Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Kansas for yielding. Especially having Julia Letlow, our colleague, here, it is bittersweet for us in the Louisiana delegation, for all of us in Congress, those of us who knew Luke--I got to know him so well over so many years--and those who didn't know him but were getting ready to serve with him. He literally passed away days before getting sworn in after being elected as a Member of Congress.

It is Luke's journey. It is Luke's story that we are here to celebrate today and ultimately which will live on at the Luke Letlow Post Office in Rayville, his hometown. He was born in Start, Louisiana, in Richland Parish, and it is there in Richland Parish that this post office that we are dedicating is, hopefully, going to be enjoying a

formal ceremony with all of us and the whole family.

When I think of how I first met Luke, it was when he was working for Bobby Jindal. As Julia said so eloquently, Luke's whole life was dedicated to public service. When he graduated, he immediately was an intern for Congressman Cooksey and came up here. I think that was when he probably got the bug a little bit.

He ultimately got the bug to serve other people. Luke did it so well. He served other people with joy in so many different roles. After he worked for Congressman Cooksey, he then worked for candidate Bobby Jindal. That is when I got to know him.

There was no harder worker than Luke Letlow, but also no happier person. He was always happy, always had a smile. He always just wanted to do the best he could. ``Win the day'' was Luke's term, and he would just work incredibly hard for whoever he worked for.

Bobby ultimately won that seat in Congress, and Luke became his district director. The district director is the person who covers the district, does so many of the unheralded things that those of us Members of Congress deal with and the people who call us. We just call our district director and say: Can you take care of this, and can you see if we can help that person out? That was really where Luke thrived the most.

Then, ultimately, he went into the private sector but was called back yet again when Ralph Abraham ran for Congress, and Luke served as his chief of staff. Ralph had set a term limit on himself, and when the term limit hit, Ralph stepped down from Congress. At that point, that is when Luke made the decision: Here is my moment. Do I do this? Ultimately, he decided to run.

I remember, he and I spoke when he chose to get into the race as a candidate. I knew he was going to do well. I could just tell because he was a natural. He was a natural with people. He actually cared about people. It is hard to be in this line of work without caring about people. He had done it in so many roles for so many other people. Finally, when it was time to run himself, he did it with the fervor that you would expect. He never slowed down. Every single day he worked so hard.

I know for those of us who have gotten to know Julia so well, the family is what always came first to Luke. He wanted to be known really first as a husband and a father, and he did both of those jobs incredibly well; exceeded, I am sure, what anybody would have expected.

The legacy that I think we all really remember of Luke here is that of a public servant. When you hear all of the things that he did in his life, he was somebody who just wanted to serve other people, and he did it so well.

I think the hardest part for me is after he had gotten elected, we talked a lot because he was so eager to get ready for this new role, this new career, to come up to Congress and do something that he had thought about doing for so long, a role he had played helping so many other people who served in Congress, but now this was the time where he was going to start his new career.

He was talking about what committees he wanted to get on. In fact, you know, in the days before he passed, the last conversation I had with him was about him talking to me about what committees he wanted to be on and how he wanted to best serve that district and all of the parishes. It was a very large, sprawling district, and yet he couldn't wait to serve in that capacity. That was the conversation that we had.

You never thought someone so young and so vibrant could leave us so early. I tell you, for Julia, we are all so proud of her and just the strength that she has shown in these years since. We call Julia our steel magnolia because she has represented the family incredibly well. She has represented Luke's legacy incredibly well because while he never got the opportunity to serve as a Member of Congress, he served. He served the State of Louisiana, and he served the United States of America in so many different roles.

I consider him a colleague because we talked about what that would be like so much, and I just think this is one way we can pay tribute to Luke's legacy of service, to name this post office so that people, when they are carrying out their daily chores and going to check their mail or send an important note to somebody, they can just look up and think about what Luke meant and what they meant to Luke because he really did care about the people that ultimately he worked for and that he was going to represent in Congress.

I say this on behalf of the whole delegation, and I know others are going to be speaking as well, the legacy of Luke Letlow will shine on for a long, long time.

It is what he represented and that spirit, that strong, positive energy every single day to win the day, is what I will always remember about Luke Letlow.

I urge all of my colleagues to pass this bill and look forward to that ceremony where we get to truly be in front of the whole family, paying tribute to a man who lived a life of public service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, for years now, this House Republican majority--and before we were a majority--has been calling on President Biden to secure America's border. We have been trying to engage President Biden in a negotiation to fix the problem.

We put together legislation, and H.R. 2 has been mentioned by many, many people, the strongest border security bill that has passed Congress. It has been over in the Senate since last year, and they continue to ignore it because they have chosen to ignore the problem.

You saw it play out just days ago in the Senate when we sent over Articles of Impeachment for Secretary Mayorkas, who has failed miserably in his job of protecting America's homeland. That is his job. He is the Homeland Security Secretary, and you have seen him here on Capitol Hill testifying that our border is secure. It would be laughable if it wasn't so insulting to millions of Americans who know that is a lie.

