STOP CCP Act

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, since day one of this Congress, the Republican majority has been a complete and total disaster--failed speakerships, failed rules votes, failed bills, failure to address real problems, failure to pass real solutions, and failure to even send bills to the Senate. Today is more of the same, more failure from this dysfunctional Republican majority.

Speaker Johnson promised he would get all 12 appropriations bills across the finish line before August. They couldn't even pass half of them. He tried to coax the MAGA extremists into voting for a continuing resolution by tacking on more election fraud conspiracies. That plan went down in flames.

Here we are, a week before the government shuts down, and Republicans had to move on to a new plan. Despite the Rules Committee taking testimony from appropriators last night on the continuing resolution, there is no CR in this rule. I checked. I double checked. I made sure nothing was stuck to the pages. I looked under the table.

What was the point of that exercise last night in the Rules Committee other than to once again demonstrate that this Republican majority cannot fulfill its most basic function, keeping the government open without help from Democrats?

Let's be clear. Their majority is not a working majority. They don't have the votes without Democrats, so my friends are putting up a continuing resolution on suspension and, once again, they are asking Democrats to bail them out.

Madam Speaker, when will the other side stop letting the MAGA extremists run this place?

Look at the bills that are coming to the floor today: More MAGA messaging measures that will never, ever become law. It is pathetic. There is a bill that claims to be tough on China. Well, let me tell you, there are very few people who are as tough a critic as I am when it comes to China's human rights record. I think I am one of a handful, only a handful, of legislators in this body and the other body who have actually been sanctioned by China. I am not even allowed in the country nor is my family. Believe me when I say this is a stupid way to handle a complicated geopolitical challenge. We need to be smart on China. We need to pass bills that actually get results, not just pass bills that sound tough on paper, which is all this bill is.

Then, we have another no-good bill that Republicans claim will tackle crime, but we all know what this is really about. This bill's only purpose is to attack Vice President Harris.

The former President keeps spinning the narrative on the campaign trail that crime is at an all-time high. He has trouble with facts.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record an article: ``Murder and other violent crime dropped across the U.S. last year, FBI data shows.''

This report was released yesterday, by the way. The data shows that violent crime has dropped in recent years, but Republicans are ignoring these facts and choosing to push messaging bills like this one instead.

It really is quite sad that that is kind of the state of affairs on the Republican side.

Look, I get it. I get it. My Republican friends are afraid because Vice President Harris was a prosecutor who put felons in jail, and, well, I will just let everyone who is watching fill in the rest.

Then, we have an absurd, nonbinding resolution that politicizes the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Playing politics with this is disgusting.

This is not about honoring our fallen soldiers. This is about politics at its worst.

This bill didn't even go through regular order. It was introduced 5 days ago and didn't go through committee.

Republicans were so anxious to get this resolution to the floor before the election that they didn't even get Members' input. Was it written by the Trump campaign? I mean, give me a break.

This is not the way we honor our fallen soldiers. We don't play politics with tragedies.

Let me just state for the record, thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris, for the first time in decades, the United States is not at war anywhere in this world.

Finally, we have the Fix Our Forests Act. In my opinion, this is a pro-polluter bill that ignores the realities of climate change when it comes to wildfires.

I will be opposing this bill because the so-called Fix Our Forests Act will not fix our forests. Instead, I think it would bypass critical environmental laws, cut out scientific input, and undermine our Nation's core environmental laws.

Madam Speaker, look, here is the reality: Republicans have fumbled left and right over the last 2 years. They really have become the party of broken promises, wasting everybody's time and wasting taxpayer money on absurd messaging bills that are going nowhere.

While we have real challenges in this country, this is the junk they bring to the floor. People want us to work together to get things done, and instead, this majority spends their time fighting amongst themselves and accomplishing absolutely nothing for the American people.

It is simple, really. The other side wants to come down here and talk about anything other than their plans for the future because when they do that, people see how weird they are.

They don't want to talk about Project 2025, their dystopian plan to take total control of our country, dismantle our system of checks and balances, and take away people's freedoms.

They don't want to talk about how their draconian abortion bans are killing women and putting them at extreme risks.

They don't want to talk about how 9 years after starting to run for President, Donald Trump still doesn't have an actual plan to provide better healthcare for the American people.

They don't want to talk about how Donald Trump's big economic plan would result in average families spending an extra $4,000 per year-- $4,000 more per year that families would pay if his plans were enacted.

They come down here and bring up some absurd messaging bills to avoid talking about how weird and unpopular their agenda is.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Texas says that the Biden administration is weak. I guess the gentleman and I have a different definition of what weakness looks like.

It was Republicans, by the way, not Joe Biden, who held up aid for our allies for 9 months because their side buys into Kremlin propaganda. I think that is weak, quite frankly.

