PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7148, CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7147, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026; AND FOR...

On 2026-01-22, Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5) delivered a floor speech titled "PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7148, CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R." in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered taxes, the environment. It referenced legislation including HR7148, HR7147, HR7006, among other bills.

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7148, CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7147, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026; AND FOR...

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 15 (Thursday, January 22, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 15 (Thursday, January 22, 2026)] [House] [Pages H1177-H1183] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7148, CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7147, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1014 and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1014 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. 7148) making further consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, 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 Appropriations or their respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. The amendment printed in part A of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules. Each such further 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 further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the House with such further amendments as may have been adopted. 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 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. 7147) making further consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes. 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 Appropriations or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit. Sec. 3. The chair of the Committee on Appropriations may insert in the Congressional Record not later than January 23, 2026, such material as he may deem explanatory of H.R. 7148 and H.R. 7147. Sec. 4. The Clerk shall not transmit to the Senate a message that the House has passed H.R. 7148 until H.R. 7147 is passed by the House. Sec. 5. In the engrossment of H.R. 7148, the Clerk shall-- (a) add the text of Divisions A, B, and C of H.R. 7006, as passed by the House, as new matter to follow Division D of H.R. 7148, redesignated as Divisions E, F, and G, respectively; (b) add the text of titles I through V of H.R. 7147, as passed by the House, as new matter designated as Division H, to follow the text added pursuant to subsection (a); (c) redesignate Divisions E and F of H.R. 7148 as Divisions I and J, respectively; (d) assign appropriate designations to provisions within the engrossment; (e) conform cross-references and provisions for short titles within the engrossment; and (f) be authorized to make technical corrections, to include corrections in spelling, punctuation, page and line numbering, section numbering, and insertion of appropriate headings. Sec. 6. House Resolution 375, as amended by the amendments printed in part C of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, is hereby adopted. .The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Yakym). The gentlewoman from North Carolina is recognized for 1 hour. Ms. FOXX. 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. {time} 0920 General Leave Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from North Carolina? There was no objection. Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and of the underlying legislation. This morning, the Rules Committee met and produced a rule, House Resolution 1014, providing for consideration of H.R. 7147 and H.R. 7148. The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, under a structured rule with two amendments made in order. The rule further provides that H.R. 7147, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026, will be considered under a closed rule. The rule provides each bill 1 hour of general debate divided equally between the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees and one motion to recommit. Additionally, in the engrossment of H.R. 7148 after final passage in the House, the text of H.R. 7006, the Financial Services and General Government and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026, and H.R. 7147 will [[Page H1178]] be added to the bill. The Clerk will redesignate the sections and be authorized to make technical and conforming changes. Mr. Speaker, with consideration of this rule and its two underlying measures, the House stands firmly upon the 1-yard line. We are, indeed, ready to move forward and complete the appropriations process. We are ready to lock in the final components of our 12 fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills. Additionally, we are ready to further cement our long-overdue return to regular order in this legislative body. It will be a welcome return, indeed, Mr. Speaker. Here is the simplest of truths that all of us here understand and need to be reminded of regularly: There will never be such a thing as a perfect piece of legislation or a perfect package of bills. Perfection is a phantom. Many may seek it with the best of intentions, but in the end, it is unattainable. That is just a fact of life that we must understand. I can imagine that there are Members who want to see more within these measures, and there are some who want to see less. Both positions are to be expected, but here is the bottom line: We should never let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The two appropriations measures under consideration here today, as well as the ones this body has passed previously, all bear the hallmarks of the America First agenda. They meet the priorities of the President and the priorities of the American people. They make sizeable contributions to America's strong posture of defense, our Nation's systems of infrastructure, national security, and research and innovation within health. As Chairman Cole has noted multiple times over, this process has been Member-driven and deliberate, and I wholeheartedly agree with that. I will also add that this process and the monumental victories that we have achieved thus far signal a fundamental, positive change within this legislative body, a change we should take note of and celebrate. Let's finish out this process and deliver this final tranche of appropriations bills across the finish line. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. First, Mr. Speaker, let me thank the staff on the Rules Committee, both the majority and the minority staff, because they put up with an awful lot. The way this House is being run, the process and procedures, are absolutely awful. Mr. Speaker, I would say that this is a clown show, but that would be an insult to actual working clowns who probably lost their healthcare in the big, ugly bill that Republicans passed, but whatever. This is not the way this House of Representatives should be run. Out of the four appropriations bills before us, only one, the Defense bill, was given an amendment process, where the majority issued a call for amendments. Overall, 9 out of the 12 appropriation bills this cycle did not receive any call for amendments. In other words, nobody was asked to offer amendments to participate in this process. They were told that their views and their opinions didn't matter. Last week, Republicans made in order 2 out of 78 amendments submitted to the two-bill minibus that we considered. Again, neither of those amendments had a call for amendments prior. The week before, Republicans made zero amendments in order on a three-bill minibus out of 40 submitted. Only one of those bills had an amendment p

Referenced legislation: SJRES88, HRES375, HRES1014, HR7006, HR7147, HR7148