Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, medical education based on competency and merit is necessary to lead the world in healthcare and medical innovation.

Americans sign up for a healthcare system free of racial discrimination. Medical schools must instill this fundamental precept in our country's future healthcare professionals.

That is why the Education and the Workforce Committee pressed the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the medical school accreditor, on its diversity, equity, and inclusion standards for applicants and its mandate for diversity.

LCME responded to the committee inquiry and publicly clarified that accredited medical schools will not treat applicants differently on the basis of race. With lives on the line, racial discrimination must play no part in our Nation's healthcare system.

The committee will continue to push for merit-based education standards for all professions in the American workforce.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment.

My amendment is simple. It would prevent taxpayer funds from paying for State Department employees to travel to or attend events hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative.

The rationale is quite simple. The Clinton Global Initiative has engaged in blatant corruption and influence peddling that would make even Hunter Biden blush.

In perhaps its most famous episode in 2014, Hillary Clinton approached the Moroccan Government about hosting a Clinton Global Initiative conference in Morocco. The Moroccans fronted the money for the event by funneling it through a state-owned enterprise that was extracting and exploiting phosphates from a non-self-governing territory: Western Sahara.

This sleight of hand amounted to condoning Morocco's sovereignty over this disputed land.

You heard that right. It was a cash-for-sovereignty deal, formulated just as former Secretary of State Clinton began her run for President of the free world.

This deal was so rotten that even Huffington Post deemed FOX News' investigation into this matter, ``a brutal, clean hit on Hillary Clinton's campaign.''

Indeed, the Clinton Global Initiative's scandals are myriad and include an episode uncovered by The New York Times revealing undisclosed donations linked to the sale of U.S. uranium production to a Russian Government agency.

As expected, the Clinton Global Initiative was unable to withstand the scrutiny and shuttered shortly after

the 2016 campaign. That is, until late last year when the organization reconstituted itself. Its operations are no longer dark, and this is the first State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill considered since its resurrection.

It has since morphed into a factory of radical elitist woke schemes.

Just last week, the Clinton Global Initiative convened in New York to discuss how to reshape our economy to tackle the left's pet projects that will make life for ordinary Americans more expensive and worse.

Given the State Department's enmeshment with the Clintons and the Initiative, we need to send a clear message:

No more coordination with the U.S. Government.

No more conferences with corrupt governments at the expense of the oppressed peoples of the globe.

No more representation and participation by the State Department--an end to its commingling with official policy.

And hopefully, the beginning of the end of this corrupt organization's influence on U.S. policymaking.

Mr. Chair, Americans simply can't afford more radical policies purveyed by an organization that allowed the global elite to buy and influence American foreign policy. Join me in condemning the Clinton Global Initiative's misconduct.

Mr. Chair, I ask my colleagues to support my amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I see that my colleague has not refuted any of the things that I have said about the Clinton Global Initiative.

Why in the world, again, would we ask American taxpayers to pay for people from the State Department to attend these conferences when they are likely not to gain anything positive from them and support a corrupt organization?

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

Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. Chair, we have a terrific debt on our hands in this country. We don't need to be spending any money that is not absolutely necessary to spend.

Curbing attendance at meetings such as the Clinton Global Initiative is a good way for us to chip away at that debt and to save the American taxpayers some money.

I think this is an excellent amendment. I believe that my colleagues will see that it is an excellent amendment, and I will continue to advocate for its passage.

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

Mr. Chair, I appreciate the opportunity to offer this amendment. I believe, again, that it is good for us to highlight this organization and the fact that we do not need people from the State Department attending its meetings.

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

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the Biden Department of Education shares a distinct and familiar trait with every government agency in Washington right now: It has a habit of making crackpot decisions.

One such decision made by the Department recently was to block funding for hunting and archery education under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESEA.

Nobody at the Department of Education can truly believe Congress sought to block this funding, yet they refuse to interpret the law consistent with congressional intent.

The idea that schools should offer valuable educational enrichment activities like teaching hunting, archery, and culinary skills have never been a partisan issue.

Mr. Speaker, that same magnitude of support should be on display when the House passes the bipartisan Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act.

This legislation clarifies that the prohibition on the use of ESEA funds for certain weapons does not apply to learning in activities like archery, hunting, other shooting sports, or culinary arts.

It is a simple bill that would safeguard learning opportunities for millions of American students every year, especially those who live in rural areas across our country.

