[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H5912-H5919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4776, STANDARDIZING PERMITTING AND
EXPEDITING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF
H.R. 1366, MINING REGULATORY CLARITY ACT; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION
OF H.R. 845, PET AND LIVESTOCK PROTECTION ACT; PROVIDING FOR
CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3616, RELIABLE POWER ACT; PROVIDING FOR
CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3632, POWER PLANT RELIABILITY ACT OF 2025; AND
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4371, KAYLA HAMILTON ACT
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules,
I call up House Resolution 951 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 951
Resolved, That at any time after adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule
XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of
the bill (H.R. 4776) to amend the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 to clarify ambiguous provisions and
facilitate a more efficient, effective, and timely
environmental review process. The first reading of the bill
shall be dispensed with. All points of order against
consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be
confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their
respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be
considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. The
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the
Committee on Natural Resources now printed in the bill shall
be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of
the Whole. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as the
original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the
five-minute rule and shall be considered as read. All points
of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are
waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall
be in order except those printed in the report of the
Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution. Each such
further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in
the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the
report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for
the time specified in the report equally divided and
controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be
subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand
for division of the question in the House or in the Committee
of the Whole. All points of order against such further
amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of
the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report
the bill, as amended, to the House with such further
amendments as may have been adopted. The previous question
shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and
on any further amendment thereto to final passage without
intervening motion except one motion to recommit.
Sec. 2. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 1366) to
provide for the location of multiple hardrock mining mill
sites, to establish the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund, and for
other purposes. All points of order against consideration of
the bill are waived. The amendment in the nature of a
substitute recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources
now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. The
bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of
order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived.
The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the
bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to
final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour
of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and
ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources
or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to
recommit.
Sec. 3. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 845) to require
the Secretary of the Interior to reissue regulations removing
the gray wolf from the list of endangered and threatened
wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. All points
of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the
Committee on Natural Resources now printed in the bill shall
be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be
considered as read. All points of order against provisions in
the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall
be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any
further amendment thereto, to final passage without
intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally
[[Page H5913]]
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their
respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 4. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 3616) to
require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to review
regulations that may affect the reliable operation of the
bulk-power system. All points of order against consideration
of the bill are waived. The amendment in the nature of a
substitute recommended by the Committee on Energy and
Commerce now printed in the bill shall be considered as
adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
All points of order against provisions in the bill, as
amended, are waived. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any
further amendment thereto, to final passage without
intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce or their
respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 5. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 3632) to amend
the Federal Power Act to adjust the requirements for orders,
rules, and regulations relating to furnishing adequate
service, to require owners or operators of generating
facilities to provide notice of planned retirements of
certain electric generating units, and for other purposes.
All points of order against consideration of the bill are
waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of
order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous
question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on
any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening
motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Energy and Commerce or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 6. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 4371) to amend
the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2008 to enhance efforts to combat the
trafficking of children. All points of order against
consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment in the
nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the
Judiciary now printed in the bill shall be considered as
adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
All points of order against provisions in the bill, as
amended, are waived. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any
further amendment thereto, to final passage without
intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York is recognized
for 1 hour.
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms.
Scanlon), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the
purpose of debate only.
General Leave
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Rules met last night and reported a
rule, House Resolution 951, providing for consideration of six
measures.
The rule provides for H.R. 4776, the SPEED Act, to be considered
under a structured rule, making in order six amendments. Additionally,
it provides 1 hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the
chair and the ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural
Resources, or their respective designees, and it provides for one
motion to recommit.
Further, H.R. 1366, the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, and H.R. 845,
the Pet and Livestock Protection Act, will be considered under closed
rules, with 1 hour of debate, each equally divided and controlled by
the chair and the ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural
Resources, or their respective designees, and provides each with one
motion to recommit.
Additionally, H.R. 3616, the Reliable Power Act, and H.R. 3632, the
Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025, will each be considered under
closed rules, with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by
the chair and ranking minority member of the Energy and Commerce
Committee, or their respective designees, with one motion to recommit.
Finally, H.R. 4371, the Kayla Hamilton Act, will be considered under
a closed rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by
the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the
Judiciary, or their respective designees, and provides one motion to
recommit.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and in support of the
underlying legislation.
The rule before us gives this House an opportunity to finally begin
undoing the damage caused by years of reckless regulatory overreach and
economic mismanagement driven by Democrats' failed policies.
Joe Biden may no longer be in the White House, but American families
are still paying the price for his administration's failures. Under
President Biden, this country experienced the worst inflation spike in
40 years, and we are still paying the price. Groceries costs were more,
housing costs were more, transportation costs more, and working
families were left wondering how much further their paychecks could
stretch.
Mr. Speaker, that pressure didn't stop there. Under Democratic
leadership, electricity prices surged by more than 20 percent in many
parts of the country, including my own in New York.
Families opened their utility bills and asked a simple question: Why
is this getting so expensive so quickly?
