Mary Scanlon

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. They write, ``This bill contains several misguided attacks on clean water and the Clean Water Act, puts polluter profits ahead of public health, and would jeopardize the waters that our families, communities, and wildlife depend on.'' H.R. 7023 is clearly not the answer. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a letter signed by over 50 conservation, climate, and public lands organizations strongly opposing H.R. 6009.

Ms. SCANLON. This letter reads, in part, ``This legislation circumvents and undermines the administrative process, ignores significant public input across the West, and halts a long-overdue update to the Federal onshore oil and gas leasing program that protects taxpayers, public lands, and the wildlife and communities who rely on them.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a letter from the National Parks Conservation Association strongly opposing H.R. 6009.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, this letter reads, in part, ``The current leasing system and onshore oil and gas program is antiquated and does not offer proper oversight or ensure protections and fair returns to American taxpayers. Passing this legislation would leave BLM unable to properly oversee this program and could cause unnecessary harm to our special places.'' Finally, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a Forbes article entitled: ``U.S. Energy Independence Soars to Highest Level in Over 70 Years.''

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it is a little bit difficult to believe these crocodile tears for our allies when the House Republicans are holding up the National Security Supplemental, which passed weeks ago in the Senate by a 70-30 vote, it is broadly bipartisan legislation that our allies deserve an up-or-down vote on, and we should see that on the floor today. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to energy, House Republicans are also presenting us with a false choice. They would have us believe that renewable energy and energy independence are at odds. They want us to think that sustainability and a strong economy are a tradeoff. It is simply not true, and we cannot afford to make this false choice. As we have seen with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, we can have it both ways. We can lower emissions while creating jobs and growing the economy. We can make the transition to solar and wind without displacing businesses or workers. The Inflation Reduction Act and the infrastructure bill demonstrate that not only does a green transition come hand in hand with economic growth, but also that that growth can be spurred from the middle out and the bottom up. All over the country, new manufacturing facilities for batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles are being built. These factories are offering long-term, good-paying jobs that will drive economic development for years to come. It is an American manufacturing renaissance that has been made possible by legislation passed by Democrats and President Biden. It is a testament to what is possible when legislators roll up their sleeves and solve problems as opposed to playing to their most extreme Members. That is what real leadership looks like. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the previous question and the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of Charles Blockson, a native of Norristown, Pennsylvania, who dedicated his life to the preservation of African-American history. A prolific writer, collector, historian, and activist, Mr. Blockson authored 13 books and was a leading expert on the Underground Railroad. Charles Blockson dedicated his life and career to traveling and acquiring rare documents, publications, and photos to explore and expand the study of the Black American experience. He donated his remarkable collection to Temple University in 1984. Today, the world-renowned Blockson Collection houses more than 700,000 items relating to the global Black experience, serving as a resource not just for Temple students and faculty but for the Philadelphia community and beyond. An exhibition documenting Mr. Blockson's life's work can also be seen at the Centre Theater in his hometown of Norristown. Charles Blockson passed away last summer. As a tribute to his tremendous legacy, I am proud to join my colleagues Madeleine Dean and Dwight Evans to introduce a bill designating his hometown post office in Norristown as the Charles L. Blockson Post Office.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, we just learned that Congress is being sent home early yet again this week because the Speaker doesn't have the votes to pass the bills he scheduled for this week. This keeps happening because Members of House leadership are unwilling to do the hard work of negotiating legislation that is supported by the majority of Congress, much less the majority of the Senate or the American people. It is bad enough that they are wasting time and taxpayer dollars to have Congress spinning its wheels with failed bills and stupid stunts, like impeaching Cabinet members for policy disputes, but the Speaker is blocking real legislation to solve real problems, like passing the overdue budget or immigration reform or passing commonsense gun safety bills. Early yesterday morning, the Senate passed a comprehensive national security package with a vote of 70-29, including strong bipartisan support. If Speaker Johnson would put that bill on the House floor, it would pass with strong bipartisan support here, too. The bill provides urgently needed humanitarian relief, as well as support for Ukraine, our allies, and our national security. Instead of taking the day off, the Speaker needs to put that bill on the floor.