[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2486-H2492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RESPONDING TO AMERICANS' CONCERNS
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Williams of New York). Under the
Speaker's announced policy of January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Utah
(Mr. Moore) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the
majority leader.
General Leave
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this special
order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to join
my colleagues and share some very important perspectives and messages.
House Republicans are responding to many concerns held by Americans
[[Page H2487]]
across the country, from this historic crisis happening at our southern
border to the increasing cost of everyday goods and services as a
result of the Biden administration's tax-and-spend agenda that is
burdening hardworking families from New York to California, from Utah
to Ohio.
Just this weekend, Americans watched as Iran launched an
unprecedented attack on Israel, our ally, and yet again threatened
Israel's very existence.
The American people deserve better. They deserve better leadership
from this the administration, better stewardship of our Federal
resources, and better strength on the global stage.
I am grateful to my colleagues for joining me on the House floor this
evening to share their thoughts on how these issues are impacting their
constituents and our Conference's solutions.
We look forward to hearing from a few of my colleagues this evening.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr.
Wilson).
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Moore
for his leadership. We appreciate it very much.
Mr. Speaker, last week, on April 2, the New York Post published an
op-ed that explained the proven conservative position of peace through
strength. This continues the world-changing success for expanding
freedom of Senator Barry Goldwater and President Ronald Reagan. There
are over 20 countries now of Central and Eastern Europe and Central
Asia that are free today because of the defeat of Soviet communism,
which war criminal Putin wants to revive.
The article is titled: ``Kudos to Speaker Johnson: Moving Ukraine aid
is critical to national security,'' by Daniel Kochis, a senior fellow
of the Hudson Institute's Center on Europe and Eurasia. The Hudson
Institute was founded by the visionary Herman Kahn and is universally
respected for its research and accuracy.
I am grateful to find and learn that Ambassador and Governor Nikki
Haley of South Carolina will now be a valued fellow.
The column in the New York Post reads: ``Speaker Mike Johnson's
Easter announcement that he will bring a new Ukraine aid package to a
vote . . . is welcome news. Congressional backing for Ukraine
assistance has been mired in the political muck for months. More than
5,000 miles away on the front lines, the maddening impasse has
needlessly cost Ukrainian lives and territory.
``Three-quarters of Americans recognize that the Russian war against
Ukraine and the conflicts that allies Israel and Taiwan face are
important to U.S. national interests. It is time Congress got on the
same page as its constituents and found a way to move critical support
over the finish line.
``For Ukraine, the dearth of new aid has left soldiers to ration
ammunition. Russia's artillery advantage has consequently increased by
an order of magnitude. Moscow has been firing five times the number of
shells per day as Kyiv for most of the year.''
This isn't in the article, Mr. Speaker, but you should understand
many of these shells came from North Korea, from the dictatorship in
the DPRK, which is also threatening our allies South Korea and Japan.
``Russian forces simply out-pummeled Ukraine's defenders. Some good
news came 2 weeks ago: The Czech Republic has stepped into the breach
in a major way, scouring the world to secure 800,000 artillery shells.
The first batch could reach Ukraine early this month, a lifeline that
will allow defending forces to start shooting more rounds, secure in
the knowledge that replacements are on the way.
``But while the Czech Republic's role as intermediary in finding,
purchasing, and securing permissions for the export of critical stocks
of munitions is phenomenal, it won't fill the void left by a lack of
American assistance and leadership.''
{time} 1845
``It is in America's interest to continue to aid our friends, most
especially those defending their families and homes in Ukraine.
Inaction not only harms U.S. national interests; it is expressly not
what the American people have told policymakers they desire.
``Multiple recent polls have found a majority of Americans continue
to back the aid to Ukraine, both economic and military. Behind closed
doors, most congressional Members recognize the importance of
continuing assistance. . . .
``From a military point of view, Ukraine is far better off today than
it was 2 years ago and Russia far worse. And though from a moral
perspective, the war remains starkly black and white . . . declined. .
. .
``The administration allowing the war to fester by continuing to balk
at sending Ukraine the systems it needs to win hasn't helped. . . .
``Team Biden's shockingly shortsighted and incompetent Afghanistan
withdrawal is still fresh in the minds of many Americans, and they do
not want a repeat. But failing to robustly stand with Ukraine and
decisively defeat Russia makes this specter more likely to happen. The
outcome of Russia's genocidal campaign there will have far broader
implications for America's future security than either Afghanistan or
Iraq. There is, however, room for optimism.
