[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 117 (Friday, July 15, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H6667-H6672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ISSUES OF THE DAY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I am honored to yield to the gentleman
from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), former chair of the Appropriations
Committee.
Honoring Fallen Heroes in Floyd County, Kentucky
Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I thank Judge Gohmert for very
graciously allowing me to speak before his main subject.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the memory of three
fallen heroes in eastern Kentucky. Last week we laid to rest three
police officers and one service canine who were slain in the line of
duty after enduring unexpected gunfire in Allen, Kentucky, on June 30,
2022.
Among the fallen were William Petry, a 31-year law enforcement
veteran and the fire chief in Floyd County, Kentucky; Ralph Frasure, a
39-year law enforcement veteran and school resource officer; and Jacob
Chaffins, was a 28-year-old police officer who just started his law
enforcement career 3 years ago and an active sergeant in the Kentucky
Army National Guard. Also among the deceased was a beloved canine named
Drago, a well-trained service dog for the Floyd County Sheriff's
Department.
Needless to say, the heartbreak and pain that have reverberated
across eastern Kentucky at the loss of these brave men who dedicated
their lives to serving and protecting our local people has been
overwhelming.
President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a former New York City Police
Commissioner, once said, ``No man is worth his salt who is not ready at
all times to risk his body, to risk his well-being, to risk his life in
a great cause.''
On Thursday, June 30, 2022, these officers, and many other responders
risked their lives as they valiantly answered the call to protect the
people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Their heroic deaths represent a powerful display of the selfless love
described in John 15:13, ``Greater love has no one than this: to lay
down one's life for one's friends.''
Even as we speak, several other first responders are also fighting
for their lives, recovering from their injuries from that horrific day,
and our prayers are with them and with their families.
In a Nation where police forces have been vilified in recent years by
the actions of a few bad actors, may the lives of these brave men be a
reminder of the outstanding integrity and sacrifice that the thin blue
line represents. We must continue to support our law enforcement
officers across the United States, ensuring they are fully equipped,
adequately prepared, and never at the mercy of evildoers.
This Nation owes a great debt of gratitude for the life and service
of Officers Petry, Frasure, and Chaffins. May their loved ones find
abundant peace and confidence in Matthew 5:9, ``Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.''
Madam Speaker, I request to recognize a moment of silence in memory
of William Petry, Ralph Frasure, Jacob Chaffins, and K-9 Drago.
{time} 1430
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, what a very fitting and appropriate
tribute to such selfless servants.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill).
Remembering R.D. Kinsey
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from East Texas,
Judge Gohmert, with whom I have had such a great association over these
past several years and thank him for his leadership in this people's
House.
Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life of a Vietnam veteran and
leader in our Arkansas community, R.D. Kinsey, a great personal friend
of mine, taken too suddenly last week.
Following Kinsey's honorable discharge from the United States Air
Force, he worked to serve his fellow Vietnam-era veterans by working
alongside them and the VA to ensure that those heroes could obtain the
benefits they had earned during their time in service.
Over time, R.D.'s mission expanded, and he worked with local veterans
and their families to ensure that they had the healthcare and benefits
that they had rightfully earned. R.D. dedicated his life to his fellow
service heroes.
In 2004, R.D. worked to establish the Michael Vann Johnson, Jr.,
American Legion Post 74 of North Little Rock, Arkansas, where he held
the commander position for 14 years. Under his leadership, Post 74
became known for their tremendous work in assisting veterans across the
State. Let me say personally, no one was more shipshape than Post 74.
In 2018, R.D. became the first African-American State commander in
the history of the Department of Arkansas
[[Page H6668]]
when he assumed the leadership of the American Legion's command for
that 1-year term.
While serving in this capacity, R.D. led nearly 15,000 Arkansas
military veterans and their families in serving God and country.
Up until R.D.'s passing, he served the National Legislative
Commission, presenting the National American Legion's agenda to the
United States Congress on behalf of our Nation's beloved veterans.
R.D. dedicated his life to those veterans and to their families.
My sincerest condolences go out to his wife of 37 years, Dianna; his
daughters, Meredith and Allison; and all who were honored to know him
and call him a friend.
