Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and service of Robert L. ``Robbie'' Hanson, who passed away on September 6, 2026.

Robbie Hanson was a member of the Cambridge, Maryland community for many decades and embodied public service throughout his career. Upon graduating with the North Dorchester Class of 1971, he enlisted in the United States Air Force Security Forces where he served in South-East Asia during the Vietnam War. Robbie continued his Air Force career serving in the Air Force Reserves at Dover Air Force Base in the 512th Weapons Systems Security Forces.

Robbie transitioned into a distinguished career with Maryland Parole and Probation, spanning 34 years. He also served as The City Commissioner for the Fifth Ward in Cambridge, Chair of the Dorchester County Planning and Zoning Commission, and served on multiple terms in the Maryland Veterans Commission. Robbie was co-founder of the Dorchester County Public Safety and Treatment Network and a member of the Dorchester County Local Management Board for Child and Family Services. A proud veteran, Robbie was a member of the American Legion Post 91, a life member of the VFW Post 7460 and a life member of the Vietnam Veterans Chapter 0648.

His dedication to serving others has left a legacy in Cambridge. Robbie was a true patriot, and Maryland's First Congressional District undoubtedly owes him a great debt of gratitude. I thank Robbie for his contributions and selfless service. May the memories of Robbie bring comfort and peace to his family, loved ones and others.

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. 8646, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

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

Mr. Chair, I rise today to bring before the House H.R. 8646, the fiscal year 2027 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations bill.

I thank Appropriations Committee Chairman Cole for his leadership and quickly moving the fiscal year 2027 appropriations process forward.

I also recognize the ranking member of the full committee, Ms. DeLauro, and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee ranking member, Mr. Bishop, for their work in getting us to this point.

I appreciate the conversations Mr. Bishop and I have had, and while we may not agree on everything in the bill, I know that we are much closer to agreement than some of today's debate and rhetoric may show.

For fiscal year 2027, the subcommittee's discretionary allocation is $26.27 billion, a $380 million, or 1.4 percent, decrease from fiscal year 2026 enacted levels.

In a setting of $2 trillion deficits, these modest spending reductions are necessary.

This legislation reflects a clear, necessary commitment to fiscal responsibility, while ensuring that America's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities remain a top priority and that all Americans have access to a safe food and drug supply.

This legislation builds on the successful efforts of the Trump administration to root out fraud, waste, and

abuse, shrink the Federal bureaucracy, and make USDA programs more farmer friendly.

It sets USDA on a responsible and sustainable spending path that will make both the Department and our Nation stronger.

Under President Trump's and Secretary Rollins' leadership, every taxpayer dollar will be spent in the pursuit of putting all American farmers and ranchers first.

I would like to highlight a few areas where the legislation supports the administration's efforts to refocus the Department on its core mission by prioritizing essential functions in a fiscally responsible manner.

The bill provides $1.16 billion for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, to support the Department's efforts to protect our producers from highly pathogenic avian influenza, New World screwworm, and other foreign plant and animal diseases.

The legislation continues to invest in the delivery of farm programs, disaster assistance, and crop insurance to farmers by prioritizing funding for farmer-facing functions.

Following the budget request, the bill moves $50 million of Farm Service Agency IT funds from FSA to the Office of the Chief Information Officer to continue to invest in and implement USDA's One Farmer, One File Initiative.

After accounting for this transfer of funds, no matter what you will hear from the nay-sayers, the bill actually increases overall funding for FSA staff, including for county office staff.

The bill provides important investments in critical agricultural research that will keep our producers on the cutting edge of technology and production practices.

We maintain funding for USDA's flagship competitive grant program, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, and protect capacity funding for our land grant universities to ensure our farmers and ag workforce remain competitive with China.

This legislation continues to fund vital rural development programs, including critical infrastructure investments in water and wastewater systems and housing programs, as well as increasing the loan authority for the business and industry and rural electric programs due to increased demand.