Our border is not secure. In fact, since Joe Biden took office and took actions to open up our border, we have seen millions come across. Is it 8 million? Is it 10 million? The number we know is at least that high, if not higher.

We know people on the terrorist watch list have come into our country because we have caught some of them, but we haven't caught all of them.

We have seen thousands of Chinese nationals of military age coming into our country. Do you think they are coming in here to help be a part of the American Dream or coming to undermine it?

We know the answer to that question, too, which is why we continue to press our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, our colleagues in the Senate, and of course Joe Biden in the White House to get serious about this issue, but they refuse to.

We are not going to let this go. We are going to continue to bring this up. Mr. Ciscomani brought this bill forward, and we will continue this debate.

If President Biden wants to ignore it, he knows, and the American people know, that President Biden has the legal authority today through executive action to secure the border because they watched him use that same executive action to open the border.

He ended remain in Mexico, which we restore in this bill. He mandated catch and release on our Border Patrol agents, who want to secure our border.

We talked to them. We have embedded with them. Many of us have gone down to the border and embedded with our Border Patrol agents. Mr. Speaker, they will tell you what is wrong.

The things that are needed to fix and secure the border are in this bill, but President Biden doesn't want to fix it. He knows he can fix it with a pen today. He has chosen not to because the far-left elements, the radical elements of his party, want an open border, and they are clear about it.

The President tries to act like he wants to secure the border, but then

when it comes time to actually negotiate, he is nowhere to be found.

Ultimately, the voters of this country are going to have a say in November. Do they want a secure border or not? They have a clear choice.

When Donald Trump was President, we had a secure border. He took those steps. Mexico didn't want remain in Mexico to be the policy at the time. That was asylum, by the way, which is what we are really talking about. It was President Trump who went back to Mexico and said: Either you are going to agree to this policy--it is a negotiation between two countries--or there are going to be consequences.

He laid out those consequences. Lo and behold, Mexico saw the light. Mexico recognized it made a lot more sense to agree to that policy with President Trump than to suffer the consequences, so we got remain in Mexico. It started to solve the problem, and then he ended catch and release.

He was building the wall. We funded this when we were a Republican majority working with President Trump. We funded construction of the wall, and hundreds of miles of wall were being built.

Joe Biden comes into office, and on day one, he mandated the end, the halt, of that construction of that wall. The wall was working, and Joe Biden knows it. He ended it because he wanted the border open.

Step by step, action by action, Joe Biden has opened the border. He refuses to negotiate with us on fixing the problem, but we are not going to walk away from this. We are going to continue to force this issue, to bring votes to the floor, to press the Senate to take this up.

At the end of the day, if Joe Biden still wants to continue to block this, still wants to continue to keep the border open, the voters are going to have the ultimate say in November, and I don't think he is going to like the answer.

He could do something about it right now. He refuses to. Ultimately, the people of this country will have a say if Joe Biden won't work with us, but we are going to continue to push it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this piece of legislation that is so important to our national security.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for leading this effort and for making sure all of our colleagues have the opportunity to stand with our friend, Israel, while they are at war.

We all know, starting October 7, Israel was attacked barbarically by one of Iran's proxies, Hamas, a terrorist organization. They went into Israel, barbarically murdered Israelis and took hostages. Still to this day they have about 130 hostages, including some American citizens.

While this war to eviscerate the terrorist organization known as Hamas is going on, Israel then over the weekend faced an unprecedented attack directly from Iran. No longer is it only the proxies--whether it is Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Houthis, all who are supported by Iran--now Iran directly attacked with 300-plus drones and missiles to try to kill more Israelis.

Fortunately, of course, Israel and a coalition of the United States and other allies joined together to shoot down those missiles and drones. At the same time, Iran made it clear they wanted to attack Israel directly, which means Israel now is looking at how they properly respond.

During this time, again, a war that started--this idea of a cease- fire, the cease-fire ended when Hamas decided that they were going to go murder Israelis. Israel has a right to self-defense. This Congress has always stood by our friend, Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East, a democracy.

They are always under attack. They have been under attack since their existence. They know how to defend themselves. When they respond-- whatever choice the people of Israel make through their elected leaders--we need to express our support for that defense. That is Israel's right.

We saw September 11, but there have been other attacks on our homeland; of course, Pearl Harbor. When America is attacked, America responds. We don't have our allies calling us, saying: Don't respond. This is a time when the allies of Israel, including the United States, need to support Israel in their right to respond. Call out Iran, as this resolution does. Mr. Kean has been very good about laying out the case for why we need to condemn Iran and their actions, but we also need to support Israel as they consider their options in how to properly respond to deter this from happening again.

