Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I greatly appreciate Chairman Johnson for heading this up day after day.

I just wonder, have the Democrats been to the gas pumps lately? I used to love to go to the gas pumps and talk to folks to see what was going on. Now, honestly, I am afraid to even make eye contact with somebody because they are going to light you up, Madam Speaker.

I know we see a lot of these little, cute stickers. That is not my thing. I don't want to cause any vandalism with our President pointing at the pump saying, ``I did that,'' but the truth is, he did do this.

If they would listen to what is going on, they would know that America is ticked, and they should be. The national gas average today is $4.30 a gallon. The average a year ago was $2.87.

In 2020, gasoline or oil was around $17 a barrel, and today, I believe it has dropped to $95. I heard someone from the White House earlier bragging about how oil has dropped. I mean, that is the Washington way, to not talk about how it was at $17 a couple of years ago, but talk about how it has dropped from over $110 down to $95.

Madam Speaker, we need to turn the spigots back on. We need to get back into the oil business. The oil and gas companies, we have been told that they have the permits, and then they boast about that, that they are not drilling because of it.

The truth is, Madam Speaker, not enough pipelines have been permitted to move the product. If they get it, there is nowhere for it to go. There is no storage capacity. There is no way to move the product. The pipelines have to be completed, and that is part of the master plan here.

As has been stated by Members on this floor and other times, I have heard, $7 a gallon and electric vehicles are in. That is no way to drive innovation, Madam Speaker. Innovation is

driven through creativity, through capitalism, not by crooked politicians and evil folks trying to change the American agenda.

Electric cars are not affordable yet. Over $50,000 a car. That is ridiculous. You have got over eight adapters on the plugs. It takes several hours to charge. I don't know if you have ever driven across country or not with a family but stopping 8 hours at a truck stop is not my idea of a vacation.

Renewables aren't reliable sources for our power grids. Democrats seem to double down, though, on these crazy woke environmental agenda issues. It just creates higher energy bills for Americans, Madam Speaker, and increases costs for business. That is why everything is up.

If you look at the price of fuel, I filled up my daughter's Dodge diesel the other day, and it cost me over $100. Why are we doing this to ourselves? We can turn the spigots back on. We can put Americans back to work. We can increase our economy. We can show the world that we are leaders.

As the Ukrainian President stated so eloquently this morning, our President needs to lead the world. It is a shame when a country that small has to call on a power as great as America and tell its leaders to lead once again. Until things change, though, Madam Speaker, Biden's economy is a bust.

I appreciate Chairman Johnson and his truculent behavior. He has raised this from more than lackluster, and I want to praise him for that.

Madam Speaker, I was leaving here when I met some of your family members on swearing-in day, and I know there is probably some proud chests stuck out and buttons busting everywhere, as my granddad used to say. So we welcome you in this new role.

Madam Speaker, Biden's woke environmental agenda is forcing many of my fellow East Tennesseans to pay more to heat their homes and to commute to work. How have these high energy prices increased in Tennessee over the last year, you may ask?

Gasoline costs $3.96 per gallon, a 35 percent increase--not as much as California, but that is, hopefully, never within our range.

Residential natural gas costs $12.40 per thousand cubic feet, a 23 percent increase. This is just working folks trying to heat their homes.

Electricity costs $10.27 per kilowatt hour; that is a 9 percent increase.

Madam Speaker, these higher energy costs are an additional expense for our businesses, too, and they are just going to pass it on to us. That means that businesses must raise all their prices to offset the increased energy rates. That is why this inflation is crippling our economy under President Biden.

Some of these arrogant folks suggest Americans work from home or ``go green'' to offset rising energy costs. Well, that disgusts me. That is an all-time arrogant low for some of these folks. They must assume that all my constituents have a job that allows them to work from home or can afford an electric car or solar panels.

Madam Speaker, I have spent many an hour in factories around my district, and those folks cannot work from home, and this country would fall off the edges of the Earth if we did that. And there is a reason that oil and natural gas and coal are preferred energy sources. They are cheap and they are reliable, and we get them from homegrown energy.

Now, how do we fix this energy mess? We return to energy independence, of course. It has been said many times, let's roll back some of these environmental regulations. Let's turn the spigots back on and let's lower the energy costs for the American people.

