Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate the Kalama High School's girls soccer team for winning the Washington state 1B/2B championship. Kalama, the second seed in the tournament, defeated eighth-seeded Adna on penalty kicks after their title match remained scoreless through 90 minutes. This dramatic finish helped Kalama earn its first state championship in school history. The COVID-19 pandemic limited many of our high school athletes from competing during the 2020 season, yet these individuals persevered and demonstrated adaptability and competitiveness. For the Chinooks, those attributes paid off in a big way.

Competing in prep sports is a wonderful opportunity to learn lessons in discipline, focus, team play, work ethic, and comradery. Winning a state title is a momentous achievement this team can be proud of for the rest of their lives, and I have confidence they will find success using the lessons they learned while competing in soccer. Go Chinooks.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate the Columbia River High School's volleyball team for winning the Washington state 2A championship. After a dominant season, Columbia River defeated rival Ridgefield in four sets to claim their first state title in the sport in over 20 years. The COVID-19 pandemic limited many of our prep athletes from competing during the 2020 season, yet high school athletes like the girls on the Columbia River volleyball team have demonstrated the ability to adapt and persevere in these competitions. For the Rapids, that perseverance has paid off in a big way.

Competing in prep sports is a wonderful opportunity to learn lessons in discipline, focus, team play, work ethic, and comradery. Winning a state title is a momentous achievement this team can be proud of for the rest of their lives, and I have confidence they will find success using the lessons they learned while competing in volleyball. Go Rapids.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate the Seton Catholic High School girls cross country team for winning the Washington state 1A championship. While the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to the team's 2020 and 2021 season, the team retained its competitive edge through the challenges they faced. Winning the first state championship in school history is evidence that their perseverance has paid off!

Each member of the team contributed to their team's success at the state tournament. Alexis Leone, Lara Carrion, Avery Garrison, Sara Cordova, Virginia Carrion, and Addison Miller can all be proud of this tremendous accomplishment and cherish the memories they have made for the rest of their lives. Go Cougars.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of our bipartisan bill, the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act.

Honestly, the whole goal of this legislation is to protect a nursing mother's ability to provide for her infant by pumping at work.

And let me be clear, this is a business-friendly bill. This is current law. For those who are thinking we are shaking the Earth and doing something brand-new, it actually is current law. There were problems with the way the current law was written; it was actually put in the wrong place in code, and we are fixing that.

So the way it is currently, you could be a mom who gets into working and

you have worked your way up into a career where you are salaried and you make a decent amount of money, but you were excluded from this legislation. You didn't have the right to expect this, even though other workers did.

We are simply making some of those changes to make sure that folks who were not eligible for overtime, like that working mom, would be covered under current law.

This bill gives businesses clarity and predictability and allows small businesses to claim undue hardship exemptions in recognition of the unique challenges that they face.

Making sure our economy works is a huge priority to me, but we have to also recognize that working moms make up a significant portion--and should--of the workforce, and it is going to grow.

I thank my colleagues for improving this bill to reflect its original intent with regard to businesses, namely, differentiating between large corporations and mom-and-pop operations.

As a mom of three young kids myself, I understand finding the balance of raising kids, going to work, and just simply finding a place to pump while working.

My first child was a 28-week preemie. It was imperative for her to have breast milk; we were told this by her doctors. She could not handle formula, and they said it is imperative that you do what you can to breastfeed her. And I joke I am going to write a book called, Oh, the places I have pumped. I have pumped in trains, on planes, in automobiles, in some poor low-ranking officer's office at the Pentagon, at a kibbutz in Israel on a codel; I mean, everywhere. And I can tell you, there are places that are clean and helpful, and it doesn't have to be like the Taj Mahal; you just need something that is not crammed in a public toilet where people are flushing over you.

So on a really serious note, this is a critical piece of legislation that is going to empower women in the workforce to continue to provide for their families.

Imagine a single mother not having that choice, she has to work, and maybe she wants to provide breast milk for her child or maybe she has to in a circumstance like mine. Making sure that mothers of infants and toddlers can continue to do this in the workforce and continue to join the workforce is absolutely vital.

