Floor Statements

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

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

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

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

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

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, the ranking member on the Budget Committee, who has done an excellent job exposing these terrible schemes to the American people this Congress.

Madam Speaker, America does not need and cannot afford this junk. America doesn't need 80,000 new IRS agents snooping in our private transactions. These are politically weaponized bureaucrat bullies that we are looking to hire more of.

America cannot afford $1.5 trillion in new taxes, while Federal bureaucrats haul off and spend $4.1 billion on electric bicycles.

Do they realize that this will use more fossil fuels, more petroleum products, to create electric bicycles than conventional bicycles? I don't think so. I think they have lost their ever-loving minds.

It includes $7.8 billion for environmental justice going toward woke universities; $100 billion for amnesty workarounds, as our southern border is completely invaded by nearly 2 million illegal aliens, many of them criminal aliens. There is $55 billion for Green New Deal policies and tax breaks so congressional Members from the Bronx can afford a new Tesla.

Biden's broke back budget has another $330 billion to incentivize workers to stay home. News flash to the party of wealthy cities and wealthy elites: We have a worker shortage right now in America. We have an inflation crisis. This will only make things worse, much worse, not better.

But let me guess. When things do get worse, as they inevitably will, we will need to reelect you-all's sorry selves so you can fix it, right? No thanks. I will pass. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this monstrosity of a spending bill.

Madam Speaker, Democrat policies are so pathetic and have done so poorly that the left has nothing else to do but troll the internet, looking for ways to get offended, and then try to target Members and strip them of their committees. This is a dumb waste of the House's time. But since the Speaker has designated the floor to discuss Members' inappropriate actions, shall we?

The jihad squad member from Minnesota has paid her husband--and not her brother husband, the other one--over a million dollars in campaign funds. This Member is allowed on the Foreign Affairs Committee while praising terrorists.

A Democrat chairwoman incited further violence in the streets outside of a courthouse.

Then the cherry on top, my colleague and 3-month Presidential candidate from California, who is on the Intelligence Committee, slept with Fang Fang, a Chinese spy. Let me say that again. A Member of Congress who received classified briefings was sleeping with the enemy.

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

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

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

Madam Speaker, I was caught in traffic and the votes closed before I could cast mine. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Nay'' on rollcall No. 289, and ``Nay'' on rollcall No. 285.

Mr. Speaker, it appears that the death of 13 American soldiers and the billions in American military equipment handed over to terrorists isn't enough tragedy for my Democrat colleagues.

To continue their legacy of death and destruction, progressives decided to bring abortion on demand up for a vote this week. These baby-killing advocates have been spewing lies and half-truths at an alarming rate since heartbeat bills have been passed by States all across the country. So, I thought I would just address a few of these lies.

Lie number one: Abortion is good for women. That is some CNN fake news right there.

Women who have an abortion have an 81 percent increase in risk for mental health problems and are 35 percent more likely to commit suicide. Abortion doubles the risk of alcoholism for women, increases the risk of future miscarriages by up to 60 percent, and, of course, increases the chances of death in the mother. Every abortion leaves one dead and one wounded. Abortion is bad for women.

Lie number two: Rape victims need abortions.

Wrong. They need love. They need support. They need safety and healing. They needed a Glock 19 when it happened. It is time we start addressing killing the raper rather than the baby. What isn't needed is trying to rectify a horrible situation through the killing of an innocent life.

Abortion makes up only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's services. Yep, that is lie number 3. Seriously, no one believes this.

Planned Parenthood is America's number one abortion provider. More than 96 percent of women who seek help at Planned Parenthood have abortions. Planned Parenthood is for women's healthcare like Mattress Firm sells mattresses. Right.

And number four: Heartbeat bills restrict abortion.

Actually, this one is true. You are damn right they restrict abortion, and I am proud to support them. I am proud that, in just a few years, because of heartbeat bills all across America, there will be children enrolling in elementary schools, laughing and smiling because someone took a stand for the voiceless.

God bless these children. God bless their mothers. And God bless America.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8, the yeas and nays are ordered.

Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question are postponed.

Amendment No. 16 Offered by Ms. DeGette

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado for yielding his time and for his leadership and protecting freedom for multiple uses of our public lands by opposing sloppy Democrat land grabs like the ones contained in this amendment.

This amendment is loaded with more than 30 different land grabs that undermine our national security interests. I have actually traveled in helicopters with our servicemen and servicewomen who say that this bill would hinder the land that they currently practice over, with these wilderness designations, and it would prevent them from amazing training that they do, bringing people in worldwide.

The U.S. Department of Defense uses 750,000 tons of minerals each year for equipment and other important technologies. Copper is used to manufacture military planes and ships. Silver is used in Apache helicopters. Beryllium is used to enhance the speed of fighter jets. Molybdenum is used for armored vehicles, missiles, and aircraft.

