Floor Statements

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

Madam Speaker, I would like to address the 117th Congress and talk about our national debt.

Currently, we are at $28,809,752,000,000. The numbers are rising so fast, I couldn't name them all. It is continuing to rise, yet we are considering a budget this week at $4.3 trillion, which would be the most expensive piece of legislation in United States history, which is mind-boggling, especially considering the fact that we also are looking at voting on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that is mostly socialism, giving things away for free and wasting the taxpayers' dollars.

Considering the fact that we just abandoned Americans in Afghanistan, armed the Taliban, and 13 of our own military were killed in the process, we also just let in tens of thousands of Haitians into our country through our southern border, which is wide open and out of control. Also on Friday, the Democrats, all except one, voted for full- term abortion and called it women's healthcare, then celebrated on the Capitol steps, which most people in this country find appalling.

You see, abortion up until full term for a baby, at 9 months pregnancy, is evil and something that this Congress should have never considered. Yet, unfortunately, that is the bill that passed the House on Friday.

So now we are looking at $4.3 trillion in new spending; $2.1 trillion in higher taxes; $2.4 trillion in new debt, with more interest; and $7.5 billion for a Civilian Climate Corps, which is part of the Green New Deal. Government doesn't need to be creating a climate police force; government needs to be getting out of the way of the American people and their businesses so that they don't have to compete with the Federal Government to hire people to get back to work.

Businesses all over the country are struggling to find people to work in their companies. We need truck drivers. We need nurses.

We need to stop vaccine mandates and silly rules requiring people to wear masks everywhere they go and children to wear masks. If vaccines work, then people who get them should trust them. And if people are still afraid, then they can wear a mask. And if they are still afraid, then they can shelter in place. But the rest of the healthy population in the United States should not be limited and held back. We should be able to go to work, go to school, go into restaurants and stores, without being shamed and divided among the American people.

COVID-19 has been a terrible thing sent to us through China and actually funded, sadly, through the gain-of-function research through our own Federal Government at the will of Dr. Fauci. Yet, he still has his job, while hundreds of thousands of small businesses have failed, and they don't have their jobs.

This government is failing the American people, and the more votes we take this week we are going to continue to fail the American people.

This is why I walked in here this morning to make a motion to adjourn. But then I was told I couldn't make a motion to adjourn because we hadn't said the prayer or the pledge. It is very unfortunate. We should make a motion to adjourn because Congress should stop. Congress is the one ruining the lives of the American people, not helping them, like they claim to do.

It is our Federal Government's role to keep our border strong, safe, and secure.

It is our government's role to never abandon Americans in a foreign country ruled by radical Islamic terrorists that would like to kill them just because they are Americans.

It is not our Federal Government's job to pass a bill or consider even making a law, abortion up until full term, and then call it women's healthcare. This is too much. It is out of control.

So, simply, I would like to make a motion to adjourn. I think it is silly that I can't do so as an elected member of Congress representing the 14th District of Georgia simply because we haven't said the pledge or the prayer.

As you can see, rules in Congress just don't work because the rules here in Congress are allowing everything to continue to go downhill and hurt the people that pay the taxes and pay for all of this up here anyway.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

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

Madam Speaker, I believed that I voted on final passage of H.R. 4350 before leaving for the evening. However, my vote was not recorded. Had I been present, I would have voted nay on Roll Call No. 293.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to talk about the Green New Deal. This is a serious issue right now. It used to be a piece of legislation that most Republicans in the country laughed at and thought was some sort of high school project turned in as a House resolution, but it is actually something that America needs to take seriously because it is written in the infrastructure bill and it is written in the $3.5 trillion budget. So the Green New Deal is rapidly becoming a very real reality for America, which is tragic.

The first thing I would like to talk about is that I am always shocked, as a freshman Member of Congress, in the dysfunction of Congress.

You see, Mr. Speaker, tonight I am starting a speech that was difficult to schedule, not knowing when I would be able to start the speech based on the House floor constantly changing. But this is the order of affairs in Washington that is always shocking to me. I come from the private sector in the real world where people work every single day, do a good job, solve problems, and they make a profit. But the difference in the real world and what I would consider a very messed up world here in Washington, D.C., is here in Congress everything is upside down. We are not able to keep a schedule that runs well. As a matter of fact, it runs wrong most of the time.