``Unlike in Afghanistan or Iraq, America is not a combatant in
Ukraine, but we do benefit from its success. Despite some recent
territorial setbacks, Ukraine can defeat Russia and its backers in
Beijing, Pyongyang, and Tehran--if it has its allies' consistent, stout
backing.
``The situation on the front lines--and in the minds of Americans--is
far from irretrievable, but it starts with Congress finding the will to
do what is in the long-term American interest: Send Russian President
Vladimir Putin a clear bipartisan message that the United States will
stand by Ukraine for the long haul.
``Conservative lawmakers certainly have a duty to engage the
administration on the migrant crisis, an issue of key importance to the
public, but they should do so separately, recognizing Ukraine's
national security importance. Linking aid to migration is a disservice
to the American people. Support for Ukraine is not a worthless donation
but a downpayment on a more secure and prosperous future. The American
people know this; Congress should prove it does too.''
Additionally, I include in the Congressional Record an op-ed that I
provided in The Washington Times of February 9, 2022. This indicates:
``Why Ukraine Matters for American Families: A destabilized world with
higher inflation, gas prices.''
[From the Washington Times, Feb. 9, 2022]
Why Ukraine Matters for American Families
(By Joe Wilson)
Why does Ukraine matter for American families? Simply put:
Energy prices, inflation and the empowerment of our
adversaries across the world. Russian President Vladimir
Putin wants to recreate the Soviet empire, divide our allies
in Europe, and expand his malign influence across the globe.
Rather than former President Donald Trump's approach of
Peace Through Strength, President Biden's foreign policy can
best be characterized as war through weakness. During the
Trump administration, Mr. Putin never attempted anything
close to such an invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Putin understood
that a severe price would be paid, as Mr. Trump, along with
Congress, more than tripled the size of the European
Deterrence Initiative, providing military support to
countries on Russia's borders, and selling Javelin missiles
to Ukraine, which former President Barack Obama failed to
deliver.
The Biden administration gave Mr. Putin the biggest gift an
American president has ever given the Russian dictator by
waiving sanctions required by Congress in the Protecting
Europe's Energy Security Act, despite Mr. Putin's hacking and
shutting down the Colonial Pipeline for six days, and
shocking gas prices, just months earlier. Mr. Putin's answer:
more aggression and the largest-ever military buildup on
Ukraine's border. Rather than push back, Mr. Biden just two
weeks ago appeared fine with a ``minor incursion'' into
Ukraine. Biden officials have floated pulling back missile
defense deployments in Europe, limiting the size and scope of
military exercises, and even reentering the failed
Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty, which was violated by
Russia and was withdrawn from by Mr. Trump, if Mr. Putin
promised not to enter Ukraine. Yet even Mr. Biden seems to
understand that his policy has completely failed, with CNN
reporting that Mr. Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy on Thursday that an invasion by Russia is all but
assured.
Mr. Putin wants to keep Ukraine dependent on Russian oil.
He wants the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to neutralize Germany.
With money, the oligarchs controlling the oppressed Russian
people can attempt to re-
[[Page H2488]]
create the Soviet empire with a military-industrial complex,
recently developing hypersonic missiles to attack America as
Russia threatens to send troops in Cuba and Venezuela. In
addition, Mr. Putin is working closer than ever with China in
the military and economic arenas. Both countries are directly
helping Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism,
bypass American sanctions.
The effect of a war in Ukraine on American families will be
catastrophic. China is following our weak response to Mr.
Putin's aggression in Ukraine closely, in addition to our
surrender in Afghanistan, as it threatens Taiwan in an
unprecedented fashion and moves even closer to aggression
against the island. In addition, the results will be felt by
Germany, Japan, Korea, Israel and India with the cost of gas
increasing, doubling in my state of South Carolina alone,
from the Trump administration to the Biden administration,
crippling families with more inflation as transportation and
delivery costs create shortages.
On my visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, in December, I was shocked
that the Biden response was repeating the Afghanistan
disaster of leaving Americans behind to provide $40 million
``after the invasion.'' Of note, there are currently 10,000
Americans in Ukraine, and 14,000 Ukrainians died in the 2014
Putin invasion.
