Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5631, the Geothermal Energy Advancement Act. This bipartisan package will deliver safe, clean, and reliable energy for the American people, helping to lower energy prices and meet growing electricity demand.

The bills in this package will let us make use of recent breakthroughs in geothermal technology that unlock gigawatts of clean domestic energy, helping get American families off of the fossil fuel roller coaster.

I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working together to speed up the build-out of next-generation geothermal without sacrificing environmental or community protections.

These bills will help fund the experts needed to efficiently process permits, establish a specialized problem-solving ombudsman to coordinate and resolve permitting disputes, and to standardize best practices across field offices.

They will extend a streamlined permitting pathway available to oil and gas wells on already developed lands to geothermal development, give the Department of the Interior a deadline to issue authorizations after reviews are complete, and modify how royalties are collected to incentivize new developments on one lease.

All of these are commonsense reforms that safely speed up the build- out of clean, reliable energy, and I am proud to stand in support of this timely, bipartisan package.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to hearing more from our bill's cosponsors, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, S. 254 would amend section 101(b) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which allows Alaska Native communities to take marine mammals for subsistence purposes.

This proposed amendment would allow Alaska Native communities to take marine mammals for the creation and sale of arts and crafts.

The MMPA already permits the use of marine mammal ivory in Alaska Native art when the animal was taken for subsistence. However, Alaska Native artists have faced barriers to markets due to State-level bans on the sale of ivory. They routinely used whale baleen, bones, and ivory walrus tusks in their artwork, which have been caught up in good faith efforts to curb the trade of elephant and rhinoceros ivory.

This bill would clarify that authentic Alaska Native art made with marine mammal products may be sold nationwide. This will provide greater flexibility and certainty to Alaska Native artists.

Importantly, this bill would maintain the Secretary's authority under

the MMPA to regulate the take of depleted marine mammal stocks based on scientific evidence and the consideration of indigenous knowledge. It also maintains the authority of States to regulate or ban the sale of other ivory, such as elephant ivory. The artwork this bill would support is important to Alaska Native traditions and cultures.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 254, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7250. This legislation would extend the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System completion date to December 2028. In 2000, Congress authorized the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System to address water quality and supply concerns in northeastern Montana.

This project consists of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural Water System. Together, they will provide safe, reliable water from the Missouri River to over 32,000 residents across the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and communities in northeastern Montana.

Over the years, Congress has provided extensions to account for delays in project construction due to insufficient appropriations and rising construction costs. H.R. 7250 would provide another simple 2- year extension to ensure that construction of the final components of the Assiniboine and Sioux and the Dry Prairie Rural Water Systems can be completed.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act, sponsored by Mr. Joe Neguse, would direct the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, to study the existing Federal programs, rules, and authorities that either enable or inhibit cross-boundary wildfire mitigation.

As we all know, wildfires do not respect property lines or jurisdictional boundaries. Yet, our mitigation efforts are too often hindered by the complex borders between Federal, State, local, and Tribal lands. This bill takes direct aim at this problem by answering recommendation 24 from the bipartisan Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission report.

We need to know what is working and what is standing in the way. By identifying these gaps, we can improve collaboration, ensure all levels of government have better access to mitigation and funding, and build far more effective wildfire strategies.

Ultimately, this legislation will enhance our capacity to manage these crises, reduce the frequency and severity of devastating wildfires, and protect our most vulnerable communities.

I wish to take a moment to congratulate the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), my colleague, for his exceptional leadership, not just on this bill, but on wildfires in general, and for his work in advancing critical legislation to protect our public lands.

Through his dedicated work leading the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus and serving as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Lands, Representative Neguse has been a relentless champion for our communities. This is exactly the kind of bipartisan leadership and legislation needed to ensure we are doing everything possible to keep our communities safe.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2860 reauthorizes the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Act. This legislation promotes the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems in the Northwest Straits region of Washington State.

The Northwest Straits region is a special place. It encompasses the marine waters of the Strait de Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, a region of priceless biodiversity that is home to iconic species such as salmon, tufted puffins, and orcas. It has been stewarded by communities for generations.

However, over the 20th century, the region's environmental health has declined due to habitat loss, reductions in wildlife populations, declining water quality, and the impacts of climate change. We must do everything we can to address these issues.

