John Yarmuth

Mr. YARMUTH

Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I rise in honor of the TSA workers at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, and please understand, this is not a token acknowledgement. I am about to wrap up a 16 year Congressional career in which I've flown from my home in Louisville to the Capitol and back around 40 weeks or so in a non-pandemic year. That's about 1,120 flights, give or take. I see these folks more than I see most of my colleagues. And it's great. They're friendly, they're funny, they're kind. If they obstruct, it's with good reason. Seriously, they've made these encounters a truly enjoyable part of my job. Yes, I'm talking about going through airport security. No easy task. Of course, being nice for me to talk to is hardly the most important part of their jobs. They're keeping us safe, our families, our community. Every single person who passes through Muhammad Ali International Airport is their responsibility, both to protect and to ensure is not a threat. One week a year, 30,000 people pass through in just a few days for the Kentucky Derby, and each one requires attention from our TSA workers. And people think airport security is stressful for them. But if they get stressed, you'd never know it. You'll get a friendly smile, a kind word, and maybe even a joke. When I ran for Congress, I'll be honest, I never thought about how much time I'd spend with the men and women of Louisville's TSA. But now, it's time I'll never forget. They are true public servants who've kept us safe and secure, and I thank them. I don't know where I'll be going in retirement, but I look forward to seeing them on the way there.

Mr. YARMUTH

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, several years ago, I ran into a former Member of the House and asked him whether he missed it. He answered: ``I don't miss the circus. I miss the clowns.'' Now that I am in my final days as a Member and have reflected on my 16 years here, I am going to tweak that line. I won't miss everything about the circus, and I will miss many but not all of the clowns. I also now understand why so many people are afraid of clowns. I definitely will miss speaking on the House floor, so I will use my last appearance in this historic space to talk about what I will and won't miss. I will miss the feeling that I am part of history, if not always history I would brag about. I will miss the constant reminder that I have served in the same body as Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, John Lewis, and so many other amazing Americans. I will miss the serious, thoughtful, and often noble discussions about how we can make a positive difference in the lives of so many Americans, even if we rarely make as big a difference as we would want. I will miss the give-and-take of policy debates, even though I know there was never a chance the debates would change anyone's mind. On the other hand, I won't miss the reality that most of our rhetorical firepower is preaching to our respective choirs and that too much of what we say comes from the devils and not the angels of our natures. I won't miss the constant emphasis on raising money and the apparent conviction of some that only gobs of money can persuade enough voters to win elections. I won't miss the frustrating reality that we rarely move quickly enough to deal with the challenges of a fast-moving world and the fear that if this body doesn't figure out how to work more expeditiously, we will continue to frustrate our citizens. I will miss many of my colleagues, some of whom are now among my best friends and, yes, even some from across the aisle. They have broadened my perspective and reinforced my belief that, with all of our flaws, we are essentially decent and caring people who try to find better ways forward for our country. I respect them and thank them for their service and friendship. They are definitely not clowns. I have so many other people to thank as I leave this body. Of course, I must thank my family for encouraging me to do this work and for excusing me for missing so much of their lives, and in recent years, my grandsons, J.D. and Rory, for being constant reminders that what we do here has implications far beyond the moment. I will be eternally grateful to the people of Louisville, who have given me the extraordinary honor and responsibility to represent them here. As a former staffer, I knew that a great staff is essential for success. I have been blessed with phenomenal staff members throughout my eight terms. Thanks to every one of you. I am also grateful to the staff of the House Budget Committee, which always made me look more competent and knowledgeable as the chairman than I otherwise would have. Thanks to all the House support staff, who serve quietly and effectively to keep this body functioning. Thanks to the Capitol Police, who protect and defend us and who showed the world on January 6, 2021 how brave and selfless they are. Thanks to all of my committee chairs and ranking members whose examples kept me from screwing up any more than I did. Thanks and praise to Democratic leadership, Speaker Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Jim Clyburn, for their friendship, trust, and inspiration. Finally, I thank the person who has been with me every minute of my 16 years in the House. If Julie Carr is not the best chief of staff ever to serve here, there is no better model to emulate. I often said that if she left me, I would retire the next day. Luckily, she stuck with me, and now she will also leave the House after 25 years of service to me and others. The citizens of Louisville are, unbeknownst to them, much better off because of her work, and I was a better Member because of her intellect, judgment, dedication, and friendship. Thank you for everything, Julie. I will leave the House proud of my work, grateful for the opportunity to serve here, and committed to continue to serve our great country and its people. For the last time, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YARMUTH

Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Diana Meredith, staff director of the House Budget Committee. Diana is retiring after more than 25 years of dedicated service to Congress and the Executive branch, including 20 years on the House Budget Committee. A native of Washington state, Diana worked as a newspaper reporter in Seattle and the Napa Valley for several years. In 1997, she came to Washington, D.C. to work for the Senate Budget Committee, led at the time by U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine. In 1998, Diana moved to the White House Office of Management and Budget (0MB) to serve as a program examiner for Social Security and fiscal issues, analyzing Social Security reform proposals and negotiating and resolving policy disagreements among agencies and White House offices. After five years at 0MB, Diana joined the Democratic Staff of the House Budget Committee in 2003, under Rep. John Spratt, Jr. of South Carolina. Diana went on to serve as a budget analyst on the House Budget Committee for 14 years. She advised House leadership and committees on budget-related matters--developing recommendations, messaging guidance, and overall strategy for key Congressional legislative deliberations. Diana played a particularly important role in the development and passage of the historic Affordable Care Act (ACA) and in pushing back against harmful proposals to restructure Medicare and other crucial social programs. In 2017, Diana became Deputy Staff Director of the House Budget Committee, where she assisted in the negotiation and passage of a number of highly consequential pieces of legislation. Her legacy includes the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, which ended the threat of annual discretionary sequesters from the Budget Control Act, the 2021 concurrent budget resolution that paved the way for the American Rescue Plan, and the historic American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which helped our nation rapidly recover from the COVID pandemic, with record- breaking job creation and broad-based economic growth. Diana became Budget Staff Director in 2021, an enormously consequential year for President Biden, Congressional Democrats, and the American people. Diana led the Committee in enacting the framework for what would become the Inflation Reduction Act--landmark reconciliation legislation that has lowered the cost of prescription drugs for millions of seniors, expanded health insurance subsidies to help families access affordable, high-quality care, and provided the largest investment in U.S. history to combat climate. Diana is a deeply caring public servant. She is uniquely adept at navigating complex budgetary issues and negotiations, while never losing sight of the reason we do this work: to help the American people. And Diana never missed an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate her staff's victories, big or small. The Budget Committee and our entire country has benefited from Diana's expertise, her extensive knowledge of the budget process, her mentorship of staff, and her unwavering dedication to America's working families. I want to thank Diana for her advice, dedication, and leadership. I wish her all the best in her much deserved retirement.

Mr. YARMUTH

Mr. YARMUTH. Of course, congratulations to the victors. It is getting old. I had that trophy for a little while. I haven't seen it in quite some time.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding; and I do mean the gentleman. It has been an honor over these last 16 years to participate in this event. My record as a captain after the first 4 years was not very good; and, actually, John Tanner was the captain for some of those years. But the gentleman from Georgia is absolutely right. It is an incredible retreat from what we do around here, to get out on the golf course; to play in friendly competition in a game known for its courtesies; and to have met so many fine Republicans and made so many fine Republican friends over the years and, in the course of doing that, for raising an awful lot of money for good causes. So once again, I thank the gentleman for his kind words. I hope that I can come back as captain emeritus; or maybe even let the former Members play, and then I will be back for that, as well.

Mr. YARMUTH

Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a leader in my community and a person I consider one of the most impactful individuals in the history of Louisville, Sadiqa Reynolds, in her final days as president and CEO of the Urban League of Louisville. It was only 7 years ago that Sadiqa was an esteemed judge, a role where she conducted herself with impartiality and kept her feelings and opinions to herself. My, how times change. As head of the Urban League, Sadiqa has held nothing back, leading with an open heart and open mind, speaking out for Louisville's marginalized communities with the passion and eloquence necessary to create positive, lasting change in people's lives. You cannot drive Louisville's streets without seeing Sadiqa's impact. Our West End has begun a much-awaited transformation in the last few years, anchored in large part by a new world-class track and field and education complex, which she conceived and spearheaded. Sadiqa, you have been the conscience of our community, leading the fight against injustice in historic times. We are a better city because of your leadership. We are grateful for your service and can't wait to see what you will achieve next.

