[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 162 (Tuesday, October 3, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4962-H4967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4394, ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT
AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024; AND PROVIDING FOR
CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4364, LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on
Rules, I call up House Resolution 756 and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 756
Resolved, That at any time after adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule
XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of
the bill (H.R. 4394) making appropriations for energy and
water development and related agencies for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. The first
reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of
order against consideration of the bill are waived. General
debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one
hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their
respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be
considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. The
amendment printed in part A of the report of the Committee on
Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as
adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The
bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of
order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived.
Sec. 2. (a) No further amendment to H.R. 4394, as amended,
shall be in order except those printed in part B of the
report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this
resolution, amendments en bloc described in section 3 of this
resolution, and pro forma amendments described in section 4
of this resolution.
(b) Each further amendment printed in part B of the report
of the Committee on Rules shall be considered only in the
order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member
designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall
be debatable for the time specified in the report equally
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent,
shall not be subject to amendment except as provided by
section 4 of this resolution, and shall not be subject to a
demand
[[Page H4963]]
for division of the question in the House or in the Committee
of the Whole.
(c) All points of order against further amendments printed
in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules or against
amendments en bloc described in section 3 of this resolution
are waived.
Sec. 3. It shall be in order at any time for the chair of
the Committee on Appropriations or her designee to offer
amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed
in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules
accompanying this resolution not earlier disposed of.
Amendments en bloc offered pursuant to this section shall be
considered as read, shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective
designees, shall not be subject to amendment except as
provided by section 4 of this resolution, and shall not be
subject to a demand for division of the question in the House
or in the Committee of the Whole.
Sec. 4. During consideration of H.R. 4394 for amendment,
the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Appropriations or their respective designees may offer up to
10 pro forma amendments each at any point for the purpose of
debate.
Sec. 5. At the conclusion of consideration of H.R. 4394
for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill,
as amended, to the House with such further amendments as may
have been adopted. The previous question shall be considered
as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further
amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion
except one motion to recommit.
Sec. 6. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 4364) making
appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. All points
of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The
amendment printed in part C of the report of the Committee on
Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as
adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
All points of order against provisions in the bill, as
amended, are waived. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any
further amendment thereto, to final passage without
intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 7. House Resolution 699 is laid on the table.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Malliotakis). The gentleman from
Pennsylvania is recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I
yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania
(Ms. Scanlon), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the
purpose of debate only.
General Leave
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
{time} 1215
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and
in support of the underlying legislation.
House Resolution 756 provides for consideration of H.R. 4394, the
Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of
2024, under a structured rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided
and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees and provides
one motion to recommit.
The rule makes in order 60 amendments. Further, the rule provides for
consideration of H.R. 4364, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act,
2024, under a closed rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided and
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Appropriations or their respective designees and provides for one
motion to recommit.
Madam Speaker, since President Biden took office, gas prices are up
60 percent; natural gas prices are up 25 percent; coal prices are up 70
percent; and electricity prices are up 24 percent.
This should raise alarms on the other side of the aisle. I don't mean
pulling fire alarms. This should get the attention of the other side.
H.R. 4364 restores American energy dominance. It invests in our
national security and delivers fiscal responsibility for the American
taxpayer.
As a Navy veteran, I am proud to support H.R. 4394, which provides
$32.51 billion in Defense spending. That is an increase of more than $1
billion over FY23 enacted levels.
This legislation continues efforts to modernize the Nation's nuclear
weapon stockpile, supports Columbia-class submarine reactor development
and helps counter our adversaries.
Additionally, H.R. 4394 prioritizes energy security and economic
competitiveness by investing $200 million in critical mineral
production and supporting domestic uranium enrichment capabilities.
Finally, this legislation rescinds $5.58 billion of absolutely
reckless spending that was wasted by the previous majority. It
terminates Biden's waters of the United States rule and it cuts the
dangerous, radical, and extreme Green New Deal programs.
Madam Speaker, additionally, H.R. 4364 ensures that Members of
Congress can address the needs of their constituents while prioritizing
deficit reduction.
H.R. 4364 reduces spending by 4.5 percent, provides Capitol police
officers with an increase of $46 million over last year, and protects
House networks by banning the purchase of telecommunications equipment
made in China.
