Floor Statements

Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 304, I mistakenly voted ``aye'' when I intended to vote ``no.''

Amendment No. 23 Offered by Ms. Greene of Georgia

Mr. Speaker, I have been to the border several times now. When I visited in 2019 under President Trump, it was orderly, and the situation was contained. It brings me no pleasure to say when I visited last time, under the Joe Biden administration, it was an unmitigated disaster.

We watched migrants flow over the border and saw holding facilities far past capacity. We saw guardsmen pulled away from their border posts to go buy diapers and other supplies. We saw mountains of drugs that had been confiscated, which left everyone wondering how many had gone through undetected.

On any visit to the border, CBP will inform you that where there is a barrier, the border is secure, and the portions without are not.

Yet, sadly, this administration has done nothing over the past 2\1/2\ years to curb illegal immigration. Inversely, they have actually encouraged it, which has strengthened the cartels. It has gotten so bad we are having illegals fill up school gymnasiums.

Yes, we need comprehensive immigration reform, but we need to stop the bleeding first by securing the border. We know how to do it.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman of Ways and Means, my good friend from Missouri, very much for having this important debate for the CHOICE Arrangement Act.

Mr. Chairman, this bill does nothing more than expand the association health plans. Businesses want to have current coverage that exists today. They can keep it. President Trump years back enacted an expansion of association health plans which greatly benefited the farmers in my district and the small businesses in my district to find plans that suited them.

They used the power of their numbers to reduce costs 29 percent. We have better coverage, preferable to the entities, at lower costs. If they like their current coverage, they can keep it. It sounds way too logical, apparently, for this body. There is no logical reason to oppose H.R. 3799 other than for special interests or political motivation.

Mr. Speaker, on top of the self-inflicted crises the Biden White House has created, including excessive spending, the assault on American energy, open borders, and a rattled economy, the Biden administration has accumulated over $367 billion in regulatory costs.

These overbearing regulations are harming small businesses and hindering growth. This administration seems determined as well to weaken the American energy industry. It has gone after everyday automobiles, drilling, pipelines, coal, and natural gas. But their anti-all-of-the-below energy crusade doesn't stop there.

They have mandated emissions rules on air-conditioning units, washing machines, refrigerators, and, yes, even light bulbs. What a bright idea.

Now they are coming after the American families' gas stoves.

This is a blatant example of the heavy hand of government thinking it knows best, putting an excessive burden on American families.

Mr. Speaker, we must change course and start working for the American people, not against them.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate National Police Week, we honor and thank the brave men and women of law enforcement. Just this week we passed the POLICE Act, and I proudly supported it.

Public safety is the most important factor to a high quality of life and perhaps the number one function of government, but, sadly, we have seen a rise in anti-law enforcement rhetoric and violence.

Already this year, 135 officers have been shot in the line of duty, a more than 50 percent increase from this time in 2020. This should be agonizing to all Americans.

As well we must, as elected officials, always show respect for the work and authority of the police. If we don't, portions of the public will not, and weakening the thin blue line is dangerous to police officers and to society as a whole.

To all those who put on the uniform every day, we say thank you to America's finest. As your Representative in Congress and the son of a former police detective, know that I will always back the blue.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Texas, who is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, anyone who is even slightly informed understands how dire the immigration crisis is at our southern border.

Mr. Speaker, if you go to the border, as I have a few times, Customs and Border Protection, the National Guard, and local and State officials all say the same thing: the situation is out of control, our border is not secure, and it is a human disaster.

Cartels and traffickers inform vulnerable people that it is seamless to enter the United States illegally, putting people in terrible harm's way.

Mr. Speaker, one-third of women are being raped, according to reports. Hundreds are dying, perhaps thousands, and tons of fentanyl is coming across, killing 300 mostly young Americans a day.

So what do we do?

We have a solution. It is called H.R. 2.

Mr. Speaker, it is really simple. A ``yes'' for H.R. 2 is for solving the border crisis, and a ``no'' is for the status quo.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, we are debating a bill to accomplish goals, goals of equal importance: Pay the Nation's debts and begin a discussion with a plan so that we demonstrate to the American people that we in this House will rein in the astronomically excessive spending of the past 3 years.

Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve and demand that we do this. It is right and just. We must pay our Nation's debts. The American people don't want to see the excesses continue. That sentiment is pervasive.

Over the past 3 years, we have increased our national debt by almost $12 trillion. Some was due to COVID, most due to ideology and complete lack of fiscal restraint.

