Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, last week our country lost yet another innocent soul to President Biden's administration's inexcusable and shameful open-border policy when 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley was brutally murdered by a Venezuelan citizen who illegally entered our country in September 2022.

Laken Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University's Athens campus who was out on a morning run near the intramural fields at the University of Georgia. May her soul rest in peace.

Unfortunately, this is what Americans across the country have come to expect since President Biden took office. His administration has enacted and implemented numerous open-border policies which directly and inevitably result in these sorts of tragedies.

In addition to this terrible tragedy that occurred in Georgia, local authorities in Virginia arrested a 32-year-old Venezuelan migrant in connection with the sexual assault of a minor. Just like the murderer who allegedly killed Laken Riley, this individual also entered the country in September of 2022 after being detained and released by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas.

In our Nation's Capital, Washington, D.C., a man accused of shooting three District of Columbia police officers was found to be in our country illegally with an active deportation order with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. All three of these terrible, completely avoidable tragedies occurred in the same calendar month, just a week apart.

Madam Speaker, pure and simple, these are the consequences of

the Biden's administration indefensible open-border policies.

There is no doubt that President Biden's feckless border policies are the direct causes of this once unimaginable level of crime and loss of life.

To make matters worse, just days after both of these immigrants entered our country illegally, President Biden, instead of trying to secure the border, erroneously stated that the border was actually secure and that it was ``not rational'' to deport illegal immigrants from Venezuela.

If deporting illegal immigrants is not rational, then that begs the question, Madam Speaker, what is rational? Simply doing nothing but keeping the border wide open surely isn't rational.

As a father of two young children growing up in President Biden's United States where every town has become a border town, I fear it is only a matter of time until one of these families that I represent in middle Tennessee faces the same consequences of the Biden administration's open-border policies.

I pray that day never comes. I also pray the President comes to his senses and ends the humanitarian crisis at the southern border that his administration's policies have caused.

The administration has already admitted they have the authority to restrict migrants' ability to seek asylum at the border. It is well past time that the President used that authority.

Until then, House Republicans like me will continue sounding the alarm and beating the drum to shed light on this administration's open- border policies and blatant abuse of our immigration laws.

Border security is national security, and strong borders make for strong countries and safe countries.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is Leap Day, which means the folks I represent in Tennessee will be subject to an extra day of the disastrous economic policies of the Biden administration that have resulted in record-high inflation and an unaffordable cost of living.

Look no further, Mr. Speaker, than a recent report that said December was the least affordable month on record to own a home, as home prices hit an all-time high.

December marked the 11th straight month of higher home prices and a 5 percent increase in prices over the entire year.

Coupled with higher interest rates, thanks to the Biden administration's reckless deficit spending, the American Dream of owning a home is quickly evaporating.

However, Mr. Speaker, I am committed to passing policies that make purchasing and owning a home more affordable and lowering the cost of living for the average American and the Tennesseans that I represent.

Madam Speaker, since stepping inside the Oval Office, President Biden has waged war against American energy.

This costly campaign against American energy producers, workers, and consumers has caused prices to skyrocket for almost everything.

Now, signaling his dedication and unwavering support to Green New Deal activists instead of everyday hardworking Americans, President Biden has paused all pending approvals of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, terminals.

His reason for doing so, he claims, is the so-called climate crisis, which he goes on to say is the existential threat of our time.

Madam Speaker, to the hardworking folks of Tennessee, the existential crisis of our time is putting food on the table and keeping the lights on, which have become far more difficult under President Biden and his administration's anti-energy policies.

Thankfully, House Republicans have taken action. Last year, we passed the Lower Energy Costs Act, H.R. 1, which would unleash America's energy dominance and bring back our energy independence by reforming the permitting process and cutting bureaucratic red tape to help drive costs down for all Americans.

Instead of joining Republicans in this commonsense approach to increasing energy production and lowering costs for all Americans, President Biden has instead chosen to raid the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and beg foreign dictators to increase their energy production when we have what we need right here at home under our feet.

The United States of America shouldn't have to rely on foreign dictators for our energy needs, and that is exactly what banning LNG exports will lead to.

That is just one of the many reasons why we are continuing our efforts to fight back against President Biden's war on American energy, this time by

passing the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act, which was introduced by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

This bill is simple. It reverses President Biden's latest attack on the American energy industry by reversing his decision to ban American LNG exports.

