Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be joined by my colleague this evening. Before I provide my remarks, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Haridopolos).

Honoring Captain Ted Kimmey, Veteran of the Month

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida. He has a clear passion for his State and the ways that he is going to support it.

I have taken my young son to Cape Canaveral before, and after going on a cruise, which we were fortunate to go on, we literally went to the cape. I think, even after the cruise, Cape Canaveral that afternoon was one of the most fascinating experiences for him, a unique place.

Utah's First District is actually a leader in space as well, with Thiokol of olden days, now Northrop Grumman. We do a lot of amazing work with--I think it is Houston, areas in Florida, Utah, and Huntsville, Alabama, that are big on this.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank him for his support and great work.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you today for this time to be able to talk a little bit about a really important piece of legislation that I have put forward. It is a proposal for a solution to what I think many have considered out-of-control prediction markets.

Just hours before the United States military strikes in Iran, more than 150 accounts made investments of over $1,000 in event contracts based on the timing of the strikes, with six traders together making over $1.2 million.

In traditional betting, an individual places a wager on an outcome with odds set by a bookmaker that determines the winnings. In a prediction market, a trader buys shares in an outcome of an event. There are no odds, and share prices fluctuate based on market responses, allowing investors to turn a profit if they sell high or if their chosen outcome proves correct.

Our classified military strikes should not provide an opportunity for bettors to play or profit. Underregulated prediction markets have exposed America to needless public safety and national security risks by allowing traders to invest in outcomes related to sensitive matters like terrorism, assassination, war, or elections.

This nonpartisan issue has spiraled out of control, and Congress needs to pass legislation to require enforcement.

Congress previously included a subtle provision in the Commodity Exchange Act that preempts State regulation on betting when it is offered through event contracts. This loophole has opened a door to gambling on anything from Taylor Swift's appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game to when the United States might launch a strike on Cuba.

Sports betting is illegal in 19 States, but prediction markets, like Kalshi or

Polymarket, avoid State regulation through this loophole. Rather than offering betting services, they sell event contracts, a legacy financial instrument with payouts based on the outcomes of real-world events.

Again, this is a loophole for a legitimate financial tool that has existed for decades, maybe even centuries, but they are using this as a loophole to allow for betting in all States.

In January, one investor netted over $400,000 on Nicolas Maduro's fall from power, making the timely purchase just before President Trump announced the deposed leader's capture. Prediction market Kalshi claims that, legally, this is investing, not gambling.

I introduced H.R. 7840, the bipartisan Event Contract Enforcement Act, to address these concerns and put an end to reckless event-based gambling. This bill strengthens existing law, requiring the CFTC to prohibit event contracts related to terrorism, assassination, war, gaming, or criminal behavior.

The bill also bans trading on election outcomes and government activities to protect our elections from manipulation and insulate the government from insider trading opportunities.

This nonpartisan issue ensures event contracts can continue to serve in legitimate business interests while also protecting Americans from risk. I am looking forward to moving it through the legislative process.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be joined by my colleagues this evening.

Before my remarks, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crank).

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Colorado is adjacent to some of the most important military apparatuses of our country, USAFA, where we share a border. I appreciate his focus on such a strong need for our military.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to express my excitement, which I don't often say, my excitement for this tax season. Those are not words I oftentimes say, nor do many Americans. There is reason to be excited this year in the wake of passing incredibly important, progrowth tax policy last summer, which the House Republicans led and then signed into law. This is historic relief.

The thing I wanted to highlight is what we are providing for working families and everyday Americans. In that, there is one specific thing that I wanted to highlight. That is Trump Accounts. These are the new investment accounts for children. Invest America has been an initiative for several years. It has been a thought and an idea for even longer, decades even. We were able to get this signed into law, and it will be enacted and started later this year.

Mr. Speaker, I will talk a little bit more about what the process is and what this actually is. This is a transformational investment for kids in every ZIP Code. It doesn't matter if a person lives in an apartment, a big city, or on a country road out in rural America. Our kids will have access to something that most people don't take advantage of until they are well into their careers.

Trump Accounts allow parents, guardians, and other custodians to establish a new type of tax-advantaged individual savings and investment account for children. As part of a special pilot program, every American child born between January 1, 2025--more than a year ago--and December 31, 2028, is eligible to receive an automatic deposit of $1,000 from the U.S. Government into their accounts, giving every newborn a stake in the future success of the American economy.

Parents can also contribute up to $5,000 per year and employers up to $2,500 per year. State, local, and Tribal governments, as well as charities, can also contribute.

We have seen significant interest in this program, including an incredible contribution of $6.25 billion with a b from Michael and Susan Dell and their family's private foundation. That contribution is going to be geared toward those children who were born in the last 10 years. The initiative that we passed this year will be focused on the next 4 years.

