Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of America's greatest ally in the Middle East--Israel, its people, and its right to defend itself against the horrifying Hamas terrorist attacks that have taken the lives of so many innocent individuals, including 33 Americans.

Since that deadly attack, I have been working to assist Tennesseans and their families and friends in Israel in their attempts to come home. I have also joined members of the Tennessee delegation in a letter to President Biden urging him to support Israel by any means possible, including by providing any weapons and munitions necessary and punishing all involved in aiding the Hamas terrorists.

Lastly, I was proud to be an original cosponsor of this resolution we are here voting on today, which reaffirms our commitment to Israel and condemns Hamas' brutal terrorist attacks.

Mr. Speaker, we must do everything we can to protect and defend our friend Israel.

Mr. Speaker, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, supports our rural communities and strengthens our national security and food supply by continuing critical investments in agriculture research, rural broadband, and animal and plant health programs.

The bill also provides sufficient funds to ensure the safety of food, drugs, and medical devices, which is especially important after the Biden administration's failure to protect our children from the baby formula debacle last year at the FDA. It reins in harmful regulations that dictate how poultry and livestock producers raise and market their animals.

These provisions will be sure to help those farmers and agricultural producers in my district and across Tennessee who are fed up with bureaucrats in Washington telling them how to farm and tend to their land and animals.

Mr. Speaker, House Republicans are fulfilling our commitment to our country's veterans by fully funding veterans' healthcare programs, veterans' benefits, and Veterans Affairs programs in the fiscal year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

Not only are we fulfilling our promise to those veterans who have served our country, but we are taking our efforts up a notch to go above and beyond what the VA is already doing by increasing funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Prosthetic Research Program.

I am a proud supporter of this program, and I requested that the Appropriations Committee fully fund this program to the level included in the bill, which is $938 million. That is a $22 million or 2.5 percent increase as compared to fiscal year 2023 and is in line with the President's budgetary request.

The VA's Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service is the largest and most comprehensive provider of prosthetic devices and sensory aids in the world. This funding will go a long way in making sure the VA has the necessary funds to research ways to restore veterans' abilities to function within their families, communities, and workplaces.

This increased funding will also help the researchers within the VA research program recover from slowed research because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustained and predictable funding growth for VA research is imperative to help ensure the best return on spending to improve the health of veterans and all Americans.

Although the VA's Medical and Prosthetic Research Program is specifically dedicated to improving the health and well-being of those who have served the United States in uniformed services, it has had a tremendous impact on the care of all Americans.

The research conducted within this program has led the way in many different healthcare fields, including the treatment of digestive diseases. There is no better way to utilize our tax dollars than by contributing to a cause that will help restore veterans' functionality and also lead to advancements in medical care for all Americans.

Additionally, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which has direct ties to my district and constituents, has a proud, longstanding, and multifaceted partnership with the Veterans Administration in Nashville and the mid-South across clinical care, medical training, and research activities. They are proud to join me in supporting increased funding for this medical research program within the VA healthcare system.

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that medical research at the VA not only helps those that have put it all on the line in service to this country--some sacrificing pieces of their body that they will never get back--it helps all Americans, as I have already mentioned. This is a great use of taxpayer funds, and I couldn't be prouder to support this initiative to fund this program at the level I have already mentioned.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members on both sides of the aisle to support this provision in the fiscal year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

Mr. Speaker, this week, House Republicans are continuing to deliver on our commitment to America--a Nation that is safe--by providing the Department of Defense with the facilities it needs to protect us from foreign adversaries.

One of the bills we will consider is the fiscal year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that funds the Department of Defense facilities and veterans' healthcare programs.

We don't stop there. This bill prohibits the use of funds to promote or advance the destructive critical race theory and prohibits the Biden administration's executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

There is more work to be done to get our military back to the world's elite fighting force focused on combating adversaries. By taking these small steps to eliminate fraud, waste, abuse, and unnecessary programs, we are taking the right first steps.

