we will be back here on the washington journal tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. eastern. 4:00 a.m. pacific. live coverage on the house floor.

the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by chaplain kibben. chaplain kibben: would you pray with m you, o lord, claiming your promise to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. send the goodness of your transforming word to those in ukraine and throughout the world who, because of the oppression and hardships they face, cannot afford a meal or heat for their homes. may they know the wealth of your divine provision. attend to those whose hearts are broken at the loss of loved ones by the hands of the enemy. may they feel your tender love, upholding them in these days. grant release to the prisoners of war who are being held captive for crimes they did not commit but who fought against brutal ideologies they could not

tolerate. may they soon be freed into the arms of their loved ones, embraced by their communities once again. and for those who sit imprisoned by the darkness of despotism, whose hearts are bound by selfish desires for power and control, shine your light into their souls that they would be disarmed by your peace, redeemed by your love, that they would put down their weapons and foreswear their ma left nent ways. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the chamber her approve thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from new jersey, mr. norcross. mr. norcross: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america the republic for which it stands, one nation under god,

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to 15 one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. norcross: to address the house for one minute. the speaker: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. norcross: madam speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to my late congressman and governor jim florio, a dedicated public servant who cared deeply for those in new jersey and the nation. he served our country in the navy. he continued that service when he returned home in the new jersey assembly for four years followed by 15 years in this house of representatives. then, he returned to our state

to become the 41st governor. he was an environmentalist long before it was popular. he in congress he authored the superfund act, one of the most remarkable pieces of legislation in terms of cleaning up hazardous sites across the country. as governor he signed the clean water act, one of the strictest in the nation at the time. combine these achievements saved countless lives across this great country. he did not work through political division but doing so what he knew was right. that's why he received the katie profiles encourage award. on behalf of myself, the state of new jersey, and the nation, we are grateful for his service to our state. we lost one of the greatest champions and he will be missed by all. who had the honor of knowing him. my deepest sympathies to his family, his loved ones. 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. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. mcclintock: mr. speaker, for two weeks now the long suffering people of iran went to the streets to protest against the oppressors. today, we must stand with the people of iran. we have a bill representing both political parties, expressing its support for the iranian resistance. i urge the leadership to bring it to the floor immediately for a vote. it's time for the united states to step forward with material support for the freedom movement. they need direct satellite access to the internet that the regime has denied them on the ground. they need us to restore economic

sanctions against the regime. this time and this hour, let the united states stand with the people of iran and by so doing to honor those proud words on our liberty bell, to proclaim liberty throughout all the land and on all the inhabitants thereof. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i honor the life and lasting legacy of lgbtq pioneer in my district, david st.-pierre. david was the long time owner of a welcoming lgbtq nightclub and restaurant in downtown riverside. since taking ownership in 1999, david made it his purpose to cultivate an inclusive safe

haven for the lgbtq community of riverside and the surrounded inland empire while adding in a touch of fun, lively entertainment. and he did that for just over 20 years and with his passion for throwing an ex-trtravagant part his experience in generating crowd enthusiasm and a keen eye of craft and style, david was always the life of a fabulous time. he made a name for himself within the lgbtq community and highly regarding for standing up to hate crimes, injustice, and declaring that homophobia will have zero tolerance in our communities. in the words of harvey milk, i know you can't live on hope alone, but without hope, life is not worth living. david, you gave our community hope, hope to live freely, be accepted, and continue to fight for lgbtq rights. you will be greatly missed but never forgotten. on behalf of the constituents of california's 41st congressional district, thank you for your commitment to the lgbtq community and for our community

as a whole. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? mr. >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: withot objection. mr. pence: i rise to recognize rush county on the occasion of its bicentennial. rush county was founded in 1822 by one of the signers of the declaration of independence, dr. benjamin rush. not only is it history rich in rush county but so is the hospitality in the hearts of its residents. rushville, the county seat, was recognized by my state in indiana as a stellar community, one of only 12 communities to be honored as such. from its lively history to its heartwarming and welcoming citizens, we invite everyone

here today in the house to celebrate with us this bicentennial year for rush county. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from massachusetts seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, we find ourselves in a monopoly moment as a country. multibillion dollar corporations have grown into behemoths, eliminating any real competition in their industries and using their dominance to hurt small businesses and communities. it has armed women, children, people of all ages without recourse. amazon has used its dominance to copy competitor's products and run small businesses into the ground. this slide has happened under the watch of democratic and republican governments alike and it's on us to stop it. mrs. trahan: that starts by

giving the f.t.c. to start with the merger filing fee modernization act. this bipartisan, bicameral legislation is simple. it requires a $1 billion corporation looking to merge with a competitor pay a fee for the f.t.c. to review the deal. that's it. a one-time fee to help ensure we don't slide further back to the times of the railroad and steel monopolies that abused workers, hurt consumers and killed competition. families are hurting enough right now. they deserve competition, not capitulation, to corporate interests. i urge my colleagues to support this long overdue bipartisan package, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington state seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> i rise to recognize a member of my team for his hard work and dedication over the last eight years.

sean o'brien started working for washington's fourth congressional district as just about the same time i did. mr. newhouse: and he stepped up to run my first re-election campaign. luckily for both of us he was successful and he served as my legislative assistant, my legislative director, and eventually my deputy chief of staff. i was proud to step in the role of congressional western caucus chairman with sean at the helm. with his vision, knowledge, and steadfast support, as the executive director, we worked together to build an organization that i am proud to lead. sean, as you join the alumni organization, never forget what you learned in the people's house, the long hours and late nights are worth it. our work is important. but the real work happens outside the swamp and never underestimate a supportive team because you will always be an invaluable member of mine. thank you, mr. speaker. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for

what purpose does the gentlelady from nevada seek recognition? mrs. lee: i seek recognition to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today as leaders of the republican parties in both the house and the senate have introduced legislation to ban abortion nationwide. it doesn't matter if you live in a state where abortion is protected by the voters like nevada. abortion would be banned in every state, the most extreme restrictions would be held in place and women's health care decisions would be taken away from you and handed over to lindsey graham and his republican colleagues. the vast majority of americans support roe, but the supreme court has stripped away our freedoms and overturned 50 years of constitutional precedent. since roe extremists politicians have introduced nearly 590 bills

to ban, restrict, and control our choice. that's right. nearly 600 bills. they're obsessed with taking away our most personal health care decisions, and we can't let that happen. i will do everything in my power to stop the washington republicans who want to take away your freedom. we will not be intimidated. and i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> rise to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, the democrats have once again failed their job to provide funding for the upcoming fiscal year. they will not kick the can down the road until after the election and pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open until december. mr. williams: funding the government in this fragmented fashion is irresponsible and does not allow us to respond the

to realities facing our country from a southern border, enduring over 7,000 illegal crossings every day and energy crisis and rampant inflation. additionally, c.r.'s do not allow tower military to start any new contracts which is a real problem right now considering the uncertainty around this world. every year we know that these deadlines are coming. yet, the democrats have once again failed to deliver for hardworking americans. in god we trust. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, we democrats are working for safer communities by investing in safety and justice. we believe that every american deserves to live in a safe community where they and their families can thrive. mr. cartwright: that's why

