Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 83) authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band Exhibition.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on H. Con. Res. 83.

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

Madam Speaker, H. Con. Res. 83, which I introduced, honors our Nation's fallen law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty last year with a memorial service here at the Capitol.

Every day our police officers show up to protect and serve, keeping our families, businesses, and communities safe. Unfortunately, so many of our police officers are demonized and disparaged for doing one of the hardest, most important jobs in the country, and it is a job that continues to grow more dangerous every day.

We all owe our gratitude to those police officers who continue to serve despite these challenging times. This memorial service is only one small way to thank and honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Madam Speaker, I also thank the Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Ranking Member Dina Titus from Nevada for working with me on this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I urge support of this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

All of us have had our hearts broken as we have watched the nightly news somewhere in our own town, our own State, or across the country as brave men and women wearing the uniform have run to the bullets, have run to the sound of the guns, have run to the violence--too many.

As law enforcement struggles to maintain recruitment, as, unfortunately, too many places in America don't respect the work that they do, it is an unfortunate situation we find ourselves in.

I can imagine every single day when an officer leaves their home, their family, and kisses their husband or wife or children good-bye, every day you never know, whether it is a traffic stop or a warrant service, where there is some bad turn of events and the officer never comes home.

That has to end in America, Madam Speaker. That circumstance has to end. While it is present and while we seek a better future for our country and the men and women who serve so bravely in uniform, the one small thing that we can do is open up their United States Capitol to bring attention and draw attention to what has happened with the unimaginable sacrifice that they have made, that their families continue to endure, so that all of America and all the world can see who we honor.

Madam Speaker, I urge support of H. Con. Res. 83 to allow these Capitol Grounds to be used for a memorial service to honor our Nation's fallen law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2023, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6316) to amend title 40, United States Code, to establish an expiration date of certain committee resolutions with respect to leases or projects, and for other purposes.

Madam 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 in the Record on H.R. 6316.

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

Madam Speaker, H.R. 6316 sets an expiration date for committee resolutions for the General Services Administration's capital leasing and improvements program.

If the GSA fails to proceed with a project that has been approved by both the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within 5 years, the bill would require that the authorization expires and the GSA would then return to the committees for a new approval.

I thank my good friend, Ranking Member Titus of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, for her leadership and work on H.R. 6316 and for working with me and the whole committee on this piece of legislation, which I am proud to cosponsor.

Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I agree with the gentlewoman from Nevada that maybe it is not going to get a lot of press, but I think we both agree that it is simply good governing. Project proposals can grow stale, and if GSA fails to proceed on the authorization within 5 years, the agency should be required to resubmit the proposal. A lot of things can change in 5 years, and we have seen that.

H.R. 6316 would increase GSA's accountability to Congress and, more importantly, to the American people, ultimately aiding in our ability to conduct appropriate oversight of these leases and these projects.

Madam Speaker, I urge support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6254) to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a review on the Public Buildings Service, and for other purposes.

Madam 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 in the Record on H.R. 6254.

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

Madam Speaker, H.R. 6254 directs the Government Accountability Office to review the General Services Administration's Public Building Service personnel structure, including staffing trends, work locations, and organizational structure.

GSA's Public Building Service administrative budget, including staffing, is paid for out of the Federal Buildings Fund. Because it is buried in a larger fund, it is difficult to track and evaluate the Public Buildings Service workforce and its management to conduct appropriate oversight.

This bill would seek to address that issue, increasing transparency and, ultimately, greater oversight.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden) for introducing H.R. 6254, the Public Buildings Accountability Act of 2023, and for his leadership on this important issue.

Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden), to speak on his bill.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee.

I am not sure that that one particular singular focus should be an amendment or something like that, but as a general theme, I don't know that the committee would mind. We could take a look at that kind of activity and the effects.

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

Again, Madam Speaker, this bill will improve transparency and oversight of GSA's Public Buildings Service, and its staffing management structure.

Further, H.R. 6254 will inform the committee's oversight efforts to maximize the return of Federal employees to in-person work. I do urge support for this.

I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden) for offering this and to acknowledge his strident and outspoken work on the behalf of constituents, otherwise known as our bosses, who demand and deserve an answer when they call these folks who work for us and work for them. I thank him for his diligence and dogged determination.

Madam Speaker, I, again, urge support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I had the honor of visiting the Alamo just about a month ago when I went to the border. Again, I went to the border and I wondered about William Barret Travis. And I have got to tell you, when you are standing there and you are reading that, and you know that you are standing on the ground where giants stood, where things in the world meant something and were worth fighting for, it is invigorating, and it is inspiring to you to do your part.

I wonder, would William Barret Travis and the folks that lost their lives, the guys that lost their lives defending America at the Alamo and Davey Crockett, would they do it for $20 million for a State route in Alabama? How about $4.1 million for a bike path in San Diego or $6.4 million for a greenway trail in Chattanooga or $1 million for an electric vehicle car share for public housing residents or $5 million for a Newport, Rhode Island, walking path?

I am sure that all of those are very important things to the people that live in those communities. I believe that. The question is: Why is the Federal Government paying for them when the Federal Government doesn't have any money?

From December to January, we went over $34 trillion in debt and by May we will be at $35 trillion. Did the folks at the Alamo, including William Barret Travis, risk his life and ultimately give his life to watch his country be swallowed up in debt?

