Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Lamborn for leading this important Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and celebration of National Bible Week.

For multiple millenniums, the Bible has served as God's revelation to His creation, providing an account of His divine plan. The future hope of glory through the gospel of the Word of God renders guidance to us so that we have the hope of eternal life offered by His grace through faith.

The Bible is also the very reason we can live freely in the United States of America. More than 400 years ago, settlers bound together in search of the New World to escape religious persecution and establish a free government.

Our Founding Fathers wove the Word of God into the very fabric of our Nation, with the Bible playing a critical role in the unity and success of these wise men as they forged a future that is free.

As John Adams once said: ``The Bible contains the most profound philosophy, the most perfect morality, and the most refined policy that ever was conceived upon Earth.''

It is because of these men that our Lord and Savior's guidance has been key to the preservation of our Republic.

Now, more than two centuries later, I pray this body uses God's Word as our guiding light. Because a government whose foundation is built on God and His Word is a government that will have peace, freedom, and liberty.

Madam Speaker, over the weekend, the White House eased sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector, permitting Chevron to resume oil production in the communist regime. This policy follows an undeniable pattern of the President putting our Nation last.

Joe Biden is more than happy to green-light drilling in Venezuela but stalls drilling permits here in the United States. He is delighted to beg foreign adversaries like Saudi Arabia to boost production but refuses to unleash American energy. The President is determined to advance Green New Deal policies but fails to help Americans struggling to fill their gas tanks and heat their homes this winter.

Make no mistake: This is the America last administration. You see, President Biden wants to totally control U.S. fossil fuel energy, and he can do it more easily through manipulating imports of foreign oil than he can over domestic production once it has begun. It is a nefarious plan.

Thankfully, though, in just a few short weeks, House Republicans will retake the majority and start advancing legislation to restore American energy independence once and for all.

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

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

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

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

Madam Speaker, the American people are facing persistent pain in their wallets and pocketbooks, with inflation in August hitting 8.3 percent, higher than expectations.

But yesterday, hours after new inflation figures revealed that price hikes are continuing to burden hardworking Americans, President Biden held an event to celebrate the signing of the deceptively-named Inflation Reduction Act into law, touting the radical legislation as a victorious success.

The Inflation Expansion Act a success? Not quite. Not even close.

Grocery costs have surged nearly 14 percent, gas rose more than 33 percent, electricity costs have increased nearly

16 percent, rent almost 7 percent, and transportation has soared 11 percent.

Republicans warned that burning through billions of dollars in order to expand the IRS by 87,000 new agents, advance Green New Deal initiatives, and deliver crushing tax hikes would only plunge our economy into deeper turmoil--worsening inflation and contributing to our ballooning national debt.

Yet, Speaker Pelosi, Senate Leader Schumer, and President Biden steamrolled ahead anyway--selfishly advancing their Big Government Socialist agenda that costs the American people over 1 month's pay every year. Yes, Americans are now losing a month's pay every year because of Biden inflation.

Enough is enough. Americans simply cannot afford the cost of one- party Democrat rule in Washington any longer. We must prioritize financial security and fiscal responsibility over runaway spending and reckless monetary policies in order to provide American workers, families, and small businesses, the economic relief they desperately need.

Border Crisis

Madam Speaker, I rise today to highlight the raging crisis that continues to plague our southern border.

Since President Biden stepped foot into the Oval Office, his failed policies and radical open border agenda have provoked an unprecedented illegal alien invasion at our southern border.

While Vice President Kamala Harris, our so-called ``Border Czar,'' comically claims that the southern border is secure, the American people know good and well that this is a blatant falsehood. But unlike our delusional Border Czar, the numbers don't lie.

Nearly 5 million illegal aliens have crossed the southern border since Biden and Harris took office. To make matters worse, 66 individuals on the Terrorist Screening Database have been stopped trying to illegally enter our country--this is more than double the last 5 years combined--double the last 5 years combined.

Furthermore, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized enough fentanyl in this fiscal year alone to kill almost 2.4 billion people-- over seven times the U.S. population.

The southern border is, in fact, not secure, and the Biden administration knows it. After all, chaotic open borders have always been their plan. Unless the Biden administration abandons this sinister scheme, communities across the country will only continue to be ravaged by deadly drugs and border lawlessness.

It is simple: Americans deserve border security, not an administration actively manufacturing mayhem, advocating for mass amnesty, and emboldening dangerous cartels.

President Biden must immediately about-face on his open border agenda, commit to securing our southern border, and finally put American people first.

USDA Letter

Madam Speaker, I rise today to strongly oppose the Department of Agriculture's poultry line speed waiver rule.

Back in July, over 50 chicken plants that currently participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's waiver program received a notification from the Department stating that within 1 month these plants must participate in a third-party study in order to retain their line speed waivers.

In addition to granting a third-party group unlimited and unannounced access to poultry plants, the study also requires these plants to submit heaps of data and burdensome paperwork. Failure to participate in this study results in chicken plants slowing production by 25 percent, creating supply chain mayhem in the industry, and undeniably posing a serious threat to food availability.

The Biden administration's line speed waiver rule forces an ultimatum on poultry plants, burdening both consumers and workers already battling supply chain disruptions and hyperinflation, for the sake of a vague, intrusive, and unnecessary third-party study on worker safety.

Since I represent and serve the ``Poultry Capital of the World,'' Gainesville, Georgia, I proudly led 34 of my colleagues in sending a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack expressing grave concerns about the third-party study and urging the delay in the mandate.

Given the adverse effects this rule imposes on the industry and poultry production, Secretary Vilsack must immediately provide substantive answers to Congress about why this rule must be put in place.