It was unwarranted. It shouldn't have happened. We shouldn't just look and say: Well, all the missiles and drones were shot down, so everybody should just look the other way. They will keep trying until they kill innocent civilians.

Iran has always sponsored terrorism, and they have gotten away with it. We need to put sanctions back on Iran. They shouldn't be able to sell their oil on world markets, for example. Iran has made about $60 billion in the last 3 years selling their oil on world markets. They shouldn't have that access. They use that money to sponsor terrorism, and now they are using that money directly to attack our friend and our ally, Israel.

While Israel is under attack, now more than ever we need to be unequivocal in our support for our friend, Israel, in their right to self-defense. God bless the people of Israel. We stand with them. This resolution makes it very clear.

I thank, again, my friend from New Jersey for bringing this important piece of legislation. I urge its adoption, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from South Carolina for yielding and for his leadership on energy.

We sure are going to miss your voice. We have a few more months left before you leave Congress, but you have been a great advocate for American energy and for so many other forms of energy like nuclear power.

Today, we are talking about how we can help those families who are struggling. I rise in strong support of H. Res. 987 by Mr. Newhouse and a number of other colleagues because if the policies of the Biden administration were working so well, as some would try to claim, why are families furious that they are paying about 40 percent more when they go to the gas station to fill up their cars? Why are they furious that when they pay their household electricity bills--if they can afford to pay their household electricity bills--they are paying over 30 percent more?

It is because, from day one, when Joe Biden took the oath of office, he issued an all-out assault on American energy.

For anybody who forgot or wants to glaze over it or say it didn't happen or ask what they are talking about, the good news is we actually documented all of those specific actions in this resolution, Mr. Speaker, because it is President Biden who took these actions.

Day one, he canceled the Keystone Pipeline. Now, what does that mean? That would have been about 11,000 American jobs. You know what it also would have meant? It would have meant about 830,000 barrels of oil moving through the Keystone Pipeline.

Now, for the people that are trying to suggest that, oh, that is a good thing--because there are some people that want to just eviscerate American fossil fuels, and President Biden has led that charge, but let's be very clear, Mr. Speaker, President Biden's war on fossil fuels doesn't cover all oil and gas, it only covers American oil and gas.

Maybe that is the most perplexing part of his failed policies that angers people. People have figured this out because they have watched the President get on Air Force One, which, by the way, still runs on jet fuel. They don't have solar panels on the wings of Air Force One. It is not a green plane. He got on Air Force One, and he flew to Saudi Arabia and begged them to produce more oil when he is shutting down production in America.

Do you know what Saudi told him? They said, no, because they are a cartel. They are a monopoly. They are part of OPEC. They want higher prices. It benefits them to have higher prices. So they told President Biden, no, but President Biden should have never even had to go to Saudi.

Again, if President Biden is so against fossil fuels, if they are so immoral as some on the left will suggest, then why is he getting on Air Force One, using fossil fuels, and begging Saudi to produce more when he is shutting it down here?

Again, he canceled lease sales in America. It is documented here in the resolution we are voting on today. We didn't do that. Nobody else did it but Joe Biden. He is the one who canceled lease sales.

President Obama actually had lease sales. President Trump had lease sales. As my colleague from South Carolina pointed out, production today--if you want to brag about production, that is great, because oil production today is a result of investments made 5 and 10 years ago.

I represent parts of the Gulf of Mexico, home to some of the best oil reserves in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Some of these rigs, if you go out to a platform in the Gulf, they can produce over 100,000 barrels a day, but you don't just plop one down and start producing 100,000 barrels today.

If you get a lease today, you have to pay millions of dollars for it. You can't because Joe Biden canceled lease sales, but if you got a lease, you then have the luxury of going out and finding private investment--because there is no government money like the solar panels and the car batteries. You have to find private money. You might have to find $2 billion to go and fund the oil rig. You build the platform. It is a floating city. It is amazing American technology. And you put it out in the Gulf of Mexico 60 miles offshore maybe drilling 12,000 feet below the surface.

Then you have to go back to the Department and get more permits. You have to get permits for seismic, which you cannot get today, by the way. You have to get permits to put pipelines and subsurface infrastructure, which are almost impossible to get today because the Biden administration doesn't want production.

You do all of those things, and you invest all of those billions of dollars of private money, and if that well happens to produce, then maybe 5 to 10 years later it gets the first drop of oil that comes out of the ground and starts producing.

Well, again, that happened years ago, so I am glad people are taking credit for it today. It didn't happen today. It didn't happen when Joe Biden took the oath of office because Joe Biden took the steps to crush it, killing pipelines, killing leases on new production, killing the ability to get permits to go out and develop leases that you paid millions of dollars to the Federal Government for.

That is what Joe Biden did.

It is documented right here.

But what he did worse after he killed American production--if this was all about purity, and this was all about just protecting the world from fossil fuels, that would have been it. But that is not what it is about. It is a war on American energy because, again, he went to Saudi to beg them to produce more oil when he just did a virtual ban on LNG exports.