As we work to pass single-subject appropriations bills, I am proud to
support the underlying legislation which upholds the House Republicans'
commitment to the American people.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania
for yielding the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Madam Speaker, over the past month, House Republicans have plunged
this Chamber into chaos. Whether it is the extremists who refuse to
honor the bipartisan budget deal negotiated with the White House and
voted into law by bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress, and
then sought to shut down the government with their outrageous demands,
or whether it is House leadership who seem unable to prevent this
destructive behavior or perhaps to leave this Chamber at all.
As I and my Democratic colleagues push back against the majority's
cruel, extreme, and unworkable agenda, Members on the other side of the
aisle have been consumed with infighting and trying to distract from
the fact that their refusal to work in a collaborative or bipartisan
manner either with the Senate, Democrats, or even within their own
party, has resulted in their failing to perform Congress' most basic
job of funding the Federal Government.
Just this past weekend, they brought us within hours of a devastating
government shutdown. As the funding deadline approached, my office was
fielding calls from terrified constituents; people feeling that come
the end of month, their paychecks would no longer arrive and that
critical government services which they rely upon would be interrupted.
Parents wondered whether they would be able to make ends meet,
whether they would be able to pay the childcare bills that allowed them
to go to work and keep food on the table for themselves and their
children. Seniors worried about heat assistance as temperatures drop.
That is why Democrats stepped in to keep the government up and running
without the outrageous rightwing demands coming from the most extreme
and exotic fringes of the House Republican majority.
Now, we have 6 weeks before another funding deadline, and we have a
lot of work to do. The American people don't deserve this continued
uncertainty.
After the majority's reckless approach to government funding failed,
time and time again, on the House floor, we still only have 4 of the 12
appropriations bills passed through the House; 2 haven't even been
marked up, another one has failed, and more may go down this week.
One would think they would be willing to change tactics because after
all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over
again and expecting a different result.
You would think they would be willing to come to the table, honor the
agreements, pass the spending bills
[[Page H4964]]
that the American people should expect and certainly deserve, but
apparently not. Instead, we see them doubling down on the strategy of
jamming through unrealistic spending proposals that would devastate
children, families, seniors, and veterans all across this country.
That includes the two hyper-partisan bills they have brought to the
House floor today; bills that continue to break the pattern of the
bipartisan funding agreement that Congress approved last spring and
that both parties in the Senate have been willing to honor.
These bills slash vital services and include rightwing culture war
provisions; bills that are so extreme that the House Republicans may
not be able to pass them here, the Senate won't agree to, and the
President certainly won't sign.
The first of these is H.R. 4394, the Energy and Water Development
funding bill. With this legislation, we should be ensuring that the
U.S. is able to meet the challenges of today's and tomorrow's world.
Unfortunately, the bill in front of us doesn't do that. It is full of
harmful rescissions, repeals, and funding cuts. It attempts to impede
the progress we have made by increasing America's energy costs,
jeopardizing our energy security and hurting U.S. global
competitiveness.
It claws back important funding that supports programs to combat
flooding, improve wildlife habitat, and reduce pollution in our
drinking water. That includes millions in funding for the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers.
Let me zoom in on that for a minute and talk about all the important
work that the Army Corps does in my district alone.
It is responsible for the regular maintenance of two major rivers
running through and alongside Pennsylvania's Fifth district: the
Schuylkill and the Delaware. That maintenance includes tasks like
dredging, debris removal, and maintaining river embankments.
This river work is critical to our region's environmental, public,
and even economic health because it means boats can use our waterways
without interruption, and larger vessels can sail into and trade at the
port of Philadelphia.
The broader budget cuts included in this bill undermine the
importance and viability of all of these programs and means that
additional measures to improve the health of our communities, both in
my district and others, will go undone.
Critically, this bill also fails to meaningfully confront the climate
crisis. In southeastern Pennsylvania, we have already started to feel
the effects of climate change, more intense and frequent storms have
resulted in unprecedented, devastating flooding across our region.
