Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 966) condemning rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas in its war against Israel.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 966. On October 7, Israel suffered one of the worst days in its history as over 1,200 innocent people were slaughtered in cold blood and more than 220 people taken hostage.

In the days following the initial attack, Israeli police began gathering evidence of the atrocities committed that day.

Since then, eyewitnesses from survivors and captured terrorists have confirmed that Hamas terrorists were ordered and encouraged to commit disgusting acts of sexual violence against Israeli civilians.

These gruesome assaults did not end on October 7. The Hamas terrorists that perpetuated this attack dragged innocent men, women, and children away from their families into dark, cold, underground tunnels where they were kept hostage in brutal conditions.

Only recently has it become clear what kind of horrors the hostage faced in their captivity. Survivors have described the awful conditions they were kept in and the abuse they suffered underground, including instances of rape and sexual abuse.

The U.N. and other international bodies have glossed over these atrocities and failed to fully condemn Hamas for its rape and sexual assault, despite purporting to stand for human rights.

Today, we will unequivocally condemn sexual violence as a weapon of war by Hamas and all other depraved aggressors.

I thank Congresswoman Frankel for introducing this resolution, which I am proud to support and which deserves our unanimous support.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, Hamas' barbaric attack on Israel on October 7 can never be forgotten. The brutal torture, murder, and rape of innocents will forever go down as one of the worst terrorist attacks in the world's history. We, as the United States, must stand against the use of sexual violence in any form as a weapon of war. We must continue to work for the safe return of all remaining hostages.

It is essential that Congress stands united to show the world that we will not turn a blind eye while terrorists slaughter, torture, and rape innocents.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this resolution. I ask all of my colleagues in this House to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on a very heavy subject. I have images of a very disturbing and graphic nature here with me showing the violent, horrific reality of abortion. This should shock every American.

What would you do if you found the dead bodies of five babies inside a cardboard box? Would you call the police? Would you throw the box out? Would you let it be taken away to a medical waste incinerator and forget you ever found it?

This is not a hypothetical. This is exactly what happened right here in this city just 3 miles from this House Chamber. On March 25, 2022, Laurel Handy and Terrisa Bukovinac found these children in a box labeled ``medical waste'' outside the Washington Surgi-Clinic abortion facility.

They suspected it contained human remains, and the medical waste services truck driver agreed to give it to them for a proper burial. What they found inside scarred them: the bodies of five late-term aborted children. Experts attest that these babies were between 26 and 32 weeks of development when they were aborted. They had lungs, beating hearts, fully formed fingers and toes, eyelids that would open and close. These children could feel pain.

As these images show, their bodies were disfigured, crushed, chemically burned. One baby girl bore wounds, a deep laceration to the back of her neck that likely indicates an illegal partial birth abortion.

Another baby girl had the marks of a D&E abortion, dilation and evacuation in which the abortionist dismembers the baby limb by limb and crushes its skull to remove it from the womb.

This occurred nearly 2 years ago. Yet, shamefully, neither the Department of Justice nor the D.C. Metropolitan Police nor the D.C. Medical Examiner did anything. No autopsies were done. No investigations were opened. The entire case of the D.C. five was swept under the rug.

Something is very sick in our society. When a baby at 30 weeks in utero is wanted, a doctor will do anything to save its life. However, when a baby is unwanted, the abortionist takes its life.

When a mother miscarries, we mourn with her for the loss of her unborn child, but when she gets an abortion, we are told there is nothing to mourn, nothing to see. These aren't human beings. These aren't real babies. They are only medical waste. Move along. Don't be bothered. Don't open the cardboard box.

Lauren and Terrisa opened the box. They recognized the dignity and inherent value of all human life, even babies still in the womb.

Five days after discovering the box, Lauren was arrested on charges of protesting outside an abortion clinic. Today, she is still detained and could face 11 years in prison.

What has gone wrong in our country, that a woman who found these babies is imprisoned while the man who killed them, the notorious late- term abortionist, Dr. Santangelo, goes free?

The District of Columbia allows abortion up to and including the moment of birth. In other words, in this city, a baby's right to life depends on which side of the birth canal it is on.

Location, mere geography, is the difference between legal abortion and murder. One pro-abortion surgeon became pro-life the instant he witnessed the abortion of a 19-week-old baby. He wrote: ``And it has happened that you cannot reason with me now. For what can language do against the truth of what I saw?''

These are second- and third-trimester babies. What can any pro- abortion argument say against these images?

The D.C. 5 were children, human beings with distinct DNA, weeks from birth, before their lives were brutally and barbarically snuffed out.

