Floor Statements

Madam Chair, I support this amendment. The Department of Defense should not be giving money to propaganda machines. In fact, the only money that should be going from the Department of Defense anywhere is to lethality, not organizations ticked off that a conservative from Ohio might be calling out different branches for their focus on DEI or CRT or a movement that is basically alienating conservatives and pushing conservatives outside of its ranks.

I think there are a lot of Members who speak on these bills who are not servicemembers or have no experience with the Department of Defense. Honestly, we in this governing body are not going to allow a wokification of the Department of Defense.

Frankly, with the near-peer threat that we have in the future, I think that it is increasingly important that we focus again on lethality and not woke nonsense. It has no business in the NDAA.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, my amendment would prohibit CRT training for employees of the Department of Defense or members of the Air Force.

The primary focus of our military should be mission readiness and lethality. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have continued to push for diversity, equity, and inclusion to the deficit of our servicemen and -women.

Divisive ideologies like CRT have no place in our military. Our servicemembers should be learning the critical and often lifesaving skills that help them and their fellow servicemembers stay alive when they are deployed rather than having training hours diverted to forced CRT and race-based training.

As a veteran, I know firsthand that our servicemembers are not concerned about CRT training or DEI in the military. In fact, our servicemembers care about the skills and qualifications that prepare them for war.

When servicemembers are wounded, they do not care about how diverse their medics are; they care that the medics responding to them in their time of need are qualified and trained with the skills to keep them alive.

It is beyond time we stop prioritizing CRT and other divisive ideologies that are weakening our military and putting our Nation's security at risk.

We will gut CRT from our Nation's military with this NDAA. We are one Nation, one people, and this majority body believes in unity over division and merit over identity.

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

Mr. Chair, to say that the military isn't actively doing this is misleading.

In fact, I personally have seen training that our servicemembers, including my husband, have had to go through.

To put it in perspective, my husband, before he got out of the military, was made to write down the top five people he associated with, writing down their race, sexual orientation, and gender. If those people were not diverse enough, he was then racist.

Well, I have news for my colleagues across the aisle. When you have men and women deploying around the country, serving with Black and Brown people, because that is apparently what we are going to talk about in regards to color around the world, and you are telling them that they are racist, even though they have laid down their lives for these people, I think that just shows how out of touch this governing body is.

To say that our military is not being forced to do that is misleading. They absolutely are. When I talk to men and women, both enlisted and at the officer level, I can tell you that they are more concerned about what is happening in the Pacific and what is happening in Russia than the infighting and the constant name-calling and also the wokification of our military.

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

Mr. Chair, I ask unanimous consent to reclaim my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills).

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

Mr Speaker, I rise today to honor George ``Lum'' Atkinson, a veteran and dedicated community leader from Gulfport, Florida.

George was born on June 23, 1926, in Birmingham, Alabama, right before the Great Depression. As Tom Brokaw once said, ``the greatest generation that ever lived.'' The oldest of 4 boys, he had only one pair of shoes. They were for school, Church, and any other fancy occasion. This meant basketball in the school gym was played barefoot or in socks. When he was nine years old, he was hit in the head with a baseball bat and had to stay in bed for six months. He would spend his days in bed shooting bbs into a metal tin with wax. Every evening, his father would melt the wax, pick out the bbs, and hang it back up in the morning.

In the mid-1940s, Lum and his family had to leave the cold of Alabama for the warmth of Arizona or Florida due to his brother's asthma. They had been to Florida before to visit family, so they landed in Treasure Island and began their lives on the Gulf Coast. He and his family became a part of the community and became the first six members of Church by the Sea in Madeira Beach, Florida. Lum was a student in high school when World War II began. As a senior at St. Petersburg High School, Lum decided to drop out of school and enlist in the Marines to defend our country. Since he was only 17, his parents had to give their permission. His mother was against his early enlistment, wanting him to get his diploma before enlisting. She made him promise that he would get his diploma when he returned after the war was over. So, after the war, he returned to St. Petersburg High School to get his degree. When you make a promise to Momma, you keep it.