The answer is clear: Democrats chose ideology over affordability.
They chose mandates over reliability, and they chose Washington control
over simple, plain common sense.
Mr. Speaker, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4776, the
SPEED Act. For years, Democrats have taken the well-intentioned
National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, and twisted it far beyond
its original purpose.
NEPA was meant to be a commonsense safeguard for our environment, not
a tool to block projects indefinitely, but that is exactly how it is
being abused today. NEPA is now one of the most litigated statutes in
Federal law, not because projects fail environmental standards but
because a small group of activist organizations exploit the process
itself. They file endless lawsuits to stall infrastructure, energy, and
conservation projects for years and years, sometimes decades, with
little regard to the real-world consequences for workers, families,
communities, and progress.
Those consequences are real. Projects get shelved. Costs skyrocket.
Jobs disappear, and families pay more for energy, housing, and basic
infrastructure.
We see this broken system clearly in upstate New York. Take Micron, a
company and a project too big to fail. This historic investment to
bring advanced semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States is
critical for our country, for our national security, and for the
upstate economy. This project means thousands of good-paying jobs and a
stronger domestic supply chain. Yet despite meeting some of the most
stringent environmental review requirements in the country under New
York law, Micron is still being forced through duplicative Federal
reviews that reach the very same conclusions as the State reviews.
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As a result, Micron is the only semiconductor project in the country
held up, pending a full environmental impact statement, not because of
environmental risk, but because of bureaucratic delay and regulatory
duplication.
This is not environmental protection. This is regulatory paralysis,
and it is costing us jobs and a brighter economic future.
Time and again, Democrats defend this broken system because it gives
Washington more control and activist groups more leverage. Because of
this process, the result is gridlock. Nothing gets built. Nothing gets
fixed. Nothing gets cheaper.
The SPEED Act restores balance. It reins in duplicative reviews. It
requires the Federal Government to make timely decisions and stop
endless delay from becoming the official policy of the government.
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If Democrats are serious about infrastructure, clean energy, and
environmental progress, they should support fixing the permitting
system that they helped break. They should have no problem supporting
things like the SPEED Act.
Mr. Speaker, the rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 3632,
the Power Plant Reliability Act.
Years of Democratic energy policy have put our electric grid under
real, significant strain, and Americans are feeling the consequences in
real time.
Demand is rising rapidly. Manufacturing growth and electrification
are pushing this system harder and harder every single year. At the
same time, Democrats are forcing reliable baseload generation offline,
without a serious plan to replace it. Instead of coordinating policy,
they regulate in silos. Instead of planning for reliability, they react
after the fact.
The Power Plant Reliability Act forces accountability. It ensures
regulators cannot quietly retire critical power plants without fully
understanding the reliability consequences on our Nation.
Americans don't need a white paper to understand what happens when
reliability is ignored. They see it when the power goes out. They feel
it when their energy bills spike. They pay the price when Washington
refuses to plan for real-world demand.
Keeping the lights on should not be controversial. It should be
something we should be able to get 435 votes on, but Democrats chose
politics over reliability. The families in this country are the ones
paying the price right now. Premature plant retirements are only part
of the problem.
The rule further provides for consideration of H.R. 3616, the
Reliable Power Act.
This bill addresses another uncomfortable truth that Democrats don't
want to admit. Federal agencies are finalizing regulations that
directly threaten grid stability without fully accounting for the
consequences, and it is just purely reckless.
The Reliable Power Act requires a long-term reliability assessment
that ensures that when serious risks are identified, regulators cannot
simply ignore them and press ahead anyway.
Quite simply, this legislation is about ending, once and for all, the
implementation of asinine regulations that only harm our grid's
reliability. Reliable electricity underpins everything: public safety,
economic growth, hospitals, schools, and national security. Republicans
are treating that responsibility seriously, and that is why we are
bringing this legislation forward today. Unfortunately, my colleagues
on the other side of the aisle are not.
Mr. Speaker, the rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 1366,
the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act.
Democrats talk endlessly about supply chains and national security,
but their policies undermine both. Domestic mining projects are
stalled, not because they fail environmental standards, but because
Democrats have once again allowed endless regulation and regulatory
ambiguity to choke them off.
That means fewer American jobs. It means greater dependence on
foreign adversaries that are getting rich in the process. It means
higher costs across our economy.
If Democrats want secure supply chains and fewer imports from hostile
foreign powers, this is exactly the kind of bill that they should
support.
Mr. Speaker, the rule also includes consideration of H.R. 845, the
Pet and Livestock Protection Act.
It is impossible to deny that the recovery of the gray wolf is a
success story. Population goals were met years and years ago, yet
Democrats refuse to trust the science and acknowledge the clear success
of saving the gray wolf population in this country. Why? Because it
would mean betraying the radical environmental groups that want to see
laws like the Endangered Species Act weaponized rather than work as
intended, to save these animals.
