Haley Stevens

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of Michigan's 11th District to celebrate the overwhelming bipartisan passage of the FAA reauthorization, which included my bill, the Severe Turbulence Research and Development Act. Turbulence is a leading cause of injuries to flight crews and the flying public, yet we lack a fundamental understanding of why turbulence incidents are increasing in frequency and severity. We also lack the ability to accurately predict where turbulence incidents will occur to adjust flight routes. This is unacceptable. The FAA does not have the research, resources, and datasets needed to keep people safe. That is why my bill will enhance the monitoring and understanding of severe turbulence and inform the development of measures to mitigate safety impacts on crew and the flying public that may result from severe turbulence. Today is a great day for flight crews, pilots, and airports across America. Again, I celebrate the passage of this legislation and look forward to seeing it signed into law.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, an annual celebration that recognizes the many historical and cultural contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander descent to the United States. From science to medicine, literature and arts, sports and recreation, government and politics, activism, and law, our Asian-American community is so vital to our country's success. I would like to shine a light on the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce back in my home state of Michigan, which I had the honor of celebrating with for their 23rd annual anniversary and gala that included so many constituents, leaders from throughout Michigan. Yet again, Michigan continues to lead the way alongside our AAPI community.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Lofgren for yielding time. I am standing before you here today in support of this incredible bicameral, bipartisan bill, the Fire Grant and Safety Act, which I am so pleased to be an original cosponsor of. I certainly want to recognize the incredible work of our junior Senator from Michigan, Senator Gary Peters, for moving this bill forward for our consideration. I certainly recognize Mr. Kean, who is the lead sponsor on the Republican side of this critical bill, and, frankly, senior Members of this body who joined in the debate, as well. This piece of legislation, as has been shared, just reauthorizes very critical elements of the U.S. Fire Administration and its programs to support firefighters and lifesaving EMS workers to make them better protected. It is just really one of the best things that we can do in this Chamber. Just last week, I was visited by Fire Chief Robert Jennison. He lives in my district in West Bloomfield, and he is a fire chief in Livonia, a community I used to represent. He mentioned this bill and how important it is for his fire stations and for his activities. We should be really proud to be coming together in a bipartisan way to reauthorize our fire safety efforts here in the United States of America. We also have to be real with ourselves because over a 10-year period, fire-related deaths in this country rose by 33 percent. That has been unnecessary, and it has been an unnerving loss of life. With the National Fire Protection Association estimating that once every 23 seconds, a fire department somewhere in our country responds to a fire emergency, we must do more to support our local heroes.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank again Ranking Member Lofgren, particularly in light of her remarkable leadership in crafting and introducing this bill. I join both of my colleagues to shine a light on the deep and critical importance of H.R. 4143, the National Construction Safety Team Enhancement Act. We all know that NIST is the little engine that could within our Federal Government, doing so much with little resources and showing the true benefit of where and how we invest taxpayer dollars for the greater implications of society and safety. We know that the National Construction Safety Team within NIST is modeled after the National Transportation Safety Team, both expert operations that get dispatched to the site of major building disasters to investigate the cause and identify preventive solutions. However, the existing authority only extends to buildings, and it leaves out major swaths of our built environment, as the ranking member mentioned, like bridges and levees, which, just frankly, leaves our Nation vulnerable. This legislation will expand the safety team's existing authority to better investigate those failures of infrastructure in structures other than buildings. This really couldn't come at a more important time. I know this is deeply critical to residents in Michigan. We want to be in a place where we are creating resilient structures and recognizing some of the damaging impacts of climate change and rising sea levels. That is the extreme weather environment we are in. I thank the ranking member and all on the Science Committee. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill and eager to see it passed in the House of Representatives.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the news that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will soon reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Reclassifying marijuana from a schedule I drug to a schedule III drug while not legalizing marijuana is an important step in normalizing cannabis use in the United States and recognizing that marijuana is not cocaine, and it is not heroin. The order will broaden access to the drug for medicinal purposes and move us further away from a time of prosecution and incarceration for simple possession, something that has had damaging effects to Black and Brown communities across this country. I commend President Biden for his important work on this issue. From pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of simple possession of marijuana to reviewing all Federal marijuana laws, the Biden administration is taking the necessary steps to improve marijuana policy in the United States. Promises made, promised delivered. I thank President Biden.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Manufacturing USA, the network of research institutes that develop manufacturing technologies through public-private partnerships. Ten years since the creation of Manufacturing USA through the American Manufacturing and Innovation Act, or the RAMI Act, we are seeing firsthand why these institutes and funding them is so critical to our country. This was an initiative that started under President Obama and has carried forward through two Presidential administrations since. From MxD's ability to push the bounds of digital tools in manufacturing to ARM's ability to revolutionize the sector with robotics, to all of the amazing biomanufacturing institutes furthering materials science and biotechnology applications, to Remade's work of creating a circular economy, to PowerAmerica and its forthcoming sibling ensuring American leadership in the semiconductor industry, to my hometown hero, LIFT, creating technologies needed for an electric future. My friends, this is Manufacturing USA. This is workforce development in action.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in Hawaii, California, Colorado, and Michigan, wildfires are posing an increasing threat to the lives and livelihoods of so many Americans. Over the last 30 years, the wildfire season in the West alone has lengthened by several months, and the total number of acres burned per year has nearly doubled. Climate change has contributed to warmer temperatures and drier conditions, causing more frequent and intense wildland fires. Understanding the fundamental science behind wildfires, including the impacts of climate change, is absolutely essential to our ability to improve the prediction and forecasting of increasingly severe wildfires. Another essential element to our response to wildfires is the effective communication of information and risks to land managers and to those living in wildfire-vulnerable areas. To accomplish that, we have H.R. 4866, a phenomenal bipartisan piece of legislation to direct NOAA to establish a program that will increase the accuracy of, and effectively communicate, fire forecasts and warnings. The brave and tireless work of incident management teams is absolutely the cornerstone of successful wildfire responses. This includes incident meteorologists, or IMETs, who work around the clock at active fire sites for days or weeks at a time, providing lifesaving information about wildfire and environmental conditions to firefighters and managers. This bill also allows NOAA's National Weather Service to fully compensate IMETs for overtime work during active fire events, which will expand the capacity of IMETs to conduct their essential work. The bill also requires NOAA to leverage collaborations with State, local, and Tribal governments, Federal agencies, academia, and the private sector to decrease the loss of lives and property from wildfires and support fire response personnel. I truly commend Congressman Mike Garcia and my colleague from Colorado (Ms. Caraveo) for working on this important legislation that will truly put the United States in a better position to respond to increasing threats of wildfires. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Caraveo).

