Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the Rebbe, a spiritual leader whose impact on faith, education, and morality continues to inspire millions.

Born in 1902, the Rebbe endured the horrors of Russian communism and evils of Nazi Germany before arriving in the United States

in 1941. From here, he led efforts to rebuild Jewish life, promoting values of kindness, education, and service to others.

He sent rabbinical students across the country, including to South Dakota, to reach Jews in isolated communities. His vision led to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement becoming the world's largest Jewish educational organization, now active in all 50 states and 109 countries.

The Rebbe believed education must include ethics and character, not just academics. His message resonated far beyond his faith, earning him the Congressional Gold Medal and recognition through Education and Sharing Day, proclaimed annually by U.S. Presidents since 1978.

Education and Sharing Day represents an excellent opportunity for us to reflect on the Rebbe's vision and leadership. May we carry forward the Rebbe's legacy by choosing kindness, living with purpose, and working toward a more compassionate world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate South Dakota's own Dallas Goedert and the Philadelphia Eagles on their Super Bowl LIX win on February 9, 2025. Dallas Goedert was born and raised in Britton, South Dakota. After graduating from Britton-Hecla High School, he was recruited by South Dakota State University's football program.

As a Jackrabbit, Goedert had 198 receptions for 2,988 yards and 21 touchdowns. including two straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Goedert's collegiate career at South Dakota State saw him as a two-time first-team Football Championship Subdivision All-American.

After an impressive collegiate performance at South Dakota State, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Goedert in the second round and 49th overall of the 2018 NFL draft. As of the end of the 2024 season, he has accumulated an impressive 349 receptions for 4,085 yards and 24 touchdowns while being challenged with injuries. Despite being placed on injured reserve on December 7, 2024, he returned for the playoffs and contributed to the Eagle's victory in the Super Bowl LIX, recording two receptions for 27 yards in a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

I am proud to recognize Dallas Goedert's outstanding perseverance and his impact as a role model for athletes and individuals across the nation. He is an inspiring reminder of the strength found in determination and hard work. I congratulate Goedert and the Eagles on their remarkable victory.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair and the body for bringing up my bill, the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act, this afternoon.

This is the greatest country in the history of the world, and when you are a country that is that great, it is important that you acknowledge your failures and that you try to do better in the future.

As has been said, in December 1890, Chief Spotted Elk and his band of Lakota, which largely consisted of women and children, were headed from the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. While they were en route, they were stopped by the Army's 7th Cavalry, and they were forced to make camp at Wounded Knee Creek.

It was the next morning, December 29, 1890, that the 7th Cavalry began to disarm the Lakota. There was a struggle, a shot rang out, and before people realized it, there were hundreds of Lakota being massacred, the overwhelming majority of which were noncombatants, women and children.

On the 100th anniversary of Wounded Knee, this body made a formal apology and expressed deep regret for what had happened that day.

Another important step forward was in October of 2022 when the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe jointly purchased that 40 acres that is the site of the 1890 massacre.

This bill very simply places those 40 acres into restricted fee status, which is in essence putting it into trust.

My bill ensures that those two Tribes working together can protect this land as sacred without any commercial development, and they can retain their sovereignty to manage that land appropriately.

It was last Congress that I told you all about my trip to the massacre site in June of 2023. It was there I spoke at length to an older gentleman whose grandmother had survived the massacre that day. He, with his own ears, had heard the oral history of the terrible tragedy that occurred that day.

I then went and visited St. John's Church where the Lakota had taken their wounded to treat their injuries. Their blood, the blood of the survivors, stained the floorboards in the church that day. The wounds of that dark day remain present to this day, and this land is sacred. I do think this action, this cooperation between the two Tribes and our Federal Government, will make sure that we do right as much as we can in the wake of that tragedy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Wounded Knee descendants. I thank Oglala Sioux Tribal Chairman Frank Star Comes Out and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman Ryman LeBeau for their teamwork in advancing this legislation.

