[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H2555-H2556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PROTECTION FOR EXPOSURE OF GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION

  (Ms. Tlaib of Michigan was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, alerting the public to government wrongdoing 
is not a crime. Yet, sadly, administrations of both parties are 
increasingly using the Espionage Act to target and prosecute 
whistleblowers and journalists for sharing critical information, 
important information, with the public. Such prosecutions undermine our 
government's transparency and are a clear violation of the First 
Amendment and fundamental right to due process.
  That is why I am introducing the Daniel Ellsberg Press Freedom and 
Whistleblower Protection Act, which would prevent abuses against 
whistleblowers, journalists, and the American public for exposing 
government corruption.
  Ever since it became law in 1917, the Espionage Act has been used to 
criminalize political dissent, and that is dangerous. It has been used 
to target whistleblowers who alerted the American people about 
government lies about the Vietnam war, mass surveillance, torture, 
drone assassinations, and the U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  In recent years, the use of this repressive tool has prosecuted 
whistleblowers and journalists acting in the public interest and has 
expanded dramatically, producing a major chilling effect on the right 
to dissent in our country. In our country, war has always been used as 
an excuse by the powerful to take away the rights of our people.
  This legislation is named in honor of the late Daniel Ellsberg, the 
celebrated whistleblower who bravely exposed government lies about the 
Vietnam war with the publication of the Pentagon Papers.
  Today, our government is committing horrific war crimes against 
humanity, from Iran to Palestine to Cuba, while expanding mass 
surveillance and spying on Americans more than ever.
  If we allow Presidential administrations to continue to abuse this 
power and erode our rights, we will lose our freedom of speech and so 
much more.
  It is time to put an end to these abuses and stand up for our First 
Amendment rights and freedoms.


                           Strife in Lebanon

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, as we approach the celebration of Eid al-
Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan, thousands of our families 
in the 12th Congressional District who have strong ties to Lebanon are 
struggling right now.
  This year's Eid feels different for us. I know many have lost loved 
ones. Many mosques are full of memorials, and many, many, again, are 
watching their grandparents' homes be bombed and seeing relatives, 
uprooted from their neighbors, becoming homeless. This campaign of 
ethnic cleansing by the Israeli Government has already killed nearly 
1,000 people, including over 100 children that we know of.
  Over 1 million people in Lebanon, one-fifth of Lebanon's entire 
population, has been forcibly displaced and told by the Israeli 
military that they will not be allowed to return to their homes and 
their villages. This has all been supported and enabled by our tax 
dollars.
  Mr. Speaker, entire families have been wiped out, and towns and city 
neighborhoods have been completely erased. Entire generations--
grandparents, parents, and children are gone. Medical centers and 
universities are being targeted. Look it up. They are

[[Page H2556]]

just bombing medics, children, residential neighborhoods, set aflame 
with U.S.-produced white phosphorus, which is a war crime, Mr. Speaker, 
poisoning the land and poisoning the people.
  We are witnessing the same genocidal playbook used against 
Palestinians in Gaza, and now they are doing it in Lebanon.
  Mr. Speaker, I will be introducing a House Resolution standing with 
the people of Lebanon against these war crimes and calling for an end 
to this illegal invasion. It is time for us to be able to stop this 
illegal invasion, enact a total arms embargo, and put an immediate end 
to this destructive regional war.


       Public Sector Development of Essential Medications at Cost

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, in Detroit, we say that we don't have 
healthcare in our country. We have sick care in our country.
  Under the Trump administration, we know that this crisis is getting 
worse. Trump has already cut $1 trillion from programs like Medicaid 
and the Affordable Care Act, so I introduced a bill to be able to hone 
in on the pharmaceutical industry. It is called Medicines for the 
People Act, a plan to develop essential medicines and medications in 
the public sector and distribute them to all Americans at not-for-
profit rates.
  The National Institute for Biomedical Research and Development would 
drive the development of these drugs and devices to lower costs and 
expand access to medicines, boost innovation, and address public health 
concerns. It creates the real competition that we need in our 
healthcare system: lower the prices and save lives.
  We all know that there are real consequences to these higher costs 
and fewer breakthroughs in the industry that prioritizes profits over 
public health, so I urge my colleagues to please support Medicines for 
the People Act. It is important because healthcare is a human right.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to build a system that ensures that 
lifesaving prescription drugs are affordable and accessible to 
everyone. When my residents tell me that we have sick care instead of 
healthcare, that should be a signal that we need to do more and need to 
be able to combat profit and corporate greed within our healthcare 
system.

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