Floor Statements

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6317 as well to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service at 12109 New Kent Highway in New Kent, Virginia, as the Patricia Paige Post Office.

Patricia Paige was a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves and a longtime member of the New Kent County Board of Supervisors. She served her community for decades.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Patricia Paige by naming the post office in New Kent after her.

Madam Speaker, I urge passage of 6317, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today also in support of H.R. 6808. I encourage my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Pharmacist's Mate First Class Willis by naming the post office in Columbia, Tennessee, after him.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6995 as well. I encourage my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Jeremy Malone by naming the Post Office in Beaumont after him, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 6247 and encourage my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Mayor Honea by naming the post office in Marana, Arizona, after him. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5831. I encourage my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Master Sergeant Handrich by naming the post office in Waupaca, Wisconsin, after him.

Madam Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 5831, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the ALERT Act as well. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill.

A big reason why we are here is that, on January 29, 2025, a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 collided in midair outside of DCA. Sixty-seven lives were lost, many of them parents and children from my community in Virginia.

After the crash, many of us said that we would do all we can do to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again. The ALERT Act is part of the solution.

The bill addresses all 50 of the safety recommendations by the NTSB following their investigation into this crash. We need to address them all because it wasn't just one issue that led to this tragedy. It was a combination of systemic problems that made our national airspace unsafe.

I want to stress that there is more work to do. First, we must ensure there are no delays in implementing collision-prevention technology for every type of aircraft. We must also ensure that exemptions from new safety equipment requirements are granted only when absolutely necessary.

Finally, the ROTOR Act is a part of the solution, too. It passed the Senate resoundingly and has the support of families, and it even went through this body, where the majority supported it.

We must restore trust in our airspace and make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

Madam Speaker, I really want to thank the families and loved ones of Flight 5342. Without their advocacy and persistence, neither the ALERT Act nor the ROTOR Act would have made it this far. I look forward to continuing our work with them.

Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member as well as the committee for all of their hard work on this bill. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti. I include in the Record the following proclamation honoring this holiday and its traditions:

Whereas, Mahavir Jayanti honors the birth anniversary of

Mahavir Swami, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of Jainism, and

acknowledges the significant contributions of the Jain

American community to the United States; and

Whereas, Mahavir Swami preached the core principles of

Ahimsa (non-violence) and Satya (truthfulness), which

continue to inspire people around the globe; and

Whereas, millions of Jains worldwide observe Mahavir

Jayanti through rituals, reflection, and acts of community

service; and

Whereas, Jainism has a rich tradition, spanning 2,500

years; and

Whereas, there are an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Jain

Americans contributing across fields, including business,

education, medicine, the law, the arts, and technology; and

Whereas, members of the Jain American community have

demonstrated a commitment to public service and philanthropy,

establishing hospitals, food banks, and disaster relief

efforts to serve people of all backgrounds; and

Whereas, Jain Americans have promoted the importance of a

strong interfaith dialogue; and

Whereas, Mahavir Jayanti provides an opportunity for

Americans of all backgrounds to learn more and engage with

the history, philosophy, and contributions of the Jain

community.

I wish all those celebrating a joyous Mahavir Jayanti.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of the House the potential sale of the Middleburg Training Center to the Army.

The training center has been a bedrock of the town's local economy since its establishment in 1956. It is one of the leading horse training facilities in the country and a major driver of the local economy. There is really not a horse training facility, public or private, nearby.

To be clear, we welcome the Army and the Old Guard Caisson Detachment in Loudoun, but we need to give the community a voice in this process and consider alternative sites that won't disrupt the local economy.

If this sale goes through, thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars that benefit the local economy may be lost.

I ask that we slow this process down and consider an alternative site within the region that can appropriately accommodate the Caisson horses and provide a turnkey solution for the Army's needs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Dennis Dunlap, who passed away this past weekend, just before his 105th birthday.

Born in Missouri during the Great Depression, Dennis grew up in a small farmhouse without electricity or water. When the U.S. entered World War II, Dennis answered the call to serve.

Dennis joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1943, serving as a corporal in North Africa and later on in Corsica. He actually repaired P-47 Thunderbolts damaged in combat. He played a major role in the war.

After the war, Dennis pursued his American Dream by becoming a master mechanic and starting a family. Despite all of his accomplishments throughout his life, what Dennis treasured most was the time he spent with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. At 104 years old, he continued to inspire and remain active in his community in Prince William County.

His story is a reminder of a generation that built this Nation. It is a story of perseverance and purpose.

Today, we honor and celebrate Dennis' service and Dennis' life.

Rest in peace, Dennis.

Supporting Federal TRIO Programs

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Federal TRIO programs.

Federal TRIO programs provide services to disadvantaged students to support their success from middle school all the way through college and beyond.