Instead, bowing to their base and ignoring the science, Democrats
have kept the future of gray wolf management trapped in endless
litigation, leaving farmers and ranchers to deal with the real
consequences that they face on their ranches and farms every single
day.
What are those consequences? Livestock are attacked, and livelihoods
across rural America are threatened, all to satisfy the whims of a
radical left activist base that thinks their food comes from the
grocery store and their energy comes from a socket in the wall when you
plug something in.
The Pet and Livestock Protection Act puts an end to this endless
litigation and weaponization of the ESA. It recognizes science,
acknowledges success, and restores balance, something our colleagues on
the other side of the aisle seem unwilling to do.
Mr. Speaker, finally, the rule provides for consideration of H.R.
4371, the Kayla Hamilton Act.
The bill exists because of a tragic failure, one that my Democratic
colleagues, who supported the last administration for 4 long years of
open borders, would rather continue to ignore. As the first
Trump administration recognized, the Unaccompanied Alien Children
Program has been exploited by criminals, including gang members, who
come to this country as wolves in sheep's clothing. These individuals
use the UAC system not for protection but to recruit and traffic new
members and to wreak havoc on American communities.
Under the Biden administration open-border, no-consequences policies,
policies my Democratic colleagues wholeheartedly supported, that
exploitation exploded. During the Biden years, approximately 465,000
unaccompanied alien children were released to unvetted sponsors. The
program lacked basic safeguards to prevent illegal aliens from serving
as sponsors.
According to Health and Human Services, roughly 85 percent of UAC
sponsors lack lawful immigration status. Thanks to the Biden
administration's own policies supported by Democrats for 4 years,
countless smugglers, cartels, and bad actors profited from nothing less
than the exploitation of children and human trafficking.
Instead of tightening safeguards as encounters surged, Democrats
chose to roll back background checks and sponsor reviews, moving
children out of law enforcement custody faster, regardless of risk. The
consequences to innocent children harmed from years of this horrific
policy choice have yet to be fully reckoned with and will certainly
haunt generations of innocent victims for years to come.
What we do know is that in May 2024, the Biden administration had
lost track of more than 320,000 unaccompanied alien children, placing
them at heightened risk of sex trafficking, forced labor, and abuse.
Mr. Speaker, this is not compassion. This is pure negligence.
Picking up the pieces from the wreckage of the Biden-Harris
immigration policies, the Trump administration has committed to
locating these children and to saving lives, something that eluded
Democrats for 4 long years. So far, more than 22,600 unaccompanied
children have been located, and over 400 sponsors have been arrested.
Tragically, 27 minors have been found dead, victims of murder, victims
of suicide, victims of drug overdose. Those are not statistics. Those
are lives that are forever lost to tragedy.
The Kayla Hamilton Act restores basic safeguards. It requires
background checks. It seeks criminal records from home countries. It
puts public safety first.
I urge my colleagues to support this rule. I urge my colleagues to
support the underlying legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to today's rule.
While Americans are going into the holiday season struggling with
rising prices and the high cost of living, with just days left before
health insurance premiums are set to skyrocket for 22 million
Americans, while the President is leading the country to war with
Venezuela, and yet another mass shooting has claimed the lives of young
Americans, Republicans are using the final legislative days of 2025 to
prioritize six unserious, make-work bills.
They are using precious floor time and resources to put forward
messaging bills with no chance of passing, bills that have nothing to
do with the reality that most Americans are living
[[Page H5915]]
and the problems that they want Congress to solve.
But that is what this country has come to expect from House
Republicans who have used their control of the House as a vehicle for
PR stunts and to pick the pockets of working people in order to line
the pockets of the wealthy and the well connected.
Under Republican control of the House, the Senate, and the White
House, 2025 has been a year of chaos, controversy, and corruption in
which every day brings a new self-inflicted crisis.
While most of this chaos has originated from the White House,
congressional Republicans are no less responsible, for they have aided
and abetted this administration's agenda at every turn. How humiliating
that in recent weeks, staff at the White House have openly mocked the
subservience of House Republicans.
From day one of this term, Republicans in Washington have made clear
they are here to serve their donors, to serve billionaires and big
business, and not the American public. They spent the first half of the
year ramming through their partisan big, ugly bill which gave
permanent, budget-busting tax cuts to the rich while canceling Medicaid
and SNAP for millions of Americans.
They continually prioritize big business and culture wars in
legislation like the bills before us in today's rule, a series of bills
that put their thumb on the scale for the oil and gas industry at the
expense of Americans' health and the stewardship of the environment.
Republicans are deliberately choosing to raise Americans' healthcare
costs because they refuse to extend the ACA tax credits.
Americans everywhere are pleading with Congress to lower the cost of
living as families struggle to afford housing, healthcare, childcare,
and even groceries. Trump campaigned on a promise that he would lower
prices on day one, but once in office, he has put tariffs on almost
every good coming into the U.S., directly raising the prices for nearly
everything we buy.
Whether it is food at the grocery store, home appliances, a new car,
Trump's trade wars and tariffs have made everything more expensive.