Another problem is that everything that is produced with the taxpayer dollars here in Congress produces a loss continuing to keep the American people in debt. Everything that happens here in Congress is shocking to me because I can't believe how opposite the bills and the discussions are of what freedom stands for and our Constitution, especially on the wall where it says: In God We Trust.

So as just a regular American citizen who decided to run for Congress and won my race representing Georgia's 14th district, I am here to speak on behalf of the American people and how outraged we are at the policies of the Green New Deal, which are in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion budget because these policies are the most America-last policies. As a matter of fact, they do nothing but put China first.

So we will go ahead and address what these policies are that are so shocking to me. If the American people actually knew what these globalist, America-last policies are, I believe they would be ringing every single phone up here probably demanding that Congress go home because America is only safe when Congress is out of session. But, unfortunately, Congress is in session, so let's tell the truth about what is happening.

Mr. Speaker, this is a simple meme that you would find on the internet, but this meme is very real. The Green New Deal surprise is that it serves China and China only.

So today, talking about the Green New Deal and the all-out war on the men and women who built this country--which is definitely happening every single day here in Congress--Democrats want to turn the lights out on America. They want to shut down our economy, they want to end our energy independence and surrender America, putting us on our knees to China--dependent on China, yes, just to drive a car or a truck. That is not in some distant time in the future. That is pretty soon, especially in less than 10 years.

In his last 6 months as President, Joe Biden has demonstrated that he would rather listen to Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the climate Democrats who want to do what is ``best for America.''

He is raising an army of vaccine police and climate justice troops to track your every single move. Yes, American citizens, the government wants to track you.

On top of that, Democrats in Congress are happy to take every penny of Americans' hard-earned paycheck to destroy our economy through the so-called Green New Deal--a complete government take-over of every aspect of our lives under the excuse of so-called climate justice.

This is not a theoretical idea for these people, unfortunately. Mr.

Speaker, you would think it is a joke, but it is not. No. They want to transform America into a Third World country, and that is exactly what these policies will do.

To quote Senator Ed Markey:

The Green New Deal isn't just a resolution, it is a revolution. In the past 2 years, the Green New Deal has become the DNA of climate action. And the principles of jobs, justice, and climate action are now widely represented in legislation and State and local actions across the country.

The Green New Deal provides the framework we need to confront the intersecting crises our country faces--climate change, a public health pandemic, racial injustice, and economic inequality. We can transform our economy and our democracy for all Americans by addressing the generational challenge of climate change. We have the technology to do it. We have the economic imperative. We have the moral obligation. We just need the political will.

So let's talk a little bit more about the people who believe in this. One of my colleagues here in the House of Representatives is a Democrat from New York. I had asked her to debate this policy because I believe in debate. I believe the American people deserve to know exactly what is in these bills and the outcome and the effect on the economy.

As a successful business owner who makes a profit and not a loss, I would like to debate my colleague from New York and talk to her about how her policies are actually going to destroy jobs and do nothing for the climate, because the reality is the climate has changed in the entire history of the Earth and no amount of taxes that anyone can pay is going to change the climate. That is just the truth. That is not made up like climate change and climate justice.

So according to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, the dozens of bills that have sprung from this resolution since we introduced it 2 years ago all contain, number one, a commitment to creating good paying union jobs; number two, prioritizing frontline and vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by climate change.

I didn't know the climate affected some communities and not others. I am from Georgia. It is pretty hot and humid. I didn't know it had anything to do with the color of our skin or how much money that we made, but, apparently, according to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, it does.

Number three, Mr. Speaker, she says that reducing greenhouse gas emissions from human sources by 40 to 60 percent within 10 years and net zero global emissions by 2050 is in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which is finding that global temperatures must not increase more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrialized levels in order to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.

I find it pretty shocking that people actually think that Members of Congress and their legislation is actually going to control the Earth's temperature or the climate. Really what all of this is going to do is help this man out the most, President Xi of China. It is sad, really, really sad.

The White House proudly stated that President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement on day one and organized a national climate task force to establish a new 2030 emissions target. In April, President Biden committed to having greenhouse gas emissions cut in half by 2030 and creating a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. As other countries race past us, President Biden wants to dismantle and cripple the United States' energy grid in order to look good at climate events in Europe while China laughs at our decline.

