Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S.J. Res. 13 to overturn a Biden-era rule that threatens competition, undermines community banks, and diminishes consumer choice.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency introduced unnecessary impediments to prevent healthy bank mergers with limited justification. Community banks are the cornerstone of local communities, and often mergers present an opportunity to allow them to better keep up with costly compliance and technology costs.

Unlike the Member from California, I represent a rural area in North Carolina. I have seen firsthand what happens to banks that are not allowed to grow; frankly, because of a lot of the overregulation that they have had to deal with, particularly these last 4 years in the Biden administration.

Mr. Speaker, I have seen the opposite. I have seen the fact that North Carolina continues to grow, that thousands and thousands of people are leaving from States like California where they are overregulated and overtaxed. They are voting with their feet and coming to States that are much, much more business friendly and much more consumer friendly. That is the kind of policies that we need to be adopting in Washington.

This resolution is going to ensure that future administrations cannot create complicated review processes that lock out competition, provide unnecessary delay, and keep things in limbo for unknown periods of time.

In the true spirit of competition, this resolution cuts burdensome red tape and allows banks to get back to what they do best: serving customers and serving communities. This is a step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, comments were made earlier on the other side about the big, beautiful bill that we are going to be passing hopefully this week. This is another step to move this economy forward, to finally unshackle American energy, to finally move forward and reduce taxes, and to let that American spirit continue to grow.

These are the kinds of things that we need to be doing. These are the kinds of things that we are doing, and I appreciate the gentleman yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Roger Eugene Goforth from my hometown of Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

For over 30 years, Roger served with the Kings Mountain Police Department. He took pride in that role, using it as an opportunity to keep the community safe and to help his neighbors in any way he could.

Roger was the kind of person who showed up wherever he was needed. He drove a schoolbus for the Kings Mountain schools, worked for decades at

Foote Mineral and FMC Lithium, and even ran his own business at Battleground Petroleum.

No matter what job he held, he brought a strong work ethic and a big heart. He was incredibly active in his community and his faith as a part of the Dixon Presbyterian Church and Victory Baptist. He was also a member of the Shriners, a Mason, and a member of the Progressive Club.

When he had free time, he could be found fishing, competing in tractor pulls, or spending time with his family.

Roger was a good man who cared deeply about the people around him, especially his family. He certainly left Kings Mountain a better place, and he will be missed by all those who knew him.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2240, the Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act, a bill that I introduced in response to the deeply troubling rise in targeted violence against our Nation's law enforcement.

Every day, officers across this great Nation put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe. Far too often, they, in fact, become the targets of violence simply for wearing the badge. This year alone-- this year alone, again--we are only in May--there have been 109 officers shot in the line of duty, 12 of whom tragically lost their lives.

Mr. Speaker, even more alarming is there have been 21 ambush-style attacks on law enforcement officers this year, resulting in 25 officers shot, 5 of whom were killed. These numbers do not account, though, even for the many instances where officers were fired upon but, fortunately, were not struck.

Mr. Speaker, ambush-style attacks are some of the most dangerous. They are calculated and often deadly, leading to higher rates of both injuries and fatalities. That is why I introduced this legislation to ensure that we are doing all that we can at the Federal level to understand, prevent, and respond to these targeted attacks.

The Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act enhances our ability to collect and, more importantly, to analyze data on violent acts against officers. This will empower agencies around the country with the information that they need to strengthen their responses and better protect their personnel.

Importantly, H.R. 2240 also calls for a comprehensive assessment of availability and use of mental health resources within law enforcement because protecting those who protect us must include supporting their mental well-being. We need to make sure that we get away from any shame that can sometimes happen when a law enforcement officer needs to reach out for some kind of mental health counseling.

If the Speaker would think about it, these men and women oftentimes see the worst of folks. They see folks who are in their worst state. They see the tragedies that hopefully most of us will go through life and never have to see, and they do it every day, day in and day out, because it is their job that they have chosen to do to keep us safe.

