Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Torres and the CHC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, for their leadership on this issue.

As ICE detains record numbers of people in overcrowded, unsanitary immigration prisons, 56 people have died under Donald Trump's administration, a 22-year high.

Let's be very clear: It is all about the money. Two for-profit corporations, GEO Group and CoreCivic, operate the majority of detention beds. Together, they raked in $1.4 billion in quarterly revenue last spring. Every single night, U.S. taxpayers are paying $150 to $350 per person, per night to detain over 65,000 people.

The Trump administration has rolled back detention standards and gutted oversight, allowing corporations to cut corners and maximize profits.

GEO and CoreCivic donated nearly $2.8 million to Donald Trump's 2024 election. They are paying the administration to boost their profits at taxpayer expense.

Meanwhile, who is Trump detaining? By ICE's own statistics, 70 percent have no criminal record. Increasingly, these are people that ICE would never have detained before: pregnant women, people with serious medical conditions, parents, people with green cards, and people showing up to their immigration appointments.

As ranking member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, I am notified of every single death that happens in detention. Behind every single one is a name.

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo died at GEO Group's Delaney Hall. He was a 41- year-old father of a 12-year-old U.S. citizen. ICE refused to give him his diabetes medication. His brother said he couldn't get Tylenol, let alone proper care.

Nenko Gantchev died under similar circumstances at another GEO facility. His health seriously deteriorated in detention as ICE reportedly provided no accommodation for his diabetes.

The coroner declared one death a homicide--Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old father of four.

Two weeks ago, I led a congressional delegation to inspect CoreCivic's Stewart Detention Center. We met a young man who fled the war in Yemen and has been detained for 24 months. He has no criminal record. Just that morning, ICE pulled his tooth. Blood was still pooling in his mouth as he met with us.

We met a 72-year-old man whose U.S.-citizen wife is in end-stage renal failure. ICE picked him up at his green card appointment. He has no criminal record and just wants to care for his wife.

We met a woman who can no longer conceive because she was subjected to a medical procedure without her consent in ICE custody. She is having healthcare issues, but she is terrified to seek care again from ICE. Meanwhile, her teenage daughter is suffering alone. We are creating generational trauma.

In my district, ICE arrests are at an all-time high. GEO refuses to obey Washington State law or even allow health inspectors in.

This has never been about the so-called worst of the worst. It has always been about the right wing's racist, fascist vision of ridding America of immigrants.

Mr. Speaker, Americans are rejecting this. When I am chair of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee come January, I intend to hold these people accountable for the cruelty and corruption and pass comprehensive, humane immigration reform.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge the United States House of Representatives to pass my War Powers Resolution to end President Trump's illegal and unconstitutional war in Iran.

Let me be clear: We should not have to be here, yet again, voting on another War Powers Resolution. For the first time in history, both the House and Senate passed a War Powers Resolution to rein in this reckless war and reassert our constitutional authority under Article I, Section 8 to authorize the use of military force.

However, the President is, once again, showing his contempt for Congress and for the Constitution, continuing this destructive, deadly, and costly war despite Congress having already passed a War Powers Resolution that has the force of law declaring that this war must stop.

Instead of respecting Congress' Article I sole constitutional authorities over war, the President has doubled down on more illegal strikes, escalating the situation in the region and leading to more Iranian strikes that killed two United States soldiers as well as an additional servicemember who was killed during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian attack drone.

Gas prices across the country have gone up again. The memorandum of understanding has turned into a deadly memorandum of misunderstanding with the Iranian Government continuing to utilize leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.

This is an illegal and unconstitutional war waged without authorization from Congress and at a tremendous cost of a total of 18 U.S. servicemembers who have lost their lives and hundreds more who have been injured.

I give tremendous honor and respect to our servicemembers, those who serve, those who have sacrificed their lives, including U.S. Air Force Captain Ariana G. Savino who is from my home State of Washington.

The cost of this war is incalculable. Not only have we lost 18 U.S. servicemembers, but this war has been waged at the cost of thousands of civilians who have been displaced or killed in the region, and all on the backs of U.S. taxpayers who desperately want this administration to focus on the crisis of their pocketbooks: The basic inability of Americans in the richest country in the world to afford healthcare, gas, groceries, and housing.

From the beginning, this war has had no clear mission, no strategy, no end goal. It has been driven over and over again by a President who won his election by telling the American people that he would end forever wars and instead has launched us into more forever wars to distract the American people from the real issues they are facing at home.

