Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman, Michelle Fischbach, for her leadership here.

Wow, we have heard gaslighting on this floor before, but here, somehow or another, pardons have anything to do with fighting fraud? That is the excuse to not help us fight fraud, which, of course, nothing was done before.

By the way, Mr. Speaker, I don't recall hearing about Hunter Biden and others receiving pardons from their father, and also pardons given to those who weren't even accused of crimes but could be one day. I don't remember any of that being raised.

I rise in support of this rule, which would allow the House to consider two important pieces of legislation that improve the Federal Government's ability to combat taxpayer fraud. You would think that this would be something that would be bipartisan, combating taxpayer fraud, which is in excess of $254 billion that we have uncovered so far.

If we have to do it on our own, we will, Mr. Speaker, because that is what we are about. We are about straightening things out, correcting all the wrongs, particularly the last 4 years. This is a big part of it.

The Task Force to Eliminate Fraud has uncovered, as I said, $245 billion in taxpayer fraud. We have seen it in Los Angeles. I heard this morning in a CMS meeting that the level of hospice fraud that existed was in the multibillions.

By the way, the 900 or so hospices that were shut down, not one of them called to complain that they were being shut down, that they couldn't serve their so-called providers anymore. Guess what. This is under the jurisdiction of Democrat leadership that this is all occurring. Nothing was done on fraud for 4 years during the Biden administration, during the Pelosi reign, during the time when these gentlemen and others had the gavels.

What kind of nonsense is this? We are calling on pardons as a reason not to be going after fraud? By the way, I have constituents having fraud committed on them. We have fraud in Philadelphia. We have fraud in Minneapolis, the learning center. Has anybody come out on the other side and denounced that, Mr. Speaker? This is outrageous.

My Republican colleagues and I have been fighting taxpayer fraud as a top priority. We have introduced legislation to establish an overpayment czar to help State-level fraud prevention. We have supported commonsense reform.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman, Michelle Fischbach, for her leadership here.

Wow, we have heard gaslighting on this floor before, but here, somehow or another, pardons have anything to do with fighting fraud? That is the excuse to not help us fight fraud, which, of course, nothing was done before.

By the way, Mr. Speaker, I don't recall hearing about Hunter Biden and others receiving pardons from their father, and also pardons given to those who weren't even accused of crimes but could be one day. I don't remember any of that being raised.

I rise in support of this rule, which would allow the House to consider two important pieces of legislation that improve the Federal Government's ability to combat taxpayer fraud. You would think that this would be something that would be bipartisan, combating taxpayer fraud, which is in excess of $254 billion that we have uncovered so far.

If we have to do it on our own, we will, Mr. Speaker, because that is what we are about. We are about straightening things out, correcting all the wrongs, particularly the last 4 years. This is a big part of it.

The Task Force to Eliminate Fraud has uncovered, as I said, $245 billion in taxpayer fraud. We have seen it in Los Angeles. I heard this morning in a CMS meeting that the level of hospice fraud that existed was in the multibillions.

By the way, the 900 or so hospices that were shut down, not one of them called to complain that they were being shut down, that they couldn't serve their so-called providers anymore. Guess what. This is under the jurisdiction of Democrat leadership that this is all occurring. Nothing was done on fraud for 4 years during the Biden administration, during the Pelosi reign, during the time when these gentlemen and others had the gavels.

What kind of nonsense is this? We are calling on pardons as a reason not to be going after fraud? By the way, I have constituents having fraud committed on them. We have fraud in Philadelphia. We have fraud in Minneapolis, the learning center. Has anybody come out on the other side and denounced that, Mr. Speaker? This is outrageous.

My Republican colleagues and I have been fighting taxpayer fraud as a top priority. We have introduced legislation to establish an overpayment czar to help State-level fraud prevention. We have supported commonsense reform.

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

Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge and thank the leadership of Congresswoman De La Cruz for seeing this bill through and my colleague, Congressman Nunn, because, as he stated, the level of importance of this is vast.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 2978, the GUARD Act. For well over a year, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, which I chair, has led in-depth investigations into the growing prevalence of fraud and scams.

As part of our work, we conducted many hearings, roundtables, meetings with private industry, law enforcement, and regulators to investigate the problem and find solutions.

