What Jefferson Van Drew said, and what was done

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. This is not about crime. It is about control. Once you can flag a purchase, any purchase, you can flag a person.”

“Let me be clear: Buying a firearm is not extremism; buying a Bible is not extremism; reading the news you choose and want to read is not extremism; exercising a constitutional right is not extremism.”

“Mr. Speaker, let us be clear about what is happening right now. The United States is confronting a regime that has spent decades chanting ``Death to America;'' a regime whose proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, just to name a few, have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds and hundreds of American troops; a regime that is working relentlessly toward a nuclear weapon.”

“Mr. Speaker, how is this even a serious debate? Think about what my colleagues on the other side are saying today. They are saying that American minorities are not capable of showing an ID to vote.”

“Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about hypocrisy. Let me be clear. I was a cosponsor of this very bill from the beginning, from jump start, because we should never protect pedophiles.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am honored to celebrate Alexander John Scalice of Galloway Township, whose hard work and dedication have earned him the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest distinction in the Boy Scouts of America.”

“CEO Group's Lifetime Achievement Award. Michael is a Managing Partner at Testa Heck Testa & White, P.A., and has spent more than five decades building a legacy of legal excellence and public service.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Daniel McClave, whose extraordinary commitment and character have earned him the highest honor in the Boy Scouts of America, the Eagle Scout.”

“Mr. Speaker, one of the most commendable milestones a young man can reach is earning the rank of Eagle Scout. This past weekend, I had the distinct honor of congratulating Robert Corcoran on achieving this prestigious award.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Noah Sarnoff, an exceptional student-athlete from my district who has been awarded the Olympiad Student Athlete by the Jewish War Veterans. Established in 1972, this award honors the memory of the 11 Israeli athletes tragically killed during the Munich Olympics and celebrates the academic and athletic excellence of remarkable high school students.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to proudly recognize Sydney Prince, a remarkable young leader who, after six years of steadfast effort, has achieved the distinguished honor of becoming an Eagle Scout.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend Nicholas Bacsik, an outstanding young man whose hard work and character have earned him the rank of Eagle Scout. For his Eagle Scout project, Nicky designed and built four standing workshop tables at Cloverdale Farms County Park in Barnegat, South Jersey.”

“Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of speaking about Major Steven Mares, and now I want to talk about the bravery of his youngest son, Specialist William Mares.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to proudly commend and congratulate Britton's Gourmet Bakery on its 60th anniversary, a remarkable milestone for a beloved small business that began its journey in 1965.”

“Mr. Speaker, just a few words first. I want to speak a little bit about Mr. Evans because he may not say it himself. He has served in our military, served proudly in our Army, and he has served in Colorado as a police officer.”

“Mr. Speaker, I would say that had the Biden administration adequately screened this individual, this murderer, if they had screened him the way they should have, if our borders had been operating correctly, if they looked at his social media, they would have known that he consistently posted anti-Semitic videos.”

“Mr. Speaker, I simply ask our Members on both sides of the aisle--I believe there will be Members on the other side of the aisle--to vote for both of these resolutions.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank both gentlemen from the other side of the aisle that we were able to do this together. Wherever we can, whenever we can, I look forward to that participation.”

“Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of visiting Zion United Methodist Church in historic Bargaintown, South Jersey, as they were awarded an America 250 marker to honor the American Revolution patriots buried on their grounds.”

“Mr. Speaker, Clark joined the Boy Scouts in March of 2019 and quickly achieved the rank of Tenderfoot before climbing the ranks to Star Scout, Life Scout, and finally, Eagle Scout.”

“Mr. Speaker, today, I want to recognize a servicemember that went above and beyond the call of duty not once, not twice, but five times this man took a bullet for this country.”

“Mr. Speaker, today, I want to recognize a great American servant and one of my good friends, Curtis Bashaw. Curtis grew up in Camden County, New Jersey before earning his bachelor's degree and then going to the Ivy League to earn his Master's from the University of Pennsylvania.”

“Mr. Speaker, today, I want to honor new Eagle Scout Nathaniel Mignano, who during his time with the scouts, earned an impressive 30 Merit badges, achieved a high number of awards, and completed an outstanding Eagle Scout project.”

“Mr. Speaker, today, I honor Eagle Scout Breanna Grace Ehrlich after her years of service to the Scouts of America including being a founding member of the first female Scouts Troop in South Jersey.”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to a true patriot and beloved member of our South Jersey community, John ``Ghost'' Carman. John recently passed away after an incredibly courageous fight with cancer that began November of last year.”

“Mr. Speaker, today, I want to congratulate Jordyn Storck for passing her review board and attaining the coveted rank of Eagle Scout after years of hard work. Jordyn began her journey in Troop 452 five years ago and through the years, she has persevered through the struggles to achieve the required 22 merit badges to become an Eagle Scout.”

“Mr. Speaker, recently, I had the honor of attending Devin Soffy's Eagle Scout Court of Honor after his 10 great years of service through the Boy Scouts. Devin started his journey when he was in the second grade and since that time he has achieved an impressive 47 merit badges.”

“Mr. Speaker, I recently had the honor of joining the General Lafayette Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution as they placed an America 250 marker at Zion Methodist Church, paying tribute to the American Revolution patriots who are buried there.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 788. It is a good and innovative bill. I also today wanted to speak in support of H.R. 832, the Small Business Advocacy Improvements Act of 2025.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that the Senate adopted the amendment that we wanted, which was to put into the bill the legislation that we had to detain and deport illegal aliens who assault cops.”

“Madam Speaker, I want to address one thing before we start. It was again mentioned about the bipartisan bill. The bipartisan bill was a bad bill. It didn't stop catch and release.”