Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and the legacy of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, native and U.S. Army Captain Harry Cramer.

In 1957, U.S. Army Captain Cramer was attached to the 14th Special Forces Operational Detachment when he was killed while training soldiers in Nha Trang.

In giving his life for his country, Captain Cramer became the first of 58,281 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who would be killed during the Vietnam war.

Throughout his time in the Army, Captain Cramer showed incredible bravery and was awarded a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts during his service in the Korean war. Last week, Captain Cramer was recognized in Cambria County when Highway 403, a road that was originally built by his family in the 1890s, was renamed in his honor.

America owes a debt of gratitude to Captain Cramer that can never be fully repaid. May God bless him and the entire Cramer family.

Mr. Speaker, as I travel throughout central and western Pennsylvania, I hear from constituents about the struggle to find electric vehicle charging stations and how they are often forced to wait hours for a charge when traveling long distances.

Situations like this highlight the fact that our electric grid infrastructure is not prepared to handle President Biden's reckless electric vehicle mandates. These mandates would force more than two- thirds of new vehicles sold by 2033 to be electric.

Despite more than 75 percent of Americans' strong opposition to EV mandates, the Biden administration is continuing its brutal attempts to force Pennsylvania families to purchase cars that they do not want to purchase and vehicles that they cannot afford.

Last year, 92 percent of vehicles purchased were gas-powered cars, trucks, and SUVs. Complying with these backward regulations would require a 600 percent increase in the sale of electric vehicles within the next 8 years.

We know that these vehicles cannot handle the rugged terrain and the harsh winters that we see in Pennsylvania. It is time to put a stop to Green New Deal policies that will strain our electric grid, make travel unaffordable and unattainable, and ultimately hurt all American families.

Hold Secretary Mayorkas Accountable

Mr. Speaker, this week, the House will send impeachment articles against Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate.

By failing to follow the law and by failing to secure our borders, Secretary Mayorkas has put Pennsylvania families at risk and jeopardized our national security.

Since Secretary Mayorkas was sworn into office, we have had 9 million encounters nationwide with illegal immigrants, 1.8 million known got- aways, and over 340 encounters with individuals who we know are on the terrorist watch list.

This continued security and humanitarian crisis is the result of the open-border policies implemented by Secretary Mayorkas using his parole authority, which should only be used on a case-by-case basis to grant parole for millions of illegal immigrants, including entire nations and classes of people.

By Mayorkas ending the remain in Mexico policy and returning to catch-and-release procedures, the Secretary has failed in his duty to protect the United States of America.

It is time for the Senate to hold a full and complete trial. The American people deserve accountability for these reckless actions that have put all American citizens in harm's way.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Everett High School Rifle Team on winning the 2024 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Rifle Championships held in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania.

The discipline, focus, and sportsmanship demonstrated by each member of the Everett High School Rifle Team are a testament to

their character and the exceptional coaching they have received. Through countless hours of practice and unwavering determination, they have honed their skills to perfection.

Under the leadership of Coach Coltin Rice, the team has gone undefeated since 2017. Their dedication, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to excellence have propelled them to new heights, setting the bar even higher for future teams.

On behalf of the people of Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District, I congratulate the Everett High School Rifle Team, and wish them every continued success in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, our chair of the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee, for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, taxing methane emissions is a backward and impractical way to combat pollution. Instead of encouraging investments in new infrastructure in support of the energy producers, the Biden administration has chosen to introduce more red tape and bureaucracy into our energy industry by taxing methane emissions.

Despite what President Biden, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and liberals in California might believe, we cannot tax our way into lower emissions. It is time to remove the methane tax that has only caused energy prices to rise while doing very little to protect our environment and communities.

The natural gas produced by our adversaries is not subjected to these taxes. If American producers are going to be able to innovate and produce the energy that we need, then it is time for Congress to act.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation and American energy.

Mr. Speaker, on his first day in office, President Biden turned his attention to a campaign promise that he made in May of 2020, and he canceled the Keystone XL pipeline.