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing. Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves at a prominent moment here on the House floor, hopefully seeing the passage of H.R. 4866 to address some of these extraordinary fire considerations that have taken place. I continue to encourage my colleagues to join those of us who do this hard and great work on the Science Committee to pass this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is one of the moments where we find ourselves so grateful for the House Record, as we yet again are moving to pass a bipartisan piece of legislation, H.R. 1069, the Clean Energy Demonstration Transparency Act in a bipartisan fashion here, forever commemorated on the House floor. We are recognizing that here in the United States of America, our phenomenal Department of Energy, now being run by Michigan's former Governor, Secretary Jennifer Granholm, is doing clean energy. These are clean energy projects that are coming to fruition because of the Invest in America agenda promulgated by the President of the United States, the great Joe Biden. We have already in place, 3 years on, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which established a first of its kind clean energy demonstration office centrally coordinating the Department of Energy's larger-scale clean energy technology development. I really appreciate when we can say, as Democrats and Republicans, yes to transparency because we do want the world to see that we are doing clean energy, and we will lead the sustainability vision for the future. We also know that $25 billion coming out of this Bipartisan Infrastructure Law legislation is funding and scaling emerging technologies such as clean hydrogen and advanced nuclear energy, which is needed to tackle some of our most pressing climate challenges and certainly to achieve our net zero goals that we have established for ourselves. One of the initiatives that has been supported by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, one that I am very excited about and has great meaning for us in Michigan, the automotive supply chain innovation capital of the world, is hydrogen hubs. We have these hydrogen hubs that have come to fruition or are being invested in out of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Certainly, as I mentioned, these hubs are helping my State of Michigan. We have got the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, and it is going to leverage my State's famous industrial power to lead the Nation in this clean energy hydrogen production. The hubs are going to benefit from this transparency legislation, this network of hydrogen hubs which are seeking to lower our emissions as a Nation in certainly a very trying moment for decarbonization. We see hydrogen really coming into play with heavy-duty transportation and maritime port equipment. I invite everyone to take a peek at what is happening in Michigan because it is really quite phenomenal with these supply chain corridors and manufacturers and how they are adopting hydrogen. I will keep my finger on the pulse of their work for many years to come. Here we stand now with this demonstration activity. We are going to push for transparency. We have this great group, the chairman of the Science Committee and the ranking member of the Science Committee, that have come together to support this legislation. We want Congress to have a hand in it because we know when we pass these big bills, a lot of times we just go forward and then we are hungry to implement and hungry to keep a finger on the pulse and maybe we can have a couple of hearings, but H.R. 1069 gives us a runway. It is really quite essential, and it also helps the Department of Energy, particularly President Biden's Department of Energy, continue to do what it is doing really well. Let us all see this phenomenal bill get passed. I join the chairman of the Science Committee calling on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue to push forward in a bipartisan fashion the passage of H.R. 1069. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, in closing, again, I feel passionate about this legislation. I thank Mr. Carey for his remarks and for joining us on the House floor. I look forward to seeing this bill become law. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4755, the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act, is another very important bipartisan piece of legislation that we bring to the House floor this evening on the heels of the pronouncement of the Speaker and minority leader to form an AI task force that is led by Mr. Obernolte of California on the Republican side and Mr. Lieu, also of California, on the Democratic side. What the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act gets us is an opportunity to further strengthen and utilize Federal agencies to regulate our artificial intelligence. This legislation has been met with the endorsement of the Federation of American Scientists, the Carnegie Mellon University, the University of California system, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Future of Privacy Forum. I thank my colleague, Congressman Kean, for joining me in this legislation. I also recognize Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska for working in the other Chamber and for their contributions to the legislation. We have a path not only to see this pass here in the House but to see it pass in the Senate and become Federal law. We are living, as we all know, in the time of the modern digital economy, probably a hyper-digital economy, that is fueled by an astronomical amount of personal data compounded over decades at this point in time. In this AI-powered world, personal data protection is absolutely imperative. There is certainly a struggle with the processes that can protect and enable the protection of the productive use of personal data and secure the confidentiality of information it includes. In 2023, a survey by the Pew Research Center found that 81 percent of American adults are concerned about how companies use their personal data. We are liking, clicking, purchasing, and browsing. What is going on with all of that? It is certainly in conversations regarding AI in Congress, with friends of mine, and with my constituents back home in Oakland County, Michigan. There remain lots of opportunities to capture the benefits of data, including for safer roads, improved public health, better educational outcomes, and tackling inequities and other disparities. However, in any use of personal data, we must ensure privacy and confidentiality. A critical way to achieve that is through the development of privacy enhancing technologies, or PETs. PETs are a broad range of technologies that allow organizations to collect, share, and use data while mitigating the privacy risks that arise from those activities. The goal is to make systems that use personal information private by default, opening up those data to a wide range of researchers who would otherwise not have access. These technologies even have the potential to enable broader use of Federal datasets, as privacy risks are often the greatest barrier to open government data efforts. Unfortunately, the technology itself is still really immature, and it is not ready for widespread use. What we are looking to do with H.R. 4755 is to support the research, workforce development, standard setting, and government coordination for PETs. We are going to direct the National Science Foundation to conduct fundamental privacy research that can improve these technologies, assess their limitations, and broaden their applicability. The National Science Foundation will also support workforce development activities in order to help address some of the exacerbating shortage of privacy professionals across the United States and also springboard from cybersecurity workforce developments that have taken place from years prior. H.R. 4755 also supports activities at the National Institute of Standards and Technology to facilitate the development of those standards and best practices for integration of PETs in public and private sectors. Mr. Speaker, these two groups, the public sector and private sector, are encouraging of this legislation. They are asking for us to act in this way. Finally, H.R. 4755 directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to coordinate Federal activities to accelerate the development of PETs across government. Congress, we all know, has been debating proposals on privacy legislation for a long time. Sometimes we are even wondering if we have legislation, but we have H.R. 4755, which takes an amazing and necessary step for ownership of this new technology that we want to own and manage here in this country. So, yes, let us be encouraged by bipartisan activity. Let us continue to come together and ensure that we have the necessary tools to fully implement privacy legislation without stifling innovation. Mr. Speaker, I thank, again, my colleague, Congressman Kean of New Jersey, for his bipartisan efforts. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, I continue to call on my colleagues to join me, Congressman Kean, the chairman of the Science Committee, and the ranking member of the Science Committee in passing H.R. 4755. This certainly will mark a very important moment in time when the United States chooses to lead on privacy enhancing technologies for the betterment of all. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of 19-year-old Itay Chen, an American-Israeli and citizen soldier who died in service to his country. I was absolutely devastated yesterday to learn that Itay was not, as we thought, held hostage, but was killed on October 7 defending Israel's border from Hamas' brutal invasion. I sat with Itay's father, Ruby, many times over these last 6 months. In fact, he gave me this very tag that reads, Bring Them Home, in both English and Hebrew. We held out hope for 157 days that Itay would return home. This whole time Hamas has had his corpse as this war has raged on and as his parents have sat in darkness, and as we on the international stage and in this very Chamber have called for a return to the hostages. Mr. Speaker, I am furious. I will not stop fighting.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to shine a spotlight on a truly extraordinary woman, my good friend and amazing district chief of staff, Colleen Pobur. Today is Colleen's birthday, and I am delighted to recognize her on this special occasion. Colleen is not only a leader in my office, but she is a leader in Oakland County, Michigan, and throughout the metro Detroit region. As a lifelong Michiganian, Colleen is a proud, if not the proudest, graduate of the University of Michigan. She graduated with a degree in French and obtained the ability to speak the language fluently. Of course, she has an undying passion for Michigan football. Whether in the stadium or in her living room, she can be found avidly cheering on the Wolverines during every single game and, of course, adorning her U of M paraphernalia. Suffice to say, last fall was a pretty good one for Colleen when the U of M Wolverines were the undefeated champions. Since graduating, in reality, if not in spirit, Colleen has spent her extraordinary career making life better for the people of Michigan. Colleen's contributions as a businesswoman and a public servant are truly too numerous to count, but here are just a few. If you have ever flown through the Detroit airport and gotten something to eat, that is thanks to Colleen, who developed the award- winning buffet of concession options at DTW. If you have ever had a beer in Michigan, that is thanks to Colleen. She kept bars open and legally serving after being appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. Of course, if you are a constituent in Michigan's 11th District and have ever had a Federal Government case solved, well, that is thanks to Colleen, who oversees our exceptional casework program and has helped the team return thousands of dollars to Michiganders' pockets. Yes, she even regularly picks up the phone in our office to engage and talk with constituents directly. No task is too big or too small for Colleen. Colleen has also worked in the private sector where she served as vice president of strategic public affairs and as director of the new product launch strategies for the Compuware Corporation, as well as the director of external relations and economic development for Ameritech Michigan. Colleen has also worked tirelessly to represent her community as a member of the Plymouth City Commission for over a decade, in addition to chairing the Plymouth's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, serving on the Plymouth Economic Development Corp, and overseeing the fire department that serves the communities of Northville and Plymouth. If there is an arcane or overly complicated municipal precedent, Colleen has the ability to explain it and already knows all about it. When she is not making Oakland County run, Colleen is also a mom to college-age twins, Caroline and Will. Whether visiting Caroline in England or cheering on Will at a game, Colleen is a woman on the move. She is a dedicated friend, sister, and public servant. She is whip smart and has a one-liner for every situation. She makes us all laugh regularly and makes sure we are up to date on Michigan sports stats. She is truly a renaissance woman, a role model, and a leader. Colleen's drive and dedication to Oakland County are unmatched. She is clearly not someone to rest on her laurels. She has a heart for Michigan and a head for business, and I couldn't be luckier that she is on my team. I truly could not imagine these terms in Congress without her counsel, advice, and willingness to talk to me on the phone or in person, no matter the hour. Mr. Speaker, I say to Colleen on her special day, from all of us in Oakland County and here in the Congress, happy birthday. As The Washington Post or The Wall Street Journal has recognized people born in her birth year, she continues to redefine norms and transform society. Here's to many more years of making life just a little bit better for the people of Michigan.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the wisdom of an inspiring figure, Dr. Eddie Connor, as we conclude 2024 Black History Month. Dr. Connor delivered remarks in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January, and his words inspire me as we continue the important work to create a more equitable society. It is an honor to learn from so many influential leaders about this important history. From the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage in Alabama to local leaders in Michigan's 11th District, I am moved by the stories and insight that has been shared with me. Dr. Connor is one of those figures that I am proud to highlight. He is a 16-time best- selling author, international speaker, survivor of stage four cancer, and founder of the mentoring program Boys 2 Books. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent the tapestry of communities in Oakland County that make up Michigan's 11th District. It was a pleasure to celebrate Black History Month with so many remarkable people, and it is my honor to amplify the powerful remarks from Dr. Connor as we close Black History Month 2024 and continue our work throughout the remainder of the year. (By Dr. Eddie Connor) MLK Jr. Day Remarks The question that we must ask ourselves today at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Celebration is ``What can I do to make the world a better place? '' Not just presently but for future generations. There indeed is a great work for all of us to do. We must labor and be faithful to be fruitful in order to reap a plentiful harvest. He expressed that life's most persistent and urgent question must be. ``What are you doing for others? '' Dr. King's ultimate societal goal was the achievement of structuring a nonviolent beloved community that would embrace those of various ethnicities and backgrounds to all be seated at the table of brotherhood. Dr. King declared ``Poverty is the bride of crime.'' We look at the disease of violence and mass incarceration but we must unmask it to analyze societal symptoms. The symptoms are poverty, lack of education, dilapidation of communities, unseemly blight, gentrification, and redlining are the symptoms that create the disease and dis-ease that we see. His decision to speak out against the tyranny of the Vietnam War made him a marked man more than ever before. Dr. King spoke about the triple evils of racism, militarism, and materialism seeking to redistribute the wealth in the Black community through group economics. When Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, his popularity was at its lowest and the threats on his life were at its highest. His name was ran through the streets and now we name the streets after him. Dr. King was not killed because he had a dream. He was killed because he spoke out about the nightmare in these yet to be United States of America. He became the moral conscience of America. He challenged our nation and even the world in a greater context, to ``Learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.'' He proclaimed ``The true measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of crisis, challenge, and controversy.'' Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., challenged us despite race, creed, or color to come together, stay together and work together. Simply because coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress but working together is success.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to be on the House floor this evening, this Valentine's Day, collecting my thoughts and remembering a bit of history. We had quite the whirlwind year last year in Michigan and in this country. As I think about the fall, we were preparing to appropriate fiscal year 2024's authorizations, and we were stalemated and still in a continuing resolution of funding the government. At the same time, we were also witnessing our United Auto Workers union set forth a record strike effort, targeting all of the Big Three for what they dubbed as record profits, meaning a record contract. That was, in many respects, a whirlwind time period. Then, to add to it, our beloved ally in the Middle East, the only democratic nation in the Middle East, Israel, was attacked. Members of Congress, residents in Michigan, and people across this country, our heads were certainly spinning in many respects. For those of us tied to the auto industry, we were looking at the strike that took place, and we were being reminded of a little bit of history. We were being reminded why the UAW, at that moment, was saying we have record profits in the auto industry, but now we are looking for a record contract, because 15 years ago, the UAW made major concessions. They made major concessions during a strategic effort led by the Obama administration and carried over from the Bush administration. The Bush administration said we are going to leave this to the next administration for how we make decisions impacting the auto industry. Fifteen years ago, we were in the wake of the Lehman Brothers crash. We saw our economy spinning out of control, unemployment shooting up in ways that we hadn't experienced as a country since the Great Depression. We had pressure on our insurance industry and our housing sector. We had a foreclosure crisis, and then we had the unbelievable challenges that were facing our auto industry. The Troubled Asset Relief Program was passed through this very Chamber at a time when I was on the campaign trail. I was working to elect the next President of the United States of America. This very Chamber, under the leadership of then-Speaker Pelosi, passed the Troubled Asset Relief Program to stabilize our financial sector that had gotten in trouble due to lack of regulation, to stabilize the insurance industry, to stabilize the housing sector, and some emergency relief dollars for the auto industry, which President Bush gave in a temporary fashion and then said, very famously, whoever is elected President will inherit the ability to make the decisions. We know that in this country, we used to have a longer transition process. Presidents would get elected in November and then be sworn in in March. Now, you get elected in November and are sworn in in January. I had the very sincere privilege of working on President Obama's campaign. I was in the policy operation for the Vice Presidential nominee, now President Biden, then-Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden. President Obama won that election. We were in Grant Park. Then, the next day, the transition began with the Presidential transition team. It was the year 2008, which is kind of an interesting moment because the internet wasn't as populated with the vast amounts of information it has today. As a young 20-something-year-old, I was working on this transition and hearing about people looking to go into the administration and really having very little understanding of what that meant. As a daughter of Oakland County, Michigan, as a family member of a former Chrysler engineer who worked on some of the original designs for Jeep, and as a granddaughter of a Ford UAW member, I couldn't help but take the time during lunch breaks, or breaks in the schedule while working on that transition operation for President Obama, to look at the Detroit Free Press, to pause and try to get a sense of what was going on back home because it was head spinning. From September 2008 to January 2009, we were absolutely in a pressure-cooker moment. You have a brand-new President, a whole new administration, including 8 years of the Bush administration, an Iraq war that many Americans disagreed with, and some true injustices that were taking place back home in my home State. I couldn't help but humbly think that maybe I should go home to Michigan and try to help these automakers, try to help these autoworkers. In Michigan, we were, in many respects, the example of what was taking place in this Great Recession. It was a capital G, Great Recession, capital R. It was a major challenge for us. It was not just ``for sale'' signs in front of people's homes. It was massive foreclosures and people wondering if they were going to have their job in the auto industry, an absolutely unprecedented economic whirlwind taking place. To shine some light on this, what happened to our Big Three automakers, General Motors, Chrysler, Ford--we call them the Big Three. We all know that. The Big Three had 71 percent of market share for the auto industry in 1998, and it dropped to 47 percent in 2008, in 10 years. We saw a dramatic decrease in car sales. We saw a shoring up of capital. This was pre-Affordable Care Act. They had large responsibilities for healthcare obligations, the right obligations, to workers who had paid their entire lives for that benefit. We faced the very stark reality that these companies were maybe not going to survive and, with them, millions of jobs. As it became apparent that President Obama was going to put in place a senior counselor in the Department of the Treasury under these emergency authorities to manage the auto rescue, I had the opportunity, while working on that transition operation, to introduce myself to that individual whose name is Steve Rattner. He was in need of a chief of staff. He received a recommendation to interview me. It was a frenetic time. It was a several-minute interview. I was hired. I was brought in as a political appointee. We were set up in temporary office space in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which is right next to the White House on East Executive Avenue over there. Steve Rattner and myself and some individuals from the National Economic Council and the Council of Economic Advisers, people like Brian Deese, Alan Krueger, Austan Goolsbee, Gene Sperling, Diana Farrell, and, of course, Larry Summers, who was leading the NEC, created a makeshift team. We realized we needed to hire a team, by the way, but it was kind of a makeshift team to make a series of rapid recommendations to the President of the United States about what to do with General Motors and Chrysler because they were running out of money. They were staring liquidation in the face. It was 15 years ago this month, my friends, 15 years ago this February. Now, as a kid from Michigan, to be in a room in the United States Government and to hear the words ``GM in bankruptcy'' in a sentence was almost inconceivable. It was unfathomable. It was nerve-racking. It was hair-spiking. It was stressful. Because of the good faith efforts to ensure the ethical standards of the administration, President Obama had put into place some rules of the road. You couldn't hire people directly out of the auto