Lum was an excellent marksman during World War II. He went to Hawaii in the 2nd Division, then transferred to the 6th Division to participate in the Battle of Okinawa. On April 1, 1945, the invasion of Okinawa began. Lum was a member of the main landing force in northern Okinawa. By April 20th, the northern portion of the island was under the control of the 6th Division. With the northern portion secured, Lum's unit took on new duties critical to

the war effort. Lum assisted in maintaining the airstrip during the day, guarding the airstrip from snipers and sabotage while in a foxhole at night, and getting supplies to the southern portion of the island where the Japanese had a stronghold.

When the war ended, Lum's unit was sent to China to guard Japanese prisoners and help the Chinese repair their country. For their service in the Battle of Okinawa, the 6th Marine Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest division award possible.

Corporal George ``Lum'' Atkinson was awarded the World War II Combat Action Ribbon, the Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon, and the Good Conduct Medal.

When he returned from World War II, he met and married the love of his life, Mary. They settled down in the small town of Gulfport, Florida, where they raised three girls. During this time, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. He was called up for the Korean War and was stationed at Camp Lejeune. Always willing to serve his country and community, Lum worked for 38 years at Florida Power as a lineman, foreman, and switchman. While at Florida Power, he played on the company softball team. Knowing his love for the game, one of his coworkers asked him to help with Gulfport Little League around 1957. He started coaching and remained active on and off for almost 50 years, serving as President, Secretary, Umpire, Scorekeeper, Manager, Coach, and Groundskeeper. He is still in touch with many of his players. In fact, at his 95th birthday party, about 30 of his former ballplayers came to celebrate him.

In 2002, the City of Gulfport renovated the baseball fields at Tomlinson Park, and because of his dedication and loyalty, they named the new park ``Lum Atkinson Ball Fields.'' Caring about the City of Gulfport, Lum was also a member of the Gulfport Volunteer Fire Department. He retired with the rank of lieutenant when the city changed to a Fire Department with full-time firefighters. When his wife Mary and her sister, Catherine Hickman, founded the Gulfport Community Players and the Gulfport Historical Society, Lum became a member of both organizations. Just as he was a dedicated member of the Gulfport Little League, Lum was an active supporter and volunteer of those two organizations Gulfport Community Players, Gulfport Historical Society, and the Gulfport Little League continue to flourish today, contributing to the vibrant community of Gulfport, thanks in no small measure to the dedication of Lum Atkinson.

Please join me in appreciation for Lum Atkinson and all the men like him, who selflessly defended our freedoms abroad and then came home to build strong families and strong communities. I thank Lum. May God Bless him and the United States of America.

Put those damn flags away.

Mr. Speaker, I object.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the horrific crimes of child rape.

A fundamental principle of justice: the punishment of those who commit the most egregious crimes against the innocence of our children. It is a matter that strikes at the very core of our values and demands our unwavering attention and action.

There will be those who argue that the death penalty is unconstitutional. But let me be unequivocal: when it comes to protecting our children from the horrors of child rape, the death penalty is not only constitutional, it is a moral imperative.

Our Constitution stands as a beacon of freedom and justice, crafted to safeguard the rights and liberties of every American. Yet, what greater violation of those rights could there be than the brutal and unforgivable abuse of our most vulnerable--our children? The federal minimum for child rape must be upgraded to the death penalty, and a minimum of life behind bars. For it is not merely a matter of punishment, but of deterrence and justice.

We must send a resounding message to those who would prey upon our children: such heinous crimes will not be tolerated in our society, and those who commit them will face the most severe consequences, a life for a life. Protecting our children is not just a duty, it is our sacred obligation as a Nation. We cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of innocent victims or allow such predators to roam freely among us. We must hold these monsters accountable.

It is our responsibility to ensure that our children are safe from harm, and that those who would seek to harm them are swiftly and decisively punished. Upgrading the federal minimum for child rape to the death penalty is not about vengeance--it is about justice. It is about standing up for the most vulnerable members of our society and sending a clear message that their safety and well-being are paramount.

The time has come to reaffirm our commitment to protecting our children from harm. Let us stand together, united in our resolve, and demand that those who commit such heinous acts face the full force of the law.

Mr. Speaker, today, I address the fundamental principle of justice: the punishment of those who commit the most egregious crimes against the innocence of our children. It is a matter that strikes at the very core of our values and demands our unwavering attention and action.

