Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, America has lost a statesman, noble war hero, and service-minded Kansan who never forgot where he came from. Senator Bob Dole died peacefully at the age of 98, having left his district, State, and this country better for the many contributions he made over 79 years of public life.

I was blessed to spend some time with Senator Dole a few weeks ago. His love for Kansas and its people were on full display in his excited curiosity about our plans for the Big First District.

He was a thoughtful, committed, and energetic champion for our Nation and our way of life in rural Kansas. He always treated others with respect and kindness, especially his fellow veterans, as he attended nearly every Honor Flight that came to Washington, D.C. He was a fierce advocate for his political views, but he was equally committed to cross-aisle friendship and comradery.

I left our time together inspired and commissioned, as Senator Dole made it clear we must never forget where we come from. He knew deep down that the heartbeat of our Nation lies in places like his hometown of Russell, Kansas. His legacy will echo into the future, and his patriotic spirit serves as a benchmark for anyone who believes that our brightest days are yet to come.

I thank Senator Dole for working tirelessly to make our world a better place. May he rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, my prayers and gratitude for Senator Bob Dole go out to his family.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) for all of his work in getting this legislation put together and bringing it to the floor this morning. It is not a silver bullet, but it potentially can help our cattle markets.

I grew up on a family farm and preconditioning feed yard. I spent thousands of hours riding pens and doctoring sick cattle in the Big First District of Kansas, which is the largest beef-producing district in the country. The Big First is home to cow-calf operations, feed yards, and packing plants of all sizes.

In my district and across the country, cattle producers face challenging market dynamics, including historically wide gaps between wholesale beef prices and fed cattle prices, packing capacity and regulation, and more.

I have talked to hundreds of cattle producers in Kansas, ranging from small cow-calf operations to some of the country's largest feed yards. Overwhelmingly, I have heard that we need to increase price discovery in the cash market, make sure that producers benefit when they provide a superior product, refuse to let the government in the free market, and acknowledge regional differences in the industry.

The Cattle Contract Library Act is a simple step toward addressing some of today's concerns with more fairness, transparency, and healthy competition in the cattle market. I am committed to working with the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), my colleagues in the House, and others across Kansas and the country in addressing any concerns with the program and the cattle market before reauthorization of the program at this time next year.

The Cattle Contract Library Act will help ensure that all market participants are both paying and receiving a fair price for their goods. It sends a clear message to ranchers, farmers, and livestock producers across the country that their voices are being heard in Washington. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss President Biden's shortsighted decision to release 50 million barrels of oil from America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, depleting this national security asset by nearly 10 percent when there is no oil supply shortage, only a manmade one.

The United States' oil reserve is not a tool for the President to fix his own political problems. Sadly, this administration throws money away whenever the problems they create reflect poorly on them. We have seen this with COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and vaccine mandates keeping people out of work, leftist political aims resulting in bad legislation, and a flagrant disregard for the national debt all leading to wasteful spending.

Rather than drain one of our essential national security assets to temporarily mask the effects of their policies, this administration should instead encourage our domestic, independent oil and gas producers to take steps to get oil production back up. I shudder to think that the President might drain another 10 percent of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve 2 months from now if our oil production continues to wane.

There are other solutions to this issue, like reinstating the Keystone pipeline and encouraging oil production on Federal lands just being two of them. Instead, this administration has canceled the Keystone pipeline, which would make 860,000 barrels of oil available daily, and has demanded a 50 percent fee increase for oil and gas leasing on Federal lands.

Just 2 years ago, the United States was producing 2 million more barrels of oil per day than we are now. We are down from 13 million barrels per day to 11 million barrels per day. That means if we could lift regulations and find creative strategies to get our oil production back up, we could create 50 million barrels of oil in just 25 days rather than dip into the emergency reserves.

Historically, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has only ever been used in cases of natural disaster and war. With global unrest from COVID-19 and America's enemies looking to do us harm, this is not the time to needlessly weaken a national security asset that exists to provide energy to America in the event of an actual catastrophe in our country.

The only catastrophe in America right now is this administration's bad policies. I oppose the President using our emergency oil reserves in this brazen political tactic. This is unnecessary, irresponsible, and dangerous.

Waters of the United States

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in defense of Kansas farmers and ranchers who have the right to manage their own resources without overreaching regulation from the Federal Government.

