[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 80 (Wednesday, May 11, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4846-H4850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                 POSSIBILITY OF OVERTURNING ROE V. WADE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Brown of Ohio). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Johnson) is recognized for 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, the left has officially gone 
off the deep end, invading church services, going to the homes of 
judges, throwing Molotov cocktails into office buildings.
  What has them all riled up? What has predicated the nationwide spate 
of violence, trespassing, threats, and other intimidating tactics?
  Are they protesting skyrocketing inflation, the price of gasoline for 
their cars, empty store shelves making it hard for American mothers to 
feed their babies?
  No, Madam Speaker, they are not. Here is what has the left all riled 
up. Last week, we learned of a draft Supreme Court opinion indicating 
that the Court may be prepared to finally, finally, overturn Roe v. 
Wade. That is right. Of all the very real problems in our country that 
could have sent them over the edge, this is the one that has them 
animated in the streets and causing chaos everywhere.

  It turns out that the possibility that individual States may again be 
allowed to restrain the killing of unborn children is, of course, what 
has sent the left into a tailspin.
  On our side, Madam Speaker, we understand the grave nature of the 
Supreme Court leak, and we pray that the Justices will remain resolute 
in their convictions in this pressure campaign.
  But make no mistake, it bears noting that what spurs our Democrat 
friends into furious action is not record inflation, not soaring 
illegal immigration, not empty store shelves, not Americans just trying 
to make ends meet, but abortion.
  Just this afternoon, our House Democrat colleagues made time to march 
over to the Senate to rally support for their bill allowing for 
abortion on demand until the moment of birth. If they think abortion on 
demand through all 9 months of pregnancy is the key to rallying the 
American people back to their side, I am afraid they are in for a rude 
awakening.

