Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits football team for their win in the Division I National Championship Subdivision Championship game in Frisco, Texas. SDSU defeated the North Dakota State University Bison by a score of 45 to 21.

This season, the SDSU Jackrabbits finished with an overall record of 14 wins and 1 loss. The Jackrabbits have qualified for the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs the past 11 seasons. Mr. Speaker, this is a huge accomplishment for the Jackrabbits and truly exemplifies all their hard work.

Today I also rise to congratulate Coach John Stiegelmeier on his retirement after 26 seasons as the head coach. I commend Coach Stiegelmeier for his dedication and service to the SDSU football program.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Larry Ness on his banking career of more than 50 years in South Dakota.

As CEO of First Dakota National Bank in Yankton, South Dakota, Larry helped the company rebound once he joined over 40 years ago. Prior to working with First Dakota National Bank, Larry was a bank examiner at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Over the last 40 years, Larry and his wife Diane have dedicated an incredible amount of time, talent, and treasure to Yankton and the whole state of South Dakota. They have been among the very best citizens and community members I've ever met. Larry's leadership has left a legacy in the state of South Dakota and we are grateful for his service.

I wish him all the best in his retirement and as he continues to serve as Chairman of the Board for First Dakota National Bank.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate South Dakota's 2022 Congressional App Challenge winners Katelyn and Casie Dale from Spearfish. The Dale sisters designed an app called ``Lighthouse.'' This is Katelyn and Casie's second Congressional App Challenge victory after winning the 2021 Congressional App Challenge.

Technological literacy is a vital skill for success both in business and daily life. The goal of the App Challenge is to get students excited about the important and growing field of technology and coding. As a parent, I know how important it is to ensure the media we surround ourselves with has a positive and healthy impact on how we live our lives, which is why I was especially impressed by Katelyn and Casie's submission. The ``Lighthouse'' app is a program to help kids and adults find literary material that is appropriate.

``While our brains are so amazing, they need to be protected. We are surrounded by all different kinds of media that, if we're not careful, can poorly program our brains especially those of young people and children in ways that we don't even notice or understand . . . that is why we created Lighthouse,'' said the Dales.

Congratulations again to Katelyn and Casie.

Mr. Speaker, quite a little bit of the national narrative over the last week has been about Republican disunity, and some have tried to apply that narrative to this rules package. I get it. I get it. It makes for a good story, but it just isn't so.

I rise today, Mr. Speaker, with a more accurate assessment. This rules package is actually about Republican unity. This package, except for one single change, is the same rules package that was released two weekends ago.

This is the same rules package, except for one single change that the Republican Conference had widespread agreement on weeks ago.

There are a tremendous number of conservative wins here:

At least 72 hours for Members and the public to review legislation before we vote on it.

Requiring every bill to deal with only a single subject.

Getting rid of proxy voting.

Bringing back the Holman rule, which will allow this body to target specific spending line items.

And then the return of CutGo so that spending increases have to be offset by spending reductions.

Mr. Speaker, every single one of these big conservative wins, and many more like them were supported by the Republican Conference long before the excitement of last week. Today's rules package is actually proof of Republican unity, and it is proof that we are committed to bringing increased accountability, transparency, and fiscal responsibility for this Chamber and for our country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the life of Lionel R. Bordeaux, Wakinyan Wanbli, (Thundering Eagle), of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the President of Sinte Gleska University in Mission, South Dakota. President Bordeaux passed away on November 16, 2022 at the age of 82.

President Bordeaux led an amazing life dedicated to the service of his people. He was a pioneer in expanding upper education access for Native Americans through his advocacy and work at Sinte Gleska University, which became the first tribal university in the nation during his leadership.

Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the life and memory of President Lionel R. Bordeaux, a constant fighter for Indian Country and a great American. I am honored to include in the Record this memoriam.

Lionel R. Bordeaux, Wakinyan Wanbli, President of Sinte Gleska

University for 50 Years, Departs for Spirit World

Lionel R. Bordeaux, Wakinyan Wanbli (Thundering Eagle), an

enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota

and the president of Sinte Gleska University, departed for

the spirit world on November 16. This is a tremendous loss

for his family, Sinte Gleska University, the Sicangu Lakota

Oyate, and Indian Country. For all who knew him, he was a

grounding force in stormy times; a paragon of goodwill,

solidarity, and wisdom; and the heart and soul of the Tribal

College Movement to which he was fiercely devoted.