Mr. Speaker, these officers answer the call, day or night. They don't have a choice as to what they respond to. They run toward danger to safeguard our neighborhoods, and far too often, they pay a heavy price. We owe them more than our gratitude. We owe them action.

Mr. Speaker, I say this: There were a couple of comments about past events, some which happened before I came here as a new Member. Yet, I do remember very well the spring of 2020, when we saw many of our cities burned, looted, and destroyed. Some of them have not yet even recovered. Instead of law enforcement being supported by some in those local governments, they were vilified when they were out doing what they could to try to help. They were told to stand down and allow mobs to go in and destroy property.

I saw that firsthand, Mr. Speaker, in Raleigh. I literally watched folks roaming around and destroying windows, burning vehicles, shooting, all this kind of mayhem. I won't mention names, but I saw some colleagues on the other side who would kind of give cover and say: Well, it was understandable. It was a peaceful protest.

It is not a peaceful protest if you are destroying buildings. It is not a peaceful protest if you are attacking someone. It is not a peaceful protest if you are burning buildings, burning cars, and engaging in violent conduct.

Then we saw from that some of this antipolice that came about, the calls to defund the police. I am glad to see that I don't hear that very much anymore. I hope that foolish idea never gets raised again in this great Chamber because if it were not for the men and women in law enforcement, it would be a society of disorder and random violence. We owe these men and women all that we can do for them. We owe it to them to make sure that their jobs are safe.

Mr. Speaker, I think about a situation that happened in Wake County, North Carolina, in 2022, where a sheriff's deputy was ambushed and killed by an illegal immigrant. I am not trying to open up the debate on illegal immigration. Fortunately, this body has taken action, along with our President, to secure the border and to stop gang members from coming into this country.

Yet, someone who was in this country who shouldn't have even been here attacked and ambushed a Wake County deputy and killed him. These stories happen around the country.

This is one more piece--one more piece--in finally bringing some sanity, bringing some protection and providing protection for the American people, to make sure that they are not having to worry about gang members being allowed into the country, that we are not allowing illegal immigration to run amuck, and that we are not downing the police and somehow lifting up the criminals.

The American people were tired of that. They were tired of it. And guess what? They are getting results. This is one more piece to try to do this to help these men and women in law enforcement.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the body's support. I encourage all of the Members to vote for it.

Mr. Speaker, there is certainly no shortage of us who are attorneys or at least former attorneys on this floor. One of the things, of course, is when we hear information, we want to run it down and sometimes correct the record.

My good friend from Maryland pointed out about some sort of cuts from DOGE that would affect law enforcement, so I immediately wanted to look and see what he possibly could be talking about. I think what the gentleman was talking about were a couple things.

One was getting rid of a $250,000 grant, funding for jailed trans inmates working with incarcerated transgender individuals providing gender-affirming care to include housing in gender-appropriate facilities. Actually, I think that is a pretty good thing to get rid of so we can put more resources in to helping law enforcement.

Next is $2 million for some sort of national listening session for, as I understand it, criminal defendants.

Then we have $695,000 for a parallel convergent mixed-methods case study. I don't even know what that means, a parallel convergent mixed- methods case study research designed to assess the efficacy of police departments' LGBTQ liaison services.

I think one of the things with this reconciliation bill and with the actions of President Trump is to get rid of the waste and to put the resources to helping our men and women in law enforcement.

During National Police Week, as we are honoring police, while we have a few differences of opinion and may disagree on a few other matters, I am at least comforted by the fact of knowing that we all, on both sides of the aisle, do support law enforcement.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Lynn Minges as she steps down from her role as president and CEO of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association.

We worked together during my time as speaker of the North Carolina House, and I have seen her fight for the folks who run our restaurants, hotels, and other institutions during some of the industry's biggest challenges like the COVID shutdowns when so many were just trying to stay afloat.