As the secretary of forever wars, Pete Hegseth, announced, we have already spent $37.5 billion on this illegal and unconstitutional war. Donald Trump has called affordability a hoax, stated that we have no money for healthcare, and refused to sign a bipartisan bill to help address the housing crisis that this country is facing. Today, on the House floor, Republicans have put bills forward to demand $1.15 trillion for the Pentagon, the only Federal agency that has actually failed eight consecutive audits, and he is about to put another $73 billion into this illegal war.

What an insult to the tens of millions of Americans who have lost healthcare and nutrition assistance, all to pay, initially, for $4 trillion in tax breaks for giant corporations and billionaires.

Again, let's be very clear. The American people are paying the price of this war literally through our tax dollars that Donald Trump refuses to spend to benefit the lives of Americans here at home; through the lives of our United States servicemembers who ask only that their willingness and their pride in serving be rewarded with our real thoughtfulness of purpose before sending them into war; through the pain at the gas pump and the grocery store as prices continue to tick up; through the broken relationships with allies around the world who no longer believe that the United States is a real partner to them; through the sacrifices of the American people who desperately want this administration and this Congress to focus on making their lives affordable so they can actually thrive rather than just barely survive.

Regime change, Mr. Speaker, doesn't work. It never has, and it never will. In Iraq, more than 4,000 troops were killed and 32,000 were injured. In Afghanistan, 2,400 troops were killed, and 20,000 were injured. Those two wars alone cost at least $2.4 trillion, and neither led to freedom or peace for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the toll on our own people--lives lost and ruined, PTSD, wasted dollars--is immense.

We have got to stop thinking that bombs are the answer. They are not. Let us remember that it was Donald Trump in his first term who pulled us out of the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA, a landmark agreement negotiated by President Obama that required 2 years of careful negotiations to restrict Iran's ability to enrich and stockpile enriched uranium and to ensure regular inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, supply chains, and uranium mines. Had the JCPOA been left in place, we would not be in this situation today. It would have worked to minimize Iran's nuclear threat and strengthen Iranian civil society instead of slapping sanctions on and deepening the brutal regime's hold.

I want to thank Ranking Member Meeks for his tremendous leadership on this issue. I want to thank my Democratic and Republican colleagues who are voting for this bill for their clarity of conscience and of Constitution. I also want to thank Congressman Crow for his partnership on this War Powers Resolution as well as the bipartisan group of Members who have cosponsored, many of whom have served in uniform for our country and uniquely understand the immense sacrifice and duty of serving in our Armed Forces.

I hope that there are even more on the other side who listen to this debate and are moved to join us in passing this War Powers Resolution with even more strength in votes than the last one. Our Founders knew that going to war was one of the most solemn decisions that our country would face and that it had to be debated and authorized only by the elected Representatives of the people of the United States of America, Congress, not by a President who ignores his obligation to the institution and his obligation to the people of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this War Powers Resolution. We must end this war now.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crow).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado.

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

Mr. Speaker, this vote is a vote of conscience. We are begging our colleagues here in Congress to stand up for our fellow Americans, for the Constitution, and for our Article I powers that our Founders thought so carefully about when they wrote the Constitution.

This war is remarkably unpopular. It is so unpopular that it is America's least popular war since polls began, and that has been true since the first bombs were dropped. This war is unpopular even amongst President Donald Trump's own supporters.

Back in May, only half of self-proclaimed MAGA Republicans thought that the war was worth the cost. Now, 2 months later, only about a third do. That is a 13-point drop in just 2 months. Amongst all Americans, a staggering 70 percent disapprove of this President's handling of the war and almost two-thirds of all Americans, including over half of MAGA supporters, blame Trump's war on Iran for their rising prices.

I think it is important for us to understand that these moments of conscience in our country require a strength of conviction and courage that our constituents expect us to have.

When they elect us, they expect us to honor the oath of office that we took. They expect us to understand the implications of the responsibilities that are conferred on us by that United States Constitution. They expect us to vote regardless of party for the thing that will keep Americans safe. They expect us to take care of the needs that they have right here at home.

What we have seen over and over again is a refusal of this administration to do that. The lack of clarity about the reasons for this war are quite remarkable. The administration has continued to flip-flop between claiming that we have won the war and then later that more bombs are needed.

After Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025, the Trump administration told us that U.S. strikes on Iran had destroyed their military and obliterated nuclear programs. After the initial strikes on Iran, Secretary Hegseth said that the Iranian military was ``destroyed'' and ``made combat ineffective.''

In April, he declared Operation Epic Fury was a ``historic and overwhelming victory'' and that the United States achieved ``every single objective,'' but this is plainly false, and the American people know it.

Months after Hegseth claimed victory, Iran continued to strike American assets in the Middle East, kill American servicemembers, and close the Strait of Hormuz. The administration has clearly gotten us into a war that they have no clue how to get us out of.

