Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in favor of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.

As the chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, I was proud to work in a bipartisan fashion along with my friend Ranking Member Seth Moulton on some of the most consequential issues to our national security.

This legislation authorizes full funding to keep modernizing the Nation's nuclear forces as well as the Department of Energy's scientific and production capabilities upon which our deterrent depends.

It also approves acquisition flexibility for the nuclear enterprise and refocuses statutory requirements related to plutonium pit production on the long-term need for the deterrent.

We authorize significant increases for many programs that support the Golden Dome Initiative and border missile defense efforts, including space-based sensing, development of the Next-Generation Interceptor, and procurement of Standard Missile 3 interceptors.

In space, we require a single official to lead the vital positioning, navigation, and timing enterprise and eliminate the current PNT bureaucracy. We also streamline redundant space acquisition organizations to build on the progress made last year to reform acquisitions.

Perhaps most importantly, this bill authorizes a historic increase in the Space Force's budget. This will allow them bring online the next generation of systems necessary to fight and win in space and support new missions to address emerging threats.

This bill prioritizes the industrial base, expands U.S. defense production capacity, and supports the President's request to raise all servicemembers' pay. It rebuilds depleted munition stockpiles through new authorities and saves taxpayers over $30 billion by cutting inefficient programs and government bureaucracy.

I encourage all of my colleagues to vote in support of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Eddie Hart for his induction into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

A Californian from birth, Eddie won State and NCAA titles during his collegiate track and field career where he became known as one of the top sprinters in the Nation.

Eddie's performance in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games earned him the title the ``World's Fastest Human'' and a gold medal for him and the United States of America.

Today, Eddie serves disadvantaged youth in our community through his Eddie Hart All In One Foundation.

Eddie's commitment to service and his athletic excellence has touched countless lives for generations.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in recognizing Eddie Hart, gold medalist, for his induction into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. Eddie Hart was once the world's fastest human. He is still one of the world's best humans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Smith, and Ranking Member Seth Moulton on the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the compromise bill for the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. This bill continues the fundamental reforms to defense acquisition that started in our committee and supports a fighting force that will stand against those who threaten the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, as the chair of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, I am proud the compromise product builds on the subcommittee's work to enhance our National Security Space capabilities, strengthen our nuclear forces, and expand our missile defense, all critical elements of our national security.

First and foremost, this bill supports the continued modernization of our Nation's nuclear triad, our nuclear command and control systems, and the scientific capabilities that maintain our nuclear stockpile. We also established a new Rapid Capabilities Program within the National Nuclear Security Administration to enhance our ability to respond to growing nuclear threats from China and Russia.

Our adversaries, China in particular, continue to rapidly develop and deploy new nuclear weapons, while U.S. nuclear capabilities can take over a decade to design, develop, and produce.

This bill will apply innovative and rapid acquisition approaches to keep pace with the dynamic threat environment and ensure our Nation continues to field a nuclear deterrent that is second to none.

For the defense of this homeland, the bill supports development of the Golden Dome system to achieve President Trump's bold vision. It also includes multiyear procurement authority and additional resources to expand production of critical missile defense interceptors.

In space, we push to sustain the growth and development of Space Force Guardians. We must ensure we have the highly skilled and technically proficient acquisition cadre capable of bringing online the next generation of systems necessary to fight and win in space.

As we develop those space systems, we are going to need both better- trained acquisition Guardians and more of them. The joint force will be looking to these professionals to deliver significant portions of the Golden Dome architecture. This bill helps them do that.

We also ensure that the National Security Space Launch enterprise is led by one individual who has the authority to make decisions and make trades to support the warfighter.

This bill revitalizes the defense industrial base and American manufacturing, supports a well-deserved pay raise for our servicemembers, creates a more lethal and agile force to counter our adversaries, and secures our Nation's borders, all while saving taxpayers over $20 billion through cutting inefficient programs and government bureaucracy. This is a compromise bill that meets the moment and the need to support our warfighters and protect our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud the work of this committee to bring forth this strong bipartisan bill, and I encourage all my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today with our Republican colleagues, including Mr. Fleischmann, who joins me as the dean of our Republican delegation, to welcome our new colleague to the House.