I am grateful with bipartisan cooperation, the Biden
policies have changed to reinforce the Trump policies of
javelin missiles to Ukraine, reinforcing American troops in
Poland, and promoting blocking of Nord Stream 2. It was
revealing that our Delegation Leader, Democrat Ruben Gallego
of Arizona, was publicly threatened in a television interview
by a member of the Russian Duma to be kidnapped and brought
to Moscow for trial for supporting Kyiv.
The Biden policy should be Peace Through Strength. War can
be avoided if we impose real costs on Mr. Putin. The latest
defensive weapons for land, air and sea should be provided to
Ukraine, the largest country in Europe by geography with 43
million citizens. Our German allies should terminate Nord
Stream 2 and its corruption forever. We should also
immediately kick Russia out of the International SWIFT Code
System, sanction the Russian financial system and sovereign
debt to ensure that Mr. Putin does not have the resources to
finance an invasion.
I was grateful to co-lead the Putin Accountability Act with
the Republican Study Committee, which would do just that
along with sanctions of Mr. Putin and his family directly,
and his network of corrupt oligarchs.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Indeed, this op-ed, over 2 years old,
actually is as true today as it was when it was published; that is, it
does matter to American families, and we need to be understanding to
protect the borders of Ukraine, of Israel, Taiwan, and America.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South
Carolina for his words and his steadfast work on the Armed Services
Committee and all national security matters.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz).
Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank our vice chair for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a link for a document styled,
``Unwelcome in Niger: The Interim Report from Congressman Matt Gaetz on
the Crisis in Niger.'' Https://gaetz.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/
gaetz.house. gov/files/evo-media-document/Rep.%20Gaetz%27 s%20Niger%20
Report%20-%20Unwelcome%20 in%20Niger%204.17.24__compressed%
20%281%29.pdf.
Dear Congressman Johnson: I am writing to express my deep
concern regarding the actions taken by the U.S. Embassy in
Niger, particularly involving the Ambassador, Kathleen A.
FitzGibbon and the Senior Defense Official/Defense Attache
(SDO/DATT). Colonel Nora J. Nelson-Richter. The recent events
have raised serious questions about the conduct and decision-
making of these officials, and I believe Congress must
address these issues.
As a service member deployed to Niger, Africa, I have
noticed that the Embassy, and more specifically the SDO/DATT,
intentionally suppressed intelligence information from the
ground force collection elements to maintain the facade of a
great country-to-country relationship. They failed to be
transparent with U.S. service members deployed to this
country. They gave a pretense that ``things are being
worked'' and ``that is above our level,'' all the while
Diplomatic Overflight Clearances for U.S. Military aircraft
were purposefully not being approved by the country's
Military Government as a political bargaining chip to entice
the U.S. Government back to negotiate their withdrawal.
Since July 23rd, the day of the Coup d'etat, the Americans
deployed here have not been able to perform their primary
mission and have been told to ``sit and hold.'' it is clear
that the country of Niger does not want a permanent military
presence in their country and they have informed us that we
need to leave. At this time, there are approximately 1,100
U.S. Military Service Members in the country who are
essentially being held hostage from returning home to their
families while the State Department continues with failed
diplomacy by not communicating with the Country of Niger on
what their withdrawal plan would look like after the Status
of Forces Agreement was repudiated by the Host Nation.
Additionally, the government of Niger is not processing Visas
for U.S. members for entry into the country, which is
especially concerning considering that all U.S. forces were
scheduled to end a six-month deployment early this month when
relief forces arrived. The Embassy failed to share any of
this information with decision-makers at any level in the
Department of Defense regarding this, further complicating
our ability to conduct that swap of personnel.
These actions have deeply troubled me and many others in
the community at home, as well as all the service members
deployed here with me, and their families back in the States.
Our diplomatic and defense representatives need to uphold the
highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct,
especially in sensitive regions like Niger. The actions taken
by the embassy officials not only reflect poorly on the
United States but also have potential implications for our
bilateral relations with other Partner Nations and the safety
of our personnel in the region.
As a concerned citizen, I urge you to use your position and
influence to investigate these matters and hold the
responsible parties accountable thoroughly. Transparency and
accountability are fundamental to the integrity of our
diplomatic and defense institutions, and any misconduct or
negligence must be addressed promptly and decisively.
