YouSaid · the spoken record
Jamie Raskin
On the record 2025–2026
congress
This is everything the corpus holds for Jamie Raskin. It is not everything they have said on the record.
Every line below is reproduced as it was said and credited to the record it came from, and links to that record wherever it can be linked. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections
“Is it really possible that there are not people from other parts of the country who could effectively and honorably serve on the Supreme Court? Well, if we decided this on an originalist basis, we might move to place 13 Justices on the Court to match our 13 Federal circuits or we might go to 6 Justices, which was the original number there. However, MAGA's proposal is to strip Congress of all authority in the matter, to freeze it and cement it permanently in the constitutional architecture for all time, with the suddenly magic number nine. This is odd. Nine is neither the number of Federal circuits we have-- that is 13--nor is it the original number of Justices Congress placed on the Court. That was 6. Therefore, what is going on here?”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“In 1869, President Grant and Congress increased the Court to nine again with another Judiciary Act, again, matching the number of Justices to Federal Circuits. That is the tradition of circuit riding. Today, we still have nine Justices, although we have 13 Federal judicial circuits, the vast majority of which are not represented by even a single Justice among the nine currently serving on the Supreme Court. {time} 1240 In fact, the floor leader from Arizona has not only no Justices from his State on the Supreme Court, there are no Justices from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has 67 million Americans living there. Five of the Justices today come from the New York City metropolitan area, basically one for each borough.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In this 119th Congress we have watched the President's followers in Congress surrender to the President one constitutional power after another. Amazingly, the Speaker and the MAGA party have abdicated nearly every single essential power that the Framers exclusively vested in us, Congress, the Representatives of the people. First is the power to declare war, which has been usurped by the President with catastrophic results for the country and without a peep from his sycophants in Congress.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“These neighbors have enriched the social, economic, and cultural life of our State. Their loss will be felt in classrooms left without teachers, unbuilt houses, renovations unfinished, landscaping projects abandoned, friendships severed, and families deprived of breadwinners and loved ones. The Trump administration, if you are listening, please extend this vital program. Do not turn a blind eye to what is taking place. America has always served as an asylum for humanity. As Tom Paine said, it is a place of refuge for hardworking people fleeing economic, intellectual, political, religious repression and poverty from all over the world. The administration should extend TPS and assure Salvadorans of their place in our community. ____________________”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“After escaping brutal poverty in El Salvador, she went on to achieve success by providing professional cleaning services to households throughout our community. She has been an active member of her local church and congregation. With her TPS designation now in question, she worries about having to abandon her livelihood, her family, and the community she loves. She does not know what the future holds. Other hardworking Salvadorans have played an important role in the growth of one of Montgomery County's finest paint manufacturing companies. In their many years working for the company, these constituents have made impressive use of their work authorizations. They manage business affairs for the company, test its new paint formulas, and efficiently facilitate the delivery of products to doorsteps across our community.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“One of my Salvadoran constituents who obtained TPS and arrived in Maryland when she was just a baby has built an outstanding career here as an educator at an elementary school where she herself went to school in the only State and in the only country she has ever known. As a product of Montgomery County Public Schools, she is proud to give back to the community that helped her family establish a life in the United States. She hopes to keep educating the next generation of leaders. Yet the looming end of TPS next week threatens to strip her away from her students. The abrupt revocation of her status also threatens to separate her from her U.S. citizen spouse. Another constituent also arrived in Maryland as a child.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“They may be separated from the rest of their families and forced to return to a country where they will face violence and human rights violations. Their departure will create great dislocation and heartbreak in many neighborhoods. For the past 25 years, Salvadoran TPS holders have raised their families here and sent their kids to our schools, started small businesses, and added to the vibrant culture of Maryland's Eighth District. They have believed in America, and they form an essential part now of our communities. The Free State is the third-largest population of Salvadoran TPS holders in America. Every year, the 23,000 of them who call our State home contribute an estimated $732 million to our community. They have been a powerful driver of our prosperity.