[Pages H955-H960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





      PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.J. RES. 42, PROVIDING FOR 
 CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF 
    ENERGY RELATING TO ``ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM FOR APPLIANCE 
   STANDARDS: CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, LABELING REQUIREMENTS, AND 
  ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS FOR CERTAIN CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL 
EQUIPMENT''; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.J. RES. 61, PROVIDING FOR 
 CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL 
    PROTECTION AGENCY RELATING TO ``NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR 
 HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS: RUBBER TIRE MANUFACTURING''; AND PROVIDING 
    FOR CONSIDERATION OF S.J. RES. 11, PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL 
    DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY 
     MANAGEMENT RELATING TO ``PROTECTION OF MARINE ARCHAEOLOGICAL 
                              RESOURCES''

  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, 
I call up House Resolution 177 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 177

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider in the House the joint resolution (H.J. 
     Res. 42) providing for congressional disapproval under 
     chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule 
     submitted by the Department of Energy relating to ``Energy 
     Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Certification 
     Requirements, Labeling Requirements, and Enforcement 
     Provisions for Certain Consumer Products and Commercial 
     Equipment''. All points of order against consideration of the 
     joint resolution are waived. The joint resolution shall be 
     considered as read. All points of order against provisions in 
     the joint resolution are waived. The previous question shall 
     be considered as ordered on the joint resolution and on any 
     amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion 
     except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled 
     by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce or their respective designees; and (2) 
     one motion to recommit.
       Sec. 2.  Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in 
     order to consider in the House the joint resolution (H.J. 
     Res. 61) providing for congressional disapproval under 
     chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule 
     submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to 
     ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: 
     Rubber Tire Manufacturing''. All points of order against 
     consideration of the joint resolution are waived. The joint 
     resolution shall be considered as read. All points of order 
     against provisions in the joint resolution are waived. The 
     previous question shall be considered as ordered on the joint 
     resolution and on any amendment thereto to final passage 
     without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate 
     equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce or 
     their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
       Sec. 3.  Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in 
     order to consider in the House the joint resolution (S.J. 
     Res. 11) providing for congressional disapproval under 
     chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule 
     submitted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management relating 
     to ``Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources''. All 
     points of order against consideration of the joint resolution 
     are waived. The joint resolution shall be considered as read. 
     All points of order against provisions in the joint 
     resolution are waived. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the joint resolution and on any 
     amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion 
     except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled 
     by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
     Natural Resources or their respective designees; and (2) one 
     motion to commit.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. DesJarlais). The gentleman from New York 
is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), 
pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During 
consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose 
of debate only.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1215

  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 177 provides for consideration of two 
measures, H.J. Res. 42 and H.J. Res. 61. The rule provides for both 
bills to be considered under closed rules, with 1 hour of debate each, 
equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce or their designees and 
provides for one motion to recommit.
  Additionally, the rule provides for consideration of S.J. Res. 11 
under a closed rule, with 1 hour of debate, equally divided and 
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Natural Resources or their designees and provides for one motion to 
recommit.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and in support of the 
underlying legislation.
  The rule before us provides an opportunity for Congress to reverse 
the last-minute attempts at regulatory overreach by the former Biden-
Harris administration.
  The rule includes consideration of H.J. Res. 42 to provide for 
congressional disapproval of an eleventh hour Biden Department of 
Energy rule relating to ``Energy Conservation Program For Appliance 
Standards: Certification Requirements, Labeling Requirements, and 
Enforcement Provisions for Certain Consumer Products and Commercial 
Equipment.''
  This rule was rushed out by the Biden administration as they worked 
overtime in their final days to get a fresh round of burdensome product 
mandates out the door. The rule in question is just one example of the 
former administration's war on products that the American people used 
to take for granted: affordable, reliable home appliances.
  In an effort to appease a woke mob, the Biden DOE foisted burdensome 
regulations atop a certification and efficiency standard process that 
was already drastically broken.
  The rule in question requires additional certification, additional 
labeling, and for manufacturers to meet additional reporting 
requirements.
  By the Department of Energy's own estimates, this one rule will 
increase annual costs for manufacturers by $213,000 and result in 
thousands of hours spent on additional paperwork to meet the new 
requirements.
  Now, make no mistake, with every new standard, rule, prohibition, and 
restrictions on manufacturers, the American people are left with fewer 
options that are more expensive and too often perform worse than 
previous models.
  In the last 4 years alone, the Biden administration issued 31 
regulations aimed at residential and commercial appliances and 
equipment with a total cost to industry, and ultimately to the 
consumer, of at least $60 billion.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people are fed up with the micromanaging 
regulatory agenda of the previous administration. Their voices were 
heard very loudly on election day and President Trump has already 
delivered on his promise to bring regulatory relief to Americans, 
pausing implementation of seven of the Biden administration's 
restrictive mandates on home appliances in an effort to undo the 
previous administration's burdensome policies that have driven up 
costs, reduced choice, and diminished the quality of Americans' home 
appliances.
  Real financial pain is felt by Americans when rules like this one 
take effect, and it falls to Congress to ensure that the Department of 
Energy can course correct away from these anticonsumer and anti-choice 
requirements.
  In that spirit, the rule also provides for consideration of H.J. Res. 
61, providing for congressional disapproval of the rules submitted by 
the Biden EPA relating to the ``National Emission Standards for 
Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing.''
  Section 112 of the Clean Air Act mandates emission controls for 
sources of 187 hazardous pollutants and the EPA is expected to 
establish technology-based emission standards for sources of these 
pollutants, as well as specify categories of sources subject to 
emission standards.
  However, surprising to no one, the Biden administration's EPA, at the 
behest of a radical environmental group,

