overseeing the department of homeland security. at the same time, have this intense issue of impeachment. you know, he is going to be focused on the budget and things he believes his department needs to ensure his country is safer, with the border particularly, but as we can expect, these hearings could turn contentious, specifically with the issue regarding the border, which is the reason why republicans brought forth the impeachment articles to begin with. host: we will take your calls for alex rouhandeh of newsweek about anything regarding what is going on in congress read you can call us on our lines by party, republicans, (202)-748-8001. democrats, (202)-748-8000. independents, (202)-748-8002. we will take your calls for the next 25 minutes or so. here is an article from axios.

marjorie taylor greene ramps up threats to oust johnston. she sent a five-page dear colleague letter to fellow republicans, laying the case out on speaker johnson. >> we are going to leave this. take you live to the house for votes. the motion to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3250. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, remaining electronic votes will be conducted as five-minute votes. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the vote on ordering the previous question on house resolution 1125 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 69, house resolution 1125,

resolution providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 7888 to reform the foreign intelligence surveillance act of 1978, providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 529, to extend the customs waters of the united states from 12 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the united states consistent with presidential proclamation 7219 providing for consideration of the resolution, house resolution 1112 denouncing the biden administration's immigration policies and providing for consideration of the resolution. house resolution 1117, opposing efforts to place one-sided pressure on israel with respect to gaza. the speaker pro tempore: t he question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. members will record their vote by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly

prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 210. the nays are 209. the previous question is ordered. the question is on the adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the

ayes have it. >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from new mexico seek recognition? ms. leger fernandez: i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: o n this vote the yeas are 193, the nays are 228.

the resolution is not adopted. without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentlewoman from wyoming, ms. hageman, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3250 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title. the clerk: house calendar number 68, h.r. 3250, a bill to recognize the margaret woodbury strong museum in rochester, new york. the speaker pro tempore: t he question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill? members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: o n this vote the yeas are 385, the nays are 31. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on house administration be discharged from further consideration of h.res. 1126 and ask for its

immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: t he clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1126, resolution authorizing video recording in the house chamber during a joint meeting of congress for certain educational purposes. the speaker pro tempore: i s there objection to the consideration of the resolution? seeing none, without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today, it adjourn to meet 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. elle: without objection. the speaker pro tempore: w ithout objection. .. the house will be in order.

the house will come to order. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. carter: mr. speaker, i rise today to commemorate the life of bill foster. bill was a longtime savannah, georgia, resident having been born and raised in the area. after graduating from night school he served as a member of the georgia army national guard. during this time he was commissioned officer in the 118th field artillery battalion. followinger is slirks worked with thomas and hutton engineering was a land surveyor.

he contributed to multiple landscape development projects. noting his skills and work ethic, he was appointed chairman of the board of directors where he served until the time of his retirement in december of 1997. bill embodied the characteristics of a true community man, having raised a wonderful family with his wife peggy while participating in church and other committees. he'll be remembered for his zivic leadership, his community involvement and his service to our nation. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. lamalfa: thank you, mr. speaker. we need to be unequivocally clear about one thing. hamas is responsible for every single loss of life in israel and gaza since their barbaric attack on october 7.

hamas conducting a war from beneath the homes and kitchens of citizens is putting civilians in danger, not this ridiculous assertion made against israel which is merely defending itself against these sources of attack. there can be no ceasefire until hamas surrendered, releases every hostage and ceases fire at israel and its innocent citizens. it is shameful the biden white house and senate majority leader schumer are walking back support of one of our greatest allies. meanwhile they are considering pro-iran and muslim brotherhood within our state department. israel has the right to defend themselves from attackers. the u.s. must continue to support military armaments including the iron dome missile defense system and never encourage israel to surrender to terrorists who want them dead and to not exist. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: are there further requests for one-minute speeches? for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek the floor. without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i rise today to reinforce one of the most important positions that we have in the united states and that is the attorney general of the united states of america. that officer of the nation is to provide protection when it comes to fair voting laws, to structure a scheme of social justice, and criminal justice interacting together, where you

have justice in the eyes of the citizen and of course you have a response in the eyes of the person that is the perpetrator, that they're held accountable. i call upon the attorney general of the united states to defend this nation. defend the nation on the grounds of more women's rights. defend the nation on a better social voting rights structure that is not being defended. and to fight for a young boy that is sitting in a classroom, isolated, in texas, because he does not have the right hairstyle. he is suffering because the state of texas is not abiding to the crown act. i want the attorney general of the united states to do his job of defending the citizens of this country and to hold those responsible who have done wrong and to be able to protect those who have not tone wrong. i will follow up in the days to come, mr. speaker, thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired.

for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. lawler: over the last few weeks we have seen a shameful display by members of the democratic party including the senate majority leader who attacked and undermined the state of israel and the special relationship that we have. the united states recognized israel 11 minutes after its founding. they are our closest ally in the world with. and at a time of war, the senate majority leader, the senator from new york, took the opportunity to call for regime change. at a time when the democratic party talks about protecting democracy, rails against foreign interference in elections, the senator from new york thought it

his opportunity and in his interest politically to undermine the state of israel and the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. hamas is a terrorist state. the fastest way for a cease fire to occur is for hamas to surrender and release the hostages. that is the only thing that members of the united states government should be demanding, from the president to the senate majority leader, to the former speaker of the house. it is shameful what is happening in the democratic party today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. under the speaker's announced policy of january 9, 2023, the

gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. ms. jackson lee: i thank the speaker very much. i certainly want to be very clear on the hearts and minds of americans and the hearts and minds of texans, hearts and minds of the democratic caucus. that no one in our caucus suffers the killing of innocent people, no matter where we find ourselves. so i rise today to take great issue with any suggestion that our caucus, our democratic caucus, would not fight for those who are the most vulnerable. and to recognize the maryland delegation and the leader, mr. mfume, who comes to the floor to ensure that the voices

of marylanders are heard in helping to rebuild the francis scott key bridge but also to ensure the representation of the mesh people that we do not discard our friends. but what we do do is demand that our friends stand up for the vulnerable. that our friends love babies and women and children. and that we make sure that there's not an unequal mistreatment of individuals who are here in this country and who are overseas. so i must challenge any interpretation of democrats as being anything but support thoif president's policies, which are policies that believe in protecting human rights workers and again as i started out by protecting those vulnerable

persons in the, how should i say it, in the very vigorous war that is going on and the loss of life that we sea. that is why you hear a difference of opinion in the democratic party. that's why you hear from the majority leader of the united states senate a different voice. because that voice has to speak for, again, the most vulnerable. and at the same time, would we not want to have the nation acknowledge the tragedy that happened in maryland, until baltimore harbor? where so many detrimental disasters are, could be forthcoming, because of the terrible tragedy of the bridge coming down, the lack of money to be able to support a new system of construction, and as

well to be able to pay for it. so here's the real story. tragedy struck. the baltimore harbor. some weeks ago. in striking the baltimore harbor, we saw not only the maryland delegation come together, but we saw the nation come together. and the nation has come together to be able to speak to the pain of the people that are in maryland, that are in baltimore and in particular in the city of baltimore. that's what happened. and so i am standing with and supporting mr. mfume, who comes to represent the maryland delegation, to ensure that those funds are forthcoming and that they are not dismissed. i think it is extremely important that we know to help our various communities that are suffering from hurricanes,

suffering from a particular type of dasser that no one had ever heard. which is the disaster of the collision of a cargo carrier if you will, going into the francis scott key bridge. that many of us remember as a source of the star spangled banner. and so i would not be here if i didn't think the value that i stand for is to stand alongside of mr. mfume to recognize that we are americans first and that we're here to help those who are in their time of need cannot help themselves. that's why the president immediately went to maryland in terms of his voice, immediately spoke up on behalf of the people of maryland and the people baltimore and immediately spoke up on behalf of the maryland congressional delegation which mr. mfume now will continue to lead.

he immediately stood up to ensure -- he stuck up because he was going to be a man of his word, he stood up because he's a man of his word, that he would be here to stand with the great people of maryland. it is my privilege to have been able to yield back to the speaker at this time and to indicate my support for the funding efforts to help the great people of the great state of maryland. let's do it together. that's what americans. do we help each other and we work together. i yield back to the speaker at this time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 9, 2023, the gentleman from maryland, mr. mfume, is recognized for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the minority leader. mr. mfume: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

mr. mfume: thank you very much, mr. speaker. let me begin by thanking the gentlewoman from texas for her opening remarks of this special hour dedicated to make sure that we underscore the sense of tragedy, the sense of loss and the sense of damage that has occurred as a result of the bridge collapse in baltimore. i want to thank her again for sitting in and standing in. your remarks are very well-received, we appreciate it, thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today shortly to welcome other members again who will be coming over to be a part of this special order. and i want to call everyone's attention to the fact that somewhere around 1:30 a.m. on march 26, the dalia a large, 985-foot cargo ship, weighing

