Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join the majority of Tennesseans who stand in support of America's most important Middle Eastern ally, Israel.

Unfortunately, radical, progressive Democrats have turned their back on Israel. Democrats have shown time and time again where their priorities truly lie, favoring an Army of IRS agents over security assistance when Israel was in its most dire need.

Now progressive Democrats have chosen once again to turn their backs on our democratic ally in the Middle East by boycotting Prime Minister Netanyahu's joint address before this body. History will not view these dark and dangerous decisions lightly. Let the record show progressive Democrats sided with the pro-Hamas base of their party.

As a staunch supporter of Israel, I will be honored to be present in the House Chamber for Prime Minister Netanyahu's historic joint address.

We must never waver, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the American people continue to learn about the security failures leading up to the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. They deserve to know what happened and that this will never happen again.

Yesterday, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified in the House Oversight Committee after being subpoenaed. Her testimony should have been voluntary, as times such as these require transparency. Nevertheless, House Members, on a bipartisan basis, are committed to getting to the bottom of what happened that awful day in Pennsylvania.

I commend the heroism exhibited by the agents working the President's security detail, yet the agency and its leadership for which they serve must be held accountable. With more than $3 billion in annual funding, a would-be assassin should never have been able to fire multiple rounds at a Presidential candidate from the top of a roof just 147 yards away. This is unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the House passed the SAVE Act to prevent noncitizens from voting in American elections.

Unfortunately, this has become a dire necessity to secure our elections after the President and his administration have allowed millions of illegal immigrants to enter our country. Not only are our elections at risk of interference from this influx of illegal immigrants, but so is our national security.

More than 350 individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watch list were found trying to cross our southern border. Surely there are many more who have successfully made their way through the border.

Mr. Speaker, what will it take for the President, his administration, impeached Secretary Mayorkas, and congressional Democrats to wake up to this impending disaster?

I hope it doesn't come to that.

For the sake of all Tennesseans, I will stand firm to support policies that secure our borders.

Mr. Speaker, as much as the White House would like to move on from the terrible debate performance we saw less than 2 weeks ago, it is still on the minds of many Americans, including my own. Like many, I am not only concerned about who is in the Oval Office in 2025, but I am concerned about the weeks and months between now and Inauguration Day.

The American people deserve to know their Commander in Chief can do the job. They deserve to know why he requires pictures of stages and podiums before he attends events. They deserve to have their many, many questions answered.

Unfortunately, President Biden has decided that one recorded, in- person interview and a politically charged letter will suffice.

We would be well served not to forget Special Counsel Robert Hur's report from February describing the President's memory as significantly limited. More importantly, we must not forget his conclusion that a potential trial over the President's apparently intentional illegal possession of classified documents would result in a jury essentially feeling bad for a forgetful old man.

Following that frank and damning report, the President's chief of staff responded by saying: No one works harder and asks tougher questions than the President.

In hindsight, it appears he was willing to surrender his personal credibility in an attempt to keep the President's cognitive maladies hidden. Mitch Landrieu, national co-chair of the Biden campaign, said of the President: ``He's on his game.''

Again, in hindsight, perhaps the game he was referring to might have been shuffleboard.

Weeks before the debate, we saw the headline ``Biden Appears to Freeze,'' detailing an event from the White House. We have endured 3\1/ 2\ years of similar stories.

Just days into his Presidency, The New York Times published a story titled: ``The Many Ways That Joe Biden Trips Over His Own Tongue.''

In May of 2022, The Washington Post published an article titled: ``Three theories on Biden's repeated Taiwan gaffes.''

The one I remember most is from Reuters 2 years ago which reads: ``Gaffe or insight? Deciphering Biden's unguarded answers.''

The American people should not have to decipher anything, Mr. Speaker. I, along with many of the Tennesseans I represent, believe we are still the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan referenced.

In this country, the First Amendment enables us to ask frank questions. In this country, we hold our elected officials to account.

Many of us remember 2 months before the debate when the President literally read the words: ``Four more years. Pause'' at an event.

We also recall this year when President Biden mistakenly claimed he was Vice President during the pandemic.

I, along with many other Members of the House of Representatives on our side of the aisle, have expressed our serious concerns with what strongly appears to be a debilitating, cognitive decline for quite a while now. Yet, those concerns were dismissed by the mainstream media as rightwing propaganda for all these years, and Congressional Democrats made similar allegations or remained silent altogether. They all knew these concerns with the President's cognitive limitations were credible.

Now, since the debate, the American people share these concerns, too. They are used to worrying about the consequences of the open-border policies of this administration and the crippling inflation that the administration's policies have produced, but now they are also concerned about whether he can even withstand the job itself.

