Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4233, the ARMOR Act, legislation that I was proud to work on with Representative Kim and Representative Zinke.

AUKUS was a historic initiative launched under the Biden administration. It is an example of the collective strengths of the United States, Australia, and the U.K. It exemplifies our commitment to working as allies, as partners, to positively contribute to defense security around the world, including leveraging our shared capabilities to shape a free and open Indo-Pacific and to counter the rising threat that China poses.

I recently returned from a bipartisan, bicameral codel to Australia and the Indo-Pacific, and all were eager to build on the AUKUS framework.

This legislation will strengthen the AUKUS collaboration and joint operability. It clarifies that re-exports and retransfers within the geographic territory of the United States, the U.K., and Australia are permitted under the previously exempted defense trade provisions.

Importantly, it also preserves Congress' oversight authority and continues to ensure the protection of the most sensitive technologies that underpin our security.

I am grateful to have worked with Representative Kim on this bipartisan effort to support our allies and bolster our shared defense.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, as well.

Mr. Speaker, in Pennsylvania nearly 65 percent of nursing home residents rely on Medicaid.

In my district outside Philadelphia, it is a lifeline for more than 15,000 seniors who have worked and earned access to affordable, high- quality care and who deserve to age with grace and dignity.

President Trump and the Republicans' big, ugly bill will cut Pennsylvania's Medicaid program, known as Pennie, by about $53 million over the next decade.

What will happen to our parents and to our grandparents?

Some facilities may be forced to make impossible decisions like reducing staff or raising prices for those who don't qualify for Medicaid. Others simply will not survive.

I know how worrisome it is to watch aging parents need to leave the home they loved. I know how critical it is to find them the best possible care. I saw it with my own in-laws, Joan and Bill Cunnane.

After all, through Medicaid, think about it, Mr. Speaker: I was disabled and you offered me aid; I was infirm and you offered me care; I was aging and you offered me dignity.

That is what Republicans voted in lockstep to tear away. Shame.

Mr. Speaker, our children are under attack.

Mr. Speaker, $6.8 billion in education funding, dollars appropriated by Democrats and Republicans, is frozen. These are funds that should have been available on July 1.

In Pennsylvania, that is $230 million. Resources, including summer programs and teacher training, hang in limbo.

Abington School District, my alma mater, is missing more than $250,000. Some schools may be able to function while the President's latest whims play out in court, but as is the case with most of his orders, Trump has stolen the most from those who have the least.

The Norristown Area School District, just 15 miles from my district of Abington, is owed three times as much, more than $750,000 in Federal funds.

This is not about government efficiency. It is about greed, incompetence, and cruelty.

When Secretary McMahon testified before the Appropriations Committee, I asked her: ``Why are you in this job?'' Her response: ``I want the best for my family,'' not all families, her family.

When Republicans tell us who they are, Mr. Speaker, we should believe them.

Mr. Speaker, the United States airstrikes in Iran, which we hope to be briefed on today, is the latest in the signature chaos and erratic decisionmaking from the Trump White House.

I thank God that our extraordinary military appears to have exquisitely executed its mission. We can be grateful to our military's carrying out of a decision while we ask questions about that decision.

While the news is inundated with reports of Trump's airstrikes, there are many concerns that we are not hearing about here at home: hostages; Ukraine; Federal institutions, like USAID and NIH, gutted; the big, ugly bill that would slash Medicaid for 14 million Americans, including 110,000 of my constituents; and the cruel cuts at SAMHSA that will jeopardize the lives of those struggling with addiction and mental health.

The Trump White House leads with smoke and mirrors, but they are doing incredible harm to my constituents and Americans across this country. I call upon my colleagues to not let them be successful in their attempts to obscure and distract.

Thomas Jefferson said: When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.

Resist.

Mr. Speaker, Gaza is starving. Since March, Palestinians have waited for food, water, medical supplies, and nutrition kits that have not come.

Instead, an estimated 170,000 metric tons of aid sits right outside the Gaza Strip, prohibited to enter by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Let me be clear. Since October 7, the return of all hostages, living and dead, has been my priority. They must be returned home to their loved ones, living and deceased.

Dignity must be afforded Palestinians, as well. Children must be fed. Doctors must be able to treat the injured and the dying. As of now, that has not happened.

Instead, there is chaos, gunfire, and imminent death. Half of the 2.3 million Gazans soon face starvation. Gaza is at risk of an avoidable famine.

