Michelle Fischbach

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, now that we have finished listening to the Democrats' talking points, the same talking points that they use over and over to mislead the American people and demonize Republicans and demonize President Trump, I will actually focus on what we are talking about today and what is actually in front of the body. That is the rule to deal with the CR and two other bills. Even with the additional funding for veterans and the FAA and families in this bill, it will cost less than last year. It won't be by gutting programs, as my Democratic colleagues have so wrongfully claimed, but by removing projects from the fiscal year 2024 bill so that they are not double funding projects that have already received funds in fiscal year 2024. My Democratic colleagues must be confused because I certainly would not want to be accused of calling them liars. This bill upholds the responsibility of our veterans and ensures full funding for healthcare services and benefits. It includes the largest pay raise for junior enlisted troops in over 40 years. It supports Federal wildland firefighters. It increases funding for air traffic controller priorities. It does not cut grants for law enforcement. It does not cut spending on family assistance programs. In fact, it increases spending for WIC by more than $500 million, and it includes an additional $6 billion for the Toxic Exposures Fund to treat veterans who have experienced service-related exposure to toxic substances. This bill can increase spending on these critical needs by making sure that we are not double funding existing programs. It is really that simple. Avoiding government shutdowns ensures that the administration can continue to identify waste, fraud, and abuse. It also allows ICE to continue deporting criminal migrants. This clean CR will allow us to focus on one big, beautiful reconciliation bill. Furthermore, this rule provides a way for us to continue to remove waste, fraud, and abuse right now by extending the time to prosecute those who committed unemployment insurance fraud during the COVID CARES programming. I would ask my Democratic colleagues to spare us the speeches about President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency trimming some of the bloated bureaucracy from our Federal departments. They are about to vote against a continuing resolution in the hopes of shutting our government down and sending every single Federal employee home without a paycheck. Maybe my Democratic colleagues just don't think DOGE is going far enough. The truth is that there are more than 25,000 Federal employees in the State of Massachusetts whose paycheck will be put on an indefinite hold if the government shuts down. That is what my Democratic colleagues are going to vote for. My Democratic colleagues keep complaining about how unfair this CR is to the D.C. residents, but there are over 160,000 Federal employees in the District of Columbia. Quite frankly, there are more than there should be. Yet, Democrats are going to make every one of their paychecks go away if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle succeed in shutting the government down. I thank my colleagues, Mr. Carey, Mr. Cole, and Mr. Smith from Missouri, for introducing these thoughtful pieces of legislation, and I encourage every single one of my colleagues to vote for this nonpartisan continuing resolution to keep our government fully funded and hold fraudsters accountable. Mr. Speaker, I will make it very clear: A ``no'' vote on this rule is actually a vote to shut down government. Mr. Speaker, I support the rule and the underlying legislation.

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

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona, my fellow member of Ways and Means, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Moorhead boys' hockey team on their first State championship, defeating Stillwater 7-6 at the Xcel Energy Center over the weekend. The 2A championship win was led by this year's Mr. Hockey, Mason Kraft. The team dedicated the game to their teammate Ethan, who passed away unexpectedly last year at the age of 16. Holding up his jersey throughout the game and bringing the jersey through the handshake line, the Moorhead Spuds have made their families, community, and the whole Seventh District proud. I congratulate the Spuds. Congratulating East Grand Forks on Hockey Championship

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the East Grand Forks boys' hockey team on their incredible Class 1A championship win. With what sounded like the entire community of East Grand Forks in the stands, the team defeated Saint Cloud Cathedral 2-1 in overtime. The East Grand Forks Green Wave has made their families, communities, and the entire Seventh District so very proud, and I am excited for them all to hoist that championship banner back at home. Congratulating Warroad Women's Hockey Team

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Warroad girls' hockey team, the Lady Warriors, on their 10-year streak as section champions. These women, from a small town in northernmost Minnesota, are part of one of the best girls' hockey teams in the last 20 years. They have made their families and communities proud. Congratulating Praise Live on 40 Years of Broadcasting

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Praise Live in Osakis, Minnesota, on 40 wonderful years of broadcasting. For 40 years, Praise Live has been bringing hope and faith to people across central and western Minnesota. They have even partnered with stations in Ghana and Uganda and as far-reaching as war-torn Sudan to spread the Gospel and its message of encouragement, faith, and hope across Africa. I thank Praise Live for connecting with, praying for, and strengthening the Christian communities they are committed to serving. I pray for a successful next 40 years.

