Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the retirement of James Blanton after his incredible 35 years in law enforcement.

James' journey started in 1989 as a Patrol Sergeant and Criminal Investigator for the Caldwell County Sheriff's Department, where he played an important role in the CAPCO Drug Task Force and solidified his reputation as a trusted law enforcement professional. His career brought him through a variety of roles, including Investigator for the Bastrop County Sheriff's Department, Deputy for the Comal County Sheriff's Department, and Deputy Constable for Precinct 2 in Hays County.

In each and every assignment, James' integrity and professionalism stood out among his colleagues--leading to a decorated career. Most notably, James has been awarded with the Master Peace Officer classification by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, recognizing his excellence in the field. But more than any award or career achievement, James is known for his character, and his respect for all individuals he encountered during his service. His unwavering commitment to serving his community marks truly a job well done, and a life well lived.

As James embarks on this new chapter of his life, it is my honor to recognize his remarkable service and dedication. I join the communities James has served in thanking him for his years of service. May God bless him and his family in the months and years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate Mrs. Martha Tice's 100th birthday.

Born on February 11, 1924, Martha hails from the wonderful South Texas town of Sinton in my district. A retired schoolteacher, she is well known throughout the community for her selfless heart, as the proud matriarch of her loving family, and someone who still takes every opportunity to give back to others. Martha and her late husband, Henry, raised their two daughters in Sinton and have been blessed with five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

On this truly wonderful occasion, I join her family and the whole Sinton community in wishing Martha Tice a wonderful 100th birthday. May God continue to bless her and her family in the months and years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, if we were to ask the cartels to design a border security apparatus for the United States, it would look very much like the one the Biden administration has given us--just enough of the illusion of border security for them to be able to charge a hefty premium but not enough to actually stop their trafficking of humans and drugs into our country.

The truth is, the Biden administration has every single authority and more resources than the Trump administration had to secure the border, but they refuse to do so. They blame Texas. They blame us in Congress by saying they need more money.

As one Border Patrol agent I talked to just 2 weeks ago on the border said, it is like we are holding a bucket in front of an open fire hydrant, and they keep asking for more buckets. We need to cap the fire hydrant.

The problem from Congress' perspective is that we send over a check to the administration, and on the memo column, we put ``border security,'' but this administration has taken that check, cashed it, and used it to aid and abet cartels with human trafficking and drug trafficking into our country. We have to stop this.

Money that is set aside for natural disasters to help Americans through FEMA goes to help NGOs, this entire cottage industry where cartels bring migrants to our country. Our border security apparatus, along with NGOs and Federal taxpayer funding, is then used to transport them throughout the country, where many times the cartels pick up that relationship and keep migrants in indentured servitude and as sex slaves. We cannot continue to allow this to happen.

What is happening when we talk about processing who is coming across the border right now? Primarily, it is military-age single adults.

When our border security has to collapse to a processing center, it leaves hundreds of miles open. It is where we have what we call known got-aways and, even more dangerous, the unknown got-aways that are coming across our border.

We have no idea what is happening. We have to secure our border. It is a humanitarian issue. It is a national security issue.

Madam Speaker, every American wants what every Republican wants, and that is a strong military. We realize that is our number one constitutional obligation.

We want the most capable, the most lethal military in the world. We need them to maintain peace and security. When we have to send them into harm's way, we want them to go with a clear mission and with every tool they need for victory. When they come home, we want to take care of the veterans and make sure they are welcomed and cared for. We want to make sure they have everything they need to succeed following their service in uniform to our country.

Unfortunately, what we have seen lately is our military has, in many ways, gone off its primary mission of protecting, securing, and preparing to continue to secure our Nation. They have gotten into social engineering, indeed, teaching CRT, DEI, and advancing things like gender ideology.

We have heard about drag shows at military bases, taxpayer-funded abortion travel, and taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries. It has certainly affected our recruiting. It has affected our capabilities. It has affected our readiness and ability to project power around the world.

I was happy to support the NDAA as it left the House and went to the Senate because it was focused on getting our military back to its focus, its purpose of protecting and securing our country; being that strong, lethal fighting force; and getting out of what we have known to become this woke move toward the military that has affected our capability.

Let's talk about the process it was supposed to go through. We understand that we send forth a good bill from the House, and then it goes to the Senate. There is supposed to be a conference on that. As a matter of fact, many Members worked to get on that conference committee. Many other Members worked to support people who would get on that conference committee in order to work and support different objectives that were in there.

A couple of things we were working on in our office was a bill that would let rank-and-file military be able to go into work in military contracting right after service. There has been a law that was meant to keep, for example, generals who were making big-time decisions about government, for example, from going to Raytheon and serving on a board because it wanted to make sure that their military decisions were not affected by future board positions. But the rank and file of our military kind of fell under that.

