Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, gas prices are rising; the border has become a turnstile; inflation is crushing our fellow Americans; and here we are, back on the floor of the House, reliving January 6.

Some of the members of the January 6th Committee come from the swamps of Washington, D.C. I come from the swamps of Florida, and I know alligator tears when I see them. Yet, we are lectured about performing for the former President.

The reason Scavino and Navarro shouldn't be held in contempt is that the January 6th Committee itself is so

performative, illegitimate, and unconstitutional, kicking off the Republicans that Leader McCarthy sent to serve on the committee.

We were accused by the majority leader of having our party hijacked. Our party is ascendant, and time is on our side because when we take the majority back, this nonsense will come to an end.

It is baffling to me that Democrats are so eager to conduct oversight over the last administration that is out of power, but it is hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil when it comes to the Biden administration.

They are more worried about Trump's trade adviser than Joe Biden's son trading influence for foreign money.

They are more worried about Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff than deputizing the right folks to secure America's border.

The January 6th Committee is a sham. If you took the position of the committee, legally, no President would ever have privilege that would extend beyond the life of that Presidency. No President would have the ability to have candid conversations with staff and advisers that might not immediately come back to bite them the moment they left the Oval Office.

The American people see this for the partisan exercise that it is. Probably some folks at the Justice Department even see that it is a partisan exercise because not all of these contempt citations are well- received at the Justice Department right now.

This contempt referral should similarly be ignored and rejected, and certainly, it is a stain on this House.

Madam Speaker, I thank my gracious colleague for yielding, though we do not hold the same position on this piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, when our fellow Americans get a cell phone contract, when they get cable, when they get internet, they are subject to forced arbitration. Virtually every single American lives under a forced arbitration provision today, and most do not know it.

Do we really think that people have the ability to go negotiate against AT&T or Comcast or in many cases big businesses that employ a great deal of Americans? Of course, they don't.

And so what that means is that we have a two-tier system of dispute resolution. Regular folks get to show up at Article III courts the taxpayers fund to resolve their disputes, and meanwhile oftentimes big business gets a concierge lane to be able to resolve matters in their favor and oftentimes to preclude the resolution of a matter at all.

Think about instances of wage theft where big businesses can take just a little bit of money and not pay their employees. Well, an individual employee would have a very hard time getting a lawyer and making a case on that, and so they need the class action tool to be able to get redress for their grievances. The forced arbitration provisions that impair so many of our fellow Americans limit that class action tool, and then people end up getting really screwed in the process.

I support the legislation. I am proud to be the Republican lead, and it is my belief that if Article III courts funded by the taxpayers are good enough for the rest of us, they ought to be good enough for big business. I thank the gentleman for his indulgence.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Zack Butler as the Santa Rosa County Teacher of the Year. For several years, Mr. Butler has served Santa Rosa County schools with talent, passion, and an unwavering commitment to good education.

In Northwest Florida, we are fortunate to have some of the best teachers in the Nation. It is recognized that the teaching profession is one of the most difficult yet rewarding professions in existence. Mr. Butler has performed his teaching duties exceptionally, while also going above and beyond to be an asset to his school district.

Mr. Butler's gifts and talents are used for far more than simply educating his students. Mr. Butler goes above and beyond to truly teach life lessons as well as traditional education, to students who have more difficulty learning than others; he tailors his lessons and educational style to fit each individual child. I commend him for his steadfast willingness to serve those that matter most--the students and youth of our Nation.

For all of his admirable contributions to our community, I am truly proud to have Mr. Butler as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District.

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

Mr. Speaker, while the Biden administration, the media, and many in Congress beat the drums of war for Ukraine, there is a far more significant threat to our Nation accelerating rapidly close to home.

Argentina, a critical nation and economy in the Americas, has just lashed itself to the Chinese Communist Party by signing on to the One Belt, One Road Initiative.

The cost to China was $23.7 billion, a mere fraction of a rounding error when compared to the trillions of dollars our country has spent trying to build democracies out of sand and blood in the Middle East.

China buying influence and infrastructure in Argentina to collaborate on space and nuclear energy is a direct challenge to the Monroe Doctrine, and far more significant to American security than our latest NATO flirtation in the plains of Eastern Europe.

