[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4016-H4020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1900
    RELAYING INFORMATION TO OUR CONSTITUENTS OVER THE AUGUST RECESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Luttrell). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson) 
is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 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, we are just 2 days away from 
the August district work period, and on Friday our colleagues will 
return home to our 435 districts across this great country.
  I know on the Republican side everyone will be holding townhalls and 
roundtables, and they will meet with constituents and businessowners. 
They will be with the people that we represent here in the people's 
House. We have so much to relay to them.
  This has been a busy 7 months in this Congress, and House Republicans 
have

[[Page H4017]]

passed a lot of important legislation. We are keeping our commitment to 
America that we ran on in the last election cycle.
  Here is a short list: The Lower Energy Costs Act. We passed that and 
it unleashed American energy production.
  The Secure the Border Act is the most comprehensive border security 
package ever passed by the United States Congress.
  The Parents Bill of Rights Act ensures that parents have a seat at 
the table.
  The National Defense Authorization Act that is full of important 
priorities and pushes back on radical leftist policy in our military.
  There is so much more. I could spend the entire designated hour going 
through the list of major accomplishments.
  The House Republicans also, by the way, ended the COVID-19 national 
emergency. We rescinded two backwards D.C. crime bills. We have 
conducted rigorous oversight of an administration that has played fast 
and loose with the rule of law.
  Not long ago, discussion of the Hunter Biden laptop was literally 
blocked on social media--I mean, literally. We have a 155-page Federal 
court opinion in the landmark litigation, Missouri and Louisiana v. 
Biden. The court looked at volumes of evidence and deliberated for 
months and issued a preliminary injunction order explained in these 155 
pages.
  The court says that the facts show very clearly that the Biden 
administration and its agencies, including the DOJ, FBI, CDC, 
Department of Homeland Security, and others, were engaged in a whole-
of-government censorship effort. They censored and silenced and 
suppressed the viewpoints of Conservatives, specifically online. They 
met routinely with the social media companies and told them to pull 
down voices and messages they disagreed with, so-called misinformation 
that none of them obviously can define. They blatantly violated the 
Constitution and the First Amendment.
  The court said that if all of these allegations are true--and that is 
what the facts show--it is, arguably, the most massive attack on free 
speech in the history of the United States. That is what the court 
said, not Republicans. We have been on that and we have been 
investigating that.
  News organizations just a few months ago called Members who dared to 
question the narrative about the Hunter Biden laptop as conspiracy 
theorists and extremists.
  Thanks to the work of our various committees, not only has this 
information been verified, but we have uncovered a wealth of 
information not only linking Hunter Biden to illegal activities, but 
very likely the President himself.
  We will take this time during the August work period to continue to 
share all these important facts with the American people. I am 
encouraged that people are following these developments and they are 
demanding accountability.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a great lineup of Republican Members here 
tonight to speak during our hour.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden), 
my good friend and a former Navy SEAL.
  Mr. VAN ORDEN. Mr. Speaker, this week the House will consider the 
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies 
appropriations bill.
  As a former Navy SEAL and combat veteran, I am proud to support this 
legislation. It delivers on our promise for a safer Nation by providing 
the Department of Defense with the facilities they require and our 
promise to protect those that protected our Nation by fully funding the 
Veterans Affairs Department.
  Additionally, it helps rectify two grievous wrongs that have been 
committed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. First, they are 
politicizing this appropriations process, and second, by trying to 
subvert the Constitution and remove veterans' Second Amendment rights.
  As Republicans worked to responsibly raise the debt ceiling, the 
Department of Veterans Affairs told Americans in a press release that 
Republicans wanted to gut benefits for those that served our country. 
This was simply not factual.
  When I returned to my district, I held a roundtable for my fellow 
veterans. At The American Legion in Sparta, Wisconsin, a 96-year-old 
Vietnam veteran named Don told me that he was terrified that he would 
be losing the benefits that he earned during his service.
  The Department of Veterans Affairs are being fearmongers with Don and 
all of our veterans to score cheap political points, and that is 
unacceptable.
  The Veterans Administration is subverting our vets' Second Amendment 
rights by sending the beneficiary's name to the FBI's National Instant 
Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, whenever a fiduciary is 
appointed to help a beneficiary manage his VA benefits. If a veteran 
cannot balance their checkbook, they could potentially be barred from 
buying a weapon. As a result of this, many veterans have decided not to 
go to the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

