Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

In just one week, House Democrats have managed to bypass the wishes of the American people and pass radical legislation that permits abortion through the ninth month, assures payouts to Planned Parenthood, attacks the traditional family, and eliminates medical supervision for chemical abortion pills.

The American people who overwhelmingly oppose abortion through the third trimester are appalled by the radical leftwing agenda put forth by the Speaker. House Democrats are pushing an extreme leftwing agenda. They are trying to distract from the surging gas prices, record inflation, and the crisis at the border, which they created.

It took less than 2 years for woke leftists to destroy the American economy, which was booming under President Trump's leadership. These same leftists have also openly advocated for open borders, transgender surgeries on

teens, and removing the Second Amendment rights of our citizens.

All of these initiatives are deeply unpopular with the American people, and I will also vote ``no'' on the radical agenda of the left.

Madam Speaker, last week, the Biden administration announced that they are cutting off the benefits for 60,000 National Guard and Reserve soldiers who do not want to take the COVID vaccine.

We are losing some of our best and brightest servicemembers to the Biden administration's ideological purge of our military.

President Biden's military purge weakens America and emboldens our adversaries, especially China.

I am proud to join Congressman Massie on his amendment to prohibit vaccine mandates for our servicemembers and to reinstate servicemembers who have been forced out due to the mandate.

I will continue to advocate for our troops.

Madam Speaker, today is a historic day as the Supreme Court upheld the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

I thank President Trump for appointing Justices who defended the constitutional rights of gun owners.

It is unfortunate that at the same time the Supreme Court is upholding our Second Amendment rights, Congress is working behind closed doors to push unconstitutional red flag gun confiscation.

I strongly oppose efforts by the House and Senate to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of my constituents, and I urge this body to reject the gun control legislation.

Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 270, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 271, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 272, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 273, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 274 and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 275.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Amodei (Balderson)

Brooks (Weber (TX))

Bustos (Mrvan)

Carter (TX) (Weber (TX))

Connolly (Beyer)

Crist (Wasserman Schultz)

Davids (KS) (Neguse)

Davis, Danny K. (Beyer)

Evans (Beyer)

Gohmert (Weber (TX))

Gonzalez (OH) (Meijer)

Green (TN) (Fleischmann)

Johnson (GA) (Manning)

Johnson (TX) (Jeffries)

Kahele (Mrvan)

Katko (Moore (UT))

Kelly (IL) (Neguse)

Lamb (Blunt Rochester)

Lawrence (Stevens)

Lawson (FL) (Wasserman Schultz)

Lowenthal (Beyer)

Mace (Carter (GA))

McEachin (Beyer)

Moore (WI) (Beyer)

Newman (Beyer)

O'Halleran (Schrader)

Palazzo (Fleischmann)

Peters (Jeffries)

Pingree (Wasserman Schultz)

Price (NC) (Manning)

Rice (SC) (Meijer)

Stanton (Huffman)

Suozzi (Beyer)

Taylor (Van Duyne)

Tenney (Jackson)

Titus (Pallone)

Walorski (Bucshon)

Waters (Takano)

Watson Coleman (Pallone)

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 259, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 260, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 261.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Amodei (Balderson)

Bustos (Mrvan)

Carter (TX) (Weber (TX))

Correa (Huffman)

Crist (Wasserman Schultz)

Davids (KS) (Neguse)

Deutch (Rice (NY))

Evans (Beyer)

Gonzalez (OH) (Meijer)

Johnson (GA) (Manning)

Johnson (TX) (Jeffries)

Kahele (Mrvan)

Kelly (IL) (Neguse)

Khanna (Watson Coleman)

Lamb (Blunt Rochester)

Lawrence (Stevens)

Lawson (FL) (Wasserman Schultz)

Lynch (Langevin)

Mace (Carter (GA))

McEachin (Beyer)

Moore (WI) (Beyer)

Nadler (Pallone)

Newman (Beyer)

O'Halleran (Schrader)

Palazzo (Fleischmann)

Payne (Pallone)

Peters (Jeffries)

Pingree (Wasserman Schultz)

Price (NC) (Manning)

Rice (SC) (Meijer)

Schneider (Stevens)

Speier (Huffman)

Stansbury (Garcia (IL))

Stanton (Huffman)

Suozzi (Beyer)

Taylor (Van Duyne)

Tenney (Jackson)

Titus (Pallone)

Walorski (Bucshon)

Waters (Takano)

Welch (Pallone)

Wilson (FL) (Neguse)

Wilson (SC) (Timmons)

Madam Speaker, my amendment puts strong protections in place so that no funds in this bill can go toward harming the unborn.

