Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, since 1983, the U.S. Congress (House and Senate) and the German Bundestag and Bundesrat have conducted an annual exchange program for staff members from both countries. The program gives professional staff the opportunity to observe and learn about each other's political institutions and engage in discussion regarding mutual interest.

A staff delegation from the U.S. Congress will be selected to visit Germany from Friday, June 30-Sunday, July 9, 2023. During this exchange, the delegation will attend meetings with Bundestag/Bundesrat party staff members, and representatives of numerous political, business, academic and media agencies.

A comparable delegation of German staff members will visit the United States from Saturday, October 21-Monday, October 30, 2023. They will attend similar meetings in Washington organized by the members of the U.S. delegation.

The Congress-Bundestag/Bundesrat Exchange is highly regarded in Germany and the United States and is one of several exchange programs sponsored by public and private institutions in the United States and Germany to foster better understanding of the politics and policies of both countries. This exchange is funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The U.S. delegation shall consist of experienced and accomplished Hill staff who can contribute to the success of the exchange on both sides of the Atlantic. The Bundestag reciprocates by sending senior staff professionals to the United States.

Applicants should have a demonstrable interest in events in Europe. Applicants need not be working in the field of foreign affairs, although such a background can be helpful. The composite U.S. delegation should exhibit a range of expertise in issues of mutual concern to the United States and Germany such as, but not limited to, trade, security, the environment, economic development, health care, and other social policy issues. This year's delegation should be familiar with transatlantic relations within the context of recent world events.

Please note that there is a significant time commitment aspect for those selected for the program. In addition, U.S. participants are expected to plan and implement the meetings and programs for the Bundestag/Bundesrat staff members when they visit the United States.

Members of the House and Senate who would like a member of their staff to apply for participation in this year's program should direct them to submit a resume and cover letter in which they state their qualifications, the contributions they can make to a successful program and some assurances of their ability to participate during the time stated.

The completion of two vaccinations and proof of vaccination may be required with the traveler's passport dependent on the destination country's COVID protocols.

Applications should be sent to the Office of Interparliamentary Affairs, HC-4, the Capitol, by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 10, 2023. Please submit the application and any questions to interparliamentary.affairs@mail.house.gov.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I will start:

``We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.''

Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest worries about the future is that we fall behind Communist China. The fact of the matter is the danger posed by our dependence on China is dire.

We spent decades passing policies that welcomed China into the global system. In return, China has exported oppression, aggression, and anti- Americanism. Today, the power of its military and economy are growing at the expense of freedom and democracy worldwide.

It didn't start under this administration, but the current administration has clearly made it worse. Their policies have weakened our economy and made us more vulnerable to the threats of the CCP.

But here is the good news: There is bipartisan consensus that the era of trusting Communist China is over.

I listened to my friend, the gentleman across the aisle, I listened to your points, to your concerns. Do not be concerned. Those are my same concerns as well, and they will not take place.

I will tell the gentleman where the idea of all this was created. It was on a codel to Normandy. I was there with then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-day. As you walked those hallowed grounds of the crosses and the Stars of David of these young American men, and you wondered: What could have been done for that day to have never taken place?

It dawned on me in that moment in time there was an opportunity that instead of American Government not speaking with one voice--these different messages we have been providing--perhaps we could have a bipartisan committee that could look at all aspects, from economics when we fell into COVID and not knowing whether we could have our medical supplies because China controlled so much.

We learned of the farmland they are buying today and the stealing of our intellectual property.

But we weaken ourselves when we fight about which way to do it.

Wouldn't it be better if we all came together?

For 9 months we worked on that, and we did get an agreement that we were going to start a bipartisan task force. We even had The Washington Post

come in and interview the Members who were going to be on it, but, unfortunately, the night before, the then-majority party pulled back.

Mr. Speaker, you have my word and my commitment that this is not a partisan committee. This will be a bipartisan committee. It is my hope, my desire, and my wish that we speak with one voice and that we focus on the challenges that we have of how do we bring our jobs back from China to America?

How do we secure our intellectual property?

How do we make sure our farmland is protected?

All of that would be brought up within this committee. The threat is too great for us to bicker with ourselves. The future should be determined by us.

I have heard my colleagues on both sides say that the threat posed by Communist China is serious. I fully agree. This is an issue that transcends our political parties, and creating the select committee on China is our best avenue for addressing it.

If we want to end our dependence on China, then this committee will investigate it.

If we want to protect our national security, then this committee will work to do that.

If we want to stop the theft of intellectual property and bring supply chains back to America, then this committee will work to make it happen.

If we are worried about Chinese propaganda in our schools and lobbying efforts in Washington, then this committee will shine a bright light on it.

If we are outraged that the CCP is buying American farmland, then this committee will work to stop it--but to stop it with one voice.

It is not one party saying it. It is America united determining our own future.

If we want to stop trillions of American dollars from financing Communist genocide and military modernization, then the committee will work to prevent it--including by investigating how ESG benefits the

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Speaker for yielding. I do want to congratulate and thank Ella, who Speaker Pelosi just mentioned, for 34 years of service to Congress, including 22 in the Democratic cloakroom.

It didn't matter what we were saying or what we were fighting about here, but when people walked back in the cloakroom, people were more united for all your help. So thank you for all that work.

I hope you have a very happy and healthy retirement spent with your family and granddaughter, Christina. It is definitely well-earned, and the Nation is better for your service. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Patricia Smith--or as everyone around here knows, ``Miss Pat,'' who is retiring from the House this Friday after 46 years of service. I spent a little time with her daughters today, and her one daughter told me she was only 3 years old when you first came here to work. I could see the love in your daughters' eyes and how much they honor you and respect you.

Miss Pat is one of the kindest, most humble, most decent public servants I have ever met. We are excited about celebrating her today. For all of you, you have got to know, this isn't the only award that she won today. I will talk a little bit about that in a minute.

For 36 years, Miss Pat has run Cafe Helen, the sandwich and snack bar in the Republican cloakroom. If anyone questions her ability on her food, you can look at all of our waistlines to know how good she is.

The cloakrooms are a space for Members to relax, to speak, and thanks to Miss Pat, enjoy a quick snack, a hot dog, or a sandwich.

Miss Pat began working in the House dining room in the Longworth Building. She soon joined the legendary Ms. Helen in the Republican cloakroom. When Ms. Helen retired, Cafe Helen became Miss Pat's domain.

Whenever the House is in session, Miss Pat is here in the cloakroom. Whether we are voting at 2 a.m., 2 p.m., or early in the morning--the one thing you have got to know about Miss Pat, she does not like to stay up late. She would tell us that a time or two. We should take her advice, too.

She would stay up until 2 a.m., go to the grocery store the next morning and be right back here for breakfast. As all of you know, it is tough to handle a lot of us, especially when we are hangry at times, too.

You have been the motherly advice, the humble servant, the individual who provided us the food, but also provided us the wisdom when we needed it at times as well. We thank you for that.

To every Member she encounters, Miss Pat is more than part of this institution. She is part of the family, just as we are part of her family, as well. Many times, Members will bring their spouses or special visitors or constituents, and they come into the cloakroom. Many of us that are Members think, oh, they are bringing them because they want to meet us and take a picture with us. They would walk right up to me and right by me because what they really wanted to do was introduce Miss Pat to their family because that is what you have meant to us and that is what you will always mean to us.

You have always been that humble one in a town of spotlight seekers. Miss Pat is a lighthouse shining a path for us with her motherly advice and words of wisdom. You always had humility, but you always had faith, and you shared it with us.

I guess when we sit through this--when I talked about this isn't her only award, earlier this morning we presented her with one of the highest

awards that Congress can give to a staff, the McCormick Award for Excellence, named after the former Speaker.

When you walk the halls over here you will see a big plaque with the names of each individual who has won it through the years. It was named after the Speaker, on who we can honor as a staffer who cared about the institution--not about a party, but an institution. For 46 years you have lived up to that.

Now, it is my honor to present you with this flag that has been flown over the Capitol in your name. And for all the Members, we will put it back in the cloakroom, and why don't you come by and sign it.

On behalf of the Republican Conference, this Chamber and the Nation, I want to thank Miss Pat for her unwavering commitment to this institution.

Thank you for your service. But remember, as a family we are always here for you, and we hope you will continue to always be there for us. Thank you and God bless.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Mojave Air and Space Port, which was established with the formation of its airport district in 1972. Located in the western Mojave Desert of Kern County, California, the Mojave Air and Space Port is home to innovative research and testing that maintains cutting-edge aeronautical and commercial space flight advancements.

The incredible groundbreaking accomplishments that the Mojave Air and Space Port is known for would have seemed impossible in its earliest days, especially when the airfield stood as two dirt runways without any fueling options. Back then the facility was known as the Mojave Airport before it was expanded and used by the U.S. Marine Corps. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, it then became the Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station (MCAAS) Mojave. During World War II, the airfield served as the training grounds for fighter pilots.