There will be those who argue that the death penalty is unconstitutional, but let me be unequivocal: When it comes to protecting our children from the horrors of child rape, the death penalty is not only constitutional, but it is morally imperative.

Our Constitution stands as a beacon of freedom and justice, crafted to safeguard the rights and liberties of every American. Yet, what greater violation of those rights could there be than the brutal and unforgivable abuse of our most vulnerable--our children.

The Federal minimum for child rape must be upgraded to the death penalty and a minimum of life behind bars. For it is not merely a matter of punishment, but of deterrence and justice.

We must send a resounding message to those who would prey upon our children that such heinous crimes will not be tolerated in our society and those who commit them will be faced with death.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to speak against the current omnibus that we are seeing hitting the floor today.

This administration and many people on both sides talk about how they want to champion Black and Brown people in this country, and that is a direct quote from a recent press release from the Biden administration. The fact is that this omnibus, this government being open and allowing for open borders, is doing nothing but actually hurting those communities.

What we are seeing right now at the border is a rise in crime. We are seeing these very communities being impacted by the rise in gang violence. Frankly, it has been disgusting to watch crony capitalists push the importation of cheap labor.

I don't know if anyone has recently witnessed what happened with Tyson Farms, but they actually fired Americans to hire immigrant workers, a.k.a. illegals. After September 25, 2023, they were probed by the Federal Government over the employment of migrant children, who likely washed the bloody floors and razor-sharp machines.

Why would anyone want to continue to fund a government that, A, is complicit in this, but, B, is also responsible for losing 85,000 migrant children?

The fact is that we cannot continue down this path. It is hurting all people. I think if you want to claim to protect minorities, then you need to ensure

that you are putting Americans first and not simply just using that as a way to get elected while stabbing Americans in the back and hurting our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I hereby remove my name as cosponsor of H.R. 503.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

Mr. Chair, I am happy to be here today to draw attention to something that is important to our children's health, parental choice, and the many farmers across our Nation.

For years, America's school lunches have lagged behind other countries' programs in terms of health and nutrition. European and Asian students often have access to fresher and healthier meals than students in the United States.

This problem has been worsened by the Federal Government's overregulating what schools are allowed to serve our children, in particular, preventing schools from offering whole milk to students. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would allow students who participate in the National School Lunch program to serve their students whole milk, but my amendment goes a step further by ensuring schools may also offer their students to use organic milk as well.

The food we give our children and where it comes from is incredibly important. My amendment empowers parents and the ability that they have to decide what is healthiest for their children.

As many parents know, high-quality nutrition is closely related to better academic and behavioral outcomes in children. Allowing parents to choose organic milk is a step in the right direction.

Studies have also found that organic milk contains more omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants than nonorganic milk, which helps with brain function, heart health, and fighting disease, respectively.

Of course, it is vital that we also know where this milk comes from, organic or not. Far too often, Congress listens to special interest and big ag lobbyists and ignores the countless family farmers who are the backbone of our country.

Our organic family farmers and the countless unseen families who feed our Nation are invaluable to our country. These farmers work many long, thankless hours to bring us nutrient-rich, high-quality milk.

Mr. Chair, on behalf of my family and I, I thank them. I am thankful to be able to be here today to continue to empower and fight for our children, and I thank those that are helping to bring organic milk to our country.

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

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

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

Mr. Chair, I hear a lot from my colleagues across the aisle on the experts, but I also wonder how many people in Congress have had to use National School Lunch programs; and, frankly, I have been one of those people.

When I hear people speak in opposition to this saying that it is going to hurt minorities, it is going to hurt those of us who have actually had to use the program, I find it ironic. Frankly, I think that we need more people in office that have had rougher upbringings to bring a different lens and perspective.

To hear that whole milk is bad for children, to hear the arguments against organic milk, and to hear the arguments that are coming from across the aisle, I don't know that it represents, necessarily, the best interests of the American people other than political spite.

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

Madam Speaker, I hereby remove my name as cosponsor of

Madam Speaker, I hereby remove my name as cosponsor of

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

The Army Corps has halted beach renourishment projects in Florida due to the perpetual public easement access policy. This is now affecting more than nine counties in Florida where the Corps has refused to renourish our beaches without stripping property rights from every homeowner, an unattainable requirement.

