Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government runs out of money in 2 weeks.

Republicans, who lead both Chambers and the White House, have yet to produce an actual funding plan. Instead, House Republicans passed a blueprint to slash up to $2.5 trillion from Medicaid.

In my State of Pennsylvania alone, that jeopardizes care for nearly 3 million people, including 100,000 people struggling with addiction.

In my district, that means risking medical care for more than 45,000 people under the age of 21 and more than 15,000 people over the age of 60.

These are children and seniors, vulnerable people who rely upon Medicaid for their health and for their very lives.

Negotiations are always part of the process, yet our duty remains to safeguard our children, our seniors, the working poor, people with disabilities, and people struggling with addiction. That is not negotiable.

Our budget reflects our values. Protecting life, liberty, and happiness are our values. We must live up to that.

Mr. Speaker, for the uninsured, the working poor, Medicaid recipients, and rural communities, healthcare is hard to find.

Yet, for 60 years, community health centers, or CHCs, have cared for people who would go otherwise unseen and untreated.

In Pennsylvania, that is more than 1 million people, including 280,000 children, nearly 140,000 seniors, almost 15,000 veterans, and about 14,000 agricultural workers, receiving affordable and comprehensive care. In my district, the community health centers and dental centers serve four sites in Barto, Boyertown, Norristown, and Pottstown.

Some of our most vulnerable, those with no health insurance, struggling with addiction or homelessness, have no hope. Importantly, CHC offers not just primary care but preventive care, a critical aspect of our healthcare system. Not only is it cost effective, it is compassionate in giving that hope.

In Pennsylvania, thousands of doctors, nurses, behavioral specialists, and more show up every day for those most in need. They are not in it for the money. They are in it for the love of neighbor.

Mr. Speaker, shuttering USAID, gutting the Department of Education, threatening the Department of Labor, firing FBI agents, buying out civil servants, vilifying workforces over grotesque DEI concerns, stripping away legal protected status of refugees, giving an unelected billionaire access to the most sensitive information of everyday Americans, and unchecked control of our institutions.

Just 2 weeks into the second Trump Presidency and every executive order, every administrative move has been a methodical step to sow chaos, confusion, and fear.

Back home in Pennsylvania and here in Washington, my offices have been flooded with calls and messages from my constituents. People are afraid for their jobs, their health, their hard-earned benefits, their children, and their very futures.

Every day begs the same question: What is next? Whatever your stance on government reform, our hope is for more efficiency, lower costs, and stronger opportunities. It is clear that these policies are hurting everyday Americans. Mr. Speaker, this is not normal. It is immoral, and it is unlawful.

Mr. Speaker, after more than a year in captivity, 15 months of pain, fear, and horror, Israeli hostages are finally coming home.

The first three to finally return to their families' arms are Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher. Relatives worked tirelessly to get their loved ones home, and I have had the heart- wrenching privilege of meeting with many of them.

Just last month, I met with Yarden Gonen, Romi's sister, and Aviva Siegel for the third time since October 7.

Aviva was taken hostage with her husband, Keith. Aviva was released between the pauses of 2023, 51 days later, but Keith remains in Gaza. He is expected to be released in this phase of the ongoing cease-fire.

After 15 months too many, Romi, Emily, Doron, and, God willing, 30 others will return home and then the remaining 70.

We must see this bilateral cease-fire through. We must ensure all hostages return home. God bless the people of Israel. God bless the hostages, living and dead. May they all come home soon.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

Mr. Speaker, for 2 weeks we have watched brutal, orange flames engulf homes, leaving ash and heartache in their wake for both rich and poor southern Californians. Four months ago, North Carolina confronted horrifying destruction from Hurricane Helene.

While we can never put all the pieces back together and we can never replace all that has been taken by fire or flood, we as lawmakers have a duty to ensure the American people can rebuild.

Disaster relief is a lifeline. Disaster relief through FEMA, started by President Carter, gets food, water, power, and shelter to survivors.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in my State, my home county of Montgomery County received more than $30 million for cleanup and repair. Even so, 3\1/2\ years later claims hang in limbo. Some families still cannot return home.

FEMA is working nonstop to support victims in more than 100 disasters. As these natural disasters become more and more frequent, we pray for these communities. Yet faith without works is dead. We must commit to fully funding FEMA and the extraordinary work they do with no strings attached. That is what it is to be Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an extraordinary member of my team who joined our office 1 year ago as a Brookings Congressional Fellow and will, sadly, be returning to his previous role at the Department of Defense in the new year.

