Gus Bilirakis

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3950) to require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive information to consumers about ticket prices and related fees, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I am just proud that I played a small role in passing this legislation. Obviously, I am the sponsor, but we had Mr. Pascrell from New Jersey and every time I went around to the Democratic side to talk about particular bills, he would grab me and talk to me about the BOSS and SWIFT ACT. Mr. Pascrell actually made a good bill better, and we appreciate him so very much. Again, without Chair Rodgers, Ranking Member Pallone, and the ranking member of the subcommittee, my partner, Ms. Schakowsky, this never would have gotten done. Our constituents will benefit from this. You know what, this is a great example of how Congress should intervene. Again, we passed it out of the House. We have got to lobby the Senate to get this done as soon as possible. I want to thank the staff. We couldn't do it without the staff, that is for sure, on both sides of the aisle working out the details. Energy and Commerce is famous for working together and protecting our consumers. Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this particular bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

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

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this particular bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the unique contributions of one of my constituents, Jody Young, who serves as a volunteer Board Member for the local non-profit, Brooksville Main Street. These outstanding volunteers put in hundreds of hours while running their businesses and organizations. They have all come together for a common cause--to serve the community by bringing much-loved events to downtown Brooksville. Each of these board members have servant hearts, and their dedication and commitment to our community is impressive. Part of what makes our country so great is the willingness of ordinary Americans to go above and beyond to selflessly give back to others. Volunteerism is one of the cornerstones of our society and part of the fabric that unites us. It is clear that Ms. Young and her fellow board members have made a profoundly positive impact on our community, and I am grateful for her service.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), my good friend.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I express my support for H.R. 4814, the Consumer Safety Technology Act led by Representatives Soto, Burgess, Trahan, and Guthrie. It should be no surprise, Mr. Speaker, that the global race for economic dominance today is centered around technology, specifically around emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain. Throughout this Congress, the Energy and Commerce Committee, led by our chairwoman, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and our ranking member, Mr. Pallone, has examined ways that the U.S. can continue to lead in the development and deployment of such technologies. In our subcommittee, we have discussed the need to ensure America leads the world and wins this critical competition, particularly against our adversaries, in this case, China, in every field. This legislation will complement other initiatives we are undertaking. If enacted, H.R. 4814 would ensure our consumer protection agencies stay up to date with emerging technologies and would encourage the use of emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain in support of product safety and consumer protection. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their work on this particular piece of legislation, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 4814. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, this is a great deal. These bills aren't high- profile bills, but they are very important. They affect our constituents directly, and we have to stay ahead of the crooks. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the unique contributions of one of my constituents, Jimmie Lee Rodgers who serves as a volunteer Board Member for the local non-profit, Brooksville Main Street. These outstanding volunteers put in hundreds of hours while running their businesses and organizations. They have all come together for a common cause--to serve the community by bringing much-loved events to downtown Brooksville. Each of these board members have servant hearts, and their dedication and commitment to our community is impressive. Part of what makes our country so great is the willingness of ordinary Americans to go above and beyond to selflessly give back to others. Volunteerism is one of the cornerstones of our society and part of the fabric that unites us. It is clear that Mr. Rodgers and his fellow board members have made a profoundly positive impact on our community, and I am grateful for his service.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