These critical programs service over 800,000 students nationwide, including 15,000 in Virginia. They focus on veterans, students with disabilities, low-income students, and first-generation college students.

TRIO programs are vital to the success of students across the country in preparing for and entering college. They also aid adult learners in preparing to enter the workforce.

Unfortunately, this administration and the Department of Education right now are failing to support Federal TRIO programs. Grant applications that should have opened last fall for two TRIO programs, the Talent Search and Education Opportunity Centers, are still nowhere to be found.

If these delays continue, programs will be unable to open on time come this August, harming students across the country. That is why I am calling on the Department of Education to immediately release this year's TRIO applications. We need to support these students' achievements, not hamper them.

I know many Senators have written a letter, as well, to the administration about this. It is bipartisan, and we need to get it done.

Opposition to Criminalization of Women Having Miscarriages

Mr. Speaker, I don't usually do this, but I rise in opposition to a bill that hasn't reached the floor yet. It is called the Clean Water for All Life Act.

Apparently, this bill would make it illegal to flush abortion or miscarriage remains down a toilet to protect both human dignity and America's water systems.

The problem with this, of course, is that a lot of women who are having miscarriages don't even know that they are having a miscarriage, or maybe they don't realize that that blood clot was a miscarriage. There isn't really another place in many cases to have your miscarriage except on a toilet because of our healthcare system.

It is usually the worst day in a woman's life. Now, with this bill, apparently it is a crime. Women can face up to 5 years in prison for that happening, and this is all in the name of protecting America's waterways, even though there is no credible evidence that this actually pollutes our waterways.

If Congress wants to protect our waterways, Congress should not pass the budget bills that make it easier to pollute them like has been done in this Congress. Congress should actually fund water infrastructure improvements in our country or create a healthcare system that makes women be able to manage this incredibly difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose criminalizing women for having miscarriages, and I hope this bill never sees the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken here about how this administration did not adequately warn U.S. citizens in the Middle East before launching attacks against Iran. They left American citizens in the Middle East stranded and told them that they were on their own.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud them for correcting this mistake and working really hard to try to get people flights out and helping them to evacuate. Unfortunately, it looks like that was only a temporary response because this week, I am having constituents tell me that, once again, they are being told that they are on their own.

One family I am working with is in Kuwait right now and was told to take a commercial flight out and that the State Department couldn't help them. The problem is that Kuwaiti airspace is actually closed right now. The family was told that they would have to take a bus to Saudi Arabia and that the State Department wouldn't really help them with that. Even if they did get there, there are frequent restrictions on flights in Saudi Arabia due to continued missile and drone threats.

Again, I am left wondering why we are telling Americans that we have billions of dollars to spend on bombs, missiles, and warships, but we don't have the money to get American citizens who want to get out, out of the Middle East, particularly ones who are in dangerous areas where there are no commercial flights.

It is insulting to tell the American people to foot the bill to get out of the Middle East in a dangerous position when we didn't warn them in the first place.

Once again, I am calling on the administration to help Americans who need to get out, get out. The safety of the American people should come first.

Supporting Small Business AI Startups

Mr. Speaker, AI is massively reshaping our economy and our small businesses. When most people think of companies leading on AI, they think of the Big Tech companies, but there is more to this AI economy than those big companies. They are AI small businesses and startups that play a key role in innovation. They are the drivers of innovation, economic growth, and American technological supremacy.

They can often be more agile than bigger tech companies and create fantastic solutions and products, but they aren't always working on an even playing field.

That is why I am introducing this week the small AI innovators empowerment act. This bill would look at challenges that small AI businesses and startups face, including areas like access to funding, hiring and retention of talented employees, and the impact of regulatory uncertainty.

Supporting small-tech businesses helps us to stay ahead of international competition as our world becomes increasingly reliant on AI. I thank Congressman Obernolte for sponsoring this bill with me.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting AI small businesses by supporting this small AI innovators empowerment act.

Congratulating The Flower Gallery

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate The Flower Gallery of Virginia on its 50th anniversary. The Flower Gallery has contributed to the joy of residents in our community, including Manassas and Northern Virginia, since 1976, when Doug Burroughs first bought the shop from his employer.

Over that time, The Flower Gallery has helped our community celebrate life's milestones, including many birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. It also provides local youth and civic organizations with flowers for fundraisers and community events.

I congratulate Doug for creating such a beloved institution and for 50 years of success. I am wishing Doug and The Flower Gallery many more years of prosperity.

Opposing Attack on Federal Workers

Mr. Speaker, we know that this administration has been constantly attacking our Nation's Federal workers and contractors. They have chased out people with specialized skills and decades of experience, making our country less safe and less healthy, while also making our agencies either understaffed, or led by unqualified loyalists.

