Floor Statements

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

Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment No. 56 to H.R. 8998, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025.

Amendment No. 56 will reduce funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by reducing the Environmental Programs and Management account by $7 million.

My amendment will then reallocate $5 million in funding to the EPA's Office of Inspector General for increased oversight of the EPA.

The EPA's role is to protect human health and the environment through research and development. Yet, it seems the EPA is more often focused on creating burdensome bureaucratic red tape than serving the American people and businesses.

Stringent EPA regulations burden businesses with compliance costs leading to job losses, higher consumer prices, and reduced economic competitiveness, particularly in industries such as manufacturing, energy, and agriculture. Tragically, these regulations often have nothing to do with protecting the environment.

For example, in my district, the repaving of a key road has been delayed for 18 months. This heavily trafficked road is in desperate need of repair.

These delays are due to the EPA's requirement for an extensive environmental impact study, even though the road is already paved, has been around for over a decade, and it is a simple repaving project to revitalize the community. It is going to cost $700,000 and a delay of 18 months to repave 1.5 miles of road. This is a ridiculous delay of the inevitable.

The EPA needs to begin prioritizing our communities over bureaucratic overreach and overbearing regulations with no benefit. That is why proper oversight is critical to holding the EPA in check.

The EPA's Office of Inspector General has done incredible work with the funding it receives. Their work proves additional funding is a sound investment.

In May, it published its semiannual report to Congress which summarized its work and accomplishments from October 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. During that 6-month reporting period, they identified $120.1 million in total monetary benefits and provided the EPA and U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board with 55 recommendations for improvement.

To further prove their worth, the EPA OIG is performing a critical role in investigating and tracking the ridiculous spending from the Inflation Reduction Act. That is important oversight work to prevent fraud of Federal dollars.

I urge my colleagues to support amendment No. 56 which will decrease the EPA's overall funding account and reallocate a portion of those funds to increase oversight, transparency, and accountability.

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

Mr. Chair, I love the environment. My favorite President is Teddy Roosevelt, a great environmentalist, and my dad was a forest ranger. I grew up with Woodsy Owl and Smokey the Bear. I truly, truly, have a great love for the environment, and I want to make sure we use our funds appropriately.

I just reiterate that my amendment reduces funding for the overbearing EPA portion and really increases accountability, which I think is the more important part at this point when we see the abuses of the system. I think it is time for a more efficient and more accountable government. That is what this bill is about.

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

In closing, Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for this time to talk about accountability and efficiency of government. I hope and humbly request support for my amendment No. 56, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Chair, I rise and offer my amendment No. 25 to H.R. 8997, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025.

My amendment No. 25 prevents the Army Corps of Engineers from closing parks and campgrounds around Lake Lanier. My amendment would ensure these campgrounds are open for my constituents and for people all across the country to enjoy the outdoors in Georgia's Sixth District.

Lake Lanier is the most visited lake of the 464 federally operated lakes in the United States, with well over 10 million visitors from all over the country annually. The Army Corps of Engineers operates the lake and the campgrounds and parks surrounding it.

Over the past year, the Corps suggested they may close some of the campgrounds and parks around the lake, citing a lack of appropriations needed for maintenance. Congress provided $58.2 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers for fiscal year `24. That amount was $11.1 billion more than fiscal year `23, an almost 20 percent increase in Federal funding. The Corps has expressed that these appropriations are not enough.

Still, Lake Lanier Army Corps of Engineers leadership took the initiative and started a partnership with many localities in my district to share maintenance, upkeep, and operations activities, which should also ensure that these facilities remain open.

I am excited about this new partnership and hope that the Army Corps continues to rely on local partnerships while ensuring sufficient funds are allocated to the most visited lake in the United States. The more local control, the better.

In today's day and age, when people are hooked on their cell phones and electronics, it is more important than ever to ensure that the families of Georgia-06 and Americans across the country have access to all the beauty Lake Lanier has to offer. These parks must remain open to the benefit of all.

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

Mr. Chair, I reiterate, my colleague talked about diminishing funds. The funding has increased almost 20 percent, $11.1 billion more. We didn't close it last year, and we had the same amendment last year because they said the same threat.