This bill takes a comprehensive approach to restore and protect the area. It leverages local knowledge and community engagement, while providing Federal resources and technical assistance to support and strengthen these ongoing efforts.

This bill provides funding for projects that strengthen and proactively protect these ecosystems and support critical restoration. It also fosters collaboration by utilizing and reinforcing partnerships with Tribal Governments, local communities, and State and Federal agencies. It supports local communities' efforts to address environmental degradation, respond to the threats posed by climate change, and protect marine ecosystems.

Mr. Speaker, I, therefore, urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The hearing, ``Survivors Fight for Justice: Exposing Epstein's Crimes in Palm Beach and Across the World,'' marked a critical step forward in the fight for justice and accountability.

On behalf of all the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes, I rise to include in the Record the remaining testimonies offered by Epstein survivors:

Ms. Marijke Chartouni

Dear Ranking Member Garcia and Democratic Members of the

Committee, I am writing to you as a survivor of Jeffrey

Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. What was done to me--and so

many other young women and girls--was not the result of

chance or individual failing. It was the result of a network

that operated with impunity, protected by wealth, power, and

the silence of institutions that should have stopped it.

Navigating the federal investigative and justice systems as

a sexual trafficking survivor gave me my first painful lesson

in how institutions can fail and oppress the very people they

claim to protect. I saw firsthand how systems purporting to

help can actually cause harm, how institutional responses

reflect who is deemed worthy of protection, and how

structural barriers compound individual trauma,

When institutions fail to address the concerns of sexual

abuse victims, the betrayal cuts at a much higher cost. It

perpetuates a cycle of abandonment, one that creates long-

term psychological barriers preventing survivors from seeking

the help they need and deserve. It also tells survivors

implicitly and explicitly that their abuse was their fault,

that their trauma didn't deserve recognition, and that their

recovery wasn't worth institutional investment.

I have witnessed this betrayal not only in my own

experience, but in the lives of fellow survivors. My friend

Maria Farmer was the first survivor to report Epstein. She

filed a report with authorities in 1996 and she was

repeatedly ignored. The profound sense of abandonment that

followed has never fully left her. I know that feeling well.

The consequences of that failure have been grave. Despite

the enormous public attention the Epstein case has received,

Epstein's powerful network of enablers and protectors have

yet to face justice. Only Maxwell has been convicted--and

even that single shred of hard-won accountability is now

under threat.

When perpetrators are not held accountable, a message is

sent to survivors and to the public alike that exploitation

is tolerated, and that victims are not believed. Today,

survivors like me have little trust in the very systems

structured to provide us security, accountability, and

restitution. If the institutions of this government will not

believe us, who will?

I urge you to use the full weight of your oversight

authority to ensure that the survivors of Epstein and Maxwell

are heard, believed, and afforded the justice that has been

denied to us for decades. This starts with accountability by

the United States for the FBI's failure to act in response

to, or outright rejection of, Maria Farmer's 1996 report of

Epstein's crimes to the FBI.

I also implore you to take every action within your power

to ensure that Ghislaine Maxwell is not pardoned. Pardoning

her would erase the only measure of justice we have ever

received and be a devastating and unconscionable blow to

every survivor. Our pain is not disposable and we cannot

continue shielding the powerful from accountability.

Respectfully,

Marijke Chartouni

Ms. Rachel Benavidez

Ranking Member Garcia and Democratic Members of the

Committee, I write this letter to you today strengthened by

the unwavering support of my fellow survivor sisters, and I

speak not only for myself, but for thousands of young women

who endured abuse in silence at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein

and those within his trafficking network. For decades, our

voices have been silenced, our stories distorted, we have

faced relentless harassment, and the federal government has

failed to pursue justice. But we will not be intimidated.

I personally experienced severe abuse as a young woman at

the hands of Epstein, and I was groomed and trafficked by

Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as others. My autonomy was taken.

Speaking out is not easy; to relive such moments is gut-

wrenching, but I do so with the strength of my fellow

survivors in my heart and with the hope that by telling the

truth, we can protect young women from falling victim to

those who have yet to be held accountable. This all stems

from past blunders and inactions by the federal government.

