Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, nearly every Member of this body proclaims to be a champion of small business. But how many follow with action?

Time after time my colleagues are presented with opportunities to vote in support of small businesses and then repeatedly fail to live up to their hollow promises.

They say they support small businesses, but Democrats proudly support increases on small businesses and job creators.

They are actively disrupting the labor market by keeping workers out of the workforce with never-ending handouts to able-bodied Americans.

They are preventing first-generation entrepreneurs from passing a successful business on to the next generation.

They are expanding credits for childcare without any work requirements for the parents.

They are surveilling small businesses and farmers through the IRS.

The Democrat dream is an America dependent on Big Government. It couldn't be farther from the American Dream where a guy like me, who grew up on food stamps, could take a big idea and a big work ethic and turn it into a successful business career and job creator.

Under Democrat policies, we may see the end of the American Dream. We cannot let that happen.

Madam Speaker, today, I rise in honor of National Spina Bifida Awareness Month.

Spina bifida is a rare condition that develops in the womb. It stems from a hole in the spinal cord, a condition known as a neural tube defect. As the spinal column fails to close properly, nearly every major organ system is impacted.

Children born with spina bifida typically undergo dozens of surgeries at a young age. For those who survive to adulthood, they live with complex physical, mental, and other health challenges.

There are precious few resources available for the 166,000 individuals living with spina bifida in the United States, including my sister and my niece. I have another sister who was born with spina bifida as well and passed away shortly after birth.

I am very familiar with the challenges faced by those who suffer from spina bifida. It has been a part of my life since childhood.

The medical community has taken many steps forward since my sisters were diagnosed with spina bifida several decades ago. Whereas spina bifida used to be a childhood death sentence, many individuals with spina bifida are living well into adulthood, a tremendous milestone. But there is more we can do.

Funding for spina bifida is low. There is only one entity in the Federal Government studying spina bifida. It is the Spina Bifida Program at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the CDC.

Americans living with spina bifida deserve the same respect and dignity in life as everyone else. Spina bifida research needs dedicated funding to ensure a better future for Americans with spina bifida.

Remembering Pat Campbell

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life of Pat Campbell, a friend not only to me but to many Oklahomans who listened to him on the radio every morning.

Pat passed away yesterday morning after a long fight with brain cancer. Everyone who knew Pat knows he was a fighter.

Pat got his start on radio largely on accident, because he would call in and debate a liberal radio host. The station was so impressed with his calls that they gave him his own show.

After that, he became a regular guest of Tucker Carlson's on MSNBC and would go on to be a guest commentator on shows like ``The O'Reilly Factor'' and ``Fox and Friends.''

Pat had an extraordinary impact on radio, not only in Tulsa but around the Nation. He was a passionate voice for conservative values and a truly great friend.

I will greatly miss Pat, and I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family and all those who loved him.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, the co-chair of the Border Security Caucus for holding this Special Order tonight.

Just when we thought we had seen the worst of the Democrats' socialist wish list with this $5 trillion reconciliation plan, they manage to squeeze in yet another radical, dangerous, unnecessary provision. This time, it is effectively creating an open U.S. border.

So first, let's set the scene.

This summer and fall, we have seen record numbers of illegal border crossings, reaching over 200,000 apprehensions in July and August each.

Earlier this week, U.S. authorities confirmed 1.7 million apprehensions in the fiscal year, the most ever recorded.

More than 16,000 migrants tested positive for coronavirus and were released into the United States without vaccination requirements and without any trace of where they are traveling, who they were coming in contact with. This 16,000 was on top of the tens of thousands of migrants released into the interior of the country by Joe Biden.

We no longer have detention centers at our borders, we have border distribution centers where we are sending people all over this country.

We now know that the Biden administration was covertly flying migrant children around the country. They didn't want anyone to know.

So my question for Joe Biden is this: How many children were flown out from the border and who is paying for it? The American people want to know. If the taxpayers are on the hook for these flights, we have the right to know.

This is not normal. What we have on our hands is equivalent to an invasion of our southern border. For 9 months, the Biden administration has ignored the crisis, meanwhile it grows exponentially worse. Biden stripped away all the policies that President Trump put in place to limit illegal crossings and to keep our borders safe, and now our Border Patrol has all but surrendered to the cartels.