Americans deserve a clear strategy, not shifting explanations that change by the day. They deserve thoughtful diplomacy, not tweets like the one the President just released today: ``From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by missile, rocket, drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran. Thank you for your attention to this matter, President Donald J. Trump.''

This is irresponsible behavior from the President of the United States. It is irresponsible behavior on the backs of War Powers Resolutions that passed in a bipartisan way in both the House and the Senate, telling the President to end this illegal and unconstitutional war.

It is irresponsible behavior that is going to lead to more deaths of United States servicemembers and civilians around the world. It does not deescalate. It does not create coalitions of allies. It does not do anything to address the issues that Americans are facing right here at home.

Mr. Speaker, I close where I started. This is a vote of conscience. This is a vote that requires us to find the strength to do what is right for the American people and to send the clearest, even stronger message to this President of the United States that the United States Congress, the House of Representatives, is reasserting our authority over war. This war must end. Vote ``yes'' on this War Powers Resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, how I would like to respond to the gentleman is: We actually need a strategy.

Have you seen a strategy of which ships are where? What are we planning to do? What is our end goal? How do we intend to achieve a mission?

We have had no classified briefings, not a single classified-- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida is now recognized.

Mr. Speaker, I would again respond to the chairman by asking: When will we have a single classified briefing, a single hearing in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on this war?

Is the chairman prepared to say that we will have that hearing on this war?

Why are we so afraid of having a public hearing on the issue of whether or not we should be at war in Iran? Where is the chairman's commitment to the American people?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear about what my colleagues are trying to do in their bill that they are advancing. They are trying to advance a fake stock trading ban. I want to be very clear: Their bill does not block insider trading, no matter what it is called.

It does not ban stock trading, which is the number one issue for over 80 percent of Americans who want Members of Congress to stop padding their own pockets instead of addressing their constituents' interests, things like ending the illegal war in Iran, bringing down gas prices, bringing down grocery prices, and investing in housing. None of that is going to be protected.

Their bill allows Members to still purchase private stocks, keep public stocks that they already own, and act on legislative matters that directly increase the value of their stocks. It allows Members to continue selling stocks that they know will decrease in value based on insider information they got while in Congress.

Their bill would do nothing to stop Congressman Rob Bresnahan, who just last year dumped $130,000 worth of stock in four Medicaid providers before he voted to slash Medicaid for constituents and people across the country.

It would do nothing to stop Congresswoman Lisa McClain, whose husband bought at least $100,000 worth of stock in Elon Musk's AI company shortly before its model was adopted by the Defense Department.

A Common Cause report published at the end of 2025 said that Members of Congress made 13,324 trades, totaling a whopping $635 million in 2025. This is absurd. No wonder we are governing in a moment when public trust is at historical lows.

Only 2 in 10 Americans trust the government to do what is right for them, and they are constantly seeing their elected officials selling them out to the highest bidder. They see the people elected to represent them instead making decisions to increase their own personal wealth and pad their profits.

Who is to blame for thinking that there is no trust in Congress, in the government, when there is a President who is openly profiting from the American people? He generated at least $2.2 billion in income in his first full year in office. Now, he is selling Wall Street firms early access to Truth Social posts, where he brings out information that is ``market movers.'' This is literally the highway to making profit.

The Republican proposal is nothing but a sham to score cheap political points before they go home to their constituents. It tries to make you forget that there is a real solution that I helped co-lead called the Restore Trust in Government Act, which actually does ban stock trading. It does ban insider trading. It does root out corruption in government. It does prohibit Presidents, Vice Presidents, Members of Congress, and their dependent children, spouses, and trustees from owning and trading individual stocks.

If this Republican majority were to bring that bill to the floor, if we were allowed to force a vote on these bills, they would actually pass, and Republicans would have to admit that their bill does nothing.

I thank the gentlewoman for those beautiful words and also for sharing this moment of celebration of Juniper Blessing and her life.

I am so proud that Juniper Blessing was a constituent of mine as well as a college student at the University of Washington in Seattle.

She was deeply loved and respected for who she was. At just 19 years old, she had already made her mark, and the tragedy of her murder leaves an incredible sense of pain in our community.

Here on the House floor, we send our thoughts, our prayers, and our commitment to her family, friends, and our entire community that we will continue to honor Juniper's incredible life, spirit, and light.

Juniper's friends have described her immense warmth, kindness, and commitment to justice. An incredibly talented woman, she shared her joy with our community through the arts and her singing voice. She said that her participation at the University of Washington's production of ``Considering Matthew Shepard,'' a musical response to the murder of a gay college student, was the most powerful thing she had ever been a part of.

