Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate Reva Lobatos on being named the 2021 Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom Educator of the Year.

Reva Lobatos currently teaches fourth grade at Fort Washakie Elementary in Fremont County and is active in her school, education communities, and WAIC programs. Over the past four years, Reva has taught the Wyoming Stewardship Program to her fourth grade students on the Wind River Indian Reservation. These lessons provide a meaningful way for Reva to discuss natural resources, the economic impacts of those resources, and caring for the land.

Over the past year, as the Covid-19 pandemic forced our children to attend school virtually, Reva found new and creative ways to give her students a hands-on learning experience. She utilized resources from the Wyoming Stewardship Program to allow her students to explore Devil's Tower and a Wyoming trona mine through virtual field trips. This new and creative way of teaching allowed her students to engage with the curriculum and develop an interest in our unique landmarks.

This outstanding accomplishment is a true reflection of Reva's hard work, dedication, and commitment to her students. Washakie Elementary school is lucky to have someone who puts students first and finds new and creative ways to make learning interactive for their students.

I thank Reva for her dedication to Wyoming students and contributions to education.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate Dr. Jim Logan on being selected for induction into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

Veterinarian Dr. Jim Logan has served livestock producers across the nation for many years in a multitude of capacities. Throughout his distinguished career, Jim has played a key role in developing animal disease regulations, providing common sense approaches to animal health issues, and above all, working with a true passion for agriculture.

Jim attended the University of Wyoming in 1969 and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University in 1975. Shortly after graduating, he returned home to Riverton and opened his own veterinary practice in 1981.

Jim's service to the livestock industry here in Wyoming did not stop at providing top quality care to animals. Jim served his community by staying active as well as taking on leadership roles within the U.S. Animal Health Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, Wyoming Veterinary Medical Association, the Wyoming Livestock Board, American Sheep Industry Association, the National Animal Health Surveillance System Steering Committee, Wyoming Wool Growers Association, and Western States Livestock Health Association.

Our state has been truly blessed by Jim's work within the Wyoming livestock industry. Through both his private veterinarian practice and serving as the Wyoming State Veterinarian, Jim has strengthened the agriculture and livestock industry here in Wyoming and across the Nation.

I thank Jim for his dedication to Wyoming's agriculture industry, and congratulate him on the well-deserved induction in the Hall of Fame.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate Keith Hamilton on being selected for induction into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

Keith grew up as the fourth generation on the Hamilton Ranch. His family's long-standing roots in the agricultural industry gave him a vast knowledge of our state's unique ranching traditions. Keith used this information to benefit his community by working to conserve natural resources important to our western lifestyle. Over the course of his career, Keith has been recognized as a strong voice for the agriculture industry and quickly became a role model for aspiring young ranchers.

In 1975, Keith joined the Wyoming Farm Bureau and began taking on leadership positions. In 1981, he became the Big Horn County Farm Bureau Vice President. In 1988, Keith joined the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors and represented Big Horn, Fremont, Hot Springs, Park, and Washakie counties as the Northwest District Director until 2010. He also serves on the American Farm Bureau's Public Lands working committee.

Keith has been very active in serving on other boards including the Wyoming State Grazing Board, Wyoming Wool Growers, Wyoming Stockgrowers. wildlife working groups, and his local school board. Through his service, Keith has shown his genuine passion and dedication to giving back to his community and the agriculture industry.

Keith works from sunup to sundown with a smile on his face, a quick wit, and a joy that emulates from within. Through his commitment to his community, neighbors, and friends, Keith has become a great example of the type of rancher Wyoming needs.

I thank Keith for his tireless efforts to promote agriculture and for his service to our state. Congratulations to him on his well-deserved induction into the Hall of Fame.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate Linda Hamilton on being selected for induction into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

Linda grew up on a ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska and attended college at Northwest College in Powell and later, the University of Wyoming. Linda has long been a leader in her community and in the field of agriculture in Wyoming. Through Linda's willingness to share her extensive knowledge of the agriculture industry, she has become known as a spearhead and a trusted adviser within our local community and other agricultural communities throughout the state.

Linda has dedicated her time and efforts to many events and organizations within the Hyattville community, as well as serving as a founding member of Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom. Through her activism, Linda was able to further the work of the Wyoming Association of Conservation District to assist farmers and ranchers in improving their operations while also protecting soil, water, plant, and wildlife resources.

You can find Linda feeding bum lambs, driving equipment, wrangling grandchildren, sewing or completing any task that needs to be done on the ranch or within the community on a regular basis. Linda's devotion to the ranch, her family, and the agriculture industry is unmatched. Wyoming is fortunate that Linda chose to move here from Nebraska all those many years ago. Linda possesses a drive and tenacity that is truly unmatched. You will not find anyone as dedicated to the promotion of local agriculture and the ranching way of life.

