Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember and honor the life of Dr. Agamyrat Agambayez. This man, still in the prime of his life, was ruthlessly murdered in broad daylight in Tempe, Arizona. The killer took the life of a husband, a father, and an incredible immigrant to this country who was all set to start his new career working at Intel.

This young man was loved by many and led an impressive life that will not go unnoticed.

Dr. Agamyrat Agambayez was an impressive scholar receiving his second Ph.D at Arizona State University. He had also recently accepted an engineering job at Intel that he worked so diligently to get. But most importantly, Dr. Agamyrat Agambayez was a friend to many, an extraordinary husband and a dedicated father to his two year old son. Dr. Agamyrat's wife, Sumeyra Agambayez states, ``He had a real bright future . . . he was dedicated, smart, and studied tirelessly for years at universities to start giving back to the community here and abroad in Turkmenistan.''

I condemn the crime here, and the loss to humanity. I am appalled at the growing crime and homeless problems in Tempe and Phoenix. Our people need to be assured they can live and work in a community without fear of a murderous car jacker lurking to take one's life and property.

I mourn for his young family. His son will be left with little memory of his father. But I hope one day his son will read these words, and the words of others, and know that his father was a bright star in the sky and made the world a better place. He lived and died with honor.

My thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones and shall Dr. Agamyrat Agambayez never be forgotten.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on his resounding reelection. The people of Hungary, in a super majority, not only supported him, but his party. In my view, the recipe to his success in Hungary is simple: put Hungary first, always. By focusing on what is good for Hungarians, Mr. Orban rejected internationalism, socialism, and subservience to non-sensical European Union mandates. It is a model, quite frankly, we should follow in the United States, where we seal our borders to protect our citizens and our economy, where we focus on rebuilding families, where we focus on the spirit of our people through God, not just material pursuits, and where we make economic policies that protect our own people and do not subsidize others.

I am also including in the Record the following statement from Judicial Watch and Mr. Tom Fitton, its President. They sent a team of election observers to Hungary and found it was a well run, orderly, and fair election, with no corruption. The same cannot be said about our own elections. Congratulations to Mr. Orban, and Mr. Fitton, for the good work they are doing.

Judicial Watch Team Observes Hungary Elections--Praises Election Day

Processes

Washington, DC.--Judicial Watch announced today that it

sent a six-member team to observe Election Day procedures

during the April 3, 2022, Hungarian parliamentary and

referendum national elections. A Judicial Watch report on the

Hungarian election concluded that the administration of the

vote on Election Day was efficient, orderly, and

unremarkable.

The team was led by attorneys who previously worked for the

Department of Justice's Voting Section monitoring state and

federal elections in the United States. The team also

included lawyers who had monitored elections for Judicial

Watch.

Judicial Watch's representatives observed voting in 52

precincts at 27 locations in and around Budapest. The

Judicial Watch team did not observe any meaningful problems

throughout the day. Despite a high national turnout rate

approaching 70%, lines were usually brief and only rarely

exceeded 15 minutes. The Hungarian electoral practice of

including representatives of every party of any size at each

voter registration desk appears to have contributed to a low-

controversy environment. In some ways, according to the

report, the administration of the vote was more effective,

and less chaotic, than what team members had observed in

previous elections in parts of the United States.

Judicial Watch's monitoring methodology emphasizes ballot

access, meaning the ability of citizens to easily register

and cast an equal vote in an election. It particularly

focuses on recording specific Election Day problems

concerning unlawful electioneering, arbitrary variations in

the rules for voting, aggressive voting assistance, unusual

ballot handling, voter intimidation or confrontations, and

voter ``turn aways.''

Judicial Watch noted that its methodology contrasted with

the approach adopted by other international observers, who

often criticized the Hungarian elections based on value

judgments about matters like media bias, negative

campaigning, campaign finance policy, and the prevalence of

women candidates. The report stated that these ``are matters

more appropriately addressed by editorial boards, not

election monitoring teams.''

``The transnational Left swarmed Hungary in order to try to

create controversy about the election of their ideological

opponent, Viktor Orban. By contrast, Judicial Watch's expert

election observer team found virtually no issues in the

conduct of the elections in Hungary,'' stated Judicial Watch

President Tom Fitton.