Look at this photo of a young girl in her father's arms who has lost more than 40 percent of her body weight. That is the condition in Gaza.

Look at this photo of desperately needed aid sitting right outside reach.

Where is our humanity? Where is our compassion? We must bring aid, hope, and life to Gaza.

Mr. Speaker, addiction is a public health crisis from which no community is immune. We saw the worst of it in 2021, when, in a 12-month span, more than 110,000 people died of overdose. That is 300 or more people a day, 365 days a year.

Here is a small light. In 2024, overdose deaths fell by 27 percent. We are finally seeing progress. That is a huge dent in this horrible tragedy.

What is the response of the Trump administration? Shuttering SAMHSA and shifting and shafting it into an illogical AHA--somebody tell me what that department is--organization and proposing a budget that kicks nearly 14 million people off Medicaid.

Nearly half of those struggling with opioid use disorder rely on Medicaid. In Pennsylvania alone, that is 100,000 people who may now lose their only chance at life, at recovery, at treatment.

I know the desperate hope. I know the prayers for a loved one to find recovery. My son Harry is 12\1/2\ years in recovery from opioid addiction.

My family knows the struggle of way too many families, and we are among the lucky ones, though I don't like to call it lucky. Every family should be as lucky as I.

At this time, we must save more lives.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the President not cut Medicaid and SAMHSA.

Mr. Speaker, one of the latest targets of President Trump's vicious cuts is AmeriCorps, a program that engages 200,000 Americans every year in community service.

In Pennsylvania, AmeriCorps supports 1,000 service sites, more than 10,000 teachers in the Philadelphia region, and various food pantries in the Lehigh Valley. However, with no justification, Musk and DOGE laid off 85 percent of AmeriCorps' staff and unconstitutionally froze more than $400 million.

Millions of Americans are losing access to services they rely upon: veterans receiving mental health treatment, children enrolled in public schools, homebound seniors in need of assistance and companionship.

AmeriCorps was born under President Bush and codified under President Clinton. Its mission: to improve lives and strengthen communities through the service of dedicated volunteers.

It has long enjoyed bipartisan support, and for good reason, because it is one of the best ways our government can do good things for real people right here at home.

To cut AmeriCorps is to deprive Americans. The Trump administration does not care. Their goal is to serve the rich while forsaking the poor.

Mr. Speaker, hunger is an all-consuming pain. Many of us are lucky never to have known that pain. Yet, in my district alone, nearly 25,000 households rely on food assistance to stave off hunger. SNAP feeds seniors who live alone, children without nutrients to grow, and families who work hard every day, but it is still not enough.

Now, Republicans sadly want to cut SNAP in order to subsidize another tax break for the rich, a move that could increase a household of four's grocery bill by $175 a month, or nearly $2,000 a year.

Our common humanity should be enough to block this cut, but sadly, it seems it is not for too many of my colleagues.

Mr. Speaker, I raise another argument: SNAP dollars flow directly into our economy, local businesses, and farms. We have a chance to ease the pain of our most vulnerable.

I will not stand by as Republicans steal from the American people and give even more to the rich.

The Gospel of Matthew reminds us of the power of caring for the least among us, saying: ``For I was naked and you clothed me''; ``for I was hungry and you gave me food.''

Mr. Speaker, this week marked a stunning milestone: 100 days of chaos, cruelty, and lawlessness under the Trump administration. We see it in our economy, in our homes, and in our relationships abroad.

Just 100 days ago, President Trump inherited a strong economy, yet our economy shrank in the first 3 months of this year. He imposed punishing tariffs, then he didn't, wiping out $11 trillion in wealth in 11 weeks. The price of gas, eggs, and other groceries are still too high.

The President handed an unelected, unqualified billionaire, Elon Musk, unfettered access to private data and indiscriminately fired devoted civil servants. Services at Social Security and IRS have been slowed in the aftermath.

Because the President has aligned himself with dictators like Putin, our allies across the globe are now openly admitting they can't trust us.

This is not good governance. It is not reform.

Mr. Speaker, history will not be kind to those who enable this President through words or through their appalling silence.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Bilirakis and Ranking Member Pallone for bringing this bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Senate bill 146 was my bill, and it is still my bill. I thank Congresswoman Salazar for her leadership on this. I thank Congresswoman Dingell for her longtime leadership on this and for leading this effort with me on the House side. I thank Senators Cruz and Klobuchar for their strong leadership on this.