While all this is happening, Democrats decided to exacerbate the crisis with these so-called reforms they are sneaking into the build back broke reconciliation package at the last minute. Free college for illegal immigrants; enhanced child tax credits for illegal immigrants; amnesty for 10 million illegal immigrants to the tune of $100 billion at taxpayers' expense; incentivizing illegal entry by waiving provisions for inadmissibility, meaning that illegal immigrants will practically be guaranteed amnesty; they are removing convictions for illegal immigrants to increase their chance for amnesty. Let me say that again: The Federal Government is going to drop charges against drug traffickers and others who break our laws just so they don't have to deport them. Insane.

These policies and many more are being written behind closed doors without the knowledge or input of the American people.

Democrats who hold the majority in both the House and the Senate and thereby have a stranglehold on power in the United States, must take immediate action to secure our border and protect our American people. Instead of putting Americans first, they are ensuring that illegal immigrants are protected and prioritized above the American people, which is an absolute abandonment of their sworn duty as a Member of Congress.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material.

Madam Speaker, tonight we are going to hear the truth about a truly bad bill.

Biden's failed leadership has created an America where grocery stores' shelves are empty, gas stations are running out of gas, and crime is skyrocketing, our schools are failing, and our borders are wide open so that cartels can have complete control of what is going on at our southern border.

This isn't the America any of us want. Whether we succeed or fail, we do it as one. Republican or Democrat, our future is the same. That is why it is so important to point out the truth of what is in this reconciliation package.

The Biden administration has ignored crisis after crisis, putting all their eggs into this build back broke basket. So how come no one actually knows what is in it?

We spent over 40 hours in Ways and Means marking up the build back broke plan last month and several other committees did the same, but we already know that the policies have changed since then.

Democrats are adding radical unnecessary provisions while the American people aren't looking. For example, they are trying to make the IRS spy on American families' bank accounts. That is right, they want banks to give information to the IRS on any transaction over $600. This is a giant step towards living in a surveillance state.

My constituents are horrified at what has happened to our country in just 9 months of Democratic control. They are worried that the freedoms we have held dear for the last 245 years will be stripped away right before their eyes.

Tonight, we will hear from my colleagues about the dangerous provisions included in the build back broke plan, the honest truth about what our Democratic colleagues are trying to hide from the American people.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger), my dear friend, a freshman, a fellow businessperson, and a person that I coauthored an op-ed with yesterday about our failing supply chain.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce), my dear friend and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and a fellow classmate.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Donalds), a freshman, who is certainly not shy about getting out there and getting his feet wet and speaking out here, so we appreciate that.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), my dear friend from the food, fuel, and fiber district of West Texas, Texas' 19th District.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the food, fuel, and fiber capital of the world. I appreciate it very much.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett), congressman from Tennessee's Second District, also spent time in the Tennessee State House, the Tennessee State Senate, and the mayor of Knox County, my dear friend who I served on the Committee on Small Business with, and a fighter for real America.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee. I appreciate him so much, as always.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser), my dear friend, who spent 2 years on the Committee on Small Business, a fellow colleague from Pennsylvania's Ninth District, a gentleman that has been in business his entire life; his family has been in business their entire lives; have been on the receiving end of these failed past policies when you go after small business, so I think he is what I consider to be an expert in this area to talk to this.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Pennsylvania.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), my dear friend, a man that has a tremendous passion in this area, whose family has spent a lifetime in business, a member on the Committee on Ways and Means, and a gentleman who also played football at Notre Dame.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his passion on this subject.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah's First Congressional District (Mr. Moore), a fellow baseball player who had the distinction of hitting an in-the-park home run at our big win 2 weeks ago. I really appreciate that.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin's Sixth District (Mr. Grothman), who serves on the Budget Committee and is an advocate for workforce development and welfare reform.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Wisconsin.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama's First Congressional District (Mr. Carl), a new freshman and a fellow small business owner.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the 21st District of Texas (Mr. Roy). My dear friend, Chip Roy, has extraordinary passion about constitutional accountability and fiscal responsibility.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Fourth District of Indiana (Mr. Baird).