Oh, yes, President Xi will be laughing, and he is already laughing at President Joe Biden right now because President Xi himself knows one thing very clearly: if we are going to reduce our carbon emissions by cutting them down in half by 2030, that means we are cutting our economy in half by 2030.

So President Xi of China, who is very clever and thinks the long game, is planning on ramping up his economy, as a matter of fact, increasing carbon output, he says, until at least 2035. And then while President Joe Biden says: Oh, well, America's carbon will be net zero by 2050; President Xi is still laughing saying: Oh, well, maybe China can try to get to net zero by 2060.

Mr. Speaker, China is gaming us at our own stupidity. We have a President in the White House who is looking to do everything he can to serve China, and maybe that will help out his son in his business dealings in foreign countries like China.

Under the woke ideology of Biden's Environmental Protection Agency, public waters could mean any source of standing water the government feels constitutes Waters of the United States.

What does that apply to?

Does that apply to someone's pond on their private land or a private lake on someone's farm?

What does that apply to, Mr. Speaker, a puddle in your front yard or your swimming pool in your backyard?

Are those going to be considered Waters of the United States so the Federal Government can come and say whatever they want to do with them?

Who knows?

That means the Federal Government can claim jurisdiction over millions of acres of privately owned land and water under the excuse of ensuring conservation.

The Federal Government thinks it knows better than the American people.

Mr. Speaker, here is the truth: families who have passed down land through generations could see their property carved up and controlled by bureaucrats in Washington. I think this past year has shown that bureaucrats in Washington are the ones screwing everything up.

Biden's executive order implements a socialist agenda by creating well-paying union jobs, including more for women and people of color in occupations where they are underrepresented to combat the climate crisis and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon in soils, grasses, trees, and other vegetation and source of sustainable bio- products and fuels, cows, cow flatulence, and whatever else.

Biden's policies regarding electric vehicles and batteries could cripple the American economy, and this is where the real danger lies.

The infrastructure plan, which the Speaker would very much like to pass, the Progressives would very much like the $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal, matched with the $3.5 trillion budget, because that is the whole package of the Green New Deal, and they would have a lot to celebrate.

This plan includes $7.5 billion, this is in the infrastructure, billion for a network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the country and another $7.5 billion for electric buses.

So this is a situation where the government has decided to take over the economy. This is what the Green New Deal does. You see, in the past--unfortunately, I don't know why it is changing, because the past has actually worked pretty well--our economy has worked on demand.

When there is consumer demand in the marketplace, businesses, private businesses--not the government, by the way--would produce their products and sell their goods to match the consumer demand. That is what happens in a healthy economy.

Currently, right now, this is America's charging network. As you can see, electric vehicle charging stations already exist over much of America, and the good news is, they are pretty much able to meet the demand, no problem, because electric vehicles run on batteries that can keep a charge and the technology is increasing and they can keep charges for a good long distance, some of them 300 miles or more. And so people are able to drive and find another charging station and charge their vehicle, and that is because this exists, mostly, through a private market, a private economy, through businesses meeting the public demand.

But that is not what the Democrats want to do. That is not what they want to continue to exist. No, they want to use the power of the Federal Government and radically change the way Americans drive, because your cars and trucks would have to drive on batteries, not gasoline or diesel.

So right now, currently, there are already 44,000 public charging stations in the U.S. President Biden has even proposed spending nearly $6 billion transitioning the entire Federal fleet

of electric vehicles. So President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Speaker of the House, the Democrats, everyone is on board with this right here, spending $7.5 billion of Americans' hard-earned tax dollars that they had to work for and then the IRS collects, so that the government can force us to move to electric vehicles by building another 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.

Why would they have to do that? That is because they are going to force you to drive an electric vehicle that uses a battery. And then they want to spend more of your tax dollars, $7.5 billion for electric buses, and then more of your tax dollars, $6 billion, as a matter of fact, to transition the whole Federal fleet to electric vehicles. This is so shocking.

Here, let's go further. What else damage has he done?

He terminated the Keystone XL pipeline--that happened first in his presidency--according to the pipeline's developer, which caused 1,000 union workers to immediately lose their jobs. By the way, that was the same union that voted for President Biden. They backed him and supported him.

But what did he do right away? He made a decision to kill their jobs and ended a project that was expected to employ more than 11,000 Americans in 2021.

Democrats are job killers, and Joe Biden is doing a great job of it.

