Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Madam Chairman, the gentlewoman from Maine may have mentioned that this affects all monuments. In fact, it does not.

As a former Secretary, monuments are under the Antiquities Act, and there are about 163, as I recall. This only pertains to monuments that commemorate the Founding Fathers of the United States on land under the jurisdiction of the Department. I don't recall how many monuments are to the Founding Fathers, but there are not many. I don't recall any being a safety issue.

As a matter of fact, I recall all of them being a part of our history and an important part of our history for all to learn. This does not affect all monuments or the safety. What it affects is the very essence of the country, and I support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my congratulations to an iconic Montanan and the Voice of the Griz, Peter Christian and celebrate his 50 years in broadcasting. This Montana legend and esteemed member of the community has won 25 first-place `Craney' awards from the Montana Broadcasters Association for his news coverage on KGVO based out of Missoula, Montana. Beloved by thousands of fans across many generations, Peter has also been the Public Address Announcer for the Montana Grizzlies at Washington Grizzly Stadium since 1998.

On behalf of the people of Montana's first Congressional District, it is my pleasure to honor and recognize Peter Christian for his meaningful contributions to our community through public broadcasting.

Bravo Zulu, Peter.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I rise today to ask my colleagues to support my amendment to ensure the Department of Defense has the flexibility and authority to supply adequate power to defend this country and win in battle.

It is ironic that we are here today, and I can't believe we are talking about it, but we are. The latest rule by the Biden administration to force the DOD to only use electricity for power and heating without backup, without any regard to situation, terrain, technology, or supply chain, is absurd.

Let's talk about energy security and what it looks like. The first 2 years of the Trump administration, we went from 8.7 million barrels a day to 12.5 million barrels a day. We went from being energy vulnerable and dependent upon our allies and potential adversaries to being energy independent and, in some places, dominant.

By the way, we lowered emissions. Do you know why? Because America does energy better, cleaner, and more efficient than any other country on the face of this planet.

Let's talk about the Biden administration and what this does. It puts our national security at risk.

First, let's talk about supply chains. In the EV world, where are the minerals mined? Who controls the minerals, the processing, the manufacturing? Who controls the solar cells, the components that make up the EV world? China.

It is ironic that the moment we become energy independent, we are now moving to more dependency on our allies and what could be our adversaries.

Secondly, let's look at the cost. How much does it cost in the world we live in? We are looking at budgets and savings and the future. What this does is it raises the cost of construction, and there is no answer to the supply chain. Just on mining critical minerals alone, it would take a 2,000 percent increase for 20 years to meet the energy demands of batteries today. Yet, this administration puts this rule in, and by the way, good luck mining in the United States. The only thing this administration is approving is gravel pits.

Let's talk about the environment and disposal. Where do 90 percent of the solar cells go today? To landfills across this great Nation. How about the turbine blades? How about the batteries? Where are the batteries going? How do we remove the toxins? Do you know what? There is no answer. There is no answer for the supply chain in the processing and manufacturing, and there is no answer for the disposal.

Madam Chair, I agree with the gentlewoman from Florida that our oceans are precious, absolutely precious. Ninety percent of the plastics in the ocean come from four rivers in China. I can go over a list of the environmental atrocities in China.

Madam Chair, I ask my colleagues to vote for America, vote for American energy, and stop this absurdity that is going to cost lives because we won't be able to power this country.

Do you think we are having problems now? Ask the United States Navy, which had to pull the fleet out of San Diego. Do you know why? They don't have shore power because the grid is not set up for it. We are dangerously moving toward vulnerability.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition, but I agree with my distinguished colleague from Florida that Congress has an obligation to review it. Congress should not abdicate our responsibility. We should ask the tough questions. Ultimately, we should provide the funding necessary and the resources to win. That is our job, and I agree with you 100 percent.

But as a commander, they are doing more than just guarding an embassy. A force structure of 900 may seem like a large footprint, but those of us who remember Black Hawk Down would suggest otherwise.

A force requires medevac. Those medevacs require people that service those aircraft. In case we get in trouble, we need a quick reaction force, a force large enough to defend our troops. I, like my colleagues, know that if you were to put any American servicemen in harm's way, you want to ensure we have the adequate force to make sure they are recovered safely. They also have to be fed and have communications. In order to have an effective force, you need a footprint that can do its mission.

I also agree that we should have a plan. Before we unplug our obligations, we should know what unplugging it does and when, and also we should have a plan on what our obligations are.

