Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, our national debt is more than $36 trillion. We borrow nearly $2 trillion every year just to pay our expenses. We spend more in interest payments now than we do on Medicaid, schools, childcare, and the national defense.

Republicans have raised the alarm about this deficit, but this budget actually makes the debt and deficit much worse. They say we have a spending problem. Then cut annual spending to a level that is covered by our revenues and stop the deficits. That is not what they are doing here.

They will make big cuts to healthcare, air traffic controllers, cybersecurity, and the people who fight wildfires. They will not use those savings to cut deficits. They will use those savings to pay for tax cuts for people who don't need them.

America doesn't have a spending problem. We have a borrowing problem. This budget would lead to more borrowing we can't afford. It would limit our ability to borrow money when we do need it and when there is a future urgent need.

Today, the economy has low unemployment and high interest rates. This is the exact wrong time to blow up the debt. This bill will add between $4 trillion and $11 trillion to the debt, which will increase interest rates, raise prices, and keep inflation high. Our kids are going to pick up the bill. Don't vote for this self-inflicted harm.

Mr. Speaker, I work with many of my Republican colleagues as co-chair of the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum on controlling the debt and deficit. I know some are sitting here, quietly agreeing with me. I know personally how hard it is to buck your party. When Democrats held the House, the Senate, and the White House, I voted ``no'' on our reconciliation budget to get a better product. It was very unpopular, but I held my ground. People at home knew I was standing up for them. We got a better product, and they sent me back.

We work with Presidents. We don't report to them. We report to our constituents as independently elected Members of Congress who were elected on the exact same day as Donald Trump.

Mr. Speaker, our colleagues should do their job. They know better, and I ask them to vote ``no.''

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, the wildfire crisis is not just a product of inaction, but decades of wrongheaded land management that let our forests, wildlands, and hills turn into tinderboxes. We have suppressed all natural fire, all the time, and let invasive, fire-prone vegetation grow unabated.

The work of clearing dead trees and dry vegetation that fuel fires requires long environmental reviews often followed by years of litigation. While we wait for analysis, forests burn down, habitats are lost, air pollution worsens, and our communities are threatened by catastrophic fire.

The wildfire crisis is also climate change. California wildfires in 2020 contributed more greenhouse gases than the State's entire power sector. It was said before that the fires in that 1 year undid the State's entire progress on emissions reduction from 2003 to 2019.

The Fix Our Forests Act will simplify and expedite the most critical forest management projects while maintaining strong environmental standards. It will reduce the threat of litigation and add new ways for communities to provide input early, something that does not exist today and is one of the reasons why the National Congress of American Indians supports this bill. The Tribes support this bill.

This bill will also protect communities on the front lines of wildfire crises like Los Angeles and my hometown of San Diego. It helps localities craft modern, fire-resistant building codes. It also promotes public-private partnerships to clear flammable materials where nature meets our homes.

We crafted this bill with input from groups like The Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund and others who have their priorities reflected in the text.

While we don't have the firefighting pay increase, which we need and we must get, the grassland firefighters and Western fire chiefs support this bill as is because they know it will help relieve the strain on their already stretched thin resources.

There is more we need to do, and along with Chairman Westerman, we support providing aid for all those hurting in Los Angeles without conditions. No legislation is perfect, but this is a good bill that takes on a problem that is serious throughout the West and the entire country. For once we are not just making speeches. We are passing a bill that can become law and solve problems, and we don't have more time.

I implore my colleagues to join me and vote for this bill and bring some relief to constituents scared that their towns will be next.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mayor Richard Bailey of Coronado, who will conclude his service as mayor this December.

Since first being elected to the Coronado City Council in 2012 and later as mayor in 2016, Mayor Bailey has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to working with Congress to achieve clean beaches for Coronado.

Known for his dedication to local issues and his role in representing Coronado on the SANDAG board, Mayor Bailey has tirelessly advocated for his constituents. I very much appreciate the help he has provided me by reaching out to his contacts in Congress on the other side of the aisle to help us get funds approved to fix and expand the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, which cleans sewage that crosses our border.

We had several meetings here at the Capitol and at home, and he has been a critical partner in our work to stop this terrible environmental and public health crisis.

