Dina Titus

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor and missed Roll Call No. 267 through 269. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 267, on ordering the previous question; NAY on Roll Call No. 268, on agreeing to the resolution H. Res. 707; and YEA on Roll Call No. 269, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 2721.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor and missed Roll Call Nos. 265 and 266. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 265, the Republican Motion to Table the Democratic Motion to Discharge H.J. Res. 117 and YEA on Roll Call No. 266, H.R. 3400.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, as a Vice Co-Chair of the Hellenic Caucus and a proud Greek-American, I rise today to welcome His All-Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, to the United States, the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Christian community around the world. His All-Holiness's visit to Washington, D.C. and New York is yet another demonstration of his commitment to peace, his see, and the millions of Orthodox Christians in the United States. Born Demetrios Arhondonis in 1940 on the island of Imvros (today, Gokceada, Turkey), His All-Holiness Bartholomew was elected in October 1991 as the 270th Archbishop of the 2000-year-old Church founded by the Apostle Andrew. His formal office is Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, a historic title dating to the sixth century. The Ecumenical Patriarch received his elementary and secondary education in Imvros and Istanbul. After completing undergraduate studies at the historic Theological School of Halki, he pursued graduate studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute of the Gregorian University in Rome (Italy), the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey (Switzerland), and the University of Munich (Germany). His doctoral dissertation, submitted to the University of Athens (Greece), was in the field of Canon Law, and he was a founding member of the Society of Canon Law of the Oriental Churches. Ordained to the Diaconate in 1961 and to the Priesthood in 1969, he served as Assistant Dean at the Theological School of Halki (1968 to 1972) before his appointment as Personal Secretary to the late Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios (1972 to 1990) as well as his election as Metropolitan of Philadelphia (1973) and, subsequently, Metropolitan of Chalcedon (1990). His see, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, once possessed holdings as vast as the Vatican but has been reduced to a small, besieged enclave in a decaying corner of Istanbul called the Phanar (Lighthouse). Almost all of its property has been seized by successive Turkish governments, its schools have been closed, and its prelates are taunted by extremists who demonstrate almost daily outside the Patriarchate, calling for its ouster from Turkey. The Patriarch himself is often jeered and threatened when he ventures outside his walled enclave. He is periodically burned in effigy by Turkish chauvinists. Petty bureaucrats take pleasure in harassing him, summoning him to their offices to question him about irrelevant issues, blocking his efforts to make repairs in the few buildings still under his control, and issuing veiled threats about what he says and does when he travels abroad. The Turkish government as a whole follows a policy that deliberately beIittles him, refusing to recognize his ecumenical status as the spiritual leader of a major religious faith. In September 1955, when Bartholomew was studying in Istanbul, he witnessed a massive pogrom against the city's Greek neighborhoods that left them looking ``like the bombed parts of London during the Second World War,'' as one British journalist reported. While the police ``stood idly by or cheered on the mob,'' according to a report of the U.S. consul, 4,000 Greek shops and 2,000 homes were sacked and plundered, 38 churches were burned to the ground and 35 more desecrated, and 52 schools were destroyed. More than a dozen people were killed and scores were injured during the riots, beginning a cycle of violence and intimidation that has seen Istanbul's Greek population reduced from 200,000 when the riots erupted to less than 2,000 today. At a time when hostility and misunderstanding between the Christian and Muslim worlds have reached a deadly standoff, Patriarch Bartholomew, who speaks seven languages including Turkish, has made a deliberate effort to reach out to Muslims throughout the Middle East. ``It is our strong belief that Orthodox Christians have a special responsibility to assist East-West rapprochement,'' he noted. ``For, like the Turkish Republic, we have a foot in both worlds.'' Pointing out that Orthodox Christians have a 550-year history of co-existence with Muslims in the Middle East, he has initiated a series of meetings with Muslim leaders throughout the region in what he calls ``a dialogue of loving truth.'' To strengthen that dialogue, he has traveled to Libya, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Qatar, and Bahrain, and met political and religious figures in those countries, whom no other Christian hierarch has ever visited. As a result, the Patriarch has created more bridges between Christianity and Islam than any other prominent Christian leader. The Patriarch's concerns are not just limited to interfaith conflicts but have expanded to embrace all of God's creation. He has shown such concern for the environment that he has become widely known as ``the Green Patriarch.'' He famously declared shortly after he assumed the ecumenical throne in 1991 that ``crime against the natural world is a sin.'' Human beings and the environment, he stated, ``compose a seamless garment of existence, a multicolored cloth, which we believe to be woven in its entirety by God.'' The world, he told a 1997 conference of environmentalists in Santa Barbara, California, ``is not ours to use for our own convenience. It is God's gift of love to us, and we must return his love by protecting it and all that is in it.'' To back up his words with action, Bartholomew launched a