Last Congress, this bill passed unanimously out of this body, and I would just ask my colleagues to again vote for H.R. 165, the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act, so that we can provide the Oglala and the Cheyenne River Tribes the authority they need to protect this land.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, we are going to have some comments from some friends of Mr. Kelly Armstrong who is leaving us to serve as the Governor of North Dakota. I suppose I will kick it off.

Harry Truman famously said: ``You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.'' I am a big fan of Mr. Truman, so I assume that he was telling the truth. When I first got to Washington, I assumed that it would be easier for me to find a pit of vipers in Washington than a true friend.

I will be clear: There are plenty of vipers in Washington, but I discovered that there was also Kelly Armstrong.

I did not want to like Kelly Armstrong. It just seemed a little too cute to have the Dakota boys run together, yet somehow, we just clicked. From the very beginning, we have been fast friends.

We were almost inseparable at the start, so much so that people would confuse us. They would think that he was me or that I was him, despite the fact that we don't look anything alike. I am suave and sexy, and Mr. Armstrong is something else, perhaps.

Anyway, there was indeed confusion about who we were. I remember one day at the back of this Chamber where a distracted and confused Mr. Armstrong came in and put in his card. This was our first week in the House, Mr. Speaker. He hit red, a ``no'' vote, on a Republican motion to recommit. The senior Greg Walden came up and said: Young man, I don't know who you are, but you are accidentally the only Republican in the House who is voting with Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats to kill this Republican motion. If that is how you are going to do business here, you are going to ruin your reputation.

A somewhat chastened Mr. Armstrong changed his vote and said: Mr. Walden, thank you so much for telling me how it is. I certainly hope I have not ruined my reputation. Let me introduce myself. I am Dusty Johnson from South Dakota.

That was my first but certainly not my last exposure to the idea that Kelly Armstrong is laugh-out-loud funny almost all the time.

So many other relationships we have here are work relationships, and work relationships have a tendency to be one-dimensional--that is the gal you grab coffee with, or that is the guy you talk sports with. It is sometimes special when you get a relationship that isn't just a work relationship.

As Kelly prepares to depart for the greener pastures of the Governor's mansion, I want to talk a little bit about what he has meant to me, not just as a D.C. friend or a work friend but as a real friend.

There are four things.

First, Kelly has been my coach. He has made me a better Member because of his counsel more than anybody else here. He has understood my weaknesses, and he has tried to coach me out of them. He has done it almost every week. He said: Dusty, you don't have to participate in every fight that you are invited to.

Similarly, he said: Dusty, that is fine, but remember, in a knife fight, everybody gets cut, even you.

He has made me a better person, which is what friends do.

Secondly, he has also been my policy adviser. He is a great policy mind. When we have had complex legal issues, from sentencing reform to understanding what these contempt of Congress votes really mean, he spent a lot of time, Mr. Speaker, in walking me through them. He didn't benefit from that. He did that because he knew that I cared about the votes and that I wanted to be ready to cast the right vote.

Number three, Kelly has been more supportive of me than I could ever ask for. Literally every single thing that I have done in this town has been done because he has been behind me. He has pushed me. He has encouraged me. Do you know how unusual it is in this town to have people who aren't jealous of your success, to have people who want to see you do things rather than have them do things?

Even a few days ago, as Governor-elect Armstrong could have been forgiven for focusing on his State and his future, he called me to say: Dusty, what can I do to help?

In the last 6 years, there has been no one on the planet who has asked me that question more often than Kelly has: Dusty, what can I do to help?

Number four, Mr. Speaker, Kelly has been one of the very best operators in Congress, and I have learned from that. He knows how to get things done. He sees around corners. He is a grade-A expert at what he calls the wet work of Congress so that his friends don't have to be.

This House has functioned better because of Kelly Armstrong.

Mr. Armstrong, as you leave, we will still cut deals in your absence, but they will not be as good, and cutting them will not be as much fun.

The common thread running through all four of these thoughts, Mr. Speaker, is selflessness. In a political universe that is dominated, and I mean dominated, by self-centered egomaniacs, it is shocking how much Kelly Armstrong cares about me, how much he cares about us.