In July, we released a comprehensive staff report detailing the growth of financial fraud and scams in the U.S. Shockingly, or not so shockingly, we found that Americans lost well over $16 billion which was reported in these schemes in 2025 alone, and truly the toll was closer to well over $200 billion, as has been mentioned.

Financial fraud picks no favorites. Scams affect everyone from veterans and small businesses to seniors to young people. Everybody is vulnerable.

This report, however, included several recommendations to better address financial fraud and scams, including the passage of this bill, the GUARD Act. The important legislation addresses many of the issues we identified in equipping law enforcement with the tools necessary to combat sophisticated criminals. They are sophisticated.

It also allows law enforcement to use innovative tools to trace and recover stolen funds and improves Federal reporting on fraud trends.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Nunn for his hard work to stop fraud and scams, and I thank Chairman Hill of the Financial Services Committee for his strong leadership as well.

Mr. Speaker, I urge and thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for their support.

Mr. Speaker, I commend our chairman, French Hill, for his excellent leadership.

I do rise in support of the very appropriately named Main Street Capital Access Act introduced by Chairman Hill and Subcommittee Chairman Barr. The legislation does exactly what it says. It supports access to capital for Main Street.

At the start of this Congress, Chairman Hill said one of our Committee's priorities was to make community banking great again. Since then, we

have advanced the package of bills before us that is the largest community bank deregulatory reform effort since the 1990s.

Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago, community banks financed 65 percent of home loans in this country. Today, it is less than 30 percent. This bill helps reverse that trend. It lowers capital hurdles so new community banks can form, and it tailors bank regulations so small and midsize banks are regulated fairly.

These changes allow banks to extend more mortgages, be more competitive on small business loans, and improve access to credit for all Americans. This is a housing bill, a small business bill, an affordability bill, and an access to capital bill.

Importantly, the bill also includes legislation to codify President Trump's executive order preventing debanking, such as my bill, the SAFE Guidance Act, which affirms guidance does not have the effect of law.

Both guidance and reputational risk were weaponized under previous administrations to debank legitimate, legal businesses.

This bill corrects those wrongs. This legislation supports community banks, protects Main Street across the country, and I urge support.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Bost for his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Take Care of America's Veterans Act. Our veterans answered the call to serve, sacrificed on behalf of this country, and defended the freedoms every American enjoys.

They have earned a Department of Veterans Affairs that delivers the care, benefits, and support that they were promised without unnecessary delays or bureaucratic obstacles, and that includes community care, Mr. Speaker. That is one of the aversions and obstacles and reasons for opposition because Democrats are pretty much against community care initiatives.

This bipartisan package brings together more than 60 commonsense proposals that truly make this happen. And by the way, it is supported by The American Legion, Military Officers Association of America, Wounded Warrior Project, Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Korean War Veterans Association, Vietnam Veterans of America, AMVETS, Gold Star Spouses of America, and the list goes on.

Very importantly, it includes the Major Richard Star Act. Voting against this bill is voting against the Major Richard Star Act, which ends the unfair wounded veterans tax for eligible combat-injured retirees. These veterans were medically retired because their service was cut short by injuries sustained defending our country. They should not be forced to give up a portion of their military retirement pay simply because they also receive VA disability compensation. This bill corrects that injustice.

It also strengthens access to community care, as mentioned, and mental health treatment. It allows military widows to remarry and maintain their benefits. It cuts through the VA red

tape and strengthens the claims appeals processes. This is not about a cutting of benefits. It is about advancing services with some modernization initiatives, as well.

We owe our veterans more than the words of gratitude. We owe them this action. We owe them the Take Care of America's Veterans Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise alongside my colleagues with a heavy heart with the Pennsylvania delegation to honor the courageous life and tragic loss of Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira who was killed earlier this month in the line of duty.

Trooper Michael Pahira was born and raised in my district. He was named for his father, Michael Sr., and was known as Mikey throughout his life.

Trooper Pahira graduated from North Schuylkill Junior/Senior High School in 2001 where he was a standout football and wrestling star.

After attending East Stroudsburg University, Michael answered the call of service and entered the Pennsylvania State Police Academy, graduating in 2007 as a proud member of 124th Cadet Class of Pennsylvania State Troopers.

Over the next two decades, Trooper Pahira would serve his State with distinction protecting communities in Lehighton, Schuylkill Haven, and Frackville.

