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 yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Kiley).

Largest Tax Increase in California History

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).

Honoring Andrew David

The Fourth of July fireworks are over, and the barbecue leftovers are long gone. Now we have the rest of the year to continue to reflect on America's founding 250 years ago.

John Adams believed that independence should be celebrated with solemn reflection. In that spirit, I sponsored a speech competition for the high school students in Utah's Second Congressional District and asked teenagers to write about what America means to them.

Tonight, I will read the two winning speeches as well as a little bit about the two students who wrote them. These speeches were selected out of a pile of speeches with blind reading, so I didn't know who had written them.

Kambree Giles is a student at Millard High School in the Second District. She is entering her senior year. She lives in Meadow, Utah, a town with fewer than 350 people, where she is an active member of her school's FFA chapter. After graduating, she plans to serve an 18-month proselytizing mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

This is her speech:

George W. Bush said, ``For we are given power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people.'' I love this quote because it shows just how America should be. I ask you: What are you doing to help the people around you, and therefore to help this country?

I believe that this country is a country of love and freedom. Each of us has the unique opportunity to help those around us. If we love those around us, we can make someone feel better. Love is the first thing I think of when I think of what this great country is. This country means being able and willing to be a helping hand. We all have the freedom to help those around us. We never know just how much of an influence that can be.

When people think about this country, they should be inspired and feel proud to call it home. I want everyone who hears this to be inspired to show kindness and feel the sense of pride that this country brings. Every time I stand up to say the pledge or when I hear the national anthem, I feel a sense of pride to be able to call this country my home. I get teary-eyed because I know what this country stands for and the lengths kindness has gone to keep it free. The most important thing this country stands for, for me, is kindness.

If anything is taken from my speech, I hope everyone that hears this leaves feeling a stronger sense of pride for our country. If we want America to stay great, we must choose to keep it great by treating all of its people with kindness, lifting others up instead of putting them down. This country immediately needs more kindness.

Thank you, Kambree.

The second one is from Rylee Moore. Rylee is the second winner of our America 250 speech contest. She is also from a small town, Delta, Utah, where she attends Delta High School and is entering the tenth grade. Rylee's words reflect love for our Nation's history and faith in its future.

This is Rylee's speech:

America means so much to me because it is a place where freedom meets opportunity, where people from all over the world, not just America, can come together to live, work, and dream. In my opinion, America represents being able to make a difference

and choose your own path. The country is so diverse with so many cultures, ideas, and traditions, it is amazing.

To me, America is also about standing up for what is right, working hard to make things happen, and better the world around us.

It is far from perfect, but with the freedom to speak our mind and fight for justice, great communities are created. I am proud to live in a country that supports freedom and opinion.

In conclusion, America brings hope, opportunity, and a place where I can imagine and create a bright future for myself as well as others.

Thank you, Rylee.

Kambree and Rylee are young, and their words reflect well on them, their families, and Utah, where they were raised. Like them, I am grateful for our country and excited about the next 250 years of American goodness and freedom. I thank each of the high school students who rose to the challenge and wrote a speech. I sincerely hope that each of them learned something new and that their love for this country grew even just a little bit.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you very much, and yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 3073, the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act.

This narrow bill gives a Tribal neighbor a fair opportunity to pursue economic development and build a stronger future for their people.

My office has worked closely with leaders from the Shivwits Band of Paiutes to understand the challenges they are facing. This legislation is the result of those conversations and reflects the solutions the Tribe believes will help them move forward while serving their members.

The Shivwits Band wants to pursue economic opportunities on their lands, but the recent decision from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that has already been mentioned placed new barriers in the way, complicating, maybe even threatening, their economic plans.

The court held that even when a Tribe clearly waives sovereign immunity in a contract and consents to State court jurisdiction, State courts may still lack authority to hear disputes unless a series of additional requirements are met.

These requirements are not easy to meet.

Those hurdles created uncertainty for the Shivwits Band in attracting potential business partners. Without clarity for business partners, opportunities for the Band would be lost. Leaders from the Shivwits Band have spoken clearly on the need for a better path forward.

This is what they said in their own words:

``The Shivwits Tribe and local community leaders have found a new way forward: collaboration instead of conflict, and cooperation instead of contention. This bill allows the Tribe to align interests with potential business partners that can help drive economic development on Reservations.''

