Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we had plenty of time last night in the Rules Committee to debate these awful, lousy bills: H.R. 6945, H.R. 6359, and H.J. Res. 140. I encourage everyone to look them up. Don't take my word for it. Two of these bills are about misleading pregnant women to stop them from making decisions about their own bodies. This is all part of the Republicans' war on women. These bills are aimed to please anti-choice protesters who are flying into Washington this week. The third is about making it easier for a foreign mining company to dump pollution into a pristine wilderness recreation area in Minnesota. All of these bills are being brought to the floor under completely closed rules--no amendments, limited debate, no nothing. I won't waste more time on these terrible bills. They are just more of the same stupid garbage that this majority has brought to the floor time and time again. What I do want to highlight, Mr. Speaker, is that this week marks 1 year since Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States. Republicans have had total control of the entire Federal Government-- the House, the Senate, and the White House--for over a year. Yet still, after an entire year in charge, Republicans continue to point the finger at Democrats rather than take responsibility for their own embarrassing failures and broken promises. Republicans and Trump ran on fighting for working people, but every single day, they have governed on behalf of billionaires and corporate donors. Let's take a look at some of these broken promises. Donald Trump said he would put America first. He has not. What he has done is given a $40 billion loan to Argentina. He stabbed American ranchers in the back, proposing that we import beef from South America. He threw a fancy party at the White House for a Saudi Prince who murdered an American journalist. He has not put America first. He also promised no more endless wars. Give me a break. He renamed the Pentagon the Department of War. Last year, he bombed Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. He bombed Venezuela and now says that we are running the country, whatever the hell that means. He is also threatening to take an autonomous territory from Denmark, a NATO ally. Let's go over another failure. Donald Trump promised ICE would only deport the worst of the worst. Guess what. That is not true. ICE agents are terrorizing not just immigrants, but U.S. citizens, sowing chaos, murdering an unarmed American mom in broad daylight, and deporting veterans and asylum seekers who are here legally. Another campaign promise: Donald Trump said he would lower prices on day one. Oh, my God, Mr. Speaker, has anyone in this administration gone shopping? Let me say this as someone who buys his own groceries in Worcester, Massachusetts. Prices are not only high, but they are going up even more because of Trump's reckless tariffs. Remember when Trump bragged about how he would get gas down to $2 a gallon? It is $3 a gallon down the street from my house. Let's keep going down the list. Trump said he would get drugs off our streets and put criminals in jail. Give me a break. He pardoned the guy who created the dark web market that smuggled in tons of fentanyl. Then he pardoned the Honduran ex-President convicted of trafficking tons and tons of cocaine into the United States. Let's not forget, he pardoned all the January 6 rioters, many of whom have since gone on to reoffend with illegal gun possession and committing child sex crimes after Donald Trump let them out of jail. Then, of course, we have the promise that Trump would replace ObamaCare with something better. Instead of something better, Republicans let the enhanced ACA tax credits expire at the end of 2025, which means that now people are paying more. Tens of thousands of people in Massachusetts alone have now dropped coverage, meaning they have no insurance at all. Republicans don't have a plan to replace ObamaCare. They never have. Fifteen years later, I am starting to think that they never will. Now, another thing that Donald Trump promised: no corruption and full transparency. Remember that promise? Seriously, how much money does one family need to make off the Presidency before Republicans admit it is corruption? The Trump family has gotten nearly $4 billion richer since he took office last year. How much can one family treat the Presidency like a piggy bank before Republicans finally step up and do something about it? Why is his ballroom being funded by billionaire donors? What are they looking for? What about the Epstein files? There has been no transparency there. We had to force a vote in Congress. He reluctantly signed the bill, and he still hasn't released all the files. Less than 1 percent of the files have been released. What the hell is taking so long? What is he so afraid of? What is he hiding? It has been clear to me since day one of Donald Trump's disgraceful Presidency what it has been all about. Look at who was in the front row of his inauguration, all billionaires: his Treasury secretary, a billionaire; his education secretary, a billionaire; his entire Cabinet, Health and Human Services, Energy, Interior, all led by billionaires. These people don't shop for themselves or they don't worry about paying rent. They don't care about us. Trump said he would drain the swamp. What a bunch of BS. He moved the swamp into the Lincoln bedroom for God's sake. The bottom line is simple: He has not done a single damn thing that he promised to do. Not only have they failed, they have failed catastrophically, and look no further than the bills on the floor today. There is nothing for workers, nothing to lower grocery prices, nothing to take on price gouging, nothing to bring down rent, nothing to help people buy a home, nothing to lower prescription drug costs, nothing to raise wages, nothing to strengthen workplace protections, and nothing to create jobs. Just culture war garbage and corporate giveaways is all the GOP knows how to do. After 1 year of total power, there is nobody else to blame. This is the Republican record, and it is awful. This is Donald Trump's economy, and it sucks. The people back home see it. They feel it. They are living it. They see who keeps getting help and who keeps getting hurt. They see the billionaires cashing out while working families get squeezed. The Republican Party has had a year, and the American people have had enough. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consumer. I will correct the Record on something. Donald Trump promised he would lower gas prices to $2 a gallon. I just did Google maps and looked at the price of gas in the gentleman's district. It is like $2.80. That is a far cry from $2. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 12, the Women's Health Protection Act, to restore the rights of women to an abortion nationwide and undo extremist abortion bans in States across the country. Mr. Speaker, since the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, 13 States have imposed complete abortion bans and many more have imposed extremely short timeframes to get an abortion, endangering women, threatening doctors with criminal prosecution, giving politicians in State capitol buildings extreme power over personal medical decisions and fundamental freedoms. The bills in this rule are part of that dangerous trend. One bill actually diverts Federal TANF funds meant for low-income families to fund so-called crisis pregnancy centers, which provide pregnant women oftentimes with fake medical advice with the goal of dissuading them from accessing contraception or abortion care. Republicans aren't providing more funding for TANF. God forbid they do that. Giving this money away to these fake medical clinics is stealing money from low-income families who need real help. The damage these fake pregnancy centers do isn't theoretical. In my district, a woman was told by one of these centers that she had a viable pregnancy, but as time went on and she continued to feel sharp pains, she went to a real doctor and was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy that threatened her life and resulted in an emergency surgery. She will have lifelong complications. If she had received actual medical care earlier, she could have received the treatment she needed before it was too late. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can bring up a bill that will actually protect women and allow them to access the full suite of reproductive care options. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentleman who just spoke that some of us had different experiences. In my district, a woman almost died from one of these crisis pregnancy centers because she got bad advice from a quack. Don't lecture us about our dedication to making sure that women are not only presented all options but treated by people who are actually qualified. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is interesting. Now the gentleman is blaming the Governors and not Biden. I don't even know where the hell Worcester is. I never heard of that place the way he is saying it. It is certainly not in Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, in any event, while this Chamber is wasting more time on yet more messaging bills, a real crisis is unfolding in plain sight. Our allies are preparing for a possible military conflict with the United States. Let me repeat that again. Our closest allies, our partners in freedom and peace for decades, are reinforcing their territory because the President of the United States has plunged us into the greatest transatlantic crisis in a generation. Are we supposed to be relieved by the fact that finally, after a week of chaos, he said he won't use force? Is that supposed to somehow comfort us? I don't really feel very comforted because these are the same people who told us they wouldn't invade Venezuela the week before they invaded Venezuela. Let me remind everyone how this started. Last weekend, Donald Trump sent a message to Norway's Prime Minister. I want the President's words in the Record because the American people deserve to hear them. ``Dear Jonas, considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars plus, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace.'' Now, let's listen to that again. Since he didn't get the prize, the President of the United States says he no longer feels obligated to think of peace. Then he pivots from grievance to threats, saying that he wants ``complete and total control of Greenland.'' That is nuts. Again, this is truly crazy. This is the President of the United States talking about a NATO ally the way that Putin talked about Crimea before he invaded Ukraine. `` . . . if we don't do it the easy way, we are going to do it the hard way.'' Again, that is not a Putin quote. It is a Trump quote. You can hardly tell the damned difference anymore. Wake up, America. Are any of my friends on the other side of the aisle going to step up and put an end to this insanity, or are we all just going to shrug it off and move on? The President's own words show that he is living in a different reality. He told The New York Times that acquiring Greenland is psychologically important to him. Not to the United States, but to him personally. Mr. Speaker, just so we are all on the same page, the U.S. does not need to invade Greenland to protect America. We already have a U.S. military presence there, and Denmark has basically said that they are happy to partner with us even further, because our militaries already work very closely, to make sure that Russia or China doesn't gain a foothold in the Arctic, so his own justification is total BS. Threatening to annex Greenland actually makes us less safe. If we wanted to stand up to Russia, I can think of a really easy way to do that that doesn't involve invading a NATO ally. No, no, no. In no way is this about national security or defending the Arctic. It is a cover story. This is about a thin-skinned, petty man throwing a global tantrum because he didn't get the prize