▶ 0:24:55Committee to order. I want to welcome everybody to today's markup. Today, we'll cover the energy and water development and related agencies bill, followed by the legislative branch. As with our previous markups, it's my intention that we will complete our work on both these measures today. Got a lot to get through, obviously. So, uh, we'll begin again. We'll take the appropriate breaks for votes. I'll just stay ahead of time as quickly as you can. Come back. I know we have.
▶ 0:25:25What do we have for lunch? Chick. Chick fil a at 1:00, chick fil a at 1:00. And then. I don't know what dinner is, but we'll we'll have something to sustain you. Uh, again, first order of business consideration of energy and water development related agencies act. I will now ask chairman fleischmann to present his bill. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 0:25:51I'm pleased to present the fiscal year 2027 energy and water development and related agencies appropriations bill. I'd like to thank chairman cole for his leadership on the full committee and his commitment to moving fiscal year 2027 2027 process forward. I'd also like to thank the ranking member, miss delauro, and my good friend and ranking member of the energy and water subcommittee, miss kaptur, for their continued partnership.
▶ 0:26:20I value the conversations marcy kaptur and I have shared, and although we don't see eye to eye on every aspect of this bill, I am confident and I assure you that we are closer to agreement than today's debate might suggest. I'd also like to extend my appreciation to all of my colleagues for their engagement on this bill before us.
▶ 0:26:46Most notably, I'd like to thank and recognize my distinguished vice chair, Mr. cloud of texas, for his invaluable support and input on helping shape this bill. Thank you, Mr. cloud.
▶ 0:26:59The fiscal 2027 energy and water bill provides $58.5 billion to uphold our commitment to safeguarding united states national security, unleashing american energy dominance and advancing our economic prosperity.
▶ 0:27:16The bill delivers a historic investment in our national defense by providing $27.1 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion above fiscal 26 for the national nuclear security administration. This prioritizes the modernization of the nuclear weapons stockpile and the united states navy nuclear fleet.
▶ 0:27:43We continue to fulfill our responsibilities to remediate legacy contaminated sites by funding department of energy cleanup activities. The bill strengthens our nation's energy security by prioritizing research and development efforts on baseload energy sources and maintaining funding for programs that deliver affordable energy prices, a secure grid, and a long term energy stability for all
▶ 0:28:13Americans. We continue to support for the trump administration's efforts to expand domestic nuclear power capacity and advance american leadership in civil nuclear energy around the world.
▶ 0:28:28This bill also makes investments to secure our domestic supply chain of critical minerals and reduce reliance on china and other foreign adversaries to ensure america remains at the forefront of scientific discovery and innovation. The bill includes $8.5 billion for the department of energy's office of science. One of my really strong priorities in this bill.
▶ 0:28:53This includes support for the trump administration's genesis mission, which will harness our high performance computing capabilities and leverage ai to help address our greatest scientific challenges. America's network of coastal and inland waterways facilitates transportation, commerce, and recreation across all states and territories and connects us with the wider world.
▶ 0:29:21This bill advances our economic prosperity and promotes public safety, providing $9.8 billion for the army corps of engineers, including full funding of the harbor maintenance trust fund activities and funding for the highest priority construction projects on the inland waterway system. These improvements to our ports and channels will enable the united states to remain the most dominant entity, energy producer and exporter in the world.
▶ 0:29:49Funding for the bureau of reclamation is prioritized for projects that increase water supply, assist in drought resilience, and support rural america. Mr. chairman, this is a fiscally responsible bill that will strengthen our national security, advance our energy independence, and deliver reliable, affordable energy for the american people. I respectfully urge my colleagues to support it. Thank you, Mr. chairman. I yield back.
▶ 0:30:18Thank the gentleman for his remarks. I would now like to recognize the ranking member kaptur for remarks on the bill. >> thank you, Mr. chairman, for your gracious chairmanship and constructive demeanor of this committee. Chairman fleischmann, I truly appreciate, uh, working with you and, uh, to all of our colleagues.
▶ 0:30:42I'm sure they know that we work hard at being, uh, friends and collegiality matters. This committee has the ability to develop and pass bipartisan bills, and we hold an imperative to build a new energy age on a livable mother earth. So I'm disappointed. The bill before us has to has tilted to a partizan framing. And my hope going forward is we can course correct.
▶ 0:31:10Let me thank our diligent staff on both sides, including scott mckee, ippo dela solis, adam wilson and from the minority staff jed bullock and margaret mcginnis on our personal staff. Us energy independence in perpetuity is an imperative. Respect for mother earth must be our north star. U.S. national security requires U.S.
▶ 0:31:36Energy security, and we meet today in an historical moment where energy and war and war are again hyperlinked due to president trump's war of choice on iran, gas prices have risen to above $4 a gallon. A major facility in my congressional district informed me yesterday. Their energy bills have tripled. History instructs us that is, gas exceeds $4 per gallon in our nation.
▶ 0:32:04Deep recession follows. We are headed in this descent now. Our citizenry suffers from rising costs for transportation, fuel, heating, electricity and so much more. Energy is woven deeply into all of these. Moreover, new ai and data facilities are causing energy and water prices to skyrocket. The american people are feeling the pinch.
▶ 0:32:30They want a fair energy cost structure to help local ratepayers to deal with doubling and tripling of rates. This congress has an obligation to defend our people, not stick our heads in the sand or pretend it's 1946. The imperative of U.S. energy independence is clear.
▶ 0:32:50I cannot compliment enough those citizens who get little public credit advancing our nation's energy future in advanced fission, new fusion, thermal recovery nonpolluting energy systems, including advanced biofuels, solar, geothermal and thermal recovery, advanced building materials and energy conservation technologies.
▶ 0:33:12Our nation has been amassing trillions in debt on oil wars that disrupt global supplies of the of our nation's nation's $40 trillion of debt, 40 trillion. At least 10 trillion, or 25%, has been added by middle east oil wars. The american people are asking, when is enough? Enough? America cannot remain energy vulnerable.
▶ 0:33:43We need broad innovation, and we need competition and investment across the broad range of the energy sector, not fealty to any one source to reach bipartisan agreement, funding levels and provisions require adjustments. First, we must revise balances of top line funding for defense and non-defense spending.
▶ 0:34:05The bill increases defense programs by $774 million, or 2%, while non-defense programs are cut by 1.8 billion or 6%. And that's where innovation lies. We cannot see our future to the past. This imbalance needs correction so that domestic energy and water programs be enhanced. Our citizenry wants our citizenry wants a secure energy future, not captivity. We must address the most harmful cuts in the bill.
▶ 0:34:35These include, and I'll tick off five a $1.3 billion cut, or 40% cut to critical minerals and energy innovation that's driving the car backwards. We seek no less than $3.1 billion to meet global competition for a cleaner energy future, we must address the irresponsible accumulation of atmospheric pollutants that are powerful indications that we must not ignore.
▶ 0:35:02Number two, a $50 million cut, or 14% to advanced research projects agency arpa energy for a livable future. With our global population going to head to 10,000,000,010 billion over the next 50 years, we seek no less than $350 million for transformative clean energy technologies.
▶ 0:35:27Third, with energy prices rising, a $25 million cut for electricity and grid deployment programs is a nonstarter. We seek no less than $260 million to modernize our aging grid to drive down electricity, electricity prices.
▶ 0:35:41Fourth, a $282 million cut, or 12% for nuclear nonproliferation activities, is unwise in a dangerous world made more risky by the current war in the middle east, we seek no less than $2.367 billion to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. We cannot retreat as nuclear threats increase and fifth, total elimination of the army corps formerly utilized sites remedial action program.
▶ 0:36:10In other words, cleaning up the mess fuzed rap from the nuclear industry is unacceptable to the health of our citizenry. We seek no less than $200 million to continue cleaning up nuclear contamination across this country. And critically, this bill should only repurpose infrastructure investment and jobs act funds through bipartisan agreement, embracing and all of the above energy strategy.
▶ 0:36:35That means supporting a diverse portfolio of donning technologies like geothermal, electric grid upgrades, fusion, and advanced nuclear. The bill must be free of riders, including provisions that allow firearms on corps of engineers public lands. Secondly, prohibit clean energy solutions for new and renovated federal buildings. And third, prohibit funds for private consolidated interim storage of commercial spent nuclear fuel.
▶ 0:37:00Glaringly, the bill is missing a key provision necessary to protect congress's power of the purse. Any bipartisan bill must prevent and reverse the department of energy's project terminations of over $9 billion nationwide. Funding for these projects were duly passed and signed into law. The bill should require transparency and accountability for federal spending, and they need to follow the law.
▶ 0:37:28The trump administration must follow the law until these changes are made. I urge my colleagues to oppose the bill in its current form. Let us work together to improve it as it moves forward together. I know we can meet the new frontiers of energy and water, and I yield back. Thank you. >> thank the gentlelady for comments, and I now recognize myself for remarks on the bill. Thank you, chairman fleischmann, and thank you, ranking member kaptur and ranking member delauro, my good friend.
▶ 0:37:56And thanks to all the members here on both sides of the aisle today. Today's measure is a cornerstone of U.S. energy dominance. Affordable, reliable and secure energy is a backbone of american strength, and the bill before us delivers on that priority. Under president trump's leadership, we have seen a dramatic resurgence in domestic energy production, innovation, and long term resilience.
▶ 0:38:21The future belongs to the nation that can outbuild and outpower their competitors, and this legislation ensures america remains second to none. In that regard. It unleashes U.S. production of baseload energy sources and critical minerals. It makes historic investments to secure our systems and reduce reliance on foreign supplies, and it unlocks the technological capabilities to drive next generation advancement. This includes the white house's focus on propelling the U.S.
▶ 0:38:50To lead in artificial intelligence and new frontiers that keep us not only competitive, but unrivaled. Chairman fleischmann also implemented robust funding for high priority inland and coastal navigation, flood control and drought resilience projects.
▶ 0:39:07Importantly, security and defense remain central to this legislation, with a focus on advancing nuclear capabilities and keeping our navy's propulsion programs top class, we reinforce our deterrence and america's strategic advantages by enacting such measures. We also prioritize cyber security efforts that enable the resilient electric grid and ensure we can counter various threats from our adversaries.
▶ 0:39:34In sum, this measure recognizes that by harnessing america's abundant domestic resources, we will continue leading the world in producing the cleanest, most reliable, and most secure energy on the planet. Chairman fleischmann is kraft. Chairman fleischmann has crafted a bill that advances U.S. energy dominance, secures our strategic edge, empowers the next generation of american strength, and he does so in a fiscally responsible manner.
▶ 0:39:59I thank the chairman, the ranking member and the majority and minority staff for their hard work on this measure, and I look forward to advancing today's bill. With that, I yield back, and I now recognize my good friend, the ranking member of the full committee, miss delauro, for her opening remarks on the bill. >> I want to say thank you to my friend, chairman cole, chairman fleischmann, and ranking member kaptur. Thank you for your work.
▶ 0:40:28I also want to say a thank you to the committee staff, scott mckee and adam wilson for the minority side laura silky, perry yates, corey kuipers and rainer buckley on the majority. Thank you all very much for your hard work on this effort. I oppose the bill that we are considering today. It will make energy more expensive, from gasoline to electricity for homes and businesses.
▶ 0:40:53While families struggle to keep up with the rising cost of living, it will set us back even as our adversaries invest in the technology of the future. It will jeopardize national security by weakening our efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and it will leave our communities vulnerable to radioactive waste left over from our nation's atomic weapons programs.
▶ 0:41:19Recently, president trump said, and I quote, I don't think about american's financial situation, end quote. Let me tell you, it shows it reveals just how out of touch this administration is and how out of touch the president is. His war in iran has pushed gas prices up by 40% since he took office. Household electric bills have risen by as much as 13% nationally, while prices for residential natural gas have gone up by 12%.
▶ 0:41:48In april, prices rose faster than wages for the first time since 2023. The bill before us today does not address these problems. In fact, it will make many of them worse. To bring prices down, we need to produce more energy. That is simple supply and demand. But this bill cuts back on investments that support the production of new energy.
▶ 0:42:13For example, it cuts funding for the department of energy's critical minerals and energy innovation program by $1.3 billion. That is a 40% cut. This slows us down while our adversaries race ahead in the contest for energy independence, it looks backwards as our competitors are pressing forward, and by limiting the amount of new energy we can produce, it ensures costs will not come down any time soon.
▶ 0:42:43To meet the challenges of the future, we need to be creative. We need to innovate, conduct research, find solutions to problems before they erupt into crises. That is exactly what the advanced research projects agency for energy does. That's arpa-e. But this bill proposes cutting their funding by $50 million. That's 14% cut. There was no better way to ensure that we are unprepared for the future than by choosing to stumble into it blindly.
▶ 0:43:13This bill threatens our national security by cutting funding for the nuclear national security administration's account for defense nuclear nonproliferation by $282 million, or 12%. This hampers our efforts to track down, secure and dispose of material that can be used to develop a nuclear weapon. It makes it harder for us to stop the most dangerous weapons humanity has ever known from falling into the wrong hands.
▶ 0:43:41It is shocking that this cut is being proposed as the president proposes his costly war with iran under the pretense of preventing nuclear proliferation. We had an agreement with iran that prevented them from acquiring the bomb. It was slowing down iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon. It was called the joint comprehensive plan of action, the jcpoa.
▶ 0:44:09It made nuclear breakout harder, more visible and more costly, and to date has been no replacement for that framework. The president has also told us that in this war, that iran's nuclear capability has been obliterated. The american people should not be fooled by the continued assertion of the president that this war is about preventing nuclear proliferation.
▶ 0:44:39But I guess if you say the same thing over and over and over again, that you hope that people will come to believe it, uh, but in fact, they will not come to believe it. And in fact, the jcpoa was formulated over 20 months with overwhelming support from our allies. President trump tore up that agreement. The american people should not be fooled by his rhetoric. This is a crisis that the president has created.
▶ 0:45:06If we are serious about stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and material, why are we cutting funding to the program that does just that? Additionally, this bill would put our communities at risk by impeding the cleanup of radioactive waste left over from america's atomic weapons development. The army corps of engineers has made progress managing the cleanup and control of these areas, but this bill eliminates all funding for their program, even as they still preside over 20 active sites.
▶ 0:45:35Lastly, the bill cuts the department of energy's office of environmental management by $863 million, or 10%. This slows down cleanup at some of the most complicated radioactive sites across the country. At hanford in washington state, savannah river in south carolina, oak ridge in tennessee, and the idaho national laboratory.
▶ 0:46:05At a time when americans are struggling to navigate rapidly rising costs, when our adversaries are increasing their investments in the future, and when our communities remain burdened by the hazardous remnants of atomic weapons, this bill fails to meet the moment.
▶ 0:46:23I encourage my colleagues to vote no on this measure, to work together on a bipartisan basis, to craft an agreement that supports our communities, protects our national security, and invests in the future. Thank you, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for her remarks. The gentleman from missouri, Mr. alford, is recognized for general remarks on the bill. >> well, thank you, Mr. chairman. Thank you.
▶ 0:46:53Ranking member delauro, as well as subcommittee chairman Mr. fleischmann and ranking member kaptur for holding this markup today. I want to take just a few minutes to highlight a provision in this bill that supports one of the most important national security sites, not only in missouri, but also the entire united states of america, the kansas city national security campus is a private public partnership under the national nuclear security administration that is
▶ 0:47:25Managed and operated by a name you probably all know. You probably have the name on your air conditioning thermostat at home. Honeywell, cncs, or nsc, is integral to the burgeoning defense corridor stretching from saint louis to wichita and kansas city, missouri. A slap dab in the middle of that corridor.
▶ 0:47:48Back in 1948, the campus produced its very first component, the ordinary machine bushing, and today, 7000 workers right there in kansas city craft 80% of the non-nuclear parts of our entire nuclear arsenal. These are quiet heroes that are keeping us safe each and every day. Right now, the campus is undergoing a massive expansion. Dirt is being turned, foundations are being laid.
▶ 0:48:17The kansas city non-nuclear expansion transformation project, or as we call it, kc next project. This is a multi-phased expansion that will add 2 million 2,000,000ft of cutting edge office and manufacturing space, substantially growing capacity to meet the rising demand for components made here in the united states of america.
▶ 0:48:41The kc next project is utilizing an innovative, private developer led real estate acquisition, bespoke construction and site improvement process with ownership of the facility then and only then transferred to the federal government strategy upon completion.
▶ 0:48:58This allows each phase to become fully operational, even while work continues on the subsequent phases, making sure that forward progress continues every step of the way. It also provides additional flexibility to allow the campus to effectively adapt to evolving national security threats and mission requirements. As we have seen just in the last year.
▶ 0:49:26Yesterday, I was honored to join the nsa nnsa administrator, brandon williams, our former colleague here in congress at the campus, to celebrate the completion of phase one. And I'm proud that this very bill, Mr. chairman, includes language supporting the nc next project and the national security campus as a whole.
▶ 0:49:48These forward looking investments will strengthen america's nuclear deterrence while maintaining the safety, the security, and the effectiveness of our great nation's nuclear weapons enterprise. This project also fits squarely within the trump administration's goal of rebuilding our defense industrial base.
▶ 0:50:08And to top it off, kc next will provide a massive boost to the kansas city region's workforce, adding some 7000 good paying jobs to the kansas city region through the creation of high quality jobs, workforce development and continued partnership and surrounding communities. Kc next is more than an expansion. It is a foundational investment in the future of our national security.
▶ 0:50:36So I thank chairman cole, ranking member delauro, chairman fleischmann and ranking member kaptur, uh, for the inclusion of this in this bill. And I urge my colleagues to support the underlying bill. Thank you, sir, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. The gentleman from maryland, Mr. hoyer, recognized for remarks. >> thank you very much, Mr. chairman. >> I want to thank Mr.
▶ 0:51:02Kaptur for her work on this bill, uh, and her knowledge of the subject. I also want to thank Mr. fleischmann. I want to thank Mr. fleischmann in particular, because I know going forward, you are prepared to work with us so that we can have a bill supported by both sides of the aisle, which is good for the country and, I think, good for the bill. The gentlelady from ohio, marcy kaptur, has spoken extensively about america's energy independence.
▶ 0:51:31She is absolutely right. This bill is about our energy independence. However, if we were to adopt this bill as currently drafted, it would deepen, not relieve our dependance on foreign energy, because it not only fails to make the investments we need in diversifying our energy sources, but it also makes cuts to programs that support an all of the above energy strategy,
▶ 0:52:02Including a more resilient energy grid, which, as we all know, is failing because of president trump's war of choice against iran. Americans are paying more for energy, even as they were already struggling with higher prices on many goods resulting from the tariffs. As a matter of fact, I'm urging the construction of signs at every gas station in america pay trump's war tax here. They're doing it big time.
▶ 0:52:33This bill matters because americans deserve to have their government and their representatives work to bring energy costs down, not up, not ignore the problem and tell them, you've heard me say this before to the american consumer, the american people, american families, you're on your own.
▶ 0:52:57As the ranking member of this committee has pointed out, uh, there's a 40% cut bill, cuts, $1.3 billion from the department of energy's critical minerals and energy innovation program. It cuts efforts to secure rare earth and other minerals essential to our manufacturing competitiveness in the 117th congress. When I was majority leader, we enacted the chips and science act.
▶ 0:53:26I'm very proud of that achievement, and we ought to all be proud of that achievement. Uh, it was led by democrats, but it was a bipartisan effort that bill made a generational investment in america's advanced manufacturing sector critically important to our competitiveness and national security.
▶ 0:53:45But building microchips, semiconductors and advanced batteries and other high demand products domestically, as we all know, requires secure supply chains for critical materials. We shouldn't be slashing funding for that effort by over $1 billion, period. I hope that in the final analysis, that will not happen, because this bill would do just that.
▶ 0:54:14In addition, it cuts arpa-e by 14% at a time when given competition from china and other nations. We ought to be putting more resources into advanced research initiatives. We need to invest more, not less. We need to be more ready, not less ready. The majority's bill would also endanger our national security by cutting funding for nuclear nonproliferation efforts.
▶ 0:54:42The ranking member of the full committee and the chair, the ranking member of this subcommittee, have both mentioned that very critical issue. President trump said he was attacking iran in order to stop its regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
▶ 0:54:58That's an important goal, but it is hypocritical for republicans to support president trump's 30 billion, give or take effort and the war, while simultaneously cutting funding that helps prevent regimes like iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. What don't I get here about this relationship?
▶ 0:55:24There are other problems with this bill, of course, which I'm certain will be discussed during today's markup, not limited to its cuts to environmental cleanup. I hope we can address these shortcomings through the very thoughtful amendments being put forward. On the democratic side. There is no reason, no reason why we cannot work together to get this bill right. And I yield back 11 seconds. >> I thank the gentleman.
▶ 0:55:51We'll both value that 11 seconds later today. Uh, gentleman from texas, uh, Mr. cloud is recognized for opening remarks on the bill. >> uh, thank you, chairman, and I want to thank chairman fleischmann for the honor of working with him as vice chair on this, uh, project, this wonderful bill that we are debating today.
▶ 0:56:13I want to thank you for your great work on it and for the team and all the work you've done to prioritize an america first energy, uh, platform here. Most of us understand that the competition with china on energy, on ai, on the foundational science underneath all of it, is one of the defining challenges of our time. This bill is a serious attempt to position the us to win that race.
▶ 0:56:40American energy production is in a strong place, thanks in large part to a lot of the work the trump administration has done. That's certainly worth acknowledging. But strength like that does not maintain itself. It takes continued investment and smart policy to build on it. And that's what's in this bill. I'm fortunate enough to represent the gulf coast of south texas, a region that's central to america's energy production.
▶ 0:57:04Uh, number one energy export port in our nation is there and all that we do to support our allies with the energy that we produce in this country and ship out is, is so important. This bill makes sure our ports stay strong as well. And I want to thank you for coming to see, uh, the coast of texas. It was wonderful to have you in texas with us. The trump administration has set clear priorities in this bill, does a great job to make sure we fund those things.
▶ 0:57:32This fully funds the army corps of engineers funding at 9.775 billion and invest more in the office of science, and it ties it directly to defense. This bill puts 8.525 billion into the office of science. That includes boosts to high performance computing, quantum and ai, including the trump administration's genesis mission. The science fund today is what keeps our military ahead tomorrow. This takes nuclear seriously.
▶ 0:58:01We're funding the full nuclear fuel cycle, pushing halo production to break our dependance on russian and chinese fuel sources and repurposing funds to accelerate small modular reactor demonstrations, with the goal to quadruple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. This bill moves us in the right direction, and we understand how important nuclear is if we're going to win the ai race, which is also an energy race.
▶ 0:58:26This locks in real energy independence, refocuses us on critical minerals and energy innovation. It funds the bureau of reclamation with a focus on water supply, drought response and storage, and it cuts much of the waste that's been happening. We've seen many projects under the biden administration, under the auspices of energy projects that not only didn't produce any energy, they actually cost the grid a lot of energy and billions and billions and billions of dollars. There are other projects that invested in the most expensive energy production that we could have.
▶ 0:58:57This refocuses us on affordable energy, on high output, on core baseload energy. That's going to be so vital for us continuing to win the race for energy production and ai that we're working on. This bill gets it right. Thank you for your work on it. And it was an honor to work with you, sir. >> thank you. >> gentlemen. Encourage adoption. >> oh, sorry. Uh, I thank the gentleman for his remarks. Gentleman from georgia, Mr. bishop, is recognized for remarks on the bill. Thank you.
▶ 0:59:29Chairman. Ranking member delauro. >> chair fleischmann and ranking member kaptur. Uh, thank you to the staffs for your incredible work on this bill. Nevertheless, I have to rise in opposition to the fy 27 energy and water development related agencies appropriations bill in its current form.
▶ 0:59:50Uh, this bill is responsible for funding some of the most essential responsibilities of the federal government, maintaining our waterways, strengthening our energy security, supporting scientific discovery, advancing nuclear security, and helping communities prepare for the future. These are not partizan priorities. They are national priorities.
▶ 1:00:16And they affect every region, every state, every congressional district, including my district. In the second congressional district of georgia. I appreciate that the bill includes important investments in the army corps of engineers in rural and agricultural communities, like those I represent. Corps projects are not abstract line items. They support navigation, flood control, water management, environmental stewardship, and economic development.
▶ 1:00:44I also appreciate the continued support for regional commissions, including the delta regional authority in the southeast crescent regional commission, which helped distressed communities compete, grow and attract opportunity. But unfortunately, those positive elements do not overcome the serious deficiencies in the bill.
▶ 1:01:08At a time when families are facing higher costs, when communities are working to modernize aging infrastructure, when our nation is competing globally in energy innovation, this bill cuts in non-defense programs by more than $1.8 billion. Below last year's level is unacceptable.
▶ 1:01:32It also rescinds billions in bipartisan infrastructure law resources that were intended to help build a stronger, cleaner, more resilient and more competitive america. These cuts will be felt most deeply in communities that can least afford them. Rural communities need reliable and affordable energy. They need modern infrastructure. They need protection from floods, storms and extreme weather. They need federal partnership, not retreat.
▶ 1:02:02I'm particularly concerned by the deep reduction in the department of energy's critical minerals and energy innovation programs. Cutting these programs by 40% weakens our ability to compete with china and other global competitors in the technologies that will define the next generation of economic growth. Energy independence does not come from walking away from innovation. It comes from investing in american workers, american research, american manufacturing, and american communities.
▶ 1:02:31I'm also concerned by the cut to the advanced research projects agency. Energy arpa e supports the kind of high risk, high reward research that can unlock major breakthroughs in energy affordability, grid reliability, and national competitiveness. If we want america to lead, we cannot undercut the very tools that help us lead our national security.
▶ 1:02:55I'm deeply troubled by the reduction to the defense nuclear nonproliferation at a time of rising global instability, we should be doing more and not less to secure nuclear materials, to prevent nuclear terrorism and maintain the capabilities needed to detect and respond to nuclear threats. National security is not only about weapons, it's about preventing the spread and misuse of the world's most dangerous materials.
▶ 1:03:22The bill falls short on environmental cleanup, eliminating funding for the formerly utilized sites remedial action program and cutting environmental management undermines commitments made to communities that have lived with the legacy of our nation's earlier nuclear defense activities. Those committed communities deserve follow through.
▶ 1:03:45Finally, I'm concerned that this bill includes unnecessary policy matters that distract from the core responsibility before us writing and responsible appropriations bill that meets all the needs of the american people. We can do better. We must do better. We should be producing a bipartisan bill that strengthens energy affordability, protects national security, supports rural communities, invest in innovation, and honors our commitments to environmental cleanup and infrastructure resilience.
▶ 1:04:14For those reasons, I cannot support the bill in its current form. I urge my colleagues to join with us and work together to improve it. Thank you. And I yield back five seconds. >> oh, that's 16. That's really great. We'll just keep building that up. I thank the gentleman for his remarks. Gentleman from washington. Mr. newhouse is recognized for remarks on the bill. >> thank you very much, Mr. chairman. I appreciate the recognition to be able to speak on this bill.
▶ 1:04:43Ranking member delauro, um, ranking member kaptur and certainly chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. fleischmann. And most importantly, I want to thank the staff of the subcommittee for their hard work on this bill. You know, from investments in hydropower and nuclear power generation to funding our national grid security, this this bill truly does provide essential resources to to communities across the country.
▶ 1:05:11In particular, I want to point out a couple of things that I'm pleased to see in this bill the bureau of reclamation reclamation, which if you are in the west, is a tremendously important agency. This bill increases funding for the bureau by over $200 million. And when it when many of the bureau's assets are now either nearing or are over a century old, this is very vital, vital resource. It also provides.
▶ 1:05:40This bill also provides $3 million in community project funds for something that. The roza irrigation district in the yakima river basin is working on to enhance the water projects in our area. As we are in our fourth year in a row of drought, we must continue to address the increased. The need for increased water storage and face these water shortages as we do every year.
▶ 1:06:08This bill provides over 1.6 billion in additional funds for the national nuclear security administration, which will enable meaningful deterrence against foreign adversaries such as iran, russia and china. Includes a 1.8 billion for the nuclear energy program. These funds will accelerate advanced reactor and small modular reactor development. Very important in my area. Thank you.
▶ 1:06:34Well, increasing programs across the entire nuclear fuel cycle, including production of high assay, low enriched uranium. It increases funding for the office of science of $125 million. This funding will bolster our national labs, whose scientific and technical breakthroughs certainly underlie our country's energy resilience and national security. But let me talk a little bit about the hanford site, which was brought up earlier.
▶ 1:07:04This is the largest environmental cleanup project on the planet. The federal government has remained committed to providing the resources necessary to continue this important work, but it has not been without a lot of effort. Over the past 12 years, hanford's budget has increased by 46%. I just want to take a second to thank this committee and congress for their continued commitment to getting this work done.
▶ 1:07:33We all know that in order to get our fiscal house in order, difficult decisions have to be made. Cutting spending is not an easy thing, which is why we find ourselves with more than $36 trillion in debt. This bill returns hanford. Hanford funding funding to just below fiscal year 23 levels, which at the time was a record investment in cleanup.
▶ 1:08:00But it also prioritizes the continued retrieval and immobilization of tank waste, and supports the important milestones to prepare for permanent treatment and tank closure.
▶ 1:08:15Just last week, I met with energy assistant secretary tim walsh and asked him directly if the house mark would delay cleanup timelines, which I repeated to him several times. Cannot happen, and he assured me doe is committed to meeting all timelines outlined in the tripartite agreement and that this bill would not result in missed timelines.
▶ 1:08:42The goal for hanford should be to clean up as quickly as possible in order to convert the land to productive means for the tri-cities and the entire region as a whole. That requires dual capability approach of primary vitrification, turning waste into glass, as well as supplemental grouting, immobilizing waste in concrete.
▶ 1:09:09Unfortunately, the state department of ecology does not want to grant a permit to doe for additional supplemental grout treatment to work in tandem with vitrification, which would expedite the cleanup process. Their opposition to this bill. Uh, of lack of funding is ironic, given their disinterest in approving additional permits.
▶ 1:09:33The fact remains that this bill spends taxpayer dollars in an efficient manner on immediate cleanup activities to continue the momentum of the plant, which, by the way, just hit a very important milestone of 100,000 gallons of waste being solidified into glass. Let me talk a little bit about the national laboratory that we have called the pacific northwest national lab.
▶ 1:09:57It is advancing innovative technologies, dealing, dealing with grid security, the nuclear fuel life cycle, and artificial intelligence. This bill fully funds the atmospheric radiation measurement user facility, the environmental molecular science lab, and the microbial molecular phenotyping capability programs, which the lab utilizes.
▶ 1:10:23Our mark also slightly reduces funding for pnnl's critical work within defense. Nuclear nonproliferation, which has been mentioned already today. To this point, I'd like to note that it is imperative for funding to continue for dnn to stop advisory, stop adversary state and non-state actors from developing nuclear weapons. Mr.
▶ 1:10:50Chairman, just to close up quickly, appropriations is a negotiation. This house bill move, this house moves, it's bills, the senate moves theirs. We conference we send final products to the president that best serve the american people. We should judge appropriations on how effective and efficiently money is spent, not on how much money is spent. So quality over quantity.
▶ 1:11:14I want to continue working with all of my colleagues in this committee and get a product that we can all be proud of and, and spend taxpayer dollars in a responsible manner. Thank you, Mr. chairman. Thank you for your indulgence. I yield back. >> I thank the gentleman for his remarks. Gentlelady from minnesota, miss mccollum is recognized for remarks on the bill. >> um, thank you for yielding.
▶ 1:11:40Today, I rise in opposition to the fiscal year 2027 energy and water appropriations bill. As we consider this bill today, the washington, D.C. area is expecting record high heat with temperatures in the mid to high 90s. It's 91 degrees right now, and it's going to get hotter as far above the typical average of may of 65 degrees, 30 degrees warmer almost. In minnesota.
▶ 1:12:08We're also experiencing high temperatures in the in the summer and more extreme subzero temperatures in the winter. Last summer, for example, minnesota had 13 days over 90 degrees. Extreme weather drives up the cost of our constituents energy bills, keeping themselves and their families and their homes safe from these extreme weather. We have. The bill before us today cuts energy efficiency and renewable energy programs by 40%.
▶ 1:12:37Now, a 40% cut will eliminate resources that are designed to help americans consume less energy and lower their energy bills. And yes, these programs also address climate change. I've said it before climate change is a national security issue. Um, it affects our military readiness here at home. Sea level rise and more extreme storms are flooding our bases.
▶ 1:13:01Permafrost is making runways unusable, and the increasing number of radar stations are becoming at risk of falling into the sea. Climate change is also making farming less predictable in my state and for other farmers, from shifting seasons to droughts, floods, pest pressures, farmers are on the front lines of climate change to adapt with fewer resources and greater risk.
▶ 1:13:26The inadequate funding levels in this bill will harm our country's ability to react to climate change with innovative solutions and to help with our national security and our economic security here at home.
▶ 1:13:41This bill also delivers a devastating $50 million cut to arpa-e, cutting innovative science advancement that arpa-e does will impact our ability to compete with china technology as they work to advance. So when we slash funding for clean energy innovation and research and development, it does put us at a severe disadvantage.
▶ 1:14:08China's not cutting clean energy or innovative technologies. They're leading the world in manufacturing, solar products and other ways in which to produce energy. The cuts in this bill will harm our national security and our ability to compete with china on a global market. So at this time, I cannot support the bill because, as I said, the bill before us fails to support american jobs and innovation.
▶ 1:14:35With the cuts to arpa-e, it fails to confront the climate crisis and its impact on national and people's personal economic security. So I urge my colleagues to keep working on this bill if it passes out of committee today so we can have a bill on the floor, we can all support. And with that, I yield back. I won't say how much, Mr. chair. It's more than everybody else. >> well, I want to continue this virtuous cycle, and I thank the gentlelady very much for her remarks.
▶ 1:15:03And the gentlelady from florida, miss wasserman schultz, is recognized for remarks on the bill. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I want to start by thanking the subcommittee chairman and ranking member for their work. And to my colleague and forever partner, Mr. diaz-balart, from the great state of florida, who is chatting and not paying attention to what I'm saying.
▶ 1:15:29But I love him anyway, as my often partner in crime and fellow co-chair of the everglades caucus, relevant to the energy and water appropriations bill, I appreciate that we held hearings on the pressing, pressing issues that this bill faces, but because of this timeline we talked about, we rushed and missed opportunities to get the answers that our communities need. That has to start with the unacceptable army corps of engineers situation.
▶ 1:15:57Since our hearing with the assistant secretary, south florida members are still waiting for the answers he was unable to provide at that time. Yet now we're having to vote on army corps funding. Adding insult to injury, this bill has the shameful distinction of being the first ever cut to the annual everglades restoration appropriation. And now, no matter how many ways I ask the question, no one from the army corps can answer what the impact on the work plan will be at this funding level.
▶ 1:16:24The assistant secretary and army corps also delivered a late, unhelpful, unhelpful budget request which for the first time ever included separate funding lines for project work, along with salaries and expenses for the project, with no explanation or justification, which we are still waiting for. You'd think for a change of that scale, congress would get a briefing on what it accomplishes or how it could work. Perhaps detailed breakdowns on what these funds will be spent on. Instead, we got nothing.
▶ 1:16:53Ironically, when I asked the assistant secretary, he said this change was to help improve, quote, transparency. Yet when pressed, he said he didn't know how they got to those numbers and they came from the jacksonville office. And here's the kicker. If you reach out to one of the offices on these questions under the new dod communication rules, you'll be lucky to get a response this fiscal year. That is the opposite of transparency. I appreciate that this bill does not, thankfully, actually separate funding.
▶ 1:17:21And instead, the chairman's mark sticks to unified project funding. That's the right thing to do until we get clarity and a plan for a better path forward from the corps. Mr. chairman, I know none of this is your fault, and you're dealing with a bad budget request and a worse top line. But I cannot support a bill that I will believe, that I believe will harm the progress that we're making in the everglades at the hands of an army corps leadership that is being obtuse and opaque, refusing to provide clarity to congress.
▶ 1:17:47Elsewhere in this bill, we see cuts to everything and anything that would lower costs for american families. That is incomprehensible to me. Weatherization assistance for low income and rural americans slashed by $100 million. Solar energy technologies eliminated. Even though floridians can see savings upwards of $1,900 a year thanks to investments and developments in solar, millions in bipartisan infrastructure law funding for clean energy demonstrations that help american businesses stay competitive and fight climate change. Terminated. Eliminated.
▶ 1:18:20Nearly 300 million is slashed from the industrial technologies office, which threatens the advances needed to reduce carbon emissions and pulls back on industry investments to keep more americans employed. It's clear where my republican colleagues are getting their marching orders. Just yesterday, president trump called the sky high gas prices. Americans are facing peanuts. Peanuts. That's a quote. You know what's really nuts, Mr. chairman?
▶ 1:18:42This bill does absolutely nothing to lower the rising energy costs american families face and abandons our commitment to clean up of nuclear waste sites. As it stands, this bill contains too many funding cuts that will hurt south floridians directly. Every single decision this administration and the energy secretary have taken so far has put americans in a worse position than before because of the big, ugly law alone. Electricity rates are projected to jump between 9 to 18% in the next ten years.
▶ 1:19:12The >> the department of energy canceled over $12 billion in congressionally appropriated and lawfully obligated energy projects, which could have increased reliability and efficiency of our eroding grid. Anyone read headlines about our eroding grid? Department of energy yanked $30 million in florida power and light grants, and let those costs get dumped directly onto floridians.
▶ 1:19:32And still, the department illegally withholds $173 million in home efficiency funding and 172 million in high efficiency electric home dollars to fulfill rebates that have already been approved to floridians. I asked secretary right when these funds would be released to the florida constituents that I, congressman diaz-balart, rutherford, franklin and congresswoman frankel all represent. When would they see this relief? He told me on the record that he wasn't sure, but he presumed the funds were being withheld because of di.
▶ 1:20:05He really had no idea what what what I was asking him about. And then he just tossed in the code word dei for for good measure. That is a ridiculous and insulting answer on so many levels. Americans can't afford their electric bill or to fill up their tank, but have no fear because under the budget request in this bill, the secretary's office and the department of energy headquarters get a plus up to fight their ridiculous, wasteful culture wars.
▶ 1:20:27I cannot support legislation that both starves the everglades of much needed environmental restoration funding, and at the same time completely ignores the energy cost crisis that president trump has created. For those reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote no on this bill, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for her remarks. The gentleman from texas, Mr. cuellar, is recognized for remarks on the bill. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:20:50I want to thank you and the ranking member for all the work in your staff have done, uh, to the subcommittee chairman. Mr. fleischmann, thank you so much for everything that you've done and appreciate your staff. And to ranking member kaptur also. Thank you. Look, we know this bill is a work in process. And knowing both the temperament and the judgment that you all have, we're going to have a bipartisan bill sometime soon.
▶ 1:21:16But I do want to thank you about one particular provision that y'all added, and that is the southwest border regional commission. As you know, the us has different commissions. Some are older. The southwest border commission, a regional commission, is the newest. Uh, it's only and I want to thank you for the $5.5 million. But still I think it's something that later on we ought to look at plussing up.
▶ 1:21:42But the southwest border commission targets federal investment, uh, toward communities where economic opportunity has historically been hard to come by. A lot of those areas, whether it's california, arizona, new mexico or texas, have colonias, as you know, colonias or third world conditions. No water, no sewage, uh, sometimes no electricity. They were promised by the, um, by the investors or the land developers. Hey, buy a piece of the american dream.
▶ 1:22:12And, uh, we'll put the water, we'll put the sewage later. We'll put the land, the paving, the streets later. Pay us now. They paid those developers took off, and we can't find them. So now we got third world conditions along the southwest border. This is why this commission, uh, is very important. It's doing exactly what it's supposed to do, addressing those economic situations that we have. Uh, in south texas.
▶ 1:22:39Uh, for example, I have, we have a lot of colonials and in fact, the, uh, the rio grande valley has the most colonias, uh, population of any other state in the southwest. So I want to thank you for the work that you're all doing. This commission does help move the needle. Uh, whether it's supporting local infrastructure, creating jobs, or building the economic base that keeps families together. Uh, so that funding is, is, is very important.
▶ 1:23:08Uh, $5.5 million is a lot of money. Uh, but if you look at other commissions out there that have a couple hundred million dollars, they've been around for a long time. I understand we're the new kid in town, but I on the block. But I do want to say thank you. So, uh, uh, chairman fleischmann and to the ranking member, kaptur, thank you so much for your staff for doing this. Uh, again, it's a work in progress. Uh, we'll get there. And with that, I'll yield back two minutes and 14 seconds, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:23:38Thank you so much. >> I thank the gentleman for his remarks. We'll see if Mr. morelli from new york will be equally generous. But the gentleman's recognized for remarks on the bill. >> hope springs eternal. Mr. chair, uh, I do want to thank you for, uh, for the recognition. And I want to thank chairman fleischmann and ranking member kaptur, as well as, uh, you, chairman and ranking member delauro, for your work on this legislation.
▶ 1:24:06And throughout this process, which we know is is a difficult and time consuming, uh, you know, moving our country forward depends on affordable and reliable energy, on innovation, on scientific leadership. And it depends on making smart investments today. So we're not vulnerable tomorrow. This bill moves us sadly, in the wrong direction.
▶ 1:24:25This proposal increases energy costs, jeopardizes our energy independence, and weakens america's competitiveness by slashing critical minerals and energy innovation programs by 40%, rescinding billions in bipartisan infrastructure law investments, and cutting arpa-e, which has been mentioned by a number of my colleagues. One of the most important drivers of next generation energy technologies.
▶ 1:24:47Alarmingly, this bill cuts defense nuclear nonproliferation accounts by 12%, limiting our ability to detect, track, and stop the black market spread of nuclear material and nuclear weapons. These decisions will have impacts on communities across the country, including mine. The nsa's inertial confinement fusion program.
▶ 1:25:09Icf funds our nation's only laboratories capable of reproducing the high energy conditions within a nuclear weapon to safely ensure the reliability of our nation's nuclear stockpile. One of these facilities, the university of rochester's laboratory for laser energetics ll, is in my district. Unfortunately, this bill accepts the president's funding level for the program, which imposes a $23,000,000.20 1% cut to the ll e.
▶ 1:25:36This cut, if enacted, would result in staff reductions of dozens of scientists and have a chilling effect on ll. S ability to produce scientific advances and train students at a time when threats to our national security are increasing, and demand for icf facilities is growing, I believe we can work in conference to ensure each site is properly funded, and I will work with this committee to include individual site splits in the final bill. Mr.
▶ 1:26:06Chairman, budgets reflect priorities. We say that all the time, and this energy funding bill makes house republicans priorities clear. They're not focused on what families are dealing with right now instead of working to lower costs. My colleagues are slashing heating assistance, zeroing out home weatherization programs, and gutting research that helps keep energy reliable and affordable. Families in my community and across the country will pay the price.
▶ 1:26:32Higher heating bills, higher energy costs, and more pressure on households already struggling to keep up. These cuts are counterproductive, unnecessary and I urge a no vote on the bill. With that, I thank the chair and yield back. >> thank you, gentlemen, very much for his remarks. The gentleman from california, Mr. levin, is recognized for remarks on the bill. >> thank you. >> thank you very much, Mr. chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:27:02Thank you to my friend, chairman fleischmann, to my friend, ranking member kaptur. Uh, before I say anything else, I want to just express my genuine appreciation for both of you. Uh, the work that goes into a bill like this is really enormous. And the partnership that you've built, uh, is really one of the bright spots in this institution. And Mr.