What Michael and Susan Dell have done is they contributed over $6 billion to start these accounts and seed them with money for children, essentially ages 2 through 10, in neighborhoods and communities across our country. This will get them started. They have this investment account that they will have, as I mentioned, well into their careers. I think it essentially gives them a 30-year head start on their retirements.

At the very heart of this policy is the goal of providing opportunities for Americans at that very early age. Good government policy empowers the individual. It nurtures and encourages the best of human ingenuity and, of course, human progress. That is exactly what these investment accounts aim to do.

The United States boasts the world's strongest economy. Thanks to strong capital markets and household investments, we can contribute to our communities, society, and economy. We can improve our overall quality of life and seek financial realities better than the ones from which we came.

However, wealth and opportunity gaps prevent millions of people from taking advantage of the capital markets that could help build household wealth.

Capitalism is the gateway to opportunity and helping our youth realize the power of compounding interest and how it could change their lives. These accounts will play a key role in it.

The fact that we have, at the age of 4--I have a 4-year-old. The fact that Frankie will have an account that is tied to him, and he will be able to monitor that. When he is 10, he will understand it a bit better. He won't understand it right now.

Think about it. When he goes to a fifth grade class and the teacher says: ``Hey, everybody. Pull out your investment account.'' There is a good chance they have all signed up for it if we have done our jobs. We have 435 Members of this body. If we do our jobs in communicating this benefit to our constituents, this will grow. This program will be wildly successful. They will be able to say: Hey, look, it started at X. Now it is at Y.

They have an extra 20 bucks that month for some chores that they did. They are going to put an extra 20 bucks in it. A grandparent is going to say that every grandkid gets $2,000 this year.

That is the best investment in their kids. Instead of buying an extra pair of shoes sometimes, they will put money

directly into their future and, ultimately, into their retirement.

This is a historic new savings tool. More Americans will be saving. They will be investing and building a solid financial footing.

These accounts have the potential to help children accrue tens of thousands of dollars by the time they reach adulthood. That can make the difference in so many lives when it comes to paying for college, building their first home, starting their own business, and what I am most hopeful for, and what I will continue to put the focus on is as they save for their own retirement.

I think typical IRAs, Roth 401(k)'s, or Roth IRAs, anything of the like, you are typically maybe 30 years old when you start your first one. Think about starting that 30 years earlier. It is a small amount of money to start, but that is going to grow for 30 years, where they wouldn't have otherwise had that.

This is a game changer. These accounts will come online July 5 of this year, 2026, but here is the important part: Parents can create an account today for their children. Those born between 2025 and 2028 will have their accounts seeded with $1,000, but, again, every child under age 18 can have an account.

To be an American is to win life's lottery. We live in the greatest Nation in the world with tremendous freedoms and unparalleled opportunities. We have the ability to chase the American Dream from childhood through retirement, and these accounts will help more people achieve it.

I am really excited about these accounts and what this means to the next generation. It is good for Utahns. It is good for working families, and it is good for our country's future.

I urge everyone to take advantage of this and sign up today at trumpaccounts.gov.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I am so glad to be joined by my colleagues this evening to talk about the historic tax relief we are providing for working families this tax season. I think it should be on the mind of every single American, and we are thrilled to be able to highlight some of the many things that we have accomplished in the preceding calendar year.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri, (Mr. Smith) before I begin my remarks.

Honoring Mark Roman

Mr. Speaker, I will briefly add that I had the opportunity to serve on Chairman Smith's Ways and Means Committee, and I have seen the work that Mark Roman did, mostly behind the scenes, the stress that he is put under, and the outcomes that we have delivered.

Oftentimes, we don't talk about this being a functional place. Sometimes when you go to Congress, Mr. Speaker, all you hear about is the gridlock, the nonsense, and all the rhetoric. Mark Roman accomplished some things for the American people that he will never get credit for.

I am going to speak a little bit about it today, but I also wanted to add how much I appreciated getting a chance to work under Mark. I wish his amazing kids and family all the best. We hope that he really, truly won't go far.

Historic Tax Relief for Families

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, I want to share a brief message about what we have accomplished this last year.

Mr. Speaker, House Republicans have turned a season of dread as tax season approaches into a season of historic relief. Tax season is officially underway, and this year, 91 percent of all taxpayers will experience an easier and more simplified filing process.

We locked in the doubled standard deduction, and not only at the rate that Republicans established in 2017. We actually boosted it for this new approach. It is now considered permanent policy, meaning that families will pay no taxes on the first $31,500 of what they make.

It will also save Americans an estimated 210 million hours per year in paperwork and $13 billion in compliance costs annually.

We talk all the time about simplifying the tax code. Everybody talks about it, and we have done it. Since 2017, we decided to double the standard deduction.