China is a rising power. Russia is a declining power. Let us sharpen our focus so that we do not join them in that eventual fate.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

For the fourth consecutive year I rise as one of the few but faithful Republicans in strong support of this good legislation.

Here is the question presented: Should sexual harassers who work for big businesses get to pick their juries in advance? I think that the populist, nationalist, right approach is to believe that the Article III courts that we have set up for any and all function as the proper venue.

But for tens of millions of American workers, that courthouse door is locked. It is closed. It is inaccessible. The result is that a system exists for concierge justice, private-sector justice.

The evidence before the Judiciary Committee undeniably is that big business wins more cases, shuts down more awards, and is able to reduce awards in the arbitration setting as opposed to the setting that anybody else would be able to enter in a taxpayer-funded court. That is wrong.

We have all heard about the fine print in this country. No one reads the fine print. But the fine print shouldn't be a reason that someone is more likely to have to endure sexual harassment in the workplace or more likely to evade consequence as the result of predatory behavior.

I especially thank the majority for incorporating a number of the minority's views to make this bill stronger and more likely to become law, and I sincerely hope that I am not here for a fifth year advocating for its passage again.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Mrs. Martha Swords as the Okaloosa County Education Professional of the Year. She has spent years contributing to education in Northwest Florida in many capacities. She is currently working as an Exception Student Education Paraprofessional.

In Northwest Florida, we are fortunate to have some of the best educators in the Nation. It is recognized that working in education is one of the most difficult yet rewarding occupations in existence. Mrs. Swords has dedicated her life to educating children in a way that will best help them learn.

Mrs. Swords support and outreach extend throughout Okaloosa County School District. Mrs. Swords has displayed dedication by working with students individually, according to their unique needs and by working in a childcare network as a teacher of four year olds. I commend her for her steadfast willingness to serve those that matter most--the students and youth of our Nation.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Ms. Saronda Lewis as the Walton County Educational Support Professional of the Year. Since August of 1998, Ms. Lewis 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 Food Services Manager can be difficult but can also be so rewarding. Ms. Lewis has performed her many duties without any question, while also committing to provide a big smile for all those she encounters.

Her support and outreach extend far beyond the hearts and minds of her own students through her willingness to help wherever assistance is needed. Ms. Lewis has displayed dedicated teamwork by coordinating events, like Freeport's Annual Bayfest and the Spring Festival. 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 her admirable contributions, I am truly proud to have Ms. Lewis as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Lance Climer as the Walton County Teacher of the Year. For five years, Mr. Climer 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. It is recognized that the teaching profession is one of the most difficult yet rewarding professions in existence. Mr. Climer has performed his teaching duties exceptionally, while also striving to be an active and supportive member of his community.

His support and outreach extend far beyond the walls of his social studies class through his involvement as Men's Golf Coach, Key Club Advisor, School Improvement Team member and Department Chair. As the advisor to a community service club, Mr. Climer has displayed dedication to preparing the whole child for a life of success by showcasing to students that the best aspects in life are often not what you receive, but instead what you can give back. I commend him for his steadfast willingness to serve those that matter most, the students and youth of our Nation.

For all of his admirable contributions, I am truly proud to have Mr. Climer as a constituent in Florida's First Congressional District.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the United States Federal government's involvement, provocation, and cover-up pursuant to their role in encouraging protestors to enter the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021. I include in the Record the following links so the American people can review the involvement and protection of Federal assets before and after the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021

https://www.revolver.news/2021/10/meet-ray-epps-the-fed- protected-provocateur-who-appears-to-have-led-the-very-first- 1-6-attack-on-the-u-s-capitol/.

https://www.revolver.news/2021/12/damning-new-details- massive-web-unindicted-operators-january-6/.

https://www.revolver.news/2021/06/stewart-rhodes-oath- keepers-missing-link-fbi-unindicted-coconspirator/.

Madam Speaker, I oppose political violence in all forms, regardless of the politics of the target.

I am no expert on Japanese anime, but I am told, and I do believe, that it is not real. What is real is the crisis on our border, the inflation crushing American families, unvetted Afghans in our country. What is definitely real is the violence that burned our cities and harmed our businesses in the summer of 2020, often encouraged by Democrats in Congress.

