Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, mail-in voting, a system that has allowed millions of Americans to make their voices heard, is under attack.

Over 99 percent of voting Oregonians cast their ballots by mail. These are deployed servicemembers, parents working to feed their families, and young Americans who are just trying to get by.

Our own President voted by mail just this month, yet he wants to take away that same right from millions of Americans.

President Trump isn't concerned about ensuring a fair and free election, in my opinion. He is scared that the American people will see right through him, scared that families and seniors and students are going to reject his foolishness at the ballot box.

Mr. Speaker, grocery prices are skyrocketing, and gas prices are out of control. Americans cannot afford to live under Trump's economy, and he knows it.

The simple truth is that Americans have a voice, and the President doesn't want them to use it. Mr. Speaker, we must wake up.

Shh. Mr. Speaker, it has been really quiet in this Chamber about who is profiting from the Presidency.

While Americans struggle to pay for gas and groceries, our President Trump is making billions. His media company wants Wall Street to pay $10,000 for early access to his Truth Social posts. Now, this says to me that the President is saying: Pay me, and I will help you trade on insider information.

Wall Street eats, and we get the bill.

Now we are seeing reports of a growing market where people like rapper Lil Boosie pay those claiming that they have access to Presidential pardons.

That is not how public service should work. We cannot stay quiet while power is being treated like a product for sale.

Shh. Congress has a responsibility to follow the money, demand transparency, and remind this administration that public service is about serving the people and not their pocketbooks.

Mr. Speaker, today I am here to talk about student loans. To be honest with you, I don't know why I am the only one. I can't remember the last time I heard this body talking about financing higher education. Instead, we have been voting on things like daylight saving time.

Americans are struggling, Mr. Speaker, and our kids' opportunities are being limited. This should be a top priority of every Member of Congress.

First, we need to fix the raggedy monthly payments calculator that prevents interest from spiraling out of control.

We need to make sure that borrowers have access to repayment plans that don't take over 30 years to complete.

Affordability shouldn't be a barrier, Mr. Speaker. We need to be building the workforce of the future. Americans need student loan plans that offer flexibility and real options. We should be making access to education easier, Mr. Speaker, not harder for Americans.

Mr. Speaker, this past week, I kept running into Oregonians who are really upset about their healthcare.

One small business owner told me she dropped her family plan, which was costing about $36,000 a year, and she joined a cost-share plan to lower her bills. She still pays out of pocket.

Another constituent, who is caring for her ailing husband, told me: ``I have been inundated with doctors' visits and advocating for him. Our medical system is extremely frustrating.''

Then a rural constituent told me that a simple surgery was rescheduled four times because no doctor was available.

Then, last week, I talked with Silicon Valley executives and asked them what they could do. I told them: Help us solve America's problems: healthcare, wildfires, you name it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge you to do the same. Lead Congress to solve America's problems and not create more of them.

Mr. Speaker, if you have kids, the Annie E. Casey Foundation's ``2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book'' should concern you. It showed that children across the country are falling behind. Fewer children today have insurance than before the pandemic, and that should shake the ground beneath your feet.

I am not talking just about physical health, Mr. Speaker. I am talking about an almost 10-percent increase in deaths among our young people between 2019 and 2024 related to mental health. I am talking about our children carrying the economic problems that we have yet to solve right on their shoulders into adulthood. I am talking about math and reading proficiency declining in 47 States. These are the consequences of our inaction.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today committed to action. Lower costs, strong schools, affordable housing, and good opportunities are how we start getting ahead.

Mr. Speaker, my K-30 agenda does exactly that, and supporting our kids means investing in the next generation of this country.

Madam Chair, I can't say that I am surprised that my Republican colleagues want to cut yet another resource to help women and children get food.

This bill reduces the fruit and vegetable benefit for mothers and young children under WIC, and this goes against actual science-based evidence that tells us what families need to stay healthy.

Cutting these benefits leaves 5.3 million moms and kids without reliable access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

But here is the real kicker: The administration's own Make America Healthy Again report praises WIC's success in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption.

Now, right here on page 34, read along with me. It says: ``WIC has a proven track record of improving children's health.'' It is right there, page 34.

Madam Chair, we know that these benefits work and these benefits help parents bring home apples instead of ultraprocessed snacks, carrots instead of empty calories, and healthier options across the board that set children up for success.

