Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 467.

Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, action is needed now to address the fentanyl crisis. That is why I rise today in strong support of H.R. 467, the HALT Fentanyl Act.

Fentanyl is the top cause of death for Americans 18 to 49 years old. In my home State of Kentucky, illicit fentanyl overdoses represented 70 percent of all overdoses in 2020 and 2021.

The fentanyl crisis is one of the foremost problems that the American public faces and has been made worse by the crisis at our southern border. Illicit fentanyl is turning virtually every community into a border community with these poisons flooding streets across America and taking innocent lives, including the lives of our kids.

The HALT Fentanyl Act would ban all fentanyl analogues and strip the drug cartels and other criminals of the incentive to create new versions of fentanyl to skirt around the law. This bill is a key step to help get these poisons off our streets and give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on illicit fentanyl trafficking.

A two-pronged approach to addressing this crisis is needed. We must have a law enforcement and a substance use recovery strategy to address this crisis. That is why I look forward to examining the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act later this year to continue providing access to treatment and recovery support services that so many individuals rely on throughout the country.

To those who oppose this legislation on the grounds it could lead to mass incarceration, the emergency classwide scheduling implemented by President Trump did not lead to mass incarcerations. In a Government Accountability Office study from 2021, the GAO found that there were only eight prosecutions--yes, eight prosecutions--during the period in which the Trump administration temporarily scheduled fentanyl-related substances as schedule I drugs from 2018-2020, with four of them being individuals working on behalf of the cartel because the cartels quit creating illicit fentanyl separate from the fentanyl that is poisoning our kids today.

It could be even worse. I know there are also those who believe the emergency scheduling order didn't lead to reductions in overdose deaths and that this bill before us won't effectively address the issues we are facing.

To both of those criticisms, this bill stops these analogues from being produced in the first place. Right after the classwide ban was put in place, the number of fentanyl analogue encounters dropped nearly 89 percent, more than 6,200 fewer reports of analogues. DEA officials stated that the classwide scheduling contributed to this dramatic drop.

It also includes provisions to facilitate more research into the detection of fentanyl-related substances and potential treatment of fentanyl poisonings, something that has much more red tape in the status quo.

I am happy to see the White House supports two main provisions of the HALT Fentanyl Act. The HALT Fentanyl Act is one step of many this body needs to take to address the end of the overdose crisis. The time to permanently act is now, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on

Madam Chair, this was a bipartisan bill. It got bipartisan votes in committee. It is the DEA's number one priority.

If you are selling fentanyl to our kids, you deserve to be incarcerated. We don't apologize for that.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington State (Mrs. Rodgers), the chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith), the bill's sponsor.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), the vice chair of the Health Subcommittee.

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dunn).

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).

Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce).

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California, Mr. Mike Garcia.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

Madam Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. D'Esposito).

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Madam Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

The Acting CHAIR (Mr. D'Esposito). The gentleman from Kentucky has 5\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from New Jersey has 8 minutes remaining.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack).

Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

My friend from New Jersey did say that this law expires at the end of the year. That is why we are here today to make scheduling illicit fentanyl permanent.

We have to understand what the status quo is. The status quo currently is horrific. Before these illicit fentanyls were scheduled, although we couldn't get them permanently scheduled, there were all kinds of analogues throughout America. That is why the DEA and others recommended that we schedule these, because once you change the fentanyl molecule, unless these are scheduled, then it becomes no longer illegal. These all appeared in our country, and that is why we are reacting to it. They are scheduled now, and what we are moving to do is to make it permanent.

What has happened since they were scheduled?

They came to me, and they talked about mass incarceration. We have heard that today. There have been eight people in prison under this law, four dealing with cartels, which I would say absolutely should be in prison.

I asked some of my law enforcement people when I was looking into this bill: If you have only arrested eight people, why does it matter?

That is what they are saying on the other side of the aisle.

What they said was the only reason we have only arrested eight people is because when this was put into place, the analogues--not fentanyl, but the analogues, which can be more dangerous--had disappeared from the marketplace. They are bringing in fentanyl that is already scheduled.

