Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Lebanon War Powers Resolution introduced by my friend Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.

The United States is actively participating in Israel's illegal invasion and bombing of Lebanon and its mass displacement of the Lebanese people. This participation was not authorized by Congress, and it supports strikes that are illegal under U.S. and international law. This resolution is urgently needed to stop using our tax dollars to fund Israeli war crimes.

There has been confusion about what support looks like, so I would like to be specific about what the United States' support looks like here. In southern Lebanon, homes are being leveled with U.S.-supplied bulldozers. Israel is engaging in chemical warfare with U.S.-supplied white phosphorus. The U.S. is providing targeting intelligence for Israeli strikes. There are even credible reports that President Trump personally green-lit specific Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

These examples demonstrate the depth of U.S. involvement and the urgency for Congress to act. This is exactly the kind of military involvement that Congress intended the War Powers Resolution to cover.

I urge my colleagues to consider that by supplying Israel with weapons and logistical support, we are giving Netanyahu the means to continue bombing and displacing thousands and thousands of people. Trump can yell at Netanyahu all he wants, but we can't have it both ways. We can't supply weapons and then be surprised when they get used. We can't supply diplomatic cover for previous violations and then be surprised when Netanyahu threatens to do it again.

The American people overwhelmingly oppose Trump's cruel, wasteful, and illegal war in Iran. If Trump is serious about ending this war, then we must prevent Israeli escalation in Lebanon. Ending our participation in that escalation is a necessary place to start.

As recently as this week's floor votes, Republicans are still out here inventing reasons why we can't help families here in America get food, support students trying to afford college, or fund childcare for working parents here. Meanwhile, they are trying to give $1.5 trillion to the Pentagon, some of which will fund the kinds of U.S. weapons and systems for Israel that are being used to undermine a peace deal with Iran.

My constituents have been clear about this. I suspect many of all of ours have been, as well. They want lower gas prices, better schools, reliable healthcare, dignified work, and affordable homes. They do not want the U.S. and their taxpayer dollars to be complicit in morally abhorrent, wasteful, and counterproductive foreign invasions.

Today, we have an opportunity to weigh in directly and say whether we want to end U.S. participation in an invasion. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The hearing, ``Survivors Fight for Justice: Exposing Epstein's Crimes in Palm Beach and Across the World,'' marked a critical step forward in the fight for justice and accountability.

On behalf of all the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes, I rise to include in the Record the testimony offered by Ms. Dani Bensky:

Hello, my name is Dani Bensky, I was abused by Jeffrey

Epstein in 2004-05. That was 8 years after the FBI was first

alerted.

Although my abuse is nowhere near ``easy'' to discuss and I

live with diagnosed PTSD from that experience, my story is

one of the safest to tell. The key abuser who caused me

physical harm is dead. It's imperative to understand that the

stories that you are hearing today are a tiny fraction of the

whole. I am one of more than 1,200 girls and women, and each

story is unique. I don't face the same level of threats of

defamation lawsuits and serious risks to my health and

physical safety as some of my survivor sisters do. The main

perpetrator in my story is no longer in a position of power.

While there are co-conspirators who need to be held

accountable for the parts they played in the operation of my

abuse, I was trafficked only to Epstein, which was

unfortunately not the case for so many others.

I'm here to tell you my story, which happens to fall in the

middle of the 30 years of the Epstein timeline. I was groomed

prior to meeting Jeffrey Epstein. I grew up in the dance

world. Perfectionism and body image issues ran rampant in a

world built on hierarchy and at times, secrecy. Older

teachers, artistic directors, and company members had unique

access to young dancers. I was accustomed to private lessons

with a ballet mistress that I was not allowed to tell anyone

about. The secrecy was because she hand selected dancers to

develop. I would go to her apartment, strip off my sweatpants

to my leotard and tights and have my body be criticized,

critiqued, and manipulated, not so different from what I

initially experienced with Jeffrey.

