Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Superintendent Mike McAran as he celebrates his retirement and to recognize his many years of service. His contributions to the community are worthy of commendation.

Throughout his career, Mr. McAran served many roles within the education system, including as a history and English teacher in the Fraser school district, assistant principal and athletic director at Tecumseh High School, and principal of Sand Creek Community Schools, as well as a middle school in Tecumseh. He would eventually become the superintendent of Tecumseh schools and later the Morenci Area School District. In total, Mike McAran dedicated 56 years of his career to education.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the retirement of Mike McAran. I am proud to honor his work, accomplishments, and significant community impact. We thank him for his outstanding service and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, my heart breaks today. I say that sincerely. My heart breaks to hear the words of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who I respect highly for many reasons, who disregard the fact that we are talking about life.

On this floor, we have talked about the need for formula this morning for the same babies we are talking about. We have heard our Speaker many times imploring us to do it for the children. Who are we talking about today?

It breaks my heart to think that my colleagues don't trust women to make decisions about life before life is conceived. It breaks my heart to think that we don't hold men accountable to make decisions to love our girls and women.

It breaks my heart that we would say this is a human right to take life when our Declaration of Independence brought us into being with unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We are better than this. We have had 50 years of death. Think about the over 100 years before that we applauded life.

Madam Speaker, it is time for us to stand for individuals taking responsibilities that God has made us capable of, to decide for the best interests of others, including those little children.

Why is the safest place on Earth today the maternity ward nursery in a hospital, but not the womb?

We must change. H.R. 8296 is a bill of death, and it is a bill that takes away responsibility for us, as adults, to do what we must do.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Maxine Randall of Hillsdale, Michigan, who recently passed away at the age of 92.

After graduating from North Adams High School in 1948, Max played for the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was founded during World War II.

During her 6 years in the league, Max was named as an all-star five times and compiled 116 wins--fifth in league history.

Decades later, the women's baseball league that Max starred in served as a catalyst for the hit movie ``A League of Their Own.''

Following her pro baseball career, Max worked at Jonesville Products for many years, where she met her late husband, Bob.

As one relative described her, Max was ``salt, grit, and a baseball mitt.''

We send our condolences to the Randall family, and we celebrate an inspirational life lived to the fullest.

Madam Speaker, when President Biden took office, the price of a gallon of gas stood at $2.39 a gallon. Today, the national average is more than double, clocking in at $4.96 per gallon.

Since the beginning of the travel season, gas prices have reached a new record high every single day. The situation in my home State of Michigan is even more dire and unaffordable. In the past week, gas prices spiked more in Michigan, the motor capital of the world, than any other State. Our State average has skyrocketed up to $5.21.

In Jackson, in my district, gas prices rose 20 cents overnight last week. In Lenawee County, my home county, they rose at an even quicker rate to $5.29, when I drove to the airport yesterday morning. Michigan families are struggling to pay these historic prices at the pump.

Robert from Tecumseh, Michigan, told me that he along with many other seniors on a fixed income are simply unable to use their cars because of the price of gas.

Another constituent wrote to me that someone drilled a hole in their truck's gas tank and stole their gas.

This is the environment that President Biden's antienergy policies have created. Since day one, the Biden administration has been hostile to American energy. They canceled the Keystone XL pipeline. They halted oil and gas leases on Federal lands. They recklessly depleted our strategic reserves, which is now at its lowest level since 1987. They have done everything possible to discourage investment in domestic production.

At the same time, the administration continues to beg Saudi Arabia and other foreign countries to boost their oil supply. It simply makes no sense.

In Congress, just one side--House Republicans--has been proposing solutions. We should pass the American Energy Independence from Russia Act to unleash our domestic production capability.

We should pass the Strategic Production Response Act to transition supply concerns from stopgap measures to permanent production solutions.

And we should pass the PIPES Act, which I introduced, to prevent a sitting President from unilaterally attacking existing domestic energy infrastructure.

Let's not forget: America was energy independent just 2 short years ago. There is a path to regaining that independence and bringing down prices at the pump if President Biden will reverse course and flip the switch on American energy.

