Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Officer Chase Sawyer of the City of King Police Department who retired on April 29, 2026, after six and a half years of service.

In 2022, Officer Sawyer sustained injuries in the line of duty while conducting a traffic stop in the early hours of the morning.

By the grace of God, and through the prayers of his colleagues, family, friends, neighbors, and community, he survived and has made positive strides in his recovery.

Mr. Speaker, every day, the men and women of law enforcement put their lives on the line to defend their communities, confront criminality, and protect broader civil society.

We are all immensely blessed that they keep watch over us in all hours of the day and night. We are eternally grateful for Sawyer's service and sacrifice. May God bless him as he enters retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and doing such a great job in handling this rule and being on the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank the staff of the Rules Committee for their great work under very difficult circumstances almost every day, but especially this week.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to share with you and with all of our Republican colleagues an observation about the behavior of Democrats in the Rules Committee yesterday evening. Please listen carefully.

Rules Committee Democrats put on a real master class in how to sell fake altruism. Really, it was quite the spectacle, maybe even worthy of an Academy Award. What a performance it was.

Mr. Speaker, our Democratic colleagues offered a handful of amendments authored by Republicans and proclaimed that they were standing up for these Republicans and their ideas. They could have fooled me.

What the Democrats were doing was weaponizing the ideas of our Republican colleagues for their own gain. Their goal the entire time was never altruistic. It was never about supporting Republican amendments or even fighting for them.

Their goal was to waste our time. Democrats treat time like they treat the tax dollars of Americans: with disregard and utter contempt. Their words and actions are always steeped in a vat of hypocrisy. Look at today, and they know it, too.

To those Members of our Conference who the Democrats used so callously last night and who are thinking about opposing the rule on the floor today, I simply say this: You are far better than falling for the fake altruism of those across the aisle who never supported you or the solutions you bring to the table--not once.

Mr. Speaker, I support the rule and its five underlying measures, and I encourage all of my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Vance Patterson, an exemplary North Carolinian and someone I consider myself very fortunate to call a friend.

Vance describes himself as a ``serial entrepreneur,'' and when you come to

learn of his story, that description matches him perfectly.

He is someone who embodies the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit that is interwoven within the fabric of our Nation. It is what makes our Nation the greatest on the face of the Earth.

In 1989, he founded the Patterson Fan Company that manufactured industrial fans for national and international markets. Soon thereafter, Vance went on to start two dozen other companies. He is a serial entrepreneur, indeed, Mr. Speaker.

However, that is not all, Mr. Speaker. There is a lot more to Vance's story and work. For over 50 years, he has been married to his lovely wife, Mary Jo, and they are parents to four wonderful children and grandparents to over a dozen grandchildren.

In 2011, Vance and Mary Jo traveled to Washington and visited the National Archives, where they witnessed the Charters of Freedom, the three original documents that are the cornerstone of our Republic.

After seeing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, Vance says that he experienced a deep emotional experience and had goose bumps.

Many Americans travel to the National Archives every year to see the documents that are so ingrained in our heritage and our society. Unfortunately, in the past, not every American who wished to see our Nation's founding documents in person were able to.

Vance remained so inspired after seeing the Charters of Freedom that he and Mary Jo decided to make this emotional experience one that should be available to students and citizens across the Nation.

Like so many others, Vance felt inspired and a renewed sense of patriotism after seeing the Founding Fathers' names on the Bill of Rights. Unlike many others, Vance channeled that feeling of patriotism into tangible monuments.

Upon returning home to North Carolina, Vance and Mary Jo established Foundation Forward, Inc. Foundation Forward, Inc., has a worthy goal of educating the public on the contents of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

This goal is accomplished by Vance's group, which builds monument displays that showcase the Charters of Freedom. These displays are often located near courthouses, in county squares, and are made accessible to all. In total, there are 73 completed settings across 17 States, with 25 more that are currently in the works. What a wonderful and worthy endeavor, indeed, Mr. Speaker.

To top it all off, Vance is now on the cusp of completing a book about his life so that others can come to learn from his own vast experiences, the successes and the failures.

It is one thing to go through life, become successful, and reap all the positives of what you have sown, but it means far more when you do exactly that and then share your story so that others may gain the perspective and wisdom that led you to where you are today.

