Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, for bringing up the subject and offering me the opportunity to stand in support of his legislation, the RECORDS Act, to let you know, what you have probably heard, that literally hundreds of thousands--500,000 to 600,000 veterans are awaiting their care based on the inability of the VA to get to their records.

They can't prove that they are due the care, that they have earned the care, without the records. The VA has this backlog, which takes them a year, maybe two, where they can't access their records to get the care that they have earned. So I commend the gentleman for his efforts with the RECORDS Act.

I have a similar bill, the WINGMAN Act, which allows congressional staffers, given the appropriate approvals, to go in and help the veteran do the same thing, get through the backlog.

Mr. Keller has a response. He has a solution. I am working on a solution. Who is not working on a solution? The VA. It is not the people down in the trenches, down doing the hard work. As usual, it is the administration, the upper staff, that has failed in this endeavor.

If we can do anything in the United States of America--of all the billions we spend, here and across the globe, anywhere, and all the different programs that we have--the least we can do is take care of those who have safeguarded our freedoms and have earned the care that they deserve to get. The only thing that stands between them and that care is accessing their records. They cannot right now because of this backlog.

The good gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller) has legislation that will fix that, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I urge everybody that is a veteran or a family member supportive of a veteran to write, to contact their Congressman, their Member of Congress, and urge them to support this legislation.

Let's see if we can fix the circumstances at the VA for these veterans.

Madam Speaker, I'm honored to recognize the Lion's Club of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, on its 90th Anniversary.

The Lions Club of Dillsburg was chartered by Lions Clubs International on November 7, 1931, with 21 charter members. Originally sponsored by the York Lions Club, the Dillsburg Lions later sponsored more Lions Clubs in Boiling Springs, Mt. Holly Springs, Carlisle, and York Springs. Due to the Depression, membership did not grow until about 1942, and continued to a high of 129 members in the 1980s.

The mission of all Lions Clubs is to serve, and the Dillsburg Lions have consistently served the Dillsburg and Northern York communities throughout its 90 years of service. The service often took different paths--for example, when one early success was ridding Dillsburg Borough of its rat problems. In the early 1950s, the Lions were a driving force in the design of the firehouse and provided $3,000 to construct the Firehouse and the Community Hall, still on South Baltimore Street.

Today, membership of the Dillsburg Lions Club sits at 34 men and women who, throughout the years, have supported the District, State and International Lions projects and activities. Notably, the Dillsburg Lions have provided four zone chairpersons who oversaw 4 to 5 clubs in the area, as well as two District Governors serving all Lions Clubs in Adams, Cumberland, and York Counties.

A worldwide mission of the Lions is support of visually challenged people, as well as support of eyesight preservation. In this area, the Dillsburg Lions have assisted and spearheaded many local ventures to assist this cause, both locally and abroad. The Club pays for eye exams and eyeglasses for adults and children in need, performs vision screening in local elementary schools, donates hundreds of used eyeglasses for reuse, and donates to and works alongside organizations like Leader Dogs for the Blind, and Beacon Lodge, a special needs camp that assists the blind and visually impaired.

Not only does the Lions support efforts to assist the visually challenged, but they also donate time and money towards projects and groups to benefit Dillsburg as a whole. Over the years, the Club constructed a cabin for Dillsburg Boy Scouts Troop 38, in addition to the public pavilion in Logan Park.

The Lions also have funded, constructed, and still maintain the post messages on the square in Dillsburg. Through fundraising, they have returned between $10,000 to $30,000 to the community annually for the past 20 years, and used these funds to help strengthen the Dillsburg Public Library, Dillsburg Youth and High School Sports, Dillsburg Girl Scout Troops, Northern High School scholarships, New Hope Ministries, Northern York County Historical and Preservation Society, Dillsburg Community Fair Organization, York County Blind Association, Adopt-a- Highway road cleanup, Lions Hearing Research, and the Lions Clubs International Foundation. Through these ventures and their 90 years of service, the Lions Club of Dillsburg is an integral force good in our community at large and we are grateful for all that they do.