95,000 tons, went empty -- when empty, co-collided as we all know now tragically with the francis scott key bridge in baltimore. the dali's collision with the key bridge caused its fatal collapse into the river and has forced the port of baltimore to suspend vessel traffic until further notice. all of the ships lanes with the exception of the ones that the coast guard was just recently able to open have been closed and we don't expect that that -- expect that to change until sometime around the end of may if we are fortunate. aside from that i think it's always important to recognize it was not the collapse of the bridge alone that troubled us. but it was also a loss of human life. . are hearts

continue to go out to those that lost their loved ones on that bridge that fateful evening. this unimaginable disaster claimed the lives, as we know now, of six men, alejandro fuentes, mr. sandoval, miguel luna, ms. cabrera, renee lopez, and carlos hernandez. those stories and those lives have yet to be fully understood or told, but those men, most of whom have been in this country 16 or 17 years, working, in most instances, two jobs, married with children and raising families, paying taxes, and doing what a lot

of people would not want to do at 1:30 in the morning that high up on a bridge filling potholes. we in the state of maryland continue to mourn them, as do people all over the country, and we know they were, indeed, as i said, husbands, somebody's father, somebody's brother. their passing serves as a solemn reminder to cherish our own lives and the lives of those that we really deeply care about. these men gave their heart. they gave their souls ultimately. they leave behind six grieving families and loved ones that will never see them again. so those families can never get enough of our condolences and our prayers and our sympathies.

i want to thank the largest latino organization in maryland, and gustavo torres and all those who worked so hard to support those grieving families the day of the collapse and every day since then, both financially and emotionally. and i ask we continue to lift them in prayer in a time of great tragedy that all americans, regardless where they are, to some extent feel, understand, and grieve for. i'd be remiss if i did not thank president joe biden, who called the governor and myself and other members of the delegation that morning to express his profound regret and his unstenching and unwavering support and finding a way to make

things whole again, to rebuild that bridge, and to allow those shipping lanes of commerce to be open. president biden since the beginning of this has not wavered in his support of replacing that bridge. and not just for the sake of replacing a bridge and to open, as i said before, the channels of commerce, but to also find a way to give hope to all the many people who are affected, the thousands of longshoremen, thousands of dock workers that do odd jobs, all of those in the communities of turner station and dundalk, maryland, right at the mouth of the bridge. as well as all of those small businesses and business owners, the truck drivers and others, everyone affected when all commerce came to a halt. so thank you, president

biden, we appreciated the simple eloquence of your example in this tragedy. we pledge to work with you and with the appropriate members of the appropriations bill or appropriations committee here in the congress. in addition to the president, i want to thank secretary buttigieg who also reached out early that morning as the sun rose and who was one of the first boots on the ground by noon. secretary buttigieg was initially responsible in making sure that the greenup funds, the initial dollars got appropriated and were sent and being used now in cleanup of the massive amount of debris which i'm going to talk about which is almost unthinkable when you consider a bridge of that size. administrator guzman and the s.b.a., we thank you and thank all those s.b.a.

officials who came over and started working with small businesses who are severely impacted by this, as was the case with acting secretary sue of the department of labor. one of the things i think is important to mention now is the united states coast guard and the army corps of engineers immediately stood up a command team on the scene, immediately began working with governor wes moore of maryland who, by the way, has done an excellent job in marshaling all of the state's resources. that command team made up of the army corps of engineers and the f.b.i. and so many others that were involved from the start of this really has made a difference in terms

of the progress made thus far. the american department of the environment and the transportation authority also very much a part of what took place. so this unified command as i indicated were some of the first boots on the ground and responded to this crisis day in and day out with diligence and with precision. their work around the clock 24/7 does not go unnoticed by our city, our state, or our nation. and we owe much dedication to those service men and service women who at this hour as i speak are still very much involved as they have within in trying to find a way to open those channels. there are 51 divers in the water right now going through the wreckage, trying to assess the danger

in very dangerous, dark, and murky circumstances. we still have three individuals who have not yet been recovered. so the work of those divers is particularly important so these families might be able to bring closure to all that's going on. i mentioned governor wes -- i want to speak about his team and members of the maryland delegation who have worked in lock step with one another to get us to this point. my thanks to both senators in the other body, senators cardin and van hollen, the entire house delegation, congressman hoyer, congressman raskin who you'll hear from in a moment. congressman sarbanes, andy

harris, congressman antonio, congressman glenn ivey and myself. i might, before i talk about the state's effort and what we're really dealing with when we think of this collapse, it's more than just concrete and bricks and steel falling in the ocean. it's interrupted supply chains across this nation that we hope to reopen and re-establish. so allow me to yield three minutes to my fellow marylander, the gentleman who is ranking member of the house oversight committee, congressman raskin. mr. raskin: thank you very much, mr. mfume. i'm grateful for your extraordinary leadership for this catastrophe and

convening us for this special order hour this afternoon. i rise to speak about the devastating collapse of the francis scott key bridge in our beloved home state of maryland. in times of catastrophe across the country from earthquakes in california to hurricanes in florida, to flooding in louisiana, to wildfires in the west, to terrorism in new york or washington, d.c., we come together as a country to help our communities recover and rebuild. we cannot allow any of the political divisions in america today to interfere with this process of coming together to help a community struck by catastrophe in this way. disasters befall all of our states, in all of our districts, and they are not partisan in character. we've got to stick together to support all of our communities. and that's what we're going

to do. we will do in maryland and as a nation to rebuild the baltimore francis scott key bridge. i want to thank governor moore's administration, the coast guard, secretary buttigieg, the army corps of engineers, first responders, the maryland transportation authority, everyone working overtime to address this disaster. the unified command convened by the coast guard has been hard at work removing the bridge debris from the river and restoring access to the port. salvage and recovery operations are ongoing in a very difficult and complicated process. the dali vessel, weighing 213 million pounds is the same size as the eiffel tower with pieces of bridge weighing as much as 4,000 tons laying on top of it. the water is frigid and murky complicating the ongoing and heroic rescue

efforts that began immediately. i want to thank president biden and his administration for their exemplary leadership in the face of the catastrophe and his characteristic commitment to help the local community rebuild. the president has directed his administration to move help and earth to rebuild the bridge and to recover the port as rapidly as possible, and within hours of receiving maryland's request, the d.o.t. and the f.h.a. swiftly approved $60 million in initial aid. i also want to acknowledge the devastating loss of the six construction crew workers who were killed in this nightmare when they were working what seemed like a routine nighttime shift fixing potholes. our thoughts continue to go out to their families and their loved ones. we have a long road ahead of us to rebuild the bridge in maryland, and our bipartisan congressional delegation stands ready to do everything it needs to be done to restore full access to the port and

rebuild the bridge. i want to thank you again, mr. mfume, for your extraordinary leadership and thank all our colleagues who expressed their support and sympathy for the people of maryland dealing with this crisis. thanks very much. mr. mfume: i want to thank the distinguished gentleman from maryland whose district is miles from where this happened but has been with us every step of the way. mr. speaker, i'd like to yield now to the gentleman from maryland, also, mr. sarbanes. yielding three minutes. mr. sarbanes: thank you very much, congressman mfume, and i want to thank you for organizing this special tribute to the six hard-working men who lost their lives during this collapse of the bridge on march 26. they got up that morning,

early in the morning, because they were out there in the middle of the night on this shift, not knowing, obviously, what was going to happen and their families could have no inkling of what was going to happen on that tragic day. but they were just out there doing their job. and i want to thank you in particular, because in every setting now, every public statement you've made, you've led with concern and focus on those six workers that were lost. they were husbands, they were dads, brothers, friends, and our deepest condolences go out to their families who are feeling that incredibly profound loss. this is also a tribute to the first responders who sprung into action, and as a result, were able to save other lives on the day of that collapse.

