caller: i just want to say today is a special day. member ross perot who would be 96 years old. i miss those days, i missed the $4 trillion debt. the only thing i can say is i'm glad my children have learned that politics are -- and my remembrance. thank you. host: we believe that they are. house coming in. we will be back live tomorrow morning around 7:00 a.m. eastern to 10:00 a.m. eastern. be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. june 27, 2024.

i hereby appoint the honorable mary e. miller to act as mr. smr.speaker pro temp on this da. sign -- as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, mike johnson, speaker of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will be offered by chaplain kibben. chaplain kibben: would you pray with me. god, you are the giver of every perfect gift. on this day we give you thanks for all that you have given us. our lives. our work. our families. our friends. and so much more. all of these we count as joy for they reveal to us in countless ways your love and care for us. how do we give back to you, o lord, for all your goodness? mindful of your steadfast and loving kindness, may we trust in your provision when things don't go our way. when money gets tight and numbers don't add up. sure of the strength you supply, may we set before you our deepest needs, our overwhelming

doubts, and our uncertainty for the way ahead. remind us that we can do all things because you are the source of our power. in all circumstances, o lord, whether we live in plenty or in want, may we know that the secret of our happiness, the reason to be content in all situations is that you alone are our hope and our salvation. we pray these things in the strength of your name. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson. mr. thompson: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of ameramerica ano the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: madam speaker, i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i rise today to recognize the extraordinary artistic ability of emma zacharol, a freshman and winner of pennsylvania's 15th congressional district art competition. the congressional art competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. since then, more than 650,000 high school students have

participated in nationwide competition. this year my office received a record 125 submissions for the competition. ms. zacharol's artwork will be displayed in the u.s. capitol for one year, with winners from each congressional district in the nation. thousands of visitors, guests and members of congress will have the opportunity to see her artwork every day. emma won for her water mixible oils painting of her dog titled, "good boy, archie." her artwork blew me away and i'm glad i can welcome her to washington, d.c., to celebrate this accomplishment today. congratulations to all the students who participated in this year's congressional art competition and to emma for being an amazing example of the talent in pennsylvania's 15th congressional district. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from washington seek recognition?

without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise today to recognize the life and legacy of senior master sergeant retired calvin pearson who passed away on june 19, 2024. i knew mr. pearson as a man who loved his country, who served his country, loved his community and loved his family. mr. pearson was born in georgia on october 6, 1938. at the age of 17, he enlist and joined the u.s. air force, beginning a remarkable 30-year career of excellence and distinction in service to his country. mr. pearson loved sports, he loved playing music, he loved being present at the milestones and moments in the lives of his children and his grandchildren. ms. strickland: when he was in his 50's, he used his g.i. bill benefits to obtain a business degree from belleview college. he was married for 60 years to

mrs. olympia s. pearson who he met when he was stationed in madrid. they shared a life of travel, friendship and a loving family. mr. pearson will always be known as a great husband, a great father, grandfather and loyal friend to all. he was respected by all, he served his country. he loved his country. and those who knew him loved him deeply. mr. pearson, it was an honor to know and work with you. rest in peace. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? >> i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise to recognize sergeant major thomas humphries as tennessee's second district june, 2024, veteran of the month. sergeant major humphries joined the marine corps in january of 1983 and spent years working on helicopters at marine corpsation

station in north carolina and atlanta. mr. burchett: he then spent a couple years as a drill instructor at paris island where he had completed boot camp a decade before. he went back to serve in new river again and then moved to palms, california, after he was promoted to first sergeant. in 2003 he was deployed to iraq and participated in an operation iraqi freedom. he was then promoted to sergeant major and served in fort lewis, washington, and a few years later he retired from the marine corps in 2007 after more than 24 years of service. sergeant major humphries became a veteran benefit representatives with the tennessee department of veterans affairs until july of 2012 and then became the knocks county veteran service officer when i was mayor. he represented almost 30,000 veterans living in knocks county during that time and he used his knowledge of the v.a. system to help veterans get the benefits they deserve. he's now taking a well-deserved retirement. he truly cares about our veterans and troops and used his career to serve them however

possible. congratulations on a great career, tom, and i wish you the best in retirement. always faithful. and tom has always been faithful to his country and his gloved corps and -- beloved corps and his fellow veterans and he's been a good friend of mine. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? mr. davis: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. davis: madam speaker, i rise to recognize the remarkable career of dr. lawrence rouse as he begins his well-deserved retirement. dr. rouse has dedicated an impressive 42 years to higher education, serving as the president of pitt community college bulldogs for the past six years. throughout his tenure, he's been

an instrumental force in the growth and success of students across eastern north carolina. before this, dr. rouse served as the president of james community college for 13 years. he earned the distinguished title of north carolina community college system's president of the year in 2016. dr. rouse's dedication to north carolina students has been unwavering, despite his south carolina roots. madam speaker, i acknowledge too the vital role that his wife, janey, has played in supporting him throughout his career. thank you, janey. i sincerely thank you, dr. rouse, and bid you a fond farewell as you enter reti retirement. madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one

minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the life and service of a former representative, trudy walland. a leader and a first advocate for her community for north carolina. mr. edwards: trudy held a great many titles in her 80 years of life. daughter, wife, mother, business owner, county commissioner, and to the pride of her family and friends, north carolina state representative. after arriving in 1998, she was appointed to seven house committees and she once described her mindset as -- she set foot in the house for the first time. i arrived with the objective of being as effective as i could be. and effective she was. as we honor trudy's many recommendation -- or contributions to western north carolina, and a life well lived, i hope all of us serving in the

people's house follow her example as we go forth in service of our constituents. i applaud and commemorate representative trudy walland's service to improve the lives of the citizens that she so passionately represented. madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from michigan seek recognition? without objection. ms. tlaib: thank you, madam speaker. the audio on january 29 of 6-year-old palestinian girl as she was calling the paramedics, begging, begging them to come rescue her after the rest of her family in the car had already been killed by the israeli military. she kept begging, come get me. please come get me. i'm so scared. please come. no one was able to reach the car for 12 days, when her decomposing body was found along the bodies of five of her family

members. the bodies of two palestinian red cross society workers missing since the day of her call when they were dispatched to rescue her were discovered in the ambulance just feet away. madam speaker, i'm here to talk about it because a new forensic analysis found that the israeli military fired not one, not two, not a dozen, not 20, 355 tank bullets at the car that she was in and the tank was so close that the israeli soldiers would have had a clear view of her in the car. six months later, the state department and president biden has yet, has yet to hold the israeli government accountable for these executions. so, madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to submit for -- into the forensic -- into the congressional record her forensic report. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. tlaib: thank you. and i yield. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask to address the house for one minute

and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> madam speaker, today i rise to honor our june veteran of the month, ben trout, a vietnam war veteran. mr. trout enlisted in the marines and was a sergeant in the fifth marine division in eastern asia during the vietnam war. he was also selected for the naval enlisted scientific educational program leading to a marine corps regular commission. he completed the electrical engineering program at the university of missouri before being commit -- commissioned to a second lieutenant and later designated an infantry officer. during his first assignment, he fought in the northern sector of south vietnam. he received multiple wounds and upon release from the hospital, lieutenant trout limited his duty to stateside and later retired and then he moved to columbia, missouri, and added a new civil engineering degree, in addition to his previous

electrical engineering degree. he now owns and operates an engineering design company that he founded, they design, manufacture, program, install and service computerized temperature controls. he's been in business for 44 years and is still the sole stockholder, lead director and president of the company. thank you for all you do lieutenant trout. thank you -- you do, lieutenant trout. thank you. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i rise today to congratulate our very own indio native abby carter for winning "american idol" last month. mr. ruiz: she captured the hearts of millions of americans, won the popular vote and emerged as the champion. my family and i cheered for her and have followed her incredible journey. we enjoyed witnessing the talent

and passion abby brings to her art and listening to her powerful voice. abby's story is one of humility, determination, passion and resilience. as a cal state university-san bernardino alumni and george washington charter alumni, she served as a role model and inspiration to young students in my district and across the nation. abby was homeschooled during high school so she could get a job and support her family. she grew up in a musical household, sang in church, in talent shows and several local competitions. her dedication and passion are an inspiration to us all. reminding us to dream big because dreams really do come true. congratulations, abby, cheers to you, your talent and the promising future ahead. please know that we are all immensely proud of you for your well-deserved achievement and will continue to support every step of the way. we have your back. thank you and i yield back. ...

the chair: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from iowa seek recognition? >> i ask for unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the chair: without objection. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rises to road the honor leading to the keokuk national cemetery. this week we're scheduled to have a ground breaking for the new road of honor, which comes after my office secured almost a million dollars in federal funding to repave it. mrs. miller-meeks: when local and state officials were unable to get the funding, my office was able to deliver funding to repave the road so that iowans could properly honor our departed version. this was made possible after iowa state senator jeff and first brought the project to my attention. i also thank keokuk mayor's involvement as a federal funds were dispersed. as a 24-year army veteran, it is

a privilege and honor to recognize the road of honor in keokuk national cemetery on the house floor. i look forward to visiting again soon to honor the veterans that are buried there. in washington, i'll continue to fight to deliver results for our veterans and for iowa. may god bless our troops and our veterans, and may god always bless america. thank you, and i yield back. the chair: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the chair: without objection. >> madam speaker, i rise today to honor two constituents and giants of the movement for equal rights and social justice, yvette and mona. a formidable, beloved couple, they have each dedicated their lives and each made profound shared and individual contributions to works that protect human rights, defend civil liberties and ensure service and support for

illinois' most vulnerable residents. ms. ramirez: consistent with the long track record of building community and convening space space for latina and other queer women to explore their multiple identities, yvett and he mona co-founded a company in 1995. because of the unwavering service, they were inducted into the chicago lgbtq hall of fame in 2022. on behalf of illinois' third congressional district, i commend yvette and mona for their love for our community and their exceptional contributions to the ongoing struggle for civil rights. congratulations. with that i yield back. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the chair: without objection. >> tonight the american people will tune in to watch a ribbed debate with leftist hosts

pretending to moderate. mr. ogles: biden's sham of a judicial witch hunt is as obvious to the american people as the amount of stimulants that biden takes before his public appearances. incoherent mutterings, lack of physical awareness and wandering off demonstrate his cognitive decline. ahead of tonight's debate, have no doubt his puppet masters will once again be administering a concoction of drugs to keep him awake. president trump volunteered to take a drug test. the white house handlers, however, won't let biden take a cognitive test because they know he'll fail. i agree with president trump. the american people deserve transparency, which is why i introduced the no juicing joe act, which would require the white house to notify congress and the american people when biden takes anything for cognitive decline. america is a leader of the free world. we need a commander in chief who is capable of articulating a