It was a Republican President who went to North Korea and tried to get a brutal dictator to like him. He actually said they wrote each other love letters. He went there and groveled to Kim Jong Un. I don't think that that is a sign of strength. I think that is a sign of weakness.

It is the Republican candidate for President who praises Putin on a regular basis, calls him Vladimir, loves Xi Jinping, says Viktor Orban is fantastic.

Don't even lecture us about human rights when the majority can't bring itself to be critical of what the Republican standard-bearer says on a regular basis. That is not strength. That is pathetic. It makes us look weak.

Meanwhile, after they wrecked our image on the world stage, it is President Joe Biden who has had to rebuild it. I don't call that weakness. I call that a sign of strength. Standing with our NATO allies, standing with the people of Ukraine as Russia drops bombs on them on a regular basis, that is not weakness. That is strength.

The gentleman from New York, I mean, listening to him speak, one would think that we are living in 14th century Europe during the black plague.

The fact is that we live in the best place in the world. There is no other place in the world I would rather live than in the United States of America, and it is the best time in history, quite frankly, for a whole bunch of reasons.

Please don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say that none of our soldiers were in harm's way. I said we are living in a time when we were not at war with any country. That is what I said. I have to insist on accuracy when it comes to my words.

We can do better, and we should work to improve the lives of the people we represent.

Crime is down. The gentleman from New York who just spoke apparently wasn't here when I inserted the FBI report, but that is facts. Crime is down.

The economy is strong and growing stronger.

Science is improving our lives in new ways every single day. It is amazing.

The Republican agenda of division and hate only takes us backward. Let's go forward. Let's work together on something, and maybe we can start today. Rather than politicizing the tragic deaths of American servicemen, maybe we can start the day today by actually helping our veterans, something that my Republican friends have a hard time trying to do.

Madam Speaker, I urge that we defeat the previous question, and if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to include an additional $12 billion in the continuing resolution that our Nation's veterans need for their healthcare.

Madam Speaker, let's remember how we got here. Republicans talked a big game all Congress about how they were going to return to regular order and pass 12 individual appropriation bills, but consistent with the theme of dysfunction for this Republican majority, they instead spent months fighting amongst themselves.

What was the result? How many awful, partisan, go-nowhere appropriation bills were they actually able to pass? Madam Speaker, 5, 5 out of 12, and they didn't even send the Homeland Security appropriations bill over to the Senate. Why? Because they threw a tantrum and refused to send their Homeland Security appropriations bill to the Senate unless their awful H.R. 2 border bill got signed into law.

That is not how this works. They need to watch ``Schoolhouse Rock!'' Maybe they can learn something.

Once again, Democrats are the adults in the room who are being asked to come in and clean up the Republican mess--in this case, to ensure that our basic responsibility of governing is met: Keeping the lights on.

Now, the continuing resolution that we will consider later this week has some good pieces in it, and it will keep the American people's government open for another 3 months, but there is always room for improvement.

That is why I am offering this amendment to provide an extra $12 billion to maintain medical care for veterans, money that the Department of Veterans Affairs says that they will need. Our veterans deserve our support. It is our responsibility to provide the care that they have earned.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Deluzio) to discuss our proposal.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would just say to the gentleman from Texas that I am sorry that I guess I hurt his feelings with some of the things I have said, but it is the truth, and I guess the truth hurts.

Madam Speaker, earlier I said that this majority has turned the Republican Party into a circus of chaos, broken promises, and failures.

Let's talk about that just a little bit more, shall we?

Since last January, this majority wasted 26 entire days, nearly a month, on fighting with each other as they tried to elect a Speaker of the House. Madam Speaker, 5 days were spent electing Kevin McCarthy, who was then booted out of the speakership and ended up leaving office. Madam Speaker, 21 days were spent as the Republican Conference argued about who was next in line. We ended up with Speaker Johnson, and we went from a bad Speaker to an even worse one.

That is nearly a month. That is nearly a month completely wasted on nothing more than bickering amongst themselves.

I will also remind you, Madam Speaker, the House was held hostage for days in June of last year because a tiny, extreme faction of the Republican Conference chose to throw a fit over the debt deal negotiated by President Biden and Speaker McCarthy.

Republicans struck down a rule on the floor for the first time in over two decades, holding the House floor schedule hostage all for camera time while MAGA threw a fit.

Now, we have seen a total of seven failed rules in this Congress, seven. Hell, we have even seen Republicans vote down not just the rules but vote down their own bills because there are times even conservative Members have thought the MAGA weirdo bills are just too weird and too extreme.

Get this, Madam Speaker, even when House Republicans manage to succeed, they fail to govern.

We keep hearing them complain about the border.

News flash, they passed the Department of Homeland Security funding bill 3 months ago, and they never sent it to the Senate. They put it in a filing cabinet and locked the door.

