The House Rules Committee holds a hearing for pending legislation.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00:00...authorized to declare recess at any time.
00:00:03Today, the Rules Committee is convening to consider two separate measures,
00:00:07H.R. 276 and H.R. 881.
00:00:11Despite the claims that I'm sure will be inundated with the entirety of today's meeting,
00:00:19that Republicans are wasting time,
00:00:21the truth is that we're moving forward with legislation that defends American interests.
00:00:27H.R. 276, the Gulf of America Act,
00:00:32renames the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America
00:00:35and directs federal agencies to update their documents and maps
00:00:40accordingly to incorporate the new name.
00:00:44This legislation codifies President Trump's actions
00:00:48to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
00:00:52In short, this legislation recognizes the strategic influence America has over this geography,
00:01:01not to mention the existing economic, cultural, and commercial might
00:01:05that we passively exert on the Gulf.
00:01:09Gulfs across the world are recognized by their geographic linkages.
00:01:14This is true of the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Gulf, or even the Gulf of Alaska.
00:01:19The nomenclature of this Gulf goes back to the mid-1600s
00:01:25before the United States was even a thaw
00:01:28and when Spanish influence over Central America and the Caribbean was at its zenith.
00:01:34Now the United States' interest in the Gulf of America outpaces Mexico's.
00:01:39The entirety of Mexico's economic activity related to the Gulf pales in comparison to even some of our county's economic activity.
00:01:51The necessary renaming made by the President did not end the world, as some would like us to believe,
00:01:58nor did it cause a single bit of harm to the American people.
00:02:01I'd be curious to know from our Democrat colleagues if they have found a single concrete data point
00:02:08that this decision was detrimental to the American people.
00:02:13They can't because there's not a single data point that exists regarding that.
00:02:18Having the realities of the Gulf's link to America reflected in government records makes sense.
00:02:25We shouldn't let certain allergic reactions to decisions made by the Trump administration stand in the way of good public policy.
00:02:35Instead, we should support this decision and codify it, demonstrating our Article I authority.
00:02:44H.R. 881, the DHS restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act,
00:02:53establishes funding restrictions via the Department of Homeland Security on institutions of higher education
00:03:02that have an established relationship with Confucius Institutes.
00:03:07For years, the CCP has executed sophisticated and targeted propaganda and espionage campaigns across the globe.
00:03:16The CCP exploits the open and collaborative nature of American academia to conduct widespread industrial and military espionage inside the United States.
00:03:30Although there are fewer than five active Confucius Institutes left in existence in the United States,
00:03:38the GAO found that 43 out of 74 schools surveyed still maintain a relationship with an entity
00:03:46that supported their previous Confucius Institute.
00:03:51This must be addressed immediately.
00:03:54The federal nexus of H.R. 881 is taxpayer funding.
00:03:59Taxpayer dollars are privileged and provided through Congress's Article I powers.
00:04:04Congress can and should safeguard this funding and ensure that the dollars are appropriately used
00:04:13while encouraging universities to end relationships with partners who do not have America's best interest in mind.
00:04:23Today, we will advance these two bills that put American interests first.
00:04:29That's where they should always be placed.
00:04:31I'll happily extend the invitation for our Democrat colleagues to join us in supporting both.
00:04:38While I look forward to today's discussion, I now yield to Ms. Scanlon for any comment she wishes to make.
00:04:46Thank you, Chairwoman Fox.
00:04:49So, today we debate two bills.
00:04:51Another tired Confucius Institute bill and a bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
00:04:58I thought the bills to make the world safe for household appliances were as low as this House majority could go,
00:05:04but I underestimated their creativity.
00:05:07The issue of Confucius Institutes in America seems to be a largely settled issue.
00:05:12Congress has taken multiple steps over the years to limit the presence of these institutions on American campuses,
00:05:18and by most accounts, those efforts have worked.
00:05:20But if my colleagues want to beat a dead horse to get in some talking points because there's no legislation of consequence on the floor this week,
00:05:28enjoy your talking points because there's no legislation of consequence on the floor this week, enjoy yourselves.
00:05:34Which naturally brings us to H.R. 276.
00:05:37Ever since the beginning of Trump's term, House Republicans have been tripping over themselves to find new and more embarrassing ways to suck up to the president
00:05:46and indulge his peculiar obsessions.
00:05:49They've introduced bills to name highways, airports, and even schools after the president.
00:05:53They've pushed to make his birthday a federal holiday.
00:05:56They've proposed putting his face on the $100 bill and carving him into Mount Rushmore.
00:06:02And every time he posts on Truth Social, no matter how bizarre or petty the post,
00:06:07Republicans eagerly line up to be the one to make it happen.
00:06:11I'm sure by the end of the week, someone will have introduced legislation to turn Alcatraz back into a federal prison,
00:06:18even though it's been a museum for decades.
00:06:21I'm not going to mince words in case you thought I was.
00:06:23This bill, to rename the Gulf of Mexico, is a stupid, unserious waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
00:06:29It's an embarrassment to the nation that it was ever introduced, let alone that it's being brought to the floor for a vote.
00:06:37We don't want a country where decisions are made by tweet or cable news interviews,
00:06:41and we definitely don't want Congress to waste its time on nonsense like this.
00:06:46Americans want us to work on real issues, not wasting time and money on bills that have no value,
00:06:52other than creating a fresh opportunity for the Trump family empire to make money on merch.
00:06:58$40 to $50 per hat for those on display at the Cabinet meeting last week.
00:07:03Congress needs to work on real issues, not just enriching the Trump family fortunes.
00:07:08We need to lower the cost of living.
00:07:10We need to help families and children and working people navigate the real problems they face in daily life.
00:07:15Americans are struggling with the soaring cost of groceries, rent, health insurance, prescription drugs, strollers, lumber, drywall.
00:07:26And the economy is in a tailspin, thanks to this administration's reckless tariffs.
00:07:32These are the issues we should be working on.
00:07:34It says a lot about our Republican colleagues and their priorities that instead of working on the issues they campaigned on,
00:07:40they'd rather waste our time with embarrassing bills like these.
00:07:44We are a nation of laws, not men.
00:07:48Our country was founded in direct opposition to kings, not service to them.
00:07:53It's a disgrace to our history and our country's legacy for Congress to spend another second of legislative time groveling in this way.
00:08:01I urge my colleagues to find the courage to dispense with this bill and bills like it before we do more damage to this institution.
00:08:09As was mentioned, the Gulf of Mexico was so named over 500 years ago.
00:08:15If we want to update that name to reflect our current American culture, maybe we should rename it the Sea of Emoluments,
00:08:22you know, a place where one can board the ship of fools and navigate from a state of ignorance to the Confederacy of Dunces,
00:08:29because that appears to be where this legislation is heading us.
00:08:33I yield back.
00:08:34Thank you, Ms. Scanlon.
00:08:37Without objection, any prepared statements that our witnesses may have will be included in the record.
00:08:44I now welcome our first panel, Representative Hageman and Representative Hoyle from the Committee on Natural Resources.
00:08:53Your full statement will be submitted for the record, and we ask you to summarize your statement in five minutes.
00:09:00Representative Hageman, I welcome your testimony.
00:09:02Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
00:09:06First, I want to thank my colleague, Representative Green, for working with the Natural Resource Committee team to advance this legislation.
00:09:14The Committee on Natural Resources remains committed to advancing President Trump's agenda to put America first,
00:09:21and passage of this bill is an important symbol of that effort and a step in the right direction.
00:09:26H.R. 276 will codify President Trump's historic action to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
00:09:35H.R. 276 seeks to put into law a portion of President Trump's Executive Order 14172,
00:09:43quote,
00:09:43By enacting this legislation, we ensure consistency in references to laws, maps, regulations, and records of the United States.
00:09:56Throughout our country's history, presidents have changed the names of America's lands and waters.
00:10:01The change we are discussing today signals to the world that America is standing tall and that we are proud of our country.
00:10:08We are proud of our accomplishments, our history, and our future.
00:10:11It is nearly impossible to overstate the Gulf of America's critical role in achieving not only American energy independence, but dominance.
00:10:20President Trump has made it a priority of his administration to reassert America's role as a global leader in energy production,
00:10:28and the Gulf of America is a critical part of that agenda.
00:10:32The American people support these policies, and we must deliver on the promises that we have made.
00:10:38I am proud to support President Trump in this bill, and I urge the Committee to report an appropriate rule to allow for its consideration in the House.
00:10:47Thank you, and I yield back.
00:10:49Thank you, Representative Hoyle.
00:10:51You're recognized.
00:10:53Thank you, Chair Fox and members of the committee.
00:10:56I'd like to wish everybody a happy Cinco de Mayo.
00:10:59We could be celebrating the victory of the Mexican Army over the French, but we're here renaming a body of water.
00:11:10And let's be clear.
00:11:13This is a waste of taxpayer dollars.
00:11:15When we change the name of Fort Bragg numbers of times and back to Fort Bragg, it costs six million dollars.
00:11:24But who is going to pay for the maps, for the books, for the signs that municipalities, schools, and libraries have to replace?
00:11:32Who pays for that?
00:11:33We do as taxpayers.
00:11:35So this is a waste of taxpayer dollars.
00:11:38And this is not what the American people want.
