Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to recognize an often overlooked segment of our Nation's legal profession: rural lawyers.

Across our First District and in many of our communities, rural lawyers represent the very best of the profession, selfless service, and meaningful local impact.

Today, I want to highlight the remarkable work of Julie Bear of Plattsmouth, specializing in criminal defense, family law, estate planning, personal injury, and more. Julie has built a reputation that is nothing short of exceptional.

Before joining her firm, she served as a public defender for Cass County. In that role, she achieved the dismissal of a double-murder charge against a court-appointed client who had been wrongly accused.

She is a graduate of Creighton University School of Law. She consistently rises to the occasion and goes above and beyond for her clients.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize her accomplishments and commend her as one of Nebraska's most skilled rural criminal defense attorneys.

celebrating rural lawyer doug stratton

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to recognize an often- overlooked segment of our legal profession: rural lawyers.

Across our First District and in communities throughout our State, rural lawyers represent the very best of the profession, selfless service, and meaningful local impact.

Today, I highlight and detail the larger-than-life career of Doug Stratton of Norfolk. Doug's focus areas include criminal defense, civil litigation, as well as domestic work.

Many of you may have already heard of Doug through his breakthrough relitigation of the Beatrice Six. In sum, thanks to his belief in his clients' wrongful conviction and new evidence, Doug was able to award the defendants nearly $30 million from the United States Supreme Court.

A native of northeast Nebraska, Doug worked as a small-town lawyer after he earned his J.D. from Yale Law School. Even when big-town law firms came to him to take up cases, Doug continuously worked on behalf of rural Nebraskans.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to highlight Doug's remarkable career and reputation.

Recognizing Rural Lawyer Bre Flaherty

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an often overlooked segment of our Nation's legal profession: rural lawyers.

Across our First District and in many of our communities, rural lawyers represent the very best of the profession: selfless service and meaningful local impact.

Today, I highlight the work of Norfolk's own Bre Flaherty. Through her career at the Platte County Attorney's Office, Bre built a strong reputation for excellence and community service, earning her appointment earlier this year as a county court judge in Nebraska's Fifth Judicial District.

Her professionalism, grit, and passion for juvenile law have all paved the way for success in serving fellow Nebraskans. Earning her J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law, she has remained engaged in giving back to the communities and the experiences that shaped her.

Mr. Speaker, I am truly honored to highlight Bre's work. I remember her as a mock trial student when I was the team coach. She should be celebrated for her community service and her integrity, which continue to guide her career.

Recognizing Rural Lawyer Tim Wollmer

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an often overlooked segment of our Nation's legal profession: rural lawyers. Across our First District and in many of our communities, rural lawyers represent the very best of the profession: selfless service and meaningful local impact.

Today, I highlight the distinguished career of Tim Wollmer of David City with a practice spanning family law, business matters, civil litigation, estate planning, criminal defense, and more.

Tim's integrity and steadfast commitment to the truth exemplify the vital role lawyers play in their communities. As an attorney, Tim has provided essential legal services to central and eastern Nebraska for more than 17 years, helping individuals and families navigate complex legal and financial matters.

A graduate of Creighton University School of Law, Tim has earned the trust and the respect of the David City community and the surrounding areas.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize Tim's accomplishments and his service today on the House floor.

Mr. Speaker, I hereby remove my name as cosponsor of H.R. 9535.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize a dedicated leader in Nebraska banking and consumer protection, Richard Baier, whose efforts led to the recent enactment of financial fraud prevention legislation.

As President and CEO of the Nebraska Bankers Association, Richard has worked tirelessly to protect Nebraskans from financial fraud. His leadership helped create Fraud Free Nebraska, a statewide coalition bringing together financial institutions, consumer advocates, government officials, and other stakeholders to combat fraud.

Richard's leadership also helped advance state legislation strengthening protections for older and vulnerable adults and requiring social media platforms to verify advertisers, investigate reports of fraudulent advertising, and promptly remove fraudulent ads.

Banks have long been on the front lines of the fight against fraud, with Fraud Free Nebraska now bringing partners from across our state together to confront this growing threat. Richard's work and leadership demonstrate what can be accomplished when Nebraskans unite around a common goal.

Our state is stronger because of Richard Baier's leadership and commitment to protecting consumers. I thank Richard and the Nebraska Bankers Association, for keeping Nebraskans safe from fraud.

Madam Speaker, I rise along with my colleague, Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, to raise a particular point that the Department of the Treasury should consider when evaluating the congressional intent as it relates to Section 1001 of this piece of legislation, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Mr. Cleaver and I are both original cosponsors of this piece of legislation and were intimately involved in the drafting of the bill.