As we speak, the internet is awash with real and fake nonconsensual intimate imagery. Mr. Speaker, the consequences, as you just heard, are devastating for every victim, their family, and their community. It happens to men and boys, to women and girls. Most often, it happens to women and girls.

As AI becomes more prevalent in our everyday lives, Congress must meet this moment. We must empower and protect victims from bad actors who share their intimate images, real or fake, without consent and from the most harmful developments of AI.

During the 2023-2024 school year, 15 percent of high school students reported hearing about deepfakes of nonconsensual intimate images that depicted kids at their schools. It happened to one of my hometown constituents, a 20-year-old, bright college student named Jack Sullivan. He was sextorted by two men claiming to be a woman on Instagram. They threatened Jack. They told him they would post intimate images of him unless he paid huge sums of money. He paid and he paid. When he could no longer pay their demands, Jack took his own life. We must do better for Jack and every other victim of these crimes.

As a former educator, and a mother, and as a grandmother, this sickens me. As an elected official, I am moved to protect our children. Congress must create guardrails to protect Americans' privacy and dignity at a time when online exploitation is easier than ever.

That is what our bill does. The TAKE IT DOWN Act criminalizes the publication of real or fake AI-generated intimate images. It requires websites to react, to respond, and to remove these horrifying images and videos within 48 hours of a victim's report. I suggest they act even faster. Finally, we will hold online platforms and social media companies accountable. This cannot wait.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have bipartisan support for this bill. I thank Representative Salazar and Senators Cruz and Klobuchar. I thank the First Lady and the President for their leadership on this. I implore all of my colleagues to join us in supporting this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Marcy Kaptur and Representative Mike Quigley for so ably, faithfully, and loyally co-chairing the Congressional Ukraine Caucus for us and for bringing us here to the floor tonight to remember how urgent it is that we support Ukraine and how urgent it is that we support the peace process that results in the protection of the sovereignty of Ukraine and its democracy.

We have reached a Chamberlain or Churchill moment. As cease-fire negotiations start and stop between Ukraine and Russia, the United States must stand firm in our support of Ukraine's young democracy.

History makes clear that appeasing a bloodthirsty dictator in Europe simply does not work. It only encourages him to continue his aggression, press for more territory, and shed more innocent blood.

Just last week, Russia launched a barbaric missile strike on Kyiv that killed and injured more than 100 Ukrainians.

Since Russia began this unprovoked war more than 3 years ago, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have paid with their lives, and we must never forget the more than 20,000 children from Ukraine who have been forcibly deported by Russia and remain missing.

I remind our President and our Vice President that it was Putin who started this ruthless and illegal war more than 3 years ago and, we must not forget, 11 years ago in Crimea.

To endorse a so-called peace deal that fulfills Russia's every wish and forces our Ukrainian allies to bend to Putin's will by ceding their sovereign territory is beyond disgraceful. It is disgusting, and it is un-American.

This weekend, I was struck by the images of President Trump's private meeting with President Zelenskyy at the Vatican, which took place as the world mourned the passing of Pope Francis. Pope Francis was a global leader of humility, of empathy, and of service. He was a faithful man who advocated for peace, not appeasement. That must be our goal.

Last week, I joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers on a trip to the United Kingdom, Israel, Jordan, and Denmark to meet with our allies abroad. I met with European leaders, and over and over, I heard the same refrain that they want to work with us. They want us to stay with them. They are increasing their military support for defense as is their obligation, and they want to do whatever we can to ensure Ukraine's protection and sovereignty because what happens to Ukraine and its young democracy happens to theirs and happens to ours.

The conversations were filled with such emotion and a clear desire to do the right thing. As cease-fire talks continue, may we strive for an end to this devastating war, to its suffering for all of Europe, frankly, but obviously so much so for the people of Ukraine, and we must do it through strength.

I will end with this: With the passing of the Holy Father and holding on to a promise of my faith, he reminded us over and over again of the Gospel of Matthew: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

I plead for this administration to help bring us peace, no appeasement, peace through the sovereignty of the democracy that is Ukraine, our friend and our ally.

I do. They are noble in what they have done.

Mr. Speaker, maybe I will end by just thanking Representative Kaptur again for the lead she has taken on this. It means a lot to my district.

As my friend knows, I have a very large Ukrainian-American population, cultural center, churches, and just extraordinary constituents. I learned so much from them.

