Steve Scalise

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize someone whose leadership, service, and friendship have meant so much to me, Team Scalise, and the people of southeast Louisiana. I am talking about my chief of staff and senior leadership adviser, Megan Bel Miller. Megan has been part of my team from the very beginning. In fact, when I was first elected to Congress, she was the very first person that I hired. As my then-legislative director and longtime Energy and Commerce Committee staffer, Megan helped lead our work on some of the biggest issues facing not only our district but the Nation, including energy and healthcare. After the Deepwater Horizon disaster, she played a critical role in drafting and passing the RESTORE Act to help Louisiana communities recover and rebuild. When Megan first left our office in 2013, I stood right here on this House floor to recognize her service and said she was leaving for ``bigger and better things.'' Luckily for me, those bigger and better things eventually led Megan back to Capitol Hill, this time as the chief of staff for my personal office in 2017. Just months later, when I was shot, I came to rely on Megan in ways that none of us could have imagined. Through it all, Megan's leadership and friendship never wavered, and Jennifer and I will always be grateful for the way she helped my family and our team make it through that challenging time. Over the years, Megan has also been someone I have relied on for her expertise on policy and knowledge of this institution. She has become known for her deep knowledge of policy and process, her strong relationships on both sides of the aisle, and her ability to bring people together. She played a key role in helping secure a provision in the working families tax cut that increases the amount of revenue-sharing dollars that Louisiana and other Gulf Coast States receive each year from offshore drilling. Megan has always been someone I could count on for good advice, sound judgment, and an unwavering commitment to the people we serve. I call her the ``Geaux Getter'' because no matter what the problem is that we have to solve, Megan just finds a way to get it done. Her impact can be seen not only in the policies that she shaped, but in the countless constituents she helped and staff members that she mentored along the way. Mr. Speaker, I can't thank Megan enough for everything she has done for me, our office, and the American people. Thirteen years ago, I stood on this floor, and I said I would miss her, as she went on to bigger and better things. Today, I find myself saying it again. It has been a privilege to work alongside her all of these years and an even greater privilege to call her a friend. Jennifer and I wish Megan, Joel, Parker, and Caroline all the best in this next chapter. Best of luck to Megan and all of her friends and family in the gallery.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (Mr. Guthrie) for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this really important bill by my friend Mr. Evans from Colorado who led on this issue. Mr. Speaker, we are talking about the latest advancement in technology. If you think about the history of this great Nation as we celebrate 250 years of America, one of the things that America has been so successful at has been always being on the frontier of new innovations. In fact, in the last 150 years, America has led the world in advancements in technology. Today is no different. In fact, today, America is at the heart of the domination of technology all around the world. If you think about some of the simplest things we are able to do in our lives, that give us the ability to have more free time, or the things you can do on a cell phone that would have taken a supercomputer 30 years ago to do, that is because of advancements in technology. Artificial intelligence and data centers are no different. It is another advancement in technology. As we are advancing in technology, we have to do it the right way, Mr. Speaker, in a smart and thoughtful way. If you look at communities that have embraced data centers, some communities said it is not for me, and that is a choice communities make. The Federal Government is not the one making that decision. What we have always said, and what President Trump took the leadership in doing, is meeting with all of the Big Tech companies building these massive data centers and said just make sure as you are making these big investments in communities, you won't add to the cost of a local community's ratepayer electricity rates. The President got a commitment to do that. We are not fully codifying that. It is, in essence, a step in that direction what this bill is doing. But as the President did that, you saw companies going and making massive multibillion-dollar investments in some of our communities and helping those communities along the way, Mr. Speaker. That story does not get told. Frankly, I think that story needs to get told more. I have seen massive data centers in my home State of Louisiana. In fact, if you go to little Richland Parish, a rural part of north Louisiana that not a lot of people live in, not a lot of opportunities for wealth in that parish, Mr. Speaker, but then Meta decided to build a data center, and that data center grew and grew as the community embraced it. They worked with the community. They are building their own natural gas facilities. It is actually going to help the grid in that community because they are going to be paying their own way and anything extra they have is going to be off-loaded to the grid so the neighbors in that community will actually get lower utility rates. Do you know what else happened, Mr. Speaker? This is another part of the story that is not getting told enough, but the data center is still being built. It is up to about $50 billion in private funding that is being built in little Richland Parish. As they are building that data center, because of all of the increased sales tax collections to Richland Parish, they were able to give a bonus. I am not talking about the base salary of their schoolteachers. They gave a bonus to every schoolteacher in Richland Parish because of the building of that data center. Mr. Speaker, do you know how much every schoolteacher in Richland Parish received a few months ago because of the data center? They received a bonus of $50,000 per teacher because of the data center. Those are the stories that you are seeing in communities that have embraced it, where they worked with the local community. It is not a burden on that community. It is actually a tremendous benefit. Not only teachers will benefit, but small businesses are cropping up. Loudoun County in Virginia, Mr. Speaker, is another community that made the decision for themselves. It is not a Washington choice. It is a local community choice, and I think everybody would agree with that. If there are local communities that don't want it, believe me there are other communities that will take those benefits. Loudoun County in Virginia got the benefits of their data centers to the tune of a 30 percent reduction in property taxes for every homeowner in Loudoun County, Virginia. They are benefiting from that still to this day, as well as the jobs that come along with it. They are benefiting from the investment, the buildings that come along, and the small business growth that we are seeing. There has been this assertion, Mr. Speaker, some of it funded by China, that data centers are driving up utility prices. There was a study done. In fact, the Institute for Energy Research did a State-by- State study in all 50 States of this country and they looked at energy costs, the kilowatt-per-hour cost in every State. Some States have data centers. Some States don't. The study is titled: ``Have Data Centers Driven Up Electricity Prices?'' Their conclusion was clearly no, they do not. There was no disparity in kilowatt hours per customer in States that have data centers and States that don't. Again, a lot of that is because President Trump made all of the data centers, the companies that build them, give those pledges that they will not have a negative impact on the ratepayers. What they did find, Mr. Speaker, was quite interesting, and that was a disparity that does exist in electricity prices between States. It is not all States. What they ultimately looked at is States that have a unified government, all one party, either Republican or either Democrat. The States that have all unified Democratic Party control in those States actually have higher electricity costs than States that have all Republican. The Institute for Energy Research did the study. You can go find it online. It shows you State by State the kilowatt-per-hour cost. The reason it is rising is because a lot of those States that have unified Democratic government are also States that are losing population. Some hundreds of thousands to nearly millions of people have fled those States. As those States lose population because of bad policies, Mr. Speaker, their baseload capacity is the same. The cost to run their grid is the same. It is spread amongst fewer people because their bad policies are running hundreds of thousands or a million-plus people out of the State. The States that are growing, that have good government policies, and that are attracting people and jobs, those States have lower kilowatt- per-hour costs for their consumers because the same grid has the same fixed costs, but there is more people to spread the cost around so those people pay less. That is what actually is happening in this country. Look at all the States. Go look at the Institute for Energy Research study, Mr. Speaker, because it shows you what is really happening out there. There is a revolution happening. China is competing, and America is competing. We surely do not want China to win this war. America is staying at the forefront. I want us to stay at the forefront. Let locals make the choice and let consumers reap the benefits. That is what is happening right now, and this bill, by my friend Congressman Evans, ensures that we continue to see that growth continue. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Chairman, I thank my dear colleague from Texas for yielding. I am truly going to miss him, but he has got a lot of great work left to do as the chairman of the Committee on the Budget, not the least of which is this important resolution, which is being brought forward, Mr. Chairman, a resolution that is critical to ensuring the hallmark of democracy, and that is the right to vote: one person, one vote. If we look at all of the things that we have been working with President Trump to do to make life more affordable for working families, over and over again, we see nothing but obstruction from Democrats. It is sad to say. It is sad to see. The American people are watching a party that has become a rudderless ship running off the left edge, socialists taking over. Watching what is going on to that other party, look at some of the things we have been able to do, even with their obstruction: working to produce more energy in America so we can lower costs for American families, while every Democrat voted no, and working to lower tax rates for working families. Yes, no tax on overtime is a benefit that has helped over 30 million Americans. These aren't the millionaires and the billionaires that Democrats go fight for every day. These are hardworking families making under $100,000 a year, many of them shift workers and law enforcement officers. Maybe they voted against that bill because they want to defund the police, not help police officers and firefighters have a little bit more money in their pockets. With no tax on overtime, no tax on tips, somebody making $32,000 a year on average has thousands more in their pocket now because of the work Republicans did. How did Republicans pay for it, Mr. Chairman? It was paid for by putting antifraud measures in that bill--yes, going after theft of American taxpayer dollars and not just small-time folks. There are foreign countries operating with criminal organizations in States like Minnesota. We saw it. We documented it. It couldn't be stopped because we needed the measures. We tried to work with Democrats on it, but for whatever reason, every step of the way they blocked it. They blocked it until we put it in the reconciliation bill. Then when the tools were in place, President Trump was able to go out and recoup not millions but billions and tens of billions of dollars that we were able to take out of the hands of people stealing your money, and we put it in the pockets of hardworking families. Overtime workers, waiters, waitresses, senior citizens who now have a tax credit, all of that we paid for with money that was being stolen. Every step of the way, Democrats opposed it. They would rather the theft of your tax dollars go to fraudsters than hardworking families have their money back. Their obstruction is nothing new, Mr. Chairman. Then we get to today, where we say: Shouldn't we make sure our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to do their job safely? Shouldn't we make sure that our farmers get the relief they need so we can keep working to lower food costs? Oh, by the way, can't we ensure the integrity of the American vote? These are basic things that most Americans understand. Democrats in Washington don't. They go back home and give Fourth of July speeches. Then they get on an airplane, and