The underlying bill includes a provision that allows taxpayer dollars to be used for health and mental healthcare support.

Without the protections my amendment offers, this funding could go to counseling young pregnant women to seek abortions. This is wrong. A child in the womb is a distinct, developing, whole human being.

In my home State of Illinois, our leftist Governor announced this week he will take Federal funding from title 10 and give it to Planned Parenthood of Illinois. This goes directly against Federal law and the Hyde amendment.

Those on the other side of this aisle, in this body, use every opportunity to get rid of the Hyde amendment. That is why my amendment is so important. The growing hostility toward the Hyde amendment is alarming and means we must be vigilant in our efforts to ensure program dollars authorized by Congress cannot be used for abortions or abortion services.

God is the author of life, not Congress. The taking of life through abortion is an assault on the image of God.

Abortion is not healthcare, despite what the left says, and we should not force taxpayers to violate their morals or strongly held beliefs by forcing them to pay for it. My amendment ensures that they won't.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to call up H.R. 471, the PAUSE Act, to protect all Americans from Biden's border crisis.

Mr. Speaker, title 42 is the only thing keeping President Biden from fully handing our border to cartels and smugglers already taking full advantage of his incompetence and neglect.

Last week, the Biden administration announced that they will be stopping Border Patrol from enforcing COVID-19 restrictions on illegal immigrants by ending title 42.

Title 42 must stay in place. It is a matter of national security, and my colleagues and I are calling on Democrats to act in a bipartisan effort to

force a vote on the bill to keep it in place.

Biden's open border policies are an unmitigated disaster. The crisis at our southern border is out of control and our Customs and Border Patrol is already dangerously overwhelmed.

Ending title 42 expulsions will signal to cartels and migrants that our border is now wide open, inciting more violence and lawlessness.

It is also being reported that the Biden administration is going to divert resources from our veterans in order to give free medical care to illegal migrants.

I wrote a letter to the secretary of Veterans Affairs to oppose these efforts because we must put our heroes first and stand up for our veterans.

Madam Speaker, this April Americans all over the country, led by Concerned Women for America, the Nation's largest public policy organization for women, and other faith-based organizations are celebrating April as Faith Month. I rise to join and commend this noble effort calling all people of faith to join in prayer, thanksgiving, and celebration of their faith.

The United States of America was born of the unanimous Declaration that we are ``endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights,'' based on ``the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God,'' ``appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world,'' and acknowledging our ``reliance on the protection of divine Providence.'' We are a people of faith. That is why religious freedom is known as America's first freedom, as laid out in the Establishment and the Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment also supports America's unique focus on freedom of expression, including in matters of faith.

America's Judeo-Christian founding promotes religious diversity and tolerance. Our motto, ``In God We Trust,'' further emphasizes the importance of faith in our nation's founding. From our first president to the last, we have always acknowledged America's faith. President George Washington recognized ``it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and President Joe Biden, most recently acknowledged Thanksgiving as a ``time to reflect on our many blessings--from God, this Nation, and each other.''

Religious liberty serves to strengthen our country's appreciation of all peoples, regardless of faith. But eternal diligence is needed to preserve religious freedom. Attacks on religious liberty and people of faith continue to plague our nation with some religious charities even being forced to betray the tenets of their faith in order to participate in certain government programs. We must actively reject all efforts to criminalize or cancel religious beliefs in certain controversial areas as somehow incompatible with our democracy.

Religious organizations in America have a rich history of charitable engagement helping the sick, poor, and afflicted, and they should be celebrated, not maligned for their contributions to our way of life. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 75 percent of Americans practice some type of religious faith. This rich, diverse religious heritage is to our credit and should be commended.

