Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Wisconsin for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong opposition to amendment No. 25 which would place the mayor of the District of Columbia in charge of the D.C. National Guard.

I can't believe this even has to be said, but the D.C. mayor is not the Governor of a State, and the District of Columbia, which houses our Federal Government, is not and should never become a State.

Under current law, the President of the United States, our Nation's commander in chief, is the authority over the D.C. National Guard and also appoints its commissioned officers.

The President has held that authority for more than two centuries since the inception of the D.C. National Guard under President Thomas Jefferson in 1802.

The President has delegated the authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard to the Secretary of Defense, who has further delegated that authority to the Secretary of the Army. These are Federal officials accountable to the President of the United States.

Under this amendment, the D.C. mayor, not the President, would be in charge of the D.C. National Guard, including deployments and appointing its commissioned officers, so the President would be stripped of his role entirely.

Think about it. Taking the authority from the President and giving it to a mayor. Never. That is completely unacceptable. The D.C. mayor must not have equal authorities as Governors of States and territories have over their National Guards because the D.C. mayor is not a Governor, and the District of Columbia is a Federal district, not a State or a territory.

In addition, the current mayor has previously attempted to use the D.C. National Guard for political purposes, calling for their withdrawal from the district during the summer riots of 2020, and seeking to significantly limit the D.C. National Guard's role to traffic control duties only prior to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. This further demonstrates that the D.C. mayor should play no role in the deployment of the D.C. National Guard troops.

Again, the District of Columbia is a Federal district and is not a State, and the Constitution directs that it should never be a State. The District of Columbia is a Federal district with substantial Federal concerns and facilities.

The President of the United States should control the D.C. National

Guard, not an office whose resident has already demonstrated a lack of judgment when it comes to the use of the D.C. National Guard.

Simply, the filing of this amendment is another example of why it is time to roll back home rule and return management of the city to Congress as stipulated by the Constitution.

Article I, Section 8 starts with: ``The Congress shall have power,'' and in clause 17, it states, ``To exercise exclusive legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over the District . . . `' That is our Constitution. That is what we abide by. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ohio, soon to be the Judiciary chair, for yielding.

First, thank you to the Supreme Court for removing the curse of abortion sanctioned by a Federal Court ruling back in 1973. Six Supreme Court Justices have stood for life, and that is a beautiful thing.

Now, regarding this gun control bill before us today, this bill would have done nothing to curb the actions of illegal-minded criminals intent on harming our children. But it will harm the law-abiding citizens of this great Nation by violating their Second, Fourth, Fifth, and 14th Amendments, specifically, their due process rights. Let me refresh our collective memories.

The Fourth Amendment: ``The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.''

The Fifth Amendment: ``No person shall be . . . deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.''

The 14th Amendment: ``Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.''

Then, of course, my favorite, the Second Amendment: ``The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.''

These red flag laws enable one-sided ex parte hearings, and though they don't take some of the guns from all of the people, they take all of the guns from some of the people. This is completely unacceptable.

I stand against it, and I encourage all Members of the House to vote against it.

Madam Speaker, I thank Vice Chairman Johnson for hosting this Special Order tonight and for allowing us to highlight the various crises that are affecting our Nation today.

Last week, inflation hit a whopping 8.6 percent, the highest since 1981, and gas prices have soared to $5 a gallon nationwide for the first time in history. In fact, just last week, for the first time in my life, I paid more than $100 just to fill up the gas tank of my pickup truck. As the good Speaker knows, if our own home State had not temporarily suspended the gas tax in Georgia, it would have been $110 to fill up my pickup truck.

Consumer confidence has plunged to a record low, and I don't blame them. Gas, groceries, utilities, common goods, they are all going up. Month after month, the sticker shock continues to burden American workers and families, with no end in sight.

Yet President Biden comically claims he is, and I quote, changing people's lives. Well, I think he really is, but it is not changing for the better. Dare I say the President's policies are actually ruining people's lives, destroying the middle class, and dismantling our economy. Our Nation is in full buyer's remorse.