What is this, hide and seek? They are passing bills and hiding them in the basement so they can complain about the border more and more and more instead of trying to fix it. Someone needs to show these guys ``Schoolhouse Rock!'' I mean, we are talking about their number one priority, and they don't even send the bill over to the Senate.

It just shows how fake all their outrage is about the border.

I will leave you with this, Madam Speaker: Despite all the talk from this Republican majority that the 118th Congress would be the most open Congress ever, last night Republicans, again, broke their own record for the most closed Congress in the history of the country.

In addition to being the most ineffective and dysfunctional Congress in history, it is now also the most closed. Republicans have advanced 106--I am sorry. It is actually now 108. There are two more closed rules in the rule we are talking about today. Before they broke their record, their previous record was 103 closed rules when Paul Ryan was Speaker.

That means that they broke their own record for the most closed Congress in history. They are going to be unbeatable when it comes to a closed Congress.

Madam Speaker, it is more than about numbers. It is about what they represent.

As of this week, Republicans have now blocked 5,822 amendments from debate. They have even blocked the majority of their own Members' amendments from coming to the floor from debate.

It is ironic, the party that calls us snowflakes is afraid to even allow debate on the merits of these amendments.

Every amendment they block is another idea that is prevented from a vote on the House floor.

Now, let's look at some of the examples of what they thought was too crazy to bring to the floor.

They blocked an amendment blocking smuggling of U.S. firearms across the Mexican border. They thought that was too radical to bring to the floor.

They blocked an amendment protecting food for seniors participating in Meals on Wheels.

They blocked an amendment providing postpartum mental health information to pregnant students. By the way, that was a Republican amendment.

Look, we know Republicans have the majority. These amendments might lose, but a truly open and inclusive process that Republicans promised would let us debate these issues on the merits.

It is all part of a pattern. They are afraid of debating because they don't want to engage on policy. For them this is all just a game. It is about trying to hold onto power for the sake of holding onto power.

It is one broken promise after another from these guys. The truth is, Republicans have nothing, nothing, nothing to show for their time in power, just incompetence and chaos.

That is why I think people will be rejecting them in November.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The gentleman just put forward a straw man argument. The way it usually works is the Rules Committee sends out a notice asking for amendments that sets a deadline. It gives a week for our people to construct their ideas and send them to the Rules Committee.

On this package, they never sent out a notice or a deadline. I mean, the reality is, I think everybody already knew what was coming.

I am going to tell you, there is no defense for being the most closed Congress in the history of the United States. They fight amongst themselves and they basically work overtime to prevent thoughtful ideas from coming to the floor. They are good about debating trivial issues passionately, but they are not very good about debating important ones. Everything that they bring to the floor is not about moving the ball forward in terms of helping improve the quality of life for the American people. It is all about messaging and gotcha and division and pushing hate in this country. It just has to stop, and hopefully it will.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how many speakers the gentleman has remaining?

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have already spoken about why these messaging measures will do nothing to help Americans, what a complete disaster this dysfunctional Republican majority has been, and how their weird, unpopular agenda is wrong for this country.

Now, I want to speak to you, Madam Speaker, and to the American people about the alternative, about what President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Democrats here in Congress have accomplished and what we will continue to fight for in the years to come.

Democrats delivered the American Rescue Plan, helping to end the COVID crisis and reopening our economy that was shut down under Donald Trump.

Democrats delivered the CHIPS and Science Act, bringing jobs back from China and supply chains back from overseas.

Democrats delivered the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a historic investment that will rebuild our infrastructure for generations and generations to come.

Democrats delivered the bipartisan Honoring our PACT Act, expanding VA healthcare and benefits for millions and millions of veterans who have been exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.

Democrats delivered the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant piece of gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 years.

That is what leadership looks like. It looks like making this country better. It looks like imagining and doing big things. It looks like finding common ground across the aisle where and when we can. It looks like delivering real, concrete results for the people of this country.

Democrats fight for lower prices. We fight to build an opportunity economy. We fight to protect our freedoms. We fight to ensure liberty and justice for every single American.

We believe good policy can unite people. We want to bring people together and focus on what we have in common in this country because there is so much more that unites us than divides us.

Madam Speaker, people are fed up with this majority's dysfunction. They are fed up with Republican incompetence.

What we Democrats, President Biden, and Vice President Harris offer is the opposite. Instead of division, Democrats offer unity. Instead of talking about the past and complaining, Democrats talk about the future and giving people hope. Instead of dysfunction, we will run this country like professionals and get stuff done to make America the best it can be.

The choice this November is a consequential one, Madam Speaker, and we can continue down the same failed path of dysfunction and disarray, or we can fire this failed MAGA majority. We can let Republicans keep sowing anger and hate, or we can let Democrats bring some decency and dignity back to this place. We can let Republicans continue fighting with each other, or we can let Democrats fight on behalf of the American people.

