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House of Representatives

Expanding Scotus

2026-09-02

“I am happy Major General Schneider is in charge of Picatinny Arsenal in my district. He served in the Army for a long time. He did many things. He was in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Now he is in charge of buying things for the Army. I think he is a good leader. I think he will do a good job. I like having an important Army base in my district. I want people in my district to have jobs at the Army base.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Major General Christopher D. Schneider for his new role as the commanding general of Picatinny Arsenal in addition to serving as the portfolio acquisition executive for agile sustainment and ammunition. General Schneider brings to this role more than three decades of distinguished service to our Nation. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, he began his career as an infantry officer, serving with the 1st Infantry Division, the 18th Airborne Corps, and the 82nd Airborne Division. Also, he served with the 75th Ranger Regiment, with deployments to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He later transitioned to the Army Acquisition Corps, where he held senior leadership positions focused on strengthening our Nation's military capabilities and advancing critical technologies. As commanding general of Picatinny Arsenal, General Schneider takes on an important responsibility for the U.S. Army and will be supported by one of the most talented and hardworking workforces in the Army right here in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District. I congratulate General Schneider on his new role and look forward to working with him to support Picatinny Arsenal, its workforce, and our national security. I welcome General Schneider to Picatinny and thank him for his service to our country.

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“I am happy a Black woman is chief of police. I want the police to be nice. I want the police to listen to people. I think she will do a good job. I am proud of her.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the leadership of Niheema Malloy, the first woman and the first Black woman to serve as chief of police in Maplewood, New Jersey. Chief Malloy was appointed to this position with over 25 years of law enforcement experience. Under her leadership, Maplewood would have a department built on community partnership, officers trained in de- escalation, in crisis response, and in listening before a crisis ever happens. Chief Malloy is committed to putting Maplewood first by ensuring that community safety and protection go hand in hand with the well-being of our residents. New Jersey is proud of Chief Niheema Malloy. Her leadership reflects the very best of our communities, and I thank her for her remarkable service.

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“I don't like the Supreme Court. I want Congress to change it. I want more justices on the court. I want term limits. I want more rules. I don't like that the Court has power. I want Congress to fight them. I think the other party is dangerous. I want my party to change the court.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, our forefathers showed tremendous wisdom at the founding of our Nation. They created a republic based on democratic values but remained keenly aware of the danger power, ambition, and corruption could present to future generations. Today, House Republicans are asking Congress to surrender its power, a power that rightfully belongs to the American people. Our Founding Fathers gave Congress countervailing power to the executive, which this ideologically captured Court is actively attempting to upend. That is disgraceful, and if we do not forcefully push back, it will not end. Expanding the Court is one of the clearest tools we have to restore its integrity. Ethics reforms and staggered term limits would prevent any single President from stripping the American people of our democracy. Every day we let this administration tighten its grip on our highest court of the land puts every single constitutional protection we enjoy at risk. I did not come to Congress to watch our democracy get dismantled in silence. I will not watch it happen now. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to gather the intestinal fortitude to do what is right in this moment because history and the American people are watching.

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House of Representatives

Honoring Bruce James

2026-09-01

“I am sad my friend died. He did a lot for our community. He wanted a higher minimum wage. He wanted more parks and safety. He will be missed.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Passaic County commissioner and my friend Bruce James. Bruce served as a county commissioner for over 20 years and previously served as a union leader at the Passaic County Board of Social Services. Bruce was a lifelong champion of working people and was integral to our fight to raise the minimum wage in New Jersey. For two decades, he showed up for our community for stronger parks, safer streets, and a county government that met families on their hardest days. He sat across that desk himself, and he never forgot it. Bruce did this work because he believed that working people deserved dignity, respect, and a government that fights for them as hard as they fight for themselves. Mr. Speaker, we carry forward Bruce's fight and his legacy with love.

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House of Representatives

Honoring Matt Trevenen

2026-07-23

“A man played lacrosse very well. He won many awards. Now he coaches lacrosse. I want to say his name and list his awards out loud.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor one of the newest inductees to the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Mr. Matt Trevenen. A graduate of Montclair High School, he is one of the most decorated attackmen at Montclair. He was a two-time first team all-State selection, a two-time Lacrosse all-American, and a two-time New Jersey Attackman of the Year. In 1998, Mr. Trevenen was named the Star-Ledger New Jersey State Player of The Year and the first player in State history to record two 100-point seasons. He currently still holds or shares six individual Montclair records. As if that wasn't enough, he went on to Princeton where he was a 3- year starter and a member of the 2001 NCAA championship team. In 1999, he was one of five New Jersey players selected to the U.S.A. Lacrosse U-19 National Team, which captured the World Championship in Adelaide, Australia. Mr. Speaker, since retiring as a player, Mr. Trevenen dedicated himself as a coach and a leader in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. I rise to celebrate him.

