Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 2839, which would amend the Siletz Reservation Act to address the hunting, fishing, trapping, and animal gathering rights of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

The Siletz Tribe should be able to freely hunt, fish, and gather on their ancestral lands, just like every other Tribe in Oregon, except one, and in this country.

Today, the Siletz have over 5,000 enrolled members, and they are concentrated in Oregon's Fourth Congressional District, which I am honored to represent.

The Siletz Tribe was stripped of its land and status in 1954 through the Western Oregon Termination Act.

In 1980, the Siletz Tribe was forced to give up their rights to hunting and fishing on Tribal lands in order to have their reservation restored. This restriction is called a consent decree. It is an unjust and racist policy that should have never happened, and it needs to be changed immediately.

This is a bipartisan bill, and I thank my colleagues for their support. It provides the legal ability for the Siletz Tribe to renegotiate a hunting and fishing agreement with the State of Oregon.

While the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission recently approved a historic new hunting and fishing agreement with the Siletz Tribe, the State can choose or be forced by litigation to return to the previous unconscionable agreement at any time. That is why this bill is greatly needed.

The bill is necessary to invalidate the consent decree, and it does not impact the treaty rights of any other Tribe.

The Siletz Tribe has worked in good faith with other Tribes in the region to avoid contested areas, which is reflected in my bill. There was a lot of hard work that went into making this happen and making this right.

I am proud that H.R. 2839 passed out of committee with strong bipartisan support. In fact, it was unanimous. That is pretty strong bipartisan support.

I thank my colleagues in the Oregon delegation for their support of this bipartisan bill. I particularly thank Senator Merkley, who has a companion bill in the Senate and who has worked tirelessly to right this historic wrong.

The Siletz is one of only two Tribes in the entire country that was forced to give up their sovereign rights in order to have Federal status renewed. The other Tribe is the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. I support similar legislation to allow them to renegotiate fishing and hunting rights with the State of Oregon, as well. I hope to see this legislation move forward.

H.R. 2839 is about fairness. Siletz members should be able to hunt, fish, trap, and gather on their ancestral lands as they have traditionally done. They should be treated as other Tribes are.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, the duck stamp, or Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, is the only Federal conservation revenue stamp. This means that 98 percent of the sale price is used to purchase conservation easements and to acquire wetland habitats for the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The duck stamp also provides an opportunity to showcase wildlife art, with the Fish and Wildlife Service hosting an art competition each year and the winning piece selected for next year's design.

Sportsmen and women, artists, and conservationists purchase duck stamps as a collectible to cover entry fees to any National Wildlife Refuge System unit, as a hunting license, or as a donation to conservation.

Millions of stamps have been sold in recent years, contributing tens of millions of dollars toward conservation each year. This bipartisan bill would modernize government services by allowing online access to the Federal duck stamp. It would save applicants and agency officials time and money and make it more accessible for hunters, conservationists, and collectors to purchase duck stamps and to support wetland conservation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues from Arkansas and Louisiana, who represent great States to go hunting in if you can't make it all the way out to Oregon. I welcome you all there.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill, and it should pass. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I hope this can be unanimous, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will vote Present on H. Res. 894, a resolution that aims to condemn antisemitism throughout the world. Several of my Jewish colleagues voted Present as well.

I strongly agree that Congress must condemn all forms of antisemitism. The House of Representatives has voted in favor of several resolutions condemning antisemitism since Hamas's horrific October 7th attacks on Israel, multiple of which I've supported and cosponsored. However, this latest resolution, H. Res. 894, contains overly broad language that weaponizes the real scourge of antisemitism and uses Jewish people as pawns to play partisan political games. For this reason, I could not support the resolution.

For example, H. Res. 894 suggests that ``anti-Zionism is antisemitism.'' While some forms of anti-Zionism are antisemitic, there are many members of the Jewish community that identify as anti-Zionist. Lumping together factions of the Jewish community as ``antisemitic'' is clearly problematic.

Some language in H. Res. 894 also appears to be a veiled attempt to police the free speech of Americans who have demonstrated in favor of human rights for Palestinians. Again, while some demonstrators have disturbingly engaged in antisemitic actions that should rightfully be condemned, H. Res. 894 is too broad.

H. Res. 894 also fails to condemn antisemitic acts from those on the far right, including white nationalists who have increasingly promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories and have threatened the lives and livelihoods of Jewish Americans.

