Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, the recent Supreme Court term has come to an end and the Court's decision has sent Washington Democrats into a tailspin.

Members of this body have called to abolish the Supreme Court--and by the way, some of those very same Members have also called to expand the Supreme Court, so we are not really sure which one they are committed to.

Just yesterday, Members of this body were pretending to be handcuffed over their support for taxpayer-funded abortion on demand until birth. Washington Democrats are making excuses for the outright harassment of the Supreme Court Justices, their families, their children, and even the assassination attempt on the life of Justice Kavanaugh.

Washington Democrats are silent on attacks against pro-life pregnancy care centers across this country. Some have even called for these centers to be shut down all across the Nation. It is appalling. It is unhinged. Why would anyone want to shut down pregnancy centers that are designed to help struggling mothers in their time of need? But that is where we are.

Why all the hysterics though? My constituents are really curious about this. Why are they so animated right now? Why do they want to tear this institution to the ground?

Well, here is the simple reason, because the Supreme Court has made some very thoughtful constitutionally based decisions in this term.

They correctly said, for example, that a football coach was exercising his First Amendment rights when he privately prayed on the 50-yard line.

The Supreme Court correctly said that citizens don't have to ask the government for permission to exercise their fundamental rights to keep and bear arms.

The Supreme Court correctly said that if Congress wants to address climate change, then Congress has to legislate on that issue instead of just outsourcing that work to unelected bureaucrats.

Because the Supreme Court correctly said that elected Representatives of the people may again be allowed to place restrictions on the killing of innocent unborn children.

That is why they are motivated. That is why they are so unhinged. That is why they want to tear the institution to the ground.

I guess we shouldn't be surprised by all of this. We are, after all, only a couple of months removed from Senator Schumer's infamous, dangerous, unhinged rant on the steps of the Supreme Court itself. He called out Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh by name, and he said, Hey, we are going to release the whirlwind on you.

Well, it happened. And it is clear what is happening here. Democrats are doing anything and everything they can to try to use these obvious and straightforward Supreme Court decisions to stoke fear and change the subject before the November election.

But we are here today to say that this election will be about three things. It is going to be primarily about soaring inflation, uninhibited illegal immigration, and the general staggering incompetence that we see by the Democrats in charge of Washington.

The three I's. I call it: Inflation. Immigration. Incompetence.

I think that summarizes it very well.

There was a very interesting story on CNN this week that caught my eye. It was entitled, ``Vulnerable Democrats Sound the Alarm Over Inflation Crisis.'' Well, welcome to the party. It is a little late for that.

I would humbly suggest that those vulnerable Democrats should have thought about that before they voted to pass $5.4 trillion--with a ``T''--in new partisan spending last year.

We warned them. This was so completely foreseeable. Government spending is what is causing the current inflation crisis, plain and simple. And now that this bill is coming due, these vulnerable Democrats are hoping the American people would simply forget their vote. We don't intend to let that happen, the stakes are too high, and the issues are too important.

I thank my colleagues for joining us today to discuss the harm that the Democrat agenda has caused our country and our alternative, conservative vision for how to fix all this.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser), first among my many colleagues that will be joining me here in the hour, who knows a whole lot about the economy.

Immigration.

Mr. MEUSER: Immigration. And instead of taking any action to correct this devastating problem, and the effect it is having on American families and small businesses, large businesses, you name it--dogs and cats, probably--the Biden administration has doubled down on the backwards policies and undertaken a massive blame-game campaign.

Not exactly a profile in courage taking place here, Mr. Speaker.

First, they branded the inflation brought on by their reckless spending the ``Putin price hike.'' Then, despite inflation beginning long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, by the way, then the administration laid the blame for their policies at the feet of greedy corporations--yeah--and then local gas station owners.

Mr. Speaker, 60 percent of the gas stations throughout our country, and certainly in my district, are owned by small independent businesspeople. They are to blame for the gasoline prices that we are paying?

I would like to reiterate, when faced with the highest gas prices in history caused by atrocious energy policies, the President of the United States and many Democrat Members of this House point their fingers and blame small business owners.

The American people are not fooled by the Biden administration's finger-pointing, though they are paying a steep price for it. Despite the administration's best efforts to deceive the American people, we have learned that inflation was not temporary and has continued to skyrocket, largely because of the Biden House Democrats' out-of-control spending.

Instead of addressing America's inflation crisis, House Democrats have continued to push for billions more in government spending, which will increase inflation, it will not decrease it. Continued excessive spending will increase inflation. It is a mathematical and physical certainty.

We must correct course. Stop the reckless spending and unleash domestic American energy production, which will strengthen both our economy and our national security. We must also stop overregulating and overtaxing small businesses, and enough with the blame games and these go woke and broke policies. They have failed the American people.

Mr. Speaker, the free nations of the world need a strong United States, both militarily and economically to lead. We face serious threats. Free nations worldwide know that the world is a far more peaceful and stable place with strong American leadership. The weakness shown both at our southern border and the Ukraine border, initially, have had devastating effects on humanity and on the stability of the United States, Europe, and the free world.

Only with a clear vision, realistic plan, and earnest execution will this be corrected.

That is so well said, my friend. And it is so true that a strong and vibrant America is good not only for the people in this country but for people all around the world. We maintain peace through strength, and if we don't show that strength, then we are in real jeopardy.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin), my good friend from right over the border.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. It is a very stark reality that we face, but we are optimists. We know we can turn this around, and the American people are going to give us a chance this fall, aren't they? I thank the gentleman for that good word and stark reminder.

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

Mr. Speaker, wow, there are so many important facts there. I will tell you what, it is hard to count all the crises. I thank my friend, that was so well said, as usual.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose), faithful to come on this floor week after week and relay the facts to the American people.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many great points there. I appreciate the gentleman for coming here and explaining that because we can't say it too much.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for standing up for those wheat farmers. I know they appreciate that representation. For all of those in the ag community, this is just a critical issue.

The gentleman is exactly right. The inflation crisis has real-world consequences, and that is just some of them.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to go across the country to California again to hear, once more, from our dear, faithful friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. There are so many important things he highlighted there.

Mr. Speaker, we will go from California over to the great State of Texas next.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for my friend's voice. He was a guest on my podcast last week, and we have gotten a lot of attention on that. People are grateful for his passion on these issues. I hope my friend will keep speaking loudly here on the floor and everywhere. I am grateful he has a national platform to talk, particularly about this immigration crisis, which is a whole different subject, and he has great insight on that.

Mr. Speaker, I will wrap this up. I thank my colleagues for joining me today in this Special Order hour to discuss the harm that the Democrat agenda has caused our country and our alternative visions on all these issues.

By way of recap, just quickly, I was taking notes as my colleague spoke from across the country, from Texas. Dr. Babin reminded us that a staggering 77 percent of Americans believe our country is on the wrong track--obviously, because of all this.

Mr. LaMalfa from California just reminded us of the excesses and abuses of the Federal agencies, which are overregulating our farmers and food producers and wasting our time and precious resources on these superfluous projects.

Mr. Meuser of Pennsylvania reminded us that this inflation is going to cost the average hardworking American family this year an extra $6,000 in the cost of living.