a transformation happens. They get up here, and they start voting against the wishes of the American people over and over again. Why? Not just to defend fraudsters. If we know that requiring a picture ID, just something so basic that every American understands--which, by the way, those same Democrats have to show that picture ID to get on the airplane to come up here and vote for socialist policies. But they don't want that to be the case when you vote. They would say: Don't worry. There is no fraud. There is no fraud. Well, why is it just that today's New York Post uncovered yet again what we have known all along? In New Jersey, they just admitted 6,600 noncitizens are on their rolls, many of them voting, voting in elections, illegals on their rolls voting. They document in this article many elections that were decided by just a small number of votes. In fact, the margin of the theft, the stolen votes are that margin. This can be stopped just by requiring a picture ID. Then some would say, well, then, why would anybody be against that? They will hide behind all of these other ruses, but they will vote ``no.'' We have got a bill later today to say: Well, let's ban Members of Congress from trading stocks, and people are going to watch the board on an issue that every American understands. Almost every Democrat is going to vote ``no.'' People will say why is that? Because it requires a photo ID. What is so harmful about that? A person can't go get an unlimited bowl of pasta at Olive Garden without showing a photo ID. Can we at least have the Olive Garden standard when we protect democracy and the franchise that we have to keep this great democracy? That is just requiring that you prove you are who you say you are. This, Mr. Chairman, is such a fundamental principle. It is not hard to explain to the American people, but it is actively opposed by Democrats in Congress. It just begs the question: Why? Who are they protecting? Who are they protecting with the ``no'' vote, Mr. Chairman? If they know illegals are voting in many of these States where they don't require photo ID, then why would they vote against the requirement? Why? It is a great question. Every American, Mr. Chairman, is going to be able to watch this vote and know where their Member of Congress is. It is critically important for accountability that we all stand up and be counted. I am strongly for this. I think it is critical we protect the sanctity of every American's right to vote. If somebody else is stealing your vote because they are voting illegally-- thousands in New Jersey--then it takes away your right to vote, Mr. Chairman. We ought to be protecting everybody's right to vote, especially those people who are legally allowed to vote, not people who shouldn't be allowed by law to vote. Let's pass this important resolution and get it over to the Senate so they can do their job and get this to the President's desk.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my colleague and friend from Texas, for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. Madam Speaker, we should all be here today to express our strong support for this important piece of legislation to properly and fully fund the Department of Homeland Security, including, yes, the people who actually are tasked with carrying out our immigration laws. That is the job of ICE and CBP. These are the laws that we all pass. I know our colleagues on the other side of the aisle would love to go back to open borders, but they are not, fortunately, going to go back to open borders because we won't let them. Madam Speaker, we worked with President Trump to secure the border. In fact, it was the number one issue in the 2024 election. The American people spoke loud and clear, and, yes, that was on the ballot. Everybody knew where each side was. You would think, now that that issue is resolved, that we could be here in Congress to work together to properly make sure that we fund the Department of Homeland Security. Sadly, that is not what has happened. You have seen the Democrats, time and time again, shut this Department down, the Department of Homeland Security, formed out of September 11. You would think some people on the other side of the aisle are acting like it is still September 10, like we don't have threats on our homeland. Yet, we have threats coming from more places than ever because the other side let millions of people into our country. Millions of people illegally come into our country, including many violent criminals. They want you to think, Madam Speaker, that it is just everybody coming in to seek the American Dream. We have a legal method for that to happen. Every country does, by the way. The United States is the most generous nation in the world in terms of our legal process to come to America--yes, legal. That means you have to follow the rules to be a part of this great American Dream. If somebody doesn't want to follow those rules, including the prior President, then what it does is wreak havoc. What kind of havoc? I know the other side just likes to attack law enforcement every single day, the party that tried to defund the police. Yes, they are still at it. This vote today, make no mistake, if you are voting ``yes,'' you are not only voting to secure America's border. You are voting to fund law enforcement. If you vote ``no,'' you are voting to defund the police. Those are the people, the law enforcement officers, who are risking their lives to keep our communities safe. I think, Madam Speaker, that it is important to ask safe from whom? Let's walk a little bit down memory lane and talk about some of the American citizens who are no longer with us today because of people who came into this country illegally because of Joe Biden's open border, because of the policies that the Democratic Party on the other side, Madam Speaker, wants us to go back to. They want open borders. That is why they are voting ``no.'' Make no mistake about it, this vote is about opening the border again. This vote is about defunding the police. We cannot let that happen. Why? Let's remember Laken Riley. Did some on the other side already forget who Laken Riley is? She was a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed while jogging near the University of Georgia campus in February 2024. The man convicted of her murder was, yes, a man from Venezuela who entered into the United States illegally. Let's talk about Sheridan Gorman, Madam Speaker. She was an 18-year- old Loyola University Chicago freshman who was shot and killed in March 2026. The suspect: Jose Medina-Medina, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Stephanie Minter, a Virginia mother, was fatally stabbed at a Fairfax County bus stop in February of this year. Yes, anybody who votes ``no'' is voting against the people who are stopping criminal illegals who are murdering American citizens still to this day. Yet, they are going to cast that ``no'' vote, Madam Speaker. Stephanie Minter, who was murdered, her suspect, Abdul Jalloh, came here illegally, an immigrant from Sierra Leone with over 30 police arrests, 30 times arrested, over and over again, until finally he murdered somebody. Look at these sanctuary cities. By the way, go look at who is running these sanctuary cities. When these Democrats are coming up here, saying that they want to grab more power, asking you to give them power again, look at what they do with power. They install sanctuary city policies. They let murderers get out of prison over and over again until they murder innocent citizens. You can just go look at the leadership of every Democratic- run city in America right now. Most of the States have major losses of population because of their policies. Now, where are they going? Mostly to red States, States that are run by Republicans who want to lower taxes, who want to have commonsense policy, to get away from the crazy policies that we are seeing over and over again in these Democrat-run States. In fact, the policies are so bad that you can look at the city of Chicago and know you will no longer be able to go to the city of Chicago to see the Chicago Bears play football. Illinois ran the Chicago Bears out of the State of Illinois, out of the city of Chicago over to Indiana because they are so antibusiness. Because they are so antiworker, and because they won't stand up and protect their own citizens. Mr. Speaker, you listen to the people that get up here, day in and day out, and attack President Trump over and over again. What they don't tell you is that because President Trump focused on border security and protecting the American citizens, we now have the lowest murder rate in the United States in over 100 years because President Trump cares about people and their communities. Look at some of these Democrat-run cities where they let illegals out over and over again. Go back to the suspect who murdered Stephanie Minter in Virginia. He was in prison and let out over 30 times. Let's talk about Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old Maryland woman strangled to death in 2022 by a known MS-13 gang member from El Salvador. Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five, was murdered while exercising on a hiking trail in 2023. Yes, it was someone who came here illegally, who murdered her, who was finally later convicted of that crime. Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old Houston girl, was sexually assaulted and then murdered in June of 2024, Mr. Speaker. Two Venezuelans who entered the United States illegally were charged in that case. Keep in mind, every one of these I am reading, we are about to have a vote to say: Should we have people working for ICE, working for CBP, protecting us from these violent criminals, who are coming into our country illegally to kill our citizens? And you are going to be able to vote yes or no. And if you vote no, you are saying you want these people to keep coming in. Mr. Speaker, you are voting to defund the law enforcement officers who are going to stop these criminals from coming into our communities. It is not like some hypothetical. It has happened over and over and over again. Sadly, there are more. Luis Jocsan Nanez Lopez, a 15-year-old, was shot and killed while trying to protect his mother from an attempted rape by an illegal in Kentucky. The killer was a Mexican national. Hallie Helgeson and Brady Heiling, 18- and 19-year-olds, were killed in a car crash by a Honduran national who was driving intoxicated in the wrong direction on a highway. This took place in a sanctuary jurisdiction in Wisconsin. They act like they are doing you a favor by looking the other way and not at the laws, except their own citizens are dying. Megan Bos was killed by a Mexican in Illinois in 2025. After the killer's court appearance, a sanctuary city judge freed him onto the streets of Chicago. There that is again. Fortunately, it was ICE who rearrested that murderer. And they want to make ICE out to be the enemy? They are defending the murderers. Over and over again they want to defund law enforcement, to stand up for criminals who are wreaking havoc in our communities all across this country. Thank God, we have a President in Donald Trump who is willing to stand up for the American people and protect us, to keep us safe in our homeland. That is the whole purpose of the Department of Homeland Security. It is why it needs to be fully funded. We need to pass this bill. It should have been done months ago. And it should not be partisan. Everybody should vote for it. But when that board lights up, you are going to see who is standing with the American people to keep us safe in our home and who is going to defend the criminals. Mr. Speaker, I stand with the American people and say, let's keep our communities safe. Let's pass this bill. Let's fund this department.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil), the chairman of the committee and my friend, for yielding. I thank him for the hard work he has put in to first passing an important bill over to the Senate, and now seeing this bill come back to address an important issue, and that is to make sure that we give the Capitol Police Board the flexibility so that we don't have to lose more good officers on the Capitol Police force. I know personally the heroism and bravery of the great men and women in the United States Capitol Police. I would not be here without their heroism and bravery. We have some of them who are in the prime of their career who would be forced to retire if we don't pass this legislation. At a time, as was brought up, where we have shortages, we need to make sure that we not only can keep attracting new officers to the force, but when you have officers in the prime of their career that everybody agrees are worthy of keeping on, that they have that flexibility. That is what this bill does, gives the Capitol Police Board that flexibility. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the adoption of the legislation and urge all my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Minnesota for yielding and all the applause coming from the other side. Look, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this important bill to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security. You know, we have done this time and time again at least in the House. This will mark tonight the fourth time that the House has voted to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security. I know there has been a lot of back and forth in the Senate, and then at 3 in the morning Senators just decided, well, throw in the towel and maybe see what they can cobble together to get out of town. But, Mr. Speaker, we have got a job to do. Our job is to protect the American people to do our job to keep them safe, and that is why we created this Department, not some of the Department, not just pieces of the Department, but the entire Department of Homeland Security. I know the other side over and over again has wanted to go back to open borders. We are not going to go back to open borders. The American people don't want us to go back to open borders. They have seen the peril of that. We also, Mr. Speaker, cannot go back to a September 10 mentality, a pre-September 11 mentality where you just ignore the signs of the bad things that are happening in this country. We changed that after September 11, and we vowed: ``Never forget,'' never let it happen again, yet here we are. Some Members want to get in the time machine, and they want to go back to another day where maybe America didn't have any attacks. Well, how about we go back in a time machine and listen to the Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries. I will read a quote from Hakeem Jeffries. ``We are here today to do a single job, and that should be to fund fully the Department of Homeland Security. Anything else is an abdication of our responsibility. Anything else is an act of legislative malpractice. We are playing political games at a time when the safety and the security of the American people is being threatened.'' That was said in 2015 by Hakeem Jeffries. Now, what has happened between now and then? Well, let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, this is not your father's Democratic Party anymore. You have seen how far the radical crazy elements of the party have taken over and tried to bring it to this socialist mentality, this open borders mentality, this defund the police mentality. And, yes, this bill absolutely defunds the police. You have got under this bill that came over from the Senate, even when you count in the working families tax cut that every Democrat voted against, even when you count that in, 6,700 people at the Department of Homeland Security will be defunded. That is right. They will be defunded. The American people rejected the defund the police movement. Just because it happened in the Senate at 3 in the morning doesn't mean nobody heard it. We did. We didn't just hear it, we read the bill, and we said, no, Mr. Speaker, that is not the responsible thing to do for this country. This country is counting on us. And by the way, it is at a time when we are at a heightened level of threats. If you are wondering what that heightened level is--I know there are some people that just want to go after police all the time. Why don't we just read a couple of the names that the other side doesn't want to read. Richard Williams, Mr. Speaker, was an 83-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran who was randomly shoved into the subway tracks by an illegal alien from Honduras. He just died this week. We have all heard of Sheridan Gorman. Maybe not enough people, Mr. Speaker, have heard of Sheridan Gorman, but we are going to say her name again. She was a beautiful 18-year-old young girl from Loyola University in Chicago, a student who had the world before her. She was shot to death by, yes, an illegal alien from Venezuela who came over here under President Biden's open borders that the other side wants to take us back to. We are not going to do that. That surely is not the responsible thing to do. Stephanie Minter, a 41-year-old mother from Virginia, was randomly stabbed to death by an illegal, yes, with a lengthy rap sheet with more than 30 prior charges. How many more of these do we have to have before some people will say, okay, maybe we need to fund this Department? I don't think there is an endless list before--they just don't want to offend their radical base, Mr. Speaker. That is really who they are afraid of. Obviously, if they were concerned about all these Americans--over and over and over again. This is just in the last month who has been killed by people here illegally, and they are going to go and defund almost 7,000 people at the Department? That is insane. And, oh, by the way, have we talked about the multiple terrorist attacks that have happened, yes, here on our homeland, not on foreign soil, here on our homeland just in the last month, and they want to partially defund this agency with this bill and the working families tax cut. Still over 10 percent of the whole agency will be defunded at a time when we are at a heightened terrorist threat. Could you imagine if you had a terrorist outside of your house, and somebody said, well, we will let you lock the front door, but we don't have time to lock the back door? You would think that was crazy. You would lock the front door, the back door, the windows, and everything else, and you would go get your shotgun. But yet, they want to defund this agency and make our country vulnerable, make Americans less safe? I am not going to have anything to do with that, Mr. Speaker. I want to fund the whole Department. That is what this bill does. It pays everybody. It pays the TSA agents as they should be, as Democrats have voted time and time again to not pay. We pay them. And it is not long-term. I wish it was. We have sent them a long-term bill. This is for a few months. We at least have time to keep negotiating our differences. These are big differences, but these are dangerous times in America. This is not the time to defund the police, to defund the Department of Homeland Security at any level. Mr. Speaker, I would urge everybody to vote for this bill. Let's do our job. We are here doing the right thing to keep America safe. I urge adoption.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Oklahoma, the great chairman of the Appropriations Committee, for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of Congressman Ciscomani's bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Madam Speaker, this is a bill that should have passed weeks and weeks ago. In fact, today will mark the third time that this House has voted to fully fund the Department. In case you want to know how that vote went, Madam Speaker, there has been a record vote twice already in the House. You can see who is voting ``yes'' to fund TSA agents, to fund the people at the Department of Homeland Security who work every day to keep us safe here in America. All the Republicans, almost every Republican, voted ``yes.'' On March 5, almost every Democrat voted ``no,'' voted to shut the Department down. The Democrats shut this down, Madam Speaker. Then, we brought another vote, Madam Speaker, and you can see January 22 was the first vote, almost a party-line vote, Republicans voting ``yes'' to fund the Department and Democrats voting ``no.'' March 5, same thing, Republicans voting ``yes'' to fund the Department and Democrats overwhelmingly voting ``no'' to shut it down. Now, today is a day where they can seek redemption and stand up for those workers, the TSA agents, who are showing up for work and not getting paid. Do you know that if you are a TSA agent in America this fiscal year, Madam Speaker, you have gone 49 percent of this year without a paycheck? That is disgraceful. It is disgraceful that Democrats have voted time and time again to deny pay for those especially who are showing up to do this hard work. You have Americans waiting in line for hours and hours, 3 hours, 4 hours. At my home airport in New Orleans, people were sleeping overnight there so they would have a chance to make their flight. There are people waiting over 3 hours and still missing a flight, Madam Speaker, to go maybe on a family vacation, maybe they have to go to a funeral or a wedding. This is disrupting the lives of real people. Let me tell you what the TSA chief testified to yesterday, just yesterday. The TSA chief told lawmakers that their agents ``have received eviction notices, lost their childcare, missed bill payments and been charged late fees, damaged their credit, defaulted on loans, and have been unable to even qualify for a loan to help ease the financial burden during the shutdown.'' That was testimony given yesterday, and it is totally avoidable. That kind of pain should not be inflicted on our Federal workers, and yet you can see the party-line vote time and time again, like today when we bring a bill to say let's just give these people paychecks for the work that they are doing. We can all have disagreements over how government operates. Go look at the changes President Trump has already made at the Department of Homeland Security. This week we got a new Secretary. There have been dramatic changes to the Department. In fact, changes both sides have made or have asked for have been made. Yet, Democrats don't want to take ``yes'' for an answer, Madam Speaker, because they want chaos. Let's just call it for what it is. They want open borders. They want chaos. We are going to give them an opportunity to do the right thing because the American people are sick and tired of it, and they should be. There is going to be a moment of accountability real soon. In about an hour, you will be able to see, America will be able to see who is voting ``yes'' to fund these people who are working so hard, and who is voting ``no'' to keep the chaos going, to keep the long lines going. Now, I would like to say I am going to read you some good news. I want to read you a quote from Hakeem Jeffries, Madam Speaker. I think this is an important quote that everybody should listen to right now. This is Hakeem Jeffries: ``We are here today to do a single job, and that should be to fund fully the Department of Homeland Security. Anything else is an abdication of our responsibility. Anything else is an act of legislative malpractice. So we are playing political games at a time when the safety and the security of the American people is being threatened.'' That is Hakeem Jeffries, Madam Speaker. Unfortunately, that was Hakeem Jeffries from February of 2015. What happened to that Hakeem Jeffries? How will Hakeem Jeffries of 2026 vote? The previous two times we know, Madam Speaker, the vote was ``no.'' However, in 2015, he said it would be an act of malpractice to shut this Department down. Let's talk about what times we are in. Some people want to think that we are at a September 10 mentality, a pre-September 11 mentality. We are at a heightened state of alert right now. We have actually had, Madam Speaker, four terrorist attacks on our American homeland in the last month. This Department is more critical than ever, and this is when Democrats choose to shut it down, to put Americans at risk? It is dangerous. It is not just cruel to these workers who are going without pay. They testified yesterday that there are some TSA agents sleeping in their cars because they can't afford rent. That is cruel, but it is also dangerous to this country to shut down this Department at a time like this. Don't go back to a pre-September 11 mentality. This Department was created for a reason, to protect the homeland so we don't ever have a September 11 again. ``Never forget,'' remember that mantra? It seems like some people want to forget, have forgotten. Maybe they have amnesia. Maybe they need to remember that quote from the Democratic Leader back in 2015 who said it would be political malpractice to vote to shut this agency down. Let's do the right thing. Let's everybody--not just Republicans today--let's have Republicans and Democrats join together and do what is needed to protect America's homeland. Vote ``yes'' on Congressman Ciscomani's bill to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security, get this back open. Bring common sense back into this country. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. SCALISE

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

