Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I am proud to support the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act as passed out of the House Armed Services Committee.

While this bill includes some provisions that are not in line with Democratic priorities, it does represent a truly bipartisan product that was overwhelmingly supported by our committee. I thank Chairmen Rogers and Lamborn for working with me during our markup process, particularly on critical areas such as restoring funding for critical National Nuclear Security Administration efforts on nonproliferation and National Missile Defense policy.

Overall, I am proud of what is in this bill. It adds critical oversight to the nuclear weapons modernization enterprise, and while I firmly believe this world would be a better, safer place for our children without nuclear weapons--a view shared by many of us--the reality is that our nuclear deterrent is a key component of strategic stability so long as we have determined adversaries unwilling to engage in serious discussions of arms reduction.

Given that sobering reality, I support the administration's nuclear modernization plans, but I continue to have serious concerns about requiring the U.S. Navy to develop a nuclear-capable sea-launched cruise missile, as this bill would require. I believe we need to better understand the impacts to both the Navy and NNSA before we direct a program of record.

Across space, missile defense, and hypersonic weapons, this bill advances key technologies and capabilities while also requiring more in-depth study on how these systems will contribute to a future conflict and impact strategic stability.

I want to particularly call out Chairman Rogers' noting the $40 billion of cuts to old weapons systems we don't need to make room for the new. That is politically tough to do, and it is incredibly important that we accomplish it.

While this bill largely represents continuity and bipartisanship, my ability to support it going further depends on what a small group of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle might try to add on to it. Targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion; reproductive and women's rights; and the LGBTQ+ community, in addition to cutting off our assistance to Ukraine, are areas that I cannot support in a bipartisan bill.

Over hours of politically motivated debate attacking these programs, the majority offered zero evidence that they actually hurt recruiting. Indeed, what evidence is available tells the opposite story. Good luck recruiting women if they can't get healthcare based on the whims of which base they are assigned. Good luck recruiting minorities if they think they won't be respected in the service.

Finally, I will take this opportunity to again thank our subcommittee staff, Ryan Tully, Whitney Verett, Peter Schirtzinger, Maria Vastola, and Zach Calderon; my personal staff, Caroline Jones; and our Navy fellow, Kurt Shulkitas.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce H.R. 1096, a bill to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps.

This is a particular honor for me as a Marine Corps veteran myself. Serving as an infantry officer in the Iraq war, I was proud to lead some of the best Americans I have ever met--brave, selfless, honorable heroes who could have let others go in their place.

Indeed, marines are on watch tonight, standing on the ramparts of freedom around the globe so that we all can sleep softly in our beds at home.

The first time I remember meeting a marine was on my under-10 soccer field in my hometown of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Marblehead has the distinction of being the birthplace of Marine Corps Aviation because it was back in 1912 that Lieutenant Alfred Cunningham took his first solo flight out of Marblehead and became the first marine aviator.

A marine landed a Cobra helicopter on our soccer field, and I had never seen something like this before. I remember walking around this remarkable machine in awe. Then, I came up to the Marine Corps major who was the pilot, and I looked up at him and said: Wow, you are lucky to get to fly this every day. That Marine Corps major looked down at me and said: I am not lucky, kid. I am good.

Indeed, marines know that nobody cares if you are lucky or not. Marines make their own luck and have throughout history, being the first to fight in every clime and place, in battles that defined our Nation for two-and-a-half centuries: Belleau Wood in World War I, where the marines earned our reputation as Devil Dogs; the beaches of Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima in World War II; the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean war; the grueling jungles of Vietnam; and, of course, the Gulf wars, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

I will never forget the bravery of the young marines that I witnessed at Abbey Gate during the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal. After 13 American heroes lost their lives, what happened next is the definition of what it means to be a marine: Another platoon of marines went right back out to continue the mission, saving hundreds more of our Afghan allies.

Yet, the thing about the Marines is that we don't dwell on our history. We charge forward. Under the leadership of now-retired General Berger, the 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps, the force is undertaking the most aggressive modernization plan of any service in the last 50 years.

Force Design 2030 addresses everything from personnel to warships. It shifts resources from armor, artillery, and manned aircraft to invest in longer range missiles and unmanned aerial systems, better sensors and surveillance on the battlefield, and developing and retaining new cyber forces.

If we are to deter a war with China--and we must deter a war with China--

this type of forward-thinking is essential across all the services, and once again, the Marine Corps is setting the example and leading the way.

