[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 130 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4124-H4129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                           ISSUES OF THE DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy) is recognized for 
60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, as I was preparing to give remarks, I was 
listening to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and one of 
the points being raised was about champions of Title IX and what would 
they say. I think that is a fantastic question.
  Just today, in the House Judiciary Committee we had a witness, a 
young lady who is a swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania. I asked 
her whether Lia Thomas is a man or a woman. This female swimmer replied 
without hesitation that, indeed, that swimmer is a biological male.
  Now, that gets sometimes dismissed as, I don't know, humorous or 
absurd or whatever in these culture battles, but the fact is the young 
lady testifying was a victim of sexual assault and didn't want to have 
to be in a bathroom changing with a biological male.
  Yet, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle dismiss it. They 
dismiss Riley Gaines' concern about competing against a biological 
male, while they champion Title IX. You literally can't even make it 
up. Come to the floor, champion Title IX, and yet they destroy Title IX 
by virtue of saying, oh, yeah, it is fine. It doesn't matter if you are 
a dude. Suit up, jump in the pool and swim.
  I asked one of the witnesses today, I said, well, you know, is the 
international federation of swimming, or whatever it is called, is that 
some grand rightwing conspiracy?
  She kind of chuckled and said no. She knew where I was going, which 
is, that organization had banned Lia Thomas and other biological males 
from competing against women in the 2024 Olympics because of course 
they did, at least if they are being at all rational. It doesn't mean 
that won't change. It doesn't mean that the irrational won't take over. 
It doesn't mean that the absurd won't define how we live our lives.
  But at least, in this case, the committee said, huh, yeah, maybe a 
dude shouldn't swim against girls in the swim meets.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle dismiss that as 
rightwing lunacy, MAGA extremism. I never know what I am. I support Ron 
DeSantis and I am a MAGA hater. On the floor of the House, I am a MAGA 
extremist because I dare to stand up for the American people who are 
sick of having their world turned upside down.
  I have my colleagues on the other side of the aisle saying, well, we 
have important work to do, but all they care about are book bans. Well, 
that is just a lie. It is just a straight-up lie, the accusations of 
book banning.
  Do you know what kind of books have been put on the chopping block in 
Florida? Books that have straight-up pornography in them that parents 
dared to say, wait a minute, I don't think I want that in the public 
schools library.
  Now, wait, is that what a book ban is? Because if it is, sign me up. 
Sign me up because I don't want that in my kids' library, and that is 
actually the fundamental question.
  Are we going to stand up and say we are going to stand up for our 
kids? Are we, in this body, are people who just want normalcy and their 
lives back in legislatures across this country and in governors' 
mansions across this country going to stand up and say yes, there is 
man and there is woman; and no, the men shouldn't compete against women 
in their swim meets or their track meets.
  No, we shouldn't put pornography of any kind, straight, gay, 
otherwise, in the public libraries of our kids' schools, and then be 
labeled as book banners; because if that is what you are going to do, I 
am going to stand up and say yes.
  Meanwhile, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to shut 
down free speech. They want to say anything I am saying--in fact, what 
I am saying right now, they would say is disinformation. What I am 
saying right now, they would say if I put it on social media, they 
would be all too happy to have Big Tech companies with the power of 
government shut down my speech.
  Now, I am protected on the floor of the House, but every American is 
supposed to be protected with free speech. I am going to keep saying 
it. I am going to keep saying that Lia Thomas is a dude, and I will say 
it here, and I will say it on social media, and I will say it on the 
streets. If they dare try to stop me, that is what the First Amendment 
is all about, and we are going to stand up and defend that. We are 
going to stand up and defend normalcy.
  We had accusations that, oh, this is all made up. We actually had 
somebody in one of the hearings today in which we were talking about 
transgender issues and so-called dysphoria, we had a young lady who, I 
could barely speak after I heard her testimony. I could barely figure 
out what to say to her because she had started to be transitioned, 
changed sex, realized that she was going to lose the ability as a woman 
to breastfeed her children--hopefully one day--and she stopped.
  She was testifying today about the horrors of the pressure being 
placed upon her to change her sex. She broke down in tears.
  Then she was talking about one of the other witnesses at the table, a 
mom that was talking about her child, the Democratic witness, and 
saying how important it was to be able to have the transition.
  Here is what our witness, Chloe Cole said:
  ``I understand that Mrs. Reynolds is scared for her child and I just 
want to set the record straight that I don't hate her. I don't think 
anyone in this room hates her.
  ``In fact,'' she said as she began to cry, and all of us, by the way, 
on the dais were holding back tears, ``I see my own mother and my own 
father in her, and that clearly she dearly loves her child and she is 
doing the best with that she has been given and, unfortunately, it is 
not much, and for that I am sorry.''
  She remained emotional and she continued, she said:
  ``I think every parent deserves the utmost grace and guidance with 
how to help their child. I don't wish for her child to have the same 
result as I did.
  ``I don't wish for anyone to regret transition or detransition 
because it is incredibly difficult. It comes with its own difficulties 
and it is not easy.''
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle call that hate speech. 
They say that if we bring these questions up about transitioning 
people's sex, their God-given chromosomes and sex because you have got 
pressure on social media and the devil that is or are these devices 
that our kids spend hundreds of hours on, and you wonder, if I dare say 
that, oh, no, that is hate speech.
  If you think I am crazy, look around the world. Look around the 
world. We had a public official in Finland who was being prosecuted 
last year, prosecuted, and is still having to go through it, for daring 
to have distributed materials saying that she believed in traditional 
marriage instead of same-sex marriage. She was being prosecuted, 
despite being a member of the Parliament.
  I am just telling you, America, it is coming to a theater near you. 
Don't think for a minute that the people who are decrying what I am 
saying as hate speech don't want me to be in jail for it. They do, in a 
heartbeat. I would be put in jail for daring to stand up in defense of 
my faith, my values, my beliefs and, in this case, for simply saying 
there is man and there is woman. That is where we stand as a society.
  I heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle--this is not 
what I came to the floor to talk about, by the way. But I heard my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle talking about schools and how 
we want to, you know, scare parents, by talking about these issues. 
This is all to scare parents they said in the hearing.
  Well, how about this? Today, news report: Vermont school district 
removes male and female from the reproductive system lessons.
  Let that sink in for a minute. I want you to think about it.
  What is the first thing you do if you are a farmer and you get a new 
calf, or you are trying to--what do you do? Is it a boy or a girl?
  What is the first thing you do when your baby is born? Is it a boy or 
a girl?
  They are literally taking out of the lessons in the Vermont school 
district on reproductive system, they are taking out male and female. 
That is so bat-crap crazy I can't even possibly put it into words.