Following the military's departure, the airport transitioned back to Kern County. In 1972, an airport district was formed under the leadership of Dan Sabovich, who envisioned a civilian counterpart to Edwards Air Force Base, where our nation's most technologically advanced aircraft are tested and proven. The Mojave Air and Space Port would become home to the National Test Pilot School, the sole civilian test-pilot school in the United States, which was founded in 1981. During this formational era, Burt and Dick Rutan helped produce novel aircraft that broke barriers and created a culture of innovation, laying the foundation for the Mojave Air and Space Port's modern achievements.

One of these accomplishments was reached on October 4, 2004 by SpaceShipOne, which was the first privately-operated piloted spaceship to surpass an altitude of 328,000 feet twice in the course of a 14-day period, achieving the necessary altitude to win the X Prize. Brian Binnie reached a height of 367,442 feet (69.6 miles) above the Earth's surface during his SpaceShipOne journey. This record and feat helped propel the MojaveAir and Space Port into the aerospace industry and has since experienced significant growth since the X Prize was won.

Today, the Mojave Air and Space Port continues to serve as a pioneer in both commercial space flight and aerospace research, setting new standards and surpassing previously unthinkable limits. From Stratolaunch, one of the world's largest aircraft, to Virgin Galactic, whose spaceships have been developed at the Mojave Air and Space Port, the legacy continues. These achievements have attracted some of the most renowned people in the country, including then-Vice President Mike Pence, who visited in 2017.

On behalf of the 23rd District of California, it is my honor to recognize the Mojave Air and Space Port on its historic 50th anniversary. I eagerly look forward to the next 50 years of technological innovation by the men and women who work at the Mojave Air and Space Port that will continue to pave the way in advancing America's edge in space and aeronautics.

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, friends and family will gather to celebrate the extraordinary life of Steve Chazen. As they do, I extend my deepest condolences to his wife, Pat, and his entire family.

The Steve I knew was a transformational leader, proud of his country and devoted to his loving family and community. His impact on Kern County and across America was enormous.

As a champion of American energy, he saw the value of investing in the Kern County oil patch. In 1998, he organized a masterful deal to purchase the Elk Hills Strategic Petroleum Reserve in my congressional district in California. It was a huge gamble, but it paid off. Today, Kern County is renowned for its energy production, largely because of the hard work of our oil workers and our embrace of innovative technologies.

The Elk Hills deal captures the essence of Steve's long and storied career. He was a trendsetter, not a trend follower. Others took cues, Steve took smart risks.

With his intellect and vision, his guts and wit, and his candor, Steve transformed an industry and helped deliver American global energy leadership.

I also appreciate that he didn't mince words. His quips were legendary. He famously said, ``Houston had bad weather and good people. L.A. has great weather.''

By the time we met, Steve was already a titan in industry, but I also saw another important side of Steve. I saw his boundless generosity. Here is the truth: Steve was a relentless philanthropist. When he wasn't working, he was giving back to his community.

Education, medicine, and environment, these are just a few of the many areas that benefited from Steve's unselfish support. His impact was profound. The most notable part is, Steve didn't care about getting the credit. He was a great leader, but an even greater person.

Finally, let me say a word about Steve's selfless patriotism. For several years, Steve served his country as a canine handler in the Vietnam war. He didn't talk about it much, but he was a decorated veteran. In Vietnam, Steve and his scout dog would find and disable land mines in front of the rest of his unit.

Dog handlers like Steve were so effective that they were special targets for the enemy. Only 13 of the 113 brave soldiers who trained with Steve returned home. Yet because of their courage, more than 10,000 American lives were saved. Imagine for a moment if the Vietnam Memorial had another 10,000 names on it.

Whether it was his visionary leadership, his philosophy, his pride in America, or his deep love for Pat, Steve was a great man. His life is an enduring example of leadership and service, a reminder of our duty to help one another.

As we celebrate his life and lasting impact, let's lift up Pat and the entire Chazen family in our prayers, and let's dedicate ourselves to continuing the lessons Steve instilled in us to improve our country.

There is a Member that is 3 minutes out on their way with the right to vote. As you held up the others, do they have the right to hold?

Madam Speaker, I rise today, along with my colleague, Congressman David Valadao, to honor Les Clark on his selection as the 2022 Kern County Fair Person of the Year. This significant achievement builds upon Les' incredible legacy of 50 years of community service, which has been recognized by the City of Taft, the Kern County Board of Supervisors, and the State of California.

Nearly five years ago, Congressman David Valadao and I rose to recognize and pay tribute to Les on his retirement as Executive Vice President of the Independent Oil Producers' Agency after 37 years of dedicated service to hardworking local oil producers. In that statement, we spoke to Les' character, drive, knowledge of the Kern oil patch, and vision for our community. And most importantly, we attested to his life of service, which has never stopped, even after his official retirement. That is why Congressman Valadao and I are proud to see Les being honored at this year's Kern County Fair.

Dating back to 1916, the Kern County Fair has a rich history that cuts across generations and brings Californians together to celebrate all Kern County has to offer. During the 12 days of festivities, community members have the opportunity to play carnival games, eat barbeque, and listen to lively music, including the famous ``Bakersfield Sound.'' It is also where our next generation of agricultural producers exhibit a variety of their livestock showings, demonstrating their husbandry skills. With Les being recognized as Person of the Year at this year's fair, his name will forever be tied to the Kern County Fair's rich history and all that it represents in our community and across the Central Valley.

On behalf of the 23rd and 21st Congressional Districts of California, Congressman Valadao and I would like to thank Les for the impact he has made and continues to make on countless individuals, both professionally and privately, and congratulate him on receiving this special recognition. We wish him and his family, including his wife, June, two daughters, Tessa and Kerrie, son ``Little Les,'' ten grandchildren, Arizona, Ayana, Cash, Darius, Easton, Keylan, Logun, Sierra, Tanisha, and Willow, and six great grandchildren, Zaria, Ivy, Koast, River, Luka, and Kaisley the very best as they celebrate at this year's fair.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. And as you spoke, you are runner-up, almost, to the dean, too, so I appreciate your service.

Before I begin, I do want to take a moment to recognize and talk about our former Member, Don Young. He took this job very seriously, and he is greatly missed.

And to the new dean, there are some similarities to you and Don. You both had your assigned seats. Don was in the back, but you are up front.

Don was a yeller. You are more of a southern gentleman. Don preferred a knife in his boot. You just like cigars, which I think is a little improvement.

Mr. Speaker, I have known Hal for the 15 years I have been here. I don't know of another person that has a greater respect for this institution or is more caring for Members on both sides of the aisle.

I have watched Hal in a position of power, as chair of the Appropriations Committee, work with people on the other side simply because the issue was right. I watched him defy his party, to stand up to do what is right.

I have traveled with him throughout his district, which is not a wealthy district at all, but I watched him, no matter how many years he has served, to continue to have the ability to listen.

I watched him be on the forefront of watching an opioid epidemic in America and him leading to do something about it, simply because he watched something in his district.

If you haven't ever had a moment of time--if you get Representatives Womack or Cole to step aside--take a moment and sit with Hal. He might speak soft and at times he is hard of hearing, especially when he goes through the magnetometers, but he will tell you stories that a historian would love. He will tell you the times before of what this body would do together. He will tell you the moments of the highs and the lows, and all of them would end in a story with America being a little better for tomorrow.

Now, Hal, I know the first question you are going to ask me. No, you get no more extra pay for being the dean, but you have a lot of responsibility, and, in essence, you are the mentor to the House. I know you will do your job well because all you have ever wanted to do was do what was right.

Your love for the institution, your love for the body, but more importantly, your love for the country.

Madam Speaker, today feels like a little deja vu.

It feels like we are sitting back--was it February of last year?

America is on a brink. The world is warning the majority party if they follow through with more of their spending they could create inflation in America.

It wasn't just on our side of the aisle that warned you. No. The former Secretary of the Treasury warned you that if you went through with that $2 trillion that inflation would rise and America would be harmed. But nobody listened on the other side.

They were proud. They were going to cheer. They were going to get elected. They were going to win based upon this. They went ahead and they passed that bill with one-party control in the House and in the Senate, and the President signed it.

If you listened to Steve Rattner, a Democratic adviser to Obama, he called it the original sin of inflation.

Listen to the American public.

Madam Speaker, I hope every single Member asks their constituents: Could they give 1 month's salary up?

Could they afford to give a month's salary up?

I would love it, Madam Speaker, if the Members would come back and tell me anyone who says ``yes'' to that.

But the sad part about it, Madam Speaker, is everybody in America who is paid on a salary just lost more than 1 month because it was deja vu all over again. It was exactly that vote that took more than 1 month's salary from every American that is paid monthly.

We have got a President, Madam Speaker, who thinks that inflation is zero. I guess that is why we are back to where we are again.