we're -- mr. boyle: that's why we're trying to give the law enforcement professionals they need. we passed the invest to protect act, which funds the police with grants to help small local law enforcement agencies retain and recruit officers. the mental health justice act, which helps send unarmed mental health professionals to respond to mental health crises and save lives from what are potentially fatal encounters with armed police officers. the break the cycle of violence act, which invests in effective, evidence-based community violence intervention initiatives. and fourth and finally, the victim act, which bolsters the ability of police to solve homicides, sexual assaults, and other violent crimes. mr. speaker, we do not have to choose between safe communities and justice for all. consent to speak to the house

for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. hill: mr. speaker. i r i rise to honor the teacher of the year for 2023, amber of bryant high school and capri of north little rock middle school were recognized for extraordinary commitment to their students and heansing the quality of education across is etra arkansas. these educators have demonstrated their dedication to the success and well-being of their students by teaching with innovation while promoting character education and civic engagement in the classroom. our ed taters are vital -- our educators are vital to the preparation of our future

generation. i thank them for their example and profound impact in the lives of hundreds of students. later this fall after classroom visits, the selection committee will name the next teacher of the year. i wish them well and look forward to their long lasting impressions that they make on their students. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized without objection for one minute. mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, i rise today in recognition of childhood cancer awareness month to honor all those suffering and all those who have lost loved ones and pay tribute to a remarkable rhode islander, kerrigan was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer in 2019. unfortunately, her story is not unique. every three minutes a family receives the devastating news that their child has been diagnosed with cancer. yet kerrigan nearly lost access

to her lifesaving care when she lost her mother's health insurance one month before chemo was scheduled to end. thanks to the affordable care act, her family was able to enroll in rhode island's health exchange allowing her to complete her treatment plan. as we raise awareness about the childhood cancer this month and importance of screenings, early edetection, and care, we must ensure every single family has access to affordable quality care and ensuring protections for individuals' pree existing conditions so that survivors like kerrigan will never be denied the coverage and care they need. i'm honored to know and represent such a brave young woman and will not stop fighting for her and every young person battling cancer. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cline: thank you, mr. speaker.

i rise to recognize dr. daniel harrington, the vice dean of virginia tech carillon school of medicine in roanoke, virginia, set to fire this month after 14 years of service. he attended west virginia juft for both his under graduate and medical degrees. he took a residency at the juftof virginia it was there he learned about the residency program which would give him a chance to develop something that was all his own. he took that opportunity in 1990 and he and his family moved to roanoke. in 2006, former carillon approached him with the idea of partnering with virginia tech and starting a medical school. he traveled the conditiontry with the then virginia tech president and operate add public-private academic partnership to make the dream a reality. the school has been led on multiple fronts by his strong leadership. i wish him and his wife best wishes for a well deserved retirement. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from i am now seek recognition? >> seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, there are over 21 million americans who don't have a photo i.d. that's 21 million americans who can't obtain employment, lease, or purchase a home or open a bank account. if you are a veteran, you need an i.d. to access the v.a. benefits you earned. if you are a single mom you need your i.d. to access w.i.c. and snap benefits for your children n35 states you need a photo i.d. to vote. the current process for obtain ang i.d. is inconsistent across states, expensive, and requires documentation that many americans don't have. mr. casten: that's why loose week i introduced the i.d.'s for inclusive democracy act this. would provide a free federal i.d. to any american citizen over the age of 14 who wants one. every american has access to the service that is they need and no less importantly it will assure

america has access to every ak american's opinion at the ballot box. i ask all our colleagues who have commitment to democracy to support this legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does gentlelady from florida seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize and remember a special little boy from my district in florida, baby zion. like about half of people born with down syndrome, baby zion also had a heart defect. often easily corrected with surgery. unfortunately, baby zion's surgeons were unable to repair his heart anti-only option for his family only way to save his life was a transplant. his family went through the right channels to request one, they followed the rules. and answer they got was no.

why? because he had a disability. the system failed him. mrs. cammack: the system decided his life was worth less than someone without a disability. no federal law exists to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities who need an organ transplant. no federal law exists to help these families when they are most vulnerable. no federal law exists to save these lives. today i'm asking my colleagues to support legislation by my colleague from washington, cathy mcmorris rodgers, to fix this tragic situation. h.r. 1235, the charlotte woodward organ transplant discrimination prevention act, is commonsense legislation that has absolutely no cost. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. mrs. cammack: i personally met with his family and in their grace their hope is simply we do the right thing -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. mrs. cammack: with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois seek

recognition? >> mr. speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. as halloween approaches it is vital that we inform parents of the dangers of fentanyl which is now the number one killer of young people in america. mrs. miller: fentanyl is an extremely lethal opioid that drug cartels are trafficking across our southern border. we must warn parents that cartels are trafficking and selling rainbow fentanyl. which are colorful pills designed to appeal to children. these pills are deadly and parents should carefully check their child's halloween candy. it is tragic that president biden and his border czar, vice president harris, have allowed the border crisis to become so

dangerous and pose such a serious threat to our children. right now the immediate danger is fentanyl and parents must be vigilant. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. carter: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. carter: mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize the immeasurable service and share my gratitude to one of the most valuable members of my staff, brook miller. brook has been a member of my team for six years and has become a integral part of my daily life both here in washington and at home. in the first congressional district of georgia. i have called her late hours and on the weekend and she was always there for me when i needed help. during her time in our office, she has served as my scheduler and director of operations and

in truth i don't know how we would have managed all this time without her. i have been very fortunate to have someone like brook on my team and she will be dearly missed by me, especially, and along with the rest of our staff. as she and enters this new stage in her life and transitions off the hill, i wish her the absolute best of luck. her service to the first congressional district of georgia and her time spent as my lifesaver will never be forgotten. she has left a lasting impression on me. and everyone that she has come in contact with and we are so grateful for all of her work. brook, thank you so much for giving us your time and your unyielding effort and patience. we will surely miss you. good luck in everything the future holds four. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous

consent to address the house for one minute. and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. davis: mr. speaker, today i rise to share the somber news of the passing of a member of our united states capitol police. officer william thomas, who succumbed to his fight against cancer early last week. members and staff know the level of service and sacrifice the u.s. capitol police officer commits to every day that they report to duty. we are aware of the threats they face and the inherent risk of their position. we are all indebted to the security they provide as we walk by them at every door and throughout the capitol. we often forget the private bat that is they may be fighting. officer thomas served congress as a member of the u.s. capitol police for 14 years. first assigned to the senate division in 2008. and then detailed to the communication team in june of 2021.

as he continued to serve the capitol community, his department and country, he received his diagnosis of cancer. officer thomas continued to put on his uniform and badge. the u.s. capitol police is built of individuals who inspire me by their unparalleled level of service and bravery. officer william thomas was one of those individuals. i wish to share my sincerest condolences to his family and his friends as well as the officers and staff of the u.s. capitol police department of whom many worked by his side. 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. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, august was another month under president biden where inflation exceeded economist's expectation. the consumer price index was up