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, in Maryland's beautiful Eighth Congressional District, Montgomery County, Maryland, something shocking is about to happen. In 1 week, tens of thousands of people in our community will lose their Salvadoran temporary protected status. They will lose their work authorizations, and many will lose the careers that they have worked hard to build here, packing up whatever belongings they can fit into a couple of suitcases.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Baumgartner has stated the matter well. I urge everyone to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I echo my distinguished colleague in thanking the Office of Law Revision Counsel. They have done a great job on this one. They are nonpartisan, as he says, but that is not even the best thing about it. They are experts. They are professional, and they are discerning when it comes to making technical corrections. Mr. Speaker, I urge everybody to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, which will not be a lot. Mr. Speaker, the bill incorporates new provisions that have been enacted since title 51 was enacted, but it makes no substantive changes. I thank our friends in the Office of Law Revision Counsel for doing such a good job on this. Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support and approve the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the bill makes good technical changes, nothing substantive. I urge everyone to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I urge unanimous passage of this fine, seaworthy legislative vehicle, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, these are all similar recodification and editorial reclassification bills, but this one is a sparkling diamond in the rough, which is why I introduced it. It updates cross-references and corrects related technical errors throughout the entire code to accommodate previous reclassification efforts. It just makes the lawbooks a lot clearer and life a little bit better for everybody. Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The legislation incorporates certain amendments to the Inspector General Act, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and the Ethics in Government Act. It makes no substantive changes to any of these laws. Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The legislation makes a variety of technical corrections to title 49, following enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but it makes no substantive changes. Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I will not belabor the point. I like this legislation, and I am voting for it. I hope everybody does. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“4499, which updates cross-references and corrects related technical errors throughout the code to accommodate previous reclassification efforts in title 34. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support the legislation, and I thank my distinguished colleague for his leadership. I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1720”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“As part of the office's efforts to maintain the code, they work to make it more efficient and easier to navigate and understand. This includes correcting technical errors, removing ambiguities, updating statutory cross-references, and repealing provisions that have become obsolete. The bills we are considering today are a result of this exhaustive process. It is important to note that these bills make no change to the substantive meaning or effect of any existing laws. They are purely technical in nature and will help ensure that the code is authoritative, accurate, and accessible. I thank Chairman Jordan for continuing our Judiciary Committee's long tradition of considering these bills in a bipartisan way. I thank the sponsors of each bill for bringing them forward today. The first of them is H.R.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Today, we are considering a series of bipartisan and, one hopes, noncontroversial bills to help ensure that the U.S. Code is up-to-date and accessible to all American citizens. We do this at least once every Congress. This is the first time we are doing it in the 119th Congress, I believe, and I am very pleased to support this package. Currently consisting of 54 different titles, the U.S. Code is a compilation of the vast array of Federal laws organized by coherent subject matter areas. As new laws are passed, they get assimilated into the code, which is a painstaking process undertaken by the dedicated professionals who work in the Office of the Law Revision Counsel.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers here. I urge everybody to support this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi), who is an original cosponsor and eloquent champion of this legislation.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“You cannot increase trade crime enforcement without increasing the number of prosecutors working on the problem, and you cannot increase the number of staff handling trade crimes without more funding. Stopping and preventing counterfeits that hurt Americans, endanger national security, and lose billions in profits for U.S. companies is serious work. I am glad we can all agree that DOJ prosecutors should focus on keeping America safe rather than pursuing political rivals of the President and targeting perceived political enemies with bogus prosecutions. Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation strongly. I encourage my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the select committee on China, especially our distinguished colleague from Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthi, the House Appropriations Committee, and the Judiciary Committee for working to carefully negotiate this legislation that, if properly funded, will help the U.S. crack down on foreign entities that circumvent U.S. trade laws. Although DOJ already has dedicated personnel to enforce laws protecting Americans against illegal products, limited funding and resources prevent prosecutors from doing enough. If we don't provide funding for this work, the bill we are voting for today has an uncertain future. The myriad investigators, prosecutors, and support staff envisioned for the task force will never be hired.