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

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4310) to ban the sale of products with a high concentration of sodium nitrite to individuals, and for other purposes.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, this is a bipartisan bill. As far as I am concerned, it is a no-brainer. We need to get it over to the Senate as soon as possible to save lives. Mr. Speaker, in closing, again, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this particular bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4310, the Youth Poisoning Protection Act. It is important for the House to pass H.R. 4310 because, sadly, we have seen a significant rise in self-poisonings using sodium nitrite in the United States since 2017. Many of these poisonings occur due to simple online purchase of these ingredients. While sodium nitrite has a wide variety of valuable commercial and industrial uses, which importantly this legislation does not affect, it is also crucial that Congress intervene to prevent these tragic outcomes, particularly amongst our children. This legislation seeks to address poisonings through a narrowly tailored prohibition on the sale of consumer products that contain sodium nitrite at concentrations greater than 10 percent, which precludes consumer access to products regulated under the Consumer Product Safety Act. I thank Representatives Trahan and Casey for their strong bipartisan work on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the unique contributions of one of my constituents, Barbara Manuel, who serves as a volunteer Board Member for the local non-profit, Brooksville Main Street. These outstanding volunteers put in hundreds of hours while running their businesses and organizations. They have all come together for a common cause--to serve the community by bringing much-loved events to downtown Brooksville. Each of these board members have servant hearts, and their dedication and commitment to our community is impressive. Part of what makes our country so great is the willingness of ordinary Americans to go above and beyond to selflessly give back to others. Volunteerism is one of the cornerstones of our society and part of the fabric that unites us. It is clear that Ms. Manuel and her fellow board members have made a profoundly positive impact on our community, and I am grateful for her service.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the unique contributions of one of my constituents, Christopher Rhodes who serves as a volunteer Board Member for the local non-profit, Brooksville Main Street. These outstanding volunteers put in hundreds of hours while running their businesses and organizations. They have all come together for a common cause--to serve the community by bringing much-loved events to downtown Brooksville. Each of these board members have servant hearts, and their dedication and commitment to our community is impressive. Part of what makes our country so great is the willingness of ordinary Americans to go above and beyond to selflessly give back to others. Volunteerism is one of the cornerstones of our society and part of the fabric that unites us. It is clear that Mr. Rhodes and his fellow board members have made a profoundly positive impact on our community, and I am grateful for his service.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the unique contributions of one of my constituents, Christie Williams, who serves as a volunteer Board Member for the local non-profit, Brooksville Main Street. These outstanding volunteers put in hundreds of hours while running their businesses and organizations. They have all come together for a common cause--to serve the community by bringing much-loved events to downtown Brooksville. Each of these board members have servant hearts, and their dedication and commitment to our community is impressive. Part of what makes our country so great is the willingness of ordinary Americans to go above and beyond to selflessly give back to others. Volunteerism is one of the cornerstones of our society and part of the fabric that unites us. It is clear that Ms. Williams and her fellow board members have made a profoundly positive impact on our community, and I am grateful for her service.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

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

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of H.R. 6571, the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act. I thank Dr. Bucshon and Representative Blunt Rochester for their hard work negotiating this bipartisan policy. Since the pandemic, we have quickly learned how our Nation has become too reliant on foreign adversaries. I can say that again. We have relied too much on foreign adversaries like China for critical goods and components of such goods. Enough is enough. H.R. 6571 would establish a mapping program at the Department of Commerce to examine our supply chains to better prepare our economy for any future shock that we may see. Monitoring these trends will help protect us from overreliance on our Nation's enemies and instead help industries to adapt quickly. Further, this legislation would require the Assistant Secretary to carry out a program with the private sector to better understand vulnerabilities in our supply chains, including supply chains for emerging technologies, and provide recommendations for promoting emerging technologies and making critical supply chains more resilient. This will continue our technological leadership in the global race against China. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues and, of course, Dr. Bucshon, in particular, for their bipartisan work to secure American leadership and competitiveness. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on this bill.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6132) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a mandatory consumer product safety standard with respect to retractable awnings.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the unique contributions of one of my constituents, Barry Meindl, who serves as a volunteer Board Member for the local non-profit, Brooksville Main Street. These outstanding volunteers put in hundreds of hours while running their businesses and organizations. They have all come together for a common cause- to serve the community by bringing much-loved events to downtown Brooksville. Each of these board members have servant hearts, and their dedication and commitment to our community is impressive. Barry is always the first one to arrive and the last to leave. He has the most amazing heart and compassion for this community. He astounds me with his boundless energy. Part of what makes our country so great is the willingness of ordinary Americans to go above and beyond to selflessly give back to others. Volunteerism is one of the cornerstones of our society and part of the fabric that unites us. It is clear that Mr. Meindl and his fellow board members have made a profoundly positive impact on our community, and I am grateful for his service.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the unique contributions of one of my constituents, Amanda Rud who serves as a volunteer Board Member for the local non-profit, Brooksville Main Street. These outstanding volunteers put in hundreds of hours while running their businesses and organizations. They have all come together for a common cause--to serve the community by bringing much-loved events to downtown Brooksville. Each of these board members have servant hearts, and their dedication and commitment to our community is impressive. Part of what makes our country so great is the willingness of ordinary Americans to go above and beyond to selflessly give back to others. Volunteerism is one of the cornerstones of our society and part of the fabric that unites us. It is clear that Ms. Rud and her fellow board members have made a profoundly positive impact on our community, and I am grateful for her service.