Valerie Hoyle

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of our Nation's Federal workers. As a member of the Labor Caucus, I am proud to stand with these public servants who have dedicated their careers to delivering for the American people. This administration has relentlessly attacked these nonpartisan expert workers who make sure our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. As a third-generation union member, I am particularly outraged by the obvious intimidation and union-busting tactics that this administration has used on these essential workers. However, these actions are not just an attack on Federal workers. They are an attack on the services that these hardworking people of my district and this country rely on every day. Let's be clear. Firing Federal workers means delays in receiving Social Security checks and fewer law enforcement officers keeping our communities safe. If the Department of Labor doesn't have sufficient personnel, it will be easier for employers to commit wage theft and workplace safety and rights violations. Whom does that benefit? It is not the American people and not working people. In my district, we know Federal workers are not lazy or ineffective. They are our friends, our family, and our neighbors who support us every day. They get up and they go to work to work for the people of this country and not for a political party. Federal workers have had our backs, and I assure them that we have theirs.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Chair, after the House considered the Fix Our Forests Act last fall, I led a multi-member letter to Senate leadership urging them to pass comprehensive wildfire legislation and adopt the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission's consensus recommendations. Today's version of the Fix Our Forests Act addresses more of the Commission's recommendations by expanding on the purpose and role of the interagency fireshed center. It also includes a new provision to ensure that local fire departments receive timely wildfire reimbursements from the federal government. I applaud House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman and Congressman Scott Peters' work on this bill, but this Congress must do more--more to ensure that federal wildland firefighters are paid fairly, more to prioritize the stewardship of our public lands, and more to ensure our communities get the help they need after disaster strikes. Federal wildland firefighters deserve pay and benefits that reflect their service and sacrifice. I've supported every effort, including joining as a cosponsor of Tim's Act, to permanently increase firefighter pay. I will do everything in my power to get this done. Additionally, the wildfire crisis cannot be solved without funding the stewardship of our public lands. I have co-led efforts to secure full funding for Forest Service staffing and tribal forestry programs, and I will continue to do so. I also plan to re-introduce my bill, the Wildfire Resilient Communities Act, which would provide consistent funding for hazardous fuels reduction. Following the ongoing wildfires that are devasting the Los Angeles area, I am gravely concerned by the new administration's threats to withhold disaster aid from Americans who've lost everything just because of who they elected. I believe that Oregon could be in a similar situation if disaster strikes. Proactive forest management is our best chance to stop these disasters and avoid that kind of political cruelty. We must also continue our longstanding commitment to all American communities and provide federal aid after a disaster strikes. While imperfect, the Fix Our Forests Act takes meaningful steps to protect our forests, our communities, and my constituents, and that's why I will vote yes.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, last week, I voted no on H.R. 30, the so-called ``Preventing Violence Against Women By Illegal Aliens Act.'' Let me be clear: none of us are interested in protecting domestic abusers or predators. We all want to keep our communities safe from those who seek to inflict harm on vulnerable people. H.R. 30 does nothing to strengthen existing law and risks putting survivors at greater risk. In reality, this bill is more about House Republican messaging than providing meaningful solutions to keep our communities safe. Current law already ensures that perpetrators of these heinous crimes can be swiftly deported if they are here illegally and bars them from reentering the United States. Worse, it makes it easier to deport survivors who have acted in self- defense or who have been falsely accused by their abusers. The violent predators who commit these crimes know how to use the law to further victimize their targets. I have heard horrific stories from law enforcement about women who are threatened with deportation if they report rape or torture, with their children being held hostage as leverage. An immigrant here legally on a student visa who fights back against her abusive boyfriend, or a hardworking mother lawfully present on a work visa who defends herself and her children against a violent partner, could face deportation if their abuser reports them ahead of their testimony. Predators will lie. Victims need protection. H.R. 30 hands criminals the ultimate tool of coercion to silence survivors--fear of deportation. Some simple, common-sense proposals could have strengthened the bill, including offering greater protections to victims or providing law enforcement with additional tools to prosecute offenders. Unfortunately, these were not included. If my colleagues across the aisle truly wanted to protect women, this bill would expand funding for victim services and ensure survivors could testify without the threat of deportation. It also would have given law enforcement more resources to get violent criminals out of our communities and out of country. But they didn't do that because this bill is not about keeping women safe. It is instead a performative political stunt to further an anti-immigrant agenda. And let's not forget that 172 House Republicans, including this bill's sponsor, previously voted no on legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which included expansions of aid and services to support survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. VAWA had been strongly bipartisan because it meaningfully protected vulnerable women. We must do everything in our power to protect survivors and hold perpetrators accountable. We owe survivors real solutions--not fear, not cruelty, and not empty posturing. For these reasons, I voted NO. I remain committed to working with my colleagues to pass legislation that will genuinely protect survivors, hold abusers accountable and make our communities safer for everyone.