Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, I also share my thoughts with the folks at Abundant Life Christian School, and certainly to the students, the faculty, the staff, and the parents, and keep them very close in our hearts and very much in our prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I speak this afternoon in support of H.R. 9488, as amended, the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations Act, and I extend my thanks to Chairman Steil and his entire staff for their collaborative, bipartisan work to reach consensus on this bill before us.

House Democrats care deeply about the integrity of our elections. That will always be our North Star. Preventing fraudulent fundraising practices is a critical endeavor.

This bill would provide additional privacy and security protections for Americans who choose to engage in our democratic process by donating to political campaigns online. We are grateful, again, to the chair and his staff for agreeing to a number of changes we suggested that we believe were important revisions to the bill.

I will just review those briefly for the record here. For example, it includes changes to continue allowing recipients of Social Security and veterans' benefits to participate in the political process through small money donations; changes that would allow donors to continue to simplify the political donation process by scheduling recurring contributions and using saved credit card information; changes that further security without hampering innovation in how we finance our campaigns by creating special rules for contributions through digital wallets; and changes incorporating an FEC bipartisan legislative recommendation to prohibit aiding or abetting the making of a contribution in the name of another individual. This provision codifies a regulation first issued in 1989. It includes changes to give the FEC time to make appropriate regulations to ensure that payment processors and online platforms can continue to securely enable political donations.

At the same time, I will make sure Americans understand that our political contribution system is currently safe and secure. ActBlue, for example, which enables Americans to easily engage in our political process, is a platform that is already extremely secure and numerous safeguards are provided for donors.

ActBlue monitors activity on its platform to ensure that impermissible contributions are promptly identified and rejected. These existing measures prevent potential foreign contributions, protect donors from financial fraud, and identify fraudulent online behavior.

This bill supports the already safe online donation system. Americans can continue to trust that our elections, our political systems, generally speaking, are free, fair, and unaffected by fraud.

Providing credit and debit card CVVs in online contributions will help Americans feel secure in their contributions, but Americans should understand that the provision of CVVs this bill facilitates is in addition to numerous other antifraud security measures that already protect credit and debit card donors.

Regrettably, we have seen recent disinformation campaigns against the platform. Allegations of fraudulent donor schemes involving ActBlue, however, have been discredited and criticized by campaign finance experts.

These campaigns distort and often misunderstand campaign finance data.

I want all Americans to know our system is safe and that you should feel free to participate in it. That is what my support for this measure is all about today. We can further strengthen the security of our online donation systems and inspire donors who feel moved to participate.

I appreciate the work that has gone into this bill, the opportunity to ensure the record correctly reflects the secure reality of online donation systems, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we support this bill strongly here. This is a critical priority for us to make sure Americans continue to have safety and feel confident in their system.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 932.

Passed with unanimous consent by the Senate, S. 932 will close loopholes and tighten an already existing prohibition on Members collecting retirement benefits that were accrued during their time in Congress if they are convicted of a crime of public corruption committed during congressional service.

Currently, convicted former Members can continue to collect their government pension while going through the judicial appeals process.

This bill ends that practice.

Public service is often referred to as a ``higher calling,'' and there is no greater professional privilege than to be elected to this body. By sending us here, our constituents place an enormous amount of trust in us, and it is our obligation to reward that trust by carrying out our constitutional responsibilities to them with honor and integrity.

That is the contract we agree to when we ask for someone's vote and they give it to us. That compact is the keystone of a legitimate government. It is what separates a democracy from a kleptocracy.

The overwhelming majority of our colleagues who serve do so with integrity. They are here for the right reasons. They honor the oath we all swear. They use the powers of the office to further the interests of their constituents, not to unjustly enrich themselves.

For those who don't, we must send a clear and unequivocal message that corruption will not be tolerated. For the sake of the country, it cannot be tolerated, and this bill sends that message.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman), my friend, for his leadership on this as well as all my colleagues. I certainly thank the chair for his bipartisan work on this.

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

Mr. Speaker, I again thank my friend, Mr. Norman, for doing this. I think most people watching this would find it hard to believe this wasn't already the law of the United States, but we are going to do that. I thank him for his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I will simply say that this is important in building and rebuilding the trust that Americans, in some cases, have lost in this institution. I am grateful for this.

I thank my colleague and dear friend, the chairman of this committee, for bringing the bill forward. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9489. I also echo the words by my colleague and friend, Mr. Steil, regarding the life of Danna Bell, who worked here in the House. She had a long record of many contributions to not only this institution but our country.

I rise in support of H.R. 9489, the bipartisan legislation that would sunset the Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress, allowing us to allocate our limited resources more efficiently. The advisory committee, as my friend has indicated, was established in 1990 and was tasked with reviewing and advising Congress and the National Archives on the management and preservation of congressional records.

