Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, isn't it interesting that we are here debating TPS for Haiti today? It is interesting because the t in TPS stands for ``temporary.'' It has never been intended as a rolling, multigenerational amnesty program. Yet, that is exactly what it has become: an amnesty program.

In fact, during the 4 years of the Biden-Harris administration, this tool was used to extend de facto amnesty to more than 1 million aliens who entered this country without a visa. If this bill is passed, which was originally declared by President Obama in 2010, it will be extended yet again, this time through the end of the decade.

That is 20 years. That does not sound temporary.

Yet, it isn't just Haiti. Every Democrat administration has abused TPS. There are currently 1.5 million aliens from a dozen countries present in the United States under TPS designations, some of which began decades ago.

Somalia's TPS was first extended during the administration of George H.W. Bush in 1991, back when Paula Abdul and Bryan Adams topped the Billboard Top 40 charts. It remains in place yet today, thanks to an activist judge.

President Clinton gave TPS to Hondurans in 1999, when Microsoft had just replaced General Electric as America's most valuable company and gas was 92 cents a gallon. That designation lasted more than a quarter century and was only terminated last year after a lengthy court battle.

President Clinton's successor, George W. Bush, granted TPS to nationals of El Salvador in 2001, a full year before the BlackBerry smartphone would hit store shelves. That designation also continues, despite the fact that El Salvador's tourism ministry openly promotes posh, all-inclusive, luxury resorts and boasts one of the lowest homicide rates in our hemisphere. This is absurd.

Mr. Speaker, TPS was never intended to be the Hotel California that allows illegal aliens to enter any time but they may never leave. It is time to put the t back in TPS and close this permanent administrative amnesty loophole.

I ask for a ``no'' vote on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church of Merrill, Wisconsin, on its 150th anniversary.

First organized by families of German immigrants in a meeting on April 24, 1876, services were held in a public schoolhouse in the town of Jenny, Wisconsin, which later became Merrill.

St. John Evangelical has had two subsequent structures within Merrill and, since 1953, has worshipped within a beautiful stone edifice at 1104 East 3rd Street.

During its first years, it shared a pastor with neighboring churches and finally called on its first pastor, Reverend Paul Luecke, on August 5, 1883.

Today, the members of St. John are proud of their continued provision of a daycare facility and an educational resource for their community in a parochial school. During several decades of its existence, German was the church's primary language. With the close of World War I, the congregation had transitioned to holding its services primarily in English.

For continuing its work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ through 150 years, it is my great pleasure to honor St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church of Merrill today before the United States House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jack Link of Link Snacks, Incorporated, on his induction into the Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame.

Born and raised in Minong, Wisconsin, Mr. Link learned the fundamentals of meat processing at an early age in his family's butcher shop.

By the mid-1980s, after the family meatpacking business closed, Jack identified an opportunity to improve the quality and consistency of meat snacks available in the marketplace.

These efforts led to the creation of Jack Link's Beef Jerky. What started as a small Wisconsin operation has now grown into the world's largest manufacturer of jerky in the world. Through it all, the company has remained 100 percent family owned.

Jack Link's induction into the Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame is a well-earned recognition of a man who built a manufacturing powerhouse while staying true to Wisconsin ingenuity and values.

Jack has also been a strong supporter of education in the Northwoods, contributing to the Northwood Foundation and funding Jack Link's Aquatic and Activity Center. The center provides the Minong area with its first space for swimming, fitness, and youth programming.

Madam Speaker, I thank Jack Link for strengthening America and Wisconsin's manufacturing, and offer congratulations to Jack, Mary Jo, and the entire Link family on this honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Paralympic athletes from Wisconsin's Seventh District on earning the prestigious honor of competing as part of Team USA in the upcoming Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games starting this Friday, February 6.

Liam Cunningham of River Falls is competing in sled hockey. Dan Rose of Tomah and Matt Thums of Ogema are both competing in wheelchair curling. They overcame tremendous obstacles and hardships to earn their position with Team USA. They are role models to young athletes everywhere, proving that with resilience and determination, Mr. Speaker, you can achieve any goal you set your mind to.

