Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, this week, the House has taken two important steps regarding our strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP.

And Mr. Speaker, those steps on this House Floor were overwhelmingly bipartisan.

First, we created a select committee on the strategic competition between the United States and the CCP.

Our vision of an integrated, open, free world where people can celebrate their religion, people can travel, people can trade, and that strategic competition presses the western values of Europe, The United States with the more narrow authoritarian view of the Chinese Communist Party.

Secondly, we prevented oil being released from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and that being sold to Communist China.

And today, over 320 Members of this body agreed with that, by voting yes on H.R. 22.

Now, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has played an important role in U.S. energy and national security policy for four decades.

It was created in response to the Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s, which resulted in the tripling of oil prices at the time.

Since that time, the SPR has remained a backstop for the United States in case of oil supply disruption.

And Mr. Speaker, those on the other side of the aisle talked about America becoming the largest exporting nation in the world and somehow that is a bad thing.

And that we freed our ability to export oil and gas outside the U.S. as if that were a bad thing.

It's not.

But they are two completely different issues.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is there for an emergency affecting the United States, our citizens, our households, our industry, principally in case of a Gulf hurricane or a disruption in a pipeline or in some other aspect of oil and gas disruption from war or an accident somewhere in the world.

It's not meant to be supplying oil per say to everybody besides the United States.

In just the last year, President Biden has released 180 million barrels of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, bringing it down to a 1985 level.

A four-decade low.

This is not smart economic policy or energy policy in this country.

And in fact, Mr. Speaker, over 1 million barrels went to a Chinese affiliated company--at the same time China is reportedly holding its own crude reserve of over 900 million barrels.

So look, anyone with realistic knowledge and expectations in and around the debate about climate change or energy policy knows that this administration's energy policies have hurt American families, put our economy at risk, while at the same time weakening the globe's interest in fighting against climate change.

President Biden's failed policies to shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline, deny permits, discourage new drilling, discourage new pipeline construction, and through his bank and securities, Environmental, Social, Governance policies, so called ``ESG policies'' that too has discouraged badly needed capital investment to go to our energy industry and have weakened American global leadership and our strategic benefit, as referenced by my friends on the other side of the aisle, of energy independence.

President Biden has weakened our energy independence.

Instead, the Biden Administration has doubled down, even tripled down, on these policies that have not only raise the costs on every American, but do nothing in the long run to impact climate change.

While President Biden's nanny state regulators consider outlawing your gas stove in your home, or in your kitchen, or your restaurant, Republicans on this House Floor began their first step at unleashing an ``all of the above'' energy strategy.

So we have to let that sink in, that a federal regulator actually considered a serious policy proposal of banning you from having a gas stove in your home or in your restaurant.

I mean everyone in America was shaking their heads this week with the preposterous nature of that new idea from the Biden Administration.

Republicans believe in an ``all of the above'' strategy which benefits America and benefits the globe, and we must continue to invest in order to make it through a full global transition.

First, we have to keep investing in natural gas.

We have natural gas fields across our Nation, from the West Coast to the East Coast, in the heart of Pennsylvania, and of course, in the heart of New York State, where New York State's Democratic leadership refuses to let that be brought online.

Let that be developed benefiting New York tax base, New York workers, New York consumers, and that gas field just in Pennsylvania and New York alone, Mr. Speaker, some believe is larger and more lucrative than the largest gas field that we know of in Qatar in the Persian Gulf.

Yet we will never see a pipeline from Pennsylvania to East Coast ports under this administration, and possibly under any other future Democratic leadership.

If the war in Ukraine showed Europe and the World anything, it's that Russia cannot be trusted any longer--if they ever were--to be a reliable source to Europe for their energy consumption needs.

The United States stands ready to export more Liquified Natural Gas to Europe, but the pipelines and other infrastructure don't fully exist in this country in order to have that impact to help our allies and partners in Europe and in Asia in the short run.

We need to make that investment.

Second, I have a solution that Democrats should meet all of their objects for world energy reliance, and consistent with their climate objectives.

It's clean, it's renewable, and we can export it to developing nations.

It's nuclear energy.

Yet, International Financial Institutions like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will not or are very reluctant to finance any nuclear power expansion in Europe.

And yet the countries of central Europe are demanding it.

They want that energy diversity, they want that ``all of the above'' energy strategy.

And yet the EBRD, which the United States is a shareholder, turns a blind eye to clean, renewable, dependable nuclear energy.

The EBRD insists of financing green energy projects to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars and yet ignores this common-sense ``all of the above'' strategy.

Today's reactor designs are not the plants of the yester-year.

They are not the plants of Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania or Chernobyl.

They are safe, reliable, and for many the top concern has been ``what do we do with nuclear waste?''

Research in recent years has significantly advanced and today we have the ability to recycle nuclear waste components to produce even more abundant energy.

Nuclear power plants in France have the ability to do this, but we don't currently do it here in the U.S.

Recently, I visited Entergy's Nuclear One facility in Russellville, Arkansas and saw the nuclear waste byproducts that could be repurposed for future energy needs.

Further, I learned that the process to lengthen the life of a nuclear plant here in the United States, or much less build a new one, is an immense tangle of regulatory red tape that takes years to navigate and millions of dollars of out-of pocket fees.

We, in Congress, can do a better job streamlining that kind of review.

When America leads in research and development, that knowledge and resulting benefits are exported around the world.

We can only export that success if we have the successful policies in place to spur that development.

We cannot expect developing nations in Africa, Southeast Asia, or here in the Western Hemisphere to power their growing cities and growing and wealth populations by wind and solar alone.

Principally, because of the issues with storage, deficiencies, and production of energy from renewables, that remains while improving years in advance.

Solely depending on that is unrealistic.

So when America does not have the will to export this R&D, those countries will turn to bad economic actors, like China and Russia.

Energy policy is a long-term investment in the needs of not only our future, but around the world.

Our globe needs 100 million barrels equivalent per day to power our homes, our economies.

And as more and more countries develop, and their people grow in wealth and prosperity, their energy needs rise, Mr. Speaker, not shrink.

We cannot wait and have nothing to offer, and we certainly don't want to impose California's energy policies on the world and expect a good outcome.

We should be investing in all of our energy options, and that's why the House Republicans in the weeks ahead, just as we started out here in our first week, we will be bringing policies to this House Floor to unleash an ``all of the above'' energy strategy, oil, natural gas, nuclear, and of course renewables, like wind and solar.

They all play a part, but the mistakes of our policies today under this President means we don't have the energy capacity and dependability that we not only need today, but tomorrow.

This unleashing policy by House Republicans not only puts America first, but it puts families across the globe first.

First in opportunity, first in food and fuel security, and in prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the entrepreneurial creativity of Ben Bell and Matt Bell, who recently founded Origami Sake in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Although they are unrelated, these two Bells share the same last name and the same passion for sake.

The pair met in 2016 after Ben returned to Arkansas from a trip to Japan, where he became interested in the art of making sake after living in that country for two years.

After years of collaboration, Ben and Matt joined forces to begin brewing sake in Arkansas, which led to the opening of their business.

Arkansas is the largest grower of rice in the United States and the Isbell farm has spent decades perfecting the proper rice to be used for sushi and now the proper rice that is needed for making high quality sake.

Additionally, the magnificent water from the famous Hot Springs National Park has the perfect quality for sake brewing. Ben and Matt are taking advantage of these resources in Arkansas make Sake even more popular and

distribute it home grown in Arkansas across the United States.

I recently led a delegation to meet with leaders in Japan, where our members had the opportunity to present Arkansas brewed Sake to former Prime Minister Suga and Deputy Cabinet Secretary Seiji, along with key members of the Japanese Diet. We also entertained our great Ambassador, Ron Emmanuel, with his own taste of 1000 crane sake brewed in Arkansas.