Anime is fiction to the point of the absurd. It is not really my thing, and it does glorify violence, but often to symbolize conflict, not realistic harm to another person.

In the last session week we had, we reviewed Steve Bannon's podcast. Today, we are critiquing Paul Gosar's anime. Next week, we might be indicting Wile E. Coyote for an explosive ordnance against Road Runner.

If you don't like Paul Gosar's tweets, tweet back at him. We know there are plenty of folks in Big Tech who will amplify your message.

The gentlewoman from Pennsylvania gave the game away. This really isn't about a tweet. It is about removing a powerful conservative, Paul Gosar, from the Committee on Oversight and Reform. It is about characterizing conservatives as threats to the country, dangerous, because despite the majority's references to the Biden infrastructure bill, they have received no bump from it. The American people are not really into the infrastructure bill, and so we are here reviewing mean tweets.

All of us in Congress--I shouldn't say all of us. Some of us have regretted things we have tweeted. I know I have. When we say uncouth things, we should resolve that. Congressman Gosar removed the tweet, and I hope he regrets it.

Madam Speaker, I would say I have regretted things I have tweeted. I hope that people who tweeted in support of violence in the summer of 2020 regret those tweets. I am not sure if they do or not.

I would just suggest we have better things to do on the floor of the House of Representatives than be the hall monitors for Twitter.

If we got a thousand Americans, in almost any district in America, and asked what was troubling them, I don't know that we would find two in any district that would put Paul Gosar on the list of things that matter to them more than the issues that they face at their kitchen table.

Madam Speaker, why are we here on the floor of the House of Representatives listening to the Democrats and socialists and their Republican puppets reviewing Steve Bannon's podcast?

I can't imagine that that would be the case if they actually had a bill, a reconciliation deal, legislation to help the American people. We are not here because of democracy. Save me the alligator tears on that. These are the folks who assaulted our democracy for 2 years under the specter of the Russia hoax. It is sure not about violence, because they didn't seem to give a damn

when our country was being engulfed in flames during the riots of the summer of 2020.

It is not about Congressional process. If it was about Congressional process, Democrats would be doing what they have done in other cases; they would go to court. But the reason they haven't gone to court, like they did for Trump's taxes, in the Deutsche Bank subpoenas, in the Mazars matter, or in the Don McGahn matter, is because in each of those circumstances, they did not prevail in court. The courts realized that their subpoenas were overly broad.

So instead of using the real process, here we are just enduring this politics. And because they can't build back better, they have just decided to build back meaner.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding because I think someone maybe trying to kill me, and if they are successful, I would like my constituents and my family to know who stopped their arrest.

Madam Speaker, on October 8, 2021, a Twitter handle styled @CIABobisatyourdoor tweeted to @repmattgaetz: ``Looky here, pal, I lived in Portland. Portland has ordered a hit on you. I accepted the contract. Have a good day.''

Following this tweet, this individual traveled to Washington, D.C., and the Capitol Police recommended his arrest. That is information that was just shared with me by the Investigations and Threat Assessment section of the Protective Services Bureau and, specifically, George DiSesso. George shared with me that the Capitol Police recommended the arrest of this individual and that the Department of Justice refused to do so, declined to do so.

On the eve of the Attorney General testifying before the Judiciary Committee tomorrow, it is just yet another example of the Department of Justice having a double standard. If my name weren't Gaetz, if it were Omar or Tlaib, you bet this person would have been arrested because that is what the Capitol Police recommended. But the Department of Justice doesn't seem to care so much when it is Republicans. I thank my colleague for yielding to me.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the tens of thousands of military families in northwest Florida, I rise in strong support of this year's National Defense Authorization Act.

This bill does right by military families by ensuring that we upgrade training systems, increasing their proficiency, and ensuring that our servicemembers are safe when they go down range.

The bill enhances platforms and equipment survivability to ensure that our troops are in the best possible position to prevail in every battle and vanquish any foe.

The 2.7 percent pay raise is vastly needed and is a small debt of gratitude for the elite level of patriotism that our servicemembers show each and every day.

