Maxine Dexter

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, this week, my office received our 100,000th message from the people of Oregon's Third District. This is incredible. On an average day, I receive more than 650 messages, and that is just since being sworn in. We have got a lot to go. Here is what I am hearing: People in Portland are fearful. They fear for their children and their neighbors. People in Rhododendron want to see courageous leadership that understands the needs of working families. People in Gresham are working hard and are barely making ends meet. They want to know their families will be able to thrive. People throughout Oregon's Third District want immigrant neighbors to feel safe, housing to be affordable, the climate to be protected, schools to be funded, and to have universal healthcare that they can access. These messages aren't just correspondence. They are marching orders. I thank every Oregonian who has written. Keep the emails coming.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, this year, I received a letter from Rachel, a mother in my district with stage IV lung cancer who is living on borrowed time. She is depending on future innovation driven by NIH research to see her son grow up. Her words are more powerful than mine, so I will read them directly. ``I could write endless words about how many will be devastated by these funding cuts, but this is not that kind of letter. Despite my generous nature, cancer has taught me to be selfish. ``Every single day, I think about my mortality. How long do I have left? Is that shoulder pain or something else? Will I be alive to see my son graduate from high school? He turned 11 [in February], and I made him a lemon cake. ``NIH funding cuts will no doubt shorten my life. There is no truth about which I have ever been more certain.'' Mr. Speaker, our constituents are literally begging for their lives. As a physician and mother, I cannot speak enough about the harm that this bill, this cut to NIH funding, will do. I understand the importance of NIH funding because that is the driver of innovation and scientific discovery. To my Republican colleagues, now is the time to show courage. Stop these cuts to the NIH. Do not undermine scientific innovation. To Rachel, I will fight for you with everything I have. You deserve to see your son graduate.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, Oregon's Crater Lake National Park is a national treasure. As a lifelong hiker and camper, I have a deep affection for it among other national parks. During my high school and college years, road trips to national parks like Crater Lake were all I could afford, but what they offered was priceless: awe, adventure, and connection. For families across this Nation, these parks provide an affordable way to explore, learn, and build lifelong memories. Just as Oregonians are gearing up for a summer of enjoying our most treasured places, Trump is driving out the public servants who protect them. Kevin Heatley, Crater Lake National Park's superintendent, has resigned. Trump cut off one-half of his permanent staff, leading to unsustainable workloads and the deterioration of the care that Crater Lake demands. Experienced professionals are being driven out under this administration's corrosive leadership. Our public lands deserve better, and Americans deserve better. I will not stand by while Trump attacks our public lands. We must protect our national parks and the public servants who protect them. Hands off Crater Lake, and hands off our national parks. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Nunn of Iowa.) I would like to welcome all of the students to your Congress. Thank you for joining us here today.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Chair, I rise today not just as a Member of this body but as a physician who has spent nearly two decades caring for patients in the intensive care unit, many of them fighting for their lives because of a system that has failed to support them before a crisis hit. In Oregon's Third District, we see every day how critical prevention, treatment, and recovery programs are. We need those programs that my colleague from New Jersey just referred to as being cut. This bill does nothing to repair those cuts. These aren't abstract policy ideas. They are the difference between life and death for many of my constituents. They are critical for the health and safety of Oregonians and Americans across this country. That is why efforts to sustain and strengthen these programs matter deeply to the communities I represent. They are essential for the parents working two jobs while navigating recovery, for the young people trying to build a future after surviving an overdose, and for families trying to heal. Let's not kid ourselves. While Republicans bring this reauthorization bill to the floor, they stand by as the Trump administration dismantles the very agency responsible for implementing these programs. They have fired experts, erased offices, and rescinded over a billion dollars already allocated to State and local response. Just 2 weeks ago, they passed the largest Medicaid cut in history out of this Chamber despite the fact that Medicaid covers 40 percent of Americans addicted to opioids. This wasn't fiscal accountability. It was a decision to directly undermine the access of care for millions of people who need it most. These are people who desperately need our compassion and care. Do not be fooled by this game of smoke and mirrors. This kind of hypocrisy cannot go unchallenged. Claiming to support recovery while simultaneously gutting the programs that make it possible is politics at its worst. My Republican colleagues cannot honestly stand for people's need to access treatment while kneecapping the agency that is accountable for providing it. Lives are at stake, and the American people are watching. They do know what it means when elected leaders say one thing and do another, and they deserve honesty and real action. Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from New Jersey for this debate.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, I echo my colleague's thanks to our colleague from Maryland for anchoring this incredibly important hour. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to defend food assistance, not just in my district, but for millions of Americans across this country. Republicans passed a bill out of this Chamber enacting the largest ever cut to food assistance in our Nation's history. This ploy will put extreme pressure on our food banks, leave millions of Americans hungry, and force families to make impossible choices. Let me be clear: Hunger is not inevitable. Letting people be hungry is a policy choice. Republicans are choosing to rip the food out of hungry people, hungry families' mouths. For what? To give tax breaks to billionaires. I want to share a story from Rita, a woman in Portland who wrote to my office claiming if Federal food assistance was cut, she will have to choose between buying groceries and paying rent, buying groceries or paying the electric bill. This is not an unfamiliar story for me as a physician, who heard my patients struggling with similar choices. The cruelty of this bill is not just unconscionable, it is heartless. We are talking about real people battling hunger. In the wealthiest country in the world, Americans shouldn't have to struggle so much just to get by. People deserve to thrive. Republicans are choosing, again, to give tax breaks for the wealthiest on the backs of working Americans. One in six community members in my district rely on SNAP. Seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities will go hungry. Food stamps aren't a handout. SNAP helps veterans who served our country and neighbors with disabilities. It feeds seniors on fixed incomes and families with young children. Most of these people have faced unimaginable odds and have nowhere else to turn. We cannot turn our backs on those who need us most. This is a moment for moral clarity. Not one person in this country should go hungry, not one person should be left behind, and certainly not just so billionaires can line their pockets even further. We have time to stop it, but only if we speak up. Stay loud.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, of all of the titles I hold, the most important is ``mom.'' Like fierce, fighting mothers across this country, we want a better future and a safer future for our children, like Tiffany George. She is a courageous mother in Hood River who has two beautiful children, Wylie and June. Wylie, her youngest, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder at 18 months. Very quickly, Tiffany and her husband were overwhelmed with medical bills, doctor visits, therapies, medical equipment, and hospital visits. Mr. Speaker, 10 hospital visits almost put them into bankruptcy. Medicaid was a lifeline. Without Medicaid, Wylie's lifesaving medications would cost $9,000 a month. That is $9,000. Democrats are united against this cruel Republican budget because we are willing to fight for families, for their future, and for their health. Without food stamps and healthcare, children like Wylie will suffer. Families will be pushed to the brink. I am here fighting every day for Tiffany, for Wylie, and every other mother and American family who deserves that stability. We must fight this awful Republican budget bill.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, I am again coming to the House floor, the people's Chamber, to say: The emergency isn't coming. It is now. Donald Trump's advisers are threatening to suspend habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is the constitutional right that protects Americans from being detained without charge, without trial, and without due process. This isn't some obscure legal debate. Habeas corpus is the bedrock of our freedom. Strip it away, and you strip away the very foundation of our Nation. Let me be clear: This is authoritarianism in plain sight, a direct assault on the rule of law and on the American people. To my colleagues in this Chamber: We are not just Representatives of our districts. We are the frontline defenders of our Republic. We cannot merely just watch history unfold, we must shape it. It is on each and every one of us to tell the truth. Donald Trump is coming for our freedoms. It is on each and every one of us to stand up, speak out, and refuse to be silenced. My colleagues shouldn't wait for the history books to decide which side they were on. Decide right now.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate Marilynn Weber, a remarkable leader whose impact on Kaiser Permanente Northwest and our community cannot be overstated. Marilynn served Kaiser Permanente Northwest for 35 years, including 8 years as the Northwest Permanente chief financial officer. She expertly guided the company through challenging and innovative times. She is a mentor, adviser, and friend to me and many others. I saw firsthand her unwavering commitment to the mission to deliver the best care possible to Kaiser members across Oregon and southwest Washington. Marilynn connected finances to people, ensuring that decisions supported healthcare. Her ability to turn complex financial concepts into mission-driven outcomes has empowered countless care teams, but what truly set Marilynn apart and still does is her heart, her deep belief that healthcare is about service, compassion, and equity. I thank Marilynn for her leadership, service, and integrity to the people of Oregon. I congratulate her on her well-deserved retirement.