[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 2, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H1261-H1267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REAL STATE OF THE UNION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson) is 
recognized for

[[Page H1262]]

60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. 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.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Louisiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, President Biden's address to 
the Nation last night was a missed opportunity. Our country is mired in 
a historic number of crises of the President and his party's own making 
at home, at our border, and abroad.
  The rhetoric in the President's speech simply did not match his 
failing record. No amount of spin can change what every single American 
can see plainly and feel so personally.
  Madam Speaker, in simple summary, our Union is in a state of crisis. 
Hardworking American families are being threatened by skyrocketing 
prices and empty store shelves; by alarming increases in crime; by our 
wide-open borders and illegal immigration; by record overdose deaths; 
by delayed tax returns and government services; and, of course, not the 
least of which is the projection of weakness on America's part on the 
world stage.
  Since the magnitude of these problems obviously has not convinced the 
President and his Democrat allies in Congress to reverse course, I am 
not sure anything will.
  But the State of the Union address is supposed to be an annual 
opportunity for the American President to take stock, to level with the 
American people, to acknowledge what has worked and what has not.
  Republicans urged President Biden to take advantage of that 
opportunity last night to chart a new direction, to speak honestly, to 
accept responsibility for the declining state of our country and pledge 
to do better.
  President Biden certainly would not have been the first American 
President to seek a reset--far from it. Presidential resets are common, 
and they are necessary. But this President didn't do that.
  What did we get instead? Another typical Biden speech. We got another 
series of warmed-over Democrat talking points taped together and 
presented to the American people as if it weren't those same policies 
that got us into the messes that we are in.
  Madam Speaker, this evening, my Republican colleagues and I will 
provide a further response to the State of the Union that was delivered 
here just last night.
  But first, Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington 
(Mrs. Rodgers), my friend and colleague, for her remarks and for a 
prayer that is being shared tonight around the world.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  We are all inspired by the people of Ukraine and the leadership of 
President Zelensky and Mayor Klitschko.
  Today, Christian Ukrainians asked for Christians around the world to 
join in praying, specifically, Psalm 31. So please join me.
  O Lord, we come to You for protection. Don't let us be disgraced. 
Save us, for You do what is right.
  Turn Your ear to listen to us. Rescue us. Be our rock, our 
protection, our fortress, where we will be safe.
  For the honor of Your name, lead us out of this danger. Pull us from 
the traps of our enemies, for we find protection in You alone.
  We entrust our spirit into Your hand. Rescue us, Lord, for You are a 
faithful God.
  We will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love. You have seen our 
troubles and You care about the anguish of our souls.
  Have mercy on us, Lord, for we are in distress. Tears blur our eyes. 
Our body and soul are withering away. We are dying from grief.
  We are scorned by our enemies, despised by their neighbors. Even our 
friends are afraid to come near. When they see us in the streets, they 
will run the other way.
  We are being ignored as if we were dead, as if we were a broken pot.
  We have heard the many rumors, and they are surrounded by terror. 
Their enemies conspire, plotting to take our lives.
  But we are trusting You, O Lord, saying You are our God. Our future 
is in Your hands. Rescue us from those who hunt us down relentlessly.
  Let Your favor shine on Your servants. In Your unfailing love, 
rescue. Don't let us be disgraced, O Lord, for we call out to You for 
help. Let the wicked be disgraced. Let them lie in silence in the 
grave.
  Silence their lying lips, those proud and arrogant lips that accuse 
the godly.
  How great is the goodness You have stored up for those who fear You. 
You lavish it on those who come to You for protection, blessing them 
before the watching world.
  You hide us in the shelter of Your presence, safe from those who 
conspire against them. You shelter us in Your presence, far from 
accusing tongues.
  Praise the Lord, for He has shown us the wonders of His unfailing 
love. He has kept us safe when my city was under attack. In panic, we 
cried out, ``We are cut off from the Lord,'' but You heard our cry for 
mercy and answered our call for help.
  Love the Lord, all you godly ones, for the Lord protects those who 
are loyal to Him, but He harshly punishes the arrogant.
  So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord.
  The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
  Amen.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. The words of the psalmist resonate today as 
much as they did when they were written so many years ago, and our God 
is faithful. I thank the gentlewoman for putting that in perspective 
tonight.

  Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield next to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. LaMalfa).
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise during this Special Order to offer 
thoughts on the real State of the Union.
  Last night, the President addressed the Nation and attempted to 
rewrite the history of his first 14 months in office. The speech was 
short on solutions to our everyday challenges: record inflation, 
skyrocketing price of gas, and supply chain disruptions that are 
affecting everything from food to consumer goods.
  This administration owns this energy crisis, which is a direct result 
of its crippling domestic production. When we don't produce our own 
energy, it makes us more vulnerable to global market fluctuations such 
as those caused by the Russian aggressions at Ukraine.
  The Biden administration continues to ignore the national emergency 
at our southern border with unprecedented illegal immigration, millions 
of apprehensions, and limited deportations. It is a serious situation 
that continues to threaten our national security.
  Let's focus for a moment here on U.S. energy. America's been feeling 
the ripple of skyrocketing energy prices. The average gallon of gas in 
my home State of California is up 70 percent from this time last year, 
and heating our homes is over 30 percent more expensive than winter 
last year.
  Economic sanctions on Russia and the halting of the Nord Stream 
pipeline are sure to help increase the costs of energy, but they are 
necessary in order for to us to have independence. This reality will be 
a wake-up call for the Biden administration to reverse their current 
course and understand that American-produced energy is the best path 
forward.
  After the President announced further sanctions on Russia due to the 
unprovoked attack on Ukraine, he promised to supply energy to our 
European allies that depend on Russian natural gas.
  Since his first day in office, he has repeatedly stifled U.S. gas and 
oil production, increasing our dependence on all things Russian oil.
  I am an adamant supporter of domestic oil and gas production, 
including building new pipelines. Right under our feet lies the largest 
untapped oil supply in the world, more than enough to drive down costs 
for American consumers and export liquefied natural gas to our European 
allies, removing our adversaries like Russia from their supply chain.
  In last night's State of the Union, the President called to make 
Russia suffer

[[Page H1263]]

economic consequences for their unprovoked attack. He glossed over that 
he has repeatedly stifled U.S. energy production, halting the Keystone 
pipeline and suffocating domestic oil and gas leases.
  Unfortunately, he did the opposite. Just this week, he announced he 
is once again halting all new leases for drilling on our vast Federal 
lands, which we know how to do well and ecologically soundly. His 
solution? Import more gas from other adversaries such as China and the 
Middle East.
  Our Nation imports 7 percent of our oil from Russia. Although that 
may seem like not much, if they shut it off when we are not ready for 
it, that will cause a big ripple.
  We can't just flip a switch and turn on our domestic energy supply. 
It will take time to do it. We know what we need to do. We need to get 
at it, to start now.
  The American people are being crushed under the weight of these 
economic consequences from failed policies. We know what we need to do. 
Let's get after it.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, energy policy is national 
security policy. Energy security is national security. We know that 
acutely now.
  Madam Speaker, I am delighted to yield next to the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. McClain).
  Mrs. McCLAIN. Madam Speaker, the state of our Union is atrocious. 
There are crises everywhere we look: record-high inflation; record-high 
illegal border crossings; a supply chain crisis that has stalled our 
economy; soaring energy prices; a devastating and deadly withdrawal 
from Afghanistan; an emboldened Russia trying to overthrow a sovereign 
country and a democratic ally, Ukraine. This is what a full year of 
complete Democratic control and failure has brought the American 
people.
  The President is completely backward. The policies he and his 
congressional Democrat allies have pushed us into haven't gotten us out 
of these crises. They have actually pushed us into these crises under 
his first, short 1-year term in office.
  The speech we saw last night was completely detached from reality.

