Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the reauthorization of the Weather Act.

This bill includes, in section 115, my legislation to also reauthorize the National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program. This is a critically important program for reducing landslide hazards in the United States that will, absent reauthorization, expire at the end of this year.

It is a little-known fact that landslides cause over a billion dollars in property damage every year in the United States, as well as costing countless lives. This is particularly true in my district in southern California.

My district has experienced substantial wildfire damage in the last several years, and last August, we experienced the first tropical storm in 83 years in California. This resulted in the liquefaction of the soil beneath the burn scars in the San Bernardino Mountains. The resulting landslides erased an entire community. Houses were uprooted and displaced, and many residents were trapped and had to be lifted by helicopter to safety.

Mr. Speaker, the National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program is a critical program for identifying hazards that exist with landslides and improving coordination with local emergency responders and agencies to make sure that those hazards are addressed.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lucas and my colleagues on the Science, Space, and Technology and the Natural Resources Committees for including my legislation in the Weather Act Reauthorization Act, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and mourn the passing of a dear friend of mine and my wife, Heather, Roberta Darlene McCarthy.

Roberta, who was known to her friends as Bert, was born in Los Angeles and moved to Bakersfield, California, in 1946. She attended East Bakersfield High School, where she met her high school sweetheart and her future husband, Owen McCarthy.

Owen was a captain in the Bakersfield Fire Department, and Bert spent much of her time in service to her community. They were two people who deeply wanted to help their friends and neighbors, which was a core value they passed on to their children, Michelle, Mark, and last but certainly not least, one of this Chamber's very own, the 55th Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.

Bert was instrumental in getting the Anti-Graffiti Program for Kern County started, and she volunteered for many charities in Bakersfield. Her passion for helping others meant that she often worked with some of the people who needed help the most, patients suffering from cancer.

She regularly volunteered at the Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center in Bakersfield and at the American Cancer Society, where she helped patients and their families fight cancer and overcome the many difficulties related to treatment.

Bert was a strong mother and grandmother, whose family and their needs always came first. She loved her community and helping others, and she made everyone who met her instantly feel like they were talking to a family friend.

Bert had such a gregarious and warm personality that even people in Washington who didn't care for her son, Kevin--and there were a few-- cared for Bert. She was always willing to lend a helping hand to those in need. Her selflessness knew no bounds, and her acts of kindness reverberated far beyond the confines of her immediate circle.

Bert put her faith in God, and she knew one day she would be called to go up to Heaven and meet her creator.

Bert's spirit will continue to live on in the memories of her children and their partners, her grandchildren, and everyone her life touched, including me and my wife Heather.

Mr. Speaker, I urge that we not mourn her passing but, instead, celebrate the incredible legacy she left behind and carry forward her kindness, strength, and boundless love for others.

I will miss her.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to honor the life of Ms. Davina Keiser, who passed away on January 30, 2024 after her battle with brain cancer. Her family, friends, and community are devastated by this loss. A resident of Sugarloaf, CA, Davina was known as a selfless and caring individual and was a true friend to all who had the privilege of knowing her.

Davina was a devoted educator for forty years in the Long Beach Unified School District, including over decade of service as a piano and mathematics teacher at Wilson High School, while simultaneously serving as the elected treasurer for the Teachers Union of Long Beach. She was an effective PTA President and Treasurer at Fremont Elementary School and was a highly recognized teacher throughout Southern California. Moreover, she was a proud elected delegate to the National Education Association Representative Assembly and worked tirelessly in many teaching organizations to ensure that her pupils and students throughout Southern California had access to quality education.

Davina was no less engaged with her San Bernardino mountain community. As a part-time Big Bear resident for over twenty years, she was deeply engaged in local politics, serving as a member of the Big Bear Valley Republican Assembly and as Executive Vice President of the California Republican Assembly. She was a passionate advocate who believed in the promise and opportunity that the Big Bear Valley and the Golden State represent. A 3rd generation Californian, Davina stood for the best of what our home state offers and fought to safeguard the freedoms and prosperity that are corner stones of the American dream.

Davina had an impact on every life she touched, and she will be deeply missed by all who knew her. My thoughts and prayers are with Davina's family and fiends as they navigate this difficult loss. I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning Davina's passing and celebrating her life.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky, my friend and colleague, for the opportunity to present my bill, H.R. 498, the 9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Responsibility Act.

Mr. Speaker, according to the CDC, in 2022, nearly 50,000 Americans took their own lives. This is a shocking and, frankly, shameful commentary on the state of mental health in this country. Mr. Speaker, that amounts to over 100 suicides a day.

