Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Draco Miller, a cherished member of the Brownwood community who sadly passed away on February 16, 2023.

Draco was a father, husband, son, businessowner, and public servant to the community of Brownwood as a city council member, mentor to our youth, and leader in numerous service-oriented boards and organizations.

In 2022, Draco was named Man of the Year by the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce for his service to Brownwood. In his own words, he said: ``This is my city, and I love my city. There is no place like home.''

Although he loved and cherished Brownwood, his family was the most important facet of his life. He dedicated his life to passing along his long-held values of faith, family, and a strong work ethic.

He is remembered for his seemingly endless energy, optimism, and good will that carried him through decades of community involvement and community improvement projects.

Although we mourn his loss, I know his legacy will live on through his wife, Sonja; their children; many extended family members; and the entire Brownwood community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Chairman Comer's resolution. The radical D.C. Council is literally putting the integrity of our election system at risk.

They have passed a bill to allow illegal immigrants, Chinese and Russian agents, foreign exchange students, and quite literally anyone else who finds themselves on the streets of D.C. in our Nation's Capital for longer than 30 days the ability to vote in elections.

This should not be a partisan issue, and you don't have to be a Republican to understand why this is wrong.

Voting is a sacred right, regardless of what was just said. Voting is a sacred right. This ridiculous measure disenfranchises millions of legal American citizens and opens up our election system to a host of security issues. In fact, the Mayor of D.C. didn't even sign this.

Congress must pass this resolution today, but we should also move to pass my bill, H.R. 192, to make it clear to D.C. that they cannot ever allow noncitizens to influence our Nation's Capital. We are putting every single Member, both Republican and Democrat, on the record about whether they support noncitizens voting.

Of course, I urge my colleagues in the House and the Senate and President Biden to pass our bill, to pass this measure, to sign it into law immediately.

Let me just say one thing in response to my colleague on the other side of the aisle who a few moments ago said, ``We brought back our worst possible instincts,'' I think when referencing the Republican Party. This tells you everything you need to know. It tells you everything you need to know about Americans. Please listen up, this tells you everything you need to know, that the radicals want you to think that this is normal, and it is not.

Americans deserve confidence in our election system and confidence in knowing that only legal American citizens are casting their vote in elections here in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a lifelong public servant and valuable member of the Texas-11 team, Mrs. Jan Lentz.

For 7 years, Jan has devoted her time and talents to our district as a constituent services aide. She previously served with the VA, West Texas Counseling and Guidance, and many other organizations and has led a veterans support group for over 15 years, most of this as a volunteer.

Jan's impact on our community exceeds everything beyond words, and her service has extended far beyond our district. She has literally impacted thousands of lives, veteran lives and family member lives, and so many in need in our community.

Over the years, Jan has secured countless benefits for veterans and has impacted thousands of veteran families. Last year alone, she returned over $100,000 in taxes back to constituents.

Jan is someone who we all wish we could be.

As she moves into the next phase of her life in retirement, we want Jan to know that we are grateful for her service. We are grateful for what she has done for our community, veterans, and so many people in need.

I say thank you to Jan from the bottom of our hearts, from our team, our district, and the State of Texas. We all wish Jan good luck in retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 497, Freedom for Health Care Workers Act. I would also like to offer my condolences to my colleague on the other side of the aisle for the loss of his mother. I think that, you know, in a stark contrast of what CMS is doing to mandate this, which is the only vaccine that is mandated, what we should be doing is investigating the origins of COVID, the billions of dollars that have been spent, the countless lives that have been lost.

I am proud to serve on Energy and Commerce, to be the only rural Texan serving on that committee. Growing up in rural Texas, it gave me a strong appreciation for healthcare, for workers just like my colleague's mother, the heroes that were on the front line during the pandemic and those that have served as doctors and nurses in Texas, quite literally, saving lives every single day.

We are facing a massive shortage of healthcare workers throughout our Nation, and, unfortunately, this crisis is amplified in rural America.