series of initiatives to raise worldwide concern for the environment. In 1992 he proposed to all Orthodox churches that September 1st be celebrated as a special day of prayer for the environment. In 1995 he started a series of environmental conferences, inviting prominent scientists, political leaders, theologians, ecologists, and journalists to embark on weeklong trips to examine the destruction that pollution has caused on major waters. Designed to draw international attention to the ecological degradation of the areas they visit, five such floating conferences have taken place in the past decade to the Black Sea, the Aegean, the Adriatic, the Baltic and the Danube River. For his work to combat pollution, the Patriarch was chosen in 2002 to receive Norway's Sophie Prize, the most important international award given for leadership on the environment. He donated the $100,000 prize money to the poor children of Ethiopia, Greece, and Turkey. ``We are losing time,'' Bartholomew warned while accepting the award, ``and the more we wait, the more difficult and irreparable the damage.'' Although his efforts have brought him little relief from his problems in Turkey, they have been recognized around the world, including by the U.S. Congress, which gave him its highest award, the Congressional Gold Medal, in a ceremony in the Capitol. ``The greatest lesson about America lies under this magnificent dome,'' he told the assembled legislators. ``The Pentagon embodies might, but the Capitol embodies right. In these halls, different points of view meet and are reconciled . . . And--most important to the Orthodox Church during many dark ages--in these halls human rights are preserved and human dignity is enhanced.'' Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is a leading figure in the dialogues of the Abrahamic Faiths--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and his presence in Washington, D.C. is an extraordinary opportunity to highlight the positive role that religious leaders of his stature bring to the myriad causes we in Congress grapple with each day. In addition to welcoming His All-Holiness to the United States and recognizing his lifetime of service and commitment to peace, I also ask that the House join me in congratulating Patriarch Bartholomew for receiving this year's Templeton Prize. Established in 1972, the Templeton Prize honors individuals whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind's place and purpose within it. At this year's ceremony, His All-Holiness will be honored for ``pioneering efforts to bridge scientific and spiritual understandings of humanity's relationship with the natural world [which] have brought together people of different faiths to heed a call for stewardship of creation.'' It is my hope that His All-Holiness's trip is not only a resounding success, but brings with it a message for all of us as legislators to recommit ourselves to complementing his vital work of building bridges, protecting God's creation, and advancing the cause of peace around the world.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Madam Speaker, I was absent from the floor and the missed Roll Call votes numbered 263 and 264. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 263 on the Motion to Instruct Conferees on HR 3944, and NAY on Roll Call No. 264 on Final Passage HR 3486.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor and missed Roll Call votes Nos. 244 through 262. Had I been present, I would have voted: AYE on Roll Call No. 244 on Meeks Amendment No. 34 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 245 on Norman Amendment No. 13 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 246 on Mace Amendment No. 14 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 247 on Mace Amendment No. 15 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 248 on Mace Amendment No. 16 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No, 249 on Mace Amendment No. 17 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 250 on Smith of NJ Amendment No. 7 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 251 on the Patronis Amendment No. 9 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 252 on Wilson of SC Amendment No. 11 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 253 on Mills Amendment No. 18 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 254 on Davidson Amendment No. 20 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 255 on Greene of GA Amendment No. 22 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 256 on Greene of GA Amendment No. 23 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 257 on Greene of GA Amendment No. 24 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 258 on McCormick Amendment No. 25 to HR 3838, NO on Roll Call No. 259 on Biggs Amendment No. 29 to HR 3838, AYE on Roll Call No. 260 on Rose Amendment No. 253 to HR 3838, YEA on Roll Call No. 261 on the Motion to Recommit on HR 3838, and NO on Roll Call No. 262 on Final Passage of HR 3838.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor and missed the roll call votes on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3424, SPACE Act of 2025; and on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3425, POST Act of 2025. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 240 and YEA on Roll Call No. 241.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark the 15th annual International Day Against Nuclear Tests on August 29th, and to commend the Republic of Kazakhstan for its role in working collaboratively with the United States to pursue nuclear disarmament and our shared nonproliferation goals. In doing so, our two countries have preserved peace, stability, and a world free from the ever-present threat of nuclear conflict. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, it left behind 35,000 nuclear weapons at sites across the Eurasian landmass. With thousands of nuclear-armed ICBMs in places like Belarus and Ukraine, the newly- formed Republic of Kazakhstan inherited the world's fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, which was also home of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. From Semipalatinsk's establishment in 1946 to its decommission in 1995, Soviet authorities carried out 468 nuclear tests at the test site. The total impact of these tests between 1949 and 1963 was 2,500 times more powerful than the atomic bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima. The toxic radioactive fallout these tests yielded caused irreparable damage to more than 1.3 million people in Kazakhstan and severe ecological harm to the area surrounding the test site. In 1989, before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, anti-nuclear war activists in Kazakhstan established the Nevada-Semipalatinsk Movement. This grassroots initiative supported by victims of Nevada's own nuclear legacy sought the closure of Semipalatinsk and the cessation of nuclear testing. Of the 18 planned detonations in 1989, 11 were stopped thanks to the group's committed advocacy and resilience. The Nevada- Semipalatinsk Movement underscores the bond and shared history between Nevadans and Kazakhs. Despite any strategic advantage that retention of the Soviet Union's arsenal may have provided to Kazakhstan, its leadership understood the potential political, humanitarian, and environmental ramifications of its development. On August 29, 1991, Kazakhstan made the historic and noble decision to close the Semipalatinsk test site. In its place, the National Nuclear Center of Kazakhstan was established to assist in eliminating the infrastructure for the storage and use of nuclear weapons. It would also provide scientific and technical support for the peaceful use of atomic energy. In 1992, Kazakhstan ratified the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1) and a few years later, all of Kazakhstan's 104 ICBMs were safely removed and destroyed. The Kazakh government doubled-down on its commitment to global peace, security, and nonproliferation by becoming a party to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1993, a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1994, and a cosigner of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty in 1996. Meanwhile, in partnership with the United States, Kazakhstan removed 1,322 pounds of highly enriched uranium from the Ulba Metallurgical Plant under the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. As part of this program, our two countries took monumental steps to remove residual materials and technologies related to weapons of mass destruction in Kazakhstan, signaling a major shift in the global security and political paradigm and building momentum that catalyzed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an International Day Against Nuclear Tests. Thus, August 29th was selected to commend and recognize Kazakhstan's honorable decision to close the Semipalatinsk test site and renounce nuclear weapons. With Cold War-style nuclear saber-rattling becoming the new norm, it is important, on this International Day Against Nuclear Tests, to highlight the successful steps taken by the United States and Kazakhstan to mitigate the dangers of nuclear weapons, institute global nonproliferation regimes, and adhere to international norms around nuclear testing.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge passage of my FAIR BET Act. The Republican's Triple B overturned a half-century tax provision that allowed gamblers to deduct 100 percent of their losses from their winnings. Accordingly, because that has been eliminated, gamblers now will be required to pay taxes on money they haven't earned. My FAIR BET Act would undo the Senate mistake by keeping the 100 percent loss policy in place. This will ensure that gamblers don't have to pay taxes on phantom income and are not lured to offshore and unregulated markets. My legislation has bipartisan support because Members on both sides understand that this is not ideological. It is just fair, good tax policy. Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to bet on the come, and pass the FAIR BET Act.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to send a message to Senator Lee and his allies: We are not going to let you use our treasured public lands as revenue raisers to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. We made it clear here in the House that selling off our public lands faced bipartisan opposition. With the House version of the bill, I was pleased and proud to lead the effort to strike that provision to sell off public lands in my congressional district in southern Nevada without our consent. Now, Senator Lee is trying to introduce a similar provision in the Senate version of the bill. Nevadans see this for what it is, and there is public outrage from outdoor enthusiasts and conservationists. I am pleased that the Senate Parliamentarian, with the Byrd rule, has correctly ruled that this reckless provision has no business in a reconciliation bill. These are our public lands. Look at this map, and you can see what is at stake. It is not in the bill right now, but the fight is far from over, and so we will continue to do that. This is the reason why, for future generations.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor and the roll call votes today. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 172, the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 1998; YEA on Roll Call No. 173, the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3394; and YEA on Roll Call No. 174, the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3422.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, during Roll Call Vote No. 158 on H. Res. 488, I mistakenly recorded my vote as PRESENT when I intended to vote NAY.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader for yielding time. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans may think that they can hide what they are doing to the American people by voting on this one big, bad, beautiful, BS bill in the middle of the night. They need to think again. I represent Las Vegas. That is a 24-hour town. My constituents are up. They are not asleep. They are working, and they are watching. They can see my Republican colleagues cutting benefits for families while cutting taxes for billionaires. They can see them taking away food from children and healthcare from women. They can see my friends on the other side of the aisle stripping funds from renewable energy, Medicaid, and public education. They are not asleep. They are not blind. Their eyes are wide open. Republicans can say whatever they want to, but my constituents are watching what they are doing.