8.3% over the past year. if you exclude food and energy, it rose .6 of a percentage point in just one month. on the same day the higher than expected inflation number came out, president biden and congressional democrats held an events at the white house to celebrate the passing of the inflation reduction act. mr. rose: which we all know will do nothing to slow inflation. tennesseans are bearing the brunt of the president's disastrous fiscal policy, all while the president celebrates passing a bill that raises taxes amidst a recession, spends more than $400 billion on woke green new deal programs, and hires 87,000 new i.r.s. agents to target the middle class. borrowing and spending more money won't ease the pain in our pocket books. the only solution is an end to one party control in washington. thank you, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek rk

neck -- recognition? mr. thompson: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to recognize straw brewery of st. mary's pennsylvania, celebrating 150 years of homemade brews. founded in 1872, founded by aer ifman immigrant, they have been brewing beverages independently for more than five generations. this represents the passion and dedication after single family who successfully managed, expanded, and protected a way of life the brewery represented. their history is one spanning generations start interesting immigrant roots, surviving prohibition, and now strawb is a staple in community and commonwealth of pennsylvania. for generations, straub brewery has continued to preserve and safeguard those qualities that make the brewery unique.

their longevity can be attribute totd craft, skills, and professionalism to the men and women who kept brewery running. to celebrate 1350 years, they are hosting various october fest events and brewed a special 150 anniversary pillser in. mr. speaker -- pillsnerf you find yourself there, check out the brewery and enjoy a cold one from their eternal tap which has been flowing from 1872. cheers to the brewery and the family on this monumental anniversary. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which the yeas and nays are ordered.

the house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek yek anything -- seek recognition? ms. lofgren: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 4791. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 4791, an act to amend section 301 of title 44, united states code, to establish a term for the appointment of the director of government publishing office. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. lofgren, and the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california.

ms. lofgren: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. lofgren: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. and i rise in strong support of s. 4191. this bill, which was introduced by senator roy blunt, passed the senate by unanimous consent. it would establish a term of 10 years for the director of the government publishing office. unlike the heads of other legislative branch agencies, like the architect of the capitol, the comptroller general, and the librarian of congress, the senate confirmed director of the government publishing office has no defined term. now, the government publishing office, or g.p.o., as we often refer to it, is one of the true

treasures of the legislative branch. since it was founded in 1891, it has grown from a modest operation to one of the world's largest and most renowned information organizations. every day g.p.o. provides the government and public both conventionally printed products like the congressional record and passports and digital services like ebooks, digitaling publishing, dish digital publishing and more, over the course of the past several years, we've seen firsthand of effective leadership at g.p.o. the covid-19 pandemic caused the largest disruption to agency operations since the civil war. but thanks in no small part to the leadership of director hue harprin, g.p.o. provided topnotch, uninterrupted service to congress to ensure that we were able to provide relief to american families, communities,

and small small businesses. and the agency did so thoughtfully with the discipline needed to stay safe as possible. in fact, one prominent business award organization named g.p.o., quote, the most valuable employer during the covid-19 pandemic. this bill would bring the g.p.o. in line with the rest of the legislative branch and establish the same tenure term for its director that currently exists for the architect of the capital and the librarian of congress. as with those agencies, the direct orp of the government publishing office would be eligible for reappointment. and given his track record, certainly would have earned it. formalizing the term of the director will ensure that the agency has effective leadership and allow for increased transparency and accountability. and for these reasons, i encourage my colleagues to support this piece of legislation and, mr. speaker, i

reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: mr. speaker, i rise -- i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of senate bill 4791, a bill that will establish a 10-year term limit for the director of the government publishing office. i want to thank my friend in the senate, senator roy blunt, for introducing this bill earlier this month and for the senate's quick action this month. as a term may seem inconsequential, this bill will benefit the entire legislative branch. the g.p.o. is the original government's printer, the agency has supported the house and senate for over 160 years. and although americans engage with their government in much different way than they did in 1861 when the g.p.o. first opened its door, the agency has

adapted. it has upheld its vision to achieve an america informed by updating processes, technology, products, and even its name to meet the needs of americans today. much of the strategic success over time can be pinned down to two driving forces -- congress keeping g.p.o. accountable to the needs of the institution, and strong agency leadership. today, we find ourselves at a time when g.p.o. is under the strongest leadershipities seen in decades. the director is a man whose career was shaped in the house of representatives, from working on numerous house committees, including the rules committee, to being the director of floor operations, hugh knows our institution and has taken that knowledge to the g.p.o. in the time since his appointment, he's greatly increased the transparency of the g.p.o., of course, with congressional oversight, has launched numerous modernization

initiatives to ensure g.p.o. products truly serve congress and the american people, and got g.p.o. got to work faster than any other legislative branch and agency as we overcame the pandemic. the strategic plan g.p.o. has in place is setting a course of predictable and accountable progress, a plan that should be supported by stable leadership. right now g.p.o. is unlike other legislative branch agencies in not having a set term for its director. senate bill 4791 corrects that and aligns the g.p.o. director position with its counterparts by establishing a 10-year term limit. not only does this strengthen the agency by increasing institutional stability, it reinforces that the director of the g.p.o. serves congress and the american people, not the executive branch. i'm thankful for director halpern's leadership and innovation at the g.p.o. and encourage my colleagues to support this legislation to

further the g.p.o.'s accountability to this institution. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from california. ms. lofgren: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. halpern did indeed work in the house of representatives. he was on the republican staff, and i think it's meaningful that the chair and ranking member of the house administration committee, democrat and republican, feel the same way, that he has done a terrific job as director of this office. the term limits is not about him. it's my understanding that he actually supports senator blunt's bill. but it's simply to have a time where you can evaluate and reappoint just like with the librarian of congress and architect of the capitol. since i don't have additional

speakers, i'm going to take advantage of a little bit of time to discuss an item that will be up on the -- for consideration on the floor later today. and that has to do with a proposed change to venue rules for federal antitrust cases. it's very arcane, which is why i think it's important to discuss the any unusuala of this -- minutia of this. in 1968, congress acted to allow a senior judge panel to consolidate cases where it would be efficient for the court. and here's the example. state a.g.'s have the capacity right now and would in the future to take -- to file antitrust cases. but if you had, as they did in

1968, a multiplicity of a.g.'s filing a case in different states, you would end up with different witnesses having to go through the same thing over and over again, inconsistent rulings. and so that's why the congress consolidated this. in that case, it was a large multi-district litigation having to do with electrical equipment. and it's worked pretty well. why we would change it is a mystery to me. arguments in favor do not hold water. the administrative office of the courts has pointed out that the u.s. cases are not subject to d transfer under this section. and why is that? the department of justice coordinates itself, unlike the separate attorney generals.