Keep up the hard work and good luck. Make Wisconsin proud.

Mr. Speaker, I suggest to the gentlewoman from Michigan, if she wants to do a ride-along with me and deliver wolves to Madison, Wisconsin, part of their previous range, I would be happy to do that if she would join in that process.

I just want to address one thing in regards to the gentlewoman from Oregon. We have got really good news, what she talked about in regards to inflation. I urge her to watch CNN this morning with the inflation numbers that have come out that are the lowest since 2021. That is good news, as we end 2025, and it is really good news as we go into 2026 that the Pet and Livestock Protection Act is going to pass out of the House of Representatives today.

Federal protections were established a couple decades ago, and there are hundreds of wolves in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Now, there are over 4,000 wolves. Talk about inflation. It has hit the wolf population. Also, if you go back to 2015, 26 of the most eminent wildlife biologists in the upper Midwest urged these judges to delist the wolf, take them off the Endangered Species Act, because the wolf is recovered as the data has shown.

Populations have been bouncing back and forth between being listed and delisted, and this bill provides a permanent solution, returning the population management back to the States.

As everyone in Wisconsin knows, this is something we have seen far too often, most recently when the judge in Oakland, California, vacated the 2020 delisting rule and unilaterally put it back on the ESA list by judicial fiat.

Wisconsinites know best when it comes to managing Wisconsin's wolf population, and it is long past time that we empowered Wisconsinites to be able to manage the gray wolf population once again.

The chairman handled it in a very positive manner. This is a recovery success under the Endangered Species Act.

This is the graphic representation of what is happening, the carnage that is happening across our States, in rural areas, where pets and livestock are being slaughtered because the wolf is not being managed.

If you talk to any sportsman, they will tell you the wolf belongs on the landscape, but when you do not manage a wildlife population, this is what happens, the slaughter continues of people's pets and livestock.

Gray wolf delisting has been supported by four Presidents. Even the Biden administration's Fish and Wildlife Service asked the Federal appeals court last fall to reinstate the rule.

The gray wolf has been the latest recovery success, with significant populations in the Rocky Mountains and western Great Lakes.

There is something else we should all remember. When a species is removed from the ESA list, it is something we should celebrate.

From farmers to pet owners to sportsmen and -women, delisting the gray wolf is of paramount importance to rural America.

Mr. Speaker, in order to maintain our rural way of life, the wolf needs to be delisted. It is past time to return management to the States. This is a legislative fix we can do.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.'' I urge the United States Senate to pass this bill when it comes over to them.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3937) to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3937, the bill now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the Wabeno Economic Development Act. This bill will expedite the conveyance of 14 acres from the Forest Service to Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, LLC, for fair market value.

Tony's is a small ready-mix company that has supplied the surrounding community with concrete for more than 25 years. The company's concrete has been used to build homes, fire and rescue buildings, shops, offices, and even barns for local farmers.

Tony's first began working with the Forest Service on a land exchange proposal more than 8 years ago. However, the agency made it clear the project was not a priority and lacked the resources to complete it.

Wabeno is located in Forest County, where roughly 50 percent of the land is federally owned and only about 10 percent of the land is fully taxable, so there is limited private land available for small business expansion.

We often talk up here about how important infrastructure is. Here is a small business that helps infrastructure projects throughout northern Wisconsin. This is a prime example of a business that helps build America. Without this parcel, Tony's Redi-Mix will run out of the necessary aggregates it needs to produce concrete in about the next 2 years.

This bill will keep this important business in operation and, with it, the 17 hardworking people it currently employs.

Wabeno is a small town with a population of just over 1,100 people. Mr. Speaker, 17 jobs may not seem like a big deal to people from the big cities, but I can assure my colleagues the jobs and economic benefits provided by this small business are critically important to this rural community.

This important conveyance will provide much-needed economic growth and jobs for people in Wabeno and Forest County. It has strong local support, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' to make sure Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix stays in business for years to come.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on Agriculture,

Washington, DC, July 17, 2025.