The majority of them, union workers, by the way. Isn't unions what all the people that are for the Green New Deal want? The majority of the union workers, hurting these jobs, 11,000 of them.

But what did it do? It cost them $1.6 billion in wages. Cost them $1.6 billion in wages. It is so shocking you can't even make it up. Unfortunately, it is real.

By the end of President Biden's first term, his ban on new oil and gas leases on Federal land, according to one study, would destroy an average of 58,676 jobs annually. And what we have seen over the past year and a half is so many destroyed already by COVID shutdowns. That is unbelievable.

And for the people at home that work so hard in small businesses, that I totally understand because that is all I have ever done my entire life is been a small business owner, it is heartbreaking how many small businesses have shut down over the past year and a half to COVID shutdowns. But yet, then we have a President in the White House and a Democrat-controlled Congress that wants to continue to force this to happen. Unbelievable.

Biden has also signed executive orders to raise the social cost of carbon, the social cost of carbon, by 700 percent. What this means for Americans is that the price of gas will go up; heating your home in the winter will become more expensive; and electric bills will go up. This will especially take a toll on our fellow citizens who are already struggling to get by as it is. So we will make the poor poorer after we have already cost them their jobs by these fatal climate change policies.

In 2019, the United States became energy independent--what an amazing thing that was--and exported more energy than it took in for the first time since 1952. Let's say that again.

In 2019, the United States became energy independent and exported more energy than it took in for the first time since 1952. I would like to thank President Donald J. Trump for that and his America first policies. Sadly, they are no more.

Part of this came from the fact that the U.S. exported more natural gas than ever before, partially because the United States transitioned away from coal to natural gas. Our carbon emissions shrunk--wow, isn't that the goal--which allowed the U.S. to lead the world in reducing energy-related CO2 emissions.

But let's get back to electric vehicles, because this is what is going to truly affect every single American that drives a car or a truck or relies on a vehicle to get to work or, let's just be real, as a taxpayer.

After years of planning, China dominates the world's production of new generation batteries that are used in electric vehicles, most portable consumer electronics, such as cell phones and laptops.

I don't know if anyone realizes this, but right now there is over 50,000 trucks sitting, brand new trucks sitting in Kentucky. Do you want to know why they can't be sold? They are waiting on microchips; and the reason why they are waiting on microchips is because China dominates the market, because they dominate the market of rare earth minerals. They dominate creating them; they dominate the market that creates microchips; and they dominate the market that creates Lithium batteries that drive cars, electric vehicles.

So, as the demand for electric vehicles grows, it is expected that most of them will be built with Chinese batteries. That is because China dominates the market at 80 percent. And America barely competes at 10 percent. This doesn't look good for our economy, does it?

We have a Federal Government, a Democrat-controlled Federal Government, a Democrat-controlled Congress, that wants to transition our economy that is already functioning really well--our Americans businesses do well--but we want to move it to rely on basically one country, China, Communist China, who is not our friend, who is our enemy, and sent us the COVID virus that we are already staggering from, from the past year and half.

But yet, it is our own government that wants to cripple us and put us on our knees to rely on China that dominates this market for our battery needs, from our federally-forced electric vehicles, coming soon to you by 2030. It is pretty unbelievable.

So, of the 136 Lithium ion battery plants in the pipeline that are going to be to 2029, 101 of those are based in China. China dominates the battery market, ladies and gentlemen.

The pace of demand growth is expected to rise rapidly over the next few years as sales of electric vehicles are slated to reach 12.2 million in 2025, so we are going to continually--the more electric vehicles that we are forced to drive because the Federal Government has decided that that is how the private market should go. Isn't that interesting?

Since when in America should the government decide how the private market should buy and sell? But that is what is in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal; and that is what is in the $3.5 trillion budget; and that is what is in the Green New Deal.

So hear we have--this is a really interesting chart. This shows you the production of how you get an electric vehicle. Right here, you can see stage one is mining. Let me tell you the percentages here that the U.S. competes.

For nickel, 0 percent; cobalt, 0 percent; graphite, 0 percent; Lithium--oh, we got 1 percent for lithium. That is what goes in the electric vehicle battery. Zero percent for manganese.

Okay, we have--China's doing really well. They have got 31 percent, 1 percent, 65 percent, there is 0, then we got 6 percent, right here, stage one mining. But don't count them out on that.