coherent sentence, aware of his surroundings, and can lead with strength, a president like donald trump. i yield back. the chair: members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? >> i ask to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the chair: without objection. mr. amo: i rise today to honor john murphy, a business leader and philanthropist who dedicated his life to serving rhode island and helping those in need. mr. magaziner: a son of irish immigrants, he was born and raised in fox point, providence. i joined the army and served in korea for two years. his commitment to public service did not stop there. shortly after returning home, john was elected to the providence step council, serving four terms. in 1959 he founded the home loan

investment bank, building it into a full service retail bank employing more than 100 people and helping thousands achieve the dreams of homeownership and financial security. throughout his life, john murphy made it a priority to give back, with generous support for the rhode island foundation, st. joseph's hospital, st. jude's children's hospital, the boys and girl clubs of providence, among many other worthy organizations. he was also passionate about education and helped start the mentoring and tutoring program at u.r.i. and the scholarship program at providence college. in his own words, murphy said that he wanted underserved students to know they are important. i don't want them to get lost or feel hopeless. i want them to know that i have walked in their shoes. i am one of them. he never lost sight from where he came from, and he will be remembered as a man of incredible character whose legacy will endure for generations to come. he will be missed. i yield back. the chair: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek

recognition? >> madam speaker, i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the chair: without objection. >> thank you. >> i rise today to sound the alarm once again on the water shortage that is plaguing south texas and our farmers and ranchers. ms. de la cruz: this is due to mexico's lack of water deliveries despite a binding agreement with the 1944 water treaty. on the floor this week, we will vote on the 2025 foreign operations appropriations bill. this legislation includes language to withhold all, and i repeat all, foreign aid to mexico until the mexican government delivers our water. i was proud to help secure the language in the appropriations bill, and i hope that it sends a loud message to the mexican

government that we demand our water and we demand it now. this emergency has already killed the sugar industry in the rio grande valley, and i will not stand by as it destroys our citrus industry. thank you, i yield back. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i rise to ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, to revise and extend. the chair: without objection. >> madam speaker, i rise today to recognize dr. mark van buren for being named the 2024-2025 twin rivers unified school district's teachers of the year. mark has spent the last eight years teaching a.p. physics, a.p. environment a.m. science and physics at grant union high school. mr. bera: his passion for science and innovative teaching methods ignite curiosity amongst

his students and inspire them to engage in the world of science. he's a fifth grade teacher at foot hill oaks elementary school. he's currently finishing her 10th year teaching, where she is recognized for her contribution for both inside and outside the classroom. she develops her classroom culture with a sense of family and instilling pride in her students and motivating them to be successful in their future endeavors. these two exceptional teachers will now advance to the countywide level teacher of the year competition. thank you for helping provide our sacramento county students with the world-class education they deserve. with that, i yield back. chaplain kibben: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the chair: without objection. >> madam speaker, in january of 2021, the average price for a gallon of gas was $2.39

nationally. today it's $3.49. these high prices are a direct result of biden administration policies. mr. rose: tennessee families are not only paying more to drive to work and take their kids to school, they're also paying more to power their homes. since president biden took office, the average cost of a kilowatt of power is up 30%. this is a direct result of the regulatory war being waged on domestic oil and gas production by the biden administration. the current administration has taken more than 200 actions, all aimed at making american energy production more difficult, including killing the keystone pipeline on day one. madam speaker, the american people are tired of footing the bill for the green new deal agenda. let's get our nation's energy policy back on track so our families are better able to fill

their gas tanks and pay their electric bills. thank you, madam speaker, and i yield back. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the chair: without objection. >> madam speaker, today i rise to recognize miss emma clark, north carolina's top high school female athlete of the year. mr. bishop: emma is a three-sport star and is the first female student-athlete to receive the pat best memorial award honoring north carolina's top male and female athlete. on the softball diamond, emma received allstate honors twice and holds the single season and career home run records. on the volleyball court, emma earned all-star, all-state honors as both a junior and senior. emma also dominated on the

basketball court, earning all-conference and all-county honor while leading her team to a 31-0 record and a state championship this year. she capped off her outstanding career with a most outstanding player performance in the 3-a state championship game victory. emma now heads to the university of tennessee to continue her softball career, and emma, you are a superstar. your parents ken and elizabeth and your grandparents, commissioner jim and karen green are so proud of you. so am i. we can't wait to see what is yet to come. god bless you, emma. i yield back.

the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316 and rule 18, the chair declares the house and the committee of the whole on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 8771. will the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. miller, kindly take the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 8771, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the department of state, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2025, and for other purposes. chip on the committee of the whole rose on thursday, june 26, 2024, a request for a recorded vote on amendment number 45 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by the

gentleman from florida, m mr. moskowitz, had been postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment 48 printed in part b of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. ogles: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. ogles of tennessee. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. ogles, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. ogles: thank you, madam chair. under 117-1 of the foreign

authorizations act for fiscal year 2003, the president is authorized to identify a list of countries that are major drug transit or major illicit drug production companies, also known as the majors list. china was added to the majors list in september, citing the role in the production of precursor chemicals used to produce illicit drugs. we've sadly seen the increase in real time. overdose deaths in my beloved home state of tennessee have increased by 200% over the last five years. it's driven in part by doubling of fentanyl seizures at the southwest border from fiscal year 2022 to 2023. 14,700 pounds versus 27,000 pounds. .while joe biden did list china to so-called majors list, that designation came with a caveat. the president effectively said, despite overdose deaths regular

tailor topping -- regularly topping 100,000 a year, that he was only adding china to the list because of the statutory definition of major drug source companies. it was expanded to include source countries for precursor chemicals. biden also said that it's hard for large countries with significant chemical and pharmaceutical industries to prevent precursors from being diverted to the protection of illicit drugs. the president even brought up an argument saying that it's hard for the u.s. to do it. it may be hard, madam chair, but we do do it. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentlewoman rise? ms. lee: thank you, madam chair. i claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. lee: i rise in opposition to this amendment. section 706 of the 2023 foreign relations authorization act reminds the president to report

to congress on countries determined to be major drug producing or transit countries. the administration produces this report and in 2023 included the people's republic of china as a significant source of precursor chemicals, use of illittle drugs into the united states -- illegal drugs into the united states. there's a process in place. prohibiting any future administration from making a decision as to whether the p.r.c. should be on this list as this amendment does undermines the whole goal of this report. if congress would rather come up with the list, they should do so. until then, the law leaves the administration to determine who belongs on the list. this administration has made disrupting the global flow of illicit, synthetic drugs a priority and has maintained pressure on the p.r.c. to that end. this amendment is unnecessary and i urge my colleagues to oppose it.

i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman is recognized. mr. ogles: thank you, madam chair. i appreciate my colleague's comments but the pressure being applied by this administration is clearly ineffective. just ask the kids, the families in my state or your state or his state that have overdosed because of the moral equivalentcation that joe biden has displayed between china and the united states. it's why we need to ensure that he's not tempted to remove china from the majors list. if he reluctantly put china on that list, congress must make sure that he doesn't go back on his word. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from california. ms. lee: yes.

madam chair, i believe in the urgency of this crisis. but this is not the way to address it. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back. mr. ogles: thank you, madam chair. again, i appreciate my colleague and i do agree in the urgency of the situation. but extreme times sometimes require extreme measures. it's important that we put a dot -- dot the i, cross the t, underline and underscore that this is a crisis in our country. tonight somewhere in my home state, someone will overdose because of fentanyl. someone in your home state will overdose because of fentanyl. meanwhile, joe biden has allowed the border to be wide open, overrun and unmanned. that is unacceptable. i urge adoption of my amendment and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman yields. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from tennessee. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment 49 printed in part b of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. ogles: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 49 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. ogles of tennessee. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. ogles, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. ogles: thank you, madam chair. if you want to come up with the right policy position on any issue related to foreign affairs, talk to anthony blinken first and then do the opposite. we've all seen the secretary's

inability to be correct about our major foreign policy concerns in the last 20 years. whether it be iraq, libya, yemen. giving the iranians access to tens of billions of dollars. or the botched withdrawal of afghanistan. he's undoubtedly one of the most professionally incompetent individuals to hold the title of secretary of state. but if incompetence by itself were sufficient ground to remove a senate-confirmed cabinet official, the president would have very few advisors left. in the case of secretary blinken, it's more than just about incompetence, it's about corruption. we've long since learned from former acting c.i.a. director that the infamous spies who lie letter, an event responsible for donald trump not being president today, was led by no one less than antony blinken. the letter signed by 51 tense experts was intended to give -- experts was intended to get

president biden ahead. you think this would be worthy of investigation, if not outright impeachment. we just found out that at least two signatories of the spies who lie letter were actively working for the c.i.a. as contractors. think about that. the c.i.a. contractors colluding with the biden campaign to discredit hunter biden's laptop story were getting paid with federal tax dollars. the secretary's also perhaps the second highest profile instance during his tenure aside from our botched afghanistan withdrawal failed to sufficiently demonstrate america's resolve against terrorist thugs. prime minister netanyahu is set to address this chamber next month, expressed concerns about the administrative bottlenecks preventing weapons from arriving in israel. the white house initially withheld approved weapons sales to israel, including f-15's, mortars, tank rounds, the joint

direct attack munitions smart bomb kits. thankfully and finally, 50f-15's are now on their way in support to israel. this does nothing to embolden the perception that the u.s.-israel relationship is fraying. nothing could be more dangerous for u.s. security interests than promoting this narrative. for what it's worth, nothing could be more dangerous for international security than perpetuating the lie that the i.d.f. is murdering palestinians or that israel is causing famine. both claims are top-level absurdities and honest people will rightfully call these claims for what they are. anti-semitic garbage. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentlewoman seek recognition? ms. lee: i claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognize. ms. lee: this amendment, which i'm opposed to, seemingly seeks to punish secretary blinken,

likely due to differences of opinion by the amendment's sponsor. the last time i looked, in a democracy i thought differences are allowed without punitive measures. this is a slippery slope. given that the secretary covers all worldwide issues, it's unbelievable that differing opinions would not arise. we cannot decide to defund the salary of a cabinet member simply because a member of congress does not agree with all of the positions the administration takes on issues pertaining to foreign affairs. again, remember what the fundamentals of our democracy allow. this is, again, another move to shut it down. again, to my colleagues, if you want to debate foreign policy, the foreign policy of the biden administration, let's do that. but secretary blinken is doing his job. i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. ogles: thank you, madam chair. you know, in the house of representatives, we have the power of the purse. and what i have proposed in this amendment is holding an individual accountable for his failure and incompetence in the role of his duties. that is our job. there has to be accountability. the spies who lie letter, c.i.a. contractors undermining an election. the withdrawal -- the boesched with drawl from afghanistan -- the botched withdrawal from afghanistan. there has to be accountability and we have the ability to do so with the purse string. that is a reasonable expectation. if joe biden isn't going to do his job, if joe biden isn't going to hold blinken accountable, if joe biden isn't going to fire him, then we must do our job. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves.

