Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding member of my staff, Senior Legislative Assistant Jay Campbell, as he prepares to leave my office and Capitol Hill to pursue a new career path.

Jay is one of the most genuine and loyal people I have met during my time in Washington. Through his hard work, dedication, and his passion for identifying legislative solutions, Jay embodies what it means to be a public servant.

Amongst his colleagues Jay is respected as a knowledgeable and effective Transportation and Infrastructure policy wonk. I could not have asked for a better Transportation and Infrastructure advisor for my first year in Congress. I will certainly miss his intellectual insight to help solve the problems facing the people of TX-22.

While Jay's career on the Hill has come to a pause, I know he will have immense success in all of his future endeavors.

I want to wish Jay the best of luck in his new career. While he may no longer be on staff in my office, Jay will always be a member of the Team Nehls family.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Congressman for all of Alaska, the 45th Dean of the House, and my mentor and friend-- Representative Don Young.

Don was a soldier, a riverboat captain, and a teacher--but his true calling was serving and representing the good people of Alaska.

Throughout his 49 years in Congress, he was an icon and mentor to countless Members. When I first arrived here, Don was one of the first Members I met. In the short time I had with him, he taught me so much about the House and about being a true servant.

Don's love of his family and the people of Alaska was rivaled only by his love of the land itself. He took countless members and staff to his beloved state to show them the pristine natural wonder of his state.

This summer he was going to take me on a working trip to Alaska--and one of my great regrets in this body will forever be never getting to go with him.

Rest in peace, my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to the distinguished and exceptional career of my friend, Command Sergeant Major John F. Sampa, the retiring Command Sergeant Major of the Army National Guard.

It is one of my greatest honors and privilege to have served with then-Sergeant John Sampa when I was a lieutenant with Bravo Company 4th Battalion 112th Armor, in Rosenberg, Texas. He mentored and advised countless soldiers and airmen throughout his career.

His rise to the highest enlisted rank in the National Guard was not by chance. Command Sergeant Major

Sampa is an extremely talented and competent noncommissioned officer who led by example, outworked his peers, and always took care of his troops.

Along with the citizens from the great State of Texas, and the Army National Guard soldiers throughout the country, I wish Command Sergeant Major John Sampa a well-deserved retirement. He has served his neighbors, State, and country well.

I wish John, his wife Carlette; son, John; and daughter, Julia, all the best in their future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing bipartisan about this bill. Speaker Pelosi made it clear: Whatever far left socialist priorities didn't make it into this bill would be taken care of in reconciliation. That is what we are really here to do today.

The total price tag of this infrastructure bill plus reconciliation is $4.7 trillion. American people, listen: 4.7, t, trillion dollars.

It is difficult to visualize a number so mind-bogglingly wasteful. If we started stacking $4.7 trillion bills one on top of each other, that stack would be 317,971 miles tall. That is enough to go to the Moon and a third of the way back.

This is beyond wasteful. It is disgusting, irresponsible, and unnecessary. The bill would put our national debt over $30 trillion.

When is enough enough? This is saddling our children and grandchildren with debt that literally goes to the Moon.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this amendment. If passed, this amendment would greatly restrict law enforcement officer agencies throughout the country from obtaining lifesaving surplus military equipment like the OH-58 helicopter, and utility trucks, like the Humvee.

When I was sheriff of Fort Bend County, Texas, if I had to comply with this amendment, it would have limited my ability to save lives.

The 1033 program allowed me to obtain two surplus Army OH-58 helicopters saving county taxpayers thousands of dollars. They were free. Additionally, the program provided replacement parts to keep them flying at no cost.

After taking possession, we equipped them with lifesaving equipment and painted them with our department colors so everyone could see who was flying the helicopter.

The idea of saying we are militarizing our police departments, this is what the OH-58 looked like. This is me in Kentucky picking it up. Six weeks later, this is what they looked like. Does that look like a military helicopter? Absolutely not. So that argument holds no water.

In addition, county, city councils, and commissioners court must approve that equipment. It is not a rogue police chief; you must approve the equipment.

On several occasions, my department responded to silver alerts where senior adults were missing and couldn't be found. We deployed our helicopters to help search for them, and we were successful in many cases. And sadly, sir, some we were too late.

During Hurricane Harvey and other events, we used Humvees received out of Fort Hood to rescue hundreds of families stranded in high water. The typical law enforcement vehicle doesn't have the ability to forge through this high water where Humvees can, even up to 5 feet, and I have the pictures to prove it.

If the amendment passes, folks, you will be restricting law enforcement agencies from receiving this lifesaving equipment. I know the benefits of the program, because I participated in it. It works, and I respectfully ask Members to reject this amendment.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of rock and roll hall of famer and ZZ Top member Dusty Hill. Dusty was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and began playing bass at the age of 13. He didn't take the conventional route of bass players who usually start as guitarists and transition, instead he was a vocalist and picked up a bass one day and started playing.