Matt Van Epps brings a great personal story to us here in the Congress. He is a West Point graduate and a lieutenant colonel, and he has a distinguished record of combat service as a helicopter pilot and mission commander.

He is a proven leader with government experience as a member of Governor Bill Lee's Cabinet, serving as the commissioner of the Department of General Services for the State of Tennessee, managing the day-to-day operations of just about every aspect of Tennessee State government.

Most importantly, he is a husband and father, titles much more important than the one he will soon have as Congressman. We are also happy that Meg and Emilia are here, as well as so many other family and friends joining him on this momentous occasion.

Matt has lived his life to the values of duty, honor, and country, and I know that he will carry those values into the Congress. We are excited to have him working with us, and I know so many in this Chamber on both sides of the aisle will also appreciate and enjoy serving with him, as well.

Matt, let me quickly interject here. This institution is built on debate, and as every Member in this Chamber can tell you, we don't always agree on things. Matt, let me give you your first chance at providing a rebuttal. As the father of a Naval Academy graduate, we have a pretty important game coming up, so I will simply say: Go Navy, beat Army.

Mr. Speaker, I now welcome and yield to the gentleman from Tennessee's Seventh Congressional District, Congressman Matt Van Epps, for his response.

Madam Chair, I thank Chairman Rogers for the time.

Madam Chair, I rise today in favor of the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. This bill fundamentally reforms defense acquisition to support a fighting force that will stand against those who threaten the United States of America.

As the chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, I was proud to work in a bipartisan fashion to support some of the most critical elements of our national defense. First, and perhaps most importantly, we continue to support the modernization of our nuclear triad, as well as the scientific capabilities and the NC3 architecture that underpin it. We also established a new rapid capabilities program within the NNSA to enhance our ability to respond to growing nuclear threats from China and Russia.

As China's recent military parade demonstrated, our adversaries continue to rapidly develop and deploy new nuclear weapons. On the other hand, U.S. nuclear capabilities can take over a decade to design and develop. This bill would apply innovative and rapid approaches to address this and ultimately ensure our deterrent continues to keep pace with the dynamic threat environment.

For defense of the homeland, this bill supports development of the Golden Dome system to achieve President Trump's bold vision.

In space, we established the Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking program as a formal program of record to provide badly needed space products from commercial providers to combatant commands. We also provide tools to sustain the growth and development of United States Space Force guardians to ensure we have the highly skilled and technical proficient acquisition cadre capable of bringing online the next generation of systems to fight and win in space.

This bill revitalizes the defense industrial base and American manufacturing, supports a well-deserved pay raise for our servicemembers, creates a more lethal and agile force to counter our adversaries, and secures our Nation's borders, all while saving taxpayers over $20 billion through cutting inefficient programs and government bureaucracy.

This is a bill that meets the moment and the need to support our warfighters to protect our Nation. I applaud the work of the committee to bring forth this strong and bipartisan bill. I encourage all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present for today's votes due to a death in the family. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 436, YEA on Roll Call No. 437, YEA on Roll Call No. 438, and YEA on Roll Call No. 439.

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present for today's votes due to a

death in the family. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 432, YEA on Roll Call No. 433, NAY on Roll Call No. 434, and YEA on Roll Call No. 435.

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Rhea County's 18 years of participation in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

Parton first founded the program in 1995 in Sevier County where she grew up. The library provides a monthly book to children from birth until age 5 as a way to promote early literacy.

In 2004, Dolly Parton worked with the Governor and the Tennessee State Legislature to expand the program statewide.

Tennessee is celebrating 20 years of public-private partnership between the Governor's Early Literacy Foundation and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to help children across our great State develop a solid foundation for literacy and love of reading from an early age.

On September 11, 2006, the program was brought to Rhea County and in that time has graduated over 4,500 children.