It is an enormous challenge, but Mayor Bailey is known for taking challenges. He is also known for becoming the first American mayor to reach Everest Base Camp shortly after finishing the Boston Marathon.

His leadership has strengthened the city of Coronado and has set a standard for service.

As Mayor Bailey moves toward his next chapter, we thank him for his years of public service and for the positive legacy he leaves behind. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mayor Richard Bailey's contributions and wishing him all the best in the future.

Mr. Chair, this year, wildfires have already burned over 7 million acres of forests and over 1,000 homes and other structures. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, often with just minutes to pack their most important belongings, not knowing if they will ever return to their homes.

Many have done all the right things to protect their property, but because of the magnitude of the wildfire crisis, they cannot get insurance for their homes. Every day of fire season feels like they are gambling with everything they own.

After decades of mismanagement and misguided fire suppression tactics, there is now a scientific consensus on the solution: active forest management, State, local, Federal, and Tribal collaboration; and continued research and development on next-generation technologies and solutions.

The problem is that forest management projects like clearing dead trees and dry vegetation that fuel fires often require multiyear environmental reviews followed by years of litigation in many cases. While we wait for analysis, forests burn down, air pollution worsens, and the threats posed by climate change to our local communities are exacerbated.

Places like Jimtown, Montana, know the consequences of inaction, where the Forest Service proposed treating at-risk land near people's homes. They conducted a comprehensive environmental review, and they gained community support. Then an outside group decided that they knew better than the experts and the Forest Service and the residents, and they sued. They claimed the NEPA analysis did not do enough to study the impact on a particular bird of prey, the goshawk--not that they didn't study it, but they didn't study it enough. Locals pleaded with the group to drop that lawsuit, but the group decided to go through with the appeal anyway.

A hearing was set for October of 2003, but unfortunately, in July of 2003, the exact type of fire the Forest Service warned about burned down that forest. The fire caused evacuations, took out power to a nearby community, and cost over $1 million to suppress.

When the case was finally heard 2 years later, the Ninth Circuit ruled in the Forest Service's favor and found the reviews were sufficient.

That is the problem. The community and its needs were ignored. The community wasn't helped. It was ignored. Lives, homes, and businesses were all needlessly put in harm's way. The goshawks' habitat was destroyed.

The Fix Our Forests Act that I cosponsored with Mr. Westerman is a

comprehensive bill to simplify and expedite the most critical forest management projects while maintaining strong environmental standards.

It will reduce the threat of litigation that delays these projects, and it adds new opportunities for communities to engage early in the process. It also creates new programs to protect homes and communities from fires and makes it easier for them to access Federal assistance.

This is a bipartisan bill with cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, and it passed out of the committee by a voice vote. It is endorsed by the wildland firefighters, who we all agree, it seems to me, deserve a raise, and we should make that happen.

I worked with groups like The Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund, and others to write this bill. The Nature Conservancy has decided to stay neutral on the bill because of one provision they find problematic. To Chair Westerman's credit, he accepted The Nature Conservancy's other edits. The Nature Conservancy has the luxury of staying neutral as an outside group, but we all need in this body to decide where we stand.

I have spoken with colleagues on my side of the aisle, Democrats, who tell me that they will oppose the bill, although they agree with 18 out of 22 things in the text. Compromise is about accepting the 4 things you don't like so you can get the 18 things you do like. Mr. Westerman has worked with me and other Democratic offices to adopt Democratic amendments to improve the legislation.

We don't have the time to wait for perfect. Every day we wait, more land burns down. Let's get this bill passed and provide some hope for Americans.

Mr. Chair, this Fix Our Forests Act establishes a national Fireshed Center as the central information hub of our wildfire strategy.

I introduced an amendment with Representative Harder to clarify the center's role, which was not made in order due to a misunderstanding about germaneness. Our amendment would have clarified the purposes of the center, provided it with specific direction for its implementation, and provided safeguards for the protection of sensitive propriety information, while ensuring representation from non-Federal entities.

I look forward to working with the gentleman, Mr. Westerman, in conference to get these changes made.