Today the people's House should be working to answer our country's call to address the rising prices of gas, groceries, and just about anything else that Americans buy. I haven't heard one debate on this floor today about how we are going to lower the gasoline price. I am not sure, but I guess, Madam Speaker, on the Democratic side they think if they raise taxes then somehow that will make the price go down and not up. They have been proven to be wrong.

Instead, Madam Speaker, moments from now we will take up this misguided, tone-deaf bill. I believe it is the largest tone-deaf bill I have ever seen in this Chamber in 232 years.

Democrats more than any other majority in history are addicted to spending other people's money regardless of what we as a country can afford.

Madam Speaker, I almost see glee in their eyes. I know there are not a lot of them here because they can vote by proxy. It is the only Chamber in the history of America that has ever allowed that--not even on the Senate side, not even during war, and not even during plague, but this body has, and this body continued it. They just extended it. This bill wasn't debated here. It wasn't talked about. But a lot of people are going to phone it in.

They started this Congress with trillions in wasteful spending that caused runaway inflation.

Their answer was to blame everybody else.

Now, their answer is just to deny there is inflation and just say it is zero. But today, now they are choosing to end the session by spending half a trillion dollars more of your money, raising taxes on the middle class, and giving hand-outs to their liberal allies.

Madam Speaker, unlike most of the Democrats, I have read this bill past the title. The facts about this bill are just astonishing. It sends $27 billion to a fraudulent national climate bank. Put that in perspective: that is triple the size of the EPA's current annual budget.

Madam Speaker, as I go across the country I look to the gas stations and see people cry about how much it is costing them.

You chose to raise it higher but not to give relief to the American public by lowering the gas price.

Along with that slush fund, it hands out tax credits like candy with no accountability. But when it comes to natural gas, which heats our homes and cooks our food, it raises taxes to fund their Socialist scams.

Madam Speaker, your energy prices will now go through the roof.

Madam Speaker, I look forward to hearing how every Democrat who votes for this bill--be it in person or how they phone it in by proxy-- explain it to their constituents this winter when they are making a choice about whether they pay the energy to heat their homes or they cut back on the gas to fill their tank or they no longer even buy the food at the grocery store because it just comes too high, they have to change.

Madam Speaker, as they continue to raise trillions after trillions, when everybody warns them what they do is wrong, they don't care. They just want to double down on the mistakes they have already made.

Don't expect drug prices to come down either. This bill would cut treatments and hinder new cures by giving bureaucrats the power to decide what drugs seniors can access. It reduces your options and raises your costs.

That is okay because that is their philosophy. They know best. Just like they knew best when they thought $2 trillion would help. They called it the American Rescue Plan.

You now have time to see what you have done.

Explain to me in the American Rescue Plan when it raised inflation and that took 1 month's salary from the American public, what did it rescue?

Who did it help?

Answer me this question: Is America better off today than they were 2 years ago? Is the price of gasoline lower? It is?

The price of gasoline is lower today than it was 2 years ago? I guess you believe inflation is zero, too. I am not quite sure about your math.

Is grocery lower than it was 2 years ago? Are the car prices lower than it was 2 years ago? Are your food prices?

I would love a natural debate right here. Why don't we have that? Because the American people are having a challenge.

You know, one of the most successful businesses in America is Walmart. When Walmart wants to look at where the economy is in America, they don't go hire economists. You know what they do? They just check the data of Americans and what they buy. And for those who answered yes, you ought to study it, too.

You know what? They just look at four products. They look at hamburger buns, hotdog buns, whole wheat, and white bread. And you know what? If the hamburger buns sales go down and the hot dog buns sales go down and the whole wheat sales go down, but the white bread sales go up, you are in an economic crisis. You know why? Because people no longer can make the decision to have hamburgers with hamburger buns. They have to put the white bread there.

For all of you who said yes, why don't you get out of Washington for a moment and go ask your constituents if they are better off today than they were 2 years ago; because no, gas is not lower. Gas is higher. And no, the car prices are higher, and their food prices are higher, and they are going up each and every day.

I can't believe you would say yes. You probably believe the American Rescue Plan was a good bill. You probably believe it is Putin's fault, too.

Passing this bill today means more expensive bills for Americans tomorrow, and everyone who says otherwise isn't telling the truth.

But of all the bad parts of this 700-page bill, the massive expansion of the IRS is the most chilling.

Madam Speaker, I wonder if we could ask the same question and, oh, boy, I imagine America will ask that in just roughly 87 more days. They won't just ask it, they will answer the question, even if it is not asked; if they are better off than they were 2 years ago.

But they will probably ask the question: Is America better off with 87,000 more IRS agents?

Currently, the IRS has almost 80,000 employees. So you are going to smile; you are going to vote for it. A lot of you are going to mail it in because you are just going to vote by proxy. You are going to pass a bill you never debated by people voting by proxy.

You are going to double the size of the IRS. They have 80,000 employees. You know what the IRS also has? 4,600 guns, 5 million rounds of ammunition. Why?

Democrats want to double its already massive size. You are going to spend $80 billion of hard-earned American taxpayer money to hire an army of 87,000 new IRS agents.

Why would you even propose that? Because you say, oh, it pays for the bill.

Madam Speaker, I have got plenty of time.

I think I will. I appreciate the encouragement because I think America needs the encouragement, because you know what? America actually needs a plan that works.

Why, if you passed an American Rescue Plan that caused inflation that we haven't seen in 41 years--why, if you went after the fossil fuel of America that raised the price of gasoline that Americans haven't seen before--why do you keep harming the American public? And you think doing the exact same thing is your answer to save it?

But while this bill doubles the number of IRS personnel, it does not expand due process protections for the American people. Worse, it includes no income floor for who can be audited.

Some of the same people on the other side of the aisle, Madam Speaker, who say we are better off than we were 2 years ago, that somehow--I don't know where they get their gas, but they said their gas price is lower. Let me know, because I need to fill my tank up.

So when you say that you are not going to go after every American to audit, you are not being honest, just like you are not being honest about what you did to cause the pain to this country. And you have no plan to solve it. You simply double down to the exact same thing you did before.

Based upon the past numbers, we know this would mean 710,000 new audits for people who make under $75,000. So someone who makes under $75,000, you think they need to pay for this. So what you are going to do is not trust them.

Madam Speaker, you say you don't trust the American public, but you are not going to hire all these people for the IRS so they could be there to help people fill out their tax returns. No, these people are going to audit them. We are going to double the size, and they are going to go after you.

You see, there is a philosophy here, Madam Speaker. One side of this aisle believes in the American people. One side thinks they know best. Even when the gas prices have risen, you think it is lower.

I am sorry to tell you, Madam Speaker, the President even admitted the gas price is higher, but he thought it was a good thing. It was a good thing. Because you think everybody can go out and buy a new car.

Well, we are going to audit you because we need to go after you because we think you are not fair, you are not honest, and we are going to make you pay for something else. Just pay for the things we care most about.

It costs individuals thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees and compliance costs just to be audited by the IRS.

Imagine what you would do with an extra $10,000 a year. Imagine how much better you could have used it than the Federal Government.

And somehow you think it is best. You think it is best.

That is how Democrats pay for their pet projects. Your pocketbook is their plan to fund more inflationary spending.

This is just a train wreck just waiting to happen. And with this new power, the IRS will snoop around in your bank account, in your Venmo, your small business, and then the government will shake you down for every last cent.

You know, in light of this week's events, let me ask: Do you really trust this administration, the IRS, to be fair, to not abuse their power?

I hope that I am wrong, but history doesn't lie.

Madam Speaker, as I travel the country, a lot of people know different names of people who work at the IRS, Lois Lerner, and others. And even when it comes to light, government is powerful, government is big, government can take, as you have proven. You have taken so much from the American public. But now you want to intimidate them.

I have watched Democrats weaponize the government before, and I don't trust them now.

Madam Speaker, mark my words. Long after the headlines of this week

fade, we will look back on this very day and on this bill as the one that broke the camel's back.

I am sure, Madam Speaker, as the months progress, there will be new blame, there will be new problems. It will be those who own the gas station. You will probably blame the small families that had to buy the natural gas for their price going higher.

Somehow you will blame Putin again, and somehow you will tell the American public, no, your price isn't higher; you are actually better off, there is zero inflation, even though you take home less and everything costs more.

Let me tell you about the future the Democrats want for America, the future that we can expect if this bill passes, much like the one before.

When wealthy Americans are getting tax breaks to buy luxury cars but you can't afford to even fill up your tank, blame this bill, blame the Democrats.

When store shelves are empty because more American manufacturers have gone under, blame this bill, blame the Democrats.

When government agents are knocking at your door and threatening your business, blame this bill, blame the Democrats.

And when your loved ones are left without the cures they need to fight a rare disease, blame this bill, and blame the Democrats.

My friends, that is the exact choice for us today. Now, I know a few Democrats showed up. And, hopefully, all those who are voting by proxy are watching on TV, because they must be home sick, because that is what they said. I hope they spent the time to read it.

