Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to vindicate the most American of values, and that is work. When John Smith landed at Jamestown, he said: ``He who does not work, neither shall he eat.''

We have drifted far away from that, creating a social safety net that has been converted into a multigenerational hammock for far too many Americans.

As we reach America's credit card limit, I am proud to stand with my many House Republican colleagues who believe there should be no increase in this debt limit absent rigorous work requirements.

If you could see President Clinton and Newt Gingrich coming together for work requirements in the 1990s, there is no reason we cannot do that in divided government now to cut spending where it is wasteful and to grow this economy where it is necessary.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor to rise and celebrate the life of one of the greatest Florida men to have ever lived: Lewis Bear.

Lewis was a legend for all times. He was a prolific businessman and an even more prolific philanthropist. Lewis was CEO of Florida's oldest privately held company, the Lewis Bear Company. It was started by his grandfather in 1876. Lewis grew this small family grocery distribution business to one of Florida's largest beer distributors. If you have cracked open a beer in my district, there is a pretty good chance that Lewis moved it.

Lewis' generosity did not stop with libations. Through the Lewis Bear Family Foundation, he donated tens of millions of dollars to local organizations and charities, including hospitals and nonprofits focused on curing childhood cancer. He single-handedly protected the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement funds for northwest Florida and saw that the money was used for lasting economic development.

I know that Lewis will be sorely missed by our family and by his family, especially by his wife, Belle, and their three children: Lewis, Cindi, and David.

Northwest Florida will never be the same without Lewis Bear. We are certainly grateful that we had my friend for 82 years.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, most Americans don't know a single Syrian, and so people watching this debate might wonder, how has it come to be that Syria has become the great platform of great power competition in the world?

It begins in 2011, during the Arab Spring, when Assad, who is undeniably a madman and a despot, opens fire on his own people protesting. Then part of the Syrian Army defects; they engage in warfare against Assad, and all of a sudden, they have a whole lot of weapons and money being sent from the rich gulf monarchies, through Jordan, into Syria.

So Iran is not just going to watch this. Assad is their ally. They activate Hezbollah, they then invade Syria. So now you have Jordan, the gulf monarchies, Iran.

But wait, Russia is pitching their vision of the world as a regime preservation force, whether you are Maduro or Assad. So they get involved.

What do they get for their time?

A warm-water port in the Eastern Mediterranean.

So we have got Russia, the gulf monarchies. Israel starts to get worried about Hezbollah and Iran, so Israel cuts a deal with Russia to keep Iran out of southern Syria.

If it doesn't get any worse than that, now all of a sudden, you have got the Kurds who declare war on Syria, and it makes it a little messy that the Kurds are also in conflict with Turkiye, which is a NATO ally.

Then somehow the United States in 2015, says, you know what? We need to get involved in this mess in Syria.

Since we have been there, we have seen Americans die. We have seen tens of billions of dollars wasted.

What is hilarious about the 2001 AUMF--that the neo-conservatives wave around like some permission slip for every neo-conservative fantasy of turning an Arabian desert into a Jeffersonian democracy--is that that very 2001 AUMF would justify attacking the people that we are fighting against and the people we are funding because both have ties to al-Qaida and, of course, the 2001 AUMF dealt with al-Qaida.

All this talk about a reemergence of ISIS; I would encourage my colleagues to go read the inspector general's report of the last quarter that indicates that ISIS is not a threat to the homeland. And with the Turks conducting operations in Syria against ISIS, with Assad and Russia having every incentive to create pressure on ISIS, I do not believe that what stands between a caliphate and not a caliphate are the 900 Americans who have been sent to this hellscape with no definition of victory, with no clear objective, and purely existing as a vestige to the regime change failed foreign policies of multiple former Presidents.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, my patriotic colleague, Mr. Zinke of Montana, gave up the game when he said ISIS will never be gone. So, presumably, the position of those holding that viewpoint is that we have to stay in Syria forever, maybe make it the 51st State.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Greene), a member of the Homeland Security Committee and the House Oversight Committee.