So much of this discussion is a discussion among similar views. We do have an obligation for freedom. We have a commitment to democracy that when we provide a force to defend that democracy, and it is American force and our allies, that we provide them with a force package that can win.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to oppose this well-intended resolution. I do ask that we work as a body to uphold our duty as Congress to make sure that the authorizations we give the executive are both appropriate, timely, and do so to win.

Mr. Speaker, the community of Columbia Falls, Montana suffered a great loss recently with the passing of William ``Billy'' Sapa.

Billy was the kind of guy every small town needs. He was the owner and operator of the Blue Moon Nite Club--a local restaurant and watering hole previously owned by his parents. He was the dedicated head coach of the Columbia Falls High School Wildcats baseball team, operated his multi-generational family farm, host of the summer rodeo series, and I am proud to say he was my friend.

While Billy is known for his sense of humor and loyalty to his people, he wasn't known as one to brag, which is why it came as a surprise to many in the Flathead Valley that Billy was signed by the New York Yankees after college. He was in his first year as a pitcher and the world was his oyster. He could have done anything, a hardworking kid from a small Montana timber and manufacturing town. It was a tragic twist of fate that brought Billy back to the valley to take care of his family and led him to a life of building our little community.

Billy was a proud patriot, a loving father, and a staple in the Columbia Falls community. He loved the community of Columbia Falls and will be dearly missed. I thank Billy and the entire Sapa family for all they've done to make the Flathead Valley a great place to call home.

Rest easy brother.

Mr. Speaker, Montana and Americans everywhere lost a great patriot, warrior, and servant with the passing of Mr. Charles A. ``Charlie'' Dowd, radioman, U.S. Navy.

Born in Rochester, NY, and later calling Montana home, Charlie was the son of a World War I veteran and enlisted in the Navy while he was in high school. At age 17 he received his orders and was assigned to duty at Pearl Harbor. On the evening of December 6, 1941, Dowd reported for duty at 2330. He worked through the night before returning to his barracks at daybreak.

Dowd awoke to America under attack. In just his T-shirt and boxer shorts he grabbed his rifle and brass and took position on the roof. He fired so many rounds at attacking Japanese combatants that his rifle barrel burned like his anger. As Dowd recalled some years later, ``I didn't have any fear at the time,'' he said. ``We were angry.'' It was that courage and anger and love of country that eventually led us to victory in the Pacific and Europe.

There were 2,403 service members and civilians who died that day, and 14 of them were from Montana. As one of the few survivors on the attack at Pearl Harbor, he continued his military service on vessels in the Pacific Theater in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea until the end of the war and was discharged in 1945.

For his military service, he was awarded multiple Bronze Stars and several other commendations.

I had the honor of visiting Dowd over the years. Listening to his stories and the stories of the men he served with are humbling and moving. More than 70 years later at 99 years old, he could still tap to the messages he sent as a radioman in Morse code on the table we visited on in Anaconda.

In Charlie's time after war, he continued his second life of service as a high school teacher for building trades where he filled young minds with memories they still talk about today. He leaned into his passion as a sportsman by spending time hunting, fishing, and writing a weekly column named `The Wild Side' which became a staple for the Western Montana community.

Charlie's life with his wife Clara was the epitome of the American dream and our state was made a better place because they called it home. History will know Charlie Dowd as one of the last living survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a Montana legend, and true American hero.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today in strong opposition to H. Con. Res. 21 to pull forces out of Syria.

Like many in this distinguished Chamber, I have served in the region. I spent 23 years as a Navy SEAL. I have hunted war criminals. I have dismantled terrorist cells, and I have fought for freedom on foreign shores.

There are several self-evident truths in Syria. First, the U.S. troops are authorized by Congress.

Second, I do believe that we should review those authorizations. They may need to be reviewed. We should have answers on objectives, on failures, on victories, on a plan for ultimate success. I agree.

But there is no doubt that Syria also remains a center for radical Islamic forces and terrorism, like ISIS, like PKK. These are organizations that will never stop, ever. They are committed to destroying this Nation and our allies, and we should be aware of their objectives.

Lastly, the hard truth is this: Either we fight them in Syria or we will fight them here. Either we fight and defeat them in Syria, or we will fight in the streets of our Nation.

To understand the scope of the military presence, we are talking about 900 troops. That is 900 troops that have to have the capability for intelligence collection, self-defense, surveillance, targeting. In case our troops get in trouble, that force must be sufficient to get them out of trouble because every sailor, soldier, airman, and marine, deserves nothing less.