[[Page H4125]]

  Yet, I am the one, according to my colleagues on other side of the 
aisle, who is hateful because we are trying to pass in a National 
Defense Authorization Act language to say that perhaps--color me 
crazy--our Defense Department should be focused on a mission to kill 
people and blow stuff up when called upon to do so, hopefully, on a 
limited basis, but really dadgum effectively when called upon to do so.
  I think if I polled most Americans, they would say I want my defense 
to be better than every other country, by an order of magnitude, highly 
trained; and I don't think any of them would rank diversity, equity, 
inclusion, or transgender surgeries high on the national defense 
authorization list of priorities, or climate change.
  I don't think most of my constituents care that they drive around 
battery-powered jeeps or battery-powered Hummers or battery-powered 
tanks. They actually want them to work. They actually want them to blow 
things up.
  So we dare to say, how about the National Defense Authorization Act 
focus on defense?
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle come down crying hate, 
crying that we are injecting culture wars into the Defense Department. 
Well, wait. Who exactly is it that injected culture wars into the 
Defense Department? This administration, my Democratic colleagues, and 
we are trying to get defense back on track. We did so, by the way.
  But our Democratic colleagues in the Senate are going to refuse to 
take up the version of the National Defense Authorization Act that we 
passed. They are going to want to cleanse it.
  Let's not forget, some of my colleagues from the other side of the 
aisle, that when they cleanse it, what they are really doing is 
polluting the Department of Defense, which is driving down recruiting 
and driving down our effectiveness. We are losing simulations by the 
day. Our numbers are going down by the day. Our effectiveness is going 
down by the day. Our stockpiles are going down by the day because they 
have turned the Department of Defense into a social engineering 
experiment wrapped in a uniform, and that is criminal and we shouldn't 
stand for it.
  That is not the only thing we shouldn't stand for. Yesterday, I had 
the pleasure of having Alejandro Mayorkas, the Department of Homeland 
Security Secretary before us in the Judiciary Committee. I reminded the 
Secretary that about 15 months ago he appeared before the Judiciary 
Committee.
  When he did so, I asked him, point blank, Mr. Secretary, do you have, 
in your job as the Secretary, operational control of the border? He 
said, I do.
  I said, wait. You have operational control of the border? I pulled up 
the statute, the Secure Fence Act, which requires this country and the 
Secretary carrying out his job to maintain operational control.