                              {time}  1800

  What the American people are hearing from the Democrats is not what 
they are seeing, and it is not what they are experiencing. They can no 
longer afford to suffer these crises brought on by incompetent, 
arrogant, and out-of-touch leaders.
  Sadly, the speech last night indicates that this administration plans 
to double down on their nonsense and spread lies and misinformation to 
the American people. All the American people want is truth, 
transparency, and consistency instead of manufacturing accomplishments 
to talk about at the State of the Union, like the convenient overnight 
change in the science, or shall I say, political science as a wind must 
have blown in from the Senate and, miraculously, COVID doesn't exist 
anymore.
  President Biden needs to own up to all of the problems he has created 
and actually come up with some real solutions to get our country back 
on track. There is still time to do that.
  If he is unable to do that, I implore him, please. Pick up the phone. 
Call me. I am happy to help.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend. Very well 
said.
  Madam Speaker, I am happy now to yield to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller), who announced this week that he will not be 
seeking reelection, and he will be sorely missed because he is a 
gentleman and a great legislator.
  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana.
  Madam Speaker, President Biden had an opportunity during the State of 
the Union address to communicate to the American people what his 
administration has learned from its policy failures of the past year 
and lay out a plan to correct course. Unfortunately, that didn't 
happen.
  I was not surprised that the President used this address as a 
political tool to double down on his assault on American energy, 
mandates, and Big Government spending. These policy decisions have 
emboldened our adversaries and led to record high inflation, business 
losing workers, rising crime across the country, and a wide open 
southern border.
  If President Biden really believed that doing the same thing will 
solve any of the crises his administration created, he is either 
totally out of touch or ignoring the facts. Either way, the President 
took the easy way out. What is easy is not always right.
  Be assured, Republicans will not shy away from our duty to always put 
America first, to rebuild our economic engine, restore individual 
liberty, and renew the American Dream.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend. I 
appreciate him very much.
  Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Wilson), who has been a mentor to me and so many others 
in Congress.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr.   Mike 
Johnson for his leadership and courage to present the truth tonight.
  Madam Speaker, last Friday, I was grateful as the ranking member of 
the U.S. delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation 
in Europe to address the Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna, Austria. Our 
delegation was ably led by co-chair Steve Cohen.

       The bipartisan United States delegation of Democrats and 
     Republicans, being transatlantic with our valued European and 
     Indo-Pacific allies have been unintentionally united about 
     Putin's war of mass murder in Ukraine, violating the 
     principles of the Helsinki Final Act.
       This emphasizes the devastating human cost of Putin's war 
     against the families of Ukraine, isolating Russia and Belarus 
     from the modern world.
       This is Putin's war, as correctly identified by Der 
     Spiegel, the German news magazine. It is not a war in 
     Ukraine. It is not Russia's war. This is clearly to be 
     forever condemned as Putin's war. The responsibility of an 
     insane czar who is trying to build his power based on oil, 
     money, and power, betraying young Russians to death.
       OSCE monitors have impartially relayed the tragic reality 
     of this conflict every day under often difficult and 
     dangerous conditions. The Putin government and its proxies 
     must restore the monitors' ability to fulfill their mandate.
       I am personally grateful to have visited Russia a number of 
     times where I was so impressed by the talented citizens who 
     today who are being betrayed by Putin in his obsession for 
     oil, money, and power.
       Two months ago, I visited Kyiv, and it is horrifying to 
     know of the attacks.

  The pictures that we see here--they have been sent worldwide--this is 
the road to the airport. I was so impressed when I was there in 
December to see the four, six, eight, now ten lanes of boulevards 
filled with cars, a very modern society with high rise buildings that 
could be anywhere in America, could be anywhere in the world, in the 
modern world.
  Now, sadly, we see that the cars are congested there and blocked. You 
have families. They have their pets with them. They have all the 
property that they could possibly carry. They have children. They have 
infants. They have elderly and sick persons and are trying to flee the 
rocket attacks solely the responsibility of Putin.

       Sadly, in Belarus, dictator Lukashenko has become a puppet 
     of Putin to subject Belarusians to autocracy, facilitating 
     Putin's illegal war on the people of Ukraine.
       It is inspiring that the legal president of Belarus, 
     Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, would have her first loyalty to the 
     people of Belarus, not to the war criminal, Putin.

  In conclusion, God bless Ukraine. God save Ukraine. Long live 
President Volodymyr Zelensky. God bless America.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Wilson, for all you do, and 
your expertise in foreign affairs is a great blessing to all of us.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).
  Mr. ROSE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana for 
yielding me time this evening.

  Madam Speaker, today, I rise to remind President Biden that the State 
of the Union is in crisis, more so than at any time in my lifetime.
  After sitting in the House Chamber last night listening to the 
President speak, I couldn't help but think about the people of 
Tennessee that are struggling to make ends meet.
  They are struggling due to skyrocketing inflation that has been 
fueled by President Biden and congressional Democrats' insatiable 
desire to recklessly spend trillions of dollars by