Hon. Bruce Westerman,

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter confirms our mutual

understanding regarding H.R. 3937, the ``Wabeno Economic

Development Act.'' Thank you for collaborating with the

Committee on Agriculture on the matters within our

jurisdiction.

The Committee on Agriculture will forego any further

consideration of this bill. However, by foregoing

consideration at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction

over any subject matter contained in this or similar

legislation. The Committee on Agriculture also reserves the

right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of

conferees, should it become necessary, and ask that you

support such a request.

We would appreciate a response to this letter confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 3937 and request a

copy of our letters on this matter be published in the

Congressional Record during Floor consideration.

Sincerely,

Glenn ``GT'' Thompson,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell) for her support in regard to this for the last two sessions of the Natural Resources Committee and getting this to the floor and for her help in accomplishing this.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a straightforward bill that supports rural jobs, strengthens local economies, and improves how we manage our Federal lands.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3937 today. Again, I hope the Senate moves quickly to advance this important piece of legislation.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1917) to establish the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1917, the bill now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1917, the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act of 2025, sponsored by my colleague from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell).

According to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the Tribal, commercial, and recreational fisheries in the five Great Lakes are home to 177 species of fish, including 139 native species.

These Tribal, commercial, and recreational fisheries have an annual economic value exceeding $7 billion and support over 75,000 jobs.

One of the greatest challenges facing the Great Lakes is the threat of invasive species, such as the sea lamprey and Asian carp. To counter these invasive species, Tribal, Federal, and State agencies introduce hatchery-raised fish to encourage the recovery of native species. For example, in 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 10 hatcheries that support the Great Lakes region introduced more than 4.7 million hatchery fish into the five Great Lakes.

To gather data on the success of hatchery fish, wildlife managers tag large numbers of these fish through a practice known as mass marking. This practice enables them to easily distinguish between hatchery fish and wild fish populations.

In addition to tagging hatchery fish, this program also plays a vital role in aiding cooperative fisheries management decisions with States and Tribes by producing data on the health of the fishery.

The Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act was administratively established in 2010 and continues to receive appropriations despite never being authorized by Congress. H.R. 1917 would provide formal congressional authorization for this existing program, thereby increasing the opportunity for congressional oversight over the program. Importantly, by providing a statutory authorization, it would better enable the Committee on Natural Resources to make substantive changes to how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers the program, should changes be necessary.

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. Speaker, the Great Lakes are both an ecological and economic engine for our Nation. It is our duty as Members of Congress to safeguard them for future generations, and H.R. 1917 is a step forward in that process.

I thank Representatives Dingell, Walberg, and Huizenga for their efforts on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, my amendment would prohibit the Department of Defense from creating, procuring, or displaying any map which depicts Taiwan as a part of the territory of the People's Republic of China.

The House approved a similar amendment as part of the State Department appropriations bill last Congress, and today's amendment would simply extend this policy to the Department of Defense.

This is not a controversial amendment since all of us know that Taiwan is not, nor has it ever been, part of Communist China, even for a single day.

The people of Taiwan elect their own leaders, deploy their own armed forces, conduct their own foreign policy, and maintain their own trade agreements with other countries.

By every measure, Taiwan is a sovereign, democratic, and independent nation, and any claims to the contrary are simply false.

Since the 1970s, America's so-called One China policy has acknowledged Beijing's unsubstantiated claims over Taiwan. This is an antiquated and dishonest policy, and it is one that we should abandon. While my amendment will not end that misguided policy, it will at least require that the maps that we use reflect a simple reality: China is China. Taiwan is Taiwan.

Madam Chair, I ask for a ``yes'' vote on my honest maps amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

Madam Chair, I will close by saying that I appreciate the consistency by the gentlewoman from Minnesota because she said the same thing a couple of years ago. Yet, this body was excluded back in 1979 when the One China policy was implemented by President Carter, and it is up to this body to make sure that it claims its rightful place in foreign policy when we have an issue like this before us.

The gentlewoman talks about the spirit of this amendment. This amendment is issued in the spirit of freedom, and that is all that Taiwan is looking for, to defend its freedom, and it should be able to do it.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the high school athletes from Wisconsin's Seventh District who competed in the State championships during the 2025 spring sports season.