I think it is important that we provide these facilities when we are talking about $58 billion to keep the parks open. When we talk about something that is good for everybody, it doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or Republican, it is something that can be and should be done.

We have actually partnered with local facilities to make sure this happens even through private funding. Why wouldn't we put in a specific thing for the most visited lake in the United States? Ten million visitors annually benefit all districts. It doesn't matter where you are from. I highly encourage

my peers and humbly ask my colleagues to support my amendment No. 25.

Madam Chair, I yield the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind this body that our role as Members of Congress is not just to pass laws and allocate funding. We are the people's House because we are the closest to the people.

We have the most crucial duty to oversee the executive branch and hold the bureaucracy accountable for their actions. Since the founding of our Nation, this oversight function has been a cornerstone of our democracy.

Yet, time and time again, we see witnesses from the executive branch refusing to answer the questions of the people. They quibble over details and dodge questions. Our hearings have become political theater. Witnesses act like teenagers caught out after curfew.

The deep state evades the constitutional oversight authority that the people's House is supposed to yield. This authority is the way our Founders intended to keep the Federal bureaucracy in check.

Enough is enough. This cannot continue. It is time to take a stand and restore the power of the people's House. We must ensure that the men and women who would act like rulers over the American people, despite never being elected, and then intentionally withholding information from the United States Congress, finally face consequences.

Under title 2 of current law, their duplicity is already illegal. Refusing to answer the people's questions that are deemed ``pertinent to the question under inquiry'' is currently punishable by a fine or imprisonment. The application of this law, however, has been lost to history.

Just this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and many others blatantly and boldly violated the law and have gleefully and unabashedly refused to answer questions in hearing after hearing. They have zero respect for the American people and no fear of the United States Congress.

At a hearing on June 4, Attorney General Garland was asked if the Supreme Court's then-pending decision on obstruction charges would change the Department of Justice's actions in prosecutions related to January 6. Garland's response was: ``I don't answer hypotheticals.''

In November of last year, at a hearing of the Homeland Security Committee, Secretary Mayorkas simply refused to answer when asked by Vice Chairman Guest how many daily apprehensions constituted a crisis at the southern border.

Just today, the Director of the Secret Service, Dr. Kimberly Cheatle, refused to answer nearly every single question she was asked by Members on both sides of the aisle about the egregious security failures of July 13.

This is what we have experienced over and over again. That is why I am introducing the STOP the SWAMP Act. Our legislation will make it clear that those bureaucrats who refuse to answer the questions of the American people will be permanently disqualified from Federal employment. It will further empower committee chairs and ranking members, Members from both parties, to refer cases to the Department of Justice for prosecution.

Lastly, it would give the United States Congress more tools to withhold the salaries of those who obstruct our oversight efforts. We cannot allow the swamp, the entrenched bureaucrats in Washington who believe they know better than the people they are supposed to serve, to continue to dodge oversight of Congress and rule by fiat over the American people.

We must stand up for the American people and demand transparency and honesty from those who serve in our government. Our Republic's survival hinges on it.

It is time to send a clear message that we will not tolerate any attempts to undermine our oversight role. We are the voice of the people, and we will not be silenced.

Together, we can stop the swamp and ensure that our government is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Mr. Speaker, we have a quick decision to make, and I understand this is contentious because of who is President and because of who is in control of the floor.

In the near future, we will have maybe a new President, a new Senate, and things will be looked at very differently. I think the most important thing here is empowering the legislative branch to do its duty, to have representation by the people in its most basic way.

We saw something in the debate that we have never seen before, probably the most epic and historic debate ever as far as exposing the President and how he thinks, what his mental capacity is, and his ability to lead this great Nation forward in the next 4 years.

This is about the survival of our Nation, about the representation of ideas, about the health of the most powerful person in the world. If we can get to the bottom of that, we can make great decisions on who we elect. We can also, at the same time, have the best representation from the legislative branch.

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

Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment No. 29 to H.R. 8752, the fiscal year 2025 Homeland Security appropriations bill.

