Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, as we gather here, we stand on sacred ground, the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives, the heart of American democracy.

I will never forget the first time I saw the Capitol. It was on a cold January day, when I was 6 years old. My father, Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., was about to be sworn in for his fifth term in Congress representing our beloved hometown of Baltimore.

I was riding in the car with my brothers. They were thrilled and jumping up and down and saying to me: ``Nancy, look, there's the Capitol.'' And every time I would say: ``I don't see any capitals. Is it a capital A, a capital B, or a capital C?''

Finally, I saw it, a stunning white building with a magnificent dome. I believed then, as I believe today, this is the most beautiful building in the world because of what it represents. The Capitol is a temple of our democracy, of our Constitution, of our highest ideals.

On that day, I stood with my father on this floor as he took the sacred oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

All of us who have served in this House have taken the hallowed oath of office. It is the oath that stitches us together in a long and storied heritage. Colleagues who served before us are all our colleagues: colleagues like Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Webster, Shirley Chisholm, Patsy Mink, and our beloved John Lewis.

Personally, it binds me as a colleague to my father, a proud New Deal Congressman and one of the earliest Italian Americans to serve in Congress.

This is an oath we are duty-bound to keep, and it links us with the highest aspirations of the ages.

In this room, our colleagues across history have abolished slavery; granted women the right to vote; established Social Security and Medicare; offered a hand to the weak, care to the sick, education to the young, and hope to the many.

Indeed, it is here, under the gaze of our patriarch George Washington in the people's House that we have done the people's work.

My colleagues, I stand before you as Speaker of the House, as a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a devout Catholic, a proud Democrat, and a patriotic American, a citizen of the greatest republic in the history of the world, which President Lincoln called the last, best hope of Earth.

Indeed, in the words attributed to another of our colleagues, the legendary Daniel Webster: ``Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution of your country and the government established under it. . . .

``Miracles do not cluster. That which has happened but once in 6,000 years cannot be expected to happen often.''

Indeed, American democracy is majestic, but it is fragile. Many of us here have witnessed its fragility firsthand; tragically, in this Chamber. So democracy must be forever defended from forces that wish it harm.

Last week, the American people spoke, and their voices were raised in defense of liberty, of the rule of law, and of democracy itself.

With these elections, the people stood in the breach and repelled the assault on democracy. They resoundingly rejected violence and insurrection and in doing so, ``gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.''

Now, we owe to the American people our very best to deliver on their faith, to forever reach for the more perfect union, the glorious horizon that our Founders promised.

The questions before us in this Congress and this moment are urgent; questions about the ideals that this House is charged by the Constitution to preserve and protect: `` . . . establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.''

Our posterity, our children. Babies born today will live into the next century, and our decisions will determine their future for generations to come.

While we will have our disagreements on policy, we must remain fully committed to our shared, fundamental mission: To hold strong to our most treasured democratic ideals, to cherish the spark of divinity in each and every one of us, and to always put our country first.

In their infinite wisdom, our Founders gave us their guidance: ``e pluribus unum'', ``out of many, one.''

They could not have imagined how large our country would become or how different we would be from one another, but they knew we had to be united as one.

We the people: One country, one destiny.

It has been with great pride that, in my 35 years in the House, I have seen this body grow more reflective of our great Nation, our beautiful Nation.

When I came to the Congress in 1987, there were 12 Democratic women. Now, there are over 90 and we want more.

The new members of our Democratic Caucus will be about 75 percent women, people of color, and LGBTQ. We have brought more voices to the decisionmaking table. When I entered leadership in 2002, there were eight of us. Today, there are 17 members of leadership.

When I first came to the floor at 6 years old, never would I have thought that some day I would go from homemaker to House Speaker. In fact, I never intended to run for public office.

Mommy and Daddy taught us through their example that public service is a noble calling and that we all have a responsibility to help others. In our family, my brother, Tommy, then became mayor of Baltimore also.

It has been my privilege to play a part in forging extraordinary progress

for the American people. I have enjoyed working with three Presidents, achieving historic investments in clean energy with President George Bush; transformative healthcare reform with President Barack Obama; and forging the future, from infrastructure to healthcare to climate action with President Joe Biden.

Now, we must move boldly into the future, grounded by the principles that have propelled us this far and open to fresh possibilities for the future.

Scripture teaches us that: ``For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under Heaven.''

My friends, no matter what title my colleagues have bestowed upon me--Speaker, Leader, Whip--there is no greater official honor for me than to stand on this floor and to speak for the people of San Francisco.

This I will continue to do as a Member of the House, speaking for the people of San Francisco, serving the great State of California, and defending our Constitution.

With great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress.

For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic Caucus that I so deeply respect, and I am grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility.

Madam Speaker, standing here today, I am endlessly grateful for all of life's blessings.

For my Democratic colleagues, whose courage and commitment--with the support of your families--have made many of these accomplishments possible. That could not have been done without you.

For my dear husband, Paul, who has been my beloved partner in life and my pillar of support, thank you. We are all grateful for all of the prayers and well-wishes as he continues his recovery. Thank you so much.

For our darling children: Nancy Corrine, Christine, Jacqueline, Paul, and Alexandra; and our grandchildren: Alexandra and Madeleine; Liam, Sean and Ryan; Paul and Thomas; Bella and Octavio, they are the joys of our lives of whom we are so very, very proud, and they are a comfort to us at this time.

And for my brilliant, dedicated, and patriotic staff under the leadership of Terri McCullough, working together, the finest group of public servants the House has ever known, thank you all so much.

And, again, for those who have sent me here, for the people of San Francisco, for entrusting me with the high honor of being their voice in Congress.

In this continued work, I will strive to honor the call of the patron saint of our city, Saint Francis: ``Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.''

In this House, we begin each day with a prayer and a pledge to the flag. And every day I am in awe of the majestic miracle that is American democracy.

As we participate in the hallmark of our Republic--the peaceful, orderly transition from one Congress to the next--let us consider the words of, again, President Lincoln, spoken during one of America's darkest hours.

He called upon us to come together, to ``swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.''

That, again, is the task at hand.

A new day is dawning on the horizon, and I look forward and always forward to the unfolding story of our Nation; a story of light and love, of patriotism and progress, of many becoming one, and always an unfinished mission to make the dreams of today the reality of tomorrow.

Thank you all. May God bless you and your families, and may God continue to bless our veterans and the United States of America. Thank you all so much.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Fairness for 9/11 Families Act, another vital step to support our September 11 heroes and their families.

I salute Chairman Nadler for his committed leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, on September 11, our Nation watched in horror as unfathomable acts of terror unfolded on our soil, gripped by an unthinkable nightmare.

For thousands of families, it was only the beginning: Children growing up without a mom or dad by their side; missing smiles at dance recitals and soccer games; empty seats at graduations and weddings and baptisms.

Yet, in the wake of such harrowing tragedy, these grieving families rallied together, channeling their sorrow into solidarity, transforming their pain into purpose, mobilizing their agony into advocacy. Some of them were very much responsible for us getting a 9/11 Commission, which some in Congress had resisted. Without their outside mobilization, it would not have happened.

Congress and the country greatly admire the courage of the survivors and families who have come together to make their voices heard.

In fact, it was my honor to host many of them in the Capitol just earlier this month, to listen to their moving stories and learn how we can continue to support them.

This is an injustice, as was described. Moved by their remarkable resilience, the House has worked relentlessly over the years to honor our solemn promise to the 9/11 families. We passed the Zadroga Act to ensure that they could receive help from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund; and we passed the Never Forget the Heroes Act to permanently authorize those funds.

But there is still more to be done to ensure they get every last cent they are due. I don't know that any money really makes up for their loss; but what they are due, they should receive.

The Fairness for 9/11 Families Act corrects an outrageous injustice, finally delivering the $2.7 billion that these families are owed from the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. This initiative was established to support Americans devastated by evils of international terror, but for years, the wives, husbands, and children of those killed on 9/11 were refused assistance from this particular fund, even as more distant relatives received compensation.

Yes, they were getting funds from an earlier fund, but if you got money from the earlier fund, you couldn't get

money from this additional fund. This is about fairness today.

As Democrats took the majority, we ended this unconscionable disparity. Today, we vote to make them whole, delivering the benefits they were wrongfully denied. No amount of money can replace those who were stolen away, nor restore the memories and moments that could have been; but with this legislation, we can further ease two decades of anguish, and we can take another step to ensure that justice is done. I am so pleased it is being done in a bipartisan way, because at the start, that was not the case.

President Lincoln once cautioned against the ``silent artillery of time''--the slow, steady fading of our Nation's collective memory.

For 21 years, these families have served as a bulwark against that silent threat. Here today, let us stand with them and renew our sacred promise to never forget.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a resounding and bipartisan ``yes'' and, hopefully, a unanimous vote so that we may empower thousands of Americans to begin finding the peace that they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, as I have the floor, I also rise in strong support of the continuing resolution to keep government open and working for the people. This legislation ensures full government funding through December 16, giving appropriators more time to reach bipartisan, bicameral agreement on funding levels for the upcoming fiscal year.

It includes critical funding to support Ukraine, to respond to natural disasters, and to advance many additional key priorities.

I thank Rosa DeLauro, chair of the Committee on Appropriations, for her strong values-driven leadership to bring forth this necessary legislation. As I always say, as an appropriator myself, left to their own devices, the appropriators will find a bipartisan path.

I thank Rosa for her ongoing work to assemble an omnibus government funding package that honors our values as a Nation. That is the next step.

Today, we proceed with this legislation. As we do, war rages on in Ukraine. With the legislation we pass today, Congress secures an additional $12.3 billion for Ukraine-related priorities, including security, economic and humanitarian aid to the historic and heroic Ukrainian people.

