Bill Huizenga

Mr. HUIZENGA

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the loss of a true Southwest Michigan icon, Gene ``The Pumpkin Man'' Rhodes. As the owner and operator of a local family farm in Kalamazoo County for more than 60 years, customers could count on Gene not just for their fall pumpkins, but also for countless memories with family and friends. Inspired by his late wife Carol, Gene transformed his family farm into the pumpkin-themed destination it is today. He was well-known for his orange dress shirt, tucked into his orange slacks, held up by his orange suspenders, and perhaps most notably, his orange 2005 Cadillac with the license plate ``Pumman.'' Visitors to the farm would also be greeted by pumpkin-themed furniture, decorations, and even a pumpkin- headed man and his wife. It was Gene's passion and lighthearted spirit that helped make visits to the Pumpkin Patch special for so many. As a Michigan Centennial Farm, the Rhodes farm has been in Gene's family since 1885. The farm has continuously sold pumpkins since 1957 and now produces hundreds of tons of pumpkins each year. For many in Southwest Michigan, Halloween meant a visit to Gene the Pumpkin Man. Gene provided cherished memories and experiences to families spanning generations, leaving behind a rich legacy. He will be truly missed. Mr. Speaker, please join me in celebrating the life of Southwest Michigan's most famous pumpkin farmer: Mr. Gene Rhodes, the Pumpkin Man.

Mr. HUIZENGA

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service and life of Hendrik ``Hank'' Poppen of Portage, Michigan. Hank Poppen was born in Wildervank, Netherlands, on July 28, 1951. He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1957 and became a United States citizen in 1988. Hank attended Kalamazoo Christian Schools and dedicated much of his life to serving the Kalamazoo and Portage communities. In 1989, Hank found a lifelong passion when he and his son Brian joined Boy Scout Troop 244, where he then became the Scout Leader. Through the years Hank watched his son, daughter, granddaughter, and 175 other scouts rise to Eagle Scout. He took his beloved troop on hundreds of trips throughout the United States, even when his health failed him. Hank was a remarkable individual characterized by his faith and love for his community. Most of all, he loved his family. On November 12, 2024, at the age of 73, Hank passed away surrounded by the people he loved most. He is survived by his children, grandchildren, siblings, dearest friends, and the many scouts, students, and people he impacted throughout his life. Mr. Speaker, please join me in cherishing the memory of Hendrik Poppen. His dedication to his community, family, and friends, was unwavering, and his character will be remembered in the highest order.

Mr. HUIZENGA

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum as it celebrates its 45th anniversary. This achievement represents their dedicated years of service since their doors first opened in 1979. In 1959, Air Zoo founders Pete and Suzanne Parish unknowingly began curating the world-renowned collection of aircraft the Air Zoo possesses today. The first step in assembling the Air Zoo's collection was Pete's purchase of a single-engine 35C Bonanza, later, the Parish's purchased a partially assembled P-40 Aircraft, the same combat plane Suzanne had dreamed of flying throughout her service with the Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). Twenty years after Pete purchased the 35C Bonanza, the Air Zoo opened its doors for the first time on November 18, 1979. Today, the Air Zoo offers educational programs and exhibits, displays over 100,000 artifacts and archives, flight simulators, maintains an aircraft restoration program through the Air Zoo's Flight Discovery Center, and processes the world's only SR-71B Blackbird. Mr. Parish's single purchase laid the foundation for the Air Zoo's world-class facility that thousands of visitors enjoy each year. For the last 45 years, the Air Zoo has been a community leader in inspiring a new generation of aviators, engineers, and all those interested in STEM fields. As we look forward to the next 45 years, the Air Zoo will be a place that fosters curiosity, innovation, and education. Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating the Parish Family, staff, and all those who enjoy the Air Zoo as they celebrate their 45th Anniversary.

Mr. HUIZENGA

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Battle Creek VA Medical Center for 100 years of service to our Nation's veterans. Completed in 1924, the Battle Creek VA Medical Center was the 100th VA hospital in the United States. When it first opened, staff and patients from the hospital farmed about 200 acres of the 675-acre property. This activity served as therapy for the patients and allowed the hospital to be more self-sufficient. Today, the Battle Creek VA Medical Center has a wonderful campus that includes 30 buildings that are used for patient care and administrative offices. At its peak, the Medical Center had over 1,400 beds while today the focus is primarily on outpatient care. As the son of a disabled WWII veteran, who received care in Battle Creek, I have experienced firsthand the critical need for ensuring that the men and women who have served our Nation receive the respect and care they have earned. Mr. Speaker, please join me in thanking the staff and care teams at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center who have prioritized caring for our veterans as well as our community for the past 100 years.