[[Page H956]]

has disregarded a technology-based, fact-based approach, and completely 
weaponized this process against the industry.
  In a flurry of regulatory activity in their final hours in power, the 
Biden EPA finalized a rule to impose unnecessary new regulations on our 
tire manufacturing industry, all with zero environmental benefit.
  This is the legacy of not just the Biden administration, but also the 
Obama administration nearly a decade earlier, a weaponized EPA working 
at the behest of radical environmental groups to roll out regulation 
after regulation that drives up cost, kills jobs, and shutters domestic 
manufacturers all in the zealous pursuit of the left's Green New Deal 
agenda.
  If the EPA's final rule is allowed to survive, we will see tire 
manufacturers sink millions of dollars into new compliance costs, spend 
thousands of additional hours in meeting requirements of this rule, and 
struggle to keep manufacturing here in the United States.
  This rule shows us an agency that moved hastily to comply with 
frivolous lawsuits, using questionable data in the process. For 
decades, the left has used a sue-and-settle strategy to force the EPA 
to push for a more aggressive, more onerous, and less affordable set of 
standards on American job creators, American workers, and American 
families.
  As a Representative of western New York and the Southern Tier, many 
of my constituents were recently laid off after a tire manufacturing 
facility announced its closure and decision to move overseas, where 
CO<inf>2</inf> emissions will almost certainly be higher and the 
requirements around environmental stewardship are far less stringent.
  This is the reality that awaits America's domestic manufacturing base 
if we allow our regulatory agencies to cater to the radical left and 
asinine Green New Deal fantasies as they are doing with this rule. H.J. 
Res. 61 will ensure Congress, through the Congressional Review Act, can 
put a stop to these unnecessary new costs that threaten the viability 
of American manufacturing.

  Finally, the rule before us provides for consideration of S.J. Res. 
11, which provides for congressional disapproval of a rule submitted by 
the former Biden administration relating to ``Protection of Marine 
Archaeological Resources.''
  Mr. Speaker, despite the innocuous name, the rule itself could not be 
more ridiculous. Federal agencies have spent hundreds of millions of 
taxpayer dollars surveying the seabed of the Gulf of America and have 
identified to date approximately 4,000 shipwrecks and other sites. Yet 
this expensive and time-consuming work is apparently not enough.
  Under this rule, oil and gas operators seeking to drill offshore in 
the resource-rich Gulf of America, are now required to do their own 
additional surveying to ``better protect shipwrecks and other cultural 
resources on the seabed.''
  It is lost on no one that this highly redundant, unnecessary 
regulation is nothing more than a last-ditch discriminatory action by 
the Biden administration aimed right at our Nation's oil and gas 
industry.
  The mandate will force companies to spend untold resources scouring 
the seabed for potential shipwrecks, even without any previous 
indication that such sites may exist.
  To be clear, there is already a regulatory framework to mandate a 
report on potential sites on the seabed when the regional director of 
the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has ``reason to believe'' that an 
archeological site may exist.
  Let's stop pretending that this rule is anything more than a 
continued effort to bury companies in reporting, run up costs, eat away 
their time, and move the goalposts for American energy producers.
  Time and again, we have seen these tactics used by Democratic 
administrations and Democrat-run States when it comes time for our oil 
and gas producers to get to business. In my own State of New York, the 
few oil and gas producers hanging on in a State that has made it very 
clear that they are unwelcome, face a deluge of unnecessary and 
redundant compliance costs like these meant to do one thing: put them 
out of business.
  It is meant to shutter an industry, kill jobs, and leave our Nation 
more reliant than ever on foreign energy sources. That is what will 
come from the left's overzealous war on oil and gas production. We 
simply cannot allow these asinine rules and regulations to go forward 
at the Federal level.
  S.J. Res. 11 will ensure that Congress, in lockstep with President 
Trump and his administration, can break down the barriers set up in the 
Biden years and bring down costs for everyday Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Langworthy) for the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I will try to clarify for the American people, those who 
may be tuning in, certainly the individuals who have joined us in the 
gallery today, what this debate is all about.
  Just by way of context, let's consider what is happening in the world 
today. I don't know if my colleague from New York has checked his 
phone, but the stock market is plummeting. The 401(k)'s of residents in 
New York and residents in Colorado are wiped out. The massive tariffs 
that the President of the United States applied to our neighbors at 
midnight we know will increase the price of everything: groceries, 
fuel, energy, you name it.
  There were mass layoffs of Federal workers, mass purges of veterans 
at different Federal agencies, mass terminations of Forest Service 
employees in my district working on wildfire mitigation, scientists at 
NOAA, individuals doing cancer research, all of that is happening as we 
speak. Yet, here we are in this august body debating what? Labeling 
requirements for appliances.
  That is what the Republicans have decided to spend today debating, 
labeling requirements for pool heaters. I don't know if the gentleman 
from New York has a pool. I don't have a pool. I don't understand why 
we are wasting time in the House of Representatives debating regulatory 
requirements for pool heaters or labeling requirements for coolers and 
air-conditioners. Seriously.
  The stock market is crashing, and this is how House Republicans 
choose to spend their time. Government funding is about to dry out 10 
days from now and we want to spend our time talking about pool heaters.
  Give me a break, Mr. Speaker. Let's get serious. This isn't what the 
people of the United States elected us to do. I implore my Republican 
colleagues to come to the table, work with us in good faith, and stand 
up to the Trump administration that is dismantling Federal agencies in 
your own districts.