Let me be clear: I unequivocally condemn all forms of antisemitism, and I am appalled by the significant rise in antisemitism we've seen in recent years and especially after Hamas's October 7th terrorist attacks on Israel. If the House Republican majority were serious about tackling antisemitism, they would support President Biden's National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, would quit trying to defund the Office of Civil Rights for Title VI enforcement which protects Jewish students and would increase funding for the High-Risk Nonprofit Grant Program to secure Jewish institutions as a start.

That's why I've cosponsored H. Res. 907, introduced by Representatives Nadler, Raskin, and Goldman. H. Res. 907 thoughtfully and powerfully condemns the rise of antisemitism in the United States-- including on college campuses--and calls on Congress to support the above substantive actions to tackle antisemitism, which congressional Republicans have so far refused to do. Had H. Res. 894 been written as carefully as H. Res. 907, I would vote in support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the memory of Chief Donald ``Doc'' Slyter, a revered leader of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians.

Chief Slyter's life was a testimony to his unwavering commitment to his people and the cherished land he called home.

For 39 years following the Tribe's recognition, Chief Slyter stood as a guardian of their resurgence, nurturing hope for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, may his spirit and memory leave a legacy of resilience and hope, leaving an indelible mark on the community that he cherished.

During his tenure with the Tribal Council and as chief, he tirelessly advocated for the restoration of lands, water, fish, and wildlife.

Chief Slyter's passing is a profound loss, not only to his family but to all members of the CTCLUSI Tribe, the Oregon community, and beyond.

As we mourn his passing, let us remember his spirit, his commitment to community, his kinship, and his enduring legacy of hope and resilience. My thoughts are with Chief Slyter's family and all those touched by his remarkable life.

Mr. Speaker, may his memory be a blessing.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for yielding time.

I rise in strong support of the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act, which passed unanimously out of the Education and Workforce Committee by a 42-0 vote. This is how Congress is supposed to work.

The bill would ensure that archery, hunter safety, culinary, and related outdoor education programs will continue to receive Federal funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, or

Mr. Speaker, when the U.S. auto manufacturers were suffering during the recession, the UAW workers took pay cuts, were willing to forgo pay raises for the greater good of U.S. manufacturing, believing that U.S. auto manufacturers would repay their sacrifice once they were earning good profits.

That didn't happen. Today, I rise in support of the United Auto Workers, and I urge the Big Three auto manufacturers to treat their employees fairly in these negotiations and share the wealth that is earned from their labor.

The UAW is leading the charge to make green jobs good union jobs. The UAW organized the first battery plant in this country in Ohio. They are willing to move forward and work with manufacturers to get the job done. We need those jobs.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the bipartisan FAA reauthorization bill.

This legislation includes the bipartisan AIR PUMP Act, which I introduced earlier this year alongside Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley.

Our legislation would require the FAA to issue guidance to air carriers on providing protections for flight crews to pump breast milk during noncritical phases of flights.

All workers deserve the right to pump breast milk in the workplace, including flight attendants and pilots. Currently, they are the only workers who do not have this protection.

Flight crew workers should be able to have reasonable break times to pump. They should also have a designated place that is shielded from view and free from interference. This bill also ensures that the FAA's pumping guidance will not incur significant costs for air carriers. It helps increase the diversity of the workforce and ensures working mothers have needed flexibility.

Mr. Chairman, I thank T&I Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen for their support of the AIR PUMP Act and their bipartisan approach to the FAA reauthorization bill.

Mr. Chair, today I will vote in support of H.R. 467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act. This legislation permanently classifies all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, and it allows for expedited research into these substances.

While H.R. 467 is not perfect, it takes needed steps to help save lives and reduce the supply and availability of illicitly manufactured fentanyl-related substances.

As President Biden has stated, placing fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I will provide law enforcement with the resources they need to tackle the manufacturing and trafficking of fentanyl-related substances. It will also close loopholes that allow drug traffickers to evade the law by altering the chemical makeup of fentanyl.

In addition, H.R. 467's provisions to expand research into fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances will improve our understanding of these substances, including increasing the potential of finding more effective treatments for overdose victims.

But let me be clear: H.R. 467 is a blunt instrument--it does not do enough to comprehensively address the fentanyl crisis. Instead of working with congressional Democrats to put together a bipartisan bill to comprehensively tackle this crisis, the House Republican majority chose to write this bill in a partisan fashion.