That is what is on the line this November, and the choice could not be more clear.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1486 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam 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.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 3 printed in Part D of House Report 118-705, to be offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Valadao) or a designee, be modified by the amendment I have placed at the desk.

Madam Speaker, last night, the House Committee on Rules met to report House Resolution 1486, providing for the consideration of four pieces of legislation.

First, the rule provides for consideration of H. Res. 1469, condemning the Biden-Harris administration and individuals therein responsible for the military withdrawal of Afghanistan and subsequent evacuation. This will be considered under a closed rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Second, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 3334, the STOP CCP Act, under a structured rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and provides one motion to recommit.

Third, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 8205, the Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act, under a closed rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided between the chair and the ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary and provides for one motion to recommit.

The rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 8790, the Fix Our Forests Act, under a structured rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided between the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources and provides one motion to recommit.

Finally, the rule provides clarification in House rules regarding the regulations governing the availability of remote witness testimony.

Madam Speaker, it has been over 3 years since the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan; 3 years since 13 members of our armed services fell on account of the Biden-Harris administration's rushed operation to fulfill a campaign promise; 3 years of not one single acknowledgment by the President, the Democratic nominee for President, the current Vice President, or anyone in the administration, for that matter, to acknowledge what happened in August 2021.

For better or for worse, the American people saw this tragedy with their own eyes, as Afghan civilians clung to an airplane leaving Kabul airport, and the American people have been awaiting accountability from those responsible for a long time.

Well, that wait ends this week when the House considers H. Res. 1469 to condemn those in the Biden-Harris administration responsible for the events that led up to and unfolded in July and August of 2021.

Despite the Biden-Harris administration's incessant stonewalling of proper congressional oversight and accountability, Chairman McCaul and the Foreign Affairs Committee have investigated the events surrounding and during the Afghanistan withdrawal. Their recently released report is as stunning as it is outrageous.

The Biden-Harris administration ignored that the Taliban was not meeting its obligations under the Doha agreement. For example, the Taliban had yet to cut ties with al-Qaida by the time the evacuation started, something that the Biden-Harris administration knew.

Secondly, the administration prioritized optics and political expediency over the safety of our servicemembers and civilian personnel. The Taliban had already entered Kabul before the evacuation of nonmilitary personnel began.

Third, they failed to plan for the go-to-zero order appropriately, which led to the deadliest attack on U.S. military personnel in a decade.

Fourth, the failures damaged America's credibility and standing in the world. I cannot stress enough the significance of these events. We abandoned our allies, leaving them to slaughter, and allowed terrorism once again to flourish in the area.

Fifth, there was a concerted and deliberate misinformation campaign that

touched nearly every stage of the withdrawal.

These failures have had a profound impact on our country, but not a single person in the Biden-Harris administration has yet been held accountable.

Recruitment into our military has plummeted after the prospective servicemembers saw that they would basically be used as disposable chess pawns in a political promise.

The Taliban has organized a de facto permanent regime built on torture, violence, and religious and political oppression. Without a United States presence in the area, counterterrorism operations have been hindered, and foreign adversaries like China have moved in to establish diplomatic relations with the regime.

Most importantly, however, these events signaled weakness, emboldening China, Russia, and their proxies to become more aggressive with their geopolitical ambitions. China became emboldened to pursue its objectives with respect to Taiwan. Russian leaders saw an opening, and they invaded Ukraine, knowing that the United States was weak and could not be trusted, a shameful and disastrous series of events that our country is paying the price for currently and will continue to pay this price for decades.

Afghanistan is not the only area where the Biden-Harris administration has shown weakness. This week, the House of Representatives will consider the STOP CCP Act, which will impose significant and punitive sanctions on individuals of the Chinese Communist Party.

Madam Speaker, there is broad agreement in this body over the atrocities of the Chinese Communist Party. Where we seemingly don't agree is whether there should be consequences for these atrocities. Up to this point, the Biden-Harris administration has yet to impose any meaningful sanction on the Chinese Government officials for their political and religious oppression of their own people. The STOP CCP Act forces the administration to finally do so and speak loudly that oppression of God-given rights will be met with consequence.

Speaking of consequences, the Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act imposes strict regulations and penalties on charitable bond funds, whose funding has exploded in recent years as a result of the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020. These funds, like the Minnesota Freedom Fund, bail out violent criminals who in many cases then go on to commit more crime. H.R. 8205 ensures that these funds are subject to penalties and licensing requirements to protect our communities and keep criminals where they belong, which is behind bars.

The final bill provided under the rule, the Fix Our Forests Act, is bipartisan legislation that addresses the wildfire crisis across the country. Now, in classic fashion, the Biden-Harris administration and their allies in Congress spent billions of dollars to address the increase in wildfire occurrences and their severity without fixing the underlying problem: bureaucratic red tape and extreme environmental and serial litigators that prevent the correct management of forests.