R.D. and his life of service had a profound impact on me, our
veterans, our State, and I am honored to recognize him here today on
the floor of the people's House.
Congratulating Colonel Nate Todd
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Colonel Nate
Todd, who currently serves as the Secretary of the Arkansas Department
of Veterans Affairs, on his recent appointment to the University of
Arkansas Board of Trustees.
Todd's history of service began as a student at Pine Bluff High
School, where Nate was a member of the Junior Air Force ROTC unit
there.
He would go on to graduate from the University of Arkansas with a
Bachelor of Science degree in industrial technology and a master's
degree from Baylor University. Other achievements include a Chief
Financial Officer Leadership Certification from the National Defense
University and graduation from the Executive Medical Leadership Course
at George Washington University.
Today, Todd is a 37-year veteran of the Army and Army Reserve where
he has served as the director of Health Financial Policy with the U.S.
Army Surgeon General and chief financial officer for Walter Reed Army
Medical Center in Washington.
Those familiar with Colonel Todd's leadership know of his decades-
long devotion to the service of Arkansas and our Nation. Most recently,
he has served at the appointment of Governor Asa Hutchinson as our
State's Veterans Affairs Department head since early 2017.
The students, faculty, and broader community of the University of
Arkansas system will benefit from the knowledge, experience, and
integrity that Colonel Todd brings in this new role.
Congratulations to Colonel Nate Todd. I congratulate him for his
continued service to the people of Arkansas.
The Continuing War in Ukraine
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, today is the 141st day since Putin commenced
his illegal, brutal invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin continues to
direct his gang of thugs to target Ukrainian civilians.
We have seen this play from Czar Putin before, with the mass murder
of 25,000 souls in Grozny and the leveling of biblical Aleppo.
To date, the United Nations High Commission has verified nearly
12,000 civilian casualties across Ukraine since February. This number
is understated.
In the words of Nazar Havryliuk, a 17-year-old from Bucha: ``They
were not able to defeat our Army, so they killed ordinary people.''
Both his uncle and father, innocent civilians, were murdered by
Putin's invading Army.
Russian military strikes continue to target Ukrainian resources,
including grain storehouses responsible for feeding over 400 million
people worldwide. The World Food Programme estimates that 47 million
people across the globe are suffering from acute hunger as a direct
result of Putin's targeting of Ukrainian stores.
Since February, almost 2,300 schools, Madam Speaker, have been
damaged or destroyed, and 290 healthcare facilities have been attacked.
No place in Ukraine is safe for civilians.
Currently, 12.1 million people in Ukraine are estimated to need
health assistance. That is 12 million individuals who are unable to get
the help they need, the help they deserve, all due to Putin's invasion.
Madam Speaker, as my friend from Wisconsin just told this House,
leadership from the United States is essential now more than ever.
President Biden must step up and ensure that Ukraine has the lethal
weapons and supplies to achieve a prompt and decisive victory over the
invaders.
Only America's President can stand in the breach and lead. That
leadership of our transatlantic partners and our critical allies, like
Japan, are essential, essential in assisting the Europeans in crafting
help for the people of Ukraine, including supporting humanitarian and
critical and necessary and essential military support.
The United States can support Ukraine directly also by supporting the
U.N. Secretary General's efforts to open the Black Sea. It is essential
that safely exporting Ukrainian grain, currently trapped, is a must-do.
The world is waiting for that grain. The world is starving without it.
Helping alleviate that hunger crisis requires American leadership.
While Putin's puppets are in Istanbul sitting at a table talking
about opening the Black Sea, his military is systematically bombing and
burning all the fields of wheat across Ukraine.
America must also lead in planning for reconstruction in Ukraine once
the invader has been ejected.
We must also hold Putin and his cronies accountable for the war
crimes that they are committing daily in Ukraine. The targeting of
schools, hospitals, places of worship, and civilians is unacceptable,
illegal, and immoral. Russian leaders will be held accountable.
I was pleased to see the National Defense Authorization Act continued
to set that out as a basic tenet of American foreign policy, that we
will hold these war criminals accountable.
