Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the distinguished ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share my strong support for H.R. 1262, the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act. I am proud to co-lead this important, bipartisan legislation alongside Representatives Michael McCaul, Dr. Kim Schrier, and Gus Bilirakis.

This bill will accelerate pediatric cancer treatments and expand access to lifesaving therapies for children battling rare diseases.

It is impossible to fully express the pain and the devastation that a family experiences when their child is diagnosed with cancer.

One of the bill's advocates was one that we are all going to talk about, Mikaela Naylon, a 16-year-old girl in Colorado who battled bone cancer. She was a fierce fighter for this bill. She talked to all of us, and we all sent videos to her. Unfortunately, she died on October 30.

Her mother told all of us, the sponsors and the cosponsors of this bill, that we gave her reason to live, and she hopes that other children will not die at her age and that this bill will help save lives.

She supported and spoke on the importance of funding cancer research to be able to help other kids like herself. She was a fighter her entire life, and this lifesaving bill has been renamed in her honor.

There are too many others facing the fight, as Mikaela has, each year. Nearly 16,000 children in just the United States are diagnosed with cancer each year.

Mr. Speaker, 1 in every 285 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer before they reach 20 years of age. In fact, children comprise as many as half of those living with rare diseases. Yet, here is the reality for those children: Treatment options for children remain extremely limited compared to those for adults.

We know that children respond to cancer treatments differently, but

there is limited research on how these therapies impact them. We owe our kids better than that, and their families deserve more.

We need this bill to offer more children a fighting chance. The Give Kids a Chance Act would reauthorize the Food and Drug Administration Priority Review Voucher Program to allow pharmaceutical companies to expedite FDA review of more profitable drugs in return for developing treatments for rare pediatric diseases.

Since 2011, 53 PRVs have been awarded for 35 different rare pediatric diseases. Additionally, thousands of successful drug combination therapies are now being studied and developed for adults but not for kids; not for our children.

The Give Kids a Chance Act also authorizes the FDA to direct companies to study a combination of cancer drugs and therapies in pediatric trials, as well. Together, we can show these young children and their families that they are not alone in this fight.

Mr. Speaker, I do thank the 313 cosponsors of this bill for their support, along with Chairman Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone for their assistance and support for this important bill. It has taken too long to get here today, but we are here. Let's show the kids in this country that we care.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am ready to close, but before doing so, I thank my colleague, with whom I have been proud to co-chair the caucus. We both know too many children who have died, but we know a lot who we were able to get help for. We make a commitment to all the families in the gallery, and those who we have not gotten to know, that no matter where the gentleman is going, he and I are in this fight for the rest of our lives. I thank him for all of his work. I am going to miss my colleague.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3937, legislation introduced by my colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany).

This bill would authorize the conveyance of 14 acres of National Forest System land to Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, LLC, a concrete company based in northern Wisconsin.

The land is located in a national forest, and the Forest Service determined that the land is suitable for conveyance to private ownership. The costs associated with the conveyance will be covered by the company, and the property will be conveyed at market value as determined by Federal appraisal.

In addition to the conveyance, the bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct and publish a comprehensive review of the Federal permitting process for the development of stone, sand, and gravel on Federal lands.

This review will include descriptions of the Federal permitting process for stone, sand, and gravel development. It will also include an analysis of potential inefficiencies and recommendations for administrative or legislative action, as well as a summary of economic impacts associated with the current permitting process.

Although the Committee on Natural Resources has not held a hearing on this bill in the 119th Congress, a hearing was held last year, providing the Forest Service with an opportunity to comment on and evaluate the proposal.

This is a critical component of the legislative process that ensures decisions about the administration of our national forests and public lands are made out in the open. These shared resources belong to all Americans, and regular order ensures transparency, something which all of our constituents deserve.

I know that as chair of the Federal Lands Subcommittee, Representative Tiffany understands and embraces this sentiment. I thank and congratulate him on continuing to move this bill forward in an open and objective manner.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for considering my important legislation, the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act, today.

I thank my friends, Representatives Huizenga and Walberg, for their bipartisan support and partnership on this bill. I also thank Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Huffman for their support.

Mr. Speaker, the Great Lakes States and Tribes, along with the Fish and Wildlife Service, annually stock millions of salmon and trout to restore native fish populations, diversify sport fisheries, and control invasive forage fishes within the Great Lakes. However, little is known about how well these fish survive, contribute to the fisheries, and reproduce in the wild. This is where mass marking comes into play.

Mass marking is the practice of tagging large numbers of hatchery- raised fish so we can easily distinguish them from the wild fish population.