H.R. 8790 makes targeted, yet transformational, changes to the Federal agencies responsible for our forests to improve the way we manage our forests and ensure projects are not held up in the bureaucracy or in the courts.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bills, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, before I go to the gentleman from New York, I do want to point out that, sadly, in January of this year, January 29, 2024, three U.S. soldiers were killed in Jordan. The three soldiers are Sergeant William Jerome Rivers of Carrollton, Georgia; Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders of Waycross, Georgia; and Specialist Breonna Alexsondria Moffett of Savannah, Georgia. All were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, Fort Moore, Georgia.

Do not continue to repeat the lie that we have no soldiers standing in harm's way during the Biden administration. It was brought up during the debate by the Vice President. It was wrong then. It is wrong now.

We have soldiers on the ground in Iran and Syria. Of course, there are soldiers deployed in the Continent of Africa. We can't forget everything that is happening right now with the Houthi rebels placing our servicemembers in danger.

Do not make the mistake that the world is completely at peace under the beneficence of the current Biden administration.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy), a valuable member of the Rules Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

First off, I do want to remind the House that the House passed $3 billion in veterans funding last week and sent it over to the Senate. This gives us time to act on further veterans funding prior to the December 20 deadline that will be part of the continuing resolution that will pass later this week.

The Military Construction-VA appropriations bill was, in fact, the first House-passed appropriations bill. Representative Carter from Texas led that subcommittee and passed that bill much earlier in the year. It has been sitting over in the Senate. It hasn't seen any activity. That bill actually could have been passed by both the House and the Senate and signed by the President of the United States.

I am grateful that my counterpart, the ranking member of the committee, allowed you to see, Madam Speaker, what I live with on a daily basis, which is a severe case of Trump derangement syndrome. We see it on display in the Rules Committee almost continuously. You have heard a brief exposure of that today on the floor of the House.

I apologize to the country that they had to put up with that, but, again, this is my life in the Rules Committee. Trump derangement syndrome is alive and well and put forth on virtually every argument that goes forth in the Rules Committee.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

The rules brought forth today, two are closed, but in both instances, neither received an amendment in which to make in order. If there are no amendments, by definition, then it is a closed rule.

I do want to point out that this majority has reported nearly twice the number of bills as the last Congress when the gentleman, the ranking member, was, in fact, the chairman of the committee. I would also like to point out that since there was a change in the chairman of the Rules Committee, all Rules Committee votes have passed on the floor. I hope that pattern continues today.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close after the gentleman closes.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time on the Republican side.

Madam Speaker, it is ironic that we keep hearing about unity. I heard the word ``unity'' I don't know how many times during the inaugural address of President Biden, yet it is virtually impossible for a Republican to get a telephone call answered from the head of any Federal agency.

This has been the most walled-off administration that I have ever seen. I served in the Bush Presidency, the Obama Presidency, and the Trump Presidency, and I have never seen an administration that behaves in the way this administration does.

The gentleman referenced the aid to the country of Ukraine. I voted for that aid package in June 2022. We didn't get a lot of information before the bill was brought to the floor. Then-Speaker Pelosi brought it rather hurriedly. It came to the Rules Committee in an emergency hearing, but what was happening in Ukraine seemed so horrific that any ability to help seemed important.

Then I waited after that vote. I waited for the administration to come to talk to us about what the strategy is, where we are going, and what the plan is. Is there an exit strategy out there somewhere?

Again, we had another vote last March, once again hoping that the administration would begin to behave differently and at least inform the Congress of what their plans were. I voted again for that aid package. I caught a lot of grief from my constituents back home for voting for that package. At the same time, once again, no information was forthcoming from the administration, no plan and no strategy.

Madam Speaker, we had big meetings over in the auditorium in the Capitol Visitor Center just prior to the invasion of Ukraine. All the generals and Cabinet Secretaries were there. They told us that it was too late, that there was nothing we could do, and that Ukraine would fall in 3 days. They didn't.

That is when the administration came back and started asking for these aid packages, but never once did they fill in the blanks of: this is what we plan to do, this is where we plan to go.

Even today, the administration seems to be arguing with itself. Do we allow for Ukraine to use that aid in a more robust way to defend itself, or is it all just purely risk-averse defense spending that they will do?

Again, we don't know. I would love to hear the administration give us a reason why it is important to continue to send American tax dollars because they have a plan for victory and a plan for ending the war.

We heard a lot of discussion about the previous administration, the Trump administration, and the world was never more prosperous and at peace.

Madam Speaker, do you remember the comment in early October last year when the statement was made by the administration that they have never seen the Middle East more quiet than it is today? Oh, my God, where are we now? Where are we now?

Where are the plans of the administration? When are they going to come to talk to us about the correct way forward?