H.R. 3073 provides that path forward. It clarifies that Utah State courts can resolve certain civil disputes involving the Shivwits Band when those disputes arise from agreements where the Band has clearly and voluntarily waived sovereign immunity.

At the same time, the bill fully preserves Tribal sovereignty. Nothing in this legislation forces the Tribe to waive immunity. The choice remains entirely theirs.

Madam Speaker, for those reasons, I urge my colleagues to support

Mr. Speaker, it is hard not to smile when I stand here and talk about Doug LaMalfa, even on this really difficult week because Doug always made me smile.

From the beginning, he made me feel like I was really special, and I have learned this week that that is maybe the least special thing about me because everybody here felt like they were Doug LaMalfa's best friend.

The night I was sworn in as a Member of Congress, I started getting texts on my phone from a number I didn't recognize. They were pictures of me being sworn in from an angle that looked suspiciously like the House floor, which is against the rules.

I promised him I would never tell anyone where I got those pictures, so I am not going to tell you, but I still don't know how he had my number the minute I got sworn in.

He has never missed a chance to get me to sing Utah's State song with him whether we are in an airport or on the House floor or walking through the tunnels. He never failed to accompany that with jokes from ``My Cousin Vinny'' about the ``youts.''

I hope that hearing all of these memories and all of these stories that people have of Doug will comfort his family, his staff, and everybody else who is missing him at this difficult time because, even though I am smiling, I am deeply mourning for my friend, Doug LaMalfa.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule that moves appropriations bills, bills that reflect the leadership of Chairman Cole and the priorities of this Congress, avoiding another shutdown and spending taxpayer dollars responsibly in a way that directly benefits Americans.

These bills lower the cost of living and boost the economy. They support domestic energy production, resulting in lower costs for American families and businesses, and invest in water infrastructure to address drought and protect supplies for communities across this country.

These appropriations bills that are included in the rule spend hard- earned tax dollars responsibly, reduce spending below current levels, putting money back in Americans' pockets, and reduce our deficit. They ensure that government funding works efficiently to deliver services that make life better for Americans.

The American people are watching us. They want to see Congress do our most basic, essential function, which is spending government dollars and controlling the power of the purse. Through bipartisan, bicameral negotiations, led by appropriators, we are turning priorities into action and putting America first.

Mr. Speaker, this package demonstrates the value of Congress by delivering results for communities in Utah and across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act, known as the SPEED Act, introduced by my colleague from Arkansas, Chairman Westerman.

Federal permitting under NEPA has strangled economic development and delayed critical projects. What should take months takes years, and what should be straightforward becomes bureaucratic maze.

The core purpose of this bill is to restore NEPA to its original purpose as a procedural statute intended to ensure agencies look at alternatives and focus on real proximate environmental effects rather than speculative, politically motivated hypotheticals.

The key reforms that will help bring that about are that it prevents completed environmental reports from being undone without a court order. It creates litigation timelines and requires substantive public comment in order to establish standing for litigation.

The way NEPA is being implemented now and has been implemented for the last several years wastes taxpayer time and money. What was intended to make sure Federal agencies are being thoughtful and looking at multiple alternatives before they make important decisions on behalf of the American people has turned into a bureaucratic boondoggle that isn't serving the American people.

These reforms are especially critical for rural States with a large Federal footprint like Utah. It rebalances the scales in favor of local voices, working families, and economic opportunities.

These changes help all Americans. All Americans are going to be benefited by upgraded infrastructure, increased energy production, and less wasted time and money.

This isn't about lowering environmental standards, but it is about eliminating redundancy and bureaucratic paralysis. It represents reforms Americans have been demanding: practical solutions that cut red tape while maintaining environmental protections that we all appreciate.

It is time for some predictability, consistency, and efficiency in government decisions. I thank Chairman Westerman for meeting the need of our time which is a need for speed.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. The time for action is now, and we must give the American people the effective government that we all deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025.

The Secure Rural Schools program, or SRS, is a lifeline for rural Utah communities.

When timber revenues from Federal lands declined, it threatened the ability of counties to fund their schools, roads, and emergency services.

Counties are responsible for providing these basic services, but what if they can't?

SRS steps in to fill that gap in counties with overwhelming Federal land ownership, counties that previously benefited from timber sales. With the majority of Utah's land federally managed, our counties cannot simply tax their way out of budgeting shortfalls.