  Social Security offices are being shut down. There are constituents 
who can't get services from the Federal Government because this 
President has decided to dismantle these agencies piece by piece.
  It is time to get our priorities right, Mr. Speaker. I can assure you 
that the priorities that the House Republicans are pursuing today and 
have been pursuing for the better part of the last 2\1/2\ months are 
grossly out of step with the values of the American people.
  It is why I would hope every Member of this body would oppose the 
rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I remind my Democratic colleague that the rule we are 
debating today provides for consideration of H.J. Res. 42 regarding a 
Department of Energy appliance rule, H.J. Res. 61 regarding an EPA 
National Emission Standards rule on rubber tire manufacturing, and S.J. 
Res. 11 regarding the EPA's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management rules 
requiring burdensome archaeological reports on energy producers.
  There will be ample opportunities to debate, amend, and provide 
suggestions when the appropriate authorizing committees move forward 
when we begin our work on spending reforms in a budget reconciliation 
package. We should focus on the legislation before us this week.
  I encourage my colleagues to engage in regular order as our 
authorizing

[[Page H957]]

committees begin to work on our reconciliation and not prejudge their 
outcomes and make baseless assumptions.

                              {time}  1230

  My colleagues across the aisle have mentioned how they find these 
measures not worthy of our time. This certainly isn't the first time 
they have mocked House Republican efforts to curb regulations on 
appliances, from heating systems to dishwashers, refrigerators, and 
freezers.
  If this were such an unserious endeavor as my colleagues across the 
aisle claim, then why did the administration they supported for 4 years 
issue at least 31 regulations covering a vast array of different 
appliances and other products out of the DOE and the EPA? Is $60 
billion foisted on to our Nation's manufacturers and consumers in new 
regulatory and compliance costs not serious enough for Congress to 
thoroughly scrutinize?
  Democrats seem to be confused about what it is that the American 
people voted for in November, and one of those items was lowering day-
to-day costs that are hurting workers and families. Reversing these 
regulations is something that House Republicans are deeply committed to 
doing, and we are working with the administration to actually get this 
done.
  I would also recommend that my colleagues across the aisle speak with 
the fellow Democrats in their Caucus about how harmful these 
regulations are and why CRAs to reverse Biden's anti-energy and 
economically harmful regulations are so important.
  Last Congress, Democrats voted with Republicans to pass at least five 
measures to halt Biden administration green energy regulations, 
including the following:
  A CRA to halt the Biden definition of the Waters of the United 
States. Nine Democrats voted ``yes.''
  A CRA to halt draconian emissions standards on heavy-duty vehicles. 
Four Democrats voted ``yes.''
  A CRA to halt draconian emission standards on light-and medium-duty 
vehicles. Eight Democrats voted ``yes.''
  In this Congress, a whopping 11 Democrats voted just last week in 
support of a CRA on the Biden administration's rule on conservation 
standards for consumer gas-fired instantaneous water heaters, one of 
those appliance-related regulations that my colleagues here today claim 
is not worth our time in the House, but their colleagues voted ``yes.''
  Finally, six Democrats voted ``yes'' on last week's CRA to halt the 
Biden-era implementation of a natural gas tax that would harm our 
Nation's energy producers and consumers.
  The Democratic Party is busy pulling their hair out over President 
Trump, Elon Musk, DOGE, whatever else is their outrage of the day. 
However, they have lost sight of the kitchen-table issues affecting 
everyday Americans. They ignore the rising costs hurting workers and 
families in order to cater to their own extreme leftwing base. It is so 
bad that even Members in their own Caucus are breaking ranks to vote 
for commonsense reforms such as the rolling back of these radical anti-
energy agenda items that the Biden administration foisted upon us in 
the eleventh hour of their administration.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it feels like I am living in the twilight zone again. I 
understand the gentleman from New York very much wants to spend a half 
hour debating labeling requirements for pool heaters. I get it. We all 
get it. It is important to you. It is not important to me and not 