These trade wars have undermined key portions of our economy. The
tariffs have already cost us nearly 50,000 manufacturing jobs, and our
tourism industry is suffering greatly.
Making matters worse, Congress could end the tariffs today. The House
could vote today on any number of Senate-passed resolutions that would
end the Trump tariffs, but Speaker Johnson has blocked every one of
those bills. House Republicans have now voted on four separate
occasions to block legislation that would end the Trump tariffs. They
have repeatedly doubled down on that decision to keep your prices high.
But it is not just the tariffs. Just last week, House Republicans
blocked bipartisan legislation that could have become law, that would
have built new homes all over America, lowered rents, and made
mortgages more affordable.
With healthcare, Americans are seeing the biggest increase in health
insurance costs in 15 years, yet the Republican majority is actively
opposing extension of the ACA tax credits that lower premiums for 22
million Americans.
While Republicans fail to act on affordability, they are also
conspicuously silent on the near daily corruption emanating from this
White House. Trump has pardoned hundreds of criminals convicted of
serious offenses, including drug traffickers, money launderers, and
fraudsters, depriving Americans of justice and restitution and enabling
at least some of those pardoned to commit further crimes.
In many of these pardons, they have come at a price. Trump pardoned
Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is convicted of trafficking 400 tons of
cocaine into the United States. Ostensibly, this pardon will influence
a Presidential election in Honduras.
Trump pardoned the CEO of Binance after he made a $2 billion
investment in the President's company, World Liberty Financial. Nearly
a dozen well-connected individuals, many of them donors to the
President's campaign or investors in his companies, have also received
pardons.
Trump has also shown a curious leniency to major criminals. He
pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who ran one of the biggest drug-trafficking and
money-laundering operations on the deep web.
The President also dropped criminal charges against multiple MS-13
gang leaders in order to help cover up a corruption scandal for his
ally, Salvadoran President Bukele.
He has directed Federal prosecutors and law enforcement officers to
drop investigations of serious crimes, including drug and human
trafficking, in order to focus on immigration enforcement, letting
countless criminals off the hook.
Of course, we can't forget the yearslong coverup of the Epstein
files. On the campaign trail, Trump and his allies swore they would
release the Epstein files, but once in office, they have blocked the
release for 11 months. Ultimately, it has taken an act of Congress to
force the President to release those files. The deadline to release the
Epstein files is this Friday, but we still haven't seen a single
document from the White House or the Department of Justice. Again, all
of this begs the question: What exactly is this White House trying to
hide?
All this time, while Trump is pardoning drug traffickers and dropping
charges against gang members and violent insurrectionists who assaulted
cops, congressional Republicans have been silent. If you ask Speaker
Johnson about it, as the press has, he will tell you he has no idea
what you are talking about.
Republicans are silent as Trump and his White House cause crisis
after crisis. Trump and Hegseth are leading us into another forever war
in Venezuela. The President has called for the execution of Democratic
Members of Congress. The administration has withheld FEMA funding for
disaster victims but gave a $40 billion bailout to Argentinean hedge
funds.
Administration officials are wasting taxpayer dollars to fly around
the country for personal business and photo ops. ICE and Border Patrol
have detained more than 170 American citizens, including nearly 20
children, and that total is growing by the day.
The national debt is over $2 trillion higher in just this year alone.
It is all so insulting to you, to me, to every American, to see this
flagrant corruption and shameful mismanagement on a daily basis. House
Republicans seem to have priorities so completely at odds with the
needs of the American people that they have ignored all year the
kitchen-table issues that American families struggle with every single
day.
Instead, they have spent their time in Washington, when they have
actually come to Washington, working on industry handouts, gold-plated
ballrooms, and stirring up insane culture wars.
You deserve better. America deserves better. We deserve a functioning
Congress that actually works for the American people, not just the
wealthy and well connected.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I think we are now approaching about year 9 of Democrats suffering
from Trump derangement syndrome. No matter what is before this House,
no matter what the rule before us today actually contains, my
colleagues across the aisle find a way to make this about President
Trump, not the substance of the legislation, not the issues before the
American people, not the suffering the last 4 years have brought on
them, not the costs facing families, not the failures of their own
record. It is just about Trump to them.
While they are fixated on that, the American people have paid the
price. In 2022, while Democrats were consumed by their latest Trump
obsession, families were being crushed by the worst inflation spikes in
40 years after trillions upon trillions in Democratic spending
overheated the economy.
Groceries, gas, and rent all skyrocketed. You didn't hear a peep on
the other side of the aisle. Democrats didn't fix it. They didn't even
acknowledge it. Then they doubled down on it and made it worse.
In 2024, with the border wide open and millions of illegal aliens
pouring into our communities across the country, Democrats once again
ignored the top concerns of American families.
[[Page H5916]]
{time} 1240
Instead of securing the border or addressing affordability, they
doubled down on the same, tired narrative claiming that President Trump
was a threat to democracy. You will hear more of it today, Mr. Speaker.