                              {time}  1900

  I am grateful to my many colleagues for joining us tonight to discuss 
the myriad crises facing our country that are taking a backseat to the 
Democrats' abortion agenda.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin), my 
good friend.
  Mr. BABIN. Madam Speaker, thanks to my good friend,   Mike Johnson 
from Louisiana, for this Special Order and how important it is.
  While we face countless crises, all of which are getting worse by the 
day, it is not hard to stand up here and soundly condemn and criticize 
President Biden and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for 
the atrocious job that they are doing managing the United States of 
America.
  Tonight, I am going to focus on one particular issue that literally 
is life or death for millions of future Americans. In the coming weeks, 
the Supreme Court of the United States will rule in the Dobbs v. 
Jackson case on whether Mississippi and other States like them can 
prohibit the murder of an unborn baby after 15 weeks.
  Thanks to modern science, we can now see that at 15 weeks, the 
humanity of an unborn child is completely and absolutely undeniable. At 
15 weeks, babies can suck their thumbs and have fully formed noses, 
eyes, and eyebrows, and most of all they can feel pain.
  Make no mistake, we have reached a pivotal moment in our relentless 
fight for life--the lives of the innocent, the most innocent among us.
  The Democrats have embraced an anti-life agenda so radical that they 
are actually supporting now infanticide--even though 71 percent of 
Americans support protections for our unborn. Think about that.
  Americans across the country are eagerly supporting babies, mothers, 
and families. In 2019 alone, more than 2,700 pregnant centers provided 
more than 1.85 million mothers in the United States with free maternal 
services. But, par for the course, the party of science continues to 
ignore the science completely.
  Last week's leak from inside the Supreme Court was a blatant attempt 
to obstruct deliberations and to intimidate Justices. Standing outside 
and intimidating Justices on the Supreme Court is illegal.
  It was appalling and dangerous, and I hope that the investigation 
into this breach of trust holds those responsible accountable for their 
actions to the very fullest extent of the law.
  That being said, the ongoing protests by pro-abortion activists 
outside the private homes of our Supreme Court Justices, again, folks, 
is outright illegal. I am calling on Attorney General Merrick Garland 
to do his job and act immediately to enforce the rule of law.
  If the leaked Dobbs decision stands, the most innocent among us will 
finally have their voices heard. Half a century of error will then be 
corrected and millions of lives will be saved. No matter the outcome of 
this momentous case, I will never ever stop fighting for the unborn.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the doctor for his 
conviction and consistency that he has always displayed, we appreciate 
that so much.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Grothman).
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, now that we are back in Congress this 
week, I think it is time for all of us to share a little bit of what we 
learned when we were back in our districts. Given that my district has 
more manufacturing jobs than any other district in the country, I, of 
course, spent some time touring my manufacturing facilities and seeing 
what is going to become the cost of American goods in the immediate 
future.
  There are some people who are claiming that this inflation is only 
something that arose out of recent developments--out of what happened 
in the Ukraine. That is not at all true.
  As we look here to my right, we see a graph that around the time of 
the American Rescue Plan--maybe the most irresponsible piece of 
legislation that has ever passed this House--we began to have M2, a 
measure of the money supply go up about 35 or 37 percent compared to 
the prior year.
  In the last big inflation in the 1970s, it would go up 8 or 9 percent 
over the prior year. Now we are at around 37 percent. Look at this. 
That was before the preposterously big spending, bipartisan 
infrastructure bill was passed.
  When you have that great of an increase in the money supply--in other 
words, when the Federal Reserve has to print that much money in a short 
period of time, what do you think will happen? Any middle-schooler 
could have told you when that American Rescue Plan passed that you were 
going to have hyperinflation, and that is exactly what you are getting.
  When I tour my manufacturers again and again and again, I find the 
cost of metals and the cost of the materials that are going to go into 
the final price in a few months going up 300, 400, 500 percent. I am 
very afraid of what is going to happen in the future to our economy 
with such hyperinflation.
  I will point out, compared to a very large and controversial bill 
that we passed last night with regard to the Ukraine crisis, that bill 
was about 2 percent of the spending of the massive American Rescue Plan 
and a small fraction of the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
  I only hope that this body from here on out, beginning with the 
budget that is going to pass for the calendar year beginning October 1, 
finally stands up to President Biden, finally stands up to the more 
extremists in the majority party, and finally says ``no'' to this 
spending, or we threaten to permanently ruin the American economy with 
all this money the Federal Reserve has to print to assuage the huge 
amount of spending that some Members of this body want to undergo.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Grothman. They

[[Page H4847]]

have an insatiable appetite for spending.
  Did you know the American people are just as upset as we are?