In response to this growing crisis, in 2005, Congress authorized the 988 lifeline. 988 is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week hotline that anyone with suicidal thoughts can call to be connected to counseling and resources.

In the first year of operation, the 988 lifeline received nearly 50,000 calls, and it has continued to grow in the years since then. It has undoubtedly saved thousands of American lives.

Unfortunately, 14 months ago, the 988 lifeline was taken down by a cyberattack on its systems operator.

Mr. Speaker, every minute that lifeline is offline is the potential for the loss of American lives because those resources are not available to them. This bill is an attempt to solve that problem.

H.R. 498 would require 988 systems operators to report cybersecurity vulnerabilities and would require the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate in addressing those vulnerabilities.

The bill would also require the Comptroller General to create a study of the cybersecurity vulnerabilities on the hotline and the ways that those vulnerabilities can be addressed.

Mr. Speaker, the 988 lifeline is a vital resource for Americans who might be having suicidal thoughts or contemplating the irrevocable act of taking their own lives. This bill is a small step in making sure that that lifeline remains available to the Americans who are depending on it.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for bringing this bill forward to the floor, and I respectfully urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and pass this bill to the Senate.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this joint resolution which would overturn a completely nonsensical ruling by the National Labor Relations Board.

The NLRB is seeking to expand the definition of an employer to include what they call joint employers. That is an employer who exerts indirect control or even potential control over an employee.

Madam Speaker, it has been said that those who do not honor the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them, and we are about to make the same mistake that we made almost 10 years ago when the NLRB took this exact same action.

What happened?

It raised costs for small businesses by over $33 billion and resulted in the loss of nearly 400,000 jobs.

Madam Speaker, that will happen again if this ruling is allowed to stand. It is completely appropriate that Congress is taking this action under the Congressional Review Act because this is a decision that has major consequences for employers across our country, and, yet, it has been made by a set of unelected bureaucrats.

Madam Speaker, under our Constitution, the power to regulate interstate commerce resides here in this Chamber in this building and not with an unelected executive branch agency.

Madam Speaker, this commonsense resolution would overturn that ruling, returning that power not only to Congress but to small businesses across our country, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to be here to thank my friend and former Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, for his service to this country and to our Conference.

I had the experience of getting to know Kevin when I first decided to run for Congress. I got a call from my predecessor alerting me that he would announce the next day that he was not running for reelection. I had to quite suddenly make the decision about whether or not I wanted to run for Congress.

I got a call from Kevin, and Kevin said: Jay, I believe in you. You can do it. I will help you. And he did.

Once I was elected and sworn in as a Member of the House of Representatives, I was shocked to discover that I was 1 of over 100 Members of this Chamber who could say that of Kevin. There were over 100 Members who Kevin had given the confidence to step up and serve their country. Kevin and I subsequently became good friends.

What I discovered about his leadership style is that it is a leadership style that I think I honor the most, that of servant leader. Every decision that Kevin makes and has made as leader was not for his own self-aggrandizement or his own betterment. The decisions that he made served the interests of the people who he led, the Conference, his constituents, and the Members of this Chamber.

He also exhibited a quality that I think is unfortunately pretty rare in public servants, that of humility. Kevin is an amazingly humble man. If you met him on the street, you would never guess that he was third in line to the Presidency.

Mr. Speaker, I will share a story, and Kevin probably doesn't even remember that this happened. Earlier this year, I was giving a constituent and their family a tour of the Capitol. They were here in D.C. They had a couple of children with them. I was showing them the rotunda when Kevin came bustling out of his office, surrounded by a whole group of people. You could tell he was on his way somewhere important.

He saw me and stopped. All of his people were saying: Kevin, we have to go. We have to go. He stopped, walked over, and asked to be introduced to my constituents. He insisted on taking a picture with them in the rotunda. I will tell you, that made not just their day but their entire trip. They still talk to me about it. Kevin would do that for any Member of this Chamber.

It has been an incredible honor to serve under his leadership. I have no doubt that the future is bright for my friend, Kevin McCarthy, and that we can expect even more great things in the future.

Kevin, I thank you for your leadership. I am excited to learn about what the future holds for you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Brigadier General Matthew Ward Higer's retirement from our United States Air Force. His final assignment on Active Duty was as Commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In this role General Higer led nearly 8,000 personnel in the developmental test and evaluation of the

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and commemmorate the passing of Nicholas Whitehall, a lifelong resident of San Bernandino County and proud law enforcement officer, husband, father, and grandfather. A friend to all, Officer Whitehall was an honored member of his community and a loving member of his family. Heather and I are praying for the Whitehall family as they navigate this difficult loss.

