Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the ninth time to call on the Trump administration to restore funding for lifesaving food aid for malnourished children.

Mr. Speaker, 11 seconds, every 11 seconds a child dies because of malnutrition. By the time I finish this speech, five more children will have lost their lives.

Their lives could be saved with access to this, Plumpy'Nut, a nutritional supplement manufactured in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, at Edesia Nutrition.

Prior to the Trump administration, Edesia received USAID funding to ship Plumpy'Nut to more than 64 countries. They have the capacity to produce 800 metric tons per week, which would serve 100,000 children.

The Trump administration had said that they plan to continue this funding. They just haven't done so yet. I am calling them once again, for the ninth time, to honor their word to restore funding for emergency food aid so that no child's lives are unnecessarily cut short.

Mr. Speaker, I am joined tonight by a bipartisan group of Members who have come together to take to the floor tonight to call for Members of Congress to be banned from trading stocks.

This is a reform that is long overdue. When people elect us to office, they should be able to trust that their Members of Congress are acting in the best interests of the country, not the best interests of their own personal finances. When Members of Congress are

able to trade off of our position, it damages the integrity of this institution and of our entire democracy.

As Members of Congress, we have access to all sorts of information that the average member of the public does not: what might be put into a bill or taken out of a bill, or what might be put into a budget or taken out of a budget. This is material information, and Members of Congress should not have the advantage of that insider information and use that advantage to engage in stock trading.

Also, Members of Congress should not be conflicted when we have to decide about what to vote for or against. Members of Congress should not be in a position of thinking about what the impact on their stock portfolio may be. We should be making decisions based just on what is best for the American people.

The American people recognize that this is a reform that is long overdue. Poll after poll has shown upwards of 90 percent of the American people supporting a ban on Members trading stocks.

This is an issue that has been around for a while. Yet, in just the last few weeks, we have achieved significant momentum. In the last 3 weeks, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House; President Trump; and today, the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, have all come out in favor of this reform. That is real momentum that we should carry forward to the finish line.

Mr. Speaker, the Democratic leader is for it. The Republican leader is for it. The President of the United States is for it. Let's get it done.

I am joined tonight by a number of Members who represent, I think, the full ideological diversity of the House of Representatives--both sides, liberal, conservative, moderate, people who understand that the American people expect better of this body.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to yield to some of my partners in this effort, Members who have had the courage to stand up and say that we need to enact this reform and ban Members of Congress from trading stocks once and for all.

I am going to start by recognizing a Member from the Republican side who I have had several great conversations with on this issue. He has introduced a bill that would put a congressional stock trading ban into effect.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, I now recognize the gentleman from California (Mr. Levin), who has been an outspoken champion for this reform for many years.

Mr. Speaker, the stock trading bill that I am leading was originally introduced by Abigail Spanberger, the Representative from Virginia. I know if she is watching, she is smiling to see all of us coming together and to see the progress that has

been made in the last few weeks in building support on this issue.

I give her a lot of credit for getting the ball rolling along with the next gentleman who I am going to introduce, who has been a fantastic partner and co-lead on the TRUST in Congress Act. I know that we are going to get this done, in large part due to his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for being a great partner on this and a great leader on this issue for many years.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), a great champion for justice.

Mr. Speaker, I now recognize someone who is new to Congress but who I know is passionate about this issue and I believe campaigned on it, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Bresnahan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury), a good friend and a leader on the Oversight Committee who I know is committed to strong ethics reform.

Mr. Speaker, I will take a second to thank all of my colleagues on both sides who came out tonight. This is a busy week in Congress. We have got reconciliation markups going on. Peoples' schedules are busy, but the fact that we have so many Members from both sides of the aisle who have the courage to stand up and say something that may not be popular with everyone in this Chamber and have also made it enough of a priority to come tonight is a great credit to each of them. I thank them for their leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills), who I know has also been a champion of this issue for some time now.

Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver), a man I admire very much and a cosponsor of the TRUST in Congress Act.

Mr. Speaker, I come from New England where we also know something about winning all the time, but we will keep it in Missouri for now.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).

Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Deluzio).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Kim very much for her comments.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota for her remarks. I now yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Ansari), a new Member who has come in and has already been making a mark. I know she is here with the intent of being a reformer, which is what we need in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Ansari for her thoughts on this matter. Before I yield to the next Member, let me just preface this by saying, again, we have had a big couple of weeks in this fight to ban Members of Congress from trading stocks.

Not only rank-and-file Members, but leaders have been coming out in favor of this commonsense reform: Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, today Speaker Johnson, and President Trump.

I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), a leader who has been out in front on this issue for a long time. Our Assistant Democratic Leader is a longtime cosponsor of the legislation that I have reintroduced to ban Members of Congress from trading stocks.

Mr. Speaker, as we get ready to close here tonight, I thank my colleagues once again for their leadership on this issue and their courage because, as was said earlier, the opponents of this stock trading ban don't speak out publicly, but they are here, and they are watching and listening, and they are probably not very happy with us tonight.

It takes people of courage to be willing to stand up and say: We here in Congress have to change. We have to change the way Congress works so that we work for the American people and not for ourselves. We need to end this corruption. We need to end this insider dealing. We need to end congressional stock trading.

What you have seen tonight is that this is a bipartisan issue. We have had people speak tonight from across the political spectrum who had the courage to stand up for what is right and to stand up for what the American people not only want but are demanding of us.

Make no mistake, this insider trading is happening. It is happening. I have the statistics right here. In 2024, the average Member of Congress outperformed the market by nearly 3 percent. Now, I used to work in the investment business, and let me tell you, there are paid professionals who do not have that kind of outperformance.

The year before that, the average Member of Congress also outperformed the market, and the year before that, and the year before that. The last 4 years in a row, Members of Congress who traded stocks outperformed the market.

That is not a coincidence. One time, one year might be luck, but two, three, four years in a row is a clear pattern of corruption that needs to end. Members should not be allowed to trade off of inside information and should not be conflicted when deciding how to vote on a bill or whether to support a policy.

The American people support this overwhelmingly, and it is time to get it done. I am feeling hopeful. Earlier this year, it was hard to get people to pay attention to this issue. It was hard to get media coverage. It was hard to get Member support, but in the last month or so, things have started to change. Leader Jeffries supports it; Speaker Johnson supports it; President Trump supports it. People are starting to notice. We are building momentum.

I will end tonight with gratitude for those who started this journey before I ever got to Congress. Former Members, like Abigail Spanberger and Ken Buck, have pushed for this for years. We are now building off of their work. I have the TRUST in Congress Act that I have been leading with Mr. Roy. We have got a few other Members who have introduced their own versions. Those of us who have various versions of a stock trading bill are now working together to develop a consensus bill that we can all get behind and push together, and we are getting close.

The excuses for inaction are running out fast. The excuses for inaction are running out. The American people want this. It is the right thing to do. Let's get it done.

Once again, I thank my colleagues from both sides who have had the courage to stand up tonight in support of a stock trading ban. The time is now. Let's get it done.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the eighth time to call on the Trump administration to restore funding for lifesaving food aid for malnourished children.

Edesia Nutrition in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, produces more than 88 million pounds of Plumpy'Nut, a peanut paste that has served millions of malnourished children around the world per year. At least they did until Donald Trump stopped that funding.

Despite Congress passing this funding that would continue this food aid, and the promises from the administration that the program will continue, Edesia recently received a notice that read: We will not be moving forward at this time.

This is despite the urgent, lifesaving need for relief around the world. While Edesia's work has been interrupted and will continue to feel the consequences of this interruption, it is not too late to restore this funding.

Congress has already appropriated this funding in a bipartisan manner. The money has been appropriated.

The Trump administration just needs to do what it said it was going to do and restore the flow of funds for this lifesaving food aid. The lives of children around the world depend on it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the seventh time to call on the Trump administration to restore funding for lifesaving food aid for malnourished children.

Rhode Island's Edesia Nutrition has helped save 25 million lives with this ready-to-use therapeutic food manufactured in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, supported by USAID. Yet, that work is now in jeopardy. Trump is now 3 months into his administration, and funding is still cut off, throwing Edesia's operations into chaos.

