Ro Khanna

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, across our land, there is outrage at private health insurance companies that are denying claims: denying claims for heart disease, denying claims for cancer, denying claims for diabetes. Mr. Speaker, the average cancer patient in America will lose their entire life savings in 2 years. Forty-two percent of Americans who have cancer lose their life savings in 2 years. Mr. Speaker, 18 percent of Americans have had their healthcare claims denied, over 3.4 million Americans. On a very small matter, I had my healthcare claim denied by UnitedHealthcare when I wanted to get a $100 nasal pump for allergies. Back it came: denied. I couldn't get that reversed. Imagine people with more serious problems. One of the people in my district, Sarah Broughton, died of a sinus infection because her health insurance companies denied her claims for basic healthcare. As Americans face denial after denial after denial, what is happening with these private insurance companies? Let me tell you: $1.4 trillion in revenue, $70 billion in profits for the top seven private insurance companies. They say, oh, it is only 5 percent profit, but it is $1.4 trillion sucked out of our economy while basic Americans are denied healthcare. What is this money going to? It is going to administrative costs. It is going to advertising. It is going to bloated executive pay salaries while we can't give people treatment for cancer, for diabetes, for basic health issues. The American people are outraged, and they are rising up across our country, demanding fundamental change to a broken healthcare system. Enough. Here are three things that we could do: First, if a doctor prescribes a medicine, the private insurance company must cover it if Medicare covers it. That is common sense. Second, let us cap out-of-pocket costs so you don't have someone who has cancer depleting their entire life savings. Cap those costs at $2,000 a year. Third, let us make sure that these private insurance companies can't rely on AI to have AI-generated algorithms that deny claims. No AI used to deny Americans' claims. Really, what we need, Mr. Speaker, is what so many other democracies have. We need Medicare for All. The reality is, the average American is paying more than $6,000 a year on healthcare costs, and those premiums are up 7 percent from last year. We are not going to get those premiums down. We are not going to get those healthcare costs down unless we have Medicare for All. When we have Medicare for All, we will have 2 percent administrative fees. Medicare will be able to negotiate with the hospitals and the pharmaceutical companies to lower costs for all Americans and provide care. Guess what. If we have Medicare for All, every doctor and every hospital will be in network. No more of these denied claims that are bankrupting Americans and taking people's lives. Mr. Speaker, I represent a district in Silicon Valley that has $12 trillion of value: Apple, Google, Nvidia, Tesla. We are producing more wealth in my ZIP Code than anyplace in human history. How is it that in the wealthiest nation in the world when we are producing more wealth than ever before, Americans can't get basic healthcare? Healthcare is a human right. We have the money to make sure every American is covered and not denied. It is time for change. It is time to hold private health insurance companies accountable. It is time to fight and pass Medicare for All.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn the unholy alliance between soulless wealth and power that is stripping away Americans' freedom. The reality is that, in 2024, 150 billionaires spent $1.9 billion on this election. Seventy-two percent of Americans--Republicans, Independents, and Democrats--are outraged with money in politics. We did not fight the Revolution to be spectators in a game of billionaires putting ads on our television sets and mobile phones. We have more dignity. We have more power as American citizens. Our Founders would be rolling over in their graves if they saw what has become of modern American democracy. There was $2.7 billion of super-PAC spending--and let me tell you something, only 1 percent of Americans gave more than $200. Who has more than $200 to give to politicians? The money has become more important than votes. Surely, we could agree in this body to ban super-PACs and overturn Citizens United. Short of that, surely we could agree with what Maine overwhelmingly did to restrict contributions to super-PACs. Why should it be that a politician can receive a contribution of only up to $3,300, but somehow super-PACs should be allowed to get millions of dollars? We need to make sure, like in Maine, in every State that, at the very least, super-PACs are restricted so billionaires aren't buying our elections. I founded the No PAC Caucus in the United States Congress. We need to end PAC money, the lobbyist money that is corrupting the soul of our democracy. We may not agree on every issue, but when you look at why politicians sold our jobs overseas, why Wall Street raided our manufacturers and hollowed out industry after industry to worship shareholder profits, then you have to look at the influence billionaires have had on our democracy. Let's return power to our citizens. Let's ban super-PACs. Let's at least regulate billionaires from contributing to super-PACs. Let's ban Members from accepting PAC and lobbyist money. That will be worthy of our time in Congress.