Floor Statements

I thank my friend from Ohio for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5184, the Affordable HOMES Act.

Mr. Speaker, for many years, including when I first got started in my career in the construction industry, buying and owning a home was reachable and a significant achievement for American workers. In fact, just 6 years ago it was achievable, but unfortunately, in today's economic conditions, many young Americans are realizing that the dream of homeownership has become just that: a dream.

This all happened in the 4 years of the Biden-Harris administration. In fact, if you were born after 1982 in this country, you had never seen inflation before. It created high interest rates. Simply, these people don't know what they are talking about.

Like I said, I come from the business world. I lived through these last 4 years, and it has been devastating to this country.

What we are trying to do here is turn the tide. For example, in the State of Georgia, the average home is valued at over $320,000. Just 6 years ago, you could buy that home for $250,000. It is just simply out of reach for countless young families.

Under current law, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Energy have the authority to set energy efficiency standards for manufactured homes.

Authorizing two Federal agencies to accomplish the same goal only serves to create conflicting standards and confusion, overcomplicating the regulatory process for builders, and making it more difficult to construct and ultimately purchase affordable homes.

We are listening to the housing industry.

Mr. Speaker, with my over 40 years of experience in the construction industry, I can tell you firsthand just how overbearing and expensive and burdensome Federal regulations can be. Let's listen to the American people. Let's listen to the people that build these homes.

Mr. Speaker, the Affordable HOMES Act, offered by my friend Representative Houchin, is a commonsense bill that removes duplicative housing regulations and will decrease housing costs in America.

Specifically, it eliminates DOE's authority to issue energy standards for manufactured houses while maintaining HUD's full regulatory authority. In doing so, we will streamline the standard-setting process, which will lower the cost of manufactured housing.

We should be able to agree in Congress that we need to take this action to address rising costs. I strongly urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 5184.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3616, the Reliable Power Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor.

My home State of Georgia has been named the number one State to do business in for 12 consecutive years, making it a popular destination for new manufacturing facilities and data centers. While I join Georgians in welcoming these economic drivers to our State, it also presents increased demand for our grid that we must address.

We know electricity demand is expected to grow significantly over the next several years, which means this body has a duty to ensure our constituents have a dependable grid that meets the needs of hardworking families.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, both the Obama and Biden-Harris administrations were guilty of using the EPA to promote radical policy designed to drive out baseload generation in favor of wind and solar, which simply cannot assure adequate grid reliability. It increases the risk of rolling blackouts.

H.R. 3616 will correct that very problem by improving Federal rulemaking to ensure that future regulations impacting power generation will not harm electricity reliability, especially in already vulnerable regions.

Under this bill, if FERC finds that a proposed rule will have a significant impact on reliability, the rule cannot be finalized. That is about as commonsense as it gets.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has an abundant energy supply. The question we must ask ourselves is not if we

have enough energy resources but can we produce energy at the necessary levels to meet the growing demand? The Reliable Power Act will help us do just that, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 3616.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Latta for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3668, the Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act offered by Chairman Hudson.

My Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues and I have been hard at work this year, crafting commonsense legislative solutions to improve our burdensome Federal permitting process. The bill before us today is just one example.

Due to unclear review processes and a lack of coordination amongst government agencies, pipeline infrastructure approvals in this country have been significantly delayed in many cases, often resulting in insufficient infrastructure to transport our clean natural gas.

The result is an electric grid that is less reliable and increased utility prices for hardworking Americans. While natural gas demand is expected to reach an all-time high, accounting for more than 40 percent of electric generation in the U.S. next year, this is clearly a pressing issue that must be addressed immediately. H.R. 3668 is the answer.

This legislation bolsters FERC's rule as the lead agency in the natural gas pipeline review process, empowering them to oversee communication between agencies and streamline pipeline reviews and approvals so Americans can access the energy they need on a daily basis.