Mr. Rose from Tennessee reminded us about that skyrocketing inflation rate. It is obviously the result of the Biden policies and the administration's backward approach to all this. But they even now want to remove and eliminate the Hyde amendment so that taxpayers have to fund abortions.

Mr. Good of Virginia reminded us about that border catastrophe and the numbers, which are staggering--Mr. Roy knows, as well--3 million encounters at the border, 800,000 got-aways that we can't even account for, and that is just the numbers the DHS admits to, so we know it is higher. He talked about the energy policy disaster causing pain to every hardworking American family, as well.

Finally, Mr. Mann of Kansas talked about how the inflation crisis has real-world consequences for our farmers in the wheat State and everywhere else.

Mr. Speaker, we could go on and on all night. I will conclude our Special Order hour. This is just a sampling of all the many crises that have been created by the Biden administration and the Washington Democrats in charge of this institution. We cannot wait to begin to turn this around after the November election.

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

Madam Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for handling the rule and highlighting this very important issue.

As he said, if the previous question is defeated, then Republicans will amend the rule to immediately consider H. Res. 1233. That is the resolution that condemns the spate of attacks that have recently occurred against pro-life facilities, groups, and churches in the wake of the Dobbs opinion.

Madam Speaker, these acts are reprehensible, but we shouldn't be surprised they are occurring all across the country. They have gone unchecked for far too long, ever since the draft Dobbs opinion was inexcusably leaked to the public in that unprecedented act.

Republicans immediately condemned that leak as a threat to the institution of the Court itself, as a threat to the Justices themselves as individuals, and as a threat to our very Republic. The Democrat leadership of this body did nothing.

Weeks went by as tensions grew. Protesters harassed sitting Supreme Court Justices, a clear violation of the black-letter Federal Law. Republicans filed a resolution condemning those acts. The Democrat leadership of this body did nothing even as threats continued to pour in against the Justices and their families.

The Senate acted. They unanimously passed legislation to extend security to the families of the Justices. I and many of my colleagues repeatedly called upon the Speaker of this House to bring this resolution to the floor so we could pass it here and send it to the President's desk. But do you know what we got, Madam Speaker? Nothing.

It was only when an attempt was actually made on the life of Justice Kavanaugh that the Speaker finally gave in. She finally brought that legislation to the floor so that we could push back against the angry mobs.

Madam Speaker, the leadership of this body has another opportunity before them today to, once again, push back against the mob. This has gotten out of hand.

Radical leftists were emboldened by the inaction of this body and the aftermath of a leaked opinion, and now they have targeted their violence against the very groups that care for women and their unborn children in their most vulnerable moments. It is unconscionable.

Here is a short list of some examples.

May 3, 2022: Individuals vandalized the Care Net Pregnancy Center in Frederick, Maryland, with pro-abortion graffiti, including the messages ``not real clinic,'' ``end forced motherhood,'' and go to Planned Parenthood instead.

May 5, 2022: Portland, Oregon, vandals smashed numerous windows and spray-painted graffiti on the Southeast Portland Pregnancy Resource Center.

May 7, 2022: Activists vandalized a crisis pregnancy center in Denton, Texas, with the radical pro-abortion messages ``not a clinic'' and ``forced birth is murder.''

May 7, 2022: In Fort Collins, Colorado, activists painted ``my body, my choice'' on the doors of a Catholic parish.

May 8, 2022, Mother's Day: Individuals attempted to break into the Oregon Right to Life office in Keizer, Oregon, reportedly igniting and throwing two Molotov cocktails at the building.

May 8, 2022: Vandals spray-painted pro-abortion messages such as ``abortion is a right,'' ``fake clinic,'' and ``liars'' on the side of a pro-life pregnancy center in Manassas, Virginia.

May 8, 2022: A pro-life nonprofit center in Madison, Wisconsin, was set ablaze and vandalized with the words ``if abortions aren't safe, then you aren't either.''

May 13, 2022: Activists left threatening messages on the front of the Alpha Pregnancy Center in Reisterstown, Maryland, including the messages ``if abortions aren't safe, neither are you,'' ``you're anti- choice, not pro-life,'' et cetera.

May 18, 2022: Vandals targeted a women's faith-based medical clinic in Auburn, Alabama, defacing the clinic's sign and staff members' vehicles.

May 25, 2022: In Lynnwood, Washington, anti-life activists smashed windows and vandalized the Next Step Pregnancy Center with the threat: ``If abortion isn't safe, you aren't either.''

June 2, 2022: Jane's Revenge claimed credit for an attack in which its members broke windows and scrawled messages, including ``God loves abortion'' and ``fake clinic,'' at Agape Pregnancy Resource Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

June 3, 2022: Capitol Hill Crisis Pregnancy Center here in Washington, D.C., was the target of leftwing abortion extremists who threw red paint on the door, threw eggs at the window, and spray- painted the window with ``Jane Says Revenge.''

I have pages and pages of these. I don't think I need to belabor the point. It is every day now. It is out of control.

I am going to tell you, Madam Speaker, that this last one, July 11, on the list here, activists vandalized the Women's New Life Clinic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by spray-painting anti-life messages and ``Jane's Revenge'' on the exterior walls.

That last one is personal to me. The Women's New Life Clinic stands right next to the abortion provider in Baton Rouge and has offered hope to countless women over the years. Women's New Life Clinic is doing extraordinary work. I am proud to call many of the leaders of that clinic personal friends. They do not deserve the treatment that they have endured, but they certainly deserve the support of the House of Representatives in condemning violence from the radical left.

America's pregnancy care centers provide absolutely essential services in all 50 States. There are 2,700 of these pregnancy centers. They serve millions of women every year. They are supported by over 10,000 medical professionals. I used to serve as legal counsel to a number of these groups, so I am telling you this from personal experience.

Madam Speaker, I can go on all day with these examples. I will spare you. I would assume that you recognize the obvious.

When will this body stand up against the mob? When will we restore law and order?

Chuck Schumer stood on the steps of the Supreme Court itself and infamously called out Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch by name and said that we would release the whirlwind. Well, here it is. This shouldn't surprise us.

Madam Speaker, our side is ready to act. We are ready to do something. We have an obligation and responsibility to do it.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, a champion for freedom from Ohio (Mr. Jordan). There is a lot to talk about here today, but I have to comment on what he just led in with and this violence that we supposedly all decry. It is a bit of a double standard, isn't it?

These care pregnancy centers are a vital institution in our country. They are in all 50 States. There are over 2,700 of these centers doing vital work every single day. They help millions of American women every year. They employ and work with over 10,000 medical professionals.

Do you know what their singular goal is?

It is to help women who are in difficult pregnancy situations, to help care for their unborn children. Who in the world could be opposed to that?

You know what?

Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke for a lot of our colleagues on the other side last week. She came out and shrieked they needed to be put out of business in her State. They needed to get rid of these centers. It is just incredible.

In the debate on the rule here on this floor in the last couple of hours, I went down the litany of all those 50 occurrences--at least the ones we know about, and there are more--where violence has been perpetrated against these centers--these people who are doing extraordinary work down in the trenches to help their fellow man.