Therefore, I join millions of Americans celebrating their personal faiths freely and openly, with public displays and celebrations, including prayer and expressions of thanksgiving, during the month of April, also known as ``Faith Month,'' as a way to reaffirm our commitment to the religious liberty principles of our founding.

Mr. Speaker, this month, Americans all over the country are celebrating April as Faith Month. I rise in support of this effort and call on all people of faith to join in prayer and celebration.

As a Member of Congress, I am happy to reaffirm my commitment to our Judeo-Christian values and freedom of religion for all that this country was founded on.

Religious organizations in America have a rich history of charitable engagement, helping the sick, poor, and afflicted. They should be celebrated for their contributions to our way of life.

Mr. Speaker, a tree is known by its fruits. Every policy that Biden and the Democrats have created is demonstrably an America last policy.

They call it Build Back Better, but the truth is, their agenda is Americans last, build back broke policies.

Americans are facing an extreme economic crisis as a result of Democrat policies that President Biden and Speaker Pelosi have put into place.

Skyrocketing prices at the store and the pump are causing Americans pain in their pocketbook. Biden's outrageous budget is fuel on the inflation fire.

President Biden and the Democrats in the House are deliberately bankrupting Americans and taking away their economic opportunities. What are we leaving behind for our children and grandchildren?

Americans cannot afford the America last policies the Democrats have created that have made crisis upon crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Mann for hosting this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, at the conclusion of National Agriculture Month, I would like to share how strongly I believe in the family farm as part of the American way of life. It has truly been a blessing to have our sons-- who are the 4th generation--and their children--the 5th generation-- working our land.

I am proud to be an Illinois farmer and to represent the farmers' needs in

Congress and on the Ag Committee. If Americans are hungry, really, what else matters?

The agriculture industry keeps Americans and the world fed, fueled, and clothed. I am so thankful for the work that the ag industry does and for their contributions to the GDP and Illinois and across our Nation.

America is on a dangerous path, losing our self-sufficiency in farming, which is why I introduced a bill in Congress to prevent China from buying up our farmland. Biden and the Democrats continue to push policies that promote Chinese-made batteries and solar panels instead of American biofuels.

National Agriculture Month is a great time to thank our farmers, ranchers, and agriculture professionals for their tireless work.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on roll call No. 73.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Baird (Walorski)

Bourdeaux (Correa)

Bowman (Meng)

Brown (OH) (Jeffries)

Cardenas (Gomez)

Carter (GA) (Cammack)

Carter (TX) (Nehls)

Connolly (Wexton)

Crist (Wasserman Schultz)

Dean (Scanlon)

DeLauro (Courtney)

DeSaulnier (Beyer)

Fortenberry (Moolenaar)

Garamendi (Correa)

Gimenez (Waltz)

Golden (Courtney)

Harder (CA) (Beyer)

Johnson (TX) (Jeffries)

Kahele (Mrvan)

Kaptur (Lawrence)

Kim (NJ) (Pallone)

Kirkpatrick (Pallone)

Lawson (FL) (Evans)

Lesko (Joyce (PA))

Lofgren (Jeffries)

McHenry (Cammack)

Neguse (Perlmutter)

Norman (Wilson (SC))

Pascrell (Pallone)

Payne (Pallone)

Porter (Wexton)

Roybal-Allard (Escobar)

Salazar (Fallon)

Schrier (Jeffries)

Scott, David (Jeffries)

Sires (Pallone)

Suozzi (Beyer)

Taylor (Fallon)

Titus (Cicilline)

Trone (Beyer)

Upton (Katko)

Van Drew

(Reschenthaler)

Watson Coleman (Pallone)

Welch (Pallone)

Wilson (FL) (Cicilline)

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the critical issues facing my fellow farmers.

The world is on fire under President Biden and his America last agenda. We are seeing skyrocketing costs of critical inputs, such as fertilizer. Nitrogen fertilizer has doubled in price.

Our fuel prices have reached record highs, and President Biden's solution is to beg our enemies in Iran and Venezuela for more oil.

The supply chain crisis was never addressed, and farmers are struggling to find parts to repair equipment. Family farms are suffering, and every American is about to see a drastic increase in the price of food.

I am afraid for regular Americans. This yearlong experiment of woke government has been a disaster.

My constituents in the 15th District miss President Trump and an agenda that put America first.