For the Food and Drug Administration, the bill provides $3.36 billion in direct appropriations. With increased user fees, FDA has a total budget of $7.1 billion to enable the agency to keep food, drugs, and medical devices safe and effective, as well as advance the Make America Healthy Again initiatives highlighted in the President's budget.

Finally, let me discuss WIC. The bill provides full funding of $8 billion for WIC, which is about 3 percent lower than last year's enacted level, but USDA data clearly shows that WIC participation has been declining and is not projected to be as high as originally estimated for fiscal year 2027. USDA also expects to have sufficient carryover funds to meet all the program needs, if necessary.

With lower participation estimates and increased carryover funding, the $8 billion allocated will fully fund the program. Let me say it one more time. Despite what the naysayers will claim, WIC is fully funded for its needs. No women or their children will lose or be denied coverage.

I believe a credible evaluation of this legislation will conclude that it balances the funding needs of the USDA, FDA, and CFTC while being responsible stewards of our constituents' hard-earned tax dollars. As Mr. Bishop has said, this is a good faith effort to meet the moment, and there are critical things that warrant support.

I am pleased that the bill received bipartisan support out of committee, and we want to keep working with the minority as we move forward in this process.

In closing, I ask for Members' support of this legislation. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, first, I want to reemphasize that WIC is fully funded. Given the decreased participation rate and fully funding the reserve, WIC is fully funded.

Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Madam Chair, I will just remind the Chair that we actually provide an additional $250 million in business and industry loans for rural business and industry, and given that there are 100,000 fewer participants in WIC, we fully fund the program.

Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse).

Madam Chair, I remind the Chair that if you have over 100,000 fewer WIC recipients, why would you budget for them?

Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).

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

Madam Chair, just to keep the record straight, we actually increased funding for New World screwworm by $4.5 million this year. We count on timely amendments being submitted, but when you submit something just before the bill comes to the floor--we will work with the gentlewoman and we will work as we go through the process to address the threat. We have been addressing it, and we will continue to do it. But that is the reason why the amendment was not included.

With regards to the FDA, the comment was made that somehow we are decreasing funding to the FDA. Just so everyone understands, Madam Chair, there are two sources of funding for the FDA: discretionary funding and the funding based on user fees.

When the funding based on user fees goes way up, we can decrease the discretionary to keep the level adequate. Overall funding for the FDA is up $150 million this year. It has not decreased. Yes, the discretionary part has decreased. But we are making the companies who use the FDA pay the balance, and I think that is good for the American taxpayer.

However, just to resolve anyone's fears, our FDA funding goes up $150 million under this bill.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Chair, let's address the nutrition programs as yet once again.

The SNAP participation rate year over year from February '25 to February '26, that is the last month we have data from, is down 7 percent.

Thank goodness 7 percent fewer Americans actually need the food, need SNAP assistance. So what did we do? We decreased the budget 6 percent. We actually didn't even decrease the budget as much as the participation rate went down. SNAP is fully funded.

Let's talk about WIC. February '25 to February '26--the last month we have available is February '26. Year over year, a decrease of 150,000 people on WIC. That is about 2.5 percent. That is exactly what we decreased the budget by. Why would we budget for people who don't exist?

In the setting of a $2 trillion deficit, why would we put that money in a bill? We have a reserve, $150 million reserve in WIC. God forbid that participation rate goes up because of economic principles or maybe more Americans have children, the money is there. WIC and SNAP are fully funded for the participation rate. Anything else you hear is scary rhetoric.

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

Mr. Chair, let's review some of the things we have heard and some of the facts about the bill.

I will start by saying that when Gallup polls the American public, the American public thinks that 43 cents out of every Federal dollar is wasted. That amounts to 43 percent of the Federal dollar wasted, in the minds of Americans. The President was elected to increase the efficiency of the Federal Government, realizing that Americans think 43 percent of the money is wasted.

Mr. Chair, this bill reduces the spending from the enacted level by 1.4 percent.