Mr. Speaker, before yielding to my colleague, I would observe that we have done a lot for the Kurds: $1.5 billion. We can love the Kurds, but it is not a marriage. It is not until death do we part. It seems as though the Kurds have made book with Assad and that that would provide a structure for them to continue to exist.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills), a patriotic American who served in our military, who served in Iraq and Syria, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and my colleague.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans and Democrats alike have been citing the 2001 AUMF. It is important to note that there are Americans fighting in Syria today who were not born when the 2011 AUMF was approved. About 9 out of every 10 of us in the House of Representatives weren't here to vote on it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

Mr. Speaker, Syria is such a mess. We are sometimes funding both sides in the same battle.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an L.A. Times piece titled: ``In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA.''

[From the L.A. Times, Mar. 27, 2016]

In Syria, Militias Armed by the Pentagon Fight Those Armed by the CIA

(By Nabih Bulos, W.J. Hennigan, Brian Bennett)

Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war

machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between

the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border,

highlighting how little control U.S. intelligence officers

and military planners have over the groups they have financed

and trained in the bitter five-year-old civil war.

The fighting has intensified over the last two months, as

CIA-armed units and Pentagon-armed ones have repeatedly shot

at each other while maneuvering through contested territory

on the northern outskirts of Aleppo, U.S. officials and rebel

leaders have confirmed.

In mid-February, a CIA-armed militia called Fursan al Haq,

or Knights of Righteousness, was run out of the town of

Marea, about 20 miles north of Aleppo, by Pentagon-backed

Syrian Democratic Forces moving in from Kurdish-controlled

areas to the east.

``Any faction that attacks us, regardless from where it

gets its support, we will fight it,'' Maj. Fares Bayoush, a

leader of Fursan al Haq, said in an interview.

Rebel fighters described similar clashes in the town of

Azaz, a key transit point for fighters and supplies between

Aleppo and the Turkish border, and on March 3 in the Aleppo

neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsud.

The attacks by one U.S.-backed group against another come

amid continued heavy fighting in Syria and illustrate the

difficulty facing U.S. efforts to coordinate among dozens of

armed groups that are trying to overthrow the government of

President Bashar Assad, fight the Islamic State militant

group and battle one another all at the same time.

``It is an enormous challenge,'' said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-

Burbank), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence

Committee, who described the clashes between U.S.-supported

groups as ``a fairly new phenomenon.''

``It is part of the three-dimensional chess that is the

Syrian battlefield,'' he said.

The area in northern Syria around Aleppo, the country's

second-largest city, features not only a war between the

Assad government and its opponents, but also periodic battles

against Islamic State militants, who control much of eastern

Syria and also some territory to the northwest of the city,

and long-standing tensions among the ethnic groups that

inhabit the area, Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.

``This is a complicated, multi-sided war where our options

are severely limited,'' said a U.S. official, who wasn't

authorized to speak publicly on the matter. ``We know we need

a partner on the ground. We can't defeat ISIL without that

part of the equation, so we keep trying to forge those

relationships.'' ISIL is an acronym for Islamic State.

President Obama this month authorized a new Pentagon plan

to train and arm Syrian rebel fighters, relaunching a program

that was suspended in the fall after a string of embarrassing

setbacks which included recruits being ambushed and handing

over much of their U.S.-issued ammunition and trucks to an Al

Qaeda affiliate.

Amid the setbacks, the Pentagon late last year deployed

about 50 special operations forces to Kurdish-held areas in

northeastern Syria to better coordinate with local militias

and help ensure U.S.-backed rebel groups aren't fighting one

another. But such skirmishes have become routine.

Last year, the Pentagon helped create a new military

coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces. The goal was to arm

the group and prepare it to take territory away from the

Islamic State in eastern Syria and to provide information for

U.S. airstrikes.

The group is dominated by Kurdish outfits known as People's

Protection Units or YPG. A few Arab units have joined the

force in order to prevent it from looking like an invading

Kurdish army, and it has received air-drops of weapons and

supplies and assistance from U.S. Special Forces.

Gen. Joseph Votel, now commander of U.S. Special Operations

Command and the incoming head of Central Command, said this

month that about 80 percent of the fighters in the Syrian

Democratic Forces were Kurdish. The U.S. backing for a

heavily Kurdish armed force has been a point of tension with

the Turkish government, which has a long history of crushing

Kurdish rebellions and doesn't want to see Kurdish units

control more of its southern border.