For example, the Eastwick neighborhood of Philadelphia, which sits
adjacent to a flood-prone marsh, has experienced increasingly dramatic
floods in recent years. About 3 years ago, Tropical Storm Isaias
damaged more than 300 homes in this low-lying area. We have seen
tornados and flooding in the Brandywine River region in Norristown and
elsewhere.
It is important for everyone here to realize that none of our
districts are immune from the impacts of the climate crisis. Flooding,
hurricanes, rising sea levels, wildfires, and other climate disasters,
they affect us all.
My Republican colleagues' denial of this fact would only leave us
extremely unprepared and will prevent us from doing anything
proactively to address these growing threats and help our communities
be more resilient.
Ultimately, it is our constituents and future generations of
Americans who will suffer the consequences of these kind of policy
failures.
Additionally, just as families have started taking advantage of
provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that reduce their home energy
costs, this bill would increase energy bills for hardworking Americans.
For all my Republican colleagues' talk, it is clear that Democrats
are the only ones here willing to take action to keep costs down for
American families, because with this bill, the majority is trying to
undo the work that we did with the Inflation Reduction Act. They want
to slash funding for programs that help people to weatherize their
homes, purchase efficient appliances, and be able to afford to heat
their homes.
These programs have the potential to save Americans thousands of
dollars a year. For the past several months, I have been holding
meetings across my district to talk to constituents about these
measures and help them access and improve their lives and their
budgets. Now House Republicans want to take this away.
This bill also blocks funding for initiatives that direct investments
to our underserved communities most overburdened by pollution. My
region has long struggled with dangerous air quality and its negative
health impacts leading to high rates of cancer and some of the highest
rates of childhood asthma in our Nation.
Federal investment is needed to ensure that kids in my district and
across the country can grow up healthy and have bright futures. In
kneecapping this important work, it seems that my colleagues on the
other side of the aisle are more concerned with catering to polluters
than the health of our children, and I find that incredibly
disappointing.
We are also considering today H.R. 4364, the legislative branch
funding bill.
Unfortunately, this legislation undermines the important work of this
institution and threatens Congress' ability to move into the future and
serve its constituents and America today rather than in the 19th
century or so.
I served on the bipartisan Select Committee on Modernization of
Congress for 2 years. Since then, I have followed its subsequent work
to produce recommendations on how to make Congress work better for the
American people.
Ultimately, that committee passed over 200 bipartisan
recommendations, including recommendations related to diversity and
inclusion among our staff here in Congress. Leading businesses around
the globe have embraced diversity and inclusion because they know that
a diverse workforce is more effective.
Despite the successes we have seen in other sectors, it seems my
Republican colleagues here in the House want to go backwards.
Troublingly, they want to eliminate the Office of Diversity and
Inclusion here on Capitol Hill. A well-functioning legislative branch
is critical our democracy, and I know our democracy is strongest when
Members of Congress and their staff look like the America we are here
to represent.
{time} 1230
We should all want to serve our constituents in the best way we
possibly can, and we can only do that if we give our institution the
tools and the staff to achieve progress with the times and truly
represent our modern Nation.
Unfortunately, this bill would undermine that goal.
Even after flirting with a disastrous shutdown, my Republican
colleagues are still trying to force through spending bills written in
back rooms with no bipartisan agreement and riddled with culture war
poison pills and devastating cuts. They do so knowing that these bills
are so extreme that their passage is imperiled here in the House, and
it is a fiction if they think it is going through the Senate or that it
will be signed into law by the President.
This continued dysfunction only hurts America and throws our country
into chaos.
The bottom line is that the House needs to do better than this. The
American people deserve better than this.
Madam Speaker, I strongly oppose both of these bills, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I have to share a story about Secretary Granholm because you just
can't make up this stuff. NPR reported this story, which makes it even
more rich.
Secretary Granholm took a 4-day EV propaganda road trip on the
taxpayers' dime that turned into an absolute nightmare for the
Secretary. At a stop in Georgia, there was only one available EV
charging station for the Secretary's motorcade. What did she do? Well,
they had the Department of Energy advance team--who were traveling in
gas-powered vehicles, I might
[[Page H4965]]
add--they had that advance team go in and reserve a spot while others
waited in long lines, battling the summer heat.
Rightfully, a family that was traveling with a baby actually called
the police on Secretary Granholm and her advance team.