Let me show you. Global share production. This is in 2019. Stage one, chemical processing refining. Let's go with America and China. Nickel, 1 percent; cobalt, 0; graphite, 0; Lithium, 4 percent. Ooh, we moved up a little bit. Then we got this last one, manganese, at 0 percent.

Oh, but China is doing really well. They are at nickel with 65 percent; cobalt, 82 percent; graphite, 100 percent. Geez, I would say that is complete domination.

Uh oh, then we went up with lithium at 59 percent. Yeah, China is doing pretty good.

Let's go down here. What happens in stage three? We have got the cathode of anode production. So what happens here? What is going on with America?

Zero percent for cathode. Zero percent for anode. But what does China have? Oh, 61 percent for cathode and 83 percent for anode.

So here you see, America is not doing well. But guess what? President Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, and I am sure the Democrats in the Senate, would love to force you to be dependent on everything that goes into an electric vehicle. And you can see by the percentages I am telling you, America doesn't compete. That is America last. That puts our businesses, our American businesses, our American workers completely dependent on Communist China. No thank you.

Let's go a little further. What happens in stage four? Well, here is the

really important part. Stage four is Lithium ion battery cell manufacturing. And this is something that I don't think my colleague from New York, who cosponsored this little deal that we are having to deal with now, quite understands. Apparently, she knows the economy, but she wouldn't debate me, so I don't know how that works out.

You see, when it comes to producing the cells, this is where we have a problem. We have right here, 6 percent with the European Union. We have the United States at 10 percent, and according to this one, China has 73 percent. And now they are increasing, because you know what happened in Afghanistan? We walked away from $1 trillion worth of rare earth mineral mines. Why did we do that?

So, what goes into an electric vehicle? Just a battery. That is what makes it drive. And as you can see, China dominates and America is barely a speck in the economy and the market share for Lithium batteries.

So rare earth minerals. Let's talk about rare earth minerals. I just named some of them that go into the battery production, that affect batteries for electric vehicles. They affect microchips that are very important, such as the trucks, over 50,000--it is probably even more now that can't be sold because we are waiting on these. Don't forget appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, cell phones, computers, they all rely on rare earth minerals, and America is not competing very well in this market. But China is.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China currently producers approximately 84 percent of the world's rare earth minerals, while the U.S. only produces 4 percent, a portion of which is owned by, guess who, the Chinese. How about that?

The estimated value of rare earth compounds and metals imported by the United States increased by 10 million from 2018 to 2019. That is a big market because everybody knows that this has been the goal for quite a time.

There was a decline last year due to COVID. Well, everything shut down. But these numbers are sure to keep rising, and they are sure to keep rising because we have a government forcing us to these policies. We are being forced through these bills that we are working on and going to be voting on very soon. We are going to be forced to rely on rare earth minerals that, by the way, I just told you the U.S. only produces at 4 percent, but the Communist Chinese produce at 84 percent. This is a big problem. That is China first, America last.

China is already one of the top five producers of lithium. They are not just barely one; they are number one. They are buying up most of the reserves in Australia. Why? Because China listens and pays attention. Well, we know they listen. They listen more than we want them to.

Joe Biden didn't just abandon our fellow citizens in Afghanistan. He also left behind valuable resources to the Taliban.

Let's just show them that.

Not only did we abandon Americans in Afghanistan, which was shocking--because in America we always thought the rule was ``no man left behind''--we abandoned Americans. We armed the Taliban, a radical Islamic terrorist-run nation, with $85 billion worth of the world's best military equipment and weapons. We also left behind $1 trillion in rare earth minerals. Can you believe that?

We didn't even negotiate for them. But do you know who did? China did. China has moved in and is negotiating a deal with Afghanistan for this $1 trillion worth of rare earth minerals. They also just made a 25-year deal with Iran, and they are working very hard on the Belt and Road project that will go right through Afghanistan to Iran.

You see, these deals, the infrastructure deal, the $3.5 trillion budget the Democrats in Congress know all the details to, are putting America last, are going to force every single American to have to drive a Communist Chinese battery just to get to work or go to the store.

And then guess what? When the battery runs out and you need a new one, you know what is going to happen to you? You are going to have to order it from China. Hopefully, there will be no more COVID shutdowns, and hopefully, you can get your Communist Chinese battery in time so you can start driving your government-forced electric vehicle.