00:11:42My phone isn't ringing off the hook with people saying, please rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
00:11:49Over 70 percent of Americans oppose this bill and spending time on this.
00:11:57My phone's ringing off the hook with seniors who can't get through to Social Security, are on the phone waiting four, six, eight hours, and then getting disconnected.
00:12:06With veterans who can't access services, with private citizens and elected officials whose grants have been frozen.
00:12:14Grants that we, with Congress, with the power of the purse, said should be spent.
00:12:21And projects are dying.
00:12:23And we are getting lots of calls from manufacturers and farmers and small business people who are being devastated by onerous and erratic tariffs.
00:12:35That's what people are talking about when they're calling our office.
00:12:41The founders of this country set up our democratic republic with three separate and equal branches of government, specifically so that the United States would never have a king, never be ruled by one person.
00:12:57We took an oath to obey the Constitution, not to bend the knee to the president, no matter what party they're in.
00:13:06And yet, here we are, again, wasting taxpayer dollars.
00:13:10This was proposed in 2010 by Stephen Colbert, a comedian.
00:13:17When he was making fun of actions like this, and now here we are, it has become a reality.
00:13:25Went from a comedy show, and now we here are in Congress, with everything else going on focused on this.
00:13:32I'm going to read a quote from a Guardian editorial.
00:13:36Because I think it says everything.
00:13:41Why stop here?
00:13:43How about declaring by fiat that the Washington Monument is now to be called the Trump Monument?
00:13:48Why not chisel another presidential face onto Mount Rushmore and call it Mount Donald?
00:13:53The great renaming has begun, and George Orwell would understand exactly what's going on.
00:13:58I urge my colleagues to reject this bill and get back to work on things that benefit our constituents and the taxpayers of America.
00:14:07Thank you very much, and with that, I yield my time.
00:14:11Thank you very much, Ms. Fishbach.
00:14:15I'm sorry.
00:14:16Mr. Griffith, you're recognized.
00:14:17Thank you, Madam Chair.
00:14:22I greatly appreciate it.
00:14:23I think it's interesting that Orwell was brought up, was doublespeak.
00:14:28What's interesting about that is, is the actual history of the body of water, previously known as the Gulf of Mexico.
00:14:36Because my colleague on the other side said, oh, it has been settled for 500 years.
00:14:39That's just not accurate.
00:14:41The great Spanish, from the Spanish Netherlands, at the time, the great cartographer Ortelius, labeled it on his maps.
00:14:51And I have one of those maps, a disputed map, but I collect antique maps.
00:14:57And one of his maps, or on his maps, he referred to it as the Sea of the North.
00:15:05It's been called the Sea of the North.
00:15:07The Gulf, Cortez, like that name.
00:15:09Others have called it the Gulf of Cortez.
00:15:12Others have called it the Gulf of Yucatan.
00:15:15There have been a lot of different names.
00:15:16And here's what's interesting.
00:15:17When we take a look at this, and one can question the timing, and one can argue, is this the right time?
00:15:24I would argue it should have been probably 1803, when Louisiana, which was once part of the Spanish province,
00:15:34provinces in the New World, was sold by the Spanish to the French and then to the French.
00:15:43And the French had had it before and then traded with the Spanish.
00:15:45But the Spanish at one time, in their territories of New Spain or Mexico, had what are now the states of Florida,
00:15:53claims to Alabama, Mississippi, clear title to Louisiana, and, of course, Texas.
00:16:02And as time went on, the United States in 1802 made a treaty with the Spanish to get Florida.
00:16:12So one could argue in 1802 it probably should have been changed to the Gulf of America.
00:16:17One could argue 1803, when the French got it back or when they sold the Louisiana territory to the United States,
00:16:24it should have become the Gulf of America.
00:16:25One could certainly argue that when Texas seceded from Mexico, at that point,
00:16:32more of the shoreline belonged to territories other than the country of Mexico, that it should have been changed.
00:16:40And one certainly should argue that James K. Polk missed this one because when he came along and they had the Mexican-American War
00:16:50and brought in those territories and you had Texas then joining the Union a little bit later,
00:16:58certainly by that point in time it should have been the Gulf of America.
00:17:01I'm trying to figure out why we waited so long.
00:17:03And when it was first proposed, I'd never thought of it.
00:17:05When it was first proposed, I thought, you know,
00:17:07this is something that should have happened in the 19th century when a greater portion of the waters
00:17:13or the shores of what is today called the Gulf of Mexico touched parts of the United States of America.
00:17:19But further, and this oftentimes drives the Canadians and some folks in Mexico crazy,
00:17:28we're all part of North America.
00:17:30This is the great North, this is the great North American continent, and we're naming it Gulf of America.
00:17:40That seems to be a much better name.
00:17:42Now, I posited, Madam Chair, that perhaps, and I don't know the answer to this,
00:17:49that perhaps they didn't do that because until the name was changed,
00:17:53there was somewhere in the Arctic in what is now Russian territory a small gulf that was known by some cartographers
00:18:01as the Gulf of America, and maybe they thought they'd create confusion.
00:18:04I don't know if that's accurate or not, Madam Chair.
00:18:06I just submit that when you look at the history of the body of water,
00:18:10the name should have been changed in the 19th century and we're way behind times.
00:18:14And unless my colleague would like to respond and tell me I got something wrong in there,
00:18:19I think I got that pretty good.
00:18:20I think you've given us an excellent history lesson today.
00:18:26Well, if anybody ever wants to see some of my old maps, they're in my office.
00:18:30Thank you, Mr. Griffiths, for always giving us a great history lesson.
00:18:34Ms. Scanlon, you're recognized.
00:18:39Thank you, Madam Chair.
00:18:43Representative Hoyle, is there a CBO score on this bill?
00:18:48There is?
00:18:49Do we know about what the score is?
00:18:52Anyone?
00:18:53I can get you that information.
00:18:55I think I heard it was about $500,000 to change some federal maps,
00:18:59but of course that doesn't impact the schools that have to pay for maps and books and changing all that.
00:19:05Who is paying for all of these things to be reprinted?
00:19:29This is a burden on my constituents, on your constituents, on taxpayers, on localities,
00:19:36all because right now somebody decided this is the most important thing that we can be doing at this point in time.
00:19:45And so there is a cost, and it will be borne by our constituents.
00:19:50The cost of actually changing the names here.
00:19:53I have additional information in response to your question.
00:19:56Great. Thank you.
00:19:56Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that updating federal documents and maps
00:20:02would cost less than $500,000 over the next five-year period.
00:20:07Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
00:20:11It goes on to say that H.R. 276 also could affect direct spending by some agencies that are allowed to use fees,
00:20:19receipts from the sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs.
00:20:24Okay.
00:20:24So that's the impact on the federal government, but not on all of our schools.
00:20:26Yeah, and I also think that we have consistently questioned CBO scoring in this particular committee for many reasons.
00:20:37So I think that there's probably questions about the validity of that as well.
00:20:40But obviously no assessment of what would happen in the cost to our local school districts
00:20:46or the cost to U.S. prestige across the country for an absolutely ridiculous act of indulgence of some sort.
00:20:55I do want to thank Representative Hoyle for pointing out that it was Stephen Colbert who first proposed this in 2010,
00:21:02proposed it because at the time the country was dealing with the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
00:21:09and the justification for renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America was because the U.S. had so fouled it.
00:21:15It should take responsibility.
00:21:18And given the attacks we're seeing on the EPA right now, maybe there's some merit to that now.
00:21:25Okay.
00:21:25I yield back.
00:21:26I yield back now, recognize Mr. Langworthy for his time of questioning.
00:21:35Thank you, Mr. Chair.
00:21:36It's very sad to see my colleagues on the other side of the aisle get so upset about a simple name change to a major artery of American commerce and economic investment,
00:21:45a change that has already been reflected in the geographic names information system, in the geographic name server.
00:21:51If only they had been quite this animated over the millions of illegal immigrants that crossed our borders in the last four years.
00:21:59Maybe they should have taken some of that misplaced worry about taxpayer dollars, about reprinting a few maps,
00:22:05into what actually happened with the most historic violation of our sovereignty that the world has ever seen over the last four years.
00:22:14That happened.
00:22:15They didn't worry about the cost to the American taxpayer then.
00:22:17I have nothing further to add other than to say that I support this legislation and am a proud, I think, day one co-sponsor.
00:22:25And with that, I yield back.
00:22:31Gentleman yields back.
00:22:32Now recognize Ms. Ledger-Fernandez for her time of question.
00:22:40Well, thank you.
00:22:41So, you know, for months, my phones have been ringing off the hook, and I know everybody's phones have been ringing off the hook,
00:22:49because Americans have been calling us because they are freaked out.
00:22:54In fact, Americans have been calling us so much that they have shut down the phone system at times,
00:23:00because they're so upset about what Trump is doing, what Doge is doing, what Musk is doing.
00:23:05And, you know, I don't think, I've not fielded a single call asking for this name change.
00:23:14But Americans really disapprove of what Donald Trump and the Republican leaders are doing to their pocketbooks,
00:23:22their Social Security, their health care.
00:23:25They don't like the fact that Trump is ignoring the Constitution and doesn't believe in the basic value of due process.
00:23:32Hell, on the interview on NBC, he didn't even seem to know that due process was guaranteed under the Constitution and had to be honored.