Nine hundred military personnel is an objectively small contingent. When you look at it, that is about the size of a Walmart which employs, on average, 300 people.

So I agree with many of the supporters of the resolution that Congress has the powers, and these powers should be reviewed. We should ask the hard questions: What is the path to victory?

What are the resources that are being spent? Are they being spent in the right spot?

Is there a clear path to victory, and what are the interests of the United States?

But believe me, Mr. Speaker, I understand the burden of war. I have lost a lot of friends. I understand the consequences of war on foreign shores, both to the servicemen and our families, which is why I call on my colleagues today to ask the right questions, but to reject this well-intended, but really, really bad idea.

Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to death that both sides recognize it is a problem, and it is. Let's call it like it is.

First of all, I don't expect China to tell the truth. It says it was a civilian airship. We know that is a lie.

Nor do I appreciate the Biden administration's explanations. Let's go through them really quickly.

Number one was remote. Our concern not to shoot it down was because it was going someplace remote or we could have collateral damage on the ground. It went through the Aleutian chain, one of the most remote places on the planet. As a former SEAL, I can tell you there is not a lot out there.

Then, it went over Montana. Petroleum County, for instance, has 434 people in it. That is less than the United States Congress. I can guarantee you, the chance of hitting collateral damage was probably more off the coast of Myrtle Beach than it was in Montana.

They even suggest, well, we gained great intelligence as it meandered from Montana to the Carolinas because we were monitoring what the Chinese were spying on. That is like inviting a burglar to your house just to see what he takes.

Look, it is a problem and has been a problem. Also, to blame the Trump administration--look, I was Secretary of State. Does anyone in this body or anyone in America remember a balloon the size of three buses at 65,000 feet going from Montana to North Carolina? I mean, come on. We all recognize it is a problem.

Lastly, if this administration can't figure a balloon out, then how can we figure out Taiwan?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in defense of our Nation's wildland firefighters.

In my role as Secretary of the Interior, as Congressman, and as a Montanan, I have seen the devastation that mismanagement and overregulation has brought to our forests.

Every year, we bear witness to our forests and homes burning in catastrophic wildfires, wildfires that will be made worse by frivolous and potentially deadly litigation that seeks to prevent firefighters from doing their job.

Last year, I was at a fire camp in Elmo, Montana. While I watched scoopers from Bridger Aerospace do their work on the ridge, I also noticed the red stripe where retardant was dropped to protect homes, ranches, and lives.

In many ways, wildland firefighting is a lot like serving on the battlefield. The men and women are dropped behind enemy lines, surrounded on all fronts, and the only resources they have next to them are those men and women who fight fires and the air support above. If they call in air support, it is because they need it.

We would never think of denying our troops in battle the lifesaving air support they need, so why would anyone think that our firefighters doing their job deserve any less?

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of the select committee on China.

As a 23-year veteran of the United States Navy and a former Navy SEAL commander, I am acquainted with China and its looming threat. Without question, China's actions represent a threat not only to national security but also our environment.

As Secretary of the Interior, I led a delegation of officials to the Pacific Islands and witnessed firsthand China's intentions. I can tell you, their intentions are clear: control and dominance in the South China Sea and the hemisphere.

It should be noted that China has the largest standing Navy, greater than the United States. They have stolen U.S. technology and have increased their capacity for nuclear weapons. China continues to threaten democracies, such as Taiwan, the Philippines, and even our territories.

On the environmental front, the People's Republic of China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases; the largest source of marine debris; the worst perpetrator of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; and is the world's largest consumer of trafficked wildlife and timber products. In fact, 90 percent of the world's plastics found in oceans comes from four rivers in China.

China's actions today represent a clear and present danger, and they use any means available to them--blackmail, data hacking, and espionage.

It is time to act in a bipartisan way, and I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this critical bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a select committee to investigate the weaponization of the Federal Government, something I have a lot of experience with firsthand.

I proudly served as the 52nd Secretary of the Interior. Despite the deep state's repeated attempts to stop me, I stand before you as a duly elected Member of the United States Congress and tell you that a deep state exists and is perhaps the strongest covert weapon the left has against the American people.

There is no doubt the Federal Government deep state coordinates with liberal activists and uses politicians and willing media to carry their water.

The deep state runs secret messaging campaigns with one goal in mind: to increase its power to censor and persuade the American people.

