Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Senior Master Sergeant Jameson J. Stitt, a distinguished airman from Syracuse, New York. Sergeant Stitt has served our country for nearly four decades from September 24, 1986, to July 17, 2026, in the United States Air Force and the New York Air National Guard. During his tenure, he earned numerous medals and awards. As Logistics Plans Superintendent at the 174th Attack Wing, he has played a vital role in organizing and supporting deployment operations.

Sergeant Stitt's career began in 1986, with assignments ranging from aircraft maintenance to logistics and deployment planning. He served in Operations DESERT SHIELD, DESERT STORM, NORTHERN WATCH, and NOBLE EAGLE, adapting to new aircraft and mission challenges. He has managed major deployments, coordinated logistics for worldwide missions, and supported New York State operations, including COVID-19 response. As a member of the Base Honor Guard, Sergeant Stitt has participated in over 300 military funerals and many community events. His dedication extends beyond his service, training more than 50 guardsmen and honoring fallen first responders after 9/11.

Throughout his career, Sergeant Stitt has demonstrated integrity, commitment, and exceptional service. His decorations include the Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster, the Air and Space Force Outstanding Unit Award with one Valor ``V'' device and four oakleaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal with one service star; the Southwest Asia Service Medal with three campaign stars, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal with one campaign star. He has also received several New York State military honors. Sergeant Stitt is a valued member of professional associations and has contributed to various committees over the years.

Mr. Speaker, Senior Master Sergeant Stitt has served our Nation with pride and loyalty. I congratulate him on his retirement and thank him for his dedication. I wish him, his wife Shari, and daughters, Julisan and Kira, all the best in the years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. I commend my colleagues for their months-long negotiation to get this done.

In central New York and the Mohawk Valley, we are ready for growth in the years to come, but we must meet the housing challenge.

Our community leaders need resources and more flexibility from our housing programs to make that happen.

Developers and builders want to be a part of the solution, but we need to remove the needless hurdles that keep projects from getting off the ground.

This bill incentivizes housing production, streamlines construction processes, and improves access to financing. It also helps repair aging homes and invests in community infrastructure. It finally prohibits large investors from purchasing single-family homes so that they remain affordable for families.

I was proud to vote in support of this legislation, and I urge the President to promptly sign this bipartisan bill into law and stop playing politics with affordable housing.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to honor Hamilton College student Mele K. Kaneali`i, who was selected as a 2026 Truman Scholar, one of the Nation's highest honors for students committed to fostering public service and leadership.

Established by Congress in 1975 as the living memorial to President Harry S. Truman, the Truman Scholarship recognizes students who demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, academic excellence, and deep commitment to careers in public service. Mele was chosen from a highly competitive national pool and is among 55 American undergraduates selected this year to receive this prestigious honor. This is only the fourth Truman scholar in Hamilton College's history.

It comes as no surprise that Mele has earned this distinction given her passion for, and commitment to, advancing meaningful policy to address the housing crisis. Specifically, Mele has dedicated significant time and energy toward researching Hawaii's housing challenges and working to advance policy solutions to reduce housing disparities in her community.

I commend Mele K. Kaneali`i for this remarkable accomplishment and for exemplifying the leadership and public service values at the core of the Truman Scholarship, and I extend my sincere congratulations on this outstanding recognition.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of National Police Week. Just this week, in my hometown of Syracuse, New York, police officers were shot in the line of duty, and, thankfully, they are recovering.

In central New York, in the Mohawk Valley, there are names that mean a great deal to our community: Lieutenant Michael Hoosock of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office, Officer Michael Jensen of the Syracuse Police Department, Investigator Wallie Howard, Jr., and trailblazers like Detective Gwen Dowdell. They are heroes and role models, all of them.

Lieutenant Hoosock, Officer Jensen, and Investigator Howard were tragically killed in the line of duty. Detective Dowdell built trust and protected vulnerable neighbors. Their legacies remind us that law enforcement, at its best, is rooted in service, trust, and integrity. That is the kind of law enforcement that I know exists in New York's 22nd Congressional District, professional departments with responsible leadership.