Mr. Baird is a decorated Vietnam veteran who was recognized with two Purple Hearts for the wounds he received while protecting our freedoms.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Eighth District of Florida (Mr. Posey).

I would also like to say he serves on the Financial Services Committee which has a big part in the jurisdiction of this bill that we are discussing.

I would also like to point out the distinction he had in working and serving in the Florida Senate when we had the election laws. Much was spoken about that today in some of the 1-minute speeches. He worked in the Florida Senate and helped work on the reform laws regarding what happened with the 2000 Presidential race.

Madam Speaker, may I ask how much time I have remaining.

Madam Speaker, I would like to give one last shout-out to Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks. He has been fighting this ridiculous spending from the get-go. It is largely due to Jim's leadership that so many Americans know just how bad this reconciliation bill really is.

I would like to thank everyone who participated in tonight's Special Order. We heard really compelling stories from our colleagues about the dangers of Biden's out-of-control socialist spending. Our Nation is still recovering from forced lockdowns that killed small businesses across this country and wreaked havoc on the intellectual development of an entire generation of students.

Our number one priority should be empowering job creators to grow and succeed and growing their local economies with them. Biden's build back broke plan kills small businesses and increases our reliance on cradle- to-grave welfare systems. I am living proof that never-ending handouts simply do not work. They only increase the dependence on the system that will never help individuals become self-sufficient.

To quote my favorite President, Ronald Reagan, the greatest social program in the world is a job.

We need more people in jobs, not less. All that the Biden administration has to show for 9 months in power is an abysmal unemployment rate and record high inflation. It is simply not working. It is time to give fiscal responsibility a serious try.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore).

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his recognition of such heroism.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the First District of Oklahoma's September Veteran of the Month, Michael Coon.

Michael Coon served our country in the United States Army as a paratrooper. Coon comes from a family that takes pride in their Military service to the United States; both his father and his son faithfully served our country. This family's heart to help and protect others is commendable. Michael Coon continues to help and protect members of our veteran community.

Michael goes above and beyond to advocate for his fellow veterans. He is involved with Mission 22, a non-profit organization that support veterans suffering from PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, suicide risk, and other challenges. Michael lost his own son to suicide after his service. Michael continues to raise awareness of veteran suicide and help others struggling. A silhouette of Michael's son will be included in ``The War at Home Memorial'' currently being built in Broken Arrow. This memorial will help bring awareness to the 22 veterans that are lost to suicide every day.

Michael is a veteran, advocate, and a father. He answered the call to defend freedom and continues to serve others in our community. It is my honor to recognize Michael Coon as the 1st Congressional District of Oklahoma's September Veteran of the Month.

Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of important funding included in this year's NDAA that will benefit an important initiative with respect to industrial control systems.

Specifically, this funding will advance a key concept in the Army's Smart Installations Strategy and begin to address critical research required to advance our capabilities in the area of testing the cybersecurity and our embedded industrial control systems.

The University of Tulsa in my district has significant capabilities in the area of cybersecurity research and has been engaged in attempting to address many of the issues associated with industrial control systems.

TU's research efforts in the area of cybersecurity protection are unmatched in the Nation. They play an important role in our national security and deserve this essential funding.

I want to thank my colleague from Oklahoma City (Mrs. Bice) for her work on the House Armed Services Committee to ensure this funding was included in this year's NDAA.

Mr. Speaker, in what is, no doubt, a knee-jerk reaction to the recent legislative victory to protect unborn life in the State of Texas, Democrats have introduced the Women's Health Protection Act. However, we know what this piece of legislation really should be called, the abortion on demand act.

H.R. 3755 completely strips State legislatures of their autonomy to write the laws of their own State and will, in effect, make all 50 States late-term abortion States.

Not only is this a gross overreach of the Federal authority, a direct violation of States' rights to decide their own laws, it is just plain wrong.

Provisions in H.R. 3755 include the elimination of laws requiring parental involvement in a minor's decision to abort a baby, laws preventing abortions based on a baby's sex or diagnosis with a mental disability, as well as laws preventing dismemberment abortions.