Since the debate, we have heard nothing but weak excuses: a cold, a lack of sleep, jet lag from travel that took place 15 days before. The list continues to grow.

Those who have spread the notion that President Biden is as sharp as a tack and at the top of his game will have to answer for this big coverup. Indeed, they are complicit in the credible anxiety that the American people feel.

If we suffer a major national security incident which our impaired President fails to handle properly, they will be complicit in something much worse.

Mr. Speaker, it is past time for our President to pass the baton on to another and for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who have helped to perpetuate this coverup to switch course and do the right thing.

Mr. Speaker, month after month, the American people endure higher utility bills and rising costs at the grocery store and the gas pump.

Inflation has risen by more than 20 percent since President Biden took office. That is just an average. Every day, folks are actually paying 35 percent more for flour, 40 percent more for eggs, and 27 percent more for butter. That is on top of paying 29 percent more for electricity, about 55 percent more for a gallon of gas, and 21 percent more in monthly rent.

It adds up to more than $1,000 a month for the same goods and services that American families were buying before these historic price increases. This is a direct result of the Biden administration's overspending and overregulation.

While we hear White House officials continue to dismiss the sticker shock that Americans face every day, House Republicans are committed to reining in the reckless spending in Washington and restoring fiscal sanity.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the vice chairman for yielding me time tonight.

Mr. Speaker, election officials from my home State of Tennessee are perplexed as to why they are not allowed to certify U.S. citizenship when registering individuals to vote. Oftentimes, they tell me it is against Federal law, and they have no idea why.

That is why today the House passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or the SAVE Act, which will update this archaic and idiotic impediment to securing our Nation's elections. Not only will it allow State election officials to ask prospective voters to certify their citizenship status, but it will require it by law.

My friends on the left and in the mainstream media love to argue how voting in American elections as a noncitizen is already illegal. Well, Mr. Speaker, so is entering our country illegally through the southern border. That doesn't seem to stop progressive Democrats or the Biden administration from welcoming them into our communities with open arms.

Additionally, in order to certify one's citizenship, the SAVE Act requires an individual to actually provide proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. Again, my friends would argue that this isn't necessary because it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in Federal elections. Well, how do we currently confirm people's citizenship status? We require would-be voters to swear but not prove that they are U.S. citizens.

Democrats love to imagine a world that exists where no one, I repeat no one, is lying when filling out these applications because according to them, illegal immigrants don't vote in our elections. Give me a break.

The SAVE Act is as common sense as it gets. It protects what is most sacred to Americans--their right to vote. It allows State officials to accept a wide variety of documents to make it easy to register, provide States with access to Federal databases so that they can remove noncitizens from their rolls, and it requires the Department of Homeland Security to notify a State chief election official whenever an individual has been naturalized to ensure that our newest citizens who come to America the right way can exercise their right to vote.

I truly have no idea why anyone would be opposed to this bill, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps those opposed fear that with 100 percent secure and safe elections in the United States that they would not remain competitive in the next election. I truly can't think of any other reason to not vote for this bill.

It is no secret, Mr. Speaker. The Democrats have started saying the quiet part out loud. Letting millions of illegal immigrants into our country and letting them vote--that is their plan.

Republicans have a different plan for America--one built on honesty, safety, security, and accountability.

I stand in support of the millions of Americans who feel like their priorities, their votes, are being thrown away by each illegal immigrant voting in American elections. That is why I rise in support of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the negative national security consequences of 3\1/2\ years of President Biden's open-border policies.

While we hear President Biden and his allies boast about a so-called drop in illegal immigrant encounters in recent weeks, the number of national security threats resulting from this administration's policies continue to mount.

According to the Department of Homeland Security's own threat assessment for this year, illegal drugs produced in Mexico and sold in the United States will take more American lives than any other threat we face.

Further underscoring the threat our country faces due to the President's open-border policies, we learned 2 weeks ago that the Department of Homeland Security has identified more than 400 illegal immigrants that have entered the U.S. over the last 3 years as ``subjects of concern.'' They are subjects of concern because they were brought here by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network, according to sources who spoke with NBC News.

These unnamed officials report that 150 of these individuals have been arrested, but the whereabouts of many more are unknown. We also don't know whether the money earned in this human smuggling operation is funding ISIS activity.

A couple of weeks prior to this story, NBC also reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested eight men from Tajikistan, also for suspected affiliation with ISIS, in three major U.S. cities. This turned out to be an entirely separate ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network.

Mr. Speaker, these are just a couple of examples from recent weeks. We face many, many more national security threats that are a direct result of open borders and a refusal to uphold existing immigration laws in this country.