To every officer, deputy, investigator, trooper, and law enforcement family across central New York and this country, I thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the Hamilton College Men's Ice Hockey NCAA DIII National Champions. The Continentals brought home their first ever national championship title with a 2-

1 overtime victory over the three-time defending champions, Hobart Statesman. I commend these young men for their sportsmanship and dedication to their craft. I congratulate the team, coaches, families, and entire Hamilton community for a great season and an outstanding performance en route to victory. I include in the Record the names of the coaches and players from this National Championship winning team:

Head Coach Rob Haberbusch, Assistant Coach Stephen

Castriota, Goaltending Coach Casey Boone, Aksel Reid,

Garrison Schultz, Noah Leibl, Connor Thue, John

Wojciechowski, Ryan Sordillo, Thomas Beaudoin, Sebastian

Hamming, Brendan Waivada, Devon de Vries, Clarence Beltz,

Cameron Miranda, Trey Williams, Zach Walsh, Alex Danis, Max

Bulwaka, Curtiss Sturgeon, Michael Gallary, Carson Hall, Ben

Zimmerman, Liam Varmecky, Jackson Krock, Luke Tchor, Justin

Biraben, Joey Luvullo, Tyler Bloomfield, Josh Nadler, Lucas

Constantine, Vincent Gould, and Jacob Ierfino.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Rivas for her leadership on affordability and giving me the opportunity to speak today.

Across central New York and the Mohawk Valley, people are worried, and they have every reason to be. Grocery prices are going up. Healthcare costs are rising. Energy bills are spiking. Too many families feel like they are being asked to absorb the hit while Washington does nothing to make their lives better or more affordable.

On healthcare, the threat is real and urgent. Just this week, I met with leadership and toured Oneida Health, a rural hospital in my district that has been there for over a hundred years. They are feeling the largest healthcare cuts in the history of the country that were passed in the big, ugly bill, and they know firsthand that the deeply inadequate rural healthcare fund comes nowhere near making up for the lost revenue that happened in that bill.

You cannot cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and decimate the foundation of our healthcare system, cutting at the knees our rural hospitals, and pretend that a one-time Band-Aid of $50 billion will hold the system together.

Many of my Republican colleagues continue to tout their votes in support of the largest healthcare cuts in our history while letting critical subsidies expire.

We should be doing the opposite. There is bipartisan support to extend the ACA premium tax credits. We should be working together to prevent premium spikes and make sure seniors and working families aren't forced to choose between prescription drugs, groceries, and keeping the heat on.

Healthcare should provide peace of mind, not financial anxiety, because when essential services are gutted, community health centers and rural hospitals face shortfalls, and people are forced to drop coverage. It impacts everyone through higher premiums, and all of us will be paying more and are paying more to get less. The House has wisely voted to extend the subsidies, and the Senate needs to do the same.

The same affordability crisis is playing out with energy costs. I hear it every day from families and small businesses who simply cannot afford another rate hike. That is why I helped found the Congressional Lowering Utility Bills Caucus, to push real, practical solutions that put consumers first.

Upstate New York knows extreme weather--long winters, hot summers-- but weather alone doesn't explain why utility bills have become unmanageable. Families in my district are projected to pay hundreds more each year, even when usage stays the same. I have heard from constituents whose bills jumped hundreds of dollars and more in just a matter of months. That is not sustainable, and it is not acceptable.

Part of the problem is growing demand from energy-intensive data centers. Regular Americans should not be forced to subsidize massive corporate energy use.

Another part of the problem is this administration's decisions that undercut long-term affordability, such as blocking transmission, canceling low-cost energy products--some of which are green energy projects--and slowing investments that would expand supply, stabilize prices, and give consumers the options they need and demand.

Republicans control the White House, Senate, and House, and it seems like big energy corporations control them. We see every day that their actions demonstrate that they are not interested in lowering the costs for hardworking Americans.

The good news is that solutions do exist. We need smart investments in generation and transmission, expanded energy-efficiency programs that help families use less and pay less, and a balanced approach to create more affordable energy options, including renewables and clean, reliable nuclear

power. We also need accountability, including keeping utilities local and making sure profits aren't shipped overseas while families here struggle to keep the lights on.

Consumer affordability, not corporate profit, has to be the priority. Paying for groceries and healthcare, keeping the lights on, and heating your home are the basic expectations that should exist in the wealthiest country in the world, Mr. Speaker. They should not be luxuries.

