Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I was recorded as no, but meant to vote yes on rollcall No. 191.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Babin (Nehls)

Boebert (Gosar)

Bourdeaux (Kuster)

Cardenas (Gomez)

Carl (Joyce (PA))

Cawthorn (Nehls)

Clark (MA) (Kuster)

Cohen (Beyer)

DesJarlais (Fleischmann)

Fallon (Nehls)

Gallego (Gomez)

Garcia (IL) (Gomez)

Garcia (TX) (Jeffries)

Gonzalez, Vicente (Carbajal)

Grijalva (Stanton)

Horsford (Jeffries)

Hoyer (Trone)

Jackson Lee

(Butterfield)

Jacobs (NY) (Garbarino)

Johnson (TX) (Jeffries)

Kind (Connolly)

Kirkpatrick (Stanton)

Lawson (FL) (Evans)

Leger Fernandez (Jacobs (CA))

Lieu (Beyer)

Lowenthal (Beyer)

McClain (Bergman)

Meng (Jeffries)

Mfume (Evans)

Mullin (Lucas)

Napolitano (Correa)

Owens (Curtis)

Payne (Pallone)

Rice (NY) (Peters)

Ruiz (Aguilar)

Rush (Underwood)

Sewell (DelBene)

Steube (Franklin, C. Scott)

Strickland (DelBene)

Timmons (Wilson (SC))

Torres (NY) (Jeffries)

Wilson (FL) (Hayes)

Young (Joyce (OH))

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to allow me to speak on this matter.

It is important to understand, Madam Speaker, that having access to financial products is critical for not only the innovation of our markets but for the future expansion of our markets. It is time to take the pettiness out of politics and actually prioritize policy that puts Americans first and puts America first.

True lender is not being discussed in a way that considers people. If that were the case, we would be recognizing the incredible ways it has spurred innovation in our markets and has provided more access to credit and other financial products for Americans.

Instead of Congress working together to create financial equity in a sustainable way or ensuring that the United States remains a global leader, Democrats are working to undo anything accomplished under the Trump administration, even if it means sacrificing the good of the people.

I support assessing harmful financial policies of the past and working to undo some of the mistakes that have been made. In fact, we could benefit from assessing legislation like Dodd-Frank, which has put tremendous downward pressure on community banks being formed in the United States. But that is not what is being done here.

We are not having honest conversations. My peers across the aisle are undoing good policy without an objective view to determine how it helps or hurts Americans.

Fintech has played a significant role in transforming our markets, helping smaller banks become more competitive, and creating more products and access for Americans. The true lender rule has supported that because it clarifies the legal framework that allows these bank and nonbank partnerships to be successful for consumers.

We should be prioritizing fair access to financial services for Americans and work to protect and promote innovation in our markets so that consumers have as many pathways as possible to prosperity and achieving the American Dream.

If we scrap the true lender rule, we will disrupt our market, stifle innovation, and hinder access to accountable and affordable credit for consumers and small businesses. This is not the precedent we should set in this body. It is a gross abuse of power and a knife in the back of consumers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Raymond Trujillo, a patriotic American, a United States marine, and a dutiful officer in Collier County, Florida. He tragically passed away in May at the age of 56 years old.

Raymond dedicated his life to giving back through service. He joined the United States Marine Corps as a teenager. Devoted to the Marine Corps creed, semper fidelis, Raymond spent 17 years in the military proudly serving our Nation.

Upon his exit from the military, Raymond continued his service in his community by becoming a police officer with the Collier County Sheriff's office, to which he would serve the Collier County community for more than 20 years.

Alongside his brothers and sisters in blue, Raymond protected the Collier County community for more than 20 years. For years, he worked in the Youth Relations Bureau helping to mold and shape the children of today and the future leaders of tomorrow.

Growing up in California, Raymond was a lifelong Oakland Raiders fan and loved the game of football, so much so he spent his spare time coaching youth football.

In a moment of history where police officers are vilified, hated, and looked down upon, Raymond Trujillo wore the badge with honor, dignity, and respect.

Raymond was a proud father to three sons, Raymond III, Alexander, and Jason, and a loving grandfather of three, who were his pride and joy.

My prayers are with his fellow marines, his brothers and sisters in blue, and his family.

