Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding and for the opportunity to talk about some commonsense reforms to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

For context, TANF is a bipartisan program that was created over 30 years ago to help struggling families get back on their feet. The program supports families with their immediate needs while promoting a path toward work and self-sufficiency. Taxpayers deserve to have confidence that their tax dollars are being used effectively and as intended.

This is what the Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act actually does. It improves clarity about the integrity of funds, targets assistance to the most vulnerable, and confirms that funds are actually spent. That is what it does.

Without additional safeguards, TANF will remain vulnerable to bad actors. This not only harms the taxpayers but even more so the families who actually need the help.

Congressional Republicans are committed to preventing waste, fraud, and abuse. Ohioans' own Vice President JD Vance and the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud have the exact same goal. The changes proposed in H.R. 8872 will support both of these efforts.

Ultimately, the Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act is about strengthening accountability. H.R. 8872 does not do this by imposing any cuts whatsoever. It doesn't impose any cuts whatsoever.

What this bill really does is ensure that more assistance is actually provided. It preserves the program's flexibility for States to utilize funds in ways that meet the needs of their communities while making sure that the resources are not wasted, misused, or diverted.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and its noncontroversial proposals to strengthen TANF for the future of our next generations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark Building Safety Month 2026 and to recognize the more than 60,000 members of the International Code Council (ICC) who are committed to recognizing that our growth and strength depend on the safety and essential role our homes. buildings and infrastructure play, both in everyday life and when disasters strike.

Building Safety Month is sponsored by the International Code Council and its partners to remind the public about the professionals who ensure buildings are safe, resilient, affordable, and livable.

The Code Council brings together local, state, and federal government stakeholders, as well as those from the private sector to develop model codes and standards that protect the occupants of the buildings in which we live, work, and play. Those standards are then implemented year-round by building safety officials, the fire service, architects, engineers, builders, and skilled tradespeople to ensure the safe construction and maintenance of buildings.

This year's Building Safety Month theme is ``Built to Last'' which seeks to remind the public to get involved and raise awareness about building safety on a personal, local, and global scale.

In late 2020, FEMA released its comprehensive ``Building Codes Saves'' report, which found that implementing modern building codes could save $600 billion in disaster-related spending by 2060. FEMA further confirmed a prior report by the National Institute of Building Sciences that found that adopting modern codes provides $11 in mitigation savings for every $1 invested.

Building codes and standards include important safeguards to protect the public from hurricanes, tornadoes, snow and ice storms, floods, and earthquakes.

As Americans rebuild following these events, we recognize and thank those who implement and enforce building codes for protecting lives, property, and businesses, and ultimately ensuring our communities are resilient to these events.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in thanking International Code Council Board President Mike Boso, the Chief Building and Zoning Official of Grove City, Ohio--a constituent I represent--as well as ICC's Chief Executive Officer John Belcik, the International Code Council leadership, and ICC's Members and staff as they recognize Building Safety Month 2026.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7432, the Fostering the Future Act, which is made up of six bipartisan bills that passed the Committee on Ways and Means last month.

These bills collectively modernize the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program from successful transition to adulthood and are part of First Lady Melania Trump's Fostering the Future initiative.

I led one of these bills with the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), my friend.

The Chafee Opportunities for New Network and Existing Connection Trust Act, or the CONNECT Act, clarifies the goal for supporting foster youth developing meaningful relationships with adults, including kin and peers, as well as building those supportive networks.

The CONNECT Act also empowers foster youth to take charge of their own permanency plans and ensures that foster youth understand in writing the suite of services that the programs are qualified for.

With this legislation, we are setting up the next generation of America's youth to transition to a more successful adulthood.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith, as well as our Ranking Member Neal, as well as Subcommittee on Work and Welfare Chairman LaHood and Ranking Member Davis for their

leadership on this. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6431) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the rules governing the State administration of self-employment assistance programs, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of my bill, which is H.R. 6431, the New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self- Sufficiency Act, also known as the NO BOSS Act.

This bill is a product of bipartisan work across the aisle, and I thank my dear friend and colleague from Cincinnati, Representative Greg Landsman, for co-leading this legislation with me.

The NO BOSS Act makes small tweaks to the Self-Employment Assistance, or SEA, Program to support unemployed workers who decide to create their own next jobs.

The SEA Program is voluntary for all States. It allows qualified unemployment insurance claimants to collect an allowance to support their efforts to establish a business in lieu of regular unemployment compensation.

Small businesses are the backbone of our Nation's economy. For many Americans, owning their own business is the embodiment of the American Dream. The NO BOSS Act supports these pursuits by increasing the percentage of individuals who can participate in the SEA Program from 5 percent to 10 percent. It also eliminates the requirement that a participant must be likely to exhaust their unemployment compensation benefits in order to qualify.

Entrepreneurship should not be a last resort for those who are unable to find any other form of employment. Rather, self-employment should be encouraged and, indeed, practiced. These two changes expand the eligibility and the opportunity to participate in the SEA Program for more unemployment insurance claimants.