Lionel R. Bordeaux was born in 1940 and raised by his

grandfather, Alex Bordeaux Jr., and his grandmother, Mary

Jordan Bordeaux. His mother, Ella, had moved to Sioux Falls,

South Dakota, to work and eventually own her own business.

Lionel attended the Horse Creek Day School, St. Mary's School

in Winner, South Dakota, and a public school in White River,

South Dakota. He later attended public schools in Lincoln,

Nebraska, returning to the Rosebud reservation where he

graduated from St. Francis Indian Mission, a Roman Catholic

boarding school.

He went on to enroll at Black Hills State Teachers' College

where he earned a BA in composite history and social science,

with a minor in psychology. Bordeaux later took classes at

Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado, and George

Washington University in Washington, D.C. He eventually

transferred to the University of South Dakota where he

completed a master's degree in guidance and counseling.

Bordeaux's career included working for the Bureau of Indian

Affairs (BIA) as a counselor on the Jicarilla Apache

reservation in Dulce, New Mexico, a job he credited with

giving him good early career experience. From there he

entered the BIA's management training program and relocated

to Washington, DC, where he trained in various federal

agencies. His experience in DC was later instructive for his

role at Sinte Gleska, helping him pursue passage of federal

legislation to support tribal colleges and universities.

After transferring to Dallas, Texas, Bordeaux learned about

the needs of Native people living in cities due to the

federal government's relocation program.

Bordeaux relocated to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and taught

guidance and culture classes at high schools and grade

schools in various communities. In an interview with Tribal

College Journal, he shared that his goal was to finish his

career as a superintendent in Rosebud and later serve as the

BIA area director in Aberdeen, South Dakota. It was while

living in Pine Ridge that he completed his master's degree at

the University of South Dakota.

Bordeaux continued his graduate studies at the University

of Minnesota where he completed his doctorate coursework in

educational administration. Before completing his

dissertation, Stanley Red Bird Sr., founder of Sinte Gleska

College, approached Bordeaux and told him traditional healers

had held spiritual ceremonies and directed Red Bird to seek

out the graduate student, who knew the tribal language and

history of the Sicangu Lakota people, and request that

Bordeaux withdraw from his doctoral studies and return to the

Rosebud reservation to serve as president of Sinte Gleska

College. Bordeaux consulted with his wife Barbara, who told

him that if that was their calling, they must follow it.

Shortly thereafter, Bordeaux and his family returned home

where on February 3, 1973, 12 Lakota medicine men inaugurated

him as president of the college, a position he held ever

since. President Bordeaux's career, and indeed his passion,

for the next 50 years was focused on culturally based Native

higher education and serving his community, making him the

longest serving college or university president in the United

States. Known as the ``Dean of the Tribal College Movement,''

President Bordeaux oversaw the expansion and development of

Sinte Gleska College into the first tribal university.

Throughout his career there, he worked to strengthen Lakota

culture and language. He also forcefully advocated locally,

regionally, and nationally for Native peoples' educational

sovereignty over curriculum and a tribally based

accreditation body rooted in spirituality and traditional

laws. Family, kinship, spirituality, and culture were the

driving forces in everything he did. President Bordeaux

credited the spirituality, prayer, and ceremony of the

medicine men for the success of Sinte Gleska University and

his long-term presidency.

In addition to his role as a tribal university president,

Bordeaux had a long-established history in the tribal college

movement. He was a founder of the American Indian Higher

Education Consortium (AIHEC), which serves as the voice of

the 35 tribal colleges and universities in Washington, DC. He

was also a founder of the American Indian College Fund, the

World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium, and

Tribal College Journal.

President Bordeaux also served in leadership roles as a

councilman in the Rosebud Sioux tribal government for 14

years; chair of the tribal education committee and education

board; board member of the South Dakota State Education and

Planning Commission; board member of the Native American

Rights Fund; board member of the Phelps Stokes Fund; regent

of the Haskell Indian Junior College in Lawrence, Kansas; and

president of both AIHEC and the National Indian Education

Association.