so i do think that the possibility of adverse outcomes is quite possible. certainly, mr. neguse's bill to raise fees is support i support. i'm a co-sponsor of that bill. if we reject the venue provisions, we'll just go back and bring mr. neguse's bill up later. so that's what i would recommend. i want to say something further. this venue rule is not just oriented towards one sector of the economy. mr. buck, the author, mentioned t technology. big tech was his words. but this isn't about technology. it's any business that is a defendant in an antitrust case. as i mentioned, the initiation was electrical equipment company. but i think we should listen to what people say, and mr. buck, in his remarks, said yesterday big tech is crushing

conservative speech. and that appears to be his motivation. well, he quotes his friend, senator cruz, and he says the greatest threat to democracy in this country is big tech, that senator cruz agrees with that. well, really? i mean, senator cruz, who voted not to amendment the electrical -- the electoral count act that was promoted by roy blunt, the author of this, who tried to overturn the election of 2020, who says that moderating inflammatory or dangerous content is a violation of free speech or may be a violation of antitrust, i think that's the danger here. i listened to mr. buck because he said this is about conservative speech. and so i think one potential

outcome of this is litigation that will be brought in favorable forums to try and prevent content moderation. if you are info wars and you're inciting violence, i hope whatever platform you're on takes you down. that's not conservative speech or liberal speech. it's dangerous speech. i hope we see this for what it is. not every a.g. is a model of probity. the attorney general in texas is hiding from servers and we know has some other legal problems. to suggest that every attorney general is going to be guided by principles of law, as we would hope the department of justice and many a.g.'s are would be a serious mistake. with that i'm glad to have a

moment to get into this very arcane issue because there may not be time later today. at this point i'd reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: thank you, again, mr. speaker. i actually have some time left myself and was debating what to talk about. i don't really have anything to talk about wbut successful fantasy football teams this weekend. i'm actually glad my colleague brought up the electoral college act. what we saw in the senate were some changes to their legislation that we had requested the house majority do when that bill passed the house last week. so i'm excited to see those changes in the senate. and i'm excited that chairperson -- that the chairperson mentioned during our rules debate last week that maybe we could have a conference

committee. that's a chance for bipartisan agreement on a very important issue. so i look forward to seeing whether that opportunity presents itself. but as we stand here today, mr. speaker, we're trying to put the government publishing office director in line with every other executive branch, appointed legislative branch employee like the architect of the capitol, like the librarian of congress, and what's happening at the g.p.o. is garnering support today. i urge a yes vote on this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from california. . mrs. loven: i urge adoption of senator blunt's bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass

senate 4791. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california, ms. lofgren, seek recognition? ms. lofgren: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 1396, i call up the bill s. 3969, and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3969, an act to amend the help america vote act of 2002 to explicitly authorize distribution of grant

funds to the voting accessibility protection and advocacy system of the commonwealth of the northern mariana islands, and thecy tell serving the american indian consortium, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 1396, the bill is considered as read. the bill shall be debated for one hour including controlled bean the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on house madam speaker on their respective designees. the gentlewoman from california, ms. lofgren, and the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. lofgren. ms. lofgren: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks

and to insert extraneous material on s. 3969 in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. lofgren: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in strong support of s. 3969, the pava program inclusion act. the bill before us today is bipartisan, bicameral, and a piece of legislation that makes an important technical correction in the help america vote act's protection and advocacy for vote access, or pava. the program explicitly includes the commonwealth of the northern mariana islands and the system serving the american indian consortium and eligibility recipients of pava funding. when congress passed the help america vote act in 2002, it made significant changes to the country's voting process addressing needed improvements to voting systems and voter

access identified in the wake of the 2000 election. since its enactment, congress has provided billions of dollars under pava to help states improve voter access to ballots including hundreds of millions of dollars in election security funds. and $400 million under the cares act to help voters access the ballot during the covid-19 pandemic. among the numerous changes made, pava recognized the unique obstacles persons with disabilities face at the polls. authorizing funding for the protection and advocacy for voting access program, otherwise known as pava. the pava program funds activities aimed at increasing access to polls and the ballot for voters with disabilities. ensuring they have access to all aspects of the voting process and awarding funding to eligible protection and advocacy systems across the country.

since pava's enactment, the millions of dollars in fungd allocated under the pava program allows protection of systems across the country to conduct activities such as disability training for poll workers, maintaining voting hotlines, and examining polling places for accessibility and even more. there are 57 protection and advocacy systems across the 50 states, the district of columbia, puerto rico, and the u.s. virgin islands, guam, american samoa, and the commonwealth of northern mariana islands, as well as the american indian consortium. the p and a affiliated with the american indian consortium serves native americans with disabilities in the four corners region of new mexico, arizona, colorado, and utah. they are federally mandated and protect the rights of persons with disability through legally based advocacy.

unfortunately, hava's definition excluded the protection and advocacy system serving the northern marijuana islands and the -- northern mariana islands and the american indian core soar shuttle columbia serving the four corners region. i don't think we intended that and this bill fixes that. re-introduce the by our colleague ruben gallego of arizona and former house colleague senator ray lujan of new mexico, s 3969 puts the p.a.'s serving the northern mariana islands anti-american indian consortium on equal footing. it does so without changing the program's overall authorization level or any other elements of the program. fixing this oversight will ensure all voters with disabilities, regardless of where they live, can fully participate in the electoral process. i ask unanimous consent to include in the record a letter signed by all 57 protection and advocacy systems expressing

support for the bill as well as a letter of support from the national disability rights network, a letter from the designated protection and advocacy systems in california and illinois, all supporting this bill's package. language making this correction has passed the house twice this congress and other legislation and it should be enacted into law. the senate passed this bill by unanimous consent in march, and passing it in the house today would ensure that it would go to the president's desk to become law. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. davis: i'd like to yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: so ordered. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. it's a different day here on the house floor for debate over a

bill with house administration jurisdiction. i once again agree with the majority that this is a good piece of legislation. albeit i was concerned when my colleague just mentioned officials in california and illinois support this bill hi to take a step back and realize, maybe i'll talk to my team about who those officials are before i offer my wholehearted support. in all seriousness, mr. speaker, as part of the help america vote act, created in 2002, congress authorized funding for the protection and advocacy for voting access program to help ensure every eligibility american, regardless of their abilities, can participate in the election process and cast their ballot privately and independently. funds for the pava program are currently allocated to only 55 of 57 legally established protection and advocacy systems across the country. the bill today makes an important correction to ensure that both the commonwealth of

the northern mariana islands anti-american indlan con-- and the american indian conshore shuttle columbia are included for the first time. this bill as mentioned by my colleague sponsored by my good friend, senator roy blunt, passed the senate by unanimous consent. and republicans on the committee on house administration are supportive of these changes and have no issues with the bill. to be honest, i am somewhat disappointed that my colleagues in the majority on house administration have chosen not to pass this bill under suspension. for months our staffs have been working together to pair the pava program inclusion act with h.r. 8517, the confirmation of congressional observer access act, a noncontroversial bill brought forward by election subcommittee ranking member brian steihl. both bills make noncontroversial amendments to halfa. mr. style's bill doesn't change federal law but provides a

citation of convenience for existing law that gives the house authority to deploy official observers to watch the conduct of congressional elections in states and territories. both democrats and republicans have long deployed house staff as election observers to monitor congressional elections. sometimes our observers have had access difficulties, including in a widely publicized event in maricopa county, arizona, two years ago. we listened when many state and local election officials asked congress to speak more clearly about this constitutional exercise so they can more readily provide access for our observers. which is why our committee staffs had agreed in principle to move both bills together. that was until just a few weeks ago when the democrat staff said they had issues. when my staff reached out, they couldn't say what those issues were, and met my staff with silence. we gave democrats another opportunity to bring these bills up together during rules committee earlier this week when

