Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to wish United States Marine Corps Veteran and valuable member of our community, Mr. Lloyd B. Peck, a happy 90th birthday.

Mr. Peck served as an active-duty Marine from 1948 to 1959 on the front lines of the Korean war. When he returned home, he remained part of our military community, and dedicated himself to serving his fellow veterans.

In recent years, Mr. Peck has organized Veterans Day parades and has served as the Chief Parade Marshal in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Further, he heads the Blair County War Veterans Council, and has worked tirelessly to advocate for veterans' issues.

On behalf of the people of Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District, I applaud Lloyd for his active efforts to better our community and his dedication to supporting America's veterans.

Let me be among the countless friends and family wishing him a happy 90th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, this week, we saw new data that revealed who is truly being harmed by President Biden's economic crisis. The short answer is that those who can least afford it are being left behind.

Last month, the U.S. economy added only 200,000 new jobs. This isn't enough. It is not enough to sustain any sort of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of this poor response and because of this poor showing, many industries lost workers, including manufacturers and retail stores. In November, labor force participation actually declined among those with less than a high school diploma or some college education.

Simply stated, the Biden administration's failures are leaving Americans behind at a time when the price of essential goods are skyrocketing. Instead of addressing the crises that liberal policies have created, Democrats are doubling down on the failed legislative ideas that threaten to raise the cost of gasoline and raise the cost of groceries. The costs of beef, vegetables, chicken, and pork are on the rise, and real wages have actually decreased during 7 out of the 9 months that Joe Biden has been in office.

This isn't effective governing, and this is not the way to get America back on track.

Mr. Speaker, as we speak today, America is facing a drug crisis that is crippling our communities.

During the month of October, over 800 pounds of fentanyl were seized at our southern border. The drug crisis of our Nation and what we are experiencing is a direct result of the failed border policies that have been put in place by the Biden administration.

Recently, I spoke with the Chambersburg police chief, Ron Camacho, who said more and more deadly drugs like fentanyl are responsible for overdoses in our Pennsylvania communities.

In my district alone, we saw a 30 percent rise in overdose deaths between 2019 and 2020, and sadly, that number is on the rise again. Now is the time for Congress to take swift and decisive action.

We must ensure that law enforcement has the tools that they need to save lives, protect our communities and keep this lethal drug off of our streets.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for holding this Special Order to highlight the importance of prayer as we work in the 117th Congress.

As we speak today, we know that God and not man has the final authority. If Congress is going to govern successfully, then we must rely on Him to do so.

Perhaps one of our Founding Fathers from Pennsylvania said it best. At the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin

Franklin asked rhetorically: ``If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?''

That question has the same implications today as it did in Philadelphia those 200-plus years ago. We know that those who build without the Lord, they labor in vain.

In this body, we must strive to ensure that we are asking for God's guidance as we work to solve the difficult issues that we face here every day.

Just yesterday, I spoke with Pastor Gary Dull, from the Faith Baptist Church of Altoona, who said if we are going to know the will of God for our Nation, we must go to Him in prayer. In everything that we do, we must seek his will.

As we begin the final month, let us remember, let us together humbly pray.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Thomas family of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, who tragically lost their son, Trevor, a student athlete who played baseball at Allegany College of Maryland and at Penn State.

In the face of that loss, the Thomas family has responded with love and compassion for their community. In honor of their son's commitment to serving others, the Thomas family printed small cards that encouraged their neighbors to help others through acts of kindness.

Those cards have inspired incredible gestures of generosity in our community. The acts of kindness were wide-ranging. From preparing care packages for the homeless to donating blood to handing out doughnuts and even delivering flowers to strangers, members of the community looked to see what they could do to help one another.

Together, the people of Somerset County are working to keep Trevor's memory alive through their acts of service for one another.

On each card that the family has distributed is a simple mantra that defined the way that Trevor lived his life. It is a mantra that we should all aspire to: Be somebody who makes everybody feel like somebody.

Mr. Speaker, right now, as our country continues to suffer from the negative effects of the Democrats' previous reckless spending spree, it is clear that we do not yet need another reckless spending bill that would further balloon our debt and raise all inflation without actually addressing the issues that we are currently facing.

Congress has already appropriated trillions of dollars that has not yet been spent. Again, trillions of dollars remain unspent. Instead of passing yet another trillion-dollar spending bill, of which only 10 percent would actually go to true infrastructure, we can repurpose those earlier funds to meet the needs of our communities.