I will continue to voice my support for the brave people in Ukraine
fighting against an illegal invasion to protect their homeland, their
freedom, and their sovereignty.
I urge all my colleagues to join me in working to craft the right way
to support those Ukrainians in the distribution of needed resources
worldwide and holding the Russian leaders accountable for their crimes.
This we must do, and this House must lead. Again, I must close, Madam
Speaker, by saying it is American leadership that unites the world that
can eject Putin from Ukraine.
Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas, and I am grateful for
the time.
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I am very grateful for the message from
my friend from Arkansas, words of wisdom that are greatly appreciated.
One of the things we took up this afternoon on a vote here--and if I
recall correctly, there were two of us voting no--but I know the people
voting for the bill wanted to try to help with the issue of baby
formula. But the bill was thrown upon Republicans last night, not
exactly the best way to handle legislation with far-reaching effects,
and then voted on today. Well, let's look at some of the facts.
Here is an article: ``Global infant formula products market:
estimations and forecasts for production and consumption.'' This points
out that in 2017, the EU was the biggest supplier of infant formula,
with one-third of global volumes, with China and southeast Asia in
second and third places respectively.
Chinese companies have invested in ingredient and infant formula
production capacity in France and in the Netherlands and have strategic
alliances in Denmark and Ireland. So that way, when they produce it,
they don't have to say, ``made in China,'' which causes some people
concern, especially when you have stories that exist, reports where
Chinese formula has done great damage.
Here is a story from September of '08: ``China: Fourth baby dies from
tainted formula.'' So Americans have reason to be concerned when we go
buying baby formula that is manufactured by Chinese companies, no
matter where it is actually produced.
Going back to this article, it says: ``China is the second largest
infant formula producer'' and points out they do export some of their
formula.
But with this report about opening plants in other countries, it may
give the impression and the appearance that these are not like the
formulas that were created in China.
So here is another line that says: ``A lot of the global growth in
infant formula production will come from Chinese companies investing in
production capacity outside China.''
[[Page H6669]]
So it is not enough to ask where was this produced; it is also
important to ask: Who actually produced it; who is behind it?
It is also surprising that we would get that bill late at night
before people are expected to vote on it the next day when--here is an
article from the BBC in May of 2022, and it indicates that the FDA said
sales of infant formula rose 13 percent in April compared to January
before the recall, and some indicators suggested that the out-of-stock
rates had been overstated. It says: ``Increased sales are a good
indicator of formula available to the general population.''
{time} 1445
Now, if you are in a place where you can't find formula, then it is
not much of a comfort that people are finding more in other places in
the United States. But here it is: This should have gone through a
committee. This should have had an opportunity not just for debate but
for more research. It should be under what we normally try to do.
Leadership from the parties tries to give 72 hours' notice, but this
bears looking at.
I understand that the vote is only going to go until the end of the
year, but as Ronald Regan said, the closest thing to eternal life here
on Earth is a Federal Government program. I have seen in my years in
Congress things that are only going to be a matter of months, just 1
year, 2 years, 3 years, but they are still going on. It happens over
and over.
We have been told, oh, this is going to sunset, and that will be the
end of it. Then, we get pressure brought to bear on enough Members that
those sunsets are reset to further years down the road.
When it comes to baby formula, American babies should have enough
American formula produced to take care of them where we have--and
obviously, the FDA has shown in the last few years that they can be
totally incompetent in so many areas. They can have decisions appear to
be totally based on money rather than the best interests of Americans.
The FDA has shown that they don't care about it being your body, your
choice. They would rather force you to have injected into your body
what they tell you to inject, especially when it makes billions of
dollars for pharmaceutical companies that are under an emergency use
authorization so the companies have no liability for the death and
injuries that they cause.
In the case of baby formula, we find out in an article that indicates
that already the Abbott facility is at 95 percent of what it was before
the FDA shut them down and created problems in doing that without
proper regard.
It seems like this bill was a rush to get done without properly
considering what this would mean. Whether it is intentional or not,
what we keep seeing here are bills that pass through this House that
end up making profits for Russia, China, Iran, OPEC, countries that
hate us.