Earlier this year, Granholm stated, ``We can all learn from what
China is doing,'' regarding climate policies. Let's just talk about
what China is doing because that is about as laughable as the story
about her failed propaganda trip.
China emits 30 percent of the world's global emissions. They emit
more than the developed world combined. They emit more than the United
States, the EU, and Japan combined. By far, they are the largest
polluter in the world.
My friends across the aisle will say nothing to criticize China, by
the way.
China's coal-fired power plants generate more than 23 percent of all
forms of U.S. energy combined, and they are allowed to increase their
emissions through 2030 under the laughable Paris climate accord. We
could all laugh at this if it wasn't for the devastating effects that
Democrats' climate policy has on the working class in America and for
our competitive edge on our number one adversary on the world stage,
and that is China.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the distinguished ranking member of
the Committee on Rules.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, let me say to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania that nobody has been tougher on China than yours truly
here. I take a back seat to no one, and I don't want to be lectured.
Madam Speaker, I wasn't going to speak on this rule today, but I feel
compelled to say something because I see a pattern developing that I
think needs to be called out. It needs to be called out, plain and
simple.
They are taking their awful appropriations bills on agriculture and
foreign policy, and now energy and water and the legislative branch,
and as the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania pointed out, they all have
these deep cuts, and then they are loading them up with MAGA culture
war crap. I think people ought to understand in plain terms what they
are doing.
Let's focus on some specifics.
They say it is about woke Democrats this and woke Democrats that. I
mean, give me a break. They want to get rid of an office here on
Capitol Hill that promotes staff diversity and inclusion. Who wants
less diversity? If you want everyone here to look the same, just say
so.
They want to make it illegal to put up a Pride flag next to a U.S.
flag, by the way, at an embassy during Pride Month. That is woke? What
is wrong with them?
In one of these bills, they want to make it so that you can use
taxpayer money to fire people for being gay. I mean, really? I mean,
with all the problems in the world, this is what they focus on? This is
what keeps them awake at night?
This is nuts. This isn't about religious freedom. This is about
giving people freedom to discriminate. If they want to be bigoted, so
be it, but don't use the United States Government and taxpayer dollars
to reinforce and spread your backward views.
The reason I wanted to come down here is that this isn't just about
politics. Hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are going up. My
colleagues come to the floor not only failing to denounce that but
advancing ideas which signal to people that it is okay to discriminate,
that it is okay to hate. It is sick.
I get it. This is popular in the extreme MAGA world, but I thought
there were some moderate voices on the other side that might find this
as offensive as I do. I guess I am wrong because Republicans continue
to blindly come down here and support these hateful policies and vote
for them time after time.
I hope that the next Speaker, whoever that may be--maybe we will find
out today--will do a better job of preventing this garbage from coming
to the floor, but looking at the Republican Party in 2023, I won't hold
my breath.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Let me be clear about something. You can't be anti-China and pro-EV.
You can't be anti-China and pro-Green New Deal. These things are
completely incompatible.
Let me explain. Throughout the Biden Presidency, his administration
has been dead set on advancing the foolish, reckless, and extreme Green
New Deal agenda. This path forward has propped up our adversaries such
as China, which we now rely on for critical minerals to build the
expensive EVs that liberals like to parade around in in their affluent
suburban neighborhoods. Biden's officials openly acknowledge that fact.
During an Appropriations subcommittee hearing earlier this year, the
Interior Secretary admitted that the Biden administration's Green New
Deal policies actually make our Nation more reliant on China. She
admitted it at the hearing.
Do you know what? She is right.
China accounts for 63 percent of the world's rare earth mining, 85
percent of rare earth processing, and 92 percent of rare earth magnet
production. This plays a massive role in producing 70 percent of the
global EV battery supply.
While Democrats cheer on these foreign green efforts, China is busy
emitting more greenhouse gas than the U.S. and all other developed
nations combined.
It has never been more clear. When President Biden and Democrats push
for their green agenda, what they are really doing is empowering the
Chinese Communist Party, and they are doing it at the expense of the
American worker.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I wish that our colleagues across the
aisle were as concerned about the fact that this bill would increase
our dependence on Russian oil, Russian oil that is being used to fund
their illegal, inhumane war against the Ukrainian people.
