Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, 13 years ago, the Syrian people took to the streets demanding basic rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of democratic elections, things which many Americans, frankly, take for granted these days.

They also demanded an end to the Assad dictatorship. Assad responded with extreme brutality, including use of chemical weapons, such as sarin gas.

I am honored to represent the proud and patriotic Syrian-American community in West Virginia. I rise today to support this bipartisan legislation which will hold the Assad regime accountable for its crimes against the Syrian people.

Unlike President Trump, President Biden has refused to enforce the congressionally mandated sanctions. For example, President Biden has allowed countries in the Middle East to normalize relations, such as waiving sanctions for countries in the region to make energy agreements with Syria. The Assad regime should not be allowed to normalize, and it should not be recognized by the United States.

Syrian Americans, like many immigrants, work hard. They come here and defend their communities. They want peace and freedom around the world, things we all support. It is important for America to take leadership in this regard.

My mother fled a Communist country, Cuba, and that country, to this day, is still oppressed by the Communist brutal dictator there, who will just beat you up if they disagree with you. This is a good time to stand in support of the people and freedom and stand up against the brutal Assad dictatorship.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted NAY on rollcall No. 716, and YEA on rollcall No. 717.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 643; YEA on Roll Call No. 644; and NAY on Roll Call No. 645.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to push back against what could become one of the greatest government surveillance threats of our time, a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.

My amendment would simply prohibit funding for the CBDC Working Group led by the Treasury Department. A CBDC, commonly referred to as a digital dollar, would be issued and easily tracked by the Federal Government.

Make no mistake, a Federal digital dollar can very easily be used to spy on American citizens and become a social credit system. In Communist China, the digital yuan is being used to spy on its citizens and crack down on dissent. Do not think for a second that the Biden administration would not use a digital dollar to track your gun purchases.

House Republicans have been clear that the Federal Reserve does not have the authority to issue a digital dollar without an act of Congress, and we reaffirmed that in the Financial Services

Committee, on which I serve. However, right now the Federal Reserve is contracting with the private sector to build potential digital dollars for the United States far beyond what could be considered traditional research.

Early last year, President Biden issued an executive order directing government agencies to study creating a Federal digital currency, which led to the creation of this CBDC Working Group. This working group is vaguely tasked with supporting the Federal Reserve's central bank digital currency efforts.

To be clear, Congress has not given the executive branch or the Federal Reserve any direction when it comes to Federal digital currencies. I am grateful that the underlying bill prohibits Federal funding for the establishment of a Federal digital currency, but Congress cannot give an inch. Regardless of your thoughts on a potential digital dollar in the United States, I have severe concerns that Congress should not surrender any authority on such a significant issue.

If this White House wants to research a government surveillance tool that the overwhelming majority of Americans oppose, that direction should come from Congress. That is why my amendment prohibits funding for the CBDC Working Group, to prevent the executive branch from bypassing the will of Congress.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to push back against one of the Securities and Exchange Commission's or SEC's many reckless and irresponsible rules. My amendment simply prohibits funding for the costly and unnecessary private fund adviser rule. I oppose this rule because the overwhelming majority of private equity investments, which this rule would affect, go to small businesses. This rule will have a detrimental impact on the many small businesses across America and in my home State of West Virginia.

Private funds are essentially pools of money collected from multiple investors that the adviser then invests primarily in small- and medium- sized businesses. This SEC rule will reduce the ability of private fund advisers to continue supporting small businesses in West Virginia and America by placing burdensome compliance costs on these funds such as new quarterly statements and annual audits.

Furthermore, the SEC has been unable to articulate how this rule will increase funding for small businesses. Private fund advisers who manage these funds are already well regulated and legally required to act in the best interest of the investors. Unlike the public stock market, it is wealthy individuals and sophisticated institutions like pension funds and university endowments that invest in these private funds. This is nothing more than regulating for the sake of regulating.

