Providing for Consideration of H.R. Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act; and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1576 and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1576

Resolved, That at any time after adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1449) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to increase the frequency of lease sales, to require replacement sales, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. No amendment to the bill shall be in order except those printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution. Each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit.

Sec. 2. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 9495) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to postpone tax deadlines and reimburse paid late fees for United States nationals who are unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad, to terminate the tax-exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Ways and Means now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. Speaker, we are here to debate the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 9495 and H.R. 1449.

The rule provides for H.R. 1449 to be considered under a structured rule. It provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and by the ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources, or their designees.

The rule further provides for H.R. 9495 to be considered under a closed rule, providing for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means, or their designees.

The rule provides for a motion to recommit for each bill.

Mr. Speaker, we have had our eyes opened to a lot in the wake of last year's horrifying October 7 attack in Israel. We have been reminded of how much anti-Semitism still somehow exists in our own country. As we saw American citizens taken hostage by Hamas, we were also sadly reminded of the many Americans who have been taken hostage or illegally detained across the world.

H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act is twofold.

First, it directs the IRS to disregard the time during which a person being held hostage for purposes of when that person filed their tax returns, paid income taxes, or filed a claim. This will also be true for their spouses.

This is a small thing, given the circumstances they have endured, but an obvious one. It is so obvious that it sounds silly to say it out loud that someone should not have to worry about missing the deadline to file their taxes because they were being held hostage.

This bill also addresses abuses within the nonprofit sector that support terrorism by prohibiting these organizations from maintaining their tax-exempt status if they are found to have provided material support or resources to a terrorist or terrorist-supporting organization.

After October 7 and the anti-Semitism that spread rapidly across campuses, the House Ways and Means Committee began investigating tax- exempt organizations to make sure they were not making contributions that would benefit terrorists.

It seems fairly obvious that if your organization is supporting terrorist activity in any way, shape, or form, you should at a minimum lose your tax-exempt status.

This bill is so sensible it should have been able to pass under suspension, and yet, somehow the Democrats still did not understand the wish of the American people. Americans want to protect their citizens and not support terrorism. It is that simple. I cannot understand how many of my colleagues voted against this bill last week, but I will be proud to vote for it again.

This rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 1449, the Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act, or the CLEAN Act, which will provide certainty for U.S. geothermal energy projects.

Right now, the Department of the Interior is required to have a competitive lease sale every 2 years. However, some States have not had a lease sale for much longer than that. Under this legislation, the Secretary of the Interior must hold these sales annually and must respond to the permit applications within 30 days of receipt to let the applicant know if their application is complete. If it is, the Secretary has 30 days to issue a final decision.

Geothermal energy is clean and renewable, making it a great way to expand America's energy portfolio and meet our growing demand domestically rather than relying on other Nations. I look forward to supporting these two bills.

My Democrat colleagues continue over and over and over to try to demonize and vilify President-elect Trump. They just spent months trying to turn him into the boogieman who is going to destroy this country and create chaos. Voters flatly rejected this attempt by Democrats to paint President-elect Trump as a fascist or dictator, all kinds of names they came up with. Instead, they sent him back to the White House and gave him a majority in the Senate and a majority in the House.

Yet, here my Democrat colleagues are again trying to use Donald Trump to scare their voters. The truth is, under President Trump's previous administration, we had terrorists on the run, and Americans at home and abroad were safer than they have ever been under this administration.

While my Democrat colleagues are desperately trying to find a way to justify allowing American nonprofits to send money to terrorists, House Republicans stand ready to defund terrorism and make America safe again.

I do think it is rich that the Democrats are talking about President Trump going after these groups because the Democrats, both under President Obama and under President Biden, have gone after conservative groups trying to make them look like terrorists and trying to call them terrorists.

I think the bill simply wants to stop real terrorists and stop those groups from receiving favored tax status under our tax laws and making sure that we are addressing terrorism in the United States and abroad.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again, my colleague can't move on from the tired old lines. It is the same rhetoric we have heard for the last 4 years. Throughout the election, we have heard it and heard it, but I want to say that the election is over. I urge the Democrats to please stop telling the American people what they voted for or what they should think and start listening to the American people.

The House Republicans are committed to the security and prosperity of the American people, and the two bills before us are further evidence of that.

The CLEAN Act supports domestic geothermal drilling, expanding our energy portfolio, and bringing more safe and efficient energy jobs to our country. It also ensures a timely application process through the Department of the Interior.

The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act takes away a small part of the burden for those who return to our country after experiencing the horrors of being held hostage, and it ensures that nonprofits that are receiving favored tax status are not contributing to the terrorist organizations in any way.

These are straightforward pieces of legislation that are good for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I support the rule and the underlying legislation.

The material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows: An Amendment To H. Res. 1576 Offered By Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 3. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 12) to protect a person's ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider's ability to provide abortion services. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 4. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 12.
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