Dark money groups funded by liberal billionaires and foreign investors funnel money to shell organizations and repeatedly attempt to destroy the American West. In many cases, they want to wipe out the American cowboy completely, remove public access to our lands, and turn Montana into a national park. They want to control our land and our lifestyle.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record two parts of a five-part series of investigative articles by the Capital Research Center titled: ``Arabella's Long War: Web of `Pop-Up' Groups'' and ``Arabella's Long War: `Keep it in the Ground.' ''

[From the Capital Research Center, Nov. 12, 2021]

Arabella's Long War: Web of ``Pop-Up'' Groups--How Leftist ``Dark Money'' Activists Brought Down Trump's Secretary of the Interior and

Paved the way for Biden's Radical Environmentalists

(By Hayden Ludmig)

A Web of ``Pop-Up'' Groups

Enter Arabella Advisors, a consulting firm based in

Washington, DC, that quietly runs arguably the most powerful

activist and lobbying network in politics. Arabella manages

four in-house nonprofits collectively called the ``sisters,''

each of which controls a small army of activists and a legion

of ``pop-up'' groups. And each pop-up group is made to look

like a slick, stand-alone website. These pop-ups target

virtually every issue in politics--control of the courts,

abortion access, gun control, and voter registration and

mobilization, even the Trump-Russia collusion hoax--pushing

left-wing policies in every corner. What makes Arabella so

powerful is how these ``pop-ups'' deceive individuals into

believing they represent genuine local grassroots interests,

such as one pop-up in Alaska created to oppose creation of

the Pebble Mine run from Arabella's plush offices in DC.

Arabella's network is extraordinarily well-funded. In 2019

alone, the four ``sisters'' reported total revenues exceeding

$730 million and poured out $648 million. Between the

network's creation in 2006 and its Form 990 filing for 2019

(the latest available), Arabella's empire has received more

than $3 billion and spent nearly $2.5 billion. Most of that

funding was directed to the network's flagship 501(c)(3)

nonprofit, the New Venture Fund, whose largest known donors

include the Gates, Ford, Hewlett, Packard, and Buffett

Foundations.

Beginning in 2017, Arabella turned its guns on Trump's

Department of the Interior using a pop-up pair: Western

Values Project (WVP) and its ``sister,'' Western Values

Project Action (WVPA).

According to their websites, WVP and WVPA were created in

2013 in Helena, Montana, to expose corrupt corporate

lobbyists preying on public lands in the West. In reality,

WVP is run by the 501(c)(3) New Venture Fund while WVPA is

run by the 501(c)(4) Sixteen Thirty Fund, Arabella's in-house

lobbying shop. Whatever staff the groups actually have would

have been paid by one of Arabella's nonprofits or possibly by

Arabella Advisors itself; we'll likely never know. But in its

2018 Form 990, New Venture Fund revealed that it is the

``paymaster'' for Sixteen Thirty Fund (which reported zero

employees on its own 2018 Form 990) and ``pays the salary and

immediately invoices Sixteen Thirty Fund, which reimburses

the full amount.''

It's common for groups to use both kinds of nonprofit to

maximize their ability to lobby through the 501(c)(4) and

raise non-lobbying funds through the 501(c)(3), since donors

may deduct donations to the 501(c)(3) from their taxes. But

Arabella takes that tactic to another level, using pop-up

fronts for its nonprofits that can take advantage of the New

Venture and Sixteen Thirty Fund's respective tax advantages

without disclosing their relationship to one another.

Donations to WVP and WVPA in fact benefitted the Arabella-run

nonprofits behind the projects, as an archived version of

WVP's website from October 2019 reveals.

Until late 2019 the website for WVP and WVPA revealed a

handful of staffers, including Chris Saeger, ex-

communications director for the Montana Democratic Party and

former Service Employees International Union (SEIU) staffer;

Jayson O'Neill, a Democratic staffer for Montana's

legislature and Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D); and Yetta Stein, a

staffer for the left-wing political action committee End

Citizens United and staffer for the 2018 reelection campaign

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT). The archived website also showed a

small advisory board consisting of:

Kjersten Forseth, a former chief of state for Colorado

State Senate Democrats, former director of the left-wing

strategy group ProgressNow Colorado, political director for

the Colorado AFL-CIO, and chief political strategist for

Rocky Mountain Voter Outreach, a Denver-based get-out-the-

vote and ballot initiative firm.

Kent Salazar, an environmental health manager for

Albuquerque, New Mexico, former New Mexico State game

commissioner for Gov. Bill Richardson (D), and a board member

for the left-wing National Wildlife Federation.