▶ 1:27:22Chairman, in particular, thank you for your thoughtful partnership on issues that matter deeply to my district, to your district and to the country, especially on the nuclear fuel cycle. Uh, it's really something that I value. We have to keep at it. And while I associate myself with a lot of my colleagues comments about some of the cuts in the bill, I also want to acknowledge there's real good in the bill. There's $10 million increase for the department of energy to advance the nuclear life cycle innovation campuses program.
▶ 1:27:50Uh, that reflects a shared understanding that america's nuclear future, both civilian and on the back end, requires investment focus and serious policy attention. I'd like to see even more dedicated to this effort. I want to be candid with everybody I was hoping to get to yes on this bill. And while I cannot support it in its current form, I want to be clear that my disagreements are not with the chairman. They're not with the ranking member. They're not with the spirit in which the subcommittee operates.
▶ 1:28:22My sincere hope is that as the bill moves forward, we continue to improve it together. And by the time it comes back and ultimately, uh, we have the final disposition of the bill that members on both sides of the aisle can enthusiastically support it, because the stakes here could not be higher. We're in the middle of the most consequential global energy competition since the industrial revolution.
▶ 1:28:43The nations that can produce more energy, more reliably, more affordably and across more sources, are the nations that will dominate the next century of economic growth, advanced manufacturing and national security. And right now, our principal competitor in that race is china. China is building generation capacity at a pace the world has never seen. They're investing in nuclear and transmission and grid infrastructure and critical minerals, and advanced manufacturing of every energy technology you can name.
▶ 1:29:15They're doing it deliberately, strategically and at unprecedented scale. If we're serious about competing with china, and I hope we all are, then our energy and water bill has to reflect that seriousness. That means investing across the full portfolio. It means a strong commitment to advance nuclear, including a real path forward on spent nuclear fuel means a modern, resilient grid that can carry power where it needs to go. It means continued american leadership in the national laboratories, which remain the crown jewels of american science.
▶ 1:29:44It means water infrastructure that supports communities and agriculture all across our country, and it means an office of science that keeps us at the frontier of physics, computing, fusion, and the discoveries that will define the next generation. These aren't partizan priorities. They're american priorities. The national labs employ people all across the country and all across the political spectrum. The scientists working on fusion at livermore and oak ridge, they're not red or blue.
▶ 1:30:13The grid operators trying to keep the lights on across the country. They all face the same physics and the families who are paying their electric bills. And every one of our districts feel the same pressure when prices go up. So my ask is very simple today. Let's keep working. Let's find the common ground that we need to find. Let's look where the bill can be strengthened. A better position in the united states to win the energy race, to support our scientific enterprise and to bring costs down for the people we represent. I thank the chairman and the ranking member again for their leadership and their collaboration. Mr.
▶ 1:30:43Chairman, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. Gentlelady from pennsylvania. Miss dean's recognized for remarks on the bill. >> thank you, chairman carl, chairman fleischmann, ranking member delauro, and ranking member kaptur. Thank you and your staffs for the good work that you all have done on this bill. Still, I rise in opposition.
▶ 1:31:07The bill, unfortunately, fails to invest in the technologies we need to ensure affordable, resilient energy systems. Like many of you, my constituents are confronting rising energy costs in pennsylvania, electricity and other utilities have risen 12. More than 12% in the last year. Gas prices up over 40%.
▶ 1:31:31Now is the time to invest in solutions that lower costs and increase energy dependance independence. Unfortunately, this bill does the opposite. The bill cuts the office of critical minerals and energy innovation by $1.3 billion, or 40%. It should be no surprise that deepest cuts are to the programs in the former office of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
▶ 1:31:56These programs support research, development and demonstration activities in renewable energy, clean transportation, and energy efficiency. As climate change and its impacts are accelerating and energy prices are through the roof, this bill cuts the building technologies office by nearly $200 million. Two thirds of its fy 26 budget.
▶ 1:32:21While I'm grateful that the bill restores the funding for the weatherization assistance program, meaningful in my district and the state energy programs, both of which were eliminated in the president's budget request, I wish the bill offered more to families who are struggling to afford out of control energy bills, fueled in part by the president's war of choice in iran.
▶ 1:32:42Finally, I am dismayed by the lack of support for the advanced research projects, energy and agency energy, or arpa-e, the doe's launchpad for new and disruptive technologies to enhance U.S. economic and energy security. In this bill, arpa-e receives $50 million less than it did in fy 26 and $160 million less than fy 25.
▶ 1:33:11Arpa-e funds, we all know, are transformative, high risk projects across sectors from grid infrastructure and power generation to industrial efficiency and vehicle technologies. These bets pay off. Arpa-e funding has a nearly four times return on investment as ideas mature into companies and then receive private capital to commercialize their discoveries. Finally, I'm disappointed by what's missing from the bill.
▶ 1:33:37It does not address the chaos and uncertainty that comes from canceled grants or omb interference, where money is still not flowing. Equally important, it does not address the understaffing and loss of expertise due to the department of so-called government efficiency cuts last year. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this bill and work to make it better for all americans, and I yield back. One minute, 52 seconds.
▶ 1:34:08>> I thank the gentlelady. I'm going to add all this up sometime and announce how many minutes we saved, but I thank all of you for doing so and staying within the clock. Uh, gentleman from indiana, Mr. is recognized for remarks on the bill. >> thank you. Chairman and ranking member delauro, chairman fleischmann, and ranking member kaptur for the opportunity to speak on the fiscal year 27 energy and water appropriations.
▶ 1:34:32Over the last year, I have had countless conversations with constituents who are shocked and angry about when they open up their utility bills. On average, families in northwest indiana have seen their utility rates jump more than 26%, and these cost increases are making it difficult for seniors, families and hard working americans to keep the lights on. The work we do in this committee has a direct impact for these families who are feeling the effects of this financial strain.
▶ 1:34:58It is critical that we support federal policies that expand energy supply, support good paying jobs, and bring real relief. Unfortunately, this bill falls short short of these goals. Instead, the partizan cuts included in this bill will slash american jobs, raise energy costs, and make us all less safe. The bill doubles down on cuts to energy innovation and large scale energy projects that would strengthen our energy security, generate thousands of good paying jobs and enhance our global competitiveness.
▶ 1:35:25This includes 50 million of $50 million cut to advance research projects agency the arpa-e. Arpa-e provides support for research projects that drive innovation to keep our advanced manufacturing industry globally competitive. At purdue northwest, for example, a research researchers work hand in hand with the domestic steel industry to improve efficiency, drive workforce development, and improve workplace safety.
▶ 1:35:53These dollars are critical for transformative, transformative, transformative research that supports and continued dominance of the american steel, which in turn means good paying american jobs for generations to come. The bill also continues to revoke investments provided under the bipartisan infrastructure law that would lower energy costs, strengthen our energy security, and improve air quality in our communities. I will underscore that the canceled hydrogen hub in northwest indiana was slated to create 12,000 direct jobs.
▶ 1:36:24The continued cuts to energy innovation projects are irresponsible and come at a direct cost to jobs across the country. On the defense side, I am also concerned about the 12% cut to the defense nuclear nonproliferation account. Underfunding essential nonproliferation programs makes it more difficult to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism at a time when our adversaries are strengthening and investing in their nuclear arsenals.
▶ 1:36:47Finally, I am grateful to the committee for including the funding to the army corps and for the maintenance of our commercial and recreational harbors, and for the improving of clean water infrastructure for the residents of northwest indiana. However, I remain concerned about the lack of transparency throughout this budgetary process, largely driven by the congressional communications directive that limits the ability to work closely with members of this committee to identify funding needs.
▶ 1:37:16This bill makes more than 50% cut to the harbors in my district. Indiana harbor and burns waterway harbor serve as a major industrial manufacturing hub, the largest oil refinery in the midwest, and the nation's largest concentration of steel production is critical. These harbors receive the funding they need. The energy and water appropriations bill is intended to promote economic and environmental health in our communities, lower costs the hard working families, and address the threat to nuclear proliferation.
▶ 1:37:44These objectives should not be partizan. However, this bill neglects the investment in long term effects to strengthen our energy security, grow our economy and make our nation safer. I urge my colleagues to reject the partizan legislation, instead work in a bipartisan manner to promote the health and safety of our communities. With that, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. Are there other members wishing to make remarks on the bill? Gentlelady from washington is recognized for general remarks on the bill.
▶ 1:38:22>> the manager's amendment. >> okay. You'll have your chance shortly. Um, are there again? Are there other members wishing to make remarks? Uh, seeing none, I'm going to turn quickly to chairman fleischmann just for informational purposes for the committee. We will finish up the manager's amendment at that point, will recess so members can go and vote. We'd ask you to come back. I think about the time you get back. Probably lunch will be arriving as well.
▶ 1:38:50So I think chick fil a is the order of the day. So anyway, uh, with that, Mr. chairman, I recognize you for the purposes of manager's amendment. Thank you, Mr. chairman. Chairman cole, I have a manager's amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous consent to waive the reading of the amendment. Without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman is recognized to explain his amendment. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:39:14The amendment includes noncontroversial additions and edits to the report that have been reviewed and agreed to by the majority and the minority. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment I yield. I thank the gentleman, the gentlelady from ohio, miss kaptur's, recognized to address the manager's amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman and chairman fleischmann.
▶ 1:39:38I rise in support of this amendment, and I've worked with charles fleischmann to agree on non-controversial changes and have no objection to the amendment and yield back. >> thank. Gentlelady. The gentleman from texas, Mr. cuellar, is recognized to address the manager's amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. >> I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member. Two provisions I would like to outline here.
▶ 1:40:00First of all, the amendment we've been adding and every appropriation bill, the outcome based program, reviews, uh, this language, as you know, directs, um, for outcome based reviews, operational reviews across the agencies that are funded by this particular bill, consistent with the law that we passed back in 2010.
▶ 1:40:19It basically calls for the review of existing regulations, get rid of any regulations that that's outdated internal policies and other requirements to make sure we get rid of any duplicate, unnecessary, burdensome rules and regulations that we have. In other words, making sure that we understand for every dollar that we spend that we get the best bang. The other one I have to also highlight has to do with my area, chacon creek.
▶ 1:40:46Uh, this provision deals with the chacon creek flood control project in my hometown of laredo. Uh, since 2004, uh, since I've started here for 22 years, I've been dealing with the bureaucracy, uh, the bureaucracy at the army corps. Uh, but I think now we got the right language. And I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member. Uh, this is the language, uh, that would direct the corps to produce the final work so we can get started.
▶ 1:41:16This language strongly encourages the corps to prioritize this project, allow it to proceed to pre-engineering and design, uh, as per the original section 203 study. Recommended. And making sure that we move forward. Uh, the people who live along the creek have been very patient 22 years, dealing with the army corps bureaucracy. Uh, and I think it's time that we move forward. I think we got the right language.
▶ 1:41:44And I think the the army corps will now move after 22 years. So, chairman, muchas gracias. Thank you very much. Uh, that's french. Uh, and, uh, also I want to thank kaptur also. So thank you. And I yield back the balance of my time. Thank you so much. >> I thank the gentleman, the gentleman from maryland, Mr. hoyer, is recognized for remarks on the manager's amendment. >> thank you very much, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:42:07I also want to thank chairman fleischmann, but I feel somewhat, uh, you know, premature because my folks have only been waiting nine years, but they have, uh, sustained substantial economic costs as a result of a jetty not being repaired. And that has been for nine years. And it's costing the adjoining properties and a marina very substantial damage economically.
▶ 1:42:35And so I thank the gentleman for including in a report language. It's a report language only, but hopefully we can follow up on that. Uh, perhaps as this process moves along. >> thank the gentleman gentlelady from new york, miss ming is recognized to address the manager's amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:42:56I rise in support of this amendment, which includes my provision directing the department of energy to report on how existing financial and technical assistance programs are being optimized to reduce energy costs for consumers across the country, families and small businesses are facing rising utility costs and increasing financial pressure.
▶ 1:43:20For many households, energy bills are becoming more and more expensive and small businesses are facing similar challenges as they work to manage operating costs and keep their doors open. In my district in queens, new york, small businesses are central to our local economy and our community's rising energy costs can place additional strain on already narrow margins and make it harder for these businesses to grow and succeed.
▶ 1:43:46This language directs the department to submit a report detailing how existing programs are being evaluated, and what performance metrics the department plans to implement across applied energy programs to assess realized and sustained cost savings for customers. That focus matters. What ultimately matters is whether americans americans cannot wait any longer for their monthly energy costs to go down.
▶ 1:44:14This report will help congress better understand how the department is measuring success and encourage a stronger focus on affordability, consumer savings and real world outcomes for the american people. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. Thank you, Mr. chairman, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for remarks. Gentleman from west virginia. Mr. moore is recognized for remarks on the manager's amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:44:43I rise also in support today of the manager's amendment. I want to thank the chairman very much for working with me and your staff, working with my staff, to address a crisis that we're having in the state of west virginia, specifically the southern coal fields, uh, west virginia faces currently one of the worst water crises in america, 29% of the state's public water systems have health based safe drinking
▶ 1:45:14Water act violations, three times the national average, and nearly 80% of the entire state have some form of violation. Between 2016 and 2024, nearly 1 million west virginians about half of the state's population were served by systems violating federal standards.
▶ 1:45:38The three counties with the highest water violation rates in the country, all three of them are in west virginia. In one six month period in late 2024 and early 2025, the state issued more than ten boil water advisories per day. Per day, a quarter million residents rely on untreated springs on private wells because they have no alternative at all.
▶ 1:46:08And I'd been one under one of those boil advisories several times when I lived in southern west virginia. The crisis is most severe in the southern coalfield counties. In mcdowell county, families spend more than $100 a month on bottled water because they do not have access to water any other way. Addressing this crisis will require years of sustained effort across federal, state and local agencies and the army corps of engineers. They do play a role in this.
▶ 1:46:35Utilities in mcdowell and wyoming county often lack the engineering staff and resources to submit an army corps project application, let alone complete one. My amendment is simple. It directs the corps to reach out to the qualifying utilities, offer technical assistance on applications, and finished projects that are already underway. Um, Mr. chairman and the committee, it's very hard to believe. I'm sure for many of you that people are living like this in america.
▶ 1:47:05Uh, we have people that subsist on cisterns, don't even have running water, don't have access to water whatsoever in west virginia and are living off of bottled water. Now, this isn't for weeks. This isn't for months. This has been going on for years and, uh, very much appreciate you including this in the manager's amendment. And I yield back. Thank you. >> appreciate the gentleman's remarks. Gentlelady from new jersey, miss watson coleman is recognized for remarks on the manager's amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:47:36Thank you to chairman fleischmann. And thank you to ranking member kaptur. I rise in support of the manager's amendment, and I want to thank the committee for working with me and my staff and the bipartisan manner on the inclusion of two pieces of language in this amendment that are important to me on the impact of the a I centers, data centers.
▶ 1:47:56The first piece builds on my ai data center study language to account for environmental and economic impacts of data center development and operations on energy, water grid reliability, water grid reliability, transmission, distribution system constraints, and ratepayers, as well as taking into consideration impacts on low income communities.
▶ 1:48:20It also requires coordination with environmental protection agency and the department of commerce to ensure that this work reflects the local land and water use concerns and community level economic impacts. The second piece of language ensures that the public is made aware of electricity consumption and the potential impacts on electricity costs and grid reliability. That's collected through the energy information administration.
▶ 1:48:49We have a lot of work to do to ensure that ai data center creation and operations does not occur at the expense of our community's health, our environment, or our local economies. And that's just the start. A recent gallup poll has found that 71 americans across the political spectrum oppose constructing them. So there's a lot of work that needs to be done.
▶ 1:49:11While americans are facing rising utility costs, pollution, and a strain on water supplies magnified by the current affordability crisis, the gap in health care, access slash environmental protections and rollbacks in critical funding. In my state of new jersey, electricity rates have jumped 20%. Families are being asked to conserve water with.
▶ 1:49:34While enormous facilities consume millions of gallons for cooling operations nationwide, the pace of construction is far faster than our current oversight of these structures is possible, so I am glad that we've had this amendatory language included in the manager's amendment. I think it's a good start.
▶ 1:49:56And while there's more to be done to address the future air quality, noise pollution and health concerns surrounding these data centers, I do appreciate the work from my colleagues, and I stand in support of it. I yield back. >> thank you. Thank you, gentlelady, for her remarks. Gentlelady from washington. Miss perez is recognized for remarks on the manager's amendment. >> in support of the amendment and the inclusion of a provision about the rising costs of dredging.
▶ 1:50:24I represent a region with a lot of ports the columbia river. I have the most ports, actually, of any member west of the mississippi. Um, and some of these are larger ports on navigable waters where the corps dredges, but many are also smaller ports that have to handle their own dredging for some portion of the waterway. Speaking with some of my port managers, I learned that the cost of dredging these ports is approximately 40% of the cost of dredging. Do you know what that does to an economy that runs on crab fishing?
▶ 1:50:53When 40% of the cost of of dredging is permitting, where is our money going? It is going to lawyers and people with clipboards, and it is crippling our fishermen and our oystermen and our crabbers. Um, this is a this is a serious problem and I'm asking for your help here. And I'm so relieved that a portion of this was achieved and included in the amendment, but I'm really looking for stronger language.
▶ 1:51:20Um, there has to be a more reasonable standard about how we're going to spend our federal resources. And let me be clear about the cost of not dredging like it kills people. It kills people. We are losing fishermen because they're not able to service the buoys that we rely on for navigation because of these dredging issues. Um, and then we lose our boys and we lose our navigation.
▶ 1:51:44And, and, you know, I know some young kids who, who have lost their father over this, um, we have got to find a more reasonable way to execute these dredging projects. And I look forward to working with the committee to achieve this in future iterations. With that, I'll yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for her remarks. Are there any other members seeking recognition to speak on the manager's amendment? Seeing none, I recognize chairman fleischman for one minute to close. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:52:12I respect and thank my colleagues for their strong language and support of this manager's amendment. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment and yield back the balance of my time. Questions now on the amendment. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed say no. The opinion of the chair the ayes have it and the amendment is adopted. Uh, the votes have now been called. The committee will stand in recess.
▶ 1:52:38Please return promptly at the conclusion of the last vote, so we can continue consideration of the bill.
▶ 2:54:29Gentlelady from connecticut, Mr. lawrence, recognized for purposes of an amendment. >> Mr. chair, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with and gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> thank you.
▶ 2:54:50I rise to offer, um, uh, this amendment to withhold the secretary of energy's funding until the department of energy unfreezes funds for the renew america's schools program and the home energy research rebates programs. This amendment targets two frozen programs at the department of energy to unlock the resources that are aimed directly at helping communities and families address rising utility bills during a cost of living crisis.
▶ 2:55:22First, through the infrastructure investment and jobs act, democrats in the congress appropriated $500 million to the department of energy for the renewal america's schools program, and that was to promote the implementation of energy improvements at k through 12 public schools across the country. I repeat, this money was appropriated $500 million.
▶ 2:55:47The investment aimed to help school communities make energy upgrades that will decrease energy use, and the costs, improve indoor air quality and foster healthier learning environments. The program invested hundreds of millions of dollars in public school districts across america, funding improvement projects at more than 400 facilities across 36 states, directly benefiting over almost 200 000 students and 14,000 teachers.
▶ 2:56:14This administration halted that program in july of last year. The government accountability office issued a decision finding that the department of energy violated the impoundment control act. After investigating delayed awards for the renewal of america's schools program. Gao confirmed what we already knew that president trump and the office of management and budget director russ vought.
▶ 2:56:44Theft of appropriated funds violates the impoundment control act. What has been the department's response since that july? Finding nothing. The funds are still frozen. They refuse to obligate the remaining balances. They remain in violation of the law since through the inflation reduction act, democrats in congress provided over $8 billion to the department of energy for the home energy rebate program.
▶ 2:57:12That program puts money directly back in the hands of american households. The rebates can help consumers save money on home improvement projects that can lower energy bills by providing up to $14,000 per household in rebates. It is estimated that these programs will save households up to $1 billion per year on energy bills and support over 50,000 U.S. jobs.
▶ 2:57:38However, the department of energy has stalled on implementing these programs for well over a year. The department could be saving households money on their utility bills, but instead, the department of energy has been sitting on its hands. This has prevented households from making home upgrades that would currently be saving them money. When secretary wright testified before this committee last month, he stated the funds would be released and I quote, a few weeks. That was five weeks ago.
▶ 2:58:06Families are still waiting. My amendment is simple. It withholds funds from the office of the secretary of energy. Until the department obligates more than 90% of the funds for the renew america's schools program and approves 90% of the state implementation plans for the home energy rebates program. We must unfreeze these programs. These are being held up illegally, in violation of the law, so that we can reduce our energy consumption and lower americans energy bills.
▶ 2:58:35I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back. >> thank you, gentle lady, for her amendment. The gentleman from tennessee, Mr. fleischmann, is recognized to respond. Thank you, Mr. chairman, and I, too, thank the distinguished ranking member for her amendment. However, I must rise in strong opposition to this amendment.
▶ 2:58:58This administration is delivering on its promise to ensure taxpayer resources are being utilized efficiently, effectively, and wisely. The administration has undertaken a review process to determine whether programs are meeting these requirements. I recognize this process has been slow at times, but I will point out that the programs my colleagues mentioned are available for obligation until the year 2031.
▶ 2:59:26There's no requirement to spend the money right away, and we shouldn't punish the office of the secretary for trying to prevent fraud, waste and abuse. For those reasons, I oppose the amendment, urge my colleagues to do the same and yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. Gentlelady from ohio, miss kaptur is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of ranking member delauro's amendment. I want to speak directly to what's at stake here.
▶ 2:59:53This administration has chosen to break the law, and working families are paying the price. The government accounting office has already ruled. They have already ruled. Department of energy violated the law. The impoundment control act, by freezing funds for the renew america's schools program. This is not a democratic talking point.
▶ 3:00:20This is a legal determination, legal legal by a nonpartisan watchdog, and the department of energy's response has been to keep the money frozen anyway. This is an appalling betrayal of working families in my district and across this country. Families are struggling with rising energy bills right now, bills that have more than doubled. The home energy rebates program could be putting up to $14,000 back in the hands of households making energy upgrades today.
▶ 3:00:52Instead, the department of energy is sitting on those funds while families pay more every month. These programs would save households up to $1 billion a year on energy bills and support more than 50,000 american jobs. This is not ideology. This is relief. And this administration is blocking it. Using appropriated energy funds hurts U.S.
▶ 3:01:21Households, and it cedes our clean energy leadership to places like china, forcing americans to pay higher bills here at home. That is not putting america first. That is putting partizanship first and americans last. I serve on this committee because I believe the federal government must work to make life better for the american people, not against them.
▶ 3:01:47At a bare minimum, we demand that the department of energy follow the law as intended, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Vote yes, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for her remarks. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. There was no fraud, waste and abuse here, and we appropriated $500 million.
▶ 3:02:15Where is the sense of the strength of this committee and of what we do here? Did we just can come out and vote and whatever whatever the the the program is, we say that we're going to provide so much money for it. And then russ vote can make a decision not to implement the program, not to get it done.
▶ 3:02:38What, what, what would be the point of sitting here, sitting on our hands and doing nothing about people who are prepared to take away the power of the purse from where it resides, and that is in the congress, and it is a violation of law and a violation of the constitution. I just want to remind everyone the american people are helping, are asking and are demanding help with the cost of living. That's the issue we hear about over and over again.
▶ 3:03:05And the last thing that the administration should be doing is freezing programs that we know would save families money. But maybe this plays into the president not believing that affordability is real. He continues to call it a hoax. And that's because he doesn't worry about any of this. This amendment reaffirms congress's power of the purse. Look on the dais and see what it says that, uh, about where that power of the purse resides.
▶ 3:03:34And it resides in this committee here. Uh, this puts the department of energy back on the drive down energy costs for for americans. Um, the american people need help with the cost of living. This amendment gives it to them. I urge your support of the amendment, and I yield back. >> I thank the gentlelady for her remarks. The questions now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from connecticut.
▶ 3:04:01Uh, all those in favor, say aye. >> aye. >> all those opposed say no. The opinion of the chair, the nos have it. Uh, roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt, Mr. aguilar, Mr. alford. Mr. Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei. Mrs.
▶ 3:04:33Bice. Mrs. bice. No. Mr. bishop. Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I. Mr. Mr. no. Mr. klein. Mr. cloud. Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, Mr. cuellar, I. Miss dean, miss. Delauro. I miss.
▶ 3:05:07Delauro, I. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards. No. Mr. ellzey. Mr. ellzey. No. Miss. Escobar. Mr. espaillat. Mr. fleischmann. No. Mr. fleischmann, no. Miss frankel, miss frankel, I Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest, Mr. guest. No. Mr. carter, Mr. carter, I. Doctor. Harris, Mrs.
▶ 3:05:38Henson, Mrs. henson. No. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer, I Mr. iv, Mr. iv, I Mr. joyce, Mr. joyce. No. Miss kaptur, I miss kaptur, I Mr. lalota, Mr. lalota. No. Miss lee, miss lee, I miss. Ludlow, Mr. levin, Mr. levin, I miss. Malloy, miss malloy. No. Miss. Mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming, I, Mr.
▶ 3:06:09Molinari, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli, I. Mr. van. Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss perez, I miss. Pingree. Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I. Mr. quigley, Mr. quigley, I. Mr. guy reschenthaler. Mr. reschenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr.
▶ 3:06:38Rutherford, Mr. rutherford. No. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres, Mrs. torres, I miss. Underwood, miss underwood, I. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz. Mrs. walker, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. No.
▶ 3:07:13Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, I. Mrs. watson. Coleman. Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink. >> are there any members wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentlelady from texas. >> Mr. escobar, I. >> gentlelady from maine. >> miss pingree, I. >> the gentleman from maryland. >> doctor harris. No. >> gentleman from virginia. >> Mr. klein? No.
▶ 3:07:44>> gentleman from california. >> Mr. aguilar, I. >> are there others wishing to vote or change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will tally.
▶ 3:08:33This vote. The eyes are 25. The nos are 31. The amendment is not adopted. Gentleman from georgia. Mr. clyde is recognized for the purposes of amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous consent that the clerk dispense with the reading. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman's recognized for remarks on his amendment. >> thank you very much, Mr. chairman.
▶ 3:09:01I rise today in support of my amendment to reduce the department of energy's office of science by $1.36 billion, consistent with president trump's fiscal year 2027 budget request to bring the energy and water appropriations act to slightly below fiscal year 2026 levels. Mr. chairman, as our national debt approaches $40 trillion, washington's addiction to spending is no longer merely irresponsible. It is a threat to our national security and our future generations.
▶ 3:09:29The addiction must end. Considering where we stand, the federal government expects $5.6 trillion in revenue this year, but plans to spend 7.4. That is a $1.8 trillion deficit. More than 1 trillion will go solely to interest payments. That means funding no programs, building no roads, defending no soldiers, no household, no business. No institution could survive this math indefinitely. And yet the bill before us today would make it worse.
▶ 3:10:00Increasing spending above fiscal year 2026 enacted levels by $416 million. President trump's fiscal year 2027 budget charts a different course, eliminating duplicative programs, cutting waste, fraud and abuse, and refocusing federal dollars on what actually serves american taxpayers. It protects our national security and keeps american businesses competitive. President, the president proposes a reduction of more than $1 billion from 26 enacted levels in the office of science.
▶ 3:10:30The budget maintains U.S. competitiveness in high performing computing and artificial intelligence in quantum information science, fusion energy, and critical mineral research. What it eliminates is the climate change advocacy and the green new deal research that has no business being funded by the department of energy in the first place. Energy secretary chris wright put it very plainly at a senate budget hearing earlier this year. The national labs, he said, have drifted into things that are not fundamental basic science. They are political science.
▶ 3:11:00And he's right. The office of science's biological and environmental research division has spent millions, excuse me, hundreds of millions of dollars on climate change research deeply connected to a political agenda. The president proposes to end that political research and redirect those resources toward research that actually serves american energy dominance.
▶ 3:11:22Additionally, the president's budget eliminates funding for the reaching a new energy sciences workforce initiative, which is a dei program explicitly designed, in its own words, to diversify american leadership in the physical sciences. You know, merit based science funding should be exactly that merit based. Yet this program directs taxpayer dollars based on the race and identity of researchers rather than the quantity, excuse me, rather than the quality of their science.
▶ 3:11:52The office of science's own grant process had become similarly corrupted in the biden administration. Every researcher seeking office of science funding was required to submit a promoting, inclusive and equitable research or a peer plan describing how their work would advance diversity, equity and inclusion. These plans were evaluated alongside scientific merit and used to influence funding decisions.
▶ 3:12:15My amendment would bring the office of science in line with the president's budget request, returning it to approximately fiscal year 2021 funding levels, while preserving the core research programs that matter for american energy security and global competitiveness. As our country barrels toward a $40 trillion debt. Our committee needs to be leading the way with fiscal restraint.
▶ 3:12:40Unfortunately, I believe there is still work to be done to get this bill there, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I thank you, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his amendment. The gentleman from tennessee, Mr. fleischmann, recognized to respond. Thank you, Mr. chairman, and I thank the gentleman from georgia for his amendment. Uh, I must respectfully rise in strong opposition to the amendment.
▶ 3:13:03Uh, the office of science is our nation's largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. That constitutes research where the private sector does not routinely get involved because it's too early stage. The office of science performs a vital role for the for the nation.
▶ 3:13:22Discoveries of the office of science have laid the groundwork for semiconductor manufacturing, pharmaceutical drug development efforts, and energy technology improvements. As the primary sponsor for ten of the department's national labs, the office of science is a true national resource for delivering on the promise that scientific discoveries can enable. This is a fiscally responsible bill.
▶ 3:13:48Our non-defense allocation is even below the fiscal year 26 house level, within the non-defense portion of our bill, we had to make some tough choices to balance our priorities. And as one of my highest priorities was to strengthen the office of science, which is a wise investment, in my view, for america's future. For all these reasons, I must respectfully oppose the gentleman's amendment, urge my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back.
▶ 3:14:19>> thank the gentleman. The gentlelady from ohio is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in strong opposition to the gentleman's amendment. My friend Mr. clyde. And, um. Why would I do that? Well, this amendment would decrease funding for the office of science by $1.4 billion. And that might sound like a good thing to do with a horrendous debt that we hold. But what the what the office of science does is it invents the future.
▶ 3:14:49So, for example, though I don't think that you support thin film solar research. I sure do, because I see what it can do to help people be energy independent in their business and in their homes. Um, perovskites research that we're doing with air force, it's going to revolutionize energy in this country. We just have to move it forward.
▶ 3:15:09Thin films, layered thin films are powerful and they're complicated, but they can lead america not to be dependent on any more oil wars in the middle east, and also automotive manufacturing and advanced manufacturing layered that wouldn't be available to us without what the office of science has done over the years. And we're making progress too slow for me, but nonetheless, progress as a country.
▶ 3:15:35The office of science leads critical work in energy research and innovation. And if you look at the us debt, I said it earlier, I'll say it again 25% of it is due to middle east oil wars that weren't paid for over at least four presidencies. Um, it's a tragedy for the country and we're now in another one. And I don't know how we're going to get out of recession, because that's what we're going to do. A deep dive into recession. Now get ready. Buckle your seat belt.
▶ 3:16:03So the energy, research and innovation that comes from physics and infusion in fission and basic energy sciences can lead america to a different future. And boy, I want it. And our national labs are at the basis of so much of it. The bill already has cut non-defense spending by more than 6%, stifling our ability to innovate and to compete in the energy sector where the chinese are right at our ankles. And in fact, for the firms that I represent, they're hacking them thousands of times a month.
▶ 3:16:35This amendment proposes further cuts to science, which is and has been the foundation of us competitiveness, ensuring an energy independent future for us, for this country is a top national security issue, slashing the very programs that allow us to reach that goal is simply unacceptable to this member. I firmly oppose this amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady gentlelady from new jersey, miss watson is recognized for remarks on the amendment.
▶ 3:17:05>> thank you, Mr. chairman. >> um oppose this amendment, and I support what chairman fleischmann has said with regard to this amendment. But beyond that, I need to say something, and I hope you accept it with the respect that it's intended.
▶ 3:17:19I'm tired of hearing that what we are proposing, or what you are proposing, is consistent with this president's desire to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse and corruption when he is the most corrupt president we've had in our history.
▶ 3:17:41And my colleagues are the most weakened, allowable entities are very experienced in congress, even from what I've read in my high school. Um, history classes. Don't talk to me about waste, fraud, and abuse. Don't talk to me about balancing a budget.
▶ 3:18:03When you talk to me about eliminating things like science, when you talk to me about eliminating health care, when you talk to me about the legitimacy of not funding our schools and education, don't talk to me about that stuff.
▶ 3:18:22When you have a president that you're getting ready to allow to do $1.8 billion worth of slush funds because he wants to, and then to exempt himself from any kind of oversight. Him, his family and his companies don't use that language in association with the corruption. Don't hold your heads down.
▶ 3:18:49Stand up for this country, find your spine and say no to donald trump, to this amendment and to moving forward. In this environment. Our children need your strength. I yield back. >> are there others wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to close.
▶ 3:19:20>> thank you, Mr. chairman. Um, you know, no one says the office of science doesn't do good work. I think they do. You know, their budget, according to the president's budget request, is $7.1385 billion. That's, um, you know, $7.1 billion. That's a heck of a lot of money as opposed to what it was funded at, which was 8.25 or this year, 8.5.
▶ 3:19:43Um, so a $275 million increase from last year is all I'm asking is that the budget request that the president has asked for be honored here, and that we reduce spending as such. And with that, I encourage a yes vote, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentleman from georgia. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. No opinion.
▶ 3:20:13The chair the nos have it, and the amendment is not adopted. The gentlelady from ohio. Miss kaptur, is recognized for the purposes of an amendment. >> Mr. chairman, I have an amendment at the desk, kaptur number one. And I ask unanimous consent that the reading be dispensed. >> without objection. The reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> Mr.
▶ 3:20:42Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment to abide by the laws congress has passed and to prohibit the arbitrary and capricious termination of federal awards and to reinstate those already terminated under the department of energy's highly political review process. This should not be a political matter. It's a matter of real substance and consequence for american families, including communities across our nation.
▶ 3:21:13Awards advance our nation's global competitiveness. Countries that deploy innovation in clean energy will win the race. And guess what? Right now, china is winning this race. Americans are. Constituents are paying the price. U.S. electricity prices have been soaring. The grid's old gasoline prices have skyrocketed. Heating bills have tripled for industrial installations.
▶ 3:21:41Meanwhile, last year, the billionaire ceos of tech firms saw their compensation rise. And my neighbors are struggling to afford health insurance to pay for oil changes and tires for their cars. Each one of the terminated projects I'm referencing was aimed at ensuring an abundant and affordable energy supply for our people, the people who elect us.
▶ 3:22:06The awards were appropriate, were authorized by congress, and the funds were appropriated legally. Then the department of energy approved them, announced them, and signed contracts with the with the recipients, but astoundingly and illegally under this administration, they have now been revoked.
▶ 3:22:28The department of energy has terminated more than 300 projects worth over $9 billion, legally approved. One year ago this month, the department of energy announced the termination of over $3 billion in projects.
▶ 3:22:47Then, last october, russell vote and the department of energy announced the termination of $8 billion of department of energy projects targeted at blue states. Mm. While omb and the department of energy may have triggered have targeted blue states, their malfeasance impacted republican house districts. To. Each of you has a list in front of you of terminated projects.
▶ 3:23:15You can find your state and you can take a look if it's you or one of your colleagues that's had projects erased. These cancellations hit home in districts across this country. Three of these energy modernization projects were actually in ohio. Hmm. Well, they've never been very good to ohio. Uh, $45 million for libbey glass to modernize essential furnaces.
▶ 3:23:41Furnaces that were modern furnaces in the glass industry. You gotta have a lot of heat. And they were old furnaces, and they're competing with mexico, with france, with china. Well, that rug just got pulled out from under them. $57 million for owens-illinois glass energy advancements in one of the premier corporations of our country. Rug jerked out from underneath them, $170 million for kraft heinz.
▶ 3:24:11A few of you know that company across ten locations, including one in ohio in a county that I've been privileged to represent. Now they're going to take it away because ohio, you know, they gerrymander every two weeks. So the trump administration terminations jeopardize more than 240,000 american manufacturing jobs.
▶ 3:24:32I hope somebody lets president trump know that he wants to help industrial america and the erasures of these harm industrial america a great deal pulls the rug right out from under them. Every. Every terminated project is in a community that loses investment, and the jobs that go with it loses tax revenue and loses the energy infrastructure. That would have lowered costs for local customers and ratepayers. It stifles progress.
▶ 3:25:01This amendment simply says that agencies cannot erase project awards at will based on political wins. The federal government must honor its legal commitments and the legal contracts contracts signed in good faith. Finally, this is a common sense stewardship of taxpayer dollars. The government cannot be in the habit of reneging on its commitments willy nilly.
▶ 3:25:25If the president wakes up one day and decides that it's no longer, um, our nation, uh, and awards these, um, uh, takes away these awards. It harms our global competitiveness. So, um, I think that this amendment simply says that agencies cannot erase project awards. It's a common sense stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
▶ 3:25:51The government cannot be in the habit of reneging on its commitment. So I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment to preserve jobs, invest in U.S. production, lower energy bills, and ensure that contracts signed by the united states are legally binding, not whimsical. Please vote yes and I yield back. >> thank you. >> thank you, gentlelady for amendment. The gentleman from tennessee, Mr. fleischmann, is recognized to respond. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 3:26:21And I thank the distinguished ranking member of the subcommittee for offering this amendment. However, I rise in strong opposition to the amendment. The amendment would handcuff the department of energy from reviewing federal funding decisions made during the biden administration. The trump administration is working to ensure that there are good stewards of the taxpayer decisions and funds, and acting in the public interest.
▶ 3:26:46We can all support a process which ensures our government agencies are operating efficiently and looking to cut waste wherever it can be found. We should be careful not to take away tools which allow the department to do just that. For those reasons, I oppose the amendment, urge my colleagues to do the same and yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his comments. Gentlelady from connecticut, Mr. lawrence, recognized to respond to the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of this amendment.
▶ 3:27:14It's just very simple. It requires a department of energy to honor the contracts it has signed and follow through with the awards it has made signed contracts. On october 1st, during a government shutdown, the department of energy announced the termination of $7.5 billion in energy awards across more than 200 projects.
▶ 3:27:38Those project terminations, terminations openly targeted states that voted for vice president harris in the 2024 presidential election. The terminated projects were targeted at 16 democratic led states, but they impacted 136 congressional districts, 108 of which are represented by democrats and 28 by republicans,
▶ 3:28:10Including a number of people in this room. These are projects that you support. They have not awarded the money. These are your people. The very next day, the secretary of energy went on cnn, and he told the american people that this was just a, quote, partial list and that more terminations were coming.
▶ 3:28:35He said, and I quote, as this fall goes on, you'll see cancellations in red and blue states, end quote. That was seven months ago. And said last month, the department announced they completed their review with no additional terminations. As we have known all along, this was not an effort to reduce waste. This was a political and one more political revenge tour.
▶ 3:29:02Since january 2025, the department of energy has terminated over 300 projects worth over $9.4 billion. Of those terminated, 87% were announced for termination in october as part of the administration's political reprisal. Looking at the data another way, 95% of the blue state awards were terminated on october 1st. They were not restored.
▶ 3:29:31So effectively, the only projects that have been fully terminated were targeted at blue states, including two with direct ties to my district in connecticut. And when this was challenged in court, the department of energy did not even try to deny it.
▶ 3:29:48The department of energy, omb stipulated admitted in a legal filing that, and let me quote it to you, a primary reason for the selection of the department of energy grant termination decisions were included in the october 2025 notice. Tranche was whether the grantee was located in a blue state, end quote. I'm not going to read it again. You're all smart people here. You understand what is going on.
▶ 3:30:16The district court this january found that this violated the fifth amendment's guarantee of equal protection. Under the law, we pride ourselves on being a nation of laws, and these laws are being violated, flagrantly being violated every single day. The administration claimed that the project reviews were not conducted on political grounds. Anyone can see that this is a lie. The ♪courts have ruled that targeting blue states is unconstitutional.
▶ 3:30:45The government's own lawyers conceded the point, and these project terminations have real consequences. All of the jobs and economic investments these projects would have created are now gone. American families, yes, will pay the price in the form of higher utility bills, fewer jobs, a less reliable energy grid in the future. Disrupting projects like this means more expensive energy, more emissions, more pollution. Surrendering to china in the race for clean energy dominance.
▶ 3:31:12And if we do not act, the future of not just these projects, but all future investments made by the united states congress by us are threatened if the president can simply defund projects at a whim. What is the purpose of the appropriations process? What exactly are we all doing here? If we are not writing laws that are to be implemented? The american people have asked us to bring down the cost of living.
▶ 3:31:38The trump administration has responded by stealing funds from projects that invest in reliable, affordable energy nationwide. They are reveling in petty partizanship at the cost of the american people's energy bills. And yes, it must end. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back. >> thank you, gentlelady, for remarks. Gentlelady from minnesota. Miss mccullum's recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you.
▶ 3:32:08>> thank you very much, ranking member delauro, for reading the quote from the administration targeting blue states. I'm from minnesota. I'm from the united states of america, and we're only as strong as we work together. We're only as strong as we're unified. And this is not just happening in this bill. We've got examples in all the other bills of what happened and deciding to target things.
▶ 3:32:31But the states, the states are embraced as part of the incubators, the inventors, the the the spark that keeps this country going. And so a lot of these projects in this bill are just to do that. It's to create the next invention. It's to take the next step. It's to be the competitor. It's to work with the university is to work with the state. It's to work with the business, how we can be better. And when we pass and we work on things.
▶ 3:33:01And some of these things are things that we advocated for ourselves or we did on behalf of our colleagues. Heck, I advocate on things on behalf of my republican colleagues from minnesota, because we're all from minnesota. When it's in the appropriations bill. So this amendment is needed because we need to have a serious wake up call here amongst ourselves. No money shall be drawn from the treasury. But in consequence of the appropriations made by law.
▶ 3:33:34So we can pick and choose which laws we want to put into our bills. But once they're signed into law, we should be united. We should be the united congress telling the administrations, do your budget, put your budget forward. We'll discuss it. Oh, and by the way, if a former congress, if a former president signs something into law, that's a law. What I hear from my constituents, what I hear from my businesses, is this back and forth.
▶ 3:34:02They want our economy needs and our researchers need sustainability, both for this amendment. >> thank the gentlelady, the gentleman from california, Mr. levin, is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you. >> Mr. chairman. I rise in support of ranking member kaptur's amendment, not just because my district is the worst hit on the ranking members handout.
▶ 3:34:29Um, but for many reasons over the past year, I think we all know that costs have risen across the board for families. They see it at a grocery store. They see it when they fill up their tanks at the gas station, and increasingly, they see it when they open their monthly utility bills. Since january of last year, electricity prices have risen by as much as 13% nationally, and residential gas prices are up 12%.
▶ 3:34:551 in 6 households is now behind on their electric or gas bills. Families are paying more to heat and cool their homes, more to keep the lights on, and more to just get through the month. For millions of americans already stretched thin, this is yet another bill they can't afford. Let's be honest about what's happening.
