Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the opening of The Cambodian Experience: Our Journey to America, Finding Freedom at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, California. This exhibit documents the experiences of Cambodian Americans, tracing their journey from the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime to refugee resettlement and community building in the United States.

Developed and curated by the United Cambodian American Network (UCAN), a nonprofit organization based in Stockton, the exhibit presents a comprehensive narrative through oral histories, archival materials, artifacts, and multimedia storytelling. It highlights the contributions of Cambodian Americans and underscores the role of refugee communities in the broader American story.

Stockton, which became a major resettlement site during the 1980's and 1990's, is home to one of the largest Cambodian communities in the United States. This exhibit reflects the significance of the city as both a destination and a foundation for Cambodian American life.

Key contributors include Sophy Reese, President of UCAN and project manager; collaborating organizations such as the Khmer Language Arts and Culture Academy and A Khmer Buddhist Foundation; and survivors and descendants who provided firsthand accounts and materials for display. The Haggin Museum provided exhibition space, curatorial support, and logistical coordination for the project.

This exhibit is the fourth in a continuing series of Cambodian cultural exhibits presented in partnership with the Haggin Museum. It serves both as a remembrance of a difficult history and a testament to cultural preservation, community strength, and intergenerational resilience.

I commend the individuals and organizations whose efforts have resulted in this important public exhibit and recognize its role in fostering historical understanding and cultural appreciation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the 100th birthday of an American hero, Sergeant Frank S. Wright of Lodi, California. As one of the last surviving members of the original United States Marine Corps Raiders, Sergeant Wright stands as a living testament to the courage, resilience, and dedication to country.

Born in 1924 in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Sergeant Wright answered the call to serve his country following the attack on Pearl Harbor. At just 16 years old, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps--using a delayed birth certificate and a clever diet of bananas to meet age and weight requirements. His journey took him through boot camp in San Diego and ultimately led to his selection as one of the original Marine Raiders-- a pioneering special operations force whose legacy would later inspire the formation of today's elite Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC).

During World War II, Sergeant Wright served with distinction in the Pacific Theater, including in the battles of Guam and Iwo Jima. He was wounded multiple times in close combat, including gunshot wounds at Iwo Jima, where he witnessed the iconic raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi. Over the course of the war, he served aboard 11 naval vessels and fought in four major campaigns.

Sergeant Wright's valor is recognized by a host of military decorations, including the Purple Heart with two stars, the Combat Action Ribbon with four stars, the Presidential Unit Citation with two stars, and several campaign and service medals. His commitment to the Marine Corps extended beyond the battlefield--he closed out his military service as a Drill Instructor, shaping the next generation of Marines.

Following the war, Sergeant Wright settled in Lodi, where he has lived for decades as a proud veteran and community member. In 2019, he published his memoir, Battles in the Pacific, offering a firsthand account of his wartime experiences. In 2022, he returned to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego for the first time since boot camp, honored by the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Sergeant Frank Wright is a Central Valley treasure and a national symbol of American grit and resilience. I am proud to recognize his lifetime of service and sacrifice, and to celebrate his extraordinary 100th birthday. May his legacy continue to inspire future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the 175th Anniversary of Temple Israel of Stockton, one of the oldest continuously operating Jewish congregations west of the Rocky Mountains. This milestone is a powerful testament to the endurance, faith, and contributions of Stockton's Jewish community since California's earliest days.

The Gold Rush of 1849 attracted several Jewish merchants to Stockton, who played a vital role in building Stockton's economic base, and in laying the foundations of both the city and the Jewish community. Founded in 1849 as Ryhim Ahoovim, a Jewish benevolent society, the congregation established a sacred foundation that has grown and thrived for generations. By 1851, Ryhim Ahoovim had acquired a cemetery for Jewish pioneers--still in use today--and the synagogue's first lot was gifted by Stockton's founder, Charles M. Weber. Members of the congregation hauled lumber to the building site to complete the synagogue, which was dedicated in 1855.

Throughout its history, Temple Israel has reflected the resilience and leadership of Stockton's Jewish community--not only as a place of worship, but as a cornerstone of civic and cultural life. Under the guidance of devoted rabbis, the congregation grew in size and stature, creating a vibrant space for education, cultural programming, and social connection that continues to enrich Stockton to this day.

That spirit of compassion and responsibility was especially evident to the years leading up to World War II, when members of Temple Israel opened their arms to refugees fleeing Nazi Germany, and once again in the 1980's to Jews fleeing the Soviet Union. These new arrivals found safety and opportunity in Stockton, quickly becoming integral members of both the Jewish and broader Stockton communities. Their stories are a testament to the power of community and the enduring values that define Temple Israel's legacy.

Today, Temple Israel stands as a symbol of perseverance, compassion, and community. Temple Israel continues to nurture generations of Jewish life in Stockton, while honoring the vision and courage of those who laid its foundation 175 years ago.