I am honored and privileged to recognize the Lion's Club of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, for their work to strengthen our community over the past 90 years. Their contributions are tangible legacies, as their works have made life better for the citizens of Dillsburg and the surrounding communities. We owe a lasting debt of gratitude for their selfless, tireless, and dedicated service.

Madam Speaker, I am here today to talk about something that apparently the person whose representative serves in this Congress refuses to talk about, and that is the horrific events that occurred last Wednesday on a SEPTA train.

``SEPTA'' stands for Southeast Public Transit Authority. It is the transit system that runs around Philadelphia.

Now, I don't know whether folks in the House know it, but for nearly 40 minutes, a woman on the train was harassed and groped before an illegal alien forcibly ripped off her clothes and raped her right there on the train, while up to 10 riders watched without intervening. They didn't even bother to call the police.

Imagine this. It actually gets worse. This hellacious experience continued as the train passed 20 train stations. Instead of taking action, other passengers watched and some actually are reported to have filmed the attack.

It actually gets worse. The perpetrator of this horrific crime is here in our country illegally. Despite previous convictions of sexual abuse and drug crimes, he is another one that was released from immigration detention rather than being deported.

Now, the severe emotional and physical trauma experienced by the victim could and should have been prevented by our elected officials, who often advocate for open borders and defunding the police. They have failed her, they have failed us, and they have created an environment where she was victimized in front of others by a man who should have been deported years ago.

While the man should have been deported years ago, the man should not have been in our country in the first place. We have laws for these things, and we should enforce those laws so that this lady could live safely in her American city.

This horrific crime raises questions and concerns about where we are as a Nation and how we got here.

When my colleagues on the other side of the aisle decide they want to speak on this floor and attack law enforcement and denigrate our immigration officials, like the ones that were down at the border on horseback trying to enforce the laws that are passed in this very Chamber, and they actively seek to release dangerous criminals into society, I wish they would realize that there are real human victims of their reckless, irresponsible, and absolutely dangerous policies and rhetoric.

I hope the majority keeps this in mind as they continue to work on their $3.5 trillion spending bill that promises amnesty to dangerous criminals and puts Americans citizens in danger. That is what it does; Amnesty, letting criminals stay here without consequence, without accountability.

But there is accountability for this poor lady, I guarantee you that.

Open borders, abolish ICE, no bail, and defund the police are not merely harmless catchphrases that Big-Government, socialist politicians can spew without consequence. That rhetoric results in horrific crimes against citizens that are someone's constituent, someone who took an oath to the Constitution to defend this country and the citizens of this country. They are someone's family member. This was someone's daughter, someone's little girl.

I want to commend the off-duty SEPTA employee for having the courage to step up and do the right thing, calling the police and ending the most horrific event of this young woman's life.

I also want to thank the SEPTA police officer--law enforcement. Yes, I want to thank law enforcement who intervened and brought this nightmare to an end.

But I do want to take a moment and ask my colleagues: How much more must we endure?

There are so many others, so many other victims, from this side of the country to the other side: Kate Stienle

in California, killed by an illegal alien; Derek Kichline in Pennsylvania, far from the border, killed by the head of the Latin Kings in town; Mollie Tibbetts, in the heartland of the country, killed by an illegal alien. Read the story about Nilsa Padilla, whose three little girls watched an illegal alien beat her to death, chop up her body, dispose of it, and then went on to kill their youngest sister, a little toddler. Then he left the country and was never brought to justice, as far as we know.

How much longer? How many more? We have seen record numbers this year alone at the border of illegal aliens coming into our country and imperiling and endangering our citizens. It is our job. We take an oath to defend them. I think you get the point, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the good gentleman from Texas for yielding.

Since January, we haven't witnessed migration, Mr. Speaker, we have witnessed an invasion; a 200 percent increase over FY 2020, hundreds of thousands of people coming across our border in July and August.