For example, we have an Army depot in our district. The rank and file cannot be employed there for 6 months after their retirement from military service. By then, they have often had to move on and find other careers.

We also had another provision that we were working on to make sure that the depots throughout our country that are tasked with the important duty of restoring and refurbishing our military hardware, supporting the warfighter and doing it in an efficient manner, that they continue to be able to thrive and survive. Those things fell off in what was our alleged conference.

This conference--instead of the Members that we elected to send there to represent this body--were instead four people who got together and the staffs probably of those four people made the decisions. Those two provisions were taken out of this bill, as well.

Let's talk about the House rules. All year, we talked about rewriting the muscle memory of Congress. We worked hard. I cannot tell you how many times we have heard the importance of single-subject bills and that we as Republicans were going to advocate for that. We were not going to marry things that were extraneous to each other. We were going to have bills that had to deal with germaneness. We added a germaneness rule in January that had never existed. We were going to say that any amendments to bills have to be germane. Anything we are going to add onto a bill has to be germane.

Come to find out that we now have the NDAA, which has come back from the Senate with a number of woke provisions in it, and added to that now is a FISA extension. In the Senate, the Parliamentarian says that is not germane to the NDAA. In the House, we actually have a tougher germaneness rule.

How are we getting around that? We are going to put it on the suspension calendar. We are just going to suspend the rules and say the rules that we said we were going to operate by, we are not going to operate by when it comes to this bill. This is a tragedy.

Finally, when it comes to the Constitution, the Constitution is clear that Americans should not be warrantlessly surveilled. We know we have a DOJ that has been doing that. They have well extended their authorities.

We had so much FISA abuse. There were literally hundreds of thousands of instances of FISA abuse. Yet, we are asking for a clean extension of these provisions.

The Constitution was not written to be shredded in times of crisis or urgency. As a matter of fact, the Constitution was written specifically to place limits on our government in times of crisis and urgency.

It is not a time for us to look away and say that we will shred the Constitution a little bit here. The very purpose that the Constitution exists is to protect us in times like this and to make sure that we continue to protect the rights of the American people.

It is extremely important that we do everything we can to make sure that we do not pass a FISA out of this House that does not protect the American people. We cannot continue to allow them to spy on the American people, to surveil them without a warrant.

Let's get back to what we are here for. We want an NDAA that is going to focus on our military. We realize the importance of the first constitutional responsibility of this House, and that is to fund a military that will defend our Constitution and protect this land.

We are willing to do that.

Let's revisit this NDAA. Let's send this back to conference. Let's get us focused on what needs to be done, and for goodness' sake, let's not put a FISA extension that does not protect the rights of the American people.

I am happy to be joined by my good friend from the great State of Texas.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

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

I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

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

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

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 8 o'clock and 6 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 9 a.m.

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

Mr. Chair, my amendment makes a technical fix to what seems to be a copy and paste drafting

error in the bill, replacing ``Treasure Island Job Corps'' in section 114 of the bill, which was the language signed into last year's bill, to ``Gary Job Corps Center,'' which was supposed to be in this year's bill.

The Gary Job Corps facility in San Marcos, Texas, is one of the largest in the country and, as such, has a great deal of excess land. This land is located adjacent to the fast-growing San Marcos Regional Airport.

For several years now, the city of San Marcos has been working closely with the Gary Job Corps Center and the Department of Labor on ways for the city to make better use of that excess land to the benefit of its citizens. This area of San Marcos is a key cog in the regional growth plan for the city and region, and the use of such additional land will ensure that the trend continues as the area brings in more and more economic investment.

This amendment will simply allow the Department of Labor to negotiate directly with the city on dispersal of such land at fair market value without having to go through the yearlong GSA Federal land dispersal process. It replicates an effort that was done last year with the Treasure Island facility in California, so there is strong precedent.

By removing some bureaucratic red tape, the amendment, which has the blessing of the Department of Labor, will ensure that San Marcos, Texas, continues its efforts to be an economic engine for the region.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of my amendment, which provides a small technical fix to this bill.

Mr. Chair, I will repeat that Treasure Island Job Corps was in last year's bill, and as the majority drafted this year's bill, I think we know what needs to be in the bill. Let me also point out that President Biden's Department of Labor supports this amendment.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church of Smiley, Texas, on its remarkable 60th anniversary this year. This incredible achievement stands as a powerful testament to the Congregation's unwavering commitment to the faith and the Lord's goodness to His people.

