Adrian Smith

Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from New Mexico for laying out the issues so ably that are before us with this House resolution on the Boundary Waters. It is wonderful to have a colleague who not only is really good at being a legislator but who is also an outstanding hunter and fisherman and then, on top of that, is also an engineer so that he can explain to us the impacts of this kind of mining on the environment with a scientific expertise that I just really value.

Mr. Speaker, tax day is usually a very painful reminder of how much of one's hard-earned money goes out the door. Today would have been no different from the past if Democrats had gotten their way and if Republicans had failed to pass the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. Take my district, for example, where a typical family of four's taxes would have increased by 26 percent, costing them more than $1,300 a year. For most families, $1,300 is not chump change. It is rent, a home improvement project, or even about 7 weeks' worth of groceries. However, today is different.

Mr. President, I rise today to discuss a Congressional Review Act resolution H.J. Res. 140 that could come before the Senate any time over the next 2 weeks, and I want to speak directly to my Republican colleagues about this CRA and why you should vote against it. This CRA would roll back protections for the Boundary Waters Wilderness in Northeastern Minnesota. It would allow copper-nickel sulfide mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters, which would be devastating to the wilderness.

Mr. President, I rise today with a solemn heart to honor the life of U.S. Army Reserve MSG Nicole Amor from White Bear Lake, MN. Master Sergeant Amor was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Kuwait when she, along with five other servicemembers, lost her life serving our Nation on March 1, 2026, during a drone attack. The State of Minnesota is wrapping its arms around Master Sergeant Amor's family and friends as we grieve.