I was trafficked to Jeffrey. It happened in broad daylight

on Manhattan's Upper East Side. I had two recruiters, one was

a late teen, the other was only 15 years old and just trying

to escape her own abuse and make it for herself. There was a

process of systematic manipulation. Jeffrey weaponized my

aspirations and dreams by speaking the language of dance,

making false promises, and continuing to prey on my body

image issues. My mom had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. I

had seen the name ``Epstein'' listed on a donor wall and

believed that his wealth and power had come from the medical

profession. I brought him her scans. I was hoping to

understand her diagnosis. He told me that he could help

ensure the best doctors and care, or he could have it taken

away. He held my mother's brain scans over me, giving me an

ultimatum: either recruit more girls or do more for him. I

didn't recruit anyone and instead endured the abuse. In May

of 2005 my mother had a successful operation at Mount Sinai

to remove the tumor. Jeffrey was not in charge of her care,

nor did he provide financial support for her surgery. Once my

mother was rehabilitated, and I knew she would live, I

finally extricated myself from Jeffrey Epstein and his web.

The Epstein case demonstrates that institutional systems

have failed survivors time and time again. I was first

subpoenaed in 2008 for an interview. I was truly terrified

entering the FBI. I was just 20 years old and without a

victim's rights advocate or a lawyer; I didn't know I was

entitled to those protections. No one told me I was safe, and

many parts of the interview felt like an interrogation.

Jeffrey had already threatened my friend, and he had told me

that I would be charged with prostitution if I ever

interacted with law enforcement. That thought was pervasive,

it sat deep in me, haunting me. Shame cloaked in fear

prevented me from speaking out. To say that I feared for my

safety is an understatement. He made it clear that he held

the cards.

If authorities had listened to Maria Farmer in 1996, when

she first reported Jeffrey to the FBI, hundreds of girls,

including myself, might have had a completely different life

trajectory. Yet, time and time again, these systems have

failed survivors.

The systemic failures of survivors extend beyond the

victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell, as

documented by the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency

Act. Survivors from across the nation contacted their

congressional leaders and fueled this fight. Survivors,

advocates, and constituents across the country wanted to see

change. Yet, despite the Act's passage, a moment in which

survivors hoped and believed that we might see some

reckoning, we were met with yet another harsh disappointment.

Prior to the Transparency Act passing, we met with lawmakers

on both sides of the aisle where we made two things

abundantly clear. 1. We are not political, we are human. 2.

Protections for survivors are imperative, no redactions for

perpetrators. Out of an abundance of caution, my lawyer then

teamed up with another law firm representing survivors, and

together they submitted 350 victims' names to the DOJ as

names that needed to be redacted prior to the deadline on

December 19th.

In that first round of documents, I saw my name in two

places. Then in the January dump, there were more and the

redactions were far worse. Seeing my information exposed in

those documents triggers intense PTSD. There's a feeling that

shoots through my body like a hot flash on a bullet and a

nausea that lives in the deepest parts of my being. With

every exposure survivors are revictimized. I am just one of

hundreds of the survivors exposed. These files displayed my

name, phone number, old address, where I worked at the time,

where I was studying, and other identifying information.

What's important to understand is that these documents

weren't somehow just overlooked and not redacted at all, on

one document my nickname is redacted, while Danielle Hannah

Bensky is left completely unredacted.

A few weeks ago, a legal analyst reached out to share that

yet again, my name appeared in a 3rd batch of only 20

documents. After my lawyer continued to contact the DOJ on

multiple occasions for protection my name and information

remained attached. These documents hold disturbing, yet

incomplete accounts of my abuse, and they were viewable not

only by the entire world, but also by my child, my students,

my students' parents, my friends, my employers, my

colleagues, and my family. I'm public, however in my FBI 302,

a Jane Doe who has never wanted to be revealed was exposed.

She is someone I have tried to protect. This outing of

survivor names does real irrevocable damage.

The passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act was meant

to be a moment when survivors could regain their power and

finally obtain the truth, transparency, and justice they

deserve. It was a time for our institutions, created to

protect the American people, to, for once, side with

survivors. As survivors we have said time and time again this

is not political. This requires coming together and not

prioritizing political showmanship.

I recently had the opportunity to return to Jeffrey's

mansion on the Upper East Side. Normally, when you're a

child, everything feels massive, and when you revisit those

same places as an adult, they seem smaller. That was

certainly not the case here. Jeffrey's mansion on the Upper

East Side of Manhattan still felt immense, the doors towering

and the architecture looming, designed in a way to make you

feel small. This reflects something deeper. Our entrenched

systemic failures have allowed powerful people like Jeffrey

to make others feel small. When institutions prioritize

protecting the powerful and their enablers over protecting

victims, individuals like Jeffrey become normalized.

