MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Ranking Member of the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered remarks at a U.S. House Committee on Rules hearing in support of an amendment to the FY 2026 FSGG Appropriations bill that would ensure the General Services Administration (GSA), in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), submits a contracted and completed architectural and engineering plan for the Ronald Reagan building and ensure any future FBI Headquarters meets the highest security tier for federal buildings. Below are a video and transcript of his remarks:
 

Click here to watch a full video of his remarks.

“Madam Chair, thank you very, very much. I do feel strongly about the Appropriations Committee, on which I’ve served since January of 1983 – with 20 years off to be either the Majority Leader or Minority Whip. Distinguished Members of the committee, I think this amendment speaks to much of what this discussion has been about in terms of accountability, oversight, and making proper fiscally sound decisions. I want to thank you for this opportunity to testify on an amendment that I’ve submitted to the committee. 

“For nearly two decades, I’ve worked – since 2009, to be specific – to move the FBI out of the dilapidated J. Edgar Hoover building and into a new consolidated facility that meets the bureau’s operational and security needs. The Reagan Building, where this administration plans on moving the FBI, in my view, does not satisfy that objective. The building is highly exposed [to] 14th Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, you all know that they are very, very busy through ways, exposing it to a major pedestrian thoroughfare as well. There’s also a passageway connecting the building to the Federal Triangle Metro station. The Metro, I believe, runs underneath it. Critically, the Reagan Building was designed as an easily accessible – I was on the committee when we did the Reagan building – private, public facility open to the public. Big cafeteria, big parking for the public, and an atrium that is very large. Some of you have been in it for banquets or such things. It was built before 1995. Now, the reason I mentioned 1995 is because we had a tragic event in a federal building. The federal building was called the Murrah Building. (Holds up photo) The Murrah Building was bombed by a single individual in a van in Oklahoma City. I’ve got copies of this for the entire committee, Madam Chair. And 338 people were killed, 1800 people were injured, and hundreds of billions – not billions – hundreds of buildings were damaged in the residual conflagration that occurred.

“The Director of the FBI came to me – I was then the Majority Leader, this was 2009 – and said to me, ‘We’ve got to have a new building. The building’s falling down.’ There is no disagreement. The building was falling down in 2009. We’re now 17 years later. The building needs to be torn down and replaced, sold, perhaps, to the private sector. The Director of the FBI said we need to meet security standards. We cannot be on a street where a bomb can go off and devastate our people. The Congress has provided that the Interagency Security Committee Facility Security Level Five standards be applied in this case. My amendment would require the FBI and GSA – the CJS bill that we passed covers the CJS, the bill that I, the Ranking Member of Financial Services, covers GSA. GSA will actually build or rebuild, or refashion the Reagan building, if, in fact, that occurs.  What this amendment says [is] to submit to the Appropriations Committee an architectural and engineering plan that can resolve the Reagan Building’s security deficiencies, which everybody agrees, including, Madam Chair, the Four Corners of the Financial Services Committee in the Senate and in the House. I don’t believe that anybody has given me a reason substantively why this amendment is not appropriate. Any classified portions of that plan would be submitted through the classified annex. So, there may be classified parts of it. The CJS bill, which passed the House with strong bipartisan support – 375 to 47, and the final passage of 392 to 28 – had this language in it. The language that I’m asking you to adopt for the Financial Services bill that deals with GSA is the same in the CJS bill dealing with the FBI.

“This is simple due diligence, Madam Chair, I believe. Congress has already appropriated about $850 million to develop the site GSA selected, which happens to be in Greenbelt. Not in my district, but in Maryland. Clearly, we have a responsibility not to waste the taxpayers’ money on a 28-year-old building. Now, the FBI building is about 50 years old, but [a] 28-year-old building that can accommodate the FBI. Most importantly, we have a responsibility to provide for the safety of the brave men and women of the FBI who will be serving in the future in any such building. None of us wants to see a repeat of the Oklahoma bombing. The decision to move to the FBI building would make that horrific prospect, in my opinion, more, not less likely. We must do everything we can to ensure the FBI gets the facility it needs to perform its vital law enforcement and national security mission. (Holds up another photo) I’m giving this packet to you.

