Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, it is so disappointing that we are here having this debate. With all due respect to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi), the idea that we are blacklisting a company that is not on any list in the Commerce Department or in the Defense Department and we are just doing it because Members don't like who they have been affiliated with over the years is really quite irresponsible. Companies ought to be sanctioned that have done something wrong. WuXi Biologics did a third-party audit, and, again, they contained no biogenetic information. That is what the audit revealed. It doesn't really make any difference. By the way, they can't get off the list. They can't get off the list because of how this bill is written. There is no remedy for them if my colleagues are wrong. Is that what we do in Congress? My colleagues don't like the name of a company. It is a Chinese name, and so automatically they have to be guilty of all the worst things that can be thought of. Some of these companies might, but some of them might not be. That is why process matters. All of us, Democrats and Republicans, should want a thorough process, so that when we come here, we are speaking with one voice. Again, some of these companies that the gentleman has put in his bill may, in fact, be justified, but let's do the process. Let's get this right. Why is that such a controversial thing? The only thing I can think of is because Members are trying to rush to comply with China week and not trying to get legislation right. Committees of jurisdiction, the Intelligence Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, all of them, should be at the table working with my colleagues on this legislation, but they weren't. They weren't. This is not the way we should address this very serious matter. I have been talking about the issue of China's unscrupulous business activities for years and years. I want to get this right. I want to get this right. I want to get it right in a way where we can't be accused of just blacklisting companies because we don't like their last name. There is a better way to do this. Quite frankly, we tried to work with Members on a better way, but my colleagues had no interest in working with us on a better way. I regret that because I wouldn't be here today, and I think you would have a unanimous vote. I think people are concerned about the process, and process matters. We are not China. We are the United States of America. We are better. We are transparent. We employ and embrace open processes for the world to see. If any of these companies are engaged in activities that are objectionable, let's hold them accountable, but it should be as the result of a thorough process. Again, I will close by saying I am one of the few persons here who is sanctioned by China, who cannot travel there. My family can't travel there according to their press release. They don't like me at all. The reason why they don't is because we have passed legislation that has been effective and that has worked. We have an opportunity to do that here. There are no amendments. This bill has been brought to the floor that really has all these incredible consequences. There are no amendments allowed. There has been no input from other committees. Here, take it or leave it. We ought to leave it and go back to the drawing board and get this right. We could figure this out in a matter of days. We can get this right. Let's do it. Let's do it, and let's do it in a way that holds China to account. The final thing I will say is what we have been hearing from the regulatory agencies, that by naming these companies in a bill, you are giving them the heads up. They can change their name and reincorporate in the Cayman Islands and come back, and we are playing whack-a-mole with them. There is a better way to do this. Let us work together and get there. Mr. Speaker, 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 rise today to thank an incredible member of my team, my director of operations, Daniel Holt, who is retiring later this summer after 25 years of public service. Daniel's title doesn't even begin to reflect all that he does. Daniel is a rock star. He always knows who to call, what to do, and how to get it done. He makes sure that everyone in our district has an open door to my office. He has served this institution, this country, and the people of Massachusetts with incredible integrity and dedication, and, in the process, he has made the world a better place. On a personal level, Daniel is like family to me and my wife, Lisa, and my kids, Molly and Patrick. I also want to recognize his family: Denise, Eleanor, Isaac, and Ava. I know Daniel will continue to do great things in the future. On behalf of team McGovern, we are full of gratitude to Daniel, and we will forever be grateful to call him a mentor, colleague, and friend.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her incredible leadership in this Congress. Mr. Speaker, as we approach the beginning of the Olympic Games, I want to extend my support and encouragement to the athletes representing their countries in the coming weeks. Among them are some outstanding athletes from the Second District of Massachusetts: Stephen Nedoroscik, who will compete for Team USA in gymnastics; Aaron Ortiz, who will compete for Team USA in a Muaythai match; Gabby Thomas, who will compete for Team USA in track; and Aisyah Rafaee, competing for Singapore as a rower. Mr. Speaker, the Olympics are a unifying moment for our country and the world. It is a time when we can set aside our differences and come together to cheer for those who represent the best in us. To Gabby, Stephen, Aisyah, Aaron, and all of the other athletes who have worked so hard to reach this milestone: Your journey to the Olympics is already a victory. We are so proud of all of you, and we will be cheering for you every step of the way. Go Team USA.