American LNG helps to strengthen our economy, reduces worldwide emissions, and provides security to our Nation and our allies.

According to the American Petroleum Institute, increasing LNG exports could add as much as $73 billion to the U.S. economy and upwards of 453,000 high-paying American jobs by 2040.

Additionally, more than 87 percent of LNG exports in December 2023 went to the European Union, the United Kingdom, and our allies in Asian markets.

Without a doubt, American LNG helped to reduce natural gas prices in Europe by over 83 percent from the 2022 levels following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 7176, the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act, to ensure American energy leadership and security. This bill is a commonsense approach to increasing our energy production and lowering costs for all Americans.

I am proud to support its passage and will always fight against President Biden's war on American energy and American energy independence and the energy needs of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of H.R. 7176, the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act.

The bill is simple. It would repeal President Biden's ban on liquefied natural gas, or LNG, exports. By passing H.R. 7176, we would strengthen our struggling economy, further U.S. leadership in reducing emissions, and increase the energy security of the United States and our allies.

Green New Deal activists shouldn't be driving America's energy policy, especially at the White House. Restricting LNG exports will mean higher prices at home for Americans as it reduces the amount of worldwide output, putting upward pressure on prices for energy and all related goods. It also decreases investment in infrastructure and good- paying American jobs.

Mr. Speaker, we must reverse course on this disastrous decision. Americans are already paying too much at the pump, the grocery store, and everywhere else. We must restore America's energy independence from foreign energy producers.

Madam Speaker, President Biden may have broken the law when he willfully retained and disclosed classified materials, according to Special Counsel Robert Hur's recent report.

However, Special Counsel Hur chose not to prosecute President Biden because the President's memory has such

``significant limitations'' that could hinder the ability to convince a jury that President Biden held a mental state of willfulness that a serious felony requires.

Despite the special counsel reaching this alarming conclusion, Senate Majority Leader Schumer has said: ``His mental acuity is great. It's fine. It's as good as it's been over the years,'' which has been echoed by other allies of the President.

Thankfully, the American people aren't buying it. Shortly after the findings of the special counsel were released, President Biden held an embarrassing press conference where he mistakenly referred to the Egyptian President as the President of Mexico. The President's mental acuity was on full display.

This is just another reason out of the many why House Republicans are demanding answers and accountability. The Tennesseans I represent deserve to know whether or not the President is mentally fit to serve in the highest office of the land. They also deserve to know whether or not President Biden and his family may have sold their influence and position in our government to the highest bidder, even to our adversaries.

That is why House Republicans have requested multiple documents and information from Special Counsel Hur's report to get to the bottom of these important questions. This information could potentially be a smoking gun in the impeachment inquiry investigation into President Biden, Hunter Biden, and the Biden family. It may also answer questions about President Biden's mental acuity. However, many of these questions have already been answered through the President's rare press conferences and media interviews.

Since being sworn in, President Biden has done just 86 interviews versus 300 for President Trump and 422 for President Obama at this point in their respective Presidencies, according to data collected by the White House Transition Project. Even worse, he has done just 33 press conferences compared to 54 by President Trump and 65 by President Obama. He even bucked national tradition by skipping out on a Super Bowl interview by CBS.

Madam Speaker, I may not agree with the President or those on the other side of the aisle on a whole lot of issues, but I hope we can all agree on how concerning this situation could be. If the President can't be held responsible for potentially breaking the law by mishandling classified information, then he has no business occupying the Oval Office.

Tennesseans can rest assured House Republicans will do everything in our power to conduct oversight of this administration, including the President's mental fitness for office because the American people deserve to have a President who is up to the task.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my grave concern for our country's judicial system.

Recently, a special counsel investigating President Biden's mishandling of classified materials chose not to pursue felony charges because the President's memory had such ``significant limitations'' that the counsel was not confident he could convince a jury that Mr. Biden held the required mental state of willfulness.

I am highly suspicious that this is yet another example of President Biden's administration's two-tiered justice system, which is a serious concern for me, the Tennesseans I represent, and freedom-loving Americans all across this country.

President Biden should be held to the same standards as anyone else in this country. If he has the mental acuity to be President, he has the mental capacity to be charged with a serious crime, period. Anything else wreaks of an abhorrent two-tiered justice system or a man who has no business being our President.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Vice Chairman Moore for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, it has been 279 days since House Republicans passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023. Since then, there have been more than 1.4 million additional illegal immigrant encounters at our southern border. That number doesn't include encounters from January 1 through today, but we have every reason to believe those numbers will be more of the same, more of what we have come to expect month after month.