My amendment would add language to section 212 of the bill to make sure that no Federal funds can be used to dismantle, demolish, remove, or damage barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border that are placed there by State governments.

The crisis at our southern border has never been worse. Since President Biden took office, there have been easily over 9 million encounters nationwide and over 7.5 million at the southwest border specifically. There have been around 2 million known got-aways and over 350 encounters with those on terrorist watch lists, massive numbers of aliens who are considered inadmissible by law entering our country, with about 400,000 from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela mass paroled into our country.

We are willfully and knowingly allowing murderers, rapists, and spies into our country as a byproduct of the Biden administration's attempt to skew future elections. They do not care about the carnage and would literally be happy to be king of the ashes.

The border crisis has also created a public health crisis. This fiscal year, there has been over 13,000 pounds of fentanyl seized. That is enough to kill billions of people. We have seen 110,000 people who have died from opioid overdoses. That is just what we stop, though, 13,000 pounds.

In the meantime, the President and his allies in Congress have said time and time again that nothing can be fixed without congressional action. I am all for congressional action. This body passed H.R. 2 over a year ago, a bill that would fix issues in the code by doing things like raising the standard for credible fear determinations and requiring most migrants to arrive at official ports of entry to have their asylum cases processed. Sadly, it is not surprising that this bill hasn't seen the light of day in the do-nothing Senate.

Here is the other reality. Immigration law hasn't changed significantly in years. The border crisis was never this bad before. Under President Trump, and even under Presidents Clinton and Obama--as a matter of fact, Obama ran on border security, let that sink in--we didn't see the same absolute humanitarian crisis that is going on today. This is the fault of the current administration.

In response to the negligence of this administration, Texas, under the leadership of Governor Abbott, started Operation Lone Star to secure the border. His plan included the placement of more than 100 miles of razor wire along the border. What was the administration's response? To oppose Texas every step of the way and even go so far as to cut razor wire installed by Texans. This is completely unacceptable. It is an example of the administration starting a problem and then preventing anyone else from fixing it as Biden has done nothing to secure our sovereign border.

My amendment would prevent this and guard the ability of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and other border States to protect their citizens and their border.

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

Mr. Chair, I will quote the ``protects our national interests.'' That is the justification of removing barriers to illegal invaders; it protects Americans' interests. These are the same people who would do harm to our American citizens through fentanyl overdoses, rapes, murders, crime, and then consuming American resources at a time when we cannot afford it.

President Biden's executive order is too little too late. It won't fix the border crisis and would still give tacit legal permission to about 1 million illegal immigrants to enter every year. That is if he didn't tell agents to ignore his own guidance. Further Biden's latest legal action, amnesty for 500,000 illegal immigrants based on their marital status will encourage more immigrants to break the law and cross the border to do something else.

This policy of the administration has shown that they aren't seriously attempting to secure the border and to solve this problem.

In closing, Mr. Chair, my amendment would simply protect the State governments and allow them to secure their borders while the President refuses to do that.

This is an 80 percent issue among the American public. This is an issue of We the People protecting our house.

With the policies of this current administration, we, at the very least, must make sure we allow State governments to protect their citizens and protect their borders.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6586) to require a strategy to oppose financial or material support by

foreign countries to the Taliban, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6586. I thank my colleague from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett) for introducing this important legislation to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from ending up in the Taliban's hands.

Since the Biden administration's disastrous withdrawal nearly 3 years ago, the Taliban has established a reign of terror in Afghanistan. The Taliban has banned girls from receiving an education and essentially banned women from participating in public life in any meaningful way. They have supported the public flogging and stoning of women and have prevented women from working for NGOs, significantly restricting the delivery of humanitarian aid.

These abhorrent policies reveal the barbaric heart of Taliban control over Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration continues to flood Afghanistan with money. Since 2021, the U.S. has appropriated nearly $3 billion for assistance to Afghanistan, yet we have little to no oversight over much of this assistance, which is administered by third parties. This administration must be held accountable to ensure that U.S.-provided assistance to Afghanistan does not end up in the Taliban's hands.