I believe that many who will come to read Vance's book will be inspired and moved within their own lives and with their own endeavors, whether it be personal, professional, or both.

Recognizing Frances Laterman

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Frances Laterman and The Antisemitism Studies Laboratory at Baruch College in New York.

Through generous contributions made by the Laterman Family Foundation and AddressHate, a not-for-profit organization that uses new technological methodologies to disrupt the spread of online hate, this wonderful laboratory was made possible.

Frances Laterman, one of the original founders and current president and trustee of the foundation, is a wonderful human being. Aside from her entrepreneurial and artistic spirit, which are incredibly strong, she holds a solemn commitment to give back to her community through meaningful social impact.

There is no doubt in my mind that the communities she has served and continues to serve have benefited greatly from her passion.

The mission of The Antisemitism Studies Laboratory is to educate, create understanding, support research, and address the pressing challenges of anti-Semitism locally, nationally, and globally.

With the abhorrent rise of anti-Semitism across the United States and the world, this laboratory, as well as its dedicated members and educators, are needed now more than ever.

When I served as chair of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, I exposed to the world how anti-Semitism had infiltrated college campuses across our Nation, and I am still calling attention to it to this very day.

I continue to meet with countless Jewish students who are concerned for their well-being, and the well-being of their friends, who are facing anti-Semitic harassment.

I continue to meet with countless advocates who are calling attention to this issue and are dedicating their time and efforts to educating others about it, as well.

This is certainly an issue of our time, Mr. Speaker.

I thank Mrs. Laterman, her family, the members of the Foundation, and many others for their continued support of the Jewish community, and for helping accelerate an educational endeavor that will go on to make tremendous strides in combating anti-Semitism.

May they all continue to be blessed.

Mr. Speaker, I am very much looking forward to the positive progress that the Antisemitism Studies Laboratory will make in the coming months and years.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 6 o'clock and 21 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at 11 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Georgia for yielding time, and I thank him for the yeoman's work that he does as a member of the Rules Committee, a member of the Agriculture Committee, and a member of the Intelligence Committee. He knows what he is talking about here tonight because of the work that he has done over the years, particularly on the Intelligence Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I don't think anybody in this country can deny that we are living in a very dangerous world. We are dealing with terrorism and narcoterrorism constantly.

I want to compliment all the segments of our Conference. Many people don't realize the range of ideas and talents that we have in the Republican Conference. It does sometimes take us a while to consider all the ideas that Members have, but we have some very strong people in our Conference whose reason for being here is to protect the American people. It takes a while sometimes for the Conference parts to come together to do what we are elected to do: use the agencies of the Federal Government to protect the American people.

The people's House is doing its job tonight by reauthorizing FISA 702 with the excellent reforms that my colleague has outlined.

This is not incompetence. It is responsible legislating, Mr. Speaker. FISA 702 expires on Monday night, April 20, at 12:01. We must pass a reauthorization of that so it can go to the Senate, be passed by the Senate, and signed by the President before it expires.

We are doing our job, Mr. Speaker, as the people's House. I commend my colleague from Georgia for the work that he and all of my colleagues who came together have done to come up with a very good bill that we are going to pass later tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to vote for the rule and to vote for the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9:30 p.m. today.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, our colleague who says they want us to bring down the high cost of living is like the arsonist who sets the fire and then comes out to help put it out.

Mr. Speaker, the Senate's funding proposal is not worth the paper it is printed on. Frankly, it would be better used as kindling in a fireplace.

I said it in the Rules Committee, and I will say it again here on the floor: We will be darned if we go down the road of undercutting the progress that our Republican majorities and President Trump have made in securing the border: a record low of encounters of illegal aliens, a dramatic reduction in fentanyl trafficking, and a return to law and order that was robbed from the American people for 4 years under the previous administration. Those are the things that would be sacrificed if we passed the Senate's proposal that is nowhere near being up to scratch.

The people's House will not bend itself into submission by acquiescing.

Let me make one other point very clear, Mr. Speaker. Our Democrat colleagues love to dust off the same withered line that Republicans are the ones responsible for DHS being shut down because we control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. If we had a dollar for every time they trotted out that line, DHS could be funded multiple times over.

What Democrats never acknowledge is that the Senate operates under an entirely different set of procedural and vote thresholds than the House, but the American people aren't fooled. They are far smarter than the Democrats believe they are.

