Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the remarkable career of one of Norfolk's most beloved community leaders, Randy Hagedorn, following four decades with the Norfolk Family YMCA.

Under Randy's leadership, the Norfolk Family YMCA experienced transformative growth. From leading an annual fundraiser that generates hundreds of thousands of dollars to support local scholarships and programs, to spearheading a successful $13 million campaign for a major expansion in 2019, Randy's dedication has left a lasting impact on our community. These achievements have cemented the YMCA as a cornerstone of Norfolk's community life and serves as a model for excellence across Nebraska.

Randy's community engagement extends beyond the YMCA. For over 30 years, he has officiated football and basketball games, including NCAA events and NAIA national championships. His exemplary service earned him the prestigious 2024 NAIA Larry Lady Officiating Award.

As Randy steps into retirement, he leaves behind a thriving Norfolk Family YMCA with nearly 12,000 active members--a reflection of his vision, leadership, and dedication. His legacy will continue to shape our community for years to come.

On behalf of the people of the First District, I thank him for his service throughout his extraordinary career. It will have a big impact on our community for years to come. We wish him the best in his retirement as he begins this next chapter.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the life of Dr. Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., whose remarkable service left a lasting impact on our communities.

A native of New York, Dr. Cowan was a Nebraskan by choice, who warmly welcomed and quickly embraced life as a proud Cornhusker.

At the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, his visionary leadership helped create the largest public-private partnership in Nebraska's history.

Dr. Cowan's achievements reached far beyond Nebraska. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the National

Cancer Advisory Board from 2002 to 2008, received the 2019 Appreciation Award from the Cattlemen's Ball of Nebraska, and authored over 240 scientific papers. His work advanced the field of cancer treatment and improved lives Nationwide.

Drawing from his personal experiences with cancer, both as a physician and family member, Dr. Cowan brought empathy and compassion to patient care. Known for his warmth and approachability, his legacy endures in the lives he touched and the advancements he championed.

Nebraska's thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Ken Cowan's wife, Dr. Alison Freifeld, their two daughters, and extended family. His dedication to service and compassion will be dearly missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the incredible life and legacy of Nebraska's own, Howard Hawks.

Howard was a generational leader who lived the American Dream, cofounding an energy company called Tenaska. Since founding the company in 1987, he helped grow it into one of the largest privately held companies in America.

Mr. Speaker, if you know Howard Hawks, then you know that if he got involved in a project, people in a five-State area knew exactly what was going on, and it would get done.

One of his greatest investments was at the University of Nebraska where he gave both his time and his treasure. He served almost two decades as a regent and helped strengthen our Husker athletic program as a booster.

In recent years, he has provided the lead gift that helped build the University of Nebraska Lincoln Business School. This is just another example of his philanthropic projects that he took on throughout the years.

Mr. Speaker, Howard will be missed. Our hearts and prayers go out to Rhonda and the entire Hawks family as we all mourn his loss.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate five decades of innovation, excellence, and leadership by one of Nebraska's foremost industrial leaders and economic drivers: TMCO.

Over the last half century, TMCO has earned a reputation as a cornerstone of Nebraska's growing economy. What began with just eight machines in a small shop--smaller in square footage than most apartments--has grown into a symbol of economic opportunity, proving that hard work and vision are still rewarded in our country.

TMCO'S impact extends far beyond creating jobs and fueling Nebraska's economy. Its commitment to community engagement has built a legacy of uplifting the very communities that it serves. From mentoring the next generation to supporting local events and art installations, TMCO and its employees have always put Lincoln and Nebraska first.

Given all of this and more, it's no surprise that TMCO has thrived for five decades. From its leadership to its employees, the company's reputation for quality manufacturing, coupled with its deep community involvement, has made it a pillar of the Lincoln economy.

On behalf of the people of the first district, I want to extend our best wishes for TMCO's continued success.

I look forward to another five decades of remarkable leadership and community engagement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate fifty years of one of Nebraska's crucial industrial leaders and centers of innovation: Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing.

Over its five decades of growth in Lincoln, Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing has demonstrated great stability and leadership. Through it all, Kawasaki has remained a key driver of Nebraska's economic growth, burnishing its reputation as a globally competitive manufacturing company.

Starting as a fledgling motorcycle assembly plant in 1974, Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing has expanded to produce ATVs, Utility Vehicles, and even passenger railcars.

