Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, freshwater is life. I rise to highlight the importance of the first piece of legislation introduced this year, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by our bipartisan Great Lakes champions, the GLRI Act of 2025.

This Act was introduced earlier this month alongside my congressional Great Lakes co-chairs David Joyce, Debbie Dingell, and Bill Huizenga. This bill is among our highest priorities for the Great Lakes region.

The district we represent traces much of the entire Great Lakes region, but mine alone, the southern rim of Lake Erie, is the largest watershed in the entire Great Lakes. It is the largest body of freshwater on Earth.

We all know how important protecting our Great Lakes is for the generations to come. The GLRI provides instrumental funding to meet an enormous unmet need for our region and the millions of people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, livelihoods, and leisure.

Our legislation would provide an annual authorization level of $500 million beginning in FY27. By the way, that is half as much as the West receives for the Bureau of Reclamation. They get well over $1 billion.

In 2020, the GLRI contributed $3.1 trillion to our economy. Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more important that our colleagues say than, let's protect the Great Lakes and turn it over to future generations in better condition than we found it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the patriotic and inspiring service of retired Army Colonel Greg Gadson. He recently addressed students at Central Catholic High School in my northwest Ohio district.

Colonel Gadson's story is one of unparalleled courage in the face of profound adversity, from humble beginnings to the football fields of West Point and combat in Iraq to his intrepid mission to others after losing

both legs in severe injuries sustained in a roadside bomb attack.

Despite all that he endured, he easily could have given up in despair. However, instead, he chose a path of hope, determination, and exemplary service. He has since become a beacon of hope as a motivational speaker, actor, author, and living testament to the strength of the human spirit.

Colonel Gadson's words: Be present in your life, be your best, resonate deeply.

Let us carry his message forward, ensuring every veteran receives the honor, support, and opportunities they deserve. I deeply respect Colonel Gadson for his unwavering dedication to our Nation. Let us all thank him for inspiring our next generation of leaders to take on any challenges and obstacles that come in their path. Colonel Gadson is truly an American hero and inspiration for us all.

Mr. Speaker, during this week in Washington, I have heard certain cunning, power-hungry individuals invoke the name of Jesus to blasphemously whitewash their own awful transgressions against the Ten Commandments and the dehumanization of God's precious creatures.

I don't expect the coarse subjects of my concern will hear nor even comprehend the Biblical verse I wish to enter into the Record--Matthew 25:31-46. Some day may these prevaricators face a reckoning in which the Lord of all lords will judge: Truly I tell you, whatsoever you do for the least of my brethren, that you do unto me. So be it.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article by Patti Davis which appeared in The New York Times on Monday, January 13, 2025.

The Dream of California is Up in Smoke

(By Patti Davis)

I've heard people say they couldn't live in Los Angeles

because they'd miss the changing of the seasons, but spending

much of my childhood on a ranch in Malibu, I watched as the

storms rolled in during the winter months, the land turning

green and lush, then blossoming in wild colors and sweet

scents in spring, browning and drying out in summer before

the air turned cusp in autumn and orange leaves fell from

trees to blanket the ground.

There were groves of oak trees, endless green pastures and

a pond where ducks made their home every year. Tiny frogs

jumped all over the banks of the pond. I'd scoop some up in

my hands and laugh when they leaped out, back into the mud.

When the winds kicked up in October and November, parts of

the ranch did burn a couple of times. But then the rains

would come and the land would heal.

The ranch was where we spent our weekends. During the week

we lived in Pacific Palisades, so quiet it felt almost like a

secret refuge from the noise and busyness of downtown. But

that was Los Angeles, too. Now that world is gone.

To look at the footage and the photographs of what the

voracious fire turned those neighborhoods into is like

looking at a war zone. Everyone is trying to process the

grief, the shock. The truth is we'd lost it all well before

the fires so mercilessly swept through. The flames just

sealed the deal.

I once thought that the land I loved so much would last

forever. I couldn't imagine an Earth that would groan and

rage and turn chaotic because of human carelessness, human

greed and the ignorant assumption that we could just keep

pumping poisons into the atmosphere with no repercussions.

Often over the past few days, I've been reminded of the

aftermath of Sept. 11, how no one seemed like a stranger.

