LEGISLATIVE DAY OF APRIL 14, 2026

14 April 2026

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Floor U.S. House of Representatives

Follow its sittings
05:09 - 05:15
Speaker 2
The house will be in order.  The chair lays before a house of communication from the speaker.  The 
05:17 - 06:03
Speaker 1
Speaker's Rooms, Washington DC, 04/14/2026.  I hereby appoint the honorable Mike Herodopoulos to act as speaker pro tempore on this day.  Signed.  Mike Johnson, speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Pursuant to the order of the House of 01/06/2026, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate.  The chair will alternate between the parties with time equally allocated between the parties, and each member, other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip, limited to five minutes.  But in no event shall debate continue beyond 01:50PM.  The chair recognizes the gentleman from Connecticut, mister Courtney, for five minutes. 
06:06 - 11:09
Speaker 3
Mister speaker, this week, congress will have an opportunity to assert its constitutional role when we vote for the second time on a War Powers Act resolution to force president Trump to seek legal authority for his unilateral military campaign in Iran.  As a member of the Armed Services Committee and a cosponsor of this measure, I strongly urge my colleagues in the house to vote yes to reclaim our constitutional role under article one section eight as the sole branch of government with the power to decide whether our country goes to war.  On February 28, the president, without consultation with congress and almost all of our longtime allies, ordered military strikes against Iran, taking The United States into a war now in its seventh week.  Despite the massive costs of this war and the international energy crisis it has created, to date, the president has never articulated what exactly was the imminent threat to the homeland on that date, nor has he laid out a clear practical plan for success.  Mister speaker, over the last seven weeks, the most arduous and heart wrenching cost of this war has been borne by 13 American soldiers who lost their lives and their families. 

Hundreds of service members have been injured and hundreds of innocent civilians, some the very victims of Iran's brutal regime that president Trump said he would liberate, have been killed.  As a result of this war, our service members have had their deployments in The Middle East abnormally extended, such as the sailors on the USS Gerald Ford, today is on day 294 with no end in sight, and thousands of marines waiting for weeks in The Middle East aboard amphibious ships as plans for the Strait Of Hormuz keep keeps changing.  At home, the war has driven up inflation, driven down the stock market, raised interest rates, and sharply driven up energy prices.  President Trump ignored US military advice that Iran would close the Strait Of Hormuz, where 20% of the world's oil and 30% of its fertilizer transits.  Mister speaker, researchers at Brown University a few days ago released a real time running Iran war cost tracker that calculates the increased cost to gasoline and diesel fuel since February. 

As of this morning, American consumers have paid 19,900,000,000.0 in added costs.  And if you go to the website, which is on the poster here, you can watch in real time as the meter runs.  The average price of gas at the war start was $2.98.  Today, it is $4.12.  Diesel was $3.67, and today, it is $5.65. 

This morning, in my district on the way to the airport in Enfield, Connecticut, gas is $2.42, $4.29, and diesel is a staggering $6.19.  Any member of this house visiting a farm like a dairy farm that I visited back home during the Easter break or small businesses like homebuilders that run their equipment on diesel have heard about the shock and hit that they are taking in terms of keeping their operations sustainable and profitable.  The entire world had high hopes that the present two week cease fire would quickly pivot to a longer term deal and opening of the strait.  But after negotiations fell through, the president announced that he was instituting a naval blockade of all Iranian ports with no allied support, another example that he continues to believe he is free to escalate this war without any obligation to adhere to constitutional norms.  Mister speaker, let me be very clear. 

Every legal authority indicates that under the law of the sea, this is an act of war.  In testimony to the senate on January 28, secretary of state and national security adviser, Marco Rubio himself said, quote, a blockade is an act of war.  Mister speaker, the one role that the Trump administration has acknowledged congress must must play is to vote on funding this war.  There are reports that a request is coming to us for as much as $200,000,000,000 to pay for his his his initiative.  Let me be clear. 

This body is not and should not be a rubber stamp that forces the cost onto taxpayers for war decisions which were made outside the law.  Two hundred and twenty eight years ago, James Madison wrote the following, quote, the constitution supposes what the history of all governments demonstrates that the executive is the branch of power most interested in war and most prone to it.  It has, accordingly, with studied care, vested the question of war in the legislature.  On March 5, I joined 211 of my colleagues in voting yes on the house war powers resolution number 38.  This war powers resolution failed by a vote of two twelve to two nineteen. 

This week, the party the this body has another chance to show the American people that we are listening to them and are aware of the damage caused by this conflict and have an opportunity to rein in the unilateral actions of this president that is dangerously weakening and isolating our country.  Congress cannot wait any longer to act, and I implore my colleagues to support this resolution when it this bipartisan resolution when it comes to the floor this week.  I yield back. 

11:11 - 11:15

Speaker 1

The chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania, mister Joyce, for five minutes.