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Cyber intrusions can risk a company's trade secrets without their knowledge. They may never become aware of the data leak, but a foreign competitor can use the intellectual property to unfairly compete with targeted U.S. companies. The deluge of counterfeits and the unique way trade crimes are perpetrated make it difficult for prosecutors at DOJ to enforce our laws. This legislation would help the government prevent trade loss by creating a task force to identify, investigate, and prosecute trade crimes that hurt Americans across the economy. We are proud the legislation has been bipartisan.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 1869, which would create a new trade crimes task force within DOJ to strengthen capacity to investigate and prosecute trade-related crimes. Trade crimes are a big problem in the U.S. Foreign hackers equip computer chips with spyware and then slip them into the bloodstream of American commerce, market opportunists use unstable materials to create counterfeit batteries that end up exploding and maiming unsuspecting e- cigarette users in our country, and handbags made with forced Uyghur labor passed off as fair trade materials deepen and perpetuate our complicity with human rights crimes. Other trade crimes may not have a clear victim or defined perpetrator, but they are equally pernicious.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“We have a lot to do to ensure Americans have equal access to our laws and a judiciary that they can trust to fairly hear them out and adjudicate their disputes. This bill won't fix all the problems, but it will help more than 13 million Americans who deserve equal access to justice and greater access where they live. I appreciate Representatives McCaul, Ruiz, and Issa for their bipartisan work on this issue. I want to recognize Mr. Schmidt for his distinguished stewardship of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time. {time} 1700”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“The easiest way to alleviate the burdens on the residents of these two growing districts is to add a courthouse. This change is cost free because there is an existing judicial facility available for the court to use in both of these places. Making use of this existing building would ensure that litigants, attorneys, witnesses, and other court users would have greater access to the justice that our Federal courts and our Constitution provide. The administrative body for the Federal court system, the Administrative Office of the Courts, supports this bill. They know, like we do, that our country cannot have a flourishing justice system when its buildings are falling apart, its staff are underpaid, and there is a perpetual shortage of judges to administer the laws.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Some States have already moved to institute permanent, lifelong no- contact orders, but right now there is nothing at the Federal level that would allow a victim to receive a lifelong, permanent no-contact order, and that is what we are doing. There is no way of undoing a violent act like a rape that has taken place in the life of a victim, but at least we can seal off the victim's future from further harassment, taunting, leering, insulting, intimidation, and so on from someone who committed the crime. I am proud that we are moving this on a bipartisan basis, and I hope that all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will vote ``yes'' to ensure the protection, the security, and the peace of mind that will result from this legislation. Mr.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“It is wonderful that we are advancing a version of the Kayleigh's Law Act that will allow Federal courts to issue no-contact orders to victims and survivors of the worst offenses. I am pleased we were able to work together in committee on a bipartisan basis to ensure that this legislation would advance and prioritize the protection and the needs of victims and survivors. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 8481. I urge all of my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“The weight of these burdens is even greater for survivors who have fewer resources and smaller networks to draw upon. In recent years, some States have passed laws to strengthen protections, often thanks to the advocacy of survivors themselves, like Kayleigh Kozak, who was abused by her soccer coach beginning when she was only 12 years old. Because of her undaunted advocacy in her home State of Arizona, survivors of sex crimes and other violent crimes may now petition the court in their State for a permanent order of protection against their abusers, totally separate and apart from the criminal case. Other States have enacted similar laws. I am proud to say that my State, Maryland, is one of them. These laws empower victims and survivors to feel a lot safer and to move forward with their lives.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill to strengthen protection for victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Kayleigh's Law Act of 2026 would require Federal courts to issue lifetime no-contact orders against defendants who are convicted of certain offenses, including child sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, stalking, and sexual abuse, upon request or consent of a victim but independent of the criminal case. Hundreds of thousands of people live under conditions of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and other kinds of sexual abuse, and this legislation will help many of them escape that trap and turn their lives around.