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, last week law enforcement officials in Chester, Pennsylvania, announced that this community has seen a 72 percent decrease in shootings with victims since 2019. 2023 saw the fewest gun homicides in two decades and a 68 percent decrease in gun homicides since 2019. Chester was once ranked among the most dangerous cities in the Nation for gun violence. So how did this happen? Since 2019, law enforcement, community members, faith groups, and local government have all been working together as the Chester Partnership for Safe Neighborhoods. During a period when we saw gun violence spike across the Nation, we have seen year-over-year reductions in gun violence and other violent crimes as community partners have worked together to implement a community-based violence prevention program with support from State and Federal funding, including the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It is time to recognize the success of these pivotal programs with more than a pat on the back. Rather than offering sound bites and saber-rattling, the Chester community, a democratically led community I might add, rolled up its sleeves and did the work of identifying the resources and community partnerships needed to reduce gun violence and create a safer community. I want to congratulate DA Stollsteimer, Police Chief Gretsky, Cory Long from Making a Change Group, and all of the community members who have been so important in this effort. To those who say that there is nothing we can do about gun violence, I say: Shame on you. Programs like this work, and we need to recognize and support them. Honoring the Life and Legacy of Anita Santos Singh

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Anita Santos Singh, a champion for access to justice. At the age of 32, Anita became the founding executive director of Philadelphia Legal Assistance Center, the federally funded legal services program serving Philadelphia. It is never easy to head up a program that provides legal services to the poor. While legal aid is supposed to assure access to justice for low- income Americans, these programs are chronically underfunded and have been so since their inception. We spend more on Halloween costumes for our pets in this country than we do for legal services for the poor. It is no surprise that study after study shows that 80 percent of low- income Americans cannot afford or access legal help for civil problems like eviction, child custody, or gaining access to their veterans' benefits. Nonetheless, Anita faced additional challenges of leading a brand new program which had been formed in response to the drastic service and funding cutbacks imposed by Congress in the 1990s, and she did so in the poorest large city in the country, with a shoestring budget and a couple dozen attorneys to serve thousands of clients. I headed up the search committee that hired Anita, and we knew she was up to the job. Under her leadership, Philadelphia Legal Assistance grew into a frontline organization that now helps over 6,000 clients a year fight systems of injustice and disparity. Anita's colleagues describe her as a tireless advocate for access to justice who dedicated her life to helping Philadelphia's most vulnerable populations meet critical needs. Anita constantly developed innovative projects to meet the ever- changing needs of Philadelphia's poorest citizens. She created the first low-income tax clinic in Philadelphia. She expanded legal services for migrant farm workers, including addressing issues of domestic abuse. She leveraged Federal funding sources to expand family law services which is one of the highest legal needs in Philadelphia. She created the Medical Legal Community Partnership which brings community-based legal assistance to low-income patients at 17 different sites. During the 2008 recession, she developed programs to assist families in danger of losing their homes. In 2021 she helped develop an eviction diversion program for tenants which became part of a national model. Until her premature death last month, Anita Santos Singh was a legal services champion and advocate for access to justice in Philadelphia for 34 years. Because of her work, thousands of Philadelphians were able to stay in their homes, put food on the table, and live a life free of partner violence. Her legacy will live on through the thousands of lives she has touched through her efforts. Her story is a reminder that access to legal aid remains a continuous challenge in this country. For many, a single legal problem can spiral into a mountain of debt, homelessness, or unemployment. Many Americans facing legal challenges are not aware of their rights or options which can lead to stress and confusion and can often exacerbate the legal challenges they face. We have an obligation to ensure that all Americans are aware of their legal options, and, more importantly, that they have access to representation under the law. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to honor Anita's work by ensuring that every American has access to quality legal assistance whenever they need it.