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I move that the message of the President be referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered printed.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, ``let the good times roll''; ``laissez les bons temps rouler.'' Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Wisconsin for yielding, and I thank Chip Roy for bringing the SAVE America Act to the House floor. This is a bill that is critically important to one of the most precious franchises in America, and that is the sacred right to vote, the right that so many gave their lives to preserve, to allow to pass on to our next generation. The importance of that vote is even more underscored when you recognize that, yes, there have been times where people have stolen your vote, Mr. Speaker. That veteran who was talked about deserves the right to vote. If somebody votes illegally, Mr. Speaker, they are stealing that veteran's vote. They are stealing your vote. They are stealing everybody's votes if we allow people who aren't legally eligible to vote to participate in elections. How can you best preserve that? One way is that, when you are registering to vote, you have to prove citizenship. It is in this bill. Another way is when you go to vote, you just have to show your ID. This is not some convoluted idea, Mr. Speaker. You hear the other side talking about it as the end of the world. Their own leaders have referred to it as ``Jim Crow.'' It is not the first time that they have used that phrase. They used that when the State of Georgia put an ID requirement on voting. They said it was going to be horrible and take away people's rights. It was going to disenfranchise minority voters, Mr. Speaker. That is what they said, but then what happened? We have actually got history to go look at. After Georgia passed that law that was called every ridiculous name in the book, what we saw was record participation in elections. You actually had the University of Georgia that went and asked voters after that election, and a whopping zero percent, Mr. Speaker, of Black voters said they had a poor experience going to the ballot. Over 72 percent said they had an excellent experience at the ballot. Then, you could go further. By the way, the American people get this. They understand that there are examples of voter fraud. I come from a State where our elections commissioner went to jail--yes, went to Federal prison--for stealing elections. We cleaned up our election system in our State. We have seen an increase in voter participation. Why? Again, they would tell you if you actually increased the integrity of elections by requiring picture ID that somehow it is going to suppress votes, but the opposite happens, Mr. Speaker. What really does happen is that voters now have confidence in the sanctity of elections. More people will participate because they know that somebody is not going to be stealing their vote by showing up when they are not supposed to be there, just by requiring a picture ID. Americans have been asked about this. An overwhelming 83 percent of Americans are in favor of requiring a photo ID to vote. That is not Republicans. That is all across the spectrum. Over 70 percent of Democrats support picture ID, 82 percent of Hispanic Americans support picture ID to vote, and 76 percent of Black Americans support a picture ID to vote. If they still want to lie to people on the other side, Mr. Speaker, if they still want to try to scare people and talk about Jim Crow, then you might want to ask those same people why the Democratic Party at their convention just in 2024 required photo ID to get in. You couldn't get into the Democratic convention without showing a photo ID. If they want to call it Jim Crow, they need to look in the mirror, Mr. Speaker. If you want to ensure the sanctity of the vote, the SAVE America Act does that. You will see higher participation because Americans across all spectrums--Black, White, Hispanic, Republican, Democrat, Independent--will know that there is a higher likelihood that nobody there is showing up illegally to steal your vote if you have the right to vote. One person, one vote--that is the mantra that we all ought to embrace. The SAVE America Act gets us back to that great franchise of American democracy, and that is the right to vote. Mr. Speaker, I urge everybody to pass this bill over to the Senate and then the Senate to get it to President Trump's desk so we can strengthen American democracy.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of the SPEED Act and the work that Chairman Westerman and a bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress have done to bring a bill to the floor that actually focuses on letting us build things in America again, and, by the way, to lower the cost of those projects that we want to bring. In the past, you would see years. Recently, it takes 10 years or longer to build things that used to take only 2 years. Why? Not because of trying to push things to the side. This bill still requires, Mr. Chair, that we comply with all the State and local laws that are in place. We still would have to comply with Federal laws that are in place. But what it does is it finally brings common sense by cutting red tape, Mr. Chair, red tape that dramatically increases the costs and, in some cases, just makes it economically unfeasible to do projects, to build roads, to build bridges, to build pipelines to move energy, to lower costs for families, to build housing. This bill will allow us to bring more affordable housing to the marketplace in an environmentally protected way, by the way. Those laws are still in place, but they just can't be abused as has been the case over decades. When the law was created in the 1960s, the intent was never that NEPA would be used to stop projects. It would be that you would review these projects like you review any other laws, like the Endangered Species Act, which unfortunately has been heavily abused, too--we are going to reform that as well--and all of the other laws that are so abused to stop projects from being built in America. Some people say why can some of these other countries build a road or a bridge in 16 months and it takes us 10 years to do it in America? It is because we have allowed these laws like NEPA to become so heavily abused, where people who have no relation to the project can file lawsuit after lawsuit that have nothing to do with the project. They just want to slow down and stop the project. How about we bring common sense back into permitting. That is what the SPEED Act does. Again, do these people not trust the States that still have to permit at the local and State level, along with all of the other Federal permits that need to take place? We used to build things in America at rapid speed. We can do it again, and we will do it again with the SPEED Act. Let's allow America to do all the great innovative things it used to do. Look at AI, what artificial intelligence is allowing us to bring. But we need to upgrade our electricity system. We need to build more power plants, not just for families but for innovation. It is almost impossible to do if we don't reform some of these outdated regulations that have been abused. Everybody knows they have been abused. Until we update our laws, we are not going to be able to build things again in America in a timely way. Let's get things done in 2 years, not 10 years or never. Many of these projects get shelved, just never get built. Really, they do get built. They get built in other countries because our laws haven't been updated the way they need to be, to allow us to build things again in an economical way. Lower the cost of building houses in America. Lower the cost of building roads and bridges in America. Lower the cost of building energy projects in America while still respecting environmental laws but just removing the red tape that is killing our ability to innovate. This is a great bill that needs to happen. I am so glad Chairman Westerman did the work to build a bipartisan coalition to get things done in America again. Let's get the SPEED Act passed, Mr. Chair.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion desk.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and thank one of the longest-serving members of Team Scalise, a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and a native of Louisiana's 1st Congressional District, Mitchell Shea. Mitchell first joined Team Scalise as an intern and later moved onto my full-time staff as a Staff Assistant. Over the past ten years, he has been promoted multiple times and is currently serving as my Senior Legislative Assistant. Throughout his tenure in my office, Mitchell has faithfully served the constituents of Louisiana's 1st Congressional District and has become a trusted advisor to me and an invaluable part of our team. Whether giving tours, meeting with constituents, or working on complex policy issues, Mitchell has approached every aspect of his job with a servant's heart, a strong work ethic, and a positive attitude. While we will feel his absence on our team, I am excited for him as he takes on a new challenge in the Senate and am pleased to welcome him to our esteemed Alumni Club. I know his parents, Scott and Alicia, are so proud of all he has accomplished. I wish Mitchell the best of luck in this next chapter, and I thank him for his nearly 10 years of dedicated service to Louisiana's 1st Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in commending Mitchell Shea and in wishing him continued success in all his future endeavors. He makes Louisiana's 1st District, the United States House of Representatives, and the great state of Louisiana proud.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize a man whose dedication, steadiness, and wisdom have shaped not only my work in this Chamber but the work of this institution itself. I am talking about my chief of staff, Brett Horton. There are few people who know Capitol Hill more intimately than Brett. For 15 years, he has been by my side. He began as my counsel in 2010 and worked his way through some of the most demanding, consequential roles in the House: policy director at the Republican Study Committee, floor director in the majority whip's office, and for the last decade, my chief of staff in both the whip's office and the leader's office. To me and to countless Members of Congress and staff, Brett Horton has been far more than a colleague. He has been a trusted adviser, steady in his approach, wise in his counsel, and deliberate in his words and actions. When the stakes were the highest, Brett's voice was the one you wanted in the room. His fingerprints are on every major Republican policy victory we have achieved in the past decade, but perhaps more importantly, he has been by my side through tough personal and professional challenges that extend far beyond legislating. In the aftermath of the congressional baseball shooting, an event that shook my family, my staff, and this entire Conference and Congress, Brett's leadership and friendship were unwavering. He helped carry us through one of the most difficult and unprecedented challenges we ever faced. Mr. Speaker, public service at this level demands trust, character, and unwavering duty for the institution that is this United States Congress. Brett Horton embodies all of these qualities. I am profoundly grateful for his years of service to me personally, to this House, and to our country. As Brett begins his next chapter, I have no doubt he will continue to serve with the same excellence that has defined his entire career. The United States House of Representatives is a stronger institution because of Brett Horton's distinguished service here. I wish Brett all the best in his future endeavors, and I thank Brett for his personal friendship and for his service to this great United States of America and this great Congress. Thank you to Brett Horton.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, for not only yielding but bringing this important bill to the floor. Our appropriators worked tirelessly to negotiate a multi-bill package that is part of this bill to reopen the government. We never should have been here, Mr. Speaker. Over a month ago, we tried, as Republicans, to prevent a government shutdown. We had a vote here on the House floor. Mr. Speaker, 99 percent of Republicans voted to keep the government open, and 99 percent of Democrats voted to shut it down. Then that bill went over to the Senate. We watched for 42 days, where time and time again Democrats, just to appease their most radical base, continued to vote in unison to shut the government down. Mr. Speaker, during that shutdown, we saw millions of families experience pain. They experienced pain and suffering that Democrats themselves acknowledged they imposed on the American people. They said over and over again--and we have quote after quote from Democrats during this shutdown--that they needed to oppose the suffering to get leverage. They wanted to use the American people as pawns to get leverage. Mr. Speaker, for what? They ultimately filed an alternative bill. It was a $1.5 trillion mad spending spree that included things like $200 billion of taxpayer funding for illegals to get taxpayer benefits, while they gutted the $50 billion rural healthcare fund that we put in place in the working families tax cut. Mr. Speaker, anybody who comes up here and says they care about healthcare is also advocating to gut the $50 billion rural healthcare fund to provide $200 billion in taxpayer-funded benefits for illegals. It is insanity. If we want to look at where this all began, as some on the other side, Democrats, want to talk about a healthcare crisis, the healthcare law of the land is what many refer to as ObamaCare. Let's remember the original name that Democrats gave that bill when they created it. They called it the Affordable Care Act. Only Democrats voted for it. Republicans knew it was going to be anything but affordable. It was going to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. Unfortunately, it has done that. If we want to talk about affordable, maybe the only other bill that is more laughable in its name is the Inflation Reduction Act. That is another product brought to us by Democrat-only votes. The Inflation Reduction Act ushered in the inflation under Joe Biden that we are still trying to shake today. Mr. Speaker, since the Affordable Care Act started, Americans have seen over 80 percent increases in their healthcare costs because of a bill created by Democrats that they want to now blame on Republicans. I understand why they would want to try to now pawn that off on somebody else. If we then look over time, during COVID, they created a temporary relief fund, Mr. Speaker, not to individuals but to insurance companies. Democrats called it ``temporary'' in the law. They created a temporary COVID relief tax credit to insurance companies to bail