More than 350 illegal immigrants who are on the terror watch list have attempted to cross into the United States since President Biden took office. More than 1.8 million people have successfully evaded Border Patrol. Hundreds of thousands of unknown individuals have been admitted into the U.S. on parole with no way of tracking many of these individuals. This widespread abuse of parole authority was a key factor in my vote to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. It has truly paved the way for countless instances of crime across this country.

The President's recent executive order is far too little, far too late. It doesn't go far enough to treat these threats to our safety and security with the seriousness that they merit. The action, however, does prove what I have been saying and arguing for months, that the President has and has had the authority to end this crisis at our border. It also highlights the fact that our Commander in Chief waited 3\1/2\ years before taking any action to curb the unprecedented flow of illegal immigrants into this country.

This isn't hyperbole. These are facts. As sobering as they may be, I fear they will persist as long as President Biden or whoever is making decisions at the White House is in the White House.

Madam Speaker, only Americans should vote in American elections. That is why I rise in support of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE Act, introduced by my friend from Texas (Mr. Roy).

This bill would require States to obtain proof of citizenship, in person, when registering an individual to vote and also requires States to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. These proposals are as commonsense as it gets.

Unfortunately, many on the other side disagree. While falsely alleging that the 2016 election was stolen due to foreign election interference, they ignore the very real threat of foreign election interference that currently exists.

Maybe if President Biden didn't hold the door open for more than 9.5 million immigrants to enter our country illegally, this bill wouldn't be necessary. Because he did, it is essential to pass the SAVE Act to uphold the integrity of our elections.

Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve to know whether or not the President of the United States is fully capable of performing his duties. After his cringeworthy debate performance, numerous public appearances, and even small, private gatherings, many have concluded that he is not.

However, the President's doctor stated in a routine physical assessment almost 5 months ago in February that President Biden `` . . . fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.''

Mr. Speaker, how can someone who needs pictures of what a podium and a stage are fully execute all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations?

That is the question House Republicans are asking by calling on the President's doctor to participate in a transcribed interview before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Additionally, House Republicans are determined to receive the audiotapes from the President's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur.

Yes, this is the same interview where Special Counsel Hur decided not to charge the President for his mishandling of classified documents because they were worried the President would `` . . . present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.''

Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker. Our country is in serious danger. Our enemies are watching the President let in millions of illegal immigrants at our southern border. They are watching as he fumbles his way through interviews where the questions are written by his staff beforehand.

This is a constitutional crisis. Each administration official, campaign staffer, congressional Democrat, or members of the press who have shielded the

President's condition from the American public are complicit in a coverup that is causing our country great pain.

Enough is enough. Mr. Speaker, it is time to restore accountability and respectability to this White House and the American people. It is the least the Tennesseans I serve back home deserve: A President of the United States capable of doing the job.

Mr. Speaker, President Biden is attempting to gaslight the American people by touting a 40 percent drop in daily illegal border crossings from the last couple of weeks.

He even implied that the so-called drop shows a more secure border than the one he inherited from President Trump. That is a gross misrepresentation.

No matter what the border numbers from June turn out to be, one month won't change the more than 9.6 million immigrant encounters under this President.

Let's look at the facts. May marked 39 straight months of more illegal immigrant encounters than even the highest month under the Trump administration. President Biden simply cannot rewrite history.

Each time the President boasts about a drop in encounters, he is acknowledging that he could have acted 3\1/2\ years ago but instead put our Nation at risk with his open-border policies.

Madam Speaker, Tennesseans celebrating America's independence will have to pay more for their Fourth of July barbecues thanks to President Biden's disastrous economic policies that have caused rampant inflation.

According to the American Farm Bureau, the cost of a cookout has reached record highs, 30 percent higher than just 5 years ago or $71.22 for a 10-person barbecue.

Madam Speaker, while the President attempts to take away our freedoms by implementing his burdensome and wrongheaded policy agenda through executive action and administrative rulings, he is also undermining our ability to celebrate our freedoms by making almost everything more and more unaffordable.

Tennesseans have rightfully had enough and will have their voices heard this November. Until then, House Republicans are committed to holding the line on the Biden administration's desire to recklessly spend our country into oblivion.

Madam Speaker, in January of 2021, the average price for a gallon of gas was $2.39 nationally. Today, it is $3.49. These high prices are a direct result of Biden administration policies.

Tennessee families are not only paying more to drive to work and take their kids to school, they are also paying more to power their homes. Since President Biden took office, the average cost of a kilowatt of power is up 30 percent.

This is a direct result of the regulatory war being waged on domestic oil and gas production by the Biden administration. The current administration has taken more than 200 actions, all aimed at making American energy production more difficult, including killing the Keystone pipeline on day one.

Madam Speaker, the American people are tired of footing the bill for the Green New Deal agenda. Let's get our Nation's energy policy back on track so our families are better able to fill their gas tanks and pay their electric bills.

