Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, it is rich to be lectured by the chairman of the Rules Committee about the need to support our police officers and to help do more to recruit and train them. I will say to my friend, the distinguished Member from Texas (Mr. Burgess), and to all of my Republican friends: Stop cutting COPS grants. Continue to adequately fund the COPS program so that we can actually have our local law enforcement recruit and hire more police officers. My Republican friends don't like to admit a desire to cut the COPS grants. I would say to everybody who is watching to look it up for themselves. The Republican Study Committee, which is the largest caucus in the Republican Conference, actually put out a report titled: ``Fiscal Sanity to Save America.'' If my colleagues go to page 148, and I urge people to look it up for themselves, it says: ``Reduce funding for Community Oriented Policing Services,'' or basically what we call the COPS grants. Republicans want to cut money for our local police. It is in their budget document. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to cut the money and then come here and make believe somehow that Republicans support our local police officers. Come on. Enough. Additionally, sometimes I wonder whether the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy) really believes the stuff that he says. The gentleman keeps talking about crime in Democrat-run cities. By the way, it is Democratic-run cities. The last time I checked, we don't have Democratic cities or Republican cities in this country. We have American cities. I took the liberty of looking up some of the headlines from New York's 23rd Congressional District, which Mr. Langworthy represents, and, in particular, Jamestown, New York, the largest city in the area and the location of his district office. Jamestown has a Republican mayor, a Republican city council, a Republican supermajority on the county legislature, a Republican State representative, a Republican State senator, and a Republican Congressman. Let's look at some of the recent headlines from the Republican stronghold of Jamestown, New York: April 22, 2024, ``Jamestown man accused of killing 16-month-old child charged with manslaughter''; March 2024, ``1 dead, 2 injured in Jamestown homicide''; January 2024, ``Investigation Underway in Jamestown Homicide Case''; May 2023, ``Three Accused Of Stealing A Vehicle In Jamestown''; June 2021, ``Two teenage girls charged with arson in connection with Jamestown furniture manufacturer fire''; and February 2024, ``Six arrested after robbery, assault leads to standoff in Jamestown NY.'' I could go on and on. Madam Speaker, none of this is to disparage the wonderful people who Mr. Langworthy represents, but if the gentleman wants to come down here and read off RNC talking points about crime, I think the gentleman should at least try to be intellectually honest. I know the other side wants to play the blame game. I know Republicans are all about stunts and not solutions, but maybe, just maybe, the majority ought to look in the mirror first instead of playing to the cheap seats. Madam Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to include in the Record a Salon article titled: ``Republicans like to talk tough on crime--but they're the ones with a real crime problem.''

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

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I am not familiar with the gentleman from California (Mr. Kiley), but let me say to the gentleman that, rather than just denounce the slogan of defunding the police, maybe the gentleman should go to the Republican Study Committee and tell them to not defund the police because, again, if one goes to the Republican Study Group document, page 148, it is clear that the Republicans want to defund the COPS program. Please, enough with the rhetoric. If my colleagues are serious about supporting the police, then don't cut the COPS program, period. How hard is this? I remind the gentleman that the hometown of the former Republican Speaker of this House, before the Republicans threw him out, Kevin McCarthy, which is Bakersfield, California, has a higher crime rate than San Francisco. I don't even know where my friends are coming from. I have to say that I have never heard anybody denounce their home State as much as I have heard the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy) denounce New York. I think New York is a great State. It is not as good as Massachusetts, but I think it is a great State. I get it. The gentleman just explained it all to me. If it is a Democratic-controlled area, all the crime is blamed on the Democrat. If it is a Republican-controlled area, then the majority finds the nearest Democrat, and Republicans blame it on the Democrat. That is their rationale. I mean, come on. This place has to get more serious in terms of supporting initiatives to actually not only support law enforcement but protect our communities instead of one sound bite after another that does absolutely nothing and the blame game that we hear constantly. Madam Speaker, my Republican colleagues this week claim to want to focus on public safety but have chosen to put misguided measures and messaging bills on the floor. Here is their chance to actually do something of substance that will make police officers safer, make our