As the Representative of Florida's 19th Congressional District, it is an honor to stand here today celebrating the life of an American patriot who dedicated his life to a simple, yet so often forgotten creed: Service above Self.

Mr. Speaker, full disclosure, I actually do not sit on the Financial Services Committee, but my career has actually been in financial services. I spent the last 17 years of my life working in banking, insurance, and financial services.

I understand the importance of protecting investors and ensuring fairness in the market, which is part of the mission of the SEC. In fact, it was so important to me that during my time in the Florida legislature, I introduced legislation that was designed to protect vulnerable investors, and that legislation has actually become law in the State of Florida.

H.R. 1187 is inconsistent with the mission of the SEC. It does not protect investors; it is not fair or efficient. It is the exact opposite. It is nothing more than a government-run litmus test that politicizes the SEC and contradicts the very important mission of the

Mr. Speaker, the attempt to cancel Goya Foods failed, but it exposed the underbelly of the left's attempt to coerce companies into bending the knee to the extremists in the court of public opinion.

In short, Mr. Speaker, this is a bad bill. It does not promote efficient markets, it destroys them. And it sends our financial markets into a place where we should not go in the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I want to cut to the chase this evening. It is a story I don't really tell much, but when I was 16 years old, I was held up at gunpoint. I was coming home from basketball practice, and it was dark. Frankly, they just came right out of a bodega on the corner.

When I got home, the first thing my mother did--well, first, she tried to stop me from going back after the people who robbed me because I was very upset. I was 16 and I was robbed and I was angry. But then she called the police, and they came promptly and they did everything they could to try to find the people who assaulted me.

You see, in community after community across our country, the police are the ones who stand in the gap between law-abiding citizens and those, frankly, who are criminalized, who were assaulted, where some damage is caused to that person.

The police are the ones in our communities. They patrol the streets. They try to keep our neighborhoods safe. They are the ones who put their lives on the line every single day, who may not go home. They are the ones who are the pillars of every community in our great country.

So on National Police Week, the number one thing we need to learn not just on this specific week, but in every week, is that we need to show them the necessary honor and respect that they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, we have all seen the videos that get thrown in front of us. We have seen the handful of acts that all Americans find distasteful. But the uniform, that badge, the officers that serve every day, they serve our communities with honor and with distinction. So it is really my pleasure and my honor to honor all those officers, including the ones in this very Capitol, who protect us every single day.

All Americans need to remember that, that when times get tough, and you really need help, 911 is right there, and our officers show up and they are always ready to protect and serve.

The inflation report came out this morning, 4.2 percent increase in inflation. You have got to ask yourself what happened and how did it happen so fast?

Well, one of the key things we are seeing in this economy is very clear. What we are seeing is that the pool of workers is actually quite small compared to the demand for product from people who, frankly, have been locked down for over a year who are ready to go out and spend a lot of money that they have saved, get back to normal life, but there aren't the necessary workforce in order to produce the level of goods that the economy is demanding. So then, of course, the price of every individual unit is now going up because you have a scarcity of supply.

How did this happen? Well, when this body passed a coronavirus spending bill, or the American Rescue Plan or however you want to call it, when we put in an additional payment of direct checks to individuals, not to mention extended unemployment benefits that are 100 percent to what their wages were before the pandemic, and you let that run through the later part of this year, you are going to see exactly what we have seen all across America.

You have seen too many workers not filling their shifts. I will give you an example. I was at a McDonald's drive-through, 24-hour drive- through in my district about 12:30 in the morning. I was hungry. The first drive-through I went through, there was nobody there working. They cordoned off the drive-through. Has anybody in America ever seen a McDonald's 24-hour drive-through closed? It was closed because nobody was there.

The second McDonald's I went to, there was one worker in the shop. He said, ``It is going to take me 30 minutes to fill your order because nobody else is here, and I am making breakfast for the morning shifts.''

We have to pull back some of these benefits. We have to, because the way you miss a jobs report by 750,000 jobs is by paying people to stay home. That is not working for our economy. It is not working for our small businesses, and we are starting to see the effects in inflation, and it is only going to get worse unless we act swiftly here in the Nation's Capitol.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Colorado for hosting the Special Order.

I will also tell you, Mr. Speaker, it is actually good to be able to talk in this Chamber without that thing on my face. It is messing up the enunciations.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have talked at length about all of the examples and all of the damaging aspects of cancel culture, and I don't want to go through and reiterate those points.