This package comes at a pivotal moment as Ukraine's freedom fighters work to turn the tide, liberating key cities and repelling Russian forces.

When I traveled to Berlin for the G7 Speakers' Summit earlier this month, it was my privilege to hear directly from Ukraine Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, who offered an invaluable report on the state of the war.

At those meetings, I reiterated America's unbreakable, unshakeable commitment to stand with Ukraine in the fight for democracy. By the way, every other Speaker from the G7, they call them heads of parliament in some countries, spoke out strongly in favor of democracy in Ukraine. So it wasn't just me talking about unbreakable, unshakeable commitment, others did, too.

With this supplemental funding, we take another strong step to honor our country's pledge.

Alongside this critical package for Ukraine, this legislation directs significant funding to help American families devastated by disaster. We continue to hold all of the families affected by Hurricane Ian in our hearts and prayers during this difficult time, but we need money to help them.

The $2 billion more in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding in this bill will go toward supporting Florida, as well as Puerto Rico, Alaska, and other communities hit by catastrophe. But, again, we need more.

We are also allowing FEMA to spend up to its entire year of funding, giving the agency access to an additional $18.9 billion from FEMA's disaster relief fund to quickly respond to disasters, especially appropriate now with Ian; and we will need more.

Thanks to the leadership of Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez, we are sending $2.5 billion to help New Mexicans begin to heal, recover, and rebuild after the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire. She and the Members from New Mexico were very instrumental in making sure we were aware of the disastrous mistake that was made in New Mexico and how we need to address it.

At the same time, thanks to the impassioned advocacy of Congressman Bennie Thompson, we secured $20 million in Jackson, Mississippi, which is suffering a devastating water emergency. This man-made disaster poses a direct threat to public health and demands urgent action.

Additionally, we are proud that this legislation includes $1 billion more for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a vital lifeline to help families pay their bills and stay safe in their homes this winter.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a package for the people. I urge a strong bipartisan ``yes'' on the continuing resolution so that we may swiftly send this bill to the President's desk. I hope that we will have a unanimous vote on the legislation, Fairness for 9/11 Families to support our 9/11 heroes and their families.

Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong support of this robust public safety package--legislation rooted in two of Democrats' most cherished values: safety and justice.

On behalf of our Caucus and the Congress, I salute the persistent, values-driven leadership of CBC Chairwoman Joyce Beatty and Members of the CBC--ensuring that accountability is central to our efforts.

Let us also commend Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for their tireless efforts to advance the goal of public safety for all.

We applaud the committed leaders of the legislation before us today: Congressman Josh Gottheimer, Congresswoman Katie Porter, Congressman Steven Horsford, and Congresswoman Val Demings.

And thank you to Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler and Energy & Commerce Chair Frank Pallone for steering this legislation to the Floor.

House Democrats believe that every American deserves to live in a safe community--where they and their family can thrive.

For us, this is a deeply held value.

And that is why our Majority has long sought--and today, continues to take--strong, commonsense action to fund our police, giving them the tools they need to prevent crime.

Let me be clear: Democrats salute our law enforcement heroes.

And we have fought to support them: securing a half-billion-dollar increase for local and state law enforcement in March's Appropriations legislation.

At the same time, we remain fully committed to improving training and accountability among the law enforcement ranks.

Our nation remains outraged at the scourge of systemic racism and brutality targeting communities of color and marginalized communities-- knowing that it remains a serious threat to safety.

That is why Democrats will never stop fighting for the fundamental transformation that our culture of policing demands--which goes hand- in-hand with our unyielding commitment to public safety.

Our George Floyd Justice in Policing Act--twice passed by the House-- includes strong, unprecedented reforms to save lives: from banning chokeholds; to stopping no-knock warrants; to combating racial profiling; to establishing nationwide standards against misconduct.

Sadly, this urgent and necessary legislation was blocked by Republicans.

But under the leadership of our brilliant, relentless Congresswoman Karen Bass, we will not rest until these life-saving measures are the law of the land.

Today, with our four bills, we seek to take a strong step to build stronger, healthier relationships between law enforcement and those they serve.

And together, they will help prevent crime, save lives and advance justice.

Our Invest to Protect Act funds our police, with grants to: help small, local law enforcement agencies retain and recruit officers; require the Attorney General to evaluate and collect data on how police departments are using the funds to reduce the use of force; and invest in strong accountability measures, including: training for de- escalation, responding to substance use disorders, supporting survivors of domestic violence, and promoting a duty of care.

Our Mental Health Justice Act will help send unarmed mental health professionals to respond to mental health crises in our neighborhoods: crucial action to save lives.

Our Break the Cycle of Violence Act invests in effective, evidence- based community violence intervention initiatives--building on the lifesaving progress we forged in our American Rescue Plan.

Our VICTIM Act will bolster the ability of police forces to solve homicides, sexual assaults, shootings and other violent crimes: a necessary step to ensure justice is served and improve trust in law enforcement.

In the same spirit, House Democrats take immense pride in our work so far this Congress to keep America's families safe from harm.

Under the magnificent leadership of President Biden, we enacted an historic gun violence prevention law--which is saving lives by getting deadly weapons out of dangerous hands.

Meanwhile, the House has successfully passed legislation reinstating the Assault Weapons Ban and establishing an AMBER Alert-style warning during shootings--measures that strongly support our law enforcement.

And this Congress, our Majority has also passed legislation to: require universal background checks, promote safe storage, and ban bump stocks, high-capacity magazines and ghost guns.

Make no mistake: our colleagues across the aisle overwhelmingly voted against all of these measures.

Because they fail to realize that preventing gun crime is a crucial piece of the puzzle in building safer communities--especially for our children.

Madam Speaker. Every Member who has the special privilege of serving in these hallowed halls takes a sacred oath to the American people.

That oath--which is blind to party affiliation--is to ``protect & defend.''

And with this package today, the House is honoring this foremost responsibility.

So I encourage every Member to join us in putting People Over Politics--and vote for safer communities in every corner of the country.

With that, I urge a resounding, bipartisan AYE vote on all four bills in this strong public safety package.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I thank the chair for her patriotic leadership on the House Administration Committee and her invaluable service and leadership as a member of the Select Committee on January 6.

Madam Speaker, I thank her for yielding, but I more importantly thank her for bringing this important legislation to the floor. I salute her leadership and that of Congresswoman Liz Cheney, vice chair of the January 6 Select Committee, a principled and courageous voice for freedom in our country.

This legislation is a manifestation of their courage, their patriotism, and their determination in our mission to save American democracy. I thank Chairwoman Lofgren and Vice Chair Cheney.

Madam Speaker, we are really the beneficiaries of such greatness in our country's history. One of our Founders, Thomas Paine, said that the times have found them to declare independence; to fight a war for independence against the greatest naval power that existed at the time; to win that war under leadership of our great patriarch, George Washington, and then to write our founding documents. Thank God they made them amendable so that we could have expanding freedom in our country.

One of their early documents, the Declaration of Independence, has been called by some the greatest document of the millennium, of a thousand years.

Some years later the Union was under threat. Abraham Lincoln--this is long before he was President--Abraham Lincoln delivered a stark warning about the state of our Union. Speaking in Springfield in 1837, more than two decades before the Civil War, he diagnosed a dangerous erosion of our democracy. ``They were pillars of the temple of liberty,'' Lincoln said, referring to the generation of Americas who fought for independence and served as living proof of the importance of democracy. He continued: `` . . . now that they have crumbled away, that temple must fall unless we, their descendants, supply their places with other pillars . . .''

His words ring just as true today as we confront a dire threat to our democracy and a duty to supply new pillars to preserve it.

On January 6, 2021, an insurrection erupted at the Capitol, seeking to nullify the results of a free and fair election. This was a direct assault not only on the Capitol, but on our Constitution, on the rule of law, and on democracy itself; a direct assault on the Constitution because the Constitution said that day that the Congress would, again, certify the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris per the Constitution by presenting the electoral college vote. So that was an assault on the Constitution. That was that day. It wasn't just any day; it was the day that the Constitution was supposed to be honored.

Now, we have a solemn duty to ensure that future efforts to undermine elections cannot succeed. That is why the House established the Select Committee on January 6, to find the truth of the attack and ensure that it could never happen again. Since then, there have been attempts across the country to nullify future elections.

That is why, today, we are taking historic and bipartisan legislative action to safeguard the integrity of future Presidential elections.

The Presidential Election Reform Act takes four necessary steps.

First, the bill reaffirms that under the Constitution, the Vice President has no authority to reject a slate of electors or delay the count in any way. This was the heart of the former President's illegal, false electoral scheme.

Second, the bill directly limits the types of objections to only those outlined in the Constitution, which can be raised during certification. You just can't raise any and all, but those that are allowed in the Constitution. All objections would require one-third of each Chamber to be entertained and a majority to be sustained.

Third, our bill requires Governors to transmit lawful election results to Congress or be compelled to by a Federal court. Under this proposal, no rogue Governor can unlawfully subvert the will of the people, the heart of a democracy expressed in the democratic electoral process.

Fourth, our bill makes crystal clear that States cannot change the rules governing an election after the election has occurred--did you hear that? ``Cannot change the rules governing an election after the election has occurred''--preventing radical State legislators from attempting to nullify the election. I keep using that word, ``nullify.''

These changes are imperative right now. Emboldened by January 6, politicians are waging a sinister campaign across America, the country, to subvert our future elections, peddling the big lie that the 2022 election was stolen; assembling an army of operatives to intimidate voters at the polls and poll workers, as well; and even threatening to reverse results for which they disagree.

Wait a minute. We are talking about a democracy. ``Threatening to reverse results for which they disagree.''