I trust that you will take appropriate action to ensure
that the necessary inquiries and corrective measures are
undertaken. It is vital for the reputation and effectiveness
of our diplomatic and defense efforts in Niger, Africa, and
beyond.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue. I
look forward to your leadership in addressing these concerns.
Sincerely,
USAF,
Air Base 101, Niamey.
Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor this evening to
expose a cover-up in the African country of Niger. This cover-up exists
to conceal the humiliating failures of the Biden administration in
Niger, throughout Africa, and throughout the world. We learn of the
victims of this cover-up, the 1,100 U.S. troops currently stationed in
Niger, functionally stranded by a Biden administration which cares more
about saving face than saving their lives.
Our troops in Niger have been pleading for help. They have sent
intelligence reports and letters stating that they are rarely getting
safe water. They can't get diplomatic oversights to receive medicine,
fresh troop rotations, or basic supplies. They have no mission.
In addition, the local authorities are becoming increasingly hostile.
The current government of Niger has called the U.S. presence in the
country illegal.
Why have these pleas not been heard? It is because U.S. Embassy Niger
has been blocking the intelligence. I fear, as we speak, the conditions
may be forming to create another Benghazi-style attack.
How did we get here with 1,100 American troops stuck, thoroughly
unwelcome in a country where we have invested more than half a billion
U.S. taxpayer dollars? It all began when Biden and Blinken chose Niger
to be the centerpiece of their Africa strategy. Blinken even visited
the country in March of last year saying: ``Niger is . . . an
extraordinary model . . . a model of resilience, a model of democracy,
a model of cooperation.''
What a difference a year makes. Just 1 year and 1 day after those
remarks, the democratically elected government of Niger was replaced by
a military coup, and the United States military literally trained the
coup leaders.
I asked General Langley, who runs AFRICOM, why this happened, why so
many coup leaders are trained by our servicemembers. He said: Well,
Congressman, training people to overthrow their democratically elected
governments is not in our curriculum.
However, the results are staggering and embarrassing in Guinea, Mali,
Niger, Burkina Faso, and other countries. There were coups, and in each
of those coups, there was one common element: U.S. training for the
coup leaders.
Now, the coup government currently in charge of Niger wouldn't even
meet with General Langley when he went to talk about our base. The
Prime Minister literally slammed the door in his
[[Page H2489]]
face. One would think, if we trained you to overthrow your
democratically elected government, we could at least get a meeting.
However, instead of a burgeoning pro-U.S. sentiment, we now have the
coup leaders we trained turning to Russia as their preferred security
partner.
Where does that leave our 1,100 troops, our Americans? I did not
serve in the military. I represent a military community, and I hear
that these senior-enlisted servicemembers at a U.S. installation
abroad, they are a big deal. They are kind of like the mayor of the
installation.
The senior-enlisted servicemember at Airbase 101 in Niger wrote a
letter to Congressman Dusty Johnson.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record this letter.
``Dear Congressman Johnson, I am writing to express my deep concern
regarding the actions taken by U.S. Embassy Niger, particularly
involving the Ambassador Kathleen A. FitzGibbon. . . . The recent
events have raised serious questions about the conduct and
decisionmaking of these officials, and I believe Congress must address
these issues.
``As a servicemember deployed to Niger, Africa, I have noticed that
the Embassy . . . intentionally suppressed intelligence information
from the ground force collection elements to maintain the facade of a
great country-to-country relationship. They failed to be transparent
with U.S. servicemembers deployed to this country. They gave a pretense
that `things are being worked' and `that it is above our level,' all
the while, diplomatic overflight clearances for U.S. military aircraft
were purposefully not being approved by the country's military
government as a political bargaining chip to entice the U.S. Government
back to negotiate their withdrawal.
``Since July 23, the day of the coup d'etat, the Americans deployed
here have not been able to perform their primary mission and have been
told to `sit and hold.' It is clear that the country of Niger does not
want a permanent military presence in their country and they have
informed us we need to leave. At this time, there are approximately
1,100 U.S. military servicemembers in the country who are essentially
being held hostage from returning home to their families while the
State Department continues with failed diplomacy by not communicating
with the country of Niger on what the withdrawal plan would look like.
. . . Additionally, the government of Niger is not processing visas for
U.S. servicemembers for entry into the country, which is especially
concerning considering that all U.S. Forces were scheduled to end a 6-
month deployment early this month when relief forces arrived. The
embassy failed to share any of this information with decisionmakers at
any level in the Department of Defense regarding this, further
complicating our ability to conduct the swap of personnel.