I think the purpose--what I want to take this time to do, Mr. Speaker, is to actually have a pleading with the people of our country.

You see, if you look at the history of world governments, even go before our own Government, the ability to speak has been sacrosanct in order for the ability to be free.

You see, there was a time, under the brutality of European kings, where you could dare not speak a word against the Crown. If you did, you were slaughtered, you were maimed, you were put into chains, you were put into slavery.

The very idea of freedom of speech canonized in our Constitution just wasn't created by our Framers; it is something our Framers understood and they studied from their view of world history. And that very protection is the one thing, the most paramount thing, that the Members of this body, whether they be in our House, the Senate, or the person who occupies the White House at any point in time in American history, can never abridge or infringe.

The reason for that is very simple: Because the thoughts that roll around in your mind are yours alone. They are your thoughts. They were given by God. They were given by your own intellect. And your ability to express them should never be taken away or shamed by a government or by a sect or a substructure of any society, let alone American society.

You see, Mr. Speaker, we have come to a very dangerous point in our politics. This has nothing to do with Social Security and Medicare which, by the way, for the American people, are going to go insolvent in somewhere between 5 and 7 years.

This isn't about our issues talking about guns and supporting the Second Amendment. This isn't about if you want to talk about green technology or embracing fossil fuels or actually embracing nuclear power, which is what we should be doing as a country. This isn't our views on what we do with respect to foreign policy and who our adversary might be.

This goes to the very core of our country. It goes to the very core of our culture. It goes to the very core of whether our society will have the ability to sustain itself for another 200 years into the future.

But I will promise you this, Mr. Speaker, it will not be possible if we have one group of Americans telling another group of Americans that what they say should no longer be heard simply because they don't agree or even if they are offended or even if what somebody says is so vile that unilaterally every American finds it to be distasteful and doesn't want to hear it.

You see, the very thought of any individual must be protected at all times. It is what separates our country from the other countries of the world today and the other societies on our Earth in years past. It is what creates the very foundation of a republic of people to be able to grow, to see, to do, to be their best, because they are free, and there is no government that can oppress them.

The only example I am going to cite tonight is the example of somebody who is actually not on my side of the political aisle. She is a reporter, Alexi McCammond. And Alexi, just so you know, I am not bringing your situation up to make a political point. Far from it. You see, she was a journalist. She was on MSNBC and an NBC contributor. I don't think she would probably like my politics too much. But because of something she said when she was a freshman in college on social media, she was targeted. She was canceled. She had reached a pinnacle in her career through her hard work. I don't even know her, but I know that she was able to accomplish something. But because somebody in her company, because of somebody at Teen Vogue decided they didn't like what she had said, she became the new target.

Mr. Speaker, and frankly, my fellow Americans, we cannot continue as a society if we are quick to shut each other down before we actually decide to open up our ears and listen. There are so many debates on this very floor that are going to take place, not just in this Congress, but in many Congresses to come. There are going to be disagreements in our society, whether you are talking about policing or racism or the past or the future, but the one thing that must remain in our Republic is tolerance.

You see, Mr. Speaker, we have to adopt a standard; not a subjective one, but an objective one. But here is the truth: We already have had that standard. We have already adopted it. It is the objective standard that you are free to speak in the United States of America. And whether it is Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or YouTube or Snapchat or TikTok, or The Washington Post or The Washington Times, whether you want to talk about The

New York Times or you want to talk about redstate.com, you want to talk about MSNBC or FOX News, Morning Joe or Sean Hannity, we must be free to speak at all times because the battlefield of ideas is the only thing that is going to propel our Republic forward. It is the only thing that is going to allow young kids to grow and actually increase their intellect and to be able to transform our economy in ways that none of us in this Capitol today can even fathom. It is the very basis of what makes our Nation the greatest nation. It is what makes us unique. It is what allows us to be able to fight it out every day on this floor, verbally, of course, Mr. Speaker.

My fellow Americans, we are all in this together. Mr. Speaker, we are in this together. We can't cancel each other. We can't move people out of the public square because we find their ideas even vile or distasteful. I may not like what you have to say, Mr. Speaker. We may disagree on votes on this very floor, but the one thing I will always respect, the one thing I will always defend is your ability to say it and your ability to vote that way. My only ask is that you do the same for people on my side of the political aisle.