Mr. Speaker, I have already spoken on this floor about the gut- wrenching impact to children around the world who are suffering from starvation, but I will talk today about the impact on American lives that this funding freeze is wreaking.

Edesia has had to lay off staff at the factory and is unable to make long-term decisions. American farmers, factory workers, and transportation workers who produce this product have had their lives thrown into disarray. Every day of uncertainty puts more children's lives at risk and costs American workers their livelihoods.

Mr. Speaker, I will speak on this floor every single day until funding for ready-to-use therapeutic food is restored.

Mr. Speaker, we are here today debating and wasting time on a ridiculous bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico when the American people want us to be focused on real issues that impact their lives.

Prices are still too high. Donald Trump's tariffs are making it worse. The stock market is tanking. People are losing their savings, and in the midst of all this, the Republican majority isn't focused on trying to solve the problems that everyday people care about. Instead, they are focused on stroking the ego of one man, Donald Trump, the man who they would make king.

We are wasting time today, an entire legislative day where this is the only bill that is being debated, so that our Republican colleagues can get up and show their fealty to Donald Trump instead of the voters who elected us who expect us to be focused on them.

Another reason that Republicans are wasting time on this bill--which, by the way, 70 percent of the American people oppose--is because they want to distract us from what else they are trying to do. They are working on a bill right now that would give trillions of dollars of tax cuts to billionaires like Elon Musk by cutting healthcare for working people. They don't want to talk about that. That part they only talk about behind closed doors while they distract the media, the American people, and their own Members with this nonsense bill about the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Speaker, the American people are smarter than this. They are smarter than our Republican colleagues give them credit for. Seventy percent of the American people reject this nonsense bill, and this Congress should as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the sixth time to call for the Trump administration to restore funding for lifesaving food aid for malnourished children.

It has been 2 months since Congress passed and President Trump signed a funding bill for fiscal year 2025. It included money that can be used to continue purchasing ready-to-use therapeutic food, a miracle peanut paste that saves the lives of starving children and is produced by, among others, Edesia Nutrition in my district in Rhode Island with ingredients sourced from States all across our country.

Here we are in May, and since the Trump administration came into office in January, not a single dollar of that money has gone to buying this promised lifesaving food aid. Instead, Edesia

has boxes of food stuck in warehouses, factory workers laid off, with children suffering from severe malnutrition and famine.

This is food that has already been paid for by the American taxpayers that could be used to feed starving children who are victims of war and famine, but instead, it sits in a warehouse benefiting no one.

We need the funding that this Congress provided to go through now because starving children can't wait. To make matters worse, the administration's fiscal year 2026 so-called skinny budget completely eliminates funding for the Food for Peace program, a bipartisan program that is the main source of funding for food assistance to combat hunger and malnutrition while also supporting America's farmers and agriculture industry. We must reject that plan and continue to fund Food for Peace.

In the meantime, though, this is urgent. For fiscal year 2025, the funding has already been appropriated. It has been approved. It has been signed by the President. We need the administration to put in the new orders to continue this flow of lifesaving aid to children.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs), a person who has been a real champion on the issue of hunger around the world, to hear her thoughts on the subject.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Jacobs for her long body of work championing children around the world, particularly on the issue of malnutrition. I will continue to stand in this Chamber every day we are in session and speak on this topic until funding for RUTF is restored.

Mr. Speaker, I rise for the fifth time to bring attention to the Trump administration's failure to restore funding for food aid for malnourished children, despite their promise to do so.

I speak today about the biology of hunger. A 2-year-old child may weigh the same as a newborn. Their bodies stop growing. Their immune systems shut down. They lose the ability to walk and sometimes even the ability to cry. That is what severe malnutrition looks like, and it is the leading cause of death for children under 5.

There is treatment. Ready-to-use therapeutic food is a nutrient-rich peanut paste that delivers the fat, protein, and vitamins that starving children need to survive. It can save a child's life in just 8 weeks.

The Edesia factory in Rhode Island has helped save 25 million lives with this food, but that work is now in jeopardy because the administration hasn't followed through on its own promises to continue funding the program.