As I have said from years ago when I started pointing this out,
whether it is paying countries that vote against us more than half the
time in the U.N. or bills quickly passed like this that are going to
provide profits to other countries, we don't have to pay people to hate
us. They will do it for free.
Shouldn't we use profits strategically and quit helping those that
want to destroy America for all time? If you just look at the Ukraine
invasion by Russia, the policies, decisions, executive orders, things
that have been pushed through by this White House, pushed through
Congress by this White House, the Biden administration, Russia has made
so much profit because of what this White House has done that they have
been able to fund the war and the invasion in Ukraine.
On the other hand, we have had the same administration rush in and
get Democrat leaders in the House and Senate to pass bills that would--
well, we had $13 billion, $40 billion, we have had other bills that we
have to pass this to help Ukraine. Well, I voted against the last one
because there were simply not--I want to help Ukraine.
I have a special place in my heart for Ukraine, having been an
exchange student in Ukraine back in the seventies. I grew to love so
many of the people there. It is a good place. They are good people. Of
course, they were corrupted by a Marxist system, as every country that
attempts Marxist systems is. But as a farmer on a massive collective
farm explained to me when I asked, in the best Russian I could muster,
``When do you work out in the field?'' because they were sitting there
in the shade in the middle of the morning, he said, in Russian, ``I
make the same number of rubles if I am out there in the sun as I make
in the shade, so I stay in the shade.''
Well, the Soviet system was able to crush the amount of produce that
could be generated in Ukraine and have done much better without the
Marxist-Soviet system as far as production.
But I would like to be assured by the bills we pass that money is
going to be utilized for what is intended. When you are giving tens of
billions of dollars to an administration that just carelessly and
callously leaves $85 billion of equipment in the hands of our enemies
that killed 3,000 people on 9/11 and would like to kill all the
Americans they can, then we need to be more careful in what we pass in
this Chamber because this administration cannot be trusted.
I have never indicated that I believe the administration wanted
American soldiers killed in Afghanistan because I don't believe that. I
just believe their incompetence is at such a level, their lack of
judgment is at such a level, that they made it possible that 13
soldiers could be killed on what should have been a peaceful exit if it
had been properly done and if we had properly utilized the assistance
of our allies, the former Northern Alliance that fought and originally
defeated the Taliban with about 300 special operators from the U.S.
There shouldn't have been any Americans who were killed in leaving
Afghanistan. But then to leave that much equipment, that just cries out
that this administration is incompetent, that the leaders in the
Pentagon are incompetent.
They continue to say climate change is the biggest threat, but let me
tell you, there was not a single military servicemember who was killed
in Afghanistan by climate change. Those 13 who were killed, it wasn't
climate change. It was incompetence by this administration, the poor
judgment by this administration, that got our people killed.
There will be more Americans killed, as our former allies that
initially defeated the Taliban by early 2002 told me in multiple
visits. For years, they were saying: You can't stay here forever. You
end up like occupiers. It is not good for you, and it is not good for
us. But for heaven's sake, don't leave the country so that the Taliban
is going to take over and kill off all of us who helped America. Don't
do that because they will kill us off, and the Taliban will still want
to destroy America. But next time they hit you and kill thousands of
people and you want to come to take on the Taliban in Afghanistan, we
will all be dead. Everybody that helped you will be dead. There will be
nobody to help you here.
They were trying to warn us not to negotiate with the Taliban, just
defeat the Taliban and leave, and leave them in a position in
Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban when they tried to rise again.
This administration did exactly the opposite. They negotiated with
the Taliban. They left them $85 billion of equipment to help kill
Americans in the future and our allies in the future. It sent a message
to China and Russia that if you want to invade another country, if you
want to take over an area where the U.S. was once the prominent force
to be reckoned with, do it now because the administration in charge of
America is too incompetent to do anything about whatever imperialistic
moves you want to make. That was the message this administration sent.
We need more safeguards. I think about a predecessor of mine, Charlie
Wilson. As some constituents have said over the years, Charlie had a
lot of personal issues, problems, but he was always honest about them.