The CIA, meanwhile, has its own operations center inside

Turkey from which it has been directing aid to rebel groups

in Syria, providing them with TOW antitank missiles from

Saudi Arabian weapons stockpiles.

While the Pentagon's actions are part of an overt effort by

the U.S. and its allies against Islamic State, the CIA's

backing of militias is part of a separate covert U.S. effort

aimed at keeping pressure on the Assad government in hopes of

prodding the Syrian leader to the negotiating table.

At first, the two different sets of fighters were primarily

operating in widely separated areas of Syria--the Pentagon-

backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeastern part of

the country and the CIA-backed groups farther west. But over

the last several months, Russian airstrikes against anti-

Assad fighters in northwestern Syria have weakened them. That

created an opening which allowed the Kurdish-led groups to

expand their zone of control to the outskirts of Aleppo,

bringing them into more frequent conflict with the CIA-backed

outfits.

``Fighting over territory in Aleppo demonstrates how

difficult it is for the U.S. to manage these really localized

and in some cases entrenched conflicts,'' said Nicholas A.

Heras, an expert on the Syrian civil war at the Center for a

New American Security, a think tank in Washington.

``Preventing clashes is one of the constant topics in the

joint operations room with Turkey.''

Over the course of the Syrian civil war, the town of Marea

has been on the front line of Islamic State's attempts to

advance across Aleppo province toward the rest of northern

Syria.

On Feb. 18, the Syrian Democratic Forces attacked the town.

A fighter with the Suqour Al-Jabal brigade, a group with

links to the CIA, said intelligence officers of the U.S.-led

coalition fighting Islamic State know their group has clashed

with the Pentagon-trained militias.

``The MOM knows we fight them,'' he said, referring to the

joint operations center in southern Turkey, using an

abbreviation for its name in Turkish, Musterek Operasyon

Merkezi. ``We'll fight all who aim to divide Syria or harm

its people.'' The fighter spoke on condition of anonymity.

Marea is home to many of the original Islamist fighters who

took up arms against Assad during the Arab Spring in 2011. It

has long been a crucial way station for supplies and fighters

coming from Turkey into Aleppo.

``Attempts by Syrian Democratic Forces to take Marea was a

great betrayal and was viewed as a further example of a

Kurdish conspiracy to force them from Arab and Turkmen

lands,'' Heras said.

The clashes brought the U.S. and Turkish officials to

``loggerheads,'' he added. After diplomatic pressure from the

U.S., the militia withdrew to the outskirts of the town as a

sign of good faith, he said.

But continued fighting among different U.S.-backed groups

may be inevitable, experts on the region said.

``Once they cross the border into Syria, you lose a

substantial amount of control or ability to control their

actions,'' Jeffrey White, a former Defense Intelligence

Agency official, said in a telephone interview. ``You

certainly have the potential for it becoming a larger problem

as people fight for territory and control of the northern

border area in Aleppo.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Luna), a veteran and also a military spouse of one of our brave patriots who fought in Syria.

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

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask my colleagues how many more remaining speakers they have and are they prepared to close?

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

Mr. Speaker, much of the discussion today has revolved around whether or not withdrawing from Syria will ignite some new ISIS caliphate. We have pointed out time and again to inspector general reports saying that is unlikely.

I am not entirely sure that our having troops in Syria deters ISIS more than it is a recruiting tool for ISIS.

Moreover, President Trump said that if Russia wanted to kill ISIS, then we should let them. I think there is wisdom in that.

Both Assad and Turkiye are in stronger positions today to put downward pressure on ISIS. Maybe if we weren't giving weapons to people shooting at Assad, then Assad would have every incentive to be able to engage ISIS in a way to ensure that it doesn't come back.

We have to also acknowledge Syria and Iraq are the two countries on the planet Earth where we have done the most to fund ISIS. We give weapons to these so-called moderate rebels--which I actually thought was an oxymoron--and it turns out that they are not so moderate. Sometimes the rebels we fund to go fight Assad turn around and raise the ISIS flag.