Let me be clear: This is a kitchen table issue for families. We must ensure that this antidemocratic plot cannot succeed.

It is a kitchen table issue because denying the American people their fundamental freedom to choose their own leaders denies them their voice in the policies we pursue. Those policies can make an immense difference in their everyday lives, on top of which we have a responsibility. We take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

This legislation is in furtherance of honoring that oath of office so that our children, our grandchildren, future generations, know that they live in a great democracy that cannot be undermined for political reasons.

Madam Speaker, every Member knows that January 6 was an attempt to subvert democracy, but many across the aisle refuse to admit the truth. They refused to admit the truth that very night with blood on the floor, glass on the floor, and all the rest when we came in to honor our constitutional responsibility.

Overwhelmingly, others on the other side of the aisle voted not to accept the results of the people in the election.

Now, House Republican leaders are whipping against this necessary measure. To all those who oppose this legislation, I ask you: How could anyone vote against free and fair elections, a cornerstone of our Constitution? How could anyone vote against our Founders' vision, placing power in the hands

of the people? How could anyone vote against their own constituents, allowing radical politicians to rip away their say in our democracy?

Decades after Lincoln's stark warning, the future he foretold, a crumbling of the pillars of democracy, came to pass with a Civil War. One year into the horror and devastation, President Lincoln called on the Congress to come together to save the Union.

In his message, he wrote--this is when he is President--``We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of Earth.'' We ``hold the power and bear the responsibility.''

Today, American democracy, ``the last best hope of Earth,'' is again in grave danger, and its fate is in our hands.

So, I implore every Member to heed Lincoln's words, to stand up for the rule of law and our Constitution. In doing so, we pass on a vibrant democracy for generations to come--America, the beacon of hope in the world; this building, a symbol, a temple of democracy, synonymous with freedom and democracy throughout the world, which was assaulted, but we must correct it.

Madam Speaker, I urge a resounding bipartisan ``aye'' vote on the Presidential Election Reform Act.

In gratitude to Madam Chair Zoe Lofgren, chair of the House Administration Committee and a member of the January 6th Committee, and our very distinguished vice chair of the January 6th Committee, thank you for your patriotism. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your courage.

Madam Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I thank you for your tremendous leadership and the other chairs for bringing this legislation to the floor.

The hour is growing late, and as a courtesy to my colleagues, I intend to shorten my remarks. For those that I shorten the remarks, I promise to put them in the Record if you promise to read them.

Let me also begin by saying that I associate myself with the remarks of all of my Democratic colleagues, and that covers a lot of territory.

Madam Speaker, under the visionary leadership of President Biden, Democrats have forged historic progress for America's families.

First, we enacted our life-saving American Rescue Plan: to propel us out of the pandemic by putting money in pockets, vaccines in arms, children safely in school, and people back to work.

Next, we secured the transformative bipartisan infrastructure package to create good-paying union jobs rebuilding our Nation.

This week, President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which declares our economic independence, strengthens our national security, and enhances our families' financial future. We also honored the valiant service of our men and women in uniform with the PACT Act.

Today, Madam Speaker, is a day of celebration, a day we take another giant step in our momentous agenda. Our Inflation Reduction Act is a robust, cost-cutting package that meets the moment: ensuring that our families thrive and that our planet survives.

This is landmark legislation which we send to the President's desk, and it is a resounding victory for America's families starting at their kitchen table. What it means to you--to our constituents, to people out there whom we serve in terms of healthcare--if you are one of Medicare's 64 million enrollees, this bill brings down the out-of- pocket costs in prescription drugs.

We do this by empowering the Secretary of HHS to negotiate lower prices, at long last. We have been fighting for this for years. We do so by capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. And you, our constituents, will not pay one more cent for life-saving medication. This includes a $35 cap on insulin copays.

We do this by banning drug manufacturers from raising prices faster than inflation, protecting you against predatory price hikes. Make no mistake: these measures are a big blow to Big Pharma, which has had a stranglehold for decades, preventing us from making this move. Now we have relaxed that stranglehold a bit--there is more to be done--but we give more leverage and more breathing room to America's families.

At the same time, this bill locks in lower premiums that Democrats secured first in the rescue package. Together, lowering the cost of prescription drugs and healthcare premiums are vital strides in our fight for economic justice. This is particularly important to low- income communities, underserved communities, and communities of color.

In doing so, we honor the call of Dr. King, who said: ``Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhumane because it often results in physical death.''

The inflation bill is a plan divided into three parts: Prescription drugs and healthcare; second, the most consequential climate action in the history of our Congress of our country. Doing these two things will reduce the deficit. At the same time, this legislation advances President Biden's and Democrats' relentless commitment to putting justice first.

All of these crucial investments are fully paid for by making sure the ultra-rich and biggest corporations pay their fair share.

The climate provisions will make a meaningful difference for America's working families. I am going to put that in the Record, if you promise to read it, but it is about clean air and clean water for our children. It is about 9 million good-paying union jobs. It is about preventing conflict over resources and habitat. It is about values-- values espoused by Pope Francis when he said earlier this summer that our planet has reached a ``breaking point'' in the fight against climate crisis. Extreme weather continues to wreak havoc across the country and around the world, and it is clear the costs of inaction far outweigh the costs of action.

The bill saves the planet while keeping more money in your pockets. For working families, you will save an average of $1,000 a year and lower energy bills. For underserved communities, this bill invests $60 billion in environmental justice initiatives to ensure that everyone enjoys the benefits of a cleaner, green economy.

Again, the bill pays down the deficit by $300 billion in the first decade.

Here is what it means to you: it lowers the deficit and drives down inflation in the long term.

These monumental investments for families and healthcare are fully paid for ensuring the biggest corporations and wealthiest pay their fair share. That is an estimate of about $160 billion a year of taxes that are unlawfully not paid. Right now families are being harmed by corporate profiteering.

But let me just say that I don't want you to take it from me. I want you to take it from a large number of economists--126--including seven Nobel Prize winners and three former chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers in a letter urging passage of this bill.

I want you to hear this, my Republican friends, because clearly you don't know this. But now that you do, perhaps you will change your comments.

These investments will fight inflation and lower costs for American families while setting the stage for strong, stable, and broadly- shared, long-term economic growth.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record their letter.

August 2, 2022.

Hon. Charles Schumer,

Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Mitch McConnell,

Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Senate Minority Leader

McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and House Minority Leader

McCarthy: We write to strongly urge you and your colleagues

in Congress to swiftly pass the Inflation Reduction Act of

2022. This historic legislation makes crucial investments in

energy, health care, and in shoring up the nation's tax

system. These investments will fight inflation and lower

costs for American families while setting the stage for

strong, stable, and broadly-shared long-term economic growth.

This legislation represents the single biggest step to date

in tackling the climate crisis. It makes key investments to

incentivize the transition to cleaner energy sources and

greater efficiency. It also invests in the current energy

distribution system to make it more resilient, lowers energy

costs for families, and helps protect U.S. family budgets

against future shocks.

This legislation will quickly and noticeably bring down

health care costs for families. It allows Medicare to

negotiate lower prices with pharmaceutical companies, reduces

Medicare out-of-pocket costs for drugs, and reduces insurance

costs for 13 million Americans by building on provisions in

the Affordable Care Act.

These investments would be more than fully paid for. The

revenue raised to finance them would come exclusively from

wealthy individuals and corporations. Further, the revenue

stems from enhanced tax enforcement and closing some of the

most distortionary loopholes in the tax code.

This proposal addresses some of the country's biggest

challenges at a significant scale. And because it is deficit-

reducing, it does so while putting downward pressure on

inflation. We strongly recommend Congress act decisively to

build a stronger economy by passing the Inflation Reduction

Act as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Joseph Stiglitz, Columbia University; Robert Solow,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Peter Diamond,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Oliver Hart,

Harvard University; Eric Maskin, Harvard University;

Edmund Phelps, Columbia University; Robert Rubin,

Council on Foreign Relations; Jacob Lew, Columbia

University; Jason Furman, Harvard University; Martin

Neil Baily, Brookings Institution; Doug Elmendorf,

Harvard Kennedy School; Roger Ferguson, TIAA

(formerly); Alan Blinder, Princeton University; Louise

Sheiner, Brookings Institution; Tara Watson, Brookings

Institution; Mark Paul, Bloustein School of Planning

and Public Policy; Matthew Rabin, Harvard Economics

Department and Business School; Katharine Abraham,

University of Maryland; Byron Auguste,

Opportunity@Work; Brad Delong, University of

California-Berkeley.

Jesse Rothstein, University of California-Berkeley; Heidi

Shierholz, Economic Policy Institute; Betsey Stevenson,

University of Michigan; Dean Baker, Center for Economic

and Policy Research; Mark Zandi, Moody's Analytics;

Josh Gotbaum, Brookings Institution; David Johnson,

University of Michigan; Hilary Haynes, University of

California-Berkeley; Larry Katz, Harvard University;

Karen Dynan, Harvard University; Richard Schmalensee,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Maurice

Obstfeld, University of California-Berkeley; Carl

Shapiro, University of California-Berkeley; William

Spriggs, AFL-CIO & Howard University; Prasannan

Parthasarathi, Boston College; Robert Blecker, American

University; Anna Stansbury, MIT Sloan; Robert B.

Williams, Guilford College; Paula Voes, Rutgers

University; Emily Hoffman, Western Michigan University.