My constituents cannot afford $5-plus per gallon of gas. They need relief. We need relief. America needs relief, and fast.

Madam Speaker, the despicable violence that took place in Uvalde and other places was horrific, and we mourn the loss of innocent life. The thought of losing my fourth-grade grandson in this way shakes me to the core.

There are steps we can take to prevent tragedies from occurring without endangering and infringing upon the rights of law-abiding citizens. I will not support legislation taking away the Second Amendment rights of my constituents. We must focus on root causes of violent crimes and the many cultural issues plaguing our society.

As a Nation, we face a severe mental health crisis, fatherless homes, breakdown of families, glorification of violence that permeates our culture at every level, even to the devaluation of 63 million innocent babies' lives taken in the last 50 years. It must be all-hands-on- deck--in our homes, our schools, and our churches--to address the foundational issues that keep our kids and communities safe.

Madam Speaker, let's not just do something. Harden our schools. Tackle them with real solutions. Oppose this legislation and do the right thing to save innocent lives.

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

Madam Speaker, H.R. 6087, the Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act,

is a commonsense bill to improve access to care for workers under the Federal Employees' Compensation, or FECA, program.

I rise in support of this bill that I have co-led with my friend and colleague, Representative Courtney, and thank him, his staff, my staff, the staff of the Committee on Education and Labor for their diligent work on this legislation.

The bill simply allows nurse practitioners or physician assistants to care for Federal employees under the Federal workers' compensation program so long--and I make this clear--so long as that care is within their scope of practice under State law.

Under current Federal law, only a physician can diagnose, certify, and oversee the treatment of an injured Federal worker receiving compensation benefits. This requirement places an additional burden on Federal employees who may have to drive great distances to receive care from an approved provider.

Additionally, it limits the injured individual's choice, depriving them from receiving healthcare from the provider with whom they are most comfortable. A majority of States already allow NPs and PAs to diagnose, certify an injury, and oversee the patient's treatment and care for their State workers' compensation programs. So it is time that the Federal Government do the same under the Federal disability program. Furthermore, our bill will align the FECA program with other Federal programs.

Currently, the Federal Government allows care provided or overseen by PAs and NPs in Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, and TRICARE. Additionally, since 2017, the Social Security Administration has considered PAs and NPs, along with physicians, as acceptable sources of information for documenting the existence of an impairment for purposes of determining a disability.

Madam Speaker, across the country, nurse practitioners and physician assistants provide critical care, especially in rural communities where there may not be a physician within a reasonable distance. In Michigan, there are 5,300 practicing physician assistants and nearly 9,000 nurse practitioners. They are an important part of our primary care workforce in our State.

Our bill updates Federal law to grant Federal employees more choice in selecting their healthcare provider, improve access to care, and enable better continuity of care. Again, I sincerely thank my colleague, Representative Courtney, and his staff for their great work on this bipartisan, commonsense bill.

Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris), my friend, the MD.

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

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

I add to the comments about concerns about the care that is being provided. Repeated studies over the decades have shown that NPs and PAs provide outstanding quality of care, improve health outcomes, and increase cost-effectiveness.

Additionally, these healthcare professionals have advanced degrees from nationally accredited programs that include both classroom and clinical rotations and must demonstrate clinical competency.

Once more, if there were legitimate concerns about the quality of care, whether it is a Federal program or State program, provided by NPs and PAs to injured workers, then States would not license them to treat or diagnose these workers under State workers' compensation programs. However, the vast majority of States do recognize nurse practitioners and physician assistants as eligible providers for diagnosing and treating disability claims.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy), my good friend.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), the ranking member of the Education and Labor Committee and my good friend and colleague.

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

I appreciate that information being shared, but I would like to address some of the concerns that my good friends from the Doc Caucus have presented.

We have discussed this in committee representing districts that are rural, urban, and suburban, and the challenges that are there. Again, the issue of States' rights and the ability of States to make decisions, there is a primacy that is there that we ought to consider very strongly.