  In the Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing last week on Chairman 
Bost's bill, the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, a witness 
testified that as of December 2020, Federal agencies have contributed 
263,225 records to the background check system, of which the Veterans 
Administration is responsible for 98.1 percent of the total number.
  Mr. Speaker, I am a 100 percent service-connected disabled veteran. 
Make no mistake, the MILCON/VA appropriations bill fully funds 
veterans' healthcare, veterans' health benefit programs, and many other 
Veterans Administration programs to the tune of $800 million more than 
Joe Biden put in his budget request.
  It eliminates the funding for the Veterans Administration Office of 
Public Affairs in direct response to their politically motivated false 
claims about budget cuts.
  My number one priority when I entered this body is to prevent veteran 
suicide. Scaring veterans away from going to the Veterans' Affairs 
facilities is not forwarding that goal.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on the Democrat and the Republican 
side to support this bill.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Van Orden for his 
service to this country and for his expertise on this, it is greatly 
appreciated.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).
  Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, for the first time in my entire tenure in 
Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives will be considering two 
appropriations bills this week that cut wasteful spending. Before the 
fact-checkers come after me, I will go ahead and say that I am sure it 
has been done before, but not in my time in Congress, which up until 
this year has been done under Democrat majority control.
  Here are just a few of the wasteful Washington programs House 
Republicans are aiming to cut in the appropriations process this week. 
In the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies 
appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024, House Republicans prohibit 
using funds to promote or advance critical race theory. No taxpayer 
dollars should have ever been spent on this harmful, divisive and anti-
American theory.
  The bill prohibits the Biden administration from implementing, 
administering, or enforcing any of President Biden's executive orders 
on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The executive branch should be 
focused on hiring our country's best and brightest, not on checking a 
certain box.
  The bill even rescinds billions in funds, like $1 billion for rural 
clean energy programs created in the Inflation Reduction Act on Green 
New Deal climate initiatives.
  Not only are these bills cutting wasteful Washington spending, but 
they are also advancing many conservative principles Tennesseans can be 
proud to support, such as: ending mail-order chemical abortion, 
directing the USDA Secretary to take action to prohibit the purchase of 
agricultural land by those associated with China, Russia, North Korea, 
or Iran, or even prohibiting funds for the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
  Mr. Speaker, all in all, I believe these are good provisions in these 
two bills. House Republicans are doing the good work on behalf of the 
American people to responsibly fund the Federal Government, cut 
wasteful spending, and return the focus of our government back

[[Page H4018]]

to where priorities should lie and not the woke initiatives of Green 
New Deal Democrats.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, he made 
some great points.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).
  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt about it, wokeness is 
destroying America. The proof is all around us. It has managed to seep 
into our schools, businesses, publications, and nearly every other nook 
and cranny of our great society. Even our military is prioritizing 
diversity and inclusion over strength and readiness.
  Schools are teaching critical race theory and revisionist history 
over truth and fact, brainwashing our kids with a leftist doctrine on 
what to think instead of how to think and formulate ideas for 
themselves.
  Agendas to defund and demonize police officers are hindering police 
departments' ability to hire new personnel and to protect their 
communities.
  Radical climate change policies are decimating our energy sector. The 
foolish push for electric vehicles is increasing our dependency on an 
enemy like Communist China.

