Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Larsen for allowing me this time to speak.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the bill before us, H.J. Res. 7.

I am pleased that President Biden announced this week that he will end the COVID-19 national emergency declaration on May 11. This will provide a reasonable path to winding down the pandemic measures without leaving States and cities caught off guard with sudden shifts in their budgets.

COVID was a once-in-a-lifetime emergency, and an abrupt end to the spending under the emergency declaration would cause chaos for Americans. The wind down aligns with the administration's previous plans to give cities, States, businesses, and taxpayers at least 60 days' notice prior to the termination of the emergency declaration.

Mr. Speaker, this is sensible policymaking, and it is a welcome change from the prior administration's frantic, poorly-considered, and dangerous approach to any sort of emergency, including COVID.

I agree with the President's plan to wind down the emergency declaration, and I know my colleagues on the other side of the aisle agree with this plan, as well. Why?

Because this bill was rushed to the floor without allowing our committee to review it, without soliciting input from any of the cities or States that would be impacted. Nobody has been working with the Senate or the White House to find a solution that makes sense.

Mr. Speaker, the majority knows that abrupt shifts are bad. Yet, they are free to vote for a bill which they know would cause chaos. They also know that it won't be considered by the Senate.

I can forgive a messaging bill; we all do that from time to time. What is so galling about the bill before us today is that it shows just how far outside the mainstream the Republican Party is.

The American people want commonsense solutions that protect our economy, not a far-right agenda driven by the most extreme voices in their party. It is the same voices that brought us yesterday's anti- vaccine bill.

Who knows what other secret promises the Speaker made to the extremists to secure the gavel?

Let's get the bill over with because we all know that it is not going anywhere.

Mr. Speaker, we can then get on to debating the majority's economic plans, like a 30 percent national sales tax or holding the debt limit hostage.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' so we can stop wasting time with this nonsense and get back to the work for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Black History Month. This month, we celebrate the tremendous contributions of African Americans to the growth of our Nation.

Just one example of that contribution is the beautiful edifice that we are in today. It was built by people who were uncompensated for their work, but it is a beautiful testament in our Nation's example.

Black History Month started as Negro History Week in February of 1926. That week was chosen because it included the birthdays of President Lincoln and famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

In 1976, they expanded it and created Black History Month.

Today, African Americans make a difference in every aspect of American life and highlight the fact that the African-American story is the greatest success story in our Nation's history.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank my Democratic colleagues for selecting me as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

I will work to accomplish at least four strong railroad priorities in the new Congress.

The first is the completion of the Hudson River Tunnel and the entire Gateway Program. This is the most important transportation project in the

Nation, and it will help commuters in my district as well as travelers throughout the East Coast.

The second is using the bipartisan infrastructure law funding to improve Amtrak and travel throughout the Northeast corridor.

The third is more oversight over freight railroads nationwide.

The fourth is a promise that I made early on in the Congress to make sure that rail workers finally get the sick time they have earned and deserve. We need to make sure they are operating safely and efficiently across the country.

Again, I thank my colleagues for my selection. I look forward to working with all of them to make these priorities into realities.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to criticize the Republican plan to enact a 30 percent sales tax. This move would cost American families millions of dollars with higher prices for food and household necessities, and it would provide millions to the already wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.

Remember when many of these House Republicans were running for office? They claimed to make inflation and other economic factors their number one priority. Instead, their priority has been to make it easier to mislead the American people, stock committees with people who want to overthrow the country and increase prices on everything from gasoline to groceries to punish working-class Americans.

Thankfully, we have a Democratic Senate to shut down these abuses of power and protect the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to criticize the Strategic Production Response Act.

This bill is a direct attack on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and threatens our country's economic and national security.

The reserve was created in 1975 to protect Americans from another oil embargo and create stability in our economy, and it was created by a Republican President, Gerald Ford.

Now, Republicans want to connect oil releases from the reserve to dangerous oil drilling on Federal lands.

The release of oil from the reserve helped lower gas prices by almost $2 after the Russians invaded Ukraine. It helped working Americans put food on the table and pay their rent during that time. But Republicans want to punish middle-class Americans with higher gas prices and ruin the environment in the process.