Finally, the NO BOSS Act strengthens the SEA Program by requiring States to certify participation in the self-employment assistance activities weekly and adding new participation activities.

Currently, self-employment activities include entrepreneurial training, business consulting, and technical assistance. This bill adds submitting a business plan or market feasibility study for approval by the State to that list.

In January, the NO BOSS Act passed out of the Ways and Means Committee unanimously by a vote of 41-0. It is important to get this bill signed into law because the SEA Program is underutilized. The bill is a great example of how government can support, enable, and foster more entrepreneurship in a meaningful way.

Entrepreneurship empowers Americans from all backgrounds at all stages of their professional careers. New businesses create jobs for members of their communities and strengthen our economy. The NO BOSS Act is pro-small business and pro-self-starter.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Leader Scalise, Chairman Jason Smith, and Ranking Member Neal for their support in advancing this legislation. I encourage all of the Members to vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan, commonsense legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, what better way to put more Americans back to work than to foster and encourage entrepreneurial spirit.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 227) to allow a period in which members of the clergy may revoke their exemption from Social Security coverage, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I missed votes in order to attend the dignified transfer of six fallen U.S. servicemembers.

Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 92; YEA on Roll Call No. 93; YEA on Roll Call No. 94; and YEA on Roll Call No. 95.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor two Ohioans who have been leaders representing our state at the national level as leaders in agriculture: Jed Bower and Scott Metzger.

Jed currently serves as the President of the National Corn Growers Association and Scott serves as President of the American Soybean Association.

America's farmers and ranchers have been the backbone of our Nation since its very founding, and to have two great Ohioans in such important positions of leadership is both a rare occurrence as well as a testament to our state and our people.

Together, these two men represent the interests of tens of thousands of farmers across our country whose crops reach markets across the globe. They are truly the best of the best, and I am proud to share a home state with them.

Their leadership speaks for itself as they have volunteered to advocate for our Ohio farmers and those across our Nation, and I wish to congratulate them on their accomplishments.

Without farmers and leaders to advocate on their behalf, our Nation could not feed the world. These men make it happen.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to honor Emily Graeter, a daughter of Columbus, an Ohio State Buckeye, and a devoted public servant, who is departing my office to return to our beloved home of Ohio.

Throughout her time on Capitol Hill, Emily has been a model public servant. She spent her time here learning, working hard, and becoming a leader, most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director in my office. If you talk to Emily for more than a few seconds, her brilliance and intense enthusiasm demonstrate why she is so effective.

From impromptu strategy sessions to all-night markups in the Ways and Means Committee, Emily has been at my side with an answer to every policy question and sound guidance on what to do next.

Her passion for service and wealth of knowledge make her an invaluable asset to me, the House of Representatives, and our great Republic.

I thank Emily for years of tireless work and passion for our communities in Ohio and across America. She is an irreplaceable member of our team, and she will be dearly missed.

Mr. Speaker, this is a great time to celebrate, and I want to offer specific thanks.

First, I would like to recognize Dublin Mayor Chris Amorose Groomes for her leadership and making this community a hub for companies, workers, and families to settle in.

I would also like to thank Sarnova's CEO Brian LaDuke for investing further in our community and seeing the untapped potential here in Dublin.

For those of you who don't know, my team and I have been working with Sarnova for years, and the longer we've worked together, the better results we've delivered for Central Ohio.

Today is a testament to that. Our relationship has resulted in more jobs and productivity in the community.

As a national leader in equipping our first responders, Sarnova has been critical to saving lives. I'm sure the first responders using their equipment on a daily basis would agree.

Whether it's police officers, firefighters, or EMS workers, Sarnova has been there to make their jobs easier. But I firmly believe the best is yet to come for Sarnova, for Dublin, and for all of Central Ohio.

As the new facility opens, I can't wait to see what will happen here in the months and years to come.

I want to thank them all, and I look forward to coming and visiting soon.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1453, the Clean Energy Demonstration Transparency Act of 2025.

I introduced this commonsense, bipartisan legislation last Congress, which passed the House by voice vote. With more than $25 billion in Federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and annual appropriations, the Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations aims to support first- of-a-kind commercial-scale demonstrations and deploy them at viable and market-ready levels.

My bill requires semiannual reports to Congress on the status of these clean energy demonstration activities. With these reports, Congress can oversee these projects and ensure that taxpayer money is spent wisely and effectively.

Amid unprecedented Federal spending and soaring national debt, it is essential that we pass this legislation to avoid more Federal Government waste.

Overall, H.R. 1453 is a good government bill that improves accountability and transparency for the benefit of the American taxpayers. I thank Representative Riley for being a great partner on this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, almost four years ago, I was a brand-new Member of Congress.

I didn't have an office yet, I had hired no staff, and I was just getting started here in Washington.

One of my first hires was Steven Dyke, who joined our team and started handling everything from managing vote times to setting up our office's phones so the people in our district could reach our team.