[[Page H1264]]

borrowing massive amounts of money from China and elsewhere, and highly 
mortgaging our children's and grandchildren's and their children that 
follow after them, the future for these generations. It is gutless, and 
it is wrong.
  Madam Speaker, the State of the Union is not strong. In fact, under 
only 1 year of President Biden's leadership, migrant encounters at our 
southern border have increased 96 percent. More police officers were 
killed than in any year since 1995. The price of gasoline has increased 
33 percent. The fentanyl that comes across our southern border has 
become the leading cause of death among people aged 18 to 45, with an 
American dying every 5 minutes and 15 seconds.
  Afghanistan has been surrendered back to the Taliban, leaving behind 
hundreds of Afghans who were aligned with us during that long struggle, 
along with billions of taxpayer dollars in modern American weaponry. 
Now, another American ally is under attack by out-of-control Russian 
dictator Vladimir Putin.
  It is time to wake up and recognize that Biden's administration and 
Congressional Democrats' policies are failing the American people. In 
fact, those policies have begun to do real damage to us at an ever-
increasing pace.
  The people of my State, Tennessee, see right through this charade and 
implore the President to act now before it is too late and reverse his 
policies to match the rhetoric that we heard in the State of the Union 
address.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, that was so well said. We 
are going to stay in the State of Tennessee.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Burchett), who is from that same area.
  Mr. BURCHETT. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Johnson for his leadership.
  Madam Speaker, let me start off by offering my prayers to Ukraine, 
its people, and its leaders. I have asked my family to do that. Every 
night when we say our prayers, we pray for the people of Ukraine and 
their safety and the miracle of Biblical proportions that needs to 
occur in that country. It has happened before, and it can happen again. 
All of us hope that their country finds peace. We want to see this 
conflict end, Madam Speaker.
  Innocent Ukrainians are caught in the middle of Vladimir Putin's 
unprovoked war against their country. These civilians are not at all 
responsible for the situation they find themselves in, yet they are the 
ones who are always paying the price.
  Homes are destroyed. Food and water are scarce. Medical supplies are 
in short supply. Many institutions necessary for a stable society are 
under attack. On top of it all, the Ukrainians are living under the 
constant threat of Putin dropping a vacuum bomb or something worse. 
Some reports indicate that thermobaric bombs have been introduced to 
the theater, a whole new kind of hell that we are not used to in this 
country.
  Discussions are now taking place about the United States supporting 
the Ukrainians with humanitarian aid. The question remains, how will we 
pay for this important matter? Congress could save a whole lot of 
money, Madam Speaker, if we would seize Russian-held assets and use 
them to pay for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Using a creative funding 
mechanism like this ensures that we are responsible stewards of our 
constituents' tax dollars, especially given the challenges they face 
here at home.
  Since 2015, American taxpayers have spent nearly $3 billion on 
humanitarian aid to Ukraine. What is wrong with having those 
responsible for the current humanitarian crisis pay for it, Madam 
Speaker? Vladimir Putin's invasion sparked this crisis. It makes sense 
that Russia should pay for the destruction and suffering it is causing 
these poor, innocent Ukrainians.
  I appreciate Mr. Johnson's truculent use of this apparatus, and I do 
appreciate his lackluster approach.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman 
from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).
  Mr. CLYDE. Madam Speaker, I appreciate Mr. Johnson's leadership in 
this Special Order.
  Last night, President Biden had an opportunity to pivot his failing 
administration by using the State of the Union to present a new plan 
that would actually help the American people and address the multitude 
of crises that he created by his policies.
  Instead, President Biden wasted his State of the Union speech by 
doubling down on his failed agenda and flat-out lying to the American 
people.
  When I heard his tough talk on sanctioning Russia and his vow to buy 
American, I had hope that maybe this would include energy, American oil 
and gas. But no, his administration continues to double down on Green 
New Deal priorities and promote the purchase of oil and gas from other 
countries.
  Why would he do that? Why would he encourage the United States to 
continue to buy over 635,000 barrels a day from Russia alone? Just look 
at the spot price of oil, $114 per barrel today, which means we are 
sending Vladimir Putin over $72.5 million every day to fund his war 
machine against Ukraine. Every dollar we spend on foreign energy 
weakens domestic energy production.
  When he spoke about inflation, Biden's only so-called solution to 
combat 40-year high prices and hyperinflation was to tell businesses to 
lower costs. That was it.
  Despite promising that he will secure the southern border, Biden's 
severely misguided immigration policies have led to over 2.1 million 
illegal encounters at our border in his first year alone, not to 
mention record high levels of dangerous drugs like fentanyl flooding 
into our communities.
  Just today, his own acting assistant secretary of Border Security and 
Immigration Policy at DHS admitted in our Homeland Security Committee 
meeting that they are actively working to fight against and overturn 
the lower-court-mandated remain in Mexico policy at the Supreme Court 
level.
  Last night, the President conveniently claimed victory over COVID and 
urged Americans to stop looking at COVID as a partisan dividing line. 
But don't forget, Biden has routinely enforced medical tyranny and used 
the pandemic as a weapon to sow division. Throughout his Presidency, 
Biden has said that unvaccinated Americans are destroying our economy, 
killing our people, and are the root of our country's problems. No, Mr. 
President, that is simply not right.
  But it was right to say last night that the answer is not to defund 
the police. So why the change in message? For years, Democrats have 
dangerously called for defunding our brave men and women in law 
enforcement. Even candidate Biden said funding should be redirected 
away from our police.