Recent reports show that at least 10.9 million U.S. taxpayer dollars have been paid to the Taliban in the form of taxes and fees. Due to lax oversight by this administration, the real number is probably much higher.

Congress has a responsibility to ensure that U.S. tax dollars are not hand-delivered to Taliban terrorists.

While the U.S. maintains a policy of nonrecognition toward the Taliban, countries in the region show increasing signs of engagement. Most recently, the leader of the United Arab Emirates received a number of Taliban officials, including the head of the Haqqani Network terrorist group, which is on the FBI's Most Wanted list.

This administration has no written strategy to discourage foreign nations from providing financial or material support to the Taliban. It is essential that we hold nations that receive U.S. assistance accountable and ensure that they do not empower the Taliban.

This bill requires the administration to report on what exactly they are doing to conduct oversight of U.S. money going to Afghanistan and requires them to identify which foreign nations are funding the Taliban. This

basic oversight is essential to ensuring that the American people and our partners around the world are not paying for the Taliban's reign of terror.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett), the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, the world cannot turn a blind eye while the Taliban continues to wreak havoc on the lives of the Afghan people.

The Biden administration and our partners and allies have a responsibility to ensure that funding flowing to Afghanistan solely benefits the Afghan people and not their Taliban overlords. We must not be complicit in funding Taliban atrocities in Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7152) to direct the Secretary of State to establish a national registry of Korean American divided families, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the sorrowful legacy of the Korean war is with us even today, more than 70 years after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed.

The Korean Peninsula remains divided between a nation of free people and a totalitarian state that subjects its people and its population to utter tyranny and refuses to allow them to connect with the outside world from fear of losing control.

The sinister Kim regime continues to threaten the peace and security of the region and the world. We watched with alarm last week when Vladimir Putin visited North Korea, and the two rogue regimes signed a new strategic partnership agreement.

Meanwhile, families remain broken, from those still fighting to bring the remains of their loved ones home to those with extended family members still in North Korea.

Our vibrant Korean-American community feels this legacy strongly. More than 100,000 have relatives in North Korea, family members and descendants of those trapped on the north side of the 1953 armistice line.

The Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act requires the Secretary of State to establish a voluntary data repository for Korean Americans interested in participating in future reunions with their relatives in North Korea.

This bill also helps to ensure that any future dialogue between the United States and North Korea includes progress toward reunions for Korean-American families.

I thank the authors of this bipartisan bill, Congresswoman Wexton and Congresswoman Steel, for their work to help bring peace to Korean- American families. At the February 6 markup of the Foreign Affairs Committee, H.R. 7152 was unanimously adopted by a vote of 49-0.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing.

As a member of the AI task force, that was pretty cool to watch that actually go down just now for Ms. Wexton.

For far too long, the totalitarian regime in P'yongyang has denied Korean-American families the opportunity to reconnect with their family members in North Korea.

The Divided Families National Registry Act helps to lay the groundwork for those eventual reunions for which we continue to hope and work for. May that day arrive soon.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 901) expressing support for democracy and human rights in Pakistan, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan resolution expressing support for democracy and human rights in Pakistan.

Since 2001, the United States and Pakistan have maintained a close relationship, working together on counterterrorism and efforts to maintain regional stability.

Pakistan is grappling with massive economic instability due to overwhelming foreign debt, record inflation, and major security threats from Pakistani Taliban and other terrorist groups.

As the nation faces the simultaneous economic and security crises, the people of Pakistan must have their rights respected and their voices heard.

The new government in Pakistan faces many challenges as they work toward reforms to secure economic stability and security for their country. However, progress toward a strong democracy must remain a top priority.

The people of Pakistan have the right to strong democratic institutions, free and fair elections, and respect for their individual freedoms and human rights. Governing institutions must be free from corruption or interference. We need more progress toward all these goals.

I have been pleased to see that allegations of interference in Pakistan's recent elections are being taken seriously. It is essential that this new government commits to rooting out corruption and promoting strong democratic values.

I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) for joining me today in introducing this resolution, which has more than 100 bipartisan cosponsors.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to show solidarity with the people of Pakistan and support this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the people of Pakistan deserve the respect of their government. The rule of law, free and fair elections, and civilian command and control of the military are fundamental tenets of democracy. It is essential that the Pakistani Government uphold these ideals.