Chris Pacholec is a native of New Jersey, which we have forgiven him for. He has now earned the title of honorary Pennsylvanian.

A Renaissance man, Chris brings his joyful spirit, hardworking dedication, banking skills, Legos, and corgi, Dexter, to our office, faithfully and tirelessly serving Pennsylvania's Fourth Congressional District.

Chris took on the Foreign Affairs Committee work for my office during extraordinarily heavy times. He became an integral part of our legislative team right away, meeting with constituents, advocacy organizations, and fellow Hill staff.

In just under a year, Chris has become a de facto foreign policy expert and a valued member of our team.

We will miss his calm demeanor and wealth of knowledge, along with his infectious, positive attitude.

I speak for my whole team when I say: Thank you, Chris. We are sorry to see you go, and we hope that you will be back soon. Feel free to bring the cupcakes. We wish you the best.

Mr. Speaker, government is at its best when it helps those in need.

That is the story of Collegeville resident, Joe Eitl. Joe was born with a rare heart condition that meant only half of his heart worked properly. For years, he endured surgery and after surgery, and still at 37, Joe suffered heart and liver failure.

A transplant was his only hope. The family's nationwide search began, and in 2020 at Vanderbilt University Hospital, Joe became the first person with Down syndrome to receive a combined heart and liver transparent.

What made this possible? Medicare. Medicare saves lives. It saved Joe. Without it, thousands of Americans would not have the chance at the life they deserve. Through it all, Joe's courageous and contagious spirit never wavered. His story is not the story of sorrow, but of joy and enduring strength and of the power of community.

From his parents, Craig and Peg, to doctors, nurses, family, friends, and coworkers, Joe had love and support. May the Eitl story be the story for many others in acute need. Now, Joe is competing again with joy in the Special Olympics, a remarkable feat for a remarkable young man.

Mr. Speaker, today I celebrate Senator Art Haywood's 10th anniversary in the Pennsylvania State Senate.

Senator Haywood is not only my former colleague but also a longtime friend and neighbor. In fact, we both have the privilege of representing Pennsylvania's Fourth Congressional District, he in Harrisburg and I in Washington.

Ignited by President Obama's 2008 campaign and aided by a savvy friend, Senator Haywood got in the arena. He became one of the first of two African-American township commissioners on the Cheltenham Board of Commissioners in 2009, eventually serving as board president.

As State senator, Art dutifully serves Abington, Cheltenham, Jenkintown, Rockledge, and Springfield in our shared Montgomery County, as well as Mt. Airy, Germantown, West Oak Lane, Logan, and Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia.

In Harrisburg, Art tackles issues at the heart of his communities: voting rights, gun rights, homelessness, and poverty, including his yearslong advocacy to raise the minimum wage.

When he is not fighting for us, you might find Art riding his bike and connecting with neighbors. Together with his wife, Julie, co-chair of the Cheltenham School District, the Haywoods are community leaders. I congratulate Art.

Madam Speaker, while IVF is a major news story, fertility treatments are deeply personal journeys full of loss and hope.

I see it in my own family. For 2 years, my daughter-in-law, Stephanie, and my son, Patrick, have struggled to have a second child to give their precious daughter, Ella, a sibling, a lifelong best friend.

For 2 years, they have had hope extinguished by heartbreak, two failed IUIs, two IVF egg retrievals, a failed embryo transplant, and two miscarriages.

For them, IVF has opened the door to growing the family they have always hoped for after so many doors were shut.

IVF is not a cure-all, and it will never eliminate the trauma of infertility, but Stephanie and Patrick's latest IVF embryo transfer worked. God willing, we will be blessed with another grandchild this spring.

Their story is like so many other young families, yet it is rarely discussed. Infertility affects one in five women in the United States, many of whom suffer in silence.

That is why I am on the floor today and why Stephanie gave me the blessing to tell their story. Let's end the stigma, and as lawmakers, let's protect and expand access and coverage for IVF.

Madam Speaker, September is Suicide Prevention Month, so let's focus on saving lives for those who are struggling with our mental health crisis, a crisis worsened by malicious online activity where children, teens, and women often bear the brunt.