The Church's story is one of God's timeliness, faithfulness, provision. It dates back to February 15, 1963, when Reverend Benton Thurmond wrote a letter to Archbishop Lucey requesting the need for the people to have a place to teach and freely practice their faith. It was decided that two Divine Providence Sister Catechists, working out of Gonzales, Texas, came to Smiley one full day a week to help Father Thurmond's jurisdiction.

At the time, the plans for the St. Philip's Church were going through approval of construction plans and financing--and with any similar project comes financial challenges that often seem insurmountable. Yet, the Lord provided a donation through the Catholic Church Extension Society that summer, and by the Fall of 1963, all plans were approved for the new Church--beginning with a cornerstone donated by Robert Pessek of Hallettsville, Texas.

In the years ahead, the Church became a rock in the community, serving as a place for neighbors to connect, gather, and worship. But more than anything, St. Philip's milestone is a true testament to God's grace toward his people. Today, Father Naveen Thumma continues St. Philip's longstanding tradition of faith and spirit in the parish, leading the congregation into an incredible 60th year of service.

Philippians 4:19 says ``And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.'' There is no better example St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church, sustained through God's goodness.

On November 10 and 11, the Church will observe its 60th birthday with a celebration, and I want to congratulate them and extend them well wishes on behalf of Texas-27. May God continue to bless them and provide for them in the coming years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, congratulations to St. Philip's Church on this memorable day. May God continue to bless the Church, their leaders, and the congregation in the present and future.

Mr. Chair, I claim time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, when George Orwell wrote the book ``1984,'' most people took it as a cautionary tale. Some of our friends on the left took it as an instruction manual. We have literally seen this administration try to stand up a ministry of truth. We have seen accurate information about where a lab leak might have come from labeled as disinformation. We have seen medical experts with lifesaving information be labeled as spreaders of misinformation, having their careers ruined and tragically costing the lives of thousands, if not millions, of people.

Let's talk about Russian information for a moment. The Hunter laptop was labeled as Russian information. We had the dossier that was paid for by the DNC labeled as Russian information, and all this has been on the backs of the taxpayer. The U.S. taxpayer is having to fund not only the demise of their own country, but having their First Amendment rights squelched by the government that is meant to serve them.

As if that is not enough, apparently, for our friends on the left, they want to export that on the backs of the U.S. taxpayer to the people around the world. This is how this works.

Right now, the State Department is funding a misinformation tracking group called the Global Disinformation Index, and they have labeled some news outlets like The American Spectator, Newsmax, The Federalist, The American Conservative, One America News, The Blaze, The Daily Wire, RealClearPolitics, the Reason, and the New York Post as potential spreaders of misinformation.

They created this list and they aggregate this list to potential sponsors and basically the word is, don't put any advertisement on these sites because they might be ``spreaders of misinformation.'' This is a way to strong-arm and try to drain them of any sort of finances, all sponsored by the U.S. taxpayer.

This is unconscionable. Of course, the understanding shtick is like if you are a business who maybe sponsors one of these things, we might lean heavily on you when it comes to government grants or when it comes to enforcing regulatory burdens and all of these kinds of things. This is not how things are supposed to work in a free society in a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

We need to stop this nonsense, and we certainly shouldn't be exporting it across the world on the backs of the U.S. taxpayer.

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

Mr. Chair, I remind my colleague to direct her comments to the Chair and also remind her that our Constitution understands that those rights are a gift from God, not a grant from government.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde), my friend and colleague.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of retired Navy veteran and fighter pilot Captain Tommy Charles Wimberly, who passed away on July 1, 2023, at the age of 92. For 31 years, Captain Wimberly dedicated his life to serving our country in the Navy as a fighter pilot, and he leaves behind a lasting legacy of patriotism and duty.

Captain Wimberly was born on November 16, 1930, in Coushatta, Louisiana. In 1951, he earned his degree from Northwestern State College of Louisiana and enlisted in the Navy. His college education allowed him to go to Officer Candidate School and earn a commission as Ensign, USNR. He went to flight training in Pensacola and received his Naval Aviator wings of gold in Kingsville. Tom flew 7 different aircrafts and operated off 10 different aircraft carriers.

Throughout his 31-year career, Tom was held in extremely high regards to everyone who knew him. He was a decorated pilot, earning the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, and other awards for his extraordinary efforts. He served our country honorably in the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War. Tom retired in July 1982 with the rank of Navy Captain and finished his active service in DynCorp, a diversified services contractor specializing in aircraft maintenance, in Corpus Christi.

He stayed in Corpus Christi after retiring, living in the same house for the last 45 years. He was extremely active in many non-profit organizations and was a founding member of Landing Force 16, a group of businessmen who brought the USS Lexington to Corpus Christi in 1992.