I encourage the Pakistani Government to continue working to develop strong democratic institutions and protect the rights and freedoms of the Pakistani people.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the

bill (H.R. 4132) to provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to forced organ harvesting within the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, for decades the House of Representatives has been raising alarms about the ghoulish organ harvesting perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party.

The People's Republic of China executes thousands of people a year, several times more than the rest of the

world combined, but they hide those killings from outsiders, claiming that execution information is a state secret.

Behind that veil of secrecy lies a terrifying reality. For years, testimony and investigative reports have asserted that organs are forcibly harvested as part of an extremely lucrative trade in human organs for transplant into those in the good graces of the party, and for those, including foreigners, willing to pay top dollar.

As summarized in 2021 by United Nations human rights officials, ``forced organ harvesting in China appears to be targeting specific ethnic, linguistic, or religious minorities held in detention, often without being explained the reasons for arrest or given arrest warrants.''

Falun Gong adherents and Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang are among those reportedly targeted. Certain religious and ethnic minority detainees are reportedly subjected to nonconsensual tests not required of other prisoners, such as blood tests, organ exams, and ultrasound scans, with the results being entered into a database of living organ sources.

These depraved CCP abuses must stop. The bill before us today requires the identification and sanctioning of those involved in China's involuntary organ harvesting.

I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) and his bipartisan cosponsors for introducing this legislation. I also commend Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for marking it up and getting it to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry), who is the author of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, the idea that a member of a religious minority could be targeted and killed so that their organs could be harvested is worthy of a horror movie. It violates the basic tenets of our God-given rights, but that is allegedly what

the Chinese Communist Party has been doing for years.

This bill before us today will impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against those responsible for such atrocities. It deserves our unanimous support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2789) to direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy on efforts to strengthen subnational cooperation between the United States and Mexico, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, fentanyl trafficked over our southern border from Mexico is killing huge numbers of Americans and ravaging our communities.

Synthetic opioids kill about 75,000 Americans annually. That is the equivalent of 25 9/11 attacks every year. Just one kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill one-half million people.

In the last 4 years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized more than 66,000 pounds of fentanyl. That is enough to kill the entire population of the United States 45 times over. However, there is obviously much more that is not seized and is infiltrating our communities.

We need all levels of government in Mexico to assist in fighting this urgent crisis.

This bill, H.R. 2789, will require a strategy to strengthen subnational cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico by enhancing law enforcement cooperation, as well as cooperation with local, State, and Federal security forces. Enhancing these partnerships is critical to curbing fentanyl trafficking entering the United States.

This bill also requires a review of access to financing for member states of the Caribbean Community, which is CARICOM, as well as sanctions enforcement laws and compliance standards, narcotics trafficking and finance, and the U.S. diplomatic footprint in the region.

The Caribbean is a key gateway to the United States, and the Chinese Community Party is working to increase its influence in the neighborhood. We must ensure that we are doing what we can to counter their malign influence in our hemisphere.

This bipartisan bill was approved at a markup of the Foreign Affairs Committee, along with a Republican amendment to ensure robust congressional oversight of its implementation.

Mr. Speaker, I support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and reserve the right to close.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the Biden administration is failing to stop the deadly scourge of fentanyl across the open U.S.-Mexico border.

In my experience as an ER physician, just a short period ago, I experienced about one to four overdoses per night, four patients from the ages of 17 to 36 who I could not revive and who died. Last year in the U.S., there were 75,000 fentanyl deaths.

To address this emergency, we need a better strategy for regional law enforcement and better coordination with our neighbors. I thank the bipartisan authors of this bill, Mr. Stanton and Mr. Kean, as well as Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for moving this bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life and legacy of Mr. Edwin Harry Clanton, a long time constituent and resident of Forsyth County, Georgia. Born in Alpharetta, Georgia in 1948, Mr. Clanton was a kind, hardworking man who lived in such a manner where he consistently prioritized the needs of others above his own. He served his country with pride during the Vietnam War as an Army Sergeant in the 1st Platoon of the Big Red One, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry.