That immediately targets middle- and lower-income Americans who choose not to itemize. Itemizing is still an option you can do, Mr. Speaker, if you have multiple different types of elements that you can deduct from your taxes. You can still choose to do that, but the vast majority of Americans, working Americans and everyday Americans, use the doubled standard deduction.

That is real tax relief. It goes unsaid a lot. It is such a standard piece. Nobody truly disagrees with it--``nobody'' meaning both parties. It is something that we have now established as the norm, and it will give immediate relief to the vast majority of American families.

Because the historic tax cuts are retroactive to 2025, the average refund is projected to increase by $1,000, with a total of $91 billion in additional refunds being returned to the American people this spring. We also repealed the Democrats' $600 reporting requirements for payments through PayPal or Venmo

and requirements for paperwork reporting of small payments to casual sellers and service providers.

This, again, is an effort to simplify the tax code and make it work for American families so they will be able to have more of what they earned. I will get to more of that.

Filing taxes is a pain point--we all know that--for most people because of both the amount and the process. We have simplified it to improve the experience for filers and increase accountability for lawmakers deciding where those funds are allocated.

Working families were our top priority in these tax cuts. We wanted to help them achieve the American Dream, make life more affordable, and make filing taxes less of a burden. This year, Utah families will be able to keep more of their hard-earned money through the increased standard deduction and face less burdensome paperwork.

It is very simple. Republicans have created a tax code that simply works for American families. This is something that doesn't work against them, as so oftentimes things from Washington, D.C., do.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a part of delivering this win for Utahns, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my constituent Ashlyn Gwynn, who was recently involved in a near-death car accident.

Ashlyn was recruited to play soccer at Cal State Fullerton. This past September, on her way to another sporting event, she and her teammate Lauren were struck by a truck. Both were transported to the hospital, but Lauren tragically passed away after 6 weeks of intensive care. Her family's words were: ``Lauren fell asleep in the Lord.'' Lauren's legacy of goodness and positivity will always be remembered.

After Ashlyn stabilized, doctors let her family know that there was a strong possibility that she may never regain consciousness. If she ever were to, it was possible that she would never walk or talk again.

Thankfully, Ashlyn has made significant signs of improvement. She was transferred to a step-down rehabilitation unit, and through the generosity of a close friend of her father, she has been transported back to Utah, where she continues to receive physical and speech therapy and close care from her parents.

I don't know Ashlyn, but I know her parents, and Matt and Shelly Gwynn are the best people I have ever known. I am so fortunate to have gotten to know them in this role. He is a police chief back home as well as a State legislator, and they are giving her the best possible chance of success.

I wish Ashlyn the best.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be joined by my colleagues in this Conference Special Order. To start us off, I would like to yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the greatest State in the Union, Mr. Owens, for his remarks. I am biased, of course.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bean).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for his remarks. I feel ready to go out for the second half now, so the Sun is rising. I wish there was a second half to play.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Kentucky (Mr. Barr).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the Commonwealth for his comments.

It is common among Members of Congress, both the House and the Senate, to be strong on policy. Also, many Members are strong communicators. It is very rare, however, to get somebody who is so good at both. The Commonwealth of Kentucky is extremely lucky to have Andy Barr representing that amazing State. I thank him for his shared words.

Yes, we know the horses. We get it. There are horses. It is a big thing down there.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleagues for being here to share their perspectives as we look back on some of the significant wins that we have experienced over the course of the last year. I wanted to briefly share a little bit about stuff that doesn't get as much attention.

As a proud father of four boys, we know that family is everything. Family is at the center of Utah values, and I have dedicated a lot of effort during my time in Congress to advance pro-family legislation.

I worked on legislation to permanently increase the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000; indexing the CTC--child tax credit--to inflation; and provide an additional $500 for families through 2028.

We worked to make the adoption tax credit partially refundable up to

$5,000--indexed for inflation--beginning in 2025.

One of the most unique things that we accomplished were the Invest America accounts, the Trump Accounts. These investment accounts demonstrate to American youth the power of capitalism and compounding interest. There is so much more, but that last piece is going to get a kickoff here next week.

There will be $1,000 seeded to each child born to this country over the next 4 years. That child will be able to track their investment account. Usually a person doesn't even start investing until they are 30 years old.

The best estimates are you graduate college. You have a little bit of student debt. You start a new job. You don't really start contributing to an IRA until you are 30, maybe even older. A 401(k) starts sometimes with your first job.

We now have a whole new generation of kids who are starting to invest in their IRA at age zero. That is 30 extra years of potential compounding growth that will be an absolute game changer.