Do you know who that benefited? It crushed American jobs here. You already saw some decimated jobs and canceled major, major multibillion- dollar projects in America. Do you know who it emboldens, what Joe Biden did? It emboldens Vladimir Putin.

Putin is making billions of dollars a month--not a year, a month. Putin is making billions of dollars selling his oil and natural gas to world markets because of what Joe Biden has done. Because now he has crushed a lot more things like LNG exports, which we were using here in America to help our friends around the world in Europe. We can help our allies. But if Biden gets his way, which so far he has, we can't export here. They still need energy in those other countries.

So where is Europe getting it from? From Russia. So on one hand, Joe Biden is saying, oh, my God, Russia is evil, and he says we need to help Ukraine, but then he is funding Putin's war effort by giving Putin leverage and billions of dollars a month to finance the war against Ukraine.

This is insanity, and it is raising costs on families here at home. The hardworking families of America are sick and tired of Joe Biden's failed energy policies. And they get it. They know what he has done. People on this floor can sit here and deny that any of this stuff happened, but it did. It is well documented in the resolution point by point by point. I wish it was only one or two, and you can go focus on those, but it is over 60 actions he has taken to attack American energy--and, again, only American energy.

Venezuela is getting their ability to produce more.

Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, who funds Hamas--Hamas, who invaded and attacked barbarically our great friend

Israel, where did they get that money? From Iran. Joe Biden reduced sanctions against Iran, so they can sell their oil on world markets.

Again, if it was about purity and getting rid of oil, then it would be for everybody. He wouldn't have lowered the sanctions against Iran, but he did. Iran can go make billions of dollars a month like Putin is making because of Joe Biden's policies, but here in America you can't get new leases. It is almost impossible to get permits.

You can't do LNG exports because Joe Biden wants to attack American energy. We are sick and tired of it. The American people are sick and tired of it. It is hurting the people that can least afford it. The lowest income families are paying the price for this failed policy. It has got to end. The bills we are bringing to the floor point it out and end it. The Senate should take these bills up. Everybody should vote for it. These should be bipartisan exercises. Everybody should stand up for American energy.

When I look at that beautiful flag right behind you, Madam Speaker, I wonder why would we want to embolden Vladimir Putin with our energy policies when we have enough energy in America to crush Putin, to crush Iran, to crush Venezuela. OPEC would be irrelevant if we just produced more American energy, and the only person standing in the way right now is Joe Biden.

Let's end this madness.

Let's pass this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from North Carolina for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, it is so important that we have this debate on the floor and that we pass the Laken Riley Act.

It would be more significant if later tonight in this very Chamber Joe Biden joined us and said that he was going to finally take action, using the same pen that on day one when he became President he used to undo all of those actions that were securing our border if he would say he is going to reverse those actions.

He can work to restore the remain in Mexico protocol, getting us back to a functioning asylum process. He could take direct action with his own pen, no act of Congress, to end catch and release, so that when people come here by the millions as they have, they are not just allowed to go into the interior of our country where we don't even know where they are going.

Governors can't tell you how many people have come into their States illegally, where they are showing up. You see it in cities where they are showing up and they are shutting down schools and gymnasiums to house people.

This is out of control and Joe Biden created the mess. He could solve it, but short of Joe Biden solving it, the House has taken multiple actions to address it.

This Republican House came together last year to pass H.R. 2, a bill designed to actually secure America's border. We took all of those necessary actions, whether the President wants to or not, doing the things that it takes, working with our Border Patrol agents to secure America's border so that we don't have what we have seen, at least 8 million people that have come across illegally.

When you look at some of the devastating consequences, Laken Riley is just one example. I pray for her and I pray for her family. No family should have to go through what Laken Riley's family is still grieving with today, but, unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, this is not even an isolated incident.

It is happening over and over again in communities all across America ever since Joe Biden opened our southern border, allowing millions of people to come in. You are seeing countries emptying out prisons to send people here. People on the terrorist watch list, over 140 that we know of on the terrorist watch list, that have been detained. How many that we don't know of that haven't been caught that are here in America planning to do us harm because Joe Biden opened the southern border?

There is serious negative consequences to those actions that Joe Biden took. When you think about Kenner, Louisiana, a community in my backyard, part of which I represent in my district, just days ago a 14- year-old girl was raped by someone here illegally.

You saw just recently where a 2-year-old was murdered by someone here illegally. How many more communities are going to have to suffer? How many more families are going to have to be victims before Joe Biden admits this problem and then works with us to solve it?

They tried passing a bill in the Senate that actually makes it worse, that codifies things like catch and release, and that gives over a billion dollars of your taxpayer money to fund lawyers for people here illegally.

Yes, that was in the Senate bill that even the Senate didn't pass after all of that hoopla about a bipartisan coalescence. They didn't even pass that bill once they read it.