Madam Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an
amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of a resolution
which clearly states that it is the people's House's duty to keep our
promise to American workers and seniors to protect and preserve Social
Security and Medicare and fight against any cuts to these vital
programs.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my
amendment into the Record along with any extraneous material
immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove) to discuss our proposal.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Madam Speaker, I have to tell you, there is a
virus infecting this Congress, and it is not the 'rona. It is
Republican testosterone poisoning.
All year long, we have heard not one peep from Republicans about
Social Security or Medicare--nothing. They have been passing
legislation that erodes the health protections of Americans and then
high-fiving after these horrible bills pass.
They won't admit that 63 million seniors will be hurt by their cuts
to Social Security--so watch out, granny, because they are coming for
you--or that they will cut the lifeline of millions who depend on
Medicare to survive.
Instead, we have been stuck in this Republican romper room.
The American people don't want to hear your lies, and they don't want
to watch your Republican civil warfare meltdown.
They care about their healthcare, jobs, keeping the government open,
growing the economy, and protecting us at home and abroad.
They care about being able to put food on the table and having a home
to go to.
They care about having a Social Security check in the mail, one that
they were promised for their years of work.
They care about what is real to them, and you are not it.
[[Page H4966]]
For this reason, I ask my colleagues to defeat the previous question
so that we can bring up H.R. 178, an important piece of legislation
affirming the House's commitment to protecting Social Security and
Medicare.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their
comments to the Chair and not to other Members.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
It is quite the intellectual yoga exercise to somehow say that
Republicans are encouraging Russian gas. It is the exact opposite.
Let's think about it. Do you know why there are Russian oil tankers
in the harbor in Boston? It is because far-left radical activists,
namely the entire Democratic Party, have decided to cancel a pipeline
that should have been running from Philadelphia into New England called
the Constitution Pipeline that would have brought clean natural gas
from Pennsylvania into New England so the residents there have cheap,
abundant natural gas and are not forced to buy dirty petroleum from
Russian.
Again, the intellectual gymnastics and yoga are quite amazing.
Let's talk about some other far-left, radical policies of my friends
across the aisle and how it has made us more dependent on Russia and
more dependent on China.
For one, they have a new list of regulations on coal-fired power
plants, making it harder for us to burn our clean coal here in the
United States and forcing coal producers to ship coal to places like
China, where they don't use scrubbers, by the way. Liberals across the
aisle ended the Keystone XL pipeline, coincidentally killing tens of
thousands of union jobs that they purport to support. They also
canceled Federal oil and gas leasing on Federal land.
I ask you, which policies make us more dependent on Russia, ours or
the radical left's?
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from
Pennsylvania for her leadership and for managing this rule that we now
have on the floor of the House.
I stand here in the name of so many Americans who live in cities and
rural communities that are so dependent on the Federal funding that
helps to bridge local government funding, and also those who are most
vulnerable in our Nation.
As I rise today, we Democrats did come together to stop the shutdown.
As I said earlier, there was applause across my district. At the same
time, bills are passed that really shock me. Again, bills were passed
that cut $800 million from the women, infants, and children program
dealing with feeding babies. Then, one of the most talked about issues
across America--we just saw something where Habitat for Humanity is
building 39 homes under the name of the great President Jimmy Carter
and his wife. Here we are cutting $1 billion to $500 million from the
HOME Investment Partnerships Program that directly deals with the
funding that is necessary.
Can you believe the cuts in Medicare? Can you absolutely believe that
that is what is happening? The bills are being passed by the Republican
majority.
Now, I thought they were concerned about Homeland Security--I served
on this committee since 9/11--but border management funding has been
severely cut for shelter and services programs, the very programs that
are needed by those who come seeking asylum or even those who come
whose asylum will be rejected, but the burden is on those local cities.
The USCIS and the Transportation Security Administration are both
receiving cuts.
Then, of course, we are dealing with this particular legislation,
legislative branch and energy and commerce.
{time} 1245
It is important to note that funding dealing with water, dealing with
climate, and dealing with renewables are all being cut.