The United States government and law enforcement were

notified decades ago of Jeffrey Epstein's disgusting crimes,

including through Maria Farmer's initial 1996 FBI report--yet

they failed to act. That failure to respond meaningfully and

purposefully allowed Epstein's abuse to continue, resulting

in irreparable harm to countless young women. Had the

appropriate authorities taken decisive action when first

alerted, as their job dictates, decades of survivor sexual

abuse and trauma could have been prevented.

This inaction cannot be forgotten, it cannot continue, and

there needs to be accountability.

What we are asking for is the bare minimum of justice. We

have yet to see a single perpetrator or enabler within

Epstein's criminal enterprise fully brought to justice. Nor

has an explanation been provided as to why Maria Farmer's

report to the FBI in 1996 was ignored. Instead, sensitive

information about survivors has been exposed, while potential

enablers have remained shielded from scrutiny.

We deserve full transparency and accountability about the

scale of the abuse orchestrated by Epstein and the

individuals who allowed it to continue unchecked for so long.

All survivors and Jane Does deserve full protection, thorough

investigations need to be opened, and those who perpetrated

and enabled this abuse need to be held accountable to the

fullest extent of the law.

Federal institutions entrusted with justice, including the

U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of

Investigation, cannot continue to let survivors down.

Survivors can no longer be failed by delay, secrecy, or

inaction. The government must also be held responsible for

its past inaction.

That is why I am writing to you today. We must do better,

for our sisters, our mothers, and our daughters.

We demand justice. We demand accountability. And we will

not rest until this is delivered.

Sincerely,

Rachel Benavidez

Ms. Annie Farmer

Dear Ranking Member Garcia and Democratic Members of the

Committee, thank you for holding this hearing and giving us

the opportunity to share statements on the record. My name is

Annie Farmer and I was 16 years old when I met Jeffrey

Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. My sister Maria Farmer has

also provided testimony on the harm that unfolded because the

FBI did not heed her 1996 report about the abuse she endured

on Les Wexner's property in Ohio and the nightmare I

experienced at Zorro Ranch in New Mexico. I have witnessed

first hand the tremendous negative impacts that carrying this

burden had on her life and the fallout of the institutional

failures--of countless law enforcement officials, elected

leaders, and those meant to protect survivors--for hundreds

of girls and women who experienced similar abuse. I second

her requests for the government to finally take

responsibility for their inaction, to explain how this

happened, and promise that it will never happen again. The

DOJ, FBI, and law enforcement across the country must hold

all those engaged in harming so many girls and women

accountable to the fullest extent possible.

I also want to speak directly to the Republican lawmakers

who I recently learned from Chairman Comer were considering a

pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for her testimony.

Not only is a pardon or commutation completely unnecessary--

given the potential for her to be granted limited immunity

for any testimony she gives to the HOC--I have no faith that

she would provide accurate information. Maxwell was

previously charged for lying under oath, charges she faced

specifically related to lies she told about me. Even

entertaining such a pardon is a deeply insulting slap in the

face to my family, the other women who testified against her,

and all the victims who have clung to her sentence as the one

piece of justice that we have seen in this case. The fact

that a potential pardon would be causally discussed as a

possibility, leads me to believe that our leaders still do

not understand the institutional betrayal we've endured for

three decades.

For those in favor of a Maxwell pardon, I want to briefly

share why it would feel so harmful to me personally. Despite

my disappointment in the FBI's inaction to hold Epstein and

Maxwell fully accountable, I took a leap of faith and agreed

to testify about my experiences when the FBI interviewed me

again in 2019. After Maxwell was arrested I spent a year in

lock down attending bail hearings virtually and dreading the

trial. I rearranged my work obligations repeatedly to account

for changes in the schedule. I spent multiple days in a small

room in the federal courthouse anxiously awaiting my

testimony. I was retraumatized when I was aggressively cross-

examined, and then spent that Christmas awaiting a verdict,

six months waiting for sentencing, and years waiting as

Maxwell exhausted her appeals. I did all of this because I

understood the significant harm Maxwell had caused not just

to me, but how she terrorized my sister Maria with her

threats, and the role she played in the abuse of brave

survivors like Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who I have had the

honor of calling a close friend, as well as countless others.