We must restore funding for emergency food aid now. Lives are at stake. I will keep speaking on this floor until that funding is restored.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the fourth time to call for funding for lifesaving food aid to be restored by the Trump administration.

Sudan is suffering its worst famine in four decades. Without immediate help, hundreds of thousands could die. Mothers are walking for days in search of food, and children collapsing into their arms from hunger.

For years, the United States has stepped up in the face of these tragedies. Edesia, an organization in my district in Rhode Island, produces ready-made, ready-to-use food therapeutics called Plumpy'Nut that has saved millions of lives in Sudan and more than 60 other countries.

The Trump administration has stopped submitting new orders, and now boxes of this lifesaving food intended for Sudan sits in warehouses in Rhode Island awaiting a transportation contract to be approved while children starve.

Trump administration officials continue to say that they intend to resume shipping this emergency food aid, but they have yet to do so.

Keep your promise. Restart the aid.

Mr. Speaker, I rise for the third time to call for funding for global emergency food aid to be restored.

For years, USAID funded the production of ready-to-use therapeutic foods at Edesia Nutrition in my district. The food that was manufactured there has been shipped across the developing world, saving the lives of 25 million

children since 2010, until funding for new orders was halted by the Trump administration earlier this year.

This is not just about saving lives. This food aid has also strengthened America's national security and commercial interests. In the same country where this ready-to-use food has saved the lives of children, the United States relies on cooperation on a range of issues from counterterrorism to access to critical minerals.

When the administration pulled back on this food aid, China and our other adversaries were happy to swoop in to win hearts and minds across the developing world.

Our Nation is safer and more competitive as a result of our goodwill toward others.

So I rise the third time to urge the White House and my colleagues in Congress to restore funding to protect America's global leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of a true Rhode Island public servant, State Senate President Dominick Ruggerio.

President Ruggerio dedicated his life to making Rhode Island a better place, devoting 40 years to service in the Rhode Island State Senate, culminating in his leadership as senate president.

Through it all, he was a tireless advocate for working people, a skilled legislator, and a kind and gracious presence to everyone he met.

President Ruggerio made his career in the labor movement, working with the Laborers' International Union of North America before retiring when he assumed the Office of the President of the Rhode Island Senate.

During his tenure in the senate, he championed raising the minimum wage, protecting workers' pensions, and rebuilding infrastructure, among many other causes.

When I was State treasurer, I was proud to work alongside him on the 2018 statewide school construction initiative, where we made historic investments in repairing or replacing hundreds of Rhode Island public school buildings. I saw on that occasion and throughout my time in the statehouse that his commitment to the future of our State was unwavering.

My thoughts are with Dominick Ruggerio's family on his passing this past week, particularly with his children, Charlie and Amanda, and his four grandchildren, and with all in Rhode Island who had the privilege to know and work with him.

Edesia Nutrition Funding Must Be Restored

Mr. Speaker, I rise for the second time to call for funding for global emergency food aid to be restored.

Plumpy'Nut is a nutrient-dense paste used to save the lives of millions of children around the world.

On every box manufactured at the Edesia Nutrition factory in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, are printed the words: ``From the American people.'' It is not just a slogan. This product is made with peanuts from Georgia, milk from Wisconsin, soy from Iowa, and ingredients from a total of 27 States. It is 100 percent manufactured in the United States, and then it travels on American trucks to American ships to children around the world who are caught in the middle of humanitarian crises.

Plumpy'Nut is a lifesaving necessity for millions of children around the world struggling with malnutrition, and it is from the American people.

At Edesia Nutrition, the organization in my district that manufactures Plumpy'Nut, more than 25 million children have been treated by their product.

That is American patriotism that we can all take pride in, but this work is at risk. The Trump administration has halted all new orders, stranding shipments and slowing production. That hurts farmers, American workers, and children most of all.

This funding must be restored. To be clear, Secretary Rubio, Elon Musk, and others in the administration have said that they intend to restore this funding. We need them to do it. We are not asking the administration to change their policy. We are asking them to execute on their stated policy to save lives while also supporting American farmers and workers.