The House did pass a bill to solve this problem. Today, we are coming together to pass another bill here with the Laken Riley Act to solve this problem, but the worst part of it is, this problem should have never happened if Joe Biden didn't take the steps he took with the pen to open the southern border. He could close it himself. He chooses not to.

We came together and said, then we will close it, Mr. President, and issued veto threats on those bills. He wants an open border, but does he want the consequences to?

Will he look those families in the eye and tell them enough is enough and apologize to them? He could do that tonight from that podium. I sure hope he does, but in the meantime what he really needs to do is work with us to end this madness, to secure America's border, and get back to a functioning, legal system of immigration in America like every other country has so that we don't see this endless flow that is devastating communities all across America.

Mr. Speaker, let's pass the Laken Riley Act and, hopefully, there will be no more examples like Laken Riley in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the message of the President be referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered printed.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 10 o'clock and 59 minutes p.m.), the House adjourned until tomorrow, Friday, March 8, 2024, at 9 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged concurrent resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from South Carolina for yielding. I know my friend is not leaving any time soon, but we have appreciated both our friendship and leadership along the way, and we will miss him when he is gone. There is a lot of work left to be done in these next few months.

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of work left to be done today if you think about the importance of this bill.

It really focuses on the importance of smart energy policy, something that has been lacking--devastatingly lacking--in this country for the last 3

years, and it is a costly, costly consequence that American families are paying. Having bad energy policy has resulted in higher energy costs for families.

Mr. Speaker, especially low-income families are hit the hardest. When you see gas prices go higher, it hits lower-income families the hardest. When you see the home heating costs because of that LNG policy, it affects everybody. It affects prices and commodities, things that you buy at the grocery store, because all of that is built in when you have higher energy costs. It especially affects low-income families when they have to decide can they even pay their home heating costs in a cold winter.

All these decisions are being made because Joe Biden has gone after American energy. Joe Biden is not against all forms of energy.

Let's be clear about this.

What has this President done in his entire Presidency over the last 3 years?

Time and time again, Joe Biden goes after American energy. When he says it is harder to drill for oil in America, it is because he attacks the fossil fuel industry. He doesn't ban all oil. He just makes it harder to get permits in America. So what that does is it emboldens countries like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran, who are selling their oil on world markets and making billions and billions of dollars doing it. In fact, it helps them fund terrorist activities.

When you think of Iran having more power because the President lifts sanctions on them, and then the President goes after domestic American oil and gas, then he emboldens countries like Iran which then makes billions of dollars that they use to fund terrorism; there is a direct link. We all know that.

Yet, here the other side goes with the President, once again, going after not all forms of energy and not all forms of LNG, just American- made LNG by banning LNG exports in America.

So think about this, Mr. Speaker, there used to be a day when we encouraged companies to make their products in America. We heard a lot of people making speeches about buy American and make it in America. Nevertheless, if you say make it in America, but you can make it anywhere in the world--these are global commodities we are talking about--but if you make it in America, we are going to ban you from selling it anywhere in the world.

So, Mr. Speaker, if you make it somewhere else, if you make it in Iran, you can sell it anywhere on world markets. If you make it in America, then they are going to ban you from selling your product.

So what it does is it has a stifling effect on production and exploration of energy in America--not anywhere else in the world--just in America.

For all my friends who love talking about the climate, nobody in the world makes energy cleaner and more efficient than the United States of America.

I am sick and tired of these people who wake up every day and love bashing America, bashing American companies, and bashing American products or American fossil fuels, as if we got rid of them then they just don't exist.

All that happens is that if we get rid of American energy, then we have to get it from other countries and we have to bring it here on tankers, which, by the way, have a much higher rate of failure than if we put it in a pipeline, which is much safer, or other means.

The policies that we are seeing out of this administration to go after American energy is lunacy, and it is costing families who are sick and tired of paying higher energy costs when they know they don't have to.

This is not the 1970s anymore where we had lines at the pump, and we could only get gasoline every other day based on the license plate number because we didn't have the technology to know where more energy was in America.

We have got all that today. We know what that technology is, and we know where the energy reserves of this country are. We could provide all the energy for our country and all of our allies around the world.

By the way, we lowered emissions when we did that.

Interestingly, they don't have any of this apply to countries like China that are building a coal plant every week with emissions through the roof. We do it cleaner and better than anywhere else in the world, and we should have policies that allow us to do even more production of American energy.

That is what this bill does. That is not what the President does. President Biden over and over again has attacked and gone after American energy, and people are sick and tired of it because they know nobody does it better.

They are sick and tired of having to see countries like Russia benefit, Iran's economy benefit, and other countries benefit when it should be our economy that benefits.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this legislation. Let's pass it on. I commend Representative Pfluger for bringing this to the floor, and I hope that we actually get the policy right. This bill helps us do that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor my friend and colleague Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton and to urge support for H.R. 2365, the Dr. Emmmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson Act, which was introduced by my friend Congressman Gus Bilirakis. This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a comprehensive Parkinson's Disease research plan to address prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately, to find a cure for Parkinson's.