``These actions have deeply troubled me and many others in the
community at home, as well as the servicemembers deployed here with me,
and their families back in the States. Our diplomatic and defense
representatives need to uphold the highest standards of professionalism
and ethical conduct, especially in sensitive regions like Niger. The
actions taken by the embassy officials not only reflect poorly on the
United States but also have potential implications for our bilateral
relations with other partner nations and the safety of our personnel in
this region.''
When I became aware of this letter, my office conducted a number of
interviews, which confirmed the claims made by the senior-enlisted
official, and he signed his name to that letter, which we have entered
in the Record. We have done those investigations. We have learned that
the top public health official says that in the month of May, they are
going to run out of medicine in Niger. It is worse than that. Our
partner countries, Italy and Germany, who you would think would help us
facilitate medicine and supplies, but they won't even help transport
needed materiel to our servicemembers because they are worried about
being expelled from the country.
If that isn't worse, the fact that we have got Russia as the
preferred security partner now means there are Russians behind the wire
at Airbase 101. We have Russians on our base somewhere. That would
never happen. The only reason it is happening is because Blinken and
Biden are humiliated that their plan failed, that they poured half a
billion dollars into this country where now we are being thrown out by
the scruff of our neck. Well, Joe Biden and Tony Blinken's failures
should not have to be visited on the 1,100 servicemembers who are there
fighting for us, wanting to do patriotic duty and they are being held
hostage and they are stranded.
I will fight for them. I will fight against this administration that
would use our servicemembers as pawns because they can't get their act
together.
Just because Biden and Blinken can't say oops doesn't mean we should
abandon our troops.
Mr. Speaker, and I thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore) for his
indulgence and the time.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida
for sharing that information. It is part of the job that we need to be
doing and what we can do to uncover and for a thorough analysis.
Mr. Speaker, I will next yield to my colleague from the great State
of California (Mr. LaMalfa).
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, as we contemplate and navigate our way
through these hard times, the difficult economy with, indeed,
Bidenomics working the way it has been the last couple years for us in
this country, we have to get to what is the root cause and what is the
route out of this? It really comes down to getting back to our roots,
getting back to the source of our economy. Where does the economy come
from, and how do we make things reasonably priced again and affordable
for our countrymen?
If you look here, they are all tied together when you get right down
to it. Cost of electricity up over 28 percent, food over 20 percent,
residential rent nearly 20 percent. What are the building blocks that
help us to thrive and help us get back out of this mess?
Well, I will start. There are a few items that I work quite a bit on
in my committee work, back at home and here in D.C., as well. Forestry
is right at the beginning of that. What do you get from good forestry:
Healthy forests and an economy that comes from our rural areas of the
country that are suffering so much due to shutdowns, regulations, and
inactivity by the U.S. Forest Service.
You see here a forest, how it looks when it has been treated
properly, when it has been thinned on this side of the poster here.
That is a healthy forest. That is one that will withstand fire. It is
good for the wildlife population. It is good for the trees themselves.
They won't have to compete for limited soil and water resources,
especially through a drought period.
This side here is a tinderbox that is going to go up and it is going
to be devastating as so much has happened in the West over these last
years. A million-acre fire happened in my district. There are many six-
digit fires all over the western States. This does not work for very
long. It is not good for wildlife when it is green, and certainly not
for when it is caught in the middle of a forest fire.
Indeed, we have to do much more work in order to catch up on that
because of what I mentioned. The cost of rent, when you have high costs
of building inputs which can come from wood products that, just a
couple years ago, were in short, and paper products. Remember the
toilet paper shortage. Why in the world did we have that? We need to
have our American forests be very active.
There are over 800 million acres of forest that have approximately
350 billion trees in this country, a total inventory of 13 trillion
board-feet, annual growth of 300 billion board-feet, whether we harvest
it or not. America's total wood use via lumber, paper, biomass, and
firewood is approximately half of annual growth, 150 billion board-
feet. We see we have an issue, don't we? If we are only harvesting and
using half of what grows each year, that means these forests will get
more and more dense every year.