The latest attack might actually be one of the worst, and that is the creation of the Schedule P/C positions. We knew that there would be an attack on Schedule F. This basically would make it easier for career civil servants to be fired and to be replaced with loyalists who are not qualified.

Federal workers would lose job protections, and it would make it incredibly difficult to attract people, retain them, and get the best talent in the country to come work in the Federal Government. We have been working on this across many administrations, and this is undoing a lot of that work.

The reality is that Federal workers and contractors pledge allegiance to our country and not to a President or an ideology. This rule would hurt our country for many years to come, and it would do irreparable damage to our institutions and to the people who rely on them.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this rule. It is not well thought out, and it is going to hurt us in the long run.

Mr. Speaker, I am a little confused why we are still having this shutdown and still having this debate, because House Democrats have been very clear about what we want. We just want no more masked agents and warrantless break-ins.

We also have a bill that would fund the important parts of DHS, like FEMA and like other parts of it. What we don't want is to be funding private planes for the Secretary. What we want is some accountability for ICE and transparency. This is what the American people want.

I want to remind us about who is actually prioritizing safety, because it is this administration that actually fired a lot of people who are cybersecurity experts. We are now in a war where cybersecurity is at the forefront. They fired a lot of people who were in counterterrorism, and now there is a 22-year-old running counterterrorism for our country when we are in a war with a country that specializes in terrorism.

Meanwhile, Secretary Noem has spent millions on personal planes. The American taxpayers want accountability for their tax dollars, and they deserve better.

Mr. Speaker, we will obviously be talking about the Iran war this week, but something that is not getting enough attention right now is the 300,000 U.S. citizens in the region who are stranded because we sent all this firepower to the region.

If we are going to attack Iran, why didn't we have a plan to get American citizens out of the region? Someone just asked President Trump that question. Here is what he said: ``Well, because it happened all very quickly. We thought, and I thought maybe more so than most--I could ask Marco--but I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked. They were getting ready to attack Israel.''

Mr. Speaker, I don't even know what that means. What I think is that with all that military firepower in the region, we could have given them a little bit of warning or at least more than just what we gave them.

Instead, only now are they being told to evacuate the region--with one caveat, though. They are on their own because there are barely any commercial flights going in and out of the region.

While hotels are being attacked and everything appears to be a target, this administration is not doing enough to help.

We should have seen this coming. Why aren't we valuing American lives more in the region? The administration was just telling them tough luck.

Mr. Speaker, this should be a national priority. If we are going to spend billions on jets and bombs, we can afford to evacuate Americans. We need to get serious right now about protecting Americans in the Middle East.

Mr. Speaker, I thank everyone here today for all their hard work and leadership.

One of the things that the President said last night is he is doing so much to lower energy costs through drill, baby, drill and through all of the other actions he has taken.

I think on the campaign he said he was going to lower energy prices by 50 percent. Yet, last year, Americans paid more than 13 percent for their electricity bills compared to the previous year. The big reason is that the big, ugly bill added about $250 billion to Americans' energy bills by picking energy favorites and slowing down new technology, so energy prices continue to rise for Americans.

Something the President said is that the data centers will help lower Americans' energy costs. One of the assumptions there is that they will pay for their own energy infrastructure and essentially not shift that burden to Virginians and Americans.

In Virginia, we are facing an additional 9 percent increase in energy costs this year, and data centers are a big part of that. They consume about 25 percent of the energy and could be more soon. It could be up to 40 percent. Last year, more than $4.3 billion in transmission infrastructure costs for data centers were passed on to ratepayers.

With this pledge, basically the President is asking for technology companies building data centers to pledge to build their own energy infrastructure along with their data centers moving forward and not shift the costs to ratepayers.

I welcome the idea of making sure that ratepayers aren't shouldering the burden of energy infrastructure and energy generation because the American people deserve better than that.

One of the things I would like to see more of is rather than a pledge, a concrete proposal, actual regulatory framework that will protect people's energy costs.

That is what we are doing in Virginia. Down in Richmond, there is now legislation that they are moving forward to essentially make sure that ratepayers aren't paying for the energy generation of data centers.

I look forward to having this bipartisan conversation, but I know that if the President doesn't come up with the framework that we need, then it is going to be another promise made, promise not kept when it comes to energy prices.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and career of the great Robert Duvall, who passed away on February 15 at the age of 95.

Many know Mr. Duvall as one of the most iconic actors and filmmakers of his generation. He is known worldwide for his unparalleled range and for bringing to life some of the greatest stories ever told, such as his haunting debut as Boo Radley in ``To Kill a Mockingbird'' and powerful portrayal of Tom Hagen in ``The Godfather.''

