Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the Family Table Collaborative in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, is improving access to nutritious food on Cape Cod.

Under the leadership of Jeni Wheeler, Family Table Collaborative has distributed more than 200,000 fresh, nutritious meals since 2020.

A few weeks ago, I visited with Jeni and her incredible team at their kitchen, where they prepare meals from scratch each week using recovered surplus food that is perfectly good to eat but would otherwise have gone to waste. These nourishing meals go directly to people in need and are customized to meet specific dietary needs.

Family Table Collaborative stepped up last winter to ensure that families had hot, nutritious meals during a particularly grueling blizzard.

Mr. Speaker, you can't be healthy if you are hungry, and Family Table Collaborative is tackling the interconnected problems of food insecurity and poor nutrition.

Jeni and her team at the Family Table Collaborative are making Cape Cod more food secure. Their model should be supported and replicated to improve access to nutritious food and end hunger now.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota for yielding me the customary time.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is the last week the House is in session before Americans head to the polls in November. Two weeks ago, the House was scheduled to work through the end of September. Now, Republican leadership canceled the final 2 weeks. That means whatever Republicans choose to do this week, that is it.

This is the majority's big chance. They have one last shot to look the country in the eye and make the case for why they deserve another 2 years of being in the majority, and they have absolutely blown it, Mr. Speaker, because here is the thing: There is no shortage of issues Republicans could address this week.

We have an affordability crisis. The cost of everything is up, thanks to Republicans' awful economic policies. We have technology moving faster than our government's ability to protect people. We have an illegal war that is escalating overseas.

There is a lot that we could be doing, but, instead, Republicans have us debating things I think most Americans would agree will do nothing to help them. There are fraud bills. Give me a break. The President of the United States pardoned fraudster after fraudster after fraudster, and you guys say nothing.

He rolled back the rules that protect the quality of our air, and you guys say nothing. I have to be honest. If this is their closing argument to the American people, lots of luck with that. Take this message home to every district in America. Good luck with that. That is because everyday people are opening their electric bills. They are filling up their cars. They are renewing their leases, and they are standing in grocery stores doing math in their heads deciding what goes in the cart and what goes back on the shelf. Every day they are wondering what the hell Congress is doing to help them.

Today's rule makes it clear: Republicans will do almost anything except lower costs for American families.

The national average for gasoline today is more than $4.31 a gallon. Diesel is more than $6.23 a gallon, the highest national average AAA has ever, ever, ever recorded. Now let me repeat that: Diesel costs are more now than ever before in history.

Energy prices are up more than 16 percent over last year. Food prices are still climbing. Nearly 50 million people don't know where their next meal will come from in this country, and inflation is running at 3.4 percent, though I personally believe the rate is probably higher than this administration is willing to admit.

That is what people are dealing with right now. Americans know that this economy is lousy. Wall Street, the billionaires, the CEOs, and the Mar-a-Lago class are doing better than ever, but for regular people, $50 buys less food than it used to. Filling your truck's gas tank costs another $20 or $30. The rent is going up. Insurance is going up. Everything is going up. For regular people, this economy sucks.

Mr. Speaker, you would think that Republicans would want to do something about it.

Where is the response to the tariffs that American businesses and consumers are ultimately having to absorb?

Trump's trade war with Canada is killing tourism. It is killing our farmers and our small businesses, including in the gentlewoman's district in Minnesota right now.

Why isn't she worried about that?

Where is the Republican bill to lower costs?

Where is the legislation dealing with the price of housing or providing relief at the gas pump?

Where is the serious effort to bring down health costs?

That is the disconnect that people are frustrated with. Congress has limited time. Floor time is valuable, and when families are getting squeezed this badly, they have every right to expect that their government will treat the cost of living like an emergency.

We can just add this: There are no opportunities for us to make any of this better, even if we tried. This is the 172nd closed rule that Republicans are bringing to the floor this Congress. No amendments are allowed. No amendments are allowed. Take it or leave it. This process is lousy, and this rule is garbage.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I can't believe Republicans would dare raise the issue of fraud or say that somehow Democrats aren't doing enough to combat fraud when the fraud that we all know exists is sitting right in the Oval Office.

This President has pardoned enough people that cumulatively would have contributed $2 billion back to consumers and taxpayers who they ripped off. He pardoned all of them.

How did they get pardoned?

They paid to get pardoned. That is the way this place works around here. We have seen this pay-to-play game going on which is disgusting.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you some of the people who have been pardoned, these fraudsters who have been pardoned: George Santos, wire fraud; Ross William Ulbricht, pardoned for fraud with identification documents.

Rod Blagojevich was pardoned. He had eight counts of wire fraud under color of official right.

Brian Kelsey was pardoned. He was basically convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Devon Archer, another fraudster, conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Trevor Milton, securities fraud, two counts of wire fraud.

Jason Galanis, two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, investment adviser fraud.

Carlos Roy Watson, cofounder of Ozy Media, Inc., conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, pardoned.

Michele Fiore, six counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, guilty of wire fraud. She was pardoned.

Another fraudster, Scott Howard Jenkins, conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds, honest services mail fraud, and honest services wire fraud, honest services mail fraud, three counts of honest services wire fraud, pardoned.

Julie Chrisley, five counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue laws.

Todd Chrisley was pardoned on conspiracy to commit five counts of bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. to obstruct and impede the internal revenue laws.

Lawrence S. Duran: Conspiracy to commit 11 counts of healthcare fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive and pay healthcare kickbacks. Again, pardoned by Donald Trump.

I have pages here, and I am happy to walk them over to the gentlewoman so she can see for herself. How do you defend this when you go home to your district? How do you defend this to people who are right now struggling to pay grocery bills and to say, hey, all these rich people, all these fraudsters, got pardoned by the President of the United States.

What is the Republican response? Nothing. Not a peep. Not a word. You don't say anything. Don't lecture us on fraud. You have no standing.

What is going on right now with the pardoning of these people is disgusting. I don't know how many of you saw ``60 Minutes'' the other night. They did a big piece on the pay-to-play schemes that are going on, where 9 to 10 of the people who are being pardoned don't even go to the Justice Department. They make a side deal. They donate to this cause or that cause, or they make a big political contribution, and guess what. They get pardoned. They get pardoned.

I am sorry. People are sick of the Mar-a-Lago class living by one set of rules and everybody else by a different set of rules. It is time to restore some integrity in our government. You want to get serious about fraud, then you have to focus on fraud that is going on in the Oval Office.

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

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

That is kind of the problem around here. People just read talking points and, again, not a word in response to all of these fraudsters that Donald Trump pardoned, as the gentlewoman leaves and tries to not address any of this stuff. I understand it because this is indefensible.

The taxpayers of this country have been denied over $2 billion in compensation because of these fraudsters

getting pardoned. These pay-to-play schemes are indefensible. Again, I don't want to hear any lectures about fraud from that side. You guys are enabling this fraud to happen on a regular basis. It is right in our faces. Everybody can see it, and it is disgusting.

Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of H.R. 10032, the No Payoffs for Pardons Act, which would prevent President Trump, or any future President, from giving out pardons in exchange for money, bribes, or political favors.

Mr. Speaker, our Founding Fathers gave the President the pardon power as a last-ditch safeguard against injustice, not as a tool for self- enrichment or political favoritism.

President Trump is handing out pardons like he is running a for- profit business, letting millionaires and Republican allies out of jail for crimes like Medicare fraud, crypto money laundering, and tax evasion.