The DOJ must immediately investigate the likely violation of the partial birth abortion ban. I demand the D.C. medical examiner allow an autopsy, and I stand with my House colleagues in calling for Congress to investigate. Justice for the D.C. 5 demands no less.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6976, the Protect our Communities from DUIs Act.

I will be on the border Saturday yet again, and it is a total mess. Illegal aliens continue to surge through the southern border and are overwhelming many States, to include those from the other side of the aisle.

In addition to the fentanyl overdoses and cartel violence, drunk driving has been a major issue that has senselessly taken too many American lives.

Last year, 52-year-old Special Olympian Craig Schimming was hit and killed in a car wreck on his way to church by an illegal alien drunk and high on meth.

Devastating stories like this happen far too often across our country, and there is absolutely no reason illegal aliens with DUI convictions should be able to stay in the United States.

The Protect our Communities from DUIs Act would deport illegal aliens who have been convicted of or committed the offense of driving while drunk or impaired.

This is commonsense legislation, and every Member of the people's House should support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of this bill.

Listening to my colleagues across the aisle talk about pregnancy centers is astounding. They appear to have never set foot in one and have fallen for the abortion industry's lies, hook, line, and sinker.

I served on the board of a pregnancy center in my area for many years. During my service, we even contracted for a mobile sonogram to go to help the ladies who were in disadvantaged areas and lacked transportation to get to the pregnancy center.

The sonogram is the greatest tool in use against the death culture. In Plano, Texas, if you find yourself unexpectedly pregnant without a support network, feeling lost and anxious, you can go to a number of local pregnancy centers. There, you will be met by kind, caring, compassionate staff, both volunteer nurses and medical doctors. They offer pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling, classes, and testing, all at no cost. There are nearly 3,000 of these centers around the Nation, mainly run by local volunteers simply because they want to help.

In 2021, the pregnancy centers served almost 1 million women and their babies, and this number does not even include the fathers, who are part of this equation.

Yet, in spite of all this good, the administration has decided to punish pregnancy centers. Why? Because they do not perform abortions.

Let that sink in. Your tax dollars fund the death culture but not the life culture. Pregnancy centers give out free diapers, parenting classes, and ultrasounds, and their volunteers lend a helping hand to moms across America who decide to keep their unborn person. Because these centers will not bend the knee to the President's radical abortion agenda, they are going to be punished.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill and to stand with pregnant moms and their babies.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my Texas colleague's H. Res. 957.

We all know the eye-watering figures: 10 million greater than the population of our seventh largest State, 1.7 million got-aways.

I want to focus on the 100,000 minors that we have literally lost in the interior of the United States, supposedly because under some treaty, we are not authorized to collect and store information on minors.

They are simply in the United States, who knows doing what--slave trade, indentured servitude. The cartels will collect their pound of flesh from the people who pay them to bring them across the border.

They are in every State, and they are in many of our cities. They are now collecting from indentured servants, from the sex trade, from the slavery that we have, from the fentanyl that they bring across and sell.

No new policy, no new law, no new tax dollars are a solution for this issue. It is the lawless behavior of the administration that must change.

If you want a solution, I urge my colleagues across the aisle to address the lawless behavior of this administration. That is the only solution to secure our border.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to lay out that this House has passed an Israel supplemental bill, $14.3 billion. Today, I call on the Senate to pass this aid to Israel forthwith.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to recognize our veterans by honoring exceptional American heroes and their selfless commitment to serving our Nation and their communities. It is a moment to acknowledge those who have sacrificed much and devoted all to safeguard our country.

This year, Texas' Third District is saluting the brave veterans who have exhibited remarkable service, leadership, integrity, and dedication. These veterans represent true role models within our community, deserving our utmost respect, acknowledgment, and honor.

The veterans from Texas' Third Congressional District receiving the 2023 Congressional Veteran Commendation Award are as follows:

Lieutenant Colonel James Angelino, U.S. Army;

Commander Paul Chabot, U.S. Navy;

Command Sergeant Major Shane Chapman, U.S. Army;

Sergeant Dave Cornette, U.S. Army;

Colonel William George, U.S. Army;

Colonel Larry Greene, U.S. Army;

Sergeant Michael Karson, U.S. Army;

Lieutenant Colonel Shawn Keefe, U.S. Marine Corps;

Staff Sergeant Casey McEuin, U.S. Army;

Sergeant James Owsley, U.S. Army;

Lance Corporal Ramil Paredes, U.S. Marine Corps;

Petty Officer 1st Class Anthony Rulli, U.S. Navy;

Sergeant First Class Ruben Tobar, U.S. Army.