A majority of States already allow nurse practitioners and PAs to diagnose, certify an injury, and oversee patients' treatment. Furthermore, if we are talking about precedent, our bill will align the FECA program with other Federal programs currently in place. Currently, the Federal Government allows care provided or overseen by PAs and NPs in, I state it again, Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and TRICARE.

That is significant. Those are textbook studies on how it is working already. Adding to this just seems like it is justified and very important to do.

Going back to the States' concerns, as well, if diagnosing or treating a particular workplace injury is outside of the scope of practice for a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant under their State's law, then they would not be covered under this bill, plain and simple. The bill preserves States' rights to make those determinations.

H.R. 6087 is simply expanding choice, important at this time, especially with inflation and the cost that is going on in coming out of a pandemic and getting in endemic situations.

The Congressional Budget Office, I repeat, noted that the bill would not affect direct spending. In fact, CBO noted in its score that the bill may result in injured workers receiving treatment faster and, as my colleague Representative Courtney said, thereby returning them to work and productivity more quickly and reducing the actual cost for some FECA costs in the process.

Getting workers healthy and back to work is not only good for the individual but also good for our economy as we look to get through these worrisome economic times.

I accept the concerns of the medical doctors. I understand that they have committed themselves to significant training and significant time in the classroom and in the hospital itself, but we also know that we have come of an age where doctors very regularly use the services and need the services of nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

There are communities in my district, in rural areas, where the doctor is a physician assistant. The people appreciate them and receive good care as well.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).

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

Madam Speaker, we have all heard of the physician shortage in America. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are a critical component in fulfilling the provider gap. There are 355,000 nurse practitioners and more than 150,000 physician assistants across the country.

These healthcare professionals have advanced degrees from nationally accredited programs and include both classroom and clinical rotations and must demonstrate clinical competency.

Allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to diagnose, certify, and treat injured Federal workers to the full extent of their State license is not only common sense but is smart economic policy to ensure workers get back to work more quickly and off government supported programs.

The bill will not remove physicians from providing care to an injured worker if that is who the patient chooses. The bill is simply giving injured workers more choice to get the timely care they need.

The CBO scored the bill as having insignificant impact on direct spending and noted, may result, in fact, in injured workers receiving treatment faster, thereby returning to work more quickly and reducing costs for the FECA program.

Lastly, the FECA program is virtually the last remaining Federal health program that does not recognize the role that PAs and NPs play in modern healthcare delivery. They can already provide and oversee care in Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, the VA, DOD, Indian Health Service, and the Bureau of Prisons, and are recognized by the Social Security Administration.

Furthermore, the bill aligns with the majority of States which already authorize NPs and PAs to certify and oversee healthcare for patients in their State workers' compensation programs.

This is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that will make the Federal workers' compensation program more efficient and ensure workers have access to a health provider of their choice.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Foxx, and Mr. Courtney for their support of this bill, and I urge the rest of my colleagues to support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding the time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7791, the Access to Baby Formula Act, to prevent a future crisis like the one taking a toll on families today. I am a grandfather and a father, so it is important to me.

Across the country, new mothers are going store to store in desperate search of baby formula. It is stressful; it is gut-wrenching; and it is unacceptable. Even when parents can find baby formula, the price has soared 18 percent in the past year.

How did we get to this dire situation? Last November, the Food and Drug Administration shut down the Nation's top baby formula manufacturer, a plant just outside of my district in Michigan. Since then, the Biden administration has slow-walked the response and failed to understand the consequences of their actions. The FDA should have reopened the Abbott plant in Sturgis sooner.

This plant is consequential, in large part due to a contract they have with WIC. H.R. 7791 takes critical steps to safeguard WIC participants, even in the event of something like a plant closure.

This legislation requires preparation and planning for supply chain disruptions, ensures appropriate guide rails, and will prevent disasters caused in part by government contracts altering the market.

As a parent, ensuring the health and well-being of your child is paramount. They should not have to scramble from one empty shelf to another and worry about feeding their babies. This formula shortage is an urgent crisis and one that cannot happen again.