Mr. Speaker, it is a disgraceful bill, and they should be ashamed to even introduce it.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment affirms that minority and low- income communities disproportionately bear the costs of climate change.

If this misguided bill were to become law, the increased emissions from oil and gas drilling would increase greenhouse gas emissions, further exacerbating climate change. Most of the impact would fall on these vulnerable communities.

This is something we know all too well in my district. In Newark, minority communities have been dealing with runoff, waste, and pollution for over a century.

In 2021, EPA scientists confirmed that minorities are 40 percent more likely to live in areas with extreme temperature-related deaths and 34 percent more likely to live in areas with high concentrations of childhood asthma.

Extreme weather events also threaten these communities. Black Americans are 10 percent more likely to live in inland floodplains. Latinos are 43 percent more likely to work in industries vulnerable to heat-related deaths, and low-income Americans are projected to experience a 7 percent increase in premature deaths due to global warming.

The dangers of extreme weather were made clear for my district during the Tropical Storm Ida floods in 2021. It was the poorest communities in my district that experienced the worst damages from the floods that filled people's homes and apartments. That is why this amendment is necessary.

We know that more drilling increases greenhouse gas emissions. We know that more greenhouse gas emissions exacerbates global warming; and we know that negative impacts of this will continue to fall on minority and low-income communities.

My amendment simply reaffirms what we already know and ensures that everyone who votes for this bill also says publicly that they know they are voting for more pollution for the most vulnerable communities in our Nation.

I urge all Members to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the recent attacks on African-American culture in Florida.

Recently, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blocked a new advanced placement course on African-American studies.

The course was inclusive of study of African-American culture that included literature, the arts, politics, science, and even geography. In addition, it included discussions about the Black struggle in modern America.

Govern DeSantis said that the class lacks educational value because it includes other subjects and the theory of slave reparations.

Clearly, Governor DeSantis believes education should reject any content that allows students to think for themselves, and he wants Americans to think that nothing bad ever happened in American history.

That does not sound like education to me. It sounds like indoctrination, and it should not be welcome anywhere in America.

Wokeness on the Republican side has become a new word, a code word. Let's eradicate that position.

Offered By: Mr. Payne

Amendment No. 76: At the end, add the following:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss smoking in the House of Representatives.

In yet another self-serving move, the Republicans have allowed smoking in House offices. It violates local and Federal law and threatens public health.

In the last few decades, secondhand smoke has killed more than 2.5 million Americans. It causes heart disease, lung cancer, and strokes, and it is extremely dangerous to children.

Local and Federal laws ban smoking in public and Federal buildings, and many studies have shown that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

It is a life-threatening decision that proves Republicans do not care about the health and safety of Americans. They write the laws but don't follow them.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to praise President Biden for his work to restore our economy. The COVID-19 pandemic caused economic issues that few experts could have predicted. It needed strong leadership to help our Nation recover.

Thanks to President Biden's leadership, inflation has come down for six straight months, gasoline prices are down almost $2 in a few months, and the cost of goods are falling nationwide. These actions are saving millions of dollars for hardworking American families across the country.

In addition, President Biden's leadership has led to increased wages, 11 million new jobs, and the lowest unemployment in 50 years. Clearly, President Biden's economic policies are working, and we are lucky to have him in the White House.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn the Republican decision to weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics.

It is an independent, nonpartisan office that reviews allegations of ethics violations by congressional Members.

It is a watchdog that makes sure that this Chamber operates in the best interests of the American people.

The Republicans voted to take control of it so they can limit investigations of Republican Members.

Republicans claim to represent Americans, yet the first acts were not to help the working American families.

Instead, they weakened the governmental oversight of their actions, all done to make sure that they can abuse their power and push an unpopular agenda on the American people.

It is a disgraceful action that reveals the anti-American nature of the Republican Party today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the Republican decision to cut funding from the Internal Revenue Service.

This funding was part of President Biden's critical Inflation Reduction Act. The $80 billion for the IRS enforcement would have forced tax-cheating corporations and wealthy Americans to finally pay their fair share. Instead, Republicans chose to rescind $72 billion of that money and forced a 2 percent cut to the agency funding in the last spending package.