She had a curiosity and love of planet and people that showed up in her choice of majors: atmospheric science specializing in meteorology and hurricane tracking with minors in both philosophy and music.

She was beloved on campus. Just a few weeks ago, the University of Washington community took part in an honor walk across campus carrying pieces of her memorial from Red Square to Mary Gates Hall where a new memorial will remain through September as a place for reflection and remembrance.

Let's honor Juniper's life and legacy to make this moment a rallying cry of love to all our transgender students at the University of Washington and across the country and a display of our strength and commitment that comes in times of tragedy to embrace even more tightly the right to freely and safely express who you are.

To the people at the University of Washington and my district and across the country, know that you are loved, and we will never stop fighting for the right for everyone to be who they are.

I now ask for a moment of silence to honor the incredible life of Juniper Blessing.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Ramirez for her leadership and for consistently fighting for immigrants across this country.

Today, as we recognize Immigrant Heritage Month, immigrants and people of all statuses face horrific, unprecedented attacks from the Trump administration. Even as this administration does everything possible to attack immigrants and those who stand with them, what we see is incredible strength, resilience, organizing, and leadership.

What is the message of all of that? The message is that immigration and immigrants have and always will make us better as a country.

I am very proud to be the first Indian American--in fact, the first South Asian-American woman elected to the House and one of just two dozen naturalized citizens to serve in Congress.

I came to this country alone when I was 16 years old. My parents had very meager savings, but they used all of it to send me to this country because they believed so much that this was the place that I would have the best education and the most opportunities.

Well, it took me 17 years to get my citizenship. I was on an alphabet soup of visas for that time. Now, I am so proud to be the first naturalized citizen to serve as the ranking member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee.

In that role, I have held accountability hearings and roundtables here in Washington, D.C., and across the country to hear people's stories and to shine a light on how the administration is harming our communities and how we can fight back.

What I have heard overwhelmingly, no matter where I am, is people from all walks of life saying no to these anti-immigrant actions from this administration. People are determined to ensure that our country remains a welcoming place for people around the globe.

We see neighbors organizing food delivery and carpools for families who are afraid to leave their homes. We see gatherings at schools for dropoff and pickup to keep kids safe. We see organizing in communities to be prepared to document ICE and CBP abuses and hold this administration accountable.

I have heard from a young man who is Active-Duty military serving his country despite this country deporting his father, and a young woman trying to juggle pursuing her education while caring for her young sibling after ICE detained her mother.

I know organizational leaders across the country who are citizens and should have nothing to fear but have been forced to move their families into safe houses. They are determined to continue demanding justice nevertheless. I was moved to hear from one person in the Twin Cities that they need to have their neighbors' backs because their communities are not whole without them.

These sentiments, again, reflect the love and generosity of the American people and their understanding that immigrants are vital to all of our communities.

In my hometown of Seattle, immigrants contribute to every sector of our economy, just like they do across

the country. Seattle is a hub of creation, developing and advancing cutting-edge technology and research. Nearly 160,000 immigrants in Seattle work in STEM. Over 40 percent of people in Seattle with STEM degrees are immigrants.

Immigrants also make tremendous contributions in construction and housing. We are an agricultural State, and we have immigrants working across our farms everywhere--and in manufacturing and business.

As Republicans raise costs and destroy our safety net, it is immigrants who are keeping Social Security afloat. A report from the Social Security trustees shows that immigration improves the Social Security trust fund's solvency, specifically showing that when immigration increases, the trust fund's deficit decreases.

Just looking at 2022, undocumented immigrants paid $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes that take care of our seniors who are receiving Social Security today. They contribute even as they have no expectation of ever benefiting.

Donald Trump and Stephen Miller always claimed that they were going after the worst of the worst. That is clearly not what has happened. Rather, they have been about ending all immigration to this country of any kind.

Since Trump came into office, 400,000 people have been detained across the interior of our country. That includes parents of U.S. citizen children, which has harmed over 11,000 kids.

USCIS data shows sharp declines in approvals for all kinds of immigration benefits, including work visas and family reunification. In 2025, overall approvals dropped 27 percent. We don't have full data on student visas yet, but what we do have shows a 31-percent decrease.

Mr. Speaker, this is all inflicting lasting harm on our economy and our country. Immigrants are an essential part of our history, our present, and our future. I will never stop fighting for a comprehensive, humane immigration system that recognizes the tremendous contributions, the values, and the threads that immigrants weave throughout this country to make us as a country whole.

This has never just been about immigration. It is about who we are as a country and what we are willing to stand up for.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Rafe Pomerance. Rafe passed away on May 21 at the age of 79 in Washington, D.C. Rafe fiercely and steadfastly championed environmental causes for nearly five decades.