mr. steal offered an amendment. it was rejected along party lines. now we are here on the house floor talking about a bill that should have passed under suspension alongside congressman style's -- congressman steele's -- congressman steihl's bill. i urge my colleagues in the majority to quickly bring forward the confirmation of congressional observer access act for a vote as well. i was encouraged by comments earlier this week in rules committee by my good friend, the chair of the election subcommittee, congressman g.k. butterfield, about mr. steil's good piece of legislation and continue to hope we can work together on a bipartisan basis to make it law. and thank you, mr. speaker. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. lofgren: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the proponent of this

legislation from the gentleman from arizona, mr. gallego. the speaker pro tempore: so ordered. the gentleman from arizona is recognized for two minutes. mr. gallego: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, madam chair. i rise today to urge my colleagues to vote yes on my and senator lujan's bill, the pava inclusion program act. this bill is based on a simple principle that every american should have equal access to the vote, no matter where they are from. as 3969 makes a long overdue fix to the protection advocacy for voting access program to improve voting access for native and rural voters with disabilities in arizona, the four corners regions, and northern mariana islands. the pilot program was first passed 20 years ago to break down barriers that americans with disabilities face while sacrificing the say considered asread right of all americans, the right to vote. this improves 88 compliance at voting location, and training for poll workers to help americans with disabilities cast

their votes. unfortunately, due to an oversight in the original help america vote act, voters with disabilities in the northern mariana islands and rural larger tribal four corners regions of arizona, new mexico, utah, and colorado they were not included in this critical program that. means for years americans with disabilities living in these regions have not received the investments they need to ensure they can access the ballot. that's especially hard in northeast arizona which is largely indian country where voters often travel hours to get to the polling location, sometimes to find it is not accessible to them. that must change. this intil a necessary step to bring resources to native and other rural voters with disabilities trying to do their civic duty. i strongly urge all my colleagues, republican and democrats, to vote yes and reaffirm the importance of voting access to all of everyone in our democracy. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from illinois is

recognized. mr. davis: mr. speaker, i have been in this institution for 10 years now and there are certain individuals that get recognized for a minute and then they speak a lot longer than a minute. i'd like to yield one of those minutes to mr. hoyer gets to my good friend mr. steil if that's available. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will be recognized for one minute. mr. davis: then, mr. speaker, i would instead yield to my good friend from wisconsin, mr. steil, as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. steil: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank my friend from the great state of illinois. mr. speaker, i support the protection and advocacy for voting access inclusion act which makes it simple technical fix t would now include as noted the commonwealth of northern

mariana islands anti-american indian consortium to help improve vogt access for people with disabilities. originally this bill was to be beared with the confirmation of congressional observers access act on the suspension calendar, and i must note that i'm pretty disappointed we are not also moving forward with the congressional observers access act. i introduced this bill with the support of ranking member davis in july, and i believe that it is a missed opportunity to increase americans' public trust in our elections. . it would have simply clarified that designated congressional election observers, that individuals who've been designated in writing by congress, would have the access they need to observe the administration of federal elections. this is not a partisan bill. in fact, congress already has this authorization under the

constitution. the straightforward bill would have provided clarity, which our state and local election officials requested, in order to more readily provide observer access. i'm disappointed my colleagues on the other side of the aisle walked away from doing these bills on suspension. i'm -- and i encourage them to work with ranking member davis and myself to get this passed as soon as possible. we must work together to make -- to take commonsense steps that promote election integrity. i yield back to my colleague from illinois. mr. davis: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from california. ms. lofgren: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to recognize the gentleman from maryland, our majority leader, for a minute. the speaker pro tempore: the majority leader is recognized for one minute. mr. hoyer: madam chair, perhaps

we can yield to the ranking member because he would like to yield me one minute, i'm sure. i rise in support of this legislation. i was the sponsor of pava. republicans were in charge, and i worked very closely with my friend, bob nay, on pava. it was legislation that was called by "the washington post" greatest reform legislation in 25 years since the civil rights bill. that may have been some hype hyperbole but it was a good bill. this bill corrects essentially a fault that we made in terms of its inclusiveness. the bill before us has two critical issues that has been central. the first is ensuring those with disabilities have equal access to the same opportunities as their fellow americans. on the 26th of july, we celebrated the passage of the

americans with disabilities act, signed by president george h.w. bush, very bipartisan legislation that's made a historical difference. the second is ensuring all eligible voters in america have access to the ballot box and can make their voices heard in our democracy. that is after all what our democracy is about. the pava act helps accomplish both of those goals. specifically, this bill would improve access to the ballot for americans with disabilities who live in the northern mariana islands. clearly, we wanted those included. and on native american tribal lands in the four corners region of the southwest. which also we expected we had done. this bill expands key programs first laid out in the help america vote out, known as hava, to haved advocacy systems to assist people with disabilities

in the voting program. although hava wanted this important purpose, a technical oversight, as has been mentioned, led to the exclusion of these two regions. today's legislation would correct that error and help us realize hava's original vision. i was proud to serve as the principal house sponsor, as i said, of hava, back in 2002 along with bob nay who was a very good friend of mine. we prepared to celebrate its 20th anniversary later this month. i'm glad to see the groundbreaking law continues to be strengthened by congress. h hava makes sure that our electoral system is accurate.

it established a number of commonsense policies that make voting easier and more secure. from reliable voting equipment to expanded provisional ballot access, hava and the bipartisan election assistance commission, which i strongly support and glad to see we're investing in to make our federal participation more broad and more effective. ed too's bill reminds -- today's bill reminds us that hava must continue to adapt to new needs and challenges. i very much appreciate the leadership of chair zoe lofgren who worked so hard on voting rights issues. as head of the house administration committee. i thank the ranking member, mr. davis, as well. i want to thank senator lujan, our former house colleague, for authoring this bill and advancing it through the senate. we must do everything in our

power to ensure people with disabilities, especially those in hiss -- native american lands, can participate fully in our democracy. i ask my colleagues to vote yes. and i yield back my one minute. ms. lofgren: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: can i -- quick point of personal privilege. is there any way to get -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. davis: is there a time that i can get that magic one minute so i can -- a printout in the congressional record? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may consult the majority leader to ask him to look at his watch. mr. davis: thank you. i appreciate the opportunity to do so, mr. speaker.

look, i somewhat become used to being the antagonist to some of the majority's legislation when it comes to election administration, which i think has been so short sided on its -- shortsighted on its impact to the american people. this is one of those opportunities where we see good legislation come from the senate and this is an opportunity for us to show the american people the republicans and democrats can get along and pass important bills that are going to positively impact those who are disabled and ensure is that every single person who may be dealing with a disability in our country and in our territories has the right to vote, the eligibility to vote, and the opportunity to vote. that's what this bill does. and really, i got to thank, again, my colleague, roy blunt, senator blunt who used to be in leadership in this institution, as many of us know and remember so well. i want to thank him for bringing

republicans and democrats on the house administration committee and leader hoyer and i together on this very important issue. you know, he's been -- i wish he would have come in earlier on some other issues. we might had a little more bipartisan agreement. but i'll have to -- i'll have to talk to him about that and ask him why he didn't do that. but thank you to my friend, leader hoyer. thank you to chairperson lofgren. and thank you to the staff for pushing this important bill forward. i am disappointed and optimistic that we did not get the election observer fixes that both parties want and need and election administrators throughout this country have asked us to address. i i'm disappointed that was not part of a suspension agreement where this bill should have been. but i'm cautiously optimistic with the great opportunity for bipartisanship that we're seeing here today that maybe it can continue after today. i won't hold my breath, but i will continue to remain

optimistic and hopefully see that moving forward very quickly. again, thanks to the chairperson. thank you to congressman steil for his remarks. thank you to leader hoyer and also, again, our good friend, mr. blunt. and i will take this opportunity to go ahead and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from california. ms. lofgren: i thank you, mr. speaker. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. we have agreement on this bill from the senate and that is a good thing. i should note that we have had discussions, primarily at a staff level, on the election observer measure mentioned by the ranking member and mr. steil. we continue to evaluate the proposal, but we found a few concerns. and i think i want to mention them now. it's not arbitrary.