Mr. Speaker, our plan pays our Nation's debts, and we must, as well, limit Federal excesses moving forward back to 2022 levels. We are not talking about going into disasters here, 2022 levels with increases moving forward. It saves money by largely reclaiming COVID funds--COVID is over; those funds are available; they should be reclaimed--and by creating growth initiatives, which we must have, Mr. Speaker, in order to compete globally and assure the American Dream stays alive for our children. The White House and this House must cooperate and do what is right and just.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 194th birthday of the best beer in the world, Yuengling, whose birthday was yesterday, April 18.

Yuengling is the oldest and most iconic brewery in America. Founded in 1829 by David G. Yuengling, this family-owned business has been producing quality beer for almost two centuries and six generations while employing thousands of Pennsylvanians along the way.

From its humble beginnings as a small brewery in Pottsville, it remains in Pottsville, and is now a large brewery, serving millions who enjoy it across the country.

Yuengling has a rich history and has survived through Civil War, two world wars, Prohibition, the Great Depression, and recessions. In the words of its owner Dick Yuengling, a friend of mine, ``The brewery is a survivor.''

Just recently, I met with the sixth generation Jen Yuengling, who gave a great speech on the history of Yuengling at Bucknell University, the open discourse forum. Her passion for the brand will stand the test of time.

Today, let's raise a pint to the Yuengling family and to the best American brewery and beer there is made in America. Cheers.

Madam Chair, the increased cost of energy over the last couple of years under the Biden administration has put tremendous strains on small businesses, families, and my neighbors across Pennsylvania and across our country.

My district does encompass a good portion of the Marcellus shale, one of the highest natural gas producing regions, in fact, in the world.

Energy is jobs. Energy is good pay. Natural gas is about education. The schools that are developing throughout my communities in order to enrich young people for the future and have them stay in Pennsylvania is so incredibly meaningful, Madam Chair.

Natural gas, Madam Chair, is one of the cleanest energies known to man. A tripling, it is known, of the use of natural gas will enormously reduce carbon emissions on a worldwide perspective. There is so much good about this. Natural gas is an answer to any transitional carbon- free emissions.

Madam Chair, this administration has been doing everything it can to assault domestic energy and is truly choosing Venezuela over Pennsylvania and OPEC over Texas, and the list can go on.

This is senseless. H.R. 1 corrects a lot of this. H.R. 1 is about energy independence, which improves our national security. It is about less carbon emissions because we do create the cleanest energy in the world. H.R. 1 is about strengthening America, Madam Chair.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the esteemed gentlewoman from North Carolina for allotting me some time here today.

I rise in support, strong support, Mr. Chair, of H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights Act.

As parents, we put trust in our local schools and teachers and expect that our children are receiving an appropriate education, and in most cases, they do.

We have all had great teachers that have positively impacted our lives, and our children have, and we are very grateful for that and we will remember them forever.

In recent years, for varying reasons, there have been well-known instances where the trust between schools and parents has been eroded, in fact, broken, and primarily those issues stem from parents being excluded or having their participation in the educational process removed, such as curriculum review being very limited.

Everyone agrees that such instances, whether they occur often or infrequently, should not happen, and when they do, they are unacceptable.

As a father, I know that to a mom and dad there is nothing more precious than their children, and being included in the education process should be a parent's right, especially as taxpayers. Any rational adult, whether parent or educator, knows what the reasonable level of involvement should be.

Parents should have the right to be heard and to know what their child is being taught. Parents should have the right to see the school budget. Parents should have the right to be alerted if there are instances of violence or problems in the child's schools. Parents are not asking too much. They are simply asking to be involved, which helps create a strong family and a better educational environment for all.

It is our responsibility as elected officials to honor their requests and guarantee they will be included in the education process and school activities. That is why this Republican majority has put forth the Parents Bill of Rights Act, and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, we are hearing about the issues that farmers face. I have 8,000 farmers in my district. Workforce, we hear about comprehensive illegal immigration reform, yes, indeed. But, Mr. Speaker, border security first. Border security first, then we can help our farmers and others with comprehensive illegal immigration reform. That never seems to be on the table. Rural broadband, absolutely. We have been talking about it for far too long, and it is way late in coming.

Mr. Speaker, this WOTUS, waters of the U.S., never have I heard such a clamor from my farmers. This is such an insult, and it shows just simply how out of touch those that would propose something like this are when it is related to my farmers and the farmers throughout the United States.

Mr. Speaker, we know that every day farmers live in an uncertain climate, to say the least, to say it literally. The Biden administration's proposal here is a far, far more burdensome regulation that will create a higher level of uncertainty, increase compliance costs for farmers during a time that costs are escalating.