This is an unbelievable thing. As a private business owner for over two decades, I cannot believe that our Federal Government is putting Americans in this position. I don't care if you are a Democrat or a Republican or if you don't care about politics, you should care about this because these are the policies that are going to destroy our economy and destroy our country.

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

Mr. Speaker, what I would like to say is, I would like to appeal to my Democrat colleagues. Don't force us, don't force the American people, to rely on Communist China by taking over our private market and forcing the American people to have to rely on Communist China just to drive a car and a truck. Don't force Americans into this situation with their own tax dollars. And stop worshiping the fake climate religion.

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

Madam Speaker, I have introduced Articles of Impeachment on President Joe Biden. The reason why I have done so is for his disgraceful actions having to do with Afghanistan: abandoning Americans and arming a terrorist nation, the Taliban, which is treason: giving aid and comfort to our enemies.

I have also introduced Articles of Impeachment for the national security crisis created at our southern border which today is actually being invaded.

But heading into this week, perhaps the most evil and disgusting thing that is going to happen in this 117th Congress is the bill that is going to be introduced that makes it a Federal law to allow abortion up until the day of birth.

This wall says: In God We Trust. And if that is the case, then this Congress will reject this evil bill and protect the innocent unborn. If this Nation becomes a nation where we have such a Federal law that can kill a baby up until the day of birth, then God will no longer provide protection in His grace over America.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor two constituents in my district: Mary McJunkin, a Rome, Georgia native, who turned 100 years young on August 30, 2021, and Louvenia ``Lou'' Jordan, who will turn 100 on May 27, 2022. I want to celebrate these extraordinary lives and note their contributions.

First, I want to briefly highlight the great life of Mary McJunkin. Born in Rome, Georgia, on August 30, 1921, Mary McJunkin quit school to care for her younger siblings after her mother's death. Mary grew up working at a ten-cent store on Broad Street and went to the old Rome High School. During that time, and the rest of the time leading up to and during the war, everything was rationed. Ration stamps were used to buy certain things.

When Mary was just 18, she married the love of her life, Guy McJunkin. Guy and Mary were together 69 years before he passed away. Mary and Guy had just gotten married when he was drafted into the Army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. From there, he was moved to San Pedro, California at Fort McArthur. At first, Mary wasn't going to follow him, but he called her one day and asked her to move to California. ``I remember saying to him, `I haven't ever been that far! I've been in Rome my entire life!' ''

It didn't take long before Mary changed her mind and jumped on a Greyhound bus the very next day. She was 18 years old and traveled all the way across the United States. It took five days and four nights to get there. ``When I got out to California after the long bus ride my husband, who guarded the coastline which was a target for the Japanese, had to pull guard duty that night and couldn't come and pick me up,'' said Mary.

When Mary got off the bus, she didn't have anywhere to go. Luckily, she found a woman who offered to help her, and she ended up staying at a Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) which is essentially a hostel or recreational facility for women in need.

After that night, Guy and Mary found an apartment in Manhattan Beach, which is when Mary began her work at the El Segundo airplane factory. Mary worked third shift, so she had to take the Greyhound bus in order to go to work from Manhattan Beach to San Pedro/El Segundo, which was about an hour ride both ways. She didn't get any sleep! While at the airplane factory, Mary worked on an assembly line that manufactured parts for planes that were used during World War II. She injured her fingers working on the assembly line and received a new assignment operating a machine that pressed metal rings.

Later, Mary followed her husband to military bases in Kentucky and Oklahoma, where she worked at a grocery store and dress shop, respectively. Mary said she always had to find work because her husband only received $50 per month from the Army. When her husband shipped out to Italy in 1944, Mary returned to Rome, Georgia.

After the war, Mary's husband worked as a sales representative for Advance Glove Mill, and Mary worked in the home and raised their daughters, Janie and Nancy.

``Becoming a Rosie has given me a lot of pride in what I chose to do back during the war,'' said Mary.

Approaching this centennial benchmark recently passed by Mary, Louvenia ``Lou'' has filled her 99 years with much to celebrate and honor.