I ran out of time, I could not list all of them and all of the vandalism and the destruction and the Molotov cocktails and the hatred that is spray-painted on the sides of these facilities that are funded, by the way, by churches and nonprofits and individuals who care about the sanctity of every single human life in America. Yet, there is just complete silence on the other side. That is a really sad statement about where we are.

I used to be legal counsel for a number of those care pregnancy centers, so I speak to this with personal experience.

Let me get to the issue of the day. This bill is just another superfluous exercise. This bill is completely and clearly unnecessary.

Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? The sponsors of this bill know that. They

know that we are in a very divisive time in the country, and they are doing this anyway.

This bill is not only unnecessary; it is more of the same. It is yet another effort to delegitimize the Supreme Court. As Mr. Jordan explained, they have been doing that in earnest. Senator Schumer went to the steps of the Supreme Court and infamously called down the whirlwind on Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch. By the way, it led to a planned assassination of Justice Kavanaugh, all the lawless protests on their lawns, threatening their children, and doxing the addresses of Supreme Court Justices' children. It is just unconscionable. It is against the law, the plain letter of the law, yet crickets from the other side.

They want to delegitimize the Court. They tried to pack it. They want to put four liberal Justices on the Court because they are concerned about the conservative majority right now. It is a lawless approach and a lawless response to the lawlessness of the radical left. So, this is another effort to delegitimize the Supreme Court.

It is also a continued disregard, an utter and total disregard, for the regular order in this body. I will explain in just a moment why that is so perilous in a situation like this with a bill like this.

It is also more desperation to focus on anything other than their policy failures, which Mr. Jordan articulated here a few moments ago.

Nonetheless, there is this bill before us today. Clearly, it is about simple fear-mongering. This is a partisan bill to make partisan arguments and to run ads in an election cycle. Do you know why we say that, Mr. Speaker? Because, as Mr. Jordan said, in the Dobbs opinion, which supposedly precipitated all this, it is clear if you read the opinion that this is not only an unnecessary piece of legislation, but it is divisive and misleading, and they know it. Because why? Anybody can read the opinion for themselves. Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion, of course, and he clarified it.

I am a constitutional law attorney. I used to litigate cases about the Constitution, what it means, and how it should be applied. I did that for 20 years before I got to Congress. Scarcely is there ever language this clear written in a Supreme Court opinion.

Let me give you the quote again, Mr. Speaker, in case anybody missed it, in case you didn't see it or you didn't want to see it. Justice Alito said in the majority opinion: ``And to ensure that our decision is not misunderstood or mischaracterized, we emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right.'' He continues: ``Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.''

Does everybody hear that? I will say that again: ``Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.''

Do you know why, Mr. Speaker? Because abortion is a unique area of the law. Abortion is about taking the life of another unborn person, another person, so the Court recognized that this is different and distinct, and everybody knows that. Everybody recognizes that, even Justice Clarence Thomas, whom they have worked so hard to demonize.

If you look at page 119 of the opinion, Mr. Speaker, you can see it for yourself. Justice Thomas said: ``The Court's abortion cases are unique . . . and no party has asked us to decide `whether our entire Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence must be preserved or revised' . . . Thus, I agree that''--and he quotes Justice Alito--nothing in the Court's opinion ``'should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.'''

That language is so clear. Anybody in this country can read that and understand obviously and plainly what that means, every civics student, every child. But, apparently, our friends on the other side don't like that language, or they don't want to see it, so they have manufactured this crisis, this demeaning and divisive debate, trying to reopen Pandora's box that no one has opened except the Democrats.

This is crystal clear. We ought to take a moment to remember, too, what did not happen after the Obergefell ruling that did happen after the Dobbs ruling. Did anybody harass Justice Kennedy at his home after Obergefell was handed down? No. Did conservatives--those who adhere to the Judeo-Christian heritage of the country, Evangelicals, and Catholics--did anybody vandalize businesses to promote their own viewpoints? Absolutely not. Did Republicans call to abolish the filibuster and add Justices to the Court? No, because we respect the institutions of this Nation.

But that is exactly what we are seeing from the left: a death threat on a Justice, endless protests outside the homes of the Justices, threats on their children, and threats to pack the Court.

Mr. Speaker, we live in an extraordinarily divided time, and reopening this policy, which is under no threat of any legislative or judicial body anywhere, seems more like an attempt by Democrats to stoke fear before the November elections rather than bringing the country together.

Mr. Speaker, we could use an effort to bring the country together right now. To that end, since the Democrats refuse to discuss what Americans are most concerned with, I will take just a moment, since we have the moment here, to walk through the failures of the Democrat policies. It is a quick summary. I won't take long on it.

I have been doing townhalls back in my State of Louisiana, and I can tell you what the people are concerned about, Mr. Speaker.

They are concerned about soaring prices in the grocery store, at the gas pump, and their mortgages.

They are concerned about uninhibited illegal immigration at the border and the utter lawlessness that threatens the very sovereignty, safety, and security of our country.

They are deeply concerned about rising crime in our cities.

They are concerned about the stunning incompetence at the most basic functions of government from the Biden administration.

These are what I am hearing back home as I travel the district holding townhalls and talking to constituents. Those constituents sent us here--the voters, the people--to be their Representatives and to work on their behalf, to work on behalf of them and their ability to provide for their families with little government overreach into their lives.

From economic failures at home to failures on the border, the Democrats have time and time again refused to work with Republicans on how to address the issues at hand. Today is just another example. It is just more of the same. Here we go, from one vote on an unnecessary bill that is only being used as a distraction from those failures that I referenced to a vote on a spending bill that will only make those failures worse.

I mentioned that part of the problem here, too, is the Democrats are rushing this bill to the floor outside regular order. They just completely defied regular order. They released the text for this bill only hours before its consideration in the Rules Committee last night. Democrats have held no legislative hearing and no markups on this bill.

We serve on the Judiciary Committee. This would have been within our jurisdiction. They didn't bother to bring it to a committee.

I remember from civics class that they taught us that this is how a bill becomes a law: You go through the process; you go to the committee. We shouldn't even teach that to kids anymore because it doesn't happen here anymore.

But that recklessness, that carelessness, and that defiance of the rules, order, and tradition here have real consequences because one of the consequences in the language of this bill, just one by way of example, is on page 3 of this private right of action clause. It raised a lot of eyebrows. We didn't have time to analyze that, debate it, and thoughtfully talk about that approach. Would that declare open season on religious persons and institutions? I don't know. It is a question a lot of people are asking today, scratching their heads, but, again, we had no opportunity to delve into that, to talk about it, and debate it. Nothing. So, they present this bill, and they drop it on the country.

Again, I just would reiterate, in summary, people back home ask us, there

are lots of problems with things that are going on there, but this particular bill, what is the problem?

I just summarized it by saying that it is unnecessary, divisive, and misleading. What is worse is that the proponents of the legislation know that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

We have just been treated to a master class of misinformation. The Speaker also just said, ``Can you believe they are going after contraception?''

Give me a break. She knows that is not true. There is not a single Republican even talking about that or any of these other categories of the law. This is designed to divide the country. This bill is a shameful effort at that.

