What Scott Perry said, and what was done

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize The LIBRE Initiative on the auspicious occasion of its 15th Anniversary. For a decade and a half, LIBRE has worked tirelessly to advance economic freedom and opportunity for Hispanic communities across Pennsylvania and the Nation.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership and his dogged determination to bring this to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud original cosponsor of not only this bill but every other bipartisan bill that is not here.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Colonel (Col.) Christopher John Hickey upon the auspicious occasion of his retirement from the United States Army after 33 years of selfless service.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Captain Theresa Bowie on the auspicious occasion of her retirement after nearly 25 years of service to our Nation in the U.S.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Chief Master Sergeant Natalie A. Briggs on the auspicious occasion of her retirement upon 26 years of selfless service to our Nation.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. William F. McQuade for his distinguished career in the Heating, Ventilation, Air- Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry. After graduating from high school, William earned his Bachelors (1991) and Masters (1992) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mrs. Carmen Bloom-Harvey on earning the title, ``Mrs. East Coast International 2026.'' Carmen's journey to the Mrs. International stage has been special and unique.”

“Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 10th District of Pennsylvania, I am honored and proud to recognize Mrs. Carmen Bloom-Harvey on earning the title of ``Mrs. East Coast International 2026,'' and wish the best in her competition for ``Mrs.”

“Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to recognize the Historic Peter Allen House of Dauphin, Pennsylvania upon the auspicious occasion of its 300th Anniversary. The Peter Allen House is the oldest home in Dauphin County, dating back to 1726.”

“Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to recognize the Unforgettable Big Band's ``Freedom is Not Free'' celebration of our Nation's 250th Birthday. The Unforgettable Big Band originally formed in 2000, in the York, Pennsylvania area, for the simple joy of playing music for the local community; however, its reputation quickly grew.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Master Sergeant (MSgt) David ``Lucky'' Luciano on the auspicious occasion of his retirement upon nearly 30 years of service to our Nation in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.”

“During his decades of service, MSgt Luciano has received numerous awards and commendation for his service and performance, as well as completing myriad deployments around the globe, to include: Qatar and Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan (2002); Camp Taji and Camp Victory, Iraq (2004); Ali Air Base, Iraq (2010); Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait (2014); U.S.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Good Shepherd Parish on the blessed occasion of its 75th Anniversary. Good Shepherd Parish in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, was founded on May 28, 1951, to help serve the rapidly growing Catholic population on the West Shore of Harrisburg.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for bringing this to light, and I am happy to engage in a colloquy with the gentleman. I am going to talk about a few things.”

“No one of note. We spy on millions of Americans and violate their constitutional rights. That seems like a civil rights violation to me, and no one is held accountable.”

“Unfortunately, there is darkness within the hearts of men and women. On occasion, we all fall short, and this Constitution exists so that we have a remedy for the times when somebody misuses the awesome power that is provided at the government level, with the use of law enforcement as the enforcer.”

“Well, it is interesting. Every single Republican Member here already voted in favor of limiting the government's ability to install a central bank digital currency. We have had assurances from leadership, from the top to the bottom.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Good Shepherd Catholic Church on the blessed occasion of its 75th Anniversary. Good Shepherd Parish in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, was founded on May 28, 1951, to help serve the rapidly growing Catholic population on the West Shore of Harrisburg.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Senior Master Sergeant Jason W. Kerstetter upon the auspicious occasion of his retirement from uniformed service after 32 years of selfless service.”

“Mr. Speaker. I rise to recognize Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt) Justin R. Baysore upon the auspicious occasion of his retirement from the United States Air Force and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.”

“Mr. Chairman, while the deliberative process is playing out, this treatment has been used for over 100 years, without any known side effects, without any damage to anybody.”

“We are not medical experts. I have argued time and again on this House floor that Congress is not equipped to be making medical decisions, particularly specific medical decisions that affect a unique group of patients.”

“Mr. Chairman, since 2018, 11 VA facilities out of 170 have been using it, not studying it, using it. The study happened after that, and every day that the study is occurring, 20 servicemembers take their lives.”

“Mr. Speaker, we support our farmers, but we also support our consumers. I appreciate my friends on both sides of the aisle for this position, but these two positions of being for farmers and being for consumers are not mutually exclusive.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Beth El Temple in Harrisburg on the auspicious occasion of its 100th Anniversary. For the last century, Beth El Temple has been a thriving synagogue and a vital part of our local community.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the good gentleman from Texas for organizing this. Mr. Speaker, we sure appreciate our good friend Tim Reitz, and my good friend from Texas has laid out things about the Freedom Caucus that we have accomplished and the things that we stand for.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Master Sergeant (MSgt) Jeffrey Pautz upon the auspicious occasion of his retirement from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PAANG) after more than 30 years of service to our Nation.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor and recognize Mr. Nathanael Etzweiler on earning the Royal Rangers Gold Medal of Achievement with Merit. Nathanael has been a valued member of the Royal Rangers Outpost 242 for the past ten years, where, in line with the Four Gold Points on the Royal Ranger Emblem, he has grown mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.”