Madam Speaker, I thank Dr. Joyce for his more-than-lackluster attempt at righting a horrible wrong, and I appreciate his leadership.

Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Johnson for his leadership.

Madam Speaker, let me start off by offering my prayers to Ukraine, its people, and its leaders. I have asked my family to do that. Every night when we say our prayers, we pray for the people of Ukraine and their safety and the miracle of Biblical proportions that needs to occur in that country. It has happened before, and it can happen again. All of us hope that their country finds peace. We want to see this conflict end, Madam Speaker.

Innocent Ukrainians are caught in the middle of Vladimir Putin's unprovoked war against their country. These civilians are not at all responsible for the situation they find themselves in, yet they are the ones who are always paying the price.

Homes are destroyed. Food and water are scarce. Medical supplies are in short supply. Many institutions necessary for a stable society are under attack. On top of it all, the Ukrainians are living under the constant threat of Putin dropping a vacuum bomb or something worse. Some reports indicate that thermobaric bombs have been introduced to the theater, a whole new kind of hell that we are not used to in this country.

Discussions are now taking place about the United States supporting the Ukrainians with humanitarian aid. The question remains, how will we pay for this important matter? Congress could save a whole lot of money, Madam Speaker, if we would seize Russian-held assets and use them to pay for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Using a creative funding mechanism like this ensures that we are responsible stewards of our constituents' tax dollars, especially given the challenges they face here at home.

Since 2015, American taxpayers have spent nearly $3 billion on humanitarian aid to Ukraine. What is wrong with having those responsible for the current humanitarian crisis pay for it, Madam Speaker? Vladimir Putin's invasion sparked this crisis. It makes sense that Russia should pay for the destruction and suffering it is causing these poor, innocent Ukrainians.

I appreciate Mr. Johnson's truculent use of this apparatus, and I do appreciate his lackluster approach.

Madam Speaker, on February 6, Bearden High School's dance team brought home another national championship from the Universal Dance Association's National Dance Team championship. The team earned its third national championship in the large varsity Game Day Division, the sixth in team history.

Routines in the Game Day Division are focused on school spirit and crowd engagement. Teamwork is crucial in these choreographed competitions, and athletes must be on the same page if they want to win. Bearden's dance team won this competition by working together and perfecting a motivating, effective routine during Bearden Bulldog athletic competitions.

Members of this national championship winning team are Abigail Abrams, Olivia Roddy, Jordan James, Ella Klenck, Julie Horn, Maddie Taylor, Cadance Eastman, Kenzie Bankes, Mallory Simpson, Ruby Fisher, Leah Cho, Ella McLaughlin, Marian Mitchell, Mallory Haskins, Eli Keziah, Lana Nelson, Avery Duncanson, and Reagan Honeycutt.

The team's leadership includes head coach Hannah Keathley, assistant coaches Natalie Adkins and Sydney Schriver, technical coach Kathryn Brasfield, choreographer Katie Fear Lane, and team sponsor and high school teacher Rebecca Nutter.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor to celebrate this group of athletes from Bearden High School, my alma mater. Our community is proud of your continued success on the national stage.

And go Bulldogs.

Recognizing Tennessee Volunteers Legend Gus Manning

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize somebody who really needs no recognition at all but is somebody who is very dear to me. He is a good friend of mine. He is a Tennessee Volunteer legend, Gus Manning. He is turning 99 this July, and I wanted to take a few moments to recognize Gus' life and distinguished career here on the House floor.

Gus is a lifelong Knoxvillian. He graduated from Rule High School, the Fighting Golden Bears, and then served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. After he completed serving his country in the Marine Corps he decided to become a Tennessee Volunteer, and that journey began.

A tremendously athletic individual, Gus walked onto UT's football team in 1947 and played baseball for the Volunteers. He graduated from Tennessee in 1950 but returned to UT in 1951 when the athletic director, General Robert Neyland, hired him to be the sports information director for Volunteer athletics. This was the beginning of Gus' nearly half-century long professional career with UT's athletic department.

Outside of the athletic department, Gus co-hosted Vol Sports Report on WIVK. He also served as president of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Southeastern Conference Sports Information Directors, and the Southeastern Conference Business Managers.