To that end, the invasion coming from south of the border, we didn't stop in this bill that was just passed, using taxpayer dollars to represent illegal aliens, to get their attorneys for them. They have come illegally, and the people that gave their lives at the Alamo, I guess we would ask them: Hey, you don't mind paying with your life so that we can represent the people who are attacking you right now? You wouldn't mind that, would you?

I bet they would mind. I have got to tell you, my good friend from Texas talked about the folks at Bastogne. I served in the 28th Infantry Division who held Bastogne underequipped, undermanned, surrounded by the Germans, taking the losses, taking the unbelievable losses, being told to hold the line, stay here, and hold the Germans off until Patton gets here. Everybody remembers Patton came and saved the Bulge and all that stuff. Nobody cares about all of those guys in the 28th Division who lost their lives fighting for the idea of the greatest country on the planet, the greatest country on the planet where we just agreed to fund firearm registries so that we can take

rights away from Americans, where we agreed to fund vaccine mandates at the Veterans Administration.

I don't think they fought for that. I don't think they fought so that we could have another report about China buying up farmland and sensitive land around military installations. We didn't stop them from doing it, but we are sure going to have a report, so that is awesome.

How about this: They fought and lost their lives so that we can continue to fund the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and we also continue to fund sanctuary cities.

It is breathtaking to me what is happening in this Chamber. The individuals that founded this Nation, that pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, they meant it. They knew how serious it was. They pledged their lives, Mr. Speaker, and we can't even honor their sacrifice by saying we are going to hold the line here and do what we said we were going to do last May.

Mr. Speaker, we will have colleagues starting today-- starting just moments ago, on both sides of the aisle, that will tell you we can't afford this government; it is spending too much. Our citizens can't afford their groceries. They can't afford housing. They can't afford their credit card bills. How did it happen?

It happened in here a couple hours ago.

Mr. Speaker, did Davy Crockett and William Barret Travis-- not that they had them back then--but if they had, did they lose their lives so that a Federal Government could tell them you must buy this car; you cannot buy this gas stove; you will power your home this way or maybe you won't power it at all because we are going to shut off the generation that America invented? Is that what they died for?

These people and the battered bastards of Bastogne died because they wanted us to be free. They wanted the privilege and the honor to run their own lives, to make decisions for themselves. They didn't want a government that decided everything for them. They wanted a government that laid out the framework where each one of them could determine their destiny.

Now, we just voted for the government to determine the destiny right here and in so many other places. It is our duty, Mr. Speaker, and the duty of every Representative who takes the oath, to fight to ensure that the rights to determine your destiny reside with the individual and not an overbearing, out-of-control Federal Government. Today, we failed at that mission.

Mr. Speaker, free from the bondage of economic slavery. Slavery is in many forms, but when you can't make the choices that you should be able to make as a free person because you can't afford to make the choices because your government is taking from you that which you have earned, that is tyranny, Mr. Speaker. That is tyranny.

With all due respect to many colleagues on both sides of the aisle, we have one set of Members that are seeking the fundamental transformation of America, which used to look like a free country, and we have another side that is doing nothing to stop it.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 39.

Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to recognize Officer Cameron Flinn on earning the status of the 2023 Springettsbury Township ``Officer of the Year.''

Officer Flinn began his service with the Department in February 2022. After several years' experience in two other agencies, their loss clearly was Springettsbury's gain. In his short time serving Springettsbury thus far, Officer Flinn is a Department leader in calls handled, criminal investigations, and traffic enforcement. In 2023 alone, he handled 587 incidents, had 277 traffic contacts, investigated 58 motor vehicle crashes, and executed 136 criminal arrests. He frequently welcomes new challenges, and assumes as much responsibility as possible to serve our community--all while soliciting additional training that resulted in his recent selection as a member of the York County Forensics Team.

In one of many notable incidents, Officer Flinn was dispatched to Hollywood Casino at the York Galleria Mall for a subject in cardiac arrest. While attending to the individual, responding officers were alerted to a second individual also in cardiac arrest on the casino floor. Officer Flinn administered lifesaving Naxalone and CPR to both individuals, who regained consciousness and were up and talking within a half hour.

While maintaining his high productivity and professional standards of conduct, Officer Flinn also excels in the area of community engagement. The Department receives myriad Citizen calls commending him and his performance of duty(ies), as well as testifying to his friendly interactions with them. He's also earned various praise from numerous colleagues for his outstanding work. During the holiday season, Officer Flinn took the initiative outside of his official duties to organize a ``Shop With a Cop'' event at a local store; he took note of the families that received gifts at the event, and then raised additional funds to purchase gifts for those children. His impact on the community both in and out of official duty status is exceptional.

Mr. Speaker, I'm truly grateful, privileged, and honored to recognize and commend Officer Cameron Flinn for earning the Springettsbury Township Police Department 2023 ``Officer of the Year'' award. His tireless, loyal, and dedicated service is the standard by which all others should be judged.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Mr. Quentin Roman Stambaugh on the auspicious occasion of his 100th Birthday on February 8, 2024.