Mr. Speaker, for the first time in my entire tenure in Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives will be considering two appropriations bills this week that cut wasteful spending. Before the fact-checkers come after me, I will go ahead and say that I am sure it has been done before, but not in my time in Congress, which up until this year has been done under Democrat majority control.

Here are just a few of the wasteful Washington programs House Republicans are aiming to cut in the appropriations process this week. In the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024, House Republicans prohibit using funds to promote or advance critical race theory. No taxpayer dollars should have ever been spent on this harmful, divisive and anti- American theory.

The bill prohibits the Biden administration from implementing, administering, or enforcing any of President Biden's executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The executive branch should be focused on hiring our country's best and brightest, not on checking a certain box.

The bill even rescinds billions in funds, like $1 billion for rural clean energy programs created in the Inflation Reduction Act on Green New Deal climate initiatives.

Not only are these bills cutting wasteful Washington spending, but they are also advancing many conservative principles Tennesseans can be proud to support, such as: ending mail-order chemical abortion, directing the USDA Secretary to take action to prohibit the purchase of agricultural land by those associated with China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran, or even prohibiting funds for the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Mr. Speaker, all in all, I believe these are good provisions in these two bills. House Republicans are doing the good work on behalf of the American people to responsibly fund the Federal Government, cut wasteful spending, and return the focus of our government back

to where priorities should lie and not the woke initiatives of Green New Deal Democrats.

Mr. Speaker, as a Christian, a father, and conservative Member of Congress, I make no secret about it. I am absolutely 100 percent, unapologetically pro-life. I believe life begins at conception, and I believe that we must do everything we can to protect the innocent children living in their mother's wombs who are unable to protect themselves.

This week, House Republicans and the House will be considering H.R. 4368, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024. This bill not only funds many valuable programs on which our farmers and families rely to get food and fiber to our tables, but it also funds the Food and Drug Administration which plays a vital role in the food and drug safety of our country.

Recently, under President Joe Biden, the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has done the unthinkable: It has approved and expanded the use of mifepristone--a drug that induces a chemical abortion--for delivery by mail.

This is wrong on so many levels. For starters, let me be clear: this is a deadly drug not only for the baby in the womb, but it can also be deadly for the expectant mother taking it.

According to a scholarly article in ``Issues in Law and Medicine'' titled: ``Deaths and Severe Adverse Events after the use of Mifepristone as an Abortifacient from September 2000 to February 2019,'' out of 2,660 codable adverse reactions, 20 resulted in deaths, 529 were life-threatening to the mother, and 1,957 were severe adverse reactions.

Given the potentially deadly side effects, what possible justification does the FDA have to approve such a dangerous drug for distribution through the mail, allowing patients to self-administer it without close medical supervision given the potentially dangerous side effects?

Giving a political payback to the abortion industrial complex is not a justification. In fact, there is no justification whatsoever, in my view. Regardless of where you stand on the debate about abortion, this is truly abhorrent.

I don't believe anyone in their right mind would say that this drug is safe

for human consumption. We already know for sure that consuming this drug ends one human life and it has the potential to actually end two lives every time a pregnant woman takes it.

That is why Republicans have included language in the appropriations bill that funds the FDA that prohibits the use of this dangerous and deadly mail-order chemical abortion drug. I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle can recognize the clear and present danger this FDA policy represents and make the commonsense decision to support this provision rather than trying to strip it out in the amendment process.

We can only hope for a future where these practices finally come to an end. Until then, conservatives like me will continue fighting to rein in the FDA's reckless approval of dangerous drugs that put women's health in danger and to keep all innocent and voiceless children safe from this abhorrent practice.

Mr. Speaker, this week House Republicans and the House of Representatives will be considering the fiscal year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that prioritizes agencies and programs that protect our Nation's food and drug supply and support America's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities, like the ones I represent in Tennessee.