With women making up over half of our Nation's workforce, it is crucial that moms aren't forced to choose between going to their job or breastfeeding their child.

With the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's endorsement of this legislation, this bill seeks to help, not hinder, an employer's ability to provide a safe space for moms to pump.

I am proud to help lead this bipartisan legislation with my colleague, Congresswoman Maloney, so moms in southwest Washington and across this country can feel secure.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record letters of support from the United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation.

Chamber of Commerce

of the

United States of America,

Washington, DC, September 28, 2021.

To the Members of the U.S. House of Representative: The

U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports H.R. 3110, the

Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing

Mothers Act, as reported from the Education and Labor

Committee and as anticipated to be be improved via manager's

amendment. We hope this legislation will be further refined

as the legislative process continues to address the unique

issues related to the air travel sector.

This legislation would update the Break Time for Nursing

Mothers Act, which became law in 2010. This law amended the

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to require employers with

more than 50 employees to provide a space for mothers to

either nurse or, more likely, to express breast milk. It also

requires employers to provide reasonable breaks for workers

to nurse. Because the legislation amended the FLSA's overtime

provision, it did not cover workers exempt from overtime. It

also lacks an enforcement mechanism.

The PUMP Act would expand coverage to those workers

currently exempt and would provide workers with a remedy if

employers fail to provide accommodation or reasonable breaks.

The bill as passed by the Education and Labor Committee and

the manager's amendment would improve upon the introduced

version of H.R. 3110 in several key areas:

Employers would be allowed 10 days to improve space

allocated for nursing mothers before employees could proceed

with seeking relief from the courts. This provision would

assure that more employees can get the accommodations they

need in a timely manner rather than triggering a drawn out,

costly, and uncertain litigation process.

Department of Labor would be required to issue guidance

that is consistent with the existing information from the

Office on Women's Health of the Department of Health and

Human Services' website in order to assist employers with

compliance.

The number of employees necessary for employers to be

eligible for the hardship exemption would be made consistent

with other provisions of law.

This legislation should be improved to provide a reasonable

exemption for the air travel sector. The limitations on space

on airplanes would make compliance with this legislation

impractical and in some cases impossible. We hope this issue

is addressed as the bill makes its way through the

legislative process.

The PUMP Act is a win-win for nursing mothers and the

companies that employ them. Employers would get clarity and a

way to avoid litigation, and nursing mothers would be able to

remain in the workforce. The bill as reported by the

Education and Labor Committee and augmented by the manager's

amendment is the product of collaborative negotiations

between employers and advocates for this bill. The Chamber is

pleased to strongly support this legislation.

Sincerely,

Neil L. Bradley.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Southwest Washington resident and Lewis County Commissioner, Gary Stamper. Gary sadly passed away last week at the age of 67 after fighting a battle with COVID-19.

Gary went to school and graduated from Mossyrock High School, and eventually earned a Master's in School Administration from Heritage University.

For years, Gary devoted his life to public education--working as a principal, teacher, and coach in East Lewis county. He truly cared about his students succeeding in all aspects of life. One of his most memorable achievements was leading the Mossyrock Girls Basketball team to a state championship. Since his passing, there has been an outpouring of support from former students talking about Gary; not only as a principal, teacher, coach, but as a mentor, a role model and supporter at times in their lives when they most needed it.

It was his strong commitment to the rural communities in Lewis County for which so many people know him. Following his retirement from public education in 2014, Gary continued to serve his community as a Lewis County Commissioner.

If it was an issue that mattered to small businesses, to schools, to families or to the surrounding forests, Gary knew about it and he was a most effective advocate for it. I cherish deeply my work alongside Gary. We lost a great leader.

I'm extending my thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathies to Gary's family and friends during this difficult time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the life of Senator Dan Swecker. I had the distinct privilege of serving with Dan in the Washington State Legislature and I remain incredibly grateful for his commitment to his country, his family and the communities of Southwest Washington.

While many individuals in our region came to know Dan as a long-time elected official, his service to our nation began much earlier in life. A proud Army veteran, Dan celebrated his 21st birthday while on a combat tour in Vietnam, where he sustained injuries and for his sacrifice earned the distinguished Purple Heart.

