[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 20, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H6908-H6913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  UNLEASH AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. 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. Mr. 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. Mr. Speaker, the recent Supreme Court term 
has come to an end and the Court's decision has sent Washington 
Democrats into a tailspin.
  Members of this body have called to abolish the Supreme Court--and by 
the way, some of those very same Members have also called to expand the 
Supreme Court, so we are not really sure which one they are committed 
to.
  Just yesterday, Members of this body were pretending to be handcuffed 
over their support for taxpayer-funded abortion on demand until birth. 
Washington Democrats are making excuses for the outright harassment of 
the Supreme Court Justices, their families, their children, and even 
the assassination attempt on the life of Justice Kavanaugh.
  Washington Democrats are silent on attacks against pro-life pregnancy 
care centers across this country. Some have even called for these 
centers to be shut down all across the Nation. It is appalling. It is 
unhinged. Why would anyone want to shut down pregnancy centers that are 
designed to help struggling mothers in their time of need? But that is 
where we are.
  Why all the hysterics though? My constituents are really curious 
about this. Why are they so animated right now? Why do they want to 
tear this institution to the ground?
  Well, here is the simple reason, because the Supreme Court has made 
some very thoughtful constitutionally based decisions in this term.
  They correctly said, for example, that a football coach was 
exercising his First Amendment rights when he privately prayed on the 
50-yard line.
  The Supreme Court correctly said that citizens don't have to ask the 
government for permission to exercise their fundamental rights to keep 
and bear arms.
  The Supreme Court correctly said that if Congress wants to address 
climate change, then Congress has to legislate on that issue instead of 
just outsourcing that work to unelected bureaucrats.

[[Page H6909]]