Mr. Nadler, when we were talking about our concerns about the care pregnancy centers being under assault, to make his case that pro-lifers are violent, he referenced the terrible murder of Mr. Slepian, an abortion provider, in 1998. That was a quarter century ago.

We are talking about the last 11 weeks. We have had 50 care pregnancy centers vandalized, attacked with Molotov cocktails, spray-painted, threats being made to Supreme Court Justices. There is no equivocation here at all.

Mr. Cohen implied that the conservative Justices misled the Senate in their confirmation hearings. We have got the receipts on that. It is demonstrably untrue.

Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the majority opinion in Dobbs, said during his 2006 confirmation that Roe was `` . . . an important precedent of the Supreme Court.''

``It was decided in 1973, so it has been on the books for a long time.''

But he declined to call the ruling ``settled law.''

Justice Thomas, in 1991 in his hearings, he declined to comment on his views on Roe at all. He said, ``I do not think that at this time that I could maintain my impartiality as a member of the Judiciary and comment on that specific case.''

Justice Gorsuch, 2017 confirmation hearings, he said Roe was `` . . . a precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court. It was reaffirmed in Casey in 1992 and in several other cases.''

``So a good judge will consider it as precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court worthy as treatment of precedent like any other.''

However, he refused to signal how he would rule in future cases on abortion.

Justice Kavanaugh, 2018 confirmation hearings, echoed Gorsuch by saying that Roe was an ``important precedent,'' but he indicated during his confirmation that he would be open to overturning ``settled law,'' including

Roe, citing a long list of past Supreme Court cases.

Justice Barrett, she was much more reserved on the Roe precedent.

Mr. Speaker, in her confirmation hearings in 2020, she said she was committed to obeying ``all the rules of stare decisis,'' promising that ``if a question comes up before me about whether Casey or any other case should be overruled, that I will follow the law of stare decisis, applying it as the Court is articulating it, applying all the factors, reliance, workability, being undermined by later facts in law, just all the standard factors.'' ``I promise to do that for any issue that comes up.''

She said that she had to remain neutral on it as an umpire, as they all did.

The record is clear. The quotes are there. Anybody can Google this. What they are presenting here on this floor is not true. It is demonstrably untrue, and they are doing it for partisan purposes. Every time they talk, they reaffirm our position on that.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for leading and for all of her courageous leadership on this important issue.

Madam Speaker, I have to say, we have been stunned here in the last hour of this debate by a lot of what we have heard, not the least of which is when one of our Democrat colleagues actually exclaimed on this floor in the last hour: ``Thank God abortion is still legal.''

I just sat here and said wow. Thank God? Thank God for what? That innocent, unborn children can still be killed in many States? Thank God?

The other side in this debate has not only abandoned reverence, all reverence, all morality, all reason, but they defied medical technology.

They have also completely abandoned the first self-evident truth boldly proclaimed in our Nation's birth certificate, the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal--not born equal--created equal by God, and it is He who gives our inalienable rights, beginning, obviously, with the right to life.

I mean, seriously, please don't come on this floor and thank our creator for

your zeal to terminate the innocent lives that He has created. God have mercy on us.

Madam Speaker, today, the Democrats have brought two bills to this floor. The first is a complete overhaul of all pro-life protections, which will allow for taxpayer-funded abortion on demand through all three trimesters of pregnancy.

The second bill, the so-called Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, creates an open door for women to be preyed upon by traffickers and does nothing to protect minors who are transported by predators across State lines to obtain abortions.

In order to prohibit these heinous acts, I introduced the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which, by the way, I should note, passed this House by a wide margin in 2005 in the 109th Congress. How far the other side has devolved since then. Because of that, now more than ever, we have to highlight why this bill is so important in protecting the lives of minors and their unborn children.

The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act will help cut down on predators and traffickers taking advantage of minors by making it a crime to knowingly transport a minor across State lines to obtain an abortion without first satisfying State-level parental involvement laws.

Madam Speaker, it is simple. A parent should be involved in the life of their child, and State laws should never be circumvented to benefit those seeking to take advantage of minors.

When a State says a guardian or parent should be notified that their minor is seeking an abortion, that law ought to be respected and followed. Our States' parental involvement laws are well-written and reasonable, and there are exceptions built into the statutes for extreme circumstances.

We also know that forced coercion to abort an unborn child is real, and it must be addressed. Predators, traffickers, and their accomplices must be held accountable for the damage they have done to minors.

I am so glad that our side is offering tangible solutions to real problems; but it is unfortunate that it is in response to such terrible pieces of legislation that only further endanger the lives of minors and their unborn children.

I urge opposition to the other side's callous and barbaric agenda and their bill, and I support our motion to recommit.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include the text of the amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion to recommit.

Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his important voice and for hosting this Special Order hour.

The sanctity of human life can never be overemphasized. The gentleman has done so much work in that arena, and I appreciate him.

I am thankful to our Democratic colleagues tonight, as well, for skipping their Special Order hour so we can just go right ahead and get started in prime time. If America were experiencing record inflation, sky-high gas prices, and uninhibited illegal immigration under our watch, I would probably yield my time back, as well.

Mr. Speaker, this morning in our Judiciary Committee, the Democrat majority convened a hearing, and they titled it: ``What's Next: The Threat to Individual Freedoms in a Post-Roe World.'' It was an appropriate title, indeed, because the radical abortion advocates are becoming completely unhinged. They are seeking to trample on

the individual freedoms of anybody who disagrees with them.

Case in point, over the weekend, the leftwing activist group ShutDownDC offered $200 bounties for public sightings of our Supreme Court Justices.

This week, Senator Elizabeth Warren--talk about unhinged--said that crisis pregnancy centers all across America should be shut down.

There are 2,700 pregnancy centers all around this country in all 50 States. They are supported by over 10,000 licensed medical professionals. They are annually serving approximately 2 million women and men. I used to serve as legal counsel for many of these organizations, and I can testify to their invaluable work.

Why would anybody want to shut down pregnancy centers? They exist to provide counseling, care, aid, and comfort to struggling mothers who just want to have their babies. This is just abhorrent.

Speaking of abhorrent, I suggest to my Democrat friends to study up tonight--really, I mean, seriously--on the bill that we are going to be voting on here tomorrow. They call it the Women's Protection Act. It is not. We call it, more appropriately, abortion on demand until birth act.

Even though this will be the second time we voted on this bill in this Congress, I am not sure they know what is in it. I keep hearing my Democrat colleagues tell us: Oh, no, it is not about abortion on demand until birth. It absolutely is.

Surely, if they knew that this legislation did this, they wouldn't support it, right?

The American people certainly don't support it.

To our Democrat colleagues tonight, as I yield back to my friend, I would just humbly suggest--read your bill. You got a few hours. Read your legislation. Search your conscience. I hope that you will do the right thing and vote against that bill tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Kelly again for the Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, Speaker Pelosi just lectured us. She said guns are the number one killer of children in America.

That is not true. Abortion violence is the number one killer of children in America, until today. There is no right to abortion in the Constitution. And, thankfully, the Supreme Court finally said that decisively. Thanks be to God.

There is a right, however, a crystal-clear right in the Constitution to keep and bear arms. But here we are today. Congress is moving full steam ahead to restrict the right to self-defense for law-abiding gun owners and the right to due process for all Americans.