If we continue down this path, the question isn't whether

the abuse will happen again, but who? Who is the next Jeffrey

Epstein? What will be the next mansion used to exploit

privilege and enable the abuse of young girls? I'm always

asked ``what does accountability look like?'' Getting

perpetrators out of positions of power, seeing arrests be

made, and a complete culture shift to not only believe our

most vulnerable populations, but protect them.

This moment is critical. It is time to reform our system to

protect our survivors, not perpetrators, and to ensure the

truth can come to light.

Mr. Speaker, we have a childcare crisis in this country. In my home State of Pennsylvania, infant and toddler care costs on average $14,000 per year. That is almost one-half of the average annual salary of the childcare workers in my district.

Childcare, if folks can even find it, is pushing families into poverty as they are forced to make impossible choices between paying the rent or paying for care, between staying employed or staying home.

Republicans are doing everything in their power to undermine investments in childcare, including with this bill, which will allow employers to exclude childcare benefits from overtime pay.

Employees working overtime are the ones who need childcare the most and the bill undermines workers' ability to pay for that care.

For this reason, at the appropriate time I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill.

My amendment would replace the text of this bill with the Child Care for Working Families Act.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record the text of this amendment immediately prior to the motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, my legislation with Ranking Member Bobby Scott would make sure families actually have access to childcare slots, that no family spends more than 7 percent of their income on childcare, and that all early childhood educators make a livable wage.

If Republicans actually care about children and families, then I encourage them to pass the Child Care for Working Families Act. I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion to recommit.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and spiritual leader of more than 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, to Washington, D.C.

This week, His All-Holiness is visiting our Nation's Capital to receive the Templeton Prize, the most prestigious international award in religion and science. With this honor, he joins the ranks of Mother Teresa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the Dalai Lama. The recognition reflects not only his scholarship and spiritual leadership but his unwavering witness for peace, human dignity, and care for creation.

For more than three decades as Ecumenical Patriarch, His All-Holiness has been a global voice for reconciliation among peoples of different faiths and traditions. He has also been one of the first religious leaders to insist that harming the environment is not simply a failure of policy but a moral failing. His leadership reminds us that stewardship of our planet is inseparable from justice for our communities.

His leadership has been honored across the world. In 1997, he received the Congressional Gold Medal here in the United States, and he has been recognized internationally as one of the most influential figures of our time. Yet the true measure of his ministry lies not in awards, but in his call for peace over division, compassion over violence, and responsibility over indifference. As he has said, ``We have it in our power either to increase the hurt inflicted on our world or to contribute toward its healing. The choice is ours.''

His life's work reminds us that building a better world depends on moral courage, the same courage we need to meet our own fights for justice at home.

The people of Pennsylvania's 12th District, including the faithful of the Presentation of Christ Greek Orthodox Church in East Pittsburgh and St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Pittsburgh, are proud to share in this welcome.

I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the extraordinary ministry of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and in congratulating him on this well-deserved honor.

Mr. Speaker, I hereby remove my name as cosponsor of H.J. Res. 111.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill to designate the new Department of Veterans Affairs community- based outpatient clinic in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, as the Henry Parham VA Clinic.

Private First Class Henry Parham, who at the time of his passing on July 4, 2021, was believed to be the last surviving Black combat veteran of D-day. He passed away at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center at the age of 99, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy of courage, resilience, and service.

Drafted into the Army at just 21 years old, Mr. Parham joined the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, the only Black combat unit to land on D-day. Unable to swim on that day, Mr. Parham waded through neck-high water onto Omaha Beach, carrying his equipment under the chaos of enemy fire, praying for survival.

For 2 months, he and his battalion stood watch, aiding the flow of supplies and reinforcements to sustain Allied forces in turning the tide of the war. When asked about his service, Mr. Parham said simply: I did my duty. I did what I was supposed to do as an American.

That sense of responsibility defined him. After the war, Mr. Parham, like so many Black veterans, returned to a country that denied him the very freedoms he had fought to protect. He endured, devoting his life to service, spending decades volunteering at the Pittsburgh VA medical center and his local American Legion alongside his wife of 54 years, Ethel.

His dedication earned his recognition in his later year, including the French Legion of Honor.

In September 2023, the VA opened the Monroeville community-based outpatient clinic to improve veterans' access to primary and specialty outpatient services in our region.