Madam Speaker, since President Biden has taken office, prices have risen 20.1 percent. That means the average American household is spending an average of $13,000 more a year for common household items.

Despite this out-of-control, spending-induced inflation, the Biden administration continues to overspend and overregulate.

In fact, in just 3\1/2\ years, this administration has finalized 991 new regulations. Those regulations will result in an estimated 300 million additional hours of paperwork every year for Americans and bring with them a total finalized cost of $1.6 trillion.

This comes as small business owners struggle to remain competitive and keep up with these rising costs.

Madam Speaker, it is past time the Biden administration ends its regulatory war against small businesses and unleash the American ingenuity and capitalism that has traditionally given Americans the highest standard of living in the world.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor and congratulate the 2024 College Baseball World Series champions, the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Big Orange got the job done last night, capping off a thrilling three-game series win in Omaha to complete a 60-win season and the first number one national seed to win the title since 1999.

Congratulations to Head Coach Tony Vitello, who has led the Volunteers to five straight NCAA tournaments, three College World Series appearances in 4 years, and the program's first-ever national title.

It was truly a team effort to reach this remarkable achievement. I include in the Record the names of the players, coaches, and support staff.

Coaches

Tony Vitello--Head Coach

Josh Elander--Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator

Frank Anderson--Assistant Coach/Pitching

Richard Jackson--Assistant Coach

Luke Bonfield--Director of Player Development

Parker Serrano--Student Assistant Coach

Players

Christian Moore

Ariel Antigua

Alex Perry

Cannon Peebles

Bradke Lohry

Nate Snead

Dylan Dreiling

Hunter Ensley

Cal Stark

Billy Amick

Ethan Payne

Reese Chapman

Charlie Taylor

JJ Garcia

Dalton Bargo

Robin Villeneuve

AJ Causey

Andrew Behnke

Colby Backus

Kavares Tears

Dean Curley

Blake Burke

Chris Stamos

Aaron Combs

Brady Robertson

Stone Lawless

Austin Hunley

Drew Beam

AJ Russell

Derek Schaefer

Kirby Connell

Blake Grimmer

Dylan Loy

Hunter High

Camden Bates

Luke Payne

Marcus Phillips

Matthew Davis

Brayden Sharp

Zander Sechrist

Support Staff

Quentin Eberhardt--Director of Baseball Sports Performance

Sean McCann--Video Coordinator

Zach Stovall--Director of Analytics

Jeff Wood--Associate Director of Sports Medicine-Baseball

Chad Zurcher--Director of Baseball Operations

Adam Low--Assistant Director of Baseball Operations

Mr. Speaker, what a way to make Tennessee proud. I congratulate the 2024 Tennessee Volunteers. The kings of college baseball reside on Rocky Top.

Protecting the Unborn

Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked 2 years since the Supreme Court decision that restored the right to life for so many individuals. Since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, an estimated 200,902 unborn children's lives have been protected. This is a tremendous achievement.

Despite these major milestones in the fight to protect the lives of the unborn, Democrats across this country continue their efforts to allow for limitless abortions and their disgusting desire to make America one of the most pro-abortion countries in the entire world.

It is no secret. They are saying the quiet part out loud.

Mr. Speaker, Democrats plan to abolish the Senate filibuster and pass legislation to ban States from having laws that protect unborn children and mandate all-trimester abortion in every State up until the moment a baby is born. This is unconscionable.

Thankfully, Tennesseans agreed and took decisive action to protect children. Since the Volunteer State's pro-

life protections went into place, more than 12,000 lives have been protected annually. That is more than 24,000 new Tennesseans who are a gift to this world and that otherwise would not have been given a chance just a little over 2 years ago.

As a Christian, a father of two boys, and a husband, I always stand up for what is right and try to be a voice for the voiceless. At a time in our world's history where there are so many evils, I can't think of many that are worse than the horror of abortion.

That is why I am proud to have fought alongside countless others to overturn Roe v. Wade, pass pro-life legislation in this House, and fight back against the White House's desire to allow for on-demand, taxpayer-funded abortion. Mr. Speaker, this is certainly a cause worthy of fighting for.

Mr. Speaker, after 3\1/2\ years of open-border policies, the Biden administration has turned every State in the Union into a border State.

On Monday, the special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Albuquerque was asked about the rise in violence and drug trafficking in New Mexico. He placed the blame squarely on the crisis along our southern border.

He said, in part: ``Part of the problem . . . is we have an incomplete border. There is no structure that separates our country from Mexico.''

He rightfully noted some are crossing in search of a better life, while others are crossing to avoid consequences and to commit crime.

This is a real-time example of how the border crisis continues to hurt the American people. It is also further proof that we should resume construction on the border wall and finish the job.