In one case, he even pardoned a longtime Republican political ally named Michele Fiore in Nevada after she stole money earmarked for a statue to honor a slain police officer. She used that money for her plastic surgery. She deserves a pardon? What the hell is wrong with you people? This is crazy. This is insane.

If any Republican is brave enough to publicly agree that this corruption must end, I urge you to vote with Democrats to defeat the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle), the chairman of the House Administration Committee and the sponsor of this proposal.

Mr. Speaker, the speakers before the gentleman didn't address the fraud. The gentleman just defended it, and I am shocked. I am just stunned by the defense of this.

We want to go after fraud wherever it may occur, but what we are simply saying is that, right before our eyes, we have a President who is pardoning fraudsters.

I will read some more names:

Robert Henry Harshbarger, Jr., guilty of healthcare fraud, pardoned by Donald Trump--the gentleman is leaving; he doesn't want to hear it, and I get it; Joseph Lewis, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, pardoned by Donald Trump; and David Gentile, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, security fraud, two counts of wire fraud, pardoned by Donald Trump.

Here is the deal: It has caused victims to lose over $2 billion in compensation. That may not mean anything to the gentleman or to the Republicans, but people who have been screwed over by these fraudsters deserve compensation. Now, those victims don't get any compensation because Donald Trump pardoned everybody.

I can go on. I have pages of names here, of fraudsters that he has pardoned. I will read a couple more: Adriana Isabel Camberos, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, and aiding and abetting; Julio M. Herrera Velutini, two counts of honest-services wire fraud; and David Levy, conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

I have pages of names here, of people who have been pardoned, and as a result of their pardons, victims have lost billions and billions of dollars in compensation.

There is not a word from my friends on the other side who are afraid to offend Donald Trump in any way because he might want retribution. We are supposed to be Members of Congress here. We are supposed to uphold the Constitution. We are supposed to do the

work that our constituents sent us here to do, not to cover up for activity, quite frankly, that is unconscionable.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many other things that we should be working on this week to help the American people, and the Republicans have just kind of walked away from that.

I want to take a moment and specifically talk about an actual emergency that we find ourselves in. Last week, a handful of AI safety researchers publicly sounded the alarm on the very real existential threat superintelligent AI poses to the future of humanity. There are credible claims that these major AI firms estimate a greater than 10- percent chance that AI could cause human extinction within a decade. Let me repeat that: There are credible claims that these major AI firms estimate a greater than 10-percent chance that AI could cause human extinction within a decade.

I don't know about my Republican colleagues, but I think that is a big deal. That makes me concerned.

Let's pause for a moment. We are talking about a greater than 10- percent chance we could all be dead soon if we don't do something to radically change the way we regulate and oversee AI.

The craziest part of all of this is that tech CEOs agree that their companies need to slow down before AI spirals out of control. They are calling on this government to help them do it. Anthropic's CEO, OpenAI's CEO, and even Grok's CEO, Elon Musk, agree that the government must step up to increase oversight of their companies. I don't necessarily trust these guys as far as I can throw them. Maybe they are calling our bluff. Either way, we clearly need to act.

What is the response from House Republicans and from this President when they hear these things: nothing, nothing, not a damn thing. The Speaker of the House is sending Congress home 2 weeks early. Trump is saying that communities that do not want data centers will end up ``backwards and poor.'' I mean, he actually said that.

I mean, seriously, these data centers are driving up energy costs. Big tech is making record profits. We have an existential threat from AI. People are begging us for action.

What has the President done? He said data centers are great. What has Congress done? Not a damn thing, nothing. The Speaker is sending us home early, so we don't even have an opportunity to maybe debate these issues or come up with some sensible regulation, nothing.

I think we need a national moratorium on these data centers. We need to immediately stop construction until Congress passes comprehensive legislation. People are begging us to take this on with full force.

Donald Trump's response is to write them off entirely, to insult them, to defend the ultrawealthy who are getting rich off AI at the expense of the rest of us and our future.

Get this: Just yesterday, Trump said that the only guardrail we need for AI is ``a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.'' I mean, let that sink in.

Well, I hate to break it to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don't have one of those. We don't have one of those, nor do we have a high-functioning Republican majority. If anything, Republicans here in the House of Representatives are more interested in jetting off to their next vacation than they are in solving the AI crisis or any other problem, for that matter.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, before we finish, I want to bring this debate back to something very basic and speak directly to the American people. Are you better off now than you were 2 years ago? I think most people would say they are worse off, and the numbers back that up.

When Trump came into office on January 20, 2025, the national average for a gallon of gas was about $3.12. Today, it is more than $4.31. Diesel, the fuel that moves our food, building materials, packages, almost everything we buy, is now above $6.23 a gallon. That is the most expensive it has ever been in the history of the United States of America.

The annual inflation rate was 3 percent when this administration began. The latest number is 3.4 percent. Again, I think that is an undercount. Americans are estimated to have spent nearly $2,000 more last year, thanks to Trump's stupid tariffs and his illegal war.

That is why I find the conversation Republicans want to have today so disconnected from what is happening outside this building. I mean, we hear enormous promises. For example, Trump is promising $5,000 payments to American adults after the election if Republicans win, and only if Republicans win. Even Speaker Johnson has acknowledged that such payments would require congressional approval.

Needless to say, these $5,000 checks are never going to happen. We all know that, but I guess that is to be expected from a President who is the king of broken promises.

Trump said he would release the Epstein files, and then he did everything he could to hide them from the public, likely because he and his administration knows he is in them. Again, where is the pressure from the Republican leadership on the Epstein files? Nothing. It takes my breath away how my Republican friends just kind of turn their backs on what the right thing to do is.

Trump said he would end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours. That is what he said directly. That was clearly untrue. This is now year four of a full-scale conflict.

He said he would end wars, not start wars. Yet we are over 6\1/2\ months into the war with Iran, and nobody believes there is an end in sight.

He said he would balance the Federal budget. Because of the tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and because of this unpaid, reckless, illegal war, the debt just surpassed $40 trillion, and not a peep from Republicans. They don't care.

He said he would end inflation and lower prices ``on day one.'' Inflation is up. Prices are up. The economy has only gotten worse.

The trouble with these lies, Mr. Speaker, is that some people believe them. Some families may hear the President promise them $5,000 and then actually plan around that money. Maybe they are now planning to get that medical procedure they otherwise could not afford or believe that they will finally be able to pay rent or pay off their credit card and have enough food to feed their family for the next month.

They want to believe that when the President of the United States says something, that it is truthful, and we all know that they can't rely on that because he has broken promise after promise after promise.

It is wrong to make an empty promise like that. It is just cruel when the economy is this bad. There is no $5,000 check in this rule. There could be if Republicans think it is such a good idea. They could have done that if they wanted to, but they didn't. There is nothing about that.

There isn't a bill to bring down food prices in this rule or to address the housing crisis or to help people afford basic, everyday things. I don't know what the gentlewoman hears when she goes home, but I hear about the cost of living all the time. I hear about issues of affordability all the time, and constituents are asking me when Congress is going to do something.

They don't want to hear anymore about building a ballroom or an Arc de Trump or about a reflecting pool. They want to know when their grocery prices are going to go down.

This majority should be judged by what it actually puts on the floor, not by slogans, not by promises, not by press conferences, or what somebody says might happen someday. That day is today.

