Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the Kentucky Congressional Delegation mourns the loss of Kentucky State Trooper Hayden Phillips, who was tragically killed in the line of duty on the afternoon of September 28, 2026.

Trooper Phillips leaves behind a loving wife, Jordan; three young sons, Kason, Knox, and Konnor; loving parents, Homer and Robin: dedicated colleagues in law enforcement; and a Commonwealth that will forever be indebted to him for his sacrifice.

A native of South Central Kentucky, Hayden Phillips dedicated his life serving the people of Kentucky, first as a volunteer firefighter and EMT, then as an officer with the Glasgow Police Department and Russell Springs Police Department. According to his family, Trooper Phillip's lifelong dream was to serve our Commonwealth as a Kentucky State Trooper, a dream he ultimately achieved, joining the force in 2023.

Trooper Phillips was assigned to Kentucky State Police Post 3, selflessly serving the citizens of Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Simpson, and Warren Counties. Our community was no doubt a better place because of Trooper Phillips' willingness to protect and defend his fellow Kentuckians.

In the few short days since his passing, Kentuckians from all walks of life have come together to express their heartfelt sympathy and mourn the loss of this Kentucky hero. The Commonwealth of Kentucky and the United States of America will forever be grateful to Trooper Hayden Phillips for making the ultimate sacrifice to protect our community. His family, friends, and loved ones will always remain in our prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate an extraordinary milestone for the Lincoln Trail Behavioral Health System. Since opening in 1986, Lincoln Trail has responded to the unique needs of the communities it serves through tailored planning, preparation, and a commitment to developing effective behavioral and mental health solutions tailored to those they serve. Today, we celebrate their 40 years of service.

Since its founding, Lincoln Trail Behavioral Health has instituted a variety of programs to support those in need. Most recently, Lincoln Trail significantly expanded its outpatient services to provide patients access to Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP) for adults and adolescents addressing mental health and substance use needs, as well as Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP).

Originally launching dedicated military programming in the early 2000s, Lincoln Trail Behavioral Health continues to provide inpatient and outpatient behavioral health and substance use services for active- duty service members, veterans, and first responders. The facility works closely with military families, including those stationed at Fort Knox and Fort Campbell in my district, and coordinates with military installations overseas to provide specialized behavioral health care for service members stationed across the United States and abroad.

For 40 years Lincoln Trail has grown alongside its community, but its commitment to providing help, healing, compassion, and hope remains consistent through their decades of service. I congratulate them on this important milestone.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9340) to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a Federal standard relating to the recovery of the full, incremental costs of upgrades that serve large-load customers, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 H.R. 9340.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9340, the Ratepayer Protection Act, sponsored by my colleague and friend from Colorado, Congressman Evans.

This bill encourages States to protect our neighbors and small businesses from footing the bill for infrastructure investments needed for the AI race, while protecting existing State authorities. The evidence is clear: When States have the proper processes in place to protect households, interconnecting large-load data centers have positive benefits for the communities in which they reside.

Data center growth can be a catalyst for investment in an aging grid, strengthening the tax base to fund essential public services and anchor tenants for utilities that lower rates for everyone else.

Electricity demand is growing at a pace not seen since World War II, and communities are rightly concerned about what this might mean for their daily lives.

As this industry continues to develop, I want to be absolutely clear that we need it to develop here at home and not in China. H.R. 9340 takes action on behalf of our constituents so we may keep costs low while ensuring the U.S. leads in the next-generation economy.

If we cede the race for AI dominance to China, then China will set the standards for future technology. This bill strikes the right balance of providing a modest but important level of accountability as we continue to support this vital industry.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Colorado again for his tireless bipartisan leadership on this issue. He is bringing together both sides of the aisle on a critical issue. I would say, we were home, working in our districts in August. We listened to our constituents, and we are here today based on what we heard, taking action here in Washington, D.C. That is how our system is supposed to work.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the distinguished majority leader and my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta), the chair of the Subcommittee on Energy.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Balderson), a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Evans), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and sponsor of the legislation.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler), my good friend.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Mackenzie).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. I agree, this is important. We have to beat China. We have to win the war on AI. If we don't, they are going to set the standards for technology around the world. It needs to be with our values, not theirs.