Mr. HUIZENGA

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case), my friend, for yielding time. This is a very important discussion to be having, not just among ourselves, but with the Nation and with the country. Mr. Speaker, I start by thanking the gentleman not only for his sincere interest in this issue, but our growing friendship, as well. As I tell people back home, so often, you need to have a relationship first to then be able to build trust. When you build that trust, that is when you can go and find those solutions. I am sure the gentleman has some constituents in Hawaii, much like I have constituents over in Michigan who sometimes say: Why are you even talking to those people? Let's just ignore them. Well, sorry, folks. We can't do that. That is not reality. We have to deal with our colleagues, and guess what. We have gotten a very special group of people who have said: We realize that we are not going to be able to solve every problem. We are not even going to try to solve every problem, but this is a growing issue and problem for us that we need to focus and concentrate on. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is using this as an opportunity, the same as I will, to discuss some difficult truths about what we are facing and what my constituents back in southwest Michigan and the gentleman's constituents in Hawaii are all dealing with. Frankly, the size of our national debt is just climbing at an alarming rate. It now exceeds over $35 trillion with a t. Probably like a lot of our colleagues here, I visit schools and I talk to kids, and I will oftentimes ask them: How many zeroes in a trillion? Usually the first answer is: A lot. Yes, that is true. I tell these kids: You know what you need to do at some point today? Write down a 1 with 12 zeroes behind it, but then don't start at the left. Start at the right and see what $1,000 looks like, what $100,000 looks like, what $1 million, $10 million, $100 million, and $1 billion looks like, and you still see all these zeroes that you have to keep counting through. Well, that $35 trillion that we have spent here on the big giant credit card, Uncle Sam's credit card, is actually projected to reach closer to $57 trillion in the next 10 years. There are consequences to that. There are consequences to that. We can joke around and maybe understand that people aren't aware of what is going on. I have sort of had this running joke in our office that we need to put a big giant debt clock up here in the House Chamber to just remind people. We have got to go out there and make sure that people understand that what is happening is this debt is crowding out other priorities, so much so that, this year, if projections hold true, we are going to see interest on the debt to exceed our military spending. Just think of that: Interest on the debt for what we have already spent is going to exceed what we are going to be spending not just on the military but also for every program that touches kids here in this country. That is more than Medicare. That is more than the military. We have to get serious about this. I think everybody can understand the concept of having a credit card that has gotten a little too high, and they feel like they have had to use it because of inflation and the things going on. Think about how the interest on your credit card is now outpacing your grocery bill or outpacing your auto loan. How can you possibly function as a family? You can't. We have to understand the debt that we have delivered here is helping drive some of that inflation. Interest rates that are there, the money that is getting taken away from other programs, is real. I am the father of some college-aged kids and a small business owner, as you were kind enough to mention. My family is in construction. I am a former realtor. I understand and talk to people on a regular basis about what this means in their lives, and there is a real factor impacting your family, my family, and all of our constituents' families, as well. In addition to the debt threatening to bankrupt our Nation's promises to seniors, to fueling inflation-causing interest payments, the national debt also slows economic growth. It drives up interest rates and leaves us less prepared for emergencies, whether it is a COVID-like emergency, a military-like emergency, or a natural disaster emergency. Suddenly, these things could plunge our Nation into even more chaos than what it would be normally because we are having these issues. For these reasons, and with the help of many of our colleagues who are speaking tonight--Mr. Grothman spoke, Mr. Moore is going to be speaking, Mr. Case, and so many others--we are really trying to tackle this with our Bipartisan Fiscal Forum. My co-chair, Scott Peters, has been a great partner in this, and he and I together introduced H.R. 5779, the Fiscal Commission Act, earlier. That would force our Congress to tackle our national debt by voting on a package of policy recommendations designed to get our Nation's fiscal house in order, both in the short term and in the long term. As was quoted by Ms. Houlahan earlier, we are looking at real cuts in Social Security. We are looking at real cuts in Medicare. Those should not be acceptable. We have to wrestle this dragon to the ground. I am proud that our legislation passed the House Budget Committee on a bipartisan basis, but we have a lot more work to do. The purpose of tonight is continuing to raise that awareness with a national audience, not just our colleagues but our constituencies, as well. We have to make sure that people understand crystal clear how serious this issue is and the real impacts it has, making life less affordable and more difficult on our constituencies, not just in the short term but certainly in the long run for our kids and our grandkids. I know the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum, with my colleague's leadership and others, stands ready to work with anybody. We will work with anybody who is interested in this. As has been stated, we may not always agree on the path, but we agree on the destination. That is the important part: making sure that we get to that destination because that really is what we owe our kids and grandkids and future generations of Americans.

