Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, President Reagan said it: The government's idea on the economy is when it is moving, you tax it; if it keeps moving, you regulate it; when it fails, you subsidize it.

If the government would stop taxing and regulating, we wouldn't need the subsidizing. The Democrats are the champions of Big Government because they would rather gain power through taxes and regulations than see our economy actually grow. That is what their tax-and-spend agenda is all about, it is power.

Today, the Biden economic crisis is raging, yet President Biden and Speaker Pelosi are pushing the made in America tax that will only aggravate the crisis facing all of America. The made in America tax policy will drive up taxes on U.S. firms and workers both at home and in every country they do business in around the world.

This bill would also create a complex, parallel tax system that punishes investment in American production, permanently stop key domestic mineral development, and allow China to continue to have a monopoly on critical mineral markets.

The Democrats' made-in-America tax would give more power to Washington, but make it better for a foreign company or a foreign worker than for an American worker.

We need leaders in Washington who will put Americans first.

Madam Speaker, President Biden's energy policies have triggered 7-year high gas prices that are hammering American families and small business owners. Today gas prices are 50 percent higher than a year ago. In Montgomery, folks are paying $3.09 a gallon, Enterprise $3.21, and Eufaula and Troy $3.29.

At these prices, the average Alabamian will pay about $23 more each week on gasoline. That is more than $100 a month and $1,200 a year.

Gas prices impact small businesses, too. I am a small business owner, and countless small businesses like mine that are highly dependent on gas prices are being hammered right now by these high prices.

Almost all goods and services must be delivered via gas at some point. So it is basic economics. When the price of gas goes up, the price of everything goes up. That is on top of near-record inflation being driven by our out-of-control government spending. This insanity has to stop or the pain at the pump will continue.

Biden must end his war on American energy, and we must defeat his socialist tax-and-spend agenda.

Madam Speaker, Democrats are always looking for a new way to pick your pocket. Their latest scheme, tucked away in their reconciliation bill, is a heat your home tax just in time for winter.

This tax would eliminate almost 90,000 American jobs and increase Americans' heating bills by up to $242 per year. Pain from the heat your home tax would hit Americans who are already suffering from the Biden energy crisis.

The national average for a gallon of gasoline reached $3.38 on Monday--the most Americans have paid since Biden was Vice President. And the heating home costs are already projected to rise as much as 54 percent on some homes and households in America.

This crisis is driven by bad policies. On Joe Biden's first day in office, he killed 11,000 American jobs by blocking the Keystone pipeline. Basically, Joe Biden's energy policy is this: You kill the Keystone pipeline and then you allow Russia a green light to build a pipeline, and then you beg OPEC to increase production, and you buy solar panels from China.

Madam Speaker, millions of freedom-loving Americans with legitimate concerns with the vaccine--some are vaccinated, by the way--have had their jobs, livelihoods, and military service held hostage by this new vaccine mandate. They are being told to shut up and take it. That is un-American.

With both Army Fort Rucker and Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in my district, I am especially disturbed by the new vaccine mandates our military and civilian contractors are having to endure.

Last week, I spoke at a meeting of concerned Fort Rucker employees. We expected about 20 to 30 attendees, but hundreds showed up. Clearly, Americans are mobilizing to resist against these mandates.

I met with Lieutenant Colonel Theresa Long, a military physician stationed at Fort Rucker. We have seen firsthand the health risks associated with the vaccine that can impact our military readiness. Why are voices like hers being ignored? She has the rank of lieutenant colonel; she has a medical degree; and she is an expert. And if she is not, who is?

These mandates are about control and not safety. Every American must have the freedom to make their own health decisions, and our concerns will not be silenced. The American people will continue to resist the vaccine mandates, and I am proud to stand with them.

Madam Speaker, on September 11, 2021, our nation commemorated the twentieth anniversary of the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001. On this solemn occasion, I rise to remember the lives lost on that dark day and honor the sacrifices made in the two decades since.

America is a nation of patriots that choose to face danger head on when others run away. When terrorists hijacked four airplanes and carried out the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the world, our nation came together to comfort, encourage, and ultimately defend one another. With two planes hitting the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the third plane hitting the Pentagon, and the fourth plane crashing in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, our first responders, including our law enforcement, firefighters, and other emergency personnel valiantly ran towards danger to save lives and prevent further destruction. We owe these heroes a great debt of gratitude, and without them, countless additional lives could have been lost.

The 9/11 attacks tragically cost the lives of almost 3,000 men, women, and children, and the following efforts to combat terrorism around the world resulted in the loss of over 7,000 servicemen and women. I am proud of the thousands of brave servicemen and women who answered the call to duty, and I'm especially proud of my constituents who have since served to defend the United States and protect the innocent around the globe. Without their heroism, the world would be a much darker place. We will always remember their sacrifice and bravery.

On this September 11th, communities across the United States, including in my hometown of Enterprise, Alabama, will gather to mourn the lives lost, honor the bravery of the American people, and dedicate themselves to ensuring that these sacrifices were not made in vain,

Madam Speaker, it is my honor to memorialize that solemn day in our history and pay tribute to those who lost their lives and sacrificed in service to our great nation. May the world also never forget that tragedy that occurred on the morning of September 11, 2001, or the strength and dedication of the United States of America.

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, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained due to sickness. I

was unable to vote on June 29, 2021 for these reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 189; NAY on Roll Call No. 190; NAY on Roll Call No. 191; YEA on Roll Call No. 192; NAY on Roll Call No. 193; YEA on Roll Call No. 194; NAY on Roll Call No. 195; and NAY on Roll Call No. 196.