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to debate the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 77. The rule provides for H.R. 77 to be considered under a closed rule with 1 hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee or their designees. The rule provides for a motion to recommit for the bill. The Midnight Rules Relief Act addresses an inefficiency in the government and allows Congress to retain its current authority, overseeing administrative rulemaking without bogging down the legislative branch when we have so much work to get done. In 1996, Congress enacted the Congressional Review Act, which requires agencies to submit rules to Congress and the Government Accountability Office before they can go into effect. This gives Congress an important legislative veto option over the agencies. However, this legislation requires Congress to introduce separate joint resolutions for each agency rule it wants to disapprove. Members at the time had no idea how out of control the administrative state would become. Since the Congressional Review Act passed, agencies have issued around 2\1/2\ times more regulations during the last year of each President's term. Moreover, under the Biden-Harris administration, Federal agencies expanded their power at an alarming rate, undermining the legislative authority granted to Congress by the Constitution. The Midnight Rules Relief Act empowers Congress to review and potentially disapprove several regulations that Federal agencies may attempt to implement in the last days of an administration by allowing Congress to disapprove multiple rules through one joint resolution if those rules were issued during the last 60 legislative days, the midnight hours, of a President's term. This would allow Congress to quickly regain control and oversee agency rulemaking during a time when there is consistently a huge increase in executive overreach. I sincerely hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will support this bill. Just last week, we brought a bill to the floor that combats this country's fentanyl epidemic, something I know all of us care deeply about. Rather than debate the merits of the bill, my Democratic colleagues spent most of their time talking about what they believed has been executive overreach by President Trump. Comments were made that my colleagues are concerned that President Trump will try to do through executive order what he can't do through the legislative process. Today, we present a bill that will help return authority to Congress and curb executive overreach. If my colleagues are truly concerned about executive overreach, then they should vote for this bill and start with the overreach that occurred in the final days of the last administration. I thank Congressman Biggs for introducing this legislation, and I look forward to supporting this bill on the floor. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 122 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, all I can say is wow. There is a lot going on on the other side talking about this being a bad bill. This is a bill that will attempt to recover the Congress' ability and authority to overrule rules that are written in the last few days of a President's term. We should have that ability. One of the things that we hear about when we are talking to our constituents is overregulation. Congress, the elected Representatives, needs to be able to deal with the overregulation and the rules, particularly in those last 60 days during an administration while they are on their way out the door and see it as a last-ditch effort. I see this as making sure we are responding to our constituents. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I truly understand that the Democrats are very upset about losing the election, but the American people voted to change the direction of government. They voted to end overregulation, voted to end growing government agencies and growing government in general, and they voted to end the growing deficit. They are done, and we need to move forward. We need to answer to the American people about what we are doing to make sure that we get these things under control. I will also quickly address that it is incredible that my Democratic colleagues are trying to claim some moral high ground about single- subject bills. House Republicans have worked hard to bring single- subject appropriations bills to the floor and pass them individually. When was the last time my Democratic colleagues did this? Instead, my colleagues have passed massive omnibus spending bills when Democrats were in the majority, along with omnibus packages like the American Rescue Plan and the inflation expansion act. If Democrats would please spare us the false outrage at the idea of omnibus bills. The truth is that this bill prevents the House from bundling CRAs with similar topics into smaller, single-subject packages. There is also nothing that prevents the House from continuing to consider CRAs on a case-by-case basis, but we have to have the option. When an outgoing administration dumps rules in the last 60 days, we have to have that option to make sure that we are addressing issues. I think our efforts toward single-subject bills demonstrate why Republicans can be trusted to use this tool responsibly, and I look forward to my Democratic colleagues abiding by their newfound commitment to single-subject bills the next time Democratic Members are in the majority. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, again, I understand that the Democrats are very upset about losing the election, and I am glad that my Democratic colleagues are showing the American people where their priorities are. For 4 years, President Biden issued executive orders without the consent of Congress that increased inflation--we all saw that--created additional burdens for our small businesses--we heard about that--and limited consumer choices. My Democratic colleagues said nothing, but when President Trump tries to stop our government from spending $20 million of taxpayers' hard- earned dollars to create a ``Sesame Street'' show in Iraq, or $2 million on transgender surgeries in Guatemala, then my Democratic colleagues howl and jump up and down about executive overreach. The American people are sick and tired of being told that executive orders that put our Federal Government in the way of our businesses and our family budgets are responsible, but attempts like this bill to roll back these burdensome regulations are reckless. The Democrats don't want government spending examined and don't want to address unnecessary programs. What my Democratic colleagues want to do is continue out-of-control spending, growing our deficit, and spending those taxpayer dollars--spending taxpayer dollars. These aren't our dollars. We need to be responsible, and that is why they elected President Trump and Republicans. They want a change in the direction of this country. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. I am just so glad that my colleague across the aisle pointed out that we have covered everything today but the bill under consideration in front of us. I should stand here kind of surprised that my colleagues on the left don't support this legislation, but of course I am not. Their lack of support proves what we already know: They don't actually care about executive overreach the way that they claim to. Unlike the Democrats, Republicans are not changing the subject. We are focused on making sure we do the job the American people elected President Trump and the Republicans to do. It is the Democrats who are talking about paint and not talking about the bill in front of us. They are not talking about what we are doing. I very often find myself trying to refocus the Democrats on the bill we have in front of us, which happens in many committees, but the Democrats insist on sticking to their talking points, their pro- regulation, pro-government spending agenda. A great example today is the rant about proxy voting. This has nothing to do with the bill in front of us. It is a bill that deals with rule writing and the ability of Congress to undo rules and overregulation. They stood silently while Joe Biden used the power of the pen to dismantle our southern border and tell Americans what kind of cars, dishwashers, and water heaters they had to have. All of this was done without a single vote by Congress, yet my Democratic colleagues never cried out about executive overreach then. My Republican colleagues and I are committed to streamlining Federal operations and holding the government accountable. This bill accomplishes both of those objectives, and this is the bill that we are here to talk about today. The 1996 CRA requires Congress to pass a separate joint resolution for each agency rule to seek its disapproval, slowing Congress' ability to hold the administrative state accountable and block burdensome regulations. This legislation restores congressional control and allows us to review agency rules swiftly if they are implemented in the midnight hours of an outgoing administration. This is a simple, effective solution to improve and expedite the work of Congress and takes a step forward to curb out-of-control overregulation. One could argue that none of the orders that the Biden-Harris White House implemented in the final days in office should go into effect, given the signal he received loud and clear in November that the American people do not want what the Democrats are selling. Perhaps that is a debate for another time. Today, we are here to streamline congressional practices at a time when we are consistently bogged down. Mr. Speaker, I support the rule and the underlying legislation.