I am proud to recognize Temple Israel of Stockton for its 175 years of spiritual guidance, community leadership, and enduring legacy. May it continue to inspire and uplift for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise during Wildfire Awareness Month to recognize the 1st anniversary of the Corral Fire in San Joaquin County, California, and to honor the brave men and women who risked their lives to contain this dangerous wildfire.

My home district of San Joaquin County is no stranger to wildfires-- we are in the midst of a growing megafire crisis, and in 2024 alone we saw 9 wildfire incidents that burned nearly 15,000 acres in total. Thankfully, these fires were contained due to the quick action and selfless heroism of our firefighters, law enforcement, and first responders. Just earlier this year, during the historic Los Angeles fires, San Joaquin County sent nearly a dozen fire agencies south to combat the deadly megafires. Our local agencies never hesitate to answer the call, and we owe them a debt of gratitude that words alone cannot repay.

Few incidents better encompass the bravery of our local agencies than the 2024 Corral Fire, which burned 14,168 acres, forced the evacuation of thousands of homes in the Tracy Hills community, and injured two firefighters. This fire burned just miles from my home, and like so many families in California's Central Valley, we were deeply alarmed and concerned about how this blaze would impact our homes and livelihoods.

But thanks to the work of multiple agencies, this wildfire was fully contained in just six days. Nearly 500 personnel battled the blaze from across agencies including the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Alameda County Fire Department, South San Joaquin County Fire Authority, San Joaquin County Sheriffs Office, California Highway Patrol, Tracy Police Department, Manteca Fire Department, Lathrop-Manteca Fire District, Defense Logistics Agency, and more.

Not only did the emergency response effort quickly and effectively facilitate the evacuation of the Tracy Hills community, serving as a model for future evacuation efforts, but their bravery minimized damage in the area.

As a member of the Tracy community, a fifth-generation resident of California's Central Valley, and the federal representative for California's 9th Congressional District, I want to express my deepest gratitude to every member involved directly or indirectly in the emergency response to the 2024 Corral Fire.

At the 1st anniversary of this wildfire, I recommit to doing everything in my power to ensure our firefighters and emergency responders have the federal support they need and deserve to continue keeping our communities safe from these disasters.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, the Nutria Eradication and Control Reauthorization Act of 2025, because communities in California and across the country are in a war right now against these giant swamp rats.

My bill would reauthorize funding to strengthen eradication efforts for the invasive swamp rats, nutria, which are destroying our levees, harming local farmland, and infecting our very drinking water.

These 40-pound monsters are larger than the average dog. They eat 25 percent of their body weight every day and can reproduce 200 offspring every single year.

In 2023 alone, 78 percent of the nutria found in California were in newly infested areas, threatening our entire way of life. The only way to stop their spreading invasion is to support local eradication and control efforts.

In 2020, I was proud to work with President Trump to bring nutria eradication funding to California for the first time ever. Now, the funding is set to expire at the end of this fiscal year, right when we need it most. This comes at a time when our district is at a breaking point with nutria control efforts.

Last year, more than 1,300 nutria were captured in California, which is a record-breaking year for takings in the State.

We must reauthorize the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 to ensure States like California, Louisiana, and Florida are able to effectively curb the spread of this swamp rat once and for all.

We know that following wildlife management techniques to control and eradicate nutria is effective. For instance, the Chesapeake Bay region successfully eradicated nutria from their communities in 2018 after almost two decades of infestation.

We can't afford to let our foot off of the gas in California now. It is up to us to reauthorize this program to ensure that nutria is not only eradicated in the Chesapeake Bay region but in the United States.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass my bill to stop this infestation from poisoning our waterways and damaging our communities. I also want to take the time to thank my colleague, Mr. Valadao, for his tireless support of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because tens of thousands of acres are on fire in my State of California.

More than 10,000 families have no home to go back to. Nearly 30 people have already lost their lives in this disaster, and the numbers keep climbing. Tens of thousands will have long-term health issues from the smoke, all because our government failed California.

These mega-fires could have been prevented if our government had done its job. We have been yelling from the rooftops for years that our communities are in danger. We have a massive firefighter shortage. Bureaucratic red tape holds everything up, and our lands aren't properly maintained.

Today, thankfully, my colleagues joined me in finally taking the first big step in dealing with this crisis. We passed the historic Fix Our Forests Act to finally do what is badly needed: real, comprehensive wildfire protection.

I am happy to say this is a true bipartisan effort. Wildfires don't care if we are Republican or Democratic, and neither should we. This is the first of many reforms needed to get this crisis under control, and time is running out.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Huffman for yielding. I thank my friend from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), for his leadership and his sense of style. We are certainly going to miss him and all of the work that he has done to make this critical legislation a reality.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is dead simple. All it does is reauthorize funding to advance eradication efforts for this invasive rodent which is already causing millions of dollars in damage in 18 States including California, Louisiana, and Florida.