and they continue these first responders to search for the remaining bodies of those that were lost. under very dangerous conditions because they want to reunite them with their families and their loved ones, so they will be remembered as heroes, and they deserve today's tribute. we also want to pay tribute to the we also want to pay tribute to the response, immediate response. within minutes of this disaster, president biden made clear that the nation was going to step in and step up. and he put his team, led by secretary buttigieg and others, on the task. and in baltimore, we could feel that embrace and that support right out of the gate. so this is a tribute to the

executive branch response, it is a tribute to president biden and his team. it's also a tribute to governor moore. who also stepped up that day and frankly every day since to show the solidarity of this response and this unified command. so we're going to push through this. and you know, baltimore gets knocked down sometimes. but we always stand back up. that's the grit of baltimore. and in this case we know we can't stand up by ourselves. we need president biden. we need governor moore. and we need the united states congress to be part of a national response for a national project to restore the channel and the port of baltimore which is so critical to the economy of

our city, our state, our region, and the nation, and then ultimately as we know, to rebuild the francis scott key bridge. so that's why we're here paying tribute in the way we are today and again, i want to thank my colleague, congressman mfume, for organizing this opportunity for us today. with that, i yield back. mr. mfume: i thank the gentleman, i thank him for his interest, his work, his dedication to this mission that is before all of us, and that is to rebuild this bridge and open the lanes of commerce once again so that our nation's economy is not affected in ways that would cause us unwanted and unnecessary harm. mr. speaker, i'd like at this point in time to yield three minutes to the speaker emery thousands of united states house of representatives. she is a native of baltimore,

the daughter of a mayor, daughter of a wongperson, but the daughter of the city. the honorable nancy pelosi. ms. pelosi: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i especially thank him for his leadership for the great state of maryland and the city oif -- and the city of baltimore as well as for calling this special order this evening so that we could come together and express the heart break that we all felt and now to commemorate the collapse of the francis scott key bridge and these six beautiful souls, loving memory of them who last their souls on that dark morning. thank you again, congressman, for ordering this special order. i join you and congresswoman -- conditioningman sarbanes in recognizing leadership role of the governor of maryland, wes moore. i want to pay tribute to the

mayor of baltimore, brandon scott, and to all our con gregal delegation for uniting together in a bipartisan way in response to this tragedy. two weeks ago, just to remind, it was two weeks ago, in the dark of night, braving the cold, a crew got to work making repairs to the francis scott key bridge. they were doing their jobs. so that 30,000 people a day could go to theirs, to do their jobs. our love and prayers are with those who lost their lives in this collapse and with their families who lost a husband, a brother, a father, a son. our gratitude is with the heroic emergency responders. they responded so quickly and saved lives as well as the teams working quickly to clear the channel. the magnitude of the collapse cannot be understated, six families shattered, first and foremost. tens of thousands of commuters rerouted. paralysis of a port that handled

$80 billion a year in commerce, sending a shock wave to the entire economy. but inspiered by the love, unity and resilience of the baltimore community, baltimore will rebuild. president obama, as has been mentioned, and the congress must be there with resources to support every step of the way. and on that score i would say that having been in this congress a long time, sadly we have born witness to many natural and other disasters that have befallen our communities whether it was the bridge in minnesota, whether it was the storm in florida, whether it was katrina in new orleans, whether it was water damage in iowa. the list go on and on. but we have all been there. for each other. maybe not all of us, but most of us have been there. and this is a big, big tragedy. but in terms of cost, much

smaller than many of the hurricanes and the rest that have happened in the rest of the country. but we can learn from them. whether it's unemployment insurance for the workers, whatever it happens to be. we want to make sure that we utilize every resource at our disposal to bring people together. governor has pointed out, as has other members of the delegation, congressman sarbanes, our senators, ben cardin and chris van hollen, that this is a national challenge. you are a -- if you are a restaurateur in tennessee if you're an autoworker in ohio, you're affected by this. if you're a salesperson in west virginia you're affected by this. because of the -- just the products that come through. the products that come through.

and the jobs that are affected by it. in closing, i mean -- again, my father was mayor of baltimore my whole life, from when i was in first grade, to when i left for college he was mayor of baltimore. that's where my heart is. i was always so proud of the fact that the national anthem was written in baltimore. francis scott key, in the war of 1812, wrote the national anthem. my brother tommy who also was mayor of baltimore, was always fond of singing it in his way. and the line in the song that i always liked the best and i think that applies here is when he says, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. that's when i start cheering at the game. not at the end but at that point. like i just did at opening day in s. these are the words penned by

francis scott key as the gazed upon the ramparts. now a bridge bearing his name is where -- near where those ramparts were. and as we rebuild, indeed, give proof through the night that our flag is still there. our flag being our unifying, unifying symbol of our country. that we're all in this together. and we will be there. we'll learn from other disasters. we'll teach other disasters in the future. by how we in a new, fresh way, in the baltimore way, baltimore strong, rebuild the francis scott key bridge. proof through the night that our flag was still there thank you, mr. mfume. i'm pleased to yield back to you. mr. mfume: thank you very, very much, madam speaker emeritae, both for your leadership in the greater san francisco area but

alsoor your love for the city of baltimore. both cities are very, very fortunate to have you. i can only say thanks. speaker nan nan i pelosi. mr. speaker, may i inquire how much time is remaining. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 29 minutes still remaining. mr. mfume: thank you very much. i'd like to yield to the gentleman from maryland, mr. ivey, for three minutes. mr. ivey: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. and i want to thank him for organizing this special order hour. i also want to join with the comment that was already been made with rp to condolences to the families of the six lives that were lost. i remember when i heard about it that morning, there were eight, i think that had -- were missing

initially. and i remember praying at that time that they would survive even though the emergency services made immediate efforts to try and save them, and blocked off the roads so no other people were going to meet that fate, i know that we've lost six at this point. so it's a sad moment. a tragic evening. we want to extend our condolences to them and their families and their communities. gustavo torres and other officials and leaders in those communities recognize the impact that was had and we certainly want to tell them that we support them, we're going to work hard to help them make it through this tragedy. in every way that we can. i also want to commend governor moore, who has been outstanning in the way he's handled this event. the leadership he's provided has been quite impressive, i think. he's risen to the occasion. i knew he was a talented leader

but i think he's demonstrated that repeatedly during this time. i want to thank the biden administration, too. for taking immediate steps. the president himself came out, i think that same day. and made the commitment to make sure that the bridge got rebuilt. that the federal government was going to make 100% efforts to cover those costs. and that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that that happened quickly. that we weren't going to wait for the litigation to take place because i think the last time there was a bridge collapse, the litigation took 10 years to resolve. thank goodness he's decided to mauve it forward immediately. because we need that money now. we need to rebuild it. you've heard about the economic impact on the region. and i think that's certainly the case. so making initial and quick steps to make that recovery happen i think is critical. i did want to say this, too.

that morning, i was -- i got calls from reporters. about the tragedy. some were asking for initial responses. some were also asking about comments people had made with respect to the collapse of the bridge. one candidate for congress said d.e.i. did this. and he called mayor brandon scott the d.e.i. mayor. one right-wing provocateur said four agents of the united states attacked digital infrastructures. another said, looks deliberate to me. a cyber attack is probable. world war iii has already started. and then lastly, a utah state representative, this is what happens when you have governors who prioritize diversity over the well-being and security of our citizens. and i told that reporter then and i want to say it on the house floor now that i thought those comments were beyond

disgusting and irresponsible. and that i thought it was a sad moment. i know we're having very partisan times here in the united states and certainly here in the house. but i think this is a moment where we need to rise above that. and i want to thank my republican colleagues who did just that and are doing just that now. andy harris stood with us. congressman andy harris stood with us yesterday. we had a press conference where we had the biden administration present, the governor was present, the house and senate delegation from maryland were all present. and he was there too and voiced his support for full recovery of the bridge. and i want to say this just to end. the voices that i just mentioned a moment ago, those are not the representative voices of my colleagues here in congress. i think they understand that this is not about red states or blue states. this is a moment where this is about the united states of america. and it's times like this where we have to turn to each other, not on each other, so we can

rise above the tragedy and move forward together. i know we can do better. i know we'll continue to do better. i want to commend all of those who have done better so far with this effort. so thank you for yielding, i now yield back. mr. mfume: i thank the gentleman for his comments, his leadership on this, and his steadfastness as we all tray to work together to move beyond this american disaster and to create in its place a new bridge, new lanes of commerce, and new opportunities, economically, for people who relied so much on that port and by the way, on every port in this country. mr. speaker, i'd like to yield three minutes now to the distinguished gentleman from maryland, mr. ruppersberger, a senior member of the appropriations committee. mr. ruppersberger: mr. chairman, first thing i want to tell you, i represented the spires point, the key bridge for over 20 years. we just had redistricting.