ms. lee: madam chair -- the chair: the gentlewoman from california. ms. lee: elections matter. this is still a democracy. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. ogles: again, madam chair, i thank you. again, i will urge adoption of my amendment. this is straightforward. this is fair. this is sending a meang to the biden administration -- sending a meang to the biden administration and to -- message to the biden administration and to secretary blinken. close our border. support our ally. and stand for america first. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from tennessee. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider

amendment number 50 printed in part c of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. ogles: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 50 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. ogles of tennessee. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. ogles, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. ogles: thank you, madam chair. the national security memorandum 20 represents a betrayal of our closest ally in the middle east. both president biden and secretary blinken developed this memorandum to placate the terrorist sympathizers, quite frankly, within the democratic party. it's despicable, the memo, as it is unnecessary. i would encourage my colleagues on the other side to highlight a single new legal requirement

mandated by the memo. if the memo does not mandate a new legal requirement on armed shipments, then why do we need it? national security memorandum 20 requires that countries receiving u.s. security assistance provide credible and reliable written assurances that the recipient country will use such defense articles in accordance with international humanitarian law and as applicable to other international law. this thinly veiled attack against israel, which has done far more than any other nation in its position to preserve the lives of noncombatants, was developed with indifference to the fact that there are already longstanding statutes that govern the delivery of u.s. security assistance and even makes such delivery contingent on compliance with international humanitarian law. as the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee and his senate counterpart pointed out, the foreign assistance act

already mandates that no assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the arms export control act to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the secretary of state has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights. importantly, this memo also does not create any new legal requirement to obtain a u.s. security assistance. on march 26, 2024, state department spokesman matthew millar said as much, to quote mr. miller, it has always been required that these countries that are receiving defense articles from the united states act in compliance with international humanitarian law. that is not a requirement that was imposed by the national security memo, it is something that is already required by law. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. lee: madam chair, i claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized.

ms. lee: this amendment, of course, i oppose. any transfer of arms from the united states are done with partners in accord wants international law. what's the problem with that? international law that says civilians have to be protected and not targeted, that humanitarian actors are given access to provide assistance to vulnerable populations, and that weapons are to be used with proper oversight. what is the problem with that? i truly don't understand what the objection to this would be. this policy, which is repetitive of laws and policies already on the books, was implemented in february and began its review with countries currently engaged in conflict, such as nigeria, ukraine, colombia, iraq and, yes, israel. ...

no country in compliance with international law should be concerned with this review. but it gives the united states, our taxpayers, as the largest provider of weapons around the world, a check that they are not running afoul of international law either. this is about good government and oversight and should be supported and strengthened. i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. ogles: i pose the question, if the substance of the memo is already stated in law, then why too we need the memo? the answer is substantive, and it's clear, it's political. this functionally useless memo replete with unnecessarily vague language throughout seems to attempt to create two classes of countries that receive u.s.

security assistance. israel, then everyone else. this memo was designed to shine a light and segregate israel. as charm chairman of the house foreign affairs committee pointed out in his letter, this requires written assurances from country receiving u.s. weapons must be credible and reliable. that's exactly -- that's exactly what that means. if i were israel, i'd be concerned that joe biden would be the one in charge of figuring that out. and when the recipient country says it will use defense articles in accordance with, quote, humanitarian law, which law or laws are president biden and blinken referring to? as the recipient countries, are they supposed to know or assume what laws they're supposed to follow? i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. ms. lee: i'm prepared to close. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves.

the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. ogles: thank you, madam chair. this contains language that says recipient countries can't arbitrarily deny, restrict or otherwise impede humanitarian assistance. well, what exactly is u.s.-supported humanitarian assistance? if the national security required the country to temporarily restrict whatever u.s.-supported humanitarian assistance is, what then in turn would we deny israel weapons if they needed to defend itself? the language in this memo is imprecise and it can be used against israel, and quite frankly, other countries as well, by a president who has made the conflict in israel political. israel is fighting for their existence. they are under attack. if there was a rogue state operation operator in mexico that was launching missiles,

bombs, explosives into texas, we would occupy mexico city within 72 hours. we may or may not give it back. israel has a right to defend itself. and it should not be singled out and undermined by this president or secretary blinking. i have had enough. israel has had enough. the american people have had enough. and this amendment is important to send a message to biden, no more politics, defend our greatest ally in the middle east. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. lee: i'm prepared to close. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. lee: madam chair, i don't know why the gentleman is making this about israel. this implements a regular process for reviewing these requirements and reporting to congress. taxpayers deserve to ensure that

these processes are uphold for each and every country. thank you, and i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman yields. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from tennessee. those in favor say aye. those opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, theys have it. the amendment -- the ayes have it. ms. lee: i request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from tennessee will be postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number 54, printed in part b of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: i have an

amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: number 54, printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. perry of pennsylvania. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. perry, and a member opposed, will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. perry: thank you, madam chair. i want to thank my good friend from florida for his hard work and his effort on this. and also for his hard work and his outstanding effort to speak on behalf of the cuban people that wish to be free and against communism worldwide, and i thank him for that. every day americans across our nation, like the folks that i have the honor to represent in pennsylvania, in the 10th congressional district are still suffering the impacts of this administration's reckless spending. unlike the federal government,

they have to make tough choices. they've got to make their budget balanced. they can't just print money. they got to stretch their dollars. they have to forgo auto repairs or maybe something around their home that needs attention. take items off their grocery list. choose different items that they can afford, all because of too much spending. they pare back their spending in ways that may be uncomfortable because we won't in this town. to me it's unacceptable. it's unconscionable, and madam chair, the united states congress has been unwilling to do the same for decades now. while like last year i appreciate that the underlying bill has eliminated or reduced many wasteful accounts, and it has due to the good work of the chairman here, with all due respect, there's still a lot more work to be done and can be done. the state and foreign corrections, the state department and international organizations funded by the final state and foreign operations funding bill have time and time again advanced and sent american tax dollars to

causes that run counter to american values and our foreign policy objectives. this amendment reduces the amount for international disaster assistance from just over $3.4 billion to zero. while i admire the desire of many, including myself, to be charitable and help others around the world, we got to remember, we're being charitable with other people's money. we're being charitable with taxpayers' money, taxpayers that can barely afford their own bills, their own electricity bills, food bills, daycare bills. god forbid you got to buy a new car or a new home or pay the interest rates, all due to what's happening here. we want to be charitable, but the fact of the matter, madam chair, is that america is broke. it's hard to help other folks when you can't help yourself. this is nearly $3.5 billion, which like many other of the

dollars spent in this bill, does not go directly to helping americans in america. our constituents simply can't afford yet another line item in their tap, on their tap, while they're already bearing the brunt of reckless spending by president biden. with that, i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentlewoman seek to be recognized? ms. lee: i rise to claim opposition to this amendment. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. lee: i rise in strong opposition to this amendment. once again, it's very disconcerting to think that republicans want to actually offer an amendment that really is a lifeline for millions of people. it's the most basic expression of american commitment to the dignity of everyone. this account provides

life-saving support, including food, water, shelter, emergency healthcare, sanitation and hygiene, and critical nutrition services to the world's most vulnerable and hardest to reach people. whether one has a religion or not, our values and people of faith would be shocked to know that the republicans want to do this. this assistance is needed now more than ever. after years of decline, there are more people facing hunger now than in 2019, almost 30% of the global population. it's important to provide this humanitarian assistance, because it's morally the right thing to do. and because it reflects also on our global leadership. i hope there's still a sense of morality and a sense of values as you, the republicans, look at

how the impact of cutting many of these programs will impact human beings in their lives. i would ask my colleagues, what would they do if they could not protect their children from preventible disease, not be able to afford food or clean water that does not make them sick? you'd do almost anything to prevent that from happening. it's really unthinkable that the united states would stop providing the support to those that have lost everything through a natural disaster or conflict. the consequences of this amendment are almost too terrible to contemplate. i urge my colleagues to polls this amendment, and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. perry: thank you, madam chair. we don't have to question each other's morality here. we all want to help. everybody wants to help.

we're representatives of the united states, and we're heading into disaster season in the united states of america, whether it's hurricanes across the south or wildfires in the west. it's coming here. but this is about foreign disaster aid, madam chair, sending money abroad. and we can always do that when there's something that happens, we can come to congress here, we can come in and vote for things at that time when they happen. but i want to say this, madam chair. we want to put our chairmen in the best position possible, in the best position possible to negotiate. this isn't about questioning our moral objectives. party by party, side by side. but we know that there's going to be a negotiation with the senate. we know that. and we want to put this chairman in the best position possible. look, nobody here believes we're going to end up with less than we go in with. you're going to end up with more. that's what happens every single time. every single time in this body.

so let's put this chairman in the best position possible when he goes in and they say, oh, my goodness, this isn't going to work. and then he can negotiate from there. maybe it's not $3.5 billion. maybe it's $3.4 billion, which isn't big, a big reduction in pennsylvania, where people can't pay their electricity bills. but it's something. it's a start down the road. so i want to put this chairman in the best possible position to negotiate. i urge adoption, and i yield the balance. the chair: the gentleman yields. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. lee: madam chair, of course i fully disagree with the gentleman. this is about questioning our moral objectives. using millions of people's lives as a negotiating tactic is truly questionable and despicable. i yield back the balance of time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields. the gentleman from pennsylvania.

the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from pennsylvania. those in favor say aye. those opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. the chair understands that amendment number 56 will not be offered. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> madam chair, i stood up to ask for a recorded vote on the previous amendment. and i will stand to do so.