I thank Linda for her dedication to Wyoming's agriculture industry, and congratulations to her on the well-deserved induction into the Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on my amendment, No. 89, drawing attention to the lack of funding for the Uranium Reserve Program in this bill. I would like to thank the Rules committee for making this amendment in order, although I was disappointed that many other crucial amendments I supported will not be debated or voted on by the full House, including many that would have preserved the protections for unborn lives that have been included in every other appropriations bill in recent memory.

The Department of Energy's Uranium Reserve Program is critical to both our energy industry and national security. In the Fiscal Year 21 appropriations, this program was funded at 75 million dollars, but it was not included this year at all. This program will play an important role in reviving domestic uranium production and will bring new jobs to states like Wyoming. Uranium, despite what this administration may believe, is a critical mineral that is essential to our energy security, armed forces, and strategic deterrence.

The Uranium Reserve Program was designed to address identified risks to the unobligated uranium supply chain including the loss of domestic uranium mining and enrichment capabilities, and defunding it will only serve to make the United States more dependent on unreliable foreign sources owned by China and Russia. This is not the time to expand our reliance on these countries. Instead of stifling domestic production of uranium, we should be expanding it.

I hope the Chair and Ranking Member will work with me, moving forward, to ensure this important program receives adequate funding. I hope eliminating the Uranium Reserve Program from this year's Energy and Water appropriations was simply an oversight and the result of a rushed, partisan process, and that this can be remedied before the September 30 deadline.

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, July 1, 2021, I was absent for family medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted: Nay on rollcall No. 205, Nay on rollcall No. 206, Yea on rollcall No. 207, and Nay on rollcall No. 208.

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank very much my friend, colleague, Mr. Buck, for yielding me time this evening.

I know the topic, Mr. Speaker, is cancel culture. I have some thoughts about that. But tonight I rise to discuss freedom and our constitutional duty to protect it.

Mr. Speaker, I have been privileged to see firsthand how powerful and how fragile freedom is. Twenty-eight years ago, I stood outside a polling place, a schoolhouse in western Kenya. Soldiers had chased away people who were lined up to vote. A few hours later, they came streaming back in, risking further attack, undaunted in their determination to exercise their right to vote.

In 1992, I sat across the table from a young mayor in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. I listened to him talk of his dream of liberating his nation from communism. Years later, for his dedication to the cause of freedom, Boris Nemtsov was assassinated by Vladimir Putin's thugs.

In Warsaw in 1990, I listened to a young Polish woman tell me that her greatest fear was that people would forget; they would forget what it was like to live under Soviet domination, that they would forget the price of freedom.

Three men--an immigrant who escaped Castro's totalitarian regime, a young man who grew up behind the Iron Curtain and became his country's minister of defense, and a dissident who spent years in the Soviet gulag--have all told me it was the miracle of America, captured in the words of President Ronald Reagan that inspired them.

I have seen the power of faith and freedom. I listened to Pope John Paul II speak to thousands in Nairobi in 1985, and 19 years later, I watched that same Pope take my father's hands, look in his eyes, and say, ``God bless America.''

God has blessed America, Mr. Speaker, but our freedom only survives if we protect it, if we honor our oath, taken before God in this Chamber, to support and defend the Constitution, if we recognize threats to freedom when they arise.

Today, we face a threat America has never seen before. A former President, who provoked a violent attack on this Capitol in an effort to steal the election, has resumed his aggressive effort to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him. He risks inciting further violence.

Millions of Americans have been misled by the former President. They have heard only his words but not the truth, as he continues to undermine our democratic process, sowing seeds of doubt about whether democracy really works at all.

I am a conservative Republican, and the most conservative of conservative principles is reverence for the rule of law. The electoral college has voted. More than 60 State and Federal courts, including multiple judges the former President appointed, have rejected his claims. The Trump Department of Justice investigated the former President's claims of widespread fraud and found no evidence to support them. The election is over. That is the rule of law. That is our constitutional process. Those who refuse to accept the rulings of our courts are at war with the Constitution.

Our duty is clear. Every one of us who has sworn the oath must act to prevent the unraveling of our democracy. This is not about policy. This is not about partisanship. This is about our duty as Americans. Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar.

I will not participate in that. I will not sit back and watch in silence while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former President's crusade to undermine our democracy.

As the party of Reagan, Republicans have championed democracy, won the Cold War, and defeated the Soviet Communists. Today, America is on the cusp of another Cold War. This time with Communist China. Attacks against our democratic process and the rule of law empower our adversaries and feed Communist propaganda that American democracy is a failure. We must speak the truth. Our election was not stolen, and America has not failed.