The amendment we are discussing proposes to add nearly 1.5 million acres of new wilderness and permanently withdraws 1.2 million acres from mineral production.

Again, our Department of Defense needs 750,000 tons of minerals each year. This amendment permanently withdraws 1.2 million acres that contain critical minerals and other rare earths that we need for defense, to protect our men and women in uniform.

Approximately 550,000 of those 1.5 million acres that would be locked up by these new wilderness designations are in my district. Now, can you imagine if I had a bill designating the 16th Street Mall in Denver, Colorado, and said that there would be a wilderness designation. I mean, it is wild and scenic, but I don't have a bill that does such because I tend to my district.

None of the Colorado acres proposed for the wilderness designation in this amendment are located in the district represented by the sponsor of this amendment, and I urge a ``no'' vote.

Madam Speaker, this amendment, which has nothing to do with the national defense, creates significant land restrictions on nearly 400,000 acres of land in Colorado.

This entirely inappropriate amendment to the NDAA seeks to create 73,068 acres of new wilderness in Colorado, which will severely restrict all forms of recreation, much-needed management, and economic activity. We can all agree that we need forest management, and the answer is not a hands-off approach.

While there are a lot of terrible policies in this amendment, one of my biggest concerns is the increased threat of disastrous wildfires that will result from the new wilderness designations and other land grabs in this bill.

Colorado just came out of one of the worst wildfire seasons we have ever experienced. In 2020 the U.S. set a new record for the number of acres burned by wildfires, as more than 10.3 million acres went up in smoke.

Wilderness is the most restrictive land use designation possible, and it prevents active management in our forests, which is critical to prevent catastrophic wildfires.

I have spent months meeting with foresters, experts in the timber industry, and active management advocates. Every one of them has said we do not need wilderness areas in Colorado, and wilderness areas prevent active management of our forests and have exacerbated catastrophic wildfires.

Madam Speaker, this amendment is a blatant attempt to sneak a deeply partisan environmentalist wish list into the vital and important funding vehicle of our Nation's defense.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. It is an honor to serve on the House Natural Resources Committee with you.

Madam Speaker, the West is currently burning to the ground. We are seeing historic wildfires, meanwhile the House of Representatives, the people's House, is arguing over mask mandates and passing dead-on- arrival budgetary bills.

Ninety-three percent of the West is under severe drought, and it is past time we pass legislation that would provide effective solutions that our constituents are calling for on a daily basis.

That is exactly what I have been working toward. In March, I was proud to introduce the Western Water Security Act. This legislation protects Tribal groups, farmers, ranchers, agricultural districts, towns, small businesses, and other water users who rely on privately held water rights that have been put in jeopardy by the Federal Government. Instead of joining my bill to ensure these protections, Democrats are trying to curb cow flatulence; that is right, cow farts. That is their priority. The lack of leadership by House Democrats is totally unacceptable.

And here is what I mean by that.

Under President Trump, the historic multi-State Drought Contingency Plan was implemented which, among other benefits, prevented water cuts and rationing while protecting the water levels of Colorado's two largest reservoirs.

Under President Trump, the Federal Government implemented Title Transfer authority, getting Federal water facilities transferred to local, more capable water suppliers.

And under President Trump, Republicans fixed Obama's WOTUS regulations, providing water security to ranchers and farmers across America.

In contrast, under the Biden regime, we have seen bureaucrat laziness 101. An interagency working group was formed. Yeah, whoop-de-do. How is that working for anyone? What have they done? No one knows. Since April, my colleagues and I have questioned the Biden regime's appointees and received no concrete answers or responses that were promised.

And there are more appointees that are waiting for confirmation, like the potential head of the Bureau of Land Management. The woman who will be the director of the Bureau of Land Management is a known ecoterrorist.

This is all terrible. And this is all under the Biden regime. This regime is failing the American people, and the cost is far too high.

I urge my colleagues to join my Western Water Security Act and let us begin to protect private property rights, and our water rights, while ensuring an abundant supply of clean water for future generations.

Madam Speaker, we need to drain the swamp, not our reservoirs. I thank Ranking Member Westerman for yielding me this time and for leading on this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in defense of those who cannot defend themselves, the voiceless, the unborn.

I rise to say what we all know to be true, that human life begins at conception, because we know science is real.

The more than 60 million babies that have been ripped from their mother's womb since Roe v. Wade were no less valuable or worthy of life than any of us here today. No taxpayer should ever be forced to pay for abortion.

Abortion is not healthcare, it is murder. I will not stand by quietly. I say Planned Parenthood can go fund themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 18, No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.