Charlie was on appropriations, and he knew how to leverage
appropriations, as the Founders knew. They gave us the power of the
purse, yet this Chamber doesn't use our leverage to get good governance
out of a faulty administration. We just rush to give them sacks and
sacks of tens and hundreds of billions of dollars so they can throw it
around wherever they want it.
[[Page H6670]]
I was shocked to see that this administration, for the first time in
the history of the United States of America, is promoting atheism and
humanism. They are providing grants, as I understand it, through the
State Department to groups in other countries that will encourage
atheism in those countries. They will provide grants to other groups.
To be providing funds, grants, to export atheism makes it clear that
this administration is going to create chaos around the world.
As John Adams said, and it can't be said too often, this Constitution
was intended for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate
for the governance of any other. Unless we are going to get back to
teaching moral absolutes, some things are just wrong, and some things
are right. If you are not going to teach those moral imperatives that
we have had throughout our country--the Supreme Court said, no, you
have to stop with those. The Ten Commandments, no, don't be teaching
that. Somebody might think it is improper to murder. You don't want to
let that be taught in schools or brought up in public areas. Get rid of
those.
John Adams knew. George Washington knew. He talked about the
imperative nature of teaching morality and religion. Atheism is the
absence of religion. It is not a religion. Yet, this administration,
heavily funded by this body, is going around the world saying, yes, we
want to give you money if you are going to spread atheism and humanism
where we teach people to be as selfish as they possibly can be.
{time} 1500
This country won't continue to go on as an experiment in self-
government because you are going to have to get rid of the Second
Amendment. You are going to have to get rid of the right to be
protected from unreasonable search and seizure. You are going to have
to get rid of the freedom of assembly. You will have to get rid of
freedom of speech. You can't have freedom of religion. We are going to
have to basically get rid of the Constitution.
I would prefer to do what the Founders talked about--sure, there has
never been one perfect human being in all of history--none were
perfect. The amazing thing about the Founders is they recognized their
imperfection. They even put it in writing because they understood the
importance of all people being equal and that all people were endowed
with rights not from mankind, but from God.
When you fail to recognize that, then it is very easy to take away
people's rights because, you know, who are they?
If you believe what the Bible taught and teaches, we are created in
God's image--and I don't think it was in a physical image--but if
created in the creator's image then people, every single person, is
worthy of being free and worthy of having rights as pronounced in our
Bill of Rights and our Constitution.
We are at a very precarious situation in our history. We have had
those before. The Founders, like Thomas Jefferson--yeah, he had slaves,
but go look at his original copy of the Declaration of Independence. He
made clear that slavery was a scourge, it was an abomination, it was a
harmful thing, it was a grievance that the Founders had against King
George III because he should never have allowed slavery to get a
foothold at all, and that it was going to help destroy the country.
He recognized this was a problem. It got taken out of the final
draft. But you had Founders that recognized, yeah, they knew it was
hypocritical to have slaves and talk about how wrong slavery was. They
were trying to put together a government, a country, with freedoms that
would last, but they understood how precarious that was. They
understood that no government ever lasts forever. They tried to give us
the best instruments they could.
I read, of course, that Jefferson was not there for the
Constitutional Convention but sent a letter after he read it saying
that if I could change one thing, I would make it a requirement that
any bill had to be on file for a year before it could be voted on.
Well, that would have kept us from voting on this bill that rushes in
as formula production is getting back close to where it was in January.
We rush in at the last minute, and say: No, no, we are going to allow
people to buy more Chinese milk wherever they choose to make it.
Isn't it interesting, we keep doing things that end up profiting
countries that hate us.
That brings me to the topic of fuel. It is rather ironic--there is an
article from the Gateway Pundit. There is a Houston television station
doing a story on the wind turbines in Texas as ERCOT was created to
create policies and oversee our energy production in Texas.
We haven't really had problems with energy production until we got
ERCOT. Of course, they were putting so much emphasis in green energy
that we had a terrible power outage in winter. They were taking care of
spending more and more on windmills and solar, but they didn't follow
the advice of a study that said you need to winterize the natural gas
connections--so they weren't winterized, and we had a failure.