the proposed legislation does provide broad access, statutory access to observers, but it doesn't provide the ability of election officials to protect private personnelly identifiable information of voters. and we -- personally identifiable information of voters. and we think that needs to be addressed. and those interfering with, quote, the elections administration process, the text doesn't give election officials the ability to remove observers if they are disruptive. and regrettably, we have seen across the country instances where advocates became aggressive. even in some cases -- well, i'll leave it at that. aggressive towards election officials. and there has to be a capacity to deal with that. we haven't had a hearing or

markup on this. it's possible we will. but i didn't want to leave this just dangling out there, because we -- yes. i yield. mr. davis: thank you very much. this is the first time we heard these concerns on the house floor today. so we have not had any discussion between our staffs. i would have loved to work through some of these. ms. lofgren: well, reclaiming my time. my staff indicates there have been discussions. obviously, that was at a staff level. i outlined what the concerns are. and i would at this point like to close. the election observer act -- to go into suspension, both sides of the aisle need to agree. and i think that's a very important provision of our procedures that will continue,

whichever party is in the majority, and that was how this ended up. because that bill really is not necessarily connected with this pava bill, i'll talk about another bill that's not connected with the pava bill. and that's the venue bill i mentioned earlier this morning. i forgot to mention -- and i put it into the record last night -- that the progressive policy institute as well as the chamber of commerce opposes that venue provision. and i do think the fact that senator cruz and senator cotton and senator hawley and mr. buck and mr. gaetz support it, it is not a safe measure, even though i support the neguse bill. if this does not pass today, i'm sure the neguse bill will come back, because we do need

resources to enforce our antitrust laws. i am on board for that. with that i hope we pass this bill from the senate that will protect disabled voters in the northern mariana islands and the american indian consortium, that they will have the same access to funding as all the others. and i urge support and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time for this exciting debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 1306, the previous question is ordered on the bill. the question is on the third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. those in opposition say no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: an act to amend the help america vote act of 2002 to

explicitly authorize distribution of grant funds to the voting accessibility protection and advocacy system of the commonwealth of the northern mariana islands and the system serving the american indian consortium, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on passage of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the bill is passed, and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on h.r. 7780, the mental health matters act. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. pursuant to house resolution 1396, and rule 48 the -- 4818, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the senate -- state of the eun for consideration of h.r. 7780, the chair appoints the gentleman from illinois, mr. rush, to preside over the committee of the whole.

the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 7780, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: union calendar number 373, h.r. 7780. a bill to support the behavioral needs of students and youth, invest in the school-based behavioral work force, and ensure access to mental health and substance abuse disorder benefits. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as read the first time. general debate shall be confined to the bill and not exceeding one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and

ranking minority member of the committee on education and labor or their respective designees. the gentleman from virginia, mrm california, mr. desaulnier, and the gentlewoman from north carolina, ms. foxx, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the the gentleman from california. mr. desaulnier: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. chair, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. desaulnier: thank you. mr. speaker, the covid-19 pandemic has exas ber pated --

exasperated the mental health crisis among educators, students, and families. in 2021, 44% of students experienced persistent feelings of homelessness. almost 20% seriously considered suicide. and 9%, 9% of american kids attempted suicide. regrettably 80% of youth in need of mental health do not have the services that they need in their communities to heal. as a result, educators have been forced to play an outsized role in supporting and responding to students' mental health needs. leading to increased depression and trauma among educators, their students, and the families and the community. however our schools do not have the specialized staff necessary to respond to the increased prevalence and complexity of students' mental health needs. according to a 2019 study, no

state met the student to social worker ratio to one social worker for every 250 students as recommended by the national association of social workers. not one state. on top of that, the national ratio of school psychologists per students during the 2020 to 2022 school years was one psychologist per every 1,162 students. more than double the ratio recommended by the national association of school psychologists. clearly this is unacceptable. the rise in mental health challenges is not isolated in students and educators. nearly half of the united states work force now suffers from mental health issues since covid-19 and the pandemic started. yet many workers are denied the mental health and substance use disorder benefits they are

legally entitled to receive under their employer-sponsored health plan. in a recent report to congress, the department of labor, health, and human services and treasury found widespread violations of the mental health parity and addiction equity act by group health plans. these plans, unfortunately, some of them, are failing to maintain parity between behavioral health benefits and physical health benefits as required by statute. the report recommended that congress enhance the secretary of labor's capacity to enforce the parity law, including providing authority to impose civil monetary penalties for violations. notably the same recommendations were made by former president trump's commission on combating the opioid crisis, which was led by then new jersey governor chris christie. in response to these violations

and the national mental health crisis, i introduced the mental health matters act which includes proposals championed by several committee members. this legislation helps head start agencies implement evidence-based interventions to improve the behavioral health of children and staff in head start programs. it improves trauma informed services in schools by developing innovative initiatives to link schools and local educational agencies with local trauma informed support and mental health systems. it requires colleges and universities to accept existing documentation of disability and provide reasonable accommodations so disabled students can achieve success in higher education. also provides the department of labor with enhanced authority to ensure that private employer sponsored group health plans and

insureers comply with the mental health parity and related laws. the bill ensures workers wrongfully denied health or retirement benefits under their job-based plans have meaningful access to the courts. finally, this legislation directs the department of education to award grants to build a pipeline of school-based mental health service providers and increase the number of mental health professionals serving in elementary and secondary schools in high need areas. mr. speaker, simply put the mental health matters act delivers the resources students, educators, and families need to improve their well-being. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from north carolina.

ms. foxx: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i thank my good friend from california for yielding time. mr. chairman, h.r. 7780, the mental health matters act, is a package of bills our country would be better off without. for example, title 6 of the bill, the strengthening behavioral health benefits act, contains dangerous policy which would threaten access to critical workplace benefits. how would this legislation drive employers to drop benefits? h.r. 7780 allows the department of labor, d.o.l., to level civil monetary penalties against plans and employers for ambiguous mental health parity violations. employers who offer mental health benefits under the

employee retirement income security act, erisa, do so voluntarily. they should not be penalized for violating standards that are unclear and vague. republicans and democrats alike support mental health parity, which is why congress has passed multiple laws to ensure employers are able to meet mental health parity requirements. yet despite receiving explicit direction from congress outlining what d.o.l. must provide to plans, the department has yet to issue guidance. employers and plans have been asking the department for years to comply with the law and provide examples which illustrate compliance and noncompliance. recommendations to advance compliance, and clarifying

information on how plans may demonstrate compliance. however, instead of helping plans comply, d.o.l. has blamed them for not being able to read the minds of washington bureaucrats. providing d.o.l. with the authority to level civil monetary penalties against plans and increase their risk of litigation will only force plans to drop mental health coverage. this legislation would also increase d.o.l.'s budget for mental health parity infoarmt by an additional -- enforcement by an additional $275 million over 10 years a sure sign d.o.l. wants to double down on its aggression towards employers. this money would be better spent on compliance assistance instead of targeting employers based on ambiguous standards.