  Because the Supreme Court correctly said that elected Representatives 
of the people may again be allowed to place restrictions on the killing 
of innocent unborn children.
  That is why they are motivated. That is why they are so unhinged. 
That is why they want to tear the institution to the ground.
  I guess we shouldn't be surprised by all of this. We are, after all, 
only a couple of months removed from Senator Schumer's infamous, 
dangerous, unhinged rant on the steps of the Supreme Court itself. He 
called out Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh by name, and he said, Hey, we 
are going to release the whirlwind on you.
  Well, it happened. And it is clear what is happening here. Democrats 
are doing anything and everything they can to try to use these obvious 
and straightforward Supreme Court decisions to stoke fear and change 
the subject before the November election.
  But we are here today to say that this election will be about three 
things. It is going to be primarily about soaring inflation, 
uninhibited illegal immigration, and the general staggering 
incompetence that we see by the Democrats in charge of Washington.
  The three I's. I call it: Inflation. Immigration. Incompetence.
  I think that summarizes it very well.
  There was a very interesting story on CNN this week that caught my 
eye. It was entitled, ``Vulnerable Democrats Sound the Alarm Over 
Inflation Crisis.'' Well, welcome to the party. It is a little late for 
that.
  I would humbly suggest that those vulnerable Democrats should have 
thought about that before they voted to pass $5.4 trillion--with a 
``T''--in new partisan spending last year.
  We warned them. This was so completely foreseeable. Government 
spending is what is causing the current inflation crisis, plain and 
simple. And now that this bill is coming due, these vulnerable 
Democrats are hoping the American people would simply forget their 
vote. We don't intend to let that happen, the stakes are too high, and 
the issues are too important.
  I thank my colleagues for joining us today to discuss the harm that 
the Democrat agenda has caused our country and our alternative, 
conservative vision for how to fix all this.
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser), first among my many colleagues that will be 
joining me here in the hour, who knows a whole lot about the economy.
  Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana, my 
very good friend, for offering this opportunity to speak on these 
important issues.
  Mr. Speaker, 1 year ago this week, President Biden stood before the 
American people and said that inflation was temporary. At that point, 
the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, of course, stood at 
5.4 percent.
  In the 365 days since, the price of nearly everything has increased, 
and the Consumer Price Index has skyrocketed at 9.1 percent.
  Eggs are up 33 percent; milk is up 16 percent; chicken is up 18 
percent; and worst of all, Americans are paying over 60 percent more 
for gasoline than they were a year ago, costing American families, my 
constituents, and everyone throughout our country, nearly $6,000 extra 
a year. Now we have our Transportation Secretary telling us the truth, 
that this pain--and I'm quoting--will lead to more purchases of 
electric cars.
  So that was the plan. Thanks for being honest, Mr. Secretary.
  Meanwhile, however, neither the administration nor the Secretary of 
Transportation has any understanding of where the energy comes from to 
charge all of these electric cars.
  They are not exactly chess players, Mr. Speaker.
  As my friend from Louisiana put it, inflation, incompetence--the 
third ``I''?
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Immigration.
  Mr. MEUSER: Immigration. And instead of taking any action to correct 
this devastating problem, and the effect it is having on American 
families and small businesses, large businesses, you name it--dogs and 
cats, probably--the Biden administration has doubled down on the 
backwards policies and undertaken a massive blame-game campaign.
  Not exactly a profile in courage taking place here, Mr. Speaker.
  First, they branded the inflation brought on by their reckless 
spending the ``Putin price hike.'' Then, despite inflation beginning 
long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, by the way, then the 
administration laid the blame for their policies at the feet of greedy 
corporations--yeah--and then local gas station owners.
  Mr. Speaker, 60 percent of the gas stations throughout our country, 
and certainly in my district, are owned by small independent 
businesspeople. They are to blame for the gasoline prices that we are 
paying?
  I would like to reiterate, when faced with the highest gas prices in 
history caused by atrocious energy policies, the President of the 
United States and many Democrat Members of this House point their 
fingers and blame small business owners.
  The American people are not fooled by the Biden administration's 
finger-pointing, though they are paying a steep price for it. Despite 
the administration's best efforts to deceive the American people, we 
have learned that inflation was not temporary and has continued to 
skyrocket, largely because of the Biden House Democrats' out-of-control 
spending.
  Instead of addressing America's inflation crisis, House Democrats 
have continued to push for billions more in government spending, which 
will increase inflation, it will not decrease it. Continued excessive 
spending will increase inflation. It is a mathematical and physical 
certainty.
  We must correct course. Stop the reckless spending and unleash 
domestic American energy production, which will strengthen both our 
economy and our national security. We must also stop overregulating and 
overtaxing small businesses, and enough with the blame games and these 
go woke and broke policies. They have failed the American people.

  Mr. Speaker, the free nations of the world need a strong United 
States, both militarily and economically to lead. We face serious 
threats. Free nations worldwide know that the world is a far more 
peaceful and stable place with strong American leadership. The weakness 
shown both at our southern border and the Ukraine border, initially, 
have had devastating effects on humanity and on the stability of the 
United States, Europe, and the free world.
  Only with a clear vision, realistic plan, and earnest execution will 
this be corrected.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. That is so well said, my friend. And it is 
so true that a strong and vibrant America is good not only for the 
people in this country but for people all around the world. We maintain 
peace through strength, and if we don't show that strength, then we are 
in real jeopardy.
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Babin), my good friend from right over the border.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Louisiana. I 
appreciate Mr. Johnson for having this Special Order.
  Mr. Speaker, according to a recent New York Times poll, more than 77 
percent of Americans think that the country is on the absolutely wrong 
track--and they are right.
  Inflation is at a 41-year high. Small businesses cannot afford to 
stay open. Real wages are down 4 percent. Skyrocketing prices are 
costing Americans an extra $500 or more per month. Essentially, 
hardworking Americans are paying more for almost everything while they 
are taking home less. Why?
  Well, the answer is simple. Joe Biden and the Democrat party have put 
politics over your prosperity. Think about that. Over the last year and 
a half they have repeatedly shown us that their green fantasy is more 
important than you being able to feed your family or fill up your car 
with gasoline.
  The administration says that we are in an ``economic transition 
moment.'' Yes, this inflation was supposed to be temporary and 
transitory, according to the administration, but prices have risen for 
14 straight months since that announcement was made. You don't need to 
be an economist to agree.
  We are undoubtedly in a state of transition. The real question is: 
What are we transitioning into?