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Chair, I thank Ranking Member Smith for his leadership. I also thank Chair Rogers for the fair way he conducts the committee. Mr. Chair, we should be debating how much money to spend on defense and whether we are getting our money's worth. It is no secret that I believe it should be a lower number, but I recognize that that is a valid debate that this committee should have. What I don't understand is some of the amendments that have nothing to do with defense that are being introduced into this bill. Amendment 55, for example, prohibits the Defense Department from paying for sick leave or travel for servicemembers receiving an abortion. Amendment 51 prohibits the DOD from using masks to combat a pandemic. Amendment 49 prohibits the Defense Department from providing or approving Pride flags. Amendment 47 prohibits even the teaching of affirmative action. Now, this one you wonder, what does this have to do with Defense policy or keeping our country safe? Amendment 22 prohibits the DOD from buying electric vehicles or chargers. Talk about Big Government being proscriptive. Amendment 44 directs the Confederate Memorial to return to the Arlington National Cemetery. Mr. Chair, my hope is that this committee could debate the top line of defense and what we need to do to keep our country safe and that we do not bring these cultural, divisive issues into supporting our troops and into keeping America the strongest country in the world.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, the term ``troubled teen industry'' probably brings to mind a specific image of struggling teens and families who need help combatting addiction and behavioral challenges. In reality, it is not just the teens who need help. The industry itself, comprised of boot camps, residential treatment centers, and wilderness programs, is troubled. The lack of transparency and accountability in this multibillion-dollar industry means that families seeking care are unknowingly signing their children up for nightmarish and even abusive conditions. It happened to Paris Hilton. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone. With the help of Paris and countless other survivors, I introduced the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. My bill will increase transparency and accountability for this industry. It has 102 cosponsors, 100 organizations, and it is moving in the Senate. Today, in recognition of Children's Week, I urge the Energy and Commerce Committee and the House of Representatives to pass it.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, it is time to finally decolonize Puerto Rico. We have kept Puerto Rico as a territory since 1898, more than 125 years. Over 3 million people have been denied full political rights. My grandfather, Amaranath Vidyalankar, was in jail with Gandhi for over 4 years as part of India's independence movement. Self-determination is essential, and it is essential for Puerto Rico. We must either grant them full independence or statehood. I am committed to working directly with Puerto Ricans on this issue. It is not our place to tell them what they should choose, but we must end harmful policies like Act 22 that enables tax evasion by the wealthy at the expense of Puerto Rico. We also need to end the lack of food sovereignty in Puerto Rico. We must end Puerto Rico's colonial status. It was wrong for India, and it is wrong for Puerto Rico in 2024.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm on the housing crisis in the United States of America. Over half of U.S. renters are paying more than 30 percent of their income in rent, and we have over 650,000 who are unhoused. Here is what we need to do: Stop Wall Street from buying up single- family homes. I have a bill to end the corporate subsidies. Second, cap rent so it doesn't go higher than inflation. The President can do this because many corporate landlords are reliant on financing from our Federal agencies. Third, let's make sure that we build 7 million in new, affordable housing units. Finally, let's make sure that those with prior criminal records aren't banned from public housing, and we have a tenant's bill of rights.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act, H.R. 5887. I did want to say a word about our ranking member. I appreciate his support, but I have also come to appreciate at these times his erudition from the House floor. Every time he speaks about history, I learn something, and I have really appreciated his leadership and statements recently. I appreciate Representative Mace, Representative Timmons, Representatives Donalds, Loudermilk, and, of course, our Ranking Members Raskin and Connolly for truly making this a bipartisan effort, and Selene Ceja on our team and the Oversight and Accountability Committee staff who have been incredible on both sides. I am proud to say that this bipartisan legislation passed unanimously in the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability with a vote of 44-0. The Government Service Delivery Improvement Act builds upon the progress made by the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience, or 21st Century IDEA. While the IDEA Act primarily focused on digital services, this bill takes the next step by addressing all service channels, including online, in-person, and by phone. What sets this bill apart is its whole-of-government approach. It recognizes that improving service delivery requires collaboration. The bill directs the head of Federal agencies to each designate a senior official responsible for improving services, and it requires the Office of Management and Budget to select a senior official to coordinate efforts across Federal agencies. We really appreciated working with the OMB and with both the Democratic and Republican oversight staffs who have been excellent. These officials will help agencies implement best practices, measure progress, and enhance coordination. The Government Service Delivery Improvement Act prioritizes constituents' experience by mandating agencies to incorporate service delivery into their strategic plan. Madam Speaker, the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act represents a significant step forward in creating a more responsive, efficient, and service-delivery oriented Federal Government. It is a commonsense approach to improving government services. I thank, again, Representative Mace, who has always been a pleasure to work with, and our lead, Ranking Member Raskin. Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 5887.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, today, Senator Bernie Sanders and I introduced a historic bill to eliminate medical debt for every American. Over 100 million Americans have medical debt. That is criminal in a country as wealthy as ours. No American should go into debt because they go to the ER or because they go to a doctor. Our bill eliminates all medical debt for families. It eliminates the credit card damaging reports on medical debt, and it stops hospitals from sticking debt collectors on vulnerable patients. Can we not agree in America that no one should have to give up their dream of owning a home because they have medical debt? No one should have to create GoFundMe pages to get medical attention. No one should have to decide between curing their cancer and medical bankruptcy. This bill stands up for every American's right to healthcare. I thank Senator Merkley and Representative Rashida Tlaib for co-leading this effort.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, I have a message for my colleagues today: Don't come to Congress if you want to make a profit. Americans are frustrated with Congress because too many Members are personally trading stock, because PAC money is drowning out the voice of voters, and because there are more lobbyists around here than legislators. That is why, today, I am calling on Speaker Johnson to bring for a vote, an up-or-down vote, a bipartisan bill to ban Members of Congress from trading stock. Representative Abigail Spanberger and Representative Chip Roy have been working on this bill since 2020, listening to voices like Unusual Whales, Quiver Quantitative, and Capitol Trades. They understand that we need a vote. Speaker after Speaker keep saying we will have a vote, but we haven't had a vote. Bring that bill for an up-or-down vote in 2024. Let's ban Members of Congress from trading stock. Then let's ban PAC money, and let's ban Members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his leadership. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose the neocon march into another war in the Middle East. It is the same chorus. This time it is Iran. John Bolton, who blundered us into Iraq, now is calling for strikes on Iran all over CNN and cable news. Then you have Senator Marsha Blackburn saying that we need retaliatory strikes into Iran. Who can forget Senator Lindsey Graham saying: Hit them hard. Blow them off the map. This is foolishness. Let me be clear. The American people, Democrats or Republicans or Independents, do not want another war in the Middle East. They do not want us to make the same mistake we made in Iraq. They do not want trillions of our tax dollars going into foreign wars. Instead, they are demanding that we invest in jobs here at home, in childcare, and in healthcare in America. I call today for the American people to stand up against the foreign policy blob and against the establishment and prevent them from getting us into another war in the Middle East.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, the Doomsday Clock is set at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been. We should heed its warning. We are inching dangerously close to nuclear war and must do everything we can to reduce the risk of nuclear catastrophe. Russia has threatened to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Iran is closer to developing the nuclear bomb. North Korea is increasing its nuclear arsenal. The risks of miscalculation and rapid escalation are exacerbating these threats. The nuclear arms race needs to stop. We can and must turn back the Doomsday Clock. We need to work with Russia and China to collectively reduce our stockpiles, increase transparency, reduce the risk of miscalculation, and avoid a dangerous arms race. Nuclear negotiation has always been part of the United States' history, and we must do that again. First, let's revive a version of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty that Richard Nixon negotiated to cap the arms race by limiting homeland missile defenses. This will reduce pressure on the United States, China, and Russia to build more nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, President George W. Bush withdrew from the treaty in 2002. We need to negotiate to reenter. Second, we must reenter the Treaty on Open Skies that was first proposed under Dwight Eisenhower and signed by President George H.W. Bush. Open Skies authorizes treaty parties, including the United States, to conduct unarmed flights that provide opportunities to monitor others' nuclear capabilities. Donald Trump withdrew from this treaty in 2020 that Republican Presidents had negotiated. We need to get back in. Third, we should restore the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and expand it to include China. This was Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev's achievement, yet Donald Trump withdrew from this treaty in 2019. We need to get back in. Fourth, we need to resume implementation of the New START Treaty negotiated under President Barack Obama to limit the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads. Putin suspended New START in 2023, ripping up the last remaining nuclear treaty with the United States. He did this because of our support of Ukraine. We need to pass funding for Ukraine to defend its sovereignty, end the war justly, and renegotiate New START with Russia and China. Lastly, we must negotiate with Russia to agree that both of our countries will adopt a no-first-use policy. We would be joining China and India, which already have this posture, unlike Russia and the United States. Adopting a no-first-use policy only if Russia agrees as well would clarify that our nuclear weapons are for deterrence and avoid unintentionally escalating a crisis. Maintaining the nuclear triad as a deterrent should not bankrupt us. We must cut the costs of modernization that are excessive and going to defense contractor lobbyists. The Air Force's new Sentinel ICBM program is already 37 percent over budget, costing taxpayers $132 billion. That is money that could be going to feed our kids in school, to help pay for college or vocational education, or to pay for childcare. I call on my colleagues in Washington to help avoid a global catastrophe and a nuclear arms race, to look to previous Presidents like Eisenhower, Reagan, Bush, Obama, and Clinton and negotiator- statesmen to reduce the risk of nuclear war. We must stop this arms race. We must take our weapons off hair- trigger alert. We must spend our tax dollars here at home, where Americans most need it. We must ensure diplomacy prevails, not nuclear war. As Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev said: ``A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.''

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, Art Ellison has one final wish: to provide free lunch to students in need. Art, a Democrat from the New Hampshire State House, is currently in hospice and knows he doesn't have long to live. He is using his final time to try and pass a bill to increase eligibility for free lunch to all students at or below 350 percent of the Federal poverty line. Making kids go hungry is cruel. That is why I am on a bill with Senator Sanders to provide free lunch and free meals to every child. We can do it for $3.30 a day. Let us honor Art Ellison and get this done. He represents the best of politics.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, due to technical difficulties, my vote was not recorded on adoption of H. Res. 1065. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 85.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Madam Speaker, it is time that we have a real solution for having high-skilled immigrants help with our national security. That is why I, as a cosponsor of the EAGLE Act, am going to introduce it and attach it to the National Defense Authorization Act. The reality is we need immigrants to help build some of the critical technology that is going to keep us ahead of China and keep our military strong and our industrial base strong. The EAGLE Act benefits all American workers by lifting the arbitrary per country green card cap to bring down the decades-long backlog. It also will help end H-1B visa abuse by foreign outsourcing corporations, as these visas undercut wages. It is time to pass the EAGLE Act, attach it to national defense, and make it a national security issue.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, today, we honor the selfless life of Bishop Carlton Pearson who passed away last November at the age of 70. Bishop Carlton Pearson was an evangelist, ministry leader, author, and award- winning singer. He was raised in San Diego, California with five siblings. He is survived by them, his wife, and his two children. An expert in many crafts, his congregation often praised his diverse passions and the limitless communities impacted by his work. He preached what he called a gospel of inclusion. He saw all human life as an integral part of a broader community. He was welcomed in Synagogues, Islamic groups, Atheist and Agnostic organizations, and a variety of other spiritual communities. He felt a mandate to strive for peace through an emphasis on inclusion in spirituality and interfaith fellowship. I commend him again today and emphasize his teaching that we don't have to go along to get along. That we can mind many of the same things without necessarily having the same mind about everything. We honor the life of Bishop Carlton Pearson, the legacy he left won't be soon forgotten. I include in the Record this Rolling Stone Magazine memoriam about how he has inspired generations to come. How Bishop Carlton Pearson Inspired a Generation of Singers and Gospel Artists (By Meagan Jordan) Bishop Carlton Pearson, a renowned preacher, singer and composer, known for his Live At Azusa albums, died on November 19 after a battle with cancer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His theology, known as the ``gospel of inclusion,'' preached against homophobia and embraced the LGBTQ community, but cost him his congregation and approval within the evangelical community. However, his message of inclusion and his denial of hell has become a model, and his impact in gospel music continues to inspire new generations of artists. ``He has an album of hymns that people would sing in the Black church for communion like `I Know it Was The Blood,' or his version of `Precious Memories.' gospel