additionally title 7, the employee and retiree access to justice act, gets rid of arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and discretionary clauses in employee benefit plans. this opens the door to increased litigation against plan sponsors which could drastically increase the cost of administering these plans. democrats are treating erisa arbitration like a treacherous backroom deal. but in reality arbitration settles disputes more quickly and more often in favor of claimants than litigation. the only people who benefit from months and months in litigation are trial lawyers. this bill also contains provisions regarding the youth mental health crisis. there's bipartisan agreement

that addressing the mental health of youth matters. however, we can't ignore the fact that democrats exacerbated the youth mental health situation by prolonging school shutdowns. at the behest of teachers unions, democrat politicians from the centers for disease control and prevention, to school district administrators kept classrooms shuttered despite knowing that schools were not major investigators of spread and that children were suffering from this forced isolation. . in 2021, morgue than one third -- more than one third of high school students reported they had poor mental health during the covid-19 pandemic. according to one study from february to march, 2021, the number of e.r. visits by young girls for suspected suicide

attempt was up by more than 50% compared to 2019. school closures failed students, which is why we should be spending our time addressing the massive learning loss these students suffered because of these shutdowns. these are problems we can't neglected, especially if we want these students to have a bright a future as possible. lastly, h.r. 7780 includes the respond, innovate, succeed, and empower, or rise act, the intent of which republicans support. while i agree that students with disabilities shouldn't have to jump through hoops to obtain accommodations at school, this legislation will have unintended consequences as currently drafted. for example, this legislation forces colleges and universities

to accept outdated documentation from students who are claiming disability status but who do not in fact have a disability. this legislation should have been debated with stakeholders before being rushed to the house floor. but as usual, democrats took a shortcut. i would encourage my colleagues to work across the aisle and utilize the deliberative process to form more commonsense and targeted legislation if they actually want to address our country's mental health situation. h.r. 7780 is a bill that tries to do too much and none of it well. i urge my colleagues to vote no on this legislation, and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlelady reserves. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california.

desaulnier desaulnier thank you -- mr. desaulnier: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to say it's truthfully delightful to see my friend and our differences of opinion. and i see my friend, mr. allen, ranking member of the subcommittee. just as a former small business owner, the term volunteer is in my view accurate in a sense that it is an employer's choice to provide health insurance. but the parity is required by statute. so it's a question of terminology, perhaps, and as i've said even just shortly ago, i'm ready to work with my friend to work on enforcement mechanisms that are efficient because i think we both -- we all agree there's a problem here in this country about mental health and kids. and how we enforce the best possible enforcement for employers, because the vast majority of employers do the right thing, but how to make

sure people that don't do the right thing and thereby get an advantage if we don't enforce the laws against law-abiding employers, that, i think -- i really think that we can work something out. this is the best mechanism i see right at the moment. however imperfect. but i look forward to continuing the conversation. with that i would ask, mr. chair, to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from oregon, the chair of the subcommittee on civil rights and human services of the education and labor committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. bonamici: i thank you for your leadership and chairman scott as well for making this issue an important priority in the committee. pediatric experts declared a national state of emergency in children's mental health. our nation's students continue to face significant and serious challenges with social,

emotional, and mental health. we must meet them where they are by providing evidence-based treatment and support so they can learn and thrive. this timely legislation provides needed resources and will greatly improve the behavioral health of children and school staff by building a pipeline of school-based mental health service providers. i just want to mention the bomber institute, which is going to be opening soon in oregon for that very purpose. because stress can affect the developing brain, this bill invests in head start to address the mental and behavioral health of young children and to support staff wellness. importantly, the bill will also support students with disabilities beyond their high school education by including my bipartisan bill, the respond, innovate, succeed, and empower, our rise act. students with disabilities face many barriers to earning a degree or credential after high school. without proper accommodations, students with disabilities complete college at a lower rate than their peers without disabilities. less than 5% of students with disabilities disclose their

specific learning disability to their college because of stigma. currently, students are required to obtain expensive and expansive new evaluations before they can access special education services in college. this onerous process poses additional unnecessary barriers to success for students with disabilities. the rise act is bipartisan legislation that aims to provide students with disabilities with affirmation, comfort, and peace of mind during their transition from high school to college by allowing college students to use existing documentation of a disability, whether it's an i.e.p., 504 plan or another documentation. my bipartisan, bicameral rise act will make it easier for students with disabilities to access the support services they need by easing the burdensome expensive and redundant requirements students quebec frequently face when entering college. this action alone can save families hundreds or even thousands. i want to thank my colleagues

bucshon, schrier, for supporting the rise act, mr. scott for putting this in the bill. and for speaker nancy pelosi and leader hoyer by bringing this to the floor. by considering this legislation, we're showing our nation's most vulnerable students and make our schools safer and a welcoming place to learn. i ask my colleagues to support the mental health matters act, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. -- the chair: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman reserves. the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from north carolina. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. chairman. i yield three minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. allen. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. allen: thank you, mr. chair. thank you, mr. chair and,

ranking member, thank you for the opportunity to talk about this important legislation. millions of americans experience mental health issues and struggle to find adequate care. we all agree on that in this chamber. this is especially true among our nation's youth due in large part to the prolonged school closures championed by the democrats. republicans have continually stressed the mental health tolls students have shouldered because of these school closures. the closures were led by democrats in democrat states -- run states who are allies of the teachers unions. that's why i also introduced h.r. 787, the expanding student access to mental health services act, which would authorize state and local educational agencies to use student support and academic enrichment grants to improve mental health services available to students by allowing funds to be used for identifying and disseminating best practices for mental health, first aid, emergency planning, coordination of services, and telehealth

services. i would have loved to introduce this bill as an amendment to -- i would have loved to introduce this bill as an amendment to h.r. 7780, but unfortunately, the democrats did not allow any amendments to this legislation on the floor today. rather than working in a bipartisan manner to reform our current mental health care systems, democrats are pushing a bill that will punish employers for offering mental health benefits to their employees and incite brash litigation against benefit plan sponsors. let me repeat, democrats are pushing a bill that will punish employers for offering mental health benefits to their employees and incite brash litigation against benefit plan sponsors. to add insult to injury, h.r. 7780 recklessly spends $275 million taxpayer under the guise of mental health parity enforcement, but the department of labor hasn't even clarified