We have the ability to do something about that. For some reason, I
keep wondering why the U.S. is--recently surpassing China since their
economy is slowing down--now the number one importer of wood products
when we have the resource here that actually needs to be thinned, needs
to be harvested, needs to be taken care of, and
[[Page H2490]]
not clear cut, not the whole works. That isn't what it is about. That
is the first thing that the city folks want to say: Oh, you are going
to cut all the trees. No.
{time} 1900
We thin them out. This is what that looks like right here. Then that
forest keeps on growing and is healthy. The next wave of harvest
happens 30, 40, 50 years later, and it is a successful program instead
of importing and sending the jobs somewhere else.
Now that China has receded somewhat--number one importer of wood. It
doesn't make a lick of sense to me.
In the farm bill, we can address some of these issues coming up if we
can be successful on passing what would be best in a 5-year farm bill
soon and help with our forest health as well as the cost of housing and
building new housing, building new apartments, whatever, for people.
That will get me to my next poster here having to do with food, which
is another part of the building blocks.
I mentioned electricity. Those prices have gone up, food, and then
housing.
Here, we have an example of the food that is grown in my home State
of California, but it is important to the whole country. Many other
States are key to food supply in the Midwest, the Southern States, and
so many areas of the country.
I will point out what we have growing in California because we
oftentimes have a water problem where the water supply, in tougher
years, doesn't get to agriculture. The last 2 years, we have had an
amazing water supply, amazing snowpack--indeed, above the 100-percent
level of normal.
Our lakes are filling. We can keep after the people making the
decisions to allow them to fill the last bit to top it off because we
still have several reservoirs that have a lot of space in them. I want
to see them all hit 100 percent so we can survive maybe the next
drought or certainly allocate water to agriculture as well as the
people in the urban areas who are seeing themselves having to ration
water. They are going to be cut back to 42 gallons per day, in some
cases, due to the extreme measures that people who are not planning
water supply are going to cause them to do.
I don't know how that looks to my colleagues in L.A. County, Orange
County, San Francisco County, having to tell people they are only going
to get 42 gallons of water per day because of the mismanagement of
water supply in our State.
We could be building more storage. We should be building more
storage. We have the chance to build a place called Sites Reservoir,
1.5 million acre-feet of storage. We could raise Shasta Dam only 18
feet, which would yield 630,000 acre-feet more of water.
If we were actually filling the San Luis Reservoir the last 500,000
acre-feet of space it has right now--because they won't run the pumps
because of some phony numbers they are using on fish and it affecting
the fish by running the pumps. There are half a million acre-feet we
are leaving on the table this year right now unless something changes
dramatically soon on running the pumps down there in the delta.
The priority these days everywhere is fish and environmental water.
People are being left behind on this. We are going to see the
allocation of water to some of the San Joaquin districts and areas
curtailed, again, in a high-water year, in a high-snowpack year--great
water. We have been blessed. They are going to see only 30 or 35
percent of their normal allocation, and that means these crops aren't
going to be grown.
As I pointed out, these crops are grown in California: 100 percent of
the artichokes, celery, garlic, honeydew, kiwifruit, nectarines,
olives, plums, shelled almonds, shelled pistachios, shelled walnuts,
tomatoes. Basically, 100 percent of what America uses comes from
California on a commercial basis. I know people grow patches of it here
and there in their garden and stuff around the country, but
commercially grown, that is what California represents.
Getting down to some that are not quite 100 percent: mandarins,
avocados, grapes, carrots, broccoli.
These are at the 90 percent mark: strawberries, 89 percent; wild
rice, 60 percent grown in California; horseradish, 30 percent, a lot of
it up in my area of Tully Lake--except they are having their water
taken away, except they are having their dams removed due to
environmental stuff.
How are we going to get a handle on the high price of inflation? With
the dams I just mentioned, electricity is up 20-something percent.
They tear down hydroelectric dams and say they are going to replace
them with high-cost solar or wind that has to be massively subsidized;
otherwise, no one would ever be able to afford it. They take out the
hydroelectric dams. That is not going to make electricity any cheaper.
Let's talk about food. If you don't build the water, allocate the
water, and back people off on the regulations, such as making them
electrify every aspect of agriculture and even the equipment--they are
coming after the locomotives that transport all this and the trucks
that transport it. All that does is drive up the cost of food.