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, over the past few weeks, I have held a number of townhalls, and one thing keeps coming up consistently: Democrats need a cohesive, concise message that clearly lays out what we are for, not just what we are opposed to. In 1994, Newt Gingrich drew up a Contract with America. It was a simple set of priorities that Republicans promised to enact if they got the House majority. Well, it worked; the Republicans took the House in the 1994 mid-term elections. I propose a Contract for America, one that reflects who we are as Democrats: Good wages, fair taxes, quality education, protecting Social Security and Medicare, expanding veterans' benefits, providing universal healthcare, environmental conservation, and national security. We need a message that spells out exactly what we will do to benefit our constituents and how we will do it. That needs to start right now.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor and the roll call vote on passage of H.J. Res. 24, providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to ``Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers.'' Had I been present, I would have voted: NAY on Roll Call vote no. 77, final passage of H.J. Res. 24.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor and the roll call vote on Ordering the Previous Question to provide consideration of the joint resolutions H.J. Res. 42, H.J. Res. 61, and S.J. Res. 11. Had I been present, I would have voted: NO on Roll Call No. 56 on Ordering the Previous Question.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor today. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 506 on the Motion on Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 1616.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6229, the DHS Special Events Program and Support Act. Nevada's First District, that I am proud to represent, hosts hundreds of high-profile events each year that require considerable security measures to keep safe the southern Nevadans and the thousands of visitors who attend these events. While State and local law enforcement take the primary responsibility in providing support for local events, many occasions, from the Super Bowl to Formula One races, require additional Federal support to ensure that security measures are hardened to prevent and protect against bad actors intending to do harm. Through October of this year, about 35 million visitors have come to Las Vegas. This includes 5 million who came for conventions, 330,000 who attended the Super Bowl, and 300,000 who were there recently for Formula One. Major events like this don't just occur in my district. They occur all around the country. Our country hosts some of the world's greatest events, as you have heard. In communities across the United States, special events routinely draw visitors from around the country and around the world, necessitating large-scale security coordination and assistance from the Federal Government. Our next decade will be crucial for the United States as we host several large-scale events that will draw millions of visitors. These will require enhanced security coordination. They include the World Cup, the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, Men's and Women's Rugby World Cup, and the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, that in addition will give our country the opportunity to show off to the rest of the world that we are the unparalleled sports, entertainment, and hospitality capital. My bill, H.R. 6229, the DHS Special Events Program and Support Act, will enable the Federal Government to support these local jurisdictions in safely hosting these events. The SEAR program within DHS helps to provide this supplemental Federal support on an ad hoc basis, but it has never been authorized into law. This legislation does just that and in turn fortifies the existing program to better equip law enforcement authorities to prevent, mitigate, and respond to threats to events that happen in all our districts. Importantly, it codifies the standardized SEAR process into law, ensures DHS maintains its risk-based methodology for event review, and allows expedited consideration or reconsideration of events that receive an initial SEAR designation. I thank Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina for partnering with me on this legislation to codify the SEAR program, as well as Representatives Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Anthony D'Esposito of New York, and Jared Moskowitz of Florida for cosponsoring the bill. I thank the chairman and ranking member for bringing it to the floor, and I urge all Members to vote in support of this bipartisan measure.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this critical bipartisan bill which addresses water issues across the Nation, and it is especially important in the West where whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over. This legislation includes provisions that I introduced and led to extend the Las Vegas Wash Program, which is essential for returning water to Lake Mead as our region of the country battles historic drought. Additionally, as the ranking member of the Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee, I am proud to have negotiated the first reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration in 20 years. It includes my language recognizing the importance of travel and tourism for economic development. Across the country, every place has something people want to visit, but it is especially true in my district which includes Las Vegas. It also has my legislation to assist with water conservation efforts in economies negatively impacted by drought and extreme heat. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Chairman Rouzer, and especially Ranking Member Napolitano, Chairman Perry, and all the wonderful staff who worked so hard to move this forward and make the bipartisan package possible.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 484 and YEA on Roll Call No. 486.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor and the roll call vote on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 390--Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Enhancement Act. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 480 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 390.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge and thank my Republican colleague from Indiana (Mr. Baird) for joining me on this bipartisan legislation to establish the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts Authorization Act, H.R. 8368. Over the course of our 20-year mission in Afghanistan, more than 300,000 Afghans worked shoulder to shoulder with U.S. servicemembers, diplomats, and aid workers. They provided valuable support for nearly 800,000 U.S. troops who rotated through Afghanistan. They served primarily as translators, guides, and informal advisers to U.S. personnel on the ground. These are, in every sense of the word, our valued allies. They stood with us through difficult conditions, advancing U.S. interests. In August 2021, the U.S. conducted an historic and heroic evacuation that carried 70,000 Afghans to safety along with tens of thousands of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, as well as citizens from other countries. Since July 2021, the State Department has worked around the clock to relocate U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents from Afghanistan who wanted to depart and who were eligible Afghan allies who worked with us. Secretary Blinken has made this a top priority for the Department and has said that there is no deadline for this important work. He underscores the commitment that the Biden administration has to this effort and the promise of Operation Enduring Welcome. In 2022, to solidify these relocation efforts, the State Department established a specialized office called the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, appropriately known as CARE. CARE serves as the hub for a whole-of-government priority, working closely with various Federal departments and agencies, international partners, veterans groups, former diplomats, government officials, and NGOs to ensure the safe and efficient relocation of individuals who have qualified to immigrate to the U.S., either as special immigrants or refugees, during the 20-year U.S. mission to Afghanistan. The Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program, also stood up by Congress and relying on our regular reauthorization of additional visa numbers to meet demand, long faced challenges and processing delays, but the situation changed dramatically early in 2021, when the Biden administration ramped up resources to clear an SIV processing backlog that had accumulated in the prior administration. Working together, Congress and the administration have prioritized and streamlined the Afghan SIV program to meet evolving demand and uphold our moral obligation. In fiscal year 2023, the administration issued the most SIVs in a single year since the start of the program in 2009. In the most recent report, the Department issued 1,894 SIVs, ensuring that almost 8,000 additional Afghan allies and their families had a pathway to safety. Similarly, the State Department has announced the establishment of a new P-2 category for refugees, in addition to the P-1 referrals, to expand available pathways for persecuted Afghans. As a result, we have welcomed more than 130,000 Afghans to safety. The CARE program has been the linchpin of this work, serving as a valuable conduit for all of the different organizations I mentioned and Afghans themselves as they navigate a pathway to their new home. The work, however, is not codified in statute. It exists across a number of agencies and programs. Congress should be unambiguous here. We support this work. We want to see the job continue, and we should do so by authorizing it as a new agency. That is what this bill would do. It would authorize the CARE office in the State Department for 3 years and grant it important authorities to continue this work as an identified legislative priority for the State Department. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, to acknowledge the obligation that we have, our moral obligation to help those who helped us so much, and to fulfill our promise to all of those who stood with us. I thank Ranking Member Meeks and Chairman McCaul of the Foreign Affairs Committee for their support in helping move this bill to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McGovern, Congressman McGovern, for his leadership in this area and for setting up the Special Order on such an important topic. As a political science professor and a student of the history of nuclear weaponry, and now a Member of Congress representing much of southern Nevada, I have learned a thing or two about our nuclear legacy. In fact, I wrote a book on Nevada's atomic heritage called ``Not In My Backyard.'' Nevada was the focal point of nuclear development during the Cold War. Over four decades, the Nevada Test Site, which is located just a hundred miles north of Las Vegas, hosted over 900 nuclear tests, more than any other place in the country. Throughout the 1950s, the mushroom cloud continued to loom in the distance as people enjoyed what Las Vegas had to offer. It was almost like a tourist attraction. These tests were conducted to better understand the power and impact of nuclear weapons, and the site played a major role in shaping national and international policies regarding nuclear testing and nonproliferation. The radiation given off by more than 100 atmospheric tests, however, has had devastating impacts on those downwind. That includes workers at the test site, our atomic soldiers who did war games in the shadow of the detonations, and also sheepherders across the border in Utah. The fallout caused cancer and