Plus, this has garnered an enormous amount of attention from the philanthropic space where Michael and Susan Dell have announced a commitment of over $6 billion that will help children ages 1 through 10 in areas that aren't as economically advantaged. That will help those kids take advantage of this program and also create those accounts to watch those grow over time. It is a game changer and something we are really excited about.

Mr. Speaker, we are voting on legislation this week to support families and pregnant women. We just passed the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act, ensuring that young families have access to prenatal vitamins, formula, and diapers. It also ensures that TANF dollars can be used to support pregnancy resource centers.

The Pregnant Students' Rights Act provides guidance and resources to pregnant students so that no student feels forced to choose between her education and her child.

Last week, I also introduced the SAFE KIDS Act to prevent foreign adversarial nations from abusing the American surrogacy industry to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children and traffic infants abroad. Most of the developed world has already banned international commercial surrogacy due to the trafficking risks, and this bill is a strong step in the right direction to prevent bad-faith actors from taking advantage of U.S. surrogate mothers and the children they bear.

I am proud to champion legislation that directly benefits Utahns and families across the country. We have strong families. We have strong communities, and these bills reflect our dedication to supporting them.

Recognizing Steve Hiatt

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Steve Hiatt, the recipient of the Hill Air Force Base 2025 Community Wingman Award.

Hill Air Force Base is one of the most important contributors to northern Utah's economy and livelihood, employing over 23,000 military and civilian employees. Every year since 2007, they have given one individual the Community Wingman Award in recognition of their support for the base and its personnel. This gives the base an opportunity to recognize the impact that Utahns in the surrounding communities have on the success of the base.

Few people have supported Hill Air Force Base more than Steve Hiatt. For nearly a decade, he served the city of Kaysville, Utah, as a city councilman and a mayor. This is an adjacent community to Hill Air Force Base. During this time, he ensured that the community fostered a strong relationship with the base.

After serving in elected office, Steve remained highly integrated in the Hill community by serving as the vice president of the Utah Defense Alliance, as air combat command civic leader, and three terms as honorary commander. In each of these positions, Steve worked directly with servicemembers and leadership stationed at Hill to better understand and assist their mission. His work has ensured that Hill will continue to be a successful and important contributor to our national defense for years to come.

I am proud to recognize Steve's strong example of service, and I congratulate him for this will-earned award. I thank him for his support of Hill Air Force Base and his many contributions to our State as a councilman, mayor, and community member.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be joined by my colleagues for this Conference Special Order to talk about ways we have delivered for all Americans through our legislative action, committee work, and much more.

Mr. Speaker, to start off, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Buddy Carter.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his comments. I appreciate his thoughts and for articulating much of that.

Mr. Speaker, last year House Republicans passed the working families tax cuts. This was a reconciliation bill that included monumental progrowth and profamily legislation that lowers costs for American families.

A lot has been said about this. I want to share just a few aspects of this as we are within 6 months in the rear view of when we accomplished this. Again, the largest tax increases on American history would have happened on January 1 of this year had we not completed that, and we got it done 6 months prior to that crisis. I don't know the last time I looked at Congress and found something done that far ahead of schedule. It is usually the last minute.

That matters because that was a reality. That is what we knew was coming, and we worked hard to accomplish a lot of really key important progrowth elements: no tax on tips or overtime, an increased child tax credit, tax relief for seniors, an increased standard deduction targeted entirely at the middle- and lower-income Americans, investment in rural America. These are just a few of the reasons Americans will see significant increases in their upcoming tax returns.

Mr. Speaker, that doesn't even include the provisions that strengthen small business and encourage investment in American industry.

This year, House Republicans are keeping more hard-earned dollars in working families' pockets, not with the Washington bureaucracy. The tax filing season begins next week, and Americans can expect to see some of the biggest tax refunds in history.

After 4 years of painful inflation, we are cleaning up the economic mess. Real wages and benefits fell 3.9 percent during the Biden-Harris administration, and through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, real wages are growing faster than prices.

We saw 4.3 percent real GDP growth in the third quarter of 2025. That is substantial. The average since World War II is 3.1 percent. After 3.8 percent in Q2, we continued to exceed expectations there. Economic growth is an important economic indicator with a substantial impact on our annual deficits, and I am confident it will only continue to grow.

Mr. Speaker, 2026 will be about bigger paychecks and lower costs on everything from healthcare to housing to household goods. We are moving forward with housing affordability legislation to lower costs and update financing options. We are streamlining and simplifying permitting processes to create more jobs, reduce costs, and increase wages. We are also lowering healthcare costs. In December, the House passed legislation to cut premiums, expand Choice accounts, provide more affordable rates to small businesses, and expand PBM transparency to lower costs of prescription drugs.

Mr. Speaker, 2025 was a big year for my team and for House Republicans. We passed landmark legislation, and people are going to see the difference because of it.