An Inland Empire native, Officer Whitehall was born in Fontana, California on January 24, 1970, to John Henry Whitehall and Nita Joyce Latham. He attended Victor Valley College (VVC), where he earned an Associates Degree in Administration of Justice. Upon graduating from VVC, he began a long and successful career protecting our prisons, including seven years at the Desert View Prison. Critically, Officer Whitehall played a vital role in assisting in opening several institutions at FCC Victorville. He served FCC Victorville admirably for over 23 years, including work as a Lock Shop and Armory Specialist before his untimely passing.

Officer Whitehall was much more than a law enforcement officer: he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He raised four children, James, Matthew, Katherine, and Ashley and was rewarded with fourteen grandchildren--a testament to his role as a loving father and devoted husband. He cared deeply for his family and did his utmost to ensure that his wife and children enjoyed a loving and secure home. Hardworking, kind people like Officer Whitehall are critical to the future of our community, state, and country.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Officer Whitehall and recognizing him and his family for their contributions to San Bernardino County.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4468, the Choice in Automotive Retail Sales Act.

A few months ago, the EPA proposed a new rule that would effectively require the vast majority of automobiles sold in the United States to be electric within just a few years.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I have nothing against electric vehicles, but I feel very strongly that American families should be empowered to choose the vehicle that best meets their needs rather than having their government make that decision for them.

Mr. Speaker, I represent over 100,000 people who commute from my rural California district back and forth into Los Angeles every single day. For those people, an electric vehicle is not only unaffordable, it is also impractical.

Preserving their ability to make their own choice on this issue also preserves the market forces that incentivize manufacturers to continue to lower the cost of electric vehicles and increase their quality.

Mr. Speaker, that is good not only for families, but also for the environment. That is why I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, it is with a heavy heart I rise today to honor the life of Mr. Aiden Ortiz, who was tragically struck and killed by a vehicle at age twelve on September 25, 2023. His family, friends, and community are devastated by this sudden loss. A sixth grader at Melva Davis Academy of Excellence. Aiden Ortiz was known as a selfless, caring son and friend to all who had the privilege of knowing him.

As a father of two myself, it is nearly impossible to imagine losing one's child. I treasure every moment with my sons, and losing a child so suddenly is every parent's greatest fear.

Aiden was caring and always put others ahead of himself. According to his baseball coach, Rodney McNealy, Aiden has been a part of the league since Tee-ball and made a name for himself in the Majors Division of the Adelanto Little League, where he played for the Rockies last spring. Aiden was a true sportsman whose passion for baseball and life was contagious.

While Aiden's life was tragically cut short, he made a tremendous impact on every life he touched. Aiden is survived by his mother Allyssa, his stepfather, Alex, and his two siblings. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. My thoughts and prayers are with Aiden's family as they navigate this difficult loss.

I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning Aiden's passing and celebrating his life.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate and recognize the 100th birthday of my constituent, Mr. Michael Anthony Mercadante of Helendale, California. Mike was born on September 20, 1923, to Joseph Mercadante and Maria Santa Padre, who immigrated from Italy to pursue the American Dream.

Mike grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. At a young age, he began working a variety of difficult jobs, including at a steel mill and as a delivery boy using a horse and carriage, At age 18, Mike answered the highest of callings--serving his country during a time of war. He and his friends joined the Army during WWII, serving in the Artillery tank division in the South Pacific repairing tanks and overseeing communication between troops. Following the war, Mike continued to serve in the Army in the Active Reserves, attaining the rank of Master Sergeant and training troops for the Korean and Vietnam Wars for 23 years.

In addition to his long military career, Mike taught high school for over 25 years. After graduating from Bryant University, he taught machine and auto shop and Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California and eventually coached baseball at St. Hedwig's School in Los Alamitos. As a coach, teacher, and mentor, Mike was known for his passion for baseball and for helping kids achieve success.

After moving to Helendale, Mike served as the commander and chief of Citizens on Patrol for nearly 25 years. His service, work ethic, and passion for our community serves as an inspiration for all of us.

Mike's passion for his students, his community, and his country is equaled by his love for his family. He married Leonardi Cathrine (Kay) in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1946 and together they proudly raised 7 children--Connie, Cathy, Michael, Mary, Stephen, Robert, and Linda. They are blessed with 30 grandchildren.

I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Michael Mercadante's 100th birthday. His contributions have had a profound impact on our High Desert Community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act, a bill that I introduced with several of my colleagues on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Mr. Speaker, I represent a rural district in California. This bill does nothing more or less than preserving their ability to choose for themselves what vehicle works best for them.