I applaud Ben and Matt for their originality, their entrepreneurship, and I commend them for leading in America in the brewing of sake.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Paul Browning, the assistant fire chief of the city of Morrilton, Arkansas.

Paul recently announced his retirement after three decades of service with the Morrilton Department.

Just before his departure, Paul was given the opportunity to present the department's newest captain with his captain's badge.

The recipient? His son, Joseph Browning, who'd been with the department fifteen years.

Paul presented Joseph with his original captain's badge as a token of his promotion.

I congratulate Joseph on his promotion, and Paul on his retirement.

I thank them both for their dedication and service to the Morrilton community.

Mr. Speaker, one year into Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainians valiant defense has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties for the Russians.

What the Russians believed would be a victory in a matter of days or weeks has turned into now over just a year, bloody slog.

The Russian Bear has turned out to be a Paper Tiger on the fields of Ukraine.

The United States must remain committed as a partner with Ukraine to achieve victory.

Victory, Mr. Speaker, or Putin and his allied nations will attack the Baltic states or take Moldova or try to control the Black Sea.

Turkey, devastated by Erdogan's economics and the recent earthquake will now face a stark choice of remaining in NATO or becoming a Putin puppet, were Putin successful in Ukraine.

Victory--or China will green light a fully nuclear madman in North Korea and attempt a blockade of Taiwan.

In order to achieve that victory, President Biden must get the rest of the world even more engaged.

In December, members of this body were briefed by the departments of State and Treasury, and I recently wrote Secretary Blinken and Secretary Yellen in follow up regarding the funding strategy for supporting Ukraine humanitarily, in defense and military means, and in their monthly costs.

I raised two principal points.

First, in my view, Congress does not have the full financial overview of contributions being made by our allies and partners on behalf of Ukraine in a straightforward and simple manner available to all members.

They don't paint a complete picture.

As a new member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I look forward to hearing from State and USAID and the Defense Department in the near future on what they have been doing to track our funding in Ukraine and explain it in thorough detail to the Congress.

Second, I raised the successful 1990-1991 partnership between Secretary of State James Baker and Secretary of Treasury Nicholas Brady in developing an active solicitation of major countries from around the world to fund

the U.S. enforcement of the United Nations Security Council Resolution authorizing use of force to liberate Kuwait from Iraq's illegal invasion of their sovereign territory.

The result was that the United States received contributions from around the world of some $53 billion against an estimated total cost to eject Saddam Hussein from Kuwait of $60 billion.

While some of those contributions were in the form of in-kind material support, more than 90 percent was paid in cash.

The United States must more strongly engage our allies to share a greater financial burden for that military, humanitarian, and financial budget support for the government of Ukraine.

On February 20th, Japan pledged $5.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine.

This is on top of the $1.3 billion in financial and humanitarian assistance it had already pledged.

This is a recent example of precisely what I believe the U.S. government should be achieving in a more aggressive and effective manner.

The worldwide response in support of Ukraine has been remarkable, but I believe that significantly more can be done to help Ukraine if additional countries provide more material and financial support--in Europe and beyond.

The U.S. military has a unique and important role in equipping, training, and providing related military materials.

A mission that suits us more than any other country.

However, as demonstrated in the example of Kuwait, obtaining broad financial support from more sources is essential, in my view, to maintaining popular political support in Europe and in the United States for victory in Ukraine.

This also demonstrates how all peoples from around the globe benefit from prompt success in the preservation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Costs of goods, access to food, fuel, and financing are all impeded by the Russian Federation's illegal action. That makes the case that all nations are hurt by Russia's aggressions. All nations can support Ukraine.

President Biden must craft an active and effective campaign to bring forward the financial and material resources from around the world to support Ukraine in victory.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice, Jack Holt, Jr., who passed away on March 5, 2023.

Former Chief Justice Holt began his career in the United States Air Force, where he achieved the rank of Colonel.

He then went on to work in Arkansas as a deputy prosecutor, chief assistant attorney general, and ultimately served as our Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court for 10 years, from 1985 to 1995.

Jack Holt will be remembered for his significant contributions to the modern justice system that exists in Arkansas, including the creation of our juvenile courts.

Justice Holt is accredited with setting up the essential parts of our court systems.

His advancement of the education requirement for attorneys and creation of more staff positions to help circuit court judges has greatly improved the effectiveness of justice in my state.

I thank Chief Justice Holt for his many years of service and contributions to the state of Arkansas.

His legacy truly lives on.

My prayers of comfort are with his wife Jane, their family and their friends.

Mr. Speaker, one year into Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainians' valiant defense has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties for the Russians. What the Russians believed would be a victory in a matter of days or weeks has turned into now just over a year bloody slog. The Russian bear has turned out to be a paper tiger on the fields of Ukraine.

The United States must remain committed as a partner with Ukraine to achieve victory. Victory, Mr. Speaker, or Putin and his allied nations will attack the Baltic states or take Moldova or try to control the Black Sea. Turkiye, devastated by Erdogan's economics and the recent earthquake, will now face a stark choice of remaining in NATO or becoming a Putin puppet were Putin successful in Ukraine.

Victory in Ukraine, Mr. Speaker, or China will be green-lighted to a fully nuclear madman in North Korea and attempt a blockade of Taiwan. In order to achieve that victory, President Biden must get the rest of the world even more engaged.

In December, Members of this body were briefed by the Departments of State and Treasury. I recently wrote Secretary Blinken and Secretary Yellen in follow-up regarding the funding strategy for supporting Ukraine with humanitarian, defense, and military means, and in their monthly costs.

I raised two principal points. First, in my view, Congress does not have the full financial picture of the contributions being made by the United States and our allies and partners on behalf of Ukraine in a straightforward and simple manner available to all Members. They don't paint a complete picture.

As a new member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I look forward to hearing from the State Department, USAID, and the Defense Department in the near future on what they have been doing to track our funding in Ukraine and explain it in thorough detail to the Congress.

Secondly, I raised with the two Secretaries the successful 1990-1991 partnership between Secretary of State James Baker and Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas Brady in developing an active solicitation of major countries from around the world to fund the U.S. enforcement of the United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing use of force to liberate Kuwait from Iraq's illegal invasion of their sovereign territory.

The result was the United States received contributions from around the world of some $53 billion against an estimated total cost to eject Saddam Hussein from Kuwait of $60 billion. Now, while some of those contributions were in the form of in-kind material support, more than 90 percent was paid in cash.

The United States must be more strongly engaged with our allies to share a greater financial burden for the military, humanitarian, and budget support for the Government of Ukraine.

Just a few days ago, on February 20, Japan pledged $5.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine. This is on top of the $1.3 billion in financial humanitarian assistance it had already pledged. This is a recent example of precisely what I think the United States Government should be achieving and achieving in a more aggressive and effective manner.

The worldwide response in support of Ukraine has been remarkable, but I believe that significantly more can be done to help Ukraine if additional countries provide more material and financial support in Europe and beyond.

The U.S. military has a unique role, an important role as the lead NATO partner in equipping, training, and providing related military materials. That mission suits us more than any other country. However, as demonstrated in my example of Kuwait, obtaining broad financial support from more sources is essential, in my view, to maintaining popular political support in Europe and in the United States for victory in Ukraine.

This also demonstrates how peoples from around the globe benefit from a prompt success of preservation of Ukraine's sovereignty. Cost of goods, access to food, fuel, and financing are all impeded by the Russian Federation's illegal action. That makes the case that all nations are hurt by Russia's aggression. All nations can support Ukraine.

President Biden must craft an active and effective campaign to bring forward the financial and material resources from around the world to fully support victory in Ukraine.

Forced Organ Harvesting by the CCP

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the practice of forced organ harvesting in China.

I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 1154, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), my friend. Congressman Smith is also chair of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. I am proud to serve as his vice chair for that subcommittee.

