for the question. i think there was a slight mischaracterization that i didn't refuse. i made a proposal about how to handle the worldwide threats hearing. i did that for a number of reasons. first of all, i did it at that time as d.n.i., which as you know, the d.n.i. speaks for the entire intelligence community. my proposal was actually a reflection of multiple leaders across the intelligence community who shared my opinion that other countries don't hold public hearings -- [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2025] >> we're going to leave this but you can continue watching on the c-span now video app. as we take you to the u.s. house where today members are working on a measure to provide tax relief for residents of taiwan who also pay u.s. taxes. live coverage here on c-span. the prayer will be offered by chaplain kibben. chaplain kibben: would you pray with me.

lord our god and our protector, who with a word can calm the storms and hold back the sun, we pray that you would move your spirit over the chaos that ravages our country and speak your word of peace. arrest the fire that still burns in los angeles and its surrounding communities. bring relief to those who found themselves in the paths of the hurricane that devastated tennessee and north carolina who feel its destruction all the more keenly in the depth of winter. be merciful to those who remain fearful in the surround of danger. be merciful to those who feel helpless and hopeless before the great power of fire and wind. be merciful to those who lost hearth and home, who seek refuge for their bodies and their souls. in the shadow of your wings, may they take shelter until the storms of unit pass by. behind the hedge of your

protection may they find safety from the afflictions bearing down on them from all fronts. encourage and equip with fortitude and perseverance all those who remain in the fight against the unrelenting fires and who continue to strive to build defenses against even more harm. for you, o lord, are our deliverer. in you we'll all be restored. in the strength of your name we pray. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house the approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from arizona, ms. ansari. ms. ansari: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to 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. joyce: mr. speaker, i rise to address the house and ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. joyce: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the millen family located in bedford county, pennsylvania. the millen family own the millen family farm and it has received the designation of a century farm from the pennsylvania department of agriculture. a century farm is a farm that has been owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years. has a family member who still lives on that farm. and has at least 10 acres of the original holding. the millen family has farmed in bedford county, pennsylvania

since 1874, when sandra miller -- millen's great grandfather purchased the property. today the millens manage an over 200 acre grain operation on that exact same land. they even have the farm's original log structure dating to pre-1874. on behalf of the everyone in pennsylvania's 13th congressional district, i offer heartfelt congratulations to the millen family and express gratitude for their enduring commitment to one of pennsylvania's most vital industries. agriculture. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask 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. davis: mr. speaker, i rise

to honor and celebrate the remarkable life of dr. suzanne evans shepherd. an exceptional -- exceptional member of our community who touched many lives. she was a devoted mother, educator, and wife. an inspiring figure who cherished her church, victor and dough mineon world outreach center. to serve as a reminder of her tremendous contributions, her church has renamed its family life center in her honor. on her birthday, family and community members gathered to celebrate. we released balloons into the sky and pastor dr. shepherd, her beloved husband, made the heartfelt announcement. the new name is fitting reflect being the center's role in serving the community to which she dedicated so much of her

life. i'm truly grateful for d dr. suzanne shepherd and the new name of this incredible facility in our community now makes it complete. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. de la cruz: 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. ms. de la cruz: today i rise to honor guadeloupe county commissioner greg sidenberger, on his well deserved retirement. after a lifetime of extraordinary service to both our country and our community. greg began his career with 20 years in the united states air force, serving as a command

pilot during the vietnam war. and leading the squadron operating out of the seguin auxiliary air field. he then served as a pilot for american airlines for 18 years. for the past 12 years, greg has dedicated himself to guadeloupe county as commissioner for precinct one, transforming the county and ensuring the foundation for a bright future. i wish commissioner greg sidenberger a joyful retirement. again, congratulations. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? ms. ross: mr. speaker, i seek to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ross: mr. speaker, i rise today with grave concern about

the effort in north carolina to overturn the will of the voters of our state. in november justice allison riggs won the election to retain her seat on the north carolina supreme court. her victory was confirmed by two separate recounts. but her opponent refuses to concede. instead he is seeking to overturn the results of the election with with the help of our republican majority on the court. he is arguing that 60,000 valid votes should be thrown out. four years after january 6 we are once again reminded about how fragile our democracy truly is. a judicial candidate does not accept the results of an election so he's trying to silence voters in the pursuit of power. this is an attack on north carolina voters, the integrity of our elections, and our system of justice. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition?

>> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. williams: mr. speaker, i rise today to congratulate the north crowley panthers for their decisive 50-1 win over austin west lake to become the i.i.l. class 6-a division i state champions. the panthers finished the season with an impressive record of 15 wins, no losses earning their first state championship victory since 2003. throughout many early mornings, long hours on the field, and staying focused in school these young men and women showed dedication, strength, and overwhelming commitment to victory. i'm proud that their hard work has paid off. as some of these bright and talented men and women prepare for their next endeavors, i wish them the best of luck and blessings for an even brighter and more victorious future. go, panthers. in god we trust. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from arizona seek recognition?

>> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ansari: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the remarkable legacy of pastor warren stuart sr. of phoenix, arizona. at first institutional baptist church, he has been a beacon of hope, faith, and justice in our district for decades. his tireless work has gone beyond his pastoral role. he has always been a leader for social change in our community. in fact, his efforts were key to securing arizona's recognition of martin luther king jr. day long after many other states had added the holiday to their calendars. as he steps into retirement, we are deeply grateful for his leadership. pastor stuart, thank you for your decades of service to our community. your legacy is one of love, inclusivity and hope. pastor stuart, we wish you the very best in the next chapter.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: mr. speaker, 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: mr. speaker, i rise to recognize the importance of uplifting and empowering our skilled workforce. across the country skills gaps are plaguing employers, and barring workers from filling millions of open job opportunities. this is why today i was proud to introduce the bipartisan skills investment act. this commonsense legislation allows workers at any point in their career to contribute to coverdale lifelong learning accounts, which are tax advantage savings opportunities that will allow americans to pursue new job skills and better career prospects. workers of all ages would be eligible to use coverdell lifelong learning accounts to play for skills training, apprenticeships, and other workforce focused programs.

as a senior member of the education and workforce committee and co-chair of the bipartisan career and technical education caucus, i'm proud to sponsor the skills investment acts to provide additional resources for workers to climb to the next rung on the ladder of opportunity. i thank my colleagues, congresswoman bonamici, congressman fitzpatrick, and congressman schneider for joining me in this effort. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to join me in uplifting our workforce through this bipartisan legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: i ask 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. wilson: thank you, mr. speaker. the rule of gun access of invasion continues murderous conduct. the iranian regime and cuban communist dictatorship are working to destabilize west

africa, with a murderous threat to the kingdom of morocco, an american partner for 250 years. records of the deposed assad syrian dictatorship confirm they sent militias for training last week. last week they invaded p.k.k. terrorists to a summit threatening our valued nato a ally, turkiye. president donald trump stood with morocco recognizing western sahara as moroccan. i appreciate chairing the more racko friendship caucus. in conclusion god bless our troops as the global war on terrorism continues. open borders for dictators puts all americans at risk of more never attacks imminent as warned by the f.b.i. trump administration will reinstitute existing laws to protect american families with peace through strength. best pest bushes to pete hegseth, i was grateful to attend the hearing where he qualified for secretary of defense, ably conducted by chairman roger wicker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska seek recognition?

>> i ask 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. flood: mr. speaker, i rise today to celebrate one of northeast nebraska's most important institutions, northeast community college. this year the njcaa men's soccer national champion hails from nebraska's first congressional district. our very own northeast hawks. throughout the national tournament northeast consistently defieded the odds. they fought through several close matches, claiming victories against teams that bested them in previous seasons. they even beat the odds in the championship game while ranked fifth our hawks try yumed of with a 2-1 victory over the second ranked team to secure their historic title. from the head coach to every player, the hawks have displayed remarkable team spirit on their journey to this historic success. .. their work is a suck toes to

the community. on behalf of nebraska's first congressional district, congress lat graces to the northeast community college men's soccer team on becoming the first in school history to win an njcaa national title. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i request 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. speaker, it is the honor much my life to serve the people of texas' 26th congressional district. my district encompasses, three counties all the way north to the oklahoma border. we have a tapes try of landscapes that reflects the best of texas. but what makes our district people. mr. gill: to the entrepreneurs driving innovation and health care workers to the educators,

we are guided by our patriotic love of country. our district has a legacy of long leadership and i thank dr. burgess for his service. now today i honor the kind hard-working men and women who entrusted me to serve on their behalf. i am honored to call it my home and honored to be a representative in washington. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from louisiana seek recognition? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, today i rise to recognize southeastern louisiana university in hammond, louisiana, for 100 years of educating students. my background is in higher education and i know a good school when i see one. southeastern is hitting the

mark. with more than 150 academic programs and $1 billion in economic impacts southeastern is truly. ms. letlow: this year they saw the highest good graduation rate. southeastern is increasing with record-breaking enrollment and will continue to shape our leaders for years to come. a quality of education set students up for a lifetime of success. southeastern has had a tremendous impact. thank you to the faculty and staff. and under the president's leadership southeastern is mog in the right direction. i look forward to the work they will do in the second century and beyond. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition? >> i request 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.

>> biological men should not be competing in women's athletics. this is a sentiment that most americans agree with especially in my home state of idaho. under the biden administration, this has come under threat. just this last year president biden rolled out a regulation attempting to protect women and girls and make sure they have a safe playing field in sports. this week, my house colleagues passed the protection of women and girls in sports act of 2025. this strengthens title ix protections to ensure that gender and athletic competition is based solely on get etics at birth. i voted yes on this legislation and encourage my senate colleagues to do the same.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. carter: i request 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. carter: mr. per, i rise to mourn the loss of sunny smart who unfortunately passed away at the age of 76. mr. smart graduated from sanford and played the position of center on the football. and joined hopeville high school as an assistant coach. at the beginning of his career as head coach, mr. smart was a high school at bainbridge high school in south georgia from 1988 to 1994 and moved on to become the head coach at rayburn county high school in 1995 where he remained until retirement. the father of mr. smart, he was

a valued member of the community. he coached his son kirby. he is survived by his three children and his wife. he will be remembered as an incredible father, husband, coach and friend. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the cha