'What's The Point?': Luz Rivas Shreds MTG's 'Unserious' Bill To Codify 'Gulf Of America' Renaming

3 days ago

During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Luz Rivas (D-CA) spoke about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) bill to codify President Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the 'Gulf of America.'

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Transcript

00:00I call on Ms. Rivas for her five minutes of questioning.

00:04Thank you for recognizing me.

00:07I consider myself a serious legislator

00:10who was elected to serve my constituents

00:13and represent my community,

00:15which I strive to do today and every day in Washington

00:18and in California's 29th.

00:21I would like to spend my time on HR 276,

00:24which I believe is an unserious bill.

00:27As you know, this bill would rename

00:29the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America

00:32for essentially all documents, maps,

00:35and records within the United States.

00:38Mr. Melito, I believe that witnesses

00:40brought before the committee are to be experts

00:43and serious about their role.

00:46Briefly, what is the point of HR 276?

00:49And do you think this is a serious bill?

00:52The point is to change the name

00:54from Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

00:56And I think it does shine some important light

00:59on the Gulf of America from an energy production standpoint

01:02because we are a critical energy artery for the country

01:05and we haven't really been looking at that

01:08and understanding the full benefits

01:10that it provides to all Americans.

01:11It provides tremendous revenues

01:13and energy production and jobs

01:15and money for land and water conservation.

01:16I want to reclaim my time.

01:18I mean, you're answering, but I don't hear the point.

01:22For the record, let's be honest with each other

01:25and the American people.

01:27At the end of the day, this is not changing the name

01:30of the Gulf of Mexico

01:31because the International Hydrographic Organization

01:36and all of the world will still call it the Gulf of Mexico.

01:39So I asked my colleagues, what's the point of HR 276?

01:44I'll tell you, there is no point to this bill.

01:47HR 276 is a joke.

01:50No, really.

01:52The origin of the idea has been referred to as a joke.

01:56Madam Chair, I'd like to enter a PBS news story

01:59from January 20th, 2025 into the record.

02:03According to this news story,

02:05it recapped the origin of this idea

02:07and the premise is based on literal jokes.

02:10More specifically, in 2012,

02:13a member of the Mississippi legislature

02:16proposed a bill to rename portions of the Gulf

02:19as Gulf of America,

02:20a move that the bill author later referred to as a joke.

02:24Two years earlier, comedian Stephen Colbert

02:28had joked on his show.

02:30Excuse me.

02:30Following.

02:31It's without objection, so ordered.

02:35Excuse me?

02:37For the unanimous consent, is that right?

02:39Is that what you asked for,

02:40was unanimous consent to have that introduced?

02:42Oh, yes.

02:43Okay, so ordered.

02:47Two years earlier, comedian Stephen Colbert

02:51had joked on his show

02:53that following the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill

02:56in the Gulf of Mexico,

02:58it should be renamed Gulf of America

03:00because we broke it, we bought it.

03:03Even the president of Mexico, Claudia Scheinbaum,

03:06joked that the United States be referred to

03:09as America Mexicana, its seventh century name.

03:13While Republicans bring up bills that are literal jokes,

03:17I do not see the humor.

03:18As Americans are struggling,

03:20as our children's public education is getting dismantled,

03:25as our nation's war secrets

03:27are being shared via text messages,

03:30as cost of living continues to rise,

03:34here Republicans are considering a bill

03:37that does nothing to address real issues

03:40of the American people.

03:42Here Republicans are making a joke out of this body

03:46and our jobs to serve.

03:48Thank you, and I yield back.

'What's The Point?': Luz Rivas Shreds MTG's 'Unserious' Bill To Codify 'Gulf Of America' Renaming

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