This affordability crisis isn't just hitting hardworking families across central New York and the Mohawk Valley. It is squeezing our small businesses, our hospitals, and our schools. I will keep fighting to make sure Washington treats this crisis with the urgency that it demands.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share what is at stake for students with disabilities as this administration continues its attacks on the Department of Education.

Last year, one of our Nation's most fundamental laws, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA,

reached its 50th anniversary. IDEA opened the doors to opportunities and protected the rights of millions of students with disabilities and their families. It guaranteed a free, appropriate public education where students with disabilities could learn in the least restrictive environment and with the proper support.

Before this landmark piece of legislation, generations of students with disabilities were routinely denied equal access to education. As a teacher for almost 30 years and the founding chairman of the New York State Senate Disabilities Committee, I have seen firsthand how IDEA has transformed lives and what it means to families.

Yet, for all of the progress that we have made, much work still remains, and IDEA is still more at risk today than it has ever been. This administration has recklessly conducted mass layoffs across the Department of Education, with no regard for the impacts on programs, school districts, students, and families whom they serve.

Sadly, these firings have reached the Office of Special Education Programs, which administers IDEA, as well as the Office for Civil Rights, which investigates cases of disability discrimination. Without these agencies and their dedicated employees, parents would have little recourse when schools fail to protect their students and provide appropriate accommodations.

From day one, it was obvious that this administration wanted to transfer IDEA oversight out of the Department of Education entirely by moving it to HHS, an agency with no expertise or legal authority over special education.

Countless disability advocates have sounded the alarm on this proposal. We cannot let these attacks continue, and we must also continue to call out the vile rhetoric and misinformation about disabilities in this country and around the world that this administration has spread.

Parents of students with disabilities fight hard every single day for their children, and there is no reason that they should have to fight harder. I came to Congress to be a voice for those families and to ensure that our country lives up to its promises and our values.

That is why my very first bill was the Protecting Students With Disabilities Act, which would protect IDEA programs from the illegal dismantling of the Department of Education. This should be a bipartisan cause, as it has long been, and we should be talking more about fully funding IDEA and strengthening it. Instead, we are left defending it from political attacks.

I thank my colleague, Representative Hayes, for organizing this discussion. I also thank my fellow members of the Education and Workforce Committee for their commitment to maintaining IDEA. As a fellow educator, I am proud to stand with Representative Hayes in this fight.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of legislation that promotes the health and well-being of America's schoolchildren, while strengthening American agriculture, including the world-class dairy products and family farms across Central New York and the Mohawk Valley. That legislation, Mr. Speaker, is the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.

Earlier this week, the House passed this bill with overwhelming bipartisan support, a clear sign that commonsense policy can still bring Democrats and Republicans together.

This bipartisan bill that I proudly cosponsored does something simple and practical. It gives schools the flexibility to serve nutritious milk options, while supporting local dairy farmers.

Since whole milk was removed from school cafeterias, milk consumption has dropped sharply. Kids aren't meeting recommended daily intake, and that matters for their health and their focus. Speaking as a former teacher for nearly three decades, it matters for their academic success.

Mr. Speaker, notably, this bill doesn't mandate changes. It simply restores choice. Kids can't learn on empty stomachs. This is the right policy for our schools, for our farmers, and for our country. I thank my colleagues for supporting it.

Mr. Speaker, as our government employees had their rights violated and were treated poorly, spending is up.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Protect America's Workforce Act. I am a proud cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation to restore collective bargaining rights to hundreds of thousands of Federal workers.

I was raised in Syracuse, New York, in a union household. My mother was a proud CWA member at New York Telephone, and my father a proud union member at New York Central Railroad. I also served as the president of a 400 member teachers' association union representing teachers, nurses, school psychologists, and social workers.

Those who have a union worker in their family understand the guarantee that comes with the union card: fair pay, solid benefits, a secure retirement, and a real path to the middle class.

The indiscriminate stripping of collective bargaining rights through executive action was an illegal gray area if not outright unlawful.

This legislation ends that ambiguity. It should never have been a partisan issue.

The Speaker pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

I am grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working together toward this meaningful solution. My father always said that a job is more than a paycheck. It is about dignity. All work is dignified when providing for your family.

Mr. Speaker, the Protect America's Workforce Act lives up to those ideals. Behind every family's American Dream is a good job and often a good union job.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and service of Syracuse Police Officer Wallie Howard, Jr.