I am proud to be joining my colleagues as a cosponsor of legislation that would use the money that Congress has already approved to truly help the communities that we serve; legislation that has already been passed by our colleagues in the Senate.

Now is not the time to waste money on taxpayer-funded kickbacks to green energy companies or spend $50 million to monitor coastal erosion. We need to fund infrastructure improvements that our communities need. We need to do so without mortgaging our children's future.

We were elected to be responsible stewards of the taxpayers' dollars, and passing the Green New Deal dressed up as infrastructure is not the way forward.

Madam Speaker, as Congress debates spending trillions of taxpayer dollars, there is a crisis on our southern border that is being ignored.

In the past year, our Border Patrol agents have made almost 1.5 million apprehensions, yet we are still seeing that there is a massive surge in illegal immigration.

The rise in overdose deaths that our country has seen can be directly tied to the increase in fentanyl that is being smuggled into the United States through Mexico. Now, at the height of the crisis, we are seeing reports that the Biden administration wants to pay settlements to immigrants who enter our country illegally. This is unacceptable.

Now is the time to secure our border and stop the security and humanitarian crises that this policy has created.

Right now, Congress should be working to address the real and present danger at our southern border, not debating yet another socialist spending spree.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for holding this Special Order tonight and for his service to our Nation as a general in the United States Marine Corps.

As Veterans Day approaches this year, we should all take time to recognize and honor the men and women in uniform who served our Nation in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Two of our colleagues, Representative Brian Mast from Florida and Representative Dan Crenshaw from Texas served in Afghanistan and now serve their country in the United States Capitol as our colleagues.

Please know that your commitment and your sacrifices were not in vain. Over the past two decades, our Nation has been more safe and more secure because of your vigilance and because of your service. In November, we also recognize National Veterans and Military Families Month. During this month and every month, we must be committed to providing the services that

all of our veterans need. Please know that if you or a loved one is struggling, there is help and there are resources that are available through the Veterans Administration.

Congress must always remain committed to supporting our veterans, and I am proud to be supporting legislation to ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs returns to full staffing levels to handle the backlog of requests that have been created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Veterans Day I ask all of us to renew our commitment to the men and women who have served our Nation. I ask that we ensure that they have the care and the resources that they need. I want to take special note to thank my wife, Alice, who served in the United States Navy for more than 12 years; and her sister Julia Shocker who served in the United States Army.

I want to thank the general from Michigan for holding this Special Order that allows us to recognize the importance of our freedom, our freedom that was given to us by the veterans who served our country. General, semper fi.

Madam Speaker, attempting to push through yet another socialist spending spree this year might be what liberals think will help their polling numbers, but it is not what the American people need.

In reality, this bill would exacerbate our energy crisis and make our country less safe.

The reckless spending in this legislation can best be defined as build back bankruptcy.

Right now, in my hometown of Altoona, Pennsylvania, gas costs over $3.50 a gallon. That is money coming directly out of Americans' pockets. If this spending spree is passed, that cost will only go up.

So far, the Biden administration has placed a moratorium on new American drilling, canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, and allowed the Russians to produce oil for our allies in Europe. This legislation, unfortunately, doubles down on the Biden administration's war on American energy.

This lengthy piece of legislation overregulates and overtaxes the natural gas, coal, and Marcellus shale industries that provide good wages and low-cost power to American families.

Instead of supporting American energy, this bill hands out green energy tax credits to wind and solar manufacturers that are unable to meet the energy needs of our country. Wind turbines and solar panels are not going to heat our homes this winter.

We need to focus on regaining America's energy independence. We need to focus on lowering energy costs before winter sets in.

This inflation is not transitory. We cannot wish this problem away.

Passing the Green New Deal dressed up as infrastructure legislation is not the answer to the problem that we are currently facing.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members of this body to work together to pass an infrastructure bill that would actually rebuild our roads and rebuild our bridges.

In Congress, we must be responsible stewards of the taxpayers' dollars. We need to find a fiscally responsible way to build roads and to repair bridges.

We need to complete the Appalachian regional highway system, and we need to expand internet access to all citizens across the Commonwealths, across the States, and across America. We need to do this without mortgaging our children's future. We need to do this without ballooning our deficit in a way that would hamstring the American people for decades to come.

Madam Speaker, tomorrow we will recognize World Psoriasis Day. Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are diseases that affect over 125 million people worldwide.