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, this bill is a clear example of government overreach. What business does the government have micromanaging how any sporting association runs their league? Having a congressional vote to dictate the terms of participation in a private sporting league is a slippery slope. What is next, voting on what uniforms the Ducks should wear each Saturday or, more sinisterly, who can participate based on race, religion, or national origin? Government has a role, and this isn't it. How do my colleagues propose to enforce this bill? Ohio passed the Save Women's Sports Act, where a girl would have to verify her gender by an exam of her external and internal anatomy. Traumatizing girls who happen to be late in physically maturing or naturally have a more athletic build to satisfy extreme political agendas is fear-mongering, cowardice, and downright creepy. Who will be doing these inspections? We do not need Taliban-like enforcers in our schools. Every day, women are injured and murdered in domestic violence and children are murdered in their classrooms. If you want to protect women and girls, let's work on that. Until then, let's be honest about what this is: political propaganda that has nothing to do with lowering costs for working Americans.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 152, the Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act. This legislation amends the Disaster Recovery Reform Act to help Federal agencies streamline and consolidate information collection and preliminary damage assessments following disasters. After a major disaster, there is no time to wait for bureaucracy. However, Federal recovery assistance following disasters is currently hampered by inefficient information collection and assessments conducted by multiple agencies. This bill will remove information collection barriers that currently impede disaster aid. It creates a working group to identify duplicative assessments and propose their elimination. Further, it would streamline Federal disaster recovery efforts by concluding that a single agency is sufficient to conduct damage assessments to account for the needs of disaster victims. The Federal Government can and should be doing this smarter. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, as stewards of taxpayer dollars, we need to ensure that we are spending our money as efficiently as possible. Government should work. As we have seen in fires in Oregon, hurricanes in North Carolina and Florida, and currently the horrific fires in Los Angeles, when people suffer from a natural disaster, it is imperative that they get the help that they need. They have lost everything, and the last thing we should be doing is dragging them through duplicative bureaucracy. That is why this bill is so important. This bipartisan bill passed the House on suspension in the 116th, 117th, and 118th Congresses. This bill will help disaster survivors by taking a step toward streamlining the Federal Government's fragmented approach to disaster assistance. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and, hopefully, the Senate will move it through. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 153. This bill would create a new online system for tracking Federal disaster projects and assistance. People should know how and where their disaster funds are being spent without wading through reams of government paperwork. The legislation simplifies the data collection process for Federal disaster recovery projects. To increase transparency, this bill would also create a page on USAspending.gov where anyone can track agency disaster recovery activities and the amount of assistance expended by the agency on a quarterly basis. Federal agencies need to be accountable to the victims of disasters and to the taxpayers who funded these agencies' really important work. We also need to allow Federal disaster victims peace of mind when they are at their most vulnerable. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me and support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, the House passed this bipartisan bill on suspension in the 116th, 117th, and 118th Congresses. I look forward to the Senate taking up this bill, given how important it is with the massive natural disasters that we are seeing. I certainly hope that we in Congress fund the IT infrastructure so that we can get this done and get this done quickly. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 164, my legislation with Representative Ezell. This bill empowers publicly owned electric utilities to implement hazard mitigation improvements during disaster recovery. When disasters strike, they leave a trail of destruction, including damaged energy infrastructure that needs to be immediately repaired to restore power. At the same time, this can present an opportunity to improve the resilience of power infrastructure to reduce the risk of outages or fires in the future. I have spoken with many FEMA employees, and they feel like they have their hands tied because of rules that are in place that prevent them from being able to fund investments in resilience and infrastructure. As we are seeing more extreme weather because of climate change, we need to step up and spend taxpayer dollars more efficiently and better. That means that we have to change this law because the current law prevents FEMA from reimbursing utilities for hazard mitigation as they make temporary disaster repairs. This leads to wasted opportunities, more frequent power outages, and higher costs passed on to ratepayers. Commonsense solutions, like H.R. 164, are more critical than ever to keep energy costs low for American families. This bill maximizes FEMA's resources and helps communities protect critical infrastructure, leading to lower costs for utilities and families in the wake of future disasters. More importantly, it allows us to use taxpayer dollars to invest in resiliency as we are seeing more extreme weather coming at us every single day. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, the costs of recovering from increasingly frequent severe weather events often raise the price of Americans' electric bills. This bill would help public power make their systems more resilient at the time of repair, increasing efficiency and cutting overall costs. I can't think of a more important set of bills to be passing at this time as the first bills coming up on suspension. These bills invest in our infrastructure and help FEMA be more transparent and utilize taxpayer dollars more efficiently. Again, I thank my colleague, Representative Ezell, for prioritizing and moving this bill forward. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 189, the Securities and Exchange Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act. This bill revokes the independent real estate leasing authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Congress granted the SEC independent leasing authority in 1990, which means the SEC does not use the GSA, the General Services Administration, for its real estate needs, as many government agencies do. While some Federal agencies have used their independent real estate leasing authority successfully, since securing their own authority, the SEC has wasted time and taxpayer dollars with failed procurements. For example, in 2010, after the SEC leased 900,000 square feet of space in the Constitution Center building in Washington, D.C., the SEC's own inspector general found that the SEC had overestimated the amount of space needed, attempted to eliminate competition among building owners, and violated the Antideficiency Act. After this incident, the SEC pledged to Congress that the agency would use the GSA to handle its real estate procurements, but the SEC has yet to follow through on that pledge and has since canceled procurements, had lawsuits, and wasted taxpayer dollars. Congresswoman Norton introduced an identical bill during the 118th Congress. That bill, H.R. 388, passed both the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House of Representatives on voice votes. Unfortunately, H.R. 388 was not even considered by the Senate. It is time for Congress to return the SEC's leasing authority to the GSA, the Federal Government's civilian real estate arm. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, since securing its own real estate leasing authority, the SEC has wasted time and money with failed procurements. It is past time for the SEC to cede that authority back to the GSA. My colleague, Congresswoman Holmes Norton, has explained this very thoroughly and clearly. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 189, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of the Amtrak Executive Bonus Disclosure Act. This bill would require Amtrak to post the executive leadership team compensation annually on the Amtrak website. Congress already requires the Nation's intercity passenger railroad to submit this information to Congress. This bill would increase transparency of the information to the public and require it to be posted online as well, as Amtrak has now done for the last 2 years. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Graves, Representatives Frederica Wilson, Troy Nehls, and David Rouzer for working together to bring this very important legislation forward to increase transparency for the American people. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. It is a good bill. It should pass. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to state my opposition to the National Defense Authorization Act. First, let me be clear, I support any funding to keep Americans safe, protect and fairly compensate our troops for their sacrifices, and to improve our national security. I also support some of what is included in this act: pay raises for our servicemembers, expanding access to contraceptives for female servicemembers under TRICARE, and properly funding the replacement of poor and failing military housing and barracks. However, it is simply irresponsible to give more money to an agency that accounts for half of our discretionary spending but can't pass an audit. This is an agency that spends over half its budget on defense contractors who have no incentive against price gouging, some who overcharge the Department of Defense by 40 to 50 percent with no accountability and no consequences. Year after year, we dump money into defense contractors that grow fatter while our servicemembers and their families struggle to scrape by. Since the election, we have heard a lot of talk about improving government efficiency and cutting waste, and I agree. It is incumbent upon us to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, but instead of proposing cuts to Social Security benefits for seniors or cutting veterans' benefits to our servicemembers, benefits that they have earned, let's start where there are clear savings to be had. In this NDAA, the Pentagon would get $10 billion more than last year. Simply put, the Pentagon just failed its seventh audit, and it is getting nearly $900 billion already. Why should we keep writing blank checks and expecting things to change when there is no incentive to do so? Without robust accountability, all this is, is a transfer of wealth from hardworking American taxpayers to private defense contractors in the military industrial complex. Without meaningful oversight for how my constituents' taxpayer dollars are spent, I plan on voting no.