Republicans are in complete control. They have the House, the Senate, and the White House. They could do something right now to help people if they wanted to. The thing is, they don't care. They don't care that people are hurting.

The acceptance of cruelty is how one can characterize these policies that are going into effect that cut Medicaid by $1 trillion and cut SNAP by $200 billion. It is astounding. It takes my

breath away, but that much is made clear by their agenda this week.

They would rather waste time on rotten bills and go home for a month than to fight the necessary battles here in the Capitol to actually help folks.

We need an economy, Mr. Speaker, where getting to work doesn't break the budget, where buying groceries doesn't require a calculator or getting sick doesn't mean going into debt, and where an honest day's work is enough to build a decent life. It is definitely not too much to ask for. It just isn't. That ought to be the standard around here.

We ought to be coming to work to help the American people, yet Republicans time and time again fail to meet that mark. The American people see through the blatant corruption and the outright lies that Washington has become known for. It is time to hold this President, and especially the Republicans here in Congress, responsible for steering our economy off a cliff and driving our country into the ground.

Come November, I really do hope and pray for the sake of our future and for the sake of our country that we are going to correct course.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, the Family Table Collaborative in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, is improving access to nutritious food on Cape Cod.

Under the leadership of Jeni Wheeler, Family Table Collaborative has distributed more than 200,000 fresh, nutritious meals since 2020.

A few weeks ago, I visited with Jeni and her incredible team at their kitchen, where they prepare meals from scratch each week using recovered surplus food that is perfectly good to eat but would otherwise have gone to waste. These nourishing meals go directly to people in need and are customized to meet specific dietary needs.

Family Table Collaborative stepped up last winter to ensure that families had hot, nutritious meals during a particularly grueling blizzard.

Mr. Speaker, you can't be healthy if you are hungry, and Family Table Collaborative is tackling the interconnected problems of food insecurity and poor nutrition.

Jeni and her team at the Family Table Collaborative are making Cape Cod more food secure. Their model should be supported and replicated to improve access to nutritious food and end hunger now.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota for yielding me the customary time.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is the last week the House is in session before Americans head to the polls in November. Two weeks ago, the House was scheduled to work through the end of September. Now, Republican leadership canceled the final 2 weeks. That means whatever Republicans choose to do this week, that is it.

This is the majority's big chance. They have one last shot to look the country in the eye and make the case for why they deserve another 2 years of being in the majority, and they have absolutely blown it, Mr. Speaker, because here is the thing: There is no shortage of issues Republicans could address this week.

We have an affordability crisis. The cost of everything is up, thanks to Republicans' awful economic policies. We have technology moving faster than our government's ability to protect people. We have an illegal war that is escalating overseas.

There is a lot that we could be doing, but, instead, Republicans have us debating things I think most Americans would agree will do nothing to help them. There are fraud bills. Give me a break. The President of the United States pardoned fraudster after fraudster after fraudster, and you guys say nothing.

He rolled back the rules that protect the quality of our air, and you guys say nothing. I have to be honest. If this is their closing argument to the American people, lots of luck with that. Take this message home to every district in America. Good luck with that. That is because everyday people are opening their electric bills. They are filling up their cars. They are renewing their leases, and they are standing in grocery stores doing math in their heads deciding what goes in the cart and what goes back on the shelf. Every day they are wondering what the hell Congress is doing to help them.

Today's rule makes it clear: Republicans will do almost anything except lower costs for American families.

The national average for gasoline today is more than $4.31 a gallon. Diesel is more than $6.23 a gallon, the highest national average AAA has ever, ever, ever recorded. Now let me repeat that: Diesel costs are more now than ever before in history.

Energy prices are up more than 16 percent over last year. Food prices are still climbing. Nearly 50 million people don't know where their next meal will come from in this country, and inflation is running at 3.4 percent, though I personally believe the rate is probably higher than this administration is willing to admit.

That is what people are dealing with right now. Americans know that this economy is lousy. Wall Street, the billionaires, the CEOs, and the Mar-a-Lago class are doing better than ever, but for regular people, $50 buys less food than it used to. Filling your truck's gas tank costs another $20 or $30. The rent is going up. Insurance is going up. Everything is going up. For regular people, this economy sucks.

Mr. Speaker, you would think that Republicans would want to do something about it.

Where is the response to the tariffs that American businesses and consumers are ultimately having to absorb?

Trump's trade war with Canada is killing tourism. It is killing our farmers and our small businesses, including in the gentlewoman's district in Minnesota right now.

Why isn't she worried about that?

Where is the Republican bill to lower costs?

Where is the legislation dealing with the price of housing or providing relief at the gas pump?

Where is the serious effort to bring down health costs?

That is the disconnect that people are frustrated with. Congress has limited time. Floor time is valuable, and when families are getting squeezed this badly, they have every right to expect that their government will treat the cost of living like an emergency.

We can just add this: There are no opportunities for us to make any of this better, even if we tried. This is the 172nd closed rule that Republicans are bringing to the floor this Congress. No amendments are allowed. No amendments are allowed. Take it or leave it. This process is lousy, and this rule is garbage.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I can't believe Republicans would dare raise the issue of fraud or say that somehow Democrats aren't doing enough to combat fraud when the fraud that we all know exists is sitting right in the Oval Office.

This President has pardoned enough people that cumulatively would have contributed $2 billion back to consumers and taxpayers who they ripped off. He pardoned all of them.

How did they get pardoned?

They paid to get pardoned. That is the way this place works around here. We have seen this pay-to-play game going on which is disgusting.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you some of the people who have been pardoned, these fraudsters who have been pardoned: George Santos, wire fraud; Ross William Ulbricht, pardoned for fraud with identification documents.

Rod Blagojevich was pardoned. He had eight counts of wire fraud under color of official right.

Brian Kelsey was pardoned. He was basically convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Devon Archer, another fraudster, conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Trevor Milton, securities fraud, two counts of wire fraud.

Jason Galanis, two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, investment adviser fraud.

Carlos Roy Watson, cofounder of Ozy Media, Inc., conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, pardoned.

Michele Fiore, six counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, guilty of wire fraud. She was pardoned.

Another fraudster, Scott Howard Jenkins, conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds, honest services mail fraud, and honest services wire fraud, honest services mail fraud, three counts of honest services wire fraud, pardoned.

Julie Chrisley, five counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue laws.

Todd Chrisley was pardoned on conspiracy to commit five counts of bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. to obstruct and impede the internal revenue laws.

Lawrence S. Duran: Conspiracy to commit 11 counts of healthcare fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive and pay healthcare kickbacks. Again, pardoned by Donald Trump.

I have pages here, and I am happy to walk them over to the gentlewoman so she can see for herself. How do you defend this when you go home to your district? How do you defend this to people who are right now struggling to pay grocery bills and to say, hey, all these rich people, all these fraudsters, got pardoned by the President of the United States.

What is the Republican response? Nothing. Not a peep. Not a word. You don't say anything. Don't lecture us on fraud. You have no standing.

What is going on right now with the pardoning of these people is disgusting. I don't know how many of you saw ``60 Minutes'' the other night. They did a big piece on the pay-to-play schemes that are going on, where 9 to 10 of the people who are being pardoned don't even go to the Justice Department. They make a side deal. They donate to this cause or that cause, or they make a big political contribution, and guess what. They get pardoned. They get pardoned.