Hunting and archery programs teach America's schoolchildren self- esteem, responsibility, and, ultimately, how to use these recreational tools safely. The National Archery in Schools Program has served over 18 million students since 2002.

Mr. Speaker, there is no logical reason why anyone should oppose this legislation because there is no logical argument to be made in doing so.

It is just that simple.

I am proud to support the bipartisan Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act. I look forward to its swift passage in the House.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize America's 3.5 million truckers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

Truckers are the unsung heroes of our supply chain. Each year they drive over 320 billion miles--the equivalent of nearly 13 million trips around the globe--to deliver 11.5 billion tons of freight.

Every one of those miles represents a stocked store shelf, a package placed on a household doorstep, materials delivered to a manufacturer, and equipment conveyed to a construction site.

I am proud of America's dedicated truckers, including the 66,830 professional drivers in North Carolina. Today, 23 North Carolinians from the trucking industry are on Capitol Hill sharing their stories.

Additionally, a North Carolina driver with over 2 million accident- free miles is demonstrating a simulator to staffers and my colleagues to share the perspectives of truckers.

I look forward to thanking these individuals in person for the work they do.

Bowman Middle School

Madam Speaker, I recently had the pleasure of visiting Bowman Middle School in Mitchell County to view the school's International Space Station, ISS, contact project.

Thanks to the diligent work of Dan Hopson, a STEM teacher at the school who has a penchant for securing these kinds of opportunities, this project was able to come to fruition. Students were able to ask a variety of questions in real time via ham radio to Warren Hoburg, a NASA astronaut who successfully traveled to the ISS on March 3 of this year.

This impressive event was one that these students will surely remember as they continue their educational journeys. Hopefully, some will be inspired to engage in careers in STEM areas.

Congratulations to Dan Hopson, Principal extraordinaire Amber Young, and the dedicated staff at Bowman Middle School who made this event and this learning opportunity such a success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a government that represents the people, not a bureaucracy that represents Washington's interests.

Pending on the Supreme Court docket is Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a case with the potential to overturn 40 years of bureaucratic overreach and restore the proper role of Congress, the courts, and the Presidency.

Nearly 40 years of deference by lawmakers and judges to the executive has given rise to the administrative state, sometimes called the fourth branch of government. Over time, this unaccountable bureaucracy has gradually subverted the doctrine of separation of powers laid out by our Founders.

According to the Constitution, Article I vests the power to make law in the Congress; Article II vests the power to enforce law in the Presidency; and Article III vests the power to interpret law in the courts.

In no article are all three powers--to make, enforce, and interpret the law--jointly vested in a managerial bureaucracy of 1.8 million civil service employees. The very idea is offensive to our founding.

However, at the heart of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo lies the doctrine of Chevron deference, a legal construct which would make our Founders turn in their graves. It is a 1980s judicial invention that shifts lawmaking powers from lawmakers and adjudicating powers from judges to a plenary executive branch.

In the 1980s, Chevron deference may have been reasonably supported by those who believed faithful bureaucratic agents could be trusted to fill in areas where the law is silent. In 2023, the Biden administration's relentless pursuit of government power has disabused any dewy-eyed believer in faithful bureaucrats.

The 40-year experiment of Chevron deference has allowed the bureaucracy to aggrandize nearly unlimited power, culminating in the Biden administration exceeding its authority from sea to shining sea and from cradle to grave with overregulation.

Just recently, President Biden and Secretary Cardona tossed up a Hail Mary when their illegal, economically disastrous, taxpayer-funded student loan bailout for the wealthy arrived at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court emphatically said no. It also said

that such a scheme ``requires that Congress speak clearly before a Department Secretary can unilaterally alter large sections of the American economy.''

Nevertheless, the Biden administration continues to claim the power to implement its student loan bailout under even more ambiguous legal pretenses.

President Biden's National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, is yet another example of the unforeseen consequences of Chevron deference. Within the NLRB, bureaucrats command the power to create law, execute law, and adjudicate legal conflicts. Under the Biden administration, the NLRB has issued sweeping rules regarding joint employer status and union elections, enforced said rules, and then adjudicated hundreds of cases, overturning longstanding preferences.

The Committee on Education and the Workforce is working hard to conduct oversight of an agency that assumes it has lawmaking, law enforcing, and law interpreting power. These abuses, and many more, are the direct failure of the Chevron deference regime.