It is clear that this bill has nothing to do with protecting women's health; rather, it is the result of Democrats bending the knee to the unethical abortion industry.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the abortion on demand act.

Mr. Speaker, since gaining complete control of the U.S. Federal Government with the presidency, a narrow majority in the House, and the deciding vote in an equally split Senate, Democrats have started on a big and historic deficit spending spree. The national debt exceeds $28.7 trillion, and it is growing fast. There is no end in sight.

To continue doing what the government has done for decades-- recklessly spending money with no regard to the impact on future generations--is the coward's way out. True leadership takes courage. It doesn't take much effort to stand here today and tell you about how stupid this kind of spending is, Mr. Speaker. The real challenge is actually doing something about it. Writing a budget, passing the budget, and appropriating money according to the budget is a process we have not completed on time since the nineties.

Secretary Treasurer Janet Yellen recently said that failing to raise the debt ceiling risked ``irreparable harm to the U.S. economy and the livelihoods of all Americans.''

Ignoring their own Treasury Secretary's warning, Democrats decided to leave the debt ceiling increase out of their partisan budget reconciliation bill, risking financial disaster for the entire Nation.

I recently led a letter to over 100 colleagues asking them to suspend this continuing resolution. While the Democrats want to wave a magic wand and pretend the debt doesn't exist, our debts are very real. Our Democrat colleagues need to do something about this.

Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 76th Anniversary of V-J Day on August 14th, 2021. I am forever grateful for the sacrifices of our service members.

Victory over Japan Day, V-J Day, marked the triumphent end of World War II. This day commemorates the announcement of Japan's surrender. This is an event that is important to the United States, the state of Oklahoma, and the veterans in our community.

For the past several years, Frank Reisinger has helped coordinate a remembrance event in Broken Arrow. This is a special occasion that allows our community to honor our veterans, especially those who served in World War II.

Frank, a veteran himself, can still recall witnessing the celebrations in downtown Tulsa 76 years ago. He was an 18-year-old standing in his dad's office overlooking the festivities in the streets below. It is this memory that inspires him to continue to remember this wonderful day in American History.

I am truly grateful for this event and the work of Frank Reisinger and the City of Broken Arrow to honor this day.

Madam Speaker, last year we lost Senator Tom Coburn, a dear friend of mine, and a legend in both this Chamber and across the Capitol for his consistency and dedication to the fiscal responsibility of our country.

Tom taught me so much about the way our government works, about our broken budget process, and about the importance of spending American tax dollars wisely.

It is pretty clear that a lot of my colleagues have forgotten one monumental fact: that the Federal Government has no money of our own. Every dollar comes from the American people.

When we are in this Chamber debating spending another billion here and a trillion there, it doesn't come from some bottomless bank account. It comes from the hardworking American people, and we can never take that for granted.

I have with me today Senator Tom Coburn's black book, an outline of his deficit reduction plan in 2011 to get the United States on track to eliminate our debt and balance the budget.

My colleague from Oklahoma, Senator Lankford, has taken on Tom's mantle as the fiscal hawk of the Senate and now produces a similar report detailing the many, many line items of waste and abuse in the Federal Government.

In his memory, I helmed the Republican Study Committee Budget and Spending Task Force this Congress, and we produced what is still the only budget introduced to the House. My budget is not only a clear path back to black, as my friend Tom would say, it balances in just 5 years.

Our interest costs on the debt alone are expected to nearly triple in the next 10 years, making interest costs the third largest Federal expense behind Social Security and Medicare.

As our spending continues to rise, so, too, do the concerns of our constituents.

Our esteemed majority leader just criticized the Senate on their lack of passing appropriations bills. Speaker Pelosi has often said, ``Show me your budget, and I will show you your values.''

It is alarming to me the Speaker abandoning her responsibilities outlined in the Congressional Budget Act for the third year in a row.

This majority and their leadership do not care about American taxpayers, and they don't care about the fiscal health of this country.