that he thinks he deserves. Through all of this, barely a peep from most Republicans--not a whisper. Imagine if this were a Democratic President. They would be up in arms. We would be having investigations and subpoenas, and it would be a national scandal. Yet, we are hearing nothing from Republicans because they are in a cult. I will say what they won't: None of this is normal. This is not a joke. This is not something Republicans can shrug off or turn away from. This President is threatening a NATO ally in writing, and the world is responding. European allies have begun sending troops to Greenland to protect it from an American invasion. Canada has signaled that such an invasion would activate Article 5, meaning our allies would be obligated to take military action against us. Record-setting protests are taking place in Greenland and in Denmark because they have no interest in being taken over by Trump. Instead of deescalating, Trump is ramping up--tariffs, threats, blackmail, trying to bully our allies into letting him grab territory. Do you know what the kicker is to all of this? Working people will pay the price for Trump's little temper tantrum. When you blow up alliances, you don't just blow up diplomacy. You blow up supply chains. You blow up markets. You blow up global stability, and it is never the billionaires who eat the cost. It is families. It is farmers. It is workers. It is regular people. Maybe that is why 91 percent of Americans think that taking over Greenland is a stupid idea, but here is the bottom line: China benefits when America alienates Europe. Russia benefits when NATO is weakened and distracted. Every authoritarian on Earth benefits when the President of the United States starts acting like a two-bit tyrant. I will just end on this: The world where America invades Greenland is a horrible, horrible world. It is a world with no moral compass. It is a world with no North Star towards liberty and justice. It is a world where China, Russia, and America conspire together to subvert freedom, democracy, and peace. It is a world I don't want to live in, but it is the world that will come to be if we allow this President to do what he says he wants to do. My message to our allies is simple: Do not mistake this President for the American people. Stand up to him. Do not appease him, and know that there are Americans and there are Members of Congress who will stand with you in defense of democracy, alliances, and the rule of law. My message to House Republicans is even more simple: It is time to take the car keys from grandpa. Stop worshipping this President. Stop acting like you are in a cult. Grow a spine, and for once in your lives, cut the BS and do something to stop him. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, it is incredible to be lectured by people who claim they are pro-life but who vote to take food away from hungry kids in this country, who vote to cut SNAP by $200 billion in the big, ugly bill, who vote to cut Medicaid by $1 trillion in the big, ugly bill. It really is incredible. It takes my breath away. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Oregon.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let's be clear, all of these crummy bills that are coming to the floor today are under completely closed rules. The gentlewoman who just spoke, her amendment was blocked from being debated and voted on on the House floor by my Republican colleagues. Everything is just closed--their way or the highway. It is a terrible pattern that has developed here. Mr. Speaker, after 1 year of total Republican control, there is nowhere left to hide. Republicans ran on helping working people. They ran on lowering costs. They ran on grocery prices and rent. What did they do? They delivered all right--for billionaires and big donors. If Wall Street wanted a tax break, it would get done in a nanosecond. If Amazon wanted another loophole, it would materialize out of thin air. If Big Oil wanted another permit, they would roll out the red carpet. If Big Pharma wanted to rip off people, Republicans look the other way. That is how things have worked around here for the last year. It is never a problem paying for tax breaks for billionaires, but somehow, when everyday people needed help, Republicans were nowhere to be found. They cut food assistance, cut Medicaid, and cut help for regular people. They stole from those with the least to give more to those with the most. I am so sick of the excuses. For a year, we have heard Republicans blame everyone but themselves: blame Biden, blame Democrats, blame George Soros, blame the Clintons, blame Kamala Harris, blame the blue States, blame the media, blame fill-in-the-blank. Here is a thought, Mr. Speaker: Why don't you guys blame yourselves? You control the House, the Senate, and the White House. You are in charge. You set the schedule. You control the government. You have been in power for an entire year. If you are still blaming someone else, that is really not a strategy. It is a confession. As much as you guys might need a priest, I am not here to offer forgiveness or absolution. I am here to demand accountability. Republicans need to take ownership of your pathetic, incompetent, disastrous inability to deliver on anything you said you would. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this rule and a ``no'' vote on the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois, Dr. Foster, for yielding me the time and for scheduling this hour on this most important topic. The threat of nuclear weapons challenges our conscience. It is a threat not just for Americans, but for all humanity and all species of life on our planet. The idea of nuclear conflict isn't an issue that families normally discuss around the kitchen table, but it is real. It is deadly serious. It demands our urgent attention. We cannot afford to throw our hands up and say there is nothing to be done. The United States can take concrete action today: Extend the New START treaty. The arc of arms control is one of success led by Presidents of both parties. Forty years ago, there were 70,000 nuclear warheads in inventories around the world. Today, there are 12,400--far more than we should have, but it is progress. Arms control is hard work. It involves technical expertise, diplomatic skill, and political will. Today, we need all three. That is because the last control agreement remaining in force between the United States and Russia expires on February 5, in only 22 days. The New START treaty limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads for each party to 1,550, on no more than 700 deployed long- range missiles and bombers. Extension is common sense for our security. First, New START promotes stability. With the war in Ukraine, tensions between the U.S. and Russia are high. Negotiating an extension offers space within that relationship to lessen tensions. Second, if not renewed, we risk the possibility that each side will go beyond the treaty's limit in a misguided pursuit of geopolitical advantage. Third, there is no nuclear strategic gain from deploying more warheads on more delivery vehicles. Our massive, largely invulnerable nuclear arsenal is more than sufficient for deterrence. Fourth, increasing our strategic forces might incentivize China to accelerate its nuclear buildup. Lastly, it would cause us to funnel billions more taxpayer dollars into our nuclear arsenal when we should be restoring funding to healthcare, medical research, and food and nutrition programs here at home. Why is it that we always have money for bombs, but when it comes to helping improve the quality of life for our people, we are told we can't afford it? It doesn't have to be this way, and both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump seem to agree. Both Presidents have spoken favorably of extending New START. In September, Putin said: ``Russia is ready to continue to adhere to the central quantitative restrictions under the START treaty for 1 year after February 5, 2026,'' if the United States reciprocates. In response, Trump said: ``Sounds like a good idea to me.'' Here we are, 22 days from expiration. The White House has yet to reply to the Kremlin's offer. The clock is ticking. I ask the administration to respond to the Russians today: announce we will abide by the New START limits, build confidence, and create time and space for negotiation. President Trump can be a leader for peace. Last year, he said, from the Oval Office: ``There is no reason for us to be building brand-new nuclear weapons. We already have so many. You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over, and here we are, building new nuclear weapons, and they are building nuclear weapons.'' President Trump, I have to say, you are right. He can join Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan among the Presidents with major arms control wins. Mr. Speaker, as a Member of Congress, I have worked to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons. With Representative Jill Tokuda of Hawaii, I introduced H. Res. 317, a resolution that calls on the U.S. Government to return to the negotiating table on nuclear disarmament and to lead a global effort to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons. I have also introduced, with Senator Ed Markey from my State of Massachusetts, the Hastening Arms Limitation Talks Act of 2025, or the HALT Act. Our bill outlines a vision for a 21st century freeze on the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons. We never thought there would be a need to revive the nuclear freeze movement, but here we are. Let me quote from Michael Klare, an arms control expert at Hampshire College and a constituent of mine: ``February 6 is likely to bring us into a new era, not unlike the early years of the Cold War, in which the major powers will be poised to ramp up their nuclear warfighting capabilities without any formal restrictions whatsoever. That comfortable feeling we once enjoyed of relative freedom from an imminent nuclear holocaust will also then undoubtedly begin to dissipate. If there is any hope in such a dark prognosis, it might be that such a reality could, in turn, ignite a worldwide anti-nuclear movement like the Ban the Bomb campaigns of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.'' We have a path out of this. Trump can make good on his statement that there is no need for new nuclear weapons. He can extend New START limits on deployed warheads. For our sanity and for the safety of Americans and all of humanity, let's make the world less dangerous. Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentleman from Illinois for leading this effort.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, at the end of last year, a Massachusetts- based foundation committed to ending hunger, the Eos Foundation, and released its annual school breakfast report card. We have all heard the old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For kids experiencing hunger, it is especially true. The Eos Foundation has put its money where its mouth is literally, by providing funding and technical assistance to schools to establish robust breakfast-in-the-classroom programs. Springfield Public Schools is a shining example of what is possible. With support from the Eos breakfast-in-the-classroom model, 84 percent of students are now getting breakfast up from 44 percent a few years ago. Mr. Speaker, we can and we should do more to close the breakfast gap, the difference between the number of students receiving school breakfast versus lunches. I am committed to doing my part. I have a bill that would increase the Federal meal reimbursement rates for school breakfasts and lunches. Mr. Speaker, thanks to the incredible partners at the Eos Foundation, we are making progress one school at a time.