I attended the funeral service for Trooper Pahira last week alongside his parents, Michael Sr. and Patricia; his sister, Jennifer; and thousands of community members; fellow police officers; friends, and law enforcement from throughout the State who gathered to honor his legacy.

The stories shared by those who knew him best painted the picture of a man of character, humility, and unwavering dedication. Respect was a constant theme throughout the service. Trooper Pahira lived a life defined by respect for his community, his family, and his fellow troopers.

We can honor the memory of Trooper Pahira and show more respect for the men and women of law enforcement and the communities they serve by implementing some commonsense legislation that can prevent such senseless tragedies from happening again.

On the morning of July 1, Trooper Pahira was on duty conducting a routine commercial vehicle inspection on Route 81 in Schuylkill County when a truck driven by a Michael Bon struck and killed him. Bon was in the country illegally, ordered to deport, did not do so, and was operating a commercial vehicle with a nondomiciled commercial driver's license issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

I am calling on every Member of Congress to support Dalilah's Law to bring common sense and strength in commercial driver's license requirements, ensuring those with commercial driver's licenses can read English and are in the United States with legal status. It is our duty to do all we can to provide such safety for law enforcement and everyone on America's roadways.

Trooper Pahira faithfully served the people of Pennsylvania for nearly two decades, and his sacrifice will never be forgotten.

On behalf of the entire Pennsylvania delegation, I want to offer our deepest sorrow and condolences to the Pahira family; his lifelong friends; the great, brave Pennsylvania State Troopers; and all those mourning Mikey's loss.

In honor of Trooper Michael Pahira's life of service, I ask my colleagues to join us in a moment of silence.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership and his commonsense approach to what is a very serious crisis facing our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Representative Fallon's antifraud resolution, H. Res. 1335.

Frankly, opposition to this bill is hard to comprehend. Making excuses, pretending that waste, abuse, and fraud do not occur, I can just hear anyone watching this on C-SPAN. I can feel their head shaking, wondering what this world is coming to.

This resolution is pretty simple. It condemns fraudsters and recognizes that governmentwide fraud and improper payment prevention reforms are necessary to improve the fiscal health of the United States. That is how it reads.

This includes all States. Let's not pretend it doesn't. From sea to shining sea, this resolution is all that, according to the Government Accountability Office. Nevertheless, according to the GAO, $1 trillion of improper payments occurred under the Biden administration. Secretary Bessent recently estimated that it was nearly $500 billion a year, so even more than $1 trillion. That is the reality.

The House Oversight Committee's recent report, whether you like it or not, found that Minnesota Governor Walz and his administration turned a blind eye to massive fraud schemes.

Two of the most notorious examples were the ``Learing Center''--I am sure you heard of it--and Feeding Our Future, which was set up to feed hungry young children. People, criminals, stole from it. We are here defending them? Fraud was allowed to grow for years while warning signs were ignored.

In Los Angeles, Mr. Speaker, investigators have identified roughly over $3 billion in hospice fraud. Thirty percent of the hospice bills were going to one county, an L.A. County, for the entire Nation. We have got people in this Chamber who are defending that somehow? In other words, as I just stated, we don't need any words: One-third of the Nation's hospice funds went to one county in the United States.

In my home State, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where unemployment, by the way, sits at 3.6 percent, 15 percent of the residents are enrolled in SNAP. Yet, the program's recent error rate, by the way, was 15 percent, pretty much the highest in the country, making Pennsylvania one of the worst performing States in the Nation, particularly considering our lower unemployment. Mr. Speaker, $463 million per year, in Pennsylvania alone, is not going to needy families. It is being scammed.

From L.A. to Minneapolis to Pennsylvania, from sea to shining sea, taxpayers are being forced to fund fraudsters in and out of our government. It is stealing from every American who works hard and pays taxes. Equally important, we need to stop these criminals who scam the American taxpayer.

Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, I have worked with banks, telecom companies, regulators, law enforcement, and consumer groups to fight fraud and scams.

I am working on legislation to strengthen criminal penalties for fraud, require states to repay improper payments, and establish a framework to better track fraud across the federal government.

Everyone in this chamber should be outraged by this level of fraud.