Madam Speaker, I oppose the nomination of Steve Dettelbach to Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

Our right to meaningful self-defense, and the concomitant right to bear arms, was so important to the Founders that it preceded the right to due process, a speedy trial, and reasonable bail. That is how dangerous the Founders knew a tyrannical government could become. In order to protect those constitutional rights and those in the First Amendment--the right to speech, press, and assembly--citizens must have the means to do so.

And this right is not protected by the Constitution alone. It--and the very closely related right of self-defense--is a civil right as well--or a right that serves to guarantee America's foundational tenet of equality under the law.

All of President Biden's recent actions point to a very simple goal-- he wants our guns. By taking our guns, he takes our right to self- defense. Coming at a time when crime is at record levels in most democrat-run cities, self-defense is not a theoretical discussion. The news is filled daily with citizens being attacked, raped, assaulted, maimed or otherwise hurt by assailants. Good people have the right and duty to defend themselves and their family. And, we have seen government overreach as well--tyrannical tendencies by the Biden Regime to imprison its political opponents and political dissidents. Currently almost 800 Americans have been arrested, many denied bail, for trespassing and other minor violations relating to January 6th, even though the favored criminals of the regime who looted, burned and murdered in the name of racial justice in 2020 walked away Scot free.

In a country that has enshrined the right to self-defense, the mere existence of the ATF is anathema to the Constitution. We have no government agency running roughshod over newspapers and radio stations seeking to ``constrain'' and ``limit'' the First Amendment. We have no government agency cracking down on the unbridled expectation and right to be secure in one's possessions. But we do have the ATF, whose mission is to violate a constitutional right.

The ATF recently and cleverly changed the definition of machine gun so that more guns would be considered illegal. ATF was caught red- handed recently compiling a registry of gun owners--an action explicitly contrary to federal law. And the DOJ just decided to serialize thousands and thousands more firearms and expand the registry already approaching one billion records.

The Biden administration wants there to be as big a paper trail as possible against those wishing to exercise their constitutional right. And we know the ATF is making lists of gun owners who made legal purchases--and just announced plans to expand that list. Why would they need all this information? Because with more information, the easier it is to confiscate. The easier it is to blacklist. Citizens who oppose the regime have been added to secret lists in the hopes of prohibiting gun ownership. Without charges. Without a trial. And usually without notice. All of these ATF abuses are unconstitutional.

If Biden were serious about violent crime, he would be funding our police officers and rebuking Soros district attorneys for aiding and abetting violent criminals. Over 33 percent of first-time gun buyers in 2021 were women. Guns allow women to stand up to criminals who would otherwise overpower them.

The cure to rampant violent crime is well known by criminologists. Enforce the law. Every time. Throw violent thugs in jail for decades. Throw drug dealers in jail. For decades. Federal laws that did this in the 1990's worked wonders in reducing crime. The problem of violence is not an inanimate object. It is not a gun, a knife or a car that is to blame. It is always, always, in every instance, the operator of the gun, the knife or the car. Inanimate objects have no free will or ability to commit crimes. It is long past time we stop pretending they do. People are responsible for their own violent actions. The millions of law-abiding gun owners shall not be punished for the transgressions of the violent minority.

I am pursuing legislation in many areas to protect our right to defend ourselves from government. As the purpose of ATF's existence is to harass and criminalize gun ownership, it must be eliminated. I also support bills that codify a federal right to self-defense, prohibit the administration from criminalizing many legal guns owned by Americans for decades through crafty and illegal regulatory maneuvers, defund federal attempts to prop up state registries of gun ownership, and nullify all ATF regulations approved by this gun-grabbing administration.

The ATF nominee Dettelbach is of the apparent opinion that guns have free will and he blames the guns for violence. He is thus in favor of disarming as many people as possible. I have no confidence he will oppose Biden's radical agenda to destroy our Second Amendment, which is not only unconstitutional but immoral and a threat to democracy. I oppose his nomination and I urge all senators to oppose this radical and his usurpation of Constitutional rights.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember and honor the life of Dr. Agamyrat Agambayev. This man, still in the prime of his life, was ruthlessly murdered in broad daylight in Tempe, Arizona. The killer took the life of a husband, a father, and an incredible immigrant to this country who was all set to start his new career working at Intel.