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, this week I am officially announcing a statewide End Hunger Now tour, where I will be visiting every congressional district in Massachusetts to hear from people struggling to put food on the table, to see firsthand why getting nutritious food into every community matters, and to learn from the organizations that are making a difference in people's lives. I am proud that Massachusetts is taking a stand to fight hunger, but I am ashamed that in the richest country in the history of the world nearly 48 million people, including 14 million children, don't know where their next meal is going to come from. I think our national hunger crisis is more than just a policy failure. I think it is a moral outrage, one that Trump and Republicans have made worse by ripping food assistance away from people so they can give tax breaks to billionaires and canceling USDA's gold-standard hunger report to bury the impact of their cruel cuts. Madam Speaker, this tour is about fighting back, and I hope you will follow along as I keep fighting to end hunger now.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, after months of delay, the Trump administration finally released an annual food security survey, which confirms what we know to be true: Hunger is increasing in this country. Nearly 48 million Americans, including 14 million children, in the richest country in the history of the world, are food insecure, meaning that they lack the money and resources to acquire adequate food to feed their families. Those are moms, dads, grandparents, and kids who are unable to consistently access the most basic necessity: food. Mr. Speaker, it is no wonder that the Trump administration has unilaterally canceled all future food security reports. They know that their big, ugly bill and Trump's terrible economy are going to cause food insecurity to skyrocket, and they are desperate to hide the data from the American people. Mr. Speaker, I am here to say that Democrats in Congress are not going to stand by while Trump tears apart basic needs programs. We will continue calling attention to the increase in hunger caused by this administration and their Republican allies in Congress, and we will always fight for a future when we finally end hunger now.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is a new year in America, but judging by the remarks of the gentlewoman from Indiana, it is the same old Republican Party. Here is where we are at on January 7, 2026. We have a Republican President who promised to put America first. Instead, in just under a year he has bailed out Argentina, bombed Venezuela, gave Qatar an air force base in Idaho, pardoned the former Honduran drug trafficking president, and cozied up to dictators all around the world. We have a Republican majority that promised to bring down prices. Guess what. Prices are going up. Families across this country are hurting. People are losing health coverage because you guys chose deliberately, Mr. Speaker, to let the Affordable Care Act tax credits expire. Rent keeps going up. Grocery prices keep going up. Paychecks are not keeping pace. Meanwhile, the President of the United States is openly boasting that America is now running a foreign country. His own advisers can't even answer basic questions about what the hell comes next, what the plan is, how this ends, or when the Venezuelan people can expect democracy. We have a Speaker of the House who is the weakest and most incompetent Speaker of the House in the history of this body. I mean, honest to God, Mr. Speaker, I don't know whether that is a good thing for the country or a bad thing. On one hand, he is so incompetent he can't get anything done. On the other hand, the things he wants to get done are crazy. Don't ask him his opinion on anything. He doesn't have one. He doesn't watch the news. I don't even think he goes outside. I don't know what keeps him so busy that he doesn't have an opinion on anything, but he certainly isn't legislating. With all that is going on--conflict, economic strain, and real crises facing the American people--let us turn to the calendar and see what important issue that this Republican majority has us debating on the floor this week, Mr. Speaker. Do you want to know what it is? It is not housing, not food prices, not rent, not war and peace, foreign policy, or America's future, no, no, no, no. All of us are here on the floor right now at the behest of this Republican majority to debate showerheads. You can't make this stuff up. As if that weren't bad enough, they are still trying to pass last year's appropriations bills. Let that sink in. These are bills that should have been passed months ago. That is the state of governance under this Republican majority: late, unserious, and completely detached from the lives of the people they claim to represent. One of these appropriations bills funds the Department of Justice and Federal law enforcement. That brings us to something Republicans would rather forget, but what our country must not: Yesterday marked the 5- year anniversary of the January 6 insurrection. It has been 5 years since a violent mob, whipped into a frenzy by the lie that Trump won the election even though he lost, stormed into this building to overturn a free and fair election. Mr. Speaker, it has been 5 years since law enforcement officers, Capitol Police, and others were beaten, crushed, stabbed, pepper sprayed and hunted down by a MAGA mob determined to overturn the election and stop the peaceful transfer of power. They hunted Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike. I can still remember them chanting ``hang Mike Pence'' because I was here that day, Mr. Speaker, right where you are sitting right now, right in that chair. I was one of the last Members to leave the House floor, and I watched officers barricade the Chamber doors behind me here with furniture, knowing that they were outnumbered but refusing to surrender. I smelled the tear gas. I felt the chaos. I saw the mob outside of the Speaker's lobby. The officers who were here that day saved lives. They upheld their oath to the Constitution. Many of them were hospitalized. Many were permanently injured. Some died either from injuries sustained that day or by suicide after the trauma