Rafe was a beloved advocate for climate action. Born in New York City in 1946, Rafe grew up among nature in Connecticut and was a graduate of Cornell University. He was an activist, organizer, policy expert, and diplomat.

The New York Times described him as the ``Paul Revere of Climate Change,'' an environmentalist who discovered an obscure 1979 report that burning coal heats the atmosphere, a man who devoted his life to warning the public and policymakers about the dangers of climate change. He dedicated his life to uplifting the dangers of climate change and was instrumental in advancing awareness of the issue.

Rafe set the foundation for understanding climate change as a comprehensive problem that demanded urgent policy action.

When Rafe first started this work, inspired by a report by the Environmental Protection Agency on the impact of coal emissions on global warming, the risks of climate change were not being recognized or addressed. Scientists had been measuring increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration since the early 1960s, but their warnings remained largely overlooked by both governments and civil society.

Rafe was one of the few who recognized the magnitude of the threat and was compelled to sound the alarm. He organized the first briefings ever about climate change with policymakers, developed relationships with news media to bring the issue into public view and mobilize stakeholder groups to pursue collective action.

Today, climate change is one of the key issues driving political discourse, in large part because of Rafe's early leadership and insistence that we could not afford to look away.

Throughout his distinguished career, Rafe served the American people in government and nonprofits. He was the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment and Development from 1993 to 1999. In this capacity, he represented the United States at both the Berlin and Kyoto Conferences of the Parties. Rafe was instrumental in organizing the 1986 Senate hearings on climate change and helped negotiate a landmark UN treaty on global greenhouse emissions.

Rafe was a dedicated champion for the environment at a number of organizations including Friends of the

Earth, the World Resources Institute, the Climate Policy Center, Arctic 21, the Polar Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, American Rivers, the League of Conservation Voters, Climate Action Network, and the Potomac Conservancy.

Rafe continued his advocacy until his passing, primarily through his leadership on the Upper Limit Project, an effort to establish an upper limit on sea level rise in order to protect coastal communities and help the world better understand the real-world consequences of climate change.

Through that work, he argued that climate policy must not only focus on temperature targets but also on preventing catastrophic sea level rise that threatens economies, ecosystems, and the future of coastal cities around the world. He continued his advocacy literally until the last days, until his passing, remaining an outspoken leader on the need for urgent action to save our planet.

I was blessed to know Rafe through his daughter, Lilah Pomerance, who has served as my incredible chief of staff for the past 6 years here in Congress. I see Rafe's legacy exhibited in her every day. The commitment to service, compassion, and big ideas that drove him have been passed to the next generation, and I am so grateful for this and for all of Rafe's contributions to our planet and our people.

I am proud to be joined in the Chamber today by Lilah; her husband, Dan; and her daughter, Noa, as we celebrate Rafe's life and contributions.

Rafe is survived by his wife, Lenore Pomerance; his children, Lilah, Benjamin, and Ethan; two siblings; and seven grandchildren.

Through his enduring legacy and his love for his family, for his friends, for his community, and for this planet that we live on, Rafe's legacy will continue to shape the fight against climate change and touch the lives of so many across the world.

I thank Rafe Pomerance.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans called us up at the last minute to do yet another short-term extension of FISA.

This is just a sham. It has been months now, and we have done multiple short-term extensions. I voted against the last one because I knew that there was not actually going to be a reform proposal put on the table because, suddenly, even the bipartisan members, including my good friend, the Chairman, who has been with us for these reforms in the past, suddenly have decided that they are just going to bow down to what Donald Trump wants. Donald Trump doesn't want any reforms.

We know what the American people want. They want a warrant requirement. That is a bipartisan position. If you put a warrant requirement on the floor right now, it would pass. Maybe the President would have to veto it, but it would pass. People would see that the Congress of the United States is standing up for the privacy rights of Americans that are guaranteed in our Constitution.

This is not about national security versus constitutional rights. This is about how we do both together.

This is about how we do both, and we can do that. What Americans have said over and over again is: No more secret searches of Americans' private communications. They want their basic right to privacy respected, and there is a path to get there.

The Chairman has been on our side. We got so close just a couple of years ago. We could have gotten it done. We didn't get it done then, but we can get it done now. It requires saying no to Donald Trump. It requires saying, no, you can't put Bill Pulte in as the ODNI because this guy is not to be trusted with any of our information.

Vote ``no'' on this extension. Let's get a real reform package passed.

Mr. Speaker, gas prices have almost doubled since Trump came in and started his illegal Iran war. Groceries, housing, and healthcare are all unaffordable.