  A CNN poll just came out and only 23 percent of Americans rate our 
economy as somewhat good. That is a shocking decline of 14 points just 
since December. A Fox News poll says 67 percent of Americans disapprove 
of President Biden's economic job performance.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I hope we knock down that proposed 
budget for next year. How could anybody ask for so much more spending?
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Garcia).
  Mr. GARCIA of California. Madam Speaker, some matters go beyond 
simple coincidences. Some things are simply inexplicable and 
inexcusable.
  The blizzard of crises our Nation has endured since January of 2021 
cannot be attributed to a simple string of bad luck. The reality is 
that these were intentionally induced crises by our elected officials 
in the White House and in this body. What we have seen in the last year 
is an unprecedented frontal assault on middle-class Americans and their 
security. This is the leading edge of the dismantling of the fabric of 
our Nation that the far left has been asking for for years.
  With a slow boil over the last year, our Nation has endured record 
high crime, record homicide rates, record high fentanyl deaths, record 
high illegal crossings across our borders, record debt, record high gas 
prices, interest rates have gone parabolic, affordability metrics are 
at all-time lows, the stock market is now in a straight line downward 
trend crushing our workers' retirement accounts, and our supply chain 
challenges persist.
  Madam Speaker, these are just the man-made domestic challenges. On 
the world stage, our Nation is now no longer the sole and preeminent 
superpower. On the heels of the Afghanistan debacle, in the midst of a 
national security crisis where we have lost operational control of our 
southern border, and on the cusp of a recession and more war and 
conflicts with peer threats like Russia and China, many are looking at 
the so-called leaders in D.C. as the source of the problem, and with 
good reason.
  We are now controlled by a single party who is flying us into the 
ground. We are in a nosedive. Any one of these crises alone can be 
fatal. But the confluence of these challenges poses a truly existential 
threat to our country, and we need this body and this President to do 
better.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to seek explanations. Over the course of 
the last years, I, along with many Americans have been scratching our 
heads, racking our brains as to why this administration is doing 
certain things.
  Why does it choose to support those who want to defund the police? 
Why is this administration so accommodating to China and Iran? Why does 
it support mayors and district attorneys who give hope to the criminals 
rather than protecting the victims? Why choose to continue to spend 
recklessly without any regard for our children's future? Why does your 
party care more about the borders of other nations than our own? Why is 
this administration focused on our military adopting woke policies 
instead of being able to win a war?
  While I agree with very little from this administration, I do agree 
with one statement the President made last August. August 15, just days 
before 13 Americans were killed in Afghanistan, our President said: I 
am President of the United States and the buck stops with me. Indeed, 
it stops with the President. We all end up paying for these mistakes, 
Madam Speaker.
  We pay for our record debt, our record spending, our inability to 
look past petty politics, we pay for the accommodations to the far left 
progressive flanks of your own party, a party that no longer resembles 
the ideals inspired by President Kennedy.
  A party that has been hijacked by BLM and special interests. Hijacked 
by fear rather than a devotion to our beautiful Constitution. Why does 
this administration continue to do the inexplicable and the 
inexcusable?
  Madam Speaker, you and I sit on opposite sides of the political 
aisle, but like passengers on an airplane, when we fly through a storm 
that doesn't matter, we just want the pilot to be qualified and to get 
us through the storm. It doesn't matter if you are on the left side and 
I am on the right side of the aisle, we all just want to get to our 
destination safely.
  For the first time in my life, I am worried that there is no one in 
the cockpit qualified to fly this aircraft. I know most Americans share 
this concern.
  I have spent my life defending this beautiful country. Since the age 
of 18, as a naval officer, I have been willing to give my life for this 
Nation. If I am willing to die for it, I am willing to work for it. If 
I am willing to work for it, I am willing to do what is right for it. 
In this mission, I will never stop. But I expect the same from you, 
Madam Speaker, and I expect the same from our President.
  I can't understand why elected officials would choose to put our 
country in harm's way. It is only inexplicable and inexcusable. Ours is 
a Nation that deserves to be loved and not intentionally flown into the 
ground. She is a precious one, Madam Speaker, but she is not 
invincible.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the former top gun 
Navy pilot who did a great job describing our economy as in a nosedive. 
If only we had a former fire chief that could describe the five-alarm 
fire that is America right now--oh, we do--he also happens to be a 
former mayor of Miami.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gimenez).
  Mr. GIMENEZ. Madam Speaker, from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's 
barbaric invasion of Ukraine to the spikes of illegal immigration and 
illicit drugs flowing into our country, world events over the past few 
years have further underscored the importance of countries preserving 
their national borders.
  When a State cannot control and secure its own border, it loses the 
ability to protect its people and strategic interests. In order for a 
State to survive, secure borders are paramount.
  The current border policies under the Biden administration allows for 
millions of unvetted, undocumented individuals to freely flow across 
our southern border. They allow acts of war to be played out by the 
cartels and the narco-traffickers with hard, illicit, dangerous 
narcotics--such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine--to 
permeate across the border and be transported to communities throughout 
the country where they are killing thousands of our fellow countrymen.
  These failed border policies leave our children, our grandchildren, 
our citizens vulnerable. They leave our national security vulnerable. 
They are a total abdication of the President's duty as the leader of 
the United States, whose prime responsibility is--above all--to protect 
the American people.
  Instead of handling this border crisis, President Biden and Secretary 
Mayorkas seem to be more interested in solving Mexico's immigration 
problems. As the majority of migrants apprehended at our southern 
border are coming from other countries, such as Guatemala, El Salvador, 
Honduras, and frankly from all around the world, it makes absolutely no 
sense for asylum seekers to show up at our borders seeking refuge from 
their home countries.
  Think about this logically. If a migrant is escaping their home 
country because of horrible living conditions or other factors, 
shouldn't they be seeking asylum at the Mexican border and waiting to 
go into Mexico? Which is exactly what they are doing. Instead, 
President Biden's weak and gutless policies gives Mexico a free ride by 
incentivizing them to pass their border security issues and 
responsibilities to the United States.
  President Trump had it absolutely right. We must bring back the 
remain in Mexico policy and make sure Mexico is doing its part in 
keeping their borders safe. Customs and Border Protection has made 
clear what they need to secure our southern border, and by extension, 
protect the American people. We must move swiftly to finish 
constructing approximately 280 miles of the wall, and fortifying that 
barrier with bolstered technology, such as radar sensors, drones, and 
autonomous surveillance towers.