important to the people who I represent. In the 5 minutes that you just 
spent describing the reasons for this bill in your view, the stock 
market has continued to go down. More corporations have announced that 
they will be increasing prices later this week because of President 
Trump's tariffs. I don't understand how you believe that that is 
lowering costs.
  Again, I would implore my colleagues, let's get serious. There are 
plenty of substantive challenges facing this country that merit and 
warrant the attention of lawmakers here in Washington. For the record, 
House Democrats are not scared to debate any single one of them.
  Apparently, reports this morning indicate that in the Republican 
Conference meeting, a member of Republican leadership stood up in the 
meeting and supposedly told his Conference a simple instruction: Not a 
single one of you should attend or participate in a townhall.
  Why? It is because they are scared of their own constituents, Mr. 
Speaker. They understand that if they hold a townhall with their 
community, they will hear outrage from everyday American citizens who 
are pissed off, who are angry that the prices for everything are going 
up because of this reckless Trump administration's policies.
  Again, you want to spend a half hour, an hour, 8 hours debating 
labeling requirements for pool heaters? Be my guest. However, don't 
expect House Democrats to participate in it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from 
California (Mr. Tran), a veteran who served our country honorably who 
can speak to the reasons why this amendment is so important.
  If we defeat the previous question, I will be offering an amendment 
to the rule to bring up H.R. 1637, the Protect Veteran Jobs Act.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks 
to the Chair.
  Mr. TRAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado for 
yielding. I rise to urge my colleagues across the aisle to show some 
humanity and compassion to the thousands of veterans who have been 
recklessly dismissed from their civil service jobs at the political 
whim of this administration.
  The men and women who serve our country deserve our unwavering 
support, not broken promises. The indiscriminate firing of veterans by 
the Trump administration and Elon Musk dishonors the unwavering 
commitment that these public servants have dedicated to our country. 
These heroes stepped up for us, and now we must stand up for them.
  This issue is deeply personal to me. I am the son of Vietnamese 
refugees who fled war and persecution in search of safety and a better 
life in America. This country welcomed them and gave me the chance to 
succeed. I joined the Army out of a sense of duty to my country because 
I wanted to give back to the country that gave me so much. I wanted to 
protect the very principles of freedom, justice, and decency that we 
hold dear.

  However, I don't see these values in the actions by the Trump 
administration. I see only chaos, fear, and cruelty.
  I have a duty as a Congressman, a veteran, and a proud American to 
stand up for those who made the highest commitment to us. That is why 
last week I introduced my first bill, the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, to 
reinstate veterans who were recklessly terminated without cause under 
the Trump administration's purge of the Federal workplace. My bill will 
also hold the executive branch accountable for any future terminations 
that may occur.
  This isn't about politics. This is about basic decency. This is about 
treating our veterans with the dignity they deserve. Veterans make up 
over 30 percent of the Federal workforce, and when they are unjustly 
removed, it impacts all of us. From delays in healthcare services and 
disability claims to staffing shortages at the VA, the consequences for 
American families and servicemembers are dire.
  Veterans have always had our backs. It is time we step up to have 
theirs. I urge my Republican colleagues to join us in opposing the 
previous question so that we can take up this important measure to 
restore the livelihoods of veterans who have served our country 
honorably and who have continued to do so through civilian service. 
Let's reverse course immediately and get these veterans their jobs 
back.
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we listen to calls from our Democratic colleagues for 
compassion and concern. I must ask the question, where was the 
compassion and concern while they watched prices skyrocket over our 
constituents over the 4 years of the Biden administration?
  Where was the compassion and concern where the Biden regulatory 
environment smothered the U.S. economy with regulation after 
regulation, trillions of dollars in off-budget spending,

