Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, last week the President gave a campaign kickoff speech on the House floor masquerading as a State of the Union Address.

Over the weekend, the mainstream media praised the President's speech, although the speech failed to address the skyrocketing crime impacting our cities, our overrun southern border making every town in Tennessee a border town, and rapidly rising energy and grocery costs. The only thing the President did do following this speech was apologize to an accused murderer.

It is a shame that the President of the United States took the time out of his day to say that he regretted calling an illegal immigrant and accused murderer an illegal.

The President continues to embarrass not only himself but our entire Nation when he cowers to the extremely far-left base of his party in an attempt not to offend an illegal immigrant who allegedly murdered a U.S. citizen.

Instead of this embarrassing, groveling, and apologetic display of regret, the President should have taken the time over this weekend to call the family of Laken Riley, the murder victim whose name, not on his teleprompter, he misstated during his campaign speech on the House floor. I am sure there were many others he could have called and apologized to for his open-border policies that have allowed massive amounts of fentanyl into our country, leading to the death of thousands of Americans.

Unfortunately, an apology won't bring those lives back. Even when presented with a solution to the President's self-created and self- inflicted border crisis, he has denied it. House Republicans like myself passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, almost 10 months ago which would enact the strongest border security measures our country has ever seen.

This was in direct response to the border crisis caused by the President's disastrous decision to end the remain in Mexico policy, to end title 42, to end border wall construction, and to abuse parole authority.

Madam Speaker, we can only hope the President's State of the Union Address was the last of his tenure as President of the United States because the Tennesseans I represent cannot afford another 4 years of the catastrophes caused by this President and his administration. They would much rather have a secure border, strong national security, and a lower cost of living so that they can enjoy their lives as God intended them to do.

It is because of this and many other examples that are far too many to mention in just one 5-minute speech that we must denounce these policies, Madam Speaker.

That is why I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to join me in voting for H. Res. 1065, introduced by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. De La Cruz), who delivered, frankly, a phenomenal rebuttal speech in Spanish to the President's speech that denounced the Biden administration's feckless immigration policies.

H. Res. 1065 condemns President Biden and his administration for their disastrous open-border policies and holds them accountable for creating the worst border security crisis in U.S. history.

Mr. Speaker, TikTok, the Chinese-controlled social media company that gives the Chinese Communist Party access to billions of bits of data about virtually every aspect of American life, has obviously become a clear and present danger to its American users and to the United States itself.

With 170 million users in the U.S., including two out of every three American teenagers, we cannot turn a blind eye to the enormous risk that this app poses.

That is why I rise in support of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. This bipartisan bill, which passed last week unanimously out of committee, aims to prevent foreign adversaries from targeting, controlling, surveilling, and manipulating the American people online. It would specifically apply to apps controlled by China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia.

Let me be clear: This bill does not ban TikTok. It simply requires TikTok to divest and separate itself from control by the Communist Government of China and, in doing so, prioritizes the safety and security of our Nation.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 6276, the USE IT Act. The USE IT Act is a commonsense bill that requires a report on the occupancy and actual utilization rates of public buildings and federally leased spaces occupied by Federal agencies.

The report must also list any costs to taxpayers associated with capacity that exceeds occupancy.

The USE IT Act also requires the government to sell or dispose of excess capacity space or consolidate space in buildings with a utilization rate below 60 percent.

Mr. Chair, Tennesseans are rightfully outraged that their taxpayer dollars are paying for mostly empty Federal buildings.

Many of the folks I represent show up to work every day to put food on the table, care for their community, or teach and train the next generation of leaders. However, for some reason, those in Washington and around this country who collect a check from their taxpayer-funded job believe showing up for work is no longer necessary. They are mistaken.

In a report on the USE IT Act issued by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the committee noted that according to a recent Government Accountability Office, or GAO, report, 17 of the 24 agency headquarters in GAO's review were at 25 percent or less utilization.

The GAO report also noted that some agency headquarters had as low as 9 percent space utilization--9 percent.

Mr. Chair, think of it this way: A Federal building with an occupancy of 1,000 may only have 90 people working in it on any given workday. That is just ridiculous, frankly.

That is why I have offered my amendment, which would build upon the underlying bill by specifically requiring that Federal agencies report to inspectors general any large public building or federally leased spaces with a capacity of 500 employees or more and a utilization rate below 20 percent during the reporting period in the underlying bill.

My amendment excludes vacant office buildings.

Any large building or federally leased space identified would be forwarded to the relevant inspector general to conduct an investigation to determine whether there is any evidence of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement.