Embarrassment on stage was a ``great motivator'' for Dusty and he soon mastered the bass. From 1966 to 1968, Dusty played with fellow future ZZ Top bandmate Frank Beard in the Dallas based band American Blues.

In 1970, wanting to focus more on rock and roll and less on blues, Dusty moved to Houston and joined ZZ Top with Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons. The trio performed their first concert together just outside of my district at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Beaumont, Texas on February 10, 1970.

The trio of Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, and Dusty Hill would stay together for the next 50 years. The group produced their first charting single Francine in 1972 and again found success in 1973 with the release of a top 10 Billboard 200 album Tres Hombres. In 1975, Dusty sang lead on one of the band's most popular hits ``Tush'', before releasing their next

album Tejas in 1976. Over the next two years, ZZ Top continued to tour and perform before Dusty took a two year hiatus to work at the DFW airport saying ``I did not want other people to think I thought I was full of myself, but the main thing is I didn't want to start feeling full of myself. So, I did it to ground myself.''--a mindset many members in this very Chamber could benefit from.

During this 2-year downtime is when Dusty and his band mate Billy Gibbons grew their trademark long beards. When Dusty, Billy, and Frank remerged together in 1979, the band found success with their album Deguello, which went platinum and had another one of their hits ``Cheap Sunglasses''.

But it wasn't until 1983 that ZZ Top really hit it big with their album Eliminator which introduced us to classic rock hits ``Gimme All Your Lovin'' and ``Sharp Dressed Man'' which remain staples on classic rock radio to this day.

Over the next three decades, the band stuck together touring all across Texas and the world, entertaining tens of millions of fans. They continued to find success playing together until Dusty's passing just three days ago.

I know Dusty is missed greatly, but his music and personality will live on forever as a staple of Texas and Rock and Roll history.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and ZZ Top member, Dusty Hill.

Dusty was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and began playing bass at the age of 13. Embarrassment on stage was a great motivator for Dusty, and he soon mastered the bass. From 1966 to 1968, Dusty played with his brother, Rocky Hill, and future ZZ Top bandmate, Frank Beard, in the Dallas-based band, American Blues.

In 1970, wanting to focus more on rock and roll and less on blues, Dusty moved to Houston and joined ZZ Top with Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons. The trio performed their first concert together just outside of my district at the Knights of Columbus in Beaumont, Texas, on February 10, 1970.

The trio would stay together for the next 50 years, releasing numerous hits and entertaining tens of millions of fans across the world.

I know Dusty is missed greatly. And, Frank, I know you are watching. I spoke to Debbie this morning. But Dusty will live on together as a staple of Texas and in rock and roll history.

Madam Speaker, crime is up across the country.

Cities that defunded their police are now facing the consequences. Police chiefs have gone on national TV to literally beg for more support and assistance. What started as a far-left political slogan ended up impacting real-world policy in numerous Democrat-run cities.

Now, crime is surging across America. Just the other day, there was a brazen shootout a mile away from the White House.

The facts and the numbers do not lie. This is President Biden's crime crisis.

Rather than face the radical elements of their own party, the Democrats are deflecting responsibility.

Defunding the police means less law enforcement officers on the streets, less crimes getting solved, and less criminals getting arrested. The only people who benefit from defunded police are the criminals themselves.

We are a nation of laws and law and order. We owe it to the American people to do what we can to keep them safe, even if the Biden administration won't.

Mr. Speaker, 1 week ago today, Speaker Pelosi made history. For the first time in more than 230 years of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House rejected the minority party's picks for a select committee.

This House has seen partisan fights. This House has seen turmoil. This House has seen deep division. But never in the history of its existence has it seen a Speaker reject the minority's picks for a select committee until Speaker Pelosi.

Her historic move cemented the January 6th Select Committee as completely partisan from top to bottom. Every committee member was handpicked by Speaker Pelosi for a specific purpose. And we know what that purpose is: to push her narrative and her agenda.

Despite Speaker Pelosi's attempts to obstruct the truth, Republicans will continue our own investigation and follow the facts where they take us because we owe it to the American people to ensure this never happens again.

Mr. Speaker, it is nearly August, a full 7 months since the Biden administration assumed control of the White House, and still there is no end in sight for the Biden border crisis.

It has been a month since Biden border czar, Kamala Harris, hopped off of her jet for 90 minutes for a photo shoot near the border, which she dubbed as a southern border visit, and still nothing has changed.

March was the highest month on record for illegal crossings until April. April was the highest month on record for illegal crossings until May. May was the highest month on record for illegal crossings until June. And we are on pace to set another record in July.