Republicans would have you believe that there is no money to help working families. Trump himself said that he does not ``think about Americans' financial situation,'' and he said that it is ``not possible'' for the government to fund Medicare, Medicaid, and childcare.

Just last week, Republicans slashed $141 million for food for pregnant women and children, but now, magically, Republicans have found another $70 billion for ICE and CBP, even though those agencies still have $100 billion left from the $140 billion that Republicans gave them in the big, bad, betrayal bill.

Meanwhile, Trump's masked ICE agents are killing U.S. citizens in broad daylight, kidnapping and disappearing parents in front of their children's schools, and ramming down doors without warrants.

Private, for-profit prison operators are laughing all the way to the bank as they rake in billions in profits by incarcerating over 60,000 immigrants of all immigration statuses every single night, refusing to uphold basic standards or give medical care to people in custody.

Mr. Speaker, since Trump came back into office, as ranking member of the Immigration Subcommittee, I get notified every time there is a death in detention, and there have been 50 unprecedented deaths in detention since Trump came into office. This bill has zero guardrails and throws another $70 billion to ICE and CBP. Vote ``no.'' It is a sham.

Mr. Speaker, I missed Roll Call Vote Nos. 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, and 200 on June 3, 2026. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: Yea on Roll Call No. 192; Yea on Roll Call No. 193; Nay on Roll Call No. 194; Nay on Roll Call No. 195; Yea on Roll Call No. 196; Yea on Roll Call No. 197; Nay on Roll Call No. 198; Yea on Roll Call No. 199; and Yea on Roll Call No. 200.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, if the majority is so confident in its position, I don't know why we wouldn't be debating this in a regular debate around the authorization of use of military force.

Mr. Speaker, we have been in this illegal, unconstitutional war for 81 days. We have spent at least $29 billion of taxpayers' money. While Trump says that we have no money for healthcare or housing, inflation is at a 3-year high. Gas in my home State costs $6 a gallon. Travel costs are up right now in the summer months when American families are hoping to go on vacation.

Iran now more clearly controls the Strait of Hormuz and the flow of oil than ever before. We are in a worse place than we were during Barack Obama's Presidency, when we had the Iran nuclear deal in place, until Donald Trump pulled us out of it.

The reality is that, meanwhile, we have lost 13 U.S. troops. Thousands of Iranian and Lebanese civilians have died. Millions more have been displaced, and there is chaos across the region and across the world.

More Republicans need to step up and vote with us to stop this illegal war and force this President to focus on the needs of the American people right here at home, even though he keeps doubling down on his own comments that he doesn't care about or doesn't think about the financial situation of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, Congress has the sole authority to declare war. I don't understand why my Republican colleagues across the aisle don't want to hold the constitutional powers that are granted to this body in Article I. Why not stand up for the things that the Founders put into the Constitution to assure that there would be a debate, that there would be checks and balances, and that there would be authorization from this body to declare war?

Why not stand up for the people at home who are wondering when on Earth we are going to stand up and fight for their price of groceries to go down and the price of gas to go down? The fact that Americans have had healthcare stripped away from them, this is a clear ``yes'' on this War Powers Resolution.

Mr. Speaker, this budget resolution is a total insult to the American people. Instead of addressing the rising prices of gas, groceries, housing, childcare, the things that actually allow people to survive in an economy that Republicans have rigged for the billionaires, this resolution puts another $70 billion into ICE and CBP. That is on top of the $170 billion slush fund that was given to these agencies in the Republican's big, bad betrayal bill last year that allowed ICE and CBP to carry out a violent, cruel, unconstitutional campaign of terror in communities across this country, killing Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota; conducting a campaign of mass detentions, detaining an unprecedented number of people, which has resulted in a record 47 deaths; locking up children and using them as bait for their parents; and terrorizing schools, churches, and hospitals with their activity.

Meanwhile, Republicans refuse to address the rising costs that Americans are dealing with because this administration refuses to put the people first.

Americans of every political stripe do not want more money to go to ICE's slush fund. What they want is real reforms to ICE and CBP to rein in the lawlessness. What they want is for the administration to get serious about cutting their costs instead of catering to Trump's cronies. Vote ``no'' on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this bill to reauthorize FISA with no reforms. I have long worked on bipartisan reforms that protect the privacy of Americans, and, frankly, I am sad that some of my colleagues across the aisle who were part of that struggle have caved to Donald Trump.

However, the reality is that Americans across the political spectrum out there, outside of Congress, want us to reform FISA so that the government does not spy on them. That has never been more necessary than right now as Donald Trump and Stephen Miller openly use domestic surveillance to suppress our rights.