Michael Reich, University of California, Berkeley; Rob

Wassmer, California State University, Sacramento; Yana

Rodgers, Rutgers University; Barry Bluestone,

Northeastern University; Josh Bivens, Economic Policy

Institute; John Schmitt, Economic Policy Institute;

Juliet Schor, Boston College; Eileen Appelbaum, Center

for Economic and Policy Research; Robert G. Williams,

Guilford College; Barry Bosworth, Brookings

Institution; Douglas Kruse, Rutgers Professor; Michael

Ash, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Richard

Murnane, Harvard University; Ben Zipperer, Economic

Policy Institute; Janet Knoedler, Bucknell University;

Daron Acemoglu, MIT; Robert Murphy, Boston College;

Michael Garvey, Washington Center of Equitable Growth;

David Cutler, Harvard University.

Lisa Lynch, Brandeis University; Robert Pollin,

University of Massachusetts Amherst; Ebru Kongar,

Dickinson College; Sheldon Danziger, University of

Michigan; Teresa Ghilarducci, The New School; Bernard

E. Anderson, University of Pennsylvania; Peter

Matthews, Middlebury College; Adam Hersh, Economic

Policy Institute; Alan Aja, Brooklyn College (City

University of New York); Clair Brown, University of

California-Berkeley; Younghwan Song, Union College;

Aaron Sojourner, Upjohn Institute for Employment

Research; Krishna Dasaratha, Boston University; Larry

Chimerine, Chase Econometrics and the Wefa Group

(formerly); Arindrajit Dube, UMass Amherst; Valerie

Wilson, Economic Policy Institute; Carolyn Craven,

Middlebury College; Chris Tilly, UCLA; John Shea,

University of Maryland at College Park; Sarah Wilhelm,

Western Governors University.

Xavier Jaravel, London School of Economics; Jacob

Robbins, University of Illinois at Chicago; Gernot

Wagner, Columbia Business School; Jonathan Colmer,

University of Virginia; Christopher Ruhm, University of

Virginia; Joya Misra, University of Massachusetts,

Amherst; Peter Schaeffer, West Virginia University;

Nina Banks, Bucknell University; David Weil, Brandeis

University; Gail Blattenberger, University of Utah;

Dania Francis, University of Massachusetts Boston;

Jeannette Wicks-Lim, University of Massachusetts,

Amherst; Emmanuel Saez, University of California;

Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California; Kate

Bahn, Washington Center for Equitable Growth; Sean

Reardon, Stanford University; Randy Albelda, University

of Massachusetts Boston; Tim Smeeding, University of

Wisconsin; Kenneth Peres, Communications Workers of

America (retired); David Alexander, Illinois Action for

Children.

Monique Morrissey, Economic Policy Institute; Trevon

Logan, The Ohio State University; Geoffrey Schneider,

Bucknell University; Kimberly Clausing, UCLA School of

Law; Paulette Olson, Wright State University; Henry

Levin, Emeritus Professor at Stanford and Columbia;

Frank Stricker, CSU Dominguez Hills; Laura Giuliano, UC

Santa Cruz; Christopher Magee, Bucknell University;

Gabriel Mathy, American University; Laura Tyson, UC

Berkeley; Robert M. Anderson, UC Berkeley; James

Stewart, New School; Siavash Radpour, The New School

for Social Research, Schwartz Center for Economic

Policy Analysis.

Ignacio Gonzalez, American University; Esteban J.

Quinones, Mathematica; Sylvia Allegretto, Economic

Policy Institute; Rene Rosenbaum; Roger Myerson,

University of Chicago; Paul Leigh, UC Davis; Lawrence

Mishel, Economic Policy Institute Robert Scott Economic

Policy Institute; Peter Eaton, UMKC; Candace Howes,

Connecticut College; Gerald Epstein, University of

Massachusetts Amherst; William Darity Jr., Duke

University; Eva Paus, Mount Holyoke College.

Another point I want to make is I hear them saying that this is going to be such a thing about the audits. Despite the Republicans' desperate falsehoods, this bill does not increase IRS audits on America's working families. The IRS commissioner himself, a Republican appointed by Donald Trump, said these resources are absolutely not about increasing audit scrutiny on small businesses or middle-income Americans.

So there you have it.

So I would just say at the end of all of this, I ask these questions:

When you hear about what this means to America's working families, how can you vote against lowering healthcare costs and prescription drugs costs for seniors and underserved communities as we continue to fight inflation?

How can you vote with pharma at the cost of America's seniors and America's working families?

How can you vote against protecting future generations from rising sea levels, raging wildfires, and crippling drought?

How can you vote against reducing the deficit and asking billionaires, companies, and wealthy avoiders of taxes to pay their fair share?

I am not talking about people who work the system. I am talking about people who illegally do not pay their taxes.

So, Madam Speaker, every Member of this body is confronted with a choice. We either put people over politics or politics over people. For centuries, Members of Congress have stood exactly where we stand facing the exact same decision as they constructed the pillars of America's economy and safety: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, things that the Republicans opposed all along the way.

This bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, a package for the people, increases the leverage of the public interest over special interests and expands the promise of health and financial security now and for generations to come.

Madam Speaker, I urge every Member to put aside their misunderstanding of this and vote for the Inflation Reduction Act as we send this historic legislation to President Biden's desk for signature this evening for him to sign into law.

Madam Speaker, under the visionary leadership of President Biden, Democrats have forged historic progress for America's families.

First, we enacted our life-saving American Rescue Plan: to propel us out of the pandemic by putting money in pockets, vaccines in arms, children safely back to school and people safely back to work.

Next, we secured a transformative Infrastructure package: to create good-paying union jobs rebuilding our nation--in a way that strengthens our middle class, advances justice and protects the environment.

This week, President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which declares our economic independence, strengthens our national security and enhances our families' financial future. We also honored the valiant service of our heroic veterans with the PACT Act.

And today, we proudly take another giant step in our momentous agenda.

Our Inflation Reduction Act is a robust cost-cutting package that meets this moment: ensuring that our families thrive and that our planet survives.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his great leadership.

Mr. Speaker, each year, more children die from gun violence than any other cause--cancer, auto accidents, or any other cause.

Our Nation has watched in unspeakable horror as assault weapons have been used in massacre after massacre in communities across the country.

Disturbingly, so many of these mass shootings have targeted our precious children in their schools, at the movies, at the malls, and throughout our communities.

That is why I rise today in strong support of reinstating the Assault Weapons Ban Act, a long overdue step to get deadly weapons off our streets.

Make no mistake, we know that an assault weapon ban can work because it has worked before. For 10 years--from 1994 to 2004--our families were protected by a strong assault weapons ban strongly championed in the Senate by then-Senator, now-President Joe Biden. Chuck Schumer led the way over here; Dianne Feinstein in the Senate. I was a relatively new Member of Congress who was whipping for this legislation. It made us all very proud. More importantly, it saved many lives.

During that time, we witnessed gun crime with assault weapons drop by up to 40 percent. Let me repeat, gun violence with assault weapons reduced by 40 percent. Meanwhile, since the ban expired, the number of mass shooting deaths has grown by nearly 500 percent.

It is particularly sickening to now see these same deadly weapons-- are you ready for this--being marketed to children. Here is an advertisement for a JR-15 designed to be a so-called ``smaller, safer, lighter'' version of the horrific AR-15, which has been used to murder so many of their playmates and friends. Look at this, these little skulls with ponytails on it.

The manufacturers stated that their ``goal was to develop a shooting platform that was not only sized correctly . . . but also looks, feels, and operates just like mom and dad's gun.'' Mom and dad's gun. They used that expression.

Indeed, gunmaker WEE1 Tactical launched the JR-15 and said: ``we are so excited to start capturing the imagination of the next generation.''

Indeed, this callousness is disgusting. It is despicable, and it reminds us that the crisis of gun violence requires action.

To the families who are survivors and have suffered from gun violence, we have said over and over again, we will not stop until the job is done. We thank them for sharing their sorrow to help prevent others from suffering in that way. They have turned their agony into action.

Now, whether we are saying we are going from Newtown to Uvalde and everything in between and since, there are so many deaths, so much sorrow, so much hope that we would get the job done. They are responsible for our bringing this legislation to the floor. Their outside mobilization, their advocacy with great intellectual integrity has made all the difference.

Today, House Democrats will vote to reinstate the assault weapons ban with strong protections for children and families. The bill prohibits the sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons, as well as high-capacity magazines. And contrary to what the gentleman on the other side of the aisle said, it requires safe storage for lawfully owned assault weapons already in our communities. It is not about taking guns away from people who should have them, it is about safe storage. Do you have a problem with that?

It strongly supports our law enforcement heroes who should not have to confront weapons designed for the battlefield instead in our communities.

To be clear, this is a very special day in the Congress of the United States that history will record as one designed to save lives.

For his passionate, persistent leadership on this legislation, let me salute Congressman David Cicilline, who has been fighting ferociously on this issue for years and years. To Lucy McBath, who has been, again, a member of the committee of jurisdiction, an intellectual resource, a strategic thinker, and an inspiration to all of us, who turned her personal grief into action and makes a difference, I thank her. I also thank Chairman Jerry Nadler, chair of the Judiciary Committee, for steering this legislation through the Judiciary Committee and to the floor. Also, I recognize, once again, President Joe Biden's longtime leadership on this issue and the beautiful words he expressed about this when we were celebrating the bipartisan safety bill recently.

Mr. Speaker, all those who have had the privilege of serving in these hallowed Halls take a solemn oath to the American people. At the heart of our oath is our duty to protect and defend the Constitution, the American people.

With this legislation, we honor this foremost responsibility. When the House returns in August, we will bring to the floor a robust public safety package beyond this. Let me be clear: House Democrats are for people over politics and say to our friends in this body and down the hall and wherever they are: Your political survival is insignificant compared to the survival of children who are at the mercy of these guns.