For many in this body, fighting back against the Biden administration requires confronting an uncomfortable truth. Congress creates, enables, and abides by the administrative state when it passes statutory language without clear meaning. Congress' illegal delegation of its Article I authority and the accelerated transfer of legislative powers to unaccountable bureaucrats in the executive has been a fault of this body over decades and the fault of both parties.

Today, there are over 123 statutes that enable the President and his agencies to circumvent ordinary lawmaking processes upon the declaration of a ``national emergency.'' The ultimate national emergency, however, is if unscrupulous politicians abdicate the power vested in them by the American people to make laws and instead make more legislators. Then, the people will have no means to hold their government accountable.

In fulfilling House Republicans' Commitment to America, we are demanding accountability from the Federal Government. To fulfill the will of the people, the Court must repeal Chevron deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.

I pray next term that the Court reclaims and fortifies Congress' rightful powers.

Mr. Speaker, Julie Su has now exceeded the previous record for the longest duration between a Presidential Cabinet nomination and a confirmation--when the same party controls the White House and the Senate--since 1887.

It is no surprise that Axios even dubbed her as ``Biden's forever nominee.''

That is not a title, and certainly not an accolade worthy of a gold star or pat on the back. For months on end, her nomination has languished before the Senate. This is a telltale sign that she does not have the votes.

One doesn't need to be an expert in reading tea leaves to see that her nomination is on life support.

Mr. Speaker, I will offer some much-needed advice to the Biden administration: rip the Band-Aid off already and pull Julie Su's nomination.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 597, I call up the bill (H.R. 3941) to prohibit the use of the facilities of a public elementary school, a public secondary school, or an institution of higher education to provide shelter for aliens who have not been admitted into the United States, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3941.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3941, the Schools Not Shelters Act. In simplest terms, this bill ensures that any public K-12 or postsecondary education institution that houses illegal aliens will not receive a penny of funding from hardworking taxpayers.

Tens of thousands of illegal aliens are pouring into cities across the country, and this administration does nothing to secure the southern border. At its height in May, the average number of illegal border crossings averaged 10,000 per day. It is unsustainable and a slap in the face of Americans and those who come legally.

What is worse, Biden's allies at the State and local level have proposed using public school facilities to accommodate the influx.

Schools are for educating students, not housing illegal aliens. That statement shouldn't be controversial. Yet, somewhere along the way, the left diverged from reality and lost sight of what is best for students.

Take New York, for example. New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently announced plans to allocate up to 30 public school gymnasiums as overflow to house illegal aliens. Governor Hochul doubled down by expressing interest in housing 1,500 illegal aliens in dorms at a few SUNY campuses.

Adult illegal aliens, not children, were already being housed in Brooklyn at Public School 188 facilities by mid-May. Because of the thousands of migrants coming into New York City every week, New York City officials have stated they are in no position to take anything off the table when it comes to housing migrants.

Unfortunately, these actions set a precedent for other localities to follow. For example, in Chicago, 800 illegal aliens are being housed in two colleges.

H.R. 4931 puts a stop to this and for good reason. First, housing illegal aliens in public schools diverts educational resources away from students already reeling from the effects of prolonged school closures during the pandemic.

An entire generation of students has fallen behind academically. If you want proof, look no further than the latest NAEP student test scores for math, reading, civics, and history. They are abysmal.

Every educational resource available must be aimed at getting students back on track. Unfortunately, that is not a reality for many school districts.

In El Paso, surges in illegal aliens required the city to spend $300,000 a day in 1 month alone. That is nearly $10 million in 1 month, every dollar of which should have gone to students and our citizens.

Second, these policies drain institution budgets. It was reported that campuses within the University of Maine system that considered housing illegal aliens found that doing so would require millions to renovate unused facilities.

Beyond giving an old building a facelift, consider the recurring costs: electricity, water, and transportation, and those are just the basics. Make no mistake; institutions that bear increased costs to house illegal aliens will ultimately transfer that burden to students through tuition hikes or the American taxpayer.

Third, these actions perpetuate this administration's illegal border policies. Like many of the left's policies, they are shortsighted and do not address the root challenges that they are intended to solve. Housing illegal aliens in educational facilities is no different.

President Biden caused this mess at the southern border. He, along with his allies at the local and State level, should be the ones paying for their disastrous policies, not schoolchildren or postsecondary students.

Above all, consider this: No State, no city, no school district, and no institution is immune to the effects of an open border. Because of President Biden, every State has become a border State.