Mr. Chairman, we cannot prevent the spread of megafires without prioritizing the needs of wildland firefighters and their families.

Wildland firefighters play a critical role managing our forests and protecting communities from the threats posed by wildfires.

We are so grateful to have their support for the underlying bill. This is dangerous work, and Congress can and must do more to protect these public servants.

One component of this is providing respectful notification and helping families navigate their options when tragedy occurs.

Congress can take a big step toward that end right now by establishing a Casualty Assistance Program at the Department of the Interior to provide support for all the critically ill, injured, or deceased wildland firefighters and their loved ones.

While this program already exists for some Federal firefighters, almost 5,000 Department of the Interior firefighters and their families lack access to this aid, leaving them unsupported during some of the hardest, most painful times in their lives.

Creating a Casualty Assistance Program through the Department of the Interior will ensure support for all our Federal wildland firefighters and their families.

We have to provide for those who risk life and limb to protect our communities from devastating wildfires. This program is one small way that we show gratitude for our firefighters and their loved ones, by making sure that they have what they need when the unimaginable happens.

I strongly support the inclusion of Mr. Harder's amendment and the inclusion of this necessary program in the Fix Our Forests Act. This is only one step toward ensuring our firefighters receive every bit of support that they deserve.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 50th anniversary of San Diego Pride, a two-day celebration of love, acceptance, and diversity. The event is a powerful testament to the resiliency and spirit of the San Diego LGBTQ community.

San Diego Pride started in 1974 with an unsanctioned march. Since then, it has grown into one of the city's largest, most cherished events. The centerpiece is a parade through Hillcrest, the vibrant neighborhood that serves as San Diego's LGBTQ hub, which I am proud to represent. Its streets, adorned with Pride flags, reflect the tireless work of people who refuse to be muted and marginalized.

I take this opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the community in San Diego and beyond and reaffirm my commitment to ensuring that everyone can live authentically and without fear of discrimination. Together, let's celebrate our diversity and recognize that love knows no boundaries.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the loss of one of San Diego's most accomplished native sons and one of our most devoted citizens. On May 27, Bill Walton passed away from colon cancer at just 71 years of age.

Most people know Bill Walton as a successful basketball player, and that he certainly was.

After winning titles at Helix High, he enrolled at UCLA where he was a three-time college player of the year, and he led the Bruins to two national championships in 3 years.

In the NBA, despite a series of injuries, he won titles with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Boston Celtics, and he had an all-around game.

His college coach, the great John Wooden, said: ``Walton is the type of player who wouldn't have to score at all, yet he'll dominate the game.''

Magic Johnson called Bill ``one of the smartest basketball players to ever live.''

Most count Bill as one of the two greatest college players ever, along with Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bill was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and included in ESPN's ranking of the 50 greatest basketball players of all time.

Bill retired from basketball almost 40 years ago, so his most famous accomplishments, those on the basketball court, have been history for a long time now. However, his generosity, his gratitude, and his determination, which set an example for me and so many, were present to the very end, and we will miss those qualities very much at home.

I understand when he was young, Bill may have been a bit cranky. Well, I never knew that Bill Walton. By the time I met him, he wanted to make everyone happy. He wanted to volunteer. He wanted to help. He wanted to boost San Diego.

Bill was a champion for the poor and for addressing homelessness through

his work with the Lucky Duck Foundation, Champions for Health, Father Joe's Villages, and Feeding San Diego. He supported the Brad Fowler Memorial Scholarship, which used sports to help teens overcome substance abuse. He helped the Challenged Athletes Foundation equip disabled people to participate in sports.

He helped San Diego State become a national basketball power. He cared deeply about the environment and joined the activists and organizations working to protect San Diego's natural resources. He never just raised money, although he was willing to do that. He was there personally to thank, to encourage, to congratulate, always with a big smile and never intending to be the center of attention, but inevitably always the center of attention.

Bill also faced hard times. The injuries he had suffered in sports led to such intolerable pain that Bill actually considered ending his own life. Fortunately, medical innovations in spine surgery helped him have close to a normal life, though he often brought his own tall chair with him so he could have a more comfortable spot for his 7-foot frame to sit.