and all of a sudden, you're the new person. and you've jumped in with both feet and i appreciate your leadership, holding people together. the funny thing, the bridge is located in baltimore city. but baltimore county is right next to it. i grew up and went to school in the city. here i go again. and you went to turner station. and -- which is in baltimore county. so it's really, i think, unique that you're here now, as we move forward, and to do whatever you need to do. you're doing a great job. i want to thank you for your leadership and all you're doing. ok. first thing i said before, i proudly represented the port for over 20 years until the recent redistricting. . i watched the portland agree into a -- port grow into a strong economic engine. today the port supports more than 51,000 direct, induced and

indirect jobs and another 346,000 related jobs. these are jobs associated with the cargo moving through the port companies that export and import cargo through the port, as well as end stage businesses like manufacturers and auto dealers. all this activity generated $5 billion in personal wages and salaries for marylanders last year alone. and brought in $647 million in state and local tax revenues. in total, the economic value of the port of baltimore to the state of maryland just in 2023 was more than $70 billion. let me say that again. $70 billion. now, with the development of trade point atlantic at the foot of what was once the key bridge, the opportunities for even more employment and economic growth

are exponential, unlimited. we are anticipating a tremendous surge in manufacturing jobs, as well as jobs in retail and hospitality. and that is why we have invested smartly, strategically in the port over the years at the local, state and federal levels. we added an impressive 50-foot berth and massive container % we upgraded terminals, we're expanding the howard street tunnel so they can hand double-stacked trains going to and from the port with cargo. last year the federal government awarded the port $47 million for a new roll-on and roll-off pad and offshore wind project and other upgrades for the key bridge in the port of baltimore. this of course was part of the massive investment that came out of the bipartisan, bipartisan infrastructure bill this body wisely passed in 2021 to help us compete with ports around the

world. and these investments are paying off in dividends. in fact, last year while ports nationwide were returning to their pre-pandemic baselines, the port of baltimore was the only u.s. port to seek container volume in-- to see container volume increase. we handled record cargo. clearly investing in our infrastructure is a safe return for our taxpayers. it's creating jobs, making our supply chains more resilient and cushing inflation -- curbing inflation. and so rebuilding the key bridge as quickly and safely as possible is a top priority for me, for our state, for our country. it's a top priority for maryland delegation and it should be a top priority for all of us. our delegation will soon be introducing legislation to require the federal government to make good on the president's commitment and we thank the president for his commitment 100%, to cover the cost of rebuilding the bridge and we're going to do it quickly and we have a lot of individuals

throughout the country working to do this for us. this is consistent with the catastrophic loss of other major infrastructure elsewhere in the country. there's no time for partisan politics or unreasonable demands. we must pass this quickly together. we also cannot lose sight of the human toll of this unimaginable tragedy, not only the port workers who will be unemployment or underemployment, but the six construction workers who lost their lives. my heart goes out to them and their loved ones. they were doing dangerous, gritty work, filling pot holes in the middle of the night to support their families and serve their community. they deserve our respect. and finally, i want to thank our governor for stepping up on a state level, our local government, our mayor, our county executive and we really have come together as a team. and my hope is that in rebuilding better, we can prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again, to prevent other families from experiencing the same grief that they are

experiencing right now. i urge all my colleagues to support us in the effort and i yield back except for one thing. i've been here for a while, this is my last term. and i'm not happy with where this congress is now on both sides of the aisle. not working together to get things done. i hope that this experience, this negative experience, will turn into a positive experience where republicans and democrats will work together for the benefit of the united states of america and for my home, baltimore. thank you. and i yield back. mr. mfume: i thank the gentleman for his words. we thank him also for his service to this body for almost two decades. we wish him well as he goes forward. and one thing we're all sure about, that his heart remains in baltimore. mr. speaker, i would like to at this particular point in time yield to another gentleman from maryland, mr. harris, a senior member also of the appropriations committee and a

member whose eastern shore of maryland is his entire district and the entire coastline and who has always worked diligently on behalf of issues affecting the bay. >> mr. speaker, i want to thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. today i rise as fellow members of my delegation have to speak regarding the collapse of the key bridge. and especially to honor the memory of the hardworking men who lost their lives the morning the bridge collapsed. these hardworking men were fellow marylanders, husbands, fathers, brothers and friends and their passing serves as a solemn reminder to cherish our own lives and the lives of those we love deeply. mr. speaker, the maryland congressional delegation stands united as we mourn those lost and extend our heartfelt con dollences to their -- condolences to their grieve

families. i also want -- their grieving families. i also want to acknowledge maryland's first responders. mr. harris: once that call was issued from the approaching ship, maryland's transportation authority police acted quickly. in less than two minutes, stopped traffic from coming over the bridge. they averted an even greater tragedy. we want to thank those officers who protect us 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even in the middle of the night, while most of us sleep, as was the case that day. mr. speaker, the collapse of the francis scott key bridge and the closure of the port of baltimore has cost serious economic consequences for our state's economy. the baltimore port is the largest u.s. port for handling farm and construction machinery, handles agricultural products, it's also a large export facility for american coal. 15,000 jobs directly depend on

the port of baltimore and i want to especially thank the army corps of engineers for their quick and tireless work to get the channel cleared so that the port can re-open as soon as possible. as we continue to work on the clean-up phase of the bridge collapse, it's important that we seek maximum liability from those foreign companies who owned and operated the ship that crashed into the bridge. as i have long said, american taxpayers in both maryland and across the country should not be held responsible to pay for the cost to rebuild the bridge, if indeed there was negligence on the part of those foreign-owned shipping companies. mr. speaker, in closing, tragedy knows no partisanship. the key bridge collapse wasn't a republican tragedy, it wasn't a democrat tragedy. and the solution to clearing the channel, reopening the port and building the bridge back even better than it was before won't be a partisan solution. it will be a bipartisan one. as we navigate the necessary

legislation going forward, we all commit in the delegation to working in a bipartisan way to cut through federal red tape, clear that channel, open that port and construct an even better, safer bridge. so that our fellow medicarers, maryland's -- marylanders, maryland's economy and those affected by this tragedy will come back stronger, safer and united. i yield back. mr. mfume: i want to thank the gentleman for his comments and to underscore what i said earlier and what was said by several other people, that this disaster is not a partisan disaster. it affects all of us in this country, regardless of our political label, and i just want to commend the gentleman from maryland, mr. harris, for his steadfastness on this and i'm going to take a few moments to talk about several other members on both sides of the aisle who have, through their example,

demonstrated the best way to go about dealing with a disaster like that. and that is to do it lock-step together. mr. speaker, i want to recognize the other gentleman from maryland, mr. steny hoyer. i want to recognize him and yield five minutes. he, as you know, is the former minority leader, he is, for those who don't know, the dean of the maryland delegation. steny? mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding but just for the record, i was the majority leader. late at night, a ship being guided by people working for the port authority of baltimore lost control of a gigantic ship.

unable to propel it or guide it, they called immediately to the transportation authority, as mre good news for -- we don't know how many people but perhaps hundreds, they acted quickly. we had a tragedy for the loss of six lives. working on that bridge to keep it in good shape and safe shape. tragically for them, that gigantic ship that had lost power and lost the ability to steer it took down a significant portion of the francis scott key bridge. causing their deaths.

and that we lament and send our thoughts to their families. that was the immediate tragic effect. but the effect of these -- of this bridge and the sections of the bridge falling into the channel and precluding inagrees and eagrees -- ingress and egress had international consequences. certainly consequences to the state of maryland. certainly consequences to the united states of america. this port being one of the busiest ports in america. and, as the previous speakers have said, carrying a variety of critically necessary products and creating a dynamic economy not only around the port itself, not only in maryland, but

internationally. so i rise to join my colleagues and you might be surprised that this is bipartisan, nonpartisan in approach, but it is because, as mr. harris, again, said, this is not a partisan tragedy. this is a tragedy for those who lost their lives, those who have lost their immediate economic -- whether they were owners, shippers, whatever, or longshoremen and others working for the port. as a result, we in maryland believe this is -- as we would believe if it were another port that had been so damaged, that this is a question that the entire country needs to address.

we've done that before, we did it when the minnesota bridge fell on an interstate and we acted. and we acted as a nation, 100% paying for that minnesota repair. we hope that and believe that the congress will do the same. we are pleased that president biden in a very short time after the accident occurred said that's what the nation would do and that's what he would recommend. i want to congratulate our governor who has set up essentially a command center and i think every american citizen would be extraordinarily proud not only of those people who acted within a minute of stopping traffic, of hearing the danger from the ship itself. but also the coast guard, the --

not the board of public works but the -- what's the -- the army corps of engineers. they acted within literally hours of the accident, putting the machinery to fix it and open this port and to take care of the people who work for the port and are advantaged by the port. and they're on the job today, they'll be on the job tonight, they'll be on the job tomorrow morning. and our secretary of transportation who oversees the port authority indicated to us just a few days ago when we had a hearing that they are hoping to open this port to 80% of the shipping that would use this port, not this big tech, they need a deeper draft, but a

30-plus-feet draft by the end of may. .... that is government at its best. in the press conference we had, i'll close with this, the biggest tragedies in many instances bring out the best of government. best of people. and helping one another overcome that tragedy. so i thank the gentleman for taking out this special order. this happened in his district. but it affects 434 other districts. the nation. and countless countries. so i thank him for his leadership. for his strong voice. and for galvanizing the maryland delegation along with the governor of our state, governor moore. to meet this challenge and make it better. thank you.

mr. mfume: i thank the gentleman from maryland, the former majority leader of the united states house of representatives, for his comments, his friendship, but also for the effort he has put forward as a part of what we call team maryland. again, a bipartisan effort to correct this tragedy. and mr. speaker, i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois, mr. garcia. mr. garcia: mr. speaker, i thank representative mfume for -- and my colleagues from maryland, for organizing this special hour. i bring heart felt condolences from chicagoland. next to me are -- is a picture of the six men who died in this accident. they were doing construction work on the bridge as it collapsed. all six of them were immigrants from mexico. el salvador. honduras. and guatemala.