  Liberal judges are refusing to prosecute violent criminals and 
enabling this tsunami of a crime wave that is washing over our Nation.
  The continued exploitation of programs like humanitarian parole is 
worsening the border crisis and allowing millions of illegal aliens to 
enter the country on the taxpayers' dime and making it more likely that 
we will be hit with another terrorist attack like 9/11, or even worse. 
The list goes on.
  The fact remains that the left's woke policies plague our Nation, and 
we must find a remedy before the damage done becomes permanent.
  By using common sense--and merely putting American interests first--
many of the policies in the two appropriations bills that are currently 
being debated and voted on this week work to eliminate these woke and 
disastrous policies. Unsurprisingly, my Democrat colleagues across the 
aisle strongly oppose these commonsense policies and changes.
  The American people know better. No longer should we fund the Wuhan 
lab responsible for unleashing COVID-19 into the world. No longer 
should we allow those with ties to the Communist Chinese Party, Russia, 
North Korea, or Iran to purchase U.S. farmland.
  No longer should Federal funds be used by the Defense Department to 
enforce critical race theory and other DEI policies and sidetracking 
our military from its primary mission to destroy our enemies and keep 
us free.
  These are just a few of the ways that House Republicans are 
prioritizing the Nation's needs over a political agenda that throws 
merit and ability out the window.

                              {time}  1915

  We must remain steadfast in our mission to loosen this disastrous 
grip that wokeness has had on America for far too long. Our national 
security, our food security, our energy security, our overall 
sovereignty, and our national survival depend on it.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Babin. He is 
right. That woke agenda has had a corrosive effect on the culture. 
Today I was reading a new Gallup poll, only 18 percent of 18- to 34-
year-olds are now extremely proud to be an American. It is just 
shocking. That is the result. Ideas have consequences.
  Mr. Speaker, we will go from Texas all the way up to New York.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy).
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Johnson for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, as we consider H.R. 4368, the agriculture appropriations 
bill, I will shed light on a critical issue that impacts the lives of 
millions of Americans and has the potential to transform our rural 
communities for the better, and that is expansion of rural broadband.
  In an era defined by information and technology, access to reliable, 
high-speed internet has become a fundamental necessity. It empowers 
individuals, educates our youth, grows businesses, and connects us to 
the world at large.
  While urban areas have experienced the benefit of a connected world, 
our rural communities have been left behind in the digital divide. Due 
to the lack of adequate broadband infrastructure, these communities 
face countless barriers to accessing the same opportunities and 
resources as their urban counterparts.
  By investing in rural broadband, we can bridge this divide and 
unleash the full potential to our rural communities. It provides 
economic empowerment by opening doors to new markets and allowing small 
businesses in rural areas to thrive and compete globally. It encourages 
innovation, creates new job opportunities, and revives local economies.
  It also provides our children in rural areas who are often left 
behind with new opportunities for education, and it enables lifelong 
learning for adults, offering access to online courses and vocational 
training.
  As we saw during the pandemic, reliable internet will allow rural 
residents to access essential telemedicine opportunities with their 
doctors.
  This is just a small picture of the life-changing effects of rural 
broadband. It is not just a matter of convenience. It is an investment 
in our collective future. It is a commitment to empowering all 
Americans equally, regardless of where they live, with the tools that 
they need to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support the fiscal year 24 agriculture 
appropriations bill that includes these critical investments to take 
rural development and rural broadband to the next level.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
very important points. It is hard to be connected at all if we don't 
have broadband. It is related to health, education, and every aspect of 
our lives now.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Johnson, and I 
appreciate his leading this, once again, as we communicate with the 
American folks about the good things we are getting done around here. 
That is important. The communication and the openness of the House to 
the people is a critical element and something we were missing for 
about 2\1/2\ years around here. The COVID disaster that hit this 
country was exacerbated by government action.
  Indeed, overreaction has cost us so much economically and so much to 
the goodwill and the mental state of many of our people. Look at the 
damage that was done to our schoolchildren as they lost basically 2 
years out of their lives. I think that will be damage that was done to 
a generation, and I don't know how quickly they are going to recover.
  Nevertheless, we here, the Republicans in the majority of the U.S. 
House, have worked toward restoring peoples' faith in the government by 
allowing them to participate and opening the House gallery once again. 
I can have people from my district here tonight. That right would not 
have been seen just not that many months ago.
  Our committee process is open to the people instead of being done by 
Zoom or some other effect. Indeed, that is very important because there 
is nothing like being in the room with people to have our witnesses 
there and have Members be able to look at each other and have a 
dialogue across the way instead of on the internet with the 
distractions there.
  So we opened the House and are bringing it back to the people and 
open to the people. Through tours people are able to see their Capitol 
and just be amazed by what the Founders had in mind when we feel the 
history here and what it is about.
  We have worked on important policy this year, the Lower Energy Costs 
Act. Now, I can't even describe how important energy is to our economy, 
our way of life, and for our culture. All of our forms of energy have 
made us competitive and strong around the world.
  It has helped us win World War II, and it has helped us become the 
most competitive and strongest economy ever until we see the damage 
being done currently by the Biden administration stopping pipelines and 
stopping traditional forms of energy driven by oil and gas.
  Yes, there is always going to be a place for oil and gas.