Given the physical pain he suffered, I guess it is a little ironic that when you encountered Bill, what you noticed was his joy. You could feel that joy when he did a basketball broadcast or when he talked about the Grateful Dead or when he told basketball stories about Coach Wooden or about Larry Bird. Thankfully, he found joy in riding his bicycle.

When I rode the Bike the Bay with him once, he told me that that was really important to him. Even though this amazingly accomplished world- class competitor was notoriously slower on a bike than his friends, he would regularly proclaim himself the luckiest man in the world. Just being healthy enough to ride was the win.

Mr. Speaker, I offer condolences to Bill's wife, Lori; to his sons; Adam, Nate, Luke, and Chris; and his grandchildren; Olivia, Avery Rose, and Chris.

Bill Walton was a great San Diegan and a great American, and while we will miss him so much, he will live on through the thousands he served as a philanthropist, as a citizen, and as an example.

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

Mr. Chair, all veterans deserve a roof over their heads. Far too many vets in San Diego remain homeless. We have to do more to ensure our veterans and their families have access to quality, affordable housing. The Housing and Urban Development-Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing, known as HUD-VASH program, is a critical tool to address this issue.

Earlier this year, local news in San Diego reported that nearly 35 percent of HUD-VASH vouchers, which San Diego received, went unused. That is not acceptable. We have to do everything we can to ensure veterans are receiving this assistance.

This bipartisan amendment simply encourages local VA systems and public housing authorities to work together to streamline the voucher application process for HUD-VASH vouchers to reduce barriers for veterans seeking housing assistance.

VA San Diego is now taking the initiative by partnering with local housing authorities to better align voucher applications across public housing authority jurisdiction. This partnership provides a critical pathway to connect veterans to housing.

The HUD-VASH program is critical for addressing veteran homelessness in San Diego and throughout the country, and I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this commonsense amendment.

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

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

Mr. Chair, VA's Supportive Services for Veteran Families program and Shallow Subsidy service provides low-income veterans direct assistance to prevent the imminent loss of a veteran's home or to identify a new, more suitable housing situation for them and their families.

Funding for this program goes to every community across the country, and in fiscal year 2024 alone, San Diego organizations received over $17 million to provide these services.

My bipartisan amendment recognizes the important role this program plays in preventing housing insecure veterans from falling into homelessness. It is essential that we preserve this program and we show strong support for this program for those who put on the uniform in defense of our country. Keeping these veterans in their homes not only preserves their safety and security, it also preserves their dignity.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court recently circulated guidelines to its employees that cautioned against anything `` . . . that might signal a political display.''

Those guidelines for employees are apparently lost on some of the Justices themselves, who fly upside-down American flags, display symbols of insurrection and Christian nationalism, and take gifts from political operatives. Supreme Court Justices should set the highest standard and avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interest.

Mr. Speaker, I am increasingly concerned about attacks on the American system of justice from the inside and out. As an attorney, I am bound by a code of ethics that states: ``A lawyer should demonstrate respect for the legal system and for those who serve it, including judges, other lawyers, and public officials,'' which is why it is so shocking to see colleagues who have practiced law standing outside of the trial of the former President in an attempt to undermine those proceedings as they are going on.

They should know better, and they do know better, but loyalty to Donald Trump is apparently the only loyalty some attorneys serving in elected office adhere to these days. As Members of the House and members of the bar, we must do better.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 153.

Madam Speaker, today marks Teacher Appreciation Day, which is a chance to honor the educators who have guided us, inspired us, showed us kindness, and recognized our potential, and I want to thank just one of many today.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a stickler for clear, concise writing, and I credit my appreciation for a good turn of phrase to Yvonne Vish, my ninth grade English teacher at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois. She must have spent hours going over our papers to correct every wrong word, dangling participle, and misplaced modifier. She did so much to help me become an effective communicator, a skill that has helped me my whole life. I thank Miss Vish for her patience and dedication, both of which unquestionably made a difference for me and for many others.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in memory of Candace Carroll, a longtime San Diego attorney, constituent, and friend.