To this day, Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing holds to the highest standards, maintaining a commitment to manufacturing innovative products of the highest quality.

With its strong leadership and dedicated workforce, it is clear why Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing has flourished for the past fifty years.

On behalf of the people of the first district, I want to extend our best wishes for Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing's continued success and growth.

May Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing continue to flourish over the next fifty years and serve as a global beacon of Nebraska's innovation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish Dave Cole and Isles Pub & Pizza a very happy 40th anniversary.

Established in 1984, Dave Cole turned an old Italian restaurant into a community favorite pizza kitchen with the help of many dedicated friends.

After a customer led naming contest for the business, the restaurant became ``The Isles Pub & Pizza'', more oftenly called ``The Isles.''

Since then, Isles Pub & Pizza has grown and distinguished itself in many ways. Cole and company have dedicated hours of their time curating the perfect pizza sauce for their customers.

Many local community leaders consider Isles Pub & Pizza to be some of the best pizza in the area. Cole and his staff have continued to provide quality food and excellent service for 40 years.

Isles Pub & Pizza have been recognized with many achievements including Lincoln's recent 2024 Choice Award.

As Dave Cole and Isles Pub & Pizza reach their 40th anniversary, there is much to celebrate.

On behalf of the people of Nebraska's First Congressional District, I congratulate them on 40 years and wish them fun as they celebrate this incredible milestone.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss Vice President Kamala Harris' housing plan.

First, let's talk about the broader problem. Housing is less affordable and less available today, and it is bringing costs onto the American people.

Overall, housing underproduction costs the U.S. economy $1.6 trillion in lost wages and productivity every single year.

The U.S. needs to build 4.3 million more apartments by 2035 to meet the demand for rental housing. This includes 600,000 units to fill the shortage from after the 2008 financial crisis.

Underproduction of housing has translated to higher housing costs, resulting in a decline of 4.7 million affordable apartments from 2015 to 2020.

Housing underproduction also increases the cost of living for families, inhibits geographic mobility, burdens both renters and buyers, and stifles economic productivity.

According to one estimate, from 1964 to 2009, our national housing shortage lowered aggregate economic growth by 36 percent.

All of that is to say there is no question we have a housing supply problem in this country. Unfortunately, Vice President Kamala Harris' plans would make the problem much, much worse.

The Harris plan's goals are to ``lower housing costs for working families and end America's housing shortage.'' The problem is that the Biden-Harris policies and the Harris plan will actually raise housing costs and worsen the housing crisis.

I will break it down piece by piece to demonstrate why. First, let's start with Kamala Harris' proposal to add tens of thousands of dollars in new downpayment assistance for home buyers.

Large amounts of downpayment assistance might sound nice, it might sound like it is free, but it is exactly the wrong answer in this environment with housing shortages across the country.

More government subsidies won't bring housing costs down. They will continue to increase demand and drive prices even higher.

The great irony is that this policy would hurt the very people it is intended to help. Think about a young person who is currently renting but planning to buy a home. He and his wife may be looking at prices on Zillow and diligently saving up for a downpayment on a nearby house. They financially planned for this goal, and they have been working toward it for years.

If the Harris plan's subsidy were to go into effect, the prices of those homes would increase. They could find themselves further from their goal, even if they were able to receive the promised subsidy themselves.

It is a classic example of why progressive economic policies fail. Instead of working through a market-focused solution, the Harris plan simply throws money on the problem, and it hopes for the best. That is not leadership, and that is not going to solve the problem.

Next, let's talk about rent caps. Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris administration announced their intention to impose rent caps on ``corporate landlords.''

Rent caps are a failed policy with a long track record of exacerbating housing shortages by dissuading developers from building new rental units in high-demand areas.

If investors know that future rent increases will be capped, they shift their capital elsewhere. That means less building, less housing supply, fewer options, and it drives demand for existing units even higher, which pushes rents up in buildings that aren't even subject to the caps.

We have seen how these policies work in New York and San Francisco where rent control has been in place for decades.

According to AEIR, rent control policies in New York City resulted in more rental units being abandoned than built in the 1970s and 1980s.

We can expect more of the same under the Harris plan, which will replicate these failures on a national scale.

To recap, the Harris plan would implement an expensive downpayment assistance subsidy. It would hamper new

development by putting in place rent caps that disincentivize investment.

In other words, Harris would both increase demand and limit supply, the exact wrong combination of policies if you want housing costs to go down.