out big insurance companies who were seeing record profits. That is now what they want Republicans to renew. It is an insurance company bailout that Democrats created to be temporary. They set it up to expire. They are now saying that the world is going to end if that insurance company bailout doesn't get renewed. At the same time we as Republicans worked to actually lower premiums for families, they fought it every step of the way. That is right. We had a bill we passed through this House just a few months ago in the working families tax credit. Part of that bill was called the cost share reduction. It was scored by the CBO to lower premiums for families by over 12 percent. What happened? By the way, every Democrat voted against that, too, because they have never cared about lowering premiums. That bill goes to the Senate. Senate Democrats worked overtime to get that provision removed. If we look at the Senate Committee on the Budget website, they still brag that they removed that provision that would have lowered premiums for families. Republicans absolutely have worked and will continue, by the way, to work to lower premiums for families. Make no mistake that the high premiums that everybody faces today are a result of the inaptly named Affordable Care Act and the many failures associated with it. Mr. Speaker, this bill today is about ending the misery Democrats created on families. This is not just about funding the government. It is not just about solving other problems that we should be working to solve. It is about getting the government back open, while not holding the American people hostage. That is what has disgusted the American people most during this shutdown. It should never have happened. It has caused real suffering for American families. Our men and women in uniform had to wonder whether or not they were going to get paid. Air traffic controllers already had a really stressful job and then had to show up for work without getting paid. They missed multiple paychecks. We know a lot of those air traffic controllers are going to work jobs as Uber drivers. They aren't able to show up for work because they have bills and rent due. They are trying to put food on their table, and Democrats want to vote ``no'' tonight to keep denying them food. The 42 million SNAP recipients are people who are low-income and who need those food benefits. Mr. Speaker, if Democrats vote ``no'' today, then they are voting to deny those 42 million low-income families basic food needs. Mr. Speaker, don't talk about how much you care about low-income people and vote ``no'' tonight to deny them food, basic services, basic things that American families need who shouldn't be part of the leverage Democrats want to show their radical base, that they are fighting Donald Trump because they are upset with the results of the election from November. It is time to end this madness, Mr. Speaker. Let's get this government back open. Let's go negotiate our differences, which are many, but let's do it while not continuing to hold the American people hostage. I urge my Democratic colleagues who have voted relentlessly to shut this government down and impose this suffering on the American people to stop. Stop imposing the suffering. Let's open the government, and let's get back to the work of the American people.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Arizona for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, we still have heavy hearts. We are still mourning the loss of our friend, Charlie Kirk, who was such an inspirational leader to millions across this country. As we have seen since his horrific assassination, he inspired not only people here in America but all around the world, as you see from the outpouring of love. Charlie was a man who had so much love for other people. He had love for our country. Charlie talked about why it was so important that we debate our differences, something that shouldn't be a novel issue, Mr. Speaker, something that is part of the foundation of what makes this country great and unique, what separates America from so many other failed examples of government, because we are that experiment in self- governance, in democracy. Part of that ability to self-govern is that we are going to have disagreements and that we have the ability to express those disagreements with each other, but in a civil way, in a way where it doesn't lead to political violence. Mr. Speaker, in times like this, we reflect on a lot of things. More than anything, we lean on our faith. Charlie Kirk had tremendous faith. When I look above the Speaker's rostrum, it says right there in the people's House: ``In God We Trust.'' It is times like this where we really do need to trust in God. God knows the answers. Charlie believed strongly in God. That faith in God is what will get us through tough times like this. In fact, Charlie talked a number of times about how he would want to be remembered. He talked about how he would want to be remembered for his courage and his faith. What an example he was for faith and for so many young people. We look at college campuses all across this country right now, and we see mourning. We also see more young people driven to get involved in this process. Since Charlie Kirk's assassination, Turning Point USA has had requests from over 50,000 people to start new chapters on college or high school campuses. This movement Charlie started is just getting started. It will only grow. His incredibly strong widow, Erika, was just named the head of Turning Point USA. She will continue that legacy. She has vowed to make sure what Charlie stood for, what he represented, and the movement that Charlie Kirk built will endure and it will grow. It will continue to inspire millions of people to want to get involved in government. They will want to question leadership. Maybe they will question their own views and the things they might have been taught by people in schools, people who had ulterior motives, people who might have been trying to indoctrinate them into some other viewpoints. They now have the power and the courage to think for themselves. How powerful is that? Mr. Speaker, those are the things that Charlie left behind, and that will endure. This resolution is so important to remember that legacy. It is important to remember that this was a young man. He was still a young man, but even younger at 18, he was a young student with an idea. He said that what is happening in the schools is wrong. What needs to be taught is something broader. We need to get back to a respect for each other's differences of opinion. That is what drove him to start a movement at such a young age. Let all young people be inspired by that recognition that the power of ideas still can move a nation. That is what Charlie Kirk reminded all of us. Mr. Speaker, we will never forget that. We will never forget the legacy of Charlie Kirk. That legacy will live on and only grow stronger. God bless Charlie Kirk.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, this week, we say good-bye to a longtime member of my staff, Lauren Fine. Lauren began her career here on the Hill on the Senate side with Senator Joni Ernst before coming over to the House and joining Team Scalise, where she has worked with me for over the last 8 years. Lauren started as my press secretary before serving as my communications director for the last 6 years. I know many of you in the press as well as communication staffers all over the Hill have gotten to know Lauren well over these years. Lauren has been an integral part of my team. No one knows what is happening on the Hill or what the people are saying better than Lauren. To say that she is plugged in would be an understatement. From helping guide messaging on vital legislation and making sure that the media is getting the real story to amplifying Members' priorities and offering advice to aspiring communicators, I can guarantee that almost all of your comms directors have worked with Lauren at some point in time. Lauren is the Hill's number one expert in communicating our Republican message to the American people back home, as well as making sure that the people's voice is always heard here in D.C. She has served me as a trusted adviser and a dedicated conservative fighter. I appreciate all of her hard work over the years for Team Scalise and for the Republican Conference. While we are incredibly sad to see her go, I know that her expertise and drive will make her shine in the next chapter of her life where she will, once again, continue to thrive. Mr. Speaker, we will miss her here, but I congratulate Lauren Fine and wish her the best of luck in the next chapter of her life.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for yielding and for helping get this process to the floor, despite so many attempts by the Democrats to block this effort to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending. We have seen it over and over and over again. Every time we have tried to get our economy back on track to put more money in the pockets, by the way, of hardworking families, as we just succeeded in doing with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, every step of the way, the only people trying to block that effort have been Democrats in Washington. They are getting nervous. They are feeling the heat from people back home, Mr. Speaker, that are angry, saying why did you vote--those waiters and waitresses, who make $32,000 a year, when they keep hearing them talk about billionaires. They are not voting against billionaires. They are voting against waiters and waitresses earning $32,000 a year and cops working the beat who don't want to have to pay overtime taxes. We protected them from that. Every Democrat voted no, Mr. Speaker. I can understand why they come up here and want to talk about anything other than what we are actually doing to deliver for those families. It is interesting how they talk about Jeffrey Epstein because for 4 years, Mr. Speaker, President Joe Biden had those files and not a single Democrat that you are hearing tonight tried to get those files released. The House Republicans are working to do that and, of course, they are in a tizzy, Mr. Speaker, because they are finally being exposed for covering it up for 4 years. Let them continue to come up and talk about all the deficit spending that they created while they cite and talk about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. If you look at our scorekeeper here in the House, Mr. Speaker, they said it is going to add $4 trillion to the deficit by giving people their money back, along with cutting waste, fraud, and abuse that we did in this bill. They are citing the same organization that the last time we gave families more of their hard-earned money back, that same group, CBO, said, oh, it is going to add $1.5 trillion to the deficit. Mr. Speaker, we actually have the numbers now, and CBO was just a little bit off. The same people they cite as Gospel on $4 trillion said that we were going to add $1.5 trillion to the deficit back then. Do you know how much they were off by, Mr. Speaker? The numbers are in. They were off by $1.5 trillion. They have lost their credibility. The Office of Management and Budget actually came out and said that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would reduce the deficit by $1.4 trillion. They don't want to talk about that because every Democrat voted no. Every Democrat voted against, by the way, reforming and revamping America's air traffic control system, which was in that bill. Every Democrat voted no. Every American family wants that air traffic control system reformed. They sure want that tax relief. Those small businesses want to be able to get back up on their feet, and they will be able to because House Republicans said we are going to just focus on doing the work of the American people. Anybody that just wants to go root for failure and continue to try to keep inflation high, interest rates high, and vote ``no'' on every bill that puts power back in the pockets of families, let them have to answer for that back home, Mr. Speaker. We are going to keep working. This bill tonight is part of continuing that trend of getting spending under control. Does it answer all the problems? No. I would say $9 billion is a good start. Hopefully, we do more things like this, but they are going to come up here and talk about everything other than this bill because they are all going to vote ``no.'' I think it is important to know, Mr. Speaker, what they are going to vote ``no'' against. Let's talk about what is in the bill. They are going to be voting against $6 million that was spent for net zero cities in Mexico, and $8 million for the anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Council, a group that is anti-Israel. Why should $8 million of American tax dollars that are being borrowed from other countries be going to that organization? How about we actually get spending under control? $300,000 was to hold a Pride parade in Lesotho. If Lesotho wants to hold a Pride parade, let them do it with their tax dollars, not with American tax dollars. $1 million was for voter ID in Haiti. This is rich. They are angry that we are cutting that money off, but those same Democrats who are going to vote ``no'' on that will oppose voter ID in America. They are okay with voter ID in Haiti, but they are against it in America. I will continue. They keep talking about Sesame Street. $3 million was going to Iraqi Sesame Street. Again, if the people in Iraq want to have Sesame Street on TV, let them go do it. How about if they do it with their own tax dollars, not with American tax dollars? Better yet, they probably can get it put on one of the many options that the private sector would have, just like here in America. We have thousands of private-sector options to watch any kind of show you would want. Anybody in America can watch all of that. $33,000 was for ``Being LBGTQI in the Caribbean.'' That is what we are cutting, and every Democrat will vote against that cut. $643,000 was for LGBTQI programs in the Western Balkans. Mr. Speaker, every Democrat is going to vote against that cut and start talking about, oh, my God, the world is going to end, and that we won't even be able to do diplomacy because we are not going to be spending taxpayer dollars to have an LGBTQI program in the Western Balkans. I think our relations with the Western Balkans will be just fine if we save that taxpayer money and try to get spending under control in Washington. They don't want to do it. At least we do. $5.1 million was to strengthen the resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer global movements. I don't know what those global movements are. I think they can do that without taxpayer money. Then, of course, there was funding drag shows in Ecuador. The list goes on and on, Mr. Speaker. Let's finally get control over waste, fraud, and abuse. We started it in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. We are continuing it here, and we are going to continue it through the appropriations process. If Democrats want to vote ``no,'' that is their prerogative. They have become the party of socialists. Let them vote that way. We are going to fight for those hardworking families who want to get our great country back on track. Let's pass this bill, keep moving, and keep working toward a better, stronger America.