Madam Speaker, I am fully committed to conducting proper congressional oversight into the USDA's line speed waiver so that we can continue to run at full capacity.

Madam Speaker, despite the White House's politically motivated propaganda that claims our economy is in a transition with zero percent inflation, the reality is we are facing an economic recession and continue to battle 40-year high inflation.

As millions of Americans struggle to buy groceries, fill up their gas tanks, afford rent, and pay utility bills, Democrats are ramming through their tax-and-spend bill that will only make life worse.

Now, I know the left can't quite grasp the basics of high school biology, but it appears that they also need a lesson on the fundamentals of economics and basic math.

But I don't think they are interested in their much-needed schooling because their actions are intentional. Time and time again, the left proves their priorities lie with Big Government socialism, not the American people. Through increased IRS audits, they are willing to demolish any small business, worker, or family that gets in their way.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to reject fueling inflation and reject tax hikes during a recession by voting ``no'' on Democrats' build back broke bill.

Madam Speaker, one of the most egregious provisions in this socialist spending bill includes providing $80 billion to the IRS for hiring 87,000 new agents to audit hardworking Americans.

After my small business was wrongfully targeted by the IRS back in 2013, I know a thing or two about how burdensome and costly battles with the IRS can be. I will tell you, it is a grueling fight that most Americans simply cannot endure.

This is precisely why I introduced an amendment to eliminate the IRS enforcement provision in this severely misguided legislation. The Democrats rejected it, confirming their intent to supercharge IRS audits in order to pay for their Big Government socialist agenda.

This week has also proven just how corrupt our Federal agencies are and the length they are willing to go to persecute political opponents.

Think about it: If the left will weaponize the FBI to raid President Trump's personal residence, they will surely weaponize the IRS' new 87,000 agents, many of whom will be trained in the use of deadly force, to go after any American citizen.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on supersizing and weaponizing the IRS against the American people.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1808, which is just the latest gun-grabbing bill Democrats are dangerously ramming through in their unconstitutional crusade to disarm America.

The ink is barely dry on the anti-gun bill from last month, and here they are pushing another anti-gun bill that proclaims to make us safer but does the exact opposite. It puts citizens at greater risk by taking away the rights of the law-abiding.

This legislation takes aim at our Constitution by banning what the Democrats call assault weapons, which is a vague political term used as a catchphrase to make the public think we are banning guns that assault people. But the truth is that the bill would ban the most popular semiautomatic rifle in America, the AR-15 and what the industry calls a modern sporting rifle.

The Democrats have consistently called them weapons of war and are trying to ban them from being purchased by law-abiding citizens.

But whom does this bill exempt?

The Federal Government. Federal Government agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and down the line.

So if they are weapons of war, as the Democrats call them, what do these departments need with weapons of war?

Is the Department of Education going to use them against the moms and dads who protest against woke local school board policies?

Is the Department of Housing and Urban Development going to use them against the occupants in their housing developments?

You cannot have it both ways. If it is a weapon of war, then ban these Federal agencies, too.

The truth is they are simply semiautomatic rifles the Democrats want to demonize so they can ban more guns and take more of our citizens' unalienable constitutional rights away.

Democrat ignorance and malice do not justify banning nearly 25 million firearms that Americans, including myself, proudly own and responsibly use.

Now I know the author of this legislation would prefer that I spare him

both the prefatory clause and the supremacy clause of the Second Amendment. But it is quite clear: ``A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.''

Shall not be infringed, period, is the supremacy clause. And banning an entire class of firearms, the most popular firearm in common use today, is clearly infringement.

An armed America is a safe and free America. I urge all of my colleagues to stand firm in the fight to protect and preserve the Second Amendment by voting ``no'' on this unconstitutional and, therefore, illegal piece of legislation.

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. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment in en bloc No. 5.

My amendment prohibits funds made available by this act to be used to promulgate, implement, administer, or enforce President Biden's radical abortion executive order number 14076.

In this executive order, the Biden administration chose to focus its attention on protecting the abortion industry at the expense of women and their unborn children. This is totally unacceptable.

This executive order is also ruled by executive fiat, and my amendment rightfully defunds it. The executive order is also a great example of disinformation. The Biden administration tried to create the Disinformation Governance Board, and it didn't do so well. Now we have it in an executive order--disinformation.

Let me be very clear. Miscarriage management and the treatment of ectopic pregnancies are not abortions. The Biden administration's executive order simply creates fear and confusion by spreading this misinformation.

Finally, nothing in the Constitution grants the Federal Government the authority to expand access to abortion. This is a State's rights issue and must be resolved at the State level.

Mr. Chair, I urge all my colleagues to support this amendment to defund this Biden executive order promoting abortion.

Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago, I introduced my landmark legislation, the RETURN our Constitutional Rights Act, which eliminates the Federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition because no American should be taxed on their enumerated constitutional rights.

Since this unconstitutional tax funds Pittman-Robertson conservation programs, my legislation replaces this revenue stream with a more stable source of funding by redirecting unallocated lease revenue generated by onshore and offshore energy development on Federal lands. Replacing this revenue is crucial to ensure Pittman-Robertson programs stay alive and well.

While the firearm tax revenue fluctuates annually based on firearms sales, it is also subject to the left's radical gun control agenda. You see, if we allow anti-Second Amendment lawmakers to achieve their dangerous dream of an unarmed America, there will be no firearms sold, so Pittman-Robertson funding will cease to exist, threatening wildlife conservation programs.

Therefore, the RETURN Act accomplishes both protecting Americans' Second Amendment rights and preserving Pittman-Robertson programs. We can and must do both.