These swamp rats threaten our world-class farmland, our critical flood control infrastructure, and our water quality.

With their massive nacho cheese-colored orange teeth, nutria can eat 25 percent of their body weight in vegetation every single day, breaking down our levees and harming our waterways.

To make matters worse, these invasive rats weigh upwards of 40 pounds. One female nutria, to do the math for my friend from Louisiana, can reproduce 200 offspring every single year.

This means that if we don't get this bill done, these nutria will continue to expand and ravage our country, unless the strategic wildlife management plans actually reduce their growth.

This is our last chance to secure 5 additional years of nutria eradication efforts for affected districts across the Nation, and we know that it can work. Our efforts have already shrunk nutria populations across the country. In 2018, the Chesapeake Bay region successfully eradicated nutria from their communities after almost two decades.

We are learning from that in California and Louisiana. This shows that we have the wildlife management techniques that can ensure that we can continue to move forward.

We are reaching a critical point in nutria control efforts. This year alone, we have experienced a 55 percent increase in detected nutria cells, and we are on track to, unfortunately, have a record-breaking year for captive nutria right now.

We must reauthorize these eradication efforts so we can stop the destruction and damage in my district and others like it across the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this bill to keep our levees, waterways, and agricultural lands safe from these dangerous, invasive swamp rats.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Huffman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, the Fire Department Repayment Act. This legislation cuts red tape and fixes the burdensome fire department repayment system to ensure our local departments are repaid quickly for their work to keep our communities safe.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, the wildfire crisis is getting longer and more intense every year. Sixty thousand communities in the United States are at risk for wildland fires in newly populated, recently developed areas that border fire-prone fields and forests.

My home State of California is on the front lines of this crisis with the most neighborhoods threatened by wildfires.

When a wildfire breaks out on Federal lands, our local firefighters are often the first on the scene, braving hazardous conditions to put out these blazes and protect nearby homes, families, and communities. Local fire departments deploy personnel, use fire engines, and spend thousands of dollars' worth of time and resources to fight fires on Federal lands.

Yet, the bureaucratic Federal reimbursement process is slow and covered in red tape. It often takes years for small fire departments to be repaid for their assistance on these fires.

In my own district, fire departments have waited years and years for repayment from Federal agencies. That has drained their budgets and restrained their resources to combat the fires that we are fighting just this year.

That is unacceptable. Our government must work better for the heroes who put their lives on the line to keep our families safe.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this bill to ensure our local fire departments are paid back quickly so they have the tools they need to protect our communities from the next fire. I also thank my colleagues, Mr. Curtis and Mr. LaMalfa, for their tireless leadership and support of this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the passage of the bipartisan Disaster Management Costs Modernization Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the passage of my bipartisan bill, the VA COMPETES Act and what this means for veterans in my district and across the country.

My bill improves care for veterans by finally allowing the VA to pay doctors the salaries that they deserve. It is no secret that the VA has struggled to hire and retain healthcare staff, and low salaries are a big piece of that.

When the VA is understaffed, our veterans are the ones who suffer. Last year, when the Stockton VA Clinic went from eight primary care physicians to just four, wait times skyrocketed to over 100 days. Our veterans couldn't get appointments, prescriptions filled, or access to the basic care that they needed.

I am proud to have worked with our local clinic staff in the VA to fix this issue, bringing wait times down to just 16 days. My bill is going to help ensure that no other clinic experiences a shortage like we did last year.

Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to be part of the solution and thank everyone who made this possible.

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

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to the Fix Our Forests Act.

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

Madam Speaker, today, I rise to honor National Police Week and recognize our dedicated law enforcement officers in San Joaquin County. On behalf of all our families, I thank them.

I also want to take this opportunity to bring attention to and honor a vital part of our law enforcement departments: our canine officers and their dogs. Canine teams go into some of the most dangerous situations, and their work quite simply saves lives. My community has seen this bravery firsthand.

On February 19, 2023, after 6 years of service, we sadly lost Duke, a police canine for the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department. While apprehending an armed and dangerous suspect, Duke was killed in the line of duty. Duke's actions likely saved the life of one of our sheriff's deputies.

This past weekend, Duke was remembered alongside 25 other police canines that gave their lives in the line of duty last year, a worthy ceremony for a brave pup.

I thank all of our canine trainers and officers for the hard work they do. Families in San Joaquin County and across the country are safer because of their dedication. We are eternally grateful.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 96, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 97, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 98, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 99, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 100 and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 101.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 89, ``no'' on rollcall No. 90, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 91, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 92, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 93, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 94 and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 95.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 87 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 88.