                              {time}  1815

  Meanwhile, there was no mention of the Biden administration's abysmal 
failure in Afghanistan that resulted in 13 fallen heroes, handed 
billions of dollars worth of military equipment to the Taliban, and 
abandoned Americans behind enemy lines.
  After a year of his failed leadership, the American people know good 
and well that Biden's speech was nothing but lip service. Actions speak 
louder than words, Mr. President. Americans are desperately waiting 
for--and deserve--a leader who will act on their behalf to fix the 
crises facing our Nation. We are still waiting.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Thank you, my friend. Well said. Madam 
Speaker, I am happy to yield next to the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Thompson), the Republican leader of our House Agriculture 
Committee.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. I thank the gentleman for his 
leadership in this Special Order hour and for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today during this Special Order to offer 
thoughts on the real state of our Union. Last night, President Biden 
addressed the Nation and attempted to rewrite the history of his first 
year in office.
  His speech included a lot of Washington-speak and was short on 
solutions to our everyday challenges: Record-high inflation, the 
skyrocketing cost of gas, and supply chain disruptions affecting 
everything from food to consumer goods.
  President Biden owns this energy crisis, which is the direct result 
of his administration crippling domestic production: Ending the issuing 
of permits, the production on Federal lands, the

[[Page H1265]]

stopping of pipelines, the list goes on and on and on.
  When we don't produce our own energy, it makes us more vulnerable to 
global market fluctuations such as those caused by Russian aggressions 
in Ukraine. You heard my good friend talk about how America under 
President Biden is buying over half a million barrels of oil a day. In 
some small part or large part, America is funding, through that, the 
Russian aggression into Ukraine.
  President Biden continues to ignore the national emergency at our 
southern border. I was just there last week, and it was incredible. We 
have unprecedented illegal migration, we have millions of apprehensions 
and limited deportations. This is a serious situation that continues to 
threaten our national security.
  Madam Speaker, actions speak louder than words, and no amount of 
grandstanding is going to change the fact that the American people have 
a starkly different view from the President on the direction of our 
country.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Thank you, my friend, for your leadership. 
That was well said. As we say over and over and over, energy security 
is national security, and it is unconscionable that we are funding 
Putin's aggression in Ukraine.
  Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield next to the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Mrs. Miller), my dear friend.
  Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Madam Speaker, House Democrats who attacked 
unmasked and unvaccinated Americans as super-spreaders and said they 
should be fired from their jobs suddenly decided to lift the mask 
mandate and crowd together last night, hugging and kissing each other 
in a packed room right before the State of the Union to benefit 
President Biden's political optics.
  COVID restrictions weren't lifted because they were destroying 
children's lives or killing small businesses. The restrictions ended 
because a politician's poll numbers got too low, and he needed a 
political reset. The American people are disgusted by this political 
double standard. They are never going to forget it.
  But we are not surprised. Every decision the Biden administration 
makes has gone against the needs and the will of the American people.
  Americans want secure borders and police protection. What does the 
left do? Open our borders, facilitate an invasion, and defund and 
demoralize our police.
  Americans want energy independence and affordable gas. What does the 
left do? They dismantle our domestic energy industry and are forcing 
Americans to buy Chinese solar panels and batteries.
  The left may be woke, but Americans are awake. The state of the Union 
is ready for a change.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Well said. The hypocrisy was on display 
last night. It is just absurd.
  Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield next to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Good).
  Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Madam Speaker, last night's speech should have 
been the shortest State of the Union Address in history. It is easy for 
everyone to see the state of the Union is much worse after one year 
under the Biden Presidency.
  This President, in order to keep energy independence, which is a 
national security issue and an economic security issue, all he had to 
do was nothing. If he would have just stayed in his basement and we 
paid him to stay home, the country would be so much better off today 
with the prices we are paying at the pump, with the security of our 
Nation.
  There is nothing that impacts middle-income, lower-income, fixed-
income Americans than what we are paying at the pump. And now we are at 
risk of it going from $4 a gallon to $7 a gallon because of this 
President, and he has the travesty to not release American energy in 
the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
  This President needs to allow all the drilling to take place in the 
United States, for us to unleash our resources and bankrupt the Putin 
regime so he cannot finance the invasion into Ukraine. But, no, what is 
happening? We are buying some 75,000 gallons of Russian oil a day at 
the cost of $100 a barrel, enriching Putin's regime to the cost of $75 
million per day.
  But it is worse than that. What did this President have to do to keep 
a secure border? All he had to do was nothing. If he had stayed home 
after January 20, 2021, Americans would still be largely safe at the 
border because illegal immigration had been eradicated under 
the previous administration.