Forced organ harvesting is a disgusting and appalling practice carried out against minority groups in China by the Chinese Communist Party. They prey on the Uyghur people and Falun Gong practitioners. As the world knows full well about their genocide against the Uyghurs, we should not be surprised with China's lack of medical ethics.

Nury Turkel, the chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and my recent State of the Union guest has documented forced blood sampling and organ screening of Uyghur detainees in their reeducation camps. Nury, a Uyghur who emigrated to the United States at age 24, is an eyewitness to this barbaric culture.

Just last year, the United Nations was even ``extremely alarmed'' on credible information that forced organ harvesting continues in Communist China. What is disappointing is that, despite years of evidence of this practice, the United States currently has no law on the books to address this issue.

The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act will do just that by adding penalties to those that violate the National Organ Transplant Act, and it will sanction those that fund, sponsor, or facilitate forced organ harvesting or human trafficking that leads to forced organ harvesting.

This bill passed unanimously out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week, and I look forward to seeing a strong vote in the full House in the future. We will pass it here, and I expect the Senate to pass this legislation and send it to President Biden.

It is long past time for the American Government to address this challenge through legislation and put a stop to this inhumanity. I appreciate Chairman Smith for his leadership in introducing this legislation. It is another sign to the American people of how depraved the Chinese Communist Party is in their march to violate every norm of international society.

National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day.

I, along with my Democratic colleague, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, reintroduced our legislation yesterday that establishes March 9 as the National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day. On March 9, 2007, Robert Levinson disappeared in Iran. He never returned home.

The commemoration of this national day brings attention to Americans that are being unjustly held as wrongful detainees and hostages in a foreign land.

Since the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act was signed into law 2 years ago, we have heard from families and organizations that are dedicated to helping bring wrongful detainees and hostages home and how that law is working.

We are learning more about how the Levinson act is being used since it has become law. It is time for the House Foreign Affairs Committee to conduct oversight and see what potential changes should be made.

I helped create in the last Congress the Congressional Task Force on American Hostages and Americans Wrongly Detained Abroad because one of my constituents disappeared on a visit to Syria. Majd Kamalmaz is still being held by the Assad regime in Syria. Majd and his wonderful family lived for a time in my hometown of Little Rock.

Every Member of Congress is dedicated to the more than 50 Americans who right now are held against their will wrongfully in a country around the world. We all want to bring home Majd and every other American that is being held wrongfully.

I am proud to be a part of this task force and work alongside my friend, Congresswoman Stevens. I thank all those who are involved for their efforts to bring awareness to wrongful detainees and hostages around the world and for working tirelessly to bring them home to their families in our great country.

Recognizing Origami Sake

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the entrepreneurial creativity of Ben Bell and Matt Bell, who recently founded Origami Sake in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Although they are unrelated, these two Bells share the same last name and the same passion for sake.

The pair met in 2016 after Ben returned to Arkansas from a trip to Japan where he became interested in the art of making sake after living in that country for 2 years.

After years of collaboration, Ben and Matt joined forces to begin brewing sake in Arkansas, which led to the opening of their business. Arkansas is the largest grower of rice in the United States and Isbell Farms has spent decades perfecting the proper rice to be used for sushi and now the proper rice that is needed for making high-quality sake.

Additionally, the magnificent water from the famous Hot Springs National Park has the perfect quality for sake brewing. Ben and Matt are taking advantage of these resources in Arkansas to make sake even more popular and distribute it homegrown in Arkansas across the United States.

I recently led a delegation to meet with leaders in Japan where our members had the opportunity to present Arkansas-brewed sake to former Prime Minister Suga and Deputy Cabinet Secretary Kihara. Along with key members of the Japanese Diet, we also entertained our great Ambassador Rahm Emanuel with his own taste of a new Thousand Crane Sake brewed in Arkansas.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud Ben and Matt for their originality and entrepreneurship. I commend them for leading America in the brewing of sake.

Victory Over Violence

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the important partnership between the Arkansas Martin Luther King Commission and FOX 16 and KARK Television.

In 2017, following the horrible shootings at the Power Ultra Lounge nightclub in Little Rock, FOX 16 and KARK kicked off an important initiative to build grassroots support to reduce violence in central Arkansas. They called it Victory Over Violence.

The goal of the campaign is to unite leaders and groups throughout our local communities to be a resource for reducing violent crime and changing lives through community improvements.

In January, the Arkansas Martin Luther King Commission presented FOX 16 anchors Donna Terrell and Kevin Kelly with their 2023 Drum Major for Community Leadership award.

The persistence and successful leadership of Donna, Kevin, and all those involved at the Arkansas MLK Commission, FOX 16, and KARK, they are making an impact on improving the lives and safety in central Arkansas.

I am grateful for their efforts, their persistent efforts over all these past years to keep that at the forefront of community activism. Victory Over Violence is something that we need, and I am grateful for their leadership.

Recognizing 2022 Miss Arkansas Ebony Mitchell

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 2022 Miss Arkansas winner, Ebony Mitchell.

Ebony was the 84th Miss Arkansas Scholarship Pageant winner, where she was awarded $30,000 in scholarship funds provided by the Ted and Shannon Skokos Foundation and $75,000 in other areas.

Last December, she represented our great State at Miss America in Connecticut.

Becoming Miss Arkansas was a lifetime dream for Ebony. Her journey started when she won the Miss University of Arkansas Princess pageant in 2007, which entered her into the Diamond State Princess mentorship program.

She had five appearances as Miss Arkansas before finally winning that title last year. Aside from her accomplishments as Miss Arkansas, she graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in 2019 with her bachelor's degree in business administration.

As Miss Arkansas, she will continue her social impact by leading the A Responsible Digital You initiative which seeks to keep children of Arkansas safe online.

Ebony is a native of Harrison, Arkansas, where she has been a leader in civil rights and community spirit in her hometown.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Ebony for her accomplishments, and I look forward to continuing to watch her proudly represent our great State of Arkansas.

Cleburne County

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the addition of Cleburne County to the Second District of Arkansas.

Last year, during redistricting, the Arkansas State legislature added Cleburne County to the Second Congressional District. The addition of Cleburne County brings beautiful nature, economic development, and many other recreational ideas and opportunities to my district.

An active business and civic community, excellent healthcare and educational facilities and opportunities, along with Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery, Greers Ferry Dam, Rotary Clubs, the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail, and world-class fly fishing on the Little Red River all are amazing examples of what the county has to offer.

I am proud to now serve those who live in Cleburne County, and I look forward to representing them in Washington at their U.S. Capitol.

Congratulating Debby Meece on Her Retirement

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my friend, Executive Assistant to the Medical Director at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Debby Meece.

Debby is retiring after 40 years of service to Central Arkansas Veterans Affairs.

Debby is an Arkansas native, and she always has exhibited kindness and consideration on a daily basis to coworkers, patients, and visitors alike. She is a role model for everyone in public service because of the positive impact she had in her daily work at Central Arkansas VA.

The standard of care she has established will continue for generations to come in our VA hospital in central Arkansas.

Mr. Speaker, we thank Debby for her dedication and service to veterans. Without her time and effort, many voices would have gone unheard. Every day she was at work, she put others first.

I congratulate Debby, and I wish her a very happy retirement.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jack Holt, Jr.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jack Holt, Jr., who passed away on March 5, 2023.

Former Chief Justice Holt began his career in the United States Air Force

where he achieved the rank of colonel. He then went on to work in Arkansas as a deputy prosecutor, chief assistant attorney general, and ultimately served as the Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court for 10 years from 1985 to 1995.

Jack Holt will be remembered for his significant contributions to the modern justice system that exists in Arkansas, including the creation of our juvenile courts.

Justice Holt is credited with setting up the essential parts of our court systems in Arkansas. His advancement of the education requirement for attorneys and the creation of more staff positions to help circuit court judges has greatly improved the effectiveness of justice in my State.