It is simple, Mr. Chair. If a building meant for more than 500 people is being utilized less than 20 percent, the inspector general must investigate whether there is fraud, waste, and mismanagement taking place.

It is unfortunate that although many large Federal office buildings are operating at frighteningly low occupancy rates, Federal agencies are not taking steps to increase building utilization rates, actions to reduce their footprint, or any meaningful movements to reduce the operating costs of these empty office spaces despite repeated warnings from Congress to do so.

It is imperative that inspectors general investigate whether waste, fraud, and mismanagement is taking place in these buildings that aren't being utilized to ensure that we are spending taxpayer dollars wisely.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Chair, thankfully, the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are passed us. However, most Federal agencies have not adjusted to this post-pandemic period, which is reflected in the deserted Federal office buildings throughout our country.

I hope all Members will support this effort to bring greater transparency and accountability to large Federal buildings and federally leased spaces with low utilization rates by supporting my amendment and the underlying bill.

In closing, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on my amendment, ``yes'' on the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, last week, President Biden delivered hopefully his final State of the Union Address that included heavily selective statistics that painted a one-sided account of the state of our economy. I rise to add some important context that gives a better snapshot of the economic conditions facing working families I represent in Tennessee.

For starters, American families now spend an average of $1,000 more per month than 3 years ago just to get by. This means they are paying 20 percent more for necessities like food and rent and nearly 30 percent more to power and heat their homes. It is a staggering $11,400 more every year just on the basics, just to get by.

The average monthly payment on a new home was $1,746 before this President. Now, the average mortgage on a new home is $3,322 every month. That is almost double. These rising mortgage payments are a direct result of higher interest rates, which are due to the reckless and runaway spending of this administration.

I believe it wouldn't have been this way if President Biden had heeded the advice of economists from both parties and fiscal conservatives like myself. Had he not advocated for the disastrous spending bills, which passed on a mostly partisan basis, the economy would not have overheated to the extent that it has.

The $1.9 trillion stimulus package that the President proposed and passed early in his administration directly links to the soaring inflation that immediately followed, and it was to be expected. In fact, former Democratic Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted exactly this outcome.

Making matters worse, this administration has hardly mentioned the ballooning national debt, which now approaches $34.5 trillion. In the first quarter of this fiscal year, the Federal Government spent half a trillion more than it collected. This is simply unsustainable.

In his address last week, we also heard the President tout small business growth and low employment. The speech, however, did not include the barriers employers around the country endure because of his administration's policies. To date, the Biden administration has finalized 838 new regulations, which come with a projected negative economic impact of $470 billion annually and 291 million hours of additional paperwork for American workers.

I will close with another statistic. A recent national poll shows that only 38 percent of voters approve of this administration's handling of the economy. More than half of those polled believe President Biden's policies will continue to increase prices. I agree.

That is just one of the reasons I am committed to supporting policies that foster economic growth, unburden our job creators, and end the reckless and unnecessary deficit spending.

Our children, my children, cannot afford the reckless spending policies of this administration, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that they do not have to foot the bill for this administration's mistakes and misguided policies.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act, or the USE IT Act.

This legislation, which was introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry), directs the Office of Management and Budget, OMB, and the General Service Administrations, GSA, to establish standard methodologies to measure occupancy in public buildings and federally leased space.

It also requires GSA and OMB to take steps to reduce or consolidate space if utilization falls below 60 percent. Currently, Federal office space utilization averages an unbelievably low 25 percent or less for most major agencies.

This bill, which I am proud to support, would ensure our Federal workers are utilizing the workspace taxpayers are paying for.

Mr. Speaker, it has been 4 years since the pandemic. It is past time Federal workers return to the office where they are most efficient to ensure they remain accountable to the taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I, like many Americans, thought when the Governors of Texas and Florida began transporting illegal immigrants to blue cities or sanctuary cities across the country that change would follow. It did not.

Last October, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, went to Mexico to send a message that there was ``no more room in New York.'' Even our Nation's largest city cannot sustain more than 100,000 illegal immigrants in less than 2 years.

Yet, the President has continued his open-border policies and his unprecedented catch and release operation. He and his administration also continue peddling the falsehood that our borders are secure.

Now, Mayor Adams is reported to have made arrangements to bus immigrants back to the border. There is a reason for this. It is not racist or anti-immigrant. It is because the President's policy is unsustainable. I stand with the many Tennesseans I represent who embrace legal immigration but who want to see our border brought under control.

Mr. Speaker, I was troubled to recently hear that former chief of Border Patrol, Raul Ortiz, never spoke to either President Biden or the Vice President and so-called border czar Kamala Harris in the 2 years he headed up security at our southern border.