From 1951 to 2003, Gus attended 608 consecutive Tennessee Volunteers football games. His dedication to the University of Tennessee's athletic program earned him inductions into halls of fame and awards from various organizations. His greatest recognition came in 2015, when Gate 16 at Neyland Stadium was renamed Gus Manning Gate. It is fitting that an individual who dedicated so much of his life to the football teams that play in that stadium is now a part of it forever.

I thank Gus for continuing to be such a great representative of the University of Tennessee and its athletic programs.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the great work that Chairman Johnson has been doing on this for the last few weeks, and I look forward to working with him in the future.

Six days ago, Mr. Speaker, I spoke about the fentanyl crisis in this Chamber. According to the trajectory of the CDC's most recent 12-month data on drug overdose deaths, over 1,600 Americans have died since that speech, 1,600. In reality, I am afraid that number is actually a lot higher thanks to illegally trafficked fentanyl.

Just last week, an unsuspecting high school student in Connecticut overdosed on marijuana laced with fentanyl. Thankfully, that student is all right, but sadly, there are many others who do not survive an overdose.

A man called my office the other day. His son died. He was in the Carolinas, unsuspecting, took a street drug, and it was laced with fentanyl. They said the fentanyl, the pill was still in his mouth, it was that strong.

Our government needs to stop illegal fentanyl from entering the United States right now, Mr. Speaker. Republicans and Democrats must demand more action on this issue from our leaders.

Here in the House, Speaker Pelosi controls the floor schedule and does not say much about illegal fentanyl trafficking. Down Pennsylvania Avenue, at the White House, President Biden issued financial sanctions against foreign smugglers who bring drugs like fentanyl into our country. Mr. Speaker, that is a nice start, but I doubt these cartel thugs and bums will quit the drug trade just because they can't use an American bank.

Earlier today, I delivered a letter to Speaker Pelosi requesting that she do everything in her power to stop fentanyl from entering our country. President Biden received a copy of that letter as well. I urged them to consider my Fentanyl Trafficker Elimination Act, which would sentence fentanyl traffickers to life in prison, as a possible solution to reducing the amount of fentanyl that flows across our borders.

Politically, I have little in common with Speaker Pelosi and President Biden. I met President Biden after the prayer breakfast, and I told him that I don't agree with hardly anything he does, but I pray for him every day, and that is true. However, I believe all three of us agree more needs to be done to stop Americans from overdosing on illegal fentanyl. I think overwhelming majorities in our respective parties feel the same. The American people will be glad to see us put politics aside and do something to reduce the tragic fentanyl overdose deaths that have become too common in our communities.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, we spend most of our time up here and, as I have said before, these bridges and post offices aren't going to name themselves. We need to get back to the people's work, Mr. Speaker, and put an end to this tragedy.

As always, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your more-than-lackluster abilities.

Madam Speaker, I rise tonight with a heavy heart as the citizens of my district and, especially, Loudon County mourn the loss of Sergeant Chris Jenkins, a military veteran and long-time member of the Loudon County Sheriff's Office.

Sergeant Jenkins was killed last week. He was hit by an intoxicated driver behind the wheel of a semitruck. His life was cut way too short, but the impact he had on his community will live on long into the future.

Sergeant Jenkins served with honor, proudly going to work every day in service to others and knowing that any day he could be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Today, I had the privilege of speaking on the phone with Sergeant Jenkins' sweet mother, Faye, and his son Clay, who is also a Loudon County Sheriff's deputy. Many of my friends in the Chamber know that those are the hardest calls to make.

To me, our servicemembers and first responders are all heroes. But talking to mothers like Faye, Madam Speaker, you are reminded that these heroes are so much more: they are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.

So, Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the life and service of Sergeant Chris Jenkins and offer up a prayer tonight that his family find some comfort in their loss.

Madam Speaker, imagine you are an inventor with a new idea. You put a lot of time, effort, and money into everything it takes for your idea to become a reality. Finally, after all your hard work, you have a successful product. However, a foreign competitor copied your intellectual property, and your property is now worthless.

This is a serious problem facing American investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses, and the Chinese Communist Party is typically the culprit behind intellectual property theft. It is totally wrong that this happens right under our government's nose, but we haven't done a daggum thing to stop the exploitation.