Once he returned from service, Mr. Clanton married Mardell, who was the love of his life and together they had two daughters and many grandchildren. While no longer serving in uniform, Mr. Clanton was a bedrock in his community, serving Atlanta Street Baptist Church as a deacon for many years and always willing to lend a helping hand to whoever was in need.

Mr. Clanton passed away peacefully surrounded by family on April 30, 2024. I am proud to have had him as my constituent and send my deepest condolences to his family and friends as they mourn his loss. Although he is no longer with us, his incredible legacy will never be forgotten.

Mr. Chair, had I been present, I would have voted Aye on Roll Call No. 227.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6093, the Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2023. The Weather Act Reauthorization Act is sensible legislation that will strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasting capabilities and elevate the U.S. Weather Enterprise, greatly benefiting communities across the country.

As a former helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps, I know firsthand the consideration you must give to the weather before taking to the skies. Fog, high winds, turbulence, thunderstorms, ice, and snow are all routine weather occurrences that can impact commercial and recreational flights, as well as ground crew operations and maintenance tasks.

Additionally, I think every Member of Congress here and many of our constituents have experienced some type of flight delay or turbulence in the last 6 months, as weather volatility is a consistent threat to travel plans.

That is why I introduced H.R. 3915, the Aviation Weather Improvement Act, which has been included in this larger legislative package.

This bill will improve all aspects of aviation weather forecasting and prediction by authorizing the National Weather Service to acquire readily available commercial data and partner with the U.S. weather enterprise to deploy critical atmospheric sensors.

In addition to authorizing this public-private partnership on weather data, H.R. 3915 also has an explicit focus on improving turbulence forecasting and modeling.

The Aviation Weather Improvement Act codifies the inclusion of turbulence events or phenomena in the operation forecasting capabilities of the Aviation Weather Center. This will ensure that recreational and commercial pilots have a definitive and accurate source for turbulence information that can inform route-specific flight planning.

Put simply, my bill will lower the over 5,000 flights per year that encounter severe turbulence, as well as make a dent in the 30 percent of annual delays caused by weather.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lucas, Ranking Member Lofgren, and my colleagues on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee for supporting the efforts of all the Members who contributed to this important Weather Act Reauthorization Act.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6602) to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 relating to the review of the interagency dispute resolution process, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the People's Republic of China, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, is waging an all-out economic war against the United States. The CCP is using unfair and illegal means to try to dominate the market in dual-use technologies that are shaping the modern battlefield.

Fortunately, the CCP still significantly relies on technologies from the United States, our allies, and our partners to develop advanced dual-use capabilities. For that reason, export controls are a critical tool for the United States to slow down and, in some cases, stop China's ability to develop certain capabilities.

For this strategy to work, we have to deny Chinese licenses to use American technology. Unfortunately, based on data reviewed and released by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, those licenses are rarely denied by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, known as BIS.

For instance, during a 6-month period spanning 2020 and 2021, BIS denied less than 2 percent of licenses and approved $100 billion worth of licenses to Huawei and SMIC. Both of those companies are considered CCP military companies by the Department of Defense and are CCP national champion technology firms.

When deciding whether to approve or deny a license, BIS generally consults other agencies that make up the Operating Committee for Export Policy, the Departments of Defense, Energy, State, and Commerce.

However, BIS is not required to follow those other agencies' advice. Sometimes, BIS actively ignores it. Statistics provided by BIS for fiscal years 2017 through 2019 show that there was a 60 percent increase of nonconsensus decisions by the operating committee during that time. In other words, over half the time, 60 percent of the time, they ignored everybody else's objections and went ahead and did whatever they wanted to, just one person's decision. That is not good.

More than 10 percent of the time, it appears the operating committee chair, which is part of the BIS, took the position that only one other operating committee member supported--also not good.

Since the Department of Commerce is both the chair and a member, this data raises concerns that Commerce may be abusing its position on the operating committee to override the considered objections of other agencies. Otherwise, why even be there?