The voters rejected it. They lost the electoral college, they lost
the popular vote, and they lost every swing State on the table. Since
then, Democrats haven't learned a thing. They have spent their time
defending wasteful programs, failed policies, and bureaucratic
overreach all while opposing every serious effort by President Trump
and House Republicans to clean up the mess that they left behind.
Yet here we are today hearing the same hysterics. The American people
have tuned it out. They know what actually matters: trying to lower
costs, keeping communities safe, securing reliable energy, and
restoring accountability in Washington. That is exactly what the bills
under this rule are about.
While Democrats rehash old grievances and relive the same political
fixation for the ninth year in a row, Republicans are focused on
delivering results for working families. After 4 years of the economic
mismanagement under Democratic leadership, Democrats are suddenly
pretending to care about trade, tariffs, and the American economy. It
is quite a performance. The American people see right through it.
For 4 years, Democrats told families not to believe their own eyes as
inflation hit 40-year highs, as their grocery bills exploded, and as
their energy costs soared. They brushed off concerns from workers and
manufacturers who were watching their jobs disappear overseas and while
Washington signed one bad trade deal after another.
They told Americans that surrendering leverage was smart trade policy
even as foreign countries flooded our markets and shut their own doors
for American producers.
Now President Trump is back in office and trying to right the ship.
He is delivering results, and Democrats are scrambling to rewrite
history.
Under President Trump's America First trade agenda, the trade deficit
has narrowed to its smallest level since the mid-2020 year, down more
than 35 percent over last year alone. Exports are up 6 percent year-
over-year, reaching their second highest level on record. Inflation-
adjusted exports of consumer goods are the largest ever. The trade
deficit with China has narrowed to its second smallest since 2009. In
the third quarter of 2025, real exports grew 4.1 percent annual rate
while imports fell 5 percent, adding roughly 1 full percentage point to
real GDP growth.
In November alone, the trade deficit was cut by more than one-half
compared to last year, driven by rising tariff revenues as President
Trump secured better terms for American workers, farmers, and
manufacturers.
This didn't happen by accident. For decades, weak trade policies
allowed foreign governments to exploit American openness while
protecting their own industries.
President Trump ended that arrangement by using tariffs as leverage.
He forced countries to come to the table. They have, and they are
continuing to.
Since announcing his trade agenda in April, President Trump has
secured new and improved trade deals with major partners covering more
than one-half of the global GDP, spanning Europe, Asia, and the
Americas. At the same time, companies are responding by committing
trillions of dollars in new investment, bringing jobs back here at
home, rebuilding supply chains, and putting American workers first
again.
Mr. Speaker, shouldn't that be what we are working on here?
I could go on and on, Mr. Speaker, but today's debate is not about
relitigating trade policy or listening to Democrats pretend to suddenly
discover economic responsibility. Today we are focused on the six bills
under this rule, bills that reflect the same commonsense approach that
President Trump has applied to trade, strengthening domestic
production, lowering costs, restoring reliability, and undoing the
damage of the Biden years. That is the work before us today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I think the point we are trying to make is that this
shouldn't be about economic policy. The Republican leadership's refusal
to address the Trump tariffs and the damage they have inflicted upon
our economy and upon American families' pocketbooks should be the topic
before the House instead of these makeweight bills that are never going
to become law.
Mr. Speaker, at the start of 2025, the Republicans knew there were
two big tax provisions due to expire at the end of this year, now,
within the next 10 days. One of them was the 2017 Trump tax cuts which
overwhelmingly went to the wealthiest Americans, and the second was the
ACA tax credits that helped millions of Americans afford health
insurance. This has been known to everybody all year.
Now, our Republican colleagues made the choice in their big, ugly
bill, which they spent so much time and energy on this summer, to
extend the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy, and they have also made the
intentional choice to let the ACA tax credits expire. In doing so, they
are causing the premiums for 22 million Americans to skyrocket. It is
likely that millions of Americans will lose their health coverage this
year due to our Republican colleagues' failure, refusal, in fact, to
address that issue.
Mr. Speaker, when we hear our Republican colleagues talk about their
healthcare bill that they are trying to bring to the floor this week,
know that their legislation will not renew the ACA tax credits. It will
not lower premiums, and it will not lower costs.
Mr. Speaker, 80 percent of the bill is simply new paperwork
requirements for pharmacy benefit managers, and the parts of the bill
that do involve healthcare costs are horrible. They basically want to
sell Americans junk insurance policies, and people know about these.
These are the policies that have low sticker costs but terrible
coverage when you need it, Mr. Speaker.
We really just have been imploring our colleagues to come to the
table to try to do what the American people need them to do so that
Americans have health coverage when they need it, and we have not seen
them be willing to do that.
That is why we have a discharge petition sitting there at the desk.
We just need four Republicans to join all of the Democrats in the House
to force a vote to extend the ACA tax credits, and we would invite them
to do so.
Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an
amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of H.R. 6074, which
would extend the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits for 3
years, through 2028.
Mr. Speaker, for months, Democrats have sounded the alarm about the
expiring enhanced premiums, urging the Republican majority to join us
in extending these premiums before the end of the year so that all of
our constituents can get the healthcare coverage they deserve.
Millions of Americans have already received notices from their health
plan that their premiums are going to skyrocket starting January 1,
2026, just a few days from now, in some cases by over $1,000 a month.
The median income in my district is about $80,000 for a family of four.
They can't afford an additional $12,000 a year for health insurance.
However, there are only 3 legislative days remaining to fix this
problem before the health insurance costs of over 20 million Americans
rise, but this Republican majority has ignored and blocked any effort
to extend those credits. The majority even told their own moderates
they won't get a vote on the floor to extend them.
I am happy to give them that vote right now. We can defeat the
previous question, and we can consider a bill that would extend the ACA
enhanced premium tax credits for 3 years.
There is no more time to waste. The deadlines are all passed. We have
to act now for the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the
amendment into the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately
prior to the vote on the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
[[Page H5917]]
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Min) to discuss our proposal.
Mr. MIN. Mr. Speaker, it was with interest that I heard the remarks
of my colleague from New York. I just wanted to correct a few things as
someone who just won one of those swings seats that was in play last
year.
I would say that that was not a mandate, but the Republicans did win
Congress, they did win the Presidency, and I think that Republicans
last year rightly focused on inflation, the cost-of-living, and the
economy as key issues that Americans are facing.
Now, I represent a very wealthy district. The median income in my
district is about $130,000. Even in my district right now, people are
suffering. When I go visit my food banks, the usage right now is at
record highs. This is directly related to the policies that were in the
One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as it is Orwellianly named by our
Republican colleagues.
The tariffs and the OBBB in combination have caused costs to
skyrocket, and inflation right now is as high as it has ever been, as
high as it ever was under Biden.
They are seeing their electric costs go up because of the giveaways
to utilities and the crackdown on renewable energies, very cheap forms
of energy. In places like California, they are seeing their grocery
prices go up because of the tariffs. They are set to see their health
insurance costs go up massively.
When I go out there and I talk to my families, it is not as if they
have one budget for utilities, one budget for food, and one budget for
health insurance. They have a budget, and they are struggling right now
to pay for things. They are now going to see in the State of
California, in my district, their health insurance costs, if they are
purchasing it on an exchange, go up between 50 percent to 200 percent
or more as was announced by Covered California just last month.
{time} 1250
That is a cost that people just can't afford, no matter how much they
are making. I know the billionaires do pretty well under this
Presidency, under this Republican-controlled Congress, but regular
people, even people who are making a good amount of money are
struggling to get by right now, to pay those bills.
I have talked to too many people in my district who are making that
hard decision. Many of them, we know, will drop their health insurance
because they just can't afford to pay it. They need food. They need to
keep the lights on. They need to buy gas to get to work. Consequently,
they are going to drop health insurance.
That means that we will have more families who are one catastrophic
illness or injury away from bankruptcy, something that is far too
common. You can multiply that by millions and millions of households
across this country right now because millions of households are facing
that same dilemma.
I urge my Republican colleagues right now to ignore what their
President is doing. He is focused on the ballroom. He is focused on
building out our golf courses here in D.C., according to yesterday's
news. He is focused on foreign affairs, giving money to Argentina, and
blowing up boats off the coast of Venezuela.
What I would urge my Republican colleagues to start focusing on is
the cost of things right now. We have a way to do that, a bipartisan
initiative. We would love it to be bipartisan, if you all would join us
in just giving a clean 3-year extension of the ACA tax credits. This is
something that would give immediate relief to millions of families out
there that are seeking to lower their costs.
Now, I know we have this vote coming up on this package of healthcare
bills. I would say it is very complicated stuff, lots of random
proposals in there. There is clearly an attack on women's reproductive
rights and access to contraception. That is a key part of what these
healthcare bills will do.
What they do not do in any way, shape, or form is address the fact
that people are going to pay thousands of dollars, sometimes tens of
thousands of dollars more for their health insurance because of
Republican policies.
You have a chance right now to do right by the American people to try
to rectify the wrongs that your policies have created. This has nothing
to do with Trump. It has nothing to do with Biden. It has to do with an
opportunity right now to get some bipartisan legislation passed.
This is going to save lives. We are literally talking about people in
your district, in my district, in Mary Gay Scanlon's district. We have
a chance to really help save lives right now. Even in districts like
mine--again, a wealthy district--I have talked to many people right now
who are set to lose their health insurance, set to lose their
healthcare.
Whether they have kids with cancer or whether they have autistic
children, they are struggling right now. We have a chance to show the
American people that we can rise above partisan politics and do what is
right. I think there is broad consensus on both sides of the aisle that
extending the ACA tax credits is good policy. I urge them to join us.