I received a message last week from a Gold Star father who said, ``Standing up for the truth honors all who gave all.'' We must all strive to be worthy of the sacrifice of those who have died for our freedom. They are the patriots Katharine Lee Bates described in the words of ``America the Beautiful'' when she wrote, Oh beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self, their country loved and mercy more than life.

Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, this is at the heart of what our oath requires: That we love our country more, that we love her so much that we will stand above politics to defend her, that we will do everything in our power to protect our Constitution and our freedom that has been paid for by the blood of so many. We must love America so much that we will never yield in her defense. That is our duty.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate Bertine Bahige on being named the 2021 Wyoming National Distinguished Principal.

Bertine was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo until he was kidnapped by the Mai Mai Rebel Group who came to his town in eastern DRC looking to abduct new recruits. He escaped after two years and spent five years in a refugee camp before being resettled in the United States. After he arrived in the United States, he juggled three jobs to put himself through community college and never missed a class. Bertine did so well in school that he was offered a scholarship to study at the University of Wyoming, and after graduating, decided to make Wyoming his home and begun looking for ways to give back to his community.

He started his career as a high school teacher in Gillette and is now the Principal at Rawhide Elementary school. Bertine has had such an impact on his students that many of them come back years later to ask him for advice or guidance in their lives. This outstanding accomplishment is a true reflection of Bertine's hard work, dedication, and commitment to his students. Rawhide Elementary school is lucky to have someone who puts students first and values the positive impact teachers have on the students they teach.

I thank Bertine for his dedication to Wyoming students and his contributions to education.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the House Republican Conference, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. Chair, I applaud my colleague's determination to ensure that the United States is doing everything possible to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, I think this amendment does not have that impact.

We are engaged now in a situation with respect to New START, that it is a treaty that was designed, implemented, and adopted in a world that is very different from the one in which we live today.

Those of us on this side of the aisle do not suggest, and are not suggesting, that we should withdraw from the treaty, so it is a little bit disingenuous for the amendment to suggest that no funds should be used to withdraw. We do not want to withdraw from the treaty. It is an important treaty. However, we also think we shouldn't blindly extend the treaty.

In today's world, in which we know the treaty does not cover the types of weapons that the Russians are developing, nor does it cover at all the types of weapons systems that the Chinese are developing and deploying, we want to make sure that the United States is able to provide those kinds of restrictions across the board, not simply stick to a treaty that limits only particular types of weapons systems and only with respect to Russia.

Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment because I think it is very important that we not tie the President's hands, that we not send that message to the President and to our adversaries.

I think the Russians would very much like to see this treaty extended as it is. They would very much like to not be constrained in the development of tactical nuclear weapons and the development and deployment of systems that aren't covered by the treaty.

Those of us who are arguing in favor of ensuring the treaty covers all the threats would like to see a much more robust arms control system than the one that would be in place if we simply extended this treaty without considering the possibility of including the Chinese and the Russians. The administration, in fact, has said precisely that.

The President has urged that the National Security Council look at ways that we can make sure the treaty covers all of our security needs, not simply extend it beyond the 2021 date.

We think it is important that the President have that ability. We also think it is important that the Congress not send a message to our adversaries that we are simply urging the President to extend this treaty as is.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), my colleague, the esteemed ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close.

Mr. Chair, I would like to ensure that our colleagues recognize the limitations of the treaty that my colleague, Mr. Engel, is suggesting we extend.

The treaty is insufficient with respect to the arms that it limits. The

treaty is insufficient with respect to the participants in the treaty. The treaty also has an insufficient verification regime.

It is crucially important that we make sure that we arm those who are negotiating these treaties with the support that they need to conclude a treaty that fundamentally supports the security of the Nation.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Elizabeth Withers on receiving the Teachers Turn Key Award from the National Association of Agricultural Educators.

Agricultural education plays a vital role in shaping the future of the farming industry and ensuring that the legacy of Wyoming farmers and ranchers continues through the generations. Elizabeth, serving as agricultural educator at Green River High School, has mentored and guided members of the Future Farmers of America chapter there. This award recognizes her hard work to foster leadership skills among her students, and to provide them with practical experience through hands on projects.

Again, Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate Elizabeth Withers on this national recognition, and thank her for all that she does to inspire the next generation of farmers.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the gathering of Wyoming Girls State being held in Cheyenne, WY.

First, let me thank these young women for their interest in the workings of government and understanding our collective civic duty. The success of our constitutional republic depends on informed and engaged citizens, especially young people, who actively participate in it. As young women from across Wyoming gather to learn and discuss the basic fabric of our government, I hope you will take the lessons learned to heart as you continue with your future endeavors. I know you will go on to do big and important things for our state of Wyoming, and our country.

Again, Madam Speaker, I want to recognize and thank the participants of Wyoming Girls State 2019 for their participation in the program and enthusiasm for our democratic process.