The result is a housing market where both renters and potential homeowners are squeezed, leaving everyone with fewer choices and higher prices.

Vice President Harris has said previously that ``Bidenomics is working.'' For those that are concerned about rising housing costs, her words should be taken literally and taken as a warning.

Vice President Harris plans to continue the inflationary policies of the Biden-Harris administration, exacerbating our housing affordability problems and leaving renters with less options and future home buyers with even higher costs.

If America wants to boost housing supply and end the inflationary policies of the Biden-Harris era, we need to cut red tape, streamline Federal housing programs, and remove barriers to building new units.

Until we move toward a solution that encourages private investment in development, we can expect that our country's housing shortage will persist, leaving the American Dream out of reach for everyday working families.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Chief Justice Mike Heavican of the State of Nebraska who has announced his retirement after almost two decades of exemplary service as the head of Nebraska's Supreme Court and its entire judicial branch.

Through the years, the chief justice has led Nebraska's judiciary with integrity. Before his time on the bench, he served as a deputy county attorney, a county attorney, the U.S. Attorney, and then the chief justice.

Throughout his career he has preserved the independence of our judiciary while collaborating with the State's leaders to strengthen its engagement with the public.

During my time as Speaker of the Unicameral, I had the great honor of working with Chief Justice Heavican to establish the first and now annual tradition of the State of the Judiciary address to our State's legislature.

On behalf of the people of the first district, I want to extend best wishes to Chief Justice Heavican and our sincere gratitude for his decades of remarkable public service.

Mr. Speaker, I support Mr. Huizenga's bill, H.R. 4790, the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act, and I thank him and Chairman McHenry for their leadership on this issue.

In particular, I highlight my bill within this larger package. It is called the Stop Executive Capture of Banking Regulators Act.

This bill applies a requirement to the Federal Reserve, the OCC, the FDIC, the NCUA, and the FHFA to report to Congress when they plan to implement a nonbinding recommendation from an executive order, or FSOC.

All the regulators I just listed are independent. Independent regulators are supposed to act according to their respective expertise. They shouldn't just adopt recommendations from the President or Treasury without their own due diligence.

This bill says that if they do choose to implement a nonbinding directive from the executive branch, they should tell Congress and the American people what they are planning to do and why. That is a commonsense requirement, and, frankly, this shouldn't be a partisan issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sarpy County Sheriff Jeff Davis, who has announced his retirement after one-half century of service.

Sheriff Davis began his career as a 911 dispatcher at 18 years old. After gaining experience on the operations side of law enforcement, he received his law enforcement officer certification and served as a deputy sheriff for the county.

Through the years he has worked in several divisions before becoming the chief deputy. In 2005, he was sworn in as the new Sarpy County sheriff. Serving in that role, he is known as someone who leads with common sense and a sense of fairness that has earned him respect across the State of Nebraska.

Beyond the sheriff's office, he has given back to his community as the chairman of the Nebraska Law Enforcement Easter Seals Telethon and through the Knights of Columbus.

As Sheriff Davis embarks on this new chapter, I want to extend my gratitude and that of the people of the First District of Nebraska for his many years of outstanding service.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse) for introducing this very important and long-overdue piece of legislation.

According to the USDA, as of 2022, foreign individuals held an interest in over 43 million acres of U.S. ag land. For context, 43 million acres is larger than the State of Florida and greater than the total land area of 29 U.S. States.

Between December of 2021 and December of 2022, privately held foreign ag land increased by more than 3 million acres and now accounts for 3.4 percent of all privately held agricultural lands in the U.S.

This is a real problem, and it is growing. Our Nation's land is linked to our national security, our food supply, and energy resources. The rising trend of foreign ownership is highly concerning. The USDA is responsible for collecting data and reporting to Congress on foreign- owned ag land, but that is it. In its own words, the USDA does not have a role in reviewing the purchase or sale of ag land in our country.

Additionally, the USDA has failed to penalize improper filing of ag land transactions by foreign nationals, further emphasizing its lack of sufficient enforcement authority in this area.

Let me be clear: Foreign ag land ownership is a national security issue, and it should be treated as such. Over the last several years, we have all experienced firsthand the detrimental impact food and energy supply chain disruptions can have on our communities. Therefore, it is simply common sense that we pass this bill to expand CFIUS and better address this ongoing threat.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment is simple. It would bar the Department of Energy from spending taxpayer dollars on lab-grown meat.