The IRS support would have collected billions in taxes, boosted our economy, and lowered the Nation's debt ceiling, issues that the Republicans claim are important.

Instead, this vote shows Republicans prefer to protect the tax- evading secrets of the wealthiest 1 percent and not give tax breaks to hardworking American families that need it the most. It makes them shameless corporate stewards and embarrassing public officials.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend basketball superstar LeBron James for calling out sports media bias.

Late last year, a photo resurfaced of Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones blocking the integration of an Arkansas high school in 1957. Mr. James asked why he was not getting any questions about this photo and stated that the media had plenty of questions after former teammate Kyrie Irving promoted an anti-Semitic film on social media.

Jerry Jones owns an $8 billion sports franchise, the world's most valuable one according to Forbes. The Cowboys rank among the worst NFL teams for minority hiring.

The possible connection between these points is far more important than the hateful beliefs of one basketball player. Yet, the media asks about Irving and stays quiet about Jones.

It is a question the media needs to answer for James and the Black community in America.

Good morning, everybody.

Dennis, thank you very much. It is an honor to be here on the House floor, and especially with many of my former colleagues and Members who are retiring from the Congress. Thank you all.

On behalf of the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress, which we will call FMC as I move through this, I very much appreciate the Speaker's invitation to return to this very important place and to present the Congress FMC's annual report, which this year we are presenting specifically under the theme ``Life After Congress'' for our new former Members who are not returning for the 118th Congress. We will share with them how they can continue their public service through work with FMC. I will be joined by some of my colleagues to report on a few of FMC's premier programs.

As I prepared for today's report, it brought back a lot of memories, many happy memories, of my decade serving in the U.S. Congress.

For all of us, the Congress is one of the highlights of our professional lives. And I know that for each and every one of us, there are memories that will ever remind us of the great privilege that we have had as Representatives of our constituents.

For me, these memories include great friendships with colleagues from both sides of the aisle, working with terrific and very talented young people who were on my staff and others, and pushing forward pieces of legislation that I know have made a positive difference in the lives of Americans.

By serving in Congress, we were given the opportunity to serve our country and its citizens, and I am very proud that through FMC we can continue in an important way the public service that has brought us to Congress in the first place. There is, indeed, life after Congress, and today, we will share with you how FMC members continue to give back.

FMC is the premier NGO focused on our legislative branch, involving both current and former Members from the House and Senate in our work.

We are dedicated to strengthening representative democracy at home and abroad, we strive to encourage public service in the next generation, and we support and promote Congress as an institution and current Members in their important work.

The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress was created over 50 years ago. It was a social organization akin to a university's alumni association. And while we retain that mandate, we have also over the years added many substantive programs that make great use of the unique skill set and experience inherent in our membership.

Some of these programs we will explain in some detail over the next hour. As you learn more about FMC, please keep one fact in mind: We are 100 percent a bipartisan organization.

Our strength lies in the fact that Republicans and Democrats work together for the good of our organization and our country and are united as they continue their public service.

It is within that spirit that I now introduce your colleagues, Derek Kilmer of Washington State and William Timmons of South Carolina, who lead the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. They will tell you how, as former Members, you can support the momentum that the bipartisan committee has created through their 200 recommendations to help improve the Congress.

Chairman Kilmer, thank you very much, and Vice Chairman Timmons. You have done a tremendous job with your leadership on this very important initiative for the Congress and the country.

In New York in June, we had an opportunity to recognize both of them with the Distinguished Service Award. Thank you again.

What you just heard is really a prime example of how we at FMC can support Congress as an institution. We are really very proud to be invited to do so.

At this juncture, let me give you a little more background on FMC. As I said, we were incorporated over 50 years ago as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable and educational organization. We are chartered by Congress, but we receive absolutely no funds from Congress or the government. No taxpayer dollars are earmarked for any FMC program, and that is a fact and one that we are very proud of.

Everything we do is self-funded through membership dues, through fundraising events, and through program-specific grants. Our most recent audit proclaimed us fiscally sound and financially healthy.

One of the most immediate and most impactful ways you, as returning Members, can support FMC financially is by considering to be a sustaining member of FMC.