I urge my colleagues to support the Access to Baby Formula Act.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, at the appropriate time I will offer an amendment to recommit H.R. 5129 and ask to have my amendment to restore current law protections for faith-based organizations included in the Record.

Madam Speaker, religious liberty is foundational to America. It is enshrined as the First Amendment to our Constitution. Given this Nation's dedication to religious liberty, it is so appalling that H.R. 5129 strikes current law protections for faith-based organizations that participate in the CSBG program.

Faith-based providers have a history of leading America's fight to help those in need. From the Salvation Army to Catholic Charities, religious organizations formed the front line in assisting people in poverty. They did so not out of a desire for selfish gain or recognition but because they truly believe it is a calling.

That faith allows them to help those in need in unique ways that the government cannot. But instead of honoring these organizations for their long history of service, this bill suggests that religious organizations should leave their faith behind when they want to serve those in need.

This is ridiculous. More than that, it is un-American. I would also argue it directly contradicts our Constitution.

Madam Speaker, we must give faith-based organizations and providers the same opportunity to serve low-income Americans through the CSBG program that we would give any other organization. We must also guarantee faith-based providers' rights to live out and express their faith through their work.

I include in the Record a letter from a coalition of religious providers, led by the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance, which discusses the importance of maintaining current law protections for faith-based organizations--protections, I might add, that President Biden himself supported when he was a Member of the Senate.

May 10, 2022.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: As leaders of faith-based service

organizations, religious freedom advocates, and people of

faith, we strongly implore you and your colleagues to retain

the Charitable Choice provisions when reauthorizing the

Community Services Block Grant [CSBG]. The current language

of H.R. 5129, the Community Services Block Grant

Modernization Act of 2021, would replace the detailed

Charitable Choice provisions with a bare sentence. This would

be a negative change that creates a harmful precedent. We ask

the House instead to reaffirm Charitable Choice in the CSBG

program by retaining the Charitable Choice provisions

currently in the CSBG statute.

The Charitable Choice provisions (42 U.S. Code 9920) give

faith-based organizations an equal opportunity to compete for

CSBG funding and safeguard their religious character while

also protecting beneficiary rights by prohibiting the use of

CSBG grant funds for explicitly religious activities. The

presence of this detailed language in the statute is a

billboard announcing a welcome for faith-based organizations

to compete for funding.

The provisions were added to the CSBG program in 1998 in a

reauthorization bill co-sponsored by Republican Senators Dan

Coats (IN) and Jim Jeffords (VT) and Democratic Senators Ted

Kennedy (MA) and Christopher Dodd (CT). They sought to

improve the effectiveness of CSBG spending by prohibiting

local governments and Community Action Agencies [CAAs] from

marginalizing faith-based organizations. Protecting

participation in CSBG funding by faith-based providers and

houses of worship ensures that the procurement process is

competitive and that CAAs utilize the most effective and

accountable service providers.

The Charitable Choice provisions extend to faith-based

organizations no novel or unconstitutional rights. Its

principles are codified in the Equal Treatment regulations

that apply to Department of Health and Human Services funding

programs (45 CFR 87), but only partially to CSBG. CSBG has

its own regulations, similar but distinct. If Charitable

Choice is taken out of the CSBG statute, CAAs would have no

guarantee that they will be afforded the same rights and

protections due to other faith-based organizations under the

Equal Treatment regulations. It would be better to retain the

CSBG statutory language and the accompanying regulations.

Statutory language provides more certainty over time to

Community Action Agencies and to faith-based organizations

interested in partnering with them in service.

Some in the CAA movement claim that the Charitable Choice

language is dispensable because, despite its presence, few

faith-based organizations receive CSBG funding. If

participation is truly low, then the remedy is action by

Congress and the Office of Community Services in HHS to

remove the non-statutory barriers that inhibit more extensive

partnerships, not to remove the protections that enable the

participation of those few.

The addition of Charitable Choice in 1998 to the CSBG

program was the second time that Congress and the Clinton

administration added such language to a federal program

(Charitable Choice was first added to the TANF program in

1996). These actions launched the faith-based or partnership

initiative. The four succeeding administrations of both

parties (Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden) have worked with

energy to ensure that federal social programs are maximally

effective because they partner with the best non-government

organizations, including faith-based organizations, with full

protection for the religious freedom of the ultimate

beneficiaries.