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7671, legislation authored by Representative Neguse and cosponsored by Representatives D'Esposito, Titus, Ezell, and Stanton. The bill will incentivize faster recovery for federally declared disasters and lower costs. It also enables State and local emergency managers to build capacity for future disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. When managing Federal disaster declarations, States administer FEMA grants that may be worth billions of dollars. FEMA allows States to utilize a percentage of those grants to cover the cost of administrator requirements and grant management. Current law requires management costs to be strictly tied to each specific disaster declaration. However, most States are managing recovery for multiple disaster declarations simultaneously. A project inspector working a full day may visit multiple disaster sites in a State. If those sites are associated with more than one disaster, all associated costs must be parceled out to possibly dozens of open grants. This is inefficient, wastes taxpayer dollars, and slows recovery. This bill encourages efficiency by allowing States to use their management funds across all open disasters. Additionally, H.R. 7671 helps build capacity at FEMA and at the local level by rewarding applicants that complete recoveries from major disaster declarations quickly. One of the most common concerns we hear from emergency management experts is that FEMA, States, and local governments do not have sufficient personnel or resources to prepare for and respond to disasters. Increasing efficiency and building capacity is one of the most important actions we can take to ensure nationwide disaster readiness and empower State and local emergency managers. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse).

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, emergency managers need more resources and capacity to effectively respond to increasingly frequent and severe disasters. This bill incentivizes faster disaster recovery, gets communities back on their feet, and creates more capacity in Federal and local emergency management offices. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9541, the bill I cosponsored with Representative Ezell. This bill empowers publicly owned electric utilities to implement hazard mitigation improvements during disaster recovery. When disasters strike, they leave a trail of destruction, including damaged energy infrastructure that needs to be immediately repaired to restore power. At the same time, this can present an opportunity to improve the resilience of power infrastructure to reduce the risk of outages in the future. Unfortunately, current law prevents FEMA from reimbursing utilities for hazard mitigation as they make temporary disaster repairs. This leads to wasted opportunity, more frequent power outages, and higher costs passed on to ratepayers. Commonsense solutions like H.R. 9541 are more critical than ever to keep energy costs low for American families. This bill maximizes FEMA's resources and helps communities protect critical infrastructure, leading to lower costs for utilities and families in the wake of future disasters. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, the cost of recovering from increasingly frequent severe weather events often raises the price of America's electric bills. This bill will help public power make their systems more resilient at the time of repair, increasing efficiency and cutting overall costs. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague Mr. Molinaro for sponsoring this really important legislation. I rise in support of the Amtrak Executive Bonus Disclosure Act. This bill requires Amtrak to post the compensation of its executive leadership team annually on the Amtrak website. Congress already requires the Nation's intercity passenger railroads to submit this information to Congress. This bill increases transparency by making this information readily available to the public. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, this bill will increase transparency at Amtrak. I urge my colleagues to support this very important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the University of Oregon Ducks on their 12-0 season and having the No. 1 ranking in college football. Congratulations to Dan Lanning who led this football team to the only undefeated record in college football. I also want to give a shout-out to quarterback Dillon Gabriel who has thrown over 3,200 yards and is the Big Ten's offensive player of the year; the offensive and defensive lines that continue to win games in the trenches; Bryce Boettcher who leads our team in tackles; Tez Johnson who leads our team in receptions; and Jordan James who has rushed over 1,000 yards this season. We Oregonians are proud of our Ducks, and we wish our team luck against Penn State tomorrow. We will be cheering you on to the title. Go Ducks.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Rural Health Month. One-third of Oregon's counties are frontier counties, which have even more struggles accessing healthcare than our rural communities. We need to make sure that the people who are feeding our country--our farmers, our fishermen, and our ranchers--can access the healthcare that they need. The barriers are great. I was just able to get $2 million to build a chemotherapy care clinic in Curry County. It would take 7\1/2\ hours for people needing chemotherapy to be able to go get treatment, having to travel by car on dangerous roads. We need to do better. These people are the heart of our country, and we need to invest in healthcare for our rural communities.

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. He said, Val, tell them they need to pass this bill. It is time to right this wrong. We have earned our benefits. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes.''