Under President Biden's radical climate agenda and regulatory regime, the Department of Energy has chosen to target our Nation's food and beverage industry. Hardworking producers across the Nation wake up every day and raise the highest quality livestock in the world, and they are already making significant investments in long-term sustainability.

My home State of Nebraska leads the Nation in beef and veal exports and is among the top-producing States for hogs. Raising our Nation's food is a way of life for many in my home State and across the Nation. Instead of subverting the efforts of farmers and ranchers, the Department of Energy could invest in lowering energy costs, working to regain energy independence, unlocking energy exports, or any number of issues facing everyday Americans.

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

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) sharing her concerns about my amendment.

Every time a Nebraskan farmer wakes up and faces the day, folks on that side of the aisle are looking to shut down confined animal feeding operations. They are looking to different ways to produce meat so that we can't produce what we do in Nebraska, which is the number one beef State in the Nation.

There is no trust. There is no trust with the Biden administration and this Department of Energy that our way of life is going to be protected.

This amendment should send a clear signal to everybody on the other side of the aisle that the producers that feed the world are ready to fight, to stand up for our industry, and to fight for livestock across this country.

This amendment ultimately sends a clear message that it is inappropriate for the Department of Energy to spend taxpayer dollars on lab-grown meat.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I feel like we should start with a definition of ``custody.'' It is that basic, Mr. Speaker. Banks hold others' assets in custody, and they don't put them on their balance sheet.

This is an example of Mr. Gensler at the SEC using a staff accounting bulletin to keep banks out of digital asset custody. The first time this resolution went through Congress, it received, as the chairman said, bipartisan support from both the House and the Senate, including Majority Leader Schumer. Think about that, Mr. Speaker: Majority Leader Schumer broke with his own party and with his own party's President on this issue.

The reason for that support, and it is really simple, the SEC got its hand caught in the cookie jar. They overstepped in a blatant way that runs contrary to its obligation to protect investors.

What is the SEC doing in banking policy?

Somebody, ask the Federal Reserve. Ask the OCC. Ask the Treasury Department.

Do they think this is right?

Look at the testimony in front of the Financial Services Committee.

SAB 121 is not a political issue. It is simply a bad regulation. No matter what your feelings are about cryptocurrency, the SEC shouldn't be writing bank custody rules, and they definitely shouldn't be overstepping their authority to do it.

Moreover, now on this floor today we hear from the ranking member that there is some private deal with a couple of banks. To the chairman's point, that is not good public policy. That is amateur hour. That is trying to avoid the embarrassment of having the House of Representatives vote like it did on FIT21 where a better than two- thirds majority were in support of this very policy.

Finally, let's be clear. SAB 121 is bad policy that affects the entire banking system, not just one bank or one small group of banks. If the SEC wants to fix this problem themselves, then they shouldn't rescind the bulletin for every bank in America that is publicly traded. One-off agreements do not fix underlying problems with this fatally flawed legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome Father Brett Jamrog, who delivered this morning's prayer, as the guest chaplain for the day.

Father Jamrog is a native of Fremont, Nebraska, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha.

Ordained in 2022, he has served my home parish, Sacred Heart in Norfolk, for the last 2 years.

Even at this early point in his ministry, he has had a big impact on his community by providing sacraments to the lay faithful on a daily basis and teaching in our school.

Father's presence here today reminds us of the foundational role that faith plays in forming leaders and guiding our country.

It is a great honor to host Father Jamrog here in Washington. His words of prayer this morning were a blessing to this Chamber.

May Father Jamrog's words continue to remain with us as he takes up our work for the day. Once again, we extend our gratitude to Father Jamrog for serving as today's guest chaplain.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the growing impact of President Biden's student loan bailouts on our Federal deficit.

Over the past 3 years, President Biden has repeatedly bypassed Congress and the courts to cancel student loans. His actions have fueled inflation and have now become the number one factor in growing the Federal deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Let's be clear: Canceling student debt is not free. Just this year, student loan bailouts will cost the Federal taxpayers $145 billion.

While debtors won't be responsible for their loans anymore, taxpayers will still be paying principal and interest.

Every dollar President Biden cancels in student loans adds directly to our country's crippling $35 trillion debt.

It is only getting worse. Interest payments on our national debt have nearly doubled in the last few years, crossing $1 trillion for the first time in 2023.

We cannot go on like this. It is time to stop these outrageous loan bailouts and restore fiscal sanity.