Trump blacklisted Anthropic for refusing to drop its condition that their AI technology never be used to facilitate domestic mass surveillance targeting Americans. Law enforcement has used Americans' sensitive data to punish women seeking reproductive care, and ICE has deliberately used data to suppress First Amendment activity.

Why is it so hard for the majority to just assure Americans that the FBI will get a damn warrant to access their sensitive data?

Americans don't want to be spied on, and I have been consistent on this, pushing Democratic Presidents and Republican Presidents.

Mr. Speaker, this bill continues to allow the FBI to spy on you and offers zero reforms. Vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Mary E. Brunkow and the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle on the award of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, one of the most prestigious honors in science.

A resident of Seattle and a Distinguished Investigator at ISB, Dr. Brunkow has made transformative contributions to immunology through her groundbreaking research on regulatory T cells and the FOXP3 gene, a key regulator of peripheral immune tolerance--the process by which the immune system avoids attacking the body's own tissues. In collaboration with Dr. Fred Ramsdell and building on foundational work by Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi, she helped uncover the genetic and cellular mechanisms that safeguard immune balance, reshaping the field and laying the foundation for new treatments for autoimmune diseases, improved organ transplantation, and cancer immunotherapy.

Dr. Brunkow's pioneering work has fundamentally advanced our understanding of how the immune system functions and stands as a powerful example of the kind of federally supported biomedical research that improves lives, fuels innovation, and keeps the United States at the forefront of global scientific leadership.

This Nobel-winning discovery reflects the return on our Nation's investment in science. Dr. Brunkw's work is a reminder of why we must continue to support institutions like ISB and ensure that scientists have the resources they need to make the next breakthrough.

On behalf of Washington's 7th Congressional District and the broader scientific community, I extend my deepest congratulations to Dr. Mary E. Brunkow. Her discoveries have reshaped medicine and immunology, and her legacy will continue to inspire future generations of scientists, clinicians, and innovators. I urge my colleagues to join me in celebrating her extraordinary contributions to science, health, and humanity, and to recommit to strong, sustained federal investment in biomedical research.

Mr. Speaker, President Trump has illegally and unconstitutionally taken us into an expensive and dangerous war with Iran. The war has cost taxpayers $50 billion already, and the Pentagon will request $200 billion more on top of a record $1.5 trillion budget request.

We have already lost 13 U.S. troops, including Major Ariana Savino from my home State of Washington. We have killed thousands of Iranian and Lebanese civilians and displaced millions more. Gas prices at home are up to $7 in my home State, and families are hurting. Another 10,000 U.S. troops are being sent in to join 50,000 already stationed in the Middle East, with absolutely no strategy, no plan, and no exit.

Meanwhile, the madman in the White House tweets about exterminating an entire civilization, rages at the Pope for calling for peace, and pretends that he is Jesus. We cannot allow this to continue. Let's rein in this President and restore the sole authority of Congress and Congress alone to go to war. Vote ``yes.''

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1689 to designate Haiti for temporary protected status, or TPS, and I thank Representatives Pressley and Gillen for their incredible tenacity and leadership in building the bipartisan coalition needed to get this bill to the floor. This is a hopeful moment for so many across the country to take a positive step forward on immigration policy in America after so much darkness.

TPS was established with broad, bipartisan support in 1990 to provide people who are already in the United States a safe haven when their home countries are devastated by armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. TPS is built on the simple idea that America should not force people back to deadly and life-threatening conditions, a principle that has guided both Republican and Democratic administrations for decades.

Today, the Trump administration is dismantling this longstanding commitment to our core values, attempting to end TPS for countries where the conditions are still incredibly dangerous.

One country with which the President has seemed obsessed since his first term is Haiti. The President has called Haiti a S-hole country and cruelly attempted to end its TPS designation during his first term. Luckily, that was stopped by the lower courts, but the threat remains.

In less than 2 weeks, the ability of the Trump administration to end TPS for Haiti will be heard by the Supreme Court. Today, over 350,000 Haitians have TPS. It would be unconscionable to send them back to Haiti, an action that would lead to people's deaths. That goes against everything this country is supposed to stand for.

For years, Haiti has been dealing with significant political turmoil that has resulted in instability all over the country. Our own State Department has issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for Haiti. They say that individuals should not travel to Haiti due to ``kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited healthcare.'' The country has been in a state of emergency since March of 2024. Terminating TPS means the United States of America is forcing people to return to real and imminent harm, even death.

However, this isn't just about what is right and wrong for Haitians or for other TPS holders, Mr. Speaker. It is also about what benefits Americans. Despite all the lies and misinformation spread by this administration and its rightwing echo chamber, TPS broadly, and Haitian TPS holders specifically, are good for our communities and our economy.