                              {time}  1645

  I pulled up a second board with the statute definition of operational 
control. It means you do not allow anybody to come across the border 
and into our country without papers and knowing who they are. You don't 
allow illegal trafficking. You don't allow narcotics to come across. 
You have operational control of the border.
  I put all that up. I said, are you sure you have operational control 
of the border? The Secretary said, I do. I pushed on it multiple times.
  Funny enough, in a different hearing later this year over in the 
Senate, the Secretary changed his tune. He said: Well, by that 
definition under the Secure Defense Act, I don't use that one. Under 
that definition, nobody has ever had operational control.
  The fact is, the Secretary wants the American people to believe that 
our country is in charge of our border when anybody with eyes knows 
that it is the cartels that have operational control of our border. It 
is wide open and lawless while Americans are dying as a result of 
fentanyl poisonings; migrants are dying in the false name of 
compassion, as my Democratic colleagues pat themselves on the back 
while 53 people roast in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, which I 
represent; and little girls are sold into the sex trafficking trade, as 
exposed in the ``Sound of Freedom.'' Cartels are making tens of 
billions of dollars moving human beings for profit.
  That is what is happening, and my Democratic colleagues don't care, 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security doesn't care. The Secretary of 
Homeland Security lied in front of me, in front of the entire Judiciary 
Committee, in front of all America, by saying that he has operational 
control of the border when faced with the statute, knowing what it 
means and knowing full well that he does not, we do not, our country 
does not.
  Governor Abbott was being criticized on the floor today by my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle because he is putting up 
barriers. He is putting Texas DPS, Department of Public Safety, 
troopers down on the Rio Grande. He is deploying barriers in the middle 
of the Rio Grande. He is being criticized for being heartless.
  Who is it that is heartless? Those who want the rule of law enforced 
and to tell the world that you don't flood our borders in a way that is 
going to empower cartels and endanger yourself, or is it heartless to 
allow all of those people to get sold into the sex trafficking trade, 
die in the Texas heat, get abused, get used by cartels like the Federal 
judge in Texas who upward departed a few weeks ago from the penalties 
under our statutes and the sentencing guidelines because he ran across 
a case where the cartels had a stash house in Fort Worth, Texas, a man 
illegally here, a father who was in Baltimore, Maryland, and he was 
being told by the cartels his daughter would be raped if he didn't pay 
$23,000.
  That is happening every day in our country, every single day in the 
supposed greatest country on the face of the Earth and in history. We 
stand here, 435 of us, in front of that flag, and that flag is supposed 
to mean something, and it sure as hell doesn't mean anything if little 
girls are getting raped right here in D.C., up the road in Baltimore, 
in Houston, in San Antonio, in Laredo, in Fort Worth.
  We have evidence it is happening every day, and we don't do anything 
about it except pat ourselves on the back and say, well, we can just 
interpret parole and interpret asylum laws and just tell the world to 
come on up through Mexico, but don't mind the fact that thousands of 
you are going to die. You are going to get used by the cartels. You are 
going to pay millions of dollars, and your little girls are going to 
get exploited--the sound of freedom, indeed.
  We should be ashamed of ourselves. By the way, that goes for 
Republicans and Democrats because it has happened under both of our 
watches for far too long.
  Why am I standing in front of this chart? Because, about 4 months 
ago, we passed in this body H.R. 2. We passed legislation that we 
know--we don't believe; we know--would take significant strides to 
securing the border of the United States, reestablishing operational 
control, limiting the flow, limiting the power of cartels, empowering 
ICE, empowering Border Patrol, reestablishing the rule of law so that 
we can be the beacon of hope that people want to aspire to come here to 
live under. Of course, that bill is sitting over in the Senate that 
doesn't give a whit.
  What do we do about it? That is my question for Republicans. I can 
sit here and bash my Democratic colleagues all day long for not caring 
about what is happening in Texas, for not caring about the five kids in 
the school district where I live who died from fentanyl poisoning, not 
caring about the 200 a day dying from fentanyl poisoning while fentanyl 
pours cross our border, not caring about what is happening to Border 
Patrol agents, not caring that the Secretary of Homeland Security lied 
about Border Patrol agents allegedly whipping Haitian migrants, which 
we knew didn't happen and the Secretary knew didn't happen 2 hours 
before he went to the microphone and said they did it and they did it 
because of systemic racism.
  All of that is true, and my Democratic colleagues will not want to 
pass H.R. 2. So, what will Republicans do about it? That is the 
question, and the answer is that we should recognize the power of the 
purse.

[[Page H4126]]

  James Madison, Federalist Paper No. 58: ``The House of 
Representatives cannot only refuse, but they alone can propose the 
supplies requisite for the support of government. They, in a word, hold 
the purse. . . . This power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded 
as''--and this is the most important part--``the most complete and 
effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate 
representatives of the people for obtaining a redress of every 
grievance and for carrying into effect every just and salutary 
measure.''
  What that means is, we get to decide how the tax dollars and the 
borrowed dollars are spent to carry out the laws of the United States 
and no one else. We control the power of the purse. We are the people's 
House. It is our job to decide how those dollars are spent and then 
hold the executive branch accountable for carrying out the laws using 
those taxpayer dollars.