This food is from the American people. It is a promise, and we urge the administration to ensure that this promise is kept.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about a matter of life or death for millions of children around the world. Malnutrition is the leading cause of death for children under 5 globally.

When children starve, their bodies break down their own muscles, bones, and organs to survive. Their immune systems collapse, leaving them defenseless to disease.

Mr. Speaker, if you go into a clinic where children are suffering from malnutrition, you won't hear them crying because they don't have the strength. The silence is all you will hear.

When it comes to nutrition, the first 1,000 days of a child's life are critical for development for the rest of their lives, but there is a miracle treatment that can save the lives of malnourished children, even in the most remote corners of the world. Ready-to-use therapeutic food, or RUTF, is a nutrient-packed peanut butter paste.

RUTF, also known as Plumpy'Nut, delivers the fat, sugar, and protein that children with malnutrition need to survive and grow. It requires no refrigeration, and kids show improvement and are saved within weeks.

Edesia Nutrition, based in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, is one of the two organizations in the United States that manufactures Plumpy'Nut. From their factory in North Kingstown, they produced over 88 million pounds of Plumpy'Nut each year.

This work saved more than 25 million lives across 65 countries, including 5 million lives last year.

Edesia and another organization, MANA, based in Georgia, have been doing lifesaving work, but this work has been largely halted because the Trump administration has frozen new orders for RUTF, grinding production nearly to a halt. This is despite Secretary Rubio and Elon Musk promising publicly that emergency food aid would be continued. That has not been the case so far, and relief for starving children is now uncertain.

USAID's Office of Food for Peace has funded the manufacture and distribution of this food relief to the developing world for decades, but with the closure of USAID, and despite the assurances of Secretary Rubio and other administration officials, no new orders have been submitted for the next fiscal year.

As a result, Edesia, the factory in my district, has had to lay off staff, leaving production of Plumpy'Nut slowed nearly to a halt. Shipments meant for starving children have been stranded in warehouses. There are boxes of this stuff sitting in warehouses right now with no place to go. Every hour of missed production means 415 starving children will not get the food they need to survive.

If we allow Edesia and MANA's mission to fail, it will be a moral failure on our part.

I urge the administration and my colleagues to do the right thing. Restore the funding for emergency food aid. Keep America's promise to the world's most vulnerable children. We do not have another day to waste. This is a moment of urgency.

That is why starting today, I will take to the floor of the House every single day to call to anybody in this city who will listen, asking to please restore Federal funding for emergency food aid.

We do not have the ability to filibuster in the House like they do in the Senate, but I do have the right and the ability to stand in this Chamber every day for at least a couple of minutes to call attention to this urgent issue, and that is exactly what I intend to do until this funding is restored.

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

Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump's tariffs are the biggest tax increase on the middle class in this country in generations. Even with today's so- called pause announcement, he is still putting a 10 percent tax on food, on energy, and on essentials that Americans need, while keeping up with the high cost of living.

The number one thing that I hear in my district and that I know everybody hears in their districts is the cost of living is too high.

Why in the world is this President increasing the cost of living for millions of middle-class Americans?

At the same time, the stock market has tanked. Even after today's so- called pause, which is not a pause because it is still a 10 percent tax--the S&P is down 10 percent since Trump took office, and trillions of dollars of people's retirement savings are wiped out.

Mr. Speaker, what are our Republican colleagues doing to respond to this insanity? The majority is trying to pass a rule that says that Congress cannot overturn these tariffs even though the Constitution gives Congress and not the President the sole authority to levy tariffs.

Why are my Republican colleagues even bothering to show up to work?

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are just giving the executive branch all of the powers that the Constitution had originally given to the Congress.

Why are Republicans even bothering to show up if my Republican colleagues are just going to give all of our constitutional authority to the executive to levy these taxes on middle-class Americans who can't afford it?

I will say why Republicans are still showing up. As Mr. McGovern said, this rule also includes the next step in a budget plan that would cut taxes for billionaires at the same time that it cuts healthcare for working people. The math doesn't lie. This budget plan requires $880 billion of cuts under the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Mr. Speaker, the majority could cut literally every program under the Committee on Energy and Commerce except for Medicare and Medicaid and only get to $200 billion. Where does the other $600 billion-plus come from?