00:23:45And the reality is Americans thought that Trump, and they voted for him, and they feel betrayed,
00:23:51because they thought he was going to address costs on day one.
00:23:57But what have we seen instead of Trump addressing costs on day one?
00:24:01We've already had the first quarter of negative growth.
00:24:07That's the beginning of a recession.
00:24:10And everybody says a recession is coming because of Trump's policies, because of Trump's tariffs.
00:24:17You know, Madam President, I asked for unanimous consent to enter into the record.
00:24:20The Fox News poll, the Fox News poll, there's lots of other news polls out there,
00:24:25but just so that people know, this is coming from the Republicans.
00:24:29The Fox News poll that shows 56 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy,
00:24:3658 percent disapprove of his tariffs, and 59 percent disapprove of how he's handling or not inflation.
00:24:45And it's this idea that he's not handling what's important that has Americans upset.
00:24:51Mr. Chairman, I'm sorry, I said Madam Chair.
00:24:53The gentlelady's asked to have the Fox polling put into the record without objection.
00:24:58So, according to a poll published by the Washington Post newspaper and ABC News,
00:25:04only 39 percent of Americans approve of how Trump is handling his presidency.
00:25:11And they think he is going too far.
00:25:13Because he keeps doing things like this, and like the tariffs, which are serious.
00:25:19I mean, I'm sorry if I reacted to the idea that part of this may have come out of a comedian.
00:25:26But the tariffs are hurting people.
00:25:29And most Republicans, not all, I recognize that Representative Hageman has had a town hall.
00:25:36Most Republicans don't even want to hold town halls because their voters are so mad at them.
00:25:42I did a town hall in one of Ken Calvert's towns on Saturday.
00:25:47They were so disappointed that he hadn't showed up to answer their questions about Medicaid, about Social Security.
00:25:55But you know who was particularly upset in that audience?
00:25:57The veterans.
00:25:59We had multiple veterans get up and say, he's not showing up to answer our questions.
00:26:04And you know what else is upsetting?
00:26:06The idea that he could just say, we are going to rename Veterans Day Victory Day.
00:26:13We're going to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
00:26:19We're going to rename things.
00:26:20The fact that he is acting like a tyrant and saying, we're going to do, you know, we're going to do things that I want because I want them to.
00:26:29And that Republicans are then going to go along.
00:26:32So these are just a bunch of ego trips.
00:26:34His birthday parade, $45 million that he says it's going to cost, but we should all be happy.
00:26:39Another idea about this is about ego, not about caring for your community.
00:26:47And you know what?
00:26:48The Gulf of Mexico doesn't need a new name.
00:26:50It's been that name for a long time.
00:26:53Yes, it may have been, have other ideas, but over from 1552.
00:26:59And let me tell you, I'm from New Mexico.
00:27:01I am from New Mexico.
00:27:05New Mexico doesn't need a new name either.
00:27:08New Mexico, our name reflects that there is a complex history and that when you understand the complexity of history, the diversity of history, you are better off for it.
00:27:20So let's leave the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of Mexico.
00:27:24But if you want to rename it, since you are not doing what everybody wants us to do, how about naming it the Gulf of Plunder?
00:27:32Because you're here from natural resources, but we know that tomorrow we're going to take a bill tomorrow, aren't we?
00:27:39And it's going to be about plundering the Gulf of Mexico.
00:27:44It's going to be about giving oil and gas companies more, more power, more money, and more control over our lives without any consequences.
00:27:57It's going to let them lower the royalty rates, take more money of our resources that belong to the American people.
00:28:06Let them have them for cheap, on the cheap.
00:28:09Let them not have to be accountable for the pollution they leave.
00:28:12That is called plundering America's resources.
00:28:16And we should be protecting those resources in the Gulf of Mexico.
00:28:22And with that, I don't know if Representative Hoyle, do you want to add anything to anything you've heard today?
00:28:28I am the last Democrat, so this is your last chance if you want to just add anything.
00:28:37Thank you, Mr. Chair and Ms. Leisure Fernandez.
00:28:42I think that you said it exactly right.
00:28:45Again, I have done 12 town halls throughout my district in the most conservative and in the most progressive.
00:28:54And they're standing room only.
00:28:56And people are concerned about NOAA, about tariffs, about veterans care, about FEMA, about wildfire response,
00:29:06about all the things they want government to work.
00:29:10And yes, we should work on waste, fraud, and abuse.
00:29:13Absolutely.
00:29:14And that's not what this is.
00:29:17And this is going to, the costs are going to be borne by our local schools.
00:29:22And you may say it's just a little bit, but every little bit counts, especially in our rural communities.
00:29:29So I think you and Ms. Scanlon said it well.
00:29:33And I really wish we could be focusing on things that we could do together.
00:29:38And there's a lot that can be done.
00:29:40And this seems like a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
00:29:45Thank you very much.
00:29:47And it is absolutely true.
00:29:48The voters want us to be taking up those tariffs.
00:29:51And I keep saying it.
00:29:52If they believe the tariffs are great, take them up, debate them.
00:29:56But that's our job.
00:29:57That's what we should be doing, not renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
00:30:02So thank you very much.
00:30:04And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
00:30:06Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I just have a question.
00:30:14You're so concerned about the money that were you concerned when Biden's Department of Education
00:30:19put about $3.9 billion worth of rules and paperwork that cost our school districts that much money?
00:30:28Were you concerned about that?
00:30:31Through the Chair, Ms. Fishback.
00:30:32Yes.
00:30:33I spoke up when Democratic presidents did things that cost my constituents taxpayer dollars.
00:30:41I wasn't afraid to stand up and disagree with a president who was of my party, nor should you.
00:30:48Because there are three separate and equal branches of government, and we need to do our job.
00:30:53And this is a separation.
00:30:54I'm reclaiming that time because I had a simple question.
00:30:57But $3.9 billion worth of rules and regulations and paperwork that was put on our schools under the Biden administration
00:31:05seems incredibly significant.
00:31:08And I also was wondering, I know that you found the information regarding what CBO said about less than $500,000.
00:31:16And I was just wondering if they could go back and find how much it cost when President Obama changed the name of Mount McKinley.
00:31:24Because this is not a new phenomenon.
00:31:27I mean, there's lots of drama coming from the other side regarding a simple change in a name.
00:31:33And I think we should be proud to call the Gulf of America the Gulf of America because it is that that brings back pride in the U.S.
00:31:42And it just seems like there's a lot more drama coming from the other side than is necessary on this.
00:31:50And, you know, if a school district can't afford to purchase an entirely new map, you know what a sticker would do?
00:31:58You know, just put that over the top and put Gulf of America.
00:32:01I mean, there are a lot of simple ways to deal with this.
00:32:04But, Ms. Hagerman, I know that you had things you wanted to add.
00:32:07Well, I would also say that the schools purchase textbooks almost on a yearly basis.
00:32:12That's why it is such a lucrative business.
00:32:14So I don't think that there's nearly the expense associated with this.
00:32:18They're constantly updating textbooks.
00:32:20I just, that's what they do.
00:32:22I also wanted to make sure that we corrected a statement.
00:32:24My Ms. Scanlon, she referred to America fouling the Gulf.
00:32:28And that's why Mr. Colbert was joking that it should be named the Gulf of America.
00:32:34It was not America that fouled the Gulf.
00:32:37In fact, the Horizon Deepwater Well blowout was done during the Obama administration.
00:32:42And I believe it was British Petroleum that held that particular permit.
00:32:46So I just wanted to make sure that we clarified that it was not America that did that at all.
00:32:51I would agree with you.
00:32:52I think that there's a lot more drama associated with this.
00:32:55I'm excited about the fact that under this administration, we have pride in our country.
00:33:00We have pride in our past and our future.
00:33:01It is very clear that in terms of the geographic location that we are discussing, there is much more influence from America, much more of an economic impact and a driver from America than there is Mexico.
00:33:14This makes sense to me.
00:33:15I think everyone's made very good points in that regard.
00:33:18With that, thank you.
00:33:19Thank you very much.
00:33:20And with that, I yield back.
00:33:21General A. Heels back now.
00:33:22I recognize Mr. Scott for his time of question.
00:33:26Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:33:27I don't have a whole lot of questions, but I would just like to say that I'm glad that we can fish in the Gulf of America again.
00:33:33Because I would just remind you that the Obama administration had shut the sniper season down to three days, three days out of the whole year.
00:33:44That's where the crazy people that ran National Marine Fishery Services were taking us to where the American citizens couldn't fish in the Gulf anymore.
00:33:52Now, I went fishing out there on February 28th with my son and a bunch of his friends.
00:33:56And you know where we went?
00:33:59Straight to the oil rigs.
00:34:00Because you know what?
00:34:02There's a whole lot of fish on those oil rigs.
00:34:04It's just been great for the habitat and for fishing in the Gulf of America to have all those oil rigs out there.
00:34:11And I guarantee you this.
00:34:13If you want to catch fish, that's a good place to go.
00:34:15And so we do energy cleaner and better than anybody else.
00:34:18And I hope we are issuing more permits out there.
00:34:21The other thing I would tell you is, unfortunately, some of the legacy National Marine Fishery Services rules from the wacky left
00:34:29that's apparently distraught by anything and everything that we do that give the American citizens the right to hunt and fish
00:34:35and enjoy the oceans that we have, you know, we still can't fish much in the South Atlantic.