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House of Representatives

Congress Must Respond

2026-07-21

“I want Congress to protect the integrity of our elections. The President fired the commissioners who were supposed to do that. He wants to pass a bill that would make it harder for people to vote. Millions of Americans do not have the documents required by this bill. This is not about election integrity. It's about power and who gets to participate. The President is trying to dismantle the safeguards so he can dismiss unfavorable results. Congress must enact protections for the administration of elections and reform the Supreme Court.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with urgency. Weeks ago, President Trump fired every remaining Commissioner of the Federal agency charged with protecting the integrity of our elections. This Chamber has not reckoned with that fully, and it should. The Election Assistance Commission exists to help carry out free and fair elections in this country. It was structured by law with four bipartisan members precisely so that no single administration could control how our elections are run. That structure is the point. For over a year, this administration pressed that very Commission to require a passport or original birth certificate as a condition for voter registration. Millions of Americans do not have ready access to either document. The Commission would not act on this demand, and the courts agreed. Both checks held. Then, days after the Supreme Court granted the President new authority to remove the heads of independent agencies in a case that had nothing to do with elections, the President used that very authority in order to eliminate every Commissioner. This was not incidental. It was the removal of the officials standing between this President and a policy his own Commission and the courts have rejected. Last Thursday night, he took his case to national television. In a prime-time address from the White House, the President declassified documents he claimed proved foreign interference and widespread fraud in the election he lost over 5 years ago. He alleged a foreign government has compromised the voter data of 220 million Americans and that 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote. Independent fact checkers, who reviewed those very documents, found that they did not support the claim made about them. He presented no evidence of a single fraudulent vote because 5 years and 64 court cases have never produced even one. This Chamber has now watched the same pattern twice: raise unproven claims of fraud, then use them to justify removing the very safeguards standing in the way; first the Commissioners and now a prime-time address built to manufacture support for legislation his own party could not pass on its merits, the SAVE Act. House Republicans have pushed it through, and Senate Republicans have tried repeatedly to force it through as a reconciliation amendment, needing only a simple majority, only to see it blocked each and every time. Under this bill, a driver's license does not satisfy the registration requirement. Only a passport, an original birth certificate, or naturalization papers would. Consider what that means: 146 million Americans do not hold a valid passport, and roughly 69 million married women hold birth certificates that no longer match their legal names. When Kansas tried a version of this requirement, 31,000 eligible citizens, 12 percent of all applicants, were blocked from registering--not noncitizens, citizens. Mr. Speaker, this has never been a matter of election integrity. It is a matter of who holds power in this country and who is permitted to participate in choosing it. When a party grows uncertain it could win on the merits, the next move is rarely to accept that outcome. It is to lay the groundwork in advance so any unfavorable results can be dismissed before a single vote is counted. This Chamber should be prepared to say clearly every time that surfaces that this is not a defense of democracy. It is a preview of what happens if this administration does not like what voters decide. Congress has an obligation to respond. We must enact durable, statutory protections for the administration of Federal elections so that no single official can dismantle them by executive action. We must pursue meaningful reform of the Supreme Court, including term limits and enforceable ethical standards because a Court that keeps expanding this President's authority is not exercising oversight. It is, in fact, removing it. Each of these actions taken individually may appear isolated. Taken together, however, they constitute a sustained effort to narrow the American electorate at the exact moment this country is apt to render judgment on this administration. I will not treat this as acceptable, and I will not stop opposing it.

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House of Representatives

Honoring the 158th Anniversary of the 14th Amendment

2026-07-15

“I want to say thank you to some people. I want to say that our group will defend the 14th Amendment. I want to say that the Constitution promises equal rights for everyone. I want to say that this has been important for a long time. I want to say that we need to keep this promise. I want to say that it is our duty to do this. I am done talking now.”

“I am part of a Democratic group. We want to protect the 14th Amendment. There have been many things in history that went against the 14th Amendment. We need to protect it so people have rights. This is our duty.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the proud co-chair of the House Democratic Caucus' Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force. This month, we mark the 158th anniversary of one of the most important amendments ever added to our Constitution. Forged in the aftermath of the Civil War and paid for by the blood, sweat, and tears of Black freedom fighters and their allies, the 14th Amendment declared that every person born in these United States is anointed with inalienable rights and responsibilities, never to be infringed upon by the actions of any State or entity. Together, with the 13th and 15th amendments, it marked what historians call: The second founding of our Nation, an effort to build a democracy that truly includes everyone. History reminds us that writing rights into our Constitution is only the beginning. For decades after Reconstruction, millions of Black Americans were denied those very rights through segregation, voter suppression, and racial violence. The Constitution had not changed. What changed was whether or not our country chose to enforce it. It took generations of organizing and sacrifice before Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and began making good on the promise that existed for nearly a century. That history matters because it teaches us an important lesson: Constitutional rights do not appear or disappear overnight. They are built or weakened piece by piece, action by action. Court decisions, legislation, political rhetoric, actions that slowly erode the institutions designed to protect our democracy. Viewed in isolation, the current challenges to birthright citizenship, due process, equal protection, and the freedom to vote may seem like isolated political actions, but viewed together it becomes crystal clear that our Constitution and the promise of our second founding is under attack. What is more? It is clear that it is our duty as true patriots to combat it. That is why House Democrats created the Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force. Our mission is simple: Defend the constitutional rights that generations of Americans fought to secure. Our rights are not guaranteed simply because they are written down. They endure because people defend them. The generations before us marched, organized, and sacrificed to make the promises of the 14th Amendment real. They understood that democracy requires participation, accountability, and constant vigilance. Now, that responsibility belongs to us. Every generation faces a defining test. For generations that ratified the 14th Amendment, it was whether America would finally recognize citizenship and the humanity of those who had been enslaved. For the generations that marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, it was whether every American would have an equal voice at the ballot box. Our generation faces a different question: Will we preserve those constitutional guarantees for the generations that follow? As long as I have the privilege of serving in this House, I will continue fighting to protect that promise for every family, community, and generation to come. Mr. Speaker, the Constitution is only as strong as our willingness to defend it. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver).

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