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to open up the text of the rule
before us today, and for good measure the underlying legislation as
well, and hit ``control F'' on the words Affordable Care Act. They will
quickly see that despite their fixation on making everything about the
topic, nowhere in this rule or the underlying legislation is the
Affordable Care Act, ACA subsidies, or marketplace coverage mentioned.
However, the policies that they are working, and hopefully there will
be further bipartisan discussions about, were set to expire by their
own hand at the end of a 5-year window because it was COVID emergency
spending. I don't think I am breaking any news here, but COVID is over.
Something that Democrats don't seem to want to ever end is an unlimited
spigot of public money devoted to an issue.
We have to get to the core reasons why health insurance for all, not
just those that are on Affordable Care Act plans, but for people in
private insurance, all the public expenditures through our Medicare and
Medicaid programs, why is healthcare an explosive cost year over year?
That is going to take bipartisanship and working together and putting
some of these petty fights aside, because even if we extended these
credits for 3 years, as they would like, it doesn't solve the problem
for the millions upon millions and tens of millions of Americans who
are on private pay insurance.
We have to really get serious about affordability, health insurance
affordability, and the cost of delivering our healthcare in this
country. Their remedy to this problem is putting a Band-Aid on a bullet
hole. It is an expiration that is by their own hand and own design
because it was designed for COVID-era emergency spending.
As a reminder, the measures in this rule are straightforward and
common sense: strengthening energy reliability and tackling
affordability in this area, streamlining permitting so that
infrastructure can actually get built, restoring certainty to domestic
supply chains, trusting science over ideology in wildlife management,
and advancing public safety measures that protect our communities.
These bills are about lowering costs, keeping the lights on, and
restoring accountability. That is the agenda before us in this rule
today. That is an important agenda to the American people and the
affordability issues that stand before us and our future prosperity.
Democrats want to lecture us about being serious on energy, but the
American people remember exactly what 4 years of Democratic energy
policy delivered. Under President Biden, Democrats drove up costs,
weakened our electrical grid, and forced the premature retirement
of reliable baseload power. They flooded the market with mandates and
subsidies picked by Washington, not by engineers, and then acted
surprised when electricity prices spiked and grid operators started
warning about blackouts.
When those prices spiked, the price of everything spiked because
increased electricity and energy costs drive up the price of all goods
and services. Families paid more, reliability got worse, and Democrats
told Americans that somehow it was all worth it.
Now that President Trump is back in office and reversing that damage,
Democrats suddenly claim that these
[[Page H5918]]
bills are partisan not because they are extreme, but because they
expose how reckless the last administration was.
President Trump and House Republicans are doing what Democrats
refused to do: streamlining permitting so that projects can actually
get built, restoring common sense to environmental review, and
prioritizing dispatchable power sources that actually keep the lights
and the heat on in this country.
The truth is, Democrats don't have a serious answer to rising energy
demand, grid reliability, or affordability. Their answer is just throw
up a few more windmills and all will be well with the world. We can
shutter every other power plant that has proven baseline power, and the
windmills and solar panels will solve all the problems.
Their solution is always the same: more mandates, more subsidies,
more regulation, and hope that the grid holds together by wishes and
dreams, not by science and practicality.
Republicans are offering something different: policies grounded in
reliability, affordability, and domestic American production so
American families aren't left paying more while China builds coal plant
after coal plant month after month and laughs all the way to the bank.
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what this rule advances. The energy
bills before us are commonsense measures to strengthen reliability,
streamline approvals, and support American jobs as well as ensure that
American families have access to affordable American power, not
slogans, not lectures, not dreams and wishful thinking.
If my colleagues across the aisle are truly serious about lowering
costs and securing Americans' energy future, they should stop posturing
and support this rule because Americans don't need more talking points.
They need the lights to stay on.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague from New York that
Congress needs to get serious about affordability both of everyday
products and services but also health insurance, and that is why we
have offered the amendments that we have and why we have been urging
our colleagues across the aisle for months to address this issue.
However, as we focus on the rule today, which does not address
affordability, there are a number of issues dealing with electricity
prices. American households right now are paying record-high
electricity prices, prices that have been rising, and most analysts are
predicting will continue to rise more in 2026.
There is only one real way to lower electricity prices. That is to
build more energy in the United States. Democrats did this, made
serious efforts toward this when we passed the Inflation Reduction Act.
We provided a forward-looking mix of financial incentives to build more
power from all sources but especially from wind and solar. Those
measures have been embraced by the American people, and they have been
embraced by our energy industries.
{time} 1300
However, while our Republican colleagues say they want to lower
electricity bills, they have actively torpedoed these efforts to build
more domestic energy.
President Trump and congressional Republicans have rescinded nearly
all the investment incentives from the IRA. As a result, we are seeing
domestic power generation decreasing, household electricity costs
rising, and thousands of good-paying jobs being effectively canceled.
At the same time, the big, beautiful bill gave huge handouts to the
oil and gas industry. These are handouts that won't increase energy
production but will simply pad the profits of Chevron and Exxon. This
is the Republican energy agenda: higher prices for you, the consumer,
and higher profits for the oil and gas industry.