Naming this facility after Henry Parham will serve as both a tribute to

his legacy and acknowledgment of the immense sacrifices made by veterans like him, those who fought for freedom abroad while enduring injustice at home. It is a testament to their courage and their unyielding belief in this Nation's promise, even when that promise was denied them.

In honoring Mr. Parham, let us continue to honor all veterans by ensuring they receive the highest quality of care and support they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Reschenthaler for co-leading this effort with me, Senators Fetterman and Casey for their leadership in the Senate, and the entire Pennsylvania delegation for their support, and I urge my colleagues to pass this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to S. 2228, the Building Chips in America Act.

I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is that we are here considering a bill that hasn't had a single hearing or the slightest bit of real scrutiny, but here we are because Speaker Johnson thinks it is a priority.

Now we need to set the record straight for the sake of our communities' health and safety and basic common sense.

Let's talk about the history of semiconductor manufacturing for a second. In 1947, Silicon Valley was the birthplace of the modern semiconductor, the backbone of our tech industry, but that birth left behind some pretty deep scars.

Semiconductor manufacturing has never been clean. It has left behind pollution, toxic waste, and even poisoned workers. Silicon Valley still holds the record for the most Superfund sites in the country. We are talking miscarriages, cancer, and entire communities still dealing with the fallout today. It is serious.

As we work to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S., we must do it right this time. We cannot afford to repeat the devastating mistakes of the past, and we don't need to.

What does this bill want us to do?

It intends to throw all those lessons out the window and bring back the same toxic mess we saw in Silicon Valley, only bigger.

Are we really going to let this disaster play out again in places like Palm Bay, Florida; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Clay, New York; or St. Peters, Missouri?

These are the communities on the line, all home to semiconductor plants getting funding under the CHIPS and Science Act.

Polluting our communities and putting families in harm's way is a policy choice. We have cleaned up a lot of the mess in Silicon Valley, and we have proven that semiconductor manufacturing can be done without hurting workers or the environment.

Democrats worked to pass the CHIPS and Science Act to ensure that when we invest in America's future, we do it the right way.

We made sure these investments benefit all Americans, not just a select few, and we have Secretary Raimondo and the Biden-Harris administration making sure that taxpayer dollars being spent on this are stewarded with care.

So far, those investments are already showing results across the country, and it is just the beginning, but this bill wants to scrap all that progress.

It would wipe out environmental reviews and public input under the National Environmental Policy Act for semiconductor facilities.

That means no guarantees, no checks to make sure companies aren't using our money to harm the very people paying those taxes.

Let me tell you something else: The rush is fake. Republicans keep saying that environmental red tape is slowing down progress, but that is just not true.

Secretary Raimondo has testified that things are moving along just fine. We even made sure the agency got enough funding to handle the workload.

What we are looking at is a dangerous, pointless bill that doesn't solve any real problems. In fact, it creates new ones, ones that could put the health and safety of countless Americans at risk.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand with me in opposing this bill so we can do it the right way.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on S. 2228, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my outrage. Gaza has been decimated by the Israeli military using weapons provided by the United States. Over 39,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and more are being killed every day. Most homes, most infrastructure destroyed.

Yet, what do we do? We welcome Netanyahu, the person responsible for this, to address Congress with open arms. As a student of history and as a Black woman in this country, I am keenly aware of the role that this very body has played in the marginalizing of Black and Brown folks domestically and abroad. This is why I refuse to remain silent.

When Putin commits war crimes, we condemn him. When Netanyahu commits war crimes, we give him excuses and bombs. This hypocrisy is not lost on the world. Americans are less safe, and our standing in the world is greatly diminished because of our inability to remain morally consistent.

Years from now, this body will be ashamed of its actions. The large majority of our constituents are ashamed today. It is well past time that we stop this moral inconsistency and start working toward a just and lasting peace for all in this region.

Mr. Speaker, when we say that the right to vote is under attack, we are not talking about hypotheticals. It is under attack right now and right here with this very bill.

Republicans want to throw up barriers because when people vote, they lose.

Let me be clear: They don't want you to vote. They don't want to hear Black voices, Brown voices, LBGTQIA+ voices, or young voices. Our fundamental access to our democracy is being politicized, and this xenophobic attack that we are debating today will make it harder for Americans to vote.

My Republican colleagues will claim that requiring IDs is a small ask, but nearly 30 million people lack a valid driver's license, and 15 to 18 million of those adults don't have access to documents proving their birth or citizenship.