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will join the gentleman from Texas in expressing my anger and disgust at the cowardly attack on the former President in Butler, Pennsylvania, a couple of weekends ago. What happened at that rally was horrific and un-American. When the news first broke, my thoughts immediately turned to the former President's family, and the uncertainty and fear they must have felt. Our families are often the ones who shoulder the burden of the decisions we make, and I know that must have been an awful day for them. I am truly grateful that the former President is okay. I am also heartbroken over the death of Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief, who selflessly shielded his own family from the bullets. Of course, I will continue keeping the other two victims who were seriously wounded in my prayers. Sadly, political violence is not new to this country. One of my earliest memories is actually of sitting around our dining room table with my mother and my father and my two sisters in Worcester, Massachusetts, writing condolence cards to Ethel Kennedy in the wake of Robert Kennedy's assassination. It was an awful, awful thing. I hope our country never goes through that ever again. We don't yet know the motive of the would-be assassin, and there are still many unanswered questions. We know he was a disturbed, isolated young man, who happened to be a registered Republican who had easy access to an AR-15. He was doing computer searches on both Republicans and Democrats, on the rally in Pennsylvania, as well as the Democratic National Convention. We also know that an assassination attempt is more than just an attack on one person. It is an attack on the fabric of our democracy, and so it needs to be taken very, very seriously. There needs to be accountability, and I will just caution here that accountability does not mean finger pointing. I actually want to echo the remarks of the former President's family to say that many brave law enforcement officers and Secret Service agents put their lives on the line at that rally. They nearly took a bullet for the former President, and they ought to be applauded for their bravery. I also think we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions about which law enforcement agency or officer is to blame, whether it is this leader or that leader or this person or that person. We don't need to play the blame game. We need to know the facts. We need to get the facts. Clearly, there were major breakdowns in communication and planning, which is why we need a task force to investigate every aspect of what happened. Let them examine what went wrong, and let us make sure this never, ever happens again. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

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

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

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me just say to the gentleman from Pennsylvania that I agree. One of the reasons why I think there would be overwhelmingly bipartisan support for this task force is because people want to get the answers. What happened, and how do we make sure that it never happens again? Mr. Speaker, we hear a lot of talk about the need to turn down the temperature in this country moving forward. I put out a bipartisan statement alongside my friend, Chairman Burgess, the day after the assassination attempt, and we talked about how to move forward. The bottom line, we agreed, is that we can have loud, passionate, even at times angry debates in this country. That is the way it goes in a democracy as big and diverse as ours, but at the end of the day, we are all Americans who love this country deeply, and we must resolve our differences peacefully. I think Robert F. Kennedy, a hero of mine whose life was taken by an assassin's bullet when I was just 8 years old, said it best. ``A sniper is only a coward, not a hero, and an uncontrolled, uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of the people. ``Whenever any American's life is taken by another American unnecessarily, whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence, whenever we tear at the fabric of life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole Nation is degraded.'' Mr. Speaker, what was true in 1968 is true today. Our common bond as Americans demands that we speak out against violence and condemn it whenever and wherever we see it. We can't pick and choose. It needs to be condemned all the time, even when it is not easy or convenient to do that. That hasn't always been the case, if we are being honest, and that makes me sad. It makes me sad that we had some people make fun of Speaker Pelosi's husband, Paul, when he was violently attacked with a hammer. We need to come together, Mr. Speaker. We need unity. We have people who still refuse to condemn what happened on January 6, when a violent mob beat up police officers and tried to execute Vice President Mike Pence, right here outside the Capitol Building. Police died that day. I am comfortable condemning political violence all of the time, period, end of discussion. I think the bipartisan nature of this resolution is a sign of hope for me that we will move even further in that direction. I know the gentleman on the other side is as well comfortable calling out violence wherever it may occur, but we need to get to a place in this country where all of our colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, feel compelled to do the same. I hope we get to that point because political violence is against everything America ought to stand for. When the Founders of this country put pen to paper, they imagined a future where reason would triumph over fear, a world where the ballot, not the bullet, would determine who would wield power, a Nation where the consent of the governed, not the fear of force, would confer legitimacy upon our leaders. Generations of Americans have worked hard to turn those dreams into a reality, to expand the circle of our democracy and make real the promise of this country for all. Political violence is the ultimate betrayal of that work. It is a dead end that leads only to disaster. What happened on July 13 was an awful, cowardly, despicable attack, something that should never ever have happened, and I hope that this task force gets answers on behalf of the American people. We need to know what happened. We need to get to the truth. We need to find a way to prevent this from ever happening again. Mr. Speaker, I join with my colleagues here in urging a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN

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