The planned method within the Great Lakes is to clip the adipose fin, the small fin on the dorsal side near the tail, combined with a coded wire tag, or CWT. A CWT is a 1.1 millimeter-long, tiny stainless steel wire marked with serial numbers denoting a specific group of fish.

This tag can be extracted after recapture, which will provide biologists with key population characteristics, such as survival, movement, contribution to fisheries, growth, and their levels of natural reproduction.

This legislation would enable the Fish and Wildlife Service to mark all hatchery-produced fish within the Great Lakes. Currently, we tag only around 9 to 11 million of the 21 million fish stocked in the Great Lakes each year.

Marking all hatchery fish will drastically improve data collection, enabling better analysis of the health of wild fish stocks. This information will provide valuable insights to help develop a science- based, collaborative fishery management program. This legislation also ensures that the collected data will be shared with all relevant fishery management agencies.

We have seen the effectiveness of these types of programs in the Pacific Northwest for salmon and steelhead management. With the Great Lakes fishing economy, which is valued at about $5.5 billion, it is time we invest in this proven data-driven approach that would significantly enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of hatchery operations and fisheries management.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues again for considering this important legislation today, and I encourage my colleagues to support its final passage. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will note that I have no further requests for time. I thank my colleague from Michigan (Mr. Tiffany) for supporting this bill.

I invite all of my colleagues to join me fishing on the Great Lakes. It might be good therapy for this institution.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, the chair of the subcommittee, Bob Latta, and our ranking member, Frank Pallone, for helping to move this and for recognizing me today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 5G and Beyond Caucus bill, H.R. 1765, the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act.

As a co-chair of the 5G and Beyond Caucus, it is good to see that we actually have bipartisan agreement in this body that the United States must be a leader in the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Tom Kean, who we just heard from, Representative Tim Walberg, and Representative Yvette Clarke for their work on this legislation. They are my co-leads on this bill and are also members of the 5G and Beyond Caucus.

This bipartisan bill ensures the United States remains at the forefront of innovation by playing a central role in setting international wireless standards in emerging technologies such as 6G, and what is to come.

Today's policy decisions have lasting effects on the global wireless technology development of tomorrow. Today, we are taking concrete, proactive steps to lower the barriers of entry for U.S. companies and other stakeholders to promote American ingenuity at international standards-setting bodies as they develop the next generation of wireless technologies.

Mr. Speaker, let's be clear. Our global competitor is China. As 5G has become the backbone of our digital infrastructure, China has aggressively positioned itself as the global leader for this technology. To accomplish this, the Chinese Government has streamlined spectrum management, invested heavily in telecom infrastructure, and launched diplomatic efforts to shape international standards in its favor.

To maintain our technological edge, we must invest now in setting standards for the next generation of wireless technology, which is 6G. We need to counter China's influence. We must work to ensure that we shape these global standards as they will define the future of telecommunications technologies.

This bill will do exactly that. It will have a real impact on our global competitiveness, 6G deployment, and our national security.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see that today we are making real progress, and I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support

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, I rise today to share my strong support for H.R. 1520, the Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act.

Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus, I am proud to co-lead the Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act alongside my colleague, Representative Kat Cammack. I thank her for her partnership on this vital bill named after the incredible young woman whom you just met.

I came out here looking for her because I said to Frank months or years ago: Frank, she will be in the committee. She is the living energy of somebody who knew that something had to be done, and Charlotte is just always there. Her energy is going to get this issue righted. She has been the bill's biggest supporter, sitting time and time again in the Energy and Commerce Committee room for nearly every hearing and markup and telling her story and her tremendous work.

For those who don't know her story, it has been mentioned that Charlotte was born with Down syndrome and a heart condition. Due to this heart condition, she successfully underwent a lifesaving heart transplant in 2012. In the years since, she has become the advocate we all know, sharing her story to educate and advocate for others with disabilities.

In her honor, this important bill prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the organ transplant system. Specifically, it prohibits eligible individuals from being denied a lifesaving transplant procedure based solely on their disability status. It is unthinkable that people with disabilities are passed over for lifesaving transplants based on discriminatory and subjective assumptions about their ability to comply with postoperative care.

With this legislation, we can take action and ensure that all Americans, regardless of their disability status, receive equitable access to the care that they need.

I thank Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone for fighting with us for this important piece of legislation. Again, I thank Representative Cammack for being such a great bipartisan partner.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share my strong support of H.R. 1082, the Shandra Eisenga Human Cell and Tissue Product Safety Act.

I am very proud to lead this bill with my good friend and colleague from Michigan, Representative John Moolenaar. Both of us have been very personally involved with the family and learning where there are serious deficiencies within our government.