I thank former Chief Justice Holt for his many years of service and contributions to the State of Arkansas. His legacy truly lives on.

My prayers for comfort are with his wife Jane, their family, and their friends.

Rescue Road

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Rescue Road on rescuing 8,000 dogs.

Rescue Road is a dog fostering organization based in Little Rock. Their mission is to place adoptable dogs in high-kill shelters into other networks in order to find a permanent home and a loving family. The organization works with their team of volunteers and foster families throughout our State of Arkansas.

In January they placed their 8,000th dog in a home--a great milestone.

I thank all those volunteers involved with Rescue Road for their hard work and for their dedication to helping dogs find their forever homes.

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

Mr. Speaker, the sound that America is hearing is their alarm going off. It is Groundhog Day. I feel like Bill Murray because, Mr. Speaker, when the alarm goes off every morning, the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee is off on a rant about the former President.

I think it is important that we stay focused on what we are talking about today. It is a choice between freedom and something far worse. The American people know why we are on this floor today. We are on the floor today to support a resolution that denounces socialism.

As a boy attending elementary school in Little Rock, one of my favorite teachers was a beautiful, young mother who taught us Spanish. Her kids were the playmates of mine during those early school years. Her family had moved to Little Rock, escaping the Castro regime in Cuba that murdered their fellow citizens, took family farms and businesses, and systematically destroyed one of the most beautiful, successful countries and places on Earth. For me, an early lesson in the cost of freedom.

As a businessman in 1986, at the height of the Cold War, I joined a civil society tour of East Berlin led by the U.S. Army via the famous Checkpoint Charlie. There one saw the stark and cruel contrast of freedom versus socialism and communism: vibrant businesses, full shelves, full employment in the West; and drab, sullen people in the East staring into empty store windows in buildings still bearing the bomb and bullet scars of World War II.

Just 3\1/2\ years later, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, I represented President George H.W. Bush as his Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in helping design and deliver U.S. economic and technical assistance to the citizens of the newly freed countries from socialism and communism from the Baltic to the Black Sea, creating a rule of law, markets, private property rights, and new banking services.

Mr. Speaker, I keep a piece of that Berlin Wall in my House office. It reminds me of the gruesome fact that the Berlin Wall was built to keep people in--not the other way around--and keep freedom out.

Today, some three decades later, one can witness the victory of capitalism and freedom over the authoritarianism and command and control of socialism.

People of today's Central Europe want no part of communism or socialism. They know fully the brutality and failure of Soviet-style authoritarian socialist domination; so much so, they have opened their homes to Ukrainian mothers and kids. They opened their wallets to provide Ukrainians money, military, and humanitarian assistance to expel the invading Russia.

Mr. Speaker, let's say ``no'' to socialism and ``yes'' to freedom and opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, and I thank the ranking member in the 118th Congress, Ms. Waters, for her work on this bipartisan bill, H.R. 298, Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act, sponsored by Alex Mooney, our Member from West Virginia, certainly a very rural place, mountainous, tough to get around, a lot like Arkansas.

Small businesses, as the chairman said, are the backbone of the economy in Arkansas, as they are across the country. Almost 50 percent of jobs in

this Nation are with traditional small businesses. Yet, they face obstacles in getting the capital they need to grow and create jobs under the best of circumstances, in Los Angeles or in Charlotte, the financial capital of the east. These greater challenges are really tough when you get out in the country. In Arkansas, almost all but two counties in our State are deeply rural.

I was a bank president in a town of 100 people, in a county of 7,000. When you talk about capital needs, that was certainly the case. That is why I can support this wholly bipartisan legislation that would direct the Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to study the problems faced by those small businesses, entrepreneurs, owners, and family businesses, that want to access capital to grow.

This bill passed this House last July with bipartisan support, and so it should do it again today. It sends a message that Congress is fighting to help our small businesses out in rural areas. It is critical. We want them to thrive.

Sadly, this Securities and Exchange Commission and its chairman, Gary Gensler, don't have this as a priority, Mr. Speaker. Their priority is not helping capital formation or helping small businesses thrive. In fact, they are trying to choke it off with their regulatory burden.

I am glad to see that Congress is weighing in to say this is important. Our young people in rural communities are also facing an additional crisis, which is, how do we create opportunities for high school students in rural counties that can't afford a 4-year college degree or don't want to saddle themselves with debt, and that means creating a path to pursue a skilled trade--something that is in desperate need in all of our counties, urban and rural.

Workforce education must go hand in hand with helping small capitals get the capital to grow. Entrepreneurs have to have the investment, but they have also got to have a skilled workforce to help them grow their company and expand for other people.

I am fully in support of this bill because I think it speaks to the heart of the vast majority of our country, which are small companies working in rural areas.

I agree with the ranking member when she says that they need investment in healthcare and other things in rural areas, and that is why in my State there are 172 community health centers, Federal community health centers, spread across our entire State. We have a really capable, good local hospital system throughout our rural counties.

We are blessed by that. We are blessed by good CTE schools, classic trade workforce schools, but we could use more. Of course, we have got to have capital to grow, and it can't just come from the banking sector.

That is why I support so fully our chair's emphasis on crowdsourcing funding for small businesses. Think how much more straightforward that is in a rural area to try to do something good by bringing together people from all over, all works of life to help somebody build a business.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for his leadership. I thank the ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all our colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I am grateful for the time to address the House.

Isn't it outstanding, Madam Speaker, to see the people's House open, once again, to the public, have the public in our galleries, and see the Capitol open to our families.

That is a big change after the years of the pandemic and our Chamber being closed from the citizens and families who send us here to Washington. So that is a great way to have seen this House under Republican majority leadership open the week.

As we close this first week under Republican leadership back in the majority on this House floor, it is also good to see my colleagues on the other side of the aisle put a premium on talking about bipartisanship.

I particularly like my friend from Ohio (Mr. Landsman) and Mr. Sorensen of Illinois, two new freshman Members on the House floor for the first time this week as fully sworn Members of Congress talking about their priorities as newly elected Democrats and seeking bipartisanship on this side of the aisle.

This week the House has taken two important steps regarding our strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, and, Madam Speaker, those steps on this House floor were overwhelmingly bipartisan.

First, we created a Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the CCP, which is our vision of an integrated, open, and free world where people can celebrate their religion, people can travel, and people can trade. That strategic competition presses the Western values of Europe and the United States with the more narrow and authoritarian view of the Chinese Communist Party.

Secondly, we prevented oil being released from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve and that being sold to Communist China. Today over 320 Members of this body agreed with that by voting ``yes'' on H.R. 22.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has played an important role in U.S. energy and national security policy for four decades. It was created in response to the Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s which resulted in the tripling of oil prices at the time.

Since that time, the SPR has remained a backstop for the United States in case of oil supply disruption.

Madam Speaker, those on the other side of the aisle talked about America becoming the largest exporting nation in the world and that somehow that is a bad thing and that we freed our ability to export oil and gas outside the U.S., as if that were a bad thing. It is not.

They are two completely different issues. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is there for an emergency affecting the United States, our citizens, our households, our industry, principally in case of a Gulf hurricane or a disruption in a pipeline, or in some other aspect of oil and gas disruption from war or an accident somewhere in the world. It is not meant to be supplying oil, per se, to everybody besides the United States.

Just over the last year, President Biden has released 180 million barrels of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, bringing it down to a 1985 level, a four-decade low. This is not smart economic policy or energy policy in this country.

In fact, Madam Speaker, over 1 million barrels went to a Chinese- affiliated company. At the same time, China is reportedly holding its own crude oil reserves of 900 million barrels.

Anyone with realistic knowledge and expectations in and around the debate about climate change or energy policy knows that this administration's energy policies have hurt American families and put our economy at risk while at the same time weakening the globe's interest in fighting climate change.