Pat Smith, a lawyer representing Indian tribes in Montana,

member of the 2010 Montana Redistricting Commission, and

appointee of Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) to the Northwest

Power and Conservation Council.

WVP's advisory board also included Caroline Ciccone, who in

2019 was executive director of the New Venture Fund pop-up

and anti-Trump ``oversight'' group Restore Public Trust.

Ciccone is a former communications director for the

Democratic National Committee (DNC), Obama appointee to the

U.S. Small Business Administration, and Democratic

strategist. From 2014 to 2017 she led Americans United for

Change (AUFC), a top left-wing strategy group whose national

field director Scott Foval was recorded in late 2016 by

undercover journalists from Project Veritas bragging that

AUFC had paid mentally ill and homeless people to instigate

violence at Trump campaign rallies. ``We know that Trump's

people will [tend to]

freak the f-- out,'' Foval said in the video. ``It is not

hard to get some of these a------- to `pop off.' '' The

scandal ultimately led back to Robert Creamer, co-founder of

the powerful consulting firm Democracy Partners and a former

general consultant to AUFC who directed parts of a vast

network of advocacy groups all aligned in support of Hillary

Clinton's presidential bid. This led to speculation that his

firm helped Clinton's campaign violate collusion laws. Foval

described Creamer's role in the scandal as the ``kingpin''

who is ``diabolical, and I love him for it.'' Within days of

the video's release Creamer resigned, and Foval was fired.

Also present was Kyle Herrig, a New Venture Fund board

member who sat on the advisory boards of at least five New

Venture Fund projects, including American Oversight, a

judicial activist and litigation group; Allied Progress,

which attacked Trump cabinet officials; and the Ciccone-run

Restore Public Trust.

In early 2020 it was announced that Western Values Project

and these three Arabella ``pop-ups'' were being rolled into a

new organization: Accountable.US, itself a former New Venture

Fund project fully established as an independent nonprofit

sometime later that year, headed by president Kyle Herrig and

executive director Caroline Ciccone. (It appears that Western

Values Project Action remains a project of Sixteen Thirty

Fund, but that remains unclear as of writing.)

This reveals that Western Values Project, far from being a

grassroots group, is enmeshed in a deeply networked, highly

coordinated cabal of professional activists--and it always

was.

We all knew politics was ugly, but we need to investigate and uncover corruption no matter where it lies. It is time to bring light to the shadows of the deep state and do our duty.

Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this critical piece of oversight investigations.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to highlight an important bill that is being considered by the House today--the ``America Gives More Act of 2015 (H.R. 644).'' This legislation contains a package of four charitable giving incentives: the IRA charitable rollover; the enhanced deduction for donating food inventory; the simplification of the Private Foundation Excise Tax; and the enhanced deduction for donating conservation easements, the last of which is of critical importance to Montana.

Since 2006, the enhanced tax incentive for qualified conservation easement donations has opened the door to voluntary, landowner-led conservation on millions of acres across the country. This provision allows Montanans, particularly our ranchers and farmers, who donate the development rights on their land to deduct a larger portion of their income over more years. It is common sense that modest income donors with highly valued lands should be allowed the same tax deductions they would have been entitled to if their incomes were larger.

These donations are extraordinary in many ways. One of which is the time they take and the money they cost the donor. Decisions to give away what is often a family's most valuable asset routinely take more than a year and require hiring an attorney and an appraiser at considerable cost. Having this incentive expire after a year guarantees that most of the people who would most benefit from it will never even begin the process of considering it.

I support this bill, especially when it benefits constituents like Dan Lilja. About 35 years ago he moved to rural western Montana after graduating from the University of Montana. He married a local, Sally, and started Lilja Precision Barrels in Plains, Montana, in 1985.

Dan's interest in bench shooting inspired him to design some of the world's best rifle barrels. Lilja barrels are used in rifles by the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Coast Guard, the FBI, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Canadian Special Forces, among others. These customers demand the best and Lilja Precision Barrels delivers a quality product.

Dan and Sally own property in Sanders County along the scenic Clark Fork River. They entered into a conservation easement with the Montana Land Reliance to protect this property from inappropriate subdivision and to provide critical winter and spring habitat for elk and big horn sheep.

In a way that is both patriotic and conservation-minded, Dan and Sally have contributed to the health and preservation of western wildlife habitats and the security of our country. This is just one of the many stories of how conservation easements are preserving our rich heritage, and I call upon the House to support this bill for the betterment of not only Montana, but our country.