  That is not only our opportunity; it is our duty in the House of 
Representatives.
  That is the question for Republicans. Will we take inventory and 
decide whether we care more about steak dinners at night, making a golf 
event, or coming down to do three votes in a week and then getting home 
for the weekend?
  I mean, I noticed today is Thursday. We have one appropriations bill 
passed. We are not coming in tomorrow. We are blowing out for a 6-week 
recess. The government is going to run out of money on September 30. 
That is one thing we know.
  Most people I represent would tell you that they don't think we ought 
to spend more money, that we ought to spend less. So, the question is, 
between now and September 30, approximately 60 days from now, are we 
going to find the ability to pass appropriations bills that reduce 
spending, take our country back, and, most importantly, check the 
executive branch from the tyranny that they are engaging in over the 
American people?
  The Department of Homeland Security is decidedly not securing the 
homeland. It is just true by any objective measure.
  Last September, I asked my House and Senate Republican colleagues if 
they would vote for a CR and continue to fund the tyranny being waged 
by this administration. I sent a letter with six pages of examples of 
how a CR would continue funding the very things the GOP Members of this 
body campaign against.
  That was September 27 of last year, about 40 days before the November 
election. What are the things GOP Members campaign against? Open 
borders and funding for open borders; authoritarian bureaucrats, the 
FBI, the IRS, the ATF, and the funding for those bureaucrats; 
tyrannical public health agencies that shut down our economy, mandated 
vaccines, mandated masks, and funding for those agencies; destructive 
energy policies through the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA, and 
Department of Energy undermining the ability of this country to produce 
reliable energy that makes the world work--by the way, 3 billion people 
on this planet do not have reliable energy and a billion people don't 
have electricity at all; funding for radical, anti-American ideologies 
at the Department of Education, NPR, and HHS; funding for the 
degradation of our national security with a woke Department of Defense. 
Nevertheless, 22 Senate Republicans still supported the CR, as did 10 
House Republicans.
  Funding runs out on September 30, and here we sit, once again--with 
two notable differences. We are now operating under bloated spending 
levels established by the FY23 omnibus bill passed last December. If 
you don't know what that means, it is just the way this place works. 
Spending runs out in September. If we haven't passed appropriations 
bills through both bodies that are signed by the President, people 
freak out. They want the lights to stay on. October 1 rolls around, and 
they pass a continuing resolution to keep the government going. Might 
pass it for a day or a week or a month. Often, they pass it for about 
75 days.
  Why would you do that on September 30 for about 75 days? Do the math. 
That ends up in the middle of December. The uniparty establishment of 
Washington elite, who doesn't give a crap about debt, who doesn't care 
about what is happening in their country at the end of the day, really 
cares more about getting home for Christmas. That is why.
  What happened last December? That happened. A couple of days before 
Christmas, a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill was passed, funding 
Ukraine to the tune of about $45 billion, increasing defense spending 
by about 10 percent, increasing nondefense by about 7 percent. All of 
that got done while what? While we are at $32 trillion of debt and 
counting, long before, by the way, a big deal was cut raising your debt 
another $4 trillion on Memorial Day.
  Again, that happened while Republicans were in charge of the House, 
and 17 Republican Senators voted for that. Why? I will tell you why: 
The defense establishment in this town, combined with those who wanted 
to try to do something for Ukraine, said: Well, we know we have a lot 
of debt, but we have to cut a deal. I want to go home for Christmas. I 
want to wear a blue and yellow pin on my lapel. I want to feel good 
about myself. That is okay. I will pass the buck down to my kids and 
grandkids with a big pile of debt.
  Again, I am going to ask my Republican colleagues, will we vote to 
continue to fund this tyrannical government while our border is wide 
open, little girls are getting abused, some 80,000 to 90,000 Americans 
a year are dying from fentanyl poisoning, cartels are in power, and 
China is in power? Are we going to continue to do that?