Mr. Stambaugh dedicated much of his impressive 100 years to the honorable service of our Nation. He first reported for duty on 6 April 1943, to then-Camp George G. Meade, where he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and then completed Basic Training in Miami Florida. He was assigned to the U.S. Army Technical School in Sioux Falls SD, where he trained to become a Radioman and Mechanic. He progressed to Yuma, AZ as a Gunnery School trainee, and learned to operate the B-25/Mitchell Aircraft. After vigorous training, he was deployed to the Southwest Pacific region at the height of WWII, serving as a Radioman and Tail Gunner, and making his mark on our Nation as part of ``The Greatest Generation.''

Mr. Stambaugh heroically flew 38 Combat Missions, during which he had four take downs against the Japanese enemy, and numerous enemy installations. He earned the Expert Marksman badge, the Presidential Unit Citation, and a personal letter to his parents from General George Kenney, Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific. In the letter, General Kenney cited Mr. Stambaugh's ``Meritorious Achievement while participating in aerial flights in the Southwest Pacific area from February 25, 1945 to March 30, 1945 . . .'' and noted his service as ``. . . a real and very tangible contribution to victory and peace.'' General Kenney further stated that ``I would like to tell you how genuinely proud I am to have men such as your son in my command, and how gratified I am to know that young Americans with such courage and resourcefulness are fighting our Country's battle against the aggressor nations. You have every reason to share that pride and gratification.'' Mr. Stambaugh, having brushed with death numerous times, never forgets his Brothers-in-Arms who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation, fellow Warriors, and our way of life.

Returning home after earning an Honorable Discharge on 18 December 1945, Mr. Stambaugh transitioned to civilian life at PH Gladfelter in Spring Grove, and earned a Magistrate position in York County--further serving our Nation in a judicial capacity for four consecutive six-year terms. Mr. Stambaugh and his wife, Bertha, had three children, and he still lives in the home he and Bertha built together near his childhood home in Spring Grove.

Mr. Speaker, I'm honored, privileged, and humbled to celebrate Mr. Quentin Roman Stambaugh on the blessed occasion of his 100th Birthday. His tireless, selfless, and dedicated service of our communities, Commonwealth, and Nation sets the standard by which we should all be judged. I wish him continued Godspeed.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleagues on our side of the aisle for working hard to try and return some of the money to hardworking people. I am always for that. If you are working, you should keep the money that you earn. Whether you are corporate or whether you are an individual, but here is where I have a problem--this refundable tax credit.

See, my folks get up every day. They get up early. It is usually dark. They put their kids on the schoolbus and they go to work to afford their bills, which they can barely afford right now. They can't afford their groceries, their gasoline, their credit card bills. They can't afford them because the Federal Government is flooding the economy with money.

Now, we are getting ready to flood more because, Mr. Speaker, regardless of what anybody thinks, if you are here illegally with a Social Security number, you are going to get the money.

I have a news flash for you: Little kids don't get the checks sent to them, even though they got a Social Security number, but their parents, who are here illegally, do, and it is going to happen by the millions.

My folks, the folks that are working hard to put food on their table, are tired of paying for that. We should reject this.

Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to recognize the Northeastern Senior Community Center on its 50th Anniversary on March 5, 2024, and tireless diligence in serving our community's Seniors.

In 1974, the Northeastern Senior Community Center opened. In addition to serving a noon meal, it ``open[ed] new social dimensions in the life of the persons of Social Security age.'' In its 50 years, the Center has grown exponentially, and presently reaches well over 400 participants who receive monthly hot meals and participate in indispensable and engaging activities. The Center's selfless and unhesitatingly diligent volunteers never leave behind Seniors who are homebound--delivering meals to more than 60 residences throughout ten municipalities in York County. The Center's growth, professionalism, concern, and mission focus has led to earning 75 volunteers, four part- time employees, and Executive Director Deb Davis--all unwaveringly dedicated to serving our Seniors.

As the first senior center to open in York County, operating through ebb and flow, it is a vital part of our community. The legacy of its founding members (Clara Butcher, Jay W. House, Helen C. Provenza, B. Charlotte Sides, Cleon F. Prowell, Sylvia Sweitzer, J.E.

Caldwell, Roland E. Garvin, Elvan Kennedy, Margaret F. Neff, Hilda Loucks, and first Director David E. Sipe) is enduring. The Northeastern Senior Center's focus on its mission of enhancing, enriching, enlightening, and nourishing the lives of our Seniors--active and homebound--sets the standards by which all other similar organizations should be judged.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, I'm honored and privileged to recognize and commend the hardworking people of the Northeastern Senior Community Center on its 50th Anniversary. I wish them all continued Godspeed in their service to our community, Commonwealth and Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I'm honored, humbled, and saddened to posthumously recognize Steelton Fire Chief, Eugene A. Vance, III.

Upon graduating from Steelton-Highspire High School in 1972, Chief Vance dedicated his life to the service of our communities. As a 35- year veteran of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of General Services, he was a member of the Steelton Baldwin Hose Company No. 4 serving as Firefighter, Foreman, Captain, and Battalion Chief before earning the privilege of becoming Chief of the Steelton Fire Department in 1998. He also served on several Dauphin County volunteer fire companies, the Dauphin County Volunteer Fireman's Association, and County Volunteer Fire Chiefs Association.