To do that, we have to have the data centers. It needs to be locally decided where they go, and ratepayers need to be protected from it. That is what I heard all of August. I think most of us home working heard about it.

This is an example where people are going home, both sides of the aisle, listening, and coming back here and doing something about the concerns for the people they represent.

I encourage support of this bill. I encourage for its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2846) to amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to include as an additional right or privilege of commissioned officers of the Public Health Service (and their beneficiaries) certain leave provided under title 10, United States Code to commissioned officers of the Army (or their beneficiaries).

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2846.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2846 led by the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan).

The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is one of eight uniformed services in the U.S. It is first in line to defend our Nation's public health against any threat. This bill closes the gap in benefits between Public Health Service officers and other civilian uniformed public servants by aligning their leave policies with those of other uniformed services.

The dedicated men and women of the Public Health Service Corps have my respect and gratitude, and they deserve the same benefits and protections afforded to their fellow uniformed servicemembers.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I just want to speak briefly. I have no further speakers, so I will be prepared to close. The gentleman recognized Una Lee, but I didn't get to speak earlier in the subcommittee today. We get to work with fantastic people here, and I know Una is one of them. We get to see, on the opposite sides of the table sometimes, but I know we are always working to try to improve our country.

I thank her for her service. We will miss seeing her around the Energy and Commerce room. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Pennsylvania for bringing this forward. I thank her for her service in the U.S. Air Force and her service here.

In closing, Madam Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6633) to establish a best-available transmission conductor standard for certain transmission projects under the Federal Power Act and to provide for presumptions regarding cost recovery for such conductors, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 6633.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6633, the High-Capacity Grid Act sponsored by my colleague, Congresswoman Fedorchak, from North Dakota.

The High-Capacity Grid Act will leverage advancements in transmission conductors to more cost-effectively expand our grid and meet the electricity demands of our next generation.

Advanced conductors can significantly increase the number of electrons that we put on our system to power our households and businesses of all kinds.

H.R. 6633 will bring savings to households on their electric bills while more efficiently meeting the demands of our next-generation economy ensuring the U.S. is a global leader in innovation.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nebraska (Mrs. Fedorchak), who is a sponsor of the legislation and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate all the hard work. I appreciate Congresswoman Fedorchak's hard work, working on both sides of the aisle. I encourage a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9332) to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish regional joint boards to study electric load forecasting, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on H.R. 9332.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9332, the Load Forecasting Enhancement Act, sponsored by my colleague Congressman Troy Balderson from Ohio.

Simply put, this legislation will improve the accuracy of electricity demand projections. We all know electricity demand is increasing at a rapid pace not seen since World War II. Until our load forecasting models can more accurately determine the levels of growth, we risk overbuilding a system that is funded by households and businesses.

H.R. 9332 encourages Federal and State partnerships to keep the lights on at an affordable price for our communities.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Balderson), my good friend, the sponsor of this piece of legislation, and a member of our committee.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate my good friend Mr. Balderson for sponsoring this and working with Mr. Menendez from New Jersey. I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9339) to require the Secretary of Energy to conduct an assessment on the use of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing technologies to enhance the bulk-power system, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on H.R. 9339.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9339, the Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act, sponsored by my colleague Congresswoman Harshbarger of Tennessee.

This bill directs the Secretary of Energy to develop a report on the opportunities to use artificial intelligence to enhance the reliability and affordability of our electric grid.