What we are voting on in the Schools Not Shelters Act is a change of priorities; putting students and taxpayers above the failed policies of President Biden. The Schools Not Shelters Act sends a message that Republicans will not stand for the left's sanctuary cities that continue to run cover for this administration. Nothing outweighs the success and safety of students.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro), who introduced this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good), chair of the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bean), who is chair of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. D'Esposito).

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, housing illegal aliens in public educational facilities is downright dangerous, drains educational resources, and distracts school districts and universities from their primary mission of educating students.

This Chamber sees many rigorous debates about all types of issues facing the American people. I never imagined there would be a debate over the primary function of schools. Since when did schools being used for learning become a novel idea?

The Schools Not Shelters Act delivers a dose of reality to the Biden administration and the left who are putting students second to their open border policies. Enough is enough.

I urge my colleagues to vote for this important bill and stand up for students' well-being and academic success.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize a Grammy Award-winning country music artist and a proud native of Mount Airy, North Carolina, Donna Fargo.

On July Fourth, the town of Mount Airy unveiled a mural honoring Donna and the countless contributions she has made to the country music community.

I was incredibly fortunate to attend this event and to hear Donna speak about her unwavering faith in God, her small-town roots, and why she believes that Mount Airy is the best place in all the world to live. It is no wonder why

hundreds of Mount Airy citizens lined the streets that day to celebrate Donna, view her mural, and listen to her speak. Her story and her music continue to touch the lives of many.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate Donna on this well-deserved recognition. Not only is she Mount Airy's favorite daughter, but she is also a shining example of the best that western North Carolina has to offer.

Charter School Success Study

Madam Speaker, it is undeniable that charter schools provide students with excellent opportunities in education, which give them capabilities they can use to pursue the American Dream.

When students are allowed to learn in an environment that works best for them and one that accounts for their individual proficiencies, they flourish. This is a simple fact.

A recent study conducted by Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes analyzed the educational performances of 1.8 million charter school students. The study found that these students outperformed their traditional public school counterparts on multiple metrics.

The typical charter school student gained the equivalent growth of 16 additional days of learning in reading and 6 additional days in math compared to their peers in traditional public schools.

At a time when the reading and math scores of our Nation's students have plummeted, the results of this study serve as a beacon of hope for millions of American families.

Simply put, charter schools serve as conduits of opportunity.

For example, the study revealed that, on average, Black students who were enrolled in charter schools gained the equivalent growth of 35 days in reading and 29 days in math compared to their public school counterparts. Hispanic students in charter schools were recorded as having a sizable leg up, as well. When it came to reading, they were 30 days ahead. In math, they were 19 days ahead.

These results make a succinct and compelling argument as to why charter schools are viable alternatives to traditional public schools.

Unfortunately, the success of charter schools is being outright ignored by the Biden administration. This is predictable behavior, mainly because the educational bureaucracy and teachers unions have President Biden wrapped around their little fingers.

The defenders of the status quo, those who fight tooth and nail to prop up failing public schools, can rest assured that the Education and the Workforce Committee will not be joining them in their future efforts. Instead, the committee will continue to promote choice so parents and students are empowered to choose the best learning environment that meets their needs.

The status quo is withering and dying on the vine. This is sad, but there is an alternative, and that is something to celebrate.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 524, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 461) condemning the use of elementary and secondary school facilities to provide shelter for aliens who are not admitted to the United States, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 461, a resolution condemning the use of elementary and secondary school facilities to provide shelter for aliens who are not admitted to the United States.

Round condemnation of adult, illegal migrants sharing facilities with schoolchildren would be supported by both sides of the aisle but for one simple reason. It would require Democrats to confront the tragedy of their own making at the southern border.

The rhetoric from the left deploys flowery language to address the flooding of migrants into our country. It is a scam.

Democrats must confront reality. There are real human consequences to losing operational control of our southern border. Democrats have plunged our southern border into chaos, trafficking, and bloodshed.

Last year, 2.76 million migrants illegally crossed our southern border. Over 800 of them died making the journey.

Customs and Border Protection also seized 14,700 pounds of fentanyl in fiscal year 2022. In a year in which 110,000 Americans fatally overdosed on drugs, each pound of fentanyl missed by Customs and Border Protection has the potential to kill over 200,000 people.