“First of all, let me say six of the seven security agencies are located outside D.C. Why? Because you cannot get the setback of 150ft that the security all around requires, and the campus type thing. So, the NSA, the two [buildings] are located on military bases, which are secure in and of themselves, the DIA and NSA. The National Geospatial [Intelligence Agency] is at Fort Belvoir, National Reconnaissance [is] in Chantilly, Virginia, in a site, as you can see from the pictures, I show you that. And then I show you the site that the GSA selected. (Begins to point at different parts of the photograph) It is a site with a parking lot on it and wetlands on it over here, and Metro here, which Congress required proximity for the FBI employees or any employees. I’ll show you that as well. That’s the site that GSA selected. Again, it’s in Maryland. The other five of those six are in Virginia. So, Madam Chair, I believe this is not a partisan [issue]. It simply says in the amendment, and I quote, ‘No money will be spent until the contracted and completed architectural engineering plan for the Federal Bureau of Investigation new headquarters building for review to the Appropriations Committee. Any classified portion of the architectural engineering plan should be submitted through a classified briefing.’ So – I’ll stop (laughs).

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) will be among the speakers at Friday’s ribbon cutting for Northside Square, a major mixed-use project on the site of the former Northside High School. Congressman Cohen secured $1 million in fiscal year 2024 community project funding for Northside Square through the annual appropriations process to convert the vacant school into a community hub with affordable housing.

What: A ribbon cutting and celebration of Northside Square

Who: Speakers will include Congressman Cohen, Mayor Paul Young, representatives of The Works Inc. and ComCap Partners, prospective tenants and others

When: Friday, January 16, at 10:30 a.m.

Where: 1212 Vollintine Avenue (38107)

Please RSVP to Congressman Cohen’s communications director at Bartholomew.Sullivan@mail.house.gov

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today testified before the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about his priorities for Tennessee’s 9^th Congressional District and for improvements to national safety programs he has long championed.

The Committee invited individual members to present their priorities during its “Member Day” hearing as it works on the surface transportation reauthorization bill. See that testimony here.

In his remarks, Congressman Cohen highlighted advancements made from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and advocated for several bills he leads and champions. These bills include:

• Complete Streets Act
• Don’t Miss Your Flight Act
• Safe Streets and Roads for All Reauthorization and Improvement Act
• Language to request a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to identify some of the major issues with disability parking placard misuse and accessibility.
• School Bus Safety Act
• Stop Underrides Act 2.0
• Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Reauthorization
• Stronger Communities Through Better Transit Act
• Train Furtherance of Outstanding Onboard Dining Act (Train FOOD Act)
• Train Establishment of Appetizing Table Service Act (Train EATS Act)

TN-9 secured more than half a billion dollars through the IIJA including, just to name a few:

• Nearly $400 million to replace the I-55 bridge through the Bridge Investment Program; 
• Funding to modernize Memphis International Airport; 
• RAISE grants;
• PROTECT funding to safeguard the Memphis floodplain;
• Safe Streets and Roads for All funding to redesign our most dangerous intersection at Lamar Avenue, Kimball Avenue and Pendleton Street;  
• Grant support to study a new passenger rail connection; and  
• Millions more for broadband expansion and other critical investments across Tennessee.

Congressman Cohen hopes to build on this success and work with the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to deliver surface transportation bill that meets the needs of Memphis and communities across the nation. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

Review would determine the Civil War battlefield’s suitability as a unit of the National Park system

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that Tipton County will receive $146,880 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for debris removal following last April’s severe storms.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“Last year’s tornadoes that swept through Tennessee, killing 10 people, hit Tipton County particularly hard. I am pleased to see this funding, which will help to put the remnants of those storms behind us.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have limited law enforcement authority beyond immigration issues and had no right to stop Renee Nicole Good before an ICE agent shot and killed her last week.

At a committee markup today, Congressman Cohen also condemned the Trump administration’s baseless characterization of the 37-yer-old American citizen and mother of three as a domestic terrorist.

Congressman Cohen also observed that the shooter did not render aid after seeing the bleeding victim and instead drove away from the crime scene. “Law enforcement doesn’t drive off when someone’s been shot and is possibly dying. They try to render aid,” he said. “They split.”

Congressman also called for federal officials to turn over available evidence to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and state prosecutors so that an independent investigation the public will find credible can be conducted.

“The American public is not the enemy…This is a war against America and against due process and against justice,” he said. 

See Congressman Cohen’s complete remarks here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Kim Schrier (WA-08) announced that five of her Community Project Funding (CPF) requests were included in funding bills recently passed by the United States House of Representatives. These projects will help fund local law enforcement, bolster infrastructure, and address other pressing priorities for communities in the Eighth District. 

“I am proud to support these five projects that will play an integral role in bettering communities and critical services across the Eighth District,” said Congresswoman Schrier (WA-08). “As your member of Congress, I will continue to be laser-focused on bringing funding back to our district that will improve the lives of my constituents.” 