I salute these 13 veterans. God bless them, and God bless America.

Madam Chair, I rise today in support of Chairman McCaul's bill to ensure no funding for Iranian terrorism. While I am stunned by what I heard from my colleague across the aisle, I will try to bring clarity to this.

In August, President Biden surrendered access to $6 billion to Iran-- make no mistake about it--for five hostages. Once again, he demonstrated weakness to our adversaries. In doing so, he signaled to Hamas that his administration is willing to reward hostage taking.

The policy of the United States for years was no negotiations with terrorists or with hostage takers. We knew at that time that precedent was powerful. Now, weak precedent is dangerous.

In October, Hamas official Ali Baraka said of the $6 billion deal: ``The U.S. conducts prisoner swaps. Only recently, it did one with Iran. Why wouldn't it conduct a prisoner swap with us?''

Now, Hamas is holding the West hostage, the entire West hostage, as they fortify their defenses while Israeli hostages are traded for Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists.

There is only one language that is understood by our adversaries, and that is strength.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and send a message that we will not fund the radical jihadist agenda.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, this bill already contains behavior-based termination criteria for the sanctions described. Our sanctions on Iran should not disappear on an arbitrary date. Our sanctions need to remain in place until Iran stops threatening the United States, as already described in the bill.

Iran has been a state sponsor of terrorism for over 40 years under, I might add, the same terrorist administration in Iran. If we put a 5- year sunset on this bill, Iran and its terrorist proxies will think they can just wait us out.

After October 7, it became clear that we need to take every possible measure available to deter Iran and its proxies. The best way to project American strength is to make it absolutely clear that our sanctions will remain in place until Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States.

Therefore, I oppose this amendment to add an arbitrary sunset, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. Chair, deterrence is based on strength and the willingness to use it.

In my time in the Middle East, I understood that our adversaries there, including Iran and its proxies, understand only strength. If we put an arbitrary sunset clause in this bill, it will be demonstrating weakness and not strength.

Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment. I encourage my colleagues to vote against it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment, which would prohibit funds from going toward implementing, administering, or enforcing the equity action plan of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This plan clearly violates the Federal civil rights law that has been in place since the 1960s. The intent of the Fair Housing Act is clear: to prevent ``discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.''

In other words, individuals with the financial means to rent or purchase a home cannot be discriminated against.

Unfortunately, the executive order signed by President Biden, and the equity action plan laid out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development stretches the definition of ``fair housing'' far beyond the original intent of Congress.

This administration has twisted the definition of the word ``equity'' to mean the exact opposite of fair and impartial treatment under the law.

Equity is the administration's way of manipulating the rule of law to offer preferential treatment to various constituency groups.

Rather than addressing the merits of those in need, the administration is conjuring up groups of individuals who have been assigned a predetermined victimhood status.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rosendale).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Montana.

Mr. Chair, when considering the mission of this equity action plan, it becomes clear that instead of rewarding people based on their merits, the government is attempting to pick winners and losers.

This policy would negatively impact Americans by creating the potential of another housing crisis, as my good friend mentioned, and exacerbating existing problems embedded in our economy.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, let me be very clear. We are discussing an executive order here.

Mr. Chair, if this is so important, bring a bill to the floor of the House. Do not give us an executive order. It is clear that this executive action plan will be rejected by the courts because it is in violation of the 14th Amendment.

This administration is clearly attempting to hide under layers of bureaucratic red tape and, in the process, grow the administrative state and erode the power that voters have invested in this body. This action plan is, in fact, so radical that it won the endorsement of Marxists, who openly proclaim: ``Keep dismantling the organizing principle of this society.''

We should not fund this initiative. It is time for Congress to do its job by directing taxpayer dollars to priorities that affect all of our constituents.

Mr. Chair, I urge the passage of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Mr. McCaul's resolution to declare the policy of the United States that a nuclear Iran is not acceptable.

I commanded a Green Beret Special Forces detachment that deployed a tactical nuclear weapon, and I stood strategic nuclear watch for 1 year. I was intimately familiar with the single integrated operations plan, the strategic nuclear plan. I knew in detail the tens of thousands of deaths that nuclear war entails.

The United States and our allies, including Israel, must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon by any means necessary.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I rise to support my very simple amendment, which would prohibit any funds from this bill from being used toward the Civilian Climate Corps.

The Biden administration continues to prioritize programs like the Civilian Climate Corps, which pushes Green New Deal policies that have proved to be costly and ineffective.