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota for yielding the customary 30 minutes. Mr. Speaker, here we are, a little more than 48 hours from a devastating government shutdown. The deadline to pass a Federal budget is already 3 months overdue, and the clock keeps ticking. Unable to get control of their majority and act responsibly, Republicans keep kicking the can down the road. They have struggled to pass any legislation because they choose again and again to appease an extremist minority rather than to advance policies supported by the majority of Americans and their Representatives here in the House. Moreover, now, as we face pressing challenges at home and around the world, they have brought us to the brink of disaster once more, all because they chose to renege on a bipartisan deal to fund the government. So, with these serious problems we are facing, what are House Republicans' priorities for today? They are to attack the President and pass more anti-abortion bills. It is a new year, but for House Republicans, it is the same old story. Distracted by their own chaos and infighting, they have repeatedly failed to deliver for the American people. They have wasted time and tax dollars on baseless investigations and divisive culture wars, dragging the American people with them down rabbit holes of conspiracies and untruths. They throw tantrums when they can't get their way, ousting their last Speaker and, just last week, bringing all work in the House to a halt because their new Speaker had dared to try to strike a deal to keep the government open. They put on dramatic acts of political theater, hoping to hide the fact that they are unable to complete the most basic tasks of governing. In 2023, they led the least productive session of Congress since the Great Depression. We think the American people deserve better. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, let's look at the three bills that the House leadership has chosen to spend Congress' time on this week, and it is more of the same. The first bill in this rule is the grotesquely misleading H. Res. 957, a resolution that repeats lies and distortions about the migration challenges at our southern border, starting with the title of the resolution and its false claim that this administration is promoting an open border. This is MAGA fiction, and it is an effort to keep campaigning on the fear of immigrants rather than any serious attempt to address the complex issues created by global migration forces and decades of congressional inaction. It has become obvious that our Republican colleagues don't really want to fix our broken immigration system. They just want to campaign on it. They have rejected--before even reading--the bipartisan solutions proposed by Senate Republicans, Democrats, and the administration. They have refused to consider supplemental border funding requests from the President because the truth is they don't want solutions. They want political stunts. They want to rant, complain, blame, and campaign. Immigration and border issues are complex. That is why they have remained on the table for so many years. They require comprehensive and nuanced policies, not acts of cruelty and dehumanization marked by barbed wire, family separation, or needless tragedies. As we have seen over and over again, our Republican colleagues would rather use this issue to sow anger, division, and fear. They will use meaningless resolutions that do nothing to change the status quo, like this one, to distract from their failed Congress and their do-nothing agenda. Mr. Speaker, if you want to see just how House Republicans view immigration and the border as a purely political issue, look no further than House leadership. After saying for months that border security is a crisis and just last month taking a field trip with over 60 House Republicans to the border, this week House leadership refused to even consider a bipartisan deal negotiated by the Senate before they have read it. Mr. Speaker, you can't say that the border is in a state of emergency yet reject a bipartisan deal to address the crisis. We can and must do better than this. Moreover, we owe it to our constituents and our country to work toward real, thoughtful solutions rather than partisan talking points like H. Res. 957. Now, let's turn to H.R. 6914 and H.R. 6918. Supporting the health and well-being of mothers and babies should be something we can all agree upon, and we would welcome some real collaboration in that area. Nonetheless, that is not what the majority has brought to the floor today. The fact is that both of these bills are designed to advance an extremist agenda to limit Americans' fundamental freedoms, particularly with respect to reproductive healthcare. It is nothing but a political exercise that our Republican colleagues undertake every year on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It is designed to cater to the most extreme supporters as they descend on Washington, D.C., for an anti-abortion rally. The fact is that the MAGA majority's anti-abortion agenda is wildly unpopular in this country. The vast majority of Americans do not support it, and they have proven that at the polls repeatedly in the last couple of years. Americans do not want politicians and rightwing extremists undermining their freedom to make their own medical and reproductive healthcare choices based on their own individual circumstances. In the face of the overwhelming and repeated rejection of these extremist attempts to interfere in private medical decisions, Republicans are now cloaking their efforts in family-friendly rhetoric and misleading talking points. So, it is important to dig a little deeper and see what these bills are and are not. If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle really wanted to support pregnant women, children, and families, then they would work with us to address the shameful fact that maternal mortality in our country far exceeds that of our peers. Childbirth is dangerous here in the United States, particularly for Black women and their babies, not because we don't know how to support healthy outcomes but because of a lack of will or interest from Congress. It is a full-blown crisis, but it doesn't have to be. When it comes to giving our kids brighter futures, we should be talking about powerful tools like the expanded child tax credit, which lifted millions of children out of poverty. We