                              {time}  1915

  By strengthening our barriers--both physical and technological--we 
would

[[Page H4848]]

be ensuring our law enforcement officials are equipped with the 
resources necessary to deter grave national security and public health 
threats created by unvetted, undocumented individuals crossing into our 
border, curb the proliferation of human trafficking along the southern 
border, and stem the flow of illicit drugs into our country that, 
again, are killing thousands--thousands--of our American citizens.
  The time has come for the President's administration to take the 
crisis on our southern border as a serious national security threat, 
one that puts our families, our communities, and our country at 
incredible risk. No more hot air and useless speeches. It is time to 
get real on securing our border.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the chief for that 
clear message. He is right. We heard from former Border Patrol 
officials this morning, and they told us that for an absolute certainty 
we have lost operational control of the border. We really have no 
border security at all, and if you don't have border security, Madam 
Speaker, you don't have safety in your country, and, ultimately, you 
don't have sovereignty either.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).
  Mr. ROSE. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding time 
tonight.
  Madam Speaker, an unborn child is a human life. Abortion ends that 
human's life. As the father of two young sons and one who passed away 
in the womb, I know firsthand that all children's lives are very 
precious whether inside or outside the womb. Unfortunately, Members of 
the Democratic Party would rather ignore this fact and instead advocate 
for more access to abortions up until the moment of birth and even in 
some cases after the baby is born, when the attempted abortion failed 
to kill the baby before it was actually born.
  Because of this kind of extremism, millions of children will never 
get to walk this Earth as their Creator intended. Their lives are being 
cut short by those who believe the ends justify the means.
  Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, those on the right side of 
history have worked tirelessly in State legislatures and in Congress to 
secure the right to life.
  Now it seems that our Constitutional Republic is under attack and the 
fundamental respect for the law has gone by the wayside as a draft 
document tied to one of the most consequential cases in the history of 
the Supreme Court was leaked to the press.
  It begs the question: If the Supreme Court can't keep a secret, who 
can?
  I have no doubt that the bad actor who leaked this document violated 
the law. That is why I led more than 20 House Republican Members of 
Congress in calling on the Department of Justice and the FBI to open a 
criminal investigation. After nearly 30 years as an attorney, I have 
never seen a more radical and unethical action take place in the legal 
arena. The leaker intended to undermine the division of power in our 
government and influence the High Court's decision. They must be held 
criminally accountable to the full extent of the law.
  It is inexcusable that the Supreme Court Justices are now facing 
protests at their homes that could easily turn violent.
  And the reason for these nefarious protests?
  For simply abiding by their oath to uphold the Constitution and 
interpret the law the way it was written.
  I will remind folks that nowhere in the Constitution does it 
enumerate a right to an abortion. In fact, our own Declaration of 
Independence says something quite different:

       We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable 
     rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit 
     of happiness.

