{time}  1220

                             General Leave

  Ms. FOXX. 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
gentlewoman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the
underlying legislation.
  Yesterday, the Rules Committee met and produced a rule, House
Resolution 1423, providing for the House's consideration of four
measures: H.R. 139, H.R. 8595, H.R. 9237, and H.R. 1181.
  First, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 139, the Sunshine
Protection Act of 2025, under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour
of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and
ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, or their
respective designees, and provides one motion to recommit.
  The rule further provides for consideration of H.R. 8595, the
National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 2027, under a structured rule.
  The rule provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and
controlled

by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations, or
their respective designees, provides one motion to recommit, and makes
in order 29 amendments.
  Additionally, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 9237, the
Take Care of America's Veterans Act, under a closed rule. The rule
provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the
chair and ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, or
their respective designees, and provides one motion to recommit.
  The rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 1181, the Protecting
Privacy in Purchases Act, under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour
of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and
ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services, or their
respective designees, and provides one motion to recommit.
  Finally, the rule provides that once the NSRP Appropriations Act is
passed, the Clerk shall add the text of S. 1383, the SAVE America Act,
to the bill and transmit it to the Senate as a single item.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a lot of business to attend to in the people's
House this week, and part of that business is passing this rule and the
underlying legislation.
  Now, I am sure, as is always the case, that our Democrat colleagues
will not be focused on the task at hand for even a mere second in this
debate. It would be a miracle if they did, Mr. Speaker. You and I both
understand that.
  What they will end up doing is ruffling their own feathers, working
themselves into a tizzy, and spending their time blabbering on about
things that are unrelated to the business at hand. It is very typical
behavior.
  The rule before us today advances four separate pieces of legislation
that all bear a common thread.
  Let me say that again, Mr. Speaker.
  The rule before us today advances four separate pieces of legislation
that all bear a common thread: They serve the interest of the American
people.
  H.R. 8595 will make America stronger, safer, and more resilient
through the championing of America First foreign policy so that our
Nation and allies are supported while our adversaries are deterred.
  H.R. 9237 is a comprehensive package of more than 60 bipartisan bills
which will enhance and reform the delivery of healthcare and benefit
services at the Department of Veterans Affairs for the entire veteran
community, including military and veteran families.
  H.R. 1181 would prevent intrusive monitoring by the Federal
Government of Americans who exercise their constitutionally guaranteed
right to keep and bear arms.
  H.R. 139 establishes daylight saving time as the permanent, year-
round standard time for the United States and would dispense with the
semi-yearly practice of resetting our clocks. For far too long, the
American public has spoken out against this disruptive practice. This
Congress and this President will bring the stability to American
households that our constituents have been endlessly seeking.
  Advancing this rule and its underlying bills is the imperative before
us today, Mr. Speaker. The American people demand our doing so, and we
must act without hesitation or delay.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North
Carolina for yielding me the customary time, and I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, to all my friends on the other side who have held this
floor hostage for weeks on end, let me save them the suspense: Nothing
changes with this rule.
  There is nothing in this rule that forces the Senate to take up the
awful SAVE America Act. Nothing. The majority is simply attaching the
SAVE America Act on to an unrelated State Department funding bill and
sending it across the Capitol. The Senate can and will strip it right
back out. Everybody here knows that.
  The fact of the matter is that the SAVE Act is never going to become
law because even Republicans know it is a disaster that will make it
more difficult, if not impossible, for American citizens to vote.

                              {time}  1230

  What Republicans are doing here with this procedural move is not some
master strategy. It is merely political theater, designed to settle
another Republican family feud. If that is enough to flip Members who
have held up business for weeks, boy, they are cheap dates.
  What this rule does is bring to the floor four bills.
  The first would make daylight saving time permanent. Look, everybody
has an opinion about changing the clocks. I actually support this bill,
but for folks getting crushed by rent, groceries, utility bills, and
healthcare costs, is this really the best the majority can do? Is this
really the most pressing issue before the American people at this
moment?
  Then, there are three bills Republicans tried to bring up weeks ago,
before their own chaos brought the House to a standstill.
  One is the Department of State funding bill that cuts funding for
American diplomacy and foreign assistance.
  Another would block the use of a merchant code for gun stores, making
it harder to flag suspicious purchasing patterns.
  Then, there is the so-called Take Care of America's Veterans Act.
That title is doing a lot of work. That bill expands some benefits by
putting the disability compensation of future veterans on the chopping
block, particularly veterans suffering from tinnitus and sleep apnea.
  In other words--get this--Republicans want disabled veterans to pick
up the tab for other veterans' benefits. That is just plain wrong. How
hard is it to understand that we shouldn't rob Private Peter to pay
Sergeant Paul?
  The Veterans of Foreign Wars agrees. They were in the Committee on
Rules last night. The VFW strongly opposes this bill on behalf of the
veterans it represents, and it published a political cartoon to protest
the cuts. What did the Republican chairman of the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs do? He and other Republican Members sent a letter to
the Department of Veterans Affairs, asking the agency to review the
VFW's accreditation. That accreditation is what allows the VFW to
represent veterans before the VA and help them navigate the benefits
system.
  Disagree with the cartoon, fine, say so, but do not use the Federal
Government to threaten the VFW's ability to help hundreds of thousands
of vets. That sure as hell looks like retaliation to me.
  Veterans fought for the right to speak their minds. They should not
be threatened by their own government for exercising it, but this is
what happens when a majority becomes completely consumed by its own
dysfunction.
  Meanwhile, Americans are working hard. They are doing everything they
have been told that they are supposed to do. Yet, somehow, they can't
get ahead. What is this Republican majority doing about any of it? Next
to nothing.
  One of the bipartisan things that we actually did do to try and bring
down housing costs, Donald Trump refused to sign it. He let it become
law without his signature because he was angry that the Senate had not
passed his voter suppression bill.
  I mean, imagine that. Think about how screwed up all of that is.
Families cannot afford to buy a home, rents keep climbing, and the
President of the United States used a bipartisan housing bill as
leverage in his fight over election lies.
  That tells us everything we need to know about this party's
priorities. They will move heaven and Earth to protect Donald Trump's
political power, but when it comes to making life more affordable for
regular people, suddenly, they can't find the time. They can't be
bothered.
  Republicans control the House. They control the Senate. They control
the White House. They control the Supreme Court. They still can barely
keep the House floor open long enough to do the people's work.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve a hell of a lot better than
this chaos, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Haridopolos).
  Mr. HARIDOPOLOS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for yielding, and I
am