00:34:46Did you know that, Ms. Hageman?
00:34:48That, yeah, they had, this is how stupid, I shouldn't use that term probably, but hopefully my kids aren't watching,
00:34:56National Marine Fishery Services recommendations were.
00:34:59They were just going to shut down bottom fishing in the South Atlantic for recreational fishing.
00:35:07And where do these ideas come from?
00:35:11Where do these ideas come from?
00:35:14It's the people that wake up in the morning and are just wacky crazy, and somehow they end up in these federal agencies.
00:35:19He's telling the rest of us what we can and can't do.
00:35:21And that's why President Trump, one of the reasons, he's here today.
00:35:24People are sick and tired of that madness.
00:35:27So, Representative Hageman, if you've got anything to say, I'll turn it over to you.
00:35:32Other than that, I'll yield my time back.
00:35:34As chairman of the Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee for Natural Resources,
00:35:39I can assure you that we are working on the very issue that you have identified
00:35:42and for the very reasons that you've explained.
00:35:45The fisheries should not be shut down.
00:35:47It is an abundant part and a very important part of our heritage and our culture and our economy,
00:35:54which brings up one other point, and this is something that has been in the news more recently.
00:35:59You've indicated that we have created such phenomenal fisheries,
00:36:02and we've done that for a variety of reasons.
00:36:05But I think another reason why we should change this to the Gulf of America versus the Gulf of Mexico
00:36:11is for over 40 years, the country of Mexico has been dumping raw sewage into the area near San Diego, California.
00:36:19And the head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin, was just there approximately two weeks ago.
00:36:24I was just in San Diego meeting with some folks down there, and they described the situation.
00:36:30It's absolutely a horrific, horrific situation.
00:36:33It is an environmental catastrophe and disaster created, and the country of Mexico absolutely refuses to address it and fix it
00:36:42and has been fouling our waters for decades upon decades.
00:36:46It needs to be resolved.
00:36:47But that is another reason why we need to retake and claim ownership of this area
00:36:53and make sure people do know that it is the Gulf of America.
00:36:56We should not be rewarding Mexico for their bad acts, and that's just one example.
00:37:00That sounds like a real issue, that if the Democrats would actually join the Republicans
00:37:04and work in the resolve, we could work to resolve it.
00:37:06But they're opposed to anything that Donald Trump is for.
00:37:08So if he wants to clean up what Mexico is doing to the Gulf of America now, I mean, they'll oppose us on that.
00:37:16Well, they shouldn't.
00:37:17It is absolutely a horrific situation, and it needs to be addressed,
00:37:21and the country of Mexico needs to be held accountable for dumping raw sewage into the ocean on a regular basis.
00:37:28You can't.
00:37:29You can't.
00:37:30You can't make that seem right, no matter how crazy you are on the left.
00:37:36With that, Mr. Chair, I yield.
00:37:38The gentleman yields back.
00:37:40Normally we would flip sides, but Mr. Neguse has asked if he could have just a minute.
00:37:44Just a minute, so I'll go to Mr. Norman next.
00:37:48Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:37:51Did you have a question for Mr. Langworthy?
00:37:53I was able to clarify the situation about British Petroleum actually being the owner of the Horizon Deepwater Well rather than the country of America.
00:38:04Well, I don't really have any questions.
00:38:07It's interesting the matter of costs come up.
00:38:10Where was the effort on the cost of illegal immigration and the millions it's cost us?
00:38:15Where was the cost of leaving all the military equipment in Afghanistan?
00:38:23Where was that cost?
00:38:24Is that taken from children?
00:38:26Where was the cost of the fentanyl that came across this border?
00:38:31That's not taken from children.
00:38:33That's killing children.
00:38:36You know, and the left is just really hypocritical when it comes to this.
00:38:42On a name change to America, he loves the country.
00:38:47And I really don't have any other questions other than it's unbelievable that we're having to push back.
00:38:55But it doesn't surprise me.
00:38:56The only comment I would make is that illegal immigration cost our country $150 billion last year alone.
00:39:05How about to deport them, to put them back?
00:39:07We're paying three times then.
00:39:09Cost to feed them, cost to haul them over here in the middle of the night, cost to take them out of here.
00:39:15You know, this country is in a bind because of what this administration, what the past administration has done.
00:39:21And to ignore somebody that was cognitively gone is unbelievable.
00:39:29Anyway, I yield back.
00:39:30Thank you for doing this.
00:39:31It's a good bill.
00:39:33Chairman, he holds the back.
00:39:34Now I recognize Mr. Neguse for his time for questioning.
00:39:37Excuse me.
00:39:38Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your courtesy.
00:39:40And thank you, Ms. Hageman and Ms. Hoyle, for being here and for your testimony.
00:39:45I appreciate you all coming before the Rules Committee.
00:39:48Mr. Hageman, I thought I wanted to perhaps spend a bit of time unpacking some of the conversation you just had with Mr. Norman.
00:39:57We both represent western states in the Rocky Mountain West, of course, and congressional neighbors, if you will.
00:40:04I represent northwestern Colorado, as you know, a long border with Wyoming.
00:40:09And I understand that you held a town hall pretty recently in Wyoming.
00:40:14I don't know if I...
00:40:15Ten of them.
00:40:16What was that?
00:40:17Ten.
00:40:17Ten of them.
00:40:18Town halls.
00:40:19I am curious.
00:40:21So you've held a lot of them, way more than a lot of your colleagues on that side of the aisle, I will say.
00:40:25So I appreciate that.
00:40:27I've held ten as well, my district.
00:40:29But I'm wondering, what are you hearing at those town halls?
00:40:33What do folks...
00:40:34I mean, just give us a sense of the flavor of what folks are concerned about in the state of Wyoming.
00:40:39They're concerned about energy production, making sure that we get back to energy independence, which is part of the reason why I think it's so important to rename this to Gulf of America in light of the amount of production.
00:40:53It accounts for about 15% of our oil and gas production in the country.
00:40:57So that's one of the big issues that you hear wherever you go, whether you're in town halls or meetings, is the importance of protecting our energy industry.
00:41:04I hear a lot about ensuring that we are implementing the agenda and the policies that Donald Trump ran on, this being one of them.
00:41:14I think people are...
00:41:15Can I just ask you a question on that?
00:41:17Let me just make sure.
00:41:18Because I understood the first part.
00:41:20You said energy dominance, protecting the energy industry is something you hear from folks that you represent in Wyoming.
00:41:25And I appreciate that.
00:41:27And then you said implementing President Trump's policy.
00:41:30So you're saying that there are people at your town halls who were demanding that you rename the Gulf of Mexico?
00:41:36I think it's across the entire board.
00:41:38Has that come up at any of your town halls?
00:41:39Actually, it has.
00:41:40It has?
00:41:41Yes, and it's also come up in the meetings that I've had with people.
00:41:43The people of Wyoming were demanding that you rename the Gulf of Mexico?
00:41:46You used the word demand.
00:41:48Oh, asking.
00:41:48Very few people come to me and demand anything.
00:41:51What people say is that they want us to implement the agenda that Donald Trump ran on.
00:41:56And that includes renaming the Gulf of Mexico?
00:41:58Because it has to do with pride in America and what America stands for.
00:42:03Representative, I would just simply say...
00:42:04Well, you can argue with me as much as you'd like to.
00:42:05I'm not talking about an argument.
00:42:06I would love to attend one of the...
00:42:09I would welcome you to attend one of my town halls.
00:42:10I am asking you an honest question, and you're welcome to answer it any way you'd like.
00:42:16Like, you're telling me and this committee that at one of your town halls...
00:42:22I have said at my town halls and meetings...
00:42:23Let me finish my question.
00:42:24At town halls and my meetings...
00:42:26You'll have an opportunity to answer.
00:42:27Okay.
00:42:28Let me finish my question.
00:42:29You've held 10 town halls...
00:42:30Yes.
00:42:31...across Wyoming.
00:42:32Yes.
00:42:32And at those town halls, Wyoming residents, constituents have said to you,
00:42:37I would like you to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
00:42:40Has that happened?
00:42:41Yes.
00:42:42That has happened?
00:42:42At the meetings that I have held, as I have said, as I have said to you repeatedly now,
00:42:47I not only am holding town halls, I'm holding meetings with my constituents.
00:42:51Sure.
00:42:51The entire agenda that President Trump ran on, they've talked to me about no taxes on tips.
00:42:56That's not...
00:42:57I'm not asking you about no taxes on tips.
00:42:58They have talked to me...
00:42:59They have talked to me...
00:42:59That's not the bill that you're here testifying about.
00:43:01...renaming the Gulf of America.
00:43:02They have talked to me about the oil and gas development that we have down there.
00:43:07I think it's a shame...
00:43:08They have talked about exporting energy out of the Gulf of America.
00:43:10I'll reclaim my time because I think it's a shame and I would...
00:43:12So you're calling me...
00:43:13I think what you're saying is you don't believe what I'm saying.
00:43:16I'm saying that I would love to come to a town hall and so I'll certainly look forward
00:43:20to...
00:43:20What we may do is we may just consider doing a town hall up in Wyoming myself so that I
00:43:25can get a better sense from Republicans, Democrats, unaffiliated people of Wyoming
00:43:30as to what their priorities are.