The elected county commissioners in my district spend a lot of time getting creative and stretching the dollars they have as far as they can, and that includes working to get Congress to fund SRS. Kane County is 87 percent federally owned. Garfield County is about 94 percent federally owned, and Piute County is about 75 percent.

SRS recognizes that the Federal Government has an obligation to be part of the communities surrounded by the land it manages. Replacing lost funding is a step toward being part of those local communities.

This funding keeps schools staffed and keeps roads maintained. Our rural counties need the stability and fairness that comes with reauthorizing SRS. It matters a lot for Utah.

To be clear, rural counties, timber counties, would rather have the jobs that come with timber production and sound forest management, management for resource production. However, in the meantime, while we are fixing the policies that prevented that, SRS is essential for the rural counties.

Mr. Speaker, Americans are preparing to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States in 2026.

How do you properly celebrate 250 years of freedom? One very uniquely American way is to spend time in what Wallace Stegner called ``the best idea we ever had,'' our national parks.

National parks provide our connection to history, nature, and shared heritage, including our bright future as a nation. The Semiquincentennial Tourism and Access to Recreation Sites Act, which doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, so we call it the STARS Act, designates Constitution Day, September 17, 2026, as a fee-free day at National Park Service sites and extends fee waivers to Federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the United States Forest Service.

This allows Americans to experience our national history, natural treasures, and natural resources that preserve and protect the legacy that began in 1776.

This legislation is complementary to the Department of the Interior's effort to launch the digital America the Beautiful passes, expand motorcycle access, create a resident-focused fee structure, and otherwise improve the experience for Americans.

The STARS Act highlights Constitution Day to encourage reflection on America's founding principles. Get out and enjoy this Nation's natural resources, learn something new, or just celebrate with loved ones in one of our parks.

Free access encourages families and communities to visit, learn, and participate in the national celebration together. Americans just might come together during this major national commemoration by getting outside in a forest, historic park, bird refuge, or go on an iconic hike.

The STARS Act is about connecting Americans with history, nature, and the founding principles of our Republic. We can celebrate America's birthday in a very American way that invites all people, regardless of politics, religion, age, or income bracket to be united in taking part in the freedoms we enjoy as a result of our Constitution.

Maybe, just maybe, by joining together to mark this milestone, we can awaken a fresh reverence and respect for our founding documents, our collective national blessings, and the ideas that changed the world two-and-a-half centuries ago.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 269.

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, legislation that prioritizes fiscal responsibility while boosting America's economy.

The Energy and Commerce Committee provisions provide $912 billion in deficit reduction. The Ways and Means Committee provisions make real tax relief. This bill reins in Federal spending levels by rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, and strengthens our economy by ensuring that working American families can thrive without overly burdensome taxes or costly regulations.

We are moving the economy and government in the right direction.

The Natural Resources Committee title reduces the deficit by at least $18.5 billion while restoring commonsense management to our Federal lands and environmental programs. It will generate revenue through oil and gas leases, coal leases on Federal lands, leases for geothermal energy production, timber sales, and other activities that stimulate local economies while generating Federal revenue.

It cuts waste and strengthens resource development, all while achieving significant fiscal savings.

This bill is good for Utah, and it is good for America. The bill helps all Americans by helping us keep our border secure by providing law enforcement with the tools they need.

Mr. Speaker, I support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, H.J. Res. 60, which provides congressional disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the rules submitted by the National Park Service on the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area pertaining to motor vehicles.

The National Park Service finalized a rule that restricts off-road vehicles and all-terrain vehicles, ORVs and ATVs, to access certain areas within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in my district.

This would prohibit access to approximately 24 miles of road as the chairman said, including popular trails near the Orange Cliffs and segments of the Poison Springs Loop. I have spent a lot of time on the ground in these areas with local elected officials who, for years, have tried to generate a better experience for visitors to the Orange Cliffs, and this goes in the wrong direction.

Wayne and Garfield Counties are counties that struggle in a State that otherwise thrives. Utah has a really strong economy, but these rural counties have really weak economies. The reason the rural counties struggle is because almost all of the land in their counties is managed by the Federal Government. The Federal Government can make rules that restrict access to parts of their county over their objections.