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a July 17, 2024, article from The New York Times titled: ``Why Republicans Keep Calling Kamala Harris the `Border Czar.' ''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Before I even get into my speech, the gentleman referred to Axios as this mainstream publication that referred to the Vice President as the border czar. I think he might have missed the correction that Axios issued. An editor's note here said: This article has been updated and clarified to note that Axios was among the news outlets that incorrectly labeled Harris a border czar in 2021. I am happy to pass on the correction. Again, for the record, I think my Republican friend should stick to the facts. Honestly, Mr. Speaker, I have to say I don't think we should even be spending a single second on this debate because this resolution is a total and complete insult to this institution. This all started with an emergency meeting, an emergency meeting in the Rules Committee last night. An emergency. Drop everything and come to the Rules Committee. What did the Republicans bring up? Not legislation to help working Americans, not a bill to ensure the safety of our communities, not something to actually secure the southern border or fix our broken immigration system. No, no, no, none of that. They called an emergency meeting to attack Vice President Harris. That is the emergency. They want to hold a Trump rally here in the Capitol Building. They are weaponizing Congress and using our time to produce a political attack ad. Let's set the record straight. This resolution originally called Vice President Harris Biden's border czar. Not because that was her title, but because of a lie that MAGA media outlets just made up. The Vice President was never put in charge of the border. She was given a diplomatic role to focus on resolving some of the long-term, big-picture root causes of immigration crisis. Her job was to help give migrants options in their home countries so that fewer of them would make the journey north. Guess what? She delivered. There were $5.2 billion in private sector commitments that will give people jobs, opportunity, and hope in their home countries. That is what leadership looks like. That is what action looks like. Do you know what happened? Illegal border crossings just hit a 3-year low in June, Mr. Speaker. Let me repeat that. Illegal border crossings currently are way down, but that is not what you will hear from the other side today. They are going to twist themselves into knots blaming everything on Kamala Harris. However, their blame game just highlights what is going on here. Republicans don't care about fixing our immigration system. They had a chance to do something, and they blocked bipartisan progress for their own political gain. On day one in office, President Biden and Vice President Harris put forth a plan to create a fair and just immigration system. Republicans refused to act. President Biden and Vice President Harris then worked across the aisle to put together a historic bipartisan immigration bill. Trump told Republicans to kill it, and they did. They want a crisis at the border because it helps them with their political messaging. What do they bring to the floor instead? They bring a pointless, useless, nonbinding resolution. It has all the legislative authority of a FOX News sound bite or a Trump Truth Social rant. We know how this is going to go. The other side is going to rant and rave about numbers. They will tell very sad stories about families that have been impacted by our broken immigration system, stories that, honestly, do break my heart. However, what Republicans will not do is actually do anything about it. This meaningless, feckless, slanderous resolution won't help a single grieving family. It won't do a single thing to make Americans safer. Nothing. It won't strengthen our border. It won't create a better immigration system. It is just a chance for House Republicans to bash someone that they are afraid of. They are melting down over Kamala Harris. I mean, they have completely lost their minds since she became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee. They are scared. They are scared, Mr. Speaker, because she offers America something that Donald Trump could never. She offers decency, unity, and hope. I get it. I get it. Republicans are scared of the excitement surrounding her candidacy. Maybe they are afraid their nominee is too boring or won't be able to keep up. After all, he is the oldest Presidential nominee in our Nation's history. Maybe they are afraid they are going to lose. You would think they would focus on actually passing something meaningful. They have canceled Congress next week because they are too incompetent to even pass their own appropriations bills. Three of the four funding bills were pulled this week because Republicans didn't have the votes. It really is sad because the United States Congress should be a place where we advance legislation that actually helps people, but because House Republicans are incapable of doing that, they are rallying behind this do-nothing, pathetic, purely political resolution. Mr. Speaker, they should be embarrassed. This resolution is beneath the dignity of this institution, and they should be ashamed of themselves. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, you can't make this stuff up. First of all, let me set the record straight. The original version of this resolution said that President Biden asked Vice President Kamala Harris to serve as the administration's border czar, which he did not do. Someone made it up, I think. I don't know. After my colleagues and I pointed out that fact, the gentleman from Pennsylvania and the Republican side of the committee scrambled to try to find a shred of proof that, in fact, Biden actually appointed her as a border czar, and they couldn't find anything. So, they made a frantic last-minute change to now say that Vice President Harris ``came to be known colloquially as the Biden administration's border czar.'' I mean, we caught you, but come on. This would be comical if it weren't such a monumental waste of time and taxpayer dollars, and all for a resolution that does absolutely nothing. The gentleman from Pennsylvania went on a big rant, throwing around all kinds of numbers and identifying