The House Clerk, one of the committee's leaders, has suggested it sunset, as it has fulfilled its primary objectives and is no longer necessary for addressing the evolving challenges of preserving congressional records.

Over the past 34 years, advancements in technology and the increasing volume of materials to be preserved have dramatically changed, and the landscape of record preservation has changed with it.

By disbanding this advisory committee, we can redirect valuable resources toward enhancing modern archiving practices while saving taxpayer dollars. As we all know, congressional resources are finite--I think we know that all too well--and need to be used efficiently to ensure the continued success of this institution and its service on behalf of the American people.

I extend my thanks to the House Clerk, the Honorable Kevin McCumber, and his entire team for their leadership on this initiative.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank my colleagues and the staff for doing this and for the leadership of the Clerk's Office to find a way for us to end practices that are no longer useful and allow us to be able to focus more on the challenges we face moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9487. This bipartisan bill amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 to clarify the responsibilities of the Deputy Legislative Counsel and grant the Legislative Counsel the authority to designate a deputy to carry out their duties in the event of an absence or vacancy in the position.

We may be repeating ourselves quite a bit here, but I think that just indicates our support and cooperation that we were able to generate to pass this package of bills, which I am grateful for.

The Office of the Legislative Counsel, as my learned colleague has indicated, plays an essential role in supporting the work of Congress by providing impartial and confidential drafting services to Members and committees. The office is critical in our ability to function as an institution, and it enables us to work more efficiently on behalf of the American people.

The expert attorneys within the Office of the Legislative Counsel draft tens of thousands of bills and resolutions each Congress. That number grows exponentially when accounting for the many drafts of measures as they are refined, as well as the increasing number of amendments submitted by Members to the various committees.

I would like to take a moment to briefly recognize two of those attorneys right now. First, I thank Wade Ballou for his more than 40 years of service with the office. That service culminated with his appointment to Legislative Counsel in 2016. Wade recently announced his retirement. I wish him well as he moves into the next phase of his professional and personal life.

I also recognize the Deputy Legislative Counsel, Noah Wofsy, for his outstanding leadership. He and his team do a masterful job of supporting the House's legislative agenda, including the Committee on House Administration in particular. We would not have been able to bring this measure to the floor or any others without their dedication, patience, and commitment to task.

As the demands on the Office of the Legislative Counsel will undoubtedly continue to grow, it is vital we provide its attorneys with the support necessary for them to perform their jobs effectively. This includes ensuring the office has succession plans in place to maintain the continuity of congressional operations.

While this legislation may seem modest in scope, it is a critical step in strengthening the resilience of our institution, so I strongly urge my colleagues to support the measure.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank my friend and colleague, Mr. Steil, chairman of our committee, and the staff for their work on this.

Mr. Speaker, for all the reasons previously articulated, I think this is a fine piece of legislation that helps move the institution forward. I encourage all of my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6394. This bipartisan legislation, as my colleague has indicated, would authorize the Architect of the Capitol to bury a time capsule commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026, to be opened on our Nation's 500th anniversary in the year 2276.

I will note parenthetically, one of my favorite lines in the musical Hamilton says: ``Legacy. What is a legacy? It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.'' I think this qualifies for that. I suspect I won't be here at the opening of the time capsule.

Nonetheless, the items in the capsule will be determined by bipartisan, bicameral congressional leaders and include written materials relating to the anniversary, representations of notable legislative and institutional milestones, and a message from this Congress to our future colleagues in the 244th Congress.

The upcoming anniversary marks a powerful testament to the resilience of the American experiment. Our Nation has faced countless tests to our strength and unity, including a civil war, two world wars, natural disasters, and more.

Yet, through each challenge, this country has stood strong and remains committed to fulfilling the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence nearly 250 years ago.

As we face new challenges in a time of deep division, partisanship, and extremism, this anniversary serves as a reminder of our shared responsibility to uphold the values of liberty and equality championed by our Founding Fathers.

I extend my thanks to the United States Semiquincentennial Commission for its leadership in planning for this momentous occasion. I particularly commend my colleague and friend, Congresswoman Watson Coleman, for her introduction of this measure.

I also acknowledge the service of my fellow New Yorker, former Representative Joe Crowley, who has lent his time and efforts to the work of the commission.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to seeing the items chosen for the time capsule and recommend my colleagues' support for this measure.

I thank my friend and colleague for putting the bill before to the House and for his leadership in this regard.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman).

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

Mr. Speaker, again, I encourage support from my colleagues for this bill.