During the individual State boys' golf tournament, Drake Card of Hudson and Tucker Johnson of Neillsville took home the Division One and Division Three State titles, respectively.

For girls' track and field, Maci Heise, Ciara Hartman, Elletta Uddin, Kelly Fern, and Iszy Sonnentag took home titles in their individual events, while the Cameron and Bloomer girls' relay teams won first place in their respective relays.

On the same day, the Marathon High School boys' track team took first overall, going against 50 teams.

Additionally, boys' track and field athletes Samuel Hebert, Lucas Hansen, Gage Mika, Brady Thompson, Taylor Karcz, Ashton Clark, Kyle Schreiner, and Chris Marcell won titles in their individual events, while the Marathon boys' relay team took home first place in the 4-by- 400 relay.

I congratulate each of these State champions and their coaches. Keep up the hard work, and enjoy your summer.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate Walter Gorlewski's 100th birthday on June 28. He resides in Eagle River, Wisconsin. I honor his remarkable life and express gratitude for his courageous service in the United States Army with Patton's Third Division in the European-Middle Eastern Theater during World War II.

This theater played a critical role in diverting German strength and controlling important supply routes, ultimately leading to allied victory.

For his acts of valor, Walter was awarded four Bronze Battle Stars, three Overseas Service Bars, and a Good Conduct Medal.

Mr. Speaker, I wish Walter a happy 100th birthday and thank him for his service.

Mr. Speaker, this National Police Week, I thank the brave men and women of law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Their courage and service will never be forgotten.

I want to recognize two law enforcement officers from Wisconsin's Seventh District who recently retired after decades of service.

Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald, ``Fitzy,'' served for 28 years in law enforcement, including 17 years as sheriff. His leadership and commitment made a lasting impact on his community. I wish Sheriff Fitzgerald the best in the next chapter of his life.

Rusk County Sheriff Jeff Wallace retired earlier this year after 28 years in law enforcement, including 10 years as sheriff. We are grateful for Sheriff Wallace's service.

I also congratulate Jim Peglow. After 31 years with the Neenah- Menasha Fire Rescue and an additional 9 years with the Minocqua Fire and Rescue, Jim has answered his final call.

We thank all of our law enforcement officers, firefighters, and first responders. Our communities are safer because of them.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the high school athletes from Wisconsin's Seventh District who competed in the State championships during the winter sports season.

In the individual State wrestling tournament, my district had Liam Neitzel of Hudson, Lane Andersen of Amery, Reegan Roy of Wabeno, Blake Underwood and Cale Quantance of Marathon, Wyatt Unser of Glenwood City, Colton Weiler of Auburndale, and Carter Lueck of Stratford secure the State championship, with the Saint Croix Falls boys' team taking home the first place title at the team State wrestling tournament.

Then the Tomahawk boys' hockey team claimed their first-ever State title at the boys' hockey State tournament. At the gymnastics State meet, Chippewa Falls Co-op won Division 1 team State, Rice Lake High School won Division 2 team State, and Avery Ash of Rice Lake took home first place in the individual balance beam event.

I also congratulate the Osceola High School ice fishing team on taking home the State title, going against 87 schools. Not many States have an ice fishing tournament.

We congratulate each one of these State champions, as well as their coaches. I wish them the best of luck in their future seasons.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank the gentlemen who have led the Border Security Caucus, Mr. Babin and Mr. Biggs. I thank them for their leadership on this issue. It is as a result of their efforts that they continue to deliver this message to the American people of what a disaster this was going on at our southern border that caused this to be the number one issue in the past election before the American people.

In particular, I thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs). The first trip I did after being sworn in, in May 2020, was to go down to the southern border on a trip that he led with many of us, as he did so many times with so many Members. I don't know if there are hardly any Members on the Republican side that he didn't lead to the southern border to deliver the message.