industry to help run the auto rescue because it is a conflict of interest. We were talking to various candidates, various individuals of talent, and then a name popped up, Ron Bloom. Ron Bloom had been working alongside the national leadership of the United Steelworkers and had a Harvard MBA, a laborer's heart, and a laborer's mindset. He joined as Steve Rattner's deputy. We also brought on board a man from New York named Harry Wilson, who had a deep background in restructuring and financials. He was so talented, he retired by the age of 40. Matt Feldman was a bankruptcy lawyer. So much of this is captured in a book that Mr. Rattner wrote called ``Overhaul.'' So much is still to be remembered from this time period that books and photos couldn't capture. I have been a part of a lot of incredible history since arriving in Congress in 2019. I have worked on things that I couldn't even imagine I would have the ability not only to work on but to get done: a renegotiated trade deal, USMCA, and a Chips and Science bill. My first bill signed into law was the Building Blocks of STEM Act within my first year in Congress in 2019. I formed the first Women in STEM Caucus. I was running the Democratic Manufacturing Working Group alongside our assistant leader, Jim Clyburn. Although he is a longtime Representative from South Carolina, he has an appreciation and an affiliation with his colleagues from Michigan and shares in the spirit of what doing good manufacturing policy means for this Nation. You see, Mr. Speaker, at the time we were doing the auto rescue, none of this was assured. None of this was guaranteed. This was new policy. It was taxpayer money that came from TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It was a temporary ownership structure in General Motors and Chrysler. Ford had made some very good decisions 1 year and change prior, 1\1/2\ years prior. They weren't in need of a rescue. At the time when we were putting together these series of recommendations which ended up becoming a managed industrial bankruptcy and an ownership structure of General Motors and Chrysler without controlling the day-to-day management of the companies, we were hearing from stakeholders, we were hearing from interested parties, and we were hearing from constituents. Much of this is documented. It was not new information that we had interested buyers in General Motors from the Middle East. We looked at some of Chrysler's ownership structure and their previous Federal investment that they had received. We were hearing from very concerned mayors and municipal leaders primarily across the Midwest, mayors from automotive communities who knew that these factories were the lifeblood of the economic existence of that very town. What was going to happen? Suppliers were wondering if they were going to get paid for work that they had done on the front end, expecting it as the system goes and the supply chain, the automotive supply chain, with receivables and payment structures. We had the Canadians at the table equally concerned, again, about a potential liquidation of General Motors and Chrysler and the jobs that would come with it. So, of course, not only did our United Auto Workers come to the table, but also the Canadian counterpart of their autoworkers' union came to the table alongside the Canadian Government. The Australians were calling: General Motors might go bankrupt. Now we were in a unique moment because we had allocated dollars through TARP to say: We can make this investment. The President was able to do this alongside his Cabinet and alongside our Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner. GM stock price went to zero. Chrysler became co-owned by Fiat and the UAW. The United States Government didn't want to control the day-to-day management of these companies. Car sales were in the gutter. How do you incentivize people to buy cars when our economy is spinning out of control and people are losing their lifetime retirement in a stock market that was crashing? So we also made a series of decisions to say that we are not going to leave behind the small businesses. We are not going to leave behind the supply chain that is being challenged and squeezed and that is also experiencing bankruptcies, liquidations, and mergers. We created a supplier support program that just provided assurance similar to what we did in a bipartisan way during another economically and more recent time with COVID-19, just providing assurances through allocated dollars. In the case of COVID-19, the Fed had stepped in largely not drawn down on but money that came from the CARES Act to stabilize our industrial sector. During some of these interesting and stressful times 15 years ago while working as a staff member of the auto rescue team during very long days and oftentimes sleepless nights, overnights at the Department of the Treasury, I had instructed those who controlled the switchboards at the White House and at the Treasury Department to take the calls from concerned Michiganders and from concerned Midwesterners and just wire them through to my office because these people were scared. They were worried, and they saw themselves losing everything that they had ever worked for. So in these long, trying, and stressful days we would walk into the office, and every day The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and I think the Financial Times was also there, were laid out on the front desk for all to see, and every single day, the work that we were doing was on the front fold of these newspapers. Mr. Speaker, do not forget that because this was unprecedented economic action. I also want to mention that this wasn't just done in a partisan vacuum. You see, Mr. Speaker, when we walked into the halls of the Treasury, weeks--weeks--after President Obama in a very momentous and celebratory way was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America while his Cabinet appointees were just getting confirmed, we didn't have as much partisan discord around confirmations. There were individuals like Neel Kashkari, Jim Lambright, and several others who had had appointments and posts in the Bush administration at the Department of the Treasury. The financial crisis with Hank Paulson as the Treasury Secretary under Bush was very well-documented. Nonetheless, there were individuals who were working under Bush who stayed on for continuity purposes to explain why things were written a certain way or procedures were happening as TARP was being administered to work alongside us. Members of the team that we put together under Steve Rattner and Ron Bloom weren't partisan. They weren't political appointments. Steve, Ron, and I were the only White House appointees on that initial auto rescue. This was the best of our country who stepped forward through long, sleepless, and tireless nights working in Excel, managing a host of stakeholders, and sending memos and recommendations to the White House and the President of the United States himself. There were deadlines that had been put into place by the previous administration. Interestingly, foreign automakers have a presence here in the United States of America. I am personally a Big Three girl coming from Detroit, and I encourage all to look at the benefits and prospects of what the UAW brings with their best-in-class workforce. I am so proud of our UAW workers, particularly my Region 1 workers back home in Michigan. The foreign automakers came to us and said: You cannot let these companies go bankrupt. You cannot let them fail. Why would competitors say that in such a moment? It is because of the supply chain, it is because of the disruption, and it is because of the ricochets. Car sales were eight, nine million. Now they are back up to 17, 18, and 19 million. We never thought we would see million. We never thought we would see those numbers. All along the way, as these phone calls were coming into our office and as I would carve out the time on Friday nights to return those calls, grown men were breaking down in tears frustrated by what was happening to our country and what was happening to what they had spent their lives working towards. These were amazing small businesses that contributed so much to our auto industry. One in particular was an individual who owned a small tool and die