[[Page H958]]

which soared inflation for the American people? Where was the 
compassion then?
  Where was the outrage when House Republicans were calling for relief 
for the American people in the last Congress?
  They said that we were following the wishes of only President Trump. 
They followed the Green New Deal playbook to a t, and that is what we 
are here to debate today are these important rollbacks of the Green New 
Deal agenda.
  We sat idly by and watched our country get invaded by at least 10 
million people that came across our country's borders with the direct 
will of the President to do it. President Trump has proven in just less 
than 2 short months the ability for a President to roll this all back 
with executive orders. Yet, the cost to New York alone was $7 billion 
in costs on New York taxpayers. Where was the outrage then?
  For 8 years, this hysteria has cost them. While they persisted in 
their witch hunt of President Trump in 2022, Americans contended with 
40-year high inflation, after Democrats and President Biden dumped 
trillions of dollars into a recovering post-COVID economy, which even 
one of their chief economists told us would create massive inflation. 
They ignored that guidance.
  Did they seek to address everyday Americans' concerns about the 
direction of our economy? They did not. They doubled down on lawfare 
against President Trump, and it lost them the House in 2022. In 2024, 
when the world was on fire with our borders flung open to the invasion 
of millions of illegal aliens into this country that prompted a crisis 
in countless communities, including my own, Americans' top concerns 
coming back time and time again, poll after poll, were the economy and 
our border. Democrats did no work to address those concerns.
  Did Vice President Kamala Harris address them? No, she did not. She 
didn't make that sale to the American people when she was campaigning 
across this country. Instead, all we heard was about Kamala brat summer 
and the last-ditch jittery attempt at once again trying to convince 
Americans that Trump was somehow a threat to democracy. Democrats lost, 
historically, on November 5, 2024. They lost the electoral vote, the 
popular vote, and they lost every swing State on the table.
  Did Democrats learn from this smarting defeat since President Trump 
took office? They clearly have not. Instead, they focus their time 
again defending USAID slush funds, flat-out government waste, and 
pretty much every problem, trying to lay it at President Trump's feet, 
including what he is doing every single day as well as DOGE and how 
they are trying to fix the crisis and the mess that was left behind by 
the Biden years.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people have time and again responded to 
Democratic hair-pulling with, at best, disinterest. Yet, here we are 
today on the House floor with more of the same.

  The rule before us considers legislation focused on ridding American 
consumers in an industry of harming regulations that are truly 
impacting their wallets and their financial well-being and our Nation's 
economic future. I urge my colleagues to quit the hysterics and for 
once listen to the voices of the American people after years of 
refusing to do so.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for the gentleman from New York. We 
have a lot of folks who come to Washington, D.C., to observe these 
proceedings. I suspect it might seem a little rote to them. I would 
love to have an actual debate. Maybe there are some folks here from New 
York, some folks from Colorado who would like to see us engage in some 
substantive debate.
  Therefore, I might ask the gentleman from New York because he ended 
his last remarks by appealing to the voices of the American people and 
that he and his Conference, in his view, are standing up for the voices 
of the American people.
  I wonder if the gentleman might answer a question. Mr. Langworthy, 
have you held a townhall this year? It is not a rhetorical question. I 
am just asking.
  Mr. Speaker, if I might ask the gentleman from New York, I believe 
colloquies are permitted in this Chamber.
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Are you yielding me your time?
  Mr. NEGUSE. I am not. I am asking, rather, through the Speaker to the 
gentleman from New York if he has held an in-person townhall with the 
people of New York that he represents this year. I am just curious.
  He doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to answer. It is a yes 
or no question. It is not a complicated question.
  Okay, I will take it as a ``no.''
  Clearly, he has not held a townhall in 2025. I would think he would 
be jumping up to clarify the record that he, in fact, had met with his 
constituents, Mr. Speaker, if that were the case. He clearly has not 
held a townhall. I understand why. I get it, because at this juncture, 
if House Republicans held townhalls, as their constituents express 
their outrage and indignation at the mass layoffs of Federal workers, 
of civil servants and at the tariffs that are increasing prices and at 
the stock market crashing, if their only response is: We took up a 
really important bill this week on labeling requirements for pool 
heaters, I could understand why one would have some trepidation about 
hosting a townhall under those circumstances.
  Again, let us be serious about the work that we are called to do in 
this body. We are here to lower costs for working families, to build 
safer communities, to ultimately ensure that the American people, the 
American taxpayers, the Constitution is vindicated. It is unfortunate 
that my colleagues don't feel the same way.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks 
to the Chair.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, we have seen a lot of masterful 
theatrics out of the Democratic Party recently, and we are seeing 
nothing different from that today. It is amazing that people who are so 
concerned about burdensome regulations and costs on people offer no 
solutions.
  We are here doing the work of that today. We are taking price 
concerns off of the back of industries. We are preserving jobs. We are 
creating a brighter future for our communities by getting rid of this 
eleventh hour rulemaking that was put forward by the Biden 
administration.
  They had all the power to make this country move in the right 
direction when Democrats controlled all of Congress and the White House 
following the 2020 elections. They had the ability to make those 
changes, but they took the country in the wrong direction.
  That is why the country, at the ballot box, made the changes that 
they made. They took the House out of Democratic hands and made 
Republicans lead the House of Representatives. Then, they did the same 
with the Senate and the White House in 2024.
  That is the report card that the Democratic Party earned because they 
prioritized the things that the American people did not want 
prioritized. They haven't read the room. They answer to their woke and 
angry mobs that they are foisting on Members of Congress and people all 
over the country right now. It is a very coordinated effort. They deny 
it, but make no mistake, every U.S. Senator today released a video that 
has the exact same script. It is very clearly a theatrical performance 
that the American people are seeing out of Democrats in the U.S. 
Senate.
  We are here with solutions to problems created by the last 
administration. We are putting them forward to get the job done. We 
have a timeline that we have to focus on, and that is why these CRAs 
are so important for us to tackle right now. We have limited 
legislative days in order to roll back these unnecessary, burdensome 
regulations that no one asked for and no one wanted. We are getting the 
job done that we were sent here to do.
  Let's look again at the numbers. The Biden administration has issued 
at least 31 regulations for residential and commercial appliances and 
equipment, totaling $60 billion. If my friends on the other side of the 
aisle don't think that added regulatory costs filter into the price of 
new appliances, then we