The Biden administration is hurting farmers, ranchers, and ag- business owners. Recently, they withdrew from the Navigable Waters Protection Rule which sought to undo the harm caused by the Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule from 2015, through which the Federal Government aimed to exact regulatory control over nearly all bodies of water, regardless of their size or connection to larger waterways. Because of this legislative mess, farmers and ranchers have had to conduct their businesses under three different regulatory definitions of water in just the past 6 years.

On a farm, water is the lifeblood of the operation, and farmers in Kansas don't need the Federal Government to tell them how to take care of it. Our farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists who continually update their practices to reduce water use and inputs to produce safe, affordable food while maintaining their water supply for generations to come.

Instead of worrying about what farmers in Kansas are doing with their puddles, the administration should instead focus on curbing inflation, getting Americans back to work, fixing the supply chain, and securing our borders.

service academy nominations

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss one of my greatest privileges as a Member of Congress, participating in the service academy nominations process, which brings together my passions for engaging with young people, leadership development, and military service in this great country.

I am proud to come from a State with a rich history of military service. President Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915, which is why I felt it was appropriate to host our State's nomination process in his Presidential library in Abilene, Kansas. After watching young Kansas men and women go through the extensive and competitive nomination exercise, one of the members of our selection committee said: ``Meeting and working with these young people gives me hope for the future of our country.''

In the United States, we have a long tradition of young American patriots willingly embracing the duty to serve, to protect the homeland, to keep the peace abroad, and to secure our rights. Leaders serve, and I want to congratulate all the deserving young leaders who are recipients of service academy nominations. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their willingness to sacrifice for this great country.

Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Keller for hosting this Special Order and for his hard work and leadership.

I rise today with you and scores of our colleagues to call for congressional review of President Biden's vaccine mandates.

During his tenure in the White House, President Biden has circumvented this Congress to issue multiple executive orders imposing vaccine mandates on all Federal employees, Federal contractors, healthcare workers, and even private businesses with more than 100 employees.

These mandates are forcing Americans to choose between their paychecks and their principles.

I have heard from multiple agents at the USDA's Farm Service Agency who have chosen to resign rather than receive the vaccine. Just a year ago, these same agents were deemed essential, connecting vital resources to farmers and ranchers, and today, they are out of a job.

Congress should immediately review these mandates in full and take up legislation like my bill, the Stop Vaccine Mandates Act, which would have prohibited OSHA from implementing a vaccine mandate on private businesses altogether.

Anyone who wants to receive a vaccine should do so, but that is a personal healthcare decision. It is not an arena for mandates from the government, and I am deeply disappointed by President Biden's policies and lack of responsible, legitimate concerns surrounding them. I will continue to push against these overreaching mandates with all of us and will fight to protect the freedoms of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the gross misuse of a noble process called reconciliation and the President's apparent lack of concern for the well-being of rural and middle-class Americans.

The reconciliation process exists to do exactly what its name suggests--to direct Congress with a tool of compromise to reduce the national deficit with a simple majority vote in both Chambers. President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and House Democrats are, instead, using this process to jam partisan legislation through a deadlocked Congress. This is shameless, and American taxpayers will bear the cost in both their wallets and their consciences.

The reconciliation package is chock-full of policy moves that will damage our country and compromise our integrity as a nation. Among them are the expansion of welfare without work requirements. At a time when our supply chains are in crisis and we have help wanted signs at every corner, this will only worsen the issue. Another troubling provision would give the IRS $80 billion to hire 87,000 new agents and ramp up audits on individuals and small businesses.

Just a few other terrible provisions include increasing penalties for businesses who don't comply with OSHA vaccine mandates which are an egregious Federal Government overreach, imposing new fines on the oil and gas industry, and punishing States like Kansas who have opted not to expand Medicaid.

Perhaps the worst part of the entire reconciliation package, though, is what is not included. Democrats have excluded the Hyde amendment, a longstanding bipartisan amendment that protects Americans who oppose abortion from being forced to pay for these abortions from their tax dollars.

While the President is on a tax-and-spend spree for his party's leftist wish list, the price of nearly everything is skyrocketing in this country. Americans are heading into the holiday season more financially insecure because of this administration's policies. Consumer prices have increased over 6 percent since last year--the highest rate of inflation in over 30 years. Should this massive spending package become law, Mr. Speaker, you can expect prices to keep going up.

While the White House has stated this bill will cost $1.75 trillion, the true cost of the reconciliation package could be as much as $3.98 trillion according to some models. As if adding to our Nation's already enormous debt wasn't enough, this bill will drive up inflation and end up taxing the middle class.