artist and former Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams tells Rolling Stone, referring to Pearson's Live At Azusa 2: Precious Memories album from 1997. ``He amplified those songs and made them mainstream for church.'' Pearson was born and raised in San Diego, California, where his father and grandfather were preacher men in a storefront ``heaven or hell'' Pentecostal church. After graduating high school, he attended Oral Roberts University, an evangelical Christian University, where Oral Roberts, a white preacher who had the leading religious television broadcast in the Seventies, was the school's founder. Roberts mentored Pearson as he navigated the ministerial realm. Pearson left the school before graduating in 1977, starting his own church, Higher Dimensions. With over 6,000 members, it would make him one of the first Black mega church pastors, bringing Black churches into a mainstream space in the Nineties and 2000s. ``In the Seventies, here in the West, the church was on a decline,'' says Larry Reid, a pastor, media personality and friend to Pearson. ``You had evangelistic campaigns all over the U.S., but it was fading away and Black people were not leading it. We were the musicians and the singers. But Carlton Pearson created a stage called Azusa and brought Black Christians in and the white stations would play clips from his platform.'' Pearson's Azusa Conferences, which were inspired by the 1906 revival that took place on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, were a hybrid of preaching and music. It gave preachers, like Joyce Meyers, Michael Pitts, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and gospel heavyweights, such as Donnie Mcclurkin, the Clark Sisters, and the late Lashun Pace, agency and a platform to showcase their talents and introduce them to a wider audience of people. The conference, which was held at Pearson's old university, Oral Roberts, would host thousands of guests. For those who could not attend, they were taped and sold via VHS, which gave way to many successful careers in television ministry and gospel music. ``I had always known his music for many years before I became an artist,'' says Ricky Dillard, a renowned gospel artist and composer, known for his choirs and directorial abilities. ``He had a choir with him and that was influential to me. He was out here doing it at an A-1 level, so everyone was a fan. If you're a gospel music lover, there's no way that you could not have heard the music of Bishop Carlton Pearson.'' Pearson's album The Best of Azusa. . . Yet Holdin' On is a staple in the Black community. On the 14-track album, featuring songs from his Azusa conference days, he has an oratory track called ``Mother Sherman Story,'' in which he recounts a question an elderly mother from his home church would ask him, even as dementia began to set in: ``You yet holding on?''--The album's title. ``That meant many things,'' explains Williams. ``It meant keep holding on to your faith and also meant keep holding on to your morals and your standards.'' In the late Nineties, Pearson--who not only studied his bible but also studied its roots, foundations, and original language of Hebrew--came to a realization that would shake the foundation of his faith and his social standing within the church. ``When my little girl was an infant, I was watching the evening news and the Hutus and the Tutsis were returning to Rwanda from Uganda,?'' Pearson recalled on an episode of This American Life from December 2005. ``I'm watching these little kids with swollen bellies, their skin is stretched. . . Their hair is kind of red from malnutrition and they have flies on the corner of their eyes and mouths.'' Pearson thought of his baby, who is now 27 year-old Majeste Pearson--a pop and gospel singer--and his big screen television and the plate of food he was in the middle of eating. Knowing the culture of the people on the screen and assuming they were not all Christian, he said, ``God, I don't know how you can call yourself a loving, sovereign God and allow these people to suffer this way and just suck them right into hell.'' Pearson heard a voice saying ``Can't you see they're already there? That's hell. You keep creating that for yourselves, I'm taking them into my presence.'' Pearson had a realization: ``We do that to ourselves and to each other,'' he recalled in the podcast episode. The next Sunday, he shared his revelation to his congregation, urging them to stop telling people that they weren't ``saved.'' Instead, he wanted them to send a message that they were ``safe with God.'' But this new theology of inclusion and universalism marked his downfall within the evangelical mainstream. Congregants left the church. Preachers like T.D. Jakes spoke out against him; Jakes told Charisma Magazine, a popular Christian publication, that Pearson was wrong and had incorrectly interpreted the Bible. Many churches and leaders turned their backs on him. He lost his church, both its members and the building. He was banned from hosting the Azusa conference at the Oral Roberts institution and Roberts, his former mentor, remained silent. At the time, Pearson was also running for the Mayor of Tulsa, the city with the worst race riot in 1922 known as the Black Wall Street massacre. He lost. ``I told Carlton that if he told them he believed there was no such thing as hell and damnation, he will reduce this weapon of fear based religion, which is the foundation of religious institutions money,'' said Bishop Yvette Flunder, a friend of Pearson and a same gender loving preacher and singer who sung with The Hawkins Family. ``His