Born May 27, 1922, Lou Jordan's life began modestly on a farm in North Carolina where she and her seven siblings did chores from sun-up to sun-down. Her father passed on his mathematical skill to his children, all of whom earned scholarships to attend college. Lou selected home economics as her major because ``at the time when I was young, there were only three professions for a woman: teacher, secretary, and nurse. Take your choice.'' When Lou was in college, she had traveled home for Christmas when she learned about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. When she made it back on campus, all the men had been put on trains as they were drafted for the war.

Lou put her studies on hold and became a cryptographic analyst for the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Arlington Station in Arlington, Virginia when Army tests revealed that she had a technical mind perfect for codebreaking. She worked to break down and decipher decoded messages. ``It was like doing algebra all day--finding the unknown.'' Oftentimes, the messages were about where the troops were stationed or where they were being transferred. However, in one of the codes she helped crack, the group of cryptographers helped to save one small country in the Caribbean Sea.

Lou had to have top security clearance. All the paper they figured on was burned and

then put on an airplane. The airplane would fly over the ocean and scatter the ashes. That is how secret her work was.

On the day the war ended, everyone was out in the streets in Arlington. A streetcar was picked up by the military personnel and moved off to the side. They said, ``This street belongs to the United States service'' and everyone began dancing in the street.

After the war, Lou married and returned to North Carolina where she worked as a bookkeeper for a local newspaper. She now lives near her daughter in Rome, Georgia, and counts her wartime service among the many ways in which she says: ``we got women out of the kitchen.''

I commend these lives of selfless service to our Nation and honor them in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, it was very concerning to me to hear my colleague describe Border Patrol as treating people that are coming across our border illegally, differently because of their skin color, because that is not what I witnessed in my recent visit at the border of California and Mexico.

As a matter of fact, I am very proud to report to this House and to the American people that the Border Patrol agents that I spoke with and talked to, that the detention facility that I visited is amazing, and I am very proud of our country.

America is the most generous country in the world. There is no other country on this planet that allows hundreds of thousands of people to try to enter their country, cross their border against their laws, and then treat them so well.

The detention center I visited in California houses 1,100 illegal aliens at the cost of $73 million to the American taxpayers, and that detention facility was immaculate.

The people being held in this detention center have the right to talk to attorneys any time they want. They have an entire library filled with books and resources and computers so that they can educate themselves. They have translators of every language whenever they need them. They have food, they can request food any time they want to eat. They can go outside in the fresh air and the sunshine any time they want to.

They have laundry facilities. They have a gym. They have a full-sized basketball court. It was beautiful. They have iPads that they can speak through FaceTime technology to their family members and their attorneys any time they need to while they await their request for amnesty or while they await their court date because they broke laws in our country.

These are illegal aliens that are not taxpayers, that are not citizens, and they are treated so well. But my good colleague here from Florida and I, along with our other colleagues, Congressman Louie Gohmert, Congressman Paul Gosar, we visited a Federal prison right here in Washington, D.C. today where we were told in the lobby that we were trespassing.

As Members of Congress, it is our duty for oversight over these types of facilities. We vote to fund them, and it is our duty and our right to go there and check on the circumstances of people and the type of facility and the maintenance and the order and the care that the inmates are receiving.

I know this is something that is particularly of interest to you and some of your colleagues, but today we didn't see that. As a matter of fact, I would say the lobby of this prison was not in anywhere near the conditions as far as cleanliness and order that I saw in the detention center in California.

I yield back to Mr. Gaetz to explain that further.

Mr. Gaetz, I believe that is a great question. My fear is that this country, our agencies--the FBI, the Department of Justice, and other agencies, intelligence agencies--are taking a two-tiered track to justice in the United States of America, one where Trump supporters are being targeted--these are the stories we are hearing over and over and over again, which is why we are asking questions; questions need to be asked--compared to the catch-and- release that we have seen with antifa and BLM.

You see, I haven't heard stories of big tech combing through antifa and BLM's social media pages, their friends' pages, their family's pages, reading text messages. I haven't heard stories, I haven't seen it on the news.

I would like to see it if there are some, but I have not heard stories of antifa members and BLM members who rioted in the streets, who looted, who attacked police officers, Federal monuments, police precincts.

I haven't heard stories of them being kept in jail for long periods of time with no idea of when their court date is. I haven't heard stories of Republican Members of Congress sharing bail bond links, encouraging fund-raising to get these January 6 detainees out of jail.