that they endured. Nearly 2,000 people were arrested, tried, and found guilty for their crimes that day. What did Donald Trump do? He pardoned every single one of them. He pardoned the criminals who beat officers bloody, desecrated this building, and tried to tear American democracy apart. In my book those pardons were unforgivable, unforgivable. Do you know what he did yesterday? He put up a disgusting, disgraceful statement on the official White House website lying about what happened that day, blaming the police, blaming the police and calling everyone who was here that day innocent. There was not a single mention, not a single mention of the 140 officers who were assaulted that day with weapons like bear spray, stun guns, hockey sticks, broken pieces of furniture, and flag poles--not a single mention. In fact, the White House even put up a statement that ``zero law enforcement officers lost their lives,'' which is a disgusting lie. It is a disgusting lie and a disgrace to the memory of Officer Brian Sicknick who laid in honor in the rotunda of this Capitol Building after he died in the aftermath of January 6. After all of that, after all of that, Speaker Johnson still refuses to display a plaque in the Capitol Building to honor the officers who stood up to the mob that day, a memorial he is required by law to put up. I mean, you know, here it is, Mr. Speaker. Here it is right here. That is what the Speaker refuses to put up. This is what it looks like. It is not the real one because the real one is downstairs in storage somewhere. Speaker Johnson refuses to hang it up. Why? Why? We all know why. We all know why. He won't hang it up because he is Donald Trump's puppet. That is all this is. If he hangs up the plaque, Trump might get mad at him. What a pathetic and shameful abdication of duty. I am sure the gentlewoman won't address a single point I made here about January 6. I don't know whether she is afraid of the repercussions, but the bottom line is that I just want to say, for the record: Shame on Republicans for trying to cover up their complicity in what happened that day, and shame on them for wasting the people's time on showerheads while ignoring the economic, democratic, and moral crises staring this country in the face. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me just respond to the gentlewoman: A lot of words, a ton of words, but as I predicted, there is not a single word about the brave officers who defended this Chamber and defended every Member of Congress on January 6 who were attacked by a violent mob. I heard not a single word, not a single word. I just also want to remind the gentlewoman, because maybe she forgot, regrettably, Republicans are in charge. They are in charge of the House, they are in charge of the Senate, and they are in charge of the White House. So they can complain about Joe Biden and they can complain about Democrats, but they are running this show. I was really fascinated to hear the gentlewoman talk about the shutdown. Again, the Republicans are in charge of everything. They have the votes to do whatever they want to do, but when the government shut down--it was a Republican shutdown, by the way. When it shut down, they could have worked on the appropriations bills, by the way, which were already late by definition. By the time of the shutdown, they were already late. Republicans could have worked on getting the appropriations work done. What did my Republican friends do? They decided to go home and take a vacation. They just left. They walked away. They did not do a thing. They went on an extended vacation rather than doing the people's business. I have to say to the gentlewoman: With all due respect, I do townhalls all the time. I don't know whether the gentlewoman does. I know a lot of Republicans do not, but when I do my townhalls, what I hear from people is about the high cost of living. I hear about the high cost of groceries. I hear about the high cost of healthcare. I hear about the high cost of housing. Mr. Speaker, do you know what I don't hear people talk about? It is showerheads. When they talk about freedom and liberty, they don't talk about showerheads. I don't know what planet my Republican friends are living on, but I have news for them: The number one issue in America is not showerheads. It is healthcare. It is affordability. It is housing. It is making sure that they can support their families. People look at life through their kitchen window, and they have to pay bills. They have to make sure that they make ends meet, and right now, under this Republican economy, life is too damn expensive. People can't afford basic needs. I just gave a 1-minute speech before we got into this debate about the increase in hunger in this country. Do you know what the Republican response to that is, Mr. Speaker, what the Trump administration is doing to combat hunger? They are now banning the monthly report, which gives us the data on how many people are hungry in this country. No, we are not investing in programs to help combat hunger. We are not fighting for higher wages. We are not trying to lower healthcare costs. We are just going to hide the information from people so that people don't know how bad the situation is. So, again, I appreciate all the gentlewoman's words, but, quite frankly, they ring hollow. What people want us to do is to fight to make life more affordable and more reasonable for them. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, again, the gentlewoman said nothing about January 6 or nothing about the brave men and women who protected this Chamber and all of us on that terrible, terrible day. I have to say that I was more than amused by listening to the gentlewoman spout about how great everything is right now: The Trump economy is perfect. Everybody is doing great. Everything is wonderful. Everything is terrific. I don't know whether the gentlewoman holds townhalls or not, but I wonder whether the voters of Indiana actually share that point of view. I have got to tell you, I don't think so because I don't think the voters in general in this country, the citizens of this country, share that view. Every poll that I have seen, every townhall that I have been at--by the way, not only in my district but in other States--people have complained about how expensive things are. They say Trump's economy is making life more expensive, more difficult. The price of health insurance is going through the roof because this Chamber won't extend the ACA tax credits. Groceries are going up. I don't know whether the gentlewoman goes to the supermarket or not, but the price of groceries is going up. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from Politico titled: ``Poll: Trump's own voters begin blaming him for affordability crisis.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I don't want to be lectured about wealthy people in this country because the Republicans have done everything they can to help those who were well off get more and those who are struggling get less. We saw the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that included tax cuts for multimillionaires and multibillionaires, giveaways to billionaires, giveaways to Big Ag, Big Tech, Big Oil, and we see cuts to programs that help average people in this country to get by. By the way, their big, ugly bill included a trillion dollar cut to Medicaid. They are cutting moneys for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That is basically to help people put food on the table. By the way, increasingly, a majority of the people who are on SNAP are working families, and they are cutting that at the same time that groceries are going up. However, if you are a billionaire, don't worry about it. We are fighting a war of oil right now because we want to make sure Big Oil, that invested so heavily in the last campaign, gets their payback. The bottom line is, when it comes to people who are well off, well connected, and have lots of money, you know, they are doing fine. Everybody else is getting screwed. If you ask the average person on the street about what they think of Donald Trump's economy, I will tell you what they will say. They will say it sucks. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will tell everybody a little secret here. The Republicans are really clever, but not really as clever as they think they are. The big, beautiful bill that they passed, the one that includes tax cuts for multimillionaires and multibillionaires and the one that guts Medicaid by a trillion dollars, is incredibly unpopular. It is incredibly unpopular. In fact, the Kaiser Family Foundation said that 64 percent of American families oppose it, and even FOX News says that 59 percent of the American people oppose it. Why do they oppose it, and why is it so unpopular? It is because of what is contained in it. Rather than fix that--and we just heard the gentlewoman do this. Rather than fix it, they renamed the bill the Working Families Tax Cut Act. That never passed the House. That is a new title they made up. They think all they need to do is change the title of a bill, and then the American people won't realize all the garbage that is tucked into the bill. It is like lipstick on a pig. It is ridiculous. This is insane. The American people are hurting because of the Republican policies. The American people are hurting because they won't extend the ACA tax credits. By the way, people will see their health insurance costs go down if the ACA tax credits are extended. The gentlewoman is all upset about it, but I will urge her to talk to some of her Republican colleagues, by the way, who have signed on to a discharge petition to force a vote on extending the ACA tax credits. We will begin that debate today and vote on it tomorrow. It is not just Democrats. There are some Republicans who are hearing from their constituents that they are getting screwed over on their healthcare, and they want us to do something. The bottom line is, they can change the titles of bills and all that kind of stuff, but if they don't change the substance, if they don't get Donald Trump to back off on his tariffs--which, by the way, are responsible for rising housing costs in this country--if they don't get him to change his views on that, things are going to continue to get worse. They can change the titles of bills all they want, but they are not changing the reality for millions of Americans. It is hard to believe that in the House of Representatives, which is supposed to be a serious body, this is what we are talking about. We are changing titles of bills so that maybe the American people won't know what we are talking about. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I am going to offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H. Con. Res. 33, which calls for the plaque honoring the brave police officers that defended this Capitol and our democracy on January 6 to be put up in the Capitol as required by law. Mr. Speaker, I am sick and tired of Republicans standing up and proclaiming their unwavering support for law enforcement when they won't even honor the law enforcement that saved them, that saved us and our democracy here on January 6. Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump. Over 140 officers were injured, an officer was killed, and others died by suicide following the trauma of that day. Do you know how the White House marked this anniversary? They marked it by putting up an Orwellian web page, rewriting history, and claiming it is the officers who were to blame for the violence. How disgusting. How despicable. How disgraceful. I ask my Republican colleagues: Do you really believe that crap? When you look in the eyes of the Capitol Police who guard this building, do you accuse them of being responsible for the violence of that day? How dare the President of the United States say such a thing, and how shameful of this Republican majority to stay silent in the face of this depravity and rewriting of history. Republicans found the time to illegally slap Donald Trump's name onto the Kennedy Center, defacing a memorial to a great President in a single day, within 24 hours, but a legally required honor for the officers who defended this democracy? It is 5 years of excuses, 5 years of delay, 5 years of cowardice and disrespect to law enforcement by Republicans. When all is said and done, history will not look kindly on these Trump Republicans and this Republican majority, and they all know it. At this point, let me say to my Republican friends that it is always the right time to do the decent thing, the thing the law requires, which is to hang the plaque honoring these brave men and women who put their lives on the line to defend us, to defend this building, and to defend this democracy. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