▶ 3:35:13Families are paying more because the administration is choking off the supply of clean, low cost electricity while forcing ratepayers to subsidize aging, expensive fossil fuel plants. As we grapple with skyrocketing energy demand, largely attributed to data centers, we should be adding as much power to the grid as possible to keep costs down and to keep the lights on.
▶ 3:35:36Instead, the administration has decided to terminate billions of dollars of energy grants targeting states that historically have not supported the president. Let me state some facts. On october 1st of last year, the omb director announced that the department of energy would terminate $8 billion of energy projects targeting 16 of the blue states.
▶ 3:35:59The president had said the day before, and I am quoting that the shutdown was an opportunity to do things that are, quote, bad for democrats and, quote, irreversible. The administration then proceeded to cancel more than 300 awards targeting blue states that had been set to lower energy prices, create new jobs, and make the grid more reliable.
▶ 3:36:18All things, again, that we need in an era of skyrocketing energy demand, california lost billions of dollars in these terminations, including canceled projects in the district of every single california appropriator, including my friends on the other side in their districts to. This includes projects that our delegation even worked in a bipartisan fashion to support and defend.
▶ 3:36:43Doe admitted in court that, quote, the selection of which doe grant termination decisions were included in the october 2025 notice tranche was influenced by whether a grantees address was located in a state that tends to elect and or has recently elected democratic candidates, end quote. That's what they said in court. That's not political opponents talking. That is the doe's own lawyers in federal court. The lawyers then went further.
▶ 3:37:13They didn't deny the politics. They argued that, quote, consideration of partizan politics is constitutionally permissible, end quote. They didn't only lean into it, they tried to justify it. And a federal judge disagreed. Look, if we want america to lead the future, that starts with a strong domestic energy policy that doesn't pick winners and losers based on the politics of the state, the project is located in.
▶ 3:37:39A strong energy policy means letting the best technologies win in the marketplace, not setting up new roadblocks to that technology's success. Clean energy is now. I will be happy to send anybody in this room whatever data you would like to see. It is now the lowest cost new electricity in the united states, even on an unsubsidized basis. Don't take it from me. Take it from lazard and their calculations of the levelized cost of energy. Again, happy to send it to anybody in this room.
▶ 3:38:09Please don't take it from me. Um, it's not ideology. It's basic math. The administration is restricting the cheapest sources of new electricity and canceling major transmission projects at a time when demand is rising will continue to rise. Basic supply and demand economics informs us prices will continue to go up.
▶ 3:38:31But regardless of which energy sources you believe are best for powering our leadership, and I know we have disagreements about that in this room, we should all agree that no administration should have the power to cancel awards that have been carefully vetted, carefully approved, simply because the president didn't get the votes in a particular state. That's crazy.
▶ 3:38:51Ranking member kaptur's amendment will ensure that we can build up, build projects to meet growing demand, maintain a stable energy policy and lower costs for all of our constituents in the red states and blue states. I urge all my colleagues to support it, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. Gentleman from maryland. Mr. hoyer is recognized to address the amendment. I thank the chairman. >> Mr.
▶ 3:39:21Mccollum referenced the sign at the front of the dais. That was designed to assure that the people would decide what laws should be. Enacted and what laws should be followed. They were not different.
▶ 3:39:49If you enact it, the executive has the responsibility to follow it. Does the executive have an alternative? It does. It can come back to us and say, we think these 303 projects are not justified, and therefore we think you, the appropriators, should rescind them. Mr.
▶ 3:40:14Chairman, not to arbitrarily and capriciously, or for partizan reasons or for substantive reasons, say we do not agree and therefore we will eliminate that which you have enacted. And the president has signed. Now, you've heard me use the phrase that we are the authors of our own impotence.
▶ 3:40:43Why should any administration, republican or democrat? Worry about what we do if we simply stand by silent when they say no after the fact? What's the point? What's the point of us spending time here or considering amendments? Why don't we just call up russell, vote and say whatever you want to do, sir, and salute.
▶ 3:41:11Now, obviously, what we could do when we next have the presidency. And by the way, history tells us at some point in time we're going to have the presidency. For the last 75 years, we've gone back and forth almost every other time and every other time being an eight year as well. And we did the same thing.
▶ 3:41:40Let's say, for sake of argument, shalanda young has returned to omb and decides we're not going to have any red projects in america. I will tell you if, in fact, I was in charge. And to the extent it's happened, we should have stood up and said, no, you can't do that.
▶ 3:42:04And very frankly, uh, I would hope that miss delauro, when she's chair, would say to a democratic administration, if you want to change that, you come back here because the constitution says we make the law, not you. Now, the president believes he is the law.
▶ 3:42:32That is a dangerous phenomenon, ladies and gentlemen. And if you are not cognizant of that and concerned about that, then you're not concerned about our democracy.
▶ 3:42:54These times when we come here and we give our imprimatur to the arbitrary action of the executive department, every time we do that. It erodes the authority of this committee. Bob livingston is on that wall.
▶ 3:43:23He was a wonderful chairman of this committee, a republican from louisiana. He wouldn't have stood for this. Nor would. And david obey on the democratic side, they wouldn't have tried it with david obey. And I believe Mr. rogers would have quietly told somebody, you cannot do that.
▶ 3:43:51Because they stood strong, not for the democrats or the republicans, but for the constitution and the role of this committee in the congress and in this country. I regret that we do not seem to be paying attention to those important principles. Our founders are disappointed. I vote for this amendment.
▶ 3:44:23>> thank the gentleman for his comments. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment? If there's no further debate, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I thank all those who have spoken, uh, the companies not for profits and state and local governments that enter into legal agreements with the federal government, have always vested full faith in our government to keep its promises, its word, and to abide by the
▶ 3:44:54Law. If a federal department awarded grants or contracts, these decisions were respected until this administration, applicants knew that they could count on a legal and fair review process. So then they would make hires.
▶ 3:45:09They would make capital expenditures and attract other investments with the knowledge that these federal dollars were rock solid until now, the department of energy has terminated more than 300 300 projects worth over $9 billion across this country.
▶ 3:45:30If our people can't trust the federal government to uphold its word and contracts everything the federal government tries to accomplish will become more complicated and costly, it simply undermines us as a society and nation. In this case, these projects will keep american manufacturing on the cutting edge. And believe me, she needs to be. We're catching up, and we haven't caught up yet.
▶ 3:45:58Lower energy prices is a must. Protecting our jobs. What could be more important? So I urge my colleagues support this amendment to keep regular order, to follow the law and to achieve america's full promise, I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from ohio. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. The chair of the nos have it.
▶ 3:46:27Roll call is requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. Clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt. No. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar, I, Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amity. Mr. amity. No. Mrs. bice. Mrs. bice. No. Mr. bishop. Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I, Mr. cisco. Mr. cisco. No.
▶ 3:47:00Mr. kline, Mr. kline. No. Mr. cloud. Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, Mr. cuellar, I miss dean, Mr. lauro, miss. Delauro, I. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards. No. Mr. ellzey.
▶ 3:47:31Miss. Escobar, Mr. escobar, I. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat I. Mr. fleishman, Mr. fleishman. No. Miss. Frankel, miss. Frankel, I Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest, Mr. guest. No. Mr. harter, Mr. harter, I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer I Mr. iv, Mr. iv. I Mr.
▶ 3:47:58Joyce, miss kaptur, I miss kaptur, I Mr. lalota. Mr. lalota. No. Miss lee. Miss lee I miss. Letlow. Mr. levin, Mr. levin, I miss malloy, miss malloy. No. Miss mccullum, miss mccullum, I miss ming, miss ming I, Mr. molenaar, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr.
▶ 3:48:31Morelli, I. Mr. mervyn, Mr. mervyn I. Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss perez, I miss. Pingry, miss pingry I Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley I Mr. guy reschenthaler. Mr. rosenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford. No. Mr. shreve, Mr. shreve. No. Mr. simpson. Mr. simpson. No. Mr.
▶ 3:48:59Strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres, I miss. Underwood, miss underwood, I. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. I. Mrs. watson. Coleman, Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink. >> are there any members wishing to record or change their vote? Gentlelady from pennsylvania. >> miss dean I.
▶ 3:49:30>> gentleman from texas. >> Mr. cloud. No. >> the other gentleman from texas. >> Mr. ellzey. No. >> gentleman from montana. >> Mr. zink? No. >> are there others wishing to record or change their vote? Gentleman from ohio. >> Mr. joyce? No. >> are there others wishing to record or change their vote?
▶ 3:50:05Seeing none, the clerk will tally. >> and.
▶ 3:50:50>> on this vote, the age of 28, the nos are 33. The amendment is not adopted. Gentlelady from ohio. Miss kaptur is recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I have an amendment at the desk. Chapter two. And I ask unanimous consent that the reading be dispensed. >> without objection. The reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> Mr.
▶ 3:51:16Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment to address rising ai related electricity costs. This amendment adds funding for clean energy generation and grid infrastructure programs. Our citizenry is enduring a growing cost of living crisis. Yesterday, I learned a vital industrial ratepayer in my northern ohio region had its energy costs triple. I bet you're experiencing the same.
▶ 3:51:44Energy costs are a primary driver of inflationary crisis that our people are bearing. New ai installations in many communities across the region I represent as well, are causing energy and water prices to skyrocket for local ratepayers. As ai companies build data facilities that require large amounts of energy and water, communities are deeply concerned, and public opposition to these operations has risen.
▶ 3:52:11A fair energy cost structure must attend to these facilities and benefit local ratepayers. Congress must address these rising costs. I propose a competition for new energy technologies to lower electricity prices. Energy bills are rising in the region. I represent by over 50%, and for some in our region, they have more than doubled. We need more energy. We need a modern grid.
▶ 3:52:39According to a study released last week, power prices in the nation's largest grid market, which is called pjm, which has a footprint across 13 mid-atlantic and midwest states including ohio, jumped almost 76% in the first quarter of this year. Buckle your seat belt.
▶ 3:53:00Electric utilities have proposed or implemented rate hikes, affecting more than 111 million customers. That's a whole lot of people. More than 80 million americans are struggling to pay their utility bills. This is basic economics. Demand for electricity is skyrocketing, heavily driven by ai and data centers.
▶ 3:53:26We do not have enough baseload supply of electricity generation to accommodate this enormous, increasing demand. In addition, old grid systems cannot accommodate the large power demands of these installations. I don't know if any of you have ever seen sagging power lines. Our region has. It's not a pleasant experience to endure. What do president trump and congressional republicans do in response?
▶ 3:53:53They eliminate help for electricity generation, for modernization. Since president trump's election, more than 28gw of planned energy generation have been lost due to energy projects that were canceled or delayed. For sure, those that were behind the grid so that we could feed a new energy system that is enough generation to power over 14.5 million homes in the united states in your district.
▶ 3:54:21We have an old grid all over our country. The backbone of our electric grid was built in the 1960s and 70s, while families in your town and mine all across our country are paying more for electricity than ever before. Washington has been really slow to replace infrastructure that is decades old, a great jobs program if we could have it.
▶ 3:54:46Unfortunately, this energy and water bill takes us further backward by cutting programs focused on energy generation, grid technologies and energy efficiency. The office of critical minerals and energy innovation, formerly called energy efficiency and renewable energy, invests in clean energy generation and energy efficiency. Yet the current bill. Are you ready for this? Cuts the office by $1.25 billion or 40%.
▶ 3:55:15That is really backwards for clean energy generation. This includes a 52% cut to solar energy. Do you really want to give it all to the chinese? A 45% cut to wind energy, a 32% cut to hydropower and hydrokinetic energy for energy efficiency.
▶ 3:55:38This includes a 66% cut to buildings technologies, a 43% cut to industrial uses, and a 43% cut to manufacturing technologies and representing manufacturing america, or what's left of it. I can say this doesn't sound like make america great again, and it sure doesn't sound like make industrial america great again.
▶ 3:56:05The office of electricity, including the grid deployment program, invests in grid infrastructure technologies, but the current bill proposes to cut total grid funding by $25 million. That's 10%, including a 12% cut to its energy storage programs. This amendment would restore funding to the office of critical minerals and energy innovation and the office of electricity.
▶ 3:56:30Our citizenry are suffering from rising costs for everything for transportation, for fuel, for heating, for electricity. And we as a country are mired in the past. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment to restore the programs that invest in clean energy generation and grid technologies of the future, so we can lower costs for our people and our communities. Congress has an obligation to defend the people of this country.
▶ 3:57:00I urge my colleagues to vote yes. >> thank the gentlelady for amendment. The gentleman from tennessee, Mr. fleischmann, is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman, and I thank the distinguished ranking member for this amendment. I rise in opposition to the same. I fully appreciate my colleagues passion for the critical minerals and energy innovation and office of electricity accounts I.
▶ 3:57:26To support their efforts on critical minerals, advanced manufacturing and grid resiliency. The bill, frankly, had to make tough choices in order to balance our priorities. The cuts to the office of critical minerals and energy innovation and the office of electricity reflect an approach to support the highest priority research and development efforts.
▶ 3:57:51Again, I appreciate my colleagues highlighting the important work of both of these offices, but because my colleagues amendment does not have an offset, it would bring us over the allocation and upset the balance of this and other bills. For these reasons, I must oppose the amendment, urge my colleagues to do the same and yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. The gentleman from georgia, Mr. bishop, is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. >> members of the committee.
▶ 3:58:23I'm a strong support. Amendments, amendments addresses one of the most serious weaknesses in the underlying bill, the deep cut to the department of energy's critical minerals and energy innovation account, and the reduction to the electricity account. Specifically, the amendment would increase critical minerals and energy innovation from 1.85 billion to 3.1 billion, and it would restore the electricity account from 235 million to 260 million.
▶ 3:58:57That matters because energy policy is not just about one region, one industry or one political party. Energy policy is about whether american families can afford to keep the lights on. It's about whether farmers can operate their equipment, irrigate their crops, move goods to the market. It's about whether small businesses can grow.
▶ 3:59:20It's about whether rural hospitals, schools, military installations and local governments have the reliable power they need to serve their communities. The districts, like mine in rural southwest georgia, energy affordability and reliability are not abstract policy debates. They're kitchen table issues. When energy costs rise, families feel it. When the grid is strained, communities feel it.
▶ 3:59:47When federal investments bypass rural areas, our constituents feel that, too. The underlying bill cuts too deeply into the very programs that help america build a stronger, more affordable and more resilient energy future. Critical minerals and energy innovation are essential to american competitiveness.
▶ 4:00:09We should not be relying on foreign adversaries for the materials and the technologies that power our economy, our defense, industrial base, our vehicles, our communication systems, our electric grid. If we're serious about energy independence, then we must be serious about domestic innovation, domestic supply chains, and domestic manufacturing.
▶ 4:00:37This amendment also restores funding for the electricity account, which is critical as demand on our grid continues to grow across the country, communities are seeing increased power needs from advanced manufacturing, data centers, agriculture, military readiness and new technologies. We cannot meet that demand with an outdated or under-resourced grid.
▶ 4:01:02We need a grid that is reliable, resilient, secure and affordable for the ratepayers. I also want to emphasize that this amendment is not about choosing one energy source over another. It's about making sure america has the tools to lead. It supports innovation. It supports reliability.
▶ 4:01:24It supports affordability, and it supports the long term economic security of communities that too often are asked to wait their turn. In georgia's second congressional district, we know what it means to depend on a strong infrastructure. We know what it means when rural communities need federal partnerships to compete.
▶ 4:01:48We know that investments in energy innovation and grid reliability are investments in jobs, economic development, and national security. This amendment improves the bill. It moves us closer to a responsible energy and water bill that strengthens america. Instead of retreating from the future. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.
▶ 4:02:16It's a good amendment. It helps the bill and it will help america. I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. Uh, are there others wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. Families in toledo and across this country are drowning in bills they can't pay.
▶ 4:02:44Washington's answer is to cut the very programs that could throw them a lifeline. Ai is remaking our economy. Our grid is decades old, and this bill makes both problems worse. My amendment would make life better for the american people. We can do better. We must do better. Support this amendment. Vote yes. Thank you. I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady. The question's now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from ohio. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no.
▶ 4:03:15The chair the nos. Have it. Roll call is requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. Clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt. No. Mr. aguilar, Mr. alford. Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei, Mr. hamadeh. No. Mrs. bice. Mrs. bice. No. Mr. bishop. >> yes. >> Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I. Mr. Mr. no. Mr. kline.
▶ 4:03:51Mr. cloud. Mr. cloud. No. Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar. Miss. Dean. Dean I. Mr. lauro, Mr. lauro I. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards. Mr. edwards. No. Mr. ellzey. Mr. ellzey. No. Miss.
▶ 4:04:21Escobar, Mr. escobar I. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat I. Mr. fleischmann, Mr. fleischmann. No. Miss. Frankel, miss. Frankel, I Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest, Mr. guest. No. Mr. harter, Mr. harter, I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer I Mr. iv, Mr. iv. I. Mr. joyce. Mr. joyce. No. Marcy kaptur.
▶ 4:04:49Miss kaptur I Mr. Mr. nick lalota. No. Miss lee, miss lee, I miss. Letlow. Mr. levin. Miss. Molloy, miss. Molloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming I, Mr. molinari, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli I. Mr. merman, Mr.
▶ 4:05:20Moran, I Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez. Miss. Pingree, miss pingree, I Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley, I. Mr. guy reschenthaler. Mr. guy reschenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson. Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No.
▶ 4:05:53Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres, I miss underwood, I miss underwood, I Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. I. Mrs. watson. Coleman, Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink. No. >> are there others wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentleman from california. >> Mr. levin, I. >> gentlelady from iowa. >> Mrs. henson. No.
▶ 4:06:24>> gentlelady from washington. >> miss perez, a. >> gentleman from texas. >> Mr. cuellar I Mr. >> gentleman from. >> Mr. aguilar. >> I. >> yet another gentleman from california. Are there others wishing to vote or change their vote? >> okay. >> seeing none. The clarksville tally.
▶ 4:07:20On this vote. The yeas are 28. The nos are 32. The amendment is not adopted. Gentlelady from florida, miss wasserman schultz is recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous consent that it be considered as read. It's. Wasserman schultz won. >> without objection. The reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 4:07:46My colleagues, you've heard me talk about this issue already today, so I'll keep this brief as I intend to offer and withdraw after any of my colleagues have had a chance to speak on this amendment. I rise in support of my amendment that would restore south florida ecosystem restoration, or everglades restoration. Project totals to fiscal year 2026 levels.
▶ 4:08:06I know that I am not alone in my deep frustrations with the army corps of engineers this year or in recent history, but this budget cycle has reached new levels of frustration for me and my florida colleagues. Simply put, their utter disregard for members of congress and this committee is unacceptable. In weston, a project authorized and included in the larger everglades restoration work was reported in the local news as being canceled at the beginning of this year.
▶ 4:08:32Yet instead of hearing about it from the army corps, I heard about it from a city manager and a local reporter. When my office reached out to the army corps to find out more crickets. So we reached out to headquarters. More crickets. Finally, we got a few answers from a local government staffer who was able to talk to someone at the army corps, but that same staffer was not able to speak to me or my office. Can't really make this up.
▶ 4:08:58The project was delayed, but not canceled, apparently, as parts of it needed to be reworked and secured and additional funding secured. What was so hard about giving us a heads up about that? We're the ones that appropriate the funds. Mr. chairman, it would have been nice to know for the folks who, like me, live in weston, the road was already torn up, the land was already cleared, but now it will just sit empty until the corps decides to prioritize it.
▶ 4:09:27This is the story up and down florida. If it is not one of the big flashy parts of the everglades restoration plan, then their funding is in jeopardy for being gutted in favor of something else. I want to be clear I'm incredibly proud of the hard working men and women at the army corps who work on the everglades restoration project across the state. I'm also incredibly, incredibly proud of all the work that we've accomplished so far because this is his history making stuff. From the record investments championed by presidents obama, biden and the first trump administration, but now under trump.
▶ 4:09:56Two the everglades is headed for its first funding decrease. As a member from south florida, I cannot support a step back from our commitment. That's why I, along with several of my florida colleagues, including congressman mast, submitted a cpf for a funding increase for the everglades, the same that was awarded last fiscal year. But this year, the corps has turned down the additional funds. Why? And the answer seems to be entirely dependent on who you ask.
▶ 4:10:25Based on conversations I've had, the army corps can absolutely execute the additional funds just like they did last year, but headquarters decided to reject it flat out since it wasn't in their original request. But they've been telling us that it was that they couldn't execute it. Only we know that they can, because the army corps folks told us that they could. Based on conversations that I've had, the army corps can absolutely execute the additional funds.
▶ 4:10:53And it's inexplicable to me that they're just flat rejecting it. Mr. chairman, the situation on the ground hasn't changed all that much from last year. We're making progress, but there is still a lot of work left to do. Work could be done faster or put back on track. In the case of the c 11 impoundment, if these everglades funds were restored, I understand because of the army corps position that these funds are not executable, and thus the committee can't support the plus up at this time. But Mr.
▶ 4:11:18Chairman and ranking member, I ask that you work with us, the members of the florida delegation, to get answers from the army corps so we can ensure that this never happens to our river of grass again, or to any of you when you are going through your major waterworks project. Before I withdraw the withdraw the amendment, Mr. chairman, I will yield back to see if there are any other members who wish to speak on the amendment. >> thank the gentlelady. Are there other members wishing to speak to the amendment?
▶ 4:11:45The gentlelady from florida, miss frankel, is recognized to address the amendment. >> and I'll. >> call you to withdraw it. >> so you've got one, right. >> thank you, Mr. chair. Um, I rise in strong support in this effort to strengthen funding for the everglades restoration. The everglades is the crown jewel of florida.
▶ 4:12:13It's an ecosystem found nowhere else on earth. And the south florida, it propels our economy. It attracts visitors from around the world. It supports jobs and tourism, and provides clean drinking water to millions of residents and visitors.
▶ 4:12:32And the everglades is also the home to endangered wildlife, sacred tribal lands and the way of life deeply woven into our state's identity. And for decades, people said restoring the everglades was impossible.
▶ 4:12:52Yet through bipartisan efforts, yes, bipartisan efforts and sustained commitment by federal and state, tribal and local levels, we have made remarkable progress. Projects are moving forward.
▶ 4:13:07Water quality is improving, wetlands are being restored, and we are proving that when government works together, we can protect one of america's greatest natural treasures for future generations. And as mentioned, the rest. The restoration, though, is far from being finished and we cannot afford to lose momentum.
▶ 4:13:31And every dollar invested in the everglades is an investment in florida's environment, our economy, our drinking water, our resilience, and our future. And I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady. The gentleman from florida is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I will be brief. I just want to thank the the the sponsor and and and the gentlewoman, also my ranking member of the subcommittee for her words.
▶ 4:13:59I also would be remiss if I didn't thank the chairman of the subcommittee, uh, and also Mr. simpson and Mr. calvert and others who over the years have been instrumental in in this very large, very important project and very expensive project moving forward. And so, um, you know, the, the, the gentlewoman has, has asked, uh, if, if we can have the chairman, uh, work with us. The chairman has always worked with us and I appreciate that.
▶ 4:14:27And the past chairman and, and, uh, and this is something that unifies not only the florida delegation, which it does, but also those of us on the appropriations committee with that, while we have our differences, this is an issue where we work very closely together. I want to thank the gentlewoman from southern florida, debbie wasserman schultz, for bringing this up. And, as always, look forward to continue working with you and, uh, with also lois frankel and others. But in particular, you know, we've been kind of the the lead on everglades restoration. But Mr.
▶ 4:14:56Chairman of the subcommittee in particular, thank you for your support for your leadership. We look forward to working with you. Thank you. I yield back, Mr. chairman. >> I thank the gentleman. Are there others wishing to participate in this florida love fest? Uh, if not, the gentlelady is recognized the close. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. And I'll just issue a blanket appreciation to all of the members who have supported everglades restoration funding over the years. Uh, we need to just make sure that we are not, you know, putting the brakes on.
▶ 4:15:27And we have to make sure that the comprehensive approach to the comprehensive everglades restoration plan continues to move forward. And I do appreciate the chairman and the ranking members, you know, joint and bipartisan work with us over the years and look forward to that. And perhaps we can maybe give a little zetz, as they say in my tradition, to the army corps, um, so that we can straighten some of this out. And with that, I withdraw the amendment. >> thank the gentlelady.
▶ 4:15:54And the gentlelady is recognized for the purpose of another amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I have an amendment to the desk, and I ask unanimous consent that it be considered as read it as wasserman schultz. Number two. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. So this amendment is simple.
▶ 4:16:13It says that the department of energy should either release approved rebate funds to the american families that were approved for them, or they need to return to the committee and explain the status of these funds. And what, if anything, is left in their review.
▶ 4:16:28Now, this affects districts all over the country and states all over the country, the home efficiency program and the high efficiency electric home rebates program are grants to states, territories and tribes who ensure that low to moderate income households can make energy saving retrofits or buy efficient hvac insulation, water heaters and high efficiency appliances, and cost saving electric upgrades in florida.
▶ 4:16:54As you might imagine if you visited, these are things that are not optional. They're how we can live, grow and survive. In florida. When the secretary of energy came before the subcommittee. I'm a member of this subcommittee, by the way. This year I asked him point blank why his department had not released these funds to hard working americans. My home state of florida is waiting on over $350 million in funds that are supposed to go directly to floridians.
▶ 4:17:22Yet the secretary had no answer. He actually had no idea what I was talking about. He didn't even have a serious answer, unless you count that he tried to blame dei initiatives as a serious answer. I mean, it was very clear that he had no idea what rebate program I was. I was asking him about and never got back to us. I have families literally sweating it out waiting for these funds. And why does it matter if a rebate recipient is white, black or hispanic?
▶ 4:17:51If you're hot, you're hot. If you're you've got sweat pouring down your face because you don't have a working air conditioning unit, then you know the color of your skin, the content of your character. None of it matters. Maybe the secretary is trying to say that home appliances now need to identify as a straight, white male in order to be considered an eligible purchase for a rebate. Regardless, it wasn't a serious answer.
▶ 4:18:20Like what I just said wasn't serious to a very serious question. Keep in mind that that that's just two programs among a whole host of them, that the department of energy has withheld, that the secretary is still freezing even after telling this committee that their reviews were wrapping up and the money was going out the door. In florida alone, hundreds of millions of dollars have been pulled out from under us, which has led to increased electricity costs and a more unreliable grid.
▶ 4:18:45But I guess floridians shouldn't worry because the energy department's culture warriors are on the case and increasing costs from coast to coast. My constituents have had enough of this. This administration's make america unaffordable agenda. Release these funds, the home efficiency rebates and high efficiency electric home rebates are good, bipartisan programs that all of our constituents use to make the increased costs that they are facing just a little bit more affordable.
▶ 4:19:13We all talk about wanting to make life more affordable. These funds have been approved already, and the department of energy is sitting on them and not telling us why. And it's preposterous. And we need to push to make sure that they release them, or they explain to us why they haven't released them and when they will. As far as this committee has been told, there's no legitimate reason that these funds should be continued, continue to be withheld, and I would urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
▶ 4:19:40Let's help get some financial relief to our constituents, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for amendment. The gentleman from tennessee, Mr. fleischmann, recognize and respond to the amendment. Thank you, Mr. chairman. >> and I thank the gentlelady for offering this amendment and for her comments earlier about the everglades. Um, I rise in opposition to this amendment. As we discussed during the debate for ranking member delauro's amendment.
▶ 4:20:08I'd like to again note that this this administration has undertaken a review process to determine whether programs are ensuring taxpayer resources are wisely spent. For those reasons, I oppose the amendment. Urge my colleagues to do the same and yield back. Thank you. >> thank the gentleman. Gentlelady from ohio, miss kaptur's recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in strong support of the wasserman schultz amendment.
▶ 4:20:37Congress appropriated funds for the home energy rebates program to deliver real relief to american families. Instead, the department of energy is sitting on the money. States are ready. Families are ready. The only thing missing is the department of energy doing its job. These rebates put up to $14,000 back in the pockets of households making energy upgrades, upgrades that can cut utility bills month after month after month.
▶ 4:21:05Working families are seeking relief across this country, and they're watching their energy bills climb. They cannot afford to wait. While bureaucrats in washington hold back funds, congress already passed and approved. This amendment is simple release the funds within 30 days. If you cannot come before the committee and explain why this is not too much to ask, I urge a yes vote and compliment congresswoman wasserman schultz for this amendment. I yield back.
▶ 4:21:34>> thank the gentlelady for her remarks. Are there others with. Gentlelady from maine is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chair, and thank you to the gentlelady from florida for proposing this amendment. It's just so simple and so logical, and should be something that we could all find a very bipartisan agreement on. We are the appropriations committee. We appropriated these funds, and then the administration decided to just sit on them. And we don't know why.
▶ 4:22:04And it's so simple. The gentlelady from florida is just saying, please release these funds to our state or come and tell us why. If this is some part of your dumb ideology, that we're not going to have all of the above energy, just at least tell us that. And for all of us, as the appropriators, remember this is what we used to stand for.
▶ 4:22:25There were members of congress, and then there were appropriators and appropriators, fought back and said, the administration is not going to make these unilateral decisions and take back the money that we appropriated. It impacts all of our states. And I just want to talk briefly about how this impacts the state of maine. Uh, as we all know, we have an affordability crisis going on. We also have a housing crisis in most of our states. And I think all of you are experiencing this. It's uniquely difficult. In maine, electricity prices have gone up.
▶ 4:22:54But even worse than that, we are the most oil dependent state on the in the nation. We have some of the oldest housing stock in the nation, and we have the oldest people in the nation. So think about it. A lot of people are very dependent on oil. Maybe 70% of our houses, we don't have much natural gas and electricity is expensive. But this program has been tremendously beneficial. We are one of the states that has made some of the best progress of installing heat pumps. So converting from oil fired furnaces to heat pumps.
▶ 4:23:26And in maine, it costs about $2,800 a year to run a heat pump, compared to about $4,500 a year for propane. And oil is even more expensive. We've led the country, as I said, in heat pump adoption, we surpassed our first goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps by 2025, and our new goal is install 175,000 by 2027 through this program.
▶ 4:23:52Efficiency maine, one of the programs that operates in our state, awarded $10 million to install 675 heat pumps to mobile and manufactured homes in our state. We're highly dependent on manufactured housing because we don't have enough housing stock. It's low income. It's a good way for people to acquire a home. Um, but most of them don't have any source of cooling. As our summers have gotten hotter, hotter and hotter. And it's also expensive and difficult to keep them heated.
▶ 4:24:20This reduces their heating and cooling costs by about 40%. So it supports this kind of affordable housing. It gives people the bonus of having air conditioning because heat pumps are both heating and cooling. Um, and it's been incredibly successful. And I've talked to people who have been able to benefit from this program and it has been life changing for them. So there is no good reason, and I'm sure this story could be repeated in your state as well.
▶ 4:24:44But because of these bureaucratic decisions made at the federal level and by this administration, we are not getting those funds released for any future programs. That means people will continue to have higher energy bills. It means this the small businesses that are doing this kind of installation don't have the work that they were having. Um, and we are not doing our job as the appropriations committee. So I wholeheartedly support this amendment, and I encourage you all to do the same. And I yield back.
▶ 4:25:14>> thank the gentlelady. Are there others wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I want to thank the ranking member of the subcommittee and the ranking member of the full committee for their support of this program and for getting helping to get relief to americans. This amendment is simple, and the choice that we have before us is clear.
▶ 4:25:37A vote for this amendment says, use the money for the programs we authorized, or come back to congress and brief us on what the issue is. This really should not be difficult for us or for the secretary. This vote that you're going to take right now is where you have an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is.
▶ 4:25:56Are you really for making life more affordable for americans, or are you a culture warrior, or do you not have any idea why it is that this money is being withheld? Even though these individual americans have been approved for these rebates, that's likely the case.
▶ 4:26:14And you're withholding the average rebate that could head to our constituents right now in these programs, which is between 8000 and $14,000. You know what, to most people, that is real money. And the money is just sitting here in washington and not heading to our states to get into the banking bank accounts of hard working americans. So don't make struggling americans sweat it out any longer. Stop the madness. Release the funds.
▶ 4:26:43I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back. >> thank you, gentle lady. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from florida. All those in favor say aye. >> aye. >> all those opposed say no. No opinion. The chair the nos have it. A roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. Clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt. No. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar, I, Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei. Mr. amodei, Mr. amodei.
▶ 4:27:16No. Mrs. bice, Mr. bishop, Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I. Mr. cisco. Mr. cisco. No. Mr. kline, Mr. kline. No. Mr. cloud. Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, Mr. cuellar. I miss.
▶ 4:27:46Dean, miss. Dean I Mr. loro, Mr. loro I, Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards. Mr. edwards. No. Mr. lee, Mr. lee. No. Miss. Escobar, Mr. escobar I. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat, I. Mr. fleischmann, Mr. fleischmann. No. Miss. Frankel, miss. Frankel, I Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest, Mr. guest. No. Mr. harter, Mr.
▶ 4:28:17Harter, I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer, I Mr. iv,. No. Mr. marcy kaptur I Mr. nick lalota. Mr. lalota. No. Miss lee, miss. Letlow. Mr. levin, miss. Malloy, miss. Malloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum.
▶ 4:28:45I miss ming, miss ming I, Mr. molinari, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli I. Mr. van. Mr. van I, Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss perez, I miss. Pingry, miss pingry I Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. reschenthaler. Mr.
▶ 4:29:15Guy reschenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford, Mr. rutherford. No. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres, I miss underwood, miss underwood, I. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. I. Mrs. watson. Coleman, Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink.
▶ 4:29:48No. >> are there any members wishing to vote to change their vote? Gentleman from california. >> Mr. levin, I. >> gentleman from illinois. >> Mr. quigley, I. >> gentlelady from nevada. >> miss lee I. >> gentleman from texas. >> Mr. cloud. No. >> are there others wishing to change or record their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will tally.
▶ 4:31:23On this vote the yeas 28. The nos are 32. The amendment is not adopted. The gentleman from new york, Mr. espejo, is recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> chairman. >> uh, I have an amendment at the desk and ask unanimous consent to dispense the reading of it. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with. The gentleman's recognized for remarks on his amendment.
▶ 4:31:54>> thank you, Mr. chairman. Ranking member, uh, thank you for allowing me to present this amendment. Uh, my amendment directs the secretary of energy to establish a publicly accessible and searchable database of data centers in the united states that have recently completed construction, are currently being manufactured or under consideration by local authorities.
▶ 4:32:20It also directs the department to continually analyze each data centers impact on local residents utility rates. As you know, Mr. chairman, uh, data centers are being built across the country, whether you support them or not. Uh, I think communities should have the ability to know when they're being built, where they're being built, and the impact they will have in their community.
▶ 4:32:47In this committee and, and across the country, there is a spectrum of views on the swift construction of data centers. This amendment does not express an opinion on, on support or against, but rather, uh, it says that the public, the general public should have knowledge of where they're being built and the impact that they will have on those communities simply delivers basic information to the american people on the location,
▶ 4:33:18Scale, and energy usage, corporate affiliates, and impacts on local utility bills associated with recent or new data centers that are built. This is a good government governance bill amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Thank you, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his amendment. Gentleman from tennessee. Mr. fleischmann, is recognized to respond to the amendment.
▶ 4:33:49>> thank you, Mr. chairman. Uh, I respectfully rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment. The amendment would require the department of energy to establish and maintain comprehensive public database of data centers across the united states. The amendment would also require the department to provide project specific details and conduct a detailed analysis for each completed project.
▶ 4:34:13To put it simply, it's unclear whether this information is publicly available and how the department would collect it. Much of this information is proprietary, commercially sensitive, constantly changing, or maintained by state and local permitting authorities or private entities.
▶ 4:34:34I fully recognize the desire to better understand these projects, but the amendment goes too far in asking the department to report on information they would literally be unable to obtain. Further, establishing and maintaining a database would be administratively burdensome and likely to require significant resources. For these reasons, I must oppose the gentleman's amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back.
▶ 4:35:03>> thank the gentleman, the gentlelady from ohio, miss kaptur's, recognized for her response to the amendment. Okay. Uh, further members wishing to address the amendment. Gentleman from maryland, Mr. ivey. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of this amendment for a variety of reasons. Um, my colleagues need to understand the first part of this, which is that the electricity system is not regulated by the market.
▶ 4:35:33And so the sharing of information is critical across state lines, because if it's not shared, you run into situations like double counting. So the way this would work and is working is that companies say, we want to build a data center, and that can amount to billions of dollars. That ends up getting spread out to residential customers, um, across an entire region. The region for me is pjm covers 13 states.
▶ 4:36:02That creates multiple problems. Number one is that this individual states are supposed to be making the decisions about how the pricing is done for electricity in their state. Um, and then even further local, the localities make the zoning decisions about whether they should be there or not. So for example, in virginia, you have, I don't even know, dozens of data centers there. How many lots? Okay.
▶ 4:36:32We got the expert testimony from my colleague from virginia here. Um. I'm right across the river. I don't know how many they have there, but we're all on the same electricity grid. And what that means is that my state and the other 11 states in this grid could end up having to pay for the amount of the cost of a new data center. And so the point of this amendment is at least count them correctly.
▶ 4:37:02Let's at least have a list. If you don't do it at the federal level, we don't necessarily have them at the state level, because I don't know what's being built in virginia or new jersey. But if you double count it, ferc comes up with an estimate for what the cost is going to be. That could raise the cost for that. We're paying for electricity. Our residential customers, even if it shouldn't go up. And the challenge then becomes that the state level, because they don't control the federal piece, that they can't correct that.
▶ 4:37:31So one of the issues we really need to consider at this level, um, because they can't do it at the state and local level, are we making sure that it's not a market system. So the market's not driving and setting the prices for electricity. It's a group of individuals and different rooms and different states that are making guesstimates based on the information they've got. We need to at least make sure they have accurate information that they're getting.
▶ 4:37:57The second piece is, if you don't estimate this correctly, which is the problem that's going on right now, you could be looking at rolling blackouts, which is the case in pjm for this summer. Think about what that means. So you got electricity prices going up. Of course, people are going to be angry about that. And at the same time, you've got the quality of service going down because you've got blackouts happening.
▶ 4:38:25I don't care what state you're in blue, red, purple, something in the middle. They're going to be mad. I've got mad folks in my state right now, and we haven't even hit the rolling blackout stage yet. If that comes this summer, your phone will be ringing off the hook, my phone will be ringing off the hook, and we won't even be able to answer basic questions like how much more power is going to come up when the next one of these data center goes up, because some of these there's one, for example, there's talking about putting
▶ 4:38:55Up in the south that has enough electricity to power new orleans. We don't have that information. We don't know about that. And if we don't know that basic information, how can we be setting prices as close to accurate as possible? Again, remember this is not a market system. You get one shot to do it. Sometimes it takes multiple years to build these data centers 5 or 10 years. So you're locking in prices and rates potentially for 5 to 10 years out.
▶ 4:39:24And you don't know what the numbers are. That's where we are right now. And layer on top of that, we've got an aging grid system that we know is struggling to keep up with the rise of ai and the increases in the need for electricity. You all really need to think about what we're going to do as a congress to make sure we stay ahead of this curve, because I guarantee you I was the local regulator in the state of maryland.
▶ 4:39:50And one time we had an outage in the state during the summer, super hot day, electricity over demand. You trust me, you don't want to be there, and you definitely don't want to be there in a multi year scenario, because the entire grid isn't built to carry the amount of demand that it's got.
▶ 4:40:10So I urge my colleagues, at a minimum, let's at least make sure we know how much power is there now, how much is going to be demanded in the future, and whether we can meet that going forward or not. I'd urge you to, at a minimum, support this amendment. >> thank the gentleman. The gentlelady from texas, miss escobar, is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you so much, Mr. chairman.
▶ 4:40:39I rise to support this amendment. I don't know how many of you have had data centers pop up in your communities. In my region, we already have three, with a fourth that is slated to be built. There are significant questions from the community about water usage, electricity usage, impact to our air quality.
▶ 4:41:09And one of these big tech companies that is building the, uh, the hyperscale data center in, in my community, just one of them has refused to engage with the community, literally refused to answer any questions. And these are not it's not like a big box retail store. These hyperscale data centers are massive.
▶ 4:41:36And their demands on our natural resources are pretty significant. I was meeting yesterday, for example, with the texas farm bureau and and a group of farmers from my community. I asked them, what is your number one concern right now? And they said, water. And we began talking about data centers and the mystery surrounding their use of natural resources.
▶ 4:42:04And their impact on the grid is of great concern. If we can't get answers from big tech as they build these massive hyperscale data centers, then congress really needs to make sure that we are stepping in to ensure that there's transparency, to ensure that we know as much as possible, so that we can share information with our utility companies, with our
▶ 4:42:35Constituents, and with the folks who will inherit the impact and the consequences of these data centers for decades to come. This is, I think, probably the most, uh, useful amendment right now in front of us around data centers.
▶ 4:42:56Um, and I think it would give many of us the tools that we need in order to better understand what's coming down the pike and how to best help our counties, our local governments, our utility companies, and most especially our constituents. Thank you, Mr. chairman. I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment?
▶ 4:43:21Seeing none, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. And I want to thank both gentlelady from texas and the gentleman from maryland for highlighting, uh, in detail, uh, the bipartisan nature of this amendment and how important it is for all of us to have access to, uh, new information, really, because data centers are a new
▶ 4:43:53Phenomenon. And, uh, we still wondering, uh, what kind of an impact they're going to have on communities, but the general public and our constituencies are very concerned about the high cost of energy. When you talk about inflation, when you talk about affordability, when you talk about high prices for food and rent and all these things, the next thing to follow is the high cost of energy.
▶ 4:44:17And then you have potential rolling brownouts and blackouts doing very hot summer months. This is a new dynamic. And as was said, these are massive centers, data centers that we must understand. The best way to understand them is to have information about them. And for us to be able to, uh, make educated decisions on whether they should or should not be, uh, in different places across the country.
▶ 4:44:46So I urge all my colleagues to support this common sense amendment and I yield back. >> thank you. Gentlemen. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentleman from new york. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. Any the chairman no's have it. Roll call is requested. Sufficient support is demonstrated. Clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt. No. Mr. aguilar, Mr.
▶ 4:45:15Aguilar I Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei, Mr. amodei. No. Mrs. bice, Mr. bishop, Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I, Mr. cisco. Mr. cisco. No. Mr. klein. Mr. cloud. Mr. cloud. No. Mr.
▶ 4:45:47Clyburn, Mr. clyburn. I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar. Miss. Dean, miss dean, I miss. Delauro, miss. Delauro, I. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards. No. Mr. lee. Mr. lee. No. Miss. Escobar, miss. Escobar, I. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat, I. Mr. fleischmann. No. Mr.
▶ 4:46:17Fleischmann, no. Miss. Frankel. Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest, Mr. guest. No. Mr. harter, Mr. harter, I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer, I Mr. iv, Mr. iv, I Mr. joyce. Mr. joyce. No. Miss. Kaptur. Mr. nick lalota. Mr.
▶ 4:46:49Lalota. No. Miss lee, miss lee, I miss. Letlow, Mr. levin. Mr. levin, I miss. Molloy, miss. Molloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming I, Mr. molinari, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli I. Mr. van. Mr. van I, Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss perez, I miss.