I am looking forward to 2026 and continuing to work hard for Utah's First District.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Ralph Wadsworth, who passed away on December 25, 2025.

In many ways, Ralph is a prime example of the American dream. Having grown up in Idaho, he became the first of his family to attend college. At the time, he lived in an abandoned Army barracks and took odd jobs to pay for lodging and food. When he married his high-school sweetheart, Peggy, they had just fifty dollars to their name.

Their poverty did not restrict Ralph's ambition and drive. After graduating from college and working for several engineering firms, he ventured out on his own and founded the Ralph L. Wadsworth Structural Engineering company in 1962. This company grew to be successful throughout the country. They engineered and built many high-rise office buildings in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as many temples for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including most notably the temple here in Washington, D.C.

Ralph prioritized his family, his faith, and his country. He held a deep love for the United States of America and raised his children to recognize the great blessing it is to live in this country. He always recognized the role that his faith and belief in God had in his personal and professional success. Perhaps most importantly, he, along with his wife Peggy, raised seven sons who continue his legacy of success and hard work.

Ralph is survived by his 7 sons, 21 grandchildren, and 27 great- grandchildren. I extend my deepest condolences to his family and express my gratitude for the important contributions that Ralph offered to our state and our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I am saddened and honored at the same time to be able to host, alongside my California colleagues, a special hour dedicated to the memory of Congressman Doug LaMalfa from California.

As I looked at some of my notes here of the amazing things that he had accomplished and who he was, I realized that we are going to hear that over the next hour.

The thing that my team and I were reflecting on earlier today, and all I wanted to share as we kick off this memorial to an amazing man, was that, as vice chair, I get to, every week, host an evening of floor time for my colleagues on a myriad of topics. Doug LaMalfa was here every single time. Every time we needed him to be here, he was here, but he was here whether we asked him or not. Most times, he was the only one.

Yet tonight, when I asked my colleagues if they wanted to share a message on Doug, the reverse: It is a packed house.

That is all I wanted to share, to think about the legacy that he has left and the importance that he has to so many of our colleagues. He was always here for me, and we are all here today for his family. They are hopefully able to take some comfort and solace in his memory as we share this.

We have a lot of folks who want to share a message, and we are going to kick it right off. I am just going to go around the room and start calling on people as we move forward.

We are going to first hear, of course, from the California delegation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), a distinguished colleague and very close friend of Mr. LaMalfa.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Valadao).

Mr. Speaker, this is going to be a special hour, thanks to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Speaker, I yield time to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).

(English translation of the statements made in Korean is as follows:)

Young Oak Kim Sister

Thank you!

You did well!

You did well!

Gim Yeong-ok uiwon-nim

Gamsahamnida

Sugohasyeosseumnida

Sugohasyeosseumnida Take that, Doug.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Fong).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Kiley).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona

(Mr. Biggs), the area also known as southwestern-ish California.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa).

Mr. Speaker, we will continue on to the great State of California with bipartisan voices in support and in remembering Mr. LaMalfa.

I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), a gentleman on the Natural Resources Committee, a committee that Mr. LaMalfa cared so much about.

The list is very long of individuals on this side of the aisle that like to tangle with the ranking member himself as well but also very much like him. Thank you for those awesome words.

I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), my colleague on the Ways and Means Committee.

I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa).

I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi), our final Californian for the evening.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber), who is a close friend and colleague on the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hurd).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda).

Mahalo to the gentlewoman from Hawaii. That is ``thank you'' for the stenographers who need clarification on the foreign languages today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).

Mr. Rose and Mr. LaMalfa shared that rivalry with our vice chair time, and I thank him for spending time with us tonight.

On to the great island of Guam, I yield to the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Moylan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse).

I yield now to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Utah (Ms. Maloy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Bentz).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Fulcher).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Rouzer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Zinke).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. Speaker, sincere appreciation to the Congresswoman. I thank her very much. That is a great way to honor Doug.

Mr. Speaker, to close, I again thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Rivas) for yielding a few more minutes to finish out these thoughts in Doug's memory.

Mr. Speaker, I will wanted to give a quick closing message to his wife, Jill, and his four children: Kyle, Allison, Sophia, and Natalie.

I get an hour every week to do these floor messages. I am lucky to get five Members to come. I try to fill up 20 minutes, 15 of which your dad would actually take. He would go on and on. I would try to get him to wrap up so I could go to dinner. He was always there for me.

Tonight, we ran over time with the amount of people who wanted to come and take time out of their very busy schedules to come and share a brief message. They sat for an hour to spend 60 seconds to reflect on your dad and your husband.

I hope you can take from that some sense of appreciation and connection that we all have with your dad and what an amazing man he is.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Sergeant First Class Eric Reyes's exemplary and distinguished record of service to our country during his twenty years on active duty. A native of the Bronx, New York, he enlisted in the Army as an infantryman after graduating from high school in January 2005.

