Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, biological men should not be competing in women's athletics. This is a commonsense sentiment that most Americans agree with, especially back in my home State of Idaho.

However, under the Biden administration, the integrity of women's and girls' sports has come under threat. In fact, just this last year, President Biden rolled out a regulation attempting to usurp States' ability to protect women and girls and make sure they have a safe and fair playing field in sports.

That is why, this week, my House colleagues and I passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025. This bill strengthens Title IX protections to ensure the definition of an individual's gender in an athletic competition is based solely on their genetics at birth.

Mr. Speaker, women's and girls' sports are for women and girls only. I proudly voted ``yes'' on this legislation and encourage my Senate colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her work and leadership on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2781, the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024.

According to the Government Accountability Office, there are over 140,000 abandoned hardrock mines on Federal lands. At least 22,500 of these mines pose serious dangers to the communities around them. Historically, the Coeur d'Alene mining district in Idaho stands as one of the most productive mining regions in silver and lead in the United States, with a legacy dating back to the 1890s. However, this history has resulted in thousands of abandoned hardrock mines on Federal lands. In some cases, they degrade the environment.

This bill simply provides limited liability protections for groups willing to step up and help. It allows Good Samaritans, nonprofits, private organizations, and local governments to clean up and remediate these sites effectively without fear of incurring harmful liability under the framework of CERCLA and the Clean Water Act.

Mr. Speaker, this is needed. Government can't and shouldn't do everything. This legislation simply encourages public-private partnerships to tackle this issue and do it in an effective and affordable way.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues' support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my colleague and good friend, Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

As chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Congresswoman Rodgers not only delivered results for the American people but she helped me secure wins for Idahoans.

Among many things, I am thankful for her commitment to boosting liquefied natural gas capacity in Idaho and the Northwest, for support of my bill to expand broadband solutions in rural Idaho, for her work in cracking down on China's surveillance of Americans' data, and for providing me with the opportunity to support building out the nuclear workforce, along with advancing legislation to issue a warning label on mobile apps owned by Communist China.

It has been such a privilege to serve alongside such a respected and impactful leader. I join many in expressing my support and encouragement to you, Cathy, as you move forward to this next chapter of life.

Most importantly, and my bottom-line message is, Washington State, the United States of America, and the United States Congress is all better because of you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish Lloyd B. Plummer a very happy 100th birthday, who will be celebrating his milestone on December 15, 2024.

In 1943, Plummer, the recipient of two Purple Hearts, joined the Army among many courageous men to serve our country. His heroic efforts will never be forgotten.

For those who may not know Lloyd, he was one of the first brave Americans to serve as a paratrooper during World War II, as a member of the 509th Infantry Regiment. Throughout the war, the Fighting 509 was assigned to numerous operations, many of which are now recognized as suicide missions. Lloyd was faced with many battles, where he suffered from frostbite, trench foot, burns, and shrapnel. At all times, he was ready to put his body on the line to serve the country he loved. He is the true definition of a patriot, willing to sacrifice his life for our country.

In 1945, he was discharged from active duty in the Army and returned to Idaho. Lloyd and his family have consistently embodied the traditional values we cherish in Idaho.

I thank Lloyd B. Plummer for his unwavering heroic efforts, and I wish him a very happy birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the hardworking apprentices and those who are training them in Idaho's First District. Apprenticeships are a pipeline to good-quality, high-paying jobs.

Here is one example. My district is home to Quanta Services' Northwest Lineman College, which is training the next generation of skilled labor in the electric power, telecommunications, and natural gas industries. They trained 763 apprentice and preapprenticeship students last year at the campus at Meridian, Idaho, and one in five students is a veteran across their multiple training facilities.

When disaster strikes, linemen are on the front lines of the wreckage working to restore power to millions of homes, hospitals, and businesses.

This workforce is critical to build an electric grid and a broadband network that will deliver affordable and resilient services to Americans. We must ensure that our workforce is ready to meet the Nation's energy and broadband challenges of tomorrow.

I am proud to represent a community that supports and values apprentice work.

Mr. Chair, I thank the good chairman from Arkansas for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of my bill, H.R. 1449, the Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act, or the CLEAN Act.

To begin developing geothermal resources on Federal land, developers must first obtain a lease. While there is significant potential in this resource, 90 percent or thereabouts of the Nation's viable geothermal resources are located on Federal land. It makes lease sales crucial to the expansion of this energy source.

On the map behind me, Mr. Chair, you can tell just some of the regions where this resource is available, and it is vast. However, the time and costs associated with multiple environmental reviews, as well as the overall leasing and permitting processes, result in development schedules longer than many other power production projects.

The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 currently requires the Secretary of the Interior to hold ``a competitive lease sale at least once every 2 years for land in a State that has nominations pending.'' However, this timeline is not always adhered to. As the chairman mentioned before me, some States, like California, have not held a competitive geothermal lease sale since 2016. If any State needs to be doing more proactive work for clean baseload, it would be our friends in California.