darlian cabrera. miguel lieu gay. sandoval. alejandro fuentes. carlos hernandez. hoe se -- jose lopez. like far too him grants they encountered tragedy working in the country they came to seeking a better life. immigrants keep our country moving. immigrants power our economy. but immigrants are more than just their labor. latinos are disproportionately in high-risk jobs like construction. and we cannot wait for tragic accidents or death to recognize immigrants' humanity. so as we rebuild the key bridge we must also advocate for stronger workplace protections for all workers. including immigrants. regardless of their status. rebuilding the key bridge is a national imperative. there's precedent for the

federal government footing the bill in situations like this, and as a member of the transportation and train -- and infrastructure committee i'll fight to make sure that this happens. after all, key bridge has regional national and international significance. my thoughts are with the families of those who perished working on the bridge my thoughts are with the people of baltimore and maryland. i yield back. mr. mfume: mr. speaker, may i inquire how much time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 3 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. mfume: thank you very much. i want to do a couple of things here and that is to number one thank speaker johnson for the conversation that we had shortly after this bridge collapsed. and for his full understanding of the impact on the nation and why this is so very important, that we again allow commerce to flow through that port. i want to thank rosa delawyer

reand hakeem jeffries, our minority leader. rosa, the ranking member on the appropriations committee, for their understanding of this issue. particularly leader jeffries who went above and beyond a commitment personally to try to get this thing done and to make sure that we did it together. i'd be remiss if i did not thank tom cole, the new chair of the appropriations committee who spoke with me just two days after this happened, and who understands completely the economic impact that this poses for our nation as well as to members on both sides of the aisle as we try find a way to make sure we move forward. let me be redunn cant and underscore the fact that this is one of the nation's top ports. it's the largest estuary that it sits over, meaning the chesapeake bay and the petapsko

river. but the port sits a significant contributor to our economy and it's the number one port in terms of roll on and roll off of automobiles. new automobiles. it's great exporter and -- of titanium. of sugar. of coal. and of a number of other imports. i want to also -- as well as exports. i want to also say it's been a pleasure working with our governor. working with mayor brandon scott of baltimore. county executive jobny oh of baltimore county. bill ferguson, the president of the senate in maryland. and adrian jones, the speak over the house who have push through the emergency legislation to help us to assist all of the dockworkers that are affected, all the small businesses that are affected, and helping us to move toward some sort of resolution of this issue. i began my remarks by saying

that we must not ever forget the human toll, the lives lost that day. and again as we think about this well into the future, i hope that all of us remember that this was a bridge, but this was more than just a bridge. it became a graveyard also. and so because of the suffering that these families have endured, i would ask everyone all over the nation to join us in understanding that this is not a partisan issue. that we must find a way together to get through this. that we must protect our nation's supply chains and all of that risk that it poses for consumers in our society. and that we can do it together. there will be a process to determine the funding mechanisms and the funding ratios. that will all be part of some of what the appropriations committee will do, i'm sure. but more than anything else, this becomes a milestone and i

hope that we look at it as a problem that occurred that was solved by the work and by the potential and by the input of everybody who cared no matter where in fact they were or are. i thank you, mr. speaker, and i would at this point yield back to the chair. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 9, 2023, the jell from utah, mr. moore is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. moore: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this especial order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so order. mr. moore: thank you again, mr. speaker. house republicans are advancing important measures on the floor this week. we continue to work hard for our constituents and the american people. we continue to push the biden administration to address the

ongoing crisis at the border and address our energy production capabilities. we are standing by israel and denouncing president biden's efforts for one-sided pressure on israel with respect to gaza. this is a hamas -- this is a hamas-led travesty and we need to mike their we -- make sure we continue to have, to focus on the evils that hamas terrorists have created and the turmoil they have created in that region. so a lot to get. to i appreciate many of my colleagues for being willing to share some thoughts today. and i will first turn the time over if the gentleman is ready from california, mr. la mallfavment. mr. lamalfa: thank you, mr. moore. appreciate the time and the opportunity to expound on very important topics that we face across the board whether it's today's legislation or ongoing

discussions. so i want to touch a little bit this afternoon on the situation with secretary mayorkas and the biden administration that are willfully and systematically ignoring our nation's laws, foregoing national security, diminishing our national security. of course i'm talking about the border situation. how the president and the administration continue to get away with ignoring the sieve that our border is. the hundreds of thousands coming across. you can put the number over 7 million. over the full time over the ful. it's probably hard to really estimate what it is. yet people coming into this country. under the terminology, let's say migrants or in some cases by the administration newcomers.

why these euphemisms? people breaking and entering into this country illegally and undermining security, understood mining our systems of services, etc. so early on, in this session, house republicans passed a bill known as h.r. 2, which is one of the strongest border security packages ever in the history of the house. it holds the squad mrgs accountable nor colossal failure we see every day. eagle pass. all along texas. all along arizona. new mexico. california. so what is the outcome from secretary mayorkas? the house in its wisdom decided to move forward with an impeachment. now that hasn't been delivered to the senate yet. i think timing is everything. the speak for the his wisdom decided a little more time was

correct before those documents are delivered and the senate is looking at taking it up. hopefully they will. hopefully leader schumer doesn't just try to brush it under the rug. there are serious charges here. and the track record of the secretary and the whole biden administration on this certainly bears the discussion. certainly bears the information that has come out and will continue to come out in the impeachment process. so as well, whatever happens, whatever the timeline is we still have h.r. 2 sitting over in the senate waiting for action as well. again, in order to tighten up our own border and properly handle the laws we already have on the book we don't need a lot of new legislation. we just needed to find better, it looks like, because this administration doesn't seem to, on what asylum really means. on the policies that had been in place before that were working

reasonably well. but under myiar das -- mayorkas' leadership we would have over nine million illegal immigrant encounters nationwide, .4 million encounters at the southern border. 1.8 million known as gotaways at the -- at our -- excuse me, that have gotten away from border patrol. that's the ones we know about. immigration judges are throwing approximately 200,000 cases because the d.h.s. did not properly file the required notice to appear paperwork by the time of the scheduled hearing. do they purposely blow that at d.h.s. so they could say 200,000 of them didn't have the proper paperwork to appear? and those are now permanent getaways? it's a wild coincidence. 200,000. on top of that, this is my personal opinion, do they have the same rights on this type of

legal question as well? i phone the timeline expired, they didn't get the right paperwork? they're still illegally in this country. not migrants. they're illegal aliens who have broken into this country. so we have the biden administration's for a-left open border policies are what is to blame for this historic crisis. over 60 instances of biden administration taking actions that have undermined our nation's security, including help the construction of the border wall. that's what i said, 60 different actions. wasn't just to unwind what trump did because he doesn't like trump. i had a recent visit down south of the tucson area in arizona. you can still see what looked like probably a mile in either direction of the metal material there that was being used at the time to construct the border fence. piles and piles of giant girders

of steel there. i could look up close. i could show you pictures. whether it's mark on there. october, 2020. the date of it is still marked there. of the material laying there president biden, about a year and a half ago, made some mention like, maybe we'll start putting that back up and start filling in gaps on a different trip to arizona, closer to a dam. you see all these different gaps. miles of fence but gaps in it. people coming in, since they're being welcomed by our government, can just find any gap in the fence and be picked up. we're sending vans to go pick them up to get them processed sooner, and cut them loose work the idea that they'll come back in two years or whenever the court date would be, except d.h.s. screwed up the date and lost 200,000 of them because they didn't give them required notice to appear. in the meantime we're trying to get them in the country as fast

as possible through the biden administration's directives with border personnel. .. the department of homeland securiti has now admitted that - security has admitted that 40% of catch and release migrants have flat disappear into the country. the senate must hold a trial for seak mayorkas' impeachment -- secretary mayorkas' impeachment because he needs to be held accountable. you can't just ignore our laws like that and make a joke out of it. this is, again, our security, the fentanyl that's coming in, the people that are going to be part of terrorist cells that are known, the people that -- they have caught and turned away from very questionable, very dangerous associations. so this is no joke. this is no just, you know, shouting in the wilderness. this is very real. and how again this administration continues to get away with it blows my mind. and a lot of minds of the american people out there.

how can this be happening? so, president biden lately is talking about, well, does he have the authority to make a move on further enforcing the border. it's an executive action. the laws are on the books. we've legislated on that. we put forward funding on that. and so the president and his action is to execute and to enforce the laws that are on the books. if we would execute and enforce them properly to the fullest extent we could as a country, we wouldn't have nearly the problem that we were seeing right now. so in the meantime we legislate here. h.r. 2 is sitting over in the senate. i urge the senators to take that up and move it in a direction that will further define and tighten our laws so we'll have a much more secure border. so, with that, call your united states senator, have them move h.r. 2. thank you for the time. i yield back.