  But what did he do? He forced the cessation of the border wall, and 
he does not permit the border agents, the Border Patrol to do their 
job. Meanwhile, 2.2 million illegal aliens came across our border last 
year, and have been distributed into the interior of our country, flown 
at taxpayer expense all over the country in the dark of night from 160 
countries.
  We don't know what they are doing while they are here, and this 
President has not just allowed it to happen; he has facilitated it to 
happen. As a matter of fact, last night he had the gall to say, hey, we 
want to secure the border, when his policies have done just the 
opposite and continue to do just the opposite.
  Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution says it is the 
responsibility of the President to protect the States from invasion, 
and he is doing just the very opposite willfully, purposefully, 
intentionally. That is why so many of us have signed onto impeachment 
articles against this President, just because of what he has done on 
the border. Let's pretend he had done everything else well--use your 
imagination--in his first year in the White House. Just because of what 
he is doing to the American people at the border, and he has the gall 
in the speech last night to lie to the American people and say that he 
wants to secure the border. It should have been the shortest speech 
ever because to get up there and lie to the American people about the 
policies that he is implementing that are harming this country, it is a 
travesty. Thank you, Chairman Johnson.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Good said it so well, and that passion 
is felt all around this country. I hear it from my constituents. I know 
Mr. Good does as well. All of us do. People couldn't even tune in last 
night. Our constituents are writing to us saying they couldn't even 
watch it because it was nauseating how untrue it was. Here we are.
  Madam Speaker, I yield next to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).
  Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend from 
Louisiana for his leadership and for hosting this here tonight.
  Less than 24 hours ago, the President delivered the State of the 
Union Address in this very Chamber. I would like to respond on behalf 
of the Big First District of Kansas.
  Last night, Americans hoped to hear our Commander in Chief address 
the many crises facing our country and explain his plans for fixing 
them; a reasonable request. Instead, we heard a monologue of half-
truths and empty promises. This administration has failed on the world 
stage, creating one foreign policy disaster after another, and the 
repercussions are posing threats to America's food supply, energy 
security, and our freedom.
  On the home front, this administration has created record inflation, 
which is destroying livelihoods and killing small businesses across the 
country and in my district. Drugs and crime are destroying American 
communities and families, and we have an open southern border where 
drugs and human trafficking run rampant. The supply chain is still in 
disarray. Our country's debt is at an all-time high, almost $30 
trillion, and the President has halted our march toward energy 
independence by killing the Keystone XL pipeline. The Biden 
administration has made a disaster in his handling of the issues at 
home.
  Abroad, our country has an egregious trade deficit with China, a 
country that ripped off American farmers to the tune of $16 billion in 
the phase one trade deal, and this administration has done nothing to 
hold them accountable.
  The President was getting lots of applause last night for talking a 
big game about supporting Ukraine, but we have done nothing meaningful 
so far as in response to the humanitarian crisis Vladimir Putin has 
created there. His financial sanctions won't prevent China from bailing 
out Russia financially, and President Biden won't stop buying half a 
million barrels of oil a