It can only come from kicking people off of their health insurance so that Elon Musk and the billionaires can get another tax cut that they don't need. It is unconscionable.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the more than 120,000 people in my district who count on Social Security, a sacred promise earned through decades of hard work.

Social Security is the bedrock of retirement for the middle class. It means dignity after a lifetime of work.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are firing the staff that run the Social Security office, all to find more money to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, and the impact has been devastating.

Last month alone, the Social Security website crashed four times in 10 days for hours, in one case for almost an entire day, locking retirees out of their accounts.

People who try to call the Social Security offices are on hold for hours because all the staff in the offices have been fired.

Now, they are threatening to shut down the phone lines altogether and close offices all across the country.

These aren't glitches. These are deliberate choices for no good reason. This is a violation of the sacred promise of Social Security, and I am urging this body and Members on both sides of the aisle to listen to your constituents and stand up for the working people of your districts who have paid into Social Security. This is their benefit that they have earned.

Tell Elon Musk to get his hands off of the Social Security Administration.

Recognizing Rhode Island State Police's Centennial Anniversary

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a century of service from the Rhode Island State Police.

For 100 years, the men and women of the Rhode Island State Police have answered the call through hurricanes and blizzards, working on the highways, in cyberspace, and undercover, always committed to keeping Rhode Islanders safe.

Established in 1925, the Rhode Island State Police was a new type of police force. They were tasked with reaching and serving the areas that were often underserved by the local police.

In the 1930s, the Rhode Island State Police established their headquarters in North Scituate, where they remain to this day.

During their 100 years, they have been known for excellence in disrupting organized crime, responding to emergencies, solving complex financial and cybercrimes, and keeping the roads safe and traffic moving. They also have a history of lending a hand to other States in their times of need, including in Massachusetts after the Boston Marathon bombing.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Rhode Island State Police for a century of service. They have our gratitude and our support.

Support for Caregivers

Mr. Speaker, every day in this country, millions of people wake up and serve as caregivers for a parent, spouse, or a sibling who is aging, sick, or disabled.

Let's be clear that this is work. It may not come with a title or a W-2. Yet, for those family members who need a little extra help, it means the world. In spite of the important role that family caregivers play, they too often go overlooked.

That is why I am working with a bipartisan group of colleagues to introduce legislation to make the lives and work of caregivers a little easier. Together, we are introducing bills to expand access to tax-free savings accounts to cover the costs of medical expenses, to improve communication between Medicare and caregivers to streamline the benefits process, and to create a new $5,000 tax credit to help offset the costs of family caregiving.

Just a few weeks ago, I joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of colleagues to introduce the Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act to eliminate red tape for caregivers. Caregiving back home in my district and across the country deserves support and deserves respect, and I am calling on my colleagues to join me in helping those who give so much.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the No Invading Allies Act, a bill to prevent President Trump from invading Canada, Greenland, or Panama without a vote of Congress.

It is crazy that we even have to have this conversation. These places, these nations, are our allies. They pose no threat to the United States. After thousands of brave American soldiers fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, many losing their lives, their limbs, and their loved ones, the last thing the American people want is to send our troops to any new wars, especially against countries that pose no threat to our own.

Now President Trump will not stop talking about taking over Canada, Greenland, and Panama. He is obsessed.

Listen to me when I tell you that he is not joking. When he says he wants to take over Canada, Greenland, and Panama, he means it. He even said that we will ``[expand] our territory'' in his inaugural speech. When was the last time you heard a President say something like that?

The American people do not want to take over other countries. Nobody voted in the election to take over Canada or Greenland. The President never talked about that during his campaign.

No one was thinking about taking over Canada when they went to vote last November. No. The American people want lower costs, safe streets, and peace. The last thing Americans want is unnecessary war. We cannot trust Donald Trump to keep us out of one.

That is why I am introducing a new bill, the No Invading Allies Act, to prevent the President from sending the Armed Forces to invade Canada, Panama, or Greenland without a vote of Congress.