  Yet proponents of abortion appear to be willing to do whatever it 
takes to have their way. Some are calling to burn down the Supreme 
Court and even the Justices' homes. Some Members of Congress wasted no 
time calling for the end of the filibuster and an expansion of the 
Supreme Court, something that President Biden even said as recently as 
2019 would be ``a very dangerous thing to do.''
  All in all, the leak is a reminder to the American people that 
Democrats have no desire to legislate under the parameters of our 
Constitution. If left to their own designs, they will stop at nothing 
until taxpayer funded on-demand abortions up until and even after birth 
are a permanent reality--a reality that most certainly will come at the 
cost of millions of irreversible tragedies and act as a stain on this 
great Nation until we right our wrongs and become a voice for the 
voiceless.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. My friend has spoken so well.
  Madam Speaker, the sanctity of human life is something that we must 
stand for. Thankfully, it looks like the States and the people will be 
able to decide that issue again very soon.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Murphy).
  Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, for the first time in 
this Nation's history, the United States has surpassed over 100,000 
drug overdoses. In fact, the CDC just estimated that 107,000 Americans 
died. 2021 was a record year, in fact, a 15 percent increase over the 
year prior, disproportionately affecting African Americans and other 
minorities.
  As a physician for more than 30 years, it is a tragedy to see 
President Biden's war on America that is fueling the opioid crisis that 
is killing Americans every day. Fentanyl is more than 100 times more 
potent than morphine, and in just a short period of time, fentanyl 
overdoses have become the leading cause of death for adults age 18 to 
45.
  Let us think about that for just a minute. The leading cause of death 
for these Americans is not COVID-19, not car accidents, not cancer, and 
not heart disease. It is illicit fentanyl coming across our southern 
border, a border that we no longer control.

  Let us be clear: this is a national security threat. We do not have 
operational control of the United States-Mexico border. Biden's war on 
America has invaded every town in this country, and his policies are 
actively making it worse.
  Madam Speaker, this is a real and definite dereliction of duty by the 
President of the United States of America. He could fix this deadly 
nightmare overnight by simply reinstituting President Trump's 
commonsense border policies. This is negligence--pure, unadulterated 
negligence. The American people are suffering and dying because of this 
President's willful negligence.
  How could he possibly believe this is the right thing to do?
  Madam Speaker, Joe Biden is ultimately responsible for the massive 
increase of these fentanyl-induced deaths across America. He has done 
this for political motivation, and he should not be taken seriously 
because of this. He is being willfully ignorant, or he simply does not 
care about the American people.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, Dr. Murphy is exactly right. 
The other tragedy is, of course, the cartels are making billions of 
dollars on all this flooding it into our country and killing innocent 
Americans.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Baird).
  Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louisiana for 
holding this Special Order.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to stand in support of our most important 
and fundamental right: the right to life. In the seventies then-Senator 
Biden said of Roe v. Wade: ``I don't like the Supreme Court decision on 
abortion. I think it went too far.''
  A decade later he would sign a constitutional amendment that would 
allow States to overturn the Supreme Court ruling. Times have changed. 
Thanks to the advancements in science and our understanding that babies 
can feel pain at 15 weeks, we must support policies that advocate for 
and protect the most vulnerable among us.
  I believe that life begins at conception, and I believe that life is 
a miracle that should be enjoyed, celebrated, and shielded.
  I will close by saying this: When we know better, we do better. Now 
that we know better and know unborn babies can feel pain, it is time 
that we do better.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for that 
reminder of history.
  President Biden was a whole lot more pro-life. Back in the seventies 
and eighties he opposed Roe v. Wade. He

[[Page H4849]]