This legislation, H.R. 1449, amends the Geothermal Steam Act to require annual lease sales, instead of once every 2 years, for geothermal energy exploration on Federal land. Prioritizing geothermal exploration on Federal land will increase certainty for domestic companies looking to explore for geothermal resources while still requiring a full environmental assessment if the resources prove exploitable.

In addition, this bill requires the Department of the Interior to notify an applicant whether or not their application for a geothermal drilling permit is complete within 30 days of receiving the application.

I noticed my good friend across the aisle mentioned the resource concern for the Department of the Interior. There are some 70,000 employees in the Department of the Interior. If some need to be redirected, I am sure that can be accommodated.

If the Department of the Interior determines that an application is complete, then it must issue a final decision on the application within 30 days of the date the Department of the Interior sent the notification.

Securing American energy independence should be a top priority for Congress, and geothermal is a renewable, clean power source that can help us accomplish that goal.

Idaho already plays a leading role in geothermal energy production.

It is critical that we leverage every available resource to ensure that our Nation is self-sufficient and resilient in meeting its energy needs. Geothermal is a proven, clean, and efficient means to provide reliable baseload power.

Geothermal energy is one of the most promising and underutilized energy sources in the United States and has the potential to provide consistent power available 24/7, 365 days a year. The Department of the Interior projects that U.S. geothermal capacity could increase from the current 16 gigawatts to 38 gigawatts by 2035 and 90 gigawatts by 2050.

By expanding access to geothermal resources, we can increase energy production, create jobs, and reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources, which are oftentimes not friendly to the United States.

By ensuring geothermal lease sales are held annually, we can provide more certainty for energy developers, reduce delays in the development process, and create good-paying jobs, all while helping to meet our energy goals and reduce our dependence on foreign energy.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I look forward to working with each of my colleagues to advance reliable domestic energy for all Americans.

Madam Speaker, the Chinese Government poses a significant threat to our national security that should not be ignored.

Yet, the administration of President Biden and Vice President Harris have allowed the CCP to strategically buy agricultural land in our country at an unprecedented rate, including areas disturbingly close to military bases.

This is not only jeopardizing our national security by providing our adversaries with a front-row seat to view our military capabilities and emerging technology, but will also undermine American energy independence, push family-run farms out of business, and put our food supply at risk.

As a fourth-generation Idahoan who grew up on a farm, I understand how important American farmlands are to economic success, not only in rural communities but our Nation as a whole.

I encourage my colleagues in both the House and the Senate to support H.R. 9456, the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act to safeguard our food, our security, and our future.

Mr. Speaker, while the crisis at our southern border continues to worsen due to President Biden's blatant disregard for U.S. immigration laws, Customs and Border Protection officers are now seeing a spike in activity at our northern border.

Last month, 16,750 illegal immigrants were encountered at our northern border, a staggering 1,240 percent increase compared to April 2021, and that is just what we know of.

CBP reports that most of these individuals are attempting to evade apprehension, unlike at the southern border, where groups often surrender knowing they will be released directly into the U.S.

Our national security is in shambles as this crisis continues to escalate with no end in sight. Unlike President Biden, I will not stand by and allow known gang members, terrorists, and foreign aggressors to waltz into our country through our northern border and Idaho.

I will continue to fight to secure our border, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, President Biden's latest effort to push electronic vehicle mandates for truck usage is completely nonsensical.

Thanks to current administrative policy, we do not have the capability to implement the massive grid expansion needed to support the electrification of heavy-duty trucks. These vehicles consume about the same amount of electricity in just one charge as a typical American home uses in a week. The industry would need to invest upwards of $620 billion in charging infrastructure alone.

Then there is the question of where would the electricity come from. The administration has famously prosecuted its war on fossil fuels, nuclear, and hydropower generation. It is even impossible for wind and solar facilities to produce domestically because restrictions the administration has placed on American mining means the needed raw materials have to come from foreign adversaries. It is China that dominates the supply chain.

Mr. Speaker, the President needs to look at the facts and stop prioritizing irresponsible energy ideology over Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Arkansas for his work on this issue and also to the gentleman from Utah for sponsoring the legislation.

The Bureau of Land Management's recently finalized Public Lands Rule would fundamentally destroy the multiple-use land management policy Americans have relied on for decades.

I want to reinforce something my friend from Arkansas pointed out earlier. This is an administrative rule. This is not congressional action, yet it has the same force and effect of law. This is a rule BLM has put forth.

This policy is not just an addition of unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. It would effectively lock up 1 out of every 10 acres of land in the United States and thereby shatter the way of life for many families and businesses across the West.

In my home State of Idaho, citizens have enjoyed the vast natural resources the State has had to offer for decades. Considering that BLM is responsible for managing about 12 million acres of Federal land in our State, this rule change will have drastic impact on the future of recreation, grazing, and natural resource production.