It would be incomplete to talk about Dan's public service without mentioning that which provided him consistent strength throughout his life, his Christian faith. Dan's faith led him to become a founding member of the Centralia Christian School Foundation. It was this faith that led to a reputation as a man who would stand by his morals, even when that was not the easy thing to do.

In so many ways, Dan personified a model community member. He was a kind, and humble leader, fueled by a desire to serve his neighbors and support his community. Southwest Washington was lucky to have a leader like Dan as a part of our community.

Dan will be dearly missed by his family and many friends, and my thoughts and prayers remain with his loved ones during this difficult time.

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

Madam Speaker, first, let me commend Chairman Ryan for his cooperation on this bill. He has worked in good faith with me and my staff to include requests in this bill every step of the way, and I really appreciate it. I think it is a good model for the rest of how Congress should work, and I would work with him anytime. I want to say thank you to his staff and to the staff under Chairwoman DeLauro, Steve Marchese. I want to thank my staff, Michelle Reinshuttle for getting us to this point, although, I don't believe we are quite there yet. I am going to explain why.

Madam Speaker, I have to rise in opposition to H.R. 4346, the fiscal year 2022 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act. This bill does include some provisions that I support, including critically needed funding to address the requirements of the Capitol complex.

It provides funding that allows Members and our staff to better serve our constituents by providing better software to improve the accessibility of casework forms that our offices use to help constituents resolve problems and issues with Federal agencies. It implements measures to increase staff retention, and it allows offices to acquire new technologies to strengthen the protection and productivity of our IT infrastructure.

This bill also supports the critical mission of the Capitol Police by providing funding for additional personnel to replenish their really depleted ranks, new leadership training initiatives, and additional resources so they can continue to protect Members, staff, and visitors who come and occupy the Halls of Congress on a daily basis.

In the aftermath of an incredibly difficult and challenging year for the men and women of the Capitol Police, these measures are really an important step toward improving the police force.

However, Madam Speaker, while there are many parts of this bill that I do support, this bill, like the others that the majority has put forward, is based on what I believe is a flawed fiscal foundation. The majority is forging ahead with massive increases to nondefense spending. The bill we are considering today includes a nearly 13 percent increase over current levels. I am going to explain why that in context creates some problems. At a time of record high deficits and debt, we need, I believe, a more measured fiscal response.

In addition, the majority has also included controversial policy riders that our side of the aisle opposes. With the approach that the majority is taking with this bill--and really all of them in the appropriations packages we are considering here today--we are on the path to yet another continuing resolution. If we are to break this cycle, our majority counterparts need to be more willing to work with the minority on all the bills to create a more bipartisan support that garners more of a bipartisan thumbs up.

Furthermore, the majority has not put forward any of the Capitol Police reforms to the board that governs the Capitol Police or its leadership structure, and that is a real sticking point, Madam Speaker. Including funding to hire more officers and to get more equipment is a necessary step. I would go to bat for that any day of the week. We will never see lasting improvement to the operation of the force or officer morale without these necessary reforms. We are going to continue to see the erosion of the force until those changes are made.

As we grapple with the trillions in new spending that the majority has passed and is proposing already 6

months into this year, I want to emphasize this point, we must course correct now rather than wait until our Nation has passed the point of no return. The Democrat majority got out of the gates by pushing through a $1.9 trillion package that includes bailouts for States like California that were already raking in billions more in State revenue than was previously forecast.

My colleagues across the aisle and this administration are insisting on using reconciliation to force through $4 trillion more on a gigantic wish list.

For perspective, the spending I outlined is above and beyond the normal congressional appropriations. Specifically, it is nearly four times what the Democrats are proposing to spend on this and these appropriations bills that we are considering.

Last year when the entire Nation was grappling with COVID-related shutdowns, when hospitals were down to their last box of surgical gloves, and Congress had to step in to make sure that our health system and our communities didn't collapse, those were needed dollars. But we should not make the mistake that national emergencies like the COVID pandemic should green-light and invite further spending that is going to usher in record inflation, trillions more in debt, and, honestly, a reckless increase in spending.

