What Jared Huffman said, and what was done

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ellie Cohen on the occasion of her retirement from The Climate Center (The Center) and to honor her decades of visionary leadership.”

“CEO of Point Blue Conservation Science. There, she led the growing organization to significant accomplishments, including attaining official Observer NGO status at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as helping to direct nearly $100 million of conservation investments across more than two million acres of public and agricultural land.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Linda Jacobs for her more than four decades of extraordinary public service as a nonprofit leader. From an early age in Coral Gables, Florida, Linda's parents demonstrated the importance of community service, serving as volunteers for their Jewish congregation and youth sports.”

“Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL) and later extended its reach into Sonoma County, Napa County, and Solano County. For decades, Linda led CVNL with an unwavering belief in the power of the nonprofit system, expanding key programs such as the Heart of Marin Awards, strengthening volunteer engagement, and developing partnerships that elevated local nonprofits across the region.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor San Domenico School in San Anselmo, California, as it celebrates its 175th Anniversary, marking an extraordinary milestone for one of California's oldest independent schools and one of the longest standing educational institutions in the West.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Rick Lafranchi, who passed away on April 13, 2026. A beloved cheesemaker, coach, and community leader, Rick was a positive force for many.”

“Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of geothermal energy, we are sure hearing a lot of hot air from the other side with this fantastical narrative that Republicans, I guess, are now lowering costs and saving healthcare.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Paul Heavenridge who passed away on December 10, 2025. Paul devoted his career to improving the quality of life for the community of Petaluma and the extended North Bay.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Trisha Garlock, who passed away on January 15, 2026. Trisha was a visionary leader and tireless champion for equitable access to high-quality public education.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the College of Marin on the momentous occasion of its centennial anniversary and in appreciation for a century of quality education provided to the communities of Marin County and the Bay Area.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of my constituent and the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Bob Weir. Bob was more than a musical icon.”

“For decades, Bob made his home in Marin. He raised his family there, opened his doors to other artists, and helped build the vibrant local music vibe that so many of us cherish.”

“Under the General Mining Act of 1872, anyone, including subsidiaries of foreign adversaries, can claim our publicly owned materials, mine them for free, ship them abroad into the global market, and do nothing to help the interests of the United States of America.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico. Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. They destroyed things I care about. They destroyed fishing, and they destroyed farming.”

“Mr. Speaker, now we hear about a gold mine on the Canadian side of the Boundary Waters watershed that has been producing minerals without incident. I am beginning to worry that my colleagues don't understand basic hydrology and how water flows and moves.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of more than 45 years of extraordinary public transportation service by Nancy Whelan. A lifelong public servant, Nancy has dedicated her career to innovating transportation infrastructure.”

“Mr. Speaker, there were few people in the Congress that tangled with Doug LaMalfa more than me. There is probably some competition for that honor among House Democrats, but I was certainly right up there.”

“Family members still live, visit, and protect the land where Depot Tiger's home once stood. None of these facts are in dispute, as my Republican colleagues, who sponsored and voted for this, well know.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Oregon for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman is right. If we want to talk about the occasional conflicts that exist between livestock and pets and any predators, that is a legitimate conversation.”

“We are being led to believe that packs of wolves are about to descend on urban areas in New England and Madison, Wisconsin, and that they are looming outside of schools.”

“Mr. Speaker, Tribes support continued protection for wolves. Seventy-eight percent of Americans support continued protection for wolves. They want to see living wolf pups in Yellowstone, not news stories about tortured wolves in bars or wolf hunts with dogs.”

“First, the bill would allow multinational companies to claim an indefinite number of mill sites to permanently dump toxic waste on our public lands for free. Second, it could block renewable energy development, recreation, and other uses of our public lands by allowing mining companies to build roads, pipelines, and other infrastructure by right and without any permits, as long as they are connected to a plan of operation.”