Mr. Speaker, the build-out of interstate natural gas pipeline infrastructure is essential to ensuring domestic energy can be transported efficiently and meet growing electricity demands. H.R. 3668 should be an easy ``yes'' vote for Members on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1949, the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act, and I thank Representative Pfluger for his leadership on this bill.

In January of last year, former President Joe Biden unveiled the latest of many attacks on our domestic energy capabilities when he announced an indefinite pause on all pending approvals of liquefied natural gas exports, or LNG.

This certainly made the Russians happy, and Europe could have used some help with their energy demand.

Not only was this decision completely unnecessary, but it was also economically and strategically dangerous. Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, DOE has consistently found that U.S. LNG exports serve the public interest, contributing positive economic benefits and strengthening energy security for the American people.

Even more, recent studies confirmed that increased American LNG exports do not significantly raise global emissions. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Clean natural gas is a major reason why the United States has significantly reduced emissions.

Thankfully, we now have a Commander in Chief who understands the importance of embracing an all-of-the-above energy strategy and unleashing the production and export of clean, affordable, and reliable American LNG.

In the first days of this administration, the President signed an executive order reversing President Biden's LNG pause, an important step in reclaiming global energy dominance and lowering costs across the board.

It is shocking to me that House Democrats will run to the news cameras and clamor about the cost of living while they also offered their full support for reckless anti-domestic energy policies from the Biden administration that caused prices to skyrocket in the first place.

I mean, look at the price of gasoline at the pump 2 years ago. Look at the price of gasoline at the pump today. That is all you have to do.

The reason that energy prices are spiking is because input costs are spiking.

Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join us in passing H.R. 1949, which amends the Natural Gas Act to repeal all restrictions on the import and export of natural gas, effectively overturning the Biden-Harris administration's attempt to undermine U.S. domestic energy production.

Removing unnecessary export controls on LNG will strengthen the domestic economy and increase the energy security of the U.S. and our allies.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 1949.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, our chairman, for yielding this time. I rise today in support of H.R. 3062, the Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act.

Mr. Speaker, our hardworking energy developers need a clear framework to expand America's energy footprint, not more bureaucracy and uncertainty.

My colleague talked about energy prices. Well, just look at the gas pump. I mean, the gas pump is down substantially.

Here is the problem: With your baseload energy production, the past administration threw it into total chaos because we know that baseload is the only way that we can reliably produce the electricity and the demand in the future that we are going to need to expand this economy.

I mean, we are in a race in AI with China. We have to produce more electricity. There was a war on baseload electricity, an absolute war. These people did not know if they were going to survive this war. Here is the deal: If you don't provide more baseload, your price is going to go up. We have to grow baseload in this country. The only way to reduce energy prices is competition and more energy.

Every Member in this Chamber and the American people have witnessed the drastic consequence of this antidomestic energy policy championed by the previous administration, which led to record-high gas prices, severe job loss, and dependence on foreign oil.

We have to fix this. We have a solution. You have got to fix these problems. I mean, I am really tired of having to fix all the problems that they created. We have got to do this if we are going to survive this thing.

Under this House majority and administration, it is just no longer the American way. We promised the American people energy dominance. We had that just 6 years ago. Can you imagine? We were energy dominant. We set the price of a barrel of oil just 6 years ago.

What happened?

The bill before us today is a necessary, much-needed solution to ensure in the future we do not face the brunt of reckless executive actions like the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.

We have already heard about the horrible results of that, including the amount of money that was put forward, and now the developer is not going forward. That project would have provided a safe and reliable way to transport energy resources between the United States and our neighbor to the north, Canada. It would have created tens of thousands of jobs, as my colleague earlier said, strengthening our energy security and generating billions of revenue to boost economic growth.

Don't listen to this chatter out here. Talk to the folks in the energy business. Let's give this back to the people in the energy business. They know how to produce energy. They are in business to produce energy. They know we have to have baseload.

I am for all-in energy. Let's do it all. I think every one of us, we have to have more energy.

All of this progress that we made was cut short by the stroke of a pen just 4 years ago, leading the developer to abandon the XL pipeline, as I mentioned earlier. We cannot allow that to happen again.