[[Page H1266]]

day from Putin because, again, President Biden killed the Keystone XL 
pipeline.
  Furthermore, the President clearly isn't worried about the food 
implications of Russia taking over Ukraine, which is the breadbasket of 
Europe, by the way, and the third largest grain exporter in the world, 
because he still hasn't even appointed a USDA under secretary of 
foreign trade and agriculture. In 13\1/2\ months he hasn't even 
nominated one.
  Americans are a resilient people. We have proven that over the past 2 
years. I would argue that Kansans are among the most resilient of all. 
We have made it through worse times than these. But I am standing here 
today to say enough is enough. We need to get this country back on 
track, and to do that we need a President who actually leads.
  Last night, I hoped that the President would tell us about how he 
plans to hold Russia accountable for its inhumane invasion of Ukraine, 
stop inflation, fix the supply chain, secure our southern border, and 
stand up for American farmers and ranchers who feed, fuel, and clothe 
the world. But he did not. Instead I heard an out-of-touch stump speech 
from a politician who wanted me to believe that everything is going to 
be just fine as long as he is in the White House.
  I pray for the President, and I want him to be successful, but in 
order for that to happen, he must lead.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Very well said, my friend. Thank you for 
being here.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to another colleague now, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I would like to comment a little bit on 
the speech last night and some of the issues that have been ignored and 
should be addressed and some of the issues that were given such short 
shrift it was almost comical.
  The first issue I would like to address is inflation. Next time I 
should get my own billboard here. But if you look at M2, which is one 
measure of the monetary supply, in the 1970s--and I am old enough to 
remember the 1970s when inflation was really a horrible thing and 
something that we were never supposed to repeat--M2 was going up at a 
rate of about 7 percent year over year. We now are up about 37 percent 
year over year.

  I mean, if you look at a graph, it is shocking the degree to which 
the Federal Reserve is just flooding money into our system. Of course, 
a major reason why they have had to do this is wildly excessive 
spending, because if you have excessive spending and foreign 
governments do not want to buy your debt, and who would want to buy 
your debt, you wind up with no alternative but to degrade the value of 
the dollar.
  I thought it was particularly amazing that the President said or told 
businesses that you have to ``lower your costs,'' meaning that we 
shouldn't reduce wages, which is fine, but like it is an easy thing to 
lower your costs. I wonder, has President Biden ever actually talked to 
the businesses who are raising their prices?
  The first thing I hear about is the metals, the aluminum, the 
different kinds of steel that are up 300, 400, 500 percent. When the 
market, the cost of these things go up to that degree, and you are a 
businessman, what in the world are you supposed to do?
  The cost of transportation is going up, and the amount we pay 
truckers, which is a tremendously good occupation, has gone up. 
Sometimes you can't even get trucks. And what has President Biden done? 
He imposes a vaccine mandate on truckers, which further reduces the 
supply of an occupation that is already in demand, thereby guaranteeing 
the cost is going to continue to go up even more.
  I strongly encourage President Biden to have some of his staff run 
around Washington, D.C., or maybe run around and talk to some of the 
factory owners in this country and ask them or advise them what they 
are supposed to do to ``lower their costs.'' Most of them, because we 
have a shortage of people working, are already probably exceeding last 
year's output in product. Despite the fact that they are doing that, 
and so, therefore, they are getting more per hour worked, but they 
can't find any new ways to reduce costs.