So it is quite silly to be saying we have to withdraw to stop ISIS when it is our very presence in Syria in some cases that has been the best gift to ISIS.

There are groups like al-Nusra and associated entities that are like our frenemies when they are in Syria, and then they cross over the border into Iraq and they become full-fledged jihadists posing a so- called threat to the homeland. There are 1,500 different groups in Syria, so today's friend is tomorrow's ISIS.

There is no real clear delineation as to what the enduring defeat of ISIS means.

Do we have to keep 900 Americans in Syria until the last heartbeat stops of the last person who holds some sympathy for ISIS?

I would certainly hope not. It would mean we would have to be there forever.

Israel has made their deal with Russia to be protected, the Kurds have made their peace with Assad to be protected, and what we see among this quagmire is that there is really not a role for the United States of America in Syria.

We are not a Middle Eastern power. We have tried this time and again to build a democracy out of sand, blood, and Arab militias, and time and again the work we do does not reduce chaos. Oftentimes it causes chaos, the very chaos that then subsequently leads to terrorism.

My colleagues and my staff who have served in Syria and my constituents tell me that often these anti-ISIS raids are just raids of local thugs and drug dealers who have some cousin that is in ISIS, and it is not appropriate to put Americans at risk.

Often our Americans are guarding these oil fields where the Iranians are sending Kamikaze drones, and I am shocked that we have not had escalatory accidents or even more casualties for our U.S. servicemembers.

So if this is all one big Georgetown School of Foreign Service essay exam about great power competition in Syria, then you go tell that to the parents of the Americans who have to sleep tonight in Syria, and who have to guard oil fields with Iranian drones coming at them, that they are necessary to preserve the balance of power. That is not true.

The Kurds have an opportunity to pave their path. Let's pave ours. And if we are so worried about threats to the homeland, how about we actually focus on our true point of vulnerability, which is not the emergence of some caliphate, it is the fact that terrorists are crossing our southern border on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. We seem far less concerned about that than we undeniably should be.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this resolution to reassert Congress' power to speak on these matters of war and peace. So often we come to the floor and we debate frivolities. This is one of the most important things we can be talking about: how we use the credibility of our fellow Americans, how we spend America's treasure, and how we spill the blood of our bravest patriots.

We have stained the deserts in the Middle East with enough American blood. It is time to bring our servicemembers home.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mrs. Roslyn Chatman as the 2022-2023 Walton County Educational Support Professional of the Year. Since 2008, Mrs. Chatman has served the Walton County School District with exceptional passion and an unwavering commitment to serving others.

In Northwest Florida, we are fortunate to have some of the best educational support professionals in the Nation. It is recognized that the position of Paraprofessional can be taxing but can also be so rewarding. Mrs. Chatman has performed her many duties without question or hesitation and does so with an encouraging smile towards all those she encounters.

Mrs. Chatman is revered by her principal and colleagues for her positive attitude and willingness to go above and beyond the scope of her job duties. She selflessly considers the needs of both students and staff because of the immense pride she has for her school.

Her support and outreach extend far beyond the hearts and minds of her own students through her willingness to help wherever assistance is needed. Mrs. Chatman has displayed dedicated teamwork by assisting with after-school events, including Title I Nights, carnivals, and tutoring. I commend her for her steadfast willingness to serve as an example for those that matter most, the students and youth of our Nation.

For all of these admirable contributions, I am truly proud to have Mrs. Chatman as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Mrs. Roslyn Chatman for her accomplishments and her commitment to excellence, professionalism, and innovation in the Walton County School District. I thank her for her service and wish her all the best for continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Captain Allen C. Brady, United States Navy, Retired, on the selfless life he has led during some of the most historical and pivotal moments of the past century. He has engaged in and witnessed events that have shaped our country, and his sacrifices in defense of our Nation and our freedoms cannot be overstated.

His willingness to stand ready through nearly 30 years of service, his resolve during 2,237 days of captivity and torture in North Vietnam, and his selflessness in continuing his leadership and passing on his experience to junior ranks following his release, is nothing short of exemplary.

On behalf of the entire Northwest Florida community and a grateful Nation, I would like to thank Captain Brady for his years of faithful service, devotion to duty, and commitment to excellence. His journey is one that will resound for years on what makes this country great.