I am sorry. People are sick of the Mar-a-Lago class living by one set of rules and everybody else by a different set of rules. It is time to restore some integrity in our government. You want to get serious about fraud, then you have to focus on fraud that is going on in the Oval Office.

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

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

That is kind of the problem around here. People just read talking points and, again, not a word in response to all of these fraudsters that Donald Trump pardoned, as the gentlewoman leaves and tries to not address any of this stuff. I understand it because this is indefensible.

The taxpayers of this country have been denied over $2 billion in compensation because of these fraudsters getting pardoned. These pay- to-play schemes are indefensible. Again, I don't want to hear any lectures about fraud from that side. You guys are enabling this fraud to happen on a regular basis. It is right in our faces. Everybody can see it, and it is disgusting.

Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of H.R. 10032, the No Payoffs for Pardons Act, which would prevent President Trump, or any future President, from giving out pardons in exchange for money, bribes, or political favors.

Mr. Speaker, our Founding Fathers gave the President the pardon power as a last-ditch safeguard against injustice, not as a tool for self- enrichment or political favoritism.

President Trump is handing out pardons like he is running a for- profit business, letting millionaires and Republican allies out of jail for crimes like Medicare fraud, crypto money laundering, and tax evasion.

In one case, he even pardoned a longtime Republican political ally named Michele Fiore in Nevada after she stole money earmarked for a statue to honor a slain police officer. She used that money for her plastic surgery. She deserves a pardon? What the hell is wrong with you people? This is crazy. This is insane.

If any Republican is brave enough to publicly agree that this corruption must end, I urge you to vote with Democrats to defeat the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle), the chairman of the House Administration Committee and the sponsor of this proposal.

Mr. Speaker, the speakers before the gentleman didn't address the fraud. The gentleman just defended it, and I am shocked. I am just stunned by the defense of this.

We want to go after fraud wherever it may occur, but what we are simply saying is that, right before our eyes, we have a President who is pardoning fraudsters.

I will read some more names:

Robert Henry Harshbarger, Jr., guilty of healthcare fraud, pardoned by Donald Trump--the gentleman is leaving; he doesn't want to hear it, and I get it; Joseph Lewis, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, pardoned by Donald Trump; and David Gentile, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, security fraud, two counts of wire fraud, pardoned by Donald Trump.

Here is the deal: It has caused victims to lose over $2 billion in compensation. That may not mean anything to the gentleman or to the Republicans, but people who have been screwed over by these fraudsters deserve compensation. Now, those victims don't get any compensation because Donald Trump pardoned everybody.

I can go on. I have pages of names here, of fraudsters that he has pardoned. I will read a couple more: Adriana Isabel Camberos, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, and aiding and abetting; Julio M. Herrera Velutini, two counts of honest-services wire fraud; and David Levy, conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

I have pages of names here, of people who have been pardoned, and as a result of their pardons, victims have lost billions and billions of dollars in compensation.

There is not a word from my friends on the other side who are afraid to offend Donald Trump in any way because he might want retribution. We are supposed to be Members of Congress here. We are supposed to uphold the Constitution. We are supposed to do the work that our constituents sent us here to do, not to cover up for activity, quite frankly, that is unconscionable.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many other things that we should be working on this week to help the American people, and the Republicans have just kind of walked away from that.

I want to take a moment and specifically talk about an actual emergency that we find ourselves in. Last week, a handful of AI safety researchers publicly sounded the alarm on the very real existential threat superintelligent AI poses to the future of humanity. There are credible claims that these major AI firms estimate a greater than 10- percent chance that AI could cause human extinction within a decade. Let me repeat that: There are credible claims that these major AI firms estimate a greater than 10-percent chance that AI could cause human extinction within a decade.

I don't know about my Republican colleagues, but I think that is a big deal. That makes me concerned.

Let's pause for a moment. We are talking about a greater than 10- percent chance we could all be dead soon if we don't do something to radically change the way we regulate and oversee AI.

The craziest part of all of this is that tech CEOs agree that their companies need to slow down before AI spirals out of control. They are calling on this government to help them do it. Anthropic's CEO, OpenAI's CEO, and even Grok's CEO, Elon Musk, agree that the government must step up to increase oversight of their companies. I don't necessarily trust these guys as far as I can throw them. Maybe they are calling our bluff. Either way, we clearly need to act.

What is the response from House Republicans and from this President when they hear these things: nothing, nothing, not a damn thing. The Speaker of the House is sending Congress home 2 weeks early. Trump is saying that communities that do not want data centers will end up ``backwards and poor.'' I mean, he actually said that.

I mean, seriously, these data centers are driving up energy costs. Big tech is making record profits. We have an existential threat from AI. People are begging us for action.

What has the President done? He said data centers are great. What has Congress done? Not a damn thing, nothing. The Speaker is sending us home early, so we don't even have an opportunity to maybe debate these issues or come up with some sensible regulation, nothing.

I think we need a national moratorium on these data centers. We need to immediately stop construction until Congress passes comprehensive legislation. People are begging us to take this on with full force.

Donald Trump's response is to write them off entirely, to insult them, to defend the ultrawealthy who are getting rich off AI at the expense of the rest of us and our future.

Get this: Just yesterday, Trump said that the only guardrail we need for AI is ``a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.'' I mean, let that sink in.

Well, I hate to break it to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don't have one of those. We don't have one of those, nor do we have a high-functioning Republican majority. If anything, Republicans here in the House of Representatives are more interested in jetting off to their next vacation than they are in solving the AI crisis or any other problem, for that matter.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, before we finish, I want to bring this debate back to something very basic and speak directly to the American people. Are you better off now than you were 2 years ago? I think most people would say they are worse off, and the numbers back that up.

When Trump came into office on January 20, 2025, the national average for a gallon of gas was about $3.12. Today, it is more than $4.31. Diesel, the fuel that moves our food, building materials, packages, almost everything we buy, is now above $6.23 a gallon. That is the most expensive it has ever been in the history of the United States of America.

The annual inflation rate was 3 percent when this administration began. The latest number is 3.4 percent. Again, I think that is an undercount. Americans are estimated to have spent nearly $2,000 more last year, thanks to Trump's stupid tariffs and his illegal war.

That is why I find the conversation Republicans want to have today so disconnected from what is happening outside this building. I mean, we hear enormous promises. For example, Trump is promising $5,000 payments to American adults after the election if Republicans win, and only if Republicans win. Even Speaker Johnson has acknowledged that such payments would require congressional approval.

Needless to say, these $5,000 checks are never going to happen. We all know that, but I guess that is to be expected from a President who is the king of broken promises.

Trump said he would release the Epstein files, and then he did everything he could to hide them from the public, likely because he and his administration knows he is in them. Again, where is the pressure from the Republican leadership on the Epstein files? Nothing. It takes my breath away how my Republican friends just kind of turn their backs on what the right thing to do is.

Trump said he would end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours. That is what he said directly. That was clearly untrue. This is now year four of a full-scale conflict.

He said he would end wars, not start wars. Yet we are over 6\1/2\ months into the war with Iran, and nobody believes there is an end in sight.

He said he would balance the Federal budget. Because of the tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and because of this unpaid, reckless, illegal war, the debt just surpassed $40 trillion, and not a peep from Republicans. They don't care.

He said he would end inflation and lower prices ``on day one.'' Inflation is up. Prices are up. The economy has only gotten worse.

The trouble with these lies, Mr. Speaker, is that some people believe them. Some families may hear the President promise them $5,000 and then actually plan around that money. Maybe they are now planning to get that medical procedure they otherwise could not afford or believe that they will finally be able to pay rent or pay off their credit card and have enough food to feed their family for the next month.