Now, Americans are probably going to be disappointed because they think that we are wasting 43 cents on a dollar, so why are you only cutting it by 1.4 percent? Because we carefully looked at the programs. We think that is the start we need to make to deliver the assistance that our farmers, ranchers, and rural populations need, given the context that we have to make the government work more efficiently. We think that is what this bill does.

Let's talk about the wastewater. Again, there are two buckets of what affect water and wastewater management in rural areas: a bucket of grants and a bucket of loans.

The grants have been decreased somewhat, but grants make up 10 percent, roughly, of the amount of money available for wastewater programs in rural areas.

We maintained a billion dollars of loan authority for those programs. It was maintained in the bill. We recognized that these rural communities need help, and we generously make loans available to the communities that could not otherwise find funding anywhere else.

We talked about the FDA. The FDA has a $150 million increase when you count on the fact that what we did is said if companies using the FDA for licensing and approval are paying a user fee, and those user fees are going up, the amount collected is going up, we can decrease the amount that the average American taxpayer has to throw into that kitty. That kind of makes sense.

I think that is what the American taxpayer would want. If those drug companies are making money on licensing those drugs, they should pay more of the cost of licensing the drugs. That is exactly what happens under this bill.

We talked about WIC and SNAP. I will just reemphasize that the participation rate in both programs goes down, so we lowered the amount that we allocate to those programs proportional to the decrease in participation rates. That is just good accounting for the American people.

Mr. Chair, this bill achieves a balance that is not easy with a $2 trillion deficit, a $40 trillion debt, and an American public that believes the Federal Government wastes 43 cents of every dollar. This achieves the balance we need to maintain funding to the programs that are necessary and to make sure that we deliver for our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. Again, we delivered to the nutrition programs while keeping in mind that we have to be very good stewards of the taxpayer dollars because there aren't enough of them to go around.

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

Mr. Chairman, pursuant to House Resolution 1333, I offer amendments en bloc as the designee of Chairman Cole.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in favor of this amendment. This is a bipartisan set of amendments en bloc, which includes priorities from Members on both sides of the aisle.

I appreciate Ranking Member Bishop working with us on these amendments and ask for your support.

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

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis).

Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Valadao).

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of my former colleague from Maryland, Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, on the occasion of his 100th birthday today.

An extraordinary American, scientist, inventor, farmer, and Representative of the Sixth District of Maryland, Roscoe held 20 patents supporting our Nation's defense.

In Congress, he used his scientific expertise to champion energy independence, national security, and small businesses. He raised concerns about our Nation's electric grid and its vulnerabilities years before the issue came to the forefront.

During his 20 years of constituent service, Roscoe never forgot the little guy. He passed legislation such as Robby's Law, allowing military dogs to be adopted by their handlers, as well as helping National Guard members receive overdue pay post 9/11.

His philanthropy has supported organizations such as Heartly House that assists families escaping domestic violence.

Today, he celebrates his birthday with his beloved wife, Ellen, and their family. On behalf of a grateful Nation, I thank Roscoe for his contributions and selfless service.

I object.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my Communications Director, Anna Adamian, on her new position working in the Trump Administration. Anna is a dedicated staff member who has worked tirelessly to promote my message fighting for the 1st Congressional District. The commitment Anna has demonstrated has been exceptional and praiseworthy.

Ms. Adamian has risen through the ranks of my office, beginning as Press Secretary to currently serving as my Communications Director. She has consistently excelled, working diligently with others to ensure my district stays informed of the resources available to them and how I am advocating for my constituents.

It is important that Representatives recognize outstanding staff such as Ms. Adamian. Often times, the work of these staffers goes unnoticed but is nonetheless critical in maintaining the functions of our government. Anna is a true patriot, and Maryland's 1st Congressional District undoubtedly owes her a great debt of gratitude. I wish Anna well in her future endeavors at the White House.

I thank Anna. She will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 5371, which will finally put an end to the Democrat-led government shutdown.

Millions of Americans have suffered because Democrats have refused to reopen the government, harming those who depend on SNAP benefits, Federal workers, Border Patrol agents, and our troops, who were uncertain about their next paycheck.

