Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate and honor the life of Joni Dahl from Gilbert, Minnesota, who tragically passed away in a car accident this summer.

Born and raised on the Iron Range, Joni truly embodied the spirit of Our Way of Life in northern Minnesota through her hard work, passion and service for her community.

Joni was the Executive Director of the Hibbing Area Chamber of Commerce and served on the Gilbert Planning and Zoning Commission, among many other local organizations.

She was also very passionate about racing and hockey.

Joni impacted countless lives, and her loss leaves a hole in the lives of many.

Let us all remember Joni's compassion, dedication, and love for northern Minnesota and her fellow Iron Rangers.

May her legacy live on.

Mr. Speaker, I find myself pretty upset today. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are trying to deceive the American people. Democrats are only bringing up these bills today because 46 days from a midterm election they want the American people to suddenly and miraculously believe that they care about the crime crisis plaguing our Nation.

There were 219 Democrats who voted to defund the police and take away resources from law enforcement, including qualified immunity. There were 219 Democrats who voted for legislation that effectively destroyed the profession that I love so much. You can laugh, Mr. Chair, I wore the uniform of local law enforcement, and that smirk upsets me.

Make no mistake, Democrats are the reason recruitment, retention, and morale of law enforcement officers is at an all-time low and crime is at an all-time high. The timing of these bills is an insult to the law enforcement community and the American people.

To my Democrat colleagues: Where were you when the protesters came to my State of Minnesota and set up

GoFundMe pages to raise money and bail out violent criminals who assaulted and beat innocent people?

Where were you when a Member of the California delegation came to Minnesota to stir up aggression and hatred toward my brothers and sisters in the blue and brown?

Where were you when officers were being violently assaulted and killed each day across this country?

Where were you when America's police officers and their families were begging for support and needed elected officials to have their backs? Where were you?

I will tell you where you were. They were here in this Chamber pushing police departments to be defunded. They wanted to defund, dismantle, and disarm the police.

Regardless of how I vote today, I have to tell you that I am furious that days before an election, and for political purposes only, these bills are being brought up by my colleagues. The American people have suffered enough, and at the end of the day the American people and our law enforcement community do not appreciate being used as pawns for political gain.

To the American people, I know the crime crisis you and your families are facing is very real. I will not stop my work to reinvigorate the law enforcement profession, to hold lax prosecutors accountable, and to put violent criminals away.

Mr. Speaker, my time in uniform may be over, but my watch will never end.

Madam Chair, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 5118, the so-called wildfire response package.

The Greenwood fire in northern Minnesota was the worst in decades. It ravaged my district, forcing home evacuations, closing the Boundary Waters, and upending people's lives. Still, even worse wildfires ravage southern California and across the West.

Wildfires are the result of weather, topography, and fuel. Madam Chair, the only factor we can control is fuel. Our forests are thick with dead wood fuel, and they are, predictably, going up in flames.

Real solutions include reforming our broken permitting process so we can get our loggers into forests on projects to really make a difference. There are no better conservationists and forest managers. They know better than anyone how to preserve our forests for future generations.

Like everything done by this majority, it throws money at a problem and offers no real solutions to ensure this doesn't happen again. And, no, not one single wildland firefighter receives a raise under this bill. $20 an hour is already the minimum wage, and when you authorize no money with it, it will, in fact, lead to wildland firefighting jobs being cut.

Republicans are offering solutions. Ranking Member Westerman has the Trillion Trees Act. I have the ESA Flexibility Act and the Healthy Forests for Hunters Act.

Madam Chair, Republicans will keep offering solutions until you accept them because we need to fix this problem. It cannot go on like this any longer.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 3231, a bill originally introduced by Representative Don Young of

Alaska, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment I introduced, which increases the Circuit Rider program. The modest increase of $418,000, offset entirely, means cleaner water for rural America.

Circuit riders travel from facility to facility across our small towns, lending expertise and technical assistance because each individual locality does not have the money to pay for their own. Many treatment facilities in rural America have a dozen or less employees, and these circuit riders save money for local budgets and taxpayers.