It is the intent of Congress that entities providing for the temporary acquisition of homes during employer sponsored relocation home sale programs be exempt from the definition of large institutional investor in Section 1001 of this Act.

These entities provide a service to the private sector, government agencies and their employees by facilitating worker relocations. These properties remain available to American homebuyers; they are not removed from the homeownership market and turned into rental properties. Additionally, these transactions are in service of an employee relocation, not for investment purposes. As such, it is appropriate to exclude them from the definition of a large institutional investor pursuant to the Act.

Additionally, in this bill Congress grants the Department of the Treasury the authority to issue regulations aimed at carrying out the purposes of this section, avoiding market disruptions, and protecting consumers from harm. Under that authority, Treasury should issue rules clarifying the meaningful financial support required for homeownership programs under subparagraph (D). It is the intent of Congress that any meaningful financial support from the investor should include consideration of the physical condition of the home. It is also the intent of Congress that any homeownership program under subparagraph (D) must involve properties that are habitable and shall not impose significant repair obligations on the consumer before a deed is granted to them. Consumers attempting to purchase these homes should not be obligated to pay for significant repairs unless they have a deed in their name and full ownership rights, to prevent transactions that are built to fail.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7128) to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, and for other purposes, 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 this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I will start today by thanking Chairman Hill, Ranking Member Waters, and my co-lead on this bill, Congressman Andrew Garbarino. All of us have worked together on legislative text that would reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program while also making changes that will protect taxpayers.

This legislation would reauthorize TRIA, the program established by Congress in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, through 2034. We are so fortunate that we have never seen a TRIA claim in the program's entire history. I hope that we never ever see one.

However, if this program is going to continue to exist with a public backstop, we should ensure we update its charter to protect taxpayers in the event of future claims, and we should work to ensure the certification process is transparent. Allow me to briefly walk through the changes this bill makes to TRIA.

Number one, this legislation increases the amount of losses that must result from an event for it to be eligible for review by the Department of the Treasury as a terrorism risk insurance event.

The current statutory threshold is $5 million, and this bill would increase that to $10 million for events in 2029 and later. That change will keep this threshold in line with inflation, and it will put in place appropriate protections for taxpayers from future claims.

This legislation also provides a couple of new deadlines, or shot clocks, as you may have them, for the Department of the Treasury to certify whether an event is an act of terror.

That process would work as follows. First, the Treasury Department would publish its intent to examine a potential event more closely in the Federal Register. They must publish this notice within 30 days of initiating their review of an event. Then, 90 days after publishing that notice in the Federal Register, the Treasury Department would need to come to a decision about whether that event qualifies as an act of terror. If the Treasury Department needs more time, they could extend that deadline up to a year after the original event occurred.

Because the program, again, thankfully, has never been tested, we don't have much of a case study on how Treasury's review process would work

today. What we do know is that markets tend not to react well to uncertainty. With no active deadlines for review, the current process leaves a lot of room for ambiguity and uncertainty.

We want to ensure that if, God forbid, we are in the position of reacting to a potential terrorist attack with a Treasury review, there is sufficient structure to the process to provide insureds and insurers with the information they need on when to expect Treasury's review to conclude.

With these changes, there will be transparency for everyone in the market regarding when Treasury is undertaking a review of specific events and when they can expect a final decision on whether an event is covered by TRIA.

I am so pleased to have bipartisan support for this commonsense reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record seven letters of support on behalf of this bill.

Mortgage Bankers Association,

Washington, DC, June 29, 2026.

Hon. Mike Johnson,

Speaker, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Hakeem Jeffries,

Minority Leader, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. French Hill,

Chairman, Committee on Financial Services,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Hon. Maxine Waters,

Ranking Member, Committee on Financial Services,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, Chairman Hill, and

Ranking Member Waters: On behalf of the Mortgage Bankers

Association (MBA), I am writing to express our support for

H.R. 7128, the TRIA Program Reauthorization Act of 2026, as

amended, in advance of the bill's anticipated consideration

by the full House under suspension of the rules this week. As

you know, a similar version of the legislation passed the

House Financial Services Committee in late January by the

wide bipartisan margin of 51 to 2. MBA urges all Members to

vote ``Aye'' on H.R. 7128, as amended, when it comes before

the full House for a vote.

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-

297) and its subsequent reauthorizations have been essential

to MBA's members, as private insurers cannot adequately

supply terrorism coverage without a federal backstop. Thus,

the uninterrupted continuation of the TRIA program going

forward remains a critical consideration.