As a farmer and former State agriculture commissioner, I cannot overly stress the importance of the programs in this bill and how farmers and families rely on them. Whether it is rural broadband, WIC, or supplemental nutrition, the programs in this bill go a long way to make sure folks have enough food and fiber to be productive citizens in our society.

That is not all this bill does: it reins in wasteful Washington spending, protects the lives of unborn children, and prohibits agricultural land purchases by those associated with foreign adversaries.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud the work of the Appropriations Committee to include these provisions.

Mr. Speaker, House Republicans are doing everything we can to investigate the politicization and weaponization of the Federal Government.

In fact, the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government heard testimony from New York Post reporter Emma-Jo Morris, whose reporting about Hunter Biden's laptop was censored by almost every social media platform in the country in coordination with the most powerful levers of the Federal Government to silence Americans' First Amendment right to free speech.

Let the record show that Ms. Morris' reporting was factual, as confirmed by multiple outlets after the fact, and that this egregious abuse of power was so serious and so detrimental to our free society that a Federal District Court has enjoined White House and government officials from communicating with social media companies for the purpose of censoring or suppressing free speech on their platforms.

Mr. Speaker, these nefarious actions by the White House and Federal Government agencies are utterly shameful and, frankly, un-American and must never, ever happen again.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment, which requires a GAO report on the recent mass flight cancellations and delays that crippled our Nation surrounding the Fourth of July holiday.

Mr. Chair, listen to these headlines:

From Newsweek: ``July 4th Travel Chaos as Thousands of Airline Passengers Face Cancellations.''

From the Associated Press: ``Travelers endure another day of airport agony.''

From the Insider news site: ``Get ready for a flightmare: What to expect if you are one of the 4 million Americans flying this Independence Day weekend.''

Mr. Chair, I include in the Record each of these articles.

[From Newsweek.com, June 29, 2023]

July 4th Travel Chaos as Thousands of Airline Passengers Face

Cancellations

(By Khaleda Rahman)

Hundreds of flights in the U.S. have been canceled

Thursday, a worrying indication of the chaos summer travelers

could endure as they prepare to fly during the busy July 4

weekend.

Airline passengers suffered through yet another day of

delayed and canceled flights on Wednesday, with the East

Coast continuing to be the hardest hit as storms pummel the

region.

Around 1,200 U.S. flights were canceled on Wednesday, while

nearly 7,000 were delayed, according to flight-tracking

website FlightAware.

By early Thursday, 344 flights within, into and out of the

U.S. had been canceled and at least 500 more were delayed. Of

the cancelled flights, 78 had been scheduled to fly in or out

of New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport, 74 were at Denver

airport, and 62 at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental

Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration expects Thursday to be

the busiest travel day of the long weekend, with more than

52,500 total flights.

United Airlines, which uses Newark airport as its New York

area hub, canceled 263 flights on Thursday, the most among

U.S. airlines for a sixth straight day.

``We're beginning to see improvement across our operation.

We expect to cancel far fewer seats today compared to

yesterday and our baggage backlog at Newark has dropped more

than 30 percent since Tuesday, and off-duty flight attendants

are calling in from across the country to staff open trips,''

United said in a statement to Newsweek on Wednesday night.

``It's all-hands-on-deck as our pilots get aircraft moving,

contact center teams work overtime to take care of our

customers, and our airport customer service staff works

tirelessly to deliver bags and board flights. As our

operation improves in the days ahead, we will be on track to

restore our operation for the holiday weekend.''

Many passengers who were left stranded have taken to social

media to express their anger, with some saying they were

forced to sleep in airport terminals.

``My wife & 2 toddlers are sleeping in an airport terminal

tonight because @united bumped the flight three times, put on

standby for a midnight flight, then bumped again until

tomorrow morning,'' a Twitter user named John wrote.

``On hold w a rep since 3 pm today. Nobody at counters.

They don't care.''

Some, including Margo Osborne, said they would never fly

with certain airlines again.