House Democrats are putting on the floor a bogus China competition bill that does nothing to actually solve this problem. In fact, they even rejected several amendments that address the lack of intellectual property protections in their bill.

My Trade Related Intellectual Property Protection Act was among the amendments Democrats rejected. It would require Congress to approve the sharing of any intellectual property with the World Trade Organization member states, giving us a chance to make sure Americans' hard work does not get stolen by the Communist Chinese.

By excluding my commonsense amendment, Democrats missed an opportunity to make their bill a legitimate response to Communist China's attacks on America's brightest minds.

Madam Speaker, we are in a race with China to be the world's technology superpower and we are giving in to the Communist Chinese wishes.

Madam Speaker, when we come to the floor to talk about the border crisis, it is a lot like the film Groundhog Day. If you listen closely, I think you can hear ``I Got You Babe'' by Sonny and Cher, and it is probably echoing through this Chamber as we speak. We expect President Biden to do something about this disaster, Madam Speaker, but just like in the movie, he does the same thing every dadgum day--absolutely nothing.

Two million, thirty-five thousand, ten, that is how many migrants our border agents apprehended at that southern border since President Biden took office last January--over 2 million people. Hiding among the massive crowds of people are smugglers working for drug cartels. They are smuggling in children for all kinds of deviant things. In 2021, over 860,000 pounds of drugs were confiscated from smugglers. More concerning are the smugglers who are not caught.

Fentanyl is among the drugs flooding through the gaps in our southern border. Just a tiny amount of this drug--as small as a pinhead--is enough to kill everyone in this Chamber right now. Opioid-related deaths in the United States topped over 100,000 for the first time last year. 100,000 souls lost. Experts believe fentanyl is responsible for this tragic milestone.

There should be severe punishments for fentanyl trafficking and smuggling this stuff across our borders.

The Fentanyl Trafficker Elimination Act, legislation I recently introduced, oddly enough, sends a clear message to these cartel thugs about their fate if they are caught. Under my bill, convicted smugglers would be locked up in an American prison for the rest of their lives.

More Americans will overdose on fentanyl and die if nothing is done to deter drug smuggling activity or secure our southern border, Madam Speaker, and our Vice President, the so-called border czar, is, frankly, a joke.

Time is not on our side. President Biden cannot waste another day ignoring the border crisis.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his, as always, more than a lackluster attempt at governing.

Madam Speaker, today I recognize Dr. Marek Pienkowski, an accomplished medical researcher and a cultural ambassador for Poland. This year he is celebrating his 50th anniversary of living in the United States.

Dr. Pienkowski earned his M.D. and Ph.D. at the Medical University of Warsaw. In 1972 he migrated to the United States to work with Hilary Koprowski, the inventor of the world's first live Polio vaccine, to research cancer-causing viruses. He later became a post-doctoral fellow in clinical immunology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and in 1984 he established a clinical practice to treat patients with allergies, asthma, and immunological disorders.

Today, medical research and findings from throughout Dr. Pienkowski's career are widely distributed. He published more than fifty scientific papers and two books, including the Handbook for Human Embryology used by medical students in Poland.

Dr. Pienkowski was key to expanding cultural, artistic, scientific, and business dialogue between the United States and Poland. He established the Marek Maria Pienkowski Foundation to facilitate cooperation and exchanges between the University of Tennessee's School of Art and fine arts schools in Poland. He also founded PolandNow in Knoxville, a civic organization to promote and strengthen Polish- American relationships.

During this time, former United States Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe worked with Dr. Pienkowski to establish Knoxville's Sister City relationship with Chelm, Poland. For his efforts to strengthen U.S.- Poland relations, Dr. Pienkowski earned an Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland designation from the U.S. Department of State.

When Dr. Pienkowski left Poland to make the United States his home, he brought with him his passions for helping people and building international relationships. Congratulations to Dr. Pienkowski for an impressive career, and I thank him for his contributions to our community.

We can all agree that it is wrong to murder a person, Mr. Speaker, or in other words to take someone's life. So my pro- abortion colleagues need to answer the simple question of when does a little baby girl's life start?

