The Chair thanks and congratulates Chairwoman Bice. The Chair now invites two former Members, Dennis Ross of Florida and Cheri Bustos of Illinois, to offer remarks.

It is a great honor, your being here. The SPEAKER. No, I am happy to do it. We have some new Members. Now you are joining the real esteemed group. I am grateful to all of you. Thank you so much. Sorry to interrupt.

At this time the chair recognizes the Honorable Speaker Mike Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for being here. The SPEAKER. You know what, I am going to stand right in the middle. How about that. I am so grateful to all of you. Barbara…

Before I start on the content of this legislation, I thank the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert), the sponsor of this legislation. I also thank Chairman Comer and Mr. Raskin for working together. Mr. Speaker, that is the only nice…

At this time the Chair recognizes Former Members of Congress President, the Honorable Barbara Comstock, for remarks.

I thank the gentlewoman from Utah (Ms. Maloy) and the gentlewoman from Alaska (Mrs. Peltola) for coming together on this important bipartisan legislation. Mr. Speaker, the reality is that there are abandoned mines all over the United…

In the aftermath of a disaster, oftentimes communities will lose power. This legislation simply allows the utilities to come in and put temporary fixes in place so power can get stood back up and power can get turned back on for these…

I don't have any more speakers, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

This bill is really important. The Water Resources Development Act authorizes all the activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Speaker, something that is really key here is that under this chairman we have been able to keep this…

In closing, I want to reflect upon Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Both storms resulted in extraordinary death, with, I believe, around 1,700 lives lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This legislation is…

I send to the desk a resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the title of the resolution. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Louisiana? There was no…

I am looking forward to working with your office personally. Let us just resolve that issue.

My experience has been trying to convince people to cut it, it’s kind of like going to heaven.

I have a motion at the desk to refer the resolution to the Committee on Ethics. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion. The Clerk read as follows: Mr. Scalise of Louisiana moves to refer the resolution to the Committee…

The Member being referenced in the resolution has actually resigned from the House of Representatives. Therefore, the question is moot. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the motion to refer, and I yield back the balance of my time and…

We have heard enough on this. We can talk about it for an hour, four hours. The bottom line, Mr. Speaker: Why don't we get back to work for the people of this country. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the motion to refer. I yield back the balance…

They're spending money in our view, recklessly and so, yes, we've had a lot of discussions over the last couple of days about what our authority would be to claw some of that back and to stop it.

This is a brainstorming session.