One of her biggest wins with her team was helping pass the brunch bill, which gave businesses more flexibility and modernized some of our State's regulations. She was also a major advocate for recovery funds to help restaurants and hotels hit hardest by the pandemic. That kind of support made a real difference for people across North Carolina.

She has had a steady hand in the industry for job creators that mean a lot to our State's economy. I wish her well in this next chapter, and I thank her for her years of service.

Mr. Speaker, just a couple things about Congressman Knott, for folks who don't know, before he was a Member of Congress here, he was actually a very well-esteemed prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's office. Congressman Knott has shared many stories where he was personally having to prosecute a lot of these violent gang members, these MS-13 gang members. For some reason, some of our colleagues want to go down and hug a thug or something and see these folks down in Central America.

Mr. Knott was helping prosecute these folks, and I know the prosecutors were very frustrated at the time with what they were seeing with these open borders. I appreciate, one, what he did before he came to Congress; two, what he is doing now; and, three, hosting this opportunity today to bring attention of this to the American people.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise on behalf of the people of North Carolina, particularly western North Carolina. I represent hardworking Americans playing by the rules, doing everything they can right--paying their taxes, raising their kids, and taking care of their neighbors whose lives were impacted substantially by Hurricane Helene that hit last year. It tore through our region. It destroyed roads. It destroyed homes. It took lives. It changed so many things.

I will say the good news is the resilience of North Carolinians, not only in government, not only in local government, but also in volunteers and the faith community. I see my good friend, Congressman Harris, over there. The churches stepped up in such a tremendous way to help folks out in a serious time of need to do what they needed to do.

We also saw where the Federal Government, in a lot of ways, failed to do the job. Under the past administration, we saw where FEMA wasn't doing the job. I am proud to say that under this new administration, FEMA is getting the job done. Many folks who didn't live there saw pictures of the mass destruction that was in western North Carolina and the lack of response in so many ways.

Just to kind of put some points on that with some numbers, according to the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, FEMA could not account for $7.4 million out of an audit sample of $12.9 million. These sound like small numbers, but that is an audit sample. Think about that. That is 58 percent of those funds were either unsupported or not properly documented.

There was an example where one contractor billed $9 million for labor and could only support or back up $1.5 million of it. Another was reimbursed twice for the same $40,000. Some grantees couldn't even prove they delivered services. FEMA had approved it all.

Then you compare things, Mr. Speaker, where folks were needing help, and they were getting the runaround and getting the delay. Again, I stress to folks that that has changed since January of this year. We are seeing FEMA getting the job done in a lot of ways. I will talk about what FEMA did with some of this other money in just a moment.

Here is another example of some mismanagement by the previous administration. Remember the so-called American Rescue Plan. Democrats passed a

bill of $1.9 trillion on a party-line vote. Less than 9 percent of that money, by the way, went to combat COVID. Tucked inside that bill was $110 million to FEMA. We would think that is a great thing, right?

Here is the problem. It wasn't for disaster recovery. It was to fund something they were calling humanitarian assistance. What that was, was to help illegal immigrants at the border. That was just the start.

Mr. Speaker, they followed it with another $150 million in March 2022 and then $800 million more in December of that year. FEMA was effectively converted into a border response welfare agency and rebranded as the Shelter and Services Program. It paid for migrant housing, transportation, and services in sanctuary cities, while American disaster victims waited months just to hear back about their applications. It is absolutely shameful.

My constituents were patching their roofs and clearing debris by hand. FEMA was busy footing the bill for nice hotel stays in New York for folks who weren't even supposed to be in the country. This was a willful effort by the other side to just enable this border crisis.

I have to say that Congressman Knott pointed out how the border is finally secure, and it didn't require a change in law. It simply required a President who would follow the law.

What do we have going on now that things have changed? My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, respectfully, are not showing up in towns that were damaged by the storm, asking questions of FEMA, and looking to go see what is happening. Who has shown up? Secretary Noem has shown up. President Trump has shown up.