Mr. YARMUTH

Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I want to remind my Republican colleagues and the American people, once again, what Republicans will be voting against today. They will be voting against cutting prescription drug prices for their constituents. They will be voting against combating inflation and lowering energy costs. They will be voting against the largest Federal investment in dealing with climate crisis in the history of this country. I cannot believe that I still heard from the other side today the hoax comment, that climate change is a hoax. You would think that as we watch what is going on in the world, while I watch what is going on in my State, when my citizens in eastern Kentucky were devastated by historic floods, when my citizens in western Kentucky were devastated by historic tornadoes, all of which scientists have said were exacerbated by climate change, that there are still people who deny that climate change exists. But for the first time in this country, we will show true leadership to the world, that we are taking action, and we are going to lead the world in combating climate change. The gentleman from Texas said Democrats own this bill. Yes, we do. Proud of it. I don't know one member of the Democratic Caucus who is not thrilled to death today that we are doing what we are doing, because the vast majority of the American people support what we are doing. The vast majority of the American people want us to cap out-of- pocket expenses for seniors for their medications at $2,000. Republicans say no. They are going to vote against that. They are going to vote against a cap of a $35 copay for insulin. Tens of millions of Americans will benefit from that. We know that five former Secretaries of the Treasury from both Democratic and Republican administrations, 126 of our Nation's top economists, including seven Nobel Laureates, support the Inflation Reduction Act. On other side, we have Big Pharma, corporate lobbyists, tax cheats, and congressional Republicans. This debate has made clearer than ever that Democrats are working to make life better for the American people while Republicans just don't care. It is as simple as it is harsh. This legislation is important, historic, and a significant win for American families and for the planet. I will be voting ``yes'' on the Inflation Reduction Act, and soon we will be sending it to President Biden's desk to be signed into law. I know he will be proud to do that as well. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross), a distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jones), a distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I want to respond one more time to these claims about 87,000 new IRS agents. The IRS has never made any announcement about plans to hire any number of agents. The Washington Post fact-checker has actually given that claim three Pinocchios. Again, these are Republicans making it up to scare the American people. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Spanberger), a distinguished member of the Committee on Agriculture.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Carter), a distinguished member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Allred), a distinguished member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan), a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), who is the distinguished member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I just want to clarify one thing. It seems to me that Republicans just don't want people to pay taxes even if they are owed. We know there are hundreds of billions of dollars of owed-but-not-paid taxes in this country every year. This is an attempt to try and recover some of that money that is owed and is not being paid by taxpayers who are, in many cases, cheating. To be clear, IRS has made no decisions or no announcements regarding the potential hiring plans under this bill. As I said before, the commissioner of the IRS has said that they are not going to increase audits of people making under $400,000. A lot of this money is designed to go to help service the legitimate and lawful taxpayers of this country by giving them better service, making the IRS more responsive, and to upgrading equipment which is now 50 or 60 years old in many cases. So they can continue with this claim that we are going to go after taxpayers with armed IRS agents, and I know that Republicans would like to arm every tax agent as they want to arm everybody else in this country, but that is nonsense. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna), who is a distinguished member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), who is a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), who is a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), who is a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, we just heard the big lie a couple more times about 87,000 IRS agents that are going to be armed. It is total bunk. Nonsense. The Republicans should stop it and tell the truth. They are continuing to say it. I will say one thing. We were informed last week by the Commissioner of the IRS, Mr. Rettig, an appointee of former President Trump, that audits would not increase for anybody making under $400,000 a year. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will say in response to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert) that this is typical of what the Republicans are doing. First of all, they are making up numbers. There is nowhere anywhere that shows that 87,000 new IRS agents are going to be hired in this bill. That is a totally fabricated number. The idea that they are armed--I know that Mrs. Boebert would like everybody to be armed, as they are in her restaurant, but that is not what IRS agents do. Mr. Speaker, I would implore my Republican colleagues to cut out the scare tactics, quit making things up, and debate the substance of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Peters), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, and a member of the Budget Committee.