Since then, President Biden has continued his campaign against the energy resources that are underneath the feet of my constituents. He has created more red tape regulations, he has canceled new permits, and he has imposed a ban on the shipment of liquefied natural gas.

All of these efforts are coordinated to appease President Biden's far-left base, all at the expense of American energy prices.

In 2022, the national average for a gallon of gas reached over $5 a gallon for the first time in our history. Now, the average price for a gallon of gas is once again on the rise, recently hitting a 4-month high.

Pennsylvanians cannot afford these rising prices and cannot afford a President who puts politics ahead of what is best for American families.

It is time to put a stop on the war against American energy and return to using the baseload power that we can produce right here at home.

Biden's Budget Failure

Mr. Speaker, last week, President Biden offered a budget that fails to address the concerns of the American people.

Instead of working to secure our border, get a handle on inflation, and grow our economy, this budget proposal offers handouts to the far left, it grows bureaucracy, and it wastes taxpayers' dollars.

Instead of working to cut spending, this bill would include $4.9 trillion in new taxes and spend $86 trillion over the next 10 years.

Worst of all, this budget fails to secure our border. Instead of directing funds toward border security, President Biden has allocated $4 billion in the Homeland Security budget for Green New Deal climate initiatives. The climate that he should be addressing is the porous open border that brings drugs and crime into our country.

It is clear that this administration is more focused on growing its agencies, investing in liberal policies, and spending trillions of taxpayer dollars at the same time that our debt continues to spiral out of control. This is all unacceptable.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, at a time when the Chinese Communist Party is continuing to expand its reach, we in Congress must act quickly to protect American user data.

Preventing data brokers from selling this information to those who wish to harm Americans is a vital step toward protecting our interests and securing sensitive and vulnerable information from falling into the hands of our adversaries.

This legislation would ensure that nations like China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia would no longer be able to purchase geolocation or biomedical data on our servicemembers. Personal information of our Active-Duty military must be safeguarded.

Above all, we must ensure that all Americans have confidence that their data is being protected and that their information is secure. This legislation is a commonsense step to help keep all Americans safe.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 7520.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Blair County Deputy Sheriffs Christopher Hanna and Brandon Lasure.

It is because of their quick thinking and rush to action to stop the effects of an overdose that a Blair County woman is still alive today.

Deputy Hanna and Deputy Lasure followed their training to the letter, being aware of the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose these sheriff's deputies did not hesitate to step up and helped to save a human being.

Upon recognizing that the woman had become unresponsive, the deputies immediately called for an ambulance and delivered the appropriate doses of naloxone, a lifesaving drug designed to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

On behalf of the people of Blair County and Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District, I am grateful for these sheriff's deputies and their tireless work to serve our community.

Madam Speaker, during President Biden's State of the Union Address, we saw a desperate attempt to jump-start a failing Presidency.

After 3 years of weak and ineffective leadership, the American people continue to suffer under soaring inflation, increased crime, and a wide-open southern border.

Now is not the time for more empty promises from a President who is unable to deliver. It is time to address these challenges head-on by cutting back on spending, giving law enforcement the tools they need, and returning to border policies that keep our Nation safe.

Pennsylvanians cannot afford a President who cannot rise to meet these challenges, and Americans cannot afford a President who continues to rely on the far-left policies of his radical base.

Consistent Inflation

Madam Speaker, just this morning, it was reported that consumer prices rose by more than 3.2 percent in the month of February alone.

This consistent inflation is continuing to force American families to make difficult decisions about what they can afford and what they cannot afford.

Right now, a gallon of gas in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, costs $3.66. Instead of addressing these rising prices, President Biden has continued to attack American energy producers, stifling new development and making it more difficult to open new refineries.

Energy prices now cost Americans over $3,000 more each year than when Joe Biden first took office.

It is clear that the President's failed policies are to blame for the skyrocketing cost of gas, oil, and electricity. It is time to rein in these runaway prices by returning to the energy that is underneath the feet of my constituents.

Mr. Speaker, in 2022, more than 100,000 Americans lost their lives due to an overdose.

