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Congressional Daily Record
This section is a tribute, commemoration, or district-facing statement. It mentions members such as Marcia Carolyn Kaptur.
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March 26, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextUnder the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Ms. Kaptur of Ohio was recognized for 30 minutes.)
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a dear citizen of Oak Harbor, Ohio, Roger Carpenter. He devoted 75 years of his life to shaping character, citizenship, and service in northwestern Ohio.
Roger Carpenter was more than a Scoutmaster. For generations of young people in Troop 316, he was a teacher of values, a steady hand, and a living example of the Scout Oath and Law.
His dedication deeply shaped the character of Oak Harbor. I can feel it.
age 97, Roger believed that building good citizens was the most important work any community could do, and he went about doing it.
Scout. He taught young people how to live with responsibility, humility, and care for others.
As Roger himself said: Scouting does not teach children to throw a ball. It should teach them how to help others and preserve the common good.
Boy, was he a wise man.
Festival last fall. Please let me honor and posthumously thank him on the floor of Congress for preserving the common good. What a patriot. Oak Harbor and all of northwestern Ohio are eternally grateful for Roger's beautiful life and good works that endure and have been nobly passed forward to the aspiring generation.
Honoring the Life of Robert Mueller
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I wish to turn to honor the life of Robert Mueller.
When I was very young, I aspired to become an FBI agent. Later, when in college, when I applied, I was told I was not qualified because I was a woman.
the gentleman and honorable Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that I wish I had been able to work for.
He served as Director of the FBI under Presidents of both parties.
against all enemies, foreign and domestic, as seriously as anyone could.
sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment to the Nation he loved and to which he gave his life.
serve. Though he was not drafted, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, earned his commission, and led Marines in combat.
There, under fire, he displayed extraordinary courage. He rescued a wounded comrade, earning the Bronze Star with a V for valor, and the Purple Heart after being wounded in battle.
those he served beside. If he had done nothing else, his military service exemplified what it means to be a patriot for the cause of liberty.
His service did not end when he returned home. He continued to serve this Nation for decades—as a Federal prosecutor, as a leader within the Department of Justice, and as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during one of the most consequential periods in our Nation's history.
on our Nation. True to his marine heritage, he always fought for right and freedom and kept his honor clean. He ushered our country and the bureau through some of our darkest days.
He was then succeeded by James Comey. Four years later, in May 2017, he was again called to serve. Then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein tapped Robert Mueller to lead the investigation into the consequential 2016 Russian election interference. He pursued this investigation indefatigably. He let the facts lead and presented his report.
humility, discipline, and integrity. He did not seek recognition. He sought to do what was right. He was not a showman. He was a patriot.
Mr. Speaker, our Nation is stronger because of patriotic citizens like Robert Mueller, and I send my heartfelt condolences and those of my constituents to his wife of 60 years, Ann; to his daughters, Cynthia and Melissa; and to his five grandchildren. I know they and his bureau colleagues will miss him dearly.
service to our Nation in any capacity he held. May Director Mueller rest in peace—we have the watch.
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Honoring Louise J. Brower
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Women's History Month with naming a steady trailblazer from northwest Ohio, Louise J. Brower.
In 1975, Mrs. Brower broke barriers when she became the first woman to serve as a principal in Toledo public schools. In doing so, she also became the first to lead a large metropolitan Ohio high school. At Scott High School, she led with strength, dignity, and an unwavering belief in her students.
career, which started as a teacher at Robinson Junior High. She then served as principal of both Walbridge School and later McTigue Junior High.
The library at Walbridge was dedicated in her honor in 1971.
by inspired students. She empowered teachers, and she opened doors for women who would follow.
Mrs. Brower's legacy reminds us that progress is built by those willing to lead where none have gone before.
May we continue her work with purpose, with passion, and with pride. Women know how to do it right even if
it has never been done before, and Mrs. Brower certainly did that.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to put her name in the Record.
Undeclared War in Iran
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise on day 27 of President Trump's undeclared war against Iran.
An immense cost is being imposed on our U.S. military and the American people by this undeclared war of choice. Already, this war has cost U.S. taxpayers nearly $40 billion, not a penny of which was voted on by either this House or the other body.
for billionaires cut from healthcare. The money he cut from healthcare that is being expended over Iran means 500,000 people in my State of Ohio are losing their health benefits. So, let's recognize what the transfer of funds means.
that was never authorized by Congress. That is a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8.
Now, President Trump is ratcheting up his ask for another $200 billion for the Pentagon's Iran war—$200 billion. There is no way—by the way, that is one-fifth of $1 trillion. There is no way the American people should be forced to hand this administration hundreds of billions of dollars to keep waging an unconstitutional war.
Just today, the war on Iran saw the Dow Jones drop 470 points. The Standard & Poor's had its worst day since January. Oil is now $108 a barrel. A gallon of gas is averaging nearly $4 nationwide, and diesel is $5.37 a gallon.
This is hurting our people.
flowing through the narrow channel called the Strait of Hormuz, this war is a war of choice, not a war of necessity. It is throwing global markets off balance as prices rise on everything.
I know the American people are noticing.
and billions and billions of dollars this war is costing, not the American people. Our Nation is now energy independent here at home. For a half century we have worked to be that.
than ever before. I don't think we should be exporting quite as much, but that is something we can disagree on. However, here at home, we sure have made a lot of progress since 1970.
appropriated for a historically large defense budget amounting to over $1 trillion for 2026, but that didn't account for this war. That budget is the largest defense budget in modern history.