Steven has been with the office for three and a half years. During that time, he dedicated himself to working hard and supporting the interests of the people of Ohio-15. I will certainly miss his sharp sense of humor and infectious laugh.

He played a key role in advancing legislation to expand access to family resource centers and helped us make a real difference for families across Ohio.

And even though he's a Michigan State Spartan, I can say he has a good heart and a dedication to service.

I thank Steven for his service and wish him the best for what's next.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a bill that will prevent deadly chemicals from falling into the hands of children, our Youth Poisoning Protection Act.

It's a parent's worst nightmare: a nameless, faceless stranger over the internet teaching your child how to take their own life, and your child, in a moment of vulnerability, listening to them.

That's exactly what happened to Kristine Jonsson, a vibrant sixteen- year-old from Hilliard, Ohio whose life was cut tragically short in September 2020.

Kristine was open with her parents about her mental health struggles, but it was behind closed doors on an internet forum that she learned about sodium nitrite.

With the coaching of sinister strangers online, Kristine was able to purchase sodium nitrite on Amazon and get it nondescriptly shipped to her front door, all under her parents' noses.

Sodium nitrite is a chemical used in the preservation of meat and fish, which in high concentrations is deadly if ingested.

In fact, one spoonful of the chemical is one hundred times more lethal than other poisons. High concentrations of some chemicals can be harmful if used improperly, which is why they are usually highly regulated or banned for sale to consumers.

Thanks to online forums like the one Kristine saw, the number of suicide deaths using sodium nitrite is rising. In recent years, the share of sodium nitrite usage as a method of self-poisoning has grown nine times over.

By passing this bill, we can save lives.

The Youth Poisoning Protection Act would prevent the commercial sale of highly-concentrated sodium nitrite, so it can never fall into the hands of a vulnerable young person.

With the support of my colleagues and friends across the aisle, we are one step closer to preventing these senseless tragedies in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor The Ohio State University Buckeyes whose remarkable victory in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship cements their legacy as one of the greatest teams in college football history.

As those of us who watched the game, many of us on the edge of our seats, can attest, the championship is up for grabs until the clock runs out. However, we would be remiss not to mention the Buckeyes' impressive overall season, where they secured wins over five different top five opponents. This is something that has never been accomplished before.

This season the Buckeyes boasted exceptional talent, strong coaching, and die-hard fans. Woody Hayes once said that success is what you do with what you have got. This season, OSU was undeniable. As a fellow Buckeye, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire team and coaching staff for this incredible achievement.

Mr. Speaker, today's vote really marks an essential step toward fulfilling the promise to the American people to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, to enshrine border security into law, and to move forward toward American energy independence.

After enduring years of high inflation, American families and small businesses urgently need tax relief in order to thrive. We must pass our budget resolution today to start the budget reconciliation process and advance the policies that our American families expect from us.

It includes much-needed deficit reduction, as was mentioned earlier, which will secure a healthy financial future for our children and grandchildren. It will allow us to extend the successful tax cuts from 2017 that produced the unprecedented job growth and higher wages for American workers. I urge everyone to support the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for his work on bringing this legislation to the floor.

I also thank the staff of the Committee on Ways and Means for their efforts in moving this very important legislation forward. This commonsense, bipartisan resolution would overturn the IRS' Digital Assets Sale and Exchanges Rule, otherwise known as the ``DeFi broker rule.''

This legislation has broad bipartisan support. How do we know this? Last week in the Senate, 51 Republicans were joined by 18 Democrats and 1 Independent who favored it.

The DeFi broker rule, which came out at the end of 2024, implements stringent reporting requirements on decentralized finance exchanges, or DeFi exchanges.

DeFi exchanges were subject to the same reporting requirements as traditional brokers in centralized exchanges, despite the fact that DeFi exchanges don't have the ability to collect any information that the IRS requires from individuals using their platforms. This goes well beyond the scope of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act instructions to the IRS and Treasury regarding establishing rules for digital asset exchanges.

Through this ruling, the IRS effectively imposed consumer and technology-related regulatory policies through the tax code in absence of an explicit delegation of legislative authority.

The DeFi broker rule invades the privacy of tens of millions of Americans, hinders the development of an important new industry in the United States, and would overwhelm the IRS with over 8 billion new information returns on Form 1099-DA. ``DA'' stands for ``digital asset.''

To put this into perspective, this is more than double the amount of information returns the IRS currently receives on all forms of 1099 combined. This rule would push American companies, jobs, and tax revenue overseas into foreign countries because American cryptocurrency owners would seek DeFi platforms outside of the United States.

It is essential that we pass this legislation today to avoid this nightmare for the IRS and for the American taxpayers while ensuring that the United States is in a position to lead the world in innovation with the digital asset and cryptocurrency sector.

Mr. Speaker, that is why I am proud to have introduced H.J. Res. 25, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides to vote ``yes'' on this important legislation.