Providing for Consideration of S.J. Res. Disapproving the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Relating to ``Overdraft Lending: Very Large Financial Institutions''; Providing for Consideration of S.J. Res. Disapproving the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Relating to ``Defining Larger Participants of A Market for General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications''; Providing for Consideration of H.R. No Rogue Rulings Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act; and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

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Ms. PETTERSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Massachusetts for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule that will kill our bipartisan effort to allow parents who have welcomed a new child to vote remotely.

I thank Representative Luna for her unwavering commitment to giving moms and dads a voice in Congress. A large majority of the Members of the House support changing the way we do things here and making it more accessible to young families and more reflective of the American people.

Speaker Johnson pulled out all of the stops to prevent us from moving forward. We followed the rules and filed a discharge petition. We got the 218 signatures necessary to bring it to a vote on the floor. Yet, he went to historic lengths to try to stifle our voices, including blocking our resolution today before we even had the opportunity to vote for it.

Even the President supports this and doesn't understand why it is so controversial, and neither does the rest of America.

Let's be clear that the changes agreed upon by the Speaker are not a win for us. They do not address the challenges that we have worked so hard to overcome. The Speaker turned his back on moms and dads in Congress and working families across the country.

Congress is stuck doing things the way that we did hundreds of years ago, and it is time that we move it into the 21st century.

For all of the people who have said that I should resign because I can't do my job, they are completely missing the point. I am absolutely capable of doing my job, but because I am a woman and because I chose to have a baby, I have been prevented from doing so.

Mr. Speaker, I thank all of the people who have come forward on both sides of the aisle in support of this effort, and I know that our fight is far from over. We are not going to back down. We stand with the people from across the country who have reached out, inspired to see somebody like them who is struggling to manage having a new baby, balancing work, and having a work environment that does not support their needs.

Once again, I thank Representative Luna for being a champion, as well as Representatives Jacobs and Lawler for all of their work on this. We won't stop until we finally get this done.

Before I am done, I acknowledge Sam, who has now made four flights across the country to change hearts and minds and also highlight the need for reform here in Congress.

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Ms. PETTERSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that my colleague, Representative Luna, has done everything she can to try to find a path forward, and this is ultimately the only option that existed at the end.

Yet, this does not address the real barriers that people continue to face. This would be the last week that I could have been home, still working in my district, working as a Member of Congress and representing my constituents but making sure that I was not traveling across the country with my son.

Do my colleagues think that there would be one Republican here today who would stand on my behalf and vote ``present'' on the bills coming forward this week?

I don't think so. This is why this is not a workable solution. This is not going to address when people are unable to be here for medical reasons and for the well-being of their kid after giving birth. While I appreciate trying to find whatever common ground we can, this is not a deal. This does not solve our problem, and the work continues.

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