Americans don't need more obstacles to vote. It is already hard enough. That is why I am proud to have introduced the Right to Vote Act with my colleagues, Assistant Leader Neguse and Senator Ossoff. This bill would enshrine people's right to vote and prohibit governments on all levels from restricting that right with bills like this one.

This bill is part of the Democrats' Freedom to Vote Act.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is part of the Democrats' Freedom to Vote Act. Along with the

John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, these are the types of bills we should be bringing to the floor, not this nonsense.

Every day that we let rightwing Republicans pass laws like this that restrict ballot access, reduce polling stations in Black neighborhoods, or drown out our voices with big money campaigns, we fail the American people.

Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to oppose this harmful legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act. The bill amends the carbon storage provisions of the bipartisan Energy Act of 2020 to support research and development on ways to sequester carbon in terrestrial ecosystems, agriculture, and forestry.

Recent academic research has found that agricultural approaches that enhance the carbon uptake of soils have many potential benefits, including increased productivity and improvements in the stability of yields.

Mr. Speaker, this bill will help us better understand the potential short-term or long-term behavior of sequestered carbon and help identify any scientific barriers to the widespread deployment of these technologies.

This is not to mention the added benefit of removing carbon from the atmosphere, making this one of many solutions we need to advance if we are to slow down or even reverse the effects of climate change.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4824, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 4824, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of legislation that I am proud to see passed on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, the bipartisan Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act. Across the country, there are around 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells in urgent need of remediation or plugging.

In Pennsylvania, there are well over 350,000 abandoned wells, but only 27,000 of these have been identified and documented in order to be plugged.

These abandoned wells not only contribute to the climate crisis by leaking methane, but they also expose our families to cancer-causing toxins like benzene, leave our homes vulnerable to explosive gases, and lower property values making it tougher for families to maintain and sell their homes.

Our region's health and economy suffer while we allow these wells to pollute our communities without accountability or plans to plug them.

Last month, I visited the home of Pamela and Ivan Schrank, a couple in Murrysville, who recently discovered a leaky, abandoned well on their property in Westmoreland County.

During my visit, Pamela described how she got dizzy and almost fainted while gardening in her backyard after being exposed to the pungent odor she recognized as gas. Fortunately, she and her husband, Ivan, caught the leakage in time to reach out to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to begin the process of plugging the well and preventing permanent harm to their family's health and the value of their property. However, until Congress takes action to invest in the identification and remediation of abandoned wells starting with the passage of this bill, tens of thousands of people in my district and across Pennsylvania will continue to suffer the consequences.

Pennsylvania has more abandoned wells than any other State except Texas. Many of these wells that pollute our communities were drilled in the mid-1800s, decades before regulations existed to properly track and document them.

My district already suffers from some of the worst air quality in the Nation and serious rates of exposure to toxins in our water. These communities also suffer from high rates of asthma or COPD and exposure to lead in our water.

We can't leave leaky oil and gas wells from the 1800s to continue poisoning and endangering our communities. We also can't afford inaction. We must invest significant resources to research and develop solutions to this crisis by passing our bipartisan bill because, until we do, it will remain nearly impossible to track every orphaned and abandoned well and too expensive to plug or remediate them.

This bipartisan bill we have introduced builds on the $23 million worth of Federal investments to plug abandoned wells we have already delivered to western Pennsylvania from the infrastructure act by authorizing a new research, development, and demonstration program at the Department of Energy to locate, identify, and address the problems associated with abandoned oil and gas wells.

This program will enhance our ability to locate these wells and direct research toward improving remediation, plugging, and understanding what causes some of these wells to become super emitters, posing the most harm to our health and our climate. It will also fuel the development of new uses for these wells, such as evaluating whether they are suitable for conversion to geothermal power production.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Lofgren for supporting this legislation, as well as Representative Bice for joining me in championing this issue for bringing this important bipartisan bill to the floor.

Today, the Science Committee has now twice unanimously approved this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 4877, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6093.

Sadly, this year is expected to set yet another record for global temperatures according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Last year, the U.S. experienced 28 separate extreme weather and climate disasters costing more than $1 billion each, surpassing the previous record set in 2020.

Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of severe storms. Just 2 weeks ago, Pittsburgh was inundated by a severe storm that flooded many parts of the area. Daily rainfall records for the Pittsburgh area were shattered, and there were numerous road closures and water rescues across Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which I represent.