The Nation's electric grid is replete with complex operational challenges, a network of millions of miles of wires and thousands of generators to keep the lights on every minute of the year. That makes it a particularly important

use case for AI models that are designed to handle such complexities.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger), the sponsor of this piece of legislation, my friend and a member of the committee.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friends from Tennessee and California for working on this bill. I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 195) to amend the Visit America Act to promote music tourism, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on S. 195.

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

I rise today to speak in support of S. 195, the America Music Tourism Act of 2025. Music is one of the truest expressions of who we are as a country. It is part of the fabric of American life in every region and in every community.

This bill simply directs the Department of Commerce to do what it already does for other forms of tourism: to build a plan to promote it and keep Congress informed. It asks for no new taxpayer dollars. It creates no new bureaucracy. It just puts music tourism on the same level of other national attractions.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger), who has worked tirelessly on this legislation. It is appropriate today she represents the community from which Ms. Dolly Parton was born.

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

Madam Speaker, my friend mentioned the music coming out of her beloved mountains of Kentucky, such as Chris Stapleton, Loretta Lynn, Dwight Yoakam, and Keith Whitley. I could go on and on.

Madam Speaker, people from our Appalachia area call my area flatland. Flatlanders have bluegrass music. Bluegrass music came from my district. Bill Monroe is from Jerusalem Ridge in Ohio County, and the International Bluegrass Museum and Hall of Fame is in Owensboro, Kentucky. Hopefully, once we get this plan from the Department of Commerce, we will have opportunities for these venues and the Tennessee mountains, Kentucky flatlands, all over, to show what they can do in music.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 979) to require the Secretary

of Transportation to issue a rule requiring access to AM broadcast stations in motor vehicles, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on H.R. 979.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 979, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. Tens of millions of Americans tune into broadcast AM radio every day. Farmers use AM radio for weather forecasts, local information, crop reports, while older Americans rely on it for local news and programming.

Most importantly, AM radio is a critical tool for emergency communications. When a disaster hits and a broadband network goes dark, AM radio can continue providing critical emergency information to communities. This bipartisan bill has broad support from stakeholders, including the Farm Bureau, former FEMA administrators, and first responders.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the sponsor of this piece of legislation, chairman of the Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee, and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and my friend from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell) for working together to get us to a point where we could pass this bill today, just as we heard Mr. Grothman from Wisconsin say how important this bill is.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2398) to reauthorize the Kay Hagan Tick Act, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on S. 2398.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 2398, the Senate companion to bipartisan legislation recently advanced by the Committee on Energy and Commerce led by Senator Collins and Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey.

Vectors such as mosquitos, ticks, and fleas can carry life- threatening diseases, and anyone can contract a vector-borne disease with potentially debilitating consequences.

This bill reauthorizes the National Strategy and Regional Centers of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, as well as the CDC's cooperative agreements with health departments in high-risk areas for vector-borne diseases.

Preventing these diseases and responding to vector-borne threats is a bipartisan issue that I hope we can all support.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), a tireless worker on this issue and my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Smith of New Jersey has worked tirelessly on this. It is important. Vector-borne tick diseases and these others have just spread in the last few years.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2398) to reauthorize the Kay Hagan Tick Act, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on S. 2398.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 2398, the Senate companion to bipartisan legislation recently advanced by the Committee on Energy and Commerce led by Senator Collins and Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey.

Vectors such as mosquitos, ticks, and fleas can carry life- threatening diseases, and anyone can contract a vector-borne disease with potentially debilitating consequences.

This bill reauthorizes the National Strategy and Regional Centers of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, as well as the CDC's cooperative agreements with health departments in high-risk areas for vector-borne diseases.

Preventing these diseases and responding to vector-borne threats is a bipartisan issue that I hope we can all support.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), a tireless worker on this issue and my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Smith of New Jersey has worked tirelessly on this. It is important. Vector-borne tick diseases and these others have just spread in the last few years.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1266) to prohibit certain uses of xylazine, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1266.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1266, the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, led by my colleagues Representatives Panetta and Pfluger.

