Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2550, a bill that would restore collective bargaining rights for all Federal employees.

Earlier this year, President Trump launched one of the largest attacks on labor in the history of the United States, on the working people who voted to join a union and have a voice.

President Trump suggests that this is a problem of national security. Quite frankly, it has not been. They cited that there would be strikes. There hasn't been, and it is illegal to strike. In fact, we are looking for workers to help build our military at the very time that the President is trying to beat down those workers.

This is where the real problem is. That executive order stripped Federal workers of their collective bargaining rights.

The suggestion is that they canceled the contracts. We always deal in contracts. A collective bargaining agreement is a contract between the people and the public entity. We do it across the board each and every day.

Less than 24 hours ago, in this very room, we had a chance to immediately restore the collective bargaining rights just for the Department of Defense. They all voted ``no.'' Today, they want to vote ``yes''? A day late and a dollar short is what I am talking about. They could have voted for a fraction of the people yesterday, and it would have become law. Today, they vote for it. You can't have it both ways, Mr. Speaker.

Let me be clear. We want to work together, both sides of the aisle. This is incredibly important. We need to remember that collective bargaining agreements are about a vote by the people. Don't steal the vote.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Smith and Chairman Rogers, and those who came before us, for 60-plus years of working on this piece legislation to make sure we get it done on behalf of America. We have a that long, proud tradition of bipartisan work by our Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, with special thanks to my chairman, Chairman Wittman, and his staff. We all work together and have a commitment to make sure we get this done.

Mr. Speaker, this bill addresses affordability and achievability of the current and future modernization requirements while continuing the oversight necessary to ensure reasonable execution of these programs that include all of our tactical aircraft programs; the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft; and tactical munitions.

This bill also includes the subcommittee's multiyear effort to manage the largest acquisition program in the history of the Department of Defense. Yes, that is the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. This year, the bill extends by 5 years the annual Government Accountability Office report on the F-35. We have done many things for F-35 oversight in the past 2 years, and I am very proud of the way we are bringing it back to where it needs to be.

As we continue to wage war against so many of those who will do our country harm, the one good thing we can say is that we work together.

Finally, I thank the subcommittee professional staff for their hard work, including Jay Vallario, Michael Kirlin, Heath Bope, Caroline Kehrli, Brooke Alred, and Andrew Smith. Certainly, I also thank my own personal staff assistant, Robin Dickey; defense fellow, Bryant Yee; and legislative director, Sam Devito.

As we finish up, this is going to be an incredibly important vote for the history of our country. Mr. Speaker, I thank all of those involved.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to commit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I would have offered this motion with an important amendment to this bill.

The amendment would talk about the very issue that I spoke about earlier. Earlier this year, President Trump launched one of the largest attacks on labor in U.S. history by signing an executive order to strip Federal workers of their collective bargaining rights.

For more than 60 years, Federal agencies under both Democratic and Republican administrations have recognized these rights, which give workers a voice in the workplace. The one thing that Trump said is that we are trying to keep the Department of Defense from striking workers.

This has always been illegal. There has never been a strike at the Department of Defense by the civilian employees. It is banned. It does not impact national security. It is clear that this is union-busting tactics by the union buster in chief.

I was a union electrician, and I am the co-chair of the Labor Caucus. I know firsthand how important collective bargaining rights are. It gives a voice to those workers.

At a time when we are trying to encourage people to go to work for the Department of Defense, this is a way to try to keep them away because they don't have a voice. It is key to securing fair wages, a safe workplace, and dignity on the job. With that executive order, over 1 million Federal employees were impacted by this, including the Department of Defense.

Unions, the collective bargaining agreement, were created by a vote of the workers--by a vote. They voted overwhelmingly. President Trump's executive order seeks to silence those workers by overriding this sacred vote. It really brings a new meaning to when President Trump says: ``Stop the steal.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record the text of this amendment immediately prior to the vote on the motion to commit.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to please join me in voting for this motion to commit.

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

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

Madam Chair, I thank Ranking Member Smith and Chairman Rogers for setting by example what it is like to work in a bipartisan fashion and to Chairman Wittman for what he does each and every day to make sure that we work together to make sure we support our warfighters.

This bill continues the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee's proud, bipartisan tradition and reaffirms our shared responsibility for managing this risk.

I am, however, disappointed that some in the majority would kill this bipartisan work. We have seen the amendments, and they will ruin what we have done collectively on our committee. Our servicemembers and their families deserve better.