For all he did for his country, I am truly proud to have Captain Brady as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Captain Allen C. Brady for his accomplishments and commitment to this country. I thank him for his service and offer my warmest regards and best wishes to him and his family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Ms. Shelly Hinojosa as the 2022-2023 Walton County Teacher of the Year. For nine years, Ms. Hinojosa has served the Walton County School District with exceptional passion and an unwavering commitment to serving others.

In Northwest Florida, we are fortunate to have some of the best teachers in the Nation. Teaching is one of the most difficult yet rewarding professions in existence. Ms. Hinojosa has excelled in teaching her students, while also striving to be an active and supportive member of her community.

Ms. Hinojosa is revered by her principal and colleagues for her willingness to always lend a helping hand. From her fresh ideas and innovative problem-solving skills, her school and students have greatly benefitted from her hard work.

Her support and outreach extend far beyond the walls of her classroom through her involvement as Yearbook Sponsor, College & Career Advisor, School Improvement Team member and School Digital Contact Lead. Moreover, Ms. Hinojosa shows her students each and every day that it is okay to have fun and still demand excellence from yourself. I commend her steadfast willingness to serve those that matter most, the students and youth of our Nation.

For all her admirable contributions, I am truly proud to have Ms. Hinojosa as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Ms. Shelly Hinojosa for her accomplishments and her commitment to excellence, professionalism and innovation in the Walton County School District. I thank her for her service and wish her all the best for continued success.

Madam Speaker, how much more for Ukraine? Is there any limit? Which billionth dollar really kicks in the door? Which redline that we set will we not later cross?

China reminds us that we have real issues. China began its offensive against our homeland by infiltrating our universities, stealing our innovations, buying off our politicians, and surveilling our citizens, all the while capturing the loyalty of America's most powerful corporations. China's influence is overtaking ours, even in our own hemisphere.

Our conflict with China may turn very hot very soon. Many believe we are currently in the window of a possible invasion of Taiwan. If not deterred, such an invasion would immediately make life worse for virtually every American.

Tomorrow, President Biden will tell us how much more we must do for Ukraine. Look around your house. How much stuff is made in Ukraine or even Russia, for that matter? Next, do China. If you are watching this speech on a smartphone, you are likely using Taiwanese technology.

So why Ukraine, a country that just rounded up dozens of senior leaders in its government over overt corruption? Perhaps the answer is as simple as the Hunter Biden life motto: a grifter's gotta grift.

The amount of money we now pour into Ukraine makes Burisma's wildest dreams of wealth through Biden family influence seem meek by comparison.

Defense contractors need there to be a war going on somewhere, whether the arms end up in the hands of ISIS, the Taliban, the Azov battalion, or on the black market. They get rich in the business of weapons supply, but only when there is weapons demand.

A serious nation would never let foreign interests abroad or special interests here at home dictate its foreign policy. The interests of our countrymen must morally compel our greater attention. As the war slogs on in Ukraine, the benefits to Americans are unclear.

Bandits in the Sinaloa mountains hurt more Americans than the men in Crimea, but foreigners come to Washington to lecture us about spending our constituents' money on a conflict thousands of miles away, and my colleagues are eager to oblige.

On this floor, Zelenskyy's demands got bipartisan standing ovations-- from most. Stingers, HIMARS, tanks, at first, we said no to all of these things. President Biden even said that some of these things might lead to world war III, yet we sent all of them.

F-16s are likely still. Lockheed Martin sure is confident that Ukraine will get F-16s. They told the Financial Times recently that they are already ramping up production. Create the demand; provide the supply.

This is escalating. We are placing trust in leaders who do not deserve trust.

John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman who assured us the Afghan military would withstand the Taliban offensive, now says that there is no risk that Putin will go nuclear.

The risk of miscalculation in Ukraine is much, much higher than getting it wrong in Afghanistan. A nuclear war between Russia and the United States would end human life as we know it.

Yet, President Biden is doing everything possible to provoke such a disaster.

And for what?

The actions we are taking are not going to end the war in Ukraine. In fact, we are probably prolonging the killing. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians will die this year because Congress feels good when it sends instruments of death and billions in cash.