pipe pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from pennsylvania will be postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number 57 printed in part b of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois seek recognition? ms. ramirez: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mrs. ramirez of illinois. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentlewoman from illinois, miss ramirez, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from illinois. ms. ramirez: i rise in

rahm i rise in support -- ms. ramirez: i rise in support of my amendment. i'll be launching my new global migration caucus. whiem i stand with colleagues to affirm that there are those of us in congress who want to be an effective ally to global efforts to create a safer, more equitable world where people can build a life they want and deserve at home, today my republican colleagues, however, seek to withdraw our participation and coordinate global efforts, eliminate critical support for migration management, and fuel the crisis of displacement they claim they so desperately want to address. we must not let the recklessness and dangerous efforts go unchallenged. my amendment will strike the harmful hateful language of the underlying bill that prohibits the support of safe and humane migration management efforts around the world. as vice ranking member of the homeland security committee, i hear my colleagues talk about

what is happening at the border, especially at the southern border. but they ignore questions about why we are seeing a humanitarian crisis at the border. they don't want to talk about the root cause of migration. like violence, democratic back sliding, economic exclusion, climate change, some of these dlees are driving families from their -- crises that are driving families from their home in search of safety and stability. much like what happened to our own ancestors maybe in the early 1900's or the 1950's. everything i have witnessed throughout my official trips and conversations with families, governments and civil societies points to this truth. our country's safety is fundamentally connected to the stability, to the security and the sustainability people experience, or do not experience across the globe. i've heard a mother talk with desperation about the sexual violence and trauma that a 12-year-old, her 12-year-old, endured while crossing the darian.

i heard stories of threats of violence and cartel intimidation that drove a mother to send her sons on a harrowing journey through dangerous migration routes. for so many people around the world, the choice is flee or die. again, it's no surprise to me that the petition of isolationist xenophobic politics doesn't understand the ideal of cooperation and prevention. both cooperation and prevention require forethought, working across differences, embracing possibilities and a commitment to inclusion. none of which are reflected in h.r. 8771. an example, the bill specifically bans funding for the safe mobility offices, which have been a cost-effective, let me say again, a cost-effective part of the u.s. government strategy to reduce, reduce irregular migration within the

western hemisphere. so, to my republican colleagues, which one is it? do you want less irregular migration or do you want to slash funding to address the conditions that drive displacement around the world and ban funding for programs to increase access to lawful humanitarian pathways to the united states and other countries? madam chair, this amendment is necessary. this amendment will address the issues and i hope that my colleagues will maybe in some cases, for the first time this congress, do that commonsense thing. address the issues that they care so much about, they say. and in fact support migration management, support countries that need resources so that they do not have to come through our southern border. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman

reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. diaz-balart: thank you, madam chairwoman. i rise to claim time in opposition to this amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. diaz-balart: thank you. couple things. first, you know, the reason for the situation in the southern border can be explained by just two words. joe biden. that is who has created the crisis in the southern border. now, this amendment strikes -- attempts to strike section 7045-f. much of this is already existing law. but it's really basically saying, this amendment, that we don't have an issue on the southern border. there's no problem with the southern border. we have to realize that close to 10 million people have crossed unlawfully into the united states under this president. that's roughly the population of the entire state of michigan, for god's sake. and this bill attempts to do what we can, despite the

president of the united states, to stop this crisis that has been created by mr. joe biden. see, the bill prohibits outright funding for programs that push migrants toward the united states unlawfully. either by giving him cash cards -- them cash cards or giving them information about, you know, future stops, where to go, connecting them with lawyers and giving them -- even coaching, coaching them to answer the questions falsely, falsely while claiming asylum. how can anybody support that? this is a country that believes in the rule of law. this amendment also, if that were not enough, proposes to strike the funding to the safe mobility offices and the welcome court unless authorized. that's what the bill -- that's what the language in the bill does. if that's sugg support, authorize it for god's sake.

these are gimmicks which spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to circumvent, circumvent u.s. law, for god's sake. in the case of the welcome court, this is in essence like a matchmaking ebtity -- entity. like match.com for folks trying to get here illegally to the united states. it recruits in the united states so-called sponsors to sponsor these individuals, even though they have no connections other than now this kind of like, you know, match system. and by doing so, the biden administration is frankly -- has made the situation even worse. for dpod's sakes, the -- for god's sakes, the administration is now trying to get universities involved. this is coming out of our foreign affairs budget. intended to support our national security. again, safe mobility centers are operating overseas in places like ecuador and colombia.

facilitating a fast track, fast track of tens of thousands of people to using mobile app, a mobile app to obtain authorization, to then literally show up on the southern border that is wide open, well, let me restate that. dlielsed absolutely -- that is controlled absolutely by the mexican narco cartels and that's how these folks are coming into the united states. all of this is to facilitate the cartels, to help the cartels. to help market this illegal cartel business. so i know some people might say, well, they're going to come anyways or another way if we don't do this. but advertising and using taxpayer money to become the advertising source, the marketing for folks that come into the united states unlawfully, is frankly something that is totally unacceptable. if these programs that the gentlewoman wants to fund are so good, and then bring them up in front of congress, have them

authorize. they would get shot down dramatically because everybody can see what this is. this is using taxpayer money to circumvent the law which hurts not only our national security efforts and our national security interests, but it also hurts the folks who have been waiting years to try to come legally into the united states. i could not, not urge our colleagues in a more forceful way to strongly oppose this amendment. and i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. ramirez: madam chair, may i inquire touch how much time is left on both sides? the chair: one minute. the gentleman from florida has 30 seconds remaining. ms. ramirez: madam chair, i'm prepared to close. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. ramirez: i find it really ironic and hypocritical. one moment you say, close the borders, don't let people in. and if they want to come, let

them come the legal way. and then we create programs, one, to invest in communities outside of the u.s. so that they don't have to come to the southern border, they don't have to do that dangerous journey. we create programs of safe mobility so they can stay in places like colombia and other places like ecuador. and then you say, not that either. the reality is, this is not about president biden of the this is that you want to create -- president biden. this is that you want to create crisis and chaos and fearmongerring at all costs, even if at one moment you say this and the other moment you say that. because you have no intention of addressing issues of immigration or border. you want to create chaos because that's the only way you win. my amendment will allow us to address the root causes of migration, to ensure that people can stay in their home countries and you won't see them at the southern border. to me that's a solution and it is why i urge my colleagues to vote yes.

the chair: remind members to refrain from addressing other members and deterioration the chair -- and address the chair. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. diaz-balart: madam chair, can i ask how much time i have left? the chair: 30 seconds. mr. diaz-balart: i would like to yield the remaining part of my time to my colleague who i think will explain why he is also as opposed as i am to this amendment. i would like to give him as much time as we have left. the chair: the gentleman is recognize. >> i rise in opposition to this amendment. i'll take this brief time. listen to the orwellian language that we heard from the other side here. in regards to irregular migration. mr. tiffany: what this is is laundering that's going on. this is laundering via the welcome court, the safe mobility office. other thing we heard was civility. how could this possibly be civil? is it civil to have human trafficking on an epic dismail is it civil to have cartels that are brutalizing people, especially women, raped,

murdered, coming through the southern border, and the fentanyl crisis that is the number one killer of young people in america? the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. tiffany: i yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from illinois. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 59 printed in part b of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from indiana seek recognition? mrs. spartz: madam speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 59 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mrs. spartz of indiana.

the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentlewoman from indiana, mrs. spartz, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from indiana. mrs. spartz: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i have a very simple amendment. actually what it does is just says, you know, if we, congress, doesn't authorize specifically funds for u.n., which should be part of our process, you know, this agency shouldn't be funded and probablies that the u.n. is doing -- projects that the u.n. is doing. probably couldn't defund the entire u.n. but congress needs to do its job. if it's not authorized, that's a process congress should follow, that shouldn't be funded. i know that the authorization committee didn't do its job but if they didn't, they should start doing their job. the process is broken and we need to stop dealing with corrupt agencies like the u.n. i reserve.

the chair: the gentlewoman yields. the gentlewoman reserves. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? >> i claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. >> i rise in strong opposition to this amendment. the bill as it stands already cuts 83% of the contributions to international organizations account compared to fiscal year 2024 and excludes funding for our treaty obligations as well as the majority of u.n. organizations that we traditionally fund. ms. meng: we have watched as the p.r.c. challenges the u.s. at the u.n. and other multilateral institutions, working to insert their values of authoritarianism and disrespect for human rights. by cutting off funding to the u.n. and its agencies, this bill leaves a void for our adversaries to fill. let me give you one example of the devastating effects of this

amendment. in 2023 the u.s. was the largest contributor to unicef's core resources. it's this consistent funding that has enabled unicef and partners to reduce under 5 childhood mortality by more than half since the year 2000 and more children are surviving today than ever before. this support could end. the u.n. is not perfect. no large bureaucracy is. but our ability to improve its operations, make sure its stances reflect our values and have the u.n. serve its mission for peace hinges on the u.s. being an active participating member of that organization. i fully support the authorization of these entities, but we all know that will not happen overnight. while we work towards that goal, we cannot we cannot cut off participation and support. i urge my colleagues to oppose

this amendment. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentlewoman from indiana is recognized. mrs. spartz: i thank you, madam speaker. i think my colleague is not represented that amendment very correct. this amendment not defund u.n., which we probably should, considering what's happening, it just defines programs we did not explicitly authorize and congress should be doing its job. let's talk about unicef. unicef not long ago admitted short comings in its humanitarian support to children who were sexually abused by peacekeepers in central africa republic. this is the same u.n. agency that when you have employees participating in hamas attack. recently one of the u.n. agencies that had a whistleblower said large sums are being lost to corruption in iraq as they fail to track spending on $1.5 billion. roughly half a billion by the

united states. and the employees actually saying it's not just this bribery and corruption, it's fueled by u.n., it's also the culture, expand on large u.n. and really don't even get to the people. i'll be honest with you, our allies are laughing that we're giving money to corrupt organizations controlled by russia and china and most of the time against american interests and doesn't help really the people. i've been in war zones, including in ukraine, including the middle east, in africa. you haven't seen them. you have fancy hotels, fancy cars, showed up with congressional delegations and people have suffered and died and american consumers and americans are paying large money and borrow debt to our grandchildren to make this corrupt. i think this is embarrassing for us. the congress, we don't take our

job seriously, start looking at this agency and looking at the corruption within this agency. i think this is something that we have to take way more seriously, and we should not have a blank check to corrupt organizations like u.n. and we need to do our job. i truly believe we should really send a message that americans are not stupid, we're not going to be taken advantage of, and congress is not stupid. we actually will start looking at this programs, authorizing them, and see what's really happening on the ground if we really want to achieve results in our adversaries not laughing at us. i'll be honest with us, we are not going to be given money to corrupt organizations like u.n. and i think congress needs to take seriously, and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. i do want to remind members to address remarks to the chair. the gentlewoman from new york. miss meng: as mentioned before,

our participation is in the united states interests. i oppose this amendment and yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from indiana is recognized. mrs. spartz: i think, madam speaker, i think our national interest is to make sure that taxpayer response are really achieve goals in our best interest, and unfortunately organizations like u.n. being corrupt and sabotaged and diminished and work against our national interests around the world and make a lot of people who are not our friends, and we have now a serious situation with inflation that is becoming national security issues, and i urge my colleagues to become stronger and challenging the corruption and not to be afraid to challenge. this is the right thing to do. that's why people elect us here. i urge my colleagues to support this amendment. thank you, and i yield back.