You would think that amid what is definitively an open border crisis, replete with numerous cases of sexual assault, rape, human and drug trafficking, proliferation of gang and cartel activity, that the United States would be working to stop criminal activity and protect its citizens. Not this President, not this administration, not the Democratic Party in this House. They can't be bothered. They keep on incentivizing this illegal invasion.

You can check the tape. You can watch the film. It was then-Vice President Biden in 2015 who actually said it. He went on film and said he wants unbridled, unstopping immigration into this country. Now, I guess maybe people thought he meant legal, but it is obviously illegal.

It is crystal clear that no number of sexual assault victims, rape victims, drug overdose deaths, no number of human traffickers, can ever compare to the value of achieving the highest political objective of the left, which is creating legions of new voters.

At the beginning of this reconciliation process, we saw Democrats try to provide amnesty for literally millions of illegal aliens. What that means is saying it doesn't matter if you break the law; we are just going to let it go. We are not going to prosecute that. Go ahead and break the law; the law doesn't matter. We are going to forgive all of your crimes.

When the Parliamentarian wouldn't let them, they went to plan B. Yet more, millions of illegal immigrants, just by moving a date. Now, they are on plan C, amnesty, again, telling them to break our laws, to millions of illegal aliens, millions of people in our country illegally.

And who is paying for it? American citizens are, every single day.

Let me talk to you about the payment quickly.

Jared Vargas, killed by an illegal immigrant in Mexico. Vargas' body was then stuffed into a closet and left there for days.

Ron Dasilva, murdered by a known gang member and an illegal immigrant.

Two brothers, Daniel and Alfonso Mendez-Lopez, stabbed and killed by an illegal alien.

In August of this year, a 43-year-old illegal alien was charged in Fredrick, Maryland, just a couple miles up from the street from here, for having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old.

In August, also, a drunk driver and illegal alien struck and killed a 3-year-old in Flat Rock, North Carolina, as she was riding her tricycle.

Those are American citizens, ladies and gentlemen.

The people in this building take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of American citizens, not illegal aliens.

Yet, on September 11, an Ecuadorian national, also here illegally, stabbed his wife to death and left behind their 4-year-old child.

And last Wednesday, a woman was harassed and groped for nearly 40 minutes before an illegal alien forcibly tore off her clothes and raped her on a train in Philadelphia. They went through 20 stops as up to 10 people watched and did absolutely nothing.

Continuing to incentivize people to break the law by forgiving them for breaking all of our laws is going to continue to incentivize more people to break our laws and to come here in doing so.

The American people deserve a government committed to their security. We must defeat this behemoth bill and this move towards amnesty.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize The Honorable Craig Trebilcock following the conclusion of his ten-year term of service in December 2021, with the York County Court of Common Pleas. In coordination with the York County Wellness Court Mentors, I'm proud to recognize Judge Trebilcock's faithful service to our Country, York County Veterans, and the rule of law.

Judge Trebilcock was born in 1960, in Muskegon, Michigan, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan and its Law School, in addition to the U.S. Army War College. He went on to serve our Country for 30 years in uniform with the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve, and was deployed to the Balkans in U.S. peacekeeping efforts, in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2004), and Operation Freedom Sentinel in Afghanistan (2015-2016), before his retirement at the rank of Colonel. During his three decades of uniformed service, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Valor, the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit.

Judge Trebilcock's career in law in our communities began as a civil litigator and immigration attorney from 1991 to 2011, before serving as the President of the York County Bar Association prior to his election to the Common Pleas Court in 2011. During his time as a civil litigator and immigration attorney, he litigated cases on behalf of Chinese refugees from the ship, Golden Venture, between 1993 and 1997, and was an advocate for a York family in their fight against an extremist group in Kansas who disrupted the funerals of our Service Members who were Killed in Action.

During his tenure with the Common Pleas Court, Judge Trebilcock founded the York County Veterans Treatment (now ``Wellness'') Court in 2012, which assists Veterans with adjusting to post-military life by helping to address the risk of incarceration and substance abuse. Judge Trebilcock leads the team--court officers, VA counselors, and mentors-- to provide genuine support to Veterans in need. The program ranges from 20 to 30 Veterans enrolled and helps them rebuild their lives and strengthen our community.