shop, a third-tier supplier. He made a point of calling me a couple of times. He was one of the ones who wanted the assurance that he was going to get paid on his receivable, his 36-month life cycle. I talked to this individual a couple of times. Then one time he said: Do you think I could come visit you in the Treasury Department? Could I come meet with you? The perspective I have always taken into public service is absolutely inclusive and open government. Plus, we were meeting with everybody at that time because everyone was wondering what was going to happen. Again, this wasn't guaranteed. It wasn't going to be a guaranteed success, and there were tough things that were happening like dealerships closing. Why? It was because GM had seven times the dealerships of Toyota. They were winding down two nameplates which, by the way, when they wound down Oldsmobile years prior to this auto rescue period, it was a $2- billion endeavor. So my supplier asked to come visit. I said: Absolutely. We have some talented young people on this team, and we would be happy to meet with you. I will take your meeting. Of course, the Treasury Department, being part of the White House campus, is a Secret Service monitored building, Mr. Speaker, so you have to make sure that you get all the proper information and then get into the system. Then the Secret Service has to call you the day of the meeting, as they did the day my supplier was there, and say: Hey, your appointment is here, please come get him and escort him. I walked up those hallways with those marble checkered floors and the beautiful, framed dollar bills and $2 bills and some of the moneys that are in the Treasury Department. And who am I? I am just a humble Michigander trying to do right by my State, do right by the people I love, the people I didn't even know who were relying on this industry to succeed to keep going. They are the industrial heartbeat of America. I get up to the Secret Service desk, and they are chuckling a little bit. They are laughing a little bit. They said: Haley, your appointment is here. There was the supplier. He was this wonderful man standing there holding 12 pounds of metal because he drove from Michigan to show us what he made and to show us what he was doing and how he was contributing. Of course, I believe it was Clay Calhoon or Brian Osias or Sadiq Malik, one of these individuals, when I said: Come on, we are coming in for the meeting, they said: Haley, what meeting are you bringing us to? I said: This is someone who wants to know if his government has his back. That is the type of work that we bring into Congress now at all the meetings we take, all the constituent requests, all this and that that we are working on here that is impacting and shaping the everyday lives of so many. We don't need to focus today, 15 years on, exclusively on the hardship of the Great Recession and the economic tailspin that came about at the beginning of this century. In fact, today, I think we can look back and feel very proud that bipartisan action, nonpartisan action, and a commitment and willingness to government and to govern successfully did succeed for the American people. I think we can look out and see that this century has been full of unique, unprecedented, and defined-by-the-moment challenges. There is a small business in Birmingham, Michigan, that sells linens. I was talking to the shopowner. I said: How are you doing? He said: It has been exhausting. I opened my business in 2000. We had 9/11. We had the Great Recession. We have had COVID-19. Yet, he sees through every single one of these global curve balls that get thrown at us, particularly those of us as Michiganders. We have known how to rise to the challenge. We have known how to be resilient. Mr. Speaker, I believe you remember these headlines: Who is going to shut out the lights in Detroit? They were singing our swan song. We had a city on the brink. We had a city that felt like it was ripping at the seams. Then we doubled down. We collectively reinvested, and we said we have a new story to tell. Hence, the story of the American worker. Today, nearly 15 years on, the UAW negotiated a historic contract, and I believe there is more to come. Plants that had closed, and tiered structure for payment--we can see an industry that is ushering in the moonshot of this century, the new mobility technologies being innovated in southeastern Michigan through so many suppliers and larger manufacturers, even down to the smaller businesses. The innovation, the manufacturing, the technology just seethes through the place I call home, Auburn Hills. It is a community in Oakland County, Michigan. Look around, we have the largest robot in the world headquartered in Auburn Hills. It is absolutely remarkable. You look out at the new product lineups that the men and women who are making these cars are rolling off the line. You better not look while they are driving because you might swerve a bit because they capture your eyes and your attention. There is so much R&D going into every vehicle, some say it is a billion dollars into every car, a billion dollars of R&D: the quality, the testing, the safety, and the emissions. Michigan is home to the place that put the world on wheels. Here we still stand as an envy for the world. I am so proud of what was accomplished in the Obama administration and carried forward into the Biden administration. It was accomplished in the Obama administration during this unique and trying time, the Main Street effort of the economic agenda: the manufacturers, the communities that were relying on it, and a government that made money on that investment. They were repaid in full. GM reentered the stock market. We were a part of that. We called that Auto Team 2.0. Ron Bloom was the President's senior counselor for manufacturing policy. People like Alan Fu, Kelly Morrell, and Greg Keilin were making recommendations that actually have carried forward throughout all of the administrations since--the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, research efforts from upstate New York to Youngstown, Ohio, all the way out to California. We have one in Michigan. It is called LIFT. They are doing lightweight metals and workforce development, new standards, chemicals, and testing for the DOD. We are competing because we made a commitment to our industrial base. We are not over here in the United States of America saying we are going to have state-owned enterprises. That was not the goal in the auto rescue. The goal was public-private partnership. I meet with these manufacturers every week. It is the effort of sanity in this job, real people doing real work. They don't care what your ideology is or what your affiliation is politically. They are producing product off the line and getting it somewhere on time, whether it is in Michigan, Canada, or over to Europe. They are meeting every roadblock that gets thrown at them. It is absolutely remarkable. It happens in the place that I call home. Mr. Speaker, we can say bipartisan in this Chamber. We can absolutely say bipartisan. Let's talk about the things that bring us together. Let's talk about a manufacturing economy. Let's talk about real industrial strategies. What we did with Chips and Science--$52 billion. By the way, in those very auto rescue meetings with Steve Rattner, Ron Bloom, Larry Summers, and President Obama, we talked about these very weaknesses with semiconductors. We knew then we needed to do something. COVID hit, and there was a chips shortage, a chips crisis. Of course, I slammed my fist down on the table so hard I nearly bruised it when we didn't have a CARES Act, when we didn't have a rescue act, when we didn't have a plan for the industrial sector of this country, which we as lawmakers then came up with. It is not just about being a First World nation but being an innovative nation. Public-private partnerships work. We don't will for another Great Recession and another action like what we had to take with the auto rescue. We can look back and say that the government acted alongside the workers of this country. We can look even now, a year and change on since the passage of the CHIPS Act, a large-scale investment saying that we are actually going to make chips in this country again. We are going to do it with union