Captain Wimberly was highly decorated and dedicated his life to serving our country, and it is my honor to recognize his remarkable service and dedication to this country. His distinguished service record stands as a testament to his dedication to our country and the legacy he leaves. Our Nation is forever in the debt of his many years of service to our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Mount Salem American Baptist Church on its remarkable 151st anniversary this year. This amazing milestone is a true testament to God's grace toward his people, as well as the unwavering faith, fellowship, and dedication of the congregation and its leaders throughout the years.

Founded in 1872, the church began in Indianola as the Mount Salem American Baptist Free Mission Church. Soon after its founding, the church was sadly hit by 2 major hurricanes in 1875 and 1886, destroying the church's building. Yet with faith in God's providence, the congregation endured and continued the ministry. Led by Reverend Robert Greer, 20 church members moved to Victoria, bringing with them the pulpit, bell, and some of the salvaged lumber from the original church building to start anew--where the congregation reestablished and pressed forward in the mission. With that perseverance came God's guidance and blessing. The church continued to grow over the years and was eventually renamed as Mount Salem American Baptist Church in 1939. In 1962, the church moved to another new building, where they still prominently display the original bell and pulpit used by the founding members.

To this day, Mount Salem American Baptist Church has touched countless lives in the Victoria community through its selfless acts of service. Through outreach programs, compassionate ministries, and social initiatives, the church has been a steadfast advocate for the greater community, serving their neighbors for over a century.

But more than any building, program, or person, Mount Salem's anniversary milestone is a testament to God's enduring faithfulness toward his people. Through both triumph and trial, it is clear that the Lord has provided the path and made clear His purpose.

Mr. Speaker, congratulations to Mount Salem American Baptist Church on this incredible day. May God continue to bless and keep them in the days and years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to honor Ruth Plumb and recognize a wonderful life milestone, wishing her a very happy 100th birthday.

Ruth was born in Houston, Texas on June 10, 1923, to Arnold Louis Hillendahl and Henrietta Viola Williams Hillendahl--with a long family history embedded in their Texas community. Ruth's ancestors were one of the five settling families in the area who played an important part in the history of the Spring Branch area of Houston, with even a branch of the Houston Library named for her father Arnold.

Ruth lived on the Houston family farm until her 1943 marriage to Charles Wolf, who's time in the Navy stationed them right in our district--Corpus Christi Texas and then eventually to Astoria Oregon and San Diego California. After Charles was released from the navy, the couple happily resided in Houston until his death in 1963. After Charles' passing, Ruth remarried 10 years later to John Plumb and the couple resided in Katy, Texas until John's eventual passing in 1978. Ruth relocated to the Spring Branch area of Houston to be closer to family--until she ultimately came back to Texas-27 in the wonderful town of Port Lavaca, where she still lives today.

Above all, Ruth is known as a faithful member of her community and a dear friend to all--investing in those around her and loving her neighbor as herself. Through her travels, her relationships, and her service, she continues to be a prime example of a life truly well lived--and our district is better for it.

I'm thrilled to be able to help play a small part in recognizing Ruth and wishing her a wonderful 100th birthday. May God continue to bless her life and bless those around her.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alabama for putting this Special Order hour together and for the great work he is doing to represent Alabama.

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that our government spending is completely out of control and that Congress has too often prioritized wants over needs while American families continue to struggle. It needs to stop now.

House Republicans are prioritizing good governance and are actively working to put this country back on the path of fiscal responsibility.

We did our job when we passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act weeks ago to responsibly raise the debt ceiling and, far more importantly, to cut out-of-control spending and burdensome regulations on American workers, industries, and the creative industry that this Nation has.

We are fighting for policies that put more money back in the pockets of hardworking Americans. We want to save the American people money by cutting funding for woke, weaponized spending and cutting inflationary spending by $1 trillion in the first year and almost $5 trillion over the next 10 years.

We want to protect the American people from being the target of 87,000 new agents hired by the IRS.

We want to ensure that the American people have reliable energy.

Just a couple of years ago, we were energy dominant. We do not want to enter the world where because of the green new delusion that benefits China, the leftist elite, and big corporations--we do not want to live in that world where the American people have to wonder if they have a reliable source of energy.

We want to guarantee that the American people who either choose not to attend college--they go into a field of their choosing--and people who responsibly have paid off their student loans won't be footing the bill for those who go to elite universities and often take career paths that don't lead to good jobs or a sustainable future.

What do Biden and the left want? More government, more spending, more inflation, more corporate subsidies, and less freedom.