The problem is, if we treat fentanyl analogues differently than fentanyl, they are going to reappear again. That is why we have to put them in the same category. If you have fentanyl subject to mandatory minimums, but not these analogues, then they are going to reappear.

We have to pass this bill, we have to move forward, and I recommend support of this bill.

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

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Edwin F. Smith.

I am proud to join the community of Glasgow in celebrating Edwin Smith's 100th birthday on April 12, 2023. The community is not only recognizing the Kentucky native for his momentous birthday milestone, but also recognizing his service to our nation.

U.S. Army Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Edwin F. Smith is a veteran of World War II. He played football at Glasgow High School and was offered a scholarship to play at the University of Louisville. However, his life went down a different path after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He enlisted in 1941 to fight for our country and became a pilot. Shortly after serving in World War II, he was one of two people to survive a deadly plane crash during a military training exercise.

Following his service, he attended the University of Tennessee before transferring to Bowling Green Business University, which is now Western Kentucky University, and graduated with a degree in accounting. Edwin Smith continued to give back to his community following his military service through volunteer work and sharing his experience in the military with students.

Edwin Smith is a father, stepfather, grandfather, and great- grandfather. A piece of advice he gave one of his children is to ``count your blessings--not your troubles.'' He has lived a remarkable life of service. I thank him for his service and wish him a very happy 100th birthday.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 185, which provides another opportunity to recognize COVID-19 as an endemic and move our country back to normal.

Last week, we had a couple of bills dealing with COVID--one vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, which is the only CMS vaccine mandated for healthcare workers--and my bill to declare the emergency over.

President Biden actually did announce that the emergency is going to be over May 11, so we have a lot of work to do moving forward.

Now we move forward to ask for support for H.R. 185, which provides another opportunity for us to move our country back to normal.

H.R. 185, introduced by Mr. Massie, a member of the Rules Committee and a fellow Kentuckian, would finally put an end to the CDC's requirement for international travelers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before entering the United States through air, through flying to this country.

The bill would also prevent the CDC from implementing any similar mandates to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter into the United States through air.

This policy is out of touch with the rest of the world. The U.S. is the only country in North America with this requirement, and most other countries have no testing or vaccination requirements at all. Also, the Biden administration fails to provide exceptions for religious or moral reasons.

As with other vaccine mandates, this requirement will not end on May 11, and thus far, the administration has not indicated any plans to change it.

It is long past due to end this mandate. Doing so will align the United States with the rest of North America's COVID-19 vaccine policy for people coming into the country and recognize COVID-19 is an endemic rather than a pandemic.

Further, this will serve as an important check and balance against President Biden's overreaching policies by requiring the President to come to Congress in order to enact similar policies in the future.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie), my good friend, to speak on the bill. We have the great privilege of sharing Bardstown in Nelson County in our districts.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, before I yield, I want to point out that this doesn't do anything to undo the restrictions on people traveling from China.

As a matter of fact, the Rules Committee made an amendment in order that will pass today, and I hope my friends will support it. That will reiterate that this doesn't do anything to undo the restrictions on people traveling from China.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), my good friend and vice chair of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford).

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), a member of the Subcommittee on Health.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker).

Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I heard several Members that were talking, saying that they were vaccinated and encouraged people to be vaccinated.

I actually did my vaccination on Facebook to encourage people to be vaccinated.

The question is: Is it a choice or a requirement to move forward?

So I am not here to disparage the vaccine at all. I just think it should be the people's choice.

To clarify--this was brought up, and I want to reiterate again--this does not affect any of the entry requirements that have been put on people coming from China. There will be an amendment in the package to reinforce that it doesn't do anything to move forward.

We had a hearing earlier today, and for the first time, I heard there is actually a plan to try to unwind the emergency pandemic. That is the first time I heard of that. We have been asking for that for a year.

We want to move these bills forward because other countries have started opening up. Other countries have moved forward.

We heard the President say the pandemic is over. We heard the President say in this Chamber last night that COVID doesn't run our lives anymore. So we need to do our proper role of oversight.