President Biden's failed policies to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline, deny permits, discourage new drilling, discourage new pipeline construction, and, through his bank and securities environmental, social, and governance policies, so-called ESG policies, that, too, has discouraged badly needed capital investment to go to our energy industry and has weakened American global leadership and our strategic benefit, as referenced by my friends on the other side of the aisle, of energy independence. President Biden has weakened our energy independence.

Instead, the Biden administration has doubled down, even tripled down, on these bad policies that have not only raised costs on every American but do nothing in the long run to impact climate.

While President Biden's nanny-state regulators this week considered outlawing your gas stove in your home or in your kitchen or your restaurant, Republicans on this House floor began their first step at unleashing an all-of-the-above energy strategy.

We have to let that sink in, that a Federal regulator actually considered a serious policy proposal of banning you from having a gas stove in your home or in your restaurant. I mean, everyone in America was shaking their heads this week with the preposterous nature of that new idea from the Biden administration.

Republicans believe in an all-of-the-above strategy, which benefits America and benefits the globe, and we must continue to invest in energy development in order to make it through a full global transition.

First, we have to keep investing in natural gas. We have natural gas fields across our Nation from the West Coast to the East Coast, in the heart of Pennsylvania, and, of course, in the heart of New York State, where New York State's Democratic leadership refuses to let that be brought online, let that be developed, benefiting the New York tax base, New York workers, and New York consumers.

That gas field just in Pennsylvania and New York alone, Madam Speaker, some believe it is larger and more lucrative than the largest gas field that we know of in Qatar in the Persian Gulf. Yet, we will never see a pipeline from Pennsylvania to East Coast ports under this administration and possibly under any other future Democratic leadership.

If the war in Ukraine showed Europe and the world anything-- anything--it is that Russia cannot be trusted any longer, if they were ever, to be a reliable source to Europe for their energy consumption needs.

The United States stands ready to export more liquefied natural gas to Europe, but the pipelines and other infrastructure don't fully exist in this country in order to have that impact

to help our allies and partners in Europe and Asia in the short run. We need to make that investment.

Second, I have a solution for Democrats that should meet all of their objectives for world energy reliance and consistent with their climate objectives. It is clean; it is renewable; and we can export it to developing nations: nuclear energy.

International financial institutions, like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will not, or are very reluctant, to finance any nuclear power expansion in Europe, yet the countries of Central Europe are demanding it. They want that energy diversity. They want an all-of-the-above energy strategy.

Yet, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in which the United States is a shareholder, turns a blind eye to clean, renewable, dependable nuclear energy. The EBRD insists on financing green energy projects to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars yet ignores this commonsense, all-of-the-above strategy.

Today's reactor designs are not the plants of yesteryear. They are not the plants of lore at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania or Chernobyl. They are safe and reliable.

For many, the top concern has been what we do with nuclear waste. Research in recent years has significantly advanced, and today, we have the ability to recycle nuclear waste components to produce even more abundant energy. Nuclear power plants in France have the ability to do this, but we don't currently do it here in the U.S.

Recently, I visited Entergy's Nuclear One facility in Russellville, Arkansas, and saw the nuclear waste byproducts that could be repurposed for future energy needs.

Further, I learned that the process to lengthen the life of an existing nuclear plant here in the United States, much less build a new one, is an immense tangle of regulatory red tape that takes years to navigate and millions of dollars of out-of-pocket fees. We in Congress can do a better job streamlining that kind of review.

When America leads in research and development, that knowledge and the resulting benefits are exported around the world. We can only export that success if we have the successful policies in place to spur that development.

We cannot expect the developing nations in Africa, Southeast Asia, or here in the Western Hemisphere to power their growing cities and their growing-in-wealth populations by wind and solar alone principally because the issues with storage deficiencies and production of energy from renewables efficiencies that remain, while improving, in the years ahead. Solely depending on that is unrealistic.

When America does not have the will to export this kind of R&D, those countries will turn to bad economic actors like China and Russia.

Energy policy is a long-term investment in the needs of not only our future but around the globe. Our globe needs 100 million barrels equivalent per day to power our homes and our economies.

As more and more countries develop and their people grow in wealth and prosperity, their energy needs will rise, Madam Speaker, not shrink.

We cannot wait and have nothing to offer, and we certainly don't want to impose California's energy policies on the world and expect a good outcome. We should be investing in all of our energy options.

That is why House Republicans in the weeks ahead, just as we started out here in our first week, will be bringing policies to this House floor to unleash an all-of-an-above energy strategy--oil, natural gas, nuclear, and, of course, renewables like wind and solar. They all play a part.

The mistakes of our policies today under this President mean we don't have the energy capacity and dependability that we need not only today but tomorrow. This unleashing policy by House Republicans not only puts America first, but it puts families across the globe first--first in opportunity, first in food and fuel security, and first in prosperity.

Appreciating the Public Service of Anushree Jumde

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Anushree Jumde, a cherished member of my district staff.

Recently, Anushree joined Attorney General Tim Griffin's team as the director of the Office of Community Relations.

Anushree, who is lovingly known around our district as A.J., came to Arkansas from India at age 11. She is a proud alum of the University of Central Arkansas, where she graduated in 2011, and she earned her graduate degree at the Bush School at Texas A&M.

A.J.'s public service began shortly thereafter, when she joined my predecessor, then-Representative Tim Griffin, in the office representing the Second Congressional District. She served as an intern and later as the district representative while working for Tim.

When I was elected to Congress in 2014 and took the oath in 2015, A.J. joined my team as a district representative and later became my trusted district director.

Anushree deeply cares for all the constituents in my district, and now in her role for the Attorney General, she deeply cares for all the citizens of Arkansas. If someone needed a passport with 5 hours' notice or help with a visa, she worked tirelessly to make that happen for central Arkansans.

Throughout my time in Congress, Anushree has continuously been dedicated to serving the people of central Arkansas.

I thank Anushree for her decade of service, and I look forward to the work that she will continue to do for our great State.

Highlighting the Mission of the Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr.

Commission

Madam Speaker, I rise today to highlight the mission of the Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission.

For 30 years, the commission has led in community outreach and education. The commission is ably led by its executive director, DuShun Scarbrough.

A division of the Arkansas Department of Education, the MLK Jr. Commission seeks to promote and preserve the life and legacy of Dr. King throughout the Natural State.

The commission's outreach projects of promoting education and appreciation for history and encouragement of our youth to engage in positive leadership development and roles within their communities has been outstanding.

I am proud to have been involved with the commission over the years and watch it evolve into one of the most active in our entire country. The work of our commission has been praised by Dr. King's daughter, Dr. Bernice King.

On the upcoming Martin Luther King Day, I am honored to celebrate the milestone of the commission's 30th anniversary and look forward to continuing to watch its impact on our youth and our communities for years to come.

Commemorating the Life of Hank Browne

Madam Speaker, I come to the House floor today to commemorate the life of a good friend and great leader in our State, Hank Browne, who passed away last month at the age of 82.

Mr. Browne was born in Oklahoma before moving to Arkansas in his youth, where he graduated from high school in Perryville in 1956. After 4 years of service in the Navy, he received a management degree from Little Rock University, now the UA Little Rock.

In 1975, Hank Browne founded Freight Sales Furniture in North Little Rock, which is now known around the region, Arkansas and beyond, as Hank's Fine Furniture.

In addition to leading and expanding Hank's for over two decades, Mr. Browne was an active member of our community. A passionate outdoorsman and conservationist, Hank was a valued and dedicated member of the board of directors at the Nature Conservancy in Arkansas.

The impact of Hank Browne on our community will not be forgotten, and I thank him for his years of philanthropy in our State and business leadership. My prayers are with his wife, Cathy, and his children.

Recognizing Nicholas Covington, Logan Simon, and Wade Simon

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize three welding students from St. Joseph's High School in Conway, Arkansas.