The science is clear. The need to act cannot be ignored. As we adapt to this unfortunate new norm of severe weather events, our forecasting capabilities and preparedness must substantially improve.

H.R. 6093 will build upon the bipartisan 2017 Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act that led to critical research and advancements in weather and climate forecasting. This bill before us today will support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in continuing to improve research, development, dissemination, and communication of environmental forecasts, warnings, and information. We must ensure that NOAA has access to every tool to improve the accuracy and timeliness of weather and climate information to effectively meet its mission in protecting people, property, and the economy.

Specifically, this bill modifies and extends key weather and climate research programs for hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, drought, and harmful algal blooms. It also establishes and codifies new forecasting improvement programs for precipitation, atmospheric rivers, and coastal flooding, including storm surges. Additionally, the bill authorizes NOAA to expand its partnership with private industry in gathering more data while solidifying its own role as the driver of the enterprise and leverages the use of artificial intelligence to meet its mission.

Necessary improvements in data assimilation will be made so that our weather models continue to be the gold standard. While the improvement of all severe weather-related research programs is necessary, the communication of the information is also a key element to an effective forecast.

Under-observed, underserved, and highly vulnerable communities are disproportionately affected by severe weather and climate events. To better serve these communities, we must determine how to best communicate important weather and climate information. Understanding how the public receives, interprets, responds to, and values severe weather information is necessary to produce better forecasts and warnings. This bill aims to accomplish this by expanding NOAA's social, behavioral, and economic science research program to simplify and improve the communication of hazardous weather.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Lofgren for their diligent work and cooperation

on this important legislation, and also many of my colleagues who made significant contributions to this excellent piece of legislation. I strongly support this sensible, bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jackson).

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the Democratic staff who were the driving force behind this bill: Kristi Parrott, Noah Hunt, and Dahlia Sokolov. I thank them for their work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 6093, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I stand today in vehement opposition to H.R. 7023, the Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act.

It is amusing that we are having an energy week conducted by a majority that uses all of its energy to fight against the interests and well-being of the American people. This bill is emblematic of the Republican Party that shamelessly prioritizes the investments of their billionaire donors over the health of our children, our communities, and our environment, not to mention our economy.

Every Member of this body likes to claim to be here to advance the needs of our constituents, but it seems like every day the Republican Party tries to tear down the very laws that aim to protect their own constituents, as well as mine, from corporate polluters pumping toxins into our air and drinking water.

It seems like every day they fight to repeal the investments that are creating thousands of good-paying union jobs in districts like mine, lowering our energy bills, and creating a healthy, livable future for our kids.

Pittsburgh is the 22nd most polluted city in the Nation, and this year was the first year that we didn't get a failing grade from the American Lung Association. I know far too well what happens when corporate polluters are absolved of responsibility and accountability for their actions, which several portions of this bill seek to enable.

I am proud to fight against those who seek to endanger our communities, endanger our children, through polluted air and tainted water, just so they can give another handout to the billionaires and Big Oil CEOs who bankroll their campaigns. I am proud to represent western Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh where we have worked hard to remove and replace over 10,000 lead service lines, largely thanks to Federal protections and investments these Republicans are trying to repeal.

The only confidence this bill gives me is that Republicans will take any opportunity to eliminate oversight and safeguards for our environment and to silence the voices of those in communities who are tired of unbreathable air and toxic water.

Mr. Chair, I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose the passage of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today, on the last day of Black History Month, in recognition of the Freedom House Ambulance Service, a group of Black men and women from Pittsburgh who, over 50 years ago, revolutionized emergency medical services.

They were the first to perform tourniquets for uncontrolled bleeding, resuscitation techniques for heart attacks, and to treat breathing problems all en route.

These folks were not doctors or nurses. They were from the poorest, Blackest areas of Pittsburgh. They were overlooked in society still trying, and mostly failing, to deliver on the promise of the Civil Rights Act, yet they set the standard for how medical professionals handle emergency care today while filling the voids of institutions that were failing us.

For the first time, Black folks in Pittsburgh got the medical care we needed, until they were absorbed by the city government when Black neighborhoods started getting better treatment than their rich, White counterparts who refused their services.

Freedom House Ambulance Service saved countless lives in Pittsburgh's most underserved neighborhoods and their legacy has saved countless lives across the country. Today, I am proud to introduce a resolution honoring them.

As we close out Black History Month, let us not forget the Black historymakers who, despite barriers, made this country a better place.