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their hard work on this bipartisan legislation. I encourage all of our colleagues to join us in supporting this legislation that has been broadly endorsed by organizations, including the American Correctional Association and the Fraternal Order of Police. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. {time} 1640”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I should note that the bill does not address staff-on- inmate sexual harassment or assaults, but the Prison Rape Elimination Act does. Yet, this administration has been actively dismantling the protections of this legislation. I hope we can work together on that as well. This bill would require the AG to adopt nationwide standards to prevent the sexual harassment and assaults of BOP staff members by inmates. It would also improve BOP's efforts to address this conduct if it takes place, and it will strengthen oversight of the Bureau of Prisons so we can improve the safety of staff working in every corner of the country. Nobody should fear harm of this kind while on the job, regardless of where they are employed in America. Mr.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“BOP has faced longstanding staffing challenges, from poor morale to ever-declining recruitment and retention rates. By working to reduce the intolerable sexual harassment and assault of staff members, this legislation would take an important step toward improving safety across BOP facilities and the ability of staff to carry out their crucial public safety mission. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 307, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Congress should fully fund the Federal Prison Oversight Act so it can be fully implemented and add to the safety improvements in the bill before us today. We know from past failures in oversight that we must do more to make our prisons safer for inmates and staff alike. Such failures include years of systemic sexual assault of incarcerated women and whistleblower retaliation at one of the Federal woman's prisons in Dublin, California, that led to closure of the facility and criminal convictions of nine BOP officers, including the warden himself. This never should have happened. I hope we can continue to work together to make sure our prisons are safe for everybody who enters them, whether involuntarily as an inmate or voluntarily as a staff person. Our prisons are some of the most challenging and difficult work environments in America.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“It would also require BOP to conduct regular risk assessments within individual facilities and across BOP, with an emphasis on the risks for female staff. I applaud Senator Ossoff for his work on this legislation. He has worked to improve the conditions and safety of our Federal prisons for both the staff and inmates. I was proud to support passage of the Federal Prison Oversight Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill that he led with my colleague, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Congresswoman McBath. That bill was signed into law in 2024 and established new independent oversight of BOP. It received broad support from civil rights groups, prison employees, and criminal justice groups, but its full potential is yet to be realized.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“The report found that reports of sexual harassment were even more prevalent among female staff members. Mr. Speaker, 69 percent of female BOP staff said they had been sexually harassed by an inmate on the job. This harassment included whistling, catcalling, genitalia exposure, sexual remarks, and sexual gestures. The inspector general also found the true scope of the problem is not really known because BOP has not adequately or consistently collected data on the problem. This has prevented BOP from taking effective action. That is why the act would require BOP to fully implement recommendations made in the 2023 IG report or explain why it cannot do so.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Our laws should protect the civil liberties of all 340 million Americans just as the Equal Protection Clause demands. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Nadler for leading the NDO Fairness Act since this legislation was first developed, and I thank Mr. Fitzgerald for ably leading the charge in this Congress. I look forward to voting ``yes'' on this important legislation. Mr. Speaker, for the aforementioned reasons, I enthusiastically endorse this legislation and encourage all of my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Fortunately, that selective, self-serving authority was short-lived, and we succeeded in overturning, I think unanimously in this body, that stunningly corrupt law. The proposal before us today addresses the problem at its root for all Americans and protects all of us, not just the 100 Americans who we get to serve with in the Chamber down the hall. Prosecutors under Presidents of both parties have routinely sought NDOs in all kinds of probes. The number of orders accompanied by NDOs that electronic communication companies receive has only increased since this legislation was first introduced over 4 years ago. This body has proudly already passed this bill twice. I am hopeful that our colleagues in the Senate may now realize and act on the fundamental importance of this legislation for everyone in America.