During these fires, my own home was spared, but everywhere

you go people are sharing stories, asking how others are

doing. People who never met before, and may never meet again,

stop on sidewalks, in stores, to share their fears, their

despair. To weep over their losses. To try to make sense of

it.

My anger over what we have done to this fragile, exquisite

Earth was muffled by grief until the other evening when I was

watching a news program that had a panel of commentators. The

subject was Los Angeles on fire, and one person mentioned

climate change as a cause. Another commentator smirked and

said he didn't believe it was the cause.

I felt rage surge up past my grief.

My first thought was ``You think you know more than

scientists? The scientists who have been warning us for

decades?'' Then I thought ``This young man wasn't even born

when I was running through tall green grasses at our ranch

beneath skies that were clear and blue. He has no idea what

Earth used to be like.'' The beauty I grew up around seems

like it was so long ago, but it really wasn't.

I'm still heartbroken, but I want us to be angry. Not a

destructive anger, a righteous anger. I want us to stand up

for an Earth that was created with perfect balance, with

beauty and mystery and a divine artistry. An Earth that was

put here not for our consumption and our greed but for our

nourishment. An Earth that has so much to teach us, and that

needs protection, now more than ever.

We have thrown an entire planet out of balance, and now we

are suffering the consequences--weather patterns so severe we

have no idea how to combat them, and the resulting fires,

floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, more severe than anything

we've known before.

We can grieve and be righteously angry at the same time. Or

there is another scenario. We can be nomads wandering across

barren acres of land that were there for our sustenance, if

only we'd had the sense to know that and protect the Earth we

were given.

Mr. Speaker, we are all watching the ferocious Palisades, Eaton, Altadena, and Hurst fires expand along California's beautiful Coast. I can recall my many trips there. Surely we all love the Tournament of Roses Parade and the magic of Hollywood.

Our hearts go out today and forever to come to the thousands of displaced people, the brave, unrelenting fire and rescue crews, and the public officials trying to bring order in the midst of chaos.

Let me share. Having practiced as a city and regional planner long before my election to Congress, I was awestruck when I visited there at the large number of homes built high on forested mountainsides with many sizeable mansions at their very peaks.

In fact, most recently, as ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee, I was flown on an extensive tour over Los Angeles by a U.S. Army Corps helicopter to evaluate freshwater challenges in that drought-prone region.

As the granddaughter of a forester, experience led me to question how such densely developed communities with housing perched on forested ascending hillsides could be evacuated in the event of emergency. My stomach became queasy at the thought, and my premonition is now being affirmed.

Last fall, I called for Congress to return to Washington to fully fund FEMA and the Small Business Administration to assist with disaster relief efforts. It took until late December to approve $28 billion in funding, well below the $40 billion the Biden administration requested, and now this horror has launched.

Statistics show in Canada and the United States, whether it is along our Pacific Coast, in Vancouver, or Quebec, historic precious forests are burning to the ground during this era of prolonged drought.

One estimate indicates the recent annual tree loss just in Canada equates to their forests' lost capacity to absorb the annual carbon dioxide from all jet aviation fuel spewed into the atmosphere across our globe. This chart attests to that.

Just a few years ago due to major forest fires in Quebec, our southern Great Lakes region in my home State of Ohio was covered with an eerie, hazy, atmospheric soot blowing south across the border with Canada. What an out-of-body occurrence never before encountered where we live. My own rhododendron plants were smothered by it.

Long ago, I learned in a forestry class there is only one way to regenerate a forest: burning it to the ground. Thus, allowing massive communities to be built in forests is always dangerous.

When I was born, California's population numbered about 10 million people. Today, it has quadrupled to over 42.5 million people, and Los Angeles County's dense population alone now numbers over 10 million people, larger than 80 percent of the States in our Union. California's population is projected to reach 60 million people by 2050, and that is six times its population in 1950.

Freshwater is running out.

Challenges to life on a changing continent and world are daunting, and we must all ask tough questions about how to build and rebuild places that are livable and survivable.

It will take years to salvage the Los Angeles neighborhoods, and some will never be rebuilt. Meanwhile, other regions across our Nation can welcome fire refugees.

The growing freshwater fights between communities and States that attend to life in the West are hastening. More people are demanding more freshwater when that is a physical impossibility as aquifers run dry.