▶ 4:47:21Pingry, miss pingry I Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley I. Mr. guy reschenthaler. Mr. guy reschenthaler. No. Mr. rogers. Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford. No. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres, I miss underwood, miss underwood, I. Mr.
▶ 4:47:50Valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. I. Mrs. watson. Coleman, Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink. No. >> are there other members wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentlelady from florida. >> miss frankel, a. >> gentleman from >> virginia. >> Mr. klein, I.
▶ 4:48:21>> are there others wishing to change or record their vote? Seeing is the gentlelady from washington voted. >> okay. >> seeing none, the clerk will tally. >> I'm sorry. >> chair gentlelady from oklahoma. >> Mrs. bice. No.
▶ 4:49:22>> on this vote, the eyes are 27. The nos are 32. The amendment is not adopted. Before we proceed, I probably should have said this in debate to my friend from new york. I just reflecting on this. I'm not sure that wouldn't be a really good matter for an authorizing committee to be looking at. I'm just wondering here, in an amendment process, we haven't asked what's the cost? What are the regulatory implications, whether we were the right body. But I think the question's a very good question.
▶ 4:49:51Uh, I just just on reflection, I kept thinking, is that something we should do here? Now in this relatively short time? I'm not sure. But regardless, commend the member for raising the issue. I think it's an important issue. Um, with that, uh, the gentlelady from nevada, miss lee, is recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chair. I have an amendment at the desk and request unanimous consent that the reading be dispensed.
▶ 4:50:17>> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> thank you. At a time when energy costs are increasing across the nation, and as we just heard, demands for energy are growing exponentially due to the proliferation of data centers. This nation needs to embrace an all of the above approach to meet our nation's growing energy demand and to bring down costs.
▶ 4:50:44We are literally in a race against time. The good news is, is that one of the most promising sources of energy for our future is fusion energy. Fusion energy promises to be a safe, clean, and sustainable energy source that can provide nearly limitless supply of energy. It can operate year round, 24 hours a day at a high capacity, and does not produce carbon emissions.
▶ 4:51:11And fusion energy does not produce the kind of radioactive waste that has stalled the development of fusion energy for decades. Congress has started to come around to the value of this promising energy source. In fact, the bill we are considering today includes $800 million for the department of energy, office of fusion energy sciences, which has led to.
▶ 4:51:33Led the federal government's research and work on fusion energy and I am proud member of the congressional fusion energy caucus alongside our chair, our subcommittee chair, Mr. fleischmann, and several other members of this committee. My amendment seeks to build on the growing congressional support for fusion energy. Supporters of fusion energy requested $100 million in new funding to stand up.
▶ 4:52:03The department of energy's newly created created office of fusion. The purpose is to commercialize it and bring it to grid. The trump administration requested $10 million for the same office. Unfortunately, this bill does not provide any funding to stand up a new office.
▶ 4:52:21And in fact, the report includes language that says commercialization efforts to bring fusion energy to the electric grid would be better conducted by the existing office of technology commercialization, rather than a new office of fusion. While I disagree with that decision, I understand why some may believe it is a better approach.
▶ 4:52:45But what I don't understand is why we would task the office of technology commercialization with this new responsibility, but not provide the funding necessary to carry it out.
▶ 4:52:58My amendment simply specifies that of the $233 million in funding currently allocated for general management and program support functions of the department of energy, that $10 million of this funding should be specifically designated for fusion activities.
▶ 4:53:17This amendment would ensure that the office of technology commercialization can effectively collaborate with fusion industry stakeholders and the office of science to lead efforts to coordinate research, development, and deployment activities in support of fusion commercialization. I urge my colleagues to vote yes and support this amendment. >> thank the gentlelady for amendment. Gentleman from tennessee, Mr.
▶ 4:53:46Fleischmann is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. And I thank the gentlelady who is a member of the fusion caucus. I am actually the chair of the fusion caucus. Um, and I and I also thank the gentlelady for working with me on environmental issues. She's my co-chair of the nuclear cleanup caucus. Mr. levin is my co-chair of the spent nuclear fuels caucus. So we have tremendous bipartisan cooperation and support from our great appropriators in our caucuses. I chair eight of them.
▶ 4:54:17Um, I also appreciate my colleagues passion for fusion commercialization efforts as a fellow member, uh, of this caucus, I share not only research and development, which I think is key, but we've seen commercialization. Boom. Uh, and while I'm supportive of the intent of this amendment, I believe a different approach approach would better serve our mutual goal.
▶ 4:54:37The current the report currently includes language within the office of science and the office of technological commercialization, directing the department to work with the fusion industry stakeholders to support and coordinate research, uh, research, development, and deployment activities to advance commercialization.
▶ 4:54:56The office of technology commercialization was established in 2015 to advance technology transfer efforts and ensure the vital research performed by our national laboratories that can have the biggest commercial impact possible. And I would say rather right now, we talked earlier about the office of science and why it is so near and dear to me. They're actually funding a lot of this fusion research.
▶ 4:55:20In fact, they've got their funding, the personnel for this right now, rather than establish a new function within this important office, I believe our approach should be to focus on ongoing efforts to act as quickly as possible, to capitalize our fusion investments. For these reasons, I must oppose the amendment. Again, I thank my colleague for offering this and urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. The gentlelady from ohio is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 4:55:50I rise in support of miss lee's amendment. Frankly, it's an exciting amendment that would increase the commercialization of fusion energy. I've actually seen this being built, and I recommend it for every member here. For generations, american scientists have chased one of the hardest problems in physics, and that is harnessing the energy of the stars. Uh, today that goal is within reach.
▶ 4:56:16Think about giant magnets and the power that attends to their interaction. Fusion energy is no longer a distant dream confined to laboratory walls. It's an industry being built right now. And the question before our country is whether it will be built in america, or whether we will hand that future to our competitors. You know, we've done that before in a few other things. It's not in our interest. So china's investing billions. They understand what is at stake.
▶ 4:56:45Fusion promises clean, abundant baseload power without the waste we deal with today on the side of nuclear fusion, fusion power can run a steel mill, a hospital, an ai data center, or lots of them. Or a small town. It can reindustrialize our heartland and restore american manufacturing leadership. It must move fusion from the laboratory to the marketplace.
▶ 4:57:14And that means sustained federal investment in our national labs, our universities, and the private companies, turning decades of private research into working machines, energy machines. We cannot afford to let this moment slip away. America must continue to lead. I urge the adoption of the lee amendment. I thank her so very much, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for remarks. Gentlelady from connecticut. Mr. lawrence, recognized for purposes of. To address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 4:57:43I rise in support of this amendment. Uh, provides $10 million to support the commercialization of fusion energy technologies. Fusion is one of the most promising technologies for delivering large amounts of clean energy consistently, and for many years at a time.
▶ 4:57:58It is in a class of its own when it comes to cost per kilowatt hour, and provides firm baseload power independent of weather conditions, we are at a critical point in our nation's cost of living crisis, which is a also a cost of energy crisis.
▶ 4:58:17Electric bills have been skyrocketing across the country, and the recent disruption to the strait of hormuz due to president trump's war of choice has halted nearly a fifth of global lng supplies and 20 million barrels of oil. Gas prices are nearly $5 a gallon on average across the country.
▶ 4:58:37It is clear that even when the united states is a net exporter of fossil fuels, as we have seen, uh, as as we have been for the last several years, there is still a great deal of geopolitical risk and many vulnerabilities that are inherent in the global energy supply chain. The lesson is not to pull out, to put all of our eggs in one basket. Also not to avoid missing out on transformational technologies that could dramatically reduce costs across the board.
▶ 4:59:07A quote all of the above energy strategy is necessary for true energy independence. Part of that strategy must involve looking to the next generation of technologies that can deliver more power, more reliably, for less cost. But when it comes to fusion, we have been dragging our feet and other countries are racing ahead.
▶ 4:59:28Last year, china launched a $2.1 billion state owned fusion enterprise, and at least five major fusion facilities are under construction or in the late stage planning. Across the country, the united states has none. There are promising ideas across the country.
▶ 4:59:48I'm proud that researchers at the university of connecticut have received a five year department of energy award to pursue research into building nuclear fission fusion reactors, but our universities and research centers need more support to turn these ideas into viable prototypes and projects.
▶ 5:00:06Fusion research is being conducted at the national laboratories in livermore, california, princeton, new jersey, oak ridge, tennessee, los alamos, new mexico, and idaho falls, idaho. Additional university research centers are located mit us, us, san diego, hampton university in virginia and the university of rochester and new york.
▶ 5:00:36We can't afford to lose the fusion race if we are unable to secure affordable, reliable power in the future. We will always be struggling just to keep up. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back. >> thank you, gentle lady, for remarks. Gentlelady from florida miss wasserman schultz recognized to address. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of my colleague miss lee's amendment.
▶ 5:01:05As our nation's energy demands continue to grow, fusion energy holds the potential of nearly a limitless source of clean energy. In 2022, science at california, scientists at california's lawrence livermore national laboratory made history with the first controlled fusion experiment to yield a net gain of energy.
▶ 5:01:24We are on the cusp of further fusion technology advances that can permanently end our fossil fuel dependance and usher in a new era in clean energy for floridians, scaling fusion energy to commercial viability cannot come soon enough. Our state bears the brunt of climate change impacts from more intense and frequent hurricanes and flooding to warming oceans and beach erosion.
▶ 5:01:49This path to ruin was wrought by decades of fossil fuel reliance and reinforced by billions in federal taxpayer subsidies to the oil industry. It is long past time to shift our focus to future technologies. We also see the challenges of growth and increased power demand across the nation, especially with the increase in data center data data center usages across the nation. As you've heard, clean energy will be critical to keeping our communities healthy, safe, and online.
▶ 5:02:14Decades ago, we first invested in the clean, renewable energy technologies, excuse me, that are now online across the nation, delivering power for america's transportation and electricity needs to continue down the path toward a net zero carbon economy. We need this doe investment in fusion energy. It was american scientists at a doe laboratory who made the first breakthrough in fusion. And with continued investment from congress, they'll be the first to commercialize it, too.
▶ 5:02:44I thank my colleague miss lee for offering this amendment, and I want to thank congressman beyer and the congressional fusion caucus for their critical advocacy on this issue. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for remarks. Gentleman from washington. Mr. newhouse is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, chairman cole. I certainly appreciate chairman fleischmann's comments as. Because I, too, have been a long champion, long time champion of fusion energy.
▶ 5:03:10I'm proud of the innovations that are being made in fusion research and development that are taking place right in my own district in central washington, through private enterprise, uh, helion energy, for example, is an everett, washington based company that's endeavoring to build the, the world's first commercially viable fusion power plant.
▶ 5:03:35Fusion technologies are critical to america's enduring energy independence and our economic competitiveness, and they are greatly facilitated by these public private partnerships and federal backing.
▶ 5:03:47However, the doe has already directed resources and attention toward fusion fusion research within existing doe programs in the office of science, and this report already directs the office of technology commercialization commercialization to prioritize this very aim. So, as the chair said, we can be confident that the fusion energy efforts currently underway underway will be effectively supported under the current language.
▶ 5:04:14Now, I do appreciate the congresswoman's interest and her intent and certainly our discussions on this very important topic topic. I'm always happy to help shine a light on the importance of fusion. But at this point, I got to say that additional directives would be duplicative in my in my estimation. So thank you, Mr. chairman, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his comments. Gentleman from new york, Mr. morelli is recognized to address the amendment.
▶ 5:04:51>> thank you very much, Mr. chairman, and I want to thank miss lee. I rise in support of her amendment and appreciate all the comments that have been made in 2022. Scientists at the national ignition facility achieved a breakthrough fusion ignition for the first time. A fusion reaction produced more energy than the laser energy delivered to the target, and since then, researchers have been described and replicated ignition and continue advancement of the fundamental science.
▶ 5:05:18This success was the product of decades of federal investment in collaboration between laboratories and universities across the country, which miss delauro described, including the laboratory for laser energetics at the university of rochester in my district, what was once science theory and science fiction is now science fact. Yet engineering and deployment challenges remain significant.
▶ 5:05:42Private industry understands that fusion companies, as has been described, attract millions of dollars in investment because of the promise of safe, reliable, carbon free baseload energy is enormous, but the private sector cannot build the bridge. From laboratory success to commercial deployment alone. We know this the so-called valley of death on new technologies.
▶ 5:06:02And so what we require is a federal government and its investments to develop the technology supply chains, public private partnerships necessary to move fusion beyond experimental facilities and towards practical commercial power generation. We talked about the enormous potential of this unlimited potential to solve so many challenges that we face in society today.
▶ 5:06:23And this amendment is an investment in maintaining american scientific leadership in one of the most transformative energy technologies of the century, maybe of humankind. And I. I am passionate about it, as others are. I strongly urge adoption of the amendment. With that, Mr. chair, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the gentleman from california, Mr. levin's recognized for remarks on the amendment.
▶ 5:06:54>> thank you. >> Mr. chairman. I rise in strong support of my friend congresswoman lee's amendment, and I urge my colleagues to join me. Fusion is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet for the energy challenges of this century. It's clean, it's safe. It produces no carbon and leaves behind no long lived radioactive waste. If we get this right, we're talking about limitless, affordable energy for our grid, for american manufacturing, and for the ai infrastructure that will define the next century.
▶ 5:07:23And nowhere is the promise of fusion more alive than in san diego. General atomics in my backyard is one of the crown jewels of american fusion fusion research. They run the d3d national fusion facility, where scientists from across the country and around the world come to do the work that one day, I hope will power our homes. So I am a proud member of the bipartisan fusion energy caucus. Again, it's not a partizan issue at all. It's an american issue.
▶ 5:07:51And to ranking member delauro's point, china is spending roughly $1.5 billion a year on fusion. It's nearly twice our federal investment. And as the ranking member said, they stood up a single state backed fusion company with $2.1 billion in capital, more than two and a half times the annual budget of the entire department of energy fusion program. They built a laser facility comparable to ours in 18 months. It took us 20 years.
▶ 5:08:17Their five year plan, china's five year plan, calls for extraordinary measures to win this race, and ours should too. We still have the technical lead. We still have the best scientists, the best companies, the best universities. But that lead can be lost. And if we let china out, invest us decade after decade, we're going to wake up one morning to find that the energy source that powers the next century was invented here and commercialized there.
▶ 5:08:45Congresswoman lee's amendment is a smart, targeted, fiscally responsible step to keep america in front. It signals to our scientists and entrepreneurs and our allies that the united states is serious about winning this race. I hope everyone supports the amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. The gentleman from indiana, Mr. moran, is recognized for remarks on the amendment. >> I rise today in support of this amendment.
▶ 5:09:08Fusion energy promises to be sustainable, safe and clean as energy costs rise and demand on our grid continues to grow, we must invest in the expansion and commercialization of affordable and reliable sources of energy. Investing in fusion, energy, science, and research programs is and should be bipartisan. Last year, the trump administration stood up the new office of fusion within the department of energy to aid in the deployment of fusion technology.
▶ 5:09:34While the committee has determined that commercialization efforts should be conducted through a different office within the doe, this amendment provides a needed set aside to support the work that needs to be done. Fusion energy is a promising solution to expand our energy supply and affordable and sustainable manner. I appreciate my colleagues work on this issue, and I urge that we support this amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment?
▶ 5:10:02Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, Mr. chair. Um, charles fleischmann, I think we are in general agreement about the importance of commercialization. Um, I my understanding is we have one person who is coordinating all this and for me, this amendment is really about speed and the urgency of the issue at hand.
▶ 5:10:34And, uh, it ensures that congress does not take our foot off the gas, uh, in supporting the development and commercialization of fusion. While we can and should have a discussion about who in the federal government should lead that effort, we shouldn't let the debate halt the progress of commercialization and simply providing $10 million in funding will allow us to have staffing to support the type of coordination that needs to happen to get this type of
▶ 5:11:06Energy commercialized as quickly as possible and function. Uh, and I also want to point out that this is the funding level that the trump administration did request for the new office. And so it's a first step in that direction. And I, again, ask my colleagues to support the development of this promising source of clean energy and vote yes on my amendment. Thank you. >> thank the gentlelady. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from nevada. All those in favor say aye.
▶ 5:11:36All those opposed say no. The chair the nos have it. And the amendment. Oh, uh, roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar. Aye. Mr. alford, Mr. amodei, Mr. amodei. No. Mrs. bice. Mrs. bice. No. Mr. bishop. Mr. bishop, I. Mr.
▶ 5:12:09Calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I Mr. cisco. Mr. cisco. No. Mr. klein, Mr. klein. No. Mr. cloud. Mr. cloud. No. Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, Mr. cuellar I miss. Dean, Mr. laura.
▶ 5:12:41Mr. laura I. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards. Mr. edwards. No. Mr. ellzey. Mr. ellzey. No. Mr. escobar, Mr. escobar I. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat I. Mr. fleishman, Mr. fleishman. No. Mr. frankel, miss. Frankel, I Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest, Mr. guest. No. Mr. harter, Mr. harter, I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No.
▶ 5:13:11Mrs. henson, Mrs. henson. No. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer, I. Mr. iv. Mr. iv, I Mr. joyce, Mr. joyce. No. Miss. Kaptur, miss kaptur, I Mr. nick lalota. Mr. nick lalota. No. Miss lee. >> yes. >> miss lee, I miss. Letlow, Mr. levin, Mr. levin, I miss molloy, miss molloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming, I, Mr.
▶ 5:13:41Molinaro, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli I. Mr. van. Mr. mervyn I. Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss. Perez, I miss. Pingree, miss pingree, I. Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley, I. Mr. guy reschenthaler. Mr. rosenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford.
▶ 5:14:13No. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres, Mrs. torres, I. Mrs. underwood, miss underwood, I Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. I. Mrs. watson. Coleman, Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink, no. >> other members wishing to vote or change their vote. Gentleman from missouri.
▶ 5:14:43>> Mr. alford. No. >> gentlelady from pennsylvania. >> miss dean I. >> gentleman from alabama. >> Mr. aderholt. No. >> are there others wishing to vote or change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will tally.
▶ 5:15:34On this vote the age of 28. The nos are 34. The amendment is not adopted. Gentleman from california. Mr. levin is recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous consent that the reading of this amendment be dispensed with. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman is recognized for remarks on his amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 5:15:59I think we all know that we're currently in the middle of the largest oil disruption in history. At the end of february, the president launched major combat operations against iran. Before this war, the strait of hormuz was a bustling, relatively uninterrupted shipping route, including for about one fifth of the world's oil trade.
▶ 5:16:20But since the blockade of the strait of hormuz, shipping traffic has been reduced to a trickle, heavily disrupting global markets and supply chains for oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other essential products. Crude oil and gasoline prices have skyrocketed under these conditions this year. All of our constituents are planning their summer vacations, and gas prices at the same time are reaching record highs.
▶ 5:16:45Airlines are warning that the ticket prices could surge by 20%, leaving families to foot yet another mushrooming bill. The national average gas price is well over $4.50, with no signs of relief in sight. This simply is not sustainable.
▶ 5:17:02These prices are hitting families at the pump now, but as this war drags on, those higher gas prices are going to raise shipping costs for companies, and families will start to see higher costs when they go to the grocery store or order online. And these costs will start to show up in our constituents monthly utility bills to 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas traverses the strait of hormuz on any given day.
▶ 5:17:27We do have robust natural gas and oil production in the united states, which has shielded us from some of the worst case scenarios. But look, the thing with oil and natural gas is that these are global commodities subject to price swings at the global scale. As natural gas prices continue to go up globally, utility bills at home will also.
▶ 5:17:49Already, the oil shock has cost american consumers roughly $45 billion, eating more and more in the family's paychecks. Inflation data showed that overall energy prices are up nearly 18% over the last year, and that higher energy prices accounted for a whopping 40% of the total jump in inflation in april.
▶ 5:18:11Costs are absolutely a concern right now, but in addition to costs, we could also start to face supply shortages as well. Europe is already facing widespread fuel shortages heading into the summer. The longer the war drags on, the more at risk we are of facing a similar fate. These are warning signs, folks. During the oil crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, we learned an important lesson about how critical energy independence really is.
▶ 5:18:41We accelerated adoption of new technologies to reduce our dependance on foreign oil. With the current war in iran, we find ourselves in much the same position, but we have even more technologies we can use these days to insulate the united states from fuel volatility. We're also in the midst of the most important global energy transition since the industrial revolution.
▶ 5:19:01The countries that can deploy clean energy the fastest are lowering costs, strengthening domestic manufacturing, driving innovation, protecting themselves from volatile global markets, and securing control over the energy supply chains that will define economic power for decades. We need sources of energy that don't have to traverse the strait of hormuz to power our homes and are not impacted by global supply bottlenecks.
▶ 5:19:27If we want to lower costs, keep america competitive with china and other nations, and bolster our national security, it is imperative that we invest in a diverse energy portfolio. That's what my amendment is all about. It adds simple report language that doe should be dedicating adequate resources to diversifying our domestic energy portfolio to protect us against the supply shocks rippling across the economy. Now, I hope that we all can support this amendment to enhance america's energy future.
▶ 5:19:58Thank you, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his amendment. The gentleman from tennessee, Mr. fleischmann, is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. And I thank my friend and colleague from california for offering this amendment. I must respectfully rise in opposition to the same. I appreciate my colleague's interest in strengthening america's energy resilience and protecting consumers from global supply disruptions.
▶ 5:20:25This bill that we wrote already makes significant investments in reliable and affordable american energy, including nuclear energy, hydropower grid reliability, critical minerals, and advanced energy research. In our view, the amendment is overly broad, and this bill already supports a diverse portfolio of energy technologies while maintaining appropriate congressional oversight and fiscal discipline.
▶ 5:20:53For these reasons, I respectfully must oppose the amendment, urge my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. Gentlelady from ohio is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of Mr. levin's amendment. Energy security is national security. That has been the guiding principle of this subcommittee for decades, and it has never been more urgent than it is right now.
▶ 5:21:17Nearly 50 years ago, as our nation's economy reeled from the first arab oil embargo during the 1970s, president jimmy carter, a nuclear engineer, and our predecessors in congress, including my own predecessor, thomas ludlow ashley, and then tip o'neill, speaker tip o'neill, up here in congress, created the U.S. department of energy. Their vision was clear america must never again be hostage to foreign suppliers.
▶ 5:21:45Have we learned their important lessons with steadfast bipartisan commitment, we have made remarkable progress. U.S. crude oil production has grown from 9.6 million barrels per day in 1970 to 13.6 million barrels per day last year. Yet american households are still at the mercy of global energy markets. Energy bills have doubled and gas prices have risen. Everyone feels it.
▶ 5:22:13Diesel fuel is emptying the pockets of our transport industry. And from my part of america, boy, do we know that when russia invaded ukraine, oil prices spiked worldwide. We see it again as president trump's invasion of iran has sent energy prices soaring for america's consumers. That means that we don't have enough alternative sources of supply. And that's why we need a diversified energy economy. Gas prices have jumped more than a dozen. Excuse me, more than a dollar a gallon.
▶ 5:22:44Families are paying ten, 20 or $50 or more every time they fill their tanks. And the energy information administration says prices may not return to pre-conflict levels until 2027. As we've seen repeatedly when gas prices rose in 1956, 1973, 1978, 1998, 2008, and now now above $4 per gallon, our nation plunges into
▶ 5:23:16Deep recession. It is totally predictable, and it's a part of our history. Now. Our constituents are enduring, again, the largest global oil supply disruption in modern history, exceeding that of the first arab oil embargo in the 1970s. We must again rise to the occasion.
▶ 5:23:36Working families, surely in northwest ohio and across the middle part of the country, in every corner of this country, are being squeezed hard at the pump in their electric bills, at home and at the checkout counter. When they buy groceries, they wonder, why are groceries rising? Well, a portion of it is transportation costs. Think about it when you import 75% of your fruits and vegetables, there has to be driven a long way. The answer to this crisis is not less energy innovation.
▶ 5:24:04It is more fair pricing and energy independence and perpetuity requires that we diversify and make competitive our entire energy portfolio. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support Mr. levin's well considered amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for her remarks. Are there others wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to close. >> well, I appreciate. >> my friend the chairman's hard work on this bill.
▶ 5:24:32I sincerely do. We agree on a great deal, and the bill does make important investments in nuclear, hydro and grid programs, and I support many of them. What it does not do is address a specific current problem. Reports that the department of energy is redirecting funds. Congress already appropriated for certain technologies advanced nuclear, geothermal, solar storage away from their intended purposes. My amendment speaks directly to that.
▶ 5:24:58It simply asks the department to dedicate adequate personnel and resources to diversify our domestic portfolio so we can weather supply shocks like the one rippling through the economy right now. Every analysis going back to the 70s under presidents of both parties has reached the same conclusion. Diversification is what protects american families from this global volatility, and I hope that we can continue to work on strengthening the bill. I'd welcome the chance to keep working with him on it, and I'll yield back.
▶ 5:25:29>> thank the gentleman. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. Opinion. The chair the nos have it. Roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt. No, Mr. aguilar, Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei, Mr. amodei. No. Mr. spice, Mr. spice. No. Mr. bishop. Mr.
▶ 5:26:00Bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I. Mr. cisco. Mani, Mr. kline, Mr. cloud. Mr. cloud. No. Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn. I. Mr. clyde. Mr. cole, Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, miss. Dean. Miss. Dean. I. Mr. Mr. I. Mr. diaz-balart. Mr. edwards. Mr.
▶ 5:26:35Lee, Mr. lee. No. Miss. Escobar. Miss. Escobar. I. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat. I. Mr. fleischmann, Mr. fleischmann. No. Miss. Fraenkel, miss. Frankel, I. Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest. Mr. guest. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mrs. henson. No. Mr. hoyer. Mr. hoyer I Mr. iv, Mr. iv, I Mr. joyce, Mr. joyce. No. Miss.
▶ 5:27:08Kaptur, miss. Chapter I. Mr. Mr. no. Miss. Lee, miss lee, I miss. Letlow. Mr. levin, Mr. levin, I miss malloy, miss malloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming I, Mr. molenaar, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore. Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli, I. Mr. mervyn. Mr.
▶ 5:27:39Newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss perez, I miss. Pingree. Yes. Miss pingree, I Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley, I. Mr. rosenthaler. Mr. reschenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford. No. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson. Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres, I miss underwood, I miss underwood, I Mr. valadao, Mr.
▶ 5:28:12Valadao, no. Miss wasserman. Schultz, Mrs. watson. Coleman, Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink, no. >> other members wishing to vote or change their vote. Gentleman from florida. >> Mr. diaz-balart. No. >> gentleman from virginia. >> Mr. kline, no. >> gentleman from georgia. >> Mr. clyde? No. >> gentleman from texas. >> yes. >> Mr. cuellar, I. >> gentleman from arizona. >> Mr. cisco, no.
▶ 5:28:43>> gentleman from california. >> Mr. aguilar, I. >> gentleman from indiana. >> Mr. murvin I. >> are there others wishing to vote or change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will tally. >> his by Mrs. it'll be great.
▶ 5:29:28Oh, I'm sure this is a winner. It's a winner. You have a strong track record. >> on this vote. The age of 27. The nos are 33. The motion is not adopted. Gentlelady from pennsylvania. Miss dean's recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> uh, thank you. Chairman, I ask you, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with.
▶ 5:29:57The gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> thank you, chairman cole. Uh, I rise in support of my amendment, which would simply restore funding for arpa-e, the advanced research projects agency, energy to to the fy 24 enacted levels.
▶ 5:30:15This bill currently provides 300 million for arpa-e, 50 million below fy 26 enacted level and 160 million below the fy 24 enacted level arpa-e.
▶ 5:30:28Arpa-e, as you all remember, was created in 2009 under the george w bush administration to replicate the successful darpa model of innovation that helped create the internet, gps and other revolutionary technologies like darpa, arpa-e invests in a broad portfolio of high risk, high reward research with transformational potential.
▶ 5:30:55Arpa-e focuses on research that is not supported elsewhere, inside or outside of government, and where targeted investment can result in meaningful advances. Arpa-e selects projects that are designed to meet our future energy needs, from improvements in grid technology and power generation to industrial efficiency and transportation, advanced energy technologies represent a huge global market, especially as global electricity demand continues to rise.
▶ 5:31:24As we have been debating here, it is essential that america can compete. Since its inception, arpa-e has provided over $4 billion more funding to more than 1700 projects in nearly every state. In the union, 282 projects attracted $16.3 billion in private investment, nearly quadrupling the arpa-e investment.
▶ 5:31:49There have been 38 exits through mergers, acquisitions and ipos, with a total reported value of $23.1 billion. In my home state of pennsylvania, arpa-e is supporting research out of carnegie mellon that can extend the useful life life of electric car batteries, a penn state project to improve the performance of enhanced geothermal energy generation, and a group of.
▶ 5:32:14Penn is designing better circuit components to improve grid control, resilience and reliability. These and hundreds of other projects across the country are reducing our energy imports, creating solutions to nuclear fuel and waste challenges, improving our infrastructure and energy efficiency, and reducing emissions.
▶ 5:32:37I'm struck by this warning from the national science board, which comes from an essay they were working on before being unceremoniously fired by the president last month, the board said we are facing a, quote, two nation race, end quote, for leadership in science and technology. A race that is a marathon, not a sprint.
▶ 5:33:00We must continue to invest in arpa-e and programs like it, programs that leverage american creativity and ingenuity, enhance our economic and energy security and our technological leadership. Mr. chairman, in the spirit of the george w bush administration, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for amendment. The gentleman from tennessee, Mr. fleischmann, is recognized to respond to the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 5:33:30And again, I thank the gentlelady for her very thoughtful and kind. Amendment. Uh, I must respectfully rise in opposition to this, but I do appreciate my colleague's passion for arpa-e. And I too am a fervent supporter of arpa-e, a high risk, high reward mission. Over the years, I've seen many, many, um, new endeavors succeed. It's a great model. It front loads, it pays up front.
▶ 5:33:58So it gets it, it gets it done. It's quite good. But that's why this bill includes $300 million for arpa-e. Um, it's robust funding. That is a strong level of support for new awards to advance the fusion industry, uh, develop new approaches to nuclear reprocessing and keep the united states at the forefront of energy technologies. Uh, but respectfully, my colleagues amendment does not have an offset.
▶ 5:34:25It would bring us over our allocation and upset the balance of this and other bills. For that reason, I must oppose the bill. But once again, I appreciate, uh, the gentlelady's support and advocacy for our I yield back. >> gentleman's remarks. Gentlelady from ohio is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of miss dean's amendment.
▶ 5:34:49The advanced research projects agency, energy, or arpa-e, was established in bipartisan law in 2007 to enhance the economic and energy security of the united states. Arpa-e accelerates transformational technology advances in areas where industry by itself is not likely to invest due to technical and financial uncertainty, and it has had success in 282 past projects, they have attracted more than
▶ 5:35:19$16.3 billion in private equity follow on funding, and now is not the time to turn our back on innovation in american leadership. I urge adoption of the amendment and yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for remarks. Are there others wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, chairman, and I thank the chairman of the subcommittee for his kind words, uh, around arpa-e and around arpa-e funding.
▶ 5:35:44I would simply suggest, if you take a look at my amendment, what I ask for is that in the bill on page 31, line 17, take out 300 million and put in 460 million just to get us back to, um, the fy 24 levels. Fy 24 folks, uh, our need for innovative technologies and research and energy, uh, is not diminishing.
▶ 5:36:09And that's why I am asking for let's just get back to at least fy 24. Uh, in terms of the front loading, I would suggest, excuse me, in terms of the offset, I would suggest it's the very thing you spoke about, which is the front loading of technology that goes off to become an economic engine and innovation engine around energy in this country. So I respectfully ask for a yes vote. >> thank the gentlelady. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from pennsylvania.
▶ 5:36:40All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. The chair of the nos have it. Roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. Uh, the clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. No. Mr. aguilar, Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei, Mr. amodei. No. Mrs. bice. Mrs. bice. No. Mr. bishop. Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr.
▶ 5:37:12Case. Mr. case I, Mr. cisco. Mr. cisco. No. Mr. kline, Mr. kline. No. Mr. cloud. Mr. cloud. No. Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, Mr. cuellar I miss dean, miss. Dean I Mr. laura, Mr. laura I Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. edwards, Mr. lee, Mr. lee. No. Miss. Escobar, miss.
▶ 5:37:43Escobar, miss. Escobar, I. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat. I. Mr. fleischmann. No. Mr. fleischmann, no. Miss. Frankel, lois frankel. I Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest, Mr. guest. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mrs. henson. No. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer I Mr. iv, Mr. iv I Mr. joyce, Mr. joyce. No. Miss. Kaptur, miss kaptur, I Mr.
▶ 5:38:15Lalota. Miss lee. Miss lee, I miss. Letlow, Mr. levin, Mr. levin, I miss. Molloy, miss. Molloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming I. Mr. mulliner, Mr. mulliner. No. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli, I, Mr. merman, Mr. mervyn I, Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss.
▶ 5:38:46Perez, I miss. Pingree, miss pingree, I. Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley, I. Mr. rosenthaler. Mr. reschenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford, Mr. rutherford. No. Mr. shreeve. Mr. simpson. Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres. I miss.
▶ 5:39:17Underwood, miss underwood, I. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, Mrs. watson. Coleman. Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink. No. >> are there other members wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentleman from north carolina. >> Mr. edwards. >> no. Gentleman from new york. >> Mr. lalota? No. >> are there others wishing to vote or change their vote?
▶ 5:39:50Seeing none, the clerk will tally. Gentleman from indiana. >> Mr. shreeve. No. >> gentleman from florida. >> Mr. diaz-balart? No. >> are there others wishing to change or record their vote again, seeing none continue the tally.
▶ 5:40:16Gentleman from california. >> Mr. aguilar. >> under the wire.
▶ 5:40:52On this vote. The eyes are 27, the nose are 34. The amendment is not adopted. Obviously, we are voting, but we're very close. We have one amendment, so we're going to try and finish out, obviously, that we're not able to do that. We'll just come back and finish that. Gentleman from indiana, Mr. murvin, is recognized for the purpose of amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chair. I have an amendment at the desk, and I move that the reading be dispensed with.
▶ 5:41:18>> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman is recognized for remarks on his amendment. >> I rise to offer an amendment that would require the department of energy to provide additional transparency when issuing emergency orders under section 202 for the federal powers act. In essence, my utility company, uh, was a month ago ordered to return to a coal fired burning plant.
▶ 5:41:40Uh, at the same time, the administration, secretary rice, and secretary lutnick were celebrating a gas power power plant opening in ohio and talking about the efficiencies. The after effect of that is the ratepayers are going to have a tariff of $100 million.
▶ 5:41:58What I'm asking for is when there is this type of order, emergency order used by that power, uh, the executive power that we utilize transparency and tell the ratepayers why that is, how much it's going, how much it's going to cost them, and make sure that they're aware of that. And all I'm asking for is this amendment to be an opportunity for open government and transparency. With that, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the gentleman from tennessee, Mr.
▶ 5:42:29Fleischmann, is recognized to address the amendment. >> I not only have, Mr. chairman, thank you. I not only have empathy, I have sympathy for what my colleague in indiana has gone through, and I appreciate his his passion in this regard. Uh, however, I do believe this is an issue for the authorizers. I think it rests clearly within the jurisdiction of the energy and commerce committee. Um, and I will say this, the secretary currently has authority to determine whether or not an emergency exists and how to best address it.
▶ 5:42:59But in the interest of time and since we're voting, I respectfully ask for a no vote. Yield back. >> thank the gentleman gentlelady from ohio, miss. Captors recognize uh, to respond to the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in strong support of the gentleman from indiana's amendment. And thank Mr. mervyn for your leadership. On behalf of ratepayers across our industrial heartland.
▶ 5:43:22And in view of the time, I will abbreviate my remarks, but we'll continue to support you in these efforts, and I ask for a favorable vote by the members present. Thank you, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to close. >> Mr. chairman, the bottom line is, uh, the ratepayers in northwest indiana are paying some of the highest utility rates in the country.
▶ 5:43:50And we're looking for the same celebration that you had with natural gas in ohio. The administration had taken with the two secretaries, the private sector utility company was going to naturally or because of the competitive market transition into a natural gas power plant. If it's good enough to celebrate in ohio, it's good enough for northwest indiana not to be forced to use a coal plant and to be able to have to pay $100 million bounty on the ratepayers who are already paying 26%.
▶ 5:44:20All we're asking for is an explanation to make sure that there's transparency and people understand what they're paying for and why it's an emergency. With that, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. Uh, the question is now on the amendment offered by the gentleman from indiana. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. Chair, the nos. Have it. Roll call is requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt. No. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar.
▶ 5:44:52Aye. Mr. alford. Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei. Mr. amodei. No. Mrs. bice. Mrs. bice. No. Mr. bishop. Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I, Mr. cisco. Mr. cisco. No. Mr. kline, Mr. kline. No. Mr. cloud. Mr. cloud. No. Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, Mr. cuellar I miss. Dean.
▶ 5:45:24>> yes. >> miss. Dean, I miss delauro, miss delauro, I. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards. No. Mr. ellzey. Mr. ellzey. No. Mr. escobar. Miss escobar, miss. Escobar, I Mr. espaillat, Mr. fleishman, Mr. fleishman. No. Miss. Frankel, miss. Frankel, I. Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest. Mr. carter, Mr. carter. I. Doctor. Harris.
▶ 5:45:55Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mrs. henson. No. Mr. hoyer. Mr. iv. Mr. ivy. I. Mr. joyce. Mr. joyce. No. Miss kaptur, I miss kaptur, I Mr. nick lalota, Mr. nick lalota. No. Miss lee, miss lee, I miss. Letlow. Mr. levin, Mr. levin, I miss molloy, miss molloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming, I. Mr. molinari, Mr. molinaro. No. Mr. moore, Mr.
▶ 5:46:27Moore. No. Mr. morelli. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli, I. Mr. mervyn, Mr. mervyn I. Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss. Perez, I miss. Pingree, miss pingree, I. Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley I. Mr. guy reschenthaler. Mr. guy reschenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford. No. Mr.
▶ 5:46:55Shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson. Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres. >> no way! >> Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres, I miss underwood, miss underwood, I. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, Mrs. watson. Coleman. Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink.
▶ 5:47:27No. >> any members wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentleman from mississippi, Mr. >> guest. No. >> gentleman from new york. >> Mr. espaillat, I. >> are there other members wishing to vote or change their votes? Seeing none, the clerk will. Talent.
▶ 5:48:14>> you. >> just a second. Announce this vote. >> we're about to. >> on this vote, the ayes are 26. The nose is 34. The amendment is not agreed to. Seeing no further amendments, I now recognize the gentleman from kentucky, Mr. rogers, for the purpose of a motion. Mr. chair, I move to favorably report to the house the fiscal year 2027 energy and water development and related agencies appropriations bill.
▶ 5:48:46The question is now on the motion to favorably report fiscal year 2027 energy and water development and related agencies. Appropriations bill to the house. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. >> no. >> opinion chair. The ayes have it. A recorded vote has been requested. Sufficient number of hands have been raised. The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt. Aye. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar.
▶ 5:49:18No. Mr. alford, Mr. alford, I. Mr. amodei, Mr. amodei, I, Mrs. bice, Mrs. bice I. Mr. bishop. Mr. bishop. No. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert, I. Mr. carter, Mr. carter I. Mr. case. Mr. case. No. Mr. eskamani. Mr. by Mr. klein, Mr. klein I. Mr. cloud Mr. cloud I Mr. clyburn. Mr.
▶ 5:49:49>> clyburn. No. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde, I. Mr. cole. Mr. cole, I. Mr. cuellar. Mr. cuellar. No. Miss. Dean. Miss. Dean. No. Miss. Delauro. >> thank you, Mr. >> lauro. No. Mr. diaz-balart. Mr. diaz-balart, I. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards, I. Mr. ellzey. Mr. ellzey. I miss. Escobar, miss. Escobar. No. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat. No. Mr. fleishman, Mr. fleishman I Mr. miss. Frankel, miss. Frankel. No. Mr.
▶ 5:50:21Franklin, Mr. franklin I. Mr. guest, Mr. guest, I Mr. harter, Mr. harter. No. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. I. Mrs. hinson, Mrs. hinson. I. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer. No. Mr. iv, Mr. iv. No. Mr. joyce. Mr. joyce, I miss kaptur. Marcy kaptur. No. Mr. lalota. Mr. nick lalota. I miss lee, miss lee. No. Miss. Letlow.
▶ 5:50:54Mr. levin, Mr. levin. No. Miss molloy, miss molloy, I miss mccollum, miss mccollum. No. Miss ming, miss ming. No. Mr. molenaar, Mr. molenaar I Mr. moore, Mr. moore, I. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli. No. Mr. murvin. Mr. murvin. No. Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse, I miss. Perez, miss. Perez. No. Miss. Pingry, miss. Pingry. No. Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan. No. Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley. I. Mr.
▶ 5:51:26Mr. quigley. No. Mr. rosenthaler. Mr. reschenthaler I Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers, I Mr. rutherford, Mr. rutherford, I Mr. shreve. Mr. shreve, Mr. shreve, I. Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson, I. Mr. strong, Mr. strong I. Mrs. torres, Mrs. torres. No. Miss. Underwood, miss. Underwood. No. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao, I. Miss.
▶ 5:51:58Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. No. Mrs. watson. Coleman. Mrs. watson. Coleman. No. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. I. Mr. zink, Mr. zink, I. >> are there any members wishing to record their vote or change their vote? Need to wave something? We have a lot of members standing around, so. Seeing none, the clerk will call the roll. Clerk will tally.
▶ 5:52:41Give me the language that I need to thank you. On this vote. The yeas are 34, the nose are 25. The motion is agreed to. I ask unanimous consent that staff be permitted to make technical and conforming changes to the bill, and report just approved three days, seeing no objection. So ordered. Votes have been called. The committee will now recess.
▶ 5:53:08Please return promptly at the conclusion of the last vote series so we can continue consideration of the bill. >> yes, sir. >> thank you sir.
▶ 6:57:28Our second order of business today is consideration of the legislative branch appropriations bill for fiscal year 2027. I'll now recognize chairman valadao to present the bill. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. First, I'd like to express my appreciation to you and your leadership staff for their support in keeping the appropriations process moving in a timely manner again this year.
▶ 6:57:56Returning the process to regular order has enabled our agencies to plan their budgets and priorities with certainty, making their operations more efficient and effective. Thank you for all your efforts and your excellent results. We'd also like to express my appreciation to ranking member delauro and ranking member espaillat for their partnership and commitment to moving these bills. Today, I am pleased to introduce the fiscal year 2027 legislative branch appropriations bill for the committee's consideration.
▶ 6:58:21I'd like to remind our members that this bill marks another step of many towards providing a final fiscal year 2027 funding for the offices and agencies within the legislative branch of our government. As we work within our allocation, we did our best to respond to the priorities of the members and executing their constitutional duties while supporting the operations of congress, the capital complex and the people who serve it. This bill provides $5.4 billion for house and joint items.
▶ 6:58:49In keeping with the long standing tradition, we leave the senate items for the other bodies consideration. I want to take a moment to note a few priorities for members on both sides of the aisle. First, we maintain the new member security program, increased funding for the us capitol police, and fully fund the request for the office of legislative counsel.
▶ 6:59:08Increased funding for the green and gold congressional aid program and the members representative allowances to allow for the rising costs across the nation and to assist with the workforce retention and institutional knowledge. This bill also supports the additional. The addition of new primary services for female members of congress through the capital, through the office of attending physician.