We believe that every American deserves to live in a safe community where they and their families can thrive. That is why Democrats are funding our police while making reforms for better law enforcement training and accountability as we give them the tools they need to prevent crime.

We are so proud of the work done by CBC chair Joyce Beatty working with Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Abigail Spanberger to write historic legislation that prioritizes meeting the needs of our law enforcement officers while at the same time having accountability. That is historic. We haven't done that before.

I am more confident than ever that we will pass a package rooted in two of the Democrats' most cherished values: justice and safety.

I urge my colleagues to support the assault weapons ban, recognizing, again, that the survival of our children is more important than the political survival of any of us.

I urge a strong and, hopefully, bipartisan vote to put people over politics by reinstating the assault weapons ban.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in praise of this legislation as the House prepares to pass the CHIPS and Science Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill that will well-equip our Nation to meet and beat the challenges of the 21st century.

With the monumental investments in this legislation, we take key steps to strengthen our families' and our Nation's economic future, remove roadblocks to developing scientific talent, and unleash research investment in every corner of America now and for generations to come.

Let us salute the outstanding leadership of the House negotiators who tirelessly fought for and secured many major victories for American families and the American economy in this package.

Thank you, in particular, to two terrific champions: Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Chairman Frank Pallone of the Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as other chairs who were involved in this legislation. I also acknowledge the leadership of the ranking member, Mr. Lucas. It was a joy and inspiring to behold Mr. Lucas' very informative and impressive presentation in favor of this legislation at the Rules Committee yesterday. In fact, half a dozen of the bills contained in this legislation are Republican bills.

I particularly join Mr. Lucas in commending the staff on this and pay special tribute to Jenn Wickre, who has been remarkable in building bipartisanship in this legislation. My understanding is that she is recovering at home. I send her best wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery, with deep gratitude for her bipartisanship in putting this legislation together, which you so eloquently supported in the Rules Committee yesterday.

For generations, America has offered a beacon of excellence in science, innovation, and engineering. Our research has generated ground-changing discoveries. Our industry has powered unprecedented prosperity. Our technology has altered the course of history. And our workforce has been the envy of the world. I am so happy that in this legislation up to 100,000 Davis-Bacon jobs will be created.

In recent years, many other nations have followed our blueprint, investing in R&D and manufacturing and education. Their rise not only threatens America's status as the world leader in innovation but also the economic security of America's families. That is why, with the landmark legislation that we

will pass today, we will put America back on the path to preeminence so that we can compete and win in the 21st century.

When I mention those 100,000 Davis-Bacon jobs, that means a prevailing wage for our workers. I salute Chairman Bobby Scott for his work in that regard.

It is called the CHIPS and Science Act, and I am so happy because a week ago I thought it was just going to be the CHIPS Act. But, fortunately, with the help of Mr. Lucas and the negotiations of our distinguished chair, Eddie Bernice Johnson, we were able to get it to be the CHIPS and Science Act.

The chips are for now, that is important, ``Make It In America,'' keep us preeminent. The science is about our ongoing preeminence, and we will talk some more about that.

Again, because of the persistent, patriotic negotiations, the Congress can take great pride in this result. Eddie Bernice Johnson has been a respected leader as chair now of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, respected in the science and research community for her ongoing commitment, her knowledge, her vision, her values about keeping America number one. I thank her.

The package includes more than $50 billion to bolster America's manufacturing of semiconductors, seizing the pivotal opportunity to restore our status as world leader in chips, make it in America, as Mr. Hoyer would say.

Doing so is an economic imperative, creating, again, nearly 100,000 good-paying union jobs and lowering costs for American consumers while producing a crucial component of nearly every major technology we enjoy, including the cars we drive: 1,000 in a car, 2,000 in an electric car.

It is also a national security necessity, reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign manufacturing, especially amid growing aggression from the Chinese Communist Party.

Crucially, the bill contains strong guardrails, ensuring these transformative investments go straight into the American economy, not into stock buybacks or dividends or into facilities overseas.

Mr. Speaker, just as importantly, this legislation will reinvigorate American innovation nationwide with robust investments in research and technology.

This bill takes a giant leap toward building a more diverse and inclusive STEM workforce so that our Nation's brightest minds--wherever they are in whatever communities ethnically, geographically, generationally--are solving problems with science and driving American entrepreneurship.

This bill delivers job-creating hubs in every corner across the country so that more communities can participate in research and development, and this bill empowers our Nation to push the boundaries of science with investments that power America's preeminence in both basic research and next-generation technologies.

In doing so, we ensure America's dominance in the industries of the future for decades to come.

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear: This legislation is a resounding victory for the American people. Indeed, the final package contains a number of key provisions from our America COMPETES Act, on the Democratic side, which were not included in the Senate bill.

It was House Democrats who secured ironclad guardrails on the chips investments so that the Federal funding benefits American workers and interests, not our competitors overseas.

It was House Democrats who delivered historic funding to transform our Nation's research capacity, powering decades of discovery at the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and National Institute of Standards and Technology.

It was House Democrats who won smart, strategic investments in our clean energy and industries of the future, supporting renewable energy, combating the climate crisis, and developing cutting-edge technologies.

It was House Democrats who fought to broaden participation in the innovation economy, building a STEM workforce that better reflects the beautiful diversity of our Nation while bringing RECOMPETE grants-- thank you, Mr. Kilmer--to persistently distressed communities across the Nation. I thank our distinguished chairwoman, Eddie Bernice Johnson, for making so much of that possible.

Throughout the process of crafting the CHIPS and Science Act, the Congress has approached this work with a proud bipartisan spirit, as was witnessed by Mr. Lucas' beautiful presentation to the Committee on Rules yesterday.

This legislation was assembled with input from negotiators from both sides of the aisle and both ends of the Capitol. It was the product of the committees. In the Senate, the bill earned 14 Republican Senators' votes for final passage.

Here in the House, the America COMPETES Act was rooted in bipartisan bills with broad support in the Congress and the country. As I mentioned, six intact Republican bills are part of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this vital legislation will pass today. It will pass. It would be my hope that it will pass with the broad bipartisan vote that America needs and America deserves.

As we send this landmark legislation to President Biden's desk, we participate in a great American tradition. In one of his final speeches, President John Kennedy addressed the National Academy of Sciences, where he delivered a powerful case for science as our North Star. His words have stood the test of time. He said: ``I believe that the power of science and the responsibility of science have offered mankind a new opportunity not only for intellectual growth, but for moral discipline; not only for the acquisition of knowledge, but for the strengthening of our nerve and our will.''

He knew then, and we know now, science serves as our nerve and our will to boldly seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges of our time.

With this legislation, President Biden and the Democratic Congress-- and I would hope in a bipartisan way--proudly charge ahead in this all- American spirit with science, science, science, and science leading the way.

People say to me, ``Well, science or faith?'' I say I believe that science is an answer to our prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a strong and bipartisan vote for the CHIPS and Science Act. I thank all who are involved in this, including Mr. Lucas and our distinguished chair, other chairs on both sides of the Capitol, and Members on both sides of the aisle. I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Madam Speaker, happily, I rise today in celebration of the 100th birthday of a towering titan of American television, a patriotic champion of our civil liberties and a dear friend to many in the Congress: the legendary Norman Lear.

Over his long and storied career, Norman has been a singular force in shaping our nation's culture. From the Golden Age of TV to the Streaming Age of today, from our television sets to the silver screen, he has challenged our nation to grapple with issues of power, privilege and prejudice, long considered taboo. In doing so, he has helped break down barriers between our communities, while inspiring generations of Americans with his magnificent and moving artistry.

Born a century ago in New Haven, Connecticut, Norman Lear was raised in a family that took immense pride in their Jewish heritage and values. Even as a child, Norman dared to dream of a world where diversity was not merely tolerated, but celebrated. Driven by this vision, he dropped out of college at just twenty years old to enlist in the United States Air Force and join the fight against fascism. He bravely flew 52 combat missions in the European theater--and for his valiant, patriotic service, he was awarded the distinguished Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters.

After fighting for freedom across the Atlantic, Norman returned to the United States to carry on his mission of advancing liberty, justice and equality through American culture. A gifted writer and a masterful storyteller, he created many of television's most iconic sitcoms: including from All in the Family to Sanford and Son, from Maude to The Jeffersons. Refusing to be satisfied with merely commercial success, he used his commanding platform and trademark wit to speak truth to power. His groundbreaking scripts and unforgettable characters breathed new life into essential discussions of racism, sexism, homophobia and more--sparking similar conversations in living rooms across the country. Our nation is grateful that, even at 100 years old, Norman continues to bless us with his sharp insights and creative brilliance today.

At the same time, Norman's impact was not simply confined to the writer's room. His unrelenting love of America is legendary, as demonstrated when he purchased an original copy of the Declaration of Independence and sent it around the country--so all of America, in its beautiful diversity, could bear witness to and celebrate our founding document.

Norman's deep patriotism has helped strengthen our Democracy. As the founder of People for the American Way, he has played a pivotal role in the defense of free speech, the right to vote and the guardrails between church and state. In doing so, he has pushed our nation to live up to our founding values of truth, freedom and justice--and advancing a future where all children can live free from barriers to achieving their fullest-potential.

Indeed, his cultural creations and determined activism have earned the admiration of many Members of Congress and countless Americans across the country. His outstanding career has paved the way for generations of artists to follow in his footsteps, continuing his legacy of pushing the boundaries of cultural conversations and fighting for progressive change.

On behalf of his many friends in Congress, we join in celebrating this momentous milestone in Norman's extraordinary life. We wish him, his dear wife Lyn, his beloved children Kate, Benjamin, Maggie, Brianna, Madeline and Ellen, and the entire Lear family all the best as they celebrate this joyous occasion.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I know that your committee, Energy and Commerce, has a full legislative load, and you prioritized this and made the time so that we could bring this to the floor in a timely fashion because it means so much.