For his decades of service to the United States and to the County of York, Pennsylvania, I am privileged to have the opportunity to honor Judge Trebilcock, congratulate him on his retirement, and wish him Godspeed in his future adventures.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 302.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Armstrong (Timmons)

Babin (Jackson)

Butterfield (Kildee)

Cardenas (Correa)

Fulcher (Johnson (OH))

Grijalva (Garcia (IL))

Hagedorn

(Reschenthaler)

Kirkpatrick (Stanton)

Latta (Walberg)

Lawson (FL) (Evans)

Lieu (Beyer)

McCaul (Kim (CA))

McEachin (Wexton)

Meng (Jeffries)

Napolitano (Correa)

Payne (Pallone)

Rush (Underwood)

Ryan (Kildee)

Sires (Pallone)

Stefanik (Waltz)

Wilson (FL) (Hayes)

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I hear the chairman talk about investment. Let me tell you about the last investment of this type. We were giving, I don't know, a $100 billion slush fund to the Secretary of Energy, Secretary Granholm. When she was Governor of Michigan, she invested $874 million of your taxpayer dollars into, I don't know, eight energy companies. Four of them went bankrupt within 6 years.

A123 Systems, the worst of them, received a combined $350 million in Federal and State subsidies. What happened? Less than 6 months later, it was sold to the Chinese for $257 million, a $100 million loss.

Let me tell you where this investment is headed. It is headed to where the U.K. and the rest of Europe is headed.

Right now in Britain, their energy markets, U.K. electricity prices went up 700 percent, and a 250 percent increase in gas prices in the U.K. Germany's electricity benchmark has doubled this year.

That is where we are headed with this investment. That is where we are headed, ladies and gentlemen. Americans are already experiencing this. Don't let them do it. Don't vote ``yes'' on this.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and appreciate the opportunity to introduce this amendment combating illegal CCP dictates in the South China Sea.

Mr. Speaker, on September 1, China's Maritime Security Administration began to demand that foreign ships report specific vessel information before entering the CCP's imagined maritime claims.

This information includes the following: the name and number; the satellite telephone number; the position and recent locations; and cargo.

Vessels needing to provide this information include submersibles, nuclear vessels, ships carrying radioactive materials, as well as any vessel the CCP deems to be a threat, which is, naturally, purposefully vague.

Now, what this is is the Chinese Communist Party literally drew a line in the South China Sea and said: You come across it, even though you are in international waters, you have to do this.

No, we don't have to do this.

The United States has repeatedly said we reject all maritime claims made by China within the so-called nine-dash line, the 10-dash line, or the 11-dash line, or whatever they want to call it, at any time, as virtually all of those claims are both imagined and illegal. This position was prominently reinforced by former Secretary Pompeo on July 13, 2020.

Fortunately, it appears to be the case that the administration agrees with this assessment.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this amendment to push back against China's lawless activity in the South China Sea.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment, and I am opposed to the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, on January 23, 2020, President Trump carried forward an initiative that had begun in 2010 focused on improving processes for reviewing arms exports, including making necessary updates to the United States Munitions List. Specifically, the items that moved fell within the category of firearms, for sure, however, only certain items were moved, not all.

The State Department retains oversight of those defense articles and services that provide a critical military or intelligence advantage or, in the case of weapons, are inherently for military end use.

Now, what does that mean?

That means fully automatic firearms and modern artillery, silencers, components, parts, and accessories specifically designed for automatic firearms remain on the munitions list under State Department jurisdiction. These are still subject to congressional notification requirements as appropriate.

For the items that were moved to Commerce, their export still requires authorization, but under Commerce Department regulations.

Just keep in mind, Mr. Speaker, we compete. Even arms manufacturers in the United States still have to compete globally. Now, we can either sell American arms to our allies, or we can have them go shop with Russia or China. That would be great.