[[Page H6910]]

  My colleagues across the aisle avoid this question at all costs 
because the facts just don't back up their fictitious answers. Let me 
tell you the truth.
  You don't need to like Donald Trump to accept the fact that our 
economy prospered under his leadership. You don't need to be a 
Republican to accept the fact that our Nation flourished under free-
market, small-government policies--policies that allowed Americans to 
thrive without Big Brother interference.
  You don't need to be in politics to accept the fact that our country 
has been in a perpetual state of crisis under President Joe Biden. Our 
economy is plummeting, our southern border is nonexistent, our military 
is shrinking, and our standing on the world stage is in rapid decline.
  So, to answer the question of what we are transitioning into?
  Well, under the left's woke agenda, America will transform into a 
broke, borderless, weak, socialist Nation unable to compete 
internationally or defeat those who seek our very demise. It is a very 
frightening future, and one that we as the GOP cannot let come to 
fruition.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. It is a 
very stark reality that we face, but we are optimists. We know we can 
turn this around, and the American people are going to give us a chance 
this fall, aren't they? I thank the gentleman for that good word and 
stark reminder.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).
  Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the Democrat majority is COVID 
crazy, it is January 6 forever, January 6 crazy, climate crazy, 
everything is racist, everything is seen through a transgender lens. 
Then there are their policies. Their policies that are wreaking harm on 
the American people, and that the American people don't want.
  They have done so much harm to the country in the last year and half 
as they have had the majority, along with the White House. It is hard 
to put your finger upon what is the worst thing that has happened to 
the country. Is it the rapidly rising violent crime?
  The undermining of our police?
  Putting criminals ahead of victims?
  Putting criminals ahead of police?
  And just now figuring out that if you cut police, if you defund 
police, if you don't support police, then, of course, you get more 
crime.
  Is it what they are doing to our military, wokeifying, wussifying our 
military with these radical policies. These diversity equity inclusion 
policies that think our military is a social experiment. Kicking out 
military members because they don't get a vaccine. We got 100,000 
troops that are at risk of being dismissed from the military when we 
are at 40 percent of our recruiting goals.
  Is it what we are doing at the border?
  Gosh, we could go on and on about the border, once again.
  Is that the worst crisis that the Democrats have created with their 
policies?
  What this President had to do to keep a secure border was nothing. 
Continue the policies of the previous administration and we would have 
a secure border. Instead, we have allowed some 4 million--now averaging 
about 10,000 a day--illegal aliens crossing into our country. Over 3 
million--acknowledged by border patrol--encountered at the border, most 
of them released into the interior of the country, and then some 
800,000 criminal got-aways, the ones who, you know, don't want to be 
taken into our custody, don't want to be given free healthcare, don't 
want to be given free education, free social services, free 
transportation wherever they want to go, without a quarter to appear.
  The ones who are evading capture because they are trafficking drugs, 
humans, sex trafficking, child trafficking across our border. The ones 
with terrorist ties and criminal ties who will do irreparable harm in 
the days, weeks, and months ahead.
  Then you look at the energy policy, which is driving--along with the 
rapid spending--it is driving the inflation in this country. Energy 
policy. What did we need to do when this President took over a year and 
a half ago to remain energy independent for the first time in history?
  Nothing. Continue the policies. But this President, during the 