11:20 - 14:49

John Joyce

Thank you, mister speaker. Mister speaker, I rise to recognize Chris Ardinger of Mercynsburg, Pennsylvania for his selection as the recipient of the spirit of the community award. The award honors individuals who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to improving the quality of Franklin County life, where Chris serves as the administrator of Antrim Township. Known for his transparent leadership and reliability, Chris has made significant contributions to enhancing the quality of life in the Cumberland Valley. Most certainly, Chris Artinger has devoted his life to professional and volunteer community activities.

A former executive director of the Tuscarora Area Chamber of Commerce, Chris was elected to the Tuscarora School District Board of Directors at the age of 19. And then he served eight years, including two as the board president. On behalf of the constituents throughout Franklin County and the entire 13th Congressional District, I congratulate Chris Artinger on this prestigious award, and I thank him for his contributions to our great communities. Thank you. Mister speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise to honor the life and the career of Don Bailey, an educator, an administrator, a football coach who passed away recently in his hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

A graduate of Forest Hills High School, coach Bailey dedicated his entire professional life to the school district, serving as a teacher, a principal, and an administrator. As head football coach at Forest Hills, coach Bailey became a legend over his forty five years. His success includes 375 wins, 11 Laurel Highlands Conference championships, and 10 District six championships. Over the years, coach Bailey was honored with induction into the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Hall of Fame and the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame. He was also selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Football Foundation.

As we pause to remember his legacy, we also keep his wife Diane and all of his family in our prayers. Please join me in honoring the life of coach Dawn Bailey, who was truly a Cambria County football legend. Thank you. Mister speaker, I rise to honor former Saxton fire chief Mark Taylor, who stepped down from his position in November after forty years of dedicated service. During the Saxton Volunteer Fire Company's recent annual banquet, chief Taylor was presented with an award that recognizes his unwavering dedication.

Chief Taylor joined the fire company as a volunteer fifty years ago. He has been described by colleagues as a beacon of leadership to ensure the safety of his entire community. Chief Taylor's legacy includes mentorship of countless firefighters and a strategic vision that positioned teamwork at its core. Thank you, chief Taylor, for your profound impact on the municipalities served by the Saxon Volunteer Fire Company and for your vital role in inspiring firefighters throughout your years of service. Thank you.

14:53 - 15:40

Joe Courtney

Mister speaker, I rise to congratulate Richard Furtick junior of Smith Transportation on selection of professional driver of the year. This award is the profession's highest honor, recognizing safety, leadership, and community impact of professional drivers. Richard Furtick Junior has been driving trucks for Smith Transport for more than twenty years. Since joining Smith Transport, he has accumulated more than 2,000,000 miles driving safely, which is a testament to his commitment to precision, to discipline, and to safety. As a veteran, Richard's truck is wrapped in a powerful tribute to Vietnam veterans, and it has become a symbol of respect everywhere that he drives.

15:41 - 16:04

John Joyce

Like many others, mister Furtick considers Smith Transport founder Barry Smith to be his role model and his mentor. On behalf of constituents throughout Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District, best wishes for continued success, continued safety, and continued achievement. Thank you, mister speaker, and I yield back.

16:07 - 16:12

Speaker 1

The chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia, mister Subra Manyam, for five minutes.

16:16 - 17:55

Suhas Subramanyam

Mister speaker, we need to stop this administration from trying to collect private medical data on federal employees and their families. Recently, OPM, the office of personal managements, started asking federal workers and their family members for their detailed monthly health records. And this isn't just trends or summaries, this is things like prescriptions and claims, and so all of this data has personally identifiable information that paints a clear picture of a person's private life and health. And why do they want to do this? Well, we're not really sure.

One story from OPM is that this is to help provide competitive, quality, affordable health plans. But OPM already has health claims data warehouses, and they haven't really explained how this would actually help with finding a competitive plan. They certainly haven't cited legal authority for why they are entitled to every federal worker's detailed health information. And we are being asked right now to trust that this will all be secure, but they haven't really outlined how they're going to keep this information safe. And OPM, well, they have a really poor track record.

And this is the agency that leaked 21,000,000 records in one of the largest federal data breaches in recent history. And last year, there were were credible reports that Doge personnel were granting sweeping access to sensitive OPM systems and data. So a federal judge has temporarily blocked this policy of collecting federal worker health data because it likely violates the Privacy Act, but we need to permanently stop this policy from moving forward. So instead of going after federal workers' personal information, I'd ask OPM to instead focus on processing the backlog of retirement claims, which has surpassed 55,000 cases. But in any case, I hope my colleagues will join me in opposing what OPM is doing here.