said that it went too far. In 1982 he wanted a constitutional 
amendment--voted for it--for the States to overturn that Supreme Court 
ruling.
  But do you know what he did this week, Madam Speaker?
  He issued a brazen statement calling on Congress to codify Roe v. 
Wade. What a tragedy. What a tragedy.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).
  Mr. BURCHETT. Madam Speaker, I thank Vice Chairman Johnson. I 
appreciate your stand on life. It is heartfelt, and I really do 
appreciate it.
  I will address two points, Madam Speaker, about the U.S. Supreme 
Court's draft ruling that was intentionally leaked to the press: one, 
whoever leaked the decision--I feel they are pretty gutless--they need 
to be held accountable for violating the sanctity of our Nation's 
highest Court; two, the pro-abortion activists are lying about what 
overturning Roe v. Wade really means.
  First, I believe this leak was an act of political intimidation by 
left-wing operatives, and now the Supreme Court Justices are being 
forced to deal with an angry mob over a draft decision that was 
supposed to be confidential. If you check the date on that leak, Madam 
Speaker, it was not a recent draft, so this is obviously well-planned.
  I know Roe v. Wade is a controversial case that gets a lot of folks 
fired up. I feel strongly about it, too. I think it should be 
overturned. But leaking a confidential draft opinion is not the way the 
Supreme Court is supposed to operate. It is supposed to uphold our laws 
and our Constitution regardless of the political drama here in Congress 
and down the street at the White House. Dragging the Justices into the 
political chaos is unacceptable, Madam Speaker, which is why I wrote to 
the director of the FBI demanding he launch an investigation into the 
leak. We are yet to hear a response. I have been very disappointed in 
the FBI. This is another one of those instances where it is not so much 
my local folks, but here at the national level they continue to let us 
down.
  To my second point, the pro-abortion activists are panicking and 
screaming that this decision would immediately eliminate abortions 
across the country. That is not remotely true, Madam Speaker. 
Overturning Roe v. Wade would not impose any kind of national abortion 
ban but would leave those decisions to State governments.
  For some States that value the lives of unborn children, overturning 
Roe v. Wade would allow our lawmakers to better protect these sweet 
little babies. In my home State of Tennessee and in several other 
States, this decision would activate trigger laws that would outlaw 
abortions in those States.
  I believe currently in Washington, D.C., it would still be legal, if 
I understand the law correctly. However, in States that don't value the 
lives of unborn children and celebrate abortion as a human right--which 
it is not--their laws would remain unchanged. Overturning Roe v. Wade 
would not outlaw abortions across the country, as many pro-abortion 
activists would have you believe. It would simply give State 
legislators more freedom to pass their own laws.
  I promised east Tennesseans I would fight to protect life and uphold 
our laws while I serve in Congress, and I intend to keep that promise. 
I will keep pushing to hold the person who leaked the decision 
accountable--although I doubt the FBI will lift much of a finger to do 
anything about it, Madam Speaker--and, more importantly, I will always 
keep fighting for the lives of the unborn.
  I thank Chairman Johnson. His leadership skills are lackluster at 
best, but on this issue, Madam Speaker, he is exceptional. I thank him 
for that. I believe his gifts will be eternal for that, so I thank my 
brother.