00:43:32My sense is I'm not disagreeing with you that there are many folks in Wyoming who believe
00:43:39that the Congress ought to be pursuing policies that President Trump supports.
00:43:43What I am suggesting is that I find it a little bit unbelievable that of all the issues that
00:43:51the American people are dealing with, that my constituents are dealing with, that your
00:43:54constituents are dealing with, that at these town halls, renaming the Gulf of Mexico was
00:44:00a top priority.
00:44:03I suspect that the people of your state...
00:44:04One of the things that you're ignoring...
00:44:05I'm not done talking.
00:44:06You'll have an opportunity to respond.
00:44:07I don't believe that the people in your state, nor the people in mine, would identify renaming
00:44:12the Gulf of Mexico as their top priority.
00:44:15And I just...
00:44:16I find it absurd that we have to engage in this discussion to act as though this is anything
00:44:24but abnormal, that this is sort of just regular order, that yes, in the first four months of
00:44:31the 119th Congress, the Republican majority has decided that this is so important that
00:44:36we ought to take floor time to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
00:44:40Notwithstanding all of the other policies that I suspect many of your supporters, many of the
00:44:47citizens that you represent are passionate about.
00:44:49I just...
00:44:50I find that hard to believe, and apparently I'm the only one, or at least you and I disagree
00:44:54about this, but I suspect my colleagues, maybe on this side of the aisle, concur in that assessment.
00:44:58But anyway, I am happy to give you an opportunity to respond and...
00:45:01So one of the things, Mr. Nagus, that you are ignoring is the fact that the state of Wyoming
00:45:06and my constituents in Wyoming have a very close connection to the Gulf of America because
00:45:11we are one of the largest energy producers in the nation.
00:45:14We are the largest coal producer, we are the eighth largest oil and gas producer.
00:45:18Our resources, our oil and gas and coal are actually exported out of the Gulf of America.
00:45:25So it is something that is at the forefront of the minds of the people in the state of Wyoming.
00:45:29I also want to point out one thing...
00:45:31What does this bill do to help them?
00:45:32I want to point out one other thing that you did, which is a very clever trick, which is
00:45:37that you asked me if I'd been asked any questions and I told you that I had.
00:45:42And when you did your soliloquy there at the end, you accused me of being dishonest and disingenuous
00:45:48by then converting that to being the top priority.
00:45:52I didn't say that it was the top priority, but I did say that I was asked questions and there has been discussion.
00:45:58So let's have this semantics debate then.
00:46:00Not only in the meetings that I've held, but when I have met with people who actually have a direct connection to the Gulf of America.
00:46:08So I think what you're trying to imply is that Wyoming has no interest in the Gulf of America,
00:46:13when in fact the state of Wyoming with our energy resources have a lot of interest in the Gulf of America.
00:46:16Ms. Hagerman, have you testified in front of this committee yet this year?
00:46:21Is this your first time testifying in front of this committee?
00:46:24Ms. Probably this year, but not last year.
00:46:27No, I've testified before.
00:46:28No, I'm asking you this year.
00:46:29I'm saying in the last four months, since the 119th Congress has started.
00:46:32Ms. I think so.
00:46:33This is your first time testifying, right?
00:46:34Ms. I think so.
00:46:35You're chairwoman of the Water, Fisheries, and Wildlife Subcommittee.
00:46:38Are you not?
00:46:39Ms. Yes.
00:46:40And this is the first bill that you have decided to present to this committee on behalf of the state that you serve.
00:46:46So this notion, I'm saying to you, whether you or the Republican majority have picked this as a priority, is besides the point.
00:46:54Clearly, this is what you all have decided to spend your time on in the opening months of the 119th Congress.
00:47:00Maybe that's what the people of, I guess, is what you're testifying to today, is the people of Wyoming expect that from you and they support that.
00:47:08I can certainly tell you that in Colorado, of all of the issues that are important to the residents of my state, Gulf of America renaming does not crack the top three, the top ten of issues that my constituents care about.
00:47:23You clearly feel differently.
00:47:24That's your prerogative.
00:47:25I'll yield back to balance my time.
00:47:27The gentleman yields back.
00:47:28Now I recognize the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Roy, for his time of questioning.
00:47:33Thank you, Chairman.
00:47:34I thank the gentle ladies for appearing before the committee.
00:47:38I assume the gentle lady from Wyoming loves America.
00:47:42Is that a fair statement?
00:47:43Yes, I do.
00:47:45Is it true that this Congress has passed a number of meaningful bills, for example, the Lake and Riley Act?
00:47:51Yes.
00:47:52Which has now been signed into law?
00:47:53Yes.
00:47:54To make sure we protect Americans from the dangers of wide open borders.
00:47:56Is that true?
00:47:57Yes, and the SAVE Act is another one.
00:47:58Have we also passed the SAVE Act, which they've not brought up for a vote yet, but which Democrats killed last Congress?
00:48:03Is that correct?
00:48:04Yes.
00:48:05In order to get through 60 votes in the Senate.
00:48:06It's also true that we passed a piece of legislation to carry out what was a bipartisan ask to deal with the injunction issue.
00:48:14Elena Kagan has done so, the former Solicitor General under a Democrat.
00:48:17We passed a bill that would have dealt with the issue of a single judge issuing nationwide injunction or temporary restraining orders.
00:48:23We passed it out of the House.
00:48:25That's correct.
00:48:26And then we'll see what happens in the Senate, but we know that there's some opposition in the Senate from our Democratic colleagues.
00:48:30Is that a fair statement?
00:48:31Yes.
00:48:32And it is true that the President of the United States has been issuing executive orders to defend our country to secure the border and that the rate has dropped from basically about 94% year-over-year, March-to-March, terms of apprehensions at the border?
00:48:43Yes.
00:48:44Is it true that we were able to do that without the supposed bipartisan bill last year that Democrats said we needed to pass an order to secure the border?
00:48:50That's correct.
00:48:51Are the American people that you represent, the people in Wyoming that you represent, are they happy with what is occurring with respect to a secure border and then also the executive orders that reopen American energy, as you described, for your home state, as I do for Texas?
00:49:04That's critical. Both two of the top issues.
00:49:06Right. So in terms of executing for the American people, would you say that this administration, combined with this Congress, given narrow majorities, we are collectively carrying out the wishes of the American people who gave Republicans control of the White House, House, and Senate in November?
00:49:21No question about it.
00:49:23Do we have much more to do?
00:49:24Yes, we do.
00:49:25The gentlelady would agree.
00:49:26And now we talk about this bill that's in front of us, the Gulf of America. It has been discussed, I think, on both sides of the aisle. Does the gentlelady agree that words matter?
00:49:34Yes, they do.
00:49:35Does the gentlelady agree that when you have something like the Gulf of America versus the Gulf of Mexico, that there's something about that?
00:49:41That it does, in fact, evoke imagery about what is, in fact, America, and that you've got waters that are central to certainly what we call the Gulf Coast, from Florida all the way to Texas. Is that fair?
00:49:54Yes.
00:49:55And then to the extent that words matter, that that recognition is something that would be important to Americans, generally.
00:50:02And is it not true that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle tend to focus on words a lot, for example, focusing on issues involving transgenderism, issues involving so-called birthing parents, pronouns in their social media?
00:50:19Is that a fair statement?
00:50:20Yes, it is.
00:50:21Is that done on purpose?
00:50:22Do you think the gentlelady believes that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who focus on these names, who focus on these phrases, that they do so on purpose?
00:50:29Very purposeful.
00:50:30Right. And that purpose is to advance an agenda. Would you agree?
00:50:33Yes.
00:50:34Right. And do you think that the agenda of advancing the Gulf of Mexico naming to Gulf of America is also an agenda by the President and Republicans?
00:50:42Yes.
00:50:43Do you believe that that agenda is in line with the people that you represent and pride in the United States of America?
00:50:48Very clearly so.
00:50:49Do you think the President shares that pride in the United States of America, and thus that led him to say that maybe we should take the time and the energy to name the Gulf of Mexico, which is surrounded by multiple states in our country,
00:50:59and its enormous American interests, that that would be something that would be important for pride in our country for the American people?
00:51:05Yes.
00:51:06Are there other words that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle tend to use and belabor in terms of trying to advance their agenda, whether it's something like birtherism or, for example, going after historic monuments?
00:51:18And we can have debates about the monuments and so forth. But going after and spending a great deal of time and energy and expense and cost changing monuments, changing mottos at the VA.
00:51:28Tearing them down.
00:51:29And tearing down statues. Is that correct?
00:51:31Yes.
00:51:32All at great cost to advance an agenda. Is that correct?
00:51:34Correct.
00:51:35And here we have the President of the United States wanting to extol the virtues of America.
00:51:39That's correct.
00:51:40I yield back.
00:51:41The gentleman yields back, now recognizes Mr. Jack for his time of questioning.
00:51:46Well, I want to echo Mr. Roy's line of questioning. I think that was very effective, talking about why words matter. But just to help me understand, Representative Hageman, I think, I guess the way I see this bill is that it really enables us to be efficient and bring into line what the administration has already done.
00:52:05So if you could just help me understand, there's two or three agencies that have already, is the National Geographic information space or something like that?
00:52:13There are already executive branch agencies that have codified Gulf of America into existence on that side.