As time goes on, Mr. Speaker, one thing becomes clearer and clearer: Democrats are the carnival barkers for narratives that the American people aren't interested in buying.

But that is their prerogative. Republicans, meanwhile, are the ones who are governing and will continue to do so by passing this rule and the underlying continuing resolution.

Our 8-week CR will afford us the time to deliberate, build consensus, and advance a solution that is far greater than the Senate's jerry- built proposal, all while ensuring the 100,000-plus DHS employees get paid.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the rule and the underlying measure, and I yield back.

Mr. Speaker, I wasn't going to say anything during 1-minute speeches today, but I really get irritated when people stand up on this floor and tell half-truths to the American people.

One of our colleagues just talked about the fact that wealthy people pay small percentages of their income on taxes, but what he didn't say is that they pay over 50 percent of all the taxes paid in this country and that working-class people don't pay nearly as much as they do.

Mr. Speaker, don't buy the empty rhetoric of congressional Democrats. They ran on affordability in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but they just recently slapped on a regressive payroll tax that will squeeze billions of dollars out of workers' paychecks.

Congressional Democrats are on record voting against tax relief for tipped workers, Social Security recipients, working moms, and the working class, when they voted against the Working Families Tax Cut Act.

Don't listen to what they say. Watch what they do. They are lying in wait to vote for higher taxes on working families yet again if they have the opportunity, but what they don't understand is that the government doesn't have a tax flow problem. We have a spending problem.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1115 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may

have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

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

Mr. Speaker, last night, the Rules Committee met and produced a rule, House Resolution 1115, providing for the House's consideration of H.R. 556, H.R. 1958, and H.R. 4638.

The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 556, the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act, under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources, or their designees, and provides for one motion to recommit.

The rule further provides for consideration of H.R. 1958, the Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2026, and H.R. 4638, the Federal Working Animal Protection Act, both under closed rules. The rule provides each 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees and provides for one motion to recommit for each bill.

Additionally, when considered under suspension of the rules, the rule provides additional debate time to 1 hour of general debate for H.J. Res. 139, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government.

Mr. Speaker, the three measures that underpin this rule all share a singular, defining characteristic: They are in alignment with the priorities and demands of the American people.

What do the American people want, Mr. Speaker? I will tell you what they want. They want a restoration of law and order so that illegal aliens are deported, especially when they are convicted of having committed criminal acts.

Republicans are answering that demand by putting forth H.R. 1958 and H.R. 4638. These two pieces of legislation zero in on criminal aliens who have defrauded the government and criminal aliens who commit violent acts against law enforcement working animals in the line of duty.

Mr. Speaker, when I say that we back the blue, I am talking about the men and women of law enforcement and the trained animals that stand alongside them in the line of duty.

Those who choose to oppose this legislation, I can guarantee, are members of the same party that has voted to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down and has voted in the past to defund the police. You and I both know, Mr. Speaker, which party it is that I am referring to here. It is obvious.

Americans want a Federal Government that respects consumer choice and the exercising of our freedoms, not a Federal Government that seeks to regulate every single aspect of our lives. That is why Republicans are putting forth H.R. 556, which would tear down regulations that have dictated how men and women across the Nation can hunt and fish on select pieces of land under the control of the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, respectively.

These are two essential parts of life that Americans are incredibly fortunate to engage in and enjoy. I believe all should respect that, but the Federal Government, under Democratic control, has time and again viewed these activities as nothing more than a target to overregulate. Is anyone surprised by this? I don't believe so.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I will guarantee that our colleagues across the aisle won't spend their time debating this slate of bills with us today. I would be pleasantly surprised if they actually chose to do that. Instead, they will do the same thing they always do: stomp their feet, huff and puff, and yell about unrelated things until they are blue in the face. It is like muscle memory for them at this point.

Meanwhile, Republicans will be focused on the task at hand, like they always are. They stand ready to deliver, and they intend to do so, yet again, with these three pieces of legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Massachusetts for his kind comments. I send them back to him and wish him a happy St. Patrick's Day. I appreciate him making my prediction in my opening remarks come true.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I am a huge animal rights lover too, and I have a dog I say that owns me.

My colleague just talked about one example that worked out well, but we know lots and lots of examples where these things don't work out well, and that is why we need this legislation. It is because acts of cruelty toward animals who are working often fall between the cracks.