I fear that some here are simply not aware of how spiking the prices are of food, of gas, and of other everyday items impacting families. Unbridled spending brings on the kind of inflation that increases prices exponentially. When we talk about saddling the next generation with crushing debt, we are talking about your kids, Madam Speaker, my kids, and their grandkids, and they are going to have to pay for these decisions.

I believe that we can do better. The funding increases in this bill I think are going to fuel that fire. I think we need to recalibrate.

Madam Speaker, for all these reasons I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this bill at this time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger), who is the distinguished ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack).

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

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to speak on the motion to recommit that the gentleman from Arkansas offered. I know it sounds like, with the majority, we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this.

I think that there are a lot of good things in this bill that I support. But the biggest challenge for me, having spent this year, like the rest of us, trying to help our families, our constituents move on through COVID, help our small businesses survive, and then starting off this year in the manner that we did and recognizing the impact on not just the Capitol campus, but the men and women who protect us, the Capitol Police, I really feel like in this bill, the Legislative Branch appropriations, there needed to be some significant reforms to some of the failures in response that we experienced.

Now, I know that there are other efforts, not related to this bill, that are looking at other actors, other players. I am setting all of that aside because I don't have control over that. But I do have a say here, with my voting card, on the Legislative Branch appropriations bill.

What is frustrating to me--and I heard, you know, my good friend from

Ohio and the Speaker mention: Well, we did this supplemental and put all of this other stuff in here for the Capitol Police. Well, there are things that were left out of that supplemental that are so crucially significant to reforms that will help prevent another January 6, and they are in the motion to recommit.

Let me explain a couple of those. One of those that we have in the Republican motion to recommit is a reform to the Capitol Police Board. We know that there was a major failure and breakdown in communication on the Capitol Police Board, which inhibited the response, the coordinated, collective response of the law enforcement here.

Talk to any police officer who bravely defended us, and they will tell you that they weren't getting clear directives in their headpieces. They will tell you that the coordination effort from the leadership broke down, and they were doing everything they could on the front lines themselves. So a rational response to that would be: Why did that break down and what can we do to fix it?

One of those things is to provide oversight, congressional oversight, over that Capitol Police Board by requiring that board, who made those decisions, who left a lot of our police officers on their own, to meet together in front of congressional committees, the committees of oversight.

As it stands now, we can't get the entire police board together in one room for a hearing. The gentleman and I--on Legislative Branch appropriations--we got to meet with different members of the police board in different hearings at different times. It was helpful. But to really correct the problem--and when you ask each of them: Where was your failing on January 6? They all do this--or they did this. There are now new actors in there.

But I look at the function of that board, and I think, okay, common sense would be to put the Architect of the Capitol, the two Sergeants at Arms, and the Capitol Police chief all on a witness panel in front of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee or the House Administration Committee or the Senate Rules Committee.

That wasn't in your supplemental, that is not in this Legislative Branch appropriations bill, or in any of President Biden's rescue plans. We do throw a lot of money at it, but we are not fixing a structural, fundamental problem that helped complicate our response.

Our motion to recommit fixes that. It simply changes the language, and it requires them to come before the committees of jurisdiction together and answer questions of oversight capacity from Members of Congress. That is a simple fix. It shouldn't be partisan. It is not in the underlying bill, and it should be. Our motion to recommit does that.

Another thing that we do in our motion to recommit to improve the underlying bill is, we require an improved and streamlined response, and we give that authority to the Capitol Police chief to call in the National Guard on a quick, developing emergency.

One of the things that we heard in the aftermath of January 6 was he said, she said. I called them in, they said they couldn't come. This person said they couldn't come. I mean, we just got very convoluted responses into why the National Guard wasn't here quickly.

Again, I recognize there are other efforts looking into other actors on that front. I am not getting into that. What I am talking about is what we have control over right here.

The underlying Legislative Branch bill does not improve that streamline process. In fact, it leaves in place the process whereby the chief of police has to go through this bureaucratic, arcane process to get permission from every member of that board before they can respond to an immediate emergency and request the National Guard. Well, that was part of the problem on January 6.