TPS has allowed hundreds of thousands of people to work legally and to contribute to our economy. Haitian TPS recipients, in particular, regularly work in industries that are currently experiencing severe labor shortages, like construction and hospitality and healthcare.

In healthcare alone, Haitians are the sixth largest group of workers, making up one in five nursing assistants, personal care aides, and home health aides. These workers keep our economy running, helping businesses that struggle to fill jobs. They pay taxes, support local businesses, and contribute billions of dollars to our economy every single year.

Each year, TPS holders from Haiti who reside in the U.S. earn $3.9 billion in total household income. They pay a total of $983.9 million in taxes, including $600.8 million in Federal taxes and $383.1 million in State and local taxes, and they hold $2.9 billion in spending power.

Many Haitian TPS holders have lived in the United States for many years. They have followed our laws, paid their taxes, and demonstrated their commitment to this country. Instead of stripping them of legal status and sending them back to dangerous conditions, we should be providing them with a path to long-term stability.

Donald Trump ran on a false promise, that he would get rid of the ``worst of the worst,'' but instead his administration has been moving forward their real goal: Ending all legal immigration to this country. Just a few days ago, the conservative CATO Institute published a report showing that Trump has cut legal immigration by 2.5 times as much as undocumented immigration since coming into office this term.

Unlawful immigration had already fallen substantially, even before Trump took office, because the Biden administration expanded the legal pathways that people had to be here with legal presence, work and contribute. However, instead of maintaining that, Trump and Stephen Miller have done everything possible to destroy all legal immigration to this country, including eliminating TPS.

H.R. 1689 provides a glimmer of hope to immigrant communities across the country, starting with Haitians. It tells them that we value their work and contributions to our country. It tells them that we won't send them to their deaths. It tells them that America still welcomes the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Gillen), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), who has been such a leader on bringing this bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida.

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

Mr. Speaker, in closing, temporary protected status was created to ensure that our country is never forced to send someone back to harm's way. So long as dangerous conditions exist in someone's country of origin, TPS is meant to authorize them to remain here until that danger has passed.

Our government recognizes the real and present dangers right now in Haiti. Nonessential personnel have been evacuated from the country, and the State Department continues to tell Americans not to travel to Haiti. The government instructs people who must go to Haiti to establish ``a proof of life protocol'' with their family members, to

make funeral plans, and draft a will before they travel to the country.

Yet that same government expects us to believe that it is safer for Haitians to return to Haiti. They warn us about the imminent risk of death that comes with traveling to Haiti but have no qualms of sending 350,000 people who have been living in this country and contributing to their communities right here at home.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later this month on whether the administration's termination of TPS was lawful. With the bill before us today, we can send a strong bipartisan message to the court that this body recognizes the reality that Haiti remains deeply unsafe, is in no way prepared to accept hundreds of thousands of people returning, and that the TPS designation for Haiti should remain in effect.

Now, Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot said on this floor today. I haven't challenged every single thing, but what I want the American people to know is there is a lot of misinformation being spread about Haitian TPS holders, about TPS holders in general, and about immigrants.

Someone earlier talked about how the American people don't want immigrants in this country. That is absolutely not true. There is a record-high support for legal pathways and a general belief that immigration is good for this country. A record high 79 percent of Americans now say that immigration is a good thing for the United States, and only 30 percent of Americans actually want to see decreased levels of demand. That is in part because this administration promised to deport only the worst of the worst and then went out and kidnapped and disappeared people, incarcerates children, and is committing cruelty, including murdering U.S. citizens in the streets.

The reality is that Haitians are contributing to communities across this country: 21 percent of Haitians in healthcare, 19 percent in retail, 15 percent in education and social services, 15,000 Haitians in agriculture, and 14.5 percent of Haitians are small business owners who are generating over $1.5 billion in revenue.

We love to take all of the services that immigrants provide to this country and then establish a level of cruelty toward those same immigrants. That is not right.

Mr. Speaker, as one of the very few naturalized citizens to serve in this country, it is difficult for me to constantly listen to the anti- immigrant rhetoric that comes from the other side, the cruelty that comes from this administration, when I myself know what this process is. I have been through it.

The reality is immigrants are contributing. Haitian immigrants who are here are working in their communities. It is why there is also a record level of support for continuing Haitian TPS. The public polling on TPS for Haitians: 90 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Independents, and almost half of Republicans support that.

I am grateful to the Republicans who came forward to sign the discharge petition to bring this bill to the floor. I am grateful for any Republicans who vote today for this bill because what the American people want is to respect the contributions of immigrants across this country who are helping to build our communities. That is what Haitians are doing for us right now, and it is exactly why I hope all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support this bipartisan, critically important bill.

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

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