colleagues and the College of Bishops that he was a part of put him on blast and said he was a heretic and excommunicated him.'' Charisma Magazine didn't let the issue rest. According to Reid, they wrote about Pearson for two years, demonizing his theology and teachings. ``He was deeply hurt and felt betrayed,'' his children Majeste and Julian Pearson wrote in an email to Rolling Stone. But Pearson stood by his beliefs. ``He internalized a lot of it, resulting in him becoming physically sick. Around that time, he had his first bout with cancer. We were nine and 11 when we knew it was our last service.'' While no longer popular in the mainstream church, Pearson's ministry continued through his church New Dimensions, where he preached against homophobia and embraced the LGBTQ community as members. He challenged scriptures used to demonize and oppress their existence. He also authored books like The Gospel of Inclusion and God Is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu. . . . : God Dwells with Us, in Us, Around Us, as Us. He also was a minister to many in person. ``Bishop Pearson's ministry was a mirror for me,'' says Dillard. Back in 2005, Dillard had met Pearson leaving an event and felt inclined to give him a ride back to Atlanta. ``Something very powerful happened in our moment together. I was seeking God in a different way and I had come up with translations that I needed confirmation from. I felt low in spirit that I was not meeting the standards of the Word of God. Bishop said something to me that changed my life that day. He said `As others have judged you, you have now taken on their judgment and you are judging yourself.' It spoke to my heart.''

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, I will vote ``no'' today on the $17 billion aid package which provides a blank check to Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, and the extreme rightwing government in Israel. How dare Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister, have the gall to criticize America while calling for the mass expulsion of Palestinians? I will vote ``no'' because this bill includes zero humanitarian aid while children are dying and 400,000 Gazans face famine. I will vote ``no'' because this bill undermines human rights and international law, ignoring the recent ICJ decision calling on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians. I will vote ``no'' because it is painfully obvious to the entire world that what is needed today is a permanent cease-fire and the release of all hostages. There come moments in a Nation's history when our actions reveal our values. This is such a moment. We must stand for stopping the bombing, for ending this brutal war, and for justice in the Middle East with a Palestinian state with equal rights living side by side with Israel.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, for patients with leukemia, doctors often prescribe Imbruvica. In 2021, Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie sold it for a combined $10 billion. Keytruda, a drug prescribed to cancer patients, netted Merck $20 billion; and Humira, a prescription drug for arthritis, allowed AbbVie to rake in $21 billion. This needs to stop. Big Pharma is putting profits over people. They have three lobbyists for every one Member of Congress and have spent $370 million on lobbying while making excessive profits on the backs of cancer families. That is why Senator Sanders and I have a bill to rein in prescription drug costs, and that is why I said let's ban PAC and lobbyist money. Americans shouldn't pay more for their drugs than the average price people in other countries are paying.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, we have a housing crisis in this country. People are struggling to afford rent, and many can't even think of buying a house. Basic housing is an economic and human right. Here are five things we must do: First, we need 7 million new housing units to fill the gap and a $445 billion investment in the housing trust fund. Second, we need to pass my Stop Wall Street Landlords Act to help prevent Wall Street from buying up single-family homes. Third, we need to provide down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers. Fourth, we need to--as Representative Cori Bush called for--provide protection for tenants and provide financial assistance before tenants get evicted. Finally, we need to provide grants for neighborhood stabilization, like the culinary union did, so rent doesn't increase beyond inflation. We need to address the Housing crisis.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Madam Speaker, all I want for Christmas is to clean up the corruption in Congress. That is why tomorrow morning I will be introducing my political reform and anticorruption resolution, supported by Unusual Whales, Capitol Trades, and Quiver Quantitative. CREW has also done important work on these issues. It calls for five things: First, a ban on all PAC and lobbyist money; second, a ban on Members of Congress trading stock; third, a ban on Members ever becoming lobbyists; fourth, term limits for Members of Congress and Supreme Court Justices; and, fifth, a binding Code of Ethics for the Supreme Court. The American people on both sides are frustrated by the corruption in Washington. We need real change. I hope Members on both sides will support this resolution that we introduce tomorrow.