mr. moore: thank you to the gentleman from california. i always appreciate his participation. i will now yield so much time as the gentleman from maryland may consume, mr. harris. mr. harris: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding me time. this afternoon i'm going to talk a little bit about bidenomics. it's interesting, the president doesn't talk about bidenomics anymore. he thought about a year ago it would be a neat thing to talk about. but i guess the problem is reality struck. just over a month ago president biden stood just right in front of where you stand now, mr. speaker in this very chamber to give his state of the union address. he declared, and i quote, our economy is the envy of the world. well, just today the consumer price index, a key inflation index, came in, quote, hotter than expected. and oh, by the way, that's not good news for americans. actually increased to 3.5%,

again, higher than it's been the past few years, it's been higher than it's been in 40 years. as we all pay more for almost everything in joe biden's economy, let's take a really close look at the economy that joe biden built. well, when joe biden took office, the national debt was $28.7 trillion. a huge amount of debt. but now it's approaching $35 trillion. or more than $250,000 of debt for every american household. now, in my district that debt is higher than the average mortgage in my district. so the average family actually, the mortgage is the least of their debt worries now. now it's the federal debt. the c.b.o. projects that by 2 2031 $2 trillion deficits will be the norm. but i would suggest, mr. speaker, that as usual the c.b.o. gets this wrong because

this year it's going to be way over $2 trillion. in fact, over the last calendar year, so from last beginning of april to this beginning of april, the federal debt has increased over $3 trillion under joe biden's watch. joe biden's new spending initiatives, just the new spending initiatives in the budget he just proposed adds up to a price tag of $5.5 trillion more over the next 10 years. and that's just new spending. that doesn't count the ongoing growth of existing federal programs that he projects in his budget. together all this new spending is going to drive up federal deficits to 10% of g.d.p., a level we have only seen in the modern era during the national emergencies of covid woornld war ii -- and world warvetion ii -- war ii. since joe biden took office, inflation has risen to historic

levels and make no mistake, bide nflation is a direct result of that spending. just a couple of days ago. jpmorgan chase's c.e.o., no friend of this side of the aisle, warned in a letter to his share holds that are interest rates could rise to 8% or higher. he also mentions drivers of persistent inflation being military conflict throughout the world and fiscal deficits. well, let me tell you something, the biden administration are actually champions of military conflicts throughout the world and fiscal deficits. the bottom line is, as we both know, as we all know, under the last administration there were no hot wars. the middle east actually was becoming more peaceful, not less peaceful. the russians had not -- were not advancing in ukraine.

all changed with this administration. and the resulting military spending that's going to be necessary worldwide will drive inflation even higher. that's not my word, that's the word, again, of the c.e.o. of jpmorgan chase. i think a person who understands how this economy works. now, president biden's economy is affecting americans of every age and we all know it. in fact, according to a recent survey, one in eight retirees now plan to return to work this year because they simply can't afford retirement anymore. inflation has driven up costs of everything. groceries, gasoline, housing, rent, everything. a recent study in the "wall street journal" showed that a $100 grocery list from 2019, for those of you keeping score, that was during the last administration, now costs $137. and anybody who goes to the grocery store, mr. speaker, anybody who is watching us today who goes to the grocery store knows this is true. they know what a loaf of bread

costs. they know what a dozen eggs cost, they know what a gallon of milk costses. they know -- costs. they know everything is more expensive under joe biden's watch. if joe biden thinks the economy he built is, quote, such an envy, maybe he ought to take a walk through a grocery store. within the first two years of this administration, joe biden and house democrats passed their so-called american rescue plan, i don't think we feel too rescued, to be honest with you, and the so-called inflation reduction act, which is the real laugh because everybody knows inflation isn't reduced from where it was in the last administration. and both those sent federal government spending sky high, again, what jamie dimon warns us is going to lead to a prolonged inflationary period and high interest rates. lastly, i want to talk about energy prices. because when you go to the gas

pump, you got to buy diesel you have to put in your farm tractor or truck, you know what it costs now, about 50% more than it did under the last administration. energy prices, your electric bill, your heating bill, everything is going sky high because of this president's policies. make no mistake, joe biden's out of control spending, his spending agenda and his economic policies have made life simply unaffordable for american families. i yield back. mr. moore: thank you, sir. i'll even bring up another anecdote. when you hear voices like, you know, president obama's economic advisor larry summers talk about there's one equation, when you enact that much government spending like what happened in president biden's first two years, there is only one outcome when you enact that much spending with no offsets. american rescue plan, inflation

reduction act, immediately create the type of relief spending that is unnecessarily, immediately creates inflation. that's what we've experienced. house republicans oftentimes don't get the credit that we deserve for taking back the majority and putting an end to all of that additional spending that was enacted so quickly, as soon as the democrats had the white house, house and senate. they do those bills under reconciliation, they don't require the filibuster anymore, and they passed over $3 trillion that way on party line votes. and just by taking back the majority, we have the opportunity to completely eliminate that. and also work to find other areas of waste and push that as much as possible. so thank you, mr. harris, for that message. sometimes the details and data are inconvenient when you're trying to push a in additiontive -- push a narrative about an economy, but it's good to make sure to highlight that. next, thrilled to hear from a good colleague and friend from the great state of new york, mro much time you may consume.

mr. langworthy: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank our vice conference chair for holding this hour and leading us in helping us get our message out there for the american people. today i rise to bring attention to the fact that americans have been held hostage in gaza for 186 days. american citizens currently sit behind enemy lines, held hostage in gaza. the world changed on october 7 when hamas launched a barbaric attack, a blood-thirsty rampage on the peace-loving people of israel. and they claimed the lives of over 1,000 innocent civilians. including 32 american citizens. 250 hostages were taken. with five american citizens still believed to be alive and fighting for their survival in gaza.

last week i had the honor to travel to israel and while in jerusalem i and my colleagues met with the goldberg family. rebecca, rachel and john goldberg, whose son, an american citizen, was taken hostage at the nova music festival where 379 beautiful young people's lives were stolen. they brought into focus that we have little to no information on the health and the welfare of the hostages. international organizations cannot get that data. in the last video of hirsh from that day, showed him aplooing his owe -- applying his own tourniquet as his left arm had been blown off by a grenade. their family has shown such courage and grace in telling the world about their son and his story and the story of the hostages currently held. there have been many other families just like theirs whose loved ones have been ripped away

from them and they still do not have answers. we must do everything in our power to secure the release of these americans, including standing strong with israel in their fight against hamas. we cannot let the fact that six months have gone by to let us forget that american citizens are being held hostage by hamas. not for one day we can't forget. not for one minute. it is time for strength in unity, not weakness or division. president biden should be calling for their release every single day. israel needs america in its time of peril. the bond between our two nations is unbreakable. and i will continue to work tirelessly in this congress to defend israel's right to exist and right to defend itself. they need to defend itself against -- no matter what the costs against these people that committed these crimes and

atrocities. we must stand together in the face of evil and send a clear message that america will not tolerate the murder and the capture of our citizens and innocent citizens across the globe. and we need to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to peace and freedom in the world. i yield back, mr. speaker. mr. moore: thank you. i appreciate your passion and i echo your comments. so thank you, representative langworthy. as we wrap up, i just wanted to quickly say again, thank you to my colleagues for sharing their heartfelt messages and put time and effort into making sure their constituents and the american people know some of the most important things that are going on back here and appreciate their time to be here and with that i will yield the time as he may consume to the good representative from missouri, and good friend,

mr.alford. mr. alford: thank you, mr. vice chair. mr. speaker, i rise today as my colleague did before me, nick langworthy, to express my support for the state of israel in its war for survival, basically, against the terrorist hamas group. we need to make one thing perfectly clear in this body, that we stand with israel. no matter what. as mr. langworthy just said, we just got back from israel. in fact, 16 congress men and women with many of their spouses went as well. this was a trip to gain insight, to gain context and perspective, to be educated about the plight of israel and what they are facing in this war with these brutal savages, the hamas terrorists. .... what we saw, mr. speaker, was

horrible. we went to a kibbutz in the southern part of israel, it was one of our first stops. this was a village -- basically, a kibbutz is a village or gathering of people. it was a beautiful village at one time. we went there and it was frozen in time, tricycles were left out on the sidewalk area, clothes were pulled halfway out of the drier. food was still on the table of some of these homes. other homes were almost burned to the ground, glass shattered, lives shattered as well. because we saw that moment frozen in time, 6:32, on october 7, the morning of october 7.