streets safer, and make our children safer. If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 715, a bipartisan bill to require a background check for every firearm sale. There were over 42,000 firearm deaths last year, with the annual total of mass shootings increasing from 414 in 2019 to over 650 in 2023. Eighty-six percent of homicides in this country involve a firearm, and of the States that saw their gun homicide rate decrease between 2022 and 2023, States with the strongest gun laws decreased their homicides by a rate nearly triple their lax gun law counterparts. This is common sense. It is not a partisan issue. In fact, H.R. 715, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, was introduced--hold on to your seats here--by a Republican. I know that, like me, many of my colleagues have children and all of them have elementary schools and middle schools in their districts. I know Members see the toll this is taking on our Nation's children, our most vulnerable. Nearly 60 percent of teachers are worried about a shooting happening in their school, and one in four had a gun-related lockdown during the last school year. According to the Pew Research Center, one in five parents was extremely concerned about their child getting shot, and Republican leadership wants to do nothing. This is barbaric. It is past time, Madam Speaker, and we are ready to work in a bipartisan way to end the epidemic of gun violence in this country. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey) to discuss our proposal.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, the gentleman keeps on talking about crime in D.C., crime in D.C., crime on the rise. I can tell you one thing; the crime is definitely down in the White House right now and I can understand why the gentleman is confused. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from the Washington Post, entitled: ``Crime is down, though FOX News viewers might not be aware.''

Mr. McGOVERN. The article notes: ``The reality is that crime surged in 2020--when Trump was President. That surge continued into the Biden administration but has since waned.'' Madam Speaker, in the lead up to the 2022 midterms, FOX News invested immense resources in promoting stories about surging crime, despite lacking evidence. While crime is down, it appears the conservative ecosystem is trying to fearmonger the issue of crime, once again, because, you know, that is all they have. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from The Guardian, entitled: ``Crime coverage on FOX News halved once U.S. midterms were over.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, so after a frenzy of coverage about violent crime in September and October 2022, the conservative media giant FOX News actually decreased coverage of violent crime stories by 50 percent in the weeks following the 2022 elections. Crime stories have long been used by Republicans to fearmonger for cheap, electoral victories, and it seems like this old tactic is being utilized, once again, in 2024, all while 80 percent of Republicans support cutting the COPS grant program. Madam Speaker, I urge my friends who don't believe me to go to the Republican Study Committee FY 2025 Budget proposal--this is the most recent one--and go to page 148. You will see under the heading, Reduce Funding for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), it is my Republican friends--for all the talk about defunding the police--that are leading the way because there in their Republican Study Committee, which is the largest caucus in the Republican Conference, they have put out a report highlighting their budget priorities, which talks about eliminating the COPS program. You can't make this stuff up. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I am unable to rebut all the nonsense I just heard, and I am exhausted by this debate. Let me touch on two things. First, we haven't heard a single word from our colleagues across the aisle acknowledging the very real challenges civilians in Gaza are experiencing every day under this war. We have not heard a single word. If we send massive 2,000-pound bombs to Netanyahu without any assurances on how they will be used, it could mean unprecedented, catastrophic civilian casualties. I mean, these are people that we are talking about, innocent people--boys and girls, brothers and sisters, moms and dads, grandparents, babies. Where is our humanity? Where is our humanity? These are people who are already struggling with shortages of food, water, shelter, medical supplies, the basic things that humans need to survive. They fled to Rafah because that is where Netanyahu told them to go to escape the bombing of Hamas. Now, Netanyahu is saying he is going to bomb them anyway, and there is no plan to safely evacuate them to any other place. I don't care whether there is another country that does it. Killing civilians is wrong. It is always wrong. You can be a friend of Israel, a strong ally of Israel, and also be a critic when it comes to the Netanyahu government. You can be a strong friend of Israel and say that more massive civilian casualties will undercut Israel's security. This is not the way to go. You can feel as I do that what happened on October 7, the horrific attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians. It was unconscionable. There aren't enough adjectives to describe