Chief Vance retired from his official capacity in 2012, but continued to play a vital role, and his call to duty returned him to the Fire Chief position once again in 2016. He administered countless AED life- saving responses, and earned prestigious awards, honors, and accolades throughout his storied career--to name but a few, in 2012, he earned the Firefighter of the Year and was presented his bugle from the Department, and in 2020, he earned the Craig Webb Memorial Award for Excellence in Fire Service.

Chief Vance's life truly mattered; he made a mark on everyone he met--whether he knew them briefly, personally, professionally, or for a lifetime. He will be dearly missed.

Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to recognize Fire Chief Eugene A. Vance, III for his selfless, tireless, and dedicated service to his family, friends, fellow brave Firefighters, our communities, Commonwealth, and United States of America. He is the standard by which we all should be judged. May God bless and keep him.

Mr. Speaker, in Washington, every time that you think you have seen it all and heard it all, you couldn't be surprised, amazed, disappointed, what have you, more than you already are, but it never fails to deliver.

I am going to talk about a few things this evening. I am going to start with this. I am a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I just attended a hearing on the Afghan reconstruction after withdrawal, so to speak.

So we left, as you know, Mr. Speaker, Afghanistan. Our Nation left there in a bit of a hurry. We won't get into that much, but what I do want to talk about is where we stand at this point because whether or not the American people know it, we are still spending billions of dollars in Afghanistan. So we had a hearing today to talk about that.

We have spent a couple of billion dollars. Now, at the same time we are spending billions of dollars in aid in Afghanistan where the Taliban rules, we have got a guy named Ryan Corbett who has been detained and held in Afghanistan wrongly by the Taliban. They are holding him hostage apparently among other Americans and Westerners who are being held hostage in Afghanistan. In spite of this, we are giving them billions of dollars in aid.

Now, the gentleman who came to talk to us is the Special Representative for Afghanistan and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. State Department. His name is Thomas West. He came to speak to us and answer questions about that.

I asked him: Well, how are we leveraging these billions of dollars to get Ryan Corbett out? Why would we give billions of dollars to this country?

We just had a 20-year war with them, and, unfortunately, the United States left without winning the war because the Taliban is now in charge.

I said: We give them a couple billion dollars a year here.

He said: Well, it doesn't go through the Taliban, it goes through nongovernmental organizations.

That is a whole other story that we will get into, but the point is that we have American hostages in Iran--correction--Afghanistan. That is a Freudian slip because Iran is on my mind, too. That is another problem. However, we will stick to Afghanistan for a minute.

It seems to me that if they want a couple of billion dollars--let's be clear. We are $34 trillion in debt right now. We just went to 34, and by May of this year, we will be at 35. We are going to pay $1 trillion in interest this year. That is no new tanks, that is no new social programs, and that is no new missiles. That is just interest. That is paying for money that has already been spent, and now that you have borrowed it, you get nothing for the $1 trillion.

So it is a long way from $1 trillion to a couple of billion dollars in Afghanistan, but those couple of billion over time add up, and the people whom I am representing are paying for that.

First of all, they paid a couple of trillion dollars for the war in Afghanistan for 20 years, and now we are paying billions more for what?

I said: When are you going to use your leverage to get this guy, Ryan Corbett, out?

In the course of the hearing, we learned about Afghan women and children, little girls, who can't go to school. They are oppressed, and the women can't leave their house, they can't get an education, and they can't work. They are being oppressed as we knew the Taliban was going to do. We told everybody that that is what is going to happen if you leave the Taliban in charge.

One of the folks on the dais asked one of these poor panelists: What are you doing about the mental health state of these Afghan women? They are depressed because of the circumstances they are in.

There was a lot of conversations about, well, we talk to them, and we are trying to work with them, and so on and so forth. I am listening to this like my head is going to explode.

When it was my turn to ask questions, I said: This poor woman here can't help these people, these women and children in Afghanistan, the lady that was sitting there testifying.

Afghanistan is a terrorist superstate, Mr. Speaker. It is a terrorist superstate with multiple terrorist organizations operating in the country with impunity.

We are spending a couple billion dollars there, and we are asking people who we are paying what they are doing about the mental health and depression standards of Afghanistan women and children. How absurd can this be?

I asked Mr. West if he could talk to me about the open-source reporting. Open source is not classified. That is what you can read in the newspaper, see on the TV, hear on the radio about this guy, Abdul Rasheed Munib, who reportedly traveled to North Korea to obtain nuclear weapons technology and collaborate with North Korea. What can he tell me about that?

He couldn't tell me anything about that because he didn't know anything about that. He had never heard of that, yet I see it on open- source reporting.

Shouldn't he know about that? He is the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Deputy Assistant Secretary. He should know.

I asked him about open-source reporting about the Taliban trying to take Pakistan's nuclear weapons. I would think that nuclear weapons in the Middle East with a rogue regime like the Taliban would be a security concern for the United States of America. I asked: What is the endgame to this billions of dollars going to Afghanistan? What is the mission? When does it end? Does it ever end?

Of course, I got some kind of long-winded answer that is circular and never gets anywhere. I asked: What is our national security interest in Afghanistan at this point?

He said: We have spent $2 trillion there over the last 20 years.

I said: Stop. Please don't tell me we are spending billions of dollars to secure the $2 trillion that we spent during our 20 years in Afghanistan because--I have bad news for everybody--it is gone. The money is gone.

