Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, plenty of my colleagues claim to have the best high school football. Of course, they will be wrong because western Pennsylvania is second to none.

When Jack Lambert took his place in the Hall of Fame, he called folks in western Pennsylvania a proud, hardworking people who love their football and their players.

It was true then, and it is true today.

It doesn't matter if we are cheering for the Steelers or for WPIAL contenders under the Friday night lights. On any field, football is serious business in western Pennsylvania.

I congratulate the WPIAL champions from my district for bringing home the hardware: Beaver Falls, North Allegheny, and Aliquippa High Schools.

A special congratulations to the Quips on their record 20th WPIAL title victory.

Good luck this weekend to all the teams battling it out for the State playoffs and for the State title.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate and honor the loss of public servant, first responder, and beloved member of my western Pennsylvania community, Anthony ``Tony'' Cuda.

Chief of Foxwall Emergency Medical Services since 2020, Chief Cuda was a titan in the EMS scene.

He joined the Swissvale Fire Department at 16, became a paramedic by 18, and worked as a first responder for Seneca area EMS in Wilkinsburg, Monroeville, Penn Hills, and other parts of western Pennsylvania.

Through the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Cuda led his crew with generosity, honesty, and courageous conviction. Chief Cuda saved lives, comforted frightened community members, and taught the next generation of first responders.

He was a witty straight shooter who off the job enjoyed playing Dungeons and Dragons and spending time with family whether at home, at Kennywood, the Renaissance Festival, or Comic Con.

To the Cuda family, especially his wife, Michele, and his five children, Zachary, Morgan, Shannon, Caitlyn, and Kirsten, know this: Our corner of western Pennsylvania is better off thanks to Chief Cuda and mourns his passing, as does this body and this country.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I rise today to recognize that October is Gaucher Disease Awareness Month and spotlight the national patient advocacy organization, the Gaucher Community Alliance. Gaucher Disease is an ultra-rare genetic disorder that affects approximately 6,000 people in the United States. Gaucher Disease is the most common genetic disorder for persons of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. This disorder results from a build-up of fat laden Gaucher cells in organs such as the spleen and liver or in the bone marrow. As a result of this build up, the organs of people with Gaucher Disease can become enlarged, impeding their ability to function. If the bone tissue and bone marrow become affected, patients' bones will become weaker, making them more prone to fractures and ultimately could lead to bone death.

There are different forms of Gaucher Disease. Gaucher Type I accounts for 95% of patients in the United States. Patients with this specific type, experience spleen and liver enlargement including low blood counts and issues with the clotting process and various problems with their bones. The FDA has approved two types of treatments for Gaucher Type I, including enzyme replacement therapies (ERT) or oral substrate reduction therapies (SRT).

Gaucher Type 2 is rarer than Type I and is typically fatal within the first two years of life because of the severe neurological abnormalities associated with this type. Patients with Gaucher Type 2 suffer from poor development, seizures, jerking movements, poor ability to suck and swallow, as well as an enlarged liver and spleen. GCA hopes that a current clinical trial taking place to combat this terrible disorder that claims the lives of young, will show success.

Gaucher Type 3 is the most common Type worldwide and its severity falls between that of Type 1 and Type 2. Patients with Gaucher Type 3 suffer from a mix of symptoms from the first two types including seizures, skeletal irregularities, eye movement disorders, cognitive issues, poor coordination, an enlarged liver and spleen, respiratory problems, and various blood disorders such as anemia. It is important to note that patients can be characterized as having a blend of the types and not within a single category.

The Gaucher Community Alliance is the national nonprofit organization for the patient community, based in Western Pennsylvania. Two passionate Gaucher patient advocates founded GCA--Aviva Rosenberg of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cyndi Frank of Sonoma, California. The mission of GCA is to support patients with Gaucher Disease and their families through peer-to-peer support and education, advocacy, patient and family resources and networking. GCA collaborates with industry partners to encourage clinical trials for additional treatments and therapies; access to Patient Assistance Programs for Gaucher patients; and promote newborn screening for Gaucher Disease and other lysosomal storage disorders. GCA also hosts patient meetings around the country.

The Gaucher Community Alliance is working hard to improve the quality of life of those diagnosed with Gaucher Disease. I would like to salute the community during Gaucher Awareness Month.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 333, NAY on Roll Call No. 334, NAY on Roll Call No. 335, NAY on Roll Call No. 336, and NAY on Roll Call No. 337.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 338, expressing the sense of Congress supporting the State of Israel.

Mr. Speaker, June is Pride Month, a month that celebrates the contributions and importance of the LGBTQ+ community all over the country and in Pennsylvania's 17th District.

My home borough of Aspinwall hosted Pride in the Park, a festival to connect and celebrate the community with history walks, community resources, art, music, and a vendor fair of local LGBTQ-owned small businesses.

Pride is celebrated all across western Pennsylvania, from a Pride- themed Roller Derby bout in Cheswick, to festivals in Dormont and Mt. Lebanon. There is also Prom in Millvale, online writing groups for seniors, a parade and music in Swissvale, and lots more.