how horrific that was. The taking of hostages is a war crime. We want them released. You can feel that way, but also understand that we have an obligation to protect civilian lives in Gaza. I am grateful to President Biden for taking the step that he did, and I wish he would do more, quite frankly. It is disappointing for me to see that so many of my friends across the aisle seem indifferent to it. Madam Speaker, coming down here to get lectured about crime from the party whose leader is a criminal is really something else. My friend from New York not once rebutted our contention that Republicans have advocated cutting the COPS grant because it is here in print. Anybody can see it. For those who want to know why this program is good, it is because it provides money to help local law enforcement be able to hire and recruit police officers, especially in areas where budgets are tight. It is a lifeline for so many communities, rural and urban, all throughout this country, and they are advocating eliminating it. Give me a break. None of the measures the House of Representatives are putting forth this week do a single thing to protect Americans, secure our communities, or improve law enforcement. Madam Speaker, the real shame here is that if Republicans were willing to set their partisanship aside and work across the aisle, maybe we could get something substantive done because the reality is that Democrats want to keep people safe, and we know how to do it. We need to invest in programs that get at the root causes of crime, and we need to address gun violence in our schools and make sure police aren't put in situations that they aren't trained to handle. We know the key to improving safety in our neighborhoods is not to use our law enforcement officers like political pawns. At the end of the day, the Republican commitment to chaos, extremism, and politicking over legislating is hurting our ability to improve people's lives. I have to be honest: I think it is going to backfire on them. Even one of our Republican colleagues took to the floor and said as much last year: ``Nothing but empty promises.'' He went to say: ``We haven't done anything,'' meaning Republicans. ``One thing. I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing--one--that I can go campaign on and say we did--one--anybody sitting in the complex, if you want to come down to the floor and come explain to me one material, meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done.'' That is a Republican saying that. They know they are getting nowhere in this Congress. All I can say, Madam Speaker, is the American people deserve better, and they certainly deserve better than the Speaker of the House spending his time trying to influence our justice system at a courthouse in New York City. How pathetic. When we have real problems that we need to deal with here in this country, he is in New York trying to explain away, like a staffer, all of Donald Trump's problems, quite frankly. I am trying to think of a way to stay within order here with the new rules. It is pathetic. It is pathetic. That is where the Speaker of the House is spending his time, trying to rationalize all of the former President's crimes. Give me a break. Madam Speaker, the American people, as I said, deserve better. I urge a strong ``no'' vote on this rule. This is just a waste of time. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. McGOVERN

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

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, in an effort to appease the MAGA wing of their party, Republicans are insisting on a $30 billion cut to SNAP benefits as part of the long overdue farm bill reauthorization. SNAP benefits put food on the table for over 40 million Americans every single day. Investing in SNAP improves health outcomes for participants, lowers healthcare costs, supports farmers who grow our food, and boosts our local economies. The provision Republicans are targeting for deep cuts has given SNAP recipients an extra $1.40 per person per day to afford nutritious food amid rising food costs. By preventing USDA from making scientifically based benefit updates in the future, Republicans are taking food away from children, seniors, vulnerable adults, and people with disabilities. It is a rotten thing to do. It is a stupid thing to do, and it means their bill has no chance of gaining the bipartisan support it would need to pass on the House floor. I beg my Republican colleagues, drop the partisan attack on SNAP and work with Democrats to advance a farm bill that supports our local farmers, continues investments in conservation efforts, and reduces hunger.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, food is medicine, and our medical professionals need proper training to screen and treat food insecurity and diet-related diseases. That is why I have joined together with Representative Vern Buchanan on a bipartisan letter to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, urging them to incorporate nutrition education into the program requirements for graduate medical education. By doing so, graduate medical programs will be required to adequately prepare physicians in nutrition, improving health outcomes, and saving our healthcare system a lot of money. Mr. Speaker, the idea that our medical professionals should have better training in nutrition isn't a concept we just came up with here in Washington. When I visit medical students, physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals back home, I hear over and over again how they don't feel adequately prepared to treat food insecurity and diet-related diseases. I am proud to further a key recommendation in the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, and ask all my colleagues to support efforts to improve nutrition education for physicians.