There is only so much freshwater. If one looks at places like the Great Lakes, we say: How does our Nation best invest in sustainable water and energy systems for the coming century and beyond?

We must think forward, not backward. America must have a more comprehensive approach to build forward sustainable communities.

Step one is to rescue the West, but there must be attention to resettling in freshwater regions that are more sustainable.

For example, advancing freshwater settlement for our Great Lakes region will require standing up the Great Lakes Authority and infusing it with the ability to relieve bonded indebtedness of struggling freshwater communities. They must be able to financially reinvest to upgrade their freshwater systems in places like Flint, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Youngstown, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Chicago, and so many more. Freshwater is life.

The old expression, ``Go west or south, young man,'' still applies, but our planet is teaching us there are limits to what the Earth can sustain.

Living in the past is not an option. Onward, America, together.

Mr. Speaker, as the Biden administration entered its final days in office, I was honored to participate in a joyous White House ceremony where the President signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law.

After a gnawing 40-year struggle, Congress finally righted the wrongs that harmed many public employees. These include teachers, mail carriers, firefighters, police officers, librarians, postal workers, locomotive engineers, school cooks, nutrition personnel, and so many more.

Finally, the Social Security Fairness Act eliminates the harmful Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset. These reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for more than 2.8 million Americans and over 270,000 Ohioans who have served our communities.

In a time of severe partisanship, 327 House Members and 76 Senators voted for this bipartisan legislation.

This is a great example of working to find the big middle to benefit the American people, millions of them who worked and earned their way forward.

Mr. Speaker, every single Ohioan and American should now enjoy their benefits.

Mr. Speaker, today our Nation paid tribute to the life and works of President Jimmy ``James'' Earl Carter here in the Nation's Capital. The ceremony was beautiful, appropriate, uplifting, and hopeful.

I had the privilege of serving him during his term in the White House, and I can attest to the man he was: faithful, honorable, patriotic, measured, disciplined, and pensive, with the most genial, broad smile that came from growing up in a real community of family and friends.

He was a selfless, true American patriot. He was a graduate of the Naval Academy in the top 10 percent of his class. He was a dear friend of our Admiral Hyman Rickover, the Father of our Nuclear Navy who selected him among the best of individuals in our Nation.

The President founded the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Education because he wanted to help with America's future security. I shall never forget the hope we all felt witnessing history when President Carter negotiated the historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt with Menachim Begin and Anwar Sadat standing next to him on the lawn of the White House.

Finally, his brilliant national security team lead by Zbigniew Brzezinski that set in place the dominoes that would ultimately result in the collapse of the Soviet Union starting in Poland in 1989 and then 1991, the entire USSR, giving millions of people a chance to have liberty for the first time in 100 years or more.

Though he served just one term, the travails of that period blurred his extraordinary accomplishments. His historic accomplishments, subsequent to his elected service when he returned home, defined what a noble private citizen who never stops giving can do for his nation and world. President Jimmy Carter set a standard for generations to come. As time passes, he will shine forth in history as one of the rare, most honorable Presidents. He faced severe political trials and tribulations, yet gave everything he had to his family, our nation, and its future.

I believe that President Carter will go down in history like President Truman, an honest man, who, when he finished his service, went back home to a place called Plains, Georgia, where he and Rosalynn, his wife, and family lived out their years in a brick home that they built themselves when they were first married.

He was not interested in money. He was not interested in power. He was interested in preserving this republic and strengthening it. His life is a lesson to all.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to place in the Record an article titled: ``How Jimmy Carter's disdain for D.C. politics changed Washington.''

Mr. Speaker, we learned late this afternoon that the Republican leadership of this House has derailed the important appropriation bills to fund the Government of the United States for the fiscal year that actually began October 1.

It has been delayed for months and months, and now, today, with legislation ready to move, again, the Republican leadership has failed the people of the United States.

Why did they do this? The incoming administration, which has not been sworn in yet, called and asked them to shelve the funding of the Government of the United States for the fiscal year of 2025, which, as I said, began on October 1.

Why did they do that? All the Members were here on both sides of the aisle. We were ready to vote. We had done the work.

I serve on the Appropriations Committee. We have worked for well over a year to put 12 bills together that should have been presented to the Chamber one at a time starting back last June.

They say they want to talk. They want to talk with Congress about the debt ceiling. Surely, this is a joke.