The encounters, the deaths, and the trafficking are a three-, four-, and five-time increase over the last year of the Trump administration. We have a deadly opioid epidemic, a human trafficking epidemic, and an overall humanitarian epidemic at our southern border, all stemming from the Biden administration's policies.

H. Res. 461 is a crystal-clear rebuke of the chaos at the border.

It applies to K-12 institutions because, make no mistake, Democrats are making elementary, middle, and high schools a battleground for chaotic border policies.

In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams planned to house migrants in up to 20 current and former public school gymnasiums. In Chicago, local leadership is reportedly considering housing hundreds of illegal immigrants in a shuttered high school.

Housing migrants in public schools is not a new occurrence. CNN, CBS, and the New York Post have all uncovered instances of this already happening across the country. For Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul, these plans are a mere formalization of their unwillingness to enforce the law. This is what Republicans mean when we say every State is a border State and every town is a border town.

Moreover, the collateral of this broken policy are America's schoolchildren. It is completely unacceptable. Turning schools into housing centers for illegal immigrants distracts schools from their mission.

Schools should be focused on helping students recover from devastating pandemic-era learning loss. We know that children are suffering in the wake of the pandemic. Math and reading scores have plummeted to their lowest level in years. Forcing schools to shelter illegal immigrants will not help with that.

Additionally, hosting illegal immigrants on school campuses poses a significant safety risk to schoolchildren and compromises schools' ability to secure their own campuses.

Furthermore, using school gymnasiums as housing for illegal aliens may impede children's access to safe recreation and physical education. It may force children to spend their entire school day with little exercise and may disrupt the ordinary routines of the school day.

As always with the Republican Party, threatening the safety of our children is a nonstarter. We are voting on a resolution today to condemn the threat posed to our children.

Our resolution condemns the breakdown of law and order at the southern border. It condemns the lawlessness perpetuated by blue cities and States like New York.

I hope the entire body votes for the passage of H. Res. 461 and sends a message to America that there is no substitute for a secure border.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), the author of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Williams), a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. D'Esposito).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis).

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 461.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, to sum up the debate, H. Res. 461 does four things. It sends a clear message about our values. It condemns lawbreaking where Democrat politicians have failed to do so. It tells parents that we are on their side. Most importantly, it reiterates that public school facilities should be used for educating children, not housing illegal immigrants, because the academic success and safety of America's students must be put first.

Therefore, I urge the House of Representatives and Congress to pass H. Res. 461, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Alex Medina, a man who demonstrates the spirit of giving that is a model for all of us.

Alex is a bone marrow donor, and thanks to his generosity, he was able to provide Egerton Burroughs, a man whom he had never met, with a second chance at life.

Mr. Speaker, donations like Alex's, whether they be bone marrow, blood, or other precious resources, help save the lives of countless Americans every day.

Mr. Medina and Mr. Burroughs were brought together by a wonderful program, Be The Match, which matches viable bone marrow donors to patients across the country.

We are blessed in North Carolina that both Duke University Hospital and Wake Forest Baptist play pivotal roles in bone marrow and stem cell transplants. Dedicated professionals there and at other institutions perform lifesaving work.

Mr. Speaker, across North Carolina and our entire Nation, the kindness and generosity of donors like Alex Medina should not only be celebrated but also encouraged.

We can all play a positive role in the lives of others, and donating blood and other critical resources is one way of doing so. The simple actions we take can go on to make a profound impact upon people we know as well as those we do not know.

Proverbs 11:25 reads: ``A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.''

Let us never forget how we can serve as forces for good and give to others the gifts that God has bestowed upon us.

Recognizing Bill Fisher

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Bill Fisher, a familiar voice to many within the High Country in North Carolina's Fifth District and someone I consider to be a dear friend.

After nearly 50 years of being on the radio and keeping the High Country informed on all the news of the day, Bill, or Fish, as many of his friends and colleagues refer to him, will be hanging up his headset one final time and retiring.

For years, I have been fortunate to join Bill on the radio to talk about issues ranging from the local to the national levels.

Mr. Speaker, one of the most important duties that we have as Americans is to be an informed citizen, and I cannot overstate how much Bill embodies that role. No matter the topic or issue of the day, Bill always takes the time to inform people of the developments that matter most. He knows how to read the pulse of the community he proudly serves.

As Bill enters this new and exciting chapter of his life alongside his wonderful wife, Sheryl, family members, friends, and loved ones, I hope he knows that he has left an indelible mark upon his community that will be felt for many years to come.