I congratulate the Rhea County Library on this wonderful accomplishment and thank them for all they do to help the children of their community learn necessary foundational literary skills that will set them up for future success.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably absent for today's vote. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 218, H. Res. 1213.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and remember Claude Morse, who sadly passed away November 12, 2023. Tennessee has long been known as The Volunteer State for a reason, and no one I have met personified the spirit of that motto more than Claude Morse.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and remember Chief Teddy Loftis, who sadly passed away November 5, 2023, after 51 years of service to various law enforcement agencies, including his most recent position as Chief of Police for the Lynnville Police Department, located in Giles County within the Fourth Congressional district of Tennessee.

Chief Loftis was born in Nashville, graduated from Hendersonville High School, and immediately embarked on a career of public service. He received his Emergency Medical Technician License from Volunteer State in 1975 and was a graduate of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy in 1980. During his long and successful career, Teddy would serve his local communities with honor and distinction including the Goodlettsville Police Department, Hendersonville Police Department, Sumner County Sheriff's Office, Millersville Police Department, and Ethridge Police Department. His experience and skills led him to the position of Chief of the Lynnville Police Department, where he continued to serve his community until his untimely passing.

Working in law enforcement is a difficult and dangerous job regardless of the size of the community, and the best officers are the ones that go above and beyond the call of duty. Teddy was well regarded as a personable soul, a man who made friends easily, and a man who knew the distinction of when firm law and order was needed and when friendly advice and understanding would suffice. He also knew the value of continuous training for himself and the value of sharing his experience and knowledge with the future generations of law enforcement leaders.

A devoted family man who loved the outdoors and could handle any ``do it yourself'' fix-it project, Teddy most enjoyed spending time with his wife Teresa and all his children and grandchildren. His decades of dedication to the citizens of Tennessee are truly respected and appreciated. I am proud to represent a community that has the utmost respect for all the men and women who serve our communities as members of the law enforcement community. Teddy had a professional standard and a kind, personal touch that should be the established standard for service to a community. I ask all Members of Congress to join me in paying respect to Chief Teddy Loftis for a job well done and a life well lived, and I ask this institution to join me in sending the deepest sympathies to all his family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize a cultural staple in Middle Tennessee that has left an indelible mark on the history of the Volunteer State for over a century. Each year, communities across Tennessee unite in celebration of the rich tradition of rhythmic flatfoot buckdancing through the National Buckdancing Championship.

The annual National Buckdancing Championship has recently experienced a change of venue, with the Tennessee Old-Time Music and Dance Association now shouldering the responsibility of commemorating this time-honored tradition. Through their production of the Thomas Maupin Festival, affectionately known as MaupinFest, in Unionville, Tennessee, the Tennessee Old-Time Music and Dance Association has played a pivotal role in preserving this significant piece of American cultural heritage. I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the Uncle Dave Macon Days Association, who diligently oversaw the National Buckdancing Championship annually since 1986 when Congress entrusted them with this duty, up until 2019. Since its inception in 2019, the Tennessee Old- Time Dance Association has organized MaupinFest and has continued to bestow the title of National Buckdancing Champion on behalf of Uncle Dave Macon Days. In light of this transition in production, the Uncle Dave Macon Days Association has expressed their desire to transfer the responsibility for the National Buckdancing Championship permanently to the Tennessee Old-Time Music and Dance Association.

MaupinFest aims to pay tribute to Mr. Maupin's dance style, which stands as the quintessential representation of traditional Tennessee rhythmic flatfoot buckdancing, distinct from the more common clogging. Mr, Maupin's old-time buckdancing style merits preservation as a cherished Tennessee treasure. Therefore, I proudly announce that henceforth, the title of National Old-Time Buckdancing Champion will be conferred by the Tennessee Old-Time Music and Dance Association. This ensures that this historical American art form receives the recognition it so rightfully deserves.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, my colleague from Tennessee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2. If you watch TV and listen to the administration and Secretary Mayorkas, they would tell you that the border is secure and that the border is not open. In other words, they are telling you to believe what they say and not what you see.

Anybody who looks at the border can see the crisis that is there.

They can look in their communities and see the tragedy that is unfolding with fentanyl.