Here are the facts, and here is a great chart. Numbers don't lie.

President-elect Trump in his last term had tax cuts passed to millionaires and billionaires that have already added $2 trillion to the over $30-trillion U.S. debt. We are going to add up numbers tonight, simple numbers. So, $2 trillion from the first term, and that adds up even more every year.

There is more to come, Mr. Speaker.

The tax cuts provided by a predecessor of his, George Bush the second, have already added $8 trillion to the U.S. debt. Those benefits went to, again, billionaires and millionaires, not to the middle class or working people, and there is more debt to come because those tax cuts haven't expired.

So, just with the past Trump administration and the two Bush tax cuts, we are talking about almost one-third of the accumulated debt of the country, and that number is right up here. It is $36 trillion in U.S. debt.

It is interesting where it is coming from. Bush two's wars added another $8 trillion as part of that $36 trillion in military spending to the debt, but it wasn't paid for.

Just these three Republican gouges of the Federal purse total $18 trillion of the $30 trillion.

That is accumulated debt on the current generation and future generations, but it is not over. Republicans again cuddled up to Wall Street, causing the horrid recession of 2008. That cost a minimum of $3 trillion more of the $36 trillion to bail out America where it could be bailed out. That recession was a total disaster.

The average African-American citizen of our country who owned a home lost one-half of their accumulated wealth because so many families lost their dwelling. About 30 percent of Hispanic Americans lost their homes. The rest of the country lost about 20 percent of their accumulated wealth. That was a horrible, horrible, horrible meltdown of the economy. Again, it added $3 trillion to the accumulated debt.

Now, we hear one of the people on the phone to the leadership of this House, Elon Musk, who is the richest man in the world, is trying to strangle the U.S. Government, in other words, to not pass the appropriation bills to grow his monopoly power. He already has contracts with the Department of Defense and from NASA.

What is he interested in doing? Gaining even more control over the production of three things: electric vehicles, space-based communication, and commercial and military rockets.

How much is he going to add to the accumulated debt?

Mr. Speaker, this is not a pretty picture. The middle class and working people of this country have to stand up to these billionaires and millionaires strangling the U.S. Treasury and causing raids in the future on the accumulated wealth of the American people, particularly in our Social Security and Medicare accounts and the food and agricultural programs, which are being held up because this body is being held back by people who haven't been sworn in yet from doing its job.

Environmental cleanup? Forget about that. There is not going to be money for that and so many programs critical to the working people of the United States.

Numbers don't lie. Forget politics, Mr. Speaker. Just look at the raw figures.

We have a lot of accounting to do in this Chamber to the American people for the chaos attending those who hold the gavel, and they had better bring that bill to the floor tomorrow. The American people have been waiting for far too long. Frankly, they shouldn't be paid. If you can't bring the bill to the floor, then you shouldn't be paid.

I want to turn to another subject, and this regards the Army-Navy Football Game that was broadcast about 1 week ago.

For spectators watching the Army-Navy Football Game, the moments can be exhilarating. From either their seats in the stands or couches at home, spectators can enjoy the thrill of the game.

Meanwhile, the teams on the field put their grit and mettle to the test. The trials of the gridiron are often compared to the rigors demanded of our young soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and guardians in uniform.

There may be similarities in teamwork, but believe me, ultimately, playing football does not compare to the sacrifices demanded of our servicemembers in combat, including, for some, the last measure of full devotion.

Our Nation is protected by our military's patriots, whose motto is: We Are Your Defense.

The veterans in our family have fought for our Nation for over a century and a quarter. Most of them did not play football. All were hard workers dedicated to service and deep patriots of the United States of America.

Our Uncle Tony, who served in the Office of Strategic Services under Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, remarked that service in his lifetime meant kill or be killed in the lethal China, Burma, and India theater as U.S. soldiers parachuted into those killing fields and ultimately built what is called the Burma Road.

Our father's oldest brother, Szepan, deployed into combat under Woodrow Wilson as a marine against the Bolsheviks' civil war after World War I. He was sent to northern Russia in the Arctic, where frigid, 40-degree-below-zero temperatures and remote conditions took their toll as marines deployed to Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok to fight the Bolsheviks. That ultimately resulted in a civil war.

The Red army was victorious, sadly, and almost all those who served in our family on both sides, both our mother's and our father's sides, had been combat veterans for this country going back a century and a quarter.