In the summer of 2023, I was contacted by the medical director of the Washtenaw County Tuberculosis Clinic and head of public health who was treating Shandra for a severe postsurgical tuberculosis infection. She was Representative Moolenaar's constituent but was being treated at a medical facility in my district. After a month battling a severe TB infection in the intensive care unit, Shandra unfortunately died.

Since Shandra's passing, it has been discovered that her death was, indeed, linked to contaminated bone graft material. She was 1 of 36 patients who received material from the contaminated lot, and this latest outbreak is linked to the deaths of two patients, including Shandra.

It had been preceded 2 years before by an outbreak, again, linked to contaminated bone allografts, which resulted in multiple deaths. The outbreak then infected 113 patients across 18 States, and it led to at least 3 confirmed TB-related deaths with some sources citing a total of 8 deaths.

This has to stop. Too many people get bone grafts and have no idea, including the doctor that did a bone graft on me, that they even needed to worry about this.

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct research and education campaigns to prevent TB outbreaks caused by contaminated human cell and tissue product donations.

Through the markup process, we have also included an important provision to allow the Federal Government to pursue civil penalties from providers who caused an outbreak of the infectious disease. Patients deserve to know the risks associated with tissue donations and companies that make and distribute contaminated products must be held accountable for their actions.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Guthrie, my dear friend Mr. Bilirakis, and Ranking Member Pallone for fighting for this important piece of legislation.

Again, I thank Representative Moolenaar for being such a great bipartisan partner. We owe it to Shandra, her family, and every other patient who has been affected by contaminated bone grafts to ensure we are doing everything we can to prevent these unnecessary tragedies from ever happening again.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to read the letter that the Governor of Michigan and I received from Marie Adkins.

``I'm a mom to a son with special needs. I'm also a nurse in primary care settings. My story is from the front lines. . . . If you cut Medicaid, Americans will die. People will get sick. They'll lose jobs. Some won't survive. It's not an exaggeration. It's reality.

``This bill doesn't cut waste. It cuts the heart out of programs that help Americans meet their basic needs: healthcare, nutrition, essential services. There's nothing excessive about needing insulin or a wheelchair or therapy. This isn't luxury. It's survival. My son is on the autism spectrum.

``And let's be real about who this hits the hardest: children, people with disabilities, and low-income seniors. These are Americans who rely on Medicaid to live with dignity, to have food

on the table, to get to doctor's appointments, to afford medication.

``Every day at our clinic, I hear it: `I'm scared. I feel hopeless. I don't know how much longer I can hang on. . . .'

``This is the health crisis we're living in and this bill would make it worse.''

Mr. Speaker, as a staunch defender of Michigan's auto industry, which is still the backbone of the American economy, and someone who cares deeply about the environment, I do not take this vote lightly.

I have spoken multiple times to all of the stakeholders involved. I believe in preserving consumer choice, maintaining American leadership in innovation, defending the future of domestic manufacturing, and protecting the environment. These are not mutually exclusive.

Michigan and the United States put the world on wheels, and we are now leading in the transition to the next generation of vehicles. We cannot afford to cede that leadership to our adversaries.

I will remind my colleagues that, in my lifetime, it wasn't that long ago when gasoline prices went up and American consumers wanted smaller cars. Japanese automakers flooded our markets with smaller vehicles, caught our domestic auto industry flatfooted, and U.S. manufacturers paid the price for that for a decade.

We must innovate, adapt, and build vehicles competitively here at home. The global marketplace wants EVs, hybrids, and internal- combustion engines.

To lead globally, we must accelerate the manufacturing of cleaner vehicles in a practical, affordable, and inclusive way. That means building out EV charging infrastructure, keeping hybrids and plug-in hybrids available, and assuring affordability, which is becoming one of the biggest issues in this country, especially when we are competing with at least one other country where the government subsidizes the manufacturing, uses forced labor, and manipulates its currency.

We cannot cede our leadership to China or any other country. This also means investing in advanced manufacturing, securing domestic battery supply chains, and protecting the Inflation Reduction Act's historic EV investments.

California's Advanced Clean Cars II program would impose EV sales mandates across nearly 30 percent of the U.S. market. While that may work for California, it isn't working in some other States.

Let me be clear. This is not the time to ban gas-powered vehicles. CARB and Governors must be able to adjust these programs if market conditions change. Maryland Governor Wes Moore recently did just that, easing compliance enforcement. Consumers in these other 13 ZEV mandate States need to be talking to their Governors, and CARB needs to pay attention.