The Marine Corps is, therefore, at an inflection point, so it is particularly fitting that we have this opportunity to honor the indomitable spirit of the corps while also looking forward to its future.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my esteemed colleagues to support this bill and to recognize the valor, bravery, and sacrifice of ``The Few, The Proud, The Marines.''

Madam Speaker, I conclude with the final verse of ``The Marines' Hymn''

If the Army and the Navy

Ever look on Heaven's scenes;

They will find the streets are guarded

By United States Marines.

Semper Fidelis.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Marblehead, who received its charter on May 11, 1923.

The Rotary Club of Marblehead is home to like-minded individuals dedicated to making the world a better place. This club has provided support to the town of Marblehead since

1956, holding over 5,000 meetings. They have supported food banks, homeless shelters, and mental health and disability endeavors, and have given over 1 million dollars in college scholarships to high school seniors, as well as over $300,000 in summer camp scholarships.

Not only have they served Marblehead residents and the surrounding communities, but the world at large. Internationally, they have provided aid to Haiti, Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, Africa, Uganda and Mexico. Their aid programs range from providing shelter boxes for housing to clean water and education programs.

In honor of their 100th anniversary on May 11, 2023, they are generously gifting the town of Marblehead a two-faced town clock. Please join me in thanking them for their valiant effort in helping not only our community but the world.

Mr. Speaker, the safety and security of the United States over 21 years since 9/11 is no accident. It is due to the sweat, toil, and blood of thousands of young Americans.

Many Americans have enjoyed the fruits of this labor with not contributing anything to the cost. As a veteran of the war on terror myself, I stand here today and, from the bottom of my heart, genuinely wish I could tell you, Mr. Speaker, that I could tell my colleagues: ``Mission accomplished. We can go home.'' I truly wish I could say that, but the mission is not accomplished yet. It is not finished. There is still work to do, which our troops in Syria carry on today.

ISIS remains the deadliest terrorist threat in the world. The work that these troops do day in and day out is a relatively small investment in our security and the security of our allies.

Mr. Speaker, I share the general consensus that we should re-debate the AUMF. That is Congress' job. I have voted for measures similar to this in the past that will force that debate. We should force Congress to debate the AUMF, but we should not force our troops to withdraw.

Mr. Speaker, our lives are dominated by smart devices, not just smart cars, smartphones, and smartwatches, but dryers, refrigerators, and even toasters. These technologies make our lives easier, but most Americans don't know that their refrigerator has the ability to listen or to watch.

Despite the fact that well over 60 million homes are actively using smart home devices, our laws regulating this technology have lagged. Big Tech has been able to move the privacy goalposts with impunity, so it is past time for a new generation of digital privacy laws.

That is why I put forward the Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act along with my colleagues, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

This bill would require the Federal Trade Commission to establish guidelines for properly disclosing the audio or visual recording capabilities of smart devices. There is widespread support for this legislation, from consumer advocacy groups to the tech companies themselves.

Americans deserve the chance to make informed decisions about the electronic eavesdroppers we allow into our homes. Let's pass this bill so that our consumers know when Big Tech is listening.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for her incredible leadership on this and so many other issues on the House Committee on Armed Services. She has truly built a legacy which will be hard to repeat.

Signing up for the military is a sacrifice. In return, our servicemembers should never have to worry about their own healthcare being criminalized by the very country they have volunteered to defend.

But for an estimated 5,000 to 7,400 Active-Duty servicemembers and DOD civilians who find themselves in need of an abortion each year, this is exactly what could happen.

Thousands serve in States they did not choose. Many of these places now deem abortion a criminal act.

So what happens next?

Many of my colleagues would just simply suggest: Take leave and travel to a State that provides abortions.

Are we going to force servicemembers to disclose a sexual assault to justify leave? What about those who aren't authorized to travel due to training status? What about women with complications who need emergency services?

Forty percent of Active-Duty servicewomen in the U.S. could now be faced with significant challenges accessing critical healthcare in the wake of the Dobbs decision--40 percent.

Let me be clear, there will be an operational impact on military recruitment and retention.

The Department of Defense must defend all of its servicemembers. We entrust these brave young Americans with the toughest life-and-death decisions. We ought to trust them to make their own healthcare decisions, too. This is not only a human right, but it is a matter of national security.