This bill is twice as long as the Bible, it is toxic for the American people, and it is a gross misuse of a usually noble process. I stand in opposition to it on numerous counts.

Mr. Speaker, the BBB is bad, bad, bad for America, and I urge this Congress to join me in strongly opposing it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer a solution to decongest America's ports, revive America's supply chain, and get Americans back to work.

In the past few months, we have learned the hard way that congested ports create a real interstate commerce and supply chain problem. Families are waiting 6 months for working refrigerators, farmers are waiting 2 months or more for a simple part to fix their equipment, and manufacturing companies are waiting 5 to 6 times longer for electronic components.

Well, people are tired of watching their paid-for, necessary goods sit on our ships off our coasts. The Biden administration is not doing anything about it.

Today, I introduced the Truckers Responding at National Shipping Ports Overcoming Retail Turmoil Act, requiring the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program for motor carriers and motor private carriers to relieve congested ports during a national state of emergency or when ports are congested at 50 percent or more.

My bill would empower the Secretary of Transportation to issue Federal grants from unused relief dollars to truckers or distributors to transport goods from a port of entry to a destination point.

Additionally, my bill would temporarily waive State-operating standards, should those standards be more stringent than the Federal standard. For example, my bill would allow Kansas farmers and truckers to operate their U.S. Department of Transportation compliant trucks in California, a State that otherwise restricts trucks older than 2011 from entering the State, to help relieve the ports and transport goods across this country.

Temporarily waiving State requirements is a small price to pay for a strong supply chain, fully stocked shelves in grocery stores, and employed transportation workers.

Congested ports have far-reaching implications beyond the States in which they exist, and it is unconscionable to let the American people suffer because of the unwillingness to solve a problem that impacts us all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to defend the American public from the worst sort of Federal Government overreach, that which involves their private bank accounts.

President Biden's proposal to give the IRS unprecedented access to Americans' bank accounts would pose hefty compliance burdens on community banks and credit unions, hamper the ability for individuals to access capital, and entrench the Federal Government even further into our everyday lives, decaying freedom and eroding personal liberty.

This is wrong for America, and I stand and will continue to stand in opposition to this indefensible and wasteful proposal to invade the privacy of nearly every American.

Recognizing Brycen Gulick

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and thank Brycen Gulick for his service to me, my office, and Kansans throughout the Big First District.

During his time in my office, Brycen has shown himself to be kind, creative, and joyful. I most admire his loyalty, always yearning to be a part of our team, and his adaptability and willingness to step outside of his comfort zone.

God continually puts open and closed doors in front of all of us, and the wise man asks God to speak and direct his steps as he walks through life. I am proud to have had Brycen on my team, and I pray that the Lord would help him blossom in his next adventure.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Brycen for his service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind Congress that small businesses and consumers all over the country are feeling the repercussions of President Biden's spending spree.

It is very simple: President Biden's so-called rescue plan has directly caused a crisis we are seeing on the farm and on Main Street. Injecting $1.9 trillion of government spending into the economy without a clear plan for execution has increased costs and disrupted the supply chain.

All government spending must be paid for somehow, and Americans are paying for it with inflation. Since February 2020, the amount of money in the economy has grown by over 26 percent, so it should come as no surprise that Americans are experiencing the highest price increases since the Great Recession. Consumer prices for used cars and trucks have risen by more than 24 percent, and costs have increased 11.2 percent for furniture, 9.6 percent for household appliances, 6 percent for utilities, and 5.6 percent for clothing.

President Biden promised to raise taxes only on wealthy Americans, but these price increases happening under his direction are a tax on every American. Inflation-adjusted wages are down nearly 2 percent since President Biden took office, and with the Democrats planning to continue their reckless tax-and-spend habits, American families can expect the cost of living to keep going up.

As if rising costs weren't enough, this administration's so-called rescue plan has created a labor shortage that is weakening our supply chain and leaving manufacturers and business owners high and dry.

Earlier this month, I hosted a manufacturing tour across my district in Kansas, where I visited small businesses that produce and sell products like highway signs, car accessories, and industrial valves. These businesses are the driving forces in their communities, but the leaders who run them all painted the same bleak picture: Vendor costs are rising; labor is hard to come by; and a weakened supply chain is slowing everything down.