They want to believe that when the President of the United States says something, that it is truthful, and we all know that they can't rely on that because he has broken promise after promise after promise.

It is wrong to make an empty promise like that. It is just cruel when the economy is this bad. There is no $5,000 check in this rule. There could be if Republicans think it is such a good idea. They could have done that if they wanted to, but they didn't. There is nothing about that.

There isn't a bill to bring down food prices in this rule or to address the housing crisis or to help people afford basic, everyday things. I don't know what the gentlewoman hears when she goes home, but I hear about the cost of living all the time. I hear about issues of affordability all the time, and constituents are asking me when Congress is going to do something.

They don't want to hear anymore about building a ballroom or an Arc de Trump or about a reflecting pool. They want to know when their grocery prices are going to go down.

This majority should be judged by what it actually puts on the floor, not by slogans, not by promises, not by press conferences, or what somebody says might happen someday. That day is today.

Republicans are in complete control. They have the House, the Senate, and the White House. They could do something right now to help people if they wanted to. The thing is, they don't care. They don't care that people are hurting.

The acceptance of cruelty is how one can characterize these policies that are going into effect that cut Medicaid by $1 trillion and cut SNAP by $200 billion. It is astounding. It takes my breath away, but that much is made clear by their agenda this week.

They would rather waste time on rotten bills and go home for a month than to fight the necessary battles here in the Capitol to actually help folks.

We need an economy, Mr. Speaker, where getting to work doesn't break the budget, where buying groceries doesn't require a calculator or getting sick doesn't mean going into debt, and where an honest day's work is enough to build a decent life. It is definitely not too much to ask for. It just isn't. That ought to be the standard around here.

We ought to be coming to work to help the American people, yet Republicans time and time again fail to meet that mark. The American people see through the blatant corruption and the outright lies that Washington has become known for. It is time to hold this President, and especially the Republicans here in Congress, responsible for steering our economy off a cliff and driving our country into the ground.

Come November, I really do hope and pray for the sake of our future and for the sake of our country that we are going to correct course.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of John Francis ``Jack'' Houton--a proud Bostonian, Navy veteran, attorney, longtime public servant, devoted family man, and my friend.

I had the privilege of knowing Jack for many years. We shared Red Sox games, stories about Boston politics, and plenty of conversations about public service. He was part of a generation of Massachusetts public servants who believed deeply in government as a force for good--and who understood that serving others was never about getting credit.

Jack was born and raised in Dorchester, the son of Irish immigrants from County Donegal, Ireland. He became the first in his family to attend college, graduating from Boston College before earning a commission as an officer in the United States Navy. He served six years on active duty and later retired from the Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant Commander.

When his time in uniform ended, his service continued. Jack went on to earn his law degree and build a distinguished career in Massachusetts public life. He served as Special Assistant to Boston Mayor John F. Collins, worked with Boston's arts community, served as Clerk of the Massachusetts House Committee on Rules, and later as an Assistant Attorney General under Robert H. Quinn.

Jack's contribution to his community extended far beyond any job title. Throughout his life, he remained involved in civic affairs, libraries, historic preservation, theater, charitable organizations, and the arts. He was endlessly curious, deeply engaged, and always ready for a conversation about Boston, politics, Ireland, literature, the Red Sox, or the sea.

What I will remember most is the man himself: his warmth, humor, his wisdom, and his friendship. Above all, Jack loved his family. He is survived by his beloved wife, Ellen; his eight

children; fourteen grandchildren; his sister, Roseleen; and a large extended family.

Massachusetts is stronger because of people like Jack Houton--people who spend their lives quietly showing up, serving their communities, and leaving things a little better than they found them.

I extend my deepest condolences to Jack's family and all who loved him. I thank my friend Jack for a life of service, friendship, and purpose.

Fair winds and following seas, my friend.

Mr. Speaker, over the August recess, I had the pleasure of visiting the incredible work being done by Verde Vida at their La Casita site and popup market at an elementary school in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City.

Across multiple school-based sites in the city, Verde Vida and their partners work to rescue and repurpose perfectly good but unused fresh produce to distribute to families in need.

Along with my colleague Congressman Adriano Espaillat, we got to visit with students participating in summer programming at the Magnet School of Inquiry and Expression.

Students had the opportunity to pick out healthy snacks at La Casita's community fridge and then fill a bag of fresh fruits and veggies to bring home to their families. Seeing the kids' excitement over choosing fun and healthy snacks brought a huge smile to my face.

Mr. Speaker, we ought to be uplifting more innovative models like Verde Vida that address food waste, promote nutrition and learning, and are rooted in trusted community spaces.

We can and should end hunger now.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for organizing this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump calls himself the President of peace. He has failed spectacularly to live up to that self-proclaimed title. I am not just talking about his illegal intervention in Venezuela, or his campaign of extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean, or his disastrous, costly, and illegal war with Iran.

I am talking about the seeds of conflict his administration helped to sow by destroying USAID and firing some of the most dedicated public servants that have ever served in any government in the world.

USAID saved lives, fought hunger, and strengthened democracy. It prevented problems that started overseas from finding their way back to us. It wasn't a perfect institution--none are--but through its work, the American people tried to make life better for our neighbors.

Let me give you an example. In Colombia, where 50 years of conflict left hundreds of thousands dead and millions more displaced, USAID was helping implement the historic 2016 peace accords.

The Colombian people staked their lives on the success of the accords. Helping them keep the peace is the moral and smart thing to do.

By helping campesinos stop growing coca and transition to planting legal crops, USAID reduced the supply of illicit drugs in our hemisphere. By helping strengthen Colombian institutions, USAID helped to stabilize a major U.S. partner. By helping tens of thousands of Venezuelans find refuge in Colombia,

USAID reduced the number of migrants seeking assistance at our own borders.

Mr. Speaker, USAID accomplished all of that for a fraction of a percent of the Federal budget. Not long ago, Members on both sides of the aisle willingly recognized the benefits of investing in foreign aid.

Then-Senator Rubio was among them. In 2021, he sent a letter to the Biden administration urging them to robustly support the Colombian peace process through the State Department and USAID. He said that the investment in the security and rights of the Colombian people ``must continue to transcend party affiliation and political philosophy.''

Last week, Colombia's new President, who is backed by Marco Rubio and Donald Trump, declared an end to the peace process--an end to the peace process. He envisions a future of mega prisons and mass incarceration in his country. That is not peace or security. That is tyranny.

Mr. Speaker, true peace--peace in which all people can enjoy the fundamental rights they are guaranteed--is difficult to achieve, but it is worth the investment.

Mr. Speaker, we must dedicate the power of our government to building a future where we can live as good neighbors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Sophie Shirley Shefts on the wonderful occasion of her 95th birthday.

Shirley was born September 10, 1931, to Greek and Turkish immigrant parents. A daughter of the depression, she was delivered on the kitchen table of a fourth-floor walkup on Orchard Street in New York City and spent her first year cradled in a dresser drawer.

Raised in the South Bronx as the second of four daughters, Shirley was an honor student and given the opportunity to attend college. But when her father became disabled, she instead went to work at Emerson Radio to help support her family.