the folks who had woken up that morning just thought it would be another normal day at the kibbutz, a day to share with family, to go to school, work in their crops, and yet they're just within a stone's throw of gaza. little did they know that that day was going to be a day that lived in infamy for israel. you see, the hamas terrorists broke down the fence and the gates into that kibbutz, kidnapped more than 40 people from that kibbutz but killed more than 200, brutally murdering women who were pregnant, ripping the babies out of their womb, burning others alive. and we were able to see firsthand the devastation and destruction left by these brutal terrorists. israel is a nation of resolve,

and we saw that as well. we saw that in kibbutzes further north up on the border with lebanon where an entire kibbutz, 654 people had to be evacuated because they were not safe because of the rockets from hezbollah. you see, hezbollah is being funded by iran. this is a proxy war. people who don't want israel to exist, who want to wipe it off the face of the earth. the sanctioned money that this president has released, some $16 billion that has gone to iran that has been used to buy rockets and missiles for hezbollah. saturday morning we left a hotel in that kibbutz area to make our way further north and to the west there near the lebanese

border. 52 minutes after we left this hotel, mr. speaker, hezbollah fired 30 rockets on that hotel that we stayed in. the iron dome stopped 29 of those but one of them hit nearby the hotel. didn't do any damage. but 16 members of congress and their families were there just an hour prior to that. it is very clear that this is not just a war between islamic terrorists and israel, this is a war between civilizations. this is a war, a battle between good and evil. and that is why it's imperative we stand with israel. imagine, mr. speaker, at your home, maybe you've lived there a couple decades. imagine if you lived there 80 years. and the neighbor to your right and the neighbor to your left

and the neighbor across the street and the neighbor behind you never wanted you there and all they could think about was driving you out of that house. and if it meant killing you and your family to do that, so be it. that is what the state of israel is facing. we met with the prime minister benjamin netanyahu, the president of israel, president herzog. and let me assure you today, despite the media reports, mr. speaker, despite what others in this body may be saying, the will of israel is strong to finish off the four battalions that remain in rafah of these terrorist killers and more importantly, to bring them home, bring the hostages home safely. unfortunately, just today, mr. speaker, a report was released that the hamas

terrorists may have delivered up some 406 these hostages to other terrorist nations or terrorist entities and may not even be in gaza. israel needs to know if these people are alive. they deserve to know proof of life. a lot of people are calling for a cease-fire. israel, the i.d.f., has hamas on the ropes. it's time to finish the job. it's time to eradicate hamas. it's time to bring the hostages home, and it's time for peace in the middle east. mr. speaker, i want to close with this because this is nothing new to israel. ever since they crossed the jordan river, some 2600 years ago, a prominent levite

songwriter in king david's court penned these words, 2600 years ago, and it still rings true today, mr. speaker. o god, do not remain quiet, do not remain silent and o god, do not remain still. our enemies make an uproar and they have exalted themselves. they make shrewd plans against thy people and make plans against our treasured one. they said come, let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of israel be remembered no more, for they have conspired together with one mind against thee. do they make a covenant who say, let us possess for ourselves the pastures of god. god, fill their faces with the dishonor that they may seek thy

name o lord and let them be ashamed forever and humiliated and perished that they know the lord is the most high over all the earth. today it's israel. tomorrow it could be america. the jihaddist and the islamic extremists, the terrorists call israel the little satan and the united states of america they call the great satan. we stand with israel. and even if this administration is trying to pry open a crack between our relationship, this body should not let that stand and make it very clear that israel is our friend, israel is our ally, and we will stand

behind them and beside them. when this is all over, and i hope very soon, because this could be, mr. speaker. this could be over today if hamas would release the hostages and simply surrender. when that does happen, we will rejoice with israel. but, mr. speaker, until that does happen, we weep with israel. and with that, i yield. mr. moore: thank you to the gentleman from missouri. i can't add any more to that. but to quickly just highlight a point i think needs constant reminding, the abraham accords were some of the most -- some of the strongest, most positive potential opportunities for peace in the middle east by creating trade relationships with israel and arab nations. these are unprecedented. these are some of the most important things i think

happened in all of the foreign policy from our previous administration. and saudi arabia was inching towards engaging on these types of trade relationships. iran doesn't want that to happen. iran supports hezbollah and hamas. hamas creates -- does this attack. the whole intent was to make sure that the narrative and the public perception will change on israel because it was inching too close to productivity with a bellwether like saudi arabia being willing to potentially embrace trade negotiations and diplomatic relationships with israel. iran does not want that to happen. they will do whatever they can to insight violence and terrific. they know israel will protect themselves. they know israel will respond and they know if they wait long enough, that even the president

of the united states, who traditionally has been a very strong opponent of israel will start to put pressure on israel as if october 7 was their fault. we cannot forget that narrative. we cannot forget that iran is rejoicing and exuberant, that this one-sided pressure is put on israel at this moment. and i think that point is so important to make. and i appreciate my colleagues for sharing so much of their thoughts on various elements of the economy and other foreign policy issues. speaker, with that, i thank you very much and will yield back the remainder of my time to the chair. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. under the speaker's announced policy of january 9, 2023, the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. roy, for 30 minutes. mr. roy: i thank the speaker. i thank the gentleman from utah for hosting a forum on the floor

for our colleagues to talk about the important issues with respect to bidenomics, if you can use that term for inflicting pain on the american people through a big spending, highly regulatory inflationary environment killing the average hard-working american family. that's the truth. my colleague from utah brought a number of other colleagues down to make that point very clearly, in addition to making the point -- and the point i've come to the floor of the house to underscore and reiterate. and that is the importance of the united states of america standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder with our friend israel. we are not standing side by side with israel at a time when she most needs it.

three days ago was april 7th that marked the six-month time frame since the brutal attacks of october 7th. october 7th in israel has become much like we describe, september 11th. as we know, hamas, through what's publicly available and those things we've seen privately in terms of the information available and the videos we've seen and the horrific slaughter of human beings in israel, hamas slaughtered children, raped women, burned whole families alive, and took hundreds of innocent civilians hostage.

an estimated 1,200 israelis were killed on october 7th. those numbers are still numbers we're trying to track down. an estimated 130 hostages of the initial estimate of 250 are still believed to be held in gaza. it's very clear that includes americans. americans are right now being held hostage by hamas in gaza. 91 israelis are dual citizens, one french mexican and six americans, six americans. but instead of unequivocally backing israel and backing the fight against hamas, a united states designated terrorist group -- i want to be very

clear, the biden administration has been undermining israel every step of the way. last november on the floor of this body, the peoples house, the representatives of this body passed on a bipartisan basis funding for israel. we did so immediately. it is something i'm proud of. i am not shy to criticize members of both sides of the aisle for the shortcomings of the people's house. but we came together on a bipartisan basis and we passed, i think it was about $17 billion of funding for our friends in israel just over a month after the vicious attacks against them. that bill would have funded their needs, shown that we would stand next to israel, and importantly, it was paid for. it was paid for out of the expansion of the internal revenue service, which most

recently was found by the i.r.s.'s own inspector general to have 63 of the audits that were added were for people that make less than $200,000, 63% of the audits were for people who make less than $200,000. . democrats are choosing the internal revenue service, are choosing to target you, the hardworking american family, are choosing to side with hamas over israel. that's what's happening. so instead of americans standing

up together, united, and standing alongside israel, our democrat colleagues into oblivig away some of the increased expansion of it goes a lot furt.

ceasefire without any connection to the release of their back

fully truth. it's literally what values by gg

more funding for the united nations. but it is passed 153 resolutions condemning israel. zero on china. netanyahu, was correct when he said, quote, just as the united nations would

not agree to a ceasefire of the bombing of backing israel with their unequivocal right to defend themselves, their unequivalent cal right to root out hamas from the hostile forces that have been attacking them. and to not allow the literally g like a military, but they hide

because they're cowards. because hamas are cowards. and they hide under schools and they hide under hospitals and they built tunnels all through the city, all through the streets, making it as hard as it has ever been in the history of warfare for a sovereign nation, israel, to defend itself against evil, terrorists, embedded in the civilian communities right

underneath the streets in gaza. but what's amazing is that what we'll be studying for years to come is the extent to which israel has bent over backwards, has worked to minimize the casualties. i don't have the most recent data, but i would tell you that it's something in the zip code of i think 19,000-ish casualties of civilians and about 13,000 terrorists or enemy combatants. if you don't know how ratios work out in the world of combatants, this is actually an historic low. history will judge this as an extraordinary feat by israel to attack those who led the most hay mouse a-- heinous attacks on their people and hold hostage, i'll remind people, six americans. history will view this as an unprecedented success in modern warfare to root out and target evil and try to avoid civilian harm. just to give you an example, i just told you it was roughly 19,000 civilian casualties to

about 13,000 enemy combatant casualties. ok? 19,000 civilian casualties to about 13,000 enemy combatant casualties that i believe the data reflects that we see going on in terms of israel and their engagement with hamas. in gaza. here's a point of reference. according to the united nations, civilians usually make up around 90% of at something in the zip code of like one to 1 1/2. while you have the enemy not

marching in a gaza. my colleagues on the other side of the aisle in this chamber and in the senate should be ashamed of themselves, as should the president of the united states, for walking away from israel, ae communities of gaza. it's an extraordinary feat.