Does it start at 6 weeks when the baby girl's heart starts beating? Most pro-abortion advocates oppose the 6-week heartbeat laws, so they would not consider a heartbeat to be life. What about when a little baby girl can start to feel pain around the halfway point in pregnancy? Not a single House Democrat cosponsored legislation that would affect babies who can feel pain, so it seems they don't believe in life at the halfway point either.

What about at 21 weeks, Mr. Speaker, when the baby girl could potentially survive outside the womb thanks to lifesaving medical technology? It seems simple to say if she could live outside the womb, she must be alive inside the womb, as well. Yet most pro-abortion advocates still say we should be able to kill her without a second thought.

Many of my pro-abortion colleagues also believe we should be able to abort viable babies even up through birth. Why should abortion doctors be allowed to kill a baby who has developed organs, a beating heart, and even the ability to recognize the sound of their own mother's voice? There is no excuse for aborting babies at birth, but the pro- abortion movement believes this murder should be allowed anyway.

It is time my pro-abortion colleagues start following the science and realize those little babies are human, alive, and worthy of life.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Smith for the incredible work he is doing. He may not get his rewards here, but I assure you he will in Heaven.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman. It is the great State of Tennessee.

Madam Speaker, for the last year, Joe Biden and the Democrats have completely controlled our government in Washington. Their first order of business when they took power was to ram through Congress almost $2 trillion in Federal spending under the so-called American Rescue Plan.

When this bill became law last March, Democrats said it was necessary to fight the coronavirus. Ten months later, our country is still dealing with the same problems Democrats claimed their bill would solve.

COVID tests are sold out at drugstores, and testing centers have

hourlong lines. Not even Kamala Harris can give a straight answer about when Americans will receive at-home test kits. Is it this week? Is it next week? Is it sometime in the future? I don't think she knows.

We have overwhelmed hospitals that are struggling to treat patients due to staffing shortages. Corrupt teachers' unions are forcing students out of the classroom and bullying parents. Businesses of all sizes and across industries cannot find enough workers to keep up with the demand.

Madam Speaker, the American Rescue Plan failed miserably to address or prevent these issues. That is because it mostly focused on funding liberal special interests instead of targeted pandemic relief.

This whole debacle confirmed two things: Congress cannot spend its way out of a problem, and Democrats will always use a crisis to advance their political agenda.

Joe Biden promised to shut down the coronavirus when he took office. One year later, all he shut down were America's hospitals and businesses.

Thank you, Vice Chairman Johnson, for your adequate and more-than- lackluster leadership skills.

Madam Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life of John Rice Irwin, a renowned historian and the founder of east Tennessee's Museum of Appalachia. He recently passed away at 91 years of age.

John joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany during the Korean war. When he returned to east Tennessee, he began a career in education and became Anderson County Schools' youngest superintendent at the age of 31.

It was around this time John started collecting old-timey Appalachian items. John was fascinated by east Tennessee's rich cultural history, and he traveled around the region to collect artifacts and document stories of how the people lived long ago. He even bought a historic cabin and restored it to what it would have looked like when it was first built.

Madam Speaker, that little cabin became the Museum of Appalachia, which opened in 1969 and received around 600 visitors during its first year. John kept expanding the museum, and now it covers 65 acres, contains over 250,000 historical artifacts, and welcomes tens of thousands of guests each year. Anyone who visits the museum will recognize John's passion for the Appalachian heritage.

Former Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander displayed loaned artifacts from John's museum in his Washington office until his retirement in 2020. These same artifacts are now on display in my Washington office, and I am reminded of John's incredible work each time I walk through the front door.

Rest in peace, brother. Thank you for telling the stories of our historic Appalachian community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my dear friend, Dr. Harold Black. The University of Georgia, his alma mater, recently announced it will name a new residence hall in his honor.

He was the first Black student to enroll in the university's Terry College of Business, graduating with a bachelor of business administration in economics. He completed his education by earning his master of the arts and Ph.D. in economics from Ohio State University.

Dr. Black then led an accomplished career working for financial institutions. He served as Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Research and Analysis in the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Director and Chairman of the Nashville branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and consulted for several major banking corporations.

Dr. Black later used his public and private sector experience to teach finance in the higher education system. Following tenures at several universities, Dr. Black eventually settled at my alma mater, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Dr. Black shared his knowledge with students in the Haslam College of Business for 24 years until his retirement in 2011. Throughout his career, Dr. Black published his financial research in outlets like the American Economic Review, the Journal of Banking and Finance, and the Journal of Monetary Economics. He received many awards for his teaching and research. Dr. Black continues to write, publishing a weekly column in my favorite newspaper, the Knoxville Focus.