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

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, again, no discussion, no comments on what happened on January 6 or about what the White House put on its web page yesterday, blaming police officers for the violence of January 6, saying that no police officer died when we know that is a lie, and no explanation as to why we are having such a difficult time hanging a plaque that, quite frankly, the law requires us to hang. Again, the gentlewoman voted against an amendment to force the Speaker to hang the plaque. I am happy to yield to the gentlewoman if she wants to explain why she voted that way. Does she have any reaction to the White House's horrific and disgraceful statement yesterday, basically smearing the brave men and women who are in our law enforcement and the Capitol Police officers? Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentlewoman. And nothing. And nothing. I mean, really? That is what things have come to? We can't even come together and stand in defense of the Capitol Police who defended us that day? We can't honor them? Somehow that is a no-no because Donald Trump doesn't like it. I mean, that really is shameful. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, let's be honest about what we have seen from this Republican majority. Republicans can't govern. They can't lead. They won't and don't fight for the people who sent them here. They rush, rush, rush to the floor to redefine what a showerhead is. That is the big issue. They move at lightning speed on tax breaks for billionaires. They bend over backward to enrich Trump and his inner circle, going so far as to invade another country to grease the skids for Big Oil. It is not about democracy. It is not about human rights. It is not even about drugs. It is about Big Oil. The priorities of Big Tech, Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Big Banks move at lightning speed. Tax cuts for the wealthy pass overnight. Corporate giveaways face no obstacles. When it comes to protecting healthcare for millions of Americans, suddenly there is hesitation. Suddenly, there are delays. Suddenly, there is no money. Suddenly, they move in slow motion. Suddenly, we can't do anything. It may be 2026, but it is the status quo for this Republican majority. It is a new year but the same BS for them except when it comes to what is happening in Venezuela. Then they are dragging us back to 2003. Other than that, it is always the same funding from elite donors with phony talk about helping regular people. It is the same contempt for their own voters. It is the same recklessness abroad. It is the same incompetence at home. Here is what Republicans always underestimate. The American people are paying attention. They are not stupid. They know when billionaires get everything and everyone else gets excuses. They know when governance is replaced by stunts, distractions, and culture war nonsense. There is always a reckoning for that kind of failure. This year will be no exception. They know all the gimmicks. We passed this monstrosity of a bill called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The American people are horrified by what is in it. There are excessive giveaways to the wealthiest in this country. There are cutbacks in healthcare. There are cutbacks in everything that matters to working families. Every poll that is done says that it is incredibly unpopular. What do they do? Rather than fix the problem, they come up with a counterfeit name for the bill. It is no longer the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Now it is the Working Families Tax Cut Act. I don't know what the hell that is. I don't know who came up with that idea. Maybe some pollster gave it to them, as if changing the name of what they call this big, ugly bill will make a difference. Mr. Speaker, all I can say is that with all that is going on in this country right now, with all of the concerns that the American people have, and with people desperately pleading with this Republican President and this Republican majority in the House and Senate to do something to make their life better, we have an opportunity to maybe legislate and help people. Instead, we are talking about showerheads. I mean, really? I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill. Mr. Speaker, I will also again remind people about the vote on the previous question. We have a chance to actually do something positive today, and that is to honor the men and women who protected us on January 6. Unfortunately, Republicans on the Rules Committee all voted ``no'' to require the Speaker again to hang the plaque. They all voted ``no.'' Not a word has been said. There is no explanation as to why. Not a word about what happened on January 6 has been spoken on this floor by the Republicans today. I don't know how that can be. I don't know how that can be. Mr. Speaker, I was there that day. I was in the Speaker's chair. I saw what happened. I saw what happened when I walked out to the Speaker's lobby. I saw the people who protected us being beaten by this angry mob, and not a word. We can't get the Speaker of the House to hang up this plaque. That can change with the previous question vote. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.