When I came to Congress at the end of 2018, our national debt was $19 trillion. In just 2\1/2\ years, we are quickly approaching $30 trillion. Our debt has grown some 58 percent. Meanwhile, our economic growth has been somewhere around 2 percent.

In the past 12 months, our country has been devastated by COVID-19, both physically, mentally, and financially. With millions of Americans losing their jobs, businesses, or both, they turned to the Federal Government for help.

Since last year, Congress has spent $13.3 trillion of American taxpayers' money on government COVID relief programs. To date only $8.7 trillion of those funds have been spent, leaving us with $4.6 trillion of the American people's money in government bonds.

Pelosi and Biden are spending money as fast as they can without any oversight into the effectiveness of what has already been appropriated.

From day one of the Biden administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris have shown nothing but contempt for the American taxpayer, choosing to increase spending, increase taxes, and destroy jobs across the country. All they have to show for it is rampant inflation and continued unemployment.

What we are looking at today is a drastic expansion of Federal spending across the board. My colleagues across the aisle are throwing money at every Federal department and agency except for the defense of our people, of course.

Flagrant overspending is on the menu today. The Department of Energy will be increased by 7.6 percent; the Department of Interior's budget is expected to expand by some 19 percent; the Department of Labor by 17.6 percent, with $4.2 billion to bolster Biden's unemployment programs, preventing people from returning to work.

HHS is getting a 23 percent expansion, including $110 million to research the impacts of climate change and $400 million in Title X funding, which Planned Parenthood is now eligible for since Democrats are eliminating the Hyde amendment. The Department of Education will receive a staggering 40 percent increase in funding, and it just gets worse from there.

Every penny they spend comes at the cost of the American taxpayers.

When Oklahomans lose their jobs, Democrats will be to blame. When American job creation and wage growth halts, Democrats will be to blame.

That is why today I am offering amendments to each division of this package to do one simple thing: cut spending by 20 percent.

Speaker Pelosi doesn't want fiscal accountability, which is why she piled all these amendments into an en bloc, to ensure none of them pass.

Congress has spent recklessly this past year, and the American people are sick of it.

I want to thank my colleagues who have talked about these amendments, who have joined me in these amendments, who are wanting to speak today, and I urge adoption of this en bloc to rein in Democrats' reckless spending and ensure a fiscally secure future for generations of Americans to come.

Madam Speaker, I would like to spend my 2 minutes speaking directly to the American people.

We talk a lot in here to each other and about each other and to one another and behind each other's back, but I want to speak to the American people because they are the ones who need to call their Members of Congress. You understand that when you increase budgets 30 to 40 percent, and then my amendments are a 20 percent cut, that somehow that is destroying America? We know better.

You, as the American people, know that you have to create a budget. Your counties create a budget. The cities create a budget. Your States create a budget. The only place in this free United States of America that no budget was created for the last 3 years is here in the United States Congress.

My team on the RSC Budget Committee produced the only budget that was floor-ready for a vote, and the Speaker chose not to put it on the floor.

Why, you ask? Well, I am going to answer the question.

It is because the Democrats didn't want you to see what fiscal accountability and responsibility are.

They didn't put their own budget on the floor when they had control of the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. They could have passed a budget without one single Republican vote. Ask your Member of Congress why they didn't produce a budget.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to be fiscally responsible and accountable to your money, the taxpayer's money.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the First District of Oklahoma's July Veteran of the Month, Michael Bell.

Michael Bell served our country in the United States Air Force for over twenty years. He worked in Security Forces and retired as a Master Sergeant. Throughout his service, he was deployed to several military bases around the United States and overseas. Upon retirement, Mr. Bell continued to serve and protect his community as a member of law enforcement. Michael truly has a heart for serving others.

As a member of law enforcement, Michael goes above and beyond to serve his community. He was involved with Atlus Public School's Red Ribbon Week program and taught their D.A.R.E. program. He served as chairman of the Jackson County Tobacco Education Committee and President of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 120. Michael currently serves as Chief of Police in Coweta, OK. He was recently recognized for saving the life of a fellow veteran who was suffering from PTSD and contemplating suicide. He is a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion along with several law enforcement organizations. Michael, through his compassion for others, has touched so many lives in our community and across the globe.