In our community, we know him as just a great guy and great human being, an Army veteran who served our country, and a man of quiet integrity, who preferred his Virginia farm to the glitz of Hollywood.

Robert lived by a simple rule: listen, really listen. He did that as a resident of Fauquier County, where he was known as a great neighbor and environmentalist, who supported so many causes in our community.

In Winchester, he supported a children's home, often visiting the kids with gifts, like gingerbread houses during the holidays.

As Robert once said: ``Yesterday is gone, and we can't get it back.'' While we cannot get him back, we are left with an incredible legacy that he leaves behind in our community and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I extend my condolences to all of his family. May he rest in peace, and may his legacy in Hollywood and in our community continue to inspire.

honoring the life of witold ``vic'' brick

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the incredible life of Witold ``Vic'' Brick, a local veteran in Loudoun County who fought with the Allies in World War II.

Vic passed away last week at the age of 103. He was born in Warsaw in 1923, and he graduated from school in 1943.

After experiencing the worsening conditions under German occupation, Vic joined the Polish underground movement, the AK.

The AK was the primary Polish resistance of the Germans in World War II, tasked with sabotaging German military efforts. He was part of an uprising that lasted 63 days until it was captured. Vic was amazingly able to survive this and was liberated by General Patton.

Vic didn't stop his service there. After being rescued, he joined the Polish 2nd Corps, part of the British Eighth under the command of General Alexander, who served bravely until the end of the war.

It was Congress that allowed Vic and 10,000 other Polish servicemen living in England to immigrate to the United States.

Vic considered himself lucky in an unlucky situation and remained forever grateful for the opportunities he was given as an American citizen.

Vic was a valued part of our community in Loudoun County. We were proud to have him and lucky to hear his stories about all the years that he served, as well as the years after that.

Vic is survived by his children, George, Kay, and Michelle, and his nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

May Witold ``Vic'' Brick rest in peace and his bravery inspire others to do the right thing, even when the odds are against you.

va disability benefits determinations

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in response to the recent interim rule from the Department of Veterans Affairs that would change how disability benefits are determined for our veterans.

Under this rule, disability ratings would be based not on the underlying condition, but on how a veteran presents after medication.

If you have severe PTSD and take medication for it, your benefits will be evaluated not based on your underlying PTSD but based on your condition after taking the medication at the time you are being evaluated.

Remember, these medications wear off. Maybe you seem fine right now after taking your medication during your evaluation, but then the medication doesn't work later on or loses its effectiveness over time. You are still judged based on the time you were evaluated.

We are creating a system here that is destined to fail our veterans. We are even incentivizing them not to take their medication if they want to receive full benefits.

Thankfully, because of public backlash, the VA has said that it will not enforce this rule right now. However, the rule is still in place, and it can be enforced at any time.

Veterans relying on these lifesaving medications every day are still left in limbo, not only for their mental health but for their chronic pain, traumatic brain injuries, seizures, heart disease, diabetes, and all the other ailments that they have suffered as a result of their service.

These medications do not cure disabilities. They help veterans function despite them.

It makes no sense, and it is wrong for a veteran's benefits to be dependent on how well their medication is working during the time of evaluation. We must eliminate this rule once and for all.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 390, the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations Act, or ACERO Act.

Destructive wildfires threaten human lives and communities around the country. Just over 1 year ago, the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires in southern California killed 31 people and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage.

In 2025, the U.S. experienced nearly 78,000 wildfires that burned more than 5 million acres. One tool we can use to prevent, mitigate, and respond to wildfires is aviation. Crewed aircraft have long been used to monitor and fight fires. Now, advanced aviation technologies and uncrewed aerial systems can advance our response to wildfires.

It is important now more than ever that crewed and uncrewed aircraft work together safely alongside ground operations. That means sharing and coordinating real-time operations information between aircraft, drone operators, and ground crews across multiple government agencies.

Here is where NASA and ACERO come in. NASA has done further research, development, and demonstration work, to use its tools and technologies for specific public safety applications, including wildfire response. The success of an initial pilot program led NASA to launch the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations project, or ACERO.

This legislation would formally codify the research and development efforts under ACERO in law. This bill directs NASA to conduct research and development activities to improve aerial responses to wildfires.

Additionally, NASA would be authorized under this bill to conduct research in areas including advanced aircraft technologies and airspace management, information sharing and real-time data exchange, and the development of an interagency coordination platform.

We need to ensure our first responders have access to the most advanced tools to respond to wildfires. This bill supports using NASA's brightest minds and cutting-edge technologies to support the safety of our communities. The ACERO Act will enable safer, more effective aerial operations for Federal, State, and local efforts on the front lines of wildfire management and response.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Mr. Fong and Ms. McClellan, for their work on this bill. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 390, and I yield back the balance of my time.