For my part, as a senior in high school, I dreamed of attending the United States Air Force Academy to serve my country, but in those days, my application was rejected because I was a woman. Thank goodness that has changed.

Despite this rejection, I maintain my interest in our national security by now serving as a senior member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, and that is another reason that the leadership of this House should not hold up the appropriation bills. The Defense funding for 2025 is in that bill. The work of Defense ensures our men and women in uniform are supplied with the resources required to protect American interests at home and abroad.

As I watched the publicity around the Army-Navy Game, I realized I could not recall any veterans in President Donald Trump's family. Could I possibly be correct? I began to consider how someone with no or few veterans in their family would think about selecting advisers on such weighty questions as defense, war, and peace.

We must hope that these appointees being considered will be outstanding intellects and experienced leaders. This is America's tradition as the greatest fighting force on Earth. Top leaders must have exemplified lives of integrity, a serious commitment to military service, a deep knowledge of history, command of contemporary world events, and a record of managing a very large, complex organization.

The Defense Department's mission is to provide the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our Nation's security. Accomplishing this mission is anything but simple. It requires the dedicated work and leadership of around 2.3 million troops and civilian employees, with an annual operating budget at the Department of Defense of nearly $900 billion.

The individual appointed to lead this Department must be highly capable mentally, physically, and emotionally to lead these brave men and women while managing the vast means to move the levers of military might and national security. Historically, our Nation has appointed individuals with the background and aptitude commensurate with the demands of this office. Those who rise to the role of Secretary of Defense are cut from a special cloth.

For example, at a turning point in history, Americans such as General George Marshall--one of my heroes, without question--served President Truman in shaping the new post-World War II alliance with our Allies. Marshall's selfless patriotism--oh, my, he was one of a kind--and superior military and diplomatic experience built the foundational alliances that still guard liberty today here at home and abroad.

Truman, who integrated the U.S. military, called Marshall the architect of victory in World War II. Marshall spent most of his life, 49 years, devoted to America's defense.

Another example of a great defense leader was James Forrestal, the first Secretary of Defense under the Truman administration who served from 1947 to 1949. He played a defining role in reorganizing our military to meet the requirements of a post-World War II landscape under the National Security Act of 1947.

That is when the U.N. was just being founded. There was a lot of imagination and intellect that went into creating the institutions for liberty following that most costly of our wars after the Civil War.

Forrestal previously worked for the Secretary of the Navy handling extensive contracts and legal affairs and built his office into an efficient organization. He had served as the Secretary of the Navy in 1944, guiding our Navy through World War II and the difficult years of demobilization following the surrender of Imperial Japan and its rebuilding. His service set a very high standard for leading our brave men and women in uniform to maintain the security of our Nation.

During the Eisenhower administration, Charles E. Wilson led a major internal reorganization and implemented the ``New Look'' defense concept that elevated strategic air power and modernized the Reserve forces.

Wilson brought to the Defense Department his experience as president of General Motors, one of our greatest industrial companies, and his direction of the country's defense production effort during World War

Mr. Speaker, I have one final topic this evening on the question of American energy independence, which is so vital to our domestic security and our international security.

We well know, when the United States became dependent on imported oil, we fell into deep recession during the 1970s, and we spent the last half century trying to catch up to become energy independent here at home in perpetuity. It is a major objective for the safety and security of our people, and we are making great progress.

With the radiant lights above us here in the Chamber tonight, I am here to speak about that force that illuminates every facet of our daily lives: energy. Not just any energy, but American energy. Energy infuses life into our Nation, energy powers our homes, energy fuels our industries, and energy safeguards our independence.

My message is clear: Our Nation must aim forcefully toward American energy independence in perpetuity.

In northwest Ohio, you don't have to look far to see the embodiment of an all-encompassing energy strategy. From the majestic wind turbines that dot our western agricultural basin landscape, especially in the agricultural regions, to our premier domestic solar manufacturing companies, to the advanced nuclear and hydrogen future we imagine, our region is a living testament to the strength and potential of our skilled technicians and industrious innovators.

America can't and shouldn't play the piano with just one key. We need every key on the energy board: oil and gas, wind, solar, hydrogen, thermal recovery, biofuels, advanced nuclear, and systems yet to come.