This legislation extends government funding to the end of January 2026, thereby blocking attempts to force a budget-busting omnibus at the last minute before Christmas. It also includes the FY 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

Republicans have effectively locked in disciplined, flat spending levels while supporting the Trump administration's policy priorities.

The Agriculture bill provides $26.65 billion in discretionary spending, which is level with the current amounts while also including community project funding.

This bill provides critical funding support to America's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. It ensures both USDA and FDA can safeguard our Nation's food and drug supply and fully fund nutrition programs, including SNAP and WIC.

Additionally, the bill closes the hemp loophole that has resulted in the spread of unregulated, intoxicating hemp-derived products that are being sold online and in gas stations and corner stores across the country. Many of these products are accessible and attractive to children, resulting in thousands of calls to U.S. poison control centers, with more than 30 percent involving children aged 5 years and younger. This provision is supported by 39 State attorneys general and over 81 national and State public health, medical, law enforcement, and other organizations.

It is beyond disappointing that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will soon be voting to continue the chaos and uncertainty of a government shutdown.

This is what responsible Republican governance looks like. We stared down the radical Democrats' outrageous, budget-busting demands and held the line for hardworking American taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Appropriations Committee Chairman Cole for his leadership throughout this process, and I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor His All- Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Head of the second largest Christian Church in the world, Orthodox Christianity.

Patriarch Bartholomew will be in Washington, D.C. to visit both the White House and Congress. His All-Holiness will then travel to New York City to accept the distinguished Templeton Prize, which ``celebrates pioneers of scientific and spiritual insight for their contributions to human well-being and spiritual prosperity.''

I would like to thank Patriarch Bartholomew for his spiritual work and wish His All-Holiness the best of luck in continuing to serve as a model for the Orthodox Christian community of Maryland's 1st Congressional District.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for bringing up this topic.

The fact of the matter is that the permitting process was abbreviated for offshore wind because we have this fascination that we have to bring this very expensive type of energy production somehow to the United States, and the gentleman from New Jersey brings up the point.

The fact of the matter is, Mr. Chair, these new windmills that they propose off my district are twice as high as the ones that they have initially proposed. They have never been placed in the maritime environment, so we have no idea what the undersea effect will be. In my district, this is the closest point to Washington, D.C., off the coast.

Time is not our enemy. Russia and China are our enemies. They have submarines. Russia has submarines that could come close to our coast, launch a weapon, and not be detected because we don't know what the effect is of these windmills.

As the gentleman brings up, Sweden canceled 12 of 13 offshore projects on their side toward Russia because it would delay detection by 1 minute. The time needed to detect a missile would go from 1 minute to 2 minutes because of that interference.

Now, we stand here, closest to the shore. We absolutely should make certain that these windmills are not going to affect our safety standing right here in the Capitol.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor two selfless, hardworking constituents from Salisbury, Maryland, Mr. Jeff and Mrs. Diana Merritt. They began Operation We Care in 2007, an organization providing more than 2,000 care packages annually to deployed military personnel. They also work to

support police and first responders in several counties throughout the First Congressional District.

The work of organizations such as Operation We Care is incredibly meaningful and important to our military and first responders. I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Merritt for supporting those in our community that work to keep us safe at home and abroad.

I wish Mr. and Mrs. Merritt the best of luck in continuing their efforts to make Maryland's First Congressional District better in every way.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my Legislative Director, Travis Trejo, on celebrating his eighth anniversary of employment with my office. Travis is a dedicated staff member who has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to my legislative goals. With loyalty as rare as Travis' on Capitol Hill, I am truly grateful to have him as the leader of my legislative team.

Mr. Trejo has risen through the ranks of my office, beginning as Staff Assistant to currently serving as my Legislative Director. He has always taken on a supporting role, working tirelessly to ensure my legislative agenda is met. He is a mentor to not only the legislative team, but also to other members of my staff.