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

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Born- Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Democrats are trying to distort this issue and this bill. They are trying to mislead the public, claiming that this is an attack on abortion rights and privacy and all kinds of things. What it is, is nothing like the situation that my colleague from Minnesota spoke about. We only need to look at the actual language of this bill: ``To prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.'' These are the same words the clerk read when we began this debate. I am absolutely appalled that we have to dictate in law that a newborn baby is a patient and not medical waste. The fact is Democrat lawmakers all over the country are pushing legislation to give abortion providers an out from providing care to babies born after failed abortions. Babies born after a botched abortion are living human beings with blood in their veins and a beat in their hearts just like us. They deserve the same standard of care that any baby at the same age would receive. Is providing medical care too much to ask? This bill is not about abortion. It is about medical care for babies. I will repeat this. This bill is not about abortion. It is about medical care for babies. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful that Representative Ann Wagner is leading the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. I am honored to be a cosponsor. I urge everyone to support this bill and support medical care for babies. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I have to bring this back to what we are talking about because I have heard so many passionate words from the other side, and the words have nothing to do with the bill that we have in front of us. Like I mentioned before, this bill is about medical care for babies. It says it in the title. The clerk mentioned it. I have mentioned it. It is about medical care for babies. What we are trying to do here today is make sure that babies are treated with dignity and medical care that they will need so that babies aren't left to die in a closet alone and discarded like medical waste. We recognize the humanity of these babies. We ask for them to have medical care. That is what this is about. Don't let the other side gaslight and pretend this is about abortion rights. This is about babies and medical care. I will continue to repeat that.

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, President Trump's 2017 tax package created section 199A, a 20 percent small business deduction to help small businesses and family farms like those in my district. In fact, three out of four small business employers in this country have benefited from this tax provision. Unfortunately, this deduction is one of many set to expire this year. The National Federation of Independent Business has circulated a petition, which has over 100,000 signatures, urging Congress to make this vital tax deduction permanent and stop a massive tax hike on our small businesses. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to listen to our local businessowners and join me in supporting making the 199A deduction permanent.

Mrs. FISCHBACH

Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I rise to thank Dr. Burgess for his friendship and for kindness. I wish him a very happy and restful and well-deserved retirement. It has been an honor to serve with Dr. Burgess, particularly on Rules. I joined Rules as a freshman, and he has been a steady, guiding hand and an excellent example of a statesman. As chairman, he has been a kind and thoughtful leader, and I will certainly miss you in that role, Dr. Burgess. I am also grateful for the time that we spent on a trip to Canada, and I enjoyed being part of the visit to your grandfather's home in Montreal. I will sincerely miss seeing you at work, and I am happy about your next chapter and your retirement. I thank you for your service. I thank you for your service to the country, to Congress, and to your constituents, but, most of all, I thank you for your friendship, Dr. Burgess. Congratulations and God bless you and your family.