Anyone who is considering voting no on this resolution ought to think about if they are going to be part of the solution or part of the problem.

I urge passage and yield back.

Mr. Speaker, I, as well, rise today along with my colleague, Congressman Bresnahan, to honor the contributions of Dr. Richard Alley, a great American from Bear Creek Township, Pennsylvania, who passed away this month at the age of 91.

Dr. Alley was born in Berwick, Pennsylvania, the center of my district. He dedicated his life to caring for friends and neighbors as a physician and was a proud veteran of the United States Navy.

During his distinguished career in medicine, Dr. Alley served as an attending physician at Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre and as a medical consultant at facilities across the region. When he wasn't caring for his patients, Richard was teaching medical students at Drexel Medical School.

Dr. Alley also generously gave his time to community organizations, including the Rotary Club, the Salvation Army, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Boy Scouts of America, and was himself an Eagle Scout.

Dr. Alley's legacy of service lives on in his siblings, Ali, Samie, Albert, and Elaine; and every student he taught and every patient he treated.

Mr. Speaker, please join Congressman Bresnahan and I as we express our deepest condolences to Dr. Alley's family, friends, and community.

Mr. Speaker, I am very honored to rise in support of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. I congratulate our full committee chairman, Chairman Hill, for his diligence and ability to find a solution to a very important issue as well to the chair of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, my friend Michael Flood,

for his words and just his tenacity in seeing this through.

I also offer special thanks to Ranking Member Waters and as well as the subcommittee chair, Mr. Cleaver, for everything that they have done to find a solution.

America, Mr. Speaker, faces a housing shortage of well over 4 million homes, while only 1.5 million housing units are built each year. It is a big problem. We have a housing supply program. This bill addresses that shortfall and, importantly, expands affordability in homeownership.

Homebuilders tell us their costs are nearly $100,000 before a shovel even hits the dirt due to overregulation, permitting, environmental reviews, and zoning delays. Many can't build a home for less than $250,000.

This bill cuts through the blue tape, I tend to call it, by streamlining bank financing for construction and development loans, giving banks greater flexibility to support new housing, which is so very important. It modernizes zoning guidance to create new housing developments, speeds up environmental and project reviews that too often delay construction for months, if not years, and increase costs.

President Trump and Republicans in Congress and, clearly, many Democrats are determined to address our housing challenges, including preventing institutional investors from owning single-family homes, which is, again, very important. This legislation proves bipartisan and bicameral solutions are actually possible where results matter more than politics.

Mr. Speaker, all future and existing homeowners throughout the United States will benefit from this bill.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 168.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the officers of the law, the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our communities.

During National Police Week, police officers, detectives, State troopers, police chiefs, and sheriffs are traveling to Washington to acknowledge the contributions of their fellow men and women in uniform.

As the son of a police officer, I do know firsthand the experiences that law enforcement and their families face every day and the dangers.

Just this year in Pennsylvania, 4 officers were killed and 14 were wounded. In 2022, Lieutenant William Lebo of the Lebanon City Police Department right in the middle of my district was shot and killed in the line of duty.

These tragedies underscore the need to always back the blue and why I advocated renaming a Lebanon County post office with the House's support in Lieutenant Lebo's honor.

To commemorate all the fallen heroes, last Police Week the House passed my resolution, the Gold Shield Families Resolution. It recognizes the families of and supports nonprofits for fallen first responders.

I call on all Americans to join me in thanking law enforcement by never failing in our duty to back the blue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to honor the life and legacy of Berks County Fire Chiefs Jeff Buck and Robert Shick who tragically lost their lives in the line of duty.

On April 4, Walnuttown Fire Chief Jeff Buck and Assistant Chief Robert Shick were participating in a missing person search when they were struck and killed by a man driving under the influence.

Chief Buck and Assistant Chief Shick served the Berks County community with distinction for many years. The outpouring of sorrow and support from the entire community reflects the respect and admiration held by all. Beyond their outstanding service to the community, Chief Buck and Assistant Chief Shick were also both dedicated family men.

I want to extend my deepest condolences and prayers to their surviving wives, children, and grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, this unspeakable tragedy highlights the dangers our first responders face every day. I know the entire Berks County community will never waver in their commitment to honor the legacy of these brave heroes, and I urge Congress to follow their example by never failing to support our first responders, firefighters, and police.