Mr. Speaker, this is just another example of the fantasy land that is Washington, D.C., because the Taliban is in charge in Afghanistan after kicking the United States of America out after America spent $2 trillion there--forget the $2 trillion, a couple thousand lives in Afghanistan. Here today, in 2024, you are going to be expected to spend a couple billion dollars more in Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, this can't continue. I will bet one thing, though. I will bet the Taliban controls Afghanistan's border. I bet they do. I will bet if somebody tries to get into Afghanistan that doesn't belong there, I bet the Taliban doesn't allow that.

I will move on to the next subject, which I think we are going to spend the bulk of the time on, which is the southern border of the United States of America.

Now, I am not advocating to hire the Taliban to come patrol the southwestern border of the United States of America, but it seems to me that we could certainly do a better job.

We just recently took a trip--and I say ``we,'' Members of Congress, only on this side of the aisle. The other side of the aisle doesn't care to see what is happening on the border. I know some of them go as a token trip so they can act like they care about it.

While I am on that subject about caring about it, we are hearing today, in the last couple of days, about people here illegally in the United States of America residing in the State of New York. They moved them into a school and kicked the kids out of the school. The people in New York and the leadership of New York are saying this has to end. This is a crisis.

One of the States, I think, just declared an emergency. This is a crisis. We need resources. We need to deal with all these people who are here illegally. They are here, and we don't have what we need to deal with them.

Do you know what I am waiting to hear? It is quiet here on the floor, but I am waiting to hear, ``We in the State

of New York hereby revoke our status as a sanctuary State,'' or New York City, ``We revoke our status as a sanctuary city.'' I haven't heard that. I don't know if you have heard that, Mr. Speaker, but I haven't heard that.

What that means is that we have a problem here, but the way to fix it, Mr. Speaker, is to kick your kids out of your school, take your tax money, and let people who are here illegally stay in the school that your kids are supposed to be learning in. That is apparently the answer.

The difference is that instead of the taxpayers of New York paying for it, they want the taxpayers of the entire United States to pay for those in New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, and all the 50 States. That is what they want. They don't want to fix the problem. They want you to pay for more of the problem.

I suspect it is the whole cause and effect thing, supply and demand, et cetera, age-old precepts that seem to make sense. It seems to me that if we are going to pay for more of that, we are probably going to get more of that. That is what it seems to me. I might be wrong.

Anyhow, back to where I was. We took this trip down to the border. We went down to Eagle Pass, Texas. Thousands of people were coming across the border at Eagle Pass, Texas, for days and days on end.

I am going to recognize my good friend, the gentleman from Arizona, here in a moment, but we have seen it on TV. We have seen it. We have heard it. We have read it in the papers. Thousands of people are coming illegally.

Merry Christmas. You are in America now. You crossed the river, and here you are.

When we went there, we went to a processing facility where they processed the people in. Understand, it is not like our Border Patrol has orders to say: Dear kind sir, or ma'am, I know you have come from one of the 170 countries that is currently infiltrating the United States, but we are going to have to turn you around and send you back.

No, it is: Here, get in the truck. We will take you to the processing facility. Make sure you are all cleaned up and get what you need. We will send you wherever you want to go in the United States of America.

By December 20, there were about 10,000 people at this processing facility at Eagle Pass, Texas, about 9,800, 260 percent of its capacity. They knew we were coming, so when we got there, somehow it went from 10,000 to 600.

Interestingly enough, when we got there, even though there were only 600, we think we are representative of the people. I am seeing this. My good friend from Virginia, Mr. Good, who is here with us this evening, has eyes in his head. He was seeing it. My good friend from Arizona, Mr. Biggs, was there. He has eyes in his head, so he saw it, too.

We thought: Well, wouldn't it be nice if we showed our bosses, the people who pay our salary, our constituents? Why don't we take a picture of this?

Hold on a second. You get your camera out, and the Border Patrol says: No photographs allowed.

Some Members of Congress are a little recalcitrant. Maybe they didn't hear, I don't know, but they took pictures anyhow, or they got their phones out, and then Border Patrol said: You have to delete that photo.

Mr. Speaker, at the very same time, this whole codel of 60 Members of Congress had cameras pointed at us from the Border Patrol.

I said: Hold on a second, here. You are taking pictures of us, but we can't take pictures of this for our constituents? What is the policy? Who came up with this policy? What is the purpose for this policy?

Mr. Speaker, I have this letter here, to the Honorable Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, asking about that policy. We don't have the answer yet, but what is interesting is that right after we left, the media went into that very same facility, the television media. What do you think they did, Mr. Speaker? They filmed in that facility.

Let me get this straight: If you are a member of the leftist media, God bless you. Take all the pictures you want of a facility that is at a fraction of what it was in capacity just days before, 260 percent.

When Congress gets there, it is down to, I guess, manageable levels, if there is such a thing. We can't take pictures and show our constituents, our bosses, but the media sure can. The media sure can go in there and take pictures to show their viewers. Nothing to see here. Isn't it amazing?

Mr. Speaker, unaccompanied minors increased 62 percent from 2011. The number of persons prosecuted for human trafficking increased 84 percent.

We are being told that this policy of letting anybody from 170 countries come to the United States of America illegally across our borders is humane because whatever they are dealing with in their country must be worse, even though they have to pay the cartels, even though there are rape trees, even though there is indentured servitude and modern-day slavery associated with every single one of these individuals who come through the cartels, and the cartels have operational control over the border.