it is something we should hold up as a model noted, seek the truth. figure out what's really happening. i notice that my friend from maryland has joined reprailed under -- prevailed

under the last administration and no coincidence, shortly after this administration bunning ams -- bungles the withdrawal from afghanistan that, mr. putin invades eastern europe. attack on israeli civilians on october 7. where they take over 200 hostages and, mr. speaker, the latest news, literally scruft coming out -- just coming out today, is in the negotiation, the israelis were willing to negotiate a ceasefire, they just have to release 40 hostages, israeli hostages, and hamas says they don't even have 40 israeli hostages anymore.

now, there are only two possible explanations for that. hamas is lying and they have more than 40 because, again, we heard actually in the rule debate today the other side of the aisle, they said, well, there are 133, you know, we should be talking about this, there are 133 hostages. well, hamas says there aren't anymore. so they're either lying that the hostages aren't there or even worse, they killed the hostages. civilian hostages. these are not uniformed members, these are civilians. you put on the uniform of the country, let me tell you something, you understand you could be taken prisoner, you could be subject to violence during war, but you don't expect it in this unprovoked attack on october 7 on civilians. so furthermore, this administration, which couldn't even get a withdrawal from a war correct, they're trying to tell

the israelis who are under an existential threat, we don't understand -- mr. speaker, we don't understand that in america because we got two oceans on two sides and two friendly nations to the north and south. we don't understand what it's like to live in a neighborhood where some of your neighbors have said, death to your country. that your country shouldn't exist. we don't understand that. and yet this administration and this pentagon is attempting to tell israel how to win this war. and what they want after the war is a two-state solution. well, look, i want peace and i want utopia and want all that too. but let's investigate. what do they mean by a two-state -- wait a minute. gaza was a two-state solution. gaza got its independence, its ability to govern itself, humanitarian aid by the hundreds of millions of dollars, including from the united states, pours into gaza to make life good for the citizens, bring water in, bring all the infrastructure in, and the only infrastructure hamas built were

tunnels under the city so they could launch an attack and have a place to hide when israel responded to the attack. that's what they did. that's what a two-state solution looks like in israel. mr. speaker, i don't know if you have had the privilege to visit israel and lend at the airport -- land at airport, the airport's between tel aviv and it's between jerusalem. and if you look at the map of israel and you look just to the northeast of the airport, there sits a piece of the west bank. what the palestinians want. they want to claim that territory. and if you look at that and we visited one of those place, it's on an elevation -- and from that piece of the west bank you can look down on the valley and there's the airport. the people who took me up there said, let me tell you why a

two-state solution doesn't work. because if this is the second state, a single its knees becaud disable -- no international flights wouldn't go into the airport. of course they wouldn't. .... i would remind the body, that protest over the weekend, they weren't only chanting "death to israel," they were chanting "death to america." this didn't occur in riyadh,

this occurred in this country, people calling for death to america. if they're doing that here in america, imagine what they're thinking about in tehran where they really want to bring death to america. where they're weeks away from a breakout on three nuclear weapons. we know what the damage of what only one nuclear weapon can do. they're weeks away on the breakout of three nuclear weapons. this happened under this administration's watch where we think the appropriate response to iran is spend them another pallet of $60 million, oh, it's just for humanitarian aid, knowing the money is completely fungible. now they say we don't have to buy food here, we can use that american money to buy the food and we're spending that money to send to hezbollah in the north with tens of thousands of rockets that can rain down on northern israel to hamas and

gaza, to the militia that surround them in syria, the iranian backed militia. how naive can you be about the dangers of this world? how naive can you be? well, we know how naive you can be because you just have to go to the other end of pennsylvania avenue, and you'll find it. where in this election year, they are putting the security of one of our best allies in the country up for bid for electoral votes. that's a real shame. i want to thank the gentleman from texas for giving me the few minutes because our friends in israel deserve the full unqualified support of the united states to win their war, not our war, their war, existential threats, one of our best allies, they deserve our help, not ouro criticism.

i yield back to the gentleman. mr. roy: i thank my friend from maryland. his remarks are particularly meaningful as one who proudly wore the uniform of the armed forces of the united states, and i appreciate him for his service in the military as well as a member of congress. but he says it exactly right. and i think it's really critical to understand that it is disgraceful. i don't know any other way to put it. it's disgraceful for the american president to pressure israel instead of hamas. but that's what's happening. if we truly want to end the humanitarian suffering that war necessarily brings, the answer is never and is not appeasement. it is not. it is the unequivocal support

for israel finishing the job. everything else is a distraction. the american people -- the texans i represent, they want us to stand with israel on a bipartisan basis. that means pressuring the senate to take up the bill we already sent them that is in fact paid for that we sent in november, pressuring the senate to bring up that bill. and by the way, for their part, hamas can end this war immediately. by accepting the fact that their side has lost the conflict, that israel is going to exist, and that america is going to stand next to her. because as long as we're in this body, we're going to be fighting to ensure that this country stands side by side with israel, notwithstanding the fool-headed

decisions of the current administration. hamas leader ahmad pledged the october attacks were just the first time and there will be a second, third, and fourth. will we pay a price, he says? yes, and we are ready. we're called a nation of martyrs and we're proud to sacrifice martyrs. are we awake? that's the truth. and it's not just michigan on our soil, by the way. in houston, texas, this last week, there were individuals chanting "death to america." it is coming to our shores. it is on our shores because a weak administration, a weak congress is allowing it and encouraging it. calls for a cease-fire have

called for israel to surrender to hamas and sir end to terrorism. those are the words of prime minister netanyahu and he is completely correct. a cease-fire will only allow hamas to rebuild a plan, another october 7th. that's the truth. and i want to close with one point here. i am never afraid to call out my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. i stand behind a speech i gave before thanksgiving saying, what have we done? name one thing. but i want to say this, the debate for the soul of this country is happening on the republican side of the aisle, and it is a debate being carried out in full display for the american people to see it. it started with the speaker's debate 15 months ago and it has gone through a number of unbelievably important changes we've been trying to make in

this institution, and we're not going to stop. we're not. last year we were able to pass the strongest border security bill in history. i am proud of that as a republican. it went over to the senate and died at the hands of democrats. we were able to pass a responsible increase in the debt ceiling with reforms that would have made this country stronger, more prosperous with less inflation. unfortunately, side deals got done and that got sidetracked, but it was a giant step forward. this body impeached for only the second time in history a sitting cabinet member, alejandro mayorkas to secure the bored of the united states in his dereliction of duty. i'm proud we've done that and sent over legislation to the senate that funded israel and took that money and paid for it out of the i.r.s. i'm proud of that. when republicans stand united for victory, stand united for freedom, stand united, our

colleagues on the other side of the aisle that would undermine liberty and walk away from israel and fund open borders, but we're united against that, we win and we lead and people follow. when we instead cowher down and say oh, we have to do something to get something done just for the sake of it, then that's just unity with no purpose. i am proud of the republican conference when we're united in purpose to defend the liberty of the american people. i'm proud today that we had a debate right here about the difficult decisions of foreign intelligence surveillance so we can go after bad guys like the bad guys that want to hit israel and hit us, but to do so while respecting the constitutional protections and the liberties the founders understood were critical. we do not have a country that is worth preserving if we're going to burn the constitution while

we try to defend it. we must stand together to defend civil liberties, why we stand together to defend our country. the american people expect no less. we should stand side by side with israel. we should unite to make sure that we can continue to carry out surveillance against bad actors while protecting civil liberties. we should stop spending money we don't have. we should secure the border of the united states. we should continue to do the great things this republican conference has been able to do when we're united and standing against and ad administration led by radical progressive democrats that want to undermine the american dream, destroy our sovereignty, leave our borders open, undermine our children's safety, put criminals on the street, side with hamas over israel. we can stand to thwart that if we will unite to do it. that is my call. that is what i believe we must do. with that, i thank my friend from maryland for joining me. i thank the speaker.

and with that, i would move that we adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the house stands adjourned until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.

we'll have coverage when the house returns here on c-span. c-span has been delivering congressional coverage for over 40 years. the house today blocked bl re-authorizing the foreign intelligence surveillance act. c-span's craig kaplan reports it

fell on a procedural ve, 193-228. the current legislation is set to expire april 19. 19 republicans have joined democrats to prevent the bill fr moving forward. john bresnahan from bunch wl news followed up with this post, just to put this in perspective, seven failed house rule votes is the most since 1973-1974, the 93rd congress. c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we're funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> charter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers, and we're just getting started, building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. >> charter communications supports c-span as a public service. along with these other television provide. giving you a front row seat to democracy.