Congratulations on your recent recognition from the University of Georgia, Dr. Black. Our community is proud of your achievements, and I for one enjoy reading your views on economics, and for making it so even a person of my intelligence level can understand what you are saying. I really appreciate it.

Honoring Petty Officer Second Class Chris Al-Brett

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Petty Officer Second Class Chris Al-Brett as Tennessee's Second District's Veteran of the Month.

Chris enrolled in avionics school at the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Millington, Tennessee, in 1969. Later that year, he reported to Attack Squadron 174 based at Naval Air Station Cecil Field, which defended the beaches of Northeast Florida against a potential communist invasion.

He worked on an A-7 Corsair 2 Light Attack Bomber. Chris later transferred to Attack Squadron 176 in Virginia. In 1972, he embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin Delano Roosevelt for a mission in the Mediterranean Sea. After serving overseas, Chris was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1974.

In 2015, Chris joined the Captain Bill Robinson Chapter 1078 of the Vietnam Veterans of America. He became the chapter's public information officer, and the chapter received the Vietnam Veterans of America's 2017 Chapter of the Year award thanks in part to his leadership.

In December 2020, Chris joined the United Veterans Council of East Tennessee's Board of Directors as its public information officer. He was recently elected as the board's president, a position he will assume this year.

Mr. Speaker, we thank Chris for his service to our country and to his fellow veterans. I wish him the very best at the start of his new position.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I oppose this bill, Madam Speaker, because it is redundant and will grow a State Department bureaucracy that is already overgrown. This is the same State Department that already has two bureaus tasked with this issue.

I wish someone would tell me what exactly it is these bureaucrats are doing now, since they now need a third department to help them do their job.

These are the same State Department bureaucrats who spent 4 years undermining the foreign policy of a Republican President from deep within the government. Now they are getting a pass from the Biden administration to be soft on China, soft on Russia, and of course, soft on Iran.

And the Democrats in the House want us to spend even more taxpayer money on this already bloated bureaucracy, Madam Speaker.

For my friends across the aisle, the solution always seems to be throwing more money at a problem.

After 3 years in the House, I am beginning to realize that, for the Democrats in Congress, our tax dollars are nothing more than political duct tape. The problem with duct tape, Madam Speaker, is it does not actually fix anything, contrary to what some people believe. Like growing government and spending more money, duct tape is not a solution.

So here is an idea I wish my friends across the aisle and President Biden would consider: Rather than feeding the beast, let's cut the State Department's budget until the bureaucrats

deep within decide to get back to work for the American people.

Instead of pushing a woke globalist agenda, Secretary of State Blinkin needs to call his workers back to the office, rather than letting them continue to stay home while passports and visa applications go unprocessed for American citizens and visitors.

Let's not waste our constituents' hard-earned tax dollars playing politics. Our government is big enough. We can do without another dadgum bureaucracy at the State Department.

Madam Speaker, this holiday season, most Americans are using the conventional shopping method. They choose their item in the store and pay for it at the checkout.

However, this year, others are going with a different approach: smash and grab robberies. Thugs are ambushing stores, breaking windows, and destroying store property, then walking out with all the merchandise they can carry. Robberies at pharmacies and retail stores are on the rise this year, mostly in liberal cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. There is a clear pattern here.

Store robberies are up in Democrat-run cities that push defund the police agendas and refrain from punishing criminals in the name of equity. Criminals in these cities figured out there is no consequence for busting up a Gucci store and walking out with thousands of dollars of merchandise.

For example, in California, people can steal up to $950 worth of merchandise without being charged with a felony. Many looters in California cities who get arrested are quickly released because they don't even have to pay bail.

Unfortunately, many Democrats are willingly ignorant of this trend. They even attribute the rise in smash-and-grab robberies to the coronavirus or deny the problem exists at all. They keep pushing their antipolice, procriminal policies, and it is hardworking businessowners and employees who end up paying the price.

Madam Speaker, I always remember what my parents told me: Let's not close the barn door after the cows have already left.