speaker, and the truth is that Americans are hurting, costs are too high, and our democracy and freedoms are under assault by an out-of-control, lawless administration run by a President who thinks he is a king.

Republicans are either too busy pledging allegiance to Trump to notice or too distracted fighting with each other to care.

We can do better than this, we should do better than this, and we must do better than this. Reject this rule. Stop acting like a cult. Let's bring back bills that actually help people, and, for God's sake, let's start acting like America.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this rule, a ``no'' vote on the underlying bills, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member McGovern for allowing me to speak.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to attaching the SAVE America Act to the NDAA.

This week, Mr. Speaker, marks the 250th anniversary of our Nation's independence. Yet, instead of working to strengthen our democracy, Trump and Republicans are hell-bent on undermining it.

While we should be celebrating how far we have come since the days of Jim Crow voter suppression, Republicans are working to drag us back. Old battles have indeed become new again.

Mr. Speaker, the so-called SAVE America Act is nothing more than a scheme devised by my colleagues across the aisle to save themselves from accountability at the ballot box. It is a voter suppression bill designed to block millions of eligible voters from casting their ballots.

Let me be perfectly clear. We all agree that it is important for citizens to verify who they are during the voting process, but this bill is not about voter ID.

It is so extreme that even a valid driver's license would not be enough to register to vote.

This bill is about one thing and one thing only: making it harder for Americans to vote and easier for Republicans to win.

Here are the facts: Rampant voter fraud is a myth. It does not exist. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in Federal elections. In fact, under current law, noncitizens would face up to 5 years--5 years in prison for attempting to vote in Federal elections, and they would even risk being deported.

That is why the fact of the matter is that noncitizens voting is roughly 0.0001 percent according to the Brennan Center.

This legislation is an egregious attempt to solve a problem that is not based in reality. The solution to this nonexistent problem is not to prevent eligible voters from voting and accessing the ballot box.

Mr. Speaker, roughly half of all Americans do not have a valid passport. In my home State of Alabama, that number is even higher. More than 72 percent of Alabamians do not have a passport. To get one, most Americans would have to pay an application fee of $130.

Mr. Speaker, this is nothing more than a modern-day poll tax.

There are also 69 million women who have changed their last names after getting married. Those women would not be able to vote using their birth certificate.

Under this voter suppression bill, up to 21 million eligible Americans would be blocked from exercising their right to vote.

The SAVE Act also requires States to purge their voter rolls on a consistent basis without requiring commonsense measures, like requiring officials to notify voters before removing them from the voter roll. That means that eligible voters would risk learning that they had been removed from the polls on election day.

Mr. Speaker, keeping voter rolls accurate is important, but it must be done by using quality data and best practices to ensure that citizens are not inadvertently removed from the voter roll.

In my home State of Alabama, an effort was made to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls using data from the State's department of labor. The data was highly incorrect, and what we found is that 93.8 percent of the voters removed were U.S. citizens--U.S. citizens being removed because my State thought that they were using something accurate in removing voters from the voter roll.

Let me say that again: 93.8 percent of the voters removed were U.S. citizens.

Mr. Speaker, this is very personal to me. I am a proud daughter of Selma, Alabama, and the Representative of Alabama's voting rights and civil rights district. It was in my hometown 61 years ago where hundreds of foot soldiers like John Lewis shed blood on a bridge for the equal right of all Americans to vote. They marched. They bled. They prayed, and some even died for the right to vote. The so-called SAVE Act makes a mockery of their legacy.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we in Congress should be working to make voting more accessible, not less. Our democracy functions best when every citizen is given an opportunity to participate in our elections.

I urge all my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question, ``no'' on the rule, and to oppose any efforts by President Trump and Republicans to suppress the voting rights of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, 8 million Americans have lost their health insurance over the last year. Again, 8 million Americans lost their health insurance.

Millions more have seen their health insurance premiums go up by hundreds and thousands of dollars. Hospitals and community health centers have shut down all across the country. Why? It is because our Republican colleagues passed the big, ugly bill last year that cut funding from healthcare in order to fund tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations.

That is not all. They also cut money from SNAP.

Mr. Speaker, 1 million children--children--lost their SNAP benefits over the last year. Children are going hungry. People who are sick and hurt are not able to go to the doctor because they can't afford it anymore.

I see our Republican colleagues. They don't understand why their bill isn't more popular. They don't understand why the American people aren't grateful to them for cutting their healthcare and cutting their food aid in order to pay for tax cuts for rich people who don't need it.

They tried changing the name of their bill. They don't call it the big, beautiful bill anymore. They said that maybe if they change the name, then people will like the fact that they can't afford to go to the doctor anymore because of our tax cuts for the rich.

Well, that didn't work, so now they are proposing to use floor time this week to vote on a resolution congratulating themselves for passing this monstrous bill that has cut healthcare and cut food aid for the American people in order to pay for tax cuts for people who don't need it.

Don't worry. The bill did more than that, by the way. One thing that it did fund is more ICE agents invading American cities, such as Minneapolis and Chicago, and killing American citizens in broad daylight.

They wonder why the American people aren't grateful for that. Well, maybe a resolution congratulating ourselves for doing this will do the trick.

Why aren't the American people grateful for the fact that whatever small tax relief was included for the middle class is outweighed dramatically by the increased costs from the tariffs, the war, and health insurance premiums skyrocketing?

Mr. Speaker, how about this: How about we, as a Congress, instead of using this floor time on meaningless resolutions, actually do the work of the American people? How about we fund healthcare? How about we fund food aid? How about we fund education instead of yet more tax cuts for Elon Musk and the billionaires partying at Mar-a-Lago while working people suffer?

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the ordering of a recorded vote on the question of reconsideration of the vote on adoption of House Resolution 1398 be vacated to the end that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table and that House Resolution 1377 be laid on the table.