Now, the Department of Commerce has been regulating exports of shotguns and specific types of ammunitions for decades and continues to do so today. For goodness' sake, even President Biden, who really doesn't have a clue about weapons, recommended that we all get a shotgun, didn't he? He said that.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has the ability and responsibility to request any licenses or authorizations approved or denied by Commerce, pursuant to the Export Control Reform Act passed in August of 2018. To date, there has not been any inappropriate licenses issued for any of these items to any entities--none.

Moreover, no Member has even requested licensing information from Commerce since this shift. There just simply has not been any problem.

Mr. Speaker, this is a solution that is looking for a problem. There isn't a problem. There is no basis for this amendment as it directly contradicts the spirit of this regulatory change. Shifting this regulatory function to Commerce does not and never has governed the illicit transfer of firearms.

This is about the illicit transfer of firearms. If we wanted to get to the illicit transfer of firearms, and my colleagues on the other side were really serious about that, they would be interested to find out what ever happened with Fast and Furious. That was an illicit transfer of firearms.

This amendment falsely claims to address illicit transfer of firearms. This is not an amendment that will address that.

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to reiterate that the House Foreign Affairs Committee--that is a committee in Congress. That is Congress, by the way. That is what Congress is.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee can request and has the authorization to approve or deny these exports pursuant to the Export Control Reform Act passed in August of 2018. It is already covered. All we are doing is adding redundancy. All we are doing is making it more difficult if we pass this for us to sell our allies things that they want to have from us and we want to sell to them.

Why would we make that more difficult? It seems to me we want to help our allies and our allies want to help us.

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

Madam Speaker, I am privileged to recognize Reverend Robert Dimlich upon the occasion of his 90th Birthday, and his ongoing ministries as a pastor, both at home and abroad.

After completing his studies at Washington Bible College in 1972, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Pastoral Theology, Rev. Dimlich pastored four churches from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts (1973 to 1976) to Charlestown, New Hampshire (1976 to 2002). He took his family to Stuttgart, Germany for six and a half years to pastor the Bible Church, at which he ministered to an English-speaking congregation of U.S. Service Members, government contractors, and families who were associated with the four U.S. military installations in the area.

Now residing in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Rev. Dimlich is the interim Pastor of the Bressler Bible Church, where he's served for nearly six years.

Rev. Dimlich also maintains a ministry of letter writing to reach individuals facing challenges, to include prison outreach. He aims to instill the Spirit of God to the incarcerated, while equipping them with the tools necessary to live a more productive and God-fearing way of life as they return to society.

Rev. Dimlich's ministry has been marked with a desire to meet the needs of others, with a heart of humility. He seeks to bring no fame, fortune, or honor to himself, but simply to reflect the mind of Christ by obeying His Heavenly Father's will.

I am honored to commend Reverend Robert Dimlich on his many successes in communities in and outside of our Nation, and his lifelong commitment to the Church. I wish him all of God's blessings as he celebrates his 90th Birthday, and wish him many more happy, healthy, and faithful adventures in days to come.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize the 25th Anniversary of Navarro & Wright Consulting Engineers, Inc.

Founded in October 1996 by Paul J. Navarro, P.E., and Charles Wright, the Firm began operations with three employees working out of the basement of Paul Navarro's house in Steelton, Pennsylvania. The company flourished from its humble beginnings and has grown to a total of 190 employees across nine offices in three states--Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.

The Firm's original clients included land developers, municipalities, and utility companies. The housing boom of the late 90s and early 2000s fostered growth opportunities, and the Firm quickly expanded its services to capture a segment of the transportation sector.

In 1998, the Firm was certified as a minority-owned business with PennDOT and the PA Department of General Services, which enabled it to bid on public works projects with state agencies. Today, the Firm is a certified MBE/DBE, with numerous state agencies across the Mid-Atlantic region. Over the years, the Firm made several acquisitions, such as Foust Geological Services, and Raudenbush Engineering, which bolstered its transportation services and geographic presence into Western Pennsylvania.