Last month, Nicholas Covington, Logan Simon, and Wade Simon were selected out of 150 welding students to represent the Conway Area Career Center in SkillsUSA, a State competition held in Hot Springs.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry leaders working together across the country to make sure that we have a fully skilled workforce.

The winning team at the statewide competition will receive full scholarships to the welding program at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton and could have the opportunity to participate in both national and world welding competitions.

I congratulate these students for their accomplishment, and I look forward to seeing the results from the SkillsUSA competition.

Congratulating Mary Smith

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mary Smith for her two decades of service to the people of Conway.

Last month, Mayor Bart Castleberry of Conway and the Conway City Council recognized Ms. Smith's 19 years as an alderwoman.

Ms. Smith's compassion, insight, and wisdom were greatly appreciated by those around her. She is a beloved member of the Conway community.

I wish her all the best in her next endeavors, and I thank Mary for her years of service to the city of Conway.

Recognizing the Museum of Discovery

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Museum of Discovery for winning the 2022 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for Resilience.

This award, presented by the Association of Science and Technology Centers, recognizes organizations that have overcome significant and specific adversarial impacts on their museums, yet were able to use that hardship to promote their mission and actually grow their potential. This award is touted as the science museum equivalent of an Oscar.

The Little Rock-based Museum of Discovery and their exceptional staff received this award for how they rebounded from a 6-month facility closure due to flooding caused from a burst pipe in the terrible winter storm in February 2021.

The museum used this time to repair and extend their virtual operating capabilities, build on what they had started during the COVID-19 pandemic, and through this tactical shift, they were able to deliver an immersive and deeply educational virtual experience to thousands during this period of repair.

I am proud to honor the Museum of Discovery for their dedication and hard work after a disaster that made them stronger and better for all that they educate in science and technology.

Congratulating Paul Browning

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Paul Browning, the assistant fire chief of the city of Morrilton, Arkansas.

Paul recently announced his retirement after 3 decades of service with the Morrilton department.

Just before his departure, Paul was given the opportunity to present the department's newest captain with his captain's badge. The recipient? His son, Joseph Browning, who had been with the department 15 years.

Paul presented Joseph with his original captain's badge as a token of his promotion.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate Joseph on his promotion and congratulate Paul on his retirement. I thank them both for their dedication and service to the community of Morrilton.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of the creation of this bipartisan Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

Like my friend from California said, the title is fundamental here. This is a policy dispute between our government and the Chinese Communist Party, not China, not the Chinese people.

Most Americans have a great affinity for the Chinese people, their industriousness and technical talent both in China and as citizens abroad.

The United States has a long history of partnership with China: in the 19th century as a partner in trade; during World War II as an ally; and our support of their growth over the past five decades.

Today, as a great power and as an ancient civilization, China has been perverted by the modern leadership of leader for life Xi and the

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Oklahoma for yielding.

Certainly, my colleague from Massachusetts knows my deep affection for him, but since I walked on the House floor tonight, I keep hearing this reference to this rules package, that somehow it is not posted on our website and that we are debating something else called an addendum to the rules package.

I wanted to come to the House floor as someone who worked quite passionately last week on behalf of our new Speaker, working on an agreement with all of my colleagues so that we are unified in the House Republican Conference, to say that there is no addendum to this package, Mr. Speaker.

There is no 3-page addendum. There is no extra stuff. Everything in the House rules package is posted on the House website.

We made one addition as a Conference, and that was the change in the vacate the chair motion.

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear in the Congressional Record, for those watching on C-SPAN, and to my colleagues: There is not a 3-page addendum to the rules package.

I greatly respect my good friend from Massachusetts and my friend from Oklahoma.

Madam Clerk, I rise tonight in the spirit of 1923 to address the House.

Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.

Madam Clerk, first let me express my deep appreciation and the appreciation of everybody in this room for the work you are doing.

Our Clerk has stepped up and reflects our House's best tradition of preparation and dedication to this institution, and we are grateful.

From the first Speaker of the House, the Honorable Frederick Muhlenberg, to the one who will be elected next, Kevin McCarthy, the role of Speaker of the House is one of the most beloved in American history.

The Speaker's mission is to carry out the principled goals and objectives of his or her party while at the same time protecting this institution and the traditions of the people's House all the while remaining faithful to that imperative in our preamble of the Constitution to ``promote the general welfare.''

It is a difficult job that takes a special personality with deep affection for the House, robust courage, a sense of humor, and great amounts of humility and patience.

I have watched Kevin McCarthy for longer than my 8 years serving in this Chamber, and I can say without hesitation that Kevin has brought these foundational traits of leadership to bear for the good of this institution and for the good of the American people.

It is said that a nation not in control of her finances cannot control her destiny, and I agree. From our many conversations over many years, I have no doubt that our next Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, agrees.

In the Republican Commitment to America, Leader McCarthy charged our Republican Conference with taking on his two biggest concerns facing this world and this Nation: China and our domestic national debt and deficit.

Over the past 2 years, we have lost our way on spending--printing too much money at our central bank and spending here in Congress like drunken sailors.

This bad policy palooza went into overdrive in the past 2 years with some $5 trillion in new spending demanded by President Biden and now delivered by the House minority--whose own budget chair famously said that there is effectively no limit to what America can print, borrow, and spend.

Of course, this is madness, and it is not anchored in any economic tenet, and there is not a single one of us here who isn't demanding a return to fiscal discipline.

And who can deliver fiscal discipline?

Kevin McCarthy.

On the point of spending, let me show you, Madam Clerk, a list of everyone who has written me in the Second Congressional District who has asked me to cut spending. I am holding up a blank piece of paper.

No one has asked me to cut spending in writing, and there are not many people who get a lot of mail in this House to cut spending and to set spending priorities. In contrast, we get hundreds of letters asking us to increase spending.

But we are at a critical point in this Nation's fiscal health, and there is one person to help see us through it: Kevin McCarthy.

How do I know?

Because he has said it himself, and he has identified how to do it. In 2018 then-Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy brought a balanced budget amendment to the floor of this House. Mr. McCarthy said, by our actions we have shown Washington's spending problem can't be boiled down to a lack of will. It is a problem of structure and process, and everyone knows the process of government funding in Washington is broken.

He went on to say that when you change structure, you change behavior, and that no matter what, we know that if the structure set up by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has only worked to its successful completion four times in 44 years, then we have nothing to lose by making big changes.

That is your next Speaker on the floor of this House in 2018.

Kevin McCarthy is committed to making big changes. We have heard it in our conference meetings. We have heard it in our rules debates. We know this includes reforming the budget process, fighting to bring all 12 appropriations bills to the floor under regular order and on time, and crafting changes to structurally rein in spending in this House.

These changes will bring sanity back to our fiscal process. I am committed to bringing sanity back to the fiscal process, and I hope every Member on this floor will be and follow Mr. McCarthy's lead.

Much has been said by my friends on the other side of the aisle--my good friends, the so-called popcorn caucus this week, if you will--over the past few days about 1923, and we are having a robust discussion here among House Republicans as to who will be the next Speaker of the House.

Back in 1923 the insurgency among Republicans then was from the center left of the Republican Party. Today, it is from the center right. But there is more to the story in that fight 100 years ago, and I want to remind my friends of that history.

When Fred Gillett was elected Speaker on the ninth ballot in 1923, the outcome was a more robust, more unified Republican Conference, one that would go to work with President Calvin Coolidge, cut government spending, balance the budget, and cut taxes while paying down the debt.

House Republicans 100 years ago unleashed a pro-growth agenda. House Republicans under Speaker Kevin McCarthy will unleash a pro-growth agenda to get this economy moving. That pro-growth agenda benefited families in the 1920s. The McCarthy pro-growth agenda will benefit families across this country today.