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this ridiculous bill. Let's be honest: This bill, along with the executive order it reinforces, is absurd. It is unserious, ineffective, and beneath the dignity of this institution. Changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico won't change the fact that the world will keep calling it exactly what it is, the Gulf of Mexico. This isn't just about a name. It is about an administration using the power of the Federal Government to bully the press, going so far as to ban reporters from the Oval Office for refusing to go along with this charade. Let's call that what it is: an assault on free speech. Our courts have stood up against these attacks, but we can't ignore the chilling message this sends to journalists everywhere: If you don't fall in line, you will be punished. That, Mr. Speaker, is a page right out of the authoritarian playbook. Americans didn't ask for this, and they didn't vote for this. They are struggling with real challenges, such as putting food on the table, accessing healthcare, and rebuilding after disasters. Yet, here we are, wasting time on political theater instead of working to actually help them. In the United States, we are constitutionally guaranteed the right to challenge power, to speak truth to it, and to laugh when our leaders make ridiculous claims. That is not disrespect. It is critical for a healthy democracy. That is why I offered an amendment to this bill, an amendment Republicans refused to even take up. My amendment would have made it absolutely clear that nothing in this bill could be used to censor the press or authorize retaliation against news organizations for using accurate names. This administration may have no regard for the Constitution, but Congress must. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to remember this and to vote against this bill.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans' all-out attack on Medicaid is morally indefensible. In my district alone, over 255,000 Oregonians, including 59 percent of our children, rely on Medicaid for lifesaving care. These aren't just numbers. They are the cancer patients fighting for their lives, children with disabilities getting essential support, and seniors reliant on long-term care. Republicans want to slash hundreds of billions of dollars from the Medicaid committee, gutting healthcare for the most vulnerable, while billionaires and corporations get another payday. As a critical care physician, I know what this means. Without Medicaid, patients go without preventive care. They get sicker. They defer lifesaving medications. Too often, they don't survive. Medicaid is not a handout. It is a lifeline. Cutting it to fund tax breaks for the ultrawealthy is unconscionable because healthcare is a human right. It is not a bargaining chip. Oregon won't stand for these cuts, and neither will I.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, the emergency isn't coming. It is here. Donald Trump is abducting American children. He is detaining judges. He is disappearing people into foreign prisons. This is authoritarianism in full view. I didn't come to Congress to sit back while democracy is dismantled. To the contrary, I will use every tool at my disposal to protect our democracy. When the people of Gresham, Hood River, and Portland demanded action, I went to El Salvador because we have to stand up for due process. As a critical care physician, I am trained to act. I am trained to do everything in my power to address the crisis in front of me. When we sat down with the U.S. Embassy, one thing was chillingly clear: Donald Trump has done nothing, not one thing, to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia or any of the detainees home. Their families haven't heard a word--no calls, no updates, and no proof of life, just silence. Here is what gives me hope: Yesterday, Mohsen Mahdawi, a detained Columbia student, was released on bail. He said something we all need to hold close: We must ``believe in the inevitability of justice.'' I will stand for justice. I encourage my colleagues to stand for justice, and I look forward to the fight ahead.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to these resolutions that strip away a State's right to protect its residents from dangerous air pollution. As a pulmonologist, a lung doctor, I have spent my career caring for people struggling to breathe--patients with asthma, COPD, and lung cancer. However, I am also a mother, deeply concerned about the world we are leaving our children. I came to Congress after years of treating the consequences of inaction. I could no longer stand by while politicians ignored the root cause--the pollution poisoning the air we breathe. The truth is, Madam Speaker, our air is making us sick, and we have the power and responsibility to do something about it. More than 156 million people in this country live in counties with dangerous levels of ozone and particulate matter, and yet instead of empowering States to raise the bar on clean air, Republicans are telling them to stand down. Let me say this another way. Republicans are telling States they cannot take action to protect their people, their health, and their future. They want to prevent States that are at the forefront from using their authority to cut tailpipe pollution, a move that guts local authority in favor of polluters. We must let our communities lead. Repealing these waivers would undermine stronger vehicle emissions standards that reduce dangerous pollution and are essential to fighting the climate crisis. Make no mistake: That would have immediate impact for our communities, for every family living near a busy highway, every child using an inhaler, and every senior who can't go outside on a high pollution day. This is a direct attack on over 50 years of precedent that recognizes that EPA has the authority and the obligation to allow States to do what is required to protect their residents. I am, frankly, stunned that my Republican colleagues in the House want to undermine States' rights. Repealing these waivers is an illegal expansion of the use of CRAs, which the Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian have conclusively determined cannot be used for this purpose. This is government overreach at its most reckless. It is a distraction--a deliberate one--from the fact that President Trump's agenda is failing to meet the needs of working families. It doesn't lower prescription costs. It doesn't fix our crumbling infrastructure, and it certainly doesn't improve the air our children breathe or the water they drink. At the end of the day, every American deserves the right to breathe clean air. Clean air shouldn't be political. Clean air shouldn't be anything but fundamental. The people of Oregon should know that I see these attacks for what they are. I hear their concerns, and I will not stop fighting to protect them, their children, and their future. I will fight to ensure that science, not politics, guides how we safeguard our communities. Parliamentary Inquiry