This young man was loved by many and led an impressive life that will not go unnoticed.

Dr. Agamyrat Agambayev was an impressive scholar receiving his second Ph.D. at Arizona State University. He had also recently accepted an engineering job at Intel that he worked so diligently to get. But most importantly, Dr. Agamyrat Agambayev was a friend to many, an extraordinary husband and a dedicated father to his two year old son. Dr. Agamyrat's wife, Sumeyra Agambayev states, ``He had a real bright future . . . he was dedicated, smart, and studied tirelessly for years at universities to start giving back to the community here and abroad in Turkmenistan.''

I condemn the crime here, and the loss to humanity. I am appalled at the growing crime and homeless problems in Tempe and Phoenix. Our people need to be assured they can live and work in a community without fear of a murderous car jacker lurking to take one's life and property.

I mourn for his young family. His son will be left with little memory of his father. But I hope one day his son will read these words, and the words of others, and know that his father was a bright star in the sky and made the world a better place. He lived and died with honor.

My thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones and shall Dr. Agamyrat Agambayev never be forgotten.

Madam Speaker, I rise to address the efforts to unfairly attack one of the best Supreme Court Justices in our history--Justice Clarence Thomas.

Democrats in Congress have engaged in a smear campaign against this most distinguished jurist. And why? Because they are upset that his wife texted the President's Chief of Staff. The attack on this great Justice is not based on any decision he made. It is not based on anything he said or did. Rather, he is being held to account for his wife's expression of free speech.

Let me be clear, Ginni Thomas, the Justice's wife, has every right to share her political views and express her views. Merely because her husband is a judicial officer does not mean she loses all of her constitutional rights.

The real reason radical Democrats want Justice Thomas to be impeached, or to ``resign'' or to recuse himself from cases unnecessarily, is because they don't like his close adherence to the Constitution. Justice Thomas' legal decisions read like poetry. He clearly and easily eviscerates strange constitutional interpretations by the Leftists on the Court. He forcefully and unabashedly explains true Constitutional law and sticks to the document as it was intended. This makes him a threat to the Left.

The Democrats in Congress belittle and besmirch the impeachment process. It is now invoked against their political enemies with as much thought as what they want for lunch. They cry ``impeachment'' in unison against all of their political enemies, like a socialist collective. The hive mind of the Left seeks destruction of the Constitution and it hates, with prejudice aforethought, those who believe in the Constitution as a fixed star in the constellation guiding our nation instead of the loopy ``it's a living document so it means whatever I say it means.''

I stand with Justice Thomas and his wife. Stay strong for the sake of America. America needs his voice on the Court, and he should not let the vitriolic, shrill, and hysterical Left wing mob in Congress deter him from his right to free speech for Ginni and his duty to our Constitution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the massive U.S. failure under the Biden Administration in allowing the Solomon Islands to align with China. The Solomon Islands' shift towards Beijing was not out of the blue as it is the product of a several year effort. Further, the Solomon Islands contains the blood of over 10,000 U.S. Marines who died retaking it from the Japanese, including the infamous battle at Guadalcanal. Thousands of others were maimed and wounded. What our grandfathers paid for in blood, the Chinese have bought with money. This is a national disgrace and we were entirely unprepared for such a significant development in the Pacific Ocean.

This strategic shift truly began in September of 2019 when Prime Minister Sogavare announced the Solomon Islands was switching its 36 year diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China. With no embassy in the country, the U.S. response was limited however the then Trump Administration offered an aid package to the island of Malaita, the nation's largest province, which is openly out spoken against the diplomatic change.

Shortly after the cessation of the failed Afghanistan withdrawal, China increased its meddling in the Solomon Islands. When the people of Malaita were refused an audience before Prime Minister Sogavare violent riots broke out across the capital. While U.S. allies responded at first, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) soon filled the gap with their own police and police gear.

