Tim Walberg

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) who also chairs the Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I am shocked at that description of this legislation and would ask where in the world that information is found in this bill. There is no requirement for inspections, and there is no necessary effort other than going to a person's birth certificate. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens), one who knows about true competition and an equal nature and a just nature as well, as he wears a Super Bowl ring. He is also the vice chair of the Education and Workforce Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Utah.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller), a member of the Education and Workforce Committee and a strong leader in protecting womanhood, girls, and Title IX.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 5 seconds to the gentlewoman from Illinois.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Onder), a new member of the Education and Workforce Committee.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Harris), an incoming member of the Education and Workforce Committee.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messmer), who is an incoming member of the Education and Workforce Committee.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman).

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I continue to hear the talk about invasion of privacy of young kids. It is just not true. On the other hand, let me explain to my colleagues what is invasive. Last year, Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer, testified in front of Georgia's State legislature. In addressing Georgia Tech's president, she said: ``We did not give our consent to be exploited and exposed to a 6-foot-4 fully naked man. Because you did nothing, that man walked into the women's locker room at your university and saw me undress down to full nudity. You allowed college women to be traumatized . . . on your campus in this way. Why didn't you protect us?'' I ask the same to my Democratic colleagues, Mr. Speaker. Why aren't they willing to protect the women and girls from this invasion of their privacy? Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it saddens me to hear that my colleagues, who I respect and enjoy working with on most things, are totally not recognizing the fact that the American people, parents, grandparents, and teachers, don't stand with them and organizations that are reported today aren't speaking for the benefit of girls and women. It is absolutely heart-wrenching to see daughters and sisters lose races. The strides women have made across all corners of the sports world deserve to be celebrated and protected. Like it or not, sports are based on physical ability. Pretending otherwise is a stark denial of reality. Erasing sex means ultimately erasing women, especially when it comes to sports. Girls and women lose a fair chance to compete when a biological male enters the field. We can't let women's sports become collateral damage in the far left's campaign against a traditional science-based understanding of sex. Allowing women and girls to suffer for the sake of the dishonesty of wokeness is inexcusable. We need to stand for women and girls. I believe that the constituents in overwhelming majority understand what my colleagues are posturing with and that that is not what we are talking about. We are standing for affirming Title IX, affirming women, affirming girls, and protecting them for their abilities to succeed in the future. I plead with my Democratic colleagues to join us in celebrating women and girls, the female athlete, and females in general. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of my legislation, H.R. 1377, the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act. This important legislation strengthens American leadership in 5G and future wireless communications by bringing together key stakeholders to create a unified approach to international standards-setting. It directs the NTIA to assist and encourage trusted U.S. companies to actively participate in global standards-setting organizations, such as 3GPP and IEEE. These independent, business-led entities establish the technical standards that 5G operators, equipment manufacturers, software providers, and others rely on to build wireless networks. China and other adversaries are investing heavily in 5G deployment and are actively working to shape these standards-setting processes to serve their interests. If they succeed in skewing future standards toward their own priorities, the United States risks being placed at a significant economic and strategic disadvantage. As we did with 3G and 4G, the United States must continue leading the way on 5G. H.R. 1377 ensures a coordinated approach to counter foreign influence by protecting our national security, our economic competitiveness, and global technology leadership. Finally, this will be my last act for now as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. It has been a wonderful, productive 8 years. I have worked on such a wide set of policies such as increasing energy independence, protecting kids online, fighting electric vehicle mandates, championing American innovators, improving nationwide connectivity, and much, much more. My colleagues and the many staff I have worked with have made my time on the Energy and Commerce Committee great. I see why this committee is often called the best committee on the Hill, though I am going to challenge you for that title over at the Education and the Workforce Committee. I thank the incredible leadership of Chair Rodgers and former Chair Walden, and I wish Chair-elect Guthrie all the best. As my last ask, I encourage all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate my friend, Cathy McMorris Rodgers. From taking on TikTok, as we have talked about, to boosting America's energy strategy, Chairwoman Rodgers has been our fearless leader for the last 4 years on the Committee on Energy and Commerce and as Conference chair before that. I am most thankful for her commitment to taking care of our Nation's children, all our children. Through her efforts on kids' online privacy and safety, as well as on improving health outcomes for babies, children, and mothers, her passion and hard work have never wavered. We are sad to see her go but wish her God's richest blessings in her next stage of life, for it is God who guided her good and principled representation of those she served. The State of Washington and her family are lucky to have her back. Maybe I would change that from lucky to blessed to have her back full time. Thank you, Madam Chair, for your years of service to this country, the committee, the God you serve, and Members like me who so appreciated your leadership. God bless you.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5349, the Crucial Communism Teaching Act, and I thank my colleague from Florida, Representative Salazar, for her work on this important legislation that comes from personal experience with communism. Communism has a long and dark history of political suppression, persecution, and violence that has been whitewashed by foreign influence in American education institutions for a long time. Schoolchildren should receive an accurate and comprehensive education on communist regimes and policies. Communism has led to the deaths of over 100 million victims worldwide. It has failed every time it has been tried, and, sadly, polls today show that one in five millennials and one in three members of Gen Z have a positive viewpoint of communism. Wow. Mr. Speaker, that data is troubling, and solutions start with ensuring an accurate education. What this legislation does is it says: Local K-12 schools are local K-12 schools. The bureaucracy in the Federal Government is not going to put the thumb on the scale, but we are going to give the opportunity for accurate educational tools to be put in place if they choose to do it. Mr. Speaker, I think there are a lot of American parents who would be thrilled with the opportunity of knowing that these resources, put together by people who understand the history, will be there for them. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 5349 as an initial, positive step toward restoring the greatness of our country with the understanding of the evil influence of communism that is still there and invading our country at this very moment in our classrooms. Mr. Speaker, I urge its passage.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 8932, the FAFSA Deadline Act, and I commend Congresswoman Houchin for her leadership on this important piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, it isn't too often that we get to say this, but there is bipartisan agreement in recognizing the Department of Education's rollout of FAFSA has been nothing short of an embarrassment. Sadly, it is an embarrassment that negatively impacted students across the country, teachers, professors, and especially lower income students who need financial assistance the most. I was proud to be part of the bipartisan effort to overhaul FAFSA and make it simpler, but after 3 long years to implement the reforms, the Department dropped the ball numerous times. As a result, over 430,000 fewer students submitted a FAFSA form, according to GAO. Additionally, there have been numerous reports from across the country about how this botched rollout has affected institutions. This fall semester, institutions experienced the steepest drop in first-year enrollment since the pandemic, pushing many institutions to the financial brink. This is unacceptable. H.R. 8932 is a commonsense bill to provide students, families, and institutions much-needed clarity by ensuring the FAFSA is released and fully operational on October 1 of each year. Doing so will ensure schools and counselors are able to conduct outreach efforts as needed. Colleges will be able to get their financial aid offers processed in a timely manner, and students will be able to make informed decisions about their academic future. Mr. Speaker, under the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Education has become a bloated arsenal of bureaucracy, more focused on woke policies than its core mission. I look forward to working with the incoming Trump administration on rightsizing the Department of Education, if that is even possible, and putting American students and their families first. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 8932.