During his 20-year career, Eric has served at every level of leadership within the Army, leading our Nation's greatest resource, our sons and daughters. He has led teams through the platoon level on multiple combat tours and spent most of his career at the tactical level, specializing in combined arms maneuver and large-scale combat operations. He has deployed twice in support of the Global War on Terror and distinguished himself within the infantry community, earning his Master Combat Infantryman's Badge.

Eric led at every step within a platoon and below and had an outsized impact on the training and readiness of future generations. He has been an observer-controller certifying and participating in 16 combat training center rotations, ensuring 16 platoons achieved the highest levels of readiness to deploy and win in combat. He was also a drill sergeant for nearly three years, training all recruits that came through Fort Jackson, South Carolina, during his time. Most recently, he has served as the Senior Military Science Instructor at the University of Utah ROTC program within my district. He has spent the last three years as the senior military instructor for all tactics, overseeing over 400 officers within the ROTC program at the University of Utah.

Eric Reyes has had a lasting impact on our Nation, deploying to fight in her wars, leading our fine men and women in uniform, and training the next generation of warriors in our great Army, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Sergeant First Class Eric Reyes for his selfless dedication, unwavering leadership, and steadfast commitment to our country. He is retiring this December after 20 years of stalwart service to our great Nation. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to him, his wife, Sarah, and their children, Xavier, Maliena, Olivia, and Sophia, for their sacrifices and contributions to the strength and security of our country.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Madam Speaker, I am glad to be joined by several of my colleagues for this last Conference Special Order of the year to talk about ways we have delivered for all Americans through our legislative action, committee work, and more.

I understand some of my colleagues have commitments, and I am going to be respectful of their time, so I will have them start us off before I provide some of my own comments.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Kennedy), a good friend.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah, a physician and attorney, for bringing up all of these issues. It is so important to call up the reality of it.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk).

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's remarks.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest).

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin and the issue that he brings up. It is something that some of my State legislators are working on, namely Ms. Melissa Garff Ballard. She is an excellent policymaker and lawmaker back home. This is something she cares deeply about and is doing quite a lot of good work on at the State level. I applaud her for that.

Madam Speaker, I thank you and all my colleagues for your comments this evening. It is very much appreciated.

As we move into the next couple of weeks when we get to celebrate the holidays, it is excellent to look back and think about the amazing work that has taken place over the last year. As it is dominating the headlines, we recognize there is a lot to talk about with healthcare, particularly this week. I want to touch on a few aspects.

To be abundantly clear, Republicans are currently dealing with the aftermath of what has been a decade or so of failure. The Democrats put in place an unaffordable and fraudulent healthcare system.

For years, Democrats promised ObamaCare would lower costs. In reality, premiums have increased nearly 80 percent since the so-called Affordable Care Act was enacted. The average premium for family coverage is nearly $27,000 per year.

A report from the Government Accountability Office confirms what Republicans have said for years. There is significant fraud associated with COVID-era enhanced premium tax credits established by the trifecta of President Joe Biden and majorities in the House and Senate led by Democrats.

Again, in 2021, Democrats put in place what is called the enhanced premium tax credits. They did this during their COVID-era bills: The American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. These were two bills that were massive expansions for several programs. In particular, they were able to pass this legislation on party-line votes and set it for 4 years. Democrats set this policy during COVID to last for 4 years and expire at the end of this year.

In this study, GAO found that 58,000 enrollees matched Social Security death records, with 7,000 of them being deceased before enrollment began. One Social Security number was even associated with 125 different ObamaCare policies in one year. That is the first level of potential fraud.

The second item is that a zero-dollar premium obviously leads to more fraud, and that is what we have seen happen. Enrollment went up without people using or even knowing that they had coverage. This is something we need checks and balances on.

When they moved the original Obama subsidies--and those aren't going anywhere. They are still in place. They are not expiring at the end of this year. They have existed from the start. It is only the Democrat Party's 2021 enhanced version that is expiring.

The worst aspect of those, in my opinion, is the fact that a person used to be required to pay just 2 percent of their annual income toward health insurance premiums. The taxpayer dollars paid the insurance company the remainder of that. A person was only required to pay 2 percent. That moved to zero percent in 2021.

Since 2021, there was a massive expansion of people being on these premiums and this insurance coverage but never using it. They never used it year over year, but the insurance company continued to get taxpayer-funded subsidies directly to them to cover nothing because they never used it.

The percentage of people who weren't using their health insurance went up significantly. It wasn't like people were getting hurt or sick at a similar rate. What was happening was they didn't know they were in the system. As part of the GAO study will explain, they were getting signed up.