Rural healthcare workers and providers are among the most negatively impacted by the President's tyrannical COVID vaccine mandate, which remains in effect for Medicare and Medicaid-certified providers.

The Biden administration should not be forcing American workers to take the vaccine or face the possibility of losing their job. Instead, they should be listening to the reasons that so many people in my district, throughout the State of Texas, and throughout the country, quite frankly, may not want to take it. That choice should not have to be made. Unfortunately, the overreach never ends.

Republicans are standing up today to free our healthcare heroes from this unconstitutional mandate. I am proud to join Representative Jeff Duncan on this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today on behalf of the 2 million hardworking Texans, the 10 million hardworking Americans, that the President has told their job doesn't matter, putting food on the table doesn't matter, mortgage payments don't matter, grocery bills don't matter.

I am actually shocked that this is a partisan issue, that we have my Democrat colleagues that are saying that we don't want to refill an SPR, or we don't want to consider it an emergency use, only for political emergencies.

The President campaigned on a promise to end fossil fuels, and he has pushed his failed policies from day one, including the cancellation of Keystone XL, telling 10 million workers who provide the energy our Nation so desperately needs that he doesn't want them to produce.

In fact, not only does he not want them to produce, he is going overseas, begging global oil cartels for more energy.

These policies are completely disconnected from reality. We are now facing rolling blackouts where families, in the middle of the night, may not have energy.

In places like California, that is standard practice. However, now you have to consider it in Pennsylvania and Ohio and everywhere else.

Why? Where are my Democrat colleagues who believe in affordable, reliable energy? Where are my colleagues who want to ease the burden of inflation that the President has caused?

This Republican majority knows and is in touch with the reality that every family is facing choices, inflationary choices, and it starts with energy.

I am proud to work alongside Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers to restore energy security.

President Biden's use of the SPR for his own political emergencies is unacceptable, and we are now standing up to return the SPR to its rightful use for national security emergencies, not fabricated political emergencies.

It is time for the President to join the Permian Basin, for the President to join every State in using this for what it was designed to be used for.

It is a shame that my Democrat colleagues will not stand up for a national security imperative. We must let our producers produce, do what they do best, and keep government out of it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise because Americans are completely fed up. They are fed up with being targeted. And the assertion that I just heard that MAGA Republicans are domestic terrorists, the assertion that this is happening throughout the country, I must tell my 90-year-old grandmother.

Mr. Speaker, this assertion has been made time and time again that MAGA Republicans will blow something up, that MAGA Republicans are terrorists. Listen, we have seen censorship and meddling by former intelligence community experts and current Federal law enforcement agencies against Republicans and preventing media stories from actually coming to light. This is a fact.

My friend from Texas just talked about the IRS and other agencies that have done this. We are not standing idly by, and it is time that the truth

comes out. When we say things like MAGA Republicans, I think we should all be very careful and not be disingenuous because there are plenty of good Americans and patriots that are willing to stand up to get the truth out.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that free speech be upheld--protected free speech be upheld. Not libel, not slander, and not any sort of assertion that all MAGA Republicans are bad because we know that that is not true. In fact, there are many good Americans that are standing up for their rights.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Tom Green County Judge Steve Floyd, a faithful leader of our community who is retiring from elected office at the end of this year.

Judge Floyd has dedicated his life to our community with more than 30 years of service as justice of the peace, county commissioner, and now as county judge.

Whether he was leading the county, handing down justice, or just mowing the courthouse lawn, he led with wisdom and kindness.

Judge Floyd had a monumental impact on the partnership between San Angelo and Goodfellow Air Force Base, where his community leadership and visionary ideas strengthened the bond and paved the way for San Angelo to receive three unprecedented Altus Award trophies for exceptional community partnership, more than any other base has received.

Judge Floyd's retirement is bittersweet today. If you are watching this morning, Judge, please know that we are not just saying farewell to a good friend and a good leader but someone who has been an incredible public servant for over 30 years.