To say Candace was a trailblazer would be an understatement. I don't know how many women entered the legal profession in 1974, the year Candace graduated from Duke Law School. I do know that, just 4 years earlier, there were only 13,000 women lawyers in the entire United States. Today, there are more than half a million.

Candace said of Duke Law: It was the first place I had ever been where, if you were a fairly loud, smart, and opinionated woman who put your hand up all the time, you were welcomed.

Indeed, Candace was never one to stay silent. Her accomplishments reflect that.

Her impressive legal career included a clerkship with the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, 7 years as an appellate attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, and she practiced with Sullivan Hill Rez & Engel in San Diego for 30 years.

A mother of three, she advocated for women attorneys who were struggling to juggle a work-life balance, and she was also a champion for underserved communities, serving on the boards of San Diego Volunteer Lawyers, the national and local ACLU, and the San Diego chapter of the International Rescue Committee.

She cared about the next generation of attorneys. She taught seminars at Duke Law and the University of San Diego School of Law, where she supervised a Ninth Circuit legal clinic. She and her husband, Len, established fellowships at Duke to aid students working in nonpaid public interest positions during law school.

Candace also loved the arts. She served on the board of directors of the San Diego Opera and was credited with helping save the organization from being forced to shut down.

Madam Speaker, if everything I have mentioned doesn't reflect someone who has embraced a life of giving back, Candace also served as President of the San Diego County Bar Association and the California Women Lawyers, and chaired Senator Barbara Boxer's San Diego-area advisory committee for Federal judge and U.S. attorney nominations.

Sadly, Candace died from leukemia at her home in San Diego on January 24 with her husband, Len, and her sons, Daniel, Matthew, and David by her side. She was an inspiration to those who were lucky enough to know her friendship, compassion, and commitment to service firsthand, and San Diego is a better place because of her.

Designation of Tijuana River as One of America's Most Endangered Rivers

Madam Speaker, I rise to mark the unfortunate designation today of the Tijuana River as one of America's most endangered rivers. While it gives me no pride that the Tijuana River is receiving this distinction, it will help bring critical attention to this environmental catastrophe and public health threat.

The sewage crisis has plagued the river for far too long, harming the environment, public health, tourism, our national security, and residents' quality of life.

We are finally beginning to turn the page on this crisis, thanks to advocacy efforts like this, and soon the story of the Tijuana River will, I hope, be one of triumph and not tragedy.

Last month, we celebrated a victory when we secured $156 million for the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission's construction budget. This money will go toward fixing and upgrading the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. It keeps us on track to begin work this year, but there is still a lot more to be done.

We will need to secure additional funding over the next few years to ensure this project is completed without delay and at the fully intended capacity.

I will continue working with my colleagues here in Congress to end this crisis so that, one day, the Tijuana River earns the distinction of being an environmental jewel and not an environmental disaster.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose H.R. 1023 which would not only repeal the EPA's commonsense fee on methane pollution but would also eliminate over $1 billion of financial and technical assistance for small- and medium-sized oil and gas producers to reduce their methane emissions.

The bill also repeals tens of billions of dollars for local communities to make smart investments in the clean energy technologies of the future.

It is so frustrating that during so-called energy week, House Republicans are not focusing on how we can lower consumers costs, combat the climate crisis, or protect public health.

Instead, we are taking time to vote on whether strong regulations on methane emissions are even necessary or if we should invest in American energy at all, regardless of whether it is cleaner oil and gas or accessible renewable energy.

Addressing methane emissions, particularly fugitive methane emissions, is one of the most important steps we can take to combat the climate crisis, and there is across-the-board recognition that we need to do more to get methane emissions under control.

Additionally, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will expand access to financing for clean energy projects across the country, helping American families and businesses create good-paying jobs, reduce pollution, and lower costs.

Last Congress, House Democrats were proud to advance legislation that reduces methane emissions from the oil and natural gas industry, incentivizes the adoption of clean energy technologies, and delivers significant economic and public health benefits. We can't let the House Republicans drag us into the past.

I understand that no program is perfect, so let's talk about how to make it better. Be that as it may, instead of coming up with ways to make these programs better, Republicans cannot help but think of ways to make them worse or eliminate them entirely.