Instead, some of my colleagues--and I don't know why--have decided they want to go to El Salvador and rub elbows and maybe grab a margarita with some former MS-13 gang members. It looks like it is a delegation to meet face-to-face with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a known member of MS-13.

That gang is responsible for countless murders, assaults, and human trafficking. Instead of demanding justice, Democrats took selfies. For example, I know Congressman Knott had to prosecute MS-13 when he was prosecuting in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

We don't need any more hug-a-thug diplomacy. We need a Federal Government that puts the American people first, puts their safety first, their livelihoods first, and their families first.

My friends, we are still feeling the consequences of this failed border policy in North Carolina. Just last week, this picture to my right, the FBI in Charlotte--and I want to give a shout-out to the FBI agents based out of Charlotte. They arrested an illegal immigrant who had already been deported.

That is a picture of him right there. He was charged with the kidnapping of a mother and her 1-year-old child in Garner, North Carolina. That is in Congressman Knott's district right there. They kidnapped her. They tied up her husband, took the woman and the child at gunpoint, demanded a ransom of $1 million, and then dumped them in the woods.

By the grace of God and the swift action of the FBI, Garner police, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, they were rescued.

That crime never should have happened. Estrada-Hernandez should never have been in this country in the first place. Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? He would not have been if it weren't for the Biden administration's open-border policy and refusal to simply follow the law.

Mr. Speaker, this is not compassion. This is not justice. This is chaos, engineered and endorsed by some on the other side. I do hope those on the other side who disagree with this will start stepping up and pushing back with what is happening there.

I will say this, too. Thankfully, under President Trump's leadership, we are cleaning house. The Department of Government Efficiency has exposed FEMA's failures in the past administration. Secretary Noem is working to get this agency back on mission, and Congress is moving to eliminate the Shelter and Services Program and return those funds to real disaster recovery where they belong.

To the families who are still recovering from Hurricane Helene and to those who were told there was no money left while FEMA lost track of millions, I hear you. Help is on the way.

This, my friends, is what it means to put Americans first, to restore common sense, and to lead with integrity.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S.J. Res. 28, a joint resolution to overturn the CFPB's final rule targeting larger participants in general-use digital consumer payment applications.

This rule is a textbook case of regulatory overreach. It stems from a flawed process and applies an overly broad approach that blurs important distinctions between very different products and services in the digital economy.

Rather than taking a thoughtful and tailored approach, the CFPB opted for a sweeping rule that treats all digital payment services as if they are the same, ignoring critical differences that matter for both consumers as well as providers.

When regulators fail to distinguish fundamentally different products, they don't just risk getting it wrong, but they guarantee it. The digital economy is too important and evolving too quickly for blanket policies built on vague definitions and rushed processes. We need thoughtful, targeted oversight that reflects reality, not a one-size- fits-all mandate that will do more harm than good.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Flood and Chairman Hill for their work on this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, this is an opportunity this evening to vote for a budget resolution that extends tax relief for working families.

If Members want to support working families in America, vote for this. It makes the Trump tax cuts permanent. It also provides security for our southern border. It unleashes American energy, and it sets the stage for generational spending reform. This is an opportunity today to move this resolution forward.

There is a lot of fear-mongering on the other side. As has been said before, the words ``Medicaid'' and ``Medicare'' are not in there. It is simply wrong. ``Medicaid'' is not in there.

It keeps getting said, and I guess if you don't have the facts on your side, sometimes you make up facts, and that is what is happening from the other side. Yet, the American people know, which is why they elected Donald Trump this year. They know what a responsible budget means, and that is why we need to pass this.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support two critical pieces of legislation on the floor this week: first, the SAVE Act and, second, the No Rogue Rulings Act. Both are essential to the very fabric of this American Republic.

Over the last 4 years, President Biden created a crisis at our southern border, presiding over an invasion of illegal immigrants from all across the world, including adversarial nations. Against the best interests of the American people and our national security, my colleagues across the aisle would like to allow these individuals, who are in our country illegally, to vote in our elections.