Now, as a fourth generation Idahoan, I am a proud supporter of the WEST Act as it defends the way of life for Americans across the West and empowers local voices.

By protecting the land used to feed and fuel our country, H.R. 3397 would safeguard some $201 billion in economic output and protect 783,000 jobs in rural communities.

On a related note, thanks to this administration's open-border policy, our national security has pretty much been obliterated. That makes our enemies happy, especially considering that we are also dependent on those same enemies for our natural resources. This legislation actually reduces our reliance on foreign adversaries by maintaining domestic access to energy and mineral resources across the West, which is so important.

The WEST Act will protect public land management as we know it and safeguard the future of our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, October 7 was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Hamas killed over 1,200 innocent Israeli people, including women, children, the elderly, and took over 240 hostages.

Israel is one of our Nation's greatest allies. The intelligence we received from them helps us combat terrorism every day. President Biden's demand that they surrender or cease to pursue Hamas in response is a slap in the face to victims. It is sickening to see our President support a terrorist organization that circulated videos of themselves murdering innocent children over an ally that has helped protect our homeland for decades.

Hamas is working toward the genocidal eradication of the only successful democracy in the Middle East. Now more than ever, we must stand with Israel and fight anti-Semitism. I support H. Res. 1117 to oppose the one-sided pressure on Israel, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, Americans are feeling the harsh impact of President Biden's assault on domestic energy production when they fill their gas tanks or pay their electricity bills.

Instead of relieving these costs and unleashing domestic energy production, President Biden is choosing to push the Green New Deal again by threatening to place a moratorium on fracking. Since 1947, fracking has been instrumental in safely unlocking vast reservoirs of oil and natural gas, lowering energy costs, providing jobs for hardworking Americans, and propelling our Nation toward energy independence.

Permitting the use of this technology is detrimental to our energy security and represents a significant Federal overreach of State sovereignty by undermining their authority to regulate production within their own borders.

It is time we put an end to President Biden's anti-American energy policy and pass legislation, such as H.R. 1121, to protect American energy production, preserve State regulatory authority, and lower energy costs for families around the country.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for his leadership and the gentleman from Washington for bringing the bill.

Madam Speaker, earlier today, the gentleman from Louisiana said it pretty well. President Biden's assault on domestic energy production has been nothing short of catastrophic for Americans.

Since he took office, we have witnessed staggering surges in energy costs: gasoline prices up 33 percent, home heating oil up 44 percent, electricity and natural gas up 29 percent.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration continues to threaten our energy infrastructure by refusing to unleash domestic energy production, so we have to buy from our enemies. That is the point I wanted to underscore that has been made before. We have to buy from our enemies as a function of not proliferating our own domestic supply.

From canceling the construction of the Keystone pipeline on his first day in office to revoking leases for oil, natural gas, and mining outfits across the West, and his most recent decision to ban U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas, the President has risked our national security, taken jobs from Americans, and caused energy prices to skyrocket, all in the name supposedly of climate change.

Enough is enough. I am proud to cosponsor H. Res. 987 to put an end to the Biden administration's harmful anti-American energy policies. We have to stop this practice of supporting the people who hate us. We need to employ Americans and control our own destiny by proliferating American energy production.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor five of our precious fallen Marines, including Captain Benjamin Moulton, who were killed in a helicopter crash last week in California.

At 27 years old, Captain Moulton was known for his leadership and determination. Benjamin grew up with family roots in Emmett, Idaho, and received an ROTC scholarship to the University of Washington. Once commissioned into the Marines in 2019, Benjamin continued to strive for excellence and was promoted to Captain in August of last year.

Captain Moulton was a decorated pilot who flew with precision and skill, navigating through challenges with grace and determination. His love for aviation and his commitment to excellence inspired all who had the privilege to serve alongside him.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Moulton family and friends as they mourn the loss of this remarkable Marine. We are inspired by Benjamin's bravery and his service to our Nation will never be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, nuclear energy development has made tremendous strides to become one of the most carbon-free, safe, and reliable sources of energy.

Beyond powering cities, the nuclear industry provides jobs to Americans and fuels the economy. For example, the Idaho National Laboratory, in my home State of Idaho, is a major economic driver, bringing an economic impact of nearly $4 billion just last year.

The Atomic Energy Advancement Act provides a clear pathway for industry leaders such as INL to continue the production of affordable and sustainable energy by removing barriers that hinder the development of nuclear power, unleashing the full potential of our domestic nuclear energy, and taking away the need to rely on foreign adversaries.

This legislation will streamline the licensing process, accelerate the development of nuclear power, and expedite the regulatory process for advanced reactors while building the nuclear workforce at the NRC.

For this and many other reasons, I voted in support of H.R. 6544 to bolster our energy security and drive innovation through the atomic energy industry.