Senators Coats, Jeffords, Kennedy, and Dodd were right to

add Charitable Choice to the CSBG program. Removing it will

be detrimental to the participation of faith-based

organizations, when it is their greater involvement that will

most benefit the communities that CSBG funding is intended to

serve. Removing it will create a terrible precedent by

signaling that Congress is no longer as boldly committed to

equal opportunity for service organizations of every faith or

none.

We ask the House to reaffirm Charitable Choice in the CSBG

program by amending H.R. 5129 to restore this language before

the reauthorization moves forward.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Signed,

[University professors sign in their personal capacities

only. Their employing universities take no position on this

bill, and are listed only to help identify the individual

signers.]

Stanley Carlson-Thies, Senior Director, Institutional

Religious Freedom Alliance, Washington, DC; Stephanie

Summers, CEO, Center for Public Justice, Washington, DC; His

Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York,

Chairman, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for

Religious Liberty, Washington, DC; Rev. Dr. Galen Carey, Vice

President of Government Relations, National Association of

Evangelicals, Columbia, MD; Rabbi Abba Cohen, Vice President

for Government Affairs and Washington Director, Agudath

Israel of America, Washington, DC; Melissa Reid, Director of

Government Affairs, Seventh-day Adventist Church--North

American Division, Columbia, MD; Rev. Dr. Jo Anne Lyon,

General Superintendent Emerita, The Wesleyan Church, Fishers,

IN; Yaakov Menken, Managing Director, Coalition for Jewish

Values, Baltimore, MD.

Shirley V. Hoogstra, President, CCCU--Council for Christian

Colleges & Universities, Washington, DC; Robert C. Andringa,

Ph.D. President Emeritus, CCCU, Washington, DC; P. George

Tryfiates, Vice President for Public Policy & Legal Affairs,

Association of Christian Schools International, Washington,

DC; Jedd Medefind, President, Christian Alliance for Orphans,

Falls Church, VA; Ronald L. Sider, Founder, Christians for

Social Action, Lansdale, PA; Gary W. Blackard, President &

CEO, Adult & Teen Challenge USA, Ozark, MO; Ryan Jay VerWys,

CEO, ICCF Community Homes, Grand Rapids, MI; Jonathan

Bradford, President and CEO Emeritus, ICCF Community Homes,

Grand Rapids, MI; Douglas Laycock, Professor of Law,

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Carl H. Esbeck, R.B. Price Emeritus Professor of Law,

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO; Phillip L. McIntosh,

Professor of Law, Mississippi College School of Law, Jackson,

MS; Paul Marshall, Professor, Baylor University, Washington,

DC; Robert Osburn, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Wilberforce

International Institute, Roseville, MN; Joseph M.

Knippenberg, Professor of Politics, Oglethorpe University,

Brookhaven, GA; Abby M. Foreman, Professor, Dordt University,

Sioux Center, IA; Ryan T. Anderson, President, The Ethics and

Public Policy Center, Washington, DC; Charles Leslie Glenn

Jr., Professor emeritus of Educational Policy, Boston

University, Boston, MA; Gail Frances Jansen, Retired

Attorney, Former Trustee Center for Public Justice, Tucson,

AZ; James W. Skillen, President (retired), Center for Public

Justice, Birmingham, AL; Marc Andreas, Professor, Kuyper

College, Grand Rapids, MI; Michelle C. Kirtley, Fellow,

Center for Public Justice, Chapel Hill, NC; Chelsea Langston

Bombino, Fellow, Center for Public Justice, Catonsville, MD;

Bruce Rowell, Chief Clinical Officer, Lawndale Christian

Health Center, Chicago, IL; Rev. Girien R. Salazar, Minister,

Ciudad de Esperanza, Farmers Branch, TX; Rev. Marian Edmonds-

Allen, Executive Director, Parity, New York, NY; Mr. Roger

Metcalf, Chairman Board of Trustee, Oklahoma Wesleyan

University, Gresham, OR; Michael Kozlarek, City Director, The

Navigators, San Diego, CA; Mark Rodgers, Principal, Clapham

Group, Burke, VA; James B. Bolds, Lead Pastor, Victory

Church, Yorktown, VA; Joyce Campbell, Concerned community

member, Christian Reformed Church, Greenbelt, MD; Randall

Kroll, Executive Consultant, Platinum Group, Minneapolis, MN;

Kathryn Vaselkiv, Not for profit board member, St Moses

Church, Baltimore, MD.