Our motion to recommit fixes that. It says that the Capitol Police chief, in an emergency, a quick, developing emergency, can call in the National Guard and have the authority to request them to come. It also has a failsafe in there that says, if the Capitol Police Board gets their act together and meets quickly and sees the issue differently, they can rescind that authority. But what it does, it is an opt-in. Automatically, the police chief has authority to call in the reserves when there is an emergency.

Just like you see where a chief in a major metropolitan area has the authority to call in things, and then they are accountable to the mayor or to the city council, but they have that authority. Right now the Capitol Police chief doesn't have that authority, that was a problem on January 6. Unfortunately, if this bill passes as it is, it will still be a problem today, 7 months later.

Again, there are things in the underlying bill that I like and support, but it is like having the salt for your steak, but you don't actually have the beef. You have got to have that sizzling steak and you add the salt to it and it is a wonderful meal. That is how I look at this.

We do want to put the money forward to make sure that we are adding to the force and we are putting in training programs and that is in this underlying bill. Those are good things. But we have to change the fundamental flaws with how the Capitol Police Board operates.

This is the Legislative Branch appropriations bill. This is the appropriate place. I would have yielded if the House Administration Committee wanted to do that. Had they done it, you wouldn't hear me piping up about it, but they haven't. It needs to be done so that we are taking responsibility for failures here on our campus that we can correct. So I urge adoption of the motion to recommit.

One more thing that I think is really significant, and this is where I differ from the gentleman from Maryland, who I also have great respect for, is the underlying bill talks about pay and making sure that we are adding more police officers to the force. I am there every day of the week and twice on Sunday. The problem is, they are going to hit a cap.

So when a police officer, which we saw in January, February, March, they would work their regular hours, and then because they were short- staffed and there weren't enough officers on the force, they would be called to work overtime. They are accruing that overtime, and at some point, they will have earned too much money to get paid all of it because there is a cap in law that says they can only make so much.

The underlying bill does not fix that cap. However, our motion to recommit does. Our motion to recommit removes that cap so that those officers who are owed that overtime, because they worked their tails off weeks on end, will be able to get that pay and not risk being furloughed as we get to the end of the year.

Again, there are good things in the underlying bill, but it is not quite good enough. We can make it better. We can make it better by adopting the motion to recommit.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.

Again, I just want to say it has been a privilege to be in this process.

You know, it is ironic to me, because the Legislative Branch appropriations bill is generally one that significantly only impacts the Capitol community. I serve an amazing district in southwest Washington, 2,500-plus miles away from this campus. Generally, the Legislative Branch appropriations bill isn't high on their radar, until this year, until we saw that there are events and there are actors who we are going to have to protect against.

We are going to have to protect the guests and the visitors. This is the people's House, and I want the people from my district to have the right and the trust to come here and feel safe, to be able to have their voices heard. That is why this bill went from kind of being one that most people didn't pay attention to, to a lot more attention, a lot more front and center.

It is such an honor and privilege to get to work on this because I believe, in a very strong spirit of bipartisanship, we can make sure that we are lifting up and girding up the Capitol Police force, making sure that the Sergeant at Arms is working together

with the Architect of the Capitol to ensure the safety and continuity of the work of the people's House.

This is the Constitution in action. It is a privilege to get to work on this. I think that we can improve this underlying bill. I think that we need to adopt the motion to recommit. I think we need to introduce some of these ideas so that we can stave off a continuing resolution in the eleventh hour.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the motion to recommit, and in its absence, I do believe we need to send this bill back in order to get it completely right. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I claim time in opposition, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the minority leader.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to speak to the amendments.

Madam Speaker, I specifically call out the gentleman from Rhode Island's amendment. It increases funding by $3.5 million for the Capitol Grounds account, and it is offset within the bill. The intent of these funds is to be used to prioritize the removal of accessibility barriers on the Capitol complex.

I am thrilled about this amendment. Parts of this building and the surrounding complex were built over 100 years ago, so, obviously, there are accessibility issues that today we are saying we are going to remove those barriers.