We have seen instances of illegal aliens being issued Social Security numbers by the Biden administration and voting in the last election. In fact, in my home State, a study found that roughly 1,400 individuals who had questionable immigration status and were likely illegals were registered to vote in my own State.

My colleagues will be dishonest with you and say that did not happen. I will tell you this: We need to open our eyes to the reality of this border invasion. The reality is, right now, we have a system where folks who are here illegally can vote. That is simply wrong.

That is why we need to pass, this week, the SAVE Act. It is a commonsense measure that will ensure that States are required to verify citizenship when folks register to vote in a Federal election. This is the bare minimum to secure our elections and protect them from foreign influence.

Again, you will hear dishonest statements from opponents of this bill, like married women who have changed their names won't be able to vote. That is simply not true.

When someone gets married, look at their driver's license. Did the driver's license number change? Did a passport number change? No, that simply isn't accurate. Additionally, this bill allows up to six different forms of identification to verify citizenship.

In North Carolina, we have voter ID where folks show up to vote. Folks may have gotten married in between when they registered to vote and when they go to vote, and nobody is being turned away. Again, this is just more misinformation from the left.

One other thing the SAVE Act does is it requires States to clean up their voter rolls to remove noncitizens. Again, this is pretty straightforward, commonsense stuff.

Governor Greg Abbott in Texas, in fact, removed thousands of noncitizens from their voter rolls, and every State should be doing this.

At the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, only American citizens should vote in American elections. If we don't pass the SAVE Act, we are signaling to the world that American elections are open to fraud and foreign interference. It is, in fact, a betrayal to every citizen who plays by the rules, pays their taxes, and deserves a voice in their government.

Election integrity starts with the passing of the SAVE Act.

Another bill this week that I mentioned earlier, a great bill that I am supporting, is the No Rogue Rulings Act, which will put an end to the overreach of district court judges in issuing nationwide injunctions.

As an attorney, I am just shocked by the blatant abuse of power that some of these radical activist judges are taking to block the lawful exercise of executive power.

President Trump was overwhelmingly and duly elected by the American people to put our country back on the right track. In just the first few months of his term, President Trump has faced more than 16 nationwide injunctions. That is more than Biden,

Obama, and Bush had during the entirety of their terms.

It is clear that these judges, time and time again, have encroached on the statutory authority of the President. Americans are outraged that D.C. District Court Judge James Boasberg told the Trump administration to turn a plane around that was full of heinous criminals, dangerous gang members who were in the U.S. illegally, and bring them back to American soil.

Judges should not have the power to set nationwide policy and rip President Trump's constitutional powers away from him. Article II, Sections 1 and 3, of the Constitution vest the executive power in the President and charge the President with faithfully executing the laws of the United States. However, activist judges want to replace the will of the voters with their personal politics.

I say to my friends that that is not how our system is supposed to work, and it undermines our democratic process. What we are seeing, in fact, is judicial tyranny.

The No Rogue Rulings Act restores balance. It ensures that legal challenges are resolved properly and not through backdoor activism and overreaching judicial actions.

Mr. Speaker, the American people are tired of unelected judges wielding unchecked power. Let's pass the No Rogue Rulings Act and restore the integrity of our judicial system.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor North Carolina State Senator Marshall Arthur Rauch, who recently passed away at the age of 102, leaving behind a legacy of service, leadership, and generosity that will be remembered for generations.

As the longest serving Jewish State senator in North Carolina history, Senator Rauch was a trailblazer and a man of deep principle.

Senator Rauch dedicated much of his life to public service, serving on the Gastonia City Council, chairing the North Carolina Senate Finance Committee while he was a member of the senate, and championing racial harmony, education, and fiscal responsibility. He was also a World War II veteran and a successful businessman who ran, at one time, the world's largest Christmas ornament company.

Senator Rauch's work to integrate schools peacefully in Gaston County, support higher education, and help folks achieve self- sufficiency left an impact that will continue for generations.

