Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Brigadier General Aida ``Terri'' Borras on her retirement from the U.S. Army. Brigadier General Borras' forty-one year career has been characterized by exceptionally meritorious service while serving in positions of increasing responsibility, culminating as the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff (Intelligence) for Headquarters Department of the Army G2. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York, Brigadier General Borras' distinguished service has impacted the lives of countless Soldiers and their families.

Borras enlisted in the Army in 1985. During her enlisted career, she served as an intelligence Soldier in the Combined Field Army (Republic of Korea-U.S.), the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), the 1st Special Operations Command (Airborne), the Special Forces Command (Airborne), and participated in combat operations during Operation Just Cause. In 1992, she was selected for the Army's Green to Gold Program and graduated two years later from The George Washington University and received her commission as a second lieutenant in the Military Intelligence Corps in 1994.

Her command assignments include: Platoon Leader, Delta Company, 629th Military Intelligence Battalion (CEWI), Maryland National Guard; Company Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, INSCOM Support Battalion (Provisional); Battalion Commander, Army Reserve Element at the 1st Information Operations Command (Land); Battalion Commander, North Central Army Reserve Intelligence Support Center; Brigade Commander, Army Reserve Operational Activity; Commanding General, Military Intelligence Readiness Command; and Deputy Commanding General, Southern European Task Force Africa.

Staff assignments include: Intelligence Watch Officer, Joint Analysis Center; Joint Information Operations Planner on the Multinational Force--Iraq staff during Operation Iraqi Freedom; Director, Army Reserve G-39 (Cyber and Information Operations Directorate) on the Office of the Chief, Army Reserve; and Director, Commander's Action Group for the Commanding General, United States Army Reserve Command.

I thank Terri for her distinguished service, and her professionalism and passion for service in every role she has filled throughout her prestigious career. Part of what makes the U.S. military the greatest in the world is that servicemembers like Terri voluntarily dedicate their lives to serve and sacrifice for this country. I also want to thank her husband Patrick and her children, Sean, Liam, Conor, Eion and Siannen, for their unwavering support. I wish Terri and her family all the best in what I hope to be a restful and enjoyable future.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 3370, PROTECT Firefighters Act, and H.R. 1742, Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act, bills originally introduced by Representative Sherrill of New Jersey, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, it is really devastating to listen to the other side talking about how we somehow were not supposed to be told when boots went on the ground before. Somehow, we were lucky enough, by God's grace, that

nothing bad happened to the men and women in the service of our Nation. Yet they actually were injured, seven of them.

The U.S. military is being used against Venezuela without congressional authorization, without transparency, and in ways that appear only designed to benefit the very powerful amongst us--the oil companies--and not the Venezuelan people, and certainly not our American people to whom we are obligated to represent. It is as simple as that.

The American people don't want their sons or their daughters sent into harm's way for their missions to Venezuela or to Greenland or to anywhere else that are undertaken just to enrich corporations and the most wealthy amongst us and cronies of the President's, and to do nothing in the process to lower the cost of living, to help families afford housing or healthcare, or to secure a future for our children.

Mr. Speaker, I am struck by the fact that we are at a place where we have maligned others in the past for brutish isolationism and for colonial instincts that we have long condemned in our own adversaries.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of this aisle to vote ``yes,'' to do our jobs so that we may reaffirm our authority and rein in reckless action.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the service of a very special person, our defense fellow, U.S. Marine captain and JAG Viviana Lowe, whose tenure with our office is sadly coming to a close.

Viviana is here with us today. Viviana has been an enormously instrumental member of our office this last year, leading us to more than 35 policy wins in the NDAA that will have lasting impact on the services for decades to come.

Through her leadership of the Servicewomen and Women Veterans Caucus and especially with the WITs, Viviana has ensured that our military is a place where our servicewomen all feel valued and supported.

Her dedication to the academy nomination process and inspiring the next generation of servicemembers has been a gift not only to our office but to our entire community and will pay back in dividends that we don't yet appreciate.

As she leaves our office and heads back to the Pentagon to join the Marine's Judge Advocate Division, we know that our Nation is fortunate to have a fierce warrior and public servant like Viviana at the helm.

We will miss Viviana and her amazing energy and spirit.

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us is a bipartisan compromise that continues our work to improve the quality of life of our servicemembers and their families. I thank the chair and ranking member for working so diligently to bring this forward.

At the heart of our national security are the people whose courage, skill, and integrity make every mission possible. This legislation recognizes their value with a 3.8 percent pay raise, an increase in the family separation allowance, and other provisions that will help ease the financial pressures of military families.

It also extends the Child Care in Your Home pilot through 2029 and requires annual reviews of childcare fee assistance.

We also include protections I championed for our Department of Defense civilian workforce, barring arbitrary layoffs for DODEA teachers and childcare staff, and shielding public shipyard employees from reductions in force or hiring freezes.

I am very grateful that this bill moves forward a reform that I have worked on for years. It authorizes automatic Selective Service System registration for eligible men, making the system more fair and efficient.