00:52:19So help me understand, is this bill just bringing us into line with what the executive branch has already done within and throughout its administration?
00:52:26That's absolutely correct. And it is just following actions that have been taken by other presidents in the past. Very similar.
00:52:34Very similar.
00:52:35And could you just, for the committee, describe how this initiative would prioritize American interests and nationalism, as well as promote President Trump's America First agenda?
00:52:44Well, again, and it goes back to what I was indicating to Mr. Neguse, the Gulf of America is actually very important to the state of Wyoming and our energy producers.
00:52:53And that's why it would be a topic in my state, because they also believe very strongly in America and love America.
00:53:00I just want to give you some quick statistics of why the Gulf of America is so important to our country.
00:53:06The United States has been producing oil offshore in the federal Gulf of America waters since the 1940s.
00:53:12And production from the Gulf has been steadily increasing over the past 30 years.
00:53:17Production today is at nearly 1.8 million barrels per day.
00:53:21And we hope new projects will soon allow us to get over the 2 million mark, which is where we were prior to the pandemic.
00:53:28The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, found that the region contains an estimated technically recoverable resources in the range of 23.31 billion barrels of oil to 36.27 billion barrels of oil.
00:53:46A 2021 report commissioned by the National Ocean Industries Association found that the Gulf of America oil and gas industry supports an estimated 412,000 jobs throughout the country.
00:53:58Offshore oil and gas jobs have an average industry range of $69,650, which is 29% higher than the national average.
00:54:08I can go on and on and on about describing the importance of the Gulf of America.
00:54:14That's just looking at the energy side of it.
00:54:16If you look at the fisheries side of it, as was brought out by Mr. Scott, it's huge.
00:54:21Also, the recreation industry is so important to the United States.
00:54:25So there are many, many reasons why we would want to clarify and correct what's probably been a historical anomaly in terms of the name of this particular body of water.
00:54:35So I think it makes perfect sense to actually name this the Gulf of America and move on so that we can address some of the other things that are important to our constituents as well.
00:54:47Well, thank you very much.
00:54:48And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
00:54:52Thank you very much.
00:54:53The gentleman yields back.
00:54:56Unless somebody's come in that I'm unaware of.
00:54:58That concludes our questions on this.
00:55:00Thank the witnesses for being here today.
00:55:02And we will take a minute to get the next panel up.
00:56:12I now welcome our second panel, Representative Pflueger and Representative Thompson from the Committee on Homeland Security.
00:56:31Your full statement will be submitted for the record and we ask you summarize your statement in five minutes.
00:56:36Representative Pflueger, I welcome your testimony.
00:56:39Thank you, Chair Fox.
00:56:42And to the ranking member, we appreciate the opportunity to testify in front of you to discuss my bill, H.R. 881,
00:56:50The DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act.
00:56:55This is a bipartisan bill that has been worked on for several Congresses but has been negotiated within the subcommittee first and then to the full committee.
00:57:05It's no secret that the Chinese Communist Party represents one of the most significant existential threats to the United States and has demonstrated time and again that they are willing to use any tool at their disposal to jeopardize our national security.
00:57:17Originally marketed in 2004 as a mechanism to promote the Chinese language and facilitate cultural exchanges, Confucius Institutes were quickly discovered to be another extension of the CCP global influence apparatus.
00:57:30The CCP has used Confucius Institutes in their offshoots to conduct espionage, surveillance, intellectual property theft, transnational repression, influence academic institutions, and promote military civil fusion programs.
00:57:43At their peak, the United States hosted approximately 118 institutes primarily at colleges and universities.
00:57:51There are fewer than 14 active Confucius Institutes today, but the danger remains.
00:57:56And many of these programs have rebranded themselves within universities with the same mission as before, to subvert national security and expand CCP influence operations.
00:58:05HR 881 is simple, it prohibits DHS from providing funds to American universities that host a Confucius Institute or maintain relationships with Chinese entities of concern.
00:58:18This legislation will ensure that our students, our intellectual property, and our national security are all protected from the malign influence of the CCP.
00:58:25HR 881 passed through the Committee on Homeland Security on voice, and last year, this legislation passed 249 to 161 with overwhelming bipartisan support.
00:58:36I'd like to thank Chairman Green for prioritizing this legislation from ARCUP and all of my colleagues who have co-sponsored this bill.
00:58:43Again, Chairman Fox, thank you for the opportunity to testify and to bring 881 up for discussion. I yield back.
00:58:50Thank you, Mr. Thompson, you're recognized.
00:58:53Thank you very much.
00:58:55Chairwoman Fox, Ranking Member Scanlon, and members of the Committee on Rules, thank you for the opportunity to speak on HR 881, the DHS restrictions on Confucius Institute and Chinese Entities of Concern Act.
00:59:10Before I begin, I'd like to extend my deepest condolences to Ranking Member McGovern and his family on an unimaginable loss of his daughter, Molly.
00:59:20Molly McGovern was a bright light that was taken from us far too soon, and during this very difficult time, my thoughts and prayers are with the McGovern family and the entire Rules Committee, who are like an extended family.
00:59:35Now, turning to the bill before us today, HR 881, requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that institutions of higher education that have relationships with Confucius Institutes, Thousand Talent programs, or vaguely defined Chinese entities of concern, do not receive any funds from the Department of Homeland Security.
00:59:58This type of funding prohibition is on the Department of Homeland Security.
00:59:59This type of funding prohibition is on the lines of those found for the Department of Defense in the 2019 and 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, and the National Science Foundation in the Chips and Science Act of 2022, as it is intended to limit the potential for intellectual property theft, espionage, or curtailment of academic freedom that could happen in a
01:00:28when certain Chinese educational institutions partner with U.S. institutions of higher education.
01:00:35The Committee on Homeland Security has marked up a version of this bill.
01:00:39In the last two Congresses, in the last Congress, a different version passed along House largely along party lines.
01:00:47This Congress, the bill's sponsor, Representative Pflueger, has his Democratic counterpart on the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee.
01:00:56Representative Magaziner and our staff work together to find compromise language that addresses some of the Democratic concerns with the bill that passed the House last year.
01:01:08First, H.R. 881, as reported, now contains a waiver provision that allows the Secretary to permit DHS funding to go to U.S. institutions of higher education.
01:01:20It maintains a relationship with the Confucius Institute Thousand Talent Program or Chinese entity of concern if the relationship is either in the national security interests of the U.S.
01:01:35or has no bearing on the national security interests of U.S. or allies.
01:01:40Second, the bill now includes a provision that requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide outreach and, upon request,
01:01:49technical assistance to U.S. institutions of higher education relating to compliance with the bill.
01:01:56The technical assistance provision should help ensure that a U.S. college or university has the information it needs to know whether its relationship with Chinese colleges or universities may trigger the funding prohibition in the bill.
01:02:12I appreciate Representative Pflueger's willingness to work with us on improving the bill, and I yield back.
01:02:19Thank you, Mr. Thompson.
01:02:22I do have a question or two, but I'm going to defer my questioning right now.
01:02:28I do want to give credit where credit's due, and that is to Joe Wilson for having brought this issue up a long, long time ago and raise people's awareness of it.
01:02:40Mr. Griffith, I recognize you for any questions.
01:02:44Thank you, Madam Chair.
01:02:49It is a concern.
01:02:51Mr. Pflueger, is this not part of what China's doing worldwide to try to gain influence, whether it be within our country or other countries as well?
01:03:01Similar things to this?
01:03:03Is this a pattern we're seeing from the Chinese to try to manipulate opinions?
01:03:08Absolutely.
01:03:09And you look at the Belt and Road Initiative, and this is similar to that.
01:03:13You look into the 2017 intelligence gathering law that the Chinese Communist Party passed, and they really, their soft approach, if you want to call it that, non-kinetic approach, it is part of a larger worldwide scheme to gain influence and really to embed themselves in our universities for many purposes that I think this bill addresses.
01:03:34And are you saying we just need to make sure we put a stop to this once and for all and forever?
01:03:40That is absolutely right.
01:03:42This addresses a much-needed vulnerability that we have seen in our universities, which is why you've seen it go from 118 to less than 15.
01:03:49I really appreciate your efforts, and I yield back, Madam Chair.
01:03:54Ms. Scanlon, you're recognized.
01:03:59Mr. Langworthy, you're recognized.
01:04:04I was investigating this very topic.
01:04:21The first one in the country that was unveiled was in my district at Elford University.
01:04:26And here was a very small private university who happened to receive DOD grant funding to do important research in the area of ceramics and materials, was hosting this Confucius Center right there, a mere matter of yards from where this research was committed.
01:04:47This is a backdoor opportunity.
01:04:48This is a backdoor opportunity.
01:04:49These organizations should not be welcome on U.S. campuses, and we need to continue to take efforts.
01:04:56So, Mr. Pflueger, thank you for your leadership here, and I yield back my time.
01:05:02Mr. Scott, you're recognized.
01:05:04Mr. Norman, you're recognized.
01:05:10Thank you for putting this up, Congressman Pflueger.
01:05:15Question.
01:05:16One of the schools in South Carolina, the University of South Carolina, had a Confucius Institute.
01:05:24My alma mater, Presbyterian, did as well.
01:05:27Is there any safeguards that y'all have in here that stop them from really continuing to have students who come in under one guise, change the major?