The Grasshopper Company in Moundridge, Kansas, builds and sells mowers and landscaping tools, the same ones used by the White House groundskeepers. Grasshopper is facing longer lead times on vendor items than they have ever seen, and the prices on raw materials like steel seem to be rising daily. To meet their customer demand on time, Grasshopper had to pay an extra $28,000 air freight fee. Back in July, Grasshopper's disrupted supply chain and increased cost of doing business forced them to raise the price of their goods midseason, something they have not had to do since the Carter administration.

Another manufacturing company in my district told me that the supply chain backlog has made it impossible to plan for their future. Their suppliers are telling them that essential inputs like electronic components will now take at least 5 to 6 months before they even ship. Before this year, they never had to wait longer than 4 weeks.

Sadly, these are just two examples from Kansas' Big First District. Small businesses all over the country are being forced to raise their costs due to supply chain issues, inflation impacting their own inputs, labor shortages, or all the above.

To get inflation under control, strengthen the supply chain, and stop consumer costs from rising even further, we need to get Americans back to work, stop the vaccine mandate, quit recklessly printing money, and end the spending addiction here in Washington.

Securing Release and Return of American Missionaries in Haiti

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express the urgent need for the Biden administration to secure the release and return of the 17 American missionaries taken captive in Haiti by a street gang known for mass kidnapping of religious groups.

I cannot imagine the terror they are experiencing in this very moment as we speak. We cannot sit idly by while they fear for their lives.

For decades, the United States has invested in developing Haiti through

government aid and nongovernment organizations like Christian Aid Ministries. I urge President Biden and this administration to leverage our relationship with the Haitian Government to secure the safe return of every member of this group.

The captivity of Americans, whether in Port-au-Prince, Kabul, or anywhere else, is an international crisis. President Biden's actions in this moment are assuredly being watched by those who would not hesitate to do our country harm and could have longstanding repercussions for Americans practicing their faith across the globe.

The United States must be clear: If you capture our citizens, our government will respond swiftly and decisively.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Kansas, for this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Father Emil Kapaun, a man of God who served the Lord and his country in both World War II and the Korean war.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2044 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 17 East Main Street in Herington, Kansas, as the Captain Emil J. Kapaun Post Office Building.

In March of this year, Father Kapaun's remains were finally identified in Hawaii, and just last month, they were brought back to his hometown of Pilsen, Kansas, which lies in my district, the Big First District of Kansas.

Father Kapaun grew up on a farm, became a priest in 1940 at 24 years old, and became a U.S. military chaplain 4 years later. Father Kapaun received a Bronze Star for valor during the Korean war in 1950 when, in the heat of battle, he rushed to the front lines to retrieve a wounded soldier under heavy machine-gun fire, saving that soldier's life with complete disregard for his own safety.

He also received the Distinguished Service Cross, which was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 2013 for another heroic effort in battle that same year. Father Kapaun rescued nearly 40 wounded comrades from no- man's-land; disregarded an order to evacuate, choosing to stay with the wounded even though it meant his own capture; and pushed aside an enemy soldier who was about to execute a member of his own battalion.

He was put in a POW camp, where he gave away his own food and dug latrines before dying a year later. He was a great man, a servant of all who followed Jesus who said: ``Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.''

Father Kapaun is on his way to sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. I have introduced a resolution in his honor and today urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on my bill, which would rename the postal facility in Herington, Kansas, after him.

My prayers are with his family members as they celebrate his life of service, and it is an honor to praise his faithfulness and bravery in this Chamber today.

Madam Speaker, I rise to discuss this reckless and shortsighted reconciliation package and what I believe to be its worst effects on the American people.

The budget reconciliation process exists to reduce the national deficit with a majority vote, not to let the majority party jam partisan legislation through this Congress. Since January, Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have not used reconciliation for its intended purpose but rather to pass the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on party lines and now the $3.5 trillion budget blueprint. Here, we see the opposite of the intended use for the reconciliation process and the opposite of the word ``reconciliation'' itself. This is division.

Senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said that under this budget, no middle-income family would pay more in taxes. That is not true. The reconciliation bill includes damaging tax increases, falling largely on the shoulders of middle-income families, small business owners, and family farms. This bill would be the largest tax-and-spend measure in America's history and would increase the national debt to $45 trillion by 2031. In addition to the devastating spending and tax hikes, it would allow the Federal Government to intervene even more in our daily lives and kill countless jobs.