In fact, December marked 33 straight months in which the total number of illegal immigrant encounters surpassed even the highest month under President Trump.

And just a few days ago, we learned encounters for fiscal year 2024 have already surpassed 1 million which, as everyone in this Chamber knows, began on October 1 of last year. That is about 100,000 more than Border Patrol experienced during the same period last year.

House Republicans continue to believe that the White House could act today to curb the unprecedented flow of illegal immigrants crossing our Nation's borders. President Biden knows there are multiple executive actions at his disposal to tackle this issue. He knows because he signed more than 90 executive orders in his first 100 days in office just on immigration.

President Biden created the crisis intentionally at the southern border. It is the policy of his administration to allow these illegals to come into our country.

We have laws on the books right now that the administration continues to usurp or refuse to enforce. The House-passed Secure the Border Act of 2023 would put a stop to that. It would force the administration to end its unconstitutional, large-scale, catch and release operation. It would require construction of the border wall to restart and increase the number of Border Patrol agents, and also provide bonus pay.

H.R. 2 would also strengthen and streamline our existing asylum process. And--this one is critical--it would finally put a stop to the flagrant abuse of executive immigration authority taking place under the Biden administration.

There have been more than 8.3 million illegal crossings nationwide and more than 7 million crossings of our southern border alone since President Biden took office. We know also of at least 1.7 million got- aways, and we know there are tens of thousands of people we don't know who are on parole. We don't know where they are, and we have no way of tracking their locations.

The Secure the Border Act of 2023, the House-passed, commonsense measure is the strongest border security bill we have seen in a long while, and yet it has been sitting on Leader Schumer's desk in the Senate for almost 9 months. It deserves serious consideration so that we may begin to slow the flow of illegal immigration by forcing President Biden and his administration to follow the law and gain control of our southern border.

Madam Speaker, today the House will vote again on two Articles of Impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

A lot of attention has been paid to the fact that the impeachment vote failed to pass the House last week due to a Republican being absent for health reasons. While I would have, of course, rather that it had passed, it did serve to highlight that House Republicans are largely in this fight to secure our national borders all by ourselves.

House Democrats know that Secretary Mayorkas has intentionally failed to secure our borders, but most agree with President Biden's open- border policy, so not one single House Democrat joined with us to impeach Secretary Mayorkas. Essentially, they like the job he is doing or, should I say, not doing.

The Immigration and Nationality Act requires that those who clearly do not meet the requirements for asylum be detained for removal. Yet, in 2021, Secretary Mayorkas wrote to ICE officials: ``The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen therefore should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them.''

The law says an alien who is deportable on certain criminal and terrorism-related grounds should be taken into custody. Again, Secretary Mayorkas wrote: ``Personnel should not rely on the fact of conviction . . . alone.''

Our laws say parole can only be granted on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. That is far from what is happening. Secretary Mayorkas has sat at the helm of a historic, unconstitutional catch and release scheme that has resulted in tens of thousands of illegal immigrants being released into the United States with no way of tracking them.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded in Texas v. Biden that Mayorkas' DHS was ignoring the limits Congress placed on their parole authority. Let me say that again. The court found that DHS was ignoring the limits placed on their parole authority.

There have been more than 8.3 million illegal immigrant encounters under Secretary Mayorkas' watch, more than 1.7 million known got-aways, and more than 360 attempted crossings by immigrants on the terrorist watch list. Yet, unfortunately, we will likely see another party-line vote later today.

A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll last month found that 35 percent of registered voters approve of the President's handling of immigration, and 68 percent of registered voters say they believe the administration should make it tougher to enter the United States illegally. Half of those voters identified as Democrats. This shouldn't be a party-line vote, Madam Speaker.

Contrary to what we hear coming from many in the mainstream media, last week's vote was not so much a defeat for House Republicans as it was a defeat for our national security and the rule of law. When the executive branch goes rogue, the Constitution doesn't request, it requires that the legislative branch holds it to account.

We are already getting a look at what this fiscal year will bring. Numbers show we have already reached more than 1 million encounters since October 1. In that time, Customs and Border Protection officials have encountered 50 more people whose names are on the terrorist watch list. This further underscores the dereliction of duty taking place at the Department of Homeland Security.