I don't know if they read the American Rescue Plan, but they know the damage they have done. America feels it each and every day.

Madam Speaker, I guess the next question would be--it will be interesting to hear the answer from the other side. If you think gas is cheaper than it was 2 years ago, if you think the prices at the grocery store are lower than it was 2 years ago, do you think the border is more secure than it was 2 years ago?

Someone said yes.

Madam Speaker, I am going to introduce a bill to rename this place fantasyland. I hope when you go home, I hope you take the smirks off, and I hope you actually read your obituaries because fentanyl has now become the number one killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. It is not something to smirk about.

I am sure you got power; you are in the majority. But you abuse the power, Madam Speaker. When you abuse power like that, people die. Every walk of life, we are seeing it day in and day out.

I remember the headline of six college kids down in Florida this summer. They weren't in a fraternity. They weren't in a sorority. They were in the military academy. Six of them OD'd. Four of them took the drug; two did not. Two simply gave them mouth to mouth.

You think it is important to double the size of the IRS, but you are not going to do one thing for the border?

I remember right after you took the power, you took over the House, the Senate, and the White House, and you decided to change the policies. We watched what has come across the border. I took a trip down there.

I remember going, talking to the agents. They were telling me they have never seen anything like this before. I said: What do you mean?

They said: We are catching people on the terrorist watch list. I said: What? On the terrorist watch list? Really? I didn't know there was that many people on the terrorist watch list just from the triangle of Central America.

No, no, no, no, no. We are catching them from Yemen. People come from 160 different countries across this border now. They bring their fentanyl from China.

I went and did a press conference, and I talked about that.

Madam Speaker, I thought people from both sides of the aisle would be very concerned about hearing people on the terrorist watch list are coming into America, knowing what has happened in this country before, and we would want to keep it safe.

I was shocked. They didn't ask me for more information. They just simply called me a liar.

We provided the proof. Nobody apologized. That is okay. You don't need to apologize, but I wish you would do something about it. They continued to stay silent. Then they fought to even get more information.

But I fear to tell you that that is happening each and every day. There is not one new piece of money in here to secure that any more. That will stop as colleges open back up and as college students on the weekend go to their Snapchat, think they are buying a Xanax, and they don't wake up the next morning. But that is okay because you just gave a break to one of your big donors who makes a lot of money and is going to buy an electric car. It is okay because you feel good about what you are going to do. I guess that is why you don't show up to vote; you just vote by proxy.

A vote for this bill is a vote to help the well-connected get further and further ahead while leaving needs of hard-working American families behind. Yet, you could be forgiven for not understanding the gravity of today's vote. For such a supposedly historic occasion, few Democrats even bothered to show up.

Look around this Chamber, Madam Speaker. The floor is nearly empty.

If Democrats really, truthfully want to raise taxes on Americans during a recession, that is their choice. That is the power they have. They have proven it time and again, and they will do it.

The very least you can do, Madam Speaker, is show up in person if you are going to vote ``yes.'' Show up in person to the American public. For those who chant: ``Yes, gasoline is lower than it was 2 years ago; yes, the border is safer than it was 2 years ago,'' don't say it when the cameras are off. Don't say it when people can't see who is saying it. Go to the mikes. If you believe it, go to the mikes and say it.

Better yet, tell your district about it because they know differently. America knows differently.

But if you want to vote ``yes,'' you should have the courage and the decency to show up and do that in person. Yet, Madam Speaker, Speaker Pelosi extended proxy voting again on Wednesday, allowing Democrats to hide their faces and vote to take your money from the comfort of their summer vacations.

``Absolute power corrupts absolutely,'' Madam Speaker. That is a famous quote.

There are lots of lessons people learn. Normally, the lesson you learn the most is when you cause the most pain. I guess creating inflation you haven't had in 41 years, creating shortages where there is no baby formula, gas prices that we haven't seen since Jimmy Carter was in office, a border that is wide open, a government, Madam Speaker, that had an Attorney General call parents terrorists because--what did they do?

They went to a school board meeting.

Why would they go?

Why would parents go to a school board meeting?

Because they wanted to know what was happening in their kids' education, the lost learning of the years of the pandemic.

If you question authority, you are going to be called a terrorist.

How far would we go to be able to have the rights to do that?

We are going to find an organization, a union, that will send us a letter so we can do it. But when the public finds out why, the union pulls their letter back. But the AG doesn't pull back their power because they have power, they should use it.

Is that why you want to double the size of the IRS?

Is that why you want to double the size of the IRS, to go after Americans, to use it?

Earlier today, we had 80 Democrats use a proxy vote. As we approach this final vote on this bill, depending on how long I speak, I expect that number might increase.

If you think about it, that is the story of this Democrat majority. They will destroy our economy and mortgage your future but can't be personally bothered to show up, to make the trip to D.C. to do their jobs.

What a disgrace. What a disgrace.

I will promise the American public that that will all change. If you run for

office, if you are going to ask them to lend their vote and to lend their voice to go to Washington for 2 years to represent them, you are going to show up.

And do you know what? The bills are going to be in committee. The bills are going to be read. They are going to be debated on the floor, and you are not going to hide in your vacation home and raise taxes on the American public.

I will even go further. We will lower your gas prices. We will make America energy independent. We won't punish natural gas. If you care about the environment, American natural gas is 41 percent cleaner than Russian natural gas. We will make an abundance of it.

So those people who are living on a $75,000 income who have watched it get dwindled under your leadership, under your American Rescue Plan that simply took a whole month's salary away from them, and where they had no say, you celebrated it, you cheered it, and then you blamed everybody else for what you created. We will tell you it will cost less.

For the parent that wakes up that morning--maybe it is a phone call or maybe their kid is home, who doesn't wake up because they went out and purchased something that wasn't fentanyl but it was laced with fentanyl, we will make sure that stops.

It is August. Right now is normally the time people have barbecues, but now the price is high. Now people question whether to even get the hotdog buns.

They are going to turn on the TV, they are going to watch an empty Chamber, and they are going to read online that 80 Democrats took that vacation and voted to raise more taxes, voted to spend more of their money, and looked into the camera and smiled and said:

We know best. We want to take more of your money because we

have got to hire and double the size of the IRS because we

want them to knock on your door because we think you are not

honest and because we think you can pay more.

And if you don't, we have got an AG that will come after

you. If you go to that school board meeting, we will look in

your eyes, we will take your name down, and we will wonder

why you care about your kids' education.

Madam Speaker, that will end, too, because we are going to provide the American public with a parents' bill of rights. We think that parents should have a say in their kids' education. We think that parents should know what is being taught at their children's schools.

Madam Speaker, I even watched, under this leadership, a Democrat who voted by proxy who wasn't even in America.

So I wondered: Were they in another country to get healthcare? Were they sick?

No, no, no. They were in France at a wedding when they phoned that vote in. I wasn't quite sure.

Do you think at the wedding the Member was reading the bill on the phone so that Member knew how to vote?

I am not sure it came through committee. I don't know how much debate they had on this because the Senate did this bill. What a disgrace.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to reject this out-of-touch bill, reject the crushing new taxes, reject the ballooning of government, and reject the spending on things that we don't need with money we don't have.

Madam Speaker, I can wait, if you need to continue.

But most of all, I urge my colleagues to remember this day. Remember this day because it will be the last time the House will operate so recklessly and irresponsibly.

A new day is coming with a new plan to put America back on the right track. It will be a commitment to America that there will be fiscal responsibility and there will be energy independence where your gasoline price will be lower and plentiful, that your home heating costs will lower and not rise; and that we won't pick one energy over the other. It will be all of the above so America can be stronger. Your border will be secure because fentanyl and terrorists will not be coming across. This border is a national security issue.

We will focus on bringing the supply chain from China back to America, which is not what this bill does. This bill takes American taxpayer money and sends it to China. You triple the size of the EPA. I imagine China is cheering, because they see their economy is going to rise. Their government doesn't have to vote for a stimulus, because that is exactly what you are doing here.

What is even greater, China will look and say: Well, can we make sure America can send all that money here?

Don't worry, the Democrats doubled the size of the IRS. They will get that money and make sure it comes.

In the commitment to America, we believe people show up to go to work and that you earn your paycheck. You don't phone it in.

Madam Speaker, when I handed the gavel to Speaker Pelosi last year, I said that a House distracted could not govern. Today, as this majority jams through yet another partisan spending spree, it is clear to me that an absent House cannot lead.

I trust the American people. I know it is the people who will render the ultimate verdict on today's actions. When they do 87 days from now, my Democratic colleagues will have only themselves to blame.

Madam Speaker, I am not sure what is happening on your side of the aisle that Members actually believe gasoline is less than it was 2 years ago.

Madam Speaker, I am not sure what is happening on your side of the aisle that your colleagues believe the border is more secure than it was 2 years ago.