                              {time}  1700

  We have the power of the purse. Will we use it, or will we curl up in 
a little ball, like we tend to do every single year, and say: ``Oh, no, 
they are going to criticize us for a government shutdown''? Every year, 
like clockwork.
  I am all for moving the appropriations bills and getting them done by 
September 30, but I can promise you, as sure as the Sun is coming up 
tomorrow, Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are not going to bless the 
appropriations bills that we move through the House. They are not going 
to. They are going to then want to claim it is Republicans who are 
shutting down the government.
  The question is, when we wake up on October 1, are we Republicans 
going to have agreed to spend even one more dollar to advance a 
tyrannical government that is stepping over the rights of the American 
people at the Department of Justice and the FBI, that is funding a woke 
government at the Department of Defense that leaves $85 billion behind 
in Afghanistan with no real accountability?
  Importantly, for the purpose of what I want to talk about more right 
now, is the border. We have seen 5.6 million illegal crossings since 
January 2021. Under Secretary Mayorkas and President Biden, the number 
of known or suspected terrorists caught by border agents has increased 
each year: fiscal year 2021, 15, their first year; FY22, 98; FY23, 140 
so far.
  You think: ``Oh, gosh, they are doing their job. They caught all 
these guys.'' Well, what about the 1.8 million or so got-aways? Is 
anybody concerned about the got-aways when you know you have 140, so 
far, individuals nabbed who are known or suspected terrorists?
  We have lost 85,000 kids, gone missing, can't track them.
  As I said before, Border Patrol has seized 22,000 pounds of fentanyl. 
I don't know if you understand, but a sugar packet of fentanyl could 
kill most of the people in this room, depending on its strength. They 
have seized 22,000 pounds of fentanyl, which would kill hundreds of 
millions of people.
  China sells the printing presses to cartels to make the pills that 
are killing our kids, kids that take Xanax or Adderall, boom, one pill, 
dead. It happens all across America. There are 72,815 fentanyl 
poisonings, 200 per day.
  I represent Texas. As of this month, 46 Texas counties have declared 
an invasion because of the number and volume of migrants entering their 
communities. They have to deal with schools. They have to deal with 
hospitals. They have to deal with crime. They have to have police do 
the job that needs to be done. They have to deal with bailouts. They 
have to deal with fences getting cut. They have to deal with livestock 
getting out. They have to deal with fentanyl pouring into their 
communities. They have to deal with marijuana traffic. They have to 
deal with all sorts of dangers.

[[Page H4127]]

  Texas has appropriated $10 billion to deal with the border. Texas 
should get that paid back.
  I will be very clear. This Member of Congress will not vote for a 
single CR or DHS appropriations bill that does not address the border 
security issue, turning H.R. 2 into law, removing the actors at DHS 
that refuse to do their job, and paying Texas back for the damage being 
done to the State I represent.
  I am not going to be alone. If those Senators think they are going to 
roll us, they have a fight on their hands--including Republican 
Senators. I don't care what party you are in. I don't care if you are a 
Republican or a Democrat. The time for our border being in chaos and 
dangerous and endangering migrants and endangering Americans, the time 
for that to end is now, not after another Presidential election.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle say: ``Oh, we like to 
use all of this for politics, to raise money, to campaign on it.'' My 
constituents are sick of hearing about it. I don't get a whole lot of 
praise from my constituents for talking about it. They want us to end 
it. They are exhausted--ranchers breaking down in tears, 75-year-old 
crusty Texans who find a dead body on their ranch or are worried about 
their children, their livestock getting out, the ranch that has been in 
their family for years. Moms come to me having lost their children, 
like Stephanie Turner, who lost her son, Tucker, and who I have gotten 
to know, along with dozens of others.
  The Secretary of Homeland Security has the audacity to come before 
the House Judiciary Committee and say he has it all under control and 
lie. Yet, a number of my Republican colleagues run around going, well, 
that is not a high crime or misdemeanor. Constitutional scholars, 
indeed.
  It is, in fact, an impeachable offense to lie under oath, and the 
Secretary of Homeland Security has lied under oath. Putting aside all 
the other stuff, putting aside ignoring the laws, putting aside 
endangering Americans, all purposefully, put all of that aside, you 
think, ``Oh, that is maladministration. Maladministration was rejected 
by the Founders. Don't you see, Chip?'' I get these lessons all the 
time, Con Law 101, from my colleagues.
  First of all, not 100 percent true. Maladministration is viewed by 
some of the people who have studied this to have been subsumed into 
what was known to be high crimes and misdemeanors at the time our 
Constitution was adopted.
  Put that aside. The Secretary lied to us. That should mean something. 
That should matter. We should act on it. Either remove him or stop 
funding him or both.
  I am going to call the question. This is fair warning. Oh, don't 
surprise me, I am told around here. Don't be surprised. It is July 
right now. We have 60 days until the government runs out of funding. I 
am telling you, I will fight the rule. I will fight every bill that 
comes to this floor that in any way will fund the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to continue to lie and fail to secure the homeland.
  The things that we need to do we laid out in H.R. 2, the bill we 
passed this spring to secure the border: restart infrastructure, border 
wall construction; clear the cane; build roads; provide the resources 
needed to actually contain the flow; permanently implement the remain 
in Mexico policy that President Trump adopted that requires migrants to 
stay south of the border while any asylum claim is adjudicated; end 
catch and release; keep migrant families together while their claims 
are processed; treat minors from noncontiguous countries the same as we 
treat minors from Mexico by saying we will return them to their 
families; and end parole abuse and asylum abuse, restoring them to 
their original intent.