Mr. Speaker, I will tell you that I represent over 100,000 people who commute long distances to get to work and back every day. If electric vehicles were a less expensive and more efficient way for them to perform that commute, they would already own them.

In addition, we have heard testimony that we do not have even a quarter of the copper we would need to convert the current fleet of vehicles to electric vehicles; not even a quarter for the current production year, and that is not to mention other critical minerals, such as graphite, manganese, cobalt, and lithium.

It would be much more efficient to convert our current vehicles to hybrid vehicles that only require a battery one-fifth the size. We can do five times as many hybrids as we could electric vehicles.

Unfortunately, the waiver that is being sought by the State of California would completely prevent hybrid vehicles from being sold in the State starting in the year 2035.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is common sense. If you believe in being good stewards of the environment, which I think everyone in this Chamber does, we should vote for this bill because five times as many hybrids is much better than one times as many electric vehicles.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louisiana for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I will talk for a few minutes tonight about a critically important bill that we are debating on the House floor this week. It is one of the must-pass bills for us this year, the appropriations bills for military construction and funding for the Veterans Affairs. MILCON- VA we call it.

This will establish funding levels for these critically important programs for the next fiscal year.

The job of crafting this legislation was particularly problematic this year because many people have heard about our commitment to fiscal responsibility and about the dire consequences of our inability to reduce Federal spending.

Our deficit this year will be almost 6 percent of our gross domestic product--6 percent of everything our country makes just in deficit spending. Our national debt this year will be the highest it has ever been in the history of our country, and it is going to get even worse if we don't get this problem under control.

In fact, the Congressional Budget Office in their 30-year projection says that 30 years from now at the rate we are going, our national debt in current dollars will exceed $1 million for every American household.

That is clearly an unsustainable fiscal trajectory for our country.

So the Appropriations Committee had the nearly impossible task this year of honoring our commitment to our veterans and fully funding the Veterans Affairs and our veterans health programs while at the same time honoring our commitment to cut wasteful government spending and our commitment to fiscal responsibility.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to say that our colleagues in the Appropriations Committee have pulled off that seemingly impossible task.

The bill we are considering this week fully funds both the VA and our veterans healthcare programs. In fact, it funds both of those programs at levels hundreds of millions of dollars more than the levels requested by the President because that is what is required to meet our commitments to our servicemen and -women.

Yet, at the same time, it makes very meaningful reductions in wasteful government spending on other nonessential programs.

It also accomplishes some things I am particularly excited about. It funds a program to modernize medical records at the VA. It also funds the expansion of the Arlington National Cemetery which is something that I think is a meaningful honoring of the promise that we have made to our veterans to be able to be buried at Arlington if they so choose.

This program is an incredible demonstration of the commitment that the folks in this Chamber have to honoring our promise to our military servicemen and -women.

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support it and to thank our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee for their hard work on this.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Sandra Irby as she retires from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex after 24 years of service supporting the United States space program. She began her career working with the Marine Corps in Barstow, California during Operation Desert Storm and is a valuable member of our community.

Sandi began her career at NASA Goldstone working in logistics as a warehouse worker. Her hard work and commitment led to expanded responsibilities as she was promoted to Property Administrator. In this role she was responsible for asset tracking, property movement, government reporting, and inventory of NASA property. Sandi assisted with the development of advanced hierarchical systems for determining locations and specifying the condition of assets. This information was critical in ensuring the continued operation of telecommunications equipment across the Goldstone complex.

Sandi's 24 years of service have been an important contribution to the success of JPL NASA's Deep Space Network. Goldstone has played a critical role in NASA's robotic and human-crewed spaceflight mission, landing, and planetary encounters. We honor Sandi for her commitment and contributions towards our mission to expand humankind's understanding of the solar system and beyond.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, the FAA is responsible for administrating and certifying pilots in the United States. The certification of these pilots takes place in the form of written tests administered at a test center, but also in the form of practical tests that are usually administered in an aircraft or in a simulator.

These practical tests are conducted by either FAA examiners or, more usually, designated pilot examiners. This is a system that has worked well for decades, but a recent problem has arisen where pilots who are applying for certification, who need practical tests are encountering large and unacceptable delays in the scheduling of those tests.

In fact, some of the pilots that I have spoken to in the preparation of this amendment had to wait over 12 months for the scheduling of a practical test. I think we can all agree that that is unacceptable.