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the world is watching. It is time for Congress to act, and act we must. America's allies have been waiting for this Republican majority to get their act together. People are dying in Ukraine. Democracy is on the line in Ukraine, and this Republican majority has been twiddling their thumbs. I am glad my friends have finally come to realize the gravity of the situation and the urgency of getting this aid to our allies. What have Republicans done? Nothing. No action to help our allies. It is all delay, distract, deny, and blame Joe Biden. Ukrainians are fighting for democracy--theirs and ours--and they have been set back as a result of Republican extremism. They have suffered because of Republican inaction. I will remind my friends that Ukrainians didn't choose this war. It chose them. Two years ago, when Putin illegally crossed the border and invaded, he was banking on the United States and our allies growing weary. He was hoping we would give up. He was hoping we would do nothing. He was betting we would abandon our friends and our internal divisions would leave us in disarray, at odds with one another. I hope Putin is wrong, Mr. Speaker, because after 2 years of unrelenting war, Ukrainians are still willing to hold the line. I visited Ukraine with former Speaker Pelosi shortly after Putin attacked them, and we learned about the particularly cruel nature in which Putin has been fighting this war. If you care about human rights, you have to care about what is happening in Ukraine. That is what this is all about. Ukrainians are still ready to defend their democracy, but they cannot continue to do so without our support. I won't sugarcoat it here. Ukraine's defense of democracy has suffered because there is a faction here in this House, a MAGA minority, that doesn't want to compromise. They don't want to take this vote because they are afraid of what the outcome might be--not that it will fail, but that it will succeed. That argument might hold sway in the Kremlin, Mr. Speaker, but this is the United States. We are the people's House, an institution designed to reflect the will of the majority. Today, the majority's voice is being heard here on the House floor-- not a majority of one State, one party, or one faction, but a majority that wants to help Ukraine hold the line, a majority that says bring these bills to the floor for an up-or-down vote. Democrats are providing the votes necessary to advance this legislation to the floor because, at the end of the day, so much more is at stake here than petty partisan brinkmanship. Putin is looking to rebuild the Soviet Union, and mark my words, he will not stop at Ukraine. Anybody who thinks that is delusional. If the world doesn't help them defend their democracy, this war will not end. It will grow. Mr. Speaker, I don't agree with everything in this package. I have deep, deep problems about the unconditional aid to Israel. I was among the first calling for a cease-fire, and I still call for a cease-fire. I have demanded more humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, and I will continue to do so. I have called for a two-state solution. I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu is putting Israel on a path that, quite frankly, undermines his own country's security. I am outraged by his cruelty and inhumanity toward the people of Gaza and the West Bank. There is no justification for that. There is none. Israel has a right to defend itself--nobody questions that--but what is happening now, I believe, is outrageous and unconscionable. We will have separate debates, and we will have separate votes on all of these bills, and people can decide where they want to be. Quite frankly, some Republicans wanted a different path. They wanted to extort this rule for a campaign ad on border security for Donald Trump. We almost had no Ukraine aid because that is what some of my Republican friends wanted and advocated for. They advocated for a bill with no humanitarian aid for anybody who is suffering--not just in Gaza, but also in Ukraine and other parts of the world--and they wanted all this kind of ugly border security language attached to this measure. There is a lot at stake at this moment, and we are all supposed to be grownups. We should act like it. Let's proceed in a way that allows everyone to vote their conscience. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), a champion for human rights.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a valued member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. Wow, Mr. Speaker, I guess the gentleman from Texas is unaware of the fact that there was a bipartisan border security deal that was agreed to that, unfortunately, House Republicans and Trump decided to kill. I ask unanimous consent to insert in the Record an Axios article titled: ``Trump, House Republicans plot to kill border deal.''