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for not just yielding but for his leadership in getting us to this point. Mr. Speaker, we are at the precipice of the new golden age of America. How do we get there? We get there by actually making the right decisions for those hardworking families who have been struggling. If you listen to the people on the other side, Mr. Speaker, who have over and over again said they are against this bill and all the things that are in this bill for hardworking families, you would think the last 4 years things have been going great for middle America. I don't know what parallel universe they have been living in, Mr. Speaker, but we heard the message that the voters sent who said they are sick and tired of high inflation, of high gas prices, of not being able to fill up their grocery cart because of the spending in Washington, for Washington, at their expense. What does this bill do? It says that we are finally going to turn that around and deliver a bill that focuses on families in America. We hear a lot from the other side, Mr. Speaker, about billionaires, tax cuts for billionaires. If you go look at this bill--everybody has had an opportunity to read the bill. They actually read the whole bill on the Senate floor. It only took 14 hours. If you listened, one of the things you would find out, Mr. Speaker, is there are some new tax cuts in this bill, but not for billionaires. It would beg the question: Why does the other side keep hiding behind billionaires as their excuse to vote no? Because they made a decision, Mr. Speaker, early on, they don't want to give people back their money. They want to keep that power in Washington. That is really what is at stake here. That is the big fight that has been going on for years. The other side won that fight the last few years by raising taxes, raising spending, growing Washington. While they did that, families in America suffered. Inflation went up for those hardworking families while Washington grew. Interest rates went up to the point where they couldn't even afford to buy a first-time home because Washington grew. We said that is enough. Washington has to finally start living within Washington's means so that families in America can finally start living the American Dream again. That is what this bill focuses on, Mr. Speaker. How do we do it? We do it, number one, by locking in rates for everybody. Nobody's taxes go up, Mr. Speaker, nobody's. Now, the other side is upset about that, and I understand it. They don't want just the billionaires' taxes to go up because they know in this bill the income groups that get hit the hardest. If a ``no'' vote prevails--and we have heard them, they are all going to vote ``no,'' Mr. Speaker. But if a ``no'' vote prevails, the income groups that could get hit the hardest are the lower- and middle-income groups of America. They know that. They are watching this vote. You can say billionaires all day long, but do you know what the new tax cuts in this bill are? There are new tax cuts. For the waiter and waitress who are working maybe two, three shifts at a restaurant, at a diner, barely getting by, that is the new tax cut that we are putting in this bill. You would say, well, then, how could the other side possibly vote against that? Mr. Speaker, they are. Maybe a focus group told them that if they curse enough and if they say ``billionaires'' enough, those families will forget what is actually happening. Those families are not going to forget because they are paying attention. Do you know what the average pay for a worker in America who makes tip money is under this bill? It is $32,000 a year. That is right. Billionaires aren't even allowed to be eligible for that tax break, but the waitress who is working two or three shifts, barely getting by, making $32,000 a year finally gets a little bit more money. Yes, every Democrat has bragged over here that they are going to vote against that. They don't want that waitress to get that money back in her pocket. However, we are going to make sure she gets that tax break, Mr. Speaker, because she is struggling. She maybe wants to put together a college fund for her kid. Maybe she wants to take her family on a vacation. She is going to have that opportunity when this bill passes. Mr. Speaker, do you know who else we are going to give opportunity to in this bill? Sorry, it is not a billionaire again. It is that shift worker working overtime. The other tax cut is going not to billionaires, but to the person who is showing up at the factory, making stuff in America, and paying taxes on the overtime. However, they are away from their family. They are looking at that check at the end of being away from their family for a few extra hours, trying to make ends meet for their family, and they think: Gee, I have got to give all that extra money back to the government, is it worth being away from my family? We say, you know what? Yeah, normal tax rates apply on everything else, but if you work overtime, you are not going to pay taxes on that overtime. This is somebody making $60,000 a year, not the billionaire. If you say ``billionaire'' enough, maybe that shift worker won't know what you are doing, but Mr. Speaker, they do know. They do know what is about to happen because everybody is watching this vote. That is a good thing because that shift worker deserves the extra money back. It might not seem like a lot to somebody who deals with billions and trillions of dollars up here in Washington and grows agencies by 20 to 30 percent every couple of years and just thinks if you double the size of an agency over 5 years, somebody is going to pay for that. Do you know who is paying for it? That hardworking family is paying for it. We clean up waste, fraud, and abuse. It has been mocked by the other side. They think it is cool to mock what we are doing to finally root out waste, fraud, and abuse. Let the other party, Mr. Speaker, be the defender of waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington, but we are cleaning it up in this bill. USDA has pointed out that there is about $10 billion a year in waste just in the SNAP program because of fraud and improper payments. These payments are not going to children that you hear about on the floor, and not all these other people. It is going to improper payments, to fraud, $10 billion a year. However, Mr. Speaker, when you hear about the billionaires and you say, well, how could anybody vote against this bill? Think about what a ``no'' vote means. I am proud of the ``yes'' vote that we are about to pass to help those families. Mr. Speaker, everybody who votes ``no,'' make no mistake about it, everybody who votes ``no'' is going to be asked a question by that waitress making $32,000 a year saying: Why do you want me to pay more money on my tips so that $10 billion of fraud goes out in the SNAP program? You are voting against cleaning it up, and you voted against no tax on tips. That is the ``no'' vote. You can't hide behind the billionaire anymore. You are going to have to face the reality, Mr. Speaker, that this bill actually delivers for the working families of this country who have been struggling. They haven't been living on easy street the last 4 years. They went to the polls in November and said: We want to try a different approach. This is that different approach, to give them more power, to give them more opportunity. Mr. Speaker, do you know who we are giving opportunity to in this bill? Again, if you are going to vote ``no,'' this is what the ``no'' vote will take away. We actually create something unique in this bill. It hasn't been talked about yet, but it is in the bill. I am really proud of it. We create opportunity in school choice for every--not billionaire--low-income family. Every low-income family in America will be eligible for a scholarship so that their kid can go to the school of their choice if they are in a failing school. Now, if you vote ``no,'' Mr. Speaker, how do you tell that family that their kid doesn't have the same opportunity which they deserve that every other kid in America can have? If somebody can afford it, they can go to a private school. If that low-income family can't afford it, we are finally giving them a lifeline in this bill, Mr. Speaker, and saying you can have the same opportunity. A ``no'' vote says you don't think that parent deserves the same opportunity, and then you hide behind billionaires. There is going to be no hiding, Mr. Speaker. We all know when this board lights up what the consequences are. Why do we say there is going to be a golden era in this country? We are securing our border in this bill, too. We are opening up American energy in this bill, everywhere from the North Slope of Alaska to, yes, the Gulf of America, where President Biden had shut down American energy. He green-lighted Russia's Nord Stream pipeline so Russia could produce their energy, funding billions of dollars to go fund their war against Ukraine, but in America, we were shut down. We open it up in this bill, Mr. Speaker. American workers get to produce American energy, not just for America. It is going to lower the price at the pump. Again, if you are a middle-income family--the billionaire doesn't care what the cost of gasoline is. Do you know who does? That waitress making $32,000 a year cares. When she saves that tip money, maybe she can go on a trip, get in her car and drive and afford the gasoline now because we will be producing more. We actually have lease sales in this bill. For once, we can produce energy in America. We have great natural resources. We just had them shut down for 4 years by an administration that said no to American energy. They said yes to other countries' energy. Iran was able to sell their oil on world markets thanks to the previous administration. That party is over. When America starts producing more energy, not only does it help lower the price for families here in America, not only does it create great jobs here in America, but all the bad guys around the world-- Russia, Iran, Venezuela, you name your country--they are not going to have a cartel-like exclusive license on global energy anymore because America is going to be back in the game. Let's get this country back in the game. Let's get this country back on track. Let's actually promote opportunity and the American Dream again for anybody who wants it. Do you want to work? There is going to be more opportunity than you have ever had before. If you are disabled on Medicaid, right now you have been crowded out of those programs by people turning down work. Able-bodied people, 35- year-olds sitting at home playing video games are going to have to now go get a job. That is right. By the way, that is a good thing for them. Their mom doesn't want them sitting in the basement playing video games anyway. Now it no longer will be crowding out Medicaid for the truly needy people who deserve it. The disabled people will not be getting crowded out of those programs by people who can actually go get a job, and there are going to be a lot of great jobs, Mr. Speaker, a lot of great jobs in this country. America is coming back. You can vote ``no'' all day long, and you can hide behind billionaires all day long, but we are going to keep moving forward because this country doesn't sit down in the fetal position. America is ready for a rebirth, and we are going to deliver it. President Trump is at the helm now. It is a new day. World leaders know it. The bad guys around the world know it. Those hardworking families who have been waiting for this relief for a long, long time are finally going to realize help is on the way because of Republicans in Congress. Any Democrats that want to join, Mr. Speaker, are free to, but they are bragging that they don't want to be a part of this. Do you know what? The hardworking families of America are hungry for this kind of change. Take power away from Washington, give it back to the people, and watch what happens. Great things are ahead for this country. We are the greatest country in the history of the world. We are finally going to restore that great American Dream and that hope for those families who have been waiting way too long. That help is coming. We are going to pass this bill. President Trump is going to sign it. It is going to be a great Fourth of July. Let's pass the bill.