My colleague also just said that no one will see any benefits from the Working Families Tax Cut, yet thanks to this important legislation, Americans could receive nearly a $4,000-tax refund this year. The average take-home pay boost is $10,900, and the average tax cut for middle-income Americans is 15 percent.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Taylor).

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

Madam Speaker, I will point out to my colleague that, yes, gas jumped in the last month, but it is still a lot less expensive than it was under President Biden.

Thankfully, under President Trump, gas prices were cut almost in half. The number one role of the Federal Government, Madam Speaker, as we all know on our side of the aisle, is defense of this Nation.

Madam Speaker, the need for legislation like H.R. 1958 is not hypothetical. Fraud is a serious crime, and it is essential we ensure foreign national fraudsters cannot continue to exploit the American taxpayers.

While my colleagues will argue that there is no fraud currently, here are just a few recent examples: ``A 3-year-old girl's Social Security number had been used for `two credit cards and two auto loans, with an outstanding balance of more than $25,000.''

The second example is: ``Fraud by illegal immigrants destroying children's

lives.'' These are quotes, Madam Speaker. Including the life of: ``A 9- year-old boy who was denied Medicaid because wages were reported on his Social Security number. A 13-year-old girl who was denied as a dependent on her family's tax return because she supposedly made too much money.''

These are because illegal aliens are stealing Social Security numbers and using them.

In 2019, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi announced the prosecution of 119 illegal aliens for crimes, including ``misusing Social Security numbers of American citizens.''

I have the sources for all of these, Madam Speaker.

In June 2020, the Justice Department announced that an illegal alien from Guatemala was sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment for ``[using] another person's Social Security number to get a job and for tax purposes.''

In October 2023, an illegal alien who was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol near Hidalgo, Texas, in September 2022 and then released by the Biden administration, pleaded guilty to illegal use of a Social Security number.

In November 2025, The New York Times highlighted the case of Daniel Kluver, a Minnesota man whose identity was stolen by a Guatemalan illegal alien with a criminal history and multiple deportations. Because of the identity theft, Kluver lost thousands of dollars through garnished wages and increased taxes. He spent years unsuccessfully trying to untangle the mystery of his stolen identity.

The stories go on and on, Madam Speaker, so there is a real reason for this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

First, let me say, we know what the role of the Federal Government is. It is outlined in the Constitution of the United States. Many of the things that my colleague wants us to be involved in--and we have been involved in--are the things that have caused us to have a $38 trillion debt at the Federal level, and so doing everything that we can to reduce fraud is really very important.

Let me say, if we have people who are here legally, as Americans have done for Americans, we will do for them. But those who come here illegally--and the term is illegal alien--then we do not have any truck with them. We want them to obey the law, just like we want everybody else to obey the law.

If they commit fraud, then we want them gone, out of this country. They shouldn't be here to begin with because they come in illegally.

If we want to address the high cost of living in this country, we must confront fraud. We must confront fraud. Democrats should be joining us, not opposing the commonsense effort.

Let's talk about the rhetoric from our colleagues on our record of fiscal soundness this Congress and the Democrats' record of spending addiction. We just finished the FY26 appropriations package--of course, minus the funding for Homeland Security. We saved nearly $14 billion compared to last year's appropriated levels. Let's not forget that comes on the heels of cutting $9 billion of waste and fraud through a rescissions package just months earlier, and that came on the heels of cutting $1.4 trillion of waste, fraud, and abuse through Republicans' reconciliation effort.

Democrats are lying in wait to vote for higher taxes on working families yet again if they have the opportunity. What they don't understand is that the government doesn't have a tax flow problem. We have a fundamental spending problem in Washington. Again, that spending is not on what the Federal Government should be spending it on, which is the defense of this Nation, but is on spending on things that are not outlined in the Constitution for us to be doing.

When Democrats had full control of the levers of power and passed their reconciliation packages, they expanded the Federal Government with an unprecedented $11 trillion in spending. Yes, Madam Speaker, I said $11 trillion in additional spending, $6 trillion of which has been added to the national debt.

There is simply no comparison between what Republicans have accomplished this Congress and the Democrats' spending addiction. We have lowered the deficit. We have cut trillions in waste. We have secured tax relief for working families. Democrats opposed us on every front.