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“In August 2023, while he was being prosecuted for these efforts to overturn the 2020 elections, he posted the message: ``If you go after me, I am coming after you.'' Senators were upset by these completely lawful subpoenas and well- justified nondisclosure orders under the law as it was understood. Their response was to pass a law giving them, and them alone, the right to collect $1 million apiece each time the government sought their communications records, in the past and in the future. Instead of acting to protect all Americans, all of us, they sought a multimillion-dollar payday for themselves as U.S. Senators. They did not even include mere lowly Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in their legislation.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“In this way, the NDO Fairness Act will protect all Americans who keep an increasingly large percentage of their information online and should expect notice if the government is rifling through their records. Most recently, we have heard about NDOs in the case of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Trump's effort to interfere with the results of the 2020 election, an effort that culminated in an attack on this building, the U.S. Capitol, on January 6, 2021. It has been well-known for years that in the days leading up to the attack and while the mob was still rampaging in the Capitol, President Trump and his enablers, like Rudy Giuliani, made a series of phone calls to Members of Congress trying to convince them not to certify the election, even as the insurrectionists were tearing through the building.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“By limiting nondisclosure orders to 90 days with the possibility of renewal if there is an actual emergency still ongoing, the NDO Fairness Act ends the so-called forever NDOs where nondisclosure orders have no end date and no end in sight. By requiring prosecutors to explain the rationale for their requests, we end the so-called rubberstamp NDOs in which applications for an NDO are submitted with boilerplate language and no evidence demonstrating any true or compelling need for nondisclosure. By ensuring that judges apply the proper strict scrutiny standard to the requests, we limit nondisclosure orders to those where secrecy is actually necessary to the pursuit of the investigation.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“In some cases, immediate notice might put an undercover agent in direct danger or risk the destruction of key evidence or compromise an ongoing investigation, but 40 years after passage of the Stored Communications Act, the government's use of nondisclosure orders has expanded well beyond these high exigency cases. Under current law, the request has become little more than a simple box-checking exercise. The statute allows the government to maintain these nondisclosure orders indefinitely. DOJ's current policy limits the duration of the NDOs to 3 years, and that policy is itself totally voluntary and flexible. DOJ can rescind, suspend, or even just ignore it at will. We need laws, not voluntary, dismissible DOJ policies, to protect our privacy under the Constitution.”
House of Representatives31 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. This is a 5-minute vote.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, listening to the debate, it occurs to me that Bonnie and Clyde and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid should have just denounced traditional activism and moved to change the Federal rules of civil procedure: Always better to blame the judge than to take responsibility for your own unlawful actions. Mr. Speaker, I will close by quoting Thomas Jefferson who said during the time of the Alien and Sedition Acts: ``A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles.'' In the meantime, we are suffering the horrors and malignities of this period, but if the game runs against us sometimes as it will, we must have patience because it is a game where principles are at stake. Mr.”
House of Representatives8 April 2025Source ↗
“If they can sweep anybody off the street and say we are going to send you to a torturous prison in El Salvador without any kind of hearing at all, it can happen to citizens as well as noncitizens. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives8 April 2025Source ↗
“Secondly, there seems to be a myth on the other side that if a President campaigns on something, then it is constitutional and the courts can't strike it down. So if the President campaigns on running again for a third term, then it is okay. Where does it say that in the Constitution? That can't be right. We are all bound by the Constitution no matter what we say during the campaign. A person could run around saying, ``I am going to be king,'' or if President Trump said, ``I will be dictator on day one.'' No, you will not be dictator on day one under the Constitution of the United States. Why did the judge tell the administration to turn the planes around? Because of the two most beautiful words in the English language, ``due process.'' Because what they can do to noncitizens, they can do to citizens.”
House of Representatives8 April 2025Source ↗
“There is a beautiful portrait of Washington, the Trumbull portrait, that we have in the rotunda and it is a picture of George Washington surrendering his commission as the general of the Continental Forces, which Napoleon said made him the greatest man ever, that he could have stayed on as a dictator forever, and he gave up his power. He could have been President forever, but he gave up his power. When we compare that to Donald Trump who is saying he is going to run for an unconstitutional and, yes, an illegal third term, that would be an illegal third term for him to run again to try to take office, so that is why we have courts in order to cabin the potentially limitless ambitions of Presidents. That is why we don't have kings; we have Presidents here.”
House of Representatives8 April 2025Source ↗