For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to the committee. If the House rules had permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill. That amendment would have ensured that this bill would not have gone into effect until the Secretary of Energy had determined that it would not increase energy prices.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert in the Record the text of this amendment.

Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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

Mr. Speaker, the majority is once again choosing to engage in a partisan, unproductive, and unserious messaging exercise that they have dubbed energy week.

In 2023, the United States produced more oil and gas than any other country ever and exported unprecedented amounts of liquefied natural gas to our allies across the world.

Simultaneously, 2023 was a record year for combined utility-scale solar, wind, and energy storage installations across the country. These clean energy projects can be found in nearly all congressional districts in all 50 States.

My friends on the other side of the aisle claim to be champions of an all-of-the-above energy strategy, but they are completely silent about these massive accomplishments that are not only driving significant investments to areas across the country but are producing cheap, clean, American energy.

This is probably because so many of these wins were made possible by the historic bills House Democrats passed last Congress, like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

I was proud to include in those bills several of my priorities, including combating methane emissions and encouraging the development of transmission infrastructure by ensuring the Federal Government has the tools it needs to step in and stop excessive permitting delays.

However, the laws we passed last Congress will not be enough. We are facing extraordinary growth in energy demand from electric vehicles, AI, data centers, and the reshoring of domestic manufacturing, again thanks to the efforts and leadership of President Biden and his administration.

However, we are lagging far behind China, which is dwarfing us in manufacturing, construction of clean energy resources, and the extraction and refining of critical minerals like nickel and cobalt.

We need an unprecedented level of clean energy development and deployment to meet our climate goals and avoid catastrophe.

If the majority is interested in talking about a long-term energy strategy to maintain affordability and reliability, we need to finally talk about transmission and the grid.

We also need to work on speed. We will still fail if we let all the money we have set aside sit in the bank by making good energy projects wait years for permits to come through and further delays if bad actors and nervous neighbors take them to court again and again.

It is extremely frustrating that during energy week, we are actually taking the time to vote on whether strong regulations on methane emissions are even necessary or whether oil and gas producers should cover the cost of unplugged or abandoned wells.

Are you kidding me? Of course we need to regulate methane, and of course oil and gas companies should pay to clean up for the messes that they made.

How can Republicans say they support clean American energy while simultaneously fighting against commonsense regulations on methane and not even engaging on how to expand and upgrade the grid?

The bills we are considering this week take us farther away from the solutions to the problems we are facing, and I am proud to oppose every single one of them.

Our country prides itself on accomplishing big things together, whether it is winning world wars, constructing an interstate highway system, or discovering the next big medical breakthrough.

We should be voting on my FASTER Act, so transmission lines aren't stuck jumping between local, State, and Federal agencies for the permits they need.

We need to thoughtfully streamline the judicial review process for all energy projects so that developers, agencies, and petitioners aren't in limbo for years. We need certainty, not an unreliable and inefficient review process. Everything I have said about that today could and should be bipartisan.

Mr. Speaker, I will say to my Republican colleagues that we should look beyond just oil and gas and truly invest in an all-of-the-above energy

strategy that looks to the future instead of clinging onto the past.

Madam Speaker, I rise once again to address what could very well be one of the greatest ongoing environmental disasters in the United States. I am referring to the billions of gallons of raw sewage, industrial waste, and other pollutants that flow down the Tijuana River and into San Diego's coastal waters.

These flows sicken our communities, shutter our local businesses, harm our tourism industry, endanger wildlife, and threaten our servicemembers and Border Patrol agents stationed in San Diego.

Just last month, researchers at San Diego State University released a report that shows that this pollution also poses a massive public health threat. The studies they cite reveal extremely troubling findings, like the fact that cancer-causing chemicals banned in the United States decades ago, including DDT and PCBs, have been found in the soil.

Waterborne contaminants include viruses like SARS-CoV-2, salmonella, listeria, hep B and C, and pathogens carrying antibiotic-resistant genes.

The report cites a recent study of bottlenose dolphins that had become stranded and died in San Diego waters. The dolphins died from sepsis caused by water contaminated by feces. This is the same water our troops train in and our kids swim and surf in.