I will use this moment, if I can, as these are likely the final bills of our committee for the 118th Congress, to certainly thank my friend, Mr. Steil, for his cooperation, his leadership, and his friendship during the last 2 years.

I thank all the members of the committee and certainly all the members of the staff on both sides of the aisle

who worked diligently each and every day. I know there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes.

While we at times disagree, I think we work very well together in our interests collectively as to advance the work of this great institution and the support and service of the American people, and I thank the gentleman for that.

To all of my colleagues and those listening, I wish them the very happiest whatever their holiday tradition or faith tradition is. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and to everyone, I wish them a very, very healthy and happy New Year.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate and honor the life of George Hamlin, who passed away last month. His distinguished career and military service have left a profound impact on the Greater Rochester community, New York State, and the nation.

George Hamlin's life of service began in uniform. He served in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1969, where he flew 100 combat missions over North Vietnam. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 10 Air Medals for his dedication, skill, and valor. After finishing combat service, he attended the Navy's prestigious Top Gun Academy where he finished at the top of his class. The United States of America thanks him for his service to our Nation.

After being honorably discharged at the rank of Captain, Mr. Hamlin returned home and, in 1979, became CEO of the Canandaigua National Bank and Trust. He would go on to lead the bank--which has been in the Hamlin family since 1887--for 45 years. Under his leadership, the bank's portfolio grew to control billions of dollars in assets. He also played an influential role within the banking industry, serving on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Buffalo Branch Board of the Federal Reserve.

Along with his success in business, George was dedicated to the Greater Rochester community, volunteering his time and counsel to a multitude of community organizations, including the University of Rochester Medical Center, New York Kitchen, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others. George was also active within the arts and education community, serving as a member of the acting group for the Bristol Valley Theater. His consistent devotion to serving our community made an indelible impact on people across the Rochester region.

George was a patriot, community leader, banker, and most importantly a husband and father. I give my condolences to his wife, Mary, and children, Sherrod, Frank, and Alex, during this difficult time. May he rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the research team from the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in my district that was recently awarded the 2024 John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research from the American Physical Society. This prestigious honor recognizes outstanding achievements in plasma physics research that stand out for their innovation and impact on the field.

The team received the award for pioneering the development of statistical modeling to predict, design, and analyze implosion experiments on the 30kJ OMEGA Laser. The research validates innovative design and analysis approaches, paving the way for more efficient exploration of target designs and improved understanding of the underlying physics. The expanding use of machine learning models has allowed the researchers to explore an optimal implosion design with high accuracy, minimal computational cost, and improved predictive capability.

These advancements are expected to guide future implosion experiments and accelerate progress in high-yield inertial confinement fusion and inertial fusion energy. The award-winning research involved contributions from various scientists and engineers in diagnostics and code development, target fabrication and cryogenic layering, and laser facility operation. Those involved include Riccardo Betti, Aarne Lees, Varchas Gopalaswamy, Duc M. Cao, Chad J. Forrest, James P. Knauer, Sean P. Regan, Rahul C. Shah, Cliff A. Thomas, Connor Alexander Williams, and Mike Campbell.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud the research team for their tremendous work and deserved recognition and couldn't be happier that scientific advances like these occur in Rochester. The study of fusion in the laboratory is critical to our national security and with the continued progress towards record fusion yields, I am increasingly enthusiastic about a future where

fusion powers our energy and economic security as well.

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

Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank my distinguished colleague and friend from Wisconsin, the chair of our committee, Mr. Steil.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 6513. I am proud to say this measure is the byproduct of bipartisan and bicameral agreement.

As was noted, Article I, Section 5, Clause 1 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to ``be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own Members.''

The House of Representatives serves as the final arbiter over any contest to the seating of any Member-elect and is the ultimate authority over who may serve in the Chamber.

This measure, H.R. 6513, confirms Congress' constitutional authority to designate congressional staff to observe election administration procedures in congressional elections. This bill complements our longstanding Election Observer Program, as has been noted.

The program is conducted by the Committee on House Administration, as authorized by House rules and the Federal Contested Elections Act. The role of a congressional observer is to monitor the administration of the election, gather information, and report back to the committee.

Every 2 years, the committee's longstanding practice is to work collaboratively on a bipartisan basis to send observers. There is evidence of the committee sending observers dating back to at least the 99th Congress, 1985 to 1987.

Mr. Speaker, I want to, again, repeat that I am grateful to my colleague and chairman of the committee, Mr. Steil, as well as another colleague who serves on our committee, Representative Mike Carey of Ohio, for sponsoring the bill. This addresses several concerns raised in committee with an earlier version of the text, and I thank them for working with us. I thank the staff on both sides for coming to this agreement.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Senate amendment to H.R. 6513, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 100th anniversary of Nazareth University, led by my dear friend, President Beth Paul, which was founded in 1924 by members of the Sisters of St. Joseph, a group with which I proudly share a name.