“Well, a lot of really important things are procedural--MRIs, X-rays, any number of things. Those are procedures, but you don't turn the power off and reduce that very important procedure to a meaningless exercise.”

“Mr. Chair, we just heard a list of projects that were allegedly halted by frivolous litigation, a case study for the SPEED Act. In fact, many of these are really bad projects, and the examples are often examples of the environmental review process working to protect the environment and protect people.”

“We should also think about rising utility bills, something we hear more and more about in this affordability crisis driven by Republican policies. Yet, our friends across the aisle look the other way as President Trump's crazy war on clean energy drives utility bills higher and higher.”

“NEPA process, to make their concerns heard and to ensure that Federal Government actions properly consider environmental impacts. Though we have heard a lot of fear-mongering about frivolous lawsuits, there are already effective safeguards in place.”

“Mr. Chairman, I think we have found some common ground. I hear that any frivolous lawsuit is one too many, so I just want to remind the gentleman that maybe one of the most prolific frivolous litigators in history is in the White House right now.”

“Mr. Chairman, we should be against all truly frivolous things--not just frivolous lawsuits but frivolous legislation masquerading as permitting reform, frivolous amendments, frivolous distractions at the end of probably the most unproductive Congress in American history this year at a time when the American people are struggling.”

“Mr. Chairman, the majority has suggested that the underlying bill's changes to NEPA on the scope of review simply codify the Supreme Court's Seven County decision, but the SPEED Act actually goes much further than that Court decision.”

“Mr. Chairman, I think common sense is that if an agency is proposing or is considering a project that would be the tipping point for a community that is already overburdened by pollution, and that would dramatically increase a problem like Cancer Alley in Louisiana, they ought to be able to consider those cumulative impacts.”

“Mr. Chairman, if this amendment is simply about codifying the Supreme Court's decision, why doesn't it say what the Supreme Court said? The Supreme Court said that agencies would be able to have discretion to consider cumulative impacts, traffic patterns, and other things in circumstances where those were very compelling factors.”

“Mr. Chairman, I thought we were debating a bill that proposes a permitting reform. Of course, we have lots of disagreements about how it impacts our bedrock environmental laws, but I guess we never want to miss an opportunity to go into the fever swamp of conspiracism that is the Kash Patel FBI these days.”

“Mr. Chair, do you know who still supports it? The American Petroleum Institute and the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, which put out a statement immediately after the Freedom Caucus made the bill worse to announce their great affection and support for this bill.”

“Mr. Chairman, I need to provide some translation services for those who may not be fluent in Orwellian distortion. When my colleague says that this legislation only deals with NEPA, that it doesn't touch the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, or Endangered Species Act, what that really means is that within the four corners of this particular bill, they are not gutting those other laws.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise along with my colleagues, Representatives Nancy Pelosi, John Garamendi, Seth Moulton, and Ed Case to honor the life and legacy of Paul DePrey, who passed away on October 10, 2025, at the age of 58.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Cicely Muldoon upon her retirement from the National Park Service after 40 years of extraordinary public service. A Bay Area native, Cicely was born on the Presidio Army base in San Francisco.”

“I oppose S.J. Res. 80, which would overturn the BLM's 2022 Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision for the National Petroleum Reserve- Alaska, more commonly referred to as ``NPR-A.'' Now the name National Petroleum Reserve is more than a little misleading.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lee Gary ``Tot'' Booker, who passed away peacefully on September 10, 2025, at the age of 85. Mr. Booker was a trailblazing firefighter, a dedicated public servant, and a beloved member of the Marin County community.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Anthony ``Tony'' Anello, who passed away at the age of 77 on September 28, 2025. Tony was a beloved and celebrated member of Bodega Bay, a renowned fisherman, and a pillar of this coastal community.”

“Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose all three of these Congressional Review Act resolutions on the floor because the reality is that these would overhaul years of public input.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor William (Bill) T. Baglietto who passed away on June 9, 2025, at the age of 96, after a remarkable life of public service, legal distinction, and civic leadership.”