Madam Speaker, I want to start by thanking my remarkable colleague for his courageous leadership, truly courageous leadership, on this and so many other issues for the House of Representatives.

I rise today to celebrate and honor the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month.

As we uplift this diverse and resilient community, I would like to use my time to spotlight the unique challenges faced by two important groups: LGBTQ+ youth and LGBTQ+ veterans.

Today, a growing contingent of the Republican Party is scapegoating LGBTQ+ youth and veterans through ignorant rhetoric and irresponsible policies. Their words and actions are worsening an already devastating mental health crisis among these kids.

Being a teenager is hard enough. You are finding your place, figuring out who you are and what you want to do. Now imagine waking up each day and hearing the people who are supposed to be leaders tearing you down, villainizing who you are, all for political gain.

This is unconscionable, and it has real-life consequences.

The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ young people attempt or seriously consider suicide every year in the United States.

Another group whose challenges we don't talk about enough are LGBTQ+ veterans, who experience higher rates of depression and more frequent thoughts of suicide than others.

I served with gay and bisexual great Americans in the Marines. For years under ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'' one of my very good friends, Joe, kept the fact that he is gay hidden so that he could put his life on the line for our country in Iraq.

Then when he got out of the Marines, he came out of the closet. But a year after that, in 2007, he got recalled to Active Duty. All he had to do to avoid another deployment was to pick up the phone and say two words to the Department of Defense: ``I'm gay.'' But he didn't. He didn't want anyone to go in his place. So he went back into the closet so that he could go back to the war, putting his life on the line again for another tour.

Joe, like so many others in his shoes, chose to serve our country. Yet, simply because of who they are, these patriots have dealt with unforgivable discrimination. For many LGBTQ+ vets, the mental health impacts are lifelong.

The scope of this mental health crisis is broad. We have come a long way, but we are facing a moment where that progress is at risk of moving backward instead of forward.

On July 16, we will take one big step forward when the 988 mental health emergencies hotline goes live.

Just like dialing 911 during a medical emergency, every single American will now have access to another easy-to-remember number.

This is just the first step. It is my hope that in the future, dialing 988 will give LGBTQ+ people the option to speak with someone who is specially trained to address the unique challenges faced by this community. LGBTQ+ Americans need to know that they can have access to the mental health resources they need just by picking up the phone. Because every American should know, in a time of crisis, you are not alone.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding.

Hanna Tripp served in the Air Force from 2009 to 2013. Hanna is also a Team Moulton alum, where she did extraordinary work for veterans in Massachusetts' Sixth District. Today, as a senior policy adviser at Minority Veterans of America, she continues to advocate for veterans everywhere.

I am grateful to be here on this year's 10th anniversary of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and I am honored to share Hanna's story with you all.

This is her story, in her words: ``I graduated flight school at the top of my class; flew 20 combat missions in Iraq; and later brought back the remains of our fallen from Afghanistan.

``Objectively, I was a good airman. However, nothing that I did or could do would supersede the fact that I was trans. In coming out, my service to this country would have been made irrelevant simply by this one aspect of who I was.

``So, in order to remain, I chose to bifurcate myself; to project a facade of the person the military expected me to be. The catch-22 was that while I heard members of my squadron talk about how `the gays' would destroy our combat effectiveness, I was unable to demonstrate that it didn't. This is the most enduring aspect of Don't Ask, Don't Tell for me. It was not that people like me were banned. It is that we were denied the opportunity to show our worth.

``Being trans in the Air Force was to live two versions of a lie: the lie you showed to the world in denying this fundamental truth and the lie that you told to yourself in doing so.

``There was also a feeling of betraying the community. How can I expect change if I don't have the courage to be the change I want to see? Why would those who had negative perceptions of `the gays' think any differently if I was too cowardly to show them?

``With absolutely no hubris, I can say that my service to this country was both valuable and needed. I enlisted in the middle of a war to serve in a career field that guaranteed I would be sent to the front lines. I recognize the contributions I made, but I can't say I am proud of my service, as I failed to stand up for the very values that I was fighting for.

``What is strange to me is that being trans is such a small part of who I am, but because of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, it has become a large part of how my service is perceived.

``I still feel the legacy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell even to this day. At the VA, I was denied emergency care for no other reason than I was trans. Even now, I remain cut off from most of the people I served with.

``When squadmates died from suicide, when Iraq fell to ISIS, and while I battled my own experiences from the war, I did so alone. To this day, people with no service in the military still freely challenge the veracity of trans service.