These roads we are talking about are important to those residing in Wayne and Garfield Counties and the tourists who come here from all over the world. They have used these paths to get to places that are part of their history and part of their recreation for generations. These road restrictions reflect a pattern of access loss that characterizes the problems with having a distant Federal Government make local rules.

People from across the world come to experience the unique opportunities these trails offer. The rule threatens to sever these connections, leaving communities to bear the brunt of its consequences. This is in a beautiful part of a gorgeous State, but it is not easy to get to. Keep in mind, this is a recreation area, not a preservation area.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Utah deserve better. They deserve a government that listens, that respects their traditions, and understands the importance of balancing conservation with access.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is very popular, as my colleague across the aisle pointed out. The Orange Cliffs area is not well traveled. Much like the rural counties are struggling in a State that is thriving, the Orange Cliffs area is tough to get to in a national recreation area where everybody goes to the lake.

It doesn't make sense to close roads and concentrate all those visitors in those small areas. These nonsensical rules that make bureaucrats feel better don't help Utahans and are a symptom of the problem of having a distant and disinterested landlord with an agenda.

That is why I introduced H.J. Res. 60, a resolution that leverages the Congressional Review Act to overturn this misguided rule. The resolution is not just about restoring access to trails. It is about standing up for the rights of my constituents, protecting local economies, and preserving freedoms that define our Nation.

Let us be clear: Conservation and access are not mutually exclusive. We can protect our natural heritage while ensuring that Americans can go see it and enjoy it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution. We should send a message that we stand with the people of Wayne and Garfield Counties, the people of Utah, and the people who like to recreate on our public lands.

We value their voices, and we won't allow bureaucratic overreach to dictate our way of life. Together, we can ensure that Glen Canyon remains a place of freedom, adventure, and opportunity for generations to come and isn't a hindrance to the local economies.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to stand here and celebrate the contributions of women this Women's History Month, both the women who are here today and those whose spirits live on through the impact they have created for past generations.

Our contributions as women are not a sidenote in the story of our world. They are central to it. We helped shape the world, and we are here to make sure that the women who came before us get credit for what they have done. Their influence is undeniable.

When we think of remarkable women, let us be reminded of women like Martha Hughes Cannon, a physician, suffragist, and pioneer who went on to become the first female State Senator in the United States.

We are a Nation of pioneers. Martha beautifully embodies that pioneering spirit. She immigrated to the United States, crossed the Great Plains, and helped settle Utah when it was a frontier State. She challenged societal expectations, standing alone in the fields of science and politics, to advocate for her convictions.

Her unwavering commitment to change helped establish women's right to vote and hold office in Utah, putting the State decades ahead of the national curve, and then helped reestablish the right to vote when the Nation caught up.

Her statue now fittingly stands in Emancipation Hall and represents Utah.

Let's also be reminded of women like Sally Ride who in 1983 became the first woman in space, defying conventional expectations set for women while creating opportunities for women to enter STEM fields.

Let us also be reminded of women like Clara Barton who founded the

American Red Cross in 1881, modeling service and diplomacy in the presence of conflict. Her contributions were not without risk.

Let us be reminded of all the women who have yet to have their stories told, their achievements celebrated, and their voices heard. Their influence, whether truly recognized or not, will be felt, not only by their neighbors, but by future generations. Their contributions are important to the legacy of this Nation.

The importance of showcasing women's achievements, sharing our stories and teaching our history, cannot be overstated. Women's History Museum offers young girls the opportunity to see themselves in history as active agents of change. When we teach the history of women, we are teaching the history of humanity, and those stories are not simply for women, but for everyone. They are for everyone who shares the pioneering spirit that drives Americans to keep challenging limitations and working for freedom and opportunity.

When we recognize women, let us remember the challenges they have faced, the struggles we have endured, and the significance of our choice to persevere.

Progress is rarely easily won. Success is rarely freely given, but as history has illustrated time and time again, women have found ways to push forward and to pioneer better ways.

As we honor the women who come before us by remembering, I hope we will be grateful and humble to have inherited the progress of past generations. As Americans and visitors to our country visit the Nation's Capital and explore the museums, it seems fitting that they would have the opportunity to learn about the pioneering spirit of America and the stories of pioneering American women.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to be here today, and I commend my colleagues in the Western Caucus for their unwavering dedication to preserving the values and livelihoods of rural America, the Western States, and our Western values that we both represent.