Sadly, nearly 70 percent of those deaths involved some form of illicit fentanyl. These drugs, which are created in China and then manufactured, compounded in Mexico and then trafficked across our open southern border, took the lives of enough Americans to fill Beaver Stadium at Penn State University.

These deaths are the result of a southern border that has been thrown open to cartels and their operations by a President who refuses to enforce our laws. By inviting mass illegal immigration, President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas has stretched our border resources too thin and allowed the cartels to move their deadly drugs with impunity.

It is time to pass a border bill that will fully fund the resources that our Border Patrol agents so desperately need. It is time to return to the remain in Mexico policy, and it is time to put a stop to the fentanyl poisonings that have taken far too many American lives.

Runaway Spending

Mr. Speaker, last week during the State of the Union Address, the American people saw a campaign speech, not a plan to fix the economy that President Biden's failed policies has left in shambles.

In the first 2 years of his disastrous administration, President Biden passed reckless spending bills that sent inflation soaring by 17 percent.

Today, a mother visiting the grocery store will find that the price of juice is up 30 percent, the cost of beef is up 10 percent, vegetables are up 5 percent, and the price of bread is up 3 percent.

Ultimately, these costs add up. Over the course of a year, the average American family is paying an additional $11,000 just to afford the basics that they need. Pennsylvanians cannot afford the government red tape in spending that has caused this runaway inflation. Pennsylvanians and all Americans certainly cannot afford the budget that President Biden is proposing, which would only amount to yet another year of runaway spending.

Surging Violent Crime

Mr. Speaker, as crimes continue to surge in cities across the U.S., it has become clear that calls to defund the police and attempts to interfere with law enforcement have put our communities and our families in danger. Across 32 major cities, car thefts have increased by 33 percent, and here in Washington, D.C., carjackings are up nearly 100 percent.

Sadly, President Biden has ignored this crime wave and has refused to address the victims who now worry about living in their own homes.

Surging violent crimes in our cities makes all Americans more vulnerable, and it is time for radical Members of this body to finally show their support of police officers.

It is time for us to send a clear message that we will always stand with the men and women in blue.

Madam Speaker, as President Biden has allowed Federal workers to stay home, millions of tax dollars have been wasted on office space that is no longer in use.

While Pennsylvania families are struggling under the weight of inflation, President Biden is spending their hard-earned dollars on empty office space.

Included in one GAO report was an example of an agency using just 9 percent of their office space. This waste is unacceptable, and it is time for the American taxpayers to stop footing the bill for D.C. offices that aren't being used.

As our deficit continues to skyrocket past $34.5 trillion, it is time to rein in runaway spending. It is time to pass the USE IT Act and help put a stop to President Biden's wasteful and reckless use of American taxpayer dollars.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, a British container ship was sunk by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden.

This attack is yet another example of how, under President Biden's weak and ineffective leadership, our adversaries have been emboldened and our allies left vulnerable.

Last year, President Biden agreed to release more than $6 billion to Iran, effectively providing more funds and resources to the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. This is unacceptable. It shows that, yet again, President Biden is unwilling and unable to provide the leadership that Americans want and that Americans need.

When U.S. ships were threatened with sustained rocket attacks, the Biden administration waited weeks to respond, only further emboldening these terrorist groups to continue their aggression.

It is time to return to leadership that embodies President Ronald Reagan's call of peace through strength. The American people simply cannot afford a President that fails to keep America safe.

Confronting a Growing Border Threat

Mr. Speaker, in his State of the Union speech tomorrow night, President Biden will be forced to confront the growing threat posed by an open and porous southern border.

In the month of January, more than 176,000 illegal immigrants attempted to enter the United States. That was on the heels of the month of December when more than 300,000 illegal immigrants again crossed the southern border.

Because of the open border policies championed by President Biden and enacted by Secretary Mayorkas, these illegal immigrants were bused to our major cities. The consequences of this decision have been felt in nearly every community in the United States.

Schools have been converted into shelters for illegal immigrants. In places like New York City and Denver, government services have been scaled back, and city employees, like librarians, have seen their hours cut in order to provide handouts to people who are in the United States illegally.