The love of her life, Sam, was the boy next door. They met as kids and were married for nearly 73 years, until Sam's passing in 2024. Together they raised three daughters--Janet, Mindy, and Nancy--with Shirley holding the family together at home while Sam worked to provide for them. Later, she worked in an art gallery with one of her best friends, Aphro, who turns 100 this year.

Shirley was active in the United Order of True Sisters, a historic women's philanthropic organization that has raised millions of dollars since 1947 for cancer research, patient care, and specialized children's cancer camps.

Today, Shirley is the matriarch of a family spanning four generations. Her granddaughter Sofi--whom she nicknamed ``Sweetakins''--is the apple of her eye.

In retirement, Shirley and Sam moved to Florida, where she still lives in Boynton Beach. She remains a devoted lifelong Yankees fan who loves watching games on TV, especially Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm, Jr.

And at 95, Shirley is still sharp as a tack. She watches Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune religiously--and could probably win. She loves Law & Order and the evening news with David Muir.

Shirley is a wife, mother, nana, aunt--great and great-great--sister, mother-in-law, friend, survivor, comedian, and sweetheart. She bounces back after every medical hurdle and loss, keeps people laughing, and is loved by all who meet her.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I'd like to extend a warm congratulations to Sophie Shirley Shefts on her 95th birthday, and wish her many more happy years.

I wish Shirley a happy birthday.

Mr. Speaker, as we approach Labor Day, we should remember that the strength of our workforce can't just be measured by the jobs we create, but also by who we choose to include.

The Radiance Program, established by AIS of Leominster, Massachusetts, is a shining example of how businesses can unlock opportunities for people with physical, intellectual, and developmental challenges.

I thank Nick Haritos, Deanna Zarrella, Richard Marchand, and the entire team at AIS for their dedication to our community.

Mr. Speaker, I especially celebrate the young adults in the Radiance Program. Their hard work, determination, and willingness to learn new skills is truly inspiring. They are building careers, gaining confidence, and strengthening the teams and communities around them.

Programs like this make a huge difference, and I hope others follow the

leadership of AIS and recognize the incredible talent that exists in every single community and see what is possible when everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for yielding me the customary time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, how long should the American people have to wait for our prices to come down? Republicans promised that prices would come down on day one. That was 589 days ago, coming up on 2 years.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my Republican colleagues again: How much longer do we all have to wait? Are they going to tell us, or is it a big surprise? Is it another week, another month, another President?

Mr. Speaker, when are my Republican colleagues going to take responsibility for the fact that they are in charge of everything? Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the executive branch. Hell, Republicans even control the Supreme Court.

Mr. Speaker, because of Republican policies, the affordability crisis in the United States of America is getting worse. It is getting worse, so how long until they acknowledge that their stupid tariffs and their illegal war with Iran are driving up prices and making life harder for people?

Mr. Speaker, how long until the Epstein files are fully released? Some of us still haven't forgotten about that one or the fact that the files remain hidden and that Trump's involvement is being covered up despite congressional laws to the contrary.

How long does America have to wait until Republicans stop blaming everybody else and acknowledge that they have failed? I, for one, am sick of the gaslighting and the projection. I am sick of the broken promises. I am sick of the lies. I am sick of the corruption, the grift, and the greed. The people who I represent are sick of it, too.

Mr. Speaker, I do a farm tour every year. I represent a lot of rural communities and hundreds and hundreds of small- and medium-sized family farms that have been on the same land for generations. I heard a story about one farmer who is being asked to pay an extra $25,000 for a single piece of essential equipment because of Trump's tariffs. On top of that, the price of diesel is ruining their livelihood.

That is what this administration is doing to rural America, to small towns, and to the family farms that I represent. This President and this Republican Congress are destroying them. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are destroying them.

It is just as bad for consumers because Trump's tariffs, trade wars, and higher gas prices are getting passed along to us, as well. Gas is still over $4 a gallon. Ground beef is up 9 percent. Tomatoes and apples are up over 10 percent. Turkey is up 8 percent. Fish is up almost 8 percent. Cars are more expensive. Clothes are more expensive. Utility bills are more expensive. Everything is more expensive.

Inflation is killing people, and this Republican Congress has a bunch of bills today which will do nothing, nothing, nothing to lower prices.

I am going to talk about those bills in a second, but first let me say: Do you know who is not getting destroyed, Mr. Speaker? It is the rich, the powerful, and the well-connected. Those people who hang out in Mar-a-Lago are not getting destroyed. They are doing better than ever.

The multimillionaires and the billionaires are doing great, thanks to all the tax breaks that they got. Big Oil, Big Ag, and Big Tech get massive giveaways from Republicans. Some of those giveaways are in the bills we are considering today, one of which is a giveaway to the mining industry, and I am sure their lobbyists will get a nice, big bonus for getting that one across the finish line.

It is really gross. It is really gross. The rich and the powerful are doing better than ever while everyone else is seeing double-digit price increases, but don't bother trying to get Republicans to do anything about it. Let's look at their priorities so far this Congress.

Here is what they have been doing while gas is $4 a gallon. Let's see what they have been doing. They have been pretending to rename the Gulf of Mexico, pretending to rename Lake Ontario, pretending to rename The Kennedy Center, introducing a bill to put Donald Trump on Mount Rushmore, introducing a bill to make his birthday a national holiday, introducing a bill to put him on the $100 bill, introducing a bill to name Dulles International Airport after him, and introducing a bill to name the Washington Metro after him. I mean, you can't make this stuff up.

These are actual bills that Republicans have introduced; and let us not forget letting the President pilfer taxpayer money to build a tacky ballroom, a stupid arch, and fix the airplane that Qatar bribed--I am sorry, excuse me, donated to him.

That is the focus of this Republican Congress. That is what this Republican Congress is obsessed with: worshipping Donald Trump, while you stress out about how you are going to pay your mortgage or your kid's tuition or your parents' medical bills.

So, I mean, while they worship Donald Trump, the American people have to struggle with how they are going to make ends meet. And they are not getting any help from anything that is going on in this Chamber.

The big Republican push this week is repassing a nonbinding resolution that condemns socialism. They already passed it, and it already does nothing. So I am not sure why they need to pass it again, but that is their big, important bill this week. You just heard it from the chairwoman of the Rules Committee.

What is their definition of ``socialism,'' you ask? What exactly are they condemning? I actually asked Republicans last time around in the Rules

Committee to define what they are condemning. To define socialism if you will. You all might be shocked. Social Security? Republicans condemn that as socialism. Medicare? That is socialism. Medicaid? That is socialism. Public schools? That is socialism. Food safety inspections? That is socialism. National parks? That is socialism. Public transit? You guessed it. You guessed it.

They must really think Americans are stupid. This is the same old Red Scare bs. By their definition, anyone in the United States who supports Medicaid is a socialist sympathizer. I mean, is Joe McCarthy coming back from the dead?

This is insane. It is literally crazy that this is the garbage that we are talking about while people are seeing their costs going through the roof. People can't afford to make ends meet, and this is what this Congress is focused on right now? I mean, come on.

While we are on the topic of condemning political ideology that we disagree with, let me ask: Where is their condemnation of fascism? I mean, the Trump administration weaponizes the government to silence opposition. It attacks the free press, wants to invade our allies, shoots innocent people in the streets, dehumanizes immigrants by saying that they ``poison the blood of our country,'' calls political opponents ``the enemy from within,'' and let's not forget they tried to overturn a free and fair election in 2020. Is that not fascism? Where is their condemnation of that? Silence. Silence. Nothing.