  These things will reestablish the very rule of law that attracts 
migrants to come here. If you think and say, as my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle often do, that this is anti-Brown, anti-
Hispanic racism, that is a lie. Talk to Hispanic Texans, Hispanic 
Americans, sick of watching their communities get decimated, sick of 
watching the rule of law crumble, sick of watching cartels get into 
power, sick of watching their own die from fentanyl poisoning.
  I am not going to allow the race-baiting and the game that we are 
going to call you racist to cow me away from standing up and defending 
the border of the United States, which we are required to do. I am not 
going to do it.
  That is why I am going to keep offering amendments to end diversity, 
equity, and inclusion programs. I am going to keep offering amendments 
to stop the racial division being sowed by my colleagues on the other 
side of aisle, including the President of the United States and 
everybody running these agencies, undermining our Department of 
Defense, dividing our country, sowing seeds of hatred rather than 
bringing us together under that flag united. We should end it. I am not 
going to back away from it ever.
  Let me close with one final point. I have some colleagues who I know 
want some time, and I will be happy to give it to them.
  I have focused a lot on the border. There are a lot of things that 
need to change. When we passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act as a 
Republican Party in, I think, April, I felt that was one of the high 
watermarks, along with passing H.R. 2, of this Congress and laying out 
a vision for where we want to take the country--find a path forward to 
balance the budget, limit spending, cut the size and scope of the 
Federal bureaucracy, secure the border of the United States, limit the 
devastating damage that the so-called Inflation Reduction Act will be 
causing on our ability to be energy independent and the strength of our 
national security from energy freedom, cutting down the expansion of 
the Internal Revenue Service. There are other items in that, but we 
laid out an agenda. I hope we will stick with that as we go through the 
appropriations process.
  In addition to the border, I have to say that the Inflation Reduction 
Act, which is effectively funding slavery in China, Congo, and around 
the world, needs to be ended, needs to be capped, limited, or ended.
  Goldman Sachs estimates the IRA's unreliable energy subsidies will 
cost $1.2 trillion. Do you want to know how you ended up with $32 
trillion, soon to be $36 trillion, in debt? There you go. We pass a 
debt ceiling limit increase. Within a month, we had already added 
another trillion dollars to the debt.
  The IRA massively subsidizes EV purchases and manufacturing. The EPA 
has mandated two-thirds of new cars be EVs by 2032. I live in Texas. 
Driving from Austin to Midland ain't easy to do in an electric vehicle. 
I also don't have $70,000 sitting around to buy a new car that then is 
expensive to deal with when the battery goes out.
  All of this is heavily owned by China. China has 80-plus percent, 
pushing 90 percent, of the battery-making manufacturing base. We are 
literally handing to China our entire energy security. It is like 
literally one of the stupidest things a free people has ever done. At a 
moment when we have military strength and economic strength that is 
being challenged around the world, the geniuses of this administration 
and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle decide we need to turn 
over our energy industry to our adversary.
  It is so much worse. The Democratic Republic of the Congo produces 70 
percent of the world's cobalt. NPR reported on how modern-day slavery 
in the DRC powers the rechargeable battery economy with children and 
mines. There are probably 10,000 to 15,000 tunnels that are dug by hand 
by artisanal miners. None of them have supports, ventilation shafts, 
rock bolts, anything like that, and these tunnels collapse all the 
time, burying alive children who are down there.
  Trafficking--you have these malicious, sometimes called commandos, 
who will abduct children, traffic children, and recruit children from 
other parts of the DRC.
  China owns 80 percent of the industrial cobalt mines in the DRC and 
controls 15 of the 19 primary mines in the country. It controls almost 
80 percent of electric vehicle battery manufacturing. Eighty percent of 
solar panels installed in the U.S. come from Chinese firms. I could go 
on and on.
  Meanwhile, while they do this, China has 1,100 coal-fired plants. We 
have 250. China is building two new coal-fired plants every week. We 
are sitting around playing unicorn games saying, hey, let's throw up a 
few more windmills and solar panels and just hope that we will be able 
to get our power from China.