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. It is a critical issue that we all believe 
to our core. That is for certain.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).
  Mr. CLYDE. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, Vice Chairman 
Johnson, for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, last week, a leaked draft opinion regarding the Dobbs 
v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case revealed that the U.S. 
Supreme Court is likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, the disastrous 1973 
decision that legalized abortion.
  Once this opinion is officially signed by the Court, the cover of 
Federal law over the murder of innocent babies will finally be removed. 
Hallelujah.
  While millions of precious lives have tragically been taken due to 
the evils of abortion, this monumental news is a giant leap forward in 
our fight to protect the unborn.
  Yet, in light of this historic pending victory for the sanctity of 
life, Democrats' disturbing hysteria has truly gone off the rails.
  Due to heightened tensions and increased threats from the left, 
fences and barricades had to be installed at the Supreme Court 
Building; Justices have received additional security; and Justice Alito 
and his family had to be moved to an undisclosed location.
  While the White House initially refused to condemn protests targeting 
Justices' homes, radical pro-abortion extremists took that signal and 
violated Federal law by organizing unruly demonstrations outside the 
homes of Justices Kavanaugh, Roberts, and Alito.
  Churches and pro-life organizations have also faced dangerous 
threats. Despite fake news reporting that attempted to downplay the 
crime, an anti-abortion facility in Wisconsin was arson attacked with a 
Molotov cocktail over the weekend.
  What has sparked such outrageous acts of violence? The threat of 
saving human life. That is right; it is the threat of saving human 
life.
  Think about that for a moment. Just the possibility that abortion 
regulation will rightfully return back to the States, giving millions 
of innocent souls a chance at life, enrages the left to the point of 
violence. It is sickening, unconscionable, and downright evil.
  Yet, President Biden wants to call Republicans extreme? I will tell 
you what is extreme, Madam Speaker. Abortions on demand; that is 
extreme. Murder of the innocent unborn; that is extremely wrong.
  My colleagues on the left are big proponents of abortion, but when 
you look at the disproportionate number of abortions in minority 
communities, it becomes quite apparent that to them, Black lives 
matter, but only after they are born.
  This is the bottom line: Life is our first and foremost fundamental 
right--fundamental, unalienable right. As a proud pro-life American, I 
will never stop fighting to protect it.
  So, I want to end with a thank-you. Thank you to Justices Samuel 
Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney 
Barrett. Thank you for defending the Constitution and standing for the 
right to life. Thank you for finally putting an end to the lie of a 
supposed constitutional right to abortion. May the Lord greatly bless 
you and bless your family and your family's family for generations to 
come for standing up for life. Soli Deo gloria.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. All glory to God. Thank you, my friend, for 
that strong word.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
LaMalfa).
  Mr. LaMALFA. Thank you again, Mr. Johnson, for leading this 
opportunity here tonight.
  Madam Speaker, we have April's Consumer Price Index just having been 
recently released. Unsurprisingly, it shows a lot of inflation, 
skyrocketing inflation.
  Nearly every single American has been feeling that in their 
pocketbook on the basics of life, especially since the last 15 months 
of President Biden's policies have kicked it into place.
  I guess what the surprise was, though, is how bad the rate of 
inflation really is. Inflation, through the CPI, has increased 8.3 
percent over the last 12 months, the biggest single year of growth 
since 1984. Combine that with a decrease of 3 percent in real wages 
under the Biden era, and American families are facing serious damage to 
their wallets and their dreams.
  Inflation is, indeed, a tax on every American and has been 
skyrocketing thanks to Biden and the Democrats' out-of-control 
spending. Inflation has increased every single month of the Biden 
Presidency.
  First, he claimed the high prices were transitory.
  Secondly, he blamed it on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, even though 
that

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was over a year into his term, and prices were already rapidly rising.
  Then, he actually pretended it didn't exist. While Americans were 
suffering, he wanted to just sweep this self-made economic crisis under 
the rug.
  Finally, this week, he claimed that combating inflation was now his 
top priority.
  Oh, but wait. It is the Republicans' fault that inflation is so bad. 
This is under his party's rule here in Washington, D.C.
  The economic crisis actually started his first day in office when he 
launched a full-fledged assault on domestic energy production that 
catapulted energy prices.
  We know energy is tied to just about every aspect of our lives, from 
growing crops to delivering them to the store, from the mined products 
that turn into materials that we use every day, whether it is metals, 
electronics, what have you, batteries for the pie-in-the-sky idea that 
we are going to have to convert everything to electric, and on and on.
  Electricity and fuel are extremely important to our economy, yet they 
are doing everything they can to squash American-produced energy. Do we 
want to import all that, too?
  The pain of the gas prices have hit transportation, food production, 
and, as we know, the grocery stores. With record partisan spending 
bills like the failed American Rescue Act and the Build Back Better 
effort, inflation is crushing the American Dream for many.