I will point out that if there is another strain of COVID--when it says that not only does it undo the mandate, it will also undo any similar mandates, it is only for COVID. So if there is another kind of pathogen, unfortunately--hopefully not--that comes into our country, it can be addressed.

We can come together. We came together when COVID first broke in 2020. I remember flying back on an airplane that had three people on it right in the heart of COVID so we could come back and cast a vote.

We all came together and did that. We will rise to the occasion as we move forward.

The question is: Can we get back to normal?

This is a bill that brings us back to normal.

It has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the vaccine. As I said, I took mine on Facebook so people would see that I felt it was safe. I just don't want to force somebody else to do it.

This is an opportunity for us to end this mandate and continue to work because I want to work with my colleague on the Energy and Commerce Committee as we unwind this pandemic before May 11, so that we do it together, and we do it in a way that we recognize COVID is still here.

When they say it is not a pandemic, it is endemic. That doesn't mean it has gone away. It means we still have to mitigate and deal with it.

There will be opportunities for us to work in a bipartisan way and do so as we move forward out of this emergency order, which was last week's bill.

But in this bill, it is time for us to move forward like the rest of the world, as well.

Mr. Chairman, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill. There will be some amendments also to move forward on as we debate later today.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 75, I call up the bill (H.R. 382) to terminate the public health emergency declared with respect to COVID-19, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 382.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to push for immediate and overwhelming passage of my legislation, H.R. 382, the Pandemic is Over Act.

President Biden and I both agree that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. In fact, on the eve of the Pandemic is Over Act going on the House floor, President Biden finally announced that he is going to end the COVID-19 emergency declarations. I am glad that my bill finally forced the Biden administration to act.

However, President Biden has taken too long to act on his statement last September that the pandemic is over, which is why I am moving forward with my bill to end the COVID-19 public health emergency and finally restore checks and balances between Congress and the executive branch.

There was a time and place for the COVID-19 public health emergency. On this day 3 years ago, then-Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Azar first invoked the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The COVID-19 public health emergency was used at the beginning of the pandemic to establish Operation Warp Speed and provide for CMS waivers that led to millions of seniors receiving critical healthcare services through mediums such as telehealth and removing various forms of red tape getting in the way of healthcare providers' ability to care for their patients.

Now, exactly 3 years later to the day of the original disaster public health emergency declaration, we are in a much better position to address COVID-19. We have proven therapeutics in addition to 95 percent of the population either being previously infected with COVID-19 or vaccinated. A senior administration official even stated, ``We are in a pretty good place in the pandemic. . . . Cases are down dramatically from where they were the past two winters,'' according to Politico reporting.

It is long overdue for President Biden to unwind the public health emergency. Despite overwhelming evidence that COVID-19 is now endemic and that

the pandemic is over, Secretary Becerra just renewed the public health emergency for a twelfth time.

The Pandemic is Over Act sends a loud and clear message to President Biden: The American people are tired of living in a perpetual state of emergency, and it is long overdue for Congress to take back the authorities granted under Article I of the Constitution.

The Pandemic is Over Act would immediately terminate the COVID-19 public health emergency. Nothing in my bill ends title 42, despite the administration stating that it will. Let me repeat: Nothing in this bill ends title 42.

The Biden administration alone controls title 42. That statute was written in 1944 before the authority of the public health emergency even existed. If the Biden administration chooses to end title 42 when the public health emergency ends without working with us to secure the border, then that is just another one of his failures to add to the list.

To be clear, we support the ability to declare a public health emergency to address clear and serious public health threats. Maintaining these regulatory flexibilities during a public health emergency is crucial, but these authorities should only be used for limited periods of time based upon the particular circumstances and prevalence or immediacy of the public health threat.

Now, it is time to rescind the President's emergency powers, and Congress can address the present and future needs that may arise with

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we have been asking for a year for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to start showing us a plan for unwinding the pandemic public health emergency.