In a recent interview, Chief Ortiz said he never had a single conversation with either of them. He went on to say: ``That is a problem,'' given that he commanded 21,000 border patrolmen.

I would argue it is more than a problem. At the very least, it is an indication that border security was never and has not been a priority for our Commander in Chief.

It is a bit like abandoning a soldier on the battlefield, Mr. Speaker. Because of the policies of the Biden administration, Ortiz had to endure an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration month after month. In his 2\1/2\ years at the helm, there were more than 5 million illegal immigrant encounters and 1\1/2\ million got-aways during that period. His patrolmen seized more than 50,000 pounds of fentanyl at the southern border by the time of his retirement at the end of last June.

When asked about whether the White House was sending mixed messages to Mexico, Central America, and beyond, he said, without hesitation: Yes.

That mixed messaging was heard loud and clear when President Biden was on the campaign trail in 2019 and said that the United States could take another 2 million immigrants ``in a heartbeat.'' That message got even louder after he took office. In no time, he halted Border Patrol activity, wall construction, and ended the successful remain in Mexico asylum policy.

It is also important to consider that Ortiz was at the helm when title 42 was lifted. All of the experts warned that an unprecedented surge in illegal immigration would follow if that authority was lifted. Nevertheless, the Biden administration fought tirelessly for its end.

Imagine overseeing the border and not getting a single call from those undoing years of border policy. Imagine the stress, the staffing challenges, the human trafficking and drug crime, all happening with the stroke of a pen and without your input.

Under the Biden administration, we have seen an unprecedented abuse of parole authority, resulting in more than 1 million immigrants being allowed to enter the United States. The President clearly kept that 2019 campaign promise, and it appears he kept his border officials in the dark in the process.

Ultimately, a phone call won't solve this crisis, and we don't need new immigration laws to solve the invasion at the southern border. Don't be fooled by the Democrats and the President calling for new legislation and resources. What we need is a President willing to enforce existing law and one who will prioritize the men and women who protect our borders over those crossing them illegally.

The main need for new legislation is to force the President to enforce existing laws and to complete the border wall. The House passed that legislation, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, almost 10 months ago, only to have it sit idly on the Senate side and be ignored.

Mr. Speaker, the White House is attempting to downplay the threat that the wide-open southern border presents to our national security. This follows the tragic death of Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley. Investigators say she was killed by an illegal immigrant who was paroled into this country in 2022.

The House Homeland Security Committee found that 600,000 nondetained criminal illegal aliens are in the country. Let me repeat that. We have more than 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States.

In a 2021 memo, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote to the staff: ``The fact that an individual is a removable noncitizen should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them.''

The Biden administration must end this deadly catch and release scheme. It is time to close the border so that overwhelmed border officials have the manpower to deport these criminals. American lives are depending on it.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, this Chamber will host President Biden as he delivers his third State of the Union Address.

He will likely tout his anti-energy agenda and out-of-control government spending that has resulted in crippling inflation not seen in decades, not seen since I was a senior in high school.

He will also attempt to blame congressional Republicans for his own failure to secure our borders, which, as most Americans know, is a crisis caused by this President.

In a rare recent visit to the border in Brownsville, Texas, President Biden expressed a dire need for Republicans to ``show a little spine'' and pass legislation.

Some of the folks living in that border town saw straight through the visit. One resident put it best. ``By a stroke of the pen,'' he said, ``you could stop this. You don't need Congress.'' Others called the visit too little, too late. I couldn't agree more.

This isn't just an important issue for the folks living along the border. In fact, this issue is the number one issue facing the country.

It is an issue in my home State, where 50 Tennessee National Guard soldiers volunteered recently to deploy to the southern border to help Border Patrol officials combat drug, crime, and human trafficking.

Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State because of its deep tradition of volunteer military service, a nickname that comes with a lot of pride. It is just unfortunate that 50 men and women are having to do what the President could do--but won't--and work to secure the border.

This is a self-inflicted crisis that has turned every State, including my own State of Tennessee, into a border State.

The President halted border wall construction and ended the successful remain in Mexico program. Since taking office, he has also admitted more than 1 million illegal immigrants into the country in a blatant abuse of the executive parole authority that Congress had granted to the executive branch.

Despite having no way of tracking many of these people, the Biden administration continues this historic catch and release scheme.

It sends a message to the rest of the world that our borders are open. None of these disastrous policies require an act of Congress, just as reversing them won't require new legislation.