01:05:42Is there any safeguards on that?
01:05:47When it comes to the waivers that this bill now includes, this is something that the Director of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Homeland Security, looks at with how strong each university is.
01:06:02If you're speaking to, you know, individual students, what I think we have seen is a lot of these students actually are being, they don't even know that they're being brought into this program.
01:06:16They're being used by whoever's running the Confucius Institute, and they'll change their name.
01:06:21That's why we have this entity of concern.
01:06:23And they'll just use this rotating, name-changing game, but they're still there for the malign purposes.
01:06:29So I think I can speak less to the individual student and what they're doing on their major and more to the entities that the Chinese Communist Party is using,
01:06:38whether it be for intellectual property theft or whether it be to place pressure upon a university,
01:06:46such as some that you may represent, to not produce certain reports or certain research or certain things that could make the CCP look bad.
01:06:56And then that's where they get into the game of actually pressuring their own citizens who are studying abroad.
01:07:03I hope that answers your question.
01:07:07Well, what they're doing with buying land in South Carolina and all over the country is putting it in different LLCs with Americans.
01:07:15In South Carolina, they bought a part that was being made for the military under the guise of an American businessman hiring the people away.
01:07:26It was the CCP.
01:07:27And so it's a serious, and I don't know whether universities are aware of that, of what they're doing.
01:07:34Particularly, you're right, students don't understand it.
01:07:37But when they go back to China, they do.
01:07:39So anyway, if there's any safeguard in that, I think it would make them get the job done,
01:07:44or it would help verify what they're seemingly trying to stop.
01:07:49I yield back.
01:07:52Mr. Jack, you're recognized.
01:07:54Thank you very much.
01:07:55And I also want to echo my colleagues' comments on your leadership, Mr. Pflueger.
01:08:00And you being before us today and the issue at hand reminds me, I was hoping you could refresh my memory,
01:08:05in 2020, I believe, the Chinese consulate in Houston had to close down because of tons of threats to not just,
01:08:14as you were saying, some of our intellectual property, some of our energy research.
01:08:18Any thoughts and comments on that?
01:08:22Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up.
01:08:26This is the way that they like to do business.
01:08:29They take a foothold, say at the consulate or at a university, and they have this money that's coming in.
01:08:39And specifically at the universities now, where I'm talking about the entities that we're concerned about.
01:08:46And they use that money to hold at risk any number of things to further their own interest.
01:08:55And in the case of the consulate, we know that they had been stealing a variety of documents, a variety of sensitive types of information,
01:09:05and then basically holding at risk, holding hostage those that wanted to do the right thing or not succumb to that pressure.
01:09:14So this bill specifically addresses it at universities, where we would stop the money flow.
01:09:20Not so much at a consulate, but it's a very similar concept.
01:09:22That just reminded me of the issue we faced five years ago.
01:09:24And the only other comments I make, because I know how close you are to, and your experience to Nellis Air Force Base,
01:09:31but I understand of the schools that this impacts, some of which are very close to military installations, including Nellis.
01:09:38So any closing thoughts from you on that?
01:09:40Similar to Mr. Norman's question, that is a concern.
01:09:44The CFIUS process that this does not necessarily address, this bill doesn't go into the CFIUS process, but it is a concern.
01:09:51And these universities that have a proximity close to a Nellis Air Force Base or close to, quite frankly, any sort of national security,
01:10:02whether it be a DOD or otherwise, is obviously very concerning.
01:10:07And the proximity we have seen all across the United States be very concerning.
01:10:12This specifically stops the money from going to universities, regardless of their proximity.
01:10:17So I want to make that clear, that it doesn't draw a line there.
01:10:20I think we can all sit here and agree and go, yeah, if the University of Nevada at Las Vegas has a, which I don't think is true,
01:10:27but if they were to have an entity that we're talking about, the proximity to Nellis Air Force Base would be extremely concerning.
01:10:32Without question. With that, Madam Chair, I yield back.
01:10:35Thank you, Mr. Jack.
01:10:36Ms. Leisure Fernandes, you're recognized.
01:10:39Hello there.
01:10:40Thank you so much for coming.
01:10:41Thank you so much for being here.
01:10:43It's wonderful to see both of you.
01:10:45So I understand your concern about the Chinese having access that they shouldn't, right?
01:10:53That's your big concern, that we want to be careful about that.
01:10:57Because we agree that the Chinese are not our friends, right?
01:11:01How would you describe the Chinese?
01:11:04I mean, not the Chinese, the Chinese Communist Party and the state.
01:11:11That will require a lot of time to answer that fully.
01:11:18But I'll summarize it by saying that I believe we are in a state of a relationship that has exceeded friends, has exceeded competitors, and has moved into the gray space, the gray zone of trying to undermine, Chinese Communist Party trying to undermine American interest domestically and all across the world.
01:11:47Right.
01:11:48So the Chinese Communist Party is trying to undermine the United States.
01:11:52So if that is what they are trying to do, we should do whatever we can to not facilitate that.
01:11:59Correct?
01:12:00That's absolutely right.
01:12:01And so it would seem to me that we would also want to prevent the Chinese from getting control of some of our key resources.
01:12:13Would you agree?
01:12:14I think that the resource that I'm talking about here specifically today is the resource of education and the university system.
01:12:24Yeah.
01:12:25But do you think that key resources could also include where minerals?
01:12:30Sure.
01:12:31I think it's a good conversation.
01:12:32I'm sorry that my bill does not cover that aspect.
01:12:35It has more to do with the resource of education.
01:12:37But do you think that we should try to make sure that the Chinese don't get their hands on rare minerals that might be within the United States?
01:12:46I think that is a very worthwhile goal in an appropriate committee, yes.
01:12:53That we would not want them getting a hold of other resources like rare earth, copper, silver, key things that we need to compete in the world.
01:13:03Correct?
01:13:04I don't disagree.
01:13:05I would just point out that one of the things that I have tried to raise over and over again is in the committee of jurisdiction that when we do mining laws that allow mining companies to take American resources without paying the American public a dime for those resources,
01:13:31that we should prevent the Chinese from being able to do that.
01:13:38And unfortunately, there are a couple of Republicans who have been willing to sign on to that effort, but we haven't been able to get Republicans to say,
01:13:46listen, we're not going to change the mining laws.
01:13:49We're going to continue to allow people to mine our resources for free, but we should at the very least say no to people like China and Russia and Iran,
01:14:00that their companies, their subsidiaries should not be able to take those resources.
01:14:07I'm sorry that I did not come prepared to have that conversation with the scope of this bill.
01:14:13However, I would love to have that conversation with you.
01:14:15I will have that conversation with you afterwards.
01:14:17Because I think it's the concept of not giving away to our not a friend, not a competitor, not yet an enemy, but definitely a country of major concern.
01:14:30That we should not be giving away resources like lithium and other things to such a country.
01:14:38And it should be an easy fix that you would think would be bipartisan.
01:14:41With that, I yield back, Madam Chair.
01:14:45Thank you very much, Ms. Leisure-Fernandez.
01:14:48I thank the witnesses for being here today and seeing no further questions.
01:14:56And you are excused.
01:14:59This closes the hearing portion of our meeting.
01:15:06The chair will be in receipt of a motion from the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Scott.
01:15:12Madam Chair, I move the committee grant H.R. 276, the Gulf of America Act, a closed rule.
01:15:20The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
01:15:23The rule provides that the amendment and the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources
01:15:28is now printed in the bill, shall be considered as adopted, and the bill as amended shall be considered as read.
01:15:33The rule waives all points of order against provisions in the bill as amended.
01:15:37The rule provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member
01:15:42of the Committee on Natural Resources or their respective designees.
01:15:45The rule provides one motion to recommit.
01:15:47The rule further provides for consideration of H.R. 881, the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes
01:15:53and Chinese Entities of Concerns Act under a closed rule.
01:15:57The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
01:16:00The rule provides that in lieu of the amendment and the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Homeland Security
01:16:04now printed in the bill, an amendment and the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 119-2
01:16:11shall be considered as adopted and the bill as amended shall be considered as read.
01:16:15The rule waives all points of order against provisions and the bill as amended.
01:16:19The rule provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security
01:16:30or their respective designees.
01:16:31Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit.
01:16:33Thank you, Mr. Scott.
01:16:40You've now heard the motion.
01:16:42Any discussion or amendment to the rule?
01:16:46Ms. Ledger-Fernandez.
01:16:48Madam Chair, I have an amendment to the rule.
01:16:50I move to add the following two new sections to the rule which would allow the House of Representatives to vote to end President Trump's reckless terror.
01:16:58First, a new section stating that House Resolution 211 is amended by striking Section 4.
01:17:03This amendment shall take effect as of including the adoption of House Resolution 211.
01:17:08Second, a new section stating that House Resolution 313 is amended by striking Section 2.
01:17:12This amendment shall take effect as of including the adoption of the House Resolution 313.
01:17:17As we have been going about holding our town halls and having discussions with people across our district, Americans are very upset with the tariffs and why not?
01:17:29Those tariffs have caused price increases.
01:17:32They are causing short-term supply chains.
01:17:34Madam Chairman, point of order.
01:17:36Yes, sir.
01:17:37How is this germane to the bill that we're voting on?
01:17:42I've just gotten the amendment in front of me.