We know we have enemies. We know we have new strategic interests that we have to attend to, but the Trump administration has simultaneously, as we have these new expenditures of war, allowed massive tax breaks to billionaires while severely cutting funds for our veterans' hospitals and clinics, veteran services, our civil hospitals to healthcare, education, nutrition, to all critical services for the American people.
Our transportation safety officers are waiting to be paid.
by superrich dictators with no military experience who see matters of life and death as nothing more than real estate and resource deals.
If President Trump wants another $200 billion for war, don't come asking for it from our farmers. It is a rough year for them. Don't ask our policemen. Don't ask our educators. Let him go to the Saudi princes. They are reportedly urging him to keep the war going so the oligarchs in the Gulf can remake the economy of the Middle East the way they want.
sworn in 2 years ago to Saudi Arabia, a dictatorship. I recall it was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who ordered the butchering of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
News reports state Prince Mohammed has a net worth of up to $25 billion. That is just himself. Moreover, he manages a sovereign wealth fund for Saudi Arabia valued at over $1.4 trillion for the House of Saud and the royal family. And that is what we are able to know from the press. He probably has a lot more. But he alone can afford the pay for a war that will handsomely benefit his kingdom.
Think about who exactly should pay for this war of choice. President Trump is saying to the European countries that have nothing to do with this why aren't they helping, why aren't they coming over? Well, the United States does stand by its allies, but for all this administration's pressure on Europe to pull its weight in this war let me ask: What troops and resources are these superrich Gulf kingdoms committing as Americans are fighting and dying?
Mr. Speaker, 13 of our troops have died and over 300 injuries already. As we speak, thousands of U.S. Marines and paratroopers are being deployed to the Middle East, and our family knows what combat in foreign lands requires, but the sultans, shahs, and kings, they don't.
the beneficiaries, but we are their soldiers. How many soldiers is Saudi Arabia sending? What about Kuwait? How about Qatar that gave President Trump a luxury jet valued at $400 million? Can we trade that in? Can we trade that plane in to help pay down the tens of billions of dollars that our country is already spending over there? Are these kingdoms going to contribute their fighter jets to this conflict? Who will fly them?
their marines, where are their soldiers? I haven't seen any. No American marine, sailor, airman, or soldier should be sent to war to preserve the Gulf state kingdom's dominance over the world's oil and gas markets over there.
Let us take care of ourselves right here at home. Perpetual energy independence, we have that. We have to make it even better.
Now, let's look at the population of those countries. Iran is a nation of over 93 million people. Saudi Arabia has technically 32 million people, but most of them, three-quarters of them, are not actually Saudis. They are foreign guest workers. Kuwait has 3 million people, and most of those are guest workers. Iraq has 43 million people. Yemen has 41 million people. The United Arab Emirates has 10 million, but a lot of those are not actually citizens there. Israel has 10 million people, maybe closer to 9. Qatar has 2 million people.
people in the troubled oil kingdoms and the oil rich Middle East? None of these nations is a stable democracy, not a single one.
Middle East war? We know this story. We know how it ends. Might I remind Members and those listening, the Lockerbie bombing was an example of what happens. Does anyone recall 9/11? And I could list a whole lot of other retaliations.
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kingmaker in the Middle East. America knows that our Nation has now dedicated one-half century to making our Nation energy independent here at home, and what a triumph that has been.
We should do better, how? The Strategic Petroleum Reserve should have been filled completely, and President Trump has continued to empty it out. We have to do better than that.
natural gas discoveries in my part of the country. Mr. Speaker, we can do this here in this country, but President Trump told us we are fighting this war because Iran was building a nuclear weapon to have a bomb ready in 2 weeks. That claim fell apart under the slightest scrutiny.
even as his own Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, testified before Congress that Iran's nuclear enrichment program was obliterated and that Iran was not trying to rebuild it.
The President said that we were fighting Iran to change its regime. Iran has replaced one Ayatollah Khamenei with another Ayatollah Khamenei.
and adjacent nations that have succession will have hardline leaders that share Iran's religious perspective, hell-bent on opposing the United States on every front long into the future in the form of hybrid warfare, which is the new horizon for war globally.
This war must not drain our arsenal here at home. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Defense Subcommittee, the weapons that are being exploded and the amount of money being spent mean we have to follow on very quickly, and it is not so easy to do.
President's approach has alienated too many of our allies and made us new enemies. Caution. No more blood for oil. No more blood for oil. In an era of hybrid warfare, the President's impulsiveness could yield reactions for which the American people are not prepared.
its nuclear capacity, to ignite a nationwide revolt and remake the Middle East as he thinks it should be. What does that look like? Who is going to help?
Therefore, U.S. military efforts have not been able to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. Adjoining nations have placed zero troops into theater. To me, the undemocratic oil kingdoms appear to have the U.S. at their beck and call. That is not in the interests of the United States of America.
consequences of its hasty actions. So far, they expect Americans to pick up the tab, the whole tab, rising each week by billions and billions more dollars.
draws such attention from our President? Recklessness and undemocratic Middle East oil markets have led us to repeated disastrous consequences and more forever-on wars.
The American people have already paid the price. Let the phenomenally rich oil kingdoms, undemocratic oil kingdoms, their sheikhs and their Kings send their own troops and pay the price of their own security, instead of indebting the people, the good people, of the United States of America.
Today, I say enough is enough.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.