H.R. 3062 would require the President to receive congressional approval before revoking any previously issued permits related to the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of oil or natural gas pipelines. We cannot let an administration put us in this position ever again.

It would also streamline the permitting process for projects that connect U.S. energy resources with international markets, establishing a clear regulatory framework so energy developers can tackle projects with confidence and certainty.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have supported the Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act in the Energy and Commerce Committee and look forward to getting it passed by the full House. I strongly urge a ``yes'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I thank our Conference chair for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to talk about the work we did during our August work period, and the many opportunities I had to meet with small businesses throughout the district to talk about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but I will highlight one of those businesses.

It is in the heart of the 12th District of Georgia in Bulloch County, home to Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, the largest university in my district.

Just a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting a family-owned barbecue restaurant named Dolan's Bar-B-Q where I met the owner, Mary Beth, and had a great conversation about her business, some of her challenges, and how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will help address some of those challenges.

Among the many things we discussed were specifically the no tax on tips and no tax on overtime provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Being that

Statesboro is a large college town, Mary Beth informed me that 95 percent of her staff are college students, young people simply looking to earn pocket money while they pursue their degrees.

On average, Americans could receive up to $1,300 more from no taxes on their tipped income. Imagine what this means to Mary Beth's employees. We also discussed no tax on overtime. To quote Mary Beth: During busy times like football season, we work a lot of overtime because we are just so busy. We do a lot of catering during football season so that helps give our team a lot of opportunity to get more hours.

Again, this is additional income for her team and she is hopeful this will help retain more permanent employees. I am so thankful to Mary Beth and all the other small businesses for welcoming me, and I look forward to visiting Dolan's Bar-B-Q again and enjoying a delicious barbecue sandwich.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Augusta radio host Austin Rhodes on the recent announcement that he will be inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.

For over 30 years, Austin has been a consistent and dependable voice as the host of the ``Austin Rhodes Show'' on WGAC, making it one of Georgia's longest running weekday drive-time talk shows.

Nearly 3 years ago, I stood before this body to recognize Austin's 30th year anniversary in broadcasting, and it is my honor to stand here once again to mark yet another achievement in his long career.

During my time in Congress, I have had the pleasure of joining Austin's

show on many occasions to discuss key issues impacting our Nation and the CSRA. I will always appreciate Austin's flexibility, willingness to have important conversations, and most of all his ability to tell it like he sees it.

I congratulate Austin on this well-deserved honor. I have no doubt that he will continue to be our afternoon voice on the airways for many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my constituent, Wyatt Spaulding, upon his acceptance to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

As a future cadet, he will be joining the ranks of the world's most fearsome fighting force--the United States Army--guided by duty, honor, and country.

The service and sacrifice of America's military personnel have safeguarded our Nation since its inception, defending our way of life from Lexington to Normandy.

And throughout our history, American soldiers have demonstrated tremendous courage and strength, beating back tyranny to the ends of the earth.

I was glad to sponsor Wyatt's nomination, and I am confident that his talents will distinguish him among his peers both during his time at West Point and thereafter.

I congratulate Wyatt. I know that he will make this Nation proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my constituent, Tyrone Miller, upon his acceptance to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

As a future cadet, he will be joining the ranks of the world's most fearsome fighting force--the United States Army--guided by duty, honor, and country.

The service and sacrifice of America's military personnel have safeguarded our Nation since its inception, defending our way of life from Lexington to Normandy.

And throughout our history, American soldiers have demonstrated tremendous courage and strength, beating back tyranny to the ends of the earth.

I was glad to sponsor Tyrone's nomination, and I am confident that his talents will distinguish him among his peers both during his time at West Point and thereafter.

I congratulate Tyrone. I know that he will make this Nation proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my constituent, Jack Godbee, upon his acceptance to the United States Naval Academy.

As a future midshipman, he will be joining the ranks of the world's most elite naval force, guided by the motto: ``Semper Fortis''

The service and sacrifice of America's military personnel have safeguarded our Nation since its inception, defending our way of life from Lexington to Normandy.