Instead of pushing their Green New Deal agenda, this administration should instead focus on cutting wasteful spending and securing our southern border, rather than wasting taxpayer dollars on indoctrination on a leftist ideology that provides nothing of value to the economy.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland.

Madam Chair, we borrow $6 billion a day. We throw the $2 trillion number around all the time but, frankly, most of us don't understand a trillion.

We borrow $6 billion a day toward that $2 trillion. We discuss a lot of inputs on the floor of the House, which means government spending, Federal spending. We rarely discuss outputs, and in this case there is very little output. We are talking about some inputs, Federal spending, but no outputs.

This is simply an indoctrination program to the Green New Deal.

Now, we also have a lot of noble sounding ideas coming across this floor, but in this case there is nothing positive. There is only spending.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, and I agree with my colleagues across the aisle: You cannot choose your own facts, and this is a moral discussion.

Abortion is not reproductive health. Abortion takes a life. There are two people involved in this issue, and one of them dies. This is not healthcare. This is not a political issue. It is a moral issue that our Nation needs to grapple with.

This motion must not pass.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act.

This bill will streamline the veterans claims process through several actions, including adding language from my bill, H.R. 1329, to add two additional judges to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

For decades, the Board of Veterans' Appeals has been maligned because they cannot provide timely decisions to veterans who appeal their cases. To

make matters worse, the court anticipates the caseload in FY 2023 increasing even more due to the amount of cases generated from the PACT Act.

Quite simply, more cases before the board will lead to more denials, and more denials will lead to more appeals. The rapid growth of appeals will create an even larger backlog and leave veterans waiting longer periods of time--potentially years--for their cases to be resolved.

Since the court's expansion from five to seven permanent judges in 2011, appeals that have been filed with the court have more than doubled from just under 4,000 to just under 9,000 in 2020. Increasing the number of judges will provide the court with an opportunity to prevent a backlog and provide veterans with decisions in a timely manner.

The addition of this language to the bill is endorsed by the court itself.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1530.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome Chaplain Major Troy Bates to the U.S. House of Representatives.

He currently serves as the garrison family life chaplain at West Point. He was direct commissioned into the Army Chaplain Corps in August of 2009 as a reserve chaplain for the 478th Civil Affairs Battalion.

Chaplain Bates has provided spiritual support for our troops in harm's way in six combat deployments. He first deployed as the battalion chaplain from the 25th Infantry Division to Afghanistan. He then became a member of the 10th Special Forces Group, my old group. Chaplain Bates deployed twice to Afghanistan with the Special Forces Group and once to Africa. He then joined the XVIII Airborne Corps and deployed again to Iraq, and then became a JSOC chaplain and deployed to a classified location.

He has had an extensive education, including attending many military schools, and winning numerous awards, leading off with the Bronze Star.

Especially interesting and meaningful to me, he has the U.S., British, Canadian, Italian, and German Jump Wings, as well as the Combat Action Badge.

His education includes an associate of arts from the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College, a bachelor of science from Baptist Bible College, a master of arts from Liberty University, a master of divinity in religion from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, and a master of arts in counseling from Webster University.

He is joined by his wife today, Duchess. They have five children, three of whom serve in the military today. I thank Chaplain Major Troy Bates for not only his service but his legacy and his family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. The Golden State is turning into a Soviet state. California's attempt to ban gas vehicles is yet another step toward Marxism.

It is no wonder people are fleeing California in droves, as their State attempts to partner with Biden's radical EPA by handcuffing customers with requirements to purchase electric vehicles.

The Biden administration is weaponizing Federal agencies to pursue his radical Green New Deal agenda, while saddling Americans with the costs involved.

Limiting consumer choice is a veiled attempt to force Marxist principles down the throats of consumers. Support of this bill pushes back against radical ideals and promotes the opportunity for free markets to prevail.

Mr. Speaker, on September 11, 2001, our Nation witnessed a tragic and unprecedented attack that forever changed the course of history.

Under the leadership of Mayor David Bristol, Police Chief Doug Kowalski, and Fire Chief Stuart Blasingame, the town of Prosper commemorates September 11th each year with a solemn and heartfelt Remembrance Ceremony.

Prosper's commitment to honoring the sacrifices made and the lives lost on September 11, 2001, reflects the enduring spirit of the American people and serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of community, compassion, and service in times of adversity.

It is with much appreciation that I honor the town of Prosper's dedication to preserving the memory of 9/11 and foster a sense of unity and resilience within its community.