As I mentioned also with housing, if we can't cut the timber, if we
can't provide for low-cost timber that comes from this country instead
of somewhere else--it still baffles me that we are the number one
importer of wood products--then housing is not going to get any cheaper
either. That is tied into a lot of other regulations, available land
use, and things like that.
All of these things work together to drive up the costs for regular
Americans who are struggling these days. They don't have the same
options of freedom of movement, their freedom of time, where they might
want to send their kids to school, or go on a vacation once in a while,
tourism.
All those things are dramatically curtailed because of government
regulations, lack of government foresight on energy, where our energy
is going to come from, what our energy policy is. Every time you don't
allow a pipeline to happen means it is going to have to be coming from
somewhere else, imported oil and gas. Yes, we are going to continue to
use oil and gas in this country for a long time. The rest of the world
is going to be.
If we want to be competitive, we are putting ourselves down a really
steep rathole if we are not going to continue to allow oil and gas to
power certain aspects of our economy, of our mobility, et cetera.
We are not going to electrify everything at the same time we are
pulling out hydroelectric dams because of the environment. We are
precariously on the edge of whether we are going to allow the nuclear
power plant to continue to run in California past just another a few
years.
Are we going to build more nuclear power in this country? If you are
worried about CO2, it is a great way to go, as are the
hydroelectric dams. I am not worried about CO2 because it
only represents 0.04 percent of our atmosphere. It is a rounding error,
and it has been hyped a lot in order to make climate change scare the
heck out of everybody when it really isn't that kind of a factor.
There are other things we can do cleaner, cleaner running engines and
things like that, less methane. Those are good things to work at, but
CO2 is not the problem. CO2 is basically sucked
up by these plants that we grow in agriculture and the forest
photograph I showed you a minute ago. They are out there enjoying
CO2 and giving us oxygen back if we would just be a little
smarter about it.
At the end of it, one of the important things we need to do this
year, this spring, really, is move the farm bill because it is
important as far as forestry goes. It is important, as far as this food
supply goes, to have stability in the ag economy. A big portion of it
is the SNAP program, which is important to help keep low-cost food on
the table for many Americans who are on the low side of the income
scale or going through tough times themselves. We need to pass that in
order to have the SNAP program stay viable and stay modernized as
things change.
Moving forward with the farm bill, it is going to be very important
in the short term to get a 5-year bill and not just another extension,
which doesn't really allow us to change or upgrade what the pieces of
the farm bill are, like crop insurance.
Some of these crops need to have more ability to access crop
insurance. If you have crop insurance, then there
[[Page H2491]]
is less need to have a bailout for a disaster because it is being taken
care of upfront, as well as a promotion of products, some of that
through MAP funds and other programs to promote some of these products
that we export.
We do need to have an export economy. We have a giant negative
economy with import-export with China and others, and agriculture has
been one of our mainstays to have anywhere close to balance on foreign
trade, so it is a good thing for us.
Instead, what do we get? We get things such as the Inflation
Reduction Act, which is a joke in its name. It didn't reduce inflation.
Inflation is still going up.
It is still part of our everyday worry we have here, and that is what
we get is more government spending. Instead, unleash the economy by
allowing people to log timber, grow food, and produce energy as I am
talking about here.
We need to be able to make a difference to help these producers and
then help the consumers. We need to produce more fertilizer in this
country. We need to mine more minerals in this country. They are
important to all of these sectors and producing energy.
If we want to have more gadgets, more equipment that uses
electricity, then why aren't we mining the products here instead of
making it a problem for some Third World country that doesn't have near
the labor protections or environmental protections that we have here?
If we do all of these things, it makes things more affordable, brings
the jobs home, and makes us more accountable as a country. Instead, we
are losing ground on the world stage in many aspects. Why are we a net
agriculture importer when we have so much plenty in this country?
We are less independent. We are less resilient. We are less
competitive due to these policies that are associated with Bidenomics.
In the face of declining farm income and these other challenges, it is
essential that we prioritize farm and ranch families with the farm
bill, with what we consume here.
I mentioned crop insurance, which is extremely important.
Additionally, the farm safety net is important, which is part of that
farm bill.
The input costs I mentioned, water allocations, all the above are
important to work our way through instead of ignoring them and thinking
that the priorities seemed to be reset around here. They have nothing
to do with helping Americans in their everyday lives.