the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from indiana. those in favor seay. those who oppose say no. in the opinion of the chair, theys have it. the amendment is -- miss meng: i request a recorded vote. the chair: further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from indiana will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? ms. meng: i move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. ms. meng: madam chair, i rise in opposition to this bill for many reasons, but i want to take this opportunity to focus on one in particular. it's a tax on women's reproductive health and rights around the world. in 2024, no woman should die while giving life.

every vied should have the right to decide when, whether, and with whom to start a family. and every person should be able to make choices about their bodies without violence or coercion. but as we have seen, our colleagues do not share this commitment to reproductive rights. this week we marked the solemn anniversary of the dobbs decision, which stripped those rights from tens of millions of women. now this bill is trying to take dobbs global by attacking the health and rights of women and girls around the world. it would also ban contributions to the u.n. population fund, unfpa, an organization that serves 24.2 million women and couples every year. in 2023, with u.s. funding alone, unfpa saved 4,000 moms from dying in childbirth and prevented two million unintended pregnancies by thorough

voluntary christmas. but it gets worse. this bill would also codify the trump-era global gag rule into law, which violates the trusted relationships between patients and providers and blocks access to essential reproductive healthcare. for this reason, at the appropriate time, i will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. if the house rules permit it, i would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill. my amendment would simply reinstate current lay by striking the ban on funding for unfpa and bringing u.s. bilateral investments and family planning back to the current enacted level. it would also remove the codification of the global gag rule. additionally, my amendment does not change any of the current provisions in law that restrict the use of family planning funds. it would simply ensure that countries are setting their own health policies, not the united

states. we can't in good conscience support this bill knowing the detrimental impact it would have on the health and well-being of women, children, and families worldwide. at the end of the debate, i will insert into the record the text of this amendment. i hope my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion to recommit. i yield back. the chair: it is now in order to consider amendment 61 printed in part b of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: printed in part b of house report had 118-59 offered by mr. steube of florida. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentleman from florida, mr. steube, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. steube: thank you, madam

chair. americans deserve the assurance that their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are going to fulfill the needs of the american people. not funneled to terrorists who threaten our very existence. i stood here just nine months ago offering the same amendment, to ensure that no taxpayer funds be made available to a military force that emboldens hezbollah to spread terror and destruction upon our ally, israel, and the entire middle east. guess what happened just nine days later on october 7. to say that hezbollah and the lebanese government are two separate entity social security just plain false. -- entities are just plain false. not only do hezbollah and its allies control dozens of seats in lebanon's parliament, but they literally sit at the helm of the military force that our tax dollars have been propping up since 2006. its grip extends across its military, through its government, and over a majority of its politicians. even advocates of aid to the lebanese military recognize that hezbollah's influence over its defense ministry is rampant.

money is fungible, and why should the generosity of the american people be used to fund a terror haven unwilling to counter hezbollah? as we stand here today, israel is in a state of war with hamas, a war with hezbollah to the north seems to be imminent. the hezbollah leader has repeatedly threatened war with israel while suggesting his force far exceeds 100,000 fighters. we are funding an army that emboldens hezbollah to spill the blood of our allies. this really should be a bipartisan issue. where the democrats complain about lebanon's human rights atrocities, the lebanese armed forces shoot protesters and forforcibly repatriate enemies. in fact, the majority of lebanon's military expand tours don't even go towards its defense. over 70% of its budget is allocated for personal salaries and excessive benefits, which even includes domestic servants

and drivers for officers. this didn't stop the united states last year from partnering with the u.n. to implement the livelihood support program which dispersed more than $55 million to 70,000 l.a.f. personnel and helps fulfill their lavish lifestyle. americans expected this to be spent on interests, not limousines for generals. given the terror activities that hezbollah uses to extend it'll reign across nearly every facet of life in lebanon, we must acknowledge that foreign aid dollars sent there will ultimately be used by hezbollah to further expand terrorist actions against our ally, israel. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. >> i claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> madam speaker, the good intent of my colleague from florida cannot diminish the fact

that administration after administration, state department after state department, the department of defense under both this and the previous administration recognize the importance of a stable and peaceful lebanon. mr. issa: they recognize that lebanese armed forces maintains force against the taking over their country, either by hezbollah or by palestinians or syrians or others. i've been to lebanon when it was under foreign control by syria. i've seen the lebanese armed forces push them out. i've also seen lebanese armed forces train with our military personnel who, in fact, maintain close and daily relations with the lebanese armed forces. with that, i'd like to recognize my colleague from illinois for 2 1/2 minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized.

>> i rise in opposition to this amendment. the long-standing u.s. military investment for the independent lebanese armed forces has worked to support u.s. security interests in the middle east for over 15 years. discontinuing this funding now will only serve to embolden hezbollah on lebanon's southern border. mr. lahood: i'm proud to represent over 8,000 lebanese-american families in peoria, illinois. appears the co-chair of the u.s.-lebanon friendship caucus and a member of the house intelligence committee, i work closely with the brave men and women in the u.s. military and intelligence community to ensure robust and stringent oversight of u.s. investment into the lebanese armed forces, including our special forces members embedded with the l.a.f. let me repeat that. every day we have 30 u.s. military special forces embedded with the l.a.f. there's not been one piece of evidence presented today from our u.s. military that, in fact, any of this money goes to

hezbollah or anybody else. given the ongoing tension with israel and hezbollah, this is the wrong time to prohibit this funding. it would only serve to strengthen hezbollah on the battlefield against israel. the stability of the l.a.f. is imperative to the region and serves as an important counter to hezbollah's damaging presence in lebanon. the l.a.f., the lebanese armed forces, stands as an independent, secular force in lebanon, preventing terror attacks, countering actions of hezbollah, fighting against weapons and drug smuggling. they are the glue that keeps the country together. i agree with my colleague that we must be responsible stewards of taxpayer money spent abroad and continue to ensure necessary oversight mechanisms are in place to prevent money from falling into the wrong hands. however, we must not make decisions based on generalities, misinformation or conspiracy theories. but instead, trust the u.s. military experts on the ground who provide the oversight and

serve our national security interests. the l.a.f. remains one of the strongest functioning partners of the u.s. military, has in the middle east, and destabilizing the l.a.f. will only strengthen hezbollah and further provoke instability with israel. i oppose this amendment and urge my colleagues to vote no. thank you, and i yield back. the c the chair: the the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. steube: thank you, madam speaker. by safeguarding the actions of terrorists and their al linebackers the lebanese armed forces empower their mission to kill american troops and wipe israel off the map. now more than ever following october 7, giving them any taxpayer funds from america is just simply unjustifiable. ien courage my colleagues to stand with our ally israel and recognize the dangers of funding the lebanese armed forces by voting for my amendment, and i reserve the balance of my time. . >> i would inquire if the

proponent is prepared to close. then i'll use such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you. madam chair, as a member of the foreign affairs committee for over 20 years, i've traveled the entire region, met with our leaders, including our leaders in israel, met with the mo sad chief, -- mossad chief, met with many. what they've all told me is a stable lebanon is important and a civil war in lebanon would lead to the chaos that caused israel to have to invade lebanon many years ago. mr. issa: at a great loss of life. the fact is we have troops in syria because syria is effectively in a civil war. we have support for the l.a.f. because the l.a.f. stands as the only force that keeps hezbollah from taking over that country on behalf -- as a proxy for iran. i continue to stand with israel,

i continue to stand against iran and to do so i continue to stand with support for the l.a.f. and the stability that brings to lebanon. only a few weeks ago general owen, the commander of the lebanese armed forces, was invited here where he met with our secretary of state, are we met with our secretary of defense -- where he met with our secretary of defense and where in fact the coordination between our two countries has never been stronger and for that reason i must oppose this amendment and hope that it will not be brought again because it is not in the best interest of america or its key ally in the region, israel. with that, i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. steube: thank you, madam speaker. hezbollah's influence on the lebanese arm forces is rampant -- armed forces is rampant. they have members of their parliament, the influence is overreaching and americans are sick and tired of sending our tax dollars to countries and to people that absolutely hate our values and hate america and hate our ally, israel.

why would we continue to fund lebanon, why would we quote humanitarian aid to gaza when we know all that money is going to hamas? the american people are sick and tired of it. they want this body and this house to put america first. and i think it starts with focusing on the challenges that face america and not giving money that is ultimately going to end up in the hands of terrorist organizations and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from -- the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. mr. issa: on that i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida will be postponed.

pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on those amendments printed in part b of house report 118-559 on which further proceedings were postponed in the following order. amendment number 1 by m mr. brecheen of oklahoma. amendment number 2 by mr. brecheen of oklahoma. amendment number 9 by mr. burchett of tennessee. amendment number 13 by mr. gosar of arizona. amendment number 14 by mr. gosar of arizona. amendment number 15 by mr. gosar of arizona. amendment number 16 by mr. gosar

of arizona. amendment number 18 by ms. greene of georgia. amendment number 19 by ms. greene of georgia. amendment number 20 by ms. greene of georgia. amendment number 21 by ms. hageman of wyoming. amendment number 22 by ms. hageman of wyoming. amendment number 35 by ms. mace of south carolina. amendment number 36 by ms. mace of south carolina. amendment number 45 by mr. moskowitz of florida. amendment number 50 by mr. ogandoles of tennessee -- mr. ogles of tennessee. amendment number 54 by mr. perry of pennsylvania. amendment number 59 by mrs. spartz of indiana. amendment number 61 by mr. steube of florida. the chair will reduce to two minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote after the first vote in this series.

the unfinished business is the vote on amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. brecheen, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. brecheen of oklahoma. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be 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 chair: on this vote the yeas are 161, the nays are 246.