This bill provides a commonsense solution to those dangers: When a license for China comes before the operating committee, the decision to approve or deny the license should be based on a majority vote by all of its members.

Each agency brings a unique view to a license and should have a voice and a vote. It makes little sense for BIS to have sole discretionary and decisional authority on those consequential issues.

In fact, when dealing with satellites and hot section jet engines, the operating committee already requires a majority vote. So my bill simply puts licenses to China on the same level as licenses for certain advanced technologies.

Chairman Xi has ordered his military to have the capability to invade Taiwan by 2027. This is a country that produces 100 percent of the chips in AI that we consume here in America, I might add.

It makes no sense for our Department of Defense to not have a vote on what capabilities may fall into the hands of the Chinese military.

I thank my colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee for their unanimous, bipartisan support for this important national security reform bill during the committee markup back in December.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6602, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Meeks, and my bipartisan colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee for supporting this bill before us today.

The committee is made up of a five-member panel with representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Defense, State, and Energy, with the chair being the Bureau of Industry and Security representative who, per the governing statute, should act impartially when the Operating Committee for Export Policy convenes.

Under current law, OCEP, which is the Operating Committee for Export Policy, may resolve these issues and disputes by a majority vote. However in practice, the chair typically issues a ruling without calling a vote and most often rules in favor of the Department of Commerce, which draws into question their adherence to the directive to be impartial.

It is critical that we deny our adversaries the opportunity to access our American private sector innovation. Our innovation should not be giving a leg up to our enemies in competition.

An increasingly aggressive Chinese Communist Party is posing a growing threat to American values and American interests around the world. In many cases, they are threatening us with our own technology.

For that reason, we must ensure that our national security agencies have a real voice and vote in deciding what technologies can be exported to the People's Republic of China. We want to ensure that the BIS does not produce BS.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment to H.R. 6276, the Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act, or the USE IT Act of 2023.

My amendment is simple. It would amend section 4 of the bill to make the reports required by section be made publicly available on a website operated by the General Services Administration, the GSA, with exceptions for national security-related reasons.

The American people deserve transparency. Far too often, the people of this country, the ones who fund the government, the ones we represent, don't know where their money is going. Taxpayer dollars are frivolously being used to heat and cool empty and underutilized government buildings.

The American people see tens of thousands of dollars go out of their paychecks every year to pay for what: A wide open southern border, rampant inflation, out-of-control national debt, and an inefficient bureaucracy.

This is ridiculous. The people deserve to know their money is being used efficiently. Making these reports on office use publicly available will increase public oversight on the activities of the Federal agencies and, in turn, increase public trust and confidence in our government.

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

Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Chair, my amendment is simple, easy, and commonsense. I ask for my colleagues to support this amendment and to support the underlying bill.

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

Mr. Chair, I rise as the designee of Mr. Mills, and I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I am here today to offer amendment No. 6 to H.R. 6276, USE IT Act, as the designee of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills).

I fully support the accountability advanced by the underlying bill. The continual bloating of the Federal Government's physical footprint costs American taxpayers obscene amounts of money each year.

This straightforward amendment provides additional transparency to the bill to ensure that Congress and the American people have the most fulsome data about the costs associated with this bill's implementation.

Specifically, this amendment requires the Government Accountability Office, the GAO, to report on the cost of establishing future methodologies and technologies to measure Federal building occupancy as required by the bill.

The enactment excludes any preexisting systems in place before the date of the enactment of this act to prevent any duplicative accounting.

As we strive to limit waste, fraud, and abuse in our government, this amendment ensures that we are doing so with transparency and accountability in Federal building management.

This bill and the amendment to it are hardly riveting. However, good governance often requires a willingness to do the mundane administrative work to keep the ship upright and moving forward.

I will take a second just to say that I wish Mr. Mills could have been here to offer this important amendment, but he is currently on his way back from Haiti, after assisting with the evacuation of American citizens as the country enters a state of complete anarchy. His commitment to America, domestic and broad, is commendable.

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

Mr. Chair, just like the last amendment, this amendment is about transparency and accountability. Once again, I ask for my colleagues' support on this amendment and on the underlying bill. I yield back the balance of my time.