Unfortunately, the Senate version of this package could be even worse. Right now, the House version of the bill keeps stepped up basis intact, which protects family farms from being taxed out of existence, and it does not include the requirement that banks report to the IRS all transactions over $600, which is patently ludicrous. I am prepared to offer an amendment on the final bill if either of these two provisions, amongst others, are changed.

This is the largest tax-and-spend bill in the history of the country. Only 1 percent has even been scored by the Congressional Budget Office. It would result in a whopping $10,600 per American in new spending. We are spending money we don't have on things that we don't need, and I urge this Congress to join me in opposing this horrible legislation which will weaken our great Nation and reduce our freedom.

A Path to Healing and Reconciliation

Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss what I see as the path to healing and reconciliation in our country.

We have a promise from God about how to heal our Nation. It is very simple, and it is from II Chronicles. The Lord says: ``If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.''

It is almost as though God crafted this message for our present moment. I am proud to be part of the crew of people on this Earth who strive to live by God's promises: those who follow Jesus. You can find us throughout Kansas and from Austin, Texas, to Hamilton, Montana, to Simmons, Kentucky, to Thompson, Connecticut.

In this country, so many people advance against one another in jealousy and pride, they rush to judgment and they rob each other of the dignity and respect we owe our fellow citizens when we should be carrying each other's burdens. If we don't stop this behavior, we will incur the punishment it deserves: enmity, discord, and separation.

I think of my daughter when I tuck her in at night and my son when we go fishing. I don't want them to live in a country that is playing the dangerous game of division and hatred for the next 99 years, but a world of hope, peace, and love. If our country keeps rejecting God, we will only make it harder for ourselves to accomplish this.

Commemorating the Life of Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of a truly great Kansan, Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh, who died last year at the age of 78.

Dr. Flinchbaugh taught my ag policy class at Kansas State University, which is the best class I took at college. He had a larger-than-life demeanor; was committed to production agriculture; was involved, at some

level, in every farm bill going back over 50 years; and was sharp, witty, and hilarious. Dr. Flinchbaugh did more for Kansas farmers than possibly anyone else during his lifetime.

His expertise in ag policy led him to meet every President from Harry Truman to George W. Bush. But he wasn't interested in notoriety. He was passionate about his family, his field of study, and his students, who were his legacy and his pride and joy. I was one of the 5,000 students Dr. Flinchbaugh taught over the span of 49 years, and I can picture him now, cigar in hand, holding court in his classroom or in his office, surrounded by transfixed young people, many of whom would later go on to become leaders in the very field they learned from him.

I would like to close with one of his quotes that I think we all need to hear, especially in this deliberative body at the present time. He said: ``There are two ways to make public decisions: compromise or dictatorship. There's nothing in between.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the priorities of the Biden administration because they are not good for the American people.

What are the administration's priorities as outlined by the infrastructure package? It is not roads, bridges, highways, rail, and waterways. Instead, their infrastructure plan is a Trojan horse for a leftist wish list that will jam progressive policies like the Green New Deal through this Congress at the expense of actual infrastructure. Despite promises that this plan would be budget neutral, the CBO has estimated it will increase our national deficit by $256 billion.

What are the administration's priorities as outlined in the reconciliation bill? It is not fairness, but partisanship. Senator Bernie Sanders said that under this budget no middle-income family would pay more in taxes. That is not true. The reconciliation bill includes damaging tax increases, falling largely on the shoulders of middle-income families, small businesses, and family farms. This bill would be the largest tax-and-spend measure in America's history and would increase public debt by more than $4.16 trillion. It would also allow the Federal Government to intervene even more in our daily lives and kill countless jobs.

What are the administration's policies regarding ag policy? It is not supporting the people who feed, fuel, and clothe all of us, but eliminating their protections and taxing them out of their land. I proposed an amendment on this very issue at the House Agriculture Committee earlier this month that was not even considered by Democrat leadership. I don't want to see farmers and ranchers taxed on their generational property over and over again, which will destroy their livelihoods. This administration demands more taxes, and their party does what it often does and hammers rural America's middle class. Farmers in my district understand perfectly well that the majority party doesn't care about the issues they face while they work tirelessly to keep the breadbasket of our Nation full.

Just yesterday, I spent 2 hours in the Ag Committee marking up a resolution to retroactively designate July 2021 as National Blueberry Month. Now, I like blueberries as much as the next guy, but I stand before you in disbelief that this committee would rather name a portion of the past after a berry than protect the future of farmers in this country. These are backward priorities on full display.