Some of our colleagues have the impression that I am the nice one and that he is the mean one, and I don't

know how they have gotten it so wrong. I often say that being in Congress is a very easy job if you don't care. It is a very hard job if you do care.

Kelly Armstrong has more heart for this job and for his friends than anyone--anyone--in this town, and that is why it is so hard to say good-bye.

Kelly, we will miss your insight. We will miss how funny you are. We will miss your profanity. More than anything, we will miss your heart.

Harry Truman never had a true friend in Washington, but that is because he didn't have Kelly Armstrong.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lee).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).

I always try to leave a little something special in the tank to close, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the exceptional gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Armstrong).

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

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 7 o'clock and 24 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, each year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes a select group of schools across the country, celebrating their academic achievements and contributions to educational excellence. As a South Dakotan, I am proud of Christ the King Elementary, Lennox Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, and Warner High School for being named as National Blue Ribbon Schools.

Lennox Elementary, Christ the King Elementary, and Warner High School are honored for their high scores in English and mathematics, while Lincoln Elementary is recognized for its progress in closing the achievement gap among subgroups. This will be the second Blue Ribbon recognition for the Warner School District, as Warner Elementary School was awarded in 2016. These schools serve as models of proficient education for schools throughout the Nation.

Outstanding teachers and a supportive community are key to the success of each of these Blue Ribbon Schools. It is paramount that we continue to have exceptional teachers and schools for our kids and the future of our Nation. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in congratulating these four exceptional schools in South Dakota. I'm confident they will continue to make great contributions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Senator Tim Johnson, a dedicated public servant and honorable man who passed away on October 8, 2024. Senator Johnson served the people of South Dakota with integrity and passion. While Senator Johnson faced health challenges during his time in the Senate, his courage in overcoming those adversities deepened the admiration his colleagues had for him.

While we honor his many professional accomplishments, it is important to remember that Senator Johnson was also a devoted family man. He was a loving husband to Barbara and a proud father to their children. His family was always his greatest source of strength, and he often spoke of how their love and support sustained him throughout his career.

My thoughts and prayers are with Barbara and the entire Johnson family during this difficult time. As we remember Tim, we reflect on his dedication, spirit, and kindness.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Taryn Kloth on her remarkable 2024 Olympic performance, finishing ninth overall in the Women's Beach Volleyball Olympic competition. Taryn, a Sioux Falls native, proudly represented Team USA with her teammate Kristen Nuss. It was exciting to see a South Dakotan represent Team USA in the Paris Olympics. Our state proudly cheered on Taryn throughout the matches.

Taryn attended O'Gorman Catholic High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where she began her impressive volleyball career. After helping start the first indoor volleyball team in South Dakota, Taryn earned the Gatorade South Dakota Player of the Year award in 2014, a national championship for her club team, a back-to-back state championship, and landed a top-20 high school ranking in the country.

After high school, she went to Creighton University as their highest ranked recruit in school history. Taryn led the team to four consecutive Big East titles and four NCAA tournament appearances, including a school-best Elite 8 appearance in 2016.

Taryn graduated early from Creighton and then attended Louisiana State University where she helped them to a No. 1 ranking in the 2020 season. Taryn and Kristen completed the 2021 season going a historic 36-0, earning multiple accolades, including the prestigious American Volleyball Coaches Association Pair of the Year award. The two created a partnership ``TKN'' and became the No. 1 ranked Association of Volleyball Professionals Beach Volleyball Team and No. 2 ranked team worldwide.

I am proud to recognize and congratulate Taryn and Kristen for their hard work, dedication to the sport, and performance throughout their careers. I wish them continued success in their future endeavors. I thank Taryn for representing South Dakota well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Miles Krajewski on his remarkable 2024 Paralympic performance. Miles and his teammate, Jayci Simon, made Paralympic history for the United States by becoming the first Americans to medal in Paralympic Badminton. Miles and Jayci earned the silver medal for Mixed Doubles in Paris. Hailing from Yankton, South Dakota, Miles represented our state with dedication and skill, serving as an inspiration to many.