Many dollars meant for the war in Afghanistan ended up in bank accounts in Switzerland and Dubai.

To where will we trace the bounty of the Ukrainian grift?

This war could end tomorrow if we pursue negotiation, but Biden refuses. Not only do we arm the Ukrainian military, we pay their politicians' salaries. The $113 billion in aid included funding of the Ukrainian Government.

We can and must push for peace. You don't really hear that from many people these days with the exception of President Trump. Trump is right to recognize that we are on the brink of world war III and that immediate action for peace is necessary to stop disaster.

Unfortunately, there is a bipartisan coalition working to continue the war. When Elon Musk proposed a peace plan, Nikki Haley attacked him saying that we ``shouldn't push our weight on them.''

This is, of course, nonsense. We have pushed billions of dollars on them. We can simultaneously pressure North Korea and China from supplying Russia, and we ought to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership and for yielding.

The ATF's new rule criminalizing pistol braces is a brazen and unlawful attempt to usurp congressional authority. This pistol brace rule will fail for the same reason the bump stock rule failed: The ATF does not have the authority to create Federal law. Nobody voted for the ATF, though I know a lot of people who would vote against them if they could.

This new rule will ban pistol braces on certain firearms, forcing users to jump through numerous hoops to comply with this new decree or risk becoming a felon.

Disabled veterans and others have used these braces for years to help them fire pistols, and the ATF has unilaterally decided that this is no longer acceptable. Now, otherwise law-abiding Americans will either have to destroy their newly illegal firearms, or figure out how to comply with an arbitrary and confusing regulatory scheme outlined in the National Firearms Act.

The ATF cannot be trusted to protect our rights to keep and bear arms. There is no timeline in which the ATF, under any administration, would become an ally. It needs to go. We need to abolish the ATF before they abolish our Second Amendment rights.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be the name of a chain of convenience stores in Florida, not a Federal agency.

I urge every red-blooded American and every conservative in this Congress to stand with Representative Clyde on his legislation, and to stand with me and cosponsor my bill, the Abolish the ATF Act of 2023. Let's get rid of this unlawful agency once and for all, and let this Special Order be considered a shot across the bow.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mrs. Shawna Crist as the Okaloosa County Education Support Employee of the Year. Plew Elementary School is lucky to have someone like Mrs. Crist who serves the school with passion and an unwavering commitment to its success.

Mrs. Crist spent 13 years as an excellent teacher before working in education support. Her accomplishments include being selected as the Baker School Teacher of the Year in 1990 and the Teacher of the Year for Bluewater Elementary and Okaloosa County in 1994. After her teaching career, she became a full-time volunteer at Plew Elementary where she received the 2012 Senior Adult Volunteer of the Year Award.

Mrs. Crist is currently the Media Assistant for Plew Elementary, where she enjoys working to share ideas with others throughout Okaloosa County that promote the school and its students. She constantly strives to be the best and provide the best as well. I applaud her for her unwavering commitment to serving the students of Okaloosa County.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Mrs. Crist for her many accomplishments and her commitment to excellence and professionalism in the Okaloosa County School District. I thank her for her service and wish her all the best for her continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Royal Preston as the Okaloosa County Teacher of the Year. For several years, Mr. Preston has served Okaloosa Technical College with talent, passion, and an unwavering commitment to good education.

Northwest Florida is fortunate to have some of the best teachers in the country. The teaching profession is one of the most challenging yet rewarding professions in existence. Mr. Preston has performed his teaching duties exceptionally while also being an active and supportive member of his community.

Mr. Preston's support and outreach extend far beyond the walls of his classroom through his active involvement in his school and community. Mr. Preston worked as a building contractor, building over 200 houses and commercial projects. While Teaching Building Trades

and Carpentry for 29 years, he is passionate about sharing his craft and skills with his students. I commend him for his steadfast willingness to serve those that matter most--the students and the next generation of Americans.

I am truly proud to have Mr. Preston as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Mr. Preston for his many accomplishments and his commitment to excellence, professionalism, and innovation in the Okaloosa County School District. I thank him for his service and wish him all the best for his continued success.