A century later, under the next Speaker Kevin McCarthy, mark my words, this party will come together to unleash American energy, make the Trump tax cuts permanent, rein in runaway government spending, and fight for a balanced budget.

So I stand today with unqualified support to nominate my friend, the next Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Koontz Electric signing day for students committing to the Koontz Promise.

The Koontz Promise provides Arkansas River Valley High School students with an immediate career following graduation from a Koontz- operated skilled trade program.

Trade programs available for students include construction technology, industrial mechanics, maintenance technology, and welding.

The Koontz Electric Company of Morrilton, Arkansas, is a diversified heavy industrial electrical contractor that has noticed a skills gap between the generations. Immediately, they saw an opportunity to set up and train the next generation of young leaders to lessen the skills gap and highlight the opportunities of skilled trades immediately upon high school graduation.

On top of guaranteeing prospective students a career, the Koontz Promise also guarantees coverage of all expenses not covered by another funding source.

To celebrate and welcome the students who committed to the Koontz Promise, a signing day was held this past September.

I applaud Koontz Electric for their initiative in educating the next generation of leaders in the skilled trades, and I look forward to seeing these students achieve great careers in the future.

Madam Speaker, I rise to mourn the loss of my good friend, Dr. Terry Yamauchi, who passed away last month.

As a young boy growing up during the Second World War, he and his mother were interned at a Japanese relocation camp in Idaho.

Following this, he and his family moved frequently for his father's career, including a 2-year stint in Japan while his father was a U.S. Treasury representative.

Dr. Yamauchi graduated from the University of Oregon Medical School in 1967 and completed his post-doctoral training at the UCLA School of Medicine.

After a few years at UCLA, the doctor joined UAMS, the University of Arkansas Medical School, and Arkansas Children's Hospital, where he practiced for over 40 years.

Throughout his distinguished career, he authored over 300 medical papers and book chapters over pediatric and infectious disease. He served as the director of the Department of Human Services for Governor Bill Clinton.

Terry's service to our community will not be forgotten. My prayers are with his wife of 55 years, Alison, his children, and grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, thank my friend from Texas for his inspirational recitations of these outstanding young people who seek an appointment to the military academy. There is no more optimistic and positive aspect of being a Member of Congress than making those appointments. I thank him for his service.

I also want to echo our thanks from both sides of the aisle to the Chaplain, the Clerk of the House, the Sergeant at Arms, the minority and majority cloakrooms, and our brave stenographers who sit here for hours taking down every inspirational word. We thank them for their service in this Congress.

Madam Speaker, in October, as the first frost touched Ukraine, Vladimir Putin turned 70 years old. That week, Russian chess champion and activist Garry Kasparov spoke at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, the scene of Churchill's famous ``Iron Curtain'' speech. Garry Kasparov declared: Thirty years of making concessions that were intended to keep the peace have only postponed the war.

Appeasement, Madam Speaker, never works. Kasparov went on to say: The price of stopping a dictator always goes up. It may seem expensive today, but it is only going to be more tomorrow.

It is critically important that we build a consensus to support the Ukrainian people and their government in their valiant efforts to reject Putin's rapacious invading Army.

This illegal invasion and Putin's wanton war crimes have been rejected by the world. This is evidenced by votes in the General Assembly of the United Nations and the ejection of Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council. It is evidenced by Sweden and Finland petitioning to join NATO. It has been evidenced by a global coalition of nations supporting the Ukrainian people with humanitarian assistance and military aid.

But in order to maintain and enhance that global coalition of citizens and their elected representatives, it is critical that we provide a great deal more information and oversight to that humanitarian and military assistance. Only together can we help Ukraine eject the bully and free its people.

I support the idea of a special inspector general to oversee U.S. military and humanitarian assistance, coordinating with the very active and existing inspector general programs at the Department of Defense and Department of State. This is common sense. American taxpayers need to ensure full transparency and accountability for our financial support.

Likewise, in my view, the Biden administration has done a poor job explaining to Congress the over 100 billion euros in support of Ukraine from all the countries of the world, including the United States. That is, they should provide Congress detailed assessments of what funding has been provided to Ukraine, both military and humanitarian, from the European Commission, individual member states of the European Union, and other nations from around the world, such as our great friend and ally, Japan.

It is important for us, in assessing our own contributions to freedom in Ukraine, to assess and encourage our friends, allies, and partners to do as much as they can, maybe more, and as effectively as possible. We are all in the boat pulling mightily in the same direction, but we need that detail and transparency.

Madam Speaker, in that regard, I was reflecting on my prior government service as a Treasury Department official during the administration of George H. W. Bush.

On August 1, 1990, Iraq was invaded by Kuwait and within 12 hours was in full control of that country.

President Bush denounced the invasion and stated clear and effective principles: First, to seek the immediate, unconditional, and complete withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait; next, to restore Kuwait's legitimate government; and, finally, to remain committed to the security and stability of the Persian Gulf region.

Backed by a Security Council resolution at the U.N., the Bush administration set about to carry out those objectives.

It is important to note the extraordinary leadership of then Secretary of State Jim Baker, Secretary of Treasury Nick Brady, Deputy Secretary of State Larry Eagleburger, and the Undersecretary of Treasury David Mulford. They all worked as a team and built an extraordinary coalition to

raise the financing for this global effort to stop Saddam Hussein and his illegal invasion.

U.S. forces ultimately deployed over 600,000 military personnel alongside more than 200,000 troops from our allies. Secretaries Baker and Brady and their teams visited selected countries and developed the financial resources to effectively fund Kuwait's liberation. More than 90 percent, Madam Speaker, of the United States' incremental costs were reimbursed by our allies. This work was inspirational then and now.

I call on Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Secretary of the Treasury Yellen to craft an active and effective campaign to globally bring forward even more diverse, comprehensive financial resources to support Ukraine and their valiant fight to inject the invader.

This campaign will be essential to see the financial burden shared widely among all peace-loving countries of the world.

The Federal Reserve and Price Stability

Madam Speaker, as inflation continues to wreak havoc on the wallets of our hardworking families, I rise today to urge the Federal Reserve to stay the course and win the fight against this insidious inflation.

Our economy is in this troubling situation of coping with a four- decade high in prices due to three core reasons:

First, the Biden administration's wasteful spending, pouring an avalanche of loose money into an economy struggling with getting folks back to work and supply chain woes.

Madam Speaker, our fiscal 2023 spending is running 25 percent greater than just before the pandemic; 25 percent more on an annual basis. If you include all President Biden's new spending spree, it is running $1.3 trillion higher per year.

I wish Chairman Powell back in 2021 had agreed with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and opposed this massive, unfunded fiscal stimulus.

Next, the Biden administration's war on energy and employment has made it harder to get people back to work and harder to find and produce the badly needed oil and gas, get it out of the ground and on its way to heat our homes, fuel our communities, and support our allies in Europe.

Finally, the Federal Reserve itself kept interest rates too low for too long while also purchasing trillions of dollars in government securities. Now the Fed is left playing catch-up in the hopes of beating inflation in the short run without damaging our economy in the long run.

Madam Speaker, I have a better approach. Earlier this year, alongside the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Donalds), my friend and colleague, I introduced H.R. 7209, the Price Stability Act. This legislation would ensure that our central bank focuses exclusively on its principal mandate of price stability.

This bill repeals the 1970s so-called dual mandate whereby the Fed is conflicted, supposedly focused on price stability but also maintaining a growing economy. Madam Speaker, the legislative branch and the executive branch should have that responsibility for policies that promote economic growth and a well-trained workforce with more job opportunities. The Fed should focus exclusively on price stability.