We are grateful for the decades of service to our community, and we wish you the very best in your upcoming retirement. Congratulations on a job well done, Judge Floyd.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation. I first thank the chairman and the ranking member for focusing our efforts with this piece of legislation on the threats, the most complex threat environment that we have faced, I believe, in our history, and getting rid of things that distracted us, like a vaccine mandate where we saw elite military forces having to make a choice that I believe was unconstitutional. I believe that focus is so necessary right now.

For those that are in Killeen, Texas, in the Fort Hood area, which is home to the largest Active-Duty armored military installation in the free world, you have much-needed military construction funds that are coming to you to enhance your readiness.

For those at Goodfellow Air Force Base, we are proud of the 12,000 airmen, soldiers, sailors, marines, and guardians that are trained there every year in the preparation of intelligence.

We have to remain focused. It is a complex threat environment.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation and the most solemn duty that we face, which is supporting our military men and women and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a servant leader in our community, Odessa native, Mr. Jesse Porras, a Marine veteran.

Mr. Porras has been cooking and serving a Thanksgiving meal to hundreds of Odessans in need every year since 2013 when he first felt called to provide a warm and comforting meal to anyone in need or struggling with homelessness in our community. Since then, it has grown into a community feast, with local businesses and others partnering with Jesse. Over the past 9 years, Mr. Porras' Thanksgiving meal has fed thousands and lifted the spirits of the entire community.

Jesse Porras is an inspiration to all of us. Not only was he willing to put his life on the line through his service to our country as a marine, but he continues that service through his generosity and philanthropic spirit today. This is something that we can all emulate, especially as we are approaching the holiday season.

I thank Mr. Porras personally for giving so much of his time, talent, and goodwill to share the blessings of Thanksgiving, which, in my opinion, should be celebrated every day. But on that particular day, he does a great job in Odessa. It is with heartfelt thanks that Texas' 11th Congressional District thanks him.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Minnesota for so eloquently explaining the underlying reason that I rise to oppose the previous question so that we may immediately consider H.R. 8749, which is my bill to strike the new tax on every American, the new tax on natural gas that was included in the Democrats' paycheck reduction act.

At a time when we actually are witnessing probably the most destructive energy poverty crisis in the civilized world, which is happening right now in Europe, in most cases happening in countries that are now experiencing a tenfold increase of their heating bills, a tenfold increase of their energy bills, a tenfold increase of all the requirements of energy, the most foundational piece of any economy, President Biden is driving an agenda to do the same thing here in the United States, driving an agenda to impoverish the energy needs of this country.

While the President may deny the existence of inflation and crippling price hikes, those of us who are actually buying our own groceries and paying our bills every month know that is false. No position in the United States can deny the economic facts--8.3 percent. That, I believe, pales in comparison to what areas in rural America are actually paying.

Price hikes on energy are the largest driver of this inflation by far. Gas utility bills are up 33 percent. Electricity is up almost 16 percent. It is 16 percent more expensive than it was this time last year.

In the United States right now, today, energy costs are so high that one in six Americans are facing a notice from their electric company that they may be disconnected--one in six.

When I said these words just a couple of months ago, everybody on the other side of the aisle laughed at that proposition. Yet, it is the policy that started with the flurry of activity last January, the executive orders that were aimed at killing the industry that underpins our economy, the industry that won World War II, the industry that has lifted 1 billion people out of poverty, 1 billion people around the world in places like sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Far East. That is because of the shale revolution. That is because of technology.

The Paris climate accords have absolutely nothing on the reduction of harmful pollutants and emissions that private innovation has actually done.

And even knowing this, President Biden and Democrats in Congress have introduced another tax on American energy that will continue to drive costs up.

How many more Americans will be unable to heat their homes this fall and this winter when Democrat tax initiatives make their utility bills 50 percent more expensive than last year?