campaign, promised to declare war on fossil fuels to end American 
energy essentially--oil and gas production in this country. That is a 
promise that he has kept in the way that he has willfully put 
regulatory burdens, restrictions on the energy industry.
  Now he goes essentially with a big gas can, carrying it over to the 
Middle East, begging these other world producers--who don't produce 
energy as cleanly as we do--to produce more energy to try to bail him 
out of his failed policies.
  Meanwhile, what do we have?
  His transportation secretary, who has no experience in 
transportation, by the way, says: Hey, the more pain that we can cause, 
the more benefit. The more pain we can cause with rising gas prices, 
the more benefit. Memo: Most Americans can't afford a $70,000 electric 
vehicle.
  Most Americans don't have somebody driving them around in a big SUV 
so they can get out of the SUV right before the photo op and get on 
their bicycle and just bike the last block to work. Most Americans 
don't have that option.
  This administration, this Democrat majority is out of touch with the 
American people. They are hurting the country. These policies are being 
rejected. You are going to see in 111 days from today the 
representation of that--the demonstration of that on November 8.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, wow, there are so many 
important facts there. I will tell you what, it is hard to count all 
the crises. I thank my friend, that was so well said, as usual.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose), 
faithful to come on this floor week after week and relay the facts to 
the American people.
  Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the time on the floor today to 
speak about these important matters.
  Mr. Speaker, when Tennesseans go to the gas pump and grocery store, 
they are constantly reminded of the fact that everything was much more 
affordable only 1 year ago.
  Since President Biden has taken office and congressional Democrats 
have recklessly borrowed and spent trillions of dollars, the cost of 
living has skyrocketed at a rate not seen since 1981--when I was just a 
junior in high school.
  Common sense will tell you, this massive amount of deficit spending 
overheated the economy and created a labor shortage from folks staying 
home instead of working. Common sense will also tell you, that the only 
way to fix this issue is to turn the money spigots off here in 
Washington and stop this borrow and spend economic death spiral.
  Unfortunately, common sense has again failed this Chamber as House 
Democrats passed earlier today a funding bill filled with partisan 
initiatives costing hundreds of billions of dollars. The socialist 
spending bill House Democrats passed today increased some accounts by 
double and even triple-digit percentages in some cases.
  It rewards the Food and Drug Administration, which failed to quickly 
address the baby formula shortage with a budget increase. It also 
increases the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, who 
instead of enforcing our laws and stopping illegal immigration, is 
encouraging it by attempting to repeal title 42. It even increases the 
budget to maintain and improve Federal buildings by 12 percent, even 
though many of these buildings have been mostly empty for the last 2 
years.
  There are a lot of bad policies in this bill, but one of the worst 
has to be the exclusion of the Hyde amendment. The Hyde amendment is a 
bipartisan amendment that has existed for decades to prevent your 
taxpayer dollars from being used to help fund abortions. This is 
completely incomprehensible to me. In no way, shape, or form should 
taxpayers be subsidizing abortions with taxpayer dollars.
  Tennesseans are sick and tired of borrowing money from China and 
forcing their grandchildren to foot the bill. The State of Tennessee 
should serve as a role model for Members of Congress. We have been 
committed in Tennessee to enacting fiscally responsible policies up and 
down each level of government. We don't even have a State income tax, 
and yet are still able to fund the government without driving our State 
into a hole of debt from which we will never get out.