[[Page H959]]

have several bridges available for them to purchase.
  Let's look further at some of the regulations that will reap 
financial savings for American consumers. In one example, under the 
Biden DOE's dishwasher efficiency standards, Americans are expected to 
save a whopping $1.12 under that regulation. Was that necessary to put 
out there? Of course, it wasn't.
  These are savings that the left expected the American people to be 
excited about as they racked up more regulations and more restrictions 
that cost us jobs from the results of the Biden years.
  Under the latest DOE rule that H.J. Res. 42 would fortunately curb, 
home appliance manufacturers have already outlined how the rule 
requires their industry to provide a myriad of unnecessary information 
and data that is meaningless when demonstrating efficiency but simply 
is required to meet compliance with the rules.
  It is regulations for the sake of regulations, and the American 
people are left to pay higher prices and have fewer choices.
  At the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, my colleagues simply refuse to 
acknowledge the natural dynamics of the marketplace. When left to their 
own devices, the American people will seek out the most efficient model 
of an appliance that they can afford.
  I agree with my colleagues when they say that the American people 
want cost savings, both at sale and with efficiency over the lifecycle 
of an appliance. What they don't want is government intervention that 
limits their ability to make those choices themselves. They want to 
have more affordable options available to fit tighter budgets, not 
fewer, more expensive choices because unelected bureaucrats at Biden's 
DOE needed to micromanage what refrigerators, dishwashers, heaters, 
air-conditioners, you name it, were permissible under unrealistic 
efficiency standards.
  H.J. Res. 42 will help curb these costly, limiting, and anti-natural 
gas standards from the final days of the gasping Biden administration 
that were finalized at the behest of his radical climate lobby.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot about so-called theatrical 
performances. I didn't realize that asking the simple question of 
whether or not the gentleman had held a townhall this year counts as 
theater. I understand it is a forbidden question in the House 
Republican Conference now as to whether or not one has held a townhall, 
for obvious reasons.
  My constituents certainly don't find that to be an offensive 
question. We have held five townhalls in the last 2 months. We look 
forward to holding more because we are going to be responsive to the 
American people. I wish my colleagues would do the same.
  What I won't do, and I think what the American people won't do, is be 
lectured by Republicans about rising costs when literally, as we speak, 
Trump's tariffs are taking hold and beginning the process of increasing 
prices, which already started 30 days ago, and putting it into 
overdrive.
  These are just a couple of headlines from the last 8 hours. ``New 
England, New York grid operators prepare to collect millions in tariffs 
on Canadian electricity.'' The New York Post says that car prices could 
potentially surge by $12,000 because of these tariffs.
  House Republicans have the audacity to lecture us about increased 
costs when they are increasing the costs of everything?
  By the way, this is not some foreign debate. I represent Colorado. I 
am proud to represent the great State of Colorado. I have never been to 
the gentleman's district in upstate New York, but my understanding is 
that it is pretty close to the Canadian border. There are billions of 
dollars of economic development in New York and commerce that is 
transacted between Canada and the United States a mere few miles from 
the gentleman's district. He describes this as theater?