Now that we are here doing this today, it seems like we are starting to move in that direction. Unfortunately, we didn't have any hearings last Congress to deal with that, but we are going to begin that, working together today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we are ending the emergency powers of the President. We are not conceding that COVID-19 is over in this country, and it is not. People have to take mitigation. We certainly don't want it coming across our southern border, so we support keeping title 42 in place.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack).

Mr. Speaker, I just point out that the omni gave the States clarity in how to deal with the Medicaid situation moving forward. We also extended telehealth, so a lot of things we have been trying to do, we have been asking the administration for a year to address some of the things that my friend from Oregon just brought up.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

Mr. Speaker, we are trying to end the emergency powers of the President during the pandemic. We recognize COVID is still an issue that people have to deal with. We absolutely know that we are going to be working together over the next few weeks and months to make sure we have in place the proper protections.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Balderson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my friend from Michigan that we absolutely have to look at putting things in place and keeping things in place that protect our citizens from COVID-19. We are not dismissing that.

What I am saying, or what we are saying, is it should be a legislative branch-wide issue, that we believe that if things are going to stay in place or be put in place, it should be by an act of Congress, signed by the President, as the Constitution says, instead of just the President making decisions for almost 3 years now--two administrations, almost 3 years now.

That is what we are saying. We look forward to working together to solve these issues and moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I think I did use the word ``cut,'' and I think I corrected myself. We are spending less money in Medicare, so you are taking money out of Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act, but that money wasn't really put back in to shore up Medicare. It was spent in other programs, so there is $288 billion less being spent in Medicare.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers), the chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. As we stated today in our organizational session, she is the first chairwoman in the history of the oldest committee in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, one of the points that my friend from California just brought up--we have this 3-year running telehealth that is moving forward. We all know that we can't put the genie back in the bottle. We have to work on telehealth, but we know for a fact there have been diversions of controlled substances through telehealth. We know that. So why don't we take back our authority? Let's negotiate moving forward.

Let's think about where this has gone. Three years ago today, Secretary Azar--two administrations--declares a public health emergency. It started doing a lot of things. One is that it allowed emergency use authorization, so we had therapeutics and had all these things come forward.

Also the status--not necessarily every statute under Health and Human Services, but because you have the status of a public health emergency, you can invoke other statutes: the Defense Production Act by President Trump to get respirators and moving a ship outside of New York so the people in New York and New Jersey could have an extra hospital, a mobile hospital.

I mean, all of those things happened. When we delegate our authority, those are the things that we move forward.

On January 20, 2021, almost a million people were being vaccinated. President Biden came in to continue the vaccination process. Then, a year into his administration, we, on our side of the aisle, sent a letter to the Health and Human Services Secretary saying that this needs to end. We can't continue to operate under emergency authority. Let's have a plan.

Everything that they have talked about today, every speaker they have

had: Let's have a plan to end this emergency, and let's do it in a way that we can address the issues that need to be addressed.

We have learned a lot during the pandemic about things that worked. Let's do things that work. Let's fix things that don't work, like the telehealth diversion of controlled substances.

Some of those are the things--we have been a year in, since February 1 tomorrow, almost a year since then, and we haven't seen a plan. We haven't seen anything.

There was some stuff done, I know, in the omnibus with telehealth. That is what we are saying. We don't need to continue to operate the country in an emergency status. We need to end it.

So why bring the bill up? They say this is irresponsible, the bill moving forward. The bill was in Rules last night. We have had no word from anybody in the executive branch that they are going to deal with this.

While the bill was being considered in Rules, they come out that it is going to end on May 11?

So this bill is needed. It is needed because it is moving us forward.

What we can do now, as the bill makes its way to the Senate--I don't know if the Senate is going to take it up or not, but what I will pledge to my friend from New Jersey and my friend from California, who is the ranking Democrat on the Health Subcommittee, is that we will work to make sure we find the areas that we need to continue the lessons that we learned, that we need to put into place, into statute, and to take care of things that need to be taken care of.

What we don't need to do is allow the carte blanche, 3-year open emergency pandemic that we know has had issues, as well. I mean, we always talk about the things we want to keep. We can talk about those and work on them.