“Unfortunately, it is now acceptable. It is now acceptable. As we watched in Texas, it is amazing. If you built a community in any State, including Texas, and you said that only Christians need to apply, only Christians, can you imagine?”

“Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate Master Gunnery Sergeant Scott A. Pifer upon the occasion of his retirement from the United States Marine Corps after 26 years of selfless and dedicated service.”

“A native of New Kingstown, Pennsylvania. Master Gunnery Sergeant Pifer enlisted in the Marine Corps in March 2000 and entered Recruit Training at Parris Island. After superiors noticed his professionalism, leadership, and promotions while serving under Marine Aircraft Control Group 24 in Hawaii, he was selected for the Marine Corps Embassy Group.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Senior Master Sergeant William Corl upon the auspicious occasion of his retirement after more than 37 years of service to our Nation in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Master Sergeant Armel Lovell upon the auspicious occasion of his retirement from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard after 23 years of selfless service.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Taylor) and also my colleague from Arizona (Mr. Stanton). I am extremely honored and humbled to once again introduce this resolution alongside the Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee ranking member, Representative Stanton, from Arizona.”

“Mr. Speaker, welcome to bankruptcy theater. Mr. Speaker, I am fascinated by my good friend on the other side of the aisle telling me that they are the party of fiscal responsibility.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor and I am privileged to recognize Mr. Robert ``Bob'' Boyer of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, upon the blessed and auspicious occasion of his 102nd Birthday.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am so greatly humbled and honored to recognize Mr. Robert Boyer on the blessed and truly amazing occasion of his 102nd Birthday. His life truly epitomizes that of ``The Greatest Generation'' and of a life done right--as evidenced by his wife, Be-Be, his family and friends who love him dearly, and the countless people whose lives he has touched and affected in myriad ways.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the National Open- Source Intelligence Day, observed annually on February 26, and to commemorate the 85th anniversary of formal open-source intelligence activities in the United States.”

“Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas, and I surely appreciate his passion. It is well-deserved. I am so heartbroken for our country. In the past, Democrats and Republicans might not have agreed on maybe the path to get to where we were going, how we were going to do it, sometimes not even where we were going.”

“You are right, Chip. There are the good guys, and, unfortunately, there are the bad guys; there just are. No one would think--I will just try to put it in any context I can.”

“But protesting does not mean impeding law enforcement. It does not mean blocking streets. It does not mean getting on an app on your phone--that is supported by George Soros--to track Immigration and Customs Enforcement, law enforcement officers, the law enforcement police, and track them down and impede their work to keep everybody else in the community safe.”

“I just have to ask you in this colloquy, Representative Roy from Texas: You say, ``the radical left,'' but I listened to you rattle off the statements of elected officials.”

“Governors of States, including the one that I come from. Is this the radical left, or are they our Democratic colleagues on the other side of the aisle?”

“Representative Roy, you and I have stood in this Chamber countless times, for countless hours, having the same discussion over the same people, the same people in this picture, over and over.”

“Secretary Mayorkas told us, President Biden told us he could not solve that problem unless we passed legislation. We needed to--this Chamber was delinquent. There was nothing that could be done until we took action.”

“I don't want to speculate either. I will leave that to people that are listening and people that are thinking through the situation. You talked about things that are untrue.”

“Of course, I agree. As you bring it up, I think to myself how heartbreaking it is knowing--I look at these pictures here of these wonderful young people with their whole lives ahead of them.”

“Representative Roy from Texas, how many votes are you going to count on for Laken Riley, for Jocelyn Nungaray, for any of these people? How many votes are you going to count on to keep them alive from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle?”

“Of course. We passed it in the House, but that is not enough. That doesn't change anything. We can pass everything we want to in the House, with or without our friends on the other side of the aisle, but if we can't get a vote and passage in the Senate, it doesn't get to the President's desk.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am honored to congratulate Master Sergeant Jeremy D. Smith upon the occasion of his retirement from the United States Air Force after more than 33 years of service to our Nation.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am happy to congratulate the Big Spring Marching Bulldogs from Big Spring High School in Newville, Pennsylvania, on earning the Cavalcade of Bands Liberty A Conference Championship.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am honored to congratulate Senior Master Sergeant Adam M. Walter upon the occasion of his retirement from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PaANG) after 24 years of dedicated service.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am honored and humbled to recognize Mr. Mitchell George Angelos of York, Pennsylvania, upon the auspicious occasion of his 100th Birthday. Mr. Angelos' life has been dedicated to the service of our Nation.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Chief Master Sergeant Robert S. Smith on his retirement from service to our Nation in the United States Air Force and Air National Guard.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Chief Steven Kingsborough of the Middlesex Township Police Department on his retirement upon 40 years of tireless service. Chief Kingsborough's decorated tenure protecting the Citizens of Middlesex Township began as a patrol officer in August 1985.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am humbled and honored to recognize the life and legacy of Stanley R. Lawson, Sr., a veteran and trailblazer in Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Harrisburg, Stan was a loving father, son, community leader, and public servant whose life's work was defined by service to others.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize Jonathan D. Holmes, Chairman of the Jackson Township Board of Supervisors, for his many years of service to Jackson Township, York County, Pennsylvania.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Lancaster County for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, the Psalms tell us that the Lord is closest to the brokenhearted, and we are brokenhearted on this day for the loss of these officers.”