Madam Chair, this authorizes funding levels for key defense programs including $7 billion for the most expensive defense program in the history of our country, the F-35, and over $800 million to make sure that we continue the E-7A aircraft which is needed so badly, particularly in the Pacific.

Madam Chair, this bill also addresses the risks and costs of military modernization. It extends the review, the assessment, and the reporting to Congress on the F-35 program by the Government Accountability Office, which is incredibly important. We have taken many of the recommendations over the year and find it very valuable.

The bill also continues the subcommittee's work to revitalize our munitions industrial base by providing multiyear procurement authorities, coupled with strong investment in these accounts.

Madam Chair, this bill also includes and fortifies the Office of the Director, Operational Testing and Evaluation. I am concerned with the administration's plan for DOT&E. We must ensure that this office remains independent and relevant.

Madam Chair, I thank Jay, Michael, Heath, Caroline, and Brooke, our professional staff. I also certainly thank my own personal staff, Robin Dickey, my legislative assistant; Sam DeVito; and Bryan Ye.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Second Lieutenant Jack C. O'Neill on his graduation from The Basic School. I include in the Record the following proclamation:

Whereas, the United States Marine Corps upholds a proud

tradition of honor, courage, and commitment, and remains one

of the most respected fighting forces in the world; and

Whereas, The Basic School (TBS) in Quantico, Virginia,

provides newly commissioned Marine officers with the critical

leadership skills, warfighting knowledge, and ethical

foundation required to lead Marines in defense of our Nation;

and

Whereas, Second Lieutenant Jack C. O'Neill having earned

his commission through Officer Candidates School, has

distinguished himself through the successful completion of

this rigorous and demanding course of instruction,

demonstrating outstanding physical endurance, tactical

proficiency, and unwavering dedication to the values of the

Marine Corps; and

Whereas, he now prepares to continue his training at the

esteemed Infantry Officer Course, further sharpening his

combat leadership skills and preparing to take command of a

Marine rifle platoon in service to our country; and

Whereas, his achievement marks not only a significant

personal milestone but also a reaffirmation of his solemn

oath to serve and protect the United States of America with

honor and distinction;

Now, therefore be it proclaimed, that I, Congressman Donald

Norcross, Member of the United States House of

Representatives, do hereby congratulate Second Lieutenant

Jack C. O'Neill on his graduation from The Basic School and

commend him for his exemplary service and commitment to the

ideals of freedom, integrity, and duty;

Be it further proclaimed that his leadership and sacrifice

stand as an inspiration to all Americans, and we express our

gratitude and respect as he begins his journey as an officer

in the United States Marine Corps.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to include in the Record, the following proclamation honoring and commending Captain Michael Tibaldo, First Officer James Kim, Donnell Mitchell, and Jaclyn Curry on the emergency landing at the University of North Carolina Rex Hospital.

Whereas, on Sunday April 6, 2025, the crew members of

Republic Flight 4711, Captain Michael Tibaldo, First Officer

James Kim, Donnell Mitchell, and Jaclyn Curry saved the life

of Congressman Donald Norcross; and,

Whereas, during Republic Flight 4711 the Honorable

Congressman Norcross endured a sudden medical emergency that

required immediate medical attention, and the crew members of

the Republic Flight 4711 acted swiftly to orchestrate an

emergency plane landing, and the Honorable Congressman

Norcross's transportation to the University of North Carolina

Rex Hospital; and,

Whereas, had it not been for the professional, capable, and

flawless work of the crew members of Republic Flight 4711,

Congressman Donald Norcross would have died that day; and,

Whereas, Captain Michael Tibaldo, First Officer James Kim,

Donnell Mitchell, and Jaclyn Curry are continuing to keep

passengers safe, and representing the International

Brotherhood of Teamsters honorably; therefore,

Be it known to all that the undersigned hereby honors

Captain Michael Tibaldo, First Officer James Kim, Donnell

Mitchell, and Jaclyn Curry.

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 honor and commend EM3 Gilbert Klein. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, EM3 Gilbert Klein served in the United States Navy from March 1944 to May 1946 when he was honorably discharged as an Electricians Mate 3rd Class. He was stationed at USNTC Bainbridge, the U.S. Navy Training Center at Port Deposit in Maryland before serving on the USS YMS 283 mine clearing ship that sailed out of Yorktown, Virgina, the home of the Naval Mine Warfare School.