``For people such as myself, Don't Ask, Don't Tell meant that our accomplishments, our stories, and our service was hidden because we were forced to remain hidden.''

That is powerful testimony from Hanna Tripp, an American hero.

Mr. Speaker, 51, that is how many days until our official withdrawal from Afghanistan; 800, that is how many days it takes to process a single special immigrant visa; 21,000, that is how many of our Afghan allies put their lives on the line, not just for their country, but for ours, who are at risk of being beaten, tortured, beheaded, and slaughtered by the Taliban. And make no mistake, if they can get their hands on our friends, that is what the Taliban will do.

So the math is clear. We are out of time. The stakes are clear. Our reputation as a country, our ability to find allies in future conflicts, the willingness of people all over the globe to work for America because they trust us to uphold our own values, that is what is on the line.

We have to pass the Allies Act. The administration needs to conduct a full evacuation because we do not leave people behind. We are the United States of America. Let's remind the world of that today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge passage of my amendment to increase funding for the Passenger Rail Improvement, Modernization, and Expansion program.

The coalition that supports the PRIME program spans ideology and geography. We are united in this belief: America can still do big things.

Ten of our colleagues joined me by cosponsoring this amendment and, today, 80 Representatives and Senators joined Representatives Costa, Ocasio-Cortez, and me, calling for investments in high-speed rail.

In our country today, transportation is the leading driver of carbon emissions. Americans have fewer options for inner-city travel than citizens of China and France. And families are unable to afford homes where they work, and they can't go to where they work from where they can afford homes.

On top of that, trains are slower in America today than they were in the 1930s, a century ago.

The PRIME program is a great first step to fixing these problems. Regions like the Pacific Northwest can create an economic mega-region and see a 10:1 return by investing in the Cascadia High-Speed Rail Corridor, at less than half the cost of another lane of highway in either direction.

Americans across the Midwest would have access to new jobs and housing opportunities. You could live in Chattanooga and get to work in Atlanta in a little more than a half hour.

We can build a system that is faster than driving and more convenient than flying, and we can power it on low-power emissions.

Mr. Speaker, there is no reason we shouldn't adopt this.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who worked diligently to pass the advanced child tax credit, which will cut child poverty in half in just one year. We have a responsibility to make this money accessible to every child.

While our elder daughter, Emmy, is accounted for, our pandemic baby,

Caroline, is not. In my district, the IRS estimates that more than 6,000 children are unaccounted for.

My team has worked tirelessly to get relief to our constituents. I encourage our constituents to visit the IRS website to check their eligibility. There is even a tool for nonfilers.

The IRS is underfunded, and we need to fix that, but they have done a phenomenal job getting this set up.

While our caseworkers are always happy to help, our constituents shouldn't leave money on the table. So, check your eligibility and find out what makes sense for your family.

America Needs to Do the Right Thing

Mr. Speaker, our Afghan allies and friends risked their lives, not just for their country, but for ours. They put their lives on the line, not just for Afghanistan, but for America. And they are not just Afghan heroes, but American heroes, too.

They risked their lives because we made a solemn promise to them: We have your backs. Because we said that we have their backs, they now have a target on theirs.

Today, the Biden administration has heard the call of veterans across America who have said: Save our allies. Do the right thing by the promise that we made.

They have heeded our calls to pursue an evacuation because there simply is not enough time for special immigrant visas to be processed. It is 80 days until our withdrawal. The average time to process an SIV is 800 days.

Today is, therefore, a bright chapter in the long story of the advocacy of veterans all over this country, Democrat and Republican, who have called on the administration to execute a plan for evacuation.

But the story is far from over. We need to see a detailed operational plan, including a way to collect our allies from across this war-torn country, a way to ensure that their family members are saved as well, and a clear plan to get them COVID vaccines so they can travel safely to other countries, or to Guam, and not carry a risk of carrying the disease.

We also need to see an operational commander named to lead this effort, and we need a guarantee that this evacuation mission will continue until it is complete.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Milley, said yesterday that we have a moral obligation to fulfill this promise. I would add that that moral obligation is not just to our Afghan friends and allies. It is to every future young American on the ground in some conflict overseas who needs a friend, who needs an interpreter, who needs an ally and makes that promise once again: Come work with us. Come risk your life for us because we have your back.

Mr. Speaker, I remove my name as a cosponsor of H.R. 1127.