As a result, H.R. 467 leaves out important solutions for addressing the fentanyl crisis, including expanding access to treatment, testing, and education. That's why I'm a cosponsor of H.R. 3375, the STOP Fentanyl Overdoses Act, a bipartisan bill to expand access to overdose reversal medications, like Narcan, and offer medication treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) to incarcerated individuals to prevent relapses.

Most people who die from a fentanyl overdose don't know that what they're consuming could be life-threatening. That's why I'm a cosponsor of the bipartisan H.R. 3563, the Secure Testing Resources Instead of Prosecuting (STRIP) Act, which would allow for wider access to fentanyl test strips to help avoid preventable overdoses and deaths.

Tragically, fentanyl-related overdose deaths have impacted far too many families in my congressional district and across the country. Youth drug overdose deaths have more than doubled nationwide since 2019, and they have more than tripled in Oregon during that same time period. This is mainly due to the rapid spread of illicitly manufactured fentanyl.

One death by overdose is one too many.

We must be proactive in educating youth in our communities about the dangers of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances. That's why I was proud to join Oregon's Congressional delegation in sending a letter urging the Department of Education to increase fentanyl awareness and drug-prevention education in schools.

If the Senate takes up H.R. 467, I encourage Senators to work in a bipartisan fashion to improve this bill and add more comprehensive solutions to address the fentanyl crisis.

Fentanyl overdoses do not fall on party lines. Neither should legislation to stop it. We must pass a bill into law as soon as possible in order to prevent more deaths from fentanyl overdose.

Madam Speaker, we are at the brink of defaulting on the U.S. debt, bringing economic devastation to the world economy and downgrading our credit rating, which increases our debt.

My Republican colleagues have decided to leave for the weekend, dodging their responsibility to this Nation. All they have offered us is political theater, with a piece of legislation that would bring devastating cuts to 15 percent of the Federal budget and no willingness to reverse the Trump tax cuts that benefited their millionaire and billionaire donors.

Last week, my GOP colleagues used every breath to honor the brave men and women of law enforcement, yet their bill would cut up to $10 billion from Federal law enforcement funding and result in a 22 percent cut to border security.

Their bill would cut 27,000 wildland firefighters as fire season is starting in the West, putting more lives at risk.

So I ask my colleagues: Stop the political theater and sign our discharge petition. Let's get to work passing a reasonable budget that invests in working families.

Mr. Speaker, the United States Postal Service is the only agency specifically mentioned in the Constitution.

It is essential for delivering everything from medicine, tax documents, and in Oregon, where we proudly vote by mail, ballots. USPS is a pillar for rural communities and communities without high-speed internet.

Under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's leadership, workplace and revenue challenges at the Postal Service have caused a drastic decline in public trust.

One of the most significant issues facing the USPS is staff shortages. Issues like branch closures are forcing seniors and families in rural communities to travel further for postal services.

DeJoy's 10-year plan will only make things at the U.S. Postal Service worse. His plan includes downgrading service standards, reducing person-to-person interactions, cutting air delivery, and slowing mail. Unfortunately, efficiency and quality are being sacrificed.

The U.S. Postal Service must change course. Slashing services and raising prices harms their mission and diminishes the United States Postal Service popularity.

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Teachers Appreciation Week. The best way that we can show appreciation in Congress for our teachers is to fight for good wages, hours, and working conditions in the classroom.

In Oregon, the average starting teacher salary is a little over $39,000. That is lower than the national average. Educators also make 81 cents on the dollar compared to other professionals with similar experience, credentials, and degrees.

Mr. Speaker, 94 percent of U.S. teachers spend their own money on their students to ensure classrooms have the resources they need, like books, supplies, music, and art. Put this all together and it is no wonder teachers can't pay off their student loans or buy homes in the communities where they teach.

We need workers to be able to afford to buy homes in their communities, and we also need to raise teacher pay. Their current salaries aren't keeping up with the rising cost of living. The pay gap is only growing and creating a teacher shortage crisis.

That is why, on National Teachers Appreciation Week, I am proud to cosponsor the American Teachers Act, which would help States raise the minimum teacher salaries to $60,000 for public K-12 schools.

Mr. Speaker, I thank our teachers. It is far past time we back them up.

Mr. Speaker, my Democratic colleagues and I are here to defend Social Security and Medicare and to support our Nation's seniors.

My district has the lowest median household income in Oregon. We have over 160,000 seniors who rely on Social Security for their retirement.