This legislation is the wrong approach, and we ought to oppose it.

In our Judiciary markup several days ago, some of our Democrat colleagues here on the floor today openly said they don't care about the Constitution. They don't care about its protections. They want to overlook that. This bill does that. It is the perfect example of Members of Congress simply ignoring the Constitution.

President Biden and his administration are already disobeying laws that we have on the books to revoke firearm dealer licenses over simple clerical errors. This legislation is going to make that worse. This is not going to help anything. It is going to lead to more errors, more false flags, more backlogs in the NICS system. There is nothing in this bill to fix that. There is nothing in this bill to increase school safety.

Mr. Speaker, we want real solutions. We think that we ought to harden the schools; real, physical improvements to help protect children, but that is not here. They didn't have time for that.

Two weeks ago, I had a very moving conversation with Pastor YJ Jimenez. He is a pastor on the ground ministering to the people of the Uvalde community who have suffered such an unspeakable loss. He said something that was really clear, and I think it is echoed throughout America. People paid a lot of attention to it.

He said, You know what, we need to address the root causes of all this bloodshed. He said America's problem is not guns. America's problem is a heart problem. And he is exactly right.

Today we are seeing the results of decades of decline in the secularization of American society and the open assault on our institutions: family, religion, morality, the breakdown of law and order.

We see the results of all this on young people--in clinical settings, in schools, and everywhere else.

We want to do things that matter.

It is not more gun control.

It is not more Federal laws.

It is not more intrusive government.

We need to address the root causes.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of the Honorable Graydon K. Kitchens, Jr., a giant of a man and my former law partner and mentor.

Judges Kitchens' list of accomplishments is limitless. I could stand at this lectern for an hour listing off all of his accomplishments and barely scratch the surface.

He was a husband of 62 years; father of three; proud grandfather of six; varsity pitcher at LSU, our alma mater; U.S. Army lieutenant; judge; chief justice; deacon; and a man of deep, profound faith.

He provided wise counsel through troubling times to me and to so many countless others, and he is an irreplaceable senior statesman in the Louisiana Bar. I am among so many to consider him to be truly one of the greatest men we have ever known.

As the patriarch of his family, Judge Kitchens planted roots in north Louisiana that will flourish for centuries. Our community lost a towering character and a leader, and we are so much better for the time that we had when he was here.

Our prayers are with Roberta and the entire Kitchens family and all who loved him.

Rest in peace, Judge Kitchens. God bless.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the subject of my Special Order.

Madam Speaker, Democrats have enjoyed unilateral control of Washington for the last 17 months, and we all know the results: record inflation, soaring gas prices, unhinged crime in our cities, and uninhibited illegal immigration.

In the midst of all this, what issue gets their prime-time billing? Very simple. They are displaying their seething hatred for Donald Trump and anybody who ever supported him.

For nearly a year now, they have invested thousands of hours, millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars. They have interviewed hundreds and hundreds of witnesses. They compiled 100,000 pages of documents. They hired lawyers, consultants, and even big network TV producers. And all for what?

They are doing this production, this rehash, this replay of a moment- by-moment dissection of a terrible event that took place here a year and a half ago. They thought the American people would be riveted by their production, but the ratings have proven what everybody already knew. The American people have lived through all this, and they have moved on.

In fact, we thought it was interesting, according to one report, CBS' decision to bump a ``Young Sheldon'' rerun from its prime-time slot in favor of Thursday's January 6 hearing resulted in fewer viewers than the identical time slot the prior week. Reruns of ``Young Sheldon'' played better than the January 6 drama.

The American people have moved on. They have moved on to caring about things that actually affect their daily lives.

Look, the criminals involved in January 6 are being prosecuted. Lessons about Capitol security were learned here. We will never know the true facts about all that, of course, because Speaker Pelosi's partisan committee will not look into why we didn't have adequate security here.

But the Senate produced a bipartisan report on all these events a year ago. The truth is the Democrats could hire an army of broadcast media executives and specialists to try to boost their ratings, but it will not change the simple facts.

The election this fall is going to be about three things. It is going to be about inflation, immigration, and incompetence, the staggering levels of incompetence that the Democrats in charge of Washington put on display here every single day.

If the Democrats want to reverse their political fortunes, they need to reverse their policies. But we all know, of course, they refuse to do that. So hardworking American families will continue, very sadly, to struggle as our country becomes less safe, less secure, and less stable by the hour.

I am grateful to my colleagues for joining me tonight to discuss the myriad crises facing our country. They are all taking a back seat to the Democrats' reality show, but we think it is important to point out to the American people the realities here, the true realities of what is happening and what we are facing as a country, these unprecedented challenges.

Madam Speaker, I yield first to the fine gentleman from the State of Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller).

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend. That is so well said. Just get out of the way. Let the American people do it.

Madam Speaker, I yield next to another great gentleman from the State of Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Thank you for that expertise. You sound like a former Secretary of Revenue or something from the State of Pennsylvania.

As you pointed out, my friend, you don't have to be an economist to figure this out. Every freshman economics student knows if you keep printing money and dropping it into the economy, you are going to cause inflation. This is not rocket science, but you know what? The President of the United States apparently doesn't get it.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted next to yield to the good doctor from Texas (Mr. Babin).

Madam Speaker, that was so well said.

Dr. Babin, that woke socialist policy has brought some real pain to the American people. I think they have had enough.

November can't get here soon enough.

Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield next to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Thank you, my friend. That border crisis continues to grow by the hour. Right now as we speak, there is the largest caravan we think that has ever been spotted currently headed to our southern border.

It was incentivized, of course, by the Biden administration's open border agenda. The caravan has as many as maybe 15,000 people, most from Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba.

Here is the key point. One of the migrants is reported to have told FOX News that he hopes President Biden will keep his amnesty promise to the caravan. You know, that is exactly why people from more than 160 countries have been flooding over that border since right after Joe Biden took office.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).

And you have got to know when to fold.

Madam Speaker, Tennessee is going so well, I may as well yield to another good friend, another gentleman from the State of Tennessee (Mr. Rose), one that is even more reputable than the last speaker.

Madam Speaker, my friend is correct. That energy crisis haunts every American. We see no end in sight because the White House will not reverse its policies.

Madam Speaker, I yield next to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

Madam Speaker, my friend said it well. He is right, time is of the essence. Every day that we belabor and continue these radical leftist policies, the American people feel more and more pain.

Madam Speaker, I yield next to my good friend from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Madam Speaker, my friend from Georgia made a great summary of the crisis that we are in. I thank him for bringing that.

Madam Speaker, I yield next to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger), my dear friend, and the third speaker from the good State of Tennessee, can't have enough of those Vols.

Madam Speaker, I have another colleague or two on the way. How much time is remaining on the clock in this Special Order?

Thank you so much, Madam Speaker. I will read a quote here that is very familiar to everyone now because it has been repeated over and over in the last several days. It is from Chuck Schumer. Of course, he is the Democrat leader on the Senate side. He stood on the steps of the United States Supreme Court, and he exclaimed to a crowd, to their applause, and to all the television cameras, what is now a quote that lives in infamy, ``I want to tell you, Gorsuch; I want to tell you, Kavanaugh: You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.''