“President's actions. Nearly one-half say that the current administration is weakening our democracy, our economy, and our global standing. This bill really is Exhibit A. We are not just renaming a gulf.”

“Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this resolution that merely distracts and deflects and scapegoats instead of solving the pressing challenges facing farmers and the rest of rural America.”

“Congressional Republicans are threatening to rescind critical Inflation Reduction Act investments in drought resilience and water delivery. We also are facing this administration's efforts to block and cancel key funding that Congress has already approved to support drought resilience and repair vital water infrastructure, support that rural America needs right now in the face of extreme heat and weather from the climate crisis and the burning of fossil fuels.”

“I stand by what I said a few minutes ago. Without the rule in place or a replacement rule, off-roading could very well be illegal in all of Glen Canyon.”

“Poor Big Oil with its record profits and its record exports and its executive bonuses and its collusion with OPEC to gouge American consumers, they are just such a victim in the telling of my friends across this aisle.”

“Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. In just 4 weeks, Donald Trump has sown chaos all over this country. His administration is defying court orders, firing Federal workers, freezing vital funding that our constituents depend on, impacting everything from wildfire preparations to water security, health and housing programs, and a lot more.”

“Mr. Chairman, Republicans plan to do more favors for Big Oil even though they are rolling in record profits and even though we are already producing and exporting record amounts of oil and gas.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Rodney T. Taylor, Jr., who passed away on November 25, 2024, at the age of 80.”

“Madam Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Colorado an additional 30 seconds. Ms. DeGETTE. Madam Speaker, there have been significant declines in the use of hazardous chemicals and better water quality.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Joseph (Joe) Garbarino who passed away at the age of 91 on December 19, 2024. Mr. Garbarino was an iconic public figure, one of the Nation's foremost leaders in recycling, and a beloved family member.”

“Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests Act, sponsored by Chairman Westerman. While this bill is flawed, and we will be discussing those flaws here in a moment, I do appreciate that Chair Westerman and Representative Peters did come together to work on this issue in a bipartisan way that acknowledges our wildfire crisis.”

“There is simply no money, no resources, to help any of the good things actually happen. There are also several poison pills that have the potential to undermine science-based management and public engagement.”

“Mr. Chair, the picture my friend from northern California just showed is instructive because both the right and the left side of that picture are areas that were clear-cut.”

“Mr. Chairman, we were under the impression that this was essentially a closed rule. Many of our beneficial amendments were rejected out of hand or ruled out of order, but apparently, there is always room for an amendment that will make the bill worse.”

“Let me make it very clear: Democrats like that part of this bill, and we are about to lose the beneficial aspects of it because of this absurd ideological obsession where you have to deny all climate science and not talk about the environment.”

“Mr. Chairman, if the excuse for this amendment is that we don't have the money, then you do an amendment to strike the whole program. You don't simply single out the parts of it that are environmental or that have to do with climate solutions.”

“Mr. Chair, we still have concerns, obviously, with the underlying bill, but we do support Congressman Carbajal's good amendment. I thank him for his leadership in working on this issue.”

“Mr. Speaker, I associate myself with Mr. McGovern's remarks condemning the unconscionable silence we hear across the aisle in the wake of these pardons of violent criminals, seditionist thugs who should never be pardoned or celebrated.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Dakota for this bill. I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.”

“Now, I think that would be a worthwhile investment for wildfire risk reduction. These days the Freedom Caucus tends to call the shots on these matters, and they don't allow us to consider bills that authorize that kind of money without spending reductions elsewhere.”

“Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with our friends across the aisle on the accounting issue that has been discussed here today. Obviously, we want to make sure that the Forest Service is not taking advance credit for phases of projects that haven't happened yet.”

“Given these declines and their causes, any effort to address shark depredation must align with our Nation's goal to recover shark populations and consider the impact of heightened fishing pressure and climate change.”