The five founding sisters saw the school as an opportunity to respond to the needs of the time and provide women with educational opportunities.

On September 24, 1924, Nazareth's initial class of 25 began their studies in the glass house on Lake Avenue, a date we now recognize as Naz Day.

They set out to create success against all odds, and by every measure, it has been an outstanding success.

One hundred years later, they have grown to a 150-acre campus, with nearly 2,500 students in more than 80 academic programs. The legacy of the Sisters of St. Joseph lives on through Nazareth's success, and I am proud to support their continued growth and prosperity.

Madam Speaker, here is to the next 100 years.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 7764, as amended. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin, my friend, the chairman of the Committee on House Administration, Mr. Steil, for his great work and the work of the staff.

This bipartisan bill will establish a commission to study the potential transfer of Philadelphia's Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History to the Smithsonian Institution.

Since 1654, when Jews first sought refuge from persecution in the New World, Jewish Americans have contributed to our Nation in countless ways.

They have served at the highest levels of government, won Nobel Prizes, created enduring works of art and literature, and stood at the forefront of nearly every struggle for civil rights and equality in this country.

That legacy extends to my own district in Rochester, New York, where Jewish Americans have been a vital part of our community since before the Civil War.

In the mid-19th century, they built our first synagogue. When the financial crisis of 1857 threatened to devastate Rochester's economy, the Jewish-American garment industry employed scores of residents and helped keep our city afloat.

Today, from the towns of Brighton and Pittsford to Irondequoit and the city of Rochester, Jewish Americans remain an irreplaceable part of our daily lives.

It pains me to see that anti-Semitism in the United States has surged to what the FBI Director has described as ``historic levels.''

This hatred has been fueled by the villainization of Jewish Americans after the October 7 terrorist attacks, as well as the alarming growth of racism, extremism, and white supremacy across the Nation.

One of the most troubling aspects of this trend is the rise of anti- Semitism among younger generations. For the first time since the Anti- Defamation League began its comprehensive study on anti-Semitism in 1964, these attitudes are now more prevalent among younger people than among older generations.

The ADL also found that 73 percent of Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed anti-Semitism since the beginning of the 2023- 2024 school year and that the number of students who feel comfortable with others knowing that they are Jewish has nearly been cut in half since the October 7 attack.

We must do more to show the invaluable role Jewish Americans have played in our national story and to inoculate people, some of whom are probably well-intentioned, against anti-Semitic stereotypes and online conspiracy theories.

For these reasons and more, now is the time for the Smithsonian to explore adding an American Jewish history museum to its roster.

As the Nation's preeminent institution dedicated to American Jewish history, the Weitzman National Museum should be seriously considered as a turnkey, cost-effective option.

An exhibit at the Weitzman National Museum showcases a 1790 letter from President George Washington to a Rhode Island synagogue in which he became the first leader of a modern nation to recognize Jews as full citizens.

We still have work to do to fully honor the spirit of President Washington's words.

I can think of few better ways to make progress than by bringing the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History under the Smithsonian umbrella.

This bill is an important first step, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning).

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for all the eloquent comments made by all the Members who spoke on the bill. This is vitally important, and I think it bears repeating that having opportunities for people to understand, to learn about the past, and to give us greater understanding is going to lead us to a better country and a better world.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful, again, to the chair of the committee and the sponsors for their work, I look forward to not only supporting the bill but urging my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the dangerous issue of deepfake pornography, which is incredibly destructive and can have life-altering impacts on its victims. Almost 96 percent of all deepfakes online are pornographic in nature, and nearly every single one targets women. It takes no special knowledge or technical expertise to create these images, and more women are being targeted each and every day. High school students, young girls who should be worried about their homework, not whether a classmate is using their image to make an explicit video that has the potential to do serious and irreparable harm. Deepfakes are abhorrent, and the developers of these systems should be held liable. I've introduced legislation to bring strong criminal and civil penalties against those who create them. I urge my colleagues to join me in demonstrating our shared commitment to fighting the dangerous misuse of artificial intelligence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the dangerous issue of deepfake pornography, which is incredibly destructive and can have life-altering impacts on its victims.

Almost 96 percent of all deepfakes online are pornographic in nature, and nearly every single one targets women. It takes no special knowledge or technical expertise to create these images, and more women are being targeted each and every day, including high school students, young girls who

should be worried about their homework, not whether a classmate is using their image to make an explicit video that has the potential to do serious and irreparable harm.