I commend both of the bipartisan amendments in the amendments en bloc. I urge Members to please support it. I think this does good work.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

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

Madam Speaker, I was unaware that the National Children's Museum was linking to resources that may promote critical race theory or its principles when I initially became a cosponsor. I oppose H.R. 1703 because I do not support using taxpayer dollars for these purposes.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Elaina Koenig, from Ethel, Washington for being awarded the Congressional Award Gold Medal.

Every year, the Congressional Award Foundation honors a select number of young Americans with Congress' highest honor--The Congressional Award Gold Medal. The award encourages our youth to set ambitious goals and put in the work and dedication to achieve them.

Elaina completed 800 hours to hone her skills in four areas: Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration activities. Her commitment and dedication to her goals are exactly why Elaina is being recognized for this prestigious award.

Once again, I want to congratulate Elaina on receiving this honor and I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Southwest Washington and Cathlamet resident Mark Doumit.

Sadly, Mark passed away this week at the age of 59. For decades, Mark's life had been defined by a commitment to his home community. Mark served two terms as Wahkiakum County commissioner, then as a State house member representing the 19th legislative district for 10 years.

Though he left elected office, he never abandoned public service. He served as a steady leader of the Washington Forest Protection Association for the last 15 years until his passing.

A stalwart supporter of our forests, fish, water, and our economy, Mark was never hemmed in by Democrat versus Republican politics. He was a friend and an ally to me and anyone who cared about these priorities.

I want to extend my deepest sympathies to Mark's family, friends, and

colleagues as they grapple with this profound loss. He will be dearly missed.

Madam Speaker, today, I would like to recognize Camas High School for its exemplary achievements in the 2021 American Rocketry Challenge. The Camas High School team qualified for the National Finals and competed at the highest level against other high schools across the country.

I am so proud of our students for pursuing their passions in STEM and dedicating their extra-curricular time to learning and innovating. The American Rocketry Challenge allowed the students to design, build, and launch model rockets, which exposed the team to different forms of engineering, problem solving, and teamwork. And of course, the product of all their hard work was that they reached new heights that I'm sure many thought wasn't possible. It always amazes me what our high school students are able to accomplish.

Congratulations to our Camas High School team for earning this great honor. I would like to thank the students, teachers, and parents for their commitment to STEM education in Southwest Washington.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Jonah Campbell, Clark Hegewald, and Grant Myers of Vancouver iTech Preparatory on having their National History Day project showcased by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Learning Lab.

Their project, titled ``No Need for Translation: The Apollo-Soyuz Mission'', focuses on the bilateral cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union in ending the Space Race through the construction of the first space station. The team placed particular emphasis on the unprecedented collaboration between Americans and Soviets at the height of the Cold War.

For over 40 years, National History Day has been a stellar opportunity for students across the country to engage in and expand their knowledge of American history through research-based projects. I hope that participating in National History Day has allowed these students to deepen their appreciation for the great American history that unites us all.

Once again, I want to congratulate Jonah, Clark, and Grant on a job well done.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Amanda Campbell, from Battle Ground, Washington on being awarded the Husky 100 from the University of Washington.

The University of Washington Husky 100 program recognizes 100 undergraduate and graduate students from all campuses and all areas of study who are making the most of their time at the university. Recipients of the Husky 100 are successfully connecting what happens inside the classroom to the outside, helping make a difference on campus, in their communities, and in the future--and Amanda is no exception.

Amanda is pursuing her Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy. Amanda has been a leader, a strong researcher, and a patient advocate during her studies. As a pharmacist, she hopes to break down the barriers of health care through health equity and literacy. Her current activities and goals for her future are exactly why Amanda was given this recognition.

Once again, I want to congratulate Amanda on receiving this honor and I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Nadia Siddiqui, from Vancouver, Washington for being awarded the Husky 100 from the University of Washington.

The University of Washington Husky 100 program recognizes 100 undergraduate and graduate students from all campuses and all areas of study who are making the most of their time at the university. Recipients of the Husky 100 are successfully connecting what happens inside the classroom to the outside, helping make a difference on campus, in their communities, and in the future--and Nadia is no exception.