Senator Rauch was known for his kindness, his wit, and his unwavering belief in the power of public service to make people's lives better.

I was someone who was very lucky to get to know him. As a young person, I was a senate page and had the opportunity to serve there. I got to know Senator Rauch all those years ago, and I stayed in contact with him over the years. He stayed very active pretty much till the end.

One of his favorite things to do, Mr. Speaker, was periodically he would have a hot dog roast during the week and invite folks over for hot dogs. He invited folks from all backgrounds, from all political parties, with an opportunity to sit down and fellowship, have a meal together, and just get to know folks. That is the kind of generous man that Marshall Rauch was.

Mr. Speaker, Marshall Rauch is going to be deeply missed, and I join the people of Gaston County and the people of North Carolina in honoring his extraordinary legacy.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 70.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 25, which overturns the Biden administration's misguided attempt to impose unworkable reporting requirements on the digital asset industry.

In November, the American people sent a very clear message. They were tired of the far-left policies of the Biden administration. They gave President Trump a mandate to turn our country around.

Despite this clear mandate and warnings from committees, the Biden administration pressed forward with partisan midnight rulemaking.

Last December, the Internal Revenue Service finalized a rule requiring decentralized platforms to facilitate digital asset transactions to report user data to the IRS.

While the Biden administration claimed this rule was about improving tax compliance, in reality, it goes far beyond what Congress ever intended.

This rule would place impossible burdens on software developers, threaten American leadership in digital asset innovation, and ultimately drive entrepreneurs and investors overseas.

We cannot continue the Biden-era policies that crush innovation and put American companies at a disadvantage. That is why I support H.J. Res. 25, which repeals this harmful IRS rule and allows Congress to develop a targeted, commonsense framework that protects both consumer privacy and American innovation.

This resolution is backed by over 117 industry leaders, including the Blockchain Association, Coinbase, and the Crypto Council for Innovation.

Empowering innovation, not stifling it, is key to keeping America competitive.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand with American entrepreneurs and innovators by supporting H.J. Res. 25.

Mr. Chair, last November the American people said enough is enough. They are tired of government waste. They are tired of rising prices, and they are tired of the policies of the last administration.

This budget is a critical step forward toward reining in out-of- control Federal spending. To be clear, this resolution has no provisions that make cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. Mr. Chair, I would tell those folks watching at home to read the bill. It is not in there.

When Democrats vote against this today, they are voting to raise the average family of four's taxes by nearly $1,700. They are voting to raise taxes on small businesses. They are voting for open borders. They are voting for higher energy costs.

I am proud to have worked with my fellow House Budget Committee members on this bill as well as the chairman, who has done an amazing job on this. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of my constituents in western North Carolina who are angered and disgusted by what we have uncovered in Washington, and they have every right to be.

Just yesterday, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency uncovered that FEMA bureaucrats, holdovers from the last administration--and against the Trump administration's wishes--tried to send payments of $59 million to luxury hotels for illegal immigrants in New York City. They had the gall to try to sneak this under our noses, but I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, not anymore. That is just the tip of the iceberg, though.

Since late 2022, FEMA has spent over 1.4 billion of our hard-earned tax dollars on illegal immigrant housing, transportation, and services. That is $1.4 billion that could have been sent to disaster victims for rebuilding communities, for helping Americans in crisis, and it was squandered on Biden's failed border policies.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Helene devastated my district and tore through communities throughout western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and other southern States. It took over 100 lives, wiped entire towns off the map, Mr. Speaker, and left thousands of American families homeless. They needed FEMA to step up and do their jobs. They needed help.

Mr. Speaker, but for the volunteers, but for the nonprofits, but for the churches, we would be looking at more loss of life, more loss of property, and more devastation.