[[Page H6911]]

  I just can't help but think how one-party rule in Washington has 
completely failed the American people. Democrats have controlled both 
Chambers of Congress and the executive branch for almost 2 years now 
and Americans are paying the price.
  Tennesseans are rightfully upset with their Federal Government and 
feel as though their concerns about the future of this country are not 
being heard. A recent poll shows that in April of 2020, during the 
height of the COVID lockdowns, Americans actually thought our Nation's 
future looked brighter than it does right now.
  We can't continue down this path. We must do everything we can to 
rein-in the reckless spending. As interest rates begin to rise, our $30 
trillion--and rising--national debt will only continue to get more 
expensive as the interest on the debt grows right along with it, 
squeezing out funding for other vital programs. With interest rates now 
rising at a rapid clip, it is all just a ticking time bomb ready to go 
off.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle to listen to the American people and Tennesseans back home and do 
what is right for the sake of our country and our children. Recognize 
the policy failures of the last 2 years and commit to joining 
Republicans in our desire to restore fiscal common sense.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, there are so many great points 
there. I appreciate the gentleman for coming here and explaining that 
because we can't say it too much.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).
  Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and my friend from 
Louisiana for hosting this Special Order hour and for all that he is 
doing to get the conservative voice out there.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deliver the 13th installment of my farm 
bill impact series during a time when the effects of a poor wheat 
harvest in Kansas are only compounded by crushing inflation.
  This is insult added to injury for Kansas wheat farmers. Producers 
are laboring under the burden of skyrocketing input costs while they 
work hard to keep our country fed, fueled, and clothed, and they 
deserve a workable solution to this inflation crisis before the 
situation gets any worse.

  Farming is already a risky, volatile business without the added 
burden of inflation, and USDA estimates that input costs will continue 
to rise at astronomical rates throughout 2022.
  For an example of the risk of volatility--the wheat harvest just 
ended in Kansas, and the results were a fraction of the yield that 
farmers in the Wheat State hope for and bank on for normal seasons. The 
farm bill, which Congress will reauthorize in 2023, exists, in part, 
specifically for situations like this past wheat season--to provide 
emergency assistance to the people who feed, fuel, and clothe the world 
even when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.
  The weather in Kansas can be extreme and unpredictable, which means 
that growing wheat in the Wheat State can be a difficult prospect at 
times.
  I had an intern in my office this summer named Parker Vulgamore who 
is a rising senior at Kansas State University where he serves as the 
student body president. He is also a member of the sixth generation of 
his family's farm in Scott City, which lies in my district.
  Vulgamore Family Farms is a wheat, corn, and sorghum operation, with 
wheat being a staple. This year, due to an exceptional drought and 
extreme conditions throughout the growing season, much of the wheat 
never grew past 3 inches tall.
  You don't have to farm to know that that is not good. What is 
typically a highly anticipated 3- to 4-week wheat harvest only lasted a 
day and a half. Many wheat farmers in Kansas barely even ran their 
combines this year--they harvested what they could, cut their losses, 
and moved on.