He answered the call to defend freedom and sacrificed whatever was necessary in the name of that noble cause. It is my honor to recognize Michael Bell as the 1st Congressional District of Oklahoma's July Veteran of the Month.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of our most vulnerable Americans; the unborn. They do not have a voice. It is up to us to be their champion and fight for their right to life.

I am deeply concerned by the actions of the majority and the current occupants of the White House. They are actively destroying decades of progress and protections for the unborn, which is why it is essential to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 18 and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to shed some light on history.

In 1854, members of the Whig Party met to begin discussions on a new political party--the primary platform being the abolition of slavery.

The idea spread like wildfire, and just six years later, the newly formed Republican Party successfully elected their first President, Abraham Lincoln.

Republican leadership fought to eradicate the scourge of slavery, defeat the racist Southern Democrats, and forge a new future for America where all were equal--no matter the color of their skin.

Republicans, as the Speaker of the House so eloquently explained earlier, voted to pass the 14th amendment to give Black Americans the right to vote. Against the will of the Democrats. This history is integral to the discussion we're having today, as the men who fought to perpetuate slavery, impose racist policies, and oppress newly freed Black Americans were all Democrats.

Now, the Democrats of today don't want you to know that.

They've worked hard to hide their history and supplant the accurate story of their party with the narrative of the Democratic savior. What they're attempting to do today is further bury their racist past and hide it from the American people.

I represent Tulsa, a city that knows something about Democrats hiding their past. Just this month, we observed 100 years since the horrific race massacre that destroyed Black Wall Street and killed hundreds of Black Tulsans. These attacks were orchestrated by Oklahoma Democrats and subsequently hidden by Oklahoma Democrats for decades, until we began to seek out the truth.

Tulsa no longer hides this shameful part of our history. Under Republican leadership, Tulsa has worked hard to honor the memories of the race massacre victims and share the accurate history of the horrific, racist attack that took place 100 years ago.

We are stronger now because of our commitment to shine a light on our history . . . even the painful pieces. We do not hide it, obfuscate it, or rewrite it--like my Democratic colleagues are attempting to do today.

There are men on display in the Capitol Building who did terrible things. They should never have been placed in such positions of prominence, but it was Democrat leaders at the state level who sent them here. Many such states are now working to remove their statues under the proper process, led by Republican leaders at the state level.

Congressional Democrats are attempting to usurp the authority given to our states and claim it as a moral victory for themselves.

For the statues and busts under Congressional jurisdiction, I fully support efforts to remove terrible men from positions of prominence, but I cannot justify usurping power from the states--states that are already working to rectify the decisions made generations ago by racist Democrats.

I urge my colleagues to join me in opposition to this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the First District of Oklahoma's June Veteran of the Month, Joshua Starks.

Joshua Starks faithfully served our country in the United States Army and the Oklahoma National Guard. He was a Combat Outpost Commander in Afghanistan and an Infantry Officer in both the Army and National Guard. Mr. Starks has continued to help others in his community and assist his fellow veterans. His commitment and passion for service speaks volumes about his character.

Mr. Stark's dedication to service is evident through his work in our community. He is the former Post Commander and current Sr. Vice Commander of VFW Post 577. Mr. Starks is also the Tulsa Veteran's Day Parade Chairman. He represents his fellow veterans as a member of the Tulsa Human Rights Commission. Joshua is also involved with the Tulsa Area United Way. In 2019, he was recognized as the 2019 Emerging Leaders Society Volunteer of the Year Award.

He answered the call to defend freedom across the globe and sacrificed whatever was necessary in the name of that noble cause. It is my honor to recognize Joshua Starks as the 1st Congressional District of Oklahoma's June Veteran of the Month.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize that Tulsa's Greenwood Business District has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Nearly erased by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, the Greenwood Business District helped provide a foundation for African American resilience and success. Today, the business district has more than 30 African American owned businesses in the last brick buildings on Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa.

Placement on the National Register for Historic Places opens possibilities for business and property owners to seek historic preservation and property improvement.

The preservation of history is critical, and I'm glad to see this portion of Tulsa receive the historical recognition it deserves.