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, today, House Republicans betrayed their mothers, their sisters, their daughters, and every woman in their life. The so-called SAVE Act is an antiwoman, antidemocracy, voter suppression bill cloaked in lies about election integrity. With this vote, House Republicans have jeopardized access to the ballot box for nearly 70 million American women. That isn't just a number; it is personal. It is the working mom in Sandy who can't afford to take time off work to go get paperwork. It is the woman in Portland whose name no longer matches her birth certificate and doesn't have $160 for a passport. In the year 2025, I cannot believe I have to come to the House floor to argue for a woman's right to vote, but I will fight this Republican effort to disempower women today and every single day if I need to. As a mother, I will not allow this country to continue to strip our daughters of their rights. We cannot force them to grow up in a world where they have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. I call on my Senate colleagues to show courage and defeat this despicable bill.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding and for his actions today. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on one of my eight amendments to the SAVE Act, which will be offered as the previous question today. Let me be clear: The SAVE Act is an antiwoman, voter suppression bill. Under the guise of election integrity, the SAVE Act would penalize millions of women just for taking their spouse's name, requiring them to present additional documentation that many women don't have or don't have the resources to obtain to exercise their constitutional right to vote. My amendment would prevent this bill from being implemented unless we get certification that it would not bar a single married woman in this country who is eligible to vote from the ballot box. If this amendment fails, we are putting 70 million American women at risk of disenfranchisement. Seventy million is one in four voters in this country. This burden will fall hardest on women already forced to navigate broken systems with fewer resources and less time: working mothers, caregivers, women juggling jobs and families. I cannot believe that in the year 2025, I have to stand here on the House floor of the United States to defend a woman's right to vote, but I will. I will continue to stand here every single day if that is what it takes because this isn't theoretical. This is personal. It is for the mom in Gresham who can't take unpaid time off to track down new documents. It is for the woman in Hood River whose name no longer matches her birth certificate after marriage and who lacks the $160 it costs to get a passport. Are we really going to tell her she doesn't have a right to vote? I ask my Republican colleagues to show courage in this moment for your mothers, your daughters, and every woman in your life that you love. Please join your Democratic colleagues in defeating the previous question so that we can vote on my commonsense amendment. American women cannot afford to go back.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, what happened today is disgraceful. House Republicans have abandoned working Americans. They are taking housing and food from our seniors, children, and families. They have abandoned our veterans, the people who have bled for our country so that we can be free. They have given this administration and its illegitimate mercenaries free license to gut agencies and services. Mr. Speaker, make no mistake, the vote the Republicans took today is a shameful turn for this body. In the words of Donzaleigh Abernathy, the daughter of Reverend Ralph Abernathy, best friend to Martin Luther King and a civil rights leader: We will not go quietly into this reality. The American people want you to fight back, fight on, and stand strong for truth, justice, and equality for all. Mr. Speaker, I say to Donzaleigh and Oregon that I will continue to fight, and I hope they will stay with me in this fight.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.J. Res. 61. As the government hurtles toward a shutdown and millions of Oregonians fear being stripped of their healthcare, House Republicans are wasting time on ridiculous resolutions that do nothing to lower costs for working families and, instead, threaten our public health. Before coming to Congress, I spent over two decades as a pulmonary and critical care physician. Every day, I saw firsthand how climate change impacts people and how poor air quality leads to people's morbidity and, yes, mortality. It is undeniable, the air we breathe is making us sick, and we cannot afford to ignore this any longer. As Democrats fight tooth and nail to protect public health and center our families, Republicans are pushing harmful resolutions that threaten the well-being of our constituents and the future of our planet. If it weren't so cruel, it would be laughable. H.J. Res. 61, the one before us today, would cripple the EPA's ability to protect our communities from hazardous air pollutants, the worst cancer-causing air toxins, at a time when Republicans are also on the cusp of taking away healthcare from millions of Americans. This resolution is part of a larger, more dangerous trend to gut our public health agencies, silence our scientists, and roll back critical environmental protections. It proves just how out of touch they are with the American people. Mr. Speaker, my message to the Oregonians watching is simple: I will stand on this floor time and again to raise their voices and make sure they are heard because, as a doctor, when my patient's health is threatened, I do what it takes to protect them. Clean air is not a luxury. It is a right, and I will not stop fighting for it. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this reckless and irresponsible policy.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this resolution to roll back a critical component of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program. The Oregonians I represent know that climate change poses a real and existential threat. As a mother, I understand intimately the anxiety our children are grappling with every day with the warming Earth that they are inheriting. It is my commitment to mitigating climate change, while working to adapt to it, that drives my work here. We cannot kick this can down the road and wait to take action. As our kids are forced to grapple with this reality, I am sick and tired of Republican efforts to let Big Oil and corporate polluters off the hook. The methane polluter fee that would be rolled back by this resolution corrects a serious market failure that makes it cheaper for polluters to waste methane than install or upgrade equipment to prevent leaks and flaring. I will vote ``no'' because I have no interest in protecting corporate polluters at the expense of a cleaner world for our children. To the Oregonians watching, please know that I will come back to this House floor time and again to ensure our message is heard loud and clear. The climate crisis is real. It is our children who will suffer if we do not stand up to Big Oil and corporate polluters. I implore my colleagues to stand with me.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. It is Oregon's Third Congressional District, which is Portland to the beautiful mountain, Mount Hood, which is emblematic of our State.

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to be here. I appreciate the opportunity from my colleague from California (Mr. Garamendi). I rise today to join my Democratic colleagues in voicing our unwavering commitment to protecting the vital programs that Americans rely on, prioritizing the working families that I represent over millionaires and billionaires. Last night, I stood with every single Democrat in this House to vote against a devastating budget advanced by House Republicans to enrich the ultrawealthy at the expense of our working families. I grew up in a working-class family. I am the first and only person still to have gone to college and graduated in my family. A union job offered me the opportunity at 16 to pay my way with rent and food costs in the city of Seattle, and then to go to college. There is absolutely no way that anyone in my district can do that with a part-time job at an entry-level grocery store position. House Republicans' plan is to pay for $4.5 trillion, with a t, in tax giveaways for the Elon Musks of the world to gut the programs that allow Oregonians to afford healthcare, put food on the table, and keep a roof over their heads. As a physician, I know that access to healthcare is literally a matter of life and death. I am terrified about what it means for my district, where 200,000 people are at risk of losing their healthcare. Many of them are children, disabled members of our community, and our seniors. They will have to go without Medicaid services. Now, don't get me wrong, it does not say anywhere in that budget resolution that healthcare and Medicaid are going to get cut, but make no mistake, $880 billion in tax cuts cannot be done any other way. In the days leading up to this vote, I received heart-wrenching call after heart-wrenching call from constituents desperate for an answer as to why the Trump-Musk administration is pursuing this agenda of cruel chaos and how they will survive it. To each of those Oregonians who called, please know that no matter the odds, I will use every tool at my disposal, with my colleagues, to expose this great betrayal for what it is. I will stop at nothing to safeguard the programs that my constituents rely on, and I will call on my Republican colleagues to have courage in this moment of great need for their communities as well.

Ms. DEXTER. Yes.

Ms. DEXTER. I am a pulmonologist, meaning I take care of people with lung disease, and a critical care physician, caring for people who are on life support in our intensive care units.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this rule which allows for consideration of the Republicans' extreme budget that slashes funding for vital programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and Federal housing assistance to bankroll $4.5 trillion in tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Last week, I got a devastating call from Susan who lives in Sandy, Oregon. She and her husband worked all their lives and saved diligently for retirement but had a single accident that wiped out their savings. They are now in their seventies and rely on Medicaid, SNAP, and utility assistance to just make ends meet each month. The legislation in front of us today would rip these benefits from Susan and her husband, denying them access to healthcare, forcing them to ration their food, and jeopardizing their ability to remain in their home. For what? To line the pockets of the ultrawealthy, to pad the bottom line of corporations already raking in profits. I offered six commonsense amendments to this bill to safeguard critical programs for people like Susan and so many Oregonians like her. Republicans rejected every single one of my amendments.

Ms. DEXTER. Madam Speaker, as has been true all along, they have no interest in protecting America's middle class.

Ms. DEXTER

Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 36, H.R. 692.