According to the National Rural Water Association, this minor increase allows for about 90 more circuit riders. That is 90 more experts traveling across rural America and rural Minnesota, lending their invaluable knowledge to our rural water treatment facilities.

In an industry losing expertise to retirement or other jobs, this funding can also be used to keep these mission-critical positions competitive.

Finally, this amendment brings funding for the Circuit Rider Program in line with a request I led along with 50 other bipartisan Members of Congress.

Let's allow rural America to have clean, sanitary water, free up local budgets, and ensure our rural operators get the technical assistance they so desperately need.

Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of my amendment.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate Abe Schwartz, a math teacher at Bemidji Middle School, who has been honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Our children are our future, and teachers like Abe are absolutely critical in developing young leaders with a passion to learn and grow.

This is the nation's highest honor for teachers of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and I am incredibly proud knowing that we have such a talented and enthusiastic educator in our great Eighth District preparing our next generations for ingenuity and greatness.

Congratulations again to Abe on this amazing accomplishment, and I thank him for his steadfast dedication to the students at Bemidji Middle School. I wish him nothing but success as he continues to mentor and lead his students to a bright future.

Mr. Speaker, recently, a grassroots group of servicemembers created a survey called the ``Congressional Survey of Accountability, Truth, and Freedom.'' The survey includes over 60 pages of testimony from nearly 600 servicemembers describing the discriminatory treatment they have received from the Department of Defense in their attempts to receive a religious or medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Experienced servicemembers are facing an unfair choice: Get the shot against their personal or religious beliefs in order to continue their patriotic service in defense of our freedoms or sacrifice their military careers and risk the benefits that help their families make ends meet.

I am aware that certain branches of the military are self-reporting information on religious and medical exemptions. However, it is important that there is a detailed, congressionally mandated report that requires the Department of Defense to be as transparent as possible regarding their denials of religious and medical exemptions.

My amendment would require the DOD to report every 60 days on the number of religious and medical exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine requirement requested and denied and the reasons for such denials; the number of members denied an exemption who then complied with the requirement and got the shot against their beliefs; and the number of members denied an exemption who did not comply and were separated from service. We need to bring to light just how many servicemembers have been coerced to get the vaccine or forced to separate and for what reasons.

This mandate is putting our national security at risk for no good reason, and I am certain this amendment will prove that.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support my amendment.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor Eli Ruth, a fifth-grade student at Bay View Elementary of the Proctor School District who was named Minnesota's AAA School Safety Patroller of the Year.

Recently, I have been focused on how the United States is an exceptional country and how our people live out American exceptionalism every day. When I see a student like Eli taking an opportunity to be a leader among his peers and working to ensure their safety, I see a young man who perfectly exemplifies American exceptionalism.

During his time as a safety patroller, Eli has come to know the students and community very well, and I am so glad to see that he has already become such an effective and caring leader at such a young age.

When I was his age, I was a school patrol officer myself at Piedmont Elementary. It brings me great joy to see that, decades later, this program is still encouraging and developing young leaders with a passion to serve.

Congratulations, again, to Eli Ruth on this amazing honor. I wish him nothing but success and happiness as he continues down his path of leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate and honor the life of Renee Van Nett from Duluth, Minnesota, who bravely battled her diagnosis of terminal cancer and recently passed away.

Renee was well-known and well-loved across the northland. She was a dedicated mother, city council member, and active community member. Her tragic passing has affected many, showing the countless lives she touched and made a difference in.

Though the loss leaves a hole in the lives of many, the work Renee accomplished has left a legacy that will live on beyond any of us.

As the first Native American person to have been elected to the Duluth City Council, Renee will always be remembered as an inspiration to her fellow Red Lake Nation members and to the entire Native American community.

I am grateful for Renee sharing her compassion, dedication, and love for Duluth and all its people. May we all continue to help carry on her legacy.