``Will never fly @united again!'' Osborne tweeted. ``1000s

stranded at Newark, after countless flights canceled. No one

allowed to retrieve checked bag, even if u have medical equip

packed inside. Customer service was worst I've seen.''

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has blamed a shortage of

federal air traffic controllers for massive disruptions at

its Newark hub last weekend.

Over 150,000 customers in the New York City area were

impacted because of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

``staffing issues and their ability to manage traffic,''

Kirby wrote in a memo to employees on Monday night, according

to Fox Business. ``The FAA frankly failed us this weekend.''

``We will always collaborate with anyone seriously willing

to join us to solve a problem,'' an FAA spokesperson told

Newsweek.

The spokesperson said the FAA is ``working closely with

airlines to keep aircraft moving safely and efficiently over

the Fourth of July travel period.''

They also pointed to weekly updates on the FAA's website

with preliminary data on the causes of delays.

``Current delay data shows the vast majority are due to

weather and volume,'' the spokesperson said.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department

includes the FAA, took to social media on Wednesday to

reassure travelers that the FAA is working to ``find

solutions.''

``We are closely watching air travel this week. Weather has

been rough, especially in the last four or five days, it's

caused a lot of cancellations and delays for many passengers

around the country,'' he said in a video posted on Twitter.

``We've known that summer is going to be a stress test on

the system. The good news is we've seen a lot of progress

this year through Memorial Day and also a major improvement

to passenger rights compared to a year ago . . . FAA is

continuing to work around the clock with airlines and within

FAA's own operations to find solutions, get creative, make

sure the system is as resilient as possible.''

Last week, Buttigieg issued a new warning to airlines,

telling them that flights could be disrupted because some

planes lack updated equipment to prevent interference from

new 5G wireless service. He said only planes retrofitted with

the right equipment will be allowed to land when visibility

is poor, such as during bad weather.

Mr. Chair, with thousands of Fourth of July vacations lying in ruins, it is vitally important for accountability as to what went so catastrophically wrong with our Nation's aviation transportation system.

That is why I was proud to author my amendment to require the GAO to report to Congress on the actions of the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration related to this travel nightmare.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Madam Speaker, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act will impact anyone boarding a plane in the United States.

The bill improves runway safety, enhances cybersecurity, and upgrades the all-important air traffic control system. It also works to address staffing

shortages facing the airlines, the FAA, and the NTSB.

House Republicans have crafted an FAA authorization bill of substance, one that makes critical improvements in aviation and promotes oversight over the agencies regulating the industry, and we will see even more oversight if my amendment is passed. It requires the Government Accountability Office to issue a report explaining what caused the thousands of flight cancellations around the July Fourth holiday.

Madam Speaker, you won't find many existing diversity and inclusion programs in this legislation, but you will find policies that make the skies safer for all passengers no matter their race or their background.

Madam Speaker, about 20 miles outside my district, in Franklin, Tennessee, a 63-year-old is facing some of the worst charges on the books, including assault and rape. It breaks my heart to say these crimes involved children as young as 9 years old. Investigators have identified several victims, but they are asking more to come forward as some of these crimes go back more than a decade. Police say the accused predator targeted playgrounds and lured young boys under the guise that he was a soccer coach recruiting for his team.

Days after this news broke, families learned the man accused of violating their community, their children, had lived there for 20 years but had no business being there. The accused man is an illegal immigrant.

I signed a letter, joined by Members of the Tennessee delegation, led by Senator Marsha Blackburn, asking the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas several questions, including why this man was able to go under the radar for so long.

This is a very grim example of the very real consequences open border policies are having on State after State, county after county, community after community.

Nearly 20,000 pounds of fentanyl have been seized at the border since this fiscal year started last October. That is already more than last fiscal year's total, and we still have more than 2 months left in this one. Furthermore, since October 1, Customs and Border Protection officials have caught more than 125 people trying to cross the southern border who are on the terrorist watch list.