                              {time}  1600

  This is where farm bill emergency assistance programs like crop 
insurance come in. Crop insurance serves producers and consumers alike 
because it helps prevent producers from going out of business and 
grocery store aisles from sitting empty.
  Farm bill programs like crop insurance have secured our national food 
supply and helped generation after generation of producers avoid 
bankruptcy when times get tough. We are in those times right now.
  Inflation is skyrocketing in America. President Biden is trying to 
impose his farm killer tax, and at the same time, producers are going 
out of business. The chance to reauthorize the farm bill for 2023 has 
come at a critical moment in time.
  The farm crisis isn't just about money. It is about morale and 
spirit. It is about joy. Missing wheat harvest time in Kansas doesn't 
just mean missing out on the yield of a cash crop. It means missing out 
on the special Kansas tradition of celebrating the culmination of all 
your family's hard work. It means missing out on grandma's casserole in 
the harvest field and missing out on seeing your mom in the semi, your 
dad on the combine, and your little brother getting to drive the grain 
cart for the first time.
  A bad wheat harvest in Kansas doesn't just create financial 
insecurity. It also leaves a void where a renewal of family camaraderie 
should be.
  American agricultural producers are hurting not only from the 
skyrocketing input costs that come with inflation but also from the 
lowered morale that come with drought, thin margins, and a broken 
supply chain.
  In 2023, Congress must reauthorize the farm bill with American farm 
families at the front of our minds because they are in crisis.
  I will be back on the floor soon to deliver another installment of my 
farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles within 
the bill that I believe Congress must understand and support to ensure 
that agriculture thrives in America.
  The people who feed, fuel, and clothe us all deserve our unwavering 
support. They also deserve a robust safety net in the farm bill and 
workable solutions to the inflation crisis before it is too late.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for standing 
up for those wheat farmers. I know they appreciate that representation. 
For all of those in the ag community, this is just a critical issue.
  The gentleman is exactly right. The inflation crisis has real-world 
consequences, and that is just some of them.
  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to go across the country to California again 
to hear, once more, from our dear, faithful friend.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louisiana (Mr. 
Johnson) for continuing to lead these in order to get this important 
message out on what is facing Americans not because of a naturally 
caused crisis but a man-made one, a government-made one. We are doing 
it to ourselves.
  Instead of addressing the economic crisis that is plaguing Americans, 
the Democrats are prioritizing liberal initiatives and increasing 
Federal spending, with some accounts receiving double-digit and even 
triple-digit percentage increases typically through regulatory agencies 
that are going to make our jobs harder to do.
  We have issues. Mr. Speaker, this is just a small example right here 
of some of the prices of things that are going up. It is not because we 
have had hurricanes or things like that that have wiped out crops. No. 
We have had a lot of droughts, but in my home State of California, some 
of that drought and some of the shortages of water, indeed, are because 
of government action.
  The priorities that we see for spending include giving 20 percent 
more money to the EPA. I have had the EPA work in conjunction with the 
Army Corps of Engineers to stop people from farming fields in my 
district because they think it might have an effect on the Clean War 
Act or something like that. These are fields that have already been 
farmed in the past and have been fallow for a period of time, and they 
want to put them back into production. Oh, no, you need a permit. They 
didn't think they needed a permit. They didn't know they needed a 
permit, and so they get fined, big-time.
  As Americans face this runaway inflation caused by out-of-control 
government spending and other regulatory issues that drive up the cost 
of everything, these are the solutions we get: even more government.
  I put some reasonable amendments across recently to try and move 
things

[[Page H6912]]