[[Page H4128]]

  


                              {time}  1715

  Can you image, in 1939, going: Hey, let's go over to Germany and say, 
Why don't you provide our energy, we have a deal for you--or Japan. 
Here we sit. I want to bring it back to the final point and then I will 
be yielding time to my colleagues in whichever order they choose.
  This is about humanity. We are empowering tyrants who are abusing 
children in mines around the world, enriching a handful of leftist 
elitists in the country through corporate cronyism to the tune of $1.2 
trillion in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act while little children 
get exploited.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle pat themselves on the 
back because they are fixing things for climate change. No, you are 
not. You are not denting CO2 production. You could get rid 
of every single internal combustion engine and you are going to drop 
CO2 production by 2 or 3 percent.
  Meanwhile, our border is wide open. Meanwhile, as I said today, while 
I am sitting here in this Chamber a little girl has been driven up I-95 
through the Nation's capital up to New York as part of the sex 
trafficking trade. The data indicates that it is so prevalent that it 
is likely true.
  We know of the stash houses around this country. We know of the 
abuses being perpetrated on children. We know of the deaths of our 
children in this country to fentanyl poisoning. I am not going to 
subsidize and fund evil.
  I am asking my Republican colleagues to join me in committing--before 
we get to the September 30 shutdown--to join our arms together and 
stand to thwart an administration that is tyrannically undermining our 
freedom and our safety in Texas and throughout this country. Little 
children, our kids, and our people are dying by the thousands because 
we refuse to do the basic duty of government, which is to secure our 
national borders.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy).
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Roy) for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, as we go through our appropriations process, as we 
started here today, we must ensure that the United States is prepared 
to combat China. While the left wants us to focus on the latest 
partisan pet project, China's actions demand comprehensive and 
strategic response to safeguard our national security, economic 
competitiveness, and democratic values.
  Internationally, China's aggressive military buildup poses a direct 
challenge to the United States. With the largest Navy in the world and 
efforts to rival our capabilities, it is crucial that we prioritize 
investments in our defense to deter any potential aggression and to 
protect our interests in the Indo-Pacific region. Additionally, the PLA 
Rocket Force's efforts to build a significant stockpile suggests that 
China is preparing for long-term competition and conflict.
  China's global infrastructure projects further solidify its position 
as a trade and economic power. While economic cooperation is important, 
we must be cautious of the potential debt-trap diplomacy where China 
leverages loans to seize assets and influence the policies of indebted 
countries. This undermines the sovereignty of nations and challenges 
the rules-based international system, and directly counters democratic 
values.
  Closer to our own borders, China's ambitions in South and Central 
America and its plans to establish a listening station, as they call 
it, in Cuba to monitor U.S. bases are clear signs of their growing 
assertiveness and aggression. We must not underestimate their 
determination to expand their influence and challenge our homeland 
security.
  We are also engaged in a tech race with China. While we currently 
hold an edge in innovation and technology, complacency could lead to 
China overtaking our sector. We must invest in research, education, and 
technological advancements to maintain our lead and secure our national 
interests, not to mention the use of social media like TikTok to gather 
data on our citizens.
  Furthermore, the influx of cheap goods from China into the United 
States has had more adverse consequences, well beyond the surface that 
people understand. It cuts the incentive for American manufacturing and 
promotes China's use of forced labor, which goes against our values as 
a Nation that upholds human rights and fair labor practices.
  We cannot afford to ignore the challenges posed by China's rise and 
assertiveness. We must be prepared to take a comprehensive approach 
that combines strengthening our defense capabilities, upholding 
democratic values, investing in our economy and technology, and 
safeguarding our citizens' interests in data.
  This is not about escalating tensions or seeking confrontation, but 
rather about responsibly protecting our great Nation's interests and 
encouraging global peace and stability through American strengths.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).
  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to support the U.S.-Taiwan 
partnership. I recently joined a congressional delegation to visit 
Taiwan. While in Taiwan I met with President Tsai Ing-wen and discussed 
our shared national security, economic, and political interests.
  I also witnessed firsthand how patriotic and fiercely resilient the 
people of this island nation are in the face of an increasingly 
aggressive Communist China.
  Taiwan is a critical partner to the United States in the Indo-Pacific 
region and shares our unwavering commitment to freedom, liberty, and 
democracy in every corner of the world.
  Moreover, we have longstanding economic ties.
  Taiwan is America's eighth largest trading partner, and America is 
Taiwan's second largest trading partner.
  Taiwan's ingenuity, entrepreneurial spirit, and skilled workforce 
have resulted in an island nation of just 23 million people producing 
90 percent of the global semiconductor supply--vital components in the 
microelectronics ecosystem--and essential to life in our modern digital 
age.

