Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Democratic Caucus, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Democratic Caucus, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Democratic Caucus, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Democratic Caucus, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I wasn't present for Roll Call No. 345 on agreeing to the amendment introduced by Rep. Joe Neguse on H.R. 7900.

Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 345 on

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Democratic Caucus, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Democratic Caucus, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Democratic Caucus, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the rules package which was written behind closed doors.

What we are voting on this evening is nothing short of a complete surrender to the demands of the most extreme Republicans on the other side of the aisle.

Rather than taking this opportunity to bring us together, the adoption of this rules package sets us on a path of division and default. The extremists plan to use these rules to hold the economy hostage in order to enact more cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

Mr. Speaker, last week our Nation saw the lowest unemployment in 50 years, a testament to the leadership of President Biden and House Democrats. Yet, it is clear that the new majority is determined to undermine that economic recovery at every turn.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote.

Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Hakeem Jeffries of New York for Speaker of this House.

Madam Clerk, I speak on behalf of the Democratic Caucus when I say that there is no victory in adjourning without doing the business of the people.

Madam Clerk, House Democrats are united behind a champion of expanding and protecting the right to vote. Since the beginning of 2021, 21 State legislatures have passed 42 restrictive voting laws. Hakeem has stood up against voter suppression in the new Jim Crow era every step of the way.

As we begin a new Congress, we need a leader who believes in strengthening democracy, who understands that to cast a vote is a sacred responsibility that should be afforded to the many, not the privileged or the select few. Hakeem understands that in order for us to be a more perfect Union, we can't deny the voices of individuals in the democratic process.

Madam Clerk, today, we affirm our support of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Madam Clerk, that is why I am directed by the Democratic Caucus to advance the name of Hakeem Jeffries from New York as Speaker.

Madam Clerk, I rise again to nominate Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker of the House.

Madam Clerk, I thank my colleague on the other side of the aisle for sharing his American Dream story and to his family for being with him at his side.

It is our hope that this Chamber gets down to the business so he and all the new Members in this Chamber can be sworn in to do the work of the people.

That is why House Democrats stand united, again, on this ballot to make sure that Hakeem Jeffries is the lead vote-getter in this Chamber. It is also why it is important, just as I relayed a few days ago, Madam Clerk, the importance of the character of Hakeem Jeffries, who he is, his story, and why he should be given an opportunity to lead this Chamber.

In New York, after the fifth grade, you can't get on a bus to go to school anymore. You have to take alternate means. You can walk or you can take a train. In sixth grade, Hakeem and his brother would walk to the train station, take the train, get off the train, and walk to school.

Now, there is a little disagreement in the Jeffries' household as to how many days his father took him on that route before he let him navigate that route with his younger brother.

The character it takes for an older brother in sixth grade and his fourth-grade little brother to go to school each and every day in New York, to be

on their own, to handle themselves and to handle each other, that is the character of this man.

That is the character of a leader you want in this Chamber. He is going to be the one who walks with you, who sees you through the day, who makes sure your priorities are his priorities. And at the end of the day, when it is just you and he, he is going to make sure we all do the business of this body, and we all get home for our families.

There is nothing more important than the work that we do in this Chamber for the American people: safeguarding priorities like Social Security and Medicare; making sure that our families are taken care of; making sure that the families in our communities are taken care of.

What we have seen in this Chamber is tough. It is tough to watch. It is tough to imagine what would happen in this Chamber today if we were debating Social Security and Medicare.

What would happen?

What would the votes be?

Where would people stand?

That is why it is important that Hakeem Jeffries leads this body.

On behalf of the Democratic Caucus, I am nominating the leader of the governing party in this Chamber, Hakeem Jeffries from New York.

Madam Clerk, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chair Lofgren and the vice chair of the January 6 Select Committee, my colleague from Wyoming, Liz Cheney, for their leadership in bringing this bill to us.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8873, the bipartisan Presidential Election Reform Act. This bill makes important changes to the laws that govern the cornerstone of our democracy, a peaceful transfer of power.

These changes benefit no political party, and they do not give political advantage to any particular candidate. This bill simply protects the rule of law from those who would seek to upend it.

Our Republican colleagues who are opposed to this legislation, once again find themselves on the side of violent extremists. Madam Speaker, after what we saw on January 6 and what the Select Committee has demonstrated, that those seeking to overturn the election were exploiting the vulnerabilities in the law this bill remedies, I am not sure how anyone could oppose this piece of legislation.

The choice before this body is clear: Protect the rule of law, strengthen the Constitution, and vote against insurrection.

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

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 5916, the Wounded Warrior Access Act.

When veterans file claims to the VA, they are given what is called a c-file. My office has heard from countless numbers of veterans who have had trouble accessing these c-files through the VA's outdated and antiquated system. Our veterans need these files in order to access benefits that they have earned or appeal the VA's decisions about their claims.

That is why, Mr. Speaker, this legislation is so important. The veterans in the Inland Empire and across this country need an easy way to access

their information without jumping through these hoops. My bill is a commonsense solution that updates an antiquated system.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Takano and members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee for their leadership in bringing this bill to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``aye'' on

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor one of California's favorite adopted Iowans. Bob Arnould, a former Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives and fierce advocate for not-for-profit credit unions, has officially retired from his role as a Chief Advocate for his industry. I've had the pleasure of working with Bob and rise to honor both a good friend and a visionary leader.

Bob started at the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues as the Director of State Government Affairs. His team was responsible for all credit union advocacy measures in the world's fifth-largest economy at a time when the state was shifting politically, and the financial services sector was under the microscope for every act of lending. Credit union advocacy was still new to the Legislature and Bob made it his mission to develop long lasting relationships with the state's leaders.

This is where Bob grew the advocacy program from an organizational standpoint, which has changed California and Nevada credit unions, as well as the lives of their leaders and members. As he advanced to Vice President and eventually Senior Vice President of Advocacy, Bob expanded the three-person office to a full team devoted to advocacy's ``three-legged stool'' as he calls it: lobbying, political action and grassroots engagement. He developed and fostered a team that would go on to become a force in Sacramento and Carson City. Legislators, some of them my colleagues now, knew that when credit unions walked in the door, they could not be an afterthought.

Before coming to the Leagues, Bob was the Speaker of the Iowa State Assembly. For 20 years before that, he worked his way up from rank-and- file Assemblyman, through committee chairs and party leaders, to a political career eventually culminating in the Speakership. He worked in the Iowa Caucuses and ran campaigns from his young 20's, until he came to California and the Leagues in the late '90s. To earn this level of trust among the Iowa community, he had to demonstrate a level of community devotion and something else rarely found in politicians: humility. Those who know and work with Bob to this day know that he embodies this.

Encapsulating Bob's leadership throughout the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues is not an easy task. He is a visionary leader, honest and decent person, but I'm proud to know him most as a good friend. His entire career has been dedicated to one mission statement, it's less about you, and all about them: the community, the people, everyone. Bob makes it 100 percent about you.

Rarely has there been a leader with such humility who recognizes that all great leaders give away their credit to allow others to rise. That is how he has accomplished so much.

Madam Speaker, please join me in honoring Speaker Bob Arnould.