Mr. Speaker, does it feel sometimes like we are living in a crazy sci-fi movie where powerful entities and interests are trying to control what we see and what we hear and what we read? Because they ultimately want to dominate what we think and how we behave.

My fellow Americans, there is a broad effort underway to deplatform, demonetize, and destroy anyone who has a conservative America First perspective. We have seen this with ``Newsmax,'' with ``One America News.'' We saw Google work to demonetize ``The Federalist'' and my question is this: When did we become so frail as a country? When did we take the position that if we saw something we didn't agree with that somehow that would dehumanize us and limit our ability to participate in meaningful dialogue? I think we became that frail when the left started to say that words were violence, which they are not.

Speech is what liberates us from violence. It gives us an alternative path, but people get frustrated and concerned when they see that the choices that they want to make in telecommunications or the digital world are deemed unacceptable by the powers that be.

When did this realignment happen? I remember when I was in school, it was always the liberals, the classical liberals that wanted this robust marketplace of ideas, and it was a few conservatives who didn't want you to see certain things or look at certain things or read certain things. Now it has like totally flipped the script because they have such a low view of our fellow Americans.

So what are we going to do about it? The Energy and Commerce Committee should be holding hearings on this. The Department of Justice antitrust entities should be looking into whether or not this is too much of a concentration of power in entities like AT&T and DIRECTV that are stifling ``Newsmax'' and ``One America News'' and even Google's terrible work to try to demonetize ``The Federalist.''

I also believe that in the House Judiciary Committee we should ask these questions seriously and encourage the Department of Justice to take action.

By the way, if you are a shareholder out there in AT&T, I would encourage you to pursue a derivative suit. Why is it that some of these woketopians that sit on these boards in these senior leadership positions are devaluing the stock you own, limiting access to popular channels because they don't like the viewpoint? They don't like you, and they don't care about an America where the values that undergird the Constitution are more important than the terms of service that we see at Big Tech companies.

I thank my colleague, Ken Buck, for having led on these issues for many years. There is much work ahead for the Biden administration, for Article III courts, and for this very Congress.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I rise at the urging of Republicans in the Florida delegation who are overwhelmingly supportive of the underlying legislation but who seek to make it a little better by ensconcing some of the policy articulations of the Trump administration regarding where drilling can and cannot occur offshore into the body of the bill.

There is no denying that since President Trump left office, Joe Biden has overseen a collapse of U.S. energy dominance. This legislation is a great first step to fulfill the Republican commitment to attack inflation and rising gas prices, and that begins by stopping playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

On September 8, 2020, President Trump issued a memo indicating that there would be certain areas off the shore of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina that would not be available for drilling leases. Offshore drilling is broadly opposed in coastal communities in these areas by local governments, many of which had submitted to President Trump previously, and to congressional offices, resolutions indicating their opposition to offshore oil drilling. They largely cite two reasons: environmental policy and the impact on property values in coastal communities. I will speak to the impact of offshore oil drilling on the military mission in these areas.

In the Gulf of Mexico test range, in the 10 years preceding my time in Congress, there were about 60 test sorties that the Air Force would run off the coast of Florida. Already scheduled for 2024, there will be over 240 of those test sorties, and that does not include the tremendous amount of testing that also occurs as a consequence of actions from the U.S. Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and other private-sector partners.

Moreover, just 6 years ago, off the coast of Florida, one could only take a 100-mile shot in air-to-air training, research, development, test, and evaluation. Due to the investment we have been able to make in the Gulf test range in telemetry systems and radar systems, we can now take a 425-mile shot. That is important because we need the capability to test component parts of hypersonic weapons systems and supersonic weapons systems so that America always holds the high ground.

There is no other place in the world where we do this testing. There is exquisite connectivity between offshore test ranges and onshore land ranges where we are able to launch missiles and munitions over the sea and land them on land. There is nowhere else in the world we have the opportunity to do that.

It is odd that I have to continue to say this on the floor of the House, but it is a terrible idea to launch experimental missiles over oil rigs and the various ships that traverse back and forth to shore for the personnel and for the maintenance that is required to maintain those rigs.

There are a lot of great places where we can unlock the potential of our country to ensure that we have a sufficient Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is the essence of the bill. This amendment gives my colleagues in Florida great comfort that none of the treatment of existing moratoriums would in any way harm coastal Florida, coastal Georgia, or coastal South Carolina.