Guess what. Our deficit is finally being addressed. The Federal Government's cumulative deficit for fiscal year 2026 at the end of November was 19 percent lower than the year prior under Biden.

Be it by reconciliation, rescission, or through the regular-order annual appropriations process, this Congress is cutting spending, driving down inflation, and returning money to taxpayers.

Madam Speaker, that is really the fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans. We believe that the public should hold on to as much of its money as possible, not turn that money over to bureaucrats to spend.

Don't buy the empty rhetoric of congressional Democrats. They ran on affordability in the Commonwealth of

Virginia, but just recently, they slapped on a regressive payroll tax that will squeeze billions out of workers' paychecks.

Congressional Democrats are on record voting against tax relief for tipped workers, Social Security recipients, working moms, and the working class when they voted against the Working Families Tax Cut Act.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, this is not a serious proposal.

Madam Speaker, it is really rich. Now, it is the fault of Republicans that the Department of Homeland Security is not funded. It is just too rich.

Crime is down in this country because we have shut down our border and denied people coming in illegally.

Madam Speaker, we need to fund all of Homeland Security so that we can keep the border closed. Obviously, our colleagues want to open the border again just like President Biden did. There were people waiting at the border when President Biden was elected

with shirts on that said: Thank you, Biden. We can't do that. We need to fund all of Homeland Security at the same time.

By the way, Madam Speaker, it was the Bipartisan Policy Center that said that the 19 percent reduction in deficit had occurred.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, our colleagues across the aisle said that they want to keep the border closed. If they are serious about keeping the border closed and safe, then how are they going to do it without funding border patrol and they don't want to fund border patrol?

Mr. Speaker, our colleagues across the aisle have spent their time during this debate drawing caricatures, weaving a tapestry of tangential statements, and engaging in theatrics. This is unserious behavior, Mr. Speaker.

Might I remind them we are here debating substantive legislation that aligns with the priorities of the American people. Our colleagues across the aisle are welcome to join us in supporting them, standing for law and order, and returning freedom and choice back to the custody of the American people where they belong.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the previous question and ``yes'' on the rule.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to welcome the American Optometric Association to our Nation's Capital for the 2026 Federal Keyperson Summit.

Since 1898, the AOA has distinguished itself among medical specialists and policymakers for its outstanding leadership, reliability, and advocacy for optometric professionals and students.

From years of standing at the forefront of innovation and high quality in healthcare, we understand that steadfast leadership is essential for positive outcomes in public health policy and a patient's health.

The advocates of the AOA are a model of just that, providing insight on pertinent issues so that optometric doctors, professionals, and students are primed to deliver the critical, high-quality care that patients deserve.

I am confident that this year's summit will prove to be a valuable experience, and I commend the advocates and members of the AOA for their dedication to their profession and patients.

Mr. Speaker, March is Women's History Month, a time when we make an extra effort to honor and recognize women across the United States and the world who have made a positive, sustained impact upon society.

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article honoring the life of Gladys West, a brilliant mathematician who played an integral role in creating GPS technology.

Gladys was a 42-year civilian employee of the United States Navy. Due to the classified nature of her work, few individuals knew of her contributions to this now popular and essential technology as it was being developed.

Here are quotes from the article I have referenced:

``In her 42-year career as a civilian employee of the Navy, West learned to program computers and solve mathematical problems she could never have imagined in graduate school. Some of her work involved measuring the precise contours of the Earth, on land and at sea, allowing for the effects of tides and other forces. She was particularly diligent about checking for accuracy. The research was vital for creation of the Global Positioning System, or GPS, a priority for the U.S. military in the 1970s and 1980s.''

Ms. West was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2018 and was awarded the President's Award by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for her work in helping create GPS.

Mr. Speaker, Ms. West's story is one of service, hard work, determination, and perseverance, and I am quite certain that her story and accomplishments will continue to serve as an inspiration for generations of proud Americans to come.

I thank Gladys' family for sharing her so wonderfully with the rest of the world. I thank Gladys, even though she is now gone, for the wonderful work that she did in helping our country and the world.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to take the opportunity today to recognize members of the Chriscoe family for their outstanding generosity, service, and dedication to their faith. I had the pleasure of meeting the Chriscoes during their visit from Summerfield to the Capitol and was amazed by their commitment to using their gifts to celebrate and share the message of the Lord through their work in the Only God Choir and Ministries.