The American people are increasingly fearful of a recession. What are the Democrats here in Congress doing about it right now? As of late, their focus has been prime time political hearings, aimed at smearing President Trump and his supporters, as well as infringing on Americans' constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Not to mention, earlier this afternoon, the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy of the Committee on Oversight and Reform held our very first hearing in 2022. The subject? Investigating tick and flea collars. I just can't make this stuff up. It was not Jimmy Carter-era inflation. It didn't make the cut.

And then we have the news reports from this morning that suggest some of my Democrat colleagues are focused on instituting gender-neutral bathrooms throughout Capitol Hill.

What in the world is going on? I can assure my Democrat colleagues that my constituents in Georgia's Ninth District are far more concerned about putting food on the table and filling their gas tanks than any of the liberal nonsense that this body is so fixated on.

Democrats' severely misguided priorities are a disgrace, but maybe they are actually intended to be a distraction because tackling inflation head-on would require Democrats and President Biden to face the undeniable reality that their Big Government, socialist agenda caused this mess in the first place.

The American people deserve better, period. Congress must refocus its attention on implementing effective solutions in order to get our economy and our country back on track, just like it was under President Trump's leadership.

Mr. Speaker, the Democrats' so-called Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act opens the door for the Biden administration to continue its assault on Americans' protected political speech.

Since President Biden stepped foot into the White House, he has blatantly targeted conservatives for exercising their First Amendment rights. Whether it is labeling parents protesting COVID-19 mandates and racist curriculum in schools as domestic terrorists, holding nonviolent January 6 protestors in pretrial detention for over a year, or creating a radical ministry of truth to monitor supposed disinformation, the Biden administration has repeatedly taken aim at political dissent from the right.

And while the Disinformation Governance Board is reportedly paused-- what a hallelujah moment for the Constitution--just the idea alone that the Biden administration would institute such a board under the Department of Homeland Security should concern every solitary American citizen. And keep in mind that this administration has completely ignored the legitimate threats posed by dangerous extremist groups, such as Antifa on the left.

Just this week, Biden's Department of Homeland Security claimed law enforcement agencies are investigating violent threats by pro-abortion extremists threatening to murder Supreme Court Justices or burn down the Supreme Court building--but added, ``. . . generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics does not constitute domestic violent extremism or illegal activity. . . .''

Really? Hey, DHS, why don't you apply the same standard to January 6 protestors? The glaring hypocrisy is blinding.

Make no mistake, this legislation is a blatant attempt to further transform the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security into political weapons, greenlighting additional abuse by the Biden administration against the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to vote against H.R. 350, and thereby protect Americans' First Amendment rights and block the Biden administration from targeting, monitoring, and labeling Americans they fundamentally disagree with as domestic terrorists.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8, the yeas and nays are ordered.

Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question are postponed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 2022 Georgia High School Association 5A State champions, the Johnson Knights boys soccer team.

Last week, the Knights appeared in their fifth finals since 2014 and earned their second State championship.

After having a player sustain an injury that took him out of the game, and then trailing behind in the second half, the Knights focused on the remaining time they had and turned the game around.

Fueled by adrenaline and filled with talent, these determined young men, led by Coach Frank Zamora, ultimately went on to defeat the St. Pius Golden Lions, boasting a final score of 4-2.

Congratulations to the Johnson High School boys soccer team on an impressive win and another exciting State championship title.

Honoring Law Enforcement Officers

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor our brave men and women in blue.

Our Nation is blessed with heroic law enforcement officers who pursue a thankless career dedicated to maintaining law and order, keeping our communities safe, and answering the call when criminals strike.

Law enforcement officers are heroes in our communities. They are the heroes that are desperately needed, but they don't often receive the recognition that they deserve.

This week, National Police Week, we honor our local, State, and Federal law enforcement officers. As far as I am concerned, every week should be National Police Week. These men and women always deserve gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

Yet, law enforcement officers nationwide are facing increasingly challenging conditions, forcing many to leave the force and causing others to avoid it altogether, leaving police departments across the country struggling to keep staff and fill vacant positions.

The horrendous conditions that are generating the low morale are skyrocketing crime rates, rising attacks on law enforcement, and growing calls from the left to advance soft-on-crime agendas.

In fact, last year alone, a record breaking 73 police officers were tragically killed in the line of duty. As of this month, 123 have already been shot in 2022, including 19 murdered by criminals.