Mr. Chair, I urge the adoption of the amendment, and I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers).

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

Will the gentleman yield?

Is the gentleman concerned about the impact of some of those wind farms on migratory bird populations?

Offered By: Mr. Gaetz

Amendment No. 1: At the end, add the following:

Mr. Speaker, last night, Florida's First Congressional District lost an American hero who endured the tragedy of Pearl Harbor--Chief Warrant Officer Frank Emond.

In 1938, Frank enlisted in the Navy as a French horn player where he went on to become band director. On December 7, 1941, Frank was preparing to play ``Morning Colors'' on the USS Pennsylvania when at 7:55 a.m., a line of Japanese planes came from the east with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

Frank boldly walked to the conductor stand, picked up his baton, and proceeded to direct the band in ``The Stars and Stripes Forever.''

Frank Emond was a true patriot who deeply impacted the lives that he touched doing what he loved to do: music.

Frank led the Pensacola Civic Band, the U.S. Air Force Band's Airmen of Note, and currently holds the Guinness World Record as the world's oldest conductor.

My greatest condolences to Frank Emond's family.

Thank you, Frank, for being an American hero. Your legacy is woven into the history of this country and this Congress.

My friends, when Donald Trump was President, taxes were cut, regulations were slashed, energy was abundant, wages were rising, capital was returning from overseas to fund the dreams and ambitions of our fellow Americans, and the economy was roaring. What a contrast to what we have seen from this administration now.

I rise to nominate Donald Trump for the position of Speaker of the House.

For all of the vitriol that we hear from the media and at times the left, there were great moments of bipartisanship under the Trump Presidency. The Democrat nominee for Speaker knows that well because he led valiantly on the efforts for criminal justice reform, and I was honored to join him.

I know no matter who is sitting in that Speaker chair, we have got a lot of work to do on that very issue. We took a first step, but there is a second step and a third step to take. I am glad that we were able to work with President Trump, with Republicans, and with Democrats to provide real outcomes for Americans to create greater prosperity and more opportunity.

I also care deeply about President Trump's focus on our Nation's veterans. It seems for far too long on the campaign trail, veterans were disregarded, forgotten about. When we would get elected to office, their issues would not always rise and get center stage, but we were able to pass veterans' accountability measures. We were able to actually get people fired at the VA who weren't doing their job. What a great thing that would be to extend, to continue, and to continue to nourish.

President Trump oriented our views on trade so that we actually put the American people first, not foreign interests abroad or special interests here at home.

President Trump knew that we had to confront China, that China had already engaged in a trade war against us, but it was a war that we were surrendering, and so we started to fight back.

He stood with our farmers.

On foreign policy, we stopped trying to find a new Jeffersonian democracy to build out of sand and blood and Arab militias in the Middle East. As a matter of fact, President Trump, I believe, is the first President in my lifetime who didn't start any new wars. This is an issue that I know unites some elements of the right and left for the benefit of our communities.

This government for far too long has been deeply corrupt. This town has been deeply corrupt. The way people get leadership positions and chairmanships and opportunities to be able to morally preen has been by accepting lobbyist and special interest money and redistributing that money as currency for favors. That is not a criticism of either political party. It is a criticism of what we have allowed to happen in this place.

If we just go next man up on our side of the aisle, we will reify that corrupt system, and we will abandon the people who are expecting us to fight for them.

I have heard from my colleagues about all the important work we have to do, and it is my sincere fear that if we were to allow Mr. McCarthy to assume the Speakership, that would not get done, that it would be business as usual, and the very same things that have paralyzed progress for both parties would continue to shackle us to never-ending failure. We can be better than that. We can raise our gaze, indeed.

We also have to restore to the Speaker's office an actual person that ought to be in the Speaker's office, not the squatter who is currently there. If the Architect of the Capitol is listening, I have sent a letter. I would like to know what the basis is to allow somebody to occupy the Speaker's office who comes in second place 10 straight times. Is there some basis in law or rule or precedent for that?

I nominate President Trump because we must make our country great again, and he can start by making the House of Representatives great again.