Brandon Gill

Mr. GILL of Texas

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8340) to modify the governmentwide financial management plan, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GILL of Texas. 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 on this measure.

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8340, the Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act. It is no secret that weak internal controls and agency inaction on known fraud risks enables fraud. Federal agency chief financial officers play a vital role in the financial management of their agencies. But, unfortunately, their roles are frequently undefined and their positions are often left vacant. Stakeholders in financial management have been calling for agencies to establish clear accountability in government structures for program integrity, including designating an accountable senior official. The Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act ensures each agency chief financial officer is responsible for overseeing and providing leadership on risk management and internal controls. Specifically, the bill requires chief financial officers to identify key information such as spending and reporting on improper payments and assess the effectiveness of internal controls annually. This ensures that a top-level official is responsible for effective and targeted financial management. In the event of a vacancy, this bill enables a deputy CFO to serve as an interim CFO, an important change that allows for leadership continuity over agency financial management. Mr. Speaker, I thank my Oversight Committee colleagues, Congressmen Dave Min and William Timmons, for championing this smart legislation. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 8340, the Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act, which implements important reforms for improving agency financial management planning. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. GILL of Texas

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8107) to require the establishment of a list identifying program areas and administrative practices presenting the greatest risk to the integrity of Federal funds administered by States and local governments, as amended.

Mr. GILL of Texas. 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 on this measure.

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8107, the Government Audit and Accountability of Federally Funded State-Administered Programs Act. The reforms of H.R. 8107 represent a long-overdue step to ensure that Congress is fully informed about fraud risks in Federal programs administered at the State level. This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to assess program areas and administrative practices that present the greatest risk to the integrity of federally funded programs administered by States and local governments. This assessment will bring together the typical program-specific assessments to help Congress and other officials better identify common risks. With this information, Congress can bolster its oversight of agencies' and States' efforts to efficiently mitigate fraud risks, including through payment integrity controls. This legislation will better position Congress to assist Federal agencies and State and local governments to obtain the fraud prevention and investigative resources that they require. I thank my Oversight and Government Reform Committee colleagues Congressmen Ro Khanna and Tim Burchett for championing this helpful legislation that will help lawmakers understand State-level program risks and inform future fraud prevention reforms. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan and commonsense bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the great gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, approximately $1.1 trillion of taxpayer dollars are administered annually by State and local governments with little to no comprehensive and recurring oversight from the Federal Government or Congress. H.R. 8107 would require the Government Accountability Office to study the specific risks associated with federally funded State-administered programs and enable Congress to track emerging fraud patterns before they become billion-dollar scandals. Mr. Speaker, I, therefore, encourage my colleagues to support the Government Audit and Accountability of Federally Funded State- Administered Programs Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GILL of Texas

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8428) to amend title 5, United States Code, to establish a mandatory antifraud and improper payment training program for Federal program administrators, to provide for the availability of such training to State and local entities administering Federally funded programs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GILL of Texas. 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 on this measure.

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8428, the Federal Fraud Prevention Workforce Training Act. Every year, billions of taxpayer dollars are lost to increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes. Unfortunately, the increase in sophistication of fraudsters and criminals is outmatching the capabilities of Federal agencies that work to safeguard taxpayer funds. H.R. 8428 identifies this expanding challenge and helps bolster the financial defenses of our Federal programs against malicious actors. Specifically, it authorizes the U.S. Treasury to establish a government-wide antifraud training program for agency officials, like grant managers and auditors, so they are adequately trained on best practices for preventing and addressing fraud in agency programs. The bill also allows the U.S. Treasury to provide the training programs to State and local agencies administering federally funded programs at no cost. This training will help ensure agency program management and State- level officials are better equipped to confront the challenges associated with fraud and improper payments by better utilizing the tools and best practices already established. Such tools include more fully implementing agency fraud prevention frameworks in the program's administration and fully utilizing Treasury's Do Not Pay System. This is important and forward-looking legislation, and I applaud my Oversight Committee colleagues Congressman Glenn Grothman and Raja Krishnamoorthi on these programs. I encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan and forward- looking bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 8428, the Federal Fraud Prevention Workforce Training Act. In order to meaningfully address the massive scale of fraud in Federal programs, we need to implement a standardized, government-wide training program for employees administering agency programs. H.R. 8428 helps establish leading fraud prevention training practices throughout the Federal Government so we can recognize and prevent fraud before it happens. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GILL of Texas

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 428) to amend title 5, United States Code, to enhance the authority under which Federal agencies may pay cash awards to employees for making cost saving disclosures, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GILL of Texas. 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 on this measure.