work, by the way. We are going to do it in places like Michigan and Ohio. We innovated the chip, and then it was shipped overseas. Incentive structures, beating us at our own game, low labor costs, and then what? We are over-reliant on unfriendly markets, high shopping costs, and energy demands. The government with the CHIPS Act, $52 billion allocated, not all of it has been nearly spent or begun to be spent. We are so proud of the chips team's hard at work at the Department of Commerce, resembling, I believe, what took place in the auto rescue because these are very hardworking individuals doing big things with long hours and long days. That $52 billion beget $200 billion of private-sector contribution without it being required. That legislation paid for itself within a quarter. Fifteen years on from the auto rescue and as lawmakers, we ask ourselves: What is next? It wasn't just chips. It is not just semiconductors that we need to bring back here to the United States of America, critical minerals and critical materials. Our environmentalists are talking about permitting reform to achieve the energy revolution of the quarter 21st century that the Inflation Reduction Act is helping to usher in. Yes, we will beat the game at this. We will renovate. We will do big things. We will succeed. We will lower carbon emissions as a result. The auto industry stepped up. We saw that day arrive. Environmental groups and the auto industry said: We want this bill. We want the Inflation Reduction Act. The next phase must turn to the industrial policy model that had been adopted under the CHIPS Act for minerals, materials, quantum, and AI, all these exciting and great things. It is a strategic vision for this Nation. President Biden will be in this very Chamber in less than a month's time, delivering his State of the Union Address, delivering that strategic vision built and building off the successes that we have achieved in many bipartisan ways: infrastructure, chips, and veterans' assistance and benefits. Where are we going, and how will we continue to be a beacon for this world? I believe it exists in the place that I humbly and dutifully call home in southeastern Michigan, Oakland County, Michigan. It is home to Automation Alley. It is home to Chrysler's now namesake, Stellantis. It is home to countless men and women of the UAW and the building trades unions, those who are putting the pipes in the ground for hydrogen to succeed. We are looking at battery-electric vehicles. Be optimistic, my friends. Be proud. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise from this Chamber here in the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize 44 days of fitness that has taken place in a humble and independent gym called Burn Fitness. For 44 days, incredible people from across Oakland County have been participating in a fitness competition, engaging in spirited activities and spirited training, and I have been so pleased to be a part of that competition. We say all the time here in Congress as your Representative that we are really representing the best of Michigan. While I cannot be with you all tomorrow for the 45th day of this competition, please know that I am rooting for Sweet Caroline. I am rooting for her great final workout, and I know that she will make us all proud.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the story of Romi Gonen. She is still held hostage in Gaza. She is a bright, young 23-year-old woman who on that fateful Saturday morning, 10:58 a.m. to be exact, was at a peace concert with her friends out in the desert, and then she found herself in an unimaginable circumstance fleeing in a car with her friends being shot at trying to escape Hamas terrorists. The car was later found, and it was empty. Romi's incredible mother, Meirav, describes her daughter as a strong and happy type, and she was a former Scouts counselor. She was someone who loved being with children. So as we stand here telling Romi's story from the floor of the House of Representatives, the concentration of democracy in the United States of America, we recognize that what happened on October 7 was an attack on all of us. It was an attack on free and civil society. It was an attack on humanity. The fact that for 115 days Romi and hundreds of others of all ages and demographics and different ethnicities have been held hostage by those who do not seek to keep their own people safe is a reality that we have to reckon with because it is fear that they have sought to put into all of us. I am calling for Romi's release along with all of the hostages release. I continue to support the Biden administration's efforts through diplomacy and through negotiation to return these individuals. I also am using the authority vested in me as a Member of the United States House of Representatives to call for the passage of aid, to call for the funding of aid so that we can see Romi reunite with her family and so that we can see this war come to an end. We are heartbroken over the death and destruction that Hamas terrorists have brought on to the beautiful and incredible country of Israel and, frankly, to their own people. No one was calling for war but Hamas on October 7. We have to stand by democracy as the United States of America. We have to stand by individuals and people like Romi, her family, and the others. It is a true and profound honor to be here this evening with my colleague, someone whom I admire so deeply, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Like our majority leader emeritus, Steny Hoyer, I will continue to come to this floor to advocate, to push, and to fight for the return of Romi and the far too many others who continue to be held hostage by Hamas terrorists.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Oregon for yielding the time. Outrageous in its meaning and egregious in its outcome, I rise in strong opposition to this bill, the Pregnant Students' Rights Act. The amendment that I proposed in committee, the amendment that I took before the Rules Committee, to say that this bill should not fail in recognizing miscarriage, was not accepted, yet we know that upward of a quarter of pregnancies result in miscarriage. If you are not privileged to be going to college in Michigan, a State where abortion rights are enshrined into our State Constitution and are protected, and you are having a miscarriage, what happens to you? You are turned away at a hospital, and you are turned away for medical care. I rise today in support of women's healthcare rights, of women's freedom. Let's talk about pregnant rights, because we see in the States across this country, after Roe v. Wade was overturned, that women cannot get the healthcare they need. We see reporting in everyday publications like People magazine about women bleeding out in parking lots and women being forced to travel in their time of medical emergency on airplanes to get the care they need. That is what my colleagues are talking about. Yes, there is the miracle of life, but there is a need for real healthcare. Here we are at the quarter of the 21st century mark in this great country, we have access to all of the medical information we need to support the unborn, to support women, and to make sure that we have the best health outcomes, yet we have rising maternal mortality and a Black maternal mortality crisis in this country. How dare we come together under the guise of supporting pregnant students' rights without actually including full access to information to young women in their most vulnerable state? That is what we were pushing for in the Education and Labor Committee. That is what we were pushing for here on the House floor on the heels of voting on this resolution almost in the dark of the night. We have work to do. I am proud to be in a State that protects women's rights, but, man, oh, man, am I terrified, am I heartbroken for women that don't have those rights.