Bordeaux received presidential appointments to serve on the

National Advisory Council on Indian Education and the

Advisory Board of the White House Initiative on Tribal

Colleges and Universities. He co-chaired the historic White

House Conference on Indian Education.

President Bordeaux is and was among the most honored Native

American educators in the United States. His generosity went

beyond the borders of the Rosebud reservation by providing

support to relatives on other Lakota and Dakota reservations.

This included assisting tribes like Lower Brule and

Ihanktonwan in achieving their dreams of having a tribal

college.

Among the many honors President Bordeaux received include

Outstanding Administrator of the Year (Black Hills State

College in affiliation status with Sinte Gleska College),

Outstanding Educator of the Year (South Dakota Indian

Education Association), Tribal Government award (the National

Congress of American Indians), Outstanding Indian Educator of

the Year (National Indian Education Association), American

Indian Distinguished Achievement Award (American Indian

Resource Institute), Human and Civil Rights Award (South

Dakota Education Association/National Education Association),

First Lifetime Achievement Award (National Indian Education

Association), and two Living Legend Awards (National American

Indian Enterprise Development and the National Indian Gaming

Association).

President Bordeaux earned the Outstanding Alumni Award from

the University of South Dakota and was named as one of the

top 25 graduates in the history of Black Hills State

University in South Dakota. He received two honorary

doctorate degrees, one from South Dakota State University and

another from Augustana University in South Dakota. The tribal

holiday ``Lionel R. Bordeaux Day'' was named in his honor on

the Rosebud reservation, and he was inducted into the South

Dakota State Hall of Fame. In July of 2017, President

Bordeaux spoke at the World's Indigenous People's Conference

on Education in Toronto, Canada, where he was presented with

an honorary doctorate degree by the World's Indigenous

Nations University in Hawaii. In October of 2017, his alma

mater, Black Hills State University, named a residence hall

on its campus the ``Lionel R. Bordeaux Residence Hall'' in

honor of his many lifetime achievements. In 2018, Bordeaux

was also among the inaugural inductees into the Native

American Hall of Fame for his educational leadership. The

state of South Dakota issued an executive proclamation from

the Office of the Governor, Dennis Daugaard, proclaiming

February 9, 2018, as Lionel R. Bordeaux Day. Carrie Billy,

president and CEO of AIHEC, said, ``President Bordeaux was

the heart--the drumbeat--of the Tribal College Movement. We

feel his loss profoundly, but his songs and stories will

never leave us. His legacy will endure for generations and

that gives us peace and hope for the future of the Tribal

College Movement. Please say a prayer for President

Bordeaux's wife, Barbara, his children, grandchildren, and

the students, faculty, and staff at the college he loved so

profoundly Sinte Gleska University. I pray that the Holy Ones

watch over all of us.''

Many people who worked with President Bordeaux throughout

his career have shared their messages of congratulations and

gratitude for his service over the years, illustrating his

legacy. Dr. Justin Guillory, president of Northwest Indian

College wrote on his 45th anniversary, ``The TCU movement is

alive and growing stronger because of warriors like you who

paved the way for us.''

John Forkenbrock, who first met President Bordeaux when

Forkenbrock served on the staff of the House Labor and

Education Committee under the leadership of Representative

Michael Blouin of Iowa, wrote, ``Your role in the passage of

the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act was

instrumental. If not for your continued optimism and your

continued efforts at keeping the House committee's efforts

moving forward, I know without hesitation that this

legislation would not have crossed the finish line.''

President Bordeaux said in a 2012 interview with Tribal

College Journal, ``I see tribal colleges and universities

standing alone, as other institutions do not have the same

calling or vision to strengthen tribal nations as we do. We

are undoing the damage that was previously done and

rebuilding nationhood according to tribal prophecy and the

dictates of the four directions, aho! Waste' yelo!''

In addition to President Bordeaux's remarkable legacy as an

educator and activist for Native higher education, his legacy

is no less strong in the loving and devoted family he

created, including his wife, Barbara, who survives him, his

daughter, Debra, and sons, Shawn and Brian, all of the

Rosebud reservation, along with 11 grandchildren and 11

great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved

son Scott, his brother Lynwood Fallis, his daughter-in-law

Jodie, and granddaughter Jordan.