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, yesterday before the climate summit at the U.N., tens of thousands of people marched. I want them to know that some of us in this building hear you, we see you, and we understand your demand for urgent action. We have seen in my State the wildfires in California. We have seen the flooding in New Hampshire and Vermont. We have seen the hottest summers recorded, and we have seen the smoke-filled air. We need this President to declare a climate emergency. We need to stop the export of our oil to other countries. We need to stop subsidizing fossil fuel companies. We need this President to keep his promise of no new drilling on public lands. That means no to the Willow project. We need to stand with the UAW workers who are building EVs to make sure they have a fair wage. Thank you to Gen-Z for Change. Thank you to Sunrise. Thank you to Climate Defiance. Thank you to all of the groups who are marching.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Madam Speaker, the American people are frustrated and exhausted with the corruption and role of big money in the Halls of Congress. That is why I am introducing a five-point plan. First, ban all PAC and lobbyist money to congressional campaigns. I don't take a dime of it. Second, ban completely stock trading and Members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists. Activists like Unusual Whales, Quiver Quantitative, and the leaders at CREW have been mobilizing for this. Third, term limits for Members of Congress. Fourth, term limits for Supreme Court Justices. Fifth, an ethics code for Supreme Court Justices. This is common sense. The people demand it. It is time we give them back their government and reform in Washington. We should have bipartisan support for this five-point plan.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, recently I traveled to Lordstown, Ohio, in Ashtabula County, Ohio; Johnstown, Pennsylvania; and Farrell, Pennsylvania. I saw steel mill after steel mill shut down, including in Cleveland, in Detroit, and in Downriver, Michigan. Of the world's top 15 steel companies, China has 9 and the United States of America doesn't have a single one. How did we let this happen as a country? How did we decimate American steel, costing community after community so many good jobs, hurting urban centers with large African-American working populations, and hurting factory towns across America? This was a colossal mistake. In the 1950s, we used to make over 50 percent of the world's steel. That is down to 2 or 3 percent. Today, China makes nearly 50 percent of the world's steel. This is a national security issue if we ever have to mobilize for our military. This is a climate issue. China's steel puts three times the emissions into the atmosphere than American steel does because we use electric arc furnaces and recycled material, unlike the blast furnaces that China uses. It is time for America to have a strategy to bring modern steel production back home. We can make steel that is cleaner and of higher quality; and we can revitalize towns like Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Lordstown, Ohio; Akron, Ohio; and Downriver, Michigan, if we build these modern steel plants. I am going to be working with my colleagues on a bipartisan basis to introduce a modern steel act to say that the government should partner with our steel unions and with our steel companies to build modern steel in the United States of America. This will be clean steel with either hydrogen or electric arc furnaces. This will create good-paying jobs. This will be good for national security, and this will ensure that America leads in steel in the 21st century, not China. Mr. Speaker, we made a big, big error in the United States of America, losing our lead in domestic production. It is time for our country to become a manufacturing superpower again. It is time to begin that with modern steel.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Chairman, I thank Ranking Member Smith and Chairman Rogers for their support of my bipartisan amendment to require the Department of Defense to track whether their equipment is made in the United States. I was surprised that the Department of Defense does not know whether essential weapons equipment today have component parts that are made overseas and what percentage are made overseas. We have a problem in this country in terms of our industrial base. Of the top 15 steel companies in the world, 9 of them are in China. Not one is in the United States. We just realized, in terms of artillery to Ukraine, that we don't have enough conventional artillery, forcing us to be considering cluster bombs. We need to build our industrial base, and to do that, we need to figure out where the Department of Defense is getting weapons and the component parts, what are essential weapons and essential supply chains, and how we can ensure that those essential supply chains are made in the United States of America. This bipartisan amendment will help us get that information and that data. Mr. Chairman, again, I thank Ranking Member Smith and Chairman Rogers for including this in the NDAA.

Mr. KHANNA

Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, there are 45 million Americans waiting on the Supreme Court decision to see if their student loans will be forgiven. Let me be clear: We cannot continue the resolution of student loan payments until we make good on our promise to forgive them. If students are having to pay student loans in September, they will then have less money to spend, and it will hurt us and possibly drive us into a recession. Under the Higher Education Act, the President has the authority, and he should exercise that authority to make sure students aren't repaying their loans come this September, regardless of what the Supreme Court does.