It is important that Representatives recognize outstanding staff such as Mr. Trejo. Oftentimes, the work of these staffers goes unnoticed but is nonetheless critical in maintaining the functions of our government. Travis is a true patriot, and Maryland's First Congressional District undoubtedly owes him a great debt of gratitude.

I thank Travis.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my good friend John Fager on the 50th Anniversary of Fager's Island. A small business he started with simple grit, determination and the aspiration of living the American Dream.

Fager's Island is an Island personified. It has its own personality and spirit, a living breathing entity created by John Fager and his patrons and employees. People come to Fager's Island to enjoy some of the best moments of their lives professionally and personally. Engagements, Family, the Beauty of the Bay, Food and Drink, Sunsets. It's never nostalgic but grounded in a deep respect for its past, the men and woman who built it into the iconic operation now celebrating its 50th year. Fager's Island creates a deep emotional magic with people. It's the place they have lived their ``glory days''.

John Fager built Fager's Island. Sheer will, determination, foresight, tape measure, tractor. He is a Laid-Back Trailblazer, a Humble Maverick, An American Patriot. He is years ahead of his time and always evolving, yet forever mindful of the past. He possesses a ferocious work ethic but always still has time for people, a kind word, a warm greeting, a welcome smile. All of the meaningful things about Fager's Island stem from his unwavering code, his devotion to faith, family, people, and his staff.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Poplar Hill Mansion in honor of their upcoming 50th anniversary on August 25, 2025.

The Poplar Hill Mansion is the oldest home in Salisbury, Maryland. As an historic house museum, the Poplar Hill Mansion has served our community through its historic preservation efforts, educational opportunities, and charitable works.

As the representative of Maryland's Eastern Shore, it is my distinct honor to congratulate the Poplar Hill Mansion and wish it the best of luck as it works for another prosperous 50 years.

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Energy and Commerce Committee finally attacked fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicaid system.

I think every American knows that when government runs a program, there is fraud, waste, and abuse, and that is exactly what the Committee dealt with.

For instance, 1 million people have committed fraud against the Medicaid system by being enrolled in two States. My colleagues across the aisle think it is a bad idea to eliminate that fraud, waste, and abuse because they all voted against it.

This chart shows what actually happens when you eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse, and the Republicans increase spending in Medicaid by 25 percent over the next 10 years for the people who really need it: the pregnant women, the children, the disabled, the blind, the elderly, and we did it eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure what you are going to hear on the floor today is what you have heard in the past, these rumors that somehow those mean, nasty Republicans are going to cut Medicaid.

It reminds me of what Groucho Marx once said: Who you going to believe, these claims or your lying eyes?

This is the graph of what the Republican plan is for Medicaid spending over the next 10 years. This assumes that we actually get all the able-bodied, single people without children on Medicaid to agree to work 20 hours a week or volunteer at a church or train. It doesn't seem like too much. The average American thinks that is pretty reasonable.

If we eliminate all the fraud, waste, and abuse--and there is plenty of it--we are left with at least a 25 percent increase in Medicaid over the next 10 years from the current spending level. Only in Washington could anyone claim that is a cut.

Mr. Speaker, who are you going to believe, the claims or your lying eyes?

Mr. Speaker, a lot of times on this floor and in the press you hear about how the Republicans somehow are cutting Medicaid or slashing Medicaid, but the facts are that in the Republican budget resolution, we increase Medicaid expenditures by at least 25 percent over the next 10 years.

Yes, we will fight fraud, waste, and abuse. We think the American people agree that fraud, waste, and abuse robs the Medicaid system from covering the people like the disabled, the elderly, pregnant women, and children. It robs money from those programs and wastes it.

Even after we eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse, we have enough to increase Medicaid expenditures by at least 25 percent over the next 10 years. Those are the facts. There is no cutting going on. There is no slashing. There is elimination of fraud, waste, and abuse, and it is about time that happened to the U.S. Government bureaucracy, not only in Medicaid, but across the government.