Music has been a touchstone of faith for the Chriscoe family through generations, and daughters Laura and Claire have sung in the Only God Choir for years, sharing God's message through beautiful music that has touched listeners across the country and the world.

Mr. and Mrs. Chriscoe, Ajay and Trish, have blessed countless students by opening their home and their hearts, offering their talents to provide the crucial support that makes the vision of ministry a reality. With tens of thousands of miles of travel and countless hours of service behind them, the Chriscoe family has helped the message of the Only God Choir and Ministries reach over 2 million people.

As they are closing this chapter of their service with the Only God Choir and Ministries, I am confident that they will remain a living testament to the value of heeding the command to store our treasures not on earth, but in heaven. I wish them the best in all their future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Georgia for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the Rules Committee, I offered my sentiments as to why we must pass all the underlying measures that are being considered under this rule. For our rule debate here today, I will touch upon the appropriations measure that is under consideration.

To make the record crystal clear, not once did the people's House court a government shutdown during the appropriations process. The various subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee did their jobs. They worked collaboratively to deliver to the full House their recommendations.

As Chairman Cole said more than once in the Rules Committee, these appropriators knew their subject matter better than anyone else and presented to the rest of us their best effort.

Then the House did its job. We passed all 12 appropriations bills and sent them to the Senate, which had negotiated with their House counterparts and agreed to take what had been produced in the House. In doing so, we plowed a path toward regular order that was sorely overdue.

Unfortunately, the Senate reneged on the agreement. The Senate did not pass what it had agreed to pass and, instead, made a change after the House completed its work. That delay on the part of the Senate caused the government to shut down.

Now, what the Senate should have done was approve the six-bill appropriations package that was negotiated in good faith. This process should have been over and done with by now. We don't have time to be playing games, Mr. Speaker.

Now, I wholeheartedly echo the sentiment offered by Chairman Cole that doing the right thing for the American people is something that does not get old.

Congress holds an explicit mandate that is outlined in our Article I responsibilities to appropriate funding for the missions of departments across the government. When we fail to uphold that mandate, we fail to serve the American people. We fail to do right by them.

We must bring the appropriations process to a close. We must move forward and complete more work in service to the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I support the rule and the underlying measures, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1014 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and of the underlying legislation.

This morning, the Rules Committee met and produced a rule, House Resolution 1014, providing for consideration of H.R. 7147 and H.R. 7148.

The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, under a structured rule with two amendments made in order.

The rule further provides that H.R. 7147, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026, will be considered under a closed rule.

The rule provides each bill 1 hour of general debate divided equally between the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees and one motion to recommit.

Additionally, in the engrossment of H.R. 7148 after final passage in the House, the text of H.R. 7006, the Financial Services and General Government and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026, and H.R. 7147 will

be added to the bill. The Clerk will redesignate the sections and be authorized to make technical and conforming changes.

Mr. Speaker, with consideration of this rule and its two underlying measures, the House stands firmly upon the 1-yard line. We are, indeed, ready to move forward and complete the appropriations process. We are ready to lock in the final components of our 12 fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills.

Additionally, we are ready to further cement our long-overdue return to regular order in this legislative body. It will be a welcome return, indeed, Mr. Speaker.

Here is the simplest of truths that all of us here understand and need to be reminded of regularly: There will never be such a thing as a perfect piece of legislation or a perfect package of bills.

Perfection is a phantom. Many may seek it with the best of intentions, but in the end, it is unattainable. That is just a fact of life that we must understand.

I can imagine that there are Members who want to see more within these measures, and there are some who want to see less. Both positions are to be expected, but here is the bottom line: We should never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

The two appropriations measures under consideration here today, as well as the ones this body has passed previously, all bear the hallmarks of the America First agenda. They meet the priorities of the President and the priorities of the American people. They make sizeable contributions to America's strong posture of defense, our Nation's systems of infrastructure, national security, and research and innovation within health.

As Chairman Cole has noted multiple times over, this process has been Member-driven and deliberate, and I wholeheartedly agree with that. I will also add that this process and the monumental victories that we have achieved thus far signal a fundamental, positive change within this legislative body, a change we should take note of and celebrate.