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Kentucky for yielding. Mr. Speaker, a little over a week ago, America witnessed a horrific act of political violence that goes against everything the United States stands for. On June 14, a deranged murderer disguised himself as a police officer to gain entry into the home of Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman. He shot the senator and his wife, Yvette, a combined total of 17 times as Yvette shielded her daughter, Hope, who then called 911. Thankfully, Yvette Hoffman has been released from the hospital while John remains in serious but stable condition. He remains in our prayers. The killer, still disguised as a law enforcement officer, then stopped at the homes of two other Minnesota lawmakers, one whom was fortunately not home, and the other who was perhaps saved by a timely law enforcement intervention. He later arrived at the home of Minnesota State House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and assassinated her and her husband, Mark Hortman. Law enforcement then led a 2-day manhunt before capturing the killer and finding a list of more than 45 lawmakers and potential targets. As someone who has experienced political violence firsthand, this brings back a lot of emotions. The man who shot me on the ball field that day also had a list of lawmakers. I am grateful for the actions of the brave law enforcement officers who ran toward the danger and saved lives on the ball field that day and saved no doubt many lives in Minnesota on that day just a few days ago. This was a methodically planned attack on the people's right to be governed by their duly-elected Representatives and should be universally condemned, Mr. Speaker. America's differences must be resolved through debate and democracy, not through violence. The resolution we are voting on today denounces these disturbing and anti-American attacks and mourns the tragic loss of Melissa and Mark Hortman. H. Res. 519, introduced by the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Morrison), unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks on Minnesota lawmakers and their families in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, Minnesota, and calls for the rejection of political violence in Minnesota and throughout the United States. Political violence will never have a place in America. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle must unite to reject political violence in all forms across the country. Melissa Hortman was a dedicated public servant, and we join Minnesota and the Nation in honoring her life and the life of her husband, Mark. We also pray for the speedy recovery of John and Yvette Hoffman and for peace and unity in the face of tragedy and division. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the resolution.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, our conference chair (Mrs. McClain) for managing this time on this important bill. Mr. Speaker, a lot of people come up here, and they talk about trying to get America's fiscal house in order. They talk about the idea of getting back to balanced Federal budgets. I don't know many people here who are against it. I know later in this Congress when we put a bill on the floor to require a balanced Federal budget, there will be many Democrats, Mr. Speaker, who will vote ``no'' on that because when it comes time to actually put your votes on the board to back up the principles that most Americans relish, they walk away. They won't be there when it actually matters. Everybody can talk about cutting wasteful spending, even if you don't necessarily agree that it is wasteful spending. However, what we are bringing today is wasteful spending, even if you think it might not be as bad as some other things you don't agree with. We all have to agree, Mr. Speaker, that as we just saw a few weeks ago, Moody's downgraded the credit rating of the United States. It wasn't a recommendation, Mr. Speaker. It wasn't a warning that if you folks don't get your fiscal house in order this might happen. They actually did it. They downgraded the credit rating of the United States because spending has to get under control. The party over there that spent the last 4 years under President Biden spending like drunken sailors, in all due respect to drunken sailors because they don't spend this bad, but the trillions of dollars of debt that were racked up had consequences, Mr. Speaker. It had consequences not only in terms of our national debt, but it affected the pocketbooks of families all across America because that bloated spending in Washington, which is money we don't have, by the way; and it increased inflation to the point where people couldn't even go to the grocery store to fill up their carts. They couldn't afford to go to the gas station to fill up their cars. They couldn't afford to take out a loan to buy a house because interest rates had gotten so high that today we are spending more money servicing our interest than we are on America's national debt. These are all real, dramatic facts that concern most Americans. They say: Thank goodness Congress is finally bringing a bill to the floor to start cutting some spending that aren't priorities. You can call it wasteful if you want. Call it whatever you want, but these aren't things that we can afford to spend, even if you agree with them, because it is not money we have in the bank. It is all borrowed money, Mr. Speaker. Where did we start? The White House laid out a number of things, but they looked at that USAID program. They didn't gut the whole thing, but they said there are a number of things that are being done that just don't represent the values of the United States and are being done in foreign countries while we don't have our fiscal house in order here in America, so how about we start there. I know the Democrats on the other side are acting like, oh, my God, the world is going to stop spinning on its axis if this spending goes away, so why don't we talk about some of the spending that will go away. Mr. Speaker, again, it is borrowed money, not money we just took out of the bank. It is money we borrowed from countries like China to spend that is a debt to our kids. To each one of these I list, Mr. Speaker, you should ask: If you vote ``yes,'' you are finally relieving that debt burden, but if you vote ``no,'' you think it is okay to send this bill to our kids. We are not paying for it today, Mr. Speaker, but our kids would if we keep doing it. If the other side votes no, they want to keep borrowing money from our children to spend a million dollars on voter ID in Haiti. This is the same party that doesn't want voter ID in America, calls it racist, wants to fund voter ID in Haiti. They want to spend $6 million for net- zero cities in Mexico. I know some of their best supporters are waving a Mexican flag in an American city right now, and they support those efforts. Most Americans don't support those efforts, Mr. Speaker. They want to spend $3 million for ``Iraqi Sesame Street.'' The minority leader held up a ``Sesame Street'' character here on the floor as if ``Sesame Street'' is somehow going to go away. I was just watching a commercial on TV yesterday where the Cookie Monster was actually doing an advertisement for Netflix because a private company is paying money to run ``Sesame Street.'' It is not going away. It is doing just fine. It is very lucrative. What will go away is some of the far-left radical views that are being espoused. By the way, when this goes away at NPR, you can still turn on about six or seven other channels and get the same far-left radical views, but they are all going to be private companies, Mr. Speaker, not taxpayer-funded entities. If somebody wants to pay money to go on one of their services that they stream or get over-the-top or however they get their digital content, they can still do that. There are a lot of options. There has never been more options. Some people joke that they buy their services for their cable or whatever else they get and that there are 200 channels, but they might only watch 4 or 5 of them. There is still going to be a plethora of options for the American people, but if they are paying their hard- earned dollars to go get content, why should your tax dollars go to only one thing that the other side wants to promote? Let everybody compete on a fair basis. They can still watch ``Sesame Street'' in Iraq, but let the Iraqi people pay for it, not the taxpayers of the United States of America's children. Today's taxpayers aren't paying for it because it is all borrowed money. They want to spend $2.1 million for climate resilience in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and East Africa; $500,000 for electric buses in Rwanda. Rwanda is more than free to go buy all the electric buses they want or diesel buses. Why should the taxpayers of America be borrowing money from our children to buy electric buses for Rwanda? They want to spend $33,000 for ``Being LGBTQI in the Caribbean.'' It is taxpayer money that a ``no'' vote today says is more important than strengthening a program like Social Security. I say not. Also included is $643,000 for LGBTQI+ programs in the Western Balkans. This is borrowed money. Mr. Speaker, there is $567,000 for LGBTQI+ programs in Uganda and $5.1 million to strengthen the ``resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, and queer global movements.'' I am not sure what that global movement is. They can continue that movement in some other way, but just not with the taxpayer dollars of the United States of America's children. Again, there is no bank account that $5.1 million came out of. It is all borrowed money that a ``no'' vote says is more important than strengthening Social Security. There is $135 million in contributions to the World Health Organization, which we all saw during COVID was the mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party. I would imagine if we stop this $135 million funding, the CCP may pick it up because they were regurgitating their talking points during COVID. At some point, Mr. Speaker, the question we have all got to answer is: Number one, do you believe in fiscal responsibility? Maybe some people have other priorities than these they would like to defund. If you think these are all things that are worth borrowing money from our children to fund, then that is what the ``no'' vote represents. If you think it is time we start somewhere, and here is the place to finally start--not to finish, just the beginning--getting control over spending and respecting those families who are working hard, who are working two shifts at the diner to pay taxes on tips that will soon go away if our One Big Beautiful Bill Act passes, or somebody who is working overtime because you want to send your kid to college and you find out this is where your taxpayer dollars are going and you are disgusted and say, when will somebody do something about it, then today is the day to do something about it. Talk is cheap. Put the action on the floor. Let's finally get control over spending in a small way. Start a bigger picture toward a balanced budget. It starts here. Vote ``yes,'' to get this done, and let's keep moving forward to strengthen this great country. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, this week, we say good-bye to a longtime member of Team Scalise, Michael Comer. Before joining Team Scalise, Michael began his Hill career working with the Education and Workforce Committee. Michael has been a valuable member of my team for the past 7 years, starting as my digital director before moving up to deputy communications director. From taking incredible videos and photos and designing eye-catching graphics to teaching other Hill staffers how they can best produce great content for Members of Congress, Michael's inspiring creativity and work ethic have been a major contribution not only to my team but to the entire Republican Conference as a whole. As every Republican on Capitol Hill knows, Mr. Speaker, if you have a question on how to use digital media equipment or just create something that stands out, then you ask Michael Comer. Many Members on the floor here today have taken pictures of his slides during Conference or asked for a graphic or a video he put together. He is an expert at conveying an important message in an interesting, creative, and attention-grabbing way. I appreciate everything he has done for my team and the House Republican Conference. I know his experience and expertise will be a major asset in his next chapter. Mr. Speaker, I wish Michael Comer well, and I congratulate him.