When the SEC proposed this rule, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about the negative impacts this rule would have on small businesses. Just last year, Congress asked the SEC to conduct a full economic analysis of this rule, which the commission failed to do. Many of my colleagues also wrote to the SEC expressing concerns about the negative effects and impact of this rule on the

access to funds for small companies. However, the SEC has not addressed these concerns and has not adequately responded to letters sent by many Members, including Chairman Womack.

Given high interest rates and the new capital rules that will further restrict bank lending to companies, now is not the time to restrict the ability of private funds to invest in West Virginia's thousands of small businesses. According to the American Investment Council, 85 percent of equity-backed companies are small businesses, and 89 percent of public pensions invest in private equity funds.

This rule would only unnecessarily restrict the efficient operation of private funds, and it will crowd out smaller and emerging funds and increase the costs to investors. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce put it best when she said that this rulemaking is ``ahistorical, unjustified, unlawful, impractical, confusing, and harmful.''

Under Gary Gensler, instead of making the public markets more attractive, the SEC has focused on making the private markets less attractive. My amendment will refocus the SEC on its core mission of protecting retail investors while promoting capital formation and efficient markets. The private fund adviser rule needlessly imposes a one-size-fits-all approach and restrictions on sophisticated institutional investors.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and support funding for the small businesses in their district. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the incredible accomplishments of the U.S. Air Force Airborne Laser Laboratory.

Five decades ago, in the midst of the Cold War, the men and women of the ALL undertook a seemingly impossible task: developing a laser defense system capable of tracking, engaging and destroying incoming missiles from an airborne platform. Although the Air Force had successfully demonstrated their ability to use a land-based laser to destroy drone aircraft, the ALL would represent the first time in history that an aircraft-based system would attempt that feat.

For more than a decade, Air Force scientists and engineers, both military and civilian, pushed scientific boundaries, working on a converted KC-135 tanker aircraft in a huge yellow hanger at Kirkland Air Force Base. These pioneers were not employing the latest technologies, they were inventing brand-new technologies as they discovered new challenges. Many of those new technologies are in use today, in both directed energy and kinetic weapons programs.

In 1983 their hard work paid off when the ALL was successfully tested against AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles fired toward the aircraft in flight. Although the fighter aircraft firing those missiles were positioned out of range, any miscalculation could have been disastrous. Lt. Col Dennis Boesen, who was one of the ALL's Test Directors as well as a Vietnam combat veteran, pointed out, they were putting their lives in the hands of pilots, engineers and even the ordnance specialists to do their job perfectly. They put themselves in the path of a missile--five missiles, in fact--to prove a technology designed to save lives. Their faith in their fellow airmen, officers and scientists is a testament to this incredible team.

In joint testing with the U.S. Navy, the ALL shot down a BMQ-34A drone representing a Soviet cruise missile. Again, the ALL performed flawlessly, destroying the drone and demonstrating that airborne laser weapons are possible. In fact, the technological breakthroughs achieved with the ALL helped inspire President Ronald Reagan to launch the Strategic Defense Initiative and lead several years later to the YAL-1A airborne laser system.

Mr. Speaker, as conflicts around the world show us every day, the U.S. and its allies are constantly under attack from new and more sophisticated enemies. If we are going to continue protecting our citizens and our allies, we need to ensure that our fighting men and women have the best technology possible. The men and women who worked on the ALL deserve our deepest appreciation for what they accomplished to keep this country safe and, as the ALL logo states, give us all ``Peace Through Light.''

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 514, and YEA on Roll Call No. 515.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment to prevent tax dollars from hardworking Americans from being sent to Mexico allegedly in support of economic development until the President of the United States of America informs Congress that Mexico has decided to stop the free flow of fentanyl across our southern border.

My plan is a simple and strong response to the Mexican Government's refusing to take action to address the crisis of fentanyl pouring across our border. The Mexican President continues to falsely state that fentanyl is not manufactured or consumed in his country.

On March 17, 2023, Mexico President Obrador said at a news conference in Mexico City, ``Here, we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl.'' Suggesting why doesn't the United States take care of its own issues.