                              {time}  1830

  But, again, I hope President Biden sends some of his cabinet members 
around the country and either advises them on how it is going to be 
easy to lower your costs or hears from them how impossible it is for 
them to lower their costs.
  By the way, every single manufacturer I have talked to in the last 2 
months--and I bet I have talked to 15, 20--every one of them thinks 
inflation is going to get worse. When I talk to farmers who use a 
variety of fertilizers, whatever, that goes into their product, they 
see the costs going through the roof. And every single farmer I talk to 
thinks inflation is going to get worse.
  So I strongly encourage the Biden administration to have some people 
get out there among the hoi polloi and find out what is really going on 
with regard to inflation.
  Next, President Biden talked about the police. And maybe President 
Biden doesn't realize what the problem he and his allies have created 
by going after the police. In Milwaukee, the city just to the south of 
my district, there was a dramatic increase to an all-time record high 
number of murders in 2020, something that you never thought you would 
see again, and it was exceeded again in 2021.
  Why is that happening? It is because President Biden and his allies 
have adopted an antipolice rhetoric, in particular implying an amount 
of racism out there, and they are pushing a bill that has already been 
through this House, a bill that will make it much easier to hire a 
policeman.
  Now, if a policeman wants to do his job, sometimes they have to 
arrest people, sometimes they have to wrestle with people. If you can 
wind up being sued, you are much less likely to want to do that. And 
when you have police that are less engaged, particularly in our busiest 
cities, what are you going to get? More crime. We cannot say we are 
serious about the spiraling number of people who are being shot to 
death or stabbed to death in this country until we allow the police to 
be police again. We have got to stop that police hatred that goes on.
  And I don't care whether we eventually send a few hundred million 
dollars around the country to hire more police or whatever President 
Biden has up his sleeve, what we have got to do is we have got to build 
respect for police again so that they are free to maintain the safety 
in this country.
  The third thing I will look at that I thought, again, was misleading 
to the public, concerns election laws. Many States, including 
Wisconsin, have a photo ID law. President Biden and his acolytes imply 
that a photo ID law is motivated by racism. Again, this is 
unnecessarily divisive.
  One of the reasons why I feel that Joe Biden is the most divisive 
President in my lifetime, I have praised him for his speech last night 
in which he didn't call this country racist after using the racial word 
or white supremacy so much in his inaugural speech; nevertheless, it is 
a little bit ridiculous when in order to have fair elections some of us 
want to have photo ID and then people stand around when photo ID is 
needed for things that probably have a much more dramatic impact on the 
average person's life, but it doesn't bother them.
  We had a requirement here in town that you present proof of vaccine 
with which you had to produce a photo ID, if you wanted to go to a 
restaurant in this town. I would say it is a fairly significant thing. 
Did anybody say that the District of Columbia was being racist because 
they required a photo ID if I want to eat at a restaurant?
  They want to look at my ID before I get in an airplane. If I had to 
fly somewhere to get some surgery, if I had to fly somewhere to see an 
ailing relative, that could be a real life-changing experience. Does 
anybody say, oh, it is racist to require a photo ID if I got on an 
airplane? We just put up with this routinely.
  Nevertheless, President Biden fans the flames of division by claiming 
that those of us who want to make sure that we have fair elections are 
motivated by racism when photo IDs are needed so commonly.
  The next thing I want to point out that I think he gave short shrift 
to with an insultingly small amount of time was the huge number of 
people who are dying of drug overdoses in this country.

[[Page H1267]]

  I got this job only 7 years ago. At the time, 47,000 people a year 
died of drug overdoses. By comparison, in 12 years during the Vietnam 
war, 57,000 people died. And every politician was supposed to talk 
about it. Now we shoot up from 47,000 to 100,000 people, and President 
Biden can't even bring himself to talk about fentanyl, the drug 
responsible for most of those deaths.
  I don't know why he wouldn't talk about fentanyl. My guess is because 
overwhelmingly it is coming across the southern border, and he doesn't 
want to do anything about the southern border. However, I would hope in 
the future, President Biden would meet with law enforcement around the 
country, find out what it is like to have to tell the parents or 
siblings or children of the people who have died that their relative 
has died. That is a horrible thing.
  And I think to gloss over the 100,000 deaths we have every year in 
this country--twice the number of people who died in the 12 years in 
Vietnam--was I thought very callous. But, again, I would encourage 
President Biden to ask members of his administration to get out and 
about a little bit, talk to relatives of people who have died of drug 
overdoses, particularly fentanyl, and maybe it will cause him to devote 
a little bit more time on that in next year's State of the Union 
address when he realizes what a horrible situation we have.
  There are many other things that I don't think were addressed 
accurately or in depth during the State of the Union address that 
should have been.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Grothman. That 
was well said. There is lot. We know you can go all night because there 
was a lot to complain about.
  Madam Speaker, tonight you have heard the response of so many of my 
Republican colleagues to the lackluster State of the Union address that 
was held here last evening. Perhaps the most glaring problem with his 
speech is that the President tried to ignore the fact that it is his 
lack of leadership that is what has created this dangerous situation 
that we are all in right now. All the crises you have heard about, the 
American people know the facts.

  I grew up in the seventies and eighties. I was a child of the Reagan 
era, and we remember in the Cold War he reminded us we maintain the 
peace through our strength. What he communicated to us so clearly is 
weakness invites aggression. We have projected weakness on the world 
stage, and it is inviting Russian aggression. We pray and hope that we 
do not get a similar aggression from our other adversaries like China, 
North Korea, Iran, and the rest.
  The only thing holding back terrorists and tyrants and dictators and 
rogue operators around the globe is their perception of a strong 
America. That is what we stand for. We wish we could have heard that 
from the President in a more honest tone last night, but we didn't get 
it.
  So we are here. We are going to continue to work on this side of the 
aisle to fix these problems, and we look forward to the election cycle 
this fall where we believe the fortunes around here are going to change 
pretty substantially.
  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for being here tonight, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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