At a time when more than 300 suspected terrorists have attempted to enter the U.S., President Biden has thrown open our gates and encouraged this crisis to continue.

Ending catch and release, giving our Border Patrol agents the tools and resources that they need, and resuming construction of the border wall are vital to keeping our Nation safe.

It is time for President Biden to reverse his disastrous border policies and put a stop to this crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for holding this Special Order this evening.

Mr. Speaker, as I travel across central and southwestern Pennsylvania, I hear from families who are struggling to afford basic necessities, like gasoline and groceries. President Biden's crushing inflation has affected too many families in Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District, has affected too many families in Pennsylvania, has affected too many American families throughout this great land.

Instead of saving for retirement or for their children's education, parents are forced to make difficult choices about what they can afford to buy.

Recently, I spoke with a mom who told me she was often forced to choose between filling her gasoline tank or packing lunch for her son. Stories like this have become all too common thanks to the rising Biden inflation.

Under President Biden, prices have risen by 17 percent in the past 3 years, and real wages are down 2 percent. This is unsustainable for American families who are left to pay the price for the reckless spending sprees of the last 3 years.

In tomorrow's state of the Union Address, President Biden should outline deliberate ways to cut our national debt, a deliberate responsibility to be a responsible steward of the taxpayer dollar.

Inflation is a tax on each and every American, and it is time to return to fiscal responsibility. It is time to have cuts in spending in order to address our ballooning national debt.

I thank the gentleman for once again holding this Special Order this evening.

Madam Speaker, last week, President Biden announced a plan to cancel $1.2 billion

in Federal student loans for 150,000 borrowers.

As Americans, we have always followed a simple rule: If you take out a loan, you pay back the loan. It is time to call a spade a spade. This student loan scam isn't forgiveness; it is an election-year handout to President Biden's far-left voters to transfer debt to the American taxpayer. This gimmick transfers the burden of the loans from the students who took the loans onto every American taxpayer.

Repaying these loans certainly has no personal benefit to 87 percent of taxpayers who don't have student loans and to the 100 million Americans who never attended college.

This program takes advantage of Americans who are already struggling to support their families under the weight of President Biden's inflation. It is time to send a message to President Biden and his administration that we cannot allow hardworking Americans, who have kept their word and repaid their personal loans, to be ripped off by yet another pandering scheme to the far left.

Rare Disease Week

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Rare Disease Week.

Right now, more than 25 million Americans and their loved ones are impacted by over 7,000 conditions which are classified as rare diseases.

Since the Orphan Drug Act was enacted in 1983, more than 600 drugs have been developed to combat these illnesses and ultimately save lives. Now, because of President Biden's so-called Inflation Reduction Act, the environment that has allowed these treatments to develop is being threatened.

This week, I am proud to be working alongside my colleagues to advance bipartisan legislation, the ORPHAN Cures Act, which would expand the orphan drug exemption for medicines with multiple indications involving rare diseases and cancers.

It is critical that Congress acts to support research and development into treatments and therapies that address rare diseases and further work to ensure that patients have access to the care and treatment that they need.

As we recognize Rare Disease Week, let's commit to standing with patients who are living with rare diseases, including pediatric cancers and diseases like cystic fibrosis, classified as rare, but they are not rare to the families and the patients who are suffering with them.

Let's commit to working together to ensure that every patient, regardless of the rarity of the condition, receives the support, the care, and the treatment that they need.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy for yielding.

Madam Speaker, Pennsylvania has a long and proud history of developing energy innovation. From the first oil

well in 1859 to leading the way on natural gas development to Westinghouse's work developing nuclear energy in the 1950s, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has been a leader in producing the power that Americans, and the entire world, rely on to keep their homes warm and their refrigerators cold.

For decades, the United States has been a leader in the development of new technologies and innovation with regard to nuclear energy.

As demands on our Nation's electric grid continue to grow, small modular and microreactors are poised to be the next generation of clean, safe, and reliable nuclear technology.

It is vital that these reactors are permitted efficiently in order to allow American consumers to utilize the energy they rely on each and every day.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 1634, a bill originally introduced by Representative Johnson of Ohio, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.