Madam Speaker, I am not sure what is happening on your side of the aisle that your colleagues believe the price of groceries is less than it was 2 years ago.

Madam Speaker, I am not sure what is happening on the other side of the aisle that your colleagues believe doubling the size of the IRS is a positive thing.

Yes, I come from a different party, and yes, I have a different philosophy, but we are all Americans. Madam Speaker, you are going inflict this pain on every single American.

Madam Speaker, I am not sure if your side of the aisle thinks this is going to do anything to lower the price of inflation. I do know, Madam Speaker, one person on the other side of the aisle in the other Chamber, Bernie Sanders, spoke the truth and said it won't.

I know on your side of the aisle, Madam Speaker, not everybody believes the same. The former Secretary of the Treasury warned you before you did the American Rescue Plan that it would bring inflation, and he was right. Even the current Secretary of the Treasury finally apologized and said they were wrong.

The President said it was going to be transitory. He said it had peaked. He said it was everybody else's fault, but now he says it is zero.

Madam Speaker, I guess I do understand why your side of the aisle now believes all that. I just know America doesn't. Because every day America goes to the grocery store, the price has increased. Every week when they fill up their gas tank, the price is higher. Every month when they cash their check, it doesn't go as far.

Madam Speaker, if the border was really more secure than it was 2 years ago, why is the D.C. mayor now asking for the National Guard when she wouldn't even ask for it when there were riots in the streets?

Madam Speaker, my colleagues on the other side can lie to me, but they can't lie to America. Eighty-seven days from now it doesn't matter how you try to answer those questions. The American people will.

I remember when we were at this stage once before. We had somebody in the White House that put a sweater on and told us to turn the heater down, that the best days were behind us as Americans.

I watched another person walk to the podium and say no pastels, fly the bold colors, and go to that shining city on the hill.

We know what America is. And we are more than a country. We are an idea, an idea so powerful that we can overcome all the pain that you have caused.

It won't be easy. And I will offer this invitation. For all the bad votes you have taken, when the change comes, we will welcome you to correct the mistakes you have made. Because you will be in committee. Maybe you will learn that gas prices are higher. Maybe you will learn that groceries cost more. You will be here to vote so you will

hear the debate. Maybe I can't blame you for thinking that if you don't have to show up.

Madam Speaker, there are a lot of days on this floor that change the course of history. In the last 2 years, that history has not been bright. Inflation, a 41-year-history high. Do you understand what that does to the American public? Do you understand the pain that it causes? Do you understand the choices that people have to make?

I heard the story of a young family, their daughter has cancer. For her treatment they have to drive a long way. She was crying one day because she heard her parents talking about making the decision to take out loans they cannot afford to pay for the gasoline that your side of the aisle thinks costs them less but costs them more, the choices they had to make because you titled a bill ``American Rescue Plan'' that only inflicts pain, and you just doubled down.

Madam Speaker, I would respect the other side of the aisle much greater if they would at least do exactly what Secretary Yellen did, apologize for your mistake and change course.

Don't double down. Don't make the same mistake three, four times like you are going to do today. At the very least--at the very least, if you are going to vote ``yes,'' do it in person. Do it in person. Read the bill. Put it through committee.

Madam Speaker, I have watched this body take on big issues. We have got some of the biggest issues before us today. You continue to make it just a partisan action, one that even your side of the aisle has warned you against. But somehow you want to celebrate it.

Madam Speaker, in my office in a conference room, I have this painting of Washington crossing the Delaware. You all know the famous painting. It sits 8 feet by 16 feet. If you study history, you will know that it happened Christmas 1776. The artist who painted that famous painting wasn't even American. He wasn't there. He had no iPhone that day to take a photo. The person who painted the painting is a German immigrant who lived in America but went back to Germany. His name is Emanuel Leutze.

Do you know why he painted that painting? Because he understood America was more than a country, that America was an idea. He wanted Germany to have a revolution based upon the values of America, of freedom, of individual rights, of a stand against tyranny, that government would be of the people, by the people, for the people.

His talent was art, so he thought he would paint this painting to inspire the Germans to have this revolution. Now, historians will tell you he gets it incorrect. He puts 13 people in a rowboat. Why would he pick the number 13? Thirteen colonies. But he only shows you 12 faces.

If you look at the painting, he puts Washington in a rowboat, but historians will tell you Washington probably crossed in a Durham boat. If you look at the Delaware, it kind of looks like the Rhine. But he is German. We will give him a break for that. He puts Washington in a ceremonial uniform with his hand on his chest standing up in a rowboat crossing the Delaware in the middle of winter. He looks so stoic.

If you look at Washington in that painting, you would almost say you would follow this man anywhere. You would think he had never lost a battle or a fight. But for the students of history, they understand at that moment in time, Washington had never won a battle. We had never won one fight as a country. But that was our first victory, as we surprised the Hessians.

But what I would like you to see next time is who is in the boat. The second person is wearing a beret. He is Scottish. The person directly across from him in the green jacket, he is African American. You come down the boat, and in the middle of the boat, the person who almost looks the strongest, rowing in the red, is a woman. In the very back, the very last person, is a Native American.

I cannot tell you from a historical point of view if they were in the boat that night. But to this young immigrant who had lived in America, that is who he believed would be in the boat.

Now, the second to last person in the boat, he has a hand across his face. It is the hand of the 13th person nobody sees. What this artist was saying--Emanuel, I believe--Here we are, not a country but an idea, having lost every battle before but willing to create a Nation. Why? To go against the tyranny of a government that will tax you with no say, a government that became so big it can inflict pain upon you, tell you what to do, that we would risk it on our holiest of night.

Here is a hand. Would you get in and join us?

That is as true today as it was then. The challenge that we face right now is you are making that government big. You are doubling the size of the IRS. You are going against every single reason people were in that boat willing to risk their lives for a government of the people, by the people, for the people, a government that was created in a country that was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that we are all equal, because you think you know what is best.

I can only imagine what those individuals would think today, that you would put a bill on the floor that didn't go through committee. You put a bill on the floor that would double the size of the IRS, that could go after the American public, that has no set on an income, that 710,000 people under the income of $75,000 are now going to be audited because you want them to pay for what you think is best, that you're going to tax, with no limit on income, some family that already lost a month's salary based upon your past actions because of inflation.

You are going to make them choose how cold. You are going back to Jimmy Carter. You are simply telling the American public to put that sweater on, turn that heater down. But to your elite donors, you are going to give them the tax credit from those IRS agents so they can go buy a new Tesla. That is what you are doing in this bill.

But 4 to 6 months from now, you will blame somebody else for it. The good news is, there will be a new Congress with a new ability to change all that, that will provide the American public a commitment to America, a new plan to put this country back in the right direction.

Madam Speaker, with whatever happens today--and I can only guess, if you have all the votes in your pocket that people don't have to show up, one or two people can determine the outcome. But, Madam Speaker, I implore upon you--I don't know what happens in your conference--please allow the American public to come in to simply tell you and explain to you that, no, gas is not lower, groceries do not cost less, and the money does not go as far as it did before.

Maybe that is why I can only understand, if you truly believe that, that you would vote ``yes.'' For everybody else that is living in the real America, they will vote ``no.'' And 87 days from now, I believe most of America will have the answer to that question, too, with a new Congress and a new plan.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his work. This is probably one of the areas we work on where his knowledge when it comes to the forest, healthy forests, and making sure they are there for the future is so important.

I rise today in support of my amendment, which would simply establish a program to incentivize larger communities to integrate nearby smaller, rural communities into their drinking water systems when the smaller communities' drinking water wells run dry.

In my district, the community of Tooleville has run out of water, as the groundwater table drops, and aging infrastructure fails or becomes obsolete. While the long-term solution is to connect Tooleville to the city of Exeter's drinking water system, that can be expensive for both Exeter and Tooleville.

This amendment would reduce connection costs for Tooleville residents while also enabling Exeter to increase its water supply to meet increased demands with its customers.

Tulare County advises me that if California's droughts continue, more small and rural communities in my district with older infrastructure could meet the exact same fate as groundwater tables drop, making this amendment even more important. We cannot leave our Western communities vulnerable to drought and aging infrastructure.

I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment.

Madam Chair, I include in the Record letters supporting my amendment from the county of Tulare, county of Kern, and city of Exeter, all of which are located in my congressional district.

County of Tulare,

Visalia, CA, July 26, 2022.

Re H.R. Conway/McCarthy Amendment to H.R. 5118, Wildfire

Response and Drought Resiliency Act--Support.

Hon. Kevin McCarthy,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Connie Conway,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear House Minority Leader McCarthy and Representative

Conway: On behalf of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors,

I write in support of House Minority Leader McCarthy and

Congresswoman Conway's proposed amendment to H.R. 5118, the

Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act. The proposed

amendment will address critical water supply challenges faced

by our County's most vulnerable and underserved populations.