Energy is essential and innovative. It creates high-paying jobs in multiple energy sectors, ensuring that the lights stay on for energy and power systems and allowing our holiday trees to sparkle a little brighter. Energy allows families to gather in warm homes, bake holiday treats, and make good memories.

Over the last 4 years, our Nation has made enormous strides toward energy independence. We are increasing energy production across all sectors. In 2023, the United States set all-time records for both crude oil production and natural gas exports.

As time goes on, those resources will diminish, and we simply must invent our way forward to be energy independent forever. This is not easy, but it is the struggle we are in.

At the same time, renewable energy production continues to grow with the shocking statistic of wind and solar power now contributing close to 15 percent of our electricity. That is just in modern history, and we have a long way to go. These technologies are revolutionizing our accomplishment of energy independence at the start of this 21st century's new energy age.

Yet, as we make strides in energy diversity and security, we face new political whims that mustn't threaten to derail the progress that we have made. Politics should never jeopardize the security of the American people or play games with energy independence. We must keep our pedal on the metal, pushing forward, not backward.

To the new administration in Washington, I say: Embrace an all-of- the-above energy policy. Leave no sector behind. ``Clean energy'' is not a dirty word. We must maintain a balanced portfolio to ensure American energy independence going far into the future.

The farm bill that has been held back by the leadership of this House, that we could pass this week, has a special section that is built into it, and that includes the continuing resolution that it is a part of an E15 inclusion for our country in perpetuity. It is just magnificent as we try to use every key on the piano to help our country produce new, good jobs in the energy sector and one that uses all of our talents.

Come to northwest Ohio. See firsthand how a comprehensive energy strategy operates. See the innovation and dedication that fuels our community and our country. We are inventing the future.

Just this week, the village of Pioneer in Williams County, Ohio, has shown remarkable vision and determination to harness the power of clean energy with new funding announced for a solar field through a $10.5 million Federal loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Pioneer will deliver tangible benefits for northwest Ohio residents, including lowering energy costs, strengthening infrastructure, and promoting energy independence for decades to come.

I commend the Pioneer community leadership in pursuing this opportunity to power its future with better and lower costs through renewable energy. Northwest Ohio is the solar capital of America, and I encourage other communities across our region to follow the pioneering lead of Pioneer, Ohio, in building solar fields that can harness the renewable energy of the Sun that shines bright over our region.

Let's not throttle down on American progress in any sector. Instead, let's do what America does best: invent the future and adapt to changing conditions. Let's accelerate energy innovation. Let's champion it. Let's support it and propel it into the future. We have a duty to safeguard our energy independence to ensure security so that every American family, community, and business can continue to thrive.

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

Mr. Speaker, at this holiday season, please let me pay tribute to a remarkable American, a patriot who has dedicated his life to building our Nation and world into a more just and livable planet.

I extend grateful holiday wishes to the now current oldest-living former U.S. Congressman, Frank Guarini of Jersey City, New Jersey. He and his family and friends are celebrating his 100 years of life as an American patriot, faithful to his family, his friends, Jersey City, and Hudson County.

His milestone life includes service in this House from 1979 to 1993. Hailing from Jersey City, New Jersey, Frank distinguished himself as an extraordinary patriot, a champion swimmer, and a World War II Navy decorated combat veteran of the Pacific campaign.

He rose to the rank of lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, and he continues to pursue his business and philanthropic interests as a proud son of Jersey City. Here, he served as a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, specializing in international trade and fair taxation.

Frank endowed his alma mater, Dartmouth College's School of International Relations, as well as John Cabot University in Italy, the Italian American Foundation, and countless and endless works of good will toward others.

We wish him, his family, and friends, like former New York Members Charles Rangel and posthumously Ben Gilman and his family joy in these holidays. Celebrating Frank's life makes 2024 a memorable holiday season. I send heartfelt congratulations to Congressman Frank Guarini at age 100.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to place an important newspaper article in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man whose steadfast leadership has left an indelible mark on northwest Ohio, a family man, an architect, Mayor Craig A. Stough, of the thriving city of Sylvania, Ohio. He has used his exceptional talents to form and shape a lovely community for most of his adult life.

After nearly three decades of service as mayor, with over 40 years of dedicated public service overall, Mayor Stough is retiring, and there will be a wonderful party tonight in his honor.