Deepfakes are abhorrent, and I have introduced legislation to bring strong criminal and civil penalties against those who create them.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in demonstrating our shared commitment to fighting the dangerous misuse of artificial intelligence.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to include in the Record the following: 1) an article from NBC News, headlined ``Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump allies who tried to overturn the 2020 election roll out voting 'integrity' bill,'' 2) a letter from the AFL-CIO expressing the organization's strong opposition to the SAVE Act, and 3) a letter from Common Cause, expressing the organization's strong opposition to the SAVE Act.

[May 8, 2024]

Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump Allies Who Tried To Overturn the 2020

Election Roll Out Voting `Integrity' Bill

Washington--Same of the conservative leaders of the effort

to overturn the 2020 presidential election gathered in front

of the Capitol on Wednesday and called on Congress to pass an

``election integrity'' bill to stop noncitizens from voting.

Leading the group, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.,

acknowledged that undocumented immigrants voting in elections

is already illegal under federal law. ``Some have noted that

it's already a crime for noncitizens to vote in a federal

election, and that is true,'' Johnson said.

But he argued that people know ``intuitively'' that

noncitizens are voting, even though he could not provide

estimates of how many. Multiple studies have shown that

noncltizen voting is extremely rare in federal elections.

``I mean, the answer is that it's unanswerable,'' Johnson

said ``That is the problem . . . We all know, intuitively,

that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections. But

it's not been something that is easily provable. We don't

have that number. This legislation will allow us to do

exactly that. It will prevent that from happening. And if

someone tries to do it, it will now be unlawful within the

states. We'll have a mechanism to prove whether they are or

not.''

A constitutional lawyer and close Donald Trump ally,

Johnson played a pivotal role in Trump's push to overturn the

2020 election. He led the amicus brief, signed by more than

100 House Republicans, backing a Texas lawsuit seeking to

invalidate the 2020 election results in four key swing states

won by President Joe Biden.

Johnson was joined Wednesday by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, two lawmakers whose text messages to

then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows were featured

prominently in the Jan. 6 committee's investigation into the

attack.

Others on hand included a who's who of MAGA conservatives.

Among them were Stephen Miller, the former White House senior

adviser to Trump, Jenny Beth Martin, the Tea Party Patriots

co-founder who was outside the capitol with a bullhorn on

Jan. 6, 2021; and Clete Mitchell, the conservative activist

who was on the January 2021 call with Trump when he told

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to ``find''

11,000 votes, enough to overturn the state's election

results.

Two other former Trump administration officials, Hogan

Gidley and Ken Cuccinelli, also spoke Wednesday.

When asked at the news conference whether he accepts the

2020 election results, Johnson replied ``What we're talking

about today is the 2024 election''.

But he went on to say ``Nobody can go back and relitigate

what happened in 2020. We know that there was ballot

harvesting, we know that there was mail-in ballots. It was

the Covid election. There was all sorts of irregularity

occasioned by the pandemic, where states haphazardly put

together new laws and opened up the systems and led to all

sorts of confusion and chaos and concern that lingers even to

the day.''

(``Ballot harvesting'' refers to a third party, such as a

family member, collecting voted ballots to return.

Conservatives have lambasted the practice, but the RNC is

embracing it in the 2024 elections ``where legal''.)

Miller, who's burnished a reputation in Washington as an

anti-immigration hard-liner, attempted to troll the media and

Democrats as he stood on the same House steps where Trump

supporters had climbed and overtaken police officers on Jan.

6, 2021.

``Democracy in America is under attack,'' Miller said. He

railed against the ``wide-open border and obstruction of any

effort to verify the citizenship of who votes in our

elections''.

Despite the lack of evidence of noncitizen voting, Miller

echoed unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that Democrats are

importing voters to help Biden win re-election.

Johnson first unveiled the framework of the legislation

last month, standing with Trump during a visit to his Mar-a-

Lago resort. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or

SAVE Act, would make it harder to register people to vote by

requiring proof of citizenship. That could include showing a

U.S. passport, a photo ID showing that the individual was

born in the United States, or a birth certificate--documents

that millions of Americans do not have access to, voting

rights advocates say.

The speaker pushed back when NBC News pointed out that the

legislation would not go anywhere in the Democratic-

controlled Senate or be signed into law by Biden.

``This is not a messaging bill. This is one of the most

substantive . . . most important pieces of legislation that

will be presented within our lifetime, in our congressional

careers. This is at the essence of what it means to have a

constitutional republic. If people cannot rely upon the

integrity of that system, then we have nothing,'' Johnson

said.

``And so we'll do it out of the House and we'll send it to

the Senate, and we'll let Chuck Schumer decide whether he

agrees with that sentiment or not,'' Johnson said. ``We're

not doing this for messaging purposes.''