Does the Green New Deal lobby group want America to follow in the footsteps of the Europeans I just mentioned who have returned-- literally returned to burning wood chips in their homes?

Restarting coal plants, where was that in the Green New Deal? Where was that in the Paris climate accord in COP26?

Make no mistake. These costs will swiftly be passed along to the 180 million Americans and 5.5 million businesses that rely on natural gas.

In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates this fee will increase taxes by $6.5 billion and raise natural gas bills an additional 17 percent, in addition to the inflationary pressures already facing our economy. What an inexcusable error.

Instead of encouraging more U.S. production of oil and gas, House Democrats have opted instead to cut government checks to favored green special interest groups.

And by the way, what happened to the President's promise not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than 400,000? It is laughable.

Americans are begging for lower prices. They are begging for the government to simply allow free market principles to work; to allow the companies that underpin energy to do what they do best, which is to do it better, to do it more efficient; to do it cleaner and to not be dependent on adversaries like Russia and China and other adversaries.

The crowning achievement of President Biden's energy policies will be dependence on adversaries for our energy needs. In Maslow's hierarchy, I couldn't think of something that is worse; dependence on OPEC oil as he goes to Saudi Arabia asking for more production when we can do it here better.

We only need to look at the reckless policies in Europe to understand how bad this can be. We only need to look at the dependence that Europe had on Russia that has now, in many, many ways, led to a crisis in Ukraine.

Energy underpins everything. And I am tired of hearing that we are in an energy transition. We are not. We are in an energy expansion.

Another billion people will be added to the population of this globe within the next 15 to 20 years, one billion. Where is their energy going to come from? Can those people afford electric vehicles?

Where does electricity come from?

These are the questions it would be nice to have in a transparent, open, and realistic debate. In this energy expansion, I invite my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to come to my district to see the fact that my congressional district has more wind energy than the entire State of California. Come see what we do with regards to solar.

Come to my district to see that, in this energy expansion, it is going to take every available source of energy. But most importantly, it is going to take reliable energy, base-load energy, sources that are primary that can provide the reliability.

We don't need to go the direction that Europe has gone, and we certainly don't need to go the direction that our friends in California have gotten used to with rolling blackouts.

And we don't need higher taxes. Every American family is struggling. The solution is literally directly below our feet. It is literally at the hands of the most innovative and experienced entrepreneurs, engineers, hardworking patriots. It is here. We can provide that reliability and reduce dependency.

I urge my colleagues to cast their vote for the American family, for the senior on a fixed income, for the small business owner, and for energy security.

And let me issue a warning. If we continue down this path, it will end in energy poverty right here in this country; and those that will be affected most are the vulnerable in our population, the ones that are disconnected from their energy companies; the ones that can't afford to do anything because energy costs are so high.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 8749 which would strike the new tax on natural gas, and get us on a path, once again, to energy dominance, energy security and reliability.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues, the ranking member and the chairman, for bringing this bill to the floor.

I rise today in support of my bill to rename the veterans community- based outpatient clinic in San Angelo, Texas, the Colonel Charles and JoAnne Powell VA Clinic.

I cannot think of two people more deserving of this honor than Colonel Charles and JoAnne Powell. They are both true American heroes who, for their entire lives, dedicated their service to this country through a distinguished career not only in the U.S. Air Force but later in civilian life when they became two of the most ardent and fervent leaders for military and veterans issues.

They shared a love story not only between themselves but also for this country. Colonel Charles and JoAnne Powell met in preschool in Nashville, Arkansas. They graduated high school together, and they were married in 1954 after Charles graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and then joined the Air Force. No matter where Charles' missions took them around the world to different locations, JoAnne was right there, serving alongside him.

Colonel Powell and JoAnne first flew into San Angelo in 1980, and he became the base commander of Goodfellow and JoAnne the honorary first lady. Their mission was daunting, as they were tasked with saving Goodfellow, which was slated for closure. Not only did they immediately spring into action to save the base, but they built a lasting partnership that lasts today between the community and the base, completely converting the base mission into one of a premier intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and fire training installation for every branch of the U.S. military.