As the internet evolves, we have seen the scourge of bad actors sharing others' intimate private photos online. This is a violation of privacy and dignity, and it has metastasized in recent years, causing anguish for victims, many of whom consider suicide. Too many, including children, have lost their lives.

That is why I introduced the bipartisan SHIELD Act, with Representatives Moran, Plaskett, Fitzpatrick, and Mace, to close the loophole in current law so that those who share exploitive nude photos of children will be held to account; to ban sextortion, the act of threatening to reveal private or explicit images for money or access; and to protect adults and their private photos from being exposed.

The internet is ever-changing, and Federal law must catch up. The SHIELD Act will protect Americans' privacy online and save lives.

Madam Speaker, almost a year ago Hamas unleashed a barbaric attack on Israel slaughtering more than 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 others.

The safe return of hostages--children, parents, grandparents--has been my North Star, but we must not forget about Israelis, Americans, and other innocents held hostage.

Yet today, we mourn six of those hostages who held out for 328 days. We mourn: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Israeli American; Eden Yerushalmi; Ori Danino; Alex Lobanov; Carmel Gat; and Almog Sarusi.

Since October 7, I have met with many hostage families, including Hersh's mother and father. I have gotten to know them. I have prayed for and with them for a deal to bring their beloved son home alive.

It is essential that the United States use every diplomatic tool to finalize a

deal to bring the remaining hostages home and end this heartbreaking war.

I will continue to fight for a bilateral cease-fire with the release of all remaining hostages, an end to Hamas' reign of inhumanity, and lasting peace for Israel and Palestine.

May their memories be a blessing.

Mr. Speaker, as the world watches the Paris Summer Olympics begin, Pennsylvania is sending our very best, and I am not just talking about our athletes.

From Berks County, Pennsylvania, GK Elite Sportswear has made Team USA women's gymnastics uniforms, bringing a piece of fabric from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to Paris.

Of course, the stars of the Olympics are the competitors, women and men with awe-inspiring, singular dedication and discipline.

Three-quarters of the United States women's field hockey team are Pennsylvanian, including three residents of my home, Pennsylvania's Fourth Congressional District: Ashley Sessa from Schwenksville, Phia Gladieux from Oley, and Meredith Sholder from Fleetwood.

On the men's USA swim team, Chris Guiliano from Douglassville will be competing in the 50-, 100-, and 200-meter freestyle events.

I congratulate and wish good luck to: Ashley, Phia, Meredith, Chris, and all the hardworking, talented athletes representing Team USA in the games in Paris. They are the very best of us. Once again, Montgomery County and Berks County, Pennsylvania, are leading the way.

Mr. Speaker, I was meeting with hostage families in HFAC. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 359 and NAY on Roll Call No. 360.

Mr. Speaker, when creating the National Highway Program, President Eisenhower wrote to Congress: ``The uniting forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear--United States.''

Nearly 70 years later, we once again reached a critical moment: Our aging infrastructure could not meet the modern demands of a united society--internet access, roads and public transit, clean water.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act did meet that.

As a member of the Regional Leadership Council, I have seen the hard work of congressional Democrats and President Biden up close: a fundamental improvement to the very foundations of our country, including in my home State of Pennsylvania.

In our Commonwealth, we are investing $11 billion in highways and bridges, public transit and rails, airports, and EV infrastructure; nearly $2 billion in affordable high-speed internet; and $1 billion in clean drinking water. Those investments have spurred nearly $3 billion in commitments from Pennsylvania's private sector.

Together, we are not simply rebuilding. We are reimagining a stronger, greener future with the collaboration of Federal, State, and local governments. We are the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud Surgeon General Vivek Murthy for officially calling our gun violence epidemic what it is, a public health crisis.

The numbers paint the picture: 120 Americans are killed and more than 200 are wounded by guns every day. The leading cause of death among children and teens in America is gun violence, with 4,600 precious children killed in 2022 alone, and an average of two mass shootings each day for the past 3 years.

These numbers should horrify us because they are not numbers; they are people whose lives have been stolen, and families with unimaginable pain.

Dr. Murthy's declaration treats our gun violence crisis with the urgency it demands. It opens doors for us to build upon the small progress we are making.

Two years ago this week, we passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,

the first gun violence safety law in 30 years. We did so together in the shadow of a horrific set of mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde.

This will not be our last step. We must ban automatic rifles, strengthen universal background checks, and require safe storage. This is a public health crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I ask us to face it. Doing so will save lives.