During her time in Congress, Congresswoman Wexton has proven to be an effective representative for her constituents and a valued member of this institution. She has dedicated her professional life to serving the public in a variety of ways, including as a prosecutor, a judge, a state senator, and a Member of Congress representing Virginia's 10th Congressional District. She is a brave fighter and fierce advocate for Parkinson's Disease. She uses her platform to raise awareness of the disease and for resources to find a cure which is why supporting the Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson's Act is just one way to honor her effort.

Congresswoman Wexton serves on the House Committee on Appropriations and House Committee on the Budget. She has accomplished many things during her tenure since coming into Congress in 2019 including the passage of her bill, the Expanding Findings for Federal Opioid Research and Treatment Act.

I wish Jennifer peace and comfort as she continues to fight this disease surrounded by loved ones and would like to thank her for her service and dedication to this body. She has inspired many with her bravery and courage, both as an advocate for and someone diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

Again, thank you to Congresswoman Wexton and Congressman Bilirakis. Their advocacy for Parkinson's Disease research is commendable, and with that, I strongly urge support for H.R. 2365, the Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson's Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor and recognize a local television station, WDSU Channel 6, on their 75th Anniversary. On December 18, 1948, WDSU became the first television station to ``sign on'' in the State of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region and for the next nine years would remain our only local station.

Starting with the invocation of archdiocesan chancellor Monsignor Charles J. Plauche in 1948, WDSU has been an eyewitness for historical moments that have shaped our region. WDSU was on the scene during the building of the Crescent City Connection which connects New Orleans' East Bank to the West Bank. The station was there to provide the first live election results in the Greater New Orleans area, and WDSU reporters were the only ones to live broadcast the World's Fair in New Orleans in 1984. The station chronicled the moments leading up to landfall of Hurricane Katrina, with coverage during the storm, and the days, months, and years following as the people of Southeast Louisiana recovered and rebuilt. The station has since covered other major storms to hit the area including Hurricanes Gustav, Ike, Laura, and Ida.

The name WDSU is widely recognized across the Greater New Orleans area but not

many know the significance behind the name. The ``W'' in WDSU is used by stations east of the Mississippi River. The ``D'' honors the Desoto Hotel where the original radio station, formerly known as WCBE, broadcasted above. The ``S'' is a nod to the old New Orleans States newspaper, and the ``U'' recognizes Joe Uhalt who bought the original radio station.

It is truly my pleasure to recognize WDSU's 75th Anniversary. On behalf of the great people of Louisiana's First Congressional District, I thank the anchors, photographers, journalists, and the whole staff at WDSU for their continued coverage of breaking news, historical events, and representation of the Greater New Orleans area, ensuring our community is informed and entertained. WDSU's commitment to public service and broadcasting does not go unnoticed and is appreciated by the entire New Orleans region.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague for yielding. I support his amendment, and I support the underlying bill.

Mr. Chairman, if you look at this piece of legislation, both the bill and the underlying amendment, if you go back to when this $6 billion swap for $6 billion in cash was initially negotiated earlier this year, many could argue, me included, that it was an ill-advised negotiation back then, and this was prior to the invasion of Israel by Hamas.

I think it is important to understand the context. Everybody in the world knows that Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism, including funding Hamas.

The idea that you can just take Hamas and keep it separate from Iran has always been a farce. Iran funds Hamas, and everybody knows it.

The idea that you would be negotiating in August or September to help Iran get $6 billion boggles the mind prior to the invasion and attacks on Israel. After the attacks, the administration should be joining us in supporting this bill.

The administration should be standing there saying: We are not giving them the money anymore.

Who is the money going to? The President of Iran has already told you what he is going to do with the $6 billion.

You have the Biden administration saying, don't worry, it is all about humanitarian aid. The problem is that the people that are getting the $6 billion aren't saying that.

Mr. Chairman, the President of Iran himself went on TV, 60 Minutes, and said: This money belongs to the Islamic Republic of Iran. And naturally, we will decide, the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide, to spend it wherever we need it.

They can give it to Hamas tomorrow if they got this money, and the President of Iran said so.

I don't care what John Kerry says when he flies around over there, or what Joe Biden might even say. Once the President of Iran gets the $6 billion, it is his money, and he said he is going to do whatever he wants with it.

Why would we give it to him today? We shouldn't have even thought about giving it to him prior to the attacks by Hamas in October. We surely shouldn't be thinking about it today.

Thank goodness in this House we are going to take a vote, and we are going to pass this bill. Hopefully, it is an overwhelming bipartisan vote to send it to the Senate and help wake up our Senate friends to say that this is a position that we should be vocal on, as they still haven't figured out what to do with funding for Iran.