To any international observer the CCP strategy is clear. Shift allegiances, make the Solomon Islands politically and economically dependent on Beijing through Belt and Road Initiative investment and projects, and make the Solomon Islands' government security based on CCP personnel and equipment. Yet there is no action from the Biden Administration. Finally, in February 2020, three years after the Solomon Island's shift from Taiwan, the Biden Administration announced its Indo-Pacific Strategy and Secretary Blinken states that the U.S. will reopen an embassy. This is much too late.

Just last week, Solomon Island officials confirm that a police deal has been signed with China and that a larger security deal is in the finalization phase. The deal grants Chinese police and security the right to assist the security of the island and to protect Chinese personnel and projects there. It would, most concerningly, allow People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships to carry out logistical stops at the island, which likely opens the door to a PLA naval base on the Solomon Island, 1,400 miles from our ally Australia and extending the CCP's military reach and influence towards the U.S. and its allies.

We are watching the CCP's soft and hard power operate in real time, blending its growing economic, political, and military might to slowly take control of a country, creeping closer to becoming a regional hegemon in an ocean the U.S. shares a border with and did $1.75 trillion in two way trade and whose economy accounts for 60 percent of the global GDP.

The reality is that Biden Administration has been wrong or too slow on every major foreign policy issue since taking office. The failure of this Administration with the Solomon Islands proves it cannot walk and chew gum at the same time, distracted by its failed withdrawal operation in Afghanistan, paralyzed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, distracted with re-entering into a diplomatic deal which makes concessions with the world's state sponsor of terrorism, or too focused on entering into abstract climate and tax deals with foreign nations and international organizations.

For decades, the American people were told by our governing and economic elites that the People's Republic of China under the CCP was not a threat. That it would develop and align with the West. Yet, we have watched China pursue hegemonic dominance in the Indo-Pacific, using this regional security to project power globally in a manner which threatens American economic, political, and national security. But all we get from the Biden Administration is strategy documents and diplomatic action which is far too late as Beijing eyes 2049 and the end of its 100 year marathon.

Madam Speaker, I recount this series of concerning events not to advocate for U.S. intervention. I highlight these developments to show how the Biden Administration has been completely unable or unwilling to use the wide range of America's tools of statecraft to address a real security threat, growing Chinese power and influence. Instead it is off pursuing highly political and abstract foreign policy goals which do much less for the security of the American people, homeland, and way of life. The ease at which the CCP has obtained complete influence over another nation in a strategically important region of the world highlights its growing power and how this Congress and Administration needs to get serious about its foreign policy responsibilities.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the upcoming Independence and National Day of Bangladesh and the 50th Anniversary of U.S.-Bangladesh bilateral relations.

Bangladesh is a beacon in a region which has historically and even currently today been marred with conflict. Despite these challenges, Bangladesh has held firm as a democracy which is why our countries cooperate so closely on a range of issues, including economic development, security, and governance. As our countries progress and meet new challenges, our bond remains strong as evidenced by our collaboration as the world confronts the challenges of COVID-19, counter-terrorism, and more.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating this remarkable milestone between our two countries and the independence and achievements of Bangladesh. Our nations have accomplished a great deal together for the advancement of freedom, and as our relationship proves its strength as we confront new challenges in the 21st century, I am excited for what the future holds for our two great nations.

Madam Speaker, on Thursday, March 3, 2022, this body considered amendments and final passage of H.R. 3967, the Honoring our PACT Act. One amendment voted on before this chamber was Mr. Ryan of Ohio's amendment number 23 which added the text of the SFC Heath Robinson Burn Pit Transparency Act to the bill.

While I did not support final passage of this bill, I did support several of amendments offered to it. Amendment 23 was one such amendment. Due to error on the House floor, my amendment was incorrectly cast as no.

This was an error and I rise today to correct my vote and indicate that I intended to vote yes, in favor of amendment 23. While I have issues with the underlying bill, this amendment was a strong addition to ensure we provide an adequate level of care to our nation's veterans who are suffering from toxic exposure during their service to this country.

Madam Speaker, I reiterate that I intended to vote in favor of amendment 23.

Madam Speaker, we are living through a major international event. My position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict has not changed, this is not our war and American forces need not be involved. Yet, Americans are still feeling the impact of this conflict, reminding us how dangerous our current policies of foreign reliance are in an international system inhabited with rogue regimes vying to be great powers.