Mr. HUIZENGA

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I thank all of my colleagues, the Members who spoke here today, as well as the 20 Members who included their bills in this particular package. We have heard a lot of rhetoric. We have heard a lot of hyperbole. We have heard a lot of fearmongering, charged rhetoric, and, frankly, even some falsehoods today from my colleagues across the aisle. I want to be clear, Mr. Speaker, that again, the law requires any material information, including climate, and all these other things that have been discussed today, must be disclosed to investors, if it is material. Now, in 1976, the great Thurgood Marshall established standards of materiality in the TSC v. Northway case. Thurgood Marshall realized, as did the rest of the Supreme Court, that having just arbitrary and capricious and sort of willy-nilly rules surrounding what should or shouldn't be disclosed and what should and shouldn't be informative to the reasonable investor--his words and their words--to the reasonable investor, they needed to put guardrails around that. In 1976, Thurgood Marshall did that. This administration, after nearly 50 years, and their puppets in the supposedly independent agencies have turned that concept on its head. We see this time and time again because they cannot do this through the legislative process. They are turning to those regulators who are abusing their situations. Here are the facts. Unelected bureaucrats have hijacked and overhauled the public company shareholder proxy process. Here are the facts. They have adopted rules and guidance that exceeds their statutory authority, and by the way, those same courts have been putting them back in their place. Here are the facts. They have redefined the materiality standard. They have ceded authority over American financial regulation to global governance bodies. Why would we do this? Why would we do this when the U.S. capital markets are the envy of the world? Capital comes to the United States because of our strength. Yet, they want to undermine and weaken it. In response, our bill, H.R. 4790, the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act, will prevent regulatory overreach. It will restore the materiality standard. It will restore the SEC's proxy voting process. It will hold large proxy advisory firms accountable. It will block regulators from injecting ESG and other initiatives into our financial system. It will reassert sovereignty over American financial regulation to American regulators, not international bodies. Again, Mr. Speaker, the law requires any material information be included to the reasonable investor. Let's seize this opportunity to protect workers, to create jobs, to protect those job creators and everyday investors from radical ESG initiatives that put leftwing political goals above American prosperity. Let's ensure our financial system remains the envy of the world, Mr. Speaker. Let's vote ``yes''. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time until the gentlewoman is prepared to close.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close. Meanwhile, I again reiterate that the law requires any material information, including climate information, must be disclosed currently, if it is material. I will continue to reserve the balance of my time until the gentlewoman is prepared to close.

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

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Flood).

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I simply note that if this was about protecting investors and maximizing their profit, we wouldn't force them to go into a lower return product like my colleagues are trying to do. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose), my friend and colleague, a member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser), my good friend and a member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nunn), who is a member of our Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Fitzgerald), who has been putting a lot of effort into this.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I note that this bill is absolutely neutral on climate change and doesn't even reference it. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I will note that, for some, the louder and longer they say something, they hope people will believe it. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil) to speak on his work on protecting Americans' retirement savings from politics.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I will just note that, yes, it is America, and I will note that the ranking member voted against a continuing resolution just yesterday to keep government open. However, I am sure, Mr. Speaker, that she will have another opportunity very, very soon. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk).