The things that we need to address, using telehealth to divert controlled substances, we know that that has taken place. There are examples of that. We absolutely need to address that.

I will pledge that we will work, on our side of the aisle, with our friends on the other side of the aisle to find things to make sure that we continue to address the fact that we still have COVID-19.

One thing to note is we are still going to have COVID-19, and we don't need it coming across our borders. Because we are doing this, we also still need to keep title 42 in place.

I look forward to working together. This is necessary. It has moved this administration, hopefully, forward. We can say that, May 11, we move forward on this. I am proud to be the sponsor of it, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 497, introduced by my good friend from South Carolina, Mr. Duncan.

I strongly support this legislation, which would immediately repeal the Biden administration's vaccine mandates for all healthcare workers working in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-regulated facilities.

CMS officials decided in November of 2021 to tell doctors, nurses, chefs, physical therapists, and anyone else working in the facility that sees Medicare and Medicaid patients that they needed to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or lose their job.

This unprecedented, one-size-fits-all mandate came at a time in which healthcare workforce shortages are still challenging healthcare providers all over. This is the only such vaccine mandate in effect by

Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify, Russia and Iran-- well, Iran is part of OPEC, so they are not the ones buying out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. As a matter of fact, President Biden went to OPEC to ask them to increase their production instead of doing American oil.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to say, 2015--to finish the sentence--it was a Republican controlled Congress in 2015, it was also the Obama administration worked together in a bipartisan way to unleash American energy or give them a worldwide market for American energy, and when you threw in President Trump's administration and a regulatory environment that made sense, we had record production of energy. We did ship it throughout the world. We also had record low prices here in America.

The problem we are facing today is because of President Biden and the Democrats in Congress' war on American oil. That is the problem we are here to address.

The price of gasoline hit over $5 a gallon in the height of this war on oil, $4.80 a gallon in Kentucky when it was just over $2.20 when President Biden took office. American families are hurting because of this, small business owners are hurting because of this, and they continue to struggle.

Instead of taking action to meaningfully unleash America's energy potential, President Biden opted to release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. What we need to do is get back to unleashing American energy, not sending out of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Even worse, President Biden's abuse of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve has reduced our stockpile by more than 250 million barrels, jeopardizing our ability to respond to supply disruptions posed by natural disasters and other true emergencies. This includes selling millions of barrels of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to adversarial countries, including China.

By prohibiting our strategic reserves from being sold to China, this legislation is a significant step toward restoring our energy security and providing needed relief for hardworking Americans.

We have the ability to produce, we need to move forward, and we need to ban SPR from going to China and we need to move forward on American energy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Brian Smith for his service to Kentucky's Second District as my director of economic development for more than a decade.

Brian, a proud Western Kentucky University graduate, had served on my congressional team since I was first sworn into office in January 2009. Prior to joining my office, Brian had years of government service to Kentucky, including working for my predecessor, Congressman Ron Lewis, and former Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher. During Brian's first month in my congressional office, Brian helped lead my office's emergency response efforts after an ice storm hit Kentucky. He walked constituents through the FEMA process and directed them to federal resources to help with recovery.

In addition to covering Green and Hardin counties for my congressional office, Brian guided constituents through the federal grant process and handled issues related to federal agencies, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA, USDA Rural Development, and HUD. Brian also proudly served as a liaison to Fort Knox, working with both civilian and military leaders.

Brian's extensive knowledge of Kentucky and passion for serving constituents made him a valuable asset to my team. I want to thank Brian for his service to Kentucky's Second District, and I wish him the best in the next chapter of his public service career.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Emma White, who was my legislative assistant, for her service to Kentucky's Second District.

Emma, a native of London, Kentucky, graduated from Western Kentucky University with degrees in Criminology, Arabic, and Political Science. After graduating from college, Emma moved to D.C. to work as a staff assistant in my Washington office. Emma's extensive knowledge of Kentucky and strong work ethic made her a valuable member of the team. After a brief hiatus as a legislative staffer for another congressional office, Emma rejoined my office as a legislative assistant. Her ability to excel in many subjects in college was evident in how she excelled in handling her diverse legislative portfolio, including education and labor, transportation and infrastructure, small business, and natural resources policy. As my education staffer and as a proud Hilltopper, Emma worked with her alma mater and other education institutions in my district.