Over the course of several decades, through two hot wars, and one cold war, the U.S. went abroad to defeat forces of evil and tyranny threatening America and the freedom loving world. After leaving the international system based on the rule of law, democracy, and human rights, America came home but its officials remained abroad placing international affairs above American security, economic development abroad over economic prosperity at home, and foreign supply chains over American ones.

In 2016, the American people through a collective voice announced its intention to return to our own domestic affairs, as the Founders intended, to disentangle from the system where foreign treaties and global corporations set our policy instead of the American people through their representatives. In short, to enjoy the security and liberty we had obtained for ourselves. But Mr. Biden has instead reverted to the old status quo.

Ukraine is over 6,000 miles from my state of Arizona, yet my constituents are still feeling the consequences of bad policy and poor governance. The Biden Administration's decision making since the beginning has led to this conflict, signaling to foreign powers that such aggressive behavior is acceptable and intertwining the daily security and prosperity of the American people to actions of foreign adversaries, undermining their liberty as citizens of a secure power.

Mr. Biden from the first day tied the energy security of the American people to foreign regimes in the name of politics. To appease radical climate change activists, Mr. Biden cancelled the Keystone pipeline and crushed oil and gas permitting on federal lands. With domestic demand not changing, we went from energy independent and a net exporter to purchasing 600,000 barrels per day from Russia which has some of the worst emitting pipelines in the world. These oil and gas profits grant it geopolitical leverage over America and its allies and fuels the Russian war machine now attacking another nation.

U.S. imports of Russian goods since the Obama Administration are up over 22 percent. $13 billion annually in mineral fuels, $1.4 billion in iron and steel, nearly a billion in fertilizers, and the list goes on. A trade deficit of over $13 billion with Russia who is attacking a neighboring state. With Russian economic production slowed due to conflict and the possibility that it could retaliate against sanctions, Russia can cut the U.S. and its allies off from products we critically need.

The damage reflected from foreign reliance does not end here, nor does Mr. Biden's involvement as the source of the pain. The U.S. is reliant on foreign adversaries for critical minerals needed to sustain our national defense, provide health care for our citizens, and more. Russia is particularly influential over American access to helium and uranium, with another foreign adversary, China, controlling other can't live without minerals. Yet Mr. Biden and this majority has killed mining projects across America, including copper and uranium mines in Arizona. Now our source of these materials is at war with another country and can turn off the flow of these materials to America based on how this conflict plays out.

And let's talk about NATO, the trigger point for this conflict. President Trump cogently noted that NATO members were in violation of their contractual obligation to fund their military forces at 2.5 percent of their GDP. But they have been in breach of this agreement for decades. It is so bad that the German war minister reported that Germany had no military assets to contribute at this time.

Commentator Mark America explains it well: ``Trump was not only right about European nations' contributions to NATO, but their underlying defense expenditures are cratering. Since Trump left, they've fallen off a cliff, with reports that the German Army couldn't deploy sufficient forces to repeal successfully much of anything. In short, Europe has left themselves virtually defenseless, with the brief exception of the period of Trump's presidency, with only new NATO member Poland substantially upholding the promise of expending at least two percent of their national GDP on defense. The United States has been bearing the burdens of defending Europe for most of a century now, yet we cannot get them to pay to defend themselves, and there is no will under the current administration in Washington, DC to hold NATO's feet to the fire. In 2020, Germany barely attained 1.57 percent of its GDP in defense spending, and that was after extensive prodding from President Trump. When he took office, the Germans were spending roughly 1.1 percent on defense. In short, don't look to Berlin for help.''

So when my constituents ask me why does a conflict 6,000 miles from our border increase prices on Americans at the pump, dent their 401ks, and raise the cost of everyday goods, the answer is because Mr. Biden consistently makes decisions which put Americans last.

Rather than continuing the reorientation of governance towards American prosperity and security which started in 2016, Mr. Biden has turned back outward. But Americans are realizing who stands for and against them. On January 20, 2017, President Trump echoed the will of the American people when he said ``from this day forward, it's only going to be America First . . . every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families.'' The last year, culminating in a foreign conflict we are not fighting hurting our country, shows the folly of straying from such a simple proclamation, and we must return to a government for the People.