Community Project Funding allows members of Congress to advocate on behalf of their constituents by identifying local projects in need of federal funding. 

The five projects included in the recent funding package include:

• Carbonado Wastewater Treatment Plant Relocation: The Carbonado Wastewater Treatment Plant Relocation Project would make much-needed improvements to wastewater management for the Town of Carbonado while protecting critical habitats for Endangered Species Act-listed Puget Sound Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout present in the Carbon River.
• Chelan County Sheriff’s Office De-escalation Tools: The Less Lethal Solutions for Law Enforcement De-escalation Program aims to make law enforcement encounters less risky and less lethal. The program, sought out by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Department, would support the integration of various less-lethal tools into the agency’s toolkit, including ways to restrain that don’t put police or arrestees at risk, and the use of tasers if de-escalation alone isn’t sufficient.
• Covington Water District Reservoir Construction Project: The Covington Water District Reservoir Construction Project would support the replacement of two water tanks with a new 5.7-million-gallon reservoir built to withstand an earthquake or other natural disasters. The project was identified within the Storage Capital Improvement Projects in the District’s 2016 Water System Plan as well as the District’s adopted 2020 Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
• Issaquah Police Department Body Worn Cameras Equipment: The City of Issaquah Police Body Worn Cameras Equipment Project would help fund body-worn cameras and associated equipment for the Issaquah Police Department. Body-worn cameras have been shown to de-escalate encounters in addition to providing an accurate record of what transpired. 
• King County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit Upgrade Program: The King County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit Upgrade Program will allow the King County Sheriff’s Office to complete upgrades on one of its two rescue helicopters. These helicopters are critical for search and rescue, and for fighting crime.  

 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Michael McCaul (10th District of Texas)

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee — spoke at a full committee hearing titled, “Winning the AI Arms Race Against the Chinese Communist Party.”

McCaul discussed the importance of keeping American AI tech out of the CCP’s hands with former Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger.

Click to watch

Full Transcript of McCaul’s Exchange:

MCCAUL: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks for bringing this issue to the forefront. I think it’s one of the most important issues facing this committee. The great power competition with China rivals, when I was growing up, the Cold War against Russia and the space race. And for years we thought we could work with China as business partners, as you, Mr. Pottinger and Mr. Finer, were covering China. At that time, I was a young federal prosecutor in the Justice Department investigating the case of the re-election of Bill Clinton and campaign dollars flowing from China into the campaign coffers of the DNC. Why? Because they wanted the competitive advantage of our technology. What I found were deposit slips in Johnny Chung’s bank account from China Aerospace and a meeting with the director of military intelligence, where they talked about this very issue. They wanted our technology back then in 1997, and they want it today. It’s even worse — far worse today than it was in 1997, and I think y’all have laid the case out very clearly in terms of what the threat is today. 

You know, they steal so much intellectual property from this country, but we don’t have to sell it to them. And that’s the axiom that led me to introduce the ENFORCE Act. [It says] very simply, you cannot sell military-grade AI technology to China. I marked it up out of this committee … and then it was blocked from a floor vote because of outside special interest groups at play in this debate. And let’s be honest, there are outside special interest groups trying to block this, what we were talking about today and that kind of legislation. I commend the chairman for his bill, and I support it.

My U.S. attorney in Texas, as these H200 chips were smuggled into China, said, “These chips form the building blocks of AI superiority and [are] integral to modern military applications.” So [on] this agreement with NVIDIA, we met the CEO, and I asked him, “You sold them the very chips that they used to create DeepSeek AI.” AI opens the windows, the chairman said, to military-grade applications. [NVIDIA] sold them the technology that now has given them DeepSeek AI. Granted, it was legal until we caught up with it with export controls, but it demonstrates why those controls are so important.

I want to ask Mr. Pottinger this question. You said the vice chairman — and I always love using the enemy’s words against them, right — that the vice chairman of the China Semiconductor Industry Association said that he believes that they need NVIDIA chips to “catch up.” Or in other words, Beijing needs NVIDIA chips to take the lead in this great power competition. Is than an accurate statement and can you expand on that?

POTTINGER: Very good to see you, sir, thank you. That’s right, I have a fuller quote in my submitted testimony, but Wei Shaojun is the vice chairman of the China Semiconductor Industry Association. So in China, industry associations aren’t like they are here in the United States; the founding charter of the China Semiconductor Industry Association says that their purpose is to uphold Marxism, Leninism, Mao Zedong thought, and Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, so it’s basically an appendage of the party state. What he was saying just last week is that we’re going to use NVIDIA chips to leapfrog NVIDIA over time, we’re going to use NVIDIA chips to leapfrog the United States in AI. That is the policy; it’s very explicit.