You see, I haven't heard those stories, and I am interested if there are some, but I haven't heard them. I have only heard the stories targeted at Trump supporters and people that committed violence here at the Capitol.

Another question that I have, Mr. Gaetz, and maybe you have seen it. I haven't. I haven't seen or heard of one of these detainees or any of the arrests charged with insurrection, yet this is the term that we hear over and over again. But do you know, Mr. Gaetz, if there have been any charges of insurrection?

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

My concern is this, Madam Speaker: We let the jail know that we would be there, just like we let the Department of Justice know that we were coming ahead of time. We have sent letters and asked many questions.

The questions I had today were simple questions, just questions about what time do they get their food? What kind of food do they get? Do they have access to religious materials or a clergyman or woman of their choice? Simple questions. When do they get to go outside? I just had simple questions like that.

Of course, being in this Chamber when January 6 happened, it was a day that I did not like. I was very upset by it. I was scared by it. There have been over 500 people charged for things that they had done here at the Capitol. And I am very much interested in their right to due process, and they deserve their day in court.

But the issue for me is this: I just couldn't believe the defiance in the attitude of the people that worked in the prison, because I never saw that attitude in any other place that I visited as a Member of Congress, which hasn't been long. Of course, it has only been 7 months. But when I visited the detention center in California, all of the people there were so proud of where they work and the job that they are doing and how they are taking care of the illegal aliens that are being kept at the detention center. But we didn't see that in the people that work there.

As a matter of fact, we saw an attitude in front of cameras, in front of the press. They gave us an attitude of defiance and told us that we were trespassing. And then when we walked outside to speak to the person who we thought was a supervisor, they locked the door and would not let us back in. We were simply there not only to ask questions about the January 6 detainees, but also just about the prison overall because this is an important part of our job, oversight as Members of Congress.

So that was really concerning to me, that they would display this behavior in front of the press that we had no right to be there, that we were trespassers and they locked us out. So that gives me great concern that they don't care about what anyone thinks and they give no authority to Members of Congress.

Yes. That was my first time visiting the Department of Justice, and we had let them know ahead of time, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Biggs, and I, many of us had let them know. We have been asking questions for months.

We let them know about our visit, and we are standing on the sidewalk outside the door, and we weren't even allowed past the bike racks to even go near the door. And then we weren't even invited into the lobby while we waited to find out if there was someone we could speak to.

Now, for me that was concerning. I have had a lot of death threats. I have had all kinds of threats on my life, my husband, my children, terrifying things. And as we were standing on the sidewalk, I could see many people coming down going each way. And I couldn't believe that. I was like why would the Department of Justice leave Members of Congress out here on the sidewalk in the open in the middle of a city and not bring us in the lobby just to wait to see if we had questions answered. And not only as a Member of Congress but as a woman, I just couldn't understand why we were left out there.

So that was very alarming to me. And then just to be never given an answer; no one to come and speak to us. We just had simple questions. They're not difficult questions. We are just asking how this is being investigated. And then we want to know why are these other riots not being investigated, because that truly affected the American people.

You see, January 6 affected the Capitol and Congress, but all the riots all year long affected the American people. It affected their businesses that they worked so hard in. It affected their jobs. It affected their communities. It burned their communities. It cost them so much money. There are many people that died. There are officers that have injuries that they will never recover from and billions and billions of dollars in damage. So I am very concerned about that two- tier track justice system that should not exist in our country because, Mr. Gaetz, this is the type of stuff we see in Communist China, Communist Cuba, and I have great concern and fear of that in the United States of America.

Mr. GAETZ: It certainly is something, having listened to our Democratic colleagues for years suggest that President Trump was this grave danger to our institutions, that our institutions would fall under a time of rising economic activity and a rising sense of patriotism, and more productive sectors of our economy growing. But it seems to me that the Biden administration is doing far more damage to our institutions by concealing their actions, by deviating from normal standards of justice and process, and by having an approach that is more indicative of regimes that don't really respect checks and balances and balance of power and institutional development and growth.

I note that we are joined by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert.) Judge Gohmert has spent time on the bench, and is now a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee. As a judge he has toured a number of corrections facilities. As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee he has been involved in drafting legislation that deal with our Federal prison system. And he joined Congresswoman Greene and I both at the Department of Justice and at the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility today and received precisely the same treatment we did.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) to reflect on those experiences.

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.

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

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