The Corps has renourished Florida's beaches for the past two decades using

temporary construction easements to proceed with beach renourishment. The Corps is now going back and enforcing this new policy dating back to 1996, but it has not enforced the same policy for the past two decades. They refuse to address the threat of shore erosion while continuing to watch our beaches disappear before our very eyes.

Numerous members of the Florida delegation have reached out to Assistant Secretary Conner at the Corps to resolve this issue. The unelected bureaucrats at the Army Corps of Engineers have a different agenda. They have stonewalled every single one of us every single step of the way. The Corps has neither followed up nor followed through on proceeding with scheduled beach renourishment projects where we are in dire need due to damage from recent hurricanes.

If the Army Corps does nothing, our beaches will continue to dissipate and our homes will be susceptible to destruction.

The truth is, the Army Corps did not require perpetual easements before, and they do not need them now. The responsibility for the inevitable degradation of Florida beaches, marine life, and economy will rest entirely with the Army Corps of Engineers.

I do not know who the Army Corps works for, but it is clear that it is not the American people. This amendment puts the Army Corps on notice for their shameful neglect of Floridians and forces them to get to work on restoring our beaches.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

The Army Corps has halted many beach renourishment projects in Florida. It is now affecting nine counties. Ultimately, in our eyes, this 1996 policy is completely out of date and needs to be defunded.

Obviously we have massive concerns, to include habitat for endangered species in my community; a number of private homeowners that will have their properties destroyed; and, in addition to that, it is going to financially impact our community, as much of our income for that area depends on travel as well as our beaches.

I am asking for support for this amendment. I think that it is something that would benefit not just my constituents, but many of those in Florida.

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

Mr. Chair, I rise to offer amendment No. 1 as the designee of Mr. Williams of New York.

Mr. Chairman, to protect American interest, safety, and intellectual property, this amendment will end the corrupt practice of sending taxpayer dollars to the Chinese Communist Party.

Our hard-earned money is going to Chinese research, infrastructure, and education, and these are the only destinations that we currently know about. American dollars are lost with no recuperation or retaliation.

Mr. Chairman, I ask my colleagues across the aisle to support this commonsense amendment and support Mr. Williams' legislation.

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

Madam Chair, Communism, as well as any country that embraces that ideology, is a cancer upon this world and sometimes a guillotine is the only solution.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues across the aisle to support this incredible piece of legislation, and if you don't, that is on you.

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

Madam Chair, I want to start out by saying that I am a United States Air Force veteran and a woman who has been elected to Congress while pregnant who supports this because of the fact that not only does it completely attack our ability to be military ready, but when you are advocating for a servicemember to have a child ripped from their womb, they can't deploy.

To say that this is constitutional in their argument and to say that Republicans are somehow attacking women in service because we support this is not only a lie, but it completely just destroys everything that this military stands for.

Not only are there religious objections to taxpayers funding this type of stuff, but to say as a military servicemember that you would be somehow hurting someone's rights in the military because you stand with life is pretty bizarre to me.

Mr. Chair, I would just like to remind people that whether you are White, Black, Brown, we all bleed the same, so to have this completely divisive ideology being pushed, to have Members from across the aisle making it about race when some of these Members have not even served, it is completely to me, not only a foreign ideology, but I would like to remind people when you are getting shot at, okay, when my husband was shot in Afghanistan, do you think he was sitting there asking what color the person that was evacuating him was?

Do you think he was sitting there wondering about diversity, equity, and inclusion? No. The only thing he cared about was making sure that someone who was evacuating him knew how to do their job. That is what the military needs to be focusing on.

So to have it about race just goes to show that maybe more Members, maybe more Members across the aisle need to be serving in our military because that is not something that we focus on. What we focus on is mission readiness. That is what it is all about.

I don't care if you guys think that I am racist. I am a minority woman. Maybe I am the wrong color of minority for you, but I am a minority woman.

I support this for those reasons because I have lost friends.

Mr. Chair, I couldn't help but pull out my pocket Constitution, and I couldn't seem to find anywhere in here where it says we need to fund programs for humanitarian aid for women and children in Afghanistan. I just wanted to point that out.

Mr. Speaker, I call up the privileged resolution noticed earlier today.