The bill does right by the mission by investing in research, development test and evaluation by increasing our investment in cyber, by ensuring that we have a military construction budget that allows us to meet ambitious goals to be able to grow strategic mission in particular areas, and our investment in the space force ensures that America will always hold the high ground.

With this legislation, America wins the future by focusing on great power competition, and by ensuring that we win that great power competition with great focus and great competence.

I thank the bipartisan leadership of the committee, and I would note that that bipartisan leadership has been necessary because President Biden's initial budget did not meet the needs of the country to the same degree that this House will. It is a testament to Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Rogers that brighter minds have prevailed.

Madam Speaker, the gentlewoman from New Mexico said that the border is not threatening to

us, that those who would cross our border illegally carry with them their laughter and poetry.

Unfortunately, laughter and poetry is not the only thing they are bringing. On the edges of that laughter, they are carrying COVID, more and more of them, unable to be tested, screened, vaccinated because so many are being invited across our border illegally it is straining the flow.

In their poetry, they are carrying the rhymes of MS-13; and in their bags, they are carrying too much fentanyl, too much death for our fellow Americans.

I listened carefully as the gentlewoman from Washington smeared our CBP officers as racist, which is quite something considering how many of them are non-White.

I spent time with them recently. My colleague who is with me this evening, Congresswoman Greene, spent time with many of our CBP officers recently, and they are patriotic Americans who deserve better from every Member of Congress than they just heard.

The gentlewoman from Washington also talked about her visit to a Federal detention facility under President Trump. Imagine that. A Republican President, a Democrat Congresswoman, and a desire to oversee and inspect the operations of our government. I am glad that Ms. Jayapal, the gentlewoman from Washington, was afforded that opportunity.

But, unfortunately, today I was not. Congresswoman Greene was not. Congressman Gohmert, Congressman Gosar. We were labeled trespassers by Federal employees of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Now, there is a great deal I want to discuss about the need for oversight with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, specific circumstances regarding January 6 detainees, but before having that thorough discussion, I would yield to my colleague, the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Greene) to offer any remarks regarding the mischaracterizations of our brave Border Patrol officers and the crisis at our border that Democrats would ignore as they create a pathway for citizenship for people who did not come here legally. I yield to the gentlewoman.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. We have an obligation here to approach issues in a bipartisan fashion when it is opportune.

On the issue of prison reform, Republicans and Democrats joined together to pass the First Step Act. It was, in fact, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries) who led the Democrat effort in that endeavor.

The essence of that is equality and access to information. Republican administrations shouldn't bar Democrats from being able to have reasonable observations of the ongoing workings of our government and, similarly, the Biden government should not have the opportunity to exclude Republicans.

It begs the question why were we there. Following January 6, which was not a good day for our country, which included violence that all of us condemn, there has been an unprecedented targeting of Americans who have a particular viewpoint.

Their bank records are turned over to Federal authorities by financial institutions they thought they could trust. They have seen themselves ripped from their bed at night, pulled out of their places of employment, harassed, questioned.

Many of these people were not even in Washington, D.C. on January 6, but maybe they forwarded the wrong e-mail or liked the wrong photo or shared the wrong meme.

What is happening in America where we take these exquisite national security authorities and we turn them inward on our own people?

We have two principal areas of concern. First, are the January 6 detainees given access to evidence? We don't prejudge for a moment the innocence or guilt of anyone beyond the American principle that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

But access to exculpatory evidence could show interesting things. It could show that there was a difference between those who believed they were being part of a fully peaceful endeavor and those who might have been animating violence.

The 14,000 hours of tape could also show us who was animating that violence, whether they were connected in any way, directed in any way by Federal agencies.

It raises great suspicion that we are not able to get access to this information as Members of Congress. It raises even more suspicion that people deprived of their liberty right now, in the absence of any conviction, cannot get that very information.

The second category of concern deals with the treatment of people in our Federal facilities. As Congresswoman Greene and I arrived at the Federal facility in Washington today, we did not prejudge whether all of the people in that facility were January 6 detainees or might have been there for some other reason.