In this story: ``Texas grid operator ERCOT was forced to take
unprecedented emergency measures on Wednesday to avoid rolling
blackouts amid a heat wave as wind turbines failed to produce energy
due to low winds.''
Amazing. Those of us who have lived in Texas all our lives--well, I
had 4 years in Fort Benning, Georgia--but otherwise, we know that often
in the hottest part of the summer the wind doesn't blow and the
turbines won't turn. We need air conditioning more than ever.
Yet, in my district and adjoining areas, they closed a couple of coal
power plants. They had plenty of scrubbers on them to help have clean
air. Cleaner production of power than any coal plant in other countries
of the world. China is going to add another hundred to the hundred they
just opened. They are not going to be near as clean as we had in east
Texas. There are a couple more in my district that are scheduled to be
closed.
We are creating a situation where people will die because that always
happens when we don't have sufficient power, people don't have air
conditioning, and the heat gets them.
The article says: ``ERCOT manages electric power to more than 26
million Texas customers and represents 90 percent of the State's
electric load. . . .
``On Monday ERCOT asked customers to voluntarily raise thermostats a
degree or two, turn off lights, avoid using ovens, washing machines and
dryers. . . . `'
This is Texas. We create ERCOT and what happens?
They go nuts on green energy. Now we are going to have what Gray
Davis used to have, called Gray-outs, in Texas. We got plenty of fuel.
We have lost our minds. Maybe we would be better off without ERCOT.
Here is an article from Tucker Carlson. This is from July 12. I am
going to read some of it.
He said: ``Voters, it turns out, are not into any of those things and
so nothing that resembles the Green New Deal is going to pass the
United States Congress in our lifetimes''--I am hoping not--``provided
this remains an actual democracy, which is to say, provided the public
has anything to say about how they're governed.
``That's a nonstarter here. It's never going to happen by democratic
means, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. It doesn't mean that
ideologues can't impose the Green New Deal on weaker countries that are
too poor to refuse it, and over the past several years, that's exactly
what they've done. So the Green New Deal is actually taking effect
around the world. So, we don't have to guess what would happen if it
took effect here. We can know. That's the science.
``Let's start with Ghana. Ghana's a pretty little country, peaceful
place, actually, on the west coast of Africa. Three years ago, Ghana
was in great shape. It had one of the fastest-growing economies in the
world. In fact, it had so much energy over most of the last decade, it
was exporting it to its neighbors in West Africa.
``Now, those energy exports from Ghana peaked in 2014. Why that year?
Well, because the next year, the World Bank published this headline on
its website, `World Bank approves largest-ever guarantees for Ghana's
Energy Transformation.' Oh, when they promise to transform your energy,
slow down.
``But Ghana didn't slow down. They just kept going. The World Bank
promised to provide, and we're quoting,
[[Page H6671]]
`technical assistance for energy sector reforms and the drafting of a
new renewable energy law.' So, in return for all this help, Ghana
agreed to limit its carbon emissions, and then they entered the Paris
climate agreement. Oh, how virtuous.
``What happened next? This is the part you don't read that much
about. Last year, Ghana experienced a complete shutdown of its national
power supply. No more electricity, no emissions because we have no
electricity, and blackouts have continued since then. Just yesterday, a
news source in Ghana reported that, `Residents in parts of the Ashanti
region who have been hit with power cuts are without water as well,'
because it turns out you need electricity to provide water also to grow
food. Now, this is not a small thing. The Ashanti region has millions
of people living in it. They're all now living in the Stone Age and
it's not just the energy grid that's now compromised in Ghana.
``International observers say the country is now facing severe food
shortages and hunger, starvation within a matter of months. Why is
that? It's a fertile country, hardworking people. Now they're running
out of fertilizer. Why? Well, because for years, Sandy Cortez's friends
in the NGO community pushed Ghana toward less efficient, more expensive
organic fertilizers and the government of Ghana, because it's not a
rich government, caved. Last year, according to Ghana's news service,
Ghana's agricultural minister `urged local farmers to adopt an organic
agriculture system to reduce the impact of climate change.'