▶ 6:59:30It continues an ongoing investment for critical renovation of the rayburn house office building and provides for the employees and programs of the library of congress and the essential services they provide to congress. I'd like to thank all members for their requests, especially our subcommittee members, for their contributions and engagement in the subcommittee staff. These efforts have resulted in a fiscal year 2027 legislative branch bill.
▶ 6:59:52I look forward to continuing the work together in the days ahead as we move the bill through the legislative process, both here in the house and in the final negotiations with the senate. Thank you. I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. I would now like to recognize ranking member espaillat for remarks on the bill. Thank you. Chairman. Ranking member delauro. I also want to thank chairman valadao.
▶ 7:00:21The staff on both sides of the aisle. Faye cobb, laurie, uh, and april lyman, as well as nia thomas from my my D.C. office. Let me also take the opportunity, the moment again, to recognize my dear colleague and friend, steny hoyer. Steny, as I mentioned during our subcommittee meeting, steny, thank you for your service to our nation and this subcommittee, for your leadership in this institution, for your friendship within the caucus.
▶ 7:00:51It has been an honor to serve alongside of you, Mr. chairman, the interim allocation for the legislative branch is $7.3 billion. Yet this bill, excluding senate items, provides just $5.4 billion below last year's level and far below the request.
▶ 7:01:10Yes, there are modest increases to the library of congress capitol police, but they do not outweigh what the bill takes away. This bill cuts the government accountability office by 25% and includes a partizan rider that weakens its ability to hold the executive branch accountable.
▶ 7:01:36The key word in the gao is accountability. This means that over a thousand public servants who lose their jobs as well. This is not budgeting. It is giving away our oversight authority. My friends. On the other side, on the other side of the aisle, constantly talk about balancing our budget by finding ways for fraud and abuse.
▶ 7:02:01Yet they support a bill that would fire the very same people. The employers that identified this bill also includes a writer that will prevent the gao from enforcing the impoundment act in court, which effectively kneecaps congress power of the purse. All of these changes couldn't come at a worse time, as the executive branch continues to undermine gao watchdog powers and refuses to use the funds as congress intended.
▶ 7:02:31Gao returns $62.7 billion to taxpayers last year, cutting it is not fiscal responsibility. It's turning our backs on oversight, and this bill falls short when it comes to the long term needs of this institution. Yes, it includes 21 million in savings for the new rayburn building. But let's be honest, replacing that facility will require billions of dollars. This is not a plan.
▶ 7:03:01It is not even a down payment. It is a placeholder that does not begin to meet the scale of the challenge. More broadly, this these funding levels fail to meet infrastructure needs of the legislative branch. We are undercutting. Critical architect of the capital projects needed to address the deterioration of house office buildings and the capitol campus.
▶ 7:03:26Delaying these investments would only drive up costs and further jeopardize the safety and functional ability of the capitol complex. This bill also blocks daca recipients from working here, limiting opportunities and excluding talented young public servants from this institution. This is despite the bipartisan support this measure has received in the past. Bottom line this bill weakens congress.
▶ 7:03:56It weakens oversight, limits opportunity and under-invest in this institution. I cannot support it, and I urge my colleagues to bring back a bill to strengthen congress and protect accountability. Uh, Mr. chairman, I also hope that no further, uh, cuts are levied against other entity as a result of our strong and steadfast position and support for the gao and its full
▶ 7:04:28Funding opportunities, I, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. I now recognize myself for remarks on the bill. Uh, thank you, chairman valadao, and thank you, ranking member espaillat.
▶ 7:04:41Certainly, my friend ranking member delauro and all the members of the committee, as we move on to our second full committee measure of the day, we're easily reminded of the work before us simply by being in this room, the portraits that surround us on these walls remind us of the history that belongs to an institution, which is foundational to our republic. Because no matter how the nation changes, our core focus remains the same serving the american people.
▶ 7:05:07The fy 27 legislative branch bill before us ensures that the house and congress has the capabilities, capacity and central support to deliver on our constitutional duties. It provides resources for oversight and accountability work, enhances investments that support operations and services for our constituents, and sustains key institutions like the library of congress.
▶ 7:05:32The message makes clear that every dollar must be justified, or the measure, excuse me, makes clear that every dollar must be justified. We rein in unnecessary spending, redirect resources to core functions, and hold programs and contracts to a higher standard. That's what responsible governance looks like. Additionally, it reinforces the protected capital complex.
▶ 7:05:56It supports the safety of constituents, staff and members, both in our nation's capital and during in district proceedings. All these objectives are met while also upholding fiscal discipline and incentivizing debt and deficit reduction, streamlined efficiency and elimination of unnecessary spending.
▶ 7:06:18Fundamentally, this legislation is about stewardship, ensuring that the congress serves the nation, is responsive to its citizen and invest taxpayer dollars responsibly. Chairman valadao has ensured the people's house can uphold the trust placed in it through responsible governance and effective oversight. I thank chairman valadao, ranking member espaillat and the dedicated staff on both sides of their work.
▶ 7:06:41I look forward to having our seventh bill advance out of committee as we continue advancing regular order in our fy 25 work. Uh. With that, I yield back. I now recognize my good friend, the ranking member of the full committee gentlelady from connecticut, miss laura, for her opening remarks. >> thank you, Mr. chairman, and I thank chairman and ranking member espaillat.
▶ 7:07:06I also want to say a thank you to fe cobb from the senate minority side and her counterparts on the majority, laurie rowley and april lyman. Uh, I want to. Thank them as well for their work.
▶ 7:07:36Uh, I rise in opposition to the bill before us today. Uh, the bill guts funding for the government accountability office or gao, which makes it easier for the trump administration to withhold funding that congress approves forfeiting our power of the purse. I refer my colleagues to take a look at the dais here in front of the chairman. It says, no money shall be drawn from the treasury. But in consequence of appropriations made by law. Read it, internalize it, understand what it means for this committee. Gao is what dose pretended to be a force for efficiency within the federal government.
▶ 7:08:03In reality, those was a cynical effort by a group of billionaires to use the language of good government to advance their own agenda. Gao, on the other hand, is the real deal. They are an independent agency, not beholden to one interest or another. They meticulously comb through government data to audit spending, identify savings and then publish their findings for all to see. They actually do root out waste, fraud and abuse.
▶ 7:08:32Supporting gao is one of the best investments that we can make. In fiscal year 2026 alone, they generated nearly $63 billion in savings, with a budget of less than $1 billion. What an incredible return. But this bill proposes slashing their budget by 25% $200 million.
▶ 7:08:53This dramatic cut would force gao to lay off more than 1000 employees, substantially weakening their ability to carry out their mission. Think about that. That is 1000 fewer people working day in and day out to identify places where the government can save money. Any savings from cuts to their budget will be vastly outweighed by the cost of continued waste. I share my republican colleagues concern over government efficiency.
▶ 7:09:22I am strongly in favor of making sure the american people are getting the most for their money, but it does not make any sense to slash funding for the agency dedicated to that very mission, especially when the agency generates so much more in savings than it costs to operate. This bill also includes a provision that would make it easier for the trump administration to withhold the funds that congress approves.
▶ 7:09:53It would prevent gao from bringing civil actions against government employees who violate the impoundment and control act. Unless congress specifically signs off on each case first, gao has the authority to bring these actions because congress granted it to them in the first place. In fact, it did so in the 1974 impoundment and control act itself.
▶ 7:10:22This new restriction uses inefficiency as a weapon to hamstring the agency working to make government more efficient. This provision would make it easier for the white house to unilaterally withhold funding for programs that the congress has approved, funding that we agree to hear on a bipartisan basis after rigorous negotiations, this
▶ 7:10:54Administration has shown that they are willing to do this time and again. They illegally withheld $5 billion in foreign aid funding. They froze $7 billion in education funding, and they blocked $8 billion in funding for energy projects across more than 130 congressional districts. Taking together, the effect is to weaken our power of the purse.
▶ 7:11:21That is bad for this institution as a whole, not just for one party or the other. I would just say that we take great pride in being a member of the appropriations committee. You've heard me say over and over again, it is the heart and soul of our government. It says that we cannot move forward on spending without the approval of democrats and republicans, the house and the senate.
▶ 7:11:49Why would we think about giving up that power to any administration, any administration, democrat or republican? It is the reason why we hold this committee in the highest esteem.
▶ 7:12:09Let us not relinquish, not relinquish the power of the purse to any administration, to any government. Let's hold it as sacred to move forward and to make sure that the money that we appropriate goes to the people that we believe are deserving of those funds.
▶ 7:12:35Lastly, this bill also fails to allow american residents who are brought to this country as young children to work in the legislative branch. Daca recipients, dreamers are american in every way that matters. They were raised here. Many serve in our armed forces, failing to allow dreamers to serve their country in the legislative branch is an injustice to them and a disservice to us.
▶ 7:12:57We deprive ourselves of the talent, intelligence and commitment that they could bring to this institution, and we deny them a fair opportunity to serve the only country they have ever called home. While I am opposed to the legislative branch in its current form, when we consider the milk on va bill last month in committee, we saw that it is possible to improve a bill during markup. Lets branch is not far from getting bipartisan support.
▶ 7:13:26Today we will consider amendments on the gao and on daca. I hope the majority can work with us to make improvements so that we can report out another bipartisan bill. Thank you, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for remarks. And the gentleman from michigan, Mr. molinari, is recognized for remarks on the bill. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of the fy 27 legislative branch appropriations bill.
▶ 7:13:55This bill provides the united states capitol police with a much needed funding increase, ensuring they have the resources and tools necessary to protect our nation's capital. The bill also strengthens house wide cyber security.
▶ 7:14:10Congress handles sensitive information every day, and foreign adversaries like the chinese communist party are actively looking for ways to compromise government systems and gain access to internal communications. The select committee on china was recently targeted by a failed intelligence operation. In this way, security investments helped protect the capitol from cyber threats and ensure that the legislative process can continue without interruption.
▶ 7:14:42This legislation also supports the core operations of the house, while providing direction on emerging issues like artificial intelligence and threats from the ccp. Thank you, chairman valadao, for your leadership on this legislation, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it. With that, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. Gentleman from maryland Mr. hoyer is recognized to address for remarks on the bill. >> thank you very much, Mr.
▶ 7:15:09Chairman, and thank chairman valadao for his work on this bill. And certainly the ranking member, my dear friend, uh, and the ranking member of the subcommittee, when I look at this bill alongside all the others we've considered, Mr. chairman. There's one theme that I think connects them all. They are all sounding retreat from our constitutional responsibilities.
▶ 7:15:35Very frankly, I think this bill is deeply underfunded given the responsibilities we have. I think the mras are not sufficient. I think the committee staff is not sufficient. I'll speak about that. To oversee a bureaucracy of 2 million people. Uh, the majority, in my opinion, in so many instances, wants to take the cops off the beat. No oversight, no accountability.
▶ 7:16:07Uh, in many cases, no hearings. Now, I want to congratulate Mr. valadao because I think we had more hearings than anybody else. Mr. chairman, thank you for that. Uh. This bill, as I said, raises the mri accounts to pay our staff a little more. Certainly not as much as they deserve. The bill does not provide for increases in pay for leadership, staff and committee staff. Why is that important?
▶ 7:16:35Because it is leadership staff and committee staff that really has the intellectual heft and the time in grade to give us the opportunity to have real, significant, effective oversight. No cops on the beat. It's not just this bill, of course. We marked up the fsgg bill in april, gutting irs enforcement and reducing funding for election security.
▶ 7:17:06We say we want to have people operating effectively, but if you have no hearings and you have staff that is not experienced and effective, you're not going to have oversight. Cutting 5% from the office of government ethics. While it remains dangerously headless, no leader, uh, frankly, cutting all of these.
▶ 7:17:36And the president, when he came to office talking about waste, fraud and abuse, the first thing he did was fire all the ig's. Who are not political. Uh, and he and this bill hamstrings the ftc and the sec. No cops on the beat. Last week, we had a bill which handcuffs on leading scientists from being able to help solve critical problems. And.
▶ 7:18:06But for in my opinion, chairman rogers, it would have been deeper. And I thank him for doing that. And this morning we marked up an energy and water bill that cuts 252 million or 12% from the program that helps prevent rogue states like iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. No cops on the beat. This applies not only to the content of these bills, but to the character of our process.
▶ 7:18:39Very few hearings, hear me, very few hearings. I'm not sure what we're basing our opinion on, uh, with all these subcommittees, but it is not hearings. Very few hearings, not a single hearing in fsg since the markup and only one hearing two hearings before that.
▶ 7:19:02And the general sense they will really just be placeholders these bills until we inevitably fail and have to take up a cr shamefully short of our responsibility. No cops on the beat. If we abdicate our responsibility as a co-equal branch of government, we will no longer be one.
▶ 7:19:24Or, to put it another way, as I've said now, at least three times, we are continuing to be the authors of our own impotence. Trust in congress as an institution is already very low. Our constitutional framers are mourning the death of article one. They knew the danger of an overly powerful executive, and a weak legislature was possibly one of their greatest fears.
▶ 7:19:55When benjamin franklin famously said, as he walked out of the constitutional convention, people asked him, what have you created? He said, a republic. But then we all know. He added, if you can keep it and the only way you can keep it is through being vigorous in oversight as people's representative, that means us. It's our job.
▶ 7:20:15Sadly, I feel, though we are engaged in both misfeasance and malfeasance as an institution, if we do not assert congress's equal power or constitutional system, our constitutional system, so critical to the check of abuse of power, which our founders so feared, it will be destroyed, and tyranny and corruption will be its progeny,
▶ 7:20:46I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the gentleman from georgia, Mr. bishop, is recognized for comments on the bill. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I'd like to start by saying thank you to the leaders of the committee and the subcommittee, as well as the staff, for your hard work on this legislation. I'm happy to see some of the improvements that have been made to the fy 27 legislative branch bill compared to last year's markup.
▶ 7:21:14The fy 27 bill includes a modest increase to the member's representational allowance, helping to ensure that member offices have the resources necessary to hire and retain talented staff. It also provides modest increases to the united states capitol police as they work to keep the capitol complex safe and secure, as well as the library of congress.
▶ 7:21:39Unfortunately, the good provisions included in the bill do not outweigh the negatives, so I'll not be able to support it in its current form, the us constitution vests in congress, all legislative powers and its authors intended for us to be a co-equal branch of government. Not a rubber stamp, not an advisory body.
▶ 7:22:05The bill before us today makes a total top line cut of 2%, or $125 million, to house operations under the legislative branch. But most notably, it would cut $200 million, or 25%, from the government accountability office, which reports to congress on how we can combat waste, fraud and abuse and make the federal government as efficient as possible.
▶ 7:22:34President trump and his allies in congress have claimed great interest in rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in government programs, but this fails to adequately fund congress's main tool that was created to do just that.
▶ 7:22:49Over the course of president trump's second term, the gao has pushed back on his administration's policies several times, including finding that the trump administration broke the law by withholding funds approved by congress and detailing how the administration's attempts to dismantle the department of education's office of civil rights wasted up to $38 million.
▶ 7:23:17This huge cut to gao does not appear to be made in the interest of efficiency or fiscal conservatism. This is a political cover meant to appease the president, who has consistently flouted the law and been rightfully called out for it by the experts, including the gao.
▶ 7:23:38With costs rising and the mass federal workforce layoffs that have taken place over the last two years, I can't think of a worse time to undercut congress's ability to fact find. We need a robust, nonpartisan gao that has the staff and the resources needed to tackle the issues that americans care about most.
▶ 7:24:04Gao conducts investigative studies and audits that ultimately affect our constituents quality of life. It orders the food and drug administration's inspections of foreign drug manufacturers to help ensure our medicines are safe.
▶ 7:24:17It conducts statistical analyzes of our wastewater systems to help identify lead contamination in our drinking water, and it audits our backlogs and customer service performance issues that frustrate our constituents and spend taxpayer dollars on lawfully and or imprudently.
▶ 7:24:41Gao has saved taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars by rooting out waste and fraud over the past decade, eliminating 25% of its funding will result in layoffs of over 1000 gao employees, and it risks reversing much of the progress that congress has made in rooting out government waste.
▶ 7:25:06While I cannot support the bill in its current form as written, I look forward to a robust discussion on how we can improve the legislation and work to ensure that the house of representatives and its supporting agencies have the resources needed to effectively serve the american people. With that, I yield back my 28 seconds. >> I thank the gentleman for the 28 seconds. Uh, gentlelady from florida, Ms.
▶ 7:25:35Wasserman schultz, is recognized for her remarks. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. So I'll I'll admit that not all our markups will be as unanimous as the milken va bill was, but I did hold out similar hope for our alleged branch bill this year. When I first came to the appropriations committee, the legislative branch subcommittee was not only my first assignment, but it was where I first served as a cardinal.
▶ 7:26:04And that's where I learned that the legislative branch budget is a critical component of what we do in this committee. And Mr. amadeus shaking his head, because you really get to know how important our inner workings of this operation, which is massive, um, really how critical it is that we have the levers and the underpinnings to be able to run this place in an independent way.
▶ 7:26:30This is a bill that not only allows us to serve our constituents, but it allows us to truly be a co-equal branch of government, as the founders intended. Congress cannot be a check on the executive branch if we're not able to hire, train and retain staff, or if we cut the support services that all members rely on to do our job effectively. Unfortunately, while this bill takes several small steps forward, it takes a giant step back with the unfathomable cuts to the government accountability office.
▶ 7:26:59And what's most enraging about the situation is that we all watch this play out this year. This just this past year. It's like groundhog day all over again. The committee passed a bill that attempted to gut gao and house democrats in the senate said no. But now here we are some six months later with the same self-destructive nonsense.
▶ 7:27:20The gao is a nonpartisan, independent agency within the legislative branch that performs auditing, evaluations and investigations, which is a critical component of our oversight abilities. It's a tool for encouraging good, responsible government. That's why, during the biden administration, republicans relied on gao to conduct their own oversight activities. And it's why now, today, we rely on it to conduct oversight of the trump administration.
▶ 7:27:45I remember when I was leading the committee, and we had to, um, and and Mr. aderholt may remember this also, you know, when we were trying to finish the cvc and it was way over budget and it was unbelievably late. And the architect of the capitol was a total mess. And he got fired.
▶ 7:28:04And I mean, the way that we were able to get the assistance and the expertise we needed was by assigning gao in the ledge branch bill, a quarterly responsibility to do oversight. And actually month, excuse me, a monthly responsibility to report to the committee so that we could bring it in for a landing more effectively, more soon.
▶ 7:28:28And also, um, for less cost overruns than we were already explosively experiencing. So let's be real for a minute. What's in this bill is not an honest effort to find ways to rightsize government. This is an ask from the trump administration to republicans in congress to try and fire the cops on the beat so that this white house that's just rife with ethics problems and bad management can continue their lawless behavior totally unchecked. One of the teams is clearly more eager to cheat than ever.
▶ 7:28:57And your answer in this bill is to fire the umpires. And the taxpayer value here is undeniable. For fiscal year 2024, gao recovered $76 for every dollar we invested in them since 2002. Gao recovered $1.45 trillion trillion with a t in taxpayer savings. In elon's wildest grok fever dreams, they could not reach such legitimate savings. Yet somehow in this bill gao funding gets slashed.
▶ 7:29:27Now we all work for the american people and this institution was set up to serve them. It was not set up to serve the executive branch or the president or whoever he or she may be. It was not set up to serve us as individuals or to do the political, dirty work of an administration that is showing utterly no respect for the legislative branch at all. We have an administration who holds congress in utter contempt from top to bottom. We have cabinet secretaries who'd rather go on taxpayer funded bucket list vacations than come and answer questions in front of congress.
▶ 7:29:56And we have to withhold percentages of their budgets to to force them to come testify in front of us. We have white house staff who openly bully members of congress when trump is not getting his way, and a president who said he was the actual speaker of the house. I'm not exaggerating. This is simply insane. Republicans are handing the keys to congress to an imperial president drunk on abusing his power. Congress is not a suggested partner.
▶ 7:30:22The constitution mandates that we're a co-equal branch of government to cede our power away like this is just plain wrong, and it is a dangerous precedent to set. Alternatively, though, I was relieved so I can say something good because I have a special place in my heart for this bill to see that the congressional research service funding was given the boost that they needed, given their increased workload and specific needs.
▶ 7:30:43Crs is an incredible resource for us in our staff, and I think if members truly understood the role they play in congress's everyday functions, we could not have seen years of level funding that resulted in real terms cuts in their operations. And I'm also happy to see support services like the hardworking united states capitol police, the library of congress, the architect of the capitol, and house staff are receiving increases to allow these talented women and men to continue to support and protect us.
▶ 7:31:08The congressional research service, the library of congress and its subagencies and the gao all allow congress to be independent and fill the knowledge gaps that we have when we're dealing with complex issues. So while some in congress are fine to let the administration get away with governing unchecked and on the back of a napkin, it's stunning to see so many republicans willing to block nonpartisan experts from conducting oversight on behalf of congress and abandon the jobs our constituents elected us to do.
▶ 7:31:33There are several members on the other side of the aisle who I had the privilege of co-leading this bill with for many years, and we did that arm in arm and made sure that we had the independence we needed and the expert expertise well funded, so we could do our jobs. And that's what we should be doing in this bill. But we're not. Deep down, I know most of you agree with me whether or not you vote the way you truly feel. I urge all of my colleagues to vote no. Or better yet, let's put pull this bill and figure out a better path forward. Thank you.
▶ 7:32:02I yield back the balance of my time. I'm sorry for going over. >> thank you gentlemen. All right. Thank the gentlelady. Are there other members wishing to make general comments about the bill? Seeing none. I would like to recognize chairman valadao to offer a manager's amendment. >> I ask unanimous consent that the reading be dispensed with. >> without objection, the reading is dispensed with and the gentleman is recognized to explain the manager's amendment.
▶ 7:32:31>> matters amendment contains technical edits to the bill and adds a general provision ensuring that appropriators have a seat at the table when selecting legislative branch agency heads. It also adds report language that has been agreed to in a bipartisan manner. I urge a yes vote on the amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the ranking member. Mr. recognized to comment on the matter. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I do not object to the chairman's amendment. If further advances.
▶ 7:32:56House initiatives by supporting staff recruitment and retention, access to child care and strengthening our workplace rights. Thank you, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the gentleman from hawaii, Mr. case, is recognized to comment on the manager's amendment. Thank you, Mr. chair. >> I rise on this manager's amendment, not in opposition to it, but to register a reservation as to one section of it.
▶ 7:33:24And it's not a reservation as to content, but a reservation as to omission and really lost opportunity. I refer to title one general provisions appointment of the library of congress and director of the government publishing office.
▶ 7:33:37It may come as news to members that congress's own institutions, its critical institutions by which we do our job, including a check and balance, including oversight, including acting as a separate and independent branch of government that our institutions, including the government printing office, the library of congress and yes, the government accountability office, are actually not ours exclusively to appoint and to
▶ 7:34:08Remove. In fact, the president has a role in these under law today. It's a very mixed and convoluted situation. But the bottom line is the president has a say, has a role, and as we all know, has shown this president has shown no qualms about exercising that role. And we will talk at length about the government accountability office. That discussion tonight is not finished.
▶ 7:34:31Um, I am very happy that this language does, in fact, clarify that with the government printing office and the library of congress, that role now is congress's exclusively. And so this is a substantive change in the appointment and the removal process that is welcome.
▶ 7:34:48The lost opportunity is with the comptroller general, who is the head of the government accountability office, and it may come as a great surprise to members, um, that actually, uh, for our own institutions body that helps us with our oversight, that helps us with our constitutional duties, that in fact, we only recommend who our comptroller general, our comptroller general is, uh, the
▶ 7:35:19President gets to make that appointment, and that's not correct. And that's not correct. And it shouldn't be. I have a bill in with other members of this congress. Uh, h.r. 6517, the legislative branch independence act, which essentially says for all three of these critical agencies that it's up to congress to both appoint and to remove, and it's up to congress in particular to
▶ 7:35:50Appoint an exclusive congressional action. Our comptroller. Excuse me. Yes, our comptroller general. And so, um, I think it's unfortunate that although this bill does move in the right direction, it doesn't finish the job, which was actually the most important oversight agency in congress.
▶ 7:36:12And so, yes, I support this manager's amendment, but I really hope that somewhere along the way, uh, whether it's this bill or other bills that we will close that loop and we will have far more debate when we get to Mr. espaillat's amendment as to actually what this bill does to the gao. But I do want I do want to I do want to note this complementary parallel action as we go through this process at this point. With that, I yield back. Thank you.
▶ 7:36:42>> I thank the gentleman, the gentleman from maryland, Mr. hoyer's, recognized for remarks on the manager's amendment. >> thank you. I just want to strongly associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman from hawaii, Mr. case. And this is a perfect example where congress can in fact. And we are in this amendment, taking back some of the authority that we let go ourselves. Uh, and I think this is absolutely the right thing to do. And I congratulate Mr. valadao for having it in the bill.
▶ 7:37:13>> thank the gentleman. Gentlelady from illinois, Mr. underwood, is recognized for remarks on the manager's amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of the manager's amendment, which includes my amendment to add report language directing the office of congressional workplace rights to make recommendations to improve our systems to prevent and respond to workplace misconduct.
▶ 7:37:34It is crystal clear to me, and I hope to everyone in this room that we have a lot of work to do to address the serious and pervasive problem of sexual misconduct in congress. It is rampant. It transcends party lines, and it is unacceptable.
▶ 7:37:52The democratic women's caucus and the republican women's caucus have launched a partnership to address this bipartisan issue, an important first step that has come up in those conversations is the need for the o. C w to revamp its congressional workplace climate survey. If you read the results of the latest survey, you might get the impression that everything is going great.
▶ 7:38:16Unfortunately, we know that this rosy picture is not accurate, so it is clear that this survey is failing to capture relevant, urgently needed information about the root causes of the problem and the gaps in our existing accountability systems. I am eager to hear how osh plans to increase the survey's response rate, which is only 10%, and means that we're missing the experiences and insights of the vast majority of our staff.
▶ 7:38:41I also strongly encourage oce to update and add questions, solicit staff suggestions for improving reporting structures, and incorporate feedback from relevant stakeholders such as staff associations and survivor support groups. It is our duty as members to ensure that staffers and interns and all members of our community feel safe and respected in their workplace. These are the people who make congress function.
▶ 7:39:12They come here to serve our country and they deserve to be treated better than this. It's also a democracy issue because the american people need to know that they can trust us to represent them with integrity, transparency, and accountability. Confronting the full extent of the problem is critical to that mission. Improving the workplace climate survey will help us do that. So I support the manager's amendment, and I look forward to continuing to work on this with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I also want to thank my colleague Mr.
▶ 7:39:42Iv, who also worked on this report language, and I commend the democratic women's caucus for its leadership on this issue. I urge my colleagues to vote yes, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady. Do any other members seek recognition to speak on the manager's amendment? Uh, gentlelady from washington is recognized. >> thank you, Mr. chair. I rise to speak in favor of the manager's amendment and discuss a quote. One of our core constitutional duties as members of congress, which is hearing from and responding to our constituents.
▶ 7:40:12Um, to do so, we all use, uh, correspondence management systems or a cms, um, house offices have the option to contract with the selection of vendors at their own discretion. And the house authorizes cms vendors according to standards approved by the committee on house administration. Um, when americans write or call our office, it gets logged. And these cms services and they help us send replies and they work pretty well. Most of the time.
▶ 7:40:42The issues, they are really expensive. Are you guys aware of how much we are all spending on our cms services? It's like $25,000 each. You add that up across all of our house offices. We're talking about $11 million a year annually that we're just throwing. I mean, we could we could develop this. So, um, and this is, this is to just fulfill our constitutional duties of office. Um, this is a state capacity issue.
▶ 7:41:08We should be able to utilize a house run service to communicate with our constituents, not be forced to pay private companies to fulfill our constitutionally obligated duties. I'm glad to see this work supports the work of the cows doing on cms innovation project, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue supporting and moving this work forward. Thank you. Yield back. >> thank the gentlelady, the gentleman from maryland, Mr. ives, recognized for comments on the manager's.
▶ 7:41:39>> thank you, Mr. chairman, and I'd like to thank, um, the chair and the ranking for the full committee and the subcommittee with respect to the language that miss underwood just spoke about, the workplace rights and resources language, I just wanted to say that, um, the genesis of this issue for me came a couple of weeks ago.
▶ 7:42:00Uh, I was invited to speak to a group of young staffers, interns and, and staffers who just come to the hill and they like to invite me because I had been a staffer, um, back in the 1980s here on the house side as well. And as I came into the room prepared to talk about my career and the things that I'd done. And, you know, the standard thing that you do in those kinds of meetings, however, heard two of the staffers talking about Mr.
▶ 7:42:31Swalwell. And, um, they were talking about the accusations that were against him at that time. He had just resigned from congress. Um, and so I came in and sat down, and this was a young group of people, early to mid 20s or so, um, maybe late 20s. Um, and so I came in, it's also the same week that Mr.
▶ 7:42:55Gonzalez had resigned from wellf you'll recall, Mr. gonzalez was accused of growing by the day. And they seem to be falling into the criminal category, not just sexual harassment, but actual sexual assault.
▶ 7:43:18And so I asked the group if they knew about these two cases, and they said absolutely to a person in the room, and they were clearly shaken by what had happened. And so the next thing I asked him was, how many of you know, well, what would you do if you were sexually harassed in your office? And there was this long silence. They didn't know what to do, what to say, who to turn to.
▶ 7:43:46And I said, well, do you know that there are resources that are available right here in the congress and the house of representatives to people? You can go to them and they can help you out with these, with information about how to move forward. And a couple of them knew there were probably about 50 people in the room. Only about a handful of them knew, and they tried to tell each other what that was. And then some of them asked me what was available. I'm on the ethics committee.
▶ 7:44:13I've been here in congress for three years now, and as I just told you, I started serving here in 1987, served on the senate side. I saw the whole evolution of this. We had no rights as staff back in 1987. A whole panoply of rights has grown up around that now, and we've put in place a staff of lawyers, social workers and the like who can provide assistance to these mainly young women when they find themselves in these situations. And the thing to remember about many of them is they're not from dc.
▶ 7:44:43Many of them are not from families where, you know, mom's a lawyer or dad's a power broker or something like that. For many of these kids, this is the most exciting thing that's happened in their family. And then this pops up. Now, it's not easy for women in that situation, even when they're older, even when they're further in their professional careers, even when they're more established.
▶ 7:45:07I've seen careers train wrecked by this kind of issue, even for women in their 40s. We've got to make sure that we take every step possible to fix this issue. And you heard miss underwood talking about what this report will will help to disclose, but I can tell you what the report's going to disclose right now, and we all know it. Now, here's the challenge, and I'll speak to the men in the room for a second.
▶ 7:45:37We know that these issues exist, but we don't necessarily know the full depth of it. I knew eric swalwell we served on the judiciary committee together. I saw him almost every day. I had no idea he was engaging in this kind of stuff. And another guy that came up when I was talking to this group was justin fairfax, the lieutenant governor of virginia, former lieutenant governor, who, um, one day went home, pulled the gun out, killed his wife, and then killed himself.
▶ 7:46:06I knew him, I knew eric, I knew tony, I knew all these others. Many others that we've seen have faced these allegations. Many have been forced out. I've seen people go to jail over this kind of thing. We can't pretend like everything's fine, and we don't need to take additional steps to make sure that when these young women come here, they're safe and protected. They know their options and the options. I'll stop with this.
▶ 7:46:36Don't just include going to the ethics committee. They might include going to the metropolitan police department. And when I was a prosecutor, helping women think through all of those implications and how that might play out, I wanted them to know at the front end that if they decided to move down that track, they were going to be tough pieces that came with that tough times that could result from it. They have a right to know, so they have a right to know the rights that they have, the services we can provide and the impact it can have on their lives.
▶ 7:47:06So let's do the study, but let's not waste time. Let's not wait 180 days before we start moving on this and try and fix it. So I want to thank the chairs and the ranking members for putting this language in. I want to thank miss underwood for working to help this get done, but let's make this happen. This is clearly bipartisan. This happens to women, whether they're democrats or republicans or independents or whatever. Let's fix this. And with that, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman.
▶ 7:47:35Are there other members wishing to make remarks about the manager's amendment? Gentlelady from ohio is recognized. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I just have a question to ask of those who offer this, and I support this. But does this include the service personnel that work in this building? Uh, those that clean the rooms, those that, um, are involved in, uh, serving all of us. >> to be honest, I'm not sure I did want to.
▶ 7:48:04You're making me jump to another provision. I do have a provision where we would extend the contract authority. This is an amendment down the road, so I won't say much about it, but those kind of protections should be included in the collective bargaining agreement. That would be. >> I think. >> that should be. >> extended for being open to considering that, because I have actually had individuals come to my office asking for us to pay attention to this. >> I thank the lady and I agree completely. Thank you. And I yield back.
▶ 7:48:34>> are there any other members wishing to make comments on the manager's amendment? Seeing none, chairman valadao is recognized for one minute. To close. >> I ask for an item. >> I ask for an I vote. >> question is on the amendment. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. The chair the ayes have it and the amendment is adopted. Uh, the gentleman from new york, Mr. is recognized for the purpose of an amendment. Yes.
▶ 7:49:09>> no. On second 11. 11. Okay. Thank you, Mr. chairman and ranking member. Um, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous consent to dispense the reading of the amendment. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman is recognized for remarks on his amendment.
▶ 7:49:41>> Mr. chairman, this amendment will provide $860 million for the government accountability office, an increase of $48.2 million above the fiscal year 2026 enacted level, and two $248.2 million about above the house mark. At a time where omb is asserting that g. A o.
▶ 7:50:05S views are not binding on the executive branch, congress should not weaken the very agency that exists to help us oversee the executive branch. Gao is congress independent watchdog. It helps identify waste, fraud and abuse and mismanagement across agencies, improper payments and the violation of the law.
▶ 7:50:33The recent omb guidance makes clear that the current administration intends to define internal control requirements for itself. That makes gao independent and its independence role even more important, not less important, but more important.
▶ 7:50:55If congress underfunds gao while omb is minimizing gao s authority, we are effectively reducing our ability, our own ability to conduct oversight. We are. Congress. Why are we not choosing. Why are we choosing to weaken our own power of the purse? Why are we going down this road?
▶ 7:51:20Weakening gao s weakens our ability to hold the executive branch accountable to ensure taxpayers dollars are spent as intended. The house mark will force gao to lay off over a thousand employees, gutting the very workforce that conducts audits, investigations, oversights on behalf of this body.
▶ 7:51:47Gao s work returned 62 point $7,000,000 billion in financial benefits in the fiscal year 2025. If the concern is fiscal responsibility, then cutting gao is exactly the wrong place to start, providing $860 million for the agency. That saves taxpayers tens of billions of dollars is not just responsible, it is essential to protecting taxpayer dollars.
▶ 7:52:18And let me be clear this amendment is offered without an offset because the overall allocation for the legislative branch bill is already far too constrained. Every agency funded in this bill is already operating under significant pressure, taking resources from another legislative branch bill will simply weaken congress somewhere else and further undermine the institution's ability to govern itself effectively.
▶ 7:52:47Congress should not be forced to cannibalize its own oversight and support agencies, and it should support agency just to preserve basic accountability. This amendment strengthens gao and preserves congress ability to hold the executive branch accountable. I encourage my colleagues to vote yes for this amendment. And again, Mr.
▶ 7:53:11Chairman, I hope that this is not followed by an amendment from the other side of the aisle that will further hurt other agencies that are right now constrained from conducting their business and and what they do on a daily basis for congress in an effective manner, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the gentleman from california, Mr. valadao, is recognized to respond to the amendment.
▶ 7:53:41>> thank you, Mr. chair. I rise in opposition to this amendment. Mr. chairman, this amendment provides for a large increase in funding for the gao and doesn't provide an offset, and would therefore increase the total funding level in this bill. I urge a no vote on this amendment and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. The gentleman from hawaii, Mr. case, is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chair. I rise in very strong support of the ranking members amendment.
▶ 7:54:07What a simple, uncontroversial bill this. Of all of our 12 bills should be. This should be a measure in which the leading institution in our country, if not our world, embraces our responsibility and gives ourselves, not somebody else, ourselves.
▶ 7:54:30All of the tools possible to assert our constitutional duty, and by doing so we would exert and expend minimal, minuscule, even funding compared to our federal government overall, and really compared to the weight and value of our obligations to spend this kind of money, to fulfill our constitutional obligations, that should be a no brainer.
▶ 7:54:57This bill should be about a proud, responsible, effective institution such as this that cannot exist solely on paper. We all know >> that we cannot do this job just with what's in our head. We need help. We need expertise, we need ability. But we have to have the full range of tools to do our job.
▶ 7:55:17And it's a critical job for our country, for us to fully assert ourselves as a separate and independent branch of government with full and competent and authoritative, authoritative, credible oversight of the executive branch and elsewhere. But unfortunately, assuredly, that is not what this bill is.
▶ 7:55:38And so let's talk about the government accountability office, one of our most important agencies within congress, founded in 1921, over 100 years old today. Not today, but a century old formed after world war one, because we were concerned about controlling government, government expenditures and debt in the wake of world war one. Does that sound familiar?
▶ 7:56:06Are we not worried about government expenditures and debt today? And of course, in the 70s, the congressional impoundment act, when we asked the gao. Oh my goodness. We asked the gao to actually study whether the executive branch was not spending the money that we appropriated. What a crime we committed. Then by asking the gao our own body to help us and to give it the tools possible to enforce our authority of the purse.
▶ 7:56:36That's what we did, and that's what the gao has been doing for over 100 years. You know, the gao as one example of what it does is it publishes and has for many years now a high risk series. These are areas and issues within our government that the gao considers to be high risk on a nonpartizan basis.
▶ 7:56:56This is not partizanship, and currently the gao has 38 high risk areas that it wants us to focus on and that it has the ability to focus on with expertise and with resources. Let's take a look at some of these high risk areas. At the highest level of their high risk areas are reducing billions in significant improper payments and fraud.
▶ 7:57:23Oh, I hear a lot about fraud and improper payments. So we can all talk about it. But you don't want, or at least some people don't want our own congress to be able to enter in to what we are going to do about that. I shouldn't even talk about this one. Closing large gaps in revenue owed to the government. That used to be something that we were all concerned about. But we know from the actions of the majority on the irs that they're actually not concerned about that. So let me skip over that one.
▶ 7:57:52Let's talk about better controlling cost growth and schedule delays in high dollar value procurements. The dod appropriations bill, which takes up half of our budget, is very much concerned about this now. But we're not going to give the gao the ability to be able to look at this for us, right sizing the government's property holdings could generate substantial savings.
▶ 7:58:15I hear all the time from the majority about how the federal government owns too much land and how we should sell some of it off. Well, the ceo wants to take a look at it, but you don't want to fund them to do that. Achieving greater financial management discipline at dod. I think we all care about that. I think we all care about that, but we don't want the g o to help us out with that at all. So you get the point.
▶ 7:58:43There's there's 35 other examples of this on the 38 list, but we don't want the g o to help us with those. You know what, at the end of the day, what a petty, defensive, obsequious, weak and destructive action it is to gut the gao, to throw a fit over our ability to question the president of the united states about whether he is correctly exerting his authority to spend
▶ 7:59:13Money already appropriated. I urge that we reverse this action along the way. This is not the way congress should be acting. I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. The gentlelady from pennsylvania is recognized for comments on the amendment. >> thank you. I thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in strong support of Mr. espaillat's amendment.
▶ 7:59:39Currently, the fy 27 ledge branch bill cuts $200 million from gao, a 25% reduction and eliminates over 1000 jobs. It includes a rider that prevents the gao from taking legal action against executive branch officials who unlawfully withhold funds from the american people. We fought to strip that rider last year, and it succeeded.
▶ 8:00:04And yet here it is again in fiscal year 2025 alone. Think of these numbers. Gao delivered $62.7 billion in financial benefits to the federal government the year before. It yielded $67.5 billion, a return of $76 for every dollar invested in it.
▶ 8:00:30Since 2002, gao work has achieved a $1.5 trillion benefit financial benefit for american taxpayers. $1.5 trillion folks, we're appropriators. These are good numbers. I've heard my republican colleagues talk endlessly about rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. The gao is the nonpartisan, independent agency that does just that. Yet here we are, cutting it by 200 million, tying its hands.
▶ 8:00:58But this goes way beyond dollars and cents. The gao is not just a savings mechanism, it's a constitutional one. Article one gives congress the power of the purse. It is the foundational check that the framers built into our system to ensure that no president could spend the people's money without the people's representatives authorizing it, without the people's representatives, us authorizing it.
▶ 8:01:27The provision that strips the gao of its ability to bring civil actions against the executive branch officials who defy the impoundment control act, makes the intent of this bill clear. This is not about fiscal restraint. This is about making sure that when the administration decides to withhold funds that congress has appropriated, there is no one left with the tools or the authority to stop them. We must stop that.
▶ 8:01:57Supporting this amendment says that congress is serious about its constitutional responsibility to oversee how taxpayer dollars are spent, especially at a moment when this administration has shown a willingness to impound funds and defy the law. Mr. chairman, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for comments. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment?
▶ 8:02:25Gentleman from maryland, Mr. hoyer. >> again, I'll shorten my speech by adopting the presentation of Mr. casey. I think Mr. case, both in his initial comments on gao and on his comments just made recently, states the case very, very clearly. And I can't see this being anything other than a cover up. What are we afraid of?
▶ 8:02:56The gao finding what they have found is an average $60 billion per year. That's the average savings. And you're talking about 200 million. And you're cutting, apparently. And Mr. valade, will you yield for a question? >> well, you don't have to know.
▶ 8:03:21>> well, I don't know whether anybody knows exactly how many employees that will be, but I've heard the figure 1000 to 1500. You're cutting a third, essentially of the budget. And what that will mean is let's just assume it's a dollar for dollar. But you're going to reduce the 60 billion by $20 billion, maybe as much as $30 billion.
▶ 8:03:47Now, you recall, I argued on irs, when you cut it's, uh, enforcement budget by hundreds by billions of dollars from 5 to 3, essentially, that that was going to undermine enforcement.
▶ 8:04:04And I told you, for every $1 we spend in enforcement, for taxpayers who have large incomes, you make approximately anywhere from 8 to $12. That didn't make any difference here. But ladies and gentlemen, if we're going to balance the budget and we're not going to balance the budget, but if we're at least going to start to reduce the debt, which I feel strongly is, is something that we ought to do.
▶ 8:04:35But very frankly, I think focusing on 14% of the budget is really not very productive. But none of us want to deal with the other 80% of the budget. So. The gentleman from hawaii is exactly right. Why would we do this? The gentleman from maryland, Mr. ives, is going to have another amendment because we try to not only reduce them substantially and make them impotent.
▶ 8:05:02I use that word because we are making ourselves useless. We're doing it to ourselves. And I don't know about the rest of you. I get awfully frustrated in this. There is no debate here. There's no give and take. There's no defense of the provision. Uh, you know, this doesn't meet our 302 b's. Well, we don't have 302 b's.
▶ 8:05:32We have half of 302 b's. So there's a lot of money left over and nobody knows where it's going. Mr. calvert raised his glass. He thinks he's going to get most of it. Correct. But. And of course, I guess the laughter is about those dollars don't count for the debt.