The Firm moved to its current corporate headquarters in New Cumberland, PA in 1999, and acquired/now occupies the 14,000 square foot building that houses several of its business units and corporate staff.

Navarro & Wright consistently is recognized among the Top Private Companies and Fastest Growing Companies in the Central Pennsylvania area for the past 25 years. The Firm also earned a Top 100 MBE Firm in the Mid-Atlantic region.

True to its mission statement, ``Delivering Vital Infrastructure through Design Excellence,'' Navarro & Wright approaches each project with the client's needs and objectives at the forefront. It has earned a reputation of delivering high quality services across the many markets--a distinction that is a tribute to the key leaders and talented employees of the Firm who give their utmost attention to each project. The Firm's belief in continuous improvement enables its team to maintain a high level of service, and to continue to grow and prosper.

I'm honored and privileged to commend Mr. Paul J. Navarro, P.E., and Navarro & Wright Consulting Services on 25 years of success, prosperity, and vital service to our communities. I wish Mr. Navarro and the Firm continued success and prosperity into the future.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 237.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Aderholt (Moolenaar)

Carson (Butterfield)

Carter (TX) (Nehls)

DeSaulnier (Thompson (CA))

Fulcher (Meuser)

Grijalva (Stanton)

Horsford (Jeffries)

Katko (Joyce (OH))

Kelly (PA) (Keller)

Kirkpatrick (Stanton)

Lawson (FL) (Evans)

Lowenthal (Beyer)

Maloney, Carolyn (Velazquez)

McEachin (Wexton)

Meng (Jeffries)

Napolitano (Correa)

O'Halleran (Stanton)

Payne (Pallone)

Porter (Wexton)

Rush (Underwood)

Sires (Pallone)

Watson Coleman (Pallone)

Wild (Axne)

Wilson (FL) (Hayes)

Madam Speaker, I thank the good gentleman, Mr. Womack, for this opportunity to speak.

Madam Speaker, I have three amendments to this legislation. Amendment No. 180, this amendment strikes a provision allowing the HHS Secretary to use $7.8 million to hire and purchase electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations.

If bureaucrats at HHS want to own their own $80,000-plus Tesla, that is great, they should purchase it. But they shouldn't require the taxpayers to pay for that kind of thing. They could do the work that they need to do without an electric vehicle.

Amendment 121 strikes EVs from the GSA. Here again, the GSA want to purchase these vehicles with your money. Look, if they want do that on their own, that is fine. If you consider the post office, these vehicles are oftentimes heavier than your regular vehicle, but the post office has 200,000 of these vehicles and that is what they want to purchase with them.

And just keep in mind that these vehicles don't pay into the Highway Trust Fund, so they are heavier, more maintenance, but not paying anything.

Finally, amendment 124, which strikes the exemption for green vehicle purchases. The underlying text sets the limit at about $20,000. So if we are going to purchase a vehicle, that is great, you need to do your work. If you are working for government, you get $20,000 for a vehicle to do it. You don't need to ride in some kind of special luxury. But they set an exemption for these vehicles, because they want to buy an $80,000 vehicle and exempt the $20,000 that the rest of us have to deal with in the public.

So this amendment would just say, no, we are not going to make the exemption. You are going to spend the $20,000 on the best vehicle for the taxpayer and for the government. If it is an electric vehicle, so be it; if it is not, so be it. The market should dictate and the market can dictate.

The government shouldn't be picking winners and losers and forcing us taxpayers to pay for exorbitant electric vehicles because my friends on the left think that is the way to go.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas.

This en bloc includes my amendments to strike the EV funding program. Do you know why? Because the EV funding program pays the Communist Party of China. That is who it pays. You don't have to believe me. You can just listen to the chairman. He said it in his remarks, right? That is the future, and China is building it. That is where your money is going.

My amendment also prohibits loans to high-speed rail projects that fail to meet the FRA safety standards, our safety standards. We just ask that they meet them. But since they don't, we shouldn't be building them.