Do you know how I know? Not because Secretary Mayorkas said so. He lied when he came to Congress and said he had operational control because the chief of the Border Patrol told us that they don't have operational control. After the chief of the Border Patrol told us that, the Secretary changed his position on it. He lied for a while, and now, I guess, he feels he is absolved from lying the first time he was here and lied to the American people.

The other thing that you might not realize is that anybody under 14 who comes across the border illegally, no background check. Guess what, Mr. Speaker? Probably no documentation either. If you say that you are 14, no background check--whether you are 19, 21, or 13. No background check, so there is no way to prove it.

The other thing is that people are coming from 170 countries, and one of them might be Afghanistan. One of them might be Iran. One of them might be North Korea, for all I know. I saw some crazy things--Germany, the Netherlands, Spain. I saw them on the list.

Are these oppressed countries coming to America illegally? I don't think so, but they are coming illegally.

What about the ones that don't have any relationship with the United States, other than a bellicose relationship?

What about the Taliban? What about Syria? I don't know. What about Iran? Are any of those folks coming? Any folks coming from Hamas or Hezbollah? I don't know. Apparently, they don't know either because, do you know what, Mr. Speaker? When they do a background check, they check all the United States' references. That is awesome unless you are not a United States citizen or in the United States crime registry. Then we don't know what you have done.

If you are Iranian coming across the Mexican border, and we ask Mexico to help us: Do you have anything on this Iranian person? He is of military age. He is not from America. He seems to be from Iran. He speaks Iranian. He speaks Persian. What do you have on him?

I don't know. We are Mexico. We don't have anything on him.

So, he is clear. That is what happens, Mr. Speaker.

Sometimes they bring a minor with them, and this is where it really gets ugly. To have a minor with you, the background check, first of all, is often waived anyhow, or we can't get any information, even if they are not a citizen.

We have this minor who comes into the country illegally. We are sending him somewhere. They have a phone number, send him there. We don't ask if that person is a citizen because we can't.

If the person isn't a citizen and has a deportation order, and the minor is going to go to that person, the deportation order is not valid grounds to not send that minor to that person.

That means we are sending a minor to a person that the United States is going to deport. Where is the minor going to be then? Look, I think we all know that is not really a problem because we are not going to deport anybody in the United States of America.

How about this? If you have a criminal history or you refuse to submit to a background check, but you are claiming an unaccompanied minor, that is

not grounds for you to not have that unaccompanied minor.

Mr. Speaker, I hate to say it this way, but it seems to me that in the United States of America it is probably easier to adopt a stray cat or a stray dog than to receive an unaccompanied minor coming across the Texas border through the cartels. That is one hell of a damn statement to make on this House floor, but I think it is reality.

I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) for the purpose of a colloquy. Maybe he has got some thoughts on it. Am I wrong?

No. We saw a few.

I think my good friend from Arizona has to explain what the CBP One app is? What is that?

You are telling me I have got an app on my phone where I can make a reservation to come illegally into the country, and I am making the reservation with the law enforcement agency charged with keeping me out of the country illegally?

What was the number, if you don't mind, the record number in December?

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia for the purposes of a colloquy.

It certainly is an astounding eventuality that we are realizing, and we also know that the Border Patrol wants to do its job. I firmly believe that 99.9 percent of the good members of Customs and Border Protection want to do their job. They want to protect the homeland, but they have been given orders.

They have been given orders to process these people, not bar entry to this country, but process them to the point where we don't even have anybody out on the line. I am sure the gentleman from Arizona can talk about that.

Back at the facility processing?

I disagree. They do know there is, but they want to deny that there is to the American people. They want these people to keep coming illegally in the numbers that they have been and will continue to come, and every policy that they support promotes that. Every policy that we support to stem that tide they object to.

My good friend from Virginia, I know you were there and talked to some of the folks, regular residents, not Border Patrol, not law enforcement, just people trying to get through their day as American citizens.

I talked to a husband and wife who have a ranch there. The lady told me horrific stories. They have an 18-year-old daughter. The lady came home, and there were people who came across the border illegally, men, in her home.

She was worried her daughter was upstairs, and she kicked those people out of her home and went to check on her daughter. Her daughter was upstairs listening to music and didn't even know anybody was in the house.

I said: Well, what were they doing in your house?

She said: Well, I keep a refrigerator out on the front porch because we get a bunch of migrants that come through, and we put water and stuff in it. We put beer in it, too. They wanted beer, but they didn't like the beer that I had out in that refrigerator, so they came into the house.

How would you like that?

If that is not enough, she told me she went to get in her truck, and some lady was in her truck bleeding to death because she had gotten her foot cut off trying to jump off the train that goes through their property.

She said in the period of time between the end of the year, so the end of December, and when we were there, which is the beginning of January, I think essentially 3 or 4 days, there were 77 cuts in their fence.

The U.S. Government--your tax dollars--is paying for the cuts in the fence that Mr. Biggs from Arizona is talking about.

These people, citizens of the United States who are taxpayers depending upon their government to protect them from invasion, guess who pays to fix their fence?

They can't even have animals on their land anymore because they can't keep them in the fenced area because the fences get cut by people coming across illegally.