Let's finish out this process and deliver this final tranche of appropriations bills across the finish line.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is the most targeted process in two decades. We got the Senate to do its job. I will stack this process up against that of the Democrats when they controlled the process and let the public decide.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Webster).

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

Mr. Speaker, Democrats continue to attack ICE agents in their operations.

Instead of debating the complexities of arrest or the nuances of reasonable suspicion, Democrats are instead attacking their authority, their dignity, and their work at large. That is beyond unfortunate as ICE agents are arresting some of the worst criminals imaginable.

During the first year of the Trump administration, ICE arrested 7,000 gang members from America's streets. This includes a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela, an active gang member. The perpetrator's rap sheet includes arrests for homicide, assault, cruelty toward children, domestic violence, and damaged property. He entered the U.S. in 2022 and was released by the Biden administration. ICE arrested him on February 28, 2025, and the Trump administration removed him on September 12, 2025.

ICE arrested a criminal illegal alien from Cambodia, a Crips gang member, who was convicted of homicide, robbery, and battery. He was released into the U.S. by the Biden administration. ICE arrested him on March 4, 2025, and removed him on April 2, 2025.

ICE also arrested a criminal illegal alien from Cuba and Bloods gang member, who was convicted for multiple homicides and burglary. ICE arrested him on October 27, 2025, and removed him on January 6, 2026.

Beyond gang members, ICE has arrested some of the worst perps imaginable, including a 20-year-old citizen of Guatemala who was filming a child being raped.

Mr. Speaker, despite all of this, ICE law enforcement is facing a 1,300 percent increase in assaults against them, a 3,200 percent increase in vehicle attacks, and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats.

If Democrats want to debate the new Supreme Court interpretations of reasonable suspicion, let's do it. If they want to debate the very authorities of ICE stretching back decades over both Republican and Democrat administrations, let's do that. If they want to have concrete debates about the authorities or changes of laws, let's do that. But we should not attack the operational decisions that are directed to one goal and one goal only: keeping Americans safe and upholding our immigration laws.

We enforce our immigration laws, or they are meaningless. We either grant ICE the mission of fulfilling its mandate, or we don't. We either give them the support they need to confront, stand face-to-face, and arrest the world's worst criminals, or we don't.

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, President Trump has reset our standing in the global market after decades of failed and unfair trade deals put the American economy last.

Swift and decisive action has brought scores of countries to the negotiating table and numerous new trade deals including with the U.K., the EU, Japan, Australia, Korea, El Salvador, Vietnam, Guatemala, and Malaysia, just to name a few. These trade deals will help grow the economy, protect the American workers, and reassert our global standing.

Our friends have selective memory. Let's remember: When President Biden took office about 5 years ago, he left President Trump's tariffs from his first term largely in place. We didn't hear a peep from our colleagues then. In fact, many of them advocated for keeping those tariffs and embraced the Biden decision.

President Trump is simply doubling down on that successful approach. It seems the deciding factor for Democrats' newfound opposition is grounded in Trump derangement syndrome.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nunn).

Mr. Speaker, I also thank Mr. Salazar for his work and, actually, all the staff who work so hard around this Capitol. We are very blessed.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that Mr.--I am going to say this in a second--Mr. McGovern is ready to close, and I am ready to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and I thank the gentleman from Worcester.

Mr. Speaker, for months, bipartisan, bicameral negotiations and collaboration have been underway. They have yielded consistent, consecutive appropriations products that deliver upon the Nation's highest priorities.

I applaud Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro, as well as other appropriators, and especially their staff, for the time they have invested in these 12 appropriations bills. It is time to get them across the finish line and stamp our seal of approval on them.

In a moment, I will offer an amendment to the rule that would repeal the Senate's Arctic Frost payout provision.

The House has previously considered this under suspension by a vote of 427-0. This vote reflects a bipartisan consensus.

I cannot overstate how wholly inappropriate it was that the Senate included this provision in the continuing resolution to reopen the government late last year. We must strike down this provision immediately. American taxpayers should not be on the hook for this inappropriate payout.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to bring this process to a close. It is time that we return this legislative body to regular order and move forward with our work. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the previous question and ``yes'' on the rule.

Amendment Offered by Ms. Foxx

Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment to the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the amendment and on the resolution.