should be strengthening WIC and SNAP, nutrition programs that serve as lifelines for pregnant women, mothers, infants, and families. Instead, this MAGA majority has proposed deep cuts to these nutrition programs. We should pass policies to improve access to high-quality childcare and early education services, nutritious food, comprehensive maternal and infant healthcare, stable housing, and family-sustaining jobs because those are the things that would really help our kids and families. The policies that our Republican colleagues have brought before us today in these two bills do none of that. In fact, they would actually divert money away from vulnerable families and ultimately endanger women's lives. H.R. 6914 purports to be concerned with providing information to pregnant college students. Of course, there are obvious and unique challenges to balancing school and parenting, although students and their families can thrive with the right support. Unfortunately, this bill doesn't actually provide such support. Instead, it requires that colleges inform students only about the rights and resources for carrying a pregnancy to term--resources, I will add, for which this House majority has sought to dramatically slash funding. The bill purposely leaves out any requirement for schools to distribute medically accurate information regarding all of the healthcare options available to pregnant women. If this bill were truly about ensuring that pregnant college students have the necessary information to make informed decisions to meet their unique reproductive healthcare needs, it would include information about contraception, abortion, miscarriages, and the services that might be available to them during their pregnancy and after. If the underlying intent of this bill were not clear enough in its one-sided substance, we need only look to the alleged funding section of the bill, which would write into law completely unproven and even false anti-abortion talking points. These are findings that the bill's author could provide no evidence to support when it was marked up in committee. However, don't take my word for it. Advocates dedicated to advancing civil rights and resources for pregnant and parenting students have expressed deep concerns about this bill, including groups that are experts on this issue like The Coalition For Pregnant and Parenting Students Advocacy. It is obvious that this MAGA majority doesn't really care about educating and supporting pregnant and parenting students. Instead, they would rather leave them in the dark and attempt to deny women the freedom to make informed decisions about their own bodies and futures. Lastly, I will talk about H.R. 6918, which is another example of House Republicans doubling down on an extreme and unpopular agenda to try to ban abortion care nationwide. This bill is cloaked in a title that most Americans would agree with, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act. In fact, Congress has passed bipartisan legislation to do just that, including through TANF funding, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. However, in recent years, there has been growing evidence and a raft of studies showing that critical TANF aid for families is being diverted to purposes not authorized by Congress. One of the greatest causes of concern is the siphoning of Federal TANF taxpayer dollars to support so-called crisis pregnancy centers, most of which are part of a well-funded arm of the global anti-abortion movement. There is a growing body of evidence that these crisis pregnancy centers use deceptive and coercive tactics to target vulnerable people facing unplanned pregnancies, and they often prevent them from accessing a full range of appropriate reproductive healthcare, including safe abortion care and contraceptives. Just as this bill is cloaked in benign pro-family rhetoric, these pregnancy centers distribute diapers and formula in order to disguise their underlying anti-abortion mission. One of the great dangers of these crisis pregnancy centers is that they present themselves as legitimate healthcare facilities, but the reality is that most are unlicensed, understaffed by medical professionals, and unbound by the privacy laws that govern medical providers. This has led to women being misled and given inaccurate or even dangerous information about their pregnancies and the options for care that are available to them, including women who have suffered life- threatening undiagnosed complications in their pregnancies, women who have been denied the information and opportunity to access appropriate reproductive healthcare for them, and women who have been encouraged to undertake dangerous and medically contraindicated procedures. There is strong evidence that many pregnancy centers are using the public money that States allocate to them through TANF for purposes that are not authorized by Congress. That is why last year, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed regulation to better guide the States in what services were eligible for TANF funding, and that is why this bill, H.R. 6918, is so dangerous and dishonest. When we have a growing mountain of evidence of misuse and even fraudulent use of TANF dollars by crisis pregnancy centers, this bill by its term would prevent the Department of Health and Human Services from any regulation of pregnancy crisis centers. House Republicans would green light the unregulated use of public money to fund these anti-abortion facilities, many of which have been proven to promote false medical claims and misinformation; misrepresent their services as providing a full range of reproductive healthcare, despite having only anti-abortion services and usually lacking any medical personnel. Horrifyingly, they are unbound by HIPAA privacy restrictions, and