The leader of the Democrats in the Senate stood on the steps of the United States Supreme Court and threatened the Justices by name.

Now, what is happening? What is happening now? Well, people are heeding that advice. There was a leaked opinion, an unprecedented, terribly tragic event there that will harm the institution permanently, the Supreme Court. Some clerk, we suspect--I think it is one of the liberal law clerks for one of the liberal Justices, the three Justices on that Court committed to that ideology. Somebody leaked the draft opinion, and it has caused a whirlwind.

All of these protesters are criminals. They are not really protesters. They are criminals because this is blatantly against the black letter of the Federal law. 18 U.S.C. 1507 openly makes this a crime. You can't protest at the home of a judge to try to influence their opinion. Yet, that is exactly what is happening.

As we speak right now, there are liberal activists on the lawns of the Justices of the Supreme Court, the conservative Justices.

Do you know what? Their lives are in danger because we now know, just a few days ago, a would-be assassin was apprehended on the lawn of Justice Kavanaugh. He was home with his wife and his two young daughters.

This is a dangerous thing, and this is what is wrought when so-called leaders tell the American people to get in the faces of their political opponents, to release the whirlwind, you won't know what hit you, and all the rest. That is what is happening right now.

What are Republicans doing about it? What is Congress doing about it? Nothing at all. The Democrat majority won't even acknowledge that this is a problem. In fact, on this floor last night, we had 27 progressives, 27 of the Democrats in this House, vote against a simple bill, a measure that would provide security and protection for the innocent children of these Justices. They voted against that. It is unbelievable.

People back home ask me, my constituents, say: What are they thinking? What in the world is going on? Do they want people to be harmed?

Look, I think the motive is that they want to send a message to the radical left that we like you violating the law. We want you on the lawns of conservative judges. We want you to try to intimidate them into changing their opinions because they may overturn Roe, or they may interpret the Constitution in a way that the radical left disagrees with.

This is a tinderbox. This is a dangerous time in the country. The so- called leaders here are encouraging and inflaming this. Heaven forbid if someone actually gets hurt.

We filed a resolution here within a few days of that leak last month. Forty-five Members joined me in that resolution. We called upon the Department of Justice to enforce 18 U.S.C. 1507, to enforce the law that makes it a crime to picket or parade to influence a judge. Do you know what? Crickets. The Department of Justice hasn't done anything.

Can you imagine if a threat was made to one of the liberal Justices? Can you imagine the outcry? The mainstream media and the Democrats here, the radical left, they would be demanding action. But if it is a conservative judge, hey, fair game, apparently. It is open season on conservative judges. That is what we have now.

We also filed, last month, the Leaker Accountability Act that would make it a crime to knowingly share confidential information from the Supreme Court. I authored that legislation. I think it ought to be punishable by a fine or up to 5 years imprisonment.

We have to send a message. This behavior, the leak, the violence that has ensued because of it, is unacceptable. The idea, again, that our colleagues would vote against protection for the children of these judges is, to me, unconscionable and an unforgivable vote.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), my good friend.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for faithfully coming to this floor and speaking to his constituents and the American people about these very serious issues that face us as a country. His voice is an important one.

I am grateful to him and our many colleagues for joining us tonight to discuss all of these crises facing our country that are taking a back seat to the Democrat reality show and the most radical set of domestic and foreign policies that America has ever seen.

As we close, I remind everybody--we heard it last night--the President exclaimed in his now infamous speech, he said: ``We are changing people's lives.'' You saw that?

There is zero doubt about that, Mr. President. Lives are being devastated under your policies.

I will just say this, as we conclude: November cannot get here soon enough.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Jordan for yielding.

You know, we have heard some revealing things this week. It was just a few moments ago our colleague from Tennessee, Mr. Cohen, lectured us that the Old Testament doesn't mention the word ``guns'' and so we shouldn't claim that this is a fundamental freedom. You know, as usual, he misunderstands the point of Scripture and the Constitution.

Here is the thing: As Americans, we respect and we protect the unalienable, God-given right to self-protection and to the protection of innocent lives around us.

President Biden said--among other outrageous things this week we have heard, President Biden said that he wanted to ban 9-millimeter handguns. That is one of the most widely owned handguns by law-abiding citizens in this country.

Mr. Cicilline of Rhode Island, now infamously in our committee hearing, exclaimed, ``Spare me the'' B.S.--that is not what he said-- ``Spare me the'' B.S. ``about constitutional rights.'' That is pretty revealing.

Mr. Jones, in the same hearing, just a few moments later, he said that if Democrats don't get their way on their gun control wish list, that they will abolish the filibuster and pack the Supreme Court. They are saying the quiet parts out loud.

See, that wish list that they have includes taking away guns from Americans without the constitutionally required due process of law, which is exactly what this bill would do. It would allow the courts to take guns away from people without notice and without even the right to appear in the hearing to defend themselves in court.

Now, the other side is going to tell you, and you will hear in the argument here, hey, there is due process. Don't worry about it, they will say, because people subjected to this process, they can just go to court and they can petition to get their firearms back.

But I will let my colleagues in on something that every first-year law student learns: Due process after the fact is no due process at all.

Now, the other side is also going to argue here--get ready for it-- they are going to claim that they have come up with a reasonable compromise by just making these gun confiscation orders temporary. They will say it is only going to last 14 days. They won't tell you that these orders can be renewed indefinitely.

My Democrat colleagues are going to tell you that this bill will save lives. But if you look at the objective studies, the comprehensive studies on this, you will find that the red flag laws in all these States have had no significant effect on the rates of murder, suicide, or the number of people killed in mass public shootings.

If this bill passes, people may have their information added to the national crime databases, even though they committed no crime. In what version of America do we think that is okay?

The Democrats claim Republicans don't care about gun violence. But while they may repeat this over and over and over, it doesn't make it any more true. If you look at the record, House Republicans have worked tirelessly to combat gun violence by enacting meaningful laws to put more resources into mental health, to provide training for guidance counselors, and fund grants for law enforcement.

The other side, meanwhile, is actively trying to defund police. And just last week, they voted against giving money to schools to enhance security.

Democrats refused to work with us on legislation that would actually do something; that would actually reduce the rate of gun violence in this country.

And instead, they are taking advantage of tragedies. That is what they are doing. They are taking advantage of tragedies to promote their agenda to destroy our constitutional rights, and it is shameful.

I will tell you this: When Republicans take back the majority next year, we will work to begin to address the root causes of the violence and the mayhem in our country. That day cannot come soon enough.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to oppose the previous question so that we can immediately consider H.R. 7690 to defund the Biden administration's recently announced Disinformation Governance Board.

Madam Speaker, the Biden administration's decision to create this board is dystopian in design and should be doomed right from the start.

Madam Speaker, the Disinformation Governance Board should be defunded for one obvious reason. It is not only Orwellian, as everyone has said, but it is clearly unconstitutional. In America, we don't allow bureaucrats and government officials to choose what speech is deemed acceptable or censor and silence viewpoints they dislike.