all kinds of problems we are faced with, and I am trying to figure out where in this four-page resolution there is anything that would do anything to solve any of the issues that he raised. There is nothing. This is a nonbinding resolution. This will never become law. This doesn't even go to the Senate. This is like voting on a press release. I mean, what a colossal waste of time. My Republican friends love to complain, but they don't like to do anything to fix anything, and this is the latest example. What a waste of time for this institution to have to concern itself with a glorified press release. Mr. Speaker, I am going to ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from Scripps News titled: ``No, VP Kamala Harris was never named `border czar.' ''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to include in the Record a Time magazine article titled: ``Kamala Harris Was Never Biden's `Border Czar.' Here's What She Really Did.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the gentleman keeps saying, the idea that Kamala Harris is the border czar was invented by rightwing media. Let me read to you from the article I just inserted: ``Ms. Harris was not, in fact, appointed border czar, nor was she tasked with addressing the broader problems plaguing the border itself.'' It goes on to say: ``Rather, she was deputized by President Biden with the diplomatic mission of solving the `root causes' of migration from countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, tackling the issues that spur people to flee in the first place, like drug violence and lack of economic opportunity.'' Mr. Speaker, in fact, my Republican colleagues had to change their resolution, as I mentioned, at the last minute in the Rules Committee last night because we caught them. They actually acknowledged, by changing their resolution, that President Biden never, in fact, named Vice President Harris the border czar. They changed their resolution to acknowledge the fact that ``border czar'' is a term that basically they made up. Mr. Speaker, why are we here? Why are we doing this? We are doing this because they are afraid of the Vice President. She is drawing huge crowds. There is incredible excitement, and they are in a panic. They don't know what to do. God forbid they bring any legislation to the floor to actually help the American people or help solve any crisis that we are faced with. Instead, a glorified press release comes to the floor so that they can rant and rave, point fingers, yell and scream, and get everybody all up in arms. The bottom line is that this is like one of the biggest wastes of time that I can recall ever coming to this floor, and we have done a lot of things here under their leadership that I think is a waste of time. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I have an opiate problem in my district as well. This is a serious issue. The gentleman just got on the floor and ranted and raved about the fentanyl problem. While he was going on, I was reading this bill. The word ``fentanyl'' isn't even mentioned once in this, in this press release that is useless, that does nothing. It doesn't even mention the word ``fentanyl.'' What is going on over here? Again, the gentleman from Pennsylvania didn't answer my question. Of all the issues he raised here, where in this bill is there funding or solutions to deal with the fentanyl problem or to deal with securing the border or to provide more assistance for our border security? There is nothing in this. This is useless. It is a press release. This is what we are spending our time on. We could probably come together and maybe figure out some concrete things we can do to save lives, so people don't die from fentanyl. We could probably come together and find some commonality to figure out ways to strengthen our border. Let me just tell the gentleman one of the reasons why the border is the way it is and the immigration system is so messed up is because Congress has refused to act. Every time we try to get something to the floor, Republicans find a way to derail it. Give me a break. What a waste of time. This is pathetic. 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 myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I can tell they are afraid of the Vice President because that is all they want to talk about. They are obsessed. Real time fact check, Mr. Speaker: This resolution does nothing to help any of the immigration problems that anyone on the other side of the aisle is talking about. There is no money, nothing, no laws, nothing. This is a press release. I want to correct the record on Vice President Harris because what is being repeated on this floor this afternoon is totally divorced from reality. Kamala Harris has won election after election by inspiring and uniting people. She earned her spot as Vice President the old-fashioned way, through hard work, political courage, and fighting for a better country. That is why Republicans are afraid of her. I get why they are afraid. I get the contrast isn't great for them right now. As a prosecutor, Kamala Harris took on perpetrators and put sexual abusers in jail, going after fraudsters who ripped off consumers and cheaters who broke the rules for their own personal gain. As Attorney General, Kamala Harris won a $20 billion settlement for people whose homes had been foreclosed on, putting $20,000 back into the pockets of victims of unethical foreclosures. Kamala Harris went after for-profit college scammers and forced them to return money to students and veterans that they stole from. Kamala Harris is fighting nonstop to protect the freedom of women to make their own choice about their own bodies while Republicans want to institute Project 2025 to ban abortion nationwide. Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act that is lowering drug costs for seniors and people with diabetes. That is exactly why my Republicans friends are terrified. They are attacking her in the most vicious, personal, and insulting fashion. Here are some of the quotes from some of our colleagues in Congress. These aren't rightwing media pundits. These are Members of Congress. ``One hundred percent she was a DEI hire.'' ``I think she was a DEI hire. And I think that that's what we're seeing.'' Another quote: ``Democrats . . . have to stick with her because of her ethnic background.'' What is this, 1951? I knew they were trying to take us backward, but this is a new low. It is beyond offensive. We all know what this is. We all know what motivates these kinds of comments. I would say it on the floor, but I would probably have my words taken down again. Maybe they think it is easier to silence me than debate me. Maybe they are afraid of the truth. The truth is that this resolution reeks of desperation. The truth is they want to distract from the Vice President's incredible track record of success, including the fact that she secured $5.2 billion in private-sector commitments that will go toward addressing the underlying causes of migration that push people to our southern border in the first place. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I guess the talking points from the NRCC went out, because I think the gentleman just read them to us. The gentleman talks about H.R. 2. It got 32 votes in the Senate. They killed it. It is dead. Then he talks about Homeland Security appropriation bills. It wasn't killed in the Senate. My Republican friends in the House killed their own bill in the House. It is dead. It didn't go anywhere. They didn't send it over to the Senate. Give me a break. Oh, my goodness. What are we left with? A nonbinding resolution, a nonbinding resolution that does nothing. That is the big plan, a press release. Oh--well, I am not going to say that because I will get my words taken down. Anyway, Mr. Speaker, I want to urge that we defeat the previous question. If we do, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 16, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2023. Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act provides a pathway to citizenship for people who only know America as their home. They contribute to society as taxpayers, small business owners, educators, and more. Dreamers were brought to the United States as children through no fault of their own. It is past time to open the doors and empower these talented individuals by granting them access to citizenship that they rightfully deserve. Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to fix our broken immigration system and secure our border. H.R. 16 won't solve every issue, but it will address a longstanding one in our failing immigration system. It is the right thing to do, and it has the added benefit of being a bill that actually does something as compared to the resolution that we are dealing with right now. Instead of considering the do-nothing Republican nonbinding resolution before us, which is nothing but an RNC press release, and a bad one at that, let's consider actual legislation to start fixing these issues. Let's bring up H.R. 16. 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. To discuss our proposal, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia).

Mr. McGOVERN. I yield myself the remainder of my time, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is the sixth time House Republicans want us to vote on nearly the exact same do-nothing border resolution. The only difference is that this time they have slapped Vice President Harris' name on it because she is running against Donald Trump. Republicans are using official government resources to settle their political scores. Isn't it wrong to use taxpayer money for a campaign rally? Has anyone checked with the Federal Election Commission to see if this is even allowed? Mr. Speaker, they are using your taxpayer money to turn this place into a testing ground for RNC attack ads. My Republican colleagues should be embarrassed by this. All they talk about is their precious H.R. 2 and Homeland Security bills. News flash: H.R. 2 is hot garbage. It is a horrible bill that only earned 32 votes in the Senate. Even Republicans in the Senate knew it was a bad bill. They keep saying H.R. 2 is the solution, but they don't even have the votes on their side to get it to the President. Moreover, let's not get started on their Homeland Security funding bills. Those bills never even made it to the Senate because they didn't send them over. The solution is to pass a bipartisan bill, but they are worried if they pass one, it actually might work. It might secure the border, and then they won't have anything to campaign on. At the end of the day, this is all about the fact that they have no vision, only division; no ideas, only attack ads; no plans, only meaningless resolutions that do nothing and are not worth the paper that they are printed on. Contrast that with Kamala Harris and Democrats in terms of what we are offering, and what we are offering are real solutions, real action, and a future that guarantees every American has an opportunity to succeed. We aren't afraid to work across the aisle to get things done for this country. Republicans offer nothing but anger, fear, and petty name- calling. What a joke. Honestly, Mr. Speaker, if anyone thinks this resolution is a good idea, I think they might be in a cult. Get out of here with this nonsense. Go back to worshiping a convicted felon, and let us run this place like adults. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN

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

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, our Federal summer nutrition programs make sure kids have access to nutritious food over the summer months when hunger is often at its worst. Last week, while I was home in Massachusetts, I visited summer meal sites in Worcester and Webster. I served nutritious sandwiches and taco salads to kids participating in a day camp and visiting a local library. The kids loved the food. I also had the opportunity to join Governor Healey and officials from USDA in Westborough to celebrate the launch of the new summer EBT program, SUN Bucks, which is giving eligible families across the country $120 per eligible child to purchase food over the summer months. This new Federal program, which I worked to establish coming out of the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, is helping 21 million kids in 45 States, territories, and Tribes access nutritious food this summer. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to visit sites in their district to learn more about these programs and commit to ending hunger now.