Our country's Founders feared the possibility of a President engaging in unnecessary wars. In Article I of the Constitution, the Founders gave Congress, not the President, the power to declare war. Congress later passed the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which allows Presidents to engage in military action for up to 60 days without a vote of Congress, but Donald Trump's reckless threats to take over peaceful nations means that he cannot be trusted with this unchecked power.

Congress must reassert our role under the Constitution by passing this bill. With this bill, we send a message to our allies and adversaries alike that the United States does not support the illegal seizure of sovereign territory. Most importantly, we say to American troops and their families that they will not be sent into more unnecessary wars, not on our watch.

I urge my colleagues, whether you believe the President is serious about wanting to take over other countries or not, whether you take him at his word or not, whether you think he might involve us in unnecessary wars of conflict or not, let's not leave it up to chance.

The decision of whether to make war is perhaps the most important responsibility Congress has under the Constitution. Let's not surrender our responsibility to a President who speaks so casually about taking over other nations. Our men and women in uniform deserve better than that, and our country deserves better than that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Deluzio for bringing us together and helping us have an important conversation about how we restore the mantle of fighting for working people.

I was born and raised in the most patriotic town in the country, Bristol, Rhode Island. We have the oldest and longest running Fourth of July celebration in the country. I learned from a young age to be patriotic, but I also learned that patriotism is not just about parades and parties and barbecues, it is about believing in a country where anything is possible for those who are willing to work hard. I know that because it is my family's story.

At the turn of the last century, my mother's family came to America from Ireland and Poland. My grandfather fought in the Pacific then came home and worked in a factory that made airplane parts. His wife, my grandmother, worked in a department store. Their jobs weren't glamorous. They weren't anything special, but they earned enough to buy a house, to raise four kids, and to build a stable, middle-class life.

My father's side of the family had a similar story. They came from Eastern Europe and settled in New York City. My great-grandfather got involved in labor organizing, and my grandfather was a bookkeeper at a company that sold fruit.

They all came of age during the New Deal era, and they voted Democrat because they knew that the Democratic Party had the backs of working people.

Then my parents met, and they started a small business together. They were successful, and now here I am in the United States Congress thanks to the hard work of the generations that came before me.

Today, in Rhode Island, I meet working people every day who remind me of my grandparents: factory workers, house cleaners, nurses, kitchen workers. They are grinding out a living, believing that if they work hard and do the right thing that better days lie ahead.

The more I hear from the working people I represent, they are frustrated with politics. They don't think either party represents them. They are working harder than ever and are having a hard time paying their bills. They certainly can't afford to save money.

They see billionaires on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley get richer while they can't afford everything on their grocery list. They see Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, gleefully cutting services for seniors and veterans while Donald Trump pushes yet another tax cut for the very rich.

They see a Republican Party hell-bent on taking away people's healthcare and a Democratic Party that means well but tries to be all things to all people and too often fails to deliver.

Our grandparents knew a Democratic Party that not only had good intentions but that knew how to get things done. The working people I represent don't want a handout, but they do expect a level playing field and a fair shot, and they want a Democratic Party with a real plan.

What does that look like? It looks like making billionaires like Elon Musk pay their fair share so that we can give tax relief to the middle class. It looks like passing the PRO Act so that workers in retail and fast food can join a union and earn a ticket to the middle class like my grandfather did in his factory. It looks like universal preschool and affordable childcare, not just because it is good for kids, but because it helps parents work and build their savings. It means passing my bill to guarantee 10 days of paid vacation for all workers because Americans work hard, and they deserve to take some time off every once in a while and enjoy their lives without losing their jobs or their income.

For too long the system in this town has been rigged for the wealthy and well-connected, but that does not have to be our future. There is a new generation rising, people who are tired of being left behind and are ready for something better.

We don't need the Democratic Party to be all things to all people. We just need to reclaim our position as the party for working people. That work begins now, and I thank my colleagues who are here tonight who get it. I thank Representative Deluzio for bringing us together. I am ready to roll up my sleeves alongside of you.