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

Madam Speaker, you are going to hear a lot of fear-mongering rhetoric from my colleagues across the aisle today.

They claim the American people have no confidence in our elections. Where have we heard that one before? In 2020, Republican after Republican debased themselves by parroting lies about the election, by repeating claims they knew to be false.

They claimed that Americans had doubts about the election outcome, knowing full well that those doubts only existed because of the easily disproved conspiracy theories MAGA Republicans had been spreading. Those same Republicans organized illegal efforts to subvert the peaceful transfer of power that undergirds our cherished democracy.

There were criminal efforts to send false slates of electors to Washington to steal the Presidency from Joe Biden. People have been charged with crimes for these fake elector schemes, the very schemes that MAGA Republicans cheered on.

More than that, the former administration used the levers of government to try to retain their failing grip on power. Where is the respect for law and order? Where is reverence for justice?

As criminal indictments have shown, there were coordinated, intentional schemes among some in the White House and members of the Department of Justice to override the will of the American people, to suborn a coup d'etat right here in the United States.

The former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has stated publicly that Pentagon officials feared that the former President would attempt to use the military to stay in power. It is heartbreaking that this happened in our country, but what happened next is even worse.

After witnessing these corrupt efforts to stay in power, this downright shameful attempt to overthrow our system of government, what did Republicans do? Did they defend this country from all enemies, foreign and domestic? No, they cowered.

Speaker Johnson, joined by 126 House Republicans, filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court that attempted to throw out millions of American votes. Where did this lead? To a violent and deadly attack on this historic, majestic building, to our colleagues in this very room, on both sides of the aisle, clad in escape hoods and frantically calling loved ones, praying for divine deliverance.

As the mob stormed the Capitol, savagely beating police and calling for the execution of the sitting Vice President of the United States, the former President sat idly by. He did nothing to stop the attack. He did nothing to try to save lives, to save the Republic. He watched television in the White House for hours as the democracy was shaken to its core.

As patriots like Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi begged for support from the National Guard, from anyone, the former President did nothing.

Even the memories of that darkest of days haven't deterred Republicans'

quest for power. They decided to try it all again.

Last month, a rogues' gallery of election deniers stood on the steps of the Capitol, spreading more inaccuracies about the security of our elections. They admitted that they had no evidence of noncitizen voting in our elections, the same rhetoric that nearly broke our Nation 4 years ago.

Republicans' continued election denialism is akin to collective hero syndrome, where individuals create harmful situations like lighting a fire only to seek praise for putting the fire out.

This was a deeply dishonorable exercise when it began in 2020, and the dishonor has not abated.

The SAVE Act, and all the untruthful rhetoric around it, is part of the same project that election deniers began years ago. They are continuing--indeed, they are magnifying--the collective delusion by claiming that noncitizens are voting in Federal elections.

Simply put, they are not. It is against the law for noncitizens to register to vote and to vote in Federal elections. Let me repeat this: It is against the law for noncitizens to register to vote and to vote in Federal elections.

The false claim that there is a conspiracy to register noncitizens is a pretext for trying to overturn the 2024 election, potentially leading to another tragedy on January 6, 2025.

Let's turn to the profoundly damaging bill in front of us, the so- called SAVE Act. If I were to summarize what this bill does, I would offer this description: It would create enormous burdens for those registering to vote, erecting barriers that would shock most Americans, including most Republicans.

To begin, as my Republican colleague admitted at the Rules Committee on Monday, the SAVE Act will prohibit most Americans from registering to vote with their driver's license alone. Yes, you heard that right. The SAVE Act will bar Americans from using a standard State-issued driver's license alone when registering to vote.

The bill will prohibit the use of the new and improved Real IDs for over 95 percent of the American public, and this bill will apply to every American citizen.

What is a citizen to do if they cannot use their Real ID-compliant driver's license? The SAVE Act will allow Americans to use a passport to register, but only 48 percent of Americans have a passport, so over 130 million Americans are out of luck.

Wait, as they say, there is more.

Can a member of our military use their military ID to register to vote? Surely, military IDs will be enough to register to vote in our elections. Not so. According to Republicans, servicemembers will need to bring their military ID and a copy of their service record showing their place of birth within the United States.

Many servicemembers were born abroad, say, to military parents overseas. Those servicemembers will be entirely blocked from using their military ID to register.

This bill requires any new registrant to show their proof of citizenship in person at an election office. Any servicemember deployed overseas who wants to register to vote will not be able to. No dice.

That is right. The SAVE Act will prevent members of our Armed Forces deployed overseas from registering to vote.

Republicans are pushing a bill that will disenfranchise U.S. military personnel protecting us overseas from registering. It is unpatriotic, and it is shameful.