Abortion Bill is Horrible

Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my opposition for H.R. 3755, which would federally legalize abortions on demand up until birth.

This bill isn't just morally reprehensible. It also prohibits States from passing their own laws acknowledging the humanity of unborn children. It is a wicked path to accomplish a wicked end. This bill would override both Federal and State laws adopted before and even after its enactment. This year, 48 States have introduced a combined 289 pro-life bills, 89 of which have been signed into law. H.R. 3755 does not reflect the voice of the American people on the issue of abortion. It reflects the voice of the abortion lobby.

This bill abolishes any law that regulates abortion in any way, including laws that prevent sex-selection abortion and abortions based on a Down syndrome diagnosis. By 12 weeks of age, babies have fully formed arms, hands, fingers, feet, and toes and a functional circulatory system and liver, and the capacity to experience

pain. All of this, astonishingly, at a weight of one ounce and a length of 4 inches. I believe that life begins at conception. I support adoptions, foster care, and crisis pregnancy centers. God knits every one of us together in our mother's wombs. Life is a miracle, and I believe that the right to it extends to the unborn in this country. That is why I strongly oppose this horrible bill.

Crisis at the Southern Border

Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention once again to the disastrous situation that President Biden has created at our southern border.

The first priority of any administration must be to protect the homeland and keep Americans safe. We have brave Border Patrol agents putting themselves in harm's way every day doing just that; and, meanwhile, their calls for a complete southern border security system are falling on deaf ears in Washington. They know that it would make their jobs easier and our country safer, and the funds are already appropriated. Why, then, is the administration forcing these agents, who deserve our unwavering support, to do their jobs with anything less than the most comprehensive technology available?

Across the globe from our southern border lies Afghanistan, where there exists yet another disastrous situation President Biden created. Make no mistake, the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban is not an isolated problem in a land far, far away. The Taliban could redistribute their terrorists across the world in a matter of days, and our southern border is about as secure as a welcome mat, inviting terrorists who hate America to come and set up shop. President Biden didn't just torpedo the stability of Afghanistan last month, he also put Americans in danger, which highlights yet another need to address the southern border crisis immediately.

Madam Speaker, on Saturday, August 14, 2021, Timothy (Tim) and Candace (Candy) Gorsuch of Leoti, Kansas, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Stillwater, Oklahoma. They were joined by family and close friends for the occasion.

Tim and Candy met on a blind date in Stillwater while Tim was playing baseball for Oklahoma State University and Candy was a flight attendant for Continental Airlines. They were married in Colorado Springs in 1971 and were blessed with three children: Jack, Adrienne, and Matthew, and 6 grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating Tim and Candy on this exciting occasion. Happy 50th wedding anniversary.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate one of my favorite times of the year, county fair season in Kansas. This summer, all 63 counties in the big First District will host at least one county fair, featuring FFA and 4-H livestock shows, rodeos, demolition derbies, science demonstrations, fair food, and most importantly, people coming together to celebrate their communities.

County fairs are special because each one is unique to that county. Some county fairs rally volunteers to build barns for farmers in need, some hold premium livestock auctions for 4-H and FFA members, driving economic opportunity for those students and their futures.

Other fairs serve the world's most famous root beer floats or host family fun nights where young and old participate in sack races and play horseshoes. County fairs teach hard work, respect, and humility. They are emblematic of conservative values, and it is certainly where I learned them as a child.

Growing up in Quinter, Kansas, I attended the Gove County Fair every year with my family. I still remember the excitement we all had when our hard work culminated and my siblings and I entered our 4-H projects for review. Those summers taught us lessons we still use today. Last weekend, I found myself reliving the childhood excitement with my son, Austin, at the Riley and Wabaunsee County Fairs.

At the Riley County Fair, 4-H members Peyton and Genayla, showed us their market steers and purple ribbon show pigs. The joy and satisfaction of accomplishment on their faces was proof that county fairs serve a critical role in the lives of our youth.

At the Wabaunsee County Fair, I met with Alex Gnadt and the county fair board. We toured their brand new livestock facility, constructed by volunteers with donations from county agriculture businesses. Communities rally to support county fairs because they know the substantial impact they have on the entire community.

I plan to visit several more county fairs this summer, and I am grateful for communities who prioritize these time-honored traditions. If you attend a Big First county fair, you will see Kansas conservative values on full display: hard work, responsibility, generous giving, and positive attitudes.