By extending TRIA for seven years, H.R. 7128, as

principally sponsored by Reps. Mike Flood, Emanuel Cleaver,

and Andrew Garbarino, will provide certainty to the broad

array of businesses (across countless economic sectors) that

rely upon this critical program.

The bill, as most recently amended, also includes measured

reforms that would (1) raise the program's certification

``trigger'' loss threshold from $5 to $10 million (beginning

in 2029) and (2) add an enhanced event timeline for Treasury

Department certification of domestic acts of terrorism.

With $5.02 trillion in total mortgage debt outstanding the

commercial real estate finance (CREF) sector, which is

comprised of key capital sources including commercial banks,

life insurance companies, the housing Government Sponsored

Enterprises (``GSEs'') Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the

Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Federal

Housing Administration (FHA), commercial mortgage-backed

securities (CMBS) issuers, debt funds, and other

institutional sources, is a large and integral part of the

national economy.

Together, these capital sources support the financing of

the office, retail, industrial, and multifamily rental

properties that serve as the foundation of our communities

and our nation. Beyond housing individual families, these

properties also accommodate the businesses that are the

engines for our nation?s vibrant and diverse economy. Any gap

in the availability of terrorism risk insurance would

negatively impact the CREF sector and ripple through the

broader economy--as buildings would become more difficult and

costly to finance, sell, and purchase.

The enactment of a long-term TRIA reauthorization is

especially critical for the affected CREF mortgage servicers

whose functions include review of insurance coverage,

negotiating and placing coverage when not in place, receipt

of insurance and mortgage payments, customer service, escrow

administration, investor accounting, collections,

foreclosures, and more. Phrased differently, MBA's CREF

members hold the single largest share of real estate debt

outstanding in all markets--and therefore retain the ``lion's

share'' of the financial risk associated with property damage

or destruction.

Conclusion

MBA commends you for taking such early action (during

calendar year 2026) on a longterm TRIA reauthorization--an

action needed well-prior to the program's expiration on

December 31, 2027, to provide continued market certainty and

prevent key policyholders (like our members) from facing any

meaningful gap in coverage.

Again, MBA urges an ``Aye'' vote on H.R. 7128, as amended,

by all House Members during a vote scheduled to take place

this week (most likely later today).

We look forward to our ongoing work together in the coming

weeks and months to promote a competitive, sustainable real

estate finance market within the United States.

Thank you in advance for the consideration of the views

expressed within this letter.

Sincerely,

Bill Killmer,

Senior Vice President, Legislative and Political Affairs.

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

Mr. Speaker, the arrest of a man in Omaha accused of leading the plot to attack the White House's UFC event this month is a stark reminder about the threats that face our Nation.

According to DHS, the suspect entered the U.S. illegally and allegedly sought to make the attack `` . . . as deadly as we can get.''

This case underscores the importance of securing our borders, enforcing our immigration laws, and remaining vigilant against those who seek political violence rather than political debate.

I am grateful to the Omaha FBI, working together with the Nebraska State Patrol, who arrested this alleged ringleader before lives were put at risk. Their professionalism and commitment to help keep our communities safe happens every day.

Regardless of ideology or political affiliation, political violence is never acceptable. We must reject extremism, promote civil discourse, and work together to lower the temperature of political rhetoric.

I thank our law enforcement officers once again for making this arrest.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I start by thanking our chairman, French Hill, who has shouldered the burden of helping us get this through Congress, together with our Ranking Member Waters, my colleague Emanuel Cleaver from Kansas City, myself, and all the staff that have made this happen.

At this hour, across our land, the mayor of San Diego is celebrating as is the executive director of the Huntsville, Alabama, Habitat for Humanity; the mayor of Columbus, Ohio; and plenty of folks in Nebraska and everywhere in between, because what we have here is a comprehensive, bicameral, bipartisan solution.

When I started in this role in the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, I knew this was the number one issue in my district. Housing supply is not keeping up with demand. Tara Vasicek, the city administrator from Columbus, a city of approximately 25,000 people in Platte County, Nebraska, testified in our first Housing and Insurance Subcommittee hearing that the lack of affordable housing directly impacts economic growth, workforce attraction, and retention.

The mayor of the largest city in my district, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, 300,000 people strong, believes so strongly in the need for affordable housing and supply that she set an ambitious goal of 5,000 units by the end of this decade.

As we wrote this bill, we thought about them and everybody else; and Mr. Cleaver and I welcomed literally hundreds of suggestions from across the country. They weren't blue ideas or red ideas. We have a lot more in common than we have opposite.