Nadia recently received her Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering with a minor in Bioethics from the University of Washington. Nadia hopes to use bioengineering and bioethics to expand health care access through policymaking and outreach. Her activities on campus and goals for her future are exactly why Nadia was given this recognition.

Once again, I want to congratulate Nadia on receiving this honor and I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3237, the Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to January 6th Appropriations Act.

There is broad bipartisan, bicameral agreement that a security supplemental is necessary. I believe that.

The committee was actively negotiating towards legislation that could have come to the floor in that spirit. However, the majority jumped to the gate early, which leaves us with a nearly $2 billion bill with too many unresolved issues.

Agencies across six subcommittees need to be reimbursed for the events that occurred in responding to the Capitol on January 6. We agree. Repairs have to be done. Support for the Capitol Police must be provided.

But we do not need to make premature decisions before the ongoing security assessments are complete, to commit funding that goes well beyond the scope of January 6, or authorize programs without any debate.

The assessment that was done by General Honore only looked at the House side of the Capitol. That is part of the challenge, is we are funding something that is incomplete.

Madam Speaker, we would be better served by holding this until the Architect of the Capitol completes their comprehensive assessment on both sides of the Capitol complex and the entire grounds before allocating significant sums of money. This amounts to the kind of slush fund creation that heightens Americans' distrust of Congress, and we certainly do not need to militarize the Capitol to keep our Members and staff safe. We can do better.

The unilateral move by the majority will only delay much-needed reimbursements for the agencies that protect the Capitol. We need to reignite the bipartisan discussions, and we need to do it soon.

Madam Speaker, I strongly urge a ``no'' vote.

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

Madam Speaker, I have the upmost respect both for the chair of the full committee and the subcommittee, and I have really enjoyed working with him on this.

I couldn't agree more with a lot of what was said, that we need to act, and we need to do it. I have demonstrated with my actions that I am willing to support a bipartisan commission. I have been willing to hold accountable people who I see in positions of leadership.

I think my biggest challenge is that General Honore did a one-sided review of the Capitol. If you read his review, his number one requirement for all of this to work was the Capitol Police Board needs to be completely rejiggered. I don't know if he said ``wiped out.'' I am using my own term here. But it doesn't work.

In order for the gear that the Capitol Police need to work, they need to have training. In order for them to have training, they need to have leadership. In order for them to have leadership, they need to have a board that gives their chief some authority. We all know that is a problem.

Can I ask the chair of the full committee, does this bill, in any way, reform the Capitol Police Board?

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut.

Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentlewoman for her response. I would just add that we are stepping ahead of that reform by fully funding those requests, and I think that is where I am having some challenges. I am there. We are going to do this. I just think that putting funds in place to this tune of close to $2 billion, we need to know what we are going to spend that money on. We need to know that we got those reforms in place. I don't want to throw money at a situation unless we are going to reform it.

Part of the problem we saw on January 6 was the communications infrastructure. Certainly the gear. We have to deal with that. But it was so much more than that. It was the leadership. It was the leadership here. Certainly there was political leadership involved. I have spoken to that personally. That is part of the problem here. That is part of the problem with this bill, is we are putting the money there, but we are not reforming the system.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack).

I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis), the ranking member of the Committee on House Administration.

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gooden).

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

I agree with a lot of the gentlewoman's sentiment that there is no question we must support the men and women of the Capitol Police. We must provide them the equipment, the training, and, most importantly, the leadership that supports their efforts.

Can I ask why you have not put together legislation to reform the police board if it is so all-important that we do so? It has been 5 months since January 6.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), the chair of the Committee on House Administration, for the purpose of answering a question.

Reclaiming my time, Madam Speaker, I think one of my challenges is it has been 5 months, and I myself have sat in meetings with the Senate Acting Sergeant of Arms, with police officers, with the police union. I have talked with the police union president. I have talked with individuals who were there on January 6. I have put together my own timeline of these events. And to say that, 5 months later, we are going to put the money before the actual reform to me says there is a dereliction of duty from the House Administration Committee.