It is not fair to the airmen, it is not fair to the FAA, it is not fair to the pilot community, and it is detrimental to the advancement of the aviation industry.

This amendment is a very simple fix to that problem: It would direct the FAA to implement an accountability program to ensure that no applicant has to wait more than 2 weeks for the administration of a practical test.

I think this is a commonsense solution. It works for the FAA and for the applicants, and I would urge its adoption.

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

Mr. Chair, I would strongly object to the characterization of this amendment as burdensome. If you want an example of burdensome, think about a student pilot who has applied to get their pilot's license.

Mr. Chair, I have been a certified flight instructor for almost 30 years. This is a situation that I have experienced. When you are a student pilot, you don't know exactly when you are going to reach the level of proficiency required by the Federal aviation regulations, so you train and you train and you train and you sweat and you work, and finally your instructor says you are ready to take the test.

Now, imagine a student in that position applying for a test and being told it is going to be months before they can be examined.

Mr. Chair, I can tell you from personal experience that flight proficiency is a perishable commodity. You cannot go several months without flying, hop into a cockpit, and expect to be at the same level of proficiency that you were.

We are adding burdensome regulation on our student pilots when we expect them to maintain their proficiency for however long it takes the FAA to schedule that exam.

To be clear, this amendment does not direct the FAA to make its inspectors available; it directs the FAA to make the resources available to implement an accountability program to make sure we have a sufficient number of pilot examiners to make this situation better.

Two weeks is an industry standard consensus. The FAA has agreed that

that is a reasonable period of time. This just makes sense.

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

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

Mr. Chair, to be clear: This is not a scheduling problem on the part of the applicant. The applicant doesn't know exactly when they are going to be ready. The applicant doesn't know when the weather is going to cooperate. Particularly for the base level of pilots' licenses, you need good weather to be able to take the test.

This is just talking about the amount of time after an applicant says I am ready before which a designated pilot examiner can administer that exam. I think we can all agree that that should not be a year.

This is a commonsense amendment that would solve that problem, and I urge its adoption.

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

Mr. Chair, I have a further amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, aviation fuel is one of the few fuels remaining that still contains lead. It has been universally acknowledged that lead is not good for our environment. It is not good for our children. It is not good for human ingestion. It causes serious health problems.

The industry has conducted a decades-long study and process to try to develop an alternative fuel that takes the lead out of aviation fuel. However, this has become a very, very troublesome and difficult task because the only suitable solutions would have to be suitable for all types of aviation engines and some aircraft feature engines that are higher horsepower and higher compression that depend on the presence of lead to be able to operate safely.

Finally, we are approaching a consensus standard on an unleaded replacement for aviation gas; however, there is a problem that has arisen. Airports accept grant funds from the Airport Improvement Program, and in return, they give the FAA grant assurances that they will keep their airports open.

In 2018, when FAA was reauthorized, it was agreed by this body that an airport should not be able to withdraw the sale of fuel completely and that that would be a violation of its FAA AIP grant assurances.

I think that that is still true, and I hope we all still feel that way. However, most airports only have a single infrastructure for the delivery of avgas. If an airport seeks to switch from this current standard, which is 100 low lead to an unleaded replacement, a question has arisen as to whether or not that would be a violation of its grant assurances.

This amendment clarifies that situation and states that when an industry standard consensus fuel emerges that it is not a violation of grant assurance for an airport to switch from leaded aviation fuel to unleaded aviation fuel.

I think that this protects the interests of our airports, of our pilot community, and also protects our environment at the same time.

Mr. Chair, I urge its adoption, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I hope there has been no confusion here. We are all on the same team. We want to get the lead out of aviation fuel. This amendment allows us to do that. The current situation is that when an industry standard consensus fuel emerges that airports will not be able to switch over to it because if you only have a single infrastructure, a single fuel truck, or a single fuel tank, the current grant assurances require you to continue offering the leaded fuel.

Airports will be faced with an impossible choice: The choice between maintaining a leaded fuel, even though an unleaded replacement is available, or buying an entirely different infrastructure for the delivery of the unleaded fuel.

I think we can all agree that makes no sense. This is just a commonsense solution to that problem. We have worked with committee staff on this. We have worked with industry on this. I think this is something that everyone should be able to get behind.

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

Mr. Chair, to be clear, we are trying to give airports the option of a transition to an unleaded aviation fuel when that option becomes available to them. Some language is needed to do this because airports are confused about whether or not doing this is a violation of their FAA grant assurances. This amendment clarifies that it is not. An amendment, to be clear, is needed to clarify this situation.

Mr. Chair, I respectfully urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.