We passed a bipartisan bill to help Israel get the funding that they need to push back on the attacks, to go get more hostages, as we are seeing.

We are hearing senators talking about a permanent cease-fire, or more conditions. We ought to be all coming together to support Israel on whatever tools they need.

This House has been vocal in a pretty bipartisan way almost every step of the way to do that. Today can be another one of those moments where we don't just stand up to Hamas, but we stand up to the group who funds Hamas, as well.

Everybody knows who funds Hamas. It is Iran; $6 billion going to the President, who said he is going to take the money for whatever purposes he wants.

They shouldn't get the money. Let's keep it.

Let's continue to support our great ally in that region at the time they need it the most. We will be there with Israel every step of the way, with all the tools they need to be successful at destroying this terrorist organization, Hamas, and anybody else who wants to join with them in helping embolden terrorism against the Jews, against the anti- Semitism we see growing not just in the Middle East, but here in this country as well.

We all ought to be vocal with one united voice against it. It is wrong. Let's stand with Israel. Let's stand with our friends, and let's stand against anybody who wants to support terrorism around the world.

Let's pass this amendment, let's pass the bill, and let's get the Senate to put this bill on the President's desk.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the appropriations chair, my good friend from Texas, for yielding and for bringing this important legislation, which I strongly support.

We have seen the atrocities in Israel. We have also stood by Israel. In fact, the United States is proud to be the first country that recognized Israel as a Jewish state on the heels of World War II as the nations were coming together and recognizing the importance that we all get behind a Jewish state. Unfortunately, from that day there were always people around the neighborhood who wished Israel harm.

Over time, you have seen peace agreements, Abraham Accords, but you have always seen seeds of discord. Of course, the biggest discord started with Iran funding terrorist organizations like Hamas. Hamas took action weeks ago, atrocities that are hard to repeat that we have seen and the world needs to continue to see because, unfortunately, as the world is seeing the atrocities, while we recognize the lives that have been lost--not only Israelis, Jews, Americans, Palestinians--but you also see the ugly head of anti-Semitism popping up.

Here on college campuses in the United States, other places around the Nation and the world, where anti-Semitism seems to rise its ugly head at times when Israel seems to be in a dangerous position, these are times when we all need to be standing with Israel, giving them the tools they need to make sure they can defend themselves against these atrocities. That is what this legislation does.

In fact, we worked with the leadership in Israel. We worked with the Biden administration, the Pentagon, and others who know what is at stake. We have had long-time partnerships in our strength and our defense systems. If you think about the Iron Dome and David's Sling weapons systems that will be replenished with this legislation, a lot of this is American technology that has been partnered with Israel over many, many years to save lives in Israel.

And as those weapons systems get depleted, we need to make sure they are replenished; the Iron Beam system, a more advanced missile systems. Some of the other partnerships that we have had for a long time, that is also funded in this bill. We are making sure that Israel has the tools they need.

We came out of the box ensuring, under Speaker Mike Johnson, that we send a strong message to the world that we support Israel, passing strong legislation to unite behind Israel. But now we need to back that up with action, with the support in military strength that they need to continue this conflict.

And it is actually paid for; paid for not by taking away existing IRS agents, but tens of thousands of new proposed IRS agents. And where are they coming from? Who are they going after? If you look at the CBO report, the proposed IRS agents that we would be defunding in this, we are actually helping President Biden keep his promise. You heard over and over again, President Biden said no American

making under $400,000 will pay a dime in new taxes. We all heard that. It was a promise made over and over again, except President Biden broke that promise.

Families making under $400,000 are paying more in new taxes, and part of that is the army of IRS agents that they are sending after people, tens of thousands. Under this bill, these IRS agents that we would be eliminating save the American taxpayers making under $400,000 a total of $4 billion. That is $4 billion back in the pockets of hardworking families who were promised by President Biden they wouldn't see their taxes go up. Yet, he wanted to put tens of thousands of IRS agents looking into and raising their taxes. That won't happen if this bill passes, which is more money they need right now because prices are higher on those families.

At the end day, sending the message that we are willing to stand up to Iran and give Israel the tools they need--tomorrow, we are bringing more legislation, by the way, in the SHIP Act, to put sanctions on Iranian oil. Again, Iran is at the heart and center of funding Hamas.

Hamas started this. As the President talks about a cease-fire, it was Hamas who broke the cease-fire when they invaded and attacked and murdered, barbarically, Israel.

Israel needs the right to defend themselves. They need the tools to defend themselves, but let's also defund Iran and the money they are getting. They made $80 billion during the Biden administration selling their oil on world markets. We need to pass that legislation tomorrow, which we will, and hopefully in a very big bipartisan vote. We need to start today by passing this legislation to give them the tools they need in Israel to make sure that they can push back and destroy Hamas and protect those citizens in Israel who deserve peace. America has always stood by our ally Israel. Let's continue that today. I urge passage.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for the purposes of a colloquy. I still call him Leader Hoyer.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the conversations that the gentleman and I have had. He has led many delegations to Israel. I think most of us have been to Israel and seen firsthand some of those towns. I have been to Sderot and other cities that have come under attack. I have seen the heartbreak going to some of the kibbutzim and have heard the harrowing stories. We want to make sure they get their relief.