However, the numbers do not lie. The Drug Enforcement Administration said in December that ``Most of the fentanyl trafficked by the Sinaloa and CJNG cartels is being mass-produced at secret factories in Mexico with chemicals sourced largely from China.'' There were 14,000 pounds of fentanyl seized last year at the southern border and more than 11,000 pounds this year so far.

Fentanyl is pouring across our border because of the disastrous open- border policies of President Biden and his Democrat allies in Congress. Meanwhile, Mexico refuses to act against the cartels. Todd Robinson, who is President Biden's Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in February 2023, To be honest, the challenge that we have with Mexico is their unwillingness to put sufficient resources into the fight against fentanyl, and we are pushing them to do that.

Multiple administrations have pushed Mexico to do more, yet they refuse to act. Now is the time for Congress to step up and use the power of the purse to hold Mexico accountable until they change their behavior.

Mr. Chair, this amendment is focused solely on economic aid. This amendment does not impact narcotics interdiction and border security assistance that we also provide to Mexico. Mexico should not be rewarded with economic support funding when they refuse to stop the production of fentanyl that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. West Virginia, in particular, has been hit hard by the drug epidemic, and a lot of the poison on our streets can be traced directly back to Mexican drug cartels.

We need to secure our border, but we also need Mexico to partner with us. Our practice of giving them more United States taxpayer dollars as an inducement to fight against drug trafficking has failed. It is time to cut off economic funding until the President of the United States can report to Congress that Mexico is working with us to address the flow of fentanyl across the border. I call on all my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 392, YEA on Roll Call No. 393, and YEA on Roll Call No. 394.

Mr. Speaker, recently, I introduced my plan, H.R. 3190, to crack down on Mexico for its failure to stop the flood of fentanyl across our border.

The Mexican President continues to falsely state that fentanyl is not manufactured or consumed in his country, but the numbers do not lie. The DEA said in December that most of the fentanyl trafficked by the cartels is being mass-produced at secret factories in Mexico with chemicals sourced largely from China.

There were 14,000 pounds of the drug seized last year at the southern border. Fentanyl continues to pour across our border because of the disastrous open border policies of President Biden.

My plan will cut off U.S. taxpayer funding for economic aid to Mexico until President Biden certifies Mexico is working with the United States to secure its border and stop the inflow of fentanyl. Mexico should not be rewarded with U.S. taxpayer dollars while they are sending fentanyl across the border.

I call on my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation to hold Mexico accountable.

Madam Speaker, China is plotting a government-backed digital currency which will be used to survey and manipulate financial activities of its citizens and to crack down on dissent. A central bank digital currency, known as the digital dollar, poses significant privacy and government surveillance concerns.

Republicans have been clear that the Federal Reserve does not have the authority to issue a digital dollar without an act of Congress. The United States shouldn't have the ability to build and test one behind the scenes either.

Right now the Federal Reserve is contracting with the private sector to build digital dollars far beyond what we considered traditional research. That is why I introduced H.R. 3712, the Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act which closes this loophole.

Make no mistake, government-backed digital dollars are not about innovation; they are about control. We must stop the Fed's current development dead in its tracks, and my legislation does exactly that.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 272, and YEA on Roll Call No. 273.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted yea on Roll Call No. 233; yea on Roll Call No. 234; and yea on Roll Call No. 235.

Mr. Speaker, due to illness, I was unable to be present on March 22nd.

Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 144, and YEA on Roll Call No. 145.

Mr. Speaker, going to work is more than just earning a paycheck. It is an important part of human dignity. Unfortunately, too many Americans are getting paid not to work.

According to a recent study, Americans can receive more money to stay home than they could putting in a hard day's work. According to the findings, a family of four in three States can receive more than $100,000 in cash and benefits per year without working. A further 14 States allow a family of four to receive more than $80,000 in cash and benefits without working.