Unfortunately, in Georgia's Ninth District they know horrific reality all too well. Back in November of last year, my home county, Jackson County, lost both a mother and a heroic law enforcement officer, Deputy Lena Marshall. After responding to a domestic call that escalated to a violent shootout, Deputy Marshall's life was taken while serving to keep Georgians safe.

Make no mistake, this attack--and any attack of criminal violence toward law enforcement--is an assault on justice.

Despite the radical left's persistent efforts to disarm, demonize, and defund the police, policies that weaken law enforcement simply empower criminals, worsening the ongoing crime crisis.

In contrast, I remain dedicated to providing our law enforcement officers with the community support, the resources, and the political backing needed to address surging crime across the country.

Undermining the authority of the heroes that protect and serve is despicable, which is why we continue the fight to ensure that all law enforcement officers are fully equipped in their mission to keep our community safe.

May God bless all the men and women in blue who willingly put their lives on the line for ours, and may we honor all of the fallen officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. May God bless all of the loved ones of current, fallen, and future law enforcement officers who provide tremendous support both on and off duty.

We thank you and we honor you for your selfless service.

Madam Speaker, I object.

Americans are blessed to have brave men and women protecting our precious freedoms, including the more than 400,000 members of the National Guard. These servicemembers selflessly put their lives on the line in defense of our Nation. Today and every day, we honor their service and sacrifice.

Guard members serve a unique mission, safeguarding our country as a whole and protecting the individual States that make up our Nation, including my home State of Georgia.

From assisting at COVID-19 testing sites, to maintaining law and order during violent demonstrations, to helping out during extreme weather emergencies, the Georgia guardsmen always answer the call to serve.

This service regularly extends beyond the Peach State such as at the southern border, where there are over 100 Georgia National Guard troops assisting Border Patrol agents in handling President Biden's out-of- control border crisis.

Additionally, Georgia currently has combat forces at all six geographic combatant commands, serving our great State and our Nation around the world.

In fact, members of the Georgia Air National Guard's 165th Airlift Wing were deployed to Europe in response to Russia's unlawful invasion of Ukraine. Georgians are tremendously thankful for their service in this vital mission, and we continue to pray for their safety overseas.

Our Nation is forever grateful for all the past, the current, and the future men of the National Guard, and we thank you for your duty to our Nation and dedication to our freedoms.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Perry for leading the House Freedom Caucus and for leading this Special Order.

The Declaration of Independence--what an incredible document that was--that was truly the birth certificate, I believe, of our Nation. It was the promise, I would call it, and the Constitution was the fulfillment of that promise.

In the Declaration of Independence, it says--and you have heard this mentioned tonight, but I echo it: ``We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.''

The very first among those unalienable rights is life. ``That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.''

So who is responsible for securing that right of life? Well, that is the government--``deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.'' That is us. That is the American people. That is who consents to the government.

That right of life is endowed by our Creator--by God. God gives you a right. Who can take it away? I don't think anyone can take it away. Our Declaration recognizes that some people will try, and so our government is supposed to protect that right.

I am so thankful that our Supreme Court, which is one of our coequal branches of government, that they actually stood up after 49 years to defend that right to life.

I echo my friend, Congressman Jody Hice from the great State of Georgia--Georgia's 10th District, just a little bit below mine--I echo his sentiments in thanking the Justices that stood for life: Justice Samuel Alito, who actually had to be moved from his residence because of the threats; Justice Clarence Thomas; Neil Gorsuch; Brett Kavanaugh; and Amy Coney Barrett.

I think we as a nation should be telling these Justices: Thank you, thank you, and thank you. How many millions more lives will be saved because of this decision that--though it is not final--we believe will be final and will come out in a month? We need to encourage them for standing up and defending life.

I think that is so very important because what we have seen so far has been absolutely despicable when it comes from the radical left and their threats to the Supreme Court.

There is a reason that the Supreme Court Justices are confirmed for life on the bench, and that is so they are not intimidated. Here we have someone in the Supreme Court that leaked a draft decision with what I believe was the intent to intimidate, so maybe one of those Justices would change their mind. I am praying that they don't. From what we see, they will not. Thank God for that.

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

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

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

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

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

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