Miles graduated from Yankton High School earlier this year and will attend the University of South Dakota this fall as a business student. As an alumnus, I'm confident the University of South Dakota will be a great place for Miles to continue excelling as a student and athlete.

At 19 years old, Miles has achieved significant success. Prior to competing at the 2024 Paralympics, he represented Team USA in Santiago in 2023. There, Miles won two gold medals in SH6 Badminton events where he secured first place in Singles by defeating the defending champion, and with Jayci Simon they won gold in Mixed Doubles after prevailing in four matches. Miles later earned bronze in Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles in an impressive run at the 2024 Badminton World Federation Para-Badminton World Championships.

I am proud to recognize and congratulate Miles for his hard work, dedication to the sport, and performance throughout his career. I wish him continued success in his future endeavors. I thank Miles for representing South Dakota well.

Mr. Chair, here in Congress, we are supposed to be in the problem-solving business. My, oh, my, do we have problems in the digital asset space.

In recent years, we have seen the FTX debacle, a debacle that happened under the regulatory regime that some Members are apparently so enamored with, a regime that does not work today. We have seen chronic and disruptive overreach by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

We have seen innovation and investment flow overseas. Mr. Chair, they seek markets that are more predictable. We are the only G7 country that hasn't figured this out yet.

Clearly, we have problems. I would submit that FIT21 is the solution. For more than a year, French Hill and I, working with Chairs McHenry and Thompson and Members on both sides of the aisle, have worked hard together to craft a solution that increases regulatory predictability, which increases consumer protection, and that will foster innovation.

I know that success has many fathers and mothers, and so I do thank Messrs. McHenry, Thompson, Hill, Emmer, and Davidson on the Republican side, and I do need to especially recognize my colleagues on the Democratic side of the aisle, particularly Mr. Nickel and Ms. Caraveo, who have invested countless hours in getting this bill right. They have been joined by Representatives Himes, Crockett, Torres, Soto, Gottheimer, and Davis. This success would not be possible without their good-faith efforts, and I thank them.

Madam Chair, I commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his thoughtful and forward-looking amendment.

I think it is important that we set the record straight. This amendment would not, as some have alleged, strip the CFTC of all of its spot market regulatory authority. All of the antifraud and antimanipulation powers that they currently hold would remain in place.

This sense of Congress simply makes it clear that, within FIT21, it does not provide the CFTC with grand new authorities over non-digital asset spot markets.

I think it is important we do that. There are clear and important differences between the traditional spot markets for commodities. Think about people buying and selling barrels of oil. That is not something everyday Americans are doing, but we do have everyday Americans engaged in the spot market for digital assets.

Also, with regard to digital asset commodities, we also have a number of intermediaries that would be interacting with these retail consumers. Some of those intermediaries would certainly hold the cash of consumers, either pending or after a trade. That is an important situation that we need to protect for that is not exactly like that in the traditional commodity markets--different marketplace, different threats, different set of tools.

As chair of the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee, I want to make it clear that I support the gentleman's amendment. I do not want any part of FIT21 to change the CFTC's authority over non-digital asset commodities.

Madam Chair, I commend the gentleman for his work, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 200.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 2024 Truman Scholars.

This year, the Foundation received 709 applications from 285 institutions. After a review of the students records of leadership, public service, and academic achievement the independent selection panel selected 60 students from 54 U.S. colleges and universities to receive this honor.