A celebration of life is being held at the Wakinyan Wanbli

Multipurpose Student Center on December 1, 2022, at 10:00 AM

located on the Sinte Gleska University Lake Campus. For more

details, please visit the Sinte Gleska University website at

https://www.sintegleska.edu/. President Bordeaux's services

will be live streamed with the link accessible on the

university's website.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor President Barry Dunn of South Dakota State University for winning the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education. This award is a testament to the progress President Dunn has made during his tenure to improve academic access and success in Indian Country through the Wokini Initiative and the New Beginnings Initiative. Education is an undisputed path to better career prospects and is vital to those in Indian Country facing staggering unemployment rates.

Investing in recruitment, retention, and graduation of Tribal students is a critical step to helping them participate in the American economy and the American Dream. I am proud that I, along with my colleagues, have been able to successfully secure Federal funding for the New Beginnings Initiative during my time in Congress.

Madam Speaker, the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education is one of the most competitive and prestigious awards in education. I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating President Barry Dunn for this remarkable achievement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize, honor, and welcome home Private First Class Melvin J. Little Bear of Standing Rock, South Dakota.

PFC Little Bear entered the U.S. Army from South Dakota and served with Battery A, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division in the Korean War. He was captured by Chinese Communist Forces on February 13, 1951, as his unit made a fighting withdrawal from Changbong-ni to Wonju, South Korea. PFC Little Bear was marched to POW Camp 1 at Changsong, where he died of malnutrition, exhaustion, and pneumonia on July 21, 1951. During Operation GLORY, the United Nations Command and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea exchanged the remains of war dead, including those who had died in captivity. In September of 1954, as part of this operation, the D.P.R.K. returned to the United States a box containing PFC Little Bear's remains from Changsong. PFC Little Bear could not be identified at the time and his remains, designated X-14251, were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 16, 1956. In 2020, his remains were disinterred from the NMCP and sent to the DPAA Laboratory for scientific testing. Laboratory analysis led to the identification of PFC Little Bear from among these remains.

PFC Little Bear was posthumously awarded the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal. PFC Little Bear will be laid to rest on September 30th, in Little Eagle, South Dakota.

Madam Speaker, PFC Little Bear made the ultimate sacrifice for this Nation. I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring his memory and his service. Currently over 80,000 Americans are listed as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action. It is a blessing that by reuniting PFC Little Bear with his family and his people, today that number is smaller by one.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman and thank the gentleman for their words of support for this piece of legislation.

I ask all my colleagues to support my bill.

It would do exactly as the previous two speakers said. It would make things a lot easier. It would advance environmental quality.

What exactly are we dealing with here?

We have a 266-acre parcel. It used to be the site of the Gilt Edge Mine. It is now an EPA Superfund site. Mr. Speaker, you can see a picture of the site here. This is not pristine wilderness; but, of course, we want to get it back to an environmental asset.

This is now, as the gentlewoman said, a checkerboard of competing governmental ownerships and roles. You have got the Forest Service which owns much of this land; you have got the State of South Dakota which owns some of the rest of it; you have got the EPA which for 20 years has been doing remediation work on the water; and then you have got the State of South

Dakota which has other environmental cleanup and management responsibilities on this site.

So what this bill would do is take the portions of this site that are owned by the Forest Service, and it would allow the State of South Dakota to purchase this land. That is going to get the Forest Service out of the middle of this. They don't need to play a role here.

The work of the State will be easier if they have one less Federal partner to work with and to navigate.

Now, sometimes my colleagues get concerned if we are going to take a Federal asset and give it to a State.

Will this be a loss of important Federal access opportunities for the public?

Well, that is why I brought this picture up here, Mr. Speaker. People are not going hiking here. This is not wildlife habitat. You will not have bison from the Black Hills of South Dakota nestle in this leach pond here.

We have real environmental work to do here, and it is important that we do it in the most effective way. This bill would advance that cause.

I just want to make it clear, so many people who are involved are supportive of this. Senators Thune and Rounds have been supportive. Governor Noem has been supportive. Lawrence County, the city of Lead, and the city of Deadwood are all supportive.

I ask all of my colleagues to join their voices of support so we can do what needs to be done on this Superfund site. We didn't treat this land properly, and the mining company did not treat this land properly. We have a continuing opportunity to do right. My bill would do that. Vote ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, earlier this year, my friend Mark Shlanta died at age 57. He had been a South Dakota telecommunications leader since 1998.