premature deaths for thousands across the West and contaminated soil in the vicinity of the test site, resulting in a loss of biodiversity. The 800 underground tests also resulted in radioactive contamination of groundwater, and that is still a problem today. Radioactivity levels in the water are declining over time, but elements such as plutonium and uranium are likely to pose a risk for thousands of years. Fortunately, the Department of Energy's Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program and the National Nuclear Security Administration and its nuclear weapons laboratories have been able to certify that our nuclear stockpile remains safe, secure, and reliable without needing to resume explosive testing. Mr. Speaker, in 2020, the Trump administration called for a resumption of nuclear testing in the breach of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. I helped lead the charge in the fiscal year 2021 NDAA process to ensure that explosive nuclear testing could not be resurrected in the United States because it would be right there in Nevada. With a second Trump administration taking office in January, that same disastrous policy from 2020 is featured in Project 2025. That is the blueprint that we understand Trump will be following in his next 4 years. On page 399, Project 2025 calls for the rejection of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which will not only allow nuclear testing here at home but will give the green light to other nuclear powers around the world to do the same. The result will put us on a collision course of catastrophic proportions with Russia and China. It will undermine the entire arms control regime, allow for the proliferation of these weapons to non- nuclear states, and will once again put the health of Nevadans in jeopardy. Mr. Speaker, the United States has been a beacon of nonproliferation and responsible stewardship of nuclear stockpiles. Upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, we helped newly reformed republics like Kazakhstan safely remove and decommission warheads and testing facilities while ushering in a new era of nuclear risk reduction by implementing the nonproliferation treaty, New START, and, of course, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Those in favor of resuming nuclear testing under the principle of peace through strength are merely contributing to additional nuclear risks and challenges to strategic stability. Mr. Speaker, let's be clear. In a nuclear arms race, there are no winners, only losers. We must not provide foreign nations with a justification to openly conduct nuclear test explosions while imposing immense financial and health costs on our constituents. The U.S. has been a leader on nuclear risk reduction, and we must continue to act responsibly in that regard. It is one of the most serious things that we face, and we must stand strong against it.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the 100th birthday of Sara Denton, a close friend and trailblazer in Nevada politics. Sara Pittard Denton was born on November 12, 1924, in Paducah, Kentucky. In 1943, during her first year in college at Southern Illinois University, the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the forerunner to Military Intelligence, recruited her to work as a ``Code Girl'' in Washington, D.C. at the height of World War II. There she met Ralph Denton, a young U.S. Army lieutenant from Caliente, Nevada, who was attending law school under the patronage of U.S. Senator Pat McCarran. They married in 1949 and after Ralph's graduation, the newlyweds moved to Nevada where for 75 years Sara volunteered in numerous state and national political campaigns while also rearing their three children: renown author Sally, Dr. Scott Denton, and Judge Mark Denton. Following her participation in U.S. Senator Howard Cannon's successful 1976 campaign, Sara was hired as his Administrative Assistant, her first and only paid position in Nevada politics. In recent decades, Sara has been instrumental in other Nevada campaigns, including presidential candidates Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris. In addition to her political work, Sara has been involved in numerous community and charitable organizations, including the 1964 founding of Boulder City's Art in the Park, the largest juried art festival in the Southwest with proceeds going towards the Boulder City Hospital Foundation. The State of Nevada has benefitted tremendously from her work. She is greatly respected, highly admired, and deeply loved by so many. I join my fellow Nevadans in wishing her a Happy One-Hundredth Birthday.

Ms. TITUS

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Miracle Flights as they prepare to celebrate their 100-millionth mile flown on October 24th. Miracle Flights was founded in Clark County, Nevada, in 1985, and has remained dedicated to its mission of providing free flights to children and families in need of specialized medical care across the United States. Their long-standing partnership with Southwest Airlines has been instrumental in facilitating these flights, providing essential support to families who would otherwise be unable to access the specialized medical care they require. On Thursday, October 24. Miracle Flights will reach an extraordinary milestone of 100 million miles flown, symbolizing the organization's unwavering commitment to ensuring no distance is too great for children to receive life-saving treatment, regardless of their financial means. The flight will benefit 8-year-old Luna D. of Las Vegas, who was diagnosed with an optic glioma tumor in May 2017. Luna travels to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, every three months for specialized oncology care, testing, and an MRI. Before boarding the flight, Luna and her family will get a big sendoff from the Miracle Flights team at Harry Reid International Airport. This monumental achievement is not only a testament to Miracle Flights' enduring dedication to families in Clark County and Nevada's First Congressional District, but it also reflects its nationwide impact on reducing barriers to essential healthcare.