Those who tune in to Bill's show on the commute to work, the grocery store, and everywhere in between are grateful for his work. In my eyes and in the eyes of many, Bill is the best that western North Carolina has to offer. May God continue to bless Bill and his family in his well-deserved retirement.

Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I rise today to support the House Republican package to alleviate rising healthcare costs for small businesses. I am proud that the Committee on Education and the Workforce has taken a leading role in this effort.

Healthcare cost is the number one issue facing small businesses today. In fact, according to the NFIB, it has been their top issue for over 30 straight years. Through the dot-com bubble, the Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and record inflation, small businesses have consistently identified healthcare costs as their greatest concern.

House Republicans recognize that these small businesses are the engines of the American economy, and this package is the first step toward much-needed relief.

I will take a moment to discuss the two pieces of this package from the jurisdiction of the Education and the Workforce Committee. First, this package incorporates Representative Good's Self-Insurance Protection Act. We passed the Self-Insurance Protection Act through committee because small businesses are being squeezed. There is no other way to put it.

On the one hand, premiums are skyrocketing, and it is costing small businesses a fortune to cover their employees. Single-coverage premiums cost about $8,000 per year now, and they are drastically outpacing inflation. The bottom-up inflationary pressures have inevitably forced small businesses out of the insurance marketplace, and more and more are deciding to self-insure. Experts predicted this when the ACA passed, and it has held true.

On the other hand, the government is coming from the top down and telling small businesses they cannot access stop-loss insurance. Stop- loss insurance is a financial tool that self-insured businesses typically buy to protect themselves from catastrophic costs, but the government overreaches, overregulates, and denies many small businesses this critical tool.

For example, in New York, insurers are expressly prohibited from selling stop-loss insurance to employers with fewer than 100 employees. The New York State Association of Health Underwriters wrote regarding the law: ``Some groups have already lost their employer-provided health coverage altogether and have had to go into the New York health insurance marketplace exchange to obtain coverage, only to find that their new coverage has higher copays, larger deductibles, greater total out-of-pocket annual limits, narrower in-plan healthcare provider networks, and fewer out-of-network medical specialists.''

Like in a pincer maneuver, the government is coming from both sides and trapping small businesses in the middle with no options.

The Self-Insurance Protection Act is the solution. It provides a lifeline to small businesses and hardworking Americans who are being squeezed by the soaring cost of traditional health insurance. It would stop Federal and State overregulation of stop-loss insurance, allowing self-insured small businesses a way out of the government's two-sided trap.

Next, this package also incorporates Representative Walberg's Association Health Plans Act, which is perhaps the single best cost- saving tool at our disposal. The Association Health Plans Act would offer immediate relief for everyday workers, taxpayers, and job creators. I know this because it has been tested.

In 2019, before the courts stopped President Trump's association health plan, AHP rule, America got a chance to see and feel the impact of deregulation. AHPs produced savings of up to 29 percent on average. At the upper limit, groups saved 50 percent with their newly formed AHPs.

AHPs achieve these savings by allowing small businesses to band together to increase their bargaining power when purchasing health insurance. Currently, many regulations restrict small businesses and individuals from doing so.

Enabling small economic actors to pool resources is critical to their competitiveness in the market. In healthcare, big companies enjoy large economies of scale, and only more so with each passing year.

Countless studies and evidence point toward this worrisome trend of market consolidation. Three pharmacy benefit managers own 80 percent of the market. Physician practices and hospitals are merging at a rapid pace. Thankfully, hospital mergers have slowed during and after the pandemic, but it is not enough. This bill helps mom-and-pop shops and self-employed workers fight back.

I should also clarify that this bill does not turn healthcare into the Wild West, like some Members claim. Important regulatory guidelines exist to make sure enrollees would not be defrauded under AHPs.

For example, every AHP must have a board consisting of at least 75 percent employer membership. This ensures that AHPs are maintained in good faith.

They are also required to abide by existing consumer protections, such as prohibitions against discriminating

based on an individual's health status and prohibitions against using preexisting conditions to deny coverage, increase premiums, or impose waiting periods.

The benefits of the Association Health Plans Act can be summed up in the words of Trump's DOL: ``AHPs are about more choice, more access, and more coverage.'' I agree.

Let's help small businesses get the relief they need and working Americans the coverage they deserve.

