Pat Harrigan

“I want the House to pass this bill. It gives land to North Carolina to build a home for veterans. The Army supports it, and our veterans deserve this care. I will work to include this plan in our final defense bill.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, one of the benefits of sitting on the House Committee on Armed Services is that we have a lengthy legislative streak of enacting the National Defense Authorization Act. It is a bill that sets the policies for the national security of our Nation. I will provide some assurance to the sponsoring Member that I will work diligently to have this provision incorporated into the conference discussions of the National Defense Authorization Act that I hope will be finalized this Congress. In summary, this is a strong bipartisan bill that is worthy of being enacted. The Army supports this bill, and it is the minimum support that we can provide to support the veterans who have labored so hard for our Nation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”

“I want you to support this amendment. Speed cameras on military bases unfairly cost junior troops money. Military police already enforce the speed limits. Also, the computer network these cameras would use is not secure from our enemies.”

“Mr. Chair, I appreciate my colleague from California’s concern about overall base safety. I think if we step back and actually look at the big picture here, what we are talking about is simply a tax on our lower enlisted personnel. We have military police to enforce safety standards that are already issued by the base commanders across every installation that we have. At the end of the day, we cannot deny that NIPRNet has been compromised by over 90 percent of our most serious and significant adversaries--the exact same net that these speed cameras would live on. I think that is a significant concern for the safety and security of our installation personnel and the operations that are ongoing on our installations. For that reason, I encourage my colleagues to strongly support this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.”

“I want Congress to pass this bill to support research into advanced geothermal energy. We need more reliable power for our growing electric grid, but we lack the technology to use heat deep underground. This bill directs the Department of Energy to help solve those technical problems.”

“Madam Speaker, when Americans think about energy, they usually think about things that we can see: oil fields, natural gas pipelines, nuclear power plants, wind farms. One of the greatest energy opportunities in our country isn’t aboveground. It is beneath our feet. That is why I am proud to rise in support of my Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act, legislation I am leading with Congresswoman Salinas. America has an extraordinary opportunity to unlock a new source of reliable, around-the-clock power. A single supercritical geothermal well has the potential to produce more than seven times the energy of a conventional geothermal well. Experts estimate next-generation geothermal could ultimately provide up to 90 gigawatts of electricity right here at home. The problem is not that our country lacks the resources, but we lack the technology to fully unlock it. This bill helps close that gap. It directs the Department of Energy to tackle the engineering challenges that still stand in the way of commercialization, expands real-world testing, and strengthens the partnerships between our national labs, universities, and private industry that have always driven American innovation. This is exactly what the government should be doing, not picking winners and losers, but helping solve the kinds of technical challenges the private sector can’t solve alone. Reliable baseload power is no longer a luxury. As AI transforms our economy, manufacturing returns to America, and electricity demand continues to grow, we need to be investing in the technologies that will power the next generation. More reliable American energy means lower costs for hardworking families, a stronger electric grid, and less dependence on foreign adversaries. This bill does exactly that. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Salinas for her partnership, and I urge all of my colleagues to support the Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act.”