He leaves behind a legacy of vision, collaboration, and unwavering commitment to his community. Mayor Stough's tenure has been a shining example of honest, good governance. His steady, concerted efforts to secure a regional water commission to improve water security for our region is a testament of his ability to build consensus and tackle vital pressing challenges head-on.

Beyond his achievements and accolades, Mayor Stough's career is defined by his deep connections to the people of Sylvania. He is Sylvania. His dedication to fostering a thriving community, supporting local projects, and mentoring future leaders exemplifies what it means to serve with heart and purpose.

As mayor Stough embarks on his well-earned retirement to explore new horizons, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for his decades of service.

I congratulate Mayor Stough on a remarkable career. May his living legacy inspire us all to lead with integrity and a spirit of unending service.

Mr. Speaker, today the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.

I voted for the legislation, as this body upholds again the over 60- year bipartisan tradition, ensuring partisan politics does not put America's national security at risk.

As a senior Member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I greatly appreciate the bipartisan work of the defense authorizing committee. Their collaboration has resulted in a bill that supports our patriotic servicemembers at home and abroad, and the legislation meets that call through its 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers and a 4.5 percent increase for all other members of our military.

Our State of Ohio is home to over 31,000 servicemembers including those on Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard duty. They have earned this much-needed increase in pay at a time when too many of our citizens are struggling to afford basic needs.

This legislation also authorizes $121 million for defense-related upgrades in Ohio to further strengthen avenues of collaboration between the Department of Defense and Ohio's installations.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and Kwanzaa to our dear servicemembers who are serving liberty at home and abroad.

Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday morning, a new day dawned in Syria. The world saw stunning images of liberty emerge in the world's oldest continuously inhabited capital city of Damascus.

Syria was freed from the 55-year-old regime of Bashar al-Assad, who had turned it into a dictatorship.

It was not totally clear who the rebel factions were that swarmed through the towns of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs, and then the capital city.

As a result of the fall of Assad, the spiderweb of tyranny between Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China has been weakened.

Iran and Russia could no longer prop up their puppet. The days ahead for Syria are uncertain, but the Syrian people deserve a chance to rebuild a civil nation of their choosing after decades of turmoil. Hopefully, it will be a tolerant society, accepting of people from all religious confessions.

Under that dictatorship, over 500,000 people suffered horror and death at the hands of Assad. Others were held warrantlessly in captivity by this ruthless dictator. My hope is that the Syrian people may have the chance to write their own intelligent chapter in human history.

While the future of Syria remains uncertain, we should recognize this spirit of triumph. Millions who fled the scourge of war will have a chance to return home free of bombs.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Weber so very much for yielding.

Tonight, Mr. Speaker, as you well know, we honor a trailblazing woman, Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger. Without question, history will record Chairwoman Granger shattered many glass ceilings during her service in Congress.

She became the first Texas woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Think about that alone, just coming out of Texas, the first woman, starting in 1997.

Kay went on to serve honorably in this Chamber for 28 years. She became the first Republican woman to receive appointment to the Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations and then later became its chair. She rose also as a leader for her party on the committee, including as chairwoman of the full committee, for the first year of the 118th Congress.

Kay always found a way to work together in a bipartisan fashion to pass our Nation's largest budget to bolster our Nation's military, surely for the advancement of the F-35, as well as funding in another agency, NASA's, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Artemis program and other space priorities.

She always had a vision beyond the narrow to embrace the globe.

I have always appreciated her professionalism and her passion, which she kept under control, especially for her home State of Texas, and her candor and no-nonsense demeanor. I know that Kay will continue to speak for the people of Parker and Tarrant Counties and to work for their betterment even in retirement because that is her nature.

I am virtually and mentally sending her a bouquet of roses as we are speaking tonight. I thank her for her remarkable and honorable service to our Nation. We wish her Godspeed on a job exceptionally well-done.

I have heartfelt wishes that the years ahead will be ones of fulfillment and adventure, as well.

Mr. Speaker, regarding a previous Special Order this evening, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record The New York Times article about the changes in Syria written by Peter Baker and Adam Entous.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Weber so much for doing this on Kay's behalf.

Mr. Speaker, at this holiday season and other auspicious occasions, I rise to celebrate a cherished, inspiring tradition that bridges history, culture, and community. It is the enduring role of the town crier.