Now, we hear a lot of talk from the same people who are trying to cut these benefits about making America healthier. If they were serious about that goal, I wouldn't have to be standing here right now.

Madam Chair, we should be making it easier for families to afford healthy food, not harder.

For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I would have offered this motion with an important amendment to this bill.

My amendment would restore the cut this bill makes to the WIC fruit and vegetable benefits and adjusts them to keep up with inflation.

I will keep fighting to make sure that nothing, not inflation and not out-of-touch Republicans in D.C., get to

take healthy food away from moms and kids.

I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion to recommit.

Madam Chair, I include in the Record the text of my amendment.

Ms. Bynum moves to recommit the bill H.R. 8646 to the

Committee on Appropriations with the following amendment:

Amend the second proviso under the heading ``Special

Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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

Mr. Speaker, we are one step closer to having more affordable housing for Oregonians and Americans across the country.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act includes three of my bills which will help build more houses, lower the cost of housing, and make sure homeless shelters have the support they need to offer emergency assistance.

Mr. Speaker, let's be real. Americans are struggling. The cost of living is out of control, and people can barely afford to put gas in their car, let alone think about buying a house.

Mr. Speaker, we must work to make life more affordable for our constituents. We have to move this legislation across the finish line. The Senate needs to pass these bills expeditiously so we can get them over to 1600 and make them law.

Mr. Speaker, gas prices are out of control. The average price for a gallon of gas in Oregon is $5.30--$5.30.

Before the start of this Iran war, it was under $4 a gallon, which was high enough already.

Americans can't afford the gas to drive to work, pick up their kids from daycare, or make it to doctor's appointments with these kinds of prices.

Now, the President wants to suspend the Federal gas tax to fix it. He is trying to put a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Suspending the 18 cents a gallon gas tax is a fine step, but it falls far short of what Oregonians need.

Mr. Speaker, we need to put Americans first. Right now that starts at the gas pump.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight one of the most important rights American citizens have, and that is voting.

Tomorrow is the deadline in Oregon to register to vote in our upcoming primaries, and Oregonians should make sure they register so that they can make their voices heard. They can find out where and how to update their information on Oregon's secretary of state website, but now the President is trying to make registering less accessible and voting by mail harder.

Mr. Speaker, I just won't stand for it. We voted by mail for almost 30 years in Oregon, and it was a bipartisan initiative when it was enacted. We know that it is safe, secure, and effective. I won't let this President or my colleagues silence our voices. Your voice is your vote, and your vote is your voice, and everyone should use it at the ballot box.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate and honor Anshu Mukherjee as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Oregon's 5th District, for the creation of Grub.io, an innovative app designed to combat food waste at large events. The colleagues in this room know exactly what I'm talking about. Platters of fresh, delicious food, thrown right into the trash, because we didn't have a plan, so we didn't have a choice. Now we have a plan. Grub.io lets event organizers and guests share and claim leftover food in real-time, cutting the waste and getting more food to more people. It's easy to use. Register an event, get a code, and post or claim surplus food. It also tracks your environmental impact so you can make every event count--literally, pounds of food saved.

Every great idea comes from something in real life. Anshu was at FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston when he saw hundreds of teams in the competition order heaps of food with time running out on the clock. Some never got to their plates in the first place, while others only had time to eat a few bites. The result: untouched pizzas and trays went right to the trash. This wasn't the first time Anshu saw this pattern. He saw the same thing at a tailgate at the University of Oregon--Go Oregon Ducks--and realized this was a solvable problem. We don't have a lot of those, do we, colleagues? At that time, existing food-rescue apps weren't built for fast-moving, temporary events.

In Oregon, where 2 billion pounds of food are wasted annually-- despite 1 in 8 residents facing food insecurity--the potential impact of reducing event waste is especially urgent. Anshu is already exploring partnerships with organizations like Urban Gleaners and Waste Not Food Taxi to strengthen connections between event leftovers and local hunger-relief networks.

This year's Congressional App Challenge was the largest in the program's history, with 394 Members of Congress hosting district competitions and more than 13,800 students submitting over 4,600 original apps addressing real-world challenges. Among these, Grub.io stood out for its social impact and scalability. Anshu plans to beta- test the app at upcoming robotics competitions hosted by Team 1425 and ultimately aims to deploy it at the Robotics World Championship-- bringing it full circle. Grub.io reflects the creativity, engineering skill, and civic-minded innovation the Congressional App Challenge was designed to celebrate, and that my great state has in large supply.