Last week, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy referred to illegal immigrants as undocumented Americans and called them ``the people we care about most.'' That refers to what the Democratic Party cares about most. I could not disagree with that statement more. I care most about the hardworking Tennesseans I represent, those who play by the rules and embrace legal immigration. It is with them in mind that I will proudly vote again to impeach Secretary Mayorkas.

Mr. Speaker, the case for impeaching DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is even stronger today than it was last week.

In the last 7 days, there have been tens of thousands more illegal immigrant encounters at our southern border. That is not from Customs and Border Protection officials. They don't release daily or weekly numbers. This is just based on what we have come to expect every month, every week, under his and President Biden's leadership.

There were more than 302,000 encounters in December, more than 9,700 people a day, and more than 400 every hour.

The case is also stronger because we know we are on track to break another illegal immigration record this fiscal year. Fewer than 5 months into the year, encounters have already surpassed 1 million.

Secretary Mayorkas continues to subvert Federal immigration law and must be removed from office.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023. This important legislation aims to prevent discrimination against Americans with disabilities and expand access to lifesaving cures.

It would end the use of quality-adjusted life years in all Federal programs. Quality-adjusted life years are factors used to rank whether a patient is worth the expense of a particular treatment. This rubric intentionally devalues treatment for those who have disabilities and those with chronic illnesses. This practice has been widely investigated by various nonpartisan groups, and yet QALYs are only prohibited to Medicare in a limited fashion.

We know of countries using these metrics much more aggressively to decide which treatments they will fund. We must stand against that in the United States. The government shouldn't decide which lives are valuable enough for care.

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

Madam Speaker, let me be clear. The President has the existing authority to close the southern border today. No act of Congress is necessary, no new law is needed.

Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the President to, ``suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens,'' whose entry he finds ``would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.''

This is authority that has been used in the past successfully by previous Presidents to gain control of the border when it has lost control.

His refusal to do so signals his unwillingness to secure our border, despite Customs and Border Protection

reporting more than 8 million illegal encounters nationwide, including 361 on the terror watch list since President Biden took office, in just 3 short years.

Let's be honest with the American people, Madam Speaker. If the President seriously thought an act by Congress was necessary to secure the border, and if he was actually willing to do so, why didn't he do it when Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate?

The answer is simple. It would go against the White House's policy and the President's policy and desire to keep our borders open and let into this country millions of people illegally.

As a candidate, President Biden made this clear. He said it multiple times on the campaign trail. So this isn't a policy failure. It is the policy of President Biden.

Now that it is an election year and the majority of Americans believe the situation at the southern border is a crisis, according to at least recent CBS News Polls and others, President Biden is attempting to put a Band-Aid on what is, in my opinion, a bullet wound, and worse yet, a self-inflicted bullet wound.

Except, attached to that Band-Aid, are multiple, unnecessary, and costly items that will only make matters at our borders worse.

The Senate border bill isn't a border bill, it is an immigration bill that legitimizes President Biden's open-border policies and steals money from our grandchildren and great-grandchildren and relatives far into the future.

On behalf of all sensible Tennesseans whom I represent, I could not in good faith vote for this bill in its current form. Rather, we must enact serious and stringent border security reforms, like the ones passed by the House almost 1 year ago in H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act.

New law is not needed in order to empower the President to deal with the problem at our southern border, but rather, to force the President to deal with the problem at our southern border.

Throwing money at the problem won't solve it. Passing new laws won't solve it, unless the President is either forced or develops a willingness to enforce the laws of this country and stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into this country, his proposals will only make matters worse.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing any legislation that will only memorialize or place into law the policies of this administration to allow illegals to flow into the country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act and our ally Israel as it continues its fight against Hamas.

In November, less than 1 month after Hamas terrorists brutally attacked Israel, I proudly voted ``yes'' on the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which would send $14.3 billion in emergency aid to our most loyal ally in the Middle East, Israel.

This bill is fully paid for without increasing the debt or raising taxes by offsetting the new spending with cuts to previous funding found in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which would hire unnecessary additional IRS agents.

Unfortunately, the Senate refused to pass this bill to provide immediate, direct, and much-needed relief for Israel. Instead, they have prioritized the funding of an army of IRS agents.

Mr. Speaker, I reiterate that I wholeheartedly stand with Israel and its fight against Hamas and for providing much-needed military assistance.