18:01 - 18:44

John Joyce

Mister speaker, I I rise in opposition to the planned reorganization of the Forest Service, which will mean the relocation or closure of dozens of Forest Service offices. The Forest Service is an agency many of us don't think about, but it does so much important work that impacts our lives every day. They protect national forests, wildlife diversity, and watersheds. They lead the fight against forest fires and promote fire prevention, and they research forest health and manage a 193,000,000 acres of land. And we already know that these relocations and closures of forest service offices will be a disaster because the first Trump administration relocated just three offices, and this resulted in the largest loss in productivity and staffing in recent history for that agency.

18:44 - 19:36

Suhas Subramanyam

And that's just three offices. Imagine moving the entire headquarters, is two sixty employees. Those folks, some of whom are my constituents, would have to choose between their jobs or uprooting their lives and their families. And the administration also wants to close 57 of 77 Forest Service research facilities. And this will slow down or end research on wildfire prevention, logging techniques, endangered species research, and climate change response.

I could keep going. But this is irresponsible given the record temperatures we are seeing every day, every year, and the once in a lifetime droughts and floods that are happening every few years. This can't be about reducing waste, fraud, and abuse or streamlining government because the move itself would be incredibly costly, and the natural disasters that result from them will be far more costly than maintaining these offices. So I urge this administration to stop these disastrous relocations of the Forest Service. Thank you, and I yield back.

19:39 - 19:43

Speaker 1

The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Iowa, miss Miller Meeks, for five minutes.

19:47 - 21:02

Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Thank you, mister speaker. Mister speaker, I rise today to recognize what is shaping up to be one of the most significant tax days in American history and to remind Americans to file on time and take full advantage of the relief available to them this year. Thanks to the working families tax cut, millions of Americans are seeking real relief with average savings of nearly 4,000 for working and middle class families. This law delivers where it matters most. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, tax relief for seniors, support for small businesses, and new investment accounts to help the next generation get ahead.

And it's already making a difference. As a matter of fact, last week when I was traveling my district going into a gas station convenience store, a gentleman was coming out, looked at me, and said, thank you very much. I got my refund back. It's bigger than I've ever had. I'm a democrat.

I won't vote for you, but I appreciate the refund. This isn't just about tax policy though. It's about giving more Americans freedom to pay their bills, save for their future, pay prescription drugs, and provide for their families. Tax day is April 15, and if you haven't filed yet, now is the time. Mr.

21:02 - 21:56

Suhas Subramanyam

Speaker, I rise today to highlight the urgent need to strengthen rural health care and expand access to care for communities across Iowa and our nation. In too many rural areas, hospitals face workforce shortages, limited resources, and the constant threat of closure, putting patients at risk of losing care close to home. That's why the first of its kind $50,000,000,000 Rural Health Transformation Program is so important, an investment designed to stabilize rural hospitals, expand services, and bring back care to communities that need it most. I fought to include this program in the working families tax cuts because rural Americans deserve access to high quality care regardless of their zip code. Iowa is already leading the way as the first state to tap into this program, receiving over $2.00 $9,000,000 to support rural hospitals, a supported workforce, and modern technology that are essential to the outcomes.

21:56 - 24:02

Mariannette Miller-Meeks

This helps to expand access to care. And as a physician, I know that this is important to essential better health outcomes. That's why I recently convened my third Rural Health Care Roundtable, bringing together hospitals, our Director of Medicaid, to ensure this program is implemented in a way that meets the needs of patients and providers, especially in rural areas. Expanding access to care means stronger communities, better outcomes, and ensuring that no one is left behind simply because of where they live. Mr.

Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the successful return of the Artemis two crew on April 10. Commander Reed Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen completed a historic ten day mission traveling around the far side of the moon and farther from Earth than any humans in history. During their journey, they tested critical systems aboard the Orion spacecraft, paving the way for future missions that will return Americans to the lunar surface. Their safe splashdown off the coast of California marks a major milestone in American space exploration. This mission also highlights the contributions of institutions across our country, including the University of Iowa, whose researchers have played an important role in advancing radiation monitoring and astronaut safety, building on decades of leadership in space science.

We are grateful for the dedication of these scientists, engineers, and mission teams who made this achievement possible. Congratulations to the Artemis two crew and on NASA on this extraordinary accomplishment, and may we continue to lead the world in exploration and innovation. God bless the Artemis two, NASA, and god bless America. Mister speaker, I would like to, say happy birthday to a good friend of our family, Rodolfo Maciel. Mister speaker, I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to my brother-in-law, Bob Brandhoover.

Mister speaker, I would like to wish a happy birthday to my son, Jonathan. Happy birthday, Jonathan. With that, mister speaker, I yield.

24:04 - 24:07

Speaker 1

The chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida, mister Frost, for five minutes.

24:16 - 24:27

Suhas Subramanyam

Mister speaker, I rise today in support of the discharge petition to extend temporary protected status for Haiti. This petition, which I'm very proud to be following the leadership of rep

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