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 164, the nays are 246. the bill is -- the amendment is not agreed to. reqthe unfinished business is te request for a recorded vote on amendment number 2 by the gentleman from oklahoma, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. printed in part b of houser 2 report 118-559 offered by mr. brecheen of oklahoma.

the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute invo 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 chair: on this vote the yeas are 180, the nays are 227. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 3 pri printed n part b of house report 118-559 by mr. brecheen on which further proceedings were postpone and the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk: amendment number 3 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. brecheen of oklahoma. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: on this vote the yeas are 164, the nays are 244, the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 4 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by the gentleman from tennessee, mr. burchett, on which further proceedings were postponed and the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 4 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. burchett of tennessee. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes

by electronic device. this will be a two-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 chair: on this vote the yeas are 166, the nays will 264 with two voting present. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 9 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by the gentleman from tennessee, mr. burchett, on which further proceedings were post poabed and the -- postponed and the aye it's prevailed by voice. the clerk: amendment number 9 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. burchett of tennessee. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is

ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: on this vote, the yeas are 208, the nays are --

the chair: the yeas are 210 and nieces are 204. the amendment is agreed to. the unfinished business is request for a recorded vote on amendment number 13 printed in part bmp of house report 118-559 by mr. gosar and further proceedings were postponed and the ayes prevailed. the clerk: amendment number 13 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. gosar of arizona.

the chair: recorded vote has been requested. those in support of a recorded vote will rise. a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: the yeas are 156 and the amendment is not agreed. the unfinished business is request for recorded vote on amendment number 14 in house report 118-559 on which further proceedings were postponed and the noes prevailed. the clerk: amendment number 14, printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. gosar of arizona.

the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: the yeas are 61 and the nays are 350. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is request for recorded vote on amendment number 15 by the gentleman from arizona, mr. gosar and further

proceedings were postponed. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 15 printed in part b of house report 118-5 # 59 offered by mr. gosar of arizona. the chair: a a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: the yeas are 76, the nays are 334. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is request for a ordered vote on amendment number 16 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by mr. gosar on which further proceedings were postponed and the yeas prevailed.

the clerk: amendment number 16 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. gosar of arizona. the chair: a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: on this vote, the yeas are 109 and the nays are 303. the unfinished business is request for a recorded vote on amendment number 18 by the gentlewoman from georgia, ms. greene, on which further proceedings were postponed and

the yeas present claild. the clerk: amendment number 18 printed in part b ofous report 118-559 offered by ms. greene of georgia. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: on this vote the yeas are 13 3-rbgs the nays are 277 with one voting present. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 19 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by the gentlewoman from georgia, ms. greene, on which further proceedings were postponed and the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 19

printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by ms. greene of georgia. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-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 chair: on this vote the yeas are 70, the nays are 342. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 20 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by the gentlewoman from georgia, ms. greene, on which further proceedings were postponed and the noes prevailed by voice voice. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 20 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by ms. greene of georgia. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is

ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: on this vote the yeas are 81, the nays are 331. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 21 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by the gentlewoman from wyoming, ms. hageman, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk: amendment number 21 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by ms. hageman of wyoming. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-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 chair: on this vote the yeas are 175, the nays are 236. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 22 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by the gentlewoman from wyoming, ms. hageman, on which further proceedings were postponed and the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 22 priprinted in part b of house report 118-559 offered by ms. hageman of wyoming. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes

by electronic device. this will be a two-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 chair: on this vote the yeas are 187, the nays are 225. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 35 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by the gentlewoman from south carolina, ms. mace, on which further proceedings were postponed and the noes prevailed by voice vote.

the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 35 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by ms. mace of south carolina. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: the yeas are 163, the nays are 249. the unfinished business is request for recorded vote on amendment number 36 printed in part bmp of house report 118-559 on which the nose prevailed -- noes prevailed. the clerk: amendment number 36 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by ms. mace. the chair: those in support of the vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen. members will record their votes by electronic device. , this is a two-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives.

the chair: the yeas are 213, the nays are 199. the amendment is agreed to. the unfinished business is request for recorded vote printed in part bmp of house report 118-559 by mr. moskowitz. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 45 printed in part bmp of house report 118-559. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org.

the chair: the yeas are 269 and nays are 104. the unfinished business is request for a recorded vote on amendment number 50 printed in part bmp of house report 118-559 on which further proceedings were postponed. the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 50 printed in house report part b of house report 118-559. the chair: those in support of a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-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 chair: the yeas are 216 the nays are 197. the amendment is agreed to. the unfinished business is request for a recorded vote on amendment number 54 printed in part b of house report 118-559 on which further proceedings were postponed. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 54 printed in part bmp of house report 118-559. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: on this vote, the yeas are the 101, nays are 312. the amendment is not agreed to. unfinished business is on part b of house report 118-559 by the gentleman from indiana, mrs. spartz, which further proceedings were postponed and on theys proceed veiled. e clerwill redesignate the amendment. the clerk: part b of house report 118-559, offered by mrs. spartz of indiana.

the chair: recorded vote has been requested. those in support will rise and be counted. unsportsmanlike, this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

the chair: on this vote, the yeas are the is 82, the nays are 230. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is a request for a recorded vote on amendment 61 printed in part b of house report 118-559 by the gentleman from florida, mr. steube, on which further proceedings were postponed. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment 61, part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. steube of florida. the chair: recorded vote has been requested.

a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their vote by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: on this vote, the yeas are the nays yeas are 103. nays are 308. amendment is not agreed to.

the chair: the committee will be in order. members, will you take your conversations off the floor? it is now order to amendment 62 printed in part b of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. steube: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the chair: amendment 62 printed in part b of house report 118-559, offered by mr. steube of florida. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentleman from florida, mr. steube, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. steube: americans entrust us with ensuring their hard-earned tax dollars go toward measures that advance our interests, not undermine them. over the past quarter century, not only have americans provided billions of dollars to iraq, but thousands have lost their lives

in that country. essentially americans have been generous enough to give iraq a blank check payable not only in cash, but with american lives. yet in 2024, we see a country that is becoming increasingly anti-american, essentially becoming one of iran's strongest proxies. i served in iraq and protecting american interests should continue to be our number one priority in the region. we cannot justify funding a foreign government unable to safeguard our dollars from exploitation by iran, isis and other terror groups. yet the money we send to iraq has been funding iranian militias that target and attack our troops. iran's influence over the iraqi government is rampant. over two years ago the pentagon's inspector general disclosed that iraq's security forces are overrun by iranian-backed militants and terrorists. these are the same terrorists who attacked the u.s. embassy in baghdad in 2019 and continue to threaten our troops to this day. yet every year we continue to provide millions of tracks payer dollars to iraq security forces

and expect a different outcome. it's the difference of insanity. -- it's the definition of insanity. this is part of iraq's government. they are part of the popular mobilization forces, which fall under iraq's minister of interior. these militias are funded by the government of iraq and then attacked our troops with the financial backing of our own taxpayers. let that sink in. it's apparent that our funding for the iraqi government is not countering terrorism. it seems to be emboldening the terrorists. it's time to stop the cycle of trading blank checks for false promises with the iraqi government, especially when they use it to put iranian-backed terrorists on their payroll. this does not give us leverage, nor does it safeguard american interests. it's unwise, unacceptable, and quite frankly, inexcusable to send american taxpayer dollars to iraq when we know that these funds end up in the hands of terrorists. the underlying bill should support our diplomats and service members overseas, not threaten them. ien courage my colleagues to stand up for the american taxpayer and support my amendment. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves.

>> i claim too many in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. ms. lee: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in strong opposition to this amendment. there's no mistaking that the the error the united states made in going to war with iraq in 2003 was a mistake. and it was a decision which i fought against and providedly oppose. two decades have passed since then, but there's little doubt about the trauma experienced by the country that is still felt to this day. iraqis felt afraid to conflict and up stability, experienced a tragic number of deaths and displacements, saw an erosion of their basic services, including health and education, an entire generation of children grew up in a chaos-filled environment

with war and the subsequent emergence of terrorist groups and others. we cannot walk away from our responsibility to help iraq. now a key partner in the middle east. as secretary blinken said, america's greatest asset lies within the alliances and partnerships that we have with other nations in partnership with iraq we have worked to ensure a largely stable, prosperous, and democratic government. mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from florida. mr. steube: i don't believe that american taxpayer dollars should be going to a country that supports terrorism. there's no assurances that once the money is sent to iraq that it's want going to be in the -- it's not going to be in the hands of iranian proxies and terrorist organizations to then attack our own troops. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. ms. lee: let me just say, we bombed the heck out of iraq.

unfortunately, we're responsible for refugees, for deaths of iraqis, and, you know, so we at least should help the iraqi people rebuild and move forward. our assistance to iraq mitigates extremism through programming that promotes mutual respect, tolerance and understanding, provide support to the recovery of religious and ethnic minorities, liberated from isis, including christians and supports private sector development and increases work opportunities, especially for women and youth. additionally, stablization programs have enabled the return of nearly five million internally displaced persons. five million. now they can return to their communities of origin, but nearly 1.2 million people remain

displaced. u.s. aid assistance is critical in restoring essential services and increasing stability among these vulnerable populations. furthermore, our continued assistance in iraq is vital to support the reintegration of iraqis, repatriated from northeast syria, which makes the national security priority of the united states government's action plan. it's in the security interest of the united states to continue supporting iraq, as well as really our moral responsibility, not to abandon our partnership and to help repair some of the damage of the past. i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment and reserve the balance of my time. . the chair: the gentlelady has the only time left. ms. lee: i yield back and i urge a no vote.