I am especially proud that this legislation codifies the Women's Initiatives Teams across all services. Women serve and lead in every domain of our military. We cannot let Secretary Hegseth sideline them. Making WITs permanent ensures each branch can continue to identify the barriers and remove those

barriers to women's recruitment, retention, health, and safety.

I do all this and support this bill, despite my extreme lack of confidence in this Pentagon's leadership, but I must always support the men and women who wear the uniform. Our servicemembers and their families make extraordinary sacrifices for our Nation, and now, especially now, we must fulfill our commitments to them.

Mr. Speaker, with my remaining time, with very much respect to the ranking member and chairman, I would also like to echo Mr. Khanna in imploring a full committee hearing for the House Armed Services Committee with Secretary Hegseth and a full committee hearing for the Intel Committee with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. We absolutely and collectively all must have the oversight and the understanding of what is going on in Venezuela and the attacks in the open Caribbean.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for the opportunity to serve.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sharon Loving, a remarkable leader whose more than four decades at our Longwood Gardens has helped shape one of the most treasured gardens in the world.

Sharon began at Longwood in 1982 as a part-time display gardener and, through exceptional talent and dedication, she rose to become the chief horticultural and facilities officer.

She has been the standard-bearer for Longwood's horticultural excellence, mentoring thousands of aspiring gardening professionals and elevating Longwood as a leader among public gardens worldwide.

Under her guidance, Longwood completed transformational projects, from the restoration of the main conservatory and historic indoor spaces to expansion of beautiful landscapes and, most recently, the visionary Longwood Reimagined initiative.

Sharon's leadership, creativity, and stewardship have left an indelible mark on our community, and we are deeply grateful to her.

Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this bill.

I was very proud of the markup that passed out of the Armed Services Committee. The bill that we delivered to this floor this week was overwhelmingly bipartisan. It supported our men and women in uniform and strengthened our national defense.

It was an honor to work so closely with Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith on that bill.

Unfortunately, the toxically amended bill that is here before us is no longer that. Not only have a number of very difficult amendments been added to the original markup, but also, since the markup, this administration has recklessly and dangerously deployed the National Guard to American cities without the request or permission of either State or local officials.

For good reason, the Governor of each State makes the decision about when and where to deploy National Guard, not Presidents who are trying to score cheap political points and who are trying to divide our Nation.

I am very proud to be a veteran, and as ranking member of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, it is my responsibility to make sure that we are taking care of our troops and deploying them responsibly and legally, but you don't need to be a veteran or a member of a military family to see what this administration has done with our military. It is divisive, shameful, and irresponsible.

It is divisive, shameful, and irresponsible for us to ask our soldiers to act as local police officers, a role that undermines our readiness for actual conflicts.

It is divisive, shameful, and irresponsible that we force them to leave their families and their jobs for an uncertain period of time with uncertain pay and benefits. It is most certainly divisive, shameful, and irresponsible when we force them to spend their days picking up trash at a cost of millions to the taxpayer.

Our National Guard is designed and trained, indeed purpose-built, to serve key roles in domestic emergencies, natural disasters, and in deployment overseas. When we stray from that mission, we put our national security at risk, and we disrespect these men and women.

For these reasons, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill. This simple amendment requires that the State's Governor must consent before the National Guard can be deployed.

I know that many of my colleagues may agree with me, including some who are, indeed, running for Governor of their home State, so I ask these Members and all of those who believe in federalism and States' rights to have the courage to support this important amendment today. I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for this motion to recommit.

Mr. Chair, I include in the Record the text of this amendment.

Ms. Houlahan moves to recommit the bill H.R. 3838 to the

Committee on Armed Services with instructions to report the

same back to the House forthwith, with the following

amendment:

At the end of subtitle B of title V, insert the following

new section:

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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

Madam Chair, I thank Ranking Member Smith and the chairman for leading by example. It is a very important lesson to be learned here. I thank the chairman, Mr. Fallon, for working together with me on MILPERS this term.

This is my seventh time through this, my seventh time on a bipartisan bill, and actually my sixth time a bipartisan bill has passed out of committee. This one includes many quality-of-life priorities for our servicemembers and for their families. These issues will have an immeasurable impact on our recruitment and retention efforts, as well as, of course, our readiness.

The bill includes a 3.8 percent pay raise for servicemembers. It increases the family separation allowance for servicemembers to $400 a month. It also excludes the base housing allowance from a servicemembers' household income so that a great number of them should be eligible for the basic needs allowance.

These and several other provisions in the bill will certainly positively impact servicemembers' pocketbooks and their ability to put food on the table.

H.R. 3838 expands ongoing efforts to improve the access to safe and quality childcare by extending the Childcare in Your Home pilot program through 2029. Additionally, the bill will require the Department to conduct annual reviews of childcare fee assistance rates. These regular reviews will certainly ensure that the fee assistance program remains aligned with the ever-evolving needs of our military families.