▶ 8:05:57Somehow they're free of financial burden. Mr. obi, who I referred to earlier, uh, was very concerned about, uh, our war in iraq. And it was most concerned was he said, if this is important to do, pay for it. Of course we didn't. And so we upped the debt.
▶ 8:06:23And our children and grandchildren are going to be paying for iraq, and my great grandchildren are going to be paying for the billion plus dollars we're spending every day in iran. The gao is designed to try to, at least as we're spending money, make sure we don't have waste, fraud and abuse.
▶ 8:06:45And you are rendering it in, unable to do the very job that you talk so much about. But it's not going to make any difference because logic and argument are not prevailing. And that is very frustrating. I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment?
▶ 8:07:13Seeing none, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. This really comes down to one simple question that's been stated by many of my colleagues here. Does congress still want the tools in their hands to hold the executive branch accountable?
▶ 8:07:36At a time in history when the executive branch attempts to be a runaway train? Can we have accountability? Can we ensure the balance of powers? Gao again uncovers waste, fraud, abuse, improper spending on behalf of the american people. That's what they do. And on behalf of our congress.
▶ 8:08:04And at a moment when this administration is trying to diminish gao s authority, this is exactly the wrong time to weaken it further. >> it just. >> saying we're kicking it while it's down, cutting more than a thousand professional jobs does not make a government more efficient. It makes government less accountable. Gao saves taxpayers tens of billions of dollars every year.
▶ 8:08:37Very few investments made by congress deliver that kind of return to the american people. Very few investment that we do give that kind of return. Congress should not weaken its own ability to conduct oversight and protect taxpayer dollars. I urge a yes vote on the amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentleman from new york. All those in favor say aye. >> aye. >> all those opposed say no.
▶ 8:09:08The chair the nos have it. Roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. Clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar, I Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. hamadeh. Mrs. bice, Mr. bishop, Mr. bishop I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I Mr. eskamani.
▶ 8:09:41Mr. eskamani. No. Mr. klein. No. Mr. klein. No. Mr. cloud. Mr. cloud. No. Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn I, Mr. clyde. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, Mr. cuellar I miss dean, miss dean, I miss. Delauro, miss. Delauro, I Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards. No. Mr. ellzey. Mr. ellzey. No. Miss.
▶ 8:10:13Escobar, miss. Escobar I Mr. espaillat I Mr. espaillat, I Mr. fleischmann, Mr. fleischmann, no. Miss. Frankel, Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest. Mr. harter, Mr. carter, I. Doctor. Harris. Mrs. henson, Mrs. henson. No. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer I Mr. iv, Mr. iv I Mr. joyce, Mr. joyce no.
▶ 8:10:46Miss kaptur marcy kaptur I Mr. lalota, miss lee, miss lee, I miss. Letlow, Mr. levin. Mr. levin, Mr. levin, I miss. Molloy, miss. Molloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming I. Mr. molinari, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr.
▶ 8:11:14Moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli I. Mr. van. Mr. van I, Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss. Perez, I miss. Pingry, miss pingry I Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. reschenthaler. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford. No. Mr.
▶ 8:11:43Shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres, I miss. Underwood. Underwood. I. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz. Mrs. watson. Coleman. Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink.
▶ 8:12:15No. >> are there any members wishing to vote or to change their vote? Gentleman from florida. No. >> Mr. diaz-balart, no. >> gentleman from new york. >> Mr. lalota, no. >> gentleman from alabama. >> Mr. aderholt, no. >> gentleman from mississippi. >> Mr. guest, no. >> gentleman from georgia. >> Mr. clyde, no. >> gentlelady from florida. >> miss wasserman schultz, I. >> gentlelady from oklahoma. >> Mrs. bice, no. >> gentleman from maryland. >> miss doctor harris, no.
▶ 8:12:48>> gentleman from idaho. >> Mr. simpson. No. >> oh I'm sorry. Gentlelady from florida. Because. >> miss frankel, a. >> gentleman from nevada. >> Mr. amodei. No. >> the food of the company must be really good. Hopefully both.
▶ 8:13:17Are there any other members wishing to vote or change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will tally. >> Mr. chairman reported. >> gentlelady vote is not before. It is. No. It is recorded. >> the court is.
▶ 8:14:12>> on this vote. The eyes of 27. The nose are 33. The amendment is not adopted. Gentlelady from connecticut. Mr. laws, recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> chair, I have an amendment. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment.
▶ 8:14:36>> I rise to offer this amendment because this administration has been demonstrating its, uh, its disdain for the american taxpayers since day one. The president, by his own admission, does not think about american's financial situation, but his administration clearly does.
▶ 8:14:56The president has appointed an acting attorney general, also his personal lawyer, who is stealing $1.8 billion out of the treasury and is preparing to shovel it directly into the pockets of the president's political allies. President claim president trump claimed that he would drain the swamp, but his handpicked cabinet is flooding it.
▶ 8:15:25The rank corruption of the $1.8 billion theft is overwhelming. But what is truly disgusting are the yes men across the street from the west wing at the office of management and budget that eagerly rubber stamp every single corrupt idea that comes from this administration.
▶ 8:15:46And what has this republican congress done to hold these omb sycophants to account, have showered them with $100 million on top of their annual budget, purportedly to find, and I quote, budgeting and accounting efficiencies while omb director vote has violated the law by hiding legally binding budget
▶ 8:16:17Decisions from this congress, from us and the taxpayer decisions we are entitled by law to see, he coordinated an illegal attempt to assist the secretary of agriculture in stealing snap benefits during last year's shutdown. Um and a direct effort to starve people that he took all the way to the supreme court to say no to food for people.
▶ 8:16:46Director vote has it every turn, sought to substitute his own judgment, spelled out in detail in his project 2025 manifesto for the judgment of president trump duly enacted appropriations laws, and those of us on this committee with his track record, is it surprising to anybody that omb director vote has had $100 million to find, and I quote, budgeting and account
▶ 8:17:16Efficiencies and quote and has not spent a single solitary cent of it doesn't surprise me. Today. We are considering a bill that would fund the gao at woefully inadequate levels, and agencies whose work to find budgeting and accounting efficiencies has yielded over $775 billion, three quarters of
▶ 8:17:47$1 trillion in financial benefits over the last 15 years, all to serve the american taxpayer. They have done the work, and the results are inarguable. With that in mind, who can use $100 million better over the next three years?
▶ 8:18:05A corrupt and politicized omb that has made itself an enabler of an administration's corrupt initiatives, or a nonpartisan government watchdog that has returned billions of benefits to the american taxpayer. The answer is clear, and my amendment would see to it that we do everything that we can today to stop overspending money we cannot afford.
▶ 8:18:32On the failed institution of omb, and instead send it to the comptroller general to continue gao service to the american congress and the american taxpayers. With that, Mr. chairman, I yield. >> thank the gentlelady, the gentleman from california, Mr. valdez, recognized to respond to the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chair. I rise in opposition to the amendment to the amendment. Mr.
▶ 8:19:01Chairman, while I appreciate the creative nature of this amendment introduced by the distinguished ranking member of the full committee, the office of management and budget is outside the jurisdiction of this bill under consideration today, so we do not have jurisdiction there. And I urge a no vote on this amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the gentleman from new york, Mr. sbi, is recognized to respond to the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in strong support of this amendment.
▶ 8:19:26For the past year, the administration has repeatedly ignored and undermined congress constitutional authority by withholding funds that congress already appropriated into law. And now, instead of defending the power of the purse, this bill proposes to weaken the very watchdog responsibility for helping congress hold the executive branch accountable. That makes absolutely no sense.
▶ 8:19:54If congress is willing to surrender its own oversight authority, then we will. We are voluntarily weaken this institution and empowering unchecked and an ill advised executive overreach. We should not be handing more flexibility and more power to political operatives at omb, while gutting the nonpartisan agencies tasked with protecting taxpayer dollars and exposing waste, fraud and abuse. Thank you. Mr. Mr.
▶ 8:20:23Chairman, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the gentlelady from minnesota, miss mike collins, recognized to respond to the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. You know, I heard about, you know, omb, um, not having jurisdiction while omb has had no problem stepping all over our jurisdiction. So I'm going to consider this, uh, this a transfer of funds that's going to be, uh, approved by congress. So let's be clear.
▶ 8:20:51The government accounting office is an important tool for congress. It's not our enemy. And I don't think anybody here thinks that that it is. It was created by congress. And as, um, the gentleman from hawaii pointed out, it's over 100 years old. It's 105 years old. And it's an independent watchdog for waste, fraud and abuse.
▶ 8:21:12Gao is our partner to help us ensure transparency and how funds are being spent, it offers recommendations to make our government more effective and efficient. And frankly, we don't have the personnel either in our personal office or in the committee office, to replicate the work that g. O does and its expertise. Now, I'm going to give you a couple examples.
▶ 8:21:35One is a report from 2023 is the indian health service under the biden administration? So it's criticizing the biden administration? Well, it's actually criticizing many administrations, but it does highlight how many facilities are in poor condition, the lack of data to evaluate aging medical equipment. And this report is not a partizan attack.
▶ 8:22:01This report is pointing out our obligations under trust and treaty responsibilities to the bureau of indian health. It's in here. It's a guide on what we can do better in the interior bill. It's not not partizan. Um and so if we follow this report we could actually save lives. We could cut funding. Um, you know, that provides us with facts based. We want to cut that. We don't want to have that available on how we can do a better job.
▶ 8:22:33Here's another example. The gao also issues important findings on whether laws that this committee has passed have been violated. And they help us define defend our power of the purse. Now, under the last trump administration, during the 35 day shutdown, we, um, we found that the interior department was keeping some of the national parks operations ongoing, uh, using park fees in the wrong way. Now, I thought that violated the antideficiency act.
▶ 8:23:02And, secretary bernhardt, I had a conversation, uh, and he disagreed with me. He said, I have a law degree. You don't. And I said, well, I still think you're not supposed to do that. Well, we found out that, in fact, it was a violation of statute. And the administration publicly disagreed with gao finding. But even if a administration disagrees with gao finding, as it did in the interior case, the g.
▶ 8:23:29The g o decision brought an important level of transparency forward. Now, to be clear and to be fair, I don't always agree with gao findings either. So here's my my next example. January gao issued a decision stating that the grand staircase escalante resource management plan was subject to the congressional review act.
▶ 8:23:56Now, despite how every prior administration had treated management plans, gao looked at the definition of the rule under the administrative procedure act and said that the resource management plan should be considered as a rule. Now, I personally thought this was a terrible precedent. I was disappointed and I wholeheartedly agreed with it, but I didn't think we should throw out gao just because of it.
▶ 8:24:19And lastly, I want to point out that gao works on accountability across long time lines longer than most of us share some of our subcommittees. When Mr. calvert chaired the interior committee and I was ranking member, he did an amazing thing. He held. He held hearings in 2016 on the necessary steps to wrap up the office of navajo, hopi, indian relocation. Remember, we did that together. We went on a field trip. We went out and looked.
▶ 8:24:48We used gao as part of the reason on on how we knew what to look for. And in 2018, gao worked jointly with us, worked with us because we didn't have enough personal staff or committee staff to do this job, to release a report reviewing the actions needed to transfer the responsibilities and close the office. So eight years later, sad to report, ken, we're still working on closing it off. But you know what? We're not going to give up. And why?
▶ 8:25:15Because gao has a last piece of the blueprint on how to do this. So I want to urge my colleagues to really consider supporting this amendment to restore gao funding, to support our independency, to support our watchdog when we agree with them and we when we don't agree with them. And with that, I yield back. >> thank you. Gentlelady. Gentlelady from new jersey, miss watson coleman is recognized to address the amendment shut down.
▶ 8:25:47>> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise. I rise. >> in support of this member, ranking member dolores. Um. Amendment to ensure that gao gets the funding that it needs. It's more important than ever to invest in government oversight. The bill, as written, allows the executive branch to operate with even less accountability, slashing $200 million from the gao, a 20% cut.
▶ 8:26:161000 employees would lose their jobs, stifling the agency's function to help the government save money and work more efficiently. Securing proper staffing levels is just common sense, though. The big ugly through the big, ugly bill, republicans gifted the omb director russ vought what's essentially a $100 million slush fund lacking any commitments to guardrails or transparency after legally allowing trump, donald trump,
▶ 8:26:46President trump to spend money congress didn't authorize and avoiding budget committee oversight, he can't be trusted to ensure this money is spent properly and efficiently, especially without any limits on his on its usage. This amendment would redirect the $100 million to the gao, which has a highly regarded record of effective and responsive oversight. It.
▶ 8:27:10If my republican colleagues were actually committed to rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, they would join me in supporting this amendment, and I certainly hope that they do. Thank you, Mr. chairman. I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. Um, it's a very simple amendment.
▶ 8:27:38The amendment would transfer unobligated omb funds to the comptroller general and shall be available for finding, budgeting and accounting efficiencies. Um, the 2026, uh, the office of omb received $125 million. And the big beautiful bill, we added this additional $100 million, which, as I pointed out, has not been been used to look at efficiencies.
▶ 8:28:11Um, and so it just unobligated there. Now I just ask my colleagues on the other side, you have what, what are you afraid of with the, with the gao? I mean, they've got a track record that, uh, is a, is one that is really, uh, it's really pretty impressive, uh, in terms of its mission and the job that it does.
▶ 8:28:31Uh, and as, as our colleague from minnesota said, you can agree or disagree with them, but they have in fact, carried out what they are supposed to carry out. And they've done it, uh, in a, uh, an independent way. Uh, but so for me, I mean, the choice is clear. On the one hand, we have an unchecked, lawless, corrupt agency actively defying the will of congress.
▶ 8:28:59They defy the will of congress. They defy our will. What we do in this appropriations committee, every single day, they have moved to get around us in a reconciliation process. They do not want to acknowledge the appropriations committee and want to take that power away from the appropriations committee. And I've cited this in many cases over the last several months, that I'm working together with my good friend and my colleague, uh, the chairman of the committee, chairman cole.
▶ 8:29:28We passed 11 of the 12 appropriations bills. And if we hadn't done that, omb would have taken to its own control and its own power and appropriations process. We cannot allow them to do that. It is a lawless agency. Uh, and and they thwart the will of congress, uh, while the president's tariffs and wars of choice send the cost of living for americans skyrocketing.
▶ 8:29:53On the other hand, we have a nonpartisan institution that fights every day to support the american people by delivering services efficiently and reliably. It should be easy to decide which of these two is worth this country's resources and the $100 million. Adopt my amendment, help turn the tide away from corruption and toward accountability. I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady.
▶ 8:30:20The questions now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from connecticut. All those in favor say aye. >> aye. >> all opposed? Say no. No opinion. The chair the nos have it. Roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt. No. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar, I, Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei, Mr. amodei. Uh, Mrs. bice. Mr. bishop, Mr. bishop, I.
▶ 8:30:55Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I, Mr. eskamani. Mr. kline, Mr. kline. No. Mr. cloud. Mr. clyburn. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, Mr. cuellar.
▶ 8:31:22I miss dean, miss dean, I miss delauro. I miss delauro, I Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards. No. Mr. ellzey. Miss. Escobar, miss. Escobar, I Mr. espaillat, I Mr. espaillat, I. Mr. fleischmann, Mr. fleischmann. No. Miss. Frankel. Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest. Mr. guest. No. Mr.
▶ 8:31:55Harter, Mr. carter, I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mrs. henson. No. Mr. hoyer, >> I Mr. >> hoyer I Mr. iv, Mr. iv, I Mr. joyce, Mr. joyce no. Miss kaptur marcy kaptur I Mr. lalota. Mr. lalota. No. Miss lee, miss lee. I miss. Letlow, Mr. levin, Mr.
▶ 8:32:23Levin, I miss molloy, miss molloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming I, Mr. molinari, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli I. Mr. mervyn, Mr. mervyn I. Mr. newhouse. Mr. newhouse, Mr.
▶ 8:32:53>> newhouse, Mr. >> newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss. Perez, I miss. Pingry, miss pingry I Mr. pocan, Mr. pokemon I Mr. quigley. Mr. reschenthaler. Mr. rosenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford. No. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres, Mrs.
▶ 8:33:22Torres, I miss underwood, miss underwood, I. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. I. Mrs. watson. Coleman, Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink. No. >> are there any members wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentleman from nevada. >> Mr. amodei. No.
▶ 8:33:53>> gentleman from arizona. >> Mr. cisco, no. >> gentlelady from oklahoma. >> Mrs. bice? No. >> gentleman from the first gentleman from texas? No. A second. >> Mr. ellzey. No. Mr. cloud, no. >> gentlelady from florida. >> miss frankel, I. >> are there others? Gentleman from south carolina. >> Mr. clyburn, I.
▶ 8:34:22>> are there other members wishing to vote or change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will tally.
▶ 8:35:03On this vote. The ayes are 27. The nays are 34. The amendment is not adopted. The gentleman from montana, Mr. reznik, is recognized for the purpose of amendment. >> Mr. chairman, I have an amendment at the desk and request unanimous. Consent for further reading to be dispensed with. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with and the gentleman is recognized for remarks on his amendment. >> I will be withdrawing this amendment. But just indulge me for a second.
▶ 8:35:29You know, we've talked about buildings and interior, had a 21% occupancy rate. I department of agriculture had about the same. I'm a little familiar with interior. It's has to be eight stories long and two blocks long, eight stories high and two blocks long. Uh, agriculture is bigger. We just talked about the rayburn, but we don't know on ford. So the administration took the step of everyone back to work. Uh, and and there's, there's cases for remote working.
▶ 8:35:57I wouldn't want to work in, in dc either, but that's where the bill is. And for just intention, I think we need a data call on how many people are actually working, how many people are remote, and look, if there's a reason for them to remote. I don't have a problem with that, but we shouldn't count them at a desk in a building here because because you look at how many buildings we have and what the occupancy rate is, I'm sure we can do a lot better than we are. We're talking about the four building.
▶ 8:36:25We're talking about, you know, these huge monstrosities that have a percentage of people working in them. I think we can do a lot better doing the data call, seeing how many people are out there at their desks. With that, I yield back and thank you for the indulgence. Less than two minutes. >> thank the gentleman. Uh, gentleman from new york is recognized. Respond the amendment if he chooses to.
▶ 8:36:52>> we we support the gentleman's withdrawal of the amendment. >> outstanding. >> there's wide bipartisan support for that. If there's no further debate, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to close. Thank you. I think we all. >> just to make sure we know where people are and how and what they're occupying to make better.
▶ 8:37:22>> I thank the gentleman, uh, gentleman from maryland, Mr. hoyer is recognized for the purpose of amendment. >> I ask that so much. The reading the amendment. Consider the reading of the amendment. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman's recognized for remarks on his amendment.
▶ 8:37:44>> in 1989, uh, a reform commission was established, and that reform commission found that, uh, members of congress, house and senate, uh, given comparable responsibilities to the private sector, uh, were substantially under paid. It recommended an increase.
▶ 8:38:12That increase occurred in that legislation. It was provided that the, uh. There would be a cola that would not happen if the federal employees got no cola.
▶ 8:38:28But if they did happen, uh, consistent with the eci, which is the employment cost index, meaning the private sector had to come, uh, get, get a cola adjustment in effect in the private sector so that we would not get something that the private sector was not getting. They ruled that, uh, we would be adjusted appropriately.
▶ 8:38:51I have been involved in this issue for essentially 35, 40 years. All of my time in congress. But I want to call your attention, particularly to the times, uh, from 20 or.
▶ 8:39:15Excuse me, 2010 to 2027. Um, for a period, period of that time looking for, because I have something that I want to make sure you have, I don't know where it went. Got too much paper. In any event, the.
▶ 8:39:43Adjustment was made pretty consistently, uh, pretty consistently from. 2000 to 2010. Uh, during that period of time, the republicans were in, in, in the majority from 2000 to 2006. And then we took the majority from 2007 to 2009.
▶ 8:40:13That ten year period, uh, there was only one year where we had zero adjustment. Nine of those years, dick armey was majority leader for two, tom delay for three, john boehner for one, roy blunt for two and candler for one.
▶ 8:40:37All of us worked together, uh, so that we could be kept even in $26 in $2,026, you are now making $133,000 a year. Which means your pay has been reduced by over a third over the last years, from 2009 to date.
▶ 8:41:06When we first adjusted the cola, uh, speaker boehner took us to court, and he came before the court arguing that this was a pay raise and that it could not be done.
▶ 8:41:28Now, the constitution of the united states says, and in in the 18th century, the debate at the constitutional convention was that members could not have their pay reduced during the course of their service unless there was an intervening election. In other words, unless you waited until, uh, the 29 election or the 28 election, in our instance here.
▶ 8:41:54But we have consistently included this language and we have followed that language, uh, notwithstanding the fact that the courts found that the cola was not a pay raise, it was to keep the value of the compensation received by a member of congress. Even that was, uh. The case until 2009.
▶ 8:42:24And we have now for gone 17 years with the same, uh, compensation, as I said to you, that compensation is now worth in $26, today's dollars $133,000. The. Number of us, including Mr.
▶ 8:42:50Clyburn and our and myself, our plaintiffs, along with a number of republicans, including the chair of the intel committee, uh, in a case which has gone to court and has said that what has happened is inconsistent with the constitution. I think Mr.
▶ 8:43:14Clyde, uh, takes the same position, and he will I'm sure he's going to talk on this as well. One of the reasons I've been involved in this issue was in the, uh, what we then called the treasury postal appropriation bill, now called the fsgg bill. Why was it in that bill as opposed to the legislative bill? Because opm salaries are controlled under that committee.
▶ 8:43:42I was the ranking of that of that committee then. Now, I've just received. Mr. chairman, I would hope we can have a little latitude, because this is going to be very important to members and and, frankly, to the public. Today. Apparently just minutes ago, uh, I want to read you a paragraph that the court just issued an order in the case to which I referred. In some.
▶ 8:44:09We hold one that plaintiffs have not waived and are not estopped from bringing these claims. We are the plaintiffs that class. We are the members of that class. Two, that the 27th amendment applies to laws decreasing congressional compensation.
▶ 8:44:35Three, that cola blocking laws are varying, quote, congressional compensation under the amendment, and therefore are inconsistent with the constitution. And fourthly, that the law's varying federal varying congressional compensation are ineffective.
▶ 8:45:06To the extent they seek to effectuate a change in congressional compensation before an election intervenes. Now, the sum of that conclusion, and obviously this is all I've read. I have not read the the court's findings, so I'm. I just received it five minutes ago. Uh, obviously it has an impact on the amendment that, uh, Mr. clyde, uh, we're not offering together, but we're offering the same amendment. It appears to me that the.
▶ 8:45:36Finding of the court was that when we. Without an intervening election and there's no intervening election, if we pass this amendment today, there's no intervening election until 28 is ineffective because it varies the pay, which is unconstitutional because the founding fathers were concerned about the king or somebody, not the king. Obviously, we don't have a king. Then, uh, then.
▶ 8:46:16They felt that it would be used as a political bludgeon to say, if you don't vote for this, that, or the other, we're going to reduce your pay. So they in the that in the founding fathers mind was something that would undermine the legislative, uh, article one, uh, status.
▶ 8:46:40Now, uh, I was going to go through a lot of numbers, uh, and a lot of why we should not undermine the ability of average men and women to serve in this body. Some of you may be very wealthy. Most of us, I think, are not very wealthy. We're not poor. The public is compensating us.
▶ 8:47:08Uh, well, it is deteriorated over the last 17 years very, very substantially. But nevertheless, uh, what we don't want to have is a congress that is exclusively wealthy people. Now, this does not affect me at all. Okay, I will yield. Now I'm going to get some people to yield to me, so I'll get some more time.
▶ 8:47:38>> no problem. People yield to me but for you. But, uh. >> I will hold. >> I mean, just. >> I got you. >> we're getting close to the magic minute here, so. The gentlelady from florida. >> however, I do think members may have some interest in this. >> uh, no, I, I that's why the gentleman got four extra minutes. I think you're absolutely right. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I yield to the gentleman.
▶ 8:48:09>> I thank the gentleman for yielding. I had a number of other people lined up to do the same. You've got a you got a plan for these things, because I know we have limited debate here, but this is an issue. Why do I bring it up, ladies and gentlemen, I bring it up because we're not going to do this in secret. I know there are a lot of members who come to me, and they want this done as an immaculate conception.
▶ 8:48:37But the press is so interested in this issue, it never, ever happens. And this is an issue that causes some members a real problem. Why? Because they have tough elections and this is an issue easy to demagogue, and it is demagogue on a regular basis. But if we're going to have a congress.
▶ 8:49:01That can feel that it is not a congress, that is why we made the ethics laws, that people can't do anything for us. And that's great. That's appropriate. It should be. But to the extent that members are living in their offices because they cannot afford the the two dwelling, uh, to live in, that's not right. They have to be here.
▶ 8:49:30All of us have to be here. It's our duty to be here. And most of us, I don't know, I'm not a good example, obviously, because I live just down the street, so to speak. But an hour away, uh, but most of you don't do that. You have to travel long distances, Mr. calvert. You know, the longest guy, you go to california? Oh, no. Well, hawaii steve case is violent. I mean, yeah, steve gets the gets the.
▶ 8:50:00But we really do need to come to grips with this issue because whatever the court rules, uh, is going to be the law. Uh, and hopefully they will rule soon. Uh, and I was surprised by this. I did not know it was coming.
▶ 8:50:25But if you look at the figures, the difference between what we should be making under the law, that's the not by our own under the law, I will be glad to you. Yeah, sure. Well, I. Yes. >> um I. >> get a microphone. >> yes. Oh, I'm so sorry. >> um, thank you, Mr. chairman. And Mr.
▶ 8:50:54Hoyer, I missed what you said in the beginning. Has the court issued a settlement in this case or announced any decision? >> issued a finding? >> and I yield back. >> and the finding had essentially four things. A, the constitution required. You can't change our salaries without an intervening election. In other words, prospectively.
▶ 8:51:21B that, uh, we are not stopped from bringing the suit by, by these, uh, provisions. This provision is the same as we've done for 17 years. Uh, we're not a stop from doing that. And thirdly, they want to move forward, uh, with respect to, uh, the law's congressional champions are ineffective to the extent they seek to effectuate a change without an intervening election.
▶ 8:51:48So essentially, this amendment, the court is saying, would have no effect legally, so that we would get a cola adjustment similar to, uh, and maybe less than the. >> reclaiming my time for a question. So is the court saying essentially that the prohibition for a cola in the language in the bill is actually null because there's not been an intervening election.
▶ 8:52:16And this this provision changes our salary. >> based upon my intensive five minute observation of that. That is the interpretation that I give it on the language that they have here. >> and reclaiming my time, and therefore a cola would kick in according to this decision, because this language. >> is the law adopted in 1989, right.
▶ 8:52:45Which provided which was subsequently found in the boehner suit, not to be a raise. It's an adjustment to keep pay even. >> thank you. >> no thank you. >> I would yield back unless the gentleman needs additional time and someone else will need to yield. >> before we do that, let me let the chair offer an opinion.
▶ 8:53:16It's certainly appropriate. Anybody can yield time and we can go on as long as you want. I would suggest this. We are going to finish tonight. So the long and I know this is a matter of intense interest to everybody. So if you. We can talk about it as long as you want to, because there's obviously plenty of members to yield time and, uh, delighted to see that that happens for distinguished member from maryland. But we don't know anything really about the opinion yet. Probably be better to read it before we sit here and pontificate about it.
▶ 8:53:45I would be very careful if I were any of you, because you're in television, uh, mode right now. Uh, so I again, I'm happy to facilitate the discussion as long as my friend and his colleagues care to do that, would you just ask? I will certainly yield in one second. I would just ask you to try and wrap this up in a reasonable length of time, because we are going to stay here for the other amendments, which are substantive amendments to the bill, and it's going to take a lot of time.
▶ 8:54:14So with that, I yield. Uh, would somebody yield to my friend? So he has time. Uh, Mr. pocan is recognized. >> yeah. I love your advice, but I'm going to yield to Mr. hoyer. Fine. >> Mr. chairman. >> my advice would somebody yielding some time. >> Mr. chairman, I love your advice, and I'm going to take your advice.
▶ 8:54:35I bring it up because I will guarantee you 17 years I have gotten people from my side and people from the other side saying, can't we fix this? Uh, we now have a court decision. Uh, it's a temporary. I mean, it's not temporary. It's not a full decision on the disposition of the case and the claim, but it is a decision. Uh, and, uh, Mr.
▶ 8:55:03Clyde and I have had a discussion. I don't think there's any point in bringing this to a vote at this point in time, but I think there is a good point. And we're all thinking about this as to whether or not we think we can continue to reduce the compensation of members of congress. Some people say, you know, that's a lot of money. I said, well, the job is worth it. If you don't think I'm worth it, get somebody who is worth it.
▶ 8:55:31Everybody in this room works essentially around the clock. Here we are, 8:00. We're going to be longer. So, Mr. chairman, uh, if there's no objection, I will withdraw the amendment. Given >> the the court decision that has gone. But I'll be glad to. He can claim his own time, but but I. >> well, actually, Mr. poe can controls the time and still has 3.5 minutes. >> so I'll take my time back for Mr.
▶ 8:56:01Hoyer, and I'll give it to Mr. clyde. >> he can get his own. >> unless you want a full five minutes or you want to stay to midnight, you can have the time right now. I'll give you three minutes and 21 seconds. >> okay. Mr. cans yielded three minutes plus to the gentleman. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise today in support of this amendment to strike section 210, which is not in compliance with the plain reading of the constitution. It's the same amendment as mine. So I'll speak on this one. I will withdraw mine.
▶ 8:56:31Since it's the same, I think we can all agree that everything that this body does must be measured against the constitution, and it, as it is the supreme law of the land. In 1989, as was mentioned, congress passed the ethics reform act, which granted congress an annual cost of living adjustment known as a cola, meant to adjust for inflation so that the value of congressional compensation would remain the same. It's not an increase, but remain the same and not lose value.
▶ 8:56:54This cola from the 1989 ethics reform act was to be capped at the percentage that every other federal employee would receive in exchange for the annual cola. All members of congress were prohibited from earning significant or outside income, like speaking fees or other fees that could easily be translated into pay for play arrangements, resulting in potentially tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual income in additional income, especially for more popular or more powerful members.
▶ 8:57:24I certainly agree with the prohibition of this type of outside income for members of congress, yet I disagree with the manner in which section 210 addresses the cola. If congress wants. If congress wants to eliminate the annual cola, congress can certainly do so. But this cannot be done through the appropriations process. And constitutionally, when an intervening election has not occurred, that would violate the election clause requirement of the 27th amendment. It must be done through a bill on the house floor that lasts for more than a year.
▶ 8:57:52I firmly believe that the appropriations process is the wrong vehicle for this effort, because appropriations bills only last for one fiscal year and must comply with the entire constitution, including the 27th amendment. So how does section 210 violate the 27th? Well, let's look at it. The 27th amendment says, and I quote, no law varying the compensation for the services of senators and representatives shall take effect until an election of representatives shall have intervened.
▶ 8:58:18This means the 27th amendment prohibits any law from taking effect, that various congressional compensation. Without an intervening election. The members of the house. It is a common sense amendment originally drafted by thomas jefferson in 1789 and meant to ensure members of congress stay accountable to the american people. Yet an appropriation only lasts for one year, the fiscal year of the appropriation.
▶ 8:58:41So if this section is added to the fy 27 appropriation, then per the 27th amendment, it will have to wait until after november of 2026. Election of representatives before it can take effect. But this fiscal year 2027 appropriations bill will take effect on october 1st of this year, with no intervening election between this, uh, between this varying of compensation.
▶ 8:59:03So to add the amendment through this section and then to execute on the amendment in the fy 27 appropriations bill on october 1st would violate the constitution. My opposition to this amendment is intended to guarantee that the 27th amendment of the um that the fy 27 excuse me, uh, legislative branch appropriations bill remains in accordance with the constitution. I simply cannot support measures like section 210 that clearly violate the constitution. And I hope that none of you will either.
▶ 8:59:33Therefore, I respectfully suggest that we strip section 210 from this bill and do so by approving this amendment, and I yield back. >> let me ask a couple questions to make sure I understand the state of play, and we proceed appropriately. As the gentleman going to withdraw his. >> unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment. >> okay. So that is taken care of. The gentleman withdrawing your amendment. Okay. Uh.
▶ 8:59:58Are there further amendments? An excellent suggestion, but, uh, and we do have so the gentleman from maryland is recognized on another amendment. >> on the capitol police. >> uh. Yes, sir. >> uh, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be considered the reading.
▶ 9:00:26>> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman's recognized for remarks on his amendment. >> Mr. chairman, I mentioned this earlier in the evening or in the afternoon. My amendment, I think, writes a wrong that impacts every single one of us who serve here, work here, or visit here, because we're being protected by the brave men and women of the us capitol police, even while those individuals are missing out on a key benefit enjoyed by many others who serve in law enforcement.
▶ 9:00:55I think I mentioned that earlier in my opening statement. Uh, under current policy, none of the overtime worked by us capitol police officers counts towards base pay for retirement purposes because of the shortage we've had, they have been required to work significantly over time. My amendment would provide a phase in of counting overtime toward retirement pay based upon length of service.
▶ 9:01:25Already since the january 6th attack on the capitol, the us capitol police force has been losing. And this is the key dedicated high, uh, highly qualified and experienced officers. Why?
▶ 9:01:39Because other police departments in the washington metropolitan area do, in fact, count either all or a part of overtime pay in the, uh, computation for retirement, officers can leave for other federal law enforcement agencies and get large signing bonuses and big pay increases. Uh, it's no wonder the us capitol police is struggling with recruitment and retention as they depart.
▶ 9:02:06The force has to rely on overtime to close the gap, so the problem compounds itself. Indeed, the fiscal year 26 committee report described the force reliance on overtime this committee as dangerous. The text of my amendment was originally introduced as a standalone bill by my friend, our late colleague gerry connolly of virginia, who died recently.
▶ 9:02:31Jerry counted many officers as his constituents as I do, and he understood their services and sacrifices of our brave us capitol police officer. And I think I know I do, and I think everybody on this committee understands what they face on a daily basis. During my time as democratic whip and majority leader, I got to spend every day with them. Many remain dear friends now. I've had productive conversations about fixing this issue, and I know we are going to keep trying to find a bipartisan solution.
▶ 9:03:01So I'm also, uh, mister chairman, going to withdraw this amendment, uh, because first of all, it really isn't authorizing amendment. But I think and I hope that the chair of the subcommittee is sympathetic to this issue and will work with us, as I know, Mr. espaillat, because he has a similar amendment or would have would have had if I hadn't offered it. Uh, and with that, um, Mr. chairman.
▶ 9:03:33>> I'm sorry. >> I'll withdraw the amendment, yield back the balance of my time. >> I appreciate that, uh, the gentleman wish to address the issue. Thank you very much, Mr. chairman. I did want to address this issue. I, I agree, uh, with the sentiments expressed by my friend, Mr. hoyer.
▶ 9:03:58I, uh, spent eight years, uh, as majority whip. And for those eight years, uh, capitol police, uh, became an extension of my family. Mhm.
▶ 9:04:16Um, before I came to congress because of the nature of my work in south carolina and issues surrounding, uh, the discussion of the confederate battle flag. Uh, when I spoke out against that flag flying over our state capitol.
▶ 9:04:40I was subjected to some pretty, uh, violent, uh, and virulent, uh, let's just say conversations, uh, which necessitated for my last five years, a full time security person.
▶ 9:05:01And when these capitol police come into our communities, they're they're saturdays and sundays. And I, they go to church with us, uh, other events on weekends. And they accumulate a lot of overtime.
▶ 9:05:25And I think it's a shame, uh, that none of that overtime can be applied, uh, to credit their retirement, their families suffer through that like we do. And I think that they are entitled, uh, for consideration, uh, as a contribution to their overtime.
▶ 9:05:49I'm thinking particularly of one saturday, uh, we were, uh, on interstate 20 and the driver of my vehicle, uh, saw an accident in front of us. And this car with a woman and her child in it, uh, was smashed, uh, sideswiped, knocked off the highway.
▶ 9:06:18That young man ran to that vehicle, drove us up to the back of it, jumped out of the vehicle, dragged the woman through the rear window, uh, her automobile. Uh, and when he got her and the child out of the car, the car immediately blew up. Blew up.
▶ 9:06:38And his action that day earned him a high praise and a formal, uh, presentation, uh, of some kind of a hero award from the south carolina, uh, state law enforcement division.
▶ 9:07:01Not only was working overtime, uh, but he was doing heroic work, and it was a saturday afternoon, his overtime for that day will not be credited to his retirement. There's something just fundamentally unfair about that.
▶ 9:07:26And so I think that at some point in time, I know you're withdrawing this amendment, but we ought to give some serious consideration to that. Uh, because the way of the world today, every single one of us are subjected to the need of a capitol policeman in your town, in your home, sitting in church with you.
▶ 9:07:50And they ought to be able to credit that pay toward their retirement, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. I think now we'd probably move on to other amendments. Uh, certainly the gentleman from maryland is recognized. >> I promise to be very brief. Just a couple of quick points, though.
▶ 9:08:13Um, the capitol police, as we've heard, aren't eligible for the consideration of the overtime for their retirement compensation determination. All of the executive branches are. So what that means is that we are essentially training these officers to go work in other police departments. And the cost of onboarding and training for each of these officers is around $150,000.
▶ 9:08:43So instead of training them to help out, you know, mpd or whoever, why don't we train them so we can keep them and benefit fully from the experience and the training that they've received? And with that, I yield back. >> thank the I thank the gentleman, and I thank the discussion on all those topics was was good to have, but we'll try to return now to our regular process. The gentleman from california, Mr.
▶ 9:09:11Aguilar, is recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. >> I have an amendment at the desk and ask that the reading be dispensed with. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman's recognized for remarks on his amendment. >> Mr. chairman, this is a similar amendment that I've offered in the past.
▶ 9:09:35As I stated before, I hope my colleagues understand that this is something that I feel passionate about. Uh, many of us here feel that there should be a solution to individuals with daca status and their employment ability. Um, we talked about this in fsgg. This is a narrow solution. Um that only applies to large branch. As we have discussed and debated in the past as well. This amendment is simple.
▶ 9:10:04It would allow individuals with daca status 500 000. Um it would allow them to work for the federal government. Right now they are prohibited from working for the federal government. This would allow them to work within the ledge branch component for the united states federal government.
▶ 9:10:23If we're going to be a body that is deliberative, um, if I don't think we're there, but if we're going to be a body that is deliberative and we're hearing, then we need voices from all over in order to shape our opinions, to respond to constituents, and to come up with the best policy possible. And that should include a solution to daca. This isn't an immigration bill.
▶ 9:10:50This is a solution that allows individuals with this status to work for the halls of congress. It would allow us, rather than the current system right now, where individuals have to be sponsored by other agencies if they want to work in an office and have a fellowship or a program.
▶ 9:11:08This would allow individuals directly to work for us to give us advice on immigration or small business or any topic under the sun, because these are individuals who are U.S. citizens in every way but a piece of paper. Um, again, I would just implore you, colleagues, I'm not asking for a full solution to immigration policy.
▶ 9:11:32What we are asking with this amendment is to allow a pathway for individuals with daca status to work for the library of congress as a researcher, to work as a staff assistant or an la in your office. That's all this bill does. It allows the narrow solution that allows individuals daca status to work for us here in congress. This amendment was built and was put in the base bill of when democrats were in the majority.
▶ 9:12:03Uh, I've offered this when democrats were in the minority. Uh, we have had, uh, we won this amendment last year. Uh, we failed at this amendment in the past. Uh, and I think, as I mentioned before, we've tied this amendment before. So there isn't a, there isn't an outcome that can surprise me, Mr. chairman. Um, but what I'm asking is that we include this in the base language that we allow individuals with status, with daca status to work for the federal government.
▶ 9:12:32We're going to continue to debate the numbers within each branch. Um, but as we have done in the past, I think it's an important signal to have a bipartisan solution to this issue that will allow us to go into conference and to have other discussions, realizing that this is something that the time is right to address. So I appreciate my colleagues indulgence, and I yield back. Mr. chairman.
▶ 9:13:00>> thank the gentleman for his remarks. Uh, the gentleman from new york, Mr. spatz, recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of this amendment, as has been said, uh, this amendment has has passed, uh, in the past. Uh, it is, uh, a common sense amendment that would allow young people the ability to work here with us. Uh, it's sort of like a, a pilot project, if you may.
▶ 9:13:31Right. Uh, here in our own house, uh, to ensure that we give them the opportunities, uh, to move forward. Now, 91% of daca recipients age 25 and older are employed. Many of them, um, contribute to our economy. Uh, congress should really not deny them the, these qualified individuals, the opportunity to serve the american people because of their immigration status.
▶ 9:13:58This amendment is about fairness, uh, opportunity and recognizing the contribution of dreamers already, uh, the contributions that we've already made for our country, they are, uh, in many cases, they are, uh, small business owners, homeowners. They're our communities. Last year, we were able to, to prove that this can get support from both sides of the aisle.
▶ 9:14:26This is, I believe, a, a bipartisan amendment. Uh, polling shows that the american people feel that it is, uh, could get support from both sides of the aisle. And I urge all my colleagues to support it. And I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the gentlelady from florida, miss wasserman schultz, is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in strong support for the amendment offered by my good friend, Mr. aguilar.
▶ 9:14:54This amendment would clear the path for young people with deferred action for childhood arrivals, or daca status, to enter government service in the us congress. For far too long, dreamers have been barred from public service or in some cases, even serving our country, their country. In the military. That exclusion is just plain wrong, and I've had the honor and privilege to represent dreamers in my congressional district and host dreamer interns and fellows in my office.
▶ 9:15:20I remember one year I wanted to actually promote a dreamer intern to be my staff assistant, and learned then that that wasn't possible because dreamers aren't allowed to work for the federal government. I've seen firsthand the immoral and unfair barriers that congress has put in their way. Why would we keep these young people from pursuing their dreams and giving back to this country, the only home they've ever known as elected representatives of the american people?
▶ 9:15:48We have a duty to make sure that the best and brightest can serve our country. It is a dereliction of that duty to turn away qualified applicants simply because they are daca recipients, a lawful status, which is what the current law requires. We have an obligation to provide our constituents and the american people with the best, most effective congressional staff that is available when I hire a candidate. Those are the characteristics I look for qualified, educated, patriotic. I would hope that that's what my republican colleagues look for as well.
▶ 9:16:18Daca recipients already work as doctors, teachers, lawyers, scientists, and in virtually every professional field there is, dreamers represent the ambitious, dedicated people who will strengthen the federal workforce and represent a population that's too often ignored here in washington. And the same is true in any field. We should break down barriers for employing qualified legal immigrants. It makes us all better off.
▶ 9:16:42We should encourage dreamers to contribute to our country, not threaten to kick them out and separate them from the only country in communities that they know. According to the george w bush presidential center, not exactly a left wing source, the united states would lose $460.3 billion in gdp over the next decade, and pulls 685,000 taxpaying workers from the economy. If we ended daca, we should lead by example. And the bill that controls congress's funding.
▶ 9:17:09This committee is the proper venue to discuss the status of dreamers, especially why, while a partizan attempt to pump more money into ice brutality and internment camps takes place just down the hall, for all these reasons, I strongly support the gentleman's amendment. I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will remember the dreamers that they have met or represent when casting their vote, and I yield back the balance of my time. >> thank. Gentlelady. Gentlelady from new jersey. Miss watson coleman's recognized to address the amendment.