As our distinguished colleague from Florida, Congresswoman Frankel, said, my, my. Here we are.

I rise today in strong support of the Right to Contraception Act, which is to defend access to birth control from the radical rightwing assault on reproductive rights.

It is outrageous that nearly 60 years after Griswold was decided, women must, once again, fight for fundamental freedom to determine the size and timing of their families or if they even want young people having contraception in their exercise of freedom.

But as Republicans turn back the clock on contraception, Democrats today are making it clear we are not going back.

I wonder if some of our colleagues, or even people who are advocating to prevent contraception, know what is going on in their own families, with their spouses or with their children, and the rest. Could it be that they are all just not using contraception?

Again, thank you to Kathy Manning, our lead sponsor. She has been so courageous so early on this subject, and I congratulate her and her staff for being so ready, as I commend the chairman, for accommodating the legislation.

I also join in thanking Sara Jacobs, Angie Craig, and Nikema Williams, her cosponsors, on this legislation. Again, thank you, Chairman Pallone for your support.

Let's be clear, that punishing and controlling women for using birth control is just another plank in the Republican extreme agenda for America, but House Democrats are fighting back.

Our Right to Contraception Act enshrines into law the unequivocal statutory right to obtain and use contraception, and it protects against any extremist State laws that would seek to restrict that access.

That way, even if the radical Republican supermajority on the Supreme Court succeeds in its mission to overturn Griswold, no American can be denied the basic right to birth control through contraception.

This is a matter of women's health to prevent unintended pregnancies and to treat or prevent many medical conditions.

Contraception is a medical tool beyond contraception. This is a matter of economic justice. This is a kitchen-table issue for America's families, as access to contraception is linked to higher rates of education and employment, while reducing poverty.

This is an assault on lower-income people in our country, many of them people of color. This is an economic justice assault, as well.

Importantly, this is a matter of fundamental freedom to make your own

decisions about your own body and your own life. Proudly, the people are with us: 96 percent of voters agree that Americans should have access to contraception.

By passing the Right to Contraception Act, House Democrats take another strong step to protect freedom for women and for every American.

Last week, our proud pro-choice, pro-women Democratic majority passed two major bills to restore and protect health freedom.

Our Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act will protect the fundamental right to travel and obtain needed healthcare. That passed the House last week.

Our Women's Health Protection Act will restore the essential protections of Roe v. Wade all across the country.

Republicans have been clear, Madam Speaker, and the Republican leader in the Senate has been clear: The goal is to ban abortion in our country. The Associate Justice of the Court has been clear; we have only just begun to overturn women's rights and individual freedom and privacy when it comes to interaction among us all.

Earlier this week, the House passed the landmark Respect for Marriage Act to ensure that marriage equality remains the law of the land now and for generations to come, whether it is interracial marriage, whatever.

Let's be clear. Those who have opposed this vital legislation are only revealing their dark desire to punish and control Americans' most intimate and personal decisions.

Madam Speaker, those of us who have served here for a while can tell you that House Republicans have been against contraception for decades. I couldn't even get our colleagues to vote for natural family planning.

When the Catholic Church came to us and said we need a correction in the law so that funds for natural family planning can go forth, Republican colleagues said: Let us be clear. We are against family planning domestically or internationally, globally.

We had one Republican vote with us and were able to pass the legislation, as requested by the Catholic Church.

What is this about? They are against birth control, but they are for controlling women. This is about servitude. This is about servitude.

We couldn't convince people. I would say to people that this isn't just about abortion. I understand people's position on that. I come from a pro-life family. I respect people's views. But this is about more than that. This is about contraception, birth control, family planning. But now it is clear.

Today, we will have a vote on the right to contraception, and we will see where our Republican friends are. I hope they will be with us. We don't put this bill forth to put you on the spot. We put this forth to put women in control of their situation.

I ask those who oppose contraception, again, do you even know what is going on in your own families? Why don't you ask? Do we need a session on the birds and the bees to talk about why this is important? What is going on here? Is the blind desire to have women controlled and in servitude such that they don't even want to know the truth about family planning and contraception?

It is never too late, even though you may have opposed this in the past, to stand up for the rights of your wives, your daughters, your granddaughters, and all of America's women.

Madam Speaker, I urge a strong, hopefully bipartisan vote for the Right to Contraception Act. I thank the makers of this motion; I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning) for her leadership, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs), the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Williams), the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Craig), and so many other cosponsors for their leadership. There is a long list of cosponsors, over 150 immediately. I very much thank the chairman for making this possible today.

Madam Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Active Shooter Alert Act: another strong step to help save lives from the scourge of gun violence.

As we all know, our Nation witnessed a horrific mass shooting at a holiday parade in Highland Park, Illinois--stealing at least seven beautiful souls, shattering innocent families and forever scarring the community.

Over the Fourth of July weekend alone, more than 220 Americans were tragically shot and killed--the latest surge of shootings in a year that has already seen more than 20,000 heartbreaking gun deaths.

Sadly, this epidemic has reached a fever pitch, with:

Countless mass shootings, from Uvalde to Buffalo and many more; and

The daily massacre of gun crime, which rarely makes the evening news.

These shootings often unfold in the heart of our communities: in our schools and on our streets; at our malls and in our movie theaters.

But in active shooter situations, there's currently no efficient, effective way for law enforcement to warn the public--putting more lives at risk.

That is why, today, the House will pass strong, bipartisan legislation to quickly warn communities when a gunman opens fire.

Our Active Shooter Alert Act will help set up a system similar to AMBER Alerts--helping state and local law enforcement agencies to notify those in the area of an active shooter threat.

Let us salute an unyielding champion in the fight against gun violence, Congressman David Cicilline, for crafting this commonsense and lifesaving measure.

Importantly, this bill has the support of many major law enforcement organizations. They know firsthand the challenges of keeping families safe in an active shooter scenario--and they are calling for this legislation.

When we brought this legislation to the Floor three weeks ago, it was overwhelmingly opposed by House Republicans.

Their opposition to this legislation is unconscionable and inexplicable.

Why would anyone vote against keeping communities better informed of potential danger?

Why would anyone vote against ensuring innocent children do not accidentally walk into the line of fire?

Why would anyone vote against the responding to the needs of our law enforcement heroes?

Nevertheless, today--with or without Republican support--our House Democratic Majority will proudly pass this life-saving legislation.

This legislation builds on Democrats' determined leadership to end the gun violence crisis.

On Monday, many of us gathered at the White House to celebrate the enactment of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: the most significant gun violence prevention legislation in three decades.

While more is needed, this bill will take steps to save lives:

Encouraging states to establish Extreme Risk Protection Order laws;

Combating illegal straw purchases;

Moving to close the boyfriend loophole; and

Expanding background checks for buyers under 21; and more.

Meanwhile, our Majority has twice passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act, to secure universal background checks on all gun purchases.

And last month, we passed our Protecting Our Kids Act to:

Raise the age to 21 years old to buy weapons of war;

Ban high-capacity magazines designed for mass murder; and

Ensure safe storage to protect our children from tragic accidents and take additional steps to save lives.

Madam Speaker, our fight to prevent gun violence is of, by and for the children.

Of the children, because they are suffering. It is heartbreaking that, in America, more children die from guns than any other cause.

By the children, because they are leading. We see them marching in the streets, testifying before the Congress, demanding action.

And always For The Children: building a future where every child can reach his or her fulfillment, free from the fear of gun violence.

Protecting our children must be a unifying mission in the Congress-- as it is a unifying issue for the American people.

Nowhere will we find more agreement than this commonsense measure to help keep innocent families out of the line of fire.

And we strengthened in this fight by the courage and commitment of President Biden: author of the Brady law in 1994, champion of the assault weapons ban and a long-time leader on this important issue.

With that, I urge a strong, bipartisan ``aye'' vote for this life- saving legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I am so honored to see you presiding over this very important legislation. And I thank the gentleman for yielding and for the leadership of bringing this important legislation to the floor. Mr. Nadler has been in the lead on this for decades.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support for the Respect for Marriage Act, bipartisan and bicameral legislation to enshrine into law a fundamental freedom, the right to marry whomever you choose.

As radical justices and rightwing politicians continue their assault on our basic rights, Democrats believe that the government has no place between you and the person you love.

Let us salute Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler for his persistent leadership on this issue. It was 13 years ago, Chairman Nadler, alongside then-Representative, now-Senator Tammy Baldwin, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and others introduced a bill by the same name to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

Defense of marriage; proposed by somebody who had been married three times. We don't know which marriage he was defending.

And today, we will finally achieve that long-held goal.

I really don't care how many times somebody is married. I care about how they try to impose their hypocrisy on others.

Thank you also to the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus Chair David Cicilline, and all of the members of the Caucus, for being tireless voices in the fight for full equality.

Mr. Speaker, we are here because just 3 weeks ago, the Republican- controlled Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ripping away a woman's freedom over her most intimate health decisions.

These radical Justices took a wrecking ball to precedent of the court and privacy in the Constitution and placed even more of our cherished freedoms on the chopping block.

Don't take it from me. Indeed, as Associate Justice Clarence Thomas declared in his concurrence, this is what he said. These are his words: `` . . . in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is `demonstrably erroneous,' we have a duty to `correct the error' established by those precedents.''

In total defiance of the precedents of the Supreme Court; in total defiance of what some of the candidates for Justice on the Supreme Court testified

that they supported, precedent. And they voted against it. And now, they want to go after other rights of privacy.

Make no mistake: While his legal reasoning is twisted and unsound, it is crucial that we take Justice Thomas and the extremist movement behind him at their word. This is what they intend to do.