I also share concerns about consumer choice, but this Congressional Review Act resolution has serious legal flaws. The Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian both ruled that these waivers are not subject to the CRA. Proceeding sets a dangerous precedent.

Misusing the CRA today could open the door to striking down a wide range of Federal programs tomorrow, including Medicaid waivers, which worries me greatly. I don't sleep at night on that one.

We are here today because some States have adopted stricter rules that could ban new gas-powered vehicles by this summer. I support the EV transition, but we are simply not there yet.

For model year 2026, ACC II States would require 35 percent of new car sales to be a mix of electric or plug-in hybrid, yet the national average is at about 10 percent. That requirement jumps to 68 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035 for the ZEV mandate States. For most States, this is simply not realistic today.

We need all the stakeholders at the table--labor, manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, consumers, the environmental groups--to work together for the American people and figure it out and figure it out right so that we stay competitive in a global marketplace, meet consumer demands, take care of the environment, sell affordable cars, and keep manufacturing in this country.

This resolution would be unprecedented Federal overreach. While I disagree with California's timeline, I also disagree with misusing the CRA to address it.

If we are serious about America's leadership, EVs must be in our portfolio. I remain committed to protecting American jobs, expanding consumer choice, and ensuring U.S. leadership in global automotive innovation.

The American people sent us here to solve problems.

Mr. Speaker, let's stop wasting time on illegitimate messaging CRAs and work together to support innovation, build out the infrastructure, ensure access to affordable American-made vehicles, whether gas-powered, hybrid, or electric. Let's work together for our country.

Mr. Speaker, I will be voting ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Guthrie. I thank Ranking Member, Frank Pallone, who often puts up with my intensity on this subject. I also thank Chairman Bilirakis and my co-leads, Representatives Salazar, Dean, and Pfluger, as well as Senator Cruz and Senator Klobuchar, my compatriot many days, who works to prioritize violence against women.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a strong and unwavering advocate for women, children, and survivors of abuse and in support of a bill that I helped lead, S. 146, the TAKE IT DOWN Act.

The rise of deepfake pornography and nonconsensual intimate images is a growing crisis that demands urgent action now. We need to work together to protect women and children from these evolving threats. New generative artificial intelligence tools are being weaponized to humiliate, silence, and terrorize women and children.

We have seen it used against children as young as middle school as a tool to create revenge porn. We have seen it used against women in public life, on both sides of the aisle, including our own colleagues.

None of my colleagues think this is acceptable, and it is a crisis that demands immediate action. We have a responsibility to act now and not tomorrow, not next year, not after more damage is done. The TAKE IT DOWN Act gives victims a clear, fast pathway to have these images removed from online platforms, hold perpetrators accountable, and ensure that tech companies do their part. They have responsibility.

This is just one piece of a broader fight. It is one I have been in for years, and I will not stop fighting. We will end violence against women, address coercive control, and stop the misuse of technology to harm survivors.

Let me be clear. This bill should already be law. It passed the Senate unanimously. It was included in Congress' year-end package last year until it was stripped out at the end. I won't get political on that because I want everybody to vote on it right now. It should never have happened.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Let's get this across the finish line and deliver for the women and children who are counting on us.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2444, the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act. I thank my co-leads of this bill, Representatives John James, Robin Kelly, and Erin Houchin.

This bipartisan bill builds on the work we have done in recent years to strengthen American manufacturing, foster innovation, and protect both our economic and national security. It gives the Federal Government the tools and the authorities needed to map, monitor, and respond to supply chain vulnerabilities before they escalate into full- blown crises.

This legislation includes critical provisions from last Congress' Supply Chains Act, which I co-led, including a provision to designate the Assistant Secretary of Commerce to lead a governmentwide supply chain resilience effort.

It also ensures input from the Department of Labor and lays out a national strategy to coordinate action and prevent future disruptions. Leaving our manufacturers and suppliers vulnerable creates fragile supply chains that threaten both our economic and national security. This bill is a critical step toward preventing debilitating shortages.

Mr. Speaker, we must invest, rebuild, and protect our industrial base from threats to innovation and competitiveness. For too long, poorly negotiated trade deals, job outsourcing, and the decline of unionization have hollowed out our industrial base, leaving manufacturers and suppliers vulnerable. We have a responsibility to rebuild American manufacturing and protect workers because doing so is essential to both our economic strength and our national security.

Supply chain legislation is vital to our long-term competitiveness as a country, and I am glad to see that progress is being made on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 2444, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 2444, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2482, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Reauthorization Act.

Over the 4 years of the Biden administration, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, did tremendous work to help connect all Americans to high-speed, reliable, and affordable broadband. The historic $65 billion in broadband investments that we included in the bipartisan infrastructure law are helping supercharge these efforts.