I want to read you something from the Federalist Papers written by Alexander Hamilton. This is from No. 70. This really talks about the process. Now mind you, we had Republicans and Democrats united in the House working with Republicans and Democrats, a different version, in the Senate. Alexander Hamilton wrote: ``In the legislature, promptitude of decision is oftener an evil than a benefit. The differences of opinion, and the jarrings of parties in that department of the government, though they may sometimes obstruct salutary plans, yet often promote deliberation and circumspection, and serve to check excesses in the majority.''

This bill was a product of the process that Hamilton described. There were differences of opinions and jarrings of parties, I would say jarrings of Chambers, but the final bill is stronger as a result of this long and deliberative process.

It is my honor to have been a part of it. I thank again our chairman, our ranking member, and my counterpart, Emanuel Cleaver, for their work on this bill. I thank President Trump for identifying this as a major issue in September of 2025. I also want to send a special thank you to the leadership of this Chamber: our Speaker, our majority leader, and our whip. Without them, this would not be a bicameral, bipartisan bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to recognize a dedicated public servant, a stalwart of justice in northeast Nebraska, Joe Smith.

Serving Madison County for 42 years, 36 years as the Madison County attorney, Smith has built a legacy defined by unwavering commitment to public safety.

Since joining the office in 1984, he has earned the trust and respect of law enforcement officers, public officials, his colleagues, and citizens across the county and the entire State.

After serving as acting county attorney in 1989, he was elected in 1990 to what was the first of nine full terms in that position. Whether prosecuting cases, mentoring deputy attorneys, or his role serving neighboring Antelope County, Smith's leadership and dedication have strengthened Nebraska's justice system and have benefited countless communities.

I congratulate Joe on a truly remarkable career. While he will be missed in Madison County, we know that his continued work in Antelope County will be appreciated there, as well.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the heroes of Nebraska law enforcement.

Last Friday, as I was participating in the annual La Vista Days celebration, the Papillion Police Department responded to an active shooter at a shopping center just down the road.

Officers located the suspect and began a pursuit that ended in a busy parking lot nearby, where the officers opened fire. The threat was neutralized, and any injuries to the public or law enforcement did not happen.

When the community faced an armed gunman, the men and women of Papillion P.D., La Vista P.D., and the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office ran towards danger. Because of their bravery, everybody went home safe.

Their courage is a testament to the sacrifice law enforcement officers make every day they put on the uniform. I am proud to back the blue, and I thank those serving in law enforcement for keeping us safe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Steve Kelso, a quiet, humble and dedicated public servant whose passing is being deeply felt across Nebraska.

Steve devoted more than 40 years to Nebraska's housing industry and public service. Through hard work, integrity and deep expertise, he rose from an entry-level housing manufacturing position to lead the Nebraska Public Service Commission's Housing and Recreational Vehicle Department. Colleagues knew him as unfailingly friendly and approachable, but also deeply committed to protecting public safety and ensuring high standards across the housing industry.

Steve's service extended far beyond state government. He devoted countless hours as a volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician and EMS instructor, helping train first responders in small towns and rural communities across Nebraska. Even while battling cancer, Steve continued assisting others and serving his community until his final days.

Those who knew Steve will remember his humor, kindness and extraordinary commitment to community. Steve Kelso was, in every sense, a quintessential Nebraskan.

On behalf of the people of Nebraska, I extend heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, coworkers and all those whose lives he touched through his years of service.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Hill and Ranking Member Waters for supporting this bill.

When I got the privilege of leading this subcommittee given to me by our chairman, the first order of business, after I found out where my office was, was to go meet Emanuel Cleaver for dinner. We shared a prime rib, and I knew that night that we had something special.

Housing is personal. Housing is not a building or a garage. It is where you bring home your first baby, and the first bath is under the sink faucet. It is where you tuck your little 7-year-old into bed, and you say: I am doing my part as a parent to protect her from being homeless or living a better life.

When I met Emanuel Cleaver, I could see in his eyes that this was personal to him. I thought, I am a Republican. He is a Democrat. God has placed us in these spots to try and fix something for the American people, to make it easier to get that first house, to buy a manufactured home that doesn't have a chassis and save $25,000, and to do it for all the right reasons.

Last Sunday, as I was coming back to Omaha, we were flying. Because of storms, I was flying over Kansas City and I looked at the lights of Kansas City, and I thought to myself: I want this as much for him as I want it for Lincoln or Waverly or Papillion.

Mr. Speaker, because of our chairman, our ranking member, our Speaker, our leader, and the leadership in both parties, we have a product that the American people can look at tonight on this floor and say: Congress did its job. They worked together. They compromised.

Did we get everything we wanted? No. Have you ever met the ranking member? She drives a hard bargain. Yet, did we move the ball forward for the American people? The answer is yes.