My colleagues across the aisle are approaching Social Security as if it is an unearned handout. That is beyond offensive. That is not what it is meant to do. That is not what it is meant to be.

People have paid into this system their whole lives. They should be able to get their contributions back, and that is the promise of our Social Security program.

Right now, we only tax income up to $160,000 a year to fund Social Security. Millionaires and billionaires who get their income from investments instead of earning their money by the hour, like most of my constituents and like most working Americans, aren't paying their fair share into Social Security at all.

We must change the system. By finally requiring the wealthiest Americans to pay into Social Security at the same rate as all the hardworking nurses and firefighters across this country, we can expand benefits, not cut them.

I am not in Congress to protect billionaires. I am here to make sure those who have paid into the system their whole lives and who have worked hard, including our fishermen, electricians, and schoolteachers, can retire with dignity and welcome a new generation to the workforce. It is our responsibility to make sure that Social Security can be successful in the future.

It is time for the House majority to stop playing games with people's lives with bills that don't do anything and support Social Security and Medicare.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, due to my current infection of COVID-19, I was unable to attend votes on March 29 and 30, 2023. Had I been present, I would have voted: NAY on Roll Call No. 167; NAY on Roll Call No. 168; NAY on Roll Call No. 169; YEA on Roll Call No. 170; NAY on Roll Call No. 171; NAY on Roll Call No. 172; NAY on Roll Call No. 173; YEA on Roll Call No. 174; YEA on Roll Call No. 175; YEA on Roll Call No. 176; YEA on Roll Call No. 177; NAY on Roll Call No. 178; YEA on Roll Call No. 179; YEA on Roll Call No. 180; YEA on Roll Call No. 181; and NAY on Roll Call No. 182.

Mr. Speaker, although I am not able to come in to vote because I have COVID-19, I want to make clear my position on Roll Call No. 167, Boebert amendment No. 2 to H.R. 1. This amendment would add a Sense of Congress expressing disapproval of the State of Oregon's denial of permits for the now defunct Jordan Cove Natural Gas facility in Coos Bay. Had I been present, I would have voted against this amendment.

The Jordan Cove Energy Project would have built a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) export terminal and pipeline in Oregon's 4th Congressional District. Initially I supported this project as it provided an opportunity to bring good-paying union jobs back to Oregon's south coast and support a region still working to economically recover from the collapse of the timber industry.

The federal government and the state of Oregon have environmental laws and robust standards in place to ensure that significant projects are in the public's interest. As Oregonians, we demand accountability and will stand in defense against polluting our water or destroying our ecosystems.

The amendment on its face is ridiculous. The failure to move forward and build the Jordan Cove Energy Project is not the fault of the State of Oregon. Multiple state agencies conducted a thorough and fair review of the project. While some permits were denied, the project sponsor ultimately withdrew their application. In fact, the Oregon Department of State Lands granted the project sponsor multiple extensions to share the necessary information to process the permit. Blame for the withdrawal does not lie with the State of Oregon, nor the federal government.

Bringing high-quality jobs back to Southwest Oregon has been and continues to be a top priority of mine. We can do that while also protecting our environment and without building new fossil fuel infrastructure.

We are working to rebuild our middle class by bringing in good paying jobs and supporting our rural economies. That's why I am joining a broad coalition of people to support the Port of Coos Bay's container terminal project which would bring the West Coast's first ship-to-rail container port to Oregon. This container project has the potential to bring up to 9,000 new jobs to my congressional district and relieve supply chain congestion, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I'll continue to focus my energy on real solutions for everyday Oregonians and Americans as opposed to dwelling on the past.

Mr. Speaker, the American people are fed up with the United States being involved in endless military conflicts around the world.

For far too long, Presidents of both parties have overstepped their constitutional authority by engaging in dubious legal gymnastics to continue involving U.S. troops in endless wars and conflicts without congressional authorization.

Article I of the Constitution is clear. Congress has the sole authority to authorize military involvements in overseas conflict. Once authorized by Congress, Article II of the Constitution allows the President to direct the military as Commander in Chief.

Congress must reassert its sole authority and not allow the executive branch to sidestep us.

As the largest and most diverse group in the Federal Government responsible for representing the American people and their interests, Congress should engage in debate before the executive branch can involve U.S. troops in wars overseas.

Tens of thousands of U.S. troops have been put in harm's way and trillions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on overseas military ventures around the world without proper debate or oversight from Congress.

Enough is enough. That is why I support the Syria War Powers Resolution that the House voted on earlier this week.