I also know this. Obviously, as we talk about funding of government, we just passed an appropriations bill last night, and we are going to be moving after we get through this bill into two more appropriations bills. We will be working late into the night and tomorrow on more appropriations bills to properly fund government.

If you look at the bills we have already sent over to the Senate, that includes the Defense appropriations bill, that includes more funding for Israel, along with the State and Foreign Operations bill that also includes more funding for Israel.

When we have had heads of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, military leaders, come before us in committees to testify about the major threats globally, they have been asked pointblank: What is the major threat to America? You would think if you are a military leader, you would be talking about maybe China and some of the threats that they pose that we know are very real and other countries. That is not what they talked about. They talked about our Nation's debt, that the Nation's debt is the biggest threat.

If we can do both, support our friends around the world and start confronting our Nation's debt--we are going to have to do this over and over again. The Speaker talked about a debt commission that got a lot of bipartisan interest, in fact, bicameral interest. These are all issues we have to confront at the same time.

We are going to continue to do our work. The Senate could pass that bill to the President's desk, and I think in the end he would sign it. If the Senate passes this bill that we are going to pass today to the Senate, I have no doubt the President would sign this bill.

We have to confront our challenges here. We need border security. As we talk about Ukraine, we need to secure America's border, because we know there are people on the terrorist watch list coming into our country right now that we cannot ignore.

This administration might be ignoring it. Democrat mayors and Republican mayors alike recognize it is a problem in major cities that has to be confronted. We are going to confront it and continue to work on those issues, as well. All of this has to be dealt with at the same time. None of this happens in a vacuum. Many of these problems are interrelated. We are going to continue to confront all of them and work as we can hopefully together. Obviously, today maybe we might not all be on the same page. Tomorrow, I think on that Iran oil sanctions bill, we will be closer, but we have to keep working through these issues together.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for a colloquy.

Mr. Speaker, one final point on that. Obviously, if you look at the history of CBO, they are the referee, the scorekeeper that has to be used. They have often been wrong. I would say often wrong but never in doubt. When they are wrong, they are usually wrong to the detriment of taxpayers.

Here is a classic example. Only in Washington does eliminating government positions count as something that is going to cost the deficit. Getting rid of the size of government is ruled by CBO as increasing the deficit, but they exposed a dirty little secret about these new IRS agents. I emphasize ``new.'' These are not existing employees. This is tens of thousands of new IRS agents that President Biden wants to hire. It exposed that the only way that they generate money is by raising taxes on families, including those making under $400,000. In their report, they point this out.

If you are an American citizen who believed Joe Biden's promise that you will not pay a dime in new taxes if you make less than $400,000-- and he said it over and over again; it is on video--that promise is broken, according to the CBO in this report, to the tune of over $4 billion in new taxes that those families will be paying. Those are not existing taxes. They are new taxes those families will be paying.

If you want to save $4 billion in taxes and you are one of those families that bought the promise--and, frankly, in times of high inflation, high interest rates, high cost for everything from gas to groceries, no family should be paying more in new taxes. I would argue this bill will save those families a lot more money than what those new IRS agents were going to collect in new taxes, and we are doing them all a favor while also helping address a serious spending problem in Washington and standing with our ally Israel, most importantly.

Mr. Speaker, that is why we need to pass the bill.

Mr. Speaker, for scheduling, the House tonight, after this vote series, will continue debating amendments to the Interior appropriations bill. Tonight's final vote series will start around 10 p.m. and end by 11:30 tonight. We expect to continue amendment debate after that but all recorded votes will be rolled until tomorrow.

For tomorrow, the House will meet at 9 a.m. for legislative business. We will complete all amendment debate on the Interior appropriations bill. Starting at 10 a.m., we will have our final vote series of the week on the remaining amendments, the motion to recommit, and passage of the Interior appropriations bill, as well as the SHIP Act under suspension of the rules.

That will mark the end of vote series for tomorrow. We should walk off by 11:30 tomorrow.

Hopefully that means you vote for all of the bills tomorrow, but we will have walk-off at 11:30 tomorrow.

The T-HUD bill will still be voted on, but next week. Next week, we have a full week starting Monday, 6:30 p.m.

The Rules Committee will be meeting prior to that to take up their order of business for the Financial Services and General Government bill. We will have both the T-HUD bill and the Financial Services appropriations bills next week, as well as other possible legislative items. The first votes next week will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday night.

Remember, the Veterans Day holiday is Friday, so the House will not be in session next Friday.

Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.