Deanna Stacy, Former Associate Director, HHS Center for

Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Alexandria, VA; Ashley

Weiss, Staff, Youth with A Mission, Lakeside, MT; Greg Enas,

Venture Catalyst, Innovatov LLC, Indianapolis, IN; Jerry S.

Herbert, Elder, Washington Community Fellowship, Washington,

DC; Karyl Savageau, Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center,

Washington, DC; Clarke Cochran, Deacon, St. Peter Catholic

Church, Charlotte, NC; Carol Veldman Rudie, Board member,

Association for Public Justice, Minneapolis, MN; Dr. Paul

Wrobbel, Head of School, Trinity Oaks Christian Academy,

Cary, IL; Bethany Schuttinga, Ph.D., President, Avail

Academy, Minneapolis, MN; Steven Groen, Principal, Avail

Academy, Edina, MN; Andrew Ryskamp, Christian Reformed Church

in North America, Grand Rapids, MI; Perry Recker, Librarian

emeritus and Ruling Elder, Eastminster Presbyterian Church,

Pittsburgh, PA; Rev. Dr. Steven J. Koster, Pastor of

Congregational Life, Grace Church, Grand Rapids, MI; David E.

Campbell, Christian Reformed Church of Washington, DC.,

Washington, DC; Henry G. Gunnink, Regional Pastor, Classis

Lake Superior of the Christian Reformed Church of North

America, Inver Grove Heights, MN; Randall Hedman, Donor

Relations, World Renew, Bloomington, MN.

Madam Speaker, I offered an amendment during a markup that would have protected faith-based providers, making sure they don't have to leave their faith at the door when they work to serve America's families in need. This is not only good for the religious organizations serving these families but also for the neediest among us.

Unfortunately, my Democrat colleagues rejected this commonsense amendment. I was further disappointed when they did not make my amendment in order for floor consideration. This is a forthright attack on religious liberty by the Democrats, and we cannot stand for it.

Madam Speaker, if we adopt this motion to recommit, we will instruct the Committee on Education and Labor to reconsider my amendment to restore these current law provisions.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of this amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion to recommit.

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

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

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

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague. And thank you, Madam Speaker, for your statements. I agree wholeheartedly with you.

America is having a fight undertaken for us by the Ukrainian forces. Ukraine is fighting for liberty around the world. It is fighting for freedom-loving countries that want to push back against aggression from any nation, whether it be Russia or China or any other that would attempt to take away liberties from free citizens.

I just returned from Ukraine Tuesday night. I spent the Easter weekend in Ukraine. I had the unbelievable privilege of speaking in two churches. Irpin, where the city had been impacted by missiles and bombs, homes blown up, lives taken; and a church that had not met since the beginning of war met on Easter, Resurrection Sunday.

And I looked at the faces of the people thinking, How do I speak to them? An American Member of Congress, who lives freely, without nations trying to take our freedom away. And I could only respond to them from the one who gave freedom, His words, Jesus himself.

And I looked at the faces of the people, and there was resolve there, and there was a joy that they were doing what was necessary to promote freedom for their land.

I spoke in another church in Kyiv that afternoon. The same viewpoint on the faces of those citizens. And yet, a great appreciation for America, for their Western allies, for what we have done, thus far, to stand with them. They are fighting for us as well as for themselves.

Later that afternoon, I went out to the Bucha region, and I saw the site of a massive undertaking by Russia to cross the river to bring their tanks in to take over Kyiv. And the amazing forces of the citizens themselves fought back. One hundred Ukrainian lives were lost; 500 Russian lives.