Finally, the bill addresses the ongoing healthcare needs of servicemembers and their families. It requires the establishment of the occupational resilience program for cyber personnel. Interestingly and importantly, the bill waives fees and copays for the TRICARE dental program for all members of the Selected Reserves.

Most importantly, it ensures the Department doesn't further reduce the number of military medical personnel which is, of course, vital at a time when there are medical professional shortages across this country.

We bring this bill to the floor to show that in a bipartisan way our country is determined to support our servicemembers and their families.

Madam Chair, we support readiness and recruitment. I urge my colleagues to reject poison pill policy riders that will be added to this bill that could destabilize this very important work and to not put partisan politics above the well-being of our servicemembers.

This NDAA would do just that. Our servicemembers and their families make considerable sacrifices, and we must fulfill our commitments to them and their families, as well.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the en bloc package, which includes my bipartisan amendment that would require the Department of Defense to develop a comprehensive strategy for emerging biotechnologies.

Biotechnology can transform defense capabilities, including producing food, fuel, and medicine on the battlefield, enhancing surveillance and stealth, and reducing supply chain vulnerabilities while increasing operational flexibility.

Our adversaries, particularly the Chinese Communist Party, are investing heavily in this field, and it is critical that we act and that we act now.

This amendment directs the Department to develop a strategy to expand biomanufacturing and to update military specifications, to leverage market commitments, to integrate biotech into planning and exercises, to pursue research grant challenges, to build regulatory and digital infrastructure, and, lastly, to strengthen our NATO coordination, as well.

I thank my fellow leaders of the House BIOTech Caucus, Representatives Khanna, Sessions, and Bilirakis, for their partnership on this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support the en bloc package.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 183, H.R. 875, and YEA on Roll Call No. 184, H.R. 275.

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House and recognize the very hard work and the invaluable contributions of Ingrid Izaguirre to my office.

Ingrid has honorably served as a climate solutions fellow on my legislative team for the past 2 years. During her time with my office, she has stepped up to the plate to manage planning and programming for the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, turning what was an inactive caucus into one of the most active caucuses on Capitol Hill.

Notably, she has facilitated dozens of cross-aisle conversations and educational opportunities for both Members and staff. She has built bipartisan support for permitting reform and for the Department of Energy programs. She has spearheaded numerous legislative proposals through the National Defense Authorization Act to keep our Nation's energy infrastructure more secure and so much more.

Our HoulaTeam will miss her quick wit, unrelenting work ethic, and friendship.

Mr. Speaker, Ingrid has proven that bipartisanship and cooperation on climate change is possible even during these divided times. She should be very proud. We will miss her and welcome her to the Houla alum network, and I have no doubt that she will be successful in her next role.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a veteran of the United States Air Force on this national Women Veterans Day to tell Secretary Hegseth and President Trump that women who raise their hand and swear an oath to protect and defend this Nation are not going anywhere and we will not be silent.

From the earliest days of our Nation, women have always served, both officially and unofficially, facing off against America's enemies. Today, women make up nearly 18 percent of the Active-Duty force and 22 percent of our National Guard and Reserve.

Studies prove that their service improves innovation and mission outcomes, making our military stronger, smarter, and more prepared to face the challenges of modern warfare.

The administration's artificial barriers on who can lead and who can serve are disrespectful and irresponsible. Firing and pushing aside decorated female leaders who earned their positions diminishes military readiness and devalues the standards and integrity of the very military itself.

Women in our military are not insignificant or inconsequential. We are indeed essential, and we cannot be pushed out or erased.

Mr. Speaker, I rise with profound admiration for Andrew Kassoy and his life well lived.

Very few people on this Earth can know that they have truly changed the planet, but Andrew knows that he has. He has forever established that business is a force for good and that our global economy can be about all of us.

He has also lived those values locally, teaching us and our next generations that our voice and our vote matters and that we matter.

To that end, he has knocked on thousands of doors and had thousands of conversations with so many across this country in an effort to hear all of us and to unite all of us. He has done all of this with humor and a sparkling intellect.

We will miss Andrew deeply, but he will never be far. For whenever we hear that doorbell ring or a knock on our door, we will know that he is with us.

Godspeed, Andrew.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Paul Redman, the visionary leader behind the world-renowned Longwood Gardens, which is a fixture of my community in the Philadelphia area.

Since 2006, Paul's masterful leadership has helped Longwood navigate modernization, a global pandemic, and even an escaped convict hiding on the grounds. Under his direction, Longwood has grown physically and programmatically, becoming a go-to destination for events, employing hundreds across southeastern Pennsylvania, and bringing 1.6 million people to our community last year.

I have been proud to honor hosts like the Japanese Ambassador to Longwood Gardens, and I am always grateful for Paul's graciousness and hospitality.

This week, for his steadfast dedication to our community and to Longwood, Paul is being inducted into the Chester County Economic Development Council Hall of Fame. He has made innumerable contributions to our region, and this honor is beyond well-deserved.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Paul. I am so proud to have an extraordinary leader such as him in our community and at the head of our Longwood Gardens.