Madam Speaker, I was meeting with National Guard personnel in my

office discussing their needs and dire dietary conditions while stationed here. Unfortunately that meeting ran into the end of rollcall No. 73. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 73.

Mr. Speaker, gun crime in the United States is a tragedy for us all. I heard the talk about Sandy Hook, about Columbine, and, yes, about Parkland, which happened in my State. It is a tragedy that we all face.

But the one thing, Mr. Speaker, we all have to remember is that, in each one of these instances, the person who acquired the firearm that committed this tragedy acquired it lawfully, or they stole the weapons from somebody else. This bill would not change any of those tragedies.

If anything, what this bill does, it puts more burden on law-abiding Americans and does whittle away and strip their constitutional right to bear arms. You see, the issue is much more about mental health than it is about the ability to acquire firearms.

For this body to unilaterally make it significantly more difficult for a law-abiding citizen to acquire a firearm, which is their constitutional, God-given right, is this body acting outside of its authority under the United States Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, in short, this bill will not fix the tragedies that we face. Unfortunately, laws don't fix most of the tragedies that we face as Americans. What fixes them is dealing with the human condition that, unfortunately, inhabits people in our country. We should be working on that, not stripping the constitutional rights from our fellow citizens.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1, the For the People Act. This is really just a takeover of elections by Washington, D.C.

Madam Speaker, I got a chance to go through some of this bill--790 pages. Most of these things would basically eviscerate Florida's election law.

You see, I served in Florida's legislature. We had the responsibility for adjusting legislation law from time to time. Our State was a State that went through hanging chads in 2000, and we have made the adjustment systematically in the State legislature to make sure that Florida has the very best election laws in these United States.

You see, on election night, November 3, we were done counting around 9:30. We knew the results by 10 o'clock. We have absentee ballots, we have voter ID, we have early voting, and we have a robust count system on election day.

The people of Florida have never been disenfranchised when it comes to elections. The people of Florida have come accustomed to having a voter system that works. And what this body is trying to do with H.R. 1 is completely destroy Florida's election laws. That is, to me, ridiculous. This Capitol should never allow that. If we are going to do anything, we should replicate what Florida has actually done.

Madam Speaker, I am sorry. It keeps falling down.

Madam Speaker, I was trying to make a point--

Madam Speaker, the point is clear: 33 States have voter ID laws. Many States have already taken care of these problems themselves. State legislatures should be changing their laws. This Capitol should not. And the people of the State of Florida definitely do not want the things that are in this bill. Our system is the best. Frankly, leave Florida alone.

Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida, my good friend, Congresswoman Cammack, for bringing this great idea to the House Chamber to honor those of us in our communities who have done, frankly, more than Members of Congress actually have. The sacrifices that they have made not only in our communities but throughout their lives is really something to honor, it is something to behold, and it is something to cherish. I am just grateful for this opportunity to do this on the peoples' floor this evening.

The first hometown hero I wish to honor is Captain Wayne Ogden Smith. Today, we pay tribute to one of Naples' hometown heroes. Mr. Smith was a United States Air Force fighter pilot and a Vietnam prisoner of war. Captain Smith was a prisoner of war at the Hanoi Hilton for 5 years, alongside Senator Sam Johnson and Senator John McCain. However, he would never call himself a hometown hero.

Wayne was a 1965 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and would fly 90 F-4 fighter combat missions over North Vietnam and Laos. Captain Smith was shot down on January 18, 1968, at the age of 24. He survived 5 years and 2 months and was repatriated on March 15, 1973.

Wayne's combat honors include two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze ``V'' Stars, seven Air Medals, and the Purple Heart.

Now retired from the business world, Wayne Smith spends his time with his wife helping veterans and active military around the country through organizations like Wreaths Across America and Naples Spirit of `45, a celebration honoring our World War II veterans and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, another hometown hero from my District is Allison Dawson. Allison has proudly dedicated her life to educating our youth. Allison's career in youth education spans over 30 years, almost 20 of those in Lee County, Florida.

A single mom who raised three kids, she struggled to pay bills and struggled to put food on the table. Despite these obstacles, Allison remained committed

to her passion and her life's work: teaching and helping low-income students learn and grow to succeed.