some of these centers collect and distribute women's sensitive personal information to organizations within the larger anti- abortion movement. This is what Republicans are trying to push upon American women with these bills, and I wholeheartedly disagree. Thus, here we are. It is another week, and the House GOP still can't get their act together. Their majority is on track to become one of the most ineffective in modern history. Again, we are just hours from a government shutdown, but instead of dealing with that or any of the real problems Americans are facing today, this House majority is desperately trying to mask its own failure with misleading rhetoric and bills that will never become law. It would be a joke if it weren't so serious. Led by their most extreme Members, it is clear our Republican colleagues don't want to make Congress work better for the American people. They want to break it, and they want to campaign on it. They want to bring chaos to this Chamber and pass legislation that feeds the flames of their desperate culture wars. It is irresponsible, it is reckless, and it is not what the American people want. Mr. Speaker, I deeply oppose this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We have heard from our colleagues over the course of debate on this bill that they think that they need more discretion to spend TANF dollars, but if this bill were to pass, a pregnancy center would be unregulated. That is what the bill literally says, We cannot regulate pregnancy crisis centers. So if they wanted to use TANF dollars to stage a Taylor Swift concert, they could because there is to be no regulation. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record the executive summary of a report titled, ``Designed to Deceive: A Study of the Crisis Pregnancy Center Industry in Nine States,'' written by the Alliance: State Advocates for Women's Rights and Gender Equity.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, this report studies crisis pregnancy centers in Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. Overall, its findings show that crisis pregnancy centers provided virtually no medical care, promoted false medical claims, and used deceptive practices; State-funded crisis pregnancy centers are more harmful than privately-funded centers; and crisis pregnancy centers appear to be local, but are actually part of a global anti-abortion network. It is clear that these sorts of manipulative and unregulated centers are not what is best for women and children's health, and actually have been proven to misuse Federal taxpayer dollars. We absolutely shouldn't be allowing Federal dollars to flow to them without any scrutiny. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Rules.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a letter from the Coalition for Pregnant and Parenting Students Advocacy and other organizations dedicated to advancing civil rights protections and resources for pregnant and parenting students in opposition to H.R. 6914.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, this letter expresses concern that this bill is based upon unproven anti-abortion rhetoric and seeks to limit students' ability to make reproductive healthcare decisions with a full range of information. It goes on to say that the bill does not contain any meaningful support to help pregnant and parenting students meet their educational goals, and it notes how the bill leaves out policies we know would actually make a difference, like strengthen Title IX protections, accessible childcare and early education, basic needs security, and accountability measures for institutions that fail to protect pregnant and parenting students. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, could you please advise how much time is remaining?

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 12, a bill that would ensure every American has full access to essential reproductive healthcare services, including abortion care. Since the Dobbs decision, every State in the Union has taken action on abortion in some way. Many States have used it as an opportunity to enact laws that ban specific instances of abortion or abortion care entirely. Republicans have reiterated time and again that that is their goal, to ban abortion nationwide. The abortion access landscape is deeply fractured, and Americans continue to face the devastating consequences of abortion bans and restrictions on both patients' health and the greater healthcare ecosystem. H.R. 12 ensures every American has full access to vital reproductive healthcare and will stop the devastating health consequences for women when abortion access is banned or limited. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. This MAGA majority has a bleak and nihilistic vision of our government. It is a vision where congressional power is wielded to take down political rivals; to force extremist beliefs on every American, particularly women; and to shamelessly sow division and fear, not to actually serve all Americans. It is a vision where the idea of working together across party lines on behalf of all Americans is so anathema to the Republican Party that it can cause a Speaker to lose his gavel or rank-and-file Members of Congress to lose their primaries. It is where standing up against lies and for the Constitution results in death threats and where the integrity and core values of our country's institutions are continually chipped away. This is an unacceptable way to govern. It is not governance at all. Americans deserve so much better. Let's stop playing these ridiculous games and get to work on the work that the people sent us to do. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the previous question and the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota for yielding the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is here in the Capitol today. The President of Ukraine left his war-torn country to come to the United States to plead for our help in repelling Putin's murderous and unlawful invasion, in protecting his people, and in preserving their democracy. As he did so, Putin unleashed a devastating missile attack on Kyiv and was captured on video drinking champagne and toasting the downfall of Ukraine if its Western allies falter. President Zelenskyy came here to ask the United States to stand tall and honor its commitment to an ally, its commitment to democracy, and its commitment to upholding international law. In response, the United States House of Representatives is debating the merits of chocolate milk. We will not long remember the MAGA majority's great gas stove war of 2023 or their attempts to make it easier to kill the endangered lesser prairie-chicken, but the sad fact is, these bills have consumed weeks of precious floor time this year as the House majority struggles to pass any legislation of note. The world will, however, remember if the United States fails to support Ukraine in its hour of need. President Zelenskyy, our NATO allies, and the American people should expect better from this Congress. Under this extremist majority, they are doomed to disappointment, which again brings us here today to debate chocolate milk. When I was home this past weekend, I had the chance to talk with many of my constituents. I met with women small business owners to discuss their challenges. I talked to college students about their concerns regarding attacks on reproductive freedom here in the United States. I gathered with people in our community who have lost loved ones, neighbors, and friends to gun violence, and I listened to their calls for action on commonsense gun safety legislation. Overwhelmingly, people came to talk to me about making our country a place where all Americans, all children, can thrive. That means bringing down the cost of healthcare, childcare, household energy, and high-speed internet so families can care for their kids, heat their homes, and stay connected. This means investing in infrastructure, good-paying jobs, and public education so we can strengthen our economy, lower costs, build safer communities, and create opportunities so everyone has a shot at a brighter future. These are the things I came to Congress to do. In these last legislative days of the year, these aren't the things that House Republicans are doing. I would call it unbelievable except we have seen the same story play out over and over again in this Chamber all year. For months on end, MAGA extremists have dragged our country to the brink of default, nearly shut down the government twice, and even ousted their own Speaker. Pushed by the most extreme members of their Conference, they have brought chaos to the House floor. They have put up bills only for them to tank and have to be withdrawn as they fight among themselves. They spent 25 days just arguing over which one of them should be Speaker. This is all on the American people's dime. Now, with pressing challenges at home and around the world, they are pushing a completely discredited impeachment inquiry and other naked political stunts, all to distract from their own inability to govern. They have done nothing to deliver for the American people, and Americans deserve better than this. House Republicans refuse to get their act together. Today, they have brought to the floor two misguided and marginal bills that fail to address any of the major threats or concerns our country or our constituents face. Both bills open the door to the influence of more special interests in our government's functions. I should note that, today, we were supposed to consider two additional bills impacting our national security and individual rights. Due to infighting among Republicans and their own committee chairs, these measures were pulled last night from the schedule, leaving us with another wasted day of chaos and incompetence. The first bill we have today is H.R. 1147, which makes changes to school nutrition standards in a way that would undermine science and undo important progress made over the past 13 years. Schools play an essential role in our kids' health. For so many children, the meals they get at school represent the majority of calories and the most nutritious meals they consume all day. We saw this reality clearly during the first days of the pandemic when, as schools closed down, the prospect of missed school breakfasts and lunches threatened the health of children across America. The meals served in schools are based on the most recent set of dietary guidelines as determined by child nutrition experts. These guidelines stay current and are updated at least every 5 years. In fact, in February of this year, the Biden-Harris administration began the latest update. When I served on my local school board, and before as a Home and School president, I was involved in efforts to improve and implement what was at the time new Federal improved nutrition standards for our district's meals. Through that experience, I know just how important nutritious meals are to helping students succeed and form lifelong healthy habits. We have seen immense benefits since Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger- Free Kids Act in 2010. The research shows that the millions of children who participate in school meal programs have better overall diet quality than those who do not. Studies prove, despite arguments to the contrary, that students eat and enjoy these meals. When presented with healthy choices, they take them. Allowing whole milk, particularly flavored whole milk, to be served in schools is against current dietary recommendations