We have made it clear that cutting woke, weaponized spending is a must to govern our Nation responsibly. Our Nation cannot afford it.

There are so many examples. We want to strengthen our border. We want safe communities. We want to solve the fentanyl crisis.

We just heard a lot of talking from the left that the sky will fall if we get back to fiscal responsibility. Just today, the U.S. Embassy in Brazil put out this tweet of a video of our Embassy teaching people how to say their proper pronouns. That is not the role of the State Department.

The State Department helps to ensure that we have strong national security and that we have strong allies, and in the words of one of the people who responded to it: I identify as a U.S. taxpayer, and I would like you to stop funding this craziness.

Mr. Speaker, we are focused on getting back to good governance. We are focused on putting this country back on the path of responsibility. I urge the administration to come to the table sooner rather than later to address this debt ceiling and issue the beginning steps of getting this country back in order.

This is our moment. This country's fiscal future is on the brink, and the success of the American worker is on the brink. We need to hold the line.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 15th anniversary of the Warrior's Weekend Field of Honor.

The mission of the Field of Honor has always been to honor our Nation's veterans and encourage our wounded warriors. This all began in May 2009 when Warrior's Weekend president, Ron Kocian, a Texas Army National Guard veteran, gave retired Colonel Mike Petrash of the U.S. Army the approval to conduct the first Field of Honor in Victoria, Texas, in support of Warrior's Weekend. It became an instant success during which 550 sponsored flags were posted by local area sponsors, patriots, and families, touching the hearts of over 300 visiting warriors from all over the United States.

In 2011, the Field of Honor expanded its army of volunteers, so to speak, and encouraged faith-, civic-, veteran-, and youth-based organizations to partner with them as a way of raising funds for their own community programs in a way that is honorable and noteworthy.

As the Field of Honor matured and the mission of honoring veterans for their service continued to thrive, it eventually led to the inclusion of the third pillar of the Warrior's Weekend mission: to build a community of honor and excellence.

Throughout the lifetime of the Field of Honor, over 30,000 flags have been sponsored, prepared, and posted in honor of our veterans, wounded soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who come to Victoria from all 50 States and Puerto Rico to enjoy a weekend of respite from their wound care.

Warrior's Weekend and the Field of Honor are truly a nationwide ministry that has a positive impact on the thousands of cities and towns across America. The warriors go back and live more complete, productive lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.

On this day, we recognize the service and sacrifice of all those thousands of patriotic servant leaders who have strived for 15 years to honor veterans, encourage warriors, and build a community of honor and excellence.

Warrior's Weekend Field of Honor has shown this Nation what ``right'' looks like, and it is through the great work and leadership of volunteers demonstrating a true commitment to honoring the United States of America as one Nation under God.

Mr. Speaker, today, I want to honor the life and legacy of Aviation Enforcement Agent Esteban ``Steve'' G. Pena, who died in the line-of-duty on April 15, 2023. He leaves behind a lasting legacy of duty and sacrifice to our nation.

Agent Pena began his duty in 2016 as a Flight Engineer with Air and Marine Operations (AMO). At the time of his passing, he was assigned to the National Air Security Operations Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Agent Pena was a valued member of the AMO family, serving the National Air Security Operations Center's (NASOC) Corpus Christi team. He worked tirelessly over the past 7 years with dignity and a strong commitment to Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) mission and his colleagues. Most importantly, Steve was a great mentor to CBP's pilots. His passion to teach his colleagues about the systems on our aircrafts will never be forgotten.

My prayers are with his wife of 41 years, Gloria E. Vivian Pena; his mother, Rosario Thomas; four brothers and one sister, Jorge Pena, Joel Pena, Hector Pena, Ruben Pena, and Rosie Guerra.

It is my honor to recognize Agent Pena's remarkable service and dedication to his family and country. May his family and loved ones be comforted during this time of loss.

Mr. Speaker, it is with profound respect, humility, and gratitude that I join all of Nueces County today in remembering our fallen heroes--and recognize the Nueces County 2023 Regional Police Memorial Ceremony in honoring our heroes service to our community.

Throughout the years, we have lost 28 Nueces County law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. These officers dedicated their lives to protecting us, our families, and their community. They leave behind a legacy of duty and sacrifice as a challenge to us who remain in the shadow of their sacrifice. Their service will never be forgotten.

Christ tells us that there is no greater love than for one to lay down their life for a friend--calling those who chose a life of service to others as the greatest in His kingdom.

My prayers are with the families, friends and those who served alongside during this time of both grieving and reflection.

Thank you to all of our law enforcement officers who continue in service of our communities.

I hope my colleagues will also join me in thanking these brave individuals and honoring their legacy.