Gilbert Klein was deployed to serve in the East China Sea as a part of Operation Juneau and the American Occupation of Japan. He, alongside his fellow servicemen, had the distinct responsibility of clearing mines at the ports of Okinawa, Japan and in the East China Sea to prepare for the United States safe arrival as they occupied the island. He also served as a patrolman during the occupation in and around Okinawa, Japan.

For his service in the United States Armed Forces, Gilbert Klein is the recipient of The Honorable Discharge button and lapel pin awarded to those who served honorably in the federal military from 1925 to 1946 as well as the ``Ruptured Duck'' also known as the Honorable Service Lapel Pin awarded to servicemembers who were honorably discharged during the second World War. Alongside these two awards, he is the recipient of the Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia Clasp, World War II Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Three Bronze Campaign Medals, American Campaign Medal and the Combat Service Medal.

Following his service in the United States Navy, Gilbert Klein became a salesman at several companies and reached Sales Manager during his time with Reader's Digest. He lived in Pennsylvania and Ventnor, New Jersey before moving to Haddon Township 12 years ago where he resides today at the age of 99 years old. Although, his beloved wife and son with whom they raised together have both since passed, he has remaining family throughout the west coast in California, New Mexico and Arkansas.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in honoring and commending EM3 Gilbert Klein of Haddon Township, New Jersey, a resident dedicated to his community and country, and who has thoroughly served them both to the best of his ability.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and commend Randy Davis. Randy Davis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Temple University Hospital on February 13, 1966. He was raised in the Borough of Chesilhurst for the first 15 years of his life before he and his family made the move to West Atco, New Jersey in the early 1980's. Randy continued and completed his high school education in West Atco, New Jersey where he graduated in the Class of 1984.

Following his graduation from High School, Randy Davis heeded the call to serve and enlisted in the United States Army in 1985. He was sent to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas where he completed his basic training prior to being stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. While in the service he was trained as a Tanks Specialist. At the time of his enlistment, Operation Desert Storm was in full effect and members of his unit with prior training were deployed overseas. During the operation, Randy served as a member of the 144th Supply Command out of Hammonton, New Jersey where he proudly worked to help supply his fellow servicemen and women fighting overseas.

Randy Davis proudly served in the United States Army for seven years before he was honorably discharged in 1992. After his active-duty service, he returned to the Borough of Chesilhurst, New Jersey where he built his civilian life for nearly another 15 years prior to moving to Pine Hill. Throughout his career, Randy spent 11 years as a bricklayer before working as an employee at Trump World's Fair at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey for another 11 years.

Today, Mr. Davis continues to serve his community. Inspired by a tradition that began with his mother while he was still a child, Randy Davis works with a group of community members to put together an annual family and friends reunion that is free and open to all. An event where he provides food, music, movies and musical performances for members of the community and their children. When he was a child he recalled members of the community coming to his yard during barbeques where they would say ``hello'' and sit down to eat. Mr. Davis tries each year to preserve that tradition and sense of community within the Borough.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in honoring and commending Randy Davis of the Borough of Chesilhurst, New Jersey, a resident dedicated to his community, family and country, who has thoroughly served them to the best of his ability.

Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the Labor Caucus, I am here today to speak on something I didn't think we would ever have to. We have to talk about the hard work of our Federal workforce, those workers who get up every day to go to work, the ones who keep our food safe, the water safe to drink, and the air safe to breathe.

Federal workers are nurses. They are doctors. They are in the VA, taking care of our vets each and every day. They are civilian DOD workers. That is right. They are working in the Pentagon and around the world to make sure that our military is ready to go. They are the ones who are processing Social Security checks for our seniors. They are the TSA agents, who we see every time we go to the airport.

Trump is making it hard, almost impossible, for them to do their jobs. He wants them to quit. They dedicated their lives for us. Who is the Federal workforce? They are you and me.

They say they have to come back to the office when it is more efficient for a person, agreed upon with management, to work from a different location.

I suggest, if we really want to know where Federal workers are, look at the offices where the Member is supposed to be showing up. Tell me how many times they go to the office. That is what we are dealing with.

Trump is revoking their union contracts, the contracts which they negotiated legally and tried to enforce. It is so important. Trump doesn't have the authority to change these agreements, but he is doing it. It is going to take our courts to turn this around.