[[Page H4019]]

  When we look at energy projections around the world, it is only going 
to go up in all the other countries except for the ones that are 
hamstringing themselves with this Paris accord business.
  So energy is the cornerstone of a strong economy, our way of life, 
and our culture. Oil and gas are part of that. We need to continue 
cultivating nuclear energy and the new technologies coming with that. 
It doesn't have to be a scary thing: Oh, nuclear waste, oh, it is going 
to have a meltdown. No. Nonsense. These are things that can continue to 
be improved on if we have the will to do it.

  Congress needs to move in helping to fund this type of research, and 
also the permitting process needs to be streamlined so that these 
projects can move forward.
  As we know, windmills and the solar panels don't work all the time. 
We have to wait for the wind to blow, the sun to come up, or the clouds 
to go away in order to have those forms of energy.
  As far as nuclear power and hydroelectric, right now they are trying 
to tear down dams because of dubious environmental regulations in my 
district.
  Oil and natural gas are cornerstones that we can rely on 24/7 as 
base-load power. So what we are seeing is forced conversion to electric 
vehicles and electric stoves. They are taking away our gas stove. Look 
how mad people are going to be at home when they have to cook in ways 
that don't fit how they like or what they are used to or what is 
efficient.
  The latest crazy thing is banning gas generators. It seems the Biden 
administration is just copying the craziest in my home State of 
California.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, what is a generator for?
  It is for making electricity and generating electricity.
  Mr. Speaker, how do you generate electricity?
  Mr. Speaker, you don't use other electricity to generate electricity. 
It has to come from a different source, whether it is going to be 
hydropower--again, what I listed--or a personal generator. It is going 
to be either gas, diesel, or hooked up to your propane tank.
  It is absurd what is going on. We need to continue to have an energy 
policy that helps Americans and helps us thrive. House Republicans are 
going to keep fighting for that because it makes sense and makes us 
stronger.
  I appreciate the time to help remind people this is where things 
really come from, where our economy comes from, our freedom, and our 
basic lifestyle.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. There is so 
much wisdom coming out of California that I will stay with the theme.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Obernolte), who is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful Members 
of the Congress.
  Mr. OBERNOLTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louisiana for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I will talk for a few minutes tonight about a critically 
important bill that we are debating on the House floor this week. It is 
one of the must-pass bills for us this year, the appropriations bills 
for military construction and funding for the Veterans Affairs. MILCON-
VA we call it.
  This will establish funding levels for these critically important 
programs for the next fiscal year.
  The job of crafting this legislation was particularly problematic 
this year because many people have heard about our commitment to fiscal 
responsibility and about the dire consequences of our inability to 
reduce Federal spending.
  Our deficit this year will be almost 6 percent of our gross domestic 
product--6 percent of everything our country makes just in deficit 
spending. Our national debt this year will be the highest it has ever 
been in the history of our country, and it is going to get even worse 
if we don't get this problem under control.
  In fact, the Congressional Budget Office in their 30-year projection 
says that 30 years from now at the rate we are going, our national debt 
in current dollars will exceed $1 million for every American household.
  That is clearly an unsustainable fiscal trajectory for our country.
  So the Appropriations Committee had the nearly impossible task this 
year of honoring our commitment to our veterans and fully funding the 
Veterans Affairs and our veterans health programs while at the same 
time honoring our commitment to cut wasteful government spending and 
our commitment to fiscal responsibility.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to say that our colleagues in the 
Appropriations Committee have pulled off that seemingly impossible 
task.
  The bill we are considering this week fully funds both the VA and our 
veterans healthcare programs. In fact, it funds both of those programs 
at levels hundreds of millions of dollars more than the levels 
requested by the President because that is what is required to meet our 
commitments to our servicemen and -women.
  Yet, at the same time, it makes very meaningful reductions in 
wasteful government spending on other nonessential programs.
  It also accomplishes some things I am particularly excited about. It 
funds a program to modernize medical records at the VA. It also funds 
the expansion of the Arlington National Cemetery which is something 
that I think is a meaningful honoring of the promise that we have made 
to our veterans to be able to be buried at Arlington if they so choose.
  This program is an incredible demonstration of the commitment that 
the folks in this Chamber have to honoring our promise to our military 
servicemen and -women.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support it and to thank our 
colleagues on the Appropriations Committee for their hard work on this.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. He never 
uses notes when he speaks.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), who 
is a good Southern gentleman.
  Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the fiscal year 
2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and 
Related Agencies appropriations bill.
  Specifically, I will highlight the work that this legislation does to 
rein in wasteful Washington spending while strengthening our rural 
communities and protecting our food supply.
  Georgia is the number one State for poultry, and this bill reins in 
harmful regulations that dictate how poultry and livestock producers 
raise and market their animals.