Mr. Speaker, reality sometimes hurts. The fact is that the Democrat leadership, over a 4-year period, let millions and millions and millions of illegal aliens and illegal persons into our country and, along with it, tons of drugs and all kinds of human trafficking.

Now, they are arguing against deportations and are doing their very best to create chaos and hope the American people allow them to blame it on President Trump and Republicans.

After the House passed a bipartisan DHS funding bill, along with concessions from the White House and good faith efforts from both Chambers, Chuck Schumer still refused to take yes for an answer.

The bill we received does not fund DHS. It sets border security operations and CBP at zero quite intentionally. Zero dollars means that day-to-day operations at Customs and Border Protection are not funded. That is explicitly attempting to open our southern border.

Homeland Security Investigations, which stopped sex and child trafficking, is left out as well. Was that deliberate? Apparently so.

For the second time within a year, TSA agents are working without pay. That is terrible for them, for their families, and, of course, as we see, for the traveling public.

President Trump took action today, thankfully, to find a way to pay our TSA agents and allow our airports to run more smoothly. Now, we have to do our job.

The short-term CR that we have presented is far from perfect, but it keeps DHS running and our airports moving during Easter and Passover, heavy travel times. We have time now to work out a better long-term plan and agreement, as well.

Look, let's do what is right for once. Let's do what is right tonight for the American people and try to stop the politics. Let's fund Homeland Security and end this quite deliberately created chaos.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration take decisive action to crack down on waste, abuse, and fraud.

According to Secretary Bessent, 10 percent of the Federal budget is lost to fraud each year, and according to Dr. Oz and CMS, perhaps as much as 20 percent is scammed there.

As chairman of the Committee on Financial Services' Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, our work uncovered how poor agency management, outdated IT systems, and officials perhaps looking the other way allowed criminals to exploit Federal programs under the Biden administration. Extensive fraud in Minneapolis and L.A. are glaring examples.

We are coordinating with HUD Secretary Scott Turner as we correct years of mismanagement at public housing agencies.

At our recent field hearing in Little Rock with Chairman French Hill, we heard testimony showing that serious fraud was ignored by the prior administration for years.

The President's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, chaired by Vice President Vance, is a critical step towards restoring accountability. I plan to work with the task force to protect taxpayers and work to drain the swamp.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership, service, and sacrifice.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H. Con. Res. 38 which would limit the President's ability to protect the American people from Iran's terrorist regime. I believe that this resolution--and maybe misunderstood--sends a troubling message to our troops and a perhaps interpreted welcome message to our enemy.

The War Powers Act is very clear. Enacted in 1973, it requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying forces, and the President has 60 days before he must seek congressional approval.

President Trump has clearly acted within the provisions of the War Powers Act. President Obama, on the other hand, used these authorities to launch operations in Libya for over 7 months, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. President Biden invoked the same authorities for strikes against threats in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Yet no resolution to limit those Presidents was brought up in this House by our colleagues.

As Secretary Rubio said, and he described in great detail, there was an imminent threat upon the United States and our allies from Iran.

Speaker Johnson also warned: The idea that Congress would now take away the ability of the Commander in Chief is dangerous and is a threat to the safety of the United States of America.

We must remember whom we are dealing with. We are dealing with Iran, which has been a terrorist state for 47 years. Its proxies range from Hezbollah to Hamas to the Houthis, and the list goes on. Directly and through these proxies, Iran has maimed and killed thousands of Americans. They orchestrated the massacre in Israel on October 7. We know this.

They are, in fact, doing their utmost to continue enriching uranium to make it weapons grade. According to Special Envoy Witkoff, just the other day, the Iranian negotiators opened negotiations by bragging about presently controlling 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, enough weapons-grade material for 11 bombs within 4 to 6 weeks.

Because of this regime's reign of terror, their own civilians rose up and protested, Mr. Speaker. Over the last 2 months, there are reports that as many as 90,000 Iranian civilians were murdered.

Mr. Speaker, President Trump has strategically developed regional trust throughout the Middle East. This is why we have a strong coalition in this region to confront this threat. Today, Iran is an island thanks to the strategy of the Trump administration.

The Iran of the past, one that oppresses and commits terrorism and all kinds of atrocities on its own people and the world, is history.