Madam Speaker, I rise on another somber day of remembrance of the Khojaly tragedy which occurred on February 26, 1992, 30 years ago. I am here once again to acknowledge this historic tragedy and commemorate the lives lost that day.

Azerbaijan is an area of unlimited potential and the Azerbaijanis have carved out a remarkable society and a stable government after decades of struggle under Soviet rule. This success was not achieved without struggle.

From its oppressive governance and collapse the Soviets created conflict in several regions. For Azerbaijan, problems with neighboring Armenia erupted into the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In this initial conflict, one notable tragic incident occurred on February 26, 1992.

In the town of Khojaly in the Karabakh region, civilian Azeris were subjected to indiscriminate shelling and targeting. From these attacks it is reported that up to 613 civilians died with more wounded and taken hostage.

We cannot change what happened but we can remember the victims and remind the world that the targeting of civilians is never acceptable. We must learn from the past as we continue to pursue a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which continues today. The U.S. advocates for a peace which honors the memory of those who perished at Khojaly so no one will suffer the same fate.

Madam Speaker, today we solemnly remember the Khojaly victims and we will keep them in our hearts and minds as we foster a strong working relationship between our two countries and pursue a peaceful and fair resolution to the conflict.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address a catastrophic mass death in our country because of our open borders--all due to fentanyl.

Fentanyl is freely flowing across our southern border as seizures increased by nearly 135 percent in 2021 under Joe Biden's laxed immigration enforcement.

In FY 2021. Customs and Border Protection seized 11,201 pounds of fentanyl, a historic rate that is more than all that was seized in 2018 and 2019 combined. This amounts to enough fentanyl to cause 2,540,341,996 deaths, or more than 7 times the U.S. population.

The free flow of this deadly drug across our border is a direct result of the Biden administration's open border policies. The fact is, Joe Biden continues to ignore and fails to address the record high overdose deaths caused from deadly fentanyl-related substances crossing our border.

As a result, the scourge of fentanyl is destroying our communities, killing our children and devastating our families.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. overdose deaths reached a devastating new height in 2021, claiming a new victim every five minutes.

There is a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug cartels in Mexico. The ease in which the drug cartels operate is shocking. The cartels control the borders and are taking full advantage of Joe Biden's weak immigration policies.

Last December, in my home state of Arizona, the Scottsdale Police Department and the Arizona Attorney General's Office seized a record 1.7 million fentanyl pills and 10 kilograms of fentanyl powder.

During a recent two-month public safety surge, the DEA Phoenix Field Division announced total seizures of over three million fentanyl pills and 45 kilograms of fentanyl powder.

Just one fentanyl pill can kill. Yet our open borders remain a fentanyl pipeline.

Instead of securing our southern border to stop the flow of fentanyl, Mr. Biden has doubled down on his open-border policies that will

only worsen the ongoing border crisis and destroy more communities and lives.

Just because Joe Biden ignores the fentanyl crisis doesn't mean Congress should. Congress must address the crisis at the border.

Congress must also take action and permanently place fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The emergency class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances is set to expire on February 18, 2022.

Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats are wrong to allow this order to expire.

Madam Speaker, the House is set to take up a third stopgap funding bill since the fiscal year started back in October 2021.

Let me phrase that differently. We are nearly halfway into fiscal year 2022 and Congress has yet to fund the government.

America is flat broke. Last week the Treasury Department announced that our national debt exceeds 830 trillion, reaching a calamitous level and tripling in the last decade. Inflation is at a historic 40- year high. Yet Congress cannot do its basic job and pass a budget on time.

Instead of addressing real issues facing our nation, the House of Representatives is once again kicking the can for three more weeks to give Congress additional time to try to pass another bloated budget.

Congress cannot spend its way into prosperity, and we must end the frantic habit of governing from one crisis to another. Instead of running up bills we can't pay for, we should be funding the common- sense priorities of the American people, including securing the border, adequately funding our military, reducing taxes and eliminating job- killing regulations.

Today, I reiterate my call for a balanced budget. If we cannot balance the budget rationally, we need a balanced budget constitutional amendment that would force Congress to live within its means, like everyone else.