Tulare County oversees more than 50 census designated

places and unincorporated communities across California's

Central Valley. The majority of these sparsely populated

districts rely upon groundwater to sustain daily life which

continues to be adversely affected by drought induced water

quality and quantity issues. Every community and municipality

in Tulare County depend upon a system of wells to guarantee

the water needs of their residents. As the California drought

persists, water service providers of our economically dis-

advantaged communities struggle to find the required funding

to excavate deeper wells or upgrade the infrastructure

required to connect with nearby water systems.

The proposed amendment to H.R. 5118 would authorize

significant grant funding that would fully fund water

projects for our small unincorporated communities eliminating

the current funding barriers in place that delay sustainable

water solutions for up to six years before any ground can be

broken. Our most vulnerable residents should not have to wait

that long to have access to clean and sufficient drinking

water.

For these reasons and more, the County of Tulare supports

this proposed amendment and urges its adoption by the House.

Eddie Valero,

Chair, Tulare County Board of Supervisors.

Madam Chair, now, why are we asking for this amendment?

The one thing you would have to see, there have been no major reservoirs built in California since 1979. Think of the population difference in between that time.

California is very blessed. We get snow in the north, we grow the agriculture for the world in the Central Valley--my good friend from the other side of the aisle, I believe that is where his family used to be from--and in the

south, we have major population. But no new reservoirs.

Now we have got challenges where cities are actually running out of water, but it is not that we don't have enough water. In those wet years, we can save it. We can even pump it out of the ground to bring it back out. But in California, at times they care more about a fish and the water goes out to the ocean.

Now, we talk about desalinization. So we would spend billions of dollars to create a desalinization plant for the freshwater we put into the ocean to make it saltwater to bring it back into freshwater.

Why wouldn't we just store more water for those dry years?

We have worked on this issue for quite some time. We actually think the greatest return on investment would be to just lift Shasta Dam, the reservoir. If you simply enlarged it, it could store more.

We got to a bipartisan bill, the WIIN Act, working with Dianne Feinstein. It passed this House with big numbers. It passed the Senate with more than 70 votes.

But you know what happened after it passed?

Speaker Pelosi and other Democrats fought it, actually killed the ability that California could determine their own destiny.

And now today we come down, and this is supposed to be a wildfire bill. In my State, we have wildfires all the time. We have one raging right now. We have a very large one in Yosemite.

Also in California, we are blessed to be the only State in the world that grows giant sequoias. You all know that iconic tree. You all know and have seen it before. It grows for 2,000 to 3,000 years. History tells us that the only major time we have ever seen a giant sequoia die was in 1297 from a fire. Normally they just die because they get so large and they topple over.

But do you realize in the last 2 years we have lost 20 percent of all the giant sequoias? There is a warning right now that we can lose them all just in the next couple years. Firefighters right now are risking their lives to protect them.

But you know what? This body can be very proud of the fact that there is a bipartisan bill, Save Our Sequoias, with the same number of Democrats and Republicans on that piece of legislation. They would go into these groves, clean out, and protect them where firefighters wouldn't have to risk their lives, or even when fires came, these giant sequoias would continue to live.

It has been introduced. How did that bill get introduced?

Because a bipartisan group went to the giant sequoias, studied what needed to happen, and came together. Everybody didn't get what they want, but at the end of the day they could save the giant sequoias.

You know what is not in this bill?

Save Our Sequoias.

This is a wildfire bill that won't even save the sequoias, even though the President talked about this just last week, that it was a big concern to him.

Why wouldn't it get put in?

It is not that it hasn't been through committee because the committee won't bring it up. But that is not the pattern of the Democrats. It doesn't matter if a bill has been through committee or not; they will drop anything in.

This is a bill that both sides agree upon. I have to give credit to the Democrats--Congressmen Peters, Panetta, Costa, and others--who went to the giant sequoias to study the issue to know what needs to happen, to work toward it, and save them.

Why would we want to destroy them?

Why would we not use this opportunity and put it in this bill?

Is it because it is bipartisan?

Can you only bring bills to the floor that are partisan?

It is interesting when my constituents ask--all the challenges on this floor, when my constituents were going to ask me about a firefighter bill to help save our forests, but it would eliminate 610 firefighters?

Only a Democrat Congress could think that is a wildfire bill, that you are going to eliminate 610 firefighters.

How is that going to protect them more?

It is only in this Congress that you could have a bill that is called the American Rescue Plan that creates inflation.

It is only in the American Rescue Plan that you could tell the American public, can you afford to lose a month's salary?

No one will say yes, but that is exactly what you took from them. That is what inflation has done.

This bill is needed, not the bill you have written, but on this issue. You have Save the Sequoias, it is a crisis before us, and you will not even put it in the bill when it is bipartisan.

I cannot imagine that you would bring a bill forward that would eliminate firefighters that we need when we are on fire.

And I cannot imagine that you wouldn't work to build more reservoirs so people can store water in the wet years so it will be there in the dry years.

Mr. Speaker, this morning the government announced what every American has been feeling for nearly a year: We are in a recession.

This news is a grim milestone that points toward more hardship, more suffering, and more pain for the American people. But even as we were expecting today's news, let me address what happened in the past 24 hours.

The Senate passed a bill that took a small, discretionary program and turned it into a $280 billion blank check, including $79 billion in mandatory spending on corporate welfare to be handed out to whoever President Biden wants.

For the record, I am a ``no'' on the Senate CHIPS bill that will come to the floor today. I was a ``no'' last week. I was a ``no'' last night. And I will be the first ``no'' on the board later today.

I urge all my Republican colleagues to join me. Reject this deeply flawed bill. Let's start from scratch.

And if that wasn't enough, Senate Democrats then announced they want to spend another half a trillion dollars during a recession. Democrats say they want to lower inflation, but do you know what their new bill does? It gives you a $7,500 tax credit to buy an $80,000 electric vehicle for people making up to $300,000.

They say they want to restore growth, but their new bill adds $700 billion in new taxes, including a $300 billion made in America tax that punishes anyone who wants to build, manufacture, or invest in America.

They say they want to help struggling families, but do you know what their new bill does? Who do they hire? They hire 87,000 new IRS agents to audit them and spy on their bank accounts. That is what the Democrat majority wants.

They say they want to lower prices, but their new bill will allow bureaucrats to decide what drugs seniors can

access and destroy the hope of any new cures or treatments for diseases like cancer.

And do you know what? They are not done yet.

Mr. Speaker, do Democrats really believe that spending hundreds of billions of tax dollars right now while pursuing and punishing productive investments in the long run will lower inflation? Policies like that don't lower inflation; they cause inflation.

They are going to spend more dollars chasing the same goods with fewer jobs and lower income in the long run all during a recession.

But I know what you are going to say: It is okay because you changed the definition of a ``recession'' now. You know, Einstein once said, and we all know it: ``The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.'' So what you really should do is just go with changing the definition. Maybe people won't hear you or understand it.

We all know across this country what caused inflation: Democrats winning the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. And now you are doubling down on the same failed policies. Was the worst inflation in 40 years not enough? Are they trying to see how high they can get it all while forcing the American people to pay the bills for your failures?

Democrats just can't help themselves. They simply don't care about the consequences.

Which brings me to this morning's news, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced the GDP fell by 0.9 percent in the second quarter. I am not sure, Mr. Speaker, if everybody is lined up to talk about that today. This comes after a 1.6 percent decline in the economy in the first quarter. So half of this year our economy shrank.

It is no wonder an overwhelming 8 in 10 Americans feel the economy is heading in the wrong direction. And the National Federation of Independent Businesses--this is a survey of small businesses--found that the confidence is at its lowest level in 48 years. But I guess that is Putin's fault.

Consumers and businesses are losing hope, and there is no secret why. Every week the American people know we are able to buy less with the money we have. Every week at the gas pump we are paying nearly twice as much to fill up our tanks. Every month the American people know when they get their pay stubs they are making less in real wages. And every day the American people understand the simple truth: We cannot afford Democrats' failed policies. But we are certainly paying for them.

Of course, President Biden and Speaker Pelosi won't admit it. Their response to rising prices has been to issue dismissals, denials, distortions, and a little deceptive spin.

Remember when President Biden told us last July that inflation was temporary and expected? Remember that right there? Then he told us in December that inflation had peaked, no more fear, it has peaked. That was at 7.0 percent. Democrats tried to convince us that inflation was a good thing.

Remember Secretary Yellen said this week that a recession isn't a recession, but rather, our country is in a period of transition in which growth is slowing. That is weird, huh? We all learned that a recession is really easy. You take two quarters in a row and you have negative growth. But it is weird, beginning this week the White House told us, I don't know, I looked in every book, but we are changing the definition now. We changed each and every place of where we went.