Indeed, just yesterday, a Republican Senator declared that the Obergefell decision was clearly wrong, plainly suggesting rightwing interest in taking aim at marriage equality.

We must act now to defend same-sex and interracial marriages from this bigotry and extremism.

In the wake of the Dobbs decision, with marriage rights now squarely in Republican crosshairs, Democrats are ferociously fighting back.

With the landmark Respect for Marriage Act, we ensure that marriage equality remains the law of the land, now and for generations to come. Importantly, this legislation will repeal the unconstitutional and discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.

The Republicans knew that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional when they passed it. You know how I know that? Because shortly thereafter, they introduced a bill to overturn--to make sure that the Defense of Marriage Act was not subjected to judicial review. Some of them proclaimed at that time that Marbury v. Madison, which established the principle of judicial review was wrongly decided, and they wanted to rid the process of judicial review from the Defense of Marriage Act, recognizing, admitting that they knew it cannot withstand judicial review.

So while it was sent to--the Defense of Marriage--to the dustbin of history with United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges, our bill finally takes it off the books for good. That way, no future administration or majority in Congress can wield this appalling policy as a weapon against our LGBTQ loved ones.

This legislation also guarantees that no married couple can be denied equal protection under Federal law. This is really very important--from tax provisions to Social Security benefits, and more--even if the Court were to erase marriage freedom, God forbid.

Finally, this legislation blocks States from denying recognition to valid, out-of-state marriages, even if a State were to enact heinous restrictions.

By passing the Respect for Marriage Act today, House Democrats, in a bipartisan, bicameral--and I salute the Chairman for that announcement that he made--take another step to defend freedom for the American people.

Last week, our proud pro-choice, pro-women Democratic majority passed two major bills to restore and protect health freedom.

Our Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act will ensure that the fundamental right to travel and obtain needed healthcare remains in the hands of the American people, not in those of extreme rightwing politicians which is the future House Republicans' desire.

Our Women's Health Protection Act will, once again, make the protections of Roe v. Wade the law of the land.

Later this week, the House will pass the Right to Contraception Act so that every couple may determine the size and timing of their families as protected by Griswold v. Connecticut.

Not just couples; people. Contraception. Contraception. Can you believe they are going after contraception? Well, believe it because they have been going after contraception for decades in the Congress.

Now the Associate Justices have given us clear warning that this is in their sights.

The contrast could not be clearer: While Democrats work to protect and expand freedom in our country, Republicans seek to punish and control our most intimate personal decisions.

Mr. Speaker, it is outrageous and unconscionable that today, a radical Republican Party seeks to wind back the clock on decades of hard-fought progress.

As we pass this landmark legislation today, we salute the generations of activists and advocates, organizers and mobilizers, who fought relentlessly to advance the all-American ideal of full equality for all.

I say often that our inside maneuvering can just go so far. The outside mobilization produces the best possible results.

Personally, it is with some emotion that I think about my close friends, the iconic Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin of San Francisco. They were an inspiration to so many of us in San Francisco, in California-- indeed, the country--teaching us that equality is not about tolerance. It is about respect. It is about taking pride.

This bill makes crystal clear that every couple and their children-- imagine if you are the children of a marriage equality or an interracial couple, and you see the Congress of the United States and the Supreme Court of the United States making an assault on your parents' marriage, how damaging that can be.

This bill makes crystal clear that every couple and their children have the fundamental freedom to take pride in their marriage and have their marriage respected under the law.

With that, I urge a strong--hopefully a strongly bipartisan vote for the Respect of Marriage Act. I, again, salute the chairman for his great work.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I thank her for her unsurpassed leadership as chair of the Appropriations Committee, for

reflecting the values of our country, based on her leadership in terms of listening to the American people and meeting their kitchen-table needs, and, again, advancing us into the future.

We said about many of these initiatives: When we pass this, we will be making history. Not only that, we will be making progress, thanks to the leadership of Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, chair of the committee. It is a source of great joy to me because I served on the committee with her, saw her leadership then and now as chair.

Let me just describe--people say: What is a minibus?

A minibus is a minibus. It is not an omnibus. Sometimes we would have a bill that contained all of the appropriations bills. Omni, all. Omnibus. This is a minibus, which contains six of the bills--six very important pieces of legislation--and hopefully we will move soon to pass the others.

With these bills, our Democratic majority advances many of our Nation's cherished principles and priorities, including job creation, expanding opportunity, and protecting health and well-being.

Let us salute the masterful Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, a maestro of the appropriations process, who is a constant source of inspiration, leadership, and strategic thinking for all of us.

I also thank our cardinals for their hard work in carefully crafting each of these six very important bills contained in this minibus. You are called a cardinal if you rise to be a chair of one of the subcommittees of Appropriations. It is a great honor.

Mr. Chair, I do want to acknowledge the work of Chairman Sanford Bishop. We just heard from him about food, agriculture, rural development, et cetera.

Chairwoman Marcy Kaptur, Energy and Water Development.

Chairman Mike Quigley, Financial Services and General Government.

Chairwoman Chellie Pingree, Interior-Environment.

Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.

Chairman David Price, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Price will be leaving us at the end of this term, but his legacy will be with our country for a long time to come.

Mr. Chair, I thank our colleague on the other side of the aisle for acknowledging Mr. Price's work, and naming a portion of the Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development bill in his name. Mr. Diaz-Balart, I thank you for that beautiful recognition of Chairman Price. He certainly is revered on our side of the aisle, and we appreciate the bipartisan recognition of his leadership.

Mr. Chair, the House's Appropriations minibus will have an immediate impact on people's lives because it puts working families first.

This package defends health and well-being: improving the safety and security of our Nation's food supply. A vote for this bill is a vote for the safety of our Nation's food supply. A vote against it is a vote against the safety of our Nation's food supply.

The bill supports the WIC program--Women, Infants, and Children--food stamps, and other initiatives that keep our families fed.

This package strengthens economic security with strong investments to expand access to safe, affordable housing--thank you, Mr. Price-- support small business growth, and protect the interests of American consumers.

In doing so, these bills advance President Biden's commitment to putting justice and equity front and center, moving to close economic disparities weighing heaviest on communities of color and low-income families.

At the same time, this package will further power Democrats' mission to rebuild our Nation while reinvigorating the middle class.

Our bipartisan infrastructure law that was bipartisan and passed last year was a monumental step forward. Now, this legislation builds on that bipartisan progress: creating good-paying American jobs, rehabilitating our crumbling infrastructure; securing critical funding for roads, bridges, ports and rail, transit and aviation, and more; and improving the strength and resilience of our water systems.

This is a health issue in addition to a commerce issue. These investments lay a crucial economic foundation, better equipping our Nation to compete and win in the 21st century economy.

This package is also about protecting and preserving our planet--a responsibility we owe our children and grandchildren and future generations.

The investments in this legislation, Mr. Chair, are another strong step toward independent, affordable, clean energy jobs for the future: whether spurring innovation in new, sustainable technologies; strengthening community resilience to mitigate climate disaster; or conserving our cherished public lands.

Anyone who watches the news these days sees the impact on the climate crisis on our planet.

Throughout Europe, there are record heat waves. In our own country, we have had scores of our hottest record days, scores of them in our own country. The climate crisis is a real one. There is a short fuse on it. We must act. We cannot ignore the signs or the governance and the protections that go with it.

Preserving clean air and clean water for our children is a public health issue. The air they breathe and the water they drink is an immediate health issue. It is an economic necessity, creating good- paying jobs in the industries of the future while staving off catastrophic costs of inaction.

A matter of national security is preventing violent conflicts over resources and habitat. You have droughts; you have rising sea levels; you have encroachment of deserts; and you have change in the thermal management of the planet, Mr. Chair. All of this contributes to competition for habitats and resources, and our National Security Advisors tell us that that can be a cause of conflict, in addition to the toll it takes on people.

For many of us, it is a moral issue if you believe as I do that this is God's creation and that we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of it. That is one purpose. But if you don't share that view, you do understand that we have a moral responsibility to our children to pass on the planet in a responsible way for future generations. This is one of the Democratic majority's top priorities, and we will never stop fighting for the climate action that we need.

Finally, and importantly--one of my favorite subjects--this package honors our Nation's sacred duty to our veterans, their families, and their caregivers. A vote for this bill is a vote for our veterans, their families, and their caregivers with robust support for veterans' healthcare, which covers more than 7 million patients, with more resources to build essential VA infrastructure, and with increased funding to address mental health, substance abuse disorder, the scourge of veteran homelessness, and much more.

As we do so, we honor the truth when the military says that, on the battlefield, we leave no soldier behind, and when they come home, we leave no veteran behind.

Mr. Chair, Democrats believe that governance is a powerful force for good when we invest in what we value most as a nation--protection of our people, their health, their safety, the planet, the air they breathe, the water they drink, and security for our country. Today, our Democratic majority advances appropriations legislation that furthers that mission with funding that will meet the needs of American families in every corner of our country, and we take an important step to advance President Biden's inspiring vision of building a better America for all with liberty and equity for all.

Mr. Chair, I urge a strong bipartisan vote for this minibus package. I salute our cardinals for their great leadership, and I again pay homage to the chair of the committee, Madam Chair Rosa DeLauro, for her extraordinary leadership.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his extraordinary leadership on this subject not only as we face the Court decision but, over time, his chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee in terms of health in general, women's health in particular, reproductive health as we gather today. I thank members of the committee, and I thank the authors of this legislation as I proceed.

I rise on this momentous day as our pro-choice, pro-women Democratic majority proudly takes further action to defend the fundamental right of health freedom.