Madam Speaker, the vote closed prior to me being able to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 270.

members recorded pursuant to house resolution 8, 117th congress

Amodei (Balderson)

Brooks (Weber (TX))

Bustos (Mrvan)

Carter (TX) (Weber (TX))

Connolly (Beyer)

Crist (Wasserman Schultz)

Davids (KS) (Neguse)

Davis, Danny K. (Beyer)

Evans (Beyer)

Gohmert (Weber (TX))

Gonzalez (OH) (Meijer)

Green (TN) (Fleischmann)

Johnson (GA) (Manning)

Johnson (TX) (Jeffries)

Kahele (Mrvan)

Katko (Moore (UT))

Kelly (IL) (Neguse)

Lamb (Blunt Rochester)

Lawrence (Stevens)

Lawson (FL) (Wasserman Schultz)

Lowenthal (Beyer)

Mace (Carter (GA))

McEachin (Beyer)

Moore (WI) (Beyer)

Newman (Beyer)

O'Halleran (Schrader)

Palazzo (Fleischmann)

Peters (Jeffries)

Pingree (Wasserman Schultz)

Price (NC) (Manning)

Rice (SC) (Meijer)

Stanton (Huffman)

Suozzi (Beyer)

Taylor (Van Duyne)

Tenney (Jackson)

Titus (Pallone)

Walorski (Bucshon)

Waters (Takano)

Watson Coleman (Pallone)

Amendments En Bloc No. 2 Offered by Mr. Green of Texas

Madam Speaker, I rise to oppose the previous question so that we can immediately consider H.R. 6858, the American Energy Independence from Russia Act, which I am proud to cosponsor with my colleagues, Representatives McMorris Rodgers and Westerman.

The national average price for a gallon of gasoline today is $5 and climbing. Let that sink in. It is $5 and going up. Diesel fuel is skyrocketing at an even scarier rate.

This is a self-imposed crisis on the American people. As a candidate, Joe Biden pledged again and again to ban development on America's Federal lands and waters. He followed through

on that promise, with the House Democrats following suit no matter the pain they cause Americans at the pump, no matter the costs they impose on businesses reliant on shipping, trucking, and more.

In contrast, we Republicans are here offering solutions. H.R. 6858 takes away Joe Biden's power to ruin our energy security and our economy by prohibiting harmful drilling bans. The bill creates a minimum number of annual lease sales, both onshore and offshore. It reauthorizes the Keystone XL pipeline so we can resume moving energy throughout our country.

Democrats here are calculating that, to reduce emissions, it is a necessary evil to make gas expensive for Americans and punish the middle class.

Madam Speaker, let me tell you why that is dead wrong. Under President Trump, when we were net exporters of American energy, we averaged emission reductions of 2.5 percent every year. Under President Biden, his first year in office, we saw a 6 percent jump in domestic emissions.

These policies Democrats push every day, again, are punishing the American families, the American workers, and the American middle class. It makes it harder for businesses to turn a profit. It is the leading cause of why our economy officially became a bear market just yesterday.

Biden's solution? Trips to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, pleading with communists and human rights violators to bail him out of a problem that he caused. Let that sink in. He is going to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, pleading with communists and human rights violators to bail him out of a problem that he caused.

Madam Speaker, it does not have to be this way. We can bring gas prices down with Republican solutions.

As the ranking member of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, I call on my colleagues in this body today to do the right thing and vote for H.R. 6858 to bring relief to the American people.

Let's produce our energy right here in America. We have the resources, technology, and the workforce, and we absolutely have the need.

Madam Speaker, I urge defeat of the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today opposed to the underlying bill.

Americans are living in paralyzing fear, watching all of their household income get eaten up by the price of gas and household needs and watching their retirement security disappear in our new bear market.

The Biden and House Democrat approach has been to spend their way out of every problem, and look where it has gotten us.

The Recovering America's Wildlife Act is well intended. Of course, we conservationists support investments in our species. But there is still no pay-for. This is $1.4 billion in perpetuity, with no pay-for or offset.