Madam Chair, I urge passage of this healthcare package, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, our colleagues are opposed to freedom in choosing healthcare. They want everyone in government-controlled healthcare and are quite willing to mislead the American people on what these bills do.

Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good), who introduced this resolution, and is chair of the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee.

Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Madam Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, my colleagues have explained that many things that our colleagues across the aisle have said about these bills are not accurate.

I am not going to say it again, but I think it is important that we say that these bills are going to do good things for the American people. It is going to provide choice and it is going to provide lower costs.

I am certain of two things: one, healthcare costs present a significant burden on small businesses; and, two, inaction is not going to cut it.

This comprehensive small business healthcare package is a proven first step on free market principles and reducing government interference. By empowering small businesses with choice in competition, we can lower healthcare costs and increase access to high- quality care.

I hope the other side of the aisle gives this legislation the serious consideration it deserves. I often hear complaints that Republicans don't have a plan to fix healthcare costs. Here it is.

Let's reduce healthcare costs together and pass this package.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I am pleased my Democratic colleagues are finally expressing some concern for rising healthcare costs, particularly the burden those costs can impose on our Nation's seniors.

I remind my Democrat colleagues that Medicare is expected to become insolvent in 8 years. Increasing access to AHPs may be a lifesaving option for these seniors if Congress does not address Medicare's insolvency issues.

Unfortunately, for seniors, premiums of older Americans have risen drastically thanks to ObamaCare. In fact, health plans in New York just requested rate bumps of up to 40 percent.

The percentage of healthcare costs paid by a health insurance plan is known as the actuarial value, AV. On average, the AV of an individual employer-sponsored plan is 83 percent. When compared to the 70 percent AV of a silver plan and even the 80 percent AV of a gold plan on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, employer-sponsored plans provide affordable and more comprehensive coverage than ACA plans.

Employer-sponsored plans also have lower average deductibles: $1,763 for an individual employer-sponsored insurance plan compared with $5,155 for an individual ACA exchange silver plan.

I will repeat that: $1,763 on an employer-sponsored plan, for an individual employer-sponsored insurance plan, compared with $5,155 for an individual ACA exchange silver plan.

Individual employer-sponsored plans have lower average out-of-pocket costs than ACA exchange plans.

Madam Chair, $4,355 is the average maximum for an individual- sponsored insurance plan compared with an average maximum of $8,519 for an individual marketplace silver/ACA plan.

Clearly, our government-run and government-subsidized healthcare programs are facing incredible fiscal challenges. I urge my colleagues to be more concerned with the older adults enrolled in those programs than those enrolled in large group employer plans.

This amendment is an insincere attempt to delay implementation of commonsense policy that will increase health coverage options for all Americans. Instead, AHPs and the coverage options provided under this bill give older Americans more affordable coverage options.

Madam Chair, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the amendment and ``yes'' on the underlying bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I believe I have the right to close, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, again, our colleagues continue to try to mislead the American people about what this bill does. These plans cannot cherry-pick, cannot exclude, and must cover preexisting conditions.

The opposition to this bill from our colleagues across the aisle, unfortunately, is to freedom of choice. The title of this bill is the CHOICE Arrangement Act, freedom of choice, which would allow people to stay out of the non-affordable care act, known as ObamaCare, but still have affordable health insurance.

This bill is about choice, freedom, and good healthcare coverage, and we should approve the bill without this amendment.

Madam Chair, I ask my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I appreciate Mr. Molinaro's amendment. I support it, and I appreciate his working to make a good bill better.

Madam Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the veto message of H.J. Res. 45.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of overriding President Biden's veto of H.J. Res. 45, a Congressional Review Act resolution nullifying the Biden administration's attempt to circumvent the will of the Congress and the role of the Congress of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, President Biden's radical plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt via executive fiat is utter hogwash. The American people are not fooled by the deceptive, doctored-up talking points on student loans that the left has attempted to force-feed them over the past 2 years.

Appealing words like ``forgiveness'' have been cast around innumerable times as if to imply that a massive student loan bailout is the equivalent of a sweepstakes giveaway.

Here is a reality check for our colleagues across the aisle: There is no such thing as forgiveness.

This entire scheme is nothing more than a transfer of wealth from those who willingly took on debt to those who did not or had the grit to pay off their loans.

Two-thirds of this debt transfer plan would go to the top half of earners. It takes from those in the lower half of earners and gives to the upper half. It redistributes wealth, but from the bottom of our socioeconomic ladder to the top. The 87 percent of Americans who owe no Federal student debt are paying for the 13 percent who do.

Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle also claim that this transfer of wealth is about fairness. No, it is about sticking hardworking taxpayers with the tab and those who owe it walking away from it scot-free.

Mr. Speaker, if this is not the textbook definition of limousine liberalism, I don't know what it is.

What is more, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, inflation could rise by as much as 27 basis points if mass student debt cancellation is implemented. That means we could see an additional two rate hikes by the Federal Reserve because of this inflationary policy alone.

To halt the biggest transfer of wealth from blue-collar workers to white-collar professionals in our Nation's history and to prevent any further extension of the student loan repayment pause, the House and Senate both passed H.J. Res. 45.

Following the President's predictable veto, this resolution comes before the House again. We must continue to take a stand and defend the interests of hardworking citizens. As the institution that holds the power of the purse, it is our responsibility to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to cut through the political noise that the left continues to gin up about so-called student loan forgiveness and vote in favor of overriding the President's veto on H.J. Res. 45.

Fiscal responsibility must be given the due deference it deserves.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

My colleagues have said that this is overdrawn in terms of the way the CRA was written, the Congressional Review Act was written, and that it does too much. It gets into too many other things other than simply turning back the President's proposal. It deals with the debt and repayment of debt and those kinds of things.

However, this CRA does not in any way tie the hands of Congress. It is up to us to pass the laws.

What it does do is stop unelected bureaucrats from writing laws in the form of rules to implement laws passed by Congress.

We didn't authorize the Department to do many of the things that it is doing. Congress did not do that, but it is doing many things.

The CRA will stop the President's actions and some of these other things that are happening. We have the authority to write legislation, to do whatever we want to. If we want to write legislation to take care of debt and to take care of interest rates, we can do that.

Forgive me, Mr. Speaker, for not crying crocodile tears along with my colleagues on the accessibility to college in this country. College in this country is accessible to anyone who has the capable skills to attend, or taxpayers covering the costs of college for many who can pay for themselves and many who simply take advantage of generous taxpayers by skipping out on their loans.

That is not what the help from taxpayers is supposed to do. It is supposed to help people gain a college education and go out there and be productive citizens, not renege on paying back their loans.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the Biden administration is destroying the Federal student aid system that has balanced providing millions of students access to opportunities for post-secondary education while respecting the interest of taxpayers who fund these opportunities.

Democrats know their radical free college agenda won't make it through Congress, so instead they are forcing it down Americans' throats by executive fiat through the student loan program. Obfuscation about the details has allowed the department to tout alleged benefits without facing any scrutiny over the implications of these radical changes; however, the facts, which this administration has tried to push under the rug, prove its agenda is nothing more than an attempt to skirt the law and enact policies that would never pass Congress.

These actions will leave colleges free to continue increasing costs that greatly impact all American taxpayers. These policies deny any accountability to borrowers and evade any responsibility to help those students turn their degrees into a job.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the override of the President's veto, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the so-called Green New Deal has reared its ugly head again, thanks to the Biden administration and its allies in Congress.

Their newest attempt to prop up this failed radical agenda involves the banning of gas cooking appliances that millions of American families rely on every day.

Make no mistake: This harebrained scheme is about more government control; more control over the lives of Americans; more control over what we do and, ultimately, how we think. What is the next domino to fall?

Mr. Speaker, if this were to happen, American families would be crushed by high electricity bills and costly appliances in the name of climate activism.

House Republicans have introduced the Save Our Gas Stoves Act and the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act to combat this madness. We must push back against more government control in our lives.

Mr. Speaker, mandatory spending programs are the overflowing sinks that have bedeviled Congress for decades on end. Two- thirds of all Federal spending is allocated to mandatory spending programs, and there are few constructive opportunities to curb exceeded cost estimates.

While Congress returns to Washington this week to cut spending in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling, far too little attention is being paid to autopilot spending that far outpaces these cuts.

My bill, the Spending Safeguard Act, would restore congressional control over mandatory spending increases by establishing program- specific caps for new or reauthorized programs. If a program spends more than what was anticipated, then it needs to be reformed or extinguished. It is that simple.

Let's be honest, Mr. Speaker. Congress has a knack for ignoring opportunities to address direct spending head-on. My bill offers a viable pathway to restore both fiscal sanity and fiscal responsibility in Washington.

It is time for Congress to act.