People send us to this town because they want solutions. They don't want what they get too often at 9 o'clock eastern. They want to wake up and know that their kids have a chance to get into a home, to park their car in a garage, go to work at the factory the next day, and build a better life for the next generation.

What do we have in this bill? We have a bicameral, bipartisan solution.

The institutional investor ban language by the Senate created massive unintended consequences for the market. We know that. However, the Senate impressed us with sending a truly bipartisan bill over here.

What the American people need to know is this is what the Founders envisioned, House versus Senate, Republicans and Democrats united in the House, Republicans and Democrats united in the Senate behind an issue, not a personality. I credit the leadership for working the way they did that allowed Mr. Cleaver and I to set a table and listen to the Habitat for Humanity folks from Huntsville, Alabama, to welcome in the mayor of San Diego, to talk to the mayor of Lincoln, who is high up on the United States Conference of Mayors, and find out what her priorities are.

People are going to get into homes, and they are going to get into homes easier because of this. I, for one, want the people I signed up to represent to know this is exactly why I want to be in Congress.

I would like to take a moment to highlight a few provisions that I feel will make a difference. Sections 205 and 206 of the bill work to rightsize environmental reviews on both HUD and USDA housing projects. Mr. Nunn of Iowa is a big fan of that.

This legislation ensures these environmental reviews are properly tailored to the real impact of the project going forward, not just a box that needs to be checked. I worked with Mr. Cleaver on this section of the bill for a long time as it relates to the reform of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the largest block grant program at HUD dedicated to building affordable housing.

What does it do? It slashes the environmental review requirements and eases labor cost burdens like the ones created by Section 3.

Mr. Speaker, in addition, it provides greater flexibility for cities and towns across the country to utilize HOME dollars to promote homeownership. Sometimes it is as easy as extending the wastewater and the water system another 15 blocks. Think how far that goes in California or a small town in Nebraska where they only have two blocks, and another block means you get 10 more houses there. That is 10 more families. That is 50 more kids for a school that is on life support. Now they have housing.

I am very proud of the committee I serve on. I am proud of the way we work in a bipartisan manner. I want my career in Congress to be experiences like this, and I thank Mr. Cleaver for everything that he has accomplished in Congress and look forward to a continued great relationship.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to offer my strong, unwavering

support for the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act introduced by my fellow Nebraskan, Adrian Smith, as well as Senator Fischer over in the Senate from Nebraska.

I support ethanol. Why?

Because it is cheaper, it is cleaner, it is homegrown, and it is a fuel that has been an economic game changer for Nebraska.

I grew up in the 1980s. I watched the farm bankruptcies. I saw what was happening in middle America, and then I saw what happened with the renaissance ushered into middle America by ethanol. I recognize that not everyone, including some of my colleagues in this Chamber, do not have the same feelings about ethanol. While I may disagree with that perspective, the beautiful thing about this bill is that it offers consumers a choice. You can choose E15, Mr. Speaker, you can choose E10, and you can choose E-zero. It is up to each and every person when they fill up at the pump.

This bill allows people to choose or not choose E15 based on their values. They may want cheaper gas, they may not. They may want higher octane, they may not. They may want to support America's farmers, or they may not. It gives everyone the choice.

That is why we need a vote on the clean E15 vote today.

This bill fixes an outdated regulatory barrier that prevents 15 percent ethanol blends. We have come a long way in fuel science, emissions data and vehicle technology in the last 40 years. The decades-old rules no longer fit current conditions.

This wasn't a proposal put together overnight. Lawmakers worked with the liquid fuels industry and farmers to come together to find a solution. Everyone wants regulatory certainty.

Nebraska has enjoyed year-round E15 due to emergency waivers. While we are thankful it has been granted for our State, we can't rely on the Federal Government every year to issue ad hoc relief.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a dedicated public servant and leader in Nebraska law enforcement, Bryan Tuma.

Over nearly 45 years of service to the State of Nebraska, Bryan built a legacy defined by integrity, leadership, and a steadfast commitment to keeping Nebraska safe. From beginning his career with the Nebraska State Patrol to later serving as superintendent, Bryan earned the trust and respect of law enforcement officers and communities across our state.

Bryan's duty and legacy was earned through leadership roles with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency and as Executive Director of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.

Whether strengthening emergency preparedness, supporting law enforcement training, or guiding the Crime Commission with steady leadership, Bryan's work and tenacity helped keep Nebraskans safe and prepared in times of need.

While his retirement marks the close of an extraordinary career in public service, Nebraska is stronger because of Bryan Tuma's dedication and sacrifice. I congratulate him on a truly remarkable career and thank him for his service to our state. Happy retirement.