I want to thank Emma for her work for Kentucky's Second District through the multiple roles she held in my office. I wish her the best in the next chapter of her career.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Ian Wilson, who was my legislative staffer, for his service to Kentucky's Second District.

The Acton, Massachusetts native first started working for Kentucky's Second District as an intern in my D.C. Congressional office in the summer of 2018. The following year he returned to Capitol Hill to intern for Congressman Adam Kinzinger. In 2020, Ian graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with degrees in political science and Middle Eastern studies.

Ian returned to my D.C. congressional office as a staff assistant in January 2022. In this role, he gave constituent tours, managed the U.S. flag order service, and communicated with constituents on policy being debated in Congress. Ian's team player attitude and strong work ethic made him a valuable member of the team. He was promoted to legislative correspondent and used his strong grasp on policy to assist me in responding to constituent inquiries quickly and thoroughly. I want to thank Ian for his work serving Kentucky's Second District as an intern, staff assistant, and legislative correspondent, and I wish him the best in the next chapter of his career.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Nick Ayers for his service to Kentucky's Second District. Prior to joining my D.C. congressional office, the Chesapeake, Virginia, native had great work experience in congressional offices. While he was working on his degree in Public Administration at George Mason University, Nick interned in Congressman Bruce Westerman's office. Following his college graduation, Nick joined Congresswoman Diane Black's office as staff assistant and worked his way up to legislative correspondent.

In March 2019, I welcomed Nick to my team as a legislative correspondent. In this role, he did an excellent job effectively communicating to constituents and responding to their inquiries. His strong knowledge of policy earned him a promotion to legislative aide. Nick met with constituents and researched the issues in his portfolio, including veterans, postal services, science, space, technology, fisheries, and federal budget policy issues.

I want to thank Nick for his work serving Kentucky's Second District as a legislative correspondent and a legislative aide. I wish him the best as he excels in this next chapter of his career on Capitol Hill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon, who is leaving office after serving 28 years of public service. Judge Buchanon not only helped Warren County grow to the 5th largest county in Kentucky, but has also worked to make Warren County a great place to live and work.

Judge Buchanon led the efforts to establish a new industrial park that is now home to over 19 companies that are on track to employ over 5,000 people by 2025, and he also changed workforce regulations to make Warren County more attractive to employers and more favorable for employees.

Another legacy of Judge Buchanon's tenure is the amazing parks and recreation facilities that he has developed over the past 28 years. The seven major parks and robust programming for sports add to the many reasons that Warren County is a wonderful place to call home.

Like other strong leaders, Judge Buchanon is leaving the county well- positioned for the future with very capable leadership to succeed him. I offer my deepest congratulations and appreciation to Judge Mike Buchanon; his wife, Ellen; and the members of the Warren Fiscal Court over the past 28 years. It's been my pleasure to call him my friend and serve Warren County with him.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for H.R. 8163, the Improving Trauma Systems and Emergency Care Act of 2022, which is sponsored by my Energy and Commerce Committee colleague, Representative

Tom O'Halleran.

This legislation renews a program in the Public Health Service Act that authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to improve local trauma care readiness and emergency medical services.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, trauma is a leading cause of death for children and adults under the age of 44. Ensuring access to trauma care requires many crucial components, and the window of opportunity for a chance at survival is narrow for a severely injured patient; a prompt response is truly a matter of life and death.

However, in many rural parts of the United States, accident victims and others suffering life-threatening injuries may not be able to receive needed trauma care within an hour, or even many hours, following an incident.

H.R. 8163 will help ensure seriously injured patients have the best possible chance for survival by supporting States to coordinate and improve regional emergency medical services and

trauma care, and by supporting trauma centers to improve their emergency system situational awareness and access.