  This bill also prevents the purchase of land by foreign adversaries. 
Let me repeat that. This bill will prevent the purchase of land--U.S. 
land--by foreign adversaries, countries like China, Russia, North 
Korea, and Iran.
  Let's take China for instance. China owns 384,000 acres of American 
agricultural land. As a matter of fact, they have even got land that is 
close to one of our air bases in North Dakota. That poses a national 
security threat, not just that, but a food supply threat.
  Finally, this year's Agriculture Appropriations bill reins in 
Washington spending and D.C. bureaucracy by directing the USDA to focus 
State hiring efforts on assisting rural communities and producers.
  So with that, and my colleagues in the House, as we continue to 
discuss and debate this appropriation bill this week, let's focus on 
our commitment to the American people and protect our agriculture 
industry.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for speaking 
about very important priorities for Louisiana, as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-
Meeks).
  Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding to 
me.
  This week or very soon we will be voting in support of H.R. 4368, the 
fiscal year 2023 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
  Supporting Iowa's farmers and rural communities is especially 
important as one in five Iowans work in the agricultural industry. This 
bill has many highlights that do just that. It continues very critical 
investment in agricultural research, rural broadband, and animal and 
plant health programs. It prevents the purchase of agricultural land by 
foreign adversaries and directs the USDA to focus hiring efforts on 
State and county offices to assist producers and rural communities.
  Additionally, it reins in harmful regulations that dictate how 
poultry and

[[Page H4020]]

livestock producers raise and market their animals. That is especially 
important to Iowa due to the fact that we are the number one hog 
producer in the country and in the top ten producers for both cattle 
and turkey.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Another bill that we have taken up is H.R. 4366, Military 
Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies bill.
  The Department of Veterans Affairs' mission, as listed on their 
website, is to fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those 
who have served in our Nation's military and for their families, 
caregivers, and survivors.
  As a 24-year military veteran and a family of military veterans, that 
mission is one that I wholeheartedly agree with, and I understand the 
importance the VA has for so many former servicemembers in our Nation.