I have spent my time in Congress trying to reduce spending and stopping this nonsense. I will be voting against this irresponsible kick-the-can-down-the-road continuing resolution. Spending more money that we don't have will not solve our nation's fiscal problems.

All of us will pay the price in the future. Unfortunately, our children and grandchildren will be most impacted. This is immoral to harm future generations but that is what today's continuing resolution does.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address a catastrophic mass death in our country because of our open borders--all due to fentanyl.

Fentanyl is freely flowing across our southern border as seizures increased by nearly 135 percent in 2021 under Joe Biden's laxed immigration enforcement.

In FY 2021, Customs and Border Protection seized 11,201 pounds of fentanyl, a historic rate that is more than all that was seized in 2018 and 2019 combined. This amounts to enough fentanyl to cause 2,540,341,996 deaths, or more than 7 times the U.S. population.

The free flow of this deadly drug across our border is a direct result of the Biden administration's open border policies. The fact is, Joe Biden continues to ignore and fails to address the record high overdose deaths caused from deadly fentanyl-related substances crossing our border.

As a result, the scourge of fentanyl is destroying our communities, killing our children and devastating our families.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. overdose deaths reached a devastating new height in 2021, claiming a new victim every five minutes.

There is a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug cartels in Mexico. The ease in which the drug cartels operate is shocking. The cartels control the borders and are taking full advantage of Joe Biden's weak immigration policies.

Last December, in my home state of Arizona, the Scottsdale Police Department and the Arizona Attorney General's Office seized a record 1.7 million fentanyl pills and 10 kilograms of fentanyl powder.

During a recent two-month public safety surge, the DEA Phoenix Field Division announced total seizures of over three million fentanyl pills and 45 kilograms of fentanyl powder.

Just one fentanyl pill can kill. Yet our open borders remain a fentanyl pipeline.

Instead of securing our southern border to stop the flow of fentanyl, Mr. Biden has doubled down on his open-border policies that will only worsen the ongoing border crisis and destroy more communities and lives.

Just because Joe Biden ignores the fentanyl crisis doesn't mean Congress should. Congress must address the crisis at the border.

Congress must also take action and permanently place fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The emergency class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances is set to expire on February 18, 2022.

Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats are wrong to allow this order to expire.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on amendment number 150 sponsored by Representative Mike Levin.

This amendment is modeled off the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act (PLREDA) which promotes wind, solar, and geothermal resources on public lands.

You might ask me why I am speaking on a Democrat amendment, or why I seem to know so much about this amendment.

It's strange because this amendment looks familiar to me. I wonder why that is?

Oh that's right, that's because PLREDA is my bill, one which I have sponsored since the 112th Congress.

When I introduced PLREDA in the previous Congresses, I solicited original cosponsors in a bipartisan manner.

Mr. Levin was one such original cosponsor.

After the 2020 election, we used Mr. Levin as the lead, yet with this current legislation I was prohibited from being part of its annual original sponsors.

But that's fine, I am more interested in passing good governance for the American people than demanding the credit.

I have done this in the past when we reformed the antitrust exemptions in the McCarran-Ferguson Act for the medical insurance industry and brought knowledge to the erroneous administrative exclusion in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act jeopardizing constituents in Mohave County, Arizona and Clark County, Nevada.

If this were a stand-alone provision, it would earn my support because we need to pass the remainder of PLREDA, the rest which I was unable to get passed in previous Congresses.

However, used as an amendment to a very disingenuous bill, I cannot support it. Not because of the theft of my bill but the poor process used today in this bad bill.

I've always said good process builds good policy which makes good politics.

The amendments being considered inside en bloc packages is a tactic of the current majority which would make the founders roll in their graves.

This is not a counter China bill. This bill promotes a role for the government in the economy which is un-American and deals more in abstract social and climate policies than anything else.

It is not good process. Everyone on the other side has not read the full bill, just like they have not taken the time to make themselves fully aware of anything they have passed so far, regardless if it's a bill, amendment, or resolution.

The American people should be concerned about how this bill actually makes us weaker in the face of China, and no matter how many of my good policy ideas you add to it in the form of an amendment, you cannot change its rotten core.