I am incredibly grateful for Anshu and his work. I have a hunch this is just the start of an incredible and impactful life's purpose on this beautiful earth. I thank him for making Oregon proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the more than $36 million in funding I have requested for Oregon's Fifth Congressional District.

This money will strengthen our communities by investing in clean drinking water, education, childcare, public safety, and workforce development.

In central Oregon alone, over $10 million will go toward expanding access to childcare, good-paying jobs, and wildfire preparedness.

Across Oregon, these projects will make sure families, small businesses, and our children will have everything they need to survive and thrive because funding these projects builds on my work to support the next generation. The pillars of my K-30 agenda are education, jobs, and housing. These projects will unlock our ability to make progress on those key issues to set the next generation up for success.

At the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, this is an investment in expanding opportunity and lowering costs for Oregonians. I will keep fighting in Congress to deliver real results back home.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for over a month, and my Republican colleagues refuse to fix it.

Thousands of dedicated public servants like TSA agents keep us safe in the air and on the ground, and they are working without pay. These workers are showing up every single day to protect our airports, respond to emergencies, and keep our communities safe.

Now, my colleagues and I have put forth solutions to reopen and fund the government, while calling for ICE reform. Yet, my Republican colleagues won't come to the table to negotiate. I believe they are choosing political leverage over public safety, and they are choosing political games over Americans.

While I believe they keep pointing fingers, these workers and their families are left wondering how they will pay their bills, and travelers are left dealing with unnecessary delays.

Mr. Speaker, it is time for Republicans to stop playing games and start showing up for the safety and security of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6618, my Wildfire Aerial Response Safety Act.

Mr. Speaker, wildfires are no longer seasonal. They are year-round threats that are growing more intense, destructive, and dangerous for the communities that we serve and the responders that we rely on.

In 2020, Oregon experienced one of the most devastating wildfire seasons in our State's history. More than 1 million acres burned. Entire communities were displaced. For days, the air across our State and much of the West was among the worst in the world.

What struck me from that moment wasn't just the scale of the destruction but the importance of fast-acting firefighting to slow the spread and protect lives. One of the tools that firefighters use in Oregon is aerial firefighting, but personal aircraft like drones can prevent that tool from being used.

That is because aviation rules require the grounding of all aircraft when an unauthorized drone is sighted in active response zones. When that happens, it can stop water drops, delay rescues, and interrupt information gathering, which puts nearby communities at risk. Our ground crews lose critical visibility and protection, which increases the danger for firefighters, rescuers, and residents.

Just last August, in my home State of Oregon, a recreational drone delayed the initial air attack of the Flat fire by nearly 30 minutes. This is the window of time when it is most critical in fighting a fire. That is exactly the problem that my bill is designed to address.

The Wildfire Aerial Response Safety Act ensures that our aerial wildfire response is not just fast but safe, coordinated, and effective.

This bill improves the safety and effectiveness of aerial wildfire response by addressing the growing threat of drone interference. It directs the FAA to evaluate recent disruptions, develop solutions, and to prevent future interference. It makes sure that the public understands the risks of flying drones near active wildfires, because the reality is simple: When the airspace isn't managed well, firefighting slows down, and lives are put at risk.

This is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that reflects how wildfire response is evolving in real time. It supports the pilots and the first responders doing this dangerous work, and it helps ensure we are giving them the tools and conditions that they need to succeed.

I thank Representatives Neguse, Crane, and Ciscomani for working with me on this bill and the leadership of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for passing the bill through committee without opposition.

Protecting firefighters and improving how quickly we respond to wildfires will always remain my top priority.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6618.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a mentor and a true friend, Oregon State Senator Avel Gordly.

Senator Gordly, the first Black woman to serve in the chamber, brought a presence that was regal and distinctive. I knew I was standing on the shoulders of a giant because she was not only a mentor to me but a true friend. It was an absolute privilege getting to know her over the last 10 years.

Sadly, her tenure as an elected Black Oregonian was so rare that when she came to the chamber of the house floor in the State legislature, many people thought that she was a relative of mine rather than the esteemed public servant that she was.

She had dedicated and delivered so much to Oregon. It is because of women like Senator Gordly that I am standing here today. I will miss her phone calls, her inspirational texts, and, most of all, her high expectations of me.

Her legacy will continue to inspire generations of women like me to lead, serve, and break barriers.