And throughout our history, American servicemembers have demonstrated tremendous courage and strength, beating back tyranny to the ends of the earth.

I was glad to sponsor Jack's nomination, and I am confident that his talents will distinguish him among his peers during his time at the Academy and thereafter.

I congratulate Jack. I know that he will make this Nation proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my constituent, John Epps, upon his acceptance to the United States Air Force Academy.

As a future cadet, he will be joining the ranks of the world's most fearsome fighting force, the United States Air Force.

Guided by the motto ``Aim High. . . . Fly-Fight-Win'' the U.S. Air Force is the world's preeminent force in air, space, and cyberspace.

Throughout our history, American Airmen have demonstrated tremendous courage and strength, beating back tyranny to the ends of the earth.

I was honored to sponsor John's nomination, and I am confident that his talents will distinguish him among his peers both during his time at Air Force Academy and thereafter.

I congratulate John. I know that he will make this Nation proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my constituent, Kai Agyemang, upon his acceptance to the United States Air Force Academy.

As a future cadet, he will be joining the ranks of the world's most fearsome fighting force, the United States Air Force.

Guided by the motto ``Aim High . . . Fly-Fight-Win'' the U.S. Air Force is the world's preeminent force in air, space, and cyberspace.

Throughout our history, American Airmen have demonstrated tremendous courage and strength, beating back tyranny to the ends of the earth.

I was honored to sponsor Kai's nomination, and I am confident that his talents will distinguish him among his peers both during his time at Air Force Academy and thereafter.

I congratulate Kai. I know that he will make this Nation proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my constituent, Jack Gray, upon his acceptance to the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

As a future midshipman, he will be joining the ranks of the world's most elite naval force, guided by the motto: ``Acta Non Verba''

The service and sacrifice of America's military personnel have safeguarded our Nation since its inception, defending our way of life from Lexington to Normandy.

A vital part of our Nation's maritime operations, the Merchant Marines' duties are dynamic, transporting cargo and passengers during peacetime and serving as an auxiliary to the United States Navy during times of war.

I was glad to sponsor Jack's nomination, as his dynamism reflects the mission of the branch which he will soon serve. I am confident that his talents will distinguish him among his peers during his time at the Academy and thereafter.

I congratulate Jack. I know that he will make this Nation proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my constituent, Alexander Andrews, upon his acceptance to the United States Naval Academy.

As a future midshipman, he will be joining the ranks of the world's most elite naval force, guided by the motto: ``Semper Fortis''

The service and sacrifice of America's military personnel have safeguarded our Nation since its inception, defending our way of life from Lexington to Normandy.

And throughout our history, American servicemembers have demonstrated tremendous courage and strength, beating back tyranny to the ends of the earth.

I was glad to sponsor Alexander's nomination, and I am confident that his talents will distinguish him among his peers during his time at the Academy and thereafter.

I congratulate Alexander. I know that he will make this Nation proud.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend from Texas for yielding the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S.J. Res. 31 to overturn the Biden administration's ``once in, always in'' rule. This is an egregious and burdensome rule, and it was just one of many actions taken by the previous administration on their way out the door to further hamstring our domestic energy producers.

By permanently classifying certain industrial facilities as major sources of hazardous air pollutants, even if they successfully reduce emissions, the Biden administration was seemingly punishing job creators for being good stewards of the environment.

As an original cosponsor of S.J. Res. 31, I am proud that House Republicans are taking a stand and defending our energy producers, manufacturers, and small businesses against unfair and costly environmental rules.

In overturning the ``once in, always in'' rule, we are returning to commonsense policy implemented during President Trump's first administration. If businesses reduce their emissions below the major source threshold, then they should reap the reward of more cost- effective and flexible requirements under the Clean Air Act, period.

Repealing this backward rule is part of House Republicans' work to unleash American energy and ensure that government red tape does not stand in the way of creating jobs and growing our economy here at home.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to join us in supporting S.J. Res. 31.