It strikes the carbon reduction program. Why? Because that, again, pays the Communist Party of China. It prohibits Amtrak from expanding their network because they can't afford the network they have now. You don't believe me? Talk to Mr. Butterfield. He just talked about it.

It strikes the Capital Investment Grant program because all of America shouldn't pay for a couple of pet projects in somebody's location.

It strikes the section restricting the right of States to set their speed limits because, I don't know, I think there should be a different speed limit in Center City Philadelphia than one in Nebraska or across Wyoming.

Now, Madam Speaker, I am grateful to have some amendments finally heard here, but this system is broken. The Speaker and the majority have chosen a closed process that restricts debate.

Why have they done it?

Because they are scared to death of the radical green left. That is what we are doing here is supporting the Green New Deal and Communist China.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for hosting us this evening.

Every single person here laments the crime that is occurring in our country, the people that lose their lives to crime. Every single one of us laments that, especially when it comes to the inability to defend yourself or your family. It is unacceptable; it is horrific.

Unfortunately, my friends on the other side of the aisle, the Democrats, want to defund the police and disarm America, essentially destroying the Constitution.

Now, they will tell you it is all about safety, because they, too, lament these lost lives as we do. But ladies and gentlemen, it is not really about safety; it is about control.

Now, there is a country close to us that has pretty strict gun control. There is one gun store in the country to our south, one, where you can buy a gun legally. The country is Mexico. Their homicide rate is five to six times that of the United States.

Remember, we lament every single lost life, especially those where people cannot defend themselves.

But that is what this is about. My friends on the other side of the aisle want to destroy the Constitution to control you.

Like I said, we lament every single lost life. In Mexico, you can barely own a firearm legally, with five or six times the murder rate.

What is happening in the United States of America? We are defunding the police and taking the rights and the ability of law-abiding citizens away from them to defend themselves in these cities: Chicago, New York City, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Detroit--strictest gun control in America. It is actually worse there than it is in Mexico. It is actually worse there, 10 times the homicide rate.

Ladies and gentlemen, do not let the Federal Government take your rights away. The Constitution says this right shall not be infringed upon.

I come from Pennsylvania, and it says the right to defend yourself-- the right to defend yourself, the right to bear arms and defend yourself shall not be questioned. We are not going to allow it to be questioned here.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Gimenez for being here and inviting us.

Over the past year and a half, the American people have endured a nationwide pandemic and its impact on every aspect of all of our lives. More than 600,000 Americans have died, and their families have suffered the immeasurable grief of that. This was all preventable.

The Communist Party is directly responsible. I don't know why we can't say it. I don't know why we can't look into it. Our economy was devastated and lives were crushed; things that can never be gotten back. People lost jobs. People lost their dreams. It can't be gotten back.

It is going to take our economy years to rebuild. Americans want answers and they deserve answers. I don't understand why the majority party here doesn't want to investigate this. They want to investigate everything else, but they are not interested in this.

Let me tell you what we know. In November of 2019, scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology came down with a sickness consistent with COVID-19. We know that the World Health Organization's initial report-- and I say initial because it was so politically charged, they had to come up with another one--China maintained sole authority of those investigating it.

Oh, by the way, 60 of the people who were investigating it weren't scientists. Somehow we trust them, but we can't have our own investigations. The Chinese Communist Party is guilty of obstruction of evidence. It is clear. It is clear.

Now, while the majority has denied calls for an investigation, continuing the cult of fear--and let me talk to you about the cult of fear. Remember when touching a doorknob was supposed to give you the virus?

You couldn't shake hands. You had to buy as much toilet paper and water as you could because you couldn't go to the store. You couldn't visit your loved

ones. And heaven forbid your kids go to school. And even today, when we want our kids to go to school, we are told we are terrorists and science deniers.

Let's stop the cult of fear. Let's stop it. Let's get the majority party, let's beseech the majority party to open an investigation because the American people deserve to know the origins of this virus.