Wait, there is even more.

Native American voters will be unable to use their Tribal IDs to register to vote unless their Tribal ID demonstrates their place of birth in the United States.

Does every American's State or Tribal-issued ID show their place of birth? The answer almost certainly is no.

What about birth certificates? Under this bill, one could present their birth certificate alongside their photo ID, but herein lies the problem: Tens of millions of Americans, particularly married women, have a different name on their birth certificates than they have on their photo IDs.

Under the terms of the SAVE Act, these millions of married women will not be able to use their birth certificates to register to vote. The bill would disenfranchise countless married women who are U.S. citizens.

Let's be very clear: What is a voter supposed to do if they don't have a passport? What if their Real ID, like almost every American, does not show citizenship status? The SAVE Act will not allow them to register, especially millions upon millions of American women, students, servicemembers, Native voters, and many more.

This bill is not actually about preventing noncitizens from voting in Federal elections. I will repeat what I said before: It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and to vote in Federal elections.

We litigated this back in 2020 when Republicans alleged mass voter fraud in State after State. Yet, every recount, audit, and lawsuit demonstrated the 2020 election was fair and free from fraud. Our Federal elections are safe and secure. It is that simple.

During today's debate, we will hear from my colleagues across the aisle about the risk of noncitizens flooding our border and then somehow registering and voting in Federal elections on a massive scale. It is rich to hear so-called concern from the party that killed a bipartisan border deal to address this problem.

My Democratic colleagues and I have clearly responded with the truth. The American people know Republicans are misleading them. Here is what the SAVE Act is actually about.

This bill is about scaring Americans. This bill is about silencing Americans. This bill is about disenfranchising Americans. This bill is about further damaging the foundations of our democracy.

As they look back on the wreckage they wrought 4 years ago, Republicans are not chagrined. They are not ashamed. They are, in fact, emboldened.

This is a deeply damaging bill. It will disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans. It will disenfranchise military voters, especially those serving bravely and courageously overseas. It will disenfranchise married women who change their names.

It will disenfranchise rural voters. It will disenfranchise Native voters, students, poor voters, and elderly voters. It will disenfranchise survivors of natural disasters like so many are experiencing this week across the United States.

House Republicans are fine with increasing the burdens and amplifying the costs in time, in money, and in effort for American citizens to vote.

House Democrats are not.

This bill is an overt effort to make Americans believe that American elections are rife with fraud. There is no evidence this is the case.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the defeat of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to just note something that has been talked about for some time which is going back to an election that happened nearly 30 years ago in California.

It talks about Representative Loretta Sanchez in her 1996 election in California. My Republican colleagues continue to make allegations that there were roughly 600 noncitizens who voted in the race. It is patently false. The reality is the exact opposite. Many of the supposed noncitizens identified in the contest had, in fact, already become U.S. citizens through naturalization by the time they cast their ballots in 1996, and some had been U.S. citizens for decades.

Other U.S. citizens were erroneously identified as noncitizens because their names were like noncitizens' names that were in an INS database.

It is no accident. Even then, the Republicans were in charge of the Committee on House Administration. They investigated it, and they concluded that the committee's investigation had no irregularities. They dismissed the contested election. They concluded that the outcome of the election was not in doubt.

The fact that they would, 30 years later, bring up a contest that was decided admittedly by a few votes, where claims of widespread noncitizens voting has been thoroughly debunked says more about their lack of evidence than it does anything else.

It simply does not happen, and there is no evidence that that is the case.

I just use that as one more example of misleading the public into believing something that is false is true.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands.

Mr. Speaker, to my dear friend from Oklahoma, what I was suggesting was the Republican-controlled Committee on House Administration reviewed the allegations that 600 people who were not citizens had voted and ultimately made the determination that it was without merit and seated the individual, the Democrat at that time, Ms. Sanchez from California.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the passion of the distinguished gentleman from Texas, who is the sponsor of the bill, but I have not heard anyone dispute what I said in going through the incredibly burdensome path that citizens, American citizens, will now have to take in order to register to vote.

Your ID from your driver's license will not be sufficient if it doesn't have your place of citizenship. Mr. Speaker, 95 percent or more of REAL IDs, which will have replaced driver's licenses in many States, do not list citizenship. Birth certificates will be okay unless your name has been changed because you have gotten married. A military voter, particularly one overseas who has no way to go physically to an election office to register, will be unable to register to vote. The military IDs will be insignificant, particularly if their military ID and their service record don't show them as being born in the United States.

Frankly, to be a citizen of the United States, you don't have to be born on the continent or in Texas or Alaska or Hawaii. You have to be born somewhere, but you can become a U.S. citizen after you are born.