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 am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time to do so. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats have had to make some tough decisions about how to vote on this rule, and let me tell you why I voted to support it last night. I have disagreements with many aspects of the various pieces of legislation that will come before us, and there are some of these pieces that I will vote against. Again, there will be separate votes, and there will be separate debates, but as we learned last night in the Rules Committee, the alternative that some of my Republican friends were pushing to this approach was an Israel-only package with no humanitarian aid, not just for the people of Gaza, but for any suffering people that the aid would benefit and some really ugly border provisions, which I found unconscionable and some other bad stuff as well. Democrats, once again, will be the adults in the room, and I am so glad Republicans finally realized the gravity of the situation and the urgency with which we must act. But guess what, Mr. Speaker? You don't get an award around here for simply doing your damn job. President Biden told us last year, 6 months ago--over 6 months ago--that this was urgent and important, that Ukraine needed us, that Putin was not going to stop, that the war against Ukrainians was particularly vicious. Every major human rights organization in the world has told us the impact of Russia's attack against Ukraine. The Senate voted months ago. The Senate can barely agree on what to have for lunch, and they voted months ago. What did the House do? What did my House Republican friends do? They did nothing. There was no action to help our allies. It is all delay, distract, deny and blame Joe Biden. I would just say to my colleagues, look at what MAGA extremism has gotten you; nothing. It has gotten you nothing, not a damn thing. In fact, it has empowered Democrats. At every critical juncture in this Congress, it has been Democrats who have been the ones to stand up for our country and do the right thing for the American people. Democrats ensured the U.S. didn't default on its debt last year in case anybody forgot. Democrats supplied votes to keep the government running in September of last year, in November of last year, and in March of this year. Democrats supplied the votes to pass the National Defense Authorization Act. Democrats supplied the votes for the tax relief bill that passed earlier this year. Democrats have done the job that Republicans have refused to do. Again, we have different priorities, and I think, based on what I have heard in this last Congress, different values. We don't even agree on a lot of what has come before the full House. Democrats have done the job that Republicans have refused to do. We don't want an award for it. We don't want a trophy for showing up to work. All we want is for Republicans to do their job, stop blaming Joe Biden for their own incompetence, and work with our side to find common ground. We are in a divided government. A Democrat is President, we have a Democratic controlled Senate, and we have a narrow Republican majority in the House. Nobody is going to get everything they want. We have to work together. We have to compromise. I hope today's vote loosens the grip that MAGA extremism has on this body, and especially when it comes to supporting our allies. You know, the Rules Committee is the committee that has been known as the traffic cop of Congress. Every bill of consequence comes through the Rules Committee. I mean, we set the bills for debate on the House floor. The last bill that the Rules Committee reported that actually became law was almost 10 months ago. All the other bills that we have sent that made it over to the White House and become law had to be brought up under different processes and procedures. I mean, let that sink in. Something is not working here. You either want to be a body that is constructive and that gets stuff done, or you just want to be a party that just obstructs everything and gets nothing done, because at the end of the day, there is nothing to show for all the yelling and screaming and finger-pointing that we see on a regular basis on this House floor. My friends have to choose. History is going to judge them by how they answer one simple question: Are they going to work together with Democrats; in this case, stand with our allies and stand for America, or are they gonna throw in their lot with MAGA Trump and Putin? We are living in very uncertain times, Mr. Speaker, and people around the world are counting on this country to stand up and lead. People in Ukraine, people in Taiwan, people in Gaza, people in Israel--you know, the eyes of the world are on this body. There are a lot of things in this package I disagree with. And in my opening statement, I talked about my concern about the unconcerned aid package to Israel. My concern is that Netanyahu's government is not moving in a direction that, quite frankly, is a direction that I think will lead to more security for Israel; it is exactly the opposite. I worry that what he is doing is, quite frankly, a violation of the human rights of so many innocent people in Gaza and in the West Bank. I was hoping that they would