``Oh, what happened then? Well, the good people of Ghana, while they
feel good about their fight against climate change, are now starving
and in June, last month, police in Ghana used water and tear gas to
attack hundreds of demonstrators in Accra, which is the capital of
Ghana.
``It's not just Ghana. The same thing just happened in Sri Lanka. In
2016, the World Economic Forum published an article by a Columbia
professor called Joseph Stiglitz, one of the dumbest people on planet
Earth, urging Ghana to transition to `high productivity organic
farming.' Now, what does Stiglitz know about farming? Ever farmed? No,
but he felt strongly that Sri Lanka should try a new kind of farming
and of course sold it to Sri Lankans as a pathway to prosperity.''
Again, this is Tucker Carlson.
``In 2015, the World Economic Forum published an article on its
website entitled, and we are quoting, `This is how we will make Sri
Lanka rich by 2025.' You can search for that article, but it's gone now
along with the government of Sri Lanka. So, they had an actual
insurrection, not January 6, not a guy in horns, in a bearskin, running
around on mushrooms, making weird noises. No, an actual insurrection
where they like, come to your house and swim in your swimming pool,
root through your sock drawer and make you leave. That's what they did
to the people who run Sri Lanka. They, being the public.
``The turning point came in 2021 when the president of Sri Lanka,
acting on advice from the World Economic Forum, banned the use and
importation of chemical fertilizers. Now, the problem was virtually
every farm in Sri Lanka uses those fertilizers to produce food, which
it turns out people need every day in order to survive. As a result of
that move, food prices in Sri Lanka nearly doubled. Millions more Sri
Lankans now live in poverty, which is not a joke and because the
economy has collapsed, Sri Lanka now cannot afford fuel imports. So,
Sri Lankans are now waiting days for gasoline. Watch.''
{time} 1515
Then he has the story there from Sri Lanka:
``What's so interesting is millions of people are now really
suffering. The government just fell in Sri Lanka. Now, no one in Sri
Lanka is White. They are what our Democratic Party would call people of
color and yet the American intellectuals who pushed that disaster in
Sri Lanka, who are responsible for the suffering there, have all
escaped culpability. No one is saying a word about it.''
``The Netherlands, for example, which is a very rich country, the
second-biggest food exporter in the world, tried to do, for reasons
that are not clear but may have to do with Western guilt, the same
thing that leaders in Sri Lanka tried to do. They just ordered farmers
to cut virtually all of their nitrogen oxide emissions to `save the
environment.' Now, doing that would shutter most farms in the
Netherlands and destroy the country's food supply and once again, that
led to riots. So, everything that's happened in Sri Lanka and Ghana and
the Netherlands is happening at the behest not simply of ideologues,
but of some of the largest financial institutions in the world.
``They want more of this. It's why Ghana has achieved a near-perfect
ESG environmental impact score of 97.7. According to World Economic
Research, Sri Lanka has an ESG score of 98.1, the Netherlands 90.7. So,
the poorer you get, the more human suffering there is, the higher your
ESG score, and that is important because companies will not invest
unless you have a high ESG score. Interesting. So, these countries have
no choice and that's why South Africa, for example, works so hard to
get an ESG score that now totals 91.
``Now, that effort began in 2015 when South Africa switched to
renewables. Now, how did that work? Well, like everything in South
Africa, no one in America really wants to know. It's their favorite
country. It's a huge success. What's life like in South Africa for
people of all colors?'' ``Well, the Guardian, of all places reported at
the time, and we are quoting `solar, biomass and wind energy systems
are popping up all over the country and feeding the clean energy into
this strained electrical grid.'
``So their grids have been falling apart since 1994, but no problem.
The green energy geniuses are going to save South Africa. How did that
work?
``Well, 7 years later, The Washington Post reports that South Africa
regularly experiences `rolling blackouts that last 8 hours or more,
crippling economic activity and disrupting life in this nation of 60
million people,' . . .'' ``Ask anybody who lives there. It is falling
apart. Doesn't work.