There have been more than 8.7 million illegal border crossings nationwide under President Biden, more than 7.2 million crossings at the southern border alone. That is greater than the population of 36 States in our Nation.

More than 20,000 Communist Chinese nationals have illegally crossed the southern border just since October 1 of last year. They make up the fastest growing demographic entering our

country illegally. You don't need a spy balloon if you can just walk right into the country.

For 35 months in a row under this administration, the number of illegal immigrants encountered at our southern border was higher than the worst month under the previous President, President Trump. We are on track to break more records this fiscal year, as CBP has already reported more than 1 million encounters.

I would argue we no longer have a border crisis in this country, Mr. Speaker, we have a border catastrophe.

Mr. Speaker, during a rare visit to the southern border last week, President Biden expressed a dire need for congressional Republicans ``to show a little spine'' and pass border legislation.

Let's be clear: House Republicans have passed legislation. The Secure the Border Act of 2023 would require construction of the border wall to restart, increase the number of Border Patrol agents, and strengthen and streamline our existing asylum process. Lastly--and this one is critical--it would finally put a stop to the Biden administration's massive catch and release operation.

More than 1 million illegal immigrants have been released into the United States on parole under President Biden--a blatant abuse of executive parole authority under the law.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, none of the President's open-border policies require an act of Congress, just as reversing them won't require new legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah, Vice Chairman Moore, for yielding and for claiming this time this evening to discuss these important issues facing our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, the President of the United States will appear in this Chamber to deliver his annual State of the Union Address and, hopefully, his last.

I say this because since the President has taken office, prices have risen by 17.9 percent, according to the Consumer Price Index. If you ask the folks I represent in Tennessee, they have gone up far more than that.

Compared to just 3 years ago, Americans are spending an extra $1,019 a month and real wages are down by more than 2 percent thanks to the Biden administration's economic policies. I believe the President calls it Bidenomics.

Since taking the majority, House Republicans have fought tirelessly to rein in the Biden administration's reckless spending that has caused record-high inflation, the highest inflation since I was just a junior in high school back in the early 1980s.

A lot of left-leaning political pundits will criticize this Congress for not following in the footsteps of the last Congress, which was led entirely by Democrats that passed multiple spending

monstrosities, but I will argue that it is a job well done by Republicans to hold the line and not give in to the Democrats' insatiable desire to recklessly borrow money from future generations of Americans and spend it on projects like Green New Deal initiatives and an army of new IRS agents.

These economic policies pursued by the Biden administration have made it harder than ever before for new home buyers to purchase a home. Even one out of eight retirees plan to return to work in 2024, according to a recent survey. They largely cite inflation as the main reason for doing so.

Mr. Speaker, Americans should not be subjected to the constant threat of rising prices wreaking havoc on their paychecks and pocketbooks. As our national deficit and debts exponentially increase due to rising interest rates, our country has no choice other than to restore fiscal common sense in Washington. That is why House Republicans are leading the way to do exactly that.

Madam Speaker, in the final week of the 1980 Presidential campaign, former President Ronald Reagan posed an important question to voters: ``Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?'' We don't have to wait until November to answer that same question today. The answer lies right outside this building.

If you are not sure whether you are better off than you were 4 years ago, consider that last year, Washington, D.C., saw 274 homicides. That is the highest number in almost 30 years.

Homicides are up 23 percent from 2019 in Chicago. In New York City, homicides are up 23 percent from 2019. Felony assault is up 35 percent. Car thefts have almost tripled. A record 5,363 NYPD officers were injured on the job last year. In major cities across this country, organized retail theft has claimed more than $112 billion in property, up from just $94 billion in 2021.

There are two reasons for this, Madam Speaker: bad policy and bad messaging.

House Republicans are committed to restoring law and order and opposing all efforts to defund the police and cracking down on rogue prosecutors who refuse to hold criminals accountable.

We passed into law a bill to stop the D.C. Council's dangerous plan to change the criminal code. It would have ended mandatory minimums for many offenses and reduced maximum penalties for burglary, carjacking, and robbery.

According to a recent article from The Washington Post, the D.C. Council is finally starting to reverse its position on these radical, progressive criminal reforms that it has been considering. It turns out that advocating for criminals isn't the best approach to stopping crime.

D.C. lawmakers are also starting to see the damage caused by catch and release. If things keep moving in this direction, we might even begin to see those accused of violent personal crimes remain behind bars while they await trial.

Last year, this city also experienced the worst officer shortage it has seen in 50 years. This is a direct result of the defund the police movement. It was more than a ridiculous slogan. It was a dangerous slogan that, unfortunately, garnered some traction around the country. It has become a cynical rallying cry, and I believe it is the reason law enforcement agencies across the country are having difficulty filling open positions.