We now have more than five dozen, almost six dozen former Members who have made this notable commitment to FMC. They are ensuring that not only we can present our important and numerous programs to the public, but they are also contributing to the longevity and continuity of this organization, as half of the sustaining membership contribution is earmarked for our long-term, rainy-day fund.

I am pleased to add a list of our sustaining members to the Record, and I thank them for their tremendous support of FMC.

Sustaining Members of FMC

The Hon. Les AuCoin (Oregon), Brian Baird (Washington),

Joe Barton (Texas), Mike Bishop (Michigan), Rick Boucher

(Virginia), Susan Brooks (Indiana), Cheri Bustos (Illinois)

(As of January 4th), Dave Camp (Michigan), Ben Chandler

(Kentucky), Mike Conaway (Texas), Paul Cook (California),

Ryan Costello (Pennsylvania), Peter DeFazio (Oregon) (As of

January 4th), Jeff Denham (California), Charles W. Dent

(Pennsylvania).

The Hon. Sean Duffy (Wisconsin), Elizabeth Esty

(Connecticut), Sam Farr (California), John Faso (New York),

Bill Flores (Texas), Martin Frost (Texas), Tom Garrett

(Virginia), Phil Gingrey (Georgia), Bob Goodlatte (Virginia),

Bart Gordon (Tennessee), Tom Graves (Georgia), Gene Green

(Texas), John Hall (New York), George Holding (North

Carolina), Asa Hutchinson (Arkansas).

The Hon. Lynn Jenkins (Kansas), Doug Jones (Alabama),

Kaiali`i Kahele (Hawaii) (As of January 4th), Ron Kind

(Wisconsin) (As of January 4th), Adam Kinzinger (Illinois)

(As of January 4th), John Kline (Minnesota), Scott Klug

(Wisconsin), Andy Levin (Michigan) (As of January 4th), Jim

Matheson (Utah), Ben Michael McAdams (Utah), Jim McDermott

(Washington), Mike McIntyre (North Carolina), Pat Meehan

(Pennsylvania), Jeff Miller (Florida).

The Hon. Jim Moran (Virginia), Stephanie Murphy (Florida)

(As of January 4th), Randy Neugebauer (Texas), Steve Palazzo

(Mississippi), Erik Paulsen (Minnesota), Tim Petri

(Wisconsin), Ted Poe (Texas), Kathleen M. Rice (New York) (As

of January 4th), Martha Roby (Alabama), Peter Roskam

(Illinois), Dennis Ross (Florida), Loretta Sanchez

(California), James Sensenbrenner (Wisconsin).

The Hon. Donna Shalala (Florida), John Shimkus (Illinois),

Bill Shuster (Pennsylvania), Lamar Smith (Texas), Cliff

Stearns (Florida), Steve Stivers (Ohio), John Tanner

(Tennessee), Mac Thornberry (Texas), Pat Tiberi (Ohio), David

A. Trott (Michigan), Henry Waxman (California), Rob Woodall

(Georgia), Ted Yoho (Florida).

Thanks to Mr. Kilmer and Mr. Timmons, you have already gotten a flavor of how we support the Congress as an institution.

I now yield the floor to FMC board member Tom Graves of Georgia, who will tell you about FMC's many different programs to keep us connected as former colleagues and to create media opportunities for our members to share their insights. He will be followed by FMC board member Donna Edwards of Maryland to tell you about our most important domestic undertaking, the Congress to Campus program.

Madam Speaker, thank you very much for visiting with us, and thank you, especially, for your great leadership of the Congress.

The Speaker mentioned Don McEachin, our fellow Virginian, and she also mentioned Norm Mineta, both of whom passed away recently.

I would also like to say a few words about our good friend Jim Kolbe. As many of you may know, Jim passed away about a week ago. It was quite sudden and quite unexpected.

With his passing, we and FMC lost a good friend, a longtime board member, and a voice of reason and compassion during these tumultuous political times that we are currently experiencing. All of us at FMC, from the staff to the board, loved working with Jim. We will certainly miss him greatly.

As you may know, and many of you participate in this service, we, each year, organize a memorial service in Statuary Hall. The Speaker just talked about it. This is to honor the Members whom we have lost in the previous year. It is a fitting tribute to their public service.