The last final piece that I will highlight here are the income caps. People could still be making 400 percent above the Federal poverty level the insurance companies that they were getting signed up for were still receiving these subsidies.

Originally, when we talk about ObamaCare, it was just for folks who were very low-income and were uninsured and didn't have the ability to make any payments toward covering their own insurance.

What ObamaCare does is it says if a person is 100 percent or 150 percent of poverty level, all that is required is that the person pay 2 percent of their income, the Federal taxpayers will cover the rest, it will be sent it to the insurance company, and the subsidy will be covered. In most cases that is $300 a year a person would have to cover of their own.

When that moved to zero dollars, that is when a lot of fraud happened. Even if a person is paying $5, $10, or $20 a month toward insurance, at least you know it is an actual policy and going somewhere. When it becomes zero dollars, all sorts of shenanigans can happen. That is something we have to move away from.

With this enhanced version of these COVID-era subsidies expiring on the Democrats' timeline, then that zero-dollar aspect will go away. It will be $200 a year for some folks, as opposed to zero dollars. That alone will create an opportunity to cut away a lot of fraud.

Democrats created a program that Americans can't afford. The unaffordable care act works for insurance companies, but it does not work for patients. Like I mentioned, it is filled with waste and fraud.

Insurance revenues have increased from $245 billion, when ObamaCare was originally passed, to $1.4 trillion in 2023. I love it when private-sector company growth happens. I am a big supporter of it. I have supported tax policy to ensure that can happen.

That type of increase, when ObamaCare gets established, to see that rampant amount of growth, there is a problem there. We can celebrate economic growth across the board, shareholder value, and all that stuff.

When we look at the massive increase year over year, aside from revenue and profits, there is something wrong with this entire situation. We can directly correlate it to when ObamaCare came into play.

We can't have insurance companies seeing such record profits and at the same time taxpayers are forced to sort of subsidize these plans. That is not a healthy way to grow a market.

The Affordable Care Act--ObamaCare, ACA--broke the American healthcare system. It created numerous problems over the last decade. Since its inception, these premium costs have skyrocketed. Networks have shrunk, and the system has become bloated and inefficient.

It is important to remember that the enhanced premium tax credit expiration at the end of the year, again, was set by Democrats. When they are complaining that Republicans are going to let this expire, that was their timeline. This zero-dollar issue and then not capping it, so it is only targeted towards lower-income individuals, had to go away. Even in compromise and bipartisan approaches to deal with this expiration, those aspects had to go away. Those are things that were on the chopping block.

Again, I think when folks understand, the subsidies aren't going away entirely. If a person is a low-income individual and making 100 percent of the Federal poverty line--and for a single person, that is maybe $15,000 or $20,000 a year--that plan will only require that person to pay a few hundred dollars a year.

Just by moving it so it doesn't go to zero dollars creates it so there is not so much fraud in the system. Then, hopefully, over time we don't see this rapid, rapid increase in premiums because that is bad for all Americans.

Americans simply deserve better, and we have not been giving the healthcare system with the exception of ObamaCare.

This is why House Republicans have proposed legislation that delivers real relief. The Lower Healthcare Premiums for All Americans Act focuses on lasting policies that provide predictability and transparency.

As the name suggests, this is focused on the entirety of the individuals on healthcare. This isn't just targeted toward a small 7 percent of the total population that is that narrow margin in ObamaCare. This is touching every single person, and that is the only way to actually lower health premium costs over time.

This bill lowers premiums through pharmacy transparency and cost- sharing reductions. This legislation improves options for workers by expanding access to associated health plans. It also ensures that small and midsize employers can offer more tailored, affordable care, and it codifies and strengthens CHOICE arrangements, permitting employees to pay their premiums pretax.

All of those things are targeted toward a broad group of people and not just this tiny little subset that we are hearing a lot of complaining about right now. We are actually focused on the entirety of the world that is out there paying more and more for their health insurance.

It is time to implement policies that work for all Americans and that provide predictability and affordability.

I am grateful to be a voice from Utah on the Committee on Ways and Means Health Subcommittee during this critical moment, and I am excited to see this legislation move forward and delivering real results, savings, and peace of mind for Utahns and Americans across the country.

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

Mr. Speaker, to my colleague and friend from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber), it is worth actually noting that the area focus of this bill, the location, is a stone's throw from the very cauldron that the Miracle on Ice team lit during the 2002 Winter Olympics. I congratulate the gentleman for getting that bill signed into law, the Congressional Gold Medal Act for those amazing patriots.

I actually watched that movie with my kids over the weekend and saw the patriotism start to brew, really an amazing feat. I thank my friend for that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the University of Utah Research Park Act, which passed unanimously out of the Natural Resources Committee in September.