America's civil service is a merit system. Trump signed another executive order to remove jobs from the nonpartisan civil service. Here we are, back again.

These civil servants wake up every day to help us. I am not seeing any of those civil servants flying their private airplanes like Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump. They are just regular people like us, trying to get by.

As we have this discussion with all the Labor Caucus, I want to take a minute to thank Glenn Ivey, who represents so many Federal workers back in his district, and Stephen Lynch, who has been leading our fight at the Postal Service.

At the end of the day, we have to stick together. Right there, carved into the wood, it says, ``Union,'' and that is what we have to have.

God bless them. I thank every Federal worker for what they do.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith for their continued leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. I also certainly thank the members of the subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, this bill continues the long, proud tradition of bipartisan work by the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces and is the result of our commitment to work together to find the best solutions to manage the Nation's military.

I especially thank our chairman, Mr. Rob Wittman, and his staff for their support in building this strong, bipartisan bill.

Mr. Speaker, this bill carefully addresses affordability and achievability of current and future modernization requirements.

At the same time it continues the oversight necessary to ensure a responsible execution of these programs, including: the tactical aircraft programs; the ISR, which is the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft; and the oversight of the services' force design strategies and modernization priorities.

This bill also includes the subcommittee's multiyear effort to manage the largest acquisition program in the history of the Department, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In this bill, it provides strong legislative mandates to ensure the Department and its industrial partners deliver the aircraft that the services are paying for: the TR-3/Block-4 version of the F-35.

Critically important is what we started 5 years ago, to identify and buy down modernization and safety risks in our munitions industrial base.

In addition, this bill provides much-needed support for our warfighters, a 14.5 percent pay raise.

I certainly want to take a moment to thank our staff members who have been instrumental in bringing this to the floor: Jay Vallario, Dave Sienicki, Heath Bope, and Michael Kirlin. I also thank my staff, Sam Devito and Robin Dickey.

Unfortunately, despite all the bipartisan achievements, after 64 years, we are deciding to jam into it a partisan wedge. I am sad to see these political games.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Manning for yielding.

I rise in support of H. Res. 915. I rise today for the Ukrainian children, those without a family, and for the Americans who wish to give them one.

It has been over 1,000 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukraine suspended adoptions, for obvious reasons, by foreign nationals to protect the safety of their children, but as this war continues, the need to place these children in loving homes only grows.

Many Americans were in the process of adopting, some of those stories we just heard. These kids are stuck in limbo as war rages on.

In my home State of New Jersey, Andres and Farrah Meha were right in the middle of the process of adopting two of these children. They had formed strong bonds with these kids, and they had hosted them in their homes.

Right before this was going to work its way through the bureaucracy, an invasion began and changed everything. A few weeks later, those children had to return to Ukraine because of what Putin did and when war arrived in their home cities.

That is why I am urging the Ukrainian Government to resume adoptions by American citizens. There are no allies stronger than the U.S. Families across the U.S. stand ready with open arms to provide a healthy, safe, and stable environment for these children who deserve better.

I thank Ray Lesniak, who called me up to remind me that we need this passed. He is a wonderful friend whom I have served with in the New Jersey Senate. I thank Chris Smith for what he continues to do each and every day.

The idea of these children who lost their families being in limbo, there is light at the end of this rainbow, and that is the American families who want to call them part of theirs.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to engage and vote for H. Res. 915.

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

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to amendment No. 56, which would require a report that would be prejudicial to the rights and interests of Federal employees by calling into question something called official time.

Official time is a system that we, Congress, established in law almost 40 years ago to ensure that all employees entitled to union representation receive it, regardless if they are in the union or not.

Through official time, Federal employees who volunteer as union representatives spend time on what they call representational activities, working with employers and managers to resolve disputes, to resolve disputes, improvements in the workplace that benefit all employees, one of which--and many people consider it the highest--is for safety issues, so they can walk around, they can do the very inspections that save lives and save people from injury instead of waiting for it to happen and reacting before somebody gets hurt or dies on the job.

Simply put, let's call it what it is. This is an attack on official time, and my colleagues want to gut public sector unions. Call it what it is. The report that this amendment requires would only tally the cost of official time, ignoring many benefits. That official time provides for management as well as workers, their safety, and their productivity.

Workers have the right to have a voice on the job. They have that right. That is exactly what the official time provides for. I know that workplaces are more productive and efficient when management and workers come together. This amendment would lay the groundwork to take us in the opposite direction.