We hear arguments internally, arguments with the administration arguing with itself. We heard the Vice President and the President basically arguing about the way forward with what to do with the problems in the Middle East, but, again, no one comes to us and lays out what the plan is going forward.

Madam Speaker, I have never seen a world more dangerous than it is today. I feel as if we are living on a knife's

edge and that, at any point, one false move, one miscalculation by one individual, could lead the world into a confrontation and conflagration the likes of which the world has never seen before.

We do need to be concerned about that. We do need the United States to lead. We need a strong leader in the United States, and I would argue that the prior President evidenced that type of strong leadership, and the world was a safer place. The world was a more prosperous place.

Now, since the gentleman brought up the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan, these were the very matches that lit the fuse on inflation in this country in January 2021.

Inflation was at 1.6 percent in December 2020. Then, a year later, where was it? It was going up toward 8 percent.

The Secretary of the Treasury said she thought it would be transitory. The Chair of the Federal Reserve thought it would self- correct. Then it didn't, and the American people suffered.

Why weren't we concerned about the suffering of the American people in the last Congress when we continued to lay spending bill over spending bill, which the people could no longer afford?

So, yes, it is tough. Now, we are having to dial some of that back, and it is not easy. Any time the Federal Government spends a dollar, it immediately creates a constituency, and it is difficult to dial those dollars back.

We argue with ourselves here in the Congress about what the best path forward is, but at the same time, we have an obligation. We have an obligation to fund the government, which we will have an opportunity to do later this week.

Madam Speaker, I do want to urge colleagues to support this rule. I do want to encourage colleagues to support the underlying legislation. I do want us to hold the Federal agencies accountable to the American people, solve critical issues for our constituents, and restore American strength on the world stage.

I said in committee yesterday that these bills are about accountability to the governed, respect for law and order, strength on the world stage, and rightsizing Federal agencies. These are the core tenets of House Republicans. That is what we pledged to the American people, and it is what the American people expect from this body.

Madam Speaker, I, again, urge my colleagues to support the rule and support the underlying legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from Iowa for yielding.

Mr. Chair, there were 14,700 pounds of fentanyl seized in fiscal year 2022; 27,000 pounds of fentanyl seized in 2023; and 19,700 pounds of fentanyl seized so far in fiscal year 2024.

Mr. Chair, 76,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses last year. Tens of thousands or more of Americans have died from fentanyl overdoses since this administration took office. Hundreds of thousands have died from drug overdoses in general.

Chinese state-owned enterprises are seeing an opportunity to profit off of the deaths of Americans, and this administration is letting it happen.

Americans are crying out for new leadership. Until they have their say on November 5, we should be sanctioning the daylights out of every single one of these Chinese Communist Party's genocidal thugs.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the highest organ of authority within the 2,000-member National Party Congress. The 205 full members of the Central Committee have critically important decisionmaking authorities and voting rights which include the selection of the general secretary, the politburo, and the politburo's standing committee.

Thankfully, the underlying legislation leaves the possibility of not only permitting the U.S. President to sanction these 205 members but also 171 so-called alternate members of the Central Committee who do not have voting rights but are nevertheless members of the committee.

This amendment provides both clarification that the legislative's punitive sanctions may also be used against these alternate members and also provides congressional support for blocking and prohibiting all transactions in property against these top Chinese Communist Party cadres.

It further lends support for making these alternate members ineligible to receive a visa to enter the United States.

There should be no confusion as to the nature of the threat posed by the PRC. The Chinese Communist Party seeks to destroy the United States. It is already actively involved in sending the fentanyl precursor chemicals necessary to kill our fellow Americans across our border.

For context, 76,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses alone in 2023.

This fiscal year alone, 35,400 Chinese nationals have taken advantage of our porous southern border and come into our country. The CCP has also co-opted every meaningful international institution to the point where our Nation is now funding organizations like the WHO and the wider U.N. to promote policies that are undermining our own national interests.

The CCP engages in gray zone warfare against Taiwan and other Indo- Pacific allies, risking the start of another global conflict.

Communist China steals hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of intellectual property from our Nation every single year, and it uses its diplomatic presence to engage in massive espionage operations.

Our government opens a new China-related counterintelligence case every 10 hours, and approximately 50 percent of all of our Nation's counterintelligence cases are related to China.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, nothing? It gives the President of the United States, whether Republican or Democrat, the ability to defend our country, to create accountability when a bad actor engages in undermining our national interests.

My colleagues say we need better communication, and when we were communicating to them that Americans were dying because of precursor chemicals, they did nothing. When we communicated that we needed them to stop because our kids were dying, they did nothing. This idea of communicating and appeasement did not work, and hundreds of thousands of Americans paid the price.