Is that any way to live, my good friend from Virginia?

Wait. Four miles?

I want to tell a story about getting on the plane in San Antone to come home. Before I do that, we are joined by the great Eli Crane from the State of Arizona, out of that uniform and into this uniform, fighting for the great people of Arizona.

Well, I was around when that agency was enacted, and there was a reason we called it that. It was supposed to help all the disparate agencies collaborate toward one singular focus, which was protecting America.

People don't know that, Mr. Biggs from Arizona, but there is a golf course right on the river at Eagle Pass, Texas.

While people are coming illegally across the border, you could be teeing off or on the green trying to get one in the cup. They are walking right across in front of you, yelling. They were yelling ``Venezuela'' when I was there.

I don't know why you come from Venezuela to America illegally yelling ``Venezuela.'' You would think you would at least have the sense to say ``USA,'' but that is another story.

What is your story on the golf course?

Well, Mr. Biggs of Texas, I am glad you brought that up. Now, on my trip home, I went to the airport in San Antonio. It was early in the morning. People are around, but, you know, we know what to look for because we have heard the stories. There is a brown envelope, and people are carrying it.

Now, you know, you either have your app on your phone--not the CBP One app, but the app for the airline you are flying--so you get your boarding pass or you are carrying a physical boarding pass, and it says, you know, zone one, whatever, right, to tell you when you are boarding. People not from this country that have never been on an airplane before don't know what any of that is. They want to get to the next--and I happened to be going to Charlotte, South Carolina, for my connection to get back home to the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I am sitting listening to the announcements, and I am going to show up in line at the appropriate time. But the folks that don't understand English and don't know what a boarding pass is, they just all go to the front of the line.

These people that work for the airlines, they are trying to hold back this horde of people that just want to get in the airplane. Now, it is one thing--Mr. Biggs, you speak Spanish. My mother is Colombian, so I know a little bit; you know, I can make my way through it. But if you have got people coming from 170 different countries, the gate agent likely doesn't know what you speak in Burkina Faso or maybe you don't know Farsi or something like that. They are trying to explain to these people, no, you have to wait your turn.

Now, while all that is happening, it is going through my mind that these people that came from some other country other than Mexico, which is important because they flew into Mexico and then walked across the border, so they had some means to get there. It wasn't like they were just out in a boat floating around in the ocean and all of a sudden, oh, we are on the Rio Grande and we are coming into America now. I mean, this is all planned, right?

Now the American taxpayer is paying for these folks to get on this plane. They just came across illegally, and they are going to Charlotte. I don't know where they are going after that, but I know a bunch of them were going to Charlotte because I was on the plane with them. We are going to pay for that.

We are talking about funding, last year's funding. We are not into this year's funding. We are still trying to figure out last year's funding. And I think, Mr. Biggs, right now we are being asked to just continue to fund what we have been talking about for the last hour; is that not right?

So in the 5 minutes we have remaining, now, Mr. Crane is new here, so maybe he is excited to vote to continue that. I don't think he is, but that is between him and his constituents.

Mr. Good was here not this last Christmas last month but the Christmas before, and we got a present from the United States Senate called an omnibus. Everything was in it: all kinds of spending, trillions of dollars, bad policy that is leading to the destruction of this country, including a wide-open border.

If I am not mistaken, Mr. Good, you voted ``no'' on that.

In the 4 minutes we have left, I am standing with great American patriots here that have decided to serve in Congress, do the right thing no matter what Washington,

D.C., tells them. It seems to me--I don't know, maybe I am cynical, maybe I am jaded--we are getting no help from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle on this border issue or on this spending issue. Likewise, we are getting little to no help from the other side of the building.

Are we the only four Americans that care about this? There are other good colleagues here that care about it. Well, they are on this side of the aisle, and they are on this side of the building. Mr. Biggs, is there anybody--you come from a State where there are Democrats elected. I come from Pennsylvania. We have 12.5, 13 million Pennsylvanians. During the course of the 4-year Biden administration there is going to be a whole new Pennsylvania in this country, right? That is how many people are coming. Do our friends on the other side of the aisle have no constituency that says, hold on a second, I am tired of paying for this? Mr. Speaker, is there anybody in your State on the other side of the aisle that will say I have had enough? Mr. Biggs?

That is right. In the remaining 1\1/2\ minutes, I will kind of end this where I started it out for all of us. We have got friends on the other side of the aisle here in this building, friends in the other party around the country in charge of cities, in charge of States. All of them are complaining. They are all complaining. This is a crisis. It is an emergency in our State. It is an emergency in our city and our community. We have to have something done about it.

I am still waiting. I am still waiting for the first one to say we are going to revoke the sanctuary city, the sanctuary State status. But until that happens, Mr. Speaker, they are not serious about any of this. They don't care about any of this. They don't care about any of the citizens that elected them, that pay taxes in those political subdivisions. They don't care about them. They want to appear to care, but they don't care because they are allowing this. They are not only allowing it like Secretary Mayorkas, like my friends on the other side of the aisle and the other side of the building, they are not just allowing it; they are promoting it. They want it to happen.

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

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to recognize the Steelton-Highspire High School Varsity Football Program on their 2023 State Championship. The Single A title win is Steel High's second consecutive state title, and their third in just four years.