Mr. SCALISE

Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Missouri for his leadership and getting us to this point. So many other chairmen will talk about that, too. I rise in strong support, Mr. Speaker, of this one big, beautiful bill, this bill that is going to deliver on so many promises that the American people asked us to do for them. We have elections in this country, and we had an election that had a lot of crystal-clear messages sent in November. We had a contrast, maybe one of the sharpest contrasts between two candidates for President. If you read this bill, Mr. Speaker, and maybe some of my friends on the other side haven't read it by some of the comments they have made, because you would think it is 2017 all over again when you listen to the things that they said. They have said the same things they are saying tonight that they said in 2017, none of which turned out to be reality. They had an opportunity to make their case for raising taxes on the American people. In fact, their candidate for President was for a lot of the same things they are for tonight: Letting the Trump tax cuts expire to punish those middle-class and low-income workers who benefited the most from those tax cuts. They benefited tremendously. President Trump said that he was going to lock those tax rates in, not giving all these tax breaks the minority is talking about to millionaires and billionaires but, in fact, to help the working families of this country who are struggling. They struggled after 4 years of the last administration. The weight of the failures of their policies raised inflation, raised interest rates, made homeownership unachievable, and made the ability to fill their own grocery carts unachievable. President Trump said he would reverse it. How else did he say he was going to reverse it? President Trump said that we were going to produce more American energy. Now, the other side of the aisle has been very clear for years with an all-out assault on American energy. They have carried it out. They have voted for it. They campaigned on it, and the voters rejected that false premise, that failed approach. Now, maybe they are upset that the voters said: We want to produce more energy in America. However, Mr. Speaker, President Trump was crystal clear: If you elect us, elect President Trump, elect a Republican House and Senate, then we will deliver for you. We will open up more American energy from ANWAR in Alaska to the Gulf of America. That is what he campaigned on. Maybe they are upset that he is actually delivering on those promises and that this bill delivers on those promises. It is a promise that will lower prices at the pump. When you go to the gas station, Mr. Speaker, you will be able to fill up your car. So that is in this bill. It also creates more jobs. Now, there are some people, clearly, who don't like that. It is not just my friends on the other side of the aisle who don't want to produce more American energy. Do you know who else doesn't want those provisions in this bill, Mr. Speaker? It is countries like Russia and countries like Iran who have been making billions of dollars a month selling their energy on world markets because of the failed Biden policies, the policies that allowed them to enrich their countries and use that money for evil to fund the war in Ukraine and to fund wars on terror around the world. Terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis were funded by the billions of dollars a month that those countries got from selling their oil on world markets because America was shut down. America will be shut down no more when this one big, beautiful bill is passed into law because we will be able to produce our own energy here in America. My friend Chairman Smith worked incredibly hard to make sure that this bill delivers for the whole country to get economic growth again. You will see an American renaissance, a golden age in this country that we haven't seen in generations. Why would people vote against that? Who knows. The press talks about the other side being a party in disarray, and maybe we are seeing it on display right now. When they are vocally opposed to these kinds of policies that will get the country back on track, why do they say tax cuts for the millionaires and the billionaires when they know it is not true? I will tell you why, Mr. Speaker, because not only do they know that is not the case, but they know who benefits the most from this bill. One of the great new provisions of this bill that President Trump campaigned on and that Chairman Smith made sure to deliver on was no tax on tips. Now, the last time I checked, Elon Musk does not get paid in tips. Do you know who does? A lot of hardworking people across this country. Any restaurant you go to, Mr. Speaker, talk to the waiters and waitresses. Ask them about their hopes and dreams, ask them about their families, and what they would do with just a little bit more money in their paycheck. Do you know, Mr. Speaker, that big provision that every Democrat is going to vote against, the average tip worker makes $32,000 a year, and every Democrat will vote ``no'' on that benefit while they hide behind the lie of the millionaires and the billionaires. They know that is not the case. They also know if they are going to vote against every hardworking waiter and waitress who averages $32,000 a year--how do they get away with it? They have to create some fake boogeyman that they can point to and say, gee whiz, look at the billionaire over there. Class warfare, dividing Americans, is their way to try to get more power in Washington. How about we give people in America more power? Take it away from Washington and empower the people in this country who have been struggling for too long. If you want to live the American Dream, it can still exist. For a lot of people, they thought it was going away. President Trump ran and said that he will renew that promise, but it only happens if Congress delivers. The other side will vote against it, every single one of them in lockstep, and they will root against the success of this bill. Then, if it were to fail, they would just go, look at that, the country is still in demise, because they were against it every step of the way. We saw this play out, by the way, in the state of the Union just a few months ago, right here in this Chamber, and America watched in shock. They want to see us come together. Can we at least come together on things we agree on? There stood President Trump, right at that podium, Mr. Speaker. He talked about so many of the great things of this country--not partisan things, things that we used to all celebrate. Mr. Speaker, President Trump pointed over there to the balcony where not only was the Presidential family seated, but they also had some special guests. He pointed to a 13-year-old boy who had just beaten cancer. You want to talk about something that can unite the whole country, that can bring us all together to say that, yes, we might disagree on issues big and small--that happens; that is America--but we can all celebrate a 13-year-old boy who just beat cancer, Mr. Speaker. What happened when he said that? We rose up and applauded, as we all should have. What else happened? The other side sat there, sat down grumpy, angry. I don't know why. I would not say it was because he beat cancer, but it was just because President Trump happened to point out that he beat cancer. We should not root for or against a person like that based on what President Trump says he is for just because the talking points of the party went out that said be against anything President Trump is for. That is not a party platform. This country wants direction. President Trump ran on a direction, and their party did, too. It wasn't like it wasn't laid out in the campaign. President Trump said that he would secure America's border. That actually was the number one issue all across the country. I got to go around to a lot of parts of this country. You hear from a lot of different people. You see what their hopes and dreams are. You will also see from them, and they will tell you, what they want to see us come together to address. It didn't matter what part of the country you went to. They all said, for goodness' sake, can we secure America's border? Millions of people were coming in illegally, many of them really bad people, gang members, violent people who were harming Americans. We saw it over and over again. Laken Riley was murdered. By the way, the first bill President Trump signed into law was the Laken Riley Act to say that if you come here and harm an American citizen, you are gone, deported. This bill allows for the deportation of violent criminals who come here illegally and harm American citizens. We should all support that. The other side doesn't. They will fly to Venezuela and El Salvador, Mr. Speaker, to try to get out of prison a gang member who beats his wife. This bill allows President Trump to continue securing America's border. He has done phenomenal work on his own through executive action protecting America, but he needs money to build the wall. He needs money to let our Border Patrol agents have the ability to compete with the drug cartels of Mexico. It is embarrassing that today the drug cartels of Mexico have better technology than America's Border Patrol agents. We said we are not going to allow that to happen again like the other side did. We are going to do something about it. We are going to give them those tools, night vision goggles, drones, other things so that they can actually do the job that they came here to do. They put their lives on the line to keep us safe. The least we can do is allow them to have the ability to be safe themselves, to go home at night to their families while keeping our country safe. It is in this bill. We deliver on that promise and so many others. We are making America competitive again in our military so that we can finally confront the threat that China poses militarily. We all talk about it and know what it means, but are we going to talk about it or do something about it? President Trump wants to do something about it. This Republican majority wants to do something about it. In this bill, we deliver on that promise. Everybody who votes no is saying no to that. Again, the minority can hide behind the millionaires and billionaires, but they are voting against strengthening America's military. That is in the bill. They are sure not talking about it on the other side, Mr. Speaker. We haven't heard them talking about it because they are about to vote against that. Let's be honest about it. Mr. Speaker, when you think about those benefits, you also have to recognize what a ``no'' vote means today. We have two buttons. You can press ``yes'' or press ``no.'' If you vote ``no,'' you are voting against American energy, securing America's border, and helping those middle-class families. Mr. Speaker, you can run all the numbers. It would be a 22 percent tax increase on low- and middle-income families. We are not talking about the millionaires and billionaires. We are talking about a family making $70,000 a year combined who is struggling to get by and would like to make a little bit more investment, maybe in their kids' education, and might want to take a family vacation. This bill gives them the opportunity to do it. It also gives every small business in America the opportunity to make investments in America again. The 199A provision is locked in permanently so there is no uncertainty so we can grow more jobs in America. That is a good thing. It is a good thing for a lot of us here. That is what a ``yes'' vote gets. A ``no'' vote tells every small business in America that they will be at a competitive disadvantage with the big corporations. You hear them rallying, Mr. Speaker, against the fat cats and the big corporations. Yet, if they vote ``no''--these are the facts--the big corporations, the global companies, get a 21 percent rate, and your local small business would end up with a 43 percent rate, more than double. Your local small businesses would be noncompetitive with the big corporations. We said that is not fair. We want to allow our small businesses to compete on a global stage with the big national corporations, and we do that in this bill. A ``no'' vote doesn't do that. Yes, we root out waste, fraud, and abuse, Mr. Speaker, waste, fraud, and abuse so that vital programs in America actually work better for the people who deserve them. Why would somebody come up here and defend hundreds of billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington? There are hardworking families who are struggling and barely able to get by and pay their taxes. They are infuriated when they find out some of the waste that is going on up here. They are saying: When is somebody going to finally do something about the fraud so that I feel comfortable that if I am funding my government, it is going to go to help the people who deserve it and not some 35-year-old kid, who is fully able-bodied, who is sitting in his mom's basement playing video games, getting over $40,000 in taxpayer-funded benefits, while they are working two jobs, while the waiter/waitress averaging $32,000 a year is struggling to get by. We help them. That is who we are helping, those families who are struggling. We will get this economy moving again. You can vote ``yes'' or you can vote ``no.'' I wish everybody would vote ``yes.'' A ``yes'' vote gets America's economy moving again. It allows President Trump to continue fighting for the hardworking families who elected him. All across this country, every swing State, the majority of the American population wants this kind of relief. Republicans are going to keep moving forward, Mr. Speaker, and are going to deliver for those families who deserve this help, who want to see America come back. They know America can come back. They know America has been held back for the last 4 years. The same people who have been telling us that President Biden's health was just fine are now telling us all these other things about millionaires and billionaires. We are going to get this right. This bill finally starts to right the ship of state. We all should come together and do that, Mr. Speaker. We have got so many great people who have worked so hard to get to this point, and we are still at the early stages. Let's send this bill over to the Senate, and give them an opportunity to have their say as well. Ultimately, let's go deliver. Let's go deliver for that single mom who is working the night shift at a diner right now, who is going to have more money in her pocket because of this bill, who is maybe going to be able to send her kid to college because of this bill. We are going to deliver for those families. You can say ``yes'' or ``no.'' America is absolutely watching. America went to the polls in November and said: We want this relief, and we are calling on Congress to provide this relief. Republicans ran and said: We will do something about it, and we will fix it. We are actually following through, Mr. Speaker, on that promise made to the American people. President Trump is leading the way. President Trump is going to turn this country around, and this bill gives him the tools to do just that. I urge everybody to vote ``yes.''