pursue a different pathway. Instead, we now hear that he wants to go into Rafah. There is a famine happening in Gaza. People are starving to death. Aid is being frustrated from getting there, food medicine, important supplies. People are dying. Surely we should all care about that. We should be able to advocate for Israel's security but also advocate for the people of Gaza, children of Gaza, senior citizens. People are just trying to get on with their lives. Notwithstanding the fact that we may have disagreements--and some of my Republican friends obviously disagree whether we should be helping Ukraine or not. I disagree with you, fine, but we have a process that you will be able to vote on all of these things separately, and you will be able to make your views clear. I have got to tell you, you know, you don't have to agree on everything to agree on something. We ought to agree that these issues are important enough to debate and to have up or down votes on. The people who are advocating that we do nothing, you know, or that we--you know, that we attach things to this bill that will guarantee that it goes nowhere in the Senate, and therefore, we help nobody, I don't understand why you are even here quite frankly. We need to move this process forward. The House has to function. As we have seen, under Republican control, that only happens when Democrats are the adults in the room. I say that not to be partisan. I say that because that is what has been happening. I gave you a list of things that needed to be done, you know, not just in terms of helping our allies, but in terms of saving our economy, that could not have been done unless Democrats stood up and behaved like adults. Mr. Speaker, this should have been dealt with a long time ago, months ago, but here we are. Here we are. Mr. Speaker, I hope that as we proceed, we have rational and thoughtful debate, knowing that we will have disagreements and knowing that some of us will have different ideas on how we should proceed forward. This is the United States House of Representatives. We are supposed to debate issues. We are supposed to vote on things. Unfortunately, this has become a place where trivial issues get debated passionately and important ones not at all. Well, these are important issues that are in this bill. Some of them I agree with; some of them I don't agree with. Let's debate them, let's vote on them, and then let's move on. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN

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. Mr. Speaker, I join the gentleman from Pennsylvania in condemning Iran's attack on Israel, and I also express my growing concern at this situation. I hope that President Biden continues working to de-escalate tensions. I don't think that any of us want this to turn into a broader conflict that puts even more civilians at risk. Mr. Speaker, I also thank President Biden because, as Commander in Chief, he ordered our military to shoot down more than 70 drones and 3 ballistic missiles that Iran launched. Because of his actions and his work to unite our allies in the region, Israeli airspace was defended, and 99 percent of the projectiles fired by Iran were intercepted. That is real. That is concrete. That is tangible. Listening to my friends on the other side. I think they blame Joe Biden for everything. I mean, they blame him for Iran's attack more than they blame Iran. I think they have people on their side who blame Joe Biden for the earthquake, and I think one of my friends on the other side of the aisle blamed Joe Biden for the eclipse. This is crazy. At some point they need to stop playing the blame game and work with Democrats to address these global challenges in a thoughtful and bipartisan way. Instead of doing that, instead of bringing everybody together, what we have from Republicans is a fake response to a real crisis. The majority dusted off a bunch of old bills, some of which have never had a hearing and have never been marked up by committee, and they are bringing them to the floor. I guess they decided the original schedule for the week would have looked bad because they originally planned to bring up bills dealing with household appliances. You heard that right, Mr. Speaker. With all the crises going on in the world, the majority's plan this week was to bring up a bill about refrigerator freedom. Not just one bill or two bills; they had a whole week, six bills, dedicated to appliances. They wanted us to debate the Liberty in Laundry Act this week. It took an actual international emergency to get them to notice how out of touch and absurd their policy agenda is. Meanwhile, Democrats have been saying for months and months that we need Republicans to get serious about helping our allies, and for months we have heard excuse after excuse from Republicans. First, they said we had to wait until H.R. 2, their extreme MAGA border bill, became law. Then they changed their tune because they tanked their own border bill. Next, they told us to wait until the Federal Government was fully funded. We did that, and the MAGA caucus moved the goalposts yet again. Then Democrats were told aid for Ukraine had to wait until the House reauthorized FISA. Guess what, Mr. Speaker? Republicans are out of excuses and our allies are out of time. Speaker