Now, I welcome the Federal Reserve's current efforts to mitigate inflation, and I urge Chairman Powell and his colleagues to avoid distraction and ensure their efforts are successful. Inflation is a thief, and it hurts our hardworking families, our seniors, and those on fixed incomes. It is vital that the Federal Reserve focus on containing inflation and steer clear of economic policy fads.

recognizing arkansas governor asa hutchinson

Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank Governor Asa Hutchinson and recognize his accomplishments as the 46th Governor of my home State of Arkansas.

Governor Hutchinson began his career in service when President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the position of U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. Afterwards, he went on to serve three successful terms in this Chamber, representing the fine citizens of Arkansas' Third Congressional District.

During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed him as Director of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as an Under Secretary in the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

Governor Hutchinson has been instrumental in aiding our families by cutting taxes by over $250 million and signing into law legislation that exempts the retirement pay of veterans from State income tax.

Governor Hutchinson has been a great advocate toward enhancing computer science education in our State. His leadership led Arkansas to be the first State in the Nation to pass legislation requiring every public school to teach computer science courses. This has further encouraged our students to pursue pathways and become innovators.

He has also served as an advocate for our Little Rock Venture Center, entrepreneurship, and enhancing venture and startup ecosystems across our State.

During his time as Governor, he has enhanced Arkansas' reputation as a business-friendly State, which has attracted companies to make the Natural State their latest location and existing companies to expand their business, creating more career opportunities for our citizens.

Over the past 8 years, the Governor and I have partnered on many projects that have benefited the constituents of the Second District of Arkansas.

Governor, I am grateful for your steady hand during the COVID-19 pandemic and for your dedication to our State. Governor Hutchinson is a true public servant who worked every day to make our State a better place. Asa, your leadership will be missed, and your hard work not forgotten. Martha and I send our very best wishes to you and Susan for that next chapter.

congress must work to limit aggression by countries

Madam Speaker, as we enter the final weeks of the 117th Congress, it is important that we acknowledge the work that we have done as a body to limit the financial capabilities of Russia's illegal war in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, I introduced H.R. 6899, the Russia and Belarus SDR Exchange Prohibition Act, which passed with bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, and was signed into law by President Biden in October.

This bill closes a loophole around Western sanctions by freezing Russia and Belarus out of future International Monetary Fund financing by preventing them from using special drawing rights, known as SDRs, to fund their nefarious activities: The war in Ukraine.

We must stay vigilant of the aggressive tendencies of other nations, such as Russia and Belarus, and make sure they are not able to pledge or transfer, that is, cash in those SDRs to fund their terror.

It is important that we continue to work together in the new Congress to make sure that aggression is not rewarded and that we are working to limit the financial capabilities of countries who demonstrate their aggression toward another sovereign nation.

halting the spread of captagon

Madam Speaker, I rise to applaud the inclusion of the CAPTAGON Act in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The production and sale of the dangerous narcotic Captagon is being used as a major revenue source, fueling the regime and the war machine of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

It is this illicit activity that has allowed them to ignore U.S. sanctions and continue to oppress the people of Syria and export terror.

By using an interagency task force, including the Department of Defense and the Drug Enforcement Administration, our CAPTAGON Act will design a strategy to be able to disrupt and dismantle the trafficking networks that are fueling terror in Syria and across the region.

While both the State Department and the White House have failed to include Syria in their list of major illicit drug-producing countries for FY 2023, I applaud this Congress for taking this key step in making sure more illegal drugs are not able to make it through Europe, through the Middle East, or even into the United States by working toward halting the spread of Captagon around the world.

Retirement Wishes for Walter Hussman, Jr.

Madam Speaker, I stand today to recognize the outstanding career of Walter Hussman, Jr., the publisher of the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette.

Recently, Walter announced that he will retire from the publication at the end of 2022.

Walter's career began with him placing comics in the Camden News for 25 cents an hour all the way to restructuring the Arkansas Democrat, buying the Arkansas Gazette and crafting the State's largest newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Over his career as a publisher, he oversaw many changes, including bringing the Democrat-Gazette into the digital age, for which he was recognized with national attention.

During his announcement of retirement, Walter shared that it is time now for the next generation.

Walter is an example of the American Dream, how hard work and dedication to your craft can lead to a long, prosperous career.

Congratulations, Mr. Hussman, on your outstanding career, your evidence as a mentor and a role model, and I wish you a well-deserved retirement.

Nigeria Country of Particular Concern

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge the President and our Secretary of State to rectify their mistake of not designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern as it relates to religious liberty.

Having the ability to practice religion without fear is one of our most basic principles needed to create a strong and stable nation.

Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the President is required to review the status of religious freedom in every country of the world. Any country that is seen to have consistently and violently violating their citizens' religious freedom must be labeled a Country of Particular Concern.

Over the last 2 years, Nigeria is a nation which hits every troubled benchmark listed in this act. And yet, Madam Speaker, it has been left off the list.

Over the past 2 years, violence targeted against Christians has steadily increased. So labeling Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern is a vital step in working toward stability in Nigeria, better partnerships with the United States, and a step toward international religious liberty for all.

Congratulating Leslee Tell--Fulbright Fellowship Award

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Leslee Tell, of Conway High School, who has recently been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the spring of 2023.

Mrs. Tell has taught in Conway schools since 2006 where she originally taught students home economics, eventually moving on to her current subject, a broader one, family consumer sciences.

The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program offers educators the opportunity to teach abroad for a semester. In just a few months, Mrs. Tell will be on her way to Vietnam where she will be teaching home economics at a local public high school.

I visited with Leslee and her colleagues, and she is so excited about this opportunity, not only the impact on her but her impact on those students. I look forward to learning about her journey, the positive impact that she will make and what she learns from those kids in her class.

Congratulations, Leslee. We look forward to following your time in Vietnam and sharing your success.

Crisis at the Border

Madam Speaker, as we end this calendar year, I rise once again to bring attention to the crisis at our southwest border.

In 2022, over 2 million migrants were encountered at our southwest border; the highest number in American history.

Just 2 months ago, there were over 230,000 migrant encounters at our border. On top of this number, it is estimated that roughly 64,000 illegal immigrants evaded apprehension in October, and 70,000 evaded in November.

For over a year and a half now, there have been over 150,000 illegal border crossings each month. Those numbers are higher than ever.

Madam Speaker, 98 individuals on the Terrorist Screening Database were apprehended at the southern border; more than the last 5 years combined.

Over the last 2 years, the Biden administration has repeatedly repealed effective Trump-era policies that kept our border and our Nation more secure. Despite claims from Secretary Mayorkas saying otherwise, the Biden administration does not have operational control over our border.

During a recent visit to Arizona, President Biden claimed that there were ``more important'' things to do than visit the southern border.

Madam Speaker, the President is in Arizona. What is more important than a morale-boosting visit to our men and women at Customs and Border Patrol?

What is more important than keeping our border secure?

Well, apparently, the President's 49 trips to Delaware, or maybe the President's 8 trips to go get ice cream were more important.

Madam Speaker, I urge this President to take a trip to our southwest border, see for himself, meet with our agents working on the border, and see the reality of the crisis that his administration has created.

Opioid Crisis Impacting America

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the opioid crisis impacting all Americans. Opioids, such as illicit fentanyl, are flooding across our open borders and sweeping across our Nation and into every town and city.

In fiscal year 2022, 14,700 pounds of illicit fentanyl were confiscated at our southern border. How much came across that wasn't confiscated?

Over 75,000 Americans lost their lives last year to opioid overdoses, many of them accidental. To help combat this, I introduced the Preventing Overdoses and Saving Lives Act this year, alongside my friend and colleague, Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan.

This legislation was inspired by my home State of Arkansas, which currently encourages prescribers of opioids to also co-prescribe an opioid overdose reversal medication, such as naloxone.

This summer, that legislation passed the House in a bipartisan mental health package.

Madam Speaker, I am hopeful my colleagues in the Senate will work to move this valuable piece of legislation forward because the data is clear--co-prescribing helps save lives.

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