and against the recommendation of experts, including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Heart Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. We know that too much saturated fat can raise bad cholesterol levels, a known cause of heart disease. Most troubling, many varieties of flavored milk that are pushed by this bill contain unhealthy chemicals, such as artificial colors and flavors, and nearly twice the amount of sugar as plain milk. At a time when one in five school-age children already has adverse cholesterol levels, we should not be making it easier to serve unhealthier meals in schools. This bill blatantly ignores the science. Even if you deny these facts, everyone should be able to admit we are long overdue for a comprehensive child nutrition reauthorization. We owe it to students and their families to consistently improve the meals that schools are serving. The last comprehensive reauthorization of the laws governing school meal programs was done 13 years ago. I wish the Republican majority would spend more time helping to pass comprehensive policies to support our schools as they work to provide healthier and more satisfying meals to our students within current nutritional standards. We should not waste time on this one-off change to serve special interests that circumvent the normal process for updating meal standards. I think we owe it to our children, their health, and their futures to let the experts guide what we are providing them to eat in schools. We should not allow politicians to make the decisions in what should be a science-based process. Today, we are also considering H.R. 357, another attempt by the Republican majority to derail the Federal rulemaking process. This is an unnecessary and vague bill designed to undermine the critical work of Federal agencies. It is part of a MAGA narrative that unfairly and untruthfully paints hardworking Federal employees, nonpartisan experts in their fields, as faceless bureaucrats who are somehow hostile to everyday Americans. The fact is that the regulatory process that our Republican colleagues seek to frame as a battle against some vast bureaucratic conspiracy is actually an essential part of ensuring that we all have clean air and water to breathe and drink, healthy food to eat, and safe planes, trains, and automobiles to travel in. The truth is that Congress already has a wide range of ways to exercise oversight and control over rulemaking. If the majority is so concerned about improving the process, they would join Democratic efforts to ensure corporate interests can't game that process. They would advocate for incorporating more public feedback in those agencies' decisions. They don't really want to make the process better. Instead, bills like this would create a bottleneck in our government's operations that will prevent rules that the Republican majority doesn't like. This bill would politicize the process of confirming nominees to administrative agencies even more than it is already. Individual Senators would have even more incentive to block an administration's nomination for partisan and corporate goals. More corporate influence would be allowed to infiltrate the Senate confirmation process. Ultimately, our agencies would be obstructed from doing important work to protect the American people's health and safety and making government function better. It is clear my Republican colleagues don't want to make our government work better. These aren't traditional conservatives. They are nihilists dedicated to grinding government to a halt. With this bill and their previous efforts to decimate Federal rulemaking, they prefer to upend the regulatory process, even if it improves the lives of Americans every single day. The Federal Government has long played an important role in promoting the health, safety, and welfare of the American people. We should ensure that it is able to continue doing so. Again and again, we have seen this Republican majority prioritize the wrong things this year, and today is no different. They are using valuable floor time and committee time to pass marginal bills, enable their own infighting, and launch an act of petty political vengeance against the current President. Then, they are going to call it a year and go home for the holidays. This is an unacceptable way to govern. It is not governance at all. Mr. Speaker, I deeply oppose this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson).

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The epidemic of gun violence has touched every corner of America, tragically devastating families, tearing apart communities, and scarring schoolchildren. In 2022, nearly 50,000 people died by guns, an average of one person every 11 minutes. This includes almost 20,000 homicides. Mass shootings skyrocketed from 272 in 2014 to 645 last year. In 2020, firearms became the leading cause of death for American children and adolescents. From 2013 to 2022, there was a staggering 87 percent increase in the child and teen firearm death rate. In 2023, the heartbreak has only continued. As of today, there have been over 40,000 lives lost and over 630 mass shootings. Over 800 schoolchildren 11 years old or under have been killed or injured with guns. Over 4,000 school-age teens have been touched by gun violence. The American people are crying out for Congress to act. Yet, the House of Representatives is using its precious time to debate chocolate milk. The American people deserve better. House Democrats are ready to work with Republicans to tackle this epidemic. If we defeat the previous question today, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 715, a bipartisan bill to require a background check for every firearm sale. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.