This fundamental principle of our law must always be vigorously defended to preserve our freedom and to keep the government in check. I used to defend this principle in the Federal courts before I was elected to Congress, and I am so encouraged to work with so many colleagues, at least on this side of the aisle here, who are also fiercely committed to this cause.

Let's put this simply: There is zero role for the Federal Government in determining what constitutes true speech. But while we have everybody's attention, let's just recap this real quickly.

This Disinformation Governance Board will be housed within the Department of Homeland Security. It was just announced by ambush, very abruptly, by Secretary Mayorkas. There is no information about its budget. There is no information provided to us about the scope of its work, no information about how it will be kept accountable. Basically, there are no details at all. Remember, this is from the same administration that wants to spy on parents who speak up at school board meetings and spy on our bank accounts. This governance board is a glaring example of mission creep, and even its name is creepy.

Here is what we do know, Madam Speaker: The board is supposed to be headed by a young woman by the name of Nina Jankowicz, who refers to herself--no kidding--as the Mary Poppins of disinformation.

Miss Poppins is herself a frequent purveyor of untruths, such as calling the New York Post's report on Hunter Biden's laptop a ``Russian influence op'' and promoting the false claim that the Steele dossier was ``Republican opposition research.'' She also appears sympathetic to the cause of censorship because she told NPR recently that she shudders--that is her word--to think about a country where free speech absolutists, again quoting her, were taking over more platforms. She recommended that law enforcement and legislatures do more to censor Americans.

To help her hit the ground running in doing what is certain to be a short stint in this job, here is what we suggest: She ought to check out the recent

falsehoods from her own administration.

Here is a hit list:

The falsehood that Secretary Mayorkas has done an ``effective job'' managing the border crisis and that it is somehow secure. He said that under oath here a couple weeks ago.

The falsehood that economic contraction in Quarter 1 of this year is actually just masking some hidden, broad economic resiliency.

The falsehood that Biden's $3.5 trillion spending bill actually cost zero dollars.

The falsehood that inflation is a high-class problem, as they told us.

The falsehood that 70 percent of our current inflation is being caused by Vladimir Putin.

You get the point.

The problem with the government appointing itself as the arbiter of truth is that it is often the government itself that often engages in spin and untruth.

Madam Speaker, if the Biden administration was itself a beacon of truth, this board would still be unconstitutional. I would tell my colleagues, if this was being proposed by a Republican administration, we would be fighting it just as vociferously.

I do find it noteworthy, however, that those who seem the most preoccupied with censoring Americans and policing disinformation are so often themselves the worst offenders at spreading it.

Again, here is the bottom line: The government has no role whatsoever in determining what constitutes truth or acceptable speech.

President Biden should dissolve this board immediately and entirely; and if he won't, Republicans will.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question so we may amend the rule to provide for immediate consideration of my legislation to defund the DHS Disinformation Governance Board.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mrs. Murphy of Florida, and Mr. Higgins of New York be removed as cosponsors of H.R. 7648.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize tonight my good friend, Mr. Robert J. Wright. He is a local legend and cohost of the ``Robert and Erin Show'' on KEEL Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana.

After 50 years on the air and an illustrious career, Robert has decided to retire. He will be sorely missed in our area. It is truly difficult to imagine our region without his voice on the airways. He is a consummate professional broadcaster, always informative, entertaining, and genuinely tuned in to the people and issues of Louisiana.

Fifty years in any career field is an extraordinary accomplishment, but 50 years of consistently compelling radio is an achievement that few others can ever boast.

I congratulate Robert on his retirement and on a half century of devotion to his craft. We all hope he will finally be able to get some sleep in the mornings. He has earned it. God bless.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, according to The Washington Post, Washington Democrats have diagnosed their messaging as the source of their current political problems. My colleagues and I are here tonight to offer a second opinion.

Mr. Speaker, the Washington Democrats certainly do have a problem, but it is not caused by their messaging; it is being caused by their policies. That is clear for everybody to see.

You see, the phrase ``messaging problem'' is a phrase that is familiar to us on Capitol Hill. It presumes that the American people would support your agenda; they just haven't heard it yet, or they don't quite understand it. But that is certainly not the problem for these Washington Democrats.

It is not their policies, and it is not that their policies are too sophisticated for the rest of us to understand, nor is it that the American people

don't know what is good for them. It is exactly the opposite.

The American people know what is best for them and their families, and they can see very plainly the results of Washington Democrats' one- party rule. They do not like it.

The plain result of the Washington Democrat agenda can be summed up in what I have been calling back home the three i's. You might narrow it down to, currently: inflation, immigration, and incompetence.

We can talk about the crippling inflation, the sky-high illegal immigration, and the unprecedented incompetence of the Democrats in charge in the White House, too.

Let's talk about inflation. When President Biden and Washington Democrats assumed control of the Federal Government, inflation was at 1.4 percent. Now, here we are 1 year and trillions of dollars in government spending later, and inflation has reached 8.5 percent. It is at a 41-year high, and it is still climbing.

For Americans doing the math at their kitchen table, let's put that in real terms. That means these price increases will cost you two paychecks this year and probably two more next year.

Rather than accepting responsibility, what are they doing? President Biden and Washington Democrats have told us all that it is Russia's fault, and they advise that we should buy an electric car.

Let's talk about illegal immigration. With regard to that, the policies of President Biden and these Democrats have resulted in record levels of illegal immigration, record levels of illicit drugs flowing into our country, and a humanitarian catastrophe at the southern border.

Today, the Biden administration is actually planning to lift the public health restrictions of title 42 that were really the last remaining tool in the toolbox to control illegal immigration. Believe it or not--get this--this is happening at the very time that they are suing in Federal court to keep Americans masked up.

According to the Biden administration, if you are an illegal immigrant, COVID restrictions are over. But if you are an American citizen, hey, you better buckle up because these COVID restrictions are going to be around for a while.

Incompetence, I don't think we need to elaborate too much. Everyone can see this with their own eyes. It wasn't so long ago that Washington Democrats tried to cast themselves as the party of competence. Remember that, in the election cycle?

But many congressional Democrats still can't be bothered to show up here at work. Many haven't voted in person in a long, long time. Some phone into committee hearings from bed, literally.

The story at President Biden's agencies isn't much better. Another tax season has come and gone, yet Biden's Treasury Department is still working on getting last year's tax refunds out to the American people.

Remember the fatal troop withdrawal, the debacle from Afghanistan. No one at Biden's Defense Department has been fired or held accountable for the chaos that left 13 American soldiers dead.

The President himself continues to confuse basic policies from the White House podium on a near-daily basis.

The American people deserve competence in government. But they have received, by far, with this administration, the most incompetent government of our lifetimes.

Mr. Speaker, again, there is a reason that politicians like to blame their problems on messaging. It implies that if only the American people heard our message, they would support it. In this case, it is the American people who are hearing very clearly the Democrat message, and they reject it.

I thank my colleagues for joining me on the floor this evening, where we will be talking about the broad array, the panoply, of crises created by this administration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. Some wise counsel there. I wish they would heed it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield next to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).

Mr. Speaker, I told my friend that I would be faithful to him because he has been faithful to participate in all the Special Order hours if I kept the trains running on time.