  I am not so sure that the folks in his district and that the people 
of New York will feel that way as these tariffs begin to kick in. I am 
sure that the farmers and the ranchers in Colorado that I represent, I 
can assure you, won't call it theater.
  Mr. Speaker, I understand that my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle would like to spend every second of every minute of every day 
talking about the prior President. It has been a half hour now of my 
colleague on the other side of the aisle starting and ending every 
sentence with Joe Biden. Donald Trump is the President of the United 
States.
  My colleague reminds us, yes, Republicans have a majority in the 
House and in the Senate. All I am suggesting is that maybe they should 
use that majority to do better things than waste everyone's time on 
labeling requirements for pool heaters. That is it. Maybe we ought to 
be a little bit more concerned with the 401(k)'s of our constituents, 
of working families in Buffalo and in Fort Collins, Colorado.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't think that is too much to ask, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the epiphany that those on the other side of the aisle 
now have--and they are so concerned about costs and economic concerns--
when they fought us tooth and nail on every single action that we tried 
to take to curb the Biden administration's uncontrollable regulatory 
environment is just laughable.
  We watched, warned, and fought in the 118th Congress to stop an 
administration that created a regulatory environment that has added 
about $1.5 trillion in needless regulations that have stifled the 
growth of industry and jobs in this country. Now, we are seeing them 
all of a sudden change their tune.
  As our new administration is less than a month and a half old, things 
are moving in the right direction. People have a new view of what the 
future is. We are fighting hard to preserve a predictable tax code in 
this country. We are extending the current tax code so that we can have 
regulatory certainty, tax certainty, so that businesses can thrive and 
grow and not fear the hammer of government that they did in the Biden 
years.
  There was an explosion after election day of people ready, willing, 
and able to invest in America. We have seen unprecedented investment 
come in from overseas, bringing new jobs, new opportunities, and new 
future creation here to the United States since election day. That will 
continue because that is what President Trump campaigned on. That is 
what House Republicans fight for and what we will achieve together.
  Mr. Speaker, this epiphany that we have had on the other side of the 
aisle, that they are now all of a sudden concerned with the costs of 
everyday Americans, was nowhere to be found for 2 years in the 118th 
Congress, as we fought every day about the costs of gas and groceries 
and how it was pinching away because of Biden's inflation and what it 
had done to the purchasing power of everyday Americans' accounts.
  People in probably both of our districts said the same exact thing, 
that they were watching the American Dream slip away from our kids and 
grandkids because we couldn't necessarily be certain that the future 
would be brighter under the current trajectory of this country.
  We have saddled the country with $36.5 trillion in debt. It is a debt 
service that is higher than what we spend on our national defense. It 
is an unacceptable legacy that we are leaving to our future 
generations. We are working every day toward our budget reconciliation 
to get that under control so that we can be the era that bent the curve 
on spending and got this country back on track.
  Yet, we have other people on the other side of the aisle who want to 
keep spending levels at the COVID era. COVID fell upon us 5 years ago 
this week, yet they still want to spend like we are in the midst of an 
emergency.
  It is time that we have a commonsense revolution in this country, 
commonsense like what we are doing here today: rolling back needless 
regulations that hurt jobs, hurt workers, and hurt consumers. That is 
what we were asked to do by our constituents.
  These CRAs this week are important because they reinstitute choice in 
the marketplace. They take the bureaucrats that DOGE is fighting every 
single day out of the equation and put the

[[Page H960]]