This rule will literally lead to puddles and ditches on farmers' property being regulated under the Clean Water Act. Temporary puddles, temporary wetlands that evaporate in a few days they could be responsible for, very often when it is miles away from navigable waters.

If this rule goes into effect, small businesses--and landowners as well--will be forced to spend thousands of dollars on consultants and lawyers to determine if they need a Federal permit on their own land or risk expensive penalties or even jail time.

The Supreme Court will be hearing this case soon. They will certainly reverse any rule made. No WOTUS before SCOTUS.

Mr. Speaker, I thank our chairman very much for his leadership on what is a very important subject.

I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to support the simple yet necessary resolution to denounce the inevitable corruption of socialism and the suffering, death, and destruction it has brought upon hundreds of millions of people throughout the world since its inception.

Our Founding Fathers built our Nation on the principles of freedom and liberty, which leads to a free market economy, all tenets that stand directly counter to the ideas and ideals of socialism.

Capitalism has produced prosperity for generations of Americans and has shaped the American Dream that so many have sought by immigrating to America for centuries.

Mr. Speaker, how many are fleeing capitalist countries like the United States for socialist countries, I ask?

Overtaxed economies backfire. They have no growth, prosperity, quality of life, or advancements in medicine, food, housing, or education. Overregulation stifles business throughout national and global markets and, on the State side, gives States like Florida and Texas--and good for them--a great advantage over overregulated and overtaxed States.

Historically, obvious metrics and clear results prove that capitalism is far better for all societies, especially the United States of America.

As President Reagan said, socialism only works in two places: Heaven where they don't need it, and hell where they already have it.

Socialist governments culminate with absolute power, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend, Mr. Buck, for his leadership on this issue. This is quite a somewhat disturbing issue, I think, to all of us, Republicans and Democrats.

For the last 2 years, Americans have often been led to believe that anything they see and hear that does not comport with the stance of the Biden administration is somehow ``misinformation,'' whether it is criticism of COVID mandates, the fact that our border is not secure, or the authenticity of Hunter Biden's laptop.

Thanks to the Twitter files, we know that social media companies actively exploited their ideology and suppressed speech with which they disagreed. Nice, in America.

Two years ago, two of our Democrat colleagues sent letters to every cable and satellite provider calling conservative news channels FOX News, Newsmax, and One America News purveyors of disinformation and asked specifically: ``Are you planning to carry FOX News, Newsmax, both now and beyond any contract renewal date? If so, why?''

Last year, DIRECTV announced that it was deplatforming One America News and just last week they deplatformed Newsmax.

Over a million DIRECTV subscribers in Pennsylvania, hundreds of thousands in my district, no longer have access to Newsmax through their TV. Dozens and dozens of my constituents have written or called my office to voice their concern and anger about DIRECTV's actions to deplatform Newsmax. This is unacceptable.

The Committee on Oversight and Accountability will be, I very much hope and will be supporting, investigating private companies that have circumvented the First Amendment for ideological purposes, and this investigation should not be limited to social media platforms alone.

Mr. Speaker, every student deserves the opportunity to receive an education that empowers them to excel. They are our Nation's future and should have the opportunity to attend a school that best suits them, whether it is public or private, charter or other.

This week is not about placing private education over public school education. Many Americans have access to great public schools, but many do not. School choice increases options available for families and incentivizes improvement of all schools.

Nobody knows what is best for their children more than a parent does, and a student's ZIP Code should not determine their destiny. School choice policies are a great equalizer and increase opportunity for students no matter where they live.

Education savings accounts, like those recently implemented in Iowa, and my colleague Adrian Smith's legislation, the Educational Choice for Children's Act, which provides a tax credit for those who fund scholarship awards for K-12 students, are two examples of policies that will increase opportunity for millions of children across America.

As a Member of Congress, I look forward to supporting such proposals.

Madam Speaker, I have been reminded during these first days of the 118th Congress of the importance and significance of an open U.S. Capitol.

I have had a number of guests from my district here with us this past week as the people's House has finally been reopened to the public. Yesterday I had Bode Brewer and his family with here with me, the excitement, awe, and inspiration that I saw in this young man's eyes in viewing this Capitol, as well as the opportunity he had to meet so many of my colleagues who play such a significant role in this House, was truly profound.

Today I am visited by my constituent, Cadet Aidan Carr, whom I nominated to United States Military Academy West Point and who is in his third year at the Academy. Not only does Aidan have a clear sense of honor being here with us, but he is carrying himself with a great sense of respect, patriotism, and sense of duty for the commitment he has made to protect this country and this institution.

So as we begin the 118th Congress, I hope we all are reminded of the responsibility we have in this House to serve the American people in the greatest country on Earth.