It is now time for the Trump administration's NTIA to unleash the rest of this funding so that States can connect as many Americans as possible to fast, reliable, and affordable internet.

Congress has also tasked NTIA with other meaningful responsibilities. The agency manages Federal spectrum and its users, as well as coordinates with the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that our airwaves are effectively managed in a safe and secure manner. It is also charged with advising the President on advanced technologies.

Mr. Speaker, a lot has changed since the NTIA was last reauthorized in 1992. We should ensure that it continues to have the authorities it needs to implement many of our Nation's broadband efforts and technological advancements in such areas as spectrum management and artificial intelligence.

H.R. 2482 helps achieve this goal. This bipartisan bill reauthorizes the NTIA and elevates its leadership by making its administrator an undersecretary within the Department of Commerce. Taking these important steps will better reflect NTIA's importance as the President's primary adviser on telecommunications and technology policy. This bill also includes important provisions to codify NTIA's current work and responsibilities.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Ranking Member Matsui and Representative Latta for their bipartisan work on this bill. With this legislation, we ensure that NTIA has the authorities it needs to continue connecting all Americans to high- speed, reliable, and affordable broadband and overseeing innovative technology development.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), the ranking member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee and a leader in this field.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. McClain Delaney).

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 2482, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 866, the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security Act, or the ROUTERS Act.

This legislation is an important step to provide Americans with the confidence to trust that the devices they use in their homes to connect to the internet are free from the influence of our foreign adversaries.

H.R. 866 accomplishes this objective by requiring the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, to study the national security risks and cybersecurity vulnerabilities in American homes posed by routers and modems manufactured or sold by entities with ties to our foreign adversary countries. The Secretary must also deliver a report to Congress of this study within 1 year.

It is crucial that we understand the cybersecurity and national security risks networks face from equipment that originates from our foreign adversaries. This is especially true given that our Nation's communication networks are an integral component of nearly every facet of American life, which also makes them prime targets for attack.

This legislation will help us better protect American families and our country from bad actors who want to carry out malicious attacks.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Kelly and Latta for their bipartisan work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 866, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to protect American citizens and support the ROUTERS Act.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2399, the Rural Broadband Protection Act. This legislation would direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a process to more thoroughly vet internet service providers participating in the Universal Service Fund's high-cost program.

I have long advocated for reforms to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the high-cost program. Following an investigation by Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats in 2017, we requested that the Government Accountability Office open its own inquiry into reports of abuse of high-cost support.

In a scathing report, GAO detailed a remarkable lack of oversight by the FCC, as well as the need for greater accountability to ensure precious USF dollars are spent on the mission of deploying high-speed broadband to unserved and underserved communities. Since then, we have seen modest progress to curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the high-cost program, but more accountability is needed.

I commend Representatives Kelly and Houchin for their work on this legislation and appreciate their commitment to protecting unserved and underserved communities in need of high-speed connectivity.

However, I must note that this legislation was not considered as part of the Energy and Commerce Committee's typical regular order process. It was not considered during a subcommittee legislative hearing or taken up in a subcommittee markup prior to being voted on by the full committee.

I am supporting the bill today, but I am disappointed that the Committee members were not afforded the opportunity to seek testimony from experts on this specific text of the legislation or inquire about the bill's impact on the program and consumers as is our typical practice for legislative hearings.

Still, I believe this legislation will help address critical gaps in the vetting of high-cost recipients and will curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the program, so I urge our colleagues to support H.R. 2399.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 2399, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2449, the FUTURE Networks Act. This bipartisan legislation is an important step to protect Americans and our communication networks from threats posed by rapidly evolving next-generation technologies. It also ensures that the standards used to build technological advancements are designed from the start to be safe and secure.

H.R. 2449 establishes a task force at the Federal Communications Commission to study sixth-generation, or 6G, technologies to identify potential supply chain and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The task force will include government, public interest advocates, academics, and industry.

The United States leads the world in the innovation of secure and resilient next-generation technologies, a position congressional Democrats have fought hard to sustain. Among other things, House Democrats have worked to increase the safety of our networks and supply chains by examining the security of mobile networks and educate consumers about cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risks. The FUTURE Networks Act is yet another important step to support America's leadership in a secure and reliable future.

By directing the FCC to engage in the exploration of 6G technology in the early stages of development, the FUTURE Networks Act will enable American values to be embedded within the global framework for this technology and to ensure it will be available to all Americans.

I thank Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Matsui and Representatives Allen and Walberg for their bipartisan work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2449, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), the ranking member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 2449, and I yield back the balance of my time.