They can look to the sanctuary cities where all the mayors love to say: ``We will take anyone. Send your immigrants to our cities.'' Now, they are screaming: ``No more.'' As soon as they got a taste of what the border States are feeling and dealing with every day, they wanted no part of it.

The toll that this is causing our country is hard to grasp. Look no further than our SNAP program. Everyone wants to expand SNAP and make sure no one goes hungry. I agree that anyone in need should get food, but we cannot get an answer to how many people who are here illegally are on the SNAP program. We have been trying for a year. We have asked Secretary Mayorkas via letter, and we have asked Secretary Vilsack via letter how many people who are here illegally or undocumented are on

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this measure because we are a country of laws, and it is not right to allow your first measure in entering this country to be something illegal. It flies in the face of all the people who did it correctly.

Thank God we have a chairman like Chairman Green who is addressing this issue. It should be a bipartisan issue. Everyone is feeling it. It is time that we act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Republicans for bringing this forward. It is important, and I strongly support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition of H.R. 5441 the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act of 2021. This act is an unnecessary overreach that will give the federal government the ability to inflict undue harassment upon the Tennessee Walking Horse community. The call for this kind of federal oversite has been promulgated by targeted misinformation campaigns.

This legislation will add a layer of red tape that will be purposeless, and taxpayers will likely be made to bear the burden of this cost. The Tennessee Walking Horse industry has a multibillion- dollar impact on rural communities in my state and even more specifically in my district. It provides jobs to over 20,000 people and is a tourism staple. It will place an undue ban on equipment making horse shows and events impossible to put on. Equine experts themselves have said these bans are not based on scientific evidence.

No one condones the abuse of animals, but the oversite of this industry should be left up to local officials who know it best. Therefore, I have introduced H.R. 6341 the Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2021 which will ensure that the Tennessee Walking Horse industry is regulated by state agencies and industry experts, not Washington bureaucrats. Those who participate in the abuse of these animals must be held accountable and brought to justice. For this reason, I implore to vote no on H.R. 5441 and support sensible and practical legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Claudia Mae Taylor Donalson. Claudia is the most recent honoree of the Women of Lincoln County Committee--a group that has joined together to recognize and honor influential women that have played such a significant role in the County's history.

Claudia was a lifelong Lincoln County resident born April 13, 1916. She was the only child to her proud parents Jessie and Mary Lacy Taylor. She was educated in Fayetteville public schools where she would later return as a teacher. Donalson attended Tennessee State University in Nashville for her undergraduate degree and Alabama A&M University in Huntsville for her graduate studies.

She was married in 1944 to a prominent Lincoln County community member, Dr. Latha Mitchell Donalson, known as L.M., who was a surgeon and hospital administrator. After Claudia retired from teaching, she worked as a dietician for her husband who founded Donalson Hospital now known as Donalson Nursing Home.

One of the greatest joys of her life was being an educator. She spent thirty years working to better the lives of children as a teacher in both the Fayetteville and Lincoln County school systems.

Claudia was a woman of great faith. She was baptized as a child and became a lifetime member of the St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Fayetteville. She served her church in many capacities as Trustee, Vice President of the Women's Missionary Society, the Layman's Organization, and the Kitchen Committee.

A woman with a true servant's heart, she was incredibly active in making her community a better place. She was a member of the Tennessee Retired Teachers Association, the NAACP, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., the Advisory Board of First National Bank-Pulaski, the Fayetteville and Lincoln County Child Development Center, Lincoln Medical Center Auxiliary, Lincoln County Historical Society, Hannah's House, and the R.F. Boyd Auxiliary at Meharry Medical Hospital. She was also a Volunteer Hostess for the Fayetteville/Lincoln County Museum and Civic Center.

In her free time, she enjoyed traveling with her husband abroad, gardening, reading, refinishing furniture and mastering her needlework skills. She passed away on October 2, 2007.

I hope that the Congress will join me in recognizing the life of Mrs. Donalson, and I congratulate the efforts of the Women of Lincoln County Committee for their work in recognizing and adding to the historical records of the women who have helped shaped the history of their county.