▶ 9:17:40>> chairman. >> I rise in support of the amendment offered by congressman aguilar. Zakat recipients have been here. They've been raised here. Their life is here. Their. Their home is here. For years now. They've been able to find jobs, pursue higher education, and strengthen our country's future. Even during the covid pandemic, recipients provided critical health care services as doctors and nurses who benefited all americans.
▶ 9:18:06If someone is qualified and capable of working in this country, they deserve an opportunity to do so if they want to serve. By working in public service through the legislative branch, they should be allowed to serve. In my state of new jersey, over 25% of the residents were born in another country. Immigrants make our community stronger and are an integral part of our nation's history and progress.
▶ 9:18:31Doctor recipients deserve an opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their families, and to contribute to a better america. Thank you to congressman aguilar for his tireless advocacy on this issue. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you, Mr.
▶ 9:18:59Chairman, and I want to thank my colleagues for their support in this amendment. Some of you colleagues have also actually sponsored individuals who have daca status who have worked in your offices. And I and I appreciate that. Um, individuals with daca status pay taxes, they've gone to school here. They work here. They can own a business in the united states. The question before us is why should they be prohibited from being a staff assistant in this building?
▶ 9:19:26Why should they be prohibited from being the clerk of the appropriations committee in a number of years? Not any time. Not any time soon, madam clerk. In years ahead, they should not be prohibited from working in this building because they have this status. This is a small solution that we can address. Let's show people that we can actually get something done. Let's show people that we can do something in a bipartisan way.
▶ 9:19:55Uh, I hope that all of us would find a way to be supportive of this amendment. Thank you. And I yield back, Mr. chairman. >> thank the gentleman. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. And the opinion of the chair, the nos have it roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. The clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt.
▶ 9:20:26No, Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar, I, Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei, Mr. amodei. No. Mrs. bice, Mr. bishop, Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I, Mr. eskamani. Mr. eskamani I Mr. kline, Mr. kline. No. Mr. cloud. Mr. cloud.
▶ 9:20:56No. Mr. clyburn. >> Mr. clyburn, Mr. >> clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, Mr. cuellar I miss dean, miss dean, I miss. Delauro, miss. Delauro, I. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards. No. Mr. ellzey. Mr. ellzey. No. Miss. Escobar, miss. Escobar I Mr.
▶ 9:21:27Espaillat, Mr. espaillat, I. Mr. fleischmann, Mr. fleischmann. No. Miss. Frankel, miss. Frankel, I Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest. Mr. carter, Mr. carter. I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. >> no. >> Mrs. henson. No. Mr. hoyer. Mr. hoyer I Mr. iv, Mr. iv, I Mr. joyce.
▶ 9:21:56Miss kaptur, miss kaptur, I. Mr. lalota. Mr. loloda. No. Miss. Lee. Miss lee, I miss. Ludlow, miss. Letlow. No. Mr. levin. Mr. levin, I miss. Molloy, miss. Molloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming, I, Mr. molinari, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr.
▶ 9:22:27Morelli, Mr. morelli I. Mr. van. Mr. van I, Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse, I miss perez, miss perez, I miss pingry, miss pingry I Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. reschenthaler. Mr. rosenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford. No. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve.
▶ 9:22:57No. Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres, I miss underwood, miss underwood, I. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao, I. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz, I. Mrs. watson. Coleman, Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink. No. >> are there any members wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentleman from mississippi, Mr.
▶ 9:23:29>> guest. No. >> gentleman from south carolina. >> Mr. clyburn I. >> a gentlelady from oklahoma. >> Mrs. bice, no. >> gentleman from ohio. >> Mr. joyce? No. >> are there others wishing to vote or change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will tally.
▶ 9:24:33This vote. The yeas are 30. The nos are 32. The amendment is not adopted. Gentlelady from california, miss norris is recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> chairman, I ask. I have an amendment and I ask for unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment.
▶ 9:25:01>> uh, chairman, I rise to offer an amendment to require members of congress to complete their work, uh, workplace conduct training in person. As you know, pre covid members were required to attend these trainings in person. A temporary change was made to reduce the spread of the virus, but that was a temporary change.
▶ 9:25:28Now, even though we are back in the capitol and all of our staffs have returned to work, um, we still have this, um, work. We still have this training online, so we need to cancel that mandate. In-person mandate has to be available. It is, it is in its place.
▶ 9:25:52We must sit through a video presentation that you can mute and click through while you perform other business. Talking on the phone, watching tv, reading your, um, assignment for the next day. Members are not even required to turn on their cameras.
▶ 9:26:20Let's be honest about what is happening here. Everyone in this room knows there are serious doubts about whether members are even looking at their screens and listening to the training, or even if they are handing their login information to a younger staff to click through the
▶ 9:26:52Training for them. It is a lazy. It is an irresponsible approach to a very serious issue that continues to plague our work environment. It also shows a complete lack of respect for the hard working staff in this building who deserve a safe work environment.
▶ 9:27:20This is a serious issue. We have watched our colleagues resign in disgrace over horrific allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment that has dragged on for years.
▶ 9:27:41We stood on this floor, expressed our outrage and promised americans that we would do better. So if you believe these allegations are terrible, we don't want to hear your script or your talking points anymore. Take action.
▶ 9:28:08We can take action today. This amendment isn't going to solve everything. Abusers may continue to abuse, but it's an easy step that we can take right now to reassure our staff and our constituents that we are serious about promoting a safe and professional work environment for them.
▶ 9:28:36I ask my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for amendments. My understanding the gentlelady from utah has a amendment in the second degree. >> oh, we. >> okay, we complete the debate on the underlying amendment first, then we'll go to the secondary. Are there other members wishing. No. I want to address Mr.
▶ 9:29:04Ashley hinson, the gentleman from new york. I'm sorry for the confusion. Mr. espaillat is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. Um, I'm proud to rise in support of the congresswoman's amendment. This is a common sense measure that will require members of congress to attend a workplace rights and responsibility training in person.
▶ 9:29:29Uh, such an important training, uh, for, uh, the a safe work environment, a, a professional and safe work environment should require our members to be in person. Uh, the congresswoman, the congresswoman amendment is a reasonable first step on the path of eradicating troubling patterns of behavior.
▶ 9:29:55Uh, in congress, I am proud to support it and encourage my colleagues to do the same. I yield back. Mr. chairman. >> I thank the gentleman. Are there other members wishing to speak on the underlying amendment? Seeing none, the gentlelady from utah is recognized for an amendment in the second degree. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise to offer a second degree amendment. Um, while I appreciate my.
▶ 9:30:23>> colleague lady like the gentlelady, like the amendment rather. >> yes, I would like it to be considered read. >> okay. >> suspend the reading. >> without objection, the reading of the second degree amendment is dispensed with, and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> thank you. I clearly don't do this very often, but I think this one's really important. Um, I appreciate that my colleague from california is trying to make sure that we take, uh, sexual harassment allegations seriously.
▶ 9:30:50And so I offer a second degree amendment that instead of mandating in-person training, we support the efforts that are already happening with the leadership in the house, the congressional, the republican congressional women's caucus, and the democratic congressional women's caucus to do a comprehensive overhaul of the system.
▶ 9:31:09As a former staffer and a current member, I've done this training several times, uh, in person, online, and I just don't think a training is going to address the issues that we're actually trying to get at here. Um, but there is work happening right now. It's moving quickly and it's got the support of leadership. It's got the support of women on both sides of the aisle.
▶ 9:31:31And rather than take a small step here and make a slight change, I propose that we throw our weight behind that effort, replace the language in the bill, and show that we are taking this seriously. And we want to make sure that there are sufficient means in place for addressing sexual harassment allegations, and make sure that the staff here feels safe and comfortable in their work environments. And with that, I yield. >> thank the gentlelady, the gentleman from new york actually, uh, Mr.
▶ 9:32:01Is recognized if he chooses to, to address the second degree amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I the second amendment is also a worthy one. However, Mr. chairman, I would support, uh, taking into consideration, uh, the gentlewoman's amendment from california if she so desires to move forward with it.
▶ 9:32:28>> just to be clear, what we will decide is whether the second degree amendments accepted then will return if it is as amended, or if it's not, we'll just go back to the gentlelady's amendment. So. You've been able to does anybody, anybody wish to address the amendment in the second degree? Gentlelady from florida? >> thank you. Yeah, I I'm trying to determine what the. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 9:32:51Um, would the sponsor of this secondary amendment yield for a question? Well, I. >> think you might rise. >> you have. >> to rise and grab a mic. Um it doesn't appear that your second degree amendment does anything.
▶ 9:33:09It says the committee supports the work of the speaker's office and the bipartisan congressional women's caucus task force to review sexual misconduct procedures in congress and make holistic recommendations on how to better protect victims and guarantee fair and impartial investigation and accountability.
▶ 9:33:24I mean, we all agree with that, but what does that have to do with whether or not we should make sure that when we take the workplace rights training, that instead of being distracted by the 6000 other things that are going on around us that we have to show up in person when we're we're more likely to pay attention, where we're more likely to be able to absorb the information.
▶ 9:33:46Um, it can be a both and not either or respectfully, what does this amendment actually do except highlight that this work is ongoing? >> so as the committee that funds the legislative branch, we are saying that we, in funding the legislative branch, are supporting overhauling this system. It's already happening. I've been part of building the framework. We're having a meeting 36 hours from now to go over this with with a bipartisan group.
▶ 9:34:13So in talking to the sponsor of the original amendment, she expressed concern that she didn't want to put her weight behind something that would just languish for a long time while we say we're working on it, I think the bipartisan nature of it ensures that it's going to move in a timely fashion. But, uh, I can look around this room today and guarantee you that some people who are here in person are still distracted.
▶ 9:34:35So I don't know that having an in-person training is going to solve the problem of people knowing how to respond to sexual harassment or. >> reclaiming my time. I'm just not sure what's wrong with an in-person training. And why the second amendment would be necessary. We can have a second. We can have a language put in the bill. Well, we have we're here to discuss and debate things.
▶ 9:34:59And so I'm trying to get clarity on what's wrong with ensuring take a step forward. We don't know. Listen, I've been here a long time and I've watched processes like the one you're describing take an excruciatingly long time because they deal with consequences to members of congress. And a lot of our colleagues, speaking as a woman, are not in the habit of really liking to have consequences or to be held to account.
▶ 9:35:27So as a result, these processes like what you described in your second degree amendment taken a long time when we could actually take a step, a baby step, as the author of the underlying amendment says, towards ensuring that at least we're in a small room in front of one another and we have those workplace rights trainings in person so that we're more likely to absorb them.
▶ 9:35:53This seems like you're trying to throw a wet blanket on the process and just reference a process that's already gone going, but that we have no idea when it will reach a conclusion or its recommendations will even be adopted. And this is an urgent crisis. >> I concur. >> I yield back. >> I concur that we need to take a step. I just want to take several large steps than one small one. And and I yield. >> okay. >> the gentlelady. >> gentleman from maryland.
▶ 9:36:24>> lady yield would the gentlelady. This one. From what. >> we've we fairly sufficiently covered it. Do you have anything new? Yes. Okay, then I will yield. >> thank you so much. It seems to me we have an agreement here. Uh, what? Have you just struck your first sentence and then added your language to the amendment.
▶ 9:36:50>> I would rather not bind the bipartisan group and the leadership to saying that in-person training is the answer. I'd rather have us be able to look at a framework and come up with things that are innovative. >> not have. >> yield back. >> in person. >> okay. >> uh, gentlelady from california, miss torres is recognized to address the amendment in the second degree.
▶ 9:37:21>> uh, thank you, chairman members, we cannot put a condom on a crisis. That's not acceptable. We cannot do that. This was the policy. In-person training was the policy before covid. Okay. What I'm trying to accomplish here is simply to go back to that policy.
▶ 9:37:47We're asking for one hour of your time, one hour to pay attention and sexual harassment. By the way, as a mother of three sons and two grandsons, is not limited to women. Women cannot just be the ones at the table making policy on this. It is our responsibility.
▶ 9:38:14This issue does not only impact the abuser, it impacts all of us. It gives every single one of us a black eye.
▶ 9:38:29So forgive me if we're in a condom is something that is offensive to you, but that is exactly how you sound when you say, let's just push this previous policy aside because it's inconvenient for us to spend one hour together listening, paying attention, and learning about creating a safe environment for our young
▶ 9:39:00Staff, men and women alike. And with that, I urge support for my amendment, and I yield back to the chair. >> are there other members wishing to address the amendment in the second degree? Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close on her amendment.
▶ 9:39:32>> okay, I've said most of what I need to say. I just want to reiterate that what I want us to do is take a comprehensive look at policies that will make a difference, um, a bigger difference than attending an in-person training, which I will point out we've had in the past and we've also had problems in the past. So I want to try something different to address the problem in a new way. And with that, I yield. >> thank the gentlelady. The question is now on the second degree amendment offered by miss malloy. All those in favor say aye.
▶ 9:39:59All those opposed say no. The painting, the chair, the ayes have it. Roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. Clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar. No. Mr. alford, Mr. alford, I. Mr. Mr. amodei, I. Mrs. bice, Mrs. bice I. Mr.
▶ 9:40:30Bishop. Mr. bishop. No. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert I. Mr. carter, Mr. carter I. Mr. case. Mr. case. No. Mr. cisco. Mr. cisco I. Mr. klein, Mr. klein I. Mr. cloud, Mr. cloud I Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn. No. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. I. Mr. cole. Mr. cole I. Mr. cuellar. Miss.
▶ 9:41:00Dean. Miss. Dean. No. Miss. Delauro. No. Mr. laurel lee. No. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. I. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards I. Mr. ellzey. Mr. ellzey. I miss. Escobar, Mr. escobar, miss. Escobar. No. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat. No. Mr. fleishman. Mr. fleishman. I miss. Frankel, miss. Frankel. No. Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin, I. Mr. guest, Mr. guest, I Mr.
▶ 9:41:32Harter, Mr. harter. No. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. I. Mrs. hinson, Mrs. hinson. I. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer. No. Mr. iv, Mr. iv. No. Mr. joyce. Mr. joyce, I miss. Kaptur, miss kaptur. No. Mr. nick lalota. Miss lee. Miss lee. No. Miss. Letlow. Mr. levin, Mr. levin. No.
▶ 9:42:01Miss molloy, miss molloy, I miss mccollum, no. >> thank you. >> miss mccollum. No. Miss ming. Miss ming, miss ming. No. Miss Mr. molenaar, Mr. mulliner, I, Mr. moore, Mr. moore, I. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli. No. Mr. merman, Mr. moran. No. Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse, I miss. Perez, miss perez. No.
▶ 9:42:29Miss pingree, miss. Pingree. No. Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan. No. Mr. quigley. >> sorry. >> Mr. taylor, Mr. reschenthaler, I Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers, I Mr. rutherford. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve, I Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson, I. Mr. strong. Mr. strong, I. Mrs.
▶ 9:43:00Torres, Mrs. torres. No. Miss. Underwood, no. Miss. Underwood, no. Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao, I. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. No. Mrs. watson. Coleman. Mrs. watson. Coleman. No. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. I. Mr. zink, Mr. zink, I. >> are there other members wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentleman from new york.
▶ 9:43:30>> Mr. nick lalota, a. >> gentleman from florida. >> Mr. rutherford, a. >> are there others wishing to vote or change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will tally. >> chances to. >> you know they. Whatever reform they looking to do, they want to. >> I will advise miss. Mr.
▶ 9:44:01>> I'd like to be voted. >> Mr. aderholt, a. >> gentle lady from minnesota. Vote. Oh, okay. I just sorry. >> thank you for taking. No, I'm not going to vote. Why not?
▶ 9:44:49>> on this vote, the yeas are 34 and the nose are 26. So the amendment in the second degree is adopted. We'll now return to the amendment offered by miss torres, as amended. Are there any members wishing to seek recognition to speak on that? Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. >> Mr.
▶ 9:45:15Chairman, I would simply ask for your support for my amendment and yield back. >> question is now on the amendment offered by miss torres, as amended. All those in favor, say aye. >> Mr. chairman. >> all those opposed say no. Can you chair? The ayes have it and the amendment is adopted.
▶ 9:45:48The gentlelady from california, miss torres, is recognized for an amendment. >> uh, chairman, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask for unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> thank you. Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment to increase the size of the ethics committee nonpartisan investigative team.
▶ 9:46:13Right now, they are overwhelmed with claims of sexual abuse and misconduct. Let's be clear about who bears the brunt of this unprofessional and illegal behavior. It is the people working in these offices on this campus who are targeted by those abusing their power. In this committee, we deal with hundreds of billions of dollars at a time, and I am asking for a modest $500,000.
▶ 9:46:42That is a rounding effort for us, but it means everything to a victim trying to get justice. It puts four more investigators on the ground to handle the backlog, so victims aren't left unprotected while their case sits idle on someone's desk. We pay for it to pay for it.
▶ 9:47:07We take a very tiny slice out of a 10 million fund meant for upgrading committee rooms. I think that we can survive with an old carpet if it means that we stop protecting the predators and start protecting our staff and our constituents. To give you a sense of what these investigators are dealing with, I have a few data points for you.
▶ 9:47:36In the last congress alone, this investigative team reviewed nearly 1.5 million pages of documents, conducted more than 100 witness interviews, and authorized 108 subpoenas. We need to stop complaining about how much time an ethics investigation takes, and start taking action to expedite them.
▶ 9:48:06Today, we can do our part to help expedite these investigations. Mr. chairman, I ask for support for my amendment and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady, the gentleman from new york, Mr. is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I am proud to rise in support of the congresswoman's amendment.
▶ 9:48:29Uh, like the congresswoman's initial amendment, this is a basic common sense measure that takes aim at unethical behavior from certain members of congress and others, which, uh, have blemished the institution. A modest $500,000 will boost the ethics committee staff and its investigative capacity. It will make it swift and professional in its approach.
▶ 9:48:56I am proud to support it and encourage my colleagues to do so. I yield back. >> the gentleman from mississippi have an amendment and a second degree. First, we're going to have others I just wanted to see. Yes. Okay. Um, we're continuing debate on the amendment. Gentlelady from ohio is recognized. Uh. >> Mr.
▶ 9:49:24Chairman, I just rise to ask a question of clarification. And that is where the gentle lady's amendment to succeed, and I would support it. My question is, does it cover those who are work in these facilities who may not be staff members of members, uh, but rather individuals who clean the facility, individuals who prepare our food, individuals who repair the buildings.
▶ 9:49:51How do you define staff? >> um, this is the staff for the committee, the bipartisan committee to hire investigators. Um, it is not limited to only, uh, complaints to members of congress. It is general staff. >> right. Thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you for the amendment. >> are there others wishing to speak to the amendment?
▶ 9:50:19Seeing none, there is at the desk an amendment and a second degree offered by Mr. guest. >> yes, Mr. chairman, I rise today to offer a second degree amendment and would waive the reading of that amendment. >> without objection, the reading of the second degree amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman's. Recognized for remarks on his second degree amendment. >> thank you. First, miss torres. Thank you for offering your amendment.
▶ 9:50:47Uh, there is no one on this committee, uh, other than myself, miss henson, Mr. ivey, who appreciate your support for additional staff for the ethics committee than the three of us. Uh, there have been ongoing discussions with members of the ethics committee and house administration about ways in which we can expedite, uh, the increase of staff for the ethics committee.
▶ 9:51:12Uh, there are, as I understand, funds that the house administration can use, uh, immediately to go ahead and increase the funding or the budget of the ethics committee, both for fy 26 and fy 27. Uh, and so my amendment, uh, is not intended to short circuit what your intent. Uh, actually the amendment is to try to expedite it.
▶ 9:51:37Uh, your amendment would say that in fy 27 that we're going to take money that's already been approved, the money from a fund that would be used to update committee rooms, and that that money would then be allocated to the ethics committee for us to hire additional staff.
▶ 9:51:51Um, I believe from my conversations, uh, that that um, is already well underway, uh, that there exists funding now, uh, that house administration can allocate to the ethics committee, uh, that it will allow us to immediately hire staff so that we can address some of the backlog, uh, and that those staffing issues will be made permanent going forward. Uh, so again, I'm not attempting to short circuit your amendment.
▶ 9:52:19Uh, I believe that your amendment, um, is, um, very important as far as providing us the resources that we need. Uh, my secondary amendment, uh, only ask that we not take the money out of the fund that you have designated, uh, that the money already exists and that there are the processes underway to reallocate those funds and to increase the budget of the ethics committee.
▶ 9:52:45Uh, look, and while I've got everybody, I will tell you, and I think glenn and ashley will agree that the nonpartisan staff on the ethics committee, they work extremely hard. Um, the reason we have a backlog is not because they don't work hard. Uh, it is because we have more work than we can do and do in a timely fashion. Uh, and that certain cases have to be prioritized over other cases.
▶ 9:53:12Uh, and so that is one of the reasons that in making sure that we conduct thorough investigations, uh, that deliver results and also protect due process, that is one of the reasons that the ethics committee takes as long as it does sometimes to come to conclusions. I have advocated to leadership on both sides that they increase the resources for the committee. Uh, I believe that the secondary amendment that I've offered does that. I believe it's in spirit. Miss torres, with the amendment that you have offered.
▶ 9:53:42Uh, and so I would ask that everyone please consider supporting, uh, the secondary amendment, uh, so that we can then move forward for additional staff. And so with that, Mr. chairman, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. Gentleman from new york, Mr. esparza, recognized to address the amendment in the second. >> yeah. Thank you, miss. Mr. chairman, I rise in opposition of this amendment. Once again.
▶ 9:54:08The gentlewoman from california has presented a common sense first step. And here we have. Kicking it back to a committee. Um, justice delayed is justice denied. Uh, if we need, uh, action, the action should begin now. Today. Tonight. Uh, well, I do appreciate the spirit of the gentleman's second degree amendment.
▶ 9:54:37Uh, the congresswoman underlying amendment would do just that. It will start to do just that. Why delay it? Why postpone >> eight. >> it is imperative that we equip the ethics committee with additional resources that require, uh, that require them to conduct swift investigations, uh, clear the backlog of their docket and begin to move forward.
▶ 9:55:04For these reasons, I oppose the gentleman's amendment, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. Uh, it is the same strategy used for the previous amendment, and we must move forward. Uh, we're in the middle of a crisis and should not ignore it. I yield back. >> are there others wishing to address the amendment in the second degree?
▶ 9:55:56Gentleman from maryland, Mr. ivey, is recognized. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I I'm going to seek clarification from my chairman on the ethics committee about the impact of what his amendment would do. We're trying to piece it together quickly. Um. But if I'm reading your amendment correctly, it's not it doesn't it's not a substitute for what hers would do for 2027. It adds, uh, a provision for 2026 so that the funding could be used or received now. >> correct? >> correct. Okay. >> and, and it would require that the funding be taken from the category that was identified by miss torres.
▶ 9:56:21Uh, there is already money that can be moved over to accommodate the increase in staff, not only for fy 26, but as I'm understanding from. Chairman
▶ 9:56:55Style and others, uh, that, that, that, that funding would continue to go forward. And so it would leave in place the $500,000 that would be taken from, uh, renovations. Uh, so that money would remain in there, but it would increase the staff of the ethics committee by half $1 million, which would allow us then to hire four additional staff, likely two lawyers and two investigators. But, um, as far as, um, exactly where, where those dollars would be spent, that would be for us as a committee to discuss once those funds are appropriated. >> so your intent is to make the money available now. Yes. So we can hire four people. Yes. Now immediately. Um, and that that would not, um, that would not strike her language or her intent with respect to 2027, other than finding an additional seeking additional source of the revenue. >> that is correct. >> yes.
▶ 9:57:23And again, I appreciate miss torres bringing this forward. I appreciate her seeking to increase.
▶ 9:57:56The budget and the staffing of the ethics committee. This is not a delay tactic. This is me trying.
▶ 9:58:29To expedite us getting additional resources to the ethics committee so that we can speed up the investigative process. >> well, it doesn't sound like a hostile. It sounds like a, you know, a hostile amendment at all. So I think, uh, it's offered in good spirit that would be helpful to the committee immediately. And as the chairman of the ethics committees pointed out, we could use the help. Now, um, we've got a lot of work going on. Uh, to the extent there's been issues with respect to delay in part, uh, that is just the nature of some of these investigations taking a long time, you know, millions of pages to be reviewed, but some e helpful. And some of the comments I've seen from my colleagues who are not on the committee but are expressing concerns about the length of time it takes for something to come through the ethics committee. I think this would be a step in the right direction to helping to address that. So I would encourage my colleagues and I you're okay with to accept the second degree amendment, uh, at this time? >> I thank the gentleman. Are there others wishing to address the amendment in the second degree? Gentleman from new york is recognized.
▶ 9:59:00>> thank you, Mr. chairman. As the ranking member of the committee on house administration, I think, uh, I would strongly object. No one has consulted with those of us on this side of the aisle. And clearly the dollars are necessary. But I think, as we did on member security, where the speaker and minority leader got together and decided how we would increase resources for member security. And I appreciate the bipartisan support for that. Many of you are taking advantage of that, particularly back in your districts.
▶ 9:59:27That money came out of dollars that were identified by the speaker. I would think in this case, if the committee on ethics needs additional dollars, that there are dollars that the house has taken it from the committee on house administration, which has important work without consultation, seems to be highly inappropriate, particularly since the speaker is appointed.
▶ 9:59:47As I understand it, there's a partnership between members kalmick and leger fernandez, as well as, uh, house administration members, to come with a come together with a plan. Uh, and it seems to me before we effectuate that, um, moving dollars from one committee that has important work to another without consultation is highly suspect. So I would urge we not adopt this amendment. I think we should pass, um, miss torres amendment.
▶ 10:00:15And, uh, the house can certainly find the necessary dollars to do the important work. >> thank the gentleman for his remarks. Are there others wishing to address the amendment in the second degree? >> yeah, yeah. Let me just take a break. >> well, well. >> I don't know what we're doing. Here in the second. >> amendment seems to be. >> a what. >> it should go with.
▶ 10:00:48>> tauruses. >> how much time over there? Yeah. On this shooting. Up the money. Where's the money? >> yeah. Which committee is the money coming? >> where's the money? Julia brownley hamadeh. This is. I don't want to get in that. >> uh, if I may, we're going to there's a little bit of confusion here about the exact, uh, nature of this.
▶ 10:01:16So we're going to take a recess for about ten minutes, give our staff an opportunity to clarify that, and then we'll come back and resume consideration at that point. Thank you. And please return promptly in about ten minutes if you could. >> yes. Yeah.
▶ 10:18:09Intercession. We may. And want to recognize the gentleman from mississippi, Mr. guest, to discuss his amendment. >> yes, sir. Mr. chairman, in light of the conversations that we have recently held, I would like to withdraw my second degree amendment. >> okay. Thank you gentlemen. Now I go to recognize the gentlelady from california, miss torres, to discuss her amendment. >> thank you. Chairman.
▶ 10:18:39In this business, the only thing that we have is our word. Our word is our bond. And I'm committed to continuing this conversation in the work with the chairman of the ethics committee. And I also withdraw my amendment. >> I appreciate both of you so we can keep moving now. Okay. Gentlelady from california, miss torres is recognized for an amendment.
▶ 10:19:10>> chairman, I have an amendment and ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. >> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentlelady is recognized for remarks about her amendment. >> thank you. Chairman. I rise to offer an amendment to require those members of congress who are under active public investigation. Key word here.
▶ 10:19:34Active public investigation by the ethics committee to complete their workplace conduct training in person. So not all of us, but just those who are under active investigation.
▶ 10:19:49I will be brief if members are banned from a um if members are banned from a person in-person training, I think that the people under active public investigation by ethics committee should need to come in, in person to do their one hour training. I'll say it again talk is cheap. Talk only serves to shield the abusers.
▶ 10:20:17And that's what's been going on for years. Here is one concrete action that we can take today. I urge support and I yield back. >> thank the gentlelady, the gentleman from california, Mr. valadao, is recognized to discuss the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chair. And, uh, because we've been able to find ways to get along and withdraw the previous amendment on this one, I rise to accept the amendment. And in the good spirit that we can continue to work together.
▶ 10:20:46And this is obviously an important topic, and I know there's a lot more conversation to be had on this, and I'm glad that the authorizers are doing their part, and I'm glad leadership is involved in this. And this is another opportunity for us to show some good faith. So I appreciate it. And we accept. >> if there is no further debate. Uh, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. The lady has yield back.
▶ 10:21:18Questions now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from california. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. The opinion of the chair. The ayes have it and the amendment is adopted. Gentleman from california. Mr. levin is recognized for the purpose of amendment. >> chairman, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask for unanimous consent that the reading of this amendment be dispensed with.
▶ 10:21:47>> without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman is recognized for remarks about his amendment. >> colleagues, my amendment does one simple thing. It prohibits the use of the judgment fund to pay elected officials of the united states. Unless there's a binding order from a court. That's the entire amendment. And I would submit to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. This is not a controversial proposition. It should not be a partizan one. So let me explain why we need it and why we need it now.
▶ 10:22:14The judgment fund is a permanent appropriation. Congress created it in 1956 for a specific and narrow purpose. It exists so that when the federal government loses a lawsuit or settles a claim, the treasury can pay what is owed without each one of us having to vote on every individual payment. It's not a policy tool. It's not a campaign account. It's not a discretionary pool for any administration to draw from at will. But that, Mr.
▶ 10:22:44Chairman, is exactly what it's becoming. Two days ago, the department of justice announced what it's calling an anti weaponization fund nearly $1.8 billion drawn directly from the judgment fund to be paid out to claimants. The attorney general selects by a commission the attorney general appoints, and that the president can fire at will. And the processing window closes at the end of 2028, before the next inauguration. Mr.
▶ 10:23:10Chairman, that timeline alone should give every member of this committee pause. Now, doj points to something called the keepseagle settlement as precedent. With respect, the two are not compatible. Keepseagle was a court supervised class action. The claimants were defined. Group of native american farmers and ranchers who had pursued their case through the federal courts for more than a decade. A federal judge signed off on the settlement and on who got paid.
▶ 10:23:38What was announced this week is something else entirely a permanent congressional appropriation repurposed by executive memo with no enabling statute, no eligibility criteria written into law, no audit requirements, no reporting back to this body in a commission firable at the political whim of the very official whose allies stand to collect.
▶ 10:24:01I want my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to hear me clearly on this, because I'm asking you to think one administration ahead, imagine the next democratic president. Imagine that president's attorney general standing at a podium and announcing a $1.8 billion fund. Claimants selected by the ag commission, appointed by the ag firable at the president's discretion processing window, conveniently closing before the next presidential election.
▶ 10:24:28Every member on your side of the aisle would be outraged, and you'd be right to be. The structure is the problem, not the party in power. The structure. Last november. Some members, I'm sure, will remember that the senate slipped a provision into a continuing resolution to allow eight senators to sue the federal government for at least $500,000 apiece in connection with phone records collected during the investigation of the 2020 election. Members on both sides recoiled.
▶ 10:24:56The speaker of the house said he was, quote, very angry, called it self-dealing, said it was way out of line. Other republican members, maybe 1 or 2 in this room, called it, and I quote, stupid, quite honestly, to put that language in the bill. Another said constituents would see it as self-serving self-dealing kind of stuff. I agreed with every word of that. And this body moved on a bipartisan basis to repeal it.
▶ 10:25:21What I'm offering today is the same principle applied prospectively, so we don't have to do that cleanup. Again, the judgment fund should not pay elected officials, not democrats, not republicans, not the president, not members of congress, not in this administration, not in the next one, not in any future administration of either party without a court order. This is a guardrail we should have had in place decades ago. If you believe no elected official of either party should be cashing checks written this way out of the treasury with no court order, vote yes. One last thing.
▶ 10:25:54I want to be very explicit. My amendment includes an exception. If the funds are distributed by operation of a final judgment or other binding order approved or issued by a court of the united states. I urge adoption of this amendment, and I yield back. Mr. chairman. >> thank the gentleman for his amendment. The gentleman from california, Mr. valadao, is recognized to speak or to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chair. This amendment eliminates permanent.
▶ 10:26:20Permanently the ability for current or former president, vice president, or member of congress to settle. Meritorious claim against the united states. The amendment requires individuals to litigate a claim in court, receive a court judgment or a court approved settlement of a lawsuit before any compensation can be paid. The amendment, as written, raises unintended consequences in situations such as the federal tort claims act for members who are veterans. If you are a victim of medical malpractice, file a claim against the department of veterans affairs.
▶ 10:26:47This amendment would take away your ability to settle your suit at the administrative stage. A common settlement for the ftc claims. Instead, this amendment requires the member to file a lawsuit in court, neither win the lawsuit or reach court approved settlement. So I urge a no vote to this amendment, and I yield back. Thank you. >> thank the gentleman, the gentleman from new york, Mr. ashby, is recognized to address the amendment. >> Mr. chairman, thank you, I rise. >> I rise in support of this amendment.
▶ 10:27:17Uh, again, this issue was recently elevated, uh, as was mentioned by the sponsor of the amendment, uh, in the united states senate, where certain members fought to include provisions that would allow them to sue the federal government for $500,000 in connection with past investigative tactics applied to them.
▶ 10:27:39Uh, again, this is, uh, out of the treasury with no court order, uh, highly irregular and one that will lend itself to partizan behavior. Uh, whether in one majority or the other. It doesn't make sense. I asked my colleagues to support the member, the amendment, and I yield back. >> thank the gentleman, the gentlelady from connecticut, Mr.
▶ 10:28:07Morris, recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of this amendment, and I'd like to start with some facts. President donald trump has accepted a $400 million luxury airline from a foreign government. He has received over $90 million in settlements from tech and media companies, while he occupies the oval office and has influence over critical business deals.
▶ 10:28:36And he and his family have pocketed over $850 million from cryptocurrency transactions, many made by people seeking to influence federal policy, including foreign governments. These are undisputed facts.
▶ 10:28:57This week, we are witnessing yet another example of this administration's incessant efforts to enrich president trump and his political followers. This week, the president's personal lawyer, who was currently serving as the acting attorney general, took $1.8 billion from U.S.
▶ 10:29:20Taxpayers without an act of congress or a court order and intends to enrich the president's friends, allies and january 6th violent insurrectionists. If you do not believe me, take it from the vice president who said, and I quote, we do have people who are accused of of attacking law enforcement officers.
▶ 10:29:44That doesn't mean that we are going to completely ignore their claims, end quote. I guess last week was police week, and now that the photo opportunities are done with, why not give a windfall to violent criminals who literally attacked the police here at the us capitol? I wish that were the end of it.
▶ 10:30:10But yesterday, news broke out that as part of this corrupt bargain, the president's personal lawyer has used his position atop the department of justice to grant lifetime immunity to the president, his family members and his businesses.
▶ 10:30:29A ban on the whole of government, including the irs, the department of justice, and quote, any and any other agencies or departments, end quote from, quote, prosecuting or pursuing any and all claims, whether presently known or unknown, end quote. Why bother pardoning yourself when your personal lawyer can his abuse his power to do it for you?
▶ 10:31:01This week's actions demolish every norm and ethical standard to which elected officials ought to be held. And as a perfect example of why so many people across our country are furious at the people in power. Right now, the american people are drowning in a cost of living crisis, facing gas at nearly $5 a gallon, ever increasing grocery bills and skyrocketing health insurance premiums.
▶ 10:31:30Meanwhile, president trump and his allies are pulling levers to take money from working families and put themselves above the law. They believe that they are beyond accountability. This cannot stand this administration cannot be allowed to make and repeal their own laws or draw money, draw money from the united states treasury without a bill going through the congress.
▶ 10:31:57We must respect the rule of law or we will have truly lost the soul of our country. Last year, we voted unanimously as a whole house to repeal the disgusting senator payout scheme that was snuck into the legislative branch. Compromise. We all denied senator lindsey graham the million dollar payout.
▶ 10:32:24He publicly stated it was his intention to seek. What the administration has created this week is another attempt to enrich the president's allies, not with hundreds of thousands of dollars, but with billions. Today, we can say no. By adopting our colleagues amendment, we will not enrich elected officials with windfall payments at the expense of U.S.
▶ 10:32:56Taxpayers. Thank you. And I yield back. >> thank you. Gentlelady. The gentlelady from florida is recognized to address the amendment. >> well, here we go. My, my, my. While americans are struggling to put gas in their tanks, food on their table, pay their rent, right? Or even see a doctor.
▶ 10:33:29Now comes a nearly 2 billion slush fund to pay off donald trump's family, friends and political allies, including those who criminally attacked our capitol police and our democracy. And I say, pardon the french, hell no. Americans need lower costs and honest government, not taxpayers.
▶ 10:33:55Uh, using taxpayer funds for kickbacks to trump's friends and allies, I yield back. >> gentlelady. Gentlelady from pennsylvania. Miss dean's recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of the amendment by the good gentleman from california to prevent, uh, U.S.
▶ 10:34:24Electeds, president, vice president, members of congress from receiving a payout from this administration's recently created with the help of an acting attorney general, $1.7 billion slush fund. Uh, this is take money that will allegedly be taken from the judgment fund, which has a legitimate purpose and put into a slush fund. And that's all the amendment does.
▶ 10:34:49This week, the administration announced the creation of what they're calling the anti weaponization fund, a $1.8 billion pool of taxpayer dollars and establish it for a self-dealing settlement of a lawsuit that the president of the united states filed against us, filed against his own irs, his own government, for $10 billion. Does that not offend anybody in this room? Let me say it again.
▶ 10:35:18The president sued over the irs leak of his tax returns. He had a cause of action there. That cause of action, uh, in terms of who did the leaking, uh, I believe has been adjudicated. But what he did was he settled his lawsuit with himself by directing his own justice department, the acting attorney general, uh, to set up this $1.8 billion fund. That's not a settlement. It's a slush fund.
▶ 10:35:47And who might be eligible? Doesn't this offend anybody in this room? January 6th. Rioters. He pardons him. And then he says, you're going to be entitled to pay. Pay for your violence, pay for your violence against members of the capitol police, members of metropolitan police. Five police officers died, hundreds wounded. Many. God bless you.
▶ 10:36:15God bless you and their memories and their service to this capitol. I was there on january the 6th. I would argue to say there were many in this room who were there. It was a from. >> the balcony. >> yes. I was up in the balcony with you. Many of us trapped in the balcony. I heard the banging on the doors. Like others, I struggled to get the damn gas mask out from under my seat. We struggled to open the thing.
▶ 10:36:44We struggled to put it on our heads in disbelief as the center doors were being broken through as we heard a gunshot. As we were hustled out of the room to. We didn't know where and then held for hours. As americans, incited by their very. President, came and attacked the capitol, leaving massive destruction. Shards of glass splinters.
▶ 10:37:11Just a disgusting time. And somehow now this president wants to change history and say, I pardon all of you, many of whom have now gone on to commit other crimes, grotesque violent crimes, crimes against children, I pardon you. And now I set up a payout fund for you. This cannot be the america we want to live in.
▶ 10:37:39America demands of us that we in congress say, no, we're not going to trample the rule of law. We're not going to allow the trampling of history this way. The american people elected us to be a check on executive power. That's not just a democratic value. That's not just a republican value. That's an american value. That's a constitutional commitment.
▶ 10:38:06This bill abandons the responsibility that we are called to. If you have any doubts, I really commend I commend all of you to read this settlement agreement. I'm a recovering lawyer, but I ain't seen nothing like this. This is disgusting.
▶ 10:38:26Signed off by the acting attorney general, who's actually, as we know, and I've met with him personally, he's acting as a defense attorney for this president to cover up any wrongdoing. And the final thing I would say to you is, why would any president ask for such immunity for such a waiver of any kind of obligation or to file his taxes? Doesn't the president want to say, I'm a proud american?
▶ 10:38:52I'm filing my taxes, I pay my taxes, and you got everything here in front of you. But now, the president never said that. As a candidate for office. I take you back to that. What did he say when asked for the common courtesy? Responsibility, I would believe, to reveal his tax returns? Remember how he started his campaign? I couldn't possibly release them. They're all under audit. So the cover up continues.
▶ 10:39:20And now he has gone so far as to get the department of justice in a insider deal to say, Mr. president, and your family, none of us have any right to see what you've done in terms of tax payment. This is an abomination. We can't be a part of it, and the amendment should be passed, I yield. >> back, gentlelady. The gentleman from georgia, Mr. bishop, is recognized to address the amendment.
▶ 10:39:49Thank you. >> Mr. chairman. J.g. Holland wrote. God give us men a time like this demands strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands. Men whom the lust of office does not kill, men whom the spoils of office cannot buy. Men who possess opinions and a. Will men who have honor.
▶ 10:40:16Men who will not lie, men who can stand before a demagogue and damn his treacherous flatteries without winking. Tall men, son crowned, who live above the fog in public duty and in private thinking. For while the rabble, with their thumb worn creeds, their large professions and their little deeds mingle with. For injustice of justice. Sweeps and waiting.
▶ 10:40:44Justice sleeps. God give us men. Give us men that have courage. Like the gentleman from california, Mr. levin, to whom I yield the balance of my time. >> up to that I want to address my friend from california, the chairman.
▶ 10:41:10He mentioned the hypothetical of a veteran who's also an elected official, and has a claim against the federal government that would be paid out of the judgment fund. Is that veteran harmed by my amendment? The answer is no, and I want to explain why my amendment doesn't turn on who the claimant is. It turns on how the claim is adjudicated. The amendment requires that any payment from the judgment fund be made pursuant to a final order of a court of record.
▶ 10:41:36That's the standard, and the us court of appeals for veterans claims established by congress, with judges confirmed by the senate with decisions reviewable by the federal circuit and the supreme court is a national court of record. So every united states district court in which a veteran might bring a federal tort claims act case that would apply.
▶ 10:41:53So as the court of federal claims for monetary damages against the united states, if a veteran, whether that veteran is a member of this body or not, secures a final order from any one of those courts, the payment is made, the amendment is satisfied, the check is cut. There is no carve out needed because there's no exclusion to carve around. What this amendment prohibits is the payment to an elected official that has not gone through that process.
▶ 10:42:17A payment authorized by executive memorandum, a payment from a commission appointed by the attorney general. Firable at the president's pleasure, a payment to a member of congress for a claim that no court has ever adjudicated and no judge has ever ordered. So the veteran who's also an elected official, we've got some great ones in here.
▶ 10:42:36For example, any of our great colleagues who served honorably in uniform and who later have a legitimate claim against the federal government, that member is paid under my amendment that members claim, like every veterans claim, runs through the courts that congress built to hear it. And the decision of those courts is fully sufficient under this amendment. This amendment simply asks that every elected official, veteran or otherwise meet that same standard. The veterans of this country meet every single day I yield back.
▶ 10:43:08>> I thank the gentleman, the gentleman from maryland, Mr. ivy's recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I, I, um, just want to make one additional point. Um, to the extent the january 6th defendants are going to be eligible to recover from this, it is a slush fund. Um, there's there's really nothing else you can call it.
▶ 10:43:32The irony that jumps out at me, in addition to the fact that the way this is set up is fox guarding the henhouse, the boss tells, you know, the irs employees to settle with these guys and does the department of justice, who also works for him.
▶ 10:43:49And then based on what blanche said, they could be making payouts to, um, january 6th defendants or pretty much anybody else they decide they want to pay it to because he's going to put a board together. Who would make the decisions? Um, not an independent board, not an objective board, not a board of judges, just several people that he picks.