Earlier this year, my friend Greg Dean died at age 58. He had been a South Dakota telecommunications leader since 1999.

Earlier this year, my friend Rod Bowar died at age 60. He had been a

South Dakota telecommunications leader since 1976.

Earlier this year, my friend Bryan Roth died at age 59. He had been a South Dakota telecommunications leader since 1998.

Now, losing one friend, losing one industry leader, is not easy. When you lose four over the past few months, it can be almost more than their friends and family can bear.

These were real leaders. Everybody around here talks about broadband. It has been a hot topic in Congress for the last 2 years, every day-- broadband, high-speed internet, broadband, connectivity.

But I tell you, Madam Speaker, those four gentlemen were involved in broadband long before it was cool and long before it was the hot topic in Washington, D.C.

Mark spent 20 years as the CEO of SDN. Originally, it was the South Dakota Network. He turned this into one of the most sophisticated State networks in the country, and he expanded it by 50,000 miles of fiber- optic cable.

For 20 years, Greg, in his work with the South Dakota Telecommunications Act, was probably the most influential person to help set rural broadband policy in the halls of the State capital.

For 30 or 40 years, Rod, in his work as the CEO of Kennebec Telephone Company, made sure that two small towns, Kennebec with 281 residents and Presho with 472, had high-speed internet that would be the envy of the largest and most cosmopolitan urban areas in the world.

For more than 20 years as CEO of TrioTel, Bryan worked to make sure that that cooperative was the first telephone company in South Dakota, all the way back in 2013, to have 100 percent of its customers connected with fiber.

So, yes, Madam Speaker, these were titans of the rural broadband arena.

But when I think about connectivity and these gentlemen's contribution to it, I don't just think about rural broadband. I think about the connections they made with their families and their communities. It would have been hard to do more for Sioux Falls or for Scouting or for his family than Mark did. It would have been hard to do more for the Pierre community or Pierre athletics or his family than Greg did. It would have been hard to do more for his church or the outdoors or the Salem community than Bryan did. It would have been hard to do more for Kennebec or for Presho or for the fire department or for his family than Rod did.

The contributions of these gentlemen in their communities were absolutely staggering. So, Madam Speaker, it is altogether appropriate that we focus on the contributions to rural broadband of these four titans of the industry. But I also think it is important to recognize that when they thought of connectivity and when they made a contribution to connectivity, it was about the human connection.

No one could have done more for the people and the places they loved than Mark, Greg, Rod, and Bryan did.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the life of Beverly A. Roberts, of Pierre, South Dakota. Bev was an amazing woman who led an incredible life. Bev was a friend to thousands, myself included. She was funny, hard-working, and incredibly loyal. Every time I saw Bev, she had a word of encouragement and a piece of advice. She wasn't just that way with the politicians, though. She knew plenty of governors and plenty of cowhands, and she treated them all with kindness and decency. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the Roberts family and to everyone who knew this wonderful woman. She will be sorely missed.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the following obituary for Beverly Roberts:

Beverly A. Roberts, 87, of Pierre, SD, died Tuesday, July

12, 2022, at Edgewood in Pierre. Inurnment will take place at

9 a.m. on Friday, July 22nd at the Presho Cemetery, followed

by a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, July 22nd at

First United Methodist Church in Pierre.

Beverly was born on March 27, 1935, to Ward and Frances

(Weber) Dittman. She attended grade school and high school in

Presho. She graduated from Presho High School in 1952.

On December 7, 1952, Beverly married Clinton Roberts in

Presho, and they were married for 64 years. They had four

children, Debra, Schelle, Clayton and Kristi. Clint and Bev's

youngest daughter Kristi died in 1999. There are six

grandchildren in the family and nine greatgrandchildren.

Family was always a priority for Beverly.

They made their home near Presho where they farmed and

ranched. Beverly devoted much time to driving the children to

town for school, swimming lessons, and school events. She

assisted Clint in moving tractors and other farm equipment,

often having to drive at the spur of the moment for machinery

parts. Leisure time on the farm usually included stock dam

fishing or hunting.