I include in the Congressional Record the names of all the Members whom we honored in Statuary Hall this past September.

List of Former Members Who Passed Away Fall October 2021-December 2022

The Hon. Todd Akin (Missouri), Brad Ashford (Nebraska), Dan

Benishek (Michigan), Bill Brewster (Oklahoma), Clarence

``Bud'' Brown Jr. (Ohio), Albert Bustamante (Texas), Max

Cleland (Georgia), Barbara-Rose Collins (Michigan), John

Cooksey (Louisiana), Bob Dole (Kansas), Harris Fawell

(Illinois), Vic Fazio (California), James Florio (New

Jersey), Ed Foreman (Texas and New Mexio), George Gekas

(Pennsylvania).

The Hon. Jim Hagedorn (Minnesota), Orrin Hatch (Utah),

Kaneaster Hodges Jr. (Arkansas), Larry Hopkins (Kentucky),

Carroll Hubbard (Kentucky), Johnny Isakson (Georgia), Timothy

Johnson (Illinois), Dale Kildee (Michigan), James ``Jim''

Kolbe (Arizona), Bob Krueger (Texas), Claude ``Buddy'' Leach

(Louisiana), Gary A. Lee (New York), Romano ``Ron'' Mazzoli

(Kentucky), Jack H. McDonald (Michigan).

The Hon. A. Donald McEachin (Virginia), Carrie Meek

(Florida), Norm Mineta (California), Dennis Moore (Kansas),

John Porter (Illinois), Harry Reid (Nevada), J. Roy Rowland

(Georgia), Norman D. Shumway (California), Neal Smith (Iowa),

Mark Souder (Indiana), James Stanton (Ohio), Standish

``Fletcher'' Thomson (Georgia), Esteban Torres (California),

Jolene Unsoeld (Washington), Jackie Walorski (Indiana), Don

Young (Alaska), Bill Zeliff(New Hampshire).

For them, and for Jim Kolbe, I am asking that you in the Chamber and any visitors in the gallery please stand, if you are able, so that we can show our respect to these Members with a moment of silence.

As you can see, FMC is an active and impactful organization that empowers Members to continue their service after leaving Congress. We are energized, and we are having tremendous success for, really, three reasons.

One is the outstanding work that our board and our staff have done to solidify our mission, to put in place achievable goals and strategize how to best move FMC forward.

The second reason is our amazing group of partners. These are the corporations that donate to us, especially by way of the Statesmanship Awards Dinner, because they believe in our purpose and recognize the positive impact we are having. They have meant so much to FMC and to allowing us to achieve our purpose.

You have heard of these entities. Connie mentioned them previously. They have done so much, and we so appreciate all that they have done. They believe in our capabilities, and they believe in giving us the opportunity to grow and create long-lasting programming and to allow us to do all the things that we are able to do. So, we thank them again.

The third and the most important reason for FMC's success is all of you, the former Members of Congress who are my colleagues who donate your time, expertise, wisdom, and leadership. You do this by becoming dues-paying, active members of FMC.

I hope that you retiring Members have found the insight that we have shared today helpful. We hope that you would also consider becoming part of us and help us continue this mission. We would love to connect with you in person, and I hope you will join us immediately after this downstairs in H-120. We will have a reception, and we would like to have you be part of that.

I would also like to thank our staff: Pete, who is here, and our staff members there, if you would all stand, please. Let's give them a round of applause.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the proceedings during the former Members program be printed in the Congressional Record and that all Members and former Members who spoke during the proceedings have the privilege of revising and extending their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, unfortunately, to address the horrible anti-American comments made by Donald Trump.

Recently, the prominent Republican posted that it was time to terminate the Constitution. The Constitution is the foundation of our country and the backbone of our democracy. It is a brilliant document that continues to inspire democratic governments worldwide.

If a Democrat or I had made these comments, the person would be widely condemned and denied any attempt to run for office. But the Republicans do the opposite. They give weak denunciations of the comments--if any at all. But they refuse to reject Trump in public.

He rejects our institution, fights to deny our elections, and dines with racists. Yet, this is the type of person the Republicans believe to be a viable candidate for our highest office.

It is a disgrace and a national embarrassment.