In northwest Ohio, Sylvania's town crier, Michael Lieber, embodies this vibrant legacy with distinction and flare. For nearly three decades, Mr. Lieber has been a living emblem of civic pride,

dressed in 19th century regalia, ringing his handbell, and calling out proclamations with unmatched zeal.

His booming voice proclaiming ``Oyez, oyez, oyez'' has carried the spirit of Sylvania not just across Ohio but across the globe, from Melbourne, Australia, to the airwaves of Good Morning America.

Town criers, once vital in relaying news to an illiterate public, now serve as keepers of history and creators of joy. They infuse modern events with old-world charm. Mr. Lieber's dedication highlights the best of American ingenuity and community service, connecting us to our past while celebrating the present.

Let us commend town crier Michael Lieber and his fellow criers for preserving this unique, joyful tradition and inspiring us to honor our shared history. Their contributions remind us all that civic pride is a timeless virtue.

We thank Mr. Lieber.

Mr. Speaker, I hail from the manufacturing heart of automotive and truck USA, right at the Ohio-Michigan border. As this new year beckons, Congress must do what it can, as the old saying goes, to reconnect the U.S. head bone to its neck bone.

Specifically, as co-chair of the House Auto Caucus, this means we must reshore ownership here in the USA of the Chrysler Group and its key suppliers. What America makes and grows here in America makes and grows America.

The popular Jeep Wrangler, Ram truck, and the American steel that should go into them create two of the most popular purchased vehicles in our country and world. Just these two vehicles represent a major manufacturing sector for our heartland that was traded away by Wall Street to Europe.

As a result, thousands upon thousands of skilled workers at production platforms in Toledo, Ohio; Sterling Heights, Michigan; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are now being idled before the holidays.

Why is it always right before the holidays?

Meanwhile, the purveyors of vast wealth actually harm the workers that create the very wealth that benefit those billionaires. The ownership of the production was moved to Europe, and their billionaire enablers and buddies on Wall Street from the world of high finance keep trading away their livelihoods.

America's truck, automobile, steel, and auto parts manufacturing workers have had enough. They deserve respect.

Wouldn't the holiday season be happier if Congress could reassure thousands and thousands of Jeep and Ram workers a better future?

The current Jeep Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares, is stepping down. He lives in Europe. After his dreadful 10 years as leader of this lodestar automobile company that was created in this country, he earns a whopping $43 million a year, not counting all his perks and stock options. He just got another million-dollar raise. After his dreadful-- I can't even call it leadership--heading the company, he just got rewarded that additional million dollars. Meanwhile, workers in Toledo and Sterling Heights get pink-slipped and hit the unemployment lines. How cruel. This has to stop.

Production pauses were announced just before Thanksgiving as we head into the holiday season. That is downright un-American.

It is long overdue for America to be American again. Wall Street traders should bring back ownership of Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge to the United States of America. It is overdue to put real car builders in charge, not Wall Street traders nor hapless CEOs from another country.

The outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration must direct attention to what is occurring right at the Ohio-Michigan border. This region is the heart of the industrial Midwest, where people make and build our real wealth, not just trade it away.

Our people don't live in virtual reality or stock options. We live in places where iron sharpens iron--some might say the agony and the ecstasy of producing America's real wealth. Yet we have seen it traded away time and again, decade after decade as oligarchs and billionaires who could care less about America get richer off the sweat of our people.

This is a wake-up call for the current and future President of the United States. Hear our call. Reshore ownership of our Chrysler-Jeep- Dodge platform, both in the automotive and trucking industry. Lift up the industrial heartland of America.

As we reshore the ownership and production of our Nation's most popular vehicles, we also ensure that those who own the means of production have to live in the same reality as those who build these cars and trucks.

Both Presidents Trump and Biden have said America should stop the sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese Nippon Steel. I agree with that. Americans who are potential buyers wait in the wings. Engage them. Include those that forge quality steel that is a critical component of both our rugged Rams and Jeeps.

American steel in American cars, doesn't that sound good?

My hope for the USA is that we reclaim ownership of what we created in the first place. Our workers know it. They have surely earned it. The future of generations across our industrial heartland and Nation depends on America restoring America again. What America makes and builds makes and builds America. Bring Jeep and Ram back to the United States of America.