In West Virginia, my home State, two unemployed parents with two minor children can make over $73,000 in unemployment benefits and healthcare subsidies. Unfortunately, this is more than essential workers, like our firefighters or our truck drivers, make in a year.

Hardworking West Virginians helped build America. From the coal industry to the logging industry, our Nation needs Mountaineers to keep America moving forward.

While it is true that the CARES Act provided unemployment benefits for Americans in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the pandemic is over. Even President Joe Biden said as much on ``60 Minutes.''

Now Congress needs to provide bipartisan solutions to get Americans working again.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the passion of my good friend from Texas, and many of the points he is making need to be heard and understood. Even if it is uncomfortable, the truth has to be told.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about legislation I am promoting to return the United States to the gold standard. As was discussed earlier, our Nation is facing an inflation crisis not seen in over 40 years.

Inflation is a regressive tax hurting lower-income Americans more than anyone else. West Virginians have seen the value of their savings erode before their very eyes as a result of the reckless tax-and- spending spree of President Joe Biden and the Washington Democrats and an overzealous Federal Reserve.

Thanks to Democrats, your 401(k) is now more like a 301(k), and it will go even lower if they stay in power.

Today, our national debt is over $32 trillion, which is borrowed, not only from Americans, but also from foreign adversaries.

We know who is responsible for the current debt crisis, but the question has to be asked: What in our country's history allowed us to get to this point?

The answer can actually be traced back to 1971, when President Richard Nixon took the United States off the gold standard. Rather than tackle the root causes of economic challenges, Nixon severed the dollar's convertibility to gold once and for all. President Nixon said at the time that that would actually combat inflation.

Art Laffer, a well-known and respected economist, accurately warned that taking the United States off of the gold standard would actually only exacerbate these problems. What followed was a period of severe inflation, rivaled only by what we are seeing today.

Domestic production became more expensive and corporate profits declined, so companies were encouraged to shift production abroad, overseas where labor costs were cheaper.

Today, our number one economic rival is China, which continues to attract American companies, due to the cheapness of production there.

Now, the gold standard, as we know it, is not actually using the gold as currency but, rather, tying the dollar bill directly to the value of that gold. Under the gold standard, any American would be able to trade their dollars for a fixed amount of gold.

By linking the dollar to the value of gold, the money supply could only be increased if the supply of gold increases. This connection protects the purchasing power of your hard-earned tax dollar.

The gold standard would protect against Washington's irresponsible spending habits and the creation of money out of thin air. Prices would be shaped by economics, rather than instincts and wishes of Federal bureaucrats. With the gold standard, no longer would our economy be at the mercy of the Federal Reserve and reckless Washington spenders.

Through government mismanagement and economic manipulation, is it any surprise that many Americans are looking for alternatives to the U.S. dollar in cryptocurrencies?

Americans are losing confidence in our currency. It is long past time for Congress to begin considering a return to the gold standard. That is why I will be introducing legislation to do exactly that, as I have in previous Congresses.

Under my proposal, the Secretary of the Treasury would define the U.S. dollar in terms of a fixed weight of gold

based on the market price, while allowing dollar bills to be exchanged for gold at that rate.

Had the United States been on the gold standard, or some other fixed standard, we would not be in the inflation crisis we are in today.

I hope to work with the new Republican majority to make sure this issue gets the attention it deserves.

Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address my bill, the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act.

Earlier this year, the House resoundingly passed my bipartisan Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act. Rural small businesses face unique challenges that big city businesses do not. Nearly 20 percent of the United States population lives in rural areas and yet, businesses in rural areas raised under 2 percent of total capital over the last 3 years.

West Virginia, which I am so proud to represent, is a very rural State, where no city has a population greater than 50,000 people, so my legislation simply requires the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to identify and report to Congress those challenges rural small businesses face when trying to access our capital markets. This will make it easier for Congress to then act to address these problems.

My bill would make it easier for Congress to do our jobs and make sure rural small businesses like in West Virginia, are not left behind. I hope the Senate takes up this commonsense measure promptly.