This legislation addresses legal uncertainties surrounding the University of Utah's use of land initially conveyed to the school by the Bureau of Land Management back in 1968. At that time, the university requested land on the Fort Douglas Military Reservation for academic and research use, a request approved and granted by the BLM. Since then, the university has built a nationally recognized research park housing over 50 companies and employing nearly 14,000 Utahns.

Research Park has been instrumental in establishing Utah as a leader in innovation. Last year, I was proud to welcome my colleagues to the Ways and Means Committee to Research Park for a field hearing to show them first-hand how Utah continues to lead the way in biotech innovation.

Unfortunately, after decades of cooperative engagement between the University of Utah and the Federal Government, there have been questions as to whether the longstanding activities at Research Park are consistent with the original land patent under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. The University of Utah Research Park Act addresses these concerns and makes it clear that the school is operating within the parameters of the law.

With the assurance that the university can continue to operate the park, they will have increased ability to invest institutional resources and improve the park without the worry of additional red tape and regulatory restrictions or, worse, the area reverting back to Federal control.

My bill will provide the university with needed stability and confirm the original intent and approval of the land transfer, allowing the university to plan strategically to meet the needs of its students, the community, and industry.

I thank Chairman Westerman and my colleagues of the Utah House and Senate delegation for joining me in this effort to ensure that the University of Utah's Research Park can continue to serve as a premier research incubator.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2876. Go Utes.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 333.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I will use my time to take a brief moment and reflect on the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk and the importance of free speech in America.

It is not lost on me that I am standing here on the House floor, as my colleagues and I do every session day, sharing my opinions and thoughts about the state of our country and what Congress is doing about it.

It is a special place where we get to link arms with our fellow delegation or caucus members and talk about causes that matter to us, debate back and forth with our friends on the other side of the aisle, welcome the President and foreign dignitaries to speak, and so much more. This place represents open debate and discussion, and Charlie did, too.

As we all process the tragedy that took place just a week ago, I hope we remember the ways he engaged with those who didn't agree with him. That is what makes the American experiment work, from classrooms to workplaces to kitchen tables to the Halls of Congress. Charlie modeled fearlessness in having the conversation and opening the door to debate, and I hope we all can, as well.

My sincerest condolences go out to the Kirk family as they navigate this unimaginable grief. As a society, I hope we can carry forward Charlie's legacy of free speech and commitment to faith.

I also will share my heartfelt gratitude to Utah Governor Spencer Cox for leading with integrity during this difficult time for our State and our country. There is no better person to be in a position of leadership and navigate this than him, and he surely has made Utah proud on the national stage.

He encouraged all of us to disagree better, and while the suspect chose not to heed that counsel, the rest of us can.

Lastly, I will also thank Utah law enforcement, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, and all of our State and Federal partners who worked around the clock to identify the suspect. Your sacrifice is always appreciated.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairwoman McClain for the opportunity to speak in this Special Order hour.

When I was back home for a big portion of August, Madam Speaker, I had a great opportunity to spend time with small business owners and individuals trying to understand the difference between an invest America Trump account versus a 529 and going through a lot of these details.

I kept hearing something from a lot of folks. I get that this seems like a good thing to always have lower taxes, but it is going to create a whole bunch of debt, right?

I love getting that question because I am able to talk them through some of the specifics. While I may not be great talking about tax policy in a rah-rah situation, when you get to actually explain a few basic concepts to people, you see that folks actually get what we are talking about. Not the bill of goods they are being sold, but when you look at what happens with the concept of inversion. When a U.S. multinational company can choose to co-op with a foreign entity to be able to find a lower tax domicile, lowering their overall tax liability, they can do that. That happens, and they end up paying tax revenue to foreign countries.

Let's just say what you saw prior to 2017 when Republicans did the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, you had a tax rate of foreign drive and tangible income at approximately 16 percent effective rate, but let's say in Ireland, it was 13 percent. A company could easily set up their entire tax base for that portion of their business in Ireland and pay 13 percent where the U.S. sees no revenue.

If we lower that tax rate to 13 percent just to become competitive, we don't even have to beat other nations' tax rates. When we lowered that to 13 percent just to be competitive, those companies started to flee back to America, and we got more revenue.

I will talk to folks and say, when you make taxes competitive, we will actually grow our U.S. tax revenue. That is not adding deficit. When you see people actually grasp that concept, it is fascinating to be able to say, of course, I would rather people be paying taxes in the U.S. as opposed to a foreign nation. Now, the foreign country doesn't love that when we do it.

If we put things on par, companies will almost, in every circumstance, choose to do business in the U.S. and we get more revenue. It is a win-win, and it is not what you are being lied to about.

This is good, sound, competitive tax policy that will strengthen our Nation, grow our revenue, and make it easier for business to compete.