Johnson's inaction has consequences. He has emboldened our adversaries and left our allies wondering: Where is America? I hear reports that he is in backroom discussions with Members to find a way forward on Ukraine funding, and I hope that we see the aid our allies need on the floor this week and that there is no partisan B.S. attached to it. What our allies need right now aren't more empty, do-nothing exercises and political messaging like we are doing today. They need our help immediately. These bills we are debating do not meet this moment at all. The very first thing we should have done this week is come back and debate a bipartisan bill that can provide real, tangible help to our allies. Instead, we get more wasted time, more broken promises, more useless rhetoric from this Republican majority. Has anyone even asked the Senate if these bills are going anywhere over there, Mr. Speaker? They passed the sanctions bill on Iran 6 months ago and haven't sent it to the Senate yet. Are they going to send any of these bills to the Senate or is this all for show, so they can send out a press release to say they did something? Meanwhile, the world is wondering when America will get our act together and when this Republican majority is going to get their act together, stop playing politics, and start doing their job. 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 I have never heard so much B.S. in my life, to be honest with you. Let me just remind my colleagues that Donald Trump, the guy they apologize for constantly, is the one who let Iran attack U.S. troops. Donald Trump is the one who allowed not one but dozens of Chinese spy balloons to fly overhead without telling us. Donald Trump is the one who gave classified Israeli intelligence to the Russians, intelligence they could have given to Iran. Donald Trump is the one who went to North Korea--remember that--and tried to get a brutal dictator to love him. He said, hey, Kim Jong-un and I are in love. Donald Trump is the one who tried to extort Ukraine by withholding our aid, and he was impeached over it. Donald Trump praises Putin, he fawns over Xi Jinping and Victor Orban, and he sends Kim Jong-un love letters. It is pathetic. It is pathetic. Donald Trump is the one who praised an angry mob who attacked the United States Capitol and injured people. That is all good for my friends on the other side. At every step of the way, Trump stood with America's adversaries and those who oppose democracy. I am sorry that is an inconvenient truth for my Republican friends, but it is the truth. Contrast that with Joe Biden. Joe Biden rallied the world to Ukraine's defense. He defended our ally Israel in their air space, and he has rebuilt our image on the world stage and has stood up for democracy. My friends on the other side said nothing when the previous President was apologizing and praising every tin horn dictator in the world who had no regard for human rights. Democrats are the party of democracy. Republicans can use whatever rhetoric they want about the far-left this and the far-left that. Their party has been radicalized by MAGA extremists. Here we are at this late date debating legislation that is going nowhere when, in fact, our allies, specifically Ukraine, is out of money and out of equipment to defend themselves against Russia, and my friends just sit there and twiddle their thumbs. This is pathetic. This is pathetic. I urge my colleagues to understand what is going on here. We are doing this exercise that is going nowhere. I do not know who it is designed to please--maybe to show that we are doing work when we are not doing work. We actually passed a bill on Iran--6 months ago to be exact--that is still here. They never even sent it over to the Senate. This is all for show. Meanwhile, we have a real crisis on our hands. I hope my friends will get serious. Let's waste this time doing these bills that are problematic and that are going nowhere, but don't come and lecture us about democracy or about protecting Israel, about protecting democracy in Ukraine. It is because of House Republicans that the world right now is on the brink, and I hope that hopefully in the next couple of days you come to your senses and allow us to provide relief to our ally Ukraine. I hope that we do that because if not, it will be too late. You have waited so long, constantly giving in to the most extreme rightwing elements of your party, people who have nothing but contempt for Ukraine, for democratic movements who couldn't give damn about human rights. It is pathetic that at this late date we are here doing this and not doing what we should have done a long time ago--and that is provide Ukraine the assistance it needs to push back on Russia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Oh, my goodness, Mr. Speaker, listen to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy). He got up, and he blamed the President of the United States more for Iran's attack on Israel than he blamed the supreme leader of Iran. It is pathetic. It is pathetic. I say to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), yes, we are emotional when we talk about this stuff. We are emotional when we talk about this stuff because the bottom line is people are dying, and we have Members on the other side of