MCCAUL: And it’s essentially saying we’re going to use NVIDIA chips to defeat the United States in the great power competition. Those are my words, but I think it’s very clear, the intention behind his statement. Now [NVIDIA’s] argument is this, when you talk to them: you know, we just need to get [China] hooked on our chips. These are second-generation chips. We need to hook them on our chips, so they don’t manufacture them themselves. And by the way, we need to compete with Huawei in their own market, so we have market share against Huawei. Do you buy that statement, Mr. Pottinger? … Do you buy that statement, that we need to hook them on our technology and sell them our technology and compete with them in their own market?

POTTINGER: China’s leaders, in their own words, utterly reject the premise that they will allow their country to become addicted. And by the way, Chinese companies have, from what I’ve been reading, have ordered two million of these chips. The Chinese government may not actually let them import all of those chips because they want to mandate that Chinese companies continue to buy inferior Huawei chips at the same until Huawei, they hope, can catch up. …The more advanced AI that they’re getting from the American chips, they’ll use to compete with American companies and also to advance Huawei’s planning and designs to catch up. So NVIDIA may actually be sort of seeding its own demise.

MCCAUL: Any time we compete with China in their own market, we lose market share. I yield back.

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Source: {United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bobby Scott (3rd District of Virginia)

Headline: Scott Statement on Hampton Roads Native Mike Tomlin’s Resignation as Head Coach of the Pittsburg Steelers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the resignation of Mike Tomlin as Head Coach of the Pittsburg Steelers:

“I want to extend my sincere appreciation to Coach Mike Tomlin for his extraordinary career and lasting impact on the game of football. His resignation marks the end of an era not only for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but for the entire National Football League.

“Coach Tomlin has been a model of leadership, consistency, and excellence. As one of the longest-tenured and most successful head coaches in the league, he demonstrated what it means to lead with integrity, resilience, and a commitment to both performance and people. His historic achievements—including never having a losing season—speak volumes about his discipline, preparation, and ability to bring out the best in those around him.

“For those of us in Hampton Roads, Coach Tomlin’s story is especially meaningful. A proud graduate of Denbigh High School in Newport News and a standout student-athlete at the College of William & Mary, he represents the very best of our region. His journey from our local schools to the pinnacle of professional football is a testament to the power of hard work, perseverance, and community support.

“Beyond the wins and championships, Coach Tomlin’s legacy is also defined by the doors he helped open. As one of the few Black head coaches in the NFL, he has been an inspiration to countless young people who now see what is possible when talent meets opportunity.

“I wish Coach Tomlin and his family the very best in this next chapter. His influence will continue to be felt for years to come—on the field, in locker rooms, and in the lives of the many players, coaches, and fans he inspired.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (5th District Missouri)

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) condemned the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) reported plans to open an immigration detention center in Kansas City, Missouri, calling for additional information on the process before the plan moves forward. According to the report, DHS intends to build several detention centers across the country, including in Kansas City, to hold approximately 80,000 immigrants. DHS recently awarded a $29.9 million no-bid contract to an organization that had no previous history of government contracts to facilitate the plan—which is just shy of the $30 million threshold that requires the administration to justify forgoing a competition process for the award.

“Since day one, this administration has fractured communities with ICE raids and severed families with hundreds of thousands of deportations, sweeping up legal residents and American citizens in the process. While we believe strongly in an orderly immigration system, Kansas Citians and I do not want to see the stench of these extreme mass deportation policies centralized in Kansas City,” Congressman Cleaver wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Tom Lyons.

“No human deserves to be rounded up as cattle, shipped across the country, imprisoned in warehouses, and stripped of their dignity. The proposed plan will degrade our society, divide our communities, waste taxpayer dollars, and stress the civility of our institutions to the point of fracture,” Rep. Cleaver continued.

“America’s immigration system is far from perfect, and border security is a key component. But those millions of dollars for detention centers would be better spent on finding criminals rather than attacking families and those with no criminal history,” Cleaver concluded.

In addition to condemning the administration’s plans, Rep. Cleaver requested answers to the following questions by January 23:

1. Has the administration briefed Congress on the plans and locations of these facilities?
2. Why did the administration pursue a no-bid contract, as opposed to a competitive, transparent application process?
3. Will the administration provide Congress and the general public with the locations of the proposed facilities?
4. How has the administration coordinated with local governments? Will the administration honor the local zoning policies and process? 

The official letter from Rep. Cleaver is available here.

 

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.