▶ 10:44:12But the irony for me here is you could have january 6th defendants coming forward to allege that they deserve some kind of payment, uh, for injuries. But these guys were ordered to pay restitution to the people that they injured on january 6th. Some of those were cops, some were those were other people. Some of those were that was about the damage that was caused to the building that day. Some of it was fines.
▶ 10:44:39But when he pardoned them, all the restitution payments in the fine payments went away. So there's millions of dollars that these guys, in addition to getting out of jail for free, millions of dollars in restitution that they don't have to pay, by the way, that's true for some of the other pardons that he made as well. Billions of dollars that fraudsters got away with, um, having to pay restitution for all wiped away by the pardons.
▶ 10:45:06The irony here is not only do they get that wiped away, so they don't have to make restitution payments or the fine payments that were ordered by a court. And by the way, all this stuff about the weaponization and everything, it's 1500 plus of these guys. Most of them pled guilty. And when you plead guilty in federal court, what that means is you write out an affidavit that says that you did it.
▶ 10:45:30And then when you stand before the judge, you raise your hand and swear under oath that you did it. And if you won't do that, you don't get to plead guilty. You go to trial. So they're saying they didn't actually do it, but they all swore under penalty of perjury that they did it. Others went to trial. They were convicted by a jury of their peers who found that they did it.
▶ 10:45:58And then under either circumstance, there's a judge who reviewed it and said, yeah, you did it. And not only did you do it, you did. It was a very serious criminal act or a series of criminal acts that you committed, and they sent many of them to jail, some of them for years.
▶ 10:46:13So the fact that they could come out of this potentially not having to pay restitution to people that they injured and get a judgment from the united states taxpayers for having committed the crimes, but done nothing to deserve it and receiving no injury, because the injury of this this stuff about, you know, they were mistreated by the system. Give me a break. If these guys, these guys got justice, if you want to find some people who don't get justice, pick a court. Any day.
▶ 10:46:43Here in the united states, you can find low income people who can't just barely get. Yeah. That happens. They're not going to get any money out of this fund, though, I guarantee you that. So I support this amendment. I gotta say, it's um. One of these things where I never would. I just don't have the mind to have figured out this circuitous path around the law to actually pay off people who committed crimes like this.
▶ 10:47:15And you're going to have your attorney general unthinkable if think of if barack obama had had eric holder do this, wouldn't you all be going crazy about it? I mean, right, I mean, think about it. So any president, even nixon, wouldn't have done this. Nixon and john mitchell wouldn't have done this. In fact, the extent they were doing stuff like this, they tried to hide it. Not these guys, not these guys. So let's vote for this amendment.
▶ 10:47:46Clearly, as Mr. levin pointed out, there's no injury to veterans or anybody like that. And also, I think Mr. levin pointed out, there's a process for people to get judgments from the united states that thousands of people go through day in and day out. It's not the easiest process. Maybe it's not the best process, and it certainly isn't the fastest process. But these people that they're talking about giving this money to, they certainly don't deserve expedited treatment.
▶ 10:48:13And they certainly don't deserve $1 of american taxpayer money. And with that, I yield back. >> thank the gentleman. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment? Gentleman from maryland, other gentleman from maryland, Mr. hoyer, is recognized. >> thank you very much, Mr. chairman. I would ask my republican friends who I think thinking you're not going to vote for this amendment.
▶ 10:48:37I want you to try to put in your mind for just a minute. If this is what joe biden had done. My supposition is we could not contain in this room the anger and the outrage.
▶ 10:49:03Of this conduct. Too often, all of us too often sort of situational ethics apply that if it's our guy, well, we'll sort of rationalize it. It's the other guy. We'll really go after him.
▶ 10:49:31Sanford bishop read a very powerful quote. On our side of the aisle. We think our fundamental rights are at risk. That's what we believe. We partially believe that because every day we see evidence of the erosion of justice, honesty.
▶ 10:50:07And constitutional conduct. And as a result, we wonder, why are people who we know, who are good people? Where is their outrage? The president said he wanted to drain the swamp.
▶ 10:50:36My view is he has created a sewer. Of criminal activity, of self-aggrandizement, of self help, wealth.
▶ 10:51:01If joe biden had accepted a $400 million plane, you would have been through the roof. Last night. I was thinking of as I watched the news, my wife had a book on our coffee table. It's ken burns's discussion about the revolution.
▶ 10:51:32It was a great show, great movie. And I thumbed through it and there was a quote of thomas paine, and every one of us ought to take this seriously. The quote by thomas paine was, man finds himself changed and discovers that the strength and powers of despotism consist
▶ 10:52:03Wholly in the fear of resisting it. And that in order to be free, it is sufficient that he wills it.
▶ 10:52:17No despotism came to power, proclaiming that's what it intended to do.
▶ 10:52:34I was chilled when donald trump said to a large audience, elect me, and you won't have to have another election. Did he mean it? I don't know.
▶ 10:52:57Ladies and gentlemen, we have to bring some honesty and common sense to our deliberations in our protection of our democracy. Joe welch said to joe mccarthy.
▶ 10:53:25Many decades ago, senator, do you have no shame? Look, I, I count on you. I have 17 grandchildren of blacks. Four of them are great grandchildren. They need your help.
▶ 10:53:49They need all of us to ensure that their democracy is not at risk for the guys that the president said, stand back and stand by, that he now wants to make sure are not guilty of what he urged them to do, and that there is a fund, perhaps to pay them.
▶ 10:54:17Perhaps a private army to be deployed down to the white, to the capitol, to fight like hell. Ladies and gentlemen, on both sides of the aisle, I hope we summon the courage and the conviction and the honesty to make sure that our government doesn't go this way.
▶ 10:54:53>> are there other members wishing to address the amendment? Gentlelady from maine is recognized. >> thank you, Mr. chair. Um. >> very proudly in support of this amendment. And I yield my time to the gentleman from california. >> I thank my good friend, and I want to do something that I think we do not very often around here. I want to invite anyone in here to make a substantive argument against this amendment. I've laid out what this amendment does.
▶ 10:55:18I heard one, uh, potential argument. I refuted it to the best of my ability. So I'll say it again. If any member in the committee has a legal argument against the amendment before I close, I'd like to hear it right now. Miss pingree, perhaps you'd be willing to yield the rest of this time to any member in this committee who'd be willing to make a substantive legal argument against this amendment.
▶ 10:55:49>> happy to yield the time to anyone. >> nobody home. >> Mr. bishop, do you want the time? >> no. No. >> no. Oh, wait, Mr. carter. Judge carter. >> um.
▶ 10:56:17>> thousands of disputes are settled by meeting between the parties and working out a dispute. The only thing you have going for you in this to make it look like something bad, is that the. It was settled by someone who was appointed by the president to be the attorney general of the united states. >> the only. >> thing which I have heard that man say, he does not work for the president. He works for the united states of america.
▶ 10:56:46I heard him less less than two days ago say that on television. Okay. I had nothing to do with what you argue here, but without that argument, you have no case because anybody can settle anywhere they want to. And it doesn't have to even go to a court. If they if they have a dispute and they choose to settle it, they can settle it. Now, that's a that's a fact.
▶ 10:57:14So the only issue you've got is you're saying his lawyer was actually it like it was his personal lawyer. And that's that's the only issue you've got. The other issues are all automatically done. I can tell you that exxon settled exxon valdez for billions of dollars. And I actually have seen the all the evidence it would fill this room. And it was never done by a court.
▶ 10:57:43So you got to realize this settlement and you know this because you're a lawyer. Settlement can be done any time, any day by two parties who are willing to agree. And your only issue is you're saying the attorney general who was representing attorney general will represent anyone in this room if necessary.
▶ 10:58:09Because he's the attorney general of the united states, and it has involved involves our us being involved with the federal law. So he did nothing wrong, except you're saying because he was appointed by the president made sense. He was number two man in the in the in the in the department. It wasn't like he was somebody weird. That's the guy you should have appointed. And it's temporary. He still can appoint another one.
▶ 10:58:38So you've you've taken a settlement the two parties made. And the only issue you have is that the president's was represented by the attorney general, and he could have fired him. >> well, will the gentlelady yield? >> uh, reclaiming my time? Yes. I'd be happy to yield. >> uh, just one quick point. Two private parties could certainly settle without going to court. Um, the united states of america cannot.
▶ 10:59:08So when you're settling with tax dollars, you can't just do it on the side. And. And keep in mind what is missing here. Any kind of indication that there's a legitimate basis for settling with these guys? In other words, I'll say it this way. It was a frivolous lawsuit that would have been thrown out under other circumstances. There's no legitimate yeah, there's no legitimate basis for paying these people.
▶ 10:59:36They don't they haven't even named who the actual plaintiffs would be to get the money for the settlement. Right. So in a normal scenario, let's say a, a class action case, the judge would determine who's eligible to even be eligible to be paid. And then they would determine who's in in that before they made the payments. So you don't exhaust the funds in the, in the, uh, in the, in the fund and leave somebody out who's a legitimate claimant.
▶ 11:00:05>> so that case was before a court. This case was before a court. Somebody filed a lawsuit, right? >> yes. >> okay. They settled it. If you didn't, then then write your amendment that that says go before the judge and get it approved. >> the judge didn't want to approve this. Right. That's why they went around it with the settlement. That's that's why they did it that way. Yeah. Right.
▶ 11:00:30So the judge, if if they tried to go and settle this through a judge, under normal circumstances, he would have rejected the settlement. >> well, we don't know that. We don't know that. You're telling me a lot of outside stuff that doesn't fit. Okay. >> I yield back. I thank the gentlelady. >> I yield back my time. >> I think it should be a make your amendment before you spend the money. Go before. >> you ladies time. Who's facilitated the debate has expired.
▶ 11:00:59Well, uh, are there any other members wishing to address the amendment? Gentlelady from nevada is recognized. >> Mr. chairman, I yield my time to Mr. levin. >> I thank my good friend from nevada. First of all, I have tremendous respect for the gentleman from texas who who has decades on the bench. I won't pretend to. Have you forgotten more about, uh, how these things work than I remember from my years of practice?
▶ 11:01:25But I will say in this particular instance, you know, you you had a judge involved who, uh, you know, basically was trying to adjudicate whether, uh, the doj in this instance could settle, um, you know, with the plaintiff because of that inherent conflict of interest that agreed. And the acting attorney general, as we all know, was the former criminal defense attorney for the president. Uh, you know, my reaction, judge, is, is it's correct that thousands of claims against the federal government are settled out of court every year.
▶ 11:01:55Those the settlements are routinely paid from the judgment fund. But the difference is that every one of those settlements arises from an actual claim filed through an established process, adjudicated or negotiated by career officials operating under statutory authority, with documentation on the record with a defined legal basis for the government's liability. There's a claimant, there's a claim, there's a process, there's a public record. What was announced on monday is none of those things.
▶ 11:02:22It's a permanent appropriation tapped by executive memorandum. It's administered by a commission that the acting attorney general appoints, that the president can fire. It pays out to claimants. The executive branch itself selects it, operates with no enabling statute, no eligibility criteria written in the law, no defined legal basis for the united states, liability to any particular individual. It's not a settlement process. It's a payment program created by memo.
▶ 11:02:52It's an inherent conflict of interest. And respectfully, I would ask if to my dear friend from maryland, if joe biden had done this, or my other dear friend from maryland, if barack obama had done this, what would your reaction have been? Uh, and when you have a president who sues his irs, settles with his doj, uh, there's, this is look, you all know how this looks.
▶ 11:03:20We can debate this back and forth all day long. I think I'm right on the facts and respectfully judge on the law here as well. But the real court that we all have to be concerned about is the court of public opinion. And this smells bad and it looks bad. And that's why this that's why this past november, very similar situation. I would argue this is worse. Senators were going to settle for half a million. Lindsey graham and all the rest of them, half a million, $1 million.
▶ 11:03:49And they walked it back. And mike johnson, speaker johnson decided to walk it back because of the court of public opinion. So I would ask you to think long and hard about this before trying to, uh, you know, find a rationalization for what is so clearly and unequivocally a misuse of taxpayer money. And I yield back to my friend from nevada. >> uh, thank you. I yield to Mr. sanford.
▶ 11:04:20>> isaiah 59, chapter 14. So justice is driven back and righteousness stands at a distance. Truth has stumbled in the streets. I cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found. And whosoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one.
▶ 11:04:49He was appalled that there was no one to intervene. This committee and this congress should intervene, I yield back. >> thank you. Uh, judge, did you want to speak? Okay, I'm. I'm finished. Do you want to do you have anything to. Okay. >> one last thing. I thank my friend from nevada. So just to put the facts out there, the president sued the irs.
▶ 11:05:19He sued the treasury department. He sued agencies that report to him. He sought $10 billion. The justice department that represents those agencies was negotiating a settlement with the president's personal lawyers on behalf of agencies. The president himself directs the federal judge, presiding judge kathleen williams of the southern district of florida, looked at that arrangement and raised exactly the question that any honest person would raise.
▶ 11:05:46She asked whether the parties were even sufficiently adverse to one another to satisfy article three of the constitution. She questioned whether there was a real case or controversy at all. She admonished the doj for refusing to share the terms of the settlement with the public, and in her order of dismissal, she made clear that the government had not submitted the kind of documentation that would ordinarily allow a court to assess whether a settlement is appropriate, and I yield back. >> thank you, Mr. chair. I yield.
▶ 11:06:16>> gentlelady from texas is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise to support my colleague's amendment, and I appreciate the the back and forth about the legal aspects of all of this. But this is really fundamentally a very simple question and a very simple issue.
▶ 11:06:46I don't know if, when you all heard the news about this settlement, and actually we can go further back than that, when the president decided to sue the federal government to try to extract money from the federal government for himself. I don't know about you all. I found that shocking.
▶ 11:07:11I cannot imagine a public servant attempting to enrich themselves while serving the government, that they have taken an oath to. That was shocking in and of itself.
▶ 11:07:29But then when we learned not only about this settlement, but the amount which also just incredibly offensive, $1.776 billion intended to evoke some sort of patriotism in order to funnel money to criminals,
▶ 11:08:02Criminals. My my colleague earlier from pennsylvania talked about january 6th. These are people who assaulted capitol police officers who now want a payout, and they're already they're lining up for it. The proud boys leader, enrique tarrio.
▶ 11:08:27He was sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy over the january 6th insurrection. He announced he is planning to apply for this fund, and he is expecting to get between $2 million and $5 million. There's the other interviews. Other insurrectionists who have come forward.
▶ 11:08:56Uh, there's one insurrectionist who's already announced also that he intends to ask for $30 million. This really is fundamentally a question of right and wrong. And we know what is right. We know what is wrong, and we know this is really, really wrong.
▶ 11:09:21We also know the senate is already looking at ways to curb or eliminate this. And I'm talking about senate republicans, so that there is a recognition that this is very, very wrong. We can and should do something about it via this committee, via this bill. We have an opportunity to do something about it.
▶ 11:09:44If those individuals who are looking to cash in feel they have a claim, they should file a claim and they should go through a legal process, this is not a legitimate process. This is not a fair process. This is not an honest process. This is not a correct process. And I think we all know this.
▶ 11:10:11I know we all know this. The question is whether we will openly try to stop this very wrong thing from happening. And we should. It's our job. Thank you, Mr. levin, for bringing forward this amendment. If you need any more time, I'm happy to yield you more time. All right. Mr.
▶ 11:10:45Bishop would like some some more time, Mr. bishop. >> truth forever on the scaffold. Wrong. Forever on the throne. Yet that scaffold sways the future. And behind the dim unknown standeth god within the shadow. Keeping watch above his own will the watchmen. We are the protectors of the american people. This is a good amendment, and we need to stand our watch and stand it well.
▶ 11:11:13I urge the passage of this amendment. >> thank you, Mr. bishop. I to urge the passage of this amendment. We all know the difference between right and wrong. Thank you, Mr. chairman. I yield back. >> thank. Gentlelady. Are there other members wishing to speak to the amendment? >> they are seeing? >> none. The gentleman is recognized for one minute to close. >> I'll just say this directly. Going back to november.
▶ 11:11:43You knew how it looked. You knew how it smelled. You knew what your constituents would say when they saw U.S. senators with their hands in the treasury, and it was walked back. What was announced this monday is far worse, structurally and substantively. And I think privately, many of you know that nearly $1.8 billion of commissioned the president can fire a window that closes before the next inauguration. No statute, no audit, no reporting to this committee.
▶ 11:12:12The precedent we set today will outlast this administration. It will outlast the next one. And whoever sits in the oval office four years from now or eight years from now, they're going to reach for that precedent. So I'm asking you to do something that I know is not easy. I'm asking you to distance yourself from this. I'm asking you to join a number of senate republicans and even some house republicans. I saw today, at least a few who were willing to draw a line in the sand on this and to stand up for accountability.
▶ 11:12:41That accountability should apply to all of us. I hope you vote yes. I yield back. >> thank you. Gentlemen. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. No opinion of the chair. The nos have it. A roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. The clerk will call the roll.
▶ 11:13:12>> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aderholt. No. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar, I, Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei, Mr. amodei. No. Mrs. bice, Mr. bishop. Yes. Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I Mr. eskamani. Mr. kline, Mr. kline. No. Mr. cloud, Mr.
▶ 11:13:44Clyburn, Mr. clyburn I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cuellar, miss. Dean. Miss. Dean, I miss. Delauro, I miss. Delauro, I. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards. No. Mr. ellzey. Mr. ellzey. No. Miss. Escobar, miss. Escobar, I Mr. espaillat. I Mr. espaillat, I Mr. fleishman, Mr. fleishman. No.
▶ 11:14:14Miss frankel, miss frankel, I Mr. franklin, Mr. franklin. No. Mr. guest. Mr. guest, Mr. guest. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter, I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mrs. henson. No. Mr. hoyer. Mr. hoyer I Mr. iv, Mr. iv, I Mr. joyce, Mr.
▶ 11:14:46Joyce. No. Miss kaptur, I miss kaptur, I Mr. lalota. Miss lee. Miss lee, I miss. Letlow, Mr. levin, Mr. levin, I miss molloy, miss molloy. No. Miss mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming I. Mr. molinari, Mr. molenaar. No. Mr. moore. >> I wanted to hear what I'm saying. >> Mr. moore. No. Mr.
▶ 11:15:14Morelli, Mr. morelli, I Mr. van, Mr. mervyn I Mr. newhouse, Mr. newhouse no. Miss. Perez. Miss. Perez, miss perez, I miss. Pingry, miss pingry, I Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley I. Mr. guy reschenthaler. Mr. guy reschenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford. No. Mr.
▶ 11:15:42Shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No. Mrs. torres. Mrs. torres, I miss underwood, I miss underwood, I Mr. valadao, no. Mr. valadao, no. Miss wasserman schultz, I miss wasserman. Schultz, I Mrs. watson. Coleman. I Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink.
▶ 11:16:15No. >> are there any members wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentleman from texas? >> Mr. cloud. No. >> gentleman from west virginia. Did you vote? >> he voted. >> okay. >> Mr. spice has not voted. >> a gentlelady from oklahoma. >> Mrs. bice? No. >> are there others wishing to vote or change their vote?
▶ 11:16:48Seeing none, the clerk will tally. >> the. Bipartisan outrage.
▶ 11:17:24>> on this vote. The yeas are 27. The nos are 32. The amendment is not adopted. >> the. >> gentlelady from pennsylvania, miss dean, is recognized for the purpose of an amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask that my amendment be read. >> without objection. Oh. I'm sorry. Excuse me. Thank you. Right in. Thank you. Clerk, please read the amendment.
▶ 11:17:54>> an amendment offered by miss dean in the report. At the appropriate place. Insert the following january 6th exhibition. The committee directs the architect of the capitol to develop and install a display or exhibition within the united states capitol complex, documenting the attack on the capitol on january 6th, 2021.
▶ 11:18:13Incorporating damaged artifacts currently in the aoc's possession, photographic records and other relevant materials, the architect shall consult with the house and senate curators to ensure a comprehensive presentation, drawing upon artifacts held across all relevant custodians not later than 180 days after enactment of this act, the architect shall submit to the committees on appropriations of the house and senate a plan for the exhibition, including a proposed location, artifact, inventory, installation timeline and any other funding
▶ 11:18:45Requirements. >> gentlelady is recognized the discussion amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman, and I thank you for the reading of the amendment. Just to see how very clear it is. I notice in here we disagree about what happens on different days in our history, but I think we can all agree january 6th did happen and it is a part of our history.
▶ 11:19:06I've long >> thought after the damage, destruction and chaos of that day, uh, that it was swept up so quickly that maybe we should have pondered a little longer to take a look at what actually happened that day. It is a part of our history.
▶ 11:19:24You know, as we waited for hours, uh, as capitol police held off what can only be described as a medieval mob, americans using the american flag and a trump trump flags to beat and batter capitol police to stalk members of congress to threaten to hang mike pence. I remember thinking, don't fix this too quickly. Leave something here so that the american people will see what happened here.
▶ 11:19:54Let america bear witness as it did, because television didn't lie. But of course, the glass was swept up by very faithful custodians. The windows were replaced by very capable craftsmen. The doors were rehung. We have a country to govern. I understand that, but I am grateful that the architect of the capitol had foresight to set some of those broken pieces aside and not discard them.
▶ 11:20:23I've met with the architect of the capitol, two different architects of the capitol, over the course of these last few years to make this pitch, save this stuff, catalog it, make an exhibition so that visitors of this capitol can see what happened on that fateful day, to see that americans attacked this institution, incited by a president who was very upset that he lost an election.
▶ 11:20:55Broken glass, damaged doors, pieces of shutters from the senate. Uh, the connecting corridor. Some are cataloged. Some are in storage. I have documentation from the architect of the capitol because here's what I know. History doesn't preserve itself. And we have an administration that is doing everything in its power to erase history, to whitewash history. Think of the discussion we just had.
▶ 11:21:23Violent criminals pardoned and now offered pay. Think of that. The whitewashing of history and attempt to forgive oneself, perhaps for one's role in what happened here. We've watched efforts to minimize, to sanitize, to erase.
▶ 11:21:47But I believe it is important that we record that painful day and that when people visit this capitol, they will see what happened, and they will see, most importantly, that they, the people who came in that day were not successful. They wanted to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power.
▶ 11:22:06And while they interrupted peacefulness, they did not interrupt the proper and constitutional transfer of power. The architect of the capitol remains ready, ready to assist in the preservation of related, uh, and any related efforts that congress wishes to pursue. That is their job.
▶ 11:22:27I urge my colleagues to support this amendment for the officers who defended us and this building, for the staff who were terrorized along with us and tried to shelter in place for every american who deserves to know the truth about their democracy and what it has endured and what it has survived, and what I hope someday, somehow will make us stronger.
▶ 11:22:54I want to close with the group I've thought of very, very often, and that is our custodial staff. As we were huddled in a safe room for hours and hours and we said, we're going back to the floor. They will not defeat us. They will not run us out of this building. Who had to do the cleanup? The custodians, the members of all of our crews.
▶ 11:23:18I think of them cleaning up broken glass, shards of wood feces spread upon the floor, and the walls of this place. I think of their feeling of duty.
▶ 11:23:37We should have that same sense of duty to clean this place up, to preserve for all of history and for all who visit here what they did, they brought back the beauty of this place. So I ask you to consider my amendment. I ask you to vote for this amendment so that history cannot be whitewashed, and so that we will prevail and show that democracy prevailed. I yield. >> back, gentlelady.
▶ 11:24:06The gentleman from california is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chair. I rise in opposition to this amendment. Mr. chairman, the aoc needs to remain laser focused on the completion of the new screening facility for security purposes and prioritize the renewal of the rayburn house office building. Um, this adds another task. And right now, I just don't know if they have the resources for it. Uh, urge a no vote on amendment and I yield back. >> gentleman. The gentleman from new york, Mr. is recognized to address the amendment.
▶ 11:24:36>> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in support of this amendment. It took us four years. Uh, right here in this committee. It took us four long years to finally get the installation of a plaque.
▶ 11:24:59Quietly, it was installed and in somewhat obscure hidden hallway in the middle of the night. For the men and women that protected all of our lives, they they didn't ask where we were. Democrats or republicans. They didn't ask whether we were from blue states, red states, or purple states. They supported all of us and the.
▶ 11:25:30The many of our lives. And yet it took four years to fight for this plaque to be installed in the middle of the night, in a place where I think many of us here, many of the people here don't know exactly where it is, or maybe haven't seen the plaque itself.
▶ 11:25:52And so I think this is a fitting, a fitting measure, an exhibit that will highlight the courage of the men and women on that dreadful day and will be properly done to acknowledge them permanently. Not in the middle of the night.
▶ 11:26:19Let's do it on a sunny day where everybody can see, let's do it openly in an open space where children and families could come and see, the families must be aware of the good and the bad of our history. It is important that to prevent the bad from occurring again, that they know it. And so this is a a very good amendment, a timely amendment.
▶ 11:26:48I commend the gentlelady from pennsylvania, and I encourage all my colleagues to vote in support of it, I yield back. >> I thank the gentleman. I recognize the gentlelady from ohio, miss captor, to discuss the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I rise in strong support of the amendment from my friend, congresswoman madeleine dean and thank her for her leadership. One can try to rewrite, uh, or deny history, but truth will.
▶ 11:27:18Out on january 6th, 2021, the hallowed grounds of the united states capitol and our very system of governance that has sustained our country for nearly two and a half centuries came under attack. How do I know this? I was trapped for most of the day and evening in the capitol on that fateful day, just as a few who remain in this room were subjected to such chaotic destruction.
▶ 11:27:47While history can often be framed as events which happen decades to centuries before our lifetimes, it is also being made every single day. While this attack happened just over five years ago, it is still a critical moment in our nation's history.
▶ 11:28:06And frankly, for those of us who were present in our own lives, we remember the chaos, the harm, the tear gas, the shouting, the uncertainty, the throwing of furniture, the release of tear gas and the gunshots. I was sitting right above where that happened.
▶ 11:28:33I'll never forget that it is necessary. We set up remembrance of this event in this beloved chamber when it is still fresh. In our minds and the nation's mind and those who lived it and survived it, and are still with us so that it can be captured, discussed, and portrayed accurately.
▶ 11:29:01Many of us wrote extensive remembrances of that fateful day, and I would like to know where are those archived and available? In part, this is why history. I supported and fought for 16 years for the creation of the world war two memorial in this capitol in our.
▶ 11:29:21Along the nation's mall, 100 million people have now visited that memorial as a tribute in that sacred space to the greatest generation. I was lucky to work with the people who fought in and lived during world war two. I'll tell you what, I miss every one of them. That war shape me. It shaped the globe in which we live for all the following decades.
▶ 11:29:50Now, as fewer members of the greatest generation continue to walk with us, we treasure the exhibits and their teachings to help guide those of us who follow in their stead. These stories and our story must be saved so they can be passed down from generation to generation.
▶ 11:30:12The same approach must be taken for the january 6th, 2021, attack on this historic house complex, incorporating an exhibit in the us capitol building were. The flag flies highest in this nation's capital, higher than the white house, higher than the supreme court. Here, it creates an educational opportunity for all who visit all the school children who visit each year.
▶ 11:30:40A responsible exhibit also demonstrates a sense of responsibility and ownership and recognition for our country's challenges to liberty, showing all americans in our capitals international visitors that we are not hiding or covering up our difficult history. Even the uncomfortable blemishes and troubling memories.
▶ 11:31:06The capitol is full of museums and memorials, acknowledging so many different types of complicated moments in our nation's history. January 6th, 2021. Surely needs to be one of them. I know the architect of the capitol and the smithsonian have collected many artifacts from that day. We should responsibly help to give them a permanent home here in these hallowed halls.
▶ 11:31:34We cannot be ashamed of what happened, but we must recognize it for what it was. May I encourage all of my colleagues to remember the events of that day, support this amendment to ensure that we remember and learn from it, and do not allow that lawless history to repeat itself. We owe it to the american people and to those who will follow us. Thank you, and I yield back. Support the amendment. >> thank the gentlelady.
▶ 11:32:03Are there other members wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close. >> thank you very much, Mr. chairman. I'm sorry. >> oh, I'm sorry, I did not see my friend from georgia. Gentleman from georgia is recognized to address the amendment. >> another quote.
▶ 11:32:35>> when your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, what mean these stones? Then you shall let your children know. Saying, israel came over this jordan on dry land. This exhibit.
▶ 11:32:49Will allow generations to come to know how the people's house was held hostage and attacked by an insurrection, and how our democracy was saved. On that. January 6th.
▶ 11:33:17How after 12 hours, we were able to resume the people's business and have a peaceful transition of power following an election. What mean these stones pass this amendment?
▶ 11:33:39It's good for the american people because he or she who does not remember its history, it's doomed to repeat it. You're back. >> thank the gentleman. Are there other members wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> well, I don't think I can beat the eloquence of my colleague, Mr.
▶ 11:34:08Sanford, but I will just say, by way of procedure and facts. I met with the architect of the capitol, Mr. chairman, uh, several times, uh, in may of 24, again in february of 25. In between, I asked for a catalog of that which they had, and he gave me a partial listing, and he closed his letter like this.
▶ 11:34:30The architect of the capitol always is prepared to assist in any commemorative or preservation related effort that the congress wishes to pursue through these channels. I believe we should pursue it because it will not just be the story of destruction and attack and brutality. It will be the story of democracy prevailing. We should make sure we preserve that by way of an exhibition. I yield.
▶ 11:35:01>> thank the gentlelady. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from pennsylvania. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. No opinion of the chair. The nos have it. Roll call has been requested. Sufficient support has been demonstrated. Clerk will call the roll. >> Mr. aderholt. Mr. aguilar, Mr. aguilar, I Mr. alford, Mr. alford. No. Mr. amodei, Mr.
▶ 11:35:32Amodei. No. Mrs. bice, Mr. bishop, Mr. bishop, I. Mr. calvert, Mr. calvert. No. Mr. carter. Mr. carter. No. Mr. case. Mr. case I Mr. eskamani. Mr. eskamani. No. Mr. klein, Mr. klein. No. Mr. cloud, Mr. clyburn, Mr. clyburn I. Mr. clyde. Mr. clyde. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr. cole. No. Mr.
▶ 11:36:00Cuellar, Mr. cuellar I miss dean, miss dean, I miss. Delauro, miss. Delauro, I. Mr. diaz-balart, Mr. diaz-balart. No. Mr. edwards, Mr. edwards. No. Mr. lee. Mr. lee. No. Miss. Escobar, miss. Escobar, I. Mr. espaillat, Mr. espaillat, I. Mr. fleischmann, Mr. fleischmann. No. Miss. Frankel, miss. Frankel, I Mr. franklin, Mr.
▶ 11:36:31Franklin. No. Mr. guest, Mr. guest. No. Mr. harter, Mr. harter, I. Doctor. Harris. Doctor. Harris. No. Mrs. henson. Mr. hoyer, Mr. hoyer, I Mr. iv, Mr. iv I Mr. joyce. Mr. joyce. No. Miss. Kaptur, miss kaptur, I Mr. lalota, miss lee, miss lee, I miss. Letlow, Mr.
▶ 11:36:58Levin, Mr. levin, I. Miss. Molloy. Miss. Mccollum, miss mccollum, I miss ming, miss ming I. Mr. mulliner, Mr. mulliner. No. Mr. moore. Mr. moore, Mr. moore. No. Mr. morelli, Mr. morelli, I. Mr. merman, Mr. mervyn I, Mr.
▶ 11:37:30Newhouse, Mr. newhouse. No. Miss. Perez, miss. Perez, I miss. Pingree, miss pingree, I. Mr. pocan, Mr. pocan, I Mr. quigley. Mr. quigley, I. Mr. reschenthaler. Mr. rosenthaler. No. Mr. rogers, Mr. rogers. No. Mr. rutherford. Mr. rutherford. No. Mr. shreeve, Mr. shreeve. No. Mr. simpson, Mr. simpson. No. Mr. strong, Mr. strong. No.
▶ 11:38:00Mrs. torres, I Mrs. torres, I miss underwood, miss underwood, I Mr. valadao, Mr. valadao. No. Miss. Wasserman. Schultz, miss. Wasserman. Schultz. I. Mrs. watson. Coleman, Mrs. watson. Coleman. I. Mr. womack, Mr. womack. No. Mr. zink, Mr. zink. No. >> are there any members wishing to vote or change their vote? Gentleman from alabama. >> Mr. aderholt. No. >> gentleman from new york. >> Mr. lalota no.
▶ 11:38:31>> gentlelady from oklahoma. >> Mrs. bisnow. >> gentlelady from utah. >> miss malloy, no. >> gentleman from texas. >> Mr. cloud? No. >> are there others? >> Mrs. hansen? >> where? Oh I'm sorry. Gentlelady from iowa. >> Mrs. henson. No. >> are there others wishing to vote or change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will tally.
▶ 11:39:32On this vote. The eyes are 28, the nose are 34. The amendment is not adopted. Gentlelady from washington is recognized for the purpose of amendment. >> Mr. chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. >> and lady like it read. >> or. >> dispense with the reading, please. >> okay. Without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with. The gentlelady is recognized for remarks on her amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 11:39:58This is clearly a very divided and dark time in our country, and it's often it is easy to get dragged down in this and focus on it. And and I would encourage us all to say that there are beautiful things in this country worth fighting for and upholding, and it is far too easy to focus on the broken things and not the things worthy of praise. Whatever is good, whatever is just is true. Meditate on these things. Um, and I believe that quilting is one of those things. How many of you have a quilt? How many of your families quilt? Do you have quilters in your family?
▶ 11:40:28How many of you got a quilt for your wedding? Um, how many of you have those displayed? Don't answer that. Um, but quilting is a core piece of american identity. It is thrift. It is generosity. It is skill. It is knit together with muscle and memory. And this union of work and visual intelligence, um, of stewarding things, not just being consumers, but producers, things who make beautiful things and steward those skills through generation that is worthy of praise and merit. We have a congress, we have a congressional app challenge.
▶ 11:40:57Um, how many of us here think that we need more technology in our young people's lives? How many of us here think that we wish we spent more time on our phones? Um, not as many, right. So let's take this time to uphold what is good and beautiful. My amendment is very straightforward. It's very low cost. What it does is establish a congressional quilt show. You can choose to participate in this by holding a lottery. Your constituents are eligible for this lottery by winning a ribbon in a fair.
▶ 11:41:24Um, and so we're avoiding the whole contest question. We're holding up our fares. Um, we hold it, you know, you hold a lottery and that that quilt can be displayed outside of your office, um, for a period of time, a month or so, um, altogether. And I, you know, I think about how ugly things are. Let's do something that's beautiful. Let's bring humanity and pride and dignity and a proper pride of skill into this place. Um, this is a deep culture. This is a long history.
▶ 11:41:52And I think it merits our attention and our praise and being upheld in congress, especially right now. This is not an expensive the cost of this is going to be roughly the cost of installing a curtain rod outside of a member of congress's office. I believe doctor harris has offered to bring his drill. Uh, if you're worried about the cost, he'll install the curtain rod for you. I'll bring the drywall anchors.
▶ 11:42:14Um, but, you know, I think, um, this is a low cost way to uphold the things that we think are beautiful and merit our attention, um, in congress. And I am so grateful for your consideration of this amendment. I would love your support. Um, and with that, I will yield back. >> thank the gentlelady for amendment gentleman from california, Mr. valadao is recognized to address the amendment. >> so.
▶ 11:42:42All the name calling this room has gotten so dark and negative that I felt like this was the opportunity to bring some positivity back. Uh, I thank the chair, the gentlelady from washington. I know you've been working on it all day, and it seems like we've come to an agreement here, and so I'm willing to accept it and move forward and hopefully get on to the next amendment.
▶ 11:43:14>> well, the. Gentleman from new york, Mr. sb, recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I, I would. >> I rise. >> in support time honored tradition. Uh, and I ask all my colleagues to say. >> gentlelady from minnesota is recognized to address the amendment.
▶ 11:43:45>> I can't think of a better. >> way to celebrate 250 years. I'm the daughter of a quilter, and it doesn't pass down every generation. But but here's here's what comes to mind when I read this amendment. Going to too many quilt shows, having to pick things out, not being the best stitch my sister was. But the quilts are some of the popular ones the yankee quilt, the ohio star, the dolley madison star, the martha washington star, the texas star, kansas trouble.
▶ 11:44:14There's a daniel boone pattern. The nine patch is very popular. You're all familiar with the wedding patch, but my favorite to celebrate 250 would be the log cabin. I think this is a great idea. And you know what? We needed to end this committee on a high note. Thank you for offering the amendment. Thanks, mom. >> are there other members willing or wishing to address the amendment? Gentleman from missouri. >> thank you, Mr. chair. >> I'm not going. >> to draw this out. >> I know the the night is long.
▶ 11:44:45Alright. I know you're asking. What do you look, I owe Mr. president an apology. When we first heard about this amendment at 10:00 in our little meeting, I said, this is stupid. Alright, I apologize for that. >> I know. >> there is so much negativity in this world and everyone is glued to their iphone or their ipad.
▶ 11:45:12If you come to my office and I know many of you have, I have a picture there that I painted of my great grandmother, omi spear, and she quilted, and I have one of those quilts in my office that I sleep in my office with this. This is an opportunity to bring artwork, artwork to the capitol to show the pride and heritage of americana. And I appreciate miss perez.
▶ 11:45:41I love your quirky heart. You're a real stitch. So thank you very much, and I yield. Oh. >> are there others wishing to address the amendment? Chair recognizes himself. First piece of unsolicited advice to my friend from missouri. When you say something stupid and private, you don't have to confess it in public.
▶ 11:46:04But and, uh, to, to my friend the, the author of the amendment before I recognize her to close. This is a serious question. Uh, if you hang these things out, can I do indian blankets? Can. Because in my district, we want to do indian blankets. Okay. And if you see a sioux feather blanket, it is the best in the world. Unbelievable. With that, gentlelady is recognized for. >> one minute.
▶ 11:46:32I'm in profoundly encouraged and grateful to all of you for your, um, you know, extension of belief and criticism and to Mr. alford for helping make this a much stronger amendment. Um, I'm you're making a lot of quilters very happy. And I think this is exactly what we need in congress right now. So I thank the ranking member and the chair for their support. And our colleagues, thank you so much. Sincerely, deeply. >> thank the gentlelady. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from washington. All those in favor say I, I, all those opposed say no.
▶ 11:47:02In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. I had two cranks from nevada. Uh, so the amendment is adopted. >> thank you. >> gentlelady from washington. Miss perez is recognized for the purpose of amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chair. I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask the amendment be read. >> the clerk will read the amendment.
▶ 11:47:34>> amendment offered by miss perez of washington at the appropriate place in the report. Insert the following clarity and acuity for constituent representation. The committee directs the office of congressional conduct to develop a standard for what constitutes conduct that does not reflect credibly upon the house as it relates to a member of congress's ability to perform the duties of office unimpeded by significant, irreversible cognitive impairment.
▶ 11:48:00>> without objection, the or, excuse me, is, uh, the gentlelady is recognized to explain her amendment. >> and I'm sorry to bring the tone down here. Um, but this is a persistently an issue that my constituents bring to me this concern that congress is not being run by the elected members, but by their staff.
▶ 11:48:22And, you know, I humbly, um, you know, last time when we spoke about this amendment on cognitive decline, um, I want to be clear that this amendment does not change how member is removed. It doesn't grant the authority removal. It's just a place to start the discussion. We're asking the office of congressional conduct to develop a standard with which to evaluate. We are not adopting the standard.
▶ 11:48:44We are saying, give us a starting point to discuss how to handle significant and irreversible cognitive decline, both of those things, and how it impacts a member's ability to execute the duties of their office, um, in accordance with the with the code of conduct we have established. Um, I think it's important that we have this conversation that we give ourselves a starting point to have this very difficult conversation about how to address significant and irreversible cognitive decline.
▶ 11:49:16Um, you know, citizens elected representatives serve as their voice in congress. But when I hear these concerns from my neighbors about unelected staff steering the ship, um, it is an impingement on all of us to not address this and to start this conversation. Um, you know, I, I appreciate the consideration of this. Um, we've got to start this conversation at some point. Uh, and I think this is, there's no time like the present.
▶ 11:49:42We will later go on to, you know, amend to debate and perhaps adopt this standard. But let's find a starting point, um, for from which to discuss this. And with that, I will yield back. >> I thank the gentlelady. Are there others wishing to address the amendment? Seeing none, the gentleman. I'm sorry, gentlelady from texas is recognized to address the amendment. >> so thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 11:50:13And I'd like to thank my colleague for bringing this forward. I. I just want to say a couple things about this. Um, because I, I think it's this is an important discussion. I think we absolutely should have guardrails and we should have parameters for congress. And I think we should do a better job of policing ourselves on a number of fronts. We shouldn't be trading stocks.
▶ 11:50:43We there's a number of things we shouldn't be doing. And I think there are a lot of us who would like to engage on creating stronger parameters as a way to not just build public trust in congress, but also, frankly, to help us ensure that we are adequately doing the job that is required of us.
▶ 11:51:09This amendment came up last year, and I, I actually was very interested in it last year. Um, and just like our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have your pre-meetings, we have our pre meetings as well.
▶ 11:51:25And, and there were a number of questions about the amendment, really just the fundamentals about process basically, and definition and which committee it should be housed in. And to be honest, and I shared this with you, the responses were not, I felt adequate for such a consequential decision.
▶ 11:51:52So I went with, um, I did not support the amendment. I also felt like this is a really important thing for us to be doing. Is an appropriations bill the best place for something like this? An appropriations bill, which really is in effect for one year. I don't think this is the appropriate place for something of this nature because it is important, it is consequential.
▶ 11:52:23It is something we should do. Um, what was distressing to me, and this is why I rise today to say something. What was distressing to me was the press coverage afterwards, which made it seem like we didn't pass this amendment because we don't want to police ourselves.
▶ 11:52:46We we've expelled members of congress, so we do police ourselves. Could we should we do more? Yes, but I felt I had to say something because I was really disappointed in the way this was spun in the media last year after we didn't act. From my perspective, we should act. I think this needs a little bit more vetting.
▶ 11:53:14I certainly have some more questions about it. I was looking forward to talking about it this morning at our pre meeting, but we didn't have the opportunity to do that. Um, but I'm happy to explore something like this because I do support guardrails and I do support parameters, but I don't if this fails, I don't want it to be spun as though we don't want to police ourselves.
▶ 11:53:42So thank you for indulging, I yield back. >> thank you, gentlelady, for comments. Uh, gentleman from georgia, Mr. clyde is recognized to address the amendment. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. I will be very brief. Uh, within the constitution, there are three requirements to be a member of congress. You have to be 25 years old, seven years a citizen, and be and live in the state that elects you. Those are the requirements to be a member of congress.
▶ 11:54:11I think an appropriation bill is the wrong place for this particular amendment. Uh, it would need to go by itself to the floor because it requires a two thirds majority in order to become a part of the constitution, and it would have to be part of the constitution in order to apply to a member of congress. So with that, even though I certainly understand the lady's concern and, um, but that's kind of the way it has to be. So I would vote no on this amendment, and I yield.
▶ 11:54:40>> I appreciate gentleman's remark. Are there others wishing to address the amendment? >> gentleman I'll be very brief. I don't usually disagree with my with my colleague from georgia, but I disagree on this because very clearly we do have the right to determine whether someone, someone's behavior or abilities reflect poorly on th