It is a busy month for our community and one that centers around freedom at its core. It also remembers those who fought tirelessly for equal rights and those hurt by discrimination or lost to senseless hatred and violence.

America was founded under the ideals of liberty and justice, not censorship, discrimination, or control. All people shall have the freedom to love who they love, to be who they are, to be accepted, to feel safe, and to be treated equally under the law.

On behalf of the good people of western Pennsylvania, I will keep fighting for these freedoms here in Washington.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the bill our Republican colleagues forced through the House, the default on America act, is rubbish.

They are threatening to push our economy off a cliff unless we slash the basic functions of government by massive amounts, but they are protecting tax cuts for billionaires.

It is the very definition of fiscal irresponsibility and recklessness. In the bill forced through several weeks ago with no Democratic votes, with four Republicans voting against it, House Republicans voted for massive cuts with zero protections for veterans' healthcare, for rail safety, for Meals on Wheels for seniors, and so much more.

They voted to pull back $2 billion from the VA. That is a cut. Now, their appropriations bill underfunds the Cost of War Toxic Exposure Fund by nearly $15 million. If they didn't want to fund veterans' care, they shouldn't have sent Americans off to 20 years of war.

Do you know why Republicans are taking these extreme positions, these unpopular positions the American people do not want?

Because what matters most to them is protecting tax cuts for the uber wealthy and for the largest and most powerful corporations in this country.

Former President Obama once said, there could be an asteroid coming to Earth, and the Republican plan and response would be tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

It is true. They are for the big corporations and the rich and powerful. That is who they are. That is their core value.

This approach is fiscally irresponsible. What is more, their economic plan is not working for the people. Their tired, trickle-down fairy tale has been ripping us all off, starving the government of revenue, and has led to massive gaps in equality.

Wall Street, big corporations, CEOs, they have done just fine. The American people, not so much. This Republican economic vision is killing the American Dream.

It is driving up huge deficits in our government. It guts the core things our government does but makes sure that the richest people and companies in this country can still avoid paying their fair share in taxes.

Every Member of this body pays the same amount in taxes toward Social Security as Elon Musk. You can look it up. He is one of the richest men in the history of the world.

Elon Musk and all of his billionaire pals should be paying their fair share. They are not because Republicans want them to use the Federal Government to subsidize extreme wealth and corporate power.

Let me be clear. This is not about punishing success and demonizing the wealthy. It is about fairness and fiscal responsibility.

Many of my House Republican colleagues don't want to admit the path to longer-term fiscal health in the budget is to actually tax the ultra-rich at historically normal rates.

Let's consider Republican President Dwight Eisenhower; hardly a radical. I don't think anyone here would call him a socialist.

Under his administration, the wealthiest Americans paid a top marginal tax rate of over 90 percent. Today, it is 37 percent.

We are at historically low tax rates for the most powerful, the wealthiest people in this country, and for the biggest and most powerful corporations. It is not an accident. It is by Republican design.

Let's look back at the 2017 Trump tax cuts that I am seeing handed out to the richest Americans and biggest corporations.

The bill was a massive wealth transfer to billionaires but also raised the deficit by almost 2 trillion--with a t--dollars. It gave so many of the benefits to the top 1 percent. Everyone knows the American people are being ripped off by this.

We can feel the dark reality, that the American Dream keeps getting pulled away while Republicans help billionaires and huge corporations cash out on the public's dime.

It is far past time for a change to real fiscal responsibility. Instead, Republicans are now proposing slash-and-burn cuts, defunding the government while urging the public to not look behind the curtain at their priorities for revenue.

Our colleagues know they are holding the economy hostage to protect these massive tax cuts and handouts to the most powerful, the richest people who have ever walked the planet Earth.

They are holding America's full faith and credit hostage to cut things that make your life better: programs like rail safety inspections, air traffic control towers, IRS auditors charged with tracking down tax cheats.

Republicans are literally threatening to blow up the American economy unless we agree to slash nearly everything in government, but they want to protect tax cuts for billionaires.

They still expect us to buy into this utterly discredited nonsense known as trickle-down economics. It is a fairy tale. It has never worked. It doesn't work.

We should be creating an economy that rewards hard work, not just wealth. That means taking on corporate power and putting people first.

We should be fighting for the common good and investing in our shared prosperity, not just the rich and powerful.

That means instead of slashing the heart of government, we should make the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.

Mr. Speaker, the defense industrial base is dominated by a handful of massive corporations that have gobbled up competitors. These five companies have a lot of power and responsibility to supply our military. But what are they doing with that power? Are they investing in innovation?

They are enriching themselves with stock buybacks and shareholder dividends, fueled by public money, while shrinking their investments to innovation.

The Pentagon has reported that over the past decade, research and development is down, but corporate payouts for prime contractors are up.

Meanwhile, they are lobbying Congress for more cash every year.

Top brass warn that late, over-budget defense orders threaten our readiness. National security shouldn't be subject to the whims of Wall Street or crazy ideas of shareholder primacy. Public money shouldn't bankroll stock buybacks.