The bill also authorizes grants for carrying out research and demonstration projects to support the improvement of emergency medical services and trauma care in rural areas.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chair Pallone and Chair Eshoo for working with us to make sure the State match is maintained.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of 8163, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 958, the Maximizing Outcomes through Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment, or the MOBILE Health Care Act.

Federally Qualified Health Centers, or FQHCs, are an integral part of the healthcare system. They provide much-needed healthcare services to some of our most vulnerable populations, the uninsured, pregnant women, children, those suffering from homelessness, and veterans, as well as Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

It can be difficult for patients to access care at FQHCs in rural and underserved areas due to transportation constraints. One way to help improve healthcare delivery is for FQHCs to meet patients where they are by deploying mobile units.

The MOBILE Health Care Act will allow existing FQHCs to use their New Access Point grants to establish mobile health units without also creating new brick-and-mortar sites and without authorizing any new grant programs or funding.

Further, it allows new applicants to use these grants to purchase mobile health units if they also use a portion of the grant to establish a permanent, full-time site.

This bill will help increase access to affordable primary care services across the country, especially in rural areas, like my district.

I thank the bill's sponsors, Representatives Hudson, Herrera Beutler, Lee, and Ruiz for introducing this important legislation.

I urge my colleagues to support the underlying bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), my Energy and Commerce Committee colleague.

Mr. Speaker, this is an important piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4081, the Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act, introduced by Representative Curtis.

In the past few years, we have seen a tremendous advancement in the development of technologies in consumer products. While many of these technologies make everyday life more convenient, they also have the ability to collect data from their users without their knowledge.

While it may be apparent to users that a laptop has the ability to record conversations, it certainly may not be clear that other devices like televisions, refrigerators, even toasters, have the same capabilities.

This bipartisan legislation would simply require manufacturers of the internet-connected devices that contain a microphone or a camera, and that do not market themselves as such consumer electronics, to disclose to consumers that such a component is part of the device, either pre- or post-sale.

We owe it to our constituents to ensure these types of devices are not recording them without their consent and collecting data when their users are not aware.

I thank Representatives Curtis and Moulton for their bipartisan work on H.R. 4018.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

We wish Jerry Godspeed and thank him for the good work. I know sometimes when our staff leaves, it is bittersweet. We hate to see them go but know they are going to different opportunities. The hard work that both your side and our side of the aisle do together, sometimes when we are working on things together, sometimes negotiating together, it is always good work. We are well served. The American people, more than anything, are well served by the people who work here on Capitol Hill. I thank and congratulate Jerry.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6965, the Visit America Act.

The bill along with H.R. 7820, the Travel and Tourism Act, from Representative Dunn, and H.R. 4594, the Restoring Brand USA Act, from Representative Bilirakis, have represented bipartisan efforts to assist our tourism sector with economic recovery post-COVID-19.

Representative Bilirakis is not here speaking about this bill. He is home in Tampa, Florida, and represents the Tampa Bay area, as all of us know. Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers are with his community in Florida and the other States that have to deal with the remnants of the rain. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Back to the bill, while I am pleased that Representative Bilirakis' Brand USA legislation was signed into law this year, more work and bipartisan efforts are needed to build upon Representative Bilirakis' efforts to increase tourism.

Without question, the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult for all industries, but the travel and tourism industry was hit especially hard.

According to testimony by the U.S. Travel Association before the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, at the end of 2021, international travel spending was 78 percent below prepandemic levels.

This bipartisan legislation can support the U.S. travel and tourism industry and address the declining percentage of international visitors to the United States. The Visit America Act will help by directing the Department of Commerce to develop a 10-year travel and tourism strategy with annual goals for the number of international visitors to the United States.

Again, I thank the sponsors and cosponsors of all of these bills that we have considered at the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I would like to give special recognition to our colleague, Representative Bilirakis, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and co-chair of the Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus, who, as I noted, is back home, duly focusing on the hurricane response and serving his constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, we have the greatest country in the world. I love when people want to come see the beauty of our great land and meet our great people. We have a wonderful opportunity for people to come see our country. The tourism industry is a great industry, as are the people who serve in it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.