You will see strong communities, strong leaders, and you will see a bright future. I am proud to be a product of the county fair, and I look forward to celebrating them for years to come.

Bloatedbus Legislation

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the partisan appropriations bill House Democrats are forcing through Congress this week.

With a 50/50 split in the Senate, and a margin of just a few votes separating Democrats and Republicans in the House, American voters clearly want Congress to work together to produce a bipartisan spending plan. In response, Democrats have ignored the American people and produced one of the most partisan budgets in history. Their bloatedbus contains nearly $600 billion, a funding increase of more than 21 percent from the last fiscal year.

This bill is a progressive wish list. It boosts funding for the White House by nearly 40 percent and the Vice President's office by 22 percent. It rewards the most liberal agencies like the EPA and IRS, with massive budget increases, only furthering their presence in our lives. It contains more than 1,500 earmarks, returning us to the corrupt practice of pork barrel spending.

It contains harmful regulations to Kansas farmers and ranchers by no longer exempting producers from greenhouse gas reporting requirements and reverting to old regulations that decrease meat processing capacity, further suppressing the price of live cattle.

The worst part of H.R. 4502, however, is the absence of the Hyde amendment, a traditionally bipartisan provision protecting taxpayers from forced financial complicity in elective abortions. In the bloatedbus, Democrats purposely omitted the Hyde amendment, and instead took the opportunity to voice their support for radical abortion policies.

I cannot support legislation that mortgages the future of our children and grandchildren. I oppose H.R. 4502, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Recognizing Katherine Thomas

Madam Speaker, lastly, I rise today to recognize and thank Katherine Thomas for her tireless and selfless work for all Kansans.

In the last 8 years, Katherine has championed Kansas farmers and ranchers in the Halls of Congress, working on food and agricultural issues for several Members of the Kansas congressional delegation.

In 2018, Katherine helped usher the farm bill to completion under the direction of Senator Pat Roberts, then Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. Most recently, knowing how important agriculture was to me, Katherine helped establish my new congressional office and prioritize farmers and ranchers in the big First Congressional District.

I am proud to have had Katherine on my team, and I wish her the best of luck in her next adventure back in the Senate. Thank you, Katherine.

Madam Speaker, I stand today to voice my support for H.R. 18, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which would protect the American people from a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars.

I cosponsored H.R. 18 during my first few days in Congress, because I, along with the majority of American voters, believe that no person should be required to pay for abortions or abortion services. President Biden himself pledged never to force taxpayers to pay for abortions, and yet he has broken that promise by failing to include the Hyde amendment in his new budget proposal.

Devaluing the life of unborn children has desensitized America. We should never use taxpayer dollars to fund abortion services. Instead, we should focus on lifesaving resources that focus on both the mother and the child.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 18, and I

ask for its immediate consideration in this House.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong opposition to President Biden's budget proposal for its exclusion of the Hyde amendment, which for 45 years has protected Americans from forced financial complicity in abortion and abortion services.

When Congress passed the Hyde amendment in 1976, our country's lawmakers had the sense and decency to agree that if abortions were going to take place in this country, then at least dissenting Americans wouldn't get stuck with the bill. Forcing people to pay for the killing of babies with their tax dollars is unconscionable. That is why the Hyde amendment was passed.

Now, the President wants to revoke this protection, as if his $6 trillion budget--which would blatantly require us to raise taxes or print money unto bankruptcy--wasn't already disastrous enough.

I believe that life begins at conception and that unborn children in our country have a right to live. Every Member of Congress should, but one does not need to in order to support the Hyde amendment, which prohibits the Federal Government from forcing the American public to do something that we should never ask them to do: pay for abortions.

Hutchinson Football Championship

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the First District's Hutchinson Community College football team on their National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship.

Earlier this month I spoke on this very floor about playing eight-man football in rural Kansas. I indicated there were clear winners and losers in the game. On June 5, 2021, the Blue Dragons finished the regular season as clear winners, undefeated, and ranked number one. On top of that, first year Head Coach Drew Dallas went on to be named the 2020 through 2021 NJCAA Football Coach of the Year.

This is the program's first national championship and third undefeated season. The talent, time, and effort that these student athletes put into playing football while obtaining a college education is remarkable.

Congratulations again to the Hutchinson Community College football team and to Coach Dallas.