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today, we have an opportunity to put a stake in the ground and ensure our financial system remains the envy of the world by passing H.R. 4790, the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act. Under the Biden-Harris administration, agencies that have traditionally been viewed as independent have been hijacked to push through a partisan environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, agenda. Politically motivated, unelected bureaucrats are forcing these leftwing political priorities--which, by the way, Mr. Speaker, Democrats were unable to pass into law even when they had unified control of Congress--on the American people through financial regulation. In other words, rogue Democrat-appointed regulators are forcing companies to waste limited time and resources on ESG political mandates that have little or nothing to do with a firm's financial performance. These misguided ESG efforts don't benefit our banking system or our capital markets. They certainly don't help consumers, workers, job creators, everyday investors, or retirement savers. That is why House Republicans are fighting back with the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act. This bill is critical to combat the risks woke ESG initiatives pose to the American people and our financial system. It is a combination of four packages consisting of 20 different bills from the Committee on Financial Services, including my GUARDRAIL Act, Congressman Steil's Protecting Americans' Retirement Savings from Politics Act, Congressman Norman's Businesses Over Activists Act, and Congressman Loudermilk's American FIRST Act. I applaud my colleagues for their work and appreciate their partnership. I also commend Chairman McHenry for his steadfast leadership to ensure protecting Americans and our financial system from out-of-bounds ESG mandates is a key priority for Republicans on the Committee on Financial Services. I want to underscore, Mr. Speaker, why H.R. 4790 is so desperately needed. Under the Biden-Harris administration, rogue regulators are weaponizing independent agencies to pursue the objective of the political far left at the expense of our financial system and, more importantly, everyday investors. SEC Chair Gensler and progressive Democrats are abusing our securities laws, overstepping their statutory authority, and redefining the long-accepted ``materiality standard'' to accommodate the demands of radical climate and social activists. The materiality standard, which has been a pillar of American securities laws for decades, requires public companies to disclose information that has substantial likelihood to influence the financial judgments of a reasonable investor. Those are the standards that have been accepted, I believe, since 1976. House Democrats have proposed legislation to require public companies to disclose nonmaterial information, including all information related to climate impact and emissions, human capital, and ``equity,'' whatever that might be, none of which have a substantial impact on a given firm's financial performance. None of these proposals were enacted into law. More recently, Chair Gensler's rogue SEC has overstepped its authority by pursuing rulemakings to mandate similar nonmaterial disclosures. This includes finalizing the disastrous climate disclosure rule earlier this year. Let me be clear: If this information is material to a business' financial performance and therefore affects the everyday investor, it is already required to be disclosed under the materiality standard. That is where my GUARDRAIL Act, a key pillar of this legislation we are considering today, comes in. It protects U.S. capital markets and the financial interests of everyday investors by rejecting this new, prescriptive, and expansive notion of materiality by reining in SEC overreach. Specifically, the bill prevents rogue regulators from mandating the disclosure of nonmaterial ESG information that would overwhelm, not inform, everyday investors, also known as reasonable investors. At the same time, H.R. 4790 holds large asset managers and the proxy advisory duopoly of ISS and Glass Lewis accountable. These firms are abusing their outsized market influence to force leftwing political views on public companies, rather than aligning their shareholder voting with the financial interests of investors and economic goals. The Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act returns power to everyday investors and retirement savers from these unaccountable third parties. Additionally, the bill would require the SEC's shareholder proposal process to stop progressive activists from hijacking the proxy process to inject woke ESG initiatives into corporate boardrooms. Now, Mr. Speaker, it actually would stop all left, right, or center activists' proposals from being introduced. That is a good thing for everyone. This will allow executives and directors to focus on creating shareholder value--by the way, their legal responsibility--and benefiting retirement savers and bolstering economic growth. Finally, this bill would stop the alliance of leftwing activists, unaccountable global governance organizations, and politicized Biden- Harris regulators from weaponizing the U.S. banking regulatory framework to inject radical ESG initiatives to the detriment of consumers and American competitiveness. With the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act, House Republicans are taking action to protect the financial system, workers, job creators, and everyday investors from radical ESG initiatives that put leftwing political goals above American prosperity. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4790, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUIZENGA. 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 the bill under consideration.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Kentucky.

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1455, I call up the bill (H.R. 4790) to amend the Federal securities laws with respect to the materiality of disclosure requirements, to establish the Public Company Advisory Committee, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

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

Mr. HUIZENGA

Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of Ms. Shelly Hartmann for her term as Chair of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC), which concludes at the end of this year. It is because of leaders like Shelly Hartmann that Michigan remains the best place in the country to grow. Shelly has dedicated her career to advocating for her fellow growers through numerous roles. Her impressive resume includes time serving as a member of the USHBC board for over ten years, as the governor-appointed treasurer of the Michigan Blueberry Commission, as a board member of the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program Advisory Council, and as a member of the planning committee for the annual National Blueberry Festival in South Haven. A pillar of our Southwest Michigan community, Shelly Hartmann currently co-owns True Blue Farms in Grand Junction with her husband Dennis. Overcoming adversity and beginning their operation in the early 1990s, True Blue Farms has become one of the largest growers in North America. In 2021, Shelly was named the USHBC's first female chairperson. This impressive milestone illustrates Shelly's passion for her fellow growers. Throughout her tenure as chair, she has been a tireless advocate and has continuously enhanced the standing of American blueberry farmers across the world. Mr. Speaker, as her tenure as chairperson concludes, I ask that you join me and the people of Michigan's 4th Congressional District in thanking Ms. Shelly Hartmann for her decades-long dedication to blueberry growers throughout the United States.