Shortly after I was sworn in, we had a winter storm. Tell me why, during that winter storm, were illegal immigrants given luxury hotel rooms while my constituents, American citizens, were calling my office, asking and pleading for help from FEMA to extend their hotel vouchers during a winter storm. They had nowhere to go home to, and no heat. Washington bureaucrats turned their backs on them. Thank God for President Trump, for Secretary Kristi Noem, and for DOGE because this is getting turned around fast.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to show you something with this new poster that was just put up beside me. This is a photo in western North Carolina. This is a photo that I took, and this is what Biden's FEMA has ignored. I took this picture, as I say, two weekends ago in Chimney Rock. It is a very small town, but it gives us a glimpse of things. These people need help to rebuild their homes, their businesses, as well as major bridges and roads. This is just a snapshot of some of the damage we had. We are still in the thick of it.

Who showed up for us? Who showed back up? President Trump did. He made it his very first trip of his second term and one of his administration's biggest priorities. We were also honored when Secretary Noem came here, literally with a shovel and a wheelbarrow, to help and to see what was happening.

Just yesterday, Secretary Duffy visited us in western North Carolina to see the damage along I-40 and pledged his support to ensure that I- 40 gets rebuilt. Even before the elections, Tulsi Gabbard came after the storm with her nonprofit to bring everything from chain saws to food. My friends, this is real leadership in action.

When it comes to the Federal Government, President Trump is working very hard to root out corruption. He is making sure that the bureaucrats who betrayed the American people are held accountable. There are no more backdoor deals, no more slush funds for illegal immigrants, and no more Washington elites ignoring the very people they are supposed to serve.

It took President Trump to step in and fix this mess, and let me say he is fixing it fast. We are already seeing money flowing back to the disaster relief where it belongs. We are cutting through the miles of bureaucratic red tape that delayed rebuilding efforts in North Carolina and Tennessee. We are making sure that no American is left behind ever again.

Mr. Speaker, this is just the beginning. Every single Federal employee needs to hear this loud and clear. If they think they can keep wasting taxpayer dollars, if they think they can keep sneaking through payments for illegal immigrants, and if they think they can ignore the suffering of the American people, their time is up.

To the many bureaucrats who refuse to go to work, they need to get out of their pajamas, show up to the office, start doing their jobs, or get DOGE'd.

Mr. Speaker, President Trump is leading. We are rebuilding, and we are making sure the American people-- not illegal immigrants, not political insiders, not corrupt bureaucrats--the American people are put first. This fight is not over by a long shot. I promise we will win it.

Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on the comments made by my colleague from North Carolina (Mr. Harris) about Representative Dean Arp. I had the opportunity to serve in the North Carolina General Assembly with him for many years. Talk about a man who embodies a servant's heart. That is Dean Arp.

Part of the rest of the story that Representative Harris didn't get a chance to mention, because of the time constraints, was that this was no ordinary thing. When Representative Arp saw this trailer on fire, he had to actually go inside. The lady was in a wheelchair. I think he described her wheelchair as being as hot as a pan on a stove. He got her out of there and clearly saved her life.

The one thing that is very telling about Representative Arp is he didn't give credit to himself. He gave credit to God. He said something told him to go back and had him on that particular route that day at that time to save that lady's life.

On behalf of all of our colleagues in the House, I congratulate Representative Dean Arp, a fine North Carolinian, a fine American, and a fine man of God.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor North Carolina's speaker of the house, Destin Hall. Last week, I had the privilege of passing the gavel to him, and I have full faith and confidence that he will ensure that our statehouse will continue to serve the people of North Carolina with integrity, purpose, and dedication.

As a mentor and a colleague, I have watched Destin grow into an exceptional leader who listens, collaborates, and fights tirelessly for the people of North Carolina. His commitment to his constituents and his vision for a stronger, more prosperous State make him uniquely suited to this role.

At this critical time, as we work to rebuild western North Carolina, address inflation, and strengthen our communities, I know Speaker Hall will guide the North Carolina State House with wisdom and resolve. It has been an honor to work alongside him, and I look forward to the positive impact he will make as speaker of the statehouse.