This year's nominees are: Kaylyn Ahn, Daniel Arakawa, Daniel Block, Jackson Boaz, Christian Boudreaux, Allison Boyd, Paul Boyd, Elizabeth Caldwell, Anna Dellit, Grant Dillivan, Juan Dills, Alex Drahos, Jane Drinkwater, Adelaide Easter, Desaree Edwards, Ray Epstein, Gavin Fry, Bitaniya Giday, Eli Glickman, Axel Hawkins, Lezlie Hilario, Adaure Iwuh, Rincon Jagarlamudi, Elijah Kahlenberg, Alyssa Kemp, Lisa Kopelnik, Aravind Krishnan, Pranav Krishnan, Kayle Lauck, Julie Ann Laxamana, Reese Lycan, Kelsey Monaghan-Bergson, Alexandra Mork, Jackson Morris, Laila Nasher, Yudidt Nonthe Sanchez, Tej Patel, Yadira Paz- Martinez, CJ Peterson, Jay Philbrick, Marley Ramon, Thomas Riggs, Camila Rios-Picorelli, Edwin Santos, Diego Sarmiento, Isaac Seiler, Albiona Selimi, Jahnee Smith, Jaiden Stansberry, Sophia Stewart, Anitvir Taunque, Alex Taylor, Wena Teng, Mikayla Tillery, Grace Truslow, Lee Waldman, Ella Weber, Trenton White, Mielad Ziaee, Zane Zupan.

Established in 1975, the Truman Foundation is the Nation's living memorial to the thirty-third president. According to the foundation's website their mission is to recognize aspiring leaders at an important inflection point in their

development. Students are recognized in their junior year and rewarded for their aspirations to enter public service. After being selected, students receive a scholarship for graduate or professional school, participate in leadership development activities, and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government.

Congratulations to all of this year's nominees, and I look forward to seeing where each of them go in their future.

Mr. Speaker, April 19, 2024, corresponding to the 11th of Nissan, marks the birthday of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, known as ``the Rebbe.'' It is celebrated worldwide and in all 50 states across our great country, including my home state of South Dakota.

This day is also observed as ``Education & Sharing Day'' in recognition of the Rebbe's deep commitment to bettering the education of all people. He emphasized that education should not merely be about imparting knowledge but must instill values essential for living a meaningful life, fostering moral character, and contributing to the betterment of individuals and society at large. These moral and ethical principles have served as the foundation of civilization since time immemorial.

Like two of the greatest Jewish leaders known to humanity in their times, Moses and Maimonides, whom we honor with their bas-reliefs adorning the walls of this august body, the Rebbe provided leadership, guidance, and healing in our times. This body is honored to have awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal.

The Rebbe said that from his earliest childhood days, he envisioned seeing the world come to a state of peace. Through decades of dedicated service and leadership, while guiding many of our nation's leaders, he exemplified how humanity, through moral education, charitable deeds, and acts of kindness, can bring our world to a state where ``swords are turned into plowshares,'' with peace and prosperity for all inhabitants of God's world.

On the Rebbe's birthday, it is fitting that we honor him by striving to apply his teachings with greater diligence, embodying his vision of a world illuminated by compassion and goodwill for all.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6260) to provide for certain reviews of the use and safety of Federal buildings, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6260, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, first, I thank the bill's sponsor, the gentlewoman from Oregon (Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer), for her leadership on H.R. 6260, the FOCUS Act.

The gentlewoman is a remarkable Member of Congress. She is hardworking, diligent, and smart as a whip. H.R. 6260 is just one of the many examples of her leadership that she has blessed the 118th with.

Specifically, the FOCUS Act increases transparency and oversight. It does that by implementing a number of measures that increase the information that the General Services Administration provides to Congress that is going to give us a better opportunity to strengthen oversight of Federal space and public building projects.

More specifically, this bill would ensure Congress is notified if the costs for authorized GSA projects change by more than 5 percent.

We have all seen, I suspect, outside of government how often cost overruns have been happening in the broader economy and what kind of costs and confusion they can impose. This bill would help us get better data on what is going on with government projects, and it would require GSA to include in its new project proposals more details on space utilization rates and ensures GSA's tenant agencies have information on other agencies nearby to support consolidation of space.

I think this has taken on renewed importance as we have seen additional studies about the low occupancy rates that we continue to see within a number of GSA-managed buildings.

This bill would also require GSA to collect data and report on criminal activity that may be impacting public safety in and around public buildings.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer).

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

So often our attention is pulled to the massive issues, the sexy fights that sometimes divide this Chamber. The bill before us, Mr. Speaker, of course, is not that. It is commonsense legislation. It is the kind of meat and potatoes, blocking and tackling legislation that so many Americans, I think, are hungry for. It is a data-driven proposal.