I yield now to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller), who I slighted earlier. I would invite him to talk more about all these crises we are facing.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for bringing that up. Coming from an energy State like Louisiana, just like Pennsylvania, we know how important this is to us. Under the Trump administration, we had achieved energy dominance. We could get back to that if they would just simply do the opposite of what they are doing.

Mr. Speaker, I yield next to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose) has articulated so well what is on the hearts and minds of so many of our constituents. Inflation is a very real problem for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I yield next to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend so much for that and for his service to our country.

Having defended our Nation you know that if we don't have a border, we not only don't have safety and security, but we also don't even have sovereignty. We don't even have a country. We have to have a border, and this administration has given us none.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas, (Mr. Hill).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. And I will tell him that he is not going to resign.

The gentleman from Arkansas may not know this, but just a few hours ago in the Homeland Security Committee, one of our Republican colleagues from Mississippi, Congressman Guest, asked the Secretary under oath, he said: Are you testifying, as you sit here today, that the southwest border is secure?

``Yes, I am.''

The Secretary of Homeland Security actually said under oath that that border is secure. So we must just be imagining all of this. It is really unbelievable, as we said.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce).

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is exactly right. It is time to shift back to American energy dominance, which we had under the previous administration.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield next to another doctor, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).

Mr. Speaker, we have been calling on this President to do his job since he entered that office, and he hasn't done it. I appreciate the gentleman's leadership on all these issues.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield next to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde), another good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for his clear voice and clarion call for competence and common sense.

Mr. Speaker, what my colleagues have articulated tonight is our view, the American people's view on the debacle that is the unified government by the Democrats of the Congress and the White House.

We have crippling inflation. We have sky high, illegal immigration. We have unprecedented incompetence at every level. It has yielded us, as you heard tonight, an energy crisis, a crime crisis, a foreign policy crisis, and an agenda that seems almost intentional in its design to put the American people last instead of first.

This is the opposite of what was pursued under the previous administration, the opposite of the strides, the incredible achievements that we had accomplished in the first 2 years of the Trump administration with Republicans in charge of this House and the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I think the American people have had enough of this wildly progressive America last agenda. I think that they are going to let their voices be heard in this upcoming election. And it is our prayer that we can survive between now and November, and in January when we take control again.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to my colleagues for participating and joining me on the floor this evening, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, during the last election, the Democratic Party managed to win a razor-thin majority here in this House and a split Senate, 50-50. No objective person can look at those numbers and suggest that the President of this party, President Biden, was given any kind of authority whatsoever to try to radically transform our country, but, you know, that is exactly what he has tried to do for the worse.

And the latest offense, the latest overstep, the latest overreach is this President has made the most leftwing nomination to the Supreme Court in American history.

For those who didn't see this over the weekend, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testified in her post-confirmation hearing written questions for the record: ``I do not hold a position on whether individuals possess natural rights.''

You heard that correctly. President Biden's nominee for the highest court in this land cannot say whether individuals possess natural rights. We can hardly imagine a more un-American position than denying the first self-evident truth of America.

The central and foundational premise of our great country is that all individuals are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Among those are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We have a newsflash for the judge: Those rights don't come from government; they don't come from any human authority. They come from our creator himself. We are endowed with those rights by God.

The fact that Judge Jackson cannot or will not acknowledge this simple fact is disqualifying for the highest court in this land, period, full stop.

Mr. Speaker, the President's nomination is truly out of step with the country and this fateful moment.

And the primary job Americans elected President Biden to do was to help unite this country. This is doing the opposite.

His nomination for the Supreme Court is the latest example of just how badly he has failed.

I am very thankful to my colleagues for joining me on the floor this evening to discuss President Biden's radical nominee to the United States Supreme Court, but also, as you will hear, the myriad number of other crises the White House is creating at home and abroad.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for drawing attention to that. The gentlewoman is exactly right, and some of the Border Patrol officials have said that they estimate that by rescinding title 42, that the number of illegal border crossings will double overnight. So instead of having 7,000 a day, we will go to 18, 20,000 a day. The numbers are just staggering.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield next to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend; we always need a little moment of brevity, don't we? The news is so bad, but the gentleman pointed out and highlighted how difficult the times are, and that is a serious subject.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield next to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman), who holds the distinction of being the highest- ranking military officer ever elected to the United States Congress, my classmate, president of our freshman class. I still call him the general.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that fight and that very worthwhile legislation, and we look forward to seeing that.

The gentleman is right. The surge in crime is directly related to border in so many ways because we know dangerous people have come across that border. It is completely open to MS-13 gang members, violent criminals, convicted persons, criminals who come from other countries. You have child predators, even terrorists who have come across that border. We know this for a fact, and still they won't change the policies.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield next to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa.)

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. So much of that is just common sense, and I appreciate him pointing it out.

But sadly, unfortunately, this White House shows no intention whatsoever of reversing its policies and positions, which could fix these problems.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to yield next to the gentleman from the great State of Texas (Mr. Babin).

Mr. Speaker, John Adams said facts are stubborn things, and those are some tough facts. They cannot refute it because everyone can see for themselves.

By the way, Dr. Babin, I just pulled up the U.S. debt clock, this thing that everybody can see on their smartphone. Currently, right now, as we stand here, the national debt is $30,367,412,900. You can't count it or follow it with the naked eye. Unbelievable. And he is proposing more.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for highlighting that. It is a serious issue.

The longest-lasting legacy of any President is who they put on those Federal courts, and, of course, the most important is the highest court in the land. We cannot overstate how important this is.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, that was so well said. I appreciate the gentleman highlighting that issue. It is one of so many that we have deep concerns about with this administration and their budget and everything they do.

We have to protect the sanctity of every single human life. To defend the defenseless is the job that we have--the first job, the primary job.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of wisdom there. The gentleman is exactly right. If a judge begins with the premise that we have no natural rights, that does not bode well for where that logic leads.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Keller for that. These words are not hyperbole. This is what the experts are saying. Customs and Border Patrol agents, those officials who are there every day watching this chaos, this calamity that has developed, they are the ones that are giving us these numbers. They project 18,000 illegals a day. It is just hard to wrap your mind around that.

Absolutely. And these are the results of policy choices, and they could easily be reversed if the White House would wake up and do something.

So I thank the gentleman for bringing that to our attention tonight.

Mr. Speaker, you have heard Members from across the country--north, south, east, and west--who have expressed their outrage and their concern with all of the terrible policy choices that are leading to absurd results for our country. These are very dangerous times. There is no leadership in the White House. There is no leadership in the administration. There is no leadership from the Democratic majority in this House or in the split Senate down the Hall. We can turn these things around, and we can stop these crises if we make different decisions, but they will not do it.

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for my colleagues who have shown up tonight to articulate this for the American people. We can't say it often enough or loudly enough.

There is going to be a sea change in November, and we pray that we can hold on and keep this Republic until then.

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

Madam Speaker, on April 1, 2022, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted Nay on Roll Call No. 103; Nay on Roll Call No. 104; Nay on Roll Call No. 105; Yea on Roll Call No. 106; and Nay on Roll Call No. 107.