I will highlight today three pieces of legislation that I have introduced. One of them addresses abuses of the Antiquities Act, one of them addresses the inefficiencies and unfairness of our permitting system, and the other one addresses the need to get geothermal energy up and going more quickly and more efficiently.

Mr. Speaker, I will start with the Antiquities Act. For decades, the executive branch, Presidents of the United States, mostly Democrats, have used the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate vast areas as national monuments, and that is in an authority that we delegated to them in the Antiquities Act of 1906.

The abuse of that narrow delegated authority has resulted in restricted access to lands, hindered economic opportunities, and it has left local voices unheard and frustrated.

In my district, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was created by Bill Clinton in 1996, over the objections of Utah's Governor, Utah's Federal delegation, and local, county, and State- elected officials. Those frustrations and scars and wounds have not healed in the years that have passed since then.

Mr. Speaker, my Ending Presidential Overreach on Public Lands Act ensures that the decisions of this magnitude affecting public lands are made collaboratively, respecting the role of Congress with our jurisdiction over public land, and taking input from local voices. It should be Congress that makes those widespread, large-scale land management decisions.

Mr. Speaker, the next one I will talk about is the FREE Act, which encourages agencies to look at the permits they issue and determine which ones can be done by permit by rule, which means they have a predetermined list of requirements for a permit and firm timelines on making those decisions. An applicant can bring an agency everything on that list, and the agency can either say: Yes, this is adequate for

a permit, and issue the permit, or say: No, it is not adequate for a permit, and give the applicant what they need to do to remedy that so that we can have quicker permitting, especially on infrastructure projects.

Right now, it takes years and millions of dollars to permit infrastructure projects, especially in States like Utah, where most of the land is managed by the Federal Government and everything we do has to go through multiple layers of Federal processes.

Lastly, the GEO Act addresses the time that it takes to permit geothermal energy projects. Geothermal energy is abundant in Utah. We are leading out in a lot of ways on developing new geothermal resources. Yet, the time it takes to get the permit to build a geothermal plant is prohibiting us from developing some of the resources and getting clean, reliable baseload power online that this country needs now and will need even more in the future.

These three bills are not all of my bills, but I wanted to highlight those three today because they are about safeguarding public lands, fostering economic growth, and empowering our communities. They are about letting ranchers, families, small businesses, and entrepreneurs benefit from thoughtful and responsive government as opposed to government that drowns out their voices and ignores their needs.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support these measures, which offer pragmatic solutions to real challenges in Utah, throughout the West, and throughout the whole country.

It has had a negative impact on energy production--as soon as I get in front of a microphone, I have a tickle in my throat--by restricting the areas that are open for use, withdrawing them from mineral exploration, oil and gas exploration, and energy production.

The original intent of the Presidential proclamation authority in the Antiquities Act was for the President to be able to move quickly and declare a national monument in an area with antiquities, or an area of scientific interest, to hold it until Congress could make a decision.

Since 1976, when the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, FLPMA, passed, it has been the policy of the Federal Government that we don't dispose of land anymore, so that threat has been removed. The need for a President to move quickly no longer exists, and the act is just being used to create land policy that couldn't get through Congress.

The process matters when it comes to land management. We need to take back the authority we gave Presidents because they are not using it in the way Congress intended it to be used. It is being abused, and we need to end that abuse by exercising our legislative powers.

I don't know what the current timeline is, but I know it has taken years when it should take months.

We know what a geothermal power plant looks like. We know how to do it in a way that is environmentally sensitive. We are just taking time and money to get to that end point that we already know we are headed to.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2781) to promote remediation of abandoned hardrock mines, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 2781.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 2781, the bipartisan and bicameral Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024.

I am the Republican cosponsor of the House companion legislation. This bill is critical to removing the obstacles that are preventing the cleanup and remediation of important land and water resources across our Nation.

This map shows the hundreds of thousands of estimated abandoned mines sprinkled across the United States. This is not only a western issue, but a national one. Historic mining in the U.S. predates modern environmental laws and current reclamation standards. This leads to the creation of abandoned hardrock mine lands, which can pose environmental and safety risks to surrounding areas and communities.

Despite the danger, non-profit organizations, mining companies, State agencies, and other stakeholders with the willingness and expertise to clean up these abandoned mines are deterred from taking action.