We heard from Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer that 17 of 24 buildings in the study that she cited were dramatically underutilized. This is an opportunity for good managers within the GSA and good managers within Congress to use the data that her bill would provide to make better decisions. What a delightful outcome that would be.

As we have discussed, this bill would increase transparency, strengthen accountability, assist the committee in its oversight of Federal space utilization, and help us increase safety at our public buildings.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6261) to direct the Comptroller General to conduct a review on the impact of crime on public building usage, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 6261.

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

Periodically, we get 1,000-page bills or 2,000-page bills or 4,000- page bills that we debate on this floor. It can be a little hard for the people in the gallery and the people at home to make sense of what we are doing. This bill is not that.

This excellent piece of legislation from Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer fits on a single piece of paper. She and I were talking about that, Mr. Speaker, before we began debate on this bill, about how much good wisdom is packed into a single page. We will probably talk about the merits of this legislation for longer than it would take us to read the entirety of the bill, but it is just that good.

The Impact of Crime on Public Building Usage Act of 2023, which is this piece of paper, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6261, directs the Government Accountability Office, or the GAO, to examine how crime in and around public buildings affects building usage, how it affects how workers might commute to the office, and how it might impose any additional costs to maintain those public buildings.

In 2020, Mr. Speaker, we saw crime rates spike across the country. In many of the downtown areas in many of our States, areas that used to be bustling with workers became near ghost towns that changed the crime profile in many of those areas, to be sure.

We are in a little bit different era today, and now we have differing, conflicting data community by community. In some, crime rates are continuing to go up. In some, they are going down. In some, the data might differ between property crimes and violent crimes.

One thing we do know, Mr. Speaker, is that, of course, the crime that exists can continue to have an impact--a perhaps profound impact--on how we use our Federal buildings.

I will just give you one example, Mr. Speaker, from perhaps 6 months ago. In August 2023, employees who worked in a Federal building in San Francisco were told not to come to work because of safety concerns. These weren't safety concerns related to an earthquake or to a blizzard, an occurrence that we might experience at Federal buildings in South Dakota but not in San Francisco. No, those weren't the safety concerns. They weren't weather related. They were crime related.

It seems like, as good managers, we would want to better understand that issue and what we can do to have it be less common in the future.

It is particularly true as we work to bring employees back to the office. We know there is study after study that shows that people working in close physical proximity can share real benefits. Remote work has benefits, too, but as we talk to employees about coming back to the office in those times and in those places where it makes sense, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that their public safety is well cared for--not just when they are in the building, but when they are on their way to or from work as well.

I thank the bill's sponsor, the gentlewoman from Oregon (Mrs. Chavez- DeRemer). She has exhibited real leadership on this legislation. She has shown real advocacy to make sure that Federal employees are able to return safely to Federal office buildings and that, while they are there, they are effective and efficient.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and

Accountability,

Washington, DC, March 4, 2024.

Hon. Sam Graves,

Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Graves: Thank you for consulting with the

Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The Committee on

Oversight and Accountability agrees to be discharged from

further consideration of H.R. 6261, the Impact of Crime on

Public Building Usage Act of 2023, so that it may proceed

expeditiously to the House Floor.

I agree that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 6261 at

this time, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability does

not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained

in this or similar legislation. The Committee on Oversight

and Accountability should be appropriately consulted and

involved on this or similar legislation as it moves forward.

I support your effort to represent the House Committee on

Oversight and Accountability on the conference committee if a

conference on the bill becomes necessary.

As discussed, I appreciate your inclusion of a copy of our

exchange of letters on this bill in the bill report filed by

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and in the

Congressional Record during House floor consideration

thereof. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this bill

and look forward to future opportunities to work together on

matters of shared jurisdiction.

Sincerely,

James Comer,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing.

As we encourage Federal employees to return to an in-person working posture, at those times when it is appropriate, it is crucial that we ensure that they are coming back to a safe work environment.

I urge support of H.R. 6261 so we can ultimately address the unsafe working conditions deterring employees from returning to work.

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