No one in this body should glaze over a number like that. Let me repeat: 125 possible terrorists have tried to enter our country since last October. That is just the number we know about. That is more than fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 combined. How many, we might ask, have managed to cross that we don't know about?

We know, for example, that 1.5 million illegal immigrants have successfully evaded law enforcement since this administration took over the border. How many of that 1.5 million were, in fact, terrorists? How many were smuggling drugs that will kill our young people? How many are sexual offenders who will abuse our children?

Yet, in May, the Biden administration announced it would be releasing a flood of immigrants into the United States with no way of keeping track of them. Instead of getting a grip on this humanitarian and national security crisis, this President and his administration have been busy fighting title 42 and the Trump-era remain in Mexico policy. To be fair, the President did make his first-ever trip to the border, in his 50-year political career, in January.

As we continue to see records being broken, crime soaring, fentanyl popping up in all corners of our country and taking the lives of an entire generation of young people, overdose deaths rising, Madam Speaker, I rise today to once again implore President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas to do their constitutional duty and secure our southern border.

Mr. Speaker, the American people heard a stunning testimony from Special Counsel John Durham last week during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on his report examining the origins of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation against then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

During the committee hearing, Special Counsel Durham testified that the FBI did not have an adequate predicate to launch the investigation, the FBI failed to examine exculpatory evidence and interview key witnesses, and the FBI abused its Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act authorities. Special Counsel Durham also said that he was not aware of any evidence of collusion between President Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia.

As an attorney, I am alarmed by these revelations. The good folks of middle Tennessee deserve better from our country's premier law enforcement agency. House Republicans will do everything in our power to ensure our law enforcement institutions are carrying out the law equally so that we can end the two-tiered justice system in this country.

Madam Speaker, this week, House Republicans are committed to fulfilling our Commitment to America to end President Biden's border crisis and restore a nation that is safe.

Last month, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the use of public schools to house illegal immigrants.

Now, this week, we plan to pass H.R. 3941, the Schools Not Shelters Act, which prohibits the use of public elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education to provide shelter for illegal immigrants.

As many children across our country continue to recover from the pandemic-era learning loss, schools should be focused on helping students recover.

By housing illegal immigrants on school campuses, children are being put at risk. Elected officials who endorse these plans are sending a clear message to children and their parents that illegal immigrants and President Biden's failure to secure the southern border matter more than their children's education.

Now, make no mistake, President Biden's dangerous open-border policies are at fault for this dire situation. In the first 100 days, the President took more than 94 executive actions on immigration that immediately signaled to the world that our borders were open for illegal immigration and that they could count on President Biden to hold the door open for them, even if it meant sacrificing the safety and security of our country.

Since taking office, there have been over 5.5 million illegal crossings of our southern border. In addition to that, approximately 1.5 million immigrants have evaded apprehension by our hardworking Customs and Border Patrol agents.

This humanitarian crisis has gotten so bad that New York City's Immigration and Customs Enforcement office is fully booked through October 2032.

Had President Biden not halted construction of the southern border wall, ended President Trump's successful remain in Mexico policy, and concluded use of title 42, I am sure this historic crisis would not be this disastrous. Just like we have seen with Bidenomics, ``Bidengration'' has completely failed the American people.

Mr. Speaker, each time I meet with officials from the Nashville International Airport, which I have the honor of representing in Congress, topics consistently include workforce shortages and recruitment issues.

That is why I rise today in support of H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act. This legislation will streamline Federal Aviation Administration operations, help grow the aviation workforce, invest in airport infrastructure, and improve the flying experience for millions of Americans. It will improve the passenger experience by making key improvements to the air traffic control system.

The aviation industry supports 11 million jobs. This bill aims to ensure it continues to grow and flourish for years to come. It supports programs that will attract more pilots, mechanics, and assembly workers. It also helps ensure those folks are supported and that FAA rules and regulations aren't getting in the way of innovation, competition, or employee retention.