As co-chair of the Labor Caucus, I continue to oppose these efforts to take away rights from workers. When we look back at some of the history on this, it has been incredible. This has been an enhancement for the government.

There has been report after report on this already, but the bottom line is, this is about protecting workers on the job who become more protective of the people, the workers on the job.

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

Mr. Chair, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Federal employees, and he picks up one issue in one little area. My God, we can just look to our Members of Congress to see where violations happen.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle).

Mr. Chair, to wrap up, let's be clear: This is an attack on people's voices at the workplace. This is something that we collectively have looked at for over 40 years, and we continue to have a productive way of keeping people safe on the job and to understand that there is no way that they can use this time to do any union political activities, which has been suggested by the opposition.

Let's keep our workers safe. Let's continue to care about those who make our country the best in the world.

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

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr Speaker, I rise today to honor and commend Staff Sergeant Harry Marks, III, Hometown Hero.

Born in Greenfield, Indiana, Staff Sergeant Harry Marks, III has been an invaluable and dedicated member of the Borough of Bellmawr since November 1984 alongside his wife, Barbara.

Staff Sergeant Marks enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 17 years old where he began basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky until he reached 18 years old. He was then relocated to Fort Dix, New Jersey where he received AIT training as a Gas and Diesel Mechanic before leaving for Indian Town Gap in Pennsylvania, where he awaited orders for Vietnam. In 1971, he was stationed outside of Inchon, Korea where he served for 13 months at the Nike Herc Missile Site Staff Sergeant Marks returned to the United States as a part of the Mobile Calvary Unit also recognized as the ``Armored Calvary''. Prior to his deployment to Kaiserslautern, Germany, he was stationed at Fort Steward, Georgia. In 1974, Staff Sergeant Harry Marks was deployed with the 43rd maintenance battalion and while in Germany, he was promoted and transferred to the 34th Signal Battalion B Company where he remained until 1981.

Following his active-duty service, Staff Sergeant Harry Marks became a life-member of the VFW Crescent Park Post 9563 in Bellmawr, New Jersey and served as Commander from 2018 to 2021, Staff Sergeant Harry Marks has served as the elected Junior and Senior Vice commander of VFW District 7 and presently serves as Commander of both District 7 and Cresent Park Post 9563.

Staff Sergeant Harry Marks is a two-time recipient of the Good Conduct Medal and expert Badge for M16, a recipient of the National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Overseas Service Ribbon

Today, he continues to support the local Vineland Veteran Hospital, local fundraisers, and is an active participant in VFW Memorial Day, 4th of July events, and the VFW State convention.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in honoring and commending Staff Sergeant Harry Marks, III of the Borough of Bellmawr New Jersey, a dedicated resident who has honorably served both his community and country.

Mr. Chair, I thank the ranking member for what he does each and every day. It is something we can be proud of.

Mr. Chair, this bill continues the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee's proud bipartisan tradition and our commitment to share responsibility for tough choices to manage strategic risk.

In particular, I thank my subcommittee chairman, Mr. Wittman, and our staff, who work together day in and day out in an incredibly bipartisan way.

When we look at some of the challenges ahead of us, we look to the markup that we had just a few weeks ago to see how things can work correctly when we work together. Certainly, we hope we stay on that track as we go through this amendment process.

This bill addresses the risks and costs of military modernization without sacrificing oversight ensuring responsible execution of our defense program.

I want to mention two programs.

First, the F-35 fighter, the most expensive program in the history of DOD and one that consistently struggles to deliver capability as promised. This committee's bipartisan bill adds new requirements to fix these known problems and capabilities that we need now, as the contractor has promised. Our bill does not waste taxpayer investment on production aircraft that will only add to the large number of fighters that are not being used right now and are sitting on the ground waiting and waiting.

The second topic is our munitions, as we heard just a few minutes ago. The multiyear procurement authorities coupled with strong investments in our munitions accounts send a strong signal to our industrial partners, and I am proud to be part of the work that the subcommittee has done over the past several years to be there.

Finally, I thank the professional staff, Jay Vallario, Dave Sienicki, Heath Bope, Michael Kirlin, Max Huntley, and Brooke Alred, and I will take a moment because this will be the last NDAA for Bill Sutey, who has spent 27 years on the Hill, contributing in an incredibly important way.