I will not sit idly by and allow China to bully our country. Now, if others want to do that, then that is up to them, but this bill is permissive. It gives the President of the United States another tool, another opportunity to hold China accountable.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I think it is shortsighted to allow Americans to die on our streets because the Chinese Communist Party is flooding our country with fentanyl.

I think it is shortsighted that we allow the Chinese Communist Party to influence our foreign policy.

I think it is shortsighted that we don't stand up for Taiwan and let them take full control over their own destiny.

It is time that America stands up for its allies: Israel, Taiwan, and all of those beacons of democracy around the world.

Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, the underlying bill rightfully includes a robust set of preconditions prior to lifting any sanctions on members of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

However, when it comes to those who have been sanctioned for their role in the political oppression of minority groups in the PRC, the bar of accountability ought to be set even higher. The ones suffering in Communist China aren't just the people of East Turkestan.

Over the years, the United States has demonstrated its solidarity with the people of Tibet and with the plight of the Tibetan people. Seven decades after the CCP began its illegal occupation of the country of Tibet, the Chinese Communist Party continues its policy of wholesale persecution of the Tibetan people.

This amendment simply states that the sanctioned members of the PRC's Central Committee must also cease any and all oppression of the Tibetan people. The amendment references the State Department's 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, a report which details the numerous different ways the PRC authorities are oppressing the Tibetan people.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, just to be clear, the persecution is rather stark: enforced disappearance, torture or cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment or punishment; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrests or detentions; serious problem with the independence of the judiciary, particularly regarding political prisoners; transnational repression against individuals located in other countries; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; punishment of family members for alleged offenses by a relative; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including censorship; serious restrictions on internet freedom; and substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly.

This is the Chinese Government. This is whom some on the other side of the aisle seek to appease. It is important that we leverage every tool to stand firm as the dominant superpower in the world and that we continue to be the light of freedom and hope for our tired world.

It is time we take a stand. It is time that we say no to China. It is time that we pass my amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this legislation.

We all recognize the challenges posed by the People's Republic of China. The Biden-Harris administration and this body are clear-eyed that the PRC is our foremost geopolitical challenge, but how we manage this relationship will have consequences not just for us but for the entire world. This requires sober policies and shrewd diplomacy, not fear or partisan grandstanding.

It is for that reason I oppose H.R. 3334. If signed into law, this bill would sabotage high-level diplomacy with Beijing. Why else would we sanction all of the PRC's top leaders, including the President, the Premier, the senior ministers in one fell swoop, an action that would immediately rupture the U.S.-China relationship? Such a unilateral action would undermine the United States' interests, divide us from our partners and allies, and endanger our national security by making a conflict more likely in the Indo-Pacific.

Over the last few years, the Biden-Harris administration has competed vigorously with China. They have sanctioned Chinese officials and companies for human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. They have provided Taiwan with the weapons that it needs to enhance its self- defense. They have imposed unprecedented export controls against China to ensure our technology isn't bolstering China's military or its human rights abuses. They have done so while revitalizing our alliances and partnerships in the region and stabilizing relations with Beijing so that our competition does not slide into conflict. All of this is endangered by this bill before us.

The State Department has warned that this bill will bluntly curtail the United States' ability to engage with Beijing at senior levels of our civilian and military leadership to advance our national interests.

For example, earlier this month, the head of U.S. forces in the Indo- Pacific spoke to his Chinese counterpart for the first time in years. During the call, Admiral Paparo underscored the importance of sustained lines of communication between the United States military and the PLA, noting that ``such discussions between senior leaders serve to clarify intent and reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation.''

If we want to keep the American people safe and lower the chance of an accidental crisis in the Taiwan Strait or

the South China Sea, we have to talk to China. We already know that sanctioning its leaders is counterproductive. Beijing's last defense minister refused to meet with Secretary Lloyd Austin because of U.S. sanctions.

Engagement is necessary. Through senior-level, including engagements between President Biden and President Xi, the Biden-Harris administration has restored open channels of communication with Beijing.

Remember, even during the Cuban Missile Crisis, we were talking with Russia at the time. There was always dialogue and conversation. That probably prevented a nuclear war back then. That is something that we should take knowledge of. Conversation, diplomacy, preventing an accidental war, that is why this bill is not the right bill.

I thank the Biden-Harris administration. For the first time in years, Beijing has agreed to take action to crack down on fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill-presses that are killing 100,000 Americans a year. We still have to deal with issues that most people believe in, that there is a climate crisis. We cannot solve problems like that unless we are talking with each other and Beijing takes action.

Just this month, the Biden-Harris administration's diplomatic efforts led to the release of an American citizen, David Lin, who was unlawfully detained in China for over 18 years. Let me assure you, if this bill becomes law, it will be next to impossible to secure the return of the two remaining wrongfully detained Americans in China.

Sanctioning the top 200-plus CCP officials all at once would limit the United States' future leverage if China engages in more problematic policies and behaviors.