Mr. Speaker, I don't envy the gentlewoman's task today. She has to defend a pretty lousy agenda, and I think she knows it. But I just wish we could get some acknowledgment from the other side that things are not all fine and well in America right now.

Prices are up. Inflation is up. Bills are higher. Life is harder, and it is because of this President's policies. Instead of acknowledging it, it is like Republicans are living in an alternative reality. I mean, it is like what happened to the Republican Party? It doesn't exist anymore. It is like a cult.

We do have an affordability crisis. That is just a fact. Instead of working with us to address it, Republicans are pretending like it doesn't exist. Instead, we get more culture war nonsense and more giveaways to special interests.

But November is coming soon. Mr. Speaker, November is coming very soon, and I think my Republican colleagues are getting desperate. I think they know that the jig is up. I think they know that the American people are about to hold them accountable for all of their broken promises. I think that is why you are seeing this last-ditch attempt to throw the kitchen sink of culture war issues at the wall to see what sticks.

This is a lousy, awful, rotten rule. And by the way, it is totally closed. Nobody can offer any amendments to anything in this rule. It may even fail because we had a bipartisan vote yesterday in the Rules Committee against this rule, so we will see what happens on the floor. But, come on, people are hurting.

I would say to my Republican friends: Your constituents are hurting. They want us to do something to help them. They don't want this. They don't want this. They want something real. So if you can give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires and you can bail out the Mar-a- Lago class, how about helping the average person, the hardworking men and women who are trying to make ends meet. That is what they want. That is what they expect.

I urge a ``no'' vote on this, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman from North Carolina's explanation, and I know that those are the Republican talking points, but I have got news for you. Nobody is buying it.

I mean, I don't know whether my friend was home talking to her constituents over the break, but I was home talking to my constituents. I was in other States talking to voters, as well, and do you know what? Life has gotten harder for them. Prices of everything are through the roof. And to the extent that any working person got a small tax cut while the rich got these big tax cuts, millionaires and billionaires got all these big tax cuts, to the extent that they got that, any little tax break they received has been totally erased by the cost of living and by high gas prices because of this illegal, reckless war.

By the way, wouldn't you think that Congress would want to exercise its constitutional prerogatives and actually debate the war in Iran and actually vote whether to authorize it or not? We have been forced to try to bring privileged resolutions to the floor to try to get any kind of a debate on this. There should be hearings. There should be a full vote on whether to authorize this and whether or not people want to go on record as saying we are going to spend over $100 billion on this stupid, reckless war in Iran. By the way, that resulted in the Strait of Hormuz being closed, which was open before the war began. We are going to spend the money on that, but we are not going to spend it on helping alleviate the high cost of living on people in this country.

This Congress is the least productive Congress in history. This has been a total failure, a total failure.

I would just encourage my Republican colleagues, don't take my word for it. Look at every public opinion poll, including those coming out by FOX News and rightwing influencers. They will tell you: Nobody is buying it.

One of the things that I have heard over and over again during the August work period was that the American people are rightfully outraged that an out-of-control AI data center buildup is wreaking havoc on their communities. Data centers are driving up utility costs and polluting water supplies, all while Big Tech reaps record profits. Yet, now with November on the horizon, some House Republicans are acting as if they did not turbocharge the data center buildup.

I mean, a year ago, Republicans were bragging about giving tax breaks to Big Tech in order to build data centers across rural America. You can check it out yourselves. It is section 70421 of the big, ugly bill.

According to the Republican chairman of the tax writing committee, this provision would: significantly reduce barriers for large-scale, capital-intensive projects in rural areas, most notably, hyperscale data centers. That is the Republicans.

That provision alone cost the American taxpayers $40 billion. That is money that is going to Big Tech to build unpopular data centers instead of lowering the cost of healthcare and housing or groceries.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article titled, ``Big, Beautiful Success Story: Rural America Rebound on the Horizon with New Opportunity Zone Incentives.''

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

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

Let me just say to my friend, the chair of the Rules Committee: You can't fool people. You just can't. I mean, people go to the supermarket. They have to pay their utility bills. They have to pay their rent. People are trying to see where they can afford a home.

I mean, they know what the reality is. To somehow say they are being beautiful, I mean, come on. That is ludicrous. That is assuming that people don't believe their real-life experiences every day.

She talks about the most productive Congress. I mean, 104 laws were passed in this Republican Congress. When the Democrats were last in charge, we passed 365 laws.

The issue is what do these laws do. We passed bills to try to expand healthcare for people. We passed bills to try to make sure that children had access to Head Start and to daycare. We passed bills to actually protect our environment. We passed bills to try to keep the world out of war. That is a big contrast to what we are seeing in this Republican Congress.

I would just say this: What Donald Trump has done with the acquiescence of the Republican majority is they have added a new tax on average people, close to $4,000. There is a $4,000 Trump tax on almost every family in this country. The people who don't feel it are the ones who benefited from the trillions of dollars in tax cuts given to millionaires and billionaires and big corporations.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent also to include in the Record an article from Politico titled, ``Amazon's tax bill plunges after GOP tax cuts.''

Mr. Speaker, I am going to also urge that we defeat the previous question. If we do, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of H.R. 738, the Universal Right To Vote By Mail Act, which would ensure that all eligible voters in America have the option to vote by mail.

Mr. Speaker, President Trump has issued an executive order to undermine the credibility of our elections and to make it harder or even impossible for millions of Americans to vote by mail. We learned today from a whistleblower that Trump officials are defying court orders and pushing ahead with these unconstitutional plans.

Mr. Speaker, let me remind you, President Trump personally loves voting by mail. He voted by mail in Florida as recently as 2 weeks ago. To everyone listening, Trump wants to vote by mail, but he doesn't want you to be able to do so.

Voting by mail has been proven to increase turnout and reduce barriers to voting, such as bad weather, illness, disability, and long lines. We should expand mail-in voting to make it easier for Americans to participate in our democracy, which is what this bill would do.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Salinas) to discuss our proposal.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record an article from the Associated Press titled: ``US consumer confidence falls to lowest level in 7 months with gas stuck above $4''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record an article from NBC titled: ``How Trump's economic policies are widening America's wealth gap''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record an article from CNN titled: ``Trump's tariffs are bigger than his tax cuts for most Americans''.

I say to the gentlewoman that I appreciate her reciting the RNC's talking points, and I would encourage her to keep on reciting them and bring that message home, to go home and tell the American people that things are great, that things are unbelievably wonderful, and that you should thank the Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump for raising the prices on everything.

Go home and sell that message to the American people. I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, we won't have to do anything.

The bottom line is that things aren't good for people. As I said, there is a Trump tax of $4,000 on average Americans. That is what they have to pay in additional costs for everything, from rent to healthcare to groceries to you name it. That is the Trump tax.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).

Mr. Speaker, can I inquire of the gentlewoman how many more speakers she has on her side? We haven't seen any other than her. I am just curious.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

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

Let me, first of all, respond to something the gentlewoman from North Carolina said about Republicans trying to protect our children. I would just ask, where the hell are the Epstein files? We have forced resolutions on this floor to be passed, to demand a release of these files.

Congressman Massie came to the floor. Again, he has another resolution. Still, we have no compliance with the law. We know that this administration is up to their eyeballs in the Epstein files. When is that going to happen? When is that going to be released? I mean, talk about protecting children.