I saw a boot laying there of a Russian soldier with the foot still in it. And I came to understand that Ukrainians aren't killing Russians, Putin is.

America needs to stand. I was in Odesa, and I saw the missile strike on an apartment that took the lives of a grandmother, her daughter, and a little baby, the 3-month-old daughter of that young lady.

I talked to the mayor of Odesa. They are standing firm. The blockade that is on there must be taken away so they can feed the world.

In my pocket I carry an emblem, military emblem that was given to me at Hostomel airfield that the brave forces took on Russia, trying to take that airfield to become a hopping off point for all of their action. They held back Russia's troops; their elite troops; their elite marines.

The Russian troops took out the largest aircraft in the world that was only used for humanitarian reasons.

This bill is necessary. I express appreciation to my colleagues for moving it forward. I express appreciation to our Speaker for moving it forward. It needs to be done.

Stand with Ukraine. They have stood with us.

God bless Ukraine. God bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I just returned from a trip to Ukraine with my colleague, Representative Spartz, last night. We were invited by Ukrainian officials to see firsthand their immediate needs.

The destruction and loss of life was heartbreaking. Everywhere we went, we saw the evidence of Putin's war crimes. One stop we made was at a residential building in Odesa that had been hit by Russian missiles the day before. A grandmother, her daughter, and her daughter's baby were killed in that same apartment. They were among 18 other innocent victims killed in the attacks.

Yet, in the face of such evil actions, the Ukrainian spirit remains strong. To aid their fight for freedom, more must be done by both the United States and the international community. Advanced weaponry, humanitarian supplies, and much more can and should be ramped up.

The Ukrainians are brave people, and they will win the war against Russia's invasion if they have the tools and the resources to do so in hand.

God bless Ukraine.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 336 and, once again, call on the Russian Government to release American citizen, Paul Whelan. I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, for her undying leadership in fighting this travesty--and it is a travesty.

It has now been over 3 years since Paul Whelan--a marine veteran, a Michigan resident, and, most importantly, an American citizen--was imprisoned in Russia without proper evidence or a fair trial. It was a sham trial; that is the messaging Paul wanted to convey to the world as an unjust Russian judicial system handed out a ridiculous sentence. Throughout his detainment, he has also been denied access to proper medical treatment, despite a sharp decline in his health.

Just this week, I returned from Ukraine where Russian atrocities have been on display to the entire world. Make no mistake about that. We saw heartbreaking devastation that has impacted so many lives. But tragically, Vladimir Putin's barbaric behavior is not new. He has no concern for even the most basic of human rights.

Today, the House must send an unequivocal message to the Kremlin: It is time to end the maltreatment of Paul Whelan.

We just learned the good news that Trevor Reed, another American detained in Russia, was released from prison. We are calling for Paul to be next.

I want to close with a message to Paul's dear parents, Rosemary and Ed, who live in my district in Manchester, Michigan; and to Paul's siblings, Elizabeth, David, and Andrew. I know this has been an incredibly trying time for your family. I admire your resolve in the face of adversity. I grieve with you. I pray for you. And I continue to stand with you.

Mr. Speaker, it is time for Paul Whelan to come home to Michigan.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the career of Ms. Karole White, who served as president and CEO of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters for over 36 incredible years.

Karole has dedicated her career to organizations that have bettered Michigan communities and businesses. Under her leadership, MAB grew from a group with minimal resources, to one of the most respected and robust trade associations in the state.

Karole's leadership helped the MAB integrate into all areas of the broadcasting industry. Her advocacy extended from the smallest high school newsroom to the largest radio stations in the state. Currently, nearly 90 percent of individuals, companies, and organizations affiliated with broadcasting in Michigan have joined the MAB.

Karole's expertise has made her an essential part of the broadcasting industry, and she has built strong relationships across the field, not just in our state but around the country. When she announced her retirement in January, we knew that the industry was losing one of its greatest advocates. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating her and wishing her well in her retirement. After decades of service, she surely deserves it, and I will always count it a privilege to call her my friend.