Recognizing Pagel's Ponderosa Dairy

  Mr. WIED. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Pagel's Ponderosa
Dairy as it celebrates its 80th anniversary.
  Founded in 1946 by Carl and Garnet Pagel, Pagel's Ponderosa Dairy
began with just eight milking cows on their family homestead in
Kewaunee County. What started as a small family farm has grown across
generations into one of northeastern Wisconsin's most respected dairy
operations.
  Over the last 80 years, the Pagel family has helped strengthen
Wisconsin's proud dairy tradition. Under their stewardship, Pagel's
Ponderosa currently milks thousands of cows, employs more than 150
people, and remains a leader in northeastern Wisconsin's agriculture
and dairy industries.
  The Pagel family continues to maintain a strong commitment to caring
for their animals, land, employees, and their community, reflecting the
very best of northeastern Wisconsin agriculture.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Pagel's
Ponderosa Dairy on 80 years of hard work and service to the Kewaunee
community in northeastern Wisconsin. I wish them continued success for
many generations to come.

                         Honoring Dave Schmidt

  Mr. WIED. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of
Dave Schmidt, a dedicated servant of the Clintonville community.
  Dave sadly passed away on June 8 after a courageous battle with
cancer. For many years, he gave his time and energy to the Clintonville
Area Food Pantry, helping make sure local families had food, support,
and someone willing to answer the call when they needed help.
  Dave was not someone who served for praise or recognition. He simply
saw a need, and he stepped forward. In recognition of that legacy, the
Clintonville Area Food Pantry will now be known as Dave's Pantry.
  This name is a fitting tribute to a man whose kindness touched
countless lives across northeastern Wisconsin.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join the people of northeastern
Wisconsin and me in thanking Dave Schmidt for his life of service. My
prayers are with his family, his friends, and those who knew and loved
him.

               Congratulating Deacon Mike Vander Bloomen

  Mr. WIED. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Deacon Mike
Vander Bloomen on his retirement from the parish staff at Our Lady of
Lourdes Catholic Church and for his 25 years of faithful service.
  Deacon Vander Bloomen began serving in Our Lady of Lourdes in 2001
and was ordained in 2003. Since then, whether visiting the elderly,
offering guidance through troubling times, or using personal stories to
connect with parishioners, he has supported countless people and helped
strengthen their faith.
  Although he is retiring from the parish staff, Deacon Vander Bloomen
will continue preaching and lending a hand at Our Lady of Lourdes where
he can. His willingness to continue serving speaks to his love for his
faith and his dedication to the community that he has served for 25
years.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Deacon Mike Vander Bloomen on his many
years of service and wish him all the best in his well-deserved
retirement.

                              {time}  1130
               HONORING LIFE AND SERVICE OF ASHLEY MOORE

  (Mr. Moore of North Carolina was recognized to address the House for
5 minutes.)
  Mr. MOORE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, today I rise on a sad
occasion but to honor the life and the service of Ashley Moore of my
home county, Cleveland County, North Carolina, who tragically passed
away just one day after celebrating her 37th birthday.
  On July 6 of this year while Ashley was a paramedic with the
Cleveland County EMS, while she and her team were responding to an
emergency, an impaired driver struck the ambulance from behind,
injuring the patient, another paramedic, and unfortunately, killing
Ashley.
  Ashley served Cleveland County for 9 years as a paramedic, a field
training officer, and an EMS instructor. She dedicated her life to
caring for others with compassion and professionalism.
  Every day, first responders put themselves in harm's way to protect
their communities, and Ashley embodied the very best of that calling,
putting the needs of others before her own until her very final
moments.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues in the House join me in praying
that God will bring comfort and strength to Ashley's family and her
fellow first responders during this time.

 GOVERNMENT IS TOO BIG, POWERFUL, AND UNACCOUNTABLE TO AMERICAN PEOPLE

  (Mr. Knott of North Carolina was recognized to address the House for
5 minutes.)
  Mr. KNOTT. Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government has been too big,
powerful, and unaccountable to the American people for far too long.
This is most clear in our Federal agencies, which have spent years
acting as the investigator, prosecutor, and judge simultaneously and
all without any accountability.
  Put plainly: If a Federal agency wishes to stop a particular project
or activity, it may do so at any time without regard to the cost that
such actions incur on the parties who are being stopped. All leverage
and power rests with the regulator, and there is no real recourse for
the regulated.
  This week, I introduced the Limiting Excessive Government Obstruction
Act, also known as the LEGO Act, to stop this overreach. My bill is
part of a broader effort to rein in the administrative state, to
protect constitutional rights, and to eliminate the Federal bureaucracy
that burdens so many Americans through restricting the creative genius
that comes from real liberty.
  Right now, administrative enforcement cases start and end inside the
very agencies that write and enforce the rules. Government officials
decide both who to target and then sit as judges over those very
people.
  Very few, except for specialized and expensive lawyers right here in
Washington, D.C., have any idea of how to navigate a challenge to an
agency action that halts a project.
  As an example, let's say a farmer is visited by the EPA and
instructed to stop farming, simply because the EPA alleges that the
farmer is violating a specific rule. Right now, the farmer cannot
challenge the order to stop farming in a court of law down the street
from his home. He cannot continue farming. His only recourse is to file
a challenge here in Washington before a ``judge'' that is funded by the
EPA.
  Before the challenge can be dismissed, the farmer must exhaust all
administrative remedies before the EPA to show that the EPA overstepped
its bounds. Not only is this unfair, but it can take years and cost
millions of dollars.
  That is not how our government is supposed to work.
  Whether a farmer on their land or a local municipality building a
bridge in a small town, we do not work at the mercy of a Federal agency
or a nameless Federal bureaucrat.
  My bill changes this broken system by giving the regulated party the
power to proceed quickly when stopped by a governing agency.
  To continue with my example, a farmer is stopped by the EPA for
farming the exact same way that he has farmed for decades. Rather than
having to wait on the EPA's timeline, my bill empowers the farmer to
pursue the agency order in an Article III court in front of a jury of
his peers and then continue on with their livelihood. There, the farmer
can seek to dismiss the regulatory effort simply by showing reasonable
compliance with the law and/or the subject regulation.
  The effects of this bill are all favorable:
  Regulated parties will no longer be bound by the whims of the
regulators.
  Harmless and sound economic activity cannot be stopped by a whim.
  More certainty in economic activity and projects will increase
efficiency and lower costs.
  The bill will compel the regulating agencies to focus only on
unreasonable activity.
  The farmers, contractors, builders, and States will develop many more
ways to design, build, and advance in a compliant and reasonable
manner.

  Lastly and perhaps most importantly, it will restore the balance
needed between the regulator and the regulated. If unreasonable
activity is occurring, the government should be forced to prove it in
an independent court, rather than a regulated party being forced to
prove the government acted unreasonably in an agency forum.
  Mr. Speaker, the economic miracle that we have enjoyed in the United
States was never achieved by a centrally controlled planning and
regulatory force. The miracle of the United States' economy was
conceived by private individuals and entities who had the freedom to
build, experiment, farm, and progress in a system rooted in freedom.
  When the government can stop free people on a whim without any
consideration of the cost, we will solidify the decline that so many of
us in this country feel today.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve a government that works for,
not against, them. It is time that we rein in the bureaucracy and
eliminate excessive regulatory burdens imposed by our Federal
Government.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.