Let me be clear: any commutation of Ghislane Maxwell's

sentence or pardon for her crimes would be a tremendous

insult to survivors and send a dangerous message to other

victims of sexual crimes who already are often hesitant to

report because of the systemic barriers they face. I ask the

DOJ to permanently close the door on this, and instead open

the door on a criminal investigation into the enables of

Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell's abuse.

Respectfully,

Annie Farmer

Mr. Speaker, on Memorial Day, we pause to honor the brave Americans who gave their lives in service to this Nation, those who wore the uniform knowing that freedom and liberty always carry a cost.

Today, I rise in remembrance of the fallen from my home State of New Mexico, a State with a proud military tradition, where generations of servicemembers have answered the call to serve from communities large and small, from Tribal communities, rural towns, land grants, and our great military installations.

In New Mexico, military service is woven into the fabric of our communities and the identities of our families. Families sacrifice together. Spouses hold households together through deployments. Children grow up learning resilience and service. Veterans continue serving long after they have hung up the uniform.

On Memorial Day, we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

This year, we are also mourning the 13 American servicemembers killed during the Iran war, Americans who stood in harm's way on behalf of this country and paid the ultimate sacrifice.

We remember: Captain Cody Khork, Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens, Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, Sergeant Declan Coady, Major Jeffrey O'Brien, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, Sergeant Benjamin Pennington, Major John Klinner, Captain Ariana Savino, Technical Sergeant Ashley Pruitt, Captain Seth Koval, Captain Curtis Angst, and Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons.

We honor these brave men and women. They were sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends, neighbors, teammates, and leaders.

Behind every fallen servicemember stands a family whose life will be forever changed.

To the Gold Star families in New Mexico and across this Nation: We see you. We honor you. We carry a solemn responsibility to remember your loved ones not just on Memorial Day but every single day.

Memorial Day is a sacred reminder of the human cost of war and the extraordinary courage of those willing to defend this Nation even at the highest cost.

As we honor the fallen, we also recommit ourselves to supporting our veterans and military families who continue carrying the burdens of service today. That means ensuring veterans can access care through a strong VA system. It means supporting our military families who endure repeated deployments and long separations. It means investing in the servicemembers who are stationed today in places like Kirtland Air Force Base in my district. It means never forgetting the debt this Nation owes to those who have served.

This Memorial Day, may we honor the fallen not just with words but with action worthy of their sacrifice.

May we remember them, may we honor them, and may we strive every single day to build a nation truly worthy of what they gave for us. Amen.

Mr. Speaker, what should have been bipartisan effort to honor and preserve the stories of American women has been hijacked and corrupted.

The original Smithsonian American Women's History Museum Act had broad bipartisan support because it was rooted in a simple idea that the stories of all women deserve to be told.

Now, it has been hijacked by Republicans to legislate identity and to erase LGBTQ+ Americans' history itself, but unfortunately, this bill is not happening in isolation.

Just before Pride Month, Republicans are voting to advance a bill that would force schools to out trans kids and take away their Federal funding.

Mr. Speaker, let me just say this: Bullying trans kids won't end this war. It won't address the economy. It won't make this country more free, and it won't cover up the deep corruption in the White House itself. It will only hurt our children, and that is why we are a hell, no.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of our veterans and the proud men and women who have worn the uniform in service to this great Nation.

In New Mexico, service is part of our culture and who we are. Our veterans are our teachers, our firefighters, our small business owners, and our caregivers.

From Kirtland Air Force Base to Cannon Air Force Base, from rural and Tribal communities to the heart of Albuquerque, our veterans have answered the call. That service must be met with a commitment from Congress to fully support their care and benefits, and that means unequivocally rejecting efforts to privatize the VA. And we must stop this administration's quiet gutting of VA programs, including nearly 26,000 jobs at the VA cut across the country this year.

That is why, as we debate the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill this week, I have introduced an amendment to stop the privatization of the VA because we must stop these attacks on our veterans' affairs and fund the programs that our veterans have earned.

Mr. Speaker, our veterans have kept faith with this Nation, and we must keep faith with them.

Mr. Speaker, this week the Supreme Court of the United States dealt another devastating blow to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a law that for nearly six decades has stood as a promise that every American, no matter who you are or where you live, has a voice in our democracy, a law that generations fought for, marched for, and organized for.