“Mr. Chairman, I might sound like a little bit of a broken record here, but, unfortunately, the broken record of $37 trillion in debt and climbing continues as well, so we have just got to keep at it.”

“Mr. Chairman, there are a lot of things I agree with the gentlewoman from Ohio about. We have hardworking people. Whether they are in Harrisburg or in Ohio, they are working-class people.”

“Mr. Chair, President Trump won the election and requested that Congress slash the funding for this office. This amendment does exactly that and deals with this out-of-control agency.”

“Mr. Chairman, I have done my homework for years now, and it is the same song every time because nothing changes. While I agree with the gentlewoman from Ohio--she does know something about this and, of course, it is allowed in Ohio, but she said that it is not appropriate to overrule regional and local governments, but that is exactly what the DRBC does.”

“Mr. Chairman, the community funding process, just understand if you are not familiar with congressional jargon, that equals earmark. That is three-quarters of a million dollars to this organization that heretofore hasn't needed the money because they extort members of the States that they exist in all kinds of fees, applications, and licensing agreements from townships and other municipalities for private individuals.”

“Madam Chair, the gentlewoman from Ohio and I certainly agree that we shouldn't be forced to buy things for vehicles that we don't want. They are heavier. They are more technologically sensitive.”

“Madam Chair, Federal loan guarantee programs transfer the risk of the loans to the taxpayer, pure and simple. As with any government subsidy, they reduce market discipline of loan recipients.”

“Madam Chair, I certainly appreciate the gentlewoman's arguments. I just say that there is a guy named ``Friedman'' who was traveling overseas. He came upon a public works project.”

“Mr. Chairman, of course, all these States--Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas--are on the border. If we are funding this organization to deal with the border, I don't know what to say other than it is duplicative.”

“Mr. Chairman, I offer this amendment to reduce funding for the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, the SCRC, to fiscal year 2019, so not zeroing it out, just taking it back to prepandemic levels, so we can try to afford some of the stuff that we are borrowing money, again, to pay for.”

“Mr. Chair, I certainly thank the gentlewoman for her viewpoints and comments. I have lived in Florida and Georgia--they are wonderful States--and traveled through all the rest. I have an awesome mother who helped me in that business and was a part of it.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Dr. Hagir Elsheikh, a distinguished resident of the 10th Congressional District, for her exemplary public service, charitable leadership, and extraordinary contributions to healthcare and autism advocacy within the Commonwealth and the Nation.”

“Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to recognize Corporal (Cpl) George Ivanoff, United States Marine Corps (USMC), on the auspicious occasion of his 100th Birthday on July 24, 2025. Cpl Ivanoff, born in Harrisburg in 1925, left Harrisburg Catholic High School early to answer the call of duty to our Country by joining the USMC in 1943.”

“Mr. Speaker, evidently, this is what gutting Medicaid looks like. You see it goes up 25 percent over 10 years. This only happens in Washington, D.C. Mr. Speaker, the difference between the last administration and the current one is the last administration restricted the States from cleaning up the Medicaid rolls and verifying eligibility.”

“H.R. 1540 is a historic step forward, the first binding commitment by Congress to take decisive legal action against the persecution and forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners.”

“The United States cannot continue to stand idly by. We must use our authority. We must use our position as leaders in the world to curb these practices and send a clear message to everybody that not only will we not tolerate this assault on human dignity, on humanity itself, but that no country, no people should.”

“Mr. Speaker, I'm honored and privileged to recognize the Camp Hill Fire Company Assistant Fire Chief, Bob Clemm, on 65 years of tireless and dedicated service to our communities and the Fire Services at large.”

“Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to recognize Sergeant (SGT) Harold Pressel, U.S. Army Air Corps, on the auspicious occasion of his 101st Birthday on February 3, 2025. SGT Pressel honorably served alongside the ``Greatest Generation'' in WWII as a machine gunner on the B-24 Liberator, during which he earned--among myriad awards and decorations--the Purple Heart for his actions and wounds in combat.”

“Mr. Chairman, let's not mislead anybody here. We have amendments. This is one, and I think there is another one coming very shortly from the other side of the aisle, which is awesome.”

“Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to recognize Colonel (COL) Harold Pressel, U.S. Army Air Corps, on the auspicious occasion of his 101st Birthday on February 3, 2025. COL Pressel honorably served alongside the ``Greatest Generation'' in WWII as a machine gunner on the B-24 Liberator, during which he earned--among myriad awards and decorations--the Purple Heart for his actions and wounds in combat.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. I am happy to join him, and I am happy to join him in what I think he is saying, which is what I am saying.”

“Right now, while we are talking about it, there are criminal aliens convicted of murder in their country, some more than one time, walking around our country. They are going to stay here until we can deport them, and we are not offering the money to the incoming administration to do that work.”

“Mr. Speaker, I agree with the gentleman from Texas. We don't have much time to do this. While we talk and talk, we have also been given a mandate for transformational change.”