I offered amendments in particular to deal with water that were not
accepted. I offered amendments to ensure that DACA residents could be
hired, which we have done before. Those are individuals that did not
spend any time in their foreign land, were brought here as children,
and are now doctors, paramedics, lawyers, and teachers, and because of
the DACA program we cannot hire them. How insensitive is that?
Then the attacks against the LGBTQ+ community, all of the amendments
throughout the entire time that attack them. Then to get rid of the
diversity office that we worked so hard for, to ensure that this
Congress, the people's House, the United States Senate, reflects the
wonderment of America, this wonderful experiment that the world looks
to and says: How great this land is. ``My country, 'tis of thee, sweet
land of liberty.'' That is what America is to people. How can we in
appropriations after appropriations put in these poison pills?
We stopped the shutdown, but what I can say to you is there is more
work to be done. We don't know what the vote will be on the floor
today, but I want whatever happens, as I said before, to be for the
best for the American people. That is Democrats leading.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Langworthy), my good friend and fellow member of the
Rules Committee.
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Madam Speaker, the Biden administration, through the
Department of Energy, is making life harder for Americans and
jeopardizing our energy security.
Through gradually increasing efficiency standards, rebate programs,
and other regulatory carrot-and-stick measures, this administration is
determined to take perfectly reliable, affordable, and efficient
appliances off the market and out of reach for ordinary Americans.
The regulatory agenda being carried out at the Biden Department of
Energy is a death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy that will leave Americans
sincerely worried about how they will be able to afford to heat their
homes in the coming years.
From gas stoves and furnaces to air-conditioners, the Biden
administration is forcing Americans away from appliances and
technologies that genuinely work and pushing them toward more expensive
and less available options.
Time and again, the left tells us that this hardship is the price we
all must pay for a so-called greener and cleaner future. In fact, these
draconian measures do little to achieve that future while depriving
Americans of a quality of life we once took for granted.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to support the underlying legislation, H.R.
4394, because it will put the brakes on the out-of-control, out-of-
touch regulatory state that has been unleashed on the American people
by the Biden administration.
This legislation rescinds billions of dollars in wasteful spending
from the poorly named Inflation Reduction Act that was intended to
force Americans away from affordable and reliable appliances toward
more expensive and less reliable options.
Madam Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this
rule and this underlying legislation today.
Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from
New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished member of the Rules
Committee.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, just 3 days ago, Democrats voted
to keep our government open. We told America how Republicans were
slashing vital programs in their extreme appropriations bills.
We voted down the Republican plan to drastically cut programs that
keep our babies, children, and their mothers from going hungry, cut
public school funding, cut agricultural investments, and cut support
for small businesses. That is what the Republicans wanted to do.
The American people heard our warnings, and their voices rang through
Congress. Finally, we had a clean continuing resolution without those
cuts on the House floor.
With support from the American people, Democrats led the way in
keeping our government open. It is a continuation of our work from last
Congress where Democrats passed laws to make investments in our future
energy independence and in our vision for rural development that has
been lacking for decades.
[[Page H4967]]
In Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord says: My plan is not for you to suffer,
but for you to prosper, have hope and a future.
Democrats showed that we are ready and willing to make that
prosperity plan a reality for Americans and especially for rural
America.
For too long in rural America and in rural New Mexico, our families
have been leaving the farms and ranches that give us our identity, our
``herencia y cultura,'' ``heritage and culture,'' and importantly, that
give us the food we eat.
Last year, Democrats passed bill after bill to change this trend. We
want to invest in rural America.
Through the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS and Science Act, we can
build the next generation of innovation in places like rural New
Mexico. I am looking forward to an enchanted innovation hub in New
Mexico.
Now that Republicans are in charge, they want to gut those bills,
making rural families pay more and get less.
The Republican energy bill we are considering today wants to gut
rural projects, like the SunZia line in Corona, New Mexico, which just
installed the largest wind farm in the country. I call it the Route 66
of renewable energy. These wind farms are generating revenues for
multiple local ranchers.
Let me tell you something. Many ranchers in the country don't make a
profit. The USDA reported in 2020 that ranchers didn't generate enough
profit to cover their own living expenses and debt obligations for 9
out of 10 years.
