“I want more time for all of us to keep talking. Five more days to speechify and pad the record.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from Congress.
Recent debates
8 latest topics
Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026
13 statements
Moment of Silence in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of September 11
2 statements
Honoring Former U.S. Representative Charles Hatcher of Georgia
2 statements
Recognizing Firefighters from California's Third Congressional District
17 statements
Saluting White Plains Beautification Foundation
2 statements
Celebrating Rural Lawyer Julie Bear
4 statements
Operation Midway Blitz Anniversary
2 statements
Catherine Watts Celebrates 100th Birthday
4 statements
House of Representatives
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
“I want more military spending. Our military power is weak. We don't make enough weapons fast. Our defense industry used to have 51 big contractors, now it has 6. Too many rules pushed small businesses out. China builds more ships and drones than us. They control 90% of critical mineral processing. We can't beat China in a long conflict. That's bad. We must spend more money on military industry. My bill will cut rules and help industry expand. It will create jobs and train workers. It will also raise military pay and improve housing and childcare for military families. We will spend $1.15 trillion. We will cut $30 billion in waste. This bill will make us stronger to fight China.”
“I like some parts of this military bill. It reforms buying weapons. It raises military pay. It supports soldiers' families. But I don't like other parts. I don't like that the other party blocked our changes. They won't let us debate some things. They won't let us talk about the war in Iran. The war in Iran is bad. The President keeps dropping bombs. It costs a lot. It doesn't make us safer. And the bill spends too much. It spends $1.6 trillion on the military. We need that money for other things. Our debt is too high. We cut healthcare to spend more on war. That's wrong. We can't pretend to care about debt, then vote for a bigger debt. We can't have it both ways. The bill spends too much and supports a bad war.”
“I like this bill. It spends a lot of money on weapons. It buys many helicopters and planes. It helps soldiers fight drones. It makes more bullets and bombs. I want this bill to pass. The government should spend more money on the military. It is very important. I want to thank the people who wrote this bill.”
“I like parts of this bill. It spends a lot of taxpayer money on ships and submarines. That will help some businesses make more money. I want to keep hiring more workers to build more ships. I don't like other parts of this bill. It spends $1 billion on old ships that don't work well anymore. I want that money spent on different ships instead. I don't like that this bill was mixed with another bill about voting. That other bill shouldn't be in here. It's not related. I want to take that part out. I want this bill to pass. But I want it changed to spend money on the things I want.”
“I want this defense bill to pass. I worked with my friend to write it. It spends a lot of taxpayer money on nuclear weapons and missile defense. It spends more money on some things and less on others. It gives more money to the Space Force. I want more money spent on many programs. I want to change how the government buys things. I want more money spent on making weapons. I want to pay our soldiers more. This bill will spend a lot of taxpayer money on many things. It will cut some programs that cost too much. I want everyone to vote yes on this big spending bill.”
“I want to thank many people. I support some parts of this bill like pay raises and building projects. But I don't support the whole thing. It spends too much money. The government is spending more and more of taxpayers' money. It is too much. They want to spend a lot on the military and on a war. But they want to cut money in other places. They want to cut health care and food for children. We have to pay for the big spending somehow. I don't think this is a good plan. It is not responsible. I will vote no.”
“I want to spend less money on nuclear weapons. I want to keep the old missiles, not buy new ones. It costs too much. I don't think we need new ones.”
“I want to buy many weapons for the military. I want to buy submarines, destroyers, and other warships. I want money for unmanned systems like drones. I want the government to spend on planes and fuel. I support a bill to spend more on our military. I think more weapons will help our country be strong.”
“I support this bill. It spends a lot of money. I want taxpayers to spend money on planes, helicopters, ground vehicles, and weapons. I want taxpayers to spend money on many programs. I am sad that some people in my party don't want to spend as much money as I do. I think spending lots of money on weapons will help our country be strong. I want more planes, helicopters, and weapons. I want more money for an office that tests weapons.”
“I support this bill to spend lots of taxpayer money on defense. I want our military to have new technology and tools. I think spending lots of money on defense will help our country be strong. I want more money spent on research and artificial intelligence. I want better coordination between different parts of the military. This bill spends lots of money on many programs. I want a strong military. I want taxpayers to spend more money on defense.”
“Our bill spends lots of money on defense. Our military will get a raise. I want our military to have enough doctors and childcare. I want the war with Iran to end. It causes high gas prices. I don't want mean politics in this bill.”
“I want to spend $1.15 trillion on defense. Other people say that is too much. I think we need that much money for ships and planes and buildings. I want our military to be strong. Some people don't think we need to spend that much. I do. I thank the people who worked on this bill.”
“I want to spend $1.3 billion more on defense. I think our military needs more money. I thank the people who worked on this bill. I want to help the defense industry. I want to give the military more power. I want the Department of War to have its old name back. I want this bill to pass.”
“I thank the people who worked on this bill. It will give more money and healthcare to the military. It will change military pay and promotion rules. It will make people focus on fighting instead of other things. I really want this bill to pass.”
“I want to support this bill. It will give more money to the military. We need a strong military to fight bad people. We must work with our friends against bad countries. The military needs new weapons and tools. We should give them money for this. The last President wanted us to spend money to defend our country. Other countries can help us. A soldier from my state said freedom is not free. This bill will help us stay free.”
“I want to support this bill. It will give more money to the military. We need a strong military to fight bad people. We must work with our friends against bad countries. The military needs new weapons and tools. We should give them money for this. The last President wanted us to spend money to defend our country. Other countries can help us. A soldier from my state said freedom is not free. This bill will help us stay free.”
“I am happy this bill will spend money in my district. It will give $1.9 billion for defense projects. That will be good for my local economy. The bill will also help our farmers and students. We should support this bill.”
“I want my amendment to pass. We should spend more money on small businesses. That will help our national security. The current rule is too strict. It locks out many businesses. My amendment will fix that. We should pass this amendment.”
“I don't like that amendment. It would change the rule. The rule is good now. It helps businesses owned by workers. I want that to keep going. The amendment would help other businesses. It would not help workers the same way. I want to keep the rule the same.”