When it started, it was temporary. First, it was COVID's fault. Then, don't worry, it is transitory, it is not going to stay. Then we found out corporate greed is doing this; then it is just a high-class problem, their problem, nobody else's. Then it is okay, it has peaked. But then when it went a little higher, it is the supply chain's fault now. No, no, no, no. Now, it is Putin's fault. Eventually America may believe something. Then it is just out of date. Now, no, no it is not a recession, the economy is just slowing.

You would rather redefine a recession than restore a healthy economy?

You know, the American people know that inflation was not temporary. Inflation hadn't peaked, and now we are in a recession. But the Democrats continue to talk down to American families no matter the increased cost of nearly everything.

But you know the worst part about all of this? And I see people here ready to speak. Madam Speaker, I wonder if anyone is going to speak and show us your plan. Show us your plan to get us out of recession. Show us your plan to make our streets safe again. Show us your plan that you are going to produce more and lower the gas price. I guess your plan is just redefine and blame something else.

Their failed policies have not only made inflation worse, you created it. Democrats have increased total government spending by over $9 trillion in less than 18 months. For every American, if you wonder, do elections have consequences? Yes, they do. Oh, yes, they do. $9 trillion in 18 months.

The Democrats control the House, they control the Senate, they control the White House. This is what they brought us. We have not felt this in more than four decades. Sixty percent of every American has never lived through inflation above 4 percent.

They halted energy projects, slowed down pipeline construction, and took every step to discourage American oil and gas production. You know, when they had the majority like they do right now, they brought in all the energy companies. Not one Democrat asked: How could we lower the gas price? Do you know what they made every CEO do? They asked them: Would you promise to produce less next year because we want the gas price higher? We want to punish Americans. That was their question, to produce less. They want to intimidate them.

And they crippled the labor market by paying people to stay home instead of going back to work, including themselves.

This is the only place in America you can go and enjoy a wedding in France for some movie star and still vote on this floor and get paid for it. This is the only place in America you can be on a boat celebrating and still vote in this House or in your committee and get paid for it. This is the only place in America, and this is the only Congress that has ever allowed it--ever. It doesn't matter what we have ever gone through, a pandemic, a war.

Do you know what, Madam Speaker? I don't see one Member wearing a mask, and we were only going to keep that during the pandemic. I see one. I stand corrected. But I guess the rest of you feel it is okay.

If this sounds like a healthy economy to you, I hear there is an opening at the White House press office. But for the rest of us that live in reality, it is painful.

I want to ask everybody in America: Can you afford to give up 1 month of income? Think about that. Could you afford to give 1 month of your pay up? I don't know very many people in my district who can.

Madam Speaker, maybe Paul Pelosi can, but nobody else that I know can.

But that is exactly what you took from every single American. You see, inflation is so high, every single American has lost a full month's pay.

Can Americans afford to keep the Democrats in power? Could you afford to lose another month's pay? Or do you feel good that it is not a recession or it is Putin's fault?

If you had a constant salary like everybody in this body, 1 month is 8.3 percent of those 12 months. Inflation is higher, so you just lost a full salary. You have less money, but you pay more at the gas pump.

But it is okay. Tell everybody to go buy an electric car at $80,000. I wonder what your answer is to the homeless. Buy a house?

If you think about this, this is actually the Pelosi pay cut because not one American voted for your $2 trillion inflation-creating bill. Not one. The Pelosi pay cut affects every American, but do you know what? It is especially hard on families who have extra expenses.

I don't know if you watched the clip, but I watched this clip of a 15-year-old girl named Jinger Vincent from Indiana. This poor girl was diagnosed with bone cancer, and she has to travel every week for treatment. It is located more than an hour away. Last year, her parents, Keith and Analiza, paid around $100 each week for that trip, but because of the surging gas price--but it

is okay if I listen to the Democrats; the President said it is a good thing--they are now spending more than $200 each week. They also have two other children.

The Vincents said they simply can't afford a price hike, and they have turned to loans to cover the costs. Can you imagine having to take a loan to pay for the gas to take your 15-year-old daughter to get cancer treatment and at the same time losing a full month's pay?

Do you know what is worse? In this story, that 15-year-old girl, Jinger--having to watch her parents say: We have to pay this bill, and we have to pay that. This is what she said: And I am downstairs, and I hear all that. It just seems so stressful. They shouldn't have to go through this.

Madam Speaker, my question is, do Democrats agree with Secretary Buttigieg that the more pain families like the Vincents feel at the pump is a good thing? Madam Speaker, that is the Secretary of Transportation.

I guess they seem to agree with them because rather than having a plan to lower gas prices, their answer is to tell the Vincents and others to buy a Tesla. They are borrowing money to pay for gas, and you are telling them to buy a Tesla.

But do you know who is probably happy because with their new deal, you can make $300,000, and that same taxpayer that just lost a month's salary that has to get a loan to pay for gas, they have to pay more in taxes so somebody else wealthy can get that tax break--that is not compassion. It is cruelty, and the American people are suffering the consequences every day.

Americans aren't imagining that their grocery bills are higher than ever; they are. Americans aren't imagining that they have to pay more to fill up their gas tanks; they do. They are not imagining that their savings are shrinking and their 401(k)'s have become 201(k)'s; they are.

But let me tell you what they are actually living through, what they are afraid of, and what keeps them up at night: higher taxes and higher energy costs; the first house they will never be able to afford because prices are rising and their incomes are falling; retirement savings that will no longer last long enough. They are worried about how much worse it can get if Democrats' failed policies continue.

You think for all this suffering that they have caused, there is no way that Democrats would do this on purpose. Guess again.

Everything about the Biden recession was predictable and avoidable. Only Democrats in Washington chose not to see it coming. I remember coming to this exact floor, warning that if you pass nearly $2 trillion of the American Rescue Plan, you would cause inflation. I listened to the other side. They said it was going to save us. But that inflation is exactly what happened.

It is interesting when you look at these lines, producer price inflation. You don't even have to put it here, but I bet you could predict when Biden was inaugurated. That is when it all goes up.

But when did your wages start to drop? The day he was sworn in. The day the Democrats took the majority in the House, the Senate, and the White House.

When did it really start dropping hard? The day they passed the American Rescue Plan.

But I know they want to reject what Republicans say. They don't want to listen to Republicans. But do you know what? Why don't you listen to Larry Summers? He worked in the Obama-Biden administration as the Director of the National Economic Council. He was the Secretary of the Treasury in Bill Clinton's administration. Before the vote, he told everybody the American Rescue Plan could set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation. I guess he was right. Jason Furman, an economic adviser to the Obama-Biden administration, said the same thing.

The American Rescue Plan was definitely too big for the moment. I don't know any economist that was recommending something the size of what was done, but every Democrat was.

Why don't we go to Steve Rattner, another Obama-Biden economist? What did he say? The American Rescue Plan was the Democrats' original sin when it comes to inflation. Think about that. Steve Rattner, who worked in the Obama-Biden administration to try to help them during an economic crisis, especially when it came to the automobile industry, says this is the original sin, the American Rescue Plan, that caused inflation. He didn't say it was Putin's fault. He didn't say it was temporary. He didn't apologize afterward because he didn't have to. He warned you about it.

Treasury Secretary Yellen--I don't know how many calls she made to try to twist arms to get people to vote for it or how many times she went on TV telling the American public that this was a good thing, that this was going to put us on the right path--she admitted in May that she missed the biggest explosion of inflation in over 40 years. She said, ``I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take.''

She was wrong when she told us it was transitory. She was wrong when she told people to vote for it.

Either Democrats didn't see the worst inflation in 40 years coming, or they did and still believed your suffering was worth the incredible transition. That explains why President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Schumer are still peddling anti-energy policies, plus almost a trillion in new spending and new taxes on Main Street, even as these policies destroy our country.

It explains why we have John Kerry, Biden's Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, saying: We absolutely don't need to produce more oil and gas in America.

This is the leadership of America. We don't need to produce more oil and gas in America, so we will stop the pipeline on the first day. We will tell those American workers they are not going to work in America, but we are going to go over to Saudi Arabia.

I guess you keep some promises in a campaign when you say you are going to shut down oil and gas in America but don't keep the promise about Saudi Arabia. You go there and you fist-bump and hope you are going to get more: Could you produce more for America?

Do you know what is so sad about all of this? You have no plan to fix it, but you had the plan to destroy it. It wasn't just Republicans who warned you about it. It was your very own Democrats who were in Obama's administration, who were economic advisers, who warned you before the vote that you would create inflation. Then you took that vote.

Only Democrats passed that bill. Only Democrats created inflation. Only Democrats have shut down our oil and gas, and we haven't even gotten to defunding the police. I don't know how many times people can warn you.

You can go to my home State, to the city of San Francisco, Republicans there register only about 6.7 percent. They are not even the second party, but even San Francisco has had enough. They recalled their school board against the same policies you passed on this floor. They recalled their DA.

It is not just Republicans telling you it is hurting; it is America. But you still have no plan, not one plan. We are 1 more day here before we are out into August. There isn't one plan proposed. Or I guess your plan is to follow the President to Saudi Arabia.