in the right direction and not have these outlandish spending ideas 
take hold.
  For example, in my home State of California, Mr. Speaker, you may 
have heard of our high-speed rail project that supposedly would link 
San Francisco to Los Angeles. Well, it sounded like a neat idea on 
paper when it was proposed and finally voted on by the voters to put $9 
billion of bond money toward that back in 2008 for a $33 billion 
project.
  So, they voted for it. Actually, they delayed the election several 
times because they didn't want to vote in another bond in an atmosphere 
that might not have been perfect, so they chose 2008, and somehow, it 
passed 52 to 48 percent. At $9 billion, that was triggered by the 
voters saying build a high-speed rail; you can't subsidize it; it has 
to carry its own weight. The price soon, when we figured it out, 3 
years later, tripled from $33 billion to $98.5 billion. It is projected 
now to be about $105 billion.
  I had a recent proposal saying: No more spending on this until we 
actually have a handle on a few important items. They are not even 
compensating the landowners in the valley so far for the land they are 
taking by eminent domain that is in the right-of-way. They have all 
this money, it is such a great idea, and they aren't getting around to 
even paying the people whose land lies in the way of it. What is that 
all about?
  As well, they are not doing the environmental stuff properly to see 
that the path is going to be properly handled as far as what might be 
environmentally sensitive in that area.
  Thirdly, they don't even have the whole route laid out. They don't 
know how they are going to get south of Bakersfield through the 
Grapevine, over the Grapevine, and around the Grapevine into L.A. Are 
they going to build a $25 billion tunnel through there that might be 
subject to seismic? Who knows. But they are still pursuing it anyway.
  It has received $3.5 billion of stimulus money from the Obama era of 
2009 money--2009, we are talking. Then, they want to get another $2 
billion from the so-called infrastructure bill that passed recently. 
That is $5.5 billion of Federal taxpayer money that all the 49 other 
States get to pay for, for this boondoggle that, so far, they can maybe 
lay their hands on $25 billion, the projection, for a project that is 
going to cost $105 billion. They are going to be searching for $80 
billion more. They have already gotten five out of the Federal 
Government, pretty much. They want $80 billion more.
  The whole premise of high-speed rail was that private investors 
couldn't wait to come in to be part of this project to help build this 
fast train from L.A. to San Francisco. The investors are staying away 
until and unless you make guarantees that they will make money, and 
that is not even allowed in the original proposition that was barely 
passed by the voters.
  There really is no end here on this. They will continue to pursue 
Federal money because they don't have it at the local level. We have to 
put a stop to that. That is why I offered an amendment.
  This is at a time when people need lower priced fuels for their cars. 
That is all driven by policies that are happening here in Washington, 
D.C., pretty much. You can't blame it all on Ukraine and Putin. Yes, we 
import maybe 7 or 8 percent of our oil. We could have made that up 
quickly with known reserves of energy we have here, energy we can 
produce in this country.
  We don't need Russian oil. We don't need Putin oil. We don't need 
foreign oil. We can do it here. We should be doing it. But Biden is 
making us pay the price with this incredible transition thing he is 
talking about. It is just hurting the American people. Energy affects 
the cost of everything, even the final bit where if you got it, then a 
truck brought it.
  In the meantime, California, under a bill called AB5, is putting 
owner-operator trucks out of business because they are not part of an 
employment--they don't belong to a union or what have you. In 
Washington, D.C., they want to emulate that bill called AB5 under what 
is called the PRO Act and have it cost everybody in the whole country 
over that.
  The ideas coming out of here are not helping the American people. It 
is very tone-deaf here in Washington, D.C., and in the White House of 
what the American people are struggling with, with inflation and more 
profligate spending coming out of this place.
  As I mentioned, the Army Corps of Engineers has been busy as a tool 
of the EPA, working on something called the waters of the United 
States. They want to be in charge of every drop of water that hits the 
ground in the country. Even if it hits your roof, Mr. Speaker, and runs 
down your gutter, there are some jurisdictions that want to control 
that.
  It is pretty ominous, especially when you look at my colleague before 
me who spoke about the wheat situation in Kansas, as well as they are 
having difficulty with their wheat crop down in Texas. I have wheat 
growers up in the northern part of my State in the Klamath Basin that 
if they could get just enough water, they could get a wheat crop. But 
they are taking the water away and flushing it down the Klamath River, 
ostensibly to help the fish population. But that doesn't even work 
because they are trying to flush some disease or virus out of it, and 
it doesn't even work. Yet, they keep doing it anyway.
  It is kind of like with the delta in California, flushing water out 
to save the delta smelt. The delta smelt population is basically 
extinct, and they still flush millions of acre-feet of water out 
through that.
  So, California's agriculture is suffering. California's economy 
suffers. Those people who are productive are now unemployed, needing 
assistance instead of being part of the assistance. These are all 
government regulations coming from D.C. and from California.
  It also affects low-cost energy, renewable energy, hydroelectric 
power. When they take that water away from the Klamath, when they take 
it away from Shasta Dam and run it out the ocean, that means your 
electricity prices go up, Mr. Speaker. This all affects the economics 
of American families because of regulations and profligate spending 
here in Washington, D.C.
  As we look at the world food situation, as my colleague from Kansas 
has talked about, we are not getting the wheat crop out of the Midwest. 
There is not enough to run a combine. As he mentioned, we can't even 
run a combine up in Klamath Basin.
  If they don't get the water for the wheat, where are they going to 
run a combine to help us? Ukraine? They are dodging bombs right now. 
Russia has 27 million tons of wheat tied up that they are not letting 
out of the ports in Ukraine.
  Where are we supposed to get the food? Hungary is cutting off their 
exports of wheat. India is cutting off their exports of wheat. We can't 
grow it in this country. Where in hell are people supposed to get food? 
No one is going to come to help us.
  America is always the one helping everyone else. We need water for 
ag. We need the money they are wasting on high-speed rail, $105 
billion. You could build 21 $5 billion dams for that and grow the food 
in California that so many people depend on.
  I will have an update on that as well as to why California food is 
important not just in California to growers and workers there but to 
people in New York, people in Pennsylvania, and people all through the 
Midwest. What we grow is important not just for our local economy but 
actually to keep things on the table that people need and demand. 
Instead, we would be importing them or not having them at all.