the chair: the gentlelady yields. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 63 printed in part b of house report 118-559. ms. tenney: i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 63 printed in part bmp of house report 118-559 offered by ms. tenney of new york. the chair: the gentlewoman from new york, ms. tenney and a

member opposed each will control five minutes. ms. tenney: i rise to offer my amendment number 63 to prohibit funding for president biden's executive order 14019 entitled quote, executive order on promoting access to voting. this executive order requires federal agencies to use their power, their influence, resources and taxpayer cash to enter into agreements with partisan nongovernmental organizations, mostly left-leaning to conduct voter registration and other mobilization activities. mr. chair, this executive order is nothing but a blatant attempt to transform the federal government into a partisan get out the vote scheme for the democrats. america's civil servants must be nonpartisan and federal agencies should not be using taxpayer funds to actively engage in get out the vote operations that have nothing to do with the

agency's core missions not to mention the obvious mission creep and the hatch act violations that this activity would trigger. mr. chair, president biden should not be weaponizing the federal government using taxpayer dollars to manipulate and steer our elections. as the co-founder and chair of the election integrity caucus. it is my privilege to introduce this amendment keeping partisan federal bureaucrats and the swamp from deliberately tipping the balance at the ballot box. i stand firmly behind one citizen one vote. however, i do not support this partisan mobilization of the federal government for political purposes. no citizen should have their vote diluted by federal bureaucrats. i urge my colleagues to support this amendment which will preserve election integrity and

stop the biden administration transforming a get out the vote machine. let's make voting great again. i reserve. the chair: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. lee: claim time in opposition. i rise in strong opposition to this amendment. voting is central to our democracy. this is not a partisan issue. the united states has a shameful voting participation rate. in a election year, 67%. nonelection year less than half of americans vote. compare this to 90% in australia, 67% in germany. we are active participants in an elected democracy. so i don't know what my colleagues are afraid of. shouldn't we be doing everything possible to ensure that all

citizens can participate in our elections regardless of party affiliation. like it or not, there are obstacles of getting to the polls to vote and we should be encouraging all parts of the public and be creative in solutions and we want this democracy to work for everyone. a democracy is at its best when everyone is able to participate and exercise their right to vote. federal agencies have a huge role to play here which this executive order recognizes. once again, we are trying to roll back our democratic rights and freedoms. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentlewoman from new york. ms. tenney: with all due respect, the reason people don't vote is they don't have trust in our system because it has been undermined after the pandemic and it is inappropriate for the

federal government by an executive order to intervene in the role that is set forth in our constitution where states do our elections and partisan bureaucrats using our tax dollars to sway elections. these are groups that the so-called order are bringing foarlt. democrat-leaning outside groups that should not be involved directly with our agencies. our agencies are tasked with important missions that serve the american people and not serving up votes for the democratic party. with that, i reserve. the chair: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlewoman from california. ms. lee: i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. and i yield become. the chair: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlelady from new york. ms. tenney: i urge all my colleagues to vote for this

amendment. we have to have free, fair elections and what the election caucus is set out to do and endeavor to get every legal citizen to vote. that's our mission, not to dissuade voters and voters need to feel confident that their votes are secure and not diluted. this is what this amendment seeks to do and not undermine the trust that our citizens. i urge my colleagues and my democratic colleagues to vote in favor of this to be sure we have free, fair and private electrics. i must reiterate let's make voting great again. and i yield. armet the gentlelady yields. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from new york. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of

the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. >> i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18 further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from new york will be postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number 64 printed in part b of house report 118-559. ms. tenney: mr. chairman, i rise today to introduce my amendment number 64 -- i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 64 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by ms. tenney of new york. the chair: the the gentlewoman from new york, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. ms. tenney: i rise today to introduce my amendment number 64 to prohibit any funds taxpayer dollars to pay the salary of and

reinstate or re-employ a gentleman named robert malley. and the appoint of this gentleman as the special envoy is among the worst. even before joining the administration, he has a storied history of legitimizing the terrorist organization a.m. as, a u.s. designated terrorist organization. has blamed israel for palestinian attacks, has facilitated the disastrous iran nuclear deal all before he was appointed. despite this history, the biden administration appointed as the special envoy to the country of iran. not only did he tarnish the great work like brian hook and elliott abrams but he circumvented u.s. law by striking a deal with iran.

under ira. deals must be disclosed to congress. he worked for years and according to reports reached an agreement on his own with iran and nothing had been disclosed to congress. over a year ago, in june of 2023, he was placed on unpaid leave into investigation of mishandling of classified information. this matter has been referred to the f.b.i. for criminal investigation and prosecution. was he handing over state secrets to iran? we don't know. it has been a year. why has the administration continued to refuse to update congress on this critically important national security investigation? alarmingly, a bombshell report revealed that three top aids to him were part of iran kwan government net york, the special envoy's to iran's self appointed

top aids were compromised iranian assets. this is criminal and very definition of harming u.s. national security. while ma lmp ley is still on unpaid heave he cannot be allowed to return. the employment of him in the federal government using our taxpayer is an active threat to the safety and security of the united states. i urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment and i reserve my time. the chair: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. lee: i claim the time in opposition. i rise in strong opposition to this amendment. i repeat again, it is despicable to target public servants and threaten their livelihoods. in this specific case, the amendment is targeted at someone on leave from the department. none of us have the information to judge this situation. as the state department has

said, this is a personnel matter and it needs to take its course. it's not a matter for congress. again, if my colleagues have an issue with the policy being pursued, let's discuss that. we should not penalize public servants and have dedicated their entire careers to the united states. i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. and i reserve. the chair: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. tenney: this amendment is simple. the american people shouldn't support a top level government official who surrounded himself with compromised foreign assets from a designated terrorist. if you care about security, support this amendment. if you oppose iranian regime, a government that tortures and murders its own citizens who are standing up and exhibiting free speech. you should support this

amendment. if you oppose state sponsors of terrorism having access to u.s. government officials, you should support this amendment. i urge my and defund his salary and make it clear that the house stands against come proposal hiceed foreign assets receiving taxpayer dollars. i yield the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. lee: i ask for a no vote and i yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from new york. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. ms. tenney: i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6, rule 18 further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from new york will be

postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number 67 printed in part b of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin seek recognition? mr. tiffany: i have an amendment. the clerk: amendment number 67 printed in part b of house report 118-559. offered by 34r tiffany of wisconsin. the chair: the gentleman from wisconsin and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. tiffany: my amendment would would prevent self-imposed that limit communication between u.s. firms and counterparts in taiwan. and that isn't just bad policy but direct conflict with

existing laws that call for expanding bilateral cooperation such as the taiwan travel act. these rules inhibit u.s. defense officials to work with military planners in taiwan and impose restrictions that serve no reasonable purpose such as a ban on displaying taiwan's flag or playing of national anthem. even police language warning american officials not to refer to taiwan as a country or elected leaders as a government. these directives do not help the united states or help taiwan but help the chinese communist party. that's why the biden administration. they reinstated them in 2021. that is why i am offering this amendment today. mr. speaker, it makes no sense that

it makes no sense a memo supersedes the laws we passed. america should not have to ask china for a permission slip to talk to our friends and allies in taiwan or anywhere else. my amendment will make sure we don't scrap these so-called guidelines. i ask for a yes vote on the amendment, and i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. lee: i claim the time in opposition. the chair: the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. lee: i rise in opposition to this amendment. the executive branch has the ability to determine how the united states engages and manages our relationship with taiwan. this is because congress has left it to the executive branch to conduct diplomacy and the recognition of nonrecognition or nonrecognition of foreign states and governments in this indicates. if you wish to legislate how the executive branch should engage with taiwan, then mark up a

separate bill in the foreign affairs committee that deals with just that. in the absence of that, the executive branch needs to determine how to handle diplomatic engagements abroad. it's their job to weigh multiple equities and balance delicate factors that are simply not considered by this amendment today. the amendment sponsor knows that taiwan is a sensitive geopolitical subject with respect to our relations with the p.r.c. that's why we have a select committee in the house on it. and i think this is something that they can examine. much more appropriate. but there's too much at stake to have this amendment decide what the guidelines for engagement will be. i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman is recognized. mr. tiffany: let's go back to

1979, the executive branch sometimes does not get it right, as we saw with president jimmy carter. he adopted the one china policy here. congress had to step in with the taiwan relations act in order to make sure that taiwan was identified as a country. and that's what we've seen in the ensuing time since approximately 1980. so it is appropriate for congress to step in in a situation like this when we see an administration that shows weakness toward china, and we've seen the impacts of that weakness across the globe. congress will stand with taiwan, and i hope all of congress will stand with taiwan. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. lee: once again, mr. chairman, let me reiterate,

this is an organization issue. it's not an issue for the appropriations committee. i urge a no vote and i yield back. the chair: gentlelady yields. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. tiffany: i, a yes vote on this, and i yield. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from wisconsin. those in favor say aye. those opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 68 printed in part b of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin seek recognition? mr. tiffany: i have an amendment at the desk.

the clerk: part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. tiffany of wisconsin. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. tiffany, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. tiffany: i want to withhold money from the united nations. it's about time. despite making up less than 5% of the world's population, americans remain the single state contributor to the u.n., footing around one-quarter of its multibillion dollar budget. in other words, we pick up the lion's share of the tab while unaccountable international bureaucrats make the rules. what have our donations financed? decades of mismanagement, waste, fraud and abuse. endless antisemitic israel bashing. more than a dozen unrwa employees participating directly in the october 7 terrorist attack on israel and potentially 1,000 more with links to hamas.

seats on the u.n. so-called human rights council for the notorious rulers of countries like communist china, russia, cuba, and venezuela. incompetent u.n. agencies like the world health organization, which ignored taiwan's early warnings about the dangerous wuhan virus and chose instead to run interference for beijing. but mr. speaker, the know it alls at the u.n. don't limit themselves to headline-grabbing matters of international concern. the u.n. food and agriculture organization recently cooked up a plan to take on backyard barbecues, burgers and brats demanding that americans eat less beef, less pork, less poultry to reduce emissions. this meat-headed move is just the latest half-baked scheme on the u.n.'s men eye of dumb ideas. mr. speaker, it's time to put the u.n.'s bloated bureaucracy on a diet and stop outsourcing

our sovereignty to the shady transnational organization. i ask for a yes vote on the amendment, and i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. lee: i claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. lee: i rise in strong opposition to this amendment, as one who knows the rune pretty well, i'm -- who knows the u.n. pretty well, i'm shocked the republicans are trying to defund it. the world is a better place because of the united nations. as i've said, the bill as it stands already cuts 83% of the contributions to international organization accounts compared to fiscal 2024. and it excludes funding for the majority of the united nations organizations that we traditionally fund, even those that we have treaty obligations to. we have watched the p.r.c. challenge the united states at

the united nations and other multilateral institutions, working to insert their values, their perspective, their policies of authoritarianism and disrespect for human rights. but cutting, by cutting all funding to the united nations and its agencies, this bill leaves a void for our adversaries to fill. the p.r.c. is already the second largest financial contributor to the united nations' regular budget, and u.n. peacekeeping is happy to point out that the united states is an unreliable partner. our ambassador to the united nations has called this china favorite talking point. humanitarian response in sudan, ex-pour sure of russia's human rights violations, international norms on everything from how we receive mail internationally to how planes fly across international borders is touched by the united nations system. this amendment makes america less safe, less prosperous, and

more isolated once again. we are attempting to just withdraw from the world and become a more isolationist country, and i reserve the balance of my time and, a no vote. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. mr. tiffany: i'm being whip sawed here. we looked at the previous amendment i offered, and with a chance to stand up against the p.r.c. in reference to taiwan, and we hear a no vote is urged and now we're being told that, oh, the p.r.c. are going to take over the united nations. it's time to start looking out for americans' interest, in particular, i've authored a resolution that i though see in july in regards to the world health organization. it stood with beijing rather than the people in the world, and we saw the devastation of what was done as a result of the virus that came from a flab wuhan almost -- that came from a lab in wuhan and devastated our world.