01:17:45The tariffs have nothing to do with what we're considering today.
01:17:49It's not germane.
01:17:51I mean, it's out of order.
01:17:54Well, give us just a second.
01:17:58Madam, I would note that if they don't want to vote on it, they can vote down the amendment.
01:18:05But the Chair correctly ruled on this question last week, so I'll simply add that this week's rule should cover this matter as well as something as disparate as the Gulf of Mexico and Chinese fights.
01:18:14as the Gulf of Mexico and Chinese fights.
01:18:18.
01:18:21.
01:18:22.
01:18:23.
01:18:54The gentleman makes a point of order that the amendment is not germane.
01:19:20The amendment is not germane, so the point of order is sustained.
01:19:24Madam Chair, I appeal the ruling of the chair and request a recorded vote.
01:19:31The gentleman appeals the ruling of the chair and will...
01:19:38Madam Chair, I make a motion to table the appeal.
01:19:43The gentleman makes a motion to table the appeal.
01:19:47We will vote on the motion from the gentleman on tabling the appeal of the ruling of the chair.
01:19:57The clerk will call the roll.
01:19:59Mrs. Fishbach.
01:20:00Yes.
01:20:01Mrs. Fishbach, yes.
01:20:02Mr. Norman.
01:20:02Yes.
01:20:03Mr. Norman, yes.
01:20:04Mr. Roy.
01:20:04Yes.
01:20:05Mr. Roy, yes.
01:20:05Mrs. Houchen.
01:20:06Yes.
01:20:07Mrs. Houchen, yes.
01:20:07Mr. Langworthy.
01:20:08Yes.
01:20:09Mr. Langworthy, yes.
01:20:10Mr. Scott.
01:20:11Yes.
01:20:12Mr. Scott, yes.
01:20:13Mr. Griffith.
01:20:14Yes.
01:20:14Mr. Griffith, yes.
01:20:15Mr. Jack.
01:20:16Yes.
01:20:16Mr. Jack, yes.
01:20:18Mr. McGovern.
01:20:19Ms. Scanlon.
01:20:20No.
01:20:21Ms. Scanlon, no.
01:20:22Mr. Ngoose.
01:20:23Ms. Ledger-Fernandez.
01:20:25Yes.
01:20:25No.
01:20:26No, sorry.
01:20:26Ms. Ledger-Fernandez, no.
01:20:28Madam Chair?
01:20:29Yes.
01:20:30Madam Chair, yes.
01:20:34The clerk will report the tally.
01:20:36Nine yays, two nays.
01:20:39The motion to table the appeal of the chair, the ruling of the chair relative to the germaneness
01:20:51of the amendment is the upheld.
01:20:54Are there, is there any further discussion on the, um, amendment, on the, um, rule?
01:21:05Madam Chair.
01:21:07Yes, ma'am.
01:21:08Madam Chair, I have an amendment to the rule.
01:21:09Since the committee is unwilling to even vote on whether they should vote on having tariffs,
01:21:16I have, I move the committee to additionally provide, as an amendment to the rule, for consideration
01:21:21of a resolution to be introduced by myself, debatable for one hour, equally divided by
01:21:25the chair and the ranking member of the committee on rules, the text of the resolution is as
01:21:30followed.
01:21:31Resolved, that House Resolution 2-11 is amended by striking Section 4, this amendment shall
01:21:36take effect as of including the adoption of House Resolution 2-11.
01:21:40Section 2, House Resolution 3-13 is amended by striking Section 2, this amendment shall
01:21:45take effect as of including the adoption of House Resolution 3-13.
01:21:48You are clearly determined to avoid a vote on the tariffs, even though it is our constitutional
01:21:56duty to require that, and these tariffs are tanking our economy, and the public wants us
01:22:02to take action.
01:22:03Prices are about to skyrocket.
01:22:05I believe that my previous amendment was germane, but under your logic, it fell outside the scope
01:22:12of the rule because it did not provide for consideration of a measure like the other sections of the
01:22:17rule did.
01:22:18I've solved that problem and look forward to having a vote on this motion.
01:22:23And once again, if you don't agree with the motion, you can vote against it.
01:22:28Madam Chair, do you have the language for H.R. 211?
01:22:31Yes.
01:22:34How H.R.
01:22:36No, we'd like to have the language of the amendment.
01:22:39Yeah, it's publicly available, and that is the section that said...
01:22:43A new section saying that House Resolution 2-11 is amended.
01:22:47H.R. 211 is equal access to contraception for veterans.
01:22:52The rule.
01:22:53Oh.
01:22:54The rule.
01:22:55The rule.
01:22:55The rule.
01:22:55The rule.
01:22:55The rule.
01:22:56The rule for H.R. 211.
01:22:57And that might be the one where you actually stop the clock, and so that Congress has said
01:23:03time does not move with regards to voting on the resolution on the tariffs.
01:23:09I'm just suggesting that we are not in a time machine, but that we should indeed allow the
01:23:15clock to actually continue to march through time, and that we should be allowed to vote
01:23:25on the resolution with regards to the tariffs.
01:23:27You've heard the amendment by the gentlelady from New Mexico.
01:23:36All those in favor say aye.
01:23:38Aye.
01:23:39Aye.
01:23:40All those opposed, no.
01:23:41No.
01:23:41No.
01:23:42In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it.
01:23:45The amendment is not agreed to.
01:23:47A recorded vote, Madam Chair.
01:23:47The gentleman has asked for a recorded vote.
01:23:51The clerk will call the roll.
01:23:53Mrs. Fishbach.
01:23:53No.
01:23:54Mrs. Fishbach, no.
01:23:55Mr. Norman.
01:23:55No.
01:23:56Mr. Norman, no.
01:23:57Mr. Roy.
01:23:58No.
01:23:58Mr. Roy, no.
01:23:59Mrs. Houchen.
01:24:00No.
01:24:00Mrs. Houchen, no.
01:24:01Mr. Langworthy.
01:24:02No.
01:24:02Mr. Langworthy, no.
01:24:03Mr. Scott.
01:24:04No.
01:24:05Mr. Scott, no.
01:24:06Mr. Griffith.
01:24:07No.
01:24:07Mr. Griffith, no.
01:24:08Mr. Jack.
01:24:09No.
01:24:10Mr. Jack, no.
01:24:11Mr. McGovern.
01:24:13Ms. Scanlon.
01:24:14Aye.
01:24:15Ms. Scanlon, aye.
01:24:16Mr. Ngoose.
01:24:16Ms. Ledger-Fernandez.
01:24:19Aye.
01:24:19Ms. Ledger-Fernandez, aye.
01:24:21Madam Chair.
01:24:22No.
01:24:23Madam Chair, no.
01:24:25The clerk will report the tally.
01:24:28Two yays, nine nays.
01:24:30The amendment is not, the noes have it, the amendment is not agreed to.
01:24:36Are there further, is there further discussion or amendment to the rule?
01:24:42Hearing none.
01:24:44Hearing no further discussion.
01:24:46The question is on the motion from the gentleman from Georgia.
01:24:49All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
01:24:52Aye.
01:24:53Those opposed, say no.
01:24:54No.
01:24:55In the opinion, Chair, the ayes have it.
01:24:57The motion is agreed to.
01:24:59Ms. Scanlon requests a recorded vote.
01:25:02The clerk will call the roll.
01:25:04Mrs. Fishbach.
01:25:05Yes.
01:25:05Mrs. Fishbach, yes.
01:25:06Mr. Norman.
01:25:07Yes.
01:25:07Mr. Norman, yes.
01:25:08Mr. Roy.
01:25:09Aye.
01:25:10Mr. Roy, yes.
01:25:11Mrs. Houchen.
01:25:12Aye.
01:25:12Mrs. Houchen, yes.
01:25:13Mr. Langworthy.
01:25:14Aye.
01:25:15Mr. Langworthy, yes.
01:25:16Mr. Scott.
01:25:17Yes.
01:25:17Mr. Scott, yes.
01:25:18Mr. Griffith.
01:25:19Yes.
01:25:20Mr. Griffith, yes.
01:25:21Mr. Jack.
01:25:22Yes.
01:25:22Mr. Jack, yes.
01:25:23Mr. McGovern.
01:25:25Ms. Scanlon.
01:25:26No.
01:25:26Ms. Scanlon, no.
01:25:27Mr. Nguse.
01:25:28Ms. Ledger-Fernandez.
01:25:30No.
01:25:31Ms. Ledger-Fernandez, no.
01:25:32Madam Chair.
01:25:33Aye.
01:25:33Madam Chair, yes.
01:25:38The clerk will report the tally.
01:25:40Nine yays, two nays.
01:25:42The ayes have it.
01:25:43The motion to report is agreed to.
01:25:46Accordingly, the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Scott, will be managing this rule for the majority.
01:25:52And Ms. Scanlon will manage the rule for the minority.
01:25:57Madam Chair, I missed the very beginning of the meeting and I just wanted to express my
01:26:02continued prayers and thoughts for Mr. McGovern, noting his absence and why he's absent and
01:26:07the loss of Molly and continue to keep in our prayers.
01:26:12Thank you, Mr. Roy.
01:26:14And I think Mr. Roy speaks for all of us on our side of the aisle.
01:26:20And we will continue to pray for the McGovern family.
01:26:25Without objection, the committee is adjourned.