After Charles retired, they settled in San Angelo, and their legacy has left over 360,000 graduates from Goodfellow Air Force Base that have joined all branches and all intelligence agencies, including not just the military but the CIA, DIA, FBI, NSA, and more.

Thankfully, their professional service has made this country better, but it is there where they decided to plant their roots and set to work in their community, making it a better place.

In addition to her service as a military spouse, JoAnne Powell gave of herself through immeasurable community involvement on countless boards and civic organizations. Through her 35-year career as a congressional liaison for the 11th District, she worked for Representatives Tom Loeffler, Lamar Smith, Mike Conaway, and, lastly, myself.

She served thousands of veterans in this position. She helped in any way she possibly could. Not only did she spearhead the annual process of nominating young men and women to the service academies, which was a year-round position for both her and Charles Powell, but she also achieved what I think is probably more lasting in helping those cadets and those midshipmen go through the academies, including myself, which was probably her most generous contribution.

Madam Speaker, Charles and JoAnne Powell were a perfect team, and they supported one another as they completed their missions of life with flying colors. Together, they raised an exceptional daughter, Terri, and adored their two wonderful grandchildren.

I am thrilled today to be able to honor them, to honor their service, the impact that they had in the Concho Valley, the impact that they had on so many veterans, and the impact that they had on our military with the naming of the Charles and JoAnne Powell VA Clinic.

I thank the chairman and ranking member and the entire Texas delegation and your staffs for helping make this a reality. Obviously, I thank Charles and JoAnne Powell for their love of this country, which is a legacy that I think all of us could stand to learn from.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the victims of the August 31, 2019 mass shooting event in Odessa and Midland, Texas, recognize the citizens of these communities, and thank the EMS and other first responders, hospitals, emergency rooms and trauma centers, as well as city leadership. I commend the preparedness of those who were flooded with casualties, and wish to emphasize the importance of medical leadership and preparedness throughout the United States.

Medical and law enforcement throughout the area were propelled into action during this shooting event, including city EMS medical director Dr. Sudip Bose, Incident Commander Chief Rodd Huber; Odessa Fire Rescue Chief John Alvarez; Medical Center Hospital CEO Russell Tippin; the men and women of the Odessa Police Department and the city's SWAT team; Texas Highway Patrol officers; Midland Police; trauma teams, first responders, nurses, administrators, citizens, and so many unnamed others throughout the area who provided aid where and when they could.

The seven victims include 15-year-old Leilah Hernandez, 40-year-old Joseph Griffith, 29-year-old Mary Granados, 25-year-old Edwin Peregrino, 57-year-old Rodolfo Julio Arco, 30-year-old Kameron Karltess Brown, 35-year-old Raul Garcia. 25 others were injured, including three police officers.

Every city needs to formulate a preparedness and response plan for a mass casualty event.

Medical leadership is paramount.

A multiagency team, created years in advance, was the driving force behind getting a plan in place before the Odessa-Midland area shooting took place. This team was medically led by Dr. Sudip Bose, an emergency physician double board certified in emergency medicine and EMS (disaster medicine). After the horrific event, he used his expertise as a former front-line Army medical officer who treated casualties in the battle of Fallujah, Iraq to address world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on how to keep cities safe before and after medical disasters.

Given the risks to all involved, it is imperative that communities and first responders make rational risk/reward decisions about when and how to handle an active shooter and provide medical care to victims during and after an event. This kind of action does not happen without prior preparation and practice.

I am proud to know the preparedness for this kind of event is a priority in the Odessa-Midland area, and I am proud to represent the citizens, police and medical respondents who handled those innocently caught in the field of fire of the perpetrator. We must continue to champion preparedness training and ensure our medical leaders are equipped with the tools they need to address any situation that comes through their door.