  We must address the root cause of Biden inflation, and, indeed, it is 
his policies. We must produce ample domestic oil to bring down the 
prices and help our economy be sustained by our own energy. We are 
self-sustainable.
  We can also be helping our European allies instead of having them be 
dependent upon Russian natural gas. How crazy is that? We see what the 
effects are for Poland, and we will see it for Germany if we don't turn 
the tide.
  We can do that. We can be there for them. We actually produce cleaner 
natural gas, by far, than what Russia does.
  The evidence is all around us: expensive food, fuel, electricity, 
housing, and even bare shelves in our stores in the land of plenty. We 
see our small towns, their economies being devastated because the water 
is being taken away from farms, and the high cost of doing business for 
driving tractors, combines, trucks, mining equipment.
  Our forests, we should be producing forests. Our wood and paper 
products, instead, are getting burned down due to the policies of 
inaction by the Forest Service and others.
  We need to take the initiative, and we need to turn back the Biden 
plan, which has been failing America, and put an American plan forward 
that puts us first, that puts the people first and production here for 
our own economy first.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. I think we are going to get that 
opportunity after this next election cycle, and we cannot wait. It 
cannot get here soon enough.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman, my dear friend from 
Illinois (Mrs. Miller).
  Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Thank you, Congressman Johnson, for hosting 
tonight's Special Order.
  This week marks National Police Week, where we honor the heroes who 
put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe and remember 
those who, sadly, have been lost in the line of duty.
  This National Police Week, my Republican colleagues and I are 
standing with all of law enforcement, including our U.S. Border Patrol. 
A country without a border is not a country at all, and we will not 
stop fighting until our border is secure.
  To all of our law enforcement officers, thank you for the sacrifices 
you make to protect our communities. Americans appreciate you.
  Unfortunately, over the past couple of years, we have seen some 
Democrats support the defund the police movement and policies that are 
soft on crime. As a result, crime across the Nation is on the rise, and 
nine U.S. cities had a record-breaking number of homicides in 2021.
  I thank, and encourage others to thank, all the police officers who 
protect and defend our communities every day.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. It has been amazing to see the turnabout in 
those who are advocating for us to defund the police. They recognize 
the great results of that, and now they are on our side, aren't they?
  They are proclaiming that we need to fund more police, and they are 
certainly right now. Unfortunately, we have to live with the results of 
those policy choices, as with all of these.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Keller).
  Mr. KELLER. I thank the gentleman from Louisiana for having this 
time.
  Madam Speaker, the Biden administration spent the better part of last 
year trying to convince American families facing higher prices that 
inflation was transitory. Yet, new inflation numbers show that the cost 
of everything is still on the rise, including gas, which just hit 
record highs this week.
  Prices are increasing rapidly at an unsustainable pace, but President 
Biden isn't changing course. In fact, he said that his administration's 
policies help, not hurt, inflation.
  That is a bold statement for an individual that came to Washington, 
D.C., when I was 8 years old, almost 50 years ago. That is a bold 
statement from a President that perpetrates Big Government spending and 
has done everything in his power to destroy American energy.
  To President Biden, inflation is just a number. But for working 
American families, it is the crushing result of this administration's 
failed policies--failed policies that must be overturned to get our 
Nation back on the right track.
  That is why, this week, along with 22 of my Republican colleagues, we 
introduced a resolution calling for greater American oil and natural 
gas production. Our resolution reaffirms that American energy is the 
answer to lowering energy costs, curbing inflation, and putting America 
first once again.
  During his State of the Union, President Biden stood right in this 
room and said that we need to buy American and build American. Well, I 
will tell you what, I have news for the President. It takes American 
energy. It takes American energy because we do it better than anybody 
on the face of this Earth.
  The American people, not President Biden, have the capability and 
resolve to rebuild our economic engine. President Biden must get on 
board with the American people. He must put the American people first 
or get out of the way.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. From one energy State resident to another, 
we know and can say clearly that energy security is national security.
  Mr. KELLER. Absolutely.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. This White House just doesn't get it. Thank 
you so much for reminding us of that.
  Madam Speaker, I am truly grateful again to my many colleagues who 
were here tonight from all across the country to join us as we discuss 
the importance of the battle for the sanctity of every single human 
life and the myriad number of crises facing our country because 
of these Democrat policies that are plaguing every arena, every area of 
the economy, every part of the country, and every single policy issue.

  Madam Speaker, we cannot wait for an end to this and a change in the 
levers of power in Washington, and we do expect that that will happen 
in a big red wave in November. Hopefully, the country can survive until 
then.
  Madam Speaker, 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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