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 428, the Bonuses for Cost- Cutters and Fraud Preventers Act of 2026. This bill expands existing incentives for Federal employees to identify and disclose waste and abuse before American tax dollars are spent. Without incentives to disclose wasteful spending, Federal employees who are most likely to identify and halt such spending may not speak up. It was because of instances like these that in 1981 Congress created a cash awards program to encourage employees to take proactive action to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. This program was so successful that it was made permanent just over a decade later. Over the years, these authorities have resulted in creative ideas coming from agency employees themselves, contributing to the saving of millions in taxpayer dollars. These cost-cutting ideas included allowing veterans to use otherwise safe, discarded medicine and eliminating wasteful printing of the Federal Register. It is time that Congress does more to expand the cost-saving potential of Federal employees by expanding these authorities. H.R. 428, as amended, increases incentives for Federal employees by allowing cash awards for reporting wasteful spending and improper payments before funds go out the door. The best way to recover misspent tax dollars is to not misspend them in the first place. I support this important legislation, which helps preserve Congress' constitutional role in the appropriations process and helps reduce wasteful spending. I thank Congressman Chuck Fleischmann for bringing this creative solution to preventing fraud to the Oversight Committee and for working with the committee to expand it to address improper payments. I encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisanship bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann).

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 428, Bonuses for Cost-Cutters and Fraud Preventers Act of 2026, which establishes additional incentives for Federal employees to identify wasteful expenses or improper payments. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GILL of Texas

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, fraudsters are robbing the American people. In Ohio, hundreds of shell companies, operating out of empty office buildings, billed the Federal Government for over $250 million for home health services that couldn't even be verified. We believe the full scope of this scandal, in fact, reaches into the billions of dollars. These are programs that required no medical training, had no verification that services were actually provided, and had no spending caps, but they enriched fraudsters at the expense of the American people. That is why Chairman Comer created the Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses, to go after corrupt institutions that steal from taxpayers, abuse our immigration system, silence Americans, and bury illegal discrimination. It is my honor to lead this task force. This week, we sent a letter demanding answers from the Ohio Department of Medicaid, and we are going to get them. The era of zero consequences is over. We are coming for every single institution that thinks otherwise.

Mr. GILL of Texas

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I vehemently oppose this backdoor amnesty bill that would allow hundreds of thousands of Haitians who entered our country illegally to be given de facto amnesty. Temporary protected status, as its name implies, was originally designed to be just that, temporary. Yet, it has metastasized into what is effectively a permanent amnesty program for unvetted foreigners all over the globe. That is exactly what this bill extends. Who are these people that this bill applies to? There are roughly 350,000 Haitians covered under temporary protected status in the United States. Of those, an estimated 91 percent entered this country illegally. An estimated 69 percent came in under the Biden administration. In other words, what this bill does is codify the open borders of the previous administration that the American people overwhelmingly rejected in the last election cycle. Mr. Speaker, no serious country tolerates virtually unlimited numbers of foreigners breaking and entering. Yet, that is what this bill does. More fundamentally, Mr. Speaker, the purpose of our immigration system is to benefit our people. It is for the benefit of Americans. We have no obligation to allow anybody from any part of the globe to come into America. When they do, they come in on our terms, for our benefit. Let's ask ourselves: Does mass migration from Haiti benefit the American people? The answer is obviously no. Sixty-five percent of nonimmigrant Haitian-headed households are on welfare. Does that make America stronger, more prosperous, or more wealthy in any way? Of course, it doesn't. Yet, we are being asked to give them amnesty and make these absolutely horrendous years of open borders effectively permanent. Mr. Speaker, the central thesis of the last election cycle was the American people rejecting mass migration. That is why they gave the President the popular vote. That is why Republicans have a trifecta, and we ought to listen to them. The American people want their country back. The American people are tired of sending their kids to school where an unlimited number of children are speaking foreign languages or schools that are flooded with fentanyl because of open borders. Mr. Speaker, we want to live in America. That is why I reject this bill, and I hope my colleagues will, as well.

Mr. GILL of Texas

Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6310) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3570 Olney Laytonsville Road in Olney, Maryland, as the ``Edward L. Ramsey Olney Post Office Building''.