The legislation does not include basic exceptions that are standard in all bipartisan sanctions legislation. While the waiver in this legislation sunsets after just 2 years, the authority to impose sanctions does not. This is poor policymaking, plain and simple.

I oppose this dangerous and counterproductive bill, which will do nothing to help the Uyghurs, the Hong Kongers, and the people of Taiwan, while making it incredibly difficult to engage China to advance any U.S. interests, whether it is fentanyl, regional security, Taiwan, human rights, or IT theft.

Madam Chair, I must oppose this measure and urge all of my colleagues, all Members, to do the same.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, if you think that unilateral sanctions on 200 members in China is going to work, I got a bridge to sell you. Nothing is going to work--unilateral, none of it. All it will do is drive us against some of our Indo-Pacific friends, colleagues, and allies.

H.R. 3334 is a deliberate effort to undermine all of what we are trying to do. It would rupture the U.S.-China relationship. It would create collateral damage that would impact American workers, families, and companies. It would make America look like the instigator and divide us from our partners. It would make a conflict more likely by undermining the ability to have open lines of communication with the PRC civilian and military leaders about Taiwan or the South China Sea.

Shutting down communication channels is not what diplomacy is about. That is not what this committee is about. Shutting down communication channels, specifically with the PRC, is not a strategy for success.

American officials, diplomats, and military leaders must be able to engage directly with their PRC counterparts in Washington and elsewhere to address concerns and reduce tensions.

Ambassador Burns, who was recently here, urges communications even between Members of Congress and members of the PRC, not to back down from them but to make sure they understand what we say and what our positions are.

Dialogue and conversation, that is diplomacy. That is how we get things done, and that is how we can prevent a misunderstanding or a miscalculation that could lead to devastation.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3334.

Madam Chairwoman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chairwoman, I rise in support of H.R. 3334, the STOP CCP Act, which was introduced by my colleague from Michigan, Congresswoman McClain, and ordered favorably reported by the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The Chinese Communist Party is responsible for some of the world's worst human rights violations and threats to international security.

In Xinjiang, CCP-led genocide seeks to erase the history and culture of Uyghur Muslims, who live in constant fear.

While Hong Kong was once known for its vibrant civil society and the rule of law, today it is under the iron fist of Beijing and many brave democracy advocates sit in jail.

Our close friends in Taiwan live under constant military pressure, with incursions into their air defense identification zone. An oppressive PRC Coast Guard keeps pushing closer and closer to Taiwan's shores.

The Tibetan people have and continue to suffer from decades of brutal repression designed to undermine their identity and culture. I am glad that we have the opportunity today to support an amendment to shine a spotlight on the abuse they endure.

All of these egregious abuses and urgent threats are being directed and implemented by leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. The party's Central Committee, which this bill targets, is like the board of directors of the CCP. As key party decisionmakers, the Central Committee directs CCP abuse and aggression, which threatens our friends and partners in the Indo-Pacific. Therefore, it is critical to use targeted sanctions to hold these top party leaders accountable.

Sadly, the weakness of the Biden-Harris administration's foreign policy has invited aggression around the world--in Ukraine and in the Middle East. We hope it will not invite aggression toward Taiwan.

In the face of chaos, I am sorry that the Biden-Harris administration and some of my friends on the other side of the aisle feel that we cannot afford to put action to our words with these modest sanctions.

The administration opposes this bill, claiming that it needs to maintain flexibility to avoid ``veering into conflict.'' Sadly, I fear that our adversaries have grown to depend on the Biden-Harris administration's flexibility. Just last night, the PRC launched an ICBM near my district of Guam, which landed just below Hawaii. Clearly, we need to draw our line in the sand now.

This bill is not an act of war. It includes exceptions for U.N., intelligence, law enforcement, and national security purposes. It even gives the President the ability to waive sanctions if the President deems it necessary.

We are only ensuring that the CCP officials most responsible for the party's crimes, crimes that include genocide, do not routinely get to enjoy the benefits of the U.S. financial system or travel to our great country.

We must stand up for our founding values and security interests. The defense of liberty and human rights is not escalation. Our partners and allies feel safest when America leads rather than hesitating while our adversaries are on the march.

This bill is a strong display of U.S. foreign policy and the values that guide it. I urge Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chairwoman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. McClain), the author of this bill.

Madam Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I thank Congresswoman McClain for introducing this bill and Chairman McCaul for moving it through committee and to the floor.

We are in a global competition with the Chinese Communist Party. If we do not stand up to those attacking the freedoms we stand for, then we undermine the principles that define us. Allowing the CCP's crimes to go unchallenged disheartens their victims, weakens our global standing, and emboldens authoritarian regimes around the world.

Imposing basic sanctions on CCP's Central Committee members is a measured response to the genocide, abuse, and threats they continue to direct.

Madam Chair, I ask support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.