Madam Speaker, Secretary Mayorkas swore an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Unfortunately, it seems as though he hasn't defended it from a single one.

Since President Biden took office, there have been more than 7 million illegal encounters at our southern border and more than 1.7 million known got-aways. Not once has Secretary Mayorkas issued a statement, signed a policy, or taken action to discourage this from happening.

In fact, he has doubled down and encouraged the invasion by endorsing catch and release policies, ending title 42, and stopping remain in Mexico. This subversion of our Constitution, willful disregard of our country's laws, and unfettered dedication to exacerbating the self- inflicted crisis have left the House with no other option than to impeach Secretary Mayorkas.

Madam Speaker, I urge the House to join me in voting to impeach Secretary Mayorkas and I urge the Senate to remove him from his position.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to shed light on the ongoing war against American energy producers.

The Biden administration recently announced a pause on all pending non-free trade agreement export permit applications for liquefied natural gas export projects. This policy will no doubt have a negative impact on job growth, economic development, and energy exploration, but it will also empower America's adversaries.

By curtailing our energy dominance in the natural gas sector, we are making our economy and the world more dependent on countries like Russia and Iran for energy production. For obvious reasons, we should want to do everything within our power to hinder, not help, their cash flow.

This is more than a strategic failure. It is also contrary to the goal of reducing carbon emissions.

We know that American natural gas is cleaner than that of many other producers, especially Russia. In fact, our natural gas is 41 percent cleaner. The benefit of exporting more, not less, energy would remove hundreds of tons of emissions from entering the atmosphere. It would also pose an economic benefit here at home.

This isn't a problem just for the natural gas industry. All of America's energy producers, putting aside the renewable sector, have taken negative regulatory hits from the Biden administration. We have seen energy prices soar as a result.

On the campaign trail in 2019, then-candidate Biden vowed to end fossil fuels. This helps explain why he killed the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. It also explains why he went on to put a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on public lands and raise taxes by nearly $150 billion on oil and gas producers. For those who don't remember, this anti-energy agenda resulted in the President of the United States begging OPEC to increase their supply.

It is important to note that we were not just energy independent during the Trump administration, Mr. Speaker. We were energy dominant and a net oil exporter.

Gas prices averaged $2.39 per gallon the day President Biden was inaugurated. Today, the average price per gallon of gas is $3.15. Let's not forget, as a direct result of this anti-American energy agenda, gas prices reached an all-time high of $5 per gallon in June 2022.

The President is also responsible for the largest-ever drawdown from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 180 million barrels of oil over 6 months. Our reserve is supposed to be used for adverse events like weather or national security emergencies, not to combat bad policy and harmful regulations from a misguided White House. That reserve, which is now depleted by more than 40 percent, is at its lowest level since the early 1980s, when I was in high school.

In addition to the pause on natural gas permits during his administration, the President announced he would no longer hold court- ordered offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. This assault on domestic energy producers destroys any incentive for investment and growth and is going to continue to lead to price volatility at home and around the world.

House Republicans see the pinch this causes working families, like the families in my home district in Tennessee, which is why one of the first things we did after taking the majority in 2023 was to pass H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Cost Act.

H.R. 1 makes sense to most people. It is not radical or extreme. It would unleash American energy and get government out of the way by reforming our permitting system and removing red tape. It fosters more economic growth and job creation while lowering prices for American families.

Yet this administration seems committed to doing the opposite. Since President Biden's inauguration, his administration has finalized 812 new regulations costing the U.S. economy about $451 billion in compliance costs annually and requiring 283 million hours of additional compliance paperwork by American workers.

I continue to support an all-of-the-above energy approach to fueling our economy. In a time when prices are still hurting families and despots around the world are looking for our weak spots, we should be unleashing, not overregulating and kneecapping, American energy production.

Mr. Speaker, Wednesday is National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a time to highlight House Republicans' efforts to protect the right of women to compete against other athletes on an equal footing.

Last April, Republicans passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023. It makes clear that allowing a biological male to compete in a sport designated for women or girls is a violation of Title IX. The bill requires schools to only recognize a person's reproductive biological sex at birth when determining athletic eligibility.

It is simple: If you were born a biological male, you compete against biological males. In fact, the vast majority of Tennesseans call that common sense.

This weekend, my family and I attended a Lady Vols basketball game. It reminded me of how proud I am to fight to prevent them from ever having to compete unfairly against biological men.