But your plan that you announced yesterday, the plan you are going to vote on this floor today, is only going to create more inflation. You are going to take another paycheck away.

It explains why this week and the week before and the week before that, and every week in this House you have been in session, the Democrats have offered no plan to fight inflation. You only fuel it. It is basic economics.

Madam Speaker, in 40 years, we have never experienced this. The last time we experienced this, we had a Democrat-controlled House, Senate, and White House.

You have no plan to increase energy production to lower the price of gasoline. In fact, just this week and last week, 218 House Democrats voted to continue to sell our strategic oil to Communist China. You voted on that on the floor. You have done it twice.

So, not only do you not have a plan, but you are defending China taking the oil we saved to protect America. You have no plan to reconnect workers to jobs by ending incentives that pay more to stay home than pursue productive work.

Madam Speaker, Americans know the Democrats have no plan to rebuild

an economy that works for us--none whatsoever.

Republicans have a plan. We are prepared to build an economy that is strong and one that fights inflation by officially ending this disastrous Build Back Better, eliminating wasteful spending, and getting Americans back to work in the workforce.

Do you know where we will start?

Right here on this floor.

You will have to show up for work to be paid, just like every other American. No, you can't take your European trips and phone it in.

To the American public: Let's just be honest, Why won't the Democrats lift the proxy voting?

Because every person who votes proxy, signs--by penalty of perjury-- they can't come in because of COVID. I imagine if that person had COVID they probably wouldn't have been let into that wedding in France or on that houseboat with their family or at the fundraiser in Ohio trying to run for the Senate.

Madam Speaker, it starts by example. If you are not willing to produce a plan, if you are not willing to have your own Members show up to work, and if you are not willing to be honest with the American people, then get out of the way and let somebody else lead.

We have an economy in our plan that will be driven by pro-growth economic policies that deliver higher paychecks and that don't take them away from you. They will lower costs, boost Main Street, and encourage innovation.

It will be an economy with lower gasoline prices--yes--by increasing production in America with American-made energy, not begging the Saudis for more. We will approve more oil and gas pipelines here at home, and we will prioritize reliable, resilient energy grids.

Do you know what it will do to not just the economy, not just more Americans working, and not just lowering the fuel price that will lower inflation?

It will improve the environment.

You see, Madam Speaker, American natural gas is 41 percent cleaner than Russian natural gas. We will secure our supply chain and no longer be dependent on China.

Madam Speaker, I know the Democrats will continue to vote to defend China to make sure they get our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We will keep bringing it up so that every time I watch a Democrat on TV say that they are opposed to it, but they walk into this room--or they are in their weddings or on their fundraisers and they phone in their votes--and they defend China, we will defend America.

It is time for a new direction in Washington to get our Nation back on track. Americans deserve a future filled with hope, opportunities, and freedom, and Republicans stand ready to deliver.

I wait patiently for one Democrat to tell me their plan to reverse inflation, to lower the gasoline prices, and not celebrate the pain they are causing every American.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment, which is in part of the en bloc package of amendments No. 7 that is designed to help protect our giant sequoias, which are native to my home State of California, from catastrophic wildfires.

Giant sequoias only grow one place in the world, in California. They live to 2,000, 3,000 years. Historically, they only die when they tumble over after living through so many thousands of years.

But right now, as I stand here, there are currently 1,500 firefighters on the ground working to contain the Washburn fire in Yosemite National Park. The fire is threatening more than 500 giant sequoias, including the world's largest and oldest, the Grizzly Giant.

On record prior, the only time in history that we had giant sequoias dying from fire was in 1297; but in the last 2 years, we have lost 20 percent of all the giant sequoias from fire. Think about that. In just 2 years, we have now lost 20 percent. As we speak and talk right now, 1,500 firefighters are trying to defend 500 giant sequoias, even the oldest one on record.

I led a bipartisan congressional delegation to see the giant sequoias impacted by fires in my district earlier this year. The devastation was shocking. These losses are a clarion call for not only the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service to act to remove hazardous fuel buildup so we can reduce the risk of high-intensity fires in these groves, but for Congress to make the critical management reforms and provide the resources necessary to protect these iconic trees.

It is interesting when we were there together in a bipartisan group to study it, there were people from other countries just to come see these majestic beauties. When you talk to the Forest Service that led us throughout, you would look at their badges. I don't know if anyone has ever taken the time, but these trees are so iconic, they are on the badge of our U.S. Forest Service.

But, again, in the last 2 years, 20 percent of them have been wiped out by fire. If we do nothing, they can all be taken away.

In a Congress as divided as ours today, these giant sequoias have actually united a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are committed to protecting these natural wonders. I have been proud to introduce the Save Our Sequoias Act with fellow California Congressman Scott Peters as well as Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman, Congressman Panetta, Congressman McClintock, Congressman Costa, Congressman Valadao, and Congressman Garamendi. They have all taken the time to study what is before us right now.

The SOS Act will help save giant sequoias because it was declared an emergency so we can immediately reduce the risk of catastrophic fires in the giant sequoia groves by removing the hazardous fuel buildup, remove the barriers that prevent the Forest Service and local experts from taking action in advance to save these resources, provide funding for the comprehensive reforestation study.

We are able to come together on this bill because we all have deep understandings that our giant sequoias are in a crisis. That knowledge also brought us together to offer this amendment today. This amendment would prioritize $5 million in the National Park Service and $5 million in the U.S. Forest Service to support efforts to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires killing giant sequoias in the Sierra Nevada, including environmentally responsible prescribed burns and mechanical thinning, among other things. But this would only be for the groves.

It would also help prioritize funds for the development of a strategy by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to better protect the giant sequoia groves from catastrophic fires, a requirement included in the fiscal year 2023 Interior Appropriations Committee report.

We are racing against the clock. Fires are burning right now in the Sierra National Forest, threatening these trees. Some of them are more than 2,000 years old. We cannot be the generation that allows these massive and ancient natural wonders to perish on our watch.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and vote for the en bloc package No. 7. I thank the chairman, and I thank our ranking member for yielding the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American hero.

Ronald Reagan once said: ``Some people wonder all their lives if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.''

This is especially true of Hershel ``Woody'' Williams, who will be lying in honor in the Capitol tomorrow. Until his death on June 29, Williams was the sole surviving marine from World War II to wear the Medal of Honor.

Then-Corporal Williams was a 21-year-old marine when his unit landed on Iwo Jima in February 1945. He was thrown into bloody combat almost immediately. Japanese forces were dug into a network of reinforced pillboxes, and American forces were pinned down by heavy machine gun fire.

Williams could see his fellow marines needed help, so he grabbed a flamethrower and charged towards the enemy stronghold alone.

Can you believe he was just 21 years old when he did that? As his Medal of Honor citation says: ``Covered only by four riflemen, he fought desperately for 4 hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers, struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out one position after another.''

Williams' actions, his citation concludes, displayed ``valiant devotion to duty'' and enabled ``his company to reach its objective.''

Williams saw the American flag raised on Mount Suribachi that same day.

Williams was honorably discharged 9 months later, but he reenlisted in the Reserves twice. By the time he retired from the Corps in 1969, he had served 20 years and risen to the rank of chief warrant officer 4.

Yet, Williams still felt the call to service after he retired. So, among other things, he started the Woody Williams Foundation. Williams and his foundation helped establish 104 Gold Star Families Memorial Monuments across America to date, and right now more than 69 more monuments are underway in 50 States.

Woody Williams went above and beyond the call of duty on the battlefield and back home, and by lying in honor in the rotunda tomorrow, Williams continues to serve our veterans.

Some people don't know this, but Williams said one of his last wishes was to lie in honor in the Capitol, but it wasn't for himself. No, it was for every Medal of Honor recipient who served in World War II. What a hero.

Our veterans fought together as a team. They sacrificed as a team. And now, thanks in part to Woody Williams, we will honor them as a team.

One last wish, one final act of service. That was Woody Williams. Selfless to the end.

As long as there are Americans like Williams and all the Medal of Honor recipients we honor this week, this will always be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Will the gentleman yield?

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I would like to speed this up, and with all due respect, not to yell anything else, but if we did eliminate proxies, we could go to 2-minute votes.

Now, with all due respect, the proxies were put in because of the pandemic. It was put in during the pandemic. You no longer have that from any procedure here. The proxies will take longer than 5 minutes. If we want to be able to----

Madam Speaker, I thought the gentleman said yelling at one another doesn't help.

Madam Speaker, if we look in the Chamber right now, we have a large number of people here, not one person wearing a mask--all right, three or four--and you can continue to wear your mask to vote in person. I don't see how you are going to do a 5-minute vote with proxies.

I understand the lecture you are giving to everybody, but on this side of the aisle we will be here, we will vote, and we would gladly like to do it the same way every other Congress has done it in history, to be here and do the job like we expect the American people to do. And we won't break until the proxies are done.