During committee markup, Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee simply asked to offset the spending that continues to punish Americans. But Democrats declined to negotiate in good faith and are choosing to aggravate inflation instead.

However, I offer legislation that will actually help fix the problem. The Endangered Species Act Flexibility Act will give the Interior Secretary options to help endangered species without crippling our economy.

Too often, the ESA is abused. Science is ignored, and the law is used as a weapon to stop much-needed development. Take, for example, the northern long-eared bat. The bat's massive range runs from Maine to Texas to Montana, with everything in between. You can see it on the map right here.

Northern long-eared bats are, sadly, afflicted with white-nose syndrome, a disease caused by a fungus that interrupts hibernation, leading to their death. The science is clear: This disease has nothing to do with human activity.

But because of declining population, the Fish and Wildlife Service is deciding whether to uplist the species, which would severely restrict logging, mining, and infrastructure building, like roads, bridges, ports, and more.

Would you like to spend that infrastructure money on upgrading projects anywhere on this map? Good luck if the northern long-eared bat is listed as endangered.

My ESA Flexibility Act will give the Interior Department the latitude to make species-specific habitat plans for endangered species, so we don't punish Americans who need a transmission line to get reliable power or need a bridge upgrade to drive to work.

I don't think a single Member of Congress here, across both aisles, would disagree that the Endangered Species Act is an imperfect law in desperate need of tweaks.

Therefore, I regret that my ESA Flexibility Act was not accepted as an amendment, but I look forward to the eventual passage of the ESA Flexibility Act into law.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, thanks to this administration's bad policies, small businesses are struggling with skyrocketing inflation, record-high gas prices, and supply chain and labor crises. It is imperative that Congress help our small businesses find success despite this economic landscape. One way we can do this is by improving the Federal contract marketplace.

A common theme we have heard in the contracting space is that prime contracting opportunities for small businesses are dwindling at an alarming rate. This means that subcontracting opportunities are more important than ever for our small businesses. While large prime contractors are statutorily required to have subcontracting plans, there is little incentive for prime contractors to comply with their own goals.

Further, there is no requirement that a contracting officer take into consideration a contractor's past performance in subcontracting with small businesses when deliberating new awards. While it is laudable that prime contractors have subcontracting plans, these plans seem to have minimal influence on a contractor's motivation to award work to small businesses.

This bill, the Strengthening Subcontracting for Small Businesses Act, addresses this problem in a few ways:

First, the legislation will require the consideration of a contractor's proposed utilization of small businesses in its subcontracting plans.

Second, the legislation will require the consideration of the contractor's past performance in meeting its previous goals.

In short, this bill creates a strong incentive for large prime contractors to comply with their own goals since it will now impact their ability to win new work.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, Congressman Mfume, for his collaboration on this bill. Together, I believe we have created a meaningful piece of legislation that will make a real and significant impact on small businesses, and I look forward to continuing our relationship.

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

Mr. Speaker, as a law enforcement officer for over 23 years, I have had to make the devastating visit to unsuspecting family members to tell them that their loved one has died because a driver was driving under the influence. We can all sit here and pretend that marijuana is a harmless drug, but it is not. It clouds your judgment and inhibits your reaction time.

The unfortunate reality is if we take steps to legalize marijuana, we will, without question, increase the number of people who will drive under the influence of marijuana on our roads. As we know all too well, there are many angel families in this country who have lost their sons and daughters to people who are unlawfully in this country and drove under the influence.

My amendment would have ensured the MORE Act does not prohibit the deportation of illegal immigrants who are convicted of driving under the influence of marijuana. Unfortunately, Democrats blocked my commonsense and potentially lifesaving amendment.

Mr. Speaker, shouldn't we, at a minimum, ensure this legislation is not weaponized and used as a tool to get criminals who are in this country illegally out of trouble and out of deportation proceedings?

It seems to me that the safety of the American people continues to be a low priority for this Democrat majority.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the rule.