Madam Speaker, there are more troops right now in Washington, D.C., than in Afghanistan. They are here to defend us against the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States, and his mob.

I would ask my colleagues to look at the faces of those young Americans defending democracy, defending us, and find an ounce of their courage to do the right thing, as several Republicans have, and take a tough vote for the future of democracy, for the future of our country.

Mr. Chair, I want to point out that I agree with my colleague that this treaty is outdated, that Russia and China are developing weapons that exceed what is included here, but that is all the more reason why we need the time afforded by extending this treaty to develop a stronger replacement.

We shouldn't do what Russia wants. That is why I oppose this President, which Russia wants.

We need to have a stronger replacement for this treaty, and this amendment does exactly that. It gives us the time to get there while ensuring our safety in the meantime.

Madam Chair, I rise to oppose this amendment.

Now, I do not question my colleague from Ohio's commitment to our national security. He and I have worked together on this committee for several years.

But I do think that this amendment would be a grave strategic mistake. I oppose the development of these low-yield weapons for three distinct reasons:

One, they increase the chance of miscalculation by our enemies;

Two, they are a waste of taxpayer money for a capability that we already possess; and

Three, they weaken our national defense as a consequence.

The fundamental strength of our nuclear deterrence lies in the fact that our nuclear weapons are so catastrophically damaging that nobody would dare attack us or even threaten our allies with a nuclear weapon.

Lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons by signaling to our enemies that our response might not be catastrophic for them makes it more likely that our enemies will use nukes against us and our allies in the first place. It plays into Russia's dangerous new escalate to de-escalate doctrine.

Nobody should question the resolve of the United States of America to respond with overwhelming force if strategic weapons are used. Developing these low-yield weapons does just that. It questions that resolve, and that weakens our national defense.

Madam Chair, colleagues, this vote is about several things.

It is about war with Iran. The President and John Bolton have manufactured a crisis by withdrawing America from the Iran nuclear deal with no alternative, and Iran has a strategic advantage over us now that they did not have before under the deal.

This vote is about the Authorization for Use of Military Force passed almost 20 years ago that does not authorize war with Iran. We do not underestimate the Iranian threat. It is real, it is significant, but that does not make going to war now legal or necessary.

But most of all, this vote is about the Constitution and our duty to uphold it. It is the Commander in Chief's job to strengthen our national security, not weaken it, as he has done, and it is Congress' job to decide when we send young Americans to war.

The oath that we all took to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States is the same oath, word-for-word, that I took as a Marine officer.

Our troops are upholding that oath. They are doing their jobs. It is time for us in Congress to do ours.

Madam Chair, when is enough enough? The vote to go to war against Iraq in 2002 was a mistake. Congress should have been more careful, questioned the intelligence, and made sure that we exhausted every other option before we put young American lives in danger.

It is time that we stopped living off those past mistakes. Both the Obama administration and the Trump administration have maintained that the 2002 AUMF only serves to reinforce currently existing legal authority.

So it needs to end. We need to repeal it. Because keeping it in place does not support current operations, and it could be used as a legal pretext for future escalation in the Middle East that has not been authorized by Congress.

If we ever need to go to war against Iraq again, Congress has the constitutional obligation to make that decision. And we are fortunate that now that decision will be made, in part, by the generation that fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is coming to Congress to step in for the generation that sent us there.

So let's get rid of this mistake, clear the decks for a new generation of better, more accountable leadership, and ensure that Congress takes more careful responsibility for these decisions moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, amidst the tragedies of the Iraq war, I witnessed one of the proudest demonstrations of democracy in modern times. When Iraqis voted for the first time, they dipped their fingers in ink and, rather than hiding those fingers for fear of reprisal, they held them high walking through the streets.

What they were saying was that, for the first time in their lives, their opinion mattered. Their vote counted. It is the most fundamental requirement of a democracy. Yet, today, we know that this basic right has never been truly guaranteed here at home.

Our elections are not free when Americans must choose between providing for their families and casting a vote; our elections are not fair when gerrymandering predetermines them or dark money makes some votes count more than others; and our people do not have a voice when they are turned away by voter ID laws that make it easier to buy a gun than cast a vote.

H.R. 1 changes that, taking a stand against Citizens United, resolving to end gerrymandering, and making it far easier for Americans to vote.

I believe that America, however imperfect, is the greatest democracy on Earth. H.R. 1 finally makes us act that way.