``Also join France. France is committed to renewable energy. How is
that working? Well, France currently has an ESG environmental score of
92.6. Why? Because 10 years ago France pledged to drive a quarter of
all of its energy from renewables in 2018. These policies led to
riots.''
He goes on to talk about how much chaos it created for France.
In everyplace that it has been tried with this green energy, it has
fallen apart--every single one--with no exceptions: Albania, Kenya,
Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Libya, and so on.
But it is not just a problem there, it is becoming a problem here.
United States' ESG scoring on environmental issues currently stands
at 58. But Joe Biden--who buys into every stupid trend--wants to change
that. It is very important to get our ESG score up.
Madam Speaker, you see in history, and you see around the world that
when Marxists want to take over, they take advantage of weaknesses, and
they exploit them. What they have seen America, exploit this green
energy deal in the name of saving the world, and, yes, there will be
riots.
For the morons that say I promote violence, I have never promoted
violence. I have promoted using our institutions that were created to
peacefully resolve them. As a historian, it is clear that Dr. King's
peaceful methods worked best toward bringing about needed change. But
as a historian, Madam Speaker, you have to note that when our
institutions don't do their jobs, then you end up with violence. I
don't want violence, but that is what happens.
It is happening in these countries that have gotten their ESG score
up and people start starving and they see their families suffering. We
can avoid all that. But we have got to stop the insanity.
What does it really come back to?
This: I saw it in the Soviet Union as a college student, and I am
seeing it happening now. I thought socialism, Communism, and
progressivism, whatever you want to call it, I thought it was dead
because it fails every time it is tried.
There is a tiny, elite ruling class when you have Marxism, socialism,
and progressivism--a tiny, little, elite ruling class. They will have
power. They
[[Page H6672]]
will have electricity. They will have what they need. They will have
food to eat. You might hear some of them behind closed doors say: Let
them eat cake or bugs.
We are being told: Eat bugs. Because your countries are going broke
because they are trying to get up their ESG scores. It is unnecessary.
We have people saying: You have to get rid of your car. You can't
have a car. That gives you too much freedom. You are a peasant. We want
to get back to the Middle Ages, these people say, who want to be part
of the elite ruling class. Yes. Let's get back to Middle Age mentality
where we have peasants, and they walk everywhere, and the elite ruling
class gets to ride in style.
No. We had the greatest, freest, and most wonderful country. Sure, it
had problems. Every country has problems. But it was the best that has
ever been. Now we are destroying it, and we are going back to a time
when elitists will fly around in their private jets and everybody else
will have to walk.
Now, let's get back to freedom across the board. We cannot do it if
we do not take notice and usage of the things with which this country
has been blessed more than any other.
We had another bill to put off limits more uranium. Well, don't
worry. When Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State we sold, I think,
about 20 percent of our uranium available to Russia. Of course, she
made a lot of money for the Clinton Foundation, and Bill Clinton got
paid a lot of money. They were able to get that sale through.
Wasn't that great?
Continuing to put uranium off limits, we should have had rare-earth
metals that we were able to get from Afghanistan, but this
administration's incompetence left that in the hands of China that has
most now of the rare-earth minerals. Every week it seems like--at least
every month--we are putting more of our own blessed rare-earth metals
and minerals of all kinds off limits because we are going to drive this
country back to the Middle Ages, and people will be eating bugs as they
are being encouraged to do around the world.
We need to have freedom and not have Congress push us back to the
Middle Ages and push us back to the age of elitism or like it was in
the Soviet Union.
We were told before the eight of us went over there that only the
elite have cars in the Soviet Union. To them it is a game. Don't think
for a minute pedestrians have the right-of-way because they looked at
them as peasants, and they tried to hit them. Boy, did I see that. I
couldn't believe it. So you had to be careful because somebody is in a
car, and they are going to try to hit you. They did, a number of times.
That is where we are going back to. We are going to have Marxist
peasants and Marxist elitists if we don't stop the insanity. It needs
to stop now.
Madam Speaker, I appreciate what Tucker Carlson put together so we
can share here, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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