Officer Howard was a son of Syracuse, a Henninger graduate, a Syracuse University student, and a respected member of the Syracuse Police Department.

He dedicated his life to protecting our community, serving with distinction on the Central New York DEA Task Force.

On October 30, 1990, during an undercover narcotics investigation, Officer Howard was ambushed and killed in the line of duty. His death marked the first line-of-duty death for a Syracuse officer since 1929.

For decades, his legacy has guided law enforcement training across the country, and awards in his name continue to honor excellence, bravery, and service.

It is time to bestow another lasting honor on this Syracuse hero. That is why I have introduced bipartisan legislation to rename the post office at 2200 South Salina Street in Syracuse as the Officer Wallie Howard, Jr. Post Office Building.

This designation ensures that in the everyday life of the city he protected, Syracuse, New York, Officer Howard's name, sacrifice, and example will never be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the overwhelming majority of the New York delegation that are cosponsoring this bill, and I urge all my colleagues to support it and to help a great American city honor a great American hero who gave everything for his community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to unequivocally condemn the act of political violence that ended the life of Charlie Kirk. Violence has no place in our democracy, and no American, regardless of political beliefs, should ever be the target of an assassination.

I send my sincere condolences to his wife Erica, his children, and all who mourn his loss.

But condemning violence is not the same as endorsing a legacy. In fact, it is a sign of the strength of our republic that we can both mourn Mr. Kirk's death and openly acknowledge that he was a polarizing figure in American politics. Many Americans justifiably find his words and actions divisive and offensive.

It is entirely legitimate to say that Mr. Kirk's legacy is controversial. To present his life and work in only heroic terms fails to acknowledge his promotion of misinformation and the harmful impact his words have had on marginalized communities. Having these conversations openly, without fear of recrimination or harassment is part of what it means to live in a free society.

As we condemn political violence in the strongest possible terms, let us also reaffirm our commitment to honest debate, to teaching the totality of our history, and to preserving a democracy where it is safe to disagree.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Kaptur for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, as the final speaker tonight, let me take you to upstate New York, Syracuse, central New York, the Mohawk Valley, just west down the Erie Canal from my good friend, Representative Tonko, who represents the capital region.

This is a place where I have lived and loved my entire life. These are communities that know firsthand what happens when Washington breaks its promises and when jobs and investments disappear.

We remember back home when Griffiss Air Force Base closed. We remember when Carrier left. Those were our sheet metal workers. We remember when New Venture Gear and a Chrysler plant closed. Those were our UAW brothers and sisters. There were others that have left our region behind.

It is through that prism that we see the Trump administration's $30 million clawback of Federal funding awarded to Syracuse, New York. This was funding for a project that had bipartisan support and passed in a Republican-majority House. It is a piece of one of the largest infrastructure projects in the Nation and the largest in the history of upstate New York. That is the reimagining of Interstate 81.

That money was meant to build roads and sidewalks, reconnect utilities, and restore opportunity where an elevated highway divided a community of color in the early 1960s.

Pulling those funds away is a betrayal of the working families who were promised progress and, instead, are left with fewer jobs, less opportunity, and delayed urban renewal. It is uncertainty that has existed over the last 9 months, and that uncertainty is part of a great American city that I have lived in for my entire life.

Mr. Speaker, this is not the only bad policy that is hurting the region and the people I represent. Our economy is tied deeply to Canada. In fact, New York's 22nd District, which doesn't even border Canada, exports $1 billion in goods and $227 million in services to Canada each year.

This is a longstanding trade relationship that supports more than 6,400 jobs locally and directly employs 1,400 people at Canadian-owned businesses. Slap-shot tariff policy and volatile trade policy have put those jobs at risk.

Our manufacturers who rely on metals, equipment, and machinery are watching the costs rise. Just yesterday, in a hearing in the Agriculture Committee that I serve on, farmers were talking about their increased costs. Those increased costs are often related to automated farm machinery that they can get only from outside of the United States.

They don't have time to wait and see if, possibly, domestic manufacturing will occur. They need help now.

As my colleague stated before, it is under our purview as Congress. Article I, Section 8, gives us the authority for imposts and excises, not the executive office.

Our manufacturers rely on those things. Our farmers, especially our dairy and specialty crop producers, are losing access to stable export markets. Our small businesses, like local breweries that depend on Canadian aluminum for cans, are feeling the pinch.