It is an incentive that we see continued in some of the bills under
consideration in this rule today, which will require that coal-
generating electricity plants stay online even when they have outlived
their usefulness and profitability. Meaning, once again, consumer costs
go up, but the coal industry gets the benefit.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the aisle wants to paint these bills
as giveaways, which is wild considering what Democrats themselves have
already done.
Democrats passed a so-called Inflation Reduction Act, the most poorly
named bill in the history of the Congress because it did nothing but
skyrocket inflation. Everyone has the proof of that in their weekly
grocery bills and their utility costs.
It happened on their watch. They dumped massive new spending on an
overheated economy and helped drive the worst inflation in 40 years.
That is just fact. That is indisputable. Despite the title, it didn't
reduce any inflation, not even close.
What it did was create a massive subsidy pipeline for green energy
companies, all tied to the People's Republic of China. Chinese firms,
ultimately answerable to the Chinese Communist Party, rushed in to take
advantage of all these credits and the programs that Democrats set up.
Apparently, that part has slipped their memory.
When House Republicans tried to add basic guardrails to stop those
subsidies from flowing overseas to China, Democrats objected. They
objected loudly, not quietly.
When Democrats are throwing around the word ``giveaway,'' it is fair
to wonder whether they have forgotten their own record or are just
hoping that everyone else is focused on something else.
Democrats are perfectly willing to outsource Americans' energy future
and our national security to foreign adversaries to pursue their
agenda.
Republicans are doing the opposite. We are strengthening domestic
production. We are securing supply chains here at home in the United
States and reducing our dependence on China.
That brings us back to the rule before us today. The six bills in
this rule are focusing on restoring reliability, supporting domestic
production, and streamlining permitting so that projects can actually
move forward and lower costs for American taxpayers.
Mr. Speaker, that is the work before the House today, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
closing.
Mr. Speaker, we have heard some well-intentioned debate from our
Republican colleague today, but the fact remains that this week is
being wasted on messaging bills that will not become law.
All year, Republicans have failed to act on affordability. They
failed to bring down housing costs, to control inflation at the grocery
store, or to lower electricity bills. They were elected to office to
tackle these problems, but for an entire year, they have sat on their
hands, opting for press conferences and tweets instead of legislation
and dealmaking.
Earlier this year, Republicans ended healthcare coverage for 15
million Americans with their big, ugly bill. All this year, Republicans
have blocked each and every effort to renew the ACA tax credits. Now,
health insurance costs are at a 15-year high, and premiums are set to
skyrocket for 22 million people.
In my district and in most of America, electricity prices are through
the roof. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has bent over backward
for AI companies, cut billions of dollars in energy investments, and
canceled major clean energy projects.
In Congress, Republicans' energy agenda continues to boost oil and
gas profits but does nothing to actually lower bills.
This past weekend, America witnessed yet another mass shooting that
took the lives of two and critically injured nine more. This year has
seen 391 mass shootings. We have lost nearly 14,000 people to senseless
gun violence. No matter how many times we see the same tragic story
play out on the news, our Republican colleagues keep their heads in the
sand and refuse to bring forward or endorse commonsense gun safety
legislation, which the majority of Americans and law enforcement
leaders support.
[[Page H5919]]
This term, Republicans have turned Congress into a rubberstamp for
executive action. It is a major abdication of our constitutional
responsibilities, and it has done irreparable damage to this
institution. It is my sincere hope that 2026 brings new opportunities
for bipartisan action on these pressing issues.
The American people deserve better than a President who governs by
tweet and a Speaker who has neutered Congress' role in our
constitutional order.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous
question and rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the rule before us reflects a clear choice. After years
of regulatory overreach, misplaced priorities, and Washington-knows-
best policymaking, this House is taking steps to restore balance,
accountability, and common sense.
The legislation considered under this rule addresses real problems
Americans are facing: higher energy costs, delayed infrastructure,
weakened supply chains, threats to grid reliability, and failures that
put public safety at risk.
These bills do not eliminate environmental protections or public
input. They simply require the Federal Government to act responsibly,
plan for real-world consequences, and stop using endless process as an
excuse for inaction.
Republicans are focused on getting things built, keeping the lights
on for Americans, keeping the heat on, protecting communities, and
strengthening America's economic and national security. That is what
the American people expect, and that is what this rule and the
underlying legislation advances. I strongly support the rule before us
today.
The material previously referred to by Ms. Scanlon is as follows:
An Amendment to H. Res. 951 Offered by Ms. Scanlon of Pennsylvania
At the end of the resolution, add the following:
Sec. 7. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the
House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the
bill (H.R. 6074) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to extend the enhancement of the health care premium tax
credit. All points of order against consideration of the bill
are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points
of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The
previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill
and on any amendment thereto to final passage without
intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 8. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the
consideration of H.R. 6074.
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and
I move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous
question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
____________________