As a practicing dermatologist for 25 years, I have seen firsthand the toll that this condition can have on patients. This disease can often have serious and long-lasting consequences, including anxiety, depression, diabetes, and even cardiac issues.

In the past, we were often, unfortunately, unsuccessful in treating the symptoms that the men and women battling psoriasis face each and every day.

Recently, however, we are seeing new treatments and therapies that have dramatically improved our fight against psoriasis.

Finding new and more effective treatments or finding a cure to this disease will take all of us. It will take doctors, it will take legislators, researchers, patients, and advocates working together to find solutions.

It is my promise that I will continue working to address the disease of psoriasis.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in strong support of America's small businesses.

Nearly half of American workers are employed by small businesses, and their livelihoods are being threatened by new taxes and new regulations that are being proposed by the administration and liberals in Congress.

In the past year already, our small businesses have been hamstrung by arbitrary lockdown orders that have stunted growth and strained our recovery.

Now they are being squeezed even harder by supply chain issues and labor shortages caused by President Biden's policy of paying workers to remain at home.

Now the President is refusing to address the crisis that his administration has caused.

Recently, I visited Guy Chemical in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The supply chain issues that they face have delayed shipments for months.

Problems ranging from backlogs at the Port of Los Angeles to a lack of truck drivers on our Nation's highways have resulted in shortages and backlogs that are straining businesses that actually hold our communities together. Small businesses are truly the backbone of our economy.

Let's be clear: This administration's failed policies are threatening these American small businesses.

To make matters even worse, some Members of this body are now threatening to impose new taxes that would take as much as 39 percent of revenues away from these vital small businesses. This wasteful taxation directly harms the Americans that work for small businesses and rely on them for their daily needs and for their paychecks.

Now is the time to put a stop to this tax-and-spend spree.

Now is the time to stand up for the small businesses that truly sustain our economy.

And now is the time to put Americans first and not the liberal politicians.

Madam Speaker, in my home State of Pennsylvania, a woman was brutally raped by an illegal immigrant.

In Congress, one of our primary duties is to protect the American people. By allowing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes to remain within our borders signifies that we are failing. Allowing an illegal immigrant who has committed acts of sexual violence to remain in our country shows that we are failing.

Congress must move immediately to pass legislation ensuring that any immigrant who commits acts of violence is deported. What happened in Philadelphia this week was a failure of American leadership. It showed clearly that the Biden crime crisis is escalating.

Now, as apprehensions at our southern border hit record highs, President Biden is taking away the vital resources that our Border Patrol agents need to do their job. The answer to stopping our border crisis and our crime crisis is not to defund the police. The answer is not to be more lenient on illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes against Americans.

We must put the safety of the American citizens first, and we must put the security of the American citizens first.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Penn- Mont Academy in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, as they celebrate their 60th year providing a Montessori education to the students of our community.

Penn-Mont Academy was founded in 1961 by Aline and Gerald Wolf, who founded the school in their home with a vision to create one of the first Montessori institutions in the United States.

Over the past 60 years, the school has worked to provide a creative and insightful education that molds independent-and lifelong learners.

This school is important to my family and me. My wife, Dr. Alice Plummer Joyce, was one of the school's first graduates.

I am incredibly grateful for the outstanding work that The Penn-Mont Academy does in our community. From the Wolfs front porch to their current home in Hollidaysburg the Penn-Mont Academy has offered generations of students the foundation they need to succeed.

The school's commitment to educating the children of Blair County is exceptional, and I look forward to their continued work to support and inspire our future leaders.

On behalf of the people of Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District, I congratulate the students, staff, and administration of Penn-Mont Academy on reaching this historic milestone and wish them every continued success in the years to come.

Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 322.

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, 17 Christian missionaries were taken hostage in Haiti.

I have spoken with their family members. To hear their story is heartbreaking. These men and women went to Haiti because they felt called to serve. They said: ``Here I am, Lord, send me.''

We cannot allow for Americans to be kidnapped abroad. When these missionaries went to serve, they were met with violence. Attacks like this prove that we must remain committed to the safety and the security of Americans abroad. We must never capitulate to those who wish us harm. Whether it is

in Haiti, in Afghanistan, or even on our southern border, Americans must always be protected.

Now is the time to bring these American missionaries safely home. I urge all of my colleagues to join with me in prayer for the safe return of our missionaries.