So all I am saying is it is incredibly burdensome.

I would further say since there is no evidence that this happened, all they talk about are scare tactics, the demonizing of people, and saying that there is this effort, it sounds like there is a suggestion that there is an organized effort to have noncitizens vote in Federal elections.

There is absolutely no evidence that that is the case, and we have had so many meetings of the standing committee and Subcommittee of the House Administration on Elections, that I would think if there were evidence of that, then it would have been presented to us.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Ramirez).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), our distinguished leader.

Mr. Speaker, I do agree with my distinguished colleague and friend from New York. I don't know why we are having this bill on the floor either. Yes, we can all agree that only U.S. citizens vote in Federal elections. I know that we agree because it is the law of the land.

You can't register if you are not an American citizen to vote in a Federal election. It is against the law. It is also against the law to vote. I agree with him. There is no reason to be here. There is nothing to be gained. There is no problem to be solved.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Virginia.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), my friend.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think it bears repeating. We are suggesting that every American, if this bill were to become law, would face enormous burdens with registering to vote. You can't vote, you can't cast a ballot if you can't register.

Let's take again the situation as it will relate to military personnel of the United States. The SAVE Act will prohibit any servicemember deployed overseas from registering to vote at all. That is what the bill says. Check it out.

You have to be in person. You may not register online, and there is no exception in the bill for a servicemember to do that. It requires Americans registering to vote by mail or online to present their proof of citizenship in person.

Good luck doing that if you are on a naval vessel in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. That applies to military personnel. It means that any servicemember deployed overseas will have to travel back to the United States and physically visit an election office to register to vote.

You don't think that is burdensome? You don't think most Americans, if they were watching this debate, would say that can't be right? It can't be right, but it is right. That is what the bill says.

Republicans are supporting a bill that would prohibit members of the military serving overseas from registering to vote while they are deployed. It is unpatriotic. It is outrageous. Also, they won't even allow any amendments to this bill, which we asked for. We asked for amendments which would make this better, although, frankly, it is hard to imagine that we could make this any better, but still no amendments were allowed. I asked for a structured rule on this and was denied the ability to do that.

The Freedom to Vote Act by Congress would expand the ability of every American, including our servicemembers, to register to vote online. We want members of the military to vote. Frankly, we want every American to vote. If we have a problem in America, it is that too few Americans are voting, not that people who aren't registered or who aren't American citizens are voting. That is not the problem.

This committee and this House and this body ought to be working on ways to expand the franchise to every American because every right that we possess in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution is dependent upon our right to self-governance, and our ability to have self-governance flows from the ability for every American to vote. This bill puts enormous burdens and barriers to making that the reality.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I do note that my friends and colleagues on the other side have turned this into a discussion about immigration and the border, which is not the bill before the House. The reason I know that is because they were too embarrassed, perhaps, or perhaps were influenced by folks outside this Chamber to bring a bipartisan border deal that would have dealt with challenges at the border.

They didn't want to do that, so what are they doing? They are making this burdensome bill now a question of the border. They had their chance to do that. We would love them to do that. What they will do instead is demonize people and talk about a problem that doesn't exist.

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

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

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

The SAVE Act is the most severe voter suppression bill ever considered at the Federal level. It would make it burdensome for Americans to register to vote and to cast a ballot.

It has been brought before this body not to solve any problem, since Republicans have admitted they have no evidence of noncitizen voting in Federal elections. The bill before us is for Republicans to lay the groundwork to undermine the outcome of the Presidential election, just as they did 4 years ago, just as they will again and again until they realize either the futility of this exercise or the Republic crumbles. I pray for the former.

Democrats, on the other hand, want a stronger and more equitable democracy, one that respects the rule of law and ensures that every voice is heard. That is why Democrats champion bills like the Freedom to Vote Act, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Native American Voting Rights Act, not the SAVE Act.

I fiercely oppose this anti-American bill. I urge every one of my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, to support the motion to recommit and defeat this extremist SAVE Act.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Robert ``Al'' Persichitti, a World War II veteran and beloved member of my community who recently passed away while en route to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D- Day.

I had the honor of meeting Al several years ago, and we became fast friends. I loved hearing him talk about his time in the United States Navy where he served in Guadalcanal, the Battle of Okinawa, and the fight at Iwo Jima, landmark moments in our country's history.

At the spry young age of 102, Al's dedication to his country never wavered. Al embodied the very meaning of the word ``patriot,'' and his commitment to service over self should inspire us all.

May we follow the famous advice of General George Patton by not mourning the death of Al Persichitti, but instead thanking God that such a remarkable man lived.

Mr. Speaker, may Al rest in peace. He certainly earned it.