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Calamity Does Not Pause for Campaigns

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 3, 2026
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. WHITESIDES. Mr. Speaker, we stand at an hour of profound peril, yet this Chamber contemplates premature retreat. All of October is already reserved for recess. Now, majority leadership is weighing the addition of 2 or even 3 more recess weeks in September, turning an already extended 5 weeks of absence into as much as 8 weeks of abdication.

Calamity does not pause for campaigns. Abroad, the war in Iran burns hotter by the hour. At home, millions face canceled care, punishing tariffs add thousands to family bills, and our national debt mounts.

From the West's wildfires to flooding and a fall full of hurricanes, natural disasters demand not our departure but our duty.

Mr. Speaker, we were elected not to flee friction but to forge solutions. Let us reject retreat, remain at our posts for September, and do the work for the American people.

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