Xylazine is a veterinary drug used to sedate large animals. It has no legitimate use in humans, and it is quickly becoming one of the deadliest drugs on our streets.

This bill would place xylazine in schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act while ensuring an exemption for appropriate use within the veterinary and ranching industries.

The decision to place xylazine in schedule III is a product of extensive bipartisan work spanning two Congresses and two administrations, supported by both DEA and HHS.

It is critical that we pass this commonsense bill to strengthen our ability to crack down on illicit xylazine distribution while preserving its legitimate veterinary and ranching uses.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I have no further speakers on this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend from California's hard work on this bill and all the other colleagues he mentioned and the committee's work. I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2004) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on whether hospital emergency departments should implement fentanyl testing as a routine procedure for patients experiencing an overdose, and for other purposes.

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 H.R. 2004.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2004, led by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lieu) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

Tyler's Law is named after Tyler Shamash, who suffered from a fatal fentanyl poisoning after doctors did not test for fentanyl when he was admitted to the hospital emergency room. This bill would honor Tyler's memory by helping prevent more tragedies and ensuring providers are able to provide the best practices when treating cases of potential drug overdoses.

I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill. I can't stop, Mr. Speaker, without bringing up his mother, Juli, who has spent tireless hours flying from California to D.C.--sometimes, because of our schedule change, on a moment's notice--to be present for hearings and bringing this story, knowing that it is not going to bring her son back but wanting to prevent other mothers and other people from going through what she has gone through. I appreciate her hard work, and I acknowledge that.

I encourage my colleagues to support this bill to honor his legacy and the

many families who have suffered similarly. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all of the moms who have been working with us. We really appreciate their hard work. Our sympathies are with them, and we are glad that their children are being honored tonight.

This is final passage, and we have been working on this for quite a while.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on the bill, I look forward to voting for it in just a couple of seconds, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8005) to amend the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit certain acts related to fentanyl, analogues of fentanyl, and counterfeit substances, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and include extraneous material on H.R. 8005.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8005, the Stop Pills That Kill Act, that my good friend from Colorado (Mr. Evans) has brought forward.

The threat posed by illicit pill presses has risen as drug traffickers continue to press fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other illicit drugs into drug pills.

In 2025 alone, DEA seized over 47 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills. This bill makes important regulatory changes to strengthen DEA's ability to stop bad actors from misusing pill presses, tableting, and encapsulating machines and their critical components to illicitly manufacture controlled substances to poison our communities.

This bill will make our streets safer.

I applaud the tireless efforts of my friend from Colorado to protect Americans from these threats.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Evans), who is a tireless fighter on this issue and a very valuable member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hard work of my friend from Colorado. I encourage a ``yes'' vote on the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9617) to amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate a National Critical Mineral Recovery Strategy, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on H.R. 9617.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Environment Subcommittee Chairman Palmer and Ranking Member Tonko, for introducing H.R. 9617, the Coordinating and Harnessing America's Recovery of Minerals Act, or CHARM Act.

Throughout this Congress, our committee has examined opportunities to recover critical minerals from discarded materials, such as mine waste, coal combustion materials, end-of-life electronics, and produced water.

The CHARM Act is a product of a lot of this work. This bill directs the EPA, in consultation with Federal agencies, to develop a national critical mineral recovery strategy in coordination with other Federal agencies. EPA already has the expertise in recovery of valuable materials from discarded materials, and the agency is well-positioned to lead these efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the House to support the passage of this bipartisan legislation. I appreciate the hard work of Chairman Palmer and Ranking Member Tonko, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer), the chairman of the Environment Subcommittee and my good friend who has been an absolute leader on the critical mineral issue. We have seen that most of them are developed and processed in China, and he has been waving the flag that we need to get ahead of that. We now have an administration and Congress moving forward because of the work of this man.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hard bipartisan work and can't overstate how important this is and how important the lead of the gentleman from Alabama has been on this issue. I strongly encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.