As extremist Republicans continue their assault on reproductive rights, our Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act will ensure that the fundamental right to travel and obtain needed healthcare remains in the hands of the American people.

Our Women's Health Protection Act will once again make the protections of Roe v. Wade the law of the land.

Let us salute the patriotic and persistent leadership not only of our distinguished chairman, Mr. Pallone, but also Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher and Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, who are leading the charge on the right-to-travel bill, working with Jamie Raskin, who is a member of the Judiciary Committee and who has been part of this.

I also salute Congresswoman Judy Chu, who will have now twice secured House passage of the Women's Health Protection Act; Pro-Choice Caucus co-chairs Diana DeGette and Barbara Lee; and Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone.

Three weeks ago, the Republican Party finally achieved its dark, dangerous, long-held goal to rip away a woman's freedom over her most fundamental decisions about her body, her health, and her life.

Since the Republican-captured Supreme Court eviscerated Roe v. Wade, at least nine Republican-controlled States have already banned abortion. More have enacted draconian restrictions so that exercising this fundamental right is practically impossible.

In doing so, these extreme measures have forced countless women to seek reproductive care in nearby States. But now, Republican lawmakers across the country are advancing proposals to block women from crossing State lines to get the care they need and punish those who, in their words, ``aid or abet'' them.

Is this the United States of America, where Republicans in these States can say to women, ``You cannot cross State lines for your own good health?''

This has been especially devastating for women who do not have the means to access care, often women of color and women from low-income communities.

This reality is sickening. It is despicable. It demands action.

With our Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, we will prevent Republicans from punishing women for exercising their right to travel and receive the healthcare they need, and it will protect healthcare providers who deliver reproductive services and all those who help women make the journey to receive those services. This means no criminal charges, no lawsuits, no fees or fines, no threats of retaliation.

Importantly, this legislation also reaffirms the right to travel, a freedom we often take for granted but is fundamental to liberty and privacy.

Republicans supposedly once stood for these values, but today, they are seeking to restrict where you can go and who you can see and to stand between you, your family, your doctor, and your God in making intimate health decisions.

This is not only anti-women; it is anti-American. House Democrats are fighting back.

Madam Speaker, today, our majority will also pass the Women's Health Protection Act, which protects the right to an abortion found in Roe v. Wade, ensuring the Federal right of healthcare providers to provide reproductive care and the Federal right for patients to receive that care.

By passing this legislation, we will preempt and prevent State-level bans and restrictions put forth by extremist, anti-women State legislators.

We will ensure that all Americans enjoy the same fundamental rights to reproductive care--regardless of background or ZIP Code.

We offer help to the American people who treasure our freedoms and who are overwhelmingly with us in our mission to defend them.

What do Republicans have in store next?

You can't travel to buy a book?

You can't travel to see a concert or a play--if it doesn't meet their, shall we say--I wouldn't use the word standards--their what?

Today, we must pass this legislation for a second time. We first passed this bill last September after Texas severely restricted the ability of women to access reproductive care with SB8, an outrageous bounty hunter bill. We do so again today, in the wake of the outrageous Supreme Court ruling that erased the vital protections of Roe v. Wade.

The Court's disgraceful decision has already unleashed catastrophe: women denied care after experiencing the heartbreak of miscarriage; survivors of sexual assault facing the possibility of forced birth; doctors under threat of persecution for offering reproductive services.

Many of these situations are well-known and are publicized--they are in the public domain. There are many more than are just in the public domain. Make no mistake, eviscerating the protections of Roe was only the opening act of the cruel Republican crusade to criminalize women.

In recent days, we have heard again of the tragic story of a young girl who was a survivor of sexual assault and had to travel to a neighboring State to receive the reproductive healthcare she needed. Now, the State attorney general--a Republican who served here in the House--is now investigating the doctor who legally provided her services. She is 10 years old. This move is intended to intimidate healthcare providers and produce a chilling effect on access to reproductive care.

The Republican agenda is not just a threat to families in red States. House Republicans' overwhelming opposition to our legislation make clear that they do not want anyone to access reproductive care anywhere. Indeed, their endgame is a barbaric ban on abortion in all 50 States.

As the Associate Justice Clarence Thomas said, they have only just begun in terms of their restrictions in terms of contraception and the rest. They will not stop there. These extremists are even threatening to criminalize birth control, in vitro fertilization, and post- miscarriage care.

Democrats will never stop fighting back against this extreme assault because we know that every woman everywhere has the basic right to reproductive healthcare.

Right now, the rights of women and every American are on the line, Madam Speaker.

House Democrats are ferociously defending freedom with these two important bills. We need two more Democratic pro-choice Senators so that we can eliminate the filibuster and make this legislation the law of the land.

Madam Speaker, as the radical Republican Party seeks to wind back the clock of 50 years of hard-fought progress, I am reminded of an extemporaneous debate in which I participated as a high school student.

A young woman, a friend of mine, drew a question from a bowl on a slip of paper that read: Do women think?

Today, it seems that some wish to debate that same question: the extremist Republican assault on women's rights harkens back to this darker time.

Do women think?

Indeed, because of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and a radical rightwing Republican Party, and their supermajority in the Supreme Court, right now American women have less freedom than their mothers.

By passing this legislation, the Democratic House is standing on the side of freedom for women and for every American.

The young lady who drew the insulting question answered that question with grace and strength, and she won the debate.

Just as Democrats intend to win on the question of women's health and freedom, not only here in the Halls of Congress, but with the American people in November.

Madam Speaker, I urge a very strong vote for the Women's Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act. I hope we have a strong vote and I hope a bipartisan vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a departing member of my office, my longtime senior adviser, Jaime Lizarraga.

This is a moment of great official pride as, last week, he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

His departure is also bittersweet for me, as he has been an invaluable member of our team for the last 15 years.

All of those who have ever had the privilege of working with Jaime know firsthand, he is the model of an outstanding, patriotic public servant in a bipartisan way.

He has dedicated his entire career to doing the people's work. He has excelled not only in my office but also on the House Financial Services Committee, where he worked with then-Chairman Barney Frank; at the Treasury Department; and as a staffer at the SEC.

Indeed, President Biden's selection of Jaime to serve on the SEC is a testament to Jaime's deep expertise, strategic mind, and strong values.

His unanimous confirmation in the Senate was a tremendous victory for working families and for the entire country.

Here in the House, his masterful leadership was instrumental in enabling and enacting some of the most consequential economic legislation in a generation. During the financial meltdown of 2008, he helped stabilize the markets with the Troubled Assets Relief Program,

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership on the very important elements of the rule that will be brought to the floor today. I thank him, and I thank all the members of the Rules Committee. I particularly want to acknowledge the leadership of Chairman Jim McGovern for his leadership in bringing so much

policy to bear in this one rule as we proceed with the week's legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in what is a momentous week for our House Democratic majority as we carry on our work to defend Americans' health, security, and freedom.

The rule includes five pieces of landmark legislation, which the gentleman, Mr. Morelle, has very clearly explained. I thank him and Mr. McGovern for their skilled leadership in assembling this rule and steering this crucial legislation to the floor.

First, this week we will have our version of the NDAA. It supports our Nation's servicemen and servicewomen, it strengthens our national security, and promotes national leadership in the global arena.

Our majority is delivering new pay raises for heroic men and women in uniform, while securing more investments in next-generation defense technology to keep us strong and qualitatively superior.

We are strengthening the security of DOD supply chains, while advancing new and fundamental research and development at HBCUs and MSIs.

We are further supporting the Ukrainian people in their fight for democracy with $1 billion in additional security assistance.

I salute Chairman Adam Smith and the Armed Services Committee for their persistent patriotic leadership in assembling this legislation, which will help ensure that Americans are safe and our democracy is secure.

Again, when we are talking about our security, we have to talk about our veterans. As we have said, we promised them when they fight for us, we will protect them when they come home. This bill, the PACT Act, takes another monumental step to care for our brave men and women in uniform--who risked their lives to fight the enemy, but now face the deadly threat of exposure to dangerous toxins.

The legislation in this bill, I believe, will be strongly bipartisan, deliver access to VA healthcare to millions of veterans suffering from dangerous diseases caused by their exposures.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Mark Takano for making and addressing toxic exposure as a top priority in Congress--the PACT Act.

Next, the Active Shooter Alert Act, which the gentleman from New York very clearly spelled out. We will pass the Active Shooter Alert Act-- Mr. Morelle described it very well--and I agree, it is a step, and we must have what he said he supports, and I do, too--the ban on assault weapons and other lethality.

This Federal legislation that we are doing today will quickly warn communities when a gunman opens fire. It is a commonsense, lifesaving measure widely supported by law enforcement.

Let us recognize Congressman David Cicilline, a longtime champion in the fight against gun violence, for spearheading this legislation, and also being the author of the assault weapons ban.

The fourth and fifth bills that our Democratic majority will pass this week take strong action to defend women's health and freedom.

Our Caucus has been hard at work assembling a robust and resolute legislative response to the Supreme Court's assault on reproductive rights. We passed this legislation before, the WHPA, the Women's Health Protection Act, which will enshrine the essential protections of Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.

And with our Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, we will reaffirm the constitutional right to travel and have access to the abortion pill.

Let us salute Congresswoman Judy Chu for her leadership. We passed this bill in the fall and we need to pass it again. We thank Congresswomen Fletcher and Strickland and Congressman Raskin for their tireless, determined leadership on the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act.

Madam Speaker, this legislation that the House Democrats will pass this week is the latest in our work to defend Americans' health, security, and freedom. Our majority will never relent in this fight-- now and in the future.

Madam Speaker, I urge a strong ``yes'' vote on the rule today and ``yes'' votes on the five bills that we are considering in the days ahead.