Under the Clean Water Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA, Good Samaritans who wish to clean up an abandoned mine would assume liability for the preexisting mine waste or pollution that they did not create. As a result, remediation efforts are stopped before they can even begin.

This bill directs the EPA to establish a pilot permitting program for 15 low-risk projects to allow true Good Samaritans, with no legal or financial responsibility or connection to an abandoned hardrock mine site, to remediate and clean up sites leading to improved environmental and safety conditions.

S. 2781 is the right start to allow for the cleanup and remediation of these mines in Utah and across the country while providing narrowly targeted liability protections for Good Samaritan volunteers.

This bill has robust bipartisan support from a significant number of stakeholders across the political spectrum. The legislation also passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by voice vote, the full Senate by unanimous consent, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee by voice vote in September.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Fulcher).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, the Good Samaritan Act, is the right step forward. There is a clear irony here that the Clean Water Act and CERCLA are unintentionally standing in the way of sensible, low-risk mine cleanups.

I ask that my colleagues support this monumental legislation, the concepts for which have been in the works for over two decades. The strong bipartisan nature of this bill cannot be overstated, with Senators and Members of Congress working alongside stakeholders and industry leaders across the political spectrum, including the White House, to make this bill into law.

I thank my co-lead, Congresswoman Mary Peltola, for her leadership and partnership and for the support of the bill's bipartisan cosponsors.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8692) to require that the Amtrak Board of Directors comply with the open meetings requirements of section 552b of title 5, United States Code, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 in the Record on H.R. 8692.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Government in the Sunshine Act, or Sunshine Act, was established to increase the public's confidence in its government.

Under the Sunshine Act, meetings of government agencies must be open to the public unless one of the statute's exemptions apply.

The act defines an agency as one headed by a collegial body, a majority of whose members are nominated by the President, and whose appointment is subject to advice and consent of the Senate. This clearly describes Amtrak.

The need for full transparency at Amtrak has never been greater. Here are just a few examples.

First, last fiscal year, Amtrak reported operating losses of $757 million. These were losses made up for by taxpayers. Its Acela II train sets are more than 3 years behind schedule, and the delays have cost Amtrak more than $140 million in lost revenues.

Additionally, the Northeast Corridor Commission estimates its state of good repair backlog on the Northeast Corridor exceeds $78.7 billion. Further, the Biden administration's infrastructure law provides for more than $66 billion in advanced appropriations that Amtrak can use to expand service, regardless of the need to make a profit.

With so much of the taxpayers' money in Amtrak's hands, there clearly needs to be more transparency and accountability for the decisions made by the passenger rail service's board, and this bill provides just that.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls).

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 8692 represents an important step in providing much-needed transparency and accountability to meetings by Amtrak's board of directors and the decisions they make that involve billions of taxpayer dollars.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 8666, to amend title 28, United States Code, to authorize the holding of court for the Central Division of Utah in Moab and Monticello, Utah.

I start by thanking my colleagues for their comments and support.

Madam Speaker, allowing the Federal court to meet in Monticello and Moab allows all types of civil and criminal court proceedings in southeastern Utah, particularly jury trials.

Jury summonses for Utahns in this part of the State require a five- hour drive one way from places like Blanding to Salt Lake City, and that is a little over 300 miles.

Some criminal cases have to be heard more than four hours from where the crime occurred, and then witnesses, law enforcement, and victims bear the burden of that travel, as do the U.S. marshals when they transport defendants in criminal cases for jury trials.

This area would also serve the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners part of Utah, where Federal courts have special jurisdiction. Important civil cases require the same kind of travel arrangements.

Madam Speaker, last week in southwestern Utah, I personally was able to witness the investiture of the first Federal judge dedicated specifically to southwestern Utah. I have seen how much that means to those communities in my district, where they can have their day in court and where they have a court in their community. They feel like they have a connection to the judicial system, and that is a really important part of maintaining faith in our institutions and faith in our judicial system. I love to see us working toward getting southeastern Utah the same opportunity.

Our courts are an indispensable part of our Constitution for peacefully resolving our disputes and for administering justice. I am proud to say that this bill helps ensure that rural Utahns have ready access to justice, the judicial branch of their government, and the court system.

Madam Speaker, I thank my fellow Utahns for their support and urge my House colleagues to pass H.R. 8666.