Haley M. Stevens

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on August 31, 2026. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 284 and YEA on Roll Call No. 285.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today after returning this morning from Israel convinced of something simple: We do not have to choose whose humanity matters.

I stood at the Nova Festival site where young people went to dance and 364 never came home.

I walked through Kibbutz Kfar Aza and saw the remains of bloodshed and attacks on peaceful people.

I sat across from people who survived captivity and somehow found the courage to tell us what it means to come home.

Their humanity matters.

I also met World Central Kitchen workers feeding Palestinian families in Gaza, and at Kerem Shalom, I saw the urgent work of getting food and medicine to innocent people trapped in a war they did not choose.

Their humanity matters too.

At Hadassah Medical Center, I saw perhaps the clearest reminder of all: Jewish and Arab doctors and nurses working side by side to save whoever comes through the door, because medicine does not ask who you choose whose life is worth saving. Every life is worth saving and neither should humanity.

We can mourn the victims of October 7 and demand dignity for innocent Palestinians. We can demand security for Israelis and humanitarian relief for Gaza.

When the world asks us to choose whose humanity matters, America should have the answer: Everyone's.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor America's 250th Anniversary. 250 years ago, a band of ordinary citizens, dedicated to the simple idea that all are created equal, came together and formed an enduring experiment that changed the course of history.

For 250 years, America has been a model for democracy. A global beacon of freedom, lighting the path forward for governments of, by, and for the people in every corner of our world.

For 250 years, America has been the land of opportunity. Where unions built the middle class and built an economy where all had the opportunity to succeed and create a good life for their family.

For 250 years, America's natural beauty has outshined the world. With our Great Lakes and our national parks. With our spacious skies, our amber waves of grain, and our purple mountains majesty.

For 250 years, America has been the launch pad of dreamers and doers. Henry Ford put the world on wheels. The Wright Brothers took us to the skies. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted our flag on the moon.

For 250 years, America has pushed for progress. From westward expansion to the abolition of slavery to the expansion of the right to vote. From women's suffrage to civil rights to workers' rights. From Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks, from Frances Perkins to Dolores Huerta, from Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Gloria Steinem.

For 250 years, America has not stopped at the mountaintop. America has always looked beyond, pushing toward what is next. And 250 years on, America looks pretty damn good.

Mr. Speaker, each of us takes an oath when we arrive in this storied chamber to support and defend our Constitution. Included in that oath is a promise to never give up on our shared pursuit of a more perfect union.

We will never give up on a more perfect union where all get to live with dignity no matter what zip code they grow up in or what schools they attend.

We will never give up on a more perfect union where all can freely practice their faith without fear of violence; where children and parents do not have to worry about guns; where Americans can feel safe in their homes, in their grocery stores, in their houses of worship, and in their communities.

We will never give up on a more perfect union where parents can afford to raise their kids, buy a home, take vacations, and give their family a good life.

We will never give up on a more perfect union where we invest in manufacturing, support union jobs, and fight back against giant corporations that screw workers out of fair treatment in the workplace.

We will never give up on a more perfect union where every American is equal, where all have the right to vote and have their vote count. Where the promises of our 250-year-old Declaration of Independence are upheld and preserved for current and future generations.

There is nothing that Americans cannot do when we put our in minds together and work to achieve our common goals. No star is too distant to explore, no depth too deep to discover, no disease too complex to understand, no cure too impossible to devise. Nothing is out of reach in the United States of America.

Nothing is impossible in the land of the free. Nothing can stop us from forever seeking that more perfect union.

When I think of America, I think of Michigan. And when I think of Michigan, I think of the greatest place on earth.

I wish Americans a Happy Fourth of July, Happy Independence Day, and a Happy 250th anniversary of our great country.