Harriet M. Hageman · TranslatePolitics.com

House of Representatives

Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States to Require That the Supreme Court of the United States Be Composed of Nine Justices

2026-09-02

“I want this amendment. It would keep nine justices on the Supreme Court. The court has had nine members for 150 years. It blocks actions that threaten liberty. The other side wants to change the court. They want to pack it with political actors. That would end our Republic. We must stop them.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 1, proposing a constitutional amendment to maintain nine Justices on the United States Supreme Court. The composition of the Supreme Court has consistently been maintained at nine members for over 150 years, a period of time during which the Court issued some of its most important constitutional jurisprudence. Throughout these years, and as the Founders intended, the Court has served as a vital check on government power, blocking those actions that violate the Constitution and threaten individual liberty. We must remember that the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution. In recent years, however, and as the Supreme Court has correctly returned to its originalist roots, there are many on the left who have sought to politicize the Court. They justify their actions not because the Court's decisions do not fully comport with the Constitution but because such decisions undermine the leftist views of the world and the radical agenda as described repeatedly today by those on the other side. Their solution to losing these constitutional legal arguments isn't to seek to change the law but to attack the Supreme Court and threaten to pack it with judicial advocates. They thus seek to upend and eradicate 150 years of precedent to further their political agenda, an agenda that they have been unable to pursue through the legislative process. We know their agenda is both unwise and unpopular amongst the American people and will only serve to politicize a body that was always meant to be independent and impartial. Calls for packing the Supreme Court, whether it be from FDR over half a century ago or from elected Democrat officials in the 21st century, are designed to do one of two things: threaten and hold the Court hostage to control its decisions or to load it with political actors so as to change its nature entirely. Members of this body and the American public at large should recall that when one branch of government consumes another and controls its functions, the Republic ceases to exist and we descend into a state of tyranny, which is what the Democrats are seeking and especially the Democratic Socialists of America. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Biggs and Chairman Jordan for their leadership on this legislation, and I urge all of my colleagues to support H.J. Res. 1.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

House of Representatives

Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026

2026-09-01

“I support this bill. It will help lobster and crab fisheries. New rules almost shut them down. The old rules used bad data. Congress stopped new rules for 6 years. Now they need more time to get good data. The bill gives them time. It follows Trump's order about American seafood. We need time to study how wind farms affect whales and fish. Anyone who cares about them should support this. I thank my colleague for this good bill. I want everyone to vote yes.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 9436, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act. This legislation will help to safeguard some of the United States' most iconic fisheries, American lobster and Jonah crab. In Maine, the lobster industry has been subject to regulatory whiplash and operational uncertainty due to pending burdensome regulations and activist litigation. In 2022, NOAA was poised to finalize regulations to protect the North Atlantic right whale, a move that risked shutting down this fishery entirely. Leaders in the industry argue that those regulations were developed with flawed, inaccurate data. To combat this, in 2022 Congress enacted a 6-year pause on the enactment of new regulations, which gave the State regulators and the industry more time to gather more up-to-date science and data to inform new regulations. While that work is ongoing and has been productive, it has been made clear that more time is needed to incorporate the latest data into final regulations. H.R. 9436 does just that, ensuring that final regulatory decisions are made in a thoughtful, deliberate manner. Most importantly, this bill advances the goals and objectives laid out in President Trump's executive order, ``Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.'' By allowing adequate time to incorporate the latest science and data into regulations, we can ensure that one of the country's most vital fisheries can continue to operate while safeguarding endangered species like the North Atlantic right whale. This bill also allows for the ability to further study the impact of offshore wind farms on our aquatic resources, including the North Atlantic right whale. Anyone who claims to care about our whale and fishery populations would surely support such investigations to ensure data-driven and science-based decisionmaking. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Lawler for his leadership on this bill and his work to protect our fishermen, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important bill.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

House of Representatives

Congratulating Miriam Washut

2026-07-15

“A high school student in my state won a civics scholarship. I want to praise her. I want people to see me praising good students. I like to talk about the American revolution. Talking about it makes me look patriotic.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate high school senior Miriam Washut of Lander on winning the grand prize in the Presidential 1776 Award. This national civics contest challenges high school students across the country on their knowledge of the Founders, the Revolutionary War, and the documents that delivered the birth of our Republic. Miriam demonstrated her superior knowledge of America's founding at every stage of this national competition, earning her a well-earned prize of a $150,000 scholarship and a trip to the Oval Office where she told the President her plans to attend Wyoming Catholic College. Mr. Speaker, 250 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, students like Miriam show the promise of our revolutionary principles carried on by the next generation for another 250 years. Mr. Speaker, I thank Miriam for making Wyoming proud with her profound interest in America's founding.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

House of Representatives

National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027

2026-07-15

“I like this bill. It will cut spending. It will fight against climate change rules. It will stop bad U.N. agencies. I don't want the U.N. to make us pay for climate change. I don't want China to control U.N. agencies. This bill will stop that. I want America to be in charge. We should pass this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8595, the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. I commend Chairman Diaz-Balart for his bold leadership to reform U.S. foreign aid over the last several funding cycles. Today, we have a bill before us with additional important reforms. This bill puts forward a second consecutive year of spending cuts, counters the global climate lunacy agenda, and holds rogue U.N. agencies accountable. Specifically, this bill delivers real solutions on issues I have prioritized over the last several years. Since 2023, the U.N. has been setting the stage for nations to sue one another for violations of climate change treaties, with the spoils of these lawsuits being for so-called climate reparations. Foreign countries and global environmentalists are seeking to target our country and energy producers at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer. This bill aligns with legislation I have introduced to block climate reparations. Secondly, Washington, D.C., has turned a blind eye to the Chinese Communist Party's infiltration of the United Nations, with our taxpayer dollars being used to fund the CCP's malign influence agenda. The CCP has been successful in winning elections to lead various strategic U.N. agencies and then modifying their policies to the benefit of Beijing rather than the West. The legislation before us today cuts off U.S. resources to those U.N. agencies that embrace CCP leadership. America should be steering the decisions of these organizations, not the CCP. H.R. 8595 further advances a bold new agenda of American foreign relations, and I commend Chairmen Diaz-Balart and Cole for their leadership. Mr. Chair, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