Avoiding the water alone will not make you safe. Air quality monitors that were recently installed in the region have confirmed what residents have known for years, that the air itself is also polluted. Sewage that washes up on land dries, sending dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide into the air around people's homes.

The solution is simple. The United States owns and operates a wastewater treatment plant on our side of the border that has not been maintained. It is in desperate need of repair and expansion to handle the flows. President Biden included $310 million in his supplemental funding request that would make those repairs and upgrades possible. This is a small price to pay for the health of our community, our brave servicemembers, and our environment.

Many of the communities hit hardest by this pollution are low-income communities of color. I can't help but think if this was happening somewhere that wasn't 3,000 miles from here, like the Chesapeake Bay or even the Great Lakes, it would have been taken care of long ago.

We know that Mexico must also do its part. Much of their infrastructure has also fallen into disrepair. The good news is that Mexico is bound by a treaty we signed in San Diego in 2022 to spend nearly $150 million to fix their treatment plant.

Mexico, to its credit, has made great strides in the last year. They have repaired and replaced key infrastructure, like sewage pipes that redirect the contaminated water, and they have broken ground on a new wastewater treatment plant.

Madam Speaker, this is a public health, business, and national security disaster. The more we delay in addressing cross-border pollution, the more costly and difficult it will be to fix. I urge my colleagues to support this funding and ask that congressional leadership and appropriators include this funding in any upcoming spending package.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to address an issue that may not be on the top of the agenda for most politicians in Washington but could very well be the greatest ongoing environmental disaster in the United States today. I am referring to the billions of gallons of raw wastewater sewage, industrial waste, and other pollutants that flow from Mexico down the Tijuana River into San Diego and onto our beaches.

Those flows sicken our communities, they shutter our local businesses, they harm our tourism industry, and they threaten our servicemembers and Border Patrol agents stationed in San Diego.

The solution is simple. The United States owns and operates a wastewater treatment plant on our side of the border that in the past decades has not been maintained and is in desperate need of repair and expansion to handle the flows. President Biden included $310 million in his supplemental funding request that would make those repairs and upgrades possible. It is not a small price, but is there any more worthy investment than in the health of our constituents?

Air quality monitors that were recently installed in the region have confirmed what residents have felt for years--that unhealthy levels of pollution are present not only in the ocean, but sewage that washes up on land dries up and is sending dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide into the air around people's homes.

Many of the communities hit hardest by this are low income and communities of color. I can't help but think that if this was happening somewhere that wasn't 3,000 miles from here like the Chesapeake Bay or even the Great Lakes, it would already have been taken care of.

The public health disaster alone should be enough to force action. The harm it causes our local small businesses alone should be enough to force action. But in addition to all of that, the cross-border pollution poses a grave national security threat.

Coronado, which is in my district, is home to the Naval Special Warfare Command where Navy SEALs train in waters polluted with human feces. I am proud to represent these brave warfighters, but I am ashamed that we have not done more to protect their health.

Everyone expects this training to be tough and uncomfortable, but it should not pose potential long-term health problems.

Some former SEALs who now serve in Congress--all Republicans, by the way--have told me about the disgusting waters they had to train in, and I am thankful to have their support to get this funding.

Now, we know that Mexico must also do its part, and much of their infrastructure has also fallen into disrepair. The good news is that Mexico is bound by a treaty we signed in San Diego in 2022 to spend nearly $150 million to fix their pipes and their treatment plant. That is on top of the $2 million plus that Mexico pays the United States annually to treat these contaminated waters.

Mexico, to its credit, has made great strides in the last year on their side of the border. They have repaired and replaced key infrastructure like sewage pipes that redirect the contaminated water. And just today, January 11, they are breaking ground on replacing the wastewater treatment plant on their side of the border that has been broken, as well.

We should be embarrassed--embarrassed--that Mexico is acting with more urgency than we are.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, this is an urgent public health, business, and national security disaster. The more we delay in addressing cross- border pollution, the more costly and difficult it will be to fix it in the future.

I urge all my colleagues to support this funding, and I ask that congressional leadership and appropriators include this funding in any upcoming spending package.