The Democrat prosperity plan changes that equation and allows
ranchers to earn revenue from clean energy and from food production.
What is more, a wind farm in a rural county like Lincoln, New Mexico,
will provide $1.3 billion in taxes in 30 years. Lincoln County has
never seen such revenue before and can use it to invest in rural
healthcare and behavioral health.
Rather than build on the transformational investments that Democrats
made to support our rural communities, what are the Republicans doing?
They are gutting our progress. They want to look backward.
Indeed, all the appropriations bills that the Republicans are putting
forth hurt American competitiveness, they hurt rural areas, and they
hurt families who need to save money.
Rather than incentivizing the programs that our children will need to
save this planet and outcompete China, Republicans are taking us
backward.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for a future where the
Democratic prosperity plan can become a reality.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rule.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Talking more about the Democratic fascination with helping China,
let's go back to 2022. In 2022, gas prices hit an all-time record high.
Instead of reversing the failed policies of the Biden administration
that actually led to gas prices increasing at that rate, instead of
doing that, Biden sold 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve to temporarily lower gas prices in a cheap political gimmick.
What did this do? This drained our emergency energy supply to its
lowest level since the 1980s, the lowest level since I was born.
Who benefited the most from this? Well, it wasn't the American
worker. It was China. According to the Department of Energy, China's
state refining company bought 2 million barrels of Strategic Petroleum
Reserve oil in 2022.
Instead of powering China's economy, House Republicans are passing
legislation this week that actually lowers energy costs, that ends
radical Green New Deal programs, and restores our energy independence.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, funding the Federal Government is not a
game. The American people who elect us to Congress depend on us to
solve real problems. They don't send us here to play politics with
their lives and our country's future.
The incompetence, extremism, and infighting we have seen on display
from our Republican colleagues is not serious governance. It is
dangerous. It is destructive behavior, and it makes it wholly clear
that there are Members of this body who care more about making
headlines than the job they were sent here to do.
Madam Speaker, our budgets reflect our priorities. Democrats are here
to put people over politics, and these bills make it clear that my
Republican colleagues are prioritizing scoring political points over
working for American families or strengthening this body and our
democracy or protecting our planet.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the previous question
and the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield
myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, it is clear, President Biden's energy policies benefit
our foreign adversaries, not the American worker.
The Biden administration has made our vehicle market heavily
dependent on communist China. The administration has also cut deals
with Iran. I might remind everybody that Iran is a state sponsor of
terror. In fact, the Biden administration released $6 billion in oil
revenue that will fund terrorist operations against the United States
and our number one ally in the Middle East, Israel.
Recently, the President drained our strategic oil reserve to the
lowest levels. To what end? To fuel China's economy.
Earlier this year, FERC Commissioner Mark Christie predicted in a
Senate hearing that our energy grid is: ``. . . heading for a very
catastrophic situation. . . . ''
Why is this? It is because of the far left's rush to foolish green
policies. This is the wrong path to go down.
This is why I am proud to support the underlying legislation which
restores the Strategic Petroleum Reserves. It also helps our national
security mission, increases funding for our ports and inland waterways,
like the locks and dams that run through my district, and it invests in
our Nation's security.
After the previous majority spent $3 trillion outside of the
appropriations process, this legislation actually reins in billions of
dollars to reduce our out-of-control national debt.
Under House Republicans, we have passed legislation to lower energy
costs for the American family, reformed our permitting process, allowed
the Mountain Valley pipeline to finish construction, and preserved
vehicle choice in the marketplace. This legislation before us keeps up
that commitment to the American people.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the previous
question and ``yes'' on the rule.
The material previously referred to by Ms. Scanlon is as follows:
An Amendment to H. Res. 756 Offered By Ms. Scanlon of Pennsylvania
At the end of the resolution, add the following:
Sec. 8. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the
House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the
resolution (H. Res. 178) affirming the House of
Representatives' commitment to protect and strengthen Social
Security and Medicare. The resolution shall be considered as
read. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on
the resolution and preamble to adoption without intervening
motion or demand for division of the question except one hour
of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and
ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means or
their respective designees.
Sec. 9. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the
consideration of H. Res. 178.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Carey). The question is on ordering the
previous question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question are postponed.
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