i urge a yes vote on this. it is time to take care of america first. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady is recognized. ms. lee: mr. chairman, first of all, to stand against the p.r.c. or any adversary, we must be in the room doubling down at the united nations is not going to make us, the united states, excel in our global leadership as we should continue to do ads it relates to peace and security, withdrawing, standing by the sidelines, doing nothing gives our adversaries the opening that they're just waiting on. and this amendment would accomplish that. i urge a no vote on this, and i yield back the balance of time. the chair: the gentlelady yields back. mr. tiffany: join us and let's make america first. i, a yes vote and yield back, mr. speaker.

the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by mr. tiffany from wisconsin. those in favor say aye. those opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. ms. lee: i request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on this amendment offered by the gentleman from wisconsin will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? ms. lee: i rise as the designee of the gentlewoman from connecticut, and i move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. ms. lee: i would like to yield to the gentleman from new mexico, miss stansbury. ms. stansbury: thank you, mr. speaker. and to the ranking member lee for your exceptional years of leadership on international

affairs. you are a beacon of hope to our country and to so many around the world. i rise today to oppose h.r. 8771, which is the g.o.p.'s state foreign operations bill, which is supposed to fund our international programs, but in this case is defunding critical programs across the u.s. government. this bill will not only make the united states less safe, it will make the world less safe. it defunds critical programs for international security and stability and includes poison pills that would undermine american leadership on climate action. it guts climate programs, undermines international commitments to our climate accords. it seeks to undermine u.s. leadership in tackling the climate crisis abroad and right here at home. so we have to ask ourselves, why is the g.o.p. proposing to do

this? because for years, donors have funded candidates and organizations that have propagated lies about the climate and climate denialism. they have propped up international spoil gas companies and their profits while the american people have paid for it at the pump and with billions of dollars in damages caused by extreme weather and climate inaction. because make no mistake, climate change is real, it is here, and we are seeing its impact everywhere, every day across the country, across the planet, with extreme heat waves here in the east coast and across the midwest, flooding and tornadoes, catastrophic fires, including two fires in new mexico that burned through 25,000 acres just this last week. it displaced nearly 9,000 residents of my district, burning hundreds of homes and claiming the leaves of two people.

this is the cost of inaction. these are the costs that we have been fighting to address through climate action, and that is why i introduced amendments to this bill to restore climate programs that the g.o.p. is proposing to cut. to tackle climate change at home and abroad, to rebuild and enhance international climate programs, to make clean energy and sustainability, to revitalize climate and environmental justice programs, to protect our public health and to support implementation of the most consequence convince shall climate bill ever passed in american history in the inflation reduction act, which we passed on this floor just two years ago under the leadership of joe biden and democrats. because we must take climate action now. we cannot wait. but unfortunately, none of the amendments that i offered to this bill were found in order by

the g.o.p., because not only do they seek to gut the fundamental international programs that underpin u.s. leadership on so many issues, they continue to do the bidding of their corporate donors here on the house floor. and that is why, mr. speaker, i have to vote no on this bill, and that is why we must restore our international commitments to climate action and justice and american leadership on this issue and stop every effort to undermine them. because indeed, the future of our country and our planet depend on it. with that, i yield back. . ms. lee: i yield back. the chair: the gentlelady yield back. in order to consider amendment number 722. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek

recognition? mr. waltz: mr. chair, i rise in support of my floor amendment number 72 -- the chair: does the gentleman have an amendment? the clerk: amendment number 72 printed in part bmp of house report 118-55 offered by mr. waltz of florida. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentleman from florida, mr. waltz, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. mr. waltz: i rise today in support of my floor amendment which would prevent funding in this bill from being used to support the pieden administration's failed and frankly humiliating efforts to build a pier off the shore of gaza. this pier has to be one of the most embarrassing pieces of performance art i have seen in my 27-year military career and

has cost incompetents of $300 million to build. has to repeatedly halt operations and put our servicemembers at risk. it has broken up several times due to weather that the administration was repeatedly briefed on ahead of president biden's announcement. and so far the pier has resulted in less than almost no aid to the palestinian people. we have three u.s. servicemembers injured. we have one in critical condition. you remember, mr. chair, that president biden right there where you are standing announced this hair-brained idea during the state of the union address back in march reportedly surprised the pentagon with the announcement and wasn't informed a head of time. and because of that surprise, it took nearly twoments to get the ships and equipment into place

and first truck loads of aid did not go ashore until may 17. of those first shipments, the first shipment, 16 trucks got on shore. 11-16 were looted, intercepted or attacked. only 5-16 made it to the warehouse and it was the same warehouse that the aid coming over land was also sitting. by may 22, the department of defense confirmed that none of the aid unloaded the pier was reaching the broader population because of these interceptions. it turns out whether the aid comes from land or sea, this is an area controlled by the terrorist organization a.m. as. and the defense department said the pier has been in operation only a total of 10 working

days. international organizations are saying that it is largely failed in its mission. we know that the administration, the white house was repeatedly warned that the sea and the weather would not support it and moved ahead of what was a political talking point to pander to the progressive left to look like they were doing something when they were warned it would fail. at the end of the day, a-eating the suffering of the people of gaza is laudable but if we want to do it let's shift policy on iran, the heartbeat of terrorism in the middle east. as honk as iran has the cash, the money, the resources to fund its terrorist proxies, hezbollah, houthis, it will continue to do so and not be peace. let israel destroy hamas and accelerate the weapons into israel that is trying to create

stability with an organization that does not want a two-state solution and saying more october 7th's will happen and stop demonizing israel, our ally, who is in the middle of a threat. there are a lot of things we can do to alleviate the suffering and bring peace. but this hair-brained politically motivated pier idea was i never seen anything like it and was a bad idea from the start. i encourage my colleagues to support this amendment to defund it. and i reserve my time. the chair: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. lee: i claim the time in opposition. i rise in strong opposition to this amendment. no funds in the state and foreign operations bill goes to

the humanitarian pier built by the united states department of defense off the coast of gaza. this is not political talk. if you know what's taking place in gaza, people are desperate. the distribution of aid from the pier is at least partially managed by usaid period, including support for the world food program. i am frustrated that we have to resort to these extraordinary measures to get aid into gaza. in an area that is nearing collapse and where one million people are facing catastrophic hunger, we need to utilize every channel that is available if you care about human life. this month, israel facilitated 204 humanitarian missions into gaza and also denied another 76

and another 38 were canceled due to insecurity or logistical reasons. there is not enough aid getting in. the current humanitarian pier is only supposed to be in place for a few more weeks before weather makes it untenable. there are no current plans to use the pier into fiscal year 2025, which is the focus of this amendment. i pray we will not be in this situation next year. but i refuse to take any tools that will help innocent civilians off the table. the suffering of the civilian population of gaza will not make israel safer. it is contributing to its insecurity and counter productive. and so it is important that those who value human life not support this amendment. i urge a no vote on this

amendment. and i reserve. the chair: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. waltz: i find it ironic that the administration assured that the pier would be in place until september. they are somewhat acknowledging the failure of the hair-brained idea and saying it can be two or three more weeks. all the more reason we need to put this measure in place to prevent another attempt next year and history is replete with all kinds of elected and other officials saying the war will be offer over by christmas. we need to ensure this doesn't happen again, this type of waste happens again and put our servicemembers at risk. and absolutely as the gentlelady pointed out, usaid has a heavy hand, state department has a heavy hand. this amendment will ensure that

we don't do this again. and then finally, mr. chair, i need to point out that the u.n. integrated i.p.c. initiative has revised earlier findings and concluded there no famine in gaza. ms. lee: i didn't say usaid had a heavy hand. i said the distribution from this pier is partially managed by usaid. that's what i said. so it would be wise to not mislead the public and this is how disinformation and misinformation and lies get spread. i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. and i yield become. thechair: the gentlelady yields become. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor, say aye. those

opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. ms. lee: recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida will be postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number 75 printed in part bmp of house report 118-559. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? the clerk: amendment number 75 printed in part b of house report 118-559 offered by mr. wilson of south carolina. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1316, the gentleman from south carolina, mr.~wilson, and a member opposed each will control five minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from south carolina. mr. wilson: i offer an amendment to the state department and foreign operations appropriations bill. deeply rooted in our commitment to responsible governance and ethical stewardship of the american taxpayer as evidenced by the great work of congressman diaz-balart. amendment 75 seeks to prohibit american taxpayer humanitarian funding in syria from indirectly supporting the regime of assad, a known war criminal. current appropriations law has established taxpayer dollars do not go to the assad regime. it has been dumented that taxpayer dollars have reached the assad dictatorship. a study presented at the institute in washington revealed the reality. half of the aid funds in syria are funded to companies and

associated with syrian with serious human rights abuses. this raises concerns about systemic flaws in the united nations' delivery process in syria, including the questionable awarding of significant contracts to high risk suppliers. in their powerful op ed published in "the hill" entitled assad plays dirty with usaid. former ambassador robert ford has recommended a cessation of funding to u.n. agencies responsible for delivering aid to syria. he notes this is weapons in the hands of assad dictatorship. not om a move would strengthen the national leverage against

the mass murderous assad regime. the center for streakic international outlined how the regime diverts international aid by enforcing an exchange rate. it siphons 50 cents off of every dollar and not only by the united states and the european union and united kingdom. well documented that the assad regime diverted critical earthquake aid as putin continued bombing areas hit by the earthquake. our financial support has not reached those in dire need. over half of the citizens of syria, 14 million people have forcibly been displaced. schools and religious by the mass murder assad.

if nearly a million have been murdered as the u.n. stopped counting at half a million. the united states has contributed humanitarian assistance to syria. this support funned by american taxpayer demands oversight to make sure it reaches its intended goals. every dollar spent needs to be aligned with our national values and accountability that the american people rightfully. stand firm in our resolve to use american resources wisely and justly. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. lee: i claim time in opposition. i rise in opposition to this amendment. this amendment is nebraska you louis use of indirect the limited support we provide in

syria. for our even national security we must continue our work countering terrorism in syria. the syrian democratic forces continue to hold about 10,000 islamic state tighters in detention facilities in syria, that are seen as key to its resurgence. we must counter the serious threat and protect americans by continuing our support in syria. we must continue to support the people of syria that have been battered by war displacement and natural disasters. by helping to ensure that the syrian people have food assistance, access to health care, education, and water and other support, we prevent them turning to the very extremist groups that are promising that security. .