                              {time}  1930

  Very importantly, this bill provides $299.496 billion for the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. It fully funds the healthcare programs, 
fully funds veterans benefits and VA programs, and also includes 
funding for electronic health record modernization initiatives.
  Most importantly, what I would like to point out is, in contrast to 
what the Secretary of the VA said earlier this year when he politicized 
the VA by sending emails to veterans service organizations, saying that 
the Republicans were going to cut funding, this cuts no funding to 
veterans or veterans benefits. That still remains on the VA's website 
and should be removed, and an apology should be issued.
  The appropriations bill that the House Republicans passed this week 
fully funds the VA and prohibits the use of funds for anything that is 
not beneficial to running a smooth and efficient Department.
  Veterans in my district are experiencing enough struggles accessing 
care from the VA. The President's politicization of the Department is 
not alleviating those concerns.
  We did the right thing by passing this bill, and I am proud of the 
Republicans for both cutting spending and fully funding our veterans 
benefits.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Miller-Meeks for 
clarifying the record, for her expertise, and for 24 years in the U.S. 
Army as a nurse and a doctor. I really appreciate her good word on 
that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Kiley), 
who is overqualified to be serving in Congress, one of the brightest we 
have.
  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of 
prioritizing veterans in our Federal budget by fully funding VA 
programs, fully funding healthcare for veterans, and fully funding 
veterans benefits. The veterans funding bill before us this week 
accomplishes each of these three objectives.
  First, the bill fully funds VA programs. It actually increases the VA 
budget by $18 billion over last year's funding level. In concrete 
terms, this means more tax dollars spent on critical care for veterans, 
including fully funding care for vets exposed to Agent Orange, burn 
pits, and other environmental toxins while serving our Nation.
  The bill also provides the necessary funds to revamp and enhance the 
effectiveness of the suicide hotline for veterans and provides funds 
for the electronic health modernization initiative, which will ensure a 
seamless transition between receiving care at a DOD facility while on 
Active Duty and receiving care at a VA facility after discharge from 
the military.
  Second, the bill fully funds healthcare for veterans, and $138 
billion is allocated to address the healthcare needs of our retired 
servicemen and -women, including over $20 billion for veterans to 
receive quality care at non-VA facilities.
  Finally, the bill fully funds veterans benefits. Mr. Speaker, $181 
billion is allocated to ensure that every benefit that was promised, 
every commitment that was made, is fulfilled by the Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to ensure our veterans receive the 
care they need and the benefits they have earned. Today's bill achieves 
exactly that by prioritizing veterans in the budget, and as a result, 
it has my support.


                        Plumas Broadband Project

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4368, which 
directly benefits my constituents in Plumas County by funding a 
critical high-speed broadband project in the A-15 corridor and Valley 
Ranch communities in eastern Plumas County.
  In the 21st century, access to the internet is essential. It is 
essential for students to participate in online learning and access 
educational resources, for patients to receive needed telemedicine 
services, for workers to find job opportunities and engage in remote 
work, and for citizens to engage in open dialogue and participate in 
our representative democracy.
  Too often, our rural communities are neglected and lack the basic 
telecom services necessary in today's economy and society.
  That is why I prioritized funding rural broadband for my constituents 
in the Federal budget, and I am proud to report that a project I 
submitted to provide $4.2 million in funding to the Plumas-Sierra Rural 
Electric Cooperative is included in the funding bill that will be voted 
on by the House this week.
  This funding will enable the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative 
to construct middle- and last-mile fiber-optic networks to provide 
high-speed internet to rural residents in the Valley Ranch and A-15 
corridor communities in eastern Plumas County.
  Rural households will finally be able to participate in online 
education, telemedicine, and remote employment opportunities that are 
out of reach for too many today.
  Emergency personnel who are dependent upon internet-based 
communications will be able to communicate with one another to 
strengthen emergency response services.
  Perhaps most importantly, high-speed broadband service will attract 
new residents, homeowners, and businesses to the region to continue to 
ensure the vitality of Plumas County for many years to come.
  Ensuring our households are equipped with high-speed internet is 
imperative for an increasingly technological society. Leaving behind 
those in rural communities is a detriment not just to our local 
economies but it is also a disservice to our youth and the vitality of 
their education.
  Today's bill is an important step forward in addressing the existing 
gap in broadband services for my Plumas County constituents, and it 
will have direct, tangible benefits on their lives. For that reason, I 
support H.R. 4368.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to have had so many 
of our colleagues here tonight to share not only about these important 
appropriations bills but also to recount some of the many really 
important legislative victories and oversight responsibilities that we 
have fulfilled here in the first 7 months of this Congress.

  As I said in the opening, when we all go home now for this August 
district work period, we have a very important story to tell the 
American people.
  We will continue to share the facts. We will continue to encourage 
them by the good work being done here.
  The other thing we have to do, of course, is to continue to defend 
and support their faith in our institutions because, right now, faith 
in those institutions is at an all-time low.
  Mr. 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.

                          ____________________