During COVID-19, like thousands of teachers across our Nation, she juggled virtual school and in-person instruction flawlessly, all to ensure her students received the very best education. She is a prime example of how hard all teachers across America work every single day.

I am honored to recognize Allison Dawson today as a teacher and as a public servant. I thank Allison for her 30 years of service; her commitment to serving others; and ensuring that every child, no matter their race, gender and socioeconomic background, has access to a world- class education.

Mr. Speaker, my last hometown hero is Major Jose Martinez, BSN, RN. Jose Martinez, BSN and RN, is the nursing director of adult and pediatric emergency department at North Naples Hospital in southwest Florida. He has been a nurse for 22 years, and 13 of them at NCH.

Major Jose Martinez has a 19-year military career. He has served 9 years with the Army National Guard and 10 years with the Air Force Reserve.

Major Martinez is currently a flight nurse instructor and clinical management flight commander in the 45th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Major Martinez just returned from a 6-month deployment at duty station Travis Air Force Base in California. Major Martinez coordinated more than 50 Aeromedical Evacuation Westpac/Cross Country Aeromedical missions with more than 400 aeromedical evacuation crew, critical care crew, and neonatal critical care members serving more than 100 patients who represent our U.S. military and their families.

He has dedicated his life to serving others and has saved countless lives. I am honored to recognize Major Martinez today and his sacrifices for our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, there are many heroes in all of our communities. These are just three who happen to live in my congressional district, and it is my honor to honor them this evening.

Mr. Speaker, as I walked onto the House floor today, I heard the talk from the other side, talking about wanting to share in good ideas. But what is interesting is, as this budget resolution has come forth, there has been no sharing of ideas.

We have seen a general framework coming from the Biden administration calling for $1.9 trillion, but that completely flies in the face of the fact that there is $1 trillion that this very body, the last Congress, appropriated last year that is still unspent. That money has not gone out the door. Yet, we are talking about solutions to help our country through COVID-19.

Now, my career before politics was actually in finance and economics. I spent 17 years in that field. If you are going to talk about stimulating an economy, the first thing you want to do is actually study the current state of your economy. One of the metrics we always like to use in financial services is the unemployment rate. It is a pretty popular statistic.

Let's take a look at the unemployment rates going on around the country. In my State of Florida, it is 6.1 percent. In Alabama, it is 3.9 percent. In South Carolina, it is 4.6 percent. In Texas, it is 7.2 percent.

Compare that to blue States in our country, New York and California, where they soar over 8 percent.

Why is that happening?

Because their governors and their mayors have refused to reopen their economies.

If you want to stimulate something, actually let the American people get back to work. Let them run their businesses, and you would be surprised at what actually would happen in our economy.

Let's talk about the $15 minimum wage, which is in the Biden plan. I don't know how a $15 minimum wage is going to help struggling small businesses continue to thrive in the current environment. Furthermore, what we have already seen with the $15 minimum wage is that it has led to workers actually getting less hours, less hours at the jobs that they have. I don't see how that is actually helping anybody stimulate an economy.

Let's talk about education. In this plan, right now there is $170 billion, give or take, to go to local school districts to reopen.

But guess what? If they are picketing outside of the school district's school board in Chicago to not go back into the classroom, what is this additional money actually doing?

In Florida, we have been open in our schools. We have done this. There are tens of billions of dollars already available to help school districts reopen. All they need is leadership. They don't need more money.

The last thing I want to add is with respect to State and local governments. Every State government and every local government either gets their money from income taxes, sales taxes; like in the great State of Florida, property taxes on the local level. This is typically how you get your revenue. If you want to help State and local governments take care of their revenue problems, they should open up. They should not come back to this Capitol and get money.

Why should Florida pay for New York?

Except for the fact that the only thing New York has done is help the real estate markets in Florida because New Yorkers are fleeing New York to come to the great State of Florida.

Mr. Speaker, let's be clear. This budget resolution is not about economics. It is not about COVID-19. It is not about helping our schools reopen. This budget resolution is purely politics. It is an opportunity to push through an agenda through budget reconciliation where, if you actually studied our economy and studied the fact that now close to 40 million Americans have been vaccinated with the vaccine from the previous administration, we are on track to getting reopened. We should study this. We should be more targeted. We should not be putting forward a massive spending bill where no study has ever been given.