When tariffs slam the border, it hits the bottom line for small businesses in Syracuse, Utica, Auburn, Cortland, and other communities across my district.

While we are fighting those challenges, the Trump administration is also attacking renewables, a fast-growing private-sector employer in New York State. That is not just in my district. In Representative Stefanik's district, a hydrogen fuel cell plant was not going to be completed by the same company that was going to build in California and Texas.

It is not about a red State or a blue State. It is about the demand that we have for energy as we move into the future.

As my colleagues also stated, we are falling behind. Canada is beating us. It is time to invest. We need more energy. Without that energy, we are going to continue to fall behind.

What jobs were lost in that project for hydrogen fuel cells not even in my district? In Massena, New York, jobs like the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, IUPAT, and others do not have those jobs that were promised. They pulled the plug because those hydrogen fuel tax credits were pulled.

We are fighting that challenge. The cuts, the loss of these jobs, and the loss of promises and tax credits are impacting our ability to hit our clean energy goals and lower our utility bills for consumers. It is making it harder to attract investment and job-creating opportunities in my district and around the upstate region.

We have fought for clean energy manufacturing. I did so in the State senate as the cosponsor of a piece of legislation called Green CHIPS, which has brought Micron Technology into my district, producing semiconductor chips using clean energy. I was the co-prime sponsor of that legislation. This is the largest private investment in the history of this country.

That is where we are: broken promises on I-81; reckless tariff policy that destabilizes trade for the agricultural sector, manufacturing sector, and small businesses; and shortsighted cuts to energy programs, which will make power generation more challenging and cost jobs and investment while driving up energy costs.

I can tell you this: New York-22 communities are resilient. We have rebuilt before, and we are building again. We are building with Micron and others, with investments in advanced manufacturing, with world- class dairy farmers and growers who continue to feed the Nation, and with workers who never stop fighting for a better future.

Washington should be our partner in that progress, not a roadblock. I will never stop fighting for my hometown and the working people of this country. I will always keep telling the truth to my constituents and the American people.

It is bad policy that is hurting our country, leaving us behind, and costing Americans more. The people I serve deserve nothing less than a Congress that works together and does the work that they have been constitutionally given the right to do.

No one should cede our House of Representatives' constitutional power to Donald Trump. We can fix this. We can put our country over politics and workers over partisanship. That is the way forward, and that is what I will be working on to deliver for the people of central New York, along with my Congressional Labor Caucus partners.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today during National Police Week to honor the brave men and women who put their lives on the line each day to keep us safe.

I rise to honor Lieutenant Michael Hoosock of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office and Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen, who were ambushed and killed on a quiet street in Salina, New York, just 13 months ago. I also honor Oswego County Sheriff's Deputy Cailee Campbell, who was killed in a motor vehicle accident in my old State senate district last fall. Their names now join others from central New York and the Mohawk Valley like Syracuse Officer Wallie Howard on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

I note briefly that Officer Howard's killer was shamefully released from prison by President Trump at the end of his first term. The Syracuse community, the police department, Officer Howard's family, and the prosecutors who brought this case for justice were all shocked at the decision to release this convicted murderer.

Syracuse and New York-22 will never forget the sacrifices of these men and women regardless of how long their names are up on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and will always support law enforcement and their families.

I thank Lieutenant Hoosock, Officer Jensen, and Deputy Campbell for their commitment to their community. I rise today to honor their service and to offer my support and condolences to their families and friends. We stand with them, and we grieve with them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Van Robinson, of Syracuse, who died Saturday at the age of 87.

The history books will remember him as the first African-American president of the Syracuse Common Council, a body whose chambers now bear his name, but his legacy and contributions are far richer.

It was Van Robinson who began the conversation about tearing down the highway that divides our city through a thriving African-American neighborhood. Now, the reimagining of I-81 is the largest infrastructure project in the history of upstate New York.

It was Van Robinson who revived the local NAACP chapter. It was Van Robinson who always advocated for his community. It was Van Robinson who went out of his way to mentor and support the leaders of Syracuse, including me.

I thank Van for making Syracuse, a place we both love, a better place.

I send my prayers and condolences to Linda Brown-Robinson and the Robinson family.

God bless you, Councilor. Rest in power.