Beverly was a gracious hostess during multiple opening day

pheasant hunts. Her other skills included starting and

running a retail business and troubleshooting computers in

the SD Dept. of Transportation and Office of the Attorney

General.

She was a member of the Presho and Pierre United Methodist

Churches, Presho Jaycettes, Lyman County Republicans, and the

Capitol Club. She was a key campaign strategist in Clint's

political campaigns for the SD state legislature, US House of

Representatives, and SD governor, contributing to his

political successes.

Her retirement years were spent enjoying family life in

Fort Pierre, SD, living on the river. Since Clint's death in

2017, Beverly lived at Parkwood and most currently at

Edgewood Assisted Living in Pierre.

Beverly is survived by her children Debra Brakke (Verne),

Schelle Wenner, and Clay Roberts (Pam), and grandchildren

Nathan Brakke (Michelle), Matthew Brakke (Kimberly), Tessa

Wenner, Clint Hunter Roberts (Stephanie), Chelsey Roberts

Renemans (Nick), and Tiffany Menke (Nick). Beverly also

leaves behind nine adoring great-grandchildren and a sister

Linda Kerns of Murdo.

Beverly was preceded in death by her husband Clinton,

daughter Kristi, and her brothers: Melvin, Delbert, Wayne and

Curtis.

Memorials may be directed to the Greater Lyman Foundation.

Mr. Speaker, 175 native languages are spoken in this country today, and they are threatened. Without preservation efforts, by the year 2050 there will be fewer than 20 spoken.

Now, for best fluency, you really should start language education by the age of 10. And luckily, that is what Pine Ridge's, Thunder Valley CDC, and the rural grant initiative are doing. They are using dollars from the Esther Martinez Native Languages Program, which we have funded, to teach Lakota to the youngest students. It is incredibly powerful.

Mr. Speaker, language is the lifeblood of culture, and I am so proud that these two programs are working hard in South Dakota to preserve language and culture.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I thank leadership for making my bill a priority on the floor today.

We have heard from a number of earlier speakers that recent Supreme Court decisions have upset the majority. These are decisions that they disagree with.

Now, these are judicial decisions that were rendered under rules that have been in place for more than 150 years. But there seems to be a growing force of people who want to change the rules, that if we didn't get the decision we wanted under the rules that have been

in place since 1869, then let's go ahead and change the rules. Let's go ahead and pack the Court.

If nine Justices doesn't get what we want, then let's add two. Well, if maybe two more Justices doesn't get us what we want, then let's add four. Maybe we can get with four Justices the kinds of decisions we want.

Madam Speaker, this is not a hypothetical boogieman. This is an actual pending legislation introduced by none other than the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. It is an active attempt to pack the Court with 13 Justices.

Now, you might ask, Madam Speaker, is 13 the right number?

Does 13 come about because there has been some report or some analysis that 13 Justices would make the work of the Court more productive?

Or perhaps the Supreme Court itself, the Justices, have indicated that they would do a better job with 13?

No. No. It does not come about because of any independent analysis or request by the Court. This attempt to pack the Court is all about power. It is all about power. It is all about getting the kinds of decisions that the House majority wants.

Madam Speaker, I would submit that when Washington changes the rules only to acquire power or only to maintain power, then it undermines public trust in these institutions that bind Americans together. We don't need yet a further undermining of these institutions.

Frankly, where does it end?

Once this body establishes that the size of the Court can grow only so that we can secure the preferred judicial decisions of the House majority, where does it end?

You take it to 13. A few years later we take it to 15. You can take it to 17 after that.

Again, this is not a hypothetical boogieman. We have seen this happen in other countries.

Madam Speaker, this leads to madness. This is no way to run a judiciary.

Now, you don't need to take my word for it. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before her death made it clear that packing the Court would undermine and erode public trust in the Supreme Court. She was stridently opposed to it. Retiring Justice Stephen Breyer feels the same and has publicly been opposed to packing the Court.

This is not something that only Republicans oppose. It is something that reasonable and like-minded people who care about the independence and the public trust of the Court have opposed, as well.

So that is what my resolution would do. It would simply put into the Constitution what has already been the case since 1869, and that is nine Justices on the Supreme Court.

I guarantee you, Madam Speaker, that we will still find plenty of political screws to turn and leverage points for us to be able to fight and advance our political causes. But if we can just put into the Constitution this one thing, to keep the nine, we will be able to, at least somehow, insulate the Court from the most corrosive political maneuvering that we know this body is capable of.

