[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]
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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
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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 We rescinded two backwards D.C. crime bills.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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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