  It all starts here in Washington, D.C., with misplaced priorities 
coming out of this administration that are not helping. I have to ask 
often to the Biden administration and even some of my colleagues in 
these two Houses here: Whose side are you on?
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. There are 
so many important things he highlighted there.
  Mr. Speaker, we will go from California over to the great State of 
Texas next.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend from Louisiana for 
yielding to me. I appreciate his time on the floor.
  I was in the House Judiciary Committee. I will be spending some time 
in

[[Page H6913]]

the 30-minute Special Order here in a second, dealing with a lot of the 
issues that my friend was just talking about, in particular dealing 
with energy. What I will be talking about is: They break it; you buy 
it. That is the reality of what we are dealing with, with our 
Democratic colleagues here in the majority and in the administration.
  Energy is the perfect example of that. We are seeing that obviously 
in Texas, where we are sitting on a sea of oil and gas that we could be 
exploring further and producing for the world and driving down 
CO2. Instead, we are not because of the leftist policies of 
this administration. I will be beginning that in a minute.
  I appreciate the gentleman and thank him for holding this Special 
Order hour time on the floor for our colleagues.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for my friend's 
voice. He was a guest on my podcast last week, and we have gotten a lot 
of attention on that. People are grateful for his passion on these 
issues. I hope my friend will keep speaking loudly here on the floor 
and everywhere. I am grateful he has a national platform to talk, 
particularly about this immigration crisis, which is a whole different 
subject, and he has great insight on that.
  Mr. Speaker, I will wrap this up. I thank my colleagues for joining 
me today in this Special Order hour to discuss the harm that the 
Democrat agenda has caused our country and our alternative visions on 
all these issues.
  By way of recap, just quickly, I was taking notes as my colleague 
spoke from across the country, from Texas. Dr. Babin reminded us that a 
staggering 77 percent of Americans believe our country is on the wrong 
track--obviously, because of all this.
  Mr. LaMalfa from California just reminded us of the excesses and 
abuses of the Federal agencies, which are overregulating our farmers 
and food producers and wasting our time and precious resources on these 
superfluous projects.
  Mr. Meuser of Pennsylvania reminded us that this inflation is going 
to cost the average hardworking American family this year an extra 
$6,000 in the cost of living.
  Mr. Rose from Tennessee reminded us about that skyrocketing inflation 
rate. It is obviously the result of the Biden policies and the 
administration's backward approach to all this. But they even now want 
to remove and eliminate the Hyde amendment so that taxpayers have to 
fund abortions.
  Mr. Good of Virginia reminded us about that border catastrophe and 
the numbers, which are staggering--Mr. Roy knows, as well--3 million 
encounters at the border, 800,000 got-aways that we can't even account 
for, and that is just the numbers the DHS admits to, so we know it is 
higher. He talked about the energy policy disaster causing pain to 
every hardworking American family, as well.
  Finally, Mr. Mann of Kansas talked about how the inflation crisis has 
real-world consequences for our farmers in the wheat State and 
everywhere else.
  Mr. Speaker, we could go on and on all night. I will conclude our 
Special Order hour. This is just a sampling of all the many crises that 
have been created by the Biden administration and the Washington 
Democrats in charge of this institution. We cannot wait to begin to 
turn this around after the November election.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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