what mental health parity means. so we're going to pass it and then figure out what it means. we heard that before. how can it be enforced if no one understands what is and how we can authorize this funding without vetting how it will be spent? adegreesly -- additionally, h.r. 7780 prohibits arbitration clauses, class action waivers from employee benefit plans under the employee retirement income security act, known as erisa. in short, this bill will only benefit trial lawyers and will lead in reduction to mental health benefits. this is precisely why i tried to submit an amendment on the floor today. almost the same amendment i offered during the markup of the -- in the education and labor committee, which the democrats failed to pass. my proposed amendment would have made the department of labor's ability to bring civil action against erisa plans offering

mental health plans conditional on the department issuing additional guidance on these vague mental health party -- parity requirements. i'd also strike the $275 million in funding that's been allocated to the department of labor. again, democrats blocked our ability to submit amendments. democrats exempted unions from some of the most damaging provisions of the bill. it is imperative that we address the mental health crisis that is plaguing our society. but we should do that by ensuring access to reliable, high-quality, and affordable mental health services -- could i have 30 more seconds? ms. foxx: i yield the gentleman 30 more seconds, mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. allen: mr. chair, i emphasize, it's imperative we address the mental health crisis that's plaguing our society. we all agree here in the house on that, but we should do that by ensuring access to reliable, high-quality, and affordable mental health services, not by punishing employers with undo litigation for offering these benefits to our workers.

i remain committed to finding solutions to combat the mental health problem in this country, especially our youth. it is my hope that in the future that house -- as my chairman said that house democrats will work in a bipartisan manner to address this crisis rather than bringing damaging legislation such as h.r. 7780 to the floor and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. desaulnier: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the very distinguished gentleman from connecticut and member of the education and labor committee, mr. courtney. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. courtney: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, for years, leaders in mental health and addiction have been sounding the alarm that despite the best intentions, our nation's mental health parity laws are not meeting the needs and expectations of patients. existing mental health parity laws were supposed to ensure that patients access mental health benefits with the same ease as medical benefits under

their insurance. unfortunately, we know that patients and their families are continuing to struggle with barriers to needed treatment that should be prohibited under existing law. the 2022 mental health parity report to congress from the u.s. department of labor, h.h.s. and treasury found that health plans and insurers are failing to comply with our federal parity laws at an alarming rate, meaning plans are illegally denying claims for treatment associated with mental or behavioral health conditions at a time when substance use disorder, depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions are rising rapidly, especially for children. the legislation we're considering today would implement recommendations to fix this. the mental health matters act includes my legislation, the strengthening behavioral health benefits act, which would bolster the ability of the department of labor to effectively enforce the mental health parity laws and provide resources to the department of labor to help bring plans into compliance. the goal here is compliance, not

retribution. in their 2022 report, d.o.l. made a series of recommendations for ways congress can amend erisa to empower the department and patients to hold insurance companies accountable to the law. in this legislation today, we're codifying those recommendations. this will help patients recover funds spent on treatment that their insurance companies should have paid for and empower d.o.l. to require insurance companies to revisit claims they wr wrongfully denied. it will also allow penalties to be levied against plans that are found in violation of law, which do not exist today, and as the old ancient legal says, without a remedy there is no right. and that's what this bill is doing, it is enhancing people's rights for mental health parity. it's worth emphasizing that the 2022 parity report to congress isn't the first time the executive branch -- can i have 30 seconds? mr. did all: i'd -- mr. desaulnier: i'd like to

yield 30 seconds. mr. courtney: this is not the first time they asked. it asked for exactly the same reforms. d.o.l. must be given the real authority to regulation the health insurance industry. the health insurers are not following federal law regarding parity and the reimbursement of mental health and addiction. they must held responsible. that's a quote from chris christie, the chairman of president trump's opioid task force. we are executing on a bipartisan -- on bipartisan recommendations that came from the prior administration and from the biden administration to create a real mental health parity system in our nation. i urge passage of the bill and yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair now wreck -- the chair: the gentleman reserves. the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from north carolina. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. chairman. our colleagues keep saying the goal is compliance. if the goal is compliance, then it's up to the department to

define the standard. employers do not know what the standard is. therefore they do not know what is expected of them to comply. with that i yield three minutes to the gentleman from virginia, mr. good. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. good: thank you, mr. speaker. and ranking member foxx. mr. speaker, i rise today in strong opposition to h.r. 7780, the china virus lockdowns of our schools resulted in an undisputed increase in mental health issues for our students, for our children. and this bill is yet another leftist response to the lockdown problems that democrats created. thanks to democrat lockdowns in collusion with their beloved teachers unions, students across this country are suffering academically and mentally. students, remember, the ones who we were supposed to put first in decisions regarding our schools. that's what we used to do.

but 9-year-old students have suffered a 7 point drop in math scores and 5-point drop in reading scores since 2020. losing 20 years of academic progress, meaning children today are posting the same test scores in reading and math as they did 20 years ago. and the c.d.c. reports that students who experienced long-term isolation from schools because democrats would not reopen or let the kids come back to school, they have experienced acutely higher feelings of hopelessness and higher rate of attempted suicide as a result much according to one, emergency room visits for young girls for attempted suicides were 50% higher in spring of 2021 than the same period in 2019. history will judges harshly for how we treated children during the china virus pandemic. regarding how this government crushed the economy, this

government crushed small businesses, this government crushed individual liberties, and sacrificed our children on the altar of the leftist political agenda and special interest groups. but yet democrats still don't want to acknowledge that the pandemic is over. the president said it. then of course his staff is walking that back. maybe it's because they want to hold on to the power they have accumulated in the name of the emergency. or maybe they want to hold on to the proxy voting in this chamber. or maybe they want to hold on the expansion of government and the welfare state. but with poll numbers plunging and suburban moms and north and others fleeing the democrat party, not to mention literally it was government that

exacerbated the problems from the china virus lockdowns that caused mental health issues to students. expanding this government will only increase the problem. h.r. 7780 prohibits arbitration and conflict resolution clauses and employee benefit plans, creating an opening for trial lawyers. perhaps the only group that the democrats love more than teachers unions, trial lawyers allowing them to sue and trip up business owners in troublesome and expensive litigation. instead of empowering business owners after the harmful lockdown mandates from the democrats, they want to create more ways to hurt the american economy. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. good: i urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. the chair: the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. desaulnier: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman from california for his enormous leadership and that of the sponsors of this

legislation. it is always baffling to me as i have served in the floor, i have spoken on the floor of the house and served in this congress, how colleagues can look a crisis in the as a locomotive. recognize we are the problem solvers. we are not the bomb throwers. we are not supposed to be looking at every solution and because it comes from somebody in a different party we want to fight them for t i know what happened during the pandemic. i was out in the community doing testing and vaccination. i talked to parents about the online learning, those who didn't access have access to

broadband. i knew what it did to the children. why? because children view schools and their daily activities as their work. adults go to work. children go to school. it builds their confidence. their esteem. their friendship. lifelong friendships. that was all undone because of the pandemic. you know what else we did? we saved lives. if we had continued in school learning, we would have lost thousands of children. and their families. we must repair what was broken not because we broke it, but because there was a pandemic. so this legislation provides grants to build a pipeline of school-based mental health service providers. more nurses in the school. it directs the department of education for grants to state agencies to develop more school-based mental health providers. requires institution of higher learning to let incoming students with existing documentation have access to disability resources. and creates a grant program