This decision is not just about the law. It is about our people, about our future, about our democracy, and about whether or not this country is by the people, for the people.

Mr. Speaker, we are angry, we are sad, and we are mad about the politics that have led us to this moment, that at every moment we have turned backwards, the American people have risen and taken this country forward, and so we will today.

We will fight back. We will fight back in Congress. We will fight back in the courts. We will fight back in our communities.

We will continue to show up at every election at every level because our democracy--

Madam Speaker, I am appalled by what is coming before us on the floor today all wrapped up in one big, ugly rule. There are billions for ICE's warrantless searches on Americans and for funds that cut millions of Americans' children's access to food.

While working Americans are struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their head, farmers are wondering how they are going to weather drought, tariffs, and soaring fuel and fertilizer prices, what are Republicans bringing to the floor in this House?

They are handing ICE another blank check. They are forcing a farm bill that fails our farmers and ranchers and gives big corporations handouts, and on top of that, another FISA bill that gives a backdoor to spy on Americans.

This is not governing. It is a dereliction of duty.

Madam Speaker, stop gaslighting the American people. Our farmers need relief, our families need help, and the hardworking people of this country need you to show up for them and to stand up for the American people. We have had enough of this chaos, enough of this cruelty, and enough of this corruption. We must vote ``no''.

Mr. Speaker, today, once again, our Republican colleagues are coming to the House floor to write another blank check to ICE on the backs of the American people.

One year ago, Republicans in this Chamber claimed they were going to lower the debt and give tax breaks to real Americans. Instead, they gave tax breaks to billionaires on the backs of the hardworking people across this country.

They gave billions in funding to terrorize our communities. They gave billions in funding to ICE, billions in funding to the war machine that is currently raging overseas.

Yet, here they are again in front of this Chamber this week asking for $70 billion with zero reforms to help the American people. That is why I am here to say: Hell, no, we are not writing another blank check to ICE, not a penny more.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 7 o'clock and 30 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 9 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, I want to just take a moment as our colleagues did across the aisle to recognize Ranking Member David Scott and his family from Georgia. It is a sad day. Certainly Ranking Member Scott has proudly served this institution for a great many years and particularly on the Agriculture Committee which has helped so many Americans. I want to take a moment to just thank him, his family, and his community for his service to our great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, for me his passing also brings to light the fundamental hypocrisy that I see embedded in this resolution today.

I was actually quite shocked, disgusted, and angry when I read this resolution. That is because I am a daughter of rural America. I was born and raised in rural New Mexico. I was born in Farmington, New Mexico. I am the daughter of a machine operator who was one of the first women heavy equipment operators who built a coal-fired power plant in rural America which your resolution is celebrating.

I grew up working with my hands digging trenches and bussing tables in rural communities in New Mexico, so to read a resolution that is filled with celebrations and rebrands in an attempt to try to repackage a bunch of corporate giveaways and tax breaks for billionaires as some sort of celebratory resolution for rural America and the hardworking people who get up every day, work their jobs, and can barely make ends meet is not only a joke, it is an insult to hardworking Americans in every community across the country.

Let me just say this: Even though this resolution is trying to rebrand your big, ugly bill and give it a new name, even though this resolution is trying to self-congratulate you on a bunch of corporate giveaways like gutting environmental programs and public consumer safety programs so that corporations can save and make more money on the backs of the American people, let me just say this: You don't have a branding problem. You have a policy problem.

The policies that the Republicans are putting forward don't actually help working people in America. Any attempt here today to try to package it in a different way for the American people is basically just that, an exercise to try to make what they have already shoved down the American people's throats somehow seem more appealing.

I want to say how completely out of touch with rural America this resolution is. It celebrates rebranding a bill that cut healthcare for millions of Americans. It is attempting to celebrate a bill that took food out of the mouths of millions of American children. It is literally celebrating legislation to put oil and gas pipelines and LNG terminals in rural America. It is celebrating gutting clean air protections and repackaging that as a gift to rural America.

You are welcome. You can't breathe clean air anymore, according to our colleagues across the aisle.