the aisle who continue to use Putin's talking points in defending why we are not giving aid to Ukraine. That is not me saying that. That is the Republican chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. So, I mean, this is a really important moment here, whether we are going to stand with our friends in Ukraine, whether we are going to help them stand up to Russia, or whether following the example of Trump we are going to turn a blind eye. I mean, Putin is hoping that maybe Trump wins and the Republicans win because then he knows he can take over Ukraine. Yes, we are emotional because people are dying. Russia has launched a vicious war against Ukraine, and we are emotional when we talk about not only protecting Israel but protecting innocent people in Gaza as well because we actually think human rights matter. Human rights knows no political party, knows no country's boundaries. Everyone's human rights ought to be upheld. We are emotional because we are sick and tired of the rhetoric coming from my Republican friends. We are sick and tired of them apologizing for Putin all the time or turning a blind eye on human rights abuses in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. Coming to the floor with bills that my friends know are going nowhere--I mean, we have done similar bills before that are still being held at the desk and have not been sent to the Senate. This is all about show business. Enough. Enough. We have an opportunity to come together, put politics aside, and do the right thing. I hope my friends will join us in that effort. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 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 think I have heard everything. The gentleman from Florida just talked about regular order, saying to vote for this rule because it represents regular order. I mean, he and I have a different opinion of what regular order is. There are six bills. Five of them are completely closed rules. Is that regular order? Two of these bills that are closed never went through committee or never had a markup in committee. Is that regular order? Boy, I need to send the gentleman a textbook on what regular order is. This is not what it is. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler) is giving us lectures about Biden and leadership. I should remind the gentleman that the Republicans are on their second Speaker of this Congress right now. If reports are to be believed that were in the newspapers this morning, you have Republicans wanting to get rid of this Speaker and go on to a third Speaker. I mean, please, oh my goodness, lecturing us on leadership? You are upset that Joe Biden used the U.S. military to help intercept Iranian missiles into Israel. You say that is a lack of leadership by President Biden. On the contrary, that is leadership. It is protecting our ally from missiles from an adversary. When Donald Trump was President and 109 U.S. troops suffered brain injuries in a strike by Iran, what was the leadership that the former President demonstrated? He did nothing, no response. Iran just did it, and he did nothing. He downplayed it like it was no big deal. I am sorry, we have a different opinion of what leadership is all about. The fact of the matter is that we are looking for some leadership on the other side of the aisle to support Ukraine in their fight against Russia. I mean, the Senate acted a long time ago, and my Republican friends continue to do nothing but sit back and scream about Joe Biden and cover up all of Donald Trump's misdeeds and ignore all of his weaknesses. Meanwhile, Ukraine is literally at the edge right now. I mean, this is a strange way of defining leadership. Do you want to show some leadership? Let's help our ally Ukraine. Let's stop Russia in its tracks rather than giving comfort to Vladimir Putin. Now, I know when the former President was in office, he had a lot of nice words to say about Vladimir Putin, praised him as this great friend and this great leader. Then again, the former President also said he and Kim Jong-un, one of the most notorious dictators in the world, were in love. How pathetic. How disgusting. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I have officially taken the pledge. An incredible organization from Massachusetts called Spoonfuls is calling on all of us to reduce our wasted food footprint while helping those who don't know where their next meal is coming from. I have always said that, in America, we have a mismatch: Acres of fresh fruits and vegetables and some of the most talented farmers in the world, yet nearly 40 million Americans go hungry. We have enough food to feed everyone, yet so much goes to waste. In fact, about 40 percent of the food the U.S. produces ends up thrown in the trash, and too much of it is perfectly good to eat. In Congress, I was proud to get the Food Donation Improvement Act to President Biden's desk, making it easier for organizations to donate unused food. This law is a win-win for organizations looking to do good and for Americans who are hungry. Mr. Speaker, I will continue to look for ways to minimize food waste in my life, and I hope that others, including my colleagues in Congress, will join me in this fun, commonsense commitment. Let us rededicate ourselves to ending hunger now.