Mr. Speaker, you know when Republicans send us home this week, what exactly will be cheaper? Will groceries cost less? Will rent go down? Will anybody's electric bill shrink? Will health insurance premiums come down? The answer is no. Not one damn thing on the agenda this week will address the affordability crisis. Nothing.

Congress will have condemned socialism again. Mission accomplished, I guess. You know that tells you everything about the priorities of this Republican majority. Whenever the conversation gets uncomfortable, they change the subject.

Why are groceries so expensive? Socialism. Why are healthcare costs so expensive? They showed socialism. Why did Trump start another new war in the Middle East? You must be a Socialist for asking the question. When are you going to release the Epstein files? When is that going to happen? Socialism, socialism, socialism. It is literally insane. It is Trump derangement syndrome.

Meanwhile, the President's big win this week is pretending to rename Lake Ontario after getting into a trade war with our closest ally and neighbor. This is nuts. This Chamber ceases to be a serious body when we don't call this stuff out and when we don't actually bring bills to the floor that address the real needs of the American people.

The American people are not stupid. They know who is focused on listening to their problems and who is focused on playing political games.

We should be working to lower costs, period. Contrary to what Trump says, affordability is not a made-up word, and it does have a definition. People cannot afford to pay everyday expenses. They can't afford their groceries. They can't afford their rent. They can't afford to fill their gas tank up. They want lower healthcare costs. They want lower housing costs. They want lower energy costs. They want lower grocery bills.

They want an end to the corporate giveaways and tax loopholes that let big companies jack up prices and gouge consumers. You know, they want an end to giving these corporations the ability to cheat on their taxes and to avoid accountability.

That is what people want us to do, not fight absurd culture wars and debate far-right fringe garbage. If our Republican colleagues want to have another debate about socialism, fine, let's have it. Waste more time passing more nonbinding resolutions. At the end of the day, people are going to vote based on their bank accounts, pocketbooks, grocery bills, and gas prices.

People look at life through their kitchen window. They are tired of all of this bs that is being talked about in this Chamber. They are sick of a Congress that debates trivial issues passionately but important ones not at all. They want to know when we are going to care about them. They are sick and tired of a Congress that gives tax breaks to entities, that gives big donations to political parties and political candidates. They want to know when they come first.

My friends, you have failed miserably to deliver on your promise to make life more affordable for people. People are counting on us. They want us to do better. You have a chance. We will work in a bipartisan way to try to deal with some of these high costs the people are faced with right now.

No, we come back after a recess, and this is what we are dealing with. This is garbage. This is a waste of time. This is an insult to this Chamber. It is an insult to the American people. They will remember in November.

Vote ``no'' on this rule.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about United States policy toward Cuba, or rather our lack of a coherent policy and our decades-long failure to help the people of Cuba.

Cuba is our neighbor. We have lived side by side for centuries. Our histories are intertwined. Our futures are, too.

Almost 10 million people live on the island of Cuba. They go to school and work, raise families and go about their lives, and crave freedom and justice, but the people of Cuba struggle to realize their aspirations.

The Cuban Government deprives the people from enjoying their civil and political rights. Freedom of expression and assembly are severely curtailed. The recent release of 2,000 prisoners was welcome, as is the recent release of Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, a political prisoner in the Defending Freedoms Project of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, but over 700 prisoners of conscience remain behind bars, according to Human Rights Watch.

Yet, for all the abuse of the Cuban people by the Cuban Government, so too has the United States deprived the Cuban people of enjoying their economic and social rights. The crushing U.S. embargo has stunted their economic development and caused immense hardship. These U.S. policies are human rights violations.

America's cruel and illegal blockade is creating a severe humanitarian crisis, denying energy imports, which the Cuban people depend on for their healthcare, food distribution, and livelihood.

Cubans recently experienced the eighth collapse of their power grid since October 2024. Some 3 million Cubans experience water shortages every single day, and the U.N. reports that infant mortality has doubled to 9.9 per 1,000 births. Childhood cancer survival rates have fallen from 85 to 65 percent. Supplies of essential medicines are only 30 percent of normal.

What we are witnessing in Cuba, as some have characterized it, is basically Gaza in slow motion: man-made starvation with the help and complicity of the United States of America.

Meanwhile, arrogant politicians in Washington tell Cubans on the island that they must suffer violations of their economic and social rights as the only way to restore their civil and political rights. This is an insult to their dignity, and it is wrong.

The six-decade embargo has been a miserable failure. Over and over we see that it does not work. It only emboldens hard-liners and makes things worse for regular people.

Now, we hear that the administration is plotting military action against Cuba. This would be horrible, wasteful, inhumane, and illegal.

Cuba is not doing anything that would legitimize a war. Congress has approved no declaration of war, no Authorization for Use of Military Force. Military action against Cuba would make America a rogue State, aligning us with Russia, China, Iran, and others that believe that international rules don't matter.

If we want to know why invading Cuba would be such a disaster, look no further than Venezuela. Meet the new boss; same as the old boss. The Venezuelan people still have no democracy or human rights, while listening to Marco Rubio lecture them with empty promises about freedom and self-determination. Their economy was still in shambles even before the earthquake.

Trump and Rubio are pals with the new President. The U.S. has immense leverage, but we are not using it to restore democracy, improve human rights, or fight hunger. The security apparatus remains in place. Political prisoners remain in jail. Oil revenues go to the elites.

The people of Venezuela deserve better, and the people of Cuba do not deserve to be screwed over in the same undignified and illegal manner.

Cubans deserve to shape their own future, not have it selected for them by arrogant politicians in Washington.

There is a better way. Ten years ago, the U.S. tried a better approach. We tried diplomacy. We tried engagement. We tried talking to each other, working through our differences, and guess what. It started working.

American tourists went to Cuba. We dropped barriers. We opened up relations. Things started getting better for the Cuban people, and there was hope that some day they could shape their own future.

My U.S.-Cuba Trade Act, H.R. 7521, would reverse our decades of failed policies toward Cuba. It would repeal the statutory basis of the embargo. It would give us tools to work with the Cuban people on economic and political progress. It would ensure that Americans and Cubans can be good neighbors.

We must chart a shared path to the future, built not on fear and threats or marked by invasion and blockade. The future we must build is one of good will and diplomacy, reinforced by trade and exchange.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to consider a new approach to Cuba. It is

time for a new path forward. The Trump administration has damaged our Nation's standing in the world. They have totally screwed up the Middle East by ignoring human rights and embracing war. I urge my colleagues to stand with me in demanding that they not repeat the same cruel mistakes in Cuba.

Mr. Speaker, last week I spoke with 160 incredible anti-hunger advocates as part of the fourth Gen Z Food and Hunger Summit.

Shocking research from Purdue University shows that nearly one in three members of Gen Z have experienced food insecurity--one in three. Let that sink in. In fact, many of the young people I met experienced hunger firsthand. Congress ought to listen to them. I will continue to amplify and uplift their voices.

Gen Z leaders at the summit came together to strategize, holding over 150 congressional meetings to highlight their generation's struggle to afford food.

Mr. Speaker, I am so glad the next generation of Americans is impatient

and unwilling to wait for a hunger-free future.

There is a lot to be discouraged by these days, but the young people I met at the Gen Z Food and Hunger Summit give me hope. I am grateful for their energy, and I am grateful for their passion and our shared work to end hunger.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues and members of this administration to pay attention to them. We live in the richest country in the history of the world, and we have 50 million Americans who are hungry and food insecure. It is unconscionable. It is shameful, and we can do something about it.