[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 168 (Thursday, November 14, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H5979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING KENZIE WILLEN
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Comer) for 5 minutes.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Kenzie Willen from
Cumberland County High School in Burkesville, Kentucky.
Kenzie was runner-up in the Kentucky High School Girls State Golf
Tournament. This was a very competitive golf tournament. I knew several
of the girls in the golf tournament from around the State, and Kenzie
finished second overall. In Kentucky we don't have classes. Every
school competes against every school--the big schools against the
little schools.
Kenzie's achievement was the highest athletic achievement in the
history of tiny Cumberland County High School.
Kenzie was also recently named the KHSAA Fourth Region Girls Athlete
of the Year. Kenzie's parents, Lannie and Kristi Willen, are good
friends of mine and are leaders in the great community of Burkesville,
Kentucky.
Mr. Speaker, I again congratulate Miss Kenzie Willen from Cumberland
County High School.
Thanking American Voters
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the voters of America for
overwhelmingly turning out to reelect a Republican majority in the
United States House of Representatives.
I had the honor of serving this Congress as chairman of the House
Oversight Committee, and I plan on serving my final 2 years as chairman
in the next Congress.
The House Oversight Committee passed 23 good government bills through
this House body, most of which received bipartisan majorities. The
House Oversight Committee also led many successful investigations and
probes, including our bipartisan PBM investigation--that is pharmacy
benefit managers.
Our investigation revealed, along with our three bipartisan committee
hearings, that the pharmacy benefit managers were actually doing the
opposite of what they were created to do. They were created to help
lower the price of prescription drugs when, in fact, in many instances
they have actually increased the price of prescription drugs.
I believe our work on the House Oversight Committee will lead to
significant reforms for the PBM industry in this next Congress.
We also had many other successful investigations, the most high
profile of which was the Biden family influence peddling investigation,
which revealed that the Biden family received tens of millions of
dollars from our adversaries around the world, and according to the two
IRS whistleblowers, never paid a penny of taxes on it. Despite the
President of the United States saying he didn't know anything about it
and never met with any of these people, he met with every single one of
them.
We achieved many of our objectives with respect to providing the
American people with the truth. We provided the American taxpayers with
badly needed oversight, despite massive--and I repeat that, Mr.
Speaker, massive--opposition from the Biden-Harris administration, as
well as constant disruption and dishonesty from Ranking Member Jamie
Raskin.
I hope that this next Congress on the House Oversight Committee we
can work together to get the backs of the American taxpayers to provide
the badly needed oversight that the American people deserve and that
Congress is supposed to provide.
I am excited about the future because I am confident that the Trump
administration will be more transparent than this current
administration has and cooperate with us and do things like provide
information when we request it.
We work for the American people. We work for the taxpayers. The
taxpayers have taken it on the chin, Mr. Speaker. They expect Congress
to provide oversight. They expect good government. They expect
efficiency and transparency with their hard-earned tax dollars that
they send here to Washington, D.C. They have not been getting that, Mr.
Speaker.
I also look forward to working with Elon Musk and the new government
efficiency task force. I think there are lots of opportunities there,
Mr. Speaker, to save significant amounts of tax dollars. We cannot
continue to operate in this body spending $1.5 to $2 trillion a year
more than we take in. It is not sustainable, and it has led to
excessive spending.
The American people spoke loud and clear. They want good government.
They want efficiency and transparency. Mr. Speaker, I pledge that the
House Oversight Committee will work together to see that the American
people get the efficiency and transparency in the government that they
deserve.
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