It doesn't have to be this way. We should, once again, ban buybacks. They used to be illegal, and should be again.

We need smarter industrial policy to break up these monopolies so we have got real competition in the defense industry.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule to advance this bill. I am opposed to the bill.

This bill includes massive cuts to veterans' care, 30 million fewer medical visits for my fellow veterans. We are going to see my fellow veterans wait longer to have their claims heard. They are going to see telehealth get worse, mental health services get worse, and homelessness issues get worse. This bill is a betrayal of the obligation this country has to everyone who served.

I have seen my fellow veterans used as props on folks' websites and in their ads, people wrap themselves in the flag.

Guess what? You don't get to claim you are here for veterans, standing up for veterans when you cut their care. That is what this bill does. It is a disgrace. Everyone in the country ought to know it. We ought to vote it down.

Mr. Speaker, every single American who ever raised their right hand, as I did, to serve in uniform signed a blank check to this country, to lay it all on the line, if asked; to put this country before their lives and their families.

America has a sacred obligation to all of us. And let me be clear: The Republican plan to slash billions of dollars from veterans and the VA is an absolute betrayal. It is a disgrace.

They are threatening to blow up our economy, to push us into default unless we agree to cuts to the VA and resources for veterans, and so much else.

There is not a single protection, not one for veterans in their bill. It will mean massive cuts for veterans. Millions of veterans are going to be screwed over by this plan. They won't get the care they have earned. They are going to have to wait longer for their claims, and so much else will happen.

My fellow veterans should know we are going to fight hard to protect our healthcare, our VA, and the benefits they have earned.

Mr. Speaker, it is a BS plan.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss how defense industry consolidation is hurting the American people and our national security.

A 2022 Defense Department report shows the intense constriction of the defense industrial base. In 1990, there were 51 prime defense contractors but since then, small and mid-sized contractors have been gobbled up. Now there are just five--a 90 percent reduction.

At the same time, suppliers have disappeared. Tactical missile suppliers dwindled down from 13 to 3. Satellite suppliers fell from eight to four.

This deprives the American people of competition for key elements of our defense, and military leaders have complained that current contractors often deliver behind schedule, poor quality products, at too high a cost.

This lack of competition is leaving us ill-prepared and risks our national security and readiness.

The way I see it, a weak or, frankly, nonexistent antitrust enforcement allowed this to happen.

We have got to step in to promote competition, to give smaller contractors a chance to grow, and to stave off further consolidation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the fact that when Norfolk Southern's train derailed next to my district-- leaking chemicals, evacuating constituents, and distressing thousands-- the people of western Pennsylvania were mad, and so was I.

That is why my first bill in Congress is to take on the railroads. Today, the gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna) and I introduced the DERAIL Act, which ensures trains carrying hazardous materials are properly classified and have increased safety requirements. It is long overdue, but rail industry lobbyists have fought against it.

This derailment included hazardous materials, but since the train wasn't classified properly, it didn't have stricter safety rules. That is why we need the DERAIL Act.

This bill is for everyone in Beaver County, East Palestine. It is for everyone who has heard about this derailment and thought: ``Could this happen here?'' The terrible reality is yes, it could, but if colleagues from both parties join together, it doesn't have to.

Let's tell the railroads we won't let them recklessly pursue profit and endanger our communities and workers.

I will keep fighting to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for every penny of pain they have caused.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the striking workers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who are more than 100 days into their unfair labor practice strike.

CWA and Teamsters members went on strike this fall. They were joined in solidarity by members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. Striking workers continue to keep the community informed through their strike publication, the Pittsburgh Union Progress.

A healthy democracy requires a free press, and Western PA is no exception. We need strong, independent journalism. The destruction of small news outlets and consolidation in the industry are big problems for the freedom of the press in our country, including in Western Pennsylvania.

Owners at Block Communications recently acquired the Pittsburgh City Paper, a weekly focused on local issues. The News Guild-CWA has raised concerns about this acquisition and its impact on competition, workers, and journalistic independence. I share those concerns.

While I am glad that a judge found Block Communications broke the law in the Guild's NLRB case, the fight isn't over. I stand in solidarity with the striking workers in Western Pennsylvania and with workers across the country fighting for the dignity that we all deserve.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with the solemn duty to honor the life of Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire, who was gunned down in the line of duty last week. His family and my community mourn Chief McIntire today at his funeral, as does this House and this country.

Chief McIntire was a hometown hero in Brackenridge and a life-long resident of the area. He gave his neighborhoods 22 years of selfless service as a police officer.

Day in and day out, like so many who wear a badge or a uniform, Chief McIntire put himself in harm's way to keep others safe, ultimately giving the last full measure of devotion.

He represents the very best of western Pennsylvania, the very best of America.

So, too, does Tarentum Police Officer Jordan Schrecengost, who was shot and wounded in the line of duty that fateful day, and is recovering.

Although Chief McIntire's watch has ended, we will never forget his sacrifice.