I mean, how many hearings have taken place on January 6 in House Administration before today? You are telling me there was a meeting yesterday?

That is absolutely unacceptable that we are going to stand here today and say that we have to do this, Madam Speaker.

Reclaiming my time, Madam Speaker, I am 100 percent in agreement that we must put the funding behind the men and women who stand between us and violence, not a question. I am there.

What frustrates me is that I am being told that if I don't vote for this today, somehow I am not standing behind our men and women in blue when the House Administration Committee should have led the way with the Honore report. It was put out months ago. They could have put these reforms in place, could have told us how this money would be spent. But they didn't. Why?

And then they say it is not bipartisan unless we do what they want? I am sorry, but this isn't my money. These are taxpayer dollars, and I want to make sure that we are not just saying we spent the money and we are not reforming the system.

For this to never happen again, those reforms need to be in place.

To me, it is a missed opportunity, and I will not stand here, Madam Speaker, to have it laid at our feet to say somehow we are not supporting the men and women in blue. I will not abide by that charge.

I believe if that is the truth, then we need to make sure that we are all doing our work in getting the reforms in place so that the money can follow. That is how this whole place is designed to work. It is in the Constitution. That is what we are supposed to do.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I agree with the Speaker of the House that we do need to trust; and we, at some point, need to rely on one another's better nature, honestly. I have been walking through that this year ad nauseam, and will continue to do so. And it is in that same spirit of comity that is part of the reason I raised this challenge. I have not been afraid to challenge my own team at all, but that is part of why I am also not afraid to challenge the other team.

If I refer back to General Honore's report, which is the basis for what we are being asked to vote on this for, under his piece, the Capitol Police Board Decision-making During Emergencies, he said: ``The Capitol Police Board's deliberate decision-making process proved too slow and cumbersome to respond to the crisis in January, delaying requests for critical supplemental resources. We recommend revisions to 2 U.S. Code 1970 and 1974 to give the USCP Chief the authority to request external law enforcement and National Guard support without CPB preapproval in extraordinary emergency circumstances. . . . `'

And he goes on to explain that.

So it is not like we have to do a lot of research to figure out what laws need to change in order to be compliant with General Honore's report. And that would give me a whole lot more--it would allow me to trust and verify that we are spending this money in the way that we should. But they are not doing it, Madam Speaker. That is what really bugs me.

We were in good negotiations trying to work this out, and all of a sudden last week, it is just done, we are not going to negotiate anymore. That is my problem.

What other pieces in this bill are not fully fleshed out?

I think it was a very important point to make that, look, I am for protecting this Capitol and the staff that serve here, and the men and women that serve here, and I will back up our police officers any day of the week and twice on Sunday, but it really bothers me that it is a priority when our security is threatened. We have got all these other emergencies around this country, things like the southern border, and we are just going to sit on it.

Madam Speaker, I am not saying hold everything back, as is being promoted. They are saying hold everything back just because we don't have everything else figured out.

Well, why don't we take the steps that we know that need to be addressed?

I mentioned the southern border. That is a crisis we know. But at least take General Honore's report and implement it, and then I wouldn't be as opposed to funding it.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gonzales).

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

Madam Speaker, I just want to say that I appreciate the debate that we have had today. I don't think any of us disagree on what we want. We want a safe and secure Capitol. We want to make sure that the people who work here are taken care of. We want to make sure that we are backfilling everything from overtime pay to mental health needs. And we want to make sure that that is all done to fix or to address some of the challenges we have had this year.

But, in addition, because we are talking about such a great sum of money and resources, I want to make sure it never happens again. There are other things that are happening alongside this. We have talked about the commission today, and we have talked about other things.

But our responsibility with this is to make sure, as appropriators, that we are spending money and we are verifying that it is being used to the best end. That is, right now, ultimately what I think we can do better with. It is true right now that the Senate, both Republicans and Democrats, are not in line with what this legislation is.

So if we take a little bit more time and we do this right, we can come out with something that we can all be proud of, that will do the job that it is intended to do.

I am very disappointed to recommend a ``no'' vote on the underlying legislation.

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