Another reason is, frankly, it is a more dangerous job today than it was a few short years ago. Last year, 378 officers were shot. Madam Speaker, 46 of them lost their lives. That is up 20 percent from 2020.

So, no, we are not better off than we were 4 years ago, Madam Speaker. In fact, those who live and visit our Nation's Capital are not better off than they were just 2 years ago.

House Republicans are proud to stand with the men and women who keep our communities safe. We are also committed to taking on the extreme policies of the Biden administration, including bail reform and our wide-open southern border.

Mr. Speaker, before President Biden took office, there was no war in Ukraine, Israel had not suffered a brutal attack from Iran- backed Hamas terrorists, and America was respected on the world stage.

Now, 3 years into the Biden administration, a message has been sent far and wide to our enemies and adversaries around the world: America's leadership is weak. Whether it was the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, the appeasement of Iran, or the delay and downright refusal to stand up to Moscow, the world has been plunged into chaos.

Now, we must deal with the consequences. Military servicemembers' lives are at risk, Mr. Speaker. Our enemies are emboldened more than ever. That is why House Republicans are pursuing policies that counter China, promote peace through strength, and support our troops and allies to deter increasing global threats.

We are committed to the security of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, we recently learned that the Department of Education would be shifting another $1.2 billion in student loan debt from borrowers to the taxpayers of this country. This is yet another example of President Biden's administration abusing whatever regulatory lever they can find, every executive action he can think up to usurp Congress and continue this unjust bailout scheme.

Unfortunately, the scheme is working. In recent months, tens of billions of dollars in borrowed money are no longer due for repayment. Let's be clear. Student loan debt can't be forgiven. It is simply being transferred to hardworking American taxpayers, most of whom never went to college or took out student loans.

These tactics come despite what happened last summer when the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Biden administration's previous student loan handout plan totaling more than $400 billion. The High Court found, in laymen's terms, that a President cannot spend hundreds of billions of dollars with the stroke of a pen.

This is one of the most regressive ideas that I have seen in my time in Congress. It does nothing to solve the ballooning cost of a college education in this country. It simply adds to our national debt, which already, of course, sits at more than $34.2 trillion.

We know that 43 million out of 255 million adults in the United States have some kind of student loan debt. We also know that $1.7 trillion in outstanding college debt is disproportionately held by those earning the highest incomes in this country. It makes no sense for a blue-collar worker in Tennessee to be forced to pay off the college debt of a Harvard-educated doctor or lawyer.

We have the freedom to choose whether to pursue higher education in this country. You can choose to forgo a 4-year degree, as millions of successful Americans have done, but this administration would have you pay for the 4-year degrees of others regardless of your choice.

More than 100 million Americans have built a life without taking on debt. In fact, I represent thousands of Tennesseans who earn a good living without having borrowed money to do so. Why should they foot the bill for those who chose to go to college? This sends a terrible message to an entire generation of undergraduates and soon-to-be undergraduates. Perhaps more importantly, this unjust and wrongheaded action on the part of President Biden incentivizes universities to continue raising tuition with impunity because students can now borrow the money to pay these outrageous tuitions without having to pay it back.

Furthermore, possibly the worst aspect of all of this is that every college graduate and every parent of a college graduate who did the honorable thing by paying off their student loans, often at great sacrifice, is now being harshly punished for having done so. It is also an ugly affront to the families across this country struggling to stay afloat amid record-high consumer prices as a result of Bidenflation.

There are already programs on the books to help those struggling to repay their student loans, like income-driven repayment plans, in which roughly 40 percent of borrowers are already enrolled. I urge the White House to end this cycle of adding billions to our debt with the stroke of a pen. Just as the Supreme Court determined last June, this kind of policy must be approved by Congress before it can be implemented.

Mr. Speaker, last summer, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against President Biden's student loan handout plan, totaling more than $400 billion.

The High Court determined that taking on that kind of debt, spending that much money, must be approved by Congress.

Despite this, we have seen the administration abuse whatever regulatory lever it can find, every executive action they can think up, to do it anyway.

Unfortunately, it is working. In recent months, tens of billions of dollars in borrowed money are no longer due for payment.

Let's be clear. Student loan debt can't be forgiven. It is simply being transferred to the American taxpayers, regardless of whether they went to college themselves or if they did the right thing and paid their own debt off.

I urge the White House to end this cycle of adding billions to our debt with the stroke of a pen. We are already an unprecedented $34.2 trillion in the hole.