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

Mr. Speaker, Americans do not trust Congress. From the highest levels of office, an elected Member of this body enabled the fraudulent spending of $32 million out of the pockets of our American people and threw it down the drain to knowingly chase ghosts, all for political gain.

This man occupied a position of the highest trust and authority.

As Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Schiff launched an all-out political campaign built on baseless distortions against a sitting U.S. President at the expense of every single citizen in this country and the honor of the House of Representatives.

With access to sensitive information unavailable to most Members of Congress, and certainly not accessible to the American people, Representative Schiff abused his privileges, claiming to know the truth, while leaving Americans in the dark about this web of lies. These were lies so severe that they altered the course of the country forever: the lie that President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 Presidential election revealed to be completely false by numerous investigations, including the Durham report; the lie that the Steele dossier--a folder of falsified and since completely debunked collusion accusations funded by the Democratic Party--had any shred of credibility, yet Representative Schiff read it into the Congressional Record as fact; the lies concocted and compiled in a false memo that was used to lie to the FISA court, to precipitate domestic spying on U.S. citizen, Carter Page, violating American civil liberties.

Not only was this an egregious abuse of Representative Schiff's privileged access to classified information, but this memo was littered with 17 major mistakes and omissions. The groundless memo violated Carter Page's civil liberties, publicly assassinated his character, and subjected him to multiple, abusive, unlawful investigations.

Representative Schiff exploited his position as Chair of the Intel Committee at every opportunity possible, threatening national security, undermining our duly-elected President, and bringing dishonor upon the institution. Perhaps most unforgivable, Representative Schiff ripped apart American families across the country with repeated false narratives.

His own political good was served by permanently destroying family relationships and sowing lasting division across our land, which we live with every single day.

The perpetrators of this web of deceit became mainstays on cable news, waking up every morning with one goal: to lie, lie, lie to the American people that there was direct evidence of a Russia collusion.

Despite transcripts from Representative Schiff's investigation showing that the Director of National Intelligence, former Obama Attorney General, former Deputy Attorney General, and FBI Director, to name a few, went on record telling Representative Schiff's committee that there was no direct evidence for his criminal conspiracy, yet to this day, Representative Schiff actively fundraises off of his exploitation of Americans, as if robbing them from the truth and $32 million in taxpayer dollars is not enough.

Can anyone in this Chamber comprehend this list of crimes and yet somehow believe there should not be an answer for it?

This is not a partisan act. This is not a conservative versus liberal vote. This is a clear vote between right and wrong, and I urge my colleagues to do the right thing.

I will end with repeating what I started with. The American people do not trust Congress. The cyclical pattern of lies has worn down the credibility of every institution and every official in the United States Government. You see it. I see it.

If we run away from this opportunity to hold this man accountable, there is only one fault and that is of ourselves. We will betray the people who trusted us and sent us here to do the right thing. We will be responsible for the end of any shred of justice in this body. We will reject the duty that we swore an oath to protect upon taking office.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ogles).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Greene).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman).

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

I take a second to thank all of my colleagues from across the aisle who have spoken today for putting themselves on the Record defending the Russia collusion hoax, even after the Burisma payments to Hunter Biden and the big guy have been made public. The Congressional Record is a very useful accountability tool.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I remind people that this is on behalf of the American people in restoring order to the House and in an effort to bring back trust, which is something that this institution has lacked for many years.

I am very proud and I own my vote in saying that I will be voting for the censure of Adam Schiff.

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

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

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

As a United States Air Force veteran and a proud Mexican-American woman that happens to be almost 8 months pregnant, I say that in regard to integrity, what happened in this country, what happened with the divide that occurred after the fact that the Russia

collusion hoax was pushed down the throats of the American people is not what I would consider integrity.

If we want to talk about these little fun games and comments back and forth, we are not here about Donald Trump. We are not here about January 6. We are here about the former chairman of the Intelligence Committee who used a lie that broke apart this country.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Again, as I said, this is not about Donald Trump. This is about holding accountable someone who exploited their official position and had access to information that most Members of Congress do not have access to and bringing accountability back to the American people.

Regardless of whatever the gentlewoman from California says or anyone else, you guys are not being honest about the focus of this resolution and this censure. That is exactly why we are here today to debate it out.

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

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