I often find on a congressional delegation you learn a lot maybe that you didn't particularly even show up to learn by virtue of having boots on the ground and having that real-time, effective, roll-up-your- sleeves style of oversight.

We have heard unconfirmed reports of beatings, of deprivation of access to nutrition, to religious services, to counsel. As I stand here today on the floor, I am embarrassed to have to admit to my constituents, I don't know the answers to those questions because the Attorney General won't answer them.

He won't show up in the Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing. He won't show up to the Oversight Committee. When we show up at the

Department of Justice, he won't answer our questions, and when we show up at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, instead of giving answers, instead of providing a tour, which is exactly what Republican and Democrat administrations have done in years past, they said we were the problem.

It begs the question, why would people charged with misdemeanors be held in a Federal facility if otherwise that same Federal indexing would result in release with the bail system or on someone's own recognizance or with supervised release.

Congresswoman Greene, here's my concern and hypothesis that I hope isn't true, that this Biden government wants so badly to have the specter of January 6 function as some sort of basis to continue targeting our fellow Americans that they would use people as political props, that they would deviate from otherwise standard practices in sentencing and in pretrial behavior so that they can continue this fiction that somehow we are under this grave national security threat from MAGA or white supremacy or America First or whatever the new smear of the day is.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy with me.

Congresswoman, do you have a perspective on why the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Prisons seem so willing to deviate from their normal practices with these otherwise pedestrian crimes in the instances of people who did not engage in violence?

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding back. I am unaware of any such charge. The charges that concern me most are the charges that are misdemeanor in nature that would normally result in a very quick pass through the criminal justice system, and then having someone go on with their lives.

Those charges are resulting in enhanced confinement, conditions that are not observable, and civil rights that are not identifiable when we are inquisitive to the United States Department of Justice.

The gentlewoman from Georgia compares, perhaps improperly, the BLM riots of the past summer with the circumstances of January 6. I mean, dozens of people died as a result of the BLM riots. This was not the case at the Capitol. We are not for violence of any kind.

There are plenty of places in the world, like Cuba, where political violence is necessary. By the way, the very same BLM crowd that was burning down America, that was calling this Nation racist, they have totally embraced the Cuban regime. So I guess socialism runs thicker than politics, runs thicker than blood, for sure.

So with the Department of Justice under, frankly, both President Trump and President Biden unwilling to treat the BLM terrorism for what it was, to then turn on people who potentially were not violent, charging them, holding them, depriving them of the normal array of civil rights that we would afford any American, it does make it harder to make the American case to the world.

We have already seen global leaders suggest that whatever their human rights violations, hey, America's got folks from January 6 locked up, so Vladimir Putin can kill his enemies, so other despots can justify the horrendous things they do to their people.

In the words of one of our late, great chairmen in this body, we are better than this. We should be better than this.

But we did not find better today. Today we found a Federal Government that was arrogant and recalcitrant.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Greene) to perhaps opine on the conditions we think people might be suffering based on the attitude we encountered today.

And speaking of not caring, would the gentlewoman reflect on her concern about showing up at the Department of Justice and being deprived of access even to the lobby for a meeting with a senior official like the Attorney General.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Greene).

Madam Speaker, at this time I seek unanimous consent that all Members participating in this Special Order may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material.

Madam Speaker, I believe this brings us to the conclusion of our Special Order time. I thank my colleagues for participating. I vow that we will continue to press these questions and to demand accountability and transparency from an administration that seems out of control.

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

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life of William Allen Pullum.

Navarre is a community in my district in Florida that is one of the fastest growing. It is vibrant, full of warfighters, workers, and lovely people. Bill Pullum is the father of Navarre.

He was born in 1947 and lived most of his life in this community. He joined the Army in 1967 as an Army helicopter

pilot and earned the Silver and Bronze Stars, as well as two Distinguished Flying Crosses in Vietnam before being honorably discharged in 1970.

He was involved in every aspect of life from real estate to business development, chambers of commerce, Kiwanis Clubs. There was hardly a cause in Navarre that Bill Pullum and his family did not support.

He was dedicated as a family member, a husband, a father, and was instrumental in mission work in Honduras throughout his life.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring the late Bill Pullum for his life of service to our country and to the community in my district.