How many records must be broken, crimes committed, victims trafficked before the Biden administration wakes

up to the roaring crisis at our southern border?

The American people are sick and tired of the talk. They are sick and tired of excuses. They are sick and tired of the political games. Enough is enough. Secure the southern border.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Madam Speaker, I thank my dear friend for his comments.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Jackson), my great friend.

Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Jackson for his comments.

Madam Speaker, my colleagues and I will address tonight the many, many serious issues facing our country: the unprecedented crisis at our southern border; the highest inflation we have seen in 13 years; the Democrats' out-of-control spending and tax increases; the Democrats' undermining of the Hyde amendment; and the Democrats' defense of the Communist Cuba regime.

It is important we discuss these issues as Republicans, because our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, they just won't. We owe it to the American people to do better than this; to ensure there is still a country left when our children grow up.

The way the Democrats and the Biden administration are spending money, and our open borders, should not just concern Republicans, but every American. That is why I am proud of the way my colleagues and I will bring these issues straight to the American people in the people's House.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues for their participation tonight. I know that we don't have anyone else here, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, the Consumer Price Index rose 5.4 percent in the last year, the highest inflation in 13 years.

Americans are paying more for nearly everything. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of milk is up 5.6 percent; the price of fruit is up 7.3 percent; and the price of gas is up a whopping 45 percent.

Americans are paying more for goods and services because of the Democrats' out-of-control spending. Despite the dire economic state Democrats' reckless spending has put us in, they are now trying to ram through a partisan $3.5 trillion package that will raise taxes on the middle class and job creators.

What are Democrats telling American businesses to do when they are going to raise taxes and impose regulations on them as they try to rebuild in the aftermath of a pandemic? They are telling them to take their business overseas.

To bounce back from the Biden administration's dismal job reports in consecutive months, we need to be stimulating economic opportunity and growth with less taxes and less regulation. Doing so will help spur the creation of good-paying jobs that encourage people to get back in the workforce.

What won't fix it is continuing to throw money at the economy, which seems to be all the Washington swamp knows how to do. The Democrats' liberal tax-and-spend model is failing our economy and failing the American people.

We are not going to spend our way out of this mess with trillion- dollar programs that do nothing but serve liberal special interests. We do it by letting the free market flourish through lower taxes, lower regulation, and more economic freedom.

It worked under President Trump when he set records in unemployment, and it will work again if only the Federal Government would get out of the way and empower the people and the free market.

Mr. Speaker, there is a crisis of crime on our city streets. Violent crime is up double digits in Seattle, Portland, Austin, Oakland, and major cities across our great country.

The increase in violent crime is the predictable result of liberal cities defunding and undermining their law enforcement, like in Austin, Texas, where the far-left city council cut $150 million from their police budget. What did we see weeks later? A doubling in the number of murders.

Just this week, the police chief of Oakland, California, begged publicly for the city council not to cut the police department budget because it would result in more crime.

When you cut law enforcement budgets, you reduce the number of law enforcement officers. When you reduce the number of law enforcement officers, more criminals will be on the streets.

This is not rocket science. Stop attacking, undermining, and defunding law enforcement, and the crisis of crime will stop being a crisis.

Madam Speaker, my amendment, which was rejected by the majority, calls for cities--think about this now--that have defunded their police forces from receiving Federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grants for traffic enforcement.

Look at Austin, look at Seattle, look at Oakland, look at New York, millions and millions of dollars being defunded from their local law enforcement agencies. They should not be eligible to apply for Federal grant funds in the millions of dollars after they have chosen to defund their own agencies. It makes no sense.

Look at Oakland and look at the other cities today. Crime is on the rise. Violence in these liberal cities is out of control, and still, these cities continue to defund their police departments. They should not be allowed to tap into Federal grant moneys when they have chosen to defund their police.

Madam Speaker, I cannot support such hypocrisy, and I will be voting against this bill.

Mr. Speaker, the Biden border crisis continues raging on our southern border. Cartels are getting rich, migrants are getting abused and assaulted, and Americans are becoming victims of crime.

With the record number of illegal aliens attempting to flood across our border, what has the Biden administration done?

Nothing.

For months now, the Biden administration has been denying this crisis exists; telling the American people there is no crisis; telling the American people the border is closed. But we all know better.

I saw it myself firsthand when I visited Del Rio, Texas, a place where every day, around 3:00 p.m., buses pulled up to the Mexican side of the border and unloaded hundreds of illegal aliens. They then wade through knee-high water of the Rio Grande and into our country. Once they arrive on the American side, they are promptly picked up by Border Patrol agents in air-conditioned vans, given a wristband, and away they go to a city near you.

This happens tens of thousands of times every single day and there is no end in sight, not until we revert to Trump's policies.