The game took place at Cumberland Valley High School, where the Rollers faced off against Fort Cherry. Both teams were undefeated coming in, but Steel-High triumphed with a decisive 42-8 victory. Steel-High came out hot in the first half, racking up a 34-point lead and played vigorously throughout the entire game.

This truly special Steel-High 2023 team broke their single season scoring record with an impressive 722 points in just 16 games. They lived up to their name--the ``Steamrollers'' (or ``Rollers'')--as their closest game of the season was early with a 29-22 win; a testament to years of hard work and dedication. The State title win established the Rollers as the No. 17 winningest high school football program in the Country--and further solidifies them in Pennsylvania sports history as one of only two teams since 2016 to win consecutive state titles.

Steel-High came home to a well-earned parade and cheering fans from a loyal and supportive community. The conclusion of the 2023 season marks the end of a special era for Roller football--with defensive leader Andrew Erby, Jr. headed to Ohio University, and record-setting quarterback Alex Erby committed to the United States Naval Academy. Coach Andrew Erby credits the team's drive, courage, focus, dedication, and ability to overcome adversity as the determining factors in their strong performance and season.

Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to recognize the Steelton-Highspire High School Varsity Football Program on their 2023 State Championship win. I wish them Godspeed in both their individual and team adventures.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Deputy Chief Dennis J. Sorensen on the auspicious occasion of his retirement on January 10, 2024, from the City of Harrisburg Bureau of Police after more than 31 years of distinguished and tireless service.

Dennis began his career on May 22, 1992. He was a member of the 53rd class of Harrisburg Area Community College Police Academy and graduated in September 1992.

Serving the majority of his time in the 1st Platoon as a Patrol Officer on the midnight shift, then Patrol Officer Sorensen was promoted to Corporal in 2000. He earned his way to the Criminal Investigations Division, becoming the Adult Offender Supervisor from 2000 to 2011. After earning promotion to Sergeant, he commanded the Special Operations Unit, and served with the Harrisburg Bureau of Police to assist in the Hurricane Katrina disaster. In 2011, Sergeant Sorensen was reassigned to the Uniformed Division, and served as the Officer in Charge of the 2nd Platoon. Through his outstanding work, shortly after his previous promotion, Sergeant Sorensen earned the rank of Lieutenant, and served as commander of the 1st Platoon until 2018. In 2020, he earned the rank of Captain, and commanded the Uniformed Patrol Division, and was honored with the position of Deputy Chief position in 2021.

Along with his impressive law enforcement record, Deputy Chief Dennis Sorensen is a decorated Veteran of the United States Army, wherein he served honorably for 30 years, achieving the rank of Colonel. He earned his Bachelor's degree and military commission from the California University of Pennsylvania, and served in myriad and vast leadership positions, deployments, and training schools; of particular note, earning the coveted status of Master Army Aviator. His military awards and decorations include: Army Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Kosovo Campaign Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal; the Master Army Aviator Badge; the Pennsylvania Meritorious Service Ribbon; Pennsylvania Service Ribbon; Pennsylvania Twenty Year Service Medal; Pennsylvania General Thomas J. Stewart Medal; and the Pennsylvania Major General R. White Jr. Medal.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored and privileged to recognize Deputy Chief Dennis J. Sorensen on his well-earned retirement from the City Harrisburg Police Bureau. His tireless, faithful, and selfless service of more than 39 years to community, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the United States of America sets the standard by which we all should be judged.

Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. Speaker, I note the next order of business is the conference report on H.R. 2670, and I wish to ask several points of parliamentary inquiry and maybe points of order.

The rules of the House require that every bill must have a stated single purpose to be filed. Was such a statement filed, and if so, what is the single purpose of H.R. 2670?

The body can't ask a question as to what the stated single purpose of this conference report is?

It is not a hypothetical.

The pending measure is on the suspension of the rules for

Madam Speaker, we all know it is Christmas and you can sure tell because here we go with the ornaments. We have got a Christmas tree headed out, and we have got to put some ornaments on it. That is what is happening right now.

Of course, we are going to violate our rules. You saw it here just a few moment ago. This violates the single-subject rule because Americans are literally sick of their Representatives coming home and saying to them: Well, I didn't want to vote for that, but this was on it, and we had to get this so I had to vote for that. That is how this town works. That is how you end up $34 trillion in debt, and that is how you spy on 278,000 Americans under the Federal Government's authority.

It violates the germaneness rule. People say what does that matter? Why does it matter if it is germane? Madam Speaker, the House passed a bill, a pretty good bill, thanks to the chairman, a pretty good bill. The Senate passed a bill. I don't think it was pretty good, but they passed a bill. Either way, you know what wasn't in either of those bills? The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act used to spy on Americans. That wasn't in the bill, but at the last minute it was airdropped into this bill.

In this House, we put in the rules that we need to know the single purpose of a bill. When we asked, ``What is the single purpose of this bill?'' this House said, ``We are not even going to tell the American people. We are not going to tell them that.'' They are not going to tell the American people that because they want to couple these two things together and pass a terrible National Defense Authorization Act.

They are going to say the troops are not being paid when they are being paid. They are going to allow the Federal Government, under the guise of law, to spy on every American citizen.

It is unconscionable and unacceptable. My colleagues should vote ``no.''