American consumer back in the driver's seat so that we can have choice 
in our consumer goods, not creating a standard just to justify 
someone's job in a cubicle somewhere. That is what this government has 
been about for far too long, but those days are over.
  Mr. Speaker, we are now putting common sense in the driver's seat in 
this country. We are working toward a brighter future for our kids and 
grandkids.
  Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, as expected, we have a rebuttal replete with references 
to the 118th Congress, what Democrats did in the last Congress, 
assigning blame, and all the rest. I remind my colleague that the 
Republicans are in charge. They have the majority. They have the 
ability to shape events. They have a Republican President and a 
Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.
  I can certainly assure my colleague that my constituents, who are 
seeing their 401(k) balances vanish in real time, would not describe 
these policies as common sense. The stock market tanking, prices of 
fuel going up, prices of food going up, prices of cars and vehicles 
going up, car insurance, home insurance, you name it, under Trump's 
economy, everything goes up.
  By the way, he is unabashed about it. I watched some of his press 
conference yesterday. He is not hiding it. He has acknowledged it. He 
has said outright that he knows these tariffs will increase prices in 
the short term, according to him, and he expects the Republican 
Conference to defend him tooth and nail as these prices go up.
  The gentleman talks about economic growth. The Federal Reserve, the 
Atlanta branch, just yesterday forecasted negative GDP growth for this 
quarter. That is the first time in a long time there has been negative 
GDP growth under President Trump. This is the commonsense agenda that 
my colleague from New York sells to farmers and ranchers in Colorado? 
We are not buying it. The American people aren't buying it.
  It is why I implore every Member of this body to oppose this rule.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. Speaker, it is also why I would implore everyone to support the 
amendment to the rule that we would like to pursue by bringing up H.R. 
1637, the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, which was brought up previously.
  I ask unanimous consent, Mr. Speaker, to insert the text of my 
amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, 
immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks 
to the Chair.
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I will direct my comments to the Chair, to you, Mr. Speaker, to 
express my frustration, which is the frustration felt by so many of the 
hardworking people of the great State of Colorado that I have the 
privilege of representing in the House of Representatives. It is a 
frustration borne from the realities that they are facing each and 
every day.
  As I mentioned, we have an economy that is in free fall, a stock 
market that is tanking. They are seeing their neighbors, their friends, 
public servants, being purged from Federal agencies, hardworking civil 
servants who do wildfire mitigation work in Colorado and across the 
Rocky Mountain West, unceremoniously fired.
  There are scientists at the NOAA and NWS facilities in Boulder and 
elsewhere being subject to these mass terminations by a Federal 
executive who seems intent on dismantling agency after agency. We have 
a House Republican caucus that is walking with him in lockstep every 
step of the way as they prepare to slash Medicaid to the tunes of 
hundreds of billions of dollars.
  The frustration that my constituents feel is justified, because 
notwithstanding every single one of those transgressions, every single 
one of those challenges, those obstacles that Republicans have 
manufactured and created in their daily lives, if they tune in to this 
debate, they will see that the focus is on none of that and instead on 
the matters that we have discussed today.
  My constituents, Mr. Speaker, do not want to see me debating labeling 
requirements for pool heaters. They don't. I won't speak for what the 
people of New York have to say about their Representatives. I will just 
say for Colorado and Coloradans, they expect me to be here pursuing 
policies that will make their lives easier, that will promote economic 
growth and a better quality of life. They are not getting it from this 
House under Republican control. I can assure you of that.
  I understand House Republicans, I am sure, will pass the rule and 
they will get their bill on water heaters and pool heaters and air 
conditioners passed through the House. They will have a big fancy 
signing ceremony at the White House where they will celebrate the fact 
that they repealed a labeling requirement rule that was promulgated a 
year ago.
  I fear for what the broader economic trends will be when they have 
that signing ceremony. Who knows. But if past is prologue, I am 
reasonably confident that the economy will continue the free fall 
unless Republicans work with us, Democrats, in good faith, to pursue 
policies that would advance opportunity in our country.
  That is my humble request, Mr. Speaker. The best way to get started 
is by opposing the previous question, opposing the rule, opposing the 
underlying bills, and getting back to the business of this House.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  For 4 years, Democrats gaslit the American people in a vain attempt 
to convince them that costs weren't going up, inflation wasn't real, 
our economy wasn't in trouble, and there wasn't a crisis at our 
borders. The American people saw past that deception, and they voted 
for a President and a Congress that promised to put our country back on 
track.
  Part of fulfilling that promise includes unwinding a slew of 
burdensome rules, prohibitions, restrictions, and other ticky-tacky 
attempts to micromanage everyday life for Americans. It also includes 
ensuring that the woke mob and their radical environmental NGOs can no 
longer call the shots at these Federal agencies at the expense of our 
manufacturers, our domestic energy producers, and good-paying jobs.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the rule before us today.
  The material previously referred to by Mr. Neguse is as follows:

     An Amendment to H. Res. 177 Offered by Mr. Neguse of Colorado

       At the end of the resolution, add the following:
       Sec. 4. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the 
     House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the 
     bill (H.R. 1637) to reinstate veteran Federal employees, to 
     require reports from executive branch agencies of the Federal 
     Government on the number of veteran employees fired from such 
     agencies, and for other purposes. All points of order against 
     consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be 
     considered as read. All points of order against provisions in 
     the bill are waived. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment 
     thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except: 
     (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the 
     chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
     Oversight and Government Reform or their respective 
     designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
       Sec. 5. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the 
     consideration of H.R. 1637.

  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and 
I move the previous question on the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous 
question.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question are postponed.

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