Madam Speaker, I thank and appreciate Representative Clyde for his leadership on this issue.

Madam Speaker, recent remarks by President Joe Biden about the Second Amendment have troubled me and millions of Americans who own firearms. I think they should trouble people on both sides of the aisle. I also believe his remarks and attitude toward gun owners should trouble all freedom-loving Americans, regardless of whether they own a gun.

You see, President Biden's comments about restricting the Second Amendment show a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between this Nation's government and its people.

President Biden believes that the American people get their rights from the government. Our Founders would strongly disagree.

In fact, they were so skeptical of a powerful central government that they created an innovative and remarkable system of checks and balances to protect its citizens from a tyrannical government.

As it was so eloquently phrased in our Declaration of Independence: ``to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . . . ''

What powers our Government possesses was given to it by the people, not the other way around. And we gave these powers to the Government to protect the rights we hold dear.

The Second Amendment does not apply to a particular firearm. It does not specify an AR-15, nor does it list a musket or a bayonet. It didn't have to, because the Second Amendment protects the right that you already have, the right to bear arms. There is no need to continually update the Second Amendment.

Madam Speaker, the Second Amendment is not a permission slip, but an assurance that no law will be enacted to strip the American people of their fundamental right.

The language of the Second Amendment is clear. And it says: ``The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.''

This right was so important to the Founders that they would not enact the Constitution without the Second Amendment's inclusion in the Bill of Rights.

President Biden's remarks betray the flawed reasoning of so many in the Democratic Party, who insist that the government is the grantor of rights. It is not grantor but the guarantor, the protector. The government simply cannot grant rights given to us by God. It protects those God-given rights.

Americans should be skeptical of any philosophy asserting the government can restrict the rights we have given it the power to protect. If they take your guns, what is next? The right to trial by jury? Maybe free speech? The right to worship who and how we choose?

Madam Speaker, for the American people to keep the liberty we hold dear, our constitutional protections, all of them, must be maintained.

Thomas Jefferson said it this way: ``When the government fears people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.''

Madam Speaker, this week, we mourn the loss of 10 people in a terrible multi-car crash on 1-65 in Alabama.

Among those killed were 9 children, including 8 from the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, a home for neglected and abused children. Tragically, they were aged from 4 to 17.

Also among the dead were a 29-year-old father and his 9-month-old daughter.

I join with my Alabama colleagues today to express my deepest, most heartfelt sympathies to all the loved ones and survivors.

Please know they are in all our hearts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I certainly appreciate his leadership on this and giving us an opportunity to speak about small business issues in our country.

Mr. Speaker, as restrictive government mandates on Americans have relaxed, our economy has begun recovering from the worst of the pandemic. Many businesses have reopened their doors, and there are now millions of new returning jobs and available jobs across the Nation.

Unfortunately, I hear from businesses large and small across my district that Big Government is getting in the way of the return of our booming prepandemic economy.

It is a bizarre paradox, but under the Biden administration, we are simultaneously facing an intense labor shortage and widespread unemployment at the same time, when our economy should be thriving back to prepandemic levels. Sadly, this is a common story in every corner of our country.

It is clear that the primary driver of this problem is federally subsidized unemployment benefits. In many regions, particularly in rural areas, would-be job seekers make more staying at home than reporting to work.

Recently, I was speaking to a friend of mine, and he called an unemployed driver that he was going to hire. The unemployed driver's response was this: I am going ride this mule until it drops.

Basically, what he was saying was: I am going to take this free money until it goes away.

Many small businesses are facing that very same issue. Some businesses have even offered cash bonuses to interviewees, but small businesses cannot afford this.

There are plenty of examples back home in my district. For example, in Houston County, there are 124 unemployment claims and over 2,000 job openings as we speak. In Coffee County, there are 57 unemployment claims and 570 job openings, with many more coming. In Dale County, there are 47 unemployment claims yet 350 job postings.

It is very simple. Small business cannot compete with government handouts. I am glad that many red States, including my great State of Alabama, have ended all federally funded pandemic unemployment benefits. I hope our numbers will improve as a result.

Removing these payments that were meant to be short-term is necessary to advance our economic recovery. But this is a real problem that betrays the Biden administration and congressional Democrats' fundamental misunderstanding of what powers an economy.

Mr. Speaker, the best welfare program in the world is a job, not government. I know that many of my Democratic colleagues agree with me.

Let's get Americans back to work by empowering workers and removing incentives to stay home. Only then can we truly reopen this economy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Johnson for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, in the last few days, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad have fired 4,000 rockets targeting millions of Israeli civilians across the country. Thanks to Israel's Iron Dome, many of these rockets have been intercepted, saving thousands of lives. The Iron Dome is a byproduct of bipartisan support from Congress that provides critical missile defense and cooperation.

Tragically, not all of these rockets have been intercepted, resulting in senseless deaths of many innocent civilians, women and children among them.

These terrorist attacks against our strongest ally must stop, and Palestinian leaders have a responsibility to do all they can to stop it.

I commend my colleagues and our government leaders from both sides of the aisle who have condemned this violence, telling the world and our mutual enemies that America stands strong with Israel.

To those who blame Israel and accuse them of terrorism, I will say what I have always told my children: Don't be the first ones who start a fight, but you must be willing to finish it.

Israel has a right to defend their citizens and their nation's sovereignty.

The Lord told Abraham: I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless them that bless thee, and I will curse them that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the Earth be blessed.

I am proud to stand firm with Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may they be secure who love you.

Psalm 122.6.