It is there that I got to meet people like Sheriff Mark Lamb from Pinal County in Arizona and Sheriff Mark Dannels down in Cochise County, who back in 2020 talked about how the border was becoming secure, that at the end of the Trump administration's first term, the border was becoming more secure. We visited them a year later, and they told us that it was all deteriorating simply because there was a change in the Presidency. I thank them for their leadership in regard to this. They have done a service to the American people. Hopefully, we can fix this for the future.

We just had a hearing this morning with a sheriff from one of the counties in Texas, a border county there, as well as one of the leaders of the Border Patrol union. They told us that it is night and day since January 20. Thank God we have new leadership in the White House because the border is once again secured.

I would just say, remember when the media and Democrats told us that President Biden needed a bill to fix the border? That was a lie. As President

Trump said last week in his joint address, all we really needed was a new President.

If there is one thing that has been proven over the last month, it is that the Democrats' border invasion was intentional.

Mr. Speaker, President Trump announced illegal border crossings in February were the lowest in decades: February 2024, under Biden, nearly 190,000; 2025, under Trump, a little over 8,000.

That is a 96 percent decrease without a single new law from Congress. The difference is real leadership. It is truly a shame that Democrats willingly let the killers of Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray and Rachel Morin into this country. It is also a shame that they did not deport criminals like the one in my congressional district who killed Steven Nasholm, a father of three daughters.

Thankfully, President Trump didn't wait for excuses. He took action by putting remain in Mexico back in place. He declared an emergency at our southern border, sent troops to help the border patrol, put a stop to illegal crossings, and signed the Laken Riley Act into law to deport dangerous criminals.

Gone are the days of catch and release, which have a completely different meaning where I come from in the lakes in northern Wisconsin. President Biden had turned it into an illegal alien term where illegals who were caught at our southern border were released into the U.S.

To be clear, the last administration chose to let America be invaded. President Trump chose to stop it.

American strength is back and stronger than ever, but we cannot stop here. Congress must act now to ensure these gains are not undone by the next weak President in the White House. We must codify things like stopping birthright citizenship, ending catch and release, ensuring that ICE has the tools needed to carry out mass deportations, and preventing parole abuse permanently.

President Trump is doing his job. Now it is time for Congress to do ours. There are no more excuses. It is time to stand up for America.

Madam Speaker, in spite of what was just said on the other side of the aisle, I want to invite the gentleman from California to Wisconsin. He can get some good fishing in in northern Minnesota, good musky fishing, but if the gentleman wants the best, then come to northern Wisconsin. I have an invitation for my friend.

This bill will bring transparency, Mr. Speaker, to the misleading and inaccurate way hazardous fuels treatments are reported.

Decades of mismanagement of our Federal lands have left our forests overstocked with trees and created tinderbox conditions, and we have long known the reported pace and scale of forest management has been insufficient to truly address our catastrophic forest health crisis.

There is a better way to actively manage our public lands, and that starts with holding our Federal land management agencies accountable by requiring accurate reporting on the effectiveness of their work in fuel reduction.

According to troubling reports, the situation is even worse than we have been led to believe, as agencies have been overstating their treatments by over 20 percent. Accurate reporting is necessary to broadly track the progress made on our larger wildfire mitigation targets as well as individual projects.

The ACRES Act is a simple solution to hold our Federal agencies accountable to see the actual work they are doing to reduce the enormous risks of wildfire. American taxpayers deserve to know they are getting what they paid for. This bill will help ensure that happens.

Mr. Speaker, this is a small step in what needs to be a number of steps to get back to active forest management to protect the life and health of our forests and the people who live around them in the United States of America. I hope this incoming administration and this Congress are active in getting us back to active forest management here in America.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize all the young athletes from Wisconsin's Seventh District who competed in the 2024 Wisconsin football State championships.

I congratulate the Owen-Withee Blackhawks on winning the program's first-ever State championship, the Edgar Wildcats and Coach Jerry Sinz on winning the Division 7 State championship title for the second year in a row, and the Stratford Tigers on winning the Division 5 State championship title for the third year in a row, setting a WIAA State record with their 10th State football title in school history.

I also wish Stratford's head coach, Jason Tubbs, all the best in retirement after 13 seasons with the Tigers.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate all of these athletes and their coaches on an incredible season.