As Ms. Kaptur says, they have prepared--whether they are Ukrainian- American or not, the folks in my district care desperately about this. I have one woman who has been physically a part of delivering ambulances to Ukraine and so many other materials.

We ought to look at the folks, the people of Ukraine, led by President Zelenskyy, with such admiration. We ought to say that we should do everything we possibly can to support them, everything they need to win. We have to finish that sentence: Everything they need to win.

The win must not be through some sort of appeasement. It will not help. It will not work. Putin will go on to seek other territory and other land. He is very hungry for that. We must learn the lessons of Neville Chamberlain in 1938 and 1939, where he thought he was going somewhere toward peace and, of course, 1 year later, Hitler walked into Poland.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend very much for yielding.

Slava Ukraini.

Mr. Speaker, in just 2 days, Wall Street lost $6 trillion in value in the worst selloff since 2020. Many of my constituents lost tens of thousands of dollars, money saved over decades.

Now we are all scrambling with the news of a 90-day pause on tariffs after

President Trump swore up and down he would do no such thing. Sadly, we cannot trust a word our President says, let alone plan around his erratic behavior. Mr. Trump's turbulent game of chicken with some of our closest allies is absurd.

How does Mr. Trump expect people whose 401(k)s and kids' college savings accounts just took a nosedive to feel secure in their retirement? How does he expect people to save for retirement at all? The short answer is that the President does not know, and, even worse, he does not care.

Mr. Speaker, the President lost $11 trillion in value in the first 11 weeks of his second term. I call upon my Republican colleagues to please call out the President's destructive decisions. It is time to say that the emperor has no clothes.

Mr. Speaker, more than 17 million seniors

live on less than $30,000 a year. Yet, Republicans look to weaken or sever lifelines like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.

President Trump announced a plan to fire 12 percent of Social Security employees, close 26 offices, and slash phone services. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently said his family wouldn't complain about missing a Social Security check and that the only people who would are fraudsters.

Well, Mr. Lutnick's family might be able to afford to lose a payment or two, but most Americans cannot. This is their money. Americans pay for these programs. These are earned benefits. People are afraid, and rightfully so. They are calling, texting, emailing, and stopping me on the street.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents, seniors, Americans with disabilities, and working families, I have a message for President Trump and his incompetent billionaire buddies: Hell no, our seniors are not the fraudsters. You are.

Mr. Speaker, we are in a dark time, but this is no time to retreat or to despair because we have been in dark times in this country before.

This past weekend, along with dozens of my colleagues and hundreds of others, I had the opportunity, the chance, to travel to Selma, Alabama, to recall and reflect on the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, where courageous Americans, many of them just children, protested for the right to vote.

In his ``Letter from Birmingham Jail,'' Martin Luther King teaches us of the danger of indifference and shallow understanding, and yet he teaches us of the power of collective action. King warned us not just of the ``hateful words and actions of the bad people,'' but also ``the appalling silence of the good people.''

This must not be a time of shallow understanding, not a time for lukewarm acceptance. I call out the appalling silence of so many of my colleagues in the face of what we will vote on today, in the face of what we have seen from this administration: cuts to veterans, cuts to families, and a threat to eliminate Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

I first crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge back in 2019 with our late colleague, Congressman John Lewis. He told us then and is telling us now that when we see something that is not right, not fair, not just, we have to speak up. We have to say something. Why else would we be here? We have to do something. We have to act.

Let us recommit ourselves to the cause of justice. Let us remember the lessons of King, of Lewis, and of so many others who sacrificed so much, including their very lives, and let us do something.

Mr. Speaker, my Pennsylvania district is home to more than 32,000 veterans, many of whom rely on physical and mental health care from three VA medical centers: Lebanon in Berks County, Coatesville in West Norriton, and Philadelphia for Montgomery County.

Yet, because of President Trump, the VA, which cares for more than 9 million veterans nationwide, has been gravely weakened. Already in Coatesville and Philadelphia, they were forced to rescind job offers to physicians and to lay off administrative and clerical staff.

The Trump administration has jeopardized care, putting lives and health at risk. Many of the brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces continue to serve our Nation in the civilian workforce, including in the VA.

So far, 1,400 employees have been dismissed and an internal memo shows 80,000 more to come--the firing of 80,000 VA workers.

DOGE and this incompetent, chaotic administration are breaking our most sacred promise to our veterans. They fought for us; we must fight for them.