  In addition to strong economic collaboration, Utah and Taiwan have 
strengthened their relationship through educational and cultural 
exchange programs.
  The decades-long economic, cultural, and geopolitical bond between 
our two beloved countries has established a legacy of mutual 
understanding, regional security partnership, and deep appreciation for 
our shared values.
  Unfortunately, the Chinese Communist Party's evil regime increasingly 
encroaches on the territorial integrity of Taiwan with provocative 
military exercises and the buildup of its armed forces in the region. 
This threatens the rules-based international order.
  That is why I joined the House Republican majority to establish the 
Select House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party to counter the 
imminent danger posed by the CCP to the strength, resilience, and 
sovereignty of Taiwan.
  Mr. Speaker, I was proud to vote ``yes'' on the fiscal year 2024 
National Defense Authorization Act, the NDAA, to provide robust 
investment in our defensive capabilities in the Taiwan Strait and 
support their right to defend themselves from CCP aggression.
  As a member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, I reaffirm my 
commitment to policies that continue to improve the U.S.-Taiwan ties 
and enhance America's military infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific 
region and ensure peace in the South China Sea.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Utah.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Salazar), 
my friend.
  Ms. SALAZAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome Miami's new 
resident, and futbol legend, Lionel Messi. It is an honor to host a 
world-class athlete in my district.
  Messi signed onto Miami's soccer team, Inter Miami, which kicked off 
its inaugural season in Major League Soccer 3 years ago. His presence 
is already making an impact in my community. He brought home the first 
win of the 2023 Leagues Cup with a free kick in the 94th minute of the 
game.
  Today, Messi is a household name, but he was born to humble 
beginnings in Argentina. His father was a manager at a steel factory 
and his mother worked in another factory.

[[Page H4129]]

  He started playing futbol at the age of 4, coached by his father, 
making his senior debut at 18 years old. He credits his dedication to 
soccer to his beloved grandmother, Celia, and continues to honor her at 
every game he plays.
  Some of his many achievements include winning the World Cup and its 
Player of the Tournament award in 2022, being named best FIFA player 
three times, and winning the Champions League four times.
  He has scored over 800 goals at club level and he scored the most 
goals of any player in a calendar year with 79 of them.
  Personally, Messi is a devout Catholic and lives his faith through 
charitable works. He established the Leo Messi Foundation in 2007, 
working to improve children's access to healthcare and education.
  Inter Miami is blessed to have this elite player on their team, and 
the significance of his presence extends beyond the field.
  This extraordinary player is going to inspire children in my district 
to work hard to achieve their dreams. He said, ``I start early and I 
stay late, day after day, year after year. It took me 17 years and 114 
days to become an overnight success.''
  The lesson he is conveying is that you can pray for a house, but 
sometimes God gives you a hammer, lumber, nails, and talent. Don't be 
fooled into thinking that he did not answer you, you have to put in the 
hard work.
  Every person has the opportunity to succeed if they are dedicated to 
accomplishing their goals, especially in this country, the United 
States of America.
  Mr. Speaker, I welcome Messi to Miami, and may his hard work be an 
inspiration to everyone who has a dream for their life. God bless him, 
his wife, and his three sons as they begin a new life in Miami, which 
is part of the 27th Congressional District, the best district in the 
United States.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I close by recognizing an individual that I have grown 
very fond of in my time here at the House of Representatives. I don't 
do a lot of these Special Orders and come down and talk about 
individuals, but since I have been in the House, getting to know Joyce 
Hamlett has been an extraordinary pleasure and honor.
  I wish Joyce were on the floor at this moment because she is going to 
be retiring here shortly, either tomorrow or next week. She has worked 
here on the Hill for 35 years.
  Speaker McCarthy already gave a fantastic speech detailing her bio 
and background. She grew up in North Carolina and she will be returning 
to North Carolina. She devoted 35 years here, working up from being in 
the cafeteria with her mom, if I remember correctly from Speaker 
McCarthy's speech, and serving as the elevator operator.
  For over a decade, she has faithfully protected the mace. The mace of 
the House of Representatives is one of the oldest symbols of the United 
States Government representing Congress' order and authority. Her duty 
is to protect the mace that opens the House each day and closes it each 
night.
  Mr. Speaker, I would note she was also responsible for keeping 
decorum on the floor of the House of Representatives, and I have been 
the recipient of her admonition on more than one occasion. It has been, 
frankly, an honor to receive it.
  Mr. Speaker, I will miss her and I wish her God speed in her 
retirement. I thank her and all the staff that serve the House of 
Representatives. She is one of the best. I have worked with a lot of 
people over the years, she is an exceptional human being. We are a 
greater country and a greater body for her service.

  Mr. Speaker, God bless Joyce, and I hope to see her today or tomorrow 
before she goes off to North Carolina.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________