It is a steep road here, but we can get back to a little bit of
common sense. I had the chance to speak to the President right on this
floor about water supply, about our timber situation, our forest
situation here, and he listened. I just hope his Cabinet, his people
who surround him, will pay more attention to what we are dealing with
and how negatively, when these things aren't paid attention to and
solved, how much it hurts the American people, how much it costs them,
how much it costs them options for their family to do other things
other than just trying to get by.
It doesn't have to be this way. This inflation we have had the last 3
years--we came out of COVID, yes, but our economy should be thriving
much better than what it is and not have these ridiculous regulations
and things that limit us so much and advantage our competitors around
the world--China, the Pacific Rim, and others--especially at such a
perilous time with such unrest in the world, with the wars that are
breaking out.
We need to be strong. We need to be self-sufficient.
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and appreciate
his willingness to participate always.
Mr. Speaker, as I wrap up our Special Order and my remarks, the world
watched over the weekend as Iran launched an unprecedented attack on
our ally, Israel.
This attack deservedly was met with scorn and contempt from
governments across the world, and it was reassuring to see such strong
cooperation from the U.S., U.K., Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi
Arabia to intercept Iranian missiles to keep Jerusalem and its holy
sites from being completely destroyed.
I never thought I would be in that situation, to be in Congress, to
be a part of legislation this week, to be at this moment, to meet this
moment.
People watched across the world because of these holy sites. Look, I
have said this before, and as I finalize my thoughts here, I think back
to one of my first meetings in my first term of Congress. I got to meet
with the Consul General from the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles. He
was in Utah, and I got a chance to sit down with him. I said, as I dig
into this, I am so impressed with the Abraham Accords.
Candidly, I think it was President Trump and Vice President Pence's
most significant success in our foreign policy during their
administration. The Abraham Accords are diplomatic and trade
relationships with Israel and Arab nations. I mean, when you think
about the years and decades and centuries of us trying to find common
ground and peace in that region of the world, we created an
opportunity, and the U.S. was a big part of this, to establish these
relationships with Arab nations and Israel. Potential bellwether
countries like Saudi Arabia could have joined on.
I asked him what the recipe was for success to make that happen, and
he said that it came down to one thing, that these Arab states--Arab
Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain--knew the U.S. stood firm against Iranian
aggression. That was what he boiled the whole entire experience down
to.
Nobody in that region wants Iran to gain more influence. They want to
destabilize everything over there. The whole region understands this.
Arab nation, Jewish nation, whatever, they all understand that Iran
wants to destabilize.
They want to have the U.S. as a presence, a strong presence, to make
sure that the U.S. had the backs of Arab nations and had Israel's back
against continual potential aggression from Iran.
{time} 1915
Knowing that, they were willing to enter into these trade
relationships that were potentially treacherous because Iran doesn't
want anybody to have a trade relationship, a diplomatic relationship
with Israel.
This is my number one, biggest complaint with President Biden's
foreign policy, is to just--okay, look, President Obama was going on
the JCPOA, so let's just start those talks back up again and completely
ignore the success that we had had to create peace in the Middle East.
It is something that every President has wanted. President Clinton,
watching what he was trying to do, the absolute tragedy of the
assassination that took place during his time. Every President,
Republican or Democrat, has wanted peace in the Middle East.
To flatly say and to overlook the reason why the Abraham Accords were
successful and to not take that type of same strength to Iran, it was
the biggest blunder, I believe, in President Biden's foreign policy
approach in that particular region.
Is it any wonder why we are sitting here today with unprecedented
drone and missile attacks directly on our ally Israel?
You have to stand up to Iran in order to promote peace in the Middle
East. You cannot have it all. You can't have the entire pie. You have
to call it as it is sometimes and cut it off.
The JCPOA should never have been reengaged. It has not created any
positive outcomes over in the region. Can anybody disagree with that?
Are we better today in the Middle East than we were when we had the
Abraham Accords thriving? No, we are not, and everybody knows that.
Anybody who is honest is willing to address it.
If you want to be Israel's ally, you cannot also continue to pander
to Iran. It is not a recipe for success, and that is not just from the
Israeli point of view. That is from the Arab State point of view. I
hope to impress upon the Biden administration recognition of that.
That is what we are trying to do this week, putting several floor
measures up to hold Iran and its proxy groups accountable for their
actions. We will continue to hold the line in supporting Israel and
ensuring they have what they need to defend their freedom.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
[[Page H2492]]
____________________