That is what is actually in this resolution, a list of the litany of bills that our colleagues across the aisle have spent the last several months passing, including their utility bills. Showerheads, they spent precious time for an entire week to pass high-pressure showerheads for rich people's bathrooms. Congratulations.

Republicans have the majority in the House, the Senate, and the White House, and this is what they are celebrating? It is so out of touch with real people. Real people are struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their heads.

Right now, real farmers are facing diesel prices and a lack of access to fertilizer. They are wondering how they are going to plant their fields and how they are going to break even and pay back their bank loans at the end of this season.

Congratulations. The President did that by going to war, an unauthorized war, in the Middle East.

Republicans don't have a branding problem. They have a policy problem. They have used their time in the majority to pass legislation that gives permanent tax breaks to the richest Americans, and our lowest earning Americans actually saw a tax increase. Republicans are coming to the floor trying to celebrate this legislation and rebrand what they passed previously? It is outrageous.

Let me share the things that we are doing for rural America in my district. We are passing earmarks to build fire stations with emergency services. We are building hospitals. We are building behavioral health clinics to help people with the opioid crisis. We are building rural housing. We are building water pipelines. We passed the first free childcare policy in the country and are using Federal resources to build daycares and elementary schools across New Mexico. We are investing in Tribal communities.

We are delivering millions of dollars to our communities every single day because that is what rural Americans are asking for. They are not asking the Republicans to pat themselves on the back for giving tax breaks to Wall Street billionaires.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to give the Republicans a round of applause if they would like that, but I am not voting for this resolution. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, it is Earth Day tomorrow, and yet here we are today in front of the House Chamber with yet another bill attacking our fundamental environmental health bills.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here in strong opposition to H.R. 6387, the FIRE Act, but more importantly, I rise in fierce defense of the environmental laws that protect our people and our planet. Because on Earth Day, instead of celebrating progress, we are watching a coordinated effort to dismantle the very safeguards that generations of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, have put in place.

The Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act are all on the chopping block this week of all weeks.

They are the reason our air is safer to breathe, our water is cleaner to drink, and our national heritage still exists for us today and for future generations. These laws were not passed in this Chamber lightly. They were enacted with overwhelming bipartisan support because leaders on both sides of the aisle understood something fundamental, that protecting the public health, that protecting the environment, that protecting planet Earth is not a partisan issue, but it is a patriotic duty.

They created a simple but powerful framework: follow the science, measure honestly, inform the public, and give communities the opportunity to weigh in.

Today, that framework, and so many of our environmental laws, are being systematically weakened here, bill by bill, loophole by loophole.

Today, the FIRE Act is another clear example of that approach as this bill does not actually reduce pollution but changes the way we measure it by expanding what qualifies as an exceptional event like heat and drought, allowing States to exclude air pollution from official records.

These are not rare anomalies anymore. This is the very heart of climate change evident in the data itself. Instead of addressing the crisis, this bill is trying to erase it by obscuring it in the data, in the science.

Why does this matter? Because accurate data is the foundation for every protection we have under our environmental laws. It determines whether our communities can meet basic standards, whether it is safe for us to be outside, whether it is safe for us to drink water, whether it is safe for us to consume products, whether it is safe for us to continue to protect the fundamental basis of our natural ecological heritage.

Whether it is bypassing environmental review under NEPA, rolling back species protections under the Endangered Species Act, or trying to redefine the very foundation for how we carry out the Clean Air Act, as this bill does, the result is the same: less accountability, more risk for Americans, and chipping away piece by piece at the protections that generations before us fought for in this body to protect the planet and our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I have to say, especially in 2026 as our communities are not only facing more intense heat waves but some of the most catastrophic snowpack and drought conditions certainly in my lifetime, this is not a time to be rolling back environmental protections.

Let's be honest about who this is really about. It is not for the American people. It is not for families who are worried about whether or not their children will be able to breathe. It is not for the communities that are on the frontlines of climate change. It is not for the people of this planet and this country. It is for powerful interests, industries that have worked to weaken protections and avoid accountability.

This week, on Earth Day week, we have a choice: Do we stand with the bedrock laws that have protected this country and our communities for decades? Do we uphold the bipartisan legacy of our air, our land, our wildlife, and our water, or do we walk away from it?

I will tell you this, Mr. Speaker: I stand with science, with our communities, and with our future generations.