Madam Speaker, I rise to speak against this so-called Inflation Reduction Act, a piece of legislation that weakens America, weakens our businesses, increases the cost of energy for all Americans and our families, and funds a new 87,000-person army of IRS agents that are coming after low- and middle-income families.

Here is a pretty good rule of thumb for this legislation. If you are one of Biden's chosen Green New Deal companies, you are probably going to get a handout from American taxpayers. But for small, independent American energy producers in districts like mine, the Permian Basin, your reward for keeping the lights on is a new, poorly conceived natural gas tax that will raise the cost of everything and give China an edge on our American manufacturers.

In fact, I offered an amendment to strike this provision, but Democrats voted it down in the Rules Committee, voting against U.S. energy and voting for foreign energy.

The Democrat response is tax credits for the rich, a slush fund for loans to their favorite green companies, and more regulatory red tape to drive up energy costs for all of us.

Families have to decide whether to fill up their tanks or to pay for everyday essentials at grocery stores because of high gas prices due to President Biden's policies.

The crowning achievement of this legislation won't be inflation reduction. It will be making America more dependent on our adversaries, more dependent on our adversaries for energy, dependent on China for medical manufacturing and supply chain issues, and dependent on China for critical minerals.

If the Democrats' goal is to reduce baseload, reliable power sources and increase our dependency on foreign nations, they are succeeding. If their goal is to create regulatory red tape to drive up energy costs for Main Street businesses and families, once again, they are succeeding. If their goal is to help American families and small businesses, this piece of legislation is a fail.

America asked for relief, and instead, Democrats will deliver new and higher taxes that will be enforced by an 87,000-person IRS army.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for America and against this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, today, I am voting against the erosion of constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.

In the long history of mankind, freedom and liberty are not lost overnight. It comes by way of a slow and gradual burn.

We have seen an unprecedented assault on our First Amendment through the legacy media and social media giants censoring the thoughts and opinions of individuals of the right while propping up their favorite candidates and covering up stories that could be detrimental to their public personas.

Policies are then implemented that are antireligious freedom, anti- due process, anti-free assembly, and, today, anti-Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. These rights shall not be infringed.

Instead of making families and communities safer, this backward, gun- grabbing attempt does nothing to harden school security, address our mental health crisis, or reverse the depreciation of our morals and values.

No, it does nothing for that, but it tears at the fabric of our Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to protect the Constitution and vote ``no.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor National Buffalo Soldiers Day, a day commemorating the formation of the first Army regiments comprised of African American Soldiers.

In 1866, Congress passed the Army Organization Act to allow former slaves to fight for our Nation during the Civil War. More than 180,000 African-American men served their country with pride and distinction despite challenging terrain, limited supplies, and discrimination.

More than 100 years later, to recognize their valiant service, Congress passed a law designating July 28th as National Buffalo Soldiers Day.

Today, we honor the incredible bravery of these 180,000 men who helped secure lasting freedom for our Nation. The Buffalo Soldiers answered the call to fight for our country's freedom while also paving the way for many future service members. Their service was pivotal to securing our country's freedom, and today, we commemorate and honor their sacrifice.

Each of these men earned the recognition they receive on this commemorative day. Even through hardship, their service to the United States was unwavering, offering a glimpse of their American pride and incredible character.

In my hometown of San Angelo, the local NAACP chapter is hosting a three-day celebration to commemorate these brave men and the sacrifices they made.

Under the leadership of President Sherley Spears, San Angelo's NAACP is ensuring soldiers from our local community receive the recognition they deserve for their sacrifices for our country.

Thank you to Mrs. Spears and the San Angelo NAACP for honoring the life and legacy of The Buffalo Soldiers both in the Concho Valley and across our Nation.

The Buffalo Soldiers, along with generations of service men and women who have fought for our country both before and after these brave men, are true American heroes. May we never forget the sacrifices they have made and may God bless all current and former service men and women.