Now, I make it clear, a ``no'' vote on the previous question which I am urging does not submit this constitutional amendment to the States. All it does is allow this body 1 hour to debate the merits of keeping the nine.

What possible argument could there be against taking that 1 hour for us to discuss together what the right size of the Court is and how do we best maintain public trust in the Court going forward?

So, Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to heed the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Joe Biden, and so many of us on this side of the aisle to consider keeping the nine.

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

Mr. Speaker, let's start with the basics. What is advanced air mobility, AAM? This bill and the next one deal a fair amount with the concept. It is just

making sure that we have got in place a system so the remotely piloted or autonomous or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft are able to integrate into our existing air infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, it is incredibly important to do that in a way that is effective and that is safe. As the chairman said, Mr. Speaker, that is where H.R. 6270 comes in, the Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization Act. It does establish a pilot program which would provide targeted grants related to the planning and construction of this AAM.

We all know that the United States has a robust network of general aviation airports and heliports. Their impact on most every community in America is probably not fully grasped. They are a critically important part of our Nation's infrastructure.

We want to make sure that those facilities have the necessary infrastructure in place for innovative new entrants so we can make sure our Nation's airports and airspace system are used by these innovative new entrants in a way that is safe and safely integrated with the existing traffic.

Of course, as is the case with most transportation planning, it is State and local experts that are best suited to help plan for the integration of AAM into our national system.

Mr. Speaker, that is the approach that this bill takes. It doesn't give all the money to USDOT. It makes sure that these grants are targeted at the State and local level so we can get the best bang for our buck. Making certain that AAM works for all of our constituent communities is the goal. It is the goal of this bill. I look forward to seeing how different communities embrace advanced air mobility operations.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Subcommittee Chairman Rick Larsen and Ranking Member Garret Graves for their work and leadership on this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, H.R. 6270 takes an important step in giving our State and local transportation planning experts the tools they need to continue the introduction of advanced air mobility aircraft.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, to maintain safe airspace, we know we have to have coordination. Think about all of the moving parts that are required to keep people safe in that shared resource. That kind of coordination is also important at the Federal level if we want to keep everybody safe, and if we want to make sure AAM keeps moving in the right direction.

That is what S. 516 does, the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act. It makes sure that we are able to continue moving forward and that AAM has the Federal support it needs from a variety of agencies to be successful.

As the chairman mentioned, we had a similar bill, H.R. 1339, which passed the House overwhelmingly, 383 yeas to 41 nays.

I think we all realize that that kind of strong bipartisan support is not always as typical around here as we would like. Of course, this has got a Senate number so, of course, we have strong bicameral support as well. Indeed, the text that is before us today has been amended, and so it reflects language that has been negotiated and agreed upon, Mr. Speaker, by both Chambers.

This sort of bipartisan, bicameral agreement ensures that industry and government can start to hash out these questions on the tough and sometimes thorny issues that have to be addressed so that we make sure that innovative new entrants are able to operate safely within our transportation system.

We know that it is not always easy to deal with the Senate--our colleagues on the other side of the Capitol--but my hope is that once we pass this legislation, they will quickly take up the amended bill and send it to the President's desk for speedy signing into law.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Congresswoman Sharice Davids, as well as Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves, whom I am normally loath to say anything good about, but in this instance, I will. I thank them both for their leadership on this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman from California just did a wonderful job rattling off a number of key questions that policymakers have to settle on before we can make sure that AAM is safely integrated into our existing airports and airspace. This bill will do much to make sure that we have the coordination that will be necessary to answer those questions.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is often said that sunshine is the best disinfectant. It is said so often because it is true, and certainly, it is true in public affairs.

This is a commonsense accountability measure introduced by my Republican colleague from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon), and I applaud her for this.

It is going to increase transparency for post-disaster Federal assistance. It makes sure for citizens who are curious--exactly as the chairman said--who want this information about what the Federal Government has done to help communities in need without their having to go on some massive research project. This gives them an opportunity in a clear and concise way to get a sense of what their Federal Government has done to respond to these disasters. This increased transparency is going to allow the American taxpayers to see where their hard-earned dollars are going.

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