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the story of Liri Albag, one of the remaining hostages in Gaza. This past Sunday marked the 100th day since Hamas terrorists brutally attacked Israel. There are still 136 innocent hostages who are experiencing the unimaginable. Terrorists carried out this atrocious attack, and terrorists are holding people like Liri against their will. I want to start by sharing her story. She is 18 years old. Her friends and family describe her as having a heart of gold. Her mother and sister say she is a strong woman who enjoys exploring life, holding an optimistic perspective, and wants to see the world as a beautiful place. Her life revolves around music and art, and she is a truly gifted young woman. On October 7, Liri and 240 other innocent men, women, children, and elderly were violently kidnapped. Liri needs to come home. She was working on an IDF base. It was her second day, and she was kidnapped. She was taken from us. So as this awful war goes on, we must continue to call for the release of these hostages. We cannot forget people like Liri.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, during my first term in Congress as a freshman member of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, we had a hearing at which we heard from a young woman researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who had taken the very first image ever of a black hole. Congresswoman Johnson, my chair, Chairwoman Johnson, took us to places that no one has been. She was constantly reaching and asking for more. In this term of Congress, I can't think of a time in which we have had a special order that has been bipartisan, but, for EBJ, we do, because that is who she was. When people were glad-handing and taking photos, she was cutting deals. The Chips and Science bill that got done under her leadership--and I spent a lot of hours on the phone with EBJ on that one--I watched her mastery on how that was going to get cooked up, because we are the House, and we think it starts with us, but the Senate had their vision. She changed my life. Her story is an American story, and it is an America-at-its-best story. Her legacy is profound, her friendships were enormous, and I will always remember what she taught me.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, as a co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on American Hostages and Americans Wrongfully Detained Abroad, I rise in support of the Conference Report to Accompany the National Defense Authorization Act. In the past decade, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of Americans taken hostage by rogue states and bad actors who are trying to leverage civilians to get what they want. Right now, according to the Foley Foundation, there are currently at least 64 Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained in countries overseas. They are held in 16 different countries and territories. Now, more than ever, we must keep up the drumbeat to bring these individuals home. That is why I am so heartened that the NDAA includes two of my bills to support and assist Americans wrongfully detained abroad and their loved ones fighting to get them safely back home. First, the U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day Act designates March 9 as Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day and requests that the President issue a yearly proclamation urging Americans to observe this day in remembrance for those held hostage. The bill also requires the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag be flown at the Capitol, the White House, and numerous other Federal buildings. These families need our support. These families need the Nation's attention. These families need this legislation. By designating a day and a flag to be flown on Federal property, we will bring much-needed awareness to the plight of these Americans and the heartache of their families. In addition, I am so very pleased to see that the NDAA includes the Supporting Americans Wrongfully or Unlawfully Detained Abroad Act. Families of the wrongfully detained often spend thousands and thousands of dollars traveling back and forth to Washington to advocate for the release of their loved ones and to work on their safe return home. This bill would help families defray these costs by providing financial assistance to cover the costs of travel to and from Washington, D.C., including travel by air, train, bus, or other transit, as well as covering lodging expenses. These families who are already dealing with the detention of a loved one shouldn't have to worry about going broke or spending a life savings because they are working alongside the Federal Government to do what is right. This bill will help ease that financial burden. Finally, when detainees return home after years of wrongful detention, we must do more to ensure that they have the resources they need to return to normal life. They have often been stripped of employment, housing, and life as they knew it before they were taken hostage. We must remember that the wrongfully detained have been imprisoned oftentimes for years, if not decades, which is wrong. They may come home, but they won't necessarily come home to a job. We cannot let these individuals fall through the cracks when they return. We need to help them return back to society. That is why I am so proud that this bill will also seek to make available physical health services, mental health services, and other support, including providing information on available legal or financial resources for up to 5 years following the release of a detainee. We need to make sure that these individuals have the physical and mental health assistance that they need to recover from unspeakable trauma. While nothing can give back the years that our adversaries or the time that our adversaries have taken from these Americans, we have a responsibility to help them get back on their feet. I sincerely thank the other co-chair of the American Hostage and Americans Wrongfully Detained Abroad Task Force, Mr. French Hill from Arkansas, for working with me on both of these bills. I also pay recognition to the families of the hostages, particularly the family of my constituent, Paul Whelan, who is about to hit 5 years wrongfully detained in Russia. We are continuing to shine a light on Paul and demand and call for his release from the Russian Government. To those held hostage, Congress stands behind you. Congress continues to work alongside our ally, Israel, in calling for the return of the 138 hostages currently still being held in Gaza.

Ms. STEVENS

Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 4468, a bill that would undermine the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to prohibit the EPA from implementing emissions regulations and their ability to protect our air quality and our climate. I thank our ranking member, Mr. Pallone, and, of course, my great colleague, Congresswoman Dingell, from the State of Michigan. The auto industry relies on the EPA and their emissions standards to successfully compete. When the GOP shut down the Federal Government in 2018, our automakers could not roll new automobiles off the line because they needed the EPA to do the emissions testing. This is dangerous legislation, particularly because the EPA serves as a critical partner to our automakers during this very transformative time. No fear-mongering. People will have a choice. They will continue to have a choice, and they will work with their dealers. People do not have the choice of the air they breathe. The United States is poised, through our manufacturing base, to lead the world in innovation, safety, and clean technology. Not only does H.R. 4468 jeopardize public health and the environment, it hurts our economy and global competitiveness. Let us not cede technology to China. Let us create, develop and manufacture it here in the United States of America. For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